Culturally, We Are Becoming More Similar Across the Globe

â€Å"Culturally, we are becoming more similar across the globe† Introduction Apart from complicated definitions of the term â€Å"globalization†, the matter requires focusing on a simple explanation of this concept. Indeed, globalization is recognized as an ongoing process that accompanies with it, noticeably, certain challenges, such as a wide range of integrated communities, regional economics, and cultures, through a wide range of communication and trading. However, still the argument by all experts is corresponding to the theme whereas globalization provides similarity for individuals or not, at the cultural space.This paper articulates an in-depth discussion of this theme. 1- Globalization Even though, globalization may be defined economically as a new integration of the entire global economies through the capital flows, migration, trading, technical spread, and basically foreign direct investment. 2- Culture and Globalization Despite the fact that there are recen tly ongoing political, economic and even cultural uniformitarian of the world, relativism has been raised to the very urgent issues of a philosophical agenda, along with many other various disciplines.There is still the question, which is puzzling that all thoughts related to the concept of whether there is an extension of cultural diversity influence the products and activities of social and philosophizing science or not (Steger, 2009). The opponents of global similarity built their vision on the importance of citizenship, even though the entire world became such a small village. To maintain citizenship reflects the fact of regular movements in many countries, simply to gain rights, and those different rights from other nations.National citizenship has its power and calls for the rights of citizens (Aronowitz, 2003). Lechner (2004), states that one can consider the year 1989 as a representation of citizenship. Even recently, many national movements call for acquiring the full citiz enship, which reflects more rights, responsibilities, and dignities. An example of the global movements is the Arab Spring Revolutions. Globalization, it has took off in 1989 when the exponential growth in the analyses of the global universe began to call for a putative global reconstitution of political, economic, and cultural relationships as well.It has reflected the fact that people were living in a global village, as the struggles for citizenship have brought instantaneously and was living into their various homes (Krishna, 2008). Indeed, the struggles for the citizenship has been seen in the fall of the Berlin Wall along with the crushing of the Pro-Democracy movement in China, were transmitted through the communication systems of global media. 3- Role of Media Indeed, this term, â€Å"New Media† has been defined according to many theories and opinions.Notwithstanding, there are regular debate over its impact and the convergence. To sum up, both â€Å"New Media† and â€Å"Digital Revolution† have been employed interchangeably. Looking at the first term, new media, simply, indicates to profound changes, especially in the electronic communications, which back to 1980s, whereas digital revolution indicates to the influence of this rapid drop in the involved cost and as well this rapid expansion of digital devices’ power, such as telecommunications and computer.Additionally, this change brought with it certain increasing globalization, social and technological transformations, and mainly, these changes in the way by which persons can see themselves and the surrounded world. Most importantly, this rapid change of technological revolution brings with it many challenges, especially which are corresponding with generating social changes focusing on these implicit virtues, values, and vices that are possessed by this rapid changed technology. With the highest change of technological revolution, U.S. A. could evolve with cultural relati vism along with being included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. One more critical point here needed to be clarified. This challenge indicated to the transformation of the elements of cultural relativism. From this theme, U. S. A could expand its power to justify its universalistic ideology. This in turn, involved enhancing, civilizing, and as well liberating the indigenous human in an imperious extension. This is seen obviously in the economical policy of United States in Middle East.Despite all of the dark events and contradicts faced by cultural relativism, it must be put into consideration and again, with in-depth awareness that unlike any of the old generals, the arguments of cultural relativism neither fade away nor die (Dascal, 1991). Again, according to Dascal (1991), there is a necessity of deriving the new future of the theory from the frequently committed fallacy of confusion of cultural relativism with any other cultural diversity or variability.The second ca n be derived from the clear fact that recently there is not just one type of cultural relativism, but instead there are three types. These types must be considered widely when we are interested in adding to the future of cultural relativism. Those types of descriptive, epistemological and normal must be re-designated under the same term to avoid any further confusion. Those three types are not mere analytical acts that are separated, but they are considered historically distinct.The latter element must explicate any adverted results of epistemological relativism to assist this contemporary type of the theory, cultural relativism for more acts anthropologically and full of researches as well (Dascal, 1991). Again, apart from hard criticism of the wrong attitude of this ad, there is still hopefully, a positive evidence that old prejudices are fading with the introduction of each new generation to the rightful thinking, slowly eliminating old habits, thoughts, and actions that have bee n accepted for far too long.Back to the human rights’ principles, still media needs to play strongly, its role in clarifying those principles obviously. Even though, cultural relativism included certain methodological and epistemological claims, which could be found easily in the aforesaid ad; the principle of cultural relativism should not be confused with the ideas of moral relativism, which advocated the theme of claiming relatively to historical, cultural, social, or personal circumstances.Internet, the global money markets, the world travel, the globally recognized brands, the globally organized corporations, and the global celebrities’ living, etc†¦all have spoken of new modes of the social experience, which transcend each nation-state plus to its constitution of the national citizen (Mittelman, 2004). When everyone is seeking to be an actual citizen of the existing national society or to establish his own national society, the term globalization has appeare d to be changing what it is supposed to be a citizen (Ritzer & Atalay, 2010).Globalization appears to involve certain weakening of the social power and such a corresponding development of what is called ‘post-national’ citizenship. Most of the national citizenships are nowadays losing their required grounds to the model of membership, which should be universal and unique. Such a model should include membership, which is located within the increasing of territorialized nations of the extra universal rights of individuals. This post-national citizenship is, particularly, connected with the uest working's growth across various societies, greater global interdependence, which can overlap the memberships of different categories of citizenship. The emergence of universalistic conceptions and rules regarding all human rights have been formalized by all international laws and codes (Smith, 2002). Even though, according to Aronowitz (2003), the contemporary citizenship is known as loosely ‘post-modern’. In fact, there is no modern rational-legal state at all, particularly with any clear monopoly of power, which can be able to deliver unambiguous duties and rights to its citizens who may appear such a nation of strangers.Most importantly, and as mentioned by Krishna (2008), the global processes restructure certain social inequalities, while they are transforming many states into those ‘regulators’ of flows. In addition, brands, corporations, NGOs and many of multi-national ‘states’ have emerged more powerful than mere nation-states. Communities, such as Chinese, have developed no coterminous with the nation states' boundaries. This huge growth of post-national citizenship stem from a wide processes and many institutional arrangements, which are stretching within completely different communities.The result is there is huge variety of citizenships that are emerging in the present world (Lechner, 2004). Many examples of d eveloping of that putative global citizenship, which can be articulated from the global media attitudes. Looking at the global mass media, one can figure out its consideration of citizenship as having necessitated certain symbolic resources, which have been distributed through different means of communication. There is an obvious theme of cultural citizenship, which is corresponding to the rights of all social groups, such as age, ethnic, gender, and sexual to full cultural participation within their communities.As to responsibilities and duties of global world, there is a theme, which demonstrates a stance of cosmopolitanism towards many other cultures, environments, and other citizens (Ritzer, 2010). Such cosmopolitanism involves either consuming such environments across the globe completely or even refusing to so consume those environments. Media plays its role professionally in this regard, while it is producing certain images as well as information, which provide solid means by which nature has come to be recognized as seriously threatened has become such a widely shared belief recently.Dramatically, the existence of the global networks and the huge flows can involve curious hybrids of the once-separate private and public spheres. The result will be an increase overlap between the private and public spheres, therefore on the other hand, between great issues of citizenship along with the nature of the contemporary consumerism (Macionis & Plummer, 2012). Most preciously, culture and cultural policies that crisscross the private and public spheres are however, representing challenges of citizenship. ConclusionGlobalization accompanies new themes, which may be contradicted with original culture and principles of citizens. Many appeals within the recent global media are interested strongly with the development of a sense of planetary responsibility, instead of that responsibility for certain locales. This is considered, relatively a new notion and, particularl y one, which appears to distinguish all humans from other known species. The previous citizenships have been focused on antagonism between humans who are inside and those others who are outside, upon defining those non-citizens, the other, or those enemies.This reflects, simply, the fact that no similarity through the globe at all. References Aronowitz, S. (2003) Implicating empire: globalization and resistance in the 21st century world order, Basic Books. Dascal, M. (1991) Cultural Relativism and Philosophy: North and Latin American Perspectives, Leiden: BRILL. Krishna, S. (2008) Globalization and postcolonialism: hegemony and resistance in the twenty-first century, Rowman & Littlefield. Lechner, F. (2004) The globalization reader, Wiley-Blackwell. Macionis, J. & Plummer, K. , 2012, Sociology: A Global Introduction. th Edition, Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, pp 165-169. Mittelman, J. (2004) Whither globalization? : the vortex of knowledge and ideology, Routledge. Ritzer, G. 201 0, Globalization: A Basic Text, Malden: Wiley-Blackwell, pp243-276. Ritzer, G. & Atalay, 2010, Readings in Globalization: Key concepts and Debates, Malden: Wiley-Blackwell, pp307-424. Smith, J. (2002) Globalization and resistance: transnational dimensions of social movements, Rowman & Littlefield. Steger, M. 2009: Globalization: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp71-83.

