Is Dungannon at the higher end of the settlement hierarchy than Coalisland Essay Example

Is Dungannon at the higher end of the settlement hierarchy than Coalisland Essay For my geography coursework I am going to compare two towns. The two towns in which I will compare are Dungannon and Coalisland which are based in Northern Ireland. The reason as to why I am comparing these two towns is that they are in my local area. The purpose of my coursework is to find out which settlement would be higher up the settlement hierarchy. I plan to find out if Dungannon is overall a most important settlement than Coalisland. To do this I will investigate Dungannon and Coalisland by using a series of hypothesis.The settlement hierarchy is the placing of settlements in order of importance. Three ways in which find the importance of a town are:* Population size* Shops and Services* Sphere of InfluenceThere are many other ways in which you can use to find the importance of a town and I plan to investigate them by using my hypothesis.CoalislandCoalisland is a mall town in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. It has a population size of 4917 people (in the 2001 census). The name of this town suggests that it was involved with the coal industry. This is indeed true as Coalisland had its very own coal industry as it was formerly a centre for coal mining. Coalisland was also very well known for its coalfields.Coalisland was served by a canal. It was built in 1733 and opened in 1787. The canal was mainly used to transport the goods made in Coalisland to nearby coal pits. Many goods such as clay pipes, coal and corn were produced in Coalisland. These goods were then transported to many places such as Dublin, Newry, Belfast and Lisburn. The canal became a trading depot for those who lived nearby. Coalisland had influenced many people to come and trade in it as it was doing so well within in its industries and as large quantities of general merchandise could be imported and exported with ease. The canal finally closed in 1946 as they used Lorries as a better method of transport for their goods. This was because Lorries could transport the goods much faster an d safer. In 1954 the canal was officially abandoned and had a relegated status as a drainage ditch. The closure of the canal was a huge downfall for Coalisland as it stopped all connections from trading to a lot of other industries.Coalisland railway station was opened on the 28th of July 1897 and closed for passenger traffic on the 16th of January 1956. As for the goods traffic which opened on the 5th of October, it finally closed down on the 1st of April in 1965. Today there are no remains of that railway, other than the bridge on the Derry road, an old goods shed and also grown over platforms.The education today in Coalisland is at its best. There are many schools in Coalisland. The primary schools are:* Primate Dixon* St. Johns* Gaelscoil Ui NeillGaelscoil Ui Neill is an Irish primary school. There is only one secondary school in Coalisland and it is called St. Josephs College and has been open for over 40 years.Coalisland had a good history of sport especially in football. Coal island Na Fianna is the local Gaelic Athletic Association club. Dennis Taylor originated from Coalisland as well and comedian Peter Kays mother came from Coalisland also.Many things have changed in Coalisland today form when it first grew up. The canal has now been partly built over and has some shops on top. The corn mill in Coalisland is now the Local heritage centre and the coal mines are now all closed off due to the fact that coal is longer being produced in Coalisland and the town has found many other ways to keep it profitable. Coalisland now consists of many convience stores and two supermarkets. There are also many hair-dressers and clothes shops as well.Coalisland has also very good accessibility today as the roads are good to travel on. Coalisland is roughly 3miles off the M1 Motorway and is about 40miles from Belfast. Coalisland is South West of Lough Neagh and is about 5miles from Dungannon.Coalisland Corn mill 1930 Coalisland Heritage CentreCoalisland Canal in 2003Dung annonAt one stage Dungannon was the Capital of Ireland in the early 1600s due to Hugh O Neill being situated here. Dungannon is situated on top of a hill. The O Neills had built a castle on this hill as it acted as a good defence for the town. Dungannon was the main stronghold of the O Neills from the 14th Century until the Plantation of Ulster. All traces of the O Neills fort on the hill has gone but the name is recalled in The Fort Bar in Scotch street.Dungannon used to be well known for being a market town, but now all of that has changed as it is now mainly a trading town. Dungannon has a population of 12,000 people. It contains many shops and services. It also has many entertainment venues, swimming pools, cinemas, pubs and bars not like in Coalisland.Dungannon is also South West of Lough Neagh and is 5miles from Coalisland. Dungannon isnt that far away from the M1 Motorway. This has increased the trading percentage in Dungannon by a lot and has influenced other department stor es and industries to trade in here.Dungannon had at one time, a linen industry but it has now been replaced by textile industries and glassworks. There are many popular industries in and out of Dungannon. For instance Tyrone Crystal attracts a lot of tourists into Dungannon. Another industry with is situated in Dungannon is Tyrone Brick. It first produced brick form the clay made in Coalisland.Today in the town centre of Dungannon you would find many department stores and some convience stores. There are many jewellery shops, clothes shops, corner shops, hairdressers and restaurants in Dungannon. Dungannon is also the third largest town in County Tyrone.This is the Castle Ruins todayOn the following page you will see a map. It includes the location of my two study areas which are in Northern Ireland. My study areas are Dungannon and Coalisland.Aims of my CourseworkThe aim of my geography coursework is to study and investigate two local towns within Northern Ireland. These two towns are Dungannon and Coalisland. The main reason as to why I chose to study these two towns is because they are situated in my local area. I live in the town of Coalisland and it is where I go to school. Dungannon is the nearest large town where I would go to shop for clothes and other high order goods. During my piece of coursework I studied a very important topic. This topic was on settlement. In this topic you learn about settlement hierarchies i.e., some towns within a region will be of more importance due to the fact of it having a larger population and a greater number of shops and services in it. As a class we all have decided to base our investigation around the topic of settlement hierarchies and so we will compare Dungannon and Coalisland.The aim of my coursework investigation is to prove that towns with a bigger population and surface area are higher up the settlement hierarchy. These towns will also have a wider range of shops and services. Towns like these will have a bigg er sphere of influence than other towns.In order to carry out this investigation, I have developed three hypotheses to help me do so.They are as follows:1) Dungannon has a larger population and surface area than Coalisland.2) Dungannon is a more accessible shopping town than Coalisland.3) Dungannon has a larger sphere of influence than Coalisland.MethodologyDuring class, having discussed the hypothesis for this coursework, we had to decide how we were going to collect the data and information that we needed in order to prove each hypothesis.Some of the information which we need was as follows:* Area size of each town.* The distances people travelled to a shop.* If the people came to buy high order or low order goods.* Where the people lived and shopped in each of the towns.* The population figures for each town.* The method in which the people travelled.* How often people shopped for high order and low order goods.There was two main way in which I needed to collect the necessary inf ormation. The first main way was from primary sources. This is just were you personally, collect the information you need yourself in each town. The second main way was from secondary sources. This is just information you get like on the internet, which has been already collected for you. This kind of information is as what you can say as second-hand information. You can get more secondary information from libraries, local newspapers, local council, tourist information, the population census for Northern Ireland and so on.In order to gather the primary information our class decided on making a questionnaire for each of the towns. We also decided on carrying out a survey of the number of shops and services found in each of the towns.The questions are as follows:1. What is the name of the town or village where you live?This question is asked to help us find out the towns sphere of influence.Less than 1 mile1-2 miles2-5 milesMore than 5 miles2. How far did you travel to come here?This was asked in our survey to help us calculate the actual sphere of influence of each of the towns telling us how far people are willing to ravel to a town for some low order goods such as bread and milk and also high order goods like furniture and clothes.WalkCarBusOther3. How did you travel here?This question was asked because it lets us know how people travel and what ways of transport they would use most often.4. Would you come to this town to only buy or use the following services?Milk/BreadYes/NoNewspaperYes/NoClothesYes/NoShoesYes/NoFurnitureYes/NoElectrical goodsYes/NoPost OfficeYes/NoSolicitorYes/NoThis question tells you what people mostly tend to buy in each of the two towns. It tells you whether they use they town to shop for higher order or low order goods and this also shows the importance of the town.5. What are the three main goods/services you use this town for?GroceriesNewspaperPost OfficeClothesEntertainmentHousehold goodsBankingThis again shows what each of the tow ns is mostly used for and it also can tell you which town would have better shops and services.6. Have you come here today for any particular reason?Again this question tells you what each of the towns is used for helping you to find out the importance of each of the towns.Thursday the 25th of September was the day in which we decided to carry out our survey investigation. Thursday the 25th was the chosen date for when we were to carry out our investigation because Thursday was near the weekend. This meant that the town would be very busy as people would be out doing their weekly shopping and probably out sorting out their business. In Dungannon, every Thursday is a traditional flower market day, which would bring a lot of people into the town for grocery shopping etc.We travelled into Dungannon by bus. We left our school at approximately 9.30am. Once we arrived in Dungannon we were put into groups of two. The first thing we did was take a survey of the number of shops and services in the town. We walked through the main shopping area of Dungannon called Market Square, making a tally of the shops and services as we past them. We then continued along some streets of the town.These streets are as follows:* Irish Street* Church Street* William Street* John Street* Thomas Street* Scotch StreetThere is a map included in my Geography coursework and these streets in which I have surveyed are located in this map of Dungannon.The second main thing we done, was to go to our positions on the streets any carry out the investigation. These positions could be like Menarys, Boots chemist, Woolworths, Peacocks, Tescos, Birthdays and Sainsburys.As a class we took a sample of 100 people. The reason for this was that we could easily change our results into percentages. Whilst carrying out our questionnaire we asked every third person as this is what youre meant to do when doing a questionnaire to make your results more accurate.During the afternoon we repeated the above process in Coalisland. The streets in which we did out questionnaire on are:* Main Street* The Square* Dungannon Road* Lineside* Washingbay Road* Barrack Street.When we were carrying out the questionnaire we stood outside some shops such as Sulivans, The Jet, Spring Island, Mc Glincheys, Landis, Taxi service, The Charity Shop and so on.Whilst doing our investigation in each town we took some sketches and some pictures, showing how our investigation looked in process.Dungannon has a larger surface area and population than Coalisland.In this hypothesis my class and I want to find out two pieces of information about each of the towns we are studying, Dungannon and CoalislandThese two pieces of information are:1. Population of each town.2. Area of each town.The reason as to why I want this information is so that I can find out which of the two towns, Dungannon and Coalisland, will be further up the settlement hierarchy. I expect that for a town to be higher up the settlement hierarchy it would have to have a greater area and have a larger population than the other town. This would make it a more important town than the other. I expect that Dungannon would be higher up the settlement hierarchy as it would have far more shops and services in it, bringing a lot of people into the town whereas Coalisland would have fewer shops and services in it bringing less people into the town than in Dungannon.This information can be collected from secondary sources i.e. from the internet, books and the local council.I used a website called www.ninis.nisra.gov.uk/ to help me obtain the information in which I need to find the population of each town. The website gives many statistics on local town, villages and cities that are in your area in Northern Ireland. A population census is also given within each of these towns. From this information I am able to observe the population for Dungannon and Coalisland in the 2001 census. The results are given as follows in the table below:Population t able for each townDungannonCoalisland11,1394,917I have displayed these population figures on a bar chart which is just below:Interpretation of resultsAfter observing the information from my bar chart you can clearly see that Dungannon obviously has a bigger population then Coalisland, by a large amount. Dungannon has a population of 11,139 people and Coalisland has a population of 4,917 people in the 2001 census.Area of Dungannon and CoalislandAs a class we came to the conclusion that we would expect that a town with a larger population (Dungannon: 11,139), would have a larger area than a town with a smaller population (Coalisland: 4,917), because there will be more shops, offices and houses etc in that town.MethodHow to find out the area of each townWe needed to find out the actual surface area of Dungannon and Coalislands town centre. In order to do this we needed individual maps of each of the two towns. We obtained planning maps from the Northern Ireland Planning Service in Omag h. These two maps are showing on pages and As you can see from the maps the boundary line it highlighted in a dark black line. The next step was to measure the area. To do this I got tracing paper and put it over the maps, I traced the boundary line and then placed it over a page with grid squares. After that I had to count the number of squares inside each of the boundary lines of each town. Using the scale on each map I was able to easily work out the area of each town centre. There calculations are given in the following tables.Results for Coalisland Town Centre Results of Dungannon Town CentreScale 1.5cm = 30metresMap scale = 3cm to 100mEach square = 100 x 100= 10,000m2Total squares = 48 full20 half (i.e. 10 full squares)= 48 + 10= 58 squaresArea = 58 x 10,000m2Area of DungannonTown = 580,000m2CentreTotal Squares = 168 full and 40 half.= 40/2= 20 full squares= 168 + 20= 188 full squares= 188 x 900m2= 169,200m2Area of CoalislandTown = 169,200m2CentreEach square = 30m x 30m = 9 00m2Summary TableTownArea in m2Dungannon580,000 m2Coalisland169,200 m2Interpretation of my resultsAs you can see by observation Dungannon has a larger area than Coalisland. My bar chart also tells you that Dungannon has even more than twice the area of Coalisland. The reason as to why Dungannon has a larger area than Coalisland is that it has a larger population. Dungannon has a population of 11,139 people and Coalisland has a population of 4,917 people. With Dungannon having such a large population of 11,139 people, it would have to have a very large surface area to serve its people. This are would include places for car parks, housing, shops and other services which help to provide the towns people with what they may need.This is exactly what I had expected and therefore it proved my hypothesis Dungannon has a larger surface area and population than Coalisland right.

