Multiple Regression Model

Project: Multiple Regression Model Introduction Today’s stock market offers as many opportunities for investors to raise money as jeopardies to lose it because market depends on different factors, such as overall observed country’s performance, foreign countries’ performance, and unexpected events. One of the most important stock market indexes is Standard & Poor's 500 (S 500) as it comprises the 500 largest American companies across various industries and sectors. Many people put their money into the market to get return on investment.Investors ask themselves questions like how to make money on the stock market and is there a way to predict in some degree how the stock market will behave? There are lots and lots of variables involved in how the stock market behaves at a specific time. The stock market is in a way an information agency. Based on new information, whether good or bad regarding almost everything from political issues to interest rates and inflation, the stock market can go up or down. The market is anticipating economic occurrences proactively, ignoring already occurred events that were predicted before.This way it is very hard to predict how it is going to move in the future. As S 500 is considered to be the most reliable benchmark  for the overall U. S. stock market, we decided to study what factor has the most impact on it. We created two regression models and included the economic indicators, such as Consumer Price Index, Producer Price Index, House Price index, Interest Rate, Unemployment Rate, and Gross Domestic Product of some countries. Model Specification and Data How accurately can we predict the stock market behavior?People working in the finance industry have been trying to estimate or predict the behavior of stock market for a long time, or maybe some of them already have a very long and complex model of predicting the behavior of a stock market based on many factors and variables. We decided to use the US econo mic indicators and the other countries’ GDP. With this research we are hoping to find a statistically significant model that would describe what affects the stock market. We used the average annual data from 1980 to 2011 to track the influence on the US market. Our data is a time-series data.It is very interesting since within these 31 years there were a lot of changes in the countries’ economies, financial regulations and policies. At the very beginning, we assumed that the following factors may have influence on stock market: S (Percentage Change) = ? 0 + ? 1*(Annual CPI) + ? 2*(Annual Average PPI) + ? 3*(Annual Average House Price Index) + ? 4*(Annual Average Interest Rate) + ? 5*(Percentage Change of Annual Average GDP of US) + ? 6*(Percentage Change of Annual Average GDP of Spain) + ? 7*(Percentage Change of Annual Average GDP of Germany) 1: Consumer Price Index reflects the state of inflation in the country’s economy. That indicator is very important in th e assessment of the stock market performance. If inflation grows, the interest rate rises and this prevents the companies to borrow money for further development of their businesses. This entire situation may hurt the stock prices of the companies and that’s why we wanted to see how big the impact is. We assume that this variable is going affect the dependent variable a lot. ?2: Producer Price Index indicates early state of inflation.Therefore, if investors know that the PPI heralds a strong economy with no increase in an interest rate, then they feel confident to invest in the businesses what means increased positive activity in the market. We assume that this variable is going to have some impact on the dependent variable however; it is not going to be crucial. ?3: House Price Index is an analytical tool for estimating changes in the rates of mortgages. If mortgage rates are high, then housing market is weak because demand for houses drops due to expensive loans, therefore HPI drops.In 2008 mortgage default affected stock market very severely because before that period house prices went down because people couldn’t pay their mortgage payments and banks collapsed. Decrease in house prices is one of the possible contributors to recession because the home owners lose their equity in their houses. Considering such recession scenario, the stock market always becomes bearish. Additionally, house market is considered more stable investment than stock market. When stock market drops, people are willing in the houses and HPI goes up.We assume that HPI and stock market shouldn’t move in the same direction thereby we don’t take into consideration the complex scenario of 2008. ?4: 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate impacts on the number of issued bond and is used as risk free rate to calculate the excess return on the investment. It also has an influence on the stock market. ?5: Gross Domestic Product of the US is important for business profit and this can drive the stock prices up. Investing in the stock market seems reasonable when the economy is doing well.If the economy is growing fast then the stock market should be affected positively, the investors are more optimistic about the future and they put more money into market more. This variable is crucial for the dependent one. ?6: Gross Domestic Product of Spain. Since Europe is currently in a recession, we wanted to include the GDP of Spain, as one of the weakest economies in Europe now, to check if there is any relationship between Spain’s economy and the US stock market performance. Very small percentage of US investments goes to Spain.Compared to Germany, which is the 5th country the USA invests into, Spain is the 31st country on the list. There should not be any correlation between these two variables, so we included Spain’s GDP into our regression to check our hypothesis. ?7: Gross Domestic Product of Germany is an indicator of Germany is the 5th largest economy in the world and is the largest European trade and investment partner of the US. Germany is the largest economy in Europe and almost 1/5 of GDP of the European Union is that of Germany alone. We assume that this variable has to have an impact on the US stock market.The second regression model is the following: S (Annual Average) = ? 0 + ? 1*(Annual CPI) + ? 2*(Annual Average House Price Index) + ? 3*(Annual Average Interest Rate) + ? 4*(Average Annual Unemployment Rate) + ? 5*(Annual Average GDP of US) + ? 6*(Annual Average GDP of Germany) + ? 7*(Annual Average GDP of China) After we run the regression of the second model, it resulted in improving of our model accuracy. We excluded PPI, GDP of Spain because it came out that these variables have no impact on the US stock market.Also, we added the unemployment rate and GDP of China because it is the largest US business partner. Here is the explanation of the new variables: Unemployment Rate is one of the most impo rtant factors of the economy’s performance. High unemployment rate decreases the buyer power of the consumers. 2/3 of the US economy is consumer based and it influences the stock market negatively. We assume that there is a relationship between these two variables. Gross Domestic Product of China affects the US economy because cheap export from China prevents inflation in the US.China is a huge buyer of the US Treasuries. It lowers the interest rate and companies borrow money to invest in development hence, it directly affects the stock market. We assume that GDP of China and US stock market move in the same direction, meaning if China does well, it has money to buy US Treasuries. Additionally, the US stock market increases because production of those US companies that is outsourced to China grows. Results The First Model [pic] Looking at this model, we see that only the interest rate and GDP of US are statistically significant because they have P-values lower than 0. 05.The rest variables do not correlate with S because their P-values are high. Our assumption about Spain’s economy affecting the US stock market was proved. The coefficient we got for GDP of Spain is statistically insignificant. Looking at the US and Spain investment relationships in the broad aspect we see that Spain’s performance has no significant impact on the US stock market even considering its economic situation. PPI is a fraction of inflation and CPI also reflects inflation, so we decided to exclude one variable because two variables together cancelled each other out and we got defected result.As P-value is smaller compared to P-value of PPI, we decided to keep it in the second model. Looking at the adjusted R square which is 26 %, we concluded that model is deficient and we have to change the variables. The Second Model [pic] Each estimated coefficients we can interpret as follows: -For every 1 unit increase in Annual CPI, the S will go down by -25. 68 S points. Whe n inflation goes up, it causes interest rate to go up, therefore companies are not willing to borrow money and invest. Hence the S index moves in the opposite direction to CPI.The P-value of 0. 000368 implies that the results are statistically significant and it coincides with our assumption. -For every 1 unit increase in House Price Index, the S goes down by -7. 97 units, which tell us that when the price of houses rises, the stock market moves in the opposite direction and it shrinks because people invest in the housing market. The P-value of 0. 000028 shows it is a statistically significant outcome. -For every 1 unit increase in Annual Average 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate, the S index goes up by 27. 4 units. It would imply that when interest rates go up then the stock market goes up as well, but the p-value of 0. 154 tells us the results are not statistically significant and we should not rely on this outcome. There is no correlation. -For every 1 unit increase in Annu al Average Unemployment Rate in US, the S goes down by 40. 44 units. The p-value of 0. 043 shows what we consider a statistically significant correlation. We can conclude that unemployment rate has a reverse impact on the stock market.When more people have jobs, more people have money to spend and to invest, hence the economy speeds up and the stock market goes up. -For every 1 unit increase in Annual Average GDP of US, the S goes up by 0. 601 index units. The p-value of 0. 00000069 shows the outcome is statistically significant, and implies that when the GDP of US grows meaning that the economy is doing better, investors are more confident and invest more and stock market also goes up. -For every 1 unit increase in Annual Average GDP of Germany, the S goes up by 0. 224 units.We assumed that when Germany is producing more products and their economy is doing well, then the stock market in US does somewhat better too because Germany and US have an economic interaction. The P-value of 0. 155 tells us that the relationship is not statistical significant to conclude the Annual Average GDP of Germany has a positive relationship with S. -For every 1 unit increase in Annual Average GDP of China, the S goes down by . 154 units. US economy as we know is affected by Chinese economy. When US companies move production overseas, specifically to China, the stock market in US does poorly.The P-value of 0. 005 means that this results is statistically significant. We did not find any violations with SLR/MLR assumptions. There appears to be no problem with the data and all the results are relevant. Summary The adjusted R2 of . 96 means that our regression of 96% explains the changes in S. We found out that the biggest correlation is observed between US GDP, CPI, HPI, and China’s GDP. We found out that the GDP of Germany and Interest Rate has no significant correlation with S predicted performance.As we explained above in the result section, the investors should look at US economy performance as well as China’s economic performance, CPI and HPI to try to predict the stock market behavior. References: 1. http://www. infoplease. com/ipa/A0774473. html 2. Federal Housing Finance Agency Web Site 3. U. S. Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic Analysis Web Site 4. U. S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics Web Site 5. mhttp://research. stlouisfed. org/fred2/series/SP500/downloaddata? cid=32255

