Local Restaurant in Dubai

Business overview, entrepreneur’s background and characteristics Local House business was started by James Brown and his friends in Dubai in 2004. James Brown had good catering skills since he had specialized in preparing foreign foods. He started as a sole proprietor, and his main reason that allowed him to venture into this business was his good cooking skills that he wanted to exploit. His friends and relatives always enjoyed a foreign meal prepared by him and had previously encouraged him to try running a restaurant that would have specialized in foreign foods.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Local Restaurant in Dubai specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More James used his good social relations to build a positive image of the restaurant in order to attract customers. His friends and relatives also helped him place adverts in the media which increased the popularity of the restaurant. He began by cooking and s elling Mendi, a common foreign food, enjoyed by both the Dubai residents and the tourists. James later introduced more foreign foods as his customers wanted to try something new, every time they visited the restaurant. He started with a capital of 80,000 Dirhams raised from his savings and donations from friends. James used the capital to pay rent and buy the necessary kitchen utensils. He decided to hire one person who was to help him serve the food while he was cooking. The remaining amount was used to obtain the supplies for cooking Mendi. His friends later joined him and contributed more capital to the business development, which enabled them to expand the restaurant. They also opened more branches in other towns that most tourists visited. James had developed good relations with his suppliers which allowed him to get supplies on credit with long grace periods. He also treated his employees with professionalism and further encouraged his partners to treat the new workers who wer e stationed at their branches with professional ethics. This contributed to good relationships between the stakeholders and the workers as they were ready to work for more hours and give good services to the clients. This is one of the reasons the business had a wide market share and thus attracted customer loyalty. The business also received funding from financial institutions due to its good reputation and great performance. The loans advanced to the business were of low interest rates and allowable long payback periods. This boosted the business further as the funds were used to incorporate more foreign foods in their menu and increase the workers’ wages.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Entrepreneurial process James had gone through the four stages outlined and explained below before his friends joined him. Identify and evaluate the opportunity James Brown is innov ative and goal-oriented since he realizes most of the opportunities that come on his way and is able to focus on them. His major aim in life is to exploit his catering skills and make a fortune out of it. Whenever his friends and relatives visited him, he cooked foreign foods for them. As results of this, they encouraged him to start this business and offered to assist him to accomplish his goals. After realizing that most of the local residents and tourists enjoyed Mendi, he decided to cook and sell it to them. This was a great opportunity that most people could not see. A good example is provided by James’ friends who joined him later when they saw the opportunity which they had not realized before. He also understood that most of his customers wanted to try something new whenever they came to his restaurant. He did not ignore this as he saw a new opportunity in that which he made great use of it by incorporating more foreign foods in his menu, and this satisfied his custom ers more. Develop a business plan James used the skills he got from his college training to develop his business plan. In his business plan, he considered opening a local house business as his major aim. He chose an appropriate name for his business and recorded the amount of capital that was available and provided a plan on how the money was to be spent. He also mentioned that his major customers were the tourists and the local residents who enjoyed foreign foods. The challenges expected were also mentioned in the business plan. James did not forget to consider how he could handle such challenges. The major suppliers to his business were also outlined in his business plan. In general, he had a detailed business plan and his success can be attributed to it and his ability and willingness to implement it. Determine the resources required In his business plan, James identified all the requirements for the business and provided the means to achieve them. As he clearly outlined that was to be done, he was able to obtain most of his requirements for the business. James knew that most residents and tourists enjoyed foreign foods, but only few of them spent their time on preparing these foods as they preferred to get ready meals. This fully satisfied the market requirement.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Local Restaurant in Dubai specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More He also established good relationships with his suppliers. Thus, the necessary supplies for his business were available without much struggle. He realized the need for human resources in his business, which is the reason he treated his workers with professionalism. He also considered the strategic location of the business as a backbone to the success of his business. That is why he chose Dubai as a place to start his business. Manage the resulting enterprise His success in business can be attributed to the good management skills which Ja mes and his friends had. Customers always came back for more because they received the best services at his restaurant. He was also a good human resource manager; his workers never complained and were even ready to work beyond the normal working hours. This can be attributed to his good human resource management skills. They never lacked supplies at the restaurant, and the creditors never complained. This depicts the good financial management