La Llorona, an Oral Tradition

The legend of La Llorona Lechner, J. V. (2004). Allyn & Bacon anthology of traditional literature. Boston: Pearson A and B. Lyons, G. (1972). Tales the people tell in Mexico. New York: J. Messner. The legend of La Llorona (The weeping woman) is a well known Hispanic tale in the Southwestern part of the United States, Mexico, Central and South America and also Puerto Rico. Many versions of the story exist allowing them to fit the community where the story is being told. The story is about a beautiful woman named Maria from a town near the present day city of Monterrey, NL.Mexico. She falls in love with a handsome revolutionary Sergeant that was passing by during the Independence War of Mexico from Spain that occurred in the 1800s. They marry each other and have three children, due to the traveling of the revolution her husband is always absent. One day he comes back with another women to visit his children and pays no attention to Maria the whole visit. In furry of the event she takes her children to a nearby river and drowns them; blaming her children for her husband leaving.She then comes to realization of the horrible mistake she has done and the water takes her kids out of her hands. She begins to yell â€Å"Ay, mis hijos! † meaning â€Å"Oh, my children! † and decides to kill herself. It's been told that her grief was so great that it was carried with her after death and since then she has been looking for her children in areas where water is near. It is said that every foggy night around eleven she will wonder the area and pick up kids who are walking or outside near water. The legend is used to scare children away from water areas at night and staying out to late.One of the characteristics that we find in the genre of legends and the story of La Llorona is that they are told and received as truths and are set in a historical point of view. Lechner says in her book that people tell legends because they often endure because they convey somethi ng important about the community's values, perception of who they are, or concerns for their safety and well-being. It is very clear that safety is a concern when keeping the story alive of La Llorona to the children. I decided to chose The legend of La Llorona after reading the fifth chapter f the book Allyn & Vacon anthology on traditional literature because after finishing the story it reminded me of my childhood growing up in Mexico. To refresh my memory I also read Tales the people tell in Mexico, called my parents, and called my brother asking for their version of the story. Even though it is a tragic and sad story to be told I believe is a great story to keep alive telling and retelling not just among my own culture but to share it with other people whom may not be familiar with the story.I think it might even be a great ghost story to be told in the middle of a woods at a bong fire and if a river or creek is nearby you might even get to hear her torturing weeping noise of â €Å"Ay mis hijos†. I also had a firsthand experience with La Llorona while growing up. In a dark foggy night I decided to follow my older brother Francisco and his friends into a nearby woodlands. I had heard that they had built a secret wooden house and created a swing that was used to jump off into a small river which was the motivation of my secret following. After a couple of minutes of following from the distance I had lost them due to excess fog.I found myself alone in the middle of the woods when I started to hear some weeping sounds. At first those sounds were unclear and I couldn't distinguish them but as the seconds went by it sounded louder and louder until I clearly heard â€Å"Ay mis hijos! Ay mis hijos! † meaning â€Å"Oh, my children! † I then noticed a body of a women wearing a white dress floating on top of the low fog coming in my direction, I could say that is where I developed my talent as a runner because I made it back to my house in a flas h. After that I never wondered the woods alone at nights and respected the legend of La Llorona.

