Compare one of the two indian captivity narratives, of either mary Essay

Compare one of the two indian captivity narratives, of either mary rowlandson or mary jemison with the film the searchers - Essay Example The story begins when the Jemison was kidnapped from outside her home in Pennsylvania. She did not speak for several days, and the first time she uttered a word, she said â€Å"I want to die† (Jemison 13). After arriving at Fort Duquesne, she again spoke only to tell her captors her name (Jemison 21). However, in the course of her silence, Jemison slowly began to accept the Seneca culture. She began speaking in Seneca language and comforted two sisters who lost their brother in a combat against the English (Jemison 25-6). The two small events started her immersion in the tribe’s culture, and it was even furthered by her marriage to a Delaware member, Sheninjee. She built a family with her spouse, and even before her son Thomas was born, she is almost completely immersed in the Indian-American culture (Jemison 31). She felt contented with her life there, and even when she was widowed, she pursued a second marriage within the tribe, even proclaiming to an escaped slave th at she is â€Å"one of the Indians and she is a Seneca† (Jemison 44).

Position Statement (outline) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Position Statement (outline) - Essay Example II. Another reason for decriminalizing marijuana may be the benefits the government will receive. This is through the amount of capital they might save in terms of the war against drugs. Billions of dollars are used in this expensive battle to catch, prosecute and house those who purchase and sell drugs (Gerber 59). When dealing with marijuana, the costs are soaring high, and it is no more harmful than other regulated drugs. III. There is also the issue of the capital lost in terms of tax collection when it comes to drugs. Revenue lost because the government cannot tax illegal drugs is proving costly in modern day. By decriminalizing marijuana, the government may earn tax revenue from legalizing marijuana than fighting it off the market, losing revenue in the process (Gerber 64). I. The implications of legalizing/decriminalizing marijuana are tremendous. Like anything else legalized in the economy, the government is likely to get involved in the stakes of marijuana production, harvest, and sale. This means that; it would be just like any other drug in the economy at the moment; controlled to profit of a few corporations (Morgan 79). The economy should not be controlled by these few corporations, and neither should the production, harvest, and sale of this drug. II. Just like any other drug, legalizing marijuana may lead to the growth of other trades. Other drugs may make their way into the market, which leads to rise in illegal and illegitimate trade. This implies that, the government might use extra capital annually to fight and combat other drugs off the market (Morgan 98). A. Through decriminalizing marijuana, it is highly likely the revenue a state may receive annually will benefit it tremendously. This is through tax collection, and reduction in costs incurred trying to fight the drug (Gerber 64). B. Decriminalizing marijuana also means the growth of employment opportunities. Many people will get employment through the

The Labour Party and New Labour

The Labour Party and New Labour The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the left in Britain. Its formation was the result of many years of hard effort by working people, trade unionists and socialists, united by the goal of changing the British Parliament to represent the interests of everybody. The labour Party had been a promoter of social democracy. Social democracy is a form of socialism which aims to reform the capitalist system to reduce social inequality and promote social justice. The core values of the social democracy can be seen in the old Clause IV which supported; equality, redistribution of wealth, social justice, nationalisation, full employment and welfare for all. The dominance of the Conservative Thatcher government with its New Right policies in British politics created a situation which made it increasingly difficult for labour to have any credible influence in the running of the country. The Labour party was seen as a spent force, with its tired policies being viewed as irrelevant and out of touch with the modern world. Something had to change ideologically within the party in order for Labour to have any realistic chance of being re-elected in the near future. When Tony Blair was elected the leader of the Labour party on 21 July 1994, the Conservative party had been in power for 15 years. One of Tony Blair statements about the need for modernisation of the party was very upbeat .Writing in the New Statesman, he stated that the reason we have been out of power for fifteen years is simple -that society changed and we refused to change with it(Marxism Today, 1998;p11) In previous general elections the British electorate had chosen to be governed by the Conservative party. Blairs goal was to make the Labour party electable again with the help of his New Labour rebranding. One of the first tasks Blair took was to re-write Clause IV from the Labour constitution in 1995, to eleminate the commitment to common ownership and in effect to the old style social democracy. These were replaced by commitments to the free market, to the environment, to the ending of discrimination and to equality of opportunity for all. New Labour was first termed as an alternative branding for the Labour Party, dating from a conference slogan first used by the Labour Party in 1994 which was later seen in a draft manifesto published by the party in 1996, called New Labour, New Life For Britain. After becoming leader of the party in 1994, Blair made a decisive break away from Old Labours traditional political stance. In policy terms New Labour often refer to themselves as The Third Way between Old Labour, which they believe to be too radical, and New Right which they consider to have been overly concerned by the principle of laissez-faire and individualism. The Third Way sought to find a middle ground between two rather conflicting ideologies. Traditional Socialism proposed collectivist solutions to most economic and social problems: state ownership of the means of production and major industries, an extensive welfare state, strong trade unions and high levels of personal taxation to finance the redistribution of wealth and income. The New Right, on the other hand, championed free market capitalism, the pursuit of individual self interest, a smaller, reduced role for the state, free labour markets and low levels of personal taxation. Debate and questions have been raised about the political nature of the New Labour and Third Way. The core of them is a question if the Labour party has been changed and modernised indeed, or whether New Labour is in fact Old Labour, which had to use prefix new in order to recall the votes and to return in power? The public discussion of this issue become more intense with labours landslide victory in 1997 .In the late 1980,s party went through a process of policy review. This process provoked reactions from many scholars Some critics argue that new labour is indeed new in the one or the other way (e.g. Heffernan, 2001) other state that it does not represent a break with its younger past but remarks a return to an older paradigm of social democracy (e.g. Shaw,1996) Dealing with specific ideological problem two standpoints can be observed. On the one hand ,some scholar define New labour in many ways as Neo-liberals project which is, in many aspect ,similar to Thatcherism (Hay ,1999 : Heffernan 2001,) Others argue that it does not embrace the absolute social-democracy orthodoxy but still belongs to the family of socialist ideas-even if in a more modern way. Some in this group claim that New Labour managed to find the third way indeed: trying to keep balance between economic success and social i nclusion, between market and society (e.g. Giddens 1998; p7-9). One part of the debate consists of discussion if new labour includes renewed ideology or it if it only presents a new image. Tony Blair implied that new labour ideology, instead of giving importance to state control, class struggle and equality as would be the case with Old Labour-gives much importance to a stable and competitive market, social inclusion and the attainment of economic growth. In Blairs words higher educational standard are the key to international competitive and inclusive society for the future (Blair,1998:p18) New labour strategy is not based on class-distinction .different from old labour which is biased in favour of the working instead ,new labour puts forward an all embracing category that focuses on community .The enemies of new labour are no longer portrayed as belonging to the ruling or middle classes, but are those who are portrayed as harming the community . Such findings relate to class identification. Tony Blair famously declared in 1998 that were all middle class now and has consistently maintained that the class war is over those are the old divisions that we need to get over by, for instance, restructuring education and the labour market . For example ,as Blair argued, education is the best economic policy there is(Driver and Martell,1998:p57) New labour seeks to move from a passive to an active, preventive welfare state. The welfare system should be proactive ,preventing poverty by ensuring that people have the right education, training and support. Tony Blair will commit himself to equality, rejecting Old Labour demands for equality of outcome and defining it as equal opportunities for all in education, employment and as citizens. Opportunity for all was indicated as a goal of New Labour with other similar expressions such as fairness, and social justice as well as other concept of objectives were, sometimes, added with it like equal worth in New Labours language. Then what does actually opportunity for all mean in their context? White (1998) argues that it involves a commitment to real opportunity for basic goods such as employment and education. First of all, as Driver Martell (2000) and Fairclough (2000) indicate, opportunity for all contrasted with, traditional socialists value, equality, in particular, equality of outcome. In other words, it shifted the meaning of social justice from equality of outcome to equality of opportunity. Public spending and taxation is one of the areas where the New labour under Tony Blair is most clearly different from old labour. Policies towards state pensions provide a clear example. Many scholars hold that New labour ideology, strategy and policies are adopted by the Conservative Government. Some key parts of its inheritance from the conservative are identified like attempts to control public spending .privatisation, the growth of means testing and the growth of inequality. New Labour has been very enthusiastic towards the voluntary sector just as the Thatcher government embraced the voluntary sector in the name of liberty and enterprise, New Labour has in the name of community renewal and contributory citizenship. New Labours economic policy is built around the consolidation of a close working relationship between the government and employers, where trade union power hardly features. Although economic policy would not be different from the one that Conservatives introduced, some policies like social welfare aspects would be adjusted in such a way that it would be in favour of society for example, giving extra funding for health and education without significant changes to income taxation. There is a stress on discarding the Conservative reforms that failed, but keeping those that worked .New Labour phrase what counts is what works (Powell, 1999) Tony Blair argued that some things the conservatives got right; we will not change them, where they got things wrong that we will make change (Labour Party, 1997) Blairs conservatism is also reflected in his adoption of the language of the new right: Labours policy documents on welfare and poverty are permeated by the notions of welfare dependency, community, family, obligations,,duties and responsibilities. Rights and entitlements to benefits, and decent schools, healthcare and housing hardly feature at all in this perspective. Under slogan of making work pay, it is intended that the minimum wage, and a partial fusing of the tax and benefit system will ensure that people who move from welfare to work should be financially better. The New Deal Policy of welfare-to-work ,The Working Families Tax Credit scheme are clearly set out within New Labours 1997 Election Manifesto and are seen as a key part of New Labours Third Way policy, which is phrased by the acronym PAP (Pragmatism and Populism). In a series of publications from the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1998a and 1998b), the Department for Education and Employment (1997), the Department of Social Security (1998) and the Social Exclusion Unit (1998), the institutional structure to progress New Labours urban policy objectives was set out. It was clear from these publications that New Labour saw area-based urban policies as no more than add-ons to mainline policies for housing, health, income support and education. Like Conservatives, Blairs government stressed the interactive nature of urban policy: centrally funded local programmes were set within the wider context of New Labours national programme of social policy reforms in such areas as health, education and the New Deal Welfare for work. In his speech to the 1997 Labour Party conference Blair argued that a decent society is not based on rights. It is based on duty. Our duty to each other. To all should be given opportunity; from all responsibility demanded. There is a pervasive conservatism at the heart of New Labour which forms the basis of Blairs much vaunted vision of a new society. Blair talks of creating a new settlement between the individual and society, wherein the stress on the individual will be accompanied by a new role for social institutions such as family, community and the state. At the forefront of this process is an attack on those on a range of benefits, but this is a wedge to drive a wider agenda of welfare restructuring where we all have the responsibility to provide for our pensions, our healthcare, the education of our children and so on. State provision is to be removed or, at the very least, residualised and stigmatised. This is an agenda to continue with the Tories strategy of privatising what is left of the public sector and cutting the social wage. Although there seems to be a significant continuation of policy in many areas there ate differences as well. The similarities and differences between New Labour and Thatcherism hold varying degrees of importance in these theories. Tony Blair demurred from the Thatcherites in a number of areas, although they were never keen to emphasise them too hard. Unlike her, he wanted a much more cordial relationship with the European Union: unlike her, he wanted a more socially liberal society, and many of his supporters see the introduction of civil partnerships as one of New Labours most enduring changes. Unlike her, he enacted changes to the constitution. Certainly Labours first move was pure free market. The Bank of England gained the freedom to set interest rates and pursue inflation targets. It was bold. Even the Tories had refused to do it, despite pressure from the Adam Smith Institute. The Labour also managed to introduce legislations for Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly and reform House of Lords. Conclusion Although the majority of the policies which have been adopted by New Labour seem to be pushing for a neo-liberal or free market political agenda, it is difficult to collectively identify the party under a single ideological heading, because of the varying political stance it has taken on a range of issues. Furthermore I have explained to what extent New Labours social policies can be considered similar to those pursued by previous Conservative government. In general New labour has a clearly distinctive approach from Old Labour, however some policy adoption can be noted with the Conservatives, particularly in the areas of public expenditure, privatisation, the mixed economy, and welfare-to-work. Bibliography: Atkinson, R. and Moon, G. (1994). Urban Policy in Britain. The City, the State and the Market, Basingstoke and London: Macmillan Blair, T. (1998). The Third Way: New Politics for a New Century London: Fabians Society Blair, T. (1996). New Britain: My Vision of a Young Country. London: Fourth Estate. Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, 1998a: Regeneration Programmes the way forward, London: DETR. Department for Education and Employment, 1997: Welfare to Work Employment Zones. Department of Social Security, 1998: New Ambitions for Our Country: A New Contract for Welfare. London: DSS Giddens, A.(1998). The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy. Cambridge: Polity Press Giddens, A. (2000). The third way and its critics. Cambridge: Polity Press Hay, C. and Marsh, D. (2000). Demystifying Globalisation Basingstoke: Macmillan Heffernan, R. (2001). New Labour and Thatcherism: Political Change in Britain. Basingstoke: Macmillan

