Junk Food Industry and Obesity

â€Å"In the U. S. obesity rates have risen from 14% in 1978 to 31% in 2000†¦according to WHO/FAO in 2001, chronic diseases resulting largely from poor diet contributed to 60% of the 56 million reported deaths worldwide† (Lang & Heasman 2004:53). Both Canadian and American citizens alike spend vast amounts of their money on food and a significant percentage of that money is spent on low-nutrition foods such as fast foods and processed foods. Being the cash cow that it is, the capitalist food system has provided the opportunity for corporations to profit numerous types of junk foods (fast & processed foods containing high sugar, salt, fat). According to Robert Albritton’s (2009:90) â€Å"Let Them Eat Junk,† he argues that â€Å"the consumption of junk foods is not the only cause of obesity, but it is doubtless a major cause†¦[and] obesity is something that we allow to happen, and while there may be many causes, [he] would argue that the primary cause is a capitalist food system that we have allowed to subject us. † This essay will further extend on that argument and examine that the growing trend of obesity is caused by the fundamental principle of the capitalist food system, which is to profit from selling junk foods without considering the health consequences associated with it. Examining why consumers eat junk food in a sociological perspective, the financial incentives associated with selling junk foods in a capitalist perspective, and the health problems/consequences from the consumption of junk foods will be explored. A solution will be provided in attempts to rectify the growing trend of obesity due to junk foods. It is vital that we also look into the health implications as a result of the consumption of junk foods. Most notably, the greatest risk being obesity. Public health is an important factor in today’s society. Billions of dollars are spent on health care all over the world. At the same time, about the same amount of money is being put into a system that deters the health of millions of citizens every year (Adams 2005). In the present, the junk food industry is becoming a focal point in controversy surrounding its impact on public health. For example, â€Å"many blame fast food businesses for public health concerns, arguing that fast-food choices and large portion sizes contribute to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and a variety of other diet-related problems† (Adams 2005). In 2002, director Morgan Spurlock subjected himself to a diet based only in McDonald's fast food three times a day for thirty days and without working out. His objective was to prove why most of the Americans are so fat, with many cases of obesity (IMDB). He gained about 18 pounds over the course of the experiment, experienced mood swings, loss of sex drive, and nearly catastrophic liver damage. Spurlock’s body fat composition increased by 7 percent, his cholesterol went up 60 points, and his blood pressure rose from 120/80 to 150/100. Shortly after Mr. Spurlock’s revelations about his fast-food experiment, the Associated Press reported that McDonald’s was phasing out its super size menu options (Hagloch 2005). â€Å"Super Size Me† (name of the documentary) was a great example of how junk food affects the general public and is also an indication that the junk food industry, motivated by profits and shareholder interests, has ignored its responsibilities to the consuming public. It is clear that there is a huge demand for junk foods and that corporations thrive on this demand by creating more and more junk foods. As a result, there are health consequences such as obesity. Solutions to reduce obesity should be one of the main concerns in today’s society, however, to completely rid junk foods entirely need not be one of the solutions. The junk food industry plays a significant role in stimulating the North American economies. â€Å"Three-quarters of all Americans live within three miles of a McDonald’s, and two-thirds live within three miles of a KFC, Pizza Hut or Taco Bell fast food restaurant. † (Albritton 2009:98). In addition, supermarkets in North America are one of the most popular destinations for consumers to do most of their shopping. Supermarkets play a major role in the American food regime since that is where 40% of all food is purchased. Supermarkets typically sell a high proportion of highly processed, highly packaged and highly transported foods. In other words, supermarkets are largely purveyors of unsustainable petrofoods and unhealthy processed foods† (Albritton 2009:120). Given that junk foods are a signific ant contributor to the North American economies, it would be unwise to completely abolish the production and sales of junk food in order to solve the obesity epidemic. Rather, there should be more of an educational solution to fight against obesity. With the high demand for junk foods due to the fast-paced lifestyle in North America and for the availability of these foods provided by corporations that strive to gain profits, it is no surprise that junk food is one of the leading causes of obesity in North America today. As Robert Albritton (2009:90) pointed out, â€Å"†¦the primary cause is a capitalist food system that we have allowed to subject us. Although the junk food industry is significantly vital towards the stability of the North American economies, it would be unwise to rid the production and sales of junk foods entirely. Instead, the use of subsidy dollars to invest into nutritional awareness programs and the reduction in portion sizes for fast and processed foods are recommended options to prevent obesity. These steps may not on its own prevent obesity, however, these are one of many important steps in fighting against the obesity epidemic today and for future generations.

Dangers of Childhood Immunizations Essay

Evidence Supporting Thesis â€Å"In order to understand the ‘safety’ of vaccines, you have to know several things, including how a baby’s immune system works from birth onwards, and what vaccines do biochemically in the body. That work has never been done.† Found in the book Just a Little Prick by Hilary Butler No one medical treatment will work the same way on every person it is used on, so why would we expect for generalized vaccines to work the same way in every child? It is merely impossible to know how your child’s immune system will respond to vaccines, but there are consequences set in place for parents like myself who do not believe in giving annual vaccines. For example: if your child’s vaccines are not up to date, then your child is not allowed to go to school, be involved in team sports, and a host of other activities. Main Points Studies have not been done to show how each individual vaccine affects the body in both positive and negative ways. Alternative measures should be available for those parents who are against vaccinating their children. More studies need to be conducted to see what role, if any, vaccinations play in the behavioral aspect of a child’s development. Studies have not been done to show how each individual vaccine affects the body in both positive and negative ways. What are the positive effects that vaccines have on a child’s body? Vaccines can help to prevent some of the serious complications that occur as a result of serious diseases. Vaccines help to ensure that if a child comes in contact with a disease, they will only develop a mild case of the disease versus a child never having the vaccine who develops a natural immunity to the disease which will in turn cause the non-vaccinated child to have very severe complications. Varicella Infection leads to Pneumonia if no vaccine has been given. Polio Infection leads to permanent paralysis if no vaccine has been given. Mumps Infection could lead to deafness and infertility in young boys if no vaccine has been given. Hib infection can lead to permanent brain damage if no vaccine has been given. Vaccinations help to build immunity to diseases that may be foreign strains of normal diseases. * *   What are the negative effects that vaccines have on a child’s body? Because there have not been any studies on the exact biochemical effect that vaccines have on a child’s body, there is not much supporting evidence to why vaccines are negative. However, there are some studies that suggest that vaccines may be closely tied to various behavior problems such as adhd, add, and the ever controversial autism. It has been proven that vaccines cause mild side effects such as swelling, fever, flu-like symptoms, and in more severe cases: seizures. Alternative measures should be available to parents who are opposed to vaccinating their children. The bottom line School age children are required to have up-to-date vaccinations before being allowed to attend school. There aren’t any alternative options for parents who do not believe in vaccinating their children Children are not allowed to attend school. Children are not allowed to participate in group activities such as team sports, and clubs. Are we really harming our children by vaccinating them? Studies have not been done to show how each individual vaccine affects the body in both positive and negative ways. Alternative measures should be available for those parents who are against vaccinating their children. * 3.More studies need to be conducted to see what role, if any, vaccinations play in the behavioral aspect of a child’s development.

