Flash Fiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Flash Fiction - Essay Example Flash fiction Mr P was known for his combative approach in dealing with issues affecting the general public. The fact that he was approachable must be acknowledged from the onset. He was loved by all and sundry. On this fateful day, the members of parliament of his country had allegedly awarded themselves huge salaries and send off packages given that their terms in office were almost coming to an end. This did not go down well with Mr P who was known to object to the corrupt and unethical tendencies of the greedy members of parliament. He termed the move unfortunate, cruel, insensitive and highly regrettable. He then moved ahead and called the members of the public to hold a peaceful demonstration in order to express a public displeasure and dissatisfaction with the move of the law makers. It was around 4pm, barely two hours after Members of Parliament unanimously agreed to award themselves the packages, and the beautiful town of Ayoma was already thronged with crowds demonstrating. There was a lot of noise in the town. The businesses suddenly came to a standstill. Mr P was at the fore front, leading the demonstration. The crowd turned rowdy and almost unruly. The roads connecting the town to other major towns were blocked. It was not business as usual. The members of the media were all over the place covering the event. It was exactly 5 pm when a huge group of security officers were deployed to quell and calm the crowd that had become very rowdy. Gun shots were heard in the air. Tear gas and hot water was poured on the demonstrators. Mr P took the police head on, confronted them. A police officer caught him by the collar of his shirt. He fought back by giving a very hot slap on the cheek of the officer until the officer collapsed. He would later say that he did not have any intention of slapping the police officer, in fact, according to him, it is the officer that brought his cheeks closer to his hand. All in all, nobody dares the police and gets scot free. A s such, they arrested him. This worsened the already bad situation. A man of the people had been arrested by the police serving an irresponsible government. A man of the people had been put into a police vehicle, a â€Å"Black Maria† heading for the pathetic cell. The crowd could not take this lying down. Things took another turn, violence ensued. The groups engaged the police in running battles fighting for the release of their man. They used the weapons at their disposal to attack the police. Stones were coming towards the police from all directions like rain water. Containing the situation became difficult. More and more police officers were deployed to help ease the violence which had now moved from fighting with the police to looting of property from shops and other major business premises. At some point, a gunshot was heard and a sharp voice of a female reverberated through the crowd. It was the only sister of Mr P. She

Commentary on Tash Aws Harmony Silk Factory Essay Example for Free

Commentary on Tash Aws Harmony Silk Factory Essay The extract from the novel The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw, seems to serve as an introduction within the larger context of the complete novel. The central theme of the extract is the concept of appearance VS reality; some things are, in reality, not what they appear to be. Through the use of characterisation and setting, the author manages to bring out this theme. In addition, the use of setting and characterisation creates a degree of tension within the extract, and draws the reader into the story. Characterisation plays a major part in the extract. The main character of the extract is also the narrator. The narrator is characterised through the use of many literary devices; through his narration, aspects of his personality are revealed to the reader. We find that the narrator has two sides: the face he shows the world around him and the side that the reader is introduced to through his narration. The side that the narrator shows to the world around him and the side of him revealed to the reader are two different personalities. His external appearance is one of a quiet, non-existent, seemingly inconsequential person as can be seen from the fact that none of the visitors ever noticed [him]. However, this quiet exterior belies the fact that he observes all the comings and goings within the silk harmony factory. From my upstairs window, I saw everything unfold. Without father ever saying anything to me. The narrator is fully aware of all his fathers smuggling activities opium and heroin and Hennessy XO and bribing of the Thai soldierswith American cigarettes and low-grade gemstones but never lets his father catch on to that fact. The narrator also states that he is only of modest intellect and this is supported by his fathers belief that he would always be a dreamer and a wastrel. We find however, that his quiet demeanour conceals an observant, keen intellect. Contrary to his self-deprecating statement, we notice that he displays an extraordinary sense of awareness in a child of his age, suggesting that he is extremely intelligent. Even as a child he was aware of what [his] father did. His action of lifting the linoleum and pressing his ear to the floorboards to listen into his fathers Safe Room reveals to us his ingenuity and is a reflection of his intellect. While he does not mange to discern any information, he is sharp enough to realise that the low, muffled rumble was the tipping of diamonds onto the green baize table. While the narrator may appear to be of merely modest intellect, it seems that in reality he is incredibly intelligent for a young child. His self-deprecating statement also serves to highl ight his actual cleverness and quick mind. The theme of appearance VS reality can also be seen in the characterisation of two minor characters: the general and the young lady in the car. The narrator tells us that the general didnt look much like a soldier, but he had a Mercedes-Benz with a woman in the back seat, which would indicate a fairly high level of affluence and power which comes with the rank of a general in the army. With his cheap grey shirt and gold teeth, the man may not have looked like a general, but other indications would have exposed the reality of what he really was. This is similarly echoed in the characterisation of the young woman in the back seat of the car. The narrator describes her as having fair skin, almost pure white, the colour of salt fields on the coast. The narrator then goes on to state that she was young and beautiful, and when she smiled I saw her teeth were small and brown. This contrast between the state of her teeth and the colour of her skin further highlights the theme of appearance VS reality; while she appears to be pure and white on the outside, her teeth are dirty and decayed. This contrast is highlighted also by the use of visual imagery salt fields when describing the colour of her skin. Furthermore, the contrast between the general and the young woman also emphasizes the theme of appearance VS reality. The general wears a grey shirt, while the young woman is described as having white skin. Where the generals teeth are gold in colour, hers are small and brown. From this we can see that outward appearance does not seem to be a very good indicator of what the reality really is. Finally, the setting also contributes back to the theme of appearance VS reality. The name of the factory The harmony silk factory, which becomes synonymous with the house, gives no indication as to the activities of vice conducted there. Both physically and figuratively, the narrators house seems to be hiding behind the factory. The theme of appearance VS reality is manifested in the physical setting of the Harmony Silk Factory. The characterisation and setting, besides bringing out the theme of the appearance VS reality, also serves to create tension in the story and cause the reader to want to read on. The setting of the house, with its small mossy courtyard which never got enough sunlight gives the location of the extract an air of mystery; the lack of light and dampness of the place (as can be seen by the growth of moss) further builds upon the mysteriousness of the setting. This description appears in the first line of the extract, and the readers curiosity is pricked as to what actually goes on within the Harmony Silk factory. Also, the characterisation of the narrator serves to lead the reader on to read the rest of the novel. How is this achieved? Firstly, the narrator is a nameless, 1st person narrator. The use of the 1st person narration serves to give the tone of the extract a feeling of intimacy, or closeness to the subject matter. At the same time, his lack of a name distances him from the reader, again creating an air of mystery which surrounds him. Secondly, the tone of the narrator is very matter-of-fact. He describes somewhat shocking, illegal proceeds with the same tone one would use to describe everyday activities. He matter-of-factly states Mainly he smuggles opium and heroin and Hennessy XO and I knew what he was up to and whom he was with. The narrator describes theses happenings with a certain detachment which seems nonchalant or could be due to the fact that he is already used to this sort of behaviour. In fact, the narrator comes across as unfazed by all his fathers wrongdoings and does not seem affected in any way. This matter-of-fact tone is further highlighted by the narrators use of literary devices such as verbal irony. The use of verbal irony is evident throughout the extract. One of the first instances is in the 2nd paragraph in which the narrator describes the type of people who visit his house. He describes his Fathers clients as if they were guests or VIPs. Entry was strictly by invitation with privileged few being granted access; he states that only the liars, cheats, traitors and skirt chasers of the highest order are allowed in. These individuals have been seemingly elevated to a position of importance but by describing them in this way, the narrator has revealed them to be merely the scum of society. Another instance of verbal irony is in the line