Art essay Essay

Does art imitate life – or is it the other way around? Traditionally, we have believed that art imitates life. The painter represents what he or she sees by producing a scene on a canvas. The sculptor does the same with bronze or stone. A photographer or film maker does it even more directly. A writer describes life in his or her books. This simple concept is known as mimesis. But some have questioned the one-way nature of mimesis by arguing that art also changes the way we view the world, and in fact, life sometimes imitates art rather than the other way around. The person who first articulated this belief effectively was Oscar Wilde. Speaking about the foggy conditions in London in the late 19th century, he wrote that the way we perceive them changed because of art. Referring to the â€Å"wonderful brown fogs that come creeping down our streets, blurring the gas lamps and turning houses into shadows† he argued that â€Å"poets and painters have taught [people] the loveliness of such effects†. According to Wilde, â€Å"They did not exist till Art had invented them. † [pic] And you don’t have to look too far to see anti-mimesis in our lives. To what extent is our outlook on life altered by ideas we read in books? The portrayal of people in films? The styles we see in fashion photography? One great example of this is the TV series The Sopranos, and how it affected both the Mafia in the USA and the FBI. Art’s influence on society: propaganda and censorship Throughout history, it has always been the case that art has the power to change society, especially when new media are used to express an idea. During the First World War, for example, movie cameras were used for the first time to record trench warfare – when the film was shown in cinemas in Britain, audiences ran out screaming. This led to the government censoring further such use of such a powerful medium. And in government censorship, and use of art as propaganda, we see how seriously governments take the effect of art. All of the major dictators of the C20th understood the power of art to influence the population. In Nazi Germany, Hitler set up the Ministry of Propaganda and National Enlightenment. It was headed by Goebbels, who made sure that nothing was published, performed, or exhibited without his approval. [pic]When this happens, you know there isn’t going to be a happy ending And what Goebbels approved, of course, only fit in with Nazi ideology and ideas. In terms of art, this meant no modern and abstract art, certainly nothing hostile to the regime, and nothing that featured images other than the stereotypical blonde-haired, blue eyed set in idyllic pastoral scenes of blissful happiness. [pic] [pic] In Stalinist Russia, there was also a keen understanding of the power of art. Art portrayed contented peasants, industrious workers, and Stalin himself. In fact, Stalin was shown god-like in many paintings, a phenomenon known as the Cult of Stalin. Just as in Germany, gigantic architectural projects expressed the power of the state. [pic] [pic] However, there is no doubt that in Russia there were greater artistic achievements than in Nazi Germany. Composers worked with fewer hindrances – as seen in the works by Prokoviev and Shostakovich, and film-makers such as Eisenstein emerged. Art’s influence on society: the trial of Lady Chatterley’s Lover But even under less oppressive governments, the artistic expression of certain ideas can be subject to control. One great example is the book ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ by DH Lawrence, which was deemed offensive on many levels. In this book, Constance Reid, a woman from a progressive liberal middle class family marries a minor member of the aristocracy, Lord Clifford Chatterley, and takes the title ‘Lady Chatterley’. But her husband is injured in the First World War, confined to a wheelchair, and left impotent. Despite this, he becomes a successful writer and businessman. It is more his obsession with financial success and fame rather than any physical difficulties which come between him and his wife, and she begins an affair with their gamekeeper, Oliver Mellors. The largely aristocratic ‘establishment’ of Britain at the time – the book was published in Italy in 1928 – were shocked by many aspects of the book. First, there was the fact that the book was ‘obscene’, in the way it went into explicit detail the affair that took place (see below). Second, there was the fact that a women was breaking her marriage vows, something considered far worse than a man behaving in the same way. Finally, it represented an intimate relationship between a member of the ‘lower’ classes (although it emerges during the story that Mellors is actually well-educated, and became an officer in the army during the First World War) and the ‘upper’ classes, a concept that was totally taboo in Britain at that time. The book was duly banned. [pic] But the book was republished by Penguin books in 1960. The attorney general, Reginald Manningham-Buller (dubbed ‘Bullying-Manners’ by the journalist and author Bernard Levin) had to read only four chapters to decide to prosecute Penguin books for publishing it. What annoyed him was not just the content, but the fact that the price of the book meant it was affordable to women and members of the lower classes (remember that only few women worked at this time, and husbands were generally in charge of family finances). The trial was a disaster for Manningham-Buller and the prosecution. They had failed to find any experts to support their case, in stark contrast to Penguin’s defence team, which had brought in authors, journalists, academics, and even members of the clergy to defend the book. Manningham-Buller and his team had very little idea of what Lawrence had been trying to express in his book, regularly being caught out by the superior insight of the witnesses they were trying to catch out. And although they tried to shock the jury – in his opening speech, Manningham-Buller announced: â€Å"The word ‘fuck’ or ‘fucking’ appears no less than 30 times . . . ‘Cunt’ 14 times; ‘balls’ 13 times; ‘shit’ and ‘arse’ six times apiece; ‘cock’ four times; ‘piss’ three times, and so on. † – they were unable to prove that the book would have a negative influence on the readers it was aimed at. According to the Guardian: No other jury verdict in British history has had such a deep social impact. Over the next three months Penguin sold 3m copies of the book – an example of what many years later was described as â€Å"the Spycatcher effect†, by which the attempt to suppress a book through unsuccessful litigation serves only to promote huge sales. The jury – that iconic representative of democratic society – had given its imprimatur to ending the taboo on sexual discussion in art and entertainment. Within a few years the stifling censorship of the theatre by the lord chamberlain had been abolished, and a gritty realism emerged in British cinema and drama. (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning came out at the same time as the unexpurgated Lady Chatterley, and very soon Peter Finch was commenting on Glenda Jackson’s â€Å"tired old tits† in Sunday Bloody Sunday and Ken Tynan said the first â€Å"fuck† on the BBC. ) Homosexuality was decriminalised, abortions were available on reasonable demand, and in order to obtain a divorce it was unnecessary to prove that a spouse had committed the â€Å"matrimonial crime† of adultery. Judges no longer put on black caps to sentence prisoners to hang by the neck until dead. Can we say, though, that it was art in this case that changed society, or was it an interaction between human sciences (ie, the law) and the arts (the book) that led to change? This is from the same Guardian article: †¦the message of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, half a century after the trial, is that literature in itself does no harm at all. The damage that gets attributed to books – and to plays and movies and cartoons – is caused by the actions of people who try to suppress them. See: â€Å"The trial of Lady Chatterley’s Lover† The effect of art: presentation [pic] What other piece of art has profoundly changed the way we view the world? And was it the art that did it, or the way it was used that made the impact? Use the link below to help you introduce to us an influential piece of art. Think about the type of change it wrought, for example, ethical, social, metaphysical, etc.

