Saturday, August 31, 2019

Persuasive Speech Eating Healthy with a College Lifestyle Essay

Specific Purpose: To inform the audience how to make nutritious eating choices when you’re strapped for time and on the move. Central Idea: Packing a lunch, choosing a restaurant and meal wisely, and keeping nutritious snacks available can all provide for nutritious eating habits even with an on the-go college lifestyle. Introduction: I. The average college student is often pressed for time. A. As a student are you typically under a lot of stress? B. Do you often find yourself eating on the go? II. I myself am a college student and find it difficult to avoid bad habits like skipping meals or frequently visiting fast food restaurants. III. But eating a healthy diet can help you feel better, cope with stress, and perform better in the classroom and on the athletic field. It really isn’t that hard to get started. IV. Packing a lunch, choosing a restaurant and meal wisely, and keeping nutritious snacks available can all provide for nutritious eating habits even with an on-the-go college lifestyle. (Transition: Let’s start by looking at packing your own lunch.) Body: I. Packing or preparing a lunch can really be a great way to start eating healthier. A. You have healthier options to choose from than you would eating out. B. As explained in the article â€Å"Coffee, Lunch Spending Tops Tax Refunds† packing a lunch is usually less expensive than eating out. The average spent on lunch alone is $37 a week, or $2,000 a year. C. Many convenient options available so you don’t have to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich everyday. 1. If you love sandwiches, use a variety of whole-grain breads, pitas, and wraps. 2. Extra food from dinner make great leftovers to bring for lunch, expert Connie Diekman, RD, president of the American Dietetic Association suggests â€Å"Leftovers are the perfect food to pack and take for lunch because you can control the portions and calories in the meal to ensure it will be nutritious, filling and delicious.† 3. Produce that can be cut, bagged and stored until lunch time: carrots, celery, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, sweet red pepper, sugar snap peas, apples, blueberries, grapes and melon. D. Bagged lunches can be  prepared the night before and can be made in a few minutes. for convenience so it is easy to eat healthy. (Transition: Going out for lunch is a common way to meet up with friends.) II. Making healthful and delicious choices in restaurants is also easier today. A. Restaurants are incorporating healthier choices into their menus with more options in portion sizes, preparation methods and menu items. 1. Choose a small or medium portion. This includes main dishes, side dishes, and beverages. 2. Order steamed, grilled, or broiled dishes instead of those that are fried or sautà ©ed. 3. Ask for whole-wheat bread for sandwiches. 4. As a beverage choice, ask for water instead of soda. One 20-ounce can of soda has approximately 22 packets of sugar. (â€Å"How Much Sugar Is In One Can Of Soda†) B. You can easily choose healthier items on the menu. 1. Ask them to hold the mayo and other fattening sauces. A tablespoon of regular mayonnaise has almost 100 calories! 2. Many fast-food chains now offer healthy sides in place of French fries. Take the healthy option. Even though they are made from potatoes, which are technically a vegetable, these are the biggest offenders. They are deep fried to the point of removing all nutritional value. In the opinion of physician Dr. Mercola French fries are one of the top 5 absolute worst foods you can’t eat. C. More and more restaurants are appealing to the demand for healthier menus. 1. Subway and other deli-style fast-food chains where you can order a sub or sandwich on whole wheat bread or a wrap, a lower-fat and lower-calorie option than fried food. 2. Between the breakfast and lunch menus, there’s only one entrà ©e at Chick-Fil-A that breaks 500 calories, and that’s the 530-calorie Sausage Biscuit. Chick-Fil-A received the highest rating fast-food restaurant in the â€Å"Eat This Not That! Restaurant Survival Guide,† by David Zinczenko. (Transition: Now that we have looked at bagged lunches and eating-out, let’s turn to snacking healthy.) III. Keeping healthy snacks easily accessible keeps hunger away. A. Make  it a habit to eat a piece of fruit, a bowl of cereal, or some low-fat yogurt before you set out to run errands. Regular eating can help you feel full and avoid temptation B. Blend a fruit smoothie or drink to take with you on your commute. C. Stock your car with bottled water and healthy snacks. Have a small snack before the cravings hit and you’re less likely to pull into that drive-through fast-food outlet. Conclusion: I. As we have seen, there are several options for eating healthy on the go. II. I have focused on packing a lunch, choosing a restaurant and meal wisely, and nutritious snacks. III. Healthy eating habits living a busy college lifestyle is possible with these points in mind. Bibliography: David, Zinczenko. Eat This Not That! Restaurant Survival Guide. Emmaus, PA: Rodale, 2010. Print. Kim, Susanna. â€Å"Coffee, Lunch Spending Tops Tax Refunds.† ABC News. ABC News Network, 23 Jan. 2012. Web. 07 Jan. 2013. â€Å"How Much Sugar Is in One Can of Soda?† How Much Sugar Is in One Can of Soda? N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Jan. 2013. Mercola, Joseph. â€Å"The Five Absolute Worst Foods You Can Eat.† Mercola.com. N.p., 18 Oct. 2003. Web. 07 Jan. 2013 Adams, Mike. â€Å"Five Appetite Control Foods That Suppress Cravings without Adding Calories.† Five Appetite Control Foods That Suppress Cravings without Adding Calories. Natural News Network, 20 Jan. 2005. Web. 07 Jan. 2013.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Emilio Jacinto’s Trading Cooperative

