An Argument on Education Essay Example for Free

An Argument on Education Essay Abstract Education is important to have with today’s economy in the shape that it is in. However, there are different ways that people define education. Some people believe that to be considered well educated they need to have the top education in the United States, the highest GPA, and the highest standardized testing scores! I firmly believe that your knowledge first comes from the Lord and that he will bless you in whatever area he has for you! There are many examples that we can use to see both sides and not just judging someone as well educated only through grades ad excellence in school. An Argument on Education Education is important for everyone to have growing up if they want to make it by in today’s modern world. However, everyone seems to determine how well educated someone else is in a different ways such as: their test scores, papers that they write, their grade point average, and their knowledge of knowing how to do things. In Alfrie Kohn’s Article (2003), â€Å"What does it mean to be well –educated† he cites a quote from an Alred Whitehead stating, â€Å"A merely well-informed man is the most useless bore on God’s earth. . .  . Scraps of information† are only worth something if they are put to use, or at least â€Å"thrown into fresh combinations. † There are parts of this quote that I agree and disagree on. I agree with Alred saying that men on this earth that just have bits and pieces of information are useless unless it can relate to their job that gets them by. Acquiring knowledge isn’t a bad thing, its just not always needed. I only disagree because I believe that if someone does know a large amount that it is not pointless, it just should not determine whether or not they are educated or not. Throughout the years I have had the chance to be in school I have learned and observed much through my own personal experiences as well as being surrounded by my peers at school and at home. Personally, I am one of those students who can learn the material I am asked to learn but when it comes to taking tests I freeze up and get extremely anxious, which allows me to do poorly on the tests. I had extremely low SAT scores and low-test scores from any big test, but I was also an honor graduate and gradated in the top one hundred out of six hundred students. Many people would consider me uneducated just because of low standardized tests when they do not think of other factors that could reason for why I get low scores. High-test scores alone and high GPA’s cannot determine whether or not someone is well educated. At the beginning of Alfrie Kohn’s article he gives a superior example of this by telling us that his wife who went to Harvard and does not even know her math or English well. â€Å"She will, however, freeze up if you ask her what 8 times 7 is, because she never learned the multiplication table. And forget about grammar (â€Å"Me and him went over her house today† is fairly typical) or literature (â€Å"Who’s Faulkner? †). Harvard is known as One of the top prestigious school in America, and because of that most people would assume that who ever goes to that school is well educated. This is example is similar to how it is with anything but what people do not realize is some of the world’s well-educated people did not even graduate from high school. I believe that being well educated means being able to put what you know to use and being able to use that knowledge to glorify the one who created me. As a strong believer in Christ, I believe my relationship with God and spreading his word is more important than knowledge. However, that does not mean that I believe a person should be uneducated. I believe that if given the opportunity to learn we should not take it for granted and that we should bring glory to God through it. I just believe that at the end of your days that God does not care about what degree you have in your hand but he cares about how you lived your life for him. â€Å"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. 11 For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life† (Proverbs 9:10-11). Our good lord explains that education is first gained through God himself and that your purpose is to live solely for him. Gaining knowledge in Christ is the most important first and he will Bless you in every other area in your life that he feels you need. However, I do believe that getting a degree in something that God is calling you to do. For me, God is calling me to be a missionary Nurse overseas. I know in order to do that I have to get an education on how to be a Nurse in order to carryout God’s will for my life. Most people believe that you need to go to a good school to be considered well educated. I was going to a community college back at home and was learning much when people were questioning why I was going to a community college and that I could get a better education at a different college or university that was away from home. Alfrie Kohn’s wife attended Harvard and still did not know her multiplication tables and wasn’t good at grammar or literature. I believe this is a good example to my previous statement about how it shouldn’t matter what school you go to and that it should not determine how well educated he or she is just because of the title the school has. Everyone has his or her own view on what they believe is a well-educated person, but I feel as if not everyone looks at every viewpoint. They just go off what they know and what first comes to mind. Today because of the way our economy is set up people believe that the only way someone can be considered well educated is if they go to a college to further their degree. There are other ways that someone can get jobs such as enlisting in the military or even through taking over a family-owned business. Determining whether or not someone is educated through tests, and by what schools he or she attended is absurd. You can see that from taking a glance at the people in the world that are huge successes to back that statement up. If we determined whether or not someone was well educated by whether or not he or she graduated college than something is wrong. Bill Gates is a wonderful example because if it were not for him then a lot of today’s popular gadgets such as the Mac Books, iPhones, and iPods would not exist today. He is an intelligent man and has brought on huge changes in todays society. It is not our place to judge who is and who is not educated based on these assumptions References Kohn, Alfie. What Does It Mean to Be Well Educated?. Alfie Kohn author teacher lecturer www. alfiekohn. org. N. p. , n. d. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. http://www. alfiekohn. org/teaching/welleducated. htm. Proverbs 9:10-11 ESV The fear of the LORD is the beginning Bible Gateway. BibleGateway. com: A searchable online Bible in over 100 versions and 50 languages.. N. p. , n. d. Web. 4 Feb. 2012. http://www. biblegateway. com/passage/? search=Proverbs%209:10-11version=ESV. Outline 1. What does it mean to be well educated? * Definition * Articles definition * Personal definition 2. Test scores * Personal grades to back up statement * Quote insert from article * Wife from Harvard 3. Educated * Other ways to be educated 4. Knowledge thru Christ * Proverbs 9:10-11 * Living for Christ first * Honoring his will for out lives 5. Well-educated. * Bill Gates (Did not graduate high school and was still successful) Thesis Education is important for everyone to have growing up if they want to make it by in today’s modern world. However, everyone seems to determine how well educated someone else is in a different ways such as: their test scores, papers that they write, their grade point average, and their overall knowledge of knowing how to do things. In Alfrie Kohn’s Article (2003), â€Å"What does it mean to be well –educated† he cites a quote from a Alred Whitehead stating, â€Å"A merely well-informed man is the most useless bore on.