skills possessed by James and his friends. Effectuation James clearly saw his goals; he knew what he wanted in life and the best way to get it. He had been trained as a cook in a prominent college. He had good catering skills with which he impressed his visitors. Due to his talent and skills, he was encouraged to risk and venture into this business. Entrepreneurially managed firms verses traditionally managed firms Most entrepreneurially managed businesses have a strategic orientation in many aspects. One of the aspects we can consider is the strategic positioning of the business for the customers, suppliers and access to means of transport. In traditionally managed businesses, this is not the case as most of these factors are not taken into consideration there. Entrepreneurially managed businesses tend to stick to one activity and make the best returns out of it. On the other hand, traditional business managers can try everything just to get quick money, and it is the reason they end up suffering a failure in most of their endeavours. Entrepreneurs have better resource managing skills than traditional business men have, thus entrepreneurs make good use of the limited resources.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In entrepreneurial businesses, management tasks are divided among different people according to their specialties, while in traditionally managed businesses, all the management tasks are usually handled by one person; in most cases, this is the owner. Due to most of these advantages, the entrepreneurially managed businesses have an upper hand as far as growth is concerned as compared to traditionally managed business. Analysis of the selected entrepreneur according to the selected factors Prime motive James Brown’s main aim was exploiting his catering skills by occupying the available market niche in Dubai. He wanted to be unique as far as restaurant business was concerned. He did not focus too much on money as he wanted to make his customers come back for more, and in the process, he managed to earn good profits. Risk James is a risk taker as he at first decided to begin the business alone as a sole proprietor. He is a real entrepreneur as one of the major characteristics on e must possess as an entrepreneur is the ability to run risks. If the business failed, he could have lost a lot, but at the same time, there is a reward for taking risks, which is the profit one obtains. Within a short period, James was able to gain huge profits just because he took up the risk alone. Problems and challenges faced James was afraid that he could run out of budget just after he had started the business, which was almost what happened. He was saved by soft loans from friends and relatives. Banking institutions also offered him loans at a low interest rate, which he was able to pay back. Sourcing qualified employees was also a major challenge to James. However, he made good use of interviews which was the way he chose the best employees. Activity The restaurant business he ventured into has many customers all the time because both the tourists and the local residents enjoy the foreign foods and there are always hungry people. Thus this business’ niche is very act ive at all times. Time orientation James always had customers, and he thus tried to offer timely services all the time. He made use of his employees who were ready to work beyond the normal working hours. James created working shifts for his employees. This ensured the restaurant was open 24/7, and customers never missed what they wanted at any time of the day. Lessons that James learnt from the business James learnt that good service should come before profit gained, and he realized that aiming at huge profits, while giving customers poor services, could lead to failure of any business. James obtained great human resource managerial skills due to his business activities. He realized that in order to make his employees do their best, he should have provided them with the best working conditions. He gave them good pay and treated them with professionalism. Going global After his friends joined his business, James has considered opening branches in foreign countries where people could enjoy such meals. One of the countries considered is Germany, and the preparations are well underway for opening a new branch there. In the process, they have found out that international suppliers provided the best quality of the materials needed for a lower cost; that is why they are considering starting obtaining all they need from foreign suppliers. Advertising their business on the internet also attracted most foreigners to the business.Tourists talk to their families and friends on their experiences they gained while touring Dubai. They never forget to mention the sweet food they enjoyed in Dubai, and in the process, they indirectly market the restaurant. Analysis of the products and services The business majorly practiced catering and hospitality. They specialized in cooking and serving foreign foods as they were enjoyed by most of their customers. They offered the best services, and this kept the customers coming back for more. The services were relatively affordable, and p eople had no complains because they received the best services. Customers requested for a wider variety of foreign foods in menu, and James took advantage of this. He incorporated more foreign foods in his menu, and this was a sure way of expanding his business and increasing his profits. Mendi was the first foreign food prepared by James Brown due to the fact that most of the residents and tourists enjoyed it. It was also a good way of gaining customers before trying to cook other foreign foods. Analysis of commitment James Brown and his friends were determined to make the best out of their business. They spent most of their time planning and achieving their goals that accelerated the growth of their business. They were committed to providing the customers with the best services to ensure that they never left them for their competitors. This is evident from the process of choosing employees working for the company. The interviews conducted show that the company gets workers who are qualified, determined and committed to their work. The fact that the