Shc 31 1.1 1.2

SHC 311. 11. 2 Communication 1. 1 Communication is an integral part of everyday life, especially for children, Who may not be able to vocalise their needs, and be able to carry out their Own basic needs, there are many reasons for communication and these include: Expressing basic needs and requirements Expressing distress, discomfort To inform others of situations For safety Communication can also provide reassurance and comfort, it can help to diffuse situations, and it is also used to offer encouragement. 1. 2 Communication effects relationships, in a positive way it can build trust and attachments.Children in my care range in ages from a new-born, to age 10, and with the range of ages comes a range of communication skills. The new born uses his cry as a main form of communication, to indicate his need to be fed, changed, winded, or just in need of a cuddle. His cry can be different for each need, and will increase in intensity should his needs not be met. A toddler that is beginni ng to learn words, may use pointing to communicate needs and Desires, but will possibly still revert to crying in moments of distress.An older child with full vocal skills may choose not to always use words to communicate They may at times use less obvious methods such as moods, and behaviour, these are usually used in times of distress. Just as when communicating with adults the written word can be used, a child may use drawings or role play. Tears can be used to communicate both sadness and happiness. It is important to remember that communication does not always come in obvious forms, and when dealing with children it will come in a wide variety of forms, and it is also important to communicate to them reassurance and support on a continuous basis.

Brush Yo Teeth

Brush your teeth added 8-7-97 Original Author Unknown Sung to: â€Å"Row, Row Row your Boat† Brush, brush, brush your teeth. At least two times a day. Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, Fighting tooth decay. Floss, floss,floss your teeth. Every single day. Gently, gently, gently,gently, Whisking Plaque away. Rinse, rinse, rinse your teeth Every single day. Swishing, swishing, swishing, swishing, Fighting tooth decay. * Brush twice a day with an ADA — accepted fluoride toothpaste to remove plaque-the sticky film on teeth that's the main cause of tooth decay. Floss daily to remove plaque from between your teeth and under the gumline, before it can harden into tartar. Once tartar has formed, it can only be removed by a professional cleaning. * Eat a well-balanced diet that limits starchy or sugary foods, which produce plaque acids that cause tooth decay. When you do eat these foods, try to eat them with your meal instead of as a snack-the extra saliva produced during a meal helps rinse food from the mouth. * Use dental products that contain fluoride, including toothpaste. * Make sure that your children's drinking water is fluoridated.If your water supply; municipal, well or bottled does not contain fluoride, your dentist or pediatrician may prescribe daily fluoride supplements. * Take your child to the dentist for regular checkups. What Brushing Techniques Can I Show My Child? You may want to supervise your children until they get the hang of these simple steps: * Use a pea-sized dab of an ADA-accepted fluoride toothpaste. Take care that your child does not swallow the toothpaste. * Using a soft-bristled toothbrush, brush the inside surface of each tooth first, where plaque may accumulate most.Brush gently back and forth. * Clean the outer surfaces of each tooth. Angle the brush along the outer gumline. Gently brush back and forth. * Brush the chewing surface of each tooth. Gently brush back and forth. * Use the tip of the brush to clean behind each front tooth, both top and bottom. * It's always fun to brush the tongue! When Should My Child Begin Flossing? Because flossing removes food particles and plaque between teeth that brushing misses, you should floss for your children beginning at age 4. By the time they reach age 8, most kids can begin flossing for themselves.What are Dental Sealants and How Do I Know if My Child Needs Them? A dental sealant creates a highly-effective barrier against decay. Sealants are thin plastic coatings applied to the chewing surfaces of a child's permanent back teeth, where most cavities form. Applying a sealant is not painful and can be performed in one dental visit. Your dentist can tell you whether your child might benefit from a dental sealant. What is Fluoride and How Do I Know if My Child is Getting the Right Amount? Fluoride is one of the best ways to help prevent against tooth decay.A naturally occurring mineral, fluoride combines with the tooth's enamel to strengthen it. In many mu nicipal water supplies, the right amount of fluoride is added for proper tooth development. To find out whether your water contains fluoride, and how much, call your local water district. If your water supply does not contain any (or enough) fluoride, your child's pediatrician or dentist may suggest using fluoride drops or a mouthrinse in addition to a fluoride toothpaste. How Important is Diet to My Child's Oral Health? A balanced diet is necessary for your child to develop strong, decay-resistant teeth.In addition to a full range of vitamins and minerals, a child's diet should include plenty of calcium, phosphorous, and proper levels of fluoride. If fluoride is your child's greatest protection against tooth decay, then frequent snacking may be the biggest enemy. The sugars and starches found in many foods and snacks like cookies, candies, dried fruit, soft drinks, pretzels and potato chips combine with plaque on teeth to create acids. These acids attack the tooth enamel and may le ad to cavities. Each â€Å"plaque attack† can last up to 20 minutes after a meal or snack has been finished.Even a little nibble can create plaque acids. So it's best to limit snacking between meals. What Should I Do if My Child Chips, Breaks or Knocks Out a Tooth? With any injury to your child's mouth, you should contact your dentist immediately. The dentist will want to examine the affected area and determine appropriate treatment. If your child is in pain from a broken, cracked or chipped tooth, you should visit the dentist immediately. You may want to give an over-the-counter pain reliever to your child until his/her appointment.If possible, keep any part of the tooth that has broken off and take this with you to the dentist. If a tooth is completely knocked out of the mouth by an injury, take the tooth to your dentist as soon as possible. Handle the tooth as little as possible — do not wipe or otherwise clean the tooth. Store the tooth in water or milk until you g et to a dentist. It may be possible for the tooth to be placed back into your child's mouth, a procedure called reimplantation. Fine motor and measuring Toothpaste Putty In bowl, mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 tablespoon white glue, and ? teaspoon toothpaste (not gel).Add ? teaspoon water. Stir until mixture is soft like putty. Putty may begin to harden in 20 minutes; to soften add a drop of water. Projects will dry hard in 24 hours. The more you pull and stretch this like taffy the better it gets. I also keep a small container like a tuna can on the table with a little water in it. This putty dries fast and if the children just dip their fingers periodically in the water and then handle the putty the few drops of water restores the texture. You can make a picture recipe of this and each child can follow the recipe to make their own personal amount of this dough

Case study on Managing Resistance Essay

What lessons about power, politics and resistance, in relation to organizational change, do you draw from this study? Resistance: Resistance to change is the act of opposing or struggling with modifications or transformations that alter the status quo in the workplace. Politics in resistance to change management – As based on the case study, it shows the confliction of interests and politics were the main reason deterring the necessary changes that should be implemented when the problem was identify. As the reward power of leaders will find all ways of means to suppress any emergent resistance which therefore forming an obstacle towards the possible change of the culture or risk management practices. -Despite the consequence, Paul Moore voiced out the problem ignoring the resistance from the upper management (Senior Executives) and managed to identify the issues that was happening 1) The company secretary failed to minute crucial comments he made at a formal board meeting reporting his investigation that the sales culture at HBOS had got out of control. 2) During the report for the group auditing meeting, problems such as systems and controls, risk management and the sales culture that he identify was intentionally being left out of the reports that should be represented to the auditing committee. 3) An ex-sales manager who had no experience of risk management was appointed as the group risk director after Moore was dismissed. 4) A close friend of the HBOS chairman was appointed as the chairman of the risk control committee who had no knowledge in banking or credit risk management to oversea such a vital position which were meant to challenge the chairman if problems arise. Five tips for: Managing resistance 1. Do change management right the first time 2. Expect it 3. Address it formally 4. Identify the root causes 5. Engage the â€Å"right† resistance managers

The Efficiency of the Counter Terrorism Program in Saudi Arabia Thesis

The Efficiency of the Counter Terrorism Program in Saudi Arabia - Thesis Example Terrorism has been a major focus of nations across the globe, since the events of September 11, 2001 in the United States and various terrorist attacks throughout the world. Despite the strong desire to curb terrorism, and a ‘war on terror’, there has been no consensus definition of what terrorism entails or the most effective method to stop it. Saudi Arabia is in an unusual position, as it is a highly religious state that follows the Islamic religion, yet condemns terrorism. Although it took Saudi Arabia until 2003 to effectively respond to the terrorist threat, the state has been vigilant in fighting terrorism within its borders and overseas. Saudi Arabia’s approach to terrorism has been to fight it by using a ‘soft’ method, which focuses on the rehabilitation of extremists, their deradicalization and integration back into society. The presence of terrorism has become a strong focus of governments and the media since the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. For most European countries finding a way of countering terrorism has been a top priority . The attacks were perceived as being immoral and were undertaken by people who were evil and wanted to destroy the way of live and values of the United States. The response was the beginning of a global war that has focused on the eradication of terrorism throughout the world. However, while this approach views terrorism as a recent event, primarily occurring against the United States, the truth is that terrorism has been present for a long time before these acts, in many different countries. 2. The aim of this paper is to examine the counter terrorism methods that have been and are being used in Saudi Arabia, with particular emphasis on the so-called ‘soft’ model of counter terrorism that has been incorporated. It is argued that Saudi Ar abia is dedicated to fighting terrorism both within its own borders and outside of them, and that their approach to combating extremism and terrorism has the potential to be highly effective. II. Literature Review There has been considerable debate in the western world whether Saudi Arabia is a friend or a foe in the so-called ‘War on Terror’. On one hand, many of the extremists who have committed acts of terrorism come from within Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia is Islamic, as are those involved in terrorism. However, Saudi Arabia has also publically renounced terrorism and has been working with western countries to try and stem the rise of terrorism. Studies on Saudi Arabia’s approach to terrorism have varied in whether they consider the country’s efforts to be positive or negative, especially in relation to the way in which people who have been arrested for terrorist affiliations are treated. One report focused on the counter terrorism response of Saudi Arabia from the perspective of human rights. Saudi Arabia’s most prominent mechanism of dealing with those who are suspected of being involved with terrorist activities is their incarceration and religious reeducation. In this report, the authors focused on the fact that many individuals are detained indefinitely

Managerial Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managerial Economics - Essay Example The trade agreements have reduced prices of goods and services of America in foreign markets and also in the home country; tariffs and taxes on these products have been eliminated to a considerable extent. Overall benefits because of globalization are numerous but the major one is surging demand of products and services along with reduction in their prices. As a result of globalization and trade agreements, foreign goods are available at cheaper prices and more American workers are losing their job as labor cost is rising at an accelerating pace. Globalization Globalization has helped in easing up trade between countries as it allows exchange of information, products, resources, services and markets at international level and gives organizations the opportunity of interacting with markets present in different countries. According to globalization theory, cited by Rogers and Hyatt (2012), there are about six processes of globalization that are dynamic and interdependent such as: 1. In crease in economic dependence across the world 2. Dramatic rise in exchange among countries on cultural, economical and resources level. 3. Breakthrough innovations in technological field allow quick access to important and new ideas and information. 4. Space and time has been compressed. 5. Institutions and events have been disembodied that allow restructuring and realignment of interaction on social level across time and space. 6. Reflexive processes have increased global consciousness. Hence, government policy makers have to take into account the factors that are impacting globalization as it has become an important part of every economy. In addition, many governments have changed their policies to support Foreign Direct Investments within their countries so that economy gets boosted (Castle, 2012). Trade Agreements – Protectionism or Deregulation Trade Agreements are being done on an increasing rate among countries to cope up with the recession that has significantly impa cted their economies. According to some researchers, Trade Agreements have helped in taking advantages of benefits being offered to each party; on the other hand, some critiques have argued that it poses threat to local manufactures and service providers (Shah, 2010). In economic policy, protectionism is used to create some restrain in trade through various measures like regulations, quotas and tariffs; it is used in discouraging certain goods imports and give protection to domestic markets as well. On the other hand, deregulation is done to have free economic activity that is free from binding rules of the state; the main idea of this attempt is to boost competition in the country (Labonte, 2010). Some critics have referred to protectionism as a barrier to free trade as it makes certain industries eligible for subsidization that means competition reduces to a greater extent as everyone is treated on an equal basis. However, deregulation allows easy trading amongst countries and mot ivates domestic producers to contribute more in its respective economy. Inflation Inflation is described as increase in price of goods and services (Amadeo, 2012). When inflation is increased, individual’s standard of living falls considerably; each dollar spent for purchasing will buy less amount of thing being bought and more money will be required to get hold of same goods and services. When the inflation is mild, it can significantly impact the economic growth of a country. Healthy economy is one in which prices rise slowly and gradually so that future increase in prices can be avoided. All government policies have to ensure that inflation is controlled so that prices of goods and serv

