Motivations for Organizational Change for Sustainability Essay

Motivations for Organizational Change for Sustainability - Essay Example Although organizational change varies from one business context to another, organizational change adopts a general definition that refers to a specific change that has direct and significant effects in the management, operation, and output of an organization. Any variations in the way an organization operates and the way it is actually supposed to operate, leads to organizational change to ensure future successful growth and environmental preservation. Indeed the pace of organizational change is rapidly increasing courtesy of the new technology, social pressure, new lifestyles, environmental responsibility, and new ways of doing business. Many researches and model try to discuss organizational change towards sustainability. However, although change is aimed for the benefit of an organization, many stakeholders in organization are usually nervous and will tend to resist change consciously or subconsciously basing their fears on the uncertainty of the proposed changes. Hence, Corporate s face many challenges in initiating and implementing sustainable organization changes. An effective organizational change must be timely, sustainable, inclusive, motivational, done in the best professional way, strategic, environmental friendly, and enjoys the best organizational change management. ... An organizational change may lead to redundancy, change in working hours, transfers, promotions, retraining, and even loss of job opportunities (University of Western Australia, 2008, p.1). A change in the corporation may also lead to significant changes in the operation size, skills required, and composition of the corporation. There are different types of organizational change. An organizational change can be organizational wide, subsystem, transformational, incremental, remedial, or developmental (McNamara, 2012, p.1). The knowledge on the type of change helps all stake holders stick to the scope, objective and retain scope and perspective of the organizational change during the actual process of changing. An organization change process will involve different departments in an organization. Departments involved in the organizational change process include the targeted department, related departments, IT department which will build and operate the changed system, the finance depart ment that will support the entire process, customer-facing staff department that will apply the changes in customer relations, and the management that will oversee the organization change process (Wallace, 2007, p.1). However, the most important of the entire process of change is the organization change management. Change management is the application of a set of processes that ensure there is a systematic control and implementation of the proposed changes within the organizations’ emblem (University of Adelaide, 2012, p.4). An organizations management aims at designing an effective strategy that will overcome resistance from stakeholders and hence increase their engagement towards a successful