workers were ready to work beyond normal working hours without complains represents how committed they were. The suppliers were also committed to the company stated by James Brown as they provided the requested items in time and at good prices. Market research and target identification James Brown analysed his surroundings well before venturing into the business. He made sure he addressed a demand of his customers. Most tourists and local residents seemed to enjoy foreign foods and as per his research, the available hotels prepared only local foods, and those that prepared foreign foods had some challenges. They were not strategically positioned for the business and offered poor services most of the time. They prepared food poorly, and the customers never enjoyed them, James Brown took advantage of this and developed his local house business activity. He majorly targeted at tourists and local residents who preferr ed foreign foods. His aim was to provide the best service to this group of people as no restaurant fully addressed this demand. This made the business rise fast as far as profits and the customers were concerned. Developing distribution strategies The business tried to avail their products in most tourist destinations within Dubai by opening more branches within the region. The foods were prepared in the branches and served at the same places. Transporting food was initially considered but due to the extra expenses it brought about, it was never tried. Instead, they opted to prepare and serve food at the branches. James and his friends even tried to negotiate for terms to start branches at the airports, but this appeared to be impossible. They were, however, given a chance to prepare food elsewhere and then sell at the airports. This was challenging at first as most customers wanted hot food, which made James Brown and his partners use modern ways of keeping their foods hot for long hours. Finding your customer James had good friends who enjoyed eating a foreign food at his place whenever they visited him. They were his first customers and they helped him in marketing the business as they always came to the restaurant with more friends. The business also tried to reach their customers via advertisements placed in media and at the internet sites. The proper advertising contributed to the incensement of the customers’ day by day. Sales people were also employed. They went around Dubai talking to people about the foods available at the restaurant and its branches, the good services offered and the affordable prices charged. The idea of selling food at the airport was also a good way of finding the customers. Tourists always wanted to know where they could get such meals once outside the airport, and they were given directions by the workers at the airport. Finding financial aid The starting capital was raised by James from his own savings. Friends and fami ly members also gave him donations that allowed him to run the business. The partners who joined him later also brought in more capital that was used to expand the business. At first, it was an uphill task to obtain loans from banks; however, after they saw the performance of the business, they offered loans at low interest rates as they were not even suspecting any chances of defaulting. James Brown also got soft loans from some of his customers who always wanted the best for the business. Collection of money Most of the time, customers paid for the services in cash. However, some left checks that matured after short periods. Some paid using credit cards, but this was not a problem as James provided his restaurants with all the equipments needed and he even trained his workers on how to handle such cases. It was the financial policy of the business to deposit money collected after every two days. This prevented embezzlement at the branches. Plans of operation Sale order A customer comes to the business premises, and they are offered a place to sit. They are then served with an appetizer of their choice. They are given the menu and choose the food they want. They are then served with the food within few minutes. Customers eat their fill, and they also may order some drinks of their choice. Quality control. The foods are well prepared with qualified catering staff. High hygiene standards are maintained during the food preparation and service. The customers are served with exactly what they order and in a timely manner. Problems that need to be addressed Competition is a major problem to the success of the business. Most business people in Dubai after seeing how well James’ business had been doing decided to open such businesses. The best way that James Brown used to deal with this problem was to focus on his business giving the customers the best services. Management is also an issue since after opening more branches, James Brown had to deal with an incr eased workforce. This was solved by employing qualified managers at the branches to manage the operations. Sourcing funds had been also a challenge at first, but after sometime many financial institutions were willing to lend money to the business at affordable interest rates. This essay on Local Restaurant in Dubai was written and submitted by user Lukas Byrd to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

6 Ways to Handle Employment Gaps on Your Resume