Human Resource Management & Information Management (MBA) pro 5 Essay

Human Resource Management & Information Management (MBA) pro 5 - Essay Example Strategic human resourcing decisions with ethical dimensions help exploit the potential of workforce for higher creative output. An effective human resources strategy therefore helps to bring together diverse ideologies and interests of the workforce to promote common goals. The increasing pluralistic format of societies demand ethically delivered HR goals and objectives so as to ensure that people from diverse background enjoy equal opportunity at workplace. Tailor (2008) believes that cultural competencies of diverse workforce need to be exploited ethically for improving performance and gaining competitive advantage. Strategic HR decisions help to create cohesive workforce that highlights cross-cultural understanding, mutual respect and shared goals. Indeed, HR decisions are redefined in terms of shared vision and collective actions that rely on fair and non-discriminatory practices so as to meet new challenges successfully. Moreover, ethical considerations within recruitment, performance evaluation and promotion, training development etc. become pertinent issues for motivating workforce for higher productive outcome. They not only generate job security but also help inculcate higher sense of self-worth (Beardwell & Claydon, 2007). Thus, strategic HR decisions with ethical dimension have wider societal

Analysis a passage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Analysis a passage - Essay Example ther support his claim, the author asserts that it is the presence of material gain that largely influences the association of people in the production endeavor. Their activities are geared towards an acceptable exchange that sustains livelihood. The only thing that keeps on changing is the forms of association exhibited by men. The reasons presented by the writer take into consideration the reality of the world and people in it. They address the real situation which depicts humans exhibiting the addressed behavior. Cooperation for acquisition of some benefits that are shared on agreed terms is a common thing. Therefore, what the author puts forward is trustworthy and realistic evidence. When men want to fulfill their needs and acquire something, they show cooperation with one another. That is not refuted. This passage explains to the people in the world how their relationships are structured. It helps them understand and evaluate their relationships for the sake of their gains. This is in accordance with the principle of genuineness in their associations. This implies that while engaging in the production of life, utmost honesty is

Movie - The Secret Life of Bees and the Black Madonna Essay

Movie - The Secret Life of Bees and the Black Madonna - Essay Example The Black Madonna does serve several roles in the overall plot. As a feminine symbol, it represents maternal love and the varied mother surrogates that soothed and comforted Lily as she pondered on her relationship with her late mother and the temporal and spiritual relevance that relationship held for her. In the movie, Lily carries a picture of Black Mary that she found while rummaging through her mother’s belongings. To Lily, the picture of Black Madonna symbolized her late mother and it is this picture that eventually leads her to August, a black woman who takes her in and acts as a surrogate mother to Lily. It is August that introduces Lily to the spiritual relevance and meaning of Black Madonna, whom she considers to be the divine mother to all of the humanity. Thereby, if on the one side the picture of Black Madonna connotes spiritual and temporal maternal love and support to Lily, in the larger sense the statue of Black Madonna in this movie does convey a sentiment of love, hope and human brotherhood to a racially divided South. In a symbolic context, the statue of Black Madonna which the Daughters of Mary worship every night does convey the meaning and relevance of having faith and believing in something that transcends beyond one’s innate beliefs and yearnings. Thereby, in the movie, the statue of Black Madonna does act as a symbol of hope and reconciliation for the individual characters living in times marked by deep-seated racial divide and social tensions in the American South.

Climate change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Climate change - Essay Example e glacial formation, which results into movements of the tectonic plates, overwarming and shifting of the ocean beaches and levels (Wlicock, & Hudson 17). A number of catastrophic events have continued to occur because of the climate changes causing devastating damages in properties and lives across the world. These include the Katrina, the earthquakes in different parts of the world, the tsunamis along the beaches of Asian continent and among other events (Wlicock, & Hudson 17). These events have created an urgent need for different world bodies to develop frameworks to mitigate on the causes and develop approaches that can reduce its impacts across the globe. A number of protocols have been ratified by different conventions and most of these are geared towards pushing countries into adopting safe practices that reduces climate change. In this paper, the topic of climate change will be critically evaluated to develop a proper basis of the causes, the impacts and mitigation measures adopted across the world. The paper will also discuss the conventions ratified among them the Kyoto Protocol among others that have aimed to reduce the im pacts of climate change (Scafetta 6). Climate scientists as the major causes of climate change have advanced a number of activities and most of these events are attributed to carefree human activities. On s superficial analysis, climate change can be seen as a situation caused by increased solar energy and radiations from the sun reaching the biosphere and earth surface (Wlicock, & Hudson 17). The movement of such solar energy is dispersed across the globe by oceanic currents, monsoon winds among other means. Climate change causes have been categorized into two classes with the major contributing class being the human causes. The other category of climate change that has remained relatively above human control is the natural causes, mostly resulting from long lasting human activities (Wlicock, & Hudson 19). Greenhouse gas remains

Business Ethics Case Study Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Ethics Case Study - Research Paper Example He had aided the false representation of Enron inflated profits and pressed for dubious accounting practices plus fraud, with the intention of enriching himself and other executives. However, in spite of foreseeing the coming demise of Enron, Kenneth Lay lied to the public, the corporation investors and Enron workers to buy the company stocks, even as he and other senior executives were cashing in on the shares and bailing out. Some of the stakeholders affected by Lay actions include the company shareholders most of whom were pensioners who had invested their life savings in stocks that eventually amounted to almost nothing as they lost their personal investments plus pensions. Secondly, his actions had a lasting impact on most of Enron former employees, who not only lost their source of income and livelihood, but also lost their savings in terms of personal pension fund and stocks Discussion Shareholders Through a consequentialism approach Lay should have mentally examined the conse quences of his decision to allow false representation of the company financial position and other actions, since he owed the shareholders the duty to provide them with better and accurate information. He owed them the trust to make sure that the company is operated with their benefits in mind, and that it seeks to bring value to their investment. The shareholders needed intelligible disclosures which could be understood by even a lay person without the use of any specialized expert, or possession of an advanced degree as it is the duty of the chairman to make sure that they get such kind of information (Brenkert & Beauchamp, 2010). A consequentialist approach would have enable Lay to make significant ethical decision that would not have seen the shareholders value crumple. Notably, he owed them the duty to come up with adequately-designed controls measures, and provision of attentive oversight that would have stopped some of his employees from pushing the limits of their investments . Lay should instead have provided the shareholders with information that could help them to maximize their payback and at the same time minimize harms. He had the duty to net balance good outcomes over the bad consequences for the shareholders. If he had shared earlier what he knew, then the shareholders could have come up with decisions which possibly could have saved Enron, even if those decisions could have tuned out to be detrimental to his position in the company. Perhaps he may have lost his job and trust of the shareholders, but telling the shareholders the truth about the status of Enron could have helped them to seek solutions that would have at least save part of their investments (Brooks & Dunn, 2009). Based on non-consequentialism theory, Ken Lay had a fiduciary obligation to progress Enron shareholders interests exclusively. Lay obligation to shareholders was to avoid and avert harming their investment in the company by observing pertinent laws of the company and regul atory standards. As a leader entrusted by the shareholders to oversee the operations of Enron, he had the obligation of adding value to the corporation and contributing to the ethical success of Enron. Instead, Lay negated on his priority of re-establishing investor confidence (Mulgan,