Political Philosophy and Paine Essay

1. Why do you think Thomas Paine writes Common Sense anonymously? How does he think his work will be remembered? Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense anonymously because the ideas he used in writing the book were contradicting the government at that time. If the government knew that he wrote it then they will take action against him to punish him. He probably thought that his work would remain as something memorable such as it was only there to raise the spirit of the colonist to fight back and to stand up against the government. 2. According to Paine, what is the difference between society and government? Paine states that society and government are completely different in purpose and also different in origin. Society is created innocently for the people’s happiness although the government is poison but necessary product made by desires of people to support people’s happiness by forcefully restraining desires of people themselves. 3. What is the meaning of ‘liberty’ in Paine’s thought? Equality? What is the relationship between the two? The meaning of liberty in Paine’s thought was the state of being free within society from cruel limits enforced by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views. He described equality as the state of being equal in positions, rights, and opportunities. The relationship between the two is that they work hand-in-hand because everyone should have equal rights. 4. According to Paine, why is there a need for regulations and government in general? According to Paine, it is a necessary evil for two reasons. The first reason is for security and freedom, things that everyone wants, are the true intention and end of government. The second reason is a moral asset which is the foundation of society, but it’s incapable of governing. In other words government is inevitable, because it is there to supply the defect of moral asset. 5. Why does Paine consider the English monarchy to be ineffective? Paine considered the monarchy in particular to be ineffective because the king is not informed enough to match his power, he naturally will thirst for more and more power, he can ignore the people’ voices and more importantly, he doesn’t and sometimes, is incapable of making sure his words comes to the people exactly same as he meant them to be. 6. What is the view of Gideon that Paine uses as an example? â€Å"As the exalting one man so greatly above the rest cannot be justified on the equal rights of nature, so neither can it be defended on the authority of scripture; for the will of the Almighty† (Gideon). From this quote of Gideon, we can assume Gideon’s point of views. He thinks that all men are equal and no one man can be above the rest. He also thinks that only God can rule over people. 7. What does Paine think that America will gain by separating from England? According to Paine, America will gain by separating from England is that it would not get contaminated by the monarchy he has been criticizing. Then, America will gain wealth and most importantly it will gain independence. 8. Describe Thomas Paine’s life and background, including where he is originally from and what his reputation was before, during, and after writing Common Sense. On January 29, 1737, Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England. His father had grand visions for his son, but by the age of 12, Thomas had failed out of school. The young Paine began apprenticing for his father, but again, he failed. So, by 1768 he found himself as a tax officer in England. Thomas didn’t exactly excel at the role, getting discharged from his post twice in four years. In 1774, by happenstance, he met Benjamin Franklin in London, who helped him immigrate to Philadelphia. Then in 1776, he published Common Sense. 9. What is Paine’s argument based on? What intellectual movement and why? Paine’s argument is mostly based on things that everyone in the colony would consider common sense. The intellectual part about the concept is that even though he demonstrated a great length of knowledge, he made it look like his knowledge is even with the colonists. The reason for that is he really wanted the colonists to believe that the book is written by but someone among the colonists. That way, it is much easier to move the colonists’ spirit. 10. What is the role, for Paine, of the wars in Europe on American independence? His role is to remind them and clear their desire to live a life without great changes so that they can stand up and fight for their own lives. Paine’s role in the wars was not that of a leader but a reminder of the people’s cause. Because of Paine, people started to remember to stand up and fight back for their rights. 11. How does Paine argue the opposing point of independence? How does he counter the â€Å"reconciliationists†? Paine explains why the current time is a good time to break free of Britain. Primarily, Paine focuses on the present size of the colonies, and on their current capabilities. He presents an inventory of the British Navy and gives calculations revealing how America could build a navy of comparable size. Paine recommends this as a way of ensuring America’s security and prosperity in trade. Paine also argues that America is sufficiently small as to be united now. 12. List the reasons why Paine thinks independence is necessary. What is â€Å"the most powerful of all arguments† for independence? Paine thinks independence because England is violently oppressive in way that it’s exploiting America for the good of England. Being a part of the British Empire will inevitably involve America in unnecessary imperial conflicts. And the most powerful of all arguments is that England is too far away to govern America effectively, even if it wanted to. 13. Paine begins his analysis from the state of nature. What is the rhetorical function of this? What political goals does this serve? What role does nature have in Paine’s thinking? Nature does not sanction division of men into Kings and Subjects. It is only customary. The State of Nature as tool of criticism because a government must not make things worse than they are in the State of Nature if they are to deserve compliance. 14. For Paine, what is the relationship between law and liberty? Paine begins this section by making a distinction between society and government, and then goes on to consider the relationship between government and society in a state of â€Å"natural liberty†. He next tells a story of a few isolated people living in nature without government, and explains that the people find it easier to live together rather than apart; thus, they create a society. As the society grows, problems arise, and the people meet to make regulations in order to mitigate the problems. As the society continues to grow, a government becomes necessary to enforce these regulations, which over time, turn into laws 15. According to Common Sense, what is the basis of just government? According to Common Sense the basis of just government are Freedom, Happiness, and Efficiency 16. What point is Paine making when he argues, â€Å"Europe, and not England, is the parent country of America†? How does he use the national origins of English monarchs to show that the colonists’ English origins are irrelevant to the decision they now face? By grounding political authority in reason, Paine is able to make a persuasive argument undermining the foundations of British government, which is based in tradition, religion, and custom. 17. How does Paine reject the arguments of â€Å"men of passive tempers† who wish for reconciliation with Britain? Paine says that as a colony of Britain, America lacks respectability on the international scene. They are seen simply as rebels, and cannot form substantial alliances with other nations. In order to prosper in the long term, the colonies need to be independent 18. How does Paine answer the question, â€Å"Where is the king of America†? Paine answers this question by stating he reigns above in America, and the law is king. 19. How does Paine reject the argument that the colonies have â€Å"flourished† as members of the British Empire? What was Britain’s true motive in defending the colonies, and what does this motive reveal about the relationship between the two? Paine states that America has flourished under British rule, and therefore ought to stay under the king, Paine says that such an argument fails to realize that America has evolved and no longer needs Britain’s help. Some say that Britain has protected America, and therefore deserves allegiance, but Paine responds that Britain has only watched over America in order to secure its own economic well-being. 20. What did you learn from reading this assignment? What is your opinion of the work? The first thing that I learn from the assignment is the importance fighting back because Paine’s ideas were inspiring and knowledgeable and also that this was an important event for US history. In my opinion, the book common sense was by far one of the greatest historical books. Thomas Paine writing style is both fanatical and graceful, demonstrating Paine’s disgust, rage and passion without having to degrade his social status.

Lobbying paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lobbying paper - Essay Example The agency, serves clients such as universities, companies, cities, trade associations and even individuals. Meyers and Associates lobby mostly legislative issues to the federal government and congress on behalf of clients. The organization’s mission is ‘to be successful in capitalizing on the opportunities and meeting challenges presented by Washington it is advantageous to have Washington representation that can combine experience and national contacts’. Meyers and Associates as an organization developed with the intention of representing private lobbying. This agency derives its fund from revenue raised through charity and clients’ payments. Meyers and Associates, as an organization prevented closing of military bases. In particular, it lobbied against closing military bases located in Mississippi and Texas. The closing of the bases was between the years 1993 and 2005. Thanks to this organization some bases were spared (Zetter, 2008). Lobbying has ensured that opinions from minority, powerless and poor groups have reached the people sitting in congress and federal offices. Through lobbying, also the government has become acquainted on the pressing issues affecting individuals and organizations. Equally, lobbyists assist Congress in formulating laws, which will be practical and operational (Zetter, 2008). Lobbying as a practice is faced by the following challenges inadequate finances to support the organization’s endeavors, failure on the side of lobbyists to influence staff in Congress offices, and formulation of impractical legislations (Zetter, 2008). Important factors in lobbying include knowing influential staffs and secretaries working in federal and Congress offices. Lobbyists should get familiar with current issues and bills being processed, have fingertip information on legislators, and interest of clients should always be

What Makes a Bilingual Education Program Successful Research Paper

What Makes a Bilingual Education Program Successful - Research Paper Example Dr. Tove Skutnabb-Kangas is a linguist who has extensively researched linguistic human rights; bilingualism and multilingual education; linguistic imperialism and subtractive spread of English; support for endangered languages; the relationship between linguistic and cultural diversity and biodiversity and has authored numerous publications on her subject of interest (WISC, 2006). Among her highly acclaimed works is â€Å"Linguistic Genocide in Education or Worldwide Diversity and Human Rights?.† According to Tacelosky’s (2000) review of this book, Skutnabb-Kangas presents the state of languages of the world in terms of extinction and endangerment. The linguist also avers that although the threat to biodiversity is great, the threat to language diversity is far greater. Skutnabb-Kangas goes on to define the term mother tongue with criteria such as origin, identification, competence, function and the degree of human rights awareness. The author defines linguistic genocid e as the policies that a state takes from attempting to kill a language to the adoption of an official language. She positions minority education in terms of society and politics, distribution of power in terms of dominant and dominated languages, race, sex, class and other factors. The author argues against claims that a language is necessary to form a nation and discusses the place of language in the power structure. Skutnabb-Kangas propounds that linguistic human rights are necessary rights which incorporate basic human rights.

BTN3-3 homework Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

BTN3-3 homework - Coursework Example As years progress, the value of the equipment will decline till the accumulated depreciation is equivalent to the cost of purchase if the asset does not have a salvage value. This being the accredited way of recording depreciation expenses and accumulated depreciation, I hereby support the method used by Boland. Smith’s method has its strength, but the weaknesses are severe. It can be noted from the statement that the depreciation was the first one because the accumulated depreciation was equals to depreciation expense. For the first year, the method proposed by Smith is logical since it is easy to credit the amount directly in the balance sheet with regards to the asset depreciating. The weakness arises when the equipment has depreciated for several years, it will be difficult to have a plot on the accumulated depreciation, and thus, the value of the equipment will be overvalued or undervalued. The situation Boland is facing an ethical one, because the method Smith is suggesting and what she is used to are both applicable to the situation. As an accountant, there are guidelines such as General Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) that spells out how such transactions should be recorded. Therefore, if Boland violates those principles, the financial reporting of the firm’s status will not be accurate. It is unethical to violate those

Essay question Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Essay question - Assignment Example The Roman Empire was ruled Patricians and they were considered to be the most powerful ones in the region. It has been known that there was a lot of mismanagement and uneven distribution of wealth in the Roman Empire. The poor got poorer and rich got richer. The Roman leaders involved in battles, trying to capture territories of their allies, them being not present in the capital to handle state affairs and other such matters led to the Roman demise. Eventually, the death of Julius Ceaser proved to be the last nail in the coffin of once great and mighty Roman Empire and led to its demise. Clarifier: Before the 20th century, muckrakers were simple investigative journalists but with the start of 20th century they worked as reform journalist and started a movement to finish off corruption in the system. The Muckrakers are known as pioneers of proper investigative journalism in the history. Historical Significance: The muckrakers and their movement in the 1900s was aimed to improve the standard of journalism. The movement started in the early 1900s and was very popular till the Second World War. They worked to expose social ills in the society and to stop corruption in the system. After the Second World War this movement faced its end due to dirty political skills showed by the government. Clarifier: Sit-Down Strikes gave way to a new sort of protest so that the authorities would have no other option but to meet their demands in order to start the progress otherwise they would have to face huge losses. Historical Significance: History is full of examples of sit-down strikes in which workers of factories protested for raises or bonuses. One such example is the strikes of American factory workers during the industrial revolution. More than 3,000 workers stopped work and protested. Other notable examples include the strike of United Auto Workers and the French revolt which is marked till today on May 1st every year. Historical