Mp3

Mp3 Mp3s and the file sharing programs need to be kept free because of its availability, ease to get, use, play, put on a cd, and for the wonderful price of nothing once gotten off of Napster. In the beginning a couple of college kids worked on a science experiment on an idea that hadn't been tried completely before. Like Henry Ford, they put together the ability to make an amazing resource readily available, but unlike Henry Ford, they didn't profit. Although they didn't even profit, big companies accuse the mp3 sharing programs of stealing money and breaking down musical artists careers in just a couple months, and now people must fight to keep the dream of free unlimited music alive.Companies believe that the sales of cds and other forms of music will decrease rapidly and mp3s will destroy the record industry with free music. Instead the opposite happened, and in most places, nothing really changed.I have too many mp3s and files in my laptop, it's ...

Caucasion chalk circle

The chalk circle is a symbol of truth. Within the circle, all will be revealed. In the play, Azdak cannot come to a rational decision on who should have the child. His methods of justice are not by the Book of Statutes he sits upon. By putting the women in a circle and observing them act towards the child, he can see which woman is best for it. The circle levels the playing ground, removing the advantage of money or rank or history. There are no distractions to the problem or its solution. Azdak lets justice reveal itself. Similarly, the play opens with another circle of justice, when the members of the two communes sit together to decide who should have the valley. The Expert from the Government Reconstruction Commission is like Azdak, who announces the outcome but does not push; he observes. Within this friendly circle where the communes have equal social status, they can impartially decide the best use of the valley, and it is peacefully and mutually decided for the fruit growers. This circle symbol is reinforced by the Wheel of Fortune brought up by the Singer in Scene 2. He sings about the downfall of the Governor, who was so secure in his power and assumed he would always have it. â€Å"But long is not forever. / Oh Wheel of Fortune! Hope of the people! † (p. 15). This wheel of change is always turning and fits the Marxist message of the play. The Wheel celebrates the historical dialectic where the center of power is always shifting from one group or class to another. It is the hope of the people because eventually, this turning circle of fortune produces justice, as we see in the first scene. The first scene depicts the same landscape where the medieval civil war had taken place that we observe through the rest of the play. In the present time in Scene One, however, there is a socialist society that strives for fairness to all. Looking back, the people perform their own history and see how the Wheel of Justice kept moving until the people were free of their class bondage. When the artificial constructs of society are removed that favor the few, then it is clear who deserves what. Christian Symbolism Brecht often criticizes the Christian church as a tool to support the upper classes and keep the lower classes in their places. The historical church subverts the original teaching of Christ who treated all humans with respect. Brecht uses Christianity symbolically in this play, either to criticize religion, or else to transpose Christian rites into secular ceremonies of brotherhood. For instance, critics have pointed out use of the sacraments of the Catholic Church. The sacraments are the sacred ceremonies that convey God’s grace: Baptism, Communion, Confirmation, Penance, Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Extreme Unction (Last Rites or the Anointing of the Sick). In the play the first sacrament performed is the engagement of Simon and Grusha on Easter. He gives her a cross that belonged to his mother and asks her to wait for him. It symbolizes a true marriage. Later, the sacrament of marriage is made a farce when Grusha is forced into marrying Yussup, and he crudely tells her the purpose of marriage is for her to serve him in bed and in the fields. Simon on the other hand, stands by Grusha, â€Å"for better or worse. † When Grusha flees with Michael to the mountains, she finally decides he belongs to her and performs a Baptism, saying: â€Å"Ill wash you and christen you/ With glacier water† (Scene 3, p. 39). This is not the Church’s baptism but a human bond recognized by Grusha towards the child. At Jussup’s farm in the mountains, the drunken priest represents Holy Orders, and he performs a wedding and offers to do Extreme Unction on the groom. These rites are a parody of religion, but at the same time, they ensnare Grusha into the exploitive social structure that keeps her a slave. She is blackmailed into being respectable for the sake of the child. Another sacrament is Penance, comically performed by Azdak when he rushes into town with his confession that he let the Grand Duke escape. The sacrament of the Eucharist, or Communion, happens when Azdak shares wine with Granny and the bandit, Irakli. Finally, Brecht makes the fool Azdak into a type of Christ figure. He is beaten by the soldiers and almost hung, but is â€Å"resurrected† by the Grand Duke. The Singer says, â€Å"To feed the starving people/ He broke the laws like bread/ There on the seat of Justice/ With the gallows over his head . . . a poor man judged the poor† (Scene 5, p. 80). Azdak is no saint or supernatural figure. He is humane, performing acts humans can do, and is thus both hero and example. The Garden In Scene Two, Governor Abashvili is remodeling and enlarging his palace, in honor of his newborn son, whom he wants to carry on after him. He proposes to knock down the peasant shacks on the estate to do this. Natella says, â€Å"All these miserable slum houses are to be torn down to make room for a garden† (p. 11). This will be a garden for the privileged at the expense of the poor. The slum people are of no account as humans. In fact, in Scene Six, Natella complains about their smell, as if they were animals. Ironically, this same estate is confiscated for the state in Scene Six when Azdak declares it will be given to the people and made into a playground for children. He calls it â€Å"The Garden of Azdak† (p. This is a human Eden, and the Singer speaks of it as a brief â€Å"Golden Age† (p. 96). The garden is also evoked in Scene Three as Grusha is fleeing to the mountains. She meets a carriage of aristocratic women from the south, who stay at an inn. The innkeeper describes the beauty of the land to the ladies, saying, â€Å"We’re planting fruit trees there, a few cherries† (p. 28). He shows them farther away where the land gets more stony, and that is where the shepherds have their flocks. The ladies say, â€Å"You live in a fertile region† (p. He asks what their land is like, and they say they don’t know. They have not paid attention. This scene reinforces the first scene where the fruit growers and goat herders argue over the same valley. The common people have a relationship with the land and are contrasted to the aristocratic ladies who have not paid attention to the land at all. They are just trying to get through it to someplace else. The Rosa Luxemburg Commune wins the valley in the Prologue because they will make great orchards there, a garden for everyone. Making the land into a garden is the symbol of making the land productive and the sscene of social harmony and justice, so everyone can share the fruits. When the Abashvilis try to make a garden for themselves alone, there is only war and misery. The fact that it is Easter Sunday is thus the first of the many religious themes present in the play. For example, the fact that the Fat Prince is the Governors brother brings to mind the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. Grusha goes through ten developmental steps that start in this act. Each of these steps requires that she sacrifice a part of herself to Michael. She does this financially, emotionally, in terms of her promises to Simon, and in terms of her life. The first step occurs when she gives up her money for the child, paying two piasters for milk. The second is when she decides to go back for Michael after leaving him with the peasant woman. The third is when she hits the Ironshirt over the head. Four is when she adopts Michael, the helpless girl adopted the helpless child. Five is when she is offered the chance to leave the baby with the merchant woman so that she can cross the bridge and save herself. Six is when she risks her life and Michaels life to cross the bridge. The remaining developmental steps occur in the next act. This is almost a direct comparison of Azdak to Christ. Brecht will continue this comparison in the next act, when Azdak is killed, resurrected by the Grand Duke, and finally disappears. Theme Analysis Class Warfare The Grand Duke of Grusinia (Georgia) is involved in a foreign war in Persia when the play opens, yet the action focuses on the civil war at home caused by the coup of the Princes. While the aristocratic regimes come and go during the action of the play, the common people are always regarded as less than human. They suffer no matter who is in charge. The Singer uses Governor Abashvili who is executed by his brother, the Fat Prince, as a warning to other aristocrats: â€Å"Oh blindness of the great! They walk like gods/ Great over bent backs, sure/ Of hired fists, trusting/ In their power which has already lasted so long† (Scene One, p. 15). The soldiers or â€Å"hired fists,† like the Ironshirts, change loyalties with regimes and let themselves be used by the rich to persecute the poor. Simon Chachava is an exception to this, remaining loyal to the Duke. One of the most passionate denunciations of the upper classes is by the maid Grusha in Scene Six when she denounces Azdak the Judge and the justice system itself as a servant of the rich. She complains that the wealthy â€Å"drag our men into their wars† (p. 92). Simon’s memories of the war in Scene Four reinforce her complaint as he witnessed his brothers slain around him for the sake of the Duke’s cause. Grusha tries to disguise herself as an upper class lady when she escapes, but she is found out when she knows how to make beds. The women look at her hands and know she works for a living. The servant at the inn sympathizes with her, saying, it is hard to pretend to be â€Å"a lazy useless person . . . once they suspect you can wipe your own arse . . . the game’s up† (Scene Three, p. 32). Natella Abashvili becomes the stereotyped and heartless noble lady who can only run around picking out the right dresses to pack and berating the servants while her husband is being executed and her son is abandoned. In court, Natella’s notion of motherhood has to do with station. She wants her son back so they can be restored to their estate. She only notices what the child is wearing and is shocked to see him in rags. When Azdak asks Grusha if she wouldn’t like the child to be rich, she thinks to herself it is better for him to be poor than to mistreat the poor: â€Å"Hunger he will dread/ Not those who go unfed† (Scene 6, p. 94). He will not always have to be afraid of who is going to chop off his head, as was done to his father, because of a power