New Emission Standards Essay Example for Free

New Emission Standards Essay One of the growing Threats to Harley Davidson’s reign of dominance in US markets has been a growing awareness of the environment. In response to this, the bar for emission standards is continuously raised. In 2010 model year or newer motorcycles emission standards for both HC + NOx were reduced from 1.4 prior to 2010 to just 0.8 after 2010 (US Government Printing Office. 2013). For at least 5 years now, there have been rumors circulating that Harley Davidson would abandon the traditional air cooled designs in favor of a new liquid cooled lineup in response to ever growing emission standards (Huze. 2011). If emission control standards continue to tighten, Harley Davidson may be forced to do exactly that. Procurement of Raw Materials Historically, Harley Davidson has relied on limited number of suppliers for raw materials to provide the components used in its manufacturing plants. In some cases, the entire company’s business is dependent on just one supplier to deliver certain raw materials in time. The lack of versatility in this area means that rising input costs could lead to capacity issues in the long run. Additionally, increasing costs for commodities could lead to capacity constraints, ultimately leading to lower production (Harley Davidson, Inc. 2012). Competitive Landscape Currently, Harley Davidson holds 56% of the market share for heavyweight motorcycles, defined as those motorcycles that displace more than 650cc. To some this may be an impenetrable advantage in the market, to other, a source of vulnerability (Taylor III, 2012). For years, Harley has been the undisputed king of the â€Å"bad boys†, but in recent years up and coming companies such as Polaris are trying to muscle in to the motorcycle arena. Polaris, a company known for its snow mobiles has only recently begun selling motorcycles 14 years ago (Taylor III, 2012). Polaris has shown that it understands what its buyers want and has demonstrated success in achieving higher sales through its colorful names such as Victory, 8-Ball, and Jackpot lineup. With aggressive pricing strategies and comparable quality, Polaris has quickly passed foreign competitors such as Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki and is now setting its eyes on Harley Davidson after its recent acquisition of Indian. Harley Davidson – Opportunities (O) Global Expansion In response to declining domestic sales, Harley Davidson has decided to expand its global presence in China and India. In 1995 Harley Davidson entered the Hong Kong market, opening its first mainland China office just 10 years later in 2005 (Miller. 2012). Currently, Harley has 8 full service dealerships in china and have plans to open an additional 5 more within the next 5 years. Harley’s biggest challenges have been the understanding of foreign markets. In China for example, the motorcycle market was riddled with low cost economic alternatives for daily transportation. The average engine size ranges anywhere from just 50cc to 600c. With some of Harley’s heavyweights tipping the scales in the range of 800c to 1600cc beasts, the concept of heavyweight leisure riding was simply not understood yet in foreign markets. Harley would have to start from the ground up if it wants to succeed. Today, Harley has succeeded in growing its international presence in over 70 countries across the globe. Although growth into international markets has been substantial, there is still significant room for further expansion (Miller. 2012). New Product Launches Another area of opportunity for Harley Davidson lies in the arena of launching new products. In 2014 Harley expects to launch eight new models, a record number of new models within the same year. Harley realized that with the baby boomer generation coming to a close, younger audiences will demand new and innovative products. The company, now in its 110th year of operation, has launched a customer driven product development program dubbed â€Å"Project Rushmore† in hopes of succeeding in understanding what design elements are appreciated more by younger buyers (UPI.com. 2013). If they succeed, Harley could feasibly further expand its market share in both US and international markets significantly. Restructuring Plans The Milwaukee based motorcycle maker has succeeded in keeping its full-year shipment forecast intact despite signs of weakness in dealer sales in several markets (Reuters. 2013). In response to this, Harley Davidson has acknowledged the need to restructure the company into a leaner and more cost efficient beast if it is to maintain its market share and keep pace with the competition. Harley hopes to reduce the number of defaults on their loans, improve the company’s cash flows, and improve its liquidation strategy by having at least 12 months of projected liquidity in cash reserves. The company has set an ambitious goal to continue to widen its gross margin figures by nearly a full two percent in 2013 (Reuters. 2013). Harley Recognized that declining retail sales figures could no longer be simply shrugged off as weather related anomalies but were rather a generational decline of the number of loyal riders in the market. This suggests that younger rider’s between the ages of 18-34 are quickly becoming a significant portion of the market. Harley would need to restructure its operations in order to meet the demands of these new riders and develop both a strategy and a product that would appeal to them. Harley Davidson – Weakness (W) Product Recall Issues In late 2011, Harley Davidson recalled more than 300,000 motorcycles to fix a switch problem that presented a safety issue. The switch prevented the brake lights from coming on and could potentially cause the brakes themselves to fail as well (Associated Press. 2011). The defect has already caused at least one crash. As a result, the US Securities and Exchange Commission indicated that they expect that this recall will cost Harley anywhere from 10 to 12 Million Dollars. This coupled with another recall in 2012 for a faulty voltage regulator that affected an estimated 100,000 owners suggests that recalls are costing Harley a sizable chunk of their annual budget. Defects reasons have been tracked back to supplier quality issues arising in the manufacturing production chain. Dependence of Domestic Market Harley Davidson has recently celebrated its 110th year of business within the US. From its onset, it was clear that Harley’s target market was first and foremost the US markets. Much of Harley’s success has stemmed from targeting the baby boomer generation and appealing to big open spaces, the idea of freedom, and the feeling of exclusivity and belonging. Although business has steadily increased for Harley over the past century, it is clear that change is on the horizon. Harley’s competition is ever more aware of foreign markets and consistently devising entry strategies to further expand global market share (Burkey, 2009). Simply put, Harley has been lagging in this area. Harley’s flagship motorcycles carry a significantly higher price tag than foreign competing models making them appealing only to small elite group of riders that can afford the expense. Harley Davidson – Strengths (S) Brand Image Few people cannot instantly recognize the Harley Davidson brand. For over a century now, Harley Davidson has built a positive brand image by targeting a wide range of individuals. Harley Davidson has been continuously ranked among the top global brands in the world, holds over half of the heavyweight motorcycle market share in the US, and is ranked either first or second in the heavyweight motorcycle segment in at least nine countries across Europe (Harley Davidson, Inc. 2012). Historically, Harley Davidson has historically appealed to wide predominantly male audience ranging in ages from early 30s to late 50s. Recently, Harley Davidson has decided to further expand the brand by beginning successful marketing campaigns targeted at an audience of women. With the majority of its ads targeting a relatively specific group of individuals, Harley-Davidson has been able to build a community of enthusiasts around its brand that includes members from very diverse groups, and with almost no advertising. How does the king of heavyweight motorcycling keep its fans so loyal? It gives them a reason to belong (Rifkin. 1997). The symbolism of â€Å"belonging† is a powerful one reinforced by images of riding as part of a pack on the open road. This is further reinforced by a strong positive brand image that individuals frequently associate with superior quality and prestige of ownership. Broad Product and Service Portfolio One of Harley Davidson’s greatest strengths has been a long history of maintaining a broad product and service portfolio. Harley Davidson leverages its premium pricing model supported by a superior quality of its product line up ranging from an extensive line up of heavyweight, touring, custom, and performance motorcycles. Harley Davidson has also been able to successfully keep its owners engaged in personalizing and modifying their motorcycles by offering an extensive catalogue of parts and customization options. When you add the reliability of a two year warranty, and consider the superior level of service afforded to its owners, it is no wonder that Harley Davidson has been able to maintain the upper hand on its competition for so many years. The financial unit of the company has been successful in reducing the percentage of defaults and losses on its in house loans. While the annualized loss experienced on its managed retail motorcycle loans has come down from 1.58% to 1% in the last quarter, the retail 30+ day delinquencies on managed loans has come down from 3.68% to 2.56% (Trefis Team. 2012). Focused Research Harley Davidson continues to dominate market share in the United States commanding over 60% market share for the domestic market. Although Harley Davidson’s targeting of the youth market remains a subject of contention, their strategy remains crystal clear; to keep baby boomers in the saddle for as long as possible (Madson, 2013). To achieve this, Harley Davidson is exploring some concepts that may appeal to aging baby boomers such as a three wheeled Penster concept. The Trike concept has gained remarkable traction over the past few years and Harley Davidson has certainly taken notice. Harley Davidson Strengths and Opportunities (SO) Harley Davidson’s offensive strategy should focus on leveraging the company’s strengths such as its strong brand image and focused research and development to capitalize on opportunities such as further penetration into foreign markets. Harley Davidson is uniquely positioned with a globally recognized brand. This is a monumental advantage when comparing it to penetration strategies from relatively new motorcycle companies such as Polaris. Harley can utilize its strong focused research and development to study foreign market demands and develop a line of products to specifically appeal to that market. This would further help Harley in overcoming another one of its areas of opportunity around new product launches. Recently, Harley Davidson has shown significant progress in their expansion to the Chinese marketplace. Harley projects that within the next five years growing Chinese demand will support the opening of an additional 5 dealerships overseas (Miller. 2012). Growing global demand is proof that not only would this be a good business decision, but it is the necessary next step if Harley expects to keep up with its competition. Harley Davidson Strengths and Threats (ST) Harley Davidson faces some significant threats to its business in the form of changing emission standards for motorcycles, and an ever growing competitive landscape. Emission controls continue to tighten on a global scale making Harleys century long approach to air cooled engines all but obsolete (Huze. 2011). Furthermore, Harley faces some competitive threats from new entrants to the market like Polaris who are actively seeking to tap into Harley’s heavyweight motorcycle market share. Harley Davidson needs to develop a defensive strategy focusing on areas of strength such as focused research and development and broad product and service portfolio to ensure they overcome these threats. One solution would be a proactive approach to changing emission standards. Harley has been toying with the idea of introducing a lineup of liquid cooled motorcycles that would dramatically reduce their ecological footprint (Huze. 2011). Harley Davidson’s superior focused RD would have little issue with finding a way to adapt this new engine to existing models. Furthermore, the infrastructure for servicing these new engines, making adjustments, and maintaining them is already in place with is significant network of service centers around the globe. In doing so, they would not only be ready for any emission control changes that they may face in the future, but also be more competitive across product lines. Harley Davidson Weaknesses and Opportunities (WO) In recent years, Harley Davidson has literally spent millions of dollars dealing with significant recalls and associated issues (Associated Press. 2011). Most notably, two significant recalls that affected a total of more than 600,000 motorcycles over two years. Outside of the obvious cost associated with correcting the issue which is estimated to cost over 20MM over the course of 2009 and 2010, Harley Davidson is exposed to additional legal risk from possible accidents resulting from these defects (Associated Press. 2011). Harley has traced the source of the problem back to defects associated with its parts suppliers. This suggests the need for an improved quality control process prior to using the parts in production. Although this may present an additional cost initially, the reduction from costs associated with recalls off of Harley Davidson’s bottom line would be much more significant. Harley Davidson has already experienced success in its restructuring plans. The addition of inspection points could be seamlessly implemented with minimal impact to its existing business (Reuters. 2013). This would increase the chances of catching defects on parts prior to the parts being shipped to manufacturing. As a result, Harley would experience a reduction in the number of recalls in the coming years. Harley Davidson Weaknesses and Threats (WT) The combination of existing weaknesses to Harley Davidson’s business and the presence of potential threats in the market could potentially spell disaster. Harley should develop a strategy around minimizing their exposure to weakness and the avoidance of existing threats. Harley can achieve this by outsourcing the procurement of raw materials to a larger number of overseas suppliers while being supervised by in-house Harley Davidson quality control specialists to ensure a sustained level of quality of their products (Burkey. 2009). This would help to avoid one of Harley’s largest weaknesses, product recalls, as well as dramatically improve the availability of raw materials minimizing the impact that one single supplier could potentially have on their business (Taylor III. 2012). Furthermore, the fewer amount of recalls and the overall improved degree of quality would bolster the already strong Harley Davidson brand, improving its position in the competitive marketplace (Rifkin. 1997). Citations Associated Press. (Oct. 2011). Harley Recalls About 308,000 Motorcycles For Break Issue. USA Today / Money. Retrieved from: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/story/2011-10-2 4/harley-davidson-brakes-recall/50890560/1 on September 18, 2013. Burkey, Brent. (Oct 2009). Harley-Davidson Time for the tough decisions A plan to restructure core local Harley operations is in the hands of the company.York Daily Record. P4. Harley Davidson, Inc. (Aug 2012). Harley-Davidson, Inc. Financial and Strategic Analysis Review. Global Data. P1-3. Harley Davidson, Inc. (Jun 2012). SWOT Analysis. Company Report. P1-9. P9. Huze, Cyril. (Jun 2011). 2012 Harley-Davidson Liquid Cooled Engines. Cyril Huze Post. Retrieved from: http://cyrilhuzeblog.com/2011/06/17/2012-harley-davidson-liquid-cooled-engines/ on September 17, 2013. Madson, Bart. (Feb. 2013). H-D RD Product Development Center. Motorcycleusa.com. Retrieved from: http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/684/15599/Motorcycle-Article/H-D-R-D-Product-Development-Center.aspx on September 18, 2013. Miller, Paula M. (Jan-Mar 2012). Harley Davidson in China. China Business Review. P41-43. PR Newswire. (Jul 2013). Harley Davidson Post Second-Quarter 2013 Earnings, Revenue and Retail Sales Growth. Regional Business News. P.16. Reuters. (2013). Harley Earnings On Target As Restructuring Pays Off. Chicago Business Tribune. Retrieved from: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-04-25/business/chi-harley-earnings-20130425_1_harley-davidson-inc-winnebago-industries-sales-volumes on September 17, 2013. Rifkin, Glenn. (Oct. 1997). How Harley Davidson Revs Its Brand. Strategy + Business. Retrieved from: http://www.strategy-business.com/article/12878?gko=ffaa3 on September 17, 2013. Taylor III, Alex. (Oct. 2012). The Hurdles At Harley Davidson. Motorworld. Retrieved from: http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/03/autos/harley-davidson-polaris.fortune/index.html on September 17, 2013. Trefis Team. (May. 2012). Harley Davidson Rides To $59 As Growth Hits On All Cylinders. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/05/03/harley-davidson-rides-to-59-as-growth-hits-on-all-cylinders/ on September 17, 2013. UPI.com.