Consumer Behavior In The Fashion Industry Essay Example for Free

Consumer Behavior In The Fashion Industry Essay Introduction This study is aimed at analyzing the consumer behavior towards the fashion industry especially in consideration young and mature women in London. Fashions are concerned with the production of fashion clothing. Most consumers in the world today are concerned with the features of the product as they form most important factor in determining the consumer behaviors. Take for example of products of fashion show for young and mature women. The industry is involved in the manufacture clothing. Due to increase and growth of consumerism, the clothing should come up with clothes that make women move with times thus increasing consumption and production. Consumer behavior in the automotive industry especially in consideration to general motors is influenced by culture factors, social factors, Personal factors and Psychological factors. Look more:  the consumer buying process begins when essay RESEARCH OBJECTIVES   The answers to this question will enhance my professional knowledge and competence in many ways.   As a professional I will understand factors influencing consumption in the industry and will enable me make recommendations on improving the fashions market share.The answers to this question also will assist me as a professional by motivating me to ensure that that I work improves their products. 1)To review literature on fashion behaviour and the factors influencing 2)To compare and contrast the buying behaviour of mature and young woman in London regarding buying of fashion clothing 3)To identified the key factors influencing the buying process of fashion clothing in young and mature woman in London 4)To provide recommendation to manufacture of fashion clothing and fashion retailer. Scope of the study The scoop of the study follows literature review of factors influencing. The researcher manages the entire gamut of processes from initial stage of identifying the problem to final stage of report writing. The capabilities required by the researcher in this research in managing the entire project and providing real time for information sharing, decision synchronization and research optimization to all stake holders. What are necessary attribute required by a researcher to manage the dynamics of marketing based on the requirements by industry. However, this study assumes that other factors like family background financial, stability of the family place of birth, race, have no impact on the consumer behaviors. The proposed study will be used as a supplementary framework to focus entirely on the competence of the research. The objects of the study will include; Experimental Correlation Survey Grounded theory Ethnography Narrative Mixed method Action research. This study will be based on a process based on experiment using practical’s as a platform to develop method which will be used as evaluation criteria for the research and researcher in this research question and future researchers The critical review Literature review Consumer behavior in the consumption of any product any where in the world is influenced by culture factors, social factors, Personal factors and Psychological factors. Culture factors In world today culture is one of the most fundamental determinants for one when deciding the product to consume. This is because of a wide range of products and services.   Most of the people due to their cultural influence have started preferring certain products.   Children growing up will learn the culture of parents or peers thus preferring specific values that are crucial to a determining consumption. One of the values they like most is comfort.   These values common in children remain in them even if they grow up. From the culture, somebody may develop certain spending patterns is not something strange.   A child growing up in specific culture is exposed to achievement, success, beliefs and other cultural factors that influence behavior towards consumption. Cultural factors real influence a consumer behavior. Where people believe in values like efficiency and practicality it will influence their consumption is such a situation products that are known to be very efficient in their operations will be preferred. Each culture consists of smaller subcultures that provide more specific identifications.   To its some people consist of racial groups such as the Africans, Americans, Europeans and Asian each have good distinct cultural styles.   They are known to prefer products for example consumption of pork may be rare in middle east because culture and religion. Social factor   Another factors consumer behavior is greatly influenced by social factors like statuses, family and reference groups.   When once goes to the market to purchase a product he will take consideration to his membership groups, social class and family.   These are groups having direct influence to once buying decisions.   These are the groups one associates with most of his time. We have some groups like the upper class prefer buying some products which are not preferred by lower class.   Since companies produces many types of products that fulfill needs this groups and attracts many people.   The influence of a family is very great.   These families using specifics brands greatly encourage their family members to also consume similar products. Co-worker also influence one’s buying decision.   If a boss buys a given commodity the juniors will also try to buy the same. People are also influenced by reference groups in three ways.   Reference groups usually expose a person to a new behavior and lifestyle.   One can belong to a group whose lifestyle believes at consuming a certain product.   If a company produces high quality brands it stands at a better chance of making more sales to such reference group. Reference groups also influence one’s attitudes because their desires fit in these groups. People may prefer some products from a certain company, hence once could like to join his friend or family member towards belonging to the same social class by buying a that product. Also reference groups influence similarity and conformity that may make a person to alive at a specific decision.   So doing one will eventually buy a product similar to that of his friend. People who are in the same social class share similar values, interests, and behavior.   For example there is upper class people who are social elite with a good family background. Personal factors Age and life cycle stage greatly influence consumer buying behavior of almost all products from all industries. Most Bachelors tend to prefer specific brands associated by most youths. But those who are newly married, young and better of financially prefer buying consume different products. In making the final decision of buying a product one’s personal characteristics like his age and life-cycle stage, lifestyle, occupation, economic circumstances and personality will influence his choice. Companies take much consideration to personal characteristics of various groups of people before coming up with a product in order to meet the needs and demand of its people. A child growing up and exposed to some values like material comfort, external comfort and achievement and success will be influenced by those characteristics to consume. For example in America people like buying products that gives them external comfort. People in various professions like occupation managers, school heads, senior government officers, mayors, engineers, lawyers and physicians usually buy some products with the most recent technology. Economic circumstances also influence once buying pattern.   Most people especially those who are highly paid with good saving and with good personnel incomes buy expensive products. The lifestyle of a person influences his or her buying pattern.   People may belong to the same occupation, social class and subculture but leading different lifestyles usually prefer products that feed that group. Personality and self-concept: Personality and self confidence also influence consumers buying behavior products and services. For example expensive car, which are electronically controlled and having four wheel drive systems are associated with people who have high Self-confidence Psychological factors Motivation: some people get satisfied when they buy specific products.   people feel that they have satisfied specific needs by buying certain goods and services. Perception: once a person has been motivated he is willing and ready to act.   Most people to be motivated in order to act will depend mostly on their perceptions of the situation. Two people in the same motivated state may act differently depending on how they perceive the situation. A product may appeal to the perception of a specific customer.   For example various colors that cars are attractive giving customers a good picture of the real quality of this car. Beliefs and attitudes: most people follow some set of belief when making a decision on the type of product to consumer. A belief about a certain product will also influence consumption.   These beliefs make up brand images and most people have been proved to act on these images. People always have good attitude towards specific products and if this product meets the performance according to the needs, desire and attitudes consumption will be influenced. METHODOLOGY: The purpose of the study is to find out factors that influence fashion consumption in UK. The phenomenological research design that will be used will involve a study of the consumer behaviors and consumption in fashion industry. This particular study will be done in two phases where the first phase will involve completion of a questionnaire which is commonly known as a questionnaire survey by individuals. This questionnaire survey will be done on a sample of twenty fashion show owners within London . And the second phase will involve the use of some interview which will be in some way semi structured. Each given phase in this design will address the different research questions and their concerns. At some point within the first phase, there will be cases of the first qualitative phase relying on the some quantitative phases that might have been in use in the design. The interviews that will be used in the design will be carried out in a sample of twenty fashion show owners. The interviews will serve to give out information concerning buying behaviors’ among women. These surveys will therefore give some contextual information about the consumption of a specific fashion. Some studies will be conducted using single stage designs and others like this one will be conducted using the two-stage design. When using the two stage design, the contextualization that will be given in the first stage will be very much helpful (Jasper, 1994). The survey will provide a specific frame for which sampling will be done from for the semi structured interviews that will be done on the fashion operators and buyers. And gaining access to the twenty fashion owners will be very essential to getting the right information concerning the consumption of fashion among young and mature women from the sampled group of a given part of city which will be a representation of the whole population of the young and mature. The given questionnaires will have the contacts so that the used sample can be contacted incase more information will be needed. The quantitative data that will be gotten from the phase of questionnaire survey will now be used to get through to the qualitative sample. The questionnaire surveys have always been made with the above additional purpose in mind. In the cases where one researcher will have to make attachments of qualitative sub samples to samples that will be statistically derived will lead to another mixed method of designs in qualitative research methods (George, 2000). Such mixed methods of designs will most of the time benefit the qualitative researchers in that they give them the chance to have a selection of the specific cases from which they will be able to draw upon information that will be contextual that will also enable them to put their hypothesis under test on a large samples that will be statistically be represented. Therefore in most cases, the researcher will have to be decided on which research design he will use in his project. Some researchers do use multiple designs while others will use single designs. This purely depends on the project that one is doing and which research design the researcher will be most comfortable with. There are three major components in a research design model and they are; determination of the limits of the people to be investigated and also what will be investigated, the collection of data and the last component is the analysis of the collected data in a phenomenological manner. In the first component, the researcher will have to know to what limits the participants in the survey will get in trying to give him the required information. Here the researcher will have to put in mind the limits of the twenty fashion owners in trying to give him information as far as matters of fashion consumption. In addition, the researcher will have to have specific issues which he would want to research on (Joan, 2004). At this point in time, the researcher will have to carry out his project purely on the safety of the crane operators. In trying to get information, the phenomenologist will have to engage himself in an in-depth probing so that quality information may be found. After identifying the sample group that will help in giving the required information, the following step will now involve identifying the most efficient data collection methods. The following methods will be the most preferred methods for this particular survey; the in-depth semi structured interviews that will have to be tape recorded and later on be transcribed. The second data collection method will be the use of a documentary study from which the writings of the subject matter will have to be reviewed so that their meanings can be properly derived from them. This second method will be used hand in hand with the first method (Johnson, 2000). The third and the last data collection method will be the technique of the participant observation. This particular technique will lead to a generation of some kind of an interview. It will be worth noting that in phenomenological research tape recording is important because the tapes will later be transcribed. Sampling designs strategies in qualitative research. There are many different qualitative sampling designs that will be used at the different stages of the research or still they will be used for the different purposes of the research. There are those questions that the researchers should constantly be asking themselves which will serve to give relevant information on the sampling strategy design that the researcher would have chosen to use. It will be very crucial for the researcher to give a clear definition of the objectives of the research. The time that will be spent making clarification with the client will be a time that will be well spent (Kendy, 19976). Most of the times, in qualitative research, the objectives of the project might be refined as the research will keep on progressing. Sometimes the available resources will try to undermine the progress of a researcher’s project. This should be prevented to happen by considering the available human resources to the project at hand and also the nature of the method of data collection. The length of interview that is the qualitative interview will have a great impact on the qualitative sampling design strategy and the final decision of the given sample size. For instance longer interviews will provide detailed data than shorter interviews. With this in mind a decision may be taken on whether to carry out longer or shorter interviews.The sampling size should also be put in mind. This will basically depend on the homogeneous or the heterogeneous nature of the population to be sampled and the requirements of the methods of the data collection that will be employed in this research. Data analysis After the researcher will collect the data, she/he will tabulate the data into tables and analyze it using frequencies descriptive and percentages. The processing of the survey results. The processing of the survey results need not to wait until has been completed, but can begin as soon as the first questionnaires are received. The main steps are; Coding. Nowadays the computer is used widely to process information. For that reason it is often advisable to code the information or even use a preceded questionnaire to facilitate the necessary processing and calculations. Punching. Subsequently the information can be punched for computer purposes. Data tabulation. With the aid of a computer, raw tables may be compiled. These tales are often only preliminary and may serve as guidelines for further analyses and condensed into possibly more meaningful tables. Statistical processing. With the previous step as a basis the information can be processed further until it yields objectives and clear answers to the problem or opportunity which is being investigated. REFERENCES Aaker, D.A., Keller, K.L. (2000), Consumer evaluations of brand extensions, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54 pp.27-41.    Bloom P.N. and   Greyser S. A. (1981);   ‘The Maturity of Consumerism’ Harvad Business Review, Nov-Dec. 1981 pp 130-139) Charles, K. (1990). Methods used in Research. Social Science, 29(10), 1160-1178. Cole Gerald ‘2004; management theory and practice; 6th Edition, TJ International, Pad stow, Cornwall. Creswell, J. (1998). Guidelines to choosing the best research design. Phenomenology, 34, 234-245. Dacin, P.A., Smith, D.C. (2004), The effect of brÐ °nd portfolio characteristics on consumer evaluations of brÐ °nd extensions, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 31 pp.197-207. George, H.   (2000). Qualitative research design illustrated.   Journal of Qualitative Methods, 34, 246-257. Jasper, A.  Ã‚   (1994). Phenomenological issues for project researchers.   Phenomenological research method, 4 , 409-414. Johnson, K. (2000). Commonly used research methods. Boston: St. Martin’s Keller, K.L. (2003), Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 57 pp.1-22. Keller, K.L., Aaker, D.A. (2002), ThÐ µ effects of sequential introduction of brÐ °nd extensions, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 29 pp.35-50. Klein, A. (2003). What is phenomenology?   New York: SUNY Press. Kotler P., 1989, marketing management; Analysis, planning, implementation and control, 6th Edition; Prentice-hall, India (NewDelhi) Loken, B., John, D.R. (2003), Diluting brand beliefs: when do brand extensions have a negative impact?, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 57 pp.71-84. Nakamoto, K., MacInnis, D.J., Jung, H-S. (2003), Advertising claims and evidence as bases for brÐ °nd equity and consumer evaluations of brÐ °nd extensions, in Aaker, D.A., Biel, A. (Eds),BrÐ °nd Equity Advertising: Advertising’s Role in Building Strong BrÐ °nds, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp.281-97. Park, C.W., Jaworski, B.J., MacInnis, D.J. (2006), Strategic brand concept image management, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 50 pp.135-45. Park, C.W., Milberg, S., Lawson, R. (2001), Evaluation of brÐ °nd extensions: thÐ µ role of product feature similarity and brÐ °nd concept consistency, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 18 pp.185-93. Richard, S. (2002). Methods used in social research. Oxford: OUP. Ries, A., Trout, J. (2006), Positioning: ThÐ µ Battle for Your Mind, McGraw-Hill Inc., New York, NY., . Robson, C. (2000). The Handbook of Research Methodology. Oxford: Blackwell. Romeo, J.B. (2001), ThÐ µ effect of negative information on thÐ µ evaluations of brÐ °nd extensions and thÐ µ family brÐ °nd, in Holman, R.H., Solomon, M.R. (Eds),Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 18.   Rowe, D., Bartleman, D., Khirallah, M. Smydra, M., Keith, G., and Ponder, M. (1999), .Reduce cynicism and apathy and create positive change agents: Essential and missing components of our educational curricula. Tauber, E.M. (2003), Fit and leverage in brÐ °nd extensions, in Aaker, D.A., Biel, A. (Eds),BrÐ °nd Equity Advertising: Advertising’s Role in Building Strong BrÐ °nds, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp.313-18. Wright, T., (2001), .A review of definitions and frameworks for sustainability in higher education draft, Assessing Progress Toward Sustainability in Higher Education consultation presentation paper, Washington, D.C.