Detrimental Aspects of Animal Experimentation Essay -- Animal Rights

An intense and polarizing deliberation concerning the issue of animal experimentation and the utilization in research has been raging for years. This issue often catches newspaper headlines and strikes the heart of the American public. The opinion of advocates of animal research and the opinion of those who oppose it are quite visible in the media. Both sides tirelessly strive in advancing their unique beliefs. So far as this discussion is specifically focused on the attainment of favorable legislation by one side or the other, special interest groups have been formed by both parties in order to sway the legislators and numerous bureaucrats to their desired side. The frequently hostile dispute regarding animal testing has grown since its inception, predominantly as a result of the efforts and actions taken by numerous celebrities and influential activists. One such group that has intensified the dialogue is PETA, people for the ethical treatment of animals. In an effort to att ain the ultimate goal of their organization and fulfill the charter upon which this advocacy group was founded, a number of employees along with the assistance of millions of fellow sympathizers engage in informative and influential campaigns. These campaigns often use provocative operandi as a means of drawing attention to their cause and furthering their agenda. Estimates given by various animal rights organizations and government institutions yield figures that show upwards of fourteen million rats and mice, and nearly one and a half million species of other animals such as cats and dogs are utilized in experimental research on a yearly basis. What, then, does this experimental research encompass? There are in fact two different variations of ... ...roductsonanimals.com/info/draizetest Accessed April 18, 2012. 3. Psychological and behavioural animal experiments and research testing. International Association Against Painful Experiments on Animals Website. 2011. http://www.iaapea.com/psychological_experiments.php Accessed April 16, 2012. 4. Greek R, Greek J. Is the use of sentient animals in basic research justifiable? Phil, Eth & Human In Med. January 2010;5:14-29. DOI: 10.1186/1747-5341-5-14 5. Pycroft L, Marston H. Is animal testing necessary to advance medical research? New Internationalist. July 2011:34-36. 6. James-Enger K. Beyond animal testing. Vegetarian Times. Oct 1998:104. 7. Archibald K. Test people, not animals. New Scientist. Sept 2005: 24. 8. Microdosing: current and the future. Future-Science Website. 2010. http://www.futurescience.com/doi/abs/10.4155/bio.09.177 Accessed April 13, 2012.

Effective communication for and about individuals Essay

Promote effective communication for and about individualsExercise HSC031A) What are the legal requirements on equality, diversity, discrimination and rights, relating to: individuals language and communication preferences?Equal treatment for language and communication. When completing records?As I work within the NHS, the ICU follows the National Institute for Clinical Excellence Equal Opportunities (2000) policy it states that“It is the policy of the Institute to work towards ensuring that no recipient of its services, present or future employee or job applicant receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of:- age, colour, creed, disability, ethnic origin, marital status, nationality, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, social status, trade union membership” (NICE 2000)This affects communication as it states that we must do everything in our power to provide equal service levels to everyone. For example if a patient speaks a foreign language, there is a communication barrier, so we must provide any information to them in their native language, whether that be through an interpreter or translated leaflets. The trust recognises that promotion and regular communication of the policy is important to ensure that individuals understand their commitment to equal opportunity and are aware of their own responsibility regarding equal opportunities and know how to raise concerns or make complaints and are confident that these will be handled effectively. E) What is the code of practice and standards and guidance relevant to your role, responsibilities and accountability, and duties of others when communicating difficult, complex and sensitive issues and reporting and recording?As a health care assistant the official code of practice and standard that I should follow and understand are laid down by the General Social Care Council in the Codes of practice: for social care workers and employers (2002) this covers most of the core standards which as a care worker I must follow. But I am also under the guidelines set down by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2005). To ensure that I gain the trust of my patients, I should recognise them as equal partners, use language that is familiar to them and make sure that they understand the information you are  giving. As far as record keeping goes, I should make sure that any records I make must be clear, legible and accessible to the patient or client, as outlined by the NMCÂ’s document Standards for Records and Record Keeping (NMC 89346) and under the terms of the Data Protection Act (1984) and the Access to Health Records Act (1990). Both these documents state that all communication about patients whether written or verbal are completely confidential. F) Where can you seek advice from regarding an individuals communication and language needs, wishes and preferences?When a patient has communication and language needs the first person I would ask would be the patient, to access for myself the communication needs. I would then look at the patients notes and finally I would ask the staff nurse looking after the patient or the district nurse if they are in the community. If I still need more advice or there are still communication difficulties, I could refer the patient to the speech and language therapy department. If the difficulty is a language barrier I could try to contact a language and interpretation service. It is vital to understand that wherever possible the patientÂ’s wishes should take priority in the decision taking over communication needs. G) How can you and were can you access information and support to update your knowledge and gain further assistance to meet the individuals communication needs. There are several places that you can access information to update your knowledge both on a personal level and on an individual client basis. You can update your communication knowledge by keeping up to date with all the guidelines surrounding communication, such as the journals on new communication methods and studies or spend time with the speech and language therapy unit to improve your communication skills. On an individual client basis, the first place to look for information on  improving your communication with the client is from the client themselves. By checking for responses and reactions, both verbal and non verbal you can judge whether your communication methods are effective. Then to further gain knowledge and understanding, you can refer them to a specialised service to meet their needs depending on what the communication need is. For example there may be a language barrier, in this instance, first see if there are members of family who could translate (where appropriate with patients understanding) as patients often feel more comfortable with a relative translating for them, if this was not available or inappropriate, I would track down the translators service and refer the case to them. H) What are the theories relevant to the following:-Specific conditions in your area of practice that can affect communication skills, abilities. In Intensive care effective communication can be difficult for a number of reasons, they can be environmental problems, physical or mental problems, like the patients consciousness levels could be effected, either drug induced or pathologically based, there may be visual and hearing problems and environmental problems, such as poor lighting or a noisy situation. The patient may not be able to make sense of the communication, they may use a different language or dialect or may not understand the jargon or professional terms used. Many of the patients on Intensive care are heavily sedated, so effective two way communication with then is almost impossible, also most of the patients that are not sedated are on high levels of medication, which can cause drowsiness and confusion. Of the patients that are lucid enough to communicate coherently, the most common communication problems are the problems of those who have ventilation support, either they have a tracheotomy tube in place, which means that air does not pass through the voice box so they have no voice, or they have a BiPAP mask to assist with breathing, which restricts the ability to speak and be heard. How can communication and language differences affect the identity, self esteem and self image of those you work with?“Self-esteem means  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœappreciating your own worth and importance’ – and it helps you to cope better with the challenges of life” (Tracy Turner BBC)In ICU patients that have a Glasgow coma score (GCS) of 14 or 15 and are on little or no sedation, in other words able to understand where they are and what is happening to them. Communication problems can have a huge influence on identity, self esteem and self image. Especially in ICU as the communication difficulties are usually new problems for the patient due to illness and the treatment. For example a person has a tracheotomy, firstly they loose their voice, which many people feel is part of them, it make who they are, so this detracts from self image and identity. But the main factor is that they loose the ability to express themselves with ease, so they can loose self-esteem. One of the major thing is, as they canÂ’t express themselves in the way they are used to, so a person whose self-esteem is low, will tend to feel that what happens to them is beyond their control. Studies have suggests that self-esteem is likely to have a major effect on their mental and physical health. How can power be used to abuse people when communicating on difficult, sensitive and complex issues?One major thing that people with communication difficulties experience, is loss of power. The person/carer who is looking after someone with communication difficulties, whether they be sensory deficits or other difficulties, is that they ( the carer ) is acting as interpreter and has the power to interpret the patients needs and wishes in their own way, even ignoring the persons wishes and carry out tasks that they want to. This is why training is essential for effective two-way communication. An example of this would be the situation of a stroke patient with paralysis down one side, so was unable to feed themselves and has mild dysphasia. In a lot of cases the care giver thinks they know what is best for the patient, with no consideration for the patients wishes, In many cases all the carer wants to do is feed the patient so they have a full diet but the patient may not like the “mashed carrot” but because time is tight and the carer just wants to get the plate cleared, they pretend not to understand the patients attempts to communicate that they would prefer the  Ã‚“mushy peas”. A lot of abuse is not actually intentional, much of this comes from lack of proper communication skills and the carer not taking the time to listen or try to understand the patient. They have a job to do and a set amount of time to do that job in and in most cases think they know what is best for the patient. Often when patients do try to communicate their unhappiness the are treated to a barrage of patronizing ‘awwsÂ’ and ‘come on dears you need to do thisÂ’, orÂ’ arenÂ’t you being silly todayÂ’ almost treating patients like children, they can even be labelled as trouble makers. It is much different for the patient who can communicate fully, they state their discomfort in a clear and concise way, it is much harder to make somebody do something if they say straight out ‘no I donÂ’t like thatÂ’. On ICU the situation is slightly different as a lot of our patients are on medications which will affect their mental capacity and perception so their communication difficulties are harder to resolve. So to determine if someone is of sound mind we use assessment tools to determine how able a patient is to make there own decisions (GCS & Sedation score). I) What factors can affect communication skills, abilities and development of those you support?In the ward environment there are many factors that can affect communication with the patient, they can be broken down into two main categories, environmental factors and personal factors. Trying to talk to someone in a noisy environment where there are continual interruptions leads to frustration, lack of understanding and poor concentration. Similarly individuals are often disinclined to discuss personal information or express strong emotions if they can be overheard or seen. Other environmental factors may relate to time available to talk. Carers often feel under pressure to ‘get the job done’ and their workloads may either inhibit clients ‘I don’t want to bother the nurses they’re so busy’ or result in the carer communicating poorly because of pressure of work. VanCott (1993), Identified some of the personal factors that can effect patient communicationIndividual Carers may lack the knowledge, experience and skills to promote effective communication. Also in health care medical jargon is common, but can appear as a foreign language to someone receiving care. Use of words that are not within the client’s own vocabulary generally results in misunderstandings and poor communication. There is also a tendency to use vague, ambiguous or unclear questions or statements along with failing to verify their own understanding of the other person’s statements. A communication failure that often occurs is completing tasks with little or no explanation behind purpose behind actionsM) What conflicts and dilemmas may be created by difficulties in communication in your workplace?Moving away from patient/career conflict, one of the main sources of conflict in ICU it that of conflict between families and friends and ICU staff. As with any ward and care situation the next of kin debate comes up regularly and what is best for the patient. The law around patient consent and advocacy is a massive topic and very hazy in some areas as to whether the doctor has the right to decide treatment or whether a next of kin should be involved. Also there is visitation rights who can come in and who canÂ’t and who decides. N) What procedures do you follow when dealing with conflict?In most of the cases where conflict arises there are strict procedures to follow this usually means reporting the problem to a higher level of responsibility. A good example of this it the case of Luke Winston-Jones (BBC 2004) there was direct conflict between the doctors and parents over the best case of action for the child. In the end the problem was passed to the highest responsibility the courts. This would be the same in my workplace so far I have only had to report minor conflict up to my line manager. R) What is the difference between factual, opinionated and judgement? Why is this important when completing records?It is important when completing records to only fill in what actually happened or what your clinical  judgement was, not what your opinion is. An example of this would be when documenting what dressing you applied, you would state that in your clinical judgement what the best dressing would be and a factual account of applying that dressing. It is not good practice to document opinions unless your opinion clashed with that of somebody else, then you would state in the records that that was your opinion. A Factual account is something that is known to have happened or to exist, especially something for which proof exists, or about which there is information. Opinionated means having and expressing very strong feelings and beliefs, and believing that your own ideas are the only correct ones. Whereas an opinion is a person’s ideas and thoughts about something. It is an assessment, judgement or evaluation of something. An opinion is not a fact, because it is not possible to prove (or disprove) an opinionJudgement is the act or process of judging; the formation of an opinion after consideration and deliberation especially a formal or authoritative decision

