Muslim, Islam and American culture Essay

The main purpose of this paper is to explore the current experience of Muslims in America and the quest for clues as to the future interaction between Islam and American culture. In particular, I will concentrate on three areas: Islamic influence on the culture of Americans with emphasis on how it has affected political and social development; the interaction between Islamic traditions and American culture on the establishment of American Muslim Organization; and the social, cultural and educational trends among the Muslim youth in America. Introduction Whatever is happening to the Muslim culture in the American society and the American society as it interacts with the Islamic culture can only be comprehended by the conception of culture as a fluid entity that interacts and borrow from each other. It is important that any study of Islam in the United States must not ignore the interplay between religion and culture neither should it assume that one overwhelms the other. The experience of American Muslims puts into sharp relief matters of identity and assimilation and how they must be distinguished from the concept of values. Even with movements such as the Nation of Islam rejecting identification with the broader culture including some of the then dominant values, it accepted other values such as the work ethic and entrepreneurship. My argument is that this selective acceptance of American values was a result of a confrontation between Islamic values and American culture seen from the perspective of an alienated minority group robbed of its identity. The past few decades have witnessed the evolution of American Muslim organizations. The majority of these organizations until 1980s were mosques and even these were in few numbers. Today, there exists a number of formal Muslim organizations in various areas of endeavor. The complexity of their organizations and the extent of their influence are increasing. These organizations are increasingly fitting into the weave of American culture rather than become a bulwark against it. They in effect influence the ambient culture around them. The Muslim Student association is normally the root of Islamic organization among the immigrant population. The association’s alumni are in most cases found in leadership positions of the current wave of immigrant dominated organizations (Ahmad, 2003). The only Muslim organization with an immigrant composition until the formation of the Muslim Student’s Association in the 1960s was the Federation of Islamic Associations. This was basically an Arab-American organization founded on traditional culture rather than religion. The histories of Muslims in United States is varied with diverse and changing identities. The followers of this major world religion are not surprised at the processes of individual and community identity formation and change such as the ones that are being experienced in the United States. There were contending interpretations, social groups, and sources of legal authority within a century of the birth of Islam in seventh century Arabia. Yet, an identifiable fundamental Islamic way of thinking and acting, founded on the example and teachings of Muhammad developed over time. This core consists of the five pillars of Islam. With its expansion to new places and the subsequent confrontation of older religions, Muslim conquered or coexisted with such religions. Such regional interactions have influenced the ways in which this decentralized and non-hierarchical religion is practiced throughout the world. The religion lacks a centralized clergy and mosques operate independently of each other. With this regard, Muslims in the United States comprehend and practice Islam in ways strongly shaped by the American historical context. The universal Muslim community may be the goal sought by Muslims but the reality is that their everyday lives are shaped by group solidarity and experience. The United States Muslim community has been defined and redefined by voices both internal and external to Muslim communities. Those definitions reflect the complex relations among members of the ruling class and those being ruled in the American political context among other things. It is important to place Muslim communities in the socioeconomic structure of the United States when any analysis of the community is being done. Tracing their transnational networks and affiliations is also crucial. Muslims now comprises an important part of the United States society. It may be the fastest growing religion in the United States, poised to displace Judaism and become second only to Christianity in the number of adherents. This growth can be attributed to the rapid influx of immigrants and their relatively high birthrate. However, it is difficult to know exactly the number of Muslims in the United States. Distinctions An important distinction is made in Islamic law between the basics of fundamentals of jurisprudence upon which disagreement is not condoned, known as usul al-fiqh, and the branches or subdivisions in which disagreements and new and original problems and cases are permitted. There has however been disagreement concerning what usul is and what furu is in the long history of disputation, debate, and disagreement among jurists since the classical period of Islam (Elkholy, 2005).. The historical debate has often been about the use, authority, and interpretation of different sources of knowledge. In the United States today, the trend among the emerging spokespeople is to assign positive commandments of the law to one or other category even though they seem to assign more and more laws to usul and to disallow disagreement about usul, thereby restricting the scope for legitimate disagreement and discussion. There is also distinction between culture and religion. This distinction is frequently invoked as Muslims debate beliefs and practices that are accepted or unaccepted in Islam. There have been arguments among lay Muslims concerning the beliefs and practices that are fundamental to the religion and those that have accrued to it because of culture in one or another region. This issue has also been raised elsewhere by those individuals who see culture as having absorbed the function of religion such that religious difference now symbolizes basically cultural difference for the majority of Americans. Interaction between culture and religion occurs in every realm of American Muslim world. With regard to Islamic identity, America has come to be an arena for competing self images where religious authority and cultural preferences are mostly conflated if not displaced and de-territorialized altogether. Just as some scholars have identified the conflict over usul and furu, the conflict over religion and culture in the United States mainly centers on issues involving women (Waugh, Abu-Laban & Qureshi, 1983). Shared culture is more important than religious or ethnic diversity in determining gender roles. The conflict between parents and children, and men and women has been heightened up by migration thereby producing a rising rate of divorce. Alterations in traditional conceptions of the role of women is taking place faster in women than in men. The issue of dating is the most serious hindrance to the integration of Islamic religion and American culture. Personal relationships are considered highly by all human beings. To young adults, sexual relationships are extremely important and they are natural. Islam has never approved of sexual activity, always confining it to marriage. The American culture on the other hand has never been comfortable with the notion of sex. The notion of adolescence is one of the most serious flaws in American culture. The American society identifies as children individuals that previous cultures characterize as young adults (Haddad, 2004). Because of the role played by extended schooling in training young individuals for their place in the industrial system, young people of marrying age in the United States are discouraged from marriage. This denial of natural institution has resulted in fornication and unwanted mothers. The majority of Muslims have abandoned the marriage traditions of their homelands without embracing the American system, putting children in a difficult position at the time when their hormones are raging. Contributions The strength of the American culture lies in its respect for the individual, the flexibility of its civil society, and the restraints it seeks to place on the arrogance of political power. Its weakness lies in its vulnerability to sacrifice family and personal morality to the appetites of commerce. The religion of Islam, founded on the willing submission of the individual to the divine will can be an appropriate religion for such a society. The divine will reveals the principles by which the welfare of the individual and the community are harmonized. Muslims should therefore be able to find an important place in the American society using the framework of institution building and for individual advancement to make use of the strengths of the American culture and to help overcome its weaknesses. The major challenge to the integration of Islam with American culture is managing to disentangle scriptural commandments from cultural accretions (Leonard, 2003). This may be achieved by Muslims owing to their diverse community, race, ethnicity and national origin that makes untenable the confusion of culture and religion that has marked the stagnation of much of the Muslim world. Beyond this, the rising number of Muslims that are born in America implies that it is only a matter of time before the Muslim community becomes dominated by indigenous Muslims who are already integrated into the American culture. As such, they are likely to have an American understanding of Islam in which case they will further its integration into and influence the American culture or they will lack good understanding of Islam at all in which case they will become secularized as the majority of Christians, Muslims and Jews before them. Summary The American society has to some degree been influenced by Islam just as the Muslim society has been influenced by the American values. However, there are no particular aspects of the holistic American culture that can be said to be adversely influenced by Islam owing to the communal nature of American Muslims. The influence of Islam on the Americans can also be analyzed looking at the various Muslim organizations within the United States as it is through this organizations that thoughts and convictions become shaped thereby infiltrating the general American society. References Ahmad, I. (2003). Islamic Religion and American Culture. Freedom Institute Elkholy, A. (2005). The Arab Moslems in the United States: Religion and Assimilation. New Haven: College University Press Haddad, Y. (2004). Not quite American? the shaping of Arab and Muslim identity in the United States. Baylor University Press Leonard, K. (2003). Muslims in the United States: the state of research. Russell Sage Foundation Waugh, E. , Abu-Laban, B. & Qureshi, R. (1983). The Muslim community in North America. University of Alberta

Responsibility of student Essay

â€Å"In the long run/ we shape our lives/ and we shape ourselves//. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make/ are ultimately our own responsibility.// (Eleanor Roosevelt) Being responsible/ is a learned behavior. Sometimes// we want everything to be easy. I often hear some students say /†Bakit may P.E tayo,hindi naman natin magagamit pag nagtrabaho na tayo†. We have so many complaints in terms our studies. As Mr. Olarte once said â€Å"Kapag nag enrolll ka siguraduhin mong papasukan mo yung mga klase mo.† Most of us /take our studies for granted/ not taking in consideration the effects of these actions/ to our future. So//, why do we need to take responsibility of our studies? They say /that education is not a choice//, it is a privilege.// We all know/ that not all students who finished their secondary education /can afford to take up college. Fellow classmates// we are very lucky to be here in SMU,// taking up our own choice of profession. So why we not taking advantage of this given opportunity? Many students don’t attend their classes. Some would prioritize playing DOTA,/ waste their time in drinking and smoking rather than finishing their school requirements. Some practice cheating and academic dishonesty, instead of studying hard for their exams. These irresponsible students don’t think of the consequences of their actions. And as a result? Failing grades and disappointment of parents. And yes//, later, regrets. Tons of them. By being responsible, accountable and dependable. I believe that every one of us could achieve whatever goals we have set for our lives. Just always remind yourself that every decision and actions that you will make entails a big responsibility. And as a student you know what your responsibilities are. We should be actively involved in the learning process and should behave appropriately for a learning environment. Attend all your classes and listen carefully. Put a sufficient time for your studies. And if you think you’re doing your best right now, then, strive harder. With all the temptations, hindrances, and problems towards education we should always bear in our mind that OUR OWN FUTURE LIES IN OUR OWN HANDS. Let us all be responsible and strive harder for our own success.