Technology In Invisible Man And Hollow Man Film Studies Essay

Technology In Invisible Man And Hollow Man Film Studies Essay The classic 1933 film The Invisible Man based on a science fiction novel by H G Wells of the same name is a story which follows the life and demise of Dr. Jack Griffin as he battles psychological and physical effect of an invisibility drug while trying to find a cure to return him to normal visibility. The film was directed by James Whale and starring Claude Rains and is considered to be one of the greatest of a series of films called the Universal horror films produced in the Golden Era 1930s of the Universal Studios. The Invisible Man was a phenomenal success, despite being realised during the Great Depression, and produced several sequels. The success of the film also launched the career of leading actor Claude Rains. Hollow Man released in the year 2000, Director by Paul Verhoeven and starting Elisabeth Shue Kevin Bacon is the modern day equivalent also inspired by H. G. Wells The Invisible Man A scientist develops a serum which renders the flesh of any living life form invisible. After testing the serum on a variety of different animals he decides to inflict it upon himself but after efforts to return him to permanent visibility fail he and his colleagues struggle to find a cure before the mental repercussions take their toll. Despite being inspired and based on H.G Wells original novel, although based in different eras, both films contain many paralleling sequences depicting the various elements of the invisible characters different states. Some key examples of this can be seen when the character turns from totally visible to invisible or visa versa. Sometimes an invisible character is wearing visible clothes and face masks which interact with other cast members and the environment in shot. Both films helped push the boundaries of the special effects available in their respective eras and presented new and exciting challenges to the special effects artist in charge of producing them and it is these effect with can be credit to the susses of both films. John P. Fulton and Frank D. Williams are the men directly responsible for creating the ground breaking effects seen in the The Invisible Man film. On the 23th of July 1916 F. D. Williams filed a US patent entitled Method of Taking Motion Pictures which detailed a method of taking motion pictures, and is especially adapted to produce a picture showing two or more objects in relative positions in which they have not actually been placed (F. D. Williams, 1916. Method of taking motion pictures. U.S. Pat.1,273,435) This process was used and adapted as a base to create the majority of effects which illustrated a partly clothed or bandaged invisible character in the film. To achieve these effect sequences Rains or a double wore a tight fitting black velvet suit underneath any clothes which were to remain visible moving around the scene. The actors performance was then filmed on a black velvet backdrop; a second background plate was filmed and a double exposure was then used to seamlessly combine the two shoots together, this resulted in the black elements from the first shot, the valet suit and backdrop being replaced by the background film in the second shoot. This is a very early version of an effect today know as green screen, in modern times an array of different colours, most commonly green, blue and black are used depending on the backdrop and the colour of other elements in the scene for example if the screen is green heavy or an actors costume includes green, a blue backdrop can be used. After the film was finished Fulton admitted the most difficult shot to achieve of the entire film was when the invisible man is seen to unwrap the bandages from around his head in front of a mirror. To create this sequences four different takes where used of the actor removing the bandages but with different parts of the set masked in black velvet. The first take was used to captor the surrounding walls and mirrors frame but the mirror glass was masked out so it could be captured separately in the second take, the third was of the actors back unwrapping the bandages and the fourth of the actor performing the same unwrapping action but from the front. Each take needed to match in perceptive and viewpoint to enable them to be merged together into a single shoot. (Now you see him:The Invisible man revealed, 2004. DVD. USA: Universal Studios) A parallel can be draw to this sequence in Hollow Man when efforts to restore the invisible scientist Sebastian Caine played by Kevin Bacon fail. His colleges make the decision to create Sebastian a synthetic face mask by pouring liquid latex over his head to help give him a visible presents. There was a lot of discussion about what had been done before in invisible man movies and Paul was very concerned we did not repeat all been done before Alec Gillis (Fleshing out the hollow man, 2007. DVD. London: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) In the Hollow Man special features The Mask, Tom Woodruff, Jr. from Amalgamated says our main drive was coming up with something that looked like Kevin Bacon but also looked like some crudely constructed mask (Fleshing out the hollow man, 2007. DVD. London: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) The choice to use a latex mask molded to the actors face did indeed make bacon more recognisable to the audience which dose help further ground the entire effect. Unlike The Invisible Man where bandages are wrapped around Rains head, disguising his characteristic features to the point where it could be anyone and inevitably allowing the director to cast doubles in some shots which is noticeable due to the double being taller than rains. To a achieve the effect of liquid latex being poured and conforming around the actors face which would seemingly to appear out of thin air, The actors face was covered in green body paint which was later digital removed from the plate leaving only the latex. According to Alec Gills from Amalgamated Dynamics and Jonathan Erland of Composite Components, experts in green screen technology, a new type of body paint was developed which was used to actively turn Bacon into a walking green screen which in its self was a major development to allow the actor to be painted out of many scenes in the film. Many safety guidelines had to be followed in its creation, the paint had to be durable as well as being safe for actor Bacon to wear during the busy filming schedule. Green vacuum formed pieces of plastic were placed over the actors eyes to help protect them from scissors while eye holes were cut into the mask they also helped in the masking out of Bacons actual to allow the integrate of a 3D generated model of the inside of the latex mask to aid the illusion of a hollow interior. (Now you see him:The Invisible man revealed, 2004. DVD. USA: Universal Studios) Turning Bacon into his walking green screen state meant he was able to physically act out all of his scenes even if he was in a fully indivisible state in the film because of high tech digital camera used in the filming were able to record their own movements, after a take was filmed the camera was able to automatically re-film the empty background set precisely based on the pre-recorded tilt pitch and pan data, because this generated an exact duplicate plate made the job of digital removal of Bacon far easier, this in turn allowed the cinematographer to create much more dynamic and interesting camera moves. This also provided bacons fellow actors a precise focus point in a scene which as something just not possible in The Invisible Man as camera had to remain static and Rain was filmed on at black ground and composited back into the sequence later. Filming Bacon in the scene also supplied the special effects team with a great animatic and lighting reference to match any CG elements to. A second paralleling sequence between the two films can be seen when the main character passes between the states of visible to invisible. In Hollow Man after developing and successfully testing an invisibility serum on animal subjects, Sebastian decides to take his experiments to the next level, a human trail by inject himself with the serum which triggers the dramatic transformation to invisibility, although in reverse this effect sequence is also used in the last scene of The Invisible Man when of Dr. Jack Griffin dies the invisibility which has plaged him thought out the film final wears off and his body becomes visible throw death. As Griffin fiancà ©e Flora sits down beside his bed the camera changes to an Answering Shoot, a technique used to show dialogue between two characters. The camera is moved to look over Floras left shoulder, although we the audience start to hear Griffins voice speak his last words we can see Flora is still in fact looking at a hollow night shirt tucked up in bed and an impression in the pillow where Griffins head ought to be. In this shoot the night shirt is seen subtly rising and falling to indicate breathing but this has not been animated in keeping with the words we can hear Griffin speaking. After a brief close-up shot of Flora, the camera cuts back to a close up of Griffins imprint in the bed. Almost immediately the transformation takes place and this is the first time in the film the audience see Rains face and after a slow plan back the film ends. This was done directly in the camera, the pillow, the indentation and all was made of plaster and the blankets and sheets of papier-mà ¢chà ©, a slow long lap dissolve revealed a skeleton, a real by the way another lap dissolve replaced the skeleton with a roughly sculpted dummy which suggested the contours of the actor and a further series of dissolves each time using a slightly more finished dummy brought us to the real actor himself John P Fulton DVD commentary. (The Invisible man, DVD 2004. DVD. USA: Universal Studios) The potential problem with using this technique of layering full frames is if any other supposedly static object moves thought out any of frames the in the scene this will becomes very obvious. This is most notable when the corner of the bed sheet moves between the skull and full face transition. In contrast Hollow man is able to utilise many modern techniques for this transformation from visible to invisibility, most notably computer graphics. In the equivalent scene actor Kevin Bacon character seemingly dissolve away; multiple different layers of human anatomy effectively dissolve from one layer to the next. His skin gives way to the layers of muscles, tendons, internal organs and eventually only an animated skeleton left thrashing around on the table for a short period before it too disappears. A scene only made possible by today standards by continually pushing the boundaries of computer graphics. Another thing that made it more difficult for us was the actual amount of data and amount of geometry we had to push though are system, we had to buy better and faster computers to actually handle it Scott Stokdyk, Digital Effects Supervisor (Fleshing out the hollow man, 2007. DVD. London: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) This was a necessary step in the case of Hollow Man as unlike other CG characters generated for feature films which only require modelling the outer skin of a character, the team at Sony had to go to great lengths to produce all the different individual internal elements of the human body to achieve this effect sequence. Before work on the CG character could begin preliminary research into human anatomy was carried out by the team who looked out medical journals and the work of Dr.Gunther von Hagens who painted a technique for preserving human tissue with polymer which is used in the Body Works exhibitions. The team then started RD testing ways of adding animated controls to models of the human body capable of simulating not only the overall human body movements but also controlling all the individual elements that comprise of the human body. After Kevin Bacon was selected to play the lead role full body cyber scans were generated to match the 3D representation which allowed modelling supervisor Wayne Kennedy and the team to match his likeness as close as possible as . But While modelling techniques were still being developed the arising problems meant a separate department, pushing software development and plug-in creation. Modern films produced with digital technology arent as restrictive as in the analogue period, new software can be custom written for a specific task. The production team worked with Maya to accomplish the majority of 3D work used in the film as another advantage of the digital workflow, meant custom tools built for the studios pervious film Stuart Little were adapted and applied where needed to Hollow man. (Shay,E., 2000. Hollow Man: Disappearing Act.Cinefex,83, 111) (more pictures to be added) (conclusion be rewritten) Although there have only been two scenes discussed, many parallels can be drawn between the two films, in the way the audiences react to them, and the effects used. Although due mostly to technological and creative advancement, there are also many differences in how the effects were achieved. One thing can be said for both films though, at the time of their release both films were at the cutting of technology. Keeping the audiences at the edge of their seats in true horror fashion. The Invisible Man used many of the original techniques, which became the basis for modern cinema and would evolve and go on to be used in Hollow Man almost seven decades later. Techniques such as the Williams process or travelling mattes as they are also known. These processes would go on to become green and blue screen techniques used in todays film industry. Like many of the horror classics from the analogue period, The Invisible Man has become very dated. The effects were believable at its time of release they have become less so as the years have gone by. In some scenes the effects are quiet comical in execution by todays standards. The techniques used were also not fool proof, even at the time of production. The use of different lighting set ups used to achieve some composited effects, caused instances of ghosting where the set was visible through the character. These factors have lead to the film becoming less convincing as the years have passed. The same advancement in technologies, has also meant that films such as Hollow Man could be produced reaching new levels of realism. Firmly putting audiences back in the grasps of fear. It took the team at Sony Picture Imageworks over 2 years to create the visual effects used in Hollow Man with the vast development of computers, plugins and software advancements. The finished result keeps Hollow Man on par with films being released a decade later. With further developments in technology and computer generated imagery, it can only mean bigger, better things to come. Keeping audiences on the edge of their seats. Sussce of film made 7 more Refs (The Invisible man, DVD 2004. DVD. USA: Universal Studios) (Now you see him:The Invisible man revealed, 2004. DVD. USA: Universal Studios) (Shay,E., 2000. Hollow Man: Disappearing Act.Cinefex,83, 111) (Fleshing out the hollow man, 2007. DVD. London: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) (F. D. Williams, 1916. Method of taking motion pictures. U.S. Pat.1,273,435) Rickitt, R., 2000. Special Effects the history and technique. London: Virgin Books http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Invisible_Man_%28film%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollow_Man Hollow Man: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0164052/

Hitler’s Years Before the War Essay --

"I will employ my strength for the welfare of the German people, protect the Constitution and laws of the German people, conscientiously discharge the duties imposed on me and conduct my affairs of office impartially and with justice to everyone.† (Bradley n.pag.) Quote by Adolf Hitler, being sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, in 1933 to the German people. This and other famous speeches are how Hitler was voted in to power in Germany through peaceful speeches and rallies. Many people just believed that all Germans were evil just because of whom they voted into office before the war and that just because they were German they all hated Jews. The Germans voted Hitler in because it was during the Depression and times were hard for people who had little faith in their government giving Hitler a perfect chance to take power. Through speeches and peaceful rallies he had most of the German people in his favor giving him a quick and sort of harmless rise to power that eventually went bad. In the late 20s after his release from prison Hitler decided to take Germany in a more peaceful w...