Coffee and Starbucks Background

Fourthly, the threats of substitute product is very likely to be high as coffee, juices, soft drinks, tea and many more can be easily substituted. In the mean time, consumers can also choose to go to pubs and bars and spend their time or to meet up to substituted struck. Lastly, the threat of competitor rivalry of struck in high as there are many presence of strong impetigo with deep pockets like Mcdonald's, coffee beans and dunking donuts. Not forgetting hundreds of small local coffee shops and houses fighting for the same market share. 7.Recommendation Based on the SOOT, PEST and Potter five forces that is conducted, I have made several recommendations. We can use concentric diversification to further expend the firms by making or obtaining new product and services which are related to the business. This is good for the business because it will bring down the cost and the main competencies can be move the the new business. Struck can also choose to use acquisition or restructuring diversification process to purchase other firms Or even merge with other firms to gain market share or even expend into a new market.Struck might also think of using differentiation strategy which involves conveying products and services that customers recognize as unique or special and must be better than what other people are doing in the same market. 8. Conclusion This is the completion of the environment analysis on struck in Singapore that have conducted. All in all with the SOOT analysis proves that struck s a very attractive company and struck is a very experienced company.PEST analysis that is conducted also proves that Singapore is a very safe and reliable country to invest in. Although Potters five forces shows that the industry is not very adjective but it also have some big limitations in today's market environment. Market environment sometimes changes as fast as we can anticipate but Potters five forces and other analysis can only serves as a guide to management to enab le them to think as a beginning for farther analysis. And vie made three suggestions base on all the analysis conducted.

