Effects of Corruption in the Military

It is surprising to hear from the news nowadays that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) tops the list of the country’s most corrupt organizations. It seems like gone were the days when the Philippine National Police (PNP) hugs the limelight as the most rotten egg on the lot. With the current controversy hugging the country’s Armed Forces, the amount that the PNP’s Euro Generals took with them in their travels looked like some loose change as compared to those amassed by the AFP comptrollers and former chiefs of staff. Even the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs, whose names used to be synonymous to graft and corruption, seemed to have faded in the background to give way to the AFP’s moment. They are talking about hundreds of millions here, and that is not yet the total amount. More names have yet to be named. More funds have yet to be accounted for. And as the author says, it is alarming that the people just don’t seem to care. But how and why would they? Is corruption a new issue in this country? Is this the first time a government agency got involved in a corruption issue? Former Presidents Marcos, Aquino, Ramos and Erap had had their times under the limelight. Even those presidents before them were, and people were so affected back then, thus the birth of EDSA 1, 2 and 3 and the numerous rallies and coup attempts in the past. Then GMA entered the scene and brought with her the Hello Garci scandal, the fertilizer scam, the ZTE Fiasco. The list went on and on. And nothing was resolved, and the former economist for a president was not charged with anything, and she went on to serve (if that’s a fitting term) for a full, long nine years. Now is it a wonder if people just don’t give a damn? If they just choose to go on with their own lives and continue earning a living amidst the drama of Reyes’ suicide and all the brouhaha of the senate hearing? It is probably because they have already got used to the idea that corruption happens in this country as often as a child is being born every three minutes in the world. And despite the numerous hearings in the senate, nothing had been resolved so far. People are fed up with the regular news on how taxpayers’ money got squandered by those in the government. Protests in EDSA, at one time, became a fad. Now it seemed to have lost its symbols too. Graft and corruption became a daily staple for the Filipino people, thanks to the media that focuses on whatever’s big for the day. Reports and investigations go on for a few days, until another issue overshadows it and pushes it under the rug. As such, corruption in the military is not a surprise for the Filipinos, but just an addition to the pile of dirt being hurled around every now and then. Unlike the rest of the country, however, the controversy surrounding the AFP saddens me. I had always been fascinated with the men in uniform. I wanted to join them, but my height didn’t permit me to. I even wanted to marry a soldier, (well, I got a chance, but it just didn’t work out). Seeing the organization I so admired all these years being torn to pieces by media whores and grandstanding hungry politicians makes me cringe. It is because having worked close to these people made me understand their plights, their hardships, their devotions, and their professionalism (or at least those that I worked closely with). But the reports of corruption in the military should not be downplayed either, nor should it be buried together with former Chief of Staff and DND Secretary Angelo Reyes, who killed himself following the bullying of two senators; an underclass and a son of a former president whom he chose to betray on the so-called EDSA 2. Corruption in the AFP should not be a sympathy case now that a body lies cold and lifeless inside a coffin. (Considering the forgiving attitude of the Filipino people, this is not far from happening). It should not spare the grieving wife too, considering how she enjoys living in a lavish house which construction expenses came, as the allegations say, from the AFP funds, which could have been used instead to increase the foot soldiers’ hazard pays. The issue should be given a close scrutiny, an investigation that is unbiased, objective, fair, and as much as possible, far from the public’s eyes. Some people argue that Reyes has yet to be convicted at the time of his death, and thus, should not be labeled a criminal but instead a hero considering what he did for the country during in his lifetime. But as the saying goes, a thousand good deeds can be overshadowed by a single evil act. And there’s no smoke if there’s no fire. There are material proofs that exist, which, however I try to think of other possibilities on how they acquired those; I really could not find an answer. An OFW’s salary is way higher than that of a general, yet very few could afford to send their wives to travel abroad, so how could Mrs. Reyes get to the US and back several times in a month and even accompanied by a comptroller’s wife and other friends? How could she afford to shop for properties in America with merely 40 or 50 thousand pesos a month and some allowances as her husband’s take home pay? Or is it the allowance that matters more and not the salary? But uncovering the truth behind these things is out of my business and is beyond my capability. I am but a mere spectator to this drama that profit-oriented TV stations shove in me. But this does not mean that I could not feel the demoralizations of the lower ranking enlisted personnel in the fields. Because there they are, patrolling the fields in search of the enemies on foot with heavy backpacks containing the provisions for the mission on their backs, or at the sea patrolling the waters in pitch darkness aboard an outdated craft, or flying in planes dubbed as â€Å"widow makers. † The hundreds of millions in pesos told to have been amassed by these generals could have improved the provisions for the soldiers on patrol, or could have bought the Navy a decent sea vessel, or could have been used to buy a new aircraft instead of the usual junks from the US that the Air Force usually acquire. They have the lack of funds as the usual excuse. Sad indeed. Prior to killing himself, Reyes said that he did not invent corruption; that he just walked into it. What a statement from a supposedly intellectual man! Even an elementary student would shake its head and say, â€Å"how come he did not do anything to change it when he got the power and the capabilities to do so? † But it is too late to ask him for he’s already dead. But Reyes’ death did not solve anything (unless all of his colleagues and counterparts would follow suit). It only made the people forget for a while. After all the ceremonies at the wake, the tears that were shed, and all the intricacies of his burial, the issue still emains unsolved; the soldiers in the field are still struggling, the AFP’s equipment and facilities are still dilapidated. And Reyes’ family, and that of Ligot’s, and of Garcia’s, and all the comptrollers, budget officers, generals and chiefs of staff involved in the corruption, still live lavish ly and comfortably inside their posh homes and mansions, here and overseas. And Reyes was buried at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani. Such a farce, a big farce. Although I am not a fan of the current president, I am keeping my hopes high in his fight against corruption. I wish, I ardently do, that he would be able to curb corruptions in the AFP. If that would happen, he would reignite the fire of devotion in the lower-ranking soldiers’ hearts, as well as those whose idealism did not die as they reached the mainstream. But until the day comes that the AFP could punish those that trampled its name, it will remain the way it is today, an organization looking so stiff and brave at the outside, but is actually crumbling inside caused by relentless gnawing by the greedy and gluttonous few. In the end, it is the nation that is at the losing end.

Aetiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment Cystic fibrosis: role of P. aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis patients

