Marketing challenges

What marketing challenges does McDonald’s face in the future? The market for McDonald’s is going global and has been changed by health concerns, introducing new marketing challenges.   McDonald’s profits are increasingly coming from overseas.   The European market led by France, Germany and Spain enjoys larger revenues than the US already, and the Asia, Pacific, Middle East and Africa markets are expanding rapidly (McDonald’s 2007). When entering a new market, the marketing department needs to examine the customers, the company as it exists in the new environment, and the competitors.   Additional external considerations include the Economic, technological, political/legal, cultural and social environments (Perreault 2006).   Features such as price points, access to media sources for advertising, laws and regulations, and eating habits and attitudes must all be evaluated for each new region entered.   This market research and monitoring of effective implementation is a big undertaking that requires changes in how headquarters deals with franchises.   Marketing management needs to rely more heavily on outside consultants, and analyze more data before making decisions. In addition, the demand for traditional greasy McDonald’s food is going down as concerns for health increase.   McDonalds has already shown its ability to change by taking the super size option off its menu in the wake of the movie â€Å"Super Size Me.†Ã‚   New menu introductions such as apples and milk cater toward health conscious yet busy parents.   McDonalds has also responded to an emphasis on higher quality, more expensive food by introducing gourmet coffee, the Angus burger, and chicken sandwich options (Bogoslaw 2007).   However, the new climate for fast food has allowed many competitors to threaten McDonald’s top position as McDonalds struggles to revamp its image. Marketing organizations need to be more customer oriented and market driven than they have been. With the rise of technology, mass media has become less effective.   On demand services have lowered exposure to advertising. As a result, marketers need to try harder to put their ads in people’s hands via cell phones, product placement, and other innovative strategies.   This results in greater customer research and approaches tailor- made for consumer demographics.   Unfortunately for many companies, this requires redesigning their entire culture, turning their focus outward to markets rather than internal bureaucracy. What results is an external culture with â€Å"capabilities for market sensing and market relating† (Staying Close 1999).     Ã‚  Market sensing is made possible with tools that understand how people are getting information about products, buying habits, and changes in market trends.   Market Relating involves changing products and marketing strategies to meet the changes identified in the market.   The more customers have access to instant technology, the faster companies need to change their strategies to compete with other companies, and the more fads will change as a result of the volume of information to which consumers have access. Bibliography Bogoslaw, David.   2007.   McDonald’s Sales Jolt Higher.   BusinessWeek, September 11, 2007. (Accessed October 24, 2007 McDonald’s Global Sales and Profit Momentum Continue. 2007.   McDonald’s Press Release October 12, 2007.   McDonalds Corporation.   (Accessed October 24, 2007 from http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/news/fnpr/2007/fpr_101207.html) Perreault, William D and McCarthy, E. Jerome. 2006.   Essentials of Marketing 10th ed.   New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin. Staying Close, but Not Too Close, to the Customer.   1999. [email  protected]   December 10, 1999.   (Accessed October 24, 2007 from http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=112)   

Air Cargo Forecasts: The MergeGlobal Forecast

The MergeGlobal forecast entitled Steady Climb speaks of the air freight tonnage growth after the traffic boom of 2004, following years of stagnation in 2002 and 2003 because of the dot-com bubble and collapse in technological spending in 2001 (Clancy & Hoppin, 2006, p.65).After the global traffic boom came the slow but positive growth since 2005 until 2010 (Clancy & Hoppin, 2006, p.65).   What we ask therefore, is how long it would take before the next downturn of growth rate begins again.MergeGlobal, however, forecasts that â€Å"[G]lobal traffic growth is most likely to maintain and to gently accelerate over the next five years† (Clancy & Hoppin, 2006, p.65).   Because of sustained economic growth in North America, Europe, and Japan, there would be an additional demand in world intercontinental air freight, while increasing metric tons by 3.0% from 2000 to 2005, and by 6.4% from 2005 to 2010 (p.65).Industrial goods production from North America and Europe would be trans ported to Asia via air freight because of persistent congestion and delay problems in the ocean transport system, and thus, creating a positive upgrade and effect to the world intercontinental air freight.As indicated above, the absence of a downturn would lead to a compound average growth rate that is 6.4% that is double the growth rate from 2000 to 2005.This is more than twice the forecasted growth rate in 2000, and slightly above the long-term growth trend of the air cargo tonnage.   As indicated too, â€Å"the single most important driver of air freight traffic growth is consumption growth, broadly measured by Gross Domestic Product† (p.66).Because there appears to be sustained positive GDP growth in the world’s most important air freight regions (except China), then it is presumed that, consistent with the historical patterns of the globe, the air freight tonnage is expecting steady growth until 2010.Majority of the new traffic is expected to boom in the Asian r egions for trade and industry.   This includes Australia and the Indian subcontinent; while Mexico is put in the Latin America category.Reference:Clancy, B., & Hoppin, D. (2006, August). Steady climb: MergeGlobal forecasts accelerating intercontinental air freight demand growth through 2010. Retrieved July 30, 2009, from the MergeGlobal database: http://www.mergeglobal.com/articles/2006-08_Steady-Climb_Article.pdf.

Attributes of the employees

Attributes of the employees Attributes of the employees Employees are the most critical part of an organization as they provide their skills for an organization’s operations and they are the one who can drag the organizational performance because of these reasons the employers wants to hire the people having the best attributes. In the following I have selected out the attributes of the employees valued by the employer through from different websites and different books also address the same attributes. 1. Communications Skills By far, the one skill mentioned most often by employers is the ability to listen, write, and speak effectively. Successful communication is critical in business. It saves time, minimizes mistakes & reduces conflicts. 2. Analytical, Research Skills Deals with ability to assess a situation, seek multiple perspectives, gather more information if necessary, and identify key issues that need to be addressed. 3. Computer, Technical Literacy Almost all jobs now require some basic under standing of computer hardware and software, especially word processing, spreadsheets, printers, telephone and email. 4. Flexibility, Adaptability, Managing Multiple Priorities Deals with ability to manage multiple assignments and tasks, set priorities, and adapt to changing conditions and work assignments. 5. Interpersonal Abilities The ability to relate to co-workers, inspire others to participate, and mitigate conflict with co-workers is essential given the amount of time spent at work each day. 6. Leadership, Management Skills While there is some debate about whether leadership is something people are born with, these skills deal with ability to take charge and manage co-workers. 7. Multicultural Sensitivity, Awareness There is possibly no bigger issue in the workplace than diversity, and job-seekers must demonstrate a sensitivity and awareness to other people and cultures. 8. Planning, Organizing Deals with ability to design, plan, organize, and implement projects and tasks within an allotted timeframe. Also involves goal-setting. 9. Problem-Solving, Reasoning, Creativity Involves the ability to find solutions to problems using creativity, reasoning, and past experiences along with the available information and resources. 10. Teamwork Because so many jobs involve working in one or more work-groups, employee must have the ability to work with others in a professional manner while attempting to achieve a common goal. 11. Personal Values Employers Seek in Employees Of equal importance to skills are the values, personality traits, and personal characteristics that employers seek. 12. Honesty, Integrity, Morality Employers probably respect personal integrity more than any other value, especially in light of the many recent corporate scandals. 13. Dedication, Hard-Working, Work Ethic, Tenacity Employers seek job-seekers who love what they do and will keep at it until they solve the problem and get the job done. 14. Dependability, Reliability, Responsib ility There’s no question that all employers desire employees who will arrive to work every day – on time – and ready to work, and who will take responsibility for their actions. 15. Loyalty Employers want employees who will have a strong devotion to the company — even at times when the company is not necessarily loyal to its employees. 16. Positive Attitude, Motivation, Energy, Passion The job-seekers who get hired and the employees who get promoted are the ones with drive and passion — and who demonstrate this enthusiasm through their words and actions.

KTM One of the Leaders of Motorcycle Industry Term Paper

KTM One of the Leaders of Motorcycle Industry - Term Paper Example Its competency and high quality are due to its expertise in the manufacturing of core parts (e.g. engines, radiators and exhausts). In 1991, KTM went bankrupt and was purchased by Dr Rudolf Knà ¼nz, who is now the chief financial officer of KTM and Stefan Pierer, along with a couple of European Importers and a venture fund, later on, the two partners bought out the whole company from the importers. KTM went public in the year 1996 so that it could gain more market share, grow and be able to buy out its venture fund. In the late 1990’s there were talks of mergers and acquisition but the owners of KTM wanted internal growth. It again went private in the year 1999 so that KTM remained stable and under good leadership. This move was aided by equity financing from BC European. Most of the revenues that KTM generated came from its off-road motorcycle sales. Mainly form Motocross and Enduro bikes which were basically termed as ready to race bikes. These bikes were the most popular and growing products because of their short lifespan and as they introduced new models and upgraded them regularly. Other products that come under off-road bikes that KTM offers are sportminicycles, rally bikes and supermoto bikes. All of these generally relate to sporty and adventurous people and cater to all ages. For example, sportminicycles are entry level bikes specially designed for children. What’s different about KTM products is that they have a distinctive engine configuration and unique design elements. They are reliable, compact and extremely efficient and effective at a performance. Their styling is unique and is much more diverse than other Japanese bikes. They combine the Italian style with German engineering giving it a competitive advantage. These are all the features that are necessary for the off-road category. KTM generally uses its off-road racing as a major advertising strategy and marketing activities. Its main purpose is to promote its brand as a very adventurous and sporty brand and they do it by sponsoring such racing events.     