Explore Dickens presentation of education in Hard Times Essay Example for Free

Explore Dickens presentation of education in Hard Times Essay Explore Dickens’ presentation of education in Hard Times and comment on how this reflects a Dickensian vision of Utilitarianism Dickens’ presents The Victorian education system in ‘Hard Times’ in a fundamentally negative way, Dickens’ expresses the idea that having an imaginative aspect to our education is essential. He does this through satirising the education system and mocking the characters. Throughout the novel, it is a purpose of Dickens being satirical towards the education system. Dickens opens the novel with a satirical description of Thomas Gradgrind and his utilitarian educational methods as he teaches the room full of students â€Å"Facts alone are wanted in life† (9) Dickens satirises Gradgrind’s commitment to an education comprised only of facts as Gradgrind exaggerates that facts are the only essential thing in life. â€Å"Fancy† (14) symbolises imagination and wonder compared to facts. Dickens emphasise â€Å"Fact† more than he does with â€Å"Fancy† he does this by repeating â€Å"fact† itself, sounds more forceful. Gradgrinds view on education is his children are to never imagine or wonder. Gradgrind rejects the concept of fancy or imagination; ‘fancy’ has nothing to contribute to understanding; only things that can be measured are important. Gradgrind’s disapproving rant on fancy â€Å"You don’t walk upon flowers in fact† (14) to the students underlines that fancy is bad and it should be â€Å"facts! † (14) In his satirical description of Gradgrind, Dickens’ aim is of what he experienced in the industrial England during his time when education varied vastly, according to location, gender, and class, meaning that Dickens view on Utilitarianism is shown in a satirical way, and his beliefs stood out throughout the novel, this indicates how the education system was controlled. Dickens uses characters’ names to continue his satire of the utilitarian education system prevalent in Victorian Britain. Mr Gradgrind breaks into the word â€Å"Grind† as a means to crush, signifying his method of grinding down the students’ individuality and any imagination they may have entered the school with. Mr M’Choakumchild, breaks into â€Å"me, choke, child† Dickens’ exaggerates with the name as we don’t think the new teacher is literally choking the children in his care, that this Fact-obsessed creature will only choke imagination and feelings out of them. â€Å"If he had only learnt a little less, how infinitely better be he might have taught much more! † (15) This highlights that the utilitarianism system would function much better, if it were not so strung on facts. If Mr. M’Choakumchild had learnt less and been practically involved with his students more and would have taught far better. This is criticizing the way the system works. Dickens is suggesting that in the utilitarianism system, suggesting that ramming facts into students might not be the most effective way of teaching them. Not everything can be reduced to facts alone. Mr Gradgrind and Mr Bounderby are the main representations of utilitarianism and followers of the system. In Louisa’s proposed marriage to Bounderby, Dickens shows us a disastrous consequence of Gradgrind’s system that denied everything but facts. â€Å"You have been accustomed to consider every other question, simply as one of tangible Fact† (97) This illustrates that Gradgrind, who is incapable of expressing his emotions effectively toward Louisa, edges her into a marriage with Bounderby by stating various facts and statistics to her. Louisa is hesitant to communicate her feelings towards him â€Å"she returned, without any visible emotion† (96) David Lodge’s ‘How Successful Was Hard Times? ’ (1981) argues that Gradgrind’s ideology in his system is questionable, Lodge explains that it is a â€Å"primary index of what is wrong with his system† Mr Bounderby is also a character with utilitarian beliefs, doubtlessly one of the major characters that has a firm belief in the system, â€Å"you may force him to swallow boiling fat, but you shall never suppress force him to suppress the facts of his life† (23) He signifies the very essence of his ruthless principles that only has room for facts and statistics. ‘Hard Times’ outlines that a utilitarian approach to life is unsuccessful and costs those who follow their imaginations become robotic and inadequate to the system. Imagination and heart is found in the circus where Mr Bounderby and Mr Gradgrind despise â€Å"No young people have circus masters or attend circus lectures about circuses† (23) Gradgrind implies that circuses are not like a practical schoolroom. Dickens represents Sissy Jupe as an influential character of the novel who presents the value of a warm heart and embodies feelings and emotions. She is seen as a complete failure of Gradgrind’s system. However Dickens and the reader judge her as a success. The young innocent girl mocked by the teacher and presented as the dumb girl in the start of the novel, gradually turns out to be the most key character in the whole novel. Since the foundational significance of fact and the removal of fancy that Gradgrinds education obliges, Sissy Jupe will never succeed. Nevertheless, in spite of the education, Sissy becomes a young woman who is able to maintain her own principles and beliefs. The contrasting descriptions of Sissy and Bitzer are shown in their appearance. For example Sissy is described as radiant and warm â€Å"dark eyed and dark haired† (11) referring to her as someone who is the face of vitality. However Bitzer is portrayed as â€Å"what little colour he ever possessed† (11) and â€Å"His cold eyes would hardly have been eyes† (11)) Demonstrating that he is cold and emotionless with no heart and all calculation. Dickens uses Bitzer to demonstrate that other students are influenced by him, showing that he is a follower of Gradgrind’s system, whereas Sissy is the foreigner to the system. The Utilitarian education system relates to the industrial town ‘Coketown’ which consists of factories and â€Å"large streets like one another people equally like one another† (27) The town is linked to a â€Å"painted face of a savage† (27) that is described as barbaric and uncultured, the children are being deprived from the â€Å"ill-smelling dye† (27) Dickens suggests the society that the children/workers are living in is unsanitary â€Å"Jail† (28) indicating that they have no escape from their problems. The utilitarian system stamps out all imagination in the pupils and prepares them perfectly for the life of drudgery. Dickens describes as their lot as ‘hands’ in Coketown’s factories. Education presented in Hard Times is shown as satirical in Dickensian vision of Utilitarianism. This is because Dickens is able to create a fool out of the system cunningly. Furthermore it is certain that what Dickens has presented is humorous and convincing with making the utilitarian ideology seem absurd through the novel. I find David Lodge’s argument towards Dickens opinion as liberal and potent.

