Developments in transportation Essay Example for Free

Developments in transportation Essay Developments in transportation, rather than in manufacturing and agriculture, sparked American economic growth in the first half of the nineteenth century. is not accurate. While development in transportation played a fundamental role in Americas growth, if it were not for developments in manufacturing and agriculture the new technology in transportation could not have successfully been completed. Without the raw materials, and the products which came out of the early US iron and steel industry, (which were all ultimately determined by the United States agricultural market), the transportation revolution could not have been carried out. Also, with the rapid growth of the agricultural markets, American economic growth boomed. All three factors, (transportation, agriculture and manufacturing) played an equal role in sparking the American economic growth in the first half of the nineteenth century. The cotton gin was just one of the few reasons in which the American economy grew at a rapid pace. Eli Whitneys intention in 1793 of the cotton gin, which separated raw cotton from seeds and other waste, caused the economy to boom, with the growth of southern farms. As the southern plantations who could keep up with this new boom in cotton got larger and larger, small farmers moved west. This migration of small farmers to the west caused a need for developments in transportation to link the nation. In turn, these developments in transportation caused a boom in economy. Therefore, both manufacturing inventions and transportation inventions caused the growth in economy. New inventions and capital investment led to the creation of new industries and economic growth. As transportation improved, new markets continuously opened. The steamboat made river traffic faster and cheaper, but development of railroads had an even greater effect, opening up immense areas of new territory for development. These new developments just opened up entrepreneurs eyes, and helped them to create the boom parts of the cycles in the 19th century. The new factories which sprang up around the US starting with mills such as the Lowell mills also led to new developments which helped the United States  economy grow. More jobs were created, and wage earners were able to make twice the amount of the price of goods. Although these booms in the economy did not last for every long, it can not be intelligently argued that new developments in transportation were the only reasons in which the United States economy boomed during this time. New inventions, and new ways of creating goods, which came along with the Industrial Revolution truly opened up the nations workforce, and sprang its economy as well.

What photography can and should document

What photography can and should document The social crisis of our time, however, calls for a redefinition of what photography can and should document. Obviously, not all documentary photography has to be didactic in pointing to a possibility of social change. But there is a need for discourse among documentary photographers about the content of work, and its relationship to the social movements of our time. The social movements of our day are more complex. Its often harder to find the sense of political certainty which filled the vision, and inspired the dedication of these artists who came before. Photojournalism relies upon the notion that photography captures an objective record of reality for viewers. Yet, at the same time, a clearly defined system of rules and conventions governs the professional practice of photojournalism, delimiting the range of appropriate images and shaping the form those images take. Paradoxically, news photographs are valued as neutral records at the same time that they are admired as carefully crafted pictures. Photojournalists earn kudos not only for what they show, but also for how well they show it. Documentary photography was tied, historically, to both exploration and social reform. Some early documentarians worked, literally, documenting features of the natural landscape. Others worked, like Lewis Hine for the great social surveys of the early part of the century. Their work was used to expose evil and promote change. Their images were, perhaps, something like those journalists made but, less tied to illustrating a newspaper story, they had more space to breathe in. A classic example is Hines image of Leo, 48 inches high, 8 years old, picks up bobbins at fifteen cents a day, in which a young boy stands next to the machines which have, we almost surely conclude, stunted his growth. Documentary photography supposed to dig deep, get at what Robert E. Park (a sociologist who had worked as a journalist for daily papers in Minneapolis, Denver, Detroit, Chicago and New York) called the Big News, be concerned about society, play an active role in social change, be socially responsible, worry about its effects on the society in which its work is distributed. Photographers like Hine saw their work, and it has often been seen since, as having an immediate effect on citizens and legislators. Today, we see this work as having an exploratory, investigative character, something more like social science. Contemporary documentary photographers, whose work converges more consciously with social science, have become aware, as anthropologists have, that they have to worry about, and justify, their relations to the people they photograph. Photographs get meaning, like all cultural objects, from their context. Even paintings or sculptures, which seem to exist in isolation, hanging on the wall of a museum, get their meaning from a context made up of what has been written about them, either in the label hanging beside them or elsewhere, other visual objects, physically present or just present in viewers awareness, and from discussions going on around them and around the subject the works are about. Documentary projects typically go on for years, often focus on social issues rather than news events, and are usually independently conceived and financed by the photographer, rather than commissioned by a publication. Documentary is often assumed to be subjective, to have a point of view on the subject being investigated, but it is also presumed to be honest reporting and photographers in this mode do not generally resort to setting up shots. These sort of projects are sometimes sold in pieces to magazines but with the decline of mass circulation magazines like Life, the usual goal has become to publish the whole project in book form. Photojournalism is used here to refer to the coverage of current news events in an extended format, both in the investigation and shooting stage and in the final story product which normally consists of more than one photograph. Because these projects are time-sensitive, they may take months but not years to complete. Photojournalism is usually commissioned by a publication, such as a magazine or newspaper, but will sometimes later appear in book form as well. While documentary projects are usually driven by the personal interests or convictions of the photographer, photojournalisms subject matter is generally determined by what is deemed news-worthy by the media. The question of whether an image appropriately â€Å"reflects reality† is an issue that documentary photography and photojournalism has contended with throughout their histories. The global audience is changing, and photography needs to reflect this in order to remain effective. Readers are disillusioned at the manipulation they are slowly becoming aware to via pseudo-documentaries on society and politics by filmmakers. That the camera cannot lie is true only in the sense that the images it captures must have existed in one form or another at some particular time. We are familiar with historical photos that have been retouched to include or exclude political figures. We are less familiar with the potential of new technologies for falsifying images, particularly those that appear in newspapers and magazines. Photojournalism, photography that accompanies stories intended for newspaper and magazine readers, has a long and cherished tradition of truthfulness. The faking of photographs, either through stage direction by the photographer or through darkroom manipulation, unfortunately, also has a long tradition. However, computer technology puts photographic faking on a new level of concern as images can be digitized and manipulated without the slightest indication of such trickery. If the manipulation of photographs is accepted for any image, the public will naturally doubt all photographs and text within all publications. Scoopt, the citizen photojournalism arm of Getty Images, claims to have experts who carefully screen images to