struggle or because he was unjust to others. Human Sympathy What is it that can heal class divisions? The play answers that human sympathy makes everyone equally valuable. Grusha does not hate Michael because he is the son of the Governor, who oppresses everyone. She is won over because he is a baby, like any other: â€Å"He looks at you like a human being† (Scene 2, p. 23). When Grusha sits with the baby all night trying to consider what to do with it, she hears it call to her as if saying: â€Å"Don’t you know woman, that she who does not listen to a cry for help/ But passes by shutting her ears, will never hear/ The gentle call of a lover† (Scene 2, p. 24). When she risks her life for the child’s, the Singer asks, â€Å"How will the merciful escape the merciless/ The bloodhounds, the trappers? Grusha does get some sympathy along the highway. A peasant woman was willing to take the child until the Ironshirts came. The servant at the inn tried to give her food. The merchants wanted to help her cross the ravine or take the child so she could go on. Her brother gives her a roof for as long as he dares and arranges a marriage for her. Yussup takes in both her and the child without asking questions. She is given partial help but she is the one who has to sacrifice her whole life for Michael. The child would not have survived but for her. She wants to tell Simon this when he comes for her but only thinks it: â€Å"I had to tear myself to pieces for what was not mine/ But alien. / Someone must be the helper† (Scene 4, p. 60). Grusha deserves to be Michael’s mother because of what she passes on to him. From her, his inheritance will not be money or rank, but wisdom: â€Å"I’ve brought him up according to my best knowledge and conscience . . . I brought up the child to be friendly with everyone. And from the beginning, I taught him to work as well as he could† (Scene 6, pp. 88, 89). She wants him to treat others humanely, and that is a priceless gift for him and the future. Azdak recognizes this humanity in Grusha, demonstrated by her unselfish letting go of the child’s arm so she won’t hurt it. Azdak himself is the other great example of human sympathy as he risks his own life for two years to help the poor. It is a great and comic juggling act he performs with great humility. In the case of Granny, for instance, who claims the stolen cow, ham, and waiving of the rent were â€Å"miracles,† Azdak fines the farmers for not believing in miracles. He sits on the floor with Granny and the bandit, treating them as equals. He calls Granny â€Å"Little Mother† or â€Å"Mother Grusinia,† seeing her as the suffering poor. The Singer says, â€Å"So, so, so, so Azdak / Makes miracles come true† (Scene 5, p. 77). Miracles are not supernatural events for Brecht, but human acts. Justice The play uses the dilemma of the child, and the debate of the communes over the valley, to ask, what is Justice? Who should get the child? Who should get the land? Azdak the fool, who is made into a Judge, works his way through to an answer. It is not an expected or a ready-made answer, for, as the Singer comments, â€Å"Truth is a black cat/ In a windowless room at midnight/ and Justice a blind bat† (Scene 5, p. Justice will never come from â€Å"willing Judges† like Prince Kazbeki’s nephew ( Scene 5, p. 75). Azdak’s antics, such as demanding bribes in the court from the rich, comments on the accepted corruption. He says, â€Å"It’s good for Justice to do it in the open† as he moves around in a caravan among the people (Scene 5, p. 75). Everything he does or says satirizes the court system. He asks Grusha, â€Å"You want justice, but do you want to pay for it? When you go to the butcher, you know you have to pay (Scene 6, p. 91). The rich are used to equating money and rank with truth, but it is their truth, not impartial Justice. Out of Azdak’s comic theater in the courtroom, he creates a crazy logic so that the people who need help get it, despite the law. â€Å"His balances were crooked,† says the Singer (Scene 6, p. 77). Grusha, not understanding Azdak’s intent, scolds him for being corrupt. She claims that what would be true justice is to choose â€Å"only bloodsuckers and men who rape children† for judges as a punishment to make them â€Å"sit in judgment over their fellow men, which is worse than swinging from the gallows† (Scene 6, p. Judging is a punishment to an unjust man who will only blacken himself with hypocrisy. This is the justice the poor are used to. Azdak’s reply to her is, â€Å"I’ve noticed that you have a weak spot for justice† (Scene 6, p. 93). After Azdak rules in Grusha’s favor, the Singer states the principle of Justice that Azdak uses: â€Å"what there is shall belong to those who are good for it, thus/ The children to the maternal . . . the valley to the waterers† (Scene 6, p. 97). The play opens and closes with true justice served. Essay Questions What is Brecht’s concept of epic theater? Because Brecht was a Marxist, he did not like the classical Aristotelian concept of theater as a drama focusing on the story of individual characters. In traditional drama, the audience has a vicarious experience through identification with certain characters that ends with an emotional catharsis. The audience leaves with its personal experience of the drama and does not think about society as a whole. Brecht’s epic theater hopes to do the opposite—it increases the scope to let the audience witness, rather than identify with, the forces of history, and thereby creates a rational reflection on social conditions. Brecht wanted a critical response that would make spectators want to change the world. Theater should be a teaching and political forum. In order to create this new theater, Brecht breaks the dramatic illusion of reality. The spectators should be reminded they are watching a constructed play (such as the play within a play in Caucasian Chalk Circle), because they should understand that all reality is a human construct, and thus can be changed. One way to break the dramatic illusion is through the â€Å"alienation† or â€Å"defamiliarization† effect. The event portrayed is made strange in different ways, such as having characters address the audience directly, or by the use of harsh lighting, by having songs comment on the action, by using camera projections and signs, by speaking the stage directions aloud, or by having a narrator on stage. Brecht also uses what he called â€Å"separation of the elements,† in which the words, music, and sets are self-contained artistic expressions, combining to produce an overlapping montage rather than a unified effect. Brecht was influenced by the subject matter and techniques of Charlie Chaplin and Soviet filmmaker, Sergei Eisenstein. He learned the techniques of avant-garde theater from his mentor, Erwin Piscator. In addition, his epic theater expressed Marxist ideals by being a theater collective rather than the work of individuals. The playwright exchanged ideas with composers, artists, singers, and actors. Brecht wrote the text with such collaborators as Elisabeth Hauptmann, Margarete Steffin, Ruth Berlau, and Emil Burri. Brecht’s techniques have influenced other writers and filmmakers such as Peter Brook, Peter Weiss, Robert Bolt, Jean-Luc Godard, Nagisa Oshima, and Lars von Trier. How does Marxism influence The Caucasian Chalk Circle? Brecht was a Marxist, and his work reflects this philosophy, formulated by Karl Heinrich Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), the most famous statement of which is The Communist Manifesto (1848). Marxism is a materialist philosophy that denies any supernatural forces shaping human life. History is therefore a struggle between classes for the means of production and distribution of goods. Marx criticized capitalism as exploiting the workers, because ownership was in the hands of the few. The laborers have to sell their services to capitalists and are not given a fair share of what they themselves produce. Private ownership, Marx felt, must be abolished to create a fair society. Marx advocated revolution by the proletariat or workers against the bourgeoisie, or capitalists, to advance to the next stage of civilization in which the workers would dominate. He saw civilization evolving in stages (the historical dialectic): first, primitive or tribal communism; then slavery with an aristocracy; feudalism with peasants and lords; capitalism with bourgeosie and proletariat; socialism where private property was abolished; and finally, true communism where there would be no property and no supervising state. Inequality would be abolished for good. Exploitation is demonstrated in the play with Grusha and the other servants and peasants doing all the work, and the Governor and his wife doing nothing to contribute to society. The Marxist concept of alienation is demonstrated by the ruling classes losing their humanity or feeling of kinship with others. The Governor’s wife only sees her child as the means to get the inheritance. The ruling classes are contrasted with the common people who appear more human; the rulers seem monstrously selfish and insensitive. The military and the judges support the princes and governors. Even as the princes fight among themselves for power and create chaos with their wars, the common people suffer, and no government is better than another. According to Marxism, however, the forces of history are not static, and we hear of the revolt of the carpet weavers in Nukha in Scene Five. Their revolt is short-lived, but when Azdak becomes the Judge and rules in favor of the poor people, it predicts the time coming when the people will be victorious. What is the underlying structure of the play and what is the purpose of the prologue? Brecht uses a frame story in the prologue, where the workers of the Rosa Luxemburg Commune are putting on the Chalk Circle play. In the main drama, Brecht cobbled together two tales into one: part one sets up the chalk circle motif of the rival mothers derived from a fourteenth century Chinese play and the judgment of Solomon in the Bible (told in scenes 2-4, 6), and part two is Azdak’s story that resolves the dilemma (scenes 5-6), apparently derived from Brecht’s own imagination and folklore. There had already been a version of â€Å"The Chalk Circle† in German by Alfred Henschke (also known as Klabund) in 1925, which differed from Brecht’s by making the biological mother win the test. Brecht disliked Klabund’s sentimental tone and worked on his own revision of the story, experimenting with settings in Denmark and Germany, before choosing to set the story in medieval Georgia, with the prologue in Soviet Georgia, after World War II. At first, the frame story took place in 1934 without reference to the Nazis, but then, he moved the time of the frame story to after the war. Using Soviet Georgia as the frame in the prologue caused problems in the United States where the play was first performed in English during the Cold War. The play had to be performed without the prologue referring to the Soviet communes, leaving it as a mere retelling of the fables. Brecht felt this destroyed the play and thereafter the prologue was treated as a vital part rather than a tacked-on afterthought, as some claimed it was, to make the play more Communist. The prologue is necessary because it sets up the occasion for the telling of the chalk circle