Introduction Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder of salt and water regulation in the cell. The disease is caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene (Cohen and Prince, 2012). The molecular basis of CF depends on its transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein, which functions as a channel and regulates the movement of ions and water across the epithelial barrier. The barrier opens in response to increased levels of intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). The gene in normal condition is responsible for salt (chloride) and water balance in the body. However, if mutated, is not able to excrete out enough salt of the cell; thus resulting, the build of salt within the cell forming sticky mucus. If accumulated in the lungs, this sticky mucus may clinically affect the epithelial innate function of the lungs and may result in ineffective airway inflammation that fails to eradicate pulmonary pathogens (Cohen and Prince, 2012). The working mechanism of CFTR protein under normal condition is shown in figure 1. Studies have shown that increase in sodium (Na) re-absorption on the epithelial cells may indicate an event in cystic fibrosis lung disease (Cohen and Prince, 2012). These mutations on the (CFTR) protein have impacts on its production and transfer to the epical membrane of the epithelial cells, thereby influencing the conductance of chloride and bicarbonate ions across the channels resulting in the CFTR ionic imbalance of on the epithelial cells of different organs. This leads to the formation of excessive mucus in the cells, which provides an ideal condition for bacteria growth and multiplication. Interestingly, even uncommon lung bacteria such as pseudomonas have been found to inhabit in the lungs exploiting the ideal condition (Clunes and Boucher, 2007). Abnormality in the CFTR pathway results in the increase of glycolipids on the surface of CF airway epithelial cells. These glycolipids serve as receptors to increase the binding activities of bacteria, thereby facilitating the early infection process, which is a hallmark of the disease. Moreover, defect in CFTR gene is also associated with decreased nitric oxide concentration in the cell. Nitric oxide possesses antibacterial properties; thus, decrease in its concentration may predispose an individual to severe infections with faulty CFTR gene (Clunes and Boucher, 2007). In addition, the role of inflammation in CF pathogenesis seems equally important. Inflammatory response produced against the infectious pathogens in CF patients may have detrimental effects to the host cells. Inflammatory infiltrates including macrophages, neutrophils, cytokines and interleukins may induce tissue damaging responses, further deteriorating the lung function (Cymberknoh, et.al. 2013). Inhabitation of bacteria in cystic fibrosis lung As mentioned earlier, even uncommon bacterium including Pseudomonas aeruginosa can reside in the cystic fibrosis lung (Hauser, et.al. 2011). Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a gram negative, rod shaped, aerobic bacterium that prefers moist environment for growth. Commonly they are found in places such as sewage and in certain areas of the human body. Furthermore, they reside in lakes, moist vegetables, moist soil and streams. Studies have also suggested that that most human infections due to P. aeruginosa result due to contact with these natural reservoirs (Friman, et.al. 2013). Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been recognized as an important pathogen in CF. Soon after residence in the lungs, it becomes extremely difficult to eradicate them by antibiotics. The persistent presence of these bacteria in the lungs ultimately results failure of the immune system to provide a defense against them; this leads to respiratory failure resulting in death of the patient (Folkesson, et.al. 2012). Firstly, P.aeruginosa acquires the airway of the patient with cystic fibrosis, which occurs during the very early phase of the disease. Infection may ensue once this bacterium enters the CF host and colonizes the oropharynx, then to the lower respiratory tract by process of micro aspiration. Infection becomes intermittent at the initial stage as a result of acquisition of different strains. During the early stage of infection, the isolate looks like environmental strains, non-mucoid and susceptible to antibiotics. Eventually P. aeruginosa establishes itself and chronic infection ensues (Folkesson, et.al. 2012). In chronic stage of CF, P. aeruginosa produces a mucoid alginate by growing in bio-film of the end- bronchiolar space. It lacks lipopolysaccharide and becomes non-motile, resulting in the development of antibiotic resistance during. Despite the known mechanism and availability of antibiotics, P.aeruginosa is able to chronically infect the airway of patients with CF and is able to cause an unrelenting decline in pulmonary function and deterioration; but how these happen has been focus on intense research (Folkesson, et.al. 2012). Molecular pathogenesis of P.aeruginosa infection in CF The molecular basis of infection due to P. aeruginosa in CF is still not fully understood. However, it may be peculiar to a specific strain at the time of adaptation after acquisition. Studies have indicated that the persistence of the bacterium in the lungs might be due to its high level of propensity and the ability to adapt with environmental changes and stress (Hauser, et.al. 2011). aeruginosa possesses traits that enable them to colonize and persist in acute and chronic infection. These traits include; High resistance to antibiotics (Zhang, et.al. 2011) Effective cell-cell communication singalling for growth and multiplication (Friman, et.al. 2013). Ability to form biofilms, plethora and virulence products and metabolic versatility (Wagner and Iglewski, 2008). The biofilms are synthesized by the bacterium encased within a hydrated polymeric matrix and are clinically important; this is because, P. aeruginosa in this mode of growth utilizes it to cope with phagocytes by the neutrophils and macrophages, as well as to the killing by antibiotics. This allows them for persistent survival in chronically infected CF despite the continuous natural immune response and antibiotics effect (Zhang, et.al. 2011). The disease pathogenesis and severity is further triggered by inflammatory responses in the later stage of the disease. Mainly the pro-inflammatory enhancers become physiologically active in the absence of function CFTR gene. Although the exact inflammatory pathophysiology of CF still remains debatable, persistent infection, poor pathogen clearance, acidic environment and are considered some of the key triggers for initiating chronic inflammatory response in the lungs of the patient with CF (Pier, 2008). The mechanism is explained in figure 2. Synthesis of ceramide from sphingomyelin by acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) and degradation by acid ceramidase (AC) is optimal at an acidic pH, such as that of normal intracellular vesicles (pH 4.5). Lack of functional CFTR increases vesicle pH to 5.9, partially inhibiting ASM and highly inhibiting AC, resulting in ceramide accumulation in the vesicle and age-dependent pulmonary inflammation. Other properties of the cystic fibrosis–affected lung, including lack of the CFTR receptor needed for clearing Pseudomonas aeruginosa, enhanced mucin secretion, a dehydrated airway surface liquid, viscous mucus and DNA deposits released from ceramide-engorged apoptotic cells, also contribute to P. aeruginosa airway colonization. Eventually, this microbe establishes a chronic infection wherein bacterial cells reside in low-oxygen mucus plugs and become highly resistant to clearance or killing by host defenses (Pier, 2008) P.aeruginosa potentially synthesize factors such as proteolytic enzymes, which damage the host cells by altering the host iron-containing protein forming hydroxyl radicals that contribute to host tissue injury and inflammation; thereby decreasing the level of anti-inflammatory cytokines including IL-10, and at the same time, activating neutrophils in the airway lumen. Continuous recruitment of these neutrophils induces tissue damaging inflammatory response mainly affecting pulmonary tissue. Furthermore, neutrophils trigger the production of pro-inflammatory cytokine such as IL-8, which further contributes in the tissue damage process. In addition to pro-inflammatory cytokines, neutrophils also release the oxygen free radicals that induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) of the epithelial tissue in the lungs. Thus, to conclude, the role of neutrophils in airway inflammation in patients with CF seems crucial. Instead of providing innate immunity to the infected lung, it rather trigger s detrimental inflammatory response and promote the growth of P. aeruginosa though the production of different growth enhancing cytokines, leading to the destruction of the lung tissue (Sagel, et.al. 2009). The effectiveness of the immune response in CF is exploited, allowing the establishment of a relentless cycle, whereby persistent bacteria cause increased inflammation that itself leads to increased bacterial densities, which in turn results stronger inflammatory response (Sagel, et.al. 2009). The net result is progressive tissue damage and pathological consequences and sequelae of CF that include mucopurulent plugging of bronchioles, chronic bronchitis (inflammation of the bronchioles) and bronchial gland hyperplasia (increase in the cell size of bronchial gland cells). The airway later becomes dilated and results bronchiectatic due to loss of support cartilage (Pickett, 2013). Treatment options for cystic fibrosis The decision to treat patients who are infected with P.aeruginosa can be very challenging. Prolonged treatment with antibiotics can have toxic side effects, as well as increases the chance of microbial resistance in the patients. Also, prolonged treatment may cause long term harm. Data suggest that 80% of the patients with CF die indirectly or directly from pulmonary disease (Hurley, et.al. 2012). Clinically, there has been very little progress in the development of new antibiotics with novel mode of action. Recently, researchers exploited the adjuvant therapeutic agents that may be used alongside the conventional antibiotics. Source control measures, de-escalation of antibacterial should be followed up in patients with clinical response, especially with known antibacterial susceptibilities (Hurley, et.al. 2012). Considering the virulence of this pathogen, the progress of various strategies such as efflux pumps and lectins, the use of iron chelators, immunization, immunotherapy, and inhibition of quorum sensing are currently being tested clinically for the better management of the disease. It has also been suggested that the impacts of intervening virulence of P. aeruginosa should also be assessed (Hurley, et.al. 2012). Some novel therapies are also based upon the fact that CF is caused by the mutation of the gene encoding CFTR protein; targeting the defects produced in CFTR with invacaftor in one such approach. This novel treatment seems promising in patients with specific genotype of CF. Although the long term-outcome remains unknown, the development of CFTR targeted drug is an important milestone in CF (Petit, et.al. 2012). More recently, gene therapy has been extensively studied for the complete cure of the disease. However, the technique is not easy and has several limitations and hurdles. For instance, the research on this approach is very time consuming and often very expensive. However, focus of research has been on identifying the optimal vector for gene therapy (Picket, et.al. 2013). Thus, the management of CF has been a major challenge ever since the discovery of the disease. However, advancement in medical technologies and treatments has improved the prognosis of the disease. More sophisticated treatment including gene therapy (replacing faulty CFTR gene with a normal gene) has been the focus of intense research. P. aeruginosa resistance in CF Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the common infections in western society, because of its high level of resistance to antibiotics. The synergistic relationship between the outer membrane permeability and the efflux pumps is the most important factor influencing intrinsic antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria like P. aeruginosa (Liu, et. al. 1996). The high level of P. aeruginosa resistance is due to the acquired genes coding for amino glycoside-modifying enzymes or periplasmic beta-lactamases or mutations in fluoroquinolone targets (Liu, et.al. 1996). Low outer membrane permeability, which is caused by either less production of the OprD porin, or by expressing multidrug resistance efflux pumps contributes to high level of intrinsic antibiotics resistance (Liu, et.al. 1996). Numerous efflux pumps such as MexAB-OprM and MerXY-oprMb MexAB-OprM, MeXY-OprM, MexCD-OprJ, MexEF-OprN, MexJK, MexGHI-OpmD, MexVM, MexPQ-OpmE, MecMN and TriABC are encoded in the genome of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These are of clinical importance because of their chemical ability to remove chemical-unrelated antibiotics. Among all, resistance-nodulation division (RND) super family contains the main efflux pumps of P. aeruginosa. This efflux pump has been discussed in greater details below. The energy source is derived from its proton motive force. Resistance Nodulation Division Efflux Pump Structure There are five families of multidrug resistance efflux pumps which include the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) super family, the major facilitator super family (MFS), the multidrug and toxic-compound extrusion (MATE) family, the small multidrug resistance (SMR) family and the resistance nodulation division (RND) family (Paddock, 2006). Efflux of antibiotics from the periplasm is a critical mechanism of antibiotic resistance utilized by Gram-negative cells. P. aeruginosa is capable of actively effluxing antibiotics from the periplasmic space using efflux pumps primarily from the RND family. The RND complex is tripartite in nature, composed of an outer membrane channel protein (OMP), inner membrane RND transporter, and a membrane fusion protein (MFP) (Kumar and Schweizer, 2005). The RND transporter provides the energy for the molecular transport and is often referred to as the RND pump protein (Misra and Bavro, 2009). The OMP interacts with the RND protein in the periplasm producing a chann el capable of transporting antibiotics into the extracellular space. The MFP is believed to stabilize the interactions between the RND transporter and the OMP (Misra and Bavro, 2009). All three of these components are essential for efflux function. The RND transporters are comprised of a homotrimer folded into a ?-helical transmembrane domain, with a large, soluble periplasmic domain. The top of the bacteria have semi-permeable membranes which may limit the passage of some types of antibiotics into the cell (Avrain, et.al. 2013). Multidrug resistance efflux pumps allow the bacterium to pump antimicrobials out of the cell. Porins maintain osmotic pressure by allowing the entrance/exit of hydrophilic small molecules but do not permit the passage of larger molecules. Enzymes can modify the antibiotic so that it is no longer recognized by the target, or modify them so that they are no longer functional. This is particularly prevalent with antibiotics that alter the ribosome or interfere with ribosome binding to inhibit protein synthesis. Inhibition of mRNA synthesis occurs by binding to DNA dependent RNA polymerase inhibiting initiation (Avrain, et.al. 2013). The mechanism of antibiotic resistance is shown in figure 3. Fig3: Different mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance in Gram-negative bacteria (adapted from Fluit, et.al. 2001). In the figure, A represents mRNA and B represents tRNA. When exposed to antibiotics, MexAB-OprM and MexXY-OprM remain inducible but the rest of the systems when expressed in resistant strains may immensely contribute to biocide or antibiotics resistance. Antimicrobial components are released by the RND systems and these include first line anti-pseudomonal drugs such as beta-lactams and beta-lactamase inhibitors (Poole, 2011). Furthermore, alteration or loss of the outer membrane porin protein OprD is yet another common mechanism of resistant to carbapenems(Wang, et. al. 2010). Since P. aeruginosa infections are usually treated by the use of fluoroquinolone (Ciprofloxacin), its high level resistance is as a result of mutations in the DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV enzymes, which target these antibiotics. Outbreak of P. aeruginosa An outbreak can be defined as two or more sterile site isolate of the same species, with the same antibiogram, from different babies within the space of two weeks. A Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection outbreak on neonatal intensive care units reflects a degree of breakdown in infection prevention measures. Poor hand hygiene, low nurse: patient ratio, inadequate spacing between cots, overcrowding, environmental colonization (especially of water systems), inadequate cleaning of common use equipment, injudicious use of antibiotics, particularly broad spectrum and prolonged courses and delaying the introduction of material breast milk, all contribute to the emergence of outbreaks. It has been reported that infection from P. aeruginosa usually occurs 48hrs after birth, which affects two to three per thousand babies in the UK (Walker, et.al. 2013). The occurrence of the infection is even higher in those born prematurely or with surgical conditions (Durojaiye, et.al. 2011). Microbiological analysis In previous studies, (Walker, et.al. 2013) carried out the following microbiological investigations. Dismantling of Taps Taps and flow strengtheners from relevant hospital were dismantled, categorized into components, swabs and water samples were also taken. Samples for microbiological assessment were placed in 10 ml of maximum recovery diluents together with 10 sterile glass beads (3 mm diameter, VWR International, Lutterworth, UK). The surface of each component was scraped with a sterile plastic loop (Sterilin, Newport, UK) and the suspension was then vortex-mixed (10 s) to remove biofilm and to suspend the micro-organisms. Each sample was then spirally plated (Don Whitley, Shipley, UK) on to plate count agar (Oxoid, Basingstoke, UK) and Pseudomonas selective agar (PCN, Oxoid, UK), for determination of aerobic colony count (ACC) and P. aeruginosa count respectively. This was then incubated at 30Â °C on (Plate Count Agar) or at 37Â °C (PCN) for 48 h. It was found out that complex flow straightener had significantly higher P.aeruginosa counts (P

Inspirational Stories Essay

Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. One day, he went for a trip to some distant areas of his country. When he was back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he went for such a long trip, and the road that he went through was very rough and stony. He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather. Definitely, this would need thousands of cows’ skin, and would cost a huge amount of money. Then one of his wise servants dared himself to tell the king, â€Å"Why do you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money? Why don’t you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet? † The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion, to make a â€Å"shoe† for himself. There is actually a valuable lesson of life in this story: to make this world a happy place to live, you better change yourself – your heart; and not the world. Once there was a king who told some of his workers to dig a pond.  Once the pond was dug, the king made an announcement to his people saying that one person from each household has to bring a glass of milk during the night and pour it into the pond. So, the pond should be full of milk by the morning. After receiving the order, everyone went home. One man prepared to take the milk during the night. He thought that since everyone will bring milk, he could just hide a glass of water and pour inside the pond. Because it will be dark at night, no one will notice. So he quickly went and poured the water in the pond and came back. In the morning, the king came to visit the pond and to his surprise the pond was only filled with water! What has happened is that everyone was thinking like the other man that â€Å"I don’t have to put the milk, someone else will do it. † Dear friends, when it comes to help the Religion of Allah, do not think that others will take care of it. Rather, it starts from you, if you don’t do it, no one else will do it. So, change yourself to the way of Allah to serve Him and that will make the difference.