Now I would give everything to be the son of a mere liar and cheat. The irony is in the fact that the narrator views his father is so vile that he would rather be the son of someone who only cheats and lies. Also further irony can be found in the line my crime-funded education to good use. We find that he is now using his education, paid for by his fathers crimes, to uncover his fathers crimes. The use of verbal irony builds upon the narrators characterisation, as parts of his personality are slowly revealed to the reader. The narrator also uses an extremely convoluted and verbose way of narrating known as periphrasis. His manner of speaking is roundabout and elaborate. He uses ellipsis to interrupt his own narrative, partly for convenience the only people who came partly because my fathers varied The narrator constantly interjects his own narrative with interruptions and unnecessary lines such as gold, real solid gold. The use of unnecessarily long paragraphs to say a simple thing also add on to his convoluted manner of narration. The second last paragraph could have been shortened by saying I am now at peace and am not ashamed to reveal the story of my fathers life. However, he instead says there is another reason I now feel particularly well placedI am at peace. The use of periphrasis also heightens the melodramatic way the narrator leads the reader on. Phrases such as that wasnt all he was and I have searched for this all my life. Now, at last, I know the truth and I am no longer angry. In fact, I am at peace serve to heighten the tension within the paragraph. He describes his fathers past as terrible and the title he gives to his tale, The true story of the infamous Chinaman called Johnny, seems to elevate his fathers story to one legendary importance. The use of the phrase true story also lends a sense of credibility to his account. The revelation of the title to the reader is the climax of the tension that has been building in the last few paragraphs, albeit a somewhat anti-climatic one. This climax (or anti-climax) serves to leave the reader wanting more and leads the reader on to continue reading the rest of the story. The narrators self-deprecating and quirky way of narrating serves to endear the narrator to the reader. We also discover certain facts about his childhood through his narration. At no point in the extract does a narrator mention his mother. This may only be a conjecture, but the lack of a motherly figure in his life, a lack of love, may have contributed to his strange and unusual way of narrating and also his self-deprecating attitude. Also, we find that he may have endured physical abuse as a child from the line I had become used to this kind of punishment in response to his father twisting his ear. This makes the reader increasingly sympathetic to the narrator as the narrative progresses. Thus, when the narrator begins using melodrama to capture the attention of the reader and lead the reader on to the rest of the novel, the reader follows with little resistance. This characterisation and narration, coupled with the mysterious atmosphere created by the setting, creates a sort of tension which compels the reader to read on. It engages the reader and draws the reader into the world the author has created. As we have seen characterisation and setting both have a dual purpose. If this extract is the beginning of the novel, then the author has succeeded in drawing the reader into the novel. By using both characterisation and setting to bring out the theme and simultaneously create tension, the author has succeeded in creating a world with characters that engage readers and has successfully written an effective and exciting beginning to the novel.

Effectiveness of the World Cup Campaign on Lafarge Concreto

Effectiveness of the World Cup Campaign on Lafarge Concreto Executive Summary Primarily the study aims to give the reader an insight into the Indian Cement industry. The project aims to profile and understand the effectiveness of the World Cup campaign of Lafarge Concreto cement. The first phase will be to know the competitors of different brand of PSC cement in eastern India and analysis of their promotion by secondary research. The second phase will be the analysis of the World Cup promotional activities of different brands with celebrities. And then the analysis of the World Cup campaign of Lafarge Concreto with Dhoni is to be done. The third phase will be the comparison of the World Cup campaign of different brands/product with Lafarge Concretos World Cup campaign that will lead to some new findings which will help to formulate new ideas. The fourth phase is to know the effectiveness of the World Cup campaign of Lafarge with Dhoni with the help of a survey i.e. how customers are associating Dhoni as a brand ambassador of Lafarge Concreto, and their feedback about the product, the survey will include meeting dealers and the customers with questionnaire. The final phase will be the analysis of the survey, based on the suggestions and feedback from the customers, ideas will be formulated to improve the promotion which will help to create a strategy that will stay for longer time in future. A Stint at an Advertising Agency- Ogilvy An advertisement agency is a service provider. It provides services to its clients. The primary service of an ad agency is to create a goal oriented and effective advertisement and promotional campaign which aim at putting across the message of the company positively in the eyes of its target audience. In the face of stiff competition every company wants to have an edge over its competitors. Advertising agencies therefore also do the work of research for their clients. This helps the company to take informed decisions and the advertising agencies to create advertisements which break through the clutter and are attention grabbing, persuasive and unique. The main functions of an advertising agency are: Understanding the company, its products and target audience Doing research for better understanding Planning an advertising campaign Making strategies Creating the advertisement and other promotional campaign Measuring success of the campaign About Ogilvy Ogilvy Matheris an international advertising ,marketing and public relations agency based i nManhattan and owned by the WPP Group. The company operates 497 offices in 125 countries. It was founded in the year 1948 by David Ogilvy as â€Å"Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson, Mather in Manhattan. Rochelle Lazarus is the chairman andMiles Young is the CEO. Ogilvy opened its first agency in India in the year 1928. It was the first advertising agency in India. Ogilvy has launched many advertisements which have been very successful in all these years. The company in India operates with offices located in all the major cities. Piyush Pandey is the Executive Chairman and the Creative Director at Ogilvy Mather, South Asia. OGILVY OFFICES IN INDIA The focus areas include advertising, direct marketing, public relations and activation. Ogilvy Activation includes services in the non-traditional area of advertising Ogilvy Landscapes, Ogilvy Outreach, Ogilvy Live and Ogilvy Signscapes which together with the focused services consolidate offerings to clients. OM India is OM Internationals fifth largest operation in terms of profits, with the US ranking first and European nations occupying the other three positions. It is ranked Indias number one agency by Brand Equity survey on leadership, creative ability, investment in employees, client servicing, most influential people and great creative directors. Awards Recognitions OM has bagged several awards for print advertisements, TV ads and case study presentations. OM was awarded the Grand Effie Gold and Gold for service on Hutch, a campaign that won awards at the Abbies too; Gold Effiefor corporate advertising for the Cadbury Crisis Management. OM bagged three Bronze Lions at the Cannes Festival 2004 for two Public Health Safety campaigns for Hutch and one for Concern India Foundation; a Gold two Silvers at the Emvies, 1st Runner Up for Asias ‘Office of the Year 2004 by Media magazine, an award that spans 360 degree communication and HR. From Silver Pencil to Asian Brand Marketing Effectiveness awards for campaigns that include Advertising, PR, CSR, Interactive and Direct Marketing, OM has received recognition for its stature as Indias No. 1 communications agency. OM Mumbai was ranked 8th hottest shop in Asia by Campaign Brief Asia in 2002. Every business unit in OM has received recognition in the domestic and overseas markets. Ogilvy won three Gold, five Silver and five Bronze stacking up to 120 Points that won Ogilvy the title of EFFIE Agency of the Year 2009. Vodafone won EFFIE Client of the year in 2009.Ogilvy Kolkata won the Agency of the year in 2010 at Annual Calcutta Advertising Club awards for creative excellence. Ogilvy Kolkata won many award in ABBY awards in the year 2010. The categories in which OM Kolkata won metals are 5 silvers for the Lafarge and Concreto campaigns (category: Home/ dà ©cor/ lifestyle), 4 silvers for the Kolkata TV print campaign (category: Media), 1 Gold for Childrens Little Theatre radio spot (category Radio, services). List of Clients Vodafone Kolkata Circle Vodafone Rest of West Bengal Vodafone Orissa circle Vodafone Bihar circle Lafarge Concreto Lafarge Duragaurd Tata Steel Star Jalsa Coal India Aque Duct PVC pipes Tea board of India Organizatonal Structure of Ogilvy Operational Flow at Ogilvy At Ogilvy, the client servicing executives prepare and pitch a new product or service to a client. It is very important that the pitch is well structured, client centric and adds value to the company. Once the client appoints the advertising agency then the budgets are negotiated. For every new campaign the client briefs the client servicing executives about their requirements. The client servicing executives studies the brief in details and figures out the core need behind the requirement. According to the requirement there is negotiation with the client about the estimated amount which the client will be billed for the campaign. On the basis of the clients requirement and the detailed research by the executive, brief is given to the creative