ensure no digital tampering has occurred. As Far id points out, however, tampering is becoming increasingly difficult to detect with the naked eye—particularly for understaffed organizations trying to push through photos of breaking events. Yet, human beings continue to die from war, murder, natural disasters; to be born, now in litters as large as seven or eight: to live in harmony and conflict. Newspapers and photojournalism have survived the onslaught of electronic media, continuing to report the human maelstrom of a global citizenry as if it were a vivid reality play m the midst of the non reality o turn-of-the-millennium culture. Almost drowned within media criticism have been the voices of those professionals whose appreciation of the subjective nature of observation and reportage has led to more sensitive and sophisticated practice of visual journalism. In daily practice, digital-imaging technology has led to increased awareness of the ease of manipulating visual reportage, in turn leading to higher not lower ethical standards. At the same time, new technology has made visual coverage faster, easier, and more prolific via digital distribution. More and more photojournalists are asked to also be advertising photographers shooting fashion, food, architecture, portrait, and editorial illustration assignments. These assignments take photojournalists away from doing meaningful documentaries about social conditions in their community. These economically driven assignments are fuelled by news directors, publishers, and photographers who dont necessarily distinguish between magazine and television commercial advertising and classic photojournalism documentation. When a young photojournalist is expected to split her time between news and corporate controlled images, its hard for her to take herself seriously as an on-call visual documentarian. Issues and debates surrounding truth will continue as long as media is reported. Even with the saturation of so-called amateur journalists, there will always be motives of greed, a human trait that is undeniable in our society. Some critics have predicted that in a few years, images whether still or moving will not be allowed in trials as physical evidence because of the threat to their veracity created by digital alterations. Most consumers of the media can easily tell the difference between an advertisement and a news story. But sometimes the distinction is so subtle, only highly observant readers can tell the difference. But no matter how the tools of journalism change, fundamental ethical concerns still apply. Displaying violent, sensational images for economic reasons, violating a persons privacy before the judicial process can function, manipulating news-editorial pictures to alter their content, stereotyping individuals into pre-conceived categories and blurring the distinction between advertising and editorial messages were journalism concerns in 1895, are important topics in 1995 and will be carefully considered issues, no doubt, in 2095. Now, as we witness the dramatic transformations to the print journalism industry, these questions not only reveal how the idea of visual journalism has congealed but also indicate the kinds of issues that both photojournalism practitioners and their audiences will need to resolve in a world in which the printed periodical is no longer the favoured institution through which these images are mediated. Over the last fifteen years or so we have witnessed the emergence of new kinds of visual story-telling. Digital photography gave us instantaneous feedback; camera phones gave us ubiquitous photography; picture-sharing sites gave us a developing social milieu in which these instant and ubiquitous pictures could be shared. As a result we have new formal models for presenting visual information. There is more documentary feature production than ever before. Still images are organized as slideshows, browse-and-enlarge albums, or in an irregular temporal flow. Reuters Bearing Witness: Five Years of the Iraq War is a brilliant use of multimedia that is not a linear display of images. These new formal properties will redefine visual grammars and inform how and of what photographers make pictures, but they will also be subject to the new contexts and frameworks that will continue to emerge. The value of information increases not only when it is controlled and withheld but also when it is given shape and purpose, when value articulates with meaning. We may not remember many of the facts that led to the brief student uprising in Chinas Tiananmen Square in 1989, but you can never forget the image of the lone protester standing defiantly in front of a line of menacing, green Chinese tanks. Words and pictures become one powerfully effective communicative medium inside your own mind. Professional photojournalists cannot be in the best places at the right times in order to capture events as they unfold. The future of photojournalism lies with the new breed of moral and aware consumers. The Internet offers us the chance to reinvent photojournalism by enabling us to blend the best practices from still photojournalism, broadcasting, and independent films. The Internet permits us to blend still photographs with audio, text, video, and databases to make compelling content that is far richer than print or broadcasting typically deliver. This new world of visual story telling gives us a chance to reinvent the form and to adapt integration of various media types to tell the most compelling possible story. Visual journalism on the web offers the chance to tell narrative stories that speak powerfully to underlying truths of the human condition. The traditional model of print distribution and direct editorial funding has been unravelling from the 1970s onwards, ever since weekly pictorial magazines like Life folded. This demonstrates photojournalism that required an editorial paymaster was in trouble long before the Internet was an issue or the global recession added to its woes. It involves seeing oneself as a publisher of content and a participant in a distributed story, the form of which helps reshape the content of the story. Rather than just producing a single image or small series of images to be sold into another persons story, multimedia on the web has numerous advantages for visual storytellers. â€Å"Both media are time-based, as opposed to space-based. A print layout is about space — the eye wanders; the viewer controls the time and rhythm. Time-based, of course, means the show is driven by the audio and is viewed over time,† â€Å"good slideshows, I think, have a very different rhythm than video — less literal. Slideshows need to lean on the strength of the still image — these punctuated moments in time that visually meld with the audio.† As a result, photojournalism at the beginning of the 21st century find itself maturing beyond the naive idealism of early and mid-20th-centur positivism, and even beyond the dark cynicism of late-20th-century post modernism, toward a profound sense of purpose: Good visual reportage may very well be the only credible source of reasonably true images in decades to come. The heart of photojournalism is reporting human experience accurately, honestly, and with an overriding sense of social responsibility. The key to earning and maintaining public trust is increasing awareness of the process of visual reporting and its potential to inform or misinform. Published in Life magazine in 1937, Robert Capas photograph shows in one instant the suddenness and loneliness of an anonymous soldiers death. It has been suggested that the photograph was either a chance occurrence by the photographer shooting blindly, or it was staged for the benefit of the camera. He photographed in China, on the beaches of Normandy, in Israel, and finally in Vietnam, where he was killed by a land mine./10 Capa consistently produced images with strong emotional impact and high technical expertise. Those Capa images that have been chosen by his brother Cornell Capa and by Magnum to represent his lifes work emphasize the qualities of drama and heroism and thus have had a crucial role in sustaining the Robert Capa legend. Robert Capas saying, often quoted, that â€Å"If your pictures arent good enough, youre not close enough,† has helped reinforce the important elements of drama and the heroic photographer that have been emphasized in the Magnum style. Capas most famous photograph, â€Å"Death of a Loyalist Soldier, Spain 1936,† often celebrated as the greatest war photograph of all time, creates drama with a close-up depiction of the moment of death and conveys a macho persona with the clear implication of Capas decision to place himself in close proximity to danger. His choice of a type of lens that closely resembles normal human vision, probably around 50 