How to Create a Delphi Form from a String

There may be instances when you do not know the exact class type of a form object. You may only have the string variable carrying the name of the forms class, such as â€Å"TMyForm†. Note that the Application.CreateForm() procedure expects a variable of type TFormClass for its first parameter. If you can provide a TFormClass type variable (from a string), you will be able to create a form from its name. The FindClass() Delphi function locates a class type from a string. The search goes through all registered classes. To register a class, a procedure RegisterClass() can be issued. When the FindClass function returns a TPersistentClass value, cast it to TFormClass, and a new TForm object will be created. Sample Exercise Create a new Delphi project and name the main form: MainForm (TMainForm).Add three new forms to the project, name them:FirstForm (TFirstForm)SecondForm (TSecondForm)ThirdForm (TThirdForm)Remove the three new forms from the Auto-create Forms list in the Project-Options dialog.Drop a ListBox on the MainForm and add three strings: TFirstForm, TSecondForm, and TThirdForm.   procedure TMainForm.FormCreate( Sender: TObject);begin RegisterClass(TFirstForm); RegisterClass(TSecondForm); RegisterClass(TThirdForm);end; In the MainForms OnCreate event register the classes: procedure TMainForm.CreateFormButtonClick( Sender: TObject);var s : string;begin s : ListBox1.Items[ListBox1.ItemIndex]; CreateFormFromName(s);end; Once the button is clicked, find the selected forms type name, and call a custom CreateFormFromName procedure: procedure CreateFormFromName( const FormName : string);var fc : TFormClass; f : TForm;begin fc : TFormClass(FindClass(FormName)); f : fc.Create(Application); f.Show;end; (* CreateFormFromName *) If the first item is selected in the list box, the s variable will hold the TFirstForm string value. The CreateFormFromName will create an instance of the TFirstForm form.

U.s. Policy Making Process - 1339 Words

In order to effectively comprehend the United States of America’s (U.S.) policy making process, one must, accordingly, understand the various stages as well as the institutions involved in the same. More particularly, there are four key institutions involved in the U.S.’ policy making process; each of which play a significant role in the various stages of the process. Specifically, the U.S. policymaking process is comprised of four stages, to wit: agenda setting, formulation, implementation, and evaluation. First, the agenda setting stage is concerned with the specific problems of the public that the government aims to solve. Next, the formulation stage, or the â€Å"nuts and bolts† of policymaking, is the point when policymakers attempt to resolve the problem by creating new laws and policies. Thereafter, the new laws and policies that have been created are put into play in the implementation stage. Finally, in the evaluation stage is when policymakers ass ess whether the new laws and/or policies are working as intended, and whether it resolved the problem it was designed to target. (Moats, 2016, Congress: The Legislative Branch). Moreover, there are key institutions that are involved at the aforesaid various stages within the policymaking process, to wit: Congress, the President, the Bureaucracy, and finally, the Courts. More specifically, Congress is what is referred to as the â€Å"absolute center† of policymaking in the US – decides who gets what, when, and how.Show MoreRelatedPresidency and Foreign Policy Making Essay1692 Words   |  7 PagesPresidency In exploring the basis on which the U.S President is considered to hold dominant authority in regard to foreign policy making, and whether the Congress ought to hold a significant role in the foreign decision making process, it is imperative to take into account the executive powers vested on the U.S presidency. 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It is the responsibility of the United States citizens to remove this insidious power of money and the guise that money equals free speech in which lobbyist groups are using this tool to influence elections and policies. Removing the label that money equals free speech and regulating lobbyist expenditures will produce a more honest, well-informed decision making process by allowingRead MoreNorth Korea Is A Rogue State Essay1544 Words   |  7 Pagesfor concern for the U.S. and South Korea is North Korea’s continual test of nuclear weapons paired with its aggressive behavior towards its regional neighbors. North Korea’s irrational behavior could result in full blown conventional war in the region. This is why it is of the up most importance that the United States work with its regional partners to stabilize the Korean Peninsula by stopping North Korea’s proliferation and testing of nuclear weapons. 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Those in support of erection of the wall between the U.S. and Mexico aver that fencing is a common-sense solution to keeping people from crossing the porous border (Altman, 2013). The U.S. government is planning to erect fences on places like Garcia La Paloma Ranch an initiative that was initially disputed by bi-national agency that monitors border treaties. The governmentRead MoreThomas R. Dye Established That Public Policy1121 Words   |  5 Pagespublic policy is known to be â€Å"whatever governments choose to do or not to do† (â€Å"Cultural Policy†). The formulation of policy is a cyclical, multifaceted process. It begins with the identification of an issue. Once an issue is found, options to fix the current discrepancies are looked at. This results in the determination and implementation of a policy (â€Å"Expertise and the Policy Cycle†). Repercussions of policies are potentially f elt on every social and institutional level, with every policy havingRead MoreMexico City Policy Current Event900 Words   |  4 Pages Mexico City Policy Current Event The Mexico City Policy, also known by opponents as â€Å"The Global Gag Rule†, was originally introduced as an executive order by president Ronald Reagan in 1984. The policy was made to withhold U.S. family planning, funding and assistance from foreign NGOs (non-profits) that include reproductive health organizations and included private hospitals and clinics that perform or publicize abortions. â€Å"In countries where abortion is permitted, the policy prohibits healthRead MoreImmigration Policy At Kennesaw State University Essay1541 Words   |  7 PagesThe world has always debated immigration, yet never coming to a conclusion. On the one hand, there are some countries that have been more open to the idea and practice of immigration. Canada is a prime example. From the article, Immigration Policy at the Subnational Level In North America: Quebec and Georgia In Comparative Perspective, written by political science professor at Kennesaw State University, Richard Vengroff, Canada is an outlier among advanced industrial nations in terms of the overallRead MoreThe Policy Process: Formulation, Legislation and Implementation1151 Words   |  5 PagesThe Policy Process: Formulation, Legislation and Implementation HCS/455 24 November, 2014 The Policy Process: Formulation, Legislation and Implementation In order to first start a policy process, the problem for which a policy is to be created must be identified and the policy holding a solution to the problem. Researchers and stakeholders will investigate the problem to identify if the policy will reach the policy making agenda. Policies must be to improve society’s health and

The Need to Balance the Qualitative and Quantitative assessments

Question: Discuss about the Need to Balance the Qualitative and Quantitative assessments in Risk Management. Answer: Introduction IT Risk Management is important for the different aspects as it focus on the contemporary functionality of the organisation. The focus is on how the risk is connected with the wide application of the information technologies with increase of the correlation of the organisation with its customers, business partners and the outsourced operations. It includes the concentration on searching the optimal proportions between the threats and the costs of the IT systems. With this, the best stage for this is risk optimisation with the minimised loss that is connected with the risks. The evolution is based on concentrating over the security of the IT systems. Critical Analysis The analysis is based on the production enterprise with specific system assets through the indirect or the direct loss for the organisation. IT risks is considered to be a threat if the business does not fill the activity of the requirements, ensure the integrity or the security properly. The risks are also comprehended for the identified management with the focus towards handling and evaluating the risks analysis. (Schermann, 2016). The aim of the risks analysis is based on the quantitative and the qualitative methods where: Quantitative methods: They are considered to be the major consequence of the incidents that have been occurring with the fact it includes the realisation of the costs as well as the benefits. It also includes the accuracy image of the risks as well where the measures depend on the scope with defined measurement scale. (Fairbrother et al., 2016). The results of the analysis are under the normal methods which are enriched in the qualitative hand with the analysis that could be conducted for the more expensive, demanding greater experience and the advanced tools. (Aven, 2016). Qualitative Methods This works on putting the risks according to the priority which also works on the areas to determine about how the short time risks and less expenditure risks could be handled. The analysis is also relatively found to be easy where it does not allow the determination of the probabilities. (Behzadi et al., 2017). The costs and the benefit analysis is found to be difficult in this with the achieved results that have a general character. The qualitative method is not accurate enough for the assessment of the IT risks. Critical issues in Risk Management The risks are related to the occupational and the public safety which results mainly from the work schedules which sets under the regulatory agency. It works on the different high profile incidents where the lack of the external or the internal motivators will lead to the major issues of work. Hence, the development of the products like the fatigue training and the countermeasure tools are important for the distribution of the material with addressing all the important responsibilities and concerns. (Hansson et al., 2014). The quantitative methods are for the proper estimation of the risks values which is connected with the applications based on the numerical measures. It also includes the qualitative perspectives which do not operate on the numerical data. The risks analysis is comprehensive identification of the threats and the susceptibility with properly determining the levels for making decisions with the applications set for the specific methods. (Agcaet al., 2017). This also i ncludes the evaluation of resources and working over the information, software, hardware and the physical resources. The assessment of the consequences will then help identifying the threats that will be able to determine the possibility of destruction. Reflection According to ISO 31000, there is a need to focus on the internal and the external criteria of the project. This refer to the compliance with safety, environment and the statutory requirements. The evaluation is also mainly acceptable which depends on the organisation tolerance for the risks which contributes to the stemming from the risks. For the balance in between the risks, there is a need that the parties are able to work on different aspects of the project delivery which is important for the identification and informed cross section. (Giannakis et al., 2016). Conclusion The IT risks includes the direction of deliberation and the activities where the methods of the risks assessment are set in the advanced form. (Wiengarter et al., 2016). The benefits are multidimensional but there is a need to keep a balance in between the losses and the costs which is for implementing the protection. This will help in planning the expenditures properly and work on the lack of fundamental to any additional investments in Information Security. References Agca, R., Heslinga, S.C., Rollefstad, S., Heslinga, M., McInnes, I.B., Peters, M.J.L., Kvien, T.K., Dougados, M., Radner, H., Atzeni, F. and Primdahl, J., 2017. EULAR recommendations for cardiovascular diseaserisk management in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other forms of inflammatory joint disorders: 2015/2016 update.Annals of the rheumatic diseases,76(1), pp.17-28. Aven, T., 2016. Risk assessment and risk management: Review of recent advances on their foundation.European Journal of Operational Research,253(1), pp.1-13. Behzadi, G., OSullivan, M.J., Olsen, T.L. and Zhang, A., 2017. Agribusiness supply chain risk management: A review of quantitative decision models.Omega. Fairbrother, A., Hartl, B., Hope, B.K., Jenkins, J.J., Li, Y.W. and Moore, D.R., 2016. Risk management decisions for pesticides and threatened and endangered species: The role of uncertainty analysis.Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal,22(2), pp.502-518. Giannakis, M. and Papadopoulos, T., 2016. Supply chain sustainability: A risk management approach.International Journal of Production Economics,171, pp.455-470. Hansson, S.O. and Aven, T., 2014. Is risk analysis scientific?.Risk Analysis,34(7), pp.1173-1183. Schuermann, T., 2016. Stress testing in wartime and in peacetime.Browser Download This Paper. Wiengarten, F., Humphreys, P., Gimenez, C. and McIvor, R., 2016. Risk, risk management practices, and the success of supply chain integration.International Journal of Production Economics,171, pp.361-370.