story, and Brecht wanted the setting to be a real one: â€Å"this parable-like play has got to be derived from real-life needs† (Notes by Brecht, p. 104). Brecht claimed that the fable the Singer tells the workers is not meant to be a literal parable. The two Communist collectives arguing over a piece of land solve their differences amicably without war before the play starts, and the story is a simply a celebration of their just decision. Brecht calls the prologue a â€Å"background† and the fable a â€Å"true narrative† that contains â€Å"a particular kind of wisdom† (Notes by Brecht, p. The Singer Arkadi says, â€Å"old and new wisdom mix very well† (sc. 1, p. 8). The foreground of the play (the chalk circle story) and the background of the play (the modern Soviet communes) come together to display the forces of history. The workers in present-day Soviet Georgia hear a tale about their ancestors in medieval Georgia who were exploited. The fair judging of Azdak in favor of the peasants foretells their own time of greater justice under the Soviet collective system. How are the characters of Grusha and Azdak important to the message of the play? Brecht comments on Grusha that she is a â€Å"sucker† (Notes by Brecht, p. 100) for taking on the child since it nearly costs her own life and dreams. Grusha, like the workers and peasants, only pays and pays and pays without getting anything back, for the child is not even hers. She is a â€Å"producer† who gets none of the fruits, like the proletariat. Brecht comments that Grusha does not expect justice from Azdak; she just wants â€Å"to go on producing, in other words to pay more† (p. 101). After the hearing, â€Å"She is no longer a sucker† (p. 101). Like the other poor people Azdak has helped, she gets back some of the fruits of her labor and gets back her self-respect. She is accepted by Simon, though she had to break her promise to wait for him, for the sake of the child. Their new family unit represents a constructed or just family that rejects the old prejudices and notions of ownership. The child is divorced from a mother that only wants to gain money from it and given to the woman who loves it. Grusha is divorced from the farmer who married her for his own convenience and given to a man who loves her. Simon takes on a woman and a child who are not technically â€Å"his† in the conventional sense, but he appreciates them and is the proper father and husband. This accords with the Marxist idea of economics and justice, of reassigning property and social roles to be more just and fair. It does not matter what went before or who has â€Å"owned† something in the past. On the other hand, Grusha has earned her reward. Brecht remarks that â€Å"Bit by bit, by making sacrifices, not least of herself, Grusha becomes transformed into a mother for the child† (p. 104). Like the people themselves who make sacrifices, suddenly the tide turns, as Marx predicts. Through small quantitative changes, there is a sudden qualitative change. This is the historical dialectic, the process of evolution, and the character of Azdak becomes the means for that to happen in the play. In every case he judges, there is a sudden shift from the side of the dominant landowner to the poor peasant. Azdak is the trickster figure who turns the law upside down. His Robin Hood justice is the Marxist kind that will be rendered by the sudden shift of history, illustrated by the carpet weaver’s revolution in Nukha. Brecht’s directions call for an actor who can portray â€Å"an utterly upright man† (p. 102) to play the part of Azdak. He is â€Å"a disappointed revolutionary posing as a human wreck, like Shakespeare’s wise men who act the fool† (p. 102). But, Brecht comments, â€Å"Azdak is the disappointed man who is not going to cause disappointment in others† (p. 105). He risks his life, like Grusha, to be human and to make a difference. That is the only way justice can come, Brecht insinuates. The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht Leave a reply The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Brecht uses epic theatre to bring forth an idea or meaning for the audience to consider while entertaining the audience. Epic theatre involves the use of alienation techniques to distance the viewer from the story but still concentrate on the overall meaning. The person who just views the story would likely take it as fantasy and not reach the true depth of the play. Brecht shocks the viewer by making the events and actions in the play â€Å"strange and abstract† this contrasts with dramatic plays where the audience sympathises and relates to the characters of the play. The theme throughout the play is natural justice versus class justice. The title has links to other parables and stories before it. The Chalk Circle, a Chinese play involved a legal action where the false claimant was granted custody due a bribe to claim her dead husbands estate. This however was overturned by the emperor, the guarantor of the law, in a retrial as the emperor was the father. This particular story is a whisper to the result of Grusha’s trial. The emperor is portrayed as the epitome of justice and gives a true verdict. The trial scene is also adapted from the parable of King Solomon. Solomon the paragon of justice and truth oversees the trial of two mothers, one child is dead the other alive, they seek custody of the alive child. The king asks the child to be cut in half, the real mother relinquishes her claim and thus gains custody of her rightful child. In these two whispers the law is shown to be equated with justice, however Brecht seeks to highlight that within Grusinia this is not the case and it takes a greedy Azdak who despises the upper classes to give a just Verdict. The class justice presented in the novel has close links to the Marxist view of the law, with the law serving all, but in reality it protects and secures the interests of the ruling classes. The play seeks to emphasise that within this class justice the poor can only gain justice under exceptional circumstances. Azdak as the judge and arbiter of justice has come to this position only through a matter of chances and mistakes. Firstly he harbours the Grand Duke from Shauva, then he confesses to the Ironshirts only to be made judge because the Duke escaped. Then through shear chance just before his execution the Duke redeems him and makes him judge, finally making him the arbiter of justice between Natasha Abashvilli and Grusha. This shows that the poor class can only get justice under a system of whims and extraordinary circumstances and that justice is intrinsically linked to a series of chances and not linked to the law as it should be in a feudal regime. Azdak finally decides in Grusha’s favour on the spur of the moment, the chalk circle is a real test, and it is through this test that Azdak decides the child’s fate. In order to entertain the audience, Brecht sought to keep the verdict in flux, keeping the audience in suspense as to the final outcome. Azdak although seen as the arbiter of justice between Natasha Abashvilli and Grusha is shown throughout the play as greedy and corrupt when dealing with the upper classes. The humour that Azdak displays toward the upper class is entertaining, he constantly refers to them as â€Å"arse-holes.. sows.. well-born stinkers. † This anal imagery is continued right through the novel. Azdak is so disgusted by the odours the upper classes emit that he occasionally â€Å"before passing judgement, I went out and sniffed the roses. † This helps Azdak give the verdicts he gives to the â€Å"monied classes† such as the Invalid, and the landowner. He swindles them into giving him money for a bribe then turns about and gives a contradicting verdict against the upper classes. This duplicity when passing judgement is seen by the audience but the lower classes see that for once the law is on their side. This is the final hint that Grusha will get the child, as she is good for the child and will continue to do good for the child, contrasting to Natasha Abashvilla’s intent to get the child only to keep her late husband’s estate. The singer sums up the meaning of the entire play, linking the prologue with the stories of Azdak and Grusha. â€Å"That what there is shall belong to those who are good for it, thus the children to the maternal, that they thrive; the carriages to good drivers, that they are driven well; and the valley to the waterers, that it shall bear fruit. † Brecht in the play seeks to highlight the difference between justice and the law within Grusinia. The feudal society, or Marxist society, is shown to have harder implications for the poor than the even distribution of wealth which is the main emphasis of the Marxist state. The Marxist law is not equated with justice for all rather justice for the upper classes, or class justice, where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Research Methodology, Design & Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Research Methodology, Design & Process - Essay Example While the circumstances might seem extremely divergent, the necessity for speed and efficiency is universal to the healthcare profession and the ongoing need to increase the delivery of services at reduced cost. Thus, two commonly available drug treatment options are evaluated. SELECTION PROCESS In order to find articles of relevance, exhaustive searches of nursing journals, and surgical scientific journals were conducted to arrive at the two articles subject to critique. Same Day surgery and shock treatment are useful keywords. In some cases, when conducting extensive library research, online sources can easily supplement library searches beyond what can be achieved through the normal library reference system. If working in a library, a possible strategy is to identify the names of all journals that might possibly be relevant to the topic at hand, then using an online source to find the websites of those journals, as which time further searches can be conducted. Online searches of t he websites of technical journals can produce exact page numbers of articles relevant to any scientific topic, allowing the researcher to pinpoint the physical location of useful articles within the actual library. The articles chosen were felt to be highly relevant, both in terms of ongoing research and in regards to professional goals. CONTEMPORARY DAY SURGERY: PATIENTS' EXPERIENCE OF DISCHARGE AND RECOVERY Contemporary day surgery