Federal programs Essay

Throughout the twentieth century, Congress has established a great number of federal programs administered by agencies within the Executive Branch. Through this process of a wide-ranging allocation of authority to the executive Branch, Congress has assisted in creating a massive Federal Bureaucracy. The relationship of Congress to the Executive Branch today must therefore be seen in terms of its relation to this Bureaucracy, as well as its relation to the Presidency. In order to gain some control over the operations of the various agencies which had been established within the Executive Branch, in 1946 congress began to develop a sequence of configurations and procedures designed to manage the Administration. This process was also known as congressional oversight. There are several methods through which congressional misunderstanding operations take place: the committee process, congressional administrative offices, casework, as well as a number of administrative practices. Where the congressional oversight functions take place, there are three types of committees: authorizations committees, appropriations committees, and governmental operations committees. The first type of committee is the functional committee which initially establishes or authorizes the program or agency. In the case of a military program, this would be the Armed Services Committees in both chambers. ‘In the case of an urban program, this would be the Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee in the House and the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in the Senate. Similarly, each program area within the Federal Bureaucracy is related to at least one specific substantive standing committee in each chamber of Congress. ’ (Issa, 2011) In attempting to follow the oversight activities through these authorization committees, a number of complications are often encountered. One of these is the result from the fact that a particular governmental agency may fall within the authority of several different practical committees or subcommittees. As a result, the agency may play ‘one committee or subcommittee against the other in order to achieve those results in Congress which tend to benefit the agency the most. (Office of The Law Revision Counsel, 2012) Another problem is that a committee which establishes a program is often too involved with the outcome of its own efforts to be willing to investigate adequately the operations of the program it has initiated. One of the most substantial places where an amount of oversight activity takes place is in the appropriations process. The budget for an agency must be approved anew each year. ’ One might assume that this yearly appropriations process would lead to a careful annual inspection of the budgets of all the various governmental agencies. (Issa, 2011) This is not the case. The federal budget is so great and compound that it is impossible to consider carefully the budget of each agency and program on a year-to-year basis. What happens instead is that budgets are often routinely approved from year to year with general reviews only occurring sporadically. In addition, many agencies develop quite close relationships with the subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees which spe cifically deal with their agency. These agencies are therefore often able to abstract some special favors from these particular appropriations subcommittees. The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Governmental Reform were initially established to manage congressional concern over governmental processes. Thus, many see these committees as an ideal place for maintaining congressional observation over the activities of the vast Bureaucracy located within the Executive Branch. However, because of jurisdictional differences and because of the hesitancy of most representatives and senators to provide for satisfactory independent oversight activities, the efforts of these governmental operations committees have been quite restricted. The three administrative offices within Congress are used to some extent in the congressional oversight process. The General Accounting Office, The GAO has the accountability, not simply for performing accounting audits, but also for judging how various programs are being managed. In other words, the GAO often performs the task of program assessment. The GAO plays a significant role in congressional oversight. The Congressional Research Service, while preparing reports and studies to assist members of Congress, the CRS sometimes includes some information on the activities and routines of various governmental agencies. This is another important source of oversight information for members of Congress. The Congressional Budget Office gathers information on the budgets of the various governmental agencies and to report on new budgetary requirements and propositions that are made through the Executive Branch’s Office of Management and Budget. Budgetary information is an extremely important source of data upon which the various congressional committees can judge the effectiveness of specific governmental programs. Granting, the information gathered by the CBO may seem to permit for substantial congressional oversight, the fact is that it is the agencies that often use this informational link for their own purposes in pursuing their requests for additional funding directly to the congressional committee, instead of directing all their communications through the OMB. This short circuits the use of the OMB as one of the President’s management tools. Efficiency, from an overall standpoint, we can see that these three congressional offices. The General Accounting Office, the Congressional Research Services, and the Congressional Budget Office combined with the staffs of individual congresspersons and senators and the staffs of congressional committees are able to supply our national legislators with vast amounts of information and evaluations of governmental activities. ‘In fact, the United States Congress has available to it one of the most extensive research staffs of any national legislature in the world. ’ (Issa, 2011) Nevertheless, the availability of information and study alone is not sufficient for effective congressional oversight. The desire to follow through on this available information is another necessary ingredient and it is this ingredient which is often lacking. Many times congressional oversight is limited by the worries of various congressional committees and subcommittees over their particular jurisdictions and in a substantial number of instances, the burdens of organized special interests also interfere with the ability or wishes of members of Congress to significantly oversee governmental operations. Aside from these problems, there are also the boundaries of time. Congresspersons are loaded with extremely dense schedules. They have a large number of often conflicting responsibilities to perform. Representatives and senators must therefore place priorities on the use of their time. Often oversight activities lose in this shamble of priorities to legislative activities, to the creation of new programs to deal with current problems, and to casework concerns. Representatives and senators, themselves, do not usually become directly involved in much casework or fundamental services. It is their staff that deals with these matters. However, representatives and senators are usually informed by their staffs of many of these problems, and it is through these specific interactions that these legislators often get the most intense impression as to the effectiveness of many governmental programs. Casework thus provides an important source of direct, specific information which proves very useful in congressional oversight activities. Congress has also passed some major reforms and reconnoitered a number of major legislative techniques, many of which have had the effect of enlightening congressional oversight. Sunshine Laws. During the 1970s, Congress attempted to open up many facets of governmental operations to the general public. This was done through the Freedom of Information Act and the â€Å"Government in Sunshine† Act. By making information more broadly available to the public, these acts also increase the amount of information available to Congress. The Congressional Veto. Very often Congress passes rather broad pieces of legislation. It is then up to specific agencies to fill in the details of these laws, both with regard to the building of governmental agencies and the processes which they follow. One might note for example that while Congress passes general tax laws, the details of the regulations regarding the payment of federal taxes is to be found not in the tax law itself but rather in the Internal Revenue Code which is developed by the Internal Revenue Service, which is an executive agency. The problem that were presented by the executive agencies developing a great many regulations or codes is that the only way Congress is able to affect these details is through the passage of new legislative acts. As we have seen, this is often a burdensome and prolonged process. In order to avoid this, Congress now writes into some authorization bills requirements for a congressional veto. According to this procedure, when an agency disseminates rules filling in the details of congressional legislation, Congress automatically has the power within a specific time period to veto some of these rules and to demand that the agency fill in the details in a different way. The important thing is that Congress can do this without having to go through the process of passing a new law. Although this procedure is rarely used, it does offer the prospective for a far greater legislative control over the procedures by which the Bureaucracy operates. Sunset Legislation. In starting governmental programs or agencies, Congress usually sets no time limit on the functioning of the program or agency. Since the 1970s, a practice developed by which Congress authorizes the existence of a program or agency for only a inadequate amount of time. In other words, Congress specifies a date by which the agency or program will conclude to function. In order for the agency to continue its operations after that time, a new bill must be passed allowing its continued existence for another specified period of time. This practice is obviously intended to avert the continued existence of agencies or programs which no longer meet a legitimate need or which fail to meet a legitimate need effectively. A dissimilarity on sunset legislation is the procedure of annual authorization. According to this procedure, the continued existence of governmental agency must be approved on a year-to-year basis. While this practice obviously creates tremendous difficulties in the ability of such an agency to engage in long-term planning, it does suggestively increase the potential effectiveness of congressional control. ‘Zero Based Budgeting (ZBB). Zero Based Budgeting is a technique through which administrators must carefully justify their entire agencies’ budgets. Zero based budgeting requires a continual top-to-bottom assessment of all agencies’ programs designed to insure their cost effectiveness. ’ (Issa, 2011) We can see that many structures and techniques have been developed to allow Congress to be more effective in its oversight activities. However, jurisdictional disputes and pressures from various well organized special interests continue to prevent these new techniques and sources of information from being used effectively. In many occurrences, the actual nature and effect of government policy depends less on the actions of our elected officials than it does on the activities of non-elected bureaucrats who often remain totally immune from the pressures of the general public–although not necessarily from those of well-organized special interests. One of the major political issues determining our national future is the question of how well our government is able to represent effectively the needs and desires of the American people. As we have noted, the role of Congress as a representative of the people was one of the most important functions of this â€Å"first branch† of government envisioned by the Founders when they drafted the Constitution. However, the many new needs which our national government has had to meet in this century have placed this role of representation under great stress.