Levendary Cafe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Levendary Cafe - Essay Example Mia Foster is the current C.E.O of the Levendary Cafà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. She has had a decorated past with experiences in being the president of the U.S business of a large American fast food company for about seven years. The first reason was that the company domestic business was almost tapping out even though the brand still remained strong and easily recognized. The second and most important reason that concerned Mia Foster was the fact that she did not have adequate previous experience in international management. This second factor led to investors being skeptical of her own ability to successfully manage a now global brand.Louis Chen is the cafà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s China Vice President. The cafà © heavily relies on her expertise, judgment and knowledge of the Chinese market to effectively penetrate and establish itself in the emerging but lucrative Chinese market. The company opted to forgo the idea of entering the market as a joint venture with an established Chinese domestic restaurant an d opted to instead exploit and use Louis Chen’s experience and attributes so as to replicate and be as successful as the company would have been recorded with a joint venture strategy. Louis Chen’s main concerns are in the company’s expansion and connection since there was no particular strategic plan at all. Chen was also concerned about how differentiation of the Levendary brand would pan out in the new market with consumers trying to see how this new foreign brand differs from their own domestic brands.

Stem Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Stem Education - Essay Example Examples of interdisciplinary subjects that incorporate the four disciplines are aerospace engineering, chemistry, physics and mathematical biology. Aerospace is a branch that is concerned with designing, developing, researching, testing, science, construction and technology of airplanes or spacecrafts. It is an engineering branch that incorporates science, engineering, technology and mathematics in its functions. It relies upon science to explore, invent and discover new processes in aerospace science (Tooley, 2006). It also relies on algebra, calculus and equations in the field of mathematics. It relies on engineering by applying concepts in science in order to develop solutions and identify problems in aerospace science or engineering. It incorporates technology by reinventing and inventing new technological devices that can be relied upon in aerospace science. Chemistry deals with the structure, composition, alterations, composition and properties of matter. It is mainly concerned with molecules and atoms. It studies how molecules and atoms transform and interact. Chemistry combines mathematics and science subjects. It incorporates mathematics in its calculus (Stone, 2001). Lastly, chemistry is a science and relies upon scientific properties to study molecules and atoms. Physics is another science subject that mainly deals with energy and matter by looking at their properties and how they relate. Physics combines science and mathematics subjects or disciplines. It relies on mathematics in developing solutions to the problems faced in physics. Mathematics is highly regarded as an essential part of physics. It provides guidelines or a framework that can be applied in Physics (Breithaupt, 2001). Physics is a branch in the field of sciences. It, thus, carries out scientific researches and experiments. Mathematical Biology is a

The onsent of eating disorders during adolescence is common. Discuss Essay

The onsent of eating disorders during adolescence is common. Discuss some of the causes and risk factors and long term effects of these disorders - Essay Example (Steinhaussen, H., 1995) Due to the intense and demanding lifestyle of high school, nutritious foods may be replaced with high calorie fast food, which often leads to weight gain. This weight gain, and remarks made by parents can reinforce self conscious images into some teens, which can result in developing eating disorders such as the sometimes fatal eating disorder anorexia nervosa. Eating disorders come in a variety of ways, such as eating large quantities of food and obsessing with thinness. These conditions affect many children, teens, and adults around the world. (Bryan, L., 2000)They are real, complex, and devastating situations, which can have serious consequences. There are three types of eating disorders: Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that results in an avoidance of eating because of a cluster of specific emotional issues in adolescence. It is an eating disorder that mostly occurs (about 59%) in adolescent girls, but it can also occur among teenage boys and adult men and women. Usually, anorexia begins between the ages of 14 to 18 when young teenagers go trough puberty (Ruuska, 2003). Anorexia is characterized by extreme and irrational fear of becoming fat, significant weight loss of 15% or more of the normal weight, distorted body image and amenorrhea or absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles. Excessive weight loss is accomplished by restricting food intake of less than 1,000 calories per day, excessive exercise, diet pills or even self-induced. The patients constantly exercise, move food around the plate, wear oversized clothes to hide their appearance, and worry about their figure all the time. They also have a fear of eating in front of others; sometimes they feel depressed, have problems socializing and starve themselves, even if they have a normal figure. They also spend a lot of time in front of the mirror, pay too much attention to their weight, and accumulate food in

The Ellen Show Assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Ellen Show Assignment - Research Paper Example Amidst occasions, she and the group of onlookers move to the music played by D.J. Tony Okungbowa. The website of the TV show which is www.ellentv.com is fast and snappy. It is bright and colorful but fewer colors would not have harmed the eyes for that sake. In order to maintain the viewership in the television channels they do not broadcast their full episodes on their website instead just a brief overview of the show or the episode is given. The website has lot of endorsement for other brands who try to promote themselves through the show. In my opinion these promotions should not be given all over the websites rather they can create a separate section for the promotions and brands related to Ellen Degeneres. Let us talk about the recommendation for the show. The show is one of the most popular in the world and does not have any negative side to it. So we cannot say that is harmful for the kids as such. It is funny, spread awareness and makes people dance. One suggestion that can be given as a viewer is that Ellen is only shot in USA which does not give the world wide fans a chance to be in the show. It is a show which is broadcast all the globe and it is loved and appreciated by people of every country and religion. They can conduct an Ellen Tour like those conducted by music artist and travel all over the world to meet the global fans. This is further make the show popular and people from various countries can have a chance to watch the show live. This event can be done once every season and they can probably one geographic region at a time. The Ellen application is available for apple devices and android platform. But there are other platforms such as blackberry and windows phone whic h are equally popular. In my suggestion they should make the applications for these platforms as well to increase the fan falling. As far as the famous lines in the show are concerned, there isn’t any. It is just a show named after a celebrity who is a comedian and brings

The World in my image Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The World in my image - Research Paper Example It is not for nothing then that there exist several international bodies, of which almost all countries of the world belong to one of them or the other. Because of the need to ensuring that national decisions made conform to international principles and standards, policy makers have a great deal of task to learn when it comes to meeting the said standards and principle in the formulation and implementation of national policies. It is for this reason that the need to study international systems to have a fairer idea of the present image of the international system should always be a priority to policy makers. In the present essay therefore, an academic perspective is given of the current world image when it comes to international systems. Such analysis of the current international system would influence decision making at the national and international levels for policy makers. Overview of the International System The term international system is greatly influenced by behaviorism in t hat the personal systems of human behavior have led to the various theories of international system, being organized into two major components or perspectives. These perspectives are foreign-policy perspective and international-system-analysis perspective (Britannica, 2012). Some of the key theories that make up the foreign policy perspective are how individual states are governed and categories. Under this, mention can be made of some key categorization of individual States such as democratic nations and dictatorship States. At the foreign policy level therefore, nations are better viewed as individual states that have the freedom to operate from very individualistic viewpoints without having to think about the need to conform of strict international standards (Gilpin, 2002). This is indeed where the subject of total sovereignty comes in. At the international system analysis perspective or level however, there are major theories that deals with how nations interact with each other. This perspective or level has been considered to be a major binding necessity as no individual nation can proof to be so independent that it would not need to interact with other nations in one way or the other to get basic social and economic support. At the international system analysis level, the capacities of individual nations are considered in the relations but the essential factor is that each nation is supposed to operate within a confined specification of regulations and conduct. Structure and nature of the contemporary international system According to Dessler et al (1997), the best description that can be given to the structure and nature of the international system is and â€Å"organization of units that emerges spontaneously from their interaction.† It could be seen that the description put forth by Dessler et al (1997) is directly rooted in the two perspectives of international system discussed earlier. This is because at the discrete level, States interact wit h themselves and as a result of their interactions, which are often influenced by the foreign policy perspective, an interaction is developed. Subsequently, the interaction gives birth to the international system analysis perspective and finally forms of the structure of the international system, which according to Waltz (2010), when formed â€Å"cannot be controlled by the discrete units from which it was first formed.† In effect, the structure of

The Impact of An Engineering Innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Impact of An Engineering Innovation - Essay Example Since the invention of the internal combustion engine and of the tools and machinery that rely on it the global scene has undergone much change from the 19th century. The impact in global society has been in various ways, but the main effect has been in the transportation industry. Early application of the combustion engine was the use of automobiles and trains and later on airplanes. The use and reliance on these modes of transport have made the combustion engine indispensable in the global society. From the late 19th century, there was easier worldwide travel as a result of the trains that now had combustion engines as opposed to the earlier steam engines. The early 20th century saw the invention of the airplane that made the world travel much easier and quick. This meant that people could move from Europe to America or Asia easily. Easy movement of people has impacted societies, cultures were exchanged and products from one place could be available in any part of the world. The co mbustion engine had an immense effect on the economies of countries and the world. Movement of goods and people had become easier and convenient than never before. The transportation industry grew tremendously, and this had a profound impact on the economy in the particular areas the engine was in operation. The air travel also observed in the second half of the 20th century created a new industry that was beneficial to the economies of the countries operating the airlines and also increased the tourism sector worldwide since people could move with ease.

