FEMA Programs

FEMA’s (Federal Emergency Management Agency) â€Å"role in preparedness is to improve the citizens’ ability to respond to, prepare for, recover from, and prevent disasters† (Department of Homeland Security 1). According to the organization’s website, its vision is â€Å"A Nation Prepared†. The role of FEMA is to coordinate the federal government’s involvement in disaster preparedness.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on FEMA Programs specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Consequently, FEMA steps in when local and state authorities do not have the capacity to handle a certain disaster. FEMA’s main strength is that the agency is the most well-equipped disaster preparedness agency in the country. Therefore, the agency has the ability to marshal the necessary resources in times of disaster. FEMA’s preparedness programs are also effective because the agency operates indep endently as a branch of Homeland Security. Some of the preparedness programs that FEMA is currently undertaking involve readiness against man-made and natural disasters. One of FEMA’s weaknesses is that it lacks the capacity to be fully prepared against mega disasters and emergencies. This weakness prompted FEMA’s change of status from a fully independent body to an affiliate of the Department of Homeland Security. FEMA’s lack of preparedness was highlighted after the agency was overwhelmed in its response to the Hurricane-Katrina disaster. Another area of weakness for FEMA is the agency’s systemic shortfalls that inhibit the scope of its preparedness programs. These systemic incapacities include FEMA’s affiliation to the Department of Homeland Security, its regional presence across the country, and its grant allocation modalities. The opportunities that can eliminate these weaknesses include Congress legislations and a redefinition of FEMA’ s institution. Legislations have the ability to improve FEMA’s preparedness programs. The National Response Framework (NRF) is a representation of â€Å"the guiding principles that enable all response partners to prepare for and provide a unified national response to disasters and emergencies – from the smallest incident to the largest catastrophe† (Nicholson 79). The NRF is a recognized set of guidelines that defines how all citizens should respond to a disaster as a nation. The NRF came about as an initiative of the Department of Homeland Security and its aim was to unify the country’s domestic preparedness and response. NRF utilizes the nation’s NIMS (National Incident Management System) and ICS (Incident Command System) to implement disaster response in any administrative level and at any given time.Advertising Looking for essay on homeland security? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More NRF op erates under five distinct principles including tiered response, engaged partnership, scalable operations, readiness to act, and united effort. These principles tend to enhance the partnership between NRF and local communities. Communities across the country utilize the NRF by aligning their activities with those of the government. Consequently, communities will align their response programs, resources, and support mechanisms with government-led initiatives. The NRF is quite effective when delivering its services. The NRF has managed to bestow citizens with an active role in disaster preparedness. The partnership between communities and the NRF is indiscriminate in nature. Furthermore, the NRF is a representation of the citizens’ need to take charge in preparedness matters (Waugh and Streib 138). Previously, the responsibility of preparedness was solely bestowed upon the government and other units of administration. However, due to the NRF citizens are now actively involved i n disaster response programs. For example, American citizens have been actively involved in several hurricane-disaster responses over the last decade. Most natural and man-made disasters can be traced back to poor management of the environment and global warming. Forestry management has been known to limit the extent of disasters both directly and indirectly. For instance, the impact of the 2004 Tsunami disaster was largely reduced by mangrove forests and other coastal tree plantations that slowed down the tidal waves. Forestry management has a significant impact on the context of forest fire disasters. Forest fire disasters can be significantly reduced by good forestry management practices. Good forestry management practices include a protection of the undergrowth, use of segments that can institute control burn strategies, adequate firefighting resources, use of forest-fuel modification systems, and installment of quick forest fire detectors. Communities that are afflicted by natu ral disasters such as Tsunamis, floods, and forest fires should take good forestry-management initiatives. Controlled burn is a strategy that is used to reduce the impact of fire disasters (Dale 730). Control burns are intentional man-made fires that are meant to reduce fuel for disastrous fires.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on FEMA Programs specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The advantages of the control burn strategy include its effective and inexpensive nature. However, controlled fires are disadvantageous because they are not always controllable and they can still end up being disastrous. Furthermore, control burn strategy is not environment-friendly. Works Cited Dale, Virginia. â€Å"Climate Change and Forest Disturbances.† BioScience 51.9 (2009): 723-734. Print. Department of Homeland Security. Federal Emergency Management Agency. 01 Jun. 2014. Web. https://www.fema.gov/. Nicholson, William. Emergency response and emergency management law: Cases  and materials, New York, NY: Thomas, 2003. Print. Waugh, William L., and Gregory Streib. â€Å"Collaboration and leadership for effective emergency management.† Public Administration Review 66.1 (2006): 131-140. Print. This essay on FEMA Programs was written and submitted by user Selah Vang to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Marks and Spencer Group Plc The WritePass Journal