The Gulf War and the role of air power in the Gulf War in 1991

Introduction The Gulf War remains an important event in modern history for various reasons. Firstly, it can be argued that the Gulf War is significant as it gives the background to the overall recent warfare known as the ‘Iraq War’ (Coyote, 2013, p.24). Although the perceived reasons for invading Kuwait are still disputed amongst researchers,, the most popular reason given for the invasion is Iraq’s allegation that Kuwait was stealing its oil (Freedman & Karsh, 1991, p.52). How far this was a significant cause of the war will be explored, in addition to the role that developing air power played in this War. One of the main questions this essay will attempt to answer is: did air power play a major role in the bringing the War to an endFinally, the essay will discuss the wider impact of the Gulf War on the Iraqi Government, and how it has affected the country in the modern day. Why did the Iraqi Government invade Kuwait? There has been unending debate on what the exact reason Iraqi invaded Kuwait, with scholars disagreeing on what transpired in the events the preceded the breakout of the war (Flanagan, 1991, p.18). It is fair to say that it was a culmination of several factors that led to Kuwait invasion, and no single factor could be seen as the catalyst for military action. Firstly, Iraq was heavily indebted to both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait due to their financial backing of Iraq in its war against Iran (Khadduri & Ghareeb 1997, p.1). Kuwait did more than just support the war against Iran financially; they also offered assistance by effectively becoming Iraq’s major port following the closure of Basra at the height of the conflict (Khadduri & Ghareeb 1997, p.3). The close tie between Iraqi and Kuwait during the former’s war against Iran later led to Iran targeting the country following its financial support to Iraq. Iraq owed Kuwait more than $80billion, which the Iraqi Government could not pay back (Cordesman& Wagner1996, p.45). Despite pleas from Iraq to Kuwait to write off $14 billion of the debt, Kuwait refused. The fact that Kuwait were not willing to negotiate the debt in favour of Iraq angered Iraqi Government, further increasing tension between the two countries (Danchev & Keohane, 1993, p.23). Another factor widely speculated to have increased the tension between the two countries is when Iraq claimed certain parts of Kuwait were actually Iraqi territory (Khadduri & Ghareeb, 1997, p.4). Shortly before the commencement of the war, the Iraqi Government alleged that Kuwait was stealing petroleum from Iraq by way of slant-drilling into Iraq’s Rumaila field (Freedman & Karsh, 1991, p.52). This resulted in heated disputes between the two countries, with allegations that Kuwait was stealing oil worth in the region of $2.4 billion (1994, pp.23-30). This, according to Muellor (1994, pp.23-30) arguably put more pressure on a relationship that was already strained. Muellor observe that Kuwait argued that the allegations were ill-founded and fabricated in order to justify Iraq’s resolve to take military action against Kuwait.Foreign firms working in the area took Kuwait’s side, as the common belief built on the belief that the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq was heavily influenced by Iraq’s motivation to obtain the country’s significant petroleum supplies. Some alleged that the decision to invade Kuwait had been mooted a couple of months before Aug ust 1990, as the crisis was coming to a climax (Freedman & Karsh, 1994, pp. 63-65). Linked to this issue is the allegation by Iraq that Kuwait was overproducing petroleum, which caused a revenue decrease for Iraq. It was estimated that during the period of 1985-1989, every year Iraq suffered a $14 billion deficit as a direct result of Kuwait’s oil production (Finlan, 2003, p.24). Whilst Iraq did try to negotiate with Kuwait, they did not reduce their production, which must have angered the Iraqi government. Some historians say that Iraq viewed this refusal as an act of defiance, which then became a powerful trigger for the War (Fisk, 2006, p.18). Therefore, as is often the case with invasion events, politics, money and oil can be shown to be the underlying causes of military action. An overview of the Gulf War The Gulf War took place between August 1990 and February 1991. Following Iraq’s initial invasion of Kuwait, the main players comprised coalition forces, a combination of 34 different countries led by the United States of America, against Iraq. The Iraqi Republican Guard invaded Kuwait on 2 August 1990 with over 100,000 members of the Iraqi military supported by 700 tanks in the early hours of the morning. This was met immediately by a UN Security Council sanction, which created a ban on all trade with Iraq and the freezing of all its assets (Khadduri & Ghareeb, 1997, p.73). By 4 August 1990, most Kuwaiti troops either had been overpowered or had fled to Saudi Arabia or Bahrain. Hundreds of thousands of civilians fled the country and many continued to stay there even after the end of the conflict (Flanagan, 1991, pp.18-26). The initial invasion consisted of intense military action as Iraq looked to show their intention to occupy its neighbor. This action was internationally con demned, and the UN was strongly encouraged to act and find a way forward (Fulghium, 1991). Countries worldwide called for Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait, including countries who were previously its allies, such as France and India. This international pressure against the invasion was seen quickly through immediate economic sanctions being placed against Iraq by the UN. Alongside the period of sanctions, there were efforts to negotiate with Iraq. However, these negotiations broke down, leading the coalition forces to advance their campaign against the invasion. The coalition forces were largely comprised of US military, in addition to troops from the UK, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The main aim of the coalition troops was to expel the Iraqi military from Kuwait (Fisk, 2006: xvii). This commenced with an aerial assault on 17 January 1991 (Fisk, 2006: xvii). Some alleged that the coalition forces joined the US, â€Å"for more than a Wilsonian ideal; they did so to protect their own respective national interests, not the least of which included oil, the life blood of the world economy† (Allison, 2012: vii). Nevertheless, the rising number of casualties, especially amongst children worried many people. Lesley Stahl said, â€Å"We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima†¦is th e price worth it?† (Leigh & Wilson, 2001). Secretary of State Madeleine Albright responded with, â€Å"I think this is a very hard choice, but the price – we think the price is worth it† (Leigh & Wilson, 2001). An attack on the ground followed on 24 February, which brought a victory for the coalition forces, freeing Kuwait from seven months of Iraqi military occupation (Sulton, 1995, pp.195-200). Following this liberation the coalition entered Iraq and after four days (exactly 100 hours) after the ground assault on Iraq) a ceasefire was declared (Dinackus, 2000, pp. 225-230). Air Power in the Gulf War Given the major use of air power in this war, some refer to the Gulf War as the ‘1991 Bombing of Iraq’, as Iraq military was enthusiastic to show off their airpower in the region. The bombing campaign began on 17 January 1991 and from that time until the end of the conflict, the coalition forces were involved in flying over 100,000 sorties in the region. â€Å"Air power dominated the media images of the Gulf War. Video footage of precision-guided munitions hitting their targets with pinpoint accuracy remains embedded in popular memory† (Finlan, 2003, p.30). It is arguable that one of the main factors forcing the retreat of Iraqi troops was the dropping of 88,500 tons of bombs across the country, which destroyed many areas within cities. The strategy in the air was to target not only Iraqi military sites, but also to destroy structural landmarks. This appears to have made the Iraqi military embark on a defensive strategy in response to the air campaign (Finlan, 200 3, p. 33). Hallion (1992) shares this view, and argues that strategy was evolving, seen in how the coalition air forces targeted places and structures rather than citizens. These air tactics, Hallion argues, allowed coalition forces to control Iraq without causing large fatalities. He maintains that, â€Å"the air commanders of the Allied coalition could approach the prospect of war with Iraq with such confidence in the air† (Hallion, 1992: 4). It is this confidence that stopped the Iraqi air force from being able to compete with the strength and quality of the coalition forces. Posen (2003) agrees with the assertion that air power played a significant role in the Gulf War. He took the view that, â€Å"air power alone may not be able to determine the outcome of all wars, but is a significant asset. Moreover, US air power has proven potentially devastating to mechanized ground forces operating offensively†¦as was discovered in the only Iraqi mechanized offensive† (Posen, 2003: 16) This shows that, whilst air power was not on its own sufficient for the coalition forces to be outright successfully, it did contribute greatly to the overall result. In contrast, however, Press disagrees with this argument and puts forward the view that, â€Å"even after 5 weeks of bombing, the best Iraqi units†¦were willing to maneuver into the path of US forces.† (Press, 2001: 37). Although Press does agree with Hallion that the coalition forces were more superior when military supplies and availability of resources were compared. The press argues that sup erior military resources were the main factor why US-led allied team won the war, rather than the much publicised air power. However, there is considerable support among historians for the idea that air power played a significant part in Iraq’s defeat. This includes Schultz and Phaftzgraff who argue that the strategy in the air campaign was an overarching reason why the ground assault brought rapid, total success: â€Å"All major government, military, and party headquarters were wrecked; both civil and military telecommunications were totally silenced; Iraqi air defences were largely incapacitated.† (Schultz & Phaftzgraff, 2001: 19). This strategy of destroying main services greatly helped the coalition forces and because of this, many scholars argue that air power played a valuable and significant role in their victory. It was true, however, that Iraqi forces had air power of their own too, and this was evident when they started off their intensive military invasion of Kuwait (Fulghum, 1991: 71-73). One of the reasons for the relatively quick takeover of Kuwait by the Iraqi military was that the former was taken by surprise, and was not able to offer much resistance, particularly in the air (Sayenga, 1991). Therefore, even at the outset of the war, air played a part, by assisting Iraq to take over Kuwait in a very speedy manner. However, when the competing allied forces confronted the Iraqi forces with similar airpower, the latter soon realised that their airpower were less superior. Despite the use of ground-to-air missiles by the Iraqi military, they were no match to the allied forces’ military ability (Morrocco, 1991: 40-43). USAF Lieutenant General Chuck Horner led the coalition forces and the overall military air strategy included the deployment of Tomahawk cruise missiles from warships. As part of the air campaign, A-10 Thunderbolts bombing large sections of Iraq, causing considerable military and civilian deaths. It can be safely argued that the air campaign led to the destruction of much of the Iraqi armed forces, and that without this air campaign, the result might have affected the outcome, such is its importance in the Gulf War. When the coalition forces were combined, their artillery total was 2,250 combat aircraft, which was significant under any circumstances, but was particularly damaging when compared to the 500 members of the Iraqi air force (Hallion, 1992). The air campaign is often referred to by its code-name, â€Å"Operation Desert Storm† and more than 1,000 sorties were sent on a daily basis (Finlan, 2003: 30-32). Iraqi defence forces were not able to stand up to this military assault, particularly when â€Å" the first night of operations over Iraq witnessed the longest bombing run in history†(Finlan, 2003: 35). This puts into perspective how significant the role of air power was, as it had never before been seen on this scale in any war in the history. The casualty numbers were kept to a minimum for the coalition forces who only suffered 75 aircraft losses out of 100,000 sorties. Faced with this air bombing onslaught, many of the Iraqi air forces fled to Iran. This was unexpected, as coalition military had assumed that the escape might be towards Jordan and had adapted their strategy for this action. After just a few weeks, the air power assault had mostly stopped by 24 February, with the successful entry into Kuwait by coalition troops. It is arguably not a coincidence that the end of the bombing campaign and the end of the War came close together. The impact of the Gulf War on the Iraqi Government Following the passing of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 in 1991, the UN deployed several other controversial measures against Iraq, (Cortright& Lopez, 2000). As in the aftermath of any War, the Iraqi Government continued to experience financial difficulties as the rising costs of the war impacted across the country (Alnaswari 2000:89-119). Following the extensive bombing campaign by the coalition forces, the Iraqi Government had to start the process of reconstructing major towns and cities that had been severely destroyed by the bombs. It was reported that Iraqi planners believedthe coalition’s intention had been â€Å"to destroy or damage valuable facilities that Baghdad could not repair without foreign assistance. The worst civilian suffering, senior officers say, has resulted not from bombs that went astray but from precision-guided weapons that hit exactly where they were aimed at electrical plants, oil refineries and transportation networks.† (G ellman1991). However, it is in economic terms that the real impact of the Gulf War was felt. Alnasrawi has argued that oil was Iraq’s ‘gold dust,’ forming the bedrock of their economy and therefore the UN sanctions virtually destroyed this industry with the closure of 90% ports and 97% of exports (Alnasrawi, 2000:89-119). As long after the war as 1996, Iraq was in a dire situation, with a humanitarian crisis, and the UN agreed to offer temporary oil-for-food (OFF) program where Iraq was permitted to sell oil under very stringent conditions. Historians disagree and argue about the exact effect of this on the Iraqi Government; one report stated that, â€Å"Even under the most benign conditions, OFF only allows Iraq to be run as a relatively efficient refugee camp in which people get just about enough food to eat† (Gazdar, 2002). Although it has also been suggested that â€Å"Between the springs of 2000 and 2002, [US and UK] holds on humanitarian goods tripl ed† (Gordon, 2002), the financial ruin that the Iraqi Government found itself in, was as a direct result of the Gulf War. Conclusion With its many casualties and serious effect on global politics, the Gulf War remains a crucial landscape when considering modern politics, particularly in the Middle Eastern region. During its occupation by the Iraqi military, more than 1000 Kuwaiti civilians died, and thousands more fled the country never to return. As it has been shown here, there are a number of factors put forward as contributing to the invasion of Kuwait, and it has been this essay’s aim to argue that the allegation that Kuwait was stealing oil from illegal sources was the ultimate catalyst for the war, rather than the main reason. There were many different forces at play as relations between the two countries had reached volatile to say the least. Nevertheless, what is also interesting in this debate is the suggestion that interest in the conflict from coalition forces came out of an attraction to Kuwait’s oil production. Oil is in increasing demand within the Western World and it is not surprisin g that many see it as a strong underlying motive for – or at least, a significant factor in – the Coalition’s engagement. This is summed up very well by Finlan, who states, â€Å"The critical issue that transformed the situation in the Gulf from a regional dispute into a full-blown international crisis was, above all, the substantial oil reserves in that area and the world’s dependence on this ‘black gold.’ If left to his own devices, Saddam Hussein possessed the ability to have influence over, or outright control of, 40 per cent of the known oil supplies on the planet by combining his own reserves with Kuwait and possibly, that of Saudi Arabia.† (Finlan, 2003: 9). In addition, it has been proposed here shown that air power had a significant role to play in the war and its eventual conclusion. The Iraqi Air Force were no match for the advanced technology at the disposal of the Coalition military, made clear during the extensive bombing campaign and also from the defensive strategy which the Iraqi army were forced to take. It has been this essay’s objective to provide evidence for the contention that the role of air power was considerable. Without the serious impact the bombing campaign had on the Iraqi forces and the Iraq infrastructure, no one knows how the Gulf War would have developed, how long it would have lasted, and what other consequences there might have been. Many lives were lost and it was clear that the Iraqi Government could not compete with the sheer scale of its opponents or stop the devastating impact on its civilians. The aftermath of the Gulf War therefore had a considerable impact upon the Iraqi Government. Arguably, the most significant effect of the war was on the economy, asthe war â€Å"produced serious hardships to the people and set the economy back to 19th Century status† (Alnasrawi, 2000: 89-119). Many academics working in this field believe that, the Gulf War laid the foundations for the more recent ‘Iraq War’ in 2003, which extends its significance even further to say the least. References Allison, W. (2012) The Gulf War, 1990-91 Hampshire: Palgrave MacMillan Alnasrawi, A. (2000) Iraq: Economic Embargo and Predatory Rule Oxford: OUP Cordesman, A. & Wagner, (1996) A.The Lessons of Modern War, Vol IV – The Gulf War Oxford: OUP Cortright, David, And George A. Lopez. (2000) The Sanctions Decade: Assessing UN Strategies in the 1990s. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Coyote, C. (2013) Iraq War 2013: What Really Happened Behind the Scenes, US: Charles Edmond Coyote. Danchev, A. &Keohane, D. (1993) International Perspectives on the Gulf Conflict: 1990-91 London: Palgrave Macmillan Dinackus, T. (2000) Order of Battle – Allied Ground Forces of Operation Desert Storm, Oregon: Hellgate Press Finlan, A. (2003) The Gulf War 1991 (Essential Histories) Oxford: Osprey Publishings Fisk, R. (2006) The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East London: Harper Collins Flanagan, E. (1991) ‘The 100-Hour War,’ Army, April, 1991, pp 18-26. Freedman, L. & Karsh, E. (1994) The Gulf Conflict 1990-1991 and Diplomacy and War in the New World Order London: Princeton University Press Fulghum, D. A. (1991). Allied Air Power, Forward Controllers Back Arabs to Make Their Drive Succeed. Aviation Week & Space Technology, 134(16), 71-73. Gazdar, H. (2002) â€Å"Pre-Modern, Modern, and Post Modern Famine in Iraq† Institute of Development Studies Bulletin, The New Famines, October, Vol. 33. Gellman, B, (1991) ‘Allied Air War Struck Broadly in Iraq: Officials Acknowledge Strategy Went Beyond Purely Military Targets’ Washington Post, (June 23, 1991) Gordon, J., (Dec, 2002) ‘Cool War’Harper’s Magazine. Available at: http://harpers.org/archive/2002/11/cool-war/ [accessed 28 February 2014] Hallion, R. (1992) Storm over Iraq – Air Power and the Gulf War, Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press Hillen, J. (1991) ‘2nd Armoured Cavalry: The Campaign to Liberate Kuwait’ Armor, Ju ly-August, pp 8-12 Khaddori, M &Ghareeb, E. (1997) War in the Gulf 1990-91 Oxford: OUP Leigh, D. & Wilson, J. (10 October 2001) ‘Counting Iraq’s Victims’ The Guardian Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/10/iraq.socialsciences [accessed 28 February 2014]. Morrocco, J. (1991) ‘War will Reshape Doctrine, but Lessons are Limited’ Aviation Week and Space Technology, April 22, pp 40-43. Muellor, J. (1994) Policy and Opinion in the Gulf War Chicago: University of Chicago Press Posen, B.R. (2003) Command of the Commons: The Military Foundations of U.S Hegemony, International Security pp 5-46. Press, D.G. (2001) ‘The Myth of Air Power in the Persian Gulf War and the Future of Warfare’ International Security, Vol 26, Issue 2, pp 5-44 Sayenga, K. ‘Wings over the Gulf’ The Discovery Channel: Bethesda, 1991 Schultz, R. &Pfaltzgraff, R. L. (1992) The Future of Air Power in the aftermath of the Gulf War Alabama: Air University Press Sulton, B. (1995) Desert Warrior: A Personal View of the Gulf War by the Joint Forces Commander London: HarperCollins