Fundamentals of Macroeconomics Essay Example for Free

Fundamentals of Macroeconomics Essay Some of the terms that are frequently used in economics are; gross domestic product (GDP), real GDP, nominal GDP, unemployment rate, inflation rate, and interest rates. Gross domestic product is the money value of the nation’s productivity. GDP is the value of all finished goods and services produced within the country’s border. Real GDP is the market value of the final goods and services produced in a year. Real GDP means that it was adjusted for inflation so it will show a more accurate figure. Without real GDP our market values would look a lot higher than they really were and this helps us when trying to see what our productivity was. Nominal GDP is also known as the current dollar amount. It is the gross domestic product that has not been adjusted for inflation. Nominal GDP can be misleading because it does not adjust the inflation amount. For example if the nominal GDP figure showed that it shot up 10% but inflation has been 5% the real GDP has really only increased 5%. The unemployment rate is a percent of people who are not currently working but are willing and able to work or currently seeking. There are three different types of unemployment. The unemployment rate is figured by dividing the number of unemployed people by the number of people who are working and then multiplied by 100. Inflation rate is when prices for goods and services are on the rise. Inflation results in higher prices for the same amount goods and services one could have bought the year before for a lower price. Inflation gives high prices and lower purchasing power from consumers. The dollar amount becomes less than what it previously was. An interest rate is a percentage of the principle, which is the total amount of a loan, given by a lender for the use of an asset. The asset could either be a house or vehicle. An interest rate is usually based on an annual basis so this is also known as an annual percentage rate or APR. Somebody who has a high credit score shows that they have a good track record with other loans and monthly payments and will be given a lower interest rate. Somebody who has a low credit score is considered more high risk and will be given a higher interest rate. The three sectors; government, households, and businesses all have a circular flow between the three. The purchasing of groceries affects each one of the three sectors in different ways. It goes along with the law of demand and supply and the price level or inflation. Households decide and control what and how much to buy for consumption. The income effect has part of what consumers buy also. If there is an unexpected change of price this will affect the purchasing power of the consumer. Since households have control on what they buy and how much this will affect each business that contributes to the grocery stores. The competition in the grocery stores will affect the price of each item will affect what the household buys. Distribution also plays an important role in the economy by getting goods where people want them. If goods are in high demand this may affect the price level which may affect what consumers will buy. The government in turn will make some of their money on sales tax from the groceries. This tax will be used for expenditures that will go back into the economy. A decrease in taxes could affect the three sectors in a positive way. If there is a decrease in taxes there is a chance that more tax revenue is generated. The reason is because if people are bringing in more money into their households they will likely spend more money which will help businesses. If businesses are busy and making more money they will be more likely to hire more people who in turn will also be taxed which will help the government. A massive layoff of employees would hurt the economy and the three sectors. If people are out of work they are bringing in less money for their household. Since they will not have as much money as they are used to they are less likely to spend money which will hurt businesses. If businesses are not making a profit they may be forced to lay more people off. Because there are so many people laid off they will likely collect unemployment insurance which will cost the government more money.