The Anselm Ontological Argument Philosophy Essay

The Anselm Ontological Argument Philosophy Essay In this paper I will argue that Anselms ontological argument for the existence of God is indeed adequate for establishing the necessary existence of the Greatest Conceivable Being. In order to accomplish this, I will argue that Anselms premises are sound, and that his conclusion rightfully follows his premises. I will also defend Anselms argument by demonstrating that objections to Anselms argument are unconvincing. My focus will be on Gaunilos objection to Anselms argument. Essentially, Gauinilos objection is that Anselms argument can be altered to prove the existence of any concept simply by using the definition that the concept is greater than all other concepts which can be conceived this will be refuted. Before I begin my argument I will reconstruct the a priori ontological argument put forward by Anselm to prove the existence of the Greatest Conceivable Anselm begins his argument by introducing â€Å"the fool†, a reference to Psalms 53:1. This fool â€Å"has said that in his heart, [that] there is no God†, or denying the existence of God. Anselm states that even this fool, â€Å"when he hears of this being of which I speak a being-than-which-nothing- greater-can-be-thought understands what he hears, and what he understands is in his understanding; although he does not understand it to actually exist† (Anselm 15). Essentially, Anselm makes the claim that even â€Å"the fool† is forced to concede that the concept of the Greatest Conceivable Being exists in the mind, because he has been told of it. In order to prove the existence of God, Anselm adopts the fools position for his A priori argument. Anselm does not believe the fools position to be correct, but uses it to show that if God exists in understanding, or the mind, then He must exist in reality. Anselm declares that it is one thing for an object to exist in the mind, yet another to understand that it actually exists. To this end, Anselm moves on to give an example of how something can exist in the mind and in reality. The example of a painter is brought forward by Anselm. Before a painter creates a picture, claims Anselm, he has an understanding of what the painting will look like in his mind. Upon completion of the painting, the painter will understand that it exists in his mind, for they had the image of the painting before he created it, and in reality, because now they can see the painting before themselves with their own eyes (Anselm 15). Anselm next defines God as a being-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-conceived. Anselm follows this definition with the premise that if a being exists in the understanding, but not in reality, then a greater being can be conceived (Anselm 15). To assert this point Anselm argues, â€Å"For if [The Greatest Conceivable Being] exists solely in the mind alone, it can be thought of to exist in reality as well, which is greater† (Anselm 15). Utilizing the idea that if a being exists only in understanding then a greater being exists, Anselm reaches the conclusion that a greater being than God can be conceived. Anselm does not believe that this conclusion is accurate, however, stating that it is â€Å"obviously impossible†. By reaching this conclusion, Anslem is trying to show that if one understands God to be the Greatest Conceivable Being and only exist in understanding as a concept, but not reality, then the conclusion opposes the premises. Anselms case is essentially that because the definition of God is not in question, â€Å"the fool† must be mistaken in assuming that God only exists as a concept. Therefore, Anselm reaches the conclusion that God must exist in both concept and in reality. I will now move on to offering a critical assessment of Anselms ontological argument. To accomplish this task, I will examine both the validity, and the soundness, of Anselms premises. In order to do so, a condensed form of Anselms argument is required. Essentially, Anselms premises can be construed as such: God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived We can conceive of a being than which none greater can be conceived God exists in the understanding, To exist in reality and in the understanding is greater than to exist in the understanding alone. Therefore, God necessarily exists in reality. According to chapter two of Writing Philosophy, a valid argument is â€Å"an argument that has a form such that if its premises were true, its conclusion would be too.† There is nothing to suggest that Anselms argument is invalid. Provided that the premises are sound, the conclusion does indeed follow. However, while the ontological argument may be valid, it remains to be shown that it is sound. A sound argument is one which is both valid and contains true premises (Chapter 2, Writing Philosophy). In order to show this, the individual premises of the ontological argument must be evaluated. Firstly, The truth of premise B] depends on the acceptance of Anselms definition of God (premise A] ) as that than which none greater can be conceived. If we are to accept Anselms definition of God to be plausible, then premise B] is sound because we have accepted the concept and have the idea in our understanding. If we do not accept the definition, then we are not able to proceed to evaluate the rest of the argument. This is not to say that Anselms definition of God is a controversial one, indeed it is a commonly accepted monotheistic interpretation of the nature of God (Mark C. Smith, January 18th Lecture). Secondly, premise B] is sound because existence of such a being is logically possible. No fault can be found with postulating the existence of such a being as defined by premise A]. Finally, Anselms assertion that â€Å"to exist in reality and in the understanding is greater than to exist in the understanding alone† is necessarily sound by our acceptance of his definition of God. By accepting premise A], as we must in order to evaluate the argument, we must concede this it is necessarily greater for God to exist in reality. As a result, we can see that Anselms ontological argument is both valid, and sound, from an examination of its premises. Anselms conclusion that God exists in reality logically follows the premises, given their soundness and validity. In order to demonstrate that Anselms argument is indeed adequate for establishing the necessary existence of the Greatest Conceivable Being, objections to the argument must first be examined and then refuted. One of the more potent objections to Anselms ontological argument is that of the monk Gaunilo. The objection raised by Gaunilo is that the same logical reasoning used by Anselm to prove Gods existence can be used to prove things certain do not exist. Gaunilo puts forth this objection when he argues about the existence of the â€Å"Lost Island†, a conceivable perfect island. Gaunilos proof of the perfect island follows the same logical reasoning as Anselms. He starts with the premise that the idea of a perfect island can be conceived of by the mind. The perfect island is by definition an island than which no greater island can be conceived, and that if a perfect-island exists in as an idea in the mind but not in reality, a greater island than the perfect- island can be conceived (Gaunilo 17). Using a similar argument as Anselm, Gaunilo has shown that the perfect-island must exist in both the mind and in reality for the same reasons that God must exist in the