department about the campaign. After understanding the brief the creative department reverts back with the idea for the campaign. If the idea matches with the clients brief, the client servicing executive asks the creative department to proceed forward. The executives interact regularly with the client through emails and phone calls. After a lot of interaction with the client and the executives, the creative department prepares required creative as per the idea which was finalized. The client servicing executives gets an approval for the creative from the clients. After the executive finalizes the requirement all the creative which are finalized for the campaign are given to the studio operators. The studio operators do the adaptation of the creative in terms of different size requirement, change in the copy etc. They also make sure that all the mandatory guidelines given by the brands are incorporated in the promotional material. The studio operators do a lot of adaptations according to the region in which the campaign is to be released. This may require using the copy of the advertisement in various languages this is done by the translators. The translator translates the copy according to the local language. The final layouts are shared with the client for their approval, in form of JPEGs. The client reverts back and changes if any are made by the studio operators. Then the final advertisement is released for printing. Apart from the print ad client may require radio advertisements, television commercial, audio visual or any other innovative material for promotions. The client servicing interacts with the respective vendors and gets the work done. Introduction Indian Cement Industry An Overview Indian cement industry dates back to 1914 first unit was set-up at Porbandar, with a capacity of 1000 tones. [2] India manufactures 251.2 Million Tones of cement per year. Indias per capita cement consumption is only 156 kilograms against Chinas 600 kilograms. [4] Cement sales primarily through a distribution channel. Ready mix concrete a relatively nascent market in India. Installed Capacity Indian Cement industry is comprised of 148 large cement plants with around 46 member companies. The installed capacity of these large cement plants is estimated to be 219.17 million tones during 2009-10 (as on March 2009).There are 95 large cement plants with capacity of million tones and above and around 1, 40,000 manpower is employed under these plants (one MnT cement generates downstream employment to 50,000 persons). Also, there are 365 mini and white cement plants with an installed capacity of 11.10 million tones (P). [3] Statistics Cement Production Despatches (P) Source: Cement Manufacturers Association Cement production during April to January 2010-11 was 136.51 million tones as compared to 130.85 million tones during the same period for the year 2009-10. Despatches were estimated at 135.56 million tones during April to January 2010-11 whereas during the same period for the year 2009-10, it stood at 130.09 million tones. [3] Cement sector is characterized by the following Units concentrated near raw material sources or markets Power intensive High freight costs Small value chain Regional variation and volatility in prices and margins High debt levels Regional distribution of demand Seasonality of demand and cyclicality of the industry High entry barriers Consumer Demographics Buying Patterns of Indian Consumers The per capita consumption of cement in India is very low, as compared with the developed economies and the overall world average per capita cement consumption. The per capita consumption of cement in India is even less than that in Africa, a relatively underdeveloped continent. Over the past decade, the per capita cement consumption of cement has increased in most states, except Chandigarh, where it has declined by 7 %. Mechanics of Distribution Channels of Sector Companies invariably hire carrying forwarding agents or transport cements to own or government warehouses either via roadway or railways. Incase of exports, cement reaches the nearest port via roadways or railways and is then transferred to the importing country. Domestically, from warehouses the cement is transported to the dealers/distributors and in turn to sub dealers who finally sell it to the end users. There may or may not be physical ownership of goods. In the second case, dealers and sub dealers take order from buyers and place it to the companies, co ordinate and monitor the timely dispatch of said orders, transportation of goods and final delivery. Distributor network in cement industry is highly dominating and companies are compelled to hire as they do not really have that rapport and touch with the end consumer of their product. Apart, from this, the distributors have storage facilities as well which help control well in the entire supply chain as they are the ones who bring orders and therefore are directly responsible for the business that a manufacturer would do. Demand drivers Infrastructure construction sector the major demand drivers. Some demand determinants Economic growth Industrial activity Real estate business Construction activity Investments in the core sector Factors and causes behind the successful flourishing of the cement industries in India Technological change: The government and the industries are upgrading the quality and the technology that are used in the process of production. New investment are in process that are sure to make a change in whole processing and the output of cement There are host of companies are merging together to make their capacity and the produce big and this would lead to a greater development in the cement production. The real estate market is much optimistic and hence this helps in the growth and the enhancement in the field of cement production and investments. Companies and the investors are spending more on the infrastructure of this sector. Various national programs are taken in like National Rural Employment Guarantee, Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Indira Aawas Yojana. Different Types of Cement There are different varieties of cement based on different compositions according to specific end uses, namely Ordinary Portland Cement, Portland Pozolona Cement, Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement, White Cement and Specialized Cement. The basic difference lies in the percentage of clinker used. [5] 1. Ordinary Portland cement (OPC): OPC, popularly known as grey cement Clinker 95% Gypsum 5% Other materials White cement is a variation of OPC and is used for decorative purposes like rendering of walls, flooring etc. It contains a very low proportion of iron oxide. The applications are cover dry-lean mixes, general-purpose ready-mixes, and even high strength pre-cast and pre-stressed concrete. 2. Portland Pozolona Cement (PPC): Portland pozzolana cement is Ordinary Portland Cement blended with pozzolanic materials (power-station fly ash, burnt clays, ash from burnt plant material or Siliceous earths), either together or separately. Portland clinker is ground with Gypsum and Pozzolanic materials which, though they do not have cementing properties in themselves, combine chemically with Portland cement in the presence of water to form extra strong cementing material which resists wet cracking, thermal cracking and has a high degree of cohesion and workability in concrete. Clinker 80% Pozzolana 15% Gypsum 5% It is cheaply manufactured because it uses fly ash/burnt clay/coal waste as the main ingredient. It has a lower heat of hydration, which helps in preventing cracks. 3. Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement (PBFSC): Portland blast-furnace slag cement contains up to 70 per cent of finely ground, granulated blast-furnace slag, a nonmetallic product consisting essentially of Silicates and Aluminum-silicates of Calcium. Slag brings with it the advantage of the energy invested in the slag making. Grinding slag for cement replacement takes only 25 per cent of the energy needed to manufacture Portland cement. Using slag cement to replace a portion of Portland cement in a concrete mixture is a useful method to make concrete better and more consistent. Portland blast-furnace slag cement has a lighter color, better concrete workability, easier finish ability, higher compressive and flexural strength, lower permeability, improved resistance to aggressive chemicals and more consistent plastic and hardened consistency. It has a heat of hydration even lower than PPC and is generally used in construction of dams and similar massive constructions. Clinker 45% Blast furnace slag 50% Gypsum 5% 4. White Cement: White Portland cement has essentially the same properties as gray cement, except for color, which is a very important quality control issue in the industry. It is manufactured using fuel oil (instead of coal) and with iron oxide content below 0.4% to ensure whiteness. Special cooling technique is used. It is used to enhance aesthetic value, in tiles and for flooring. White cement is much more expensive than grey cement. 5. Specialized Cement: Oil Well Cement: is made from clinker with special additives to prevent any porosity. Rapid Hardening Portland cement: It is similar to OPC, except that it is ground much finer, so that on casting, the compressible strength increases rapidly. 5 Source. www.acclimited.com Major players in cement industry 1) Associated Cement Companies Ltd (ACC) ACC Limited is Indias foremost cement manufacturer with a countrywide network of factories and marketing offices. Established in 1936, ACC has been a pioneer and trend-setter in cement and concrete technology.