A1457 Cooperatives: Principles and practices in the 21st century Kimberly A. Zeuli and Robert Cropp ABOUT THE COVER IMAGE: The â€Å"twin pines† is a familiar symbol for cooperatives in the United States. The Cooperative League of the USA, which eventually became the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA), adopted it as their logo in 1922. The pine tree is an ancient symbol of endurance and immortality. The two pines represent mutual cooperation—people helping people. COOPERATIVES: ii Chapter 1 An introduction to cooperatives 1 Chapter 2 Historical development of cooperatives throughout the world 5Chapter 3 Cooperative history, trends, and laws in the United States 59 Chapter 8 Procedures for organizing a cooperative 69 Chapter 9 A summary of cooperative benefits and limitations 77 Notes 81 Glossary 85 Cooperative resources IN 49 Chapter 7 Cooperative financial management PRACTICES 39 Chapter 6 Cooperative roles, responsibilities, and communication & 27 Chapte r 5 Alternative business models in the United States PRINCIPLES 15 Chapter 4 Cooperative classification Contents Publication notes ? 89 THE 21ST CENTURY i Publication notes This publication is the fourth and most extensive revision of the Marvin A.Schaars’ text, Cooperatives, Principles and Practices, University of Wisconsin Extension—Madison, Publication A1457, July 1980. What has come to be known simply as â€Å"the Schaars book,† was originally written in 1936 by Chris L. Christensen, Asher Hobson, Henry Bakken, R. K. Froker, and Marvin Schaars, all faculty in the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Wisconsin—Madison. Since its first publication, the Schaars book has served as a basic reference for cooperative members and leaders, cooperative instructors and development specialists, and students of cooperatives throughout the UnitedStates and world. It has been translated into several languages. Although the Schaars book has been out of print for some time, the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives (UWCC) continues to receive regular requests for copies. Its straightforward, basic information on the organization, structure, financing, and management of cooperatives is as needed and relevant today as ever. The revisions in this version, which reflect over two decades of learning about cooperative development as well as new cooperative laws and ways of doing business, will hopefully make it even more useful.Although we focus on cooperative businesses in the United States, and draw most of our references from the agricultural sector, most of the book’s content is pertinent to cooperatives anywhere, in any sector. Readers are encouraged to seek out other publications that deal more extensively with cooperative laws in their own states and countries, and provide more detailed information on consumer, service and worker-owned cooperatives and credit unions. ii Kimberly Zeuli and Robert Cropp, Assistant Professor and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin—Madison, re responsible for all of the editing and most of the revised text. The following individuals also contributed to various chapters: David Erickson, Director of Member Relations, Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives E. G. Nadeau, Director of Research, Planning and Development, Cooperative Development Services David Trechter, Professor, University of Wisconsin— River Falls Richard Vilstrup, Professor Emeritus, Department of Animal Science and Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin—Madison This revision would not have been possible without generous funding from The CooperativeFoundation, Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. COOPERATIVES: CHAPTER 1 ? An introduction to cooperatives According to the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA): a cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their com mon economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise. Cooperative leaders around the world recognize the ICA, a non-governmental organization with over 230 member organAlthough the word â€Å"cooperaizations from over 100 countries, as a leading tive† can be applied to many uthority on cooperative definition and values. 2 different types of group activities, in this publication The ICA definition recognizes the essential the term is used to reference element of cooperatives: membership is voluntary. Coercion is the antithesis of cooperation. Persons a formal business model, compelled to act contrary to their wishes are not which has relatively recent origins. The earliest coopera- truly cooperating. True cooperation with others arises from a belief in mutual help; it can’t be tive associations were created in Europe and North dictated. In authentic cooperatives, persons join The first signs ofAmerica during the 17th and voluntarily and have the freedom to quit the cooporganized hunting 18th centuries. These associ- erative at any time. 3 The forced collectives prevaactivity based around lent in the former Soviet Union, for example, were ations were precursors to communities are associated with not true cooperatives. cooperatives. The pioneers Homo erectus, of the Rochdale Society in Another widely accepted cooperative definition is modern human 19th-century England are ancestors who lived the one adopted by the United States Department between 500,000 and celebrated for launching the f Agriculture (USDA) in 1987: A cooperative is a 1. 5 million years ago modern cooperative user-owned, user-controlled business that distributes in Africa. movement. The unique conbenefits on the basis of use. This definition captures tribution of early cooperative organizers in what are generally considered the three primary England was codifying a guiding set of principles cooperative principles: user ownership, user and instigating the creation of new laws that control, and proportional distribution of benefits. helped foster cooperative business development. The â€Å"user-owner† principle implies that the peopleToday, cooperatives are found in nearly all countries. Chapters 2 and 3 trace the remarkable history who use the co-op (members) help finance the coof cooperative development internationally and in op and therefore, own the co-op. Members are responsible for providing at least some of the the United States. cooperative’s capital. The equity capital contribution of each member should be in equal proportion to that member’s use (patronage) of the coop. This shared financing creates joint ownership The cooperative model has been adapted to (part of the ICA cooperative definition). numerous and varied businesses.In 1942 Ivan G roups of individuals around the world and throughout time have worked together in pursuit of common goals. Examples of coop eration, or collective action, can be traced back to our prehistoric predecessors who recognized the advantages of hunting, gathering, and living in groups rather than on their own. What is a cooperative? Emelianoff, a respected cooperative scholar, remarked that â€Å"the diversity of cooperatives is kaleidoscopic and their variability is literally infinite. †1 As a consequence of this diversity, no universally accepted definition of a cooperative exists.Two definitions, however, are commonly used. PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES IN The â€Å"user-control† concept means that members of the co-op govern the business directly by voting on significant and long-term business decisions and indirectly through their representatives on the board of directors. Cooperative statutes and bylaws usually dictate that only active co-op members (those who use the co-op) can become voting directors, although non-members sometimes serve on boards in a non-voting, advisory THE 21ST CENTURY 1 cap acity. Advisory directors are becoming more common in large agricultural cooperatives in theUnited States, where complex financial and business operations require the expertise of financial and industry experts. Only co-op members can vote to elect their board of directors and on other cooperative actions. Voting rights are generally tied to membership status—usually one-member, one-vote—and not to the level of investment in or patronage of the cooperative. Cooperative law in a number of states in the United States and in other countries, however, also permits proportional voting. Instead of one vote per member, voting rights are based on the volume of business the member transacted he previous year with the cooperative. Generally, however, there is also a maximum number of votes any member may cast to prevent control by a minority of members. For example, a grain cooperative might permit one vote to be cast for each 1,000 bushels of grain marketed the year before, but any single member would be limited to a maximum of ten votes. Democratic control is maintained by tying voting rights to patronage. Equitable voting rights, or democratic control (as written in the ICA definition), are a hallmark of cooperatives. â€Å"Distribution of benefits on the basis of use,† escribes the principle of proportionality, another key foundation for cooperatives. Members should share the benefits, costs, and risks of doing business in equal proportion to their patronage. The proportional basis is fair, easily explained (transparent), and entirely feasible from an operational standpoint. To do otherwise distorts the individual contributions of members and diminishes their incentives to join and patronize the cooperative. 2 Co-op benefits may include better prices for goods and services, improved services, and dependable sources of inputs and markets for outputs. Most ooperatives also realize annual net profits, all or part of which are returned to members in proportion to their patronage (thus, they are aptly called patronage refunds). Cooperatives can also return a portion of their profits as dividends on investment. In the United States, however, federal and most state statutes set an 8 percent maximum on annual dividend payments. The purpose of these limits is to assure that the benefits of a cooperative accrue to those who use it most rather than to those who may have the most invested; the importance of capital is subordinated. Today, some co-op leaders and scholars consider his dividend restriction arbitrary and harmful to cooperatives. From their perspective, the 8 percent maximum makes investing in cooperatives less attractive than investing in other forms of business. It makes cooperatives less competitive as well, especially in the agricultural processing sector, which requires a lot of capital for start-up and growth. An overview of the federal laws that govern cooperatives in the United States is included in chapter 3. Why cooperate? People who organize and belong to cooperatives do so for a variety of economic, social, and even political reasons.Cooperating with others has often proven to be a satisfactory way of achieving one’s own objectives while at the same time assisting others in achieving theirs. Farmers create farm supply and marketing cooperatives to help them maximize their net profits. This requires both effective marketing of their products for better prices as well as keeping input costs as low as possible. The farmers recognize that they are usually more efficient and knowledgeable as producers than as marketers or purchasers. By selling and buying in larger volumes they can also usually achieve better prices. COOPERATIVES: CHAPTEREmployees organize bargaining associations and labor unions to negotiate collectively with management and owners. In some cases, employees form worker-owned cooperatives. As the name suggests, a worker-owned cooperative is owned and controlled by its em ployees. 4 Employees establish bargaining units and cooperatives in the hopes of increasing their wages and fringe benefits, improving their general working conditions, and ensuring job security. Cooperatives do not, as is sometimes assumed, contradict the goals of capitalism. If that were the case, cooperatives would not play such an important role in the American economy.About 48,000 cooperatives, operating in nearly every business sector imaginable, serve 120 million members, or roughly 4 out of 10 Americans. 5 The top 100 cooperatives in the United States, ranked by revenue, individually generated at least $346 million in revenue during 2002 and in the aggregate, $119 billion. 6 They represent agriculture, finance, grocery, hardware, healthcare, recreation, and energy industries (figure 1. 1). An introduction to cooperatives Consumer cooperatives are established to sell the products a group of consumers want but cannot find elsewhere at affordable prices. The consumer embers are primarily interested in improving their purchasing power—the quantity of goods and services they can buy with their income. They naturally wish to get as much as possible for their money in terms of quantity and quality. As owners, the members have a say in what products their stores carry. 1 ? Cooperatives are especially important to agriculture. In 2002, 3,140 agricultural cooperatives provided roughly 3. 1 million farmers (many farmers are members of more than one cooperative) with agricultural marketing, farm supplies, and other farm-related services. They captured 28 percent of the market share. Figure 1. 1. Top 100 revenue generating cooperatives in the U. S. by sector, 2002 PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES IN THE 21ST CENTURY 3 In terms of non-agricultural cooperatives, 84 million Americans are members of 9,569 credit unions, 865 electric co-ops serve 37 million people in 47 states, over 1. 5 million families live in housing cooperatives, and over 3 million people are members o f 5,000 food cooperatives. 8 The involvement of so many people in cooperatives in such a highly competitive economy reflects the general satisfaction of members toward their companies and the apparent efficiency and solid inancial performance of these businesses. Chapter 4 provides a more comprehensive discussion of the various types of cooperatives and the extent of their economic success in the United States. In short, cooperatives are organized to serve member needs and are focused on generating member benefits rather than returns to investors. This member-driven orientation makes them fundamentally different from other corporations. Additional cooperative structural characteristics and guiding principles further distinguish them from other business models. In most countries, the cooperative model represents only one of several ifferent ways a business can choose to legally organize. Chapter 5 presents a comparison of the six major alternative business models in the United States . Cooperative management and development To prosper, cooperatives must be well organized, well financed, well managed, and governed well by a committed membership. They must be progressive, adapting to changing business climates, and responsive to their members’ changing needs. Members, the board of directors, and management each have responsibilities within the cooperative. Strong, viable cooperatives require all three groups to do their share.Chapter 6 describes each group’s unique and important role. 4 Although capital, employees, business volume, and good management practices are all very important for successful operations, a co-op’s members are its most important asset. Cooperative success also hinges on effective member education and communication. Indeed, providing education, training, and information to members is one of the seven cooperative principles adopted by the ICA. The unique education needs of cooperatives and the essential elements for a succe ssful education and communication program are also discussed in chapter 6.Cooperative financing is also critical and in today’s complex cooperative organizations it can be quite complicated. Adequate capital is one of the fundamental principles of sound business operation and at the same time one of the biggest challenges facing cooperatives today. Financing options must be consistent with principles of cooperation as well as with federal and state laws. Chapter 7 lays out the main concepts behind cooperative financing, including alternative sources of capital and equity redemption plans. As with other business forms, cooperatives should be established only to meet a well-defined need in he market. Before cooperatives are created, advance research should be done by a steering committee to ensure sufficient support by other potential members in the community. Chapter 8 discusses in greater detail the procedure for organizing cooperatives. A good feasibility study, strong membe rship drives, and a comprehensive business plan are essential ingredients. A final analysis of the cooperative model’s benefits and limitations, to members and the broader community, is presented in chapter 9. COOPERATIVES: CHAPTER Revolutionary roots in England The first cooperative businesses created in Europe rose during periods of great social upheaval and distress caused by dramatic shifts in agricultural and industrial production practices. Prior to the Industrial Revolution (about 1750-1850), most families in England and other parts of Europe were largely self-sufficient, creating enough food and goods for their subsistence and small amounts for trading. The Industrial Revolution introduced the factory system of production and was marked by a rapid succession of remarkable inventions that accelerated the industrialization of business. Examples of inventions during this period include smelting iron with coal instead of charcoal, the otton gin and power loom, and the ste am engine. The writings of Adam Smith at the time, especially his advocacy of the laissez faire principle (no government intervention in the economy), further spurred the revolution. The industrial system gradually replaced cottage industries and home-based production. Workers were required to move into cities to find work. Away from land, their families were increasingly integrated into a market economy; instead of pro- PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES IN ducing most of their household requirements, especially food, they had no other choice but to purchase them. Advances in production were not, nfortunately, accompanied by fair labor standards. Workers were typically paid very low wages and were subjected to harsh working conditions. 10 People remaining in rural areas were not much better off. An agricultural revolution was already well underway in the 18th century. The introduction of new cultivation methods and crop varieties supported a dramatic change in land tenure patterns. Scattered, small plots of farmland were aggregated into large, enclosed estates, primarily for the purpose of grazing sheep and other live- The historical development of cooperative businesses cannot be disconnected from the social and conomic forces that shaped them. Co-ops then, as now, were created in times and places of economic stress and social upheaval. 9 stock. Between 1760 and 1843, nearly seven million acres of agricultural land in England were enclosed in estates. As a result, large numbers of small farmers were driven from their land into neighboring towns and villages with few remaining jobs. A movement towards greater freedom of expression was another hallmark of this revolutionary period. The citizens of England began to publicly dissent with government policies, taking issue with the status quo and demanding more personal ights. Therefore, the widespread poverty, unemployment, and general social deterioration that were left in the wake of the industrial and agricultural revolut ions were met with a public outcry to the government for improved working and living conditions. THE 21ST CENTURY Historical development of cooperatives throughout the world T he historical development of cooperative businesses cannot be disconnected from the social and economic forces that shaped them. Co-ops then, as now, were created in times and places of economic stress and social upheaval. 9 Ancient records and archeological discoveries oint to the existence of cooperative organizations created by early civilizations in diverse parts of the world (China, Greece, Egypt, etc. ). But it is the founders of the Rochdale Society in 19th century England who are celebrated for launching the modern cooperative movement. The Rochdale pioneers, and the early European cooperative thinkers and organizers who laid the foundation for their success, are responsible for codifying a guiding set of principles that helped guide the development of cooperatives across the world. 2 ? 5 Early coopera tive societies Robert Owen and In the absence of public assistance, the people ofCharles Fourier— Europe established various types of self-help organizations. Mutual fire insurance companies Cooperative visionaries existed in London and Paris as early as 1530, although the first highly successful and wellknown example was organized in England in 1696, the Amicable Contributionship. 11 The people of England also created Mutual Aid Societies (they eventually became known as Friendly Societies) that offered financial payments and assistance to members in times of sickness, unemployment, or death. 12 By the mid-18th century many well-established societies were already in operation.They were legalized with the passing of the first Friendly Society Act (also called the Rose Act) in 1793. A number of bills were introduced in the 19th century to encourage Friendly Societies since they lessened the public burden. 13 Workers organized labor unions to bargain with employers for more fav orable working conditions and to lobby the government for improved labor legislation. Cooperative or quasi-cooperative industrial businesses were in operation in England by 1760. Most were consumer-controlled organizations focused on flour milling and baking industries. Cooperative orn mills for grinding flour appeared in a number of cities shortly after the turn of the 19th century to cut the cost of flour and prevent tampering by greedy millers. Purchasing cooperatives already existed in most Western European countries by the 18th century. The Weaver’s Society in Fenwick, Scotland (often referred to as â€Å"penny capitalists†) began to purchase supplies as a group in 1769. 14 The precursors to mutuals and unions were guilds, the associations of merchants, artisans, and craftsmen that date back to Medieval times. Guilds had binding rules for production and business practices.Although guilds were created partially in an attempt to establish local trade monopolies, the y incorporated socialist practices: member control, equitable treatment of all members, and financial support of members who were ill or faced family crises. 6 â€Å"Often men wish to escape the realities of life, and when they do, they dream of Utopias. † 15 The first cooperative movement, that is, the establishment of a coherent argument for the cooperative form of organization, gained momentum in the early 19th century with the writings and advocacy efforts of Robert Robert Owen (1771- Owen and William King in 858):â€Å"The Father England and Charles Fourier in of Cooperation. † France. Robert Owen and Charles Fourier were both well-known Utopian Socialists; not only did they envision ideal societies, they tried to create them in Europe and the United States. 16 Robert Owen (1771-1858) was a prominent industrialist who began to advocate the establishment of a new type of community to alleviate the poverty and suffering caused by the Industrial Revolution. Charles F ourier (1772-1837) was a bourgeois, famous French social philosopher whose plans for self-reliant communities were motivated by the French Revolution and his view hat the working class was being dehumanized and repressed. They both envisioned rural villages composed of farms and small-scale industry, all operated cooperatively by the citizens who would also live together communally. Owen originally conceived of these communities as a solution for unemployment, but later believed (like Fourier) that they were a better alternative to private capitalism and competition, providing self-employment opportunities and other conditions that would provide universal happiness. Fourier called his planned communal cities â€Å"phalanxes. † COOPERATIVES: CHAPTER Fourier never found philanthropists willing to fund he creation of a phalanx. After his death, several were attempted in France and more than thirty organized in the United States. 