Methanol As Fuel Essays - Biofuels, Industrial Gases,

Methanol As Fuel This section is about methanol fuel cells for our future. Since I have done this research I have never realized how important future fuels are. Methanol is a liquid fuel made form natural gas or renewable biomass resources. Methanol is the leading candidate to provide the hydrogen necessary to power fuel cell vehicles. The commercialization of methanol-powered fuel cells will offer practical, affordable, long-range electric vehicles with zero or near zero emissions while retaining the convenience of a liquid fuel. By 2004 they say or even sooner, fuel cells operating on methanol will power a variety of cars and buses in the U.S and worldwide.( www.mehanol.org) Methanol is predoninantly produced by steam reforming of natural gas to dcreate a sythesis gas, which is then dfed into a reactor vessel in the presence of a catalyst to produce methanol and water vapor. Although a variety of feedstock's other than natural gas can and have been used, today's economics favor natural gas. Synthesis gas refers to combination of carbon monoxide and hydrogen while a large amount of synthesis gas us used to make methanol, most synthesis gas is used to make ammonia. As a result, most methanol plants are adjacent o or are part of ammonia plants. The gas fed into another reactor vessel under high temperatures and pressures, where monoxide and hydrogen are came in the presence of a catalyst to produce methanol. Finally, the reactor product is distilled to purify and separate the methanol from the reactor effluent. (wwwadfc.nrel.gov.) "(Washington, D.C., January 28) A study by the environmental engineering firm Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. finds far fewer environmental threats from using methanol in fuel cell vehicles, compared to gasoline's use for internal combustion engines. In addition, a video presentation on methanol and the environment produced by the Public Interest Video Network will be premiered at "The Road to Fuel Cell Vehicles: A National Forum" being held on February 4th and 5th at the Hotel Washington in Washington, D.C" (www.methanol.org) Methanol will probably be transferred from import terminals or production facilities by barge, rail, or truck to eventually reach retail outlets. While the alcohol fuel is a liquid at ambient temperatures and atmospheric pressures, the cannot be moved easily through the existing petroleum product market network. "The world's major automakers have all announced plans for the market introduction of fuel cell vehicles by 2003/2004. These fuel cell vehicles will require a source of hydrogen fuel. As a liquid fuel rich in hydrogen, methanol is the leading candidate to power tomorrow's fuel cell cars and buses. A comprehensive needs assessment should be performed to determine how best to provide methanol fuel to an emerging market for fuel cell vehicles." (www. The American Methanol Foundation" From the information gathered it seems that methanol is the number one candidate for future fuels for leading car manufactures. It is also nice to know that the government has plans to figure In addition, this assessment will attempt to forecast methanol fuel direction and tools for consumer education efforts regarding the use of methanol in fuel cell vehicles.

computer literacy

computer literacy The Impact of Mobile Computing Running head: the impact of mobile computing 1the impact of mobile computing 9The Impact of Mobile ComputingDorothy AshfordINFO 103 Computer LiteracyInstructor Sabahudin TricicAugust 14, 2014The advancement of technology has made it possible to have access a computer and the internet, anywhere. Internet access was once limited to home, office, or school. That is a thing of the past. We can access a computer and the internet through mobile computing. Most of our everyday lives depend on some type of mobile device. This article explores the impact of mobile computing. How much has mobile computing affected our daily lives as students, professionals, and kids?According to the author Bowles, there are hundreds of thousands of apps that programmers designed especially for mobile devices. For example, location-based services, provide the user information based on their location, social networking, sharing information with friends (like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram), mobile search, help people search for information based on their location, such as asking a smartphone to tell the user where the nearest pizza shop is and mobile commerce lets users check into a store they are physically at to gain special information about products.The study of photography is one field in which it's easy to find out the impact computers have on our daily lives. Thanks to digital cameras, anyone can shoot, develop, and publish photographs. No particular skills or equipment are required. This is good for people who want to share pictures on Facebook or Instagram. For people who use photos for business purposes, digital photography can present ethical issues. There are two areas of concern: adherence to copyright laws and ethical concerns regarding alteration of photographic images. "Copyright laws give people who create content-such as books, movies, music, or photographs-ownership rights to that content.Created by the previous uploader using a popular O...As I have pointed out elsewh ere (Besser 1988), polls of computer use indicated that the people buying them weren't quite sure what kind of new or interesting use they would put these to. Just as people continued to buy computers for reasons other than a clearly demonstrated utilitarian function, forces continued to press for computer education in the schools without any kind of clear demonstration of how this would make students into better functioning members of our society.The pressure for "computer literacy" did not come from some clear and pressing need for "good citizens" to have to know about these machines. Rather, this movement came from the traditional forces which had shaped public education since its very beginnings. In this chapter we will see how the corporate need for a trained workforce and the competitive need to keep America ahead of other countries economically and...

The Pros and Cons of Allowing Cell Phones in School

The Pros and Cons of Allowing Cell Phones in School One of the more controversial and most discussed issues that school administrators face on a daily basis is where they stand with students and cell phones. It seems that virtually every school takes a different stance on the issue of cell phones  in school. No matter what your school’s policy is, there is no way to completely keep all students from bringing their phones unless you do student searches every day, which is simply not feasible. Administrators must evaluate the pros and cons of allowing cell phones in schools and make a decision based on their own student population. The fact is that almost every household owns multiple cell phones.   The age of students who own a cell phone has progressively been trending downward.   It has become increasingly common for students as young as five to possess a cell phone. This generation of students are digital natives and thus experts when it comes to technology. Most of them can text with their eyes closed. They are often far more adept than most adults at using their cell phones for many purposes. Should Cell Phones Be Banned or Embraced in Schools? There are essentially three core stances most school districts have taken with their cell phone policies. One such policy basically bans their students from having their cell phones at all. If students are caught with their cell phones, then they can be confiscated or fined. In some cases, the student may be suspended. Another common cell phone policy allows students to bring their cell phones to school. Students are allowed to use them during non-instructional times such as time in between classes and lunch. If students are caught with them in class, then they are confiscated from the student. Another cell phone policy is leaning towards a shift in administrators thinking. Students are not only allowed to possess and use their cell phones, but theyre also encouraged to use them in class as learning tools.   Teachers incorporate the use of cell phones regularly into their lessons for purposes such as research. Districts that ban their students from having their cell phones or limit their usage do this for a variety of reasons. Those include not wanting it to make it easy for students to cheat, being afraid that students are sending inappropriate content, playing games, or even setting up drug deals. Teachers also feel like they are distracting and disrespectful. All of these are valid concerns and are why this is such a hot issue among school administrators. The movement towards embracing the use of cell phones by students begins with educating students on proper use of phones at school. Administrators who are shifting towards this policy often say that they are fighting an uphill battle with a policy that has a complete or partial ban on cell phone possession and use. Administrators who have transitioned to this type of policy say that their job has become much easier and that they have far fewer issues of cell phone abuse than they did under other policies. This type of policy also clears the way for teachers to embrace cell phones as an instructional tool. Teachers who have elected to use cell phones in their daily lessons say that their students are actively engaged and more attentive than they typically are. A cell phone can be a powerful educational tool. Smartphones have the ability to provide students with so much information in an instant that teachers cannot deny that they can be powerful tools that enhance learning in the classroom. Many teachers are using them for a variety of purposes such as small group projects with research races or text competitions for correct answers. The website polleverywhere.com allows teachers to pose a question to their students.   The students then text their answers to a particular number that the teacher provides them. The website collects the data and puts it into a graph, where teachers can project their answers on a smart board and discuss the answer choices with the class. The results of these activities have been very positive. Teachers, administrators, and students have all provided positive feedback. Many teachers and students would argue that it is time to move into the 21st century and begin using the resources we have available to engage our students in the learning process more readily.

The Art of William T. Turman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Art of William T. Turman - Essay Example He left a legacy in his visual arts, and up-to-date his paints are broadly distributed in the U.S., many areas within ISU, and other institutions such as John Herron Art Institute, Indian Art Club, Swope Art Museum, homes, and libraries. He was a son of Perlina Wible Turman and Return Jonathan who offered him outstanding parental support. Today, many people renowned William as the pioneer from, which Turman Township, Turman’s Fort, Turman Prairie, and Turman Creek were named. His value of painting cannot be estimated as it continues to escalate in most institutions. After securing a strong education background in art at the Pennsylvania University, he was known for his extreme modesty and was elected as the leader of Penmanship Department, currently known as Indiana State University. With deep roots in art, the artist inspires many young artists with his paintings that clarify the impact of his work in the local culture. This essay seeks to discuss William T Turman visual arts and in doing, will provide criticism and historical, culture, and biographical information about his work. In their article, Sworp Art Museum provides biographical information about Turman’s art that records how he began his artwork. As stated, Turman instigated training in art at the Art Institute of Chicago and Chicago Academy. From 1941-1957, he served as the president of the Swope Art Museum where his paintings were emulated. Some criticizes the artist’s indistinct landscapes of Brown country with scenic sites within Wabash Valley, which some regard it be plain in content. However, one can affirm that Turman created great insights on his artwork when he painted an oil landscape of a Jewel Pool that made him awarded for his expertise of documenting the region’s people, landscape, and history as outlined in the following exhibition. â€Å"William Thomas Turman (Graysville, Indiana 1867 - 1960 Taft, California),  Jewel Pool  (detail), oil on paperboard, 1 945, Bequest of Beatrice W. Sayer, 1997.03† Retrieved from http://www.swope.org/upcoming/the-art-of-william-t-turman/ As indicated, the diagram is landscape of a jewel pool painted by oil on paperboard in 1945, and submitted to Bequest of Beatrice Sayer in 1997. Later, he exhibited most of his works in various institutions such as John Herron Art Institute, Indiana Art Club, Swope Art Museum, and Hoosier Salon among others. Though his works are mostly in private collection, there are those in public buildings such as Columbia City, Turman Township High School, and Jasonville just to name a few. The exhibition was extensively inspired by his travelling that favored his subject in artwork. In honour of his work, Turman’s exhibitions explore more on culture as the artist indicate his deep roots of different areas in painting. Turman acknowledged the importance of majoring in culture as a potential tool to capture many to his painting. In this case, some of his painting maj ors in culture in the sense that the artist uses different styles such as landscape, rivers, and paintings. As a consequence, it revealed his expertise in art as he identified applicable styles that attracted many to his drawings. Turman relied on these styles for inspiration in his paintings that appealed beautifully printed and designed. His collection elaborated writing and poetry language that revealed on culture and history. His use of a wide range of styles with an absolute absence of description linearity presented him with an honorary acknowledgement as the â€Å"The Dean of Wabash Valley Artists† (Sworp Art Museum 1). This created a remarkable reputation in his art to the extent, the art gallery ascertained in 1939 in the building at Indiana State Teachers college, named â€Å"Turman Hall†

The consumer protection law of Qatar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The consumer protection law of Qatar - Essay Example When it comes to the relationships between business and their consumers, there are many laws, which protect these relationships. A consumer is described as an individual or entity that acquires products for direct ownership or use instead for resale or use in manufacturing and production (Fayyad, 2012). In Qatar, one of these laws is the Consumer Protection Act that was signed into law back in 2008. The consumer protection law is a field of law, which regulates private relationships between businesses and their individual clients, who purchase those goods and services that they produce (Fayyad, 2012). The law covers a lot of topic, comprising of, but not necessarily restricted to privacy rights, product liability, unfair business practices, misrepresentation, fraud, as well as other business and consumer interactions. It is means of preventing scams and fraud from sales and service contracts, pricing, bill collector regulation, utility turnoffs, consolidation, and personal loans, whi ch might cause bankruptcy to both the business and the consumer (ILO, 2012). Consumer interests and welfare can also be safeguarded through enhancing competition in the markets that indirectly and directly serve clients, consistent with financial efficiency, but this matter is treated in competition law. This paper will discuss the consumer protection law of Qatar and its elements. The Consumer Protection Law was passed to respond to the demands of Qatar citizens who were slowing turning into victims of corrupt merchants. Earlier on, safeguarding had been provided under the Combating Commercial Fraud Law of 1999 (ILO, 2012). Normally, during a malpractice or fault, consumers used to have little or no recourse against any business; thus, adverts informing clients concerning products had over-exaggerated messages (ILO, 2012). Other underhand malpractices were utilized like selling sub-standard or defective