Moral Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Moral Philosophy - Essay Example In history, one can view applied ethics through the decisions of governments as they were influenced due to the religious mores of their time. On a more general level, which deals with history—the Ottoman Empire, which used to span the globe—effected the territories it owned with its prevailing religion. Constantinople, at the end of his life, professed the Christian faith. However, the name of the city Constantinople was later changed to Istanbul after the geopolitically-defined, mainly Muslim, country of Turkey came into prominence. Applied ethics can be seen all over the world, not to mention a lack of application of ethics in world history. For example, when Hernan Cortes and his men came to Mexico, the land of the Aztecs—to hoard gold and other valuables—the Aztecs thought this was fulfilling a prophecy that their great leader would come from far away. Instead of admitting that Cortes was not the leader he was who they thought, Cortes took advantage o f the fact that the Aztecs thought he was a holy figure, and consequentially took the wealth of the Aztecs, his men raping their women and killing a lot of people, including roasting the Aztec leader Cuauhtemoc over a fire pit and pouring boiling oil over his feet. The point is, types of domination like this went on all over the world. Christopher Columbus never indeed â€Å"found† the New World, but he found plenty of island natives in the Caribbean whose peaceful lives he ruined by the ruthless plundering of himself and his men. There is evidence of all of these types of cruel inhumanity present in all of history—and it is not just limited to the Europeans, although they were a major cause for discontent the world over. If one thinks about it, in world history—the British Empire once spanned a majority of the globe. The French and the Dutch also had colonialized several countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Due to these white peoples taking over indigen ous nations’ peoples and forcing their values, religion, language, and culture upon them—they were forced to either change or die. So, these people adapted. More about evolution and ethics will also be discussed in the last section of this piece. III. MoralityMorality became politically-correct (or ‘PC') after the civil rights movement in the ‘60s in the United States, because it meant that any kind of oppressed people (not just Blacks) could basically rise up and say that they weren't going to take being discriminated against anymore. Of course, this has led to postmodernist thinking, that everyone is equal and everyone's perspective has to be right because no one is wrong; we all worship the same God even though some of us may not call God God, nor does everyone

United States’ Food Supply Safety Essay Example for Free

United States’ Food Supply Safety Essay The food supply of the Unites States is safe from contamination. This is evident through the regular surveillance and other efforts done by the authorities to keep the safety of the nation’s food supply especially from contamination. The safety of the food supplies starts at the farm and not in the grocery stores. According to the article of Sharon Durham in Agricultural Research entitled Food safety in the 21st century: Coordinated Monitoring of Animal Health, in the year 2003, the Agricultural Research Service or ARS as well as two other agencies under the US Department of Agriculture or USDA started a combined effort in protecting the health of the livestock of America as well as ensuring the safety of the food supply (Durham, 1). This research gives way of tracing the critical diseases in food production that involves animals. In addition, it improves general understanding of factors that causes food safety risks such as those in plants and other manufacturing plants. Also, scientific examinations help detect contamination at vital points in food production (Apgar, 1). On the other hand, the National Animal Health Monitoring System or NAHMS performs surveillance that seeks to identify as well as tackle animal health and food safety matters of major concern. Also, the US Customs and Border Protection or CBP and the Food and Drug Administration or FDA initiated new joint efforts in protecting the food supply of the nation. Through the Memorandum of Understanding or MOU signed last December 2003, the Customs agents are now allowed to examine foods that are imported to the United States (FDA Consumer, 1). Furthermore, the CBP and FDA issued a policy guide that tells their strategy in maintaining the continuous flow of food imports while increasing their safety. The policy guide deals with enforcing two regulations. These are first, it require an advance notice to the FDA for shipments of imported foods into the country. Second , it requires a registration with the FDA of local as well as overseas facilities such as manufacturing, processing, packing and holding services for consumption in the United States. These rules aim to boost the security in the supply chain yet it also involves additional cost and difficulty to transporters (Albright, 1). Meanwhile, the government seeks to enhance standards for industries to get extra money for bigger examination to improve the security of government amenities. National agencies such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Defense (DOD), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are working together on bio-security plan. In addition, the EPA makes sure the safety of the water supply even from the terrorist attacks. The agency together with local water utilities performs evaluation of susceptibilities, to stiffen security within the vicinity of the facilities, to improve emergency response plans whenever attacks occur (Chapman, 1). Anyway, the food industry has been working vigorously also in ensuring the safety of the food supplies. There are several associations that participated in the Alliance for Food Security. They conduct meetings together with government agencies directing food security concern. The industry is sharing methods that a lot of companies are getting to improve their security, to full background checks on employees especially the new ones, and to limit the employees who have access to main zone of the facilities. Some members of the industry have worked strongly with the aforesaid government agencies to address queries concerning food. The FDA has the direct liability for guaranteeing the safety of the food products while CDC leads in conducting disease surveillance. They keep an eye on the occurrence of sickness in the US that is attributable to the supply of food. Moreover, programs such as the annual Food Safety Summit and Expo that is sponsored by National Food Processors Association and the National Restaurant Association help the tighten the security of the entire nation’s food network. Strategies to prevent intentional as well as unintentional food contamination are being laid out during this annual activity (Prewitt, 1). The food industry, itself, has its own programs in keeping the safety of the food supply and this id done in cooperation with the different companies. For instance is the Supplier Audits for Food Excellence or SAFE Program which is initiated through the assistance of more than two-dozen member companies (Johnston, 1). Further, the technological advancements today are a big help when it comes to ensuring the safety of the country’s food supply. The flourishing field of genetic engineering has started changing the daily American diet. Biotechnology has provided us with progress like foods with improved nutritional content and this time, FDA is controlling new food products to ensure their safety. References: Durham Sharon. â€Å"Food safety in the 21st century: coordinated monitoring of animal health†. Agricultural Research. October 2006. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m3741/is_10_54/ai_n16807530, http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m3741/is_10_54/ai_n16807530/pg_2. March 2, 2007. â€Å"Agencies team up to protect food supply U. S. Customs and Border Protection†. FDA Consumer. March-April 2004. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_2_38/ai_114242021. March 2, 2007. Albright, Brian. â€Å"New cargo security regulations: present challenges to shippers, carriers: advance manifest and food safety rules could increase safety—and cost—of cross-border shipments Supply Chain Management†. Frontline Solutions. February 2004. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0DIS/is_2_5/ai_113907155, http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0DIS/is_2_5/ai_113907155/pg_2. March 2, 2007. Chapman, Nancy. â€Å"Industry secures food supply†. Prepared Foods. January 2002. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m3289/is_1_171/ai_81861689. March 2, 2007. Apgar, Toni. â€Å"A call to action-food poisoning and food supply safety†. Vegetarian Times. November 1996. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0820/is_n231/ai_18810447. March 2, 2007. Prewitt, Mildred. â€Å"Safety summit: Securing U. S. food supply an uphill battle; Contamination and bioterror hot topics Food Safety Summit and Expo Legal Beat†. Nation’s Restaurant News. March 25, 2002. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_12_36/ai_84237780, http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_12_36/ai_84237780/pg_2. March 2, 2007. Johnston, Kelly. â€Å"Safety with a good bottom line Formulation Ingredient Challenges Food safety†. Prepared Foods. March 2002. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m3289/is_3_171/ai_83744775. March 2, 2007 Young, Frank E. â€Å"Safety first: protecting Americas food supply FDAs Year of Foods†. FDA Consumer. July-August 1988. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_n6_v22/ai_6589510, http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_n6_v22/ai_6589510/pg_2. March 2, 2007

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry :: Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry Essays

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry In Mildred Taylor's enthralling novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, the Logan family serves as an excellent model of family values and self worth. In the face of racial and economic adversities, Mama and Papa Logan provide their children with the important lessons they need to be successful in life. First, the Logan children; Stacey, Cassie, Little Man, and Christopher-John, learn to be persistent and determined. Next, the children acquire the knowledge of caring for each other. Last, they become able to stand up for what they believe in. An example when the Logans teach their children strong work ethnic occurs when Papa explains the importance of owning their land. Cassie considers her father's words as she thinks: For it he would work a long, hot summer pounding steel; Mama would teach and run the farm; Big Ma, in her sixties, would work like a woman of twenty in the fields and keep the house; and the boys and I would wear threadbare clothing washed to dishwasher color; but always, the taxes and mortgage would be paid.(4) Papa's explanation to the family about working hard makes Cassie think about the sacrifices the family will have to make to keep the land. These sacrifices might be hard to make but it will be necessary to keep the land and pay taxes. Another quality is that the Logans care for each other when Stacey stands up for Little Man when Miss Crocker hands out old, dirty, and torn books. Cassie exclaims, "Yes'm, he been reading since he was four. He can't read all them big words, but he can read the columns. See what's in the last row. Please look, Miz Crocker." (18) Cassie's courage to stand up for her little brother is phenomenal. She does so even though she knows she might get whipped. Her bravery shows that she supports the fact that blacks are treated inferior to whites. Miss Crocker at first refuses to look and then she say, "well that's what you are." Miss Crocker is in a state of denial in trying to convince herself that there is no problem with the school. Last, the Loga ns instruct their kids to stand up for what they believe in.