mind and reality. According to Gaunilo, if one accepts Anselms argument as being valid, one must accept the similar perfect-island argument as being valid as well. Both arguments would appear to valid since if the premises are true then both conclusions must be true. The only critical difference between Anselms argument and Gaunilos argument is the use of the perfect-island in place of God. As a res ult, if Anselms method of reasoning is deemed appropriate, then Gaunilos must be appropriate as well. Gaunilo however states that this â€Å"proof of the existence of a perfect-island is implausible, or â€Å"doubtfully real† (Guanilo 17). Gaunilo contends that it is only the definition of â€Å"a-concept-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-conceived† that allows Anselm and himself to prove the existence of God and the perfect-island respectively. By proving one of the concepts, the perfect-island, to be implausible, Gaunilo feels that the other concept must follow suit (Gaunilo 17). I will now move onto a refutation of Gaunilos objection to Anselms ontological argument. The major fault with Gaunilos objection is that that by proving the existence of a perfect island, using an argument of the same structure as Anselms, he has tampered with the definition of an island. This error becomes apparent when considering what the nature of a perfect island would be. In order for the island to be perfect its characteristics must be perfect as well. Any variation from this â€Å"conceivable† perfection would make the existence of a greater conceivable island possible. Furthermore, the perfect-island could be made greater in a measurable fashion if it was to have a slightly increased landmass this reasoning would persist until the perfect-island becomes infinitely large. An infinitely large island, however, is impossible. An island, by its very definition, must be surrounded by water, and something that is infinite in size cannot be surrounded. Moreover, a perfect island presumably has an abundance of lush trees and pristine beaches. The more of these t hat an island has, the better the island would conceivably be. However, there is no defined maximum number of trees or beaches that an island could possibly have; for any one conceivable island, there is another, even-more -perfect-island with one more exotic fruit tree and one more white sandy beach. As a result, there is no island than-which no-greater-can-be-conceived the more trees and more beaches that are conceived, the more perfect the island would be. Therefore, the perfect-island moves towards infinity in its characteristics once again. The concept of the perfect island is therefore flawed, causing Gaunilos objection to be adequate to impair Anselms ontological argument. In conclusion, Anselms logical a priori ontological argument is adequate for establishing the necessary existence of the Greatest Conceivable Being. The premises of Anselms ontological argument were demonstrated to be sound when examined in the context of Anselms definition of the Greatest Conceivable Being. Moreover, Anselms argument was shown to be a valid argument, with a conclusion that follows from the premises. Gaunilo raised an objection to the ontological argument on the grounds that Anselms argument can be altered to prove the existence of any concept simply by using the definition that the concept is greater than all other concepts which can be conceived. However, this objection was shown to be inadequate on the grounds that the concept of the perfect-island is flawed when conceived with Anselms argument. Therefore, Anselms ontological argument is convincing, despite Gaunilos objections, and is adequate for establishing the necessary existence of the Greatest Conceivable Be ing.

Study of Organized Retail in Rural Indian Markets

Study of Organized Retail in Rural Indian Markets Shubham Kumar Retailing accounts for around 10% of the Indian GDP and the Indian retail market is estimated to be worth around US $600 billion in 2015 and to reach US$1.3 trillion by 2020. It is also one of the fastest in the world in terms of growth and already consists of 1.2 billion people. In order to understand the standing of organized retailing in the rural Indian markets, one must first understand what is meant by organized retailing itself. 1.1 Organized Retailing   Ã‚   With more than 15 million owner manned mom-and-pop stores, India is often called a nation of shopkeepers. This is referred to as unorganized retailing and it refers to the traditional formats of low-cost retailing such as the local corner shops, owner manned general stores, paan/beedi shops, convenience stores, hand carts and pavement vendors, etc. On the other hand, organized retailing refers to trading activities undertaken by licensed retailers who are registered for sales tax, income tax, etc. These include the publicly traded supermarkets, corporate-backed hypermarkets and retail chains, and also the privately owned large retail businesses. The face of retailing in India was changed by the emergence of organized retail formats along with a shift in the Indian consumers attitude. The above figure shows the evolution of the Indian retail market. However, organized retailing in the Indian markets has mostly been in the urban regions and the overall Organized Retail Penetration (ORP) is low at 8% (in 2015) showing that a lot of potential still exists. 1.2 Organized Retailing in Rural Indian Markets The unorganized retailers hold advantages such as being personal, strong relationships, serving as points of news, offering credit and helping the people in difficult times. Further, they understand the local requirements and offer low prices as they have low overheads. By 2012, urban Indian markets was where 85% of the organized retailing took place in India. However, with a lot of foreign players entering, limited and expensive desirable real estate and foreign investment restrictions have pushed the Indias retail market closer to maturity. The rural Indian market on the other hand, consists of 833,087,662 people (68.84% of total) living in around 6,40,867 villages. Development of the rural market began after the Green Revolution when the demand for farm inputs like hybrids seeds and fertilisers began rising. Yet only a small part of the vast rural market remains covered by organized retailers such as DCM Shrirams Hariyali, HULs Project Shakti and ITCs e-Choupal. The following figure shows the evolution of the different retailing formats in the rural markets: Organized retailing offers certain advantages such as operating in a large scale with multiple outlets, being highly efficient and hold high bargaining power over suppliers due to their volume purchases. In addition to these advantages, following are some drivers which are fueling organized retailing in the rural markets: 2.1 Scope This study looks at various secondary sources of information regarding the major players involved in organized retailing in the rural Indian markets. An analysis of their marketing mix along with their strategies is done and the opportunities and challenges for retailing in these markets are identified. Following are the organized retailing entities covered as a part of this study: Warana Bazar Godrej Aadhaar ITC e-Choupal Caupal Sagar HUL Shakti DSCL Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar 2.2 Major Organized Retailers in Rural India Due to its vast potential and growth, the rural Indian market has been successful in attracting many large corporate houses and come up with innovative means to cater to their needs. Some of these firms include international players such as HUL, ITC, Gilette etc. While some of these initiatives were successful, some were not able to gain enough traction. 