Study on a Critical Analysis on Wal-Marts Failure in Germany - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2581 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/09/16 Category Business Essay Type Argumentative essay Topics: Globalization Essay Did you like this example? A Report of A STUDY ON A CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON WAL-MART’S FAILURE IN GERMANY. Submitted to the Teesside University For fulfillment of the Assignment on Cross-Culture Management By MIDHUN JOSE Student Number: J9185582 Abstract Wal-Mart, the biggest retailer in the world, started its globalization with nine countries in Asia, Europe and South America. With its attempt to penetrate hypermarket culture in every country which it enters, many severe problems come into picture. In 1997 Wal-Mart continued its strategy of globalization, and acquired two German retail chains for $1. 6 billion. After eight unprofitable years, Wal-Mart backed out of Germany in July 2006 and sold the entire retails outlets to Metro AG. After dominating the US market for quite a long time, Wal-Mart expanded its market to Germany in 1997. In 1997 Wal-Mart continued its strategy of globalization, and acquired two German retail chains for $1. 6 billion. After eight unprofitable years, Wal-Mart backed out of Germany in July 2006 and sold the entire retails outlets to Metro AG. The Essay examines why Wall-mart was a big failure in its international operations in Germany on a Cross-culture perspective. Inadaptability and ignorance of local culture can become a big problem in global business, even for a Corporate giant like Wal-Mart with proven success formulas. Being number one in the United States does not always guarantee for being number one elsewhere in the world. It is very important to understand the pulse of the local market and culture of the clients exactly and should make strategies accordingly and exactly that is where Wal-Mart went wrong in Germany. COMPANY PROFILE Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. s the largest retailer in the world, the world’s second-largest company and the nation’s largest nongovernmental employer. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates retail stores in various retailing formats in all 50 states in the United States. The Companys mass merchandising op erations serve its customers primarily through the operation of three segments. The Wal-Mart Stores segment includes its discount stores, Supercenters, and Neighborhood Markets in the United States. The Sam’s club segment includes the warehouse membership clubs in the United States. The Companys subsidiary, McLane Company, Inc. provides products and distribution services to retail industry and institutional foodservice customers. Wal-Mart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,416 retail units under 53 different banners in 15 countries. With fiscal year 2010 sales of $405 billion, Wal-Mart employs more than 2. 1 million associates worldwide. Nearly 75% of its stores are in the United States (â€Å"Wal-Mart International Operations†, 2004), but Wal-Mart is expanding internationally. The Group is engaged in the operations of retail stores located in all 50 states of the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Puert o Rico and the United Kingdom, Central America, Chile, Mexico,India and China Wal-Mart’s entry and operation in Germany Wal-Mart’s initial entry into German market was through the acquisitions of renowned 21 store Wertkauf chain for an estimated $1. 04 billion in December 1997. It was followed one year later by the acquisition of In-terspar’s 74 hypermarkets from Spar Handels AG, the German unit of the French Intermarche Group , for â‚ ¬560 million. Thus Wal-Mart immediately became the country’s fourth biggest operator of hypermarkets. However, with a turnover of around â‚ ¬2. 9 billion, and a stagnating market share of just 1. 1 per cent, the US giant still was a negligible one in the German retail market. Even worse, with estimated accumulated losses of more than â‚ ¬ 1 billion, it is literally drowning in red ink although, according to Wal-Mart Germany’s CEO, Kay Hafner, its non food assortment, which accounts for around 50 per cent of its revenues, is profitable.. Instead of expanding its network of stores by 50 units by early 2001, as originally planned, the company has been forced to close two big outlets, while at the same time it was only able to fully remodel three locations into its flagship Super center format. Due to its problems the company also had to lay off around 1. 000 staff. On July 2006,Wal-Mart announced its official defeat in Germany and would sell its 85 German stores to the rival supermarket chain Metro and would book a pre-tax loss of about $1 billion (? 536million) on the failed venture. A Critical Analysis of Reasons for Wal-Mart’s failure in Germany: There were several factors that contributed to Germany’s unsuccessful business ride. Amazing management blunders have plagued Wal-Mart’s German operation from the very start.. Wal-Mart’s major mistakes on the German market may be summarized as follows. †¢ Cultural Insensitivity was the major reason of failure †¢ Entry to German market by acquisition strategy, †¢ Failure to deliver on its legendary â€Å"every-day low prices† and â€Å"excellent service† value proposition. Bad Publicity about the company due to breaking of some prevailing German law and regulations. In January 1997, Wal-Mart had first entry in Europe market with the acquisition of Wertkauf hypermarkets in Germany. Later in that year, Wal-Mart also acquired Interspar, another German hypermarket chain.. While its first move – the 1997 takeover of the 21 Wertkaufstores was indeed a shrewd one, given that company’s excellent earnings, its competitive locations, and its very capable management. Wal-Mart’s 1998 follow-updeal with Spar for 74 hypermarkets was widely judged an ill-informed, ill-advised act, for several reasons: Spar is considered to be the weakest player on the German market due to its mostly run-down stores, very heterogeneous in size and format, with the m ajority of them located in less well-off inner-city residential areas. Wal-Mart’s cultural insensitivity led to its failure in Germany. This Study focuses only on the flaws made by the Wal-Mart in its International operations in Germany from a Cross-Cultural Management’s perspective. Wal-Mart’s failure in Germany- A Case of cultural insensitivity: Most of the Global mergers and acquisitions failed to produce any benefit for the shareholders or reduced value, which was mainly due to the lack of intercultural competence. Lack of sensitivity and understanding of language barriers, local traditions, consumer behavior, merchandising, and employment practices irreversibly damaged Wal-Mart’s image in Germany. One of the main reasons that failed Wal-Mart in Germany is when it attempted to transport the company’s unique culture and retailing concept to the new country. The top management refused to even acknowledge the differences in customer behavior and culture in Germany when compared to its US customers, and the top management failed to listen to the feedback from its employees. Not every new cross- border retailer can be a retail giant outer its home. The mistake of exporting its culture wholesale, rather than adapting to local market, leads Wal-Mart failed in Germany market. Wal-Mart’s ambitions to position itself profitably in European markets through Germany have been hit badly by their inability to fully understand and to adapt to the specific conditions of doing business in other countries. This exposed their obvious lack of intercultural competence and management skills. The main challenge of post-merger integration is further complicated significantly if it is in a Cross-border Merger or acquisition, with all issues frequently being compounded by a lack of language and culture bridging skills. Failure to accomplish this task satisfactorily, results in mutual distrust, de-motivation and negatively impacts th e merged companies competitiveness, profits and shareholder value. This is exactly what happened to Wal-Mart Germany. Following are the main two factors that Contributed to the Wal-Mart’s unsuccessful efforts in Germany: 1)Specific Difference in German Consumer behavior and Culture in comparison with US consumers: The biggest mistake of Wal-Mart was to ignore the local culture, local buying habits and impose an American boss on its German operations. Wal-Mart stores are designed for customers who are willing to spend lot of time shopping. But in Germany, the shopping hours are shorter: Shops close by 5 PM on weekdays, and no shopping on Sundays. This meant that customers don’t have the habit of spending lots of time in a store wandering around for the things they need. Coupled with this problem, German customers do not like to be assisted by Wal-Mart’s friendly store assistants. Germans prefer to do their own search for bargains. Instead of understanding and adjusting to the culture of its clients, Wal-Mart tried to impose their Culture on to the Customers, which never worked out. Germans like to see the advertised discount products upfront without having to ask the store assistant. This implies that the discount products must be placed at the eye level. Instead Wal-Mart chose to use its US style merchandise display strategy where premium priced products are kept at eye level and discount products are kept at higher shelf or in the bottom racks. This irritated the German shoppers. Wal-Mart also got its store inventory wrong, Wal-Mart stocked its store with clothes, hardware, electronics and other non-food products were given much bigger floor space than food products, as a result more than 50% of the revenue was from non-food products. But other German retailers stock more of food products. For example for Metro, food products constitute more than 75% of the revenue. Germans prefer to bag groceries themselves into reusable ca rriers, or at least to pay a small fee for the avoidable sin of needing a plastic bag. German’s are introvert in nature and doesn’t like display of emotion in public, as they always care for their private personal space. Employees, like the reserved customers, didn’t care for Wal-Mart’s public displays of corporate moral such as the morning cheer. The German Customer’s even didn’t liked to be accompanied by the Cheerful employees either, as they would like to make choices by themselves. These are cultural misunderstandings as well, but one could say the cultural philosophy of Wal-Mart could not survive in the context of a German culture with a Happy Planet Index significantly higher than Americas 2)Inefficient Top Management which ignored the relevance of local Culture: It was clear that the cultural insensitivity of Wal-Mart started right at the top management. To begin with, it appointed four CEOs during its first four years of operatio n. The first head of German operations was Rob Tiarks ,an expat from the USA who did not understand Germany or its culture. He had previously supervised around 200 Supercenters in America. Not only did he not speak any German. Due to his unwillingness to learn the language ,English was soon decreed as the official company language at the management level. He also ignores the complexities and the legal framework of the German retail market, ignoring any strategic advice presented to him by former Wertkauf executives . This has resulted in the resignation of top three management executives from Wertkauf. His successors were also unsuccessful in integrating German Outlets with the Wal-Mart’s Business model and culture. Suggestions and Recommendations: Cross-border, Cross-cultural business is a challenge even for the biggest companies. Companies have to be sensitive to the local cultures and tailor their offerings to local market. To localize their offerings, Wal-Mart and other Companies that are going global companies must carry out cultural assessment of the Citizens of the Country before acquisitions. All their Corporate Business and Communication strategies should be based on this cultural assessment. This will help companies measure the effectiveness of its localization efforts and make adequate changes in local strategy tactics as and when required. Considering the following steps would help Wal-Mart or any other Company while they are on lookout of Global alliance or business. 1)Political, Social, Economic and Cultural Analysis of the Country Before expanding its business operations to a new country, the Company should understand the Political, Social, Economic and cultural aspects of the Country in depth. Wal-Mart’s case, Germany was selected primarily because of a central European location and economic attractiveness of the Wertkauf acquisition. But a serious research would have shown that Germany had strong national values res istant to change; possibly the most deeply rooted retail traditions in Western Europe. This could have avoided either Wal-Mart’s selection of the Country or the strategies it has adopted in Germany. 2)Go global and think they are local After conducting an in depth research about the prevailing trends in the customer’s Country, the Company should be ready to modify its own identity to suit itself to the cultural differences without compromising much on its Corporate Mission. This step will also force organizations to clearly define globalization goals. Wal-Mart put the company name on many German stores before being fully established. Immediately, the run down stores left an impression on consumers who formed a negative image of the Wal-Mart name. 3)Employment of Cross-Cultural Management approaches like Hampden-Turner and Trompanaars Analysis: Employement of Hofsted’s Culture Dimensions or HTT Analysis will help Companies in understanding the minute cultural differences between the countries. For example, Communitarianism over Individualism Germans degree of communitarianism is on the higher side mainly because Germans prefer participating on a team. Most Germans see business as a group of related persons working together. But, most of Americans see their company as a set of functions, tasks, people, machines and payments in which individuals compete. This difference in Cultural dimensions between the 2 countries has resulted in inside management conflict among the employees, which also resulted in resignation of efficient German executives from Wal-Mart post integration. Understanding the cultural dimensions of a Country through proven Cross-Culture models will always help a company to formulate a specific approach that will encourage team spirit and joy among the Global Team. 4)Continuous Updation of Strategies to successfully withstand the local competition It is very important for a Global firm to continuously analyse the impa ct of their various strategies on the local market. Understand the shortfalls, and modify it in such a way as to cater the local market in a much better way than the competitors. It is always better to scrutinize the strategies adopted by them with a panel of Local experts, as they will be having a better picture about the local consuming behavior and culture. Perceptions do matter a lot, So a surveys to find the customer’s perception about the company will also help them to change their strategies accordingly. Conclusion: Even though Wall-Mart was the Biggest of the companies, while going Global understanding the culture of customers, employees of the new Country is very critical for the success. The achievement in the U. S. market cannot always guarantee that Wal-Mart will also success in anywhere else. Companies need to understand the local culture in order to capitalize on the local market. The lessons learned from Wal-Mart’s experience in Germany, can be app lied by other retailers who are planning to go global for expanding its market. . If the worlds largest retailer had taken the time to analyze the German mindset, it could have avoided a very painful lesson when Germans rejected Wal-Marts American-style which was highly successful in home country. References: Books: Trompenaars, Fons (2000) Riding the waves of culture : understanding cultural diversity in business, London : Nicholas Brealey. Schneider, Susan C (2003) Managing across cultures, 2nd ed, Harlow : Financial Times Prentice Hall Websites: 1) https://Wal-Martstores. com/AboutUs 2) https://business. timesonline. co. uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article694345. ece https://www. geert-hofstede. com/hofstede_germany. shtml 3) https://www. iwim. uni-bremen. de/publikationen/pdf/w024. pdf 4) https://walmartwatch. om/international/country/germany NewsPapers: 1)Times Online (2006) â€Å"Wal-Mart pulls out of Germany at cost of $1bn†, 2006 July 29th (https://b usiness. timesonline. co. uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article694345. ece) 2) The Atlantic Times â€Å"This Is Not America. Why Wal-Mart left Germany†, September2006th (https://www. atlantictimes. com/archive_detail. php? recordID=615) 3) The NewYork Times â€Å"Wal-Mart Finds That Its Formula Doesn’t Fit Every Culture† 2006 August 2nd (https://www. nytimes. com/2006/08/02/business/worldbusiness/02walmart. html) Don’t waste time! 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Crane Hand Signals Speech Outline Free Essays

