Efforts to address the development of rural areas

Efforts to address the development of rural areas DEVELOPING RURAL AREAS Contents Introduction. Literature review Current efforts to address this problem locally Plan References Introduction. Rural social work is poised to face many challenges that make it difficult for a social worker to provide services to a needy person in the community. Oppression by the society and also other social classes in the society has caused the poor to be looked down upon in the society and thus becoming hard to get the best social services. In most of the cases that have been happening the women has seen a vast range of problems socially in the rural areas. Women and children have hence become the part of the population facing a lot of social problems. (Teasley, Archuleta Miller, 2014). The issue of a bad economy state has also been an obstacle to the providence of proper social services to the community. When inflation hits a country, it makes it hard and difficult for the rural community to survive with the raising prices of commodities. Lack of support from the authorities has also caused a lot of poor service development for the needy in the rural areas. Therefore it has been seen in many cases that the policies put into place do not really favor the rural communities. Taking for instance the policies to do with medical services, high medical services hit the poor in the society and hence lives get lost every now and then. For a good providence of social services to the rural community, resources have to be there. Lack of these resources render the social workers unable to access the areas with specific needs.an example of services that can be required is transport facilities for the social worker. If transport channels become a challenge for the social worker, it becomes hard for him/her to reach a good number of the rural population. (Witkin, 2014). Literature review Social working practice dates back to the ancient times where the church used to provide charity services to the community even before organizations dealing with social workers were formed. Social work was linked with the idea of charity work and by 580AD the church had already started charity work in the world and it was circulating food stuffs to the needy in the society.in the middle ages, the church become influential to the most parts of Europe and with time the practice of charity work become charity work in the 17th century. (Vanagas ÄŒiÃ…Â ¾ikienÄ-, 2015). Social work become a profession as well as people could now train to become social workers and serve the community.in the 19th century it became a profession in the united states as a movement began in the states and England. In this case a system was established in which the poor were sorted into different categories as idle poor, bodied poor and impotent poor.in this particular century, revolution especia lly in the industrial sector took place. (McPherson Cheatham, (2015). Therefore, technology and other scientific innovations came in to place and therefore a rural urban migration took place in those days in the western world. With this happening, social problems took course in the urban areas and therefore a missionary came into place to publicize and spread the Pentecost denominations ad therefore missioners attempted to come up with solutions for these problems in the urban areas because the cities were affected by prostitution, poverty and diseases. Therefore the church started activities like prayers and evangelism as it was releasing relief food to the poor in these areas. One of the people of steered up social work in the United States was Jane Adams who founded the US settlement house movement. Many schools to train people about social work came in to place at around 1915. This took place at the national conference of charities and corrections. After this, social work becam e a profession. (Parrish Oxhandler, 2015). Current efforts to address this problem locally Organizations have come up now days with different strategies to deal with the problem of social work degradation. Rural development is the first step that the authorities are working on to ensure that the rural community is reached through good roads and electrification. Infrastructure development is a key thing that the government and the authorities need to develop in the rural areas. Some of the rural areas have already seen some of these development. (Mazza, 2015). Another measure that is taken to address such problem is formation of organization to handle charity work and deal with the social work that is available in the rural areas. The organizations are governmental and some non-governmental organization. The non-governmental organizations dealing with social work are many in number and this has enabled the government to step up also and start other programs on the same. (Richards-Schuster, Ruffolo Nicoll, 2015). Social work organizations have been organizing visits to the rural areas where the elderly and those with special needs have seen help in many areas. Some of these areas include their health, financial assistance. This program has been carried mainly by the non-governmental organizations. Due to this, the government has also borrowed this idea and emerged with a strategy to start up a development fund for the elderly and the needy in the society as part of the social work development. With such efforts in place, the work of the so cial worker is boosted and he/she can gain the morale to do such work. The recognition that there are people in the society with special needs is what has been steering up charity work by companies and institutions through different sponsorships. (Suk bong, Ullah Won Jun, 2015). Plan Networking with other agencies is a consideration to take in order to be able to get sponsors for resources. This is because resources are an important factor to consider in order to be able to reach people from different parts of the society. Resources like enough money is a key factor to consider in order to be able to meet the people’s needs in the society.as social workers strive to meet the needs of the rural society, it’s better for necessary resources to be provided in order to have a good strategy for the development of the rural areas. The population census of a particular place can be taken and the number of people known. The population status should be taken and this knowledge should be made aware to the social workers because it will be at the end helpful to them. If the population of the rural society is known, the allocation of resources by the agencies will be easy and hence the needs of the people will be met. (Pitt-Catsouphes Cosner Berzin, 2015). Infrastructure development will always depend on the features of the place in which the target project is set to take place. The less the place is accessible the more it becomes difficult to channel transport pass ways and also electrification. The resources must be in line with the peoples preferences so that much money is not spend on trying to fund a project that is not feasible. The feasibility of the projects that help social work to gain an improvement