Top 10 Online Tools for Book Authors

Top 10 Online Tools for Book Authors Top 10 Online Tools for Book Authors Top 10 Online Tools for Book Authors By Ali Hale Writing and publishing a book is a huge (and wonderful) undertaking – and you’ll want all the help you can get. There are loads of great downloadable tools out there for book authors, like Scrivener (for writing), Calibre (for producing ebooks) and KDP Rocket (for finding good keywords to use on Amazon). But in this post, I want to focus on online tools – ones that you can use through your web browser. Here are ten of the best, for different stages of your author journey: Tools for Writing and Editing Your Manuscript I’ve already taken a look at some useful tools to help you focus and get your writing done in Top 10 Online Tools for Writers – so here, I want to focus on a couple of tools that will help you edit your book manuscript: #1: Visuwords (free) Do you ever struggle to find the right word? If a traditional thesaurus isn’t helping, try using Visuwords, which shows you the links between different words (including opposites, related topics, and words that derive from your original word). It might just help you find the perfect word or phrase when you’re struggling. The map above shows the word â€Å"anarchy† and related terms. Tip: By running your cursor over a word, you can view a definition – and you can double-click a word to see its related words on your map, too. #2: WordCounter (free), Steven Morgan Friedman It can be tricky to spot which words come up just a little too often in your own writing – but if you keep using the same ones again and again, readers will start to notice. That’s fine if you want to repeat a particular word for effect, but problematic if it’s unintentional. Once you’ve got your list of potentially over-used words, you can do a â€Å"Find† in your document to check each instance and see whether you want to vary it. Here’s a list from my novella-in-progress: (I’m happy with many of those – Flint, Jonathan, Corwin and Ruth are all character names, so it’s perfectly normal that they appear a lot. I suspect I’m using â€Å"go† and â€Å"just† a bit too often, though!) Wordcounter is quite bare-bones, and I found that while it ignores punctuation like commas and periods, it includes quotation marks and apostrophe, meaning that some words will get listed twice, and also occasionally lists some odd words (I apparently have 60 instances of the word â€Å"ey† in my novella, which I haven’t ever used!) Tip: There’s also a WordPress plugin version of the tool, which you might want to use if you’re writing blog posts – either to check for words that you overuse, or to check if you’ve included keywords as much as you wanted to. Tools for Publishing Your Book I’m going to assume here that you want to self-publish your book – so if you’re planning to seek an agent and publisher, you’ll want to skip this section. (However your book is published, though, you’ll find the â€Å"Tools for Marketing Your Book† list useful.) #3: Smashwords (free), Smashwords, Inc Smashwords is a tool for self-publishers to format and distribute their ebook(s) to readers through a variety of different platforms (such as through Apple’s iBooks stores and through the Kobo store.) They offer loads of advice on self-publishing, too, particularly through the Smart Author Podcast. You can also sell books through – and indeed buy books from – Smashwords itself. Most authors, though, use it primarily as an easy way to get their ebook into lots of different online stores. The one big exception is Amazon: you can’t easily get your book onto Amazon through Smashwords. That’s not too much of a problem, though, because Amazon’s own system (KDP – Kindle Direct Publishing) is straightforward and easy to work with. We’re going to cover that in a moment. It’s completely free to create an ebook through Smashwords, but Smashwords will take a small commission on each ebook you sell – and the stores you sell through will also take a cut. Tip: You need to format your manuscript carefully according to theSmashwords Style Guide. If you don’t, it’ll either be rejected, or you’ll find that it comes out looking a bit weird! #4: Amazon KDP (free), Amazon Amazon is the biggest ebook retailer there is and they make it pretty straightforward to add your own ebook to their vast catalogue. You can sign up for KDP using your existing Amazon account (or you can create a new Amazon account). The KDP dashboard allows you to publish (or update) your ebooks and to see reports on your ebook sales. While it’s free to use Amazon’s KDP to publish your work, Amazon will take a fairly hefty cut of everything you sell – paying you â€Å"royalties† out of your book’s cover price. If you price your ebook between $0.99 and $2.98, or above $9.99, you’ll get 35% royalties; if you price between $2.99 and $9.99, you’ll get 70% royalties. (You can’t price an ebook lower than $0.99.) Tip: Before Amazon can pay you, you’ll need to enter your tax information. You don’t need to have this to hand to start selling your ebook(s), though. #5: CreateSpace (free), Amazon While it’s possible to publish a paperback version of your ebook through KDP, CreateSpace is a more established option. (KDP’s paperback publishing is becoming better all the time, though, and you might want to check out this article by Dave Chesson for a side-by-side comparison of KDP Paperback and Createspace.) As with KDP, you can use your existing Amazon details for CreateSpace. You don’t need to pay anything upfront to publish a book through CreateSpace – but you’ll find that the printing costs eat up a fair percentage of the cover price. The paperback version of my novel Lycopolis, for instance, is priced at $12.99 in the US; I get a royalty of $3.32 on each copy sold. Tip: Although CreateSpace offers a â€Å"cover creator† so you can design your own ebook cover, it’s not the greatest tool to work with. If you just want to publish a print version for your personal use, or perhaps to give to a few friends, it’ll do – but I’d avoid using it for a professional-looking book. Tools for Marketing Your Book Once your book is up for sale, the hard work really begins! Marketing a book, whether fiction or non-fiction, is a huge task but these online tools can give you a helping hand. #6: A-FWD (â€Å"Link Globalizer for Amazon Affiliates And Authors†), Woboq If you haven’t already signed up to Amazon’s Affiliate scheme, I highly recommend doing so. You can earn a little extra on books you sell via your affiliate links (and you’ll be able to track how many sales you’re making through your own website, tweets, etc – as opposed to sales you’re getting through other channels). Unless your book is very specific to a particular country, you’ll probably be selling it worldwide, on different versions of Amazon’s site. Ideally, you want potential new readers to land on their version of Amazon. That means using a special link that can direct readers based on their location. And that’s where A-FWD comes in. Just paste in your affiliate link – the full version, not the short one – from your local Amazon, and you’ll get a single link that should direct readers to their Amazon (regardless of whether you have an affiliate account there or not). Tip: If you have affiliate accounts for more than one version of Amazon, make sure you paste those in under â€Å"Tracking IDs† (or you may find that your affiliate sales don’t get counted). #7: WordPress (free), WordPress Foundation At some stage in your author journey, you’re going to want to have a website or a blog. WordPress is a great way to build either. You can opt for WordPress.com aka â€Å"hosted WordPress† (which is easier and cheaper to get started with, but more limited) or WordPress.org aka â€Å"self-hosted WordPress† (which offers lots of flexibility and full control, but has a slightly steeper learning curve and means paying for a domain and hosting up-front). There’s a handy summary of the differences on the WPBeginner.com blog. Keep in mind that you don’t have to blog as an author – you might simply want to use WordPress to create a straightforward websites that showcases your books. Tip: You can set up a completely free blog using WordPress.com, so if you’re feeling a bit daunted by the idea of blogging (or having a website), why not create a â€Å"practice† one so you can try it out? #8: MailChimp, The Rocket Science Group If you read any blogs aimed at book authors, one key piece of advice you’ll come across is to â€Å"create a mailing list†. This allows you to email interested readers who’ve signed up to receive updates from you. You might think you could simply email readers through your regular email account – but this is a really bad idea. First, it means collating email addresses manually, which is an administrative headache. Second, and most importantly, it could easily see you falling foul of laws like CAN-SPAM (in the US) and GDPR (in the UK). There are plenty of online tools, though, that you can use to create an email list: readers can sign up and get added to the list at any time of the day or night, and you can create nicely formatted emails to send them. I’ve chosen MailChimp here as it’s free up to the 2,000 subscriber point but there are plenty of other good options, like Aweber and Constant Contact. Tip: Email marketing, like blogging, can seem very daunting at first. Do give it a try: you can always set up a small mailing list with just yourself (and maybe a couple of willing family members or friends) on it, so you can test out your emails before sending them to readers. #9: Canva (free), Canva You can use Canva to create almost anything that involves images and graphics – from book covers to posters, leaflets, and designs for Facebook, Instagram and other social networks. If you’re not yet at the stage of your author career where you can afford a professional designer, Canva could be a great option for you. There are lots of premade templates that you can use and thousands upon thousands of images – creating the perfect Facebook cover or business card could be just a few clicks away. Note that not but all images are free: you’ll need to pay $1 in order to use some of them. Plus, some of Canva’s features (like being able to use your previous designs as a template) are only available at the premium, paid-for level. Tip: While Canva is a great way to create promotional materials, it’s still a very good idea to go with a professional designer for your book cover itself (unless you’re an artist/designer and know what you’re doing). #10: NovelRank (free), NovelRank LLC NovelRank lets you track your sales across different Amazon sites (.com, co.uk, .fr, etc). It tells you where your book ranks in the charts, estimates sales made, and more. It’s free to use at the basic level – in fact, you don’t even need to create an account if you only want to track one book. Note that NovelRank can only show your sales from the point at which you set it up, as Amazon doesn’t provide historical data. Tip: As well as NovelRank, there are plenty of other tools that offer similar services, like BookCore (which is more basic, but works across multiple platforms). #11: DesignWizard (free with paid features) DesignWizard is another tool you can use to create the graphical assets of your book, including its cover and related marketing material. You will find that it offers virtually all the features of competing solutions while charging a lower price for the premium plans, so it is worth to check it out. I hope you’ll find the above tools helpful in your own journey to publication. Don’t feel that you have to use or even try all of them: pick and choose based on what you need right now, and take things step by step. Best of luck with your book! Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Whimsical Words"Certified" and "Certificated"How often is "bimonthly"?

The Killer Angels Essay

The Killer Angels Essay The novel The Killer Angels, by Michael Sharra is the story of the Battle of Gettysburg. On July 1, 1863 the union army and the confederate army fought the largest battle of the American Civil War. The book is based on real life people who were a part of the Civil War. The main characters were Gen. Robert Lee from the confederate army, Gen. James Longstreet, and Col. Joshua Chamberlain from the union army. The period covered in this book is Jun. 30-Jul 3, 1863. It takes place in a small town called Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The main cause of the war was because the confederate army wanted to secede from the rest of the states. Most of the story was from the perspective of the confederate leaders, so we were able to really capture what the south was really thinking throughout this whole book. The story for the most part is told in the 3rd person. The confederates controlled Seminary Ridge and the union army controlled Cemetery Hill, Cemetery Ridge, Culp’s Hill, Little Round Top , and Big Round Top. Shaaras book very well tells the story of two great armies, both motivated and fighting for what each believes is a great and just cause, as they come together to fight one of the biggest battles ever fought in the world. This is a great novel of leadership, hardship, and history. Michael Shaara was born in 1928 in Jersey City, New Jersey. He graduated from Rutgers and it was during his college years that he realized he wanted to become a writer. In his early thirties, Shaara published several award-winning science-fiction short stories in the most popular pulp magazines of the day. He then began to write straight fiction and published numerous short stories in Playboy, Redbook, and Cosmopolitan. After finding old letters from his great-grandfather, a member of the 4 th Georgia infantry who had been wounded at Gettysburg, The 1966 trip was followed by another trip in 1970 and seven years of work on the manuscript. In 1974, The Killer Angels was published. It does not make the Confederate side look bad, but instead, without being pro-south, shows the reader that the key ingredient that made the Confederate Army one of the great armies of all times was the fact that the Confederates truly believed in the justice of their cause. He also published a Korean War nov el, called Broken Place, in which the main character seeks to be free of his demons and finds freedom through boxing. This book is based on the words of the men themselves, their letters, and other documents. He said that he avoided historical opinions. He also said he condensed some of the action and cut out some of the minor characters for brevity, but has not changed any facts. He also says he changed some of the language because back then men spoke in windy phrases, so he updated it. The story basically begins with a spy coming to Longstreet and telling him he has seen the union army nearby. Longstreet is surprised at this because J.E.B. Stuart was supposed to be keeping tabs on them. So, his plan was to go north and towards Gettysburg to cut them off. Meanwhile, union Col. Joshua Chamberlain wakes up to find out he has an extra 100 men to add to his regiment, the 20th Maine. They had caused a mutiny, so they were sent down to Chamberlain. They were really tired and hungry and they didn’t really want to fight anymore. Since Chamberlain is a very good speaker, he goes up and gives a very encouraging speech and all the soldiers except for 6 joined the 20th Maine. Gen. Buford of the union army rides into Gettysburg and sees that the confederates are nearby. He then gathers together his men to position them in the hills. The reason for that was he knew that getting the high ground was crucial because if they got the high ground it would be easier to fight the confederates than fighting them below. On the second day Lee wakes up to realize that Stuart still hasn’t come back yet. Since Stuart isn’t there, he doesn’t know where the union army is. He then has a meeting with Longstreet saying that he thinks they should plan defensive tactics to win, but Lee want to attack them and go straight at the union army. Lee didn’t want to go into the defensive mode because if he did it would look like he was retreating and he didn’t want that. The battle begins with the confederates attacking the union army. Buford end having to hold them off until Reynolds and the rest of his troops come. Reynolds then dies and later Lee comes right in the middle of the fight. After the that 1st battle he union army retreated up to the hills and set up cannons and dug places where they could be blocked from the fighting. Longstreet starts to get scares because he knows that the union army has good defensive position in the hills. This doesn’t at all help their stra tegy of swinging southeast to attack the union forces. Meanwhile, Lee is mad at Ewell for not doing what he said and taking Cemetery Hill and Culp’s Hill. On July 2, Chamberlain moves his regiment to Gettysburg. On his way they come across a slave who escaped and Chamberlain asks Kilrain what he thinks of black people. Kilrain believes u should judge the person by their action instead of judging them by their race. He says he doesn’t understand how they can look into the eyes of a man and make a slave of him and still quote the bible. Back in Gettysburg, Lee’s men want to attack the union army from their 2 flanks to try and weaken their line, but Longstreet still wants to move southeast to DC. Lee however doesn’t agree with him and Longstreet is forced to attack the flank. When Chamberlain finally arrives he and his troops are placed on Little Round Top. Him and his men hold down the hill for a long time but eventually they run out of bullets and Chamberl ain orders a bayonet charge on the confederates. They used a tactic, which was to scream while they were running down the hill to scare the confederates. The union army retained control over Little Round Top, and the confederates lost a lot of men. Later on that night J.E.B. Stuart comes back, and Lee scolds him for not being there to help locate the union army. He rationalizes that since he weakened the two outer flanks the next goal was to bust through the middle of their line. If he could charge through the middle then he could split the army in two. On July 3, Chamberlain moves all his men to the middle of the line because he thought there wouldn’t be much fighting. Longstreet then once again tries to convince Lee that it would be wise to swing southeast toward DC but he says no again. He is intent on attacking the union. So, Longstreet goes along with it and puts Pickett in charge of the assault on the union army. The confederates then shoot guns and cannons at the union to weaken the middle line. The confederated don’t do much damage though because they ended up shooting too high and the cannon balls went overtop of the line. As the confederate troops come across the field the Union fires full force with their cannons, which made big holes in the confederate line and kills many of their troops. Then they come even closer and they kill many more with their guns. Even after they get almost destroyed, Lee’s wounded men beg him to attack again. Then the confederate’s retreat and the battle ends. I felt this was an excellent book. I like the fact that the author made it so that you could focus in on one character a chapter because it helped you to be able to get into the thoughts and moods of the central character of the chapter. Also, I felt the characters in the story were well represented, especially the characters of Lee and Chamberlain. Lee was a very good commander who made really good decisions until the end. He strongly believed in the traditional ways of fighting but he still recognized some of Longstreet’s ideas. Lee’s confidence in his army is what lead to the disaster of Pickett’s Charge. Chamberlain throughout the story is put in a bad position because his brother serves in the army and he might have to send him into battle one day. He’s also a very good public speaker and he shows this when he motivates the 2nd Maine to fight on behalf of the union army or also called the 20th Maine.