Speaking Outline Topic:Crane hand signals for directing crane movement and common rigging procedures used with cranes on construction sites. Specific Purpose:To inform my audience of the need for crane hand signals and rigging procedures in order to safely operate a crane. Thesis:Everyone on site around the crane should know proper hand signals and rigging procedures to maintain a safe construction site. We will write a custom essay sample on Crane Hand Signals Speech Outline or any similar topic only for you Order Now Introduction: 1. Cranes dangerous, Kent County Jail 2. Save a life? 3. OSHA Training [ (America, 1992) ] Transition: Who needs to communicate with a crane operator? And how do they do it? Body: 1. Rigger, Hand Signals Transition: What are the hand signals? Are they complicated? 2. Show rigger bring ball to load [ (SS Crane Rigging, 2012) ]. Transition:How does he attach the load? 3. Show cinch and types of cinches. [ (America, 1992) ]. 4. Adjust cinch and show spreader bar [ (America, 1992) ] 5. Direct crane to operator [ (SS Crane Rigging, 2012) ] 6. Place the load and direct back to rigger [ (BrassMeIn. com, 2012) ] Transition: These are the most common signals used; there is no way I could show you every signal there is. Conclusion: 1. Everyone on site around the crane should know these proper hand signals and rigging procedures to maintain a safe construction site. 2. The rigger should safely direct the operator to his load and then cinch it up. 3. A load should always be tested at a very low height before being transported. 4. The rigger then directs the operator to the laborer. 5. After the load is securely in place, the laborer directs the operator back to the rigger, and starts the process all over again. . Questions? Works Cited America, T. A. (Director). (1992). Controlling The Load: Crane Rigging Safety [Motion Picture]. BrassMeIn. com. (2012). Standard Hand Signals for Crane Operation. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from BrassMeIn. com: http://brassmein. com/tech/signals/hand. htm SS Crane Rigging. (2012). Crane Hand Signals – Directing Crane Movement. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from SS Crane Rigging: http://www. sscrane. com/crane-hand-signals-directing-crane-movements/ How to cite Crane Hand Signals Speech Outline, Essay examples