18 The most notable in the United States were Broo k Farm, near Cambridge, Massachusetts (1842-1846), and one in Fond du Lac County (now the city of Ripon), Wisconsin (1845-1850). The phalanxes suffered from a conflict between treating everyone equally and rewarding those who provided more capital and labor. The phalanx model, however, influenced the successful kibbutzim in Israel (discussed later). Owen was a visionary idealist, not a realistic cooperative developer.He was not at all interested, therefore, in helping the early consumer cooperatives in England:â€Å"Joint stock retailing is not the Social System which we contemplate†¦and will not form any part of the arrangements in the New Moral World. †19 In 1839 he did not even bother to respond to an urgent request by Charles Howarth to visit Rochdale, England to discuss organizational plans for a new retail cooperative. Owen’s attack upon individualism, the family, competition, private property, the market economy, and organized religion, alienated many peopl e from cooperation and provoked condemnation of cooperatives from various religious groups.Even so, Owen is often called the â€Å"father of cooperation. † Despite his failures, Owen continued preaching that cooperative production and living were the best medicines for the ills of society. His advocacy stimulated the creation of cooperative societies, labor exchanges (where handicrafts were traded based on the amount of labor involved in their making), and trade unions. Although most of the organizations he started lasted only a short time, PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES IN they provided the groundwork for another generation of cooperative development in Europe and North America. William King—A cooperative developer and pragmatist Dr. William King (1786-1865), another social reformer in England, was in many respects more responsible than Robert Owen for spreading the cooperative idea and for the actual organization of cooperatives. Although he accepted much of Owen’s so cial philosophy, he disagreed on how to reach those goals. King was more realistic about cooperatives, advocating and inspiring the development of consumer cooperatives across England. As a physician, King became interested in improving the welfare of the working people of Brighton, England. He was involved in organizing numerous ocial and educational institutions, including an infants’ school, a mechanics’ institute, and a library. Between 1828 and 1830, King published (at his own expense) a small magazine called â€Å"The Cooperator† that was widely distributed throughout England. Its 28 issues were a source of inspiration, information, and instruction on cooperation in theory as well as in practice. The magazine advocated a more realistic type of cooperation within reach of the working class. King believed that cooperatives should start small with the original capital supplied by members, a significant deviation from Owen and Fourier’s arge-scale opera tions funded by wealthy investors. King did not necessarily object to Owen’s self-sustaining cooperative communities, as long as they were funded with the members’ own capital and were restricted to Christians. King was a religious fundamentalist who believed that biblical scripture should guide the ethics and operations of cooperatives. He also taught that cooperatives should not pay patronage refunds, but instead reinvest all net profits to increase the scope of their activities and to employ as many members as possible. King also proposed the following guidelines for consumer cooperatives: THE 1ST CENTURY Historical development of cooperatives throughout the world Owen and Fourier were not abstract thinkers; they laid out very specific details for their communities. For instance, they believed that the communities should contain 1,000-1,800 people living on a relatively small tract of land. Fourier was more explicit: the area should be three square miles. 17 Wealthy supporters of Owen’s ideas were willing to finance the creation of such communities. Four were eventually created: New Harmony, Indiana (USA); Orbiston, Scotland; Ralahine, Ireland; and Queenswood, England. All ultimately failed. 2 ? 7 1) members should pay cash for all merchandise purchased at the cooperative; (2) the co-op should adopt democratic principles of governance; and (3) it should publicize the cooperative movement. In addition to the advocacy of Owen and King, the cooperative movement in England was supported by a number of short-lived cooperative journals, which were circulated between 1825 and 1830. Cooperative congresses also advocated and promoted cooperation; the first took place in 1830 in Manchester, the second in 1831 in Birmingham, and the third in 1832 in London. Owen’s influence and rhetoric were exhibited in these and later congresses.For instance, the Third Congress stated that â€Å"the grand ultimate object of all cooperative societies is c ommunity on land. † What began with a few cooperative societies in 1826 quickly grew to about 300 consumer cooperatives by 1830, many patterned after King’s Brighton Cooperative Trading Association. King’s ideas may have also influenced early American cooperatives. A treasurer of a cooperative in Brighton, England, William Bryan, helped organize a consumer cooperative in New York City in 1830. King was compelled to discontinue his active role in the cooperative movement in the late 1830s for wo reasons: his medical practice was suffering and poor management and internal discontent plagued individual co-op stores. By 1840, the cooperative movement in England was basically at a standstill and King’s ideas were forgotten, ignored in the cooperative literature for several decades. The Rochdale Pioneers In the first wave of consumer cooperatives, a shortlived society was created in Rochdale, England in 1833. James Smithies, one of the original organizers, was i nspired by King’s cooperative magazine and shared it with his co-founders. Their ultimate cooperative goals, however, echoed Owen’s teachings.Although their first co-op effort failed after only two years, a core group of 28 continued to work actively for social reform and eventually created the prototype cooperative model for a modest shop on Toad Lane in 1844. The so-called Rochdale Pioneers were ambitious and had lofty goals for their co-op: (1) to sell provisions at the store; (2) to purchase homes for their members; (3) to manufacture goods their members needed; and (4) to provide employment for their members who were either out of work or poorly paid. In sum, they wanted to â€Å"establish a self-supporting home colony of united interests† nd to â€Å"arrange the powers of production, distribution, education, and government† in the interests of its members. In addition, they hoped to open a â€Å"temperance hotel† in one of the cooperative hou ses to promote sobriety. The foundation for the Rochdale cooperative was built upon the intelligent combination of various ideas that had been tried by previous cooperatives. The Pioneers learned from the co-op failures of the past. For example, the business practices they adopted for their small store, later called the Rochdale Principles (sidebar), were novel primarily in their combination; many had been borrowed rom other cooperatives. The original Rochdale Cooperative shop on Toad Lane. It is now preserved as a museum. 8 COOPERATIVES: CHAPTER The Industrial and Provident Societies Act, authorized in England in 1852, was a major development in the cooperative movement. Prior to the enactment of this law, the Friendly Societies Acts of 1834 and 1846 regulated the registration of cooperatives, even though these acts were designed for mutual-aid groups and not for businesses engaged in trade. Therefore, the consumer cooperatives did not have the proper legal protection essential for their business operations.The acts further prevented them from selling to people other than their members. 1. Voting is by members on a democratic (one-member, one-vote) basis. 2. Membership is open. 3. Equity is provided by members. 4. Equity ownership share of individual members is limited. 5. Net income is distributed to members as patronage refunds on a cost basis. 6. Dividends on equity capital are limited. 7. Exchange of goods and services at market prices. 8. Duty to educate. 9. Cash trading only. 10. No unusual risk assumption. 11. Political and religious neutrality. 12. Equality in membership (no discrimination y gender). Adapted from David Barton,â€Å"Principles,† in David Cobia (ed. ), Cooperatives in Agriculture. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1989. Some of the Rochdale Principles, such as democratic control (one-member, one-vote) and limited dividends on equity capital, are still followed by most cooperatives around the world. Other principles, such as ca sh trading, are clearly outdated in most countries where credit cards and (in agricultural co-ops) seasonal loans are the norm. As a set of guiding principles, they are not necessarily appropriate for all types of cooperatives in all locations.They are after all a product of a historical period and economy and were meant to govern a small retail store (see chapter 4 for further discussion of cooperative principles). The phenomenal success of the Rochdale cooperative, which is still in operation today, was just the boost that the cooperative movement in England needed. Rochdale became the cooperative beacon for others to follow. It provided the organizational pattern that became the prototype for other cooperatives and spurred on the cooperative movement in Europe and North America. PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES IN The Industrial and Provident Societies Act rovided both important legal protections for the cooperatives while also imposing some operating restrictions. It protected the propert y of the societies, gave binding legal authority for their rules, safeguarded the savings of their investors, allowed them to sell to non-members, and provided legal status so that an association could sue fraudulent officials. It allowed cooperatives to pay patronage refunds on purchases but limited dividends on shares of stock to five percent. Although members still faced unlimited liability for cooperative debts, share limits of ? 100 per member were enforced.The passage of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act of 1862 loosened some of the restrictions and provided limited liability for members, meaning they would be liable only for co-op debts less than or equal to the value of their stock. Share limits were increased to ? 200 per member and cooperatives were permitted to invest in other cooperatives. As a result of these changes, the organization of the North of England Co-operative Society became possible. Established in 1863 to create cost savings for members by purchasi ng a variety of goods in bulk, today the Co-operative Group comprises a family of businesses employed n a wide range of activities (food, finance, farms, funerals, etc. ). It is a unique consumer-owned business that is the largest of its kind in the world. THE 21ST CENTURY Historical development of cooperatives throughout the world The first cooperative law Rochdale cooperative principles 2 ? 9 The beginnings of cooperative credit During the 1840s, later called â€Å"the Hungry Forties,† famine and extreme hardship spread throughout Europe. A blight ruined potato crops in many European countries, although Ireland was the most severely hit, during 1845-47. The shortage of potatoes drove up other food prices.Low fishing yields further exacerbated the food shortage, which caused millions of deaths and led to severe economic depression, high unemployment, and political unrest in the region. The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848. During this same year, F. W. Raiffeisen, a mayor of a group of villages in Northern Germany, created a cooperative society to alleviate some of the suffering in his community. The cooperative gave potatoes and bread to the poor. He soon realized, however, that charity alone could not solve the problems of poor farmers; they needed to become self-sufficient and earn more money. Raiffeisen hen started to organize loan societies, which embraced various cooperative features. Although Raiffeisen continued to advocate self-help, his first societies were mainly efforts to transfer money from the rich to the poor. In 1862, he helped the rural farmers of the little town of Anhausen organize a truly cooperative loan society. Early agricultural marketing and farm supply cooperatives in Europe Denmark is generally regarded as the most outstanding example of early and successful cooperative farm marketing and farm supply organizations. 20 The first cooperative creamery in Denmark was established in 1875 at Kaslunde. The early ooperative creameries incorporated some significant improvements in the butter-making process, including a standardized grading system. The high quality butter was marketed under a government brand to reflect their supervision of the grading. The first cooperative creameries were very successful. News of their success and popularity spread to other rural areas of Denmark; many others were soon organized throughout the country. These developments took place without government assistance or subsidies. The early and striking success of cooperatives in Denmark can be primarily attributed to the role of the Folk High School.An institution unique to the country, this school educated young adults in rural areas. The schools were inspired by the philosopher and clergyman, Bishop Nikolai (N. S. F. ) Grundtvig (1783-1873), and popularized by Kristen Meanwhile, Herman Schulze had created a somewhat similar credit institution among artisans Kold, an educator. Grundtvig established the first in Eilenburg i n 1850. He further refined this model Folk High School in 1844; the one created by Kold in 1851, however, was more successful and widely to fit the credit needs of artisans and other smallscale industries and developed other credit organi- replicated.The mission of the schools was to enlighten Danish citizens (beyond what they were zations. Raiffeisen may have been familiar with learning in primary schools) so they could particithese organizations and used them to inform his pate in the governance of the kingdom. They were own co-op development efforts. Both the not meant to be vocational or cooperative training Raiffeisen and Schulze cooperative bank models schools but rather designed to expose students to rapidly spread across Europe. Features of both new ideas and experiences. Today, we would call models were used to form credit unions in North them liberal arts schools.Numerous such schools America. Incidentally, the Credit Union National still thrive in Denmark. Although suppor ted finanAssociation’s headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin was called â€Å"Raiffeisen House† for a number of years. cially by the state, they are free to set their own curricula and are required to be nonvocational and without examinations. 10 COOPERATIVES: CHAPTER Cooperatives around the world The cooperative movement gradually spread around the world in the 19th century (table 2. 1). Another notable cooperative advocate is Sir Horace Plunkett (1854-1932), an Irishman (who spent 10 years as a cattle rancher in the UnitedStates in the 1800s) famous for advocating the benefits of agricultural cooperatives in Ireland and beyond. 21 He was instrumental in creating an international cooperative movement and promoting the cooperative principle of political neutrality. The Irish Cooperative Organization Society (formerly the Irish Agricultural Organization Society), originally founded by Plunkett in 1894, is located in The Plunkett House in Dublin. Today, cooperative business es are found in nearly all countries, from the developing nations of Africa, Asia, and South America to the industrial countries of Europe and North America.Northern Europe, where the cooperative movement took hold very early, still contains a strong cooperative presence, especially in agriculture. Many of the cooperatives in these countries have long histories and are extremely successful. However, as is the case in the United States (see chapter 3), economic pressures have been met with cooperative mergers and consolidations. As a result, cooperative numbers in these countries appear quite low (tables 2. 2 and 2. 3). Cooperative numbers in India, even on a per capita basis, are by comparison astounding. In the case of India and other countries with relatively high ooperative numbers, this situation typically reflects the existence of numerous, local cooperatives. More cooperatives do not imply necessarily that the cooperative sector as a whole is stronger or more competitive, howe ver. The spread of the cooperative business model from 18th century England to such diverse countries as India, Korea and Uganda, points to the universal adaptability and diversity of the cooperative model. Cooperative businesses are found in nearly all countries, from the developing nations of Africa, Asia, and South America to the industrial countries of Europe and North America. PRINCIPLES PRACTICES IN THE 21ST CENTURY Historical development of cooperatives throughout the world Folk High Schools created trained, rural leadership. They also established bonds of trust among those who came to live and study at the schools. The students developed a willingness to think together, work together, and play together—in short, to cooperate. Although not an intended outcome, the spirit of cooperation produced in these schools has been, without doubt, an important factor in the growth of Denmark’s cooperative movement. 2 ? 11 Table 2. 1. Historical cooperative statistics for se lected countries CountryFirst co-op First co-op law Membership (% of population) Albania 1946 NA NA Austria 1794 1873 47. 4 Belgium 1848 1873 35. 4 Czech Republic 1852 1873 13. 4 Denmark 1851 NA 34. 2 Finland 1870 1901 45. 8 France 1750 1887 30. 1 Germany 1845 1867 27. 9 Greece 1780 1914 9. 9 Iceland 1844 1937 20. 0 Ireland 1859 1893 59. 5 Italy 1806 1886 13. 3 Lithuania 1869 1917 6. 8 Luxembourg 1808 1884 4. 8 Netherlands 1860 1855 41. 1 Norway 1851 1935 36. 4 Poland 1816 1920 NA Portugal 1871 1867 21. 9 Romania 1852 1903 28. 5 Russia 1825 1907 9. 5 Spain 1838 1885 11. 1 Sweden 1850 1895 53. 7 Switzerland 1816 1881 50. 1 Turkey 1863 867 12. 9 United Kingdom 1750 1852 16. 6 United States 1752 1865 56. 7 Yugoslavia 1870 1925 6. 5 NA = not available Source: Adapted from Shaffer, J. (1999). Historical dictionary of the cooperative movement. London: Scarecrow Press, Inc. (pp. 437-39). 12 COOPERATIVES: CHAPTER Region Number of countries Organizations Individual members Societies Africa 1 2 19 27,214 9,561,443 Americas 18 61 43,945 182,486,437 Asia 28 64 480,648 414,383,079 Europe 35 88 197,293 118,473,862 Total 93 232 749,100 724,904,821 Source: International Co-operative Alliance, www. coop. org/statistics. html (July 1,1998). Table 2. 3.Agriculture cooperative statistics from select countries Number of co-ops Country Membership (millions) Brazil 4,744 3. 74 Canada 7,880 14. 52 Columbia 1,936 4. 82 Denmark 1,446 1. 39 Egypt 6,992 4. 28 46 1. 07 23,573 17. 49 Finland France Germany 9,112 21. 64 India 446,784 182. 92 Israel 256 0. 03 Japan 3,860 42. 84 NA 0. 63 Morocco 9,635 0. 68 Norway 4,259 1. 59 Repub. Korea 7,669 17. 07 15,106 Historical development of cooperatives throughout the world Table 2. 2. Cooperatives and membership by international region 2 ? 4. 78 Mexico Sweden Switzerland Uganda United Kingdom United States Zambia 16 1. 51 3,131 0. 4 42 9. 04 27,076 156. 19 2,174 0. 57 Source: International Co-operative Alliance, www. coop. org/statistics. html (Apri l 26, 2002). PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES IN THE 21ST CENTURY 13 14 COOPERATIVES: CHAPTER The driving forces behind cooperative development in the United States include the following five interrelated dynamics: 1. Market failure (monopoly power, excess supply, missing markets, etc. ). 2. Economic crises (depressions and recessions). 3. New technology. 4. Farm organizations and cooperative advocates. 5. Favorable public policy (presidential interest, legislative initiatives at both state and federal evels, and judicial interpretation). The relative importance of these forces at different periods will become apparent as we trace the path of cooperative development. Since some of the most significant contributions Americans have made to the cooperative model and movement have been in the agricultural sector, farm cooperatives will dominate this discussion. PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES IN The first American cooperatives The first recognized cooperative business in the United States (a mutual insura nce company) was founded in 1752, almost a quarter-century before the birth of the country (America achieved independence in 1776).Benjamin Franklin, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, worked with other members of fire fighting associations to create the first successful fire insurance company in the colonies: The Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. 24 Franklin had already formed the Union Fire Company in 1736, which became the model for volunteer fire fighting companies. Franklin had witnessed the success and importance of mutual societies when he was living in England. The Philadelphia Contributionship was based on a similar London association created in 1696. 25 Although European models and European immigrant cultures remained influential, it was in agriculture that co-ops began to take root in new and distinctive North American forms. † 26 Cooperative history, trends, Cooperative history, trends, and laws in the United States and laws in the United States C ooperatives are neither indigenous to the United States, nor are they an American invention. As Fairbairn reminds us,â€Å"The idea of the co-op was both imported by the colonists from Europe and also independently developed and adapted by settlers of European origin under North American conditions. †22 Pilgrims coming to he new world on the Mayflower in 1620 signed the Mayflower Compact, which described the operations of an organization, or constitution, with cooperative characteristics. Once they arrived, the early settlers worked together collectively to clear the land, build homes and communities, start farming, and provide protection for their families. 23 The overview of cooperative development in the United States provided here supports the idea that cooperatives in the United States are both an artifact of early settlers’ European heritage and a collective response to harsh living conditions in rural areas. ? Americ an farmers first attempted to organize in 1785 with the establishment of the Philadelphia Society for Promotion of Agriculture. The first formal farmer cooperatives were created in 1810: a dairy cooperative in Goshen, Connecticut, and a cheese manufacturing cooperative in South Trenton, New Jersey. On the heels of these organizations, other cooperatives involving different commodities were formed in many parts of the country (table 3. 1). There was no identified coordinated leadership and most cooperatives restricted their operations to their local community. Most of he early agricultural cooperatives were ultimately unsuccessful. THE 21ST CENTURY 15 Table 3. 1. Selected early cooperatives and mutuals in the United States Year Cooperative 1752 Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) 1810 Dairy cooperative (Goshen, Conneticut) and cheese cooperative (South Trenton, New Jersey) 1820 Hog marketing, slaughtering, and packi ng cooperative (Granville, Ohio) 1853 Irrigation cooperative (Tulare County, California) 1857 Grain elevator (Madison, Wisconsin) 1862 Tobacco marketing cooperative (Connecticut) 1863