[5] ACC manufactures the following types of cement, in addition to which, it provides Bulk Cement and Ready Mix Concrete. Ordinary Portland Cements: 43 Grade Cement (OPC 43 Grade), 53 Grade Cement Blended Cements: Fly-ash based Portland Pozzolana Cement, Portland Slag Cement Table No.1- ACC plants 2) Birla Corp Table No.2- Birla cement plants 3) UltraTech UltraTech Cement Limited has an annual capacity of 52 million tones. It manufactures and markets Ordinary Portland Cement, Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement and Portland Pozzalana Cement. It also manufactures ready mix concrete (RMC). The company has 11 integrated plants, one white cement plant, one clinkerisation plant in UAE, 15 grinding units 11 in India, 2 in UAE, one in Bahrain and Bangladesh each and five terminals — four in India and one in Sri Lanka. UltraTech Cement is the countrys largest exporter of cement clinker. The export markets span countries around the Indian Ocean, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. UltraTechs subsidiaries are Dakshin Cements Limited, Harish Cements Limited, UltraTech Ceylinco (P) Limited and UltraTech Cement Middle East Investments Limited. [11] Table No.3- Ultratech cement plants The company has an annual capacity of 48.8 million tonnes, and manufactures and markets ordinary portland cement, portland blast furnace slag cement and portland pozzalana cement. 4) Ambuja Cements Ltd Ambuja Cements Ltd. (ACL) is one of the leading cement manufacturing companies in India. The Company, initially called Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd., was founded in 1983. The Company commenced cement production in 1986. The global cement major Holcim acquired management control of ACL in 2006. Holcim today holds little over 46% equity in ACL. The Company is currently known as Ambuja Cements Ltd. ACL has grown dynamically over the past decade. Its current cement capacity is about 25 million tones. The Company has five integrated cement manufacturing plants and eight cement grinding units across the country. ACL enjoys a reputation of being one of the most efficient cement manufacturers in the world. Its environment protection measures are on par with the finest in the country. It is one of the most profitable and innovative cement companies in India. [9] Table No.4- Ambuja cement plants 5) Jaiprakash Associates Limited Jaypee group is the 3rd largest cement producer in the country. The groups cement facilities are located in the Satna Cluster (U.P), which has one of the highest cement production growth rates in India. The group produces special blend of Portland Pozzolana Cement under the brand name ‘Jaypee Cement (PPC). Its Cement Division currently operates modern, computerized process control cement plants with an aggregate capacity of 21.30 MnTPA. The company is in the midst of capacity expansion of its cement business in Northern, Southern, Central, Eastern and Western parts of the country and is slated to be 37.55 MnTPA by FY12 (expected) with Captive Thermal Power Plants totaling 702MW.[7] Table No.5- Jaypee cement plants 6) Binani Cement Binani Cement Limited is the flagship subsidiary of Binani Industries Limited (BIL), representing the Braj Binani Group. The cement business started operations in 1997, in Sirohi District, Rajasthan. The Companys product portfolio includes Ordinary Portland Cement, Pozzolona Portland Cement and Ground Granulated Blast furnace Slag (GGBFS). [10] Binani Cement Ltd. produces cement of two grades: Grade 43 Grade 53 PPC (Portland Pozzolana Cement) The Binani Cement Plant is in Pindwara, District Sirohi, Rajasthan 2Source. http://www.ibef.org/industry/cement.aspx 3Source.http://www.indiainbusiness.nic.in/industry-infrastructure/industrial-sectors/Cement.htm 4Source. http://www.reportlinker.com/p0243979/Industry-Analysis-Cement.html About Lafarge Cement Lafarge is the leader in building materials; with a turnover of $15.88 billion in 2009. It has been in operation since way back in history in 1833; when it started as a limestone mining company. But as far as the Indian market goes, Lafarge actually began operations in 1999. And then began a slew of expansion plans in the Indian market; combined with a number of insightful, and at times, path breaking marketing initiatives. Lafarge currently has three cement plants in India: two integrated plants in the state of Chhattisgarh and a grinding station in Jharkhand. Total cement production capacity of Lafarge in the Indian market currently stands at around 5.5 million tons. Lafarge India produces different types of cements like Portland Slag Cement, Portland Pozzolana Cement. The company is a leading cement player in Eastern India. Its brands Lafarge Cement and Lafarge Concreto Cement enjoy high brand equity here and are amongst the highest priced brands. Lafarge is committed to the India n market and has firm plans to expand its capacity in India. Lafarge enjoys high brand equity through its different brands; Lafarge Concreto, Lafarge Duragard and Lafarge Cement Lafarge Concreto Lafarge Concreto has been launched by Lafarge to meet the need of homebuilders in India for truly premium all-purpose cement. Concreto was developed in Lafarges state-of-the art laboratories, which are extensively networked with its Central Research Institute in France. The company has leveraged its combined know-how of more than 170 years and its experience across 75 countries to develop this unique product. Concreto is a specially engineered, premium quality ‘all purpose cement. It can be used for varied applications like roofing, foundations, beams, columns, plastering and brickwork. It is specially formulated to provide a denser concrete mix than normal cements. Concreto is characterized by: High ultimate strength due to the addition of highly reactive silica containing more than 95% glass content. Enhanced durability due to optimum pore refinement and consequently denser concrete matrix this improves the impermeability of the concrete. Exceptionally high resistance to chemical attack (sulphates and acids). Protects reinforcement from corrosion. Reduction of structural cracks due to lower heat of hydration than ordinary cements. Low heat of hydration and higher resistance against alkali-reactive aggregates. Cement Plants Lafarge currently hasfour cement plants in India: two integrated plants in the state of Chhattisgarh,onegrinding station each in Jharkhand West Bengal. Total cement production capacity of Lafarge in the Indian market currently stands at around 6.5 million tons. Table No.6- Lafarge cement plants Segmentation Cement is a bulk commodity so the industry is mainly product based. Segmentation is based on its various products i.e. Portland pozzolona cement, quick hardening cement and ready mix cement. Business to business (B2B) Cement industry deals with real estate, construction companies and other institution. For example Real estate sector Business to consumer (B2C) Cement industry deals with individual customers. For example Individual home builders Industry focuses on relationship approach, so as to build and maintain trust centered relationship. The cement Industry is mostly done through mass marketing, as it doesnt have any customized product for any specific group of customers. Marketing Mix The 4 Ps of marketing mix comprises of: Product Place Price Promotion Figure No.2 Marketing Mix 1) Product Cement industry has various ranges of products. For example: 2 Effectiveness of the World Cup Campaign on Lafarge Concreto Effectiveness of the World Cup Campaign on Lafarge Concreto Executive Summary Primarily the study aims to give the reader an insight into the Indian Cement industry. The project aims to profile and understand the effectiveness of the World Cup campaign of Lafarge Concreto cement. The first phase will be to know the competitors of different brand of PSC cement in eastern India and analysis of their promotion by secondary research. The second phase will be the analysis of the World Cup promotional activities of different brands with celebrities. And then the analysis of the World Cup campaign of Lafarge Concreto with Dhoni is to be done. The third phase will be the comparison of the World Cup campaign of different brands/product with Lafarge Concretos World Cup campaign that will lead to some new findings which will help to formulate new ideas. The fourth phase is to know the effectiveness of the World Cup campaign of Lafarge with Dhoni with the help of a survey i.e. how customers are associating Dhoni as a brand ambassador of Lafarge Concreto, and their feedback about the product, the survey will include meeting dealers and the customers with questionnaire. The final phase will be the analysis of the survey, based on the suggestions and feedback from the customers, ideas will be formulated to improve the promotion which will help to create a strategy that will stay for longer time in future. A Stint at an Advertising Agency- Ogilvy An advertisement agency is a service provider. It provides services to its clients. The primary service of an ad agency is to create a goal oriented and effective advertisement and promotional campaign which aim at putting across the message of the company positively in the eyes of its target audience. In the face of stiff competition every company wants to have an edge over its competitors. Advertising agencies therefore also do the work of research for their clients. This helps the company to take informed decisions and the advertising agencies to create advertisements which break through the clutter and are attention grabbing, persuasive and unique. The main functions of an advertising agency are: Understanding the company, its products and target audience Doing research for better understanding Planning an advertising campaign Making strategies Creating the advertisement and other promotional campaign Measuring success of the campaign About Ogilvy Ogilvy Matheris an international advertising ,marketing and public relations agency based i nManhattan and owned by the WPP Group. The company operates 497 offices in 125 countries. It was founded in the year 1948 by David Ogilvy as â€Å"Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson, Mather in Manhattan. Rochelle Lazarus is the chairman andMiles Young is the CEO. Ogilvy opened its first agency in India in the year 1928. It was the first advertising agency in India. Ogilvy has launched many advertisements which have been very successful in all these years. The company in India operates with offices located in all the major cities. Piyush Pandey is the Executive Chairman and the Creative Director at Ogilvy Mather, South Asia. OGILVY OFFICES IN INDIA The focus areas include advertising, direct marketing, public relations and activation. Ogilvy Activation includes services in the non-traditional