Society and Culture free essay sample

Societies are groups of people who directly or indirectly interact with each other. While cultures are complexes of learned behavior patterns and perceptions, societies are groups of interacting organisms. The word culture has many different meanings. For some it refers to an appreciation of good literature, music, art, and food. For a biologist, it is likely to be a colony of bacteria or other microorganisms growing in a nutrient medium in a laboratory dish. However, for anthropologists and other behavior scientists, culture is the full range of learned human behavior patterns (Dean, 2010, p. 88). Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. Culture is a powerful human tool for survival, but it is a fragile phenomenon. It is constantly changing and easily lost because it exists only in our minds. Our written languages, government, buildings, and other man made t hings are merely the products of culture. They are not culture in themselves, for this reason, archaeologists cannot dig up culture directly in their excavations. There are very likely three layers or levels of culture that are part of your learned behavior patterns and perceptions. Most obviously is the body of cultural traditions that distinguish your specific society. When people speak of Italian, Samoan, or Japanese culture, they are referring to the shared language, traditions, and beliefs that set each of these people apart from others. In most cases, those who share your culture do so because they acquired it as they were raised by parents and other family members who have it. The second layer of culture that may be part of your identity is a subculture. In complex and diverse societies in which people have come from many different parts of the world, they often retain much of their original tradition. As a result, they are likely to be part of an identifiable subculture in their new society. The shared cultural traits of subcultures set them apart from the rest of their society. Examples of easily identifiable subcultures in the United States include ethnic groups such as Vietnamese Americans, African American, and Mexican Americans. Members of each of these subcultures share a common identity, food tradition, dialect or language, and other cultural trait that come from their common ancestral background and experience. As the cultural differences between members of a subculture and the dominant national culture fade and eventually disappear, the subculture ceases to exist except as a group of people who claim a common ancestry. That is generally the case with German American and Irish Americans in the United States today. Most of them identify themselves as Americans first. They also see themselves as being part of the cultural mainstream of the nation. The third layer of culture consists of cultural universals. These are learned behavior patterns that are shared by all of humanity collectively. No matter where people live in the world, they share these universal traits. Examples of such â€Å"human cultural† traits include communicating with a verbal language consisting of a limited set of sounds and grammatical rules for constructing sentences, using age and gender to classify people, classifying people based on marriage and descent relationships and having kinship terms to refer to them, or raising children in some sort of family setting. While cultures have these and possibly many others universal trait, different cultures have developed their own specific ways of carrying out or expressing them. For instance, people in deaf subcultures frequently use their hands to communicate with sign language instead of verbal language. However, sign languages have grammatical rules just as verbal ones. People in human society also generally perceive that their society is distinct from other societies in terms of shared traditions and expectations. While human societies and cultures are not the same thing, they are connected because culture is created and transmitted to others in a society. Cultures are not the product of lone individuals. They are the continuously evolving products of people interacting with each other (Stoll, 1998, p. 98). Cultural patterns such as language and politics make no sense except in terms of the interaction of people. If you were the only human on earth, there would be no need for language or government. There has been much debate over what makes a society successful. People must play a part in agreeing to certain laws and in choosing a given leader. If people lose that right, then society won’t function as well. Philosopher Thomas Hobbes believed that without society, human life would be â€Å"nasty, brutish and short†. Man’s natural state, he argued, would be to preserve only oneself. A man without society would steal another family’s food, seduce other men’s wives and kill anyone who got in his way. Of course, the same man would be in constant danger of those things happening to him, his wife and his children. What people needed was a society that would provide protection by subjecting everyone to a set of rules. But the number of governments, tribes, and communities today demonstrate that there’s no single way to form or govern a society (Wildavsky, 1998, p101). A society without an agreed upon code of conduct would be like football without rules or a referee. People will cooperate and commit to a society only as long as they can choose the person who mediates and voice an opinion on the rules. It’s interesting to observe certain things that affect our society. For example, the Internet, there’s no referee, and the rules that govern our interpersonal contact don’t seem to hold much sway. With the anonymity provided by a screen name, people feel like they can say things they wouldn’t otherwise say, things that may even be hurtful or dangerous. You can do everything from order a pizza online to pay your electric bill, some people worry that the Internet will destroy our real societies, as people opt out of participating in real life in favor of participating in cyberspace. On the other hand, some would argue that the Internet has only made our societies larger (Stoll, 1998, p. 154). A person in Chicago, after all, can converse easily with a person in china. It will be interesting to see how much more technology will shape our societies in the future. Cultures in societies are learned. Infants come into this world with basic drives such as hunger and thirst, but they do not possess instinctive patterns of behavior to satisfy them. Likewise, they are without any cultural knowledge. They are genetically predisposed to rapidly learn language and other cultural traits. Newborn humans are amazing learning machines. Any normal baby can be placed into a family on earth and grow up to learn their culture and accept it as his or her own. Since culture is non-instinctive, we are not genetically programmed to learn a particular one. Every human generation potentially can discover new things and new cultures from different societies. The new cultural skills and knowledge are added onto what was learned in previous generations. As a result, cultures in different societies are cumulative. There are many different varieties of culture in our society. They are cultures such as subcultures, dominant cultures and countercultures. Each culture plays a very important role in our society today. Society is the structure of relationships within which culture is created and shared through regularized patterns of social interaction, and culture is the totality of our shared language, knowledge, material creations, and the rules for behavior (Witt, 2012, p. 50). Culture and society are not the same thing, yet that cannot exist without each other.

A Hero Of The Ages Essays - The Dark Crystal, Skeksis, Jen, Theseus

A Hero Of The Ages Heroes come from all sorts of places: movies, books, and even everyday life. Jen, a Gelfling, is a hero from the movie The Dark Crystal. Jen's story is one of prophecy, the never ending fight between good and evil, and love. This composition shall trace Jen's quest as well as evaluate his success in that quest, his individual self, and finally he shall be compared to one of the Greek heroes. Jen's quest can be classified as restoring the good kingdom. During a time of great change in the universe, there was a single dark crystal which held the source of balance and truth. At this time, many years before Jen's birth, the world was peaceful. However, the crystal was shattered and the world was divided into two groups: the evil Skeksis and the good and just Mystics. Over time, these two groups grew far apart and the Skeksis used the dark crystal for their wicked purposes. Jen was the last of his race, as the Skeksis had destroyed his family, for they knew of the prophecy that said one day a Gelfling would be their ruin. At the time of Jen's quest, the three suns would soon be converging. If, by the time they had fully aligned, the crystal was not whole again, evil would reign forever. Jen was the one who must stop this from happening and restore the universe to the land of balance and truth that it once had been. Having been raised by the peaceful Mystics, Jen was well educated and knew much of the world he lived in. He was also aware of many forms of magic that could aid him. His master taught him how to be careful and smart at the same time, and this was a great aid for Jen in his quest. Jen was also helped by a female Gelfling whom he met by chance. This female Gelfling, Kara, had the ability to talk to many different animals, as well as fly. She helped Jen the most in getting to the Skeksis palace and defeating them. Ogra was another aid to Jen. She was an old woman who could foresee the future. Ogra also had the missing shard of the dark crystal in her possession, and she gave it to Jen after he proved worthy. The Mystics gave Jen hope and strong will to overcome his challenges. Unfortunately, Jen is also quite small and could easily be harmed. He is also very unsure of himself at many times. At the start of his quest, Jen is still with the Mystics. His master, the eldest, had just told him of his journey and soon after passed away. Jen must first find Ogra and obtain the missing shard to complete the dark crystal. At Ogra's awful monsters sent by the Skeksis try and kill Jen and they destroy Ogra's home in the process. Ogra is captured and taken to the Skeksis. Meanwhile, having escaped, Jen finds himself in a strange forest where he meets Kara. Both had thought themselves the last of their kind, and soon form a strong bond. Kara takes Jen to her adopted family, the podlings. It is here that the Skeksis' monsters come once again. They capture some of the podlings and take them to the Skeksis who will drain their life energy and turn them into slaves. During all of this, the eldest Skeksis leader has passed away and his leadership was won by one of the remaining Skeksis. Chamberlain, a horrid scoundrel, had tried in vain for the throne and after his defeat, was exiled. He comes across Jen and Kara and tries to befriend them, but they are quick to learn and flee from him. When Jen and Kara finally reach the Skeksis palace, Chamberlain captures Kara and is welcomed back into the Skeksis family. Jen must now save Kara before her life energy is drained and he must also repair the broken crystal before the suns align. Kara manages to escape and helps Jen complete his quest. Jen was extremely successful in his quest. Not only did Jen repair the dark crystal and reunite the Skeksis and Mystics back into one and saved the universe

green mile (paul edgcombe) essays

green mile (paul edgcombe) essays Paul Edgecombe A Peculiar Man Paul Edgecombe, the narrator of Stephen Kings novel The Green Mile, is a character faced with many moral dilemmas. He works at a job where he sees injustice and the judgment of the state placed on the inmates there. Looking at the economic situation of society, he sees good men going without work and unable to provide for their families. "Better men than me were out on the roads or riding the rails. I was lucky and I knew it." (p.46) Paul tries in his own personal way to right the wrongs of the brutal treatment of the inmates with kindness, and tries to quiet his conscious when the time comes to put a man to death. Paul Edgecombes meditations and thoughts on other characters are insightful and show us a great deal about his personality and beliefs. Mr. Edgecombe is a married man with grown children. He took a job at Cold Mountain Penitentiary to support himself and his family long ago. Now, during the economic depression of the nineteen thirties is unable to quit, despite how he feels. The narrator seems to be an educated man with a definite ethical standpoint, a conscience, and strong religious beliefs. He makes references to Edgar Allen Poe (p.100) and Lewis Carroll s Alice in Wonderland (p.56) when commenting on his surroundings in the prison. This is not something one would expect from a prison guard in the South during the depression. Paul is tormented by the duties his job requires of him. "I couldnt do this job much longer. Depression or no depression, I couldnt watch many more men walk through my office to their deaths." (p.65) Paul experiences empathy for the prisoners on the green mile that is touching and surprising. "For a moment I imagined to myself to be that mouse, not a guard at all but just another convicted criminal there on the green mile, convicted and condemned but still managing to look bravely up at a desk." (p.54) ...

