Identifying Carbohydrates Lab Report

(insert name here) (insert period #) Identifying Carbohydrates (First inital and last name of lab partner) Purpose The purpose of this lab is to learn how to identify different forms of carbohydrates by conducting the Benedict and Iodine test. Theory The theory for this concept is that if in the benedicts test the carbohydrate reacts, it is a monosaccharide. If it reacts in the Iodine test it is a polysaccharide. If no reaction occurs in either test the carbohydrate is a disaccharide. Data Type of carbohydrate| Benedicts Test| Iodine Test|Monosaccharide| R| NR| Disaccharide| NR| NR| Polysaccharide| NR| R| Solution| Bendicts Test| Iodine Test| Honey| R| NR| Oats| NR| R| Table Sugar| NR| NR| Apple Juice| R| NR| Powdered Sugar| NR| NR| Results Solution| Type of carbohydrate| Honey| Monosaccharide| Oats| Polysaccharide| Table Sugar| Disaccharide| Apple juice| Monosaccharide| Powdered Sugar| Disaccharide| Conclusion I found that honey reacted with the Benedicts test, so it must be a monos accharide. Oats did not react with the Benedicts test, but did react ith the Iodine test; so it is a polysaccharide. Both the table sugar and the powdered sugar reacted with neither tests, so they are both disaccharides. Lastly, the apple juice reacted with the Benedicts test so it is a monosaccharide. Questions 1) It could be a Polysaccharide or a Disaccharide. 2) It could be a Disaccharide or a Monosaccharide. 3) This would be a monosaccharide. 4) This would be a Disaccharide. 5) They originally came from producers. 6) The chemical formula is Cx(H2Oy) 7) 8)C12 H22 O11

Computer technology: Friend or Foe? Essay

As we are living in a digital world, computer technology has become a huge part of human life. We use computers in almost every situation to study, to work or to relax. Despite the useful helps from computer technology, it also has some negative effects on people. The effects of computer technology in daily life are to make people lazier, to affect the personalities of children and on their education, and to cause health problems. Computers are useful tools that make people lazier. Since people are working with technology every day, they are relying more on their computers. They depend on the technology in every work even in a simple calculation. By that way, they use their brain less, they don’t have to think and study more and develop themselves only because they have computers to help them. Next, people are lazier to talk with others face-to-face. They use e-mail instead. As a result, they find it hard to express their feelings when they talk with others in person. Computers can have massive effects on the personalities of children and on their education. In modern life, computers are so popular that even young kids know how to use them. As a consequence, children become addicted to computers at very young ages. They spend too much time playing on computers instead of doing their homework or playing sports with other kids. Moreover, parents cannot control what their children do with their computers. There are some bad programs or websites that are not suitable for kids. Lastly, children don’t use their imaginations because computers have offered them the whole virtual world. Therefore, they cannot create picture in their own minds and that limit their creativity. Using computers also causes health problems. The more people spend time with computer the less time they have for exercises. In fact, some people prefer surfing the internet more than playing sports. In addition, more people have to deal with illness such as obesity and eye problems because they use computers without discipline. Many people suffer problems related to sitting  incorrectly, or for too long in front of their computers. Headaches, back pains and sleeping disorders are the main problems. These health problems by using computers incorrectly can lead to a person `s poor attention, they cannot concentrate on their work that they may cause accident to themselves or others. In conclusion, it is good to know some effects of computers on our life style, our health and our children `s behaviors to avoid. Nowadays, computers play an important role in life. Computer is essential by the ways we using it. The computers become a most significant priority in every house. People use c omputers in different type of work but using it in a right way is also important. A computer may help us in some parts of life and it also has some negative effects. We should consider using computers effectively and not rely on them too much.

Managing work life balance and wellness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing work life balance and wellness - Essay Example The recent economic crisis is thinning and with that, HR managers are scheduling interviews. Companies have started viewing their employees as an important and noteworthy fraction within the stakeholders’ list. Hence, now the scenario calls for improvement in working conditions; job stress, work-life balance and employee wellness are factors that are taken very seriously by HR managers. This change was primarily inspired by studies that show the correlation amongst mental fitness and organizational performance (Hancock & Szalma, 2008, pp.32-34). Research shows that (Cassidy et al., 2009, p.262) while a poor work-life balance has a long lasting negative effect on an employee’s productivity, it is much more harmful for his/her creativity. Therefore, it is more so essential for HR managers in creative firms to maintain equilibrium within an employee’s timetable. People Management Challenges faced by HR Professionals I. Change Management While ‘change managemen t’ is vastly a broad term, therefore the focus here would lie upon three major changes: 1. Economic Change: Change brought about by variations (mostly negative) within economic conditions drastically affects an employee’s work-life balance, this is because adverse economic conditions point towards job losses and this possible ‘loss-of-secure-income’ position drastically affects an employee’s performance as the employee loses sight of his goals and concentrates more towards keeping his job intact. This situation according to CIPD (2010) creates stress, which would result in behavioural changes such as lack of focus, failures of commitments, increased time on work (due to reduced work speed and lack of commitment). 2. Technological Change: While it is commonly believed that adapting newer technology would result in job-cuts, researches have proved otherwise (Hayter, 2000, p.267). But this too does not hold true for some industries, as while apparatus might not necessarily cut jobs, but they definitely bring about a change by drastically increasing the level of skill required to conduct an operation, this increase in mental pressure is responsible for stress which disrupts work-life balance. 3. Strategic or Operational changes: While operational changes are a must for every organization owing to changes in consumer behaviour and technological enhancements, such changes many have many effects on an employee’s performance, as operational behaviour sometimes become compulsive. The overall wellness and work-life balance is largely based upon the HR department’s ability to handle and promote change within an organization. In order to avoid complications, the HR team must prepare a theoretical training module based upon the proposed changes and initiate training procedures to prepare the staff for the upcoming change. II. Time Management Time management is a crucial challenge for HR professionals, as time is the basis of the work-life balance. While some might disagree that time management is concerned with HR, it is not true as under most professional work environments the revenues are high enough to sustain explicit staff members for each type of job, then it is the responsibility of the HR department to allot work to the best suited employee or department. A recent initiative by the HR department ofR depatym,ent DS Norden a Dutch

Hormone replacement therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hormone replacement therapy - Essay Example On the other hand, low-dose vaginal medicines of estrogen, coming in the form of cream, pills or a ring can properly control vaginal symptoms and a number of urinary complications, while limiting body absorption. Low-dose vaginal medications do not prevent hot flashes, osteoporosis or night sweats. Long-term use of systemic hormone therapy for the inhibition of postmenopausal complications is no longer regularly advisable. But some research findings show that estrogen reduces the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases when administered early in menopause (Kaygusuz et al, 2014).     For cases of early menopause in women, estrogen is essentially prescribed together with progesterone-rich medications. The need to balance estrogen concentration levels with progesterone is because the former hormone alone can stimulate the thickening of the uterine walls, thus increase the prevalence of cancer of the uterus (Kaygusuz et al, 2014). Any woman whose uterus has been removed does not need t o take hormone replacement therapy, because it would be meaningless.Demerits of hormone therapy  Despite the advantages of hormone replacement therapy, it carries with it several risks. The use of estrogen-progestin drugs in known to soar the prevalence of certain grave complications, including: cardiovascular diseases, stroke, breast cancer, and blood clots (Kaygusuz et al, 2014). As Kaygusuz et al (2014) said, the therapy should be administered to a healthy woman who has: a) experiences of moderate to serious menopausal symptoms.

Organizational Behavior & Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational Behavior & Leadership - Essay Example Employee 1 therefore works even during the weekends in order to try to get the bonus. This type of power makes the performance of individuals start going down due to the extreme pressure and stress they encounter. Legitimate power is the power that an individual acquires as a result of the position he or she is in. The individual’s decisions are therefore based on that power and cannot be questioned. The marketing manager of employee 1 exercises the legitimate power accorded to him as a result of his position as a manager to make employees work more than the forty hours stipulated. The manager of employee 3 also uses his power to make employee 3 a team leader. Referent power is the one possessed by an individual that makes others want to be like him or her and be similar to the individual. In the company’s situation, employer 3 has referent power and it is evident by the way his fellow colleagues want to be like him and be similar to him and therefore emulate all the decisions made by him. This type of power motivates the other employees and in the long run performance improves in the organization and so does the interrelationship between the employees and employer. The other base of power is the expert power. This power is exercised by an individual who has knowledge and skills in a particular area and he or she knows that people need the expertise. In this case, employee 2 has this sort of power because he is the only certified public accountant in the organization and therefore uses this to make the rules that about his work schedule and the manager has to comply. The individual may misuse this power since they know the target have no other alternative. The last is the reward power where an individual holds this power based on reinforcing or promises to reinforce the target group. The manager of employer 1 has this power due to the fact that he promises a reward at the end of the year to the