area of advertising Ogilvy Landscapes, Ogilvy Outreach, Ogilvy Live and Ogilvy Signscapes which together with the focused services consolidate offerings to clients. OM India is OM Internationals fifth largest operation in terms of profits, with the US ranking first and European nations occupying the other three positions. It is ranked Indias number one agency by Brand Equity survey on leadership, creative ability, investment in employees, client servicing, most influential people and great creative directors. Awards Recognitions OM has bagged several awards for print advertisements, TV ads and case study presentations. OM was awarded the Grand Effie Gold and Gold for service on Hutch, a campaign that won awards at the Abbies too; Gold Effiefor corporate advertising for the Cadbury Crisis Management. OM bagged three Bronze Lions at the Cannes Festival 2004 for two Public Health Safety campaigns for Hutch and one for Concern India Foundation; a Gold two Silvers at the Emvies, 1st Runner Up for Asias ‘Office of the Year 2004 by Media magazine, an award that spans 360 degree communication and HR. From Silver Pencil to Asian Brand Marketing Effectiveness awards for campaigns that include Advertising, PR, CSR, Interactive and Direct Marketing, OM has received recognition for its stature as Indias No. 1 communications agency. OM Mumbai was ranked 8th hottest shop in Asia by Campaign Brief Asia in 2002. Every business unit in OM has received recognition in the domestic and overseas markets. Ogilvy won three Gold, five Silver and five Bronze stacking up to 120 Points that won Ogilvy the title of EFFIE Agency of the Year 2009. Vodafone won EFFIE Client of the year in 2009.Ogilvy Kolkata won the Agency of the year in 2010 at Annual Calcutta Advertising Club awards for creative excellence. Ogilvy Kolkata won many award in ABBY awards in the year 2010. The categories in which OM Kolkata won metals are 5 silvers for the Lafarge and Concreto campaigns (category: Home/ dà ©cor/ lifestyle), 4 silvers for the Kolkata TV print campaign (category: Media), 1 Gold for Childrens Little Theatre radio spot (category Radio, services). List of Clients Vodafone Kolkata Circle Vodafone Rest of West Bengal Vodafone Orissa circle Vodafone Bihar circle Lafarge Concreto Lafarge Duragaurd Tata Steel Star Jalsa Coal India Aque Duct PVC pipes Tea board of India Organizatonal Structure of Ogilvy Operational Flow at Ogilvy At Ogilvy, the client servicing executives prepare and pitch a new product or service to a client. It is very important that the pitch is well structured, client centric and adds value to the company. Once the client appoints the advertising agency then the budgets are negotiated. For every new campaign the client briefs the client servicing executives about their requirements. The client servicing executives studies the brief in details and figures out the core need behind the requirement. According to the requirement there is negotiation with the client about the estimated amount which the client will be billed for the campaign. On the basis of the clients requirement and the detailed research by the executive, brief is given to the creative department about the campaign. After understanding the brief the creative department reverts back with the idea for the campaign. If the idea matches with the clients brief, the client servicing executive asks the creative department to proceed forward. The executives interact regularly with the client through emails and phone calls. After a lot of interaction with the client and the executives, the creative department prepares required creative as per the idea which was finalized. The client servicing executives gets an approval for the creative from the clients. After the executive finalizes the requirement all the creative which are finalized for the campaign are given to the studio operators. The studio operators do the adaptation of the creative in terms of different size requirement, change in the copy etc. They also make sure that all the mandatory guidelines given by the brands are incorporated in the promotional material. The studio operators do a lot of adaptations according to the region in which the campaign is to be released. This may require using the copy of the advertisement in various languages this is done by the translators. The translator translates the copy according to the local language. The final layouts are shared with the client for their approval, in form of JPEGs. The client reverts back and changes if any are made by the studio operators. Then the final advertisement is released for printing. Apart from the print ad client may require radio advertisements, television commercial, audio visual or any other innovative material for promotions. The client servicing interacts with the respective vendors and gets the work done. Introduction Indian Cement Industry An Overview Indian cement industry dates back to 1914 first unit was set-up at Porbandar, with a capacity of 1000 tones. [2] India manufactures 251.2 Million Tones of cement per year. Indias per capita cement consumption is only 156 kilograms against Chinas 600 kilograms. [4] Cement sales primarily through a distribution channel. Ready mix concrete a relatively nascent market in India. Installed Capacity Indian Cement industry is comprised of 148 large cement plants with around 46 member companies. The installed capacity of these large cement plants is estimated to be 219.17 million tones during 2009-10 (as on March 2009).There are 95 large cement plants with capacity of million tones and above and around 1, 40,000 manpower is employed under these plants (one MnT cement generates downstream employment to 50,000 persons). Also, there are 365 mini and white cement plants with an installed capacity of 11.10 million tones (P). [3] Statistics Cement Production Despatches (P) Source: Cement Manufacturers Association Cement production during April to January 2010-11 was 136.51 million tones as compared to 130.85 million tones during the same period for the year 2009-10. Despatches were estimated at 135.56 million tones during April to January 2010-11 whereas during the same period for the year 2009-10, it stood at 130.09 million tones. [3] Cement sector is characterized by the following Units concentrated near raw material sources or markets Power intensive High freight costs Small value chain Regional variation and volatility in prices and margins High debt levels Regional distribution of demand Seasonality of demand and cyclicality of the industry High entry barriers Consumer Demographics Buying Patterns of Indian Consumers The per capita consumption of cement in India is very low, as compared with the developed economies and the overall world average per capita cement consumption. The per capita consumption of cement in India is even less than that in Africa, a relatively underdeveloped continent. Over the past decade, the per capita cement consumption of cement has increased in most states, except Chandigarh, where it has declined by 7 %. Mechanics of Distribution Channels of Sector Companies invariably hire carrying forwarding agents or transport cements to own or government warehouses either via roadway or railways. Incase of exports, cement reaches the nearest port via roadways or railways and is then transferred to the importing country. Domestically, from warehouses the cement is transported to the dealers/distributors and in turn to sub dealers who finally sell it to the end users. There may or may not be physical ownership of goods. In the second case, dealers and sub dealers take order from buyers and place it to the companies, co ordinate and monitor the timely dispatch of said orders, transportation of goods and final delivery. Distributor network in cement industry is highly dominating and companies are compelled to hire as they do not really have that rapport and touch with the end consumer of their product. Apart, from this, the distributors have storage facilities as well which help control well in the entire supply chain as they are the ones who bring orders and therefore are directly responsible for the business that a manufacturer would do. Demand drivers Infrastructure construction sector the major demand drivers. Some demand determinants Economic growth Industrial activity Real estate business Construction activity Investments in the core sector Factors and causes behind the successful flourishing of the cement industries in India Technological change: The government and the industries are upgrading the quality and the technology that are used in the process of production. New investment are in process that are sure to make a change in whole processing and the output of cement There are host of companies are merging together to make their capacity and the produce big and this would lead to a greater development in the cement production. The real estate market is much optimistic and hence this helps in the growth and the enhancement in the field of cement production and investments. Companies and the investors are spending more on the infrastructure of this sector. Various national programs are taken in like National Rural Employment Guarantee, Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Indira Aawas Yojana. Different Types of Cement There are different varieties of cement based on different compositions according to specific end uses, namely Ordinary Portland Cement, Portland Pozolona Cement, Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement, White Cement and Specialized Cement. The basic difference lies in the percentage of clinker used. [5] 1. Ordinary Portland cement (OPC): OPC, popularly known as grey cement Clinker 95% Gypsum 5% Other materials White cement is a variation of OPC and is used for decorative purposes like rendering of walls, flooring etc. It contains a very low proportion of iron oxide. The applications are cover dry-lean mixes, general-purpose ready-mixes, and even high strength pre-cast and pre-stressed concrete. 