Operation Bluestar Essay

The topic of â€Å"Operation Bluestar† is a very controversial issue because of where the Operation took place and all the events that occured. Operation Bluestar, was the code name given by the Indian government. It was an operation to evict Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the Golden Temple. The Golden Temple is one of the most sacred places of worship for the Sikh community. It is also one of the oldest Sikh temples around. The Golden Temple is known has the Harmandir Sahib, and is located in the city of Amritsar. Many questions arise to why something like this would happen in the first place. Bhindranwale was a Sikh fundamentalist. He was a leader of the Damdami Taksaal. The Damdami Taksaal is a Sikh religious intuition and it was founded by the tenth Sikh Guru. Bhindranwale directed the campaign of terrorism in Punjab. He was associated with the movement of an independent Sikh state. The state would have been known has â€Å"Khalistan†, but there was very little support of it in Punjab by Sikhs. Bhindranwale had been a problem for a couple of years before Operation Bluestar. He and his followers had been murdering and intimidating moderate Sikhs and Hindus. They increased the pressure on Indira Gandhi to do something about it. By this point Bhindranwale and his close followers transformed the Akal Takht, his headquarters within the Golden Temple. He had changed it to an armory and a sanctuary for terrorists, and from here he conducted his campaign. This is when Operation Bluestar comes into play. Indra Gandhi has initiated the attack on May 31, 1984 on the Golden Temple. The Golden Temple is located in the city of Amritsar and it is a sacred place of worship for the Sikh religion. Gandhi waited six months before finally ordering the army to get Bhindranwale and his followers out. Many say that Ghandi waited six month in order to build a positive public opinion about it, because it would have sparked a lot more negativity than it already did. Five days before the army entered the Golden Temple, 48 people were killed. The only way now that Gandhi could get Bhindranwale out was to use force, so she sent in the army in to the Golden Temple. The army was not prepared, because there were a lot more extremists than expected, they were also armed far better than intelligence reported. The extremists had responded to the army’s first initial call for surrender with machine guns. The operation turned into a bloody 3-day siege. 576 people were killed, 83 of them being soldiers from official count, but unofficial counts suggest that estimate to be as high as 1,000. The Operation left many scars, approximately 1,000 army members were involved and a casualty rate of one-third of four officers. Bhindranwale was found dead in the basement of the Akal Takht, along with the leader of the Sikh Student Federation, and a sacked major general of Indian Army who had reportedly trained Sikh terrorists. Gandhi had also sent the Indian army into Punjab on June 2nd, 1984, to surround thirty-eight Sikh temples that had believed to been harboring Sikh militants under the command of Bhindranwale. Throughout the sate of Punjab, Akali leaders were placed under arrest. The generals in charge of Operation Bluestar consisted of 4 Sikhs and 2 of another cast. Their involvement did little to reduce the sense of humiliation and the anger among nearly all the Sikhs. The Golden Temple also suffered damage, the Temple is also known as the Harmandir Sahib. Both the terrorists and the army had destroyed it. The terrorists used it for gun placements and army had attacked it. The Akhal Takht suffered the most serious damage and the precious Golden Temple Library was set on fire. Almost all Sikhs were outraged by all the destruction that was caused to the Temple. The main question that everyone has is why did Bhindranwale choose to hide in the Golden Temple with his militants and weapons, when he could have went anywhere else. It is because he thought he would be safe their. He never thought that the Indian Government would attack him their because it is a sacred place of worship for all Sikhs. Also a government cannot allow armed militants to enter and attack a holy place. Bhindranwale thought of it in both ways, if they attack he would have an advantage as well. By having the government attacking a holy place many people would be outraged such as the Sikhs, the Sikhs and other people would then be against the Indian Government because of what they did. That is exactly what happened, the government attacked and that sparked the anger between all Sikhs, no matter what they thought of Bhindranwale and his battle for â€Å"independence† that he wanted. By hiding in the Golden Temple and having the army attack, it really helped Bhindranwa le get his message out to the people. The attacks made the news world wide, and he became famous and people started to know what he was fighting for. Another reason of him hiding there was that many civilians were in the Golden Temple and that made him believe that the Indian Government would not attack, because that would kill innocent people. But the Indian Government did just that. The government, while being successful in killing Bhindranwale, took the lives of many innocent men, women, and y children. Bhindranwale, while knowing that many civilians would be in the area that could be harassed and killed, he still chose to stay their. That might have been intentionally done, or he might not have known that. But it ended up being deadly for the civilians. Bhindranwale’s actions caused a lot of damage to the Golden Temple, by converting into a battlefield with a lot of bloodshed of innocent people. But this was all done because of his cause of creating Khalistan. Many may inquire why the Indian Government finally decided to attack the Golden Temple a holy place of worship, after a six-month period of not doing anything. Many people believe that the Indian Government did wrong by attacking the Golden Temple, but you have to analyze both sides before coming to a proper conclusion. The Government was wrong at attacking at a holy place but they had to because Bhindranwale would not surrender himself. The army had asked him to surrender, however Bhindranwale refused to and in turn he started firing back at the army. The Army had no choice, so they fired back and this is how the innocent victims were killed along wit the Golden Temple being destroyed by all the gunfire. The Indian Government were not the only ones to destroy it, although many may think that Bhindranwale had his own machine guns at the temple and he was also a big contributor to the destruction of it. Had he had surrendered then, the many people that were killed would not have been and the Golden Temple would not have been damaged in any way. The Sikhs would also have not been angered. One thin that makes the Indian Government seem really bad is the fact that they decided to attack the Golden Temple in the same week as the Sikh religious day known as the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev. Guru Arjan dev was the one who completed the Golden Temple. It was founded by the fourth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Ramdas. The Indian Government knew that thousands of Sikhs would gather. This is one of the reasons of such a high casualties rate of Sikhs. A direct connection of it being the Indian army’s fault cannot be made because both Bhindranwale and Indian Government made mistakes. One side cannot be blamed for it all. The people affected by the whole Bluestar Operation were the many of the Sikhs and Hindus as well. Many Sikhs and Hindus died because of the Operation taking place. The Sikhs died directly because it and the Hindus died because the Sikhs were angered. The Indian Police targeted many Sikhs after the Bluestar Operation, if they seemed to have any ties with Bhindranwale or believed in what he was standing for they would be killed or harassed. Many Sikhs became martyrs and held off the Indian army for as long as they possibly could. A total of about 250 men had kept the army out of the Golden Temple. The army consisted of over 250,000 troops. The army had entered the Temple after six days of the Sikhs stopping them from entering. They started killing innocent Sikhs who came to visit the Temple to celebrate the religious day. When the army came to know that only 250 stopping any army of troops, they were angered and humiliated. The Sikhs in the temple were lined up and shot at point blank range. They ranged from the eldest of people to the adults and the children, no one was spared. What really hurt the Sikhs was that their sacred artifacts and library was burned. Also literature written by the Sikhs Gurus was also not found after the attacks. It has been said that the army had taken it, but they state that it had been destroyed during the attack. The city of Amritsar had been destroyed. Many visitors visiting from other countries around the world had been arrested or killed. Sikh shops were robed and houses had been burned. Hindus also had a role in the killing of the Sikhs. Groups of Hindus went to Sikh households and burned the Sikhs alive. They also raped the Sikh women and violated pregnant women. The Sikhs that were being targeted were young males ranging from 4 to 40 years of age. The Indian Government had feared that the younger Sikh males would rebel and that by killing them would diminish the young Sikh community and the Sikh population would not flourish. They hoped that maybe the Sikh community would disappear and no longer be a problem for them. The main reason why many of the Sikhs were going through this was because Hindus wanted to destroy Sikhism. When Sikhs in other places found out about the attack that occurred in Amritsar, they rebelled. The Sikhs killed many Hindus that were in high rank. The Indian Government then noticed this movement by the Sikhs and quickly acted on it. They began arresting Sikhs and killing them. Over 40,000 Sikhs were in jail with being charged. Before the Bluestar Operation Sikhs and Hindus were killing each other. When a Hindu would kill a Sikh, the police would do nothing about it, but when a Sikh killed a Hindu the Police would arrest and punish them. After all had happened to the Sikhs they still stuck together and rebelled to take over the Golden Temple that was theirs. They were successful in doing so. Bibliography Kundu, A â€Å"The Indian Armed Forces’ Sikh and Non-Sikh Officers’ Opinions of Operation Blue Star.† Pacific Affairs, Vol. 67, No. 1 (Spring, 1994), 46-69. www.jstor.com Hardgraven, L.R. â€Å"India in 1984: Confrontation, Assassination, and Succession.† Asian Survey, Vol. 25, No. 2, A Survey of Asia in 1984: Part II (Feb., 1985),131-144. www.jstor.com Major, A. â€Å"From Moderates to Secessionists: A Who’s Who of the Punjab Crisis.† Pacific Affairs, Vol. 60, No. 1 (Spring, 1987), 42-58. www.jstor.com Mahmood, C.K. â€Å"Sikh Rebellion and the Hindu Concept of Order.† Asian Survey, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Mar., 1989), 326-340. www.jstor.com Fair, Christine. â€Å"Fighting in the Inner Sanctum: Counterinsurgency Operations in the Golden Temple:† Conference Papers – International Studies Association (2007 Annual Meeting 2007): 1.Academic Search Premier. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/search?vid=1&hid=7&sid=d188ab48-80c0-42db-99ab-6df66e12e9c0%40sessionmgr11 Nijhawan, M. â€Å"From Divine Bliss to Ardent Passion: Exploring Sikh Religious Aesthetics through the â€Å"DhÄ DÄ «Ã¢â‚¬  Genre.† History of Religions, Vol. 42, No. 4

Canada and World War II

This paper studies the causes of WWII and Canadas participation in the war. This paper begins with an exploration of the various causes of WWII, focusing on the rapid increase in the strength and might of fascist leaders and on economic depression. The paper then turns to the participation of Canada in the war. It looks at Canadas motivation to participate, at Prime Minister Kings policies and at specific battles in which Canadians were involved. The paper concludes with evaluations of the consequences of participation in the war for Canada. Second World War was a horrible event, which destroyed an entire generation and robbed millions of their dreams and hopes. This primary cause of this war was the rapid rise in the power and might of fascist regimes in Italy, Russia and Germany. Along with fascist power, it was the economic conditions of various European nations that gave the likes of Hitler a chance to turn their dream of world domination into a reality. This paper studies various causes of the Second World War and shed lights on Canadas participation in this war.