The Branches of Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Branches of Government - Essay Example The power of the federal government is divided among the three branches: the executive, judicial and legislative. Therefore, the separation of the powers has been done in a strict manner. Additionally, the power exercised by any of the three branches is limited in several ways through the powers provided to the other branches of the federal government; due to this, the standard of checks and balances has been established (Accountability in Government 9). One of the results of separating and allocating powers to different branches of the government is that it subjects the government to constant scrutiny, and, therefore, is subject to continued process of accountability (Accountability in Government 10). It is important to note that the Constitution does not have a direct provision that mandates the separation of powers among the three federal government branches. However, the doctrine of separation is critical to the United States government (â€Å"Separation of Powers of Government†). The separation and allocation of powers has ensured that no branch of the government has monopoly over the principle powers of the government. This has prevented the creation of a very strong government with the ability to overpower the individual state governments. Governmental responsibilities intentionally overlap. For instance, the president possesses the power to appoint all the federal ambassadors, judges, and other high-ranking government officials; however, all the appointments must have consent and advice of the Senate. The final authority is possessed by the Supreme Court, which can strike down the acts of the executive and the legislative branches as unconstitutional (Russell). Though the system has worked to some extent, there are exceptional cases where the presidents have done things that can be regarded as unconstitutional. Based on the Constitution, the president can only

Modern culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Modern culture - Essay Example Sennet (1999, p. 146) describes the flexible capitalism as more personal rather than general. The modern economy has resulted into a new form of capitalism in which the business organization only cares about the strategic direction to take. Sennet (1999, p.145-146) describes such organizations as having powers to let go. The new capitalism is a sociological danger to the employees of the different companies of the world. It has not only made modern work illegible and modern employees ‘precarious workers’ but also resulted into flexibility that has destroyed the societal foundations of the different communities of the world. The modern economy therefore has everything to do with the troubles and difficulties faced by the different employees in the different work places today. The American workers have to therefore match the computers in terms of efficiency, speed, accuracy and even productivity or else they will all be laid off in future. Sennett (1999, p. 74-75) argues that the introduction of computers and computer integrated systems in the different machines has highly simplified and reduced the tasks of the employees. The workers no longer toil to get things done; everything gets done by just ‘a press of a button’ (Broekens, 2009, p. 94-103). As much as it is an advantage to the employees, it is a great problem. Employees have found a way of evading the hard tasks (Sennett, 1999, p. 72). They eventually end up staying for quite a long time without performing certain tasks and slowly by slowly their skills deplete. What happens when the machines break down or experience malfunctions? Sennett (1999, 72-73) articulates a similar scenario when the dough-kneading machine broke down in the bakery firm. The production activities came to a stand-still since the workers hundred percent depended on the machine make dough. The workers never even possessed the simple engineering skills of repairing the machine ( Sennett, 1999, p. 73). Redundancy and

English2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

English2 - Essay Example As the title suggests, the article is about five new technologies in the auto industry that are geared towards easing the burden of driving in modern times; these technologies are meant to make driving easier, especially for the safety conscious drivers. The article lists a number of technologies that are slowly revolutionizing the auto industry, and soon, are going to be the market driving forces for the entire auto industry. The main idea/thesis of this article is that, to attract the safety conscious drivers, some carmakers are revolutionizing the auto industry through the introduction of innovative and highly exotic technologies. The main goal of this article is to highlight some of the major technologies that are rapidly emerging in the auto industry, and the market trends that arise thereafter accordingly; the safety conscious drivers are being attracted to the new designs, and as tastes and preferences change, the said technology inevitably becomes cheaper. The article is highly objective and informative given that it not only comes from an authoritative source, but it also goes ahead to provide reputable examples and statistical evidence that backs the arguments it makes. In this respect, the points are strongly argued out to a logically satisfactory level, without bias of any sort or inaccuracies as the information can be verified as well. The writer of the article adopts a levelheaded tone that is strikingly informative as well as declarative; this is highly effective because it lends credence to the article by making it authoritative to the readers. The points are logically sequenced to allow for a regular flow of thought and cohesion in the arguments, an attempt by the writer at being communicative both effectively and efficiently. The target audience for this article is comprised of the safety conscious drivers and carmakers in the

Ethical Considerations Essay Example for Free

Ethical Considerations Essay The conduct of the members of any profession must be of very high standards in professional terms. The Australian Computer Society (ACS) requires very high standards in its Code of Conduct for members so as to be able to earn the credibility as well as the prestige IT professionals deserve. The ACS Code of Conduct does not include many detailed rules as it only focuses on the most essential matters and as such it requires a much broader interpretation. It is mandatory for all members of ACS to comply with the Code of Conduct. The code bears relevance in law in terms of legislation. Awareness of the Code’s requirements by IT professionals is crucial as non-adherence by a member in their field may lead to claims of professional negligence by clients. The regulatory regime of the Internet Censorship Body of Australia gives powers to its subsidiary, the Australian Communications and Media Authority to enforce restriction of Internet Content that is hosted within the country as well as maintaining a black-list of foreign websites by using filtering software. Foreign websites which have or are likely to be refused classification in Australia are target for mandatory filtering in Internet Censorship proposal by the Australian Labor Party-led government since 2008. The import of this proposal is that providers of internet services would be forced to ensure that they block black-listed websites from reaching its customers. Two years later, the policy still awaits enactment as a result of the inexistence of legislation to this effect (Moses 2010). As expected, the proposal for the introduction of mandatory filtering has been met with considerable opposition. Some amount of tension has been generated in Australia. Its opponents have raised various concerns but a few people who are in strong support of the policy welcomed it. In Australia, Internet content is bound by federal as well as state laws on the censorship of internet content. The ACS has an internet filtering body coupled with a taskforce for E-security. The task force provides advice on technical issues and policies concerning internet content and the material that is unsuitable for the viewing by the general society. This provides the basis for the legislation on internet content in Australia. The decision by the Australian government through information minister Senator Stephen Conroy to filter the pages viewed by internet users is consistent with the requirements of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) Code of Conduct and Ethics. The ethical code, in section 4. 1, starts by clearly stating its efforts aimed at advancing the dignity, honor a swell as the effectiveness Information Technology as a profession. It states that in observance of its ethical conduct and high competence standards, every member is supposed to be honest in addition to being forthright and impartial. Members are supposed to be loyal in their service to the community (ACS Code of Ethics 1998). It further states that every member has to put all efforts aimed at increasing the profession’s competence as well its prestige. Every member is required to use the special skill and knowledge they possess towards advancing human welfare. The code of conduct is binding in its requirements. Section NR 4. 3 and section N4. 4 categorically states that the code binds all members with regard to their professional conduct. The implication of this requirement is that once the legislation for the filtering scheme is enacted, all members will have no option other than to oblige. It will automatically take effect because it is backed by both the federal and the state government. This is good news to many parents and school teachers who have always battled delinquent behavior in learners without success. Foreign and unacceptable behaviors on some web pages have been accessed and acquired by minors who are otherwise not supposed to view them and as a result the parents and teachers have been unable to control them (Computerworld Australia 2008). Learning is seriously compromised by the content of these offending websites and filtering them is the only effective solution to ensure that it does not reach the school children. The are some specific internet contents which the government has already outlawed and indeed does filtering. These are the contents that have to do with political parties, euthanasia, video games and racism. On the ethical side of consideration on the government’s decision to filter the content that the public should be allowed to view, this is actually a move in the right direction because left uncontrolled, the public can view anything, just about everything. This automatically leads to moral rot. The advent of the internet has led to a sudden decline in morals in many societies globally and the Australian government is justified in suggesting an ambitious plan to ensure that internet content that is hosted within the country is restricted. It is upon the realization of the dangers posed by overseas websites, more than anything else, that the proposals read out by the information minister were made. It will be of no benefit for the Australian Communications and Media Authority to enforce a restriction on internet content that is hosted from within the country and leave content from outside unchecked as people can always view the pages that thrill them from the foreign websites (The Sydney Morning Herald 2009. It is not surprising that the proposal for mandatory filtering of all internet content whether local or from overseas has been met with mixed reactions (ABC News 2007). The proponents of the filtering of internet content are genuinely concerned that the benefits that these internet pages have are by far outweighed by the harm they bring upon the community, not only in Australia, but in all other countries in the world. The minister was justified in bringing the filtering proposals in his genuine concern to rid the society of the moral rot that, courtesy of unrestricted internet access, has been spreading like the country’s infamous bush fires. The opponents of the proposed legislation on mandatory filtering of both locally hosted and overseas internet pages are on their part justified to object to these requirements in such loud voices as they have. Their objection to this legislation is by a very big percentage motivated by their selfish interest to continue being in the market for all the wrong reasons. Any person or a group of people in business are motivated by the sole interest of making as much profit as they can and as such what they give to their viewers does not matter as much as the profit they stand to get out of it. It gets even worse because they are prepared to go out of their way to give their viewers anything that they view most, bad as it may be (The Digital Liberty Coalition 2008). The ACS code of conduct and ethics in 4. 3 stipulates the values and ideals expected of the members. Members are expected to be professionally responsible and display integrity in their actions. They are supposed to deal with clients and the community, students and employees in a responsible way and with integrity. This requirement is good in terms of ethics and it can minimize the number of obscene and violent web content if adhered to by all internet providers. The general society needs to be protected from some pages whose influence is negative to the society. Section 4. 3. 4 further binds the members of ACS by ensuring social responsibility in their work to the society. It states that all members should make it their duty to ensure that they uplift and improve their clients’ quality of life. This is a big calling but it must be adherered to in order to preserve and improve the lives of all the people they work for. It is unethical for any IT specialist to upload a morally corrupting page on the internet to be viewed by others who would otherwise do a lot better without it. The proposal by the information minister borrows mainly from the ACS code of conduct as it spells out clearly all the rules that IT professionals should follow so that they can preserve the prestige and dignity the profession is supposed to have. This is in section 4. 3. 5 under Information Technology Profession in which every member is expected to promote the integrity of their profession. The members must do their work in respect of the profession and for one another. Section 4. 5. 1 of the ethics code makes it mandatory for all members to preserve continuity in the services of information technology as well as to put information flow in their care. This clearly means that all members are bound by the requirement to strive to ensure that the consumers of their services get only what they are supposed to get. They must give only the useful information to the general public which constitutes their client base. Material that has been refused classification by the regulatory authority should not be uploaded because of the dangers it portents (Electronic Frontiers Australia 2008). The IT profession is a beneficiary of such a move as proposed by the information minister as it would regain its name as a respectable profession and people would have more respect for IT professionals which has of late been declining due to the actions of some unscrupulous IT specialists who have made it their habit to posting pages whose content can not do any good to the society (ABC News 2007). The general society as a whole will be the overall winners from this legislation to the detriment of those who have made it their business by sending to the innocent viewers corruptible web content. The hands of the IT professionals who may harbor ill motives are tied by clause number 4. 6. 5 which clearly states that all members of ACS must bear the responsibility of their work. If any of them posts a page that is in the opinion of the ACS disciplinary board; immoral or unsuitable for viewing by the general public, then their conduct shall be found to be unethical and the appropriate disciplinary action will be carried out on them.