Propery Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Propery Law - Case Study Example Mr. Jackson bought the property without even seeing it before payment was made. He relied entirely on Alex and Rogers Co. to advise him on his purchase from Damian Brown and the internet sales photographs and details of the property. Alex completed the transaction on his behalf over the summer. While Alex and Mr. Anderson were out in their office, Mr. Jackson went to their office and made a complaint over the property he bought. The secretary of Mr.Anderson wrote down the following complaints of Mr.Jackson. He is horrified to find several serious problems at the property of which he was totally unaware until now:- Jeremy Smith (son of new neighbour Mrs Smith) seems to have taken over 5 acres of the land belonging to Glebe House (and now to Mr Jackson) and is treating it as it as his own. He says he has done so for years and has no intention of stopping. Mrs Smith is complaining about the fact that Mr Jackson has applied for planning permission to change Glebe House into a conference centre and says that it is in breach of a covenant entered into several years ago between her father and Mr Brown whereby Glebe house and land were transferred on condition that there would be no business use on the property. A note was pushed through the letter box at Glebe House from a "Cheryl Armitage" claiming to be Damion Brown's fiance and wanting the return of her "investment" in Glebe House forthwith. She is contacting her solicitor. Valuable items have been taken from the property ( presumably by the seller) including: -Valuable artwork depicting the history of Glebe house -A set of garden statues -Kitchen display wall cabinets forming part of the fitted Kitchen 1) What are the rights of Mr. Anderson over the property 2) What are the liabilities, if any, of Alex and Mr. Anderson in this case 3) What are the effects of the covenant between Mrs. Smith's father and Mr. Damian Brown and the claim of Mr. Brown's fiance over the rights of Mr. Anderson over the property Answer: For us to give an answer to the issues of the question, let us first take an overview of the property law in the United Kingdom where the facts of the question arose. The right to property One of the fundamental rights afforded for the citizens of the United Kingdom is the property right which can be defined as the right to own, possess, use, enjoy, and dispose property. The term property includes but is not limited to movable properties such as cars and clothing, and immovable properties such as lands, land and buildings or land and house. Though fundamental by nature, the right to property is only a statutory right, which means that the exercise of this right is subject to existing laws of the State where this right is provided. The exercise of this right was mostly based from common law jurisdictions that were prevalent during the ancient times at the United Kingdom. Though statutory laws are now in effect, common law are still useful most especially in property issues where no statutory bases are readily available just like purchase of property through the internet. Relevant to this right is the purchase of real property. Purchase or "buying", is a traditional way of owing a real property such as land or house. When a person purchases or buys a property, he is given the absolute right or title

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 4

Economics - Essay Example Since they still see strong demand growth from China and other developing nations, OECD takes the hit: Unfortunately the IEA does not present this oil situation in a figure, however the one below for total primary energy demand gives us a good impression. China, India and the rest of the non-OECD world keep growing their consumption (IEA forecast, not mine!), while OECD is all but flatlining. For oil, the situation is worse. OECD share of available oil is constrained so much that it declines. The details for primary oil demand alone are in Table 1.3. The peak for OECD demand was in the period 2000-2008 and declines by 0.3% per year to 2030. Its also significant that in their report they say Non-OPEC oil supply declines from 2010. So all those arguments about technology, increasing recovery, a new Middle East in the Arctic... all amount to nothing at least in the entire Non-OPEC part of the world where all those clever western oil companies do their business. All the peak oil analysis that youve read here still suggests that the IEAs forecast is too optimistic, for both OPEC and Non-OPEC parts of the world. And the IEA whistleblower also claims that their forecasts are inflated. But a peak is still a peak, and the IEA now says that OECD oil demand is in decline and will not recover the levels prior to the financial crisis. This seems to me like a dramatic statement for the IEA to make. This official forecast from the agency representing OECD nations, now conflicts with just about every one of its individual members own forecasts (and that of just about every private enterprise). To convince decision makers of the inevitable oil decline facing us, we no longer need to refer to the online analysis by peak oil bloggers. You can simply tell your president, chief, boss and your neighbour: The IEA says our oil consumption is going down, what are you going to do about it? As a footnote, it appears that the IEA is in good company with their updated forecast.

Whole Grain Food Choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Whole Grain Food Choice - Essay Example Amanda (2014) indicates that USDA recommends individuals to consume grains daily and at least half of the grains should be whole grains. Unless one is experiencing non-celiac gluten sensitivity, this article depicts that an individual should not miss the health benefits of eating whole grains. Some of the notable benefits of whole grains as outlined by this article include getting adequate fiber, vitamins, a variety of phytochemicals, and minerals. A Vital aspect to note is that whole grains have the original parts of the kernel which include bran, endosperm, and germ. This article indicates that whole grain lower blood pressure, which is a major factor for heart diseases. As compared to refined food, Amanda argues that whole food helps individual’s blood glucose from rising, thus reducing the risks of getting type 2 diabetes. For example, a study indicated that by taking one-third of serving cooked white rice per day for brown rice, the risks of type 2 diabetes is reduced by 16%. Reference no. 2: WebMD. Tips for Reaping the Benefits of Whole Grains This article indicates that whole grains diet has positive implications on bowel health due to the regular bowel movements and promotion of healthy bacteria in the colon. Despite the importance of whole food in consumers’ bodies, WebMD indicates that only 10% of Americans consume three servings a day, which is the recommended level. This is due to the fact that it is somehow challenging to tell just which foods are whole grains.

A River Runs Through IT Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A River Runs Through IT - Movie Review Example The film ends with Norman becoming an English teacher and dating Jessie. Paul becomes a successful journalist, but his foul dealings of drinking and gambling lead to his death. This paper is a response to the movie A river runs through it. Tom’s is the role of a stern father and a Presbyterian minister who will stop at nothing but have his children grow up in a proper manner. He sees to it that his sons have something constructive to do at all times. In the morning, they go to school, midmorning to religious classes and in the evenings to do fly-fishing. To him, all the three activities are the same things. During fishing, Norman and Paul add onto their divine attributes. They understand the importance of grace, harmony and patience as they wait to make a catch. Additionally, Tom wants his children to learn spiritual relationship between faith and nature. I think my relationship with my father relates to Tom’s relationship with his family. While Tom is a stern father wh o wants his children to grow up in the right way, my father is equally stern and will do anything to make sure that I grow up in the right way. He wants me to go to church every time there is an opportunity, as he believes, like Tom, that religion moulds people to be good people in the future. Although we do not go fly-fishing in my place, we are usually encouraged to go skating and playing basketball. I believe my dad when he tells us to use our time constructively since it keeps us off doing bad things. Additionally, remaining active makes us discover our talents. Just like Norman, I am the eldest in our family and my father makes sure that I take care of my younger brothers and sisters when we are out. Although my younger siblings are now grown up and responsible for their own actions, I am always held accountable, like Norman, to their actions. However, I like it since it makes me grow responsible with time. It is unfortunate that Paul chose to drop all the religious attributes that he had learned and chose to drink and gamble instead. It seems that there were no values at all learnt by Paul or rather he erodes them through his way of life. The movie depicts that abundant life is a matter of the little choices we make every day that give us true happiness. Although Paul enjoyed in his drinking sprees with his friends, this was not true happiness and he was headed for doom. Paul represents the people in the family who refuse to follow family values and end up less productive and useful in life. My cousin, just like Paul, became hooked on online video gaming when he went to college. He was not able to concentrate on his studies in the first two years and in the process got poor grades. We could not understand why he changed to such a destructive behaviour despite being brought up on good family values. Although he seemed to enjoy gaming just as Paul enjoyed drinking with his friends, I do not think that he was having true happiness. Paul was just having an i llusion that he was having the best of life when he was drinking. Likewise, my cousin thought he was having fun with gaming. Luckily, my cousin realised his bad and destructive behaviour when he went to third year and started concentrating on his studies. Otherwise, he would have ended up destroyed just like Paul. In conclusion, the movie A river runs through it leaves a long lasting impression in the mind of the viewers. The movie is indeed one of the best movies that teach the importance of good values in life. The film is a good

The Rise of China and the Subsequent Re-Shaping Of Business Essay - 1

The Rise of China and the Subsequent Re-Shaping Of Business Environment for MNEs (Multi-National Enterprises) - Essay Example The researcher states that modern era globalization has taken its present shape due to three primary reasons: technological innovation leading to worldwide networking and integration; global integration of emerging economies of developing countries; and opening up of by previously closed economies of countries like Brazil, India, and China. MNEs (Multinational Enterprises) are the product and the most visible aspect of globalization. A   MNE controls material  production  and/or provides services  to a large number of countries worldwide. MNEs conduct their operation (material production) in one country, which is generally termed as the ‘host country,’ while base their management activities in another country, referred to as the  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœhome country.’ Some of these MNEs are large and powerful, often operating with budgets that are more than the GDP of some of the developing nations in the world. The emergence of MNEs along with globalization is evident w hen we find that during the 1970s there were around 7000 MNEs, which at the turn of the century skyrocketed to around 60000. Around the same time, we find that the world’s largest MNCs and MNE’s (top 1000) accounted for almost 80% of the global industrial production, while the top 100 corporations and enterprises were responsible for 4.3% global GDP. At the core of globalisation and the rise of the MNCs and MNEs, is the emergence of China, as an economic power; and this article will examine the rise of Chinese economy and its particularly good relationship with various MNEs, and the recent break in this ‘good’ relationship leading to re-shaping of business environment for the MNEs in China.