2.2.1 Warana Bazar Warana Bazar (WB) was founded in the year 1976 and started operating in 1978 in Warana, Maharashtra. It operates as a consumer co-operative store and has become immensely successful. By 2015, WB had 2 large departmental stores, 55 branches and 3 franchisees in 101 villages spread across Kolhapur and Sangli in Maharashtra in addition to being present in Goa and Karnataka. The yearly turnover reached à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¹132 crores with a daily turnover of more than à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¹35 lakhs powered by only 610 employees and 24,000 members. The stores provided 30,000 different types of goods across 24 sections. They also eliminated the middlemen by purchasing 70% of the goods directly from the manufacturers or from authorized stockists and agents. The goods were priced cheaper than anywhere else, suggesting an everyday low pricing policy. In addition to this, innovative ideas have proven to be crucial in the success of WB. They educated the customers about spurious goods and in addition to this, it felicitates the mothers around Warananagar who give birth to a girl child in order to help improve the sex ratio. Vilasrao. A training center coined Tatyasaheb Kore Consumers Cooperative Training Centre was also established in 1996 to gain access to trained salesmen. 2.2.2 Godrej-Future Group: Aadhaar Stores Godrej Aadhaar (GA), the agri services cum retail initiative of Godrej Agrovet Ltd., a subsidiary of Godrej Industries Ltd., came into operation in December 2003 by opening a center at Manchar, Pune in Maharashtra. Initially, the Aadhaar stores were owned and operated by Godrej Agrovet itself. After a joint venture with the Future Group in 2008, some company-owned outlets were closed and expanded through franchisees. By 2012, it entered the cash-and-carry business selling to wholesalers and Aadhaar outlets. By 2013, there were 45 Aadhaar outlets in Punjab and Gujarat. Image 1: An Aadhar store in Punjab Initially, 1/3rd of the overall sales of Aadhar outlets came from farm inputs, while the rest came equally from apparel, consumer durables and consumer goods. Since then, the share of farm inputs has decreased and presently, more than 90% of the sales came from groceries and consumer goods. Rekhi says. The new strategies have yielded results, and Aadhaar was looking to break even. 2.2.3 ITC Ltd.: e-Choupal Choupal Saagar ITC Ltd. Launched e-Choupal and later Choupal Saagar as a part of the e-Choupal initiative. E-choupals are small kiosks across the agricultural regions of India having computers and internet access and run by a Sanchalak (trained fanner). These kiosks enabled the local farmers to obtain information on wholesale prices, good farming practices, and to place orders for agricultural inputs. In 2004, Indias biggest cigarette maker, ITC, opened its first rural hypermarket Choupal Saagar. By 2007, it had 24 such outlets in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and by 2013, 21 of these were earning profits. Though it plans to have 100 such store, ITC has not expanded further yet. Choupal Saagar, is essentially a hub with collection and storage facilities and a unique rural hypermarket offering multiple services all in one place. Choupal Saagars also include farmer facilitation centers with services such as sourcing, training, soil testing, health clinic, cafeteria, banking, investment services, fuel station etc. Image 2: A typical Choupal Sagar store. Before launching Choupal Saagar, ITC first had to developed the market. This was done by using the its e-Choupal linkages to buy agricultural produce from farmers helping them increase their productivity and incomes by removing the middlemen and empowering them. After this, Choupal Saagar stores were launched to sell a variety of products and services including farm inputs, consumer goods and consumer durables, apparel and fuel. These stores were located near the stock points of ITCs e-Choupals, ensuring that there existed 1 Choupal Sagar around 25-30 e-Choupals. The farmers could come in, sell their produce, receive cash and then spend it to buy other products at the same place. Thus, the sustainability of this model was ensured. ITC then took this model a step further by introducing Choupal Fresh in 2006 in Hyderabad. The Choupal Fresh would complete the supply chain which begins at the e-Choupals by offering the urban consumers fresh fruits, vegetables and other farm products. 2.2.4 HUL: Project Shakti Project Shakti was started to reach the massive under-served rural Indian markets which could not be economically and effectively reached through traditional methods. In these remote villages, HUL identified underprivileged women and trained them to become Shakti Entrepreneurs (SEs) i.e. distributors of HUL products in villages, in the process enabling them to earn a sustainable income through this business. Initially, the women were trained to be entrepreneurs and were called Shakti ammas, and in the later stages, this was augmented by the addition of Shaktimaan or the male members who helped in the distribution of the HUL products and further increased the income. Considerable resources are invested by HUL to train the villagers to become entrepreneurs, thus, besides being a sales, distribution and communication initiative, Shakti also serves as a micro-enterprise initiative improving the standards of life and providing employment opportunities. HUL is benefitted as the project helps enhance HULs direct rural reach and enables better communication of HULs brands effectively in media-dark regions. In 2001, Project Shakti started from 17 SEs in a single state and by 2008, it had grown to more than 45,000 SEs. Additional projects associated with Project Shakti are Shakti Day, i-Shakti Unit and Shakti Vani Programme. 2.2.5 DSCL: Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd (DSCL) Hariyali stores were started in 2002 selling farm products, groceries and household goods. In 6 years, it operated 300 stores in India and became the largest rural retail chain. Each Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar operated in an area of 20 kms., catering to agricultural land of about 50,000-70,000 acres touching approx. 15,000 farmers. The value proposition was that of Unnati Ghar Sansaar and Gaon providing valuable technical assistance, soil water testing services, retailing agricultural inputs, facilitating the farmers with credit and providing a platform to the farmers to sell their produce, crop finance, transfer information on weather, price of the products based on demand and supply, all under one roof. It had collaborations with the likes of Tata Agrico, Bajaj Allianz Life, Apollo Pharmacy, Eicher Motors and HDFC Bank. However, the rural market presents a lot of challenges for organized retailing and not all players have been able to succeed in this venture. Revenues kept on increasing at a good rate but the business was not able to earn a profit which caused DSCL to reevaluate its strategy. First, it slowed down expansion and later it shut down some stores and finally after 10 years of trying, it exited the business. Presently, it sells only petroleum products sourced from Bharat Petroleum at 37 locations in the countryside dropping the revenues but also limiting the losses. An ex-employee of said that the outlet didnt offer any discounts and, unlike local grocery stores, didnt sell on credit which might be the main reasons behind its collapse. Image 3: A closed Hariyali store in Haryanas Ladwa village. 