Marks and Spencer Group Plc Introduction Marks and Spencer Group Plc IntroductionGenderManagementOrganisational CultureConclusions and RecommendationsReferencesRelated Introduction The objective of this paper is to provide an analysis of how three important organisational theories are applied in practice at Marks and Spencer Group Plc, herein referred to as â€Å"Marks and Spencer†. The organisation is U.K giant retailer of clothing, apparel and food items. Its shares are traded on major stock exchanges across the world and it is a member of the FTSE 100 Index. The paper looks at specifically how gender, organisational control theory and management theory are applied in practice at Marks and Spencer. The rest of the paper is organised as follows: section 2 provides a discussion of gender theory and how it is applied at Marks and Spencer; section 3 looks at Management and its application at Marks and Spencer; section 4 looks at Organisational culture and its application at Marks and Spencer; and section 5 provides conclusions and recommendations. Gender In the earlier years, the work force of many organisations was dominated by men. However, recent years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the labour force participation rate of women (Campo et al., 2004). Wagener et al. (1997) observes that the labour force participation rate of women has increased by 173 per cent since 1950. Despite the increase in the number of women in the labour force, evidence suggests that differences continue to exist between the experiences encountered by men and women at work (Reskin and Padavic, 1994; Valian, 1998). Many organisations are said to be characterised by gender inequality where women and men are treated differently. The main forms of gender inequality at work include differences in the types of jobs occupied by men and women, differences in pay between men and women and differences in leadership roles between men and women (Campo et al., 2004). The foregoing suggests that many organisations continue to practice gender segregation, which is defined as â€Å"the process whereby men and women work in different types of jobs and further that hobs where women predominate tend to be devalued† (Campo et al., 2004: 586). Most often women tend to have different experiences with respect to pay, promotion and decision making even in situations where women and men have the same job title (Messing et al., 1994). Women with the same education, job training and experience are offered less pay (Valian, 1998). In addition, most leadership positions are occupied by men (Wright, 1997). Catalyst (1998) provides evidence that 90 per cent of executive positions in top 500 firms are occupied by men. Despite the increase in the participation rate of women in the work force, most of the benefits associated with working accrue to men with a very limited amount of benefits accruing to women. Theory seems to suggest that women and men are treated differently in organisations. This paper provides an evaluation of gender inequalities at Marks and Spencer. At Marks and Spencer, job recruitment policies are the same for both males and females. There is no gender segregation with regards to who is qualified to apply for a job. In addition, Marks and Spencer does not segregate with respect to pay rates between males and females. All workers are treated the same when it comes to pay regardless of whether they are male or female.   Consequently, the gender segregation theory proposed above appears not to be applicable at Marks and Spencer at least with respect to recruitment, training, selection, induction and pay. There however, seems to be some level of segregation when it comes to leadership roles. At Marks and Spencer, most executive positions are occupied by Men with very limited number of executive positions occupied by women. Secondly, the board of directors is dominated by men. This suggests that while Marks and Spencer does not segregate with respect to lower level roles, there is some level of gender segregation when it comes to high level positions such as being a CEO and chairman of the board of directors. Management Management is employed in organisations as a means of bringing people together and ensuring that they work to accomplish the objectives of the organisation through an effective and efficient utilisation of the organisational resources. Management has a number of functions which include: planning, organising, leading, staffing, controlling and directing. In order to effectively carry out these functions, most organisations have three principal levels of management. These