Macroeconomic convergence, development and growth Essay

Macroeconomic convergence, development and growth - Essay Example This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the concept of macroeconomic convergence, and outlines empirical facts, that confirm this hypothesis. Macroeconomic convergence is a process adopted by the adjoining economies across regions for economic integration amidst themselves. The trade and growth models are two models depicting economic integration and are related to convergence of income. Macroeconomic convergence could be reached more rapidly when there is an equitable distribution of wealth . Some of the most vigorous of all attempts towards macroeconomic convergence is noted among the African economies which are pestered by poverty. These nations have realized the importance of macroeconomic convergence to make their meek presences felt and to ensure monetary, financial and political stability as well as security There are two kinds of macroeconomic convergence. Sigma-convergence signifies the rate at which the disparity in the income levels of nations is reducing, beta-convergence implies the rate at which the poorer nations are growing compared to their richer counterparts Macroeconomic convergence could be brought about by drawing integration between the macroeconomic policies of the underlying nations. The nations might take an initiative to characterize themselves with similar economic features so as to lend themselves on comparative grounds with their neighbours The concept of convergence is found to be popular among the poorer nations of the world whose primary aim is to raise their respective per capita incomes. Economic growth and macroeconomic convergence: an empirical investigation Integration of national as well as regional economies with world economy is the salient feature over many years. Two models of economic integration which relates to income convergence are firstly growth models and secondly trade models (Kim, 1997, p.4). According to the neoclassical Solow model of growth, the regional level of income varies due to the different capital labour ratios. Whereas the Hecksher Ohlin trade model says that the income varies across the regions due to the difference in the factor prices and factor endowments (Kim, 1997, p.5). Income convergence occurs due to trades in goods and economic integration via equalisation in prices. Factor endowments vary across the regions and therefore various regions specialise in different industries. The growth models generated by Romer and Lucas, which are based on increasing returns on physical capital, states the chances of such income divergence. Even the trade models by Krugman states that income divergence may arise due to the differences in the industrial structures. If the industries equipped with high technology and high wages are subjected to external economy then the trade transactions

Are People Better Informed in the Information Society Essay

Are People Better Informed in the Information Society - Essay Example The deliberate and non-deliberate participation in the interpretation and spread of information is one attribute that makes our society an informed society. People have not just the liberty to access all types of information, but also to spread it once acquired. Being in an information society, therefore, gives one an opportunity to access information. According to Nardi et al. (1999), the quest for information, which is tightly associated with human curiosity, is the basis and foundation of informational security. When a piece of information is concealed, it raises interest, and the search for it intensifies. This is in comparison to open information that often appears unworthy and less enticing. In an era when the society has all the tools necessary to access valuable and interesting information, people get more informed. Regarding this issue, I would also assume the position taken by Linda Jackson. The accessibility to sources of information has improved not only the peoples confident in sharing information but also increases the learners’ ability to synthesize and interpret information. For instance, a classroom setting may not have all the necessary material and illustrations to drive home a point in for all the students. However, when much more of the illustrations are available on the Internet, the informational gap is bridged. It is agreeable that with increased rational use of the internet, people become relatively better informed. In addition, the more the people get informed, the more they enrich themselves as sources of information to others. A real example, in this case, is a teacher who reads widely on his topic before sharing with the students. The teacher has access to the information from the wider network, enrich their ‘stores’ of information and become a source for the students. One significant attributed benefit of technology is increasing the access to information.  

Post-conviction remedies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Post-conviction remedies - Essay Example common post conviction appeals include: appeal to State appellate Court which contends that trial judge made some legal error, State Supreme Court appeal that requests that highest court in the state review and overturn the decision of the mid-level appeals court, U.S. Supreme Court appeal that makes a request to the highest court in the nation to intervene and correct an error on the part of the state courts that violated the U.S. Constitution, appeal of Federal Habeas Corpus Petition to Circuit Court which requests the mid-level federal court to review the federal trial courts decision denying the writ and lastly, appeal of Federal Habeas Corpus Petition to U.S. Supreme Court which requests the premier court in the land to examine the mid-level federal courts verdict denying the writ. On the other hand, Post conviction remedies include a variety of liberation sought by a convicted criminal to have his or her sentence vacated, set aside, or corrected because such a sentence was base d upon some defiance of the U.S. Constitution. Among the most common post-conviction remedies available are the writ of Habeas Corpus and the writ of Coram Nobis. However, Writ of Habeas Corpus is the mostly used. It involves issuing of a court order that orders a person or a government official who has prevented another to produce the prisoner at a designated time and place so that the court can determine the authenticity of charge and decide whether to demand the prisoners discharge. Development of writ of habeas corpus can be traced back in 1215 whereby the habeas corpus concept was first expressed in the Magna Charta at Runnymede on June 15, 1215. Among the liberties affirmed in the Magna Charta was that "No free man shall be detained, or jailed, or diseased, or forbidden, or exiled, or wounded in any way (Neubauer, 2004). The writ of habeas corpus was initially used by the common-law courts in thirteenth and fourteenth century in England. From the late fifteenth to the

How Fast Food Nation has chancged MY personal eating and shopping Essay

How Fast Food Nation has chancged MY personal eating and shopping habits and WHY - Essay Example After reading Schlosser’s book, I’ve started retrospecting my eating habits, finding that Schlosser’s view of fast food has influenced my eating and purchasing decisions. In particular, I’ve started thinking of the kind of food I eat, the way it is processed, and how much organic food I consume. Like most other Americans, the huge volume of fast food advertising has used to attract me blindly to consume this kind of food. As argued by Schlosser, the harsh competition among fast food companies in the United States pushes them to use advertising heavily in order to attract more and more customers. Although fast food advertising is directed to all kinds of people, kids and adolescents are specially targeted in order to promote this kind of food among them. As kids and adolescents are still inexperienced, they can be easily influenced by what they watch on TV, and thats why fast food advertising attracts more and more young people in the US. Accordingly, like other American adolescents, I have turned into a heavy consumer of fast food since an early age due to the role of advertising. Everywhere in television and print media, we are surrounded by a great number of ads that aim at convincing us to use certain kinds of products and services or eat certain kind of food. In that sense, ads are tools that deepen the spirit of consumerism among Americans, since young age. TV ads, for example, use all modern approaches to push the audience to consume more and more products. In this context, the main role of the American government and Not-for-Profit organizations is to adequately inform people about the possible threat of junk food on health. To prove that TV ads play an important role for popularizing fast food among Americans, Schlosser notes that "the Fast Food chains annually spend about $3 billion on television advertising" (Schlosser, p. 47). However, this figure has

European Union, how successful was it at creating a single market Essay

European Union, how successful was it at creating a single market - Essay Example A free trade area is a form of economic integration wherein all barriers to trade, not only tariffs, are removed among participating nations although each nation maintains its trade barriers with other nations who are not members of the free trade area (Salvatore, 327). This was the situation in 1960 in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) organised by the United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland (Salvatore, 328). A customs union provides no tariffs or other barriers to trade among member nations of the customs union and, in addition, the custom union harmonises trade policies with the rest of the world (Salvatore, 328). According to Salvatore, this was the status in 1957 of West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg (328). A common market goes further than a customs union by â€Å"also allowing the free movement of labour and capital among member nations† (Salvatore, 328). According to Salvatore, much of Europ e became a common market in 1993 (328). Finally, an economic union is a significant advancement from a common market because in addition to the free flow of labour and capital among the members of the union, the economic union unifies the fiscal and monetary policies of member nations of the economic union (Salvatore, 328). Fiscal integration in the European Union is not immediately apparent. However, one good evidence of monetary integration is the launching of the euro as â€Å"the common currency of more than 300 million Europeans on 1 January 1999† (Europa, â€Å"The history of the European Union†).1 A study of Kocenda and colleagues in 2008 indicated that the monetary union within the European Union did not â€Å"encourage fiscal convergence among its members† (1). Thus, viewed from the perspective of advancement from a preferential trade arrangement and growing into a free trade area, then into a customs union, then into a common market, and finally into a n economic union, the formation of the European Union itself can be credited as a solid achievement in the creation of a single market. However, it is also possible to see the European Union as an act of protectionism of member countries of Europe against the rest of the world. In this sense, one can also view the formation of the European Union as a possible obstacle to the creation of a single market worldwide: a group of nations operating as a bloc or club within the World Trade Organisation (WTO). 2.0. Mission of the European Union The European Union, however, is more than an economic union. It is a political union as well among countries sharing a common vision and objectives. Europa, the official website of the European U

An analysis of the main character Lt. Henry in A Farewell to Arms Essay

An analysis of the main character Lt. Henry in A Farewell to Arms - Essay Example Lieutenant Frederic Henry is a young American who feels a strong obligation to serving the Italian army, but seldom finds himself without enjoyment. He interprets himself as a man of duty. The experience on the battlefront does not modify his self belief or feeing of honor; nor does he expect any praise for his services as a soldier. During duties in the war, Henry is seriously wounded on the battlefield and sent to the hospital in Milan for knee operation. His friend Rinaldi criticizes him for his injury and the medals of distinction that Henry may receive. Rinaldi stated, â€Å"You will be decorated. They want to get you the medaglia d’argento but perhaps they can get only the bronze.† Henry said, â€Å"What for?† Rinaldi replied, â€Å"Because you are gravely wounded†¦. Did you do any heroic act?† Henry’s frustration with his friend insisting on lobbying for a medal goes without notice, â€Å"No†¦ I was blown up while we were eating ch eese† (63). This clearly shows how Henry distances himself from nonfigurative thinking as faith, honor, and patriotism and also displays the spirit of his personality. During his recovery in the hospital, he feels very fortunate that Miss Barkley is transferred to Milan, and allowed to be by his side. During this time of healing, Henry and Catherine’s love blossoms causing him to stay with her and not return to battle. Catherine’s feelings are so strong for Henry that she considers their relationship to be a feeling above all belief, â€Å"You see, darling, it would mean everything to me if I had any religion. But I haven’t any religion†¦ You’re my religion; you’re all I’ve got† (116). This relationship is seemed to be surprising for the fact he barely knew her and much like his friend, Rinaldi, who forever longed for a night’s simple pleasures. Unaccustomed to such feeling of love and desire, Henry realizes that this new feeling is