Texas Retirement System (TRS) Essay Example for Free

Texas Retirement System (TRS) Essay You have been recruited to consult for the Texas Retirement System (TRS). TRS is looking at alternative investment opportunities. They see John Bogle’s (founder of Vanguard) mantra of simply investing in index funds as particularly compelling. Yet, Miller’s historical record at Value Trust has been outstanding, and several trustees are in favor of investing with him. Your task to provide a recommendation to the trustees as to whether or not they should invest with Miller and Value Trust. Again, the case questions are here to simply guide your analysis. You are preparing a professional report for the TRS trustees, and it should be structured accordingly. Also, don’t spend a lot of time repeating the facts of the case itself, but certainly use the exhibits to support your assessments. 1. How well has Value Trust performed in recent years? In making that assessment, what benchmark(s) are you using? How do you measure investment performance? What does good performance mean to you? 2. What might explain the fund’s performance? To what extent do you believe an investment strategy, such as Miller’s, explains performance? 3. How easy will it be to sustain Miller’s historical performance record into the future? What factors support your conclusion? 4. Consider the mutual fund industry. What roles do portfolio managers play? What are the differences between fundamental and technical securities analysis? How well do mutual funds generally perform relative to the overall market? 5. What is capital-market efficiency? What are its implications for investment performance in general? What are the implications for fund managers, if the market exhibits characteristics of strong, semi-strong, or weak efficiency? 6. As of 2005, would you recommend investing in Miller’s Value Trust? What beliefs about the equity markets does your answer reflect?