include top level managers, middle-level managers; and lower level managers (Juneja et al., 2011). Top level managers are made up of the board of directors (BoD), the Board chairman, the vice chairman and the CEO. Top-level managers are responsible for determining the goals and objectives of the organisation as well as designing and appropriate strategy to achieve those goals and objectives. Top level managers also design company policies, as well as make decisions with regards to the direction of the business. Top level managers are also responsible for securing access to funds necessary for executing the strategic plans of the organisation (Juneja et al., 2011). Top level managers report to shareholders and are also accountable to the general public. Top level managers must have a detailed comprehension of the impact of competition, global economies, politics and sociological changes on the organisation’s effectiveness (Kleiman, 2010). Knowledge of these issues enables them to adapt the strategy of the organisation to changes occurring within and outside the environment. Middle level managers are usually regarded as general managers, branch managers and heads of departments. Middle level managers are responsible for making tactical decisions. They are the ones who execute the strategies set by top level managers. They are also responsible for transmitting information from top level managers to lower level managers so as to ensure that they are working towards the common goals of the organisation. Middle level managers report to top-level managers. Lower (first) level managers are responsible for operational decisions. They are made up of supervisors, team leaders and foremen. Members of this level of management are primarily concerned with controlling and directing other employees. Their main responsibilities include the assignment of tasks to employees, guidance and supervision of employees, ensure that quality and quantity of production is achieved, recommend and suggest changes with regards to employees and production to middle level managers for subsequent transmission to top-level managers. Marks and Spencer has all three levels of management. The company has a board of directors made up of executive and non-executive directors. The non-executive arm of the board is headed by the chairman who is also the chairman of the entire board. The CEO who is also a member of the board is in charge of the executive directors. The Board of Directors of Marks and Spencer are responsible for setting the strategic plans and monitoring and devising strategies to manage risks. Marks and Spencer operates a number of divisions such as clothing, food, and apparel. Each division is headed by a middle level manager. In addition, Marks and Spencer operates across different regions. These different regions are headed by branch or regional managers who can be regarded as middle level managers. These managers are responsible for making tactical decisions. Marks and Spencer also has first or lower level managers who usually operate as store managers. They are responsible for supervising and direc ting employees on a day-to-day basis. These managers report to the divisional and regional managers who in turn report to the top level managers. It can be observed that management at Marks and Spencer is consistent with the description of the different levels of management discussed earlier. Organisational Culture Organisational culture has been defined in a variety of ways. One of the most commonly cited definitions is found in Baumgartner and Zielowski (2007: 1323) who describes organisational culture as a concept that is â€Å"holistic, historically influenced, related to anthropological concepts, socially constructed, soft, and relatively stable†. A more comprehensive definition is found in Johnson et al. (2008: 189) who state that organisational culture is â€Å"the basic assumptions and beliefs shared by members of the an organisation, that operate unconsciously and define in a basic taken-for-granted fashion an organisation’s view of itself and its environment†. Lundberg (1990: 20) suggests that organisational culture can be regarded as what an organisation teaches and reinforces to its members as proper ways of perceiving, thinking, feeling and acting when carrying out organisational tasks as well as when faced with crises in the organisation. Organisational cultur e is a direct result of the internal and external environment in which the organisation operates (Baumgartner and Zielowski, 2007). An organisation’s emerging patterns of success are important foundations for its culture. Emerging patterns of success can be regarded as those actions and processes that have enabled the organisation to be successful (Baumgartner and Zielowski, 2007). Organisational culture is critical for the design and implementation of corporate and business level strategies. Organisation culture shapes the procedures of the organisation (Yilmaz and Ergun, 2008). Organisational culture enables an organisation to group its core competencies into a single group of competencies thereby enabling the organisation to better serve its customers (Yilmaz and Ergun, 2008). Strategy formulation and design depend on organisation culture in that factors such as creativity, innovation and organisational structure depend in part on the culture of the organisation (Judge et al., 1997; Martins