Origins and Principal Teachings of the Sacred Scriptures of Judiasm Essay

Origins and Principal Teachings of the Sacred Scriptures of Judiasm - Essay Example Sinai† (Robinson, pp. 50-59). Judaism is a belief grounded within the sacred, moral, as well as communal regulations as they are expressed in the ‘Torah’. Jews talk about the Bible as the ‘Tanakh’, an acronym for the wordings of the ‘Torah, Prophets, as well as Writings’. Other holy texts consist of the ‘Talmud’ and ‘Midrash’, the rabbinic, officially permitted, and narrative understandings of the Torah. The modern subdivisions of Judaism fluctuate on their understandings as well as functions of these texts (Robinson, p. 99). The four most important activities within Judaism these days are conventional, traditionalist, transformation, and Reconstructionist, respectively ranging from conventional to moderate to faithfully progressive within their use of Torah. Though varied in their outlooks, Jews carry on to be integrated on the foundation of their common association to a set of holy accounts communicating their a ssociation with deity as a sacred people. Judaism tends to highlight practice on faith. Jewish reverence is centered in synagogues, which totally substituted the Second place of worship following its devastation during 70 C.E. Jewish spiritual leaders are known as rabbis, who supervise the several customs and rituals necessary to Jewish spiritual practice. â€Å"The Jews are not a race† (Robinson, p. 392), because they include inhabitants of all colors and ethnic kinds. Jews determine the issue of classification by depicting themselves as citizens, with uniqueness, which includes components together with religious conviction, traditions, language and historical recollection. It follows that Judaism is more than a belief or a faith system. It might best be explained as a sacred way of life, beginning in the historical description of the Jewish citizens. In this sense, â€Å"Jews perceive themselves as a family unit, tracing their beginnings to the ‘Biblical Patriarchsâ €™, usually dated as 1900 BCE (Before the Common Era)† (Robinson, pp. 190-215). As they travelled all over the world, the Jewish inhabitants carried with them particular religious as well as ethical standards, brilliant writing and a sense of ongoing history - the belief recognized as Judaism. Jews have faith in a single God who has no form or shape, who is both the maker as well as the ruler of the universe, and who lays down an ethical rule for humankind. In particular, â€Å"the conventional view of Jewish beginnings is founded on the patriarchal accounts found in the Hebrew Bible† (Solomon, p. 50-56). These accounts reveal an effort by the early Israelites, the antecedents of the Jewish inhabitants, to trace the origin of their population to single family unit that started to discriminate itself from those of other early cultures by the respect of one God. Even though these texts were written more or less a thousand years subsequent to the incidents explained, t hey are a consequence of the allegories linked with the historical origins of what people passed down verbally through the generations. Jews outline their descent, in addition to the origins of their religious conviction, to the â€Å"Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob† (Robinson, p. 283). The liberation of the Jews in Europe during the 19th century led to the growth of ‘Progressive Judaism’, mainly within Germany, which wanted to settle in Jewish rule and

Marxism Analysis of The Lower Depths Essay Example for Free

Marxism Analysis of The Lower Depths Essay Maxim Gorky’s â€Å"The Lower Depths† shows the struggle between classes. Unquestionably, its focus is on the lowest of the economically low class people being controlled by the bourgeoisie. It is also a representation of how cruel the society could be towards them and how, in turn, the people are affected by the society. Although the play talks of the story of low class people –the vagrant, the gambler, the ex-artist, the ex-aristocrat, the prostitute, and so many others, the thief’s character is the best to display the struggle between the classes. Thieves are likely to be wicked, troublesome, and disobedient. However, the thief in the text projects only the wickedness and troublesomeness but is not really disobedient. He is a bit subservient to the whims of their landlady. Though it is true that there are times when he doesn’t want to follow what the woman says, in the end the woman would always find a way to make him do whatever she likes. For instance, when the landlady wanted the thief to kill her husband, the thief refused. And to bring her plans into reality, she beats Natasha –whom the thief cared about. This made the thief furious and he went to confront the landlady but he incidentally killed her husband instead. Aside from this, the fact that the landlady â€Å"owned† her sister Natasha made the thief adhere to her caprice. He is always protecting his love and is willing to do everything to spare her from the landlord and the landlady’s injustice. The text embodies how the low class people resist the ideology of those in the higher classes. However, because of circumstances they are in, they end up going along with whatever those in higher classes’ demands. The lower economic groups are ignored in this text by those higher than them. The mere title of the play is distasteful. The place where the characters live is created and tagged as the lower depths by no other than the society itself. This just means that the society is also the primary reason for the repression experienced by the people. What the society didn’t realize is that these low class people are in the lower depths because they are deprived of chances to attain their goals and they are put on circumstances that destroy their self-confidence. The system of the ruling class caused the alienation of the low class people, therefore causing them not to be able to live their lives to the fullest. Also, the setting is where the characters tell their stories and debate on whether it is better to live without illusions on ones own capability or to embrace a romanticized view of the world in order to protect oneself from the pain of daily life. In the play, it is the character of Luka who seems to idealize everything in life and the one who demonstrate that philosophy is meant to be used as an instrument to initiate change. Precisely, it was him who played the opposing figure to the rest of the characters. He is an example of an old man whom experiences made wise. He serves as an inspiration to everyone he meets by urging each of them to start a new life. In spite of this, his extreme optimism could also be the same reason why his life failed. And although he amazed the neglected lower class people in the lower depths, his arrival in their lives was too late that their energy and will has already taken from them. No matter how those people try to ascend from the social swamp, they are always shoved back into the depths. For example, when Natasha and the thief were about to begin a new life, destiny surpass them. Natasha was terribly beaten by her sister and when the thief came to confront the landlady, he accidentally killed the landlord. The theme of the play could be about the dominance of the higher class over the lower classes. As one of the play’s characters puts it â€Å"And so for all the others. Locksmiths then bootmakers and other working folk and all the agriculturals and even the gentry they live for the better man! Each thinks es livin fer imself, yet it turns out its fer that better man†. All of them who live in the depths and all the other workers seem to believe that they are living for themselves. What they don’t realize is that they are living to work and feed the bourgeoisie. And aside from this, the fact that the characters came from different field means that the bourgeoisie could control all aspects of the culture. To sum up, the play is a depiction of how the bourgeoisie rule the society. And the fact that the society puts the label to people shows how powerful it could affect other people’s lives.

Comparison of Hawk and Falcon Essay Example for Free

Comparison of Hawk and Falcon Essay Most people find it difficult to differentiate a hawk from a falcon. They normally mix them up. Although they seem similar in appearance, they certainly have numerous dissimilarities too. The hawk is bigger than the falcon and has a different shaped beak. I sometimes hear the hawk cry out as she flies above my house looking for food. The hawk and the falcon are similar in a lot of ways but differ in, the way they hunt, their size, and their habitat. â€Å"The term ‘hawk’ is used to describe the entire family of diurnal birds of prey. Hawks have acute keen eyesight, muscular legs with powerful feet and sharply hooked bills that are used for biting and tearing flesh. Known for their sharp talons, hawks catch their prey even during flight. Their nostrils are located above the bill on a fleshy patch of skin called the cere. They are swift fliers, with some attaining a speed of over 150 mph when diving†. ( Unknown author, n. d) They eat rats, shrews, ducks, toads, frogs, snakes, rabbits, and other birds. They hunt by day and can â€Å"see their prey two miles away their eyesight is the best in the animal kingdom. (Unknown author, 2011) â€Å"The size of the hawk ranges from 19 inches long to 22 inches long. The biggest hawk, the rough- legged hawk has a wingspan of more than 55 inches. † (Unknown author, 2011) The female is bigger than the male most of the time. Young hawks grow fast maturing in a month’s time. Their habitat is in forests, prairies, marshlands and open savannas. Mating and nest building begin in the spring, March through May. Accompanied by aerial displays by both female and male. â€Å"Nests are located from 35 to 75 feet high in the forks of large trees† (Unknown Author, 2011). Both female and male build the nest from twigs and evergreen branches. Female hawks lay anywhere from 1 to 3 eggs, they hatch in 28-32 days. Hawks mate with their partner for life, but if the partner dies the mate quickly finds another partner. On the other hand, falcons are quite different than hawks. â€Å"Any species of raptor in the genus Falco is identified as falcon. Falcons comprise of a heterogeneous family of long winged birds of prey, which are closely related to the hawks. Falcons can dive at a speed of up to 200 miles per hour. This phenomenal speed makes them the fastest-moving creatures on earth. †(Unknown author, n. d) They hunt by day and can spot prey a mile away. â€Å"Falcons go to great heights to wait for their prey, once they see it they dive at great speed and hit it using their beak to damage the neck†(Clarisse, 2011) . They eat other birds such as† sparrows, starlings, gulls, ducks and pigeons†(Harvey, 2006). They catch their prey in midair and surprise it, it is killed instantly. Falcons claw and tear the flesh from their prey with their strong beak. The falcon size ranges from 14-19 inches. â€Å"The nest is prepared in a saucer shaped form in soil, sand, or grass call† scrape† Their habitat is in forests, mountains, deserts, sea cliffs, in cities, and large urban areas. † (Harvey, 2006). Male and female share the responsibility of the eggs. â€Å"The female lays 3-5 eggs around 2 to 3 days apart† (Harvey, 2006). The female falcon and male falcon mate for life. Hawks and falcons, both hunt in the day, and both catch their pray in mid-air, but hawks eat a variety of animals unlike the falcon who just preys on other birds. They both have nest’s high off the ground but, hawks nest in trees while falcons make their nests in soil, sand, and gravel on cliffs and on top of tall buildings. Falcons can dive up to speeds of up to 200 miles an hour; whereas hawks can dive around 150 miles an hour. Hawks live an average of up to 21 years while the falcon’s life span is around 17 years. Hawks can see their prey up to two miles and the falcon can see their prey up to one mile. Falcons live in the city, forest, desert, mountains and large urban areas, while the hawk lives in the forest, marshland, and open savannas. Hawks are also bigger than falcons. To sum up, hawks and falcons do seem similar, but they have several different qualities regarding size, habitat, and diet. â€Å"Falcons grab their prey with their beak while hawks use their talons to kill their prey† (Kivumbi, 2011). â€Å"Falcons have a notch on their beak and hawks have a curve† (Srinstar, 2011). They may look alike but are quite different. Look closely next time and see the difference between the two. Hawks are bigger and have a different beak.