mm, gives the feeling that we are right next to the soldier as he falls. The fact that the viewer can see the landscape around and behind him indicates that Capa is clearly not hidden safely far away with a telephoto lens (which would compress and narrow our view of the background), but is closely engaged with the action.43 Capas photographs of D-Day where he is obviously in the surf with the advancing troops has a similar effect of dramatizing events by being as close as possible to the action, and thereby also endowing the photographer with even more daring and courage than the heroes of the moment, the invading soldiers, since he had a choice that the soldiers did not: to photograph from up close or from afar. While many of Robert Capas photographs of war, such as â€Å"Death of a Loyalist Soldier, Spain 1936,† do not seem particularly dramatic viewed now, in the 1930s they were hailed as the finest pictures of front-line action ever taken.44 Certainly, this kind of close-up view of war was relatively new to viewers who were more used to images of fightings aftermath. However, captions applied by the picture magazines certainly played an important role in the creation of Capas images as dramatic. As Fred Ritchin notes, Capas Spanish Civil War photographs were often accompanied by captions such as In the Heart of the Battle: The Most Amazing War Picture Ever Taken, and You can almost smell the [gun] powder in this picture, and the most famous, This is War! in the British magazine Picture Post.45 Robert Franks book, The Americans. Frank traveled around the United States on a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1955/56 taking photographs of people at funerals, on the street, at drive-in movies, in restaurants, driving cars. Rather than rely on neat geometrical compositions to create abstract patterns, he focused on fleeting, contemplative facial expressions or included empty space to lend his photographs a sense of sad loneliness and of disjuncture between people. In his photograph Elevator Miami Beach the young elevator girl looks wistfully off into the distance as her rich-looking patrons blur past her out the door. Its not possible to know whether it is her sadness the photograph conveys, or Franks. While the documentary aspect of Franks work in The Americans is highly subjective, like much of Magnums own work, he uses the element of artistic expression to create a whole different visual style, leading viewers to conclusions about his subjects at odds with the conclusions drawn from work in the Magnum style.

Analysing a Company: DHL

Analysing a Company: DHL   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The aim of this strategic planning document is to thoroughly analyze a company and based on the analysis find the right strategy that fits the companys business purpose and mission. The right strategy, depending at what is directed, should help the company strengthen its position on the market; increase profits; help with further development. If a company implements a wrong strategy, it can cause bad damage or it can have huge financial impact on the company which could even end up in bankruptcy, which wipes the company off the market. The company chosen for this paper is DHL Express with focus on European region. DHL is part of the Deutsche Post DHL (further DP DHL) brand/group. The reason why I have chosen DHL for the Strategic Planning Document is that I have been working for DP DHL group for four years. I work specifically for IT Services which is the service line that internally supports the whole IT technology of the whole DP DHL group. ABOUT THE COMPANY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DHL was founded in San Francisco exactly 40 years ago by 3 budding entrepreneurs Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn. It went from small company shipping papers by airplane from San Francisco to Honolulu1 to global company shipping EVERYTHING around the world. DHL delivers time-critical shipments as well as goods and merchandise by road, rail, air or sea. DHL transports courier and express shipments via one of the worlds most extensive networks to over 220 countries and territories. The company employs more than 300,000 employees all around the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DHL Express provides wide range of easily accessible services and solutions for their customers; from transport of letters, information to transport of parcels and goods. It operates in more than 220 countries around the world and employs more than 100,000 employees. DHL Express is number one in Europe with 25% of market share. Brief history 2 1969 DHL founded by Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn in San Francisco; 1974 The first UK office opened in London. Globally, DHL had more than 3,000 customers; 1979 DHL extends its services to delivering packages. Only document services had been available until now. 1983 DHL is the first air express forwarder to serve Eastern European countries. An international distribution centre was opened in Cincinnati, USA; 1985 A state of the art hub was opened in Brussels. More than 165,000 shipments are handled per night 1998 Deutsche Post became a shareholder in DHL; 2002 Deutsche Post World Net became the major shareholder in DHL and 100% shareholding was completed by the end of the year. DHL: Our Company Portrait [online]. Available at www: DHL: Steps to success [online]. Available at www: 2005 DP DHL acquires Exel, the British logistics corporation. Exel primarily offers transport and logistics solutions for key customers; 2008 DHL opens new state of art European air hub at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany. DHL legally operates under Groups title defined as Deutsche Post AG and uses its brand name DHL. As previously mentioned DHL is part of DP DHL group and is formed by 3 divisions: Express, Global Forwarding, Freight and Supply Chain supported by internal services Global Business Services. Mail is a standalone division that is part of Deutsche Post brand. All four divisions together create Deutsche Post DHL as the picture below describes. DP DHL: Corporate Presentation, October 2009, p. 3 [online] Available at www. DHL has a divisional form of structure. The DP DHL group is organized into four operating divisions, each of which operates under the control of its own divisional headquarters. The Group management functions are performed by the Corporate Center. Management responsibilities are structured in accordance with decision-making, responsibility and reporting lines: Board departments Corporate departments Business departments Service departments Regions Departments DHL Express provides standardized products and services courier, express and parcel (CEP) both locally and globally depending on the country. Whether it is document or parcel, road or air, DHL Express provides several different types of services that are divided to four basic groups: 1. Same Day An immediate pick-up of a shipment by a dedicated courier, with an emergency delivery within the same day via a dedicated network. 2. Time Definite Express door-to-door delivery by a certain time on an overnight or next possible business day basis. 3. Day Definite Reliable door-to-door delivery within a certain number of days 4. Optional Services Shipping convenience with a range of optional services to support your express transportation DP DHL: Annual Report 2008, p. 22 [online] Available at www. DHL: Express Services Good afternoon [online]. Available at www: External Analysis Courier Express and Parcel (CEP) services exist in every single country around the world. It is neither country specific nor region specific industry. There are thousands of logistics companies operating locally or internationally around the world and Europe is not an exception. PESTLE PESTLE analysis is a view on external environment companies operates in. There are five external factors that influence life of organizations: Political environment, Economical environment, Socio-cultural environment, Legal environment and Environmental factor. The below PESTLE analysis focuses on CEP companies in European market. Political Environment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  European region is stable environment that is not affected by any significant political crisis in countries and no major changes in political structure are expected in near future. More than half of European states are integrated into European community, European Union and create one of the biggest single markets for trade and investment in the world. EU enlargement has removed border lines and has made trade and business more accessible for its members. It has brought greater opportunities for businesses, wider range of companies and benefits for their