and Terblanche, 2003). Any organisation that wants to remain competitive must be creative and innovative. These two components must be incorporated into the corporate strategy of the organisation. The organisational culture has a critical role to play in determining whether the organisation will be creative and innovative. In other words an organisational culture that promotes creativity and innovation is required if the organisation is to remain competitive. However, a culture that discourages creativity and innovation will result to poor performance (Martins and Terblanche, 2003). An organisation that wants to succeed must therefore adopt an organisational culture that encourages employees to be creative and innovative rather than a culture that discourages them from being creative and innovative. Organisational culture also impacts on strategy formulation in that it promotes internal integration and coordination. Internal coordination encourages new employees to socialise with existing employees. It also creates the boundaries of the organisations and a feeling of identity among members of the organisation (Martins and Terblanche, 2003). In order to successfully formulate and implement strategies, the organisation must conduct a cultural audit. This enables the organisation to understand its culture and thus assess its impact on the future strategy of the organisation. By so doing, the organisation can decide whether to change or continue with its existing culture (Johnson et al., 2008). An understanding of organisational culture also facilitates the ability of the organisation to successfully manage strategic change. The organisational culture of Marks and Spencer has the following characteristics: Paradigm: Marks and Spencer states that it is the best, sets the best standards, knows bests, occupies the middle ground, synonymous with high quality, and respects its customers. Power: the organisation is very powerful with deference to a male dominated top management. Organisation: the organisation is a mechanistic, bureaucratic, top-down and hierarchical organisation. control: top-down control in detail both of the stores and of suppliers; insistence on conformity. Rituals and Routines: There are a number of rituals and routines where every employee knows his or her place, the store layout and the atmosphere is like a familiar to everybody. Story: the company has build a legacy which can based on its history. For example Simon Marks. These legacy has enabled it to gain power over suppliers. Moreover, top management have authority over lower level staff. Symbols: Marks and Spencer has a number of brands (e.g., the St Michael Brand) which and symbolic to it. In addition Simon Marks and CEOs appear as father figures. Finally, all its stores are identical in appearance. It can be observed from above that Marks and Spencer has a traditional and formal way of doing things as reflected in its organisation culture. The organisation is characterised by a huge amount of self-confidence. The system is an internalised one where everybody knows his/her place and role in the organisation. The advantage with this type of organisational culture is that in times of success, the organisation will continue to deliver high quality products to customers as well as success to employees, shareholders, and other stakeholders. However, by maintaining such a traditional and formal way of doing things, the organisation runs the risk of not being able to respond to changes in the environment which may be required to turn things around during a downturn. Moreover, in addition to making it difficult to respond to changes in the environment, such a culture may prevent the firm from seeing an emerging change in the environment thereby making it impossible to respond to the cha nge. Conclusions and Recommendations The objective of this paper was to understand how Marks and Spencer deals with gender, management and organisational culture. With regards to gender, much of the theory suggests that there are more women in employment today and argue that organisations continue to practice gender segregation where women and men tend to have different experiences at work. However, a review of the practices of Marks and Spencer suggest that Marks and Spencer provides equal opportunities for both male and female employees. The only area which seems to comply with theory is the fact that Marks and Spencer’s top level managers are predominantly male which goes to show that Marks and Spencer practices some form of gender segregation when it comes to organisational leadership. As regards management, Marks and Spencer has three levels of management as suggested by theory. Top level managers are responsible for strategic decisions; middle level managers are responsible for tactical decision while lower level managers are responsible for operational decisions. With regards to culture, Marks and Spencer has a very rigid organisational culture which derives mainly from its history. The culture has enabled Marks and Spencer to be successful. However, given the rigid nature of the culture, the organisation may find it difficult to manage an imminent change if things start to go wrong. In order to reduce its gender bias especially with regards to leadership, the organisation needs to relax rules that govern selection of members of the board as well as other top level positions