Sleep in Sports Essay Example for Free

Sleep in Sports Essay Cheri Mah of the stanford sleep disorders clinic and research laboratory has been following sleep patterns and the effects on the athletes performance. One of her experiments was with the Stanford University tennis team. For five weeks each member of the tennis team was to get ten hours of sleep per night. Those who increased their sleep time ran faster sprints and played at the best of their ability. Mah found that getting extra sleep over a couple of weeks improved an athletes performance, mood, and alertness for all athletes. Sleep is very important for collegiate and professional athletes who have full schedules and often travel for games. Athletes can easily struggle with getting enough sleep due to being so busy through out each day. This slows down the athletes alertness and performance level to a minimum. Many athletes have set personal bests and have broken school and also world records by just getting enough sleep. The reason behind this is because while a person is in what they call deep sleep, is when a growth hormone is released. These hormones stimulate muscle growth and repair body parts such as bones and muscles. The hormones also help burn fat keeping the athlete in top shape. REM sleep also provides energy to both the brain and the body. If sleep is cut short, the body doesn’t have time to complete all of the phases needed for muscle repair, memory consolidation and the release of hormones. So how much sleep does an athlete need? The answer is seven to nine hours per night for adults and nine to ten hours for adolescents and teens. Athletes can tell by falling asleep within twenty minuets of going to bed and waking up without an alarm means that they are getting the right amount.

Riding the Red Essay examples -- Literary Analysis, Nalo Hopkinson

â€Å"I've told her and I've told her: daughter, you have to teach that child the facts of life before it's too late† (Hopkinson 1). These are the first three lines of Nalo Hopkinson's short story â€Å"Riding the Red†, a modern adaptation of Charles Perrault's â€Å"Little Red Riding Hood†. In his fairy tale Perrault prevents girls from men's nature. In Hopkinson's adaptation, the goal remains the same: through the grandmother biographic narration, the author elaborates a slightly revisited plot without altering the moral: young girls should beware of men; especially when they seem innocent. This modern fairy tale contains diverse characters but none of them are as important as the grandmother. In fact, through her narration the reader gets the basic information concerning the familial context. The story revolves around a grandmother, a mother and a granddaughter, which thus sets the point of view of the story, the grandmother is the narrator therefore the reader gets her perception. Besides the domestic context, the lack of other contextual clues, such as the time or the location of the story, gives room to her story and her final purpose: teaching and, at the same time, protecting her grand-daughter from risks represented by men here symbolized by a wolf. The way this unnamed grandmother reveals her life exemplifies two properties of fairy tale as mentioned by Marina Warner in â€Å"The Old Wives' Tale†: â€Å"Fairy tales exchange knowledge [using morals] between an older [most of the time feminine] voice of experience and a younger audience† (314). As s uggested in the text, fairy tales are a way to teach insights of life through simple stories directed to, most of the time, younger generations. Most of the time because fairy tales' moral work on dif... ...nt approach as â€Å"fairy tale was property and could be taken by its owner and read by its owner at his or her leisure for escape, consolation, or inspiration.† (Zipes 1999, 338). Hopkinson uses the narrator to spread a moral similar to Perrault's three hundreds year ago. Girls, especially when young and inexperienced, need to be careful when encountering nice and charming men due to its risk to ends in a completely undesirable situation. This is when the grandmother intervenes, she tries to complete her granddaughter's education by notifying her on that special affair and which will provides her advices to avoid the same experience. Indeed, fairy tale has an educational mission in addition of its entertainment. Hopkinson provides a moral to the reader through a modern and revisited tale, maybe more adapted to nowadays reader but without weakening its quintessence.

Salary Is the Most Important Factor in Motivating Employees

Salary is the most important factor in motivating employees Motivation plays a significant part in a company in the modern society because only if employees are motivated can they be more productive. In a company, managers usually take measures such as pay increase and promotion to motivate workers. In the past decade, there have been a large number of surveys on factors that motivate employees to perform their best (Wiley 1997). Some experts state that salary is the most important factor in motivating employees. However, others believe that factors such as responsibility and job security are of vital importance.This essay will argue that salary is not the most important factor in motivating workers and discuss what the foremost factors are. First, it will give evidence to show that salary is not the most important. Then, it will explain what are the most important in motivating employees. After that, it will discuss the importance of salary. Finally, a conclusion will be given at th e end of the essay. The reason why salary is not the most important motivation is that companies usually link workers’ salaries with their productive results, which gives employees less opportunities and limits their development (The Times 100 2010).If workers want to gain more wages, they will work only for the products and become workaholic automatons. Another point is that if pay is considered as the reward of productive results, it is difficult to guarantee equity. Then, employees may be dissatisfied to companies and become less productive. Furthermore, as people value respect and participation, pay is not so foremost and it is important to satisfy people’s spiritual needs. For example, according to McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, responsibility is of vital importance in motivating employees and if managers delegate responsibility to workers, they will be more motivated.Another theory, theory Z, suggests that participation could increase job satisfaction ( Madura 2008). In addition, people want all their internal and external needs to be satisfied and salary is only a small part to meet their basic need. Even companies can provide satisfying pay; workers may be still unwell to work with all their heart. Therefore, salary is not the most important factor in motivating employees and there are non-financial factors that are more important than salary. Despite the fact that salary-system is an important part in modern enterprise system, it does not mean that pay is the most important factor.According to a surprising scientific experiment of motivation, people who gain bonuses and commissions spend more time in solving a problem, which suggests that people become inefficient (Pink 2009). In some companies, employees still choose to resign even though they have a high salary. This is because they have no job security in the company. Job security can be defined as the confidence that they can keep their jobs. People who have job security can perform seriously as a result of concern about finding a more secure employment (Madura 2008).Moreover, workers with a low salary may also work efficiently because they can gain a sense of identity. When employees contribute to companies and gain recognition, they usually work harder than before as the result of a sense of achievement. In addition, people who have high salaries are faced with more pressure because they should work more and perform better than those who have low salaries. Pay increases are on behalf of the increase of responsibility. Thus, employees who have poor pressure coping would rather choose a satisfied job with low pay than work hard with high salaries.It follows that salary is not the most important factor in motivating employees because career will be hard when they are offered with high salaries. Based on the analysis of why salary is not the most important motivation, the next part of this essay will explain what the foremost factors are in motivating em ployees. Firstly, recognition and appreciation for work done is often a top motivator, which require feedback to provide reinforcement for positive behaviour. As a result, manager’s positive feedback to workers is a significant form of motivation (Wiley 1997).Secondly, responsibility can also be the most important motivation. The responsibility to family requires people to work hard so that they can support their family and performing duties to a company is the best method of gaining appreciation. Furthermore, participation can be another foremost factor in motivating employees. When workers participate in corporate decision, they may be more productive in consideration of their own benefits. Finally, promotion and career development in a company are also of vital importance. For example, irms usually offer more opportunities to workers with the growth of the firm so that most employees can promote rapidly (Jackson & Bak, 1998). As a consequence, companies can take non-financ ial measures such as positive feedback and promotion to encourage employees to work hard. Although salary is not the most important factor in motivating employees, companies still cannot ignore the importance of salary because satisfying wages have been proved efficient to motivate workers for long time. For example, Taylor put forward the first motivation theory in 1911 and the research pointed that people worked only for money (The Times 100 2010).As a result, pay increases are popular in almost all companies. Thus, it can be seen that salary can motivate people to become more productive. In addition, outstanding workers want their pay increase connected with great work instead of simply increase with ordinary people. Otherwise, these outstanding employees will be disheartened and lose the motivation of work because they realized that the reward they gain is as identical as other workers who spend less time and energy in spite of how hard they work (Gioia, 2009).In consequence, if a company want to motivate employees by salary system, it must be equal to each person so as to motivate every workers to improve efficiency. In conclusion, it is the core subject in modern company theory research that a company can motivate employees efficiently and salary is not the most important factor in motivating workers because there are a large number of non-financial factors that are more important than salary.Responsibility forces employees to work hard and they can gain a sense of identify because of participations. Job security is a motivator of increasing importance and managers’ positive feedback such as promotion opportunities and praise would also motivate employees. A successful company is one that establishes different motivating systems for different people to encourage them to be more productive. Therefore, companies should focus more on these non-financial factors instead of only paying attention to pay increases.References: Gioia, C. (2009) Motivating employees: Is money or recognition more appreciated? Available from: http://www. helium. com/debates/137270-motivating-employees-is-money-or-recognition-more-appreciated/side_by_side. (Accessed 29 November 2012). Jackson T. and Bak M. (1998) ‘Foreign companies and Chinese workers: employee motivation in the People's Republic of China’, Journal of Organizational Change Management, 11(4), pp. 282 – 300. Madura, J. (2008) Introduction to Business. 4th ed. Beijing: Post ; Telecom Press.Pink, D. (2009) Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation [online video] Available from: http://www. ted. com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation. html. (Accessed 23 October 2012). The Times 100 (2010) Motivational Theory in Practice at Tesco. Available from: http://www. thetimes100. co. uk/download-tesco-edition-15-full-case-study_132_396_1168 (Accessed 23 October 2012). Wiley, C. (1997) ‘What motivates employees according to over 40 years of motivation surveys’, Internat ional Journal of Manpower, 18(3), pp. 263-280.

Prejudice In Organizations Essay

?Question 2: Prejudice can be hurtful and destructive – discuss how you can personally reduce prejudice in your workplace – please provide an example. Prejudice can be described as a word which is derived from the Latin word Prae Judicium meaning ‘to try in advance’ (Clawson et al: 1990). Prejudice happens when we pre-judge individuals on first encounter about their character or appeal. Most individuals who are prejudiced are usually rigid in their prejudices and their beliefs are unsubstantiated. Prejudice can create serious tension in an organization because it has the potential to strain interpersonal relationships in a workplace. People can practice prejudices in various forms. Some of the areas of potential prejudice could be gender, race, age, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity and physical disabilities. Prejudices can be systematically dealt with in the workplace. I work for one of the United Nations (UN) agencies. The UN has noted and is mindful of potential prejudices that can exist in the workplace, especially that the workplace is made up of employees from various countries, backgrounds, ethnic groupings, varying religious beliefs (including atheists), sexual orientation, races and as an organization, The organisation has a very diverse workforce. This diversity has not been ignored. The UN has taken deliberate steps to introduce workplace policies that encourage tolerance amongst employees and in turn, tolerance in the communities in which we serve. The policies are part of the orientation package for every new employee who joins the UN. There are Executive Directives (EXDs) that are issued and reviewed on an ongoing basis. In the current directive, disagreement between a staff member and supervisor is not considered as prejudice. The policies are clear on the definition of prejudices and also on the consequences of perpetuating the vice. If I were to be found in a work environment where prejudices are rife, I would first of all admit that prejudices are real and we all have some form of prejudices. The first step to deal with a problem is to admit that you have one. You can only begin to work on one’s prejudices once they realize they have them, and they can begin to work more carefully with the prejudices of others without anger and force (Clawson et al: 1990). It’s a realization that we all have them that helps us to deal with them. Members of staff in an organization, must be allowed to deal with perceived prejudices. It is not advisable to pretend that the problem does not exist as it becomes difficult to deal with a hidden or unperceived problem. Once the problem has been identified, then comes the process of working on your own as well as the prejudices of others in the organisation. This can be achieved through redirecting prejudiced statements by colleagues towards functional discrimination e. g. instead of lamenting how a workmate or subordinate is not achieving her objectives because she is a woman, this can be countered by a statement that shows how previously, a male colleague had also failed in a similar position to show that, gender has nothing to do with functioning in a position. For prejudices which are merely based on ignorance like â€Å"all Muslims are terrorists†, it would be helpful to team up Muslim staff members and some of the staff members who are holding on to this kind of prejudice. That way, it allows them to interact at a personal level and get the truth about Islam. If this doesn’t work, then interactions between such colleagues should either be kept to the minimum or topics of discussion should stir away from sensitive issues. I would also learn to listen to others with an open mind, not listening with an intention to respond as this is likely to attract judgmental behaviour. In a multi ethnic organisation, learning about the cultures of other countries helps us be more tolerant. People are more likely to react in a certain way because of the environments they have been brought up in. Prejudices will always exist in organisations, it would therefore helpful to encourage tolerance among employees, this can be achieved through deliberate company policy, sensitisation and clear consequences for behaviour promotes prejudice.