Women in The Color Purple and The Handmaids Tale

Women in The Color Purple and The Handmaids Tale [NM1]The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they dont have any.[1] [NM2]This quote from Alice Walker encapsulates the premise of her novel The Color Purple and Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale. Both novels aim to educate and enlighten their audiences to the psychological effects of female subjugation. Walker and Atwood utilise a myriad of literary techniques, and the power of the female first-person narrative; illuminating to all readers the victimisation and suppression of women in patriarchal societies and households. Walkers quote is reflective of the protagonists in both novels; only when they think they have no power, is when they are truly powerless. This theme can be ascertained from the opening epistles of The Color Purple, the reader is immediately lambasted with the psychological effects of persecution on the protagonist, Celie, at the hands of her father[2], Alphonse. Walkers deployment of the first-person epistolary structure subconsciously precipitates for the reader becoming Celies emotional muse. Walker forces us to see Celies undistorted emotions in the truest form possible as Celie writes her letters for God, not an audience, allowing the letters to reflect her emotions, unplagued by an America burdened by institutional racism and patriarchy. Thus, the letters highlight the psychological effects of sexual and societal subjugation, undistorted by the environment that submerges her. Walker presents African-American homes[3] as parallel to white households, with the dominant male asserting power over the women and children, comparable to how the African-Americans were treated by the racist white society of 1930s America.[ 4] Walker adheres to the traditional literary representation of African-American women[5] in the novels inauguration, representing Walkers protagonist, as a victim of her society and environment. Psychologist Charles L. Proudfit, published, Celies Search for Identity: A Psychoanalytic Developmental Reading of Alice WalkersThe Color Purple.[6], labeling Celie as having gone through the typical thought process a child abuse victim. Celies first letter opens: Dear God, I am fourteen years old. I am I have always been a good girl.[7] Celie crosses out I am, changing the auxiliary verb to have, self-justifying her subjugation[8], believing the abuse is deserved and her treatment is justified[9]. The auxiliary device is jarring to the reader as Celie believes only God will see the letters, yet she doesnt feel that she is a good girl, despite being the most divine character in the novel, epitomised by Walker naming her Celie, a derivative of caelummeaning heaven in Latin. The crossing out I am reaffirms Proudfits analysis, she no longer believes that she is a good girl, but rather a tainted stain on the fabric of society; reiterated by the usage of the past tense, surrendering the prior image she had of herself. Walkers presentation of Celie suggests that she wholeheartedly believes that she is deserving of the abuse. Celie does not respond with rage to her subjugation initially, bowing to the agonistic authority of her Pa stating, sometimes it bees that way.[10] Subsequently, validating the abuse she is receiving by crossing out her past self-image, replacing it with the new solemn view point. The understated nature to the mentality change highlights the damaging psychological effects of the subjugation of women, a clear reference to Walkers driving quote. Celie thinks she has no power; but in reality, Celie has more power than anyone truly knows. Walker includes this to show that only when a woman gives up her power is when she is actually powerless, illuminated th rough the structure and deployment of specific language devices evoking a poignant response from both contemporary and contextual audiences. Comparably, in Margaret Atwoods, The Handmaids Tale, the women are subjected to incomprehensible oppression. In the dystopic, fundamentalist administration, Gilead, the female characters are stripped of the individualism that truly makes them women, their identities quashed and cut to fit the roles the government established to continue their patriarchal agenda. Atwood presents the abrasiveness of Gilead as a microcosm of everyday society in conjuncture with The Color Purple being representative of domestic life. Atwoods heroine, a female assigned as Offred, had the onerous burden of being a Handmaid; assigned as a surrogate to elitist, Serena and Fred Joy (alias, The Commander.) In her placement, Offred lost all freedoms she enjoyed pre-Gilead, replaced with set meals, activities and as a prerequisite of her role prearranged sexual intercourse sessions. Despite showing the dreadful conditions of Gilead, allegorically this can be interpreted as a social commentary from Atwood, repres enting patriarchal abusive relationships. In these relationships, the misogynistic figure controls every facet of life with abuse not exclusively physical. Instead, affecting every aspect of the recipients life, entailing financial and most destructively, mental abuse, with real and Gileadean society modelled around the idea that, A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze[11]. Represented further by the prearranged ordinances of the Handmaids, akin to Celie, the Handmaids and the people stuck in real abusive relationships they cannot escape. Correspondingly, in many abusive relationships the recipients begin to think what they are facing is normal per se, rather than fighting, accepting their suffrage as something to be expected; represented initially in both novels. Subsequently, relinquishing all power that they held reinforcing the idea of Alice Walker, psychological subjugation stretches into every single part of our lives, no matter where you g o, you can never escape your own mind. Prior to Gilead establishment, readers see Offred character as a rumbustious spirit, breaking free from societal norms, seen in Atwoods analeptic digressions from her unconventional relationship, meeting Luke at cheap hotels for sex. However, when delivered to Gilead she forgets the power that she holds, her perseverant psychological state is disintegrating with the threat of the Colonies[12] reinforcing to the reader the idea Offred must mentally shackle herself adhere to the limitations of life established. Reflecting to the audience that authoritarian subjugation has the power to inflict so much fear that we strip ourselves of the desire to fight for the liberty and freedom that we know is right. Highlighting the contrast between the protagonists, Offred is aware of her subjugation and is unable to rebel against it due to the potential backlash. Contrastingly, Celie, as aforementioned appears accepting of her role as deserved, or inevitable; alternatively, Offred preaches passive resistance taking liberation from the psychological onslaught. This can be ascertained by the description of her existence as theatrical: I stand on the corner pretending I am a tree.[13] Here, Walker presents to the reader the resilience of women in the face of patriarchal subjugation, and reflects the quote of Walker. Offred refuses to give up her power as can be seen from the choice of verb pretend. Suggesting, as a woman she has not changed psychologically due to her subjugation, rather she must appear changed to survive; separating herself from the image expected of her, never losing sight of how she perceives herself despite the indoctrination she is subjected to. Atwood encapsulates this by the comparison to a tree, trees perceiver throughout history, standing, unmoving, dependant on humans for preserving its life, exactly like Offred. Alternatively, others readers may interpret this as, despite not being able to escape physically from its surroundings but can soar upwards above the small, damaging thoughts of man; and survive unchangingly preserving its own identity, flourishing and blooming in the process. This is where we can see Offred, she conforms to the regime, but does not allow it to define her changing her self-perception, separating her physical and mental self. Offred understands she is just playing a role; analogous to a tree, despite all that is going on around her she is able to stay strong and unwavering in her quest to survive. The only way she can do this is by maintaining her mental strength and thus her power, despite the depravity circulating around her. Consequently, Atwood presents to the reader that Offred, despite not being a conventional literary hero -submitting outwardly to the regime- is unquestionably powerful, inspiring people in comparable real life positions, reinforcing the idea via tree imagery that by maintaining psychological strength she can never be felled. As aforementioned, Walker presents Celie in accordance with the traditional representation of African-American women in literature: timid, weak. Nevertheless, she undergoes a psychological transformation becoming an empowered woman, when she builds her relationship with the psychologically liberated Shug Avery. Prior to Averys arrival, Celie idolises her second to God alone. Shug becomes dependant on Celie whilst she nurses her, temporarily allowing Celie to feel equal to someone. In the process, Shug fills Celies emotional void she was deprived of, when Olivia was taken, Celie works on Shug like she a doll or like she Olivia.[14] Walkers diction, utilising the common noun doll produces connotations of childhood and play. Therefore, its prevalence in the sentence could represent that Celie has been deprived of a childhood due to the subjugation she encountered, but now she has Shug as her dependant, she appears psychologically liberated. Accordingly, Walkers syntax metaphorically rep resents to the reader the evolution of Celies character development. This interpretation is reinforced by critic and psychologist Daniel W. Ross, Celie in the Looking Glass: The Desire for Selfhood in The Color Purple. Ross identifies the doll as a transitional device for girls developing in childhood, preparing for the nurturing roll that they will experience as future mothers. A modern reader may not interpret it this way as in the 21st century not all women want to grow up to have children. However, when published in 1982 this was the norm of society, especially within the context of a 1930s African-American community in the South. With Ross interpretation and understanding of Walkers intentions, one can see that when people have the support to break free they do. Celie has clearly begun to employ some of the psychological growth stunted in her childhood, Shugs presence and later friendship acts as a tool for Celie enabling her to continue maturing despite the subjugation targete d against her by Mr.______. In conjunction with Walker, Atwood portrays the psychological effects of subjugation on Offred as decreasingly damaging, with her resilience against the regime. The structure of Offreds internal dialogue as a palimpsest of past events embodies the idea that Gileadean attempts to indoctrinate psychologically, but has failed control their private cognitions. This theme is shown in Offreds description of the Lilies of the Valley and its previous function as a theatre, Students went there a lotà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ women on their own, making up their mindsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ We seemed to be able to choose, then.[15] Atwoods analepsis represents to the reader despite the subjugation encountered in the patriarchy, a better way of life exists, almost as a vision of higher reality, identically to the role God and Nettie play for Celie. Despite these flashbacks being painful for Offred, by forcing herself to remember she keeps her power and the tenacity for survival. Atwood uses these flashbacks to sho w Offred rebelling against the indoctrination as early as Chapter five setting a precedent for the rest of the novel, and for people in real life situations comparable to Celie. Chapter five is when Offred becomes aware of her subjugation and wants to fight it, following an encounter with Japanese tourists, We are fascinated, but also repelled. They seem undressed. This shows immediately quickly from the start of the novel, the weak can be indoctrinated, if you are not strong and dont maintain your mental strength in the subjugating surroundings you will fall. Nevertheless, Atwood presents Offred as a macrocosm of all women with the idea that a woman always has the power to think no matter what situation she is in. We can see this with the realisation that follows Offreds quote I think: I used to dress like that. That was freedom. [NM3]This quote explicitly highlights Offreds psychological development, from accepting the ideas promoted in Gilead to an outright rejection of the philo sophy of the role females are supposed to undertake. The punctuation of this quote acts as an audible and visible barrier between the mind control of Gilead and the mental liberty that Offred desires. Atwood tactfully uses the colon in place of a comma to show the separation between her desire to think and the actual thoughts that she has. Atwoods presentation allows the reader to see the cognitive functions of her brain, rejecting the indoctrination that she had received at the red centre. Also, extenuating how far society has affected her that it takes time and effort to come to a judgement that she previously associated with on a material level. By opening this door, Atwood presents the idea that having made this initial rebellion, she is reclaiming her power and can move on to reject other elements of society. Shunning Aunt Lydias freedom from in favour of having the freedom to, and thus we can see a decrease in the psychological effects that the authoritarianism has on her. Hen ce, Atwoods reinforcement of Walkers theme, when one becomes mentally liberated from subjugation they gain the metamorphic ability to transform into an unstoppable entity with the power to continue your personal insurgence. Celies psychological development, isnt dependent on Shug alone, she also learns to live alone and function as an independent woman; comparable to Offred, just in a different society. Walker portrays Celie as conquering her subjugation gaining her freedom from the patriarchal society by taking control of her own life but not sacrificing her femininity in the process, as being strong and feminine two things often not mutually associated. Celie takes up sewing, traditionally a matriarchal chore for women who are confined to a domestic setting. But, Walker takes this and turns it into an outlet of expression, creativity and freedom as well as a lucrative business in the process, profiting on femininity. Despite being unrealistic that an African-American girl could make this monumental shift in her life, it should be remembered that these are not explicitly real people but rather representations of a wider narrative that the authors want to convey. When this is considered the deus ex mach ina is powerful symbolism representing, when women are psychologically liberated from subjugation anything is possible for anyone, promoting an idea of female expressionism and psychological advances. We gain this understanding as it exemplifies Walkers own beliefs on feminism and equality as she is a firm believer that femininity doesnt mean subjugation[16]. Reflected by Celies deliverance from subjugation through associating with female characters and partaking in feminine hobbies. If Celie gained her psychological strength by taking on something characteristically male, with men the reader would not have the same veneration towards Celie, breaking from societal convention. In a society dominated by men Celies unique femininity flourishes, showing that women do not need men to succeed highlighting the importance of female cooperation and bonding. Professor Mae G. Henderson[17] reinforces that its female bonding which restores a womens sense of completeness and independenceà ¢Ã¢â€ š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [Celie] exemplifies the power and potential of this bonding. Celies business is metaphorical in the need for female empowerment, its her business and female bonding that has freed her and now she is gaining success Walker reflects this in her mental state. Therefore, the business acts as an important symbol in Celies psychological development. No longer does she feel she deserves the abuse described by Proudfit, comparably to Offred shes striving to create a better tomorrow for herself, reclaiming her mental power lost in her subjugation. Atwood concludes Offreds journey from victim to rebel through the cassette tapes. These recordings prove to Atwoods readers that Offreds consciousness and ability to remember her life prior to Gilead enables her to live on, never relinquishing the past. Whether Offred witnessed the fall of Gilead is left ambiguous, but she proves the regime didnt take her psychological strength. The tapes metaphorically represent her ability to be heard above the government, the indoctrination of the Aunts and the fear of The Eyes all unsuccessful in their psychological subjugation of Offred. Atwood presents that the attempts to psychologically subjugate Offred was never as strong as the desire of women to overcome the problems they are faced with. Similarly, Celies final letter shows the extent to which her character has developed across the breadth of the novel. The novel ends with the realisation that although her generation is growing older, the reunion with her children and Nettie has made her f eel younger than ever; providing psychological closure for the absence of childhood that she has endured. Now she can appreciate the virtue of youthfulness that was stripped from her at the start of the novel. Walker opened with a quote from Alphonse, You better not never tell nobody but God. Itd kill your mammy. Readers can see that in the opening parts of the novel Celie adheres to this subjugation and her letters are never titled to anyone other than God, showing how her voice was suppressed by her father. However, by the end of the novel Celie is talking to all things on earth and otherworldly breaking secular liminality Dear God. Dear stars, Dear trees, Dear sky, Dear peoples, Dear everything. Therefore, we can wee that Walker concludes her novel similarly to Atwood; with both protagonists overcoming the psychological effects of their subjugators by allowing their voices to be freed. Howbeit, where the authors differ is through the legacy their characters leave behind in their messages, both can be seen as mutually optimistic consisting of the fall of Gilead, and a jubilant Celie reunited with her family, giving Celies tale a conclusive ending. But, Atwoods shows, whilst undeniable victories have been made for feminism, society is still misogynistic, ascertained from the language used by Professor Pieixoto being almost identical to that being used in Gilead. Thus, whilst presenting the idea that when one woman is freed from the subjugation the next shall follow; its still the job of her readers and to keep on fighting as society, despite becoming a long was is still patriarchal is not the answer reinforced by the fact that Offred rejected her mothers activism and consequently we are never sure if she enjoys liberation. The authors, via the protagonists take us on a subconscious journey through society with the first-person narrative. Allowing the reader to gain a personal insight into what the individual stories represent, and the best way that the author s can do this is through psychological evaluation. As the brain is something we can never escape, both authors aim to educate the reader on the effects that subjugation has and how by coming together; women can defeat this and triumph against any challenge. Hit this: Critical evaluative application Presents a critical evaluative argument with sustained textual examples. Evaluates the effects of literary features with sophisticated use of concepts and terminology. Uses sophisticated structure and expression. Exhibits a critical evaluation of the ways meanings are shaped. Evaluates the effects of literary features and shows a sophisticated understanding of the writers craft. Presents a sophisticated evaluation and appreciation of significance and influence of contextual factors. Makes sophisticated links between text and contexts. [1] The Best Liberal Quotes Ever : Why the Left is Right (2004) by William P. Martin, p. 173. [2] Later revealed not to be the biological father but at this stage of the novel all the reader and Celie know alike is that he is Pa. [3] //leading to criticism from many Critics as they believe that Walker gives an unrealisitic interpretation of African-American men making them seem barbarous. [4] -2 [5] Valerie Sweeney Prince, Burnin Down the House: Home in African American Literature, New York: Columbia University Press, 2005 [6] Charles L. Proudfit, Celies Search for Identity: A Psychoanalytic Developmental Reading of Alice Walkers The Color Purple, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, JSTOR. [7] Alice Walker, The Color Purple, Hachette UK, google books,p. 6. [8] https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jhPGJeTIIisCpg=PA182lpg=PA182dq=heroine+celiesource=blots=D1Y9ayFzjAsig=y2h-11mMOkKSFBJu_FiyItjcYxAhl=ensa=Xved=0ahUKEwjQnO2t4cfSAhWJA8AKHSULDs0Q6AEIPjAI#v=onepageq=heroine%20celief=false come back to [9] Charles L. Proudfit, Celies Search for Identity: A Psychoanalytic Developmental Reading of Alice Walkers The Color Purple, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, JSTOR. P. 17. [10] [11] P. 174 [12] [13] Alice Walker, The Handmaids Tale, Random House,   New York. P. 30. [14] Color purple pg. 42. [15] HT pg. 40. [16] https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/mar/09/alice-walker-beauty-in-truth-interview women, at this point, are comfortable referring to themselves as guys, and basically erasing their femininity at every opportunity. I dont get it. [17] S peaking in Tongues and Dancing Diaspora [NM1]AO1: Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression. 26.7% AO2: Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts. 26.7% AO3: Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received. 21.9% AO4: Explore connections across literary texts.   14% AO5: Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations. 11% [NM2]Handmaids tale society is so oppressive See Libby Barton for essay title [NM3]Puritan link