Urbanisation Is Sea

SE1101E Group Essay Rural-Urban migration, or â€Å"urbanization†, has led to a better life for a majority of Southeast Asians. To what extent is this true? Discuss your answer using examples from at least three different Southeast Asian societies to illustrate your points. ____ Introduction For the longest time, Singaporeans lived in a relative urban oasis – coined, praised and awarded as the ‘Garden City’. Even so, in the last 2 years, Singaporeans have experienced the stress of continued urbanization, created primarily through migration.This stress has been manifested physically as inadequate infrastructure, socially as rising xenophobia and politically as rising discontentment, leading to the long-ruling People’s Action Party to face its worst electoral performance since independence in 1965. It is this backdrop that propelled our group to comparatively examine the urbanization experiences of three of Southeast Asia’s largest countries, an d evaluate the outcomes. Firstly and most importantly, it is important to delineate the two key terms – â€Å"rural-urban migration† and â€Å"urbanization†.While â€Å"rural-urban migration† is a subset of â€Å"urbanization†, urbanization as a process is far more encompassing, as Terry McGee has noted to include the expansion and encroachment of urban regions into formerly rural areas through land-use conversion practices. For the scope of this essay, we will limit our arguments to the process of â€Å"rural-urban migration†. The process of migration is simply defined by Zelinsky as â€Å"a permanent or semipermanent change of residence†.Petersen offers a sociological perspective, defining migration as â€Å"a spatial transfer from one social unit or neighbourhood to another†. Extending these, rural-urban migration can be broadly defined as the movement of people from rural home locations to urban locations, which results in socio-economic impacts for â€Å"both the origin and destination societies†. This includes circulatory migration, where rural migrants return to their home location after a period in the urban location, and permanent relocation from the rural location to the urban location.Further to this, to achieve a manageable scope of discussion, we have elected to focus on (domestic) rural-urban migration, where the rural and urban locations are located within the same country, as opposed to the processes of transnational (and regional) rural-urban migration. In this essay, we will argue that while the process of rural-urban migration has created a better life for some, it has not necessarily created a better life for the majority of Southeast Asians especially when evaluated on a holistic level. Specifically, we will use the case studies of Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines to support our argument.These three countries were selected as their combined populations of over 400 millio n, consist a majority 65 per cent of Southeast Asia’s 620 million people, in addition to their relative comparative congruence within the extremely diverse Southeast Asian region. Secondly, this essay strives not to be an ideological critique of the processes of â€Å"rural-urban migration† and â€Å"urbanization† but rather, serve as a comparative exposition on the impacts of rural-urban migration in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines and provide an objective evaluation of whether this process has created a â€Å"better life† for the â€Å"majority of Southeast Asians†.Aptly congruent, Tjitoherijanto and Hasmi describe urbanization as an expression of â€Å"people’s desire for a better life† and â€Å"must be recognized as a natural modern process by which humans attempt to improve their welfare†. The central themes of what is â€Å"a better life†, has rural-urban migration created it and for whom, form the framewo rk of our discussion. Case Study: The Philippines In our first case study, we analyze the Philippines. The state of urbanization in the Philippines is comparatively the most advanced of the three case studies, with 33 highly urbanized cities and 4 surpassing the 1 illion-population mark. While the 2010 census depicts the state of urbanization in the Philippines, it does not describe the flow of domestic rural-urban migration. From 1970 to 1990, the percentage of the Philippine population identified as â€Å"urban† surged from 36% to 52%, which further increased to 59% by 2000. Not all of this growth can be attributed to rural-urban migration. In fact, 47. 2% is actually due to reclassification of formerly rural areas as urban and natural urbanite population growth.While explicit data is sparse, Hugo provides a basis to assume that the remaining and majority 52% of this urban growth, is likely due to rural-urban migration. In tandem with rising urbanization, cursory economic i ndicators also rose. GDP increased from USD 6. 6 billion in 1960 to USD 199. 5 billion by 2010. Even with considerable population growth, GDP per capita also grew during the same period, from USD 692 to USD 1,383. Nakanishi forwards that the rural sector conditions in the Philippines, where peasants do not own their land, are â€Å"insupportable† and conditions in the city, though not the best, are an improvement.Knight and Song, who compute the Philippine’s urban-to-rural income ratio to be 2. 26, give further credence to the possibility, that perhaps, rural-urban migration might create a better economical life for rural migrants, and for all Filipinos too. These quantitative indicators are, however, quickly problematized as overly simplistic. To begin, consider the Gini coefficient, which measures the inequality of income distribution. For the Philippines, this stood at 0. 46 in 2010; the income share held by the top 10% was 36% while the income share held by the bot tom 10% was only 2%.This significantly unequal distribution of income evidences that the benefits associated with economic growth has not reached and has not benefitted a vast majority of Filipinos. Also, counterintuitively, higher income levels in urban areas do not actually lead to economic improvement on all accounts, as the Harris-Todaro model establishes. Simply put, the wage differential between the urban and rural areas (2. 26 in the case of the Philippines) compels rural populations to igrate to urban areas despite urban unemployment which further, and continually, increases unemployment, as long as urban wage levels continue to exceed that of rural areas. This thesis holds true in the Philippines context, where even as unemployment rates rose from 5% in 1980 to 11% by 2000, rural-urban migration continued to rise. This self-perpetuating cycle is particularly significant as it confirms that rural-urban migration, far from leading to a better life, actually results in the opp osite. Rising unemployment creates further problems.One is the creation of urban slums, where the poorest rural migrants generally live. In fact, from 2000 to 2006, urban slums grew at a rate of 3. 5%, faster than the urban population growth rate of 2. 3%. This evidences that rural-urban migration (which generates the majority of urban population growth) creates negative socioeconomic ripple effects, which compound with time, noting that rural-urban migration began in the 1960s in the Philippines. In Manila alone today, 35% of the 12 million population live in slums.Urban slums, which are â€Å"characterized by poor sanitation, overcrowded and crude habitation, inadequate water supply, hazardous location and insecurity of tenure†, have been recognized to lead to widespread environmental degradation. Most prominently, the lack of proper sanitation and sewerage services in slums contaminate citywide and nationwide water supplies, creating over 38 million cases of life-threateni ng diarrhea in the Philippines every year. This is despite the percentage of urban population with access to sanitation in the Philippines increasing from 69% in 1990 to 79% in 2010.This contradiction recalls Ulrich Beck’s pithy quote â€Å"smog is democratic†; that environmental impacts (linked to rural-urban migration and its ensuing employment) created by a small segment of the population can degrade the quality of life for a significant majority, in a ripple-like effect. However, ripple effects can work both ways, and in a positive sense too. One common example is that of the increased literacy rate as a result of rural-urban migration. From 1980 to 2000, the literacy rate increased from 84% to 93%. The literature is clear; generally speaking, a higher literacy ate and education level are two of the most significant positive externalities of rural-urban migration. The causation link between rural-urban migration and literacy is primarily due to the higher accessibi lity of schools in urban regions, which allow rural migrants in urban centers to more readily access schooling. This causation is however, problematic in the Philippines, where there is no wide disparity in literacy rates between rural and urban areas that would support such a causation thesis. The primary school net attendance rate in rural areas was only marginally lower at 86%, compared to 89% in urban areas.Some theorists have hypothesized that a strong historical cultural emphasis on education in the Philippines is one reason for this comparative equality in literacy rates in both urban and rural areas. Regardless, the lack of causation between rural-urban migration and literacy rates in the Philippines, further evidences that rural-urban migration, has not led to a â€Å"better life† for a significant majority of Filipinos. The discussion thus far surfaces a most important facet of the discussion – that of policy responses to rural-urban migration.It is apparent that the impacts created by the process of rural-urban migration might not be as deterministic as Harris and Todaro implied (their simplifying assumptions have been widely critiqued). It is crucial to note that the impact of the rural-urban migration process, whether positive or negative, is molded through the lens of government policy responses. In the case of the Phillipines, the indicator of increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, was contradicted by a highly unequal distribution of income and rising unemployment.Policy intervention is thus required to equalize this. Also, the formations of slums are not a direct result of rural-urban migration but due to inept city planning and a lack of sufficient public housing, again demonstrating the collision between policy and process as fundamental to our discussion on the impacts of rural-urban migration. In sum, one last indicator, mentioned in passing at the beginning of this case study, of increased life expectancy, exempl ifies one of the themes stated at the outset – what constitutes a better life?Does increased life expectancy constitute a â€Å"better life†, or just a longer one? Based on the evidence presented, we are inclined to think it is the latter. While Philippines represent a country in a highly urbanized state, Thailand represents one on the other spectrum. As such, our next case study will examine the rural-urban migration pattern in Thailand. When we analyze the rural-urban migration of Thailand, we can roughly translate it to the rural-urban migration to Bangkok. This is due to Bangkok’s dominance and influence in the country’s political and economical landscape.The size distribution of cities in a country roughly abides to the â€Å"rank-size rule†: The second largest city is half the size of the first largest city and the third largest city is half the size of the second. In Thailand’s case however, the second largest city is a mere 6% the si ze of Bangkok. As such, it is not an overstatement to describe Thailand as a one-city state. Thus in this case study, we will examine the urban landscape with reference to Bangkok as a comparison. Thailand’s urbanization rate is at a low 38% , significantly lower than their peers such as Indonesia (53%) and Malaysia (71%) (percentage not accurate as of 2012.Need comparison and citation). This figure has stalled since 2007, only changing by 0. 8% between 2002 and 2009. This is because Bangkok has stopped growing. In fact, it has shrank by 1% between 2007 and 2009. As of late, Thailand’s urbanization trends began shifting away from Bangkok to the peripheral provinces such as Songkhla; Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani. As such, while the top 10 cities in the vicinity of Bangkok grew collectively by 17%, a 1% decrease in Bangkok has dropped that urbanization growth to a mere 0. 8%. These reflect how this single city is able to impact the country’s economy.As such we shall analyze the impact of urbanization by using Bangkok as our case study. The growth of Bangkok brings about social and economical progress, with economical taking priority. National income statistics from the NESDB have shown that though contributing a mere 15. 8 per cent of total population in 1988, Bangkok and its vicinity generated more than 50 per cent of the gross domestic product. Socially, the Bangkok and its neighboring region has enjoyed better health care (2. 12 hospital beds per residents, compared with 0. 38 per 1,000 residents in Sri Saket, the poorest province of Thailand. and higher access to water (About 12 percent compared with 1. 2 percent in North, 1. 4 percent in the South, and 0. 9 percent in the North-east. ) While the figures reflect an improvement in the quality of life, this may not translate into an improvement for the people. There exist an overlying assumption that there would be a trickle down effect to benefit the less well off. Dr. Puey, a famo us Thai economist observed otherwise. Thailand’s pursuit of economic growth has widened the rich-poor disparity where urbanized regions in Thailand have experienced economic benefits at the expense of villages.Furthermore, it is alleged that there has been a social tension within the rural community between the few who have benefitted and the majority who have not. Critics of these distributions of wealth have blamed the monopoly of capitalism from emerging corporations in finance and banking centered in Bangkok. On October 14, 1973, a student led uprising threw the exploitation of rural villagers in the spot light, highlighting the dissent over the rich-poor divide. Furthermore, Thailand has traded a social benefit for a social problem.As Bangkok swelled as the only go-to urban destination in the 1970s, Bangkok’s infrastructure failed to expand at the same pace as its growing population. Overpopulation and congestion were frequent social issues that the government had to address. The high influx also led to pollution, and by consequence, disease. As such, it may be argued that while the urban population enjoyed better health care services, there was also a higher propensity to get sick due to more frequent interactions and mass pollutions. As such, while the face value of urbanization reveals measurable benefits, the real value actually shows a decrease.This aforementioned issue indicates a situation where rural-urban migration works too well. Bangkok grew haphazardly without an official city plan until 1992, a growth necessitated by Economic interest. Accompanied by poor city planning is its poor infrastructure of roads, leading to massive traffic jams. BBC has ranked Bangkok as having one of the top ten worst traffic jams in the world. For residents in this urban landscape, such issues have become so commonplace that they have come to accept these problems as part of their everyday lives.The process of rural-urban migration, at least until 200 7, has played the role of an instigator that negatively impacted the lives of those living in the urban landscape. Hence, rural-urban migration has its pros and cons. However, while it is important to weigh the different opportunities offered due to rural urban migration, we should also consider how these citizens perceive these opportunities offered and whether they consider themselves better off. Here lies the paradox. Both rural and urban parties perceive themselves as beneficiaries to the rural urban migration.A collection of data from six rural villages in the Nong Muun Than and Phon Muang communes revealed that villagers overwhelmingly felt that they had came up on top compared to their urban counterparts. Villages were perceived to be better in terms of standard of living, the friendliness, the working conditions and the environment to raise children although they conceded that urban areas posed a better environment to specialize. On the contrary, urban areas felt that they b enefitted from better facilities, higher pay and wider job opportunities.As such, while visible problems exist in both rural and urban states, they remain predominantly contented. This approach, however, comes with its own associated problems. It fails to recognize social identity which compels participants to be more biased towards their own home society, and it also assumes all Thais are well-informed of the opportunities and problems offered in both societies. For example, villagers in a rural area may be contented with life, but they may still be unable to comprehend the benefits urban areas provide.Their contentment hence lies in their simplicity of thought rather than the effect of rural-urban migration. As such, we turn our attention to more obvious indicators while still taking account, albeit more cautiously, people’s perception of such benefits. Recognizing the growing rural-urban divide, the 9th developmental plan of Thailand explicitly tackles such rural-urban lin kages in the country. Longitudinal studies on migration patterns conducted by the Nang Rong Project and Kanchanburi Demographic Surveillance System (KDSS) were used to evaluate emerging problems faced by Thailand.It concluded that economical pull factors were the main cause of migration towards urban areas, although their search for financial stability came with a string attached. According to the DFG Bangkok Migrant Survey, (2010), 67 percent of migrants reported an improvement in living conditions since leaving rural areas while 60 percent of migrants reported stable income. However, 70 percent of migrants do not possess a written work contract and 80 percent of respondents have no insurance at all.Most of these migrants consist of family members forced to find work in urban areas due to rural poverty and hence migration was influenced not out of choice but rather that of necessity. As such, although they travel to urban regions in search of better prospects, their nature of trave l is necessitated for survival and their trip comes with little or no social safety net. Another issue they face is not simply acquiring employment, but rather quality employment. 70 percent of migrants earn less than 300 bahts (or $8) a day.While these still represents an increase in pay as compared to their rural counterparts, they also face a higher cost of living in an urban environment and therefor tend to spend more. Hence, most migrants aimed for quality employment, but only a mere 2 percent earn around 2. 3% fall in this category. To summarize, economical growth only represents the net value earned ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Terry Mc Gee – The Spatiality of Urbanization, The Policy Challenges of Mega-Urban and Desakota Regions of Southeast Asia- Published by Penerbit Lestari, Univeriti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor Darul Ehsan, 2009. 2 ]. The Hypothesis of the Mobility Transition Author(s): Wilbur Zelinsky Reviewed work(s): Source: Geographical Review, Vol. 61, No. 2 (Apr. , 1971), pp. 219-249 Published by: American Geographical Society Stable URL: http://www. jstor. org/stable/213996 [ 3 ]. Migration and split households: a comparison of sole, couple, and family migrants in Beijing, China C Cindy Fan, Mingjie Sun, Environment and Planning A 2011, volume 43, pages 2164 ^ 2185 [ 4 ]. William Petersen: A General Typology of Migration, Amer. Sociol. Rev. , Vol. 23, 1958, pp. 246-266. [ 5 ]. Devasahayam makes a compelling study of these processes hrough the lens of remittances. Making Remittances Work in Southeast Asia By Theresa W. Devasahayam in http://www. iseas. edu. sg/documents/publication/ISEAS%20Perspective_09nov12. pdf [ 6 ]. https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/wfbExt/region_eas. html [ 8 ]. http://www. census. gov. ph/content/2010-census-population-and-housing-reveals-philippine-population-9234-million [ 9 ]. Flieg er, W. 1995. The Philippine population: 1980-90. Paper prepared for Conference on Population, Development and Environment, Program on Population, East- West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. A. [ 10 ]. http://www. nscb. gov. ph/pressreleases/2004/30Jan04_urban. asp [ 11 ]. The Book [ 12 ]. Hugo, G. (1999), Demographic Perspectives on Urban Development in Asia at the Turn of the Century, in: Brotchie, J. , Newton, P. , Hall, P. and Dickey, J. (eds. ), East West Perspective on 21st Century Urban Development, Alder- shot, UK: Ashgate. [ 13 ]. World Bank Statistics [ 14 ]. Nakanishi (1996), Comparative Study of Informal Labour Markets in the Urbanisation Process: The Philippines and Thailand, The Developing Economies, 34(4): 470-96. [ 15 ]. Knight, J. and Song, L. 2002, 2nd ed. ), The Rural-Urban Divide – Eco- nomic Disparities and Interactions in China, Oxford: Oxford University Press. [ 16 ]. World Bank [ 17 ]. World Bank [ 18 ]. Source Needed [ 19 ]. http://www. irinnews. org/Rep ort/89348/PHILIPPINES-Slum-populations-brace-for-storm-season [ 20 ]. according to Marife M. Ballesteros. [ 21 ]. World Bank [ 22 ]. http://www. epdc. org/sites/default/files/documents/Philippines_coreusaid. pdf [ 23 ]. SCB Insight 2010, Looking beyond Bangkok: The urban consumer and urbanization in thailand) by SBS Economic intelligence sector [ 24 ]. ttp://urbantimes. co/2012/08/the-outcomes-of-rapid-urbanization-in-thailand/ [ 25 ]. SCB Insight 2010, Looking beyond Bangkok: The urban consumer and urbanization in thailand) by SBS Economic intelligence sector [ 26 ]. http://www. scb. co. th/eic/doc/en/insight/SCB%20Insight%20Dec%202010%20Eng. pdf [ 27 ]. http://archive. unu. edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu11ee/uu11ee0z. htm [ 28 ]. http://archive. unu. edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu11ee/uu11ee0z. htm [ 29 ]. Economic Development and rural-urban Disparities in Thailand by Prasert Yamklinfung*, Southeast Asian Studies vol 25, no. , page 342 [ 30 ]. http://archive. unu. edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu 11ee/uu11ee0z. htm [ 31 ]. http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/magazine-19716687 [ 32 ]. Rural – Urban mobility in Thailand: A decision-making approach by Theodore D. Fuller, Paul Lightfoot and Peerasit Kamnuansilpa [ 33 ]. Rural – Urban mobility in Thailand: A decision-making approach by Theodore D. Fuller, Paul Lightfoot and Peerasit Kamnuansilpa [ 34 ]. http://econstor. eu/bitstream/10419/48316/1/4_amare. pdf (page 7) [ 35 ]. http://econstor. eu/bitstream/10419/48316/1/4_amare. pdf (Page 17)