Planet Hollywoo

Marketing 520| Marketing Plan for Planet Hollywood| Midterm Report| | | Marwan Soliman Noha Abdel Fayad Hadil Abdel Fayad May Abdeen Table of Contents Company Background2 Mission Statement2 Company History:2 Situation Analysis2 Environmental Scanning:2 Macro environmental Forces:2 Micro environmental Forces2 Competitive Analysis:2 SWOT Analysis:2 Market Segmentation2 Demographic2 Psychographic2 Behavioral2 Targeting2 Targeting Strategy2 Problem Statement2 Works Cited2 Company BackgroundPlanet Hollywood is a trademark for restaurants, bars, casinos, and resorts that was established in 1991 by its founder Robert Earl and his partners and stockholders Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone. Planet Hollywood distinguishes itself with the unique experience it offers its customers from gaming and live entertainment at the Hollywood themed venues. The focus of this marketing plan is the Planet Hollywood restaurants that resemble the Hollywood inspiration with its wide collection of Hollywood p rops and souvenirs from top rated movies and TV shows that decorate the place and the wide collection of items available for sale.Planet Hollywood strives to act as a creator and developer of consumer brands that take advantage of the universal appeal of movies, sports, and other entertainment-based themes The unforgettable dining experience at Planet Hollywood is completed with its delicious diverse menu of salads, burgers, and much more. Currently, Planet Hollywood has sixteen branches all over the world at which three of these are located in the Middle East (Dubai, Reyadh, and Kuwait). Mission Statement â€Å"Planet Hollywood International Inc. s a guest-driven company committed to providing [its] guests with an exciting inside look at Hollywood, combining with exceptional food, outstanding merchandise and uncompromising service in every one of [its] restaurants. [It] recognize that [its] success is achieved by hiring, retaining and developing quality associates†. â€Å"W e have a passion for our guests We care about our associates We do not compromise our high standards We maintain a sense of urgency in everything we do We continuously strive to improve We are team players† Company History:Planet Hollywood International Inc. is the controlling body for entertainment-based theme restaurants located throughout the world. Planet Hollywood International also runs five Official All Star Cafe restaurants, a chain that focuses on professional sports and follows a sports-bar theme, and several Cool Planet Ice Cream shops. The management of the company is currently focusing on its core business of restaurants. The first Planet Hollywood restaurant opened in New York City in 1991 however the events leading to its beginning started 20 years before that date.In 1972, Robert Earl opened a dinner theater in London called ‘The Beefeater’ that offered its customers a dining experience with a medieval theme. Earl earned a degree in hotel and resta urant management the University of Surrey. He was passionate about creating entertainment-based restaurants such as ‘Talk of London,' ‘Shakespeare's Tavern,' and ‘The Cockney Club. ‘ In the 1980s, Earl foresaw the promising American markets that would guarantee the success of his entertainment-themed restaurants. He started off with selling his concepts to the developers of a then-new Disney World called EPCOT Center.Although the deal was unsuccessful, Earl decided to stay in Florida at which he opened several restaurants focusing on medieval and Wild West ideas until he sold it to a larger holding company in the mid-1980s. In 1989, Earl was appointed the new chief executive for the Hard Rock operation under ‘Mecca Leisure†. The ‘Hard Rock Cafe' chain is a music industry-based theme restaurants. With his new position, Earl created 20 Hard Rock Cafes in the eastern region. Meanwhile, Earl partnered with Keith Barish, a film producer at that t ime to open the first Planet Hollywood mentioned earlier.Barish and Earl looked at music, movies, and sports as means that bridge differences of language and other differences between people living in different places. Planet Hollywood witnessed immediate success; its museum-like decorations and its outstanding marketing plan attracted millions of customers. Earl and Barish asked celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg to act as restaurant's owners at which they would pass by ‘their restaurant' to check in and mingle briefly with their fans.A year later Earl left Mecca Leisure to plan the worldwide introduction of Planet Hollywood restaurants actors Don Johnson and his then wife Melanie Griffith, director John Hughes, comedienne Roseanne, and actors Tom Arnold, Wesley Snipes, and Danny Glover became investors by then. By mid-1993, Planet Hollywood International had opened its branches in London and southern C alifornia and was completing the construction of a fourth branch in Chicago. Architect David Rockwell was hired to design the new branches. The branches were created to seat more than 200 people.Each branch contained film props and floor layouts that were unique to their locations. Dorothy's dress from ‘The Wizard of Oz,' the pottery wheel used by Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze in ‘Ghost,' a replica of the castle from ‘Dracula,' the Batmobile, the Flintstone buggy, and a plastic model of the meat slab that was pulverized by Stallone in the film ‘Rocky’ were all items put on display in different locations. Celebrities hand prints walls and big-screen televisions to play promotional clips for upcoming movies were further attractions found at Planet Hollywood.Peter Morton Hard Rock International executive at that time filed a suit against Earl and Planet Hollywood claiming that Earl had copied that Hard Rock concept. Earl dismissed the charges and the case against Planet Hollywood never amounted to much in court. In addition, Planet Hollywood continued its move up the ladder of success and became well-known in the theme restaurant business. By the end of 1993, Planet Hollywood expanded to have eleven new branches in different states. The opening of each branch was a major gala event that attracted crowds who were eager to see celebrities and different famous media figures.Each new branch generated revenues worth $ 15 million. Selling licensed Planet Hollywood merchandise in addition to serving food and drinks from a diverse menu were a major attraction of customers. Key rings, T-shirts, sweatshirts, watches, and leather coats are examples of the items sold at the restaurants. The merchandize selling not only boosted the revenues by differentiating Planet Hollywood but its popularity pushed it to open separate retail stores called ‘Planet Hollywood Superstores,' a move that further increased yearly profits.In 1994, Planet Hollyw ood continued expanding to open branches worldwide. The company also began establishing other theme-restaurant ideas such as the Official All Star Cafe. Barish and Earl realized the people’s key interest in celebrities’’ life and continued expanding based on that. They continued recruiting professional sports figures to invest such as hockey great Wayne Gretzky, football icon Joe Montana, and basketball superstar Shaquille O'Neal. Also in 1994, the company opened what would become its highest income generator branch at Las Vegas. The Las Vegas restaurant was designed to seat .The branche's opening drew more than 10,000 people who sat on stadium-like bleachers to watch the stars' arrivals at the event. Later that year, another 500-seater of Planet Hollywood opened in Orlando's Disney World. With that branch, Earl and Barish became officially the owners of the two highest-profit generating restaurants in the United States. In 1996 the company decided to go public not only by offering stocks but the company also convinced MBNA to issue Planet Hollywood VISA credit cards that gave cardholders priority seating at the restaurants.A joint venture with ITT Corporation was also established to develop Planet Hollywood casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Furthermore, Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. and Planet Hollywood International decided to develop comic book character-based restaurant theme calling it ‘Marvel Mania. ‘ Ideas for a new concept called ‘Chefs of the World,' which was to feature a ‘star-studded' culinary staff, also began to rise. Celebrity support received through their ownership and investment in the chains made Planet Hollywood and All Stars Cafe unique by all standards. In only five years the company had grown from one $3. million restaurant in New York to an almost $300 million operation with approximately 50 units throughout the world. Situation Analysis The dining service in Egypt has witnessed a hu ge change in the last few years . Dining out became part of the lifestyle of Egyptians who can enjoy such leisure. People are constantly seeking new diners, especially international ones they try during their trips abroad, they see in foreign movies or hear about from friends. During this period of changes, several international diners opened in Egypt and have proven to be successfully attracting customers.Although different people are always seeking different styles such as Authentic Egyptian, Italian, Shisha serving cafes, quick coffee serving cafes, each sector proved to find their own clientele. Places such as Hardrock Cafe, Apple Bees and Rainforest Cafe have their own successful cases that should be similar to Planet Hollywood’s. Egyptians in general are usually very interested in celebrities and their lives. Planet Hollywood can easily depend on this point in its marketing plan and focus. Environmental Scanning: Macro environmental Forces: Socio-cultural FactorsThere a re more than 50 million people between the ages of 15 and 45 in Egypt which is approximately 65% of the population . This, as a result, has a great impact on the nature of the food service sales. The young generation has changing lifestyles and eating habits. They mainly go out for dinning as it is considered a source of entertainment. As such, the demand for the food services represented in fast food restaurants, informal dining, cafes/bars, has increased tremendously. However, in Egypt, both men and women are usually seeking places where then can smoke shisha.Usually, international chains forbid smoking of shisha in their restaurants as part of their regulations to avoid health and environmental hazards. Economic Factor The Egyptian population is mainly divided into two classes of either rich or poor. The middle class in between is demising. According to the World Bank Statistics of 2005, the income share help by the highest 20% of the Egyptian population is 41. 5% while the share of the next 20% is only 12. 6%. It is believed that this gap is not getting any smaller if not getting wider.The top 20% of the population are consistent with their dining out experience as eating out is considered a main sources of entertainment. Political Factors With the political instability in the country since the January 25th events, dining out is considered one of the few sources of entertainment that remained stable since other sources of entertainment such as parties and concerts are no longer as available as before. Restaurants are more likely to any new expansions making it the right time for Planet Hollywood to open and establish a good solid base in Egypt.However, this political instability also represents a risk to any new business especially with the lack of security witnessed. This security issue will have to be accounted for in choosing the location and operation of the restaurant. Environmental Factors Air pollution in Egypt and especially in Cairo is a matter of serious concern. The air quality in downtown Cairo is more than 10 to 100 times of acceptable world standards. In addition, the layout of tall buildings and narrow streets prevent the pollution from escaping and result in a thick and grey air.As a result, open-air restaurants in some areas, especially downtown Cairo and high density areas, may face some problems and may not be convenient all the time. Therefore, people are looking more for indoor recreation. Another concern is the availability of high quality raw material in Egypt. Due to the lack of training and education, there are a lot of improper agricultural practices, poor hygiene at all stages of food chain, absence of preventive controls in food processing and preparation operations.In addition, misuse of chemicals, raw materials contamination, inadequate or improper storage are also concerns for the food industry in Egypt. Such a situation highlights the importance of a high quality control process that should be implemen ted in any restaurant. Technological Factors People now have access to the internet all the time. They became more demanding and want to follow a certain lifestyle. They know exactly what they are looking for and where they can get which as a result creates a significant challenge in terms of meeting demands and defeating competition.Yet, this is a good opportunity since marketing can now be done easily using cheap online campaigns reaching the targeted customers. Micro environmental Forces Employees Employees are the image of any place, their attitude and commitment directly affects the restaurant’s reputation and customer perception of the place. Research has shown that 70% of customers’ return to a restaurant is usually related to the service and their positive experiences with employees; 68% of defecting customers leave due to negative employee attitudes.Therefore, Planet Hollywood’s employees should be experienced and passionate. They should receive regular trainings and should always be motivated to do their best. In addition, they will be closely monitored to gurantee that the customers are always satisfied. Suppliers Quality and freshness are the most important factors of the food served in any restaurant. Therefore, reliable food service suppliers take part in the success of any restaurant. Planet Hollywood will seek suppliers that will provide high quality products with on time consistent delivery.Our strategy will be to create a partnership-like relationship with suppliers to guarentee the success of the end product. Customers Planet Hollywood’s targeted clientel is already present in Egypt and is currently waiting for such an international diner to open in Egypt’s biggest cities such as Cairo, Alexandria and Sharm El Sheikh. Our clients would be 15-35 year old men and women seeking a luxurious yet afforadable dinning experience. Locations Prime locations that are easily reached with suffiecient parking places shou ld be sought.Currently, big shopping malls and diners concentrations are considered the places-to-be by Egyptians. Locations such as City Stars, Mall of Arabia, New Cairo and 6th of October cities should be checked for potential locations. Competitive Analysis: The Egyptian market is very competitive as it consists of many foodservice companies with dominant players that make it hard for small operators to succeed. This governance is due to the brands already having good grounds internationally, in addition to the huge advertising and marketing plans.Below is a list of the major competitors for Planet Hollywood. 