buy custom The Sun Recorded Through History essay

buy custom The Sun Recorded Through History essay The heat energy is supplied to a fluid, which is heated until it vaporizes; the vapor is then compressed at high pressure, and released at high pressure to give motion to a gas turbine that is coupled to a generator. When the turbine is set into motion by pressurized gas or water vapor it rotates the shaft connected to the generator, which in turn rotates the shaft connected to the coil of the generator giving motion to the coil of the generator. A generator is a machine or a device, which converts mechanical energy to electricity. The mechanical energy that is converted to electrical energy can be obtained from nuclear and chemical energy found in various types of fuel, it can also be obtained from sources such as falling water or wind. This mechanical energy can be supplied to the generator using water or wind turbines, electric motors, gas combustion turbines, internal combustion engines and steam engines. The working principle of a generator is based on the electromagnetic induction phenomenon. The generator has a conductor that is placed between two magnets; the movement of the conductor relative to the magnetic field created by the two magnets induces a voltage in the conductor. If there is an external circuit connected to the conductor, the voltage induced in the conductor would create a current in the circuit, and the energy in this circuit can be delivered to a load. To obtain a larger current from the conductor, a large force must be applied to rotate the conductor and keep it in motion. Most modern generators have self excited fields; this means that the current in the field coils comes from the additional exciting winding found in the armature. Before the voltage is fed in the field coils, it is rectified by passing it through a diode bridge, then passes through a regulator. A portion of current that is generated by the generator flows into the field coil generating a magnetic field. However, before the generator is started the magnetic field is generated using the residual magnetism in the cores of the magnets or a current from a battery. Biofuels, which include ethanol or biodiesel, are known as liquid sunlight. Ethanol is produced using plants to convert solar energy into a liquid that is used as a source of energy in transportation system. Plants capture the suns energy through the process of photosynthesis, and then transform the energy to cellulose, sugars and starches (Nelson par 8). Ethanol is later manufactured using various industrial processes by combining water with plant material with an addition of energy; the processes produce ethanol and byproducts, which include polluted water. The resultant product, which is ethanol, is then used in transportation systems. The current processes of producing ethanol from sunlight are regarded as involving and costly. The required raw materials is from biomass, mostly from sugarcane and corn among other energy crops, and this energy crops must be grown extensively for large-scale production; this has a huge economic implication and creates competition for land with the food crops. Technology of converting sunlight into fuel has taken another route in order to solve the problem of competition for land with for food crops, and reduce the cost of production. The latest technology uses bacterium that is genetically modified to convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water to fuel; this technology is expected to produce more fuel than that produced by ethanol (Nelson par16). When 1litre of ethanol is burnt, it produces 23.5 million joules. Rivers are natural systems that provide falling water or flowing water that sets a generator into motion. The falling or flowing water is because of the water cycle caused by sunlight, when the sunlight heats the earth surface, it causes evaporation of water from the earth surface, this water in the form of vapor rises up the earth surface, and when it reaches the high regions above the earth surface, it condenses, and later falls as rain. The rain water percolates through the soil and rocks, and collects in channels forming rivers. The water in the rivers flows and if a generator is placed in its path, it gives the generator a motion, if the water in the river encounters a steep rock it creates a waterfall, and when a generator is placed below the waterfall, the falling water gives the generator a motion. This energy from falling or flowing water gives motion to the generator, and it is considered ultimately from the sun because without the sun, the water on the earth surface would not evaporate, condense and fall as rain that later collects to form rivers that flow. The ice that forms on top of mountains also melts to form water that flows down the mountain to join the rivers that flows giving motion to the generator; without sunlight, the ice on top of mountains would not melt to water, and there could be no water flowing in rivers to give motion to the generator. The amount of energy that reaches the top atmosphere is 1,360 watts per square meter, and the amount arriving at the earth is 340 watt per every square meter. This is only one quarter of the solar irradiance; it is also the average amount of energy that reaches an individuals roof per square meter. However, the exact amount reaching ones roof in a day depends on the location of the house on the earth surface, the time of the year and time of the day. When one wants to use the 340 watt energy per square meter and the daily consumption of 14,400 watts per day, then a 26 square solar panel is required, which