3.1 Challenges for Organized Retailing in Rural Indian Markets Typical problems of retailing in rural markets: Low disposable incomes Illiteracy and low awareness Higher overhead costs Fluctuating demand that depends on the monsoon Diverse buying habits Difficulty in competing with mom-and-pop stores 3.2 Distribution and Logistics Models The typical distribution models and hub and spoke model do not always succeed in the rural markets and are very expensive to implement. Taking the example of HUL, taking its huge product portfolio to the remotest of villages was a big challenge. However, the company realized that the conventional hub-and-spoke distribution model which it used to great effect in both urban and semi-urban markets would turn out to be very expensive when penetrating the smaller scattered villages. Hence, it came up with Project Shakti and created local entrepreneurs using self-help groups. This developmental approach made sure that even the remotest of villages could be reached and the market developed without a large investment in the distribution infrastructure. On the other hand, Haryali Kisaan Bazaar was not successful as it could not implement such cost-effective and innovative distribution models, therefore failing to keep its costs low and earn a profit. The sustainability of organized retailing in the rural markets depends upon the ability of the firms to come up with innovative distribution and logistics models such as using public distribution stores, distribution vans, non-government organizations etc. Yet another example can be taken of ITCs Choupal Sagar which used technology to reduce its costs as well as empower the farmers by enabling them to get better deals for their produce. 3.3 Ensuring Sustainability through Market Development In order to generate sales in the remote rural markets, they must be first developed so that the consumers have the required knowledge to find value from the product and the disposable income to be able to afford the product. Organized retail however, does not help in increasing the rural incomes but only meets the consumption requirements. This makes the business models unsustainable. In order to sustain, the organized retailers must simultaneously work to develop these markets by implementing innovative ideas. Looking at ITC, it did not straight away establish the Choupal Sagar stores, instead ITC focused on developing linkages through its e-Choupal program first. It developed a strong network to buy agricultural products from farmers and improve productivity, helping raise their incomes and in the process, reduce its procurement costs. It was after establishing the e-Choupals and a certain level of trust with the rural markets that ITC went on to launch the Choupal Sagar stores which sold a variety of products and services to these rural markets. HULs Project Shakti also ensured sustainability by ensuring the development of the markets through self-help groups called the Shakti Markets. Similarly, Warana Bazar being a consumer co-operative store also helped in the development of the rural markets. Due to a lack of substantial developmental efforts, organized retailers such as the Hariyali Kisaan Bazar and Aadhar Stores have run into trouble, unable to make profits and sustain the business. While the Hariyali Kisaan Bazar have been reduced to selling fuel products, Aadhar Stores have had to shut down a lot of stores and recreate its product mix. Franchises are an attractive way of expanding organized retail stores as local franchisees are better at maintaining customer relationships as they understand the local consumption patterns better. References Equbal, D. S. (2012, January). Organized Retailing in India: Challenges and Opportunities. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 02(01), 281-291. Govt. of India. (2011). Rural Urban Distribution of Population. Census of India 2011. Haidar, P. (2015, July). Modern Rural Marketing Network. Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development, XXV(01), 91-102. India Brand Equity Foundation. (2017). Retail Industry in India. Jain, V. (2016, August). Challenges for Organized Retailing in India. International Journal of Research in Commerce Management, 07(08), 45-46. Poonam Talwar, S. S. (2011, July Dec.). Retailing Prospects in Rural Market. International Journal of Computer Science and Communication, 02(02), 527-529. Surajit Dey, D. S. (2012, Nov. Dec.). Organized Retail in the Rural Markets in India. IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM), 06(01), 16-25.

Theories of Sociology :: Sociology Essays

There are many theories in sociology to get the better understanding of a society. Many things impact an individual’s behaviour, lifestyles, relationship and much more. Technology is one of the many things that affect the people. Internet is used worldwide and we can use sociology to determine what importance and place it holds in the society. To understand this invention and implication the society better, this paper will cover upon the three well-known theories which are’ Conflict, functionalism, and symbolic internationalism theories. There three theories look at the internet from different view point such as from a micro level and macro level. Functionalism focuses on the society as a whole, where as conflict theory focuses on group within that society, and symbol interactional focuses on individuals in the group and society. Thus, the view point changes depending on the population and the perspective. One of the important perspectives is a structural-functionalism. This approach focuses on â€Å"various components of society without prioritizing or assessing their importance to the social system as a whole; in effect all elements of a society are weighed equally† (Naiman, 2004; pp.18). In terms of internet, a functionalist would see the internet as a resource that brings efficiency in the lives of individuals for the reason that it is convenient. It also allows people to interact with one another around the world. A functionalist would ask questions regarding the function of the internet in the society would be: how does the internet help people access their provisions faster? How does it help people acquire knowledge and how can services be accessible to the demanding population? Thus, it mainly considers the benefits for all instead of few individuals. The internet is more efficiently used now a days because it saves one’s time. An individual can spend few minutes online, booking a flight ticket instead of going to the travel agency in-person or calling the customer services and going through a long hectic procedure. As the technology gets advance, it plays even greater role in shaping the lives of the individuals. Also, some people may wish to visit the bureaucracies. However, others may not have the time to visit the offices due to family responsibilities or for other reasons. Functionalist theorist would see a vast benefit when it comes to administrative related online services. It eliminates the waiting list and makes life easier for the citizens and it will take less space in the bureaucracies.