6 Ways to Handle Employment Gaps on Your Resume Have you had to bounce around a bit? Worried your recent job history will appear a bit erratic to potential employers? Though job hopping is becoming less and less stigmatized, and more and more employers and recruiters will be sensitive to the particular challenges of the marketplace and the current economy, there are still some situations wherein it’s best to downplay all your job activity. Here are 6  ways to minimize the damage of having employment gaps on your resume1. SummarizeIf you don’t already have a summary paragraph at the top of your resume, now’s the time to add one. Use it to define yourself, and then to guide the recruiter through the bullet points and information she’s about to take in. Use it to show how best to interpret your multiple recent job changes, and what narrative to take away from that. If you give a recruiter a greater narrative, that should stick with them. And, if you’re worried that recruiters might think youâ€⠄¢d be a flight risk? Emphasize in your summary that you are looking for a long-term position, or to be somewhere for the long haul. Get out in front of the story, as they say in the media.2. FocusOn three or four of your recent jobs and flesh them out in more detail than you normally would. Then make a more summarized section on previous employment, including multiple jobs within those dates, to minimize the feeling of having hopped around from job to job during that time.3. Find coherenceIf you can find a through-line to connect all of your hopping, then you’re golden. Perhaps these were all positions within the same field, or in hopes of rocketing up the ladder, or learning new skills. Or if you’ve hopped from industry to industry, emphasize instead the work you do, and how you’ve been trying to hone in on the perfect niche for it. Make your job hopping an asset by making it tell a story.4. Be honestIf you were laid off as the result of a merger or acquisitio n, or you were a contract worker, then some of your hopping was not at all your fault. It is totally okay to explain this on your resume. A quick parenthetical (formerly X Company) next to the company name will be a good start. Your summary paragraph will also help here.5. Fudge the monthsIf you can get away with taking out the months in your dates, and just leaving the years, then you can give the illusion of having worked at a place longer than you did. Using years only helps you to smooth over short-term gigs. You can also put the dates to the right of the job headings, rather than the left, to deemphasize them.6. Try a hybridIf all else fails, the hybrid resume might be for you. This is a new way of thinking about the resume, emphasizing your skills first, and your bulleted, chronological history second. Choose four to five responsibilities or skills or job facets that you’ve excelled in, across all of your jobs, and sell yourself as a primo candidate. By the time the hir ing manager gets to the second page with your list of actual job experience, she’ll already be convinced you can do the job.

Classic education and universities. A road to survival

Classic education and universities. A road to survival Is traditional university losing its grip? The idea of a research university became obvious when Prussian college professor, Wilhelm von Humboldt, proposed a new system, which had to deal with student’s personal experience rather than boring lectures. In the meantime, empirical learning grew to be popular among his younger colleagues, causing Humboldt to expand his strategy and place all his hopes and dreams on the role of research in an institution. Instead of usual academic writing, students were given the task to develop their own approach to educational methods and choose what’s best for them, based on the system of simple observation. Individual projects were presented weekly, and Humboldt could witness an increasing progress in the student’s thinking. Apart from that, he revolutionized the understanding of a university as a public institution. Before that, teachers were mainly focused on the works of ancient authors and considered tradition to be the best learning method and source. Copying the canon was a usual practice, and students summarized what was previously said with the help of their professors. Nothing was left to the learners and their experimental values. Later, in the 1950s, universities in the UK and North America were largely influenced by the teaching models, borrowed from Humboldt. Research centers opened across the country, and students flooded colleges to establish their own projects and become educated academically. With the enhancement of the typical teaching-only model of learning, though, these tendencies vanished into thin air, and lecture theatres became popular once again. There are institutions where face-to-face delivery still remains the norm, while other forms of interaction between a teacher and a student are considered to be ineffective, but generally, online communication wins the hearts of students as the time goes. Campus-less establishments So, what do all these tendencies mean at the end of the day? Will classic universities close and give way to a more modernized system of education, involving online delivery and campus-less teaching? We cannot say for sure, but there have been numerous expressions of gratitude from students, who had an experience in online learning. They were allowed to equal educational facilities and high class diplomas, whereas in other cases the tuition fees would be too unaffordable to handle. Some teachers claim, however, that you should pay your price for using online resources and neglecting the traditional, overcrowded lecture room. With the development of digital learning, we start to forget the empirical experience seminars provides on a daily basis, and regular news updates keep us away from vital information, necessary for successful learning. In the meantime, blog writers and students, who are too focused on using apps for their classes instead of actual listening, are in great danger. They may lose their connection with reality and an ability to evaluate material, based on the source and structure. This is a tendency that is not uncommon among younger learners with their dedication to tweeting and scrolling through the news on Facebook. One may wonder whether the same students will comprehend given information and analyze it according to the teacher’s learning scheme. Unfortunately, most of them have a short attention span, which does not help in case one needs to use a clear and focused approach. Tweeting a sentence differs greatly from making notes on your own, and teacher-student communication cannot be replaced by online resources, no matter how good or mind-blowing the strategy is. The truth about colleges and universities remains the same these days: you have to combine online communication with the real one, and develop a strong sense of academic-led dialogue, where digital sources act as background information. The main values of the traditional institutions have not changed, and we cherish research and analytical thinking as core principles of learning in college.

