Place Branding Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Place Branding - Research Proposal Example As a consumer, one gets to come across several brand names as part of our daily lives. Names such as Microsoft, Coca-cola, Mercedes, and Harvard have all become ingrained in our minds as popular entities in their respective domains. Much of the effort driven towards popularizing these brand names have been successful largely through strategically conceived efforts, which also symbolizes the leadership positions that these brand names occupy at a global level. In the modern day, governments across the world have begun to look at branding and its associated marketing techniques as a means to market and sell their geographical regions to the rest of the world whereby the emphasis is concentrated on enhancing the international profile with an intent to attract more investment from foreign players and make such regions popular as economic powerhouses for commerce, trade, and tourism (Malcolm Allan, 2005). In a similar way, the government of the Republic of Nigeria is in the process of initiating several campaigns that aim to popularize the country and its image to people and companies across the world. part of this effort has been due to the rising awareness amongst a few African nations such as South Africa and Uganda to market themselves across the world (Eugene Jaffe, 2006). In accordance with this policy, the Nigerian government, through its ministry of Information and National Orientation has launched programmes such as the ‘The Heart of Africa’ project, which is based on the concept of Place Branding. The proposed research study will attempt to study the various initiatives undertaken by the Nigerian government along the lines of ‘Place Branding’ and will work towards studying them in the form of a case study. The above discussion clearly divides branding into two classes namely product branding and place branding.  In comparison to the former, the latter is still a burgeoning discipline and most of the literature that describes place branding is still in a loosely embedded format.  

Marketing Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Marketing - Term Paper Example The main strength of the Wild planet is the quality and the product pricing. All the products of the Wild Planet’s are tested several times before they come to the market for sales. The internal strength of the company is the idea generation team. They have a tremendous branding and marketing strategies which attract the kids as well the parents towards the brand. Mattel: Mattel is the market leader in the United States. While the Mattel acquired the third largest toy manufacturing company Tyco Toys Inc in 1996, the company became extremely confident over the future performance. The Barbie and the Hot Wheels are the two show stoppers in the toy market. However, the companies combined sales represented only 19 percent of the total American Toy market. (Snyder, 2002, p 14) The Mattel Inc is a giant company in the toy industry. It is rated as the biggest toymakers in the world. The main strengths are the two brands and they are the Barbie and Hot Wheels. The company’s sales are being driven by these two brands. However, Soul Mate is in manufacturing innovative toys and they don’t manufacture small scale models of cars. Mattel is a threat to any toy manufacturing company as the deep financial pockets can allow them to buy any company in the toy industry. Mattel is a big company with a global exposure. However in the United States kids are boarded with the same old Barbie and Hot Wheels cars and may be that is the reason it contributes only 19 percent in the total sales of toys in United States. The new product idea is not that strong. From the above analysis it is very clear that the Wild Planet is the main competitor for the company. To differentiate soul Mate from its competitor it is very vital to understand the strength and weakness of the competitor. The business strategy of the Soul Mate and that of the Wild Planet is more or less same. The Wild Planet sells the innovative toys like Soul Mate and some of their products are Spy gadgets, Spy