cost almost $16,000, and since sunshine is not consistent an inverter is required, which increases the cost of installation further. Looking at the annual electricity bill, it amounts to $91, it is better to use electricity from the main than pay for all that money for installation. The payback period for such an energy system is long, and considering the low efficiency of solar pow er systems, it is not worthy investing in them; this is why many people shy from using these systems. Solar cells are used in satellites, calculator and solar power production systems; they are also referred to as photovoltaic cells. Photovoltaic cells are constructed using semiconductor materials such as silicon; these cells convert sunlight straight into electricity. When the suns light strikes the solar cell, part of it is absorbed in the semiconductor material, and knocks the electros in the structure making them free to flow. The electric field in the semiconductor material then forces the free electrons to flow in a particular direction, and as the electrons flow they create an electric current. Silicon, a material used to make the solar cell havespecial properties, especially when it is in crystalline form, it has 14 electrons in its three shells, the first and second shells have two and eight electrons respectively. The third hell has only four electrons, this means that this level is half full, therefore, it will always seek for how to fill the remaining space for four electrons. Silicon will be forced to share electrons with the atoms surrounding it, forming a pure crystalline structure; this structure does not readily onduct electricity because it has no free electrons (Martnez 321). Therefore, the structure is mixed with atoms with free electrons such as phosphorus to make it conduct electricity. When the sunlight strikes this structure, it forces the electrons to break free, and each electron leaves a hole behind and looks for another electron to occupy; this causes the electrons to move randomly in the crystalline lattice, and as they move, the carry current. The performance of a PV cell depends on conditions such as the type of PV cells, solar spectral, angle of incidence, solar irradiance and the temperature. Approximately 90% of solar panels used today are made of crystalline silicon; they convert 15-20% of the sunlight to electricity (Martnez 346). There are solar cells that have a thin film of crystalline silicon, this type of solar cells converts 4-10% of sunlight reaching it. The solar cell produces a DC current, which can be used to power DC devices, however, for systems that are designed to power AC machines or appliances, an inverter is included to change the DC current to AC. A refrigerator is a system that transfers heat from a region of low-energy to a region of high-energy reservoir. This system consists of the following components, the cooling coil, evaporator, condenser, compressor, condenser pump, cooling tower, cooling tower fan. The refrigerant absorbs heat from the chiller or freezer chamber, then moves evaporates in the evaporator and sucked by the compressor and discharged outside the refrigerator. The air condition uses the working principle similar to that of a refrigerator, however, the difference is that the air conditioner cools a bigger space when it is compared to the refrigerator; it can cool an entire room, while a refrigerator cools only a chiller or freezer. The air conditioner consists of a compressor, condenser and evaporator; the working fluid goes through the compressor at while it is cool and at a low pressure, it is then compressed and passed to the condenser at a high pressure, then passed to the evaporator where it changes from liquid to vapor, as it cools the room (OECD Nuclear Energy Agency 285). The vapor is then cooled in the condenser and sacked back into the compressor, and the cycle repeats itself. The refrigerator can be used as an air conditioner if it is improvised by placing the evaporator in an open place that needs to be cooled. This is because their mode of operation is the same. The only difference is the size of the area they are cooling. The conversion of heat energy to electricity has been tried using several physical phenomena, however, the direct conversion has not been fully achieved; this is because of the temperature levels between the processes of operation. The Carnot efficiency is an efficiency that operates within the same limits of temperature between the source and the sink. Many systems converting heat energy to electricity have tried operating within the same limit of temperature, but the result is only a small percentage of the ideal efficiency, which is the Carnot efficiency (Chen par 12). This is because of the inefficiencies of the converting system, an example of such systems is a system that converts heat energy to electricity using thermocouple; this system produces electromotive force when one of the dissimilar conductor gains heat while the other remains cold. The conductors of the thermocouple are metals that are inefficient in converting heat to electricity; the metals are good electricity co nductors, and at the same time good thermal conductors, this makes the hot conductor lose the heat it has gained to the cold metal conductor, thus lowering its temperature. Such a system cannot achieve Carnot efficiency because the Carnot cycle assumes that all the heat gained from the source is converted to electricity without loses. The Carnot cycle efficiency is computed using the formula %u1DAF = 1 T2/T1 where T2 is the temperature of the conductor and T1 is the temperature of the source of heat (Chen par 15). This is the best efficiency one can hope for when converting heat energy to electricity. The earth is an engine that is controlled by the heat from the sun, the goes round the sun and because of its spherical shape it receives varying heat from the sun, with the tropics receiving more heat than the poles. This creates an imbalance in the available heat on the earth surface, and to balance the heat, energy is transferred from places with low latitudes to those of high latitude. The imbalance in the earth heat is also brought about by the rotation of the earth around the sun, which creates days and nights; places that experience day and night receive more heat energy from the sun at a given when compared to those experiencing night. The imbalance of heat on the earth which caused by uneven heating of the earth by the sun determines the earths vegetation cover, ice, precipitation and temperature. The difference in temperatures controls the movement of air from one region to another; this movement involves cold and warm air, and depending on the kind of air present in a region, the region is referred to as either warm or cold. The difference in precipitation and vegetation cover is also caused by uneven heat of the earth by the sun, when the earth is heated the water on the earth surface rises in form of vapor and later condenses and falls in form of precipitation, and the precipitation gives vegetation enough water required for its growth. This explains why the tropics receive much rain and have more vegetation cover than the poles. The uneven heating also controls the amount ice in different regions, with regions receiving less heat from the sun having more ice than those receiving more heat. The above described aspects also affect the population of people and animals in various regions around the earth; areas with high precipitation and vegetation are mostly inhabited by people and animals, while those with less vegetation, precipitation or covered with ice are avoided by human being and most animals. All this is controlled by the heat from the sun. Nuclear fission is a process where elements with large nucleus are split into small nuclei, nuclear power plants and industries that manufacturing nuclear weapons use this process. Elements that are used in this process include plutonium-239, Uranium-233 and Uranium-235, when these elements are struck by a neutron moving at a slow speed, they undergo fission. An example of such a reaction process is The result of the fission process is elements of smaller nuclei and a neutron, the neutron can be used to split another Uranium-235. The process goes on and on leading to a chain of reactions, however, the reaction should be controlled, else the chain reactions would lead to an explosion. The moderated reaction can be used in a nuclear reactor as a source of fuel; it is used together with control rods to control the process by absorbing excess neutrons. Elements are identified using the nuclei of the parent atoms, for instance, carbon is an element with 6 protons in its nucleus while Uranium is an elemennt with 92 protons in the nucleus. Uranium is the heaviest element; heavy elements are formed from light elements through the process of fusion. The simplest reaction being hydrogen and hydrogen, and later, the fusion reactions merge to form heavier elements. During the formation of the universe, there were high temperatures and density known as big bang, and only the elements with heavy nucleus were formed, this includes, hydrogen, beryllium, helium and lithium. Heavier elements such as Uranium were created during a nuclear reaction that took place in the stars, as well as during huge stellar explosions referred to as supernovas (MacDonald 256). The sun and other stars, and planets such Earth had other elements apart from hydrogen and helium, and these elements, which included Uranium formed after the explosion of the 1st generation of enormous stars known as supernovas (OECD Nuclear Energy Agency 357). Uranium was first discovered on the planet Uranus, and at first it was named Uranus by Martin Klaproth. It is found in pitchblende ore, which is an ore of zinc and iron, however, it can also be found in coffinite, uranophane, carnotite and uraninite minerals. Uranium is considered as a solar power, this is because its formations originated from the formation of energy emitted by the Sun. The solar power was formed from the fusion of hydrogen atoms to form helium atom, the helium atom later combined with other hydrogen atoms to form heavier atoms. The heavier atoms such as Uranium were formed through the fusion of atoms that were lighter that themselves; this shows that power that comes from Uranium is actually solar power because without the initial reaction to form solar power, then the other reactions that led to the formation of Uranium could not have happened. Many scientists worked hard to discover the source of sunshine, and in 1904, Ernest Rutherford discovered that the sunshine was emanating from the emission of alpha particles by radioactive substances. This discovery implied that nuclear energy was the source of sunshine; however, more research proved that the sun did not have much radioactive material, and instead, the sun contained more hydrogen gas. Scientists also discovered that the amount of energy generated by a star does not vary with temperature, but it depended on the interior temperatures of the star (MacDonald 167). These discoveries helped them come closer to the answer, later Aston discovered something that rested many scientists; he discovered that hydrogen nuclei was heavier than helium nucleus, a concept that was used by Eddington to conclude that the sunshine was because of the conversion of hydrogen atoms to helium. This process was known as fusion, and the energy produced from this process depends on the mass of t he atoms, this relation was derived from Einsteins energy equation; E =mc2. The process of fusion could make the sunshine for approximately 100 billion years. 41H 4He + 2e+ + 2+ energy, This process of energy production utilized by the earth has been a dream of mankind to solve the nagging problem of energy around the world. Scientists and researchers have been working hard to achieve this process that produces abundance of energy, they have the equation that result in the large amount of energy, which is the fusion of 4 atoms of hydrogen to form one atom of helium, two positrons, two electrons and energy. However, they realized that hydrogen atoms are positive particles; this means that they repel each other, and bringing them together is difficult. According to Bahcall, it was realized that stars that were heavier than the sun fused the hydrogen atoms using carbon as a catalyst, however, the energy produced from this reaction was relatively low. Scientists have also thought of the stellar evolution theory, which implies that the sun is heated at very high temperatures causing the nuclear fusion of hydrogen atoms to fuse through the gravitational energy emanating from the contraction of the solar mass from its initial large gas cloud. This has given the scientist and researchers of the required conditions for the hydrogen atoms to fuse, however, there is still a struggle to find out the exact conditions for the fusion to take place, and how the conditions can be made possible for the fusion of hydrogen on earth without causing destruction. All energy used on the earth comes from the solar energy; this can either be direct or indirect. Looking at photovoltaic and solar thermal energy used on the earth, they directly comes from the sun, but utilized in the form of electricity and thermal energy respectively. These two forms of solar energy are harnessed directly from the sun. Another form of energy that comes from the sun but indirectly is wind. The sun heats the earth unevenly, and this causes imbalance of heat on the earth surface; the regions that experience more heat have warm air at the surface of the earth, while those that experience less heat have cool air at the surface of the earth (MacDonald 134). Following this imbalance, the warm air will tend to move from a region of high pressure to a region of low pressure, and the vice versa happens to the cool air. This continuous movement of air on the earth surface is wind, and this wind can drive a wind turbine which is used to produce electricity, run wind pumps or wind mills. Hydropower is also derived from the sun, and in this case, the sun heats the earth surface, and the water on the earth surface vaporizes and rises above the ground. As it moves up the sky, it reaches condensation where it forms clouds that later falls as rain. The rain water percolates through the soil and rocks to form rivers, the water in rivers can be utilized to produce energy using either the flowing water or waterfalls along the river channel. Bio-fuels also come from the sun. The sun is used in the process of photosynthesis to produce sugars that are stored in the plant in the form of starch and forms of sugars. The starch and other forms of sugars are extracted from the plant and used in the production of ethanol as a bio-fuel. Another case of bio-fuel production using sunlight uses bacteria that have been modified to utilize sunlight, carbon dioxide and water to form nuclear bio-fuel. Nuclear energy also emanates from solar energy in the sense that, Uranium, an element that is mostly used in energy production using the process of fission, was formed from the reactions that resulted to solar energy. The fusion of hydrogen atoms to form helium atom resulted in the sunshine, and the fusion of the resultant atoms led to atoms with larger nuclei, and Uranium being the heaviest element, it resulted from the fusion of lighter atoms. Fossil fuels are fuels extracted below the earth surface, and they were formed by the accumulation of dead animals and plants. The dead plants contained sugars that were stored after the process of photosynthesis that was initiated by the sun, and the animals ate plants which derived their food from the process of photosynthesis. Therefore, it is only sensible to say that fossil fuels and other sources of energy originated from solar power. Buy custom The Sun Recorded Through History essay

6AC001 Advanced Financial reporting The WritePass Journal

6AC001 Advanced Financial reporting 1.0 Introduction 6AC001 Advanced Financial reporting . Perry, J and Nolke, A. (2006). The political economy of International Accounting Standards. Review of International Political Economy. 13 (4), p559-586. Kang, G and Lin, J. (2011). Effects of the Type of Accounting Standards and Motivation on Financial Reporting Decision. Journal of Accounting, Business Management. 18 (2), p84-104. Masson, D. (2008). Advanced Issues in Financial Statement Analysis. Business Credit. 110 (8), p35-35. Wallich, H. (2008). Effect of taxation on investment. Harvard Business Review. 23 (4), p442-450. Alan Robb and Susan Newberry Robb (2007), â€Å"Globalization: Governmental Accounting and International Financial Reporting Standards†. Socio-Economic Review, pp. 12-15   Barry J , and Eva K (2008), â€Å"Wiley IFRS Policies and Procedures†. John Wiley Sons, pp. 41-45 Madsen, P. (2011). How Standardized Is Accounting?. Accounting Review. 86 (5), p1679-1708.

How to Conjugate the Verb Entrare in Italian

How to Conjugate the Verb Entrare in Italian   Entrare has several definitions, including: To enterTo go inTo become a member (of)To fit What to Know About â€Å"Entrare† It’s a regular first-conjugation verb, so it follows the typical -are verb ending pattern.It’s an intransitive verb, which does not take a direct object.The infinito is â€Å"entrare†.The participio passato is â€Å"entrato†.The gerund form is â€Å"entrando†.The past gerund form is â€Å"essendo entrato†. Indicativo/Indicative Il presente io entro noi entriamo tu entri voi entrate lui, lei, Lei entra essi, Loro entrano Ad Esempio A partire da ora, lei entra a far parte della nostra famiglia. Starting from now, she’s a member of our family. Il passato prossimo io sono entrato/a noi siamo entrati/e tu sei entrato/a voi siete entrati/e lui, lei, Lei à ¨ entrato/a essi, Loro sono entrati/e Ad Esempio È appena entrato in casa. He just went into his house. L’imperfetto io entravo noi entravamo tu entravi voi entravate lui, lei, Lei entrava essi, Loro entravano Ad Esempio La grammatica russa non mi entrava in testa. Russian grammar didn’t go into my head (didn’t understand it). Il trapassato prossimo io ero entrato/a noi eravamo entrati/e tu eri entrato/a voi eravate entrati/e lui, lei, Lei era entrato/a essi, Loro erano entrati/e Ad Esempio Eravamo entrati nel bosco intorno alle sette di sera. We had entered the forest at around seven in the evening. Il passato remoto io entrai noi entrammo tu entrasti voi entraste lui, lei, Lei entrà ² essi, Loro entrarono Ad Esempio L’Italia entrà ² in guerra nel 1940.  Italy entered in war in 1940. Il trapassato remoto io fui entrato/a noi fummo entrati/e tu fosti entrato/a voi foste entrati/e lui, lei, Lei fu entrato/a essi, Loro furono entrati/e Tip: This tense is rarely used, so don’t worry too much about mastering it. You’ll find it in very sophisticated writing. Il futuro semplice io entrerà ² noi entreremo tu entrerai voi entrerete lui, lei, Lei entrer essi, Loro entreranno Ad Esempio Quando avrà ² diciotto anni, entrerà ² nell’esercito. When I’m 18 years old, I will enter the army. Il futuro anteriore io sarà ² entrato/a noi saremo entrati/e tu sarai entrato/a voi sarete entrati/e lui, lei, Lei sar entrato/a essi, Loro saranno entrati/e Ad Esempio Saranno gi entrati al cinema. They must have entered the movie theater already. Congiuntivo/Subjunctive Il presente che io entri che noi entriamo che tu entri che voi entriate che lui, lei, Lei entri che essi, Loro entrino Ad Esempio Penso che entri dall’altra parte dell’edificio. I think you enter on the other side of the building. Il passato io sia entrato/a noi siamo entrati/e tu sia entrato/a voi siate entrati/e lui, lei, Lei sia entrato/a essi, Loro siano entrati/e Ad Esempio Crediamo che siano entrati dalla finestra. We believe they got in through the window. L’imperfetto io entrassi noi entrassimo tu entrassi voi entraste lui, lei, Lei entrasse essi, Loro entrassero Ad Esempio Speravamo che lei entrasse nella nostra famiglia, ma lei e mio fratello si sono lasciati. We hoped that she would become a part of our family, but her and my brother broke up. Il trapassato prossimo io fossi entrato/a noi fossimo entrati/e tu fossi entrato/a voi foste entrati/e lui, lei, Lei fosse entrato/a essi, Loro fossero entrati/e Ad Esempio Pensavo fosse entrato un topo in cucina. I thought a mouse had gotten into the kitchen. Condizionale/Conditional Il presente io entrerei noi entreremmo tu entreresti voi entrereste lui, lei, Lei entrerebbe essi, Loro entrerebbero Ad Esempio Non entrerei in quell’edificio, à ¨ inquietante. I wouldn’t go into that building, it’s creepy. Il passato io sarei entrato/a noi saremmo entrati/e tu saresti entrato/a voi sareste entrati/e lui, lei, Lei sarebbe entrato/a essi, Loro sarebbero entrati/e Ad Esempio Pensi che un ladro sarebbe entrato nel mio negozio? Ne dubito. Do you think a thief  would have broken into my store? I doubt it.