Design lead project management Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Design lead project management - Thesis Example Secondly, in last two decades, the profession that comes up with growth and innovation. This profession has been fractured into many sub specialties. These include: real estate brokers, interior designers, municipal expediters, construction managers and on site inspection providers. I believe today’s architect must be able to perform most of the above services in house or create a team to meet the client needs. However the central duty of an architect remains the same, which he is performing continuously through the ages. Once the landowners looked to the architect as the ‘Master Builder’, responsible for the selection of the building site, aesthetic appearance, construction technique, material strengths, bureaucratic mastery and cost control. Today landowners, business leaders and developers still demand the same qualities from the architectural profession. Many clients have gain confidence in the professions ability to solve complex construction issues. As a res ult, many clients seek out persons willing to provide these services, which continue to be vital in the successful completion of a construction project. Most clients have achieved success by taking a proactive instance in their own businesses and have the right to demand the same from their architect, as well as mastery in skills of controlling the design and construction process. Today, we all are fortunate to have a few beacons in positions of leadership such as project managers who is trying to restore peoples confidence in the profession by restating state law that the architect is the person ultimately responsible for the built environment, thereby, allowing the architect more control over the process. To achieve successful completion of a construction project the client looks to his or her architect to develop the projects program, supervise and prepare construction documents, and know how and when to recommend, seek out, and organize a team of

Australian government disability policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Australian government disability policy - Essay Example The latest research surveys conducted by global disability association illustrated that, out of the total current worlds’ population; approximately 10 percent are found to be disabled in one way or another. However, it is still contrastingly clear that, disabled persons form the minority on the society. Despite the fact that, communities have been sensitised to recognize the disabled like any other member of the society, persons with disability are still prone to subjection of acts of violence and rape. The offenders are likely to get a way scot free without legal intervention. This is the main reason as to why the federal Government of Australia has enacted the disability policy to ensure fairness and equal opportunities in all roles within the society. Integration of the disability policy Since it had been brought to the limelight that, people associated with disability are often assumed with a lot of neglect in most of the societal structure. The Australian Government, ther efore, pushed for their recognition just as any other normal citizen in the federal republic. To start with, the Government enacted equalization of persons with disability act to drive a sense of equity in the delivery of services and equitable sharing of responsibility in favour of the disabled persons so that, they can enjoy the same kind of life associated with able members of the society. According to this act, the federal government has put in place mandatory policy to all the institutions offering any form of employments both at private and state level to empower and exercise right of the disabled person (Paun 2006). This authority has been designed to be far much felt both in rural and urban areas where the disabled human resource who are otherwise recognised as to able are differently given equal opportunities to ascertain productive employment with respect to the labor market. The basic advantage of this policy is to avert any form of discrimination of persons perceived to be disabled and no obstacles should be brought in their way while pursuing employment. Besides, the Australian federal Government has ensured harmony and integration of disabled persons into open employment. It has offered support which is being driven through different kinds of measures such as offering vocational training for persons considered to have severe physical problems and disadvantaged from joining higher levels of education. With respect to vocational training, talent development and a skilled perfection is made as a way of making them to achieve equal status like the other members of the society (Paun 2006). Some amongst the advantages of this policy is that, the state provides a lot of incentives to the disabled through what is called the quota schemes. Such invectives come in terms of reserved openings and employment opportunities which are specifically meant for the disabled. Besides, they are given fair opportunities in accessing loans at affordable interest rates a nd grants with sufficient settlement duration of repayment, and this makes them feel the advantage of entrepreneurship. However, for this not to be visualized as undue advantage to the rest of the society, strategies can be put in place to disburse incentives to a group or combination of both able and disabled persons so as to avert unfairness or biasness. Moreover, the government is very much considerate and has subsidised the tax collected from such persons and has instead facilitated compliance in terms of offering contracts besides funding and other technical assistance to the institutions that has put in recognition to employ persons with disabilities. This acts as an additional support in generation of returns helping in the collective support in building of the society in all aspects of personalities (Vosko 2006). The Australian National council, a body, which supports the awareness of persons with disa

Linguistics and the Media Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Linguistics and the Media - Term Paper Example Daniel Dennette defines it as a unit of information in a mind whose existence influences events such that more copies of it get created in others’ minds. Here, the stress lies on the idea that a meme is an inherent form of knowledge in the human brain; it is the basic unit of cultural transmission or imitation. According to this definition, everything we call â€Å"culture† is composed of atom like memes, which compete with one another. These memes spread by being passed from mind to mind in the same way genes spread by being passed down through sperm and egg. The memes that win the competition are those that are successful at penetrating the most minds; they are the ones responsible for those activities and creations that constitute present-day culture (Brodie, 1996). CMC’s have made it possible for memes to germinate in the social gene pool. The linguistic implications of meme are highly significant since information travels over websites, blogs and social netw orking sites, and hence languages vary. Therefore, with every language, the conceptual framing and blending of linguistics and pragmatics also vary. Hence, language changes on the internet (Crystal, 2001). According to Bell, there is a close relationship between linguistics and media. â€Å"It makes a specific use of language and media texts illustrate language use and language attitudes for a variety of speech communities†. Syntactics and semiotics of meme in the following examples help to understand why people have a shared interest for memes. Since we have already established that memes grow in the mind of person to person, it is important to know how medium achieves that. There is a simultaneous use of text and visual. This particular series is called Successful Black Man, also known as â€Å"Successful Negro†. The media’s denotation of a black man in a business suit and a witty one-liner, firstly involves a fabricated framework experienced by conceptual ble nding employed in the first statement, â€Å"I got 99 problems† The connotation with the stereotype of an African man is that they are hustlers and gangster in the street. However secondly, there is an intentional line break after which a line is cited having primary framework relating to a professional who took a CA exam. There is an immediate exploitative fabricated framework. The intention behind the fabrication is to create hilarity because of the pragmatics of the two lines’ frameworks. The top line mimics what a black male stereotype would say while the bottom line results in breaking the character of the first line. The creator divulges that the inspiration behind the meme was based on reverse-discrimination issues at the workplace. In this case the humor and wit, and reversing the stereotype in the meme made it popular. There should be some genuine quirkiness contained within the idea. â€Å"The meme could coincide with some kind of zeitgeist or spirit of the age. Humor is a powerful component. Often it will contain an aspect that challenges conventional wisdom. There is also a critical mass factor at play. The spread of an idea of concept will accelerate at some point probably due to the multiplier effect of people being exposed to it