Acceptable Use and Behavior Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Acceptable Use and Behavior Policy - Essay Example To protect confidential information and its financial interests, the company has adopted a number of acceptable use and behavior policies that not only enable it to mitigate the threats but also allow the employees to flexibly conduct their daily businesses without affecting the productivity. This paper discusses the physical security policy, vulnerabilities, audit policy, log management, system administrator policies as well as the various security incident handling procedures at Firion Company. Firion has implemented a number of physical security policies that are primarily aimed at improving the integrity and confidentiality of the information systems that are used in the company. One of the physical security policies that is the prohibition of the use of devices such as USB drive, FireWire and rewritable CDs/DVDs on company owned assets (Wijayanayake, 2009). Additionally all the company communication systems are only required to be configured by the IT department and no modificat ions are allowed to both the software and hardware without the approval of the IT security team. In this regard, Firion employees, business partners, contractors and vendors are not allowed to install any software applications or hardware into any machines used by the company. Generally some of the main security vulnerabilities that are currently facing Firion include potential leakage of corporate information through removable storage devices, introduction of malicious applications into the information systems of the company and misuse of computer resources. For example, employees participating surfing social network sites may unknowingly bring malicious content to the company systems. Audit Policy Item The audit policy item employed by Firion Corporation is primarily designed to guide the security team to audit the company’s infrastructure system and mitigate the potential vulnerabilities. It is the responsibility of the security team to ensure that all the information rega rding the company which are posted over the internet are properly audited to ensure that they do not compromise the security of the company (Rudolph, 2009). For example the security team is required to constantly monitor and revaluate the system and makes the necessary patches to potential security breaches. Additionally the company also makes regular vulnerability and social engineering tests to detect potential threats to the company websites and online information.   Log Management Policy Item As part of its log management policies, Firion does not allow any employee to lock their workplace computers when not in use or write down their login passwords on paper. The responsibility of creating and maintaining a secure log management infrastructure at Firion is given to the security team. For example, the security team not only performs regular log reviews and access monitoring but they also ensure the privacy of sensitive and confidential information through the use of central au thentication credentials such as user passwords. The company has also designed role based access control regulations which ensures that the access of any employee to facilities and company data is based on their roles and therefore only employees who need particular data will be able to login and access to the data. System Administrator Policy Item   According to Ferion’s system administrator policies, administrative rights are only reserved to the security t

The Audit Report and Internal Control Evaluation Essay

The Audit Report and Internal Control Evaluation - Essay Example It is the responsibility of the management of Apollo Shoes Incorporation to prepare these financial statements. We are responsible to conduct the audit of financial statements of the company and to express an opinion on the basis of audit findings. In addition to the audit we have also audited management’s assessment, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting, that APOLLO SHOES, INC. maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2007, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO criteria). APOLLO SHOES’ management is responsible for these financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of internal control over financial reporting. ... Our audit of the financial statements including examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, evaluating management’s assessment, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions. A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounti ng principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely

The trial and death of socrates (book by Plato) Essay

The trial and death of socrates (book by Plato) - Essay Example Having lived at the end of the Golden Age, Socrates arose as a response to the structural changes occurring within the city at that time. Living a very simple life by sacrificing wealth and politics, Socrates decided to stay among the common people of Athens to challenge everyone’s intellects. In this way, he became a founder of philosophy: choosing instead to look at the nature of knowledge, instead of what can best be said to belong to our current state of knowledge. Socrates is the protagonist of the Apology and the Crito. Although he is a simple man, he is presented to the jury in Athens as a man of great intellectual power, despite his claim that he in fact knows nothing. Despite his common appearance, Socrates is interested in investigating ethical matters, particularly those related to the state and, in this case, related to why the city identifies him as a troublesome element. In the death scene of the Phaedo (115b-118a), Socrates demonstrates himself to be accepting o f his fate, which he resigns to accept in the Crito (49b10-11). In the Phaedo, Crito asks Socrates how he would like to be buried, to which he responds, â€Å"In any way that you like; only you must get hold of me, and take care that I do not walk away from you† (115c). In the face of execution, Socrates retains his old-timey kind of charm and joking demeanor. This kind of joke is also meant to represent his lack of respect for the system that has found him guilty of trumped-up charges, even though he has committed himself to follow the dictates of the court. In the time leading up to his execution, Socrates engages in this dialogue with Crito, during which Crito remarks on his admiration of Socrates’ level-headedness in defending himself against the threat of death (43a). Socrates, having no knowledge of this person, does not react unkindly to his guests and admits that because of his advanced age, he will not react too strongly to such a situation. Crito then tells S ocrates that he has come at this early hour to give him the opportunity to escape, which creates a philosophical and a practical problem for Socrates, who disagrees with the outcome of the trial and their sentence, but at the same time does not want to disregard the nature of the relationship between man and state. Crito’s appeals to Socrates are moral in nature, such that they appeal to his virtues. For instance, Crito remarks that not fleeing from an unjust death would be cowardly in the face of injustice (45d). Socrates has, according to Crito, an obligation to his children that he would not respect if he voluntarily remains in his cell and receives an execution. Socrates demonstrates the nature of his character by not responding to the practical problem that Crito has posed. By offering him a way out, Crito has made remaining in his cell a voluntary act on the eve of execution. In response, Socrates expresses his disrespect for people who do not act rationally and that be cause he has virtues, such as the ability to recognize justice, he is electing to stay in his cell (47c). He is not thinking about the goods that typical Athenian men, like those who brought him to trial, think about: money, reputation, and political stance. These external goods are the values of those men who do