Hybrid Cars Essay -- Gasoline Electric Hybrid Automobiles

Want to buy a hybrid car? Consider the facts. You may be correct in thinking that you should buy a hybrid car or SUV, but are you thinking you need it for the right reasons? Kevin Ransom’s article â€Å"Reasons to buy a hybrid – or not† updated on CNN’s website in January 28, discusses many aspects consumers should consider when thinking about buying a hybrid vehicle. He makes good points, but he needs some better ones to convince me. Ransom is making an argument with plenty of statistics for buying a hybrid and trying at the same time to give you somewhat of a counterargument against buying a hybrid. He never takes a clear bias, but leaves many questions out in the open. One example of this is his lack of comparing a Prius with anything. Also he claims that hybrids are â€Å"definitely one of the waves of the future. Does he mean they are a link to the future with ten times better innovations coming in the near future? This link needs to become cost effective if he thinks this is moving forward. He tells us that one school of thought is that it could take years for a consumer to break even on the amount saved in fuel costs. This is definitely true considering if the price difference between base models of a Toyota Civic and a Civic Hybrid being $18,710 and $22,600 respectively. That is a difference of $3,890 with the only major standard equipment difference being a navigation screen most users opt out from getting in the first place! Also, the base model Ford Escape and base Escape Hybrid are priced at $20,140 and $27,445 respectively. That is a whopping difference of $7,305. We will come back to the issue of cost, but now we will move on to the environment and how it is affected. Ransom’s first major point of interest is the fact t... ... cost of replacement will fall onto the customer. The costs of replacement the battery packs range from $2,000 to $5,000 depending on the model. This piece of information would be very important to include in Ransom’s article if he is trying to compare and contrast benefits of having a hybrid. Because the article appeared in a journalistic setting, the author is trying to appeal to a general audience by using language that is to formal or informal. The genre is an opinionated article with statistics that he uses trying to sway readers and influence their thoughts In Conclusion, if Ransom is trying to persuade the general public that is a good idea to buy a hybrid at this time, he is going to need to use more conclusive evidence that proves it is worth the setbacks. Works Cited Ransom, Kevin. http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/01/28/buy.hybrid/index.html

Cultural competence and its promotion in the education system Essay

The demise of racial segregation in the 1960s saw the emergence of cultural diversity with colored and non colored students now being taught under the same roof. From then on, schools have seen an increasingly diverse mix of students, matters having been complicated further by globalization, which has resulted in more diverse cultures making the United States their country of choice. Diversity is good and must be appreciated; the only problem is that if not handled well it may have the potential of creating apathy between the different cultures making up the cultural mix so that instead of a system becoming a cultural melting pot, it becomes the crystallization chamber. The aim of this paper is to examine the role of culture in molding competent students. Cultural competence More often than not, competence is construed in its narrowest definition, which is mostly in reference to acquisition of the necessary skills for the performance of a job. For this paper however, competence will be in reference to both culture and knowledge. Ahlawat and Ahlawat (2006) found the influence of globalization to be so enormous to the extent that multicultural diversity is now amongst the key ingredients for students aspiring for a global career. An equally important finding is by Thomas (2006), who emphasized the importance of cultural intelligence in the business environment. The role of culture within the organizations is captured by Berrell and Gloet (1999), who did a study on influence of culture in organizational culture and found it significant. The study implies that for one to blend seamlessly in to an organization there must be a level of cultural competence because there seems to be a thin line between the culture within and without the organization. For instance, according to the study, an organization within Malaysia will most likely have a culture similar to that of Malaysian people. If one has problems adapting to the Malaysian culture then the person’s work output may be greatly limited. The role of the education system in such a scenario will be to create a culturally competent global citizen. It cannot of course be expected that students will be trained to adapt to certain cultures only, instead, skills to adapt to diverse cultures will be imparted. Such a skill is given by Arizaga, Waldo and Castellanos (2005), who found that teachers who participated in multicultural enhancement program showed increase cultural competence in the form of listening and expressive skills. Evidently, these are adaptive skills that once acquired may be applied in any cultural setting. Educator’s role in promoting cultural competence The design of the education system should ensure that it produces tolerant people capable of adapting to any cultures. One of the ways given by Arizaga et al (2005) is by having multicultural enhancement programs to promote listening and expressive skills. Pope and Mueller (2005) also emphasize the need to integrate diversity issues in designing education programs. This can perhaps be described as the cornerstone of achieving cultural competence because if its importance can be taken in to account in the training of educators then eventually the educators that will end up in the field preparing the students will know what it entails to be culturally competent, and will thereafter pass on the skill. Pope, Mueller and Reynolds (2009) appear to agree with the importance of having culturally competent educators when it pays tribute to student affairs professionals for the increased number of multicultural scholarships in the last three decades. The emphasis should therefore be on getting culturally competent educators on board the educational system if substantial results are to be expected. . Further to that, the authors are also urging the educators not to simply embrace diversity; they should actually seek it proactively. In addition to promoting cultural competence in as far as interacting with people from other ethnic, racial and national cultures, the education system should promote tolerance to homosexuals. This is according to Liang and Alimo (2005), who suggested that the education system could promote a more positive attitude of heterosexual students towards homosexual students by encouraging interaction between the two groups, something the study found to increase tolerance between the two groups. An equally important aspect of attitude development in the education system is the acquisition of positive views of self worth and meaningfulness Coll and Zalaquet (2007). Its importance in promoting cultural competence may not be obvious, but it is not hard to imagine how a person with a feeling of high self worth and meaning will find it rational to respect other people’s rights. A challenge to achieving cultural diversity is presented by Salazar (2005) who cites challenges faced by counsellors of color. Counselors of color according to the research are faced with prejudices in their interactions with white middle class students. Sadly, this may be an in built mentality, which may take some time to get rid of but fortunately, cultural competence presents one of the remedies to this inappropriate attitude. Implications of the findings Most people spend over two decades in school, meaning that the education system plays a big role in shaping the national psyche. Among other functions, Gay (2009) says that education plays an important role bringing up constructive students. The element of constructiveness goes beyond cultural competence and ropes in other areas such as raw knowledge and social skills. In fact, according to the article the education system may play role in promoting democracy. The upshot of all this is that an educator must realize that the challenges and objectives of the education system are dynamic and for one to remain relevant, it is important to continuously adapt to the changes. For instance, a few years ago it would have been unthinkable that the education system would want to promote tolerance towards homosexuals; these were outcasts for whom there was little concern. However, the reality of the output focused employment present today has ensured increased tolerance to such people and thus the need for a change in approach. An educator will be differentiated from any other knowledgeable person from their ability to produce all rounded graduates. Some of the important traits to be considered include cultural competence and tolerance. For example, if the task is to teach students mathematics without considerations to the other aspects then that can even be done by anybody with the basic knowledge needed to teach the particular subject. The professional educator must be easy to differentiate from other people possessing the same level of knowledge, and one of the hallmarks of this is the ability to produce culturally competent students among other things. Conclusion From the study, cultural competence has proven to be a very important subject area for one’s development. Most people spend over two decades in school, meaning that they will acquire some of their lifelong traits there. Global occupational mobility is on the rise and one of the key ingredients to it is cultural competence. People with less of it will have a very hard time adapting to the different work environments that will be made available by the increased mobility. One’s work output is not a function of skills competence only; it must also include the person’s ability to work with people, which means adopting the narrow minded definition of education will produce half baked students. References Ahlawat, S. , & Ahlawat, S. (2006, ). Competing in the Global Knowledge Economy: Implications for Business Education.. Journal of American Academy of Business, 8(1), 101-105. Arizaga, M. B. , Waldo, M. , & Castellanos, L. (2005). Multicultural Sensitivity and Interpersonal Skills Training for Preservice Teachers. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education and Development, 44(2), 198-202. Berrell, M. , & Gloet, M. (1999). Reflections on the cultural dimensions of educational administration. EAF Journal, 13(2), 10. Coll, J. , & Zalaquet, C. (2007). The Relationship of Worldviewsof Advisors and Students and satisfaction with advising: A Case of Homogenous. Journal of College Student Retention, 9(3), 273-281. Gay, G. (2009). Similar Concerns, Different Perspectives of Social Studies and Multicultural Education. Social Studies Review, 48(1), 25-27. Liang, C. , & Alimo, C. (2005). The Impact of White Heterosexual Students’ Interactions on Attitudes Toward Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of College Student Development, 46(3), 237-250. Pope, R. , & Mueller, J. (2005). Faculty and Curriculum: Examing Multicultural Competence and Inclusion. Journal of College Student Development, 46(6), 679-688. Pope, R. , Mueller, J. , & Reynolds, A. (2009). Looking Back and Moving Forward: Future Directions for Diversity Research in Student Affairs. Journal of College Student Development, 50(6), 640-659 Salazar, C. (2005). Outsiders in a White, Middle-Class System: Counselor Educators of Color on Academe. Jounral of Humanistic Counseling, Education and Development, 44(2), 240-252. Thomas, D. (2006). Domain and Development of Cultural Intelligence: The Importance of Mindfulness. Group & Organization Management, 31(1), 78-99.