customers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  EU has created closer links with immediate neighbors and enables bigger exports, free movement of services, payments and capital for trade and investment. Prior liberalization in 90s there were many national postal operators acting as monopolies. EU decided to start postal reform that firstly completely liberalized CEP market. Liberalization has enabled both national postal operators (Post Offices) and private postal companies to enlarge their business portfolio into parcel and express market. This happens through acquisitions of well-established companies and smaller national companies. Exactly, as it happened to DHL through acquisition by Deutsche Post in 2002. Full liberalization in Europe will be completed by 2012 which gives current companies time to strengthen their positions, build new networks and gain wider portfolio of customers. EU has also built up confidence in European political and economical future of each member which enables companies to make longer term decisions, strategies and investment plans. Currently the CEP market is highly competitive and companies have to have capital to establish strong and powerful position in such an environment and have to have built up networks supported by the modernist technologies. Summary: Europe is stable environment where no major political changes are expected. Full liberalization of European postal market that will be finished by 2012 will bring more competition especially on domestic level. However, there is a potential to merge or acquire those companies operating in the local markets and increase market share. Big companies operating on international level have an advantage of built global networks and modern technology behind them. Economical Environment CEP is highly potential market and its growth is directly related to the level of GDP. Global trade is on the rising level and together with industrialization has made CEP services more important for majority of industries. Additionally, product life cycles have been reduced, quality awareness among customer is growing and in order to succeed companies are forced to maintain high quality standards. The global economic crises caused decline in economy and it has affected the entire logistics sector. Volume of shipments decreased and the recession slowed down the whole market. Even the big corporations have to fight with decreased revenues and change their investment plans and business strategies. Governments around Europe support investment plans by structural reforms and programs that encourage investors to invest. During the big economic crisis in 30s this did not happen and governments tended to act individually without multinational or even global cooperation. Todays economies learnt from those mistakes which help to lower the implications, increase customer demand and support start of growth. Due to the crisis companies changed their investment plans but did not stop them. Merges with smaller companies, agreements and strategic acquisitions represent one way of increasing the competitive advantage. Emerging markets represent big opportunity in long-term perspective. There is potential for investment and development in emerging markets and it is expected that industrialization will bring opportunities, the economy will growth and market for services will accelerate. The crisis negatively affects profits of every company on one hand but on the other hand big corporations with strong brand and position in the market have to exploit this opportunity. Smaller companies do not have potential to expand because they are in bigger risk of losing money or even bankruptcy if they fail. Big corporations are able to absorb that risk much easier. Companies have started to reduce cost and people have started losing their jobs. Restructuring of company structure is one of the way how to move forward. IT is core element of every company that operates in logistics industry. Companies have to invest huge amount of money to development and maintenance of their IT infrastructure. Recent trend leaves development in Europe and transfers hosting and maintenance of the infrastructure to Asia. Summary: Conclusion from the Economical environment analysis is that companies should not stop their investment plans because of economic crisis. It is important in current situation to strengthen position in the market and expand if possible. Emerging markets represent a potential of rapid economy growth. The risk of loss is the same for all companies but for big corporations is more acceptable. Reduction of cost is evitable for every company and restructuring or outsourcing are the ways of dealing with it. Socio-Cultural Environment The third aspect of PESTLE analysis focuses on forces within society. Social and cultural forces affect customers attitudes, interests and opinions. Companies must be able to offer products and services that aim to complement and benefit customers needs and wants. If they do not quickly respond to changes in society they will lose market share and demand for their product or service will decrease. Removing of border lines makes trade and business in Europe more accessible. Emerging markets are place that is constantly developing and rapidly growing. Although the infrastructure is not as developed as in Western countries, there will be improvement with economic growth. It is important for the company to establish its brand and achieve good and reliable image and service quality among its customers. The portfolio of services that is offered in developing countries is not usually complete and focuses on the biggest needs and wants of the business. Companies do not have the only affect and responsibility to their customers. There are different parts of society they are in contact with. There are needs of employees, investors and the society as a whole. Research Development department play an important role in this area. Customer satisfaction surveys, employee satisfaction surveys, market surveys help the company to build its brand and image, increase employees commitment and shape public awareness. CEP market and logistics industry play one of the key roles in the economic growth globally not only within European market. Increases in volumes of goods transport has lead to higher CO2 emissions which according to climate scientists have direct affect on global warming. It is social cost for the society and governments discourage those social costs with fines, taxes and legislation. Companies responsibility is to decrease these cost and work with more efficient and environmentally friendly means of transport. Social cost have negative affect on customers spending but could be balanced by larger offer of environmental friendly oriented products. Summary: Social forces affect customers needs and wants and it is important for the company to know it and benefit from it. Therefore the role of Research Development is very important. Company has to respond to changes in society quickly not to loose market share and demand for services. Customer satisfaction surveys, market surveys, employee surveys play important role in building companys brand and image in the market. Border lines have been removed within EU and services are more accessible in the whole Europe. Emerging markets represent an opportunity for companies to enter and establish their brand and image. Additionally, there are also social costs for the society that companies have responsibility for. The affect on environment is significant and companies role is to decrease those costs by working with more efficient and environmentally friendly technology which is then balanced by larger portfolio of environmental friendly oriented customers. Technological Environment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Technology environment is vital part of every business that rapidly moves it forward. Technological innovations have changed the world and manner in which every business operates. Technology has created society expecting immediate results. Information exchange between customers, companies, people or any stakeholders is faster. That gives benefit to businesses as they can react quickly to any changes in the operating environment. However, the ability to quickly react also brings extra pressure on companies because they are expected to deliver on time and without any delays. Customers in service industry have to continuously face new challenges in planning, managing and monitoring their business processes. Companies in CEP market (and not only there) started offering customized logistics solutions to meet challenges: for example safety transport of sensitive products such as pharmaceuticals and vaccines to the healthcare industry done within a temperature-controlled environment. Operations in logistics industry is not only about cars, vans and aircraft there are other parts of infrastructure that needs technological development and improvement: posting, collection, sorting, transport, warehousing, delivery and last but not least Information Technologies. IT is core. Speed and reliability are key success factors to be able to meet standards and quality and gain advantage among competition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is important to pay special attention to IT area because service industry is fully dependent on it. Companies invest huge amount of money to development and maintenance of their IT infrastructure. As mentioned above IT is one of the key elements for logistics and operations processes. Systems must be accessible and available at all times; security is evitable unauthorized access to data and data manipulation must be prevented, to ensure that software is not delivered with defects or too late. Companies have to fight with decreased revenue and reduce their cost in times of economic crisis but importance of IT technology is so significant that they cannot stop investing in it. Otherwise there is a threat that they will fall behind and loose their market share.