Gun control College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gun control College - Essay Example The assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and etc in the year 1960 develop issues related to gun control and the element of guns and arms become a subject of passion and controversy (Roleff, 2007). Different people have different opinions about the issue of gun control and many individuals consider it as a criminal issue however different people consider as a right issue. Responsible citizens can manage this issue but if it is not managed properly then it can create numerous problems for than individual and for the society Different laws regarding to arms and ammunition has been initiated by the government since 1934 and these laws and regulations are for the firearms and their ammunition. The biggest advantage of gun control is that it curbs the access of arms by criminals, juveniles and other high risk individuals. Individuals believe that federal measures are the most important element of reducing the availability of guns and it can easily stop crimes. Similarly, the registration of guns and the registrations of arm dealers can reduce the element of violence in our society (Roleff, 2007). This won't incur any social costs and no constitutional barriers are present. However, certain opponents of the gun control believed that federal policies keep the arms out of the hands of high risks persons but they create burdens for law-abiding citizens (Almanac of Policy Issues, 2009). There are two major federal statutes that are related to gun control. These two acts are National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1968. A transfer tax was imposed on machine guns and short-barreled guns in the Act of 1934. However, the Act of 1968 prohibits mail order sales and interstate sales of guns and arms. Similarly, sales to minors and certain penalties and licensing requirements for manufacturers, dealers and importers were imposed. However, on June, 2008 made a landmark ruling regarding arms and the Supreme Court upholds the right of individuals to bear arms for hunting and for the purpose of self defense (Awesome Library, 2009). Certain statistics and figures are used in the gun control debate and statisticians suggest that the numbers of homicides with firearm persons are increasing and the figure has risen to 173%. However, from 1985 to 1993 the figure decreased by 47% and in the year 1999 this figure decreased to 22%. The advocates of gun control argue on the point that the availability of guns to injury and mortality rates comes from the study of domestic violence. The advocates of firearms believe that because homeowners possess a risk of home invasion that is the reason why they acquire arms and these guns and arms are for their security. However, researcher analyzed that he risk of a homicide is higher in these homes because individuals have easy access to guns and no one is present to stop them. A number of individuals believe that sensible gun control in beneficial for the society and all the guns and owners of these guns should be registered. The Bullets of these guns should have serial numbers so that in becomes quite easy to trace a crime. Proper registration process must be incorporated and the gun

Towards the Better Light Essay Example for Free

Towards the Better Light Essay The speaker in Elizabeth Bishop’s poem â€Å"The Fish† portrays someone who is rather inexperienced to what he is doing. An amateur in fishing if I may say due to several lines in the poem that suggests the speaker is confused with conscience upon catching the fish. The poem narrates a series of striking turns of emotions felt by the speaker towards his catch. First is the excitement and thrill of actually catching a fish, followed by being dumbfounded by the fish’s state: weak and powerless due to the many battles and struggles it might have been through before. The speaker becomes extremely at awe with the features of the fish, given a long list of descriptions all throughout the poem appealing to all senses for optimum understanding of the readers. It is as if the speaker desperately wants everyone to understand how he exactly saw the fish and how he actually felt at that moment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Looking at the long list of detailed descriptions, it is evident that the speaker is moved and is renewed by this experience. In fact, he was so moved that confusion overtaking him has led to the decision of finally letting the fish go.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Epiphany, as Levin might define it, has overtaken the speaker in such a way that the experience is almost, if not life changing. Understanding the life of the fish somehow illuminated him, giving him a huge revelation to the meaning of life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Changes in one’s life, as the speaker in Larkin’s poem A Study of Reading Habits may not be as moving as the amateur fisher in Bishop’s poem sees it. Rather, it may be more on deteriorating and depressing. The second poem entitled A Study of Reading Habits is also in a narrative form. It tells of the story of a person in three major points of his life- as a young boy, as a teenager and as an adult. The speaker expressed his emotions during these points through his portrayal of his reading habits during that time. Irony is present in the poem, as the decency and formality of the title contrasts the actual content of the poem, which is filled with slang terms such as â€Å"ripping† and â€Å"stewed†. This somewhat creates an image of sarcasm to give emphasis to the unfolding of a series of turmoil and depression throughout the speaker’s life. In the first stanza, reading serves as a way to brighten up his day if he is bullied and picked on by bigger kids in school. Using the term â€Å"cured†, the speaker points out that as a child, the books have comforted and soothed his fears of being oppressed because each time he reads, he enters a different world where he can be as strong and as magnificent as he wants to be. At adolescence, described in the second stanza, the speaker views the act of reading as a means of fantasizing sex in a dark, evil way. His sexual urges are probably triggered by erotic and ecstatic readings, as a naturally occurring part of puberty and adolescence. During these two stages in his life, reading has become his escape. He is very much relieved and transformed by the act of reading and whatever trouble and sadness he experiences in the real world is somehow erased by literary works. At these two stages, reading is still considered a good thing for him. However, as the speaker reaches adulthood, he came to a point of realization where his views have changed due to possibly more unfavorable events. At his point of realization, he now sees that reading cannot solve or even change whatever is happening in his life. Even his escapist tendencies in the form of reading cannot save him from believing that he is a loser, a failure of some sort.    Proofs to this are lines like â€Å"the dude who lets the girl down† and â€Å"the chap who’s yellow†, suggesting that even in his fantasies and made up world of stories, he still ends up being bad at what he does. The way I see it, it is not a form of depression but merely sadness. The speaker does not feel empty at all, but he feels terribly sad about not getting what he wants the way he has imagined things to turn out, or not getting what he wants at all. He does not blame the books for his sadness, but he now believes that he cannot rely on it as an escape from his sadness. Contrasting the amateur fisher with the troubled adult, the poems create two opposing attitudes towards life. The amateur fisher, a hopeful and inexperienced person that he is, finds beauty even in a lowly creature as the fish. He is able to empathize with the state of the fish and appreciate life in a better light through what he has witnessed. Being able to understand and feel the pains experienced by the fish, the amateur fisher is moved and blessed that he is in a better state. He let the fish go in exchange for a new lesson in life. The adult who has turned his back on reading, on the other hand, is more of a pessimist. He creates a negative aura in his life because he has let the drastic changes in his life get in the way of his joys. From finding it as a cure for sadness and oppression, â€Å"A load of crap† is how he now views the act of reading. Along with his maturity is the change in his attitude towards things. One is optimistic: learning from his experiences towards the better light while one sticks to his one- sided view of life, letting his self to be caught up in a dark, cold corner. References Bishop, Elizabeth. â€Å"The Fish†. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Meyer, Michael.5th Edition.   Bedford/St. Martins, 2000. 509-511. Larkin, Philip. â€Å"A Study of Reading Habits†. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Meyer, Michael.5th Edition. Bedford/St. Martins, 2000. 511-512. Levin, Harry ed. The Portable James Joyce. New York: Viking, 1947. .