Impact of NGOs on Food Poverty

Impact of NGOs on Food Poverty The Geopolitical of food is the human science that studies all the influences, the interactions, and flux that Food brings on earth on a global or local level. It is a really broad and imperative subject in a world constituted by 7 million mouths to feed. But in this broad subject, a challenge is emerging, the challenge of feeding 3 to 5 more billions people in just 35 years within an industry already showing some weaknesses. This challenge can be seen as a social problem, but also as opportunities for agro-alimentary businesses to increase their production and at the same time their turnover for a fast growing market. According to A. Maslow’s hierarchy of need published in Motivation and Personality (1970), food and water are part of the physiological needs, the basic needs of a human being. These needs are the needs that a person requires to satisfy to survive on a day to day basis (A. Maslow, 1970). The question of how can we feed the world in 2050 with an increasing population; can be seen as a future important issue for many. However, in 2014, according to the last numbers of the United Nation Organization, more than 850 million people are enable to satisfy this basic need on earth, while 40% of the production is just wasted in developed countries. This shows us the size of inequality amongst the world. Moreover, the 29 of October 2014, the Union Nation Organization’s secretary general Ban Ki-moon asked for help from all de members according to the Somalia situation. This country after facing a famine recently in 2011 is on the edge of a new starvation at the moment where nearly 1 million people are surviving in situations close of starvation.Furthermore, according to the NBC news, another country is presently threatened by the food shortage. Ethiopia which already faced a huge starvation in 1992 is now threatened again with 10 million mouths who desperately need emergency food aid. For P. Timmer expert in the development of countries, in the agricultural economics and the rural development of supermarkets and owner of a PhD, a MA and an AB from of the Harvard University the question of feeding everyone is no more an economic issue but a moral obligation. To him, the problem comes from the fact that the world is subject to an unequal repartition of food and resources and that the care dedicated to that is insufficient (P. Timmer, 2014). To confirm that, a report regrouping the thinking of 300 experts of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations staked that one of the main responsible of the hunger in the world is effectively due to a disparity in the repartition of the topsoil. Still according to this report, the increasing demand of food by the word is not only due to the increasing population but also, and on a large part, to the modification of the habits in the developing countries as an effect of the enrichment of the population. The incre ment of their standards of living increases and diversifies their needs which lead to an augmentation of their needs and wants (FAO, 2009). To go deeper inside the problem, the article of the FAO concentrate itself on the problem on a short term basis rather than the long term one. According the article, during the past 3 years, we have seen a strong prices increment within the agro alimentary industry. This increase has deeply affected the emerging countries where the population is really sensible to it (FAO, 2009). One of the explanations could be related to the market rules. When the demand increases and the offer stay the same the prices upturn. During the early 20s, regarding the upcoming issue, in November 2001, a summit was organized by the World Trade Organization (WTO) called the Doha Cycle based on a three years program. The main objectives of this negotiation was the opening of the market regarding the worldwide agriculture business, the free access to industrial products and the removal of the protectionism amongst the countries ( fact that each country protect its borders in different ways according to different products). This summit involved different countries such as the Triade (USA, European Union and Japan) and the biggest agricultural producers, Brazil, India, Argentina and Australia. These negotiations were declared as a failure in July 2006 by Pascal Lamy, the director of the WTO back then. The reason for this failure was the incapacity of the entire member to come to a common agreement according to all the point stated earlier and the fact that the major actors tried to obtain advantages as an outcome of these negotiations. For instance, one of the big disagreements was between India and the USA (Anon, 2015). The developing country wanted to increase its customs duty if the importations was increasing more than 15% but the USA didn’t want them to do so before 40% (Kumar and Nair, 2009). The 28th of July 2006, the summit was officially suspended without any solution to the matter (Cho, 2006). Despite this big failure, in 2013, a success has been seen amongst the World Trade Organization with the signature of its first multi-lateral agreement, the Paquet of Bali, which was called the light of Doha. This agreement has, again, as main purpose the question of the world food security (lOMC, 2013). But according to some economist, this success is to be taken with care as the agreement is not as broad as the previous Doha cycle agreement. Moreover, it has some blind spot as the exportation allowance for instance (Lorot, 2014). To achieve the millennium challenge and according to the FAO article, one of the solutions would be the massive investment in the agro-alimentary industry of the emerging country. To them, the increase of 60% of those investments would help them to develop their industry and become stronger within the global market. The objective is to develop their productiveness in order to introduce and make them become actives actors of the global market and at the end profit from it. To do so, their objective is to provide decent revenues to the farmers in order to encourage them. This investment should be focus on the entire business field in order to increase their yield (production and distribution). The money engaged could help the development of roads, ports, energies, irrigations and stock management (FAO, 2009). With the same way of thinking the World Bank initiate a program called the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) with an investment of 51 million of American dolla rs (World Bank, 2013). This program has as main purpose the development of yield in emerging countries by increase the collaboration at a regional level and also by facilitating their access to technologies and innovation in order for them to be more productive (Fidafrique.net). This initiative has shown some positive outcomes amongst the emerging countries of Africa. According to the result statement of this project the outcome was mostly positive and accurate. Through this report, we can see that the releases of technologies are enormous and sometime went over the initial objectives (Banquemondiale.org, 2013). Also, the outcome of this project could be qualified as Satisfactory with an increment of the yield of production in emerging countries (World Bank, 2013). But according to the article entitled ‘’Le cycle de Doha na accouchà © finalement que dun accord a minima en dà ©cembre dernier à   Bali’’ By Pascal Lorot published in ‘’Le nouvelle Economist’’ in 2014 the World Trade Organization needs has to face some issues amongst itself in order to be able to solve other problems. This point of view is also shared by P. Timmer in his article ‘’Ending hunger in our lifetime: Food security and globalization’’. Compared to the world were the WTO was created, the world has changed. The author explains that nowadays all the countries have seen the downside of the globalization and the worldwide market which is in general a contrast of its effect amongst the world. While some of the countries benefit from it, others are put into a difficult situation where they can’t sustain themselves without help by creating a modern and perverse sort of colonialism. Regarding those disadvantages and because of sort of apprehension, countries these days, avoid letting their proper advantages for the benefit of the world market. This fact can be one of the main one that lead to the failure of the Doha Cycle. As the main purpose of the World Trade Union is the ‘’promotion’’ of this unique market it’s actually facing an identity crisis which makes it at some point weak. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nation is a part United Nation and deal with the food matter around the world and, also, try to solve them by advising, helping and proposing some strategic plan to the countries facing difficulties. According to their official website, the organism has as main objectives: Help eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition Make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable Reduce rural poverty Enable inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems Increase the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises (Fao.org,2015) Actually, this organization is controversial due to the outcome provided and its cost for countries in difficulty. For instance in 2008, the Senegal president’s state that the effort of the FAO to keep the food price under control has bought them to increase in a faster and more important way. Some global food prices have nearly doubled in the past three years, provoking riots and other protests in Africa, Asia and Latin America (News.bbc.co.uk, 2008). According to a SWOT analysis presented of the official website of the organization these bad result could be explain by different factor. The unpredictability of production yield leave uncertainty amongst the industry which make strategic plan difficult to organize and put into action. Also the lack of communication between the farmers, the association and other player make the coordination hard and rigid between them which weaker the effects and outcomes of any process. Another key factor which is hard to predict is the costume r behavior. For instance, if a country wants to focus of a new market providing a new type of food, it is hard to know with certitude the population reaction according to it. Moreover the investments in this field are poor which limit its outcomes. In this Master Thesis, regarding the facts stated earlier, and by focusing and frame ourselves on the geographical, ecological, cultural, economic and political aspect, we will try to find out rather or not the non-governmental organizations are still, nowadays, able to provide an effective solution to those issues or on the contrary, do they need to go through some changes on different field in order for them to be not just reactive but also proactive related to the challenges of the whole humanity by 2050. To do so, we will structure our thought in a specific way. Initially, we will study different articles which are strongly related to the issue and the problematic stated earlier to have a better understanding of the matter and acquire a strong overview of the entire field aimed coming from existing conclusion and ideas from authors. Then, to continue with the understanding of the matter, we are going to have a close look to the different actors of the world according to the angle chosen and their different actions and outcomes. Afterward, we will do a strong and deep analysis of the matter based of the information gathered from the previous part in order to withdraw our own study and conclusion. Finally, founded on the previous conclusion, we will try to sort out the opportunities of the situation and give also some concrete solutions to the matter in order to improve the present solution. References Anon, (2015). [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/31/wto.india [Accessed 8 Mar. 2015]. Banquemondiale.org, (n.d.). Projets : Programme de productività © agricole en Afrique de l’Ouest (WAAPP) | La Banque Mondiale. [online] Available at: http://www.banquemondiale.org/projects/P094084/west-africa-agricultural-productivity-program-waapp?lang=fr [Accessed 10 Mar. 2015]. Cho, S. (2006). The WTO Doha Round Negotiation: Suspended Indefinitely | ASIL. [online] Asil.org. Available at: http://www.asil.org/insights/volume/10/issue/22/wto-doha-round-negotiation-suspended-indefinitely [Accessed 2 Mar. 2015]. FAO, (2009). FAO Nouvelles: 2050: 2,3 millliards de bouches de plus à   nourrir. [online] Fao.org. Available at: http://www.fao.org/news/story/fr/item/35656/icode/ [Accessed 10 Mar. 2015]. Fidafrique.net, (n.d.). PPAAO WAAPP | FIDAfrique IFADAfrica. [online] Available at: http://www.fidafrique.net/rubrique1193.html [Accessed 10 Mar. 2015]. Kumar, R. and Nair, S. (2009). INDIA: STRATEGIES AT THE DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA- JULY AND BEYOND. Geneva, p.4. lOMC, (2013). OMC | Nouvelles 2013 Jours 3, 4 et 5: Un â€Å"Paquet de Bali† voit le jour à   l’issue de consultations-marathon. [online] Wto.org. Available at: https://www.wto.org/french/news_f/news13_f/mc9sum_07dec13_f.htm [Accessed 4 Mar. 2015]. nbnbn,, n. (2015). The West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) : Rice farming sector support through Japan Policy and Human Resources Development Fund (PHRD). [online] Worldbank.org. Available at: http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2014/10/01/phrd-results-agriculture-in-africa [Accessed 10 Mar. 2015]. OMC, (n.d.). OMC | Programme de Doha La Dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½claration de Doha expliquà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½e. [online] Wto.org. Available at: https://www.wto.org/french/tratop_f/dda_f/dohaexplained_f.htm [Accessed 8 Mar. 2015]. World Bank, (2013). Implementation Status Results Africa West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) (P094084). P094084 Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 07. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Simons, A., Irwin, D. and goderDrinnien, B. (1987). he Search for Understanding. New York: West Publishing Company.