Integrating Sustainable Agriculture, Ecology, and Environmental Policy. :: Agricultural Ecological Environmental Essays

Integrating Sustainable Agriculture, Ecology, and Environmental Policy Whose business is it to create a sustainable agriculture? How will knowledge systems required to support such an agriculture be developed and implemented? These pragmatic questions are addressed by the 14 contributors to this book. If in fact the agricultural community is beyond the stage of understanding and internalizing the need for the concept of an agriculture that can be sustained, then this book offers concrete suggestions for the types of research objectives and social and political decisions that must be followed in order to make sustainable systems a reality. The book contains the proceedings of a July 1991 conference, sponsored by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that drew participants from academia and U S. government agencies. The proceedings have also been available since 1992 as volume 2, no. 3, of the Journal of Sustainable Agriculture (JSA). The publisher of this book, Haworth Press, also publishes the JSA, and the decision to make these proceedings available in both formats is understandable, since this book will be of value to an important audience that is larger than the readership of the journal. As the name of both the conference and the book reflects, the contributors represent various disciplinary perspectives and professional experiences, being primarily ecologists (7) and environmental policy makers (5), with the addition of a sociologist and an educator. The chapters cover a range of topics that can be grouped into structural issues (federal policies, EPA program priorities, information and educati on systems) and research issues (participatory research methods, identification and monitoring of indicators of sustainability, and theories and methods for the design of sustainable agricultural systems at the watershed, landscape and soil levels). The authors are authoritative and succinct in exposing, analyzing and integrating the practical issues involved in fulfilling the objectives set forth over the past 15 years by various writers who can only be called "philosophers of agriculture." The thoughts of such individuals as Wendell Berry, Wes Jackson and Robert Rodale can be seen as passionate philosophizing by outsiders aiming to raise the level of consciousness of the scientific agricultural community about the unintended effects of their research paradigms and technologies. Such writing, while constituting a necessary initial component of the developing literature on sustainable agriculture, can be frustrating for those scientists accepting the need to address the environmental and sociological impact of agriculture, but less certain about how to do so.

Boeing :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Paper on video â€Å"21st century jet†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this paper, I would like to discuss on the video, â€Å"21st century jet.† This video is about the launching and testing of the airplane by the Boeing company, 777.The 777 family is designed to fill the size gap between the 767 and 747.The head of the 777 project is Allen Millaley, who promised to do many things which are impossible, produced the plane which is more reliable than any other plane in the aviation history. The first large passenger jet designed completely by computer, the 777 is more complex and innovative than any other airliner ever built. The important thing in this project was, at the peak of the design effort, there were 238 teams using computing technology to design the 777.Design engineers and manufacturing engineers worked concurrently on the design of parts to decrease later change orders and to increase efficiency in building and installing those parts. Outside suppliers and airline customers also are represented on some teams. According to one of the supervisor of a team, the traditional way of bringing problem is testing and more testing. Boeing 777 is the most tested airplane in the aviation history. Operations of flight controls, the reliability of electronics, all of these things tested and retested by the teams of engineers. Boeing has built new laboratory for 777 in which 10000 workers worked. The engineers did the first ground test of 777 in Nov’93. During the first testing flight only the pilot and co pilot were on board. The problem occurred during the first test flight was the hydraulic leakag e on the left side. After the first flight, several meetings held in which engineers tried to figure out the problem they had during the first test flight. After that the engineers made the successful testing flight. The Boeing 777-300, earned type certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA), on May 4, 1998. The jet also received FAA approval for 180-minute extended-range, twin-engine operations (ETOPS). This marks the first time any airplane manufacturer has received both approvals on the same day. The certification formally recognizes that the 777-300 has successfully passed all of the stringent testing and safety requirements of the regulatory agencies and is ready to enter passenger service.