Maggi Brand Extension And Repositioning

Maggi Brand Extension And Repositioning This research paper deals with the study of Maggi brand which made its footprint in India in the year 1983. Maggi is a brand originated in India by Nestle India Limited. It has over the years become synonymous with noodles. This research paper tries to find out the new areas and the market where Maggi can enter. Also, Maggi has always tried to play on the platform of a Healthy Product. This paper analyses its success and the gives a picture of Maggi as in the eyes of the consumer. The introduction provides the company background, operational other important information provided by the company which would assist in taking the decision for the right brand extension strategy for Maggi. The industrial revolution in Switzerland in the late 1800s created factory jobs for women, who were therefore left with very little time to prepare meals. This wide spread problem grew to be an object of intense study by the Swiss Public Welfare Society. As a part of its activities, the Society asked Julius Maggi miller to create a vegetable food product that would be quick to prepare and easy to digest. Born on October 9, 1846 in Frauenfeld, Switzerland, Julius Michael Johannes Maggi was the oldest son of an immigrant from Italy who took Swiss citizenship. Julius Maggi became a miller and took on the reputation as an inventive and capable businessman. In 1863, Julius Maggi came up with a formula to bring added taste to meals. Soon after he was commissioned by the Swiss Public Welfare Society, he came up with two instant pea soups and a bean soup the first launch of the Maggi brand of instant foods in 1882 83. Towards the end of the century, Maggi Company was producing not just po wdered soups, but bouillon cubes, sauces and other flavorings. The Maggi Company merged with Nestlà © in 1947. Today, Maggi is a leading culinary brand and part of the NESTLÉ family of fine foods and beverages. Under the Maggi brand, which is today known worldwide for quality and innovation, Nestle offers a whole range of products, such as packaged soups, frozen meals, prepared sauces and flavorings. MAGGI BRAND IN INDIA Maggi Comes to India teething troubles Maggi noodles was launched in India in the early1980s. Carlo M. Donati, the present Chairman and Managing Director of Nestle India Ltd, brought the instant noodle brand to India during his short stint here in the early eighties. At that time, there was no direct competition. The first competition came from the ready-to-eat snack segment which included snacks like samosas, biscuits or maybe peanuts, that were usually the bought out type. The second competition came from the homemade snacks like pakoras or sandwiches. So there were no specific buy and make snack! Moreover both competitors had certain drawbacks in comparison. Snacks like samosas are usually bought out, and outside food is generally considered unhygienic and unhealthy. The other competitor, homemade snacks overcame both these problems but had the disadvantage of extended preparation time at home. Maggi was positioned as the only hygienic homemade snack! Despite this, Nestlà © face d difficulties with their sales after the initial phase. The reason being, the positioning of the product with the wrong target group. Nestle had positioned Maggi as a convenience food product aimed at the target group of working women who hardly found any time for cooking. Unfortunately this could not hold the product for very long. In the course of many market researches and surveys, the firm found that children were the biggest consumers of Maggi noodles. Quickly they repositioned it towards the kids segment with various tools of sales promotion like color pencils, sketch pens, fun books, Maggi clubs which worked wonders for the brand. Why the specific Brand positioning? Maggi was positioned as 2-minute noodles with a punch line that said Fast to cook! Good to eat! And this gave the implied understanding to the consumer that it was a between meals snack. The company could have easily positioned the product as a meal, either lunch or dinner. But, it chose not to do so, because the Indian consumer mindset did not accept anything other than rice or roti as a meal. Hence trying to substitute it with noodles would have been futile. The firm did not position it as a ready-to-eat meal either, as the housewife prefers to make a meal for her kids rather than buy it for them. And if she can make it in two minutes with very little effort, then obviously its a hit with her! Whats more, if kids also love the taste, the product is as good as sold! So the 2-minute funda coupled with the yummy taste worked! BRAND STORY Launched in 5 flavors initially Masala, chicken, Capsicum, sweet sour, and Lasagna Maggi had to fight hard to be accepted by Indian consumers with their hard-to-change eating habits. The packaged food market was very small at this time, Nestle had to promote noodles as a concept, before it could promote Maggi as a brand. It therefore devised a two-pronged strategy to attract mothers on the convenience plank and lure kids on the fun plank. Gradually, the market for instant noodles began to grow. The company also decided to focus on promotions to increase the brand awareness. In the initial years, Nestle promotional activities for Maggi included schemes offering gifts (such as toys and utensils) in return for empty noodles pack. According to analysts, the focus on promotion turned out to be the single largest factor responsible for Maggis rapid acceptance. Nestlà ©s managers utilized promotions as measured to meet their sales target. Gradually, sales promotion became a crutch for Maggi noodles sales. Later many of the Maggis extensions also made considerable use of promotional schemes. The focus of all Maggis extensions was more on below the line activities rather than direct communication. In addition to promotional activities, Maggi associated itself with main stream television programs and advertised heavily on kids program and channels. After its advertisements with taglines like mummi bhookh lagi hai, bas do minute and fast to cook good to eat Maggis popularity became highly attributed to its extremely high appeal to children. As a result, Maggis annual growth reportedly touched 15% during its initial years. Maggis Brand Extension In 1998, Nestle launched Maggis first brand extension, Maggi soup. At this stage, there was no organized packaged soup market in India. Nestle planned to create a market for packaged soup as it felt the category had a lot of potential. However, according to analyst, the company had introduced soups only to cash in on the Maggis brand name, and was never very serious about the segment. In 1993, Sweet Maggi, the first variant of Maggi noodles was launched. The company supported the launch with a huge advertisement outlay that amounted to 75% of the total yearly expenditure on the Maggi brand. However, the product failed to generate the desired sales volume and Nestle was forced to withdraw it. At the end of the year, Maggi noodles was generating sales volume of around 5000 tons and remained a loss making proposition for Nestle. To boost sales, Nestle decided to reduce the price of Maggi noodles. This was made possible by using thinner and cheaper packaging material, the company also introduced money saver multi packs in the form of 2-in-1 pack and 4-in-1 packs. As a result volume increases phenomenally to 9700 tonnes in 1994 and further to 13000 tonnes in 1995. Maggis euphoria was, however, short lived, as sales stagnated in 1995 at the previous years level. With soup business being threatened by a new entrant Knorr soups launched in 1995, offering 10 flavors against Maggis 4 the company started rethinking its strategies towards the soup market. In order to stretch Maggis brand to include Indian ethenic foods the company tied up with a Pune based Chordia foods to launch pickles under the year 1995. The company also tied up with Indian foods fermentation (IFF), a Chennai based Food Company to market popular south Indian food preparation such as sambher, dosa, vada and spices in consumer packs in Dec 1995. The company reportedly saw a lot of untapped potential in the market for ready to use south Indian market. In 1996, products from these two ventures received lukewarm response from the market; sales were rather poor in the regions in which they were launched. Analysts attributed the failure of these Maggi extensions to the fact that Nestlà © seemed to be particularly bad at dealing with traditional Indian product categories. Maggi noodles performed badly in 1996. Despite slow sales in the previous two years, Nestlà © had set a sales target of 25,000 tonnes for the year. However, Maggi couldnt cross even 14,000 tonnes. Adding to the company woes was the failure of Maggi Tonites Special, a range of cooking sauces aimed at providing restaurant-like-taste to food cooked at home. The range included offerings such as Butter Chicken gravy and tomato sauce for pizzas. Understanding these failures, and buoyed by the fact that the Maggi brand finally broke even in 1997, Nestlà © continued to explore new options for leveraging on the brand equity of Maggi noodles. The company realized that the kids who had grown up on Maggi noodles had become teenagers by the late 1990s. As they associated the product with their childhood, they seemed to be moving away from it. To lure back these customers and to explore new product avenues, Nestlà © launched Maggi Macaroni in July 1997. According to analysts, Maggi Macaroni was launched partly to deal with the growing popularity of competing noodles brand Top Ramen. Maggi Macaroni was made available in three flavors, Tomato, Chicken, and Masala. The company expected to repeat the success of Maggi noodles with Maggi Macaroni. As with most of its product launches, Maggi Macaronis launch was backed by a multi-media advertisement campaign including radio, television, outdoors and print media. The products pricing, however, proved to be a major hurdle. A 75-gm Maggi Macaroni pack was priced at Rs 11, while a 100-gm noodles pack was available at Rs 9. According to analysts, Nestlà © failed to justify this price-value anomaly to customers, who failed to see any noted value addition in Maggi Macaroni (packaging and flavor variants were similar to those of Maggi noodles). In addition, customers failed to see any significant difference between Maggi Macaroni and the much cheaper macaroni that was sold by the unorganized sector players. The biggest problem however was the taste of the new product. Since macaroni is thicker than noodles, Maggi Macaroni did not absorb the tastemaker well and consequently did not taste very good. The interest generated by the novelty of the product soon died out and sales began tapering off. Eventually, Nestlà © had to withdraw Maggi Macaroni completely from the market. Nestlà © had not even recovered from Macaronis dismal performance, when it learnt to its horror that Knorr had dethroned Maggi as the leader in the soup segment (end of 1997). The only saving grace for Maggi seemed to its ketchups and sauces, which were turning out to the rare successful extensions of Maggi. These products were supported by a popular advertisement campaign for the Maggi Hot Sweet sauce brand. These humorous advertisements, featuring actors Pankaj Kapoor and Javed Jafri, used the tagline, Its different. However, during mid-1997, HUL began promoting its Kissan range of sauces aggressively and launched various innovative variants in the category. Nestlà © responded with a higher thrust on advertising and different size packs at different price points. Though Kissan gained market share over the next few years, Maggi was able to hold on to its own market share. Meanwhile the operational costs of Maggi noodles had increased considerably, forcing the company to increase the retail price. By early 1997, the price of a single pack had reached Rs 10. Volumes were still languishing between 13,000-14,000 tonnes. Pricing and Product Development It was at this point in time that Nestlà © decided to change the formulation of Maggi noodles. The purpose was not only to infuse fresh life into the brand, but also to save money through this new formulation. The company used new noodle-processing technology, so that it could air-dry instead of oil-fry the noodles. The tastemakers manufacturing process was also altered. As a result of the above initiatives, costs reportedly came down by 12-14%. To cook the new product, consumers had to add two cups of water instead of one-and-a-half cups. The taste of the noodles was significantly different from what it used to be. The customer backlash that followed the launch of the new noodles took Nestlà © by surprise. With volumes declining and customer complaints increasing, the company began to work on plans to relaunch old Maggi to win back customers. In addition, in 1998, Nestlà © began working out a strategy to regain Maggis position in the soup segment. To counter the Knorr threat, the company relaunched Maggi soups under the Maggi Rich brand in May 1998. The soups were not only thicker in consistency than those produced earlier, the pricing was also kept competitive and the packaging was made much more attractive. However, Knorr took Nestlà © by surprise by launching one-serving soup sachets priced as low as Rs 4. HLL too launched two-serving sachets of Kissan soup priced at Rs 7. As Maggi did not have any offerings in this price-range, it lost a huge portion of its market share to Knorr. The relaunch prompted market observers to compare Nestlà ©s move with US soft drinks major Coca-Colas New Coke fiasco. However, the company disagreed, Its a hard-5 nosed strategy, that mixes nostalgia with the consumers voiced preference for the product it has been bred and rought up on. The reintroduction is Nestlà ©s acknowledgement of the loyalty of the Indian mother and the child to the original product. By May 1999, Nestlà ©s decision to bring back the old Maggi seemed to have paid off. Two months after the relaunch, the monthly average sales of Maggi noodles n the northern region rose 50% in comparison to the previous year. In July 1999, Maggi the brand, was promoted as the biggest brand in Nestlà ©s portfolio of brands in India, overtaking brands such as Nestum and Cerelac. Nestlà © believed that Maggi had immense potential as it was a very flexible brand under which regional variants could be introduced to meet various market needs. Company sources claimed that with reas onable price points and innovative products, Maggi could emerge as a top brand and a major growth driver for the company. To further support the brand, Nestlà © carried out various promotional activities as well. These included the August 1999 Fun-Dooz campaign and Jungle Jackpot campaigns. 6 As a result of the above initiatives, Nestlà © claimed to have cornered an 81% market share of the 20,000 tonnes noodles market by the end of 1999. Nestlà © sources claimed that Maggi noodles outsold the competition four times over and that more than four Maggi noodle cakes were consumed every second in the country. PRODUCT VARIENTS The product mix of Maggi is divided into various categories defined below. The company has launched various products under each category as mentioned below. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY OBJECTIVES à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ To understand the influence of Maggi as a brand on consumers mind set. à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Sources of Brand equity of Maggi like Brand awareness, Brand image, Brand association, Brand recall à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ To understand the Brand performance of Maggi products. à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ To understand Brand Imagery, Brand Quality perceived by customers, Brand credibility, consideration, superiority and feelings. à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Brand Extension of Maggi in terms of product diversity. à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Analyse the repositioning of Maggi brand as a Healthy product and the consumers perseverance towards the same. RESEARCH PLAN Research Design: The research will be carried out in the form of a survey which will be done in areas near to Delhi (NCR region). The population has been segmented on the basis of salary Group and Age Group. Sample Design: The target population for our study is households. The sample will be selected by a simple random sampling method . Sample Size: The sampling unit is 150 which are divided as follows: |Number of respondents |150 | |Age-group |10 45 | |Monthly Household Income |25000 75000 INR | |Survey Locations |Delhi, Faridabad,Gurgoan,Noida,Greater Noida | |Salary Group |No income |25K 40K |40K 60K |60K 75K | |Number of Respondents |30 |50 |70 | |Age Group |10 25 |25 35 |35 45 | |Number of Respondents |50 |50 |50 | DATA COLLECTION PLAN Data Gathering: This study involves data collection (primary research) from different households in four different areas Delhi, Faridabad, Gurgoan, and Noida. Literature Review The research conducted as a part of our study would include Primary as well as Secondary research. Primary research would include a survey that would be conducted in selected localities of Delhi and nearby areas where the responses of consumers would be recorded through a designed questionair.Secondary research would include various aspects of Brand management through Internet , Journals, company reports , expert views etc. METHOLODOGY The research will be carried out in the form of a survey. This will include primary research in addition to secondary research as stated below. The survey research method will be descriptive research design. Each respondent will be interviewed through a Questionnaire. The sample will be selected by a simple random sampling method. The survey will address the following information area: Information Areas: The objective as spelt out can be elaborated into specific information areas to be studied. à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ How do customers perceive Maggi as a stable brand, their perception of noodles and how do they associate themselves with Maggi? à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Are the consumers aware of Maggi Brand or they associate noodles with some other brand? à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Do they consider noodle as a healthy product or they are aware of the companys strategy of repositioning it to a healthy product by the launch of some of the new products? à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Which product from the entire basket of Maggi products do the consumers consider as the best selling product for Maggi and to which the consumers frequently buy? à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Are the consumers willing to accept Maggi brand extensions to some other products like chocolate, juices, chips etc? SURVEY RESULTS: 1. Brand Associations: Sources of Brand equity like brand association of Maggi as a Brand was found highest with the age group of 10-25 and the product category associated with it was the noodles category ( see exhibit 1). Consumers in the age segment of 10-25 could easily relate Maggi to noodles. In the income wise category the brand association was highest with the income group of 25k-40k were more than 40 respondents associated Maggi with noodles ( see exhibit 2). The implications from the findings discussed above seem that Maggi has good brand association in terms of noodles. Consumers presume Maggi as Noodles and the companys philosophy of projecting the brand as noodles brand seem to be viable in this regard. 2. Brand Recall: From the Exhibit 3 4 given below it seems a clear trend that Maggi has a good brand recall as compared to its competitors like Top Ramen, Surya noodles etc. Consumers could easily associate Maggi with noodles. In the Age wise category, the respondents of the age group of 25-45 were highly cautious of Maggi brand and seemed to be consuming Maggi more as compared to other age segments. In the gender wise category the companys strategy of positioning of Maggi brand for working women seems to be adaptive and gaining shape as women respondents had a brand recall more than male. 3. Brand Awareness: From the responses of the respondents in the conducted survey it was evident than Maggis Brand awareness was very high in terms of noodles were around 65 %of the respondents associated maggi as noodles and only 20 % of the respondents knew ,Maggi as a Ketchup, 9% as soup etc. The trend indicated that Maggis brand extension strategy to increase its basket has not been quite successful in other food segments .This might be because of the larger share of market captured by the competitors hence Maggi has a high potential in markets like ketchup, soups etc. 4. Repositioning Maggi as a healthy product: The companys strategy to reposition Maggi as a Healthy product was not found conducive as per the survey results. The survey showed that consumers did not perceived Maggi as a healthy product with 53% of them consumed Maggis traditional products as compared to the rest who consumed other variants of Maggis brand that were positioned as Healthy products. From the pie chart given below it can be clearly seen that Maggi is still perceived as a non healthy products by the consumers and in spite of the efforts to position Maggi as a healthy product by the company the brand is still perceived as a ready to eat food brand that has a high market share in the noodle category in India. SWOT ANALYSIS OF MAGGI BRAND The SWOT analysis of Maggi brand clearly indicates the strengths of Maggi as a Brand in Indian market. The Brand was found to be a leader in its category of Noodles, with strong customer loyalty. Intensive distribution of Maggi as a Brand was seen in urban areas of the country. The major threats of the brand as shown in the figure below indicates that Maggi has made several attempts to revamp itself as a Healthy Product but till date its perseverance towards the tag line is low by the consumers. The brand is in the growth stage of product life cycle with a strong inclination towards the maturity stage. [pic] STPD ANALYSIS OF MAGGI BRAND Segmentation: Market Segmentation divides the heterogenous market into homogenous groups of customers who share a similar set of needs/wants and could be satisfied by specific products. Maggi Brand have segmented the market on the basis of lifestyle and habits of URBAN FAMILIES. Target: Market Targeting refers to evaluating and deciding from amongst the various alternatives, which segment can be satisfied best by the company. The Maggi Brand have mainly targeted the Kids, Youth, Office Goers Working Woman which falls into the category of convenience-savvy time misers who would like to get something instant and be over with it quickly. Positioning: Market Positioning is the act of designing the companys offerings and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market. The goal of positioning is to locate the brand in the minds of consumers to maximise the potential benefit to the firm. Maggi has positioned itself in the SNACKS category and not in the meal category since Indians do not consider noodles as a proper food item. Therefore Maggi have developed its brand image of instant food products with positioning statements such as 2 minutes noodles and Easy to cook, good to eat. Differentiations: Points-of-difference (PODs) are attributes or benefits consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate and believe they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand. The Maggi Brand have also differentiated its brand image from its competitors in terms of taste, flavours and packaging. Maggi have launched wide varieties of products in different flavours which can attract larger set of customers. Maggi products are also available in different sizes catering to different customer needs. CUSTOMER BASED BRAND EQUITY PYRAMID (CBBE) Maggis customer based brand equity pyramid seems to be equally strong on left hand side and right hand side, it is also strong from bottom to top enjoying the highest brand awareness of any fast food noodle brand in India as well as repeat purchase rate and high customer loyality. BRAND PRISM OF MAGGI CONCLUSION The food processing business in India is at a nascent stage. Currently, only about 10% of the output is processed and consumed in packaged form thus highlighting huge potential for expansion and growth. Traditionally, Indians believe in consuming fresh stuff rather then packaged or frozen, but the trend is changing and the new fast food generation is slowly changing. Riding on the success of noodles, Nestle India, tried to make extensions of the Maggi brand to a number of products like, sauces, ketchups, pickles, soups, tastemakers and macaroni in the mid-1990s. Unfortunately, the macaroni and pickles didnt pick up as expected. The soups and sauces did somewhat fine, gathering considerable sales volumes and have a satisfactory presence even today. Maggi Noodles itself faced a bit of difficulty with respect to taste, and nearly lost its position in the minds of Indian consumers in the late 1990s. When Nestle changed the formulation of its tastemaker, the ominous packet that came along with Maggi Noodles, a major chunk of consumers were put-off and sales started dropping. Also, Maggis competitor TopRamen took advantage of the situation and started a parallel aggressive campaign to eat into Maggis market share. But the company quickly realised this and went back into making the original formula coupled with a free sampling campaign. This helped Magg i to win back its lost consumers and pushed up its sales volumes again! Maggi Today The year 2008 saw India leading in world wide Maggi sales. The brand has grown to an estimated value of Rs 160-170 crore and contributes at least 8-9% to Nestle Indias top line. All the same, some FMCG analysts feel that the brand has not done much to expand the noodles category. Even after 25 years of its launch, the size of the instant noodles market is yet quite small at Rs 300 crore. But yes, the parent company, Nestle India Limited has certainly encouraged the brand to enter into other culinary products. RECOMMENDATION After the conducted study following recommendations could be sited for Maggi Brand. To gain maximum leverage in terms of profit the company should pay emphasis on segments with age groups 25-35 and above .Advertising is the key to success. Targeting these segments will not only enhance the companys profit margins but also it will leverage the brand image of Maggi. The company should advertise its products by depicting attributes related to Health like Nutrition values, % of Vitamins, Proteins etc.This would help in customers perceiving the product as Healthy. Foray into other food products like chips, chocolates etc under its sole brand name would not only help in Brand extension but will also enhance Maggis market share. FUTURE PLANS Nestlà © Indias objective is to manufacture and market the companys products in such a way so as to create value that can be sustained over the long term for consumers, shareholders, employees and business partners. Maggis aims to create value for consumers that can be sustained over the long term by offering a wide variety of high quality, safe food products at affordable prices. The company continuously focuses its efforts to better understand the changing lifestyles of modern India and anticipate consumer needs in order to provide convenience, taste, nutrition and wellness through its product offerings. LIMITATIONS: The present study is confined to a minimal sample size and may not reflect the opinion or response of the entire population in general. The results of our study are entirely confined to the responses of the Delhi consumers and might deviate in terms of actual population as a whole.Recomendations given after the study are entirely dependent on the survey and the secondary analysis done in the report.