1. â€Å"Americana†: Egyptian Co for international touristic projects (TGI Friday’s) First established in 1964 as a small trading company based in Kuwait, Amricana became the most successful restaurant operator in the Middle East that owns around 650 restaurants. â€Å"Americana† is a master franchisee to several leading international entities such as Ha rdees, Pizza Hut, KFC, TGI Friday's, Costa Cafe and Baskin-Robbins. TGI Friday’s is the main brand that would present a competition to Planet Hollywood. Competitive advantage: Fierce advertising and marketing plans for all its brands along with major offers and promotions. * The company has many outlets all over Egypt and is opening more and more each year. 2. Amer Group (Chili’s): Started in 1993 by introducing â€Å"Chili’s†, the famous American restaurant chain to Egypt and the Middle East, Amer Group expanded over the years to introduce more restaurants with a variety of cuisines such as Johnny Carinos, Studio Masr†¦etc. Chili’s will be one of the major competitors for Planet Hollywood. Competitive advantage: * High market penetration with many restaurants all over Egypt and in all the hot spots. Amer Group has managed to maintain a very good reputation among Egyptians through its many projects in different industries as well as very aggre ssive marketing plans. The name of the restaurants is directly related to the group which helped them to easily achieve customer loyalty. * Casual atmosphere that fits both youth and families. 3. Hard Rock Cafe: Established in 1971 in London, Hard Rock Cafe has over 172 venues in more than 51 countries around the world. It opened its branch in Sharm el sheikh in 1998 in Naema Bay; it also has one in garden city Cairo, another in Hurghada, and it is planning to open one soon in Nabe.It offers a wide selection of burgers, barbeques, and steaks, along with a variety of desserts and drinks. Internationally it is known to be among the top competitors for Planet Hollywood. Competitive advantages: * It has a very good reputation worldwide that makes it an attractive place for young outgoing population, and also for tourists coming to Egypt that’s why it is very successful in Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada. * They focus on their employees and treat them like a family and create an envi ronment of fun where the employees look forward to come to work. They also focus on customers making sure that they deliver unique entertainment and dining experience. * Their music mix is very popular and very entertaining which makes Hardrock cafe the number one destination for outgoing youth with passion for music. 4. Planet Africa Part of the Mo’men group, Planet Africa was established in December 2004 in Cairo and it is considered the first themed restaurant in Egypt. The restaurant has the design of a jungle with African merchandise and souvenirs available at the entrance. Planet Africa offers a wide variety of International cuisine. Competitive advantage: First themed restaurant in Egypt and it is Egyptian so it attracts patriotic customers. * Ideal for families as the atmosphere is very kids friendly. * Reasonable prices relative to the portions and quality of food. 5. Sequoia: With only one branch in Zamalek, Sequoia is the favorite restaurant for high end, outgoing young people. It offers a wide range of Egyptian, Lebanese, Syrian, Italian cuisines as well as a very good sushi menu. The place also offers alcohols as well as water pipes. Competitive advantages: * Sequoia is located in Zamalek with a very nice view of the Nile. Considered a hot spot among classy young population. * Sequoia hosts very successful events during Ramadan, New Year’s and holidays. * Suits all tastes as it offers different types of cuisines. 6. Rainforest Rainforest opened in Egypt in 2008 by Wataniya Company for operating restaurants, the leading company in restaurant management in the Middle East, at the City Stars Mall. The design of the place is like a jungle with all types of animals. The high technology fitted into the design changes the sounds of animals every 10 minutes through CDs and there is a thunder storm every 30 minutes. Competitive advantage: Well known brand world wide * The high tech atmosphere of the jungle simulation makes it very attractive for kids and families. * Very good quality of food. SWOT Analysis: Strengths: * Strong popular name among various groups of the targeted market segment. * Branches already exists in nearby countries such as Dubai, Kwait and Riyad, with similar culture and menu adjustments. * Offers a variety of food that is already familiar and loved by the Egyptian population. * Well known for tourists visiting Egypt. * Strong established system of management that could be easily trained and implemented among local employees. Availability of kids menu and kids friendly atmosphere. * Ability to host both small and large events as well as offer outside catering. | Weaknesses: * Requires huge investment to find and build a branch that would be located in a relatively hot spot compared to competitors as well as big enough to maintain the restaurant image worldwide. * Prices are relatively high compared to some of the major competitors| Opportunities: * Egypt is a huge market that is now welcoming any n ew investment after the recession that occurred after the 25th of January events. Dinning out is now one of the necessities of life due to the casual lifestyle of most of the young Egyptians as well as families. * The trend of hosting parties and events outside is becoming more and more popular among Egyptians| Threats: * Fierce and well known competitors that use excellent promotional techniques. * Probability of unwelcoming an Americanized restaurant * After the 25th January events, Egypt became unstable both economically and politically which makes it a risky environment for any new business. | Market SegmentationDifferent strategies were used to segment the Egyptian market to identify our target market. Demographic Age: Household Income: Income is a very important factor in our segmentation process as Planet Hollywood is known to be an expensive high class restaurant. The following segments are recognized: * Low: ? EGP 12000/year * Low-Medium: EGP 12,000/year – EGP 24,000 /year * Medium: EGP 24,000/year – EGP 120,000/year * Medium-High: EGP 120,000 – EGP 240,000/year * High: ? EGP 240,000/yea Occupation: * Students * Workers * Employees * Middle Managers * Executives * Professionals Small-business owners * Large-business owners Social Class: Even though social class perception is directly linked to the income level of the family, but it is also influenced by the family background which is a major contributor in determining the social class. There are three basic social classes in Egypt: Class A, Class B and Class C with sub categorization in each class (e. g: B1, B2 and B3) . Nonetheless, it is apparent, as mentioned before that Class B is diminishing. Marital Status: The marital status is reported as follows: * Single: 37. 31% * Married: 62. 69% Psychographic LifestyleDifferent people have different lifestyle patterns that change at different stages of life. According to the â€Å"Sagacity Lifestyle Model†, Lifestyle has four ma in stages identified as follows: * Dependent (ex. Children living with their parents) * Pre-family (ex. With their own households but don’t have children) * Family (ex. Parents with at least one child) * Late (ex. Parents with children who left their homes) A further sub-classification is by segmenting the above into outgoing and non-outgoing. Motives Planet Hollywood will be providing a unique kind of entertainment for its customers that is not available at any other competitors.Using the asset of celebrities’ investment in Planet Hollywood, customers might find various famous figures when dining might encourage customers to go. In addition, being able to position the brand as a hot spot for the different targeted segment will encourage customers to go in order to fit in and keep up with the social groups and standards. Behavioral Brand Loyalty Planet Hollywood is a strong popular name and can easily develop brand-loyal customers Benefit expectations Customers are gro uped according to similarities in the benefits that they look for in specific products or services.Benefits as location, cleanliness, social image, food service, quality, and hospitality. Use frequency Customers are segmented according to their frequency of dinning outdoors as follows: * Rarely, occasionally * once per month * twice per month * once per week * multiple times per week. Targeting Theme restaurants attract patrons based on mainly the overall dining experience and the entertainment value received. The chosen theme dictates the interior decor, music, type of food, the food presentation and the appearances of the staff. Theme restaurants also sell licensed merchandise as souvenirs.For our target market selection, we have considered several segments from which we could come up with Planet Hollywood possible target diners; the most relevant segmentation schemes were: age, income, social class, and lifestyle. Age| Household income| Social Class| Lifestyle| 0 – 15| ? E GP 12000/year| Lower| Dependant| 15 -45| EGP 12,000/year – EGP 24,000/year| Lower Middle| Pre-family| 45-60| EGP 24,000/year – EGP 120,000/year| Upper Middle| Family| 60-80| EGP 120,000 – EGP 240,000/year| Upper| Late| | EGP 240,000/year| | | Targeting StrategyAs for our target strategy, we will be following the differentiation strategy. We will be designing more than one promotional message with which we will be providing each segment with its specific needs and communicating the different related benefits. Problem Statement Planet Hollywood is a well known international brand, offering a unique authentic Hollywood experience for its customers. The introduction of Planet Hollywood in Egypt will be a challenging process as it should emphasize on the well established brand and the unique experience offered by its famous themed restaurant.Dining service offers a huge market in Egypt, mainly because of the changing socio-cultural behaviors of people especially the tendency to be more outgoing. However, the proper targeting of customers and positioning of the restaurant are of most important in establishing the differentiated strategy of Planet Hollywood. Works Cited (n. d. ). Retrieved November 10, 2011, from AMEinfo. com The ultimate Middle East business resource: www. ameinfo. com FUNDINGUNIVERSE. (n. d. ). Retrieved November 10, 2011, from Planet Hollywood International, Inc. : http://www. fundinguniverse. om/company-histories/Planet-Hollywood-International-Inc-company-History1. html Hard Rock. (n. d. ). Retrieved November 10, 2011, from Hard Rock History: http://www. hardrock. com/Corporate/ market segmentation – psychographic segmentation . (n. d. ). Retrieved November 10, 2011, from Tutor2u: http://tutor2u. net/business/marketing/segmentation-psychographic. html Planet Hollywood International, I. (2006, July 6). The PH Insider. Retrieved October 27, 2011, from http://www. planethollywoodintl. com/privacy. php PLANNING: MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLANNING. (n. d. ).Retrieved November 10, 2011, from http://www. wadsworthmedia. com/marketing/sample_chapters/766816052_ch07. pdf Population. (n. d. ). Retrieved November 10, 2011, from Egypt State Information Service: http://www. sis. gov. eg/En/LastPage. aspx? Category_ID=19 Restaurants. (2010). Retrieved November 10, 2011, from Amer Group Holding: http://www. amer-group. com/Restaurants. aspx ——————————————– [ 2 ]. [ (Planet Hollywood International, 2006) ] [ 3 ]. [ (FUNDINGUNIVERSE) ] [ 4 ]. (Egypt, 2009) [ 5 ]. (http://web. worldbank. org) [ 6 ].Hassanein, Salah. â€Å"Air Pollution in Cairo – The Cost†. Arab world books. [ 7 ]. Egyptian Food Safety Information Center (EFSIC) [ 8 ]. Egyptian Food Safety Information Center (EFSIC) [ 9 ]. (Jim Heisler, Ph. D. , senior vp, Stakeholder Relationship Consulting) [ 10 ]. (Euromonitor International, Augus t 2008) [ 11 ]. [ (Restaurants, 2010) ] [ 12 ]. [ (Hard Rock) ] [ 13 ]. [ (AMEinfo. com The ultimate Middle East business resource) ] [ 14 ]. [ (Population) ] [ 15 ]. [ (market segmentation – psychographic segmentation ) ] [ 16 ]. [ (PLANNING: MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLANNING) ] d

Critically Examine the Geopolitics of Humanitarian Aid Within the 21st Century.