so as to make it easier for women to occupy these positions. With regards to its culture, the organisation needs to make things a little flexible so as to make it possible for the organisation to respond quickly to changes within its environment. References Baumgartner, R. J., Zielowski, C. (2007), â€Å"Analyzing zero emission strategies regarding impact on organizational culture and contribution to sustainable development†, Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 15, pp. 1321-1327. Campo, P. O., Eaton, W. W., Muntaner, C. (2004) Labor market experience, work organization, gender inequalities and health status: results from a prospective analysis of US employed women  Ã‚   Social Science Medicine, vol. 58, Issue 3, Pages 585-594 Catalyst (1998). The 1998 Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors of the Fortune 500: Fact Sheet. Catalyst, 120 Wall Street, New York, USA. Johnson, J., Scholes, K., Whittington, R. (2008), Exploring Corporate Strategy, Texts and Cases†, 8th Edition, Prentice Hall, Financial Times. Judge, W. Q., Fryxell, G.E. Dooley, R. S. (1997), â€Å"The new task of RD Management: Creating goal-directed communities for innovation†, California Management Review, vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 72-85. Juneja, H. J. , First, H., and Prachi J.. (2011) Management. Management Study Guide. WebCraft Pvt Ltd, Kleiman, L. S. (2010) MANAGEMENT AND EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT Encyclopedia of Business Martins, E. C., Terblanche, F. (2003), â€Å"Building Organisational Culture that stimulates Creativity and Innovation†, European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 64-74. Messing, K., Dumais, L., Courville, J., Seifert, A. M., Boucher, M. (1994). Evaluation of exposure data from men and women with the same job title. Occupational and Enviornmental Medicine, 36(8), 913–917. Reskin, B., Padavic, I. (1994). Women and men and work. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. Valian, V. (1998). Why so slow? The advancement of women. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Wagener, D., Walstedt, J., Jenkins, L., Burnett, C., Lalich, N., Fingerhut, M. (1997) Women, work and health. Vital, Health Statistics, 3(31). Wright, E. O. (1997). Class counts, comparative studies in class analysis. Cambridge: University Press. Yilmaz, C., Ergun, E. (2008), â€Å"Organizational culture and firm effectiveness: An examination of relative effects of culture traits and the balanced culture hypothesis in an emerging economy†, Journal of World Business, vol.   43, pp. 290–306

Executive Summery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Executive Summery - Essay Example The business plan was developed with the aim of obtaining start-up financing through bank loans. Conservative financial projections indicate that the firm will incur a loss during its first operating year although it will show a tidy profit by the last quarter of the first year. The strategy is to increase the sales by 50% each succeeding year by hiring more employees and establishing two more branches within the neighborhood of the target market segment which are teenagers who ideally attend the same school and live within the same local residential area. This firm has a strong social orientation in the sense it will market these video games to make profits and also a social impact by positively changing the wrong public perceptions about video games as educational as well as entertaining to the video gamers. Towards this objective, it will work cooperatively with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the media, and advocacy groups to promote awareness of environmental issues like the global warming phenomenon and climate change (Pugari & Wright, 1999) by using social media marketing

Microsoft and Corporate Social Responsibility Coursework

Microsoft and Corporate Social Responsibility - Coursework Example From the study, it was identified that Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility is restricted to the United States and the developed world. Hence, it is recommended that Microsoft must focus on the developing world and create a global CSR and transpose it to local units within which it operates. It is recommended that Microsoft must institute a proactive system of monitoring the civil society to identify what is most needed in a given locale so they can change their structures to provide the best and optimal level of support to people who are in need. It is also recommended that Microsoft must set up a system of creating software for evaluating and reviewing the needs of companies in relation to keeping their carbon emissions low so that their clients will institute and integrate environmental responsiveness into their operations.As the paper declares the fundamental purpose of this paper is to assess the component of corporate social responsibility in Microsoft in order to deduce a model for the conduct of structured CSR in Microsoft. This paper will examine the current features of Microsoft’s strategic plans and how it links up to the different components of the organisation include the economic, political, civil society and environment. From there, the research will recommend a plan for the attainment of CSR standards and targets for the firm.  Microsoft’s mission is to enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential.