Variability of Solar Activity Parameters

Variability of Solar Activity Parameters Chapter 7: Overall Conclusion and Future Prospect of Research In the present work, efforts have been given to get an idea of variability of solar activity parameters during the recent solar minimum period and also to understand the effect of the solar activity parameters at the F2 region of the ionosphere. As our dependence on technological systems operating in and through the outer reaches of our terrestrial environment is continuously increasing, it is very necessary to get a clear idea about the variability of the ionosphere, magnetosphere and the sun itself which is primary source that drives not only our terrestrial environment but also the entire interplanetary domain. The properties of solar activity parameters and the use of GPS derived ionospheric TEC as a tool for investigation of the ionosphere are explained in detail under the current research work. The study shows that the ionospheric variability is well coupled with solar activity parameters and phase of solar activity also. The ionospheric problems studied here are mainly concern ed with satellite based navigation. Over recent years, the solar activity effects of the ionospheric parameters have received renewed interest, and considerable progress has been achieved. The present research work focuses on four aspects – Firstly the behaviour of various solar activity parameters (mainly sunspot and solar radio flux) during the recent solar minimum period. It has been noted from a preliminary study that the correlation coefficient of radio emission and sunspot number was low with respect to the correlation coefficients of previous solar minima. During this minima period, the frequency distribution of correlation coefficient of radio flux and sunspot number is random whether it has a similar pattern for previous three minima which suggest an unusual behaviour of radio flux during this minimum. Secondly, noting the unusual behaviour of radio flux, a rigorous periodic analysis of basal component of solar radio flux of different frequencies has been done as these frequencies reveal the physical nature of the source regions. The analysis has exposed that during recent extended solar minimum period the large magnetic structures (independent of sunspot activity) of solar coronal region might had a similar rotation with fairly homogeneous structure and towards the chromospheric layers the homogeneity disappears and the rotation rate was also different for different portions of the chromospheres. The periodicities obtained for X-ray flux have also been found in other solar-activity parameters which give an indication that there may be connectivity between sunspot X ray flux and some other solar activity parameters as the periodicities of both types of magnetic structures are nearly matching. This may be an indication to the underlying global mechanism that modulates different. Thirdly, after getting some idea about the solar activity parameters, efforts have been given to understand the effect of these activity parameters on ionosphere. The earth directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the sun, which result in increased pressure characterized by sudden increases in solar wind velocity, temperature and density as well as large changes in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) specially its north–south component (Bz), trigger the geomagnetic storms. These storms affect the ionosphere and makes such studies important from the point of view of space weather related processes. Here the effect of two geomagnetic storm of april and july 2012 on low latitude ionosphere has been studied. During the storms the depression and enhancements in VTEC compared to quiet time means VTEC was observed. This significant perturbation level in VTEC during the geomagnetic storm period may lead to the disturbances in navigation and communications systems which are now a days being used by civilian as well as military. These storm time perturbations in VTEC compared to quiet time mean values are caused by electro dynamical (PPE and DDE) as well mechanical effects (neural wind lifting effects and thermospheric composition changes) which are originated during the periods of geomagnetic storms. So these are the main key factors controlling the low latitude ionosphere’s response to the geomagnetic storm. Fourthly, a comparative study of the model and in-situ measurement of ionospheric parameters has been done. The last chapter deals on the investigation of the effect of the solar activity parameter on ionosphereric electron content and the investigation has been done by using the in-situ measurement data of the ionosphere. The in-situ measurement of TEC using the GPS and from the IGS stations is not possible from all places. So to understand the global distribution of TEC we need model data. Among all the ionospheric models, International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) is being widely used which is constantly being improved and updated by the scientific committee. In present time the most recent version of this model is IRI 2012. In this chapter, the diurnal, monthly and seasonal variations of the GPS-TEC are compared with those derived from the latest IRI 2012 model from four different stations. The study reveals that TEC with topside option IRI-2001 overestimates the observed GPS TEC i n low latitude regions in most of the times and the modeled TEC from other two options of IRI are in agreement with the observed TEC data. The matching between the IRI TEC and observed TEC is totally dependent on the local time, location and phase of the solar cycle and the largest deviations in model and observed TEC occur as a result of poor estimation of foF2 and NmF2 from the coefficients of IRI model. As the sophistication of our space based technological systems increases rapidly, their vulnerability to disturbances in space weather also increases. Performance of modern satellites used in global communications, weather predictions, remote sensing, defense systems and a variety of ground based scientific and operational systems depends on information we have on our ionosphere. The ionosphere is a highly variable medium and the low latitude ionosphere contributes the maximum variability. So a complete understanding of low latitude ionospheric phenomena is very essential. The Indian subcontinent lies in the low latitude region and thus gives us an opportunity to study the low latitude ionosphere. The north-east India is the region which lies in the EIA zone and hence the data of agartala station has its own importance. Presently we are using the GPS dual frequency receiver as a tool for investigating the low latitude ionosphere. New instrument like ionosonde will be recently install ed at our university which will give us a strong support in the ionospheric investigation. In order to get the idea of the global distribution of TEC, the variation of TEC from all the places need to be studied. But the in-situ measurement of TEC data from all the places is not available. So for this we need to depend on model TEC data. The US based models are best for their region not for Indian regions. So to get the variability of Indian subcontinent’s ionospheric region the in-situ measurement from Indian region is mostly important. As we have seen for around 92 degree longitude our study may be a significant input parameter for the modeling of ionosphere. Beside this study, it is expected to extend it for further investigation of ionosphere using GPS dual frequency receiver and ionosonde as tools.

The Truth about the Electoral College :: essays research papers

Since the foundation of America, the Electoral College has been the means of deciding the next president of the United States. Until the recent fiasco in the 2000 Florida presidential election, most people accepted the Electoral College as a fair way to decide a future president. In truth, the Electoral College has always been imbalanced and unfair. It was originally designed in Article II of the Constitution, so that each state receives an elector for every senator (two per state) and representative (number based on population). The way in which Electors were chosen was left up to the individual states. Each elector would vote for two candidates, and whoever received a simple majority (one half plus one votes) would become the next president. Whoever received the second most votes became vice president (Kimberling). After the Election of 1800, the Fourth Amendment introduced the idea of a vice president and president ticket. In addition, the amendment said that if a candidate did n ot receive an absolute majority in the Electoral College then the House of Representatives decided the next president. Presently all states choose their electors via statewide popular vote, and one presidential candidate receives all the electoral votes from each state (Kimberling). Upon close examination, it is easy to see the numerous flaws in the Electoral College. First, the most popular candidate does not necessarily win the presidency. Second, as it stands the Electoral College diminish voter turnout. Third, â€Å"faithless electors,† of which this country has had many, could decide an election. Lastly, the House of Representatives and, even an extreme case, the vice president can decide the president.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most obvious problem with the Electoral College is that a president can receive the majority of the votes and lose. In a true election the most popular candidate always wins. However, in America a candidate simply needs a one-vote majority in enough states to receive 270 electoral votes. Several times in the past, most notably in the Election of 1888 between Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland, the minority candidate has won the Electoral College and therefore the election. A democracy is â€Å"a majority rule† (Dictionary.com). If a minority candidate can win an election, America is not a true democracy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Electoral College does not take into account voter turnout when assigning electors, thereby diminishing voter turnout and not giving each man one vote. Electors are assigned to states as the number representatives and senators change.