2006 Fifa World Cup Germany History Essay

2006 Fifa World Cup Germany History Essay In these few years, because the economy recession, many industries have been affected, such as tourism industry, airline industry, auto industry and so on, the event industry is not the exception. There are two definitions of event from Business Dictionary (n.d.), occurrence happening at a determinable time and place, with or without the participation of human agents. It may be a part of a chain of occurrences as an effect of a preceding occurrence and as the cause of a succeeding occurrence, and arrival of a significant point in time. In project management, an event marks the point in time when a task is completed. There is many type of event in the industry, such as promotion event, marketing event and so on. This report will focus on one sport event, Fifa World Cup 2006 in Germany. At the beginning of the report, it will give the history of football, the World Cup and the background of the World Cup 2006. Economy, another beneficiary, security, infectious disease issue, sponsor, s ocial impact and environment are the main parts. At the last is the conclusion. 2. History of football: Football is a worldwide game, and it can be said that (FIFA, n.d.) it is the most popular game in the world, and its history is more than a hundred years. It was begun in 1863 in England, originally rugby football and association football was the same thing, when they were branched off, the Football Association in England was formed becoming the sports first governing body. It can be said actually this was a type of exercise date back to the second and third centuries BC in China. In that time, it was called Tsu Chu, the material and the size of the ball was different, of cause, the rule was different. 3. History of the World Cup: The first World Cup tournament was taken place on Uruguay in 1930 (BBC, 2001), at that time just had thirteen nations competed, and just only four European countries. The final winner was the host Uruguay, and the second was Argentina. In 1934, the game was moved to Europe, and Italy both hosted and won the game. In 1938, the game played in France. As we know, because of the World War II, the tournament had to be stopped and then the tournament returned to South America on 1950 and Brazil hosted it. It was the most chaotic in World Cup history, and many teams had a long way to travel between matches. Because of the aftermath of World War II had passed, so the event was moved on to Switzerland on 1954. In 1958, perhaps the worlds greatest player (Pele) was appeared, and the country that was to dominate world football for the next 12 years. In 1962 the tournament was returned to South America. The games location was changing between Europe and South America, in 1966, it came back to th e home England, and it had an exciting final in Wembley. In 1970, football got into another special time because of the satellite technology, and pitch red and yellow cards were used for the first time in Mexico. In 1974, the World Cup became the new FIFA World Cup and it was hosted by West Germany. In 1978, the final was between the Dutch and the host Argentina. Spain hosted the tournament in 1982, the involved teams were expanded from 16 to 24. In 1986, the World Cup was back to Mexico, another greatest player was appeared at that time, Diego Maradona of Argentina. The 1990 tournament was returned to Italy, finally West Germany took the crown from Argentinas hand. 4. 2006 game background: The last FIFA World Cup was opened on Germany on 2006, it could be said that it was the biggest event on 2006 (FIFA, 2006a). At the semi-final, Italian put down the host team Germany, it was a hard road, they had to spot-kick to terminate the game. At the end of the game, Italian team handed the World Cups crown. There was a historical time on the final game at Berlins Olympic Stadium, a French player got a red card, he was Zinedine Zidane, one of the greatest players in the world. The World Cup was not the stage for the Italian, the host team finished as top scorers with 14 goals, thereinto five goals were from the Golden Shoe winner Miroslav Klose. The football month was not only attracted 3,359,439 spectators (FIFA, 2006) to attend matches in the 12 great stadiums, but also there was over 30 billion people watched those match through TV, internet etc globally. 5. The economy The economy was one of the benefits the host country could get. Fortunately, this event gave very positive effect to the country, its economy and improved countrys imagination; actually, some events can lead the local economy down (DW, 2006). It was generated over 300 million Euros from tourism industry, 2 more billion Euros from retail and 50,000 jobs were created during the World Cup weeks (4 weeks). 40 million was made from ticket sales, the World Cup Organising Committee said that the net profit was 56.5 million Euros and they would put the money into German Soccer Federation (DFB) and German Soccer League (DFL). It was announced that, the DFB earned around 140 million Euros from the event (DW, 2006). Other numbers, Germany used nearly 4 billion Euros to hold the mega event, and 15 million more visitors had been welcomed by Germany. 6. Another beneficiary: The benefit was not just the Italian had, there was another major winner children (FIFA, 2006b). A joint fundraising campaign which was called six villages for 2006, and it was between SOS Childrens Villages and FIFA. The campaign was collected over 21 million Euros, this money would give to over eight hundred orphaned and abandoned children globally. Furthermore, over five thousand children and one thousand would be benefited from a new ancillary social and educational projects. 16.2 million Euros was the total number on collection, which was from three thousand people, and they pledged their support to SOS Childrens Villages as sponsors (FIFA, 2006b). Originally, the organization thought that those sponsors might make a long term commitment to SOS Childrens Villages and they were expected to support an additional one million Euros per year on next over five years, but the total income was expected to over 21 million Euros (FIFA, 2006b). In addition, FIFA donated the income, which was from fines in yellow and red cards at the Germany World Cup, the number was over three hundred thousand Euros. There were many other companies donate money to this campaign, such as the Infront Sports and Media, they donated all proceeds generated from the commercial public viewing licences in Germany, it surpassed seven hundred thousand Euros. Another big income, which was from the FIFA World Cup TV Ticket Show, it generated more than six hundred thousand Euros into the campai gn. Moreover, many famous footballer, such as Pele, Shevchenko, Rooney, Cannavaro etc, they took time from their busy plan to support this fundraising campaign. Through this fundraising campaign, we can see that, during the mega event, it can generate a big number of money and they will use this event to do some other activities such as the fundraising campaign, but we have to consider, it has a good side but it may has a bad side too (FIFA, 2006b). 7. The impact on security: Because of the World Cup event is globally, there was some problem on security area. For example, around two hundred football team fans were arrested by police during the match between German and Polish, and it made a big chaos for the event and the city (Kelso, 2006). Actually this happen had been predicted before because of the two sides of fans would bring their enmity to Dortmund stadium. Although this trouble was happened in the city centre during the game, the people who were inside the stadium were still focus on the match. One of the reasons why the Polish did it was because they had resentment at their opponents behavior at the past. Another reason was because some hooliganism involved. On 2005, there was another demonstration clash between Polish and German, and the result was quite badly. Before the match day, fifty five people had been arrested by German police and four of them carried knife, but it was not enough to stop the problem, at the end of it, around two hundred fans had been arrested by the police in the city centre (Kelso, 2006). A French policeman, he dead because of the two sides fans crashed at the 1998 World Cup. There was an example of the impact on security, because this was the mega event, everything become happened wa s possible and those consequence should be considered (Kelso, 2006). 8. Infectious disease issue: There were some health issues during the global mega event. Actually, the 2006 World Cup was related to some infectious disease, and here was an example in Munich in International Broadcast Centre (IBC) (Eurosurveillance, 2006). A group of people with gastrointestinal symptoms was informed on the local health department on 15 of June. The local health department began to do something for it at that evening, if they did not do that, the consequence would be hard to measure. Those patients came from different countries, such as Mexico, the United States and so on. They had a same point, it was they were all employed by IBC temporarily. At that time, the hygiene precautions were immediately begun, such as disinfecting surfaces and providing hand disinfection liquids in sanitary areas, and multi-language information leaflets was given to people, the local health department also checked the other people through peoples stool sample, unfortunately there were five were proven to be positive for norovirus. Afterward, genotype GGII.4-2006a had been found and totally there were 61 cases of gastroenteritis were linked to the norovirus outbreak in Munich. When you look this example, will you consider to go to this mega event? In this kind of mega events specially on global events have some health issues are quite normal, it just depends it will be serious or not and how to solve the problem by the organization (Eurosurveillance, 2006). There were some other infectious disease events during the World Cup event. For example (Eurosurveillance, 2006), it was reported the biggest measles outbreak was related the event in Germany. The situation was concerned by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and it had been rising, visitors were also given warning by various European national public health institutes during the event. Totally, 1406 measles cases were found in North Rhine-Westphalia between 1 Jan and 7Jun 2006, when the World Cup began, the number of cases still increased. Another infectious disease event was an outbreak of haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Hambury and Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany, and 15 cases were found totally (Eurosurveillance, 2006). 9. The World Cup and its sponsors: Totally, there were 15 sponsors such as Yahoo, Budweiser, McDonalds, Gillette, Toshiba Philips and so on, they had to pay a heavy of cost to be called as an Official Partner of the mega event (Times, 2006). Furthermore, there were six national suppliers such as Postbank, ODDSET, Deutsche Bahn and so on, it was said that they had to paid around thirteen million Euro to use the rights of Fifa logos and trademarks on their advertising, it was a quite big amount of money. After the event, it was reported that although the demand was over supply, Fifa would make most of the money through the sponsorship deal, in fact, the agreement of the deal was worth over seven hundred million Euro. The problem was appeared, if Fifas exclusivity was not guaranteed no one would agree to pay the money to Fifa, and the contract was all according safeguard Fifas position for every eventuality. It was an example; there was an agreement with Hamburger Sportverein (HSV) for the use of its stadium in Hamburg. Obviously HSV has its own sponsor, AOL, and the stadium is always called AOL Arena Stadium. During the World Cup, the name was changed to Fifa World Cup Stadium Hamburg, Yahoo took the opportunity to become the title sponsor in this period of time and a legal agreement had been enshrined (Times, 2006). It had to be mindful the feeling on non-alcoholic drinks sponsors by Fifa, the Coca Cola. Totally (Times, 2006), there were 12 official fan festivals in those host cities, the contract with Coca Cola was that to supply of virtually every other drink. Because of Coca Cola, many milk suppliers became angry, because they had to wait Coca Cola agreed to supply non-flavoured milk product. It was said that (Times, 2006), brand protection is very important to the organization of the World Cup 2006 by Max Duthie, a sport lawyer with Hammonds. He also said (Times, 2006), Lawyers have been intimately involved in devising strategies and drafting legal agreements to prevent ambush marketing. He continued to add, Fifa will have been liaising, too, with local authorities and the police in order to prevent, as a hypothetical example, Pepsi turning up before a game and handing out thousands of Pepsi T shirts to fans, to that, once inside, sections of the ground could appear devoted to Pepsi. It was said that, in the UK trading standards officers always get involve with event organizes to flight with counterfeit merchandising and intellectual property infringement at sports event (Times, 2006). Actually, the local authorities were persuaded to help Fifa to clamp down on trade mark infringement, and it had been criticised in Germany. At that time, the trademark protection was not the responsibility of public authorities. The official list of licensed manufacturers and samples of their products were sent to customs, because Fifa wanted to protect their own rights. Anyway, it was just the tip of the iceberg although Fifa was fighting for themselves hardly. Ticketing conditions was another problem Fifa had to consider, they planned it carefully to prevent touting. This problem was not only on this event, it is an increasing global problem in modern football. There were some potential intellectual property infringement, such as player disciplinary issues and anti doping regulations, and those mean that when the event was begun, lawyers could not stop their work. We receive numerous queries from businesses who want to check that their campaigns do not infringe Fifas intellectual property. Like many rights holders in modern sport, Fifa protect their rights aggressively, so anyone thinking of exploiting the buzz around the World Cup for advertising purposes has to be very careful, Nick White, a sports lawyer with Couchman Harrington said that (Times, 2006). The inter relationship has never been complex that between sponsors, rights holders, teams, players and spectators, and it has never more intertwined with the law. Just before the World Cup kicked off, the chairman of Crystal Palace Simon Jordan caged his former employee Iain Dowie with his legal action. It is hard to be thought that this chairman was so rely upon to this post employment few years ago. The World Cup 2006 was not just between players, spectator, organization, local people, the government and so on, stakeholders had a quite big range such as lawyer. Something looks like very simple, but actually it is not (Times, 2006). 10. The social impacts from the World Cup 2006: It is known that all sport events have different range of impacts to the community, especially on host communities, sometimes they have focused on economic rather than the social effects. Social impacts have been identified as (Jones, 2007); changes in the structure and functioning of patterned social ordering that occur in conjunction with an environmental, technological or social innovation or alteration. Munich is an example. According a study (310 people was surveyed), 88% of people supported the strengthening of the sense of communities and the relationship improvement between people of different ethnic origin, over 50% of them agreed it strongly and only 8% of them disagreed (Jones, 2007). In terms of the quality of life becomes important. In Munich (Jones, 2007), the co-hosting of the World Cup 2006 led to an increase in shopping facilities was disagreed by 70% people. Therefore, the government used another way to solve it, it was to extend the opening time for shops in the city centre, and also it was allowed them to open on Sunday. Two-thirds respondents thought that, it was a positive impact, actually they prefer to go shopping on Sunday rather than on Saturday. Another impact was because the World Cup, related events have been increased. The World Cup gave a lot of benefit to the host city such as on economy, social well-being and so on. Because of the event, the city has been renewal, many respondents said that, the improvement of the local infrastructure, although the citys situation was not bad at before. It is a quotation from the local people (Jones, 2007), thanks to the good planning by the local council there was no chaos on the road as I am commuting between Munich to Nuremberg every day. Through the quotation it can be seen, the traffic was quite good during the mega event and the local council had done their work. Although there were a lot of benefits, there also had some disadvantages. For example, noise level was increased during the event (Jones, 2007). 11. The environment: Through the event, the organization and the government had done a lot, included on environment. It was a project called Green Goal (UNEP, 2006), its aim was to protect the environment, cut greenhouse gas emissions from transportation area and electricity generation during the event, defeating the waste mountain was another aim. The project was supported by the United Nations Environment Programme mainly. Because of the project, the greenhouse gas emissions had been reduced drastically, 50% from 3.2 million fans to take public transport (UNEP, 2006). Totally, 70% of journey had been made on public transport, foot or bicycle and it was just 30% made by private car (UNEP, 2006). 12. Conclusion: In conclusion, the World Cup 2006 tournament was a quite successful mega event in general, only the Olympic game can compare it. Actually, a mega event has to spend a lot of work on it, and the infrastructure could be complicated. This event led a lot of benefit to the country and those host cities such as on economy, generated a lot of jobs and revenue although the country had to spend a big budget to hold the game. However, there were some disadvantages, such as on security, health issue and so forth. Anyway, according to the study, the general situation was accepted by many residents. The next World Cup will be happened on this year, also it will have many impact for the host country on many area. Event is not always been succeeded, it could also be unsuccessful, so just wait and see for the next game.