The Hear Fails without Warning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Hear Fails without Warning - Essay Example It is against this background that this paper provides a textual analysis of Hilary Mantels excerpt of The Heart Fails Without Warning. From the outlook, the author seeks to inform the reader about anorexia, an illness that one of the teenage girls suffer from and from the topic, which later has fatal implications on the wellbeing of the teenage girl. To ensure objectivity, the paper employs Nord’s text analysis model to underscore the text’s communicative function. In order to effectively explore this, it will examine both the extra textual as well as intra textual factors. The translation brief provides useful information about the author of the source text. In this respect, Hillary Mantel is an author of ‘The Hear fails Without Warning’, a story that is published in the Guardian Review Magazine of October, 2009. The aim of the author is to inform the audience about the environmental and social problems that this society is grappling with. Also worth ment ioning is the need by the author to highlight the health implications that the demeaning conditions have on the wellbeing of the inhabitants. From an individual point of view, the sender of the information is the editor of the Guardian Review magazine. This is suggestive in the topic of the magazine as well as in the information contained in the source takes. It can be presumed that the editor of the Guardian Review Magazine simply wants the important message to reach the target audience- parents and guardians. Notably, they are the most directly in contact with teenage girls and hence, knowledge about the challenges that teenagers face would probably be helpful. The relative information is directed at a diverse client base. To begin with, Mantel seeks to inform the local inhabitants about the deteriorating social conditions and what they can do to protect the vulnerable children from the resultant negative implications. Another group that the author wishes to reach to pertains to t he relevant policy and decision makers as well as law enforcement agencies. These are wide and varied including the government, the police and stakeholders in the health ministry. His main intention is to inform the abovementioned individuals about the situation on the ground. This is implied in the source text and specifically in the Journal type that the article is published in. In most cases, it can be agreed that the preceding audiences are the ones who mostly read the magazine. Undoubtedly, knowledge about this would enable them to take necessary action towards protecting the welfare of the affected individuals. Since it is published in The Guardian Review magazine, the author specifically wishes to reach out to all adults who are charged with the responsibility of taking care of the young children. Relative information would enable them understand the challenges that especially face the youth. The text was published in 2009 for the purpose of informing the audience about the c hallenges that this segment of the populations was grappling with at that particular period of time. However, the facts presented herein had lasting implications on both the intended target as well as the general audience. This is particularly so because the author addresses social and environmental concerns whose implications are pervasive. This is apparent when the author cites that the family shares a small house and a bedroom and school girls are raped

Wit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Wit - Essay Example Two major types of knowledge emerge in this play. Academic knowledge represented by Vivian, Dr. Kelekian and Dr. Jason gained through proper university education whose actions displays academic elitism between teacher-student and doctor-patient. Humanitarian knowledge gained through interaction. Vivian gained it after interacting with Susie when this nurse was always available during the time when in pain and lonely (69). Academic knowledge bestow on the bearers power and high regard in the society as demonstrated by Vivian’s feeling of helplessness at the hospital compared to the power she wielded over her students at the University. â€Å"Once I did the teaching, now am taught† (37). On the other hand, other forms of knowledge are poorly regarded as Jason asserts this regarding his take on bedside manners as â€Å"colossal waste of time for researchers† (55). The two types of knowledge are related since they complement each other. Vivian realized the significance of human contact when under lots of pain and alone appreciated the role Susie played during this moment. Acquisition of knowledge should not be at the expense of

Exploring Another Ethnicity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Exploring Another Ethnicity - Essay Example The distinct ethnic groups have diverse attitudes, rituals, actions, religious traits, and cultural beliefs. As such, ethnicity plays a big role in the American society although the American society rarely defines people according to their ethnic groups (O'Neil Web). My Ethnicity is both Arab and Hispanic. This paper seeks to address another ethnic group that I do not belong. In this case, I will address the Indian American ethnic group as part of the America society. To achieve this, I will describe rituals, actions, religious aspects, cultures, and morals of an Indian American wedding that I attended. Indeed, it was my first time to attend an Indian American wedding and the entire event was culturally strange, informing, and somehow entertaining to me. Notably, most Indian American is Hindus and as such, the wedding ceremony was in a Hindu setting unlike my normal Muslim setting. My Feelings in an Indian American Wedding Ceremony Actually, the whole setting was completely new to me and although I had previously heard of the uniqueness of the Indian weddings, I have never been a witness. As such, I had much anxiety that derived mixed feelings as the reality of the wedding came to me. To some extent, I had expectations that any wedding must derive a lot of fun but was equally aware that the difference in cultures would deny me such fun, as it would be challenging to follow the proceedings of the ceremony. The different rituals and cultural dimensions that the wedding to me. More so, the Hindu religion aspects and even the language in application created loneliness and a feeling of isolation during the wedding. Indeed, everybody was in a joyous mood and I equally tried to adapt to the celebratory mood but I could rarely understand the various procedures adopted in the ceremony. However, with the help of my Indian friend, I would manage to glimpse and understand some happenings in the Indian American wedding. My Feelings in an Indian and an African American Event This situation was somehow similar to an African American wedding ceremony that I attended in a Christian setting. Indeed, the feeling of isolation of the real time happenings was still eminent in that Christian setting. Indeed, the Christian and the Hindu religion are quite new to me as I profess the Muslim religion. Moreover, the Indian and the black American traditions, rituals, and traditions are different from the Hispanic and Arabic. As such, my earlier situation was significantly similar to the reference situation where I attended the wedding ceremony in an Indian cultural setting. In both instances, I would struggle to understand the language in application, the rituals, and the cultures as seen in their dressing and code of conduct. Influence of Group Membership, Race, and Personality in Interpretation My group membership, race, and personal attributes are however fundamental in interpreting the situation. Actually, the members in our group include people from different et hnic groups and hence I have lived to embrace cultural diversity. As such, I can interpret that any wedding creates a source of joy and is of cultural importance to any ethnic group. Therefore, I interpret that the wedding ceremony in the Indian America setting is important to their culture. On the other hand, my race accommodates cultural diversity and respects other cultures and their traditions. Hence, my race helps me to deduce the importance of such a wedding

Econometrics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Econometrics - Essay Example The results of the regression are demonstrated in table 2. The coefficient of male is 0.011. This indicates that the number of doctor visits increases if the individual is male by 0.011. The value is not statistically significant at 10, 5 and 1 percent level of significance since the probability is greater than the critical values in each of the alpha value. The regression results are illustrated in the table 3 in the appendix. The male coefficient is 14.89. This coefficient is positive which indicates that males spend 14.89 more on private medical services than the females. The value is statistically significant at the 1 percent level of significance since the probability value is very low. This means that there statistical significance that the level of private expenditure on medical services is highly influenced by gender. The coefficient of number of visits to the doctor in the past years is -0.562. This has been indicated in table 4 below. The coefficient is negative which indicates that there are an inverse relation between the number of visits to the doctor in the past years and health status. When the endogenous variable increases by one unit, the health status will decline by 0.562 units. The coefficient is statistically significant at 1 per cent level of significance indicating that the number of visits to the doctor in the past years is a good indicator of changes in health status. A casual interpretation exists when there is a cause and effect reaction on the regression results (Wayne A. Woodward, 2011). This means that there is a two way impact of the variables. In this case, no casual interpretation exists. This is because the number of doctor visits in the past affects the present health status negatively and on the other hand, health status in the present cannot affect the number of doctor visits in the past. Male: The coefficient of the male is -3.987. This means that when an individual is male, the health status