Sentence Structure :: essays research papers

Independent Clause (IC) An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought. An independent clause is a sentence. Example: Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz. (IC) Dependent Clause (DC) A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence. Often a dependent clause is marked by a dependent marker word. Example: When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz . . . (DC) Dependent Marker Word (DM) A dependent marker word is a word added to the beginning of an independent clause that makes it into a dependent clause. Example: When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz, it was very noisy. (DM) Some common dependent markers are: after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and while. Connecting dependent and independent clauses There are two types of words that can be used as connectors at the beginning of an independent clause: coordinating conjunctions and independent marker words. 1. Coordinating Conjunction (CC) The seven coordinating conjunctions used as connecting words at the beginning of an independent clause are and, but, for, or, nor, so, and yet. When the second independent clause in a sentence begins with a coordinating conjunction, a comma is needed before the coordinating conjunction: Example: Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz, but it was hard to concentrate because of the noise. (CC) 2. Independent Marker Word (IM) An independent marker word is a connecting word used at the beginning of an independent clause. These words can always begin a sentence that can stand alone. When the second independent clause in a sentence has an independent marker word, a semicolon is needed before the independent marker word. Example: Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz; however, it was hard to concentrate because of the noise. (IM) Some common independent markers are: also, consequently, furthermore, however, moreover, nevertheless, and therefore. Proper Punctuation Methods This table gives some examples of ways to combine independent and dependent clauses and shows how to punctuate them properly. IC. IC.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I went to the store. I didn't buy any bread. IC; IC.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I went to the store; I didn't buy any bread. IC, CC IC.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I went to the store, but I didn't buy any bread.