The Contribution Of Women In Handicrafts Cultural Studies Essay

The Contribution Of Women In Handicrafts Cultural Studies Essay The present study aimed to access the contribution of women in handicrafts. The current theme of research regarding handicrafts is to find out the type of embroidery work that women do in their homes and the problems and advantages that those women get from their embroidery work. While there is a great amount of research devoted to these topics, there is a lack of consensus on the contribution of women in handicrafts (embroidery). This study would add a significant knowledge and information to the existing one. Moreover in Pakistan scarce work is done regarding womens contribution in handicrafts so this piece of work would also be helpful in understanding the womens problems regarding their work. Handicrafts are the mirror of culture, tradition and aesthetics of the artisans who create them.   The real beauty of a piece of handicrafts surely depends on the clarity of material, the glimpses of a culture and touch of art.   Pakistan has a rich history of handicrafts. The entire wealth of timeless Pakistani handicrafts has survived through ages. The legacy of Pakistani culture promises everything- beauty, dignity, form and style. These handicrafts radiate an impression of glory, exhibit hereditary skills and show careful craftsmanship. (Shaukat, 2006) Handicrafts are most significant in terms of economic development. Home based work has represented an important economic action for women and men for the long time period. Now in recently years this market get progress and become internationalized but men get more benefit from it and move to the many profitable areas and the adaptation of these workers into unorganized sector have made the women more insecure and lead them to the exploitation and devaluation of their skills. (Gyanendra Dastidar, 2000) The facts suggest that more wealthy countries have less informal economy and developing countries more expansive one. Denmark has 18 per cent, Nigeria and Thailand 80 per cent informal economy in comparison to their respective formal economies. There is nothing insulting to admit the fact that Pakistan has an informal economy of about 70 per cent.  [1]   (Bhatti, 2002) Types of handicrafts Handicrafts involve the creation of a wide range of objects, including clothing, religious symbols and jewelry, and different types of paper crafts. (Malcolm Tatum, 2003) There are hundreds if not thousands of different varieties of handicrafts. The following list of crafts is included just for descriptive purposes. 1. Carpets Textile Pakistan has tradition of carpet-making going back thousands of years.   Weaving was a developed form of art in the Mohenjodaro in Sindh 4000-5000 year ago.   The handmade carpets produced in Lahore in the 16th Century are on display in museums in Lahore and elsewhere. Knotted woolen carpets with Islamic designs are part of the culture in both South Asia and the Middle East.   In Pakistan, Karachi and Lahore are important centers for the production of fine carpets. (Shaukat, 2006) Textiles such as bedspreads and shawls are popular, and the Sindhi and Balochi are famous for their mirror embroidery. Appliquà ©, Crocheting, Embroidery, Knitting, Lace-making, Macramà ©, Quilting, Weaving are also include in textile handicrafts. (Ruskin Morris) 2. Brass, Onyx Wood Crafts The Handicrafts manifested through Brass, onyx and wood, are known to maintain a proud tradition of handicrafts since 1994 in Pakistan and truly signifying the worth of the products. The art of carving on Metal Wood items are the real beauties of our hard working Craftsmen. These items are manufactured in small villages by diligent craftsman, and can easily be purchased in big cities. Such crafts include, metal lanterns, mirror frames, decoration pieces and more.    (Shaukat, 2006) 3. Pottery  Ã‚   The potter at his wheel is a common scene in every village, uninfluenced by modern glamour. Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi, Gujrat and places around also produce colorful pottery, painted after firing. The blue glazed pottery of Multan dates back to the 13th century with obvious traces for woodwork. Chiniot is also known for brass and iron inlay. Copper and brass work is done within the walled city of Lahore. Ceramics and glazed pottery are among the oldest art forms in Pakistan, dating back to the Indus Valley Civilization (2500 B.C.E.). The most popular techniques used include engraving intricate designs into the undercoating of the pottery and then glazing it with colored transparent glazes. Another popular technique is to apply blue designs over white glazes.   Pakistani potters are responsible for making the elaborate tiles that decorate mosques and public buildings. (Shaukat, 2006) 4. Woodcrafts Wood-carving, Wood-turning, Cabinet making, Furniture making, lacquerware include in woodcrafts. Pakistani furniture is known all over the world for its beautiful and intricate designs and the mastery of its craftsman. One of the fine longitudinal cross grains solid wood is known as Rosewood. It is available in the form of dense jungles in northern areas of Pakistan. In Asia this wood is only available in Pakistan. In local language people calls it SHESHAM. It is also available along the lakes and rivers in Punjab province of Pakistan. Such furniture is famous all over the world for its distinctiveness and beauty. (Shaukat, 2006) 5. Jewelry Leather goods Metalwork, including inlaid or engraved swords, boxes, dishes, and tea sets made from silver and gold, as well as jewelry with precious stones and pearls, are important crafts. Jewelry is not limited to necklaces, bracelets, rings but also includes hair and forehead decorations and nose ornaments. Leatherwork and basketry are also important crafts. Sindh baskets are colorful and intricate, while weavers in the Northwest Frontier prefer geometric patterns. (Shaukat, 2006) Embroidery Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating cloth or other materials with needle and thread or wool. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. Embroidery is an ancient textile art which uses strands of embroidery floss or wool to create a picture in thread on canvas, linen or other cloth. It forms a part of needlework. Embroidery uses various stitches and combinations of stitches. Each embroidery stitch has a special name to help identify it. Embroidery has recognized as a creative expression of people and it is storage of our oral traditions which have been maintained by the women. (Dhamija, 2004) Embroidered textiles are frequently used to decorate living spaces, temporary or permanent, impressive or modest. Colourful embroidered textiles, often displayed in combination with painted or stucco decoration, bring beauty and colour into mud-walled homes. Historically, embroidered textiles reflected the wealth and influence of rulers, courtiers, and favoured courtesans. Among South Asias many peoples, these textiles frequently identified family origins, personal status or religious affiliation. (Dale Carolyn Gluckman, 2007) The folk embroidery tradition runs deep in the Punjab. At the end of the 15th century, the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak, wrote: Thou art not a worthwhile woman until thou hast embroidered thy own blouse. Village women still practice the craft, also stitching bed and cushion covers and a variety of other cloths, but the art probably reached its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (Beste, Michael, 2009) Types of embroidery There are many different styles of embroidery, often with regional variations. Chikan embroidery Chikan embroidery is a fine needle-craft done by hand mostly using white thread on a variety of fabrics from cotton and silk to synthetics. It is the most famous fine art of embroidery at Lucknow, and is famous not only in India, but also abroad. (Sarna Shukla, 1994) Zari embroideries From the second half of 18th century until the early 20th century, two different types of gold embroidery found ready patrons; these were: zardozi work, heavy silver-gilt thread work upon a foundation padded with cotton thread or paper, on velvet or sation ground; and Kalabattu work: light delicate embroidery, in gilt-silver or silver threads, strips of gilt-silver, gilt-silver sequins, upon fine silk cotton or muslin. (Dhamija, 2004) White work White work is embroidered in white thread, on pure white fabric, it is not at all difficult, and is cheap to achieve. The tools you will need for white work embroidery are minimal. Firstly, a nice piece of fabric. Depending on the kind of item you wish to produce, you may start out with high thread count white muslin, or an even weave or linen. Appliquà © work Appliquà © work is every kind of embroidery which, being worked solidly on one material is then cut out and lay down upon another, and secured by various ornamental stitches. (Dhamija, 2004) China work This work was almost entirely Chinese in design and techniques. It was done on saries, shawls, borders, children dresses and a variety of costumes. The fabric used was mainly chines silk or fine satin of red, purple and black colour. The embroidery was done sometimes with floss-silk and more often with tightly spun, two ply silk. (Dhamija, 2004) Phulkari The simple and sparsely embroided work for everyday use was called phulkari. It was done on odhnis or shawls for everyday use on coarse handspun khadi cloth, mostly brownish-red, usng floss-silk in darning stitched worked from the reverse side of fabric. (Dhamija, 2004) Kashmir embroidery The main varieties of Kashmir being namda, work on felt-wool, gabba, a type of appliquà © work, using waste woolen fabrics and kashida wrought on various kinds of clothing and the cloth used is either silk or wool. (Dhamija, 2004) Role of women in handicrafts Home based workers are the most marginalized and one of the largest groups of workers in this sector, with an estimated 300 million workers worldwide  [2]  . Home based work has been identified as work that is undertaken in the home by either independent own account workers or dependent subcontractors.  [3]  They are predominately women, located in various occupations including the assembly of electronic components of fans, washing machines, irons, or the manufacture of glass bangles, items of pottery; small scale packaging and assembling of consumables, hand knitting, embroidery, stitching, handicrafts, garments and weaving of carpets and shawls. It also includes clerical and teaching homework and the supply of raw materials. (Carr, Chen Tate, 2000) According to World Bank report after agriculture, the most important source of womens employment is home-based work.  [4]  (Aurat publication, 1997) The statistics on the informal economy are unreliable, The number of women in the informal labour force possibly stands at 12.79 millions, of whom 8.52 million women, constituting 75 per cent of the total informal sector workers, were home-based workers.  [5]  (Aurat publication, 1997) A survey of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) conducted in 2003 shows that 77 percent of the total female labor force falls within the purview of the informal sector, while 53 percent are classified as home based workers. The survey further revealed that in the rural sector, where 79 percent of the female population above the age of ten is actively involved in farming, only 37 percent are gainfully employed in their own family farms while the rest fall within the category of unpaid workers. Most working women have to hand over their earnings to their parents or husbands. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries women produced and consumed the crafts for the domestic interior. They made crafts at various levels in society and having different motives. At one level, it may have been artistic self-expression; at another level a product of a commitment to household duty or financial necessity, or on a third level it may have been for entertainment or pastime. (Edward, 2006) Informal Economy comprises of small enterprises of one or more persons, with casual or regular employees of less than 10 people.  [6]  The workers in this sector fall into the following three categories  [7]  : Self-employed women Home-based workers Self-employed women A woman who is self-employed works for herself instead of as an employee of another person or organization, drawing income from a trade or business. Self-employed workers are paid directly by clients or by their business, and some proportion of these payments will be due to the government as income tax. (Haq, 2003) Home-based workers Home based women workers fall into two categories: (i) dependent workers who work on a piece rate and usually produce for a subcontractor or middle persons in a contract chain; and (ii) independent home based workers or own-account workers who produce goods for direct sale through street stalls, shops or the local village and sometimes to traders or subcontractors. (Haq, 2003) In the last ten years women have become more energetic in business and the private sector. Their participation found in many areas, in which small scale projects as well as large scale private projects are included. Small scale rural projects deals with farming and gardening, production of handicrafts, running trade and food stores that transformed into large scale private projects. There are numerous networks which have been established for the women in business. It also empowers the women of a home-base producer or in private sector. (Brouwer, Harris Tanaka, 1998) The unplanned home-based workers represent an important part of working population. There are large number of income producing activities are included in home-based sector in which mostly women workers are engaged. Beedi making, textile, garment making, food processing, craft, coir work, dairy and chikan embroidery are included in these activities. Both in rural and urban areas, there is given very little importance to this unorganized sector and the signs of this sector are; the working conditions are unspeakable, the wages are extremely low and workers face great worries and exploitations. Home based industrial work is one of the least regulated, least managed, and most risky, systems of industrial production however a large number of women workers are tired in this sector just because of lack of personal resources, like education and awareness, non-availability of employment opportunities, and normative practices which control womens mobility outside home. (Sarna Shukla, 1994) Liberalisation has improved the employment opportunities for women in some sectors especially in the crafts sector. So there are increased the number of women in participation of home-base craft sector like in embroidery, lace making, weaving and printed textiles. In some cases empowerment of women also increases but in most cases, the working condition of the women workers is poor and they are paid less than men. (Krishnaraj, 1992 cited by Rao, 2005) Women have a great work load in their lives; they have a double burden, to earn income from their work and also have to fulfill their domestic responsibilities. They laboring the whole day; generally they work 12 to 16 hours per day and losing their time and energy both. (Durand, 1975 cited by United Nations Economic and social commission for Asia and the pacific, 1987) Being a embroidery skilled worker, their work requires women to sit long hours in the same position that resulting in eye, back bone, shoulders as well as other mental and emotional problems depending upon the physical environment in which these women live and work. (Sarna Shukla, 1994) Wage discrimination is obvious and usually common against women in Asia. Wage rates are as low as one-third or it may be observed that women always paid less of those paid to men. In Jobs also, there are described carefully to discriminate the labour practices involved; female positions typically require few skills and give poor salary. (United Nations Economic and social commission for Asia and the pacific, 1987) In handicrafts the embroidery work is a traditional art but many women faced some difficulty of marketing their skill. Generally simple embroidery piece do not have sale value except it is the part of some readymade garments, complete form and other gift items. Then these workers must rely on the other persons to sale out for their exclusive crafts. Generally these persons are shop keepers, designers and exporters. Women of home-base producers also face difficulty in this context because they are unadvertised and commonly people dont know them so they have only those customers to know them personally. (Gyanendra Dastidar, 2000) Mostly the womens work is disgustingly under-reported in Pakistan. Purdah is the main reason that stops any direct communication between the enumerator and the female respondent. The household head, usually a male, reports any female activity. Because purdah is a status representation, related with material well-being, and womens work is frowned upon, it is expected that female labour is under-reported. (Whyte, 1982 cited by United Nations Economic and social commission for Asia and the pacific, 1987) In some traditional industries like jute and cotton textile, mechanization has contributed in the rejection of female employment. Women represent 90 percent of the workers in these industries such as the making of embroidery. But intermediaries and middlemen who provide the raw materials and market the final product, make them badly exploited by only paying the women minimal wages. (Bhatty n.d.; Indian Council of Social Science Research, 1975 cited by United Nations Economic and social commission for Asia and the pacific, 1987) Crafts production is culturally recognized activity. The skills present in the economic sector and many women adopt and practice it. But they dont get to recognition and value not in the economy and not in the household level. They dont have any financial records, on average it accounts for less than 1% of a households income. This is not much to lead toward progress. There are too much women who participate in home-craft production but they just have little impact on it. There is also no visibility of proper place or infrastructure for marketing home-produced crafts. (Freedman Wai, 1988) NGOs should help the home based women workers to shape cooperatives. These cooperatives should supply raw materials, make sure appropriate and timely payments, arrange for the credit and support in design development. (Ministry of Labour, 2000). There is an immediate need to arrange female workers into cooperatives and other organizations where production and marketing are included. Government institutions or voluntary welfare organizations must come forward to reduce such exploitation of women. (United Nations Economic and social commission for Asia and the pacific, 1987)