The Day Chocolate Case Report Essay Example for Free

The Day Chocolate Case Report Essay Introduction The following report discusses the company named the Day Chocolate company. In this report we will take a close look to the case of this company. The Day Chocolate company is different than other chocolate companies as it pays attention to the ones that are making the chocolate: the farmers. The day chocolate company buys all cocoa at Fair trade prices, which means that the farmers receive a guaranteed minimum price for their cocoa. One of the goals of the company is to bring Fair-trade chocolate into the mainstream market but also to produce this chocolate for an affordable price and with a high quality. In this days customers are paying more and more attention to the wellness of the farmers. The day chocolate company is responding well to this need of the consumers. By taking a substantial market share, and paying fare prices to the farmers, often living of just a few dollars a week or even less, they try to help the farmers. The origin of the day chocolate company lies in the United Kingdom. In 1997, together with NGO Twin Trading and The Body Shop, Kupua Kooko sets up the day chocolate company. By introducing the Divine Fair trade milk chocolate bar into the UK confectionary market, the first farmer owned Fair trade chocolate bar is available for the consumer. In a short time the company gained a considerable market share. In the upcoming chapters we will explain why this Fair-trade chocolate was such a success. The source of this success can be found by looking at the segment that Divine is operating in and looking at the trends in this segment. But we are also researching how Devine became such a strong brand and we are taking a close look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the company. Furthermore we are going to investigate the opportunities the Day Chocolate company has to expand their business across the domestic borders, here we will also search for the country which is most appropriate for the Day Chocolate company to settle. ? Consumer segment Day chocolate company To make a company more compatible you first have to decide who or what type of customer the company will serve. The best way to do this is to divide the market into segments of consumers, a process called market segmentation. After this is done, it is important to make the decision on which segments the company is going to focus. The day chocolate company is focusing on two main target groups. For each of these target groups they developed a brand, Devine and Dubble. The first target group the day chocolate company is focusing on is a group called ‘concerned consumers’. The consumers who fall into this group are paying extra attention to the environment and human rights. Therefore Fair trade products are developed to serve the needs of this type of consumers. The day chocolate company developed a Fair trade brand for this group, called ‘Devine’. In 1998 the company launched the Fair Trade chocolate bar on the market in the UK. The day chocolate company was one of the first companies to launch a Fair Trade chocolate bar. The price of this chocolate bar is slightly higher than the price of a normal chocolate bar, as the day chocolate company is paying the farmers a fair price for their cocoa. But the consumer finds human rights that important, that they are willing to pay that little extra for their chocolate. A third of all UK consumers have now recognized the Fair trade mark. The second target group the day chocolate company decided to focus on is children. In the beginning of 2000, the company announced a competition where children could come up with a new Fair trade chocolate brand, which would be especially developed for children. In October 2000 the brand Dubble was launched. Dubble is a crunchy Fair trade chocolate bar available for a lower price, this way children can buy the chocolate bar themselves. The day chocolate company also developed a website which is easily accessible for children, they can play games on it and read about Fair trade products. The brands Devine and Dubble are becoming more and more popular. They are for sale in all the top supermarkets in the United Kingdom. But the company also supplies chocolate for own label products in the Co-op and Starbucks. Up till now, the day chocolate company only sold its products within the UK and the USA Day chocolates strengths and weaknesses. Competitive advantage. A very influential factor for future success of the company as well as for the products it is selling it is called a competitive advantage. The competitive advantage can result either from cost advantage, pricing your product lower than that of other companies, or differentiation advantage, having a unique or a better quality product than other companies. Divine chocolate targets the second category, making use the differentiation advantage. Divine Chocolate is the first ever Fair-trade chocolate bar aimed at the mass market’ according to their own statement. The fair trade logo is what makes them stand out from other chocolate companies. By being widely available and well-priced, they make fare trade chocolate available for an ever/always growing public. Strengths and weaknesses One of the biggest strengths of how the Divine chocolate company handles their business is how they approach fair-trade. Besides paying $1600 per tonne of cacao, with the world price being as low as a $1000 per tonne, Divine pays a social premium of $150 dollars per tonne. This premium is being invested in local social projects, sustainable development of the area and better farming. This increases the wellbeing of the cacao planters, but also has a positive influence on Divine Chocolate. By investing in farming and social development, the cacao will be of higher quality. This approach also creates positive publicity for the company, and gives the buyers the feeling that they add to the wellbeing and development of cacao farmers and third world countries in general. An other strength of Divine Chocolate is their availability. By being the one of the biggest, Divine creates economies of scale. Because of this, the company can market chocolate for a lower price, making the company’s products available and affordable to more customers. Also, by being sold in places such as Starbucks, which has a very positive and well-known brand image, and being backed by charity organizations, Divine chocolate has become a reliable and well-known brand. Moving forward to threats and weaknesses the Day Company has a vulnerable reputation by selling the company’s products to very critic customers. The company should pay a lot of attention to whether the farmers are still receiving a fair price, and pay attention to their overall wellbeing. Next to this, they rely heavily on cacao supplies from Ghana, a country that is not situated in the most stable of regions, with civil wars and economic instabilities in the surrounding countries. If there are major issues to be dealt with, there is also a problem of ownership. Being owned and managed by three parties (Kuapa Kokoo, Twin Trading and Oikocredit), all having a big share in the company, it is important that they remain uniform in how to operate the company. ? Customer equity Customer equity is a way of measuring the performance of a company by customer loyalty. As Kotler and Armstrong state: ‘the total combined discounted customer lifetime values of all of the company’s customers (†¦) the more loyal the companies profitable customers, the higher the firms customer equity. The Day Chocolate is actively binding with new customers and keeping in touch with them through social media like twitter and Facebook. They also have an annual poetry contest. By doing this, they become a lifestyle brand, and increase their customer equity Marketing mix The marketing mix is a theory based on four P’s, Product, Price, Place and Promotion. The product of Day Chocolate is, obviously, chocolate. They sell many different flavors of chocolate and special Christmas and Eastern products. All of these products have a fair-trade trademark, which means that Day Chocolate has paid a fair price for the cacao. The price of a Divine Chocolate bar starts at around 75p for a 45 gram milk chocolate bar. This price is about the same as comparable with other fair-trade products in the market. The price is significantly higher than non-fair-trade products. Divine Chocolate also sells gift baskets on their own site, running from 10 to 40 pounds. The raw product, cacao beans, is imported from Ghana. Those beans are then shipped to America and the UK, where the cacao is turned into chocolate. Most of the sales of the finished chocolate bars is in the domestic UK market. The products are sold in all the large retailers and Starbucks. Co-op sells the Chocolate under their own label. The product gets promoted in many ways. Day Chocolate gets a lot of free publicity by simply being a fair-trade product. The positive things they do for the Ghanaian farmers have caused a lot of good, and free, publicity. Next to this, there is an annual poetry contest. Day Chocolate also advertises and samples new products to familiarize the public with there products. And last, Twitter and Facebook are extensively used to keep in touch with customers. Chocolate market trends In order to better understand the confectionary industry and mostly the chocolate market it is important that we take into consideration the general chocolate market trends from a few different national markets as well as from the global chocolate market. In the end of this section, chocolate market threats and opportunities will be examined in order to help build on the final section of this report, namely market expansion. Starting with USA, where Divine is present since 2006 only as a wholesaler, the following market trends have been distinguished: †¢Even with recession slowing down markets, chocolate sales have increased by 3% reaching 17$ bil in 2009. It is expected that the U. S. chocolate market will exceed 19$ bil in 2014. †¢Americans appreciate more the experience provided by chocolate than the simple consumption of it, chocolatiers making innovation one of their main goals. †¢Chocolate is seen as an affordable indulgence by the American consumers. Moving forward to the UK, where Divine satisfies customer taste for chocolate since 1997, similar market trends are recognized: †¢Chocolate represents the top snack choice for UK consumers and it is bought by 50% of the population †¢Consumer’s level of concernment regarding the provenience of the cocoa and company’s ethics has increased †¢The more affluent middle-class parents avoid buying chocolate for their children †¢UK chocolate consumers tend to buy a chocolate flavor for longer periods of time than trying new ones †¢About 40% of the consumers buy less chocolate for health reasons. When talking about the global chocolate market that seems to be growing steadily, m.uch of the growth is attributed to developing regions such as Eastern Europe, Russia, China and India. Moreover, India is suggested as turning out to be the most lucrative place of investment into the chocolate market by 2014. In the already developed world, the growth comes from product differentiation, niche sectors and Fairtrade products. Firms from the chocolate industry understand how much innovation counts for sustainability and huge investments are made to innovate chocolate products. Another interesting trend is represented by the per capita consumption of chocolate that tends to be slightly higher in Nordic and Scandinavian Countries than in other European countries. Opportunities Threats It seems that most of the opportunities and threats that the chocolate market is confronted with have much to do with consumer perception of the product. Firstly, regarding opportunities, for some consumers chocolate represents the ultimate comfort food, even being considered in different studies that chocolate works as an aphrodisiac or can be helpful against depression. Another opportunity is represented by the meaning of chocolate when it is offered as a gift. Many anniversaries, holidays, birthdays act as opportunities for chocolate to be bought and given as a gift. Secondly, moving to threats, chocolate is seen by some potential consumers as being unhealthy by making them gain weight and their children have an anxious behavior. Moreover, consumers question the ethics of the firm producing chocolate and provenience of the cocoa beans. ? Day Chocolate marketing recommendation. After discussing Day Chocolate brand’s strength and weaknesses, market opportunities and threats, it is conclusive that Day Chocolate has a bright future ahead by continuing to deliver satisfaction to its consumers through same products, but opportunities of becoming even more successful should not be overlooked. Firstly, the consumer is becoming more aware of the properties of the product, from the cocoa beans used for making the chocolate to the nutrition figures on the back of the wrapping and to the impact the buying of a chocolate bar, for example, would have on the land of provenience of the beans. Day Chocolate gives the consumer the opportunity of participating to developing of such areas as Ghana with the help of Fairtrade demonstrating that the company understands consumer concerns. By continuing to provide a means of consumer participation to Fairtrade and development of third world countries, Day Chocolate will definitely satisfy the niche of concerned consumers. Secondly, regarding the consumers concerned with the health issue of chocolate, Day Chocolate could easily promote a dark chocolate or a rice chocolate product relating it to the health benefits these types of chocolate present. This way the consumers will feel even more that their concerns are listened to and cared for, Day Chocolate improving customer relationship. Thirdly, when talking about the countries that present a considerable market increase in the latest periods of time, Russia, India, China, even Eastern Europe should be definitely considered as potential market targets and further research should be undertaken in order to see how profitable it would be to expand into one or more of these markets. Moreover, many economists argue that India will prove to be the most lucrative chocolate market by 2014. The matter of distance, cultural as well as psychic should not be overlooked when considering the markets mentioned above, even if the numbers are presenting tempting opportunities for Day Chocolate. The company did not expand so many times that necessary experience could be attributed to the firm’s advantages, a factor that makes us look for expansion to a closer, culturally as well as geographically, area in Europe. Moreover, when considering expansion as an alternative, significant data show that Scandinavian countries Germany have a great chocolate market that is growing annually. In conclusion, the Day Chocolate company’s products offer great satisfaction for consumers concerned with fair trading and give them the opportunity of participating to the development of the lands of provenience for the cocoa beans. For consumers concerned with health issues new, health focused products could be marketed. After considering new products, new markets have also been considered. Alternatives are present both in Europe as well as outside Europe, but only the ones closer to the home market would make most economical and managerial sense. Expansion. In the past years since the founding of the Devine Chocolate, the company has shown to be successful, obtaining a large market share, a excellent brand image, big profits, good business strategy, and the company’s success is still growing. The company has a good market position and it is not likely to be having large problems in the short term, as well as long term orientation. However, it is wise to keep on searching for opportunities to become even more successful in the future. Therefore a tempting and logical step would be to expand the company’s business across the domestic market borders. To make the expansion a success, the risk of failure should be low. Therefore the market should behave similar to the English chocolate market so that cultural distance does not represent too much of an impediment. Day Chocolate needs to search for such a market because the key of the company’s success is the fact that the English chocolate market consists of a large market for luxury chocolate and product awareness such as the Fair-Trade. Besides that, the flavor of the chocolate was adapted to the taste of the English consumers. This means looking for a market where consumers are willing to pay a relatively high price for luxury chocolate products, and have high product awareness. Studies by the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) have shown that the most chocolate is consumed by the north-western European countries and the Scandinavian countries. Below you find a list of the 15 countries with the highest chocolate consumption per person in 2005. Germany †¦ 11. 12 kilograms of chocolate per person (up 7. 8% from 2002), Belgium †¦ 11. 03 kgs (up 24. 2%), Switzerland †¦ 10. 74 kgs (down 1. 7%), United Kingdom †¦ 10. 22 kgs (up 2%), Austria †¦ 9. 43 kgs (up 18. 3%), Norway †¦ 8. 53 kgs (up 3. 1%), Denmark †¦ 7. 74 kgs (down 16. 3%), France †¦ 6. 78 kgs (down 2. 6%), Finland †¦ 6. 77 kgs (up 3. 7%), Sweden †¦ 6. 76 kgs (down 17. 1%), United States †¦ 5. 58 kgs (up 4. 1%), Australia †¦ 5. 31 kgs (up 22. 1%), Italy †¦ 4. 26 kgs (up 8. 1%), Canada †¦ 3. 90 kgs (no change), Poland †¦ 3. 67 kgs (up 11. 2%). The United States is the biggest chocolate market worldwide, however the facts mentioned above shows us that the consumption per person is very low. Besides the average consumption, we should keep in mind that this is the very first expansion of the company. It would not be wise to start expanding in the largest market in the world as the first expansion. The same goes for Russia, China and India. Those markets have very high potential but just like the U. S. Expanding to one of these countries has a very high risk because huge investments will be needed and when the expansion turns out the be unsuccessful the results will be far more dramatic than in case of an expansion in a smaller country, in northern Europe for instance. Besides those risk and consumption reasons, expanding in northern Europe first would be wise because those markets are similar in customer taste to the U. K. market. The northern European countries have a strong and stable economy so the consumers are willing to pay more for a better product. Furthermore, these consumers generally have a high level of products awareness, Day Chocolate would definitely benefit from this because of its brand image and Fair-Trade label. Next to the market significance, also the cultures are not very different. According to the cultural dimensions study by Geert Hofstede the cultural difference between for instance, the U. K. and Germany, is very low. Thanks to this low level of cultural distance it is easier for the company to sell the products, because advertising campaigns do not have to be totally different, and overall procedures will be smoother than in a country with a totally different culture. This also stimulates to expand in northern European countries because the chance of success is proven to be high, thanks to both cultural, as well as market significance. Looking at the taste of the consumers, expanding in Northern Europe would also be a good thing to do because the general taste of the consumers turns out to look very much the same as the taste of the U. K. consumers according to a study by the ICCO. When choosing one single country to be the first one to expand to, we would advice to start in Germany. There are several reasons why Germany would be a good country to start with. First of all, the German consumers are wealthy and are willing to pay extra money for better quality products and have a high level of product awareness. Next to that, the taste of the German consumers corresponds a lot to the U. K. consumer taste. Furthermore, there is a very low level of cultural distance, which makes it easier to market the products. Finally, German chocolate market is the biggest of Europe, however it is not too big for Devine Chocolate to expand to this country because it is not much bigger than the English one. And this expansion will succeed other northern European countries would be very easy to expand to. All these reason make us conclude that German is the ideal country to expand towards. ? Conclusion When looking back at all the different components of the company that we have examined there are several conclusions than can be drawn. First of all there are two well indentified target groups which the Day Chocolate company is aiming at. In the case of Devine chocolate it are ‘concerned’ consumers who are willing to pay more for a better product and have a high level of product awareness. The second target group, of Dubble, are kids. When looking at the growth of the global chocolate market and the forecasted growth of the market, the future is looking good for the Day Chocolate Company. However the number of competitors in the market segment of high-quality ‘fair’ chocolate products is going to rise in the upcoming years, therefore expansion would be a smart move. Also product diversification would be a smart move. The chocolate market suffers under the ‘health-issue’. Therefore other, healthier products need to be developed. The brand image of the company is excellent at the moment, but in the future large numbers of companies are going to try to copy this. Therefore it is extremely important for Day Chocolate to keep on promoting itself as product aware company, and it should emphasize on its help towards the farmers and their local projects. The company should expand outside of the U. K. and Germany would be the most appropriate country to start with. The market is big but not too big for Day Chocolate. The consumers are willing to pay extra for good products and have a high level of product awareness and their taste is very much the same as the English taste. Furthermore, the cultural distance is low and the geographical distance is small. All these reasons make Germany an ideal country to start expanding the Day Chocolate Company outside of the U. K.