APA Referencing †How to Cite a Website (Proofed)

APA Referencing – How to Cite a Website (Proofed) APA Referencing – How to Cite a Website These days, with the World Wide Web at our fingertips, many students don’t even know what a book looks like. OK, that’s not true. It would be pretty difficult to be at college without going to the library at least occasionally. Why is it all papery? Can I adjust the brightness? The point we’re trying to make is that the internet is an increasingly valuable tool for research when writing a college paper, so knowing how to cite a website correctly is vital. In this post, we take you through the basics of citing a website using APA referencing. In-Text Citations Parenthetical citations for a website are the same as for any other source, requiring you to give the author’s surname and year of publication: APA referencing has specific rules for citing a website (Lee, 2010). Make sure to look carefully, as often the name of the author or date of publication can be tucked away somewhere. If, however, you cannot find the details required, there are alternatives. If you can’t find the name of the author, you can use a shortened version of the article title instead: The tutorial is designed for complete newcomers to APA style conventions (â€Å"The Basics of APA Style,† 2016). If you can’t find the date, you can use â€Å"n.d.† to indicate this: Proofreading helps you achieve the grade you deserve (ProofreadMyPaper, n.d.). Reference List As with any source, you should add any websites cited in your work to the reference list. The basic format for this in APA referencing is: Author (year and date). Title of document [Format description]. Retrieved from URL The â€Å"format description† part is only required if you’re citing a specific kind of document or site, such as a blog post or an online slideshow. For instance, the blog post cited in the first example above would appear in the reference list as: Lee, C. (2010, November 18). How to cite something you found on a website in APA style [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2010/11/how-to-cite-something-you-found-on-a-website-in-apa-style.html?_ga=1.106662403.1685488010.1435410218 When information is missing regarding the author or date of publication, use the same conventions as described above for citations. For instance, a page with no named author would appear as: The basics of APA style (2016). Retrieved from apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx. A page with no date of publication, meanwhile, would simply use â€Å"n.d.†: ProofreadMyPaper (n.d.). About us. Retrieved from https://getproofed.com/services/academic-proofreading

Catholic Church and the Death Penalty Term Paper

Catholic Church and the Death Penalty - Term Paper Example he issue of death penalty or the so-called â€Å"capital punishment† (from the Latin word ‘capitalis’ to describe â€Å"that which related to life, by which life is endangered†) [1] and how it has changed over time. Capital punishment has already been practiced since the ancient times. In Genesis 9.5-6, we find: â€Å"If anyone takes human life, he will be punished. Human beings were made like God, so whoever murders one of them will be killed by someone else.† [2] This was the very first formal declaration of the penalty of death ever recorded in the Judeo-Christian history. When the Israelites journeyed from Egypt to the Sinaitic Peninsula, the Lord gave them a code of legislation (mostly found in Exodus 21) (Ibid.) which prescribed death as the penalty for some acts: murder (Ex. 21.12); willful assault upon the parents of an offender (Ex. 21.15); kidnapping (Ex. 21.16); cursing someone’s parents (Ex. 21.17), etc. The Bible has mentioned several accounts where death has been a crucial part of legislation in the ancient times. But it has some exceptions in as much as it is strictly imposed: â€Å"But if it was an accident and he did not mean to kill him, he can escape to a place which I will choose for you and there he will be safe.† (Ex. 21.13) Thinking that death penalty is intrinsically evil, most people probably do not realize that it is legal and therefore say that it is â€Å"not approved† by the Church. On the contrary, the Church has a long history of approving it. In his City of God (Book 1, Ch. 21), St. Augustine of Hippo deems the imposition of death penalty as â€Å"not contrary† to the commandment â€Å"Thou shall not kill† and signifies approval of death penalty based on certain exceptions [3]. By this statement, St. Augustine mentions about God’s â€Å"explicit commission to an individual for a limited time,† (Ibid.) thereby exempting the individual from the killing â€Å"since the agent of authority is but a sword in the hand and is not

Mandated Curriculum vs. Developmentally Appropriate Practices Essay

Mandated Curriculum vs. Developmentally Appropriate Practices - Essay Example While DAP allows children to solve their own problems as they are encouraged to engage themselves, it also helps in reducing learning gaps (Gestwicki 32). The processing capabilities of the children’s minds are also improved because they are encouraged to engage in the areas that they are most comfortable with thus improving creativity (Shipley). For the level of kindergarten, I feel that using textbook-based curriculum is not necessary. This is because textbook-based curriculum is restricted on the topics and areas that should be learnt. This therefore limits the scope of learning denying the children an opportunity to experiment, which is very important especially during the developmental stage. In addition, this mode does not favor the literacy skills of the gifted children because they are steered to a different direction away from their areas of expertise. As a recommendation, the mode of learning that encourages literacy development is the eclectic homeschooling (Bess). A schooling environment that provides an opportunity to teach is very important since the parent gets to pick the approaches to use when teaching the child. Bess, Beth W. "What Kind of Curriculum Should You Use? | Home Educators Association of Virginia." Home Educators Association of Virginia. n.d. Web. 10 Aug. 2014. http://heav.org/basic-info/gifted/what-kind-of-curriculum-should-you-use/ "Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)† National Association for the Education of Young Children NAEYC. n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2014. http://www.naeyc.org/DAP Shipley, Tisha. "Early Childhood Education: Implementing Developmentally Appropriate Practices into Literacy Instruction - Whole Child Education." Whole Child Education. 22 Jan 2014. Web. 10 Aug. 2014.

Legal theory- law is, by its nature, a moral enterprise discuss Essay

Legal theory- law is, by its nature, a moral enterprise discuss - Essay Example The value system their codes represent, although enforced by the elite or recognised by the mainstream, are all quite frequently untruthful.2 We thus admire individuals who, for the sake of morality, have endangered their lives in defiance. Inopportunely, a good deal of what they declare in their own justification is difficult to believe. The idea of Aquinas of higher law can function as a point of comparison. He argued that the process of promulgation is fundamental to law, that a law not disseminated by a source is impossible.3 This means that a higher law has a source, which is its promulgator. This particular promulgator cannot be simply a mortal—not if the law under consideration is better and greater than all codes transmitted by humans.4 God is the promulgator, the law He disseminates perpetual. The natural law, which takes part in the timeless law, is a thing that can be understood by mortals naturally.5Therefore, law is naturally moral. When laws bestow guardianship of minor children to the parent who shows the most potential to further the wellbeing and security of the child, extradite those accused of moral turpitude, they obviously oblige judges to resolve cases morally throughout their legal decision makings.6 Similarly, when constitutions oblige judges to re-examine laws to discern whether they give the procedure that is due individuals, respect the rights of citizens to free speech, freedom from unjustified searches and arrests, freedom to exercise any religion, and others, they oblige judges to make legal decisions founded on moral codes.7 Likewise, once the common law raises tort accountability on whether a person behaved rationally, or once law defends what would otherwise be unlawful behaviour by symmetry of evils justification, judges should resolve cases morally in order to reach legal resolutions.8 Such clear integration of morality by the evident law raises issues for some

The effective use of participatory action within public-private Dissertation

The effective use of participatory action within public-private partnership in the provision of housing for key workers bearing - Dissertation Example 6 2.3.1 Carrying field work for CSR †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 9 2.4 Sustainability in housing provision †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 10 2.5 Conceptualising participation for both public and private sectors †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 13 3. Citizen power: The Ghana experience †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. .†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...16 4. The Stakeholders †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... 17 4.1 The Ministry of Works and Housing †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... 17 4.2 The World Bank †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 18 4.3 The Home Finance Comp any †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 18 4.4 Strengthening Community management in the development and operation of facilities and services (SCMP) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 19 4.5 Shack Dwellers International (SDI) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 20 5. Framework through participatory methods of stakeholders †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 21 5.1 Ethical Issues Involved †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... ... Assessment: What brings success to a PPP? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 33 8. References †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 38 1. Introduction Housing has become one of humanity’s basic needs. Without a roof over their heads, individuals become like nomads searching for their place where they can be pioneers, although nomads are different than refugees who flee ‘because they have no choice’ (Kaplan as cited in Buki, 2003, p. 24). In the so-called third world countries, especially Ghana, housing is one of the primary programs over which government makes decisions. Whether to alleviate poverty, to jumpstart the economy, or to improve the quality of life of the people, providing housing for the workers and ordinary employees with the support of the public and private sectors is a m ajor undertaking of a developing economy. (Mason 1996, p. 176) People in Ghana are not refugees; neither are they nomads. They value housing as basic human need but housing is a precious commodity that is difficult to grasp. In other words, post-colonial Ghana has relatively failed in its housing policy: the 1986 National Housing Policy and 1992 National Shelter Strategy both did not succeed (Obeng-Odoom 2013). However, several administrations have tried to put up housing programs for city residents, employing public-private partnerships although those are still in the implementation stage (Obeng-Odoom, p. 108). Housing leaders and experts have called for secondary mortgage solution to solve the growing problem of housing in Africa. Experts also recommended that the private sector, especially the banking industry, should provide financing in the form of home equity loans, to help solve the housing problem. (Obeng-Odoom 2013, p. 109)