The Philosophy on the Legalization of Drugs Essay Example for Free

The Philosophy on the Legalization of Drugs Essay There are many controversial topics being debated about in the United States. One topic most often debated about is the legalization of drugs. Of course people have their own beliefs and opinions on the subject, but are the arguments discussed about actually valid? Is there enough evidence supporting the premises they claim? These are questions we should ask when observing the arguments people are presenting to defend their beliefs. I believe that drugs should not be legalized for several reasons, but as stated above, different people have different opinions. One of the arguments presented from the people who believe that drugs should be legalized is that the government should not interfere with people’s activities as long as it is not affecting other people’s rights. They state exactly, â€Å"As far as morality is concerned, the decision to use or not use drugs is a personal one that does not directly impinge upon the rights of others, and the government should never forbid activities that do not impinge upon the rights of others. I believe that there are many things wrong with this argument, but the main problem here is that there is no evidence to support the premise, therefore I see it as a false premise. I don’t understand how they can say that drugs doesn’t impinge upon the rights of others when there are drug related crimes happening every day. When people are high on drugs, their minds are altered. Many times while under the influence of an illegal substance, people will commit crimes and put other people’s life in danger. This obviously affects the rights of others because people should not have to be put into danger because of other people’s â€Å"activities†. The legalization of drugs would make it more easily accessible, which in the end would result in more crimes and more people getting hurt. Another argument presented is that everything is dangerous. They state â€Å"Driving on the freeways in L. A. is very dangerous and leads to a good many deaths and injuries; thus, it creates suffering in loved ones, and society as a whole is often called upon to pay for the medical expenses of those injured in accidents. The point is this: if youre going to forbid drugs for the above reason, then you ought to forbid anything which is in the least bit dangerous. † This argument is questionable. Yes, it is true that everything is dangerous, but that is not the part of the argument that is under question. What it is that’s under question in this argument is what they’re saying about forbidding anything that’s dangerous if they’re going to forbid drugs that are dangerous. It is true that everything is dangerous, but drugs are not only dangerous, but they are mind altering. If you go about your day and face dangers, being under the influence of drugs makes your dangers so much higher, because you are not in a stable state of mind. So with this argument we must question the dangers of normal activities versus mind altering activities. The legalization of drugs will definitely result in more danger, and make regular activities dangerous. For example driving, it is illegal for people to drive under the influence, but if people are going to be high all the time, they will most likely not hesitate getting into a car to get to where they need. As they stated, driving is a dangerous activity. The point here is, driving under the influence is an even more dangerous activity. Drugs are not necessities, but in current times, driving is a necessity. We should continue to try and keep people safe by prohibiting the unnecessary dangers.