Insect-Borne Disease and Australia :: Diseases Health Medical Essays

Insect-Borne Disease and Australia Insect borne diseases loom as a potential threat in many countries including Australia. Australia has been relatively free of insect-borne diseases compared to other southern land masses such as South America and Africa. Australia has several characteristics that influence the prevalence of insect-borne disease. Some these features include low altitudes, tropical forests, Southern Oscillation, and the fact that Australia is an island continent. Some of the most common insect-borne diseases of concern in Australia include Murray Valley encephalitis, Malaria, Dengue fever, Ross Valley virus and Yellow fever. The most common vector in Australia is the mosquito, in particular Aedes aegypti, which is the Dengue vector. Dengue fever is a flavivirus and is the greatest insect-borne disease threat in Australia. Two presentations of Dengue fever are known; classic Dengue fever and Dengue hemorrhagic fever. Classic Dengue fever is fairly common, usually in urban areas, and usually not life threatening. Dengue hemorrhagic fever is a very serious illness. Dengue is usually isolated to North Queensland, which is brought in by infected international travelers and maintained by the large Aedes aegypti population in Queensland. Australia and north Queensland have implemented management plans to control and eradicate Dengue fever and other potential insect-borne viruses. Keys to this plan are disease surveillance, mosquito control and surveillance, and education. Introduction Insect-borne diseases are a common threat to travelers, especially when traveling to tropical countries. Insect-borne diseases are usually transmitted by mosquitoes and are caused by several types of microorganisms. Vaccinations, mosquito control, and education are common methods utilized in minimizing the effects of insect-borne disease. In this paper I will attempt to give an overview of insect-borne disease in Australia. In doing this, I plan on describing the most common insect-borne diseases in Australia, the vectors behind these diseases, and common methods used in prevention of insect-borne disease in Australia. Australian Geographical Features Compared to other southern land masses, such as South America and Africa, Australia has been and is relatively free of insect-borne disease (Kettle 1993).

Effects of divorce :: essays research papers

Each year, over 1 million American children suffer the divorce of their parents; moreover, half of the children born this year to parents who are married will see their parents divorce before they turn 18. Mounting evidence in social science journals demonstrates that the devastating physical, emotional, and financial effects that divorce is having on these children will last well into adulthood and affect future generations. Among these broad and damaging effects are the following: †¢ Children whose parents have divorced are increasingly the victims of abuse. They exhibit more health, behavioral, and emotional problems, are involved more frequently in crime and drug abuse, and have higher rates of suicide. †¢ Children of divorced parents perform more poorly in reading, spelling, and math. They also are more likely to repeat a grade and to have higher drop-out rates and lower rates of college graduation. †¢ Families with children that were not poor before the divorce see their income drop as much as 50 percent. Almost 50 percent of the parents with children that are going through a divorce move into poverty after the divorce. †¢ Religious worship, which has been linked to better health, longer marriages, and better family life, drops after the parents divorce. The divorce of parents, even if it is amicable, tears apart the fundamental unit of American society. Today, according to the Federal Reserve Board's 1995 Survey of Consumer Finance, only 42 percent of children aged 14 to 18 live in a "first marriage" family--an intact two-parent married family. It should be no surprise to find that divorce is having such profound effects on society. Restoring the importance of marriage to society and the welfare of children will require politicians and civic leaders to make this one of their most important tasks. It also will require a modest commitment of resources to pro-marriage programs. Fiscal conservatives should realize that federal and state governments spend $150 billion per year to subsidize and sustain single-parent families.

Alcoholism Essay -- Alcohol Addiction Dependence

Alcoholism Alcohol Dependence is a disease characterized by: a strong need or compulsion to drink, the frequent inability to stop drinking once a person has begun, the occurrence of withdrawal symptoms (nausea, sweating, shakiness) when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking, and the need for increasing amounts of alcohol in order to feel an affect. Most experts agree that alcoholism is a disease just as high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis are diseases. Like these other diseases, alcoholism tends to run in the family. Drinking alcohol is not the only factor that leads to alcoholism, it is a chronic disease that leaves an everlasting effect on the person's life and his family. The basic difference between the social drinker and the alcoholic is the way he drinks and the effect alcohol has on him. How much a person consumes is not the determining factor. An alcoholic might not have drink for a month, but when he does, he cannot stop. A social drinker could have a drink a number of times per week. That does not make him alcoholic. A problem drinker drinks to escape from unpleasant realities whereas the social drinker drinks to complement an event. The alcoholic becomes both physically and psychologically addicted to alcohol. The social drinker does not. Therefore, I have been researching to gather the facts that distinguish a social drinkers and an alcoholic and what divides people into these two categories. In other words, why do people belonging to these two categories have different effects on them? Alcoholism 2 is a disease and that is why alcohol has different effects o... ...ted Hanna, Eleanor & Grant, Bridget. Alcoholism. Clinical and Experimental Research 1999: p513-22. Lieb, J. & Young, P. TREATMENT OF ALCOHOLISM AS A CHRONIC DISORDER. EXS 1994: 349-59 Martin, Don & Martin, Betty. The Ultimate Wine Book. California: Pine Cone Press, 1993. Miller, K. A Case-Specific Approach to the Treatment of Alcoholism. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 1994: 35-44. Niemela, O. Oral Nalmefence HCL for Alcohol Dependence. Alcoholism, Clinical & Experimental Research 2006: 1162-7. Parker, Frederick. A Comparison of the Sex Temperament of Alcoholics and Moderate Drinkers. American Sociological Review, Vol. 24 January, 1959: 366-374. Ries, Janet. Public Acceptance of the Disease Concept of Alcoholism. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Vol. 18, No. 3 Sep., 1977: 338-344. Alcoholism Essay -- Alcohol Addiction Dependence Alcoholism Alcohol Dependence is a disease characterized by: a strong need or compulsion to drink, the frequent inability to stop drinking once a person has begun, the occurrence of withdrawal symptoms (nausea, sweating, shakiness) when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking, and the need for increasing amounts of alcohol in order to feel an affect. Most experts agree that alcoholism is a disease just as high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis are diseases. Like these other diseases, alcoholism tends to run in the family. Drinking alcohol is not the only factor that leads to alcoholism, it is a chronic disease that leaves an everlasting effect on the person's life and his family. The basic difference between the social drinker and the alcoholic is the way he drinks and the effect alcohol has on him. How much a person consumes is not the determining factor. An alcoholic might not have drink for a month, but when he does, he cannot stop. A social drinker could have a drink a number of times per week. That does not make him alcoholic. A problem drinker drinks to escape from unpleasant realities whereas the social drinker drinks to complement an event. The alcoholic becomes both physically and psychologically addicted to alcohol. The social drinker does not. Therefore, I have been researching to gather the facts that distinguish a social drinkers and an alcoholic and what divides people into these two categories. In other words, why do people belonging to these two categories have different effects on them? Alcoholism 2 is a disease and that is why alcohol has different effects o... ...ted Hanna, Eleanor & Grant, Bridget. Alcoholism. Clinical and Experimental Research 1999: p513-22. Lieb, J. & Young, P. TREATMENT OF ALCOHOLISM AS A CHRONIC DISORDER. EXS 1994: 349-59 Martin, Don & Martin, Betty. The Ultimate Wine Book. California: Pine Cone Press, 1993. Miller, K. A Case-Specific Approach to the Treatment of Alcoholism. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 1994: 35-44. Niemela, O. Oral Nalmefence HCL for Alcohol Dependence. Alcoholism, Clinical & Experimental Research 2006: 1162-7. Parker, Frederick. A Comparison of the Sex Temperament of Alcoholics and Moderate Drinkers. American Sociological Review, Vol. 24 January, 1959: 366-374. Ries, Janet. Public Acceptance of the Disease Concept of Alcoholism. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Vol. 18, No. 3 Sep., 1977: 338-344.