Made in china

I have never really been one for politics and economics.   Being neither a politician nor an economist, I have never really understood the mechanics of all these deals.   I have always felt that these things are better left to the experts.   Be that as it may, however, the effects and ramifications of all these economic negotiations and deals have invaded into my personal life.   I never expected it to happen but during a recent camping trip of mine I found out just what the trade relations between the United States and China really means in the life of everyday people. It started on a nice and sunny day in the middle of spring.   I was looking forward to the annual camping trip that I and my friends went to.   While we believed in roughing it, we also believed in living with a few luxuries that civilization had made us accustomed to.   In the spirit of â€Å"roughing† it, we had set a limit as to how much we could spend on the items that we were to bring on the trip.   The budget per person was around US $200.   We figured that by setting a cap spending limit we would stick to the bare necessities and experience what it was like to really enjoy camping. In hindsight, I realize that the budget of US $200 that we had set was pretty lean, to say the least.   We had to do away with the usual items that we were used to buying such as portable television sets and the like.   Yet, as we entered the camping goods store, we noticed something different.   There were now so many other cheap goods on sale in the store.   Needless to say, since we had a limited budget, we were overjoyed to realize that we could now splurge on a few more â€Å"essential† items for our camping trip. At the check out counter, we had purchased so many other extra goods.   Aside from the basics such as a tent, flashlight, lamp, sleeping bag and disposable dinner ware, we had also purchased a portable television set, radio speakers and electric generator. As anyone would have guessed, these additional luxury items were made in China.   We never expected that we could buy all these things at a fraction of the price that the same American goods were sold.   In fact, the thing that surprised us the most was the proliferation of these goods into almost every camping goods store in the vicinity. The real lesson on the impact of the United States and China trade relationship was not to be experienced until the camping trip itself. The first few minutes of the trip were relatively uneventful.   We unpacked the items and assigned members to handle the setting up of the various items such as the generator and the tents.   As soon as the basics were set up, we decided to give our new gadgets a go, so to speak.   The first item to screw up was the portable television.   After several minutes of trying to find the right signal, the television set decided that it was also a toaster and it began to emit smoke from the rear panel.   It was not long before the sparks started to fly. Much to ours surprise, the radio speakers soon followed suit, dangerously close to the sleeping bags.   Like clockwork, the generator also followed suit and soon all our made in China goods were either smoking or ablaze. We were left with none of the luxuries that we wanted and only the basic goods that we required for our camping trip.   While a few embers had fallen on the sleeping bags and the tents, they were left relatively un-singed.   The relatively expensive goods by comparison that were made in the United States lasted while the cheap goods from China had broken down even before we had begun to use them. It was that moment that I realized what was really going on in the United States and China trade relationship from an economic and political point of view.   The influx of cheap Chinese goods was a result of the open trade relations that allowed these goods to enter.   The expanded distribution was caused by the relatively low prices that these goods had. I also realized that these things were necessary because trade relations pretty much govern the political relations that countries have with each other.   In order for the United States to tap into the market of China, certain concession had to be made such as allowing trade reciprocity.   The cost of such deals, however, can really be experienced by the normal people such as me.   As the law of supply and demand shows, cheaper is not really better and quality comes at a price.   This I

Trade relations between USA and China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Trade relations between USA and China - Essay Example Ranging from the ongoing currency war to accusations of immoral trade policies, factors which have led towards this destabilization of trade relations are not only economical but, perhaps, have a political milieu too. Firstly, one of the major challenges faced by the USA-China trade is the prominent USA accusation of ‘manipulating’ the Chinese currency. Over the past few years, the official currency of China, Yuan, has been held in a floating exchange rate system; though it has only been allowed a narrow margin to fluctuate. Many analysts and economists in the USA however urge for a more flexible exchange rate which pivots around the market equilibrium determined by the market forces of currency demand and supply. Despite of the fact that Yuan has been allowed to fluctuate more liberally and has even risen by 20% in value against the USA Dollar since 2005, Japan, European Union and USA yet accuse China that it manipulates its currency by deliberately keeping it at a low exchange rate in relation to the USA Dollar with a view to make the USA products less competitive and, simultaneously, the Chinese goods and services more competitive and relatively cheaper than the USA goods. This lowered currency rate leads to a rise in Chinese exports whereas USA exports decline. A large amount of trade deficit suffered by the USA in trade with China adds to the gravity of the accusation. Concerns for China regarding this issue are that the USA, World Trade Organization or APEC might impose trade sanctions on China for its ‘problematic’ currency exchange rate. These sanctions may prove very costly for the growing Chinese economy as the world’s second largest economy is principally led by mass amount of exports to its trading partners. Restrictions over free trade for China may cause the deceleration of its growth or may even put it to a halt. The trade balance between USA and China in 2011 exceeded $295 billion and any probable sanctions may d rastically affect this huge amount of traded commodities between the two giants. Moreover, China’s Current Account surplus has also been declining during the past few years and the consequences of USA pleas regarding the unfair trade advantage China has may turn the ‘already withering’ surplus into a trade deficit, whereas China may also lose its most important trade partner (Davis). The list of allegations upon China is elongated and does not restrict itself to the currency devaluation. China is also accused by the USA for adopting an unfair exchange rate regime. Yuan’s rate of exchange has been, contrarily to the US allegations, in conformity with the international monetary system which is operating at the time. Observing the variations from a fixed to a floating and then from the fixed peg to a basket peg, China’s exchange rate valuation has always been repudiated by USA. This might lead to a further withering of trade relations between the two n ations in the near future. (Moosa viii) Also, on the accusation list is the allegation upon China of piling up its foreign reserves. Again, the charge seems to be lacking ample rationality as any nation is allowed to purchase foreign currency reserves and to accumulate those reserves in order to minimize its risk of a speculative economic slump in the future. Similarly, China has done the same and has acquired pretty huge amounts of US Dollars in the

Sleep Paralysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sleep Paralysis - Essay Example Gregory Stores (2001, P. 21) argues that â€Å"the episode of paralysis may be accompanied by hallucinatory experiences or dreamlike experiences which can be very dramatic and alarming, sometimes including the appearance of people or creatures taking on a threatening aspect.† It was often believed until modern rationality took over the realm of thought in people that occurrences of such disorders were due to the influence of demonic and spiritual effect in vulnerable humans. David J. Hufford (1982), in his book2 exhaustively discusses this belief referring it to the â€Å"old hag† tradition that he learnt particularly form Newfoundland. Scientific theories, and approaches, on the other hand, have been devised with not one with solid hold on its understanding. In this paper, we shall make an attempt in understanding the phenomenon of sleep paralysis with various angles, particularly scientific and dogmatic. We shall try and find out its symptoms or the experience while it occurs and subsequently try to unveil its causes, scientific or otherwise. We shall then study its effects in human psychology or thought. A few direct experiences of people shall be quoted and a possibility of its cure or precaution shall also be analyzed before concluding. The occurrence of sleep paralysis is indeed intimidating and troublesome. It seems, to many, a trance-like situation where our body with its inability to perform movement or even to cry out for help remains still, as though spell-bound by some strange demonic or spiritual cause until we are relieved suddenly from a grip what was rigid and ominous indeed. It occurs just before we fall asleep or as we are awakening. Dr. Rose Windale (2008) in her website of health and wellness tips describes the experience as thus: â€Å"A person may struggle to breathe while experiencing sleep paralysis.

Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Environment - Essay Example These gases cause damage to the world’s flora and fauna. In addition, air pollution causes the following diseases; asthma, bronchitis, lung cancer and allergies. The use of Chlorofluorocarbons commonly referred to as CFCs is also responsible for air pollution (Khopkar 65). These gases deplete the ozone layer which protects the earth from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. This has largely contributed to global warming. Water pollution is another form of environmental pollution that the world is facing. Factories continue to channel their waste products into various water bodies like rivers and lakes. This has affected marine life. People in rural areas still bathe in rivers. This leads to water pollution and makes this water unsafe for human consumption. There are also other forms of environmental pollution that are damaging Mother Nature at an alarming rate. Noise pollution, light pollution and soil pollution are among them. Noise pollution is caused by cars, aircrafts, horns, noise from factories and loudspeakers. However, research has shown that motor vehicles contribute to about 90% of noise pollution (Khopkar 76). Soil pollution, on the other hand, is caused by acidic rain, the use of fertilizers and contaminated water. These substances contain heavy metals, chlorinated hydrocarbons, pesticides, hydrocarbons and herbicides which pollute the soil. One of the major effects of environmental pollution is global warming. Global warming is caused by the continued emission of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide. The effects of global warming include; rising sea level and melting of polar ice caps. This has put the lives of the people living along the coastal areas in danger. Through environmental pollution, the ozone layer is continually being depleted. Human activities such as the release of CFC cause the depletion of the ozone layer. The sun’s ultraviolet rays are believed to cause skin cancer. Due to the continued use of