2. Portland Pozolona Cement (PPC): Portland pozzolana cement is Ordinary Portland Cement blended with pozzolanic materials (power-station fly ash, burnt clays, ash from burnt plant material or Siliceous earths), either together or separately. Portland clinker is ground with Gypsum and Pozzolanic materials which, though they do not have cementing properties in themselves, combine chemically with Portland cement in the presence of water to form extra strong cementing material which resists wet cracking, thermal cracking and has a high degree of cohesion and workability in concrete. Clinker 80% Pozzolana 15% Gypsum 5% It is cheaply manufactured because it uses fly ash/burnt clay/coal waste as the main ingredient. It has a lower heat of hydration, which helps in preventing cracks. 3. Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement (PBFSC): Portland blast-furnace slag cement contains up to 70 per cent of finely ground, granulated blast-furnace slag, a nonmetallic product consisting essentially of Silicates and Aluminum-silicates of Calcium. Slag brings with it the advantage of the energy invested in the slag making. Grinding slag for cement replacement takes only 25 per cent of the energy needed to manufacture Portland cement. Using slag cement to replace a portion of Portland cement in a concrete mixture is a useful method to make concrete better and more consistent. Portland blast-furnace slag cement has a lighter color, better concrete workability, easier finish ability, higher compressive and flexural strength, lower permeability, improved resistance to aggressive chemicals and more consistent plastic and hardened consistency. It has a heat of hydration even lower than PPC and is generally used in construction of dams and similar massive constructions. Clinker 45% Blast furnace slag 50% Gypsum 5% 4. White Cement: White Portland cement has essentially the same properties as gray cement, except for color, which is a very important quality control issue in the industry. It is manufactured using fuel oil (instead of coal) and with iron oxide content below 0.4% to ensure whiteness. Special cooling technique is used. It is used to enhance aesthetic value, in tiles and for flooring. White cement is much more expensive than grey cement. 5. Specialized Cement: Oil Well Cement: is made from clinker with special additives to prevent any porosity. Rapid Hardening Portland cement: It is similar to OPC, except that it is ground much finer, so that on casting, the compressible strength increases rapidly. 5 Source. www.acclimited.com Major players in cement industry 1) Associated Cement Companies Ltd (ACC) ACC Limited is Indias foremost cement manufacturer with a countrywide network of factories and marketing offices. Established in 1936, ACC has been a pioneer and trend-setter in cement and concrete technology.[5] ACC manufactures the following types of cement, in addition to which, it provides Bulk Cement and Ready Mix Concrete. Ordinary Portland Cements: 43 Grade Cement (OPC 43 Grade), 53 Grade Cement Blended Cements: Fly-ash based Portland Pozzolana Cement, Portland Slag Cement Table No.1- ACC plants 2) Birla Corp Table No.2- Birla cement plants 3) UltraTech UltraTech Cement Limited has an annual capacity of 52 million tones. It manufactures and markets Ordinary Portland Cement, Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement and Portland Pozzalana Cement. It also manufactures ready mix concrete (RMC). The company has 11 integrated plants, one white cement plant, one clinkerisation plant in UAE, 15 grinding units 11 in India, 2 in UAE, one in Bahrain and Bangladesh each and five terminals — four in India and one in Sri Lanka. UltraTech Cement is the countrys largest exporter of cement clinker. The export markets span countries around the Indian Ocean, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. UltraTechs subsidiaries are Dakshin Cements Limited, Harish Cements Limited, UltraTech Ceylinco (P) Limited and UltraTech Cement Middle East Investments Limited. [11] Table No.3- Ultratech cement plants The company has an annual capacity of 48.8 million tonnes, and manufactures and markets ordinary portland cement, portland blast furnace slag cement and portland pozzalana cement. 4) Ambuja Cements Ltd Ambuja Cements Ltd. (ACL) is one of the leading cement manufacturing companies in India. The Company, initially called Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd., was founded in 1983. The Company commenced cement production in 1986. The global cement major Holcim acquired management control of ACL in 2006. Holcim today holds little over 46% equity in ACL. The Company is currently known as Ambuja Cements Ltd. ACL has grown dynamically over the past decade. Its current cement capacity is about 25 million tones. The Company has five integrated cement manufacturing plants and eight cement grinding units across the country. ACL enjoys a reputation of being one of the most efficient cement manufacturers in the world. Its environment protection measures are on par with the finest in the country. It is one of the most profitable and innovative cement companies in India. [9] Table No.4- Ambuja cement plants 5) Jaiprakash Associates Limited Jaypee group is the 3rd largest cement producer in the country. The groups cement facilities are located in the Satna Cluster (U.P), which has one of the highest cement production growth rates in India. The group produces special blend of Portland Pozzolana Cement under the brand name ‘Jaypee Cement (PPC). Its Cement Division currently operates modern, computerized process control cement plants with an aggregate capacity of 21.30 MnTPA. The company is in the midst of capacity expansion of its cement business in Northern, Southern, Central, Eastern and Western parts of the country and is slated to be 37.55 MnTPA by FY12 (expected) with Captive Thermal Power Plants totaling 702MW.[7] Table No.5- Jaypee cement plants 6) Binani Cement Binani Cement Limited is the flagship subsidiary of Binani Industries Limited (BIL), representing the Braj Binani Group. The cement business started operations in 1997, in Sirohi District, Rajasthan. The Companys product portfolio includes Ordinary Portland Cement, Pozzolona Portland Cement and Ground Granulated Blast furnace Slag (GGBFS). [10] Binani Cement Ltd. produces cement of two grades: Grade 43 Grade 53 PPC (Portland Pozzolana Cement) The Binani Cement Plant is in Pindwara, District Sirohi, Rajasthan 2Source. http://www.ibef.org/industry/cement.aspx 3Source.http://www.indiainbusiness.nic.in/industry-infrastructure/industrial-sectors/Cement.htm 4Source. http://www.reportlinker.com/p0243979/Industry-Analysis-Cement.html About Lafarge Cement Lafarge is the leader in building materials; with a turnover of $15.88 billion in 2009. It has been in operation since way back in history in 1833; when it started as a limestone mining company. But as far as the Indian market goes, Lafarge actually began operations in 1999. And then began a slew of expansion plans in the Indian market; combined with a number of insightful, and at times, path breaking marketing initiatives. Lafarge currently has three cement plants in India: two integrated plants in the state of Chhattisgarh and a grinding station in Jharkhand. Total cement production capacity of Lafarge in the Indian market currently stands at around 5.5 million tons. Lafarge India produces different types of cements like Portland Slag Cement, Portland Pozzolana Cement. The company is a leading cement player in Eastern India. Its brands Lafarge Cement and Lafarge Concreto Cement enjoy high brand equity here and are amongst the highest priced brands. Lafarge is committed to the India n market and has firm plans to expand its capacity in India. Lafarge enjoys high brand equity through its different brands; Lafarge Concreto, Lafarge Duragard and Lafarge Cement Lafarge Concreto Lafarge Concreto has been launched by Lafarge to meet the need of homebuilders in India for truly premium all-purpose cement. Concreto was developed in Lafarges state-of-the art laboratories, which are extensively networked with its Central Research Institute in France. The company has leveraged its combined know-how of more than 170 years and its experience across 75 countries to develop this unique product. Concreto is a specially engineered, premium quality ‘all purpose cement. It can be used for varied applications like roofing, foundations, beams, columns, plastering and brickwork. It is specially formulated to provide a denser concrete mix than normal cements. Concreto is characterized by: High ultimate strength due to the addition of highly reactive silica containing more than 95% glass content. Enhanced durability due to optimum pore refinement and consequently denser concrete matrix this improves the impermeability of the concrete. Exceptionally high resistance to chemical attack (sulphates and acids). Protects reinforcement from corrosion. Reduction of structural cracks due to lower heat of hydration than ordinary cements. Low heat of hydration and higher resistance against alkali-reactive aggregates. Cement Plants Lafarge currently hasfour cement plants in India: two integrated plants in the state of Chhattisgarh,onegrinding station each in Jharkhand West Bengal. Total cement production capacity of Lafarge in the Indian market currently stands at around 6.5 million tons. Table No.6- Lafarge cement plants Segmentation Cement is a bulk commodity so the industry is mainly product based. Segmentation is based on its various products i.e. Portland pozzolona cement, quick hardening cement and ready mix cement. Business to business (B2B) Cement industry deals with real estate, construction companies and other institution. For example Real estate sector Business to consumer (B2C) Cement industry deals with individual customers. For example Individual home builders Industry focuses on relationship approach, so as to build and maintain trust centered relationship. The cement Industry is mostly done through mass marketing, as it doesnt have any customized product for any specific group of customers. Marketing Mix The 4 Ps of marketing mix comprises of: Product Place Price Promotion Figure No.2 Marketing Mix 1) Product Cement industry has various ranges of products. For example: 2

America Does NOT Need Gun Control Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Es