Regional development in France Essay

Regional development in France Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The conventional approach to regional development was assumed by central governments using the levers of infrastructure, subsidies to firms, and the setting of public sector operations. Regional development policies has been superseded by a fashionable approach characterized by decentralized intervention based on integrated regional development plans and strategies, delivered and designed by partnerships of local and regional actors. Regional policy has been in existence for over fifty places especially in Western Europe. Regional policy existed in countries that were affected by the Great Depression of 1930. It became famous part of social policy intervention and widening economic undertaken by all Western European countries from 1950 to 1970. The regional policy began to change in the mid 1970s due to slow economic development and new political policies. The European Union created its regional policy with more and more resources devoted to social and economic cohesion (Funck & Pizzati, 2003).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The present economic crisis led the French government to develop measures to accelerate implementation of the operational programs with respect to digital infrastructure, sustainable development, and energy efficiency for housing. Consecutively, some regional authorities included additional measured especially in environment and innovation. The rate of implementation of operational programs is somewhat low among all regions. The differences between regions to an extent depend on the cooperation level between regional and central government. The implementation rate is lowest in sustainable development and highest in the knowledge economy. Annual implementation reports maintain that the crisis between central and regional governments had a negative impact on implementation mainly because enterprises are slow in launching projects. Analysis of regional development is difficult due to lack of comparability of the indicators and homogeneity. In addition, it poses difficult to identify achievements in comparison to the objectives (Lopriore, 2001).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is in the policy part ‘knowledge economy’ that the key results and outputs originate: the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   SRI; R&D equipment and infrastructure, and collaborative R&D projects in relation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   pà ´les de compà ©titività © and poles of excellence and to regional filià ¨res.The SRI program implemented in 2009 has possibly played a affirmative function, jointly with the crisis in support of the execution of improvement support policies. There are fewer consequences for more customary policies such as support to knowledge transfer organizations and to communal actions of enterprises. United regions have focused their labors on intensifying their human resources and research potential that corresponds to a recognized need.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The second policy is accessibility and transport and is evaluated in terms of results and outputs with investment in urban transport and railways in addition to broadband infrastructure. Results and outputs in the ‘sustainable development and environment’ policy part are fairly incomplete because of prevalence of management capacity and small projects being less in comparison to creativity. The key achievements are in renewable energies and energy efficiency. In ‘territorial development’, predicaments in some urban parts are being tackled via calls for proposals, which have resulted to creation of the first concrete projects, in addition to sport, tourism, and cultural activities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Territorial Cooperation review on operating programs reveals that there is a general equilibrium between results and outputs in the ‘knowledge economy’ and ‘sustainable development’ policy areas. SRIs have indisputably armored the obligation of officials and politicians at regional point to improvement support strategies, taking part to improve the innovation supremacy scheme, and had a patent effect in escalating wakefulness of the significance of an extra demand-oriented plan and putting more focus to non-technological innovation, service innovation as well as financial engineering. Successively, joint R&D projects have played part in nurturing customs and practice of partnership in both academic community and industry (Funck & Pizzati, 2003).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The traditions and practice of appraisal has made noteworthy development in France in the last few years at state as well as regional rank, moderately under the demands of innovative institutional, the Commission and policy system. However, the approaches remain comparatively customary, as shown in the state appraisal of pà ´les de compà ©titività ©. In comparison to the 2005 concluding assessments of SPDs and ERDF, the latest appraisals concentrate on scrutinizing the effects, pointing to key issues and essential re-orientations further than the plain evaluation of the execution of the programs and strategies assessed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most remarkable assessments are the national evaluation of the pà ´les de compà ©titività © (2008) and various regional assessments which focus to specific problems that are serious in France such as the allotment of capabilities and the synchronization between the national and regional systems. They primarily focus on the ‘knowledge economy’ policy part and they in broad highlight once more that it is obligatory to take enhanced account of the exact features of areas or sub-regions, to perk up the authority system, to focus more on the account of non-technological improvement and service innovation , and to incorporate SMEs more efficiently. Regional development also recommends a shift from procedures behind knowledge transfer organizations to dealings supporting joint R&D projects. This is established by the evaluation of the regional improvement systems set up in the SRIs (â€Å"Regional Policy†, 2010).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The five regions that exist in France include Ile de France which is the capital region, Western regions, Rhone-Alpes, Changing or the outermost regions and the Southern regions. Ile de France takes a unique position because it accommodates headquarters of huge companies and it is highly concentrated with government offices. Capital region is also highly populated with active and young people with a life-long education at an outstanding level. Its performance is high in regard to all indicators such as competent work-force, private and public R&D expenditure as well as higher education. Ile de France contributes an approximate of 28% of national value-added. Research findings reveal that over the last decade, the capital region is slowly being undertaken by Western and Southern regions in terms of growth of GDP per capita, national value-added and research potential.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rhone-Alpes is the second largest region in regard to GDP and population. Its national value added has slightly increased from 9.4% in 1990 to 9.6% in year 2002. The unemployment rate in Rhone-Alpes region is lower than the national average rate. It has a multifaceted structure with service center such as Lyon, banking, industrial, manufacturing spots, and a world rank R&D monopoly in Grenoble. Southern regions have a higher than average ratio of R&D expenditure to GDP. The Southern regions draw immigrants from Northern and capital regions. It has a young population with a high unemployment rate which drastically fell until 2008. There are strong intra-regional differences because of concentration of research and services in the capital cities and the contrasting significance of mountain and rural areas. Southern regions gain from pensions of retiring generations and the unemployed who move to the â€Å"sun belt†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Western regions continue to experience high growth in terms of competent people and their cities are amongst the most gorgeous in France. The unemployment rate in Western regions is also below that of the country in general. In addition some regions do not have special features in terms of R&D, higher education and competent personnel. Low unemployment level in some regions may be caused by emigration of active generation while others have old industrial base; where despite increased labor, they still experience slow growth and high unemployment rate. French outermost regions undergo various challenges such as cost of access, remoteness, high dependence on the metropole, lack of critical mass and environment challenges. The business sector hugely depends on the government and tourism sector. The ration of minimum income support in French outermost regions is six times compared to the mainland France. There is extremely high unemployment ra te as compared to the national average. France outermost regions comprises of micro-enterprises and service-related SMEs, which are mostly family owned and neither innovation nor export oriented.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Information from statistical data on GDP per capita and population reveals some of the key transforms that have occurred in various regional groups. The Western and Southern regions had the highest population growth from 1999 to 2007. The increase in population in these regions can be associated to migration from capital and other French regions. Region Population growth (%) Corsica +15 Languedoc-Roussillon +11.6 Midi- Pyrà ©nà ©es+10.1 Aquitaine +8.3 Pays de la Loire +8.1 Provence-Alpes-Cà ´te-d’Azur +8 Bretagne +7.4 Rhà ´ne-Alpes +7.4   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The capital region had population growth of 5.9%. The areas with lower population growth were either rural areas such as Bourgogne, Auvergne, Champagne-Ardenne, and Picardie or old industrial regions such as Lorraine, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, and Haute-Normandie. Region Population growth (%) Champagne-Ardenne -0.2 Nord-Pas-de-Calais +0.6 Lorraine +1.3 Bourgogne +1.5 Haute-Normandie +2.1 Picardie +2.3 Auvergne, +2.3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The situation in the French outermost regions various immensely with growth of 12.4% in La Reunion and Quasi-stability in Guadeloupe, however there was high growth of 35.5% in Guyane due to high birth rate and immigration.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Demographic changes in most French regions raise concerns about the future prospects of France. There is low population growth in most French regions because of low fertility. These regions have an ongoing trend of population ageing and this is expected to have profound implications across French both regionally or nationally. Low fertility rates will lead to low population of working generation to support the aged people, high percentage of aged people, and reduction in number of students in education. Elderly people will require additional healthcare, infrastructure and adapted housing. The structural demographic changes will have an impact on French capacity to balance their funds, provide enough health services and pensions, and raising tax revenue (Laurent et al, 2009).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Population ageing and decline are the most demanding trends for future prospects of a country. Immigration is also a very significant factor of population growth in some French regions especially Southern region which attracts immigrants from Capital and Northern regions. Great variations in demographic patterns between French regions rely on various socio-economic aspects. Regions in the rural and peripheral places and the mountain and customary industrial areas are prevalent to de-population. The demographic rend in French regions have significant policy and socio-economic implications because they influence growth and productivity, shortage of workers, urban-rural imbalances in populations, and provision of healthcare and social services.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Demographic change is a major aspect that place concerns in levels of intervention and policy areas, which include employment plans, rural and urban planning, integration and immigration policies, social infrastructures and communication, family and gender equality policies and social protection systems. Research evidence on population trend in economic crisis reveals that recession resulted to decrease in fertility rates and birth rates (Funck & Pizzati, 2003).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Industrial structure in French regions reveals major disparities in regard to the significance of diverse operations within non-financial business economies. Regions such as capital region are highly populated with active and young generation. The population in urban and capital regions has an outstanding level of education level. Industrial structure depends on the infrastructure, availability of resources, skilled workers as well as topographic and climatic regions. Urbanization rate in France is high since people migrate from rural to urban areas seeking for employment. The urban areas also attract people from other regions; for example, western region is among the beautiful cities in France.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are high unemployment rates in most regions which might be caused by lack of skilled personnel, continuing trend of ageing population. There is great improvement in some regions which emphasize on ICT and related services since advanced technology is also a cause of unemployment. High population is another cause of unemployment. The global crisis during the great depression also caused unemployment. GDP per capita is high in capital and urban regions which attract tourism and with skilled workers. GDP is low in rural and customary industrial regions. In other regions low GDP is caused by high number of aged people who are unproductive. Capital regions have active, educated and young generation who are productive, thus they have high GDP per capita.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The growth of the GDP per capita since 1990 to 2008 gives significant views to complement the demographic data. The highest GDP growth is experienced in Western and Southern regions. Region Growth in GDP per capita (%) Bretagne 33.4 Pays de la Loire 30.1 Poitou-Charentes 26.3 Midi-pyrenees26.7 Aquitaine 26.6 PACA 25.9   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The GDP growth in Rhone-Alpes and Ile de France was 20.5% and 22.9% respectively. These two regions had a slightly lower GDP growth as compared to the national average of 22.9%. The GDP growth in Alsace was only 11.8%. Alsace is famous as the fourth most thriving French region. The other regions with low GDP per capita growth include Lorraine (17.3 % and Franche-Comte (15.2%), which are regions with customary industries. Other areas with low GDP per capita growth were mostly rural areas such as Centre (15.4%), and Picardie (13.2%). The French outermost regions had a significant contribution with a GDP per capita growth of 29.9% since 1990 up to 2008. The overseas area GDP per capita growth is lower as compared to the national average (22.8%). In addition, high unemployment still persists in these outermost regions such as Guadeloupe, La Reunion and Guyane.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Recent research findings brings out a paradox since the less productive regions had immense development in regard to population, employment, income and welfare, while poverty still exist in some of the most thriving regions. This implies that there is an increasing trend of discrepancy between logic of progress and logic of growth. In other instances, some regions such as southern regions depend on pension transfers which hinder them from global competition. The productive regions are the main providers of taxes and engines of French development. For example Paris metropolitan region which accounts for 30% of national GPD, but whose households only receive 22.5% of the national household income. A policy debate has led to concerns regarding strengthening of Ile de France region in terms with the concept of â€Å"Grand Paris†. This might be a classical occurrence in other European countries, but this French system is different becaus e of immigration to Southern regions, and to some extent the Western regions. The immigration has prevailed for more than 20 years and has greatly affected the distribution of wealth and income in France (Lopriore, 2001).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The regional development policy has not been affected by the macroeconomic context. The French government failed to abide by the policies of the stability and Growth pact regarding public debt and budget deficits until 2010. The overall government investment and expenditure has exceeded EU average, there is also low than average yearly GDP growth rate, in addition, because of high investment in regional and local authorities as well as decentralization. Regional development policies have died down from being chief policies over the last few years. At operational stage, regional development policy has basically resulted from amalgamation of operational programs and contrats de plan Etat-region programs with slightly larger plans. At policy-making stage, regional development policies focus on particular areas with an aim of mountain areas, coastal and rural areas and areas with hardships in cities. Cluster policy was developed at the end of 1990, resulting to general program â€Å"Pà ´les de compà ©titività ©Ã¢â‚¬ . Recently, Pà ´les de compà ©titività © is regarded as the most evident tool of a state policy of regional development. The other policy is Prime d’Amenagement du Territoire (PAT), which is a grant plan for business creating jobs. Pat was founded in 1996 and was evaluated in 2006.