UFOs essays

UFO's essays Unidentified Flying Objects (Commonly called UFOs) have been around since biblical times, one such famous case is Ezekiels Wheel, a sighting identified by a Christian prophet as a group of four angels joined at the feet descending from the heavens in a divine light. Sightings such as these are known today by UFOlogists as atmospheric phenomenon (AP for short) and account for the bulk of UFO sightings. Ezekiel's wheel can be seen every so often on a clear night, a solar flare of certain strength causes the Aurora Borealis to appear this way. Over 90% of the cases reviewed in the first study of UFOs by various U.S. government agencies and private interest groups have supported this fact. Ball lightning, meteorites, swarms of high altitude ice crystals and bright planets have all been misinterpreted as extraterrestrial aircraft silently pulsing through the sky. However, there has still been no explanation for the last 10%, and the argument still goes on today. Is it a new top s ecret military plane? Is it some sort of AP modern science cannot explain? Is it aliens from another planet? These questions cannot be answered as of yet. A veil of mystery surrounds UFOs, it was dropped 1969, when the U.S. officially declared its disinterest in the UFO phenomenon. However, the field of UFOlogy is persistent in its search for the truth, and the information it has yielded gives a good, objective view of the UFO phenomenon. The U.S. government has declassified a vast amount of documents pertaining to its three major studies of UFOs: PROJECT: SIGN, PROJECT GRUDGE, AND PROJECT: BLUEBOOK. These documents were classified due to various national security reasons, but were opened to the public following the Freedom of Information Act and have been the bread and butter of serious UFO research. As the study of UFOs continues into the 21st century, no solid, educated, credible, supported statement can yet be made about the ...

Notebooks vs. Recorders for Journalism

Notebooks vs. Recorders for Journalism Which works better when interviewing a source: taking notes the old-fashioned way, with pen and reporters notebook in hand or using a cassette or digital voice recorder? The short answer is that both have their pros and cons, depending on the situation and the type of story youre doing. Lets examine both. Notebooks Pros A reporters notebook and a pen or pencil are the time-honored tools of the interviewing trade. Notebooks are cheap and easy to fit into a back pocket or purse. Theyre also unobtrusive enough that they generally dont make sources nervous. A notebook is also reliable - no need to worry about it running out of batteries. And for the reporter working on a tight deadline, notebooks are the fastest way of taking down what a source says and accessing his or her quotes when writing the story. Cons Unless youre a very speedy note-taker, its hard to jot down everything a source says, especially if he or she is a fast talker. So you can miss key quotes if youre relying on note-taking. Also, it can be hard to get quotes that are totally accurate, word-for-word, using just a notebook. That may not matter much if youre doing a quick person-on-the-street interview. But it might be a problem if youre covering an event where getting the quotes exactly right is important - say, a speech by the president. One note about pens - they freeze in subzero weather. So if its cold out, always bring a pencil just in case. Recorders Pros Recorders are worth buying because they  enable you to get literally everything someone says, word-for-word. You dont have to worry about missing or mangling key quotes from your source. Using a recorder can also free you up to jot down things in your notes you might otherwise have missed, such as the way a source acts, their facial expressions, etc. Cons Like any technical device, recorders can malfunction. Practically every reporter whos ever used a recorder has a story about the batteries dying in the middle of an important interview. Also, recorders are more time-consuming than notebooks because a recorded interview has to be played back later and transcribed in order to access the quotes. On a breaking news story, there just isnt enough time to do that. Finally, recorders can make some sources nervous. And some sources may even prefer that their interviews not be recorded. Note: There are digital voice recorders on the market that are designed to transcribe everything thats recorded. But such recorders are usable for dictation only and the best results occur with top-quality voice recording via a headset microphone and clearly enunciated, accent-less speech. In other words, in a real-world interviewing scenario, where theres likely to be lots of background noise, its probably not a great idea to rely on such devices alone. The Winner? Theres no clear winner. But there are clear preferences: Many reporters rely on notebooks for breaking news stories and use recorders for articles that have longer deadlines such as features. Overall, notebooks are probably used more often than recorders on a daily basis.Recorders are good if youre doing a long interview for a story that doesnt have an immediate deadline, such as a profile or feature article. A recorder allows you to better maintain eye contact with your source, thus making the interview feel more like a conversation. But remember: Even if youre recording an interview, always take notes anyway. Why? Its Murphys Law: the one time you rely solely on a recorder for an interview will be the one time the recorder malfunctions. To sum up: Notebooks work best when youre on a tight deadline. Recorders are good for stories where you have time to transcribe the quotes after the interview.

Case studies AED Wk 8 DQ 1 Replies Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Case studies AED Wk 8 DQ 1 Replies - Coursework Example There should be a record on the development of the student since their birth so as to project the future thus the requirements of Brandon. The strengths of the child are particularly necessary. Brandon has the capacity to pursue his future with a little help. Exceptionalities in this case include class work, social behavior, and self esteem. The information given was adequate to give feedback that has no bias. The interest affinities of the child form a positive side thus supremely necessary. The child can improve his profile by participating in class work thus improving his level of intelligence (Wong, 2008). Exceptionalities include the social life of the child, school work and the talents of the child. There should be information regarding the level of literacy of the child because William has difficulties in reading and writing. The areas of interactions in school and at home were necessary to give feedback. The child has a bigger positive side rather than a negative side. Exceptionalities include school work and development behavior. There should be more details on the capabilities and behaviors of the child. The strengths of the child is necessary for evaluation. The child with a little help can focus and learn complex topics (Wong,

Professional Liability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Professional Liability - Essay Example In case the patient or his relatives, friends suffer a loss due to the negligent deed of the professional they can seek a civil claim to compensate for the loss. This is called professional liability. The online Medical dictionary offers the following definition of professional liability: this is the legal obligation of health care practitioner to recompense patients for causing damage or suffering by actions of omission. Professional liability is characterized by the responsibility of the healthcare professional to the patients for malpractice. It has become common in the medical profession to have insurance for negligence. I believe it should be obligatory for every nurse to protect her career by purchasing an insurance coverage. In this way she will be protected from the cost of legal and board of nursing actions. No nurse starts her education having in mind the malpractice lawsuits. Even when she begins practising this is not something she would like to think about. All nurses go into the professional with a profound dedication and commitment and with the genuine desire to help and serve people. However, as much as I don’t want to admit it, there is a certain risk involved in healthcare occupations, which stems mainly from the fact that the nurse is a licensed healthcare specialist. What should not be underestimated is that any nursing professional can be held liable and sued for negligence, regardless of how competent they are. Below are few examples under what circumstances a nurse can be sued: If a nurse makes a mistake while monitoring a patient, (or even if someone else accuses you of this); Someone admits a nurse has made an error in recording or reporting patient’s healthcare details and history; A doctor asserts that a nurse misinterpreted the directions he gave; A patient or his family/relatives admits the nurse did not delivered adequate care to the patient; If a nurse is off duty and she assists someone with an injury or any other h ealth problem and they make a claim for negligence; A nurse can also be prosecuted if someone under her superintendence makes a mistake. In addition, if the hospital or the doctor is sued instead of the nurse, both of them can amend and sue the nurse in return. It is not an easy situation and once the nurse has been prosecuted she might be required to go to court. From there, if the jury decides that the nurse did not indeed implement the â€Å"established nursing procedures† she can be held liable for thousands. This can happen even if the jury has no clue about nursing and the nurse will be criminally responsible for her deeds. I think nurses should be advised at universities about the risks of their profession and this should not be done to scare them, but to inform them and create self-consciousness. New nurses have to enter the profession with their eyes open and be aware that the more they know about the â€Å"small pitfalls† of their field the more capable they will be to act and react within the law and protect themselves against potential prosecution. Most hospitals provide individual or collective professional liability insurance coverage if the nurse is licensed healthcare representative. Some nurses prefer to buy supplement to the employer’s insurance coverage for their own personal reassurance and protection. One of the ways to proactively avoid or prevent negligence is to discipline nurses. Iyer (2001) says that the board of nursing may reprimand, give

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 16

English - Essay Example The list appears and I can choose the friend I specifically want through filtering. Is that the right term? Well, it just makes it easy to find people who I believe are very compatible with me and my personality. Making friends online eliminates geographical boundaries. You can make friend i a girl from another state to another continent. This way, I learn a lot. I currently have friends from Canada, Europe, and Asia and they all give me fresh insight about their culture. This suits my interest in enhancing my knowledge of different traditions and culture. The diversity of people online searching for a friend makes it exciting. I learn a lot from other people. I hope they learn from me too†¦Ã¯ Å  However, Myspace is not the type of place I would like to find really serious and close friendship. I guess it’s human nature—I feel the need to really â€Å"experience† the person. I mean, I need face to face interaction in order to form a solid friendship. You can’t be best friends with someone you only meet online right? And a dozen chat sessions can never compensate by really having coffee together or walking in the mall. I always find this weird but often times, even though I make friends with people with the same interest as I am, we just don’t seem to click. Do you know what I mean? There’s no chemistry. Well, that’s for lovers but same for friendship I guess. Sometimes, the numbers or letters or titles won’t really assure you that you are compatible with another person. Do I need to tell you that some people even still hide their identity while online? I believe that trust should still be the foundation of friendship. So just how can you be friends with someone who is hiding behind an alias and another person’s photo? It’s really disgusting. Social networking online does not in any way allow you to identity people who do this. Well, in some cases, most people who find