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Describe the effects of the Blitz on every day life in Britain

The Blitz cause many problems across the country, not only in the bombed areas. Rationing and evacuation affected the whole country. Rationing of food helped to improve the diet of some people, as poorer people could now afford to buy better food and their general health improved. Evacuation affected the whole country, as the evacuees families had to cope with the temporary loss of a family member, and also the families where they were evacuated to, had to cope with one or two extra members of the household – anyone4 with space in their house had to take in an evacuee. When air raid precautions such as blackouts were introduced at the outbreak of war, people took them very seriously as heavy fines were handed out if the rules were broken. Censorship was used to improve and build morale. This was done by censoring newspaper reports, photographs in newspapers and radio broadcasts. The role of women also changed greatly throughout the war – they took over men's jobs in factories, volunteered in organisations such as the WVS (Women's Voluntary Service). Rationing was implemented by the government to insure even distribution across the country and to show equal treatment of everyone. In the leaflet ‘Your Food in War Time', the government explains that â€Å"more than 20 million tonnes† of food â€Å"are brought into our ports from all parts of the world†. This says that the government were worried that the Nazis could starve the country, as it was a good way of attacking the country. It affected people as they were only allowed limited amounts of supplies such as food and kitchen utensils. There were ration books and everyone got their set amount of rations, some got more than others e. g. manual workers got more than office workers, and pregnant women got more than other normal women. Some people went to extremes to get more food, like buying extra food and ration books at extortionate prices from the black market. Children were given Cod Liver Oil and orange juice as supplements. Rationing began in 1940 during the Phoney War and gradually got more extreme when the Blitz came about. It got so bad that people were even encouraged to keep allotments and grow their own vegetables to share with others. This was named the ‘Dig For Victory' campaign and there was much speculation on this campaign. It proved to be fairly successful to the people that followed instructions. There was also a rationing on soap and clothes. This was because many clothes factories were converted into munitions and aircraft factories to help the war effort. The people were advised to ‘make do and mend', rather than buying new clothes, as the production of clothes was at a low. Coal was never officially rationed but it was in short supply and the government strictly controlled distribution. It was actually a second wave of rationing which caused these problems, the first one was very confusing for the British citizens and they didn't understand how it worked at first, but the second wave was even more confusing when the government introduced a ‘points scheme'. This point's scheme measured each persons food allowance per day in points and no one was permitted to have more food than the government allocated for them. Evacuation was also another key problem that the citizens of Britain had to do. It affected the whole of the nation including the evacuees and the places they were evacuated to. Some evacuees preferred the places they were sent to, to their homes. This was because they had been treated very poorly in their homes or if their families were poor, some of them had fleas and mites. On the other hand, some families were extremely cruel to their evacuees, as they did not want another child in their house. They were not expecting it and if any household had a spare room they were sent an evacuee, no questions asked. The amount of evacuees was astounding. In a space of 4 days at the beginning of September, there was roughly one and a half million evacuees, most of them being school children and mothers with babies. There were also disabled and blind people evacuated. Pregnant mothers and teachers were evacuated as well as they were considered valuable. Many quiet towns and villages in the country were swamped with ‘down and out' children from the city and the suburbs and their different attitudes on life. Many who weren't evacuated feared their lives would be lost, so began ‘trekking' out of the city at night to try and escape danger. The role of women changed dramatically during the war. They took on men's jobs and organised many events and organisations. They set up better efforts for the evacuation processes and created matches of evacuees and homes, so they would get on with each other. They also worked long, hard factory shifts and they did physical, manual labour, which was previously thought to be jobs that only men could do. The women made do with what they had and tried different ways of coping. One of their tasks was to make people take the rationing seriously and realise that all they had was all they were going to get and no one was an exception; everyone got exactly the same as the rest of the people in their league. The women decided that the answer to this would be to make food seem more interesting and appealing. The women in the home were strongly advised to follow recipes that were distributed by the government. They had to learn how to cook using a low supply of gas, this meant that meals would take hours to cook and so many women prepared them a day in advance. The rationalisation caused food to be in low supply as well so leftovers had to be heated up the next day and eaten for dinner. Many thought they were doing the jobs of men better than the men did. The women did not only do strenuous, tough jobs that they weren't used to in the daytime, they also were made to volunteer to take on more jobs in the night time, as well keeping their families together. Many precautions and everyday ways of life had to be changed. These were things like; street lights. They had to be completely switched off, so did car headlights. This was to protect people from the German bombers, like blackout curtains were also. People were made to get Anderson shelters and create the shelter in their own back gardens. If they did not comply there were stiff penalties. If they did not have their own garden, they were made to manage with the supposedly next best, which were Morrison shelters. These were arc-like shelters made of corrugated steal and supposed to stop flying debris. Obviously if a bomb landed directly on top of an Anderson or a Morrison shelter, there would be no chance of survival. The people had to bear these things in mind as well. Many became cynical about the shelters' effectiveness, but nevertheless got on with it. They were not very strong and provided little protection for people during the war, however, there was no other protection available. Air raid wardens were appointed and they gave the signal for everyone to make a mad dash for their air raid shelters. This was another thing that affected everyday life, as they had to stop absolutely everything they were doing at the time and get into their shelters as quickly as possible. There was a huge wave of fear each time the air raid sirens were sounded. People were strongly advised to stay off the streets to minimise the amount of casualties. Entertainment facilities were out of bounds and cinemas, theatres and concert halls were closed. This caused a horrendous effect on those that ran the entertainment places. They were not allowed to make money off of them so many became bankrupt. Many things, if not complied with, were considered an offence. If someone wasn't wearing a gas mask it was considered an offence. If you weren't carrying an identity card, it was seen to be criminal and a penalty would be brought against you. If you did not have an Anderson or Morrison shelter, or any of the black out equipment (like curtains), you could be charged. This affected peoples lives as they had to adapt to a new way of life and just the slightest thing they did wrong could cause themselves to be charged or even to cause casualties in their town. This is a prime example of showing how seriously the government dealt with people who didn't really care. The government censored a lot of the information and pictures in the media showing the real impact of German destruction. They wouldn't let information be broadcasted which they thought would lower the morale of the British public so they banned it. They also wouldn't let pictures of mass destruction or dead bodies be shown in the newspapers either. One example of censorship was a picture of a school playground in Catford, London destroyed, not allowed in the newspaper as it was said to have had children's bodies on it. This would lower the morale of the British, and so was not allowed in any branches of media. All films, news broadcasts, articles, pictures, etc. were checked thoroughly by the government before being allowed to go in the limelight. The reason censorship was so important was because the British people were eager to hear anything new in the war and if there was any sign of Britain losing the war, there would be a national panic and it would be complete havoc. For obvious reasons the government didn't want this to happen, so they shielded the public from disturbing information. For people to know that an area was completely destroyed or badly hit, they would have to be living in that area or have relatives that would tell them about it. There would be no other way of them finding out.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Organizational structure and culture of GE and Google Essay