destination marketing plan

destination marketing plan 1. Background (270) China has become one of the worlds most important tourist destinations since China adopted its open door policy in 1978. And the self-financed international leisure travel has been made possible since the early-1990s. Chinese outbound travel grows fast after that and jumped to 31 million by 2005 (Breakey, Ding Lee 2008). The current growth and future predictions of outbound travel from China had impacts on global travel for numerous countries, including Australia. Whilst North Queensland (QLD) region has been one of the fastest growing tourist destinations for both domestic and international travel markets and the industry environment has been recognized as a dynamic business system subject to the influences of global circumstances, government and business priorities, changing communities and market trends. In recent years, international marketing has become an important issue in tourism industry. The Tourism White Paper, which was released by Australia Government in 2003, emphasize d the importance of international marketing. To ensure an effective and successful international campaign to attract international tourists, governments have invested significantly in international marketing. Funding for the improving the international marketing has averaged around $92 million per annum for Australian Tourist Commission over the past 5 years, and the Australian Government commits significant additional funds to tourism through the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources regional development and business assistance programs (Tourism White Paper 2003, p: 4). In response to this travelling potential of China and the increasing competition of the tourism industry, this marketing plan developed to improve international marketing strategies and effectiveness, increase North Queenslands international competitiveness as a tourism destination and increase Chinese visitation across North Queensland. 2. Goal Setting _ Mission (47) This strategy is developed as a destination marketing plan aiming at attracting Chinese tourists to North Queensland. The plan is a market segment strategy that delivers on the vision and actions and provides marketing advice to tourism bodies across South East Asia. 3. Marketing Audit (1374) 3.1 North Queensland Tourism Audit In tourism industry, the comparative strengths or weaknesses for destination are the products, services and amenities available to the tourism visitor. It is therefore necessary to consider what range of products and services are currently available to visitors within the North Queensland region so that gaps can be identified and strategies developed to fill these gaps. The tourism audit process has been undertaken using a combination of sources including data of Tourism Research Australia as well as searches of tourism literature. 3.1.1 Accommodation Profile There is a wide range of accommodation available in the North Queensland including hotels, motels, backpacker/hostel, luxury, resorts and apartment accommodation, self-catering, caravan parks and camping grounds. Smits (2004) reported that almost 25% of all accommodation establishments in Australia are in Queensland and around 17% of Queenslands stock is held within Tropical North Queensland, with no less than 78% of this is located in either Cairns or Port Douglas. There are over 10,000 available guest rooms in North Queensland which vary from serviced apartments and short-term hire residential villas, as well as a limited complement of luxury resorts and several new luxury resorts currently under development. Serviced apartments and holiday flats and units are continued increase in room supply; however, the boost in available hotel rooms was not met by growth in room nights sold, which remained stable in 2007. Consequently, the room occupancy was declined by 3 percentage point in the year 2007. While the room occupancy for serviced apartments was falling, those kind of apartments were the only form of accommodation in Tropical North Queensland to have strong growth in room nights sold, with an increase of more than 5 percent. The average daily room rate for the Tropical North Queensland region remains above the Queensland average, ranging from $109.25 to $172.04. However, the occupancy rates of Tropical North Queensland in 2007 were below the rates of rest in Queensland. 3.1.2 Transport and Tours Like the accommodation, there are a number of varying and different types of transport and tour can be utilised through the North Queensland, which include coach, coach, varying water-based options and aviation. Major access to the area for international tourists is aviation services. The international seats to cairns downs 21 percent on last year with 9 percent average annual decline from 2004 to 2009. In the year 1985, the Cairns Airport has developed as an international airport based on the tourism attractions of Tropical North Queensland, which is the second most visited destination by international holiday visitors to Australia (Prideaux 1999). However, until now no direct international services are available between mainland China and North Queensland. Chinese visitors are presently required to either transfer flights at Hong Kong or transfer upon arrival to Sydney, with several hours of undesirable backtracking. Getting about Tropical North Queensland is easy, with varying mode of transport including rental cars, bus services, taxis, limousines, aircraft, boats and trains. Bus shuttle services are regularly available to pick up and set down travellers at most hotels and accommodation establishments. Besides, private transfer buses are offered in many hotels and motels. The Limousine Fleets is unique in North Queensland, with excellent service and sight seeing. Major Car Rental companies are represented at the airport and many additional rental companies have offices in Cairns and other major towns around North Queensland. 3.1.3 Attractions and Natural Resources Attractions and Natural Resources are an integral part of the tourism product for any destination, including North Queensland. There is a diverse range available for the tourist spread throughout the North Queensland, including the Cassowary Coast, the Tablelands, Cairns and surrounds, Port Douglas, Mossman, Daintree National Park, Cape Tribulation, and, of course, excursions to the Great Barrier Reef and World Heritage listed rainforests. These attractions provide a blend of activities such as the opportunity to relax and to do heaps of activities in spectacular natural settings as well, which encourage tourists to increase their length of stay or act as a motivation in drawing visitors to the region. The attractions are mainly based around the attributes including: World Heritage reef and leading reef experiences, Tropical splendour and climate, World Heritage rainforests, national parks and wildlife, Savannah, Tablelands/highlands, Islands, Luxury resorts and service, Local tropic al cuisine, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island, which will be discussed later in this report. 3.1.4 Summary of Activities Following the audit of the tourism assets in North Queensland, it is identified that the region provides the following activities: 3.1.5 Visitor Information Centres Visitor Information Centres (VICs) is an important issue in the contemporary tourism industry which plays a significant role in the dissemination of information to visitors travelling within the local area. A key goal of tourism marketing is to encourage visitation by tourists to local operators, including accommodations, tours and attractions and to facilitate longers stays within the region. Fesenmaier (1994) stated that the tourist information center acts as one of the most important communication channels with which to modify travellers behaviour and to educate travellers about the benefits of visiting the state, and consequently attracts them to increase the number of days spent in the regions as well as the level of visitor expenditures. There are a number of significant VICs in major tourism areas throughout North Queensland such as Cairns, Cairns Beaches Palm Cove, Port Douglas Daintree, The Cairns Highlands, The Reef Tropical Islands, The Tropical Gulf Savannah, Mission B each The Great Green Way, Cooktown Cape York Peninsula, and Australias Tropical Rainforest that have large visitor volume. 3.2 China Outbound Tourism Overview 3.2.1 China: Outbound Tourism Trend and Visitors to North Queensland According to the research conducted by Graff and Hu (2008), with more than 13 billion people, at least 159 million people have an enough income level to afford travel abroad. China registered 28.85 million outbound travellers in 2004, 34 million in 2006 and 41 million in 2007 (CNTA 2007). According to the statistical analysis of Tourism Research Australia (2008), China is Australias fourth largest inbound market, with 356,428 visitors from China traveling Australia in 2008. Main purpose of Chinese visitors traveling Australia is holiday, visiting friends or relatives, business and education. In fact, China is forecast to be Australias largest source market by 2017 (DITR 2006), with almost one million expected arrivals by 2015 (TA 2006) and over two and a half million predicted for 2025 (DITR 2006). The top five destinations for Chinese passengers in 2001 were Asia, Europe, Americas, Oceania and Africa. Among them, there were 56,000 Chinese visitors traveled to North Queensland, accou nting for 7% of international visitors to the region (Tropical North Queensland Regional Update 2007). New Zealand, Japan, UK, USA, China and Europe account for 86 percent of international visitors to North Queensland. In contrast to the decline in Japanese visitors to North Queensland, there was a significant increase in visitors from China traveling North Queensland, up 30 percent trend, from 2006 to 2007. 3.2.2 The New Holiday System from 2008 The School vacations take place around winter, 4 weeks in February, and in summer, July and August. From May 2008, new public holidays were introduced. Following the list of new holiday system from 2008: 3.3 International Promotion Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) and Tourism Queensland (TQ), in partnership with the local tourism industry, are currently responsible and undertake marketing activities for Tropical North Queensland (TNQ). Tourism Australia (TA) is seen as the key players in international marketing, it is important that TQ, TTNQ and tourism operators contribute to the promotion of the destination in Chinese tourism market. The international marketing activities are focused on the major agencies in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and marketing aspects including the development of a unique brand based on nature and wildlife; advertising on television and print, online campaigns, television programme and film such as The Australia. The media in China is not fully privatised and is usually controlled by government. All legal television, radios and new agencies are owned by state and controlled by government. The internet usage has been booming in the past decade. The internet content is under a high degree of censorship and restriction from government. The main internet portals in China are sina.com, sohu.com, 163.com, online.sh.cn, tom.com and 21cn.com. 4. SWOT Analysis (534) The following situational (SWOT) analysis is a summary of the perceived Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the North Queensland. McDonald (2002) argued that a SWOT analysis is a useful way to organize the major findings since as provides an opportunity to impartially assess the competing business environment. It is important to clearly identify these elements since they formulate the platform for the marketing strategies to be achieved based on equipped with the regions capabilities relating to the market. Key Discussions in SWOT North Queensland has diverse landscape and unique World Heritage Areas including the strengths of a sense of security, sightseeing opportunities, beautiful beaches, and opportunities to visit the Reef, adventure opportunities, the option of seclusion, rainforests, and untouched natural environment. Moreover, internationally recognized icon the Great Barrier Reef, world Heritage listed, enjoys a strong reputation in China and excellent word-of-mouth, which is important factor in Chinese decision-making. International Competitors: Regarding with Chinese target market, the major competitors of Australia are European Union and America, which representing western culture like Australia. The official count of Chinese traveling to Europe from the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) was 1.8 million in 2005, comparing only 0.25 million for Australia in the same year. USA is always the list of top ten destinations for Chinese, with the advent of a bilateral agreement signed between the US and China in 2007. Chinese visitors traveling to America can be mainly attributed to multi-culture society, diverse civilization as well as its good price of luxuries. However, the growing Chinese community in Australia, due to the increase of immigrants and international students, provides the opportunity for Visiting Friends and Relatives travel and helps to ensure Chinese visitors feel at ease in Australia. America is considered one of the favorite destinations for Chinese, regarded as its diversity culture and exciting nightlife as Ever Bright City. Graff and Hu (2008) pointed out in their report that Chinese visitors gain positive experience in Hawaii from such things as access to casinos, to luxury goods and to its exciting nightlife. Compared with America, Chinese people thought Australia as a destination with less exciting things. However, Australia is regarded as more safety than America and the positive image continues to grow. National Competitors: Sydney Opera House, the Great Barriers Reef, and the beaches of the Gold Coast are registered as the main attractions of Australia. Consequently, the Gold Coast is regarded as the main national competitors of North Queensland, considering its similarity of destinations with beaches, and both of them are thought as coastal tourism, which providing tourists with beaches, diving and surfing. Gold Coast offers Australia best theme parks, such as Dream World, Sea World and Movie World. In contrast, North Queensland has its strengths, offering more combinations of nature and wildlife. Opportunity: The aviation development of Cairns international airport increases the access, which means more opportunities. Threaten: Americas weakened currency against the dollar attracts more Chinese tourists, considering its lower price of the inclusive package as well as the good price of products shopping in America. The New holiday systems, which changed two long-haul holidays into short break, encourage Chinese people traveling closely to their home instead of outbound tourism. 5. Planning Assumptions (177) Whilst there are some external factors that beyond control, in this report a number of points have been identified disclosing any assumptions made. These are listed as following: There are no significant political conflict between China and Australia government. It is the fact that there has been a gradual liberalization of the travel market. However, the Chinese government still maintains a high degree of power in term of controlling over outbound travel by its citizens. The economic environment is favorable in China, no serious financial crisis in recent years. Australia is seen as a safe destination to travel to by Chinese tourists. There is no significant increase of Chinese dollar exchange rate against Australian dollar. The comfortable climate, stable politics, clean water and unique tropical resources are not changed duo to undesirable reasons such as climate change. The importance of the Chinese outbound travel market and the continued growth forecasts has not changed, with increasing attention focused on the characteristics and travel behavior of outbound Chinese tourists by government and academia. 6. Strategy Formulation (1656) Market Evaluation/Market Research Since Australia was the first western country to be granted Approved Destination Status (ADS) in 1999, the visitor numbers have been continued increase, consequently China entering the Top Five visitor source markets in 2004. Commonly travellers can be segmented by the two main purposes of travel which are official, business and leisure travel and three main markets including Seniors, Families and Young People (Du Dai 2005). 6.1 Leisure travel 6.1.1 Seniors The Seniors market accounts for about 15 percentage of the total population of China and growing in number. Since the retirement age of China is 60 for men, 55 for women, which is fairly early, seniors are still healthy and have time to travel, with good savings levels to finance their travel. This market segmentation is likely to traveling on inclusive packages and during the off-peak seasons due to their limited English and appreciated tour guides. Cooperation with travel agency in China is very important when marketing targeted in this segments. Travel Agency in China According to the survey conducted by Du and Dai (2005), more than 80 percent of Chinese outbound tourists travel Australia on inclusive packages during their long-haul holidays. By 2006, there had been more than 15300 travel agencies in China, among which 672 are permitted to handle outbound travel (CNTA 2007). Key issues: TNQ has been packaged with a number of different destinations including the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sydney, Northern Territory and Melbourne. Based on the analysis above, North Queensland needs to continue to develop its packages and marketing to the Chinese travel agencies, considering the feature of Seniors market that they prefer traveling in group and are usually organized by travel agency. Besides, this age of Chinese is more likely to watching television program. It will be great if a television program or advertisement relating to North Queensland is announced during the period of their TV time, 8 to 10 oclock in the evening. Recalling in the year of 2003, there was a television program, Triumph in the Skies, contributes to the good reputation of Australia, especially Adelaide because of its nature beauty in the program. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_in_the_Skies) Furthermore, the Seniors market always subsidized or suggested by their children who want their parents to see the world. Achieving recognitions of their children is also helpful in attracting Seniors to North Queensland. Product: The Seniors group is usually interested in sightseeing, shopping (gifts for friends), meals, services, and amenities related to their home country. The product developed should concentrate on these aspects aiming at increasing satisfaction with North Queensland holiday; moreover, these factors should be promoted among marketing in Seniors. Pricing: The good price of package is vital in Senios market decision-making of destination. Since the major competitors within this group are Europe and North American, the price of the package tour would better lower than Europe and North Americans. Promotion: Key Brand/Positioning Message: 1) Gateway to one of the seven wonders and World Heritage-listed rainforest; 2) North Queensland offers a range of nature-based and soft-adventure holiday options, providing life-enhancing tropical moments; 3) Good price comparing to Europe and North America. Marketing Methods: Campaigns, Television Programs, Advertisement Promotion through travel agencies in China 6.1.2 Families Families market is the group with some high income families traveling abroad annually, or even twice a year. Du and Dai (2005) reported that family travel is growing and Southeast Asia such as Japan is a popular destination for family travel because of the good prices, close to home and convenient for shopping. The opportunity of North Queensland to this target market is to lifting the profile for shopping of luxury and business tourism combined to the key brand of North Queensland, considering the features of this target market. The new holiday system mentioned above should be taken into account since traveling with families during the holiday is considered a popular choice for spending time together and an educational experience for child as well. Shopping is one of the highlights of traveling abroad, since the prices of luxury of commodities are usually at least 20 to 30 per cent higher in the mainland compared to Hong Kong or Europe due to the high import tariffs and consumption taxes. Chinese consumers are generally price conscious and pretty likely to seek the lowest price when they consuming luxury goods. Graff and Hu (2008) pointed out that Europe is considered one of the favorite destinations for Chinese, regarded as a multi-culture society and diverse civilization, and of course its good price of luxuries contributing to the popularity among groups with high income. Shopping of luxury goods is an important aspect of Families market, especially the females. Since the price and variety of luxury price is hard to compete with Europe, the cooperation with Hong Kong makes the goal possible. North Queensland can promote the campaign of traveling package including North Queensland and Hong Kong. Firstly, most Chinese have to transfer from Hong Kong or Sydney, because there are not direct accesses from mainland China. If they are permitted to shopping for several days during their transfer, the inconvenience of lack of direct access is properly declined and more important, it increases the desirability of traveling North Queensland. While the males from Families group usually are successful business men, boosting the number of business events and providing business opportunities and views ill increase the pull factors of North Queensland, regarding to the males of Families group. Key Brand/Positioning Message: 1) Gateway to one of the seven wonders and World Heritage-listed rainforest; 2) North Queensland offers a range of nature-based and soft-adventure holiday options, providing life-enhancing tropical moments; 3) Luxury Shopping and Business events, opportunities and views. 6.1.3 Young People: The youth market, aged 25 to 35, is also on the rise. This segment may include students who go overseas during their summer holidays, honeymoon couples and others who travel overseers during their long-haul holidays. According to the research which conducted by Du and Dai (2005) analyses that this kind of group usually prefers adventure tourism and enjoys Free Independent Travel. Queensland offers significant opportunities for adventure tourism development and is Strategy has been developed. Queensland Adventure Tourism Action Plan 2008-2010 has been proposed aims to provide industry stakeholders, government and Tourism Queensland with a clear direction for the future development and marketing of the adventure tourism segment over the year 2008 to 2010. The product of adventure tourism in North Queensland is variety including Aviation (scenic/joy flights), Ballooning, Bungy Jumping, Scuba Diving and many more. By the late-1980s, Australia had become the number one honeymoon destinations in Japan and the position still remains until now (Australia-Japan Research Centre, 1992). And now China is forecast to be Australias largest source market by 2017 (DITR, 2006), the honeymoon tourism will be an great opportunity for North Queensland, considering its good reputation among the youth which recognized it as pure, natural and unpolluted destination. Since the word-of-mouth and social media are considered an important information source for the youth, they should be seen as the major sources when promoting North Queensland. Travel research consistently shows the importance of word-of-mouth (WOM) information sources in the process of destination selection, such as Murphy, Mascardo and Benckendorff (2007). The information from friends, relatives or other travelers will influence and determine consumer behavior. So it is important to increase the visitors satisfaction with North Queensland holiday. On the other hand, the promotion of travelers good experience can lift the perceptions of the North Queensland and aims to attract more visitors. The popular social media in Chinese young people include MSN, KaiXin, Tianya and Sohu, where are considered as important channels to marketing North Queensland and dissemination of information.