The City Hall of Los Angeles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The City Hall of Los Angeles - Essay Example The pride of the nation is clearly manifested by the fact that the top of City Hall's tower was designed to resemble the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The City Hall of Los Angeles is another building that represents the pride of a powerful nation in the 21st century just as El Escorial stood as a sign of a great nation in the 16th century. These two structures served their purpose of showing to the world what the country they represent was capable of doing in terms of arts, engineering, and science and technology. There are several aspects where we can equate this two architectural figures against each other. We can examine as to their purpose and usability, the motive of its conceptualization, the approach and styles the structures were developed, and their respective contributions to the history of architecture and structural engineering. This essay digs down into the essence of these facts and would try to explain them. There maybe other landmarks in the United States and the world greater than the City Hall but once in recent history it brought pride to the nation because of its structural magnificence and proportion. Besides, this structure also represents the advancement of a nation in terms or economy, culture, and science and technology. ... The building of such enormous structure serves to remind the nation of its capabilities. Speaking of the structure as a show of economic might, the LA City Hall is built in a highly progressive city within an economically superior state which is part of a super powerful nation. It represented the government being the based of its management and operation. It was built from materials obtained from different parts of LA which clearly show that its creation is a pooling of everyone's pride. The building stood in a place where nature is so unfriendly LA being in a fault and a seismic hazard. Yet it rose to the top undaunted by this geologic challenge. The gamble could only be best when the sophistication of modern architecture combined with science and technology warrants more that fifty percent of survival. It indeed survived the challenge, proof to that is it still exists today. As further evidence to the technological advancement of its structural systems, the seismic retrofit at Los Angeles City Hall was selected as a winner in Buildings magazine's 2003 Modernization Awards among other awards and citations. One important culture of the people that pushed for the building of LA structure is risk taking attitude. Taking the challenge in a rational way and making use of creative thinking and harnessing available resources and good minds makes nothing impossible. For the creative developers some things are just difficult but never impossible. Added into its pride was designing the top of City Hall's tower to resemble the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Today with continuous upgrading and reinforcing the LA City Hall survived the challenges of times. Newer structures around the

Senior Class Gift Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Senior Class Gift - Essay Example Finally, in September 2006 the Young Alumni Trustee was named but the reorganization had left the members of the Senior Class Gift Committee with no clear responsibility The Young Alumni Trustee is a position on the Board of Trustees that is granted to a graduating senior each year. The successful program had been in effect since 1996 and each member that is awarded the position serves a three-year term. By April 2006, the selection committee had settled on two finalists, Cathleen Doan and Brian Levin. The winner was to be announced at commencement ceremonies on May 20. On April 25, 2006, students received an e-mail re-opening the application process and encouraging students to reapply. The selection committee justified their actions based on low student interest and lack of diversity among the applicants. Doan and Levin were still considered finalists, but Laurie Musgrove, Vice President of University Advancement, said they were seeing if "other students should be joining them as finalists". Robin Warde, Interim Director of Alumni Relations, said the concern was the small number of original student applicants. Warde noted that only 5 members of the class of 2006 had been interviewed and said, "something different needed to be done". It was apparent that the board had been remiss in addressing this problem sooner. According to Warde, they had been concerned over lack of participation in previous years. Musgrove and Warde, however, waited until the finalists had been selected to make the last minute changes. Musgrove had some misgivings and expressed the "wish that timing could be different". She continued to encourage Doan and Levin to stay in the process and viewed their withdrawal with "disappointment and dismay". Before commencement ceremonies, the Board of Trustees took control of the nominating process after overriding the previous decisions made by the nominating board. President Ronald Machtley and BOT Chairman Thomas Taylor headed the new selection committee. No winner was announced at that time. In September 2006, the Bryant University Board of Trustees (BOT) named Saddi Williams as the 2006 Young Alumnus Trustee at their annual meeting during Homecoming Weekend. The BOT also established the Bryant Senior Advisory Council (BSA), a 30 member committee comprised of students that will be the pool for next year's applicants. Warde has made a commitment to working with students all year and promoting a wide representation on the BSA. The controversy that began in April 2006 had not gone away by September. The creation of the BSA created another debate over the Senior Class Gift program. During the summer of 2006, Shannon Maldonando and I (Amr Zawawi) worked to develop a "comprehensive plan for the 2007 Senior Class Gift". However, on September 22, 2006 the President's office released a press statement that said, "The Bryant Senior Advisory Council shall also act as a core group to engage the senior class in developing a plan for their class gift". This resulted in confusion and further divisiveness surrounding the role of Moldanado and I in the gift selection process. The controversial changes that began in April 2006 had continued to linger and in attempting to correct past problems resulted in creating new controversies. Summer Plans The Senior Class Gift Committee had made a decision to begin working on the project at the earliest possible date. We all

The City Hall of Los Angeles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The City Hall of Los Angeles - Essay Example The pride of the nation is clearly manifested by the fact that the top of City Hall's tower was designed to resemble the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The City Hall of Los Angeles is another building that represents the pride of a powerful nation in the 21st century just as El Escorial stood as a sign of a great nation in the 16th century. These two structures served their purpose of showing to the world what the country they represent was capable of doing in terms of arts, engineering, and science and technology. There are several aspects where we can equate this two architectural figures against each other. We can examine as to their purpose and usability, the motive of its conceptualization, the approach and styles the structures were developed, and their respective contributions to the history of architecture and structural engineering. This essay digs down into the essence of these facts and would try to explain them. There maybe other landmarks in the United States and the world greater than the City Hall but once in recent history it brought pride to the nation because of its structural magnificence and proportion. Besides, this structure also represents the advancement of a nation in terms or economy, culture, and science and technology. ... The building of such enormous structure serves to remind the nation of its capabilities. Speaking of the structure as a show of economic might, the LA City Hall is built in a highly progressive city within an economically superior state which is part of a super powerful nation. It represented the government being the based of its management and operation. It was built from materials obtained from different parts of LA which clearly show that its creation is a pooling of everyone's pride. The building stood in a place where nature is so unfriendly LA being in a fault and a seismic hazard. Yet it rose to the top undaunted by this geologic challenge. The gamble could only be best when the sophistication of modern architecture combined with science and technology warrants more that fifty percent of survival. It indeed survived the challenge, proof to that is it still exists today. As further evidence to the technological advancement of its structural systems, the seismic retrofit at Los Angeles City Hall was selected as a winner in Buildings magazine's 2003 Modernization Awards among other awards and citations. One important culture of the people that pushed for the building of LA structure is risk taking attitude. Taking the challenge in a rational way and making use of creative thinking and harnessing available resources and good minds makes nothing impossible. For the creative developers some things are just difficult but never impossible. Added into its pride was designing the top of City Hall's tower to resemble the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Today with continuous upgrading and reinforcing the LA City Hall survived the challenges of times. Newer structures around the

Fossil Evidence Essay Example for Free

Fossil Evidence Essay 1. A. Fossil evidence has been used to support evolution. Paleontologists have dug up old bones and other things that were preserved in sedimentary rock. All of these things that were found show evidence that there was life long ago, however that’s not the only thing these fossils show. Fossils also show that there have been changes in the organisms that have inhabited this earth. The reason it supports that is once we compare the fossils to another organism, by using many different techniques, we can then see how the fossil from back then has adapted and evolved into this new organism. However it is still the same organism just modified to the environment it lives in during that time period. Just like everything else that has positives, this also has some negatives. One of the weaknesses of fossil evidence is that many organisms that died never got preserved because of where they were located. Not only were some organisms not fossilized, but some fossils were destroyed by geological processes. That leaves only some to be found. Despite these weaknesses the fossil record is still a great tool to show us the biological change that has occurred over vast amounts of time. B. The relationship between many organisms can be traced back to a common ancestor. As time progresses organisms evolve and change from this common ancestor, making it harder to just see the relationships between organisms. There are three types of evidence that explains how organisms can be related and that it just is the organism evolving; comparative anatomy, comparative biochemistry, and comparative embryology. One of the ones I am discussing is comparative biochemistry which is when you compare organisms by the similarity of their DNA, proteins, genes, gene products and their common genetic code. DNA, RNA, the genetic code and proteins are similar in all organisms. When the genetic and molecular similarity between species is great, that means that those two species are closer to sharing a common ancestor. The second one I will explain is comparative anatomy. This also shows that organisms share a common ancestor, but proves it by the similarities of the organism’s anatomical structure. You look at the organism’s body parts and their anatomy and look to see if there is any connection between the organisms. There are two major concepts to comparative anatomy; homologous structures and analogous structures. Homologous is when the structures are  similar due to common descent. While analogous is when structures are similar because they evolved in similar environments. You do this by taking the bone structures and looking the appendages, because that is where you can see if one or multiple organisms have the same bone structure for that particular area.