Value of Education in Todays Society Research Paper

Value of Education in Todays Society - Research Paper Example Education is Important to the Economy and to Learning Civic Responsibility Participants in higher education are often more responsible financially because they are opened to a variety of higher level thinking skills. Mohan (2012) states that an individual who gains a degree is often able to find better jobs than those who do not. Mohan also states that people are less likely to accept public assistance if they have a good job. Brand (2010) states that education puts people into the position of becoming more civic minded. Brand notes that as people excel in college, they are less likely to be involved in volunteer work. Education opens people’s minds and directs them to a better life. This is an important feature of education that is true across cultures. Education is Important to Career Advancement Many people want to advance in their careers. Many times, they only way for advancement is to gain more education. In many corporate settings, as employees gain certain levels of ed ucation, they can move into management other positions. Education helps an individual see other opportunities and put into place goals and objectives that are important to their own career growth. Comunian, Faggian, and Jewell (2011) point out that there are a variety of careers that are successful when people are looking for jobs. When someone has education they can also begin at a better salary than they would if they only have a high school education. A higher salary may mean that a person will spend more money in the economy and this will help society improve. Educated people are able to critically think in many situations. Baum and Payea (2005) state that when people have a college education it provides... This paper approves that Education creates leaders. Leaders are important in any society because they are at the head of most organizations. Chyns, Kiefer, Kerschreiter and Tymon state that education is important to self-awareness and leadership development. The authors studied leadership and found that leaders must be able to understand the environments in which they work. Leaders also have an understanding of how to lead people and get them to do what is needed. This is important because without strong leadership, most organizations fail. This essay comes to a conclusion that education is important to society on many levels. Education drives a society and can help it transition to a stronger community. Education is important to enhance a society and to make it stronger. When someone is gaining education, he or she learns how to help others achieve as they take the role of leadership. Education is important to the economy because educated people spend more and they pay more taxes. They also pay taxes. Both situations bring people together and help the society grow. Most organizations are working with a diverse work group which means that training should be involved with them to understand more about cultures and about what culture looks like. In a global world, it is important is to be culturally sensitive to the needs of all workers and this come with education and training. There is no doubt that education is important to society. There are a variety of ways that educated people help the economy.

Evolutionary Biology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evolutionary Biology - Essay Example On the side of the table with 5 chairs, the guests seated are, in the order running from my end of the table to that with the empty chair: Charles Darwin, my brother Hunter, Carl Linnaeus, my sister Cara, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, and my dad John. Cast of Characters The seven guests gathered around the table from the start of the meal represent some of the greatest minds in genetics, evolutionary theory, and many other fields, from across the centuries. To begin with the guest seated at my right hand: Charles Darwin Despite the level of company gathered, Charles Darwin, who was born in Britain in 1809 and died in 1882, is one of the most distinguished guests. More than any other historical figure, he enjoys a widespread association with evolutionary theory. After periods of religious and scientific study in the UK, Darwin joined the naval research vessel HMS Beagle in December 1831, for what was to be a 5-year voyage around the world, and in the course of which he collected much of the data which would form the basis of his great work. He took samples and recorded findings from the Canary Islands, South America, the Galapagos Islands, New Zealand, Australia, Mauritius, and the Cape. While his work on fossils and in other fields was significant, it is for his theory of evolution and natural selection, as enshrined in the classic 1859 text, On the Origin of Species, that Darwin is principally remembered. His findings were accepted by most scientists within his lifetime, and he was honoured with a state funeral at Westminster Abbey, London. Carl Linnaeus Linnaeus lived in Sweden from 1707-1778, and is generally remembered for his work as a preeminent zoologist and botanist. Thanks to Linnaeus’ formidable work in collecting, examining, and classifying thousands of species, the work of organising and understanding different organisms and the way in which they relate to each other is now much easier. Indeed, Linnaeus created the framework which is now almost univ ersally used to differentiate organisms, in the form of his taxonomy and binomial nomenclature. The former is the hierarchy by which an organism’s relation to other organisms can be traced and understood; the latter is the method for naming and identifying organisms. Thomas Robert Malthus Malthus was a British thinker and clergyman who lived from 1766 to 1834. His interests were primarily in political economy and demographics, or the study of populations and their characteristics. While most of the guests at dinner tonight are equally interested in all aspects of life on earth, whether human or plant or animal, Malthus focused on trends in changing human populations, and the factors which drive them and check them. Wilhelm Weinberg Weinberg, a German Jewish scientist, lived from 1862 to 1937, and was based in Stuttgart for most of this time. While his important contribution to the study of genetics went unrecognized for several decades after his death, he is now acknowledged as a leading figure in this field of study, being credited with developing the principle of genetic equilibrium. Gregor Johann Mendel Gregor Mendel was, by vocation, a monk, living within the Austrian Empire from 1822 to 1844. He is now considered by many to be the founding father of the study of genetics, and is particularly well-known for his studies of variation in pea plants, of which he grew nearly 30,000 over the course of his studies. While the significance of his work was not fully realized until the early years of

I will down load the story that it needs to be taken from Essay

I will down load the story that it needs to be taken from - Essay Example Since its inception technology’s infusion into life has transformed the lives of human beings slowly and steadily and has evolved the human society into its present state- the state which is miraculously poles apart from where the society stood just a few decades ago. This infusion of technology and successive increasing inclination is, however having both good and bad effects upon it adapters. One the one hand there is one school of thought which argues that technology is to ma like blood is to human body. They claim that technology is extremely beneficial and it unending benefits make life extremely feasible for man to live their life. From computing devices assisting man at every unit time to the limitless number of software that do thousands of tasks for man, people argue that there is now way by which such a beneficial invention could be non- beneficial for man. â€Å"Digital technologies have had a profound impact on most aspects of human life. The rapid pace of technol ogical development has given the current generation one of the most fascinating eras in which to live. Technological advances are leading to life changing scientific breakthroughs, new business management paradigms, and a more inclusive and connected global society.† (Baldauf, Stair, 2011) On the other hand there is this other school of thought who argues that technology infusion is gaining a dangerous pace among human beings and it is thus becoming highly dangerous for their own personal lives. People afraid of the dangerous inclination of technology towards man contend that people get so very used to checking their connecting gadgets and their office work all the time that they even tend to forget their meal times and their personal obligations towards their families and friends. It is as if technology infusion has actually taken over their lives and their distractions from their personal lives are not even detectable to them. Others even maintain that the thought of assumin g that multitasking enables more productivity is actually not true. While people think that they actually are multitasking and are getting several tasks done simultaneously they originally are unable to concentrate on even one single task. There is absolutely no task of getting creativity done if one is multitasking and is trying to work at the same time on their Smartphone, laptop and tablet etcetera. People become this much freaks that even the thought of not remaining connected to their gadgets for the sixteen seconds in which the train in which they are travelling passes through a subway is not acceptable to them. The look forward to the passing of those sixteen seconds as soon as possible so that the connectivity to their gadgets is maintained again. â€Å"Technological change is the major source of cultural change in any society.† (Andersen, Taylor, 2007) My view is that over exposure to any thing is not safe and not good for anyone. Thus even the overexposure to techno logy is not recommended. Our personal lives are the most cherished things man has been blessed with. Thus we would be taking advantage of the benefits of technology but should not let them take over our minds and souls for all times. When it comes to the topic of the affects of things on the personal lives of human beings, most of us will readily agree that our family and personal lives should have the utmost importance and should not be neglected at all. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of whether this dangerous

Analysis and commentary on a political song Essay

Analysis and commentary on a political song - Essay Example This song challenges the view that Presidents Reagan era improved the American economy; therefore, improving the standard of living for all Americans. Chapman’s song exposes us to the plight of the lower class in the society. It is evident that political leaders promise an economy that will enable citizens’ access good housing, well paying jobs. However, in the song it is evident that people in the lower class struggle to make ends meet. Living the good life remains a dream for a good number of citizens in the lower class. The protagonist in the song takes up two jobs to be able to provide for her family. Joblessness is an issue addressed in the song. The protagonists’ husband is jobless and his desperation drives him to become an alcoholic. Chapman utilises symbolism and metaphors to pass the message in the song. The fast car is a major symbol in the song. The fast car symbolises the protagonist means of escaping in search for a better life. The car symbolises power a means of leaving town in search of a new life. It is the power to escape unpleasant circumstances. The word fast is metaphorically utilised to emphasise on the protagonist excitement in leaving the small community. Her boyfriend is a symbol of hope for a good life. She believes that if they both get jobs they would be able to live a good life. Chapman utilises repetition in the chorus for example a repeat of the phrase â€Å"be someone† emphasises on the protagonist optimism and determination to make something out of her life (Chapman â€Å"Fast Car.†). Chapman’s song has a sad tone, for example, when she talks about her family. We understand her troubles and her reasons for wanting to escape the life she is leaving. Her father is an alcoholic; her mother abandons them due to the hardship that comes with poverty. The protagonist sacrifices her education to take care of her father. Chapman utilises temporal relationships to

How the East Has Created Opportunity In Adversity for Uniting And Research Paper

How the East Has Created Opportunity In Adversity for Uniting And Reinforcing Its Community - Research Paper Example more, reports have been made of the total abandoning of the indigenous Chinese music, which was otherwise expected to serve as the dynamic community identity of the people of China (Nicholls, 2013). In other countries of the East, there are prevailing influences of foreifn language in the core educational curriculum of their schools where native languages that used to be the lingua franca and medium of instruction no longer exit (Hyer, 43). There is also a prevailing situation characterized by total neglect for the core Eastern culture of manners and courtesy that was rooted in the type of family system that was practiced before (Zhang, 2013). In such countries, the nuclear family system has taken the place of extended family system and thus led to an individualistic society being created. Effect of Western influence on the East With multiple cases and instances of the overflow of Western culture in the East, particularly in areas of music studies in schools, debate has gone on as to what the possible effects and repercussions of the phenomenon could be for the East. In the opinion of some commentators, the effect has actually started already and is negative effects. Leffer (98) has for example stated that the East has currently lost its cultural identity, which could be nurtured into a very important economic competitive advantage for the region (Prakash 35). Indeed, there is sufficient evidence to back this claim, even though counter arguments exists. A typical evidence of this is the fact that when the East is able to consolidate its community through the preservation of its cultural entities, it would be in a position to brand most of its products and services as peculiar brands, that would have had trade patronage for the fact that it was unique to the East. A... This article stresses that there has been other form of opportunities that the East has created in adversity for uniting and reinforcing its community. One of these is by coming out with a number of groups, organizations and agencies that gather the collective community identities of the larger East into a common forum or platform, where there can be a larger representation of the ideas and ideals of the East. This paper has been a very useful academic exercise in identifying the state of the East in terms of the preservation of the values of its community, as rooted in the exhibition of Eastern culture. Generally, it has been realized that globalization has taken a very bad side of the East, whereby it has brought about a penetrated urge for cultures of non-Eastern origins to take dominion of the Eastern community. It can be concluded that as much as globalization and trans-cultural existence may have its own advantages and merits, these advantages can never be compared to the benefits that the East derives by holding on to its own cultural heritage, values and principles. The benefits are actually estimated to be diverse and take all forms of Eastern civilization including political importance, economic importance, social importance and environmental importance. It is not surprising therefore that various advocacy groups have showed up in a bid to help in the promotion and reinforcement of the East as a community.