Consumer Demand for African Food in Liverpool

Consumer Demand for African Food in Liverpool Abstract The aim of this research is to observe and explain consumers preference for African food in Liverpool. By identifying the attitudes towards African food, evaluating the different factors that affect the availability and accessibility of these foods within the city, the effect of globalisation processes on food production to consumption. Three different theories have been used in this research, the Theory of Reason Action, Theory of Planned Behaviour, the Actor Network Theory and the theory of consumption. The global production network which seeks to identify the geographical spatiality involved in the network process of crossing African foods to UK. The actor-network theory is used to explain the different actors/actants in the global production network. The theories of reasoned action and theory of planned behaviour used in this research intends to explain consumer attitude, preference and behaviour towards African foods. It is however observed that African consumers tend to prefer African traditional meals but this is affected by cost, time and distance. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research method is used to better interpret the outcomes of the result. A total of 150 respondents where interviewed from various part of the city, including students, young adults family etc. Cutting across different age groups. Owners of African food stores and restaurants were interviewed using both structured and semi-structured interview. Individuals were selected randomly, to verify interest in African foods. Chapter 1 Introduction The importance of food as a necessity of life goes beyond physical nourishment. Anthropologist and sociologist emphasize that food practices are prime means through which social relationships are formed. (Johnston et al 2006:272). A familiar saying goes â€Å"we are what we eat†; food links us to the rituals and recipes of previous generations, creating a network between families, wider communities, and the global trading network of producers, distributors and consumers. More so, we are transported into the world of others as we experience the tastes of unknown tradition and cultures. Food choices make profound impact on the environment, health and welfare of others, challenging the ideas of tradition and identity. Travel and immigration have also resulted in the changing and shifting of traditions over the years. National identities have been created also by food traditions in distant lands among people of similar culture and background. Food is an indicator of cultural tradi tions, values, and how food traditions develop and evolve over space and time. Much talk of globalisation of foods have helped in shaping traditions, cultural diversity, social and political economy of places, (Bernstein et al 1990: 9, Tinker 1997: 137, 143) however, not all kinds of food are very welcomed in some places, though may not be stated categorically, it can be observed within cities and communities most probably as result of economic policies, cultural differences, international trading policies. Traditional food is a vital aspect of the African cultural heritage. The production processing sale and distribution of food products enhances cultural and ethnic coherence in communities. Consumers demand for safe and tasteful traditional food products (Cayot, 2007). However, there is also a demand for varieties of ethnic foods in multi-ethnic cities and community. The definition of food encompasses matters of moral and cultural significance, differentiating food products, providers and consumers (Cook et al 1996). Food has always had a long history of constructed associations which involves associations of places and people, and has been used as emblem of national, regional and local identities (Murcott 1995). Johnston et al claim that there is no single geographical literature on food with its own coherent themes and problematic, as the study of food is found in economic, political, cultural, social and biological aspects of geography. Therefore food matter does not sit within the confinement of conceptual and spatial boundaries (Johnston 2006: 272). Key issues surrounding topic The speed and reach of globalisation, travel and trade, bring all kinds of diverse foods together. This has however affected the definitions of particular national food culture (Murray). The influence of travel and migration can be seen on major streets and cities in United Kingdom with a rich mixture of nationalities, Indian curry houses, Jewish Bagel shops, Chinese buffets restaurant, Italian restaurant, Mexican among others. However, the presence of African food restaurants seems not a loud as the others considering the long standing history of Blacks in the city. The absence of physical representation of the African food culture around the city especially in everyday cultural display such as in food, as compared to the Asian presence of Chinese, Indian, Thai, Mexican cuisines and other ethnic group in Liverpool raises questions of demand and supply. The most important representation so far is the International Slavery museum at the docks and black slave sculptures that are displayed around historical places in the city, which are only representations of past history and geography and not a total representation of the African culture in recent times. Ethnic minority consumers quest for cultural identity is perceived in the food culture of the group in concern. Commercial globalisation has renewed interest in the relationship between culture and traditional norms and values (James 1890). This pursuit for identity among most migrants to the western world is pronounced in their choice of food (Bauman2000). This research seeks to observe trends in African consumer behaviour and attitude toward African food in United Kingdom, using Liverpool as a case study. In trying to observe and evaluate these trends, certain issues have provided a background for this study, one of which is the re-materializing of postcolonial geographies as it affects Africans in a foreign country. African migrants attitude and food choice behaviour have been affected by certain factors, government and institutional policies of cutting across various levels of trading activities. In determining a consumers preference towards food related behaviours, convenience, as a food attribute, has been described as being as important as taste, health and price (Candel, 2001). However, the availability and accessibility of food influence consumers preference as different values are considered in understanding why consumers make certain food choice. Food choice is a complex phenomenon with many interacting events determining which foods are eaten by the individual at a particular time and place. (Shepherd 1989.) The failure of African foods to cross over into United Kingdom mainstream market has pointed to issues of production, preservation and transportation of African foods into the United Kingdom. International trade policies and barriers by OECD countries, farm subsidies have all been major setbacks to the availability of African food stuff in the United Kingdom. Chapter 1 literature review: theories of consumer perception, Chapter 2 how do Africans perceive African foods and other foods, what do Africans think about the origin of their food and the patriotic nature of Africans towards their food, the first experience of food, generational experience of food. Chapter 3 methodology: theories of research methods. Chapter 4 Chapter 5 result and discussions: background history of black Liverpool, map and population census 2001 of Africans in Liverpool, identifying African business and Questionnaires and interview analysis, Chapter 6 trade relations between African countries and UK CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This literature review looks at the studies that have been done in areas of food preference as it concerns culture, food identity, food preference and quality. The second section will review theories employed in the research and the importance of global production networks. Catherine Dolan and John Humphrey (2000) used Global commodity chain as networks where the decision-maker influences the output of chains and composition governance in their paper ‘governance and trade in fresh vegetables. Their study does not recognise the identity of commodity and consumer as a factor in buyer driven commodity, evaluating the geography of space. This research explores the ethnic identity of consumer as a major actor in global commodity chain networks. The buyers themselves being of African nationality purchase food stuff from the local food store or African food restaurants which receive their supplies from importers of African foods in major cities like London and Manchester. The connection therefore is from the African farmers who grow the foods, to major exporter or importer as the case maybe, to the shelves food store and tables of the restaurant then consumed by Africans who live several miles away from their home country. The cultural identity of the co nsumers becomes a vital connection to the market, because consumers also make demand on the desired food choice. Consumers access to these foods becomes important to the continuity of this trade. Ben Fine (1993) defines commodity chains as â€Å"the commodity-specific chain connecting production, distribution, marketing and consumption and material culture surrounding these elements†, in the study of systems of provision (fine 1993:600). This approach acknowledges the importance of commodities as a possibility of more balanced treatment of the relationship between production and consumption (Crewe 2000). Studies have explored how networks of embedded firms are offering the potential for the more equitable relations between retailer and suppliers, through the sharing of knowledge as market intelligence and labour. (Crewe 1996, Scott 1996, Crewe and Beaverstock 1998). Other study have considered the creative dimension of domestic consumption, and the ways in which consumer good s are actively appropriated in the everyday spaces of the home, however, Domosh examines the reclamation of the home and the domestic space as key consumption site. But it does not take into account the origin of the commodities and how it relates to space for consumption (Domosh 1998). Cook and Crang, explore ways in which geographical knowledge about products invoke a â€Å"double commodity fetishism†. This is the idea in which consumer knowledge are limited by spatially distanciated systems of provision. (Laying emphasis on geographical knowledge about widely sources of food commodities and process through which food is supplied). This work highlights cultural means of places and spaces. Cook and Crang (1996), further explores the global extensive networks and flows of food, people and culinary knowledge embedded in cosmopolitan London. Suggesting that â€Å"cultural mosaic† (Friedman, 1994), conceptualise cultural geographies as bounded cultural regions where constructed associations between food, places and peoples, associations epitomising the conceptions of national, regional and local cuisines. Also describes food as emblems and markers of national, regional and local identities (Murcott 1995). Cook et al (1998), in seeking the articulation of the geographies of culture looks at how figure displacement can be used to suggest process of food consumption are cast as local, the connections of food consumption to networks, which extend beyond delimiting boundaries of particular places. Again, in a closely related study, Cook reflects on the biography and geographies of food. A definition of food as having their own biographies, studies the connection of consumer knowledge about the geographical origins of the food they consume and what roles it plays in food choice and consumption (Cook et al 1998). He concludes in a suggestion that knowledge can potentially be a significant factor in food choice and preference. Much research has been done on Caribbean foods within and outside United Kingdom, probably due to the influx of Caribbean foods into United Kingdom market in the mid 1990s, when it became the ethnic cuisine to go mainstream after the Chinese, Indian and Tex Mex (Cook et al 2003). The complex history of the Caribbeans produced a regional cuisine which had overlapped with the Indian and Chinese foods that were on top of international cuisines in the United Kingdom. The region had also become tourist centres to Europeans and a large interest of the Caribbean lifestyle and delicacies reflected on the shelves of UK supermarkets, in addition to the projected images by celebrity chefs, and companies who increased the exports to satisfy the demand of this market in the mid nineties (Cook et al 2003). This also reflected in Caribbean centres established in major cities and streets in the UK. Cook and Harrison examine debate over the failure of Caribbean food to cross over into the UK mainstream. The paper review mosaic and theories of culture as fundamental difference between a white â€Å"mainstream† and black â€Å"ethnic other† as part problems of this failure. (Cook and Harrison 2003). Understandings of postcolonial geographies of material culture and its contributions to the undermining of, and resistance to forms of colonial dominations that persist in contemporary global capitalist relationships as can be found in food trade relations between the ‘third world and the ‘west. The study uses the example of the corporate history of Grace, Kennedy and Co, a company that preferred to cater for the needs of UK ethnic minority and the third world consumers, instead of prioritising cross over in to UK mainstream market. Friedberg research of modern historical geography of food in Burkina Faso shows how agricultural policies, dietary preferences health concerns, helped to transform regional diet, landscape and economy, resulting to temporal and spatial patterns of daily life in Burkina Faso. The study observes the incorporation of Burkina Faso into the globalised market economy as a result of luxury food (French beans), not leaving out the expectation of food quality safety standards (Friedberg 2003). The study also observes the changing geographies of the meaning of food, suggesting how historical study of food consumption takes place outside formal market economy. Gaps in current research Studies on firms by management oriented researchers have been focused more on companies in developed economies, central and Eastern Europe, small and local food production firms in Africa and their business counterparts even in developed economies have received less attention in the study of economic development. Past researches remained outside social science mainstream therefore have not been influenced by general discourses especially in the field of economic geography. Feminist researchers who have done research in the developing world have only concentrated on gender-related issues in the developing nations rather than with broader questions of small, local and industrial organisations and economic development (Henderson et al 2002:437). The major issues of trade liberalization have affected the cross over of African food and with the increase of safety standard procedures by the UK govt. The challenges of small business and the cost of food as also other major issues that will be discussed. In examining the geographical knowledge about food, actors associated with food, which involves location and situatedness of food, the networks and flows of food and people are major debates around the accessibility of these foods. According to Cook et al the long-running history of interconnections between people and places; and the increasing consciousness of the compression of the economic, political, cultural world, and the production of the world as a single place are two major