Colonialism in American Literature of Vietnam War Essay

Colonialism in American Literature of Vietnam War - Essay Example The involvement of the American government in the war judged by critics slash historians as taking the nature of colonialism renders the bulk of American literature on Vietnam War as largely colonial in structure, content and focus. Michael Adas in his article, "A Colonial War: The United States' Occupation of Vietnam" argues and historically proves the colonial inclination and interest of America in Vietnam claiming that America veered away from its earlier anti-colonial position under Roosevelt then proceeded to support the continuance of French colonization in Indochina ( 29). In Adas's own words: In the next decade, three American presidents presided over an escalating political and military involvement in Indochina that had most of the main attributes of colonial interventions in the preceding centuries of European global domination. Defying the decidedly anti-colonial rhetoric of the Roosevelt years, they committed the United States to a massive colonial occupation in a postcolonial era. (29) Since the Vietnam War is the result of America's efforts to participate in the colonization endeavor of Europe in an era of decolonization, the subsequent literary product is essentially and categorically colonial. A colonial literature tackles and examines the issues arising from Imperialism such as the moral dilemma(s) of the colonizer or the imperialist as shown in the essay "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell. In the essay Orwell recalled how as a sub-divisional officer of the town he shot an elephant in Burma to earn the approval of the Burmese and to "avoid looking a fool" (Hunt & Perry 295) even though he thought it wrong to deliberately kill the beast. George Orwell's personal essay demonstrates how an imperialist system morally confuses the colonizer or the member of the colonizing nation who believes that imperialism is "an evil thing" (289) but on the one hand because of a sense of nationality is forced to play his or her part as the oppressor. One of the defining characteristics and key quality of a colonial literature is its denunciation of colonialism and its negative impact both on the colonizer and the colonized. It is highly critical of the system of imperialism, noting the impartiality in the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed with the oppressor receiving most of the gains while the other party suffers and gets traumatized. Colonial literature discusses the social, economic and psychological implications or consequences of colonialist experience. In structure, colonial literature is "characterized by a strong sense of ambiguity: uncertainty about the morality of imperialism about the nature of humanity, and about the continuing viability of European civilization" ("Colonial Literature" 1). Through its form, colonial literature exposes the contradictions, paradoxes and ironies of imperialism. American Literature of Vietnam War is Colonial in theme, content, structure and focus Novels A.) Robert Olen Butler (The Alleys of Eden) 1981 This fictional narrative centers on Clifford Wilkes, an American soldier trapped in Saigon at the closing of the Vietnam War. In part, it is a romantic tale with Lanh, a Vietnamese lass, serving as his love interest and partner for nearly five years. Clifford's love for Lanh is keeping him from seeking refuge in the United

Prop13, 98 Serrano vs. Priest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Prop13, 98 Serrano vs. Priest - Essay Example Serrano vs. Priest ruling called for an equalization of the rates at which the property was taxed and the expenditure incurred per pupil. Serrano vs. Priest highlighted the pressing educational issues of its times like the impact of the class differences and racial discrimination on the fundamentality of public education (Regalia). This ruling came down heavily on the instances of tax-base disparities translating into inequities in the educational expenditures per pupil in different neighborhoods (Regalia). There is no denying the fact that pragmatically speaking, this ruling has failed to achieve its objectives. However, this decision certainly laid down the fundamental principles that were to guide the quest for educational equity in the state. Precisely speaking, it invalidated the educational inequities emanating from class and race differences and ushered in the principle of justice in the education system. Prop 13 is primarily a tax law that was voted on and passed by nearly 65 percent of the voters in California in 1978. Prop 13 reduced the tax accruals to the state by 57 percent (authorSTREAM). This directly translated into a dire shrinkage in the tax revenues accessible to the school districts. Prop 13 reverted the property assessments back to the 1976 values and capped at no more then 1 percent of the property value (authorSTREAM). It set a limit on the valuation of property to be 2 percent per year, unless a property was sold (authorSTREAM). In case a property was sold, it was to be reassessed at its value at the time when it was sold, tagged to a 2 percent tax cap (authorSTREAM). Prop 13 required all the state taxes to be ratified by a two-thirds majority in the legislature and all the local taxes by a two-thirds majority of the people (authorSTREAM). Prop 13 jeopardized the education system in California by subjecting it to neo liberalist economic values and relatively conservative social

Biology Research Paper on Galactosemia Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Biology on Galactosemia - Research Paper Example The malfunctioning enzyme There are three forms of galactosemia; these include galactose-1, uridyl 1, and classic galactosemia, which is the most severe and common form of galactosemia. The human body breaks down lactose into galactose and glucose and these sugars are used for energy. People with galactosemia have the malfunctioning of the enzyme known as GALT, which helps in breaking down galactose. Defects in the metabolism of galactose lead to the buildup of toxic chemicals in the body cells. Classic galactosemia, which is the most common form, is transmitted through an autosomal recessive patter. A child inherits one defective gene from each parent in order for them to contract this disorder. When a child inherits one mutated and one normal gene, he or she becomes a carrier (Thomas & David, 2011). A carrier has less than normal amount of GALT enzyme that is required in normal circumstances. However, they can be able to break down galactose, thus avoiding symptoms associated with the disease. Although this is the case, carriers have the capacity to pass on to their children the mutated gene. People suffering from galactosemia may entirely lack the GALT enzyme. The prevalence of galactosemia is 1 in every 20, 000 births. There is a likelihood of one out of four that a child will be born with the disease, especially in each pregnancy in a family where other members have suffered from the disease in the past. When an infant suffering from galactosemia takes milk, there is building up of galactose substances in the system of the infant. These substances may cause damage to the brain, eyes, kidneys, and liver. This means that people suffering from galactosemia cannot tolerate animal or human milk (Thomas & David, 2011). Symptoms of galactosemia The defects in the metabolism of galactose can lead to various symptoms, which include kidney failure, cataracts, mental retardation, enlarged liver, and poor growth. In most cases, the disease tends to occur in the first few days resulting from milk or breast formula ingestion. Patients with this disease may experience symptoms such as vomiting, jaundice, lack of weight gain, irritability, as well as diarrhea. In infants, the symptoms of the disease result from infection of the blood with the bacteria known as E. coli. Children may portray symptoms related to poor feeding habits, where they may refuse to take milk that contains a formula (Bosch et al, 2004). Another symptom of galactosemia includes convulsions, which entails the rapid shaking of the body uncontrollably. Galactosemia may also be accompanied by symptoms such as irritability in the patient, and especially children. They may become whiny, fussy, and fretful while suffering from the disease despite how much the parent tries to soothe them. Other symptoms of the disease include lethargy, tiredness, and drowsiness, as well as a feeling of lack of motivation and energy by the patient (Bosch et al, 2004). Diagnosis The diagnosis of galactose mia is done through blood tests, where the detection of the can be done by measuring the enzyme level in white blood cells, red blood cells, or in the liver. Patients affected by this disease lack enzyme activity; however, parents who may be carriers tend to have intermediate enzyme activity, which can be half the normal enzyme activity level. During the diagnosis of this disease, it is advisable not

Stop and Frisk Essay Example for Free

Stop and Frisk Essay New York City’s stop and frisk program is a practice used by the New York Police Department. This practice is mainly used on minorities which include African Americans and Latinos. The New York Police Department policy is highly criticized for racial profiling. Racial profiling is discriminating upon a certain race, ethnic group, or religious group. I personally believe that the stop and frisk policy is a privacy concern and should be abandoned by the state. The vast majority of people falling victim to this practice are law abiding citizens. Most of these people have done nothing wrong and police officers are using pure suspicion therefore violating the privacy act of citizens. I firmly disagree with this particular tactic by law enforcement, because it does not follow correct protocol. An example of this can occur as follows. I went to visit one of my friends at their apartment building. I came across an officer in the building on my way to my friends room. The officer stopped me and and questioned if I were a resident in the building. After I tell the officer no he informs me that he’s going to frisk. I did nothing wrong and still was stopped and frisked. I was completely innocent and going about my business. Additionally, Stop and frisk is a major privacy issue. New York City police officers are choosing to stop people based on race and not reasonable suspicion. They choose to pull over drivers who are mainly African American or Latino. Very little stops lead to an arrest. Most of the time the person is innocent and has nothing illegal on them. I believe that the citizens are losing the trust in police. They are losing all trust and feeling of protection because they fear of being stopped and frisked. I would not like being treated like a criminal if I were innocent too. Some of these people worry about being targeted by police on a daily basis. Jay Z an award winning artists, was pressured to back out of a collaboration with a store called Barney’s after it was accused of racially profiling two black customers. He had something  to say about this policy in a song called â€Å"Devil Is A Lie†. He rapped â€Å"You seen what I did to the stop and frisk Brooklyn on the Barney’s like we own the bitch Give the money to the hood, now we all win†. â€Å"Got that Barney’s floor lookin’ like a VIM†. Jay Z is basically saying he has the high end Barney’s store looking like the low end VIM store. He does not agree with the stop and frisk that occurred in the store and gave all proceeds to his charity. Furthermore , the aspect that I have gathered from this practice is that it lowered the crime and murder rate. I believe people are less willing to walk around with any sort of weapon on their person. The risk of carrying a weapon or illegal substance is too high. On the other hand people that obey the law regularly feel more safe. Which is how it should be. Stop and Frisk has so many repercussions to society. Many individuals who have experienced â€Å"Stop and Frisk† have said it is unethical. Many citizens feel as though they lose the sense of privacy. In today’s society privacy is important because people do not want everyone knowing their business. If people knew each others business then they would be extremely upset , which could cause uneasiness in a persons life and in social media. In particular, instead of stop and frisking NYPD should take a different approach. They should asses the situation with a level headed approach. Instead of racial profiling, they should give all citizens a fair shot. This meaning police officers should use proper judgement to law abiding citizens. Some judgements that police use are wrong and one sided because they think that minorities are always causing trouble. Police officers should use fairer judgement when making decisions on arrests. My uncle who lives in New York has fallen victim to stop and frisk. He says the officers are allowed to patrol the halls of private buildings and proceed with stop and frisk searches. He told me this is called â€Å"Operation Clean Halls†. This should not be allowed. In Summary, I think stop and frisk is ineffective. People are targeted wrongly because of what they look like. Many citizens should not be discriminated upon because of their race. It is an invasion of human rights if police officers stop and frisk. It is important that citizens know their safety measures. Stop and frisk should not be tolerated by american citizens.