Critically examine the geopolitics of humanitarian aid within the 21st century. How have responses to famine changed over time and what are the key challenges to famine prevention today? Geopolitics have played a huge role in humanitarian aid in the current century. Because humanitarian aid is largely sponsored by western countries it poses a huge problem in the form of a â€Å"parochial form of theorizing†1 that supports the interests of the richest countries of the world. For the purpose of this essay I will begin by examining the problems that have arisen in the most recent years of humanitarian aid assistance.This arises from conditional aid, whereby donor countries or organizations impose conditions in order for recipient countries to receive this aid. Followed by this is the secularization and polarization of the aid industry where organizations are constantly in competition for finite resources. Lastly the 21st century has seen foreign militaries carry out humanitarian aid missions which jeopardizes the neutrality and impartiality which is so essential in carrying out aid to anyone who is in need. Secondly this essay will look at how humanitarian aid has changed over time.For the purpose of this short essay I will look at the 1998 famine in North Korea whereby humanitarian aid was given, only under political concessions. Disguised as aid, the humanitarian assistance given to North Korea was used as a political tool that undermines the fundamental ideas of humanitarian aid. The basic theorizations of humanitarianism put a deep emphasis on adherence to principles of impartiality and neutrality and assistance based solely on need. Adherence to these principles has been the biggest problems of humanitarian aid over its history, but never more so than in the 21st century.Aid in recent years has been based on conditionality which essentially means that in order for nations to receive aid, these nations have to adopt conditions that that the donor nation imposes. This means that aid is not offered on the basis of those who need it, but is based on policy that supports the donors giving aid. Therefore critics see these policies, although framed as humanitarian in principle, as very far removed from humanitarian. In essence it is foreign policy that is advantageous to the donor. Some such policies that come from conditionality are trade liberalization, that can ruin domestic economies and increase unemployment, and capital account liberalization that would open less developed economies to investments from multi-national corporations. Such investments have little impact on the majority of people in these countries and generally only benefit the corporations themselves and a small group of elites in the recipient countries. This supply of aid, especially in the events of crisis is in complete contrast to the fundamental principles of humanitarian aid. One of the most problematic concerns of aid in the last ten years has been the politi cization and secularization of the aid industry. Over the last twenty five years humanitarian aid has become heavily institutionalized. This has led to more effective logistics and delivery systems. However it has also created institutions that are perhaps not so concerned with providing aid to those in need, but acting in the interests of governments or big businesses that are the donors of the resources. Humanitarian organizations such as NGO’s and now foreign military forces are often in competition with local organizations which has led to valuable resources being wasted because of constant competition for aid . 5Because of this, NGO’s neutrality (one of the most fundamental principles of humanitarian aid) is severely compromised because the boundaries between relief and development, war and peace and political objectives are not easily defined.Thus, NGO’s in these most recent years have struggled to adhere to the basic humanitarian principles of providing t o those most in need because their ideals are compromised by the secularization and politicization of aid organizations. 6 Perhaps one of the most fundamental problems of humanitarian aid in the 21st century is the fact that it is often no longer carried out by NGO’s, but is in fact coordinated by foreign military forces. In cases such as Iraq and Afghanistan the United States military assumed a huge role for the distribution of disaster and humanitarian assistance alongside their military objectives.If foreign militaries are carrying out humanitarian aid alongside military objectives, then there is no way that aid can be supplied to whoever is in need in ways that are impartial, neutral and independent. This new system whereby foreign militaries are responsible for supplying aid has created huge security problems for not only the military, but for the people who are receiving aid. Opposing factions to foreign military time and time again in Afghanistan and Iraq have targeted civilians receiving aid to further their own agenda. These are the problems that exist in the humanitarian aid industry today, but these problems have developed over a course of many years and responses to famine and humanitarian disasters have evolved over time. Thirty years ago disaster relief and humanitarian aid were not considered to be of huge significance on a geopolitical scale. During the 70’s and 80’s although humanitarian crisis existed, the geopolitics was more focused on the cold war and respecting the sovereignty of nation states.Although crisis in Africa, East Pakistan and Guatemala (to name a few) were made aware to the international community , they were sidelined by the real political concerns defined by the cold war. Throughout the 1970’s, 1980’s and even the 1990’s international opinion and more importantly international law, respected the fact that governments, even of highly prone man-made and natural disasters had the respon sibility, will, interest and ability to protect their own citizens.Any humanitarian aid that was given in these years was seen as assistance to these governments to look after their own citizens. Essentially 25 years ago, the concept of ‘humanitarian intervention’ without the concurrence of the affected state would not have been considered and certainly would not have been sanctioned by the United Nations or the International Community. 8 Since the 1980’s humanitarian aid and responses to famine have changed not only in thought, but institutionally.In the mid 1980’s there were approximately 280 governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental aid organizations. Today that number is over 1000. As well as this huge expansion of organizations there has been a dramatic increase in aid expenditure. In the last two decades humanitarian assistance has tripled from approximately two billion to six billion dollars. 9 Because of this huge increase in the funding of aid the competition between organizations can sometimes have disastrous consequences because the organizations are competing for finite resources.This is increased by for profit organizations that are competing for lucrative humanitarian and development contracts. Many donors of aid motives are not for the needs of the people that are in need of these resources but are aligned with domestic considerations or international interests that are a world apart from the specific needs of those people affected by disaster or emergency. 10 The famine of North Korea in 1998 is a perfect example of conditional humanitarian aid, and how it is driven not by humanitarian principle, but a clever tool for geopolitical gains.The North Korean famine shows how humanitarian aid today has changed to become an important political tool in contrast to two decades ago whereby any humanitarian crisis was sidelined because of the geopolitical context of the cold war. 9 In times of famine it is important t o emphasize that the likelihood of a starving nation to accept emergency aid under any condition means that conditional aid can be seen as a political tool to establish a diplomatic, political or even military presence under the disguise of humanitarian aid. 11 This was such the case in the North Korean famine.From 1995-1998 North Korea was hit by a series of national disasters that resulted in a large scale famine. Rough estimates say that by 1998 North Korea lacked about two million tones of grain needed to feed its people. According to the world food program the rate of moderate to severe malnutrition of children in North Korea was about sixty per cent by mid 1998. 12 By mid 1998 the United States and South Korea realized that it could use the famine in North Korea as a political tool to penetrate the isolated North and offer aid on terms that benefited themselves.The United States and South Korea offered food aid on terms that North Korea had to enter into reunification and peac e talks and not break out of the 1994 agreed framework designed to end the North’s nuclear program. If the North refused to adhere to these conditions, no food aid would be given. Another condition was that the shipments of aid would be covered with stickers and logos from the United States and South Korea. Although this may seem insignificant it was a huge propaganda tool for the donor powers.It could serve as an undermining of the North Korean regime that had told its people for decades that the South and the United States were undermining their nation. 13 The slow response to give aid put the US and South Korea in a strategically advantageous situation to further its political goals. If North Korea didn’t accept United States conditions the famine would continue and the possibility of an internal break down of the state increased. If the North accepted the terms on which the donors offered, the aid functioned as an important political tool.It meant North Korea had t o give concessions and that the people of North Korea could see the failure of its regime and the kindness of the western powers that they had been told for so long were there enemies. Thus, humanitarian aid was not offered to support those people starving, but was rather used as a political tool to further the donor states own political agendas under the guise of humanitarian aid. In actual fact, the aid was so far removed from what humanitarian aid in its purest sense really was. 4 So much was this aid seen as a political tool that in 1998 the South Korean government banned non governmental groups from fundraising to support those starving in the North. 15 This is undeniable proof that political aims were the underlying focus of the ‘conditional aid’ rather than aid to help the starving North Korean population that was stricken by famine. The key challenges to famine prevention today are huge and include a combination of factors that are not easily unchanged.First of all, humanitarian aid is now such a lucrative industry that competition for contracts means that organizations are in constant competition for finite resources, the resources that are needed in times when famine strikes. Secondly, as long as foreign militaries carry out some humanitarian aid then the adherence to neutrality and impartiality that is so fundamental to the aid process is essentially undermined. Military goals will always be aligned alongside objectives that are not necessarily aligned with those of starving people.And finally, as long as conditional aid is used as a political tool, then humanitarian aid faces huge challenges. In a time when people need aid, if governments are focused on geopolitical goals and furthering their own agendas rather than helping those in times of famine then humanitarian aid is essentially a guise and is merely a political tool for donor governments to use to further their own agendas. 1 Robinson, J. (2003) ‘Postcolonising geography: tactics and pitfalls' Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography p273 2 When does aid conditionally work?Gabriella R Montinola. Studies in comparative international development, vol 45, 2010, pp 358-362 3 ibid (same ref as above) 4 International Human Crisis: two decades before and two decades beyond. Randolf C Kent. International Affairs Volume 80, issie 5, 2004 p 851-870 5 Aaltola, M. – Responding to emergencies and fostering development: the dilemmas of humanitarian aid Third world planning review. – Liverpool University Press. – 0142-7849   Vol. 22(1), 2000, p. 111-112 6 International Human Crisis: two decades before and two decades beyond. Randolf C Kent.International Affairs Volume 80, issie 5, 2004 pp 851-870 7International Human Crisis: two decades before and two decades beyond. Randolf C Kent. International Affairs Volume 80, issie 5, 2004 851-870 8 Reshaping humanitarian assistance in the twenty first century. Tim O’Dempsey and Barry Munslow. Pro gress in Development Studies 2009 9:1 pp 1-2 9 Randolf C Kent. Pp 851-870 10 Aaltola, M. – Responding to emergencies and fostering development: the dilemmas of humanitarian aid Third world planning review. – Liverpool University Press. – 0142-7849   Vol. 22(1), 2000, p. 111-112 11. G.M Guess. The Politics of United States Foreign Aid, London: Croom Helm, 1987, p3 12 Lischer, Sarah Kenyon. Dangerous Sanctuaries:  Refugee Camps, Civil War, And the Dilemmas of Humanitarian Aid. Cornwell University Press. 2006. Pp 3-9 13 Emergency Food Aid as a Means of Political Persuasion in the North Korean Famine Mika Aaltola Third World Quarterly  , Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr. , 1999), p 374 14 Emergency Food Aid as a Means of Political Persuasion in the North Korean Famine Mika Aaltola Third World Quarterly  , Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr. , 1999), pp 372- 386 15 Korean Herald, 13 May, 1997