contentions of globalisation debates (Cook et al 1996). London is said to be promoted as a space of ‘global post-modern (Hall, 1991: 32) by the staging and reconstruction of cultural difference in ‘globalisation diversity (Pieterse, 1995:45 as cited Cook 1996), arguably, Liverpool being proclaimed as the ‘world in one city though with characteristic history of local culture is yet to produce a matching representation of modern diversity of the African culture with the exception of the In ternational Slavery museum. Post colonial issues around African cultural heritage in Liverpool will enhance globalisation diversity as represented in food, arts and cultural of the African food biography and origin. Global Production networks Global production networks emphasize the need to refocus attention on the social circumstances under which commodities are produced and consumed† (Dickens et al 2002 pg 444). It takes into account, the process of production-(can be from the farm stage, harvest, labour technology, processing in Africa, transportation, UK standardization, repackaging, supply and distribution,) which do not always follow a chain link but a complex network process, over time and space and distance to consumption. The GPN framework allows for a greater complexity and geographical variation in producer-consumer relation, this in turn enhances the ability to reveal how certain key knowledge ‘circulate between producers, consumers and intermediaries. It also reveals complex social geographies as agents located in different places can be seen to combine to influence the production process (Henderson et al 2002:445). In all, this research seeks to answer the following questions: †¢ Research Questions? To what extent does the demand of African food affect its availability? What impact does African food trade make on the supply of these foods? How have African food stores and restaurants faired with migration of Africans in Liverpool? Preference is described by Babicz-Zielinska as â€Å"a general predisposition for a particular food, independent of the eating situation, and expressed by degree of liking or disliking of the food, desired food frequency or fraction of subjects selecting the food as a response to its name†(Babicz-Zielinska 1999:139). The choice of food depends on factors that influence human behaviour, which in turn affects the rejection of some food and acceptance of others. A classification based on current food-choice models is used to explain certain attributes of food choice is made by Babicz-Zielinska (Babicz-Zielinska 1999:138) 1. Production-related factors- which could be physical and chemical properties of food, sensory attributes, functional features(labelling, availability) nutritional value; or 2. Consumer-related factors- personal features, (age, gender, psychological factors, experience, personality), physiological factors (health) or 3. Environment-related factors- economic factors (price and income), cultural factors (beliefs, social factors- social status and fashion. Consumer-related factors and environment-related factors will be area of concern in this research. Factors of food choice survey was conducted in European Community EC countries, and it showed that quality/freshness, taste, selecting a healthy diet, price, family preferences and habits belong to the most important choice factors, (Lennernas et al 1997) Behavioural research methodologies are usually used to ascertain the underlying factors that determine food-related behaviour, reason being that food choice and consumption are natural and integrated part of human behaviour (Mahon et al 2006:474). The theory of reasoned action The theory of reasoned action has received attention within the field of consumer behaviour. (Sheppard et al 1988). The theory of reasoned action studies attitude and behaviour (Ajzen Fishbein 1980). It observes behavioural intention, attitude and subjective norm. According to Fishbein and Ajzen, a persons behaviour is guided by the persons attitude towards the behaviour and the subjective norm. For example, Africans tend to eat hot, spicy and tasty food, so when they find themselves away from ‘home, they look for their regular food, or something very close to the kind of food they have been used to, the alternative in this case could mean the Caribbean cuisine which also has its origin from African foods, or the Spanish or Mexican spicy foods as found in UK. However the cost also plays a determining role in making food choice, this shall be explained in detail in later chapter. Miller 2005 defines attitude, subjective norm, and behavioural intentions as the 3 components of the theory of reasoned action. Attitude: The sum of beliefs about a particular behaviour weighted by evaluation of these beliefs. Subjective norms. This looks at the influence of people in ones social environment on his/her behavioural intentions. Behavioural intention. This is a function of both attitudes towards behaviour and subjective norms towards that behaviour which has been found to predict actual behaviour. The theory of planned behaviour is adopted to explain consumer behaviour towards African food. The other alternative in this research is the British food, considering different factors that affect the choice of food. Human behaviour is explained and predicted by the theory of planned behaviour in understanding beliefs and attitudes. Ajzen et al 1986, explains that TPB is an extension of the TRA. The theory of planned behaviour was developed as a third predictor of behaviour, perceived behavioural control, (Mahon et al 2006:475). Perceived behavioural control reflects beliefs regarding the access to resources and opportunities needed to perform a behaviour (Chiou, 1998 as cited in Mahon 2006 pg 475). The availability of resources needed to engage in the behaviour such as money, time and other resources, the focal person self confidence in their ability to conduct the behaviour are two major reflections of the theory of planned behaviour. The theory of consumer preference. Consumers have set of preferences which are dependent upon individual tastes, education, culture and other factors, apart from the economic factor. These factors are measured for particular goods in terms of the real opportunity cost to the consumer who purchases and consumes the goods. Consumer level of satisfaction of a particular kind of food is determined by what the consumer defines as â€Å"satisfaction†. However, consumers are constrained in their choices of foods by income, accessibility of goods and also the price that the consumer is willing to pay for his food. Consumer preferences are defined as the subjective taste as measured by utility-(where utility is the satisfaction that a consumer derives from the consumption of a good) of various bundles of goods. Preferences help consumer to prioritize bundles of goods according to the levels of utility that they give the consumer. However, these preferences are not dependent on income and prices only. The ability for a consumer to purchase certain kind of food does not always determine a consumers like or dislike over another food. For example, an African consumer in Liverpool can have a preference for African foods over British foods but only has the financial means to buy British meals more often. There are certain assumptions of consumers preference theory, which will be further looked into, the assumption of decisiveness, consistency, non-satiation, convexity. Actor network theory. ANT, a social theory pioneered by Michel Callon (1986), Bruno Latour (1987) and John Law (1987), conceptualize social interactions in terms of networks. This includes the material environment and human causes. The concept of ANT acknowledges the importance of both material and human factors in networks. The theory conveys the idea that the actor does not act ‘on his own but only under the influence of complex network of material and human influences. For example, the process involved in making African foods available is not just caused human factors, but also by production, technology, society, extended politics of trade and culture, all affecting the accessibility and availability of the foods. According to Callon (1986) materials causes as well as human actors may be determinants of the social interactions and outcomes (Callon 1986). According to Henderson 2002, ANT emphasize the relationality of object and agency in heterogeneous networks, in other words, entities in network s are shaped by and can only be understood through their relations and connectivity to other entities(Law, 1999:4 as cited in Henderson et al 2002). Again, space and distance are observed as ‘spatial fields and relational scopes of influence, power and connectivity (Harvey, 1969; Murdoch 1998 as cited in Henderson et al 2002). According to Nancy Vanhouse, ANT has to approaches, ‘follow the actor, through interviews and ethnographic research and through examining inscriptions. Inscriptions including texts, but also images of many sorts, databases, and the like are central to knowledge work. Some (e.g., Latour and Woolgar, 1991; Callon, Law, and Rip, 1986) say that texts (including journal articles, conference papers and presentations, grant proposals, and patents) are among the major, if not the major, products of scientific work. Inscriptions make action at a distance possible by stabilizing work in such a way that it can travel across space and time and be combined with other work. Texts are also central to the process of gaining credibility. They carry work to other people and institutions. They attempt to present work in such a way that its meaning and significance are irrefutable. And texts are where authors establish equivalences among problems, which Callon et al. (1986) identifies as a major strategy of enrolling others. An important part of the standard journal article or grant application, for example, is to say, in essence, If you are interested in X (major issue) you must be interested in Y, which is the topic of the work reported/proposed here. References Latour, B. and Woolgar, S. (1991). Laboratory life: the construction of scientific facts, intro by Salk, J., Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press Callon, Michel, John Law, and Arie Rip, eds. Mapping the Dynamics of Science and Technology: Sociology of Science in the Real World. London: Macmillan Press, 1986. Actor network theory has become very helpful in understanding connections between places and space. Its insistency on non human factor in network production Supply chain and bottleneck bureaucracy of the supply of food products from Africa into the UK makes it more difficult for the availability of this food. This furthermore widens the distance/gap between consumers and suppliers/retailers. The length of this chain affects. The quality assurance schemes, production and manufacturing to retailers protocols and the application of quality management system and standard such as HACCP and ISO series are various ways of cutting supplies. Bottlenecks of food quality and safety standards in food processing and distribution. The HACCP systems are used in specific export sectors in Africa, an example is the EU quality standard for fish in Uganda is based on EU directive 91/493/EEC and on Codex Alimentarius (Trienekens et al 2008:116) covering areas of microbiology level, pesticides residues, heavy metals, effluents, Good manufacturing practices (processing stage) and HACCP (processing stage) (Ssemwanga, 2003 as cited in Trienekens et al 2008:116). Kenya adheres to UK food and safety Act of 1990, more so testing laboratories are accredited to ISO 17025; 2000 by United Kingdom Accreditation services (UKAS) (Kari 2003), the high deportation rate of this products on western markets shows the fragility of the systems. As pesticides residues are discovered in the product. Other systems used for processors and packers of fish for exports are GMP, ISO 90002. The proliferation of standards by western markets creates a barrier for the application of standards by developing countries producers. The lack of enabling environment in which infrastructure facilities are absent in African countries is also a major setback. African countries are still discovering quality and safety of food as important condition for international food trade (Trieneken et al 2008:117). Building of facilities, government structures to improve and ensure quality and safety of products are still key agenda of attention. The importance of transportation, preservation (cooled system of transport) and storage are very vital to international trade. African countries are still at the phase of establishing the right conditions to enforce food quality and safety of the other products. According to Trieneken et al- many developing countries do not have skilled labour and laboratory facilities, this however limits good- quality management, making difficult. Small and medium size business, from developing countries find difficult or almost impossible to comply with standard required in western markets (Dinham, 2003, Unnevehr, 2002). Due to barriers created by SPS and TBT in exporting foods, from developing countries do not have the adequate information and most likely unaware of specific demand of western standards for trade. The heterogeneous standard in developed economies also poses a problem, as continues differ to country and market also differ. The cost of certification is too much for develop countries to bear. Most African food products are unable to adapt to the rigorous requirements of modern supply chain, either through scale enterprise or lack of knowledge or financial constraints, become non-competitive. The myriad of innovations and development has made the process of food supply chain increase in productivity. The combine technology of accurate weighing, refrigeration controlled atmospheric bacterial growth inhibition, pasteurisation, micro-element pollutant detection, bar-coding, electronic recognition of packaging, the use of stabilizers etc, has also contributed to the difficulty in having African food cross over, as most business may not be financially equipped enough for the volume of the trading. Christopher (1999) notes that the supply chain management evolves around the partnership developed in the chain and is supported by information technology applications that co-ordinate information dissemination and sharing amongst the chain members. This research has revealed that most home cooked food are prepared under high hygienic conditions, as cooking is monitored by consumer themselves problems with calories consumptions that affect the health of consumer is also under check, compared to the perceptions about eating fast food at convenience KFC and MacDonalds. This is one reason for the preference of African food among black consumer. One of the major problems of availability of African foods in UK is the problem of access into the country. Developing countries especially in Africa find it difficult to meet the food safety standards imposed by the UK/developing countries. Food safety standards which were originally set up to keep food for quality and safe consumption, by government of different countries are being used as trade impeding protectionist tools.