Vertebrate Success in the Urban Environment

Vertebrate Success in the Urban Environment Dr Giles Johnson Lay Abstract Despite urban expansion causing an overall decrease in the number and variety of animals that inhabit a given area, some vertebrate species have made a success of urban living. Using the red fox, the Norway rat, the rock dove, and the peregrine falcon as case studies, this review analyses the resources and features that allow these animals to thrive in human settlements; and in turn how living in such environments affects them. The literature provides evidence of the ample food that urban centres provide for vertebrates, primarily in the form of waste. In the case of the peregrine falcon, the arrival of the pigeon has provided a source of prey. The living requirements of each species differed due to differences in size, reproductive behaviour and the ability to fly. Living in urban environments has dramatic effects on these species; changes in social behaviour and reproduction contribute to more efficient exploitation of the resources available. We argue that a flexible strategy in t erms of behaviour and diet is fundamental to urban success in vertebrates. Knowledge in this area may provide the means to better control populations, curbing the spread of pest species and encouraging desirable species into urban centres. Scientific Abstract Despite the homogenising effect of urban expansion on species richness some vertebrates have successfully colonised the urban niche. Using Vulpes vulpes, Rattus norgevicus, Columba livia, and Falco peregrinus as case studies, this review analyses the resources available to these species and in the strategies employed to better exploit them. Urban centres provide ample food for vertebrates primarily in the form of human waste. In the case of F.peregrinus the establishment of colonies of C.livia provides a constant prey source encouraging expansion into urban centres; providing an example of secondary succession. Differences in size and behaviour as well as terrestrial and aerial lifestyles result in different living requirements and thus preference in urban density. Living in urban environments also exerts pressures on these species. Spatio-temporal changes in resources specifically result in changes in social behaviour as well as reproductive behaviour and physiology as an adaptive r esponse. We argue that plasticity in response to diet, behaviour and physiology are fundamental to urban vertebrate success. We suggest further research into whether such responses are genotypic or phenotypic. Better understanding of such phenomena may provide humans with better means to manage urban ecology. Introduction A 2014 report on urbanisation by the UN found 54% of the global population lived in urban centres at the time, meaning for the first time in human history more people live in urban than rural environments. This figure compares to 30% in 1950 with a projection to reach 66% by 2050. These trends are encouraged by both migration and an expected rise in the population from 7.2 billion to 9.6 billion by 2050 (UN, 2014). Despite urbanisation being attributed to threatening 8% of terrestrial species (Mcdonald et al., 2008) and having a homogenising effect on biodiversity (Clergeau et al., 2006), Angold et al. (2006) state that wildlife can indeed prosper in the urban environment. Although, Mckinney et al. (2006) correctly point out that some urban adaptable species tend to dominate the urban niche and spread globally resulting in biotic homogenisation. This review is concerned with vertebrate species that dominate the urban environment; assessing both the causes of such success and observin g the effects that urban life has upon these species. The introduction will define urbanisation and address both the potential negative and positive effects on overall biodiversity and on individual species. The body of this review will use two mammal and two bird species as case studies focusing on food, shelter, group behaviour, and reproduction as indicators of how species exploit the urban niche, and how in turn urban life can cause changes in these species. Jones and Leather (2012) define an urban area as a human settlement with a population greater than 10,000, characterised by a mosaic of land uses including residential, commercial, industrial and infrastructural with occasional green spaces. Moller et al. (2009) define urbanisation as the conversion of natural habitats into areas partly covered by buildings, heavily fragmented and with a high level of edge effects. Bateman and Fleming (2012) argue that urbanisation is difficult to define and will not only vary from region to region, but also exists on a scale with cities offering the most extreme of disturbed anthropogenic altered environments, through to towns and villages as well as infrastructure and parkland. It is often difficult to quantify the direct impact of urbanisation on an ecosystem due to urban centres usually predating modern ecological analysis, but, although caution should be taken with estimation, studies that compare urban systems to undisturbed natural ecosystems can provide some insight. One such study by Brook et al. (2003) assessed the impact that potential habitat loss in Singapore had on local biodiversity since the British colonised the region in 1819. The analysis combined historic documentation on land clearance and development with evidence of recent extinctions in the area. They calculated that 95% of the rainforest habitat had been cleared, estimating that the figure for overall biodiversity loss could be at minimum 28% with a vertebrate extinction rate between 34-43%. They further highlight the bleak outlook for wildlife in the region with 77% of local wildlife currently threatened. A recent study by Newbold et al. (2015) analysed the impact of land use on loca l biodiversity. The findings suggest that local richness, rarefied richness and abundance decrease as the intensity of human interference and population density increases, attributes all associated with urbanisation. These analyses draw attention to the impact that habitat loss caused through urban development can have on animal biodiversity. Destruction of habitat can also cause habitat fragmentation; the process of a habitat breaking apart and becoming increasingly isolated (Fahrig, 2003). Haddad et al. (2015) analysed data collected from over 35 years from several biomes globally and various fragment sizes. They found that fragmentation reduced biodiversity by between 13-70% with the effect greatest on the smallest and oldest fragments. The size and scale of this study provides strong evidence for such effects. Fragmentation can also exert genetic effects on a population by creating barriers through which genetic information cannot easily flow (Templeton et al., 1990). The smaller and more genetically isolated these populations are the greater likelihood the population will go extinct (Slatkin, 1977). Behavioural and morphological effects have also been observed in fragmented populations. The work of Hill et al. (1999) on the butterfly Hesperia comma in the South Downs found that individuals residing in more isolated f ragments tended to invest in larger flight muscles; a trait associated with increased dispersal distances, whereas individuals in less fragmented habitats tended to invest less in flight muscles and more in larger reproductive organs. Despite the negative impact on biodiversity there are opportunities in the urban ecosystem for animals that can take advantage. Anthropogenic food sources in the form of refuse (Gardner-Santana et al., 2009), spillage (Murton, 1972), and cultural feeding practices (Doncaster and Macdonald, 1990) all provide ample food supply for urban populations. Although buildings and infrastructure can cause fragmentation and mortality risk (Bateman and Fleming, 2012), the patchwork mosaic of commercial, residential and green spaces provides a variety of potential homes for animals (Angold et al., 2006). Once initial colonisation has taken place, the dramatic reduction in competition and abundance of resources allows a niche shift, contributing to a rapid establishment (Diamond, 1970). Despite the potential benefits, urban environments are still one of the most challenging for animals to live in due to the high level and wide range of anthropogenic disturbances; mostly in the form of development a nd traffic (Bateman and Fleming, 2012). This review will make the case that in this shifting environment a high level of behavioural, physiological and morphological plasticity contributes greatly to a species success. The four case studies were selected with three criteria in mind. First a sufficient body of literature to allow for detailed comparison. Second to provide insight into the effects urbanisation has on urban vertebrates. Third species were selected that offer specific challenges to society such as pest or endangeredÂÂ   species. The four vertebrate case studies analysed in this paper are the red fox, Vulpes vulpes; the Norway rat, Rattus norgevicus; the urban pigeon or rock dove, Columba livia; and the peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus. V.vulpes was selected due to the the well documented comparison between both its urban and rural ecology and behaviour. C.livia is another well studied urban species with a long urban history; originally being kept as a source of protein throughout the middle ages (Murton et al., 1972). The ecology R.norgevicus is less well studied. This is surprising as it isone of the most ecologically destructive vertebrates (Higgins et al., 2015), regarded amo ng the most numerous and pervasive of urban pests (Feng et al., 2012), and known to harbour many zoonotic pathogens (Himsowrth et al., 2013) making it an important topic for study. C.livia also presents similar problems, befouling public spaces through defecation, the fine particles of which are loaded with zoonotic pathogens creating a risk to public health (Hetmanski et al., 2010). F.peregrinus Is a particularly interesting case of an urban success story as they also represent one of the great conservation management success stories of the last century. In the Midwest it now exclusively resides in urban centres where it was extirpated following the population crash during the 50s and 60s (Caballero, 2016). Understanding what makes these species successful could potentially help with population control of dangerous pest species such as the Norway rat and the pigeon. Understanding the factors that contribute to these species success may also allow us to build environments that encourage desirable animals, such as the peregrine and the fox, as well as creating opportunities for less successful species.This review will analyse the traits that allow successful vertebrates to exploit the anthropogenic resources available, primarily in the form of food and shelter. It will also cover the behavioural and reproductive effects that the urban environment exerts upon these groups. Resources: Food Contesse et al. (2004) found that 85% of households in Zurich had anthropogenic food accessible to foxes. There is a vast array of literature that supports the claim that V.vulpes exploits such sources. Doncaster and Macdonald (1990) analysed the diet of the fox population in Oxford finding that a majority of 37% of the average annual food intake was scavenged, a result reflected by Contesse et al. (2004) in the city of Zurich where it reached 50%. Interestingly, in both studies this figure fluctuates in response to seasonal variation. Doncaster and Macdonald (1990) found scavenging was highest during the winter when other food sources were lower, and lowest during the late summer/autumn when seasonal fruits were abundant. This flexibility in diet is reflected in studies of V.vulpes in rural environments. One study in southern England found two thirds of the diet comprised of game, withÂÂ   mostly rodents and fruit making up the remainder (Reynolds and Tapper, 1995). Whilst anot her found that for foxes inhabiting mountainous regions in the Czech Republic rodents made up the majority, supported by varying quantities of beetles, ungulates, plant matter and fruit depending on the season (Hartova-Nentichova et al., 2010). In the urban context Contesse et al. (2004) note that the more extreme urban environments, such as the city centre, were associated with increased levels of dietary scavenge. Baker and Harris (2007) suggest opportunistic feeding a factor in the successful colonisation of the urban niche and these studies support such a claim. Pickett et al. (2001) propose that the increased quantity and continuous source of food in the form of human food waste as well as the cultural practice of feeding urban wildlife has a positive impact on the fox population. Further to this, Contesse et al. (2004) calculated that the surplus of refuse removed food as a limiting factor for the fox population in Zurich which has resulted in a large and increasing population . Unlike the Zurich fox population food is usually determines carrying capacity for urban rat populations (Higgins et al., 2015). This is possibly due to the varying lengths of time these populations have been established. V.vulpes colonised the UK in the 1930s (Doncaster and Macdonald, 1990) and Zurich in the 1980s (Contesse et al., 2004) whilst the commensal rat population has potentially lived alongside humans for thousands of years (Feng et al, 2014). An opportunistic generalist, R.norgevicus occupies urban centres and feeds primarily on refuse (Gardner-Santana et al, 2009). Schein and Orgain (1953) calculated that one third of anthropogenic refuse is a suitable food source for rats providing a constantly replenishing food source in urban areas. The Norway rat is so well adapted to urban life that it is rarely found in the wild, suggesting they require humans to survive (Feng and Himsworth, 2014). Although dietary flexibility has contributed to the colonisation of the urban niche t he suggestion that this species are now completely dependent upon it for survival might imply a lack of flexibility once established. A comparative study by Murton and Westwood (1966) found the rural population of C.livia nesting on the cliffs at Farnborough head fed on a variety of grains, legumes weed seeds and some small invertebrates; the ratios of which fluctuated in response to the agricultural season. The diet of the population in Leeds consisted primarily of bread but also fruit cake and commercial seed mix provided by the public. However, much of the produce found in the rural population was also present in the urban population. Murton and Westwood (1966) attributed this to the public but a study by Rose et al. (2006) provides further insight. The study analysed the spatio-temporal use of the urban