The Faces of Wuthering Heights essays

The Faces of Wuthering Heights essays The purpose of this paper is to introduce and discuss Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte. Specifically, what does Bronte seem to imply are the main factors in shaping a persons personality? Brontes characters all exhibit strong emotions, it does not matter if they are kind or cruel, the emotions are strong and almost exaggerated. Heathcliff of course is the obvious, because early on the narrator discovers he is really just a mean, hateful, spiteful man. He does not even treat his dogs with kindness. Mr. Lockwood hears Heathcliff say, Get it ready, will you? was the answer, uttered so savagely that I started. The tone in which the words were said revealed a genuine bad nature (Bronte Chapter 2). It seems to be Brontes suggestion that all the characters are creatures of their upbringing. Mr. Lockwood asks Ellen, He must have had some ups and downs in life to make him such a churl. Do you know anything of his history? (Bronte Chapter 4). Indeed, when he first came to the house it seems his personality was already set. He was hard, and the other children picked on him, but he simply shrugged it off. By this, he was already accustomed to needing no one, and he never changed. Class was a strong issue at this time in Britain, and a persons social standing could make or break them in the eyes of polite society. Heathcliff was an orphan, so he was doomed from the start, he had no upbringing, and it shows in his dark, angry, spiteful personality. She says it in the first paragraph of the story, this house is completely removed from the stir of society, and not just the hustle and bustle of people, there is no society there. The people do not get along, and there are no genteel good manners or kind spirits. However, the entire house seems to be under the same spell, all the people are surely and unkind, ...