Compare and contrast ‘Of Mice And Men’ and ‘The Pearl’ Essay

Compare and contrast ‘Of Mice And Men’ and ‘The Pearl’ looking especially at how Steinbeck has interwoven the social and political concerns of that time. The story ‘Of Mice And Men’ is quite similar to the story of ‘The Pearl’. Both stories deal with the social and political issues of that time. The stories deal with the issues of sexism, racism, greed, loneliness, hardship but also with friendship and ambitions. John Steinbeck was born in 1902, Salinas Valley, California. In 1929, aged 27, he completed his first novel ‘Cup Of Gold’. He did work as a labourer and journalist for five years. After writing his first novel, he moved back to California where he wrote many more novels and short stories. Steinbeck often wrote about what he understood or what issues he felt were important to him. For example, he wrote many novels about the labouring people, he wrote ‘Bombs Away: The Story Of A Bomber Team’, he wrote about his travels and even a saga about his family history. He even studied marine biology so that he could write the ‘Sea Of Cortez’. He won the Nobel Prize in 1962. John Steinbeck died at the age of 66, in 1968. This essay will discuss the various themes of the two novels written by John Steinbeck. These themes include the hardship and suffering endured by the characters of both of the novels, racism, sexism, greed, dreams, loneliness and friendship. The first book we read, ‘The Pearl’, had two main characters, these were Kino – the man of the family who was husband to Juana and together had a baby boy called Coyotito. The book begins with a description of the scenery and of the daily routine of the family. The story really starts when Coyotito gets stung by a scorpion. Juana takes control of the situation and in turn does a heroic thing by asking for the doctor. Of course the doctor refuses to go down to the brush houses, so when the family decide to go to the doctor, the whole village goes with them for support. The doctor refuses to treat baby Coyotito because of the fact that Kino and Juana couldn’t pay for the treatment. Also, the fact that the doctor was racist didn’t help either. Kino and Juana were left helpless. Soon after that incident with the doctor, Kino found the ‘pearl of the world’. It should have brought them riches and happiness, but instead led them to the destruction of all their possessions and even to the death of little Coyotito. When Kino gets the pearl, he dreams of all the wonderful things he could do with the pearl. They weren’t extravagant dreams, but of simple things, such as giving Coyotito an education, a wedding for Kino and Juana in a church and new clothes. It all goes horribly wrong though, when Kino decides that the pearl buyers are trying to rip him off. This leads to the decision that Kino, Juana and Coyotito will go to the city to try and sell their pearl. The townspeople were split into two: the people that thought Kino was a brave man fighting for a better future, and they supported Kino’s family, but then there were others who thought Kino was a fool and they tended to be the jealous people. The story ends with Kino and Juana going back to their village after Coyotito’s head was violently shot away. The couple had lost everything, they had lost their home, their boat, and their baby son. Kino ends up throwing the pearl back into the ocean where it came from. The story ‘Of Mice And Men’ starts off with Lennie and George, two white men who are on their way to a ranch. They have a dream that they will one day own a little place. This would provide them with security and comfort. Lennie and George travelled together, unlike many other ranchers. George looked after Lennie, as Lennie seemed to have the mind of a child, even though he was much smaller. As the story goes on, we learn that the pair were working at a ranch in Weed, when Lennie wanted to feel this girl’s dress. The girl panicked, as did Lennie, who then wouldn’t let go of the dress. When he did, the girl told the men at the ranch, who then wanted to lynch Lennie. As a result Lennie and George had to hide to in an irrigation ditch for a day. They got a job though a few miles south of Soledad. However, when they get there, they can sense there’s trouble ahead. The bosses’ son Curley, has it in for Lennie, because Curley is a little guy who hates Lennie as he is a big guy. Not only is there Curley they should have to look out for, but also Curley’s wife. She had been described a ‘tart’ and after Lennie and George had meet her, George called her ‘jail bait all set on the trigger’. Lennie quite liked her, but George tells Lennie to stay away from Curley and his wife. Of course, there was the incident which involved Lennie crushing Curley’s hand which almost broke every single bone in it. Luckily he was blackmailed into not telling anyone about the incident but there was a lot of anger and resentment. When old Candy, the one-armed swamper and Crooks, the black, disabled, stable-buck, hear of Lennie and George’s dream, they too, want a part of it. However, when Lennie is left alone with Curley’s wife, he accidentally kills her. He runs off to the brush as George had once instructed him to do if he ever got in to trouble. When Curley finds out, he leads the other men to go out with him to shoot Lennie. Curley really didn’t seem upset that his wife had died, but it was more to do with the fact that Lennie was the one who had killed her. George knew where Lennie was and went over there. George realised that Lennie had very few choices left. George decided to shoot Lennie. Soon after Lennie’s death, some of the men found George. Slim tried to comfort George. The novel ended with Carlson saying something trivial to Curley. The main characters in the books lived in poor conditions. Kino and Juana and Lennie and George had little money, but the characters are strong in the novels as a result. The hardship they had suffered and endured made them stronger as characters. Both migrant workers and Kino’s people had few rights and little respect. Kino’s people were mainly fishermen and they looked for pearls. Kino’s family just barely survived. Everyday they ate the same things for breakfast – a corn-cake and a little pulque. They couldn’t afford to eat anything different, even if they wanted to. There is a description of Kino and Juana, in the story that the beggars in the city had made. They saw Juana’s old skirt, ‘the tears in her shawl’, the beggars even saw through the age of Kino’s blanket and they saw the amount of times his clothes had been washed was a lot and so the beggars, who were ‘great experts in financial analysis’ came to the conclusion that Kino and Juana were ‘poverty people’. In the beginning of the story, the family seem to be happy and comfortable. Steinbeck describes their mourning routine s though Kino and Juana didn’t mind being poor, but we learn that isn’t true. When Coyotito is stung by the scorpion, Juana and Kino feel helpless as they cannot afford to treat their son. To make the situation