Organizational structure and culture of GE and Google - Essay Example GE has been able to attract leaders with an extraordinary combination of attributes: passion, vision, and deep sensitivity to the huge issues that challenge the world around them. It is made up of employees who are self-driven to make a difference. When it comes to the kind of environment, GE is the best place to work in. it has a high-performance culture that particularly emphasizes high-integrity business practices as well as work balance. GE’s CEO says, â€Å"We believe a company can accomplish more even as it does well.† This belief drives GE’s organizational practice from the philanthropic efforts of its foundation to the millions of volunteer hours donated by the employees to community initiatives worldwide.It’s really the people that make it the kind of company it is. â€Å"We hire smart and determined people and we favor ability over experience,† said Google CEO. Although the people of Google share common goals and visions for the company, t hey hail from all walks of life and speak a number of languages, reflecting the global audience that they serve. Google pursues interests ranging from beekeeping to recycling, from foxtrot to Frisbee, when not at work. Google strives to maintain the open culture often associated with startups, in which everyone is a contributor and feels comfortable sharing ideas and opinions. Google’s offices and cafes are designed to motivate and encourage interactions between Google members across and within teams and to spark conversation about play as well as work.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Hayek's Economic Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Hayek's Economic Theory - Essay Example history. The Hayekian business-cycle theory is a fusion of the Austrian theories regarding money, capital as well as prices, generally conceptualized as the Austrian theory of business cycles, which itself was based on Mises’ theory of money and credit (Boeettke, 1992). The Austrian theory of trade cycles was inspired by Knut Wicksell’s contributions on the relationship between money and interest while Ludwig von Mises became the first economist to bring together Wicksell’s monetary dynamics with Bohm-Bawerk’s capital theory, which led to the first Australian trade-cycle theory. Hayek developed and made the theory official while reinforcing it with insights from David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill in 1967. Generally, Hayek argues that any monetary disturbance such as an increase in the stock of money reduces the interest rates to levels below the equilibrium thereby stimulating an increase in capital and reallocation of resources in the manufacture of intermediate (capital) goods rather than consumption goods (White, 1999). Consequently, this triggers a rise in the cost of capital goods and a subsequent drop in the price of capital goods, and later the entire structure of the production system, which entails the conversion of raw products into finished products for utilization by consumers, is completely shifted (Zera, 2013). In that respect, the Hayekian Economy theory demonstrates how a monetary disruption can prompt an inter-temporal disco-ordination in economic activities, the manner in which the disco-ordination eventually becomes recognized and addressed through money-induced disco-ordination. Hayek conceptualizes that the injection of new money through credit markets inhibits the level of interest thereby inducing an inter-temporal misallocation of resources, thus, leading to the production of capital goods that are