The Most Dangerous Game Essay -- essays research papers

The Most Dangerous Game Have you ever had feelings about something that later changed? In "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Conel, I will show how one character changes his opinion about something after he has experienced it himself. Almost all of us have said "Oh that's easy" or "I could do that any day!" and then find out that the task is harder then it looked. In a summary, "The Most Dangerous Game" is a story about a man named Rainsford whom gets stranded on an island with a crazed general. This general is named General Zaroff. Rainsford was an excellent hunter who wrote many books about hunting. General Zaroff was a fan of Rainsford's books, so he immediately knew who Rainsford was when he found him. General Zaroff let Rainsford in and trea...

National Debt Growth :: Argumentative Economy Economics Papers

National Debt Growth I believe that the growth of the national debt creates a problem that is great to be of little concern. I believe that todays social programs are in big trouble, and just are not going to work in the future. For example, it seems to me the social security is a dream program especially for the baby boomers who can not expect a small population of younger people to pay the bills. I also believe that that a lot of government services waste money in obvious and obsurd ways. For example, the F-117 stealth fighters that cost five hundred million dollars and don't live up to the performance capabilities that were oringinally proposed. The government should reduce spending and do what everyone else does on a slim budget and spend only what is neccesary to survive and grow. I also think that we can no longer roll over debt since the national debt is growing faster than the economy. As a country I think that we need to look at the possible and impossible commitments that we can make, and take a look at where we are going to get the money. The Treasury is all ready considering borrowing money from social programs like the G-Fund and the Civil Service Retirement and Disablility Fund so the federal government won't default on its loan obligations. Although I don't think that it is good to cut from social programs, I do think that we need to decide if we want a national debt that can't be sustained and is bad for investment or a social security system that might not be around anyway. I also think that social programs in the government needs to be simplified, and operate in a more efficient manner. It seems to me that collecting taxes, and handing out expenditures to many different programs, a lot of which I probably don't know what they are. It takes a lot of clerical work to run these programs though, and the money seems to get filtered

Essay --

The chemical reaction between 2 different metals and the juices in the potato generate enough voltage to actually make a clock run or a light bulb a small one. The whole experiment should produce about 1.5 volts DC. You might need to use more than one potato but one should power a small light bulb. It works because the phosphoric acid (H3PO4) in the potato. The potato acts more as an electrolyte not really having a role in the chemical reaction itself. This is why it’s very important to make sure that the pennies and nails never directly touch each other inside the potato. Zinc is an active metal which reacts readily with acid to liberate electrons. The acid’s active ingredient is positively charged hydrogen. So a transfer of electrons takes place between the zinc and the acid. The zinc is oxidized and the acid is reduced to hydrogen gas which you can see bubbling out around the electrodes. The reaction at the penny electrode depletes the electrons from the copper and attaches them to the hydrogen ions in the phosphoric acid. Researchers found that a potato boiled for 8 minutes can make for a battery that produced ten times the power of a raw one. They tried to power a LED light bulb for 40 days and it worked. the cost is around 1 tenth the cost of a typical AA battery. A potato could be used to charge a phone and other electronics. This would be good for regions without a power grid. The potato is not a power source it is the action called salt-bridge between the two metals allowing the electron current to move freely across the wire to create electricity. Numerous fruits rich in electrolytes like banana and strawberries can also form this chemical reaction. Besides being rich in phosphoric acid spuds are ideal in that they’re ... ...e electrons away while other metals accept extra electrons. Electrons are subatomic particles that zoom around an atoms center and make up the part of the atom that is negative charged the lemon batteries is a type of battery called a voltaic battery. These batteries are made up of two different metals which act as electrodes or places where electrons can enter or leave a battery. All voltaic batteries need their metals to be placed in an electrolyte. An electrolyte is a substance that can carry electrical current when dissolved in water. The tiny bit of salt in your saliva makes your saliva an electrolyte and other sour citric acid does the same thing for lemon juice. Batteries stop working when there is not enough of the electrolyte to react with the metal or not enough metal left to react with the metal or not enough metal left to react with the electrolytes.

Beneficial Effects of High School Sports on Athletes, Families, and Communities Essay

The beneficial effects of high school sports on athletes their families and communities are large. First of all I think there is a lot of pressure from parents when their kids are young to get involved in some sort of sports. For boys it is usually football they are throwing the ball with their dads when they are young and from there they go into a pop Warner league. So by the time they get to school most of these boys know how to play the game already. By playing the game of football in school it teaches boys how to play together as a team and to get along with their team mates. As football is a team sport they must learn to all focus on the same goal and that is winning. This is drilled into them from a very young age starting with the parents to the teachers and coaches. The team sport also teaches them how to be good sports when they lose as they learn from this that you can’t win all the time so you need how to lose as gracefully as you win. The sport also keeps the kids off of the streets and out of the gangs and gives them something to focus on and to look forward to. And in high school football these kids do not play for money they are playing to beat their rivals and for pride to be the best they can be. It also brings the community together in many ways first of all they all come together on Friday nights to watch the game. It’s like a social event where everybody gets to get together to talk and socialize. The community always comes together to support their high school football team, they have bake sales, car washes and many other events to help support their team. To be close to and involved in their children’s lives and the sports events they choose to support. The more support that the child gets the harder they try to be the best they can. Which is a good lesson for them to learn, something that will carry over into their adult life? The community also travels to away games to help support and cheer on their teams, and the money that is given to schools to help support the football team not only benefits the football team but the community by helping improve the facilities. This is money that the school board won’t have to charge to the community by way of higher taxes. So all in all everyone benefits from the donations that the boosters and alumni make to the school’s football programs and facilities. The children in the programs benefit because they learn leadership skills, communication skills they learn discipline they learn to be team players and they learn how to win and lose these are all skills that will help them all through their lives. At the games when half the town is there at the game and the school is playing their biggest rivalry all of the people there are all focusing on the same thing as the players and that is beating their rival. They feel like they are part of something big and important for the town and this bring everyone together as one.