is dependent on the adaptability of the place to welcome new ideas in the society which are helpful. Sometimes political issues can really hinder development of projects in the society and hence make potential investors and other helpful agencies to shun away from helping the society. When the needs of the people in the society have been accessed, a plan to meet these people periodically is put into place. For instance allocation of funds can be implemented in a way that every year at a particular period amount of money is allocated to these particular people maybe the elderly with particular needs. (Clarke Wydall, 2015). Apart from the providence of money, the agencies and the organizations can plan to give out other tangible commodities which can be helpful to the needy. Stuff like food and clothing can be an alternative to meet these people’s needs. At times we find some parts of the world affected and to be precise the rural society being struck by natural calamities. Places that are affected by calamities like earthquakes and flood get dented by misfortunes follow the people afterword. In this situation, social working can become very hard to conduct when there’s no proper channel to conduct them. Resources such as choppers to aid in the rescue of the survivors of such a calamity can be a challenge to acquire especially when the social workers are not registered with a particular organization to work as a team. Apart from all these, social workers can take their job with a passion and with this strive and get trainings which will be helpful to them as they provide services to the rural community. (Sullivan, Ryser Halseth, 2014). Training can be facilitated by the governing authority where the curriculum can be incorporated in the education system to make the present scholars equipped with these knowledge. Such training will be helpful for any social worker in the case of outbreaks of disasters like diseases and other calamities.in general terms the necessary thing to do in order to encourage the social work in the rural areas is to provide the social workers with the maximum corporation and support they need in order for them to gain that morale to serve the people. (Force-Emery Mackie, 2013). References Force-Emery Mackie, P. (2013). Hiring Social Work Faculty: An Analysis of Employment Announcements With Special Focus on Rural and Urban Differences and 2008 EPAS Implications. Journal Of Social Work Education, 49(4), 733-747. doi:10.1080/10437797.2013.812906 Sullivan, L., Ryser, L., Halseth, G. (2014). Recognizing Change, Recognizing Rural: The New Rural Economy and Towards a New Model of Rural Service. Journal Of Rural Community Development, 9(4), 219-245. Clarke, A., Wydall, S. (2015). From Rights to Action: practitioners perceptions of the needs of children experiencing domestic violence. Child Family Social Work, 20(2), 181-190. doi:10.1111/cfs.12066 Pitt-Catsouphes, M., Cosner Berzin, S. (2015). Teaching Note—Incorporating Social Innovation Content Into Macro Social Work Education. Journal Of Social Work Education, 51(2), 407-416. doi:10.1080/10437797.2015.1012947 Suk bong, C., Ullah, S. E., Won Jun, K. (2015). Ethical leadership and followers attitudes toward corporate social responsibility: the role of perceived ethical work climate. Social Behavior Personality: An International Journal, 43(3), 353-365. doi:10.2224/sbp.2015.43.3.353 Richards-Schuster, K., Ruffolo, M. C., Nicoll, K. L. (2015). Integrating Social Work Into Undergraduate Education Through a Community Action and Social Change Multidisciplinary Minor. Journal Of Social Work Education, 51(2), 329-342. doi:10.1080/10437797.2015.101293 Mazza, E. (2015). Experiences of Social Work Educators Working With Students With Psychiatric Disabilities or Emotional Problems. Journal Of Social Work Education, 51(2), 359-378. doi:10.1080/10437797.2015.1012935 Parrish, D. E., Oxhandler, H. K. (2015). Social Work Field Instructors’ Views and Implementation of Evidence-Based Practice. Journal Of Social Work Education, 51(2), 270-286. doi:10.1080/10437797.2015.1012943 Vanagas, R., ÄŒiÃ…Â ¾ikienÄ-, J. (2015). THE PECULIARITIES OF SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS DEVELOPMENT. International Journal Of Academic Research, 7(1), 24-30. doi:10.7813/2075-4124.2015/7-1/B.4 McPherson, J., Cheatham, L. P. (2015). One Million Bones: Measuring the Effect of Human Rights Participation in the Social Work Classroom. Journal Of Social Work Education, 51(1), 47-57. doi:10.1080/10437797.2015.977130 Teasley, M. L., Archuleta, A., Miller, C. (2014). Perceived Levels of Cultural Competence for School Social Workers: A Follow-Up Study. Journal Of Social Work Education, 50(4), 694-711. doi:10.1080/10437797.2014.947903 Witkin, S. L. (2014). Change and Deeper Change: Transforming Social Work Education. Journal Of Social Work Education, 50(4), 587-598. doi:10.1080/10437797.2014.947897

Strategic Analysis Of Siemens Company Management Essay

Strategic Analysis Of Siemens Company Management Essay This essay will start with a brief description of Siemens, an introduction of its current mission statement and an evaluation of the key strategic issues/objectives which Siemens faced and are facing. The next part, two appropriate tools of analysis, PESTEL analysis of the external environment the organization faces, and Porters 5-Forces analysis of the competitive environment in which Siemens operates; a summary of its key strategic resources and competencies, and any resources that it lacks will follow these tow analysis. At last, SWOT analysis will be applied to describe and evaluate the strategic options for Siemens. Siemens is Europes largest engineering conglomerate.Siemens international headquarters are located in Berlin, Munich and Erlangen, Germany. Siemens is a diversified group, with business in information and communications, automation and control, power, transportation, medical and lighting businesses. The groups businesses have strong leadership in electronics and electrical engineering. Siemens has experienced significant restructuring in recent years, including divestments, acquisitions and reorganization of divisions. Siemens has three main business sectors: Industry, Energy and Healthcare and it has with a total of 15 divisions (Barclay, 2000). Worldwide Siemens and its subsidiaries employ approximately 420,800 people in nearly 190 countries and reported global revenue of 76.651 billion Euros as of 2009. Siemens AG is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since March 12, 2001. Mission and vision Highest performance with highest ethics that is the standard demanded by Siemens present president and CEO Peter LÃ ¶scher. Its mission is to find the best way of combining and developing our know-how and expertise, so that Siemens can profitably channel them into outstanding value for customers. It has three core values- Responsible: Committed to ethical and responsible actions Excellent: Achieving high performance and excellent results; Innovative: Being innovative to create sustainable value. Siemens Strategic profile Keeping Profitable and long-term growth is the business strategy of Siemens, which is direct and simple. Specifically, according to the report of Siemens AG, there is several important components Siemens strategy, which is showed in the table below. 