Empty Seat †Analysis Essay

The author of this text is Yuan Ch’iung-ch’iung, popularly called Yuan Qiongqiong. She is a Taiwanese writer, and she wrote during the Boudoir literature period. The characteristics of texts written in this period, is that they focuses on women’s issues. In this analysis, I will mostly focus on the characters, together with some literary devices such as climax and setting. The action takes place in a crowded bus, most likely in the 80’s due the fact that the story was released in that time frame. I find the story to don’t have a crystal clear climax; however, if I were to choose one, I would choose the part where the protagonist leaves his seat. Empty seat is a short story about a man entering a bus, who sat down at the first empty seat he spotted. Some moments later he heard a strange sound, and he didn’t realize where it came from because of some background noise. After a while, he found out; the woman next to him was sobbing. He immediatel y leaned away from the woman, because he didn’t want people to think that he had something to do with her. Despite this, the other passengers still looked at him with a strange look, among them a college boy. He stared at the protagonist, who is the man, but he looked away as soon as the man returned the look. The man tried to signal that he hadn’t done anything mean against the woman, but it seemed like nobody realized that he was a stranger to the woman. He couldn’t handle the situation, so he left his seat next to the sobbing woman, and stood beside the college boy instead. They smiled to each other, and then the man realized that the collage boy sat there before him. He and the college boy then watched a new passenger take the seat. We don’t get to know a lot about the characters in the story, but it’s possible to tell a fairly accurate description of them by reading the text. The man who entered the bus, and then sat down next to the sobbing woman, is without a doubt the protagonist. The whole story is centered around his experience on the bus, and the narrator tells about the man’s movements. The story doesn’t tell us anything about the characters other than their genders, or where the action takes place. This makes it impossible to give a description based on facts. Despite this, I will still try to give a description of it based on my thoughts. I think that the man, who entered the bus, and the woman who were sobbing, is fairly the same age. The reason behind this is because the protagonist thought that the other passengers on the bus thought that he was the one that had hurt her. If an obvious age difference was involved, I don’t think that he would have cared. I think that the story takes place in Taiwan, since the author of this story is a Taiwanese writer. It is also not a bad idea to think that the author may has experienced something similar on a bus, which led her to writing this story. The three characters in this story, which are the collage boy, the sobbing woman and the man, don’t seem to know each other. If either the man or the boy knew the woman, they would most likely be sitting next to her and tried to comfort her. The man also tried to prevent that people would think that he knew her. I personally enjoyed this story a lot, and I would recommend it to a friend. It was both interesting to read, and it tells about parts of today’s society in a fascinating way.

A Little Cloud: Review

A Little Cloud 1. Context in Dubliners: This is the first section in Maturity 2. A brief synopsis: It has been eight years that Little Chandler and his friend, Gallaher have seen each other. While Little Chandler walks to the bar to meet up with his friend, he wonders how much he is impressed with Gallaher’s writing career. He loves poetry; nonetheless, he gave it all up when he got married. While they are sitting at the bar, drinking whiskey and smoking cigars, both Gallaher and Little Chandler talks about foreign cities, marriages and their future.Little Chandler is amazed how bad Gallaher looks. Galleher blames its on stress. Gallaher states that he rather has bunch of women rather than being bored with one. After the long conversation, Gallaher have to leave. Later that night, Little Chandler watches his son while waiting for his wife to come home. He sits and wonders; questioning his marriage. When his wife finally arrives home, she scream at Little Chandler, which made L ittle Chandler realize that what he was thinking was reckless. 3. Character List: a. Gallaher: An old friend of Little Chandler.A man that Little Chandler is jealous because of his successful in pursing his dream in a writing career and foreign traveler. b. Little Chandler: A married man who gave up his dream as a writer for the woman he married. After seeing his old friend Gallaher, Little Chandler thinks and wonders that if he hasn’t got married. He would have followed his dream. His epiphany that made him realize that he like the way he is right now and he will never change his life. 4. Religious Connotations/symbols: a. â€Å"Little Chandler allowed his whisky to be very much diluted† (60). . Shows that he have very high expectation b. â€Å"‘You’re the very same serious person that used to lecture me on Sunday mornings when I had a sore†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (61). i. Sunday signify as the day people would go to church.5. Example of Figurative Languag e: a. â€Å"The light and noise of the bar held him at the doorways for a few moments† (60). b. â€Å"He looked coldly into the eyes of the photograph and they answered coldly. Certainly they were pretty and the face itself was pretty†¦. those dark oriental eyes, he thought, how full they are od passion, of voluptuous longing!†¦ hy had he married the eyes in the photograph† (66). i. This lead him to question himself to why did he marry his wife. 6. Significant Quotes: a. â€Å"He remembered the books of poetry upon his shelves at home. He had bought them in his bachelor days and many an evening, as he sat in the little room of the hall, he had been tempted to take one down from the bookshelf and read out something to his wife. But shyness always held him back; and so the books had remained on their shelves† (58). i. The passion for becoming a poet has disappeared because he left it all behind for his wife.He would always daydream about having a life as a poet, which in turn led him to question about his marriage. Nonetheless, he felt remorse about this. b. â€Å"Little Chandler felt his cheeks suffused with shame and he stood back out of the lamplight. He listened while the paroxysm of the child’s sobbing grew less and less; and tears of remorse started to his eyes† (67). i. This is when Little Chandler has his epiphany. 7. Theme: Love over passion 8. Tone: envious a. The tone is envious because after Little Chandler saw his old friend. He wishes he was able to do what he has passion for. Moreover, it made him to think nonsense about his marriage.