Role Of Women In Things Fall Apart English Literature Essay

Role Of Women In Things Fall Apart English Literature Essay In telling an African story, it is impossible to do so without mentioning the women who take part in many of the activities in a society. This is why different stories bring out women and their roles in the society although the stories may not be talking about a woman as the main character. Things fall apart is no different in bringing out the role of the women in a traditional African setting. Women play pivotal roles in Educational, Religious and Social care in the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. In Things fall apart, women are featured as the main childrens educators. They do these by telling them stories, teaching them the ethics of socializing with other people and good behavior especially to the girl child, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦children sat around their mothers cooking fire telling storiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, (Achebe 25). The children are taught good values and morals by their parents and in this case, their mothers, who encourage them to develop social values and good interaction skills. The woman was regarded as an inferior object in the society but this did not turn her down from performing her societal roles especially that of being the educator of the children. The upbringing of a child is what determines what the child will be in the future. In the Ibo community, the rearing of a child was solely the role of the woman who was supposed to make sure that the child was well conversant with the customs and rules of the society. The knowledge of the societal norms was all of importance to the mother as she needed to educate the children about them. This was to avoid situations where the child would be in trouble for dishonoring the highly regarded goddesses or leaders of the community which would be a disgrace to the family especially the father who would put the blame on the mother and possibly beat her. Therefore, in a society which is dominated by men, the woman had to be very careful about the reputation the man would have in the society if certain unfortunate things happened may be from the behavior of the children or herself which is the reason why mother education to the children was important. The womans reputation depended on that of t he man which was important for the woman to protect. The women were also involved in religious matters and this can be presented in various ways. The women belonged to the religion of Ibo. They regularly played the part of the priestess. In the early days, a woman by the name of Chika is seen as a priestess. She is the former priestess of the oracle during Unokas time. This woman was very powerful and respected by the people (Achebe 17). Thus she portrays the role of women in religious matters. Currently, Chielo is the priestess who is also the hills and caves oracle, She was the priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and the caves, (Achebe 35). In other words, women are seen taking a great part in religion in the community, for instance, as priestesses. The woman is seen to have a lot of religious power. This is evident when Chielo, a religious woman, orders and threatens Okonkwo to surrender himself and his daughter to Agbala who wished to see her. After she warns him, Okonkwo gives in to the idea. Women in this case are seen as powerful spiritual leaders who can warn and order their followers in order to do the right thing that is expected of them by the religion and in this case in the society of Ibo. Ani was the goddess of the earth. She was responsible for making sure that the society observed the right conduct and morals. Ani worked closely with the dead clan members who had their bodies committed to the earth (Achebe 36). The community also believed that they had to honor the earth goddess for blessings in order to have their yam crops grow. This was done by the members of the clan who had to strictly observe the peace week before the harvests (Achebe 30). The woman is seen to have such great spiritual power, honor and respect which are beneficial to the society and which must be respected in order for something good to happen like plenty harvests. The clan members are greatly worried about having such little harvests when the peace of the earth goddess, Ani, is broken by Okonkwo when he battered his wife. Wife battering was not allowed on the peace week (Achebe 30). The women were also involved in solving problems of a social nature. The mother acts as the comfort not only to children but also to other men who have problems. The workforce consisted of a lot of women. They performed many strenuous tasks that were only separated for them and that men could not perform. Painting of Egwugwus house was done by women (84).They were also supposed to entertain the children at all times and make them grow in an artistic manner (EmenyoÃÅ' ²nu and Uko 178). The woman is seen as a powerful object that is able to encourage people when feeling low and demotivated. When the men face some social problems like neglect, the woman acts to encourage them. Thus, it is said that the mother is a superior being who does not abandon her children in all situations in life, for instance Okonkwo who is rejected after killing the son of Ezeudu. It is believed that a male child is his fathers only when life seems to be flowing well but when in trouble, it his mothers. This is better depicted by the uncle of Okonkwo who then persuades him to go back to his mother as she will accept him at all situations. Despite all this the mother does not judge or discriminate them. The woman is considered to be the forgiving and understanding being who can never reject or look down upon anyone and who will provide help whenever she can. This is a very important role. There are two marriages that are talked about that the writer uses them to show the meaning of having a woman in the Igbo society. They are the makers of a home, the prospecting mothers, and people who help men in certain tasks. In any man-woman relationship, children are the most important and valuable gifts that they can be given which is not different in this community where the woman is considered as an important part of the family bearing process (EmenyoÃÅ' ²nu and Uko 176). Although in an indirect manner, the importance of a woman and in this case, the first wife in the Ibo society is portrayed in a celebration held at the Obi of Nwakibie whereby the other wives are not allowed to drink wine before her arrival (Achebe 22). The first wife is thus shown special respect and recognition in the Ibo community. The name Agbala in the Ibo community means a woman or a title less man. In his early childhood, Okonkwo felt disrespected when called the name Agbala as the peers were teasing him and more so his father who was seen as a weakling. This really tormented him and made him become obsessed with consideration of social status above everything else. Okonkwo struggled so much never to be associated with anything weak as anything weak was likened to a woman and vice versa. Nwoye who is the son of Okonkwo from his first wife is also insulted by being viewed as woman-like just because Okonkwo is reminded of his father when he sees him. In this context we see the woman being looked down upon by the whole Ibo community as a weak being. The men who are not courageous and violent are also seen to be as weak as women meaning that the societys perception of women is that of a person who is not strong and is weak (Whittaker and Msiska 64). The woman is generally looked down upon. We see Okonkwo being punished for disrupting the peace of the earth goddess but not for buttering his wife. To them wife buttery is not a crime as according to the society, the woman is only there to give birth, to perform house chores and cook for the husband and also to be beaten. This is just how cruel the man is (Whittaker and Msiska 65). The story was written in the times when the only important being in the society was seen as the man and not the woman. The children who turned out to be disgraceful to the society were all demeaned and likened to a woman. To add to this, the woman would be blamed for poor upbringing of the children as that was solely considered as her role (Okpewho 34). The story however shows some respect for few female figures that seem to be very significant to the society, for instance, the women spiritual leaders. The respect shown to them is not because they are women but because the society demands that they be respected for their important roles in divine intervention. The women also show strong leadership, power and prowess in their work (Okoye 45). Although the woman is not the main character in this story, it is clear that she plays a big role and cannot be ignored when talking about the story. The roles discussed above show clearly that the woman plays a pivotal role in Educational, Religious and Social issues.