(Jongwanich 2009:1). Food safety standards are usually to the disadvantage of developing countries, due to their limits capacity to access and use technology and information. International trade negotiations have experience setbacks for developing countries in recent years due to a demand for more stringent SPS in developed countries, which is as a result of increase in health consciousness and rising incomes. Before now, tariffs and quantitative restrictions are the trade barriers and impediments that affect export from developing countries to developed countri es, but in recent times, food safety standards have become tool for protectionist to block trade(Jongwanich 2009: Consumer Demand for African Food in Liverpool Consumer Demand for African Food in Liverpool Abstract The aim of this research is to observe and explain consumers preference for African food in Liverpool. By identifying the attitudes towards African food, evaluating the different factors that affect the availability and accessibility of these foods within the city, the effect of globalisation processes on food production to consumption. Three different theories have been used in this research, the Theory of Reason Action, Theory of Planned Behaviour, the Actor Network Theory and the theory of consumption. The global production network which seeks to identify the geographical spatiality involved in the network process of crossing African foods to UK. The actor-network theory is used to explain the different actors/actants in the global production network. The theories of reasoned action and theory of planned behaviour used in this research intends to explain consumer attitude, preference and behaviour towards African foods. It is however observed that African consumers tend to prefer African traditional meals but this is affected by cost, time and distance. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research method is used to better interpret the outcomes of the result. A total of 150 respondents where interviewed from various part of the city, including students, young adults family etc. Cutting across different age groups. Owners of African food stores and restaurants were interviewed using both structured and semi-structured interview. Individuals were selected randomly, to verify interest in African foods. Chapter 1 Introduction The importance of food as a necessity of life goes beyond physical nourishment. Anthropologist and sociologist emphasize that food practices are prime means through which social relationships are formed. (Johnston et al 2006:272). A familiar saying goes â€Å"we are what we eat†; food links us to the rituals and recipes of previous generations, creating a network between families, wider communities, and the global trading network of producers, distributors and consumers. More so, we are transported into the world of others as we experience the tastes of unknown tradition and cultures. Food choices make profound impact on the environment, health and welfare of others, challenging the ideas of tradition and identity. Travel and immigration have also resulted in the changing and shifting of traditions over the years. National identities have been created also by food traditions in distant lands among people of similar culture and background. Food is an indicator of cultural tradi tions, values, and how food traditions develop and evolve over space and time. Much talk of globalisation of foods have helped in shaping traditions, cultural diversity, social and political economy of places, (Bernstein et al 1990: 9, Tinker 1997: 137, 143) however, not all kinds of food are very welcomed in some places, though may not be stated categorically, it can be observed within cities and communities most probably as result of economic policies, cultural differences, international trading policies. Traditional food is a vital aspect of the African cultural heritage. The production processing sale and distribution of food products enhances cultural and ethnic coherence in communities. Consumers demand for safe and tasteful traditional food products (Cayot, 2007). However, there is also a demand for varieties of ethnic foods in multi-ethnic cities and community. The definition of food encompasses matters of moral and cultural significance, differentiating food products, providers and consumers (Cook et al 1996). Food has always had a long history of constructed associations which involves associations of places and people, and has been used as emblem of national, regional and local identities (Murcott 1995). Johnston et al claim that there is no single geographical literature on food with its own coherent themes and problematic, as the study of food is found in economic, political, cultural, social and biological aspects of geography. Therefore food matter does not sit within the confinement of conceptual and spatial boundaries (Johnston 2006: 272). Key issues surrounding topic The speed and reach of globalisation, travel and trade, bring all kinds of diverse foods together. This has however affected the definitions of particular national food culture (Murray). The influence of travel and migration can be seen on major streets and cities in United Kingdom with a rich mixture of nationalities, Indian curry houses, Jewish Bagel shops, Chinese buffets restaurant, Italian restaurant, Mexican among others. However, the presence of African food restaurants seems not a loud as the others considering the long standing history of Blacks in the city. The absence of physical representation of the African food culture around the city especially in everyday cultural display such as in food, as compared to the Asian presence of Chinese, Indian, Thai, Mexican cuisines and other ethnic group in Liverpool raises questions of demand and supply. The most important representation so far is the International Slavery museum at the docks and black slave sculptures that are displayed around historical places in the city, which are only representations of past history and geography and not a total representation of the African culture in recent times. Ethnic minority consumers quest for cultural identity is perceived in the food culture of the group in concern. Commercial globalisation has renewed interest in the relationship between culture and traditional norms and values (James 1890). This pursuit for identity among most migrants to the western world is pronounced in their choice of food (Bauman2000). This research seeks to observe trends in African consumer behaviour and attitude toward African food in United Kingdom, using Liverpool as a case study. In trying to observe and evaluate these trends, certain issues have provided a background for this study, one of which is the re-materializing of postcolonial geographies as it affects Africans in a foreign country. African migrants attitude and food choice behaviour have been affected by certain factors, government and institutional policies of cutting across various levels of trading activities. In determining a consumers preference towards food related behaviours, convenience, as a food attribute, has been described as being as important as taste, health and price (Candel, 2001). However, the availability and accessibility of food influence consumers preference as different values are considered in understanding why consumers make certain food choice. Food choice is a complex phenomenon with many interacting events determining which foods are eaten by the individual at a particular time and place. (Shepherd 1989.) The failure of African foods to cross over into United Kingdom mainstream market has pointed to issues of production, preservation and transportation of African foods into the United Kingdom. International trade policies and barriers by OECD countries, farm subsidies have all been major setbacks to the availability of African food stuff in the United Kingdom. Chapter 1 literature review: theories of consumer perception, Chapter 2 how do Africans perceive African foods and other foods, what do Africans think about the origin of their food and the patriotic nature of Africans towards their food, the first experience of food, generational experience of food. Chapter 3 methodology: theories of research methods. Chapter 4 Chapter 5 result and discussions: background history of black Liverpool, map and population census 2001 of Africans in Liverpool, identifying African business and Questionnaires and interview analysis, Chapter 6 trade relations between African countries and UK CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This literature review looks at the studies that have been done in areas of food preference as it concerns culture, food identity, food preference and quality. The second section will review theories employed in the research and the importance of global production networks. Catherine Dolan and John Humphrey (2000) used Global commodity chain as networks where the decision-maker influences the output of chains and composition governance in their paper ‘governance and trade in fresh vegetables. Their study does not recognise the identity of commodity and consumer as a factor in buyer driven commodity, evaluating the geography of space. This research explores the ethnic identity of consumer as a major actor in global commodity chain networks. The buyers themselves being of African nationality purchase food stuff from the local food store or African food restaurants which receive their supplies from importers of African foods in major cities like London and Manchester. The connection therefore is from the African farmers who grow the foods, to major exporter or importer as the case maybe, to the shelves food store and tables of the restaurant then consumed by Africans who live several miles away from their home country. The cultural identity of the co nsumers becomes a vital connection to the market, because consumers also make demand on the desired food choice. Consumers access to these foods becomes important to the continuity of this trade. Ben Fine (1993) defines commodity chains as â€Å"the commodity-specific chain connecting production, distribution, marketing and consumption and material culture surrounding these elements†, in the study of systems of provision (fine 1993:600). This approach acknowledges the importance of commodities as a possibility of more balanced treatment of the relationship between production and consumption (Crewe 2000). Studies have explored how networks of embedded firms are offering the potential for the more equitable relations between retailer and suppliers, through the sharing of knowledge as market intelligence and labour. (Crewe 1996, Scott 1996, Crewe and Beaverstock 1998). Other study have considered the creative dimension of domestic consumption, and the ways in which consumer good s are actively appropriated in the everyday spaces of the home, however, Domosh examines the reclamation of the home and the domestic space as key consumption site. But it does not take into account the origin of the commodities and how it relates to space for consumption (Domosh 1998). Cook and Crang, explore ways in which geographical knowledge about products invoke a â€Å"double commodity fetishism†. This is the idea in which consumer knowledge are limited by spatially distanciated systems of provision. (Laying emphasis on geographical knowledge about widely sources of food commodities and process through which food is supplied). This work highlights cultural means of places and spaces. Cook and Crang (1996), further explores the global extensive networks and flows of food, people and culinary knowledge embedded in cosmopolitan London. Suggesting that â€Å"cultural mosaic† (Friedman, 1994), conceptualise cultural geographies as bounded cultural regions where constructed associations between food, places and peoples, associations epitomising the conceptions of national, regional and local cuisines. Also describes food as emblems and markers of national, regional and local identities (Murcott 1995). Cook et al (1998), in seeking the articulation of the geographies of culture looks at how figure displacement can be used to suggest process of food consumption are cast as local, the connections of food consumption to networks, which extend beyond delimiting boundaries of particular places. Again, in a closely related study, Cook reflects on the biography and geographies of food. A definition of food as having their own biographies, studies the connection of consumer knowledge about the geographical origins of the food they consume and what roles it plays in food choice and consumption (Cook et al 1998). He concludes in a suggestion that knowledge can potentially be a significant factor in food choice and preference. Much research has been done on Caribbean foods within and outside United Kingdom, probably due to the influx of Caribbean foods into United Kingdom market in the mid 1990s, when it became the ethnic cuisine to go mainstream after the Chinese, Indian and Tex Mex (Cook et al 2003). The complex history of the Caribbeans produced a regional cuisine which had overlapped with the Indian and Chinese foods that were on top of international cuisines in the United Kingdom. The region had also become tourist centres to Europeans and a large interest of the Caribbean lifestyle and delicacies reflected on the shelves of UK supermarkets, in addition to the projected images by celebrity chefs, and companies who increased the exports to satisfy the demand of this market in the mid nineties (Cook et al 2003). This also reflected in Caribbean centres established in major cities and streets in the UK. Cook and Harrison examine debate over the failure of Caribbean food to cross over into the UK mainstream. The paper review mosaic and theories of culture as fundamental difference between a white â€Å"mainstream† and black â€Å"ethnic other† as part problems of this failure. (Cook and Harrison 2003). Understandings of postcolonial geographies of material culture and its contributions to the undermining of, and resistance to forms of colonial dominations that persist in contemporary global capitalist relationships as can be found in food trade relations between the ‘third world and the ‘west. The study uses the example of the corporate history of Grace, Kennedy and Co, a company that preferred to cater for the needs of UK ethnic minority and the third world consumers, instead of prioritising cross over in to UK mainstream market. Friedberg research of modern historical geography of food in Burkina Faso shows how agricultural policies, dietary preferences health concerns, helped to transform regional diet, landscape and economy, resulting to temporal and spatial patterns of daily life in Burkina Faso. The study observes the incorporation of Burkina Faso into the globalised market economy as a result of luxury food (French beans), not leaving out the expectation of food quality safety standards (Friedberg 2003). The study also observes the changing geographies of the meaning of food, suggesting how historical study of food consumption takes place outside formal market economy. Gaps in current research Studies on firms by management oriented researchers have been focused more on companies in developed economies, central and Eastern Europe, small and local food production firms in Africa and their business counterparts even in developed economies have received less attention in the study of economic development. Past researches remained outside social science mainstream therefore have not been influenced by general discourses especially in the field of economic geography. Feminist researchers who have done research in the developing world have only concentrated on gender-related issues in the developing nations rather than with broader questions of small, local and industrial organisations and economic development (Henderson et al 2002:437). The major issues of trade liberalization have affected the cross over of African food and with the increase of safety standard procedures by the UK govt. The challenges of small business and the cost of food as also other major issues that will be discussed. In examining the geographical knowledge about food, actors associated with food, which involves location and situatedness of food, the networks and flows of food and people are major debates around the accessibility of these foods. According to Cook et al the long-running history of interconnections between people and places; and the increasing consciousness of the compression of the economic, political, cultural world, and the production of the world as a single place are two major