America Does Not Need Gun Control    There are presently in excess of 200 million guns in the United States, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms   Each year this number grows by 4 to 5 million. There are 60 to 65 million legal owners of one or more guns.1   There is a firearm on the premises of more than half the households in America.   Most gun owners keep guns for protection.   Others keep them for hunting, target shooting, collecting, and similar pursuits. In recent years nearly 35,000 people have been killed annually by guns in the United States.   These deaths include 15,000 murders, 18,000 suicides, and 1,500 accidents.2   It is because of these statistics that many would like to ban guns altogether. But is that really in your best interest?   Would it really benefit this country, or reduce the number of murders in this country? Consider the evidence   in this article and you will see that guns should not be outlawed and that less gun control in necessary to preserve what the founders of this country believed in. Guns are Beneficial Guns can help prevent crime.   This is a view held by many opponents to gun control.   The criminals themselves agree. As part of   a three - year study by the U. S. Department of Justice, criminals in prisons across the nation were interviewed.   Sixty percent feared being shot by an armed citizen more than being shot by the police.   fifty - three percent did not commit   a specific crime because they were afraid the victim was armed.  Ã‚   Fifty - seven percent of them were scared off by an armed victim who either brandished a gun or actually fired it.3   This alone shows that crime would drop if more citizens owned, carried and knew how to use guns. One   such case involved e... ...and less gun control in necessary to preserve the idea and philosophies set out in the constitution of the United States. Endnotes    1.   Ted Gottfried,   Gun Control and The Right to Bear Arms   (Brookfield, Ct.: Millbrook Press, 1993 ),   pg. 13 2.   Ibid   pg 17 3.   Ibid   pg. 48 4.   Neil Bernard,   Gun Control   ( San Diego, Ca., Lucent Books, 1991 )pg. 68    5.   Ibid   pg. 56 Bibliography Aitkens, Maggi.   Should   We Have Gun Control.   Minniapolis, Minn:   ., Lerner Publications. 1992. Bernard, Neil.   Gun Control.   San Diego, Ca.:   Lucent Books.   1991. Gottfried, Ted.,   Gun   Control and The Right to Bear Arms.   Brookfield, Ct.: The Millbrook Press.,   1993 Gottlieb, Alan. Gun Rights Fact Book   Bellevue, Washington:   Merril Press,   1988. Robers, Joseph Jr.The Armed Citizen.   Washington D.C. :   The Nation Rifile Association of America. 1989.

A Hmong Child, Her Doctors and American Tragedy Essay

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   America is known for having a culturally diverse society. The Hmong Group is among the population of the said society. In the story entitled â€Å"The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down†, which was written by Anne Fadiman, the main character came from the said ethnic group. The Hmong ethnic tribe is known for their knowledge and practice of traditional and primitive medical processes in healing their sick members. Based upon their beliefs of spirits, they usually create their medical observations on the patients and later on apply the practices they know are needed for the patient’s recovery. The question is that â€Å"since their traditional practices have been proven effective for many members of their group for the past years of their history, does it guarantee that their ways of healing the patients that they treat are better than that of medical processes? Is there any possibility that the medical practices of the modern medicine be integrated with the cultural ways of the ethnic groups and still gain better results on the patient’s recovery later on? How effective could the said kind of medical processes be when it comes to actual application? These questions with regards to culture and its effect and influence towards medication would be the main topic of this paper and the subject of the discussions that would follow. About The Case   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The story, as written by Anne Fadiman involves a young child who is afflicted with a serious illness. The girl’s name is Lia, a preschooler who has been experiencing developmental delay since she was in her younger years. As she grew up, she developed more serious health problems such as major seizures every now and then accompanied by several series of severe convulsions and cerebral Anoxia. Because of the said situation, the young child was profoundly impaired and physically incapable of doing the normal things that a young child naturally does. She was not playful and she had fewer chances when she used to react on the situations that are happening around her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The parents of Lia, who were traditional Hmongs, believe in their cultural medication. Hence, whenever she passes out, or looses her consciousness, they claim that it is simply because she has ‘lost her soul’ and thus needs to  Ã‚   receive ritual practices to be able to regain her own self. For several times of having seizures, the ethnic elder of their tribe has tried reviving the young girl through ceremonial ministries and application of herbal medicines which were prayed over for her benefit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Upon knowing this, the medical experts who used to handle Lia’s case before she went home believed that the further developments of her illness towards becoming worse was caused by the neglect of her parents in giving her anti-convulsant medications. The said anti-convulsants are known to be strong and really affect the system of the child as it tries to ‘repair’ the damaged brain tissues of the child every time she looses her consciousness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Later on, the medical practitioners who were supposed to both evaluate and take charge of Lia’s health situation was moved to get the child from her parents and bring her to a medical center where they believed she could be more closely observed and cured as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, the medical processes used by the said practitioners were not as successful as they believed it would be. As for a fact, the terminality of the case of Lia even pushed to a worst condition until her parents were advised to take her back home, especially when they started to believe that her case could not be met anymore and that there is only a little time left before she dies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Upon coming home, the tribe or the ethnic group of Lia performed several rituals again which they strongly believed would help her recover. As a result [as the tribe members claim] is that the young girl did not die. However, she was brain dead. This means that although she still breaths, her brain does not function anymore making the other systems of her body useless as of the said moment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Knowing the situation behind Lia’s case, a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) Protocol shall be created regarding her case. Hence, by doing so, the author of this paper hopes to help in turning the situation around by answering the question â€Å"What could have been done that could have contributed better on the progress of the healing process of Lia?† The DSM Protocol   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The process of pre-medication and therapeutical approach towards the illness shall be applied on the DSM protocol that follows: Interview The interview shall be performed for the sake of creating a basis for the creation of the medical protocol that needs to be applied for cases such as that of Lia. The interview then would be addressed to several parties that are involved in the direct healing practice that needs to be applied for the patient. The said interview is subdivided into three major sections. Interview with the Parents of the Patient Since they are the ones who regularly attend to the patient and are also the ones who are directly affected by the illness of the child, it would be best to know how they are able to give the child’s needs amidst her health situation. It would also help if they would be asked on what kind of ‘home nurses’ they are to be able to meet the medical requirements of their child’s health status. The interview shall help the psychology experts to understand the environment of the child and thus identify what factors [may include emotional and social] affects the healing development of the patient. Interview with the Physician The Physician’s records as well as his own opinion towards the health situations of the patient are among the important sectors of this research. To be able to know the medical observations that they have done towards the patient’s situation, the development of the therapeutic process would be more practical and medically authorized. Interview with the Elders of the Ethnic Group An interview with the elders or the chief leaders of the ethnic group that the patient is joined with would help the person analyzing the situation to gain some knowledge about the basic cultural background of the patient and how the said traditional practices could be incorporated into the medical practice that would be applied to then patient afterwards. Tests The tests would involve oral, practical and medical tests: Oral tests This would be done with the patient [Lia]. This test would measure the development of the child with regards to the mental reasoning that she is able to use as she is asked some questions. [the author of this paper preempts that the patient is still at the first stage of her illness when she is still having slight seizures pertaining to the developing status of her illness. Practical tests This test involves both the parents and the child. They would be asked on how they are able to meet the challenges of the situation together. It should also include the ways by which they are able to treat their child during situations wherein their child experiences seizure and other health problems relayed to it. [It could be an inquiry on what they value better, the medical ways of healing their child or the traditional ways of dealing with the said health problem] Medical Tests The medical tests are almost the same as that of the interview with the physician attending to Lia’s case. Only this time, it would be based from the hard copy of the medical tests that have been made to identify the child’s sickness. Observation The observation on the patient would be based on both the written output of the interviews and tests that were done on the earlier part of the protocol, as well as with the actual observation of the situation of the patient during regular days. Life Records This mainly involves the observation and analysis of the life of the child as an infant and how she was taken care of by her parents. It would also be a measure on how the tribe tried to help in the child’s recovery through the application f traditional practices and cultural beliefs. This would allow the one working on the analysis to understand the possible sources of the aggravating health situation of the child. Assessment This process involves a more in depth observation of the situation. Assessment of the results that were collected would be incorporated within the healing [therapeutic] processes of medicating the patient. Clinical Inference After all the processes are done, it could be expected that the clinical application of the healing process could already be done.   