The Truth About Orthodox Christianity :: essays research papers fc

As described in The Grand Inquisitor by Dostoevsky The writings of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Helen Ellerbe show substantial evidence that the orthodox Christians did in fact steal from humanity the divine freedom it was promised by Jesus Christ. This thesis is supported in Dostoevsky's "The Grand Inquisitor" from his book The Brothers Karamazov. The dark side of Christian history by Helen Ellerbe also supports this theory. The Inquisition itself shows credibility to the theory that orthodox Christianity was established to conquer and control the freedom of humans. 2. Orthodox Christianity has a history of trying to deceive humanity. In her book, Ellerbe proclaims that: "Orthodox Christianity fostered humanity's shift towards a world view that pays little heed to the idea of divinity." (Ellerbe 165). In addition, the Grand Inquisitor "...claims it as a merit for himself and his Church that at last they have vanquished freedom and have done so to make men happy." (Dostoevsky 1081). 3. Reading "The Grand Inquisitor" while considering the history of early Christianity, the question can be asked, "Did orthodox Christians really believe in God?" Or is the God they believed in a guise that Christianity has put forward to have humanity believe in Him through its teachings only. The Roman Church had taken God's celebrations of nature and converted them to Christian celebration. In The dark side of Christian history, Ellerbe supports this when she writes "Unable to convince people of the absence of God in nature, the early Church instead incorporated aspects of the very nature worship it condemned..." (Ellerbe 143). 4. The Spanish Inquisition was established in 1478. King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I requested the Inquisition. At first, The concern of the Inquisition in Spain was over the conversion of Marranos: Marranos were Jews that were converted to Christianity using force and pressure by society. It is estimated that by the end of the 14th century about 100,000 Jews had become Marranos, although the greater number of Jews openly adhered to their faith even at the risk of expulsion. Some Marranos actually accepted Christianity, but most of them practiced Judaism in secret, while others waited only for an opportunity to throw off their Christian disguise (Encarta 99). Later, the Inquisition turned to people of Islam and attempted to convert the in the same way they had done to the Jews. And, even later, to those suspected of being Protestants. The Spanish Inquisition was similar to the first inquisition that was started in France.

Narrative Essay :: Personal Narrative

MY BEAUTIFUL PARROT AND MY TROUBLED ROOSTER I remember when I was ten years old, and my dad used to tell me how attractive parrots were. But I argued with him that roosters were more beautiful than parrots because I had never seen a parrot before. I remember Dad when he brought me a parrot in a cage and said to me it was the one that he believed to be the most attractive bird in the world. I looked at him and turned around and stared at the parrot because I was amazed. Since that day I have become convinced that parrots have many qualities, which make them superior to roosters. Parrots are more attractive than roosters. They have bright red or orange hood bills and colorful feathers, with pointed tails and dark black clawed feet. Its eyes are bright with a delightful look. Looking at a parrot is like looking at a rainbow that has many different bright colors, while rooster have fat reddish combs that look like roses that have withered. Its feathers have dull color that does not stand out. Their feet claws are dark brown like mud. Even though roosters have spangled feathers that are white with dark tips, still it is a common color. Parrots are also more intelligent than roosters. This parrot that I saw is only attractive, but intelligent. He can be tamed and imitate word and actions. Also he has the ability to mimic human speech. I remember my sister when she got into trouble at school, annd my mom was very upset with her, so she scolded her. After she had scolded her our parrot began teasing her with words that my mom said so she got really mad and left to her room. From that day till now my sister thought of our parrot as a stupid bird, but I thought of him as an intelligent bird. My rooster; however, on the other hand, had poor abilities and performed simple acts. One morning my dad tried to tame my rooster and make him catch a grasshopper, yet he caught our cat’s tail, so she screamed and chased him. My rooster was terrified, so he hid under the bushes for two days. Finally, parrots have better temperament than roosters. They’re sensitive and enjoyable. My mom enjoys cooking while our parrot sings the alphabet, and when she forgets the food timing on the oven, he reminds her.

Environmental Justice: Some Ecofeminist Worries About A Distributive M

Environmental Justice: Some Ecofeminist Worries About A Distributive Model ABSTRACT: Environmental philosophers, policy-makers and community activists who discuss environmental justice do so almost exclusively in terms of mainstream Western distributive models of social justice. Whether the issue is treatment of animals, human health or property, wilderness and species preservation, pollution or environmental degradation, the prevailing and largely unchallenged view is that the issues of environmental justice are for the most part distributive issues. I think this wholesale framing of considerations of environmental justice solely in terms of distribution is seriously flawed. Drawing on both ecofeminist insights into the inextricable interconnections between institutions of domination and Iris Young’s work on the inadequacy of distributive models of social justice, I argue for the twofold claim that a distributive model of environmental justice is inadequate and that what is needed is an additional nondistributive model to supplement, complement and — in some cases — take precedence over a distributive model. Introduction Environmental philosophers, policy-makers, and community activists who discuss environmental justice do so almost exclusively in terms of mainstream Western distributive models of social justice: Environmental justice is about the fair or equitable distribution of environmental goods, services, and "resources." I think this wholesale framing of environmental justice issues solely or primarily in terms of distribution is seriously problematic. Drawing on both ecofeminist insights concerning the inextricable interconnections between institutions of human oppression and the domination of the natural ... ...as helped me think through my own ecofeminist worries about how issues of environmental justice have been construed. So I use what I take to be the salient features of Young’s critique to sketch both the limitations of such a model for environmental issues and the reasons for saying that what is needed is a supplementary nondistributive model. (9) See, for example, my two essays, "The Power and the Promise of Ecological Feminism," Environmental Ethics, Spring 1990, vol. 12 (3): 125-146, and "A Feminist Philosophical Perspective on Ecofeminist Spiritualities," in Ecofeminism and the Sacred, ed. Carol J. Adams (New York: Continuum Press, 1993): 119-132. (10) Young: 18. (11) Young: 4. (12) Anthony Weston, Toward Better Problems: New Perspectives on Abortion, Animal Rights, the Environment, and Justice (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1992): 141.>

Internet Critique Essay

Internet is an incredible and enormous source of information and, thereby, information searched on Internet must be evaluated for credibility to effectively serve the variety of users. This paper provides a critique of the website â€Å"Healthline†, according to the criteria of Thede and Sewell (2010). Healthline is one of the popular website among Internet users, that offers users to search for health topic and medical advise online (http://www.healthline.com). The users can find different treatment options available for a diagnosis as well as information about the drugs. It also allows the users to search for a specialist depending on their residential area. The criteria illustrated by Thede and Sewell (2010) is important in guiding users to differentiate between reliable and unreliable information. By using this criteria users become knowledgeable about evaluating the credibility of a website. The questions posed in the checklist prompt critical thinking process, and leads us to find the underlying intent of the website. The criteria assist users to check the validity of information by finding if the information is peer-reviewed or verified by qualified editor. Only if the found health information were from a valid scholarly source then it would be trusted. If the user’s intent is to validate the information then this criteria should be applied to any other website regardless of the underlying intent. For instance, commercial website’s sole intent is to sale their products. The Internet users now can search on the web for other websites that offer peer reviews on that product. Source Healthline runs by a company Healthline Networks Inc. Originally founded in 1999 but re-launched in 2005 with current name. Detailed description is given about the company’s motto, board of directors and management team in company-info section. A search for a specific disease results in a choice to go to different websites or choose the articles that are listed. If the editorial team does the article then no author name is specified, but it’s reviewed by a qualified MD with or without their credentials specified. But if the article is from an encyclopedia or another publisher, there is only author name is given with their affiliation and article’s published date but no author’s credentials. The last review date of an article is shown at the bottom of the page. The publisher name is shown as well with the copyright information. If author name is displayed, there is no link to contact the author. The link is available if the article is licensed from another publisher. There is no link available to contact the article reviewer. Funding Healthline is found to be a commercial site, generating its revenue mainly from the advertisement. It’s a free website for users. The home page is attractive and shows the advertisement at top and bottom of the page. There is also video advertisement with no audio, resulting in less distraction. The advertisements are clearly labeled and don’t spoil the user experience, therefore making the navigation easier. Validity and Quality The home page of Healthline shows the accessed date on top of the page and copyright information at the bottom. The last reviewed date is displayed at the bottom of each individual article. New articles are shown at the home page with the name of the editorial team member on top. But if user is looking for something specific then some of the articles searched are almost two years old. User has to thoroughly search for up to date information. There are appeared to be no content and typing errors. Information appears to be non-bias. The language used is comprehensible to a general user and lacks the jargon terms. If user navigates to the company info, the purpose of the website is clearly stated. Some of the articles are written by the editorial team and reviewed by an MD with published date but no credentials, while other articles are sourced from a third party publisher with some links functioning. The website claims that articles that are done by Healthline editorial teams are reviewed by the board of certified physicians and medical editors. Detailed information about Healthline medical advisory board and their editorial team is also available on the website, including the name of each member with brief summary of their credentials. Healthline acknowledges licensing the medical and health content from third parties for publication, with clear depiction of their name and a valid link. Some of their third party publisher reference partner include A.D.A.M., GALE Cengage Learning, Gold Standard, NBC Universal, StayWell, Harvard Health Publications, Reed Elsevier and more. Privacy Healthline privacy policy is well outlined in the company-info section. They clearly state what information they are collecting from users and with whom they share this information with. They gave a detailed overview of what type of anonymous information they are collecting. Anonymous information includes the type of queries done on the website by a user, but doesn’t include any personal information such as, name email-address or phone number. User can choose not to pass-on this anonymous information by disabling the cookies. Healthline pledges not to share any personal information of registered users to the third parties. In comparison to the recognized privacy policy statement of HON (Health on The Net Foundation, 2011) website, the personal information collected is also not shared with any third party. However, HON also gathers â€Å"non-personal† information using their web-server. HON’s privacy statement is short and lacks the details about the non-personal information. On the other hand, Healthline company-info section not only clarifies in detail to the users what are the â€Å"Cookies† and â€Å"Web Beacons†, but also specifies the privacy policy for the children under thirteen. Summary To summarize, the criteria by Thede and Sewell helps user develop a sense to evaluate the sources and credibility of information, based on author’s qualifications and credentials, source of publication, website’s purpose, and website’s privacy policy. All of the criteria are found to be of most importance in helping user to evaluate a website for credibility, especially if user is searching information about their health. The healthline doesn’t meet some of those criteria. The criterion of source is not met because of the lack of consistency in providing author’s name and credentials. Healthline needs to develop a consistency in displaying author’s name, credentials, affiliation, link to contact the author, article’s last reviewed date, and link to contact the article reviewer. The validity and quality criterion is also partially met. The third party publisher’s validity is verifiable in some case where links are functioning. Healthline needs to specify credentials of the article reviewers as well as the name of their editorial team’s member who wrote the article. Also the health information needs to be up to date. Healthline meets the criteria of funding and privacy policy. It clearly expresses its purpose, and acknowledges generating revenues form advertisement. Its privacy policy gives user a detailed view about the anonymous and personal information and how it is used, gaining user’s trust.

Of Mice and Men – Why Curley is Intimidating?

In the book, Of Mice and Men, Curley is the antagonist who creates problems for George and Lennie. He is a pugnacious man who is small in stature. Curley has a Napoleonic complex and tries to compensate for his small size by fighting with people who are larger than him. This makes him feel bigger. The reason he is able to intimidate everyone by fighting, is that he has power over everyone. Being the boss’ son he has no fear of punishment and is able to do anything with impunity.He uses his freedom as an advantage, while he can fight someone and not get into any trouble the other person will and will not fight back. Lastly, he has an excuse to fight; Curley is small and if he thinks someone bigger than him is intimidating he can fight them. The main reason Curley is able to intimidate everyone is because he can do anything without the fear of punishment. Curley is the boss’ son and has a high power over the other workers. He is able to pick a fight without the punishment of losing a job.Curley’s freedom is intimating to other people, they know that Curley is able to do anything to them, and with his aggressive personality they are afraid that he could do something very severe. Most people like Curley will bluff and say they would fight, but with Curley the other people know he will do it. This lack of restrictions is a reason to fight more; since there is no punishment he does it more. Curley, with his ability to do anything with impunity will cause great hardship for both Lennie and George.Curley is very intimidating to everyone because he has the advantage of freedom. Not only that he can do anything he wants without a consequence, but the other person cannot do anything back to him. The other people know that even if Curley fights them they cannot fight back in fear of trouble. He can threaten other people by trying to get them fired. For example, George is afraid that Curley will pick a fight on Lennie and when Lennie fights back they wi ll lose their job. Not only are people afraid of losing their jobs, but they are afraid because there are many people on Curley’s side.In the book, Candy says â€Å"S’pose Curley jumps a big guy an’ licks him. Ever’body says what a game guy Curley is. And s’pose he does the same thing and gets licked. Then ever’body says the big guy oughtta pick somebody his own size, and maybe they gang up on the big guy. † This gives him a sense of power, he feels bigger because people are afraid to even throw a punch at him. With Curley around the ranch it will be very hard for George and Lennie to keep their jobs. Curley is intimidating to both George and Lennie, mainly because he finds any excuse to fight with them.Curley always got â€Å"a chip on his shoulder,† he is looking for any excuse to engage in a conflict. For example, when he sees Lennie, he gets mad at wants to fight. He uses Lennie’s large build as a reason to â€Å"sc rap†. Even George wonders, â€Å"What the hell’s he got on his shoulder? Lennie didn’t do nothing to him.† It turns out Curley just thinks Lennie is intimidating. George is also afraid that Curley’s wife will create problems. George has to guard Lennie from her or Curley could use her as an excuse to fight with him, even though Curley’s wife is a flirtatious woman.Curley can create many excuses and all of them are valid because of his high power. All the reasons that Curley is able to intimidate people with, are tied in with power. With power comes impunity, and being the boss’ son gives him the freedom to do anything without consequence. Since people are afraid to start a conflict with him, because of fear of punishment, Curley feels a sense of power over other people. Lastly all the excuses Curly makes are valid because of his power. Curley uses his authority in a way that intimidates everyone.