Essay --

Introduction Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has become the foremost biopesticide since the beginning of the 1970s, due to the lethality of the toxin to insects. It has attracted industry to use it worldwide as an efficient weapon against agri-cultural pest. formerly, B. thuringiensis was considered an entomopathogen. Within the last four decades the complexity and diversity of B. thuringiensis as an insecticidal microbe have been elucidate. The first report on the crystalline parasporal body in the bacterium that might be related with the insecticidal activity appeared by 1953 (Hannay, 1953). Angus (1954) demonstrated that this crystal contains an alkaline- soluble toxin for insects. B. thuringiensis produces a f3-exotoxin well-known also as the fly-toxin, thermostable toxin, or thuringiensin, but this toxin was not permitted for use in agriculture because its toxicity was not limited to insect pests (Sebesta et al., 1981). The 8-endotoxin shows potential characteristics of an insect-specific bioinsecticide. By the end of the 1950s, the toxicity of the spore–crystal complex was classif...

John Stuart Mill and Utilitarianism Essay -- Philosophy Morality John

John Stuart Mill and Utilitarianism Utilitarianism defined, is the contention that a man should judge everything based on the ability to promote the greatest individual happiness. In other words Utilitarianism states that good is what brings the most happiness to the most people. John Stuart Mill based his utilitarian principle on the decisions that we make. He says the decisions should always benefit the most people as much as possible no matter what the consequences might be. Mill says that we should weigh the outcomes and make our decisions based on the outcome that benefits the majority of the people. This leads to him stating that pleasure is the only desirable consequence of our decision or actions. Mill believes that human beings are endowed with the ability for conscious thought, and they are not satisfied with physical pleasures, but they strive to achieve pleasure of the mind as well. He claims that people seek pleasure and reject pain. There were some moral problems that Mill ran into with his principle. One of the first problems was that actions are right to promote happiness, but wrong as they sometimes tend to produce unhappiness. By moving a victim from a mangled car would be the noble thing to do but what if pulling him from the wreck meant killing him. He intended to produce a happy outcome, but in the end he created an unhappy situation. Utilitarianism declares that men can live just as well without happiness. Mill says yes, but men do not conduct their lives, always seeking happiness. Happiness does not always mean total bliss. Another problem is that some pleasures are more alluring than others. Pleasure does not deal with just quantity, quality is also important. The old saying, â€Å"You ... ...ale. I think that people intend to do good and the people that produce a bad outcome due to their actions have a disorder it is not necessarily and intended evil. I also believe that we do conduct our lives in hope of happiness. We would not run the race if we did not hope to win. Of course there are going to be losers but with out losing you cannot really pleasure the act of winning. Mill did not prove a justification for what happiness is to the whole. I do not think everyone has the same desire for happiness. We each share similarities but all have different ideas of what happiness means. Rap music might offend my grandmother but LL Cool J loves rap music and never intended to offend my grandmother. All of the cases presented in utilitarianism and Mill’s views are very vast. Mill does have some good points but really avoided justifying his theory.