Issues Of Concreting In Hot Weather Construction Essay

Issues Of Concreting In Hot Weather Construction Essay It is important to take hot weather into consideration while building concrete projects because of its effects on the fresh and recently placed concrete. As of hot weather, the demand for water alone rises. This leads to rises water-cement ratio, and hence further leading to low potential strength. Also to be noted that higher temperatures gives rise to higher slump loss. Concrete cured at higher temperatures when compared with the concrete cured at ambient temperature, would not be as strong at the end of 28 days. It should be kept in mind that high temperatures, high velocity and low humidity can affect the quality of fresh concrete. The high rate of evaporation introduces early plastic shrinkage or drying shrinkage. Also the evaporation can remove the surface water which is necessary for hydration of the concrete unless proper curing methods are used. Rapid drops in the temperature introduce thermal cracks in the concrete structure. These occur when there are hot days followed by cool nights. High temperatures are largely responsible for cracking in massive concrete structures. Statement of purpose The main purpose for this report is to throw light on the problems arising during concreting in hot weather. And also to enumerate various methods via which the problems can be avoided to yield good throughput and quality for the concrete developed. Concreting in hot weather can produce adverse effects on the quality of concrete and structure of building for which it is to be used. So it is important to take into consideration hot weather when planning concrete projects. As the temperature of the freshly mixed concrete reaches 25 °C which is approximately 77  °F, it has adverse effects on the quality of concrete. Also to be kept in mind, that temperature above 32 °C i.e. 90 °F with lack of protected environment for concrete finishing and placement could lead to difficulty in producing quality concrete required. Among other problems, hot weather conditions can lead to rapid rate of evaporation. Problems and effects of concreting in hot weather From ACI Materials Journal : Impact of Extremely Hot Weather and Mixing Method on Changes in Properties of Ready Mixed Concrete during Delivery by Abdulaziz I. Al-Negheimish and Abdulrahman M. Alhozaimy Figure Nomograph The successful hot weather concretion can be done by assessing the factors which affect the quality and stability of concrete and then planning to minimize their affects. Hydration of concrete can be seen as an exothermic reaction, which means it generates heat and also the reaction rate is faster when the concrete is hot. The main concern we identify here is not the air temperature but the concrete temperature. When concrete settles, it sucks up water, which causes crystallization of particles around the aggregate particles. When the concrete is hot, the reaction rate is faster and hence crystals are formed rapidly, but they dont have time to grow strong. Initial strength might be high but the strength seen after 28 days suffers highly. It is seen that if the concretes temperature is higher by about 18 °C the compressive strength decreases by 10%.The other problem which arises while concreting during hot weathers is surface drying. There occurs more and more drying and surface lin kage if we have hot concrete, sun shining very hot and hot dry winds blowing. Also we should take into consideration the plastic shrinkage cracking caused in the hot weather. If outside temperature is very high i.e. the concrete is colder than the atmospheric temperature, the chances are that the water will be condensing on the surface rather than the surface drying out. There arises a major problem when the air is cooler than concrete. Contractors mainly aim to go for cooler concrete in hot weather. In this case too, hot weather can cause plastic shrinkage cracking, this case occurs then the concrete temperature is high and the humidity is low. In order to know,whether evaporation could pose a problem or not we use nomograph. By knowing air temperature, concrete temperature, wind velocity and relative humidity, we arrive at the rate of evaporation. Accordingly, if the rate is greater than 0.1 pounds per square foot per hour, shrinkage cracking is possible. Hot dry sub grades and frameworks may also lead to cracks by absorbing water from the mix. Heat and concrete are also challenged by thermal differentials. This means that one part of the concrete is warmer while the other part is colder. It is observed that if the differential is greater than somewhere around 20 °F, then cracks are likely to be formed. Effects on the characteristics of the concrete formed Setting time The setting time of the concrete decreases with the increase in the concrete temperature. This in turn gives us very less time to place compact and finish the concrete. Workability and slump Higher temperatures of the concrete reduce the workability of the concrete more rapidly with time. Addition of water to improve workability of the mixture decreases the strength and increases the permeability of the concrete. Compressive Strength High concrete temperature and high water requirement can lead to lower 28 day strength. In case more water is added so as to maintain workability, it leads us to higher water-cement ratio which results in loss of strength and durability. This increases the drying shrinkage of the hardened concrete. In the opposite case, if the water is not added the reduced setting time and lower workability increase the potential inappropriate compaction, this results in formation of cold joints and poor finishing. Concrete temperature From Concrete Journal (2001) Properties of Hot Weather Concrete and Countermeasures at Practice. During hot weather conditions, temperature rise in the concrete may happen due to heat of hydration. The development of thermal gradients may lead to thermal cracking in the concrete slab. Although at higher concrete temperature, the early strength is higher, its long term affects a low strength of the concrete, where as the concrete cured at lower temperature has higher strength. Its can be seen in the laboratory tests that the increased exposure to higher temperature directly affects the strength of the concrete after it has hardened. Poor surface appearance Increased rate of evaporation leads to drying and stiffening of the surface. Among the cases of flatwork, this can lead to premature finishing of the surface, trapping some amount of water within the mix. The compacter layer (from finishing) causes rise in the water to be trapped below the surface and hence deboning of the surface. There may occur colour differences on the surface due to different rates of hydration and cooling. Plastic Shrinkage Cracking From American Concrete Institute: Journal titled Plastic Shrinkage Cracking and Evaporation Formulae by Paul J. Uno. As discussed widely above, hot weather accelerates evaporation and loss in moisture from the surface. Plastic Shrinkage cracking occurs when the shrinkage stress exceeds tensile strength of the concrete. Plastic Shrinkage cracks formed may be quite deep because concrete has little capacity to resist shrinkage stress. Also the cracks continue to widen and form more and more cracks until the stress is relieved. It is also to be noted that a few times the Plastic Shrinkage Cracks reach to the free edges where unrestrained stress can occur. Thermal cracking From American Concrete Institute: Journal titled  Retempering of Prolonged-Mixed Concrete with Admixtures in Hot Weather by Dan Ravina. Concrete is exposed to thermal cracking when the concrete is initially placed and the interior of the concrete is exposed to heat rising from the settlement of the concrete and the heat of hydration. Rapid changes in the temperature on the surface of the concrete such as hot days followed by cool night leads to formation of temperature gradient. The warmer interior restrains the colder exterior, which wants to contract. If the differential of the temperature is large then thermal cracking may occur. The insulating effect is more in massive thick concrete, and hence they are more at risk towards the thermal cracking effect. Precautions or Rules to be followed for hot weather concretion From Science Direct : Journal titled Water evaporation from freshly placed concrete surfaces in hot weather by G.S. Hasanain, T.A. Khallaf and K. Mahmood. and From Concrete Journal (2001) Properties of Hot Weather Concrete and Countermeasures at Practice. Precautions should be taken to reduce the effects from high temperature against concreting. Use of water reducing, set retarding mixtures can help cutting the effects of high temperature concreting. In the cases where extreme heat conditions are unavoidable, chilled water or ice can be used as part of mixing water. Other methods such as sprinkling and shading the aggregate before mixing can also help lower the temperature of the concrete. Condition where theres low humidity and high winds, windbreaks and sunscreens or mist fogging can be used to avoid plastic shrinkage cracks in the slabs. Many of the following suggestions can be used depending on the atmospheric conditions and requirement type of the concrete to be formed: Concrete mixture designs can include set retarders, water reducers in order to gain lowest cement factor. Modification in the mixtures as appropriate i.e. changes in the composition percentages of retarders, moderate heat hydration cements, and Pozzolanic mixtures can be done to shield against hot weather concretion. Enough manpower can be employed so that as soon as the concrete is delivered, it is quickly placed, finished and cured. Mixing water and cool aggregates can be added to concrete mixture to reduce its initial temperature. Using a concrete consistency can allow rapid placement and consolidation. Sometimes in extreme conditions, we can adjust the time of concrete placement to take advantage of the time of the day when it is cooler i.e. early morning or night placement. Fogging the area above the concrete placement so as to raise the level of relative humidity can help satisfy the demand for moisture from the air. Rate of evaporation can be monitored using a nemograph which charts temperature, relative humidity and wind velocity. Covering of the placed slabs should be done with the damp sand beds rather than polythene sheets if barrier is required. When forms are removed, curing should be done to the newly exposed surfaces of the concrete. It should be noted that aliphatic alcohols are not a substitute for curing compounds and it is advised to not to used them. Aliphatic alcohols are used for initial screeding and finishing operations. Although aliphatic alcohols are compatible with most of the curing compounds, it is a good practise to check their compatibility in case the two products are purchased from different manufacturers. Another cut down can be done at the addition of water while at job site. Addition of water should only be done at the arrival only to adjust the slump. Later additions should be avoided. In no circumstances should the addition of water exceed 2 or 2.5 gallons per cubic yard. Water should never be added to concrete which is older than 1.5 hours. Finishing should be done as soon as the sheen has left the surface, this should be followed by immediate curing. Curing should be continued for 3 days and covering should be done to prevent evaporation or a liquid curing compound should be used. A very useful idea is to add white pigment to the covering liquid curing compound so that it reflects the heat away from the concrete surface. Moistening of sub grades, forms and reinforcement before it is placed. However it should be noted that standing water in such cases should be avoided. Field test cylinder should be protected by shading and preventing evaporation. Field curing boxes with ice may be used to maintain temperature of 60 °F -80 °F for the cylinders. Minimizing the effects of hot weather conditions Controlling the concrete temperature From Concrete Journal (2001) Properties of Hot Weather Concrete and Countermeasures at Practice. AS 1379 states requirement that temperature of the concrete at the time of delivery should be from 5 to 35 °C. In cases of higher ambient temperature, the supplier needs to take precautions to ensure that the concrete temperature is delivered is within the allowable range. There are a number of methods available to control the temperature of the concrete. This includes adjusting the temperature of the ingredients of the concrete mixture. It should be taken into consideration that since the aggregates constitute the bulk of the concrete and have the highest heat capacity, the effect the temperature of the freshly mixed concrete greatly. But the temperature of the aggregates is the most difficult task to control. The temperature of the cement doesnt affect much in this case as it has low specific heat and relatively small amount in the mixture. Liquid nitrogen can be injected into the concrete while mixing to lower the temperature. The latent thermal energy of the gas cools the mixtu re drastically. Although this process is economical only on major projects involving vast amounts of concrete for construction. Admixtures From Science Direct : Journal titled Water evaporation from freshly placed concrete surfaces in hot weather by G.S. Hasanain, T.A. Khallaf and K. Mahmood. Various types of admixtures can help lower the temperature and also reduce the evaporation from the surface. Water reducers can be used to decrease the amount of water required to bring concrete to a workable condition. Set retarders delay the amount of time required for setting of the concrete and hence increase the strength of the material. Although set retarders should be used with caution as rapid dry of surface is occurring at the same time. This can lead to finishing of the surface while below it is still spongy due to the set retarders. Thos can lead to non-uniformity on the surface. Cement type From Concrete Journal (2001) Properties of Hot Weather Concrete and Countermeasures at Practice. There can also occur additional benefits while choosing the type of cement. For example using slower hydration cements such as type LH with lower heat development rate can give extra time for placing and finishing. This also reduces concrete temperature and risk of thermal cracking upon cooling of the concrete. Cement content From Concrete Journal (2001) Properties of Hot Weather Concrete and Countermeasures at Practice. The temperature increase due to hydration of cement in a given concrete is directly proportional to its cement content. Therefore we should choose cement content depending upon our requirement of strength and durability. Conclusion Since hot weather concreting involves various challenges to be faced by the project supervisor as well as the workers. Proper pre-planning and organisation of the project can lead to good formation of concrete with good durability and strength. Successful placing and finishing producing high quality concrete can be done at 35 °C. A must use of nemograph should be done to monitor the rate of evaporation so that appropriate resources and measure could be taken depending on the rate of evaporation. No doubt Hot weather poses great difficulties for concreting but development of new technologies, techniques and compounds can further reduce the adverse effects.