Global Economic Freedom is an issue that we as conscious business people should be aware of. It is not enough just to know the rules and laws that govern the economic system in ones own country.

Global Economic Freedom is an issue that we as conscious business people should be aware of. It is not enough just to know the rules and laws that govern the economic system in ones own country. Global Economic Freedom is an issue that we as conscious business people should be aware of. It is not enough just to know the rules and laws that govern the economic system in one's own country. With the continued expansion in global business it is almost certain that a business dealing with foreign countries will need to have a general idea about the foreign countries economic system and the general rules and laws that govern that economic system. Depending on the country's economic system, whether it is free or not, can have a substantial impact on whether a business can be profitable in a foreign country and therefore will have an influence over whether a company operates or has business relations in a specific country.With this in mind I will discuss what Economic Freedom is and will also examine the national economies of the United Kingdom, which is ranked economically free at #7, and Iran, which is ranked economically repressed at #151.Iran - Dans le dà ©sert, montagnesI will examine these countries by comparing and contrasting the two to determine why the United Kingdom is economically free and why Iran is not economically free.Economic Freedom is defined by the Wall Street Journal as "the difference between financial poverty and financial prosperity." An easy way to understand this concept, as illustrated by the Wall Street Journal, is to look at the Gross Domestic Product per-capita incomes of the countries in question and compare the two. According to the article "Who's Free, Who's Not" in the November 1, 2000 issue of the Wall Street Journal, a repressed economic country's GDP per-capita income is around $2,800 per year compared to the GDP per-capita income of an economically free country, which is around $21,200 per year. If we look at the countries under examination we see that...

GMO Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

GMO - Essay Example Unfortunately, majority of the people were against their existence in the country and made pleads to the government for them to be extremely regulated or better still completely banned. Consequently, it should be noted that as of now, Genetically Modified Organisms such as plants have both pro and cons that should be critically analyzed before they are let to be used in a particular countries or otherwise. Basically, Genetically Modified Organisms (plants) are denoted as crops that are generated for the sole purpose of making easier consumption by human beings and animals where the latest molecular techniques in biology are used. For instance, plants geneticists are responsible for the isolation of genes that are said to bring about drought tolerance and replace with those that are drought resistance (FAOUN 5) In this regard, the emergence and continuous existence of the Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) plants could only be deemed as proper and as such should be allowed across the world. Scientists have continually argued that, it is through the use of such plants that the world will experience the impact of technology and the increase in food availability. Of most importance is that since the inception of these plants, it is believed that the world’s population has increased with approximately six billion people and it is believed that trend will continue in the next few years. FAOUN (7) argues that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) have been confirmed as been resistant to pest. For instance, it has been affirmed that losses emanating from insect pests have adversely impacted farming negatively through financial losses and lack of adequate food in developing countries. Similarly, these organisms have also been confirmed to have disease tolerance particularly in viruses, bacteria and fungi which are known to facilitate diseases in most crops leading to reduced yields. Another aspect that should encourage the continuous

How to contribute to a community of difference and being a global (See Essay

How to contribute to a community of difference and being a global (See Guideline) - Essay Example As a means of this reality, it is incumbent upon the individual who wishes to integrate key level of change to understand that such a level of change does not only impact upon their own local community, it has global impacts in ramifications. In such a way, this brief analysis will discuss some of the key ways in which an individual can interact with different people, cultures, politics, and/or ideas as a means of effecting positive and lasting difference within the global environment. Furthermore, if brief discussion of what it means to be a global citizen in some of the ethical constraints that that’s necessarily entails will also be discussed. One of the most important means of contributing to a lasting degree of change and difference within the world is perhaps with regards to the video featuring Sir Ken Robinson available from TED. Although the video in question was specifically interested in education and the means by which future generations are being prepared for the c hallenges that await them, the reality of the fact is that this subject matter is applicable to all individuals (Garr et al, 2012). Ultimately, as a means of making sense of an increasingly complex world in which fewer and fewer elements of knowledge can be obtained and leveraged by anyone individual, society and the education system as a whole have sought to limit and ultimately constrain the extent to which individuals are exposed to certain ideas and/or types of education. However, such an approach is damaging due to the fact that it restricts the potential that the creative young minds could bring to a world that they might otherwise engage with a more complete approach. In short, although the impacts upon students are most definitive, such a faulty approach also impacts upon adults due to the fact that encourages each and every member of society to limit and constrain their worldview into a shallow rather presumptuous model of limited understanding. Similarly, another means by which the global citizen and seek to integrate change of a systemic level is with regards to the level and extent to which he/she understands the far-reaching replications of choices and models by which they ascribe to follow. What is meant by this is the fact that an appreciation for culture and key differences with regards to individual backgrounds and ethnicities is necessary for any change model to work effectively (Hornstein, 2012). As a corollary, the reader can easily understand the situation in which a simplistic model of changes advocated however, it is completely and entirely unsuited to key realities that exist in different parts of the world, different religions, different political associations, or different ethnicities/racial backgrounds. As a means of being mindful of such a reality, it is necessary for the global citizen/individual agent of change to perennially be mindful of the means by which such realities can impact upon their decision and framework. Finally, it must be understood that due to the fact that so many issues face the current generation means by which change can and should

Terrorist Techniques - Ideology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Terrorist Techniques - Ideology - Assignment Example The new and prospective recruits will have to undergo a number of tests during the recruitment process in order to a certain their conviction to join our group. Since the recruitment process normally takes one to two weeks, we will engage ourselves in robust recruitment process before we make plans on any attack. The new recruit must be ready to conduct suicide bombings and massacres, as these are one of the ways through which we spread our ideology (Hoffman, 2006). Since our diehard members will be conducting the recruitment process, they will inform all the recruits of what lies ahead, especially using Tamil nationalism, Socialism, Separatism, Left-wing nationalism as the primary ideologies of recruitment. All the recruits must understand that we are a legitimate and genuine group out to fight for our rights and the rights of the greater Tamil people. With this in mind, the recruits will register in our offices that are distributed all over the Eastern and Northern Provinces of Sri Lanka (Gill, Sahni, & Institute for Conflict Management, 2002).   We plan to spread secessionist propaganda to Europe, Canada, USA, Australia, India, and Malaysia in order to receive funding and military equipment. Presently, we have heavy military artillery that we recently acquired from our affiliates in Malaysia. In addition, we are currently actively involved in mass recruitment in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka where we have absolute control (Narayan, 2010). Since we run our own media, police, judiciary, and other amenities in such areas, we have achieved significant success as far as the spread of our propaganda is concerned. Besides, we have also used fear to intimidate suspicious or stubborn recruits. Since we murder those who refuse to join our group, our recruitment department had had the busiest season. Besides, LTTE is the most deadly and most respected fighter group not only in Asia, but

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMNENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMNENT - Essay Example tice that organisations can not operate under one of the two above in absolute terms and a common ground should be struck to realise the best results and harmony. This is the management approach that perceives that the organisation is a family-like setting and that the whole system is harmonious and integrated. In this approach the proponents are against the formation of trade unions or any activity that is taken to be disruptive (Charles & Simhala 1998). Therefore, all employees are required to be loyal to the organisation and that their interests and purpose need to be shared by all. In this respect harmony in doing ones duties is of huge importance as it is perceived to lead to the overall success of the organisation. The management takes all the employees and itself as a people working towards a common cause for the betterment of the organisation. In other words the entire workforce is supposed to work as a team and any objective that deviates and sounds to be conflicting is deemed negative or dysfunctional. In this approach the management is required to provide an environment that enhances communication between itself and the employees a nd among the employees themselves. Proper communication reduces chances of conflicts as the commonality of interest shall be achieved (Sonia 2000). This approach has a number of pros that make it popular especially in the human resource sector of the United States. First is that the system or approach encourages harmony and builds on consensus. This as described in its definition above takes the core and therefore the foremost reason behind its adoption (Ackers 2008). Harmony and consensus are achieved since the employees and the management are made to work together in achieving the organisational goals and objectives. As also highlighted earlier the improved communication among the various parties enhances good relations that endeavour to promote peaceful coexistence. Secondly is that the approach makes the employees become