How does a biotic-energy company (from Germany) to entry Thailand's Research Paper

How does a biotic-energy company (from Germany) to entry Thailand's market - Research Paper Example Major objective of the study is to provide a research paper in order to explain how a German Biotic-Energy company can enter in the Thailand market. The research will focus on the cultural differences in two countries. Finally, the study will recommend the organization how to develop and practice the business strategies in Thai market to achieve a sustainable growth. German Biotic-Energy Company Culture Analysis Germany is one of the developed European countries. Economically it is the third largest country in the world. German Biotic-Energy Company is trying to enter in the Thai market. Therefore, it is important to conduct a culture analysis of the organization in terms of value, language, decision making custom and religion. Decision making of the German organization is slow and detailed process. The organization tries to engage all the internal stakeholders in the decision making process. The organization does not draw significant conclusions based on the unstructured and spontan eous results. The management of the organization gives respect to all of its stakeholders during the decision making process. The organizational business culture is well defined. The company follows strictly observed organizational hierarchy. The organization follows typical German business culture. The employees never integrate personal aspects in their workplace. German Biotic-Energy Company follows a professional organizational structure. In work place the employees try to give value and respect to their sub-ordinates. German people are strongly individualistic. The employees within the Biotic-Energy Company follow through thought process. German is the official language. Therefore, according to their culture and value, they try to share their views and thoughts in German language. German people always respect people of every religion in business or organization. Almost 30% of total population is Christian. Rest of the population follows other religion. German people are very con servative. German Biotic-Energy Company tries to provide value people of all religions and gender. It is important for the organization to analyze the Thai Business culture before entering into the Thai market. Several Cultural aspects in International Business Language, religion, values and decision making custom are the major cultural aspects that can influence or affect an international business. It is true that, the Western countries are diversifying their business in the Asian countries in order to access resources such as labor, land and capital in low cost. These are huge motivating factors for the organizations. But, several cultural differences between two countries can affect the business performance of the German firm in the Thai market. Religion Religious view of majority of the Germans is Christianity. On the other hand, majority of the Thai people believes in Buddhism. Therefore, different religion background can create huge challenge for the business. It is known to a ll that, religion is a sensitive intangible matter of human beings2. Religion can integrate or separate a group of people. More than 90% of total population practices Buddhism. The Thai people believe in peace and honesty. These people are strong believer of their religion. They follow each and every aspect of their religion in both personal and professional life. According to their religion, simplicity and free of desire will bring Nirvana or

Analysis of News Reports

Analysis of News Reports INTISAR SAIF SALIM AL HASHMI Hard News – Court Drops Murder Charges against Mubarak STAGE ONE Introduction Hard news is a term often used by media practitioner or journalists to refer to the fast-paced information that is worth appearing on the newspaper front, usually a headline. This does not mean it is a controversial one, with topics of interest like business, political uprising, new transport system introduction that will reduce traffic congestion and other international news. It is argued that what defines hard news is not about the controversy in the subject matter but rather what some will call fast paced or heavy reports on it that makes it hard news. The term hard news is not of scientific and can be traced back to have been first used by the US journalists to classify various types of news. Since then, the two terms have found their way into the academic circles being used in journalism. Schramm (1949) was one of the first people to document the types of news as hard news or soft news. In this work, the hard news chosen is the acquittal of former president, Hosni Mubarak of murder charges which hit the headlines this week. It was reported in almost all mainstream media in the world and for the purpose of this study, we have picked only the three Omani newspapers; The times of Oman, the Oman Tribune and the Muscat Daily. This news is going to be analyzed in terms of the already set principles that make it newsworthy to be printed in the headlines. These set principles include; timeliness, proximity, impact or consequences, prominence, conflict, human interest. Timeliness This is the immediacy of the news item. Because news, become outdated quickly, it is better if a hard news hits the newsstands immediately and it happened in the case in which an Egyptian court acquitted the former president on 29th November 2014 and the following day, the newspapers reported it. This was a timely reporting and on the part of print media. Proximity This refers the closeness of an event to home. The concern of what was going to happen to the former leader, Hosni Mubarak was something of interest to the whole Arab world. Since the beginning of the famous Arab spring, people in the entire region have always focused to the events shaping the politics in the region. This kind of news is closer to Oman and therefore qualifies under the