Dharma in the 21st Century: “The Life of Tibetan Buddhist Nuns” Essay

Living in the 21st century connotes a busy and modern life, a life that is influenced by materialism, globalization and modern technology; a life with hardly any room for spirituality. This is the kind of life that is common in the Western world where everything is fast paced and humans have moved from relying on a greater being on to highly relying on gadgets everyday. We rely heavily on modern contraptions to make living easier for us – from a simple alarm clock in the bedroom to a high-powered microwave oven in the kitchen, from the multi-functional mobile phone in our pockets to our Internet-connected computers everywhere. From living based on religion, we now live based on technology. We cannot imagine life with out modern technology; we need it to cook our food, we need it to get to work, we need it to communicate; we just simply need it, or so we think? In this modern life of ours, we have become so engrossed with materialism and technology. We try to find ways to make things easier for us through technology but the more we use gadgets, the more complicated life seems, and as it gets complicated we forget about our inner being. We have forgotten what it is like to live simply and what it is like to be truly happy and be at peace without all the materialism. This is life with modernization but in places where materialism is not important and spirituality is highly upheld, all that we know and live by in the 21st century is absurdity for them. Theirs is a life of simplicity, meditation and seclusion; a life of being one with nature and their creator; a life of gaining wisdom and inner happiness. This is the life of Buddhism. Buddhism is not only a religion; it is a philosophy and a way of life (White 1). It is slowly growing in the Western world[1], where some try to look for peace in their everyday modern chaos (ibid). In the Orient, where Buddhism originated, modernization and a western way of life is slowly influencing the people due to economic reasons, such as in Thailand, but they still keep in touch with their spirituality, and monasteries where monks and nuns live still abound. In Tibet, Buddhism is their religion and politics; the Dalai Lama used to be both their religious and political leader (Simhanada Home page). With China taking over their country 50 years ago, the Tibetan government is in exile[2] and the more than 6,000 monasteries and nunneries in the Tibetan regions of U-Tsang, Dotà ¶ and Domey were damaged and destroyed by the Chinese (Office of Tibet 1). The Tibetan people and the few Tibetan monks and nuns in Tibet still seek spiritual guidance from the Dalai Lama in the North Eastern borders of India. With Tibetan monasteries built outside of Tibet after China’s invasion and with a few Tibetan monks and nuns still living in Tibet, it is of great interest how Tibetan Buddhist monastics, particularly the nuns, live like now and view the world especially with most of them in exile, with China as an economic tiger ruling over their land and with modernization happening all over the world. This paper will look into the lives of Tibetan Buddhist nuns in this present day and what has changed in their ways from the earlier times. A brief history of the Tibetan Buddhism will be given in order to understand the role of Tibetan nuns. Views on the role of women in Buddhism will be given and excerpts from the stories of different Tibetan nuns will also be shown in order to understand their belief and values system, and more importantly the condition of their life today. History of Tibetan Buddhism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Generally, Buddhism is a love of wisdom and it has three paths: (1) to lead a moral life, (2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions and (3) to develop wisdom and understanding (White 1). It has four noble truths which are (1) suffering exists, (2) suffering arises from attachment to desires, (3) suffering ceases when attachment to desire ceases and (4) freedom from suffering is possible by practicing the eightfold path, which is to have the right view, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and contemplation (Simhanada 1).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Buddhism was introduced in Tibet by Buddhists in India in 173 CE and it was gradually assimilated, disseminated and integrated into the Tibetan way of life due to the efforts of the religious kings of the country (Office of Tibet 1). Tibetan Buddhism as described on the Simhanada Tibetan Buddhism page is as follows: Tibetan Buddhism makes use of a wide variety of practices, i.e., the entire scope of Buddha’s teachings from the Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayan levels. Tibetan Buddhism successfully preserved the Vajrayana tradition†¦it is based most directly on the view that appearances can be used and transformed in order to recognize one’s Buddha nature and the emptiness of the mind†¦emphasis on intense Calm-abiding and Insight Mediation is stressed, along with the gradual accumulation of merit and purifying of obstacles. Extensive study of scripture, astrology, medicine, math and debate are common for Tibetan practitioners. Meditation on enlightened deities†¦is a unique feature of the Vajrayana†¦it uses the technique of having the practitioner identify themselves with an enlightened deity —in order to realize the nature of enlightenment. The religion spread because gurus from India were invited into Tibet to teach the Buddhist scriptures and translate them for the people. The religious king Tri Ralpachen introduced a decree that every monk should be supported by seven households, and thousands of temples were constructed in his time. Unfortunately, the king’s successor did not support the Buddhist teachings and monks were made to disrobe and join the army (ibid). Buddhism entered into a dark age but was revived after some time when three monks escaped the Domey region of Tibet and established monastic lineages in other parts of Tibet and eventually revived it in central Tibet (Office of Tibet 1). In Western Tibet, the most vigorous revival of Buddhism was taking place care of Lha Lama Yeshe Ãâ€". He helped spread the doctrine through translation, teaching and establishing of monasteries with the help of the great translator Rinchen Zangpo and Legpai Sherab (ibid). Lha Lhama also composed the famous Buddhist test A Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment, which set the pattern for all graded path texts found in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition (ibid). Four schools of Tibetan Buddhism[3] were also established from the practices and the Buddhist gurus. These are the Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelugpa. Nyingma literally means â€Å"old school† (ibid)that places a great deal of emphasis on meditation to achieve merit and wisdom; Kagyu is the Oral Lineage that is concerned with the experiential dimension of meditation where there is single-minded contemplation exercises and meditative therapy to attain psychic good health. Milarepa, an eleventh century Tibetan mystic practiced this tradition and meditated for many years in caves prior to reaching enlightenment. Sakya represents the scholarly tradition and means â€Å"gray earth† (ibid), and the Gelugpa school translates into the â€Å"virtuous school† (ibid) where scholastics are emphasize highly and monks are encouraged to achieve the Geshe degree of the Doctor of Buddhist Philosophy where a student practices lamrim or the paths[4]. Meditation is encouraged as well, like in all Buddhist practices and development of compassion is an essential part of the teachings of this school, which is also the basis of Tibetan Buddhist schools. The special features of Tibetan Buddhism are the status of the teacher or â€Å"Lama†, preoccupation with relationship between life and death, important role of rituals and initiations, rich visual symbolism, element of Bà ¶n, the earlier Tibetan faith, and mantras and meditation practice (BBC 1). Role of Women in Tibetan Buddhism There are two sectors in the Tibetan community: the lay people and the monastics (Chodron Home Page). The monastics, which are the monks or bhikshus and the nuns or bhikshunis, chose to vow to a life of simplicity, â€Å"a life directly related to the preservation and dissemination of the Dharma[5] to benefit others† (Chodron Home Page). Though women have been admitted by Buddha himself into his Order thousands of years ago due to pressure that women had become nuns in the Jaina religion (King 40), women are belittled in the orders. There are sutras or teachings that say â€Å"women could never become Buddhas† (SGI 1), and for centuries this conception has persisted. It has been commonly believed that women would have to be reborn as men to attain Buddha-hood (ibid) because there is â€Å"absolute preference for a male body†¦no Buddhist in her right mind desires a female body† (Buddhist-Christian Studies 220). The book Himalayan Hermitess: The Life of a Tibetan Buddhist Nun (Buddhist-Christian Studies 221) the author wrote about the life of Orgyan Chokyi who is a Buddhist nun that had reached high levels of understanding by the end of her life. This was not common during her time since she was living in the late 17th century to the early 18th century, and during this time women in Buddhism were really inferior to the men. The book revealed and translated manuscripts of her life, and this was really rare because manuscripts of nuns were not written by the scholars during the early times since their stories are thought to be not worth recording (Buddhist-Christian Studies 222). It is said that Orgyan Chokyi laments to be a woman and female rebirth in general, and she prays often that no being should be subject to a female rebirth (ibid). This is clearly indicative of how sexist Buddhism was then. She became a significant figure because of her life ordeals- she was born to parents who mistreated her because they wanted a son and she would often weep and one day a monk observed her and told her that if she studied the Dharma, she would soon develop great compassion. Like other nuns she was required to do manual labor in the monastery and this was the time she laments her gender. After being a novice, she received meditation instructions form the master of the monastery and a senior nun; she was made to do Tibetan oral traditions and go on pilgrimages to sacred sites of Tibetan Buddhism. Despite these, she was still made to do manual labor for more years but she was filled with joy and she wrote songs about this. Later on, she changed her attitude about female rebirth and writes that â€Å"a woman’s body is a ground for samsara† (Buddhist-Christian Studies 223). In her death, she clearly defied what was believed then: that enlightenment cannot be achieved in a female body (ibid); her meditation master told her that she did not need to do more meditations because she had â€Å"fully protected her vows and commitments† (ibid). This meant total enlightenment and she laid the path for Buddhist nuns to achieve Buddha-hood as well and to call for equality from society. Some also say that women enter the nunneries because they cannot wait for a man to wed them, they are too old to marry or they are orphans or widows (King 41). This shouldn’t be so since Buddhism calls for equality as seen in the Lotus Sutra, which is also called the teaching of non-discrimination, reveals that â€Å"there is no difference between men and women in terms of their capacity to attain Buddha-hood† (Soka Gakkai International [SGI] 1). Guru Rinpoche, who taught the dharma in Tibet, even had a principal disciple that was a woman called Lady Yeshe Tsogyal (Simhanada 1). In these early years of Buddhism, it was recorded that â€Å"women engaged in learned debates with the Buddha himself† (King 40) and that there is a recording of more than 500 verses in the Therigatha created by Buddhist nuns in the ancient Pali Canon (ibid). This shows that they are as capable as the monks. Nuns have been seen as inferior due to traditions way before Buddhism came and due to the impositions of patriarchal and sexist values in societies where Buddhism flourished (Shih 1). For a woman to become nun means liberation, however, they are bound by rules â€Å"over and above those followed by monk[6]† (King 40). These rules may have been developed at a later time to restrict women’s freedom or to simply express the existing social inferiority of women (ibid). Though she gains some freedom, a nun receives little recognition of her status from society since â€Å"rituals performed by monks are considered more efficacious and meritorious than those performed by nuns† and the donations given to monks are greater because it is considered to produce more merit for the donor than when given to a nun† (Buddhist-Christian Studies 220). Education for nuns was also quite limited because they had to do manual labor or housework to earn money for their supplies or to build their cells; thus, opportunities for them to perform their religious practices were limited (ibid). Even if the nuns have completed the required number of mantra recitations, they have to call on a monk to perform the ï ¬ re puja or burnt-book offering to perform it on their behalf (ibid). The Dalai Lama says that â€Å"all Buddhist nuns have a unique role to play in the evolution of Buddhism where the universal principle of the equality of all human beings takes precedence† (Chodron Home Page). Other Tibetan religious leaders have also stated publicly in a faith international congress that â€Å"men and women have an equal capacity for enlightenment† (Buddhist-Christian Studies 221), thus erasing the traditional beliefs that nuns are of inferior status to monks and that a woman must be reincarnated as a man to achieve enlightenment. And even if the prophecy that the Dharma will cease to exist after 500 years of admitting women into the Buddhist order, since it has already been 2,500 years (Fitz-Gerald 1), some traditionalists are still disregarding this idea because nuns are proving themselves to be more capable than what traditional norms have been dictating for years. Tibetan Buddhist Nuns Today In the recent decades, equal treatment of nuns with monks are being called for and with conferences being held yearly for Buddhists and other faiths, the pressure is great. Buddhism was not inherently sexist, but with the male domination in India where the Tibetan Buddhism came from, it just came to be because of the culture at that time (Fitz-Gerald 1). And this culture is changing in the 21st century. The Venerable Chodron (Home Page) says that in these times, Buddhist nun have three levels of ordination: sramanerika or novice, siksamana or probationary, and bhikshuni or full. The bhikshuni, for the Tibetans, means that it is already possible for them to attain the geshe or Doctorate degree, some are already taking the Vinaya class[7] which entails that the first generation of geshe-mas nuns will be produced and will earn them the degree equal to the monks (ibid). Before 1953, the highest rank that a nun could attain was even lower than the lowest rank of the monks (Shih 1). The Dalai Lama even made a statement about this topic, saying that â€Å"This is the 21st Century. Everywhere we are talking about equality†¦Basically Buddhism needs equality†¦the key thing is the restoration of the bhikshuni vow† (ibid). In this modern world, women are challenging the male-dominated social structures and â€Å"Buddhists need not only to tolerate such change, but to actively support it both within the general social structure and within Buddhism itself. Not only is change along feminist lines not incompatible with the teachings of the Buddha, it will be necessary for the continued flourishing of the Dharma† (Fitz-Gerald 1) since the number of monks is decreasing while the number of nuns is increasing (Chodron Home Page). Also though times are changing and the Buddhist nuns are gaining respect, their monastic life is more difficult now than it was before; as Shih (1) states, â€Å"Monasteries are by no means harbourages for those who seek easy lives. Therefore, there would be no reason for one to take on the challenges of such a life with much more hardship unless it were for the sake of religious pursuit.† Women no longer want to become nuns just because they are widowed, orphaned, abandoned or could not be wed, they enter for spiritual and religious purposes, thus they should gain the respect of everyone. The access women now have to education has brought them the want for enlightenment. In a research conducted by Arai (Shih 1), in the past for forty years, the average age of nuns entering in the order was 16; they were either raised in a temple or entered it because of their parents requests. Recently, however, the age of nuns entering the nunneries has risen to 43 and are single or married, and have definitely had more life experiences that those who were entering the nunneries in the 1950s (ibid). This suggests that nuns are more competent now and are making a more conscious and mature decision to commit themselves to the religion and to the life of seclusion; they are more capable of fulfilling their social roles and responsibilities (ibid).   Aside from earning equal respect and treatment with monks, nuns are facing a bigger problem which all of Tibet is experiencing, and that is the occupation of China in their land. Tsultrim Doma, a Buddhist nun in Tibet, says â€Å"The Chinese want our land, but they don’t want the Tibetan people. The women in our village were called to be sterilized, one by one. Those who refused must pay a fine. They have no money, so they have no choice† (Vincanne 77). Tibetans are experiencing a cultural and physical genocide; the Chinese are forcing Tibetan women, even nuns, to marry and Chinese nationals and bear their children. Tibetan women are forced to abort their babies just to reduce the Tibetan population (ibid). The Chinese are torturing the nuns and monks because they are the bearers of Tibetan culture, which is heavily rooted in religion; the monks and nuns are the suspects of political criminality in Lhasa (Vincanne 80). Hundreds of nunneries and monasteries have moved out of Tibet since the Chinese occupation and into the countries of India, Thailand, Nepal, Australia and others. Though Chinese are also Buddhists, they are persecuting the Tibetan Buddhists and they are faced with the challenge of renewal and reformulation (Shih 1) not only with their ways in treating the Buddhist nuns but with their survival. A Tibetan nun said that â€Å"the strength of our devotion frightens them† (Vincanne 81) since it is their devotion and religion that may liberate them. Their Buddhist belief in peace and liberation from suffering is timely with what they are experiencing, and together with their belief in karma, this enables them to endure their torments[8] and fight a rather peaceful battle for liberation than the Chinese government’s choice of using artillery and blood shed. The values of tolerance, inner transformation and enlightenment also enable the Tibetan Buddhists to be patient with what China has been doing, however, with the recent news of riots being broken out in China by the Tibetans, where monastics are accused of heading it, we do not know until when the Tibetan Buddhists- monks, nuns and lay people, can tolerate the injustices of China. Conclusion Buddhism was introduced in Tibet by the Indians in Tibetan in 123 CE and it replaced the mystic religion of Tibetans which was Bà ¶n. This mystic religion, however shaped the beliefs of the Tibetan Buddhists and made them somewhat different from other Buddhist sects. Their specific features are their distinct belief in life and death, important role of rituals and initiations, rich visual symbolism, element of Bà ¶n, the earlier Tibetan faith, and mantras and meditation practice. The Buddhist nuns have gone a long way from being admitted into the order by Buddha 2,500 years ago and only attaining a rank that is lower than that of the lowest rank for monks, to being ordained as a bhikshuni or a full nun and allowing the possibility of earning a geshe-ma or doctorate degree for them that will make them equals with monks. Though they are facing opposition from traditional lay-persons and monastics, the Dalai Lama and other Buddhist sects are on their side, calling that now is the time for equality and that Buddha-hood can be achieved by both man and woman. This is so because it was believed that women cannot achieve enlightenment, only men can achieve Buddha-hood and women must be reincarnated to do so. Some say that though Buddhism teaches equality, the patriarchal society in which Buddhism spread into has caused such inequality among men and women, thus making the lives of Buddhist nuns much harder than their monk counterparts. Women entering the nunneries today are much older than the women who were entering in the 1950s; from the average age of 16 it has risen to 43 in the past 40 and more years, showing that women have a more conscious decision to commit themselves to the Dharma and the religious life and shedding the notion that they are entering it because of lack of choice. In this time and age, were equality is being called for in all sectors of society Buddhists are being pressured and as said the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist Leaders are supporting the Buddhist nuns. Also, another challenge is faced by the Tibetan Nuns and that is they are forced to be disrobed and be sterilized, that is marry into a Chinese national and give birth to a Chinese child. The nuns, together with the monks are the ultimate symbol of Tibetan culture since their culture is deeply rooted in religion, therefore they are the ones tortured by the Chinese government’s cleansing of Tibetan from their people. As one Tibetan nun said, the Chinese only want their land and not the people that is why they are being physically and culturally erased. Because of the Chinese occupation many nunneries in Tibet have been destroyed by the Chinese and the nunneries have moved out together with the government-in-exile of Tibet into India and other countries. Their belief in suffering, peace and karma allows them to endure the tortures they are receiving from the Chinese that are occupying their land. Tibetan nuns are not only fighting for their equality they are also the voice, together with the monks and the Dalai Lama that is calling for a peaceful fight for the liberation of their land. Works Cited BBC Religion & Ethics Web Site. 2008. BBC. 1 April 2008 . Buddhist Christian Studies Book Review. 8 October 2006. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press. 2 April 2008 King, Ursula. â€Å"World Religions, Women and Education†. Comparative Education, Special Number (10): Sex Differences in Education. 23.10. (1987): 35-49. 31 March 2008 Tibet Website. 10 November 1997. The Government of Tibet in Exile Family of Sites. 3 April 2008 . Shi, Juo-hsueh. â€Å"Buddhist Nuns from a Modern Perspective† and Fitz-Gerald, Kerry. â€Å"Buddhism Needs Feminism.† Sakyaditha Newsletter. 3.2 (2002). 2 April 2008 . Soka Gakkai International. â€Å"Enlightenment of Women.† SGI Quarterly Magazine. (April 2000). 2 April 2008 . Simhanada Family of Sites.2006. Simhanada Buddhists. 2 April 2008 . Venerable Thubten Chodron’s Web Site. (n.d.) Ven. Thubten Chodron. 2 April 2008 from . Vincanne, Adams. â€Å"Suffering the Winds of Lhasa: Politicized Bodies, Human Rights, Cultural Difference, and Humanism in Tibet.† Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 12.1. (1998): 74-102. 31 March 2008 White, Bryan. A 5 minute Introduction to Buddhism. 1993. Buddha Dharma Education Association Network. 2 April 2008 . [1] See online articles and publications of Buddha Dharma Education Association [BDEA] for more information on Buddhism in Western countries. [2] Refer to the official webpage of the Tibetan Government in Exile: http://www.tibet.com [3] The Tibetan Buddhist Canon discusses this more extensively and can be found at the BDEA Web page, as well as in the eSSortment Web page. [4] 3 Principles of the Path is the (1) intention leave cyclic existence, (2) generate the intent to free all sentient beings and 93) correct view of emptiness (Simhanada   1) [5]Dharma refers to the Buddhist teachings or the path to truth and enlightenment. [6] A nun is subject to eight basic rules while a monk is only to follow four; when fully ordained a nun must observe 311 daily rules and the monk only 227 (King 40) [7] Vinaya class is the last class taken prior to taking the geshe exam and is required for the geshe degree. [8] Refer to Vincanne’s article of Suffering the Winds of Lhasa for detailed accounts