The pre-trial and the actual application would help the patient, the relatives and the physicians involved in the case understand the importance of working together to be able to complete the healing process.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the application of the said protocol comprising of six major processes, it could be noticed that the author of this paper aims to integrate some of the cultural practices within the healing process not only to avoid ethical issues and cultural conflicts in the progress of the healing the patient but also to evaluate ways buy which some of the cultural practices of the said ethnic group could help in the process of healing. Hmong Cultural Sensitivities   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are three major ways by which the Hmongs treat their patients. Most often, they tend to base this from their own diagnosis of the situation. As for Lia’s case, they believed that every time she passes out or losses her consciousness, she looses her soul. Thus they have to apply the three major practices to be able to regain her back. The three practices are as follows: Herbal Medicine application (A leaf that has been prayed over is applied on Lia’s body to regain her strength) Ceremonial Ministrations of a traditional practitioner (involves the prayers ad some group rituals that the ethnic tribe does to call the spirit of Lia back to her body) Sacrificing of Animals (Most often that not, this rituals are focused towards the gods of the tribes as a way by which they ask for the guidance of their gods for assistance in healing the sick member of the group) With the three major traditional ways that the Hmongs use, it could be noticed that the most important factor there is that has strong possibilities of being incorporated in a medical process is the use of herbal medicine. The reason behind this shall be tackled in the paragraphs to follow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ON HERBAL MEDICATION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although man’s use of synthetic drugs is a modern medical development, plant extracts have been used as cures for common ills for thousands of years. Early Assyrian records describe the use of the common anemone to alleviate pain. And Egyptian medical papyri from the time of the Pharaohs reveal a widespread use of medicinal plants. (Duke, 54) The World Health Organization has recorded the use of about 20,000 medicinal plants worldwide. In Britain alone an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 tons of herbs are used annually as ingredients in some 5,500 different herbal products, and in the United States, it has been reckoned that over half of all doctors’ prescriptions are for medicines derived from plants. With as many as 250,000 known species of plants in the world, each possessing a potentially unique chemistry, scientists constantly look for clues to find useful medicines (Mowrey, 87). One of the obvious ways is to study how people treat ailments using plants growing in their locality. The discovery of cocaine started with the observation that chewing coca leaves deadened hunger pangs and eased fatigue. By isolating and modifying the structure of the cocaine molecule, chemists produced a synthetic derivative for use as a local anesthetic. Much valuable information on the use of plants is still filed away in botanical collections. Scientists who spent over four years examining 2.5 million specimens in the Gray Herbarium and Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University were able to pinpoint more than 5,000 plant species previously overlooked as potential sources of medicines. (Duke, 54) Another line of inquiry compares the chemical contents of plants. If one species contains useful compounds, related species may also be valuable. When work on a north Australian tree, the Moreton Bay chestnut, isolated castanospermine, a poison displaying antiviral activity, botanists searching for related trees suggested looking at the South American Alexa. (Chevallier, 63) It could be noted that the use of herbal medicines could out do some of the effects of the strong anti convulsant medicines that Lia received from her physicians. Hence, through the incorporation of herbal medication in the healing process it could be expected that the process would yield better results. New Culturally Sensitive Protocol   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In any healing process, it should be realized that the involvement of the family, the relatives as well as the society that roams around the patient is a very important factor of the restoration process for the patient being treated Hence, in this section, a more culturally sensitive protocol shall be created: Creation of a Physician-Parent relationship This would help the physician and the parents of the patient work together through the incorporation of the cultural practices of the family in the medical process. The physicians must study if the herbal medicines would do no harm in reaction to the existing medical processes applied towards the patient. In a way, this could take time, but carefully considering things with regards the issues involved in the medication could even shorten the period of healing that is required for the patient. Integration of the Processes Close enough to the first stage; this involves more of the cultural or ethnic chieftains of the group where the patient belongs to. Their realization of the fact that some of their rituals may not be that applicable on the situation of the patient and thus would not be incorporated into the system, would help them cooperate with the healing process provided by the medical experts. Evaluation of the Strengths and Weaknesses of the New Protocol   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As clearly seen, the process involves in depth study which may require time and stress on the physicians since they are at some point controlled with the way they are supposed to deal with the situation. However, thru realization of the fact that emotional and social acceptance is important for the patient’s recovery would enable them to meet with the said challenge to their profession.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, if carefully applied, this process could help both parties [medicine and culture] see the importance of each sectors of medication and thus create better ways of healing the patients based form then practices that both social sectors accept. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this analysis, it could be noted that at some point, giving importance to the cultural background as well as the cultural practices of an ethnic group with regards to medicine could help in the development of medical practices that are used towards patients today. It is seen that by doing so, the integration of two worlds to result to better medical development could be considered as a way by which medicine could further progress its practices.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After all, the ancient times when people lived longer lives and dealt with less complicated diseases, people appreciated herbal and other traditional ways of medication even before modern medicine was discovered. Going back to the original cure would sure not be a hindrance to further medical progress in the future. BIBLIOGRAPHY Anne Fadiman. (1998). The spirit catches you and you fall down. http://www.spiritcatchesyou.com/bookexcerpt.htm. (December 15, 2006). Growth House Incorporated. (1999). A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. http://www.growthhouse.org/books/fadiman.htm. (December 15, 2006). Books: Andrew Chevallier. (2000). Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine: The Definitive Home Reference Guide to 550 Key Herbs with all their Uses as Remedies for Common Ailments. DK ADULT; Revised edition. James A. Duke. (1998). The Green Pharmacy: The Ultimate Compendium Of Natural Remedies From The World’s Foremost Authority On Healing Herbs. St. Martin’s Paperbacks. Daniel Mowrey. (1986). Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine. McGraw-Hill; 1 edition.

Jack Welchs autobiography cri essays

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“Out of area treatments in mental health” the Leeds experience The WritePass Journal

â€Å"Out of area treatments in mental health† the Leeds experience Introduction â€Å"Out of area treatments in mental health† the Leeds experience ) ‘Out of area treatments in mental health: the Leeds experience’, mentalhealth Today, May/June 2012, pp. 19-21

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Advance organizational behaviour Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

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Outline and explore the importance of a consumer-centric approach in Essay - 1

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