A psychological and sociological perspective to demonstrate an Essay

A psychological and sociological perspective to demonstrate an understanding of these perspectives and evaluate in what way there application enhances your unde - Essay Example e lives; nevertheless, it is a fact that society has to accept single parenting, because in future, with present stress on individuality, more and more children are likely to be brought up by single parents. Parents who find themselves abandoned by partners are supported by social care and children, who will learn to react to the circumstances and environments, will find difficulties in dealing with social and psychological problems. According to the case study, Michael and Kate were having problems during her third pregnancy because of Michael’s attitude towards his family. He has taken to drinking and was physically assaulting Kate, to the extent that she had to live with Social Care. Michael, in spite of recent behaviour, continues to be fond of their children, visits them often, buys presents, but does not want to shoulder day-today responsibilities bringing them up. Kate, being pregnant and financially dependent on Michael, was finding the situation difficult. Michael moved out of the family home and Kate moved into Grimesbar from Social Care, as it was easy to find accommodation in Grimesbar. She now lives in a four storey tenement with common entrance that is not particularly secure, and the building is scheduled for demolition. That being the case, many of the flats are empty, and Kate lives in an insecure and isolated building. Kate, being a non-practising Roman Catholic, considers other Church going single mothers as ‘holy.’ She does not particularly keep in touch with social workers and in the meantime, becomes friendly with local community activist Frances Kane, who helps Kate in looking after children. She has two teenage children of her own, a daughter training for a career and the boy in armed forces. Her husband Bill, a Lorry driver, stays away from home a lot due to his work schedule. Frances likes to look after Jade and Scott, and Kate leaves them more and more in her care, because Kate has started working and finds it almost impossible

Monday, August 26, 2019

Bazin's View on Realism and Battleship Potemkin Essay

Bazin's View on Realism and Battleship Potemkin - Essay Example With his critical outlook, Bazin has succeeded in getting a positive focus on movies like Nanook of the North (1922) Robert Flaherty’s take on Canadian tribals, Bicycle Thieves (1948) (Cardullo, 2011, 53) and Umberto D. (1952), both from Vittorio De Sica’s labs, which had missed audience attention due to the prevalence of commercial cinema. However the story does not end there. Bazin has taken important steps in proving that realism although in its subtle form helps montage movie makers ultimately create the super finish in their manipulations and gives them new grounds for experimentation. The essay will analyze the contributions of Bazin’s criticism and arguments base on his humane understanding of real life and the way it needs to be portrayed in cinema and does not necessarily have a universal appeal in the world of contemporary motion cinema. Bazin was a wonderful follower of ontological movie making processes wherein the camera, the director, and the audience have nothing much to do than sit back and watch the proceedings in action without any manipulation of what is being recorded in the frame. While we can understand the rawness that he loves, Bazin never pulled down any scene by its elements and provided an explanation of how better it could have been presented even while basing on realism. All his criticisms are directed towards non-realistic moviemaking, while not even once has he made a suggestion towards the improvement or differential treatment of existing realistic movies which he so openly lauded. While neo-realism in cinema has derived a lot of inspiration from Bazin’s writing, the basic core of moviemaking, which involves the creative challenges for director and cinematographer gets negated out if we are to strictly follow in Bazin’s line of thinking. Modern day cinema is all based on the combination of digital and motion

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Lemons and Peaches The impact of Asymmetrical Information on Essay

Lemons and Peaches The impact of Asymmetrical Information on Healthcare in the NHS and how this can be addressed through the National Insurance System - Essay Example er David Akerlof illustrated this situation elaborately in his famous work â€Å"The Market for Lemon† where he termed this situation as asymmetric information. He discussed this problem in the context of a used car market. He regarded the good car as peach and the bad cars as lemon. Akerlof argued that in a used car market a seller uses to have more information regarding the quality of a used car, i.e. the seller knows more accurately whether the car that he is selling is a peach or a lemon. But the buyer, on the other hand, uses to be in a more disadvantaged state as he posses less information regarding whether the car that he wants to buy is a peach or a lemon and hence the buyer can only make a guess whether the car would provide good service. (Akerlof, 1970; Arrow, 1963) Information asymmetry problem is not a problem of any particular market. In fact, most of the markets face this kind of informational problem, although degree of this problem differs from market to market. Typically when there exists information asymmetry problem in any market, it is mainly the sellers who possess more information about the product than the buyers during the process of transaction; however, in some cases the reverse can also take place. Health care system is not an exception and it also faces severe information asymmetry problem. Information asymmetry is present in the market of health care as well as in the market of health insurance. It would be quite interesting to look at the nature of information asymmetry in health care sector and how this problem can be dealt with to avoid any kind of market failure. (Arrow, 1963; Blomqvist and Leger, 2003) In the national health care system of any country, the relationship between physician and patients is regarded as the key relationship that the health care market has to deal with. In the presence of information asymmetry there exists a gap between the patients and the medical service providers regarding the price of the product as