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The comparative lack of regional development policy has been substituted by investement in infrastructure such as high-speed railway system. The railway network favored the Western and Southern Mediterranean parts. The existing crisis has not affected the general structure of the regions. However, manufacturing regions has been greatly affected. The crisis has intensified social differences with outcomes for poverty in urban regions associated to high unemployment levels. The crisis has greatly raised concerns regarding the prospect of investment and expenditure in the regional and national levels. Research findings reveal that GDP declined by 0.2% in 2008 and significantly declined by 2.6% in 2009. The French government increased their investment and expenditure resulting to deficit and debts in public sector. French regions have struggled to sustain the level of investment, however local authorities are anticipated to face cut off in fin ancial transfers from the state. A reduction in social benefits will have short-term effects on the regions subjugated by public-residential economy as well as urban predicaments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In other instances, some regions have overcome the execution of their European Regional Development Fund operational programs in reaction to the crisis. The regional development policy based on the competitiveness and convergence regions can be evaluated through three policy document namely: the contrats se projet Etat-Region, Regional Schemes for Economic Development and the European Regional Development fund operational programs. The explanation of SRDE in every region is based on the review of 2003 Constitution and 2004 Parliament Act famous as â€Å"Decentralization Acte II† that gave French regions new competencies in the area of economic development. Documents from SRDE are basically policy proposals that do not involve financial obligations of the regional authorities. European Regional Development Fund favor for regional progress is fairly coherent with national policy because there is a solid relationship between the ERDF o perating programs and CPER. The coherence between the regional development policy and CPER/ERDF operating programs can be analyzed through appraisal of SRDE. Generally there are no principal differences between CPER/ERDF operating programs and SRDE.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Schà ©mas Rà ©gionaux de Dà ©veloppement Economique (SRDE) outlines the significance of training, education and employment in regard to the anticipation of social and economic change as well as internalization. European Regional Development Fund is complementary to area expansion policy and does not include latest priorities. French regions have given priority axis to innovation and research, competitiveness, fight against greenhouse effect and sustainable development. Accessibility and transport are other priority axis emphasized by the regions. Terriotorial development is another aspect found in the regions priority axis either as a common policy theme occasionally connected to accessibility, cohesion and attractiveness or focusing on particular fields. Aquitaine is the only region that supports ICT. ICT is also supported by other large-scale projects in Languedoc-Roussillon. Lorraine and PACA fully support competitiveness and innovat ion while Rhode-Alpes support accessibility. Guyane and Martinique support social cohesion and health, La Reunion focus on human resource development while Auvergne is the only region which supports financial engineering (Ockwell, 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is also vital to recognize other priority axis emphasized by other regions such as European and international dimension. This includes international environment and competitiveness found in Pays de la Laoire and La Reunion. In regard to financial obligation, competitiveness and the knowledge economy seem as the first policy area, while sustainable development and environment takes the second position. In some instances, some aspects of transport policy and territorial development can be linked to sustainable development. There are some discrepancies between convergence and convergence and employment and competitiveness regions. Convergence regions emphasize on the significance of human resource and education development via the ERDF, they also have priorities focused to the reparation for the structural handicaps and ultra-peripherality. In contrast, competitiveness and knowledge economy regions get minimal share of allocation (â€Å"R egional Policy†, 2010).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It must be highlighted that all regions incorporate support to poles in the proximity axes devoted to competitiveness and knowledge economy. Poles de competitivite are regarded as part of primary structure of regional development. French region incorporate territorial cooperation operational programs with faintly analogous priorities. The global economic crisis begun to have significant effect on the French economy in 2008. The crisis had distinct impacts depending on the French regions and their economic configuration. For example, Midi-Pyrenees was not greatly hit because it specialized in space industry and aeronautics, while customary industrial regions such as Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Lorraine suffered adversely. The French Government incorporated various measures to combat the crisis especially the implementation of European Regional Development Fund operational programs as component of its â€Å"plan de reliance†, in particular to speed up the execution of the operating programs, and focus on ‘Lisbon’ priorities, digital infrastructure, and energy efficiency for housing as well as sustainable development. Other regions incorporated additional strategies to combat recession; for instance, PACA included vocational training, social watch and economic strategies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is discrepancy between the original and newest allocation of ERDF financing in the five regions, corresponding to changes which were vital in the initial programming stage. There is reduction of initial allocations in Poitou-Charentes and Bourgogne. The reason behind reduction of allocation was the fact that the procedures were not adequately attractive, and, for sustainable non-road transport in Poitou-Charentes and the need of undertaking preliminary technical and feasibility studies. In Lorraine, Pays de la Loire and Franche-Comte, some priority axes have been cut short while others are improved with a depressing net impact.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The implementation rate in the convergence regions such as Guadeloupe, Guyane and Martinique is approximately 5-7% and 11.9% in La Reunion. The higher implementation in La Reunion is due to existence of shared strategic vision among its members in addition to solid partnerships. Generally the priority measures and axes dedicated to economy, competitiveness and innovation have a comparatively higher execution rate compared to other policy areas, except in La Reunion where the highest execution rates are in transport and accessibility and sustainable development. In the employment and competitiveness regions the execution rate is highest for the priority axes devoted to the innovation, knowledge and competitiveness of enterprises in regions such as Limousin, Centre, Alsace, Haute-Normandie, Auvergne, Aquitaine, Champagne-Ardenne, Provence-Alpes-Cote-d’Azur, Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrenees, and Pays de la Loire. The situation of th e regions may differ greatly since in some regions, it is innovation and knowledge economy that have high implementation rate, while in others is financial engineering or competitiveness of enterprises. In most regions, implementation rate ranges from 8 to 14 percent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On standard, the priority axes devoted to environment, sustainable environment and energy have a lower implementation rate. Nine regions had an implementation rate between 2 to 5 percent and nine other regions in a 7-10 range while Bourgogne had the highest implementation rate of 15.4 percent. The priority axes devoted to transport and accessibility, including ICT, has the highest implementation rate in Bretagne. Bretagne has an implementation of 14.5% associated to the construction of the high-speed railway. Generally, the regions have a lower implementation rate as compared to the priority axes devoted to the innovation, competitiveness and economy. The regions devoted to particular aspects such as territorial development have lower implementation rate in general except Franche-Comte. Franche-Comte has an implementation rate of 24.8% which dedicated its efforts at balancing intra-regional development. The intra-regional development invol ves expansion of the mountainous region of the Jura. The discrepancies in the implementation rates between different priority axes can be explained using various factors. Implementation rate in energy and environment policy area is mainly affected by the existence of less established agencies and administrations. The region also experienced a tricky reorganization in the foundation of the Directions regionales de I’environnement, de I’ amenagement et du lodgement (DREAL), in addition to involvements with undersized projects (â€Å"Regional Policy†, 2010).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The innovation, knowledge economy and competitiveness policy area have a relatively high implementation rate because these regions experience a well-established administration, strong links with enterprises, good relations with the SRI, amd from the emphasis and momentum on innovation. In some instances, new measures have not impacted full impact such as the Grenelle de I’ Environnement in comparison with the mantra on knowledge economy and innovation caused by the Lisbon plan, and reinforced in France by the (SRI) Regional Innovation Strategies, which were implemented in all French regions in 2009. The implementation rate in transport and accessibility policy areas is influenced by the need to carry out a lot of feasibility and preliminary studies before construction work sets off.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Apart from the crisis issue, the implementation of operation programs had to deal with some organizational and institutional problems. For example, Franche-Comte implemented 2007-2013 operating programs together with final step of 2000 to 2006 SPD. The economic actors and administrative staff had to understand guidelines and objectives in order to cope with the implementation process. The implementation procedure lacked knowledge of officials and adequate time particularly while undertaking innovative projects in Alsace as well as highly technical issues such as high-speed railway network in Bretagne. Other projects were abandoned because they were too complex and would take long duration to be implemented. An example of such project is innovation company creation in Languedoc and Rhone-Alpes regions. In addition some parts of ERDF policies were problematic to some regions; for example income-generating projects in Article 55. The general implementation rate might be low, but commitment rate gives a clear elaboration. France lags behind in ERDF commitment in competitiveness region at the end of 2009. ERDF commitment rates EU27 France Employment and competitiveness objective 30.4% 27.6% Convergence objective 25.2% 26.1%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The convergence regions had a commitment which is relatively higher than EU27 convergence average and relatively lower than the competitiveness and employment regions. This implies that local and state regions have made efforts in managing structural funds, regardless of the customary problems encountered in the overseas areas, even if most of the EU27 regions are in the EU12 with inadequate knowledge of executing cohesion policy schemes. France has devoted efforts in innovation support for SMEs, risk and environment prevention as well as transport. On the other hand, EU devoted its efforts in ICT and related fields. There is a shift in strategy priorities towards innovation and the environment. There is relatively high commitment rate for innovation support for SMEs is somewhat noteworthy since it has posed difficult to implement projects of this type in French overseas regions. They have placed more emphasis on innovation. ERDF commitment rate EU27 (%) France (%) Enterprise environment 32.6 17.1 ICT and related services 32.3 32.9 Innovation support for SMES 20.7 32.9 Human resources 17.5 38.3 Transport 22.3 35.2 Energy and environment 16.1 37.9 Energy infrastructure 12.1 18.5 Risk prevention and environment 16.8 39.5 Territorial development 32.9 20.7   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The commitment rate in the competitiveness regions is lower than the EU27 average as regards territorial development and transport because urban and transport projects are indulge long schemes before work begins. ERDF commitment rate EU27 (%) France (%) Enterprise environment 33.8 30.5 ICT and related services 24.1 42.4 Innovation support for SMEs 29.2 18.4 Other investments in firms 54.7 42 RTDI and associated activities 32.2 36.3 Human resources 17.7 37.5 Transport 27.8 22.8 Energy and environment 20.2 22.2 Energy infrastructure 18.5 27.1 Risk prevention and environment 21.3 18.8 Territorial development 34.8 28.3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Commitment rates are high in enterprise support where the rates are particularly high for other investment firms and ICT and related services. The crisis greatly affected commitment rate of innovation support for SMEs. High commitment rate in innovation, knowledge economy and competitiveness signifies existence of competent administration and reluctant emphasis on innovation. Lower commitment rate in energy and environment signify lack of technical skills in agencies and administrations in addition to investment in large number of undersized projects as well as complex procedure of reorganization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is not easy to highlight the achievements from the programs because of the difference between initial and programmed objectives. Research reveals that only a few projects have been implemented due to time required for implementation process. Annual Implmentation reports of 2009 reveal that first achievements are beginning to be realized and this is an explanation why AIRs place more emphasis on the programmed projects rather than the achieved programs. In other instances, various indicators in AIRs make comparison efforts very difficult. Regional indicators might be emphasized by some regions, while neglecting EU and national indicators. In some regions, there are no reports or mentioning of the indicators. Comparison might also be difficult because of the likelihood of inappropriate naming of the indicators. In addition, the approaches and the sources used while reporting the indicators continue being imprecise in various regions (â₠¬Å"Regional Policy†, 2010)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The major achievement across French regions prevails in 2009 Regional innovation strategies. Generally, the highest rates and achievements are very crucial in large majority of regions. Urban problems are solved by improving urban transport in cities such as Limousin, Nord-Pas-de Calais. The regions with geographic handicaps develop high speed railway to improve access. There is also improvement of energy and renewable energy in rural areas as well as Southern regions. The evaluation carried on sustainable development and innovation reveals that policies devoted to sustainable development did not consider social issues. Regional innovation strategies have contributed immensely amongst all French regions to the improvement of innovation authority system, expansion of culture of innovation in regional and state administrations, and homogenization of interest in innovation. SRIs emphasize on non-technological innovation and service innovation in addition to financial engineering (Laurent et al, 2009).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, regional development is very vital since it will ensure equitable distribution of resources among all regions. Regional development mainly focuses on sustainable development, energy efficiency for housing as well as digital infrastructure. The main regions in France include Ile de France, Southern regions, Western regions, outermost regions and Rhà ´ne-Alpes. The central region holds an exceptional place since it is concentrated with governmental offices and headquarters of large companies. The major differences in these regions reveal themselves in terms of unemployment rate, population and GDP per capita. French outermost regions face a lot of problems such as cost of access, remoteness, geographical handicap, high dependence on metropole, lack of critical mass and environmental challenges. High population in some regions is because of high birth rate and immigration. Regions with lower GDP are either rural areas or regio ns with customary industries. Research reveal that only a few projects have been implemented since some of the projects are very complex and will take long time to implement them. It is also to identify the achievement of the implemented projects because there is difference between initial and programmed objectives. Regional development was greatly affected by the Global crisis, organizational and institutional issues. Regional development efforts were also affected by lack of time and competent officials especially when handling highly technical issues. References France., & France. (2006). Spatial planning and sustainable development policy in France. Paris: MinisteÌ€re des affaires eÃŒ trangeÌ€res. Funck,  B., & Pizzati,  L. (2003). European Integration, Regional Policy and Growth. Washington, DC: World Bank. Laurent,  H., Mignolet,  M., & Meunier,  O. (2009). Regional policy: What is the most efficient instrument? Papers in Regional Science, 43, 260. doi:10.1111/j.1435-5957.2008.00214.x Lopriore,  M. (2001). A critical view of the 2nd Social and Economic Cohesion Report and the future of regional policies after 2006. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2002). Impact of transport infrastructure investment on regional development. Paris, France: Author. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2007). Linking regions and central governments: Contracts for regional development. Paris, France: OECD. Regional Policy. (2010, November 10). Retrieved  October  24, 2014, from http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/evaluation/pdf/eval2007/country_reports/france.pdf Source document