2.jpg Source: http://www.siemens.com In summary, there are several key management strategies as following. Making better use of sustainability as an opportunity Siemens view sustainability as an important success factor. Sustainability serves as the basis for Siemens future business success and is a key pillar of Siemens corporate strategy. Siemens is in a strong position to meet tomorrow business challenges, so sustainability is very important. By concentrating its activities in the three Sectors Industry, Energy and Healthcare, Siemens has a setup that enables it to profit from four key megatrends demographic change, urbanization, climate change and globalization. And with the Siemens Environmental Portfolio, it has an exceptionally broad spectrum of products and solutions for environmental and climate protection (Barney, 1986). Whats more, sustainability is thought by Siemens to be closely linked to its values. In all its complexity, Siemens view sustainability as a contribution to a more equitable world economy and the provision of energy-efficient, durable products and solutions for Siemens customers. In Siemens sustainability is also the expression of a responsible employee culture and a sign of uncompromising compliance with laws and regulations. Diversity as a factor of success Siemens is promoting diversity in the management ranks of the company to a greater degree than ever before. Up to nowadays, Siemens has given diversity a permanent place in the corporate level strategy. In Siemens culture, in view of the shortage of highly qualified people and demographic changes, diversity is a prerequisite for Siemens long-term success. The supply of qualified technical people and managers in the industrialized world is growing ever tighter. That makes it even more important for Siemens to acquire talented people and to create an environment that allows them to take on key functions in all units of Siemens- irrespective of factors such as nationality, age, gender, origin or religion. In the year 2008, Siemens applied the strategy of diversity into organizational structure. Siemens created the position of Chief Diversity Officer and appointed Jill Lee, previously the Chief Financial Officer of Siemens China, to the new position. Armed with a comprehensive package of measures, Jill Lee would work in the coming years to meet an ambitious target: By 2011 Siemens wants to have dramatically expanded diversity among the members of its top management. Siemens wants to become the leader in diversity. Delivering breakthrough innovations, Innovation has always been one of the most important elements in Siemens business strategy. In Siemens culture, Innovations are thought to be able to help cut costs, increase sales and achieve higher earnings, and, those who fail to launch the right new product on the market at the right time will be punished more severely than ever before. Siemens intends to become a pioneer in diversity. While this is very important, Siemens to this day remains a very German and very centralized company. Competitors such as ABB are many years ahead in this respect as can be seen in various dimensions such as board structure, regional management or repartition of headquarter functions. Siemens intends to become a pioneer in diversity. While this is very important, Siemens to this day remains a very German and very centralized company. Competitors such as ABB are many years ahead in this respect as can be seen in various dimensions such as board structure, regional management or repartition of headquarter functions. Siemens intends to become a pioneer in diversity. While this is very important, Siemens to this day remains a very German and very centralized company. Competitors such as ABB are many years ahead in this respect as can be seen in various dimensions such as board structure, regional management or repartition of headquarter functions. Strategic analysis for Siemens Firstly, Porters five forces and PESTEL will be applied to evaluate the microenvironment of Siemens and a complete SWOT analysis will follow to assess he strategic options for Siemens. Porters five forces One of the most important division and product of Siemens is electrical equipment and so Porters five forces will be applied to assess electrical equipment industry together with Siemens. Porters five forces Degree of rivalry The degree of completion in this industry is pretty high and there are many big players in this market Bargaining power of customers The space for customers to bargain is limited as the products are highly specialized and buyers are always governments or big companies. Bargaining power of suppliers Suppliers who supply raw materials or parts to manufactures have little bargaining power Threat of new entrants: As the equipment is of high technology, in the early stage of this industry, the entrant barrier of this industry is high. Siemens and GE have dominated this industry for decades. Threat of substitutes However, with the popularity of new energy technologies, some small companies also entered this market with lower-cost technology and energy, so it is getting more and easier to find a substituted in some limited field in a small scale. Degree of rivalry: In this industry, Siemens competes with big players such as General Electric (GE) of Fairfield, Conn., and ABB of Switzerland. GE has a strong market position in this industry, while ABB has great advantages in power generation and transmission. The number of market players in this field is big and the degree of rivalry is high (Barney, 1995). Bargaining power of customers: In other industries, companies are liable to cut their prices as they compete for jobs. This is less likely to happen with industrial electrical equipment. These products are highly specialized and technical, making it difficult for customers to find comparable products at lower prices. And because these products have relatively few buyers, their prices are less likely to be pushed down by free-market forces. Bargaining power of suppliers: Companies that provide parts and materials to these firms have little negotiating power. The components used in these complex electrical systems have little value until theyre part of the finished product. Suppliers of the raw components are a dime a dozen and can easily be replaced. The complicated nature of this equipment would also make it difficult for suppliers to cut out the middlemen and sell directly to end customers. These suppliers usually lack the skill and sophistication to build these products. Threat of new entrants: Siemens and GE have dominated this industry for decades. To run with the big players, a new company would need a great deal of investment. The company needs to have very good credibility and connections of both established firms and governments. So the entrant barrier for this industry is high. Threat of substitutes: some new technologies from smaller companies, which focus on green energy, have posted threat to big companies