Social Science & Social Changes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Social Science & Social Changes - Essay Example Slowly and gradually, these cities came closer forming different nations of the world. In this way, along with the growing population, the societies grew into civilizations and prospered over hundreds of years. The social orders that initially comprised a bunch of people, with the passage of time became large communities and large nations. Now, the whole world is coming closer day by day and is becoming one big global village. The current global trend supports globalization that emphasizes on living like a one big global community. With all these changes in societies, along the course of time, there came many opportunities, new possibilities and broader horizons, but with that equally came many risks, threats, uncertainties and crises. Cultures changed and so did people. With the new developments there came better education, better health, better life style, better communication and transportation, better techniques, procedures and processes, in fact, a whole new way of life; and with passing time, this process of evolution of the societies is becoming faster and faster that the way the social changes have bombarded us in last five decades, it had never done before. If we look at the life of the human being not very different from us who lives fifty years ago, we find such huge differences that it becomes very difficult to compare. Science and technology has prospered so much that the diseases that were thought of as completely incurable can now be treated using advanced techniques and processes. Treatment of life threatening diseases like cancer or life endangering situations like failure of a vital organ of the body is now possible and thus more and more precious lives can be saved. The new researches promise better education and better learning in a vast variety of areas. Researches are being conducted in practically every field of life. Science and technology has made life so easy that many tasks can easily be accomplished by just a flick of your finger over a button so the work that used to take weeks can now be done in days. So many things that man could only dream of as something miraculous are now a part of our every day lives. Life has become automatic; automatic cars, automatic machines, automatic gizmos and gadgets, even automatic homes. All one has to

Heaney Digging or Frost The Road Not Taken Essay

Heaney Digging or Frost The Road Not Taken - Essay Example Life is a journey where every turn is a major turning point. One decision can make or break a life-long expedition. Life is influenced so much by time and like what Frost stated in the first stanza of his poem, it is such a disappointment that one cannot travel a certain path and knows exactly what would happen through its journey there. There are other factors that should be taken into consideration like the time and opportunity that is presented at a given situation. One can consider the possible pros and cons that might occur during the circumstances. Things may present to be more appealing at the first sight but may have complex hurdles along the way which the person would not know how to overcome it unless it is already right under his nose (10). Frost put into metaphor a person’s life and a traveler’s journey to an unknown place. It would be a pity not to explore ideas at the same time to know the beauty and the consequences that life or the journey may bring. There are roads or opportunities which may present itself as a totally disastrous event yet at the onset yet as one goes through this path, the more fulfilling it is becoming for the person. This is usually the road not taken especially in recent years as more and more people would choose the easier path that may bring instant gratification rather than the one which may need time before gathering any form of fulfillment. Others may decide towards the road because of status-quo, it is just like ordering the usual at a fast-food chain at the corner of the street. There is no adventure in it and simply represents a routine (10). On the third stanza of the poem, Frost gave an example as to what may one thinks if there are two ideas presented having an identical onset presentation. However, these ideas may have and will have different path struggles which may incur various outcomes. One cannot go back to the starting point and take the

Issues in the Textile Industry