Case Study on Thorntons plc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Case Study on Thorntons plc - Essay Example By 1939, Thorntons had 35 shops all over England and a factory in Sheffield that baked confectionery products. The firm's profitability and expansion continued such that in 1988, it was listed in the London Stock Exchange. Thornton family members were involved in the management of the business until the resignation in August 2006 of John Thornton, the last family member on the Board. Thornton family members, however, continue to hold a 22 percent stake in the company. As of the end of its fiscal year on 25 June 2005, the company had 395 stores, 198 franchise outlets, and 26 Cafs all over the U.K and Ireland, over 4,200 employees, an annual turnover of 188 million, and net profits before tax of just over 8.15 million (Helmscott, 2006). The company is based in Thornton Park, a 65-acre site in Alfreton, Derbyshire. Thorntons is one of the key players in the candy and confectionery industry, a sub-sector of the global food and beverages industry consisting of companies that manufacture, process, package, market, and/or sell candies and confections, including chocolate and chewing gum. Business Insights/Datamonitor (2005) reported that the global confectionery sector had an annual turnover of 122 billion growing in value at 3.9 percent yearly. The biggest group in the sub-sector are companies that sell chocolate confectionery products, which accounts for 53.8 percent of total turnover value, followed by sugar confectioneries, sweets and candies (32.8 percent), and gum (13.4 percent). The U.K. confectionery market, one of the biggest in the world, had total sales of 4.53 billion in 2005 growing at approximately 4 percent each year. A few companies led by Cadbury Schweppes, Mars, Nestl, Kraft, and Wrigley dominate in the U.K. market. Thorntons (188 million in sales) is in sixth place, followed by Barry Callebaut, ADM Cocoa Hull, Dunhills (Pontefract), and Renshaw Scott (with a turnover of 58 million) (Swetenhams, 2006). Characteristics of the Confectionery Industry Sector The confectionery sector had its heyday in the 1970s, as sales trebled whilst food expenditures doubled in the decade. By the late 1980s, annual sales growth slowed down to 2 to 3 percent, characteristic of a mature industry. The market in the early to the late 1990s was therefore becoming saturated whilst manufacturers continued to expand production and retail outlets to match what was until then perceived as booming demand. The 1980s also saw a wave of acquisitions that produced two industry giants: Cadbury Scweppes and Nestl. Confectioneries are non-essential foodstuff but are regularly purchased by a very high proportion of the population as an indulgence, a gift, or a

Attend a live concert( this year) and report on it. You must include Essay

Attend a live concert( this year) and report on it. You must include proof of your attendance - Essay Example Record responses to the performances in the concert. What was good or bad and what made it so? Be specific. If it was a group concert, how did the performers work as an ensemble? ?What kinds of themes, messages or ideas came across to you in the concert? What did the experience cause you to think about or feel? ?Comment on the visual impact of the concert: setting, lights, concert dress, movement. How did these add to or detract from the mood and power of the music? What did you notice about audience behavior? (500 words) The date of the concert is on Monday, March 28th, 2011, at 8 p.m. PDT. The location of the concert is at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The performer was Lady GaGa. I loved this performance. It was dynamic, fun, engaging, and it was everything I was hoping for in a concert. The general style of the music was poppy (a la pop music similar to something that Madonna, JLo, Mariah Carey, or Britney Spears might put out). There were some cultural implicati ons that were related to the work done in class. I realized how much our society has become so highly sexualized. That is definitely apparent in the music of Lady GaGa. Her music is soaked with sexual innuendo. Her show just reeks of sultry seductiveness. She has the allure of a porn star and the stage presence of a pole dancer. No one can ignore Lady GaGa’s amazing power which draws you in, like a tide drawn to the Supermoon.

The History of Blood Gangs in Los Angeles Essay

The History of Blood Gangs in Los Angeles - Essay Example The locals often feel that the immigrants and the minorities are looting their job opportunities and destroying the White dominated American culture and their national identity. In short, both the minorities and the majorities in America are looking suspiciously at each other which resulted in the formation of violent gangs for fighting against the opposite groups. The Bloods are one such African American gang formed in Los Angeles in 1972 mainly to fight against another African American Gang; The Crips. This paper analyses the history of Blood gangs in Los Angeles. As mentioned earlier, The Bloods gang was formed in 1972 Los Angeles, California in 1972 and it is active even now. Even though, it was founded in Los Angeles, currently it is operating across America. Murder, drug trafficking, robbery etc are the major criminal activities of this gang. Even though, Crips was the major enemy group of Bloods, they also fight against other criminal groups such as Folk Nation, Surinos etc. T he formation of Bloods can be attributed to some severe conflicts and differences occurred in the Crips gang about the nature of their attack. Majority of the Crips gang members made no segregation while attacking others whereas some of the Crips members were against the attacking of innocent people. The Crips gang was the prominent violent gang in America before the formation of The Bloods. Crips was formed in the 1960’s for conducting robbery and drug trafficking. In 1972, a group of Crips gang consisting of around 20 members attacked a small group of innocent young men for robbing their wallets and leather jackets. An innocent young man called Robert Ballou was killed in this attack, even though he was not a member of any other gangs. The killing of Robert Ballou has created lot of conflicts in the Crips gang about the objectives of the Gang. Some of the gang members (Piru Street Crisps) argued that killing of innocent people cannot be justified while others argued that no segregation is necessary while conducting their missions. Piru Street Crips with the help of Leuders Park Hustlers and some of the other enemy groups of Crips such as The Brims called a meeting and discussed the strategies to counter the threats of The Crips and the necessities of forming another gang to counter the threats from common enemy; The Crips. The meeting decided to select a new flag in red color for the new gang formed and named the new gang as The Bloods (Bloods Gang Knowledge, n. d, p.1). â€Å"Investigative reports in 1991 placed Crips or Bloods in 32 States and 113 cities† (Walker, 2011). As per the current statistics, no American state is free from the activities of the Blood gang. In different states in America, the Blood gang operates in different sets and names; however, the word, Blood is a part of their gang name everywhere. Some of the Blood sets have members from even female community. The Blood do not have a common or national leader even though diffe rent sets of Blood have regional leadership. The regional leadership or the set leadership is often appointed based on the experience and the severity of the crime committed by the set members. Set members are often referred as soldiers. â€Å"By 1980, there were 30,000 gangs members in Los Angeles County,