Imagery in Jane Eyre

Imagery in Jane Eyre Much of the imagery of Jane Eyre is obvious-the chestnut tree, the grim landscapes, the red room that is like Hell. But two images are so pervasive that they serve as a substructure for the entire novel: fire and water-and their extremes, the flames of lust and the ice of indifference. The fire is in Janes spirit and in Rochesters eyes. Jane desires life, fire, feeling (p. 105); Rochester has strange fire in his look (p. 145). If these two are fire, St. John Rivers (note the last name) contains the icy waters that would put out fire, destroy passion. His nature is frozen over with an ice of reserve (p. 334); when he tells Jane, I am cold: no fervour infects me, her reply is, Whereas I am hot, and fire dissolves ice (p. 364). From the start of the novel, Charlotte Brontas fire and water imagery indicates the essential idea. The fiery passion of Jane, and, later, Rochester, must be quenched by the cold waters of self-control-but not destroyed by the ice of repression. If their bodies b urn, their minds must dampen the fires. Jane warns herself that secret love might kindle within her life an ignis fatuus (p. 153). Yet it is Rochester who is all-fire: when, disguised as a gypsy, he has his interview with Jane, she feels his powerful attraction and says, Dont keep me long; the fire scorches me. Rochester, for his part, realizes Janes double quality; she has the fire of bodily love, The flame flickers in the eye, but also the cool control of the soul, the eye shines like dew (p. 190). Earlier, Rochester insists that Jane is cold because she is alone: no contact strikes the fire from you that is within you (p. 187). When Bertha, Rochesters old passionate flame, sets his bed on fire, Jane saves him by dousing the bed with water. Miss BrontEs imagery is precise and explains the relationship between the central characters. Bertha represents the flames of hellfire that have already scorched Rochester. Jane, fiery though she is, has sufficient control to water down these f ires. Jane brought my own water jug, baptized the couch afresh, and, by Gods aid, succeeded in extinguishing the flames which were devouring it (p. 142). She will save them both from hellfire by refusing the passionate advances of Rochester. After she learns of his previous marriage, she finally gains release from her burning agony and imagines herself laid down in the dried-up bed of a great river, and I heard a flood loosened in remote mountains, and felt the torrent come .. . . (p. 281). Religiontrue religion, not the frigid religion that will characterize Rivers-is described in terms of water: the waters came into my soul . . . I came into deep waters; the floods overflowed me (p. 282). And this water in Janes spirit enables her to withstand what Rochester calls the pure, powerful flame (p. 299) that fuses them. Despite the hand of fiery iron [that] grasped my vitals (p. 299), despite her veins running fire, despite Rochesters flaming glance which is likened to the glow of a fur nace (p. 301), Jane flees to the wet turf and sheds stormy, scalding, heart-wrung tears (p. 305). This content downloaded on Tue, 5 Mar 2013 10:00:58 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions ROUND TABLE 217 Although Jane is soaked with rain in her wanderings, her emotional fires still burn, ready to be re-awakened when the dangers of Rochesters appeals have passed. Rochester alone must be purged by the fires he long ago lit between himself and Bertha. This time there is no Jane to keep him from the searing, mutilating flames that destroy Bertha and Thornfield, and, ironically, put out the fiery gleam in his eyes. But Jane, meanwhile, is guarding her own flame from the freezing heartlessness of St. John Rivers. His ice kisses cannot reach her. She cannot forever keep the fires of my nature continually low, to compel it to burn inwardly and never utter a cry, though the imprisoned flame consumed vital after vital (p. 417). She escapes from Rivers chilling grasp and returns to the scorched ruin of Rochester where she can kindle the lustre of his lamp which has been quenched (p. 417). Soon she re-awakens the glow of their love, and their two natures join in a steady flame that burns neither as wildly as the lightning that destroyed the chestnut, nor as dimly as the setting sun of St. John Rivers religious dream. The fire-water image underscores the basic idea of Jane Eyre: just as love must find a middle way between the flames of passion and the waters of pure reason, so Jane must find a golden mean between egocentric rage and Christlike submission, between Aunt Reed and Helen Burns, between the wild, Byronic Rochester and the tempered, controlled Rivers. Jane Eyre achieves this successful median in her own character and in her future life with the chastened Rochester. Image and idea join in a novel that not only shows the wildly passionate appeal of romantic art but also operates under the concept of formal control. This novel revolves round Bakha who is a sweeper boy. The author has chosen a conspicuous day from his life and through the presentation of the situation occurring on that particular day, he has drawn our attention towards the plight of low caste people. First situation is the pollution through touch of a caste Hindu. It creates a catastrophe. As Bakha walks along the road eating Jalebi and recalling the arrangement he has made for learning English, his gaze is drawn to a woman sitting in a window. He is so deeply lost in his thoughts that he has accidently touched someone passing by. Suddenly he hears, keep to the side of the road, o he low-caste verminà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ why dont you call, you swine and announce your approach: Do you know you have touched me and defiled me, you cock- eyed son of a bow- legged scorpion: now I will have to go and take a bath to purify myself. Bakha is apparently seized with fear, humility and servility. Of course he was aware of his status in life but it was a sudden shock. At this moment Bakha realizes for the first time that the society which condemns and humiliates him forms a moral barrier which he alone is unable to break down. This awareness of his own status is like a ray of light shooting through darkness. (P:59) in this regard, Alastair Niven in his book The yoke of Pity: A study in the fictional writing of Mulk Raj Anand comments that this revelation is, as instantaneous as light and as profound as darkness. He is doomed to be an untouchable in the eyes of humanity forever, and his dreams of attaining some sort of individual dignity are pretentions and naÃÆ' ¯ve.The second major situation in the novel is when Bakhas sister Sohini is molested by the priest. The irony in this situation, Anand makes us realizes, is that hue and cry is raised against the molested and not the molester. Thus we see that the holy men who appear in Anands fiction are corrupt to the core and in their eyes; the lowest of low are quite touchable for the purpose of satisfying their lust.For example, the ascetic in Coolie- he appears as Pandit Surajbhan in The Road seduces a childless woman under the pretext of turning her fertile. Here in Untouchable also, though the holy priest makes unsuccessful attempts to seduce Bakhas sister, the author has exposed the contradiction in the thinking of the so called high- caste people, while a mere touch of the clothes of an untouchable is thought to pollute a higher caste, sexual union is non- objectionable. Sohini raises an alarm to save herself from being molested by the priest Kali Nath but the priest is very clever and extricates himself from the difficult situation by shouting, Polluted, Polluted. The writer here draws our attention towards the unjust and condemnable behaviour of the so called high caste people who can easily go scotfree by turning the blame on to the suffering, sexually exploited girl. There seems to be a possibility of protest and revenge. But Anand underlines the fact that revolt in such cases is impotent and ineffective. Bakha knows the truth of the whole thing that he finds himself incapable of taking revenge. He returns home crestfallen and shout against the indignities, brutalities heaped by high caste people upon them.The heros immediate impulse is to avenge the insult but he fails to act. It is here typical treatment of the underdog as given by Anand is projected. The burden of the past, the attitude of the ruling class, and their longing for pity and sympathy crush the will to act. The oppressed underdog in the hero continues and devours him like a monster. He is a total picture of a dog crouching at the door of a banquet hall. When Gandhi calls upon the untouchables to purify their lives, cultivate the habits of cleanliness, and rid themselves of the evil habits like drinking liquor and eating carrion Bakha feels confused and cannot agree with him. But soon he feels lifted up when Gandhi calls upon them not to accept from caste Hindus leavings from their plates, and receive from them only good grain if it is courteously offered. The Mahatma implies that the untouchables should not compromise their self-respect; he also points to the caste people to be more charitable and kind to the untouchable. At the close of his speech he censures the caste Hindus for their ignorance of their religion and urges them to declare open all public wells, temples, roads, schools, sanatoriums to the untouchables, and carry on propaganda against untouchability. To drive home his point to the gathering, apparently to show how serious a matter is untouchability, he lectures on this social evil and the urgent need to root it out.