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Outsourcing or in other words subcontracting is a way of reducing cost in IT area. Development of new technologies, software or applications goes to another organization. Usually, the company is specialized in software development. Or hosting and maintenance of applications or services are transferred to another company. The decision whether to do in-house or outsource is often based on achieving lower production cost and usage of available resources in better way and focus energy on the core competencies of the business. Summary: Modern technology and environment is key to success of the company that helps to maintain or gain competitive advantage. IT is the most important technology factor for logistics business because speed and reliability are equal to success. However, there is an indisputable constant threat of falling behind.Investments to the modernist technologies are evitable and in times of economic crisis are much more important then anytime before. Company has to decide if it runs internal IT organization or if it outsources most of the services and reduce cost. Legal Environment Legal rules play a role in nearly every aspect of companys operation from state regulations through contracts to treatment of employees. Legal factor is very important because companies work within legislative framework where legislation can either place numerous obligations or can create market conditions beneficial for business. CEP market is regulated by Postal directive applicable in all EU states. Full liberalization process will be completed by 2012 which gives current companies time to strengthen their position, build new networks and get more customers before new competition arrive. CEP market was fully liberalized during 90s and no special license or authorization is required in most of the EU countries. Ten states of EU require companies to receive explicit decision of National regulatory authority that is called general authorization that enables them to start operating in those countries but it does not represent a barrier. General authorization document contains several conditions that are related to e.g. confidentiality of correspondence, restrictions on transport of dangerous goods, data protection standards, etc. As I said previously there are social cost for the society that must be balanced by companies obligations in terms of fines, taxes and additional legislations related to regulation of aircraft noise, regulations concerning emission standards, obligations to reduce greenhouse gas that forces companies to invest into more environmentally friendly means of transport. Summary: Legal factor is important for operations of every company. Companies have obligations like directives, taxes and rules that they must be aligned with to be able to operate in the market. Legal factor can either place numerous obligations on the company or can create market conditions beneficial for business. Liberalization is an example of the benefit. Removal of border lines together with liberalization enabled building and strengthening of positions in the logistics market. There are no special and expensive authorizations necessary in CEP industry which is another benefit for companies. On the other hand there are obligations that balance the above benefits in terms of fines, taxes and directives that are mainly related to environment. Companies are forced to invest into environmentally friendly operations. Environmental Analysis Transportation industry causes major impact on the green house gases in the atmosphere. Mobility has increased and brought many indisputable advantages that must be weighed against the social, economic and environment costs it causes. Countries issue legislation that forces companies to reduce emissions. Companies have started implementing projects that help them to find out ways how to reduce pollutions and to be compliant with issued legislation. Transportation companies are dependent on fossil fuels and to reduce their dependency they have to look for commercial vehicles and aircraft powered differently or non-conventionally. Change of vehicle is not the only option that would reduce air pollution there are other ways that companies could take: to make their business more efficient and effective, to reduce shipping time, to take uniform approach, to offer climate-neutral products or train employees. Research Development department plays important role in those projects because it helps to come up with new ideas, technologies, procedures and processes. Summary: Transportation industry has great effect on air pollution globally. It is undisputable fact and companies are forced to fulfill the requirements of governments to reduce their contribution on pollution of the global environment. Companies have started implementing projects that help them fulfill those requirements. Research Development department is key to the success of it. PESTLE Summary Based on the PESTLE analysis I have identified opportunities and threats that will be taken into account during the SWOT analysis. Opportunity: Full liberalization of European postal market that will be finished by 2012 brings new opportunities to increase market share by acquisitions or merges with other logistics companies or newly liberalized companies. Established companies wit big market share, global network and technology have competitive advantage. Opportunity: Border lines have been removed within EU and services are more accessible in the whole Europe. Emerging markets represent a potential of rapid economy growth therefore it is an opportunity for companies to enter and establish their brand and image and gain bigger market share. Threat: Role of Research Development department in the company is very important. Company has to respond to changes in society quickly not to loose market share and demand for services. Customer satisfaction surveys, market surveys, employee surveys play important role in building companys brand and image in the market. Threat: In times of economic crisis economy slowed down and revenue decreased. Reduction of cost is evitable for every company and restructuring or outsourcing are the ways of dealing with it. Threat: Social costs represent a responsibility of companies towards society. The affect of transportation and logistics companies on environment is significant and companies role is to decrease those costs by working with more efficient and environmentally friendly technology which is then balanced by larger portfolio of environmental friendly oriented customers. Companies are forced to invest into environmentally friendly operations by fines, taxes and directives placed by governments. Therefore, companies have started implementing projects that help them fulfill those requirements. Threat: Modern technology and environment is key to success of the company that helps to maintain or gain competitive advantage. IT is the most important technology factor for logistics business because speed and reliability are equal to success. However, there is an indisputable constant threat of falling behind. Investments to the modernist technologies are evitable and in times of economic crisis are much more important then anytime before. The role of Research Development is evitable here. Porters Five Forces   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Courier Express Market is highly competitive market and its growth is directly related to growth of GDP. Customers of logistics companies are demanding. Technology improvements reduce product life cycles, quality awareness among customer is growing and in order to succeed companies are forced to maintain high quality standards. DHL Express has three biggest competitors in CEP market. They are UPS, TNT and FedEx. As you can see in the Picture 2 below DHL Express has the highest market share of 25% as a single company in Europe. All four major competitors operate internationally and have global network with good and modern technology behind them. The picture below also shows us that third of the European market is dismantled among small and medium sized companies that operates independently. European market portrait Customers of logistics companies vary from individuals to big industrial or manufacturing companies. All of them expect that the delivery service will be simple and convenient and that the delivery will be on time without any delay and in a good quality. Customers are more and more demanding because range of suppliers is broadening and they are looking for customized and innovative solutions for delivery of their goods. DP DHL: Annual Report 2008, p. 58 [online] Available at www. The range of offered products is wide but could be introduced in three basic categories: Courier services are fast, door-to-door pick up and delivery services of high-value goods or urgently required documents. Express services are time-sensitive, usually guaranteed services and have delivery time a specific day (in general the next day) and/or specific time. Parcel services are the transport of largely standardized packages with usually non-guaranteed delivery time of 2-3 days (Time-definite and Day-definite) Porters Five Forces mode will help me to analyze five forces that influence the logistics industry and better understand the environment in which DHL Express operates in and competitive advantage the company has or could gain. Threat of New Entrants HIGH   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CEP market is large and very attractive to business. Everyone needs to deliver package or parcel. Everyone needs to use courier. Logistics industry is important and dominates to the service sector. It is very easy to entry. There are no special legal barriers, patents or licenses necessary to run the business. There are exceptions as described in PESTLE analysis but those exceptions do not represent impossible to achieve requirements. The market is still growing and there is an assumption that will grow further.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are no border lines among members of EU which would threaten new companies to enter the CEP market. Company that wants to succeed in such a competitive environment has to have a good network that enables it to operate on local and international level. Good network requires time and financial investment. High technology standard is must. Companies have to protect themselves from the threats of new entrants therefore it is important for them to find ways to turn disadvantages in their favor. They have to capitalize from their historical experience and try to find better ways to provide their service. Current big players in CEP market are well established leaders that have significant cost advantage that is unavailable for the new entrants. Large companies have buying power that allows them to offer discounts to their customers. Simply, bigger the business is lower average unit cost they are able to produce. Customers loyalty is another important factor that increases barriers to entry for other competitors. Loyal and satisfied customer will be unlikely tempted to go to competitors or new entrants. Established companies usually do business set on long-term partnerships and contracts. The basic rule says that customers get everything they need or want.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many advantages that economies of scale gives to big corporations but there are also limitations that must be taken into account. Those limitations give competitive advantage to smaller and medium sized companies. Large companies are very complex and with higher complexity the product range is widening. This makes it difficult to succeed and be the best. Specialization and innovative ideas are crucial. Large companies are also known for their high level of bureaucracy which gives smaller companies big advantage because they can satisfy customer faster and it is what matters in logistics industry. Also large companies have thousands of employees with different labor relations in every country which causes additional legal cost. In case of powerful workers union it can decrease power of the company and make their operation more difficult especially in time of restructuring.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As I have mentioned modern technology is an important factor that significantly helps to increase market share and creates more barriers for new entrants. Outsourcing or off shoring are possibilities for companies to take advantage of other economies of scale and use their buying power and specialization in favor of further development. Summary:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In summary, logistics market is large and is attractive to business because when GDP grows the demand for services grows. There is no special barrier to entry. In fact, it is very easy to entry. The market is still growing and there is an assumption that will grow further. Successful companies have built networks that enable them to operate on local and international level. Good network requires time and financial investment. High technology standard is must. Historical experience and appearance in the market is an advantage for companies like DHL. Big companies and corporations use economies of scale in their favor. Bigger company can provide higher discount and has lower profit. Customers loyalty is another important factor that increases barriers to entry for other competitors because of long-term partnerships and contracts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the other hand there are also disadvantages for big companies that must be taken into

Pakistan and Afghanistan Essay -- Politics, War, Turmoil

From the 1980’s onwards, Pakistan and Afghanistan have been at the forefront of numerous socio-political events germane to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. The multifarious factors involved form a perplexing web of competing narratives that resist straightforward explanation. This essay will delve into the milieu, seeking alternative theories to construct a cogent thesis for the growth of fundamentalism. In doing so, it will examine the Islamisation policies of Pakistan’s Zia-ul-Haq administration and its congruence with United States interests at the time. Particular focus will be given to the Afghanistan – Pakistan dyad and how the recent return of international forces perpetuates the conditions that allow Islamic fundamentalism to prosper. As a state whose principal raison d'à ªtre is for the protection of Muslims, Pakistan had historically struggled with defining what its Islamic mandate entailed. Arriving in power via a coup d’à ©tat, Zia-ul-Haq employed religion to attain popular legitimacy, orchestrating Islamic reform as a deceitful pretence for securing power (Kennedy 1990: 73). Correspondingly, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan solidified the role of Islamic politics, with Zia-ul-Haq exhibiting a distinct preference for radical groups as a counterweight to communist ideology (Fuller 1991: 11). The most visible sign of creeping religiosity appeared in 1982 with the declaration that â€Å"national dress† and Islamic studies were mandatory for government employees (Cohen 1988: 314). Underlying this conversion, the government funded the expansion of an increasingly radical madrasa based education system - with the intention to transform the electoral landscape and boost support for Islamic parties ( Nasr 2000: 147). Through th... ...ndamentalists who demur at the state’s very existence, we can opine that Pakistan may already have crossed the Rubicon. This essay has elucidated that Pakistan and Afghanistan are a point of convergence for a litany of failed, arguably asinine policies by both the chief protagonists and outside interests. As such, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism represents the logical endpoint for an array of policies that mobilised extremist religious dogma to achieve geostrategic objectives. Crucially, the abject failure of all involved to disband and reintegrate those forces into a legitimate Afghan state has proved calamitous in its consequences. With recent international intervention bolstering the ideological sources of fundamentalism and with the nexus of instability spreading deep into Pakistan, the continued prominence of Islamic fundamentalism appears inevitable.

Coping with Peer Pressure Essay -- Peer Pressure Essays

Adolescence is a time when peers play an increasingly important role in the lives of youth. Teens begin to develop friendships that are more intimate, exclusive, and more constant than in earlier years. In many ways, these friendships are an essential component of development. They provide safe venues where youth can explore their identities, where they can feel accepted and where they can develop a sense of belongingness. Friendships also allow youth to practice and foster social skills necessary for future success. Nonetheless, parents and other adults can become concerned when they see their teens becoming preoccupied with their friends. Many parents worry that their teens might fall under negative peer influence or reject their families’ values and beliefs, as well as be pressured to engage in high-risk and other negative behaviors. In actuality, peer influence is more complex than our stereotype of the negative influences from friends. First, peer influence can be both positive and negative. While we tend to think that peer influence leads teens to engage in unhealthy and unsafe behaviors, it can actually motivate youth to study harder in school, volunteer for community and social services, and participate in sports and other productive endeavors. In fact, most teens report that their peers pressure them not to engage in drug use and sexual activity. Second, peer influence is not a simple process where youth are passive recipients of influence from others. In fact, peers who become friends tend to already have a lot of things in common. Peers with similar interests, similar academic standing, and enjoy doing the same things tend to gravitate towards each other. So while it seems that teens and their friends become ve... ...relationships, and deflect negative peer pressures and influences. Selected References Brown, B. B. (2004). Adolescents’ relationships with peers. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, 2nd edition (pp. 363-394). New York: Wiley. Brown, B. B. (1990). Peer groups and peer cultures. In S. S. Feldman & G. R. Elliott (Eds). At the threshold: The developing adolescent (pp. 171-198). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Brown, B. B. & Klute, C. (2006). Friendships, cliques, and crowds. In G. R. Adams & M. D. Berzonsky (Eds.). Blackwell Handbook of Adolescence (pp. 330-348). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. Steinberg, L. (2005). Adolescence. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Acknowledgment This publication is partly based on NebFact 211, â€Å"Adolescence and Peer Pressure† by Herbert G. Lingren, Extension Family Specialist.

Project Managers

With the rapid advances currently being made in information technology there has now become an increased need for Project Managers. The scale and number of projects has increased thereby increasing the risk associated with these projects. With this in mind the choosing of project managers with the required skills to ensure the successful completion of projects has become critical and organizations have recognized that the choosing of the right individual to lead a project can have a significant bearing on the success of the organization. There are countless project management certifications, methodologies and text books that give their own interpretation of what us considered a â€Å"best practice† and every methodology can bring value if applied appropriately. Methodologies are better viewed as valuable frameworks or toolkits from which a skilled and experienced Project Manager can select the relevant components, probably different components for different projects, and apply them where appropriate, not just for the sake of it or because it says so in the manual. So, if the methodologies and certifications only make up a part of the profile of a good project manager, what the other attributes and traits do we consider to be most important in a project manager?AdaptabilityAn often-used word, but project managers need to be able to react to change. They need to be dynamic, flexible and adaptable. Of course, setting out a comprehensive plan, with clear dependencies, milestones and completion dates is a key part of project planning but if all that was required to be a successful project manager was to set out a plan at the outset and then sit at the tiller and gently steer the project team through the plan, everybody would be doing it. When the inevitable happens and the risk becomes an issue, or the customer changes their requirement, or a key engineer resigns, this is when good project managers really come into their own. The ability to react quickly, to have an answer before most people have even realized what the question is and to have a contingency plan, a Plan B and a Plan C sets good project managers apart.PragmatismThe Project Manager who constantly falls back on, or some might say hides behind, process is unlikely to prosper in the real world. We'd all like to deliver our projects to the letter of a recognized methodology, but if it was as simple as just obtaining a PRINCE2 or Agile certification and then carrying the manual around with you, good project managers wouldn't command the salaries they do. A successful project manager will balance the essential process and rigor with the need to be pragmatic at times and to bend the rules occasionally. There's no room for mavericks when delivering large enterprise projects, and we'd recommend that doing things outside of process first receives the endorsement of somebody with appropriate authority, but when rigidly adhering to process means that you miss a customer delivery deadline that you would otherwise have hit, possibly with financial or reputational implications, that's the time when an experienced and aware project manager will propose the pragmatic approach.Logical Mind-setThe ability to look ahead and logically fit together the pieces of a complex implementation is of great value to a project manager. A bigger picture view and understanding of dependencies and why certain activities need to be sequential makes project planning a lot easier and significantly increases the likelihood that a plan is accurate and effective. Some of the best technical and innovative minds, the types of individual that are key to delivering technology, are hopelessly devoid of organization and methodical thinking. The project manager has to bring the logical outlook that pulls it all together, and a strong project manager will have the confidence to challenge the thinking of the most brilliant engineer if he or she is failing to look beyond their own small area of the overall implementation.CommunicationNo surprises here. Most project managers would list communication as one of the most important aspects of project management. Indeed, most project management methodologies dedicate specific coverage to communication and the Comms Plan. How and to whom a project manager communicates is vitally important. All projects should set out at the outset how they will formally report progress, risk ; issues, exceptions and escalations. This is the formal part. In addition to this, a good project manager will make sure that key stake holders always have just enough information but not too much and are never caught in a position where the first they know of an issue or problem is when the customer escalates it to them. Different stakeholders like different approaches and the project manager needs to quickly establish how best to communicate informally with stakeholders, be it email, phone, walking over to their desk, or a chat at the coffee machine. An important point made verbally is always best followed up in writing.RelationshipsGood relationships go a long way when trying to achieve project success. The project manager who invests time into building relationships with key players will find themselves well positioned when the pressure is on and it's necessary to ask more of the project team, or when relationships with clients become strained due to delivery challenges. Ten minutes invested in providing counsel to a frustrated engineer, showing some empathy and letting him get a few gripes off his chest, can pay dividends when you need that same engineer to work late on a Friday night to get an installation finished. It's not just relationships with key contributors in the project team that are important. Forming a strong relationship with a delivery counterpart within the client's organization is also important. When you're both in front of the customer's programme sponsor at the monthly steering board and the meeting isn't going well due to challenges or delays on the project, you'd rather be side by side and aligned with your client counterpart, who reports into that programme sponsor, than be the individual who gets hung out to try and made a scapegoat.Political AwarenessMany a talented project manager has fallen down or been made the scapegoat for project failure because they didn't get to grips with the politics of either their own organization or that of the customer. A good understanding of when to speak, when to just keep your head down and listen, who to trust, who