Essential Characteristics for an Effective Marketing Plan Essay

A marketing plan is a business document that is purposely written for describing the current market stance of a business as well as its marketing strategy for the period captured by the marketing plan. Marketing plan usually lasts for one up to five years. The rationale of writing a marketing plan is to visibly reveal the strategies that will be implemented to ensure that a business attains its marketing objectives. Marketing plan for a business should include a brief description of its rivals, strengths and weaknesses from a market position of both the competitors and its business. Business marketing plan also include the demand for the service or the product. The rationale of this paper is to develop a marketing plan for two new products from Cadbury Company. This marketing plan will also include description of the service of product including the unique characteristics, pricing strategy, description of the location of Cadbury including the advantages and limitations for marketing. This marketing plan will also include market segmentation as well as the market budget including the promotional and advertising plan. Developing a marketing plan is a strenuous process, but in the long run it has a positive impact on the business yearly earnings. A Marketing plan just like a business plan should be updated regularly to address changes in demand, market conditions as well as pricing issues. Cadbury is a company that produces various cocoa products that are famous and sold across the world. This paper provides an integrated marketing plan aimed at promoting Cadbury’s finest dark chocolate in the Australian market. The paper also outlines the entire Cadbury Company, its current marketing strategies and its positioning in the confectionary industry. New chocolate products from Cadbury include Cadbury daily milk top deck, Cadbury dairy milk snack, marvelous creations peanut toffee cookie, Cadbury dairy milk mousse raspberry, marvelous creations peanut toffee cookie. The marketing plan includes the implications of launching new finest chocolate products in Australian market, exceptional packaging and different sizes in combination with the detailed promotional policies. The marketing plan also evaluates the strategies that are to be incorporated to combat other chocolate product from rival companies such as Rondnoir dark chocolate. Cadbury will use distinct marketing ingredients because of their benefit in enhancing the new product market position (Brooksbank, 1991). The company has come up with a performance plan on how to distribute these new products to the various outlets so that they can reach to their fundamental target market of middle and upper class people with an age of 25 years and above. Cadbury’s competitive advantage position is based on its status in the market as compared to other products. Cadbury’s product quality ingredients and taste comprise of the company’s positioning gain (‘Cadbury’, 2014). The new chocolate products will be distributed to all chief gift stores, supermarket chains, delicatessens, chief department stores and specialized coffee shop franchises. Cadbury is the world principal confectionary company with a superior assortment of candies, gum, and chocolates. The company is famous for developing brands such as trident, Cadbury and halls. John Cadbury founded Cadbury Company in 1824. The company has expanded to multinational level with over 50000 employees and over 35000 suppliers across the globe. The company objective is to become the world’s principal and superlative confectionary company. Cadbury mainly focus on commercial operations in South America, Britain, Ireland, Africa, US, Middle East and the Pacific region. Consumer Analysis                  Cadbury Marketing approach and operations focus towards being the leading company in performance as well as maintaining its business operations. The worldwide confectionary market is attractive, large and with expanding dynamics. Cadbury has an estimated retail value of $141 billion. The key category is chocolate which take more than 50 percent of the world’s confectionary market (Cadbury, 2010). Internationally, the confectionary market is developing at the rate of 5 percent as compared to any other packaged foods. Cadbury has been able to create appropriate range that is available for all and to all. Cadbury’s major strength in Australia is in candy and chocolate. Chocolate remain the product that most clients seek a specific taste in every market. Cadbury Company SWOT Analysis Internal Environment Strength                  Cadbury is the chief confectionery company with an estimated market share of 10 percent. Cadbury also boast a strong financial stance. Cadbury is proficient in production because of its leadership in creativity and sturdy brand name. Cadbury mainly focus on manufacturing chewing gum, chocolate and candy, which has enabled the company to comprehend unique consumer segments. The acquisition strategy used by Cadbury since 2003 has enabled the company to venture in new markets (Cadbury, 2010). Weaknesses                  Cadbury entirely depends on beverages and confectioneries for its revenues whereas some of its rivals such as Nestle have differentiated products. The diversification strategy has enabled Cadbury’s competitors to achieve more profits. Cadbury has a strong market at Europe while their competitors have a strong super-national experience. Cadbury must keep on enhancing its understanding and presence of new markets so that they can maintain its competitive advantage. External environment Threats                  Internationally, the costs of production are increasing mainly because of cocoa, sugar, costs of energy, transport and packaging. This calls for Cadbury to situate its worldwide supply chains in appropriate areas. Pressure from branded competitors also results to increased cost of advertising. There is aggressive marketing as well as price wars. Cadbury products have also been influenced by increasing cases of calorie related conditions as well as obesity. Cadbury is also affected by existing firms since confectionery industry is overcrowded. Cadbury major rivals are Mars and Nestle who also create strong brands. Cadbury also face threat from products that can be used as substitutes to chocolate. These substitutes might have the same customer satisfaction, but sold at cheaper prices (Cadbury, 2010). Opportunities                  The worldwide confectionery market is famous for its fast emergence and acquisition capacity. This is an opportunity to Cadbury because it will enable the company to expand to new areas through acquisitions. There is increased demand for confectionery in the highly populated nations such as India and China which creates new markets. Cadbury must reduce its costs of production in order to survive in fast moving consumer goods. Cadbury has an opportunity to reduce costs through sensible investment in R & D, increase in supply chain effectiveness, and through outsourcing. Cadbury can achieve cost minimization by producing gums without sugar and Cadbury finest chocolate for enjoyment and treats. Cadbury range of products has a good reputation that claim for relatively strong pull. Cadbury is also known as established players in the confectionery market. Cadbury also can utilize economics of scale to negotiate for low cost raw materials. Cadbury works with best suppliers so that they can ensure low cost and consistent quality materials used to manufacture chocolate products. Industry Analysis                  Cadbury operates confectionery factories in Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. Premium chocolate market is rewarding in Australia and Cadbury aspires to advance this brand. Cadbury also propose that premium chocolate can be used as exciting gifts. Cadbury primary target is the upper and middle class people with an age above 25 years. Competitor analysis                  Cadbury wish to launch the innovative bite-sized chocolate to combat the competition from Rondnoir chocolate launched in 2009 by Ferrero. The new chocolate product will be packaged uniquely and include variety of fillings because the company target upper and middle class clients. Integrated Marketing communication plan                  Integrated marketing communications is the use of distinct media to maximize the efficiency of marketing communication scheme. Cadbury believes that brand communications is an expression of implied standards and the company’s figure evenness. IMC is a famous approach since people believe that it offers the only appropriate competitive gain of marketing organizations. Cadbury can use any form of communication approach as a marketing strategy since there are very many forms of communication. Brand marketing has taken over advertising. Cadbury can opt to advertise its new products in appropriate media such as a movie or high-profile sporting deal. Integrated marketing is very effective since it utilize different media qualities of media in communications that are cautiously designed to bring out consistent brand values regardless of the type of media encountered by the customer. The use of integrated marketing has been associated with the growth of global business. Mass media is a chief strategic element of marketing communication strategies. Market targets                  Cadbury’s primary target is middle and upper class individuals with an age over 25 years. Cadbury competitive advantage is based of the company’s reputation in the confectionery market with their existing products. Point of difference                  The innovative bite-sized chocolates will be packed exceptionally with variety of fillings. It will take over the current milk-tray boxed chocolate from Cadbury. Positioning strategy                  Chocolate lovers all over the world can now enjoy an optimum taste that is cautiously designed to ensure maximum utility as compared to any other chocolate. Cadbury believe that this is not a common chocolate, but it conveys an instantaneous message to chocolate lovers (Ryan & Jones, 2009). Communication Objectives                  Product awareness: Cadbury wish to attain at least 25 percent of trial rate within the entire end market within the first year of the launch. Interest: Cadbury wish to attain a re-purchase of at least one month amongst 50 percent of the companies that tried the product. Market penetration: The Company wishes to attain 1 percent of the market share of the grouping segment countrywide within the first year of launching. Evaluation: The Company can come up with a questionnaire to 40 percent of the new finest dark chocolate which compare it with Rondnoir dark chocolate by Ferrero. Trial: After assessing the new premium chocolate, the consumers are expected to prefer it owing to its exceptional packaging and bite-size. Adoption: The new premium chocolate from Cadbury is expected to have a 75 percent adoption, which implies that the consumer will purchase this premium chocolate and give positive reviews. Mixed strategies                  Cadbury will involve push and pull promotional approaches together in the launching of these new chocolate products. Utilization of different promotional strategies will enable the company to develop and intensify brand awareness. The new dark chocolate is at its introductory stage of product life cycle and thus it requires a lot of marketing. Cadbury can ensure they maintain a better market position by packaging their new premium chocolate like a gift. The reviews form key consumer market should be examined ad research tools applied to any point of contact such as packaging, letterhead, logistics among others to ensure a complete integrated marketing communication cycle (Ryan & Jones, 2009). Integrated marketing communication is very crucial since it enable to bring harmony in the company by incorporating various promotional tools. The advertising, sales and direct departments can cooperate through data integration. Cadbury can achieve data integration by setting up a marketing information system that collect and share appropriate information within the company departments. Cadbury will introduce the two new products using extensive advertising, penetration pricing and expanded distribution so that the company can increase its growth rate and revenues. Cadbury has managed to maintain market position because of excellent combination of extraordinary and cost-effective products. The rationale for every marketing plan is to ensure success of the project. Therefore it should outline appropriate tasks to be implemented, target clients, and the value of the product manufactured (Coen, 2009). Advertising                  Marketing requires a lot of finances because of creation of advertisements, thus the company must set enough finances for advertising campaign. For Cadbury to reach their target customers, they must consider both offline and online campaigns. The Company should also allocate enough funds to the offline marketing. Mass media adverts are to be designed to convey gratification message to the consumer. The adverts should also give appropriate reasons as to why they should abandon their current chocolate brands for the new premium chocolate manufactured by Cadbury. Product                  Cadbury are famous for their strong brand reputation and thus all their decisions regarding their product must be in line with brand image. Their packaging and product are designed to reflect who Cadbury are. The products reflect high nutritional and quality value and creativity Cadbury provide their clients while packaging incorporates the corporate brand logo and purple corporate brand color associated with quality and reliability. Cadbury products are in form of a twisted bar to entice chocolate lovers, packaging is also colorful to attract young adults, teenagers as well as children. Cadbury products meet EU food standards because they do not use forbidden additives and non-natural colorants (Hiebing et al, 2012). Price                  Pricing strategy is very significant in conveying the representation of a brand. This explains why Cadbury cautiously considers brand reputation and the value of the product, as well as the target market to determine its pricing of their products. For instance, Cadbury sells bar chocolates at a premium price as compared to chocolates from Tesco and Sainsbury. In deed, diverse Cadbury goods targeted at dissimilar segments of the market are priced differently. Placement                  Cadbury chooses their distribution approach based on the brand reputation of their products. For instance Cadbury dairy milk bar has range of product because they are targeted to mass consumer. Cadbury ranges of products are available in ‘mom and pop’ shops, hyper and supermarkets, convenience stores and chain retail outlets. Cadbury is accessible across all distribution centers in UK market (Hiebing et al, 2012). Promotion                  Cadbury cautiously chooses its communications strategies based on their target market and brand reputation to increase product awareness and create great customer base. Cadbury must choose appropriate promotional strategies because of the existing economic downturn so that they can achieve maximum profits from promotional expenditure. Cadbury has developed various websites for their brand. Cadbury has signed a contract with 2012 Olympic that was anticipated to give Cadbury brands global recognition (‘Cadbury’, 2014). The websites developed by Cadbury include: www.aglassandahalffullproduction.com, www.cadburycremeegg.co.uk and www.cadbury.co.uk. They also include advertisement through print media, TV and radio. Marketing budget                  Budget allocation for a marketing plan is determined by percentage of profits and sales. The budget for marketing plan will also be determined by annual profit and sales target of the existing products. It is most effective to determine marketing operations to be executed as well as the marketing goals to be attained while launching new products from Cadbury. A rational method of setting marketing plan on various promotional activities must consider objectives and operations (Rowlinson, 1993). Appraising and controlling the marketing plan                  There are many superior approaches of controlling and monitoring a marketing plan. Principles of balanced scorecard is one of the methods used to control and monitor marketing plan. Key issues that might face Cadbury while implementing marketing plan Too many brands and products Consumer awareness to entice more clients Pressure from consumers on health related matters Hefty legislations and values for industry The credit crunch and economic slowdown The likelihood that the market will shrivel Increased competition resulting to competitive prices Thriving in a challenging market Comprehending the competition Entry in new markets and launching new products Introduction of existing products in new markets Segmentation of market                  Cadbury has segmented chocolate market in UK based on psychographics, geography and demographics to discover the target market segments for their new products (Cadbury, 2010). References Brooksbank, R. (1991). Essential Characteristics for an Effective Marketing Plan. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 9(7), 17-20. Cadbury. (n.d.). Cadbury. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from http://www.cadbury.co.uk. Cadbury, D. (2010). Chocolate wars: from Cadbury to Kraft – 200 years of sweet success and bitter rivalry. London: HarperPress. Cadbury, D. (2010). Chocolate wars: the 150-year rivalry between the world’s greatest chocolate makers. New York: PublicAffairs. Coen, W. A. (2009). Marketing plan. S.l.: John Wiley And Sons. Hiebing, R. G., Cooper, S. W., & Wehrenberg, S. (2012). The successful marketing plan: how to create dynamic, results-oriented marketing (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Home Businesses Need a Marketing Plan Too. (n.d.). About. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from http://homebusiness.about.com/od/homebusinessglossar1/g/marketing-plan.htm Rowlinson, M. (1993). The Invention of Corporate Culture: A History of the Histories of Cadbury. Human Relations, 46(3), 299-326. Ryan, D., & Jones, C. (2009). Understanding digital marketing marketing strategies for engaging the digital generation. London: Kogan Page. Source document