Open-Book paper Essay

Alpha and beta decay are two types of naturally occurring radioactive decay. In alpha decay, an unstable nucleus emits an alpha particle (? ), a particle made up of two protons and two neutrons. For example:1 2 In beta decay, a neutron in the nucleus is converted into a proton and a beta particle (i ), an electron. Specifically, as protons and neutrons are both made of quarks, i -decay converts an up quark into a down quark; releasing a i -particle and an antineutrino (an antineutrino has no charge or mass, so does not affect the chemistry of i -decay). This occurs by the weak nuclear force. 3 For example:4 This table shows some of the differences between ? -decay and i -decay emissions:5 ?-decay i -decay Particle emitted helium nucleus electron Relative charge +2 -1 Relative mass 4 0. 00055 Range in air < 10cm < 10m Stopped by Paper Aluminium foil Deflection by electrical field Low High The fundamental difference between radioactive decay and nuclear fission is that, whereas radioactive decay is spontaneous, nuclear fission must be induced. In nuclear fission, when an unstable nucleus absorbs a neutron, it splits, emitting more neutrons and setting off a continuous chain reaction. This leads to products with nuclear masses around half those of the initial nuclei, whereas in radioactive decay, the initial and final nuclear masses are relatively close together. The other major difference is that fission releases considerably more energy than decay. This energy comes from mass lost in fission, according to the equation E = mc2, where E is energy, m is mass and c is the speed of light. Synthesis of Elements in Stars Stars produce their energy from nuclear fusion, in which nuclei join together to make larger nuclei. Hydrogen is used in normal-sized stars:(e+ represents a positively charged electron, and ? e is a neutrino). This process requires temperatures of around 13 million K and pressures of around 300 billion atmospheres. 6 When almost all of the hydrogen has fused, the helium nuclei can collide to make nuclei such as beryllium:7 This leads to the creation of further nuclei containing four nucleons: carbon, oxygen, neon and magnesium. Once all the helium has fused, further collisions take place between the created nuclei. This leads to the production of small amounts of hydrogen and helium, producing most of the first 18 elements, such as lithium:8. Lithium can also be produced by the collision of a Beryllium-7 nucleus and an electron. The nuclear process that takes place here is electron capture, in which an atom captures an electron, turning a proton into a neutron and releasing a neutrino. This happens by the weak interaction, like i -decay:9 Smaller amounts of lithium can also be produced in the fission of some nuclei by cosmic rays and in supernovae, when heavy stars become unstable and explode. 10 Producing Energy through Nuclear Fission and Fusion. In nuclear fission, an unstable nucleus absorbs a neutron, exciting the nucleus, causing it to oscillate and split into two smaller nuclei. This process releases more neutrons, causing more nuclei to split, and so on. This is shown in Fig. 211 with Uranium-235. The energy produced by nuclear fission, by E = mc2, is 3. 2Ãâ€"10-11 J per fission. 12 Uranium-235 is used to produce energy by fission – see Fig. 313. Controlling this reaction:   Uranium-238 is mixed with uranium-235. Uranium-238 nuclei absorb neutrons but do not react by fission, breaking the chain in the reaction. Graphite moderators placed in between the uranium rods reduce the kinetic energy of the neutrons produced so they can induce fission.   Boron-coated steel control rods absorb neutrons, and can be moved in and out of the reactor. If they are fully in, the reaction stops. Nuclear fusion takes place when, under certain conditions, two nuclei fuse together. For example, with deuterium and tritium:14 The energy produced comes from the mass lost – 3. 17Ãâ€"10-29 kg 15 16. By E = mc2, this gives out 2. 86Ãâ€"10-12 J per fusion. On earth, for this to happen the nuclei must be in ionised plasma at temperatures of 15Ãâ€"108 i C. The problem with this is that it must be kept away from the walls of the container to minimise heat loss. To do this, a tokamak is used. This uses magnetic currents to keep the plasma from touching the walls (see Fig. 417). The walls are made of graphite, which is not harmed by the temperature. Both fission and fusion have several advantages and disadvantages for use in producing electricity: Advantages Disadvantages Fission Uranium-235 produces 3. 