that lacks a competing product. In solar equipment, for example, some smaller companies are becoming more viable as their technology becomes cheaper, while solar companies may soon have the strength to compete with traditional power source on price and performance, the threat from substitutes post pressure to supplier like Siemens. In summary, although the completion in this industry is fierce, the entrant barrier for new entrants is high, whats more, both customer and supplier have limited bargaining power. The pressure from small companies which focus on green energy keep increasing as they have advantages on price and cost. PESTEL analysis of the macro-environment The external environment for international business is always complicated and dynamic. The PESTEL analysis of the maco-environment of Siemens is based from two perspectives: one is that Siemens run its business in German and the other condition is that it runs its business internationally or in other destination countries. PESTEL analysis for Siemens Germany GLOBAL Political Germany government policy on subsidies; subsiding policies for German firms Different countries has different policies; the relationship between the government of destination country and German; degree of local governments intervention in the economy; the quality of service that local government provide to foreign firms; subsiding policies for domestic firms; tariff barrier of non-tariff barrier from destination country; the education of the workforce, the health of the nation and Economic The economy in Germany; the growth rate of German economy; interest rate; inflation rate; domestic competitors. Global financial crisis; Overseas economic growth; the structure of local economy; the quality of the infrastructure of the economy such as the transportation and electrical system; level of national income; interest rate; exchange rate; inflation rate; Market demand and segments for Siemens products; local and international competitors. Social Structure and size of population; Structure and size of population; Availability of local human resources; Migration flows; culture differences; brand image of Siemens in destination country Technological New technologies related with Siemens business in German; any technology that could reduce cost, improve quality or service and help marketing such as on-line technology. International technological breakthroughs; New technologies related with Siemens business in German; advantages and disadvantages of Siemens technologies when compared with international competitors; any technology that could reduce cost, improve quality or service and help marketing such as on-line technology. Environmental Weather and climate in German; hardware such as land available for Siemens business Global climate change; weather and climate in destination country; natural environment ; Legal Environment regulation; related laws in German. Related international and local laws and regulations. Political Political factors always have great impact over the maco-environment in which the business runs, so muti-national companies need to do research on political environment before their international marketing planning. Siemens is doing well in evaluating political risk before it enters a new market. It is lucky for it that Germen government has steady relationship with lots of countries. Siemens often need to evaluate the historical relationship between countries that would benefit or do harm to its business. The influence of communities or unions for trading is also in its consideration. For example, trade barrier is also implemented in different firms of local laws. If necessary, a report regarding the political risks needs to be completed before its international marketing (Bell, 2001). Economic The economic situation in destination countries, the impact of currency fluctuations on exchange rates, the development of local market, the local market structure (Barney, 1996), the local human resources and the predisposition of local consumers are all very important issues for Siemens to consider (Bierly,1996). The global economy just experienced the financial crisis; Siemens business in most countries also experienced a downturn. Another problem is that, together with the financial crisis is the tightened credit system for Siemens, which brought a lot of trouble to its business. The highlight is that some new markets such as the China market are still growing fast and these new markets provide good opportunities for Siemens revenue generation. From economic perspective, Siemens has got steady financial performance in the recent years. Social The cultural difference is often a tough problem that all the muti-national companies have met with (Choi, 2000) . Culture, religion and society are of great importance to us. Will and how the local cultural differences affect Siemens business should also be evaluated. One of Siemens strategies is Diversity as a factor of success. Siemens is promoting diversity in the management ranks of the company to a greater degree than ever before. In the year 2008, Siemens applied the strategy of diversity into organizational structure. Siemens created the position of Chief Diversity Officer. Besides, the brand image of Siemens is very good and also means high quality by many purchasers (Davenport, et, 2000), which is one of Siemens advantages from the social perspective. Technological Siemens still have great technological advantages in its professional fields and it is still holding an advanced position in the international competition. However, in some countries where governments are not willing to afford high cost of new equipments, some smaller companies gained advantages over Siemens. For example, smaller companies like First Solar (FSLR) are more viable than Siemens as their technology becomes cheaper. Environmental With increasing attention from all countries in the world on global warming and with greater environmental awareness, environment is becoming a significant issue for muti-national firms to consider (Michael, 2003). The growing desire to protect the environment is having a great impact the industry. More environmentally friendly products and processes are in urgent demand. All of these external factors can bring good business opportunities for Siemens. Legal The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive of the European Union (EU) makes producers of electrical and electronic goods financially responsible for specified collection, recycling, treatment and disposal of past and future covered products. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006, which implement most aspects of the WEEE Directive, came into force in 2007 in most Europe countries. Several product divisions of Siemens are subject to the WEEE regulation (Hofee, 2003). SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Big company scale and market share; Strong brand image; It has a lot of divisions; Steady financial performance. Strong RD capabilities Good at diversity Less innovative in the low-cost new technology Low in credit rating Weak in internal control Depend upon third party service providers for majority of its operational activities Opportunities Threats Increasing demand for environment friendly products Bankrupt of some local companies in other countries Joint venture with other big playes New regulation; Completion from new and smaller competitors; Unclear trend of global economy Strengths Siemens is a German engineering conglomerate with considerable scale and market share; Siemens is a diversified group, with business in information and communications, automation and control, power, transportation, medical and lighting businesses. It have strong brand image. The brand of Siemens has good global market penetration. The brand is always connected with products of high quality in a lot of markets. It has steady financial performance in recent years (Dess, 2008). Over the years, Siemens has delivered steady financial results. Siemens net profits have a similar trend in recent years. Steady financial performance enables Siemens to manage its operations well and also improve the financial flexibility in the next a few years. Siemens is famous for its Strong RD capabilities, which is also an important factor for its business success. Its research and development (RD) investment keeps increasing in recent years; the average number of employees engaged in RD also keeps increasing (Grant, 2008). The groups focus in RD facilitates development of new products and enhancements to existing products help in maintaining its strong market position and serving a new segment of customers. The global economy needs diversity. Siemens has given diversity a permanent place in the corporate level strategy. In Siemens culture, in view of the shortage of highly qualified people and demographic changes, diversity is a prerequisite for Siemens long-term success. Weakness Siemens is less innovative in the low-cost new technology. For example, smaller companies like First Solar (FSLR) are more viable than Siemens as their technology becomes cheaper, so Siemens now face the pressure from smaller companies. Siemens is low in credit rating. Siemenss credit ratings were downgraded by some major global rating agencies in the recent years, which is partly due to its capital structure (Hungenberg, 2008). In November 2007, Moodys Investors Service downgraded Siemens long-term corporate credit rating from Aa3 to A1.Its finance is not good at generating cash flow, therefore, Siemens ability to obtain new funding and investment from external investors may be negatively affected by its low credit rating. Its internal controlling mode is not as effective as expected. Some reviewers said Siemens disclosure controls and procedures have been not effective due to material weakness in its internal control. In the area of anti-corruption and financial report, Siemens got a lot of trouble due to its weakness in internal control. Siemens relied on third party service organizations for most of its operational activities. It buys third party services for manufacturing, assembling and testing its products, while these third parties always have kinds of tie ups with multiple companies. Any problems from these third parties could adversely affect the groups operations. Heavy dependence on third party reduces the groups control over its operation and business costs. The consistence of the products could not be guaranteed, either. Opportunities During the financial crisis, a lot of small companies went bankrupt, some companies are of great value to enhance Siemens competency. It is a good time to buy these companies with low cost. Ally with a strong player is a good way to share the resource and enhance the competency of both companies. For example, joint venture is a good way. Nokia and Siemens established a 50-50 joint venture in 2007. The joint venture is called Nokia Siemens Networks, which combined Nokias networks business and Siemens carrier related operations for fixed and mobile networks. This joint venture is expected to provide significant long term returns to both groups. As all the countries are caring more about the environment, There is a increasing demand for environment friendly products, which is related to several products line of Siemens. Threats The new regulation of producers of electrical and electronic goods financially responsible for specified collection, recycling, treatment and disposal of past and future covered products post sizeable costs and liabilities to Siemens. Small companies are gaining market share by their products with lower price, which make the competition more intense. The global economy has not fully recovered from the financial crisis, so the market has not fully recovered, either. Besides, the credit is still tight, and it is very difficult for Siemens to get new funding from external capital market.

Ginseng :: Botany

Ginseng Ginseng has long been recognized as an herb possessing great value. The first written record of the use of ginseng can be found in a Chinese Herbal dated in the 1st Century B.C. This Chinese Herbal, Shen-nung pen ts'ao ching, was surely preceded by a long verbal history of ginseng for in ancient China, ginseng was always held in the highest esteem as a powerful drug (5). History shows that early Chinese emperors placed great value in ginseng. Early emperors proclaimed its roots as having many uses, primarily as a tonic or stimulant for both physical and mental disorders (9). In addition, it was used for increasing fertility and sexuality, and most importantly for strengthening the body. In fact, ginseng was so esteemed as a botanical drug that it was an important trade commodity, at times serving as payment for ransom and as payments of tribute to the Chinese government (3). As the demand for ginseng increased, cultivation of the plant was initiated to offset the dwindling supply of wild ginseng. The earliest plantations were in southeastern Manchuria and what is present day North Korea (5). Missionaries in China during the early 1700s became aware of ginseng and subsequently their knowledge of its commercial value spread to eastern North America. The export of wild ginseng root from America to the Orient began in the early 1700s. In 1773 the sloop "Hingham" sailed from Boston to China with 55 tons of ginseng on board. The first shipment of ginseng to China after the American Revolution is reported to have been made by John Jacob Astor from New York in 1782. The root from that shipment was said to have been sold for three dollars a pound. As in Asia, wild American ginseng became scarce. Its cultivation began in the 19th Century with much of the plant being grown in Wisconsin and Ohio. It has been reported that nearly 21,000 tons of American ginseng has been exported between 1821 and 1983 (1). Ginseng is the common name of two species of Panax of the family Araliaceae. Panax ginseng is the Asian species and Panax quinquefolius is the American species. Harding (1972) describes four varieties of P. ginseng and three varieties of P. quinquefolius (4). Shorter forms of the common name ginseng, "sang" and "seng", are used in the United States. Other common names include red-berry and five fingers. Ginseng is a perennial herb 60-80 cm tall.

Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskel Essay -- Papers

Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskel Elizabeth Gaskell's Nineteenth Century novel, Mary Barton, is an example of social realism in its depiction of the inhumanities suffered by the impoverished weavers of Manchester, England. The main story in Mary Barton is that of the honest, proud and intelligent workingman so embittered by circumstances and lack of sympathy that he finally murders a mill owner's son as an act of representative vengeance. In growing embittered, he becomes as a natural consequence, more isolated in his community; both humanity and faith lose their power to guide him. Mary Barton, his daughter, really loves Jem Wilson, who is arrested after having threatened the murdered man for trying to seduce Mary, and it is her efforts that produce the melodramatic last minute evidence that saves him. Against the novelistic background of this murder and the central love stories, Mrs. Gaskell outlines her main themes of life in Manchester during the early stages of the Industrial Revolution and of the conditions that initiated the Chartist Movement. Thus, the historical background of Mary Barton is as much, if not more important than its strictly novelistic aspects. Manchester becomes a symbol of the outrageous conditions endured by the laborers, instead of a real city in itself. It is always grimy, oppressive, and ugly, just like the lives of its inhabitants. The only detail the author gives us is with the individual homes, not with the city itself. It is almost as if she were afraid of impairing the city's inherent symbolism by describing any actual streets or shops. Even when wealth is shown, as with the Carsons, the setting is still ugly and drab; the only difference is that the drabness has been made comfor... ... led up to the Chartist Movement. Despite the author's concentration on the social aspects of the situation, she has nonetheless succeeded in providing us with the main points of the new economy and its laws. Mary Barton tells the story from the laborer's point of view, but we are not without knowledge of the mill owner's side of it either, especially through the philosophical wisdom of Job Legh. In her attempts to present the plight of the laborer in Manchester, Elizabeth Gaskell has not neglected to make us understand the importance and significance of the industrial movement, as well as the great possibilities it possessed. It is, perhaps, a dated novel. However, it is important in its delineation of the social, political, and economic forces that were at work in England from 1835 -- 1850, and it is an attempt to bring them all into harmonious focus.

The Valley :: Andes Ecuador The Awakening Valley Papers

The Valley - Awake! In 1946, John Collier, Jr. and Anà ­bal Buitrà ³n wrote The Awakening Valley, telling the story of a social miracle happening in Ecuador - in the valley at the foot of Tiata Imbabura. (1, cover) In 1993, forty-three years later, I set foot in that same area and discovered a valley, not awakening, but awake! My son, Matt, and I were traveling by bus, north out of Quito, on our way to Colombia. (4) We had been advised to be in Otavalo on a weekend to experience the famous market. Little did we know that this trip would evolve into many more trips and to special relationships with the people living in this valley, high in the Andes. Ecuador, among the smallest and most unspoiled of South American nations, owes its name to its geographic location - astride the equator. (6, p. 59) The Andes divide into two parallel chains in Ecuador - the western and the eastern, which run like twin spinal columns from north to south. The valley in which most Ecuadorians live, and where most of the mountain areas agricultural produce is grown, runs for about four hundred kilometers in between. Some thirty volcanoes serve to fence in the valley from either side. The deep river valleys (hoyas) are home to agricultural communities whose way of life seems to have remained unchanged for centuries. (6, p. 64) A book written by Linda A. Newsom, Life and Death in Early Colonial Ecuador, and reviewed by Mary A. Y. Gallagher, (2) begins with a study at or just before the point when the Ecuadorian sierra began to be incorporated into the Inca Empire (ca. 1460). She describes in great detail what can be inferred about the preconquest population of Ecuador’s regions: sierra, coast and Oriente. She then describes the disastrous impact of Inca penetration and partial conquest of Ecuador, and of the prolonged wars still being fought there when Spanish brought Ecuador’s first colonial period to an abrupt end and began a new series of invasions which subdued and "reduced" the indigenous population over a number of years. This history, laced with the invasion of the Incas and the Spanish had a great impact on this small country.

How Cleanliness Can Influence Life of Kazi Zawad Badruddoza

Whereas the cleanliness is relate well to the aspects in our life. There is some reason why cleanliness is important to our life. Cleanliness influences our health, controlling our mood and then keeps the relationship with our friends. The clothes and the pants which we wear must be clean so that no more germs that can affect allergy like irritation. The food and the drink which we consume must be clean from microbes to prevent risk of illness like stomach ache, diarrhoea and many more.Then, the objects around us it should be clean from dust so we not experience the respiration illness. With kept our cleanliness so that our life must be healthy. Another reason we must watch cleanliness because the cleanliness can controlling our mood. Cleanliness makes us feel fresh and comfortable. A clean room makes us feel freshness because all of the objects are clean and free of dust so that the air is fresh. Its floor is clean so there are no bacteria or microbes and we can do the activities wi thout worried about hygiene problem.Cleanliness can be regarded as personal or environmental. These habits ensure that a person would stay fit and healthy for a long time so you will not be force to use those anti aging treatments or some sort of surgery. These habits help us in developing an ideal and healthy life style which makes our lives even more delightful and joyous. Lesser effort would result in more success if a person has healthy mind and a healthy mind can only exist in a healthyCleanliness is one of the good qualities. It is a part of our civilization. A man of dirty habits is far from civilization. So, with the progress of civilization man cleans himself more and more. He cleans his body. He cleans his mind and heart. He cleans all his action and manners. He cleans his soul. This will lead him to the highest form of civilization. But on the cleanliness of body, depend all other cleanings. Hence, cleanliness is considered so important.