Sonderkommando

Sonderkommandos http://upload. wikimedia. org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Auschwitz_Resistance_280_cropped. jpg/555px- Auschwitz_Resistance_280_cropped. jpg Table of contents Introduction3 The need of sonderkommandos4 Politics4 gas chamber5 The work of the sonderkommandos8 Revolts within the camps10 Survivors12 Resources16 Introduction When one thinks of concentration camps, the link to the gas chambers will be made without difficulties. However, do people really know how they worked and who where needed to let these killing machines function?The answer is no, some can still tell how the gas chambers worked, but barely anyone knows who worked inside them and that they had to abide the most horrific events that took place in the second world war. This paper is dedicated to those who we don’t know about, the ones we would rather know nothing of, the ones who can never be forgotten. In order to understand what really happened inside these sonderkommandos and their highly unusual workplace, it is vital to obtain some knowledge about the Nazis and their ‘final solution’ first.This paper will try to give a clear overview of the road towards the implementation of the gas chambers, the life of the people that lived inside of these sonderkommandos, the uprise that took place within the sonderkommando of Auschwitz Birkenau, known survivors from sonderkommandos, and the aftermath. There is barely any information available about this topic, I tried to use as many different sources as possible. There are some testimonies made about some of the survivors filmed by the SHOAH foundation, which can be found on Youtube.Some other survivors have written down their story in books, and others drew pictures of the events that they witnessed. All of these sources where extremely important in the creation of this paper because the Nazis never documented anything of these events that took place within the gas chambers. Their primary goal was to extinguish all evide nce created around their ‘final solution’ of the non Aryans. This paper will mostly be focused on Auschwitz and its sonderkommando, since most information available is from this camp. The need for sonderkommandosBefore explaining what the sonderkommandos did and how they operated it is necessary to explain why they were needed. There will be an explanation from the political point of view as well as the invention of the gas chamber. Politics After the first world war, Germany was forced to oblige to the Versailles treaty. This treaty stated that Germany and its allies were fully responsible for the damage and losses during the first world war. This resulted in paying a high sum of money namely, 132 billion marks for reparations, it lost around 20 percent of its territory and it had to minimize the army.The German population was devastated by this treaty but they never saw it as official. During the Weimar government Germany experienced hyperinflation which was the effec t of the Versailles treaty, this was the first time that Hitler tried to get the power in Germany in November 1923, however, it failed but it made him and his party the NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) known with the public. Hitler got arrested for his attempt and was sentenced to 5 years in prison, he got out within one year.While he was in jail he wrote his infamous book ‘Mein Kampf’, in this book he describes his view on the Versailles treaty, the Jews and other minorities, the superiority of the Aryan race, and that Germany needs more territory for the Aryans. Hitler on the cover of his book, Mein Kampf http://www. nazi. org. uk/hitler-racial-state_files/image004. jpg During the elections of 1932 the NSDAP won a significant amount of seats in the Reichstag, it rose from 107 to 230, and it became the largest political party with 37,4 percent of Germany.Hitler became chancellor on the 30th of January 1933 from a government that was quite divided, even though the NSDAP was the largest party the SPD and KPD were also represented in the Reichstag. In this government there were only two ministers from the last named parties whereas all the other ministers were members from the NSDAP, Hitler almost took over all power within one year after the elections. The NSDAP made the ? enabling pact? which basically gave the parliament the power to make laws without consulting the Reichstag.When President von Hindenburg died on the second of August 1934, Hitler became president due to a law that passed one day before. This law stated that the office of president would no longer exist and that the powers of the president would merge with those of the chancellor. Hitler now had all power in Germany and he was able to implement his vision of Germany without any resistance. The Final Solution can be divided in three phases. The first phase was between 1933 and 1939, it affected Jews within the borders of the German empire.As Hitler described i n his book, Germany needed more space for the Aryans to live in and that the German race should be purified, this meant that the non Aryans had to leave. At first mass immigration sounded like the solution, it would be the easiest and cheapest option, however, the non Aryans would not just leave their homes and mother country for no reason, most of these families lived in Germany for generations. Therefore the NSDAP came up with a boycott of Jewish stores on the first of April 1933, this had barely any effect on Germany.Some Jews tried to leave Germany but foreign countries were not eager to let them in, emigration was not an option. The Nuremberg laws was the next step, these laws were written in 1935 and are also known as ? the laws for protection of German blood and German honor?. These laws had a large impact on the life of the Jews. The Jews were deprived from their citizenship, they were not allowed to marry or to have an Aryan, that marriages and relationships between Jews an d Germans were prohibited, Jews were not allowed to show the national flag or the national colors.Besides these new rules, the Nuremberg laws also stated who was considered to be a Jew. Half Jews were considered to be full Jews and were only allowed to marry a full Jew or another half Jew, whereas a quarter Jew was only allowed to marry an Aryan. After the murder on Vom Rath, a member of the Nazi party, by a 17 year old Jewish boy, on the 7th of November 1938. The Nazi? s retaliated on the Jews by destroying Jewish property on the 10th of November, such as stores and synagogue, this night became known as Kristallnacht. Besides the demolishment, 91 Jews were killed, and an estimated 30. 00 Jews were sent to concentration camps. After this event the majority of the Jewish population tried to emigrate away from Europe? s mainland, but again, like a couple of years before, other countries were not willing to let them in and most were deported back to Europe. Gas chambers As said before, Hitler wanted to free Germany from the non Aryans, when it became clear that mass emigration did not work, other options had to be considered. The Nazis had started with the compulsory sterilization of disabled people since 1933, an estimated 360. 00 persons were sterilized between 1933 and 1939. When Aktion T4 started in 1939 it began by killing children with a shot of phenol, who suffered from the down syndrome or another non curable illnesses. The second step was to murder adults with a range of different diseases such as: dementia, syphilis, epilepsy, and others. A lethal injection was a not very effective method because it was time consuming and too expensive. It was Hitler who recommended to use carbon monoxide on adults, the first test with gassing people took place in January 1940.The results were satisfying for the people who were concerned and it was applied to multiple euthanasia centers across Germany. Aktion T4 made 70. 273 victims and was shut down in 1941. Before the Jews and other non Aryans were sent to the gas chambers they were murdered by special SS groups. These SS groups also known as Sonderkommandos, when working on German territory or Einsatzgruppen, when working on foreign ground, performed killings by shooting entire Jewish populations to death. These mass murdering started from 1941 in the western part of Russia as well as in Ukraine, Bulgaria, and other eastern European countries.All victims had to undress themselves and they would be shot or killed by a gas van. The estimated amount of deaths that these SS groups are accountable for is around 2 million, which is 25 to 30 percent of the deaths on non Aryans made by Nazi Germany(approximately 6 million). These large scaled murders were quite hard for the SS men to deal with, the SS soldiers that were selected for these task were not able to keep on doing this without experiencing mental problems. Himmler himself had witnessed the work of one of the Einsatzgruppen in Minsk were a 100 Jews were shot.According to Karl Wollf, his face turned green and vomited after witnessing the event. Killing all Jews by guns was not doable mentally and economically, since gassing disabled people was a ‘success’ during Aktion T4, camps were designed with the implementation of gas chambers. When Germany took over Poland in 1939 all Jews were forced to live together in ghettos in big cities, that were easily accessible by railroads. By having all Jews together in large ghettos it will make it easier for the Nazis to deport them to concentration or death camps.Concentration camps were around since 1933, Dachau was the first official one to open, they were build to house political prisoners of the Nazi regime, they were forced to do intense labor, the living conditions were miserable. Around December 1941, Hitler decided that all the European Jews had to be exterminated, Hitler putted Himmler in charge of his ‘final solution’ which stated that the Jews were forced to work till death and the weak, old and disabled would be killed immediately. The code name of this project was operation Reinhart, and it’s sole purpose was to create extermination camps that could kill all the Polish Jews.Multiple death camps were build such as: Chelmno, Treblinka, Belzec, and Sobibor, even though Auschwitz and Madjanek are considered to be death camps too, they were also functioning as labor camps. Death camps in occupied Poland http://upload. wikimedia. org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/WW2-Holocaust-Poland. PNG The death camps that were designed and build during operation Reinhart all had overall the same layout and were all located near a rail line, this was important in order to get the victims easy in to the camp. Chelmno used gas vans and had no crematoria, the bodies were burned in pits in the woods.Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka all had gas chambers that worked on diesel engines, Auschwitz and Madjanek both used Zyklon B to gas the victims. The f irst test with Zyklon B took place in Auschwitz in the infamous block 11 on Russian prisoners of war, Zyklon B was previously used to disinfect clothes. These tests with this gas were very effective, it was less time consuming that using gas chambers operating with diesel engines and it was less expensive. The work of the sonderkommando When a train would arrive in Auschwitz, a selection was made between the ones who were fit to work and the ones who were assumed not to be able to work.The group of people who did not pass the selection would be sent to the gas chambers. Once arriving in the crematorium, they were told by the SS guards to undress themselves and to proceed to the showers. To make the process faster the victims were told that after the shower they would be provided with a meal. Within the undressing rooms there were little hooks which were intended to hang clothes on, the SS guards would tell the people to remember their number so that they would be able to find their clothes back after the shower. When entering in the gas chamber it didn’t look that suspicious since showerheads were placed on the ceiling.When the whole selected transport was inside the gas chamber, the door would be locked and an SS guard would pour the Zyklon B gas from the roof into the gas chamber trough a little opening. It took a couple of minutes before the gas started to work, it would spread from the bottom to the top of the room, after 20 minutes all the persons inside the room were dead. Once the gas chamber was cleared from the corpses, the whole room had to be cleaned and repainted in order not to look suspicious for the next victims. The bodies were send up to the furnace area, in which they were cremated.The whole process of arriving till death took place within 3 hours, multiple transports per crematorium would be processed during a day. The members of the sonderkommando were forced to participate throughout this whole process, their job consisted out of di fferent tasks. A few would assist in the undressing room where they helped people to undress and to get into the gas chambers, if a member would speak the language of the people who were about to be murdered, he would translate the orders from the SS guard in order to make the process go faster.Two members of the sonderkommando were needed on the roof of the gas chamber were they had to lift off the heavy lid to the opening for the Zyklon B crystals. After the people were deceased, an air ventilator would be switched on the refresh the air, the door to the gas chamber would be opened, after which the members from the sonderkommando had to drag every victim out by using a cane of a string of fabric. The Zyklon B gas had a weird effect on the