worse, Coyotito is their first born son, and so it is very important that they are able to provide adequate medical treatment for him. When Juana has to make do with the seaweed poultice, we learn that the traditional methods of treating a scorpion bite were frowned upon by Juana, as the remedy lacked the doctors ‘authority’ just because it was simple and it didn’t cost a penny. Not only that but they couldn’t afford to get married even. Lennie and George were very poor too. On average they got 50 dollars a month, but they got accommodation and food. The migrant ranch workers, tended to live in filth conditions and many had body lice. For example, in ‘Of Mice And Men’ when George is being introduced to the place by Candy, George gets angry when he sees a bottle of lice-killing stuff above his bed. Candy tells George that the previous guy that stayed there, was the kind of guy that would ‘wash his hands even after he ate’. This gives off the impression that most of these men didn’t think much of personal hygiene. These migrant workers never had permanent jobs, so when they were in-between jobs they lived in real poverty. They had no security in their lives, and they must have got very lonely all by themselves, so at least Lennie and George had each other. In ‘The Pearl’, it was very difficult finding the pearl that would change a person’s life. Finding on would be like winning the lottery. Even if they were to find one, who’s to say that they’ll be able to cash it in? the pearl buyers bought the pearls cheaply from the naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve village people, who thought they were getting a good deal, and in Kino’s case, when he tried to stand up for himself, he paid the price of his son. In the case, ‘Of Mice And Men’, the migrant workers would never get a cut of the profits. They do all the work but they don’t ever get to reap what they sow. This is the reason why Lennie got so excited from living of the fat of the land. ‘The Pearl’ didn’t seem to concentrate too much on the theme of racism. Steinbeck looked at the affects of the persecution of Kino’s people, generations ago and on Kino’s generation now. Steinbeck focused on the collapsing of Kino’s people. For example, after the European settlers moved in, they took over almost everything leaving the Indians with very little rights. The doctor did make a comment though, that showed his racism. The statement he is saying that these ‘little Indians’ are not even human but animals instead. The novel ‘Of Mice And Men’ though, did discuss racist themes. The men at the ranch call Crooks – the only black man on the ranch – ‘nigger’. All but the exception of Slim who had won the respect of every man on the ranch. Slim called Crooks by his name and in turn Crooks showed respect for Slim. At that particular time in America, separation of whites and blacks was widespread. As a result, Crooks had to live by himself. He wasn’t allowed in the bunkhouse purely because he was a Negro. Apparently the men at the ranch say that he stinks. Crooks is bitter towards these men. In fact, when Curley’s wife comes in Crook’s room, and Crooks warns her not to come in there she threatens Crooks, by claiming that she can have Crooks lynched so easily that it would be no bother to her. Juana and Curley’s wife are not treated equally by the men around them. However, it is fair to say that Juana was treated with a lot more respect by her husband. Juana was a strong woman and Kino recognised and respected her for that. For example, when Coyotito was stung, Juana took charge of the situation it was her who decided to call the doctor and her who decided to go to see the doctor. Although she was ‘obedient’, she had an important part of the relationship. She kept the family together but one of the sad things of Curley’s wife’s life was that nobody respected her of loved her – not even to Curley. He seemed to have no respect for her. The men at the ranch called her a ‘tart’, a ‘looloo’ and all sorts of other names. I think that both women were misunderstood and weren’t given enough respect. The dreams that Juana and Kino had were quite different, from what Lennie and George dreamt. However, we learn that there are many similarities in both the characters’ dreams. For example, Kino and Juana just want to get married in a church and Lennie and George would love to have the choice of not going to work. Both dreams are affected by what was the most important belief, ‘The Pearl’ saw that Kino wanted an educated son because through his son, his people could learn. Whereas Lennie and George wanted their little place, because land meant power, and in their case, freedom. The difference between the two stories though, is Lennie and George’s dream is told throughout the story and we know it and understand what they want, but Kino’s dream is only told to us when Kino believes that they can be a reality. Loneliness is something that almost every character felt. Kino and Juana went through such a lot, that after having gone back to the village, I doubt they will ever full fit in again. They will feel alienated from the village people and the community that was so close was ripped apart by Kino’s pearl so the community was trying to pick up its own pieces. George’s loneliness doesn’t play that big a part in the novel. He is lucky to have Lennie and he realises that, but George needed more that just companionship from Lennie – he needed to talk to someone. This was why George was so quick to tell Slim some of his most innermost thoughts, and secrets. Lennie was just like a child, and children cannot have adult conversations. This is far better than the others on the ranch. Crooks isn’t allowed to make friends with others because he isn’t anything more than just a ‘nigger’ to them. Candy too, is discriminated against because of his disability and his old age. The shooting of Candy’s dog was a fine example of how if something isn’t of any use any more – then just kill it. I think Steinbeck tried to get his readers to be more aware and understanding towards the underprivileged. Steinbeck understood these people, so he wrote about them. There is a hidden moral here to be learnt, that I feel Steinbeck was trying to give across. I believe Steinbeck was saying that in those times and even now, money doesn’t always equal to prosperity. Take for example, the doctor, he was a wealthy man in ‘The Pearl’, but he wasn’t actually happy and content. Kino and Juana were by far better off than the doctor, as they had love, not money, even though money can seem to solve problems. As for George and Lennie, they seemed to be happy enough in their dreams and ambitions, far happier than Curley, who had inherited his father’s wealth. Curley could have even been jealous of the ranch men and their freedom. Steinbeck showed that none of his characters, in either book, were fully content with their situation. This could be saying something about the nature of humans, how the grass is always greener on the other side, and how nobody is going to fully happy with wealth.