Step Away from Them

An Analysis of Frank O’hara’s â€Å"A Step Away From Them† At the turn of the 20th century, the movement of modern art began to distinguish itself by moving away from traditional and classical forms. Artists like Pablo Picasso were deconstructing their formal techniques by abstracting forms of conceptual art. We began to question and criticize: â€Å"Is that art? † By mid-20th century, the schools of the modern movement already began to echo into literature, dance, and music. Abstract Expressionist literature emphasizes spontaneity of motions and their fleetingness. Once a detail is mentioned, it disappears but resurfaces in the subconscious in the form of a daydream. Frank O’Hara’s â€Å"A Step Away From Them† adapts his unique style of free verse with arbitrary line breaks and enjambment. There is a relay of split-second action followed by spontaneous thought. Overall, the poem ventures into synapses of the mind in an urban space. O’Hara is the observer, self-satisfied, and content. In the first line, there is a felt quality of impulsive action. â€Å"So I go† gives a sense of urgency that we experience the moment our lunch hour hits. The meter of each word can be equal stressed. The I is a soft vowel, therefore, there is emphasize is on so and go. O’Hara combines two senses of visual and sound with â€Å"hum-colored. † Both senses capture dynamic movements like when someone takes a still photo of a moving object. The image of a cab smears across the photo. There is a distinction of the way space moves. Hum-colored can resonate sound that an engine makes. When we walk out the door into the city, the pace is already set. By line 3, the mind quickly wanders to the next visual moment. â€Å"Down the sidewalk† tells our awareness to focus on lunch hour of laborers. We are walking and capturing still photos. â€Å"Dirty glistening torsos† signifies the way construction workers eat shirtless. Another interpretation can perceive oil rubbed on their shirt hence the term, blue collar workers. At this moment, O’Hara draws an unconscious connection with the â€Å"yellow† colored helmets from the previous visual of hum-colored cabs. Yellow was missed due to the motion and sound. The color resurfaces from our short-term memory. He interjects nonchalant irony and inner wit with â€Å"I guess†. Despite stuffing themselves, they must protect themselves from falling objects. We have a sense of O’Hara’s humor and his eye for function. As your visual context moves upward to falling bricks, O’Hara draws the attention of the movement around ground floor, â€Å"heels† and â€Å"grates†. He does not add a space between lines. He follows each line with heavy enjambment. â€Å"Then onto the avenue† has a progression of walking around the corner to the next street. There is a new scene, new spatter of paint. He refers to a movie scene in pop culture by stating: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Then onto the avenue where skirts are flipping above heels and blow up over grates. (lines 9-11) In 1955, Marilyn Monroe filmed The Seven Year Itch in New York City. The scene of her skirt being blown up had caused a spectacle making Marilyn a movie sex icon. Motion of upward movement is describe with gestures like â€Å"flipping above†, â€Å"up over†, and â€Å"stir up. † The city is hot. According to O’Hara, â€Å"cabs stir up the air† (line 12). In the city, there is always a cab in sight. How they motion around the city block without air conditioning. There is no escape from the heated engine but O’Hara is indifferent and aloof by the motion around him because â€Å"[he looks] at bargains in wristwatches† (line 13-14). He is still to himself, an observer. In line 14, â€Å"sawdust† draws back to previous space, down the street of laborers construction site. He allows the reader’s thoughts to dilate at each new scene. At the end of each moment of space, he draws inward almost as if he constricts his pupils to see an off detail. â€Å"There/ are cats playing in sawdust. † (line 13-14) It is as if he has seen them playing from the corner of his eye. He ends line 14 with a period and finally begins a new sentence on line 15. The poem opens up â€Å"On to Time Square,† O’Hara bring our attention to the skyline. †¦and higher/ the waterfalls pours lightly† (lines 16-17). There is a use of abstract imagery in comparing the sky to waterfalls. When scanning the space in between the building, it narrows down further as if we look further down Broadway. The blue image may look like water pouring out. The poem takes place in the summer heat. Waterfalls have a feelin g of cool air and openness but nature is contrasted by the â€Å"†¦ sign / blows smoke over head† (lines 15-16). To blow smoke is an idiom that describes someone telling falsehood or lie. Advertising in Time Square is saturated with hype of consumerism and billboard marketing. The same interaction of hype is exchanged by the people of Time Square, the poem follows: . †¦A Negro stands in a doorway with a toothpick, languorously agitating A blonde chorus girl clicks: he smiles and rubs his chin†¦. (lines 17-21) In the previous space, onto the Avenue, O’Hara makes a reference to Marilyn Monroe. She is idolized again in Time Square as the â€Å"blonde chorus girl†, a character she plays in most of her movies. An African-American male easily talks as if he is hounding around lazily. In an urban space, interracial lines are not separated or set by bounds. â€Å"Clicks† can describe how someone talks with gum in their mouth. The click can be an interpreted as the tapping sound of high heels walking by. â€Å"Everything/ suddenly honks† (line 21-22). Our attention is drawn to pause again to gridlock on Broadway. We may think it is the blonde who causes everyone to honk. O’Hara reverts back to time and day, â€Å"†¦. 