Business Plan for Small Business Essay Example for Free

Business Plan for Small Business Essay Introduction While food trucks are very popular in the U.S, it seems under the strict by-laws in Ottawa as well as other cities in Canada as the government want to protect its citizens. With a growing demand for food trucks, the City of Ottawa has been forced to loosen restrictions on the mobile eateries, much to the approval of locals as well as chefs trying to make a mark on the culinary environment. In 2012, City Council approved the New Street Food Vending Program to encourage new, convenient and culturally diverse fare on City streets. There are now a total of 61 street food vendors permitted on Ottawa’s streets (32 trucks 29 carts). In the spring of 2013, there was an addition of 17 new vendors (10 trucks 7 carts). From oriental cuisine to Mexican treats, seasonal creations to sustainable seafood, these new vendors will complement the existing mix of street foods vendors and satisfy the diverse appetites of residents and tourists alike. According to the Ottawa’s new street food vending program, a food truck cannot be greater than 10 meters in length (33 feet), by 2.6 meters in width (8.5 feet), by 4.3 meters in height (14 feet). Refreshment trucks must: be clean and sanitary all the times be in compliance with size regulations be safe and stable condition and state of good repair have recycling and trash receptacles outside of the unit have a trade name written on both sides of vehicle with letters no smaller than 7cm in height be removed from City streets during non operating hours (11pm – 5:30am) not be left unattended for longer than 30 minutes during operating hours In addition, all licenses and permit holders must: dispose of grease and water in accordance with all laws and regulations ensure trash/recyclables resulting from the vending activity are collected and removed from the vending area before leaving for the day. Street Vending Insurance Information As a condition of being issued a mobile refreshment vehicle or cart license, you are required to obtain and maintain General Commercial Liability Insurance coverage which meets the following requirements: insurance for Public Liability and Property Damage for vehicles with a limit of not less than $2,000,000 per occurrence insurance for Public Liability and Property Damage for carts with a limit of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence the City of Ottawa is named as an additional insured the policy must contain an endorsement to provide the City with 30 days prior notice of cancellation or change that would diminish coverage A mobile refreshment vehicle or cart license will not be issued until sufficient proof of insurance has been received and approved. Arrange for a vehicle or cart inspection Prepared to schedule for final inspection in time through By-law and Regulatory Services Branch. Contact Officer Jacqueline Mundy at 613 580 2424 EXT 33340 or by e-mail at [emailprotected] to arrange your on-site inspection. Food service inspection across Canada is generally carried out by these organizations: provincial governments, municipalities and regional health authorities Executive Summary The business is the restaurant/service industry. It is important for us to understand that customers are our top priority, and for this reason our business is entirely devoted to serving their needs There was recently an article in globe and mail about food allergies in Canada: â€Å"It is estimated that 5 to 6 per cent of young children and 3 to 4 per cent of adults suffer from food allergies. Nearly 1 per cent of the population is affected by celiac disease; for them, the consumption of foods containing gluten can lead to long-term complications.† (Galloway, 2012) The general public should not be worried for their health when they go out to enjoy a meal with loved ones, they should not have to concern themselves with counter-active measures every time they dine away from home. The Food Truck is a limited partnership and has both limited and general partners. The Food Truck will strive to provide the highest quality of food and service to their customers. This business idea had been put together by five people from different parts of the world, making a total contribution of $54543. The Food Truck targets a wide variety of markets, people from all parts of the world. Our number one goal is to make customers happy, no matter the cost, so that they feel happy, confident and motivated to recommend us to their friends, family and colleagues The Food Truck specializes in allergy free food. The menu that ‘The Food Truck’ has is all allergy-free products. However, we target all the potential customers but our biggest target market is people with food allergies or intolerance and these individuals are definitely going to love this food. People on limited diets experience challenges finding food that they can enjoy and The Food Truck will provide a simple and convenient dining experience. According to the analysis, a rough sketch of costs and expenses that are going to occur after selling 200 menu items a day will be: Due to the nature of our product, and the service our business provides to the community, our target market can be both broad and focused at the same time. It is broad in the sense that we will be serving the entirety of the Ottawa region on a region-by-region basis, a population that can be narrowed demographically to only an estimate of those people who have a food allergy or intolerance. For the first six months of business operations, we are simply looking to breakeven in terms of profitability. Any extra earned above and beyond our costs can be used to improve or upgrade our business, so that when our pricing objectives change, we can be one step ahead in terms of our ability to offer a better, more inclusive product. As our price objectives increase, we can further use the projected increase in profitability to both upgrade our primary location, and begin planning for  expansion. Based on initial investments by the management team, to create our start-up ownership spread in the business’ shares, we have $20,000 to apply to our beginning costs in this business venture (100 shares x $200/share). This will cover around half of the purchase of a food truck to use (Lagorio, 2010), or the total licensing fees and partial inventory needed to get started. This brings us up short around $60,000-$75,000 to cover our start up costs and first year expenses to ensure our business runs smoothly and has the time to begin showing its own profit. This report will analyze the very crucial information for the allergy food truck business. The information will be divided into different categories for better illustration. We will first discuss how our food truck business is unique and different from other types of food truck business. This report will give each individual or grouped investor better understanding of our unique food truck business and demonstrate great potential and opportunity that the allergy food truck has. And since the funding covers 90% of the start-up cost, it shouldn’t be hard for the owners to easily cover any unexpected expenses that can happen in business. And in case the funding is not granted, we have a backup plan (Plan B). So then we will be looking for other forms of financing, beginning with business loans from banks, and other investors. Manufacturing and Operation Plan The first step in our plan will be getting licensed from the City of Ottawa. Food truck design is also crucial. It’s almost like designing a new kitchen for a new restaurant. Because the food truck is smaller than most of restaurant kitchens, every inch of the space has to be utilized. A designated area for cooking, storing, and serving is needed. Dry goods, paper goods and other perishable items will be stored in the cabinets and cupboards which will be secured while driving. Built-in prep counter will be made of stainless steel and all the hazardous materials will always be kept away from food and serving utensils. Since we only serve specific items in our menu, we’ll use a medium size truck that can give us enough space to prep and serve. The serving window and the kitchen prep area will be made of stainless steel. All the freezers and coolers will be bolted for safety. In summer the ideal places are beaches and the Byward market. This truck will give enough space for employees to do their jobs and will also allow customers to order and get their food with ease. According to my analysis, a rough sketch of costs and expenses that are going to occur after selling 200 menu items in a month will be: Once the menu and business hits the market, the company will expand its business by buying a bigger truck which will have larger kitchen and serving area and where people can enjoy their food in the truck. So basically, it will be a mobile restaurant. Customers will have two choices, either enjoying their food on the roof or take out. The units will be equipped with proper ventilation and electrical outlets. The outside counter will hold sausages, napkins and all stuff like that as shown in first image. An awning over the window will also be handy in case of rain or bad weather (Mealy). The ownership and shares will cover the expenses for the first year and the licensing cost. The government funding will cover the cost of the truck and other expenses that cannot be covered by owners. And in case government funding is not granted, plan B will cover the cost of truck and other expenses. Once the business is up and running, the target is to sell between 7200-8000 items over the year, which means 15-20 items per day on average, which is easily achievable. After selling 7200 items, projected net profit after paying wages are calculated around $35000 which can be divided between the owners. Human Resources Plan The Key members of our business team are Suzanne Crabtree, Brent Grinstead, Phuong Anh Phan, Ding Sun and Amrinder Singh. Each member holds a varying number of shares for the company as detailed below: Name# Shares Held% Ownership Suzanne Crabtree40[40%] Brent Grinstead 30[30%] Phuong Anh Phan10[10%] Amrinder Singh10[10%] Ding Sun10[10%] Phuong Anh Phan graduated from Interior Decorating Program iscurrently completing Small and Medium Enterprise Management Program. Phuong Anh has worked 1 year as a designer at UMA, a design company. After that, 2 years of work experience were completed as an office administrator and designer at Markham Center Realty. Amrinder Singh completed high school in India before deciding to go overseas for higher studies and chose Algonquin College. He has worked as a cashier in a bank in India. In Canada, he has done roofing, worked in warehouses, macs as well as security positions. From all of this experience he has learnt how to run a business and things that we should and shouldnt do. Ding Sun was originally born in China and at the age of fifteen came to Canada. Elementary and middle school was completed in China. High school was completed in Canada. Ding transferred from the University of Ottawa to Algonquin College for post-secondary studies. After an unhappy experience at the University of Ottawa, Ding decided to take business administration with a major in accounting. Ding Sun has worked in a dollar store as a store worker and cashier for one summer also as an assembler for a small factory. Outside of school Ding enjoys listening to music and playing video games. Brent Grinstead has switched educational goals twice in the last five years. Because of this, he has a diploma in Radio Broadcasting, a semester’s worth of pre-design courses, and his current program is Business Administration with a major in Accounting. Through his work in the Radio Broadcasting program, he has learned how to juggle multiple tasks at once. During his time as a radio station manager he was responsible for creating the structure for how the material was played over the air, scheduling students for air time, and both scheduling and approving commercial and music content. Business Administration has helped him learn new ways of looking behind the scenes of the business world, as well as providing many opportunities to gain new skills with those things in mind. He has learned how to do a wide range of new tasks such as writing fund proposals, how to write a variety of business reports, creating and presenting marketing strategies to help existing companies, and learning how to properly present financial statements at the end of fiscal periods. In his varied work experience with a mix of duties, Brent has learned a variety of skills including time management in an office setting, how to manage tasks according to importance, how to deal with the post public, and how client records and receivables were maintained. Suzie Crabtree completed her early education in the gifted program in Ottawa which helped teach her valuable learning and communications skills. After high school she began her post secondary education with three years at Carleton University. When she discovered that it was not the right fit, she transferred over to Algonquin College to complete Business Administration. In terms of work experience, she has worked for the City of Ottawa, the Federal Government, a toy store and McDonald’s. All of these experiences have provided her with exposure to a variety of different tasks. She has an excellent understanding of human resources and how to manage a successful team. She is a great communicator and is able to provide excellent customer service. These work experiences have