habitat of C.livia in the city of Basel. They found that there were three different foraging strategies employed: 1) in the streets, squares and parks near the home site 2) In agricultural areas surrounding the city 3) on docks and railway lines in the harbour. Most individuals stayed within 0.3km of their nesti ng site in the city with only 7.5% of the population flying to the agricultural and dock sites which were over 2km away. It was found that these foraging strategies were only employed in conjunction with foraging near the home site suggesting they were secondary strategies when access to local sources was restricted. Evidence that urban pigeons employ a flexible foraging strategy. Ali et al. (2013) suggests that the worldwide urban pigeon population has boomed due to the continuous supply of anthropogenic food compared to seasonal fluctuations in rural environments. Interestingly, this population boom has potentially aided the colonisation of the urban niche and the recovery of the peregrine falcon. A study by Drewitt and Dixon (2008) analysed the diet of peregrines in three British cities: Bristol, Bath and Exeter. They found that pigeons and other doves comprised 47% of the peregrine diet making up the majority of the peregrine diet; reflecting figures from a study in Warsaw 32% (Rejt, 2001). Both studies observed seasonal fluctuations in the proportion of pigeon taken. Drewitt and Dixon (2008) noted that during the starling breeding season juveniles can make up 19% of the peregrine diet, whilst Rejt (2001) recorded a drop to 10-19% of pigeon in the diet during the migration season and exceeding 50% over the harsher winter months. It is thought that the coun tershading present on migrating birds which is beneficial in natural light is maladaptive in the artificial glare of the city lights allowing the peregrines to take advantage (Ruxton et al., 2004). TheseÂÂ   studies provide evidence for a flexible, opportunistic feeding strategy. Interestingly from an ecological perspective, the urban pigeon forming the base prey for urban peregrines (Cade and Bird, 1990) suggests secondary succession occurring in the urban environment; with the pioneer species C.livia allowing the establishment of F.peregrinus. These four case studies not only highlight the variety of food sources available to urban species but also provide insight in the type of feeding strategy enables species to exploit this niche. Although diet and preference might vary, a generalist opportunistic approach strategy is favoured, suited to the often constant but highly varied anthropogenic food types available. Resources: Places to Live Throughout the year V.vulpes rest in lays, structures that provide the fox with shelter, situationally (Doncaster and Macdonald, 1990). However, during the breeding season red foxes require open ground to construct breeding dens, due to this they prefer less dense residential areas where open ground provides suitable sites (Doncaster and Macdonald, 1990). In comparison the requirements of R.norgevicus are minimal, being smaller in size and less particular in regards to breeding sites. All that is needed is adequate harborage and a nearby food source, typically refuse (Gardner et al., 1948). Rats will burrow in soil, use abandoned structures, and even climb buildings and make nests from anthropogenic materials (Gardner et al., 1948). As a result rats thrive in run down neighbourhoods where there are more abandoned and neglected properties that provide harbourage (Himsworth et al., 2013). Although these two species require both refuge and food, differences in size and breeding behaviou r results in different requirements. As a consequence the fox faces greater restriction. Although birds face similar problems the spatial differences in habitat mean birds are less affected by fragmentation (Fahrig, 2003). A study by Ali et al., (2013) on the ecology of C.livia in Islamabad found pigeons to be present on bridges, tall buildings, as well as in semi urban spaces such as parks and gardens. Interestingly, population density increased around urban centres and decreased around semi-urban spaces showing a clear bias to extreme urban environments. The human environment also provides suitable nesting sites for F.peregrinus, with urban peregrines roosting on the tallest buildings in an urban space (Cade and Bird, 1990). It could be suggested that tall man-made structures such as skyscrapers mimic the cliff side habitat of these species allowing successful colonisation to occur. Effects: Range and Group Behaviour The urban environment is characterised by high level of disturbance. Construction, demolition and changes in human population all contribute to fluctuations in the spatial distribution of resources (Doncaster and Macdonald, 1990). In response to this we see high levels of plasticity in fox social behaviour (Doncaster and Macdonald, 1991; Baker et al., 1998). The home range of urban foxes is dramatically reduced usually extending for less than 100ha (Doncaster and Macdonald, 1991), whilst in rural individuals it can exceed 2000ha (Contesse et al., 2004). This is associated with increased resources over a smaller area which also results in increased population density (Doncaster and Macdonald, 1991). Interestingly, this has implications for the social behaviour of urban foxes. Red foxes are usually solitary animals that form pairs during the breeding season, but in urban settings live in groups of three to five (Doncaster and Macdonald, 1991). This is best explained by the spatio-tempo ral variation in the availability of resources in the anthropogenic environment which impacts both individual benefit and defence costs potentially leading to group formation (Doncaster and Macdonald, (1991); Baker et al., (1998). The spatial distribution of resources in towns and cities is such that with only two members the perimeter cannot be fully defended whilst the amount of resources within a territory are often abundant enough to promote group formation (Donacaster and Macdonald, 1991). These changes in social structure show high levels of behavioural plasticity which has potentially aided the expansion of the red fox into the urban niche. There are interesting parallels to draw between urban rat and fox populations, particularly in relation to range and social behaviour. The home range of urban rats is typically small; consisting of narrow strips between the animals harbourage and its food supply (Davis, 1953). Gardner-Santana et al. (2009) proposed that the range of urban rats is much smaller in urban environments, ranging from 25-150m (Davis, 1953), compared to those of rats in rural environments, which range from 260-2000m (Taylor and Quy, 1978). Feng et al. (2014) suggest that range is dependent on the availability of suitable harborage and food sources as well as pressure from conspecifics. This is comparable to the reduction in fox range which was attributed to a high density of anthropogenic resources in the urban environment. Like the red fox, urban rats also exist in larger colonies than their rural counterparts although, unlike foxes, they lack co-operative behaviour (Feng et al., 2014). In fact, the increas ed population density and fierce competition often results in increased levels of aggression (Feng et al., 2014). There is also evidence that spatio-temporal distribution of resources affects group size and behaviour in C.livia. Murton et al. (1972) noted that the flock size of C.livia was directly related to the quantity of daily food spillage, unlike in the closely related wood pigeon, C.palambus, where seasonal food supply dictates flock size. Murton also observed that pigeonsociety exists in hierarchical structure with some birds occupying the centre of the flock and having preferential access to the best feeding spots. Despite differences in social structure, the changes in range and group living in the fox, rat and pigeon offer insight into the effects that urban living can exert upon the behaviour of species. It could be suggested that the plastic nature of these behaviours has contributed to the success of these animals in the urban niche. Questioning whether such effects stem from the environment working on established plasticity within the genotype or whether such changes are the resul t of natural selection would provide an interesting topic for further study. Effects: Reproduction and Population Due to their high fecundity, even in urban environments with an abundant resources, food usually determines the carrying capacity of the urban rat population. A sexually mature female can produce five litters per year with 4-8 pups per litter (Margulis, 1977). The work of Ziporyn and McClintock (1991) noted that females living in groups often establish oestrus in synchrony, observing that when this occurred 80% of pups would survive compared to asynchronous breeders. These co-ordinated events result in population booms (ibid) which maintains the numerous population. Glass and Herbert (1988) also noted that urban rats grow faster and reach sexual maturity sooner than their rural counterparts, suggesting the abundance of anthropogenic resources as a cause. Understanding when these booms occur could help humans better control urban rat populations. The effect of increased resources on rats draws parallels with the population dynamics of C.livia. Hetmanski et al. (2010) found that the size of a pigeon population in an urban environment was linked not only to the size of the urban environment but also with the density of the human population, suggesting a correlation with increased anthropogenic resources. Murton et al. (1972) noted that due to the copious food supply there is little migration resulting in nest sites remaining occupied all year and rarely becoming available. This change in behaviour meant that two thirds of the pigeon population failed to breed potentially decreasing the effective population size. Further to this, there is evidence that males carry an allele that lengthens the breeding season and increases fertility (Murton et al., 1973) suggesting there is a selective advantage for remaining sexually active for longer. Changes in reproductive strategy in urban F.peregrinus have been attributed to the speed of its recovery since the population crash in the 50s/60s. A study by Kauffman et al. (2003) compared the survival rate of rural and urban peregrines in California. During the first year it was found that urban young had a 65% chance of survival compared to 28% in rural individuals. Caballero et al. (2016) also found that the urban clutch size tends to be larger, with an average clutch size reaching 4-5 in urban environments compared to 3 in rural. This effect has resulted in a population boom with populations in the UK and Germany already exceeding pre-crash levels (Rejt, 2001) Although the mechanisms differ, there is a clear pattern for increased fecundity in urban populations of these species contributing to their success. Conclusions The case studies discussed provide evidence of the opportunities available to vertebrates with the means to take advantage of them. Despite different needs, the human habitat offers ample shelter for vertebrates, with rats and foxes occupying spaces determined by their size and behaviour whilst man-made structures mimicking the natural habitat of peregrines and pigeons offer nesting sites. Anthropogenic waste and cultural practice supplies foxes, rats and pigeons with an abundant food supply that, although fluctuates spatio-temporally in relation to human rhythms, does not suffer the same seasonal fluctuations which characterise the rural environment. This combines with the opportunistic generalist nature that characterises these species allowing them to take advantage of such resources. Consequentially, there are marked changes in behaviour with determined by the change in urban resource distribution. This has resulted in increased group size and co-operation in V.vulpes; alteration in flock size relating to daily opposed to seasonal resource fluctuations in C.livia; and larger more aggressive colonies of R.norgevicus. Peregrines also benefit from a constant food supply in the form of the anthopogenically supported pigeon population; an example of secondary succession of the urban environment. They exhibit opportunistic behaviour in both the species they hunt and their potential use of skyscrapers as hunting aids. The argument for a degree of behavioural plasticity allowing these species to take better advantage of such resources is well supported but questions are still to be answered on whether such changes are a result of natural selection or are phenotypic responses to changes in environment. Similar questions also arise when considering the effects the urban environment has on reproduction. Although the mechanisms differ, we see a pattern of increased fecundity across the case studies. Increase in fledgeling success in F.peregrinus is easily explained by ecological factors, but the change in peregrine clutch size and the increased growth and approach to sexual maturity in R.norgevicus are less easily determined. The identification of an allele in C.livia that extends the breeding season suggests a genetic cause in this instance. However, each case should be considered independently and these situations open up a multitude of questions in relation to whether cases of behavioural and physiological plasticity is related to the genotype or phenotype of an organism. There are surprising gaps in the literature and areas that appear to be poorly replicated. Reviews on urban rats comment on the lack of ecological understanding of R.norgevicus. From a utilitarian perspective this is counterintuitive considering the risk it poses ecologically, economically, and to public health. Conversely, the literature on urban foxes is both extensive and varied, perhaps denoting the popularity of this animal in the public mind. From a practical perspective this information is perhaps less useful although the cultural impact of urban wildlife should not be dismissed or undervalued. The projected increase of urbanisation highlights the importance of understanding both the traits of successful species and qualities of the environment that encourage vertebrate success. Such information can provide us with the means to better manage urban populations. In regards to pest species this could aid efforts to control and minimise their success, whilst better planning could attract not only current successful species but also edge species into the urban environment. References Ali, S., Rakha, B., Hussain, I., Nadeem, M. Rafique, M. (2013). Ecology of Feral Pigeon (Columba livia) in Urban Areas of Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Zoology, 45(5), 1229-1234. 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