proximity principle. Impact or Consequences The impact of his acquittal is seen by many as a miscarriage of justice to the families of those who died in the demonstration that saw the former leader ousted. Others also see it as a relief to his supporters since someone who has led a country peacefully should not be humiliated when he leaves power and they argue he should retire honourably. The consequence of the news serves as a warning to those who think they should shame a president who has devoted his time to lead his people. Prominence This story carried on the three newspapers is about a prominent personality, Hosni Mubarak and Egypt, which is known place with rich historical background ranging from history of ancient education to the Pharaos and the Pyramids. The country is well known for the continuous and persistent demonstrations that hit its cities forcing their president to resign. This news is definitely of interest to many readers. Conflict The newspaper article also shows some kind of conflict between the supporters of the former president and the relatives of those who died. The supporters see the ouster and subsequent humiliation of Mubarak as not worth since there has been no change to the problems facing them and in any case, it has just gotten worse. The bereaved relative on the other hand view this as justice denied by dropping the case of murder against him. Human Interest The news is of human interest in the sense that people would like to know how the Egyptian democracy progresses after the ouster of Mubarak and Morsi. In fact, democracy has not been granted to the Egyptians since their democratic leader was dethroned by the military and since then, there have been demonstrations after demonstrations. Grading of News In Terms of Accuracy, Clarity and Style Accuracy The reporters have done this work accurately bearing the power such reports have on the people. This is because what they write can easily influence people’s decisions. They have done it so accurately that what appears in the three papers have no spelling errors. The news also doesn’t mislead the public or distort what the court announced. Clarity Since newspaper reporting is different from an academic writing, it should be brief and to the point. This is because no one has the time to devote to the news except to obtain information. Looking at these news reports, they have been written with the clarity that the journalism approves. The writers seem to have the readers in mind by using simple language, short paragraphs as well as short stories while avoiding no bombastic words. Style The designs on the newspapers are done in styles that beckon the reader to buy. They are arranged in layouts that are attractive to the eyes and this has the aesthetic value and ability to kill boredom. It also assures the reader of the value for money when the paper is still on the newsstand. Even though the primary objective is to report the news to the people, the three newspapers have been done artistically that is different from the old type of writing. The different fonts have also been used to appeal to the buyer. STAGE TWO HAND WRITTEN NOTES AND FLOW CHARTS ON MAJOR INFORMATION ON THE THREE NEWSPAPERS. STAGE THREE My own hard news Hosni Mubarak murder charges dropped by Court HIS TWO SONS AND 7 COMMANDERS ALSO ACQUITED AS JOY AND JUBILATIONS RETURN TO EGYPT. MAJAN TIMES REPORTER CAIRO An Egyptian court dealt a terrible blow to the relatives of those who were killed during the uprising by declaring that the former Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak has no case to answer. Mubarak was accused of killing the protesters in 2011 during the uprising which saw the former president tender his resignation to allow the military takeover to manage a transition. His supporters went into jubilation when the announcement, which also cleared his former interior minister, was made. The judge also noted that charges should not have been preferred against the former leader. The relatives of those killed were not happy and one by one they started to assemble in the famous Tahrir square to oppose the move. They said this is a blow to the rule of law and miscarriage of justice. The sons of the former dictator, Alaa and Gamal, were also cleared of corruption charges. When a private radio station contacted him on phone in his hospital room, he remarked, â€Å"I did nothing wrong at all. And when the first verdict was read, I laughed.† Former president Mubarak The former leader also praised his three decades of rule which was what looked like a police state. There was heavy handedness in his last decade which saw many people with divergent views arrested and imprisoned. In his ruling, the judge said it was not fair to try him for the charges according to the penal code and insisted that there should have been no charges in the first place. Mubarak’s lawyer supported the ruling and added, â€Å"it is approved the Mubarak’s regime’s integrity†. This looks like the Arab spring and the efforts to bring democracy has been dealt a terrible blow according to some analysts. STAGE FOUR COMPARISONS BETWEEN MY HARD NEWS AND THE NEWSPAPER’S. One idea per sentence In the ‘Times of Oman’, the rule of one idea per sentence is adhered to since in the first paragraph, when the reporter writes about the court acquitting the former leader of murder charges on the 800 people killed during the uprising. Also in the second paragraph, he brings two issues but separates the sentences using a comma. This trend continues until the end of the story. In the Muscat daily, the same trend of one idea per sentence is maintained, separating the Mubarak acquittal, his ongoing imprisonment and the acquittal of his generals and sons. In the Oman tribune, the reporter maintained the one idea per sentence as we observe him writing about the dropping of corruption charges against the sons and separating it from the acquittal of the military generals so that these two or three ideas do not go into one sentence. In