dead bodies, a person would get rid of all its body fluids when the gas started to work.This meant that all the bodies were covered in urine, blood, vomit and feces. Once the bodies came out of the gas chamber, the members of the sonderkommando h ad to place the bodies on a small elevator which would bring the bodies up to the furnace area. Up in the crematorium other members had to put the corpses on a metal stretcher and throw them into the ovens. Once the bodies were cremated, the large pieces of bones would be crushed by some members in a huge grinder, all the ashes would be collected and dumped in a river close by.Besides working inside the gas chambers, the members of the sonderkommando also had to burn people in massive pits, the crematoriums could not always handle the amount of corpses that needed to be cremated. Another task that they sometimes had to perform was to walk a victim, mostly elderly, up a stair where a SS guard was hiding, who would shoot the victim in the neck. These people were not able to go in to the gas chamber and therefore were murdered in a different way. The members of the sonderkommando were not allowed to communicate with other prisoners within the camp.Their standards of living were higher than in the rest of the camp, they all had a bed and the food supply was better due to what they could find in the victims possessions. Even though they had a bit more advantages from other prisoners, the Nazis did everything possible to make their live harder and more complicated. A member of the sonderkommando dragging people out of the gas chamber, drawn by David Olere http://1. bp. blogspot. com/-GwK8gwHiSn0/TdLwHbiBY5I/AAAAAAAABfo/o5dL0rdbRas/s1600/Sonderkommando. JPGIn the Jewish faith it is not appropriate to touch a body when it is not clean, this is just one example of the methods the Nazis used to make the lives of the Jews inside these sonderkommandos more miserable. Besides witnessing the horrors of their job there was another factor that was a threat to them, the Nazis tried to replace the members of the sonderkommando regularly, they did not want to have survivors who could testify what they had seen and witnessed. In Auschwitz there were approximately 1200 workers imp risoned in the different sonderkommandos spread over the five different crematoriums.Revolts within the camps After news of the revolt in the ghetto of Warsaw and the losses of the German Army in Stalingrad and north Africa, the Jewish prisoners within the death camps got a little more faith in surviving their ordeals. Multiple uprisings against the Nazis took place within the camps. Treblinka After the last transport came into the camp in the beginning of 1943, the Treblinka prisoners were participating in clearing all the evidence from the Treblinka site.Mass graves were opened and all corpses had to be burned, when this work was almost completed, the Jews noticed that once the work was finished they would be killed to erase the last trace of evidence. On the second of August 1943 they revolted against the Nazis by attending a mass escape. Their plan was to take over control of the camp, however it failed, all prisoners stormed to the main gate and around 300 were able to escape. Most of the camp of Treblinka was burned down during the revolt. Sobibor When the prisoners realized that less transports were coming in, like in Teblinka, they decided to take matters into their own hands.Individual escapes were not a good option, since the SS would retaliate against the remaining prisoners, a plan had to be created that could get the whole prisoner population out. When a transport with Russian prisoners of war came in everything changed, one of these inmates was Sasja Petsjerski. He and a Jewish inmate created a plan where the SS guards and Ukranians would be killed, telephone cords would be cut, and the whole camp population would escape at once. The revolt took place on the 14th of October 1943, from the 600 camp population, 300 made it out of the gates alive.The estimated number of survivors is around 50 to 70 people. The 100 members of the sonderkommando of Sobibor did not participate in this uprising and were all murdered the next day. Sobibor closed down aft er this revolt. Auschwitz Within Auschwitz the plan of revolting against the Germans already existed for a longer period of time, there was contact between the polish underground and members of the sonderkommando. Even though members of the sonderkommando were not allowed to communicate with other prisoners, they established contact when picking up the soup in the kitchen in the women’s camp.Besides exchanging information, gun powder which was taken by female prisoners, was given to members of the sonderkommando. When the incoming transports were reducing rapidly in the fall of 1944, the revolt was planned, which was executed on the 7th of October 1944. The plan was that all crematoriums would escape at the same time, however, it started in crematorium IV by accident. The members of the sonderkommando used the gunpowder that was smuggled in to blow up the crematorium. Members of the sonderkommando of crematorium II and IV tried to escape through the fences into the woods.Insi de crematorium III the kapo decided that it would be better not to attend the revolt and to remain inside. The men from the two other crematoriums were either killed in the revolt, or killed after they were captured again. After this event crematorium IV and crematorium III were not in function anymore and they were demolished, the members of the remaining sonderkommando were given instructions to tear down the gas chambers, they were the only ones who were allowed down there. The outer part of the buildings were taken down by normal prisoners.After the revolt the members of the sonderkommando slept in a small building in the men’s camp of Birkenau. When the death marches started in January 1945, the members of the sonderkommando blended themselves into groups of other prisoners who were leaving the camp with these marches. After they mingled with other prisoners it was impossible for the SS to find the members back. These survivors have been important in order to understand how the final solution took place. Survivors of sonderkommandos Known survivor Treblinka: Martin Gray 27-4-1922-Born in Warsaw, he was able to escape from Treblinka, after the war he married a Dutch woman and got four children together, whom all died in a forest fire in 1970. He remarried and is still lecturing all over the world. Known survivor Chelmno: Michal Podchlebnik Worked in Chelmno in the waldkommando, his job was to bury the victims of the Chelmno gas trucks, he also tidied up the changing rooms after the people were gassed. He heard how the people were gassed. He was able to escape from Chelmno in 1942. Known survivors sonderkommando Auschwitz: The highest amount of survivors is from Auschwitz as described in the previous chapter.The list created below, is putted together with the use of multiple websites and books. There are more survivors but some were not willing to share their stories and never wanted to speak their ordeals ever again. Israel Gutman 1923- Born in Wars aw, participated in the Warsaw revolt. He was send to several camps afterwards, he was one of the creators of the sonderkommando revolt. After the war he testified in the Eichmann process. Milton Buki 1909-1988 Prisoner number: 80312 Morris kesselman Prisoner number: 11900 Yosef sackar Prisoner number: 182739 Avraham Dragon 1919-2007 Prisoner number: 80360 Szlamo Dragon Prisoner number: 80359Brother of Avraham Dragon Daniel Behnnamias 1923-1994 Prisoner number: 182477 Greek Jew with Italian nationality who after the war, wrote a book called the holocaust odyssey of Daniel Behnnamias, he died in Oakland, United States. Alter Fajnzylberg 23/10/1910-? Prisoner number: 27675 Arrived in Auschwitz on the 27th of March 1942, he witnessed the gassing of the gypsies. Shlomo Venezia 29/12/1923-1/10/2012 Prisoner number: 182727 Wrote a book about his experiences in Auschwitz called ‘inside the gas chambers’. After the war he found his older sister Rachel back, his mom and two litt le sister were murdered on arrival.Morris Venezia 2/1921-? Prisoner number: 182728 A Greek Jew with Italian nationality, he is the older brother of Shlomo Venezia. Dario Gabbai 1922-? Prisoner number: 182568 A Jew from Greece, he was in the same transport as a lot of other survivors. After the war he shared his story with many others, he believed that his testimony is important to picture the complete story of the horrors that took place. Dario Gabbai, Shlomo and Morris Venezia went back to Auschwitz to participate in a documentary called: Auschwitz, the final witness. Jakov Gabbai 1912-1993 Prisoner number: 182569 The older brother of Dario Gabbai.Henryk Tauber 8/7/1917-? Prisoner number: 90124 A Polish Jew who arrived in Auschwitz at 19th of January 1943, he had a few different jobs in the camp before he was selected for the sonderkommando. After the war he testified for a Polish court. Filip Muller 1922- Prisoner number: 29236 Fillip Muller, born in Czechoslovakia, worked for alm ost 3 years in the sonderkommando, this is an extremely long time whereas most others would not work longer that 3 months to a half a year inside the crematoriums. After the war he wrote a book about his ordeal called ‘eyewitness Auschwitz: three years in the gas chambers’ Henryk Mandelbaum 5/12/1922-17/6/2008 Prisoner number: 181970 After the war, Henryk dedicated himself to teach others about his own experiences of being a member of the sonderkommando. He always kept his tattoo to remind himself what he went through. Leon Cohen 1910-1989 Prisoner number: 182492 Wrote a book from Greece to Birkenau, which is dedicated to the uprising in the crematoriums. While he was working in the sonderkommando, he carried out a job as a dentist, he had to pull out the golden teeth from the deceased in crematorium III. David Olere 19/01/1902-2/8/1985Prisoner number: 106144 David Olere was transported from transition camp Drancy in France to Auschwitz on the 49th transport on the seco nd of March 1943. He worked as a member of the sonderkommando his entire stay in Auschwitz. On the 19th of January he was evacuated from the camp by participating in a death march which led him to Ebensee in Austria, he got liberated on the 6th of May 1945 by the American army. After the war, David Olere used his painting skills to create an image of what happened inside the crematoriums and gas chambers of Auschwitz.No pictures or video material of the gas chambers and the crematoriums was ever shot, therefore his drawings and paintings are considered valuable. Miklos Nyiszli 16/6/1901-5/5/1956 Prisoner number: A8450 Miklos Nyiszli was deported to Auschwitz in June 1944 with his wife and daughter, at arrival he told the staff he was a doctor. He was forced to work as Mengele’s assistant and to perform autopsies in the crematorium. After he got liberated from the Donau camp on may 5th 1945 by the U. S. Army he found his wife and daughter back. He died of a heart attack in 195 6. ResourcesThe need for sonderkommandos http://www1. yadvashem. org/yv/en/education/languages/dutch/encyclopedia/19. asp http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Mein_Kampf http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nuremberg_Laws http://yalepress. yale. edu/yupbooks/excerpts/greif_wept. pdf http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler http://www. duitslandweb. nl/naslagwerk/Geschiedenis/Derde+Rijk+tot+1939/Machtigingswet+en+gelijkschakeling. html http://www. jewishvirtuallibrary. org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0015_0_14977. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Action_T4 http://www. youtube. com/watch? =LJ8ogV5e8co&feature=related http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Karl_Wolff http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Heinrich_Himmler http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Operation_Reinhard uprisings http://www. holocaustresearchproject. org/revolt/sonderevolt. html http://cohen. gr/newsite/index. php? option=com_content&view=article&id=2278:-2&catid=69:2011-03-21-15-02-30&Itemid=78 http://www. sobiborinterviews. nl/en/the-revol t/the-revolt http://www. ushmm. org/outreach/en/article. php? ModuleId=10007747 survivors http://fcit. usf. edu/holocaust/ARTS/DOBIO/DOarts. HTM http://www. ewishvirtuallibrary. org/jsource/biography/HenrykMandelbaum. html http://www. go2war2. nl/artikel/2541/Mikl%C3%B3s-Nyiszli-het-Sonderkommando-in- Auschwitz-Birkenau. htm http://www. mazal. org/archive/documents/Tauber/Tauber01. htm http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=P-IinMCbdJA http://www. nytimes. com/2012/10/07/books/shlomo-venezia-auschwitz-sonderkommando-and-survivor-dies-at-88. html? _r=0 http://sonderkommando. info/proces/cracovie/temoins/feinsilber/index. html http://www. schoah. org/shoah/holocaust/greif-0. htm http://www. martingray. eu/ Books used: Sonderkommando Auschwitz Shlomo VeneziaISBN: 9789026321016 Europe reborn Harold James ISBN: 0-582-21533-1 Ooggetuigen van Sobibor Jules Schelvis ISBN: 9789026323140 ————————————— Ã¢â‚¬â€œ [ 1 ]. Official number from the Nazi party, however, the number of deaths is probably much higher. [ 2 ]. Reichsfuhrer of the SS, he formed the SS einsatzgruppen and created the extermination camps. He is accountable for the deaths of millions of Jews. [ 3 ]. SS grupenfuhrer, and Himmler’s ‘ears and eyes’ within Hitler’s headquarters. [ 4 ]. First death camp build. [ 5 ]. Might contain errors, since no real official lists excists.