Real Estate Investment Trusts in China

Real Estate Investment Trusts in China Real Estate Investment Trusts in China: how can we learn form American model to develop our REITs system? Ouyang Chun Abstract The real estate market is a burgeon market and is an essential part in the Chinese economy. During the past decades, the government made all their efforts to boost its development by using foreign countries experience. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) model is new method to finance for city development. Since 2007, Chinese government began to test whether this model is suitable for China. The paper addresses the situation of Chinese REITs and the factors influencing REITs operating in China. Using the American REITs model for reference, the paper also discusses how to solve this problems and how to implement REITs model in China. I. Introduction The real estate market is booming in these years, particularly in China. The demand of finance as well as the housing supply makes China searching for other more efficient financing methods to meet the increasing requirements. Recently, with the releasing of the law restrictions and the reform and opening-up, more and more diversified investment methods are being tested in China. The Chinese government is now trying to find a new financing method by learning from foreign experience and integrating it with the Chinese situation. The REITs is considered to be one of the most efficient and suitable investment tools in China. REITs first appeared in the USA in 1960s. With over 40 years of development, REITs was successful in America because of complete laws and professional evaluation agencies. REITs developed rapidly in both their size and numbers since 1990 in America (Chan et al., 2002), and now it is a very mature investment model in the USA, benefiting the individual investors by running properties under the professional institutions. A REIT is a mutual fund to collect money from both individuals and institutional investors, with the exemption of the taxation, investing to different categories of real estate projects in different regions indirectly, and it is also can be traded on the stock markets (Jones. C, 2007). According to the Baker Review (Baker, 2003), the institutional investors prefer to use REITs, which is a tax transparent investment tool, to stimulate and to improve the rent stock as well as to stabilize the market. This tax transparent feature means that there is no need to pay double tax on REITs. Since 2007, the Chinese government established some test spots by choosing several potential projects, examining the feasibility of REITs in China. However, almost all the tests failed by various factors. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the factors influencing the REITs adapted to the Chinese market. The paper also examines the experience from the USA, which has the most mature REITs model in the world, and contrasts with the Chinese REITs model. As part of the task, the paper addresses the countermeasures for the factors influencing REITs feasibility in China by giving the law supports, improving the REITs models and establishing the professional evaluation system. The paper first examines the definition and the properties of REITs and then addresses the current situation of REITs operation in China. It then considers the factors which influences why REITs did not particularly adapt to China before. The paper then introduces the experience of REITs in America and also the reasons making REITs successful in the USA. The final part of the paper considers the countermeasures for making REITs adapt to China in the future and draws some conclusions. II. The current situation of REITs in China In this section, the paper will first address the potential of REITs in China, giving some reasons why REITs is considered to be the most suitable financial tool in China. The paper will then examine the reasons influencing REITs developed in China since 2007. A. The potential of REITs in China The National Association gave the definition of the Real Estate Investment Trusts as followed (NAREIT): â€Å"[a] REIT is essentially a corporation or business trust that combines the capital of many investors to acquire or provide financing for all forms of real estate. The aim of REITs is to invest to the real estate market and to receive the returns, it just like the stock shares held by the investors, which creates the possibility to indirectly invest to the market with professional management. REITs is suitable for China because of its features, the liquidity, the diversification of risk and the available capital. The Liquidity of REITs is that it can be traded on the open markets just like the stock shares, which means that the individuals or the institution can invest to the real estate market even though they are not the professionals in this area. It also gives them a chance to withdraw their asset quickly when the market is depressed instead of the long period of the direct investment (Eichholtz, 1996, Hoesli et al, 2000,Walpole, 1999). Eichholtz also pointed out that (Eichholtz, 1996) REITs can diversify the risk of the investment. The capital of the REITs will be divided into several parts to invest in different category of properties and in different regions. The development in China is unbalanced even in the metropolitans. Thereby, REITs will spread the risk efficiently for the investors and improve some undeveloped area where the direct investment did not participate in. REITs welcomes all kinds of investors including the retails and the institutions. Because it does not need too much assets to involve, REITs may collects enormous money and becomes a non-ignored capital in the market (Walpole, 1999). REITs can be cultivated stronger in China because of the massive of the retail investors, thereby, the available capital of REITs may become incredible huge and will benefit substantially for the Chinese real estate market. B. The reasons influencing of the Chinese REITs Since 2007, the Chinese government set up several test points to examine whether REITs adapted to China, however, almost all the projects failed, which exposed many factors influencing REITs operating in China. The supporting laws and policies is non-enough. The Chinese government published few supporting laws or policies for REITs. REITs returns are mostly attribute form the exemption of the tax, but there are still not any policies or laws published to exempt the taxes of REITs, which makes the incomes of REITs are very low. Thereby, the investors in China still wait and see to determinate whether invest to REITs market. The complicated properties of the projects make the evaluation difficult. Due to the limited test spots, the competition in Chinese REITs was very sharp since 2007, more and more conglomerates joint or had a will to join at that time, the projects they brought to the test spots is significantly huge for the Chinese REITs system. There was not enough preparations for such big properties in this market, such as the laws, the regulations as well as the evaluations systems, which is considered to be the most important part in REITs investment, did not prepare maturely at that time. Therefore, as the test began, the problems appeared gradually, the valuation of the properties was evaluated incorrectly or the values of the whole project were not easy to evaluate which caused the investor was not able to grasp the information precisely. The unclear ownership of the Property Portfolio reduced the value of the REITs. After the project started, this problem appeared significantly, a larger of buildings which were prepared to be the asset pack existed problems, the use or the property of lands are not correct or the approval process is not complete. Such buildings are not allowed to invest to the Chinese REITs market due to the laws. Thereby, these problems affected the evaluation of the asset directly and also affected launching the REITs definitely. The rental fee can not be collected efficiently. The Chinese government established some development areas in the past decades, in which the investor would be benefited when they established the projects by some policies. These policies exempted the rental fees from their buildings for a particularly period, which effected the operating of REITs dramatically, because the most important factor, the returns, was affected. A non-returnable property would not make and profits for the REITs products obviously and would confuse the investor on how they would get their incomes after they invested, therefore, it would not be approved by the market definitely. Although there were many defects in Chinese REITs, we could avoid these disadvantages by using other countries experience for reference. The American REITs model is one of the most mature models in the world. Their development history, their REITs structure as well as the reason of its success are worth us to reflect our REITs model. III. The REITs model in USA and the analysis of the reasons of the success of RIETs in America In this part, the paper will analyze the reason of the success in the American REITs. The paper will first give a brief history of the REITs in the USA and address its structure. After that, the paper will focus on analyzing the reasons promoting REITs market to boost and boom in recent years. A. A brief history of the REITs in America The modern pattern of the REITs appeared by the Wall Street in 1960s even though the idea of it can be dated back to 1880s. In 1960, in order to stimulate the depressed real estate market, the United State published the Real Estate Investment Trust Act, which gave the supporting law to the new invest model (Klame. P et al, 2001). This Act defined the regulation of REITs and also gave it the exemption from the federal taxation, which means there is no need to pay the double tax while using this investment tool (Klame. P et al, 2001). REITs did not make any significant achievements in the first decades, but grew dramatically from the 1990s, in which erupted a housing market collapse (Harvard University, 2003). Due to the low cost of management and the diversity of risk, more than 200 companies in America invested indirectly to the real estate market, the total assets exceed $ 12,000 billion until January 2000 ,and now, the American public real estate market is the biggest and most mature market in the world (Klame. P et al, 2001). B. The current situation of REITs in America The structure of REITs investors in America are divided into three parts, 55% in the domestic institutions, 25% by individuals and 7% by the foreign investors (Friday, 1999). REITs benefit all forms of the real estate projects, such as office buildings, shopping centers and private housing (Klame. P et al, 2001). The aim for the REITs was first defined for the retail investors, but attracted the institution investor since 2004, which increased the numbers of the trades as well as the liquidity of the REITs (Chan et al., 2002). Moreover, the REITs investors in America can obtain about 90% of the income of the REITs and do not need to pay any tax from their incomes, thereby making the benefits they receive higher than the stock markets (Klame. P et al, 2001). C. The reasons of the success of American REITs With almost 50 years development, REITs in the United Stated became the most mature one in the world. The reasons for that are varieties. The first reason is the government published a lot of supporting laws. With these Acts, REITs developed rapidly. The REITs did not make many achievements at the very beginning, but the American government made all their efforts to push this investment method to success. With the Tax Recovery Act in 1986, the REITs in the USA first grew tremendously after experiencing the bubbles and the depression in 1970s. This Act weakened the limited partnership by restricting their tax exemption and cancelling the accelerated depreciation accounting method of the real estate. The Act also loosened the access standard of the REITs, which made the REITs companies not only owned the real estate assets, but also could manage the properties. Moreover, most of the REITs added the low debt provision in their organizational files, which would absolutely reduce the risk in operation. These changes attracted the investor to join this boom market and promoted the development of REITs. At the end of 1999, the most important Act, REITs Modernization Act, passed and published in 2001. This Act reduced the distribution proportion to 90%, and stipulated the companies could dominate the profits freely after they pay the tax from their un-distributed incomes. Therefore, REITs could use this profit to maintain the existing properties, invested to new properties or pay the debt. As a result of that, this Act increased the investment chance and promoted the business performance. These Acts helped REITs to become more flexible, more focus in customer demands and a more profit-seeking institution. The supporting laws and policies are definitely important, however, REITs needs more supporting from the financial system, and the evaluation system is considered to be the most important systems in REITs development. The evaluation system in the U.S. is quite complete. With the experience of over 100 years financial operation, the Americans accumulated substantial finance evaluation experience. When REITs started, the evaluation of the REITs products were not difficult tasks to finish. Almost all the REITs projects had been evaluated correctly, which provided accuracy information to the investors. Due to the REITs market is not difficult to enroll, most of the investors, including individuals and institutions, could operate readily when they joined the market. That absolutely promoted the REITs boom in the United State during 1990s. In addition, REITs companies in America invest to specific objects. Compared with China, the U.S. REITs concentrated in existing real estate projects, which means the companies preferred to operate the buildings rather than to establish one. That would absolutely reduce the risk for REITs, which attracted a lot of investors. These three factors motioned above supported the REITs developed very fast since 1990s and make it becomes one of the most efficient and mature REITs model in the world. The Chinese REITs may probably enlighten form these experiences and avoid the problems by learning their developing history. IV. Countermeasures To establish a relatively complete environment for REITs investment, China would probably benefits from the American experience. The paper will provide some suggestions which might helpful for improve the REITs in China. A. Exemption of the double tax of REITs As Chinese REITs markets were mainly affected by the investment environment, especially the supporting laws, the Chinese government could refer to the American model to release the law restricting gradually. The most exigent problem which should be solved first is the taxes on the REITs products. The American experience exposed that the transparency feature of the tax is the most important factor promoting REITs market boost. Without the tax transparency, the returns of the REITs would be very low. The Chinese government should use this experience for reference, exempting the double tax on the REITs, stimulating the REITs markets by raising the returns. B. Introduction for the public Due to the returns of REITs are a little bit higher than the stock markets and the investment skill is fairly easy to grasp, both the individual and the institutional investors would be willing to invest to this market. However, the REITs market was not flourishing as the exception, that is mainly because most individuals in China did not understanding what was REITs and how many retunes they could received by the REITs, even the specialists would not invest lightly due to the unclear information of supporting policies of the REITs. If the government really want to boom the REITs market, they should focus on publicize the REITs products to the citizen and publish the very clear supporting policies or law to enhance the investors confidence. In order to extent to market of REITs, it should absorb both individual investors and institution investor to join. However, the Chinese government paid more attention on the institutions instead of considering the individuals, which cause the ins ufficient funds of the REITs markets. Obviously, the institution investors are quite cautious and would not invest their money to the uncertain finance products such as REITs, which would directly lead the depression of the REITs markets and also caused a vicious circle : no investors, no money and no money, REITs market would not attract investors. To change this situation, money from individual investors is necessary because the asset from individuals is fairly huge in China. The government should use this kind of power, just like the U.S. model, to support the unstable REITs market at its very beginning. Using the bank sell model, which is just like the fund sell model in China, and minimizing the unit of REITs just like the American to create the chance for individuals to enroll. C. The clear investment aim The investment object is another severe problem in Chinese REITs model, REITs companies in China used to prefer invest to the big projects. Because the limitation of the test spots, the opportunities are very competitive. Most of the companies used their best properties to join this market, these properties are so huge that could not be evaluated very clearly before they used them to invest. Therefore, due to the unclearly evaluation of these properties, the information for the investors are ambitious, which would definitely cause severe problem in them investment decision-making. Moreover, REITs in China is a relative new investment methods for both individual investors and institutional investors, with the unclear information, investors therefore would not have a willing to buy this kind of finance products, they might consider that REITs is a very risky products for them to invest. That is also a reason why investors enthusiasm for this investment tool is not very high as the expe ctation. However, the situation in America is complete change. At the very beginning, REITs was considered to be a quite popular invest method, the reason for its depression is the only the double tax. Thereby, when the government released the tax and published some supporting laws to regular REITs, its market grew suddenly. That is because almost all the properties, which are provided by the REITs companies in America, were not very huge at the very beginning and were evaluated clearly before they came into the markets. Even some properties are relatively big, having been given exhaustive information for the investors. Therefore, investor could easily invest to these products with this information and would approximately calculate the incomes they would return. Such experience should be used in Chinese REITs market, establishing the professional evaluation agencies to provide the official evaluation reports to the investors, making sure the information they received is true and int act. That might greatly stimulate the investors confidence and give them a positive signal that the REITs is a fairly formal investment tools for them to choose. V. Conclusions The Chinese real estate market is booming these years, but it is by no means that all of the foreign finance methods suitable for China. When we want to use some advance experience to the Chinese market, we should consider it very clearly, not only learn the structure of concept of the new method, but also we may need to figure out the essential of it and in what situation we will use it. According to the REITs, we may understand that even its concept is fairly suitable for Chinese situation, the operation details is also quite difficult to follow. It might need several years to establish our own REITs market and to publicize it to the whole citizen. That is not the task which only to publish some REITs products, it is also a task to build a whole REITs system, including the supporting policies or laws, complete the evaluation system and extending the REITs spots. All of them need time to finish. Therefore, we could not run it so fast but to make sure every step is moderate and effic ient. In this circumstance, we may probably find some new problems and new chance for us to develop our REITs, and also we might discover some new ideas or methods to make the REITs more efficient and more suitable for China. References Barker, K. (2003) Review of Housing Supply: Interim Report-Analysis (London: HMSO). Chan, S. H., Erickson, J. Wang, K. (2002) Real Estate Investment Trusts Structure, Performance, and Investment Opportunities (Oxford: Oxford University Press). Eichholtz, P.M.A., â€Å"Does International Diversification Work Better for Real Estate than for Stocks and Bonds?, Financial Analysis Journal, January-February, 1996, pp. 56-62. Friday, H.S., G.S. Sirmans, and C.M. Conover, â€Å"Ownership Structure and the Value of the Firm: The Case of REITs, Journal of Real Estate Research, 1999, vol. 17, no. 1/2. Harvard University (2003) The State of the Nations Housing 2002 (Massachusetts,

The Foundation Of Cadbury Limited Marketing Essay

The Foundation Of Cadbury Limited Marketing Essay Cadbury dairy milk is the product of Cadbury which got launched in 1905. It is a great success for Cadbury industry .In the beginning the product is produced by keeping in mind the customer satisfaction for the product which should match the regional selection criteria and it should fulfil the need and demand and customer expectations. Cadbury also introduced chocolate in tins with unique pictures and paintings on each box, which started fascinating the customers. As an international brand Cadbury Dairy Milk carries the same distinctive image all over the world. Wherever you buy a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk the pack design will be exactly the same, only the language will be different. The famous slogan glass and a half of full cream milk in every half pound with the picture of milk filling into the chocolate bar, is the one of the best British advertising. Cadbury Dairy Milk was a great success as it has capture almost a great number of the market share but soon after some time Dairy Milk start to go down after the entrance of other brands in the market like Nestle, Mars, Hershey which bring down the market share of Cadbury Dairy Milk. Cadbury company was started by an individual person in 1824 name John Cadbury; in Birmingham he laid the foundation of Cadbury Limited. Now Cadbury is the world largest producer of chocolates in the world. Till 1831 the business of the company got changed from a grocery shop to a manufacture of drinking chocolate and coca and till present its going like the same. Dairy Milk is a popular brand of chocolate bar of Cadbury in United Kingdom and in the whole world. It was traduced in 1905 and its comes in a large number of varieties which includes Fruit Nut, Whole Nut, and original Dairy Milk .It comes in different package sizes to suits to the customer needs and demand. Cadbury Plc was founded in1824 by John Cadbury a young Quaker. He first opened a small grocers shop in Birmingham making chocolates on a small scale, with coca and drinking chocolate on the side. Then in 1831 John decided to start manufacturing on a commercial scale, and he bought a warehouse in nearby Crooked Lane. In 1847 John joined his brother Benjamin into the partnership and the name of the firm was changed to Cadbury Brothers. The business was getting popular then both the brothers moved the business to new factories in Bridge Street , but in 1855 after the death of John`s wife and his illness the combined business of both brothers John and Benjamin come to an end with mutual consent and then John transferred all the right to his sons Richard and George. 1861 1900 John Cadbury retired from his business and his sons Richard and George took over the company. As Richard had already joined his father business in 1850 but in 1861 with the partnership of his brother George who was only 25 at that time. Richard started to look after sales and marketing side which was not in good shape. He once said that if business ever made a profit of thousand he will take retirement. Richard was also a talented artist and in 1868 he founded the way of increasing the appeal of chocolate boxes by decorating its lid with pictures some of them are of his own creation, soon after some time he died unexpectedly from diphtheria in 1899. George son of John Cadbury joined Cadbury Brothers in 1856 and became partner in the business with his brother Richard in 1861. The first few years were extremely hard and the brothers worked very hard in order to establish the business. He looked after production and buying and he is also responsible for finding the companys new site, Bournville, he also planned the factory layout himself. Because of his trip to Holland where he bought innovative new coca press, in 1886 Cadbury launched Cocoa Essence, the first unadulterated cocoa in UK. In 1901 he gave the site to Bournville Village Trust. He did many good will works for his employees like setting up education facilities, opened work committees for both men and women and also donated Lickey Hills Country Park to the people of Birmingham. George remained Chairman of Cadbury Bros until his death in 1922. William Cadbury son of Richard Cadbury joined in 1887. He was mainly engaged in engineering, maintenance and new machinery. In 1889 he became managing director, then he gave up his engineering duties and took up charge of sales and buying. He setup the Mens Pension Fund in 1906 and a separate fund for women in 1911 and is also responsible for Cadbury pulling out of the purchase of cocoa from Sao Thome and Principe after evidence of slavery, and for the development of the Ghana cocoa trade. The first proper Cadbury logo of a cocoa tree was commissioned by him in 1905 from the French designer Georges Auriol and also the famous Cadbury signature logo is based on his signature. He became the Chairman of Cadbury Brothers Ltd in 1922 after the death of his uncle and held this position until his retirement in 1937. Elizabeth, Georges second wife is best known for her welfare work. The list of her good will work is endless like she and George in 1909 opened the Woodlands Hospital in North field. She died in 1951. Edward Cadbury son of George and Mary, joined Cadbury Bros in 1893. He was appointed as a Managing Director in 1899 and given two specific duties: to expand exports and to organize the women employees at Bournville, who formed the main part of the labour force. He was responsible for the Export Department from 1899 to 1927 and for the Womens Department from 1899 to 1919. He was made responsible for pricing in 1903 and set up the Costing, Statistical and Planning Departments over the next few years. He was also interested in education and founded the Selly Oak colleges in Bournville, as well as writing books on management and organisation. He was also in charge of the Accountants Department, a member of the Finance Committee and was responsible for the Advertising Department during the inter-war years. Edward was appointed Chairman of the British Cocoa Chocolate Company in 1932 and in 1937 succeeded William as Chairman of Cadbury Bros Ltd. He retained both chairmanships until he reti red in 1943. George Jnr, son of George and Mary joined Cadbury Brothers in 1898. The following year his uncle Richard unexpectedly died. His father George Snr set up a new limited company with himself as chairman and four managing directors: Richards sons Barrow and William and his own sons Edward and George. So George became a managing director at the age of just 21 and was responsible for the technical and scientific side of the business. Georges greatest contribution was the perfection of milk chocolate and he led the development and launch of Cadbury Dairy Milk in 1905. He was also responsible for setting up Cadburys milk factories and transport department. He retired in 1943. 1900 Present Laurence, father of Adrian and Dominic and son of George and Elizabeth joined Cadbury Brothers in 1911 and was the first graduate member of the family to work at Bournville. Cadbury Company builds a village for its employees. He was appointed to the Board of Directors in 1918 with a wide range of responsibilities including engineering and production. He was appointed Director of the British Cocoa Chocolate Company (BCCC) in 1921. Becoming Chairman of Cadbury Brothers and Chairman of BCCC in 1944, he held both posts until he retired in 1959. Dorothy, daughter of Barrow Cadbury and granddaughter of Richard Cadbury, joined the business in 1917. She worked in numerous departments and served on several of the main committees. She retired in 1952. Sir Adrian, eldest son of Laurence Cadbury was appointed as Director in 1958. In 1965 he became Chairman of the British Cocoa Chocolate Company. 1969 saw him taking up the position of Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Cadbury Schweppes, and he became Chairman of Cadbury Schweppes in 1974. He retired in 1989. Son of Laurence Cadbury and brother of Sir Adrian Cadbury, Sir Dominic was appointed director in the late 1960s. He joined the Cadbury Schweppes board in 1974. His subsequent positions have been: 1975-1978: Managing Director, Cadbury Foods Division, 1978-1980: Chief Operating Officer, Cadbury Schweppes, North America; 1980-1983: Managing Director, Cadbury Schweppes; 1983-1993: Group Chief Executive, Cadbury Schweppes; and 1993-2000 Chairman, Cadbury Schweppes. Now retired from the Cadbury business. Appointed Trustee in 1994 and Chairman of the Trust since 1996, Roger was previously a director of various companies. He chairs the Trusts Estate Management Scheme Committee and is a member of the Agricultural Estates Committee. He is currently Chairman of Warwick Independent Schools Foundation, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, and Croft Trust of Adult Education, as well as serving as Trustee of a range of charities. 2. Situation Analysis Cadbury Dairy milk was launched by Schweppes which was the largest food and Beverage cooperation headquartered in the U.S .The Kraft Inc take over Cadbury in 2010 which is the British Confectionary company, the industry`s second-largest globally. The new product is launched globally. 3. SWOT Analysis Cadbury first started its business in 1831 by John Cadbury. Its brings change in cocoa processing from the year 1866 onwards. The company got combined with Schweppes in 1969.Currently this company is employing approximately about 43000 people in all f the world. Today, Cadbury Schweppes is the world`s fourth biggest supplier of chocolate sugar Confectionary. One of its product, Dairy Milk was introduced in 1905 and has become the most successful moulded chocolate in UK history and the basic ingredient for many other Cadbury products 95years later, Dairy Milk is one of the worlds favourite Chocolate brand name sand company`s leading chocolate bar by revenue. 3.1 Aim: It was important to investigate on both forces internal and external environmental for the Dairy Milk in France. Significant organizational and industrial information is required for the development of the SWOT analysis. The main purpose of analysis of the environment and consideration of the situational factor when designing, marketing, planning, is critical as it would allow Dairy Milk to capitalize on organizational strengths, minimize any weakness, exploit market opportunities and avoid any threats. 3.2 Strengths: Cadbury would realize several possible advantages in going abroad. By penetrating a foreign market the company could: Maintain a stable growth of a company by maximizing the use of its production capacity and thus increase economies of scale and scope. With its brand name, Cadbury could counterattack the competitors it faces in the domestic market by attacking their domestic market. Keep up with the financial strength by increasing its sales and profit, indeed the foreign market could present higher profit opportunities than the domestic product. Acquisition rules in UK, reduce its dependence on the UK market and therefore diversify its market specific risk. Overall, Cadbury has been successful through the new products (development) it has to offer. 3.3 Weaknesses: Generally Cadbury has a weak position in the market. Thus, need to change its target to a different location. Cadbury distribution network is weak and has a small market share altogether so if they want to market there product in France successfully, Cadbury has to do its best to get great performance. They can also look towards those situation by them they can get success. Cadbury can market its products by keeping in mind the issue: France production of Chocolate bars and confectionary has increased by 24.5percent between 1988 and 1991 but now it has slowed down because of economic slump. Consumption of Chocolate products which got a rise till 1991 got a hold in 1992, due to the fall in demand because of gloomy economic conditions. Chocolate bars which were selling at 24 per cent of the total volume of chocolate bar have decreased to only 3.7 per cent. 3.4 Opportunities: Cadbury has to built variable position in his confectionary line in the market through his organic product growth. Besides that Cadbury can expand his opportunities to the markets based in Russia and China. Cadbury is also selling its products on internet which is also their popularity side which includes free chocolates. Some of the opportunities are as follows: France is the fourth largest Gross Domestic Product in the whole world. It is first world advanced market economy. Although the recession didnt did wrong with the country economy. 3.5 Threats As a confectionary product maker it is important for Cadbury to aware of its upcoming threats. Company should always check the buying behaviour of consumer buying trend. It is perceived that consumers. There is a possibility for the consumers to shift from chocolates to Healthy food or snacks. If this has happen it could cause Cadbury`s name to fall down. Cadbury prices are competitive from his competitors like Mars, Nestle, and Hershey. Seasonal sales slumps the chocolate market every year which affect the price of raw material that is needed to make the products. If Cadbury is entering in world it has to be aware of the risks involved in it. By not understanding foreign customers preferences and failing to achieving their expectations. By not understanding the business culture. 3.6 Conclusion In process of getting high and peak position. The company has to keep stressed on the global growth of the product. It can be a risk to market it in the region France, 4. Objective Setting Cadbury has set some objective related to Dairy Milk for its marketing and advertisement which are main factor for its product promotion and profit making which are as follows. To maintain the quality standards of its products. Enhance sales to gain more profits Packaging should be of good and hygienically passed quality To reach in every part of the world To give more and more benifits to the customers by by giving them promotions and free take aways. 5. Company Profile 1824 Aged 22, John Cadbury, a young Quaker, opens a small grocers shop in Birmingham- making chocolate on the sideline. 1847 John Cadbury moves his business to a larger factory, as his company becomes The Cadbury Brothers- his brother Benjamin joining him. 1861 John Cadbury retires and sons Richard and George take over the company. 1879 Cadbury Chocolate Company moves to Bournville. Over the next ten years the number of employees grows to 1,200. 1893 Cadbury Company builds a village for its employees. 1920s The Cadbury script logo is first used. 5.1 Company mission Cadbury Main statement is Cadbury means Quality and this is their promise and reputation to built quality products and continues its promise delivered to customers. Cadbury Has established its company as a fairness and integrity which proves that Cadbury is a socially responsible company. 6. Marketing objectives For achieving increase in sales Cadbury undertakes a number of marketing activities to encourage the sale of its products .Cadbury has set some objectives to maximize its sale and gain more profits. There are some basic aims that Cadbury has define in his corporation are as follows. 6.1 Survival For survival Cadbury keep its product quality up to a specific standard and prices to that level that could compete with other competitors. 6.2 Profit maximisation Profit maximization which is often taken to be the reason why firms exists and to be the primary objectives in practices most firms have a hierarchy of objectives when a firms survival is threaten it may profit maximise in order to restore its financial health. 6.3 Growth Which includes Cadbury selling new products or expanding overseas. 6.4 Diversification This is the spreading of business risks by reducing dependence on one product. 6.5 Sales Increase It is the main key factor of sales by which company gains more profits and generates revenues. 6.6 Improving the product image Its includes creating a new logo or launching a new brand of product and creating more attractive packaging.   For example, Cadbury has made to important key points for the development of their chocolate. These were: 1. To grow the market for chocolate confectionery 2. To increase Cadburys share of the snacking sector In the time of launching Cadbury they thought that any new product can make a big difference creating unique selling proposition (USP) i.e. a product with unique appeal which is not present in any other competitors product. Cadbury has wasted a lot of money on testing and combination of various ingredients and more than 250 recipes were combined together before finalizing the final chocolate recipe. As Cadbury produced products they first test them that can the consumers can buy Cadbury products or not. Promotion is a key factor of any product launching and Cadbury done this in various ways which include the following ways newspapers, magazines, television and radio etc. 7. Tactical application Marketing professionals and specialist use many tactics to attract and retain their customers. These activities comprise of different concepts, the most important one being the marketing mix. There are two concepts for marketing mix: 4P and 7P. It is essential to balance the 4Ps or the 7Ps of the marketing mix. The concept of 4Ps has been long used for the product industry while the latter has emerged as a successful proposition for the services industry. The 7Ps are described below. 7.1 Product Cadbury Dairy Milk was launched keeping in mind people taste about the chocolate which a research work is done by Cadbury in 1905. The entire taste ingredients included in it are selected from many different places to give customers the taste they want. 7.2 Price The pricing strategy of Dairy Milk has always been in accordance with its competitors. Price is simply the cost plus profit of the firm. There are many competitors in the market. As the products are of high quality, so usually high prices are charged. So the Management has considered about the competitive price while selecting new prices and schemes. Firms have to consider many factors for determining the price. Selecting the price objective Analyzing competitors costs, Prices and offers. Selecting a pricing method. Prices are set by taking into consideration: The price of the product must be competitive and must entail profit. The pricing strategy can comprise discounts. 7.3 Place Cadbury market Dairy Milk to those places where it can get a good response from the customers as well as revenue to the company. 7.4 Promotion Cadbury like all other brands also invest heavily in advertising its product special its major popular product Cadbury Dairy Milk, it is marketed in the following way Media, Newspaper, Billboard advertisement. 7.5 People People plays a vital role in brand establishment as they are directly involved in the recognition of it in the market and this matter should be realized by the customers that its in their hands, Cadbury target young people and children mainly as compared to elders. 7.6 Process Cadbury keeps a record of all processes it does like methods and process are provided and also keep a record of provided services are helpful for the customers or not, and whether customers are informed or not. 7.7 Physical (evidence) Cadbury keep a record of all experiences which it is getting by physical questioning, buying behaviour of the customers.nad providing them guidelines about the products they are purchasing by giving them brochures, and pamphlets. 8. Action and Implementation Cadbury Dairy Milk has been launched successfully and now we are projecting our focus on increasing the sales and profits of our brand .As after the launching of Galaxy in the market Dairy Milk has gown down to that level where Galaxy is making more profits then Dairy Milk, so Cadbury is trying to regain its market share by doing allot of promotional activities and advertisements for Dairy Milk. 8.1 Budget In view of our action plan for increasing the sales revenue of Cadbury Dairy Milk, extensive promotion is required, and we have the following Marketing budget outlined according to our line of action: Projected Income Statement For Year 2010 2011 UK (  £ ) Sales 20,000,000 Cost of Goods Sold 9,000,000 Gross Profit 11,000,000 General Administrative Expenses 2250,000 Earnings Before Interest and Taxes 8750,000 Interest Expense 110,000 Earnings Before Taxes 8640000 Tax 90,000 Net Profit 8550000 8.2 Conclusion As Cadbury launched Dairy Milk in 1905. Its market gets a great height but after some time its market got a huge decline and its sale got down because its competitor product Galaxy took its market share and customers started to buy Galaxy instead of Cadbury Dairy Milk. As for that Cadbury has started again to do remarketing of its product by doing advisement. Inform of TV advertisements, newspapers, Billboards, etc and hence Cadbury Dairy Milk is on declining stage. 9. Individual Critical Reflection 9.1 Specific Values Cadbury is the world Renowned confectionary company started its business in 1824 and based in United Kingdom .It provide drinking chocolate and chocolate bars like Dairy Milk. Dairy Milk is the largest profit giving product of Cadbury and it is liked by almost every person adult of child that is why its very popular in the world . 9.2 Declining Stage As Cadbury was going to a height then in the mean time new Competitors (Nestle, Mars, Hershey) came into the market with more variety and flavours which thus they started threatening Cadbury sales by a decline in its mass product Cadbury Dairy Milk, as Dairy Milk was coming in the same flavours and competitive prices where as Dairy Milk prices were not competing with its competitors as a result Decline in the product .As Cadbury Dairy Milk competitors like (Nestle, Mars, Hershey) were doing there best to keep there products up to the standard into the Market by doing Media advertisements. 9.2.1 Marketing disadvantages Marketing plays a vital roll in a products popularity and market share in the market but Cadbury lack this in the way that the marketing department didnt paid much attention towards its product so it starts declining . There should be a good marketing plan should be given to a top marketing agency to market the product and to spend money in a correct way 9.2.2 Brand Placement To make a product popular among customers the brand name Cadbury Dairy Milk should be made that much attractive among customers that when it is launched it get the height what it wants. And then it is the agency responsibility to make the product capable of getting its goals and compete with 9.3 Action Plans Dairy Milk has been launched successfully and now we are projecting our focus on increasing the marketing of our brand as it is in declining stage to that percentage that it can compete with its competitors for the upcoming year. Increasing marketing actually means shifting the marketing strategies and attracting new customers to enticing the proven customers to buy again. Attracting new customers is good. But attracting new customers is not the only way to increase the sales. Shifting the sales focus to enticing the current customers can also make increasing the sales easy as well as building customer loyalty that result in repeated sales. The key to success in increasing the sales is effective marketing promotion of the product to an extent that catches the customers confidence. For attaining the desired objective, Cadbury Dairy Milk will conduct back to back advertising and sale promotion campaigns. Following are some details of these campaigns: September: We will start with marketing promotion campaign to generate excitement in the consumers mind for the Cadbury Dairy Milk. During the first month, there will be four trucks that will be roaming in the target areas and distributing free samples of mini Dairy Milk chocolate bars of 25grams. October: In October, we will go to exhibit at the major retail chains, providing free samples in the major shopping malls and Schools and ask there comments. We will also endorse celebrities and hire opinion leader as part of our public relation strategy. Our training staff will work with sales personnel at major retail chains to guide and give information regarding Dairy Milk to the consumers. November: We will start print, TV and internet campaigns for Dairy Milk by running advertisements of all media. The campaign will show the customers hows the taste of Dairy Milk is and take suggestions from them and also telling them about it new flavours and attractive packaging. We will increase the expenditures on Mass Media advertisements in order to improvise the position of the brand in the consumers mind as well as to dominate other Brands in its promotion and per hour airing on TV channels. We will organize different events regarding children so that we can capture the interest of them. We will be visiting schools for organizing fun activities for children. December: We will be launching schemes for retailers and whole-sellers in September, in which certain points will be given to wholesalers on the highest sales of Dairy Milk, and in turn on the basis of these, certain incentives will be provided to peak wholesalers. This can be a good strategy to improve the relations with distribution network and its efficiency as well. January: The best way to promote marketing and sales is to add value. The trick in sales promotion is to come up with ideas which add value to a product, rather than just cutting the price. Therefore, we will be adding value to Dairy Milk by giving every customer a free pencil, free pencil box, free books with purchase of every 250grams chocolate bar of Dairy Milk. The promotion can be successful because consumers will like this idea, and for the company, it can be cheaper than a price cut. February: We shall be distributing Special Shelves, Wall clocks and Key chains with Cadbury Dairy Milk logoto the shopkeepers incentives to promote our brand. March: A scheme will be offered i.e. buy more and more Dairy Milk Family Bars and get a chance to enter a lucky draw scheme to win return ticket to Paris for two people. And therefore, it is hoped that all these promotional activities will create enough awareness amongst the target sector that will force them to look forward to Dairy Milk when buying a Chocolate and all these promotional activities will consequently be resulting in increasing the sale of our product and generating the expected revenue and bringing the product to again in previous position in the market among its competitors. 9.4 Implementation Control In order to effectively implement our desired stated action marketing plan for Cadbury Dairy Milk to increase the sales revenue by the end of this year, we need to have a check on various promotional activities if they are going on accordingly as planned. This review is required on monthly basis so that the objective of achieving high sales revenue can be well chased. Hence the following activities are required to be monitored: There will be the need to monitor whether the marketing objective is achieved or not. Apart from this, the expenditures should be properly monitored and they shouldnt vitiate too much from the forecasted budget. There will be the need to check the distribution network and ensure that product is available in market at all times. There should be a strict check on whether the customers are getting the same message as what we are trying to deliver in advertisement, and hence check its impact on sale. It will also be needed to see the impact on sales by the different promotional activities conducted. It will be strongly needed to identify the packaging preferences or the price related concerns of the customers from time to time, and take corrective actions to achieve the financial and marketing objectives. 9.5 Gantt Chart G A N T T C H A R T Month JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN Campaign Cadbury Dairy Milk COST General Budget: year 2010 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 5MILLION Big banners for shows X X X X X X 1million Website Creation X X X X X X  £1.5million ADD Designing Printing X X X X X X  £2.5mIllion Logo Design X X X X X X  £3million Statement Creation X X X X X X  £1million Advertisement on all media`s X X X X X X  £1.5million Agency Cost X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X  £3million Total X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 13.5million

Essay --

Zachary Voss March 11, 2014 Research Paper Nelson Mandela was a man before his time who fought for others’ rights, believing that all people should be treated equally. He grew up seeing injustice throughout the country he lived in and dedicated his life to making sure people received the rights deserved. Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in Mueso Transkei, South Africa and lived along the banks of the Mbashe River. He was given Rolihlahla as his birth name which meant â€Å"trouble maker†. His father was Chief Gadla Henry Mphakayisa until he lost his chieftainship when he failed to appear before the local British judge. This was the first example that the chief was not going to be governed by the laws of England. As a result the family lost everything, became poor and so Nelson and his mother, Nosekeni Fanny, had to move to a different village. Mandela was nine years old when his father died of tuberculosis. Fortunately, Chief Jongintab Dalindyebo became his guardian, helping to raise him with his own children. Growing up Nelson occupied his time with riding horses, shooting birds with slingshots, dancing, singing, reading and herding sheep. Nelson became the first in his family to go to school in 1925. It was his teacher who actually gave him his English name, â€Å"Nelson†. At the age of sixteen he attended Clarkebury Boarding Institute, a mission school, where he completed his junior certification in two years instead of three. In 1936 at the age of nineteen, he left to study British History at Healdtown Methodist Boarding School, a high school. Over 1,000 students attended, both white black, but all remained separated. In his last year at Healdtown, a poet, Krune Mqhayi, visited the school and his words were memorable to Ma... ...ambda Legov. In December 1996, Mandela publicized a constitution that contained clear protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation. As a result Mandela appointed a gay judge to South Africa’s High Court of Appeal – Justice Edwin Cameron. As a result of his accomplishments, Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, the Jawaharlal Nehru Award in 1980, and became an inspiration to millions across the world. Nelson Mandela was a courageous and heroic person who was an inspiration to many. Although Mandela had a difficult childhood, he went on to attend college and became knowledgeable in politics and law. Mandela saw how the people of Africa struggled for their freedom and their rights, and became an activist in the fight for their independence. He will forever be known for his equality, justice and promoting peace among all people.

Graduation Speech :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

I want all of you graduates to do me a favor and just look around at your fellow classmates for a few seconds and think about the people you know out there and realize: After all of the parties and once all of the euphoria surrounding graduating has subsided, you are not going to see many of these people ever again. I'm sure it's a comforting though to many of you that you will never see me again, and I've come to terms with that. We are all headed in different directions now. Some of us are going to college, whether it be two-year, four-year, in-state, out-of-state, or whatever. Some are going straight into the workforce, maybe in construction, plumbing, commercial fossil fuel distribution or as Jeff Reynolds puts it so eloquently, "You could go into a life of being a government financial allocation specialist." And some of you are going straight to jail. Right now I'm sure many of you are sitting there with thoughts racing through your head at a mile a minute. Some people are anxious about the future, others are primed to get on the bus for the after-grad party. Some are thinking that they finally have their ticket stamped to leave Purple Lake, which I happen to be thinking right now. Some of you are looking at the clock and wondering how long it will be until I shut-up and get off the stage, I happen to know Goset is thinkin' that right now, aren't you Aynsley? Those kids, like Goset over there, just want their little case which actually doesn't contain a diploma, instead it just has a piece of paper which tells you when to pick it up. To those people out there I say, "Just cool off, I'll be done in a minute, the diploma cases aren't going anywhere, so just be patient!" Though you might not be thinking any of those things right now, I'm sure we are all thinking that we finally made it. Yup, high school is over, but we're not even close to being done. This is just the beginning of the rest of our life and it only gets harder from this point on. You will encounter obstacles at every turn, but you must persevere if you hope to succeed in this world. The key to your success will be to know what everyone expects from you and then you must commit yourself to exceeding those expectations, that is what will set you ahead of the rest.

The extraordinarily horrible Robot

It was my mate's birthday. He was going to turn 14. I wanted to get him something really special because I have known him since we were two years old. My mum told me that we were both born in the same hospital in London but then we moved to Germany because my dad had had found a really good job. After a couple of years my mum got bored and couldn't take anymore of where she lived and told dad that she wanted to go back to London because she preferred it there and she knew more people. They both had a massive argument and stopped talking for weeks and weeks but eventually my dad apologised to mum and told her to move back into London and that he'll supply us with money and everything we need and he'll visit us once in a while. They promised each other that they'll write to each other every other week. Eventually mum found a job at an office, she was this mans secretary. This man was no ordinary man he scared me a little. He seemed really weird. He would always mutter something to mum every time he saw me it really freaked me out. As time went by my mum started to talk about dad less and she stopped replying to all his mail. I was really worried about her and really felt sorry for dad. Eventually mum phoned him, I had just walked home from a long boring, bad day from school and I was just about to slam the front door when I heard mums voice â€Å"Harry, listen to me this is really not going to work out†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.† I stood silent for a minute. I silently shut the front door and walked closer to the kitchen. Then I heard my mum speak again, â€Å"listen, I've been meaning to tell you, I mean†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. um†¦ oh I can't do this† then she slammed the phone down and ran out the room crying. I was thinking to myself oh mum ‘what have you done you poor silly woman'. I was really surprised of what just happened and couldn't even get myself to comfort her, it was like I wanted her to suffer for what had just happened. I walked upstairs really slowly trying to process through my mind what had just happened when I heard my mum sobbing and speaking to someone. I was thinking who the hell is she talking to or is my mum just beginning to go mad. I crept up to her room, her door was slightly ajar and I peeked through and jumped back in surprise and gasped. I ran to my room and slammed the door shut. My windows rattled for 2mins straight. I jumped on my bed and covered my head under the pillow and let out my anger and cried all night. I must have dosed off. When I woke up I peered at my clock sleepily, it showed 08:59. I jumped out o bed and quickly slipped my school uniform and gathered my books and went to run out my door when something threw my door open and started walking towards me with its arms outstretched and covered in a cloth hiding its identity. It was about knee high and scared the living daylights out of me. It picked up my baseball bat and held it in the swinging position and turned round and walked back towards me raising the bat as it closer. It was only a few inches away when I opened my mouth to scream. Nothing came out and the thing just swung for me. I closed my eyes and waited for the pain. After a few seconds I opened my eyes again and saw my mum and Steve (my mums boss) standing by the doorway in the same clothes they were in yesterday with a very large grin on their faces. That was another thing I forgot about ‘what the hell is he doing still here from last night'. Mum tells me that she and dad broke up because dad didn't care for them anymore. I know that wasn't the truth but played along with it. I know it was really Steve who made her do it. That's why he was in her room that day. I forgot about the whole thing and Steve told me he bought the robot for me as a present to show me that he will look after me really well. I just nodded and didn't smile. I think he got the picture and he just said to me ‘if you need anything just ask', and then he went. I was playing with the robot that day after school and I put the controller down and turned round to go on the internet on my computer when a heard a funny, whirring sound just like my†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ROBOT!!! I turn around and the robot was on my desk, and I left him on the floor. I screamed at the top of my pitch and nobody came. Everyone had gone out, I assumed. I picked up the robot and threw it across the room the leg and arm fell off. I left it there and fell asleep. I got up the next morning and remembered it was Jamie's birthday. He was my best friend. I forgot to get him a present. He was going to be mad at me when I got into school. After I got change and had my breakfast I went up to pick up my bag and as I stepped into my room I heard a crunch. I looked down and I saw that I had just broken the other leg. I looked at the robot and it gave me an idea. I went into school with a large box wrapped in read wrapping paper. I gave it to Jamie and I never saw him smile so much in his life. He thanked me and invited me for a sleepover that night. I delightfully said of course. I got home from school and there was a note on the kitchen table written by mum saying that she has gone away on an emergency business meeting and that she won't be back for a couple of days. I didn't think much of it. I made my way over to Jamie's and I could swear that something was following me. I turned round every now and then but all I could see was my shadow. I got to his doorstep and I pressed the doorbell relieved that I made to his house without any trouble. Jamie's dad answered it gave me a smile and took my bags an told me that mum phoned asking If I could stay round Jamie's for a few days still she gets back. I knew Jamie's family wouldn't say no. They thanked me for the present I gave Jamie and he came running down the stairs and gave me a hug and thanked me as well. I started to blush in front of his parents. We went upstairs and as I got into his room I heard his doorbell ring. I went to answer it but his mum said she'll get it. As she opened the door Jamie's dad asked who it was and before I could hear her reply Jamie cranked his music up. I ignored what happened and had fun in his room. I asked Jamie what he thought of his present. He told me he loved it but he had a funny look on his face like he was trying to change the subject. I asked him where it was and he said his dad put it in the attic because it seemed violent. I asked him to get it. Jamie said that he'll get into trouble but he said he'll get it anyway. I waited for him for 20mins and he didn't return. I went to his attic and he wasn't there. I saw blood trails on the floor and I was really frightened. I followed them and they leaded to the kitchen. I entered slowly and peered through. I stood in silence and screamed as I saw Jamie's mum, dad and Jamie all in a pile with vicious stab marks in their bodies. I turned away to run and I saw, I wasn't sure if I was looking at it†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. The robot was alive. It started moving towards me wit a butcher's knife in its hand and it stopped. Someone entered the room behind it with a hooded cloak. He looked up at me and smile. I could only see his mouth. He let out a evil laugh and said â€Å"now I can have your mum all to myself† and laughed continuously and the robot through the knife and it went right through my heart and just as I was closing my eyes, the figure unmasked itself†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. â€Å"Steve†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.† I said before I crashed to the ground. Then my eyes shut.