also allowed her to have an inside look at the finances and other procedures involved in running a business such as inventory and payroll. Before we begin to hire staff for The Food Truck, each member of the management team will need to undergo some training in food allergies and intolerances so that they are better prepared to run the business and help  hire and train new staff. Due to a lack of relevant experience, menu creation and planning will have to be outsourced. As well, outside help will have to be brought in to train staff on new menu items. The Food Truck will require a total of eight (8) employees’ altogether. There will be one (1) full-time Manager, one (1) full-time Assistant Manager, one (1) full-time cook, one (1) full-time cashier, two (2) part-time cooks, and two (2) part-time cashiers. This balance of staff will allow The Food Truck to offer a reasonable range of working hours while still working to control labour costs. The Manager and Assistant Manager will be responsible for all of the day-to-day activities of the business and the business team listed above will oversee the overall running of the business. Our job application for The Food Truck is provided below. We are looking for employees with experience as a cook or cashier depending on the position applied for. Our Manager and Assistant Manager will need to have previous managerial experience in a food-related business. They should possess excellent administrative and analytical skills. They should be planning-oriented, cautious and focused on the short term. Our cooks and cashiers should have some previous experience in their related area and should be open to receiving training related to food allergies and intolerances. Experience is not mandatory and we are willing to train new individuals. Our cashiers must be friendly and outgoing and must possess excellent customer service skills. Experience handling money would be an asset for the cashiers. All individuals must be willing to work as a part of a team and must understand the close quarter’s nature of the food truck business. The cooks should also be friendly in nature since they will be working as a part of a team in a cramped space. All individuals must be responsible and committed to coming to work on time and doing a great job. To evaluate employees there will be periodic performance review sessions. The first review session will be a probationary session and will take place 60 days after hire. This session will determine whether or not the employee has a future with the organization. After the initial probationary session,  performance reviews will occur every 6 months. These performance reviews will allow employees’ to discuss ideas, questions, complaints and job expectations. Employee behaviour and attitudes will also be monitored on a daily basis and discussions regarding performance may take place at any point between review sessions. Wage increases will occur on a yearly basis with a performance review session at the end of the fiscal year. Employees will start off with a competitive wage varying from minimum wage to higher levels based on their experience, training and performance. Employees will be offered bonuses and incentives for working special events and help to attract and retain customers. Marketing Plan The Concept Our product is specifically targeted at people who have an allergy or intolerance to certain foods or food ingredients. We are striving to give them an alternative, healthy, safe option with respect to their needs with regards to these intolerances when they are looking for food options away from home. Because allergies are not a limited condition to a particular age group, the beginnings of our targeting will revolve around the population of Ottawa, from families with young children at home to college students to the elderly, anyone with an allergy or intolerance will fall within the realm of our market. We are looking to target those that are health conscious and looking for an alternative to the regular run-of-the-mill take-out food options in the city. Market Breakdown Due to the nature of our product, and the service our business provides to the community, our target market can be both broad and focused at the same time. It is broad in the sense that we will be serving the entirety of the Ottawa region on a region-by-region basis, a population that can be narrowed demographically to only an estimate of those people who have a food allergy or intolerance. The total population of the city of Ottawa was projected at  roughly 920,178 people for 2011, based on three possible scenarios the city officials examined, and an average taken of the results (City of Ottawa, 2001-13). Taking this number, we can further narrow our market by only targeting those that self-report an allergy or food intolerance, which is roughly 7% of Canadians (Health Canada, 2012). Using this percentage, we can limit our target market to around 64,412 people in the Ottawa region. Now, further, according to a study done by Statistics Canada, roughly a quarter of people in Ontario (26.8%) consume food from a fast food outlet on a regular basis (Garriguet, 2004), which further narrows our potential target market to around 17,262 regular users. The rest of the projected market (the remaining 47,150) can still be sought after as occasional users, but can’t be relied upon for a regular consumer or income base. Advantages and Disadvantages Because we will be operating a food-based business, there are a few advantages and disadvantages to consider, which include the following: Advantages Disadvantages We offer a unique product, and it is the sole product we market, making our niche market fill very focused We have analyzed and are trying to fill a very specific consumer need We can broaden our consumer base by reaching out to people who don’t have allergies, strictly on the premise that our food is a healthier alternative to regular take-out We are able to modify our menu as needed to better represent what our consumers are asking for or looking for in this kind of setting Alternatively, we can modify our menu based on profitability of items, trying new options with more inexpensive ingredients There are a wide range of food providers currently on the market (with some restaurants already offering allergy and intolerance alternatives) Allergy alternatives (making the same dishes with allergy conscious ingredients) can be more expensive to supply Starting up with one location may make it difficult to reach the broadest possible consumer base, until the foundation is reached and the business expands Proximity to other food providers may provide unnecessarily high levels of competition, making it difficult to  make an impact when starting up Environmental Analysis On top of these advantages and disadvantages, there are also a number of other environmental factors to be considered when evaluating our ability to make a strong market entry. Factors such as the competing businesses currently in the market, the legal climate and regulations specific to our business type, the political climate in the city (if relevant to our business), technological progress that may impact our business, the economic stability of the region, and any socio-cultural factors that may influence our target consumers either for or against our offerings. Some of the main points for each of these factors are summarized in the table below: Factor Description/Details Competition Based on a look at the food trucks around Ottawa that have reportedly been open recently (and can be considered our direct competition, due to the nature of business), only one in 22 boasts having gluten-free and vegetarian alternatives (and at least three are strictly dessert/snack style foods) (Street Food App, 2013), which further strengthens our niche, as consumers would need to venture into a restaurant to find other options. As well, 22 food trucks serving all of Ottawa makes it both an obviously lucrative venture, and a rather thinly spread one. Legal There are many regulatory acts in Canada concerning the sale of food, which is understandable, due to the consumable nature of food products, and the ramifications of bad foods. From acts concerning dairy products, to those concerning agriculture, to those that cover the licensing of food sales (Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 2013), all would need to be considered in beginning the start-up plans for our business. Political N/A Economic The average income of an Ottawa family in 2010 was $94,700 (Statistics Canada, 2012), which, when tied into the previous stated market size numbers, we can easily state with confidence that there are around 16,000 targetable families in the Ottawa region with this average income level. In addition, when tying the similar food economy to this, when taking into account that there are only 22 similar businesses open in Ottawa at any given time (most of which don’t offer allergy alternatives), the demand for a product similar to our own is fairly high, with a low supply. Technological The main technological factors that impact our business are any advances in allergy treatment. Elizabeth Landau of CNN reported that new experiments involving gradual exposure to allergens for people with severe allergies to foods such as peanuts has shown promise in increasing the tolerance of these people to the reaction-inducing foods (2010). With time, advances such as this could make allergy-free foods unnecessary, causing our business model to become obsolete. However, there is still no true cure for allergies. Socio-Cultural We are aiming to provide a location where the clientele can feel as though their allergies are understood as allergies and not as preferences (Hadley, 2006). As well, we are providing the assured cleanliness that people with allergies will come to expect, being assured that their food hasn’t come into contact with any risk factors, ensuring their comfort in dining out at our locations. The Plan We are looking to fill a very noticeable gap in the food market of the Ottawa region with a business that provides allergy conscious foods, foods that are provided with the guarantee that they have not come into contact with our individual consumers’ intolerances or allergies. We intend on doing this from a food truck style location, something that can be moved from location to location to better provide for our broadly spaced consumer base. This will also provide us with a higher ease of expanding the business as it begins to gain traction in the community, as we can simply purchase a new truck as the funds become available to better provide for our clientele. Pricing In terms of pricing, upon market entry, we intend on pursuing a penetrative pricing strategy, ensuring our prices fall slightly below the market average in order to encourage consumers to approach our business to satisfy their needs. As our client base increases, we can adopt a more aggressive pricing strategy like status quo to begin to increase our profitability as a business. Projections for this switch will fall around the six month after opening mark, in order to give our business the time it needs to properly establish a presence in both the market and the community it serves. Further down the line, we may adopt an even higher pricing strategy, leaning for towards premium pricing, to ensure we can offer the best product possible to our consumers. As we gain consumer base, and as their individual needs become prevalent, it may become clear that we aren’t equipped to satisfy all of their needs at the current cost point. Increasing our pricing in such a way shouldn’t discourage loyal consumers, but will enable us to better approach a broader, more inclusive menu of products that has the potential to vastly increase and improve our client relations. For the first six months of business operations, we are simply looking to breakeven in terms of profitability. Any extra earned above and beyond our costs can be used to improve or upgrade our business, so that when our pricing objectives change, we can be one step ahead in terms of our ability to offer a better, more inclusive product. As our price objectives increase, we can further use the projected increase in profitability to both upgrade our primary location, and begin planning for expansion. Distribution Our distribution plan is purely a point-of-sale endeavour. Consumers would come to our location, and we would serve them allergy free dishes there. As our business grows, however, we may begin to consider catering opportunities to help businesses with staff lunches and similar events. As well, we could delve into simply catering family events for families looking to be able to meet the needs of relatives, children, and so on who have food allergies or intolerances when planning larger family functions. These ideas would be pursued after a proper evaluation of the business model two or three years  into operations, based on how profitable the business is, where the demand for our product stands, how far our business has been able to expand, and whether we have the resources to pursue a venture such as this in addition to our standard operations. Advertising/Promotion Advertising efforts should be focused in the month prior to opening, for a huge push towards the grand opening of the business. The following outlines some of the standard rates available for advertising in Ottawa and the area: Advertising Method Costs Associated Newspaper Standard advertising with a newspaper such as the Ottawa Citizen ranges up to $60 an ad for their online