School Voucher System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

School Voucher System - Research Paper Example Let us look at a graphical interpretation: Now, the initial equilibrium of education lies at the point S1 where the cost of education comes to $3000. Now, for this example we will suppose that the subsidy that will be provided, assuming that it is portable which would ensure that the sorting of schools in the city would not remain an endogenous variable in this matrix, will move the budget line from MN to M'N'. Therefore, with the voucher system the increase in education from S1 to S2 will cost around $200, an amount which will be covered by the subsidy that is provided by the government via this voucher system as the new equilibrium is now at S2. Due to the portability factor of the voucher i.e. the voucher can be used anywhere in the city, the link between the quality of the education that is provided to children and the location of the public school ceases to exist as families do not have to relocate to the urban city centers now in order to ascertain better levels of education for their children. Therefore, the role of u rban housing markets takes greater importance in the decline of cities with the implementation of this policy as the decision to move to an urban housing area does not remain dependent on the level of education provided by the schools in the suburbs. We will now look at an economic model which will shed some light on the role urban housing markets play in the decline for cities: As we can see from the graph, the supply curve of housing is defined from the equilibrium point determined at quantity Q1. This price is the minimum price level that can lead to housing construction which implies that if prices were to fall below the premium then no new housing would be built. Therefore, urban housing markets provide the greater supply in relation to the increased demand for housing due to which the equilibrium shifts to D1. This leads to the greater decline of cities as people move towards the suburban areas created by these urban housing markets. Final Remark: Moving on to the practical side of this discussion i.e. the expected impact of the voucher system on the decline of cities it is clearly evident from the fact that the quality of education plays a significant role in determining where people choose to reside and the voucher system provides an incentive to people which basically eliminates education as a line of argumentation in their decision of choosing their area of housing. In addition, as the proposed vouchers are portable, these can be used in any public educational institution due which there will not be much difference of quality between city schools and suburban schools, therefore, people will not be essentially hard pushed to level the city, due to which we can say that the voucher system will have a positive effect on the proposition of resuscitating central

English Composition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

English Composition - Essay Example She returns home, feeling as though she had finished play her role and must pass it on to someone else. What this shows is that by listening in to others, she is able to grasp a little in regards to herself. The point of view is third person, which means the viewing is limited. We are unable to understand how everyone else is acting in the park. The main character is Miss Brill, who appears to be a lonely woman who is fascinated by the world around her. She spends a lot of her time people-watching and inconspicuously blending in with others. The other two characters that had a significance were the young couple; all that could be gathered about them is their dislike for how very few young people were at the park. The other characters consisted of the rest of the park-goers, minding their own business and doing their own thing. The short story takes place in a cheery, bright park on a slightly chilly autumn afternoon. The conflict, however, contradicts the setting. When Miss Brill first comes, she sits and ponders the amount of old people on that particular day. She separates herself from the rest of them, finding them to just be other interesting specimens in her people-watching. After the arrival of the young couple, though, they make her feel as old as she made the other park patrons out to be. She feels the urge to cry, but insists that it is something else. This does not last long, and she eventually gives in to the fact that she must have missed something this morning, something that had been there for a while but never took the time to notice. The dark, depressing conflict contrasted oddly with a beautiful Sunday in the park. The tone of the story was that of false hope. Miss Brill felt sad throughout the story, but kept calling it hope, or the need to sing. "And when she breathed, something light and sad - no, not sad, exactly - something gentle

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMNENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMNENT - Essay Example tice that organisations can not operate under one of the two above in absolute terms and a common ground should be struck to realise the best results and harmony. This is the management approach that perceives that the organisation is a family-like setting and that the whole system is harmonious and integrated. In this approach the proponents are against the formation of trade unions or any activity that is taken to be disruptive (Charles & Simhala 1998). Therefore, all employees are required to be loyal to the organisation and that their interests and purpose need to be shared by all. In this respect harmony in doing ones duties is of huge importance as it is perceived to lead to the overall success of the organisation. The management takes all the employees and itself as a people working towards a common cause for the betterment of the organisation. In other words the entire workforce is supposed to work as a team and any objective that deviates and sounds to be conflicting is deemed negative or dysfunctional. In this approach the management is required to provide an environment that enhances communication between itself and the employees a nd among the employees themselves. Proper communication reduces chances of conflicts as the commonality of interest shall be achieved (Sonia 2000). This approach has a number of pros that make it popular especially in the human resource sector of the United States. First is that the system or approach encourages harmony and builds on consensus. This as described in its definition above takes the core and therefore the foremost reason behind its adoption (Ackers 2008). Harmony and consensus are achieved since the employees and the management are made to work together in achieving the organisational goals and objectives. As also highlighted earlier the improved communication among the various parties enhances good relations that endeavour to promote peaceful coexistence. Secondly is that the approach makes the employees become

English Composition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

English Composition - Essay Example She returns home, feeling as though she had finished play her role and must pass it on to someone else. What this shows is that by listening in to others, she is able to grasp a little in regards to herself. The point of view is third person, which means the viewing is limited. We are unable to understand how everyone else is acting in the park. The main character is Miss Brill, who appears to be a lonely woman who is fascinated by the world around her. She spends a lot of her time people-watching and inconspicuously blending in with others. The other two characters that had a significance were the young couple; all that could be gathered about them is their dislike for how very few young people were at the park. The other characters consisted of the rest of the park-goers, minding their own business and doing their own thing. The short story takes place in a cheery, bright park on a slightly chilly autumn afternoon. The conflict, however, contradicts the setting. When Miss Brill first comes, she sits and ponders the amount of old people on that particular day. She separates herself from the rest of them, finding them to just be other interesting specimens in her people-watching. After the arrival of the young couple, though, they make her feel as old as she made the other park patrons out to be. She feels the urge to cry, but insists that it is something else. This does not last long, and she eventually gives in to the fact that she must have missed something this morning, something that had been there for a while but never took the time to notice. The dark, depressing conflict contrasted oddly with a beautiful Sunday in the park. The tone of the story was that of false hope. Miss Brill felt sad throughout the story, but kept calling it hope, or the need to sing. "And when she breathed, something light and sad - no, not sad, exactly - something gentle

FEMA, CDC and DHS Essay Example for Free

FEMA, CDC and DHS Essay Another example of disaster management through interagency methods include the co-ordination between the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These two have been working closely with state and local governments and relief organizations to remind residents and businesses in coastal areas to counter hurricane disasters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency a former independent agency that became part of the new Department of Homeland Security in March 2003 is specifically tasked with responding to, planning for, recovering from and mitigating against disasters. FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U. S. Fire Administration. The 1960s and early 1970s brought massive disasters requiring major federal response and recovery operations by the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration, established within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). There were hurricanes, earthquakes and floods. In 1968, the National Flood Insurance Act offered new flood protection to homeowners, and in 1974 the Disaster Relief Act firmly established the process of Presidential disaster declarations. When hazards associated with nuclear power plants and the transportation of hazardous substances were added to natural disasters, more than 100 federal agencies were involved in some aspect of disasters, hazards and emergencies. To reduce the complexity of disaster relief work, these agencies asked President Jimmy Carter to centralize federal emergency functions. President Carters 1979 executive order merged many of the separate disaster-related responsibilities into a new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA began development of an Integrated Emergency Management System with an all-hazards approach that included direction, control and warning systems which are common to the full range of emergencies from small isolated events to the ultimate emergency war. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11th focused the agency on issues of national preparedness and homeland security, and tested the agency in unprecedented ways. The agency coordinated its activities with the newly formed Office of Homeland Security. Today, FEMA is one of four major branches of DHS. About 2,500 full-time employees in the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate are supplemented by more than 5,000 stand-by disaster reservists. FEMAs mission remains: to lead America to prepare for, prevent, respond to and recover from disasters with a vision of A Nation Prepared. FEMA works in partnership with CDC. Together, they offer the Integrated Emergency Management Course (IEMC) which is a 4? -day exercise-based training activity that places public officials and emergency personnel in a realistic crisis situation within a structured learning environment. The course has been sponsored and conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) since 1982. In 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) incorporated a bioterrorism component into the IEMC. In 2005, CDC’s Coordinating Office of Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response allocated funding to the National Center for Environmental Health to add environmental public health elements to the course. Six FEMA/CDC IEMCs for Communities are currently being scheduled as part of a fully integrated partnership between CDC and FEMA. The course builds the awareness and skills needed to develop and implement policies, plans, and procedures to protect life and property by applying sound emergency management principles in all phases of emergency management. The course will increase the level of overall preparedness of participants by helping them understand the roles of environmental public health and other disciplines in an integrated emergency response framework. Additionally, the course will provide chemical, radiological, and natural hazard training modules and interactive exercises for state and local communities. The training program is meant for State, local, and tribal officials from various disciplines; public health practitioners; hospital staff and other health care providers; elected/appointed officials; management personnel; and media representatives. Here is an example of how FEMA(branch of DHS) and CDC are working together in disaster Management: When many victims of Hurricane Katrina returned to their homes they found themselves without electrical power. For residents purchasing generators to provide heat and electricity, the Department of Homeland Securitys Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) warned of the danger of running the generator inside the house or an attached garage or carport. Bill Lokey, FEMAs federal coordinating officer and Jeff Smith, state coordinating officer for the Louisiana disaster recovery effort, advised residents that the improper use of generators, other gas-powered tools and pressure washers can have serious results. The CDC offers the following cautions on the use of gas-powered generators: Never use generators, grills, camp stoves or other gasoline, propane, natural gas or charcoal-burning devices inside, or even outside near an open window. If you must use one of these devices, use it only outside and away from open windows. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gas you cant smell or see that comes from these items. It can build up inside your home or enclosed space and poison the people and animals inside. Exposure to CO can cause you to pass out or die. The most common symptoms of exposure are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. In addition, residents should make certain that their homes have a carbon monoxide alarm that meets current safety Underwriters Laboratories standards. FEMA and CDC warn that there is also a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning if gas ranges are used to heat homes.