House on Mango Street Essay -- essays papers

House on Mango Street I never had a choice. They decided it all for me and the next thing you know, we were moved. One night, I come home and my father gives me a big smile and says, we’re out of here. I give him a puzzled look, but after staring into his grinning face, I realize what he means. After thirty nine hard years, he has finally found the home he has always wanted. Since my father was young, he had always dreamed of the house he would one day reside. He would say to his mother, my grandmother, when I get big, I will live in a house as big as New York. When my father began working, he started to save money in the bank, knowing one day it would be spent for his dream home. He would doodle out sketches of how he thought it would look. As he aged, his goal became more realistic. He had a higher paying job, and was able to move out on his own. Knowing he could not just leap into a palace at the ripe age of 19, my father settled down in a run-down apartment complex. He was placed in an old, one bedroom apartment. He would sleep at night, and listen to the other poor families complain and argue into the wee hours. After two years of this, he married my mother and they moved into their first house. This is where I was born and raised. Everything in my life has come from this place. The house was a part of me, and I assumed it would always be there for me. But three days before my sixteenth birthday, everything changes. They have been searching for a new place for months, and my father’s current job gives them the option to look at pretty nice houses. But they claim to have found the greatest bargain of all time. And without my input, they have picked this â€Å"great† house in the middle of nowhere, Wynantskill. So, my father tells me, get ready to say goodbye to your house, we can move to the new place in two weeks. And despite my wishes otherwise, this new place is going to become my home. And when I first see it, it is just as my father has described his house will one day be. He used to sit me down and tell me of the one day when we would move into this gigantic house. He described it as a combination of the White House, a submarine, and a New York City skyscraper. Never worried about how much it would cost, just knowing that one day he would be able to own this residence was all he needed. It’ll make thi... ...up the phone, it rings again. This time it is my father. Hello, son, how are the kids doing? Fine, fine, they are watching TV or something. They’re doing okay. All right, could you put A.J. on the phone? I’d like to ask him something. So I go to get A.J., and I find him bouncing up and down on the couch. I pull him off, and I thrust the phone in his hand. I go back to my room and try to fall asleep when A.J. comes back in, holding the phone outstretched for me. Yeah dad, anything else, I ask. My father tells me that A.J. told him what he and Nick have been doing for the past few hours. So? I say. Well, actually, yes, I was wondering when you are going to get off your lazy butt and actually do something for your family. You’ve been lounging around all day, and the kids still haven’t even eaten lunch yet. I trusted you to watch your brothers to make sure they are okay. But, you can’t take thirty minutes out of your day to play a nice game with them, or even stay awake to make sure they aren’t trying to drink Pine-Sol again. So, you are grounded until I can think of what to do with you. Anything else? Then I hang up the phone and go back to bed

Global Expansion Essay -- essays research papers

Before entering a dark place, most people tend use some type light emitting device to provide direction and guidance; so they are able to see what is in front of them, so that Do not fall. The same principal should be used when attempting to sell overseas. Before attempting expand into a new market domestically; your success depends on research planning and timing. This will give you the necessary light needed to find out if you have the right offering, and pinpoint a high-potential customer base. In addition, it helps you find the right partners to help you out your planning, then tapping consumer or business markets overseas have the potential to benefit your business tremendously.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The cultural divide is still ever persistent, but the good news is that it's getting smaller and smaller. It may never disappear totally because of the way most us tend to stay within our cultural bounds. Most of us Americans believe that we are supposed to be positive, dynamic and assertive no matter what but is the proper way to do things in other countries? Probably not. Yet, that’s the American way of doing things. Many of us are pretty comfortable with our own customs but normally feel threaten when cross cultural lines. Normally we feel uncomfortable or even threaten when boundaries are crossed, but adjustments must be made for firms to be successful overseas. In most of the world, business is about people and relationships, win-win relationships built on mutual trust. Of course, business involves selling and buying and making money. But for the most of the world, good business follows mutual trust, not vice versa. Friendship comes before money talk. In addition, mutual trust usually results from comfort levels they achieve with each other. Politically incorrect or not, let's face it. It is more difficult to feel comfortable with   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   people who don't look like us or talk like us. The failure to adjust, to the difference between people can cause an organization to fail miserable when trying expand in overseas markets. After investigati... ...ly been open to the world for 20 years therefore, its growth has been extraordinary. Vietnam's economy has weathered the global economic slowdown of 2001 better than most other Asian economies, largely due to the fact that it is less integrated into the world economy and less vulnerable to declines in demand for its exports. Vietnam is growing economy with a bright future ahead of it. For our firm to expand international we must continue to make low cost product to support the ever-growing elderly population and challange people of these nations the ability to moving around with little or trouble.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before we expand to any of these nations we need to ensure that have a firm understanding of their culture. Friendship and understand first, then the bottom line should be discuss. .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  References Retrieved October 5, 2002 http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rp.html Retrieved October 8, 2002 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/vntoc.html Retrieved October 10, 2002 http://www.singstat.gov.sg/