7 million times the energy per unit mass as coal18   Uranium-235 will not run out on the same timescale as fossil fuels19. It produces no gases that directly cause global warming   Fission produces waste radioactive actinides, which are dangerous for thousands of years   Fission has led to disasters such as Chernobyl in 1986, which caused over 4000 deaths20 Fusion The fuel – hydrogen – is abundant   The radioactive waste products have half-lives hundreds of years less than those of fission   Fusion is safer than fission, as only small amounts of products are used   It produces no gases that directly cause global warming   The conditions required for fission are hard to produce. The process used to produce energy by fusion is not yet perfect – see below Challenges Facing the Development of Fusion Power Stations The major problem with fusion is generating and containing the conditions required for the reaction. As detailed above, a tokamak is used, this has some problems. The plasma still touches the bottom of the chamber, and where it does this; hydrogen reacts with the walls forming hydrocarbon radicals. These can form a film, which flakes away into the plasma, affecting performance21. Possible solutions include removing the film with lasers22 or using tungsten walls, which would not erode23. A probable source of a solution is the International Tokamak Experimental Researcher, currently being built in France. It will be used as a prototype to test the reaction on the necessary levels required. Fusion should be available to produce commercial power by 2040. References Used throughout the report:   Chemistry Review: Lise Meitner: Radiochemist, physicist and co-discoverer of nuclear fission, Gordon Woods, Volume 16 Number 1, September 2006 (Article 1); Fusion, Powering the future? , Chris Warrick, Volume 16 Number 1, September 2006; and Lithium, Chris Ennis, Volume 15 Number 31, February 2006 (Article 2). Salters Advanced Chemistry Chemical Ideas, George Burton et al, Heinemann Educational Publishers, Halley Court, Jordan Hill, Oxford, OX2 8EJ, ISBN 0-435-63129-9, first edition 1994, second edition 2000 1 Equation copied from page 3, Lise Meitner: Radiochemist, physicist and co-discoverer of nuclear fission; see above 2 Fig. 1 copied manually from Page 487, The exchange nature of forces, Advanced Physics, Tom Duncan, John Murray (Publishers) Ltd, 50 Albemarle Street, London, W1S 4BD, first edition 1972, ISBN 0-7195-7669-5, fifth edition 2000, reprinted 2002 3http://www. chemie. de/lexikon/e/Beta_decay, Beta Decay, (c) 1997-2008 Chemie.de Information Service 4 Equation copied from page 3, Lise Meitner. Radiochemist, physicist and co-discoverer of nuclear fission; see above 5 Table adapted from Page 20, Nuclear Reactions, Salters Advanced Chemistry Chemical Ideas; see above 6Where did the chemical elements come from? , Page 131, The Universe: A Biography, John Gribbin; published by Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London, WC2R ORL, ISBN 978-0-1410-2147-8, 2006 7Equation copied from Box 1: Nucleogenesis. Page 21, Lithium, Chris Ennis; see above 8Equation copied from Box 1: Nucleogenesis, Page 21, Lithium, Chris Ennis; see above.9 http://www. britannica. com/nobelprize/article-48278, electron capture with a Beryllium-7 nucleus, from the Encyclopaedia Britannica’s Guide to the Nobel Prizes, (c) 2008 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 10. Where do the chemical elements come from? , Page 10, Salters Advanced Chemistry Chemical Storylines, George Burton et al, Heinemann Educational Publishers, Halley Court, Jordan Hill, Oxford, OX2 8EJ, ISBN 0-435-63119-5 first edition 1994, second edition 2000 11 Fig. 2 taken from http://www. astro. bas. bg/~petrov/herter00. html, lecture notes for astronomy. Bulgarian Institute of Astronomy http://www.astro. bas. bg/ 12 http://www. lancs. ac. uk/ug/bloomer/nuclearpower/theory. htm, Nuclear Fission and Nuclear Fusion, from the University of Lancaster, www. lancs. ac. uk 13 Fig. 3 copied manually from Box 2, Article 1 (see above); adapted from Chemistry Today, (c) E. Henderson, Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 1977. 14 Equation copied from Box 2, Fusion, powering the future? , Chris Warrick; see above 15 Mass of reactants and products given in proton masses in Box 2, Fusion, powering the future? Chris Warrick; see above 16 Proton masses converted to kilograms using the mass of one proton as 1.67Ãâ€"10-27 kg, from Data Sheet, Page 3, AQA GCE AS Physics A Unit 1, January 2007 17 Fig. 4 taken from http://www. jet. efda. org/pages/fusion-basics/fusion3. html, Fusion Basics, (c) EFDA-JET 18 http://www. virtualnucleartourist. com/basics/reasons1. htm, a website â€Å"intended to provide you basic information about the different types of plants and their principle of operation†, (c) 2006. The Virtual Nuclear Tourist 19 http://www. abc. net. au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2007/2080110. htm, an interview with Professor Martin Sevior from the University of Melbourne by the Australian Broadcasting. Corporation20 http://www. who. nt/ionizing_radiation/chernobyl/who_chernobyl_report_2006. pdf, the World Health Organisation’s report on Chernobyl 21 Chemistry Review: Fusion, powering the future? , Chris Warrick; see above 22 http://www. lasers. org. uk/paperstore/Cleaning14. pdf, Dust Removal from Next Generation Tokamaks by Laser and Flashlamp Cleaning, K. G. Watkins et al, Lasers and Laser Engineering, University of Liverpool, 2001 23 http://www. jet. efda. org/documents/articles/samm. pdf, Controlled thermonuclear fusion enters with ITER into a new era, Page 12; Ulrich Samm, EFDA-JET, 2003.