Importance Of Story And Drama For Teaching

Importance Of Story And Drama For Teaching The purpose of this study was to determine the importance of story and drama as a teaching element in children literature. How do teachers scaffold childrens learning through story and drama in Turkey? Also what is the effect of using creative drama method on attitudes and reading strategies in Turkish lessons? In the study literature review and interview was used to investigate how much literature teachers apply story and drama techniques in their literature classes and how they are practical or useful on Turkish childrens learning who are studying in middle schools. Population of this research is Turkish secondary school teachers who have experience in story and drama teaching. As a sample, it was interviewed 4 middle school Turkish literature teachers to learn their teaching experiences and attitudes to research topic. Collected data was analyzed and consequently findings indicated that story telling and creative drama methods had significant effect on make and begin and carry on a relationship, self control social skills and learning well by experiencing in Turkish lessons. INTRODUCTION Childrens literature is for readers and listeners who are about 2-14 years old. Childrens literature is a resource no literature teacher can do without. This study investigates a sample of pieces that are middle schools Turkish children literature according to scaffolding childrens learning through story and drama. Scaffolding is a well-known metaphor widely used in education and language teaching to describe the guidance, collaboration and support provided by teachers to lead children to new learning (Read, 2006). Stories and drama share a number of features, which make it natural to integrate and combine them in scaffolding learning during language lessons with children (Read, 2007). When working with children, storytelling and drama techniques can be integrated and combined in multiple ways to provide robust and flexible scaffolding. This underpins and props up childrens learning in initial stages. It also provides appropriate support as they gain in confidence, and opens the way to new learning and the internalization of language and skills in enjoyable and creative ways (Read, 2006). Then what is literature? Literature is thought, experiences and imagination shaped into oral or written language that may include visual images. Children learn best in social situations, when content is meaningful and is interrelated. And literature is so available for these applications. Research Questions are; What are the importance of story and drama as a teaching element in Children Literature in middle schools especially based on life experiences of Turkish Language and Literature (TLL) teachers? How do you scaffold as a teacher to childrens learning through story and drama in secondary schools? How children literature scaffolds their effective learning by using drama and story in Turkish lessons. It could be analyzed effects of drama technique examining by how the effect of the creative drama method on the attitude and reading strategies in Turkish teaching, effects of creative drama method on the reception of some social skills, and evaluation of the attitudes of the Turkish teacher candidates towards creative drama. On the other hand, it could be analyzed effects of storytelling technique examining by evaluation of the attitudes of the Turkish teacher candidates towards children literature and children literature course, the function and importance of tale in language acquisition cultural worth instruction process, evaluation of the attitudes of parents who have 4-10 Years old children towards children literature and children books in Turkey. It was considered to analysis and combine effects of story and drama based on these topics. LITERATURE REVIEW In this study literature review and interview was used to investigate how often literature teachers apply story and drama techniques in their literature classes and the researches that have already been done about the topic how they are practical or useful on Turkish childrens learning who are studying in middle schools. On this research project topic, there was no specific thesis or research that points out directly this study which includes both story and drama features. For this reason, it is preferred that to classify and analysis each researches that have already been done about the topic. By this way, it was considered to analysis and combine effects of story and drama, attitudes of Turkish teachers, Turkish teacher candidates, and parents to story and drama. Thats why; it was analyzed that 6 of studies are on the effects of children literature that 3 of them are directly related with drama and 3 of them are related with story during Turkish Language lessons with children. Thes e studies contains well studied on research methodology, sample or population, and evaluation etc. After analyzing of collected data consequently findings were combined and indicated that story telling and creative drama methods had significant effect on make and execute a work with a group, begin and carry on a relationship, self control social skills and learning well by experiencing in Turkish lessons. Examined research studies are chosen from especially from Turkish educators intentionally to analyze how often they use and how are practical or useful on Turkish childrens learning who are studying in middle schools. Because of there was no specific thesis or research that points out directly this study it is chosen to inform two most closest researches to this research project topic in drama and story head topics. The first one is done by Fatma KÄ ±rmÄ ±zÄ ± Susar, Pamukkale University in Denizli Turkey, in 2008. This article was efficient to identify the effects of using creative drama method on attitude and reading strategy in Turkish lesson. Drama has a language all of its own and draws on various forms of literacy. Students develop literacy skills in many ways through the range of activities they participate in during the drama class. In the study experimental design with pre and post test control group was used. There were 75 fourth grade students (female=37, male=38) in Turkish classes. The study was conducted in a primary school Ä °zmir, Buca, during 2005-2006 education year and lasted seven weeks in data collection, reading comprehension attitude was reading scale and reading strategies scales was used. In the experimental group creative drama technique, in the control group Turkish course teaching program was applied. In data analysis Mann Whitney U-test were u sed. This test can be used for very small samples. It can also be used when the variable being recorded is measured using an arbitrary scale which cannot be measured accurately (e.g. a color scale measured by eye or a behavioral trait such as aggression), (Billiet 2003). As a result, creative drama method was more effective on using reading comprehension strategies than Turkish Lesson teaching program group. The second research study is done by Hasan BaÄÅ ¸cÄ ± in 2007. This study had take place in National Education Journal which is published by Turkish Ministry of Education in Ankara. This study gave a direction to this research project because it was the closest study to this research. And also it helped to this study to examine attitudes of the Turkish teacher candidates towards children literature and children literature course based on story books and storytelling on lessons. The purpose of the study was to investigate the attitudes of the Turkish teacher candidates towards children literature and children literature course. A 35 item children literature attitude scale prepared to find out attitudes of the Turkish teacher candidates towards children literature and children literature course was given 180 third year students at the Turkish Teacher Department of the Faculty of Gazi Education, Gazi University in 2004-2005 academic years. It was found out that attitudes of the Turkish teacher candidates towards children literature and children literature course are generally positive. The findings were evaluated on three dimensions according to the gender, teaching program and lesson success marks towards the results of the research. There were no significant gender differences found between male and female candidates and the type of teaching program (primary program or secondary program) attitudes towards children literature. Nevertheless, there is a significant difference in attitudes of the Turkish teacher candidates towards children literature and children literature course with respect to children liter ature lesson success based on grades. As a result, it was seen that using story and drama techniques in literature lessons are effective if it is done by systematically. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Design: In this study interview was used to know how much literature teachers apply story and drama techniques in their literature classes. Four middle school Turkish Language and Literature teachers were interviewed to learn their life experiences, case problems like learning difficulties, comprehension skills and effects of using story and drama on childrens learning in middle school. It was determined that how were the teachers attitude towards using story and drama in their lessons. There were some Turkish lesson researches that have already been done about this research beside these studies and it was found that if teachers use them effectively in classes they were so practical or useful on Turkish childrens learning who are studying in middle schools. The advantage of interview was that the researcher could adapt the questions as necessary, clarify doubt and ensure that the responses are properly understood, by repeating or rephrasing the questions. Especially in my research project the literature teachers attitude to the importance of story and drama as a teaching element in Children Literature was so essential because the research project would both study on literature review and teachers life experiences. Sampling: The research project was related to the Turkish Language and Literature teachers who have experiences about teaching in middle school classes. Thats why; 4 following TLL teachers were interviewed about the topic. Population of this research was Turkish secondary school teachers who have experience in story and drama teaching. As a sample it was chosen to interview 4 middle school Turkish literature teachers to learn their teaching experiences and attitudes to research topic. The limitation of this study was having limited sample to interview. Yet, to recover this limitation the teachers are tried to chosen variously cities, schools, genders, teaching experiences. The interviewed teachers and interview questions are shown below: A Female, 30 years Turkish Teacher in TED Ankara College, Ankara. B Female, 8 years Turkish Teacher in BLIS College, Ankara. C Female, 3 year Turkish Teacher in Private Istanbul College, Istanbul. D Male, 15 years Turkish Teacher in Iskenderun Public School, Hatay. Interview Questions: Do you use story and drama to catch childrens attention to literature class in middle schools? And how often do you use them? What are the beneficial activities do you use in childrens literature in middle school? What are the limitations about using these activities in class environment? According to your experiences, in which ways this age group of children do learn best? Could you give a specific example on this topic according to your teaching memories? DATA ANALYSIS In this study, for data analysis it is preferred so separate questions and answers topic by topic that according to the teachers who are interviewed on storytelling and drama techniques to scaffold childrens learning. 3 teachers answered about using story and drama to catch childrens attention usually at the beginning of the lesson to catch students attention, interest, and curiosity. Just 1 teacher said that he uses rarely based on students motivation and amount of the class but he informs that he was working in a public school and amount of the classes were so high. Yet he added also using this activities sometimes help students social and communal. Using beneficial activities teachers answered this question in groups of shown below: Memory nails (1) Novel rooms (2) Empathy model (1) Hot seat play (3) Role playing (4) One teacher answered she uses Memory Nail activity which is efficient when analyzing story or novel in class. The activity aims creativity and subjectivity. Teachers want from students to produce a scene from story or novel using significant objects, characters, images which are take place in story. It could be done in a shoe box in 3 dimensions or if opportunities are limited students could prepare a poster too. Two teachers, who are working in a private school, informed that they were using Novel Rooms to make students engage with the lesson. Each student brings an object that take place in the novel and they produce a room then students talk about why they choose this object and its importance for the novel. One teacher said that we usually use Empathy Model when we are analyzing the characters of novels or stories. Hot seat play was the one of the popular activity that teachers informed. It was building an empathy with the character of novel. Four all teachers informed them all u se role playing especially in drama texts to encourage students to be social and communal. It was realized that like each activity was up to teachers creativity. Teachers could change or add something to activity according to students learning needs. Almost all teachers agree that these techniques if they are well-applied arouse interest; attention and curiosity of students and that make vocabulary memorable more easily. Most of teachers said that they made pupils think from within the story and explore significant issues. By using guided questioning techniques, children think about the implications of the characters actions and analyze their behavior. They all referred to that is a kind of transferring action that gives children an opportunity to relate and apply their understandings from the story to their own lives. Although there are so much positive effects of story and drama, it is referred that there are also limitations about using it. First of all, three teachers agreed that if the class is crowded, it is hard to control the class according to class management. Four all teachers agreed that keeping students on task is also difficult when they are using these activities. Yet in contritely teachers agreed that children learn easily because of these techniques are playful and so engage with their real life. Thats why; they suggests about arranging the class atmosphere by using preparatory work before using these techniques. These preparatory works could be small games and activities connected with story and drama. As another point, it is said that, public schools are so willing about using these techniques but they are less trained about this issue. By this way, they wanted to improve themselves and investigate. They found 2 different and interesting events about this issue. At that time, I as a researcher learned a different thing almost at the end of this study. One of them is a research center in Ankara University called Child and Young Literature Application and Research Center. (Ankara ÃÅ"niversitesi, Çocuk ve Genà §lik EdebiyatÄ ± Uygulama ve AraÃ…Å ¸tÄ ±rma Merkezi (ÇOGEM)) and the other is an International Storytelling Conference which was April, 9th 2011 in Istanbul. It is hoped that this kind of works helps teachers and students. There are the web site addresses of these events at the end of references section to look at in detailed. CONCLUSIONS In this study, it was realized that stories and drama share a number of features (Read, 2007), which make it natural to integrate and combine them in scaffolding learning during language lessons with children. As research topic scaffolding describes the guidance, collaboration and support provided by teachers to lead children to new learning, it is preferred to show conclusion part, synthesis of data analysis and literature review, could be shown below point by point like a ladder. Using storytelling and drama techniques help; Attention, interest, curiosity at the beginning of the lesson. Using storytelling and drama techniques help catch students attention, interest, and curiosity at the beginning of the lesson. Increase students motivation Motivating students can be a challenging in sometimes, for example there are so many technologies and distractions that adolescents have. Make students engage with the lesson Children are encouraged to engage with the lesson through prediction, hypothesizing and using their imaginations. Make students social and communal Both stories and drama are take place in classes. They makes students increase their social skills such as cooperation, collaboration, listening. Multiple intelligences Stories and drama provide opportunities for students to use different combinations of their Multiple Intelligences. Connection with daily life It was oblivious that students learn best when they make connection with their daily life because they are concreting the abstract information. Transfer previous information This stage gives children an opportunity to recall and transfer their previous information. Internalize The final stage and desired outcome is that children internalize information from story and drama.

Investigate the rate of reaction between Calcium Carbonate and Hydrochl

Investigate the rate of reaction between Calcium Carbonate and Hydrochloric Acid at different concentrations Aim: To Investigate the rate of reaction between Calcium Carbonate and Hydrochloric Acid at different concentrations. Background Knowledge: I know from my knowledge of science, that by adding together a carbonate and an acid, that a salt, water and Carbon Dioxide are produced. Therefore in order to measure the rate of reaction, one of these products needs to be measured, and the rate at which it is produced can be used to define the rate of the reaction. The methods that can be used are either to measure the mass of the solution at intervals. Or to measure the produce of gas (Carbon Dioxide). Prediction: Using the known formula: ACID + CARBONATE SALT + CARBON DIOXIDE + WATER I can predict the reaction of my experiment to be: HYDROCHLORIC + CALCIUM Ã   CALCIUM + WATER + CARBON ACID CARBONATE CHLORIDE DIOXIDE The Chemical Formula is listed below: 2HCl + CaCO3 CaCl2 + H20 + CO2 I think that as the molarity of the acid goes up, the amount of gas produced will also go up. I have based this on my knowledge that calcium carbonate does not react in water. Therefore in solutions with little acid and more water, the calcium carbonate will not react as much as it would in pure acid for example. To make each of the different strengths of the acid, water is added to a solution of 2M hydrochloric acid. Therefore in the 0.2 value, there will be a lot of water, and so it is not expected that much gas will be produced. My predicted graph shows what I expect. On the x-axis, as the molarity increases, the gas produced on the y-axis does likewise. However there will be a point reached where the maximum limit of gas has been prod... ...a clear trend that as the molarity of the acid increases, the volume of carbon dioxide will also do the same. There is an even trend going up, with a straight line to fit as the line of best fit. The reason for this pattern is the same as that that was made in the prediction. As the concentration of the acid increases, there are more HCl molecules and so there is more chance of the calcium carbonate molecules colliding with these and so reacting to form calcium chloride. With the reaction occurring more often, the products will form in a greater quantity and so more carbon dioxide is produced. This reflects the rate of the reaction on the graph and proves my prediction and its theory correct. Evaluation: As the experiment was computer generated, it simulated how the experiment would have been conducted. It accounted for human errors in all aspects of the expriment.

Food processing Essay

Junk food is a derisive slang term for food that is of little nutritional value and often high in fat, sugar, salt, and calorie. Junk foods typically contain high levels of calories from sugar or fat with little protein, vitamins or minerals. Foods commonly considered junk foods include salted snack foods, gum, candy, sweet desserts, fried fast food, and sugary carbonated beverages. Many foods such as hamburgers, pizza, and tacos can be considered either healthy or junk food depending on their ingredients and preparation methods with the more highly processed items usually falling under the junk food category. What is and is not junk food can also depend on the person’s class and social status, with wealthier people tending to have a broader definition while lower-income consumers may see fewer foods as junk food, especially certain ethnic foods. Junk food comprises of anything that is quick, tasty, convenient and fashionable. It seems to have engulfed every age; every race and the newest entrants are children. Wafers, colas, pizzas and burgers are suddenly the most important thing. The commonest scenario is a child who returns from school and plunks himself in front of the television, faithfully accompanied by a bowl of wafers and a can of cola. Children suddenly seem to have stepped into a world of fast foods and vending machines, totally unaware of the havoc they are creating for themselves. Most of the times these junk foods contain colors that are laced with colors, those are often inedible, carcinogenic and harmful to the body. These foods can affect digestive systems, the effects of it emerging after many years. Studies have found that food can cause hypo activity and lapses of concentration in children. Not surprisingly, junk food not only has physiological repercussions, but also psychological ones – far reaching ones that affect the child’s intellect and personalities. Coping intelligently with their dietary needs increases their self-esteem, and encourages further discovery. School days are full of educational challenges that require long attention spans and stamina. Poor nutritional habits can undermine these pre-requisites of learning, as well as sap the strength that children need for making friends, interacting with family, participating in sports and games or simply feeling god about themselves. Junk foods are often eaten in instead of regular food. An essential Indian diet that consists of wholesome chapattis and vegetables or snacks like upmas and idlis. Not surprisingly eating junk food leads to a sense of starvation both physically and mentally, as the feeling of satiation The survey points out that these convenience foods are preferred (86%) mainly by nuclear families where both husband and wife are working or by bachelors who wish to avoid hotel food or people who do not have time, patience or the expertise to prepare in a traditional method and contentment that comes after a wholesome meal is absent. Junk food does have some of the good things that the body needs for good health. And the body needs some salt, fat and sugar for energy to burn while we work and play. However too much fat, sugar and salt is bad for our health and eating lots of junk food will overload your body with these things. It is probably OK to eat junk food sometimes! But people should look for foods that are low in fats and salt and sugar. HISTORY OF JUNK FOOD It all began with a push toward greater convenience in an increasingly mechanized world. Electricity and then electronics brought with them an endless stream of new gadgets for the home, each promising to make life easier in some way. Many of these time- and labor-saving devices were destined for the kitchen. Factories, too, were retooled to streamline the manufacture of everything, including food. JUNK Foods actually predates from the Industrial Revolution to the end of the 19th century with the discovery of comfort food like Burgers, tacos, doughnuts, potato chips, aerated drinks and many more. Colonization is the reason for the development and discovery of different food cultures, techniques of preparations and preservation. However, canned soups, fruits and vegetables, gelatin dessert mixes, ketchup and other prepared condiments, pancake mixes, ready-to-eat breakfast cereals; sweetened condensed milk started a new trend. After the First World War, in 1917 these and more found their way into the kitchens of eager young housewives, with manufacturers often promoting their innovative products via free recipe books. There’s no denying that flavor, texture and nutrients suffered, but people began to rely on these conveniences, and their tastes simply changed to accommodate. It was, after all, an era of scientific progress. By 1937, as another world war threatened, the timing was perfect for the arrival of a processed, canned meat product called Spam. Currently celebrating its 75th anniversary, Spam was all but guaranteed to make a name for it when the U. S. government included it in war rations to be shipped overseas to Allied troops. It was economical, had a long shelf life, needed no refrigeration, and was ready to eat straight from the can. The processed meat product won a place in pantries back home as well, and for all the same reasons. During wartime, women joined the workforce in unprecedented numbers to fill in for all the men-turned-soldiers. This left less time to cook, and many of the newly employed were ready for quick, cheap, modern and convenient time-savers at the end of the day. After the war, women (whether or not they were still employed outside the home) were encouraged to embrace the frozen, dehydrated, canned and boxed foods that promised to save time in the progressive modern era and allow more time for new leisure options—for example, watching television. Fast food franchises like McDonalds were opened in 1940 were also gaining high popularity which promoted to the junk food culture. Richard McDonald, 1945 In India it came by the colonized countries and had a great impact on the cuisine in India. For e. g. Vada Pav, an Indian Fast food is an Indian and Portuguese influenced dish. The Vada is Indian but the Pav is a Portuguese preparation. In 20th century, convenience foods continued to gain in popularity and â€Å"fast food†Ã¢â‚¬â€the ultimate convenience food— joined the revolution. Fast-food chains reached from coast to coast and then around the world, from Boston to Bahrain. The mass of consumers had by now largely lost the connection between food and nutrition, and few thought much about ingesting foods to keep themselves healthy. What are the health effects of fast food? With today’s lives more on the go than ever, finding time for home cooked meals can be challenging. Before you throw in the towel and stop by the drive through, it’s important to understand and consider the health effects that fast food has on children. Right now, there is already an obesity crisis facing Indian children. More kids than ever are leading sedentary lifestyles, eating less nutritious meals and are at risk (or experiencing) significant health problems like Type 2 diabetes, heart issues and other related health concerns that are dramatically more serious in children than they are in adults. A Pediatrics study found that children who indulge often in fast food are less likely to consume as much fiber, milk and produce (all essential to a growing body) than children who didn’t eat fast food. An International Journal of Respiratory Medicine has even more troubling findings. In the study, researchers surveyed 500,000 kids from 31 countries in two age groups: ages 6 to 7 and ages 13 to 14. What they discovered was that children who ate fast food three or more times a week had greater instances in more chronic illnesses than previously thought – specifically, more asthma, eczema, and rhinitis. This was the case whether the child at hand was obese or not. While many people understand the obvious connection to weight-related conditions of high calorie, high sodium fast foods, many are unaware of the effects on respiratory health. Despite best efforts, sometimes it’s simply the only option to grab something fast, so what’s a parent to do? Be smarter about what’s being ordered. Opt for side salads, apples, baked potatoes (go easy on toppings) and other produce and healthier side options that are beginning to regularly appear on the menus of most fast food restaurants. Be mindful of sauces – skip signature sauces as these are often loaded with mayo and saturated fats and stick to mustard and light use of ketchup or BBQ sauce. Ask for menu items without cheese. While these can all help a fast food experience be more healthful, the food from these restaurants will never be health foods. Instituting the practice of prepping in advance or cooking healthy home meals so there are leftovers are great ways to skip the drive-thru and help your child lead a healthy life. Children who eat junk food three times a week have more severe asthma and eczema †¢Teenagers who ate three or more helpings of junk food had a 39 per cent increased risk of severe asthma †¢Children eating mainly fast food also a higher risk of severe eczema and severe rhinitis †¢Asthma rates have doubled in last 20 years as diets have become more centered on junk food Eating junk food could worsen asthma and eczema in children, researchers have warned. Those who ate more than three portions of fast food a week had more severe symptoms such as wheezing, runny nose and eyes, and itchy skin. Findings from an international study involving more than 100 countries, including the India, suggest fast food diets in the western world may be contributing to a rise in the conditions. Experts believe the epidemic of asthma in developed countries could be linked to a move away from natural, fresh foods to fast foods – as has happened here since the 1970s. Asthma rates in the India have doubled in the last 20 years at the same time as there has been a steady decline in key vitamins and minerals in children’s diets, while consumption of fats in oils and processed foods has soared. More than five million Indians suffer asthma, including 1. 4 million children, and the disease causes 70,000 hospital admissions and 14,000 deaths each year. In the latest study, researchers examined data concerning 319,000 13 and 14 year olds from 51 countries and 181,000 six and seven year olds from 31 different countries. The teenagers and parents of the six and seven year olds were questioned on symptoms of asthma, rhino conjunctivitis – affecting the nose and eyes – and eczema in the preceding 12 months. They were also asked about their diet and consumption of certain types of food already linked to protective or damaging effects on health, and frequency was measured as never, occasionally, once or twice a week and three or more times a week. Teenagers eating three or more helpings of burgers, chips and pizza each week had a 39 per cent increased risk of severe asthma, while children had a 27 per cent increased risk. Those eating mainly fast food also a higher risk of severe eczema and severe rhinitis, with symptoms of runny or blocked nose and itchy and watery eyes. Writing in the medical journal Thorax, the researchers said if the link was proved to be causal, ‘then the findings have major public health significance owing to the rising consumption of fast foods globally’. But it is not clear whether the extra risk is caused by junk foods or a relative lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in the diet which are known to reduce the chances of breathing problems. The study also found that eating fruit could have a protective effect on children and adolescents. Consuming three or more portions a week was linked to a reduction in symptom severity of between 11 per cent among teens and 14 per cent in children. The researchers said ‘Our results suggest that fast food consumption may be contributing to the increasing prevalence of asthma, rhino conjunctivitis and eczema in adolescents and children. ‘ Previous research has shown that youngsters eating a Mediterranean diet high in fruit and vegetables have a lower risk of asthma. A team at St George’s Hospital Medical School, London, found good lung function was linked to high intakes of vitamins C, E and beta-carotene, citrus fruits, apples and fruit juice. It is thought that high intake of salt and fatty acids such as those found in margarines could also induce asthma. Malayka Rahman, research analysis and communications officer at Asthma UK, said ‘This research adds to previous studies that suggest a person’s diet can contribute to their risk of developing asthma, and indicates the benefit of further research to determine the effects that particular food groups can have on the chances of developing asthma or the impact it may have on severity. ‘Evidence suggests that the vitamins and antioxidants found in fresh fruit and vegetables have a beneficial effect on asthma. ‘Therefore, Asthma UK advises people with asthma to eat a healthy, balanced diet including five portions of fruit or vegetables every day, fish more than twice a week, and pulses more than once a week. ‘ Top 10 Dangerous Diseases Caused by Junk Food Obesity – Updated Article with Extra Information on Obesity Diseases Junk food obesity is prevalent in the U. S. and it is extremely strenuous for the entire body, which was never intended to carry that much extra weight. Your heart will also end up working harder than it should, which eventually leads to obesity heart disease. There are also various other obesity diseases, the result of which can be fatal. IObesity Disease #1: Heart Disease. This is one of the deadliest and most common fast food obesity diseases. People with obesity usually have lower levels of good HDL cholesterol and higher levels of bad LDL cholesterol. This increases the risks of obesity heart disease tremendously. Obesity disease #2: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. This is the main cause of female infertility, and obese women have a much higher chance of developing this disorder. This obesity disease also results in excessive hair growth and irregular menstrual cycles. Obesity Disease #3: Diabetes (Type 2). This is one of the fastest growing obesity diseases. What happens here is that your pancreas is unable to supply sufficient amounts of insulin to convert sugars into energy. This means that the unconverted sugar floats around the blood, which is very harmful. Obesity Disease #4: Dyslipidemia. This is a major fast food obesity related disease, which results because of abnormally high trygliceride and LDL cholesterol levels. Dyslipidemia eventually leads to obesity heart disease. Obesity Disease #5: Sleep Apnea. This disorder means that you might actually stop breathing while sleeping, which causes you to wake up suddenly several times during the night. You may not even be aware of this disruption of sleep, but it prevents you from receiving proper sleep and results in daytime fatigue. Obesity Disease #6: Blount’s Disease. This disorder occurs when an excessive amount of weight gets placed on growing bones, making it more prevalent in children. This is especially the case with the lower part of the body. Obesity Disease #7: Arthritis. This is a condition that is a result of strain on the joints for extended periods. Excessive body weight certainly causes such strain and makes arthritis develop in younger people. Obesity Disease #8: Respiratory Problems. Obesity makes your lungs work harder, so that they get the necessary oxygen where it is needed in a timely manner. Asthma is also more common in those who are obese. Obesity Disease #9: Stroke. When the arteries, which carry blood to the brain, get blocked, the end result is a stroke. Such blockages happen in obese people much more often, because they usually have high cholesterol and blood pressure, which contributes to blockages. Obesity Disease #10: Liver Damage. It is difficult for the body to deal with fast food obesity, because these foods usually do not get distributed appropriately. When this is the case, fat can build up around the liver, which may result in its inflammation, scarring, and even permanent damage. HOW MUCH IS EATEN TODAY BY INDIANS? There has been a major shift in food habits in the metropolitan cities, about 86% of households prefer to have instant food due to steep rise in dual income level and standard of living, convenience, and influence of western countries, according to a survey undertaken by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). The survey on â€Å"Ready to Eat Food in Metropolitan Cities† is based on responses from 3,000 representative households with children or without children, nuclear family and bachelors mainly because many consumers in metros lead time-pressured lifestyles and have less time available for formal meals, as a result of which demand remains high for products which can be eaten on the go. In a survey, Assocham claims that Indian food processing market will show fast paced growth in the next five years. It is also estimated that this food processing industry will show the annual growth of 40-60% in next five years. This all will be encouraged by changed trade rules and increased demand among the people. The survey points out that these convenience foods are preferred (86%) mainly by nuclear families where both husband and wife are working or by bachelors who wish to avoid hotel food or people who do not have time, patience or the expertise to prepare in a traditional method. According to the survey, metropolitans are the largest consumers of processed food and are going to be the biggest consumers of processed food because of their ever increasing per capita income and lifestyle which is also changing very rapidly, disclosed DS Rawat, secretary general, Assocham. Major metropolitan cities in which respondents were interviewed by ASDF include Mumbai, Cochin, Chennai, Hyderabad, Indore, Patna, Pune, Delhi, Chandigarh and Dehradun and it was observed that there has been a surprising rise in the demand of packaged food in the Indian market, all this is because the lifestyle of people has changed drastically and also the factor that consumer’s opinion regarding their eating habits has changed in a significant manner. The majority of the working class also mentioned that it’s a boon to save time, energy and money by using these foods. Various foods helped to prevent the age-old traditional method of long preparation of grinding, cooking or fermenting for hours and hence making the work faster. Even the manufacturers prepared the instant foods according to the taste of the consumers. Rawat said that the consumer spending rate on processed food had increased at an average rate of 7. 6% annually during the years 2008 to 2010 and this was expected to continue as the consumer expense would rise with an average of around 8. 6% till the year 2012. The survey highlighted that 85% of parents with children under five year are serving these easy-to-prepare meals at least 7-10 times per month due to increased pressures at work, and increasing complexity in other household management areas, they are actively looking for ways to simplify and save time, says majority of parents. About 92% of the nuclear family feel that they have less free time than before they had kids, it is now a common fact that they are spending less time in the kitchen, and are turning to takeout, delivered food, and semi-prepared meals to help feed the family at mealtime. About 72% of bachelors prefer the convenience food because of less cost, time and energy saving, convenience in preparation and consumption in the busy and hectic life. The very term ‘instant† means simple, fast, convenient and affordable food which is easy and fast to prepare besides being hygienic, free from microbial contamination and also convenient to eat, say the bachelors. Over 65% of working women revealed that the present trend changed the habits to foods which are simple and easy to digest. Hence, the existence of these foods fulfilled all the needs of modern human being. The food habitats in India have changed due to the western influence and the usage of these foods is also on the rise. These foods are widely used in catering industries as well as at homes. There are varieties of instant/ready-to-eat foods available in the market to choose from and they have been a part of everyday life, disclosed the ASSOCHAM survey. Food manufacturers have also started concentrating on manufacturing new innovative food products and ready to eat processed food so that it can keep up with the speed of ever changing taste of the consumers. This has also increased the demand of better quality food packaging, food processing and this increase in demand has increased the number of manufacturing units in India. The demand of processed food products such as juice based drinking concentrates, bottled water, organic food, herbal tea, fortified drinks and low fat dairy products have increased very much in last five years. Canned foods, fast foods, frozen foods, instant products, dried foods, preserved foods, etc. all come under instant foods or ready-to-eat foods which has encouraged the introduction of a big range of ready to eat snacks, breakfast food, protein supplementary foods and many more, points the survey. Even though after being economical and convenient, 34% of the consumers prefer the traditional types of foods which are fresh and natural without any preservatives or artificial ingredients. About 42% of the respondent said that another advantage of instant foods that occupy less space in the kitchen or pantry, the amount of drudgery involved is less and there is a tremendous potential for commercial exploitation as it is a â€Å"rising industry. † 1) The majority of people prefer to purchase canned foods classified as: ? Canned fruits (86%) ? canned vegetables (76%) ? Other canned products (85%) 2) Instant products: These are again classified as: ? Instant mixes (65%) ? instant powders (56%) 3) Table relishes: e. g. Mayonnaise, ketchups, sauces, jams, jellies, marmalades (88%) 4) Dairy products: milk powders, dairy products like curd, cheese, cream, dairy desserts, (89%) 5) Frozen foods: These are of three types: ? Chilled foods (dairy products, eggs, meat) (920%) ? Frozen foods (highly perishable foods) (95%) ? Freeze dried foods (Coffee, meals for explorers) (85%) 6) Baked products: Biscuits, cookies cakes, breads and various other bakery items. (75%) 7) Snack foods: They are classified as: (65%) ? Jaggery based ? Cereal based ? Fried items 8) Beverages: These are divided into – (88%) ? Alcoholic drinks (wine, beer) ? Non-alcoholic which include soft drinks and health drinks (fruit based and non-fruit based) 9) Pasta foods: Vermicelli, noodles, macaroni, etc. , (82%) 10) Weaning foods: Farex, Cerelac, Lactogen (86%) 11) Health conscious foods: depending upon age, health, and gender. (75%) 12) Breakfast cereal foods: These are fruit based and non-fruit based (42%) 13) Defatted groundnuts, tailored foods/fabricated foods, dehydrated fruits and vegetables (72%) BUT WHY DO WE EAT SO MUCH IF IT IS NOT GOOD FOR HEALTH? A study by Paul Johnson and Paul Kenny at the Scripps Research Institute in 2008 suggested that junk food consumption alters brain activity in a manner similar to addictive drugs like cocaine or heroin. After many weeks with unlimited access to junk food, the pleasure centers of rat brains became desensitized, requiring more food for pleasure. After the junk food was taken away and replaced with a healthy diet, the rats starved for two weeks instead of eating nutritious fare. A 2007 British Journal of Nutrition study found that female those eat junk food during pregnancy increased the likelihood of unhealthy eating habits in their offspring. Researchers from the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom exposed 60 children, ages 9 to 11, to both food advertisements and toy advertisements, followed by a cartoon and free food. The children ate more after the food advertisements than after the commercials for toys, the study found. The obese children in the study increased their consumption of food the most after watching the food ads, compared to overweight children and normal-weight children. Of course, junk food is also readily available at restaurant chains across the country in the form of French fries, chicken nuggets, shakes, soda, etc. Not only are most fast foods not terribly healthy, one study indicates that there may be something about fast food that actually encourages gorging. In another study, from the Children’s Hospital in Boston, teens age 13-17 were given three types of fast-food meals (all including chicken nuggets, French fries, and cola). In one meal, the teens were served a lot of food at once. In another, a lot of food was served at the same time, but in smaller portions. And in the third test meal, a lot of food was served, but in smaller portions over 15-minute intervals. The researchers found that it didn’t seem to matter how much food was served — the teens still took in about half of their daily calorie needs in that one meal. The researchers suggested that certain factors inherent to fast food might promote overeating: 1. They are a pleasure to our taste buds. They release stimulating chemicals such as Gamma Amino butric acid (GABA) or Dopamine. Or in case of synthetic chocolates, large amount endorphins are released 2. Junk food is way tastier than healthy food. Hence, it is high in palatability 3. Addiction plays a very important role when it comes to choosing junk food over healthy food. 4. Another reason for junk food craving is the mood. It has been noticed that when you are overtly stressed you crave for sweet junk food like cakes, pastries, brownies or chocolates and it also provides a high amount of satisfaction as it provides a high number of calories in a small volume Junk food vs. Healthy food It an age old war between healthy food and junk food. When it comes to choosing between health foods and junk foods, junk food has always won the race! Whether we admit it or not, although we may start off our day with eating an apple, we’ll end it with two to three slices of extra cheese pizza and coke. But why do we love junk food so much when we know that it is unhealthy for us? There are many reasons to which most of you will agree. Junk Food vs. Health Food Everyone loves greasy foods, but is they good for you? No! All the fried foods, hamburgers, hot dogs and doughnuts we eat taste so good but are not healthy. Where is the nutrition? By frying or over-cooking your food, you cook all of the nutrients out. Think of a Big Mac, with all the fat and calories going through your bloodstream. Not a good thought. All of the fats, calories, and grease from the food will clog up your arteries and can cause other health problems too. There are many reasons why you should eat healthier foods before work and school. Some of the most important reasons are that you can concentrate better throughout the day, you’re less hungry, and your study time is more productive. High-fiber foods release energy slowly, while high-sugar foods only give you a short burst of energy. Psychology Today also reports that good proteins, such as lean meats and nuts, can improve your brain function. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, raw or steamed vegetables, nuts, and foods made with whole wheat all help with keeping your body and brain healthy. Healthy foods help with concentration for school and work. Eating healthy also helps with energy levels and positive thinking. We all want to be able to focus on our day and get as much done as possible. By eating un-healthy foods and having lots of sugar you are more apt to feel sluggish, non-motivated, and feel poorly about yourself. By eating healthier, you are able to focus longer on things and have a sense of accomplishment by having energy through the day. As we all know, many of the food commercials aimed at children are for foods high in fat, sugar, and/or salt, and low in nutritional value. And some research suggests that watching ads for processed foods encourages children to eat more. Food marketers have become increasingly successful in targeting children directly through ads; for example, by using popular cartoon characters to endorse their products. Some people say that government measures are required to control obesity by restricting the food industry and its advertising practices. Hence the benefits of Balanced or healthy food: 1. Healthy foods like fruits and vegetables or whole wheat chapattis and bread are high in fiber content. Fibers release energy slowly, this food keeps our stomach full for a longer time and we feel less hungry through the day. High fiber foods also keep your gastro-intestinal tract healthy thus controlling your cholesterol and blood sugar level. 2. The proteins that you derive from lean meat and nuts improve your brain functions. Have veggies either steamed or stir-fried. They hold all the nutrients intact unlike fried foods which drain out the essential nutrients. 3. Healthy food is not processed, hence they are low on calories and do not lose out on essential nutritional values. Having multi-grain breads, sprouts, low fat diary items (like skimmed milk, home-made paneer or curd) and fruits will give you a good amount of nutrition. 4. Since these foods are low in calories and Trans fat, therefore, it will help to control your weight. If you are overweight or obese, consult a doctor or nutritionist at the earliest and follow a high fiber low calorie diet strictly. 5. A daily diet of health and nutritional food will also give you a good heart preventing all sorts of heart diseases. It will also control your cholesterol, blood sugar level and blood pressure. You see healthy food not only supplies you with proteins, minerals and essential nutrients but also has many added benefits. No disadvantages at all, only with the exception that it won’t be able to meet your temptations. Statistics have shown that now-a-days children are fond of junk food more than adults. How many of them eat fruits with that much interest as a plate of pizza? Children are a lot fussier about food but introducing them to healthy diet from the time they start eating can be a good start. Highly fatty junk foods will block their arteries and blood vessels leading to some serious diseases. Children learn a lot from adults. Therefore, it’s advisable that you hold back your temptations whenever you pass by any fast food joints. Control your temptations people, only then can you lead a happy life and give your child a healthy one. ARTICLES and LITERATURE VIEWS (Adapted from news www. Naturalnews. com) 1) Fish oil fats protect brain against damage caused by a junk food diet Friday, May 31, 2013 by: Dr. John Phillip Medical nutrition scientists have written volumes that show how the nutrients from the foods we eat daily alter our genetic structure as well as the metabolism of every one of the trillions of cells in our body. Neurons in the brain are particularly susceptible to an accurately-delivered array of nutrients and critical omega-3 fats to help maintain memory, spatial learning and cognitive function. A number of past studies clearly demonstrate that eating one high-fat junk food meal from the typical fast food restaurant measurably changes the expression of genes that help control the development and spread of cancer, and the retention of critical short term memories as well. In fact, the excessive sugar content and hydrogenated fats from junk foods are known to disrupt insulin levels in the brain and displace essential omega-3 fats needed to construct and maintain cell structure and assist electrical and chemical messaging. A research team from the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease has published the result of a study in the British Journal of Nutrition that shows how fish oils could minimize the effects that junk food have on the brain. Over the past decade, researchers have demonstrated that high-fat and high-sugar diets could disrupt neurogenesis, a process that generates new nerve cells. Diets rich in omega-3 fats help prevent these negative effects by stimulating an area of the brain that controls feeding, learning and memory. Consuming fish or fish oil supplements supports normal hormone release after a junk food meal In the largest study to date, scientists accumulated data from 185 studies showing that omega.