Ethnography Essay

The late night diner is one of the many staples of urban areas – they act as beacons to all those with no place better to be. Whether the bar has long since closed, or staying home just isn’t an option any more, 24 hour eateries are the place to be when all else fails. I recently made an educational trip to a 24 hour IHOP for some middle of the night hash-browns and ethnographic field notes. I was escorted to one of the largest tables in the room by a tired looking but albeit enthusiastic young man, and was surprised by how many people were actually there. It was three in the morning, so I’d half expected to not see a soul, but there were always at least four tables being served. Among the clientele was a couple; a group of hoodlums whom I could only guess had been band geeks in another life; and, my personal favorite, a group of middle aged drunken sushi connoisseurs. Being seated closest to the sushi lovers, I got to eavesdrop on their conversations – and creepily bond with them, unbeknownst to them. Unsurprisingly, almost everyone in the room was varying shades of inebriated. The conversation was fairly educational in the sense that they were all very proud of their sexual endeavors and had decided to meticulously compare notes. They were surprisingly comfortable with themselves, as well as those within ear shot. It was sort of a contagious comfortable-ness – there was almost a community in the grungy little IHOP. Every one there had probably been kicked out of somewhere else because of closing time, or discontentment – all of us came together not only for diner eggs and pancakes, but for a place to be. Closing time had become the great equalizer, bringing people from all walks of life – from star crossed lovers to raucous sushi lovers – into their local IHOP, more for a place to be than anything else. Many forces were at work in that IHOP. The waiters were trying to make as much as they could off of tips, iHop stayed open late to facilitate all those who just weren’t ready to go home yet during the witching hour, and the establishment’s patrons were filling many societal expectations. All of these worked together to create a very different aesthetic than one would see in the daylight. People were more uninhibited because of the late hour and whatever they’d been a part of earlier, yet certain societal standards and ideals were being held up – while others, such as quietness, were generally thrown to the wind. Meanwhile, my incredibly exhausted waiter worked to be as professional as possible while exerting the least amount of work possible – granted, that isn’t necessarily that different from the daytime. This reflected the corporate values of IHOP that were at play. It caters to a very specific demographic – the less wealthy, and very hungry. IHOP is also one of the only places in its suburban zip code that offers 24-hour service. Which, I admittedly found surprising – I would have assumed there would be more places to go in the middle of the night, but realized very early into my pre-dawn adventure that there wasn’t much for one to do past midnight. This proves not only that nothing good happens after 2am, but also that nothing interesting will happen either. IHOP was the only place with its doors open after last call, after the kitchens had closed, and after the kids still couldn’t head home but had to something anyways. It’s interesting how so few places were there for the people who weren’t ready to head home for the night – and how many people stubbornly refused to go home. All the factors played together to set the scene for a bad Romantic Comedy (which undoubtedly could have been playing itself out in the corner booth, where the very young and very passionate couple were paying more attention to themselves than to their pancakes. All of the behaviors in the restaurant came together to form a cultural idea of the late night scene that one might get from the movies. People were far more uninhibited whether from lack of sleep, or intoxication, but they all still played their roles in the scene. There was a delicate balance between outlandish behavior and the rules of interaction between wait-staff and customers at play. Multiple expectations came together to form a very unique dynamic. It is worth saying that people were in the IHOP at that ungodly hour to be seen. They at least subconsciously knew that they were performers in very large scale production, and decided to stay out because of their role in social norms. They chose not to hide away in their homes until dawn, because someone needed to uphold the night owl character. Mumford argues in What is a City? That the city requires and creates drama, unlike the suburbs – which is interesting in regards to the very slim options one has in the suburbs past midnight beyond just going home. The percent of the population who want drama and tension (which in this sense are played out through late night excursions) is far lower in the suburbs, not because of the difference between structures in the city and the suburbs but because of the difference in mindset between these two areas (which also yielded the different structures). The characters in the story at hand are therefore outliers, in a sense. They seek out an experience that one generally only sees –though is not exclusively- in the city, and have a more unique experience because of it. There was a surprising amount of diversity in the demographics that night (really, no matter what tax bracket you’re in, you’re not going to find a place open in Aurora at 3am beyond Wal-Mart and the very occasional late night eatery), which created even more forces at play in the room. With every now demographic came a new set of ideas that were being prescribed to and upheld. Many sponsors played into the behavior of the performers. Societies’ concept of morality is a very large factor here. Many of the patrons had ducked in to iHop as a way to pass the time while sobering up and moving on with their life – which was caused by society’s laws and idea of moral behavior. While having a night out, they also were influenced not only by their preconceived notion of behavior that one is to have in the night, but also by the behavior that is not acceptable in society generally. Being overly drunk in public is generally frowned upon, as well as driving under the influence, which explains why many people ducked in to the restaurant – it was the best place to go so their night out wouldn’t have to end, but so they could also start to sober up. A variety of laws are in place that work to discourage public intoxication and bad behavior that might happen during intoxication, but there are at the same time a plethora of ideas at play constructed by the media about youth and the role of alcohol and late nights into the youth culture. It all plays into an equilibrium between two different sets of expectations and guidelines for behavior. The economy is also a sponsor of the performance. It is in the economy’s best interest that every performer takes on the role of the consumer, and consumerism is marketed from every angle possible so that every person will feel the need to participate. The need to stay out and continue the adventure is an idea partly concocted by the economy and media to influence people to connect the idea of leading an interesting life with products and experiences that can be profited off of. By staying open all night, IHOP offers an experience to a select group of customers, who for whatever reason need to stay up late and have eggs and coffee. Performers, for a variety of reasons, all take part in consumerism as a means to the experience of staying out late, or getting away from something. The late night patronage of IHOP is indicative of much larger forces and ideas that influence society as a whole. Customers from all walks of life participate in a late night performance that reveals influences from the economy and society as a whole. Each performer has a different reason for being there but plays into the greater whole of societal norms and expectations. A suburban 24 hour restaurant seems at first like an unlikely place for big ideas to be at play – especially when the place is sort of dead, and the customers look worn-out and inebriated, but every component of the large whole has meaning in its own way – and is essential for the bigger picture to exist.