Film Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Film Music - Essay Example The difficulty of studying the nature of the music for motion pictures derives from the complexity of the medium. Films usually operate through "a conjunction of visual and auditory signals, research into film music requires an understanding of not one but two non-verbal systems of communication, as well as the problematical jargons with which we attempt to describe each of them in speech (Marks, 1997, p. 3)". Currently, few scholars have mastered the field of such specialized studies as music in silent movies. Thus, I have to address that this paper has limitation based on the narrow specialization of the topic. The subject of film music is neglected by researchers, because it spans between two disciplines and its material presents many problems (Marks, 1997). Unlike concert music, film music exists only as an accompaniment to the film and is not included into a repertoire. Especially in music for silent movies, the primary material that has to be researched is not the music, but th e film itself. Consequently, the film music in silent movies has to be studies together with a profound observation of the movie. Music in this sense is in the core of the research and the movie plot stays in the periphery (Marks, 1997). "As we view a film, our minds must contend with the ever-changing content of the moving image and the soundtrack. The individual elements (not just music, but also lighting, camera work, editing, and so forth) are submerged into the flow of images on the screen. Hence the engrossed audience rarely perceives these elements consciously; it is simply carried along by the stream of sights and sounds (Marks, 1997, p.4)." Marks (1997) points out that most of our "information about music and silent cinema dates from after 1910; earlier than that, documents are lacking and extant scores are few (p. 26)." Altman (1998) observes that in the early periods of silent film musical accompaniment was not standard practice. He explains that the US film industry began to introduce normative musical score as accompaniment between 1908 and 1912. Altman (1998) also notes that developing the musical accompaniment was a significant part of the cinematic transformation that was taking part at that time. Efforts were made to stimulate the use of film music and to supervise its quality. Much more attention should be paid on the impact of geography into music. The urbanized east coast versus the less populated western states, the neighborhood trends versus the downtown surroundings have influenced the sound in the silent movies (Altman, 1998). Ethnicity and race and the emergence of African folklore traditions, ragtime an d jazz on the musical accompaniment also placed a cornerstone in silent movies music. After the World War I and the disastrous flu epidemic in the 1918, the 1920s can be characterized as one of the most prosperous years in America. The 1920s are also called "The Roaring Twenties" or "The Jazz Age" (Blundell, n.d). After the World War I, a lot of African Americans who were living in the South, started to move North. Northern America was more industrialized and provided more employment opportunities. Thus, African Americans hoped they could make a better living. 1920s was the time when

Historical document analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Historical document analysis - Essay Example e for lower taxes and so on, during the great deal people espoused an increased role of government, which could act to ensure the welfare of less fortunate people, serve as a safety net, regulate the rules of the economic game, and ensure that everyone could live a life of dignity and have a chance at happiness. This week’s readings demonstrate that the dynamics of today’s recession have been fundamentally a part of American politics for almost a century. Though all three documents show some degree of recognition that the previous function of the American economy had become untenable, and that some new actions must take place to protect the poor and those with less control over their economic destiny, they also show a repeating, recognizable pattern that has continued to this day – a left which elected a president on the hopes of broadly redistributing wealth, a president that had to back off of his initial promise for pragmatic reasons and thus anger his own con stituents, and a right outraged by the entire process, glumly acknowledging that perhaps a social safety net was necessary, but calling any real redistribution of wealth socialism and anti-American. One of the most remarkable things upon reading these three texts is the fact that Roosevelt, even while still simply campaigning for president rather than actually being president, seemed very conscious of his place in history, and of the requirements of pragmatism that holding the presidency would entail. Instead of opening his speech with the kind of emotional call to action that can be so common in election year campaigning, Roosevelt opens with a somewhat dry recitation of presidential history, invoking Jefferson’s famous duel with Maddison over the role of the government (165). So even before becoming president, Roosevelt was conscious of the way history might view him and his actions, and was conscious of the pragmatic demands of his office. This led to his criticism of the financial system,

Importance of Declaration of Independence: Internet Freedom

Importance of Declaration of Independence: Internet Freedom Khoi Dao Relevance of Declaration of Independence In America’s revolution history, the Declaration of Independence wrote by Thomas Jefferson is one of the most iconic document. For most Americans, the Declaration of Independence describes the ideal government, one that works for its people and for their liberty, equality and happiness. Although our found father wrote the Declaration of Independence hundreds of years ago, this document is still relevant today because it gives us a blueprint to protect our â€Å"Internet’s right.† Internet is the most important invention in 20th century. There is not a better place for information and knowledge to be shared than on the World Wide Web. Internet is like supermarket of information and knowledge as it provided for everyone a fast access to practically limitless amount of data. Some people view it as a multimedia haven, some gush at the opportunities it will afford them to complete homework assignments, and for young adolescent boys it serves as a makeshift girlfriend. The Internet, and social networks by extension, is helping to spur an idea that seemed impossible a mere twenty years ago. Language barriers once prevented the average person from talking with someone in Asia or Europe, but now we have tools to communicate with someone in an entirely different language. A good example of this is Busuu.com, a site much like Facebook, where you can practice learning a language with people from different countries. The more humanity integrates over the web, the more soc ial borders dissolve. You might remember a time when the Internet did not exist, but the younger and upcoming generations will never know what it was like to live without web service. The internet service is a must have in nowadays society. Living in this age of technology without access to Internet is like living in a house with no electric. The most fundamental idea of the Internet is the freedom to share information. However, in recent years, the government proposes the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Internet Protocol Act) bills to further regulate the internet. The goal of these acts is to stop illegal downloading and protecting intellectual property rights, but they will do more than that. The entertainment industry wants to have the power to shut down an unauthorized site or person to protect its property. The SOPA and PIPA will introduce a vast potential for censorship and abuse on making the web less safe and frigid. Websites like Youtube and Facebook will be in the scope of these bills because these websites have huge base of users that express themselves, make arts and produce videos that have lots of copyrighted video clip and music mix in. The video of your baby that you post online will be taken down just because you have music playing in the background. Our politicians tamper with the basic idea of internet, the freedom to share information, just to make the entertainment industry happy. Government involvement in the net is comparable to talking on the phone to your girlfriend while your parents listen in. You can say a few of the things you want, but a lot of the content will be restrained. The notion of censorship is the elimination of the individual liberties of free speech as guaranteed by the American Constitution, prohibiting the right to individual interests and denying personal accountability. The Internet has become the next main target of government regulation and statism. If humanity allows the best symbol of freedom to be interposed upon the results could be catastrophic to the future of our race. The rules and regulations of Internet censorship are oddly close on the side of oppression. Government regulation of the net is comparable to placing D.U.I. checkpoints at every corner to make sure you remember to follow the laws and never consider deviation. While any regulation law introduced to society is always proclaimed to be done for the greater good, the greater good in this scenario may actually lead to the demise of the Internet as we know it. The government mandating Internet censorship will be the fall of democracy. We, as Americans, value freedom, especially speech, above most everything else. Our founding fathers set up our country to ensure that our right to freedom would forever be protected. Soldiers fight constantly to protect our ability to maintain freedom and not allow us to fall under the control of invading governments. Freedom of speech allows us to create our social identities. Communicating our ideas and beliefs, no matter how strong they may be, makes us unique. The Internet is one of the biggest platforms for freedom of speech and banning it as a place of free speech would cause great uproar. If the government had passed this bill it would serve as the tipping point for allowing censorship of speech in our society. While there are those who abuse the privileges of free speech on the Internet this can only lead to a dreary finish. Who is to say that the Internet is the only place where speech should be reg ulated? The government would then examine different places where they can implement restrictions and soon we may lose basic rights. Internet censorship is also contributing to creativity suppression. This creativity could potentially help the human race in the form of innovative new ideas. The Internet forms parallels to the enlightenment era of the 18th century. A big advancement back then was the new coffee shops where a person could pay a penny for a cup of coffee and sit down with other fine gentlemen. This was an interesting time because now a person could be around those of higher intelligence and imbibe the discussions concerning things like the natural sciences and philosophy. This era managed to reform society using reason rather than tradition, faith, and revelation, which lead to an explosion of learning and inquiry. It is almost like these were the prototype for todays Internet, but instead of coffeehouses of we now have sites like Khan Academy, Facebook, and YouTube to share ideas and these sites reach an audience of millions all from the comfort of their own homes. With every social and technologica l innovation the ease and speed of human interaction increases paving the way to greater strides in innovation and thought. If we censored the things said in these cafes who knows what kind of marvelous inventions we would be without today. I could be carving this paper into a rock right now like Fred Flintstone. Nevertheless, pro censorship lobbyist are more concerned with stopping pirating and not worried about the collateral damage all this meddling will have with the people who are actually contributing useful material. The Internet, like a blossoming flower, can truly something beautiful if we allow it to be. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, â€Å"governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government.† This statement is still true in today society. Since the government proposes the SOPA and PIPA bills, people were angry and frustrated. The online community bands together, and organizes the largest protest in Internet history to stopped the SOPA and PIPA bills. Numerous websites began discussion, educated its users about these bills and encouraged them to contact their representatives to stop these acts. Some websites even proposed a â€Å"internet blackout† to protest against these bills. On January 18, 2012, there are more than 100,000 websites participated in the protest. Websites participated in the black out included Reddit, Craiglist, Twitte r, Tumblr, and many more. These websites blackout its websites for 24 hours, and provided links for the users about the SOPA and PIPA bills. Google also participates in the protest as well. Google placed a censor bar over their Goodle doodle, and connected its users to page with information about SOPA and PIPA, and at the end of the day they got 4.5 millions of signatures on their petition. The protest was the huge success, the blackout lead to at least 18 senators withdrawing support of the bills. On January 24, which is the initial date the Congress would vote on these bills, the vote was postponed and the SOPA and PIPA bills are being stopped when people spoken loud and clear. This protest proved that Jefferson’s statement is still relevant to this day. Internet is the wonderful tool that we used it in everyday life, sometimes we even take it for granted. The government proposes SOPA and PIPA bills to censor the Internet, these bills are the biggest threat to the Internet freedom as we know it that’s ever existed. The online community came together and successfully stopped the bills. The Reluctant Fundamentalist | Analysis The Reluctant Fundamentalist | Analysis The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a novel by Mohsin Hamid, young celebrated writer who had very intricately woven the story around a young Pakistani, Changez, who faces a post 9/11 situation in the United States. The novel is his monologue: a quietly told, cleverly constructed fable of infatuation and disenchantment with America, set on the deceitful fault lines of east/west relations, and finely tuned to the ironies of prejudice and misrepresentation. This gives an insight into the post 9/11 scenario and what the Muslims had to face in the United States. It is a deeply provocative, excellent addition to the post September 11 novels. But it would be an understatement to merely term it that. The novel is rich in irony and intelligence. It is beautifully written and superbly constructed. It is more exciting than any thriller Ive read since long, as well as being a subtle and elegant analysis of the state of our world today. It seems that Mohsin Hamid would have us understand the novels title ironically. It has a double meaning likewise the title has one person with two different personas. We are provoked to question whether every critic of America in a Muslim country should be labeled a fundamentalist, or whether the term more accurately describes the capitalists of the American upper class. Yet these queries seem blunter and less interesting than the novel itself, in which the fundamentalist, and potential assassin, may be sitting on either side of the table. Even at the end of the novel the writer closes with the narration, He writes: I hope you will not resist my attempt to shake you by the hand. But why are you reaching into your jacket, Sir? Therefore, it can be gauged that the American even after all the hospitality does not shrug off the suspicion he had in the beginning. The writer starts the sentence in the second line which is self explanatory of the perception of Muslims in the United States post 9/11. It says: Do not be frightened by my beard: I am a lover of America. Throughout the novel we will come across instances where the writer tries to establish how the Americans perceive the Muslim world no matter how and what their contributions and emotions have been towards The United States. Authors Background: This book is written by Mohsin Hamid, born in 1971 in Lahore. After studying at Princeton and Harvard Law, he worked in New York and London, first as a management consultant with McKinsey and then as managing director of Wolff Olins. He now lives and writes in Lahore. His first novel, Moth Smoke- 2000, dealt with sex, drugs, and class conflict in 1990s urban Pakistan. It inquires the reader to judge the trial of an ex-banker and heroin addict who has fallen for his best friends wife. Moth Smoke became a cult hit in Pakistan. It was also the winner of a Betty Trask Award and a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. This second novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist -2007, explored the fear and suspicion that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In it an American, encounters a bearded Pakistani who has left behind a high-flying career and love affair in New York. The novel became an international bestseller, won numerous awards, and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Mohsin also writes essays and journalism for the Guardian, Time Magazine, The New York Times, Dawn, La Repubica, and other publications. Mohsin Hamid started writing the novel in 2000 before even 9/11 struck and then after it stuck he weaved the story around the same man Changez who went to study in America and built it in the aftermath of the fall of the twin towers. Because the writer has been living in the United States and also studied at the same institutes that he has mentioned therefore there is a likelihood that his personal observations would have come into play too. Target Audience: The audience that the writer caters is general public. The fall of the twin towers in the United States shook the world and a war was inflicted in the name of War on Terror bringing Muslims under its crunch. Therefore this book especially focuses on the youth, as the post 9/11 situation affected mostly the young working and studying in the US. Summary: The novel begins a few years after 9/11. Mohsin Hamid has very intricately woven the story around a young bearded man, Changez who happens upon the American in Lahore, invites him to tea and tells him the story of his life in the months just before and after the attacks. In 2001, as he explains, Changez was hardly a radical, as he now appears, not from within, but from without. That monologue is the substance of Hamids graceful and unnerving novel. Fresh out of Princeton, Changez was living in New York City and working as a Financial Analyst. At Princeton he was one of only two Pakistanis in his class who did exceptionally well there: I reached my senior year without having received a single B. The man who hires him is also something like a mentor: Jim is an American who rose from poor circumstances to become a very successful man, and he sees a similar hunger in Changez, though Changez doesnt think they are that similar. The fundamental motivation is slightly different: I did not grow up in poverty. But I did. His indoctrination, however, was never total. Starting with his job interview at Underwood Samson to a post-graduation trip to Greece with friends from Princeton, Changez maintains an outsiders double perspective. On the trip he is infatuated with Erica, one of the other travelers, but is also bothered by his rich friends extravagance and the arrogance with which they give orders to anyone theyve paid for a service: I found myself wondering by what peculiarity of human history my companions many of whom I would have regarded as upstarts in my own country, so devoid of refinement were they were in a position to conduct themselves in the world as though they were its ruling class. Yet even as he recognizes the shortcoming of that ruling class, Changez, who comes from a high-status family, moving downwardly, also aspires to join it. Given his oft-mentioned phenomenal aptitude for his new job and a talent for winning over other people, that goal seems all but guaranteed. Has he sacrificed his identity in pursuit of his status? Is he an ignorant master or a shrewd subaltern? Changez has already begun to ask himself these questions when he sees the towers fall. And in the wake of the attacks, as tensions escalate between India and Pakistan, and the United States is caught up in patriotic displays that strike Changez as a dangerous form of nostalgia, he loses interest in his work. Assigned to help appraise a publishing company in Valparaiso, Chile, he spends his time visiting Nerudas house and lunching with the publisher, who compares Changez to a janissary one of the Christian youths captured and then conscripted by the Ottomans, compelled to do battle against their own civilization. He appears to hide himself and his emotions completely, until his reaction to the attacks through the sudden smile, pierces the shell. It seems to have come as a surprise even to him and while hardly endearing, it sets his tale in motion. Changez has a particular way with words, especially regarding the American. Rather than stating the obvious, he offers a more agreeable alternative one that permits both him and the American to continue their pretense. And that it is a charade right from the beginning. Come, tell me, what were you looking for? Surely, at this time of day, only one thing could have brought you to the district of Old Anarkali and that is the quest for the perfect cup of tea. Have I guessed correctly? In the last lines of the 1st page the writer pens the American mindset, he writes: You prefer that seat with your back so close to the wall? He then adds satirically explaining to the American that the Pakistanis are not all terrorists and to be feared: You would have been surprised by the sweetness of his (Waiters) speech, if only you understood Urdu. Mohsin Hamid also talks about the dilemmas of the Pakistani society and narrates: Status in any traditional, class conscious society declines more slowly than wealth. He also talks about the suspicion with which the Americans view the Pakistanis, he tells him that the food is not poisoned and therefore offers an exchange of tea cups also to shrug all suspicions. The writer continues reflecting on the American mind and how they view the Muslims and adds to the tale: The American says: Although I like Pakistanis but the elite has raped that place well and good, right? And fundamentalism, you guys have some serious problem with fundamentalism. The writer through the mind of Changez feels bridled but accepts that there was nothing overtly objectionable in what he said. But the offence that he took made him restrict his response to Yes there are challenges but my family is there and I can assure you it is not as bad as that. Readers may be led to believe that the conversation over tea and dinner is merely a framing device, and that the true heart of the novel is the life-story Changez recounts, but that narrative is interrupted too often. Changezs life-story holds clues to what brings these two men together here for what is surely meant to be a fateful encounter which the writer pulls that off to some extent. Two things follow the turning point in the novel: Changez begins his introspection about Americas hegemony and power and the city he had embraced with such joy only a few months before begins to view him with mistrust and suspicion as the public mood and climate change. Changezs life begins to unravel quickly. Erica slips away from him, is confined to a mental asylum and eventually disappears. He is fired from his job. He returns to Lahore, bitter and disillusioned about the United States, and begins to teach at a university. His exposition of US behavior in its grief-crazed, wounded state offers a sort of postscript to this novel. As a society, you retreated into myths of your own difference, assumptions of your own superiority. And you acted out these beliefs on the stage of the world Such an America had to be stopped in the interests not only of the rest of humanity but also in your own. Changez does not let on exactly what he does to stop America once he is back in Pakistan though he admits that is his mission. Hamid keeps the ending of the novel open and faintly ominous. It is hard to tell how reliable a narrator Changez is. Analysis: Mohsin Hamid is a young celebrated writer. A less sophisticated author might have told a short narrative of an immigrants experiences of discrimination and ignorance. But Hamids novel is distinguished by its portrayal of Changezs class aspirations and inner struggle. For, to be an American is to view the world in a certain way. Ericas obsession with the past engineered to dovetail with Americas nostalgia and with Changezs yearning for a lost Lahore while her disappearance neatly parallels his departure from America. Hamid, who himself attended Princeton and worked in corporate America, aptly captures the ethos and hypocrisies truly and intricately. We never learn the American mans identity, yet Changez regularly interrupts the story to address him. Perhaps he had been pursuing Changez, who has become a leader of anti-American protests. Apparently, the man is on a mission and he may be carrying a weapon, as indicated in the last lines. The use of monologue in The Reluctant Fundamentalist allows the writer intimate access to his central characters mind. Not without its limitations, monologue is used here with great effectiveness, particularly in helping to build suspense. Changezs tone, which is sometimes exaggeratedly polite, sometimes darkly menacing, is laced with the bitter irony. The precise, rather classical orchestration of symmetries and reciprocities is both a strength and a weakness in the book. It fosters the kind of concentratedly astute cultural observation at which Hamid excels. At frequent intervals the narrative executes a nice flourish in the form of some densely symbolic image or succinct remark. Changez meaningfully summarizes, for instance, the experience of every happy Manhattan transplant when he declares: I was, in four and a half years, never an American; I was immediately a New Yorker. Conclusion: The nature of fiction here is closer to reality. The east/west scenario, the discovery of ones patriotism and a morally superior set of values leaves Changez with a sense of decision to leave the United States in the wake of September 11 attacks. He, therefore becomes a potentially fascinating character, what his creator would have intended. This is undoubtedly a great novel written out of the anguished material of these kinds of east/west encounters. This book and its author (who won a Betty Trask award for his first novel, Moth Smoke) certainly has the potential to produce more world class novels. It gives an insight into the American mind and how the world in a post 9/11 circumstances view the Muslims. It also enhances feelings of patriotism when the other partys intentions become evident. My critical analysis of The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a testament to its genuinely provocative nature, and it remains, at the very least, an intelligent, highly engaging piece of work.

Genius Loves Company: Ray Charles :: essays research papers fc

Genus Loves Company: The Life of Ray Charles   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Musician Ray Charles is generally considered a musical genius, and is so in many fields. He has enormous success in jazz, blues, soul music, country and western, and cross over pop. Acknowledged as an expert vocalist, pianist, saxophonist, and all around-entertainer, Charles first burst into popular attention in the 1950s as the virtual inventor of soul music. Ray Charles once defined soul music, â€Å"[soul music] is when you are able to convey the meaning of a song and make people feel it, make them think, Oh, Ray, you must have had that experience because there’s no way you could have sung that song unless it happened to you.† (Jet Magazine)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charles was born Ray Charles Robinson in Albany, Georgia, on September 23, 1930. His father, Bailey Robinson, was a mechanic and a handyman, and his mother, Aretha, stacked boards in a sawmill. His family moved to Greenville, Florida, when Charles was an infant. A neighbor gave Charles piano lessons after Charles taught himself to play at the age of three. This neighbor owned a small store that served as a juke joint as well. Charles not only took piano lessons in the juke joint, he also absorbed the blues, jazz, and gospel music in the juke joint. At the age of five, Charles saw his brother drown in the tub his mother used to do laundry, while his family struggled through the height of the Great Depression. Two years later, at the age of seven, Charles lost his sight to glaucoma. He stated his mother never allowed his to feel pity for himself. In an interview with Jet Magazine, his mother told him: â€Å"Ok, you’re blind. Now that just means there are at least two ways to do everything. You just have to find the second way†¦ Whatever happens to you is up to you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  His mother also told him: â€Å"You’re blind, you ain’t dumb. You lost your sight, not your mind.† Studying at the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and Blind, he studied for nine years, learning composition and a number of instruments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Upon leaving the school he worked in a number of settings with many different groups in the Florida area. (Salamone) â€Å"Learning to read music in Braille and play by ear helped me develop a damn good memory,† Charles said. â€Å"I can sit at my desk and write a whole arrangement in my head and never touch a piano†¦ There’s no reason for it to come out any different that the way it sounds in my head.

Opinion of Christopher Columbus

Opinions of Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus has always been revered as the man who discovered America, but as people look back over time, other ideas of Columbus have formed. Did he actually discover America? Or did he just encounter it? As other Native Americans had already been living in America, who were soon colonized/conquered, it is hard to say whether or not Columbus was a legendary man. Christopher Columbus, in all respect, did change the course of history greatly, the only question is whether or not he should honored or scorned for it.In 1492, Columbus happened upon the Americas. Columbus believed these people, the Native Americans, easily conquerable, and showed that. He did a number of injustices to the Native American people, women and children included. He also believed them to have no religion of their own, and tried to force christianity upon the Native Americans. Although Columbus was the first major sailor to reach the Americas, his actions did not represen t an honorable man.Although, at this time, Columbus had made a great change affecting the course of history. The Americas had been largely cut off from the rest of the world, and Columbus' interactions with the Native Americans had opened the Americas to trade thereout. It is arguable that the Americas would have been exposed to the rest of the world at some time, but Columbus had been the first. He, essentially, was the man who had the idea to sail west and created that to be a reality.Yet his actions were not the best, he did have the first major encounter in the Americas. I believe Columbus should be respected as the man who did have the first effective encounter in the Americas, though not honored. He had committed great sins against the Native Americans, and should not be considered a hero. Heroes have ethic morals they follow before and after they had made their accomplishments. Columbus did not show this. Columbus was a navigator who had happened to, instead of Asia, come acr oss a continent unknown to the world.

Research about plastic recycling Essay

1. Introduction The task for the students was to write about a topic that interested them, and to apply the learned knowledge and skills in connection with the course information literacy. First step was to get an idea of what to write, therefore brainstorming was the adequate method. With the gained information an own mindmap was created. Underneath, we can find both brainstorms, according to those brainstorms the topic has been chosen. Then the research question was formulated: â€Å"What should we do with our plastic rubbish?† Furthemore three subquestions were formulated: â€Å"What is the current situation of plastic pollution?† â€Å"How can we recycle our plastic rubbish?† and â€Å"Which are the best possibilities to recycle plastic?† The purpose of this research is to find out the damage that is caused by plastic rubbish and how to avoid it. Plastic rubbish is a global problem and affects us all. This research will be based on secondary research, so by existing literature. The following chapters describe the findings of this report. Firstly it explains the search plan, made to lead the research. Secondly summaries of two main articles will be given and judged upon their professionalism due to the help of the CARS checklist. A literature review of one of the summarized reports will be given. The report will also contain a chapter about plagiarism and research ethics, which are very important to remember while writing a report. Finally the last chapter â€Å"discussion and conclusion† summarizes the findings of this report. Table 1:Samuel Thà ¶nnes, course Information Literacy. Table 2: Samuel Thà ¶nnes, course Information Literacy. 2. Search plan 1. Search question: What is the current situation in plastic pollution? How can we recycle our plastic rubbish? Which are the best possibilities to recycle plastic? 2. Search terms: plastic rubbish worldwide, problems of plastic rubbish (worldwide), Recycling methods for plastic, most effective recycling methods for plastic, plastic recycling process, innovative plastic recycling methods 3. Information search method: internet search engines (google, bing), internet library HZ 4.Information sources used: scientific articles, reports, websites 3. Summary of the article â€Å"Global declaration on plastic pollution†. Nowadays people are in permanent contact with packages, bottles, toys and a lot more products consisting out of plastic. Most of the products end up as rubbish after the first hour they have been bought. About the question what  is happening to the plastic once it is thrown away, hardly anyone is thinking. The answer is simple, the plastic is coming back to cause even more damage. The way it comes back hardly anyone can imagine. It is coming back through our food chain, to fulfill its task, causing diseases to animals and finally to human kind, which is last in the food chain. For the last 60 years society has been using plastic in a wasteful way, with little concern in which ways this valuable, important and useful product can properly be disposed or recycled. The results are catastrophic, between 60 to 80 % of marine debris are in direct connection with plastic products. In the 5 largest gyres of our oceans enormous quantities of plastic are concentrated, with enormous consequences for the animals that live in the ocean. The consequences are going further to the food chain and human health. (Catto Fellowship Program, 2012, p.2) Plastic is not biodegradable, its decomposing into micro particles. Those tiny pieces are impossible to get out of the water, and the pollution degree is growing on a daily basis. The ocean plastic pollution can be identified as persistent, bioaccumulating and toxic substances. Due to chemical substances, as polychlorinated biphenol, PCBs, the pesticide DDT, several chronic health effects, as endocrine disruption, mutagenicity and carcinogenicity can be observed. (Catto Fellowship Program, 2012, p. 2) After summarizing the main facts of the pollution which can be traced to plastic rubbish, the next step is to find out what possibilities do we have to recycle the plastic. 3.1 CARS checklist on â€Å"Global declaration on plastic pollution†. CREDIBILITY: -Trustworthy source: As the article †Global declaration on plastic pollution† is a submission from the united nations conference on  sustainable development in advance of the Rio earth summit, I would call this source a very reliable one. – Author’s credentials: Detailed information are not given. Only given is that it is the Catto Fellowship Program an initiative from the UN. – Evidence of quality control: This article was published on the online site of the UN, which has to make sure that the quality of the published articles are good. – Known or respected authority/organizational support: The united nations are well known and have respected authority. Organizational support is also given through several experts, which is ubiquitous knowledge, that these kind of organizations have full access to any kind of expertise. Conclusion: The CREDIBILITY of this research is given. ACCURACY: – up-to-date(partially): The research was published in June 2012, nevertheless the used facts have not changed since then. – factual/detailed/exact: This submission contains detailed facts as it was prepared for the â€Å"Rio Earth Summit†. It is worked out in a very detailed way. -comprehensive: As 172 governments participated on the â€Å"Rio Earth Summit†, it was written in a very comprehensive way, which is also accessible to public. -Audience and purpose reflect intentions of completeness and accuracy: This document supports my own research, as it is giving me important facts about the world wide pollution of plastic rubbish. Conclusion: the ACCURACY of this research is given. REASONABLENESS: -Fair/ Balanced/ Objective/Reasoned: This document has been written in a very objective way, reasoned by facts, which have been researched through  experts. Furthermore that makes it fair and balanced. -No conflict of interest: We can find a conflict of interest between the research of the United Nations and large industrial companies, which are depending on the wasteful use of plastic. Despite the fact that this conflict of interest can not be found in the text, but relies on common sense. -Absence of fallacies or slanted tone: Nevertheless no slanted tone against anyone was found in the document, which makes it very objectively. Conclusion: The REASONABLENESS of this research is given. SUPPORT: – Listed sources: At the end we can find several companies which support the ideas of the United Nations. – Contact information: Contact information are provided through the United Nations itself, and can be found on their website. Conclusion: the SUPPORT of this research is given; as we could contact co-workers from the United Nations, to get more information. 3.2 Literature Review on â€Å"Global declaration on plastic pollution†. What is the specific topic of this article? The topic of this article is about the actual situation in plastic pollution world wide. What is the objective of this article? The objective of this article is to provide information about the world wide plastic pollution. In this case it was written for the â€Å"Rio Earth Summit. What are the theoretical assumptions? Assumption 1: Plastic pollution is a global problem. Assumption 2: A huge part of the ocean is affected by plastic pollution. Assumption 3: Plastic pollution is getting worse every day, and has to be stopped. How do the theoretical assumptions fit to your research? The theoretical assumptions do fit my research, because it answers the sub question â€Å"What is the current situation in plastic pollution?† Is there reference to specific concepts of theories/ What are the sources of information the author used? Unfortunately there are no specific information about the author. Only information about the organization, the United Nations, are given. What is the research method? The article has been written through expert opinions, which are working for the United Nations. Which type of material does the article present? As it is written from experts it contains their own field research. How did the author analyze and present the data? The data were presented relying on facts through expertise, so the author based the article on expertise. Does the author describe how the data could be interpreted? A clear description is not contain, the article only gives information about the actual plastic pollution situation and the consequences. What are the main conclusions in the article? As main conclusion it can clearly been identified that the actual situation is catastrophic and is even getting worse. 60 to 80% of marine debris are in direct contact with plastic pollution, the 5 largest gyres of our oceans show an enormous concentration of plastic pollution. This high concentration of plastic pollution results into our food chain being affected and finally being the cause for several diseases for animals and humanity. 4.Summary of the article „5 Stages of the Plastic Recycling Process† Defintion First of all it has to be clarified what plastic recycling means by definition: â€Å"Plastic recycling is the term given to the processing of waste plastic which turns old or scrap plastic in to a useable product which can then re-enter the manufacturing chain. In order for the plastic to be in a suitable format for re use in manufacturing environments such as by injection moulding companies the waste or scrap plastic, needs to go through several recycling processes†. (Daniel Marriott, 5 Stages of Plastic Recycling Process, 2011) Classify Numbers Before explaining the 5 stages of the plastic recycling process, the importance of the 7 numbers given to each plastic product while being produced, has to be explained. -Number 1 is used for â€Å"PETE†, which means Poly(ethylene terephthalate): Soda bottles, water bottles, vinegar bottles, medicine containers, backing for photography film. -Number 2 is used for â€Å"HDPE†, which means high-density Polyethylene: Containers for: laundry/dish detergent, fabric softeners, bleach, milk, shampoo, conditioner, motor oil.  Newer bullet proof vests, various toys. -Number 3 is used for â€Å"V†, which means Poly(vinyl cloride): Pipes, shower curtains, meat wraps, cooking oil bottles, baby bottle nipples, shrink wrap, clear medical tubing, vinyl dashboards and seat covers, coffee containers. -Number 4 is used for â€Å"LDPE†, which means low-density Polyethylene: Wrapping films, grocery bags, sandwich bags. -Number 5 is used for â€Å"PP†, which means Pol ypropylene: Tupperware ®, syrup bottles, yogurt tubs, diapers, outdoor carpet. -Number 6 is used for â€Å"PS†, which means Polystyrene: Coffee cups, disposable cutlery and cups (clear and colored), bakery shells, meat trays, â€Å"cheap† hubcaps, packing peanuts, styrofoam insulation. -Number 7 is used for â€Å"OTHER† Products labeled as â€Å"other† are made of any combination of 1-6 or another, less commonly used plastic and therefor very difficult to recycle. (Eco Reading, 2007) 5 Stages of Plastic recycling Stage one – Sorting the plastic In the first stage the plastic is collected by the recycling company and gets to the recycling plant. At the plant the plastic gets sorted out into specific types of plastic. In total 7 different numbers which are used to specify, which kind of plastic is maintained, can be identified: The problem in plastic recycling is that mixed recycled plastic cannot deliver good quality in manufacturing, therefore it is sometimes difficult or impossible to recycle the plastic to produce new plastic out of it. Recycling companies must therefore pay attention especially to sort out waste plastic. Stage two – Washing Waste Plastic Once the plastic has been sorted out, the washing process begins. Paper labels get removed, as adhesives and other impurities. Any third-party product on the plastic will lower the quality of the recycled plastic. StageThree- Shredding the Plastic In the third step the plastic is getting shredded through huge hoppers that funnel the clean scrap towards rotating metal teeth. The plastic is ripped in to small pellets, which are bagged and tested afterwards. Stage Four – Identify and Classify the Plastic After being bagged the plastic is getting tested chemically and labelled to its exact specification. Either the rGrade plastic can be used for manufacturing by adding a mix of virgin plastic, or it can be further recycled. Stage Five – Extruding In the last step the clean shredded plastic is going to be extruded in to form of pellets, so that it can be either used for manufacturing of for further recycling. (Daniel Marriott, 5 Stages of Plastic Recycling Process 2011) 4.1 CARS checklist on „5 Stages of the Plastic Recycling Process†. CREDIBILITY: -Trustworthy source: PR Log is an online press release distribution and press release submission service. Main objective of this site is to publish news from all over the world in the industry sector. The article â€Å"5 Stages of the Plastic Recycling Process† is supported by the company â€Å"Ck Polymers†, which is a multi-national distributor of rGrade plastic. Therefore we can call this source trustworthy. – Author’s credentials: The author â€Å"Daniel Marriott† is mentioned, it is possible to contact him via email through a hyperlink and via his phone number. 0845 8730037. As a conclusion it can be said, if further questions are necessary, it would be possible to contact the author. – Evidence of quality control: This article was published on the online site  of â€Å"PR Log† and is supported by the company â€Å"Ck Polymers†, which makes sure that the quality of the article is given. – Known or respected authority/organizational support: â€Å"PR Log† is a registered company and all the published content must be controlled. Furthermore it is supported by the company â€Å"Ck Polymers†, which is in the recycling business. Conclusion: The CREDIBILITY of this article is given. ACCURACY: – up-to-date: The article was published in October 2011, we can not call this up-to-date, on the other hand it can not be called old, because the process has probably not changed. – factual/detailed/exact: This article only contains facts , is very detailed and exact about the whole process and the five steps. -comprehensive: The article is very easy to understand and to read , which makes is very comprehensive.the -Audience and purpose reflect intentions of completeness and accuracy: This article supports my own research, as it is giving me important facts about the plastic recycling process. Conclusion: the ACCURACY of this research is given. REASONABLENESS: -Fair/ Balanced/ Objective/Reasoned: This document has been written in a very objective way, reasoned by facts, which have been researched through the company â€Å"Ck Polymers†, which exerts the written process. Furthermore the article is fair and balanced as no one is getting offended. -No conflict of interest: No conflict of interest can be found in the article, as it is only informing about a possible recycling process. No one gets offended. -Absence of fallacies or slanted tone: No slanted tone against anyone was found in the article, which makes it very objectively. Conclusion: The REASONABLENESS of this research is given. SUPPORT: – Listed sources: At the end of the article three hyperlinks can be found, leading to â€Å"Ck Polymers†, where the information is coming from. – Contact information: Either the possibility is given to contact directly the author of the article, or through the hyperlink from the company â€Å"Ck Polymers†. Conclusion: the SUPPORT of this research is given 4.2 Literature Review on „5 Stages of the Plastic Recycling Process†. What is the specific topic of this article? The topic of this article is the five step plastic recycling process. What is the objective of this article? The objective of this article is to provide information about how the five step plastic recycling process works in practice. What are the theoretical assumptions? Assumption 1: Plastic recycling is a great economically opportunity. Assumption 2: The recycling process is simple and effective. How do the theoretical assumptions fit to your research? The theoretical assumptions do fit my research, because it answers the sub question â€Å"How can we recycle plastic?† The article shows me a clear opportunity how to recycle plastic? Is there reference to specific concepts of theories/ What are the sources of information the author used? There is a reference existing, linking to a company using the five step recycling process. The author is basing his information on this source/company. What is the research method? The research method is secondary research, the author made a research by contacting the company to get detailed information. Which type of material does the article present? The article presents detailed knowledge about the recycling process. How did the author analyze and present the data? The data were presented relying on facts through expertise from the company â€Å"Ck Polymers†, so the author based the article on the expertise of the company. Does the author describe how the data could be interpreted? An interpretation is not available, the article only gives information about the five step recycling process. What are the main conclusions in the article? The main conclusion in this article is that we can make the difference between 7 different numbers every plastic material contains for the recycling process. Furthermore we get a detailed explanation about the five  step process, in which the plastic gets sorted, washed, schredded, identified/classified and finally extruded. The end product is called rGrade plastic, which can either be manufactured by adding virgin plastic, or being used for further recycling. 5. Summary of the article â€Å"Startups make plastic rubbish to oil†. This article is about the possibility to transform plastic rubbish into oil. Oil is one of the most used and important products and nowadays called the â€Å"black gold†. Oil relies on 10% of the world wide plastic production, so the main question should be. Why don’t we recycle it back to oil? The possibility for this recycling process is given now. Pioneer companies as â€Å"Agilyx† and â€Å"Vadxx† developed a process, in which plastic can be transformed to oil again. The result is out of 5 kilogram plastic, 3,8 liter oil can be won.. Looking at the yearly production of 265 million tons of plastic, which moves right away to our garbage 1.5 billion barrels of oil, could be recycled. Only in Europe around 70 million tons of plastic rubbish are ending up on landfills. Looking at the actual landfills, which could be seen as giant oil pits. The process is simple. In a first step the plastic gets assorted. In the second step the assorted plastic gets shredded and heated up to 400 degrees. The resulting synthetic gas cools down and is transformed into the end product, oil. According to â€Å"Agilyx† 75% of the oil, which is located in the plastic, can be recycled. Not forgetting the CO2 emission, which is 60 % lower as if we would simply burn the plastic. (Innovation: Startup makes plastic to oil, 2013) Meanwhile this plastic recycling noise is spreading all over the world. In Germany for example the company â€Å"Nill Tech† situated in Mannheim has opened a factory, which is using the same procedure.(Company in Mannheim makes plastic to oil, 2013) 5.1 CARS checklist on â€Å"Startups make plastic rubbish to oil† and â€Å"Company in Mannheim makes plastic to oil†. CREDIBILITY: – Trustworthy source: Both articles are written by the German author â€Å"Benjamin Reuter†, who is working for the magazine â€Å"Wirtschafts Woche Green† , the information are coming from an interview with the named companies, which makes the article trustworthy. – Author’s credentials: Unfortunately, no details about the authors can be found in the report itself, only his name. More information about the author can be found through the Magazine â€Å"Wirtschafts Woche Green†. – Evidence of quality control: This article was published on the online site of the magazine â€Å"Wirtschafts Woche Green†, this magazine is focusing on reporting over innovative technologies and companies. A quality control is guaranteed. – Known or respected authority/organizational support: The magazine â€Å"Wirtschafts Woche Green† is a registered company, which means that the all the online articles are controlled. Conclusion: The CREDIBILITY of these articles are given. ACCURACY: – up-to-date: The articles were posted on January 2013, 11 month ago. – factual/detailed/exact: These articles were made from interviews with the named companies concerning their technology and procedure. -comprehensive: These articles can be called comprehensive as a lot of important information for my report are given. -Audience and purpose reflect intentions of completeness and accuracy: These articles supports my own research, as it gives all detailed information about the possibility , how to recycle plastic. Conclusion: the ACCURACY of this research is good. REASONABLENESS: -Fair/ Balanced/ Objective/Reasoned: These articles are fair, balanced,  objective and reasoned, as direct information from the mentioned companies were given. -No conflict of interest: These articles do not contain any conflict of interest, as it is written to inform public and does not offend anyone. – Absence of fallacies or slanted tone: No slanted tone was found in these articles. Conclusion: The REASONABLENESS of this research is given. SUPPORT: – Listed sources: a list of references is not given. – Contact information: No contact information of the authors, only the magazine can be contacted directly. Conclusion: the SUPPORT of this research is partially given 5.2 Literature Review on â€Å"Startups make plastic rubbish to oil† and â€Å"Company in Mannheim makes plastic to oil†. What is the specific topic of this article? The topic of this article is the process making oil out of recycled plastic. What is the objective of this article? The objective of this article is to provide information about how the process making oil out of recycled plastic works in practice. What are the theoretical assumptions? Assumption 1: Recycling is a great opportunity to gain raw material. Assumption 2: Oil is one of the most important resources nowadays. Assumption 3: The resource oil will even become more important in the future. How do the theoretical assumptions fit to your research? The theoretical assumptions do fit my research, because it answers the sub question â€Å"How can we recycle plastic?† and â€Å"Which are the best possibilities to recycle plastic?† The article shows a clear opportunity how to recycle plastic and make oil out of it again. As Oil is an important resource nowadays it can be seen as the best possibility together with the five step process of recycling plastic. Is there reference to specific concepts of theories/ What are the sources of information the author used? The article contains a link to the companys â€Å"Agylix† and â€Å"Vadxx†, which can be seen as a reference. The recycling process is explained with a video, which can also be seen as a reference. The sources the author used are definitely coming from the above mentioned companies. What is the research method? The research method is secondary research, the author made a research by contacting the company to get detailed information. Which type of material does the article present? The article presents detailed knowledge about the recycling process. How did the author analyze and present the data? The data were presented relying on facts through expertise from the company â€Å"Agylix† and â€Å"Vadxx†, so the author based the article on the expertise of the company. Does the author describe how the data could be interpreted? An interpretation is not available, the article only gives information about the recycling process making oil out of plastic. What are the main conclusions in the article? Main conclusion of the article is that there is possibility to get oil out of recycled plastic. Oil is one of the most wanted resources nowadays. Pioneer companies made it possible to develop a process, where 3,8 liter oil can be produced out of 5 kilogram of plastic. Furthermore the process is being explained, working as follows: The plastic gets assorted and shredded. The shredded plastic is going to be heated up by 400 degrees. Due to this heating up process, results synthetic gas. In a next step the synthetic gas cools down and results into oil, which can be used again. A last point is the CO2 emission, which is 60%, then if the plastic would simply be burned. 6. Plagiarism First of all what is Plagiarism? Definition found on â€Å"Dictionary.com†: Plagiarism is an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author’s work as one’s own, as by not crediting the original author. In short, plagiarism is all about stealing someone else’s work and lying about it afterwards. During my research on how to recycle plastic rubbish, I tried to prevent plagiarism by summarizing the article into my own words. Furthermore every used source is given in APA style, at the end of the text. In short I used someone else’s knowledge, but summarized it into my own words. 7. Research ethics According to the known information the used sources did not break any common research ethics. The author of this research used information, which were freely obtainable for everyone on the Internet. In order to prevent plagiarism and only use the sources for knowledge and information, no common research ethics was broken. It was not necessary to ask permission to use the mentioned sources. 8. Discussion and Conclusion Then the research question was formulated: â€Å"What should we do with our plastic rubbish?† Furthemore three subquestions were formulated: â€Å"What is the current situation and why is it like that?† â€Å"How can we recycle our plastic rubbish?† and â€Å"Which are the best possibilities to recycle plastic?† The main research question was â€Å"What should we do with our plastic rubbish?† The first sub question â€Å"What is the current situation of plastic pollution?†, was answered as follows: It was found out that the actual situation is catastrophic and is even getting worse. 60 to 80% of marine debris are in direct contact with plastic pollution, the 5 largest gyres of our oceans show an enormous concentration of plastic pollution. This high concentration of plastic pollution results into our food chain being affected and finally being the cause for several diseases for animals and humanity. This fact lead to the next sub question, â€Å"How can we recycle our plastic rubbish?† The answer to this question has been found in the two other summarized articles. It has been found out that there are companies, which are specialized in plastic recycling, following a five step process. In this five step process the plastic gets sorted, washed, schredded, identified/classified and finally extruded. The end product is called rGrade plastic, which can either be manufactured by adding virgin plastic, or used for further recycling. This further recycling leads us to a second effective possibility of plastic recycling. Transforming plastic into oil, which is one of the most wanted resources nowadays. Pioneer companies made it possible to develop a process, where 3,8 liter oil can be produced out of 5 kilogram of plastic. This process works as follows: The plastic gets assorted and shredded. The shredded plastic is going to be heated up by 400 degrees. Due to this heating up process, results synthetic gas. In a next step the synthetic gas cools down and results into oil, which can be used again. An important aspect of this process is also the CO2 emission. It uses 60% less CO2 emission, then if the plastic would simply be burned. The last sub question â€Å"Which are the best possibilities to recycle plastic†, has also been answered. We can say that the â€Å"five step recycling process† is the basic, which should be consequently applied all over the world. The possibility to gain oil out of used plastic again, should be seen as a continuation on the â€Å"five step recycling process†. To answer the main question â€Å"What should we do with our plastic rubbish?† It can be said that the answer is recycling as much as possible. Recycling due to innovative techniques, which can be further developed and ameliorated. The reason humanity has to focus on plastic recycling is not only because of the fact humanity is polluting his earth, which is our source of life. Furthermore the wasteful use of resources will create economical crises, prices of essential products will rise into immeasurable circumstances and make life on earth much harder. All people do need to start thinking long-term and more important in a sustainable way! 9. Reference List 9.1 Summaries, Literature review Catto Fellowship Program (2012). â€Å"Global declaration on plastic pollution† SUBMISSION TO UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT In advance of the rio earth summit. Written on June, 2012, from http://www.uncsd2012.org/content/documents/621Cattos%20Plastic%20Pollution%20 Submission.pdf Benjamin Reuter (2013). Wirtschafts Woche Green, Startup company makes plastic to oil. Written on January, 2013, from http://green.wiwo.de/kreislaufwirtschaft-plastikdeponien-werden-zu-olfeldern/ Benjamin Reuter (2013). WirtschaftsWoche Green, Company in Mannheim makes plastic to oil. Written on January 31, 2013, from http://green.wiwo.de/innovation-fabrik-in-mannheim-macht-plastikmull-zu-ol/ Daniel Marriott (2011). Pr Log, 5 Stages of the Plastic Recycling Process. Written on October 27, 2011, from http://www.prlog.org/11708649-5-stages-of-the-plastic-recycling-process.html 9.2 Other articles Technikatlas.de. Plastic recycling from http://www.technikatlas.de/~tb4/recycling.htm Diana Bocco & Bronwyn Harris (2013). How is plastic recycled? Written on December 20, 2013 from http://www.wisegeek.org/how-is-plastic-recycled.htm Eco Reading (2007). Reading Recycles 1-7 Plastic. Written on June 7, 2007, from http://ecoreading.blogspot.nl/2007/06/reading-recycles-1-7-plastic.html Ck Polymers. Website from recycling company : http://www.ckpolymers.co.uk/ http://www.ckpolymers.co.uk/polymers http://www.ckpolymers.co.uk/polymers/plastic-identification-information 9.3 Pictures Front page picture: https://www.google.nl/search?hl=de&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1280&bih= 621&q=Plastikm%C3%BCll&oq=Plastikm%C3%BCll&gs_l=img.3..0l10.2259.6057.0.6372.13.10.1.2.2.0.119.949.7j3.10.0†¦.0†¦1ac.1.27.img..0.13.998.sgL6hhgqFyY#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=UKWSgudQNm8SGM%3A%3BIHIxbqd3Gq6txM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.wz-newsline.de%252Fpolopoly_fs%252F1.1289863.1365710844!%252FhttpImage%252FonlineImage.jpg_gen%252Fderivatives%252Flandscape_550%252FonlineImage.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.wz-newsline.de%252Fhome%252Fpolitik%252Fvermuellte-meere-kampf-gegen-kostenlose-plastiktueten-1.1289876%3B550%3B328

Latin American History essays

Latin American History essays Throughout history and during alternating time periods, countries have grown from feeble entities, defeated by or ruled by the governing structures of foreign nations, to powerful nations. Between the fifteenth and the sixteenth century, Spain ruled as a great power among other nations. Its empire began when, in 1492, Spain financed Columbus's expeditions and explorations to conquer territory in the New World. Once it held its new established territory, Spain relied on the influx of gold and silver from the New World. When it was an empire, Spain had control over many countries, including South America, Mexico, and Latin America. This however wasnt all a negative aspect of European colonization in the Americas. European colonization in the Americas also brought many positive, social, cultural, and economical, changes that make up what we If we look at the encounters between Europeans and Native Americans during the fifteenth century and beyond, it is obvious to see a trend of invasion, conquest, slavery, and eventually death lurking about the historical documents describing that time. The expeditions into the New World by Europeans during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries can't be easily labeled as invasions. If one looks at the end results of the conquests by Europeans, it is evident that the most of the native tribes who made contact with Europeans were in most cases worse off than they were before they made contact. However, the barbaric overtaking of territory and culture by the Europeans is a far- fetched myth as these conquests were more a sort of cultural exchange than anything else. An example of this cultural change was the increasing amounts of settlers from Spain including soldiers and Franciscan priests that were assigned to work ...

Moulin Rouge Essays

Moulin Rouge Essays Moulin Rouge Paper Moulin Rouge Paper Essay Topic: Film Taking risks are essential for one to live life to the fullest. Indeed, taking risks may be dangerous and impacts one’s life negatively, but this allows individuals to encounter experiences that may be beneficial as it is a positive way to learn new skills and to test one’s limits and the limits of others. This is evident in both Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 romantic, musical film ‘Moulin Rouge’ and Libby Hathorn’s children’s book, ‘Okra and Acacia : The Story of the Wattle Patterned Plate’. These two texts present the protagonists and other characters taking risks such as romantic risk, social risk and professional risk. In Luhrmann’s film, Moulin Rouge, Christian takes a romantic risk by fraternising with Satine who is a courtesan and romancing the Duke because he has claimed rights to the Moulin rouge. During the scene where Christian and Satine are having private rehearsals together, the lovers are viewed in a mid shot showing their affect towards each other, is then disrupted by the intrusion of the Duke. The couple’s fast-reacted body language of the two separating form each other’s arms display the severity of the romantic and professional risks that Christian and Satine are partaking. In spite of this, this risk is worth taking as it allows the writer and the courtesan to experience love. This persuades the viewers to go and watch the film. The music which is used throughout the trailer is contemporary, modern music of the current day: songs which the audience are familiar with, for example Your Song by Elton John and Roxanne by Sting. Although the film is set at the end of the 19th Century and the images in the shots show this, the music conveys feelings and emotions which have no historical boundaries, meaning the shots and music relate to each other. The director has chosen to use these contrasting but well relating devices as it shows that peoples emotions have not changed even though music and fashion has. An example of this interesting film language is used in frames shot inside the Moulin Rouge were people are dancing, dressed in historical costumes. Over these shots Roxanne is played expressing passion and emotions of characters even more. Baz Luhrmanns clever directing influences the viewers into going to see the film by using sympathetic background music. By using familiar songs this captures the audiences attention, persuading them further into going to watch the film Moulin Rouge. The director uses different cinematic shots to vary the frames in the trailer. Different shots have different terms which are used to indicate the amount of subject/character within a frame, how far away the camera is from the subject/character, and the perspective of the viewer. Each different shot has a different purpose and effect on the audience. An Extreme Long Shot (ELS) is generally used as a scene setting shot. In this trailer, in shot 5, it shows a shot of Paris ranging from the Eiffel Tower to the Moulin Rouge. This informs the audience where the film is set making them more interested in the film as they can really relate to the place where the film was shot. Baz Luhrmann has chosen use many long shots (LS) to view characters as approximately life size i. e. corresponding to the real distance between the audience and the real screen. Long shots show a full length shot of the character from head to toe. Long shots are very popular in this trailer when the shots are inside the club and show many people dancing together. This interests the audience more as they feel involved in the trailer as the viewers enter the mind of the Moulin Rouge. The director uses long shots to introduce characters to the audience so they know what they look like. This persuades the audience to go and watch the movie at the cinema. The most popular shot in the Moulin Rouge trailer is the Medium Shot (MS); which includes variation called the two shot and three shot. A medium shot contains characters from the waist up and they are mainly used in dialogue scenes. The medium shots are frequently used in the Moulin Rouge trailer and there over 30 dialogue shots between characters. If a shot contains two characters from the waist up these are called the two shot. These often occur in this trailer when there is a narrative between characters. For example the most frequent two shots are of Satine and Christian, the lovers. These are shots which include dialogue informing the audience of the storyline. The three shot are also used. This is when a shot contains three figures. The director uses the three shots when three characters are talking for example, a three shot is used between Satine, Christian and the Duke. Here the audience feel tension and suspense as the Duke wants to split the couple up and make Satine his but the audience do not want this. Medium shots focus in on the characters actions and show the audience more clearly of the relationships between the characters making the audience wanting to go and see the film. A Close Up Shot (CUS) concentrates on either a face or detail of Mises of close up shots in the Moulin Rouge trailer are close up shots of Satines diamante necklace, Satines face and the Dukes facial expressions. These close up shots magnify the object showing the audience the importance of things, i. e. the expression on the Dukes face where he scowls and strokes his moustache, gives the audience the feeling that he is not to be trusted and he is sincere. The close up shots take the audience into the minds of the characters as people who the viewers really trust are only allowed to get that close to their face, for example Satines loving face as she gazes at Christian. The director uses a close up to make the audience feel comfortable or uncomfortable about characters. A close up of the Duke makes the audience feels tense and hatred towards him, compared to the loving, protective relationship between Satine and the audience. These close up shots influence the viewer more to go and see Moulin Rouge as audience develops strong relationships towards characters. The director has chosen to use extreme versions of the close up shot which magnifies on a part of the face i. e. eye. These shots are known as Extreme Close Up Shots (ECUS). In the 53rd shot the director uses an extreme close up on Satines eyes focusing the audiences attention on to them. The audience are allowed to wander further into Satines mind increasing the feeling of care between Satine and the audience. The audience become involved in the film as they now feel they know Satine like a sibling as the extreme close up develops the emotions of the audience. By doing this the viewers feel even more persuaded to go and see the movie where they can find out what happens in Satines life at the Moulin Rouge. A trailer is a montage of shots which persuades the audience to go and see the film which is being advertised. A major part of the trailer is how the shots and frames have been put together. This is known has editing. Editing is a term used to describe the process of looking at all the footage which has been shot during the making of the film, placing it in a desired order and then joining it together. Editing consists of two major parts: the speed of editing i. e. how long does a shot last? The style of editing i. e. how are the shots joined together? The Moulin Rouge trailer consists of around 120 shots most of which are set inside the Moulin Rouge. The speed of each shots relates to the situation being portrayed and the background music which is playing. The tempo (speed) of the editing shots for the Moulin Rouge trailer starts reasonably slow, with each lasting about 2 to 3 seconds as the characters are introduced and the synopsis of the storyline begins. The speed of editing relates to the rhythm of the particular background music being played over the shots. The first montage of shots shows Satine and Christian meeting and how their love for one another develops whilst your song is played linking the shots together. The audience are meant to feel relaxed and sense the love between the couple growing as a romantic slow song is played linking the shots together. The speed of editing increases around the 67th shot where the Duke is intervening and meddling in the couples relationship. Here the background music quickens. The rhythm becomes faster and more random creating an atmosphere of tension and suspense for the audience as the couple begin to fall apart because of the Duke. Here the speed of editing increases to about 1 second per shot as the tension mounts. Will the couples love resist the evil Dukes temptations? This makes the trailer more interesting for the viewers as they are left with unanswered questions about the characters meaning the trailer has been successful, as the audience need to go and see the movie so their questions can be answered. By using background music with a strong rhythm it makes the speed of editing more noticeable so the audience feel these certain feelings. The second part of editing is how the shots have been joined together to create a 3 minute trailer for Moulin Rouge. The most frequent and popular style of editing is the straight cut were one frame is joined to the next straight on. The director must be able to combine shots without distracting the audiences attention from the images and narrative on screen. Baz Luhrmann is successful in doing this with straight cuts as well as with other styles of cut. At the end of this trailer the finally screens are the credits (names of actress and actors) and then the screen fades to black meaning that is the end of the trailer. This method is called fade-out. This style of editing is used to signify to the audience that something tense is about to happen or has just happened, or that the trailer has ended. This leaves the audience in suspense so they have to go and watch the Moulin Rouge. In the tenth to eleventh frames these are joined with a dissolve cut. In the tenth shot it shows the inside view of the Moulin Rouge club. Then the eleventh shot, which is a shot of Satine standing on the stage, is slowly brought in beneath the other image. A dissolve cut blends shots together without the audience noticing them. The director uses dissolve cuts to join shots together to add a variety of different styles of editing to the trailer, to make it more interesting to watch for the audience. The director has chosen to use a jump cut to draw the audiences attention onto an object very suddenly. Baz Luhrmann uses a jump cut when focusing the viewers attention onto Satines diamond necklace in a blue velvet box. It is a quick shot but the audiences attention is brought into focus very quickly as the Diamonds sparkle in the light. This is significant as the jewellery is a present from the Duke to Satine, who the audience know this is unusual as Satine feels tense around him. The director does this to influence the audience by suggesting the Duke is buying Satines love with the necklace. This makes the viewers detest the Duke even more. By using a variety of different style editing methods this makes the trailer more unique, persuading the audience to go and see the film.

Analysis of the Somalian telecommunication industry

Analysis of the Somalian telecommunication industry Telecommunication industry of Somalia is a rapid evolution of technology in Somalia and people access to it comes as several telecommunication companies here jockey for customers amid the absence of strong government-regulated phone and internet access. The competition to supply phone service has stocked the nascent revival of Somalis shattered economy and it shows that business can thrive even in one of Africa latest developed markets. Backed by expertise from China, Korea and Europe and funded from their own pockets Somali telecom entrepreneurs are providing in expensive mobile phone service. Users can conduct money transfers via mobile phones and gain internet access, both wireless functions that aren’t widely available in many other parts of Africa. The success of Somalia’s telecom sector is not all that unusual for a war -shattered economy, experts say. In countries with shaky economic foundation, such as Afghanistan and the democratic republic of Congo, telecommu nication is missing infrastructure. The first private telecommunications company to operate in Somalia after Somali government collapsed in 1991, was Telecom Somalia in 1994, Hormud Telecom in 2002 and Nationlink Telecom in 1997, they all offers all telecommunication services, the three companies signed an alliance and interconnection deal in 2005 that allows them to set prices and to control the newly other in entrant companies Like Somafone Telecommunication and others. Hormuud Telecom Somali Hormud Telecom (HorTel) is a privately held enterprise established in April 2002, its head quarter is in Mogadishu, and it expands south and central of Somalia. more than 600 Somali investors have shared in Hormuud Telecom and its leading telecommunication in southern and central of Somalia, and it employs over 4000 people, comprised of full time and part time staff, dealers, etc. Hormud Telecom has received numerous awards in recognition of its grass-roots work in developing the local commun ity welfare such as supporting educational institutions ,social development and charity , provides a variety of telecommunication service such as Fixed line, GSM service and Data service ,E voucher, and Zaad service. Hormuuds chief executive ,Ahmed Mohamed yusuf Started his business selling bread and spaghetti ,he later opened a popular supermarket ,but like his competitors he saw huge gaps in telecom sector â€Å"everyone wants to get in touch with his brother or sister, whether inside or outside the country, to hear the latest news† says the 50-year old CEO. In 2002 he pooled money with friends and investors and launched Hormuud Telecom providing telecommunication and later expanded to bank and mobile money transfer and now Hormuud Telecom Inc has a sales of about $40 million a year.    However Hormuud expands and covers their network all south and central of Somali and they have two trade makers in other parts of Somalia, like Telesom in northwest and Golis in north east . Literature review Innovation is an idea, product or process that is a new to adopter (Hage and Aiken 1973) and other deffination by Damanpour (1991: 556): â€Å"Innovation can be a new product or service, a new production process technology, a new structure or administrative system, or a new plan or program pertaining to organizational members.

Market Reseach Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Market Reseach - Research Proposal Example The latter issue has attracted the attention of this company to consumers representing the personal segment or ordinary consumer segment. It is expected that this group may be concerned about the issue of price and the latter proposal will ascertain whether this is a true fact or not. The client has set a period of eight weeks for the completion of the project. Consequently, all the tasks in the research will be distributed evenly within this period. Allocations will be done depending on the weight of the task and how many parties will need to be involved in the process. The focus group will be essential in determining the factors that consumers consider when making decisions about the purchase of notebook computers. Besides this, they will also reveal information about sources of information that they rely on before choosing to buy a notebook computer. Information about the kind of features that make competitors more successful within the market will be sought. This is especially because the market has become relatively competitive today. Special emphasis will be given to price offerings in this particular industry segment as it was a serious concern by CB A budget of two thousand pounds a... 3.2) Notebook computer information This part will dwell on how the notebook computer is regarded by clients in terms of its appearance. Information such as the computer's exteriors design will be looked into. For example colour, design and thickness Information about the interior features of the computer will also be imperative. Things such as display cards, memory, CPU, mainboard and other features will be examined 3.3) Competitor's information Information about the kind of features that make competitors more successful within the market will be sought. This is especially because the market has become relatively competitive today. Special emphasis will be given to price offerings in this particular industry segment as it was a serious concern by CB 4.0 Methodology A budget of two thousand pounds allows one to do more secondary than primary research. (Aaker & Day, 1990) The information sought during the research will represent both quantitative and qualitative portions of the paper. Quantitative aspects will cover the numerical elements of the research such as price. Additionally, qualitative aspects of the research will be reflected by looking into consumer experiences especially with regard to the decision making process. These two aspects govern exactly how the kind of 4.1 Desk research This part of the research will entail an examination of data sources that may have contained information about related topics to the one under consideration. Here, their methods or processes and their results will be thoroughly be examined in order to ascertain that the right procedure is being followed. Additionally, related computer websites will be consulted so as to seek information

Health Informatics in the Clinical, Administrative and Research Case Study

Health Informatics in the Clinical, Administrative and Research Settings - Case Study Example Even looking considering the estimate of 44,000,it clearly brings the impression that medical mistakes lead to higher death toll compared to 43,458 from motor vehicle accidents and breast cancer 42,297. Management of care.Continuity of care has been shown to suffer when several healthcare expertsmonitor the same patient, since all involved practitioners may have incomplete complete information about the medicines prescribed. Health IT and Quality improvement Lawwas introduced purposely to establish health IT fund program for hospital, domestic health agencies and skilled nurses (Bates et al 37). It requires human and health services to implement and establish a methodology under the care of Medicareprogram. They are basically for providing the hospitals with compensation of costs met by the hospitals as a result of implementing IT systems. Many errors may be detected and rectified through human inspection and knowledge; thisis an indication of weak fault reduction strategies.In 1995, it was demonstrated that about half of errors in medication, were associated with inadequate information regarding patient and drug. It has been found in a monitored trial that computerized general practitioner order, systems amounted to 55% reduction in critical medication errors. In another study of time series, the group found that 83% reduction in the entiremedication error was observed and 64% reduction done using a simple system. Another different category of medical decisional support is alerting systems which are computerized, they can notify physicians about occurring asynchronously. A developing body of evidence proposes that such system may reduce error rates while improving therapy and therefore improving outcome, the duration a patients spends in a dangerous state, survival, the length of staying in the hospital, costs. The research show that introduction of IT in hospital is very vital. It is associated with many factors. The

Reposition sense in the knee joint in individuals with and without low Essay

Reposition sense in the knee joint in individuals with and without low back pain - Essay Example (Gill & Callaghan 1998; Newcomer et al. 2000; O`Sullivan et al 2003). Although not significant to prove the hypothesis, it could be seen how the result of this study has drawn the realization of the fact that proprioception needs to be increased among patients of LBP as they undergo particular therapies to treat their health issues. Through focusing to this need, it could be noticed how the entire system of therapy applied among those in need of healthcare assistance in connection with LBP could be improved through the implication of the importance of seeing how giving attention to bodily proprioception could be a huge difference in the process of curing those who have LBP. The limited proportion of the samples between each other has a huge significance with the result that has been garnered from this study. The fact that the participants came from the same institution and are having quite the same age range made the study more focused on a particular group of the population who may or may not be in constant possibility of developing LBP, which is the youth. Diversity was perhaps the lacking factor in this study. As this study lacked the said element, the application of the results to a more general scope of population affected by the health situation becomes a huge question of limitation. The LBP subjects included in this study described their pain as mild to minimal severity. Moreover, the recruitment period was conducted during summer vacation. Likely because of the situation, the season and the perception of the participants with the time, they are rather expected to have moods and certain perceptive reactions to the experiment which could have likely affected the whole result of the study. To overcome the whole limited sense of the study, an application of the isokinetic testing could be applied. This testing could help in

Human resource management in Marine & Shipping Industry - Research Proposal

Human resource management in Marine & Shipping Industry - - Research Proposal Example ts in world trade balances and through market consolidation which require the implementation of well formulated processes and strategies, more especially in the human resource department. In view of the above facts, human resource management is no longer the simple task it used to be in yester years. With the ever dynamic global environment of today, companies must brace themselves and make changes whenever such needs arise in order to maintain their competitive edge. In fact, instead of waiting for other organizations to set pace, successful companies take charge and make proactive changes that continuously keep the competitor on its toes. Given its nature, the marine shipping is one of the oldest and most internationally diverse industries in the world and includes the famous voyage made by Christopher Columbus in search for a new world (Subhash and Divya, 2007). The shipping industry involves transportation of virtually everything including containers, bulk goods, petroleum products, human beings and special products such as armory. The last 50 years has seen massive expansion in demand of the shipping industry which clearly reflects that how much growth has occurred in the capacity of seaborne trade. This growth has been boosted by growth in technology such as seen in the introduction of gas-carrying capacity and containerization. Organizational structures of shipping companies have changed combined with changes in seafarers’ recruitment strategies. Despite the comparatively fast and amazing changes in the shipping industry, the human resource remains its primary production factor and is still based on steep hierarchical structure of ratings and officers (Subhash and Divya, 2007). Currently, job profiles in the shipping industry are changing faster that it was in the past. This requires the continuous performance of job analysis failure of which can dearly cost the organization. Human resource managers are often faced with the challenge of human resource

Final exam essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Final exam - Essay Example To avoid consequences, we make an agreement with other people in the society by denouncing the unacceptable ways and practice doing the acceptable things. Contract theory lays emphasis on the need for justice in the society. For a peaceful coexistence and satisfaction of basic needs people should seek to have a contract where they exchange goods and services. John Locke had the view that the ethical pre-political state of the society is assured by a divinely ordered natural commandment. John Rawls’ Theory of Justice argued that a group of rational and unbiased individuals will create a beneficial principle of justice as the basis for regulation of all duties, power, rights, and wealth. Social contract theory plays the role of setting up rules that govern behaviors that are acceptable by all people in the society. Contract theory creates an orderly society and enhances cooperation in the production of social goods (Gauthier1990). For this to be possible everyone in the society should be involved in the contract. This will ensure that the life and property of the people in the society has been protected. Contract theory aims at removing the notion of utilitarianism or self-interest. It argues that people follow the set rules for the advantage of the society as a whole. Contract theory has been applied by the Government in the form of a constitution. A constitution is a list of things that serve the society to enhance orderliness. The laws in the constitution are amended to accommodate the needs of the individuals in the society. I believe that the constitution ensures that politicians who refer themselves as public servants though they mostly follow their self-interests. The purpose of the constitution is to keep the politicians in check. The constitution bars the politicians from overusing their powers (Gauthier 1990). The success of the Contract theory has been widespread and this has attracted critics as well. Feminists and race conscious philosophers have

PETCO Develops Successful Stakeholder Relationships Case Study

PETCO Develops Successful Stakeholder Relationships - Case Study Example The third section of the article dealt with risks associated with the pet industry. The article mentioned that a single negative incident of animal neglecting, abuse, or mistreatment can taint the public image of a firm in this industry such as PETCO. The nest two sections of the article dealt specifically with PETCO discussing its ethical program and philanthropic initiatives. The article ended with PETCO recommendations and accomplishments. Answers to the three questions from the article are illustrated below. 1) How has Petco’s ethics and compliance program helped it deal with ethical misconduct? The ethics & compliance program has helped PETCO a lot to deal with ethical issues that occur while doing business. Ethics can be defined as a system of moral principles that deals with decisions of right or wrong (Reference, 2011). The ethics program states that the company should treat the animals with utmost care and it should respect the customer’s privacy. The code of e thics addresses other areas including selling, advertising, pricing, and buying practices. Based on the ethics program the company the employee cannot push a sale on a customer for a particular brand, since the employees are supposed to explain the pros and cons of each brand so that the customer can make an informed decision on their own. The company implemented correction action measures whenever harassment and mistreatments occurs in the company to either humans or animals. Ethical decisions are influenced by organizational culture (Ferrel, et. al, 2011). The ethics program of the firm also addresses drug abuse, asset protection, and violence in the workplace. The organization has implemented measures for associate, vendor, and customer protection. Conflict of interest scenarios have been included in the code of ethics which provides guidelines for the employees when they are faced with these types of situations. If the customer is involved in a potential conflict of interest the employees are supposed to relay the information to the manager so that the manager can make the final decision on how to proceed and fix the situation. The employees of the company are prohibited from receiving gifts from suppliers, vendors, or customers. Supervisors and their immediate family are not supposed to invest in vendor companies without prior approval from PETCO’s ethics committee. The code of ethics also addresses concerns such as employee safety, wage laws and reporting time worked. The supervisors are supposed to act as role model for the organization. 2) How do you think re-privatizing the company will help PETCO’s performance? Or do you think it hurt the company overall? The decision to turn PETCO from a public company back to a private firm in my opinion was not warranted. The re-privatizing decision did not add any value to the organization. By privatizing the company the firm lost its ability to raise large sums of capital through the sale of common stocks in the open market. Public companies have greater recognition in the market and the fact they are listed on major public exchanges such as NYSE creates free word of mouth advertising for the company. I thought it was unethical when the company re-privatized and it did follow a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandate that was pending because once the company stopped being public the SEC had no jurisdiction over them. The case study did not show any specific

Final exam essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Final exam - Essay Example To avoid consequences, we make an agreement with other people in the society by denouncing the unacceptable ways and practice doing the acceptable things. Contract theory lays emphasis on the need for justice in the society. For a peaceful coexistence and satisfaction of basic needs people should seek to have a contract where they exchange goods and services. John Locke had the view that the ethical pre-political state of the society is assured by a divinely ordered natural commandment. John Rawls’ Theory of Justice argued that a group of rational and unbiased individuals will create a beneficial principle of justice as the basis for regulation of all duties, power, rights, and wealth. Social contract theory plays the role of setting up rules that govern behaviors that are acceptable by all people in the society. Contract theory creates an orderly society and enhances cooperation in the production of social goods (Gauthier1990). For this to be possible everyone in the society should be involved in the contract. This will ensure that the life and property of the people in the society has been protected. Contract theory aims at removing the notion of utilitarianism or self-interest. It argues that people follow the set rules for the advantage of the society as a whole. Contract theory has been applied by the Government in the form of a constitution. A constitution is a list of things that serve the society to enhance orderliness. The laws in the constitution are amended to accommodate the needs of the individuals in the society. I believe that the constitution ensures that politicians who refer themselves as public servants though they mostly follow their self-interests. The purpose of the constitution is to keep the politicians in check. The constitution bars the politicians from overusing their powers (Gauthier 1990). The success of the Contract theory has been widespread and this has attracted critics as well. Feminists and race conscious philosophers have

Business Research Methods Essay Example for Free

Business Research Methods Essay Organizational Dilemma Starbucks grew as it attracted many people, leading to tripling its stores worldwide. It became part of every neighborhood, appearing on every street, in airports, supermarkets, and roadside rest stops all over America. This is when complaints began to surface that Starbucks is transforming into a fast-food restaurant and not a coffee house. The coffee industry was no longer dominated by Starbucks, for competitors began to put pressure on the business. In addition, the biggest dilemma to hit Starbucks was the 2008 economic crisis. This took a toll on the consumer who saw Starbucks as a luxury and searched for more affordable alternatives. As a result, Starbucks’ management was faced with the need to generate the right management question that would be the thread to making the best decision through its research design. An organizational dilemma can spark a research question. Once an organization determines a situation exists, research methods start to devise and eventually sample designs are implemented. When people think of Starbucks, do they think of great customer service, quality products, clean store, or great coffee? The organizational dilemma is: how should Starbucks go about keeping loyal customers while overcoming the old perceptions and changing with the times. According to Howard Schultz, â€Å"We are not in the coffee business serving people; we are in the people business serving coffee† (Starbucks Board of Directors, 2008). Research Design Marius Pretorius (2008) research infers Starbuck’s organizational dilemma, whether strategic or operational is not diminished when using Michael Porter’s (1985) generic strategies for competitive advantage. Declining sales require a turnaround solution that address strategic causes and cost relationship pressures that govern demand determinants. Which are â€Å"highly susceptible to external influences that are not clearly visible to the decision-makers† (Pretorius, 2008, pg. 21). Designing a two-stage exploratory study to identify the basis of distress and the key determinants is essential to a turnaround strategic plan. An exploratory study provides sufficient flexibility to address research costs, timelines, and development of clear constructs to address priorities and operational definitions (Cooper Schindler, 2011). The first stage of the study will look to ascertain the causation of the organizational dilemma and postulate the asymmetrical relationships in declining sales by examining both internal and external independent and dependent variables. This research will categorize findings into four relationship types as stimulus-response, property-disposition, disposition-behavior, or property-behavior. This will refine the second stage of research and explore influencing factors in depth. Characteristics and Operational Definitions The research design will produce casual inferences upon which a complementary strategy will result. â€Å"Although they may be neither permanent nor universal, these inferences allow us to build knowledge of presumed causes over time† (Cooper Schindler, 2011, pg. 154). Therefore, it is important to identify moderating or interactive variable dependencies. To ensure data validity operational definitions will challenge data to meet specific standards. These definitions may not exhibit the organization’s use but will establish a means to classify clearly an event. The main concern is to establish actionable information in which contributory or contingent effects on the original independent to dependent variable (IV–DV) relationship will provide empirical conclusions. References Cooper, D.R. Schindler, P.S. (2011). Business research methods (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Porter, M.E., (1985). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. New York, NY: The Free Press Pretorius, M., (2008). When Porter’s generic strategies are not enough: Complementary strategies for turnaround situations. Journal of Business Strategy 29(6): 19–28. Starbucks Board of Directors. (2008). Retrieved 2 2013, February, from Starbucks.com: www.starbucks.com/aboutus/environment.asp Starbucks, (2011) Our Company: Mission Statement. Retrieved from http://www.starbucks.com