contentions of globalisation debates (Cook et al 1996). London is said to be promoted as a space of ‘global post-modern (Hall, 1991: 32) by the staging and reconstruction of cultural difference in ‘globalisation diversity (Pieterse, 1995:45 as cited Cook 1996), arguably, Liverpool being proclaimed as the ‘world in one city though with characteristic history of local culture is yet to produce a matching representation of modern diversity of the African culture with the exception of the In ternational Slavery museum. Post colonial issues around African cultural heritage in Liverpool will enhance globalisation diversity as represented in food, arts and cultural of the African food biography and origin. Global Production networks Global production networks emphasize the need to refocus attention on the social circumstances under which commodities are produced and consumed† (Dickens et al 2002 pg 444). It takes into account, the process of production-(can be from the farm stage, harvest, labour technology, processing in Africa, transportation, UK standardization, repackaging, supply and distribution,) which do not always follow a chain link but a complex network process, over time and space and distance to consumption. The GPN framework allows for a greater complexity and geographical variation in producer-consumer relation, this in turn enhances the ability to reveal how certain key knowledge ‘circulate between producers, consumers and intermediaries. It also reveals complex social geographies as agents located in different places can be seen to combine to influence the production process (Henderson et al 2002:445). In all, this research seeks to answer the following questions: †¢ Research Questions? To what extent does the demand of African food affect its availability? What impact does African food trade make on the supply of these foods? How have African food stores and restaurants faired with migration of Africans in Liverpool? Preference is described by Babicz-Zielinska as â€Å"a general predisposition for a particular food, independent of the eating situation, and expressed by degree of liking or disliking of the food, desired food frequency or fraction of subjects selecting the food as a response to its name†(Babicz-Zielinska 1999:139). The choice of food depends on factors that influence human behaviour, which in turn affects the rejection of some food and acceptance of others. A classification based on current food-choice models is used to explain certain attributes of food choice is made by Babicz-Zielinska (Babicz-Zielinska 1999:138) 1. Production-related factors- which could be physical and chemical properties of food, sensory attributes, functional features(labelling, availability) nutritional value; or 2. Consumer-related factors- personal features, (age, gender, psychological factors, experience, personality), physiological factors (health) or 3. Environment-related factors- economic factors (price and income), cultural factors (beliefs, social factors- social status and fashion. Consumer-related factors and environment-related factors will be area of concern in this research. Factors of food choice survey was conducted in European Community EC countries, and it showed that quality/freshness, taste, selecting a healthy diet, price, family preferences and habits belong to the most important choice factors, (Lennernas et al 1997) Behavioural research methodologies are usually used to ascertain the underlying factors that determine food-related behaviour, reason being that food choice and consumption are natural and integrated part of human behaviour (Mahon et al 2006:474). The theory of reasoned action The theory of reasoned action has received attention within the field of consumer behaviour. (Sheppard et al 1988). The theory of reasoned action studies attitude and behaviour (Ajzen Fishbein 1980). It observes behavioural intention, attitude and subjective norm. According to Fishbein and Ajzen, a persons behaviour is guided by the persons attitude towards the behaviour and the subjective norm. For example, Africans tend to eat hot, spicy and tasty food, so when they find themselves away from ‘home, they look for their regular food, or something very close to the kind of food they have been used to, the alternative in this case could mean the Caribbean cuisine which also has its origin from African foods, or the Spanish or Mexican spicy foods as found in UK. However the cost also plays a determining role in making food choice, this shall be explained in detail in later chapter. Miller 2005 defines attitude, subjective norm, and behavioural intentions as the 3 components of the theory of reasoned action. Attitude: The sum of beliefs about a particular behaviour weighted by evaluation of these beliefs. Subjective norms. This looks at the influence of people in ones social environment on his/her behavioural intentions. Behavioural intention. This is a function of both attitudes towards behaviour and subjective norms towards that behaviour which has been found to predict actual behaviour. The theory of planned behaviour is adopted to explain consumer behaviour towards African food. The other alternative in this research is the British food, considering different factors that affect the choice of food. Human behaviour is explained and predicted by the theory of planned behaviour in understanding beliefs and attitudes. Ajzen et al 1986, explains that TPB is an extension of the TRA. The theory of planned behaviour was developed as a third predictor of behaviour, perceived behavioural control, (Mahon et al 2006:475). Perceived behavioural control reflects beliefs regarding the access to resources and opportunities needed to perform a behaviour (Chiou, 1998 as cited in Mahon 2006 pg 475). The availability of resources needed to engage in the behaviour such as money, time and other resources, the focal person self confidence in their ability to conduct the behaviour are two major reflections of the theory of planned behaviour. The theory of consumer preference. Consumers have set of preferences which are dependent upon individual tastes, education, culture and other factors, apart from the economic factor. These factors are measured for particular goods in terms of the real opportunity cost to the consumer who purchases and consumes the goods. Consumer level of satisfaction of a particular kind of food is determined by what the consumer defines as â€Å"satisfaction†. However, consumers are constrained in their choices of foods by income, accessibility of goods and also the price that the consumer is willing to pay for his food. Consumer preferences are defined as the subjective taste as measured by utility-(where utility is the satisfaction that a consumer derives from the consumption of a good) of various bundles of goods. Preferences help consumer to prioritize bundles of goods according to the levels of utility that they give the consumer. However, these preferences are not dependent on income and prices only. The ability for a consumer to purchase certain kind of food does not always determine a consumers like or dislike over another food. For example, an African consumer in Liverpool can have a preference for African foods over British foods but only has the financial means to buy British meals more often. There are certain assumptions of consumers preference theory, which will be further looked into, the assumption of decisiveness, consistency, non-satiation, convexity. Actor network theory. ANT, a social theory pioneered by Michel Callon (1986), Bruno Latour (1987) and John Law (1987), conceptualize social interactions in terms of networks. This includes the material environment and human causes. The concept of ANT acknowledges the importance of both material and human factors in networks. The theory conveys the idea that the actor does not act ‘on his own but only under the influence of complex network of material and human influences. For example, the process involved in making African foods available is not just caused human factors, but also by production, technology, society, extended politics of trade and culture, all affecting the accessibility and availability of the foods. According to Callon (1986) materials causes as well as human actors may be determinants of the social interactions and outcomes (Callon 1986). According to Henderson 2002, ANT emphasize the relationality of object and agency in heterogeneous networks, in other words, entities in network s are shaped by and can only be understood through their relations and connectivity to other entities(Law, 1999:4 as cited in Henderson et al 2002). Again, space and distance are observed as ‘spatial fields and relational scopes of influence, power and connectivity (Harvey, 1969; Murdoch 1998 as cited in Henderson et al 2002). According to Nancy Vanhouse, ANT has to approaches, ‘follow the actor, through interviews and ethnographic research and through examining inscriptions. Inscriptions including texts, but also images of many sorts, databases, and the like are central to knowledge work. Some (e.g., Latour and Woolgar, 1991; Callon, Law, and Rip, 1986) say that texts (including journal articles, conference papers and presentations, grant proposals, and patents) are among the major, if not the major, products of scientific work. Inscriptions make action at a distance possible by stabilizing work in such a way that it can travel across space and time and be combined with other work. Texts are also central to the process of gaining credibility. They carry work to other people and institutions. They attempt to present work in such a way that its meaning and significance are irrefutable. And texts are where authors establish equivalences among problems, which Callon et al. (1986) identifies as a major strategy of enrolling others. An important part of the standard journal article or grant application, for example, is to say, in essence, If you are interested in X (major issue) you must be interested in Y, which is the topic of the work reported/proposed here. References Latour, B. and Woolgar, S. (1991). Laboratory life: the construction of scientific facts, intro by Salk, J., Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press Callon, Michel, John Law, and Arie Rip, eds. Mapping the Dynamics of Science and Technology: Sociology of Science in the Real World. London: Macmillan Press, 1986. Actor network theory has become very helpful in understanding connections between places and space. Its insistency on non human factor in network production Supply chain and bottleneck bureaucracy of the supply of food products from Africa into the UK makes it more difficult for the availability of this food. This furthermore widens the distance/gap between consumers and suppliers/retailers. The length of this chain affects. The quality assurance schemes, production and manufacturing to retailers protocols and the application of quality management system and standard such as HACCP and ISO series are various ways of cutting supplies. Bottlenecks of food quality and safety standards in food processing and distribution. The HACCP systems are used in specific export sectors in Africa, an example is the EU quality standard for fish in Uganda is based on EU directive 91/493/EEC and on Codex Alimentarius (Trienekens et al 2008:116) covering areas of microbiology level, pesticides residues, heavy metals, effluents, Good manufacturing practices (processing stage) and HACCP (processing stage) (Ssemwanga, 2003 as cited in Trienekens et al 2008:116). Kenya adheres to UK food and safety Act of 1990, more so testing laboratories are accredited to ISO 17025; 2000 by United Kingdom Accreditation services (UKAS) (Kari 2003), the high deportation rate of this products on western markets shows the fragility of the systems. As pesticides residues are discovered in the product. Other systems used for processors and packers of fish for exports are GMP, ISO 90002. The proliferation of standards by western markets creates a barrier for the application of standards by developing countries producers. The lack of enabling environment in which infrastructure facilities are absent in African countries is also a major setback. African countries are still discovering quality and safety of food as important condition for international food trade (Trieneken et al 2008:117). Building of facilities, government structures to improve and ensure quality and safety of products are still key agenda of attention. The importance of transportation, preservation (cooled system of transport) and storage are very vital to international trade. African countries are still at the phase of establishing the right conditions to enforce food quality and safety of the other products. According to Trieneken et al- many developing countries do not have skilled labour and laboratory facilities, this however limits good- quality management, making difficult. Small and medium size business, from developing countries find difficult or almost impossible to comply with standard required in western markets (Dinham, 2003, Unnevehr, 2002). Due to barriers created by SPS and TBT in exporting foods, from developing countries do not have the adequate information and most likely unaware of specific demand of western standards for trade. The heterogeneous standard in developed economies also poses a problem, as continues differ to country and market also differ. The cost of certification is too much for develop countries to bear. Most African food products are unable to adapt to the rigorous requirements of modern supply chain, either through scale enterprise or lack of knowledge or financial constraints, become non-competitive. The myriad of innovations and development has made the process of food supply chain increase in productivity. The combine technology of accurate weighing, refrigeration controlled atmospheric bacterial growth inhibition, pasteurisation, micro-element pollutant detection, bar-coding, electronic recognition of packaging, the use of stabilizers etc, has also contributed to the difficulty in having African food cross over, as most business may not be financially equipped enough for the volume of the trading. Christopher (1999) notes that the supply chain management evolves around the partnership developed in the chain and is supported by information technology applications that co-ordinate information dissemination and sharing amongst the chain members. This research has revealed that most home cooked food are prepared under high hygienic conditions, as cooking is monitored by consumer themselves problems with calories consumptions that affect the health of consumer is also under check, compared to the perceptions about eating fast food at convenience KFC and MacDonalds. This is one reason for the preference of African food among black consumer. One of the major problems of availability of African foods in UK is the problem of access into the country. Developing countries especially in Africa find it difficult to meet the food safety standards imposed by the UK/developing countries. Food safety standards which were originally set up to keep food for quality and safe consumption, by government of different countries are being used as trade impeding protectionist tools.(Jongwanich 2009:1). Food safety standards are usually to the disadvantage of developing countries, due to their limits capacity to access and use technology and information. International trade negotiations have experience setbacks for developing countries in recent years due to a demand for more stringent SPS in developed countries, which is as a result of increase in health consciousness and rising incomes. Before now, tariffs and quantitative restrictions are the trade barriers and impediments that affect export from developing countries to developed countri es, but in recent times, food safety standards have become tool for protectionist to block trade(Jongwanich 2009: