Chapter 9 & 10 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Chapter 9 & 10 - Assignment Example Question # 2: P&G has now realized the importance of the social media and already shifted its advertisement budget towards social media. The company needs to increase its budget for social media such as face book, twitter as this media has great influence in the mind of people. P&G should also involve in social causes to attach customers emotionally towards it and to build strong brand images. For that purpose, It can offer scholarships to needy and meritorious people, and help needy people. Question # 3: The world is facing economical crises and the buying power of the consumer is reducing which can be worst in future. This is a significant situation which might affect P&G badly. Moreover, the R&D and marketing cost of P&G is increasing with the passage of time which can be problematic for the company as the world is now searching new techniques to reduce cost. In addition to that, increasing competition in FMCG industry is also the major risk which P&G can face in the future. Case 2: McDonald’s Question # 2: The core brand value of McDonald is its high quality food for customers with speed and convenience. Initially, McDonald was offering quality Hamburger but it expanded its menu with other dishes like Happy Meal, Big Mac, Egg, McMuffin etc. The company started expanding its business domestically as well as internationally due to its premium quality of food. However during 1990s company lost its direction i.e. high premium food. It focused to further expand its network of restaurants. It was not focusing to train employees properly and thus customer faced poor services and started losing the interest from the company. The company realized this situation and refocused its 5Ps and adopted the policy to offer different dishes for different region according to their culture and environment. Through this plan McDonald refocused on food and service quality. It also started offering healthy food due to the increasing concern of customers regarding obesity. I t also included ice-cream and coffee in its menu. Question # 2: McDonald should not change its strategy because the strategy worked well for it. It has refocused on its core values which it lost and had negative response from consumers. Therefore it will be a great risk for McDonald to change its strategies. McDonald has expanded its menu and added great varieties in it. Though its core product was Hamburger but it included new food to attract new segments of the market. Moreover, they have included healthier food in the menu and offer to health conscious people at a premium price. The strategy to offer different food for different markets according to their culture and environment has also worked in favor of McDonald. In addition to that, $1 menu was also the marvelous strategy of McDonald which targeted lower income people and teenagers. Question # 3: McDonalds might face several risks in the future. It is a multinational company which can face treasury risk due to the variation i n US Dollars against major currencies. Global instability in the economical crises might also affect McDonald’s business. Another greater risk that it might face is the entrance of new players in the market. The living standard of the people is increasing and they are going to more delicious and quality food. Therefore, the

Evaluating the Case of The Early Retirement Essay

Evaluating the Case of The Early Retirement - Essay Example †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦11 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦12 Appendix A†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..13 Abstract This paper seeks to delve deeper into the trend in the modern economy of high employee early retirement. While it may be very alluring for many to opt for this option, it may not necessarily be the best move for employees to consider. There are many factors that might prove to be very problematic for the early retirees. This paper also explains why majority of companies are offering early retirement op tions, but not for the well and benefit of their employees. Companies are forced to offer this option because of the ever fast changing technological advancements and they constantly need to train individuals, most preferably the younger ones, to take over these aspects. This matter then becomes something like teaching an old dog new tricks. Companies tend to decide to offer termination for their older employees rather than to sustain them and incur higher salary expenses. Technical advancements also tend to make jobs obsolete. Financial stability as well as the emotional and mental consequences must be considered before opting for early retirement. For one cannot enjoy the vast time that is availed by early retirement if one does not have the resources to make it worthwhile. Evaluating the Case of Early Retirement Introduction In the ever tolling rat race of the industrial world, with all the heavy and laborious challenges that man is faced just to earn a living, every man is looki ng forward to their retirement. Who would not want to just lay back, enjoy life, and do the things which were rendered impossible by the busy lives of working and toiling day after day for decades and decades. Sure, everyone wants the easy life, who doesn’t? After all, every man who has sweat blood and broke his back would ultimately need to reward himself and reap the benefits of his labor. Early retirement sounds so ideal, so surreal, and so gratifying. It means that you have achieved and managed to build your keep and have you living well-off for the rest of your life; the ultimate achievement for a good and fruitful career. But early retirement is not like as how fairy tales go. It is not as simple as living happily ever after. Financial stability does not necessary follow with early retirement. Sure, there will be that severance pay and/or whatever the companies will package and offer you as â€Å"gratitude† to your services to them, but once those are depleted co mes the real problem. Pension is a viable option to compensate for the monthly salary which you will not be receiving anymore, but there are also other benefits which cannot be availed for early retirees. In this paper, not only will the advantages and the good life of early retirement will be tackled but also this paper will seek to delve into the cons and the

Silver Blaze Essay Example for Free

Silver Blaze Essay What are the roles of Holmes and Watson within Silver Blaze and what is there relationship with each other? In this assignment I am going to look at the relationship between to characters that are both very hard to judge this is due to their roles and use in the storys created by Conan Doyle. Holmes and Watson are two characters, created by Conan Doyle. They live a very interesting and adventurous life. They have a great interest in crimes, which have been committed and enjoy solving them and understanding the criminals intentions. Watson is a retired medical who worked for the army and has a lot of knowledge. After reading Silver Blaze I have noted that Holmes always seems to be the master mind in solving the crimes, and that Watson is telling the story as though he is dictating it in his diary. It seems to give the reader the impression that Holmes gives the orders to Watson, but not in a harsh way, he gives the reader the impression as though he is the leader. Also when they arrive at the town of Tavistock they are greeted with great care, there is a carriage waiting to escort them to their hotel. The relationship between Holmes and Watson in Silver Blaze is clear. The first thing we can learn straight away is that both Holmes and Watson are both livening together and both also are always travelling together, this shows us that there relationship is strong, and we also can note that they never argue therefore there friendship is very strong. Also we know that not only do both Holmes and Watson live together but also work together. This makes it hard but yet also very easy to evaluate their relationship. This is because I could evaluate the relationship between Holmes and Watson if I was to read all the Conan Doyle books, which he wrote. I could judge the relationship easier, but the problem which I do face is that Holmes and Watson spend so much time together, there relationship is very strong and is lot more than I can talk about it through Silver Blaze. This is because from what I have read I see there relationship as two working partners, when I say partners I mean business partners. Also to show that the relationship of Watson and Holmes is very strong, in line 505 it shows Watson defending Holmes whos intentions are to drop this case; I was about to make some reply in defence of my friend, when he entered the room again. Watson gives the picture as though he is Holmes sidekick. This is the image given by the writer to the reader, but if you continue reading the story and understand the characters you can learn that both men would not be as successful as they are, if they werent together. This is because the two men both have great knowledge and expertise in different sectors and fields and always needs the others opinion. A good example of this is when they discover the knife that was used in the incident in Silver Blaze; Holmes turns to Watson for his medical expertise. This shows us that both men require each others knowledge. For example, Line 122, Watson ask, One moment! asked Watson. Did the stable boy, when he ran out with the dog, leave the door unlocked behind him? This allows us to see that Holmes requires Watsons help. We can tell this because of Holmes response is; Excellent, Watson! murmured my companion. The importance of the point struck me so forcibly that I sent a special wire to Dartmoor yesterday to clear the matter. This response tells us that Holmes requires Watsons knowledge. It also in a way steals Watsons clever work, ideas and his theory about the crime. This also tells us that Watson is not just a friend who helps Holmes by being with him, but Watson is an important part to Holmes cases, because of his knowledge. The writer Doyle gives us the impression that Watson is telling the story that makes the reader think that Watson does not play a major part in the case. A good example of this is: Excellent, Watson! murmured my companion. Murmured my companion, those three words tell us that Watson is telling the story. Also it also states Holmes and Watsons relationship, which is that the two are very close companions. Also I have noticed at the end of the short story Watson evaluates the story and the case after Holmes has explained the mystery and the puzzle of the case. Also a lot of the crime solving and puzzles are explained by Homes, the reason why I think this is because Watson is seen to be Holmes pupil. The reason why I think this is because all the explanation is done by Holmes and all the introduction to the cases are done by Homes. As example of this is shown on the first page to the story, Holmes explains to Watson about him leaving, and then Watson offers to come along, and once this is said by Watson, Holmes is very glad and happy that Watson has offered to come along. So overall I feel that his relationship between Holmes and Watson is very strong and powerful, this is because they have friendship, partnership and a lot of trust in each other. There partnership is also very successful because they both see each other as very useful, and are always happy to listen to each others views without arguing or disagreeing.

Tojo World War II

Tojo World War II Tojo World War II Project Throughout World War II many important individuals have played pivotal roles in the war. These individuals have included Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany and Winston Churchill of Great Britain. But in the Pacific Theater of World War II, Hideki Tojo of Japan played a very important role in World War II as well. Tojo was important in World War II because he authorized many crucial events in the war, like the bombing of Pearl Harobr and the Battle of Midway. Hideki was born in Tokyo, Japan on December 30, 1884 and came from a family of samurai decent. His father was an accomplished general who enrolled Tojo in the Military Academy and the Army College. After Tojo graduated in 1924, he was able to achieve many accomplishments. His achievements included being a military attachà © in Switzerland and teaching at the Army Staff College. Within the military circle Tojo was known as the Razor; a reputation Tojo received for his ability to make quick and sharp decisions. But one of his biggest achievements before World War II was his arrest of the main conspirators of the February 26 incident. The February 26 incident was an attempted coup detat of the Japanese government. The reasoning behind this coup detat was that many of the younger officers in the Japanese military felt there was major corruption and poverty in the rural areas. And they believed the solution was to remove some of the officials in the government. Some of their targets included Keisuke Okada, who was the prime minister of Japan during the time of the incident. As well as Makino Nobuaki, who was in good relations with Emperor Hirohito. The conspirators of the February 26 incident believed by removing people like Nobuaki out of government, then the problems in Japan would be solved. However Tojo and other military members against the coup were able to arrest many of the conspirators and suppress the rebellion. As a result Tojo was promoted to a Chief of Staff Position and by 1929; Tojo had become commander of the illustrious First Infantry Regiment. Within Tojo, he had extreme right wing views and believed in an aggressive foreign policy. Thus it was natural for Tojo to support military actions such as the 1931 invasion of Manchuria and the Second Sino-Japanese War. The invasion of Manchuria consisted of Manchuria as well as Korea under Japanese control. Japan also instituted a puppet government in Manchuria called Manchuko, with Puyi as Manchukos regent. While the Second Sino Japanese War was a result of Japans imperialist policy to control China and obtain Chinas raw material and other resources. Although both wars displayed the military might of Japan, it also produced dire consequences. Many of the Chinese were killed and Japan was panned by the international community. Especially from the League of Nations, who condemned Japans military aggression, thus pushing Japan to leave the League of Nations. Tojo, like many of the Japanese people at the time, held great admiration for the dictators in Europe, such as Hitler and Mussolini. Tojo especially respected Hitler, whom Tojo admired for his passion and toughness. Japans respect toward the European dictators was exemplified when Japan signed the Tripartite Pact: a pact that created a mutual alliance between Italy, Germany, and Japan. However Japans respect toward the European dictators was not shared with the United States. Instead many Japanese people like Tojo perceived the Americans to be self indulgent, lazy and without morals. This was especially evidenced during Tojos trip to the United States as a military attachà ©. During the trip, Tojo perceived the Americans to be lacking the spiritual strength and dedication of the Japanese. Perhaps through this attitude toward the Americans and among other factors did it help persuade Tojo to authorize an attack on Pearl Harbor. When by Emperor Hirohito appointed Tojo to be the Prime Minister, Tojo believed that war with the United States was inevitable and Japan needed to be prepared for such a war. He thought this way because tensions between Japan and the United States were already high. This was due to events such as Japans invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and their continuing expansion toward China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In an attempt to stop Japans military aggression, the United placed an embargo on oil exports to Japan. The embargo implanted by the United States was proven to have a negative effect toward Japan because United States supplied many of Japans oil exports, and Japan needed vast amounts of oil to fuel their military expansion. And if Japan were to continue conquering further into Asia, Tojo and many military commanders were sure they would be in a war with the United States. As a way to prevent a war with the United States, an attack on Pearl Harbor seemed to be solution. After all Tojo and many Japanese commanders believed the Pearl Harbor plan would achieve three things. First of all through the plan, United States would lose many of its valuable ships, therefore preventing the U.S. from interfering with Japans naval interest. Second, the Pearl Harbor attack would give Japan time to strengthen its position and reinforce their navy. Lastly, the Pearl Harbor bombings would lower United States morale and give Japan the chance to dominate the Southeast Asia region. However after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, quite the contrary occurred. The United States congress immediately declared war on the empire of Japan and America began to mobilize its society toward an all out war. As it became evident that the United States would fight Japan in World War II, Tojo began to lead the empire of Japan toward many battles in the Pacific with the United States. At first it seemed Japan was victorious against their enemies as they were able to gain various territories in the Pacific. Territories that Japan conquered included Guam, the Wake Islands, Marianas, and many others. But their numerous victories were especially highlighted by the Battle of the Philippines. The Battle of the Philippines was an invasion conducted by the Japanese forces and its sole purpose was to gain raw materials in the nearby areas. The defending units of the Phillipines were a combined force of American and Filipino soldiers. Despite the defending troops having more men then Japan in the battle, they were otherwise at a disadvantage. Japan was using their best troops and equipment for the battle, while the American/Filipino soldiers were poorly trained and equipped. As a result the Philippin es became a part of Japan, and the Allied soldiers that did survive suffered harsh treatment from the Japanese. The Japanese punished the soldiers with atrocities such as the Bataan Death March. The Battaan Death March was a march of about 76,000 prisoners, marching from the Bataan peninsula to war prison camps. During the march the Japanese often beat the soldiers and nourishments like food were purposely kept away from the prisoners. Physical abuse such as rape, beheading, and bayonet piercing were common throughout the march. But despite the momentum Japan seemed to be reaching in the Pacific, they came to an abrupt halt during the Battle of Midway. The Battle of Midway was a decisive battle fought between the United States and Japan. In the battle Japan wanted to eliminate United States as a power in the Pacific theatre of World War II. Japan hoped a victory on Midway would convince the United States to end its operations in the Pacific and give the advantage Japan needed to dominate the other countries in East Asia. But during the Battle of Midway, the U.S. Navy were able to surprise the Japanese invasion fleet and score a resounding victory. The Navy was able to sink all four of Japans aircraft carriers while only three of their own carriers were sunk. After the Battle of Midway, Tojos reputation within Japan began to deteriorate as Japan began to suffer many defeats against the United States. These defeats have included battles such as the Battle of Iwo Jima. In the Battle of Iwo Jima, the United States planned to capture the island as a landing place for damaged bombers coming back from Japan. During the battle the U.S. marines suffered casualties around 20, 000 people. The Japanese that were left on the island died from the battle or by commit suicide. Many of the Japanese killed themselves because they thought the Americans were barbarous and would treat them terribly. In reality, the Americans treated the Japanese well and even offered them nourishments like water. Finally after the fall of Saipan in 1944, Tojo was dismissed as prime minister and maintained a low profile. But soon after Japans surrender in 1945, Tojos name began to reappear into the spotlight. It was because General Douglas Macarthur ordered the arrest of alleged war criminals which included Hideki Tojo. As a result many news reporters and photographers surrounded Tojos house, preventing Tojos chance to escape. Once the American forces finally arrived to Tojos house, Tojo shot himself in the chest as an attempt of suicide. Although Tojo intended to end his life by shooting his heart, he ended up shooting into his stomach and failed to kill himself. Tojo was then arrested and had an emergency surgery in a U.S. Army Hospital. Later on, Tojo would be tried by Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal for his war crimes during World War II. Tojo would be found guilty of crimes such as antagonizing war with the United States and the deaths of millions in the Eastern Asia region. As punishment Tojo would be sentenced to death. Tojo would finally be executed by hanging on December 2, 1948. Overall Tojo played a important role in World War II because he would lead many crucial events in the war. An example would be Tojos authorization of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor, many of the ships that belonged to the United States were destroyed. Most of all battleships were heavily targeted because they were highly valued during this time period. The bombing of Pearl Harbor was a crucial event because it immediately switched the mindset of the American people at the time. Before the Pearl Harbor attacks, many Americans preferred an Isolationist policy of not being involved in the affairs of other countries. But because of the attack, the isolationist agenda was suddenly dropped and the United States suddenly joined forces with the Allies to fight the Japanese and the Axis Powers. Thus the authorization of the Pearl Harbor Bombing would be crucial to World War II because it would bring in one of the biggest players in the war: The United States of America. Another important event Tojo lead was the Battle of Midway. In this battle Japan wanted to eliminate United States as a power in the Pacific theatre of World War II. Japan hoped a victory on Midway would convince the United States to end its operations in the Pacific and give the advantage Japan needed to dominate the other countries in East Asia. The Battle of Midway was proven to be important because the battle proved itself to be a halt to the victories Japan held in the war. Before the Battle of Midway, the empire of Japan had a strung of victories in battles like the Battle of the Phillipines. But once the Americans defeated the Japanese in the Battle of Midway, Japan began to lose many battles afterwards. These battles have included historic events such as the Battle of Okinawa and Iwo Jima. Because of the continuing losses Japan began to suffer after the Battle of Midway, United States began to gain momentum and eventually end World War II in the Pacific. In conclusion Hideki Tojo has played a very important role in World War II, as it is evidenced through many of the crucial events that Tojo initiated. These events have included the Pearl Harbor attacks and the Battle of Midway. Although in Tojo is not as notorious as Hitler is in Europ, Tojo has an ominous presence within many countries in Asia. It was through the many crucial events Tojo authorized like The Battle of the Phillipipnes that made Tojo notorious there. Therefore through the many pivotal events Tojo conjured, Tojo proves himself to be a very important figure in World War II. Bibliography Browne, Courtney. Tojo, the last banzai. New York City: Penguin Books, 1998. Print. A detailed spectrum into the life of Tojo especially during his role in World War II Hideki Tojo. ABC CLIO. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2010. . Hideki Tojo. Spartacuz Educational. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2010. . Hideki Tojos Biography History of World War II: Origins and Outbreak. N.p.: Marshall Cavendish, n.d. Print. Tojo was behind the Japanese Pearl Harbor Bombing Kamikazes. ABC CLIO. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2010. . Kamikazes were encouraged by Tojo Pearl Harbor. ABC-CLIO:World History Modern Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2010. . Pearl Harbor bombings

The Influence of Religious History in the Middle East :: Essays Papers

The Influence of Religious History in the Middle East For the past 5 months I have been studying the religious history of each country we have become apart of. My project consists of tracing the religious developments in each of the four countries and the role religion plays in the social, political, and moral elements in each destination. I explored the history of the nation and what major figures or events shaped the religious scope of each respective country. I learned about each religion while I was in each country and made connections of how their culture is shaped by this religious aspect. Observations I had about these societies will be correlated to their religious development and will be compared to our society in America. My goal was to understand the influence of religion in a society. This was a great opportunity to observe this influence since all respective nations are very representative of the monotheistic religions. This plan was beneficial to my ME studies concentration as well as my history major. To prepare before my journey I had taken a course on the Orthodox Church at St. Olaf and have also read Introduction to the Orthodox Church by Fr. Anthony Coniaris. My preparation in this particular faith has been ongoing since birth. The preparation for Islam has consisted of a small introductory book given to me by neighbors in my dorm who practice Islam. It had given me a good foundation to build upon. The Internet was used to prepare for learning about the Jewish faith. The Encyclopedia will give me a background on each country before I left. Also the completion of Understanding the Contemporary Middle East gave a great foundation to build on. In this final presentation I will leave out the dates and specifics that have made up my previous speeches and focus on how the culture is influenced by their history. History is not all about memorizing dates and old dead people. It is about understanding and analyzing information that ultimately shapes the world around us. All the dates will do for you is make it easier to remember an ATM code, that's about it. How many people say that "they hate history classes.. but.. they love the history channel?" Lots of people, because history is fun when you do something with it. When you take the information and create explanations for why certain cultures perceive things the way they do, you are doing what historians do, and are enacting the true purpose of history, to make connections of past and present, and linking people that are separated geographically and also culturally.

Warming Up :: Personal Narrative Papers

Warming Up "Why is it always so cold in here?" I said, aiming my voice in the direction of my parents. "It's only 68," was the invariable response from one of them. "That's room temperature." I couldn't understand why they kept the house so cold in the winter, 68 degrees during the day, 66 at night. "It's more economical to keep the house at this temperature," my dad would tell me. How much money could it cost to heat the house a few degrees more? Even though I was sure our finances would not suffer if we used more heat, I never thought of my family as rich. Rather, by comparing my family with some of my friends' families, I thought we were comparatively poor. We never had many luxuries; even our house was spartan. A few years ago, my dad and stepmom bought a plot of land in a new subdivision and designed a house. After it was built, it was obvious that we had the plainest house in the cul-de-sac. It was a one-story house with conservative beige siding and absolutely nothing fancy to make it stand out. All the other houses had two stories or decorative rows of brickwork or beautiful gables on the roof. I knew that these kinds of decorations did not come cheap, and I thought that all our neighbors must be very rich to be able to build such fancy houses. If our house was not ornate, it was certainly well kept. My dad or I mowed the yard frequently so the grass wouldn't look ragged. Neat flowerbeds encircled the house, giving it the proper, orderly look that convention demanded. Most adults I knew looked down on houses that did not meet this standard. "It's too bad they couldn't fix that siding; it would be a nice house otherwise," I would hear while passing a run-down home. Or someone else would say, "Can't that family mow their lawn? Look how bad the neighborhood looks because of that one yard." My world was clean and tidy, organized and proper. I had spent all of my 16 years in the same town, raised with a standard of propriety. I knew, in an abstract sense, that there was poverty in the world. Even so, I thought my family was, if not poor, at least poorer than most families. But I rarely thought about poverty or living conditions at all.

My Experience in Jaffna

My experience in Jaffna. – Sandarangi Perera. For three long decades Sri Lanka was torn apart by a malicious war between the country’s majority and minority. This war made the northern part of the country inaccessible to most of us; its citizens. I myself thought that the people, culture and beauty of Jaffna and its surrounding areas would forever remain a mystery to me. However once the war ended the north opened its doors for the rest of the island to come witness all it has to offer.Even with this great opportunity at my grasp, yet I was not capable of visiting northern Sri Lanka as I simply never had the chance to. Luckily this chance was given to my fellow college mates and me by our college, the chance to see and experience the post war north. After much planning, excitement and enthusiasm we set off to Jaffna hoping to gain new experiences, to learn new lessons and to make memories as young individuals aspiring to be future journalists. Our purpose of going to Ja ffna was to collect information that was needed to write the stories that each of us were assigned.The general topic assigned to the particular group that I belonged to was â€Å"agriculture†, and we were given the full freedom to choose a story we preferred under that wide topic. The task was to choose a story which has a news value. I instantly decided on writing my story about the grape cultivation in Jaffna, considering my love for the fruit and my curiosity about the process of its cultivation. On my first day in Jaffna I arranged an interview with a few government officers at the Ministry of Agriculture Northern Province. The interview was rather successful and proved to be both knowledgeable and interesting.I learned much about the history of grape cultivation in Jaffna, its plight during the war, its status after the war, the different typed of grape fruit grown in Jaffna, the problems and threats faced by the farmers and last but not least the future plans and goals set for the growth of the grape farming industry in Jaffna. Day two and three were spent visiting grape farms and interviewing the farmers to gain a much more practical knowledge about the cultivation of grapes. I must say that the grape farms we visited were by far one of the most beautiful things that I have ever witnessed.Entering each grape farm felt like walking into a land that simply was far away from Jaffna. Greenery was rare in the North. The long stretched roads often had nothing but brown, open and empty lands on either side that often felt quite dead. These farms were the absolute opposite. Every inch of the mesh above our heads was covered with light green grape vines that blocked away the scorching sun that we could not flee from the rest of the time. What looked lovelier than the grape vines themselves were the grape fruit hanging from them.Standing under those vines I couldn’t help but feel happy and refreshed. One grape farmer that I spoke to expressed to me how growing grapes was very much similar to bringing up a child. He spoke of the dedication, caring and nurturing it took to maintaining a grape farm. There were many traditions and rules entwined with this trade, there was a specific way in which every move was to be made and this made it seem to me that grape cultivation was more of an art than a business and the farmers also went on to say that sadly it is an art that is slowly dying.Our third day in Jaffna was spent visiting onion farms and Palmyra plantations and other industries related to the Palmyra plant such as handicrafts and food and drink items made out of it. Out of the places visited on that day one place in particular that I found to be interesting was a small-scale workshop where Palmyra handicrafts were made. There were about five to six women there who were weaving pretty and colourful baskets and bags and on display were the most delicate little ornaments made from various parts of the Palmyra tree.These women ma de weaving look rather easy as they sat there, smoothly and artistically moving their fingers creating beautiful patterns. Being a crafter myself I wanted to sit with them and try weaving, and so I did. An elderly woman offered to show me how it was done and I tried to grasp as much as I could by watching her fast moving fingers and yet when I tried to weave I failed miserably. I discovered that it wasn’t nearly as easy as they made it seem to be, yet it was quite the enjoyable experience to try anyway.Along with our busy schedules, tweeting, blogging and all the other work assigned to us we still found time to experience the beauty of Jaffna while at work. Many of the places we visited, such as the Jaffna library and religious sites had a certain calmness and beauty about them that I had not experienced prior to that. I found this experience to be one that educated me much about the practical aspects of being a journalist; making contacts, setting appointments and interviews , researching into stories and their details, checking and crosschecking, finding reliable sources, team work and so on.These lessons could not have been taught to any of us in a better way, therefore I believe I speak for all of my college mates when I say our field trip to Jaffna was a priceless experience in more ways than one. The open blue skies, the beaches, the breeze, the late nights and early mornings, the joyous moments shared with friends, the delicious food, the traditions and culture of the north and more than anything the kind people of the north have been etched into my memory never to be forgotten; and this was my experience in Jaffna.