to be wary of, who you must keep on the right side of and where the real power and authority resides will all increase a project manager's chance of success. Let's be completely honest, sometimes a project is just going to fail, regardless of who the project manager is. A project manager who can navigate the political landscape (as well as having a lot of the other traits we list here) will emerge from a challenged project with their reputation intact, possibly even enhanced. A project manager who neglects this area runs the risk of being made the fall-guy and going down with the sinking ship. Some of this only comes with experience, and there are very few project and programme managers who would honestly tell you that they hadn't been burnt by organizational politics at some stage in their career.AuthoritativeAnother area that sometimes only comes with experience, but being authoritative, or at least giving the impression of being calm and in control, even when you haven't got all of the answers, will inspire calm and confidence in stakeholders and project team members. Nothing erodes customer confidence or encourages an angry client to go for the jugular like a project manager who mutters his way through an update or shows uncertainty and hesitation when answering a difficult question.Inclination to question and challengeThe project manager who takes everyone and everything at face value runs the risk of having the wool pulled over their eyes. Of course , delegation is a key aspect of project management and whilst having overall accountability, the project manager cannot take responsibility for everything. But as a project manager, the ability to quickly identify the right questions to ask, who and when to challenge, and who and when you can trust is another key trait. As a Project Manager, you never want to be in a position where your senior stakeholder or customer is asking the questions that you should have asked yourself or is asking you questions that you can't answer because you haven't asked the right questions of your team.Delegate but keep controlThere is a place, on small, simple, projects for the â€Å"player manager† to use sporting parlance, the individual who does some basic project management as well as being responsible for actually carrying out some of the actions. Similarly, its sometimes valuable when a project finds itself in â€Å"all hands-on deck† mode if the project manager can roll up his sleeve and start crawling under desks to trace cables, deploy handsets or drive a piece of kit from one site to another. However, typically a project manager can't afford to be in the detail of configuring equipment, taking part in the physical installations or touching kit. A project manager incapable of staying out of the weeds will eventually fall foul of this because they will neglect the true project management responsibilities and tasks that they should be carrying out. A project manager needs to establish the governance and rules with project team members in terms of what they need to be made aware of and what they are happy to delegate and leave in the hands of the project resource who owns the action.ExperienceUnfortunately for any new project managers on the block, the reality is that the big jobs normally go to project managers who have been around the block a few times. Not what you want to hear when you're trying to break into project management but, arguably more so than in a lot of other disciplines, the best project managers have normally been doing it for a while. An installation technician can leave the training lab knowing all they need to know about how to physically rack and stack kit and connect it to the network. An engineer can attend a training course on how to configure a switch or router. Individuals with the appropriate training can be immediately effective in these types or roles, even if they have little or no real-world experience. Clearly there are enough project managers around to demonstrate that a lack of experience isn't an absolute barrier to entry but if we're talking about the best project managers, those who are entrusted with the complex projects and the high-profile clients, experience plays a major part. With experience, all of the other traits on this list are likely to be developed and enhanced to a higher level. When a challenge arises, the experienced project manager who has seen the same or similar situations before is more likely to have learned the lessons and gained first-hand knowledge of what will work and what won't work. Sadly, for those looking to enter project management and go straight to the top of the pile, you can't teach experience.

Goverment Review

Goverment Review Questions: 1. A constitution is a document that creates the legal Framework for a government. 2. After the independence of Mexico Texas was politically a part of Mexico 3. Although many delegates to the 1875 convention were business professionals, farmers interest had an overwhelming influence. 4. Name the Texas constitution that allowed Blacks in Texas the right to vote – Radical Reconstruction 5. The constitution of the Republic of Texas was influenced by The U. S. Constitution 6. African Americans earned the right to vote in Texas with ratification of the 1869 constitution 7.Texas joined the Confederacy in 1861 8. The Republic of Texas was created in 1836 9. Under the Republic of Texas, slavery was legalized 10. The Constitution of Coahuila y Tejas was written under rule by the Mexican constitution of 1824 11. In order to legally secede from the United States, Texas would need 12. The Texas constitution differs from the U. S. Constitution in length and proc ess in choosing judges 13. In Texas, schools are governed at the municipal level. 14. Voting rights in Texas were originally limited by the use of Poll taxes 15.The Texas constitution has been amended 400 times, compared to 27 times for the U. S. Constitution. 16. Poll taxes, used in Texas until 1966, limited the voting rights of minorities 17. Elections of Texas governors and of board and commission members are staggered, leading to the 18. The Texas constitution can be described as being very detailed 19. Amendments to the Texas constitution with only a limited, local impact are voted on by all Texas citizens 20. The 1974 attempt to reform the Texas constitution was largely impeded by those wishing to gain independence 21.The traditionalistic and individualistic political subculture supported Conservative establishment. 22. The main lobbying opponent of the trial lawyers lobby has been the Texas Medical Association 23. Public interest groups are most likely to use funding pathway . 24. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has tended to use the courts pathway. 25. The Religious Right has come to direct the Republican Party and its political agenda in Texas in the last two decades. 26. Texas elected no governor to statewide office between 1874 and 1961. 27.According to one scholar, bifactionalism in Texas resulted in increased influence for interest groups 28. Define realignment. A major shift in political party support or identification that usually occurs around a critical election. 29. In 2002, the districts drawn by the Legislative Redistricting Board helped draw new districts that favored republicans 30. 45th governor of State of Texas Ann Richards 31. Methods that were used to limit voting rights for minorities in Texas Poll Taxes 32. The function of political action committees is to raise money 33.A campaign finance disclosure law passed in Texas in 1973 mandates limits on campaign 34. General Law Cities in Texas have fewer tha n Residents 35. The type of city government most based on the separation-of-powers principle is the mayor- council government 36. The operation of local governments in Texas is dictated by the legislature and the state constitution 37. General-law cities have fewer than 5,000 citizens and lack the power of legislation 38. The strong mayor form of municipal government in Texas more closely resembles Houston than city government. 9. The strong mayor form of government, though common elsewhere in the U. S. , is only found in what major city in Texas? Houston 40. The city commission form of municipal government reflects its origins in its Fragmented executive 41. Municipal elections in Texas are overwhelmingly nonpartisan 42. City governments rely on regressive taxes for funding. 43. Cities often finance projects through the use of voter-approved sales tax increase 44. What are General Obligation bonds? Government bonds used to finance construction projects.The bonds, which required vot er approval, are repaid with taxes revenues. 45. Judicial activities in counties are carried out primarily by the county courts- at- law 46. In smaller counties, the primary law enforcement duties are carried out by the sheriff 47. The county official responsible for receiving and disbursing county funds is the county treasurer 48. The primary source of funding for councils of government in Texas is Regressive taxes 49. Define Spoke Annexation- the ability cities to expand their boundaries 50. Texas cities can annex an area up to 10% of their territory in a given year.