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Administrative ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Administrative ethics - Essay Example The article written by Mehnke (2010) entitled â€Å"Managing a breach in patient confidentiality† and published in the Nursing Critical Care journal proffered issues pertinent to the crucial importance of observing privacy and confidentiality when dealing with patients. In a scenario, a nurse accessing patient’s records for personal use emerged without thinking of the possible repercussions of her action to the patient and to herself. Mehnke (2010) revealed that â€Å"a nurse knowingly accessed a neighbor’s electronic medical record and acted on the information she found by confronting the patient. The nurse approached the patient in the perioperative waiting area before the surgery and asked what procedure she was undergoing† (1). As a consequence, the nurse’s action dealt with the utmost penalty of firing her from employment because of breach of confidentiality. The decision precludes other nurses and health care practitioners from repeating the s ame offense. The gravity of the issue was addressed by severing the employment from the health care institution to show other health care practitioners that there is no compromise to the issue. The issue’s impact on health care practitioners focused on giving primary importance and utmost care in adhering to the laws and regulations prescribed by Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), specifically on the protection of patient privacy rights.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Evaluate the role played by the therapeutic relationship in any two Essay

Evaluate the role played by the therapeutic relationship in any two psychological therapies - Essay Example This can be in their family, relationships in school (for children and college students) or in dealing with something in society. As they work through these issues around their pain the therapist has to take into consideration that the healing process is often very complicated when the individual is in the process of individual changes. In any therapy office social and psychological factors for each individual will be different. Clients bring everything they know to the setting and it is the therapists job to help the client unravel those situations that appear difficult. Socially, they will bring what they were taught as children. These teachings will revolve around beliefs, attitudes and general thoughts about life in general. Many are attempting to move out of limiting beliefs and take hold of a better life. Psychological factors that they bring can also turn into psychological disorders. These disorders can disrupt many of the processes that an individual goes through when attempting to effect individual change. Social issues that are global are characteristic of the world we live in today. Many people are suffering from depression, anxiety and anger. Also, people are dealing with issues around alcohol abuse, aging and attachment. These issues are present in most societies today because of war and other problems within countries. Global disasters will also cause problems. When there is a national or global disaster many people relate to it whether they are personally involved or not. Sometimes a national disaster can create problems that are latent in individuals. For instance, when 9/11 happened many people were faced with feelings about their own mortality. If they lost a friend or loved one, they had feelings of grief. However, some people had feelings of grief for all of humanity. This type of disaster again can cause depression, anger, grief, feelings of hopelessness and post traumatic stress disorder. Some

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Friction on the ramp Essay Example for Free

Friction on the ramp Essay As you can see from the graph, as h1 is increasing, the horizontal distance also increases. The graph is more or less a straight line because the horizontal distance travelled by the ball baring in each interval should more or less be around the same. However it didnt show that the y-component is directly proportional to the x-component. This could be of the inaccuracy of the equipment, measurement and air resistance when in travelling in the air and friction on the ramp. The accuracy of the meter ruler is quite poor when it comes to measuring the point at which the ball has landed. Therefore the uncertainties would be measuring precisely the point at which the ball baring had landed. It will be more or less i 1mm. The position for releasing the ball baring is another issue. If the ball is being released from a higher or lower position compared to the previous test, it will have an affect on the initial velocity when leaving the ramp. Higher velocity will result in a bigger horizontal component and therefore uncertainties would be more or less i 1mm. The total uncertainty would be i 2mm. The plastic ramp also creates a problem. The end of the ramp is difficult to maintain a precise horizontal position because of the bendiness of the plastic ramp. This is an important factor because it has an affect on the initial velocity and therefore will change the results. It will create a vertical acceleration if it bends resulting in an increase in the horizontal component. In theory, we have assumed that the air through which the projectile moves has no effect on its motion, a reasonable assumption at low speeds. However, for a greater speed, the disagreement between calculations and the actual motion of the projectile can be large because the air opposes the motion of the projectile. So, a bigger h1 means the projectile will be in the air for longer; therefore the air resistance will affect the projectile more and consequently will reduce horizontal distance travelled. I believe this is the reason that the line on the graph isnt directly proportional to the x and y components. Therefore in the absence of air resistance, I believe that the graph produced would be directly proportional to both x and y components. In order to calculate the theoretical range, we have to find the horizontal and vertical component separately. I can use the following equations to find out both of the horizontal and vertical components.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Writing Proficiency Exam Essay Example for Free

Writing Proficiency Exam Essay Literature should be read and enjoyed by everyone because it provides enjoyment, knowledge, and an escape from reality for its readers. â€Å"Why Literature?† by Mario Vargas Llosa and â€Å"on Reading Trash† by Bob Swift describe how important literature is to society and the people who read it. Literature while it is artistic in a sense is also a form of entertainment for the people who read it. Literature can show us a world of magic and wizards or tell a tale of courage while hunting down a whale. Through great literature we can get a better understanding of the world around us and discover a world that could never have been imagined. As technology advances the enjoyment of reading literature gets lost in the fast paced modern culture. In Spain, a recent survey revealed that half of that country’s population has never read a book (Llosa, 1). However, if people can read a book they enjoy they will be able to discover their niche in the world of literature. According to Swift, if you get kids interested in reading books they will eventually go on to the grander literature all by themselves (Swift, 1). By reading â€Å"popular† fiction such as Nancy Drew and Conan the Barbarian, children will grow into reading â€Å"classic† literature when they find enjoyment in reading. In addition to being amusing to the readers, literature also stimulates our minds by imparting knowledge and inspiring readers. Nothing teaches us better than literature to see, in ethnic and cultural differences, the richness of the human patrimony, and to prize those differences as a manifestation of humanity’s multifaceted creativity (Llosa, 2). Situations that people don’t normally happen to them can be described through literature. Furthermore, by reading about these diverse cultural differences readers can gain knowledge of cultures and situations that they have not experienced. The National Endowment for the Humanities says that every high school graduate should have read 30 great works of literature, including the Bible, Shakespeare, and Moby Dick (Swift, 1). These notable works of literature illustrate the various unknown cultures and environments that are unfamiliar to the readers so that the reader can acquire an understanding about the unknown literary environment. Lastly, as readers discover their favorite type of literature they become immersed in a world beyond their imagination. When we close the book and abandon literary fiction, we return to actual existence and compare it to the splendid land that we have just left (Llosa, 3). After reading a great novel, we realize that the reality that we return to is a disappointment compared to the fantasized world inside the novel. Swift also discovered a world inside of novels. Swift writes about his experiences of â€Å"swinging through jungles with Tarzan, fighting Martians with John Carter, and exploring Pellucidar at the Earth’s core.† As readers uncover the countless tales in novels, they can experience these fantastic adventures. In conclusion, the two writers believe people should read anything that interests them, regardless of genre. By allowing people to read what they want, people will enjoy reading and the amount of people who read will increase. Literature also gives the reader an escape from reality and imparts knowledge on them that they would not normally come across. Therefore, as readers discover their interest in the literary world, people will gravitate towards literature as a form of entertainment, as opposed to television or the Internet.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Impact of Wall Street Crash on Nazi Support

Impact of Wall Street Crash on Nazi Support How far did the Versailles Treaty and the Wall Street Crash help to bring Hitler to power? The year of 1939 undoubtedly marks the commencement of an era of bloodshed, devastation and the catastrophic war. Central to entire cause of the World War II is understanding the role of Adolf Hitler, and the process in which he obtained plenary powers over Germany. This essay seeks to examine the extent that the Versailles Treaty and Wall Street crash assisted Hitler’s rise to power until 1933, when the Enabling act was passed and Hitler effectively attained the powers to pass laws without the approval of the Reichstag. Despite many setbacks in his ascendency to chancellorship, Adolf Hitler was able to utilise the Nazi propaganda, detestation of the Weimar Government, and deficient psychological state of Germany due to the effects of the Versailles Treaty and Wall Street crash to aid his conquest for power. The essay will also highlight that although it can be argued that the vulnerability and desperation of the German population was susceptible to exploitation, the effective organisation, sheer persistence and impeccable character of Hitler served as the fundamental catalyst in his rise to power. A key aspect of Hitler’s rise to power lies in understanding the implications of the Versailles Treaty. The Versailles Treaty that was enacted after the Great War introduced a wide range of negative repercussions on the German population. The strong bitterness at the harsh conditions imposed by the Treaty left the German population in a vindictive state, and they sought a leader to end the humiliation, regardless even if he was dangerous or aggressive. It is believed that Germany surrendered under the hope and belief that the conditions of treaty would be formed in accordance to President Wilson’s fourteen points, which was rooted in ideas of diplomacy and multilateral cooperation, seeking not to place any blame on any country for the war. However, the treaty that was finally created not only removed Germany from the League of Nations, but in contrast was fundamentally a treaty placing the blame of the war on Germany. The Treaty enforced immense reparations liabilities, diminished Germany’s essential economic trades, seized territories, and imposed demilitarisation clauses. George Clemenceau, the French prime minister, demanded that Germany had to be responsible for the damages caused and repercussions of the war, and claimed the most in reparations. They also demanded for full disarmament of Germany, determined to exact revenge for both the Great War in 1939 and the 1870 Franco-Prussian War by extorting as much as possible in financial reparations, and to render Germany helpless and vulnerable in the future (Smith, 1965)[4 in dakin sloss]. The war guilt clause placed shame onto the Germans by forcing Germany to accept the responsibility for creating the suffering and destruction incurred by the Allied Nations. Furthermore, the exclusion of Germany from the League of Nations resulted in a feeling of seclusion, adding to the idea that Europe was exacting its vengeance on Germany for the war. The financial liability of Germany to the Allied N ations required the dedication of its entire economy to repay the debt, and slumped the nation into a state of massive inflation, widespread poverty and impoverishment. The financial burden placed on Germany was made neither in consideration to the fact that Germany was still recovering from the war, nor whether or not Germany had the ability and capability to compensate (Keynes, 1922)[15 in dakin sloss]. Degradation from a militaristic Prussian state to an army closer to the size of a police force increased German sentiments of hatred and anger for the Allied Nations. Extensive control of German territories were seized, including the Rhineland, the Polish Corridor, Alsace-Lorraine, and the Saar Valley. The German economy depended heavily on the iron and coal ore-fields in Alsace-Lorraine and this was seen as a confiscation of limited economic and human resources. However, it has been argued that there has been no strong evidence to prove that the Versailles Treaty was indeed the ca use of the poor economic and social state of Germany. A.J.Nicholls provides evidence to state that the German industry, was recovering its productive capacity despite the costs incurred from the treaty (Nicholls, 2000). Hitler capitalized on the situation, playing to popular sentiments to garner support for the Nazi party. His political agenda as written in the Nazi Party Program stated one of the aims as the abrogation of the Versailles Treaty (Shirer, 1990). The humiliation from the Versailles Treaty affected a huge majority of Germans, and the sentiments of oppression and the need for liberation from the treaty was successfully manipulated by Adolf Hitler in his rise to power. The Wall Street played a fundamental role in assisting Germany in its economic difficulty as a cause of the Versailles Treaty, and therefore, it is difficult to ignore the serious repercussions that Germany suffered as a result of the 1929 Wall Street Crash. Similarly, Hitler exploited the vulnerable state of Germany during the Great Depression, which was caused by the Wall Street Crash, just as he did with the Versailles Treaty. Germany was in a dire economic state after the massive financial output from Great War and perhaps due to the harsh conditions imposed by the Versailles Treaty. International Bankers, primarily from the capitalist United States, provided huge amounts of profitable loans for German industries and cartels, such as I.G. Farben and Vereinigte Stahlwerke. This provided a source of relief for Germany, and to a certain extent some stability and a vast improvement in its economic welfare. In 1924 and 1928, the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan were implemented, which co uld be argued as a means for the Wall Street investors to influence Germany with American Capitalism (Sutton, 1976). In essence, the burden of German reparations to the Allied Nations was remunerated mainly by global subscribers of German bonds issued by the Wall Street stockbrokers (Sutton, 1976). In 1929 the Wall Street crashed, and the significant influence that the American economy had on Germany caused immediate and devastating consequences. As a result, there was a steep increase in unemployment, destitution amongst the working class became widespread, and many industries were forced to declare bankrupt. The Wall Street crash eventually led to the Great Depression. The crucial point to note was that the psychological effects of the Wall Street crash was the main factor which Hitler abused to obtain support for his political agenda. The severe and dire situation that the German population was suffering from caused a psychological faà §ade that allowed the Nazi Party to prosper and succeed. ‘As Germany plunged deeper into the Depression, growing numbers of middle class citizens began to see in the youthful dynamism of the Nazi Party a possible way out of the situation’ (Evans, 2003). Hitler was adept and seized the opportunity to gather the support of the unemployed masses of working and middle class citizens, once again using popular sentiments to his advantage, and this largely accounted for the stark increase in Nazi support in the 1930 elections. ‘Like most great revolutionaries he could thrive only in evil times†¦ when the masses were unemployed, hungry and desperate†¦ (The people’s suffering he would) transform cold-bloodedly and immediately, into political support for his own ambitions (Shirer, 2009). Friedrich Meinecke, the eminent German historian, once referred to Hitler as one of the greatest examples of a singular and incalculable power of personality in historical life. It can arguably be stated that Hitler was the key cause of the rise of Nazism within Germany, and without his dictatorial rule, resilient persistence, and shrewd political ability, there would not have been a Nazi Germany. His ideals of an Aryan Germany ruled by the Fuehrer-prinzip (Leadership Principle) was essentially a dictatorship adopting the authoritarianism of the Prussian army. A political campaign that was presumed by many as a lunacy and impossible to succeed eventually thrived under the dire circumstances that Germany was in. An extremely eloquent speaker, Adolf Hitler had an aptitude in capturing the minds of the masses with his speeches. Shirer asserts that after the failure of the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler or the Nazis were hardly heard of and was ‘the butt of jokes’. However, h e also adds that this was a significant event that contributed to the Nazi propaganda. Hitler used the publicity of the trial as a platform to announce the Nazi ideals on a nationwide scale. By the end of the trial, Hitler had transformed his defeat into a victory, and managed to impress the masses of the German population with his eloquence and strong desire for nationalism, and made himself well known around the entire nation. (Shirer, 1990) It is difficult to distinguish whether it was his oratory proficiency or his crafty leadership that contributed to a greater extent to the success of the Nazi party. Although he was incarcerated and barred from speaking in public by the Bavarian Government, Hitler continued to consolidate and influence the masses in the determined pursuit to rebuild the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. Whilst the Nazi party was an organisation comprising of murderers, alcoholics, homosexuals and pimps, Hitler was indifferent to this and solely used them to his benefit. Similarly, in the unstable period of 1930 to 1933, due to the death of Gustav Stresemann and the Wall Street crash, Hitler capitalized on the susceptibility of the masses to achieve political power. Hitler envisaged the catastrophe, and premeditated to use it to his advantage (Shirer, 1990). He appealed to a wide range of audiences, with rational anti-communist beliefs for the upper and middle classes, nationalistic attitudes for the working classes, to radical anti-Semitism opinions for the extremist. Hitler once told more than a million cheering Berliners in 1937, â€Å"I did not issue from some palace, I came from the worksite. Neither was I a general; I was a soldier like millions of others. It is a miraculous thing that an unknown man was able to step forth from the army of millions of German people, German workers and soldiers to stand at the fore of the Reich and the nation.† (Evans, 2005) Historians have long attested to Hitler’s rheto rical excellence. Klaus Fisher asserts, â€Å"Without his remarkable gift of persuasion Hitler would never have reached such heights of power.† It was added by historian Frederic Spotts that Hitler’s eloquence was his key to attaining political power. Hitler was able to communicate in a sympathetic way many of the uncertainties and prejudices already felt by the masses, and this was a key aspect that contributed to his success. The origins of Nazi propaganda can be traced to the Nazi Party’s 25 point program and Adolf Hitler’s autobiography titled Mein Kampf, in which he emphasises on the importance of propaganda and indoctrination of the German population. This was carried out through many avenues such as public marches, speeches, newspapers (Voelkischer Beobachter) and repression of all those who opposed. The common goal was to portray Hitler as the answer to Germany’s deplorable situation. Anti-Communist ideologies were promoted to gain support and funds from the middle and upper class voters, whereas the promotion of socialism was used to garner the votes of the working class. Hitler managed to arouse German sentiments of patriotism and nationalism, and promised to lead Germany away from communism, socialism, trade unionism and the futilities of democracy (Shirer, 1990). It must be noted that in order to appeal to all the social classes in Germany, Hitler kept his promises during hi s mass speeches vague, which was unsurprising as many were often contradictory. Events such as the Putsch in 1923 were used to make Hitler a national figure, a patriot and a hero. As one of Adolf Hitler’s closest associate, Paul Joseph Goebbels had a substantial influence on Nazi propaganda even before he was appointed as propaganda minister for the Nazi Party in 1933. He successfully promulgated Hitler’s image as a fanatical nationalist who promised to restore the German Army’s former glory. The Nazi propaganda created the cult of personality around Hitler, leading them to believe that he could re-establish the glory of Germany by uniting the social classes, restoring militarism, and to absolve the nation from the misery of the Versailles treaty. Therefore, although the Nazi propaganda sought to fulfil various goals such as the humiliation of Germany by the Treaty of Versailles, the weakness of the Weimar Republic and Anti-Semitism ideologies, the most dominant aspect was the deification of Adolf Hitler, as the Fuhrer of the Nazi Party. After the adjudication of Kaiser Wilhelm II, a new democratic republic was formed that lasted from 1919 to 1933. Many historians have argued that the Weimar republic was condemned to its defeat ever since the beginning due to the political, social and economic instability of Germany, which it assumed governance over. The Social Democratic Party, faced a number of objective obstacles in their term of parliamentary control. The odium for defeat of the Great War, the implications of the Versailles Treaty, the constant blame of the diktat and labelling of its leaders as ‘November Criminals, and the poor policies that caused an economic crisis due to the Wall Street crash’ (Hamburger and Pulzer, 1985). The defeat in Great War and the signing of the armistice came as a particular disbelief to most of the German population who were under the impression that Germany was close to achieving victory in 1918. Consequently, many of them turned to popular sentiments that the war was l ost from within, blaming treachery and the democratic government for the failure. Furthermore, the responsibility of the acceptance of the Versailles treaty was imposed wholly on the Weimar Government, causing further political demoralisation within the Parliament. During the period of the Great Depression, the German Chancellor, Heinrich Bruning, pursued an ineffective policy of rigid deflation, which increased unemployment and ultimately contributed to the loss of support for the Weimar Government. The acute economic issues that arose hastened the dissolution of traditional form of governance (Rosenhaft, 1983). A.J.Nicholls mentions that ‘perhaps the most consistent opponent of the Republic was Adolf Hitler. He argued that Germany could never be strong while the Weimar system was allowed to continue’ (Nicholls, 2000). In an unstable period plagued with revolutions, uncertainty and frustration, it was suitable conditions for radical left and right wing political partie s to thrive. The Weimar Republic was ruling at an inopportune time, and Adolf Hitler merely capitalised on these factors in the benefit for his conquest of power. The real damage the treaty did to Germany was to disillusion more moderate men who might otherwise have supported their new Republic. Hitler had the patience to wait and the shrewdness to realise that the climate of material prosperity and of a feeling of relaxation which settled over Germany in those years was not propitious for his purposes (Shirer, 1990) References Richard Evans, The Third Reich in Power (New York: The Penguin Press, 2005), 498.