site (Ottawa Citizen, 2013), something that would be worth considering as the online movement for news and newspapers has been fairly large, as traditional print media has started to decline in popularity. This would make it fairly easy to run an effective newspaper campaign for around or under $500 in the weeks leading up to the opening of our business. Radio Based on a contact at KISS FM in Ottawa, a standard rate for a 30 second radio commercial is $115, and they often offer one free for every one purchased (Tompkins, 2013). Because this is more expensive than newspaper advertising, within the last week before opening, we could run an effective campaign for $1150 (4 commercials per day x 5 days) Word of Mouth Word of mouth advertising is often the most important form that can be used, as people are far more willing to believe and trust what their friends have done or experienced than what an advertisement tells them. Following opening the business, it would be profitable to offer small incentives to the initial wave of consumers in order to encourage them to bring their friends out to the food truck (for example, offering 20% off their next dish if they bring a friend with them). The results of this marketing push can easily be determined through an assessment of weekly revenues when weighed against costs. If weeks go by consecutively where there is minimal or no profits showing, then it would be crucial to reassess the plan and make changes where necessary or able to. Though, when there are significant profits showing in the books, it may be wise at that point to continue as planned, to ensure the plan continues to be an effective means of profit generation. Financial Plan Based on initial investments by the management team, to create our start-up ownership spread in the business’ shares, we have $20,000 to apply to our beginning costs in this business venture (100 shares x $200/share). This will cover around half of the purchase of a food truck to use (Lagorio, 2010), or the total licensing fees and partial inventory needed to get started. This brings us up short around $60,000-$75,000 to cover our start up costs and first year expenses to ensure our business runs smoothly and has the time to begin showing its own profit. Funding we are expecting to receive include small business grants from the Government of Canada. This grant and loan system offers to cover up to 90% of the financing required to get a new small business started (Industry Canada, 2013). However, this funding isn’t guaranteed, so we will be looking for other forms of financing, beginning with business loans from banks, and other investors. According to our operating budgets, our two weeks first year costs will run at around $3,940, which will be more than covered with our projected sales numbers, which allow for peak season in the spring and summer months, and a slow season in the late fall and winter months (when people aren’t out on the street as much and running a food truck becomes costly and slightly impractical). In order to break even, we would have to sell 7200-8000 4,124 meal items over the course of the year, at a cost of $5 per item, or an average of 15-2011 items per day, which is a completely feasible goal to meet. With summer months bringing in more customers than the winter, the overflow would easily balance out those slow months, ensuring our goal was met and likely garnering some profits to put towards expansion and annual costs for our second year of business. And if the target is met, we can easily be able to pay a huge part of our debt or use the money in taking the business to the next level . The total projected yearly net income after paying wages are calculated to be around $35000 which can be divided by owners in their respective shares. Exit Strategy Our food truck concept is offering food alternatives without the reaction–including ingredients. Our service is serving the Ottawa communities from all range of different customers and different cultures as well. We hope to raise awareness of food allergies in the city, and demonstrate our own working solution to combat the shortage of allergy-friendly alternatives in the Ottawa area. As the business grows, we plan to turn our food truck shop into a franchise. According to Ottawa Public Health regulations related to food handling and storage, there are currently no restrictions on the types of food that may be sold on the street. On-street food vendors require a mobile refreshment vehicle business license and designated space permit issued by the City of Ottawa. The total annual fee for truck ranges from $4,703 to $6,748. The breakdown of these fees is as follows: Annual Business License Fee for Trucks: $2,981 6 Month Business License Fee for Trucks: $1,945 Annual Designated Space Permit Fee: Truck (Downtown Core): $3,767 Truck (Outside Core): $1,722 Permits and business licenses are issued annually and expire on May 15th. After the initial issuance of the permit and license, it is required to renew the permit and business license within the renewal period of April 25th to May 15th each year. Furthermore, we are aware of policies relating to food truck business as following: Public health oversight of food truck operations The operation of food trucks in public right-of-ways Policy statements pertaining to mobile food vending Economic development programs applicable to food trucks such as financial incentives, social media/technology tools or training Program for encouraging/promoting innovation in food trucks The Food Truck is a Corporation owned by five members. A Corporation Agreement is included to allocate the profits or losses in any ratio agreed to between the partners. Each partner will consult a separate attorney at the outset, and all members should agree on the set terms and conditions of the corporation. We believe that a food truck is a unique business niche; therefore we come up with a mini business review based on our business strategy, competitive landscape analysis, menu fit to consumer demographics, financial performance, management roles and responsibilities, employee qualifications, and community connection. We hope to expand our business to franchise in the next 3 years. However, we also look in consideration if there is an exit scenario for our business during the period or afterward. Because of this, we are focusing our energy on creating a business that buyers will want. We are working on our profitability, competitive edge, sustainability, scalability and corporate culture. In term of selling or passing on our business, we plan to hire the financial, legal tax and business advisor to help shepherd the sale through. This will prevent us  from stressful, time-consuming process fraught with moving parts and paperwork. Along with the financial, legal tax and business advisor, we will also find a business broker banker in the area. This will help us to set a realistic asking price and assembling the necessary marketing materials for our business. The broker will discreetly contact potential buyers on our behalf. When it comes to risks, we are looking into the matters with close focus to identify the current and future problems for further analysis and desired actions required to close the gap. There are vehicle risks, operation risks, and liability risks. For vehicle risks, the risks include auto accidents, fire, theft, flood, wind damage, hail damage and electrical breakdowns. These risks can be lessened through education and training. A commercial auto insurance coverage will help to mitigate the cost of damage and loss of operational readiness due to the physical structure of our business. For operator risks, we are faced with slips, falls, cuts, burns, smoke inhalation and back injury from all the heavy lifting that is required during the workload of the day. We are aware that our employees are our biggest asset and can also be our biggest liabilities. It is important to have them well trained for their jobs and duties. Worker’s compensation insurance will be added in their working contracts. For liability risks, food trucks pose liabilities to employees in many ways. Not only that they may hurt themselves during work, they are also at risk of food-related illnesses and auto accidents that are somewhat unique to food trucks. We are carefully considering investing in business insurance for liability, spoilage insurance, business automobile insurance and worker’s compensation in order to adequately cover their bases. We have also analyzed our competitive landscape that includes competitive food trucks, restaurants, and food carts in the regions of Ottawa. This will keep us up to date of the marketplace and our competitors. Beside the risks, we are building up our business strategy: Business physical location is the priority pick. We are in the process of choosing our business location. There are some options such as near office complexes, downtown urban areas, along busy roads, recreation destinations. We also cater private and public events if we can get the contract. Business physical design is an eye-catch for the first sight customers. Keeping the  menu simple that customers can read easily Keeping the menu at a degree of flavor familiarity which contain locally grown and allergy free ingredients Charging competitive prices. Budget discounts for bad weather (sales can falls up to 50%) Establishing a regular customer base by providing the same quality food and products Keeping a clean and welcoming business environment Having competent leaders and managers who guide the effort and monitor results Being flexible, with a willingness to re-evaluate based on performance feedback and to make necessary changes throughout the process in order to get the desired results As important as business strategy, marketing techniques are a must in this society of social and network. Using word of mouth Using social media (today’s special, chef tips, social only discounts, online to offline social gatherings), network to advertise our business (email marketing) Investing in business cards Hosting a grand opening event to establish our food truck as a member in the local community Having loyalty program for returning customers (Buy 10 get 1 free) Creating awareness by joining in charity funds Serving for holiday parties We are aware that customer service is the most signification investment that we should pay attention to in our business. We will show people that we love what we do. We will try to maintain a great product for a great price. Bibliography Canadian Food Inspection Agency. (2013, April 26). Acts and Regulations. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Canadian Food Inspection Agency: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/acts-and-regulations/eng/1299846777345/1299847442232 City of Ottawa. (2001-2013). 1.4 Projection Results. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Ottawa: http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/get-know-your-city/statistics/14-projection-results City Of Ottawa. (n.d.). New street food vending program. Retrieved from http://ottawa.ca/en/business/business-licenses-applications-and-permits/business-licensing/new-street-food-vending City of Ottawa. (n.d.). Ottawa’s new street food vending program . Retrieved from http://ottawa.ca/sites/ottawa.ca/files/attachments/ottpage/nsf_vend_info_en_0.pdf Garriguet, D. (2004). Overview of Canadians Eating Habits. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Statistics Canada: http://publications.gc.ca/Collection/Statcan/82-620-M/82-620-MIE2006002.pdf EMBO Reports: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1679775/ Hadley, C. (2006, November 11). Food allergies on the rise? Determining the prevalence of food allergies, and how quickly it is increasing, is the first step in tackling the problem. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Health Canada. (2012, August 22). Food Allergies and Intolerances. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Health Canada: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/allerg/index-eng.php Industry Canada. (2013, April 2). Canada Small Business Financing Program. Retrieved July 17, 2013, from Industry Canada: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/csbfp-pfpec.nsf/eng/h_la00007.html Lagorio, C. (2010, May 12). How to Open a (Successful) Food Truck. Retrieved July 17, 2013, from Inc.: http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/05/opening-a-successful-food-truck.html Landau, E. (2010, February 19). Exciting advance reported in peanut allergy therapy. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/19/aaas.food.allergies/index.html Mealy, L. (n.d.). Food truck design . Retrieved from http://restaurants.about.com/od/restaurantconcepts/a/food_truck_design.htm Ottawa Citizen. (2010-2013). Specs Guides: Rate Card. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Ottawa Citizen: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/about-ottawa-citizen/advertising/specs/rate-card.html Statistics Canada. (2012, June 27). Median total income, by family type, by census metropolitan area . Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Government of Canada: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/famil107a-eng.htm Street Food App. (2011-2013). Ottawa Food Trucks. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Street Food App: http://streetfoodapp.com/ottawa Street food ottawa. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://streetfoodott.com/trucks-2/ Tompkins, J. (2013, May 21). quote (Email communication). Ottawa, ON, Canada.