Film Sense Shot Essay

The development of formalist film theory was deeply connected with the formation of cinematograph as the autonomous art. The specific character of this theory, hence, should be understood in terms of theoretical and practical elaboration of film production instruments and thorny path of mastering various means for delivering cinematographic ideas and content to spectators. It should be noted that the basic elements of formalist film theory, such as montage, lighting, scoring, shooting etc. became generally accepted technical means in cinematograph, which were used irrespectively of theoretical approaches preached by a given director. However, it should be noted, that notwithstanding universal spread of major theoretical and technical findings of formalist theory, it has its own unique historical features, represented by the work of such notable contributors as S. Eisenstein and R. Arnheim. Generally speaking, formalist film theory may be described as the totality of views, which claim the centrality of technical and formal means of film production to maintaining its inherently artistic and cultural nature. Eisenstein, the pioneer of formalist theory, in his major works Film Form and Film Sense Shot claimed that montage is the central practice to film-making, because it covers its both technical and artistic aspects (Beyond the Shot, p. 13). The utilization of technical approaches to montage and shooting is essentially linked with general objectives of film production, as it is understood in formalist film theory, that is, creating meanings and artistic ideas through copulation/combination of images, shots and sound elements. Basic features and premises of the formalist film theory Formalist film theory is premised on the dialectical understanding of relations between form and content in film production. Technical means, including montage, shooting, lighting, sound are not neutral vis-a-vis artistic content of a given film. In contrast, their collision or sequence, help realize artistic ideas. Based on this theoretical underpinnings Eisenstein developed several approaches to montage, which should be utilized depending on specific goals director pursues. Eisenstein defines five basic approaches to montage such as metric, rhythmic, tonal, overtonal and intellectual (Eisenstein 1949 72-79). All these approaches are premised on the complexity of artistic ideas, which director delivers to spectators. The dialectical relations between shots in these types of montage are based on conflicts between volume, rhythm, scale, speed etc. Metric montage may be described as the control of time sequence of different episodes and images, irrespectively of their intellectual content. These include various formal transitions and interruptions in the visual sequence of shots. Rhythmic montage includes metric elements, but pays specific attention to the visual composition and content of shots, which is made to deliver complex meaning. One of the notable examples of this type of montage, developed by Eisenstein and practiced by his colleagues such L. Kuleshov and D. Vertov, is a famous scene from Eisenstein’s masterpiece Battleship Potemkin, often referred to as ‘Odessa Steps’. This scene portrays the massacre of protesters (including women and children) in Odessa by Imperial Cossack Forces. Metric and rhythmic approaches to montage are extensively used to portray the ugliness and brutality of Tsarist regime and its servants and the sufferings of ordinary people. To achieve this effect, Eisenstein ‘copulates’ shots of soldiers’ boots, marching down the steps with shots of baby carriage with a child in it, moving downstairs. Besides this, Eisenstein uses close images of people, who were killed and massive flight, caused by the gunfire. Temporal metric transitions, hence, are copulated with rhythmic elements, delivering emotional content (Eisenstein 1925). Tonal montage ranks the next stage in complexity of emotional appeal. It uses entire image to create certain emotional effects in spectator. Using specific lighting, sound techniques or special effects, a director creates certain aesthetic atmosphere, which communicates new artistic meanings to visual dimension of the episode. The next type of montage, which Eisenstein calls overtonal, represents combination of tonal, metric and rhythmic elements to produce complex psychological impact on the viewers. The characteristic features of each type of the montage are used in complex to capitalize on the volume, rhythm, scale and speed. And, finally, the most complex type of montage is intellectual montage, which does not only affect feelings, but imbues thinking and reflection. Objectives of formalist film theory Hence, the main objective of formalist film theory, as Eisenstein constantly repeats, is creating artistic effects and meanings, which are communicated to spectators. Eisenstein vividly showed this opportunity, provided by montage, referring to Japanese hieroglyphs, which create new meanings by adding new elements to already existing (Eisenstein, Beyond the Shot 14). Formalist theory’s basic objective may be described as creating conditions for artistic representation of reality in film production. According to Eisenstein and Arnheim, using technical means is not neutral vis-a-vis objective representation of reality. Inability to master technical means results in negative implications for films artistic content and precludes ‘intellectual’ perception of reality. Therefore, formalist film theory, seeks to overcome mere reproduction of reality, peculiar to commercial movie projects. Besides this, representatives of formalist theory hold that spectators should be influenced emotionally and intellectually in order to give them proper understanding of director’s ideas and subjective goals. This goal has its real historical reasons, because the formalist theory developed within a tradition of revolutionary propaganda films, such as Battleship Potemkin and Alexander Nevsky by S. Eisenstein. Arnheim, who is another important representative of the formalist film theory, showed that representation of reality peculiar to cinema, essentially differs from physical contours of reality. Hence, according to Arnheim, formal elements of film-making have great significance for creating emotional and intellectual effects (Arnheim 323). Arnheim gives vivid examples of unique modes of reality perception, generated by films. As he states, film images can not be reduced to physical dimensions. Neither a position of shooting, nor its objects can not be defined mathematically, because they are premised on artistic taste and understanding of reality. Moreover, as Arnheim states, film and visual realities significantly differ in depth, as films are ‘neither absolutely two-dimensional, nor three-dimensional, but something in between†(Arnheim 324) For instance, in Ruttmann’s film Berlin, the director creates interesting juxtaposition of two physical dimensions, depicting trains moving in the opposite directions (Arnheim 324). Tensions and Contradictions within Formalist Film Theory Notwithstanding positive elements, inherent in the formalist film theory, it has certain contradictions and inner tensions, which are often mentioned by the representatives of opposing film theories. For instance, Andre Bazin, one of the most prominent representatives of realist film theory, claimed that formalist understanding of form and technique of film production is manipulative and precludes genuine communication between spectators and artistic subjects (Bazin 48). Besides this, it should be noted that heavy emphasis of formalist film theory on formal and technical means prevents directors from focusing on objective cognition of reality and its representation, making it (reality) a hostage of subjective manipulation with it. However formalist film theory claims that it provides the tools for objective representation of reality, in fact, it is one of the most subjective approaches, even more subjective than auteurship film theory. According to Bazin, formalist film theory breaks world into many small separate pieces, which are then linked to produce structured, but subjective worldview (Bazin 48). Advantages of formalist film theory and its relation to other film theories Formalist film theory has its unique advantages, which are proved by the widespread utilization of its theoretical findings and innovations by film currents, which theoretically contradict its main premises. The importance of montage and other technical procedures was recognized by the majority of directors, who worked after S. Eisenstein. Today, we can not imagine any film, which does not use montage to produce certain artistic affects. Even documentary films, which represent a separate genre, essentially focus on montage. Besides this, deep connections are obvious between formalist film theory and auteur theory, which both put significant emphasis on the role of subjective artistic appeals and aims, which are necessary to maintain cinematograph as a genuine form of art. Both auteur and formalist film theories oppose neutral and quasiobjective film production, which is prone to standardization of techniques and approaches to achieve certain commercial results. In such kind of film production standard genre elements, ideological prejudices and common sense significantly erode the instance of auteurship, transforming films into faceless (without auteur) products of cinema conveyer. It should be noted, however, that formalist film theory is characterized by excessive emphasis on such elements of film production, which often have negative effect on the quality and artistic value. The parasitizing on formal elements and conscious manipulation, as it was noted, is harshly criticized by representatives of realist film theory. It seems that this critique has proper theoretical grounds. Realist film theory, represented by Bazin, calls upon to following the continuity of real images and events and finding artistic meanings in their mere existence. In this view artistic truths should be found in difficult relations between time and space, which entails montage, having subordinate function. Moreover, unlike realist film theory, formalism leaves practically no room for the freedom of interpretation and understanding, aggressively imposing already designed meanings and interpretations on spectators. Such important elements used in realist film theory as deep shot and focus, which help meet its theoretic goals, are ignored in formalist film theory. Failing to master these tools leads to losing visual integrity of reality, which is, according to Bazin, is even more important than montage (Bazin 49). Formalism in Hitchcock’s Spellbound We have already mentioned the use of formalist theory of montage in Eisenstein’s film Battleship Potemkin. However, it should be noted that crucial aspects of formalist film theory may be found in films, directed by people, who are not openly associated with this tradition. This is, for instance, the case with Hitchcock, who based his techniques of film production on Expressionist approach. Hitchcock’s film is based on psychoanalytic and surrealist subjects, which may be proved by its plot and extensive use of Dali’s designs in the Brown’s mysterious dream. One of the major characteristics of Spellbound, which links it with formalist film theory, is that it distorts normal physical perception of time and space in reality. As we remember, Arnheim’s main requirement for film production referred to its creative approach to time and space, designed to break false continuity and present artistic sequence. Hitchcock pays primarily attention to the characterization of different protagonists and objects, but not on their appearances and actions, which is so characteristic of mainstream thrillers. The characters of Constance, false Dr. Edwards, Dr. Murchison are developed in a coherent way, following strict formal structure of plot development. Besides this, Hitchcock utilizes other techniques of formalist film theory, such as fragmentary editing, psychological collision of shots, various lighting effects, and extreme angles. Moreover, Hitchcock uses different approaches to montage, elaborated by Eisenstein. Rhythmic and tonal types of montage are extensively used in scenes, designed to produce strong emotional effects on the spectators. Rhythmic montage is used in the scene depicting Ballantine/Brown/false Edwards phobia of seeing black lines on white things, when these objects are juxtaposed with protagonists’ scared look. Another example includes Constance reading false Edward’s book on the guilt complex and notices that Dr. Edward’s signature differs from that of the man who is the author of the book (real Dr. Edwards). Intellectual type of montage, developed by Eisenstein is evident in surrealist dream scene, when false Dr. Edwards looks at the wall covered with eyes. The same episode includes rhythmic juxtaposition of the close-up shots of Constance and Brown, looking at each other, as well as purely technical tool of shots’ imposition, which creates flexible and vague atmosphere of surrealist dream. Another episode including this type of montage is when Constance, while recollecting Brown’s dream, realizes that the real murderer is Dr. Murchison. In this scene, her recollection of the dream is juxtaposed with her thinking process and eventual discovery. To sum it up, we have analyzed basic characteristics of formalist film theory, its objectives, positive and negative aspects and relation to other film theories. Practical realization of formalist film theory was researched based on the examples of Eisenstein’s Battleship of Potemkin and Hitchcock’s Spellbound. Works Cited Arnheim, Rudolf. Film as Art. University of California Press,1957. Bazin, Andre. What is cinema? Vol. 1 & 2 (Hugh Gray, Trans. , Ed. ). Berkeley, University of California Press, 1967-71. Eisenstein, Sergei, Film Form: Essays in Film Theory, New York, Hartcourt. Trans. Jay Leyda, 1949. Eisenstein, Sergei. dir. Battleship Potemkin, 1925, USSR. Hitchcock, Alfred. dir. Spellbound. 1945, USA, Vanguard Films. Ð °