my own constructed hard news. I have maintained this journalistic requirement by preserving the one idea per sentence rule. Manageable sentence length (20 – 25) words per sentence In these three newspapers together with my own story, the sentence length is about 20 – 25 words at most. Though there are some sentences that are shorter than this but all the same, they are still comprehensible. I have also made sure that my sentences are within the same range of manageable length to avoid giving the readers hard time in comprehending the news. Subject verb order The subject verb order is observed in the following instances: in the Oman Tribune, â€Å" I did nothing wrong at all†, (The Oman Tribune 30 November 2014, p. 16) his lawyer Farid Al deeb said that the verdict was a good ruling in that it proved the integrity of Mubarak’s era. In the Muscat Daily, the sentences are of subject verb order for example, â€Å" the court also acquitted the ex-strongman of corruption charge†, (Muscat Daily 30 November 2014, p. 1) and the same trend can be identified in the whole story including my own version and even in the times of Oman. Use of strong verbs and active voice The tribune of Oman uses strong words such as ex-strongman, the Muscat daily also uses the same term but in my story, I avoided this because it may not depict what I really felt about Mubarak. There is a contrast between my view and that of the other reporters as it appears that he was just doing his own job. Without him, Egypt is not any better, it is worse than before. Use of simple and precise words There are very simple sentences which can be comprehended by any person who has learnt some English be it as a first or second language. The simple words like. â€Å"When I heard the first verdict, I laughed†, Rashidi also acquitted Mubarak of corruption charges for exporting gas to Israel†. (The Oman Tribune 30 November 2014, p. 16). Similarly, in my own hard news, I have written some short sentences like, â€Å" judge said it was not fair to charge him according to the penal code† Not more than three prepositional phrases per sentence. In these writings, like the Oman tribune script, we see sentence such as; â€Å" the court also acquitted the ex-strongman of corruption charge but he will remain in detention because he is serving a three-year sentence in related graft case†. (The Oman Tribune 30 November 2014, p. 16) They are only three in this case. In same news by the Muscat Daily, I met a sentence like; â€Å"seven of his security commanders, including the feared former interior minister Habil al Addy, were acquitted in connection with the deaths of some 800 people killed during the revolt† (Muscat Daily 30 November 2014, p. 1). The same prepositional phases are less than three. References Wilbur S., (1963), â€Å"Communication Development and the Development Process,† in Lucian Pye (Ed.) Communications and Political Development, NJ: Princeton University Press. Mass Media and National Development: The Role of Information in the Developing Countries. Stanford University Press. 1964. ISBN9780804702270. Roberts, D. F. (Eds.). (1971). The process and effects of mass communication (Rev. ed.). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. Appendix 1

Bungee Jumping :: essays research papers

Bungee Jumping Bungee jumping is a sport that has dramatically evolved over the past couple decades. Bungee jumping has evolved into a sport of art and thrill. As a tribal tradition, the ritual was soon incorporated with a bungee cord. Bungee jumping spread rapidly throughout the world, ever-growing in popularity. Detailed designs and engineering have helped to take bungee jumping to all new limits. An array of prices depicts a variety of heights, harnesses, and locations of sites. Bungee jumping offers many diverse medical advantages. New innovations in the bungee field have led to all new rides and adventures. Bungee jumping is a sport that enables a person to prove something to themselves, regardless of age, sex, religion, or race. Bungee jumping is based on an age-old ritual practiced by the â€Å"land divers† of Pentecost island in the South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu. Young men proved their courage by plummeting off giant towers. Every spring villagers there collect liana vines and wind them into long cords. The men then scale six story wooden towers, attach the vines around their ankles and jump. A successful leap is considered a demonstration of courage. In 1979, a bungee cord was incorporated with this tribal ritual. Members of the Oxford University's Dangerous Sports Club read about and designed a safe form of the practice. Atop the Golden Gate Bridge, dressed in tuxedos and top hats, the first form of bungee jumping came to existence. In 1987, bungee jumping moved to the American commercial scene. Two brothers, John and Peter Kockelman, began jumping from bridges over river gorges in the Sierras. Recognizing the sport's commercial potential, they opened Bungee Adventures in 1988. Bungee jumping spread rapidly throughout the world, ever-growing in popularity. Bungee jumping became national crazes in many areas. After the use of a bungee cord was thought of, the idea first spread through New Zealand. From here, Australia and France soon caught on and joined the sport. This new hobby, predominantly known and practiced only by skydivers, rock climbers, and other extremists caught the world's attention and spread like a wild fire. In America, bungee jumping was also proving popular. The first commercial bungee business began thirty minutes outside San Diego, CA. Commercial sites in Colorado and Utah soon began to pop up. Expansions of these businesses now help to cover almost every western state. Bungee Jumping's popularity has helped it to become an officially recognized sport. National Freestlye Bungee Championships are held each year and are broadcasted on a number of channels including â€Å"ESPN 2." Detailed designs and engineering have helped to take bungee jumping to