12:40 / of a Thursday† (lines 22-23). We are reminded that the hour is coming to a close. O’Hara is consumed by time, like the bargain wristwatch on the avenue. To him, with whatever is going on, time marks the next. The poem changes momentum when O’Hara sits down to eat. He quickly writes in a style like Edwin Denby, a critic and poet of modern dance. Comparing â€Å"neon in the daylight is a / great pleasure† with â€Å"light bulb† we associate neon with bright color and light bulbs being plain white. Time Square is synonymous for its light and color at night. This is the place O’Hara has lunch. He finds the daylight enjoyable and adds texture by juxtaposing words that provide a mixture of different culture and art. He sets more periods and commons like he is itemizing a list. He spells out names as though he is thinking about them in association of. There is less action or verbs and more inward thinking. He has an American â€Å"cheeseburger† and â€Å"chocolate malt† in an Italian Actress’s restaurant, JULIET’S CORNER. I think about when people migrated to United States and how they take on the American tradition. Comparing â€Å"Juliet† with â€Å"Giuletta Masina†, it is typical to change name spelling to English form. Giuletta Masina’s husband, â€Å"Federico Fellini† writes and directs movie. His signature style is bizarre, foreign, and surreal. O’Hara writes in Italian â€Å"e bell’ attrice† which translates to beautiful actress. I imagine when O’Hara watched foreign movies they had English subtitle. So far, names mentioned are all artists who have an influence in the arts. O’Hara is an elitist. It is who he knows that allows him to separates himself from mainstream. He watches foreign films, speaks Italian, and wonders about the function of clothing. He loves all forms of art. Still, the humble, ubiquitous cab captures his eye, O’Hara states: A lady in foxes on such a day puts her poodle in a cab. (lines30-32) In line 31, â€Å"on such a day† reminds us about the heat. There is a surreal moment about a lady wearing fur carrying a dog while he drinks a cold drink. She is out of place by wearing something out of season. He does not linger in the thought. He moves on to the avenue, on an upbeat, pointing out that it is the Puerto Ricans that â€Å"makes it beautiful and warm. † The poem makes another iconic turn. He mentions the deaths of three friends, a writer, a musician, and a painter. O’Hara poses a question: â€Å"But is the / earth as full of life was full, of them? † (lines 33-34) Lang Bunny, John Latouche, Jackson Pollack were able to capture life through their art. When they passed away was the world done with them? Puerto Ricans, in the avenue, were carrying on. Everything around still was beating and alive. It was through life moved on, O’Hara writes: And one has eaten and one walks, past the magazines with nudes and the posters for BULLFIGHT and the Manhattan Storage Warehouse, which they'll soon tear down. I used to think they had the Armory Show there. (lines 40-46) It makes me think about how the modern art movement started. The impressionist painting of Manet’s Le Dejeuner Dur L'herbe had shocked the art world because clothed men were painted having a Luncheon with a nude woman. Goya’s realist painting of Bullfighting spoke about humanity. He was the first to paint blood during the Spanish Revolution. However, where mass production of magazine and poster were sold, people ate and walk pass, the world was full of life. The world keeps moving. It feels like an end of an era when the poem mentioned â€Å"Manhattan Storage Warehouse† was being torn down. The â€Å"Armory Show† is also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art which was formed in New York. O’Hara thought that exhibition was here. There is a feeling that the exhibition is held somewhere else. O’Hara ends on a brighter note. He is self-satified. Before he heads back to work, he has papaya juice. â€Å"My heart is in my / pocket, it is Poems by Pierre Reverdy. †(lines 49-50) The heart symbolizes love and affection. To have it in your pocket means that it is carried close to him. Pierre Reverdy is a critic, writer, poet of Cubism, Pablo Picasso. O’Hara love for the art will always be with him. Imitation of â€Å"Step Away From Them† I’m waking up from my first nap of day, the phone rings underneath a noise of pigeons. The angular sun peeks through lace curtains while dust particles slowly attempt to move. After the 10th ring, I’m wondering if it was important mostly likely, not. I’m out the door; down the three flights of winding stairs, let the kid from Apartment K through the security gate. K collects bright colored cans around the neighborhood. I refused to make eye contact. Someone is still buzzing him in, speaking inaudible sounds through a muffled rattling speaker. A van drives by. How many rings does it take? On Mission Street, the 14 runs every 5 minutes. Stores are tagged but stocked with novelty items of Golden Gates, painted ladies, and cable cars. Whoever wears these shirts, might as well, give up their wallets. A bootleg VHS copy of Natural Born Killers is being sold by a street vendor. Tiny feet hurry up the second floor. The Haitian drums resonated across the wooden floors, bouncing off high ceiling. It’s a Wednesday; another day same as the others. We are warming up for the next class. It’s was only a year ago that they decided to robbed Muddy’s. Ran, Rich, and Joker were in jail now. I’m swinging my arm trying to break the chain. Were they ever free? Was it the squeak in their voice that gave it away? Swinging and stomping. I am raising my machete to cut through sugar cane fields. My heart is in-sync with the drums.