Beauty vs Truth Essay

Is truth or beauty more important when communicating information. It is my argument that beauty is more important when communicating information. Beauty is defined as The quality that gives pleasure to the mind or senses and is associated with such properties as harmony of formation or color, excellence of artistry, truthfulness, and originality. How does this relate to communication? †¢ Communicating information is more than just exchanging words. Just as in the definition of the word â€Å"beauty†, when communicating with a certain amount of eloquence it paints a mental picture that gives pleasure to our minds and wakes up our senses. The way words are used in the process of communication is what holds attention and causes an audience to become engaged. It’s the beauty in a message and the expression in the words which we tend to remember. This is not to say that truth is not important in communication but mere stating mere facts may not be enough to get the point across or keeping the attention of an audience. †¢ Beauty is more important in communication because it is what leads us to the truth. Sometimes the truth is too ugly and mind blowing and in some instances too much truth all at once can cause pain. Everyone should know the truth but using a certain diplomacy and finesse with one’s words can make all the difference in how the truth is received. That is why beauty in communication is important . ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON TRUTH AND BEAUTY †¢ A story doesn’t necessarily have to be true to be entertaining, or to teach a lesson. How many of us as children or have even possibly told our own children about the tortoise and hair? ? A tortoise and a hare enter a race, the hare boasting about how he is faster, and will therefore win. The hare foolishly over-estimates his speed, and it ends up costing him the race. With the moral of the story being that over – confidence can sometimes back fire. or the boy who cried wolf? ? The story of a boy who thought it was fun to alert the town of a wolf when there wasn’t really one. And when he finally does see a wolf no one comes to help him. The lesson being that telling too many lies will cause people to stop believing anything you say. My point is that these stories may not necessarily be true but such tales have been told for centuries for the purpose in teaching life lessons. †¢ When listening to a story, I personally always remember the characteristics and tidbits of a story which brought the message to life. An eloquently told story, whether it is told for entertainment or simply for sharing information draws a person in to want to hear more. When you’re listening to a story filled with grandeur and elaborate details, it’s easy to become captivated and interested. Why is being drawn in by the beauty of a message important? †¢ How many of us have tried a product not because of what the announcer on the commercial said the product could do, but because we were drawn in by something appealing we saw in the commercial. o An example of this would be weight loss commercials †¢ It’s what grabs your attention enough to the truth. Another perspective†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. The Boy Who Called Wolf This fable is about a small boy who thinks it’s fun to alert the town of a wolf when there is none. When a wolf actually appears, no one comes to the boy’s aid. . Eloquence added to an ordinary story is keeps interesting. . It’s the initial phase of the communication process in which your senses become engage. When communicating information to be interesting to capture the audience’s attention. . Once your attention has been grabbed by an interesting, story, or some form of communication, you can then decide if what your listening to or looking at is worth your time.. Tell all the Truth but tell it slant — Success in Circuit lies Too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth’s superb surprise As Lightning to the Children eased With explanation kind The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind — A funny TV commercial or a commercial that endorsed by your favorite actor is more easily remembered than serious, factual ones that constantly appear. images, stories and songs much easier and find them far more enjoyable than just listening to words.

A Glimpse at Bernard Maybeck Architectural Works

Just imagine looking at a full scale drawing? Well that was just one of Maybeck’s ways of studying his design. His works are blend of possibility and actuality and the reason why the blending of unrelated styles became a success in his works (Matthews, 2008). His love on experimenting designs is very much seen in his Buena Vista Way studio because it looks like a laboratory and at the same time a house.This visionary Architect and described as the Gothic man of the 20th Century believes that every architectural problem requires an original solution. He addresses the housing crisis during the World War 1 by making generic floor plans called small houses or the workers houses. Most of his house design works infused the garden with the house structure. He never uses one type of specifications for the finishes but leave it to his Clients to make the decision.However, most of his works are made up of wood and timber (see photo of a community hall on page 3) for which reason why som e of his drawings did not came into reality because of the scarcity of lumber and failure on the part of the timber supplier. Design Studio Small House The gauge of success for a famous work is its revival when Bill Buchanan an architect whom he mentored enlivens his heritage in Oregon by adopting Maybeck standards for the design of 1000 dwellings on a steep hill on a 630 Acre land parcel near Harbor Hill.Bill Buchanan believes that his mentor ideas are still in proportion of meeting the requirements for affordable housing. Maybeck’s flexibility 80 years ago can now be answered by the existing technology when at the time of his mentor’s life is quite difficult to undertake for example, the inclusion of garden on rooftops which makes a plant difficult to tend and the bedroom oriented towards the sky when ninety years ago is inconvenient due to the lack of technology with regards to thermal protection for buildings.Keith Pepper Brooklyn city council member also believes in the potential of the revival of the famous Californian Architect by persuading that good designs are an economic potential (Week, 2000). Recently the Oregon’s Department of Transportation rerouted part of Highway 101 which will allow part of downtown to return to Maybeck’s original plan and provision of funding for the reconstruction of the design.

Gender and Stereotype in Sitcom Essay

In both sitcoms, Black Books and Men Behaving Badly, comedy is generated and dependant on the representation of stereotypes shown through characters. Some follow stereotypes and others don’t, but throughout both sitcoms, this is where the humor comes from, and this is extremely visible in the two episodes chosen for each sitcom. In Men Behaving Badly, the two main characters, Tong and Gary have fixed views on gender and couldn’t be closer to the modern day stereotype of a youngish male. They are two men who are lager swilling and football crazy, and even though both in their thirties, adult life hasn’t dawned on either just quite yet. The mise – en – scene of their flat is very boyish and the pub is dark and dingy. They never change throughout the sitcom and seem extremely content with their laidback lifestyles. Much of the humor is generated from this because the middle aged male audience can relate, and wish they were in that situation. The audience will understand their jokes and think of the times when they were probably the same. This behavior also allows them to get away with much more, for example in this episode neither gets back from the pub until the early hours and Gary misses Dorothy specially prepared romantic meal but avoids confrontation. They also both have female companions. Dorothy is Gary’s on/off girlfriend who is always extremely forgiving, and could be considered as the female stereotype in many aspects. She says she wants a proper relationship, but knows it’s unlikely with Gary. She cooks him romantic meals and is always working hard to please him. Deborah on the other hand is not in a relationship with Tony, but knows she can use him for a bit of fun whenever she likes. An example is at the end of this episode when she tells him to wait outside for her naked in the shed in the early hours of the morning, for the second time in a matter of weeks. Tony obviously falls for it, with him being the sex crazed stereotypical man that he is portrayed to be, and comedy is generated from this. Deborah on the other hand, is the stereotype of the attractive and sophisticated girl upstairs, the one who is definitely most likely to take advantage of men. Women can relate to these characters, with the struggles they go through and the laughs they have mocking their men, and this is how the audience is formed. The whole audience is able to relate through the portrayal of stereotype in this sitcom, and humor is generated along the way. Men will find the parts played by the men funny, and the women watching vice versa, but it can be viewed by all in confidence that laughs will arise from any episode. The women mock the men, but the men get their own back with their loutish, get away with anything attitudes, and by the end everyone is satisfied. On the other hand, in Black Books, most of the comedy is generated due to characters deviating from their stereotypes. Bernard is the only main character who does not. He is a stereotypical Irishman, who is an incredibly easygoing, drinking smoking lout, whose witty humor generates from him ordering about his only employee and best friend Manny. Manny is the other half to this relationship, and the much more the feminine personality wise. His appearance is of a hippy, and for much of the time he is acting as the forgiving wife to Bernard’s demanding husband role. Bernard tells Manny that he hasn’t washed his things, and Manny replies politely, ‘I want a herb garden’. In their relationship though they both conform to stereotypes, Bernard of the bad husband and Manny of the forgiving wife. Bernard is forever ungrateful for Manny’s effort for example he says after Manny has spent time cooking a meal, ‘What kind of filth is spewing out of your hatch tonight?’. Manny is used to it though, and just ignores his petulance. Bernard also mocks Manny’s female ways in saying that, ‘Ill wait until you put your teeth in dear’, before speaking to Manny. In the episode watched, much of the comedy derives from this repeated bickering between the two, and contrasting stereotyp es. They both eventually go and see a psychiatrist who almost changes roles around, but eventually, as with every episode, the equilibrium is restored by the end, and Manny’s subordinate role is re-established. The third main character in the sitcom is Fran, and she is much the glue between the two males as she can relate to both ways of life and confront their problems. She derives greatly from her stereotype though, and acts as an extremely masculine female, smoking and drinking, and is told by her friend she smells. In this particular episode Fran even tries to make a menz to her ways by stopping drinking and smoking and taking up yoga, but this vision is not long lived. When her friend Eva and she are together the mise – en scene is bright, light and modern, but by the end of the episode she is back as being considered one of the boys in the way. She returns to the dingy bookshop and has the last line in this particular episode, a belch, which sums her up in a way. By the end of the episode the unity of the group is definitely restored, and so are all normal ways of living. Manny and Fran’s deviations from stereotype are back in place and Bernard’s was never in doub t. This particular sitcom provides a different type of comedy to Men Behaving Badly; in that stereotypes do not have to be adhered to in order to produce comedy. A different type of humor is created, whereby the audience is laughing at the characters rather than relating to them. All in all, the humor created by both situation comedies comes back to the portrayal of stereotype, or deviation of it by characters, but Black Books just shows a different edge to how it can depend on the stereotypical representation of gender in situation comedies.

Should executives use structured or unstructured interview formats Essay

Should executives use structured or unstructured interview formats when interviewing managers What are the positive and negative implications - Essay Example Therefore, Executives should use structured interview formats to interview their managers. Structured interviews entail use of the interview questions written on a paper and the interviewer asks questions verbally noting down the answers. The script may be created in advance or may be given by the human resources department. The questions are structured in a predetermined format and are similar to all interviewees, in this case, interviewee are the managers. A structured interview allows the executive find out any information need remarkably quickly and determines the qualifications of the candidate to the next level. The executives will be released off the pressures since they will be aware of questions to ask, and the answers given by the managers will be reliably aggregated (Beebe, 2001). Structured interview questions are based on the job analysis in order to ensure impartiality and fairness. The questions asked are critically analyzed and highly effective in evoking responses from managers to enable the decision making process. Every candidate is asked a similar question, and the rating scales are detailed to enhance the quantification of the subjective data. Professionalism is highly emphasized through training the executives interviewing the managers. The interview panels in a structured interview provide checks and balances where more than one member from the executive conducts the interview. Structured interviews ensure objective assessment of the responses from the managers based on the rating scale scores (Chiba, 2010). The process of structured interview involves three main stages. The executive members perform different roles during the interview process. Firstly, before beginning any interview, determination of the scope of the interview is crucial. The number of managers in the appointment process is discussed. Review of the crucial documents forming the basis of the interview like the job description and competency profile enhances

Principles Of Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Principles Of Leadership - Essay Example (The Next Generation Responsible Leaders, 2010) In troubled times people tend to seek advice from an effective leader and his forthcoming ideas always seem to take the organisation out of a crisis. However there is a tendency on the part of most researches to turn the leader into a kind of solo hero who is single-handedly charting the organisation out of troubled times. It tries to give a kind of halo to the leader and creates a myth that the leader is taking most of the decisions by virtue of his greatness and his extreme capabilities. However, it fails to address that leaders are not necessarily someone who knows every single detail of a particular task but who is capable of bringing together different minds into sharing a common goal. A leader is capable in delegating the duties effectively to the right person and make sure that the work is completed on time. People seem to thrive under his authority and is seen someone who is capable of getting the job done. (The Next Generation Responsible Leaders, 2010) However with the present day obsession with celebrities and individuals, one tries to glorify leaders and give them more than their due. People always love to see a hero and is always trying to find figures that fit into the description. It is true that leaders play a major role in executing decision since the buck stops there. However, it should also be kept in mind that a major part of decision making process which the leader so very effectively executes is a result of the work done by the other individuals in the group who collectively share responsibility in doing the work and helping the leader have an uncluttered mind when taking decisions. (Rothwell Dan, 2010) A leader is not only one who inspires his followers but the inspiration can happen vice-versa i.e a creative suggestion or input from a follower or group member can inspire the leader likewise. (The Next Generation Responsible Leaders, 2010) Source: The Next Generation Responsible Leaders, 201 0 Most theories suggest a dyadic relationship between a leader and a follower. The path that is usually chartered includes ways and methods in which a leader influences its followers to work with more dedication. It is seeks ways to improve the confidence and trust between a leader and a follower. However the limitation is that it does not seek a more co-ordinated group activity between the followers. Followers blindly repose their faith in actions and instructions from a leader. They are not encouraged to come up with innovative ideas. Information that is available outside the domain of the leader is not accessed and the follower is not interested in honing his skill in other areas where the leader might not necessarily be active. The problem with this kind of one way traffic is that the leader is hailed as a demy-god until all the decisions go their way. However the moment a problem occurs or a leadership vacuum comes up the next person who can take over the reins becomes a rarity . This is because the next rung of leadership has never been cultivated. (Gary Yukl, 1999) Source: The Next Generation Responsible Leaders, 2010 A leadership that tries to glorify its leaders or make them heroes tends to tinker more with the emotional aspect of the follower. The follower is stimulated to make extreme sacrifices without asking for any reason. Any resistance or

A Comparison of the Characterization of Sherlock Holmes Essay

A Comparison of the Characterization of Sherlock Holmes - Essay Example Sherlock Holmes is the most prominent creation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Since Holmes’s first fictional appearance in 1887, he has become the model of the amateur private detective. Although Sherlock Holmes is not one of the first private detectives who came into the fiction world, the fame he attained after his literary origin dwarfed his fictional ancestors and started his way to eternity. Together with his friend Dr. Watson, they have frequently appeared in all sorts of literature, movies and TV series. In the movie, the novel and the show, Sherlock Holmes is character is portrayed differently and similarly. Similarities: In the novel and in the movie, Sherlock Holmes is a detective; he is brilliant and intelligent, and very knowledgeable. Differences: In the novel, Sherlock Holmes is portrayed as a musician because he plays the violin so well, he his knowledgeable in many fields like literature, politics, botany, geology, chemistry, British law and anatomy. He is also an expert in boxing; he is a swordsman and a singlestick player. In the movie Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey) he is portrayed differently as rude, dangerous, emotional and tricky. The main difference in the show Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) is the mode of dressing because he puts on a big coat every time the time and is at all times professionally clad, and he sometimes stays away from the old styled hat, large oversized coat, and piped trouser that he has always had in past years. The other difference is that he possesses the art of assumption.

Wal-Mart goes smaller Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wal-Mart goes smaller - Essay Example Well there will be some complaints from small business owners in those towns, but they do not have the same financial might as big corporations. Bigger cities are unafraid at what a Walmart store may bring to the local market. Finally, I also think that some people in the cities are put off by Walmart because they see it as a corporate giant that does not have the best interests of the local citizens at heart. This longstanding reputation has hurt the brand image of Walmart and made city people more aware of what the company can bring to the big smoke. 2) One of the main criticisms of Walmart entering the cities was that the stores were too big for zoning requirements. In order to meet this objective, Walmart executives allowed these urban stores to be no more than 8,000 square feet. This is a huge change for Walmart because the company has been so successful with large stores of more than 42,000 square feet. It says a lot that the company was willing to change its strategy so much in order to be allowed to open stores in the big cities. It is good that Walmart has compromised and find a way to meet zoning requirements. Walmart has also changed its range of products, with customers in the big cities only able to pick up groceries from the store. All other products can be ordered online and then picked up. 3) From an operations management point of view, Walmart will not be able to use economies of scale to its advantage. Because of the limited space available in store, Walmart will have to only keep a select few products on display. This can lead to slow response times and slow down the supply chain completely. Walmart has been successful for so long due to its efficient supply chain, and by giving that away the company may lose ground to some of its competitors. The consumer will be impacted by these changes greatly. Because of the smaller amount of stock available, as well as the fact that

To what extent do lecturers & UG students at the Salford University Dissertation

To what extent do lecturers & UG students at the Salford University prefer to use social network or Black Board for the benefit - Dissertation Example Far more than a medium by which taxes can be filed and checkbooks can be balanced, computing technology has evolved in recent years to permit a level of social interactivity never before possible. The mere transmission of messages from person to person is an obvious consequence, but was already a telecommunications reality long before the onset of the digital age. Of vital consequence of the proliferation of computers becomes not simply a way to send simple text messages across any terrestrial distance, but a way in which vast groups of people, all over the world can interact with and know one another despite any challenge of geography. McLuhan in 1962 described the concept of a 'global village', (McLuhan, 1962) a new realm in which the transmission of information between individuals would accelerate in an unprecedented way. One message can be read by 10,000 people with no more cost or exertion to the original sender than the click of a button. This is a function of social media webs ites. Surveys indicate that over 50% of Europeans alone spend more than 3 hours on social network sites. (57%) (ComScore inc., 2009). For more statistics details on social media traffic see appendix section (Diagram L2). 1.2 DEFINITION AND HISTORY OF SOCIAL MEDIA In this context, a social network can be defined as an online, web based site that permits users to perform the following: 1. Create a public profile within a bounded system, though varying privacy options exist. 2. Publish a list of other users of the site for which affiliation, association, or affection exists. 3. Control their listing of connections, as well as explore the collections made by others with whom they have access as designated within the site. 4. Prepare post and share content in a variety of formats: text, video, and audio files. In the other hand other researchers have differing opinions on the validity and constitution of social media websites. Alternative definitions expand upon – for a more thoro ugh understanding of the 'nuts-and-bolts' of social media and social enterprise Moro-Soto defines such an outlet: i. Discussion forums (mandatory) ii. Blogs (mandatory) iii. Wikis iv. Instant messaging v. Videoconferencing vi. Documents sharing (mandatory) vii. Collaborative documents creation viii. Project or tasks management ix. (Moro-Soto et al. 2009 p.6) In the appendix section diagram (L1) shows the launch day for some of the social media. These functions of a networking site are more useful in the establishment of collaborative learning experiences. Efficient options for computer users are embracing a more directed purpose. Certain office related functions involving creative projects that require the expertise of many individuals would benefit from this approach, especially where the above-mentioned applications are facilitated using 'cloud' computing. 1.3 WEB 2.0 Through the internet, communication and various forms of exchange have been possible for years; but the above appl ications have been dubbed by certain researchers (Redecker) as Web 2.0. Higher level collaborative interactions and interconnectedness between individuals was not ease possible in earlier eras. The functions that comprise Web 2.0 have been defined as possessing the following utilities. (Redecker C. 2009p. 31-39), (Ala-Mutka, 2009 p.36,37): 1. blogging 2. podcasting 3. collaborative databases 4.