None Free Essays

None Free Essays The contributing factors that I found were caused for the rise of racism are â€Å"the exploitation relations that Europeans established with the peoples they conquered†, â€Å"an opposition between the colors white and black as cultural symbols was deeply rooted In European culture†, and â€Å"the Invention and diffusion of the concept of race Itself. † Today racism Isn’t that big of a deal Like It was back In the colonial era, but It still can show up out of nowhere. We don’t have separate water fountains, we don’t make African Americans sit in the back of the bus, and we don’t have laws prohibiting hem on what they can and can’t do. We will write a custom essay sample on None or any similar topic only for you Order Now A lot has changed from then and now and it’s for the better. As we think back on how we treated African Americans I think most people can say how wrong and selfish we were. To bass some ones social status on the color of their skin is not right to any degree and the world has grown from the mistakes that happened. For my major, criminal Justice, I will deal with many situations where someone will call me racist. It’s not something that will go away because sometimes African Americans rely on It to get a point across or blame what happened on you In anyway necessary. There was a time where whites believed having black was symbolic for evil. They didn’t think It was right to be a different color and wanted to blame all the wrong doings or plagues on the blacks. This resulted in the formation of the UK Klux Klan where they took African American’s from their homes and hung them. They didn’t have to do anything wrong per say, the whites Just believed being black was wrong. The whites wanted to make African American’s feel fear so they made rules they had to follow so they â€Å"kept them in line† in a way. Racism doesn’t Just focus on African Americans, it can connect with Asians, and Mexicans. Racism has exists for thousands of years and I feel it will never disappear because of how parents raise their children to believe what they were taught growing up. Parents telling their kids that blacks are bad and they always get into trouble Isn’t something you want to teach them. Everyone Is different and Like some say â€Å"you can’t Judge a book by Its cover†. I also don’t feel Its right to tell your kids that the police are bad people who just want to hurt you. That’s not true at all so to tell your kids straight if the bat that things are set this way and you should follow this, wont help them have an open mind. Immigration is always a big deal with the whole process to become a U. S. Citizen. Immigrants are viewed as people coming to steal their jobs because the Jobs that they usually go for are minimum wage and no benefits. It’s usually Mexicans who come into the U. S. And find low paying Jobs and they usually work very hard for the little money they make. Like I said before, police officers have to deal with being called a racist almost every day because they have to use force or arrest someone for a warrant. Having to e that guy to put up with It Is harder because even though you’ve gone through It so many times and Just want to say â€Å"I’m not racist† Just wont cut It. Police officers are doing their job and if you happen to be African American or Asian then that’s the way Being young and going to school as the only African American can be tough for some if their parents taught them blacks are bad like in the colonial days. It can also be because of the area you live in, such as more whites to blacks. The way people view each other and Judge the way they look will never change, but there’s always something you can do to stop it. How to cite None, Papers None Free Essays Heather Smith Smith 1 Dr. Dixie Hicks Essay #2 2-27-13 Peace Pact to War Message In August of 1928, Kellogg proposed a multilateral treaty outlawing war as an instrument of national policy. He thought all changes in their relations with one another should only be sought by pacific means and be a result of a peaceful and orderly process. We will write a custom essay sample on None or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Neutrality Act was presented in 1935 stating, â€Å"The President, by proclamation, shall definitely enumerate the arms, ammunition, or implements of war, the export of which is prohibited by this Act. These were great peace pacts lasting from 1928-1940. On September 27, 1940, an agreement was signed in Berlin, where three powerful nations joined as a threat against the United States. This started the transition from peace pact to war message. If the United States interfered or blocked the expansion program of these three nations, a program aimed at world control, they would unite in ultimate action against the United States. Once this threat was presented to the United States, Roosevelt insisted that since they would be entering into a new and terrible era where they would be run by threats of brute force, they would need to survive by converting themselves into a militaristic power on the basis of war economy. The British were on the verge of going to war with the Nazis. This war would determine the outcome of the United States and whether they would have to support Britain and go to war with Germany. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The next morning President Roosevelt appeared before a joint session of Congress to ask for a declaration of war. Roosevelt, as the commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, directed that all measures be taken for the United State’s defense. The attack on Pearl Harbor created a state of war between the United States and the Japanese Empire. The shift from peace pact to war message was a pretty quick transition. Because of the threat to the United States, actions had to be taken to protect the American people. How to cite None, Papers

Introduction to Spectrophotometry free essay sample

This lab will teach me how to use a spectrophotometer. The use of the spectrophotometer is to measure the concentration of solute. The solute being measured must be colored and is determined based on the adsorption of light photons on a wavelength. The spectrophotometer uses a beam of light that strikes the diffraction grating that basically forms of prism of light. Then only a specific wavelength of light shines through the spectrophotometer and interacts with the solute. The light that continues past the solute hits the phototube. The spectrophotometer then digitally shows the amount of units that have been absorbed or transmitted. Transmittance is the amount of light that gets through the sample. This is shown as a percent of all the possible light that could’ve gotten through. Absorbance is the opposite of transmittance and the reciprocal of it. This shows how much light got trapped in the solute. In this lab we will use a few different solutions in the spectrophotometer to get a basic feel on how it works. We will record the absorbance as well as do calculations using mean and standard deviation. We will then graph our results and compare them with the class values of the three unknown Methylene blue samples. At the end of the lab the actual concentrations of each unknown will be shared. We will then compare how accurate and precise our results are with the actual. This lab will teach me how to use a spectrophotometer. The use of the spectrophotometer is to measure the concentration of solute. The solute being measured must be colored and is determined based on the adsorption of light photons on a wavelength. The spectrophotometer uses a beam of light that strikes the diffraction grating that basically forms of prism of light. Then only a specific wavelength of light shines through the spectrophotometer and interacts with the solute. The light that continues past the solute hits the phototube. The spectrophotometer then digitally shows the amount of units that have been absorbed or transmitted. Transmittance is the amount of light that gets through the sample. This is shown as a percent of all the possible light that could’ve gotten through. Absorbance is the opposite of transmittance and the reciprocal of it. This shows how much light got trapped in the solute. In this lab we will use a few different solutions in the spectrophotometer to get a basic feel on how it works. We will record the absorbance as well as do calculations using mean and standard deviation. We will then graph our results and compare them with the class values of the three unknown Methylene blue samples. At the end of the lab the actual concentrations of each unknown will be shared. We will then compare how accurate and precise our results are with the actual. This lab will teach me how to use a spectrophotometer. The use of the spectrophotometer is to measure the concentration of solute. The solute being measured must be colored and is determined based on the adsorption of light photons on a wavelength. The spectrophotometer uses a beam of light that strikes the diffraction grating that basically forms of prism of light. Then only a specific wavelength of light shines through the spectrophotometer and interacts with the solute. The light that continues past the solute hits the phototube. The spectrophotometer then digitally shows the amount of units that have been absorbed or transmitted. Transmittance is the amount of light that gets through the sample. This is shown as a percent of all the possible light that could’ve gotten through. Absorbance is the opposite of transmittance and the reciprocal of it. This shows how much light got trapped in the solute. In this lab we will use a few different solutions in the spectrophotometer to get a basic feel on how it works. We will record the absorbance as well as do calculations using mean and standard deviation. We will then graph our results and compare them with the class values of the three unknown Methylene blue samples. At the end of the lab the actual concentrations of each unknown will be shared. We will then compare how accurate and precise our results are with the actual. This lab will teach me how to use a spectrophotometer. The use of the spectrophotometer is to measure the concentration of solute. The solute being measured must be colored and is determined based on the adsorption of light photons on a wavelength. The spectrophotometer uses a beam of light that strikes the diffraction grating that basically forms of prism of light. Then only a specific wavelength of light shines through the spectrophotometer and interacts with the solute. The light that continues past the solute hits the phototube. The spectrophotometer then digitally shows the amount of units that have been absorbed or transmitted. Transmittance is the amount of light that gets through the sample. This is shown as a percent of all the possible light that could’ve gotten through. Absorbance is the opposite of transmittance and the reciprocal of it. This shows how much light got trapped in the solute. In this lab we will use a few different solutions in the spectrophotometer to get a basic feel on how it works. We will record the absorbance as well as do calculations using mean and standard deviation. We will then graph our results and compare them with the class values of the three unknown Methylene blue samples. At the end of the lab the actual concentrations of each unknown will be shared. We will then compare how accurate and precise our results are with the actual. This lab will teach me how to use a spectrophotometer. The use of the spectrophotometer is to measure the concentration of solute. The solute being measured must be colored and is determined based on the adsorption of light photons on a wavelength. The spectrophotometer uses a beam of light that strikes the diffraction grating that basically forms of prism of light. Then only a specific wavelength of light shines through the spectrophotometer and interacts with the solute. The light that continues past the solute hits the phototube. The spectrophotometer then digitally shows the amount of units that have been absorbed or transmitted. Transmittance is the amount of light that gets through the sample. This is shown as a percent of all the possible light that could’ve gotten through. Absorbance is the opposite of transmittance and the reciprocal of it. This shows how much light got trapped in the solute. In this lab we will use a few different solutions in the spectrophotometer to get a basic feel on how it works. We will record the absorbance as well as do calculations using mean and standard deviation. We will then graph our results and compare them with the class values of the three unknown Methylene blue samples. At the end of the lab the actual concentrations of each unknown will be shared. We will then compare how accurate and precise our results are with the actual. This lab will teach me how to use a spectrophotometer. The use of the spectrophotometer is to measure the concentration of solute. The solute being measured must be colored and is determined based on the adsorption of light photons on a wavelength. The spectrophotometer uses a beam of light that strikes the diffraction grating that basically forms of prism of light. Then only a specific wavelength of light shines through the spectrophotometer and interacts with the solute. The light that continues past the solute hits the phototube. The spectrophotometer then digitally shows the amount of units that have been absorbed or transmitted. Transmittance is the amount of light that gets through the sample. This is shown as a percent of all the possible light that could’ve gotten through. Absorbance is the opposite of transmittance and the reciprocal of it. This shows how much light got trapped in the solute. In this lab we will use a few different solutions in the spectrophotometer to get a basic feel on how it works. We will record the absorbance as well as do calculations using mean and standard deviation. We will then graph our results and compare them with the class values of the three unknown Methylene blue samples. At the end of the lab the actual concentrations of each unknown will be shared. We will then compare how accurate and precise our results are with the actual.

Wrongs Of Women And Awakening Essays - The Awakening, Grand Isle

Wrongs Of Women And Awakening The following paper is in regard to Mary Wollstonecraft's novel Maria, or the Wrongs of Women and Kate Chopin's novel titled The Awakenings. The two stories have a similar plot and both discuss the oppression of women in the institution of marriage. This paper will include how the two main characters in each story, Maria (in Maria) and Edna (in The Awakenings) challenge the oppressive ideology by finding a new love and how they also encountered problems as long the way. Edna's Marriage ?It was when the face and figure of great tragedian began to haunt her imagination and stir her senses. The persistence of the infatuation lent it an aspect of genuineness. The hopelessness of it colored it with the lofty tones of a great passion.? (Awakening's, 1026) A passion that ultimately lost its novelty and was allocated to the shelf that held obscure yet relaxed delightful remembrances. The tragedian keeps fellowship with a visiting cavalry officer and an engaged gentleman. Though, in reality, the gentleman is probably no longer engaged, he will remain so in the mind of Edna Pontellier: one of the images of the infatuations of a ?little miss."(1026) With respect to her marriage to Leonce Pontellier, Edna is inhibited, not with the man himself, but with the concept he represents. When leaving Mississippi on Leonce's arm, she defied her family's wish that she marries a non-Catholic. Cast to that equation a healthy dose of flattery from her intended and their union is as good as cemented. This is how Edna comes to be ensconced in the inescapable institution of marriage. One would presume that the speaking of the vows would discontinue her youthful allure, but that is not the case. Both the holy bounds of wedlock and the remonstrations of society hail to constrict her. Edna Pontellier experiences one last great infatuation. However, this beat upon her soul reverberates into a feeling that far surpasses what she had previously thought to be ?the climax of her fate.? (1026) The single-tired fantasies of her youth are replaced with a sentiment that matures in nature as her awakening proceeds. Edna realizes that her marriage is not making her happy anymore. She no longer wants to be treated as property. ?You are burnt?he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage,? (1014). Edna is upset; every thing she's longed for has become nothing but a joke. She soon begins her so-called ?feminine protest? by not responding to her husband's questions. ?She said nothing, and refused to answer her husband when he questioned her.? (1017) She begins to find herself by realizing her position on earth as a human being, rather then a piece of her husband's property. This realization is done by the feelings her had for Robert. Robert it seems made her feel human. ?In short, Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her.? (1022) Maria's Marriage In the primary stages of the novel there is not very much description of Maria's marriage to George. The novel starts off with Maria thinking about her child and she is in her chamber in the madhouse. Immediately we are informed of her feelings for her husband, ?Was it not to effect her escape, to fly to the succour of her child, and to baffle the selfish schemes of her tyrant ? her husband (8) Primarily, the reader is uniformed of exactly what type of marriage was possessed by the couple. The only aspect that is clear is that Maria's husband was able to convince society that Maria was mad and she was put into the madhouse and he was left with their children and all her money and possessions. It is clear that Maria's problem with the marriage was that she wasn't being treated equally, ?Was not the world a vast prison, and women born slaves.? (11) It seems that Maria is not bothered by her marriage being a failure; there is more evidence that she misses her child and is deeply wounded by that fact that her baby will not grow up with a mother as she did, ?The loss of her babe was the tender sting; against other cruel remembrances she labored to steel her bosom;? (14). It is only later on in the story that Maria opens up about what happened to her marriage.

Marketing Analysis of Apple Inc The WritePass Journal

Marketing Analysis of Apple Inc Introduction Marketing Analysis of Apple Inc IntroductionMarket EnvironmentMarketing Approach of AppleDiscussionConclusionRecommendationsREFERENCESRelated Introduction 523 Apple Inc. is known for its innovative ability to gain competitive advantage since 3rd Jan 1977. It was called Apple Computers Inc. and as they have started their penetration in the consumer electronics, they have removed Computers from their name. With a workforce of 46600 FT employees and 2800 temp staff all over the world and the made the sales of $65 billion in 2010. (Annual Reports, 2010) The famous brands offered by the company to the world have been Mac computers, iPod, iPad, and now the hot selling iPhone. Apart from hardware, the company has been very successful in software with the introduction of Mac OS X operating system, and other media software’s like iTunes, iLife and now iWork along with iOS (operating system for mobile phones). (Apple Annual reports, 2010) This report will cover their most talked about brand called iPhone, which has been termed as Jesus Phone, Work like magic or your life in your pocket The hype on the internet has made this product a technological savior and the company is still adding innovative features not to mention the technical issues and challenges, which come with every product in the market. (Campbell LaPastina, 2010) Market Environment There is expectation that iPhone users will be 100 million by 2013 and as in the fig the number is going to be around 450 million in 2013. (Churchill, 2009) The company is facing huge competition from Microsoft and Google from software point of view and from LG, Samsung, Sony , Blackberry are already challenging with their innovative brands. Appendix B helps to understand the market forces as well. The company has gained by the first mover advantage and their 317 stores with more than 10,000 partner stores are supporting the sales of the product. The company is highly dependent on Cingular for their success in USA but the company has made strategic partners all around the world to grow like T-Mobile, China Unicom etc. The company is targeting non corporates unlike competitors, although the company has leverage of Apple’s brand image. The company is able to secure first position in the consumer satisfaction survey done by J.D. Power and associates. (Refer Appendix C) (Tews, 200 9) Figure 1 Smartphone sales (Churchill, 2009) The company is targeting professionals, students between the age of 18 and 35 basically. The company is conscious of its brand and so focusing on fulfilling the corporate social responsibilities as in Fig 2. (Apple Annual Reports, 2010) The company has trained nearly 133k workers on human rights and responsibility of the managers. The company also paid $ 2.2 M in recruitment fee overcharges. (Apple Annual reports, 2010) i) Conducting cross industry focus groups for suppliers. ii) They have launched SEED program to teach english and other professional courses for the workers. By 2009, nearly 14800 workers joined this program, with the help of 500 iMac PCs. iii) The company has made strict principles regarding Human Rights (no discrimination, proper age, holiday, respect); Health and Safety of the staff (Ergonomics, cleanliness, emergency evacuation, injury prevention), Environment Safety (Air and water waste management, waste mgt), Ethics (non disclosure agreement) Management commitment to train the staff, workers feedback. (Apple Annual Reports, 2010) Marketing Approach of Apple McCarthy has presented the marketing mix (4Ps) model to help the managers device a good marketing strategy where the benefits can be exchanged between the pillars of marketing, this was later modified by Booms and Bitner in 1982 (he added 3more Ps )   to cater the requirements of the service industry. (Brassington Pettitt, 2007; Kotler, et al, 2005) The next section will discuss 7p’s of Apple as in figure 3. Figure 3. 7P’s of iPhone (Adapted by researcher) 1. Product: The product would be found in more in 60million pages on internet, with the broadest screen display in all the mobile phones so there is touchscreen keypad as opposed to dialoging keypad in just 2 months after launch. The company decided to use OS X operating system with the same usage as of iPod or Mac although with lot of shortcomings like no expandable memory or replaceable battery or difficult to disable users. (OGrady, 2007) The initial version was not with 3G network support and was later integrated. SWOT analysis of iPhone (figure 4) helps to know the strengths opportunities of the product. The company should develop core competencies on the basis of its strength and should focus on the opportunities which might arise in due time, which the analysis of threats help to safe guard the product development and develop contingency plans. Gradual innovative methods can be adopted by the firm to convert the weakness into strength apart from best use of financial resources. (Brassing ton Pettitt, 2007) The locked iPhone with one network Cingular in US and by other network in Europe is not appreciated by the consumers. Also the cost of unlocked iPhone is quite high in compared to US market, which might have caused reduced sale. The users cant install their software’s which is another software leverage strategy of Apple, so they have to use only Apple software’s (iTunes, Mobile Me) or QuickTime players. The company is utilizing the iPod ecosystem to leverage the iPhone thereby supporting its online music revenue system. The display of PC based websites with same display made this product different from others. (O’grady, 2007) Fig. 4 iPhone SWOT Analysis Use of FaceTime with 2 cameras is a new innovative idea like in 3G phones, Retina display, but the new iOS is slow than expected by the compass and GPS is helpful when lost. Uses of App Store help the users to get application on their phone and Apple takes 30% of that revenue. (Marshal, 2010) 2. Price: Apple in this case adopted the â€Å"best fit segment† pricing strategy (skimming), where the early adopters were targeted who are less price sensitive and want to receive the benefits of new technology. It allows more cash flow for the company and also conveys benefit perception to other target segments. The company started off with selling the product at $599 (8GB) and $499 (4GB) and later reduced the price of 8GB to $399 and discontinued 4GB model significantly. The company wants to target the mainstream users and cant reply on early adopters (young techno savvy, professionals) for future growth. They tried skimming and versioning strategy. (Apple Annual Reports, 2010) 1. Skimming: This is high pricing strategy but can attract risk of low sales and piracy (Kotler et al, 2005) but Apple has safeguarded itself by marketing before it actually emerged in market by enhancing its brand value under top 20. (Sliwinska et al, 2008) 2. Versioning: This strategy involves charging different prices for same products from different target segments. So the company implemented temporal price discrimination where it charged the prices depending on the desire of the customers to pay for the iPhone. Probably due to good profit on each unit from willing customers and they want to gain high volume sale from the larger customer base they had developed. They have structured this in different countries and adding more features. As they reduced the prices by $200 in just 60 days, after consumer complaints, they issued some $100 store credit to early buyers. (Sliwinska et al, 2008) With the market domination of Symbian phones to 35 Million in H2 2007 and success of N95 and E series boosted the sales by $172 Million against Apple products. Microsoft, RIM has a strong hold in the N.American market, while Nokia is having a larger share in EU. The company started charging $72 to $130  Ã‚   for 18-24 months contract in Britain and Germany; in addition they have to pay  £269 for iPhone in Britain. So the customers had paid $566 compared to $399 in USA. In France, the company tied up with Orange and charged $590 for 8GB along with a monthly package of â‚ ¬50 to â‚ ¬120 or they can buy iPhone over $900. (Sliwinska, 2008) Figure5. Price Comparison (20072010) (www.apple.com, 2010) But the company should understand that European market has 60% of pay-as-you-go customer that is why the company failed to meet their target of 10 Million units but sold nearly 400,000. The company has already launched iPhone3G ($99 for 8GB in USA  £419 in UK) and iPhone4 ($199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB in US  £499 for 16GB,  £599 for 32GB) as shown in figure 5. The company is still adopting the vertical building strategy, as in iPods which is related to iTunes and help the company to control the digital music and video market. Total 73.73 Million units were sold and only 1.3 million were the original iPhones, it has been a huge success but not as anticipated. They are expecting 82 Million units by 2012 as in figure 6. (Oliver, 2009) Figure 6 Predicted Sales (Oliver, 2009) 3. Promotion: Apple has been most aggressive in terms of promotion as seen in figure 7, some examples are: Fig 7. Strategy of promotions (Kiprin, 2009; Apple Annual Reports, 2010)) 1. The company started with 4 TV commercials during the launch to flaunt the innovative gadget (original iPhone) which can fulfill all needs of entertainment and information sharing device. The company is focusing now to advertise their Face Time feature and recently launched 4 more TV ads. in July 2010. (Chris, 2010) 2. The press releases and blogs were posted and iPhone was in 60 million web pages across web. The news created rumors and the Advertising Ages Marketer award winner (2003) company was again ready to offer new generation product after iPod. The company made successful relations with media firms and Steve (CEO) shares new ideas with public during occasions as suggested in fig 7. (Williams, Mullin., 2008) 3. With the support of 317 stores across the world (233 in USA, 84 outside USA) which contributed around 17% of profits. The company has done strategic partnership with Starbucks to offer free iTunes Wi-Fi music at 600 locations, which can later be downloaded from computers. Even the new iPhones 5 reveal the easiness to find people around the city, location of friends and other features which reflect the social integration aspect of the device. (Apple Annual Reports, 2010) Fig 8. Apple Online marketing (Kiprin, 2009; Apple Annual Reports, 2010) The company is already spent $5.5 billion (increase of 33% compared to 2009) due to expansion in the retail segment. (Apple Annual Report, 2010) 1. The company uses all forms of advertising to gain attention, they appear on a regular basis on newspapers, TV, billboards etc. Like Macworld Expo (conventions to launch products), coverage of major channels like Fox, MTV and Rolling Stones, Maxim etc. In-store promotion and awareness helps in personal selling where the users can touch and test. The company site is quite impressive with promotion codes issues to consumers from time to time. 2. Cross Promotions: the channel partners like Sprint, Orange, Vodaphone etc. promote iPhone packages on their websites and from printed booklets. 3. Search Engine promotions; the company spend money on Adwords (Google marketing), Pay Per Click campaigns. The company purchases the keywords like iPhones, mp3phones etc. Banners and promotions on other sites is a regular from Apple. (Sliwinska et al, 2008) 4. The company sends email to iPod users, carrier consumers, and uses RSS feed of their promotions and events and blogs are done regularly. (Williams and Mullins, 2008) 4. Place: The company is using the locations as shown in fig 9 for selling the product. Fig 9.   Distribution locations ((Kiprin, 2009; Apple Annual Reports, 2010) The company followed the hybrid distribution strategy and engaged the telecommunication service provider’s stores along with their online and own stores. So the customers are forced to enter into a contract for 18-24 months. The company is using two level channel for distribution of their product. (Jobber Fahy, 2009) The company has done tie-ups with Cingular as they have a customer base of 58Million and out of which around18million are already with iPod. So its good strategy to benefit both companies of exclusivity in USA. Although AT T never wanted to spend much money on advertising but they end up spending $18 billion in 2009. As seen in the figure 10, the products are assembled in China (due to cheap labor) and then supplied to warehouses and regional stores. The company is clever to use the use the touch points of established networks (Vodaphone, O2, Orange, T-Mobile etc.) (Jobber Fahy, 2009) 5. People: The company wants to be in direct touch with the consumers and when they feel it, they will buy it strategy. With only $99, 1hour/week for 1yr help the users to meet the experts at Genius bars for technical support and information, conducting over 50000 sessions / week. The sales assistant is available on appointments to find the right product for right needs at the new gather place. This helps the company generate word of mouth marketing and product awareness and brand building. The sales team is trained to give awareness, rather than giving a sales pitch. Also the CEO has impressive presence in front of media to market the brand. (Ireland et al, 2009) 6. Process: Alain (2008) has given some insight about the process of Apple. He says CEO, Steve Jobs is working closely with the design and development team during the whole development process.   The meeting of board management is done every month, where the marketing proposal and other problems are discussed. 10-3-1: The designers follow the pixel perfect approach where there are no fillers and 3 designs are selected out of 10 and perfected until they arrive at 1 out of total 10. The company conducts different type of meetings: 1. Paired design: this is done 2 times a week to discuss the features and technical specs of the product. 2. Brainstorming: This involves discussion on any and every idea that comes in your mind and put in the table for discussion. There are no rules to free thinking. (Alain, 2008) 3. Production: This involves giving a proper structure to the innovative ideas and arranging deadlines for the same.   (Alain, 2008) The CEO doesn’t frown to discard a product at the last minute. and there are Pony Meetings every 2 weeks, where the client discuss the requirements with designers, so they can work according to the needs of the consumers. The sales are handled in stores (Apple and partners) by the professional team and training sessions also help with sales promotion activities. (Alain, 2008) 7. Physical Evidence: The Company has a good packaging strategy which makes the product look attractive and stylish on the shelf. The company has Apple Care service to resolve the problems and services offered by the company, geniuses’ bars to meet the direct customers and teaching them to make better users. (William, Mullin, 2008) Discussion Cladbun (2007) has pointed out the application development by 3rd party is not allowed is a drawback. But the company has been successful in allowing the third party developers to develop innovative software’s like making the iPhone work as a remote and the car can be fully operated by sitting outside the car and similar applications help the company to share profits from other developers and are unique business model implementers. This is also adopted by Amazon recently. (Marshal, 2010)     The utopian vision to create the convergence device from Apple is under serious controversy, even though they have filed 200 patents but LG claimed that they copied their design Apple Inc. lost claim for IPHONE trademark against Infogear. The company has reduced their marketing expenses by using the retailer outlets all around the world and invested that money to open their own 317 stores all around the world, this has helped the company to get the sales revenue similar to   the mat urity stage of the product life cycle even though the product is at the introduction phase. The company might be planning to have more strategic partnerships as they have done for iPods with Nike, Volkswagen etc. where the iPods was given free with each unit purchased. (Williams and Mullin, 2008) The company with China Unicom is doing excellent with 100,000 sales in first 3 days and 200,000 pre orders for iPhone 4 as compared to 5000 order for original iPhone, even there is a restriction of wi-fi feature due to government rules. The company is giving iPhone for free with the $43, 2 months contract, which they haven’t done before (Ong, 2010); this shows that the management is conscious of the social and economic factors of the target market. They have to do similar during their launch or other high populated countries. The process used by the firm is towards perfection which should be implemented by every firm to gain competitive advantage. (Gosnay Richardson, 2008) Conclusion It has been observed that the company has maintained strong sales and developing new markets and also adding the value of the brand with more features and third party software’s available for the users. Although with lot of technical limitations the company has experienced good sales with the help of strategic partners and intensive advertising. The company is spending lot of money on all the channels of promotional mix, however the company should give more emphasis on website advertising to reduce the costs. The company is well known for innovative ideas and thereby inspiring others to develop innovative ideas along with their service to the society by following CSR approaches. The last section of the report present the recommendations which can be utilized by the managers for effective marketing of iPhone. Recommendations This strategy must have lost early adopters and loyal customers and reducing the price by 66% in 1yr is not good way to treat customers and forcing them to sign contract with AT T, O2, Vodaphone or T-Mobile, which resulted in slowing down of sales and even though 3.3 million iPhones were sold in 8months but only 2million contracts were signed with ATT. (Adapted by researcher) Another mistake is the launch of iPhone after 7 months in UK, Germany and France; almost after 1yr in other Western Europe like Sweden, Austria even in Canada, Brazil etc. So a good product has adopted a bad strategy. They could have delayed the product launch or decreased the prices only after 1yr or should have started with $399 only.   (Vertygoteam, 2010) The company should find ways to differentiate the product in China but as cheap players and mobile phones even pirated iPhone is available so its difficult to maintain the brand image. Also Wi-Fi is disabled due to government restrictions but the Chinese love colors so the back side of the iPhone should be available in trendy colors. There is enough scope for people in China with 470 Million users. (Research and Markets, 2010) India is also a good market with population reaching 1.3Billion, and company can earn if they sell at similar price offerings due to economy of scale. But they are offering at $800, which is expensive even for Americans. The company has to be find ways to challenge dual and triple sim phones available in India and cost around $100. Even on $50 phone from Nokia, the company is investing heavily on marketing but iPhone wants to establish with poor marketing requires careful planning. (Rhiain, 2010) The company is offering unlimited bank width to the subscribers which will overload the network, so company should also invest in expanding the bandwidth along with aggressive marketing investment, especially in growing markets with poor infrastructure like India as 44% of revenue comes from non-US market. (Annual Reports, 2010) Olive (2009) views that company will sustain the market forces with the help of media integration, games and sophisticated software. However, company could include Mobile commerce, user generated print media production and 3D games to attract more customers. The company should understand the social forces and use it to target the customers. Rising prices, decrease income, world financial crisis affect the buyer’s purchasing power. Old age customers are free and can be the target market, so they can be connected with their grandchildren. The company can create advertisements devoted to elders in this case. Another target market can be singles who can utilize their free time for entertainment purposes when they feel lonely, as they dont have family obligations and enough financials. With the increasing migration of citizens from one country to other, even American and Britishers are moving   to developing countries due to lost cost living. So this can be another target market for Apple, where they are away from their country but feel connected with the product from their country. (Gosnay Richardson, 2008) The users cant forward any contact or use blue-tooth with other phones, ringtones needs to be purchased and difficult to use the speakerphone in cars. (Squarejp, 2010) The company should find ways to rectify it to make it more suitable for customers. REFERENCES Alain, 2008, You can’t Innovate like Apple [Available at] pragmaticmarketing.com/publications/magazine/6/4/you_cant_innovate_like_apple [Accessed on 24 Nov 2010] Apple Annual Reports, 2010, Annual Report [Available at] http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9Njc1MzN8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=t=1 [Accessed on 24 Nov 2010] Brassington Pettitt (2007) ‘Essentials of Marketing, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall Campbell,H.A. LaPastina,A.C., 2010,How the iPhone became divine [Available at] www.agendainc.com/media/ipho0710.pdf [Accessed on 25 Nov 2010] Churchill,S., 2009, 100M by 2013[Available at] dailywireless.org/2009/03/24/smartphone-users-100m-by-2013/[Accessed on 20 Nov 2010] CSR Report, 2010,   Supplier Responsibility [Available at] http://images.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/pdf/SR_2010_Progress_Report.pdf [Accessed on 20 Nov 2010] Gosnay Richardson (2008) ‘Develop your Marketing Skills,’ KP Jobber Fahy (2009) ‘Foundations of Marketing, McGraw Hill Kiprin, B., 2009, Apple iPhone Strategy [Available at] slideshare.net/bkiprin/apples-iphone-launch-marketing-strategy-analysis-2858373 [Accessed on 28 Nov 2010] Kotler, Wong, Saunders Armstrong, (2005) ‘Principles of Marketing’, Prentice Hall Marshal,K., 2010, As Apple tablet looms, Amazon Kindle adopts App Store revenue split [Available at]appleinsider.com/articles/10/01/20/as_apple_tablet_looms_amazon_kindle_adopts_app_store_revenue_split.html [Accessed on 24 Nov 2010] Oliver,S., 2009,   iPhone sales predicted to top 80 million by 2012 [Available at] appleinsider.com/articles/09/08/19/iphone_sales_predicted_to_top_80_million_by_2012.html [Accessed on 23 Nov 2010] O’grady,J.D., 2007, Appropriability, Proximity, Routines, [Availanle at http://www2.druid.dk/conferences/viewpaper.php?id=1675cf=9%20{^ [Accessed on 20 Nov 2010] Ong,J., 2010, China Unicom iPHone4 sales hit 100k [Available at] appleinsider.com/articles/10/09/30/china_unicom_iphone_4_sales_hit_100k_in_first_four_days.html [Accessed on 25 Nov 2010] Research and Markets, 2010, Chinese Mobile Market [Available at] researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?report_id=542976 [Accessed on 20 Nov 2010] Rhiain, 2010, Nokia C2 unleashed with Doubnle Sim [Available at] http://conversations.nokia.com/2010/06/03/nokia-c1-unleashed-with-double-sim-functionality-photo-gallery/ [Accessed on 29 Nov 2010] Sliwinska,D., anasinghe,J., Kardava,I., 2008, Apple Pricing Strategy [Available at] http://christophe.benavent.free.fr/IMG/pdf/AINI_2008_Apple_s_Pricing_Strategy.pdf [Accessed on 20 Nov, 2010] Squarejp, 2010,iPhone problems http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2489656 [Accessed on 29 Nov 2010] Tews,J., 2009, Smartphone Customer Satisfaction survey [Available at] http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2009224 [Accessed on 26 Nov 2010] Vertygoteam, 2010, iPHone Strategy Mistakes, vertygoteam.com/iphone_marketing_strategy.php [Accessed on 2 Dec 2010] Williams,A., Mullin,R., 2008, The handbook of field marketing, Kogan Page Publishers Appendix A. Marketing Mix Appendix B Porter 5 Forces 5 Forces Model (Adapted from Kotler et al, 2005 Apple Annual Reports, 2010) Porter 5 forces model helps to understand the marketing forces which affect any company brand. According to the above model: i)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Supplier power is quite strong as it has support of big companies like AT T, Orange, Vodaphone which are helping in the sales and also using their touch points to give products to the customers. They have enough financial capability to support the company. The low cost assembly unit in China is also helping to keeps the cost low. (Williams and Mullins, 2008) ii)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   New Entrants: The threat is quite high due to other big brands competing at the hardware, design and software level. Google and Microsoft want to capture the mobile software market. (Twes, 2009) iii)  Ã‚     Substitutes: Everyday there are more products coming in the market from communication medium like SKYPE, VOIP etc and smartphones, PDA and Chinese mobile are common everywhere, unless the company is innovative, they can’t stand in the market. (Kiprin, 2009) iv)  Ã‚   Rivalry: it is quite intense as all the mobile phones have dominance in their region and it will be difficult for iPhone to take over the market. All big brands like Sony, Nokia, LG etc. have enough funds to fight for the target market. (Williams and Mullins, 2008) v)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Buyers position is little week as the smartphones are made by manufacturers and the consumers have choices but there is no good replacement for iPhone which comes with its unique features. (O’grady, 2007) Appendix C.   Consumer Satisfaction survey (Tews, 2009)

Educating Aboriginal Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Educating Aboriginal Children - Essay Example The shift from this stance has been gradual. Many aspects of the Aborigines' lifestyle including cultural values, skills, behaviour and language are still considered as primitive and bad. Aboriginal English, which is a dialect of English used by their group, is considered as lazy and incorrect (Eades, 1995). There are several theoretical as well as practical implications of this kind of attitude for Aboriginal children in the school system. After closely examining case study one, it is evident that Ben's problems in class have their origin in his Aboriginal heritage. His English teacher views Ben's language skills as deficient and in need of urgent addressing The teacher's attitude is that Ben needs to change his language inorder to be assimilated into the society and does not consider integrating Ben's home language in the classroom. The classroom teacher perceives Ben to be behind in his stage development. The teacher is convinced that if Ben's speech patterns are not corrected, it would affect his future learning ability (case study 1). The teacher takes it upon herself to consult with the mother inorder to point out the problem to her so that together they may address the "anomaly". She considers it to be Ben's mother's job to teach him what she considers proper language so that he may be able to catch up in school. The teacher ignores the fact that Aboriginal English is the home language of both Ben and his mother. Ben's grandfather spoke the traditional Aboriginal language. It can therefore be presumed that Ben has only been exposed to Aboriginal English since his family as well as the surrounding community spoke Aboriginal English to him. His mother could not have taught him Standard English since she herself spoke Aboriginal English most of the time. According to the case study, the teacher has failed to recognize Aboriginal English as an important language used by the indigenous people. She also does not take into account the vast differences between Aboriginal English and the Standard English in her evaluation of Ben's literacy development. She has thus formed an opinion based on her misconceptions. Due to being treated as a special needs child, Ben has withdrawn to himself whereas he was outgoing. He has been unfairly targeted as a slow and lazy child just because he had learnt to speak Aboriginal English all his life while now he is expected to use Standard English in school. Aboriginal English refers to the numerous kinds of English spoken by the Aboriginal people in Australia. It originated from the British settlers who due to their reluctance to learn the indigenous languages made it necessary for the aboriginal people to, learn some English in there relations with them. The language that developed was simplified English used in situations of limited contact (Eades 1995). However the language gained prominence when different aboriginal groups began to use it. In the subsequent developments the language resulted in widespread Aboriginal dialects of English. Today aboriginal English is an important means of communication for most of the aboriginal people. It is also important to the aboriginal identity. (Eades 1995) The language bears several similarities to the Standard Engl

Asia Pacific Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Asia Pacific Business - Essay Example es in different countries to support the performance of their products or deal with the product development in that part of the world to ensure that they successfully control their industry and continue making sales (Jaussaud & Schaaper, 2007). The other industry that is much infested with many multinationals is the electronics field. The basic analysis reflects most of these companies with huge revenues and capital formations all over the world originate from the Asian community that has grown to control the world economy from the super powers of the past decades. The growth of the Asian community has much indicated from four major countries Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan. The study is going to involve an analysis from the two sectors of business that is electronics and automotives, which have taken a huge share of interest from the Asian community. To substantiate this view, the analysis of the multinationals will consider the different aspects of the businesses that make them unique and worth interest of the international community. The aspects of strength that allow them to dominate in their country of origin and further dominate in the world platform. One of the most successful multinational of all time from Japan Nissan has developed to become a global commodity that influences many economies. The company in the automobile sector has set up in many other countries all over the world with many working as assembly points while others running fully as the original company (Elger & Smith, 2005). The major strategy that the company has employed in its multinational approach has majorly focused on the strategic partnerships that have allowed it make alliances with other huge manufacturers in the field of automotives to create a clear competitive advantage. A good example is the alliance formed between Nissan and Renault of 2013 has created a storm in the automobile sector in France. The French automotive Renault has created an added advantage for Nissan in

Womens Democracatisation and Democracy in India

Womens Democracatisation and Democracy in India Problematising Democracatisation and Democracy in India Visions of political development demands/desires democracy and participation as innate to its discourse. Development in this sense thus needs democratic decisions making, informed and active civil society and inclusive political structure to reach its goal. In the Indian context the process of democratization with inclusive participation is desired through the 73rd- 74th amendment Act of Indian constitution, 1992. The Act fosters the strengthening of local government by creating opportunities for inclusive participation. It provides rights to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and women, the most marginalised in the hierarchical Indian society to participate in local government. Aiming to redress the gender and caste inequities the Act provides 33% reservation to the aforementioned categories to participate in local bodies. Post implementation of the Act that has now passed sixteen years, womens participation has been remarkably visible. This has recently resulted in Union cabinet approving a proposal of a constitutional amendment bill for increasing quota (50%) for women in Panchayats at all tiers (DNA 29th August, 2009). Media reports estimate more than 1.4 million women to occupy 2,52,000 Panchayat seats in future. It also states, at present out of the total elected representatives of panchayat numbering around 2.8 million, 36.87% are women. The Panchayat raj ministry report indicates a significant role played by reservation in bringing women into mainstream (ibid). According to this report, about four-fifth of all women representatives in panchayat elections got elected from reserved seats and about 83% of them entered politics through quota. Positive impact of entering politics and working as a panchayat raj functionary is visible as 79% of women representatives reported better self-esteem, 81% rep orted confidence building and 74% stated increase of decision-making abilities (ibid). Such a positive report gives a picture of better and inclusive governance that India is moving towards by applying gender and development approach. This step foresees increased active-participation of women in public sphere and their empowerment. However, we need to look critically at the political participation that is envisioned and the actual implementation. Would political participation also facilitate womens participation at decision-making? What would participation entail especially for Dalit women in terms of the dire consequences of their earnest assertion to realize their rights? What is the role that the 73rd Amendment Act envisages for Scheduled Caste and what is the role they end up playing? At the backdrop of increased efforts from the state for inclusive governance these are the lines of enquiry I intend to draw upon.   Dr. Ambedkar in the constituent Assembly, 1948 expressed his views on Indian villages What is a village but a sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow mindedness and communalism? (Mathew,G. Nayak,R.1996: 1). He questioned the why should the village become the locus of the political structure?(Palanithurai 2003: 27) Villages ruled by its dominant elites and upper caste have been very conservative and are based on traditional caste structure. Local self government thus would reinforce the villages as unites of elite captures exploiting the downtrodden at grassroots. Problem Statement/Justification/Purpose of research: Sixteen years of the passing of the 73rd constitutional amendment Act has brought about a remarkable change in local governance. The formal participation and involvement of Dalit and women has increased in local politics. At this juncture there is a need to undertake a reality check. Does formal participation means actual representation of Dalit women? Is the process of political participation inclusive and empowering? Does assertion of Dalit women leads to violence against them as they are not meant to participate actively? The paper looks at Dalit womens experiences of political participation in panchayat raj and its impact on their empowerment. My interest in the issue of Dalit women comes from a number of different sources. First, from a personal experience as inter alia a Dalit woman. I, see several facets to the Dalit womens experiences having been brought up with this identity and being from the same background. Secondly, experience of working with civil society organisations on Gender Justice and rights of Dalit women during the graduation as a part of field work, internship with CHR and volunteering in Dalit movement in India drew my attention to Dalit womens issues more prominently. During the process I met Dalit women activists from rural Maharashtra working at grass-roots and saw the constant problems they faced for they challenged the systemic oppression. The intersectionality of caste and gendered hierarchy that gets intensified as Dalit women enter the public sphere came forward as a new learning. The socio-cultural positioning and significantly the caste-class-gender interplay make Dalit womens experiences specific. I therefore wanted to document the experiences of Dalit women who enter the public sphere for the first time through formal mean such as political participation. Finally and most importantly my focus on Dalit womens political participation in Panchayat is because at policy level although the introduction of reservation to marginalised groups (Women, SCs, STs) at local body envisions inclusive democracy and better governance, in practice the local level politics is a crudest unit of oppression. Thus the need to study Dalit womens experiences of political participation arose from my own understanding and experience of the issue as well as Specificity of Being Dalit Women: Intersectionality Dalit women in India today number 80.517 million or approximately 48% of the total Dalit population, 16% of the total female population and 8% of the total Indian Population (Irudayam et al., 2006:1). Dalit women face discrimination on a daily basis, as a Dalit, as women and as a poor they are in extremely vulnerable position (National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights 2006:1). Dalit women make majority of unorganised labourer in urban settings and landless labourers in rural. Systemic violence against Dalit women can be seen as a mechanism to keep Dalit in a subordinated position. It is built in to the structure of the dominant society, which does not acknowledge the basic human rights of Dalit in general and Dalit women in particular. There is a clash between the expected role of Dalit women and the role they achieve because of the differential ways in which they negotiate their social status and gender norms. The new public role that the 1992 Act assigns them generates a clash betwee n traditional norms and the achieved political rights of Dalit women. Dalit women who have the ambition to occupy a political position frequently encounter resistance from the society. General discouragement becomes violence as soon as they show too much initiative, speak up and gain support from the larger community. Political participation for Dalit women is seen as a threat by the dominant caste groups. Dalit womens entry in politics is perceived as them securing entitlement to public resources. Strong Casteist and patriarchal biases against Dalit result in violent attacks, restraining Dalit women from exercising their rights through various mechanisms. There fore at academic level, I believe there is an urgent need to study the experiences of Dalit women participating in politics. It is at the village level that caste and gendered hierarchy plays out in crudest forms) With this premise I form objectives of my study the broad objective being: Study the experiences of Dalit womens right to political participation in rural Panchayat Raj system. I have following specific objective for the study: Explore the factors that restrain or facilitate participation of Dalit women in rural Panchayat Raj. Examine the impact of political participation on Dalit women in Panchayat Raj. Study the empowerment process of Dalit women through the political participation in Panchayat Raj. To suggest recommendations for effective participation of Dalit women in Panchayat Raj Research Question: Based on the objectives of study I formulated my research question for the enquiry What are the experiences of Dalit women participating in panchayat raj? Has the political participation impacted Dalit womens empowerment? What have been the attributing/restraining factors for the empowerment of Dalit women? What are the achievements of their political participation for themselves and for the Dalit community they represent and for the society in general? Feminist approach: Within feminist social science research, qualitative data, in particular in-depth interviews have  ´held a prominent place in the history of feminist inquiry ´ (Rabinowitz and Martin, 2001:44 in Kitzenger2003:126). Focus groups methods are also employed along with such talk about experiences. These are self-report methods. My choice of topic and feminist orientation required to utilize this method. This goes back to second wave of feminism (1970s) that emphasized the reclaiming and validation of womens experiences through listening womens voices (Kitzenger, 2003:125, Kirsch, 1999:4). The personal experiences of women have also been recognized in political context since then. Further Feminist social science researcher made it general to base their studies on womens voices and experiences. In fact feminist researches aimed at listening to womens different voices ´ (Gilligan, 1982 in Kitzenger, 2003:126) and  ´to address womens lives and experiences in their own terms, to create theory grounded in the actual experiences and language of women (DuBois, 1983: 108 in Kitzenger, 2003:126). With this historical reference I decided to apply feminist approach a most suitable analytic framework in my study of Dalit women sharing their experiences of Political participation. Methodology: This section methodology brings out the processes through which data is collected, collated, analyzed and interpreted. This is aimed at increasing the reliability of the study for the further validation as research is performed in order to be used. The study primarily adopts a qualitative approach as it helps to understand the subject of study through the experiences of the Dalit women. The paper focuses on the political participation and its impact on Dalit women.   It attempts to look critically at political participation of Dalit women and the trends of political participation at local level since the 73rd amendment Act, 1992. It does it so by documenting experiences of Dalit women and analyzing the complexities involved due to caste-class-gender interplay in the political participation process of Dalit women. These questions will only be answered by talking to Dalit women who have participated in the political processes. A systematic and comprehensive documentation of Dalit womens experiences at local governance is thus needed. For this purpose I decided to conduct a focused study based on qualitative primary data collected through field work. Methodology is one of the important sections of my research paper as the process of qualitative enquiry through field work has taught me more about my research topic along with the literature. After a considerable thinking process I decided that the method should be suitable to the research questions that I intend to address. As the research focuses on Dalit womens experiences the best method was to record their experiences through in-depth interviews. I intentionally kept the interviews unstructured as its being qualitative in nature, provides greater breadth. In-depth unstructured interviews allow researcher to explore a theme without being restricted to a series of questions. I being from a Dalit community and having worked on the Dalit womens issues came to my advantages as the discussions with Dalit women were focused at the same time gave scope to them to talk out their experiences without any hindrances. The rapport building and trust was achieved very easily. I lived in the f ield place with respondents and in special cases (there are three main cases) I stayed with the respondents for more than two days in order to understand and document the various dimensions involved in political participation of Dalit women. I used a question guideline that was formulated through the discussion with the expert in the field of research methodology and local governance[1] Sampling: The purposive (non-probability) sampling was utilized based on focus of my study to document and assess the experiences of Dalit womens political participation in local politics. Intentional and directed selection of Dalit women at grassroots politics was employed.   CHR, SPMM activists helped me identify data. Only one woman declined to give interview. The reason she declined itself interprets the problem faced by Dalit woman, I was informed by the activists that she Eighteen Dalit women in total were identified from three blocks of Beed district out of ten blocks and one block of Latur district. I selected ten out of eighteen Dalit women on the basis of sampling objectivity and representation of differences within Dalit women. Also, their diverse experiences of political participation were considered.   The sample was based on following interconnecting criteria. Panchayats at village level (Gram-Panchayats) newly elected Scheduled caste women President at village level SC women who had been Ex-Presidents Dalit women serving more than one tenure Dalit woman who tried but not succeeded in accessing panchayat post Cases where no-confidence motion was exercised on the Dalit women presidents Cases where abuse, beating up and atrocity inflicted Success-stories of active participation Finally 9 Dalit women from Beed District and one from Latur district of Marathwada region were selected. Three cases emerged as a main focus during my field work due to the special experiences of respondents. Though the sample was purposive I balanced sub-castes within scheduled castes by having respondents from Mahar and Mang (major scheduled castes of Maharashtra). Efforts were taken to include respondents with wide range of age in this study. Data collection: In the month of July, 2009 I visited the identified field place, Beed District, Marathwada region, Maharashtra. I already had established contacts with a human rights organization Campaign for Human Rights in Beed and its sister organization, Savitribai Phule Mahila Mandal (SPMM) which works on the issue of gender justice and womens empowerment through self help group.   With the consultation of Manisha Tokle (The founding secretary of SPMM) and Ashok Tangade (National secretary of CHR) I identified potential respondents from the selected blocks of Beed Distict. They also put me in contact with the field workers of CHR who handled these blocks. Manisha, Ashok and field workers gave me enriched information based on their field work experiences. Being well-versed with the area made them experts in the psycho-social behavior of people and the cultural challenges. Their guidance and discussions after interviews has been very important as something new would always emerge out of these d iscussions which I might not had thought during the interview. Their interpretations of the cases gave me crystallized views.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   CHR field activists from respective blocks accompanied me for every interview. They worked as informants. Their good rapports with the respondents, understanding of the region and the cultural meanings made my task easier. My own background being a Dalit woman was helpful in getting support from the respondents, establishing rapport and gaining their trust. In-depth unstructured interviews were recorded on the digital voice recorder. I maintained notes during and after every interview which helped me over come the problems in data analysis. The documentation of experiences of women was backed by my notes and suggestions from the field workers who discussed their interpretations after every interview. Informed consent: Before using the recorder I fully informed the respondents about the purpose of my study and the necessity to use the recorder Pictures of the respondents and the evidentiary documents wherever needed were taken for documentation. Interviews with expertise/ Key-Informants: I also consulted my ideas and paper with expertise as well as I interviewed key informants to gather their experiences in the field, on the issue FGD Area of study: The area of study was identified based on the characteristics of the region. The Marathwada region of the Maharashtra state was selected for the very peculiar reasons. First, Marathwada region being one of the most backward, feudal and atrocity prone regions of the Maharashtra state, second, a very special history of Dalit movement and violence against Dalits in the region and very importantly the right based work of Human rights organisations such as CHR, SPMM for the Dalit and womens upliftment. According to the first hand investigation and identification of cases I selected the following Blocks in Beed District and I took one exceptional case from Latur district that comes in Marathwada region itself.   1.1 Introduction The paper looks at how Dalit women, compared to women in general, are a different entity when they participate in Indias local self-governing institutions, known as Panchayat Raj Institutions. The 73rd Amendment of the Constitutional Act 1992, came into force in April 1993, providing an opportunity for Dalits and women – the most marginalised in the hierarchical Indian society – to participate in local-body elections at the village level. The Act, seeking to redress gender and caste inequities in rural India, provides 33% reservation to women, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes in local bodies. Within this 33%, Dalit women are provided reserved seats on a rotating basis (meaning, every five or ten years the constituencies reserved for dalits and women are changed). After more than 15 years of the Act, Dalit and Dalit womens participation has been remarkably visible. However, we need to look critically at the term participation and what it entails—especially i n terms of the consequences dalit women face when they earnestly assert their rights. What is the role that the 73rd Amendment Act envisages for women and what is the real role they end up playing? There is a clash between the expected role of women and Dalit women because of the differential ways in which they negotiate their social status and gender norms. The new public role that the 1992 Act assigns them generates a clash between traditional norms and the achieved political rights of Dalit women. Violence exercised against women, and specifically against Dalit women, when they participate in political work, in indicative of the stratifications that obtain in the Indian social order. Vulnerably positioned at the bottom of Indias caste, class and gender hierarchies, Dalit women experience endemic gender and caste discrimination and violence as the outcome of severely imbalanced social, economic and political power equations (Irudayam et al 2006, pp.3). Within the oppressive social structure Dalit women become victim of violence if they transgress their rights and try to challenge their lower status. As gender violence, like any violence there are contexts, in relation to violence against Dalit women, the nature and dynamics of these contexts, relating to power and force, make them vulnerable and functions as a constrain to their agency and voice. This structural violence is an outcome of gender based inequalities perpetuated by patriarchal power relation also shaped, compounded and intensified by caste discrimination. Violence acts as a crucial social mechanism to maintain Dalit womens caste-gender subordination to men and that of the dominant caste men thereby subjugating both Dalit women and through them their community. Violence against women is gender-based and gender biased (Irudayam et al., 2006: 17) in the sense it the devaluates womens status in social order perpetuated by patriarchy and justified on the basis of perceived differences between male and female sexuality. In Indian context the caste ladder descending from purity to pollution, purest Caste men being on the top of the ladder whereas the polluted caste placed on the lower rung women are pushed even further down to the lowest rung. It works against their integrity as an individual; this is a violation of womens rights, such as their identity as a woman and dignity as an individual. Therefore violence in this sense means denial of rights as an individual and hindering womans development at various levels of integrity, as an Individual, as a woman in a family, a woman belonging to certain community and culture. Norwegian sociologist Johan Galtung defines Violence as avoidable insult to basic human needs; he identifies the basic human ne eds as survival, well-being, identity, and freedom (Galtung 1990 pp 292). 1.2 Being a Dalit and a Woman:   Caste-Gender Nexus Dalit women face collective and public threat or act of violence which discourage them from demanding their rights, it is effects of structures on individual agency that results in the gap between potential and actual fulfilment of rights. Retaliatory violence is exercised in response to dalit womens assertions for their rights by defying caste, untouchability norms or asserting their rights to cultural, economic and political resources. Dominant caste women tend to be subjected to violence more within the family due to strict control over their sexuality and freedom of movement again due to the caste factors, in order to preserve the purity and status of their caste. There have been movements through out the country making Dalits aware of their rights and also there have been feminist movements in India which took up issues of women subordination however looking at Dalit women as an imagined category (Rao, 2003: 1) and analysing the premises which prevent them from exercising their agency is yet the area of exploration. Imagining Dalit women as a different category as Bhagvat mentions is needed, because these feminist movements and Dalit movements lack a critical dimension from Dalit womans standpoint. Guru emphasises on this Point while he talks about politics of difference to bring out the specificity of Dalit womens subjugation. This subjugation is characterised by their experience of two distinct patriarchal structures a Brahmanical form of patriarchy that deeply stigmatizes Dalit women because of their caste status, as well as the control by Dalit men over the sexual and economic labour of their women (Guru in Rao 2003: 1). Political Participation for women means securing their entitlement to public resources, the economic resources they will avail as a result of participation for them and their community, the social and political benefits such as Development of the Dalit community in village, implementation of government schemes for Dalit more democratically due their representation.   With the strong patriarchal biases against women and marginalised Dalit, the dominant caste male members would not want these sections to equally enjoy the resources over which they had monopoly since long. There has a lot been written and debated around political participation of women and Dalits, conclusions are made that there has been fairly good representation in terms of number but the mere participation doesnt help these sections to exercise their rights. Nature of participation and effectiveness of the act has been assessed too, although with limited vision of looking only at the quantitative aspect of political participation. Very little has been studied on the gender-Caste nexus which denies the right of economic, political, social liberties to Dalit community as a whole and Dalit women within it. Political participation through Panchayat Raj Institution has given space for women to come out and talk about their grievances. The reservation has limited itself to space creation even though it implied the empowerment of women and there by making them equal partners in enjoyment of political, social, economical resource. It is seen that the oppressive social structures have reaffirmed their superiority by attacking women through new ways of oppression such as criminalisation of politics, starting right from the election process to making women mere proxies of their male counterparts. Violence in the process of Political participation to ensure womens non- participate and exercise their agency is a crucial aspect to study and to enhance policies which will cut across the structural inequalities of caste-class-gender and give dalit women an equal status. I want to study Violence experienced by women at different levels of participation and look at the specificity of violence experienced by Dalit women being trice oppressed due to their marginalised status as a Dalit, as a woman and as a lower class. Doing so my focus is at specificities of violence, Violence faced by women in general which is within their families and is built around the family prestige, there by controlling womens sexuality for the purity of their lineage and superior status. whereas dalit women not only face violence from their own family and community also from the dominant caste forces who ensure their superiority and control over resources by keeping the Lowest strata at its place who according to them are worth no social, economical and political rights. 1.3 Problem Statement According to the 2001 census there are 167 million Dalits (referred to the census as scheduled castes) in India, who remain vulnerable to discrimination, exploitation, and violence because of their socially marginal position assigned by Hindu social order. Indias hidden apartheid relegates Dalits to a life time of segregation and abuse. Caste-based divisions continue to dominate in housing, marriage, employment, and general social interaction—divisions that are reinforced through economic boycotts and physical violence (Hidden Apartheid 2007). The dalit woman faces Caste, Class and Gender discrimination because she is an untouchable, of a poor class and is a woman.   (National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights 2006) Dalit women in India today number 80.517 million or approximately 48% of the total Dalit population, 16% of the total female population and 8% of the total Indian Population (Irudayam et al., 2006). They make majority of unorganised labourer in urban settings and landless labourers in rural. They face discrimination on a daily basis, as a Dalit, as women and as a poor they are in extremely vulnerable position. Systemic violence against Dalit women can be seen as a mechanism to keep Dalit in a subordinated position. It is built in to the total structure of the dominant society, which does not acknowledge the basic human rights of Dalit in general and Dalit women in particular. The 73rd -74th Amendments, former being for rural local bodies and later for urban local councils brought about radical changes in womens representation in local bodies. The method of co-option where women are elected for the reserved seats on the consensus of the members of local panchayat body or nomination, Balwant Rai Mehta committee report proposed two women representatives each from Scheduled caste and scheduled tribe to be co-opted, these two procedures through which womens representation was ensured hitherto in the local bodies, has changed. Under the previous system, womens representation in local bodies was low and most women nominated to these bodies could hardly perform any functions. All the states except for Bihar (Santha, 1999) had conducted the elections to the local bodies in accordance with the 73rd-74th Amendments act, 1992 and almost one million women have been elected to the Panchayat Raj institutions and urban local bodies (I am focusing only at 73rd constitutio nal amendment act 1992 and PRIs and not on urban councils covered by the 74th Amendment, where he dynamics are different). This brought about a social change in terms of the traditional role of women; which used to be to take care of house hold chores and raise children and be inside the four walls all her life. Womens political empowerment finally seemed to be receiving some attention from both government and non-government organisations. Serious efforts are being made towards documenting womens political participation although it is limited to the Local self government. Questions of feasibility remain unanswered such as womens active participation, hidden domination (gender blindness) for instance in the budgeting process but also even in considering women as political entities, many treated women elected through reservation as a temporary members in Local body. The consequences of assertion resulting in discouragement, fragmentation and discrimination inflicting violence are yet to explore. Violence against Dalit women is utilised to deny them opportunities, choices and freedoms at multiple levels, undermining not only dalit womens dignity and self respect, but also their right to develop. An intersectional caste violence and atrocities against Dalit women occur at two levels: as an inherent part of the caste system whereby violence is utilised to reinforce caste norms and Dalit women are seen as legitimate target for all forms of violence, especially sexual violence, and when they transgress caste norms, such as caste endogamy or untouchability norms, or assert their rights over resources, public spaces or cultural spaces. In other words, the process of Dalit womens empowerment itself is perceived as a challenge to caste and patriarchal structures, and provides fertile ground for punitive violence committed by dominant castes. (Irudayam et al., 2006) Factors such as socio-cultural notion of womens role act as impediments in effective political participation hindering political empowerment of Women; When it comes to Dalit women these factors play much intense role and are specific for Dalit women due to their social status, denial and even no recognition to Dalit womens political rights result into violence. Cases such as denial from villagers for flag hoisting by Dalit women councillors on Independence Day, not being allowed to sit on the chair along with other members let alone talking in the meeting, Ignoring while they talk, use of abusing and discriminatory language, and humiliation on daily basis are experienced by most of the Dalit women who participate as elected members in local political arena. After encountering this reality one would question that would the thousands years old socially, culturally, economically and most importantly politically entrenched patriarchal caste system ensured the representation of disadvantaged groups in politics?   1.4 Rationale: Being a Dalit and a Woman My interest in the issue of Dalit Women comes from several different sources; first and foremost me being a Dalit woman. Being brought up with this identity and background, I got exposure to the problem faced by elders of the family and community. I feel my study would contribute in critically assess structural inequality causing Dalit suppression and specifically of the Dalit women in local politics. In the name of social discipline, social balance and to maintain this social balance, Dalits in general and Dalit wom