Issues in the Textile Industry The Textile Industry An overview of the textile industry The textile industry is regarded a major and largest industry around the world in terms of its output, production and employment. It brings a large contribution to various national economies including both global small and large-scale operations (Parvathi, et al., 2009). The textile manufacturing is based on the conversion of three types of fibre, the most one being yarn then fabric and finally textile. The fibres are then manufactured into clothes and others. However, the textile manufacturing originated from hand craft practices by spinners, weavers and some skilled craftsmen. The first textile companies surfaced in the United Kingdom and the Western European countries. This came with the new technological developments that were being introduced (Warshaw Leon, 2011). According to Warshaw and Leon (2011), the term textile industry was initially concerned only with the weaving of fibres, but today it involves a variety of processes. Therefore, as illustrated by Greenberg (2003), the production of textiles involve processes like; spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing and finishing of different natural and synthetic fibres. Today, wet processing is used in the finishing treatment of textiles. It is further categorised into 3 more processes, which is the; preparation process, coloration process and finishing process. Hazards present in the textile industry There are various hazards to which the textile workers are exposed. These hazards are categorised as; (i) exposure to chemical substances, (ii) exposure to physical agents, (iii) exposure to biological agents, (iv) exposure to dusts and fibres, and also (v) psychosocial hazards (European Agency for Safety and Health at work, 2008). Exposure to chemicals The spinning, weaving and knitting process do not involve high use of chemicals. The most substantial chemicals used in these operations are sizing agents like starch and other polymers such as lubricants to prevent yarns from being entangled. There is a wide variety of chemical substances used processes such as dyeing, printing, finishing, bleaching, washing, dry cleaning, sizing and spinning. The most commonly found chemicals are dyes, solvents, optical brighteners, crease resistance agents, flame retardants, heavy metals and anti-microbic agents. Textile fibres, reactive dyes, synthetic fibres and formaldehyde are the respiratory and skin sensitisers that can be identified in textile industries (European Agency for Safety and Health at work, 2008). The dyes that are used for cotton are usually classified into three groups; firstly is the water soluble dyes, secondly are dyes soluble by alkaline reduction and lastly are the dyes formed on fibre. In addition, workers may be also exp osed to aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as mineral spirits and kerosene, which are used for cleaning of equipments and parts of the plants (Greenberg, 2003) Exposure to physical agents From the European Agency for Safety and Health at work (2008), it has been concluded that textile workers are exposed to various physical agents such as noise and vibrations during the weaving, spinning, sewing, twisting and cutting process. As such, being exposed to very high noise level can result in permanent hearing damage while exposure to vibration along with other risk factors for Musculoskeletal Diseases can cause long term harm. It has been noticed that workers are also exposed to electromagnetic fields. Exposure to biological agents Biological agents are also present in the textile industry, in processes like carding and willowing. The workers are exposed to anthrax, clostridium tetani and coxiella burnetti. These can cause allergies and respiratory disorders. Normally, work areas having air conditioning systems and high humidity, the workers tend to have allergies and respiratory problems caused by moulds or yeasts. Exposure to dusts and fibres People working in the textile industry are usually exposed to airborne particles formed from both the natural and synthetic fibres in their work environment (Oldenburg et al., 2007). Studies have shown that workers in the textile industry are more prone to respiratory symptoms caused by cotton dust (Wang et al., 2003). In UK, the Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) for inhalable cotton dust has been fixed at 2.5 mg/m3 for an 8 hour time weighted average (HSE, 2005). Psychosocial hazards in the textile industry Employees experience work-related stress when they are unable to cope with the work demands. The WHO (2003) define work-related stress as â€Å"the response people may have when presented with work demands and pressures that are not matched to their knowledge and abilities and which challenge their ability to cope†. As such, psychosocial risks have been considered as being an integral factor of the process of stress. On the one hand, these can be in relation to the job content, the organisation and management of work, environmental and planning conditions while on the other hand it can be in terms of the competence and needs of employees. The interaction between all these factors can be dangerous to the health of employees through their perceptions and experience (Cox et al., 2002). According to the WHO (2010), psychosocial risks and work-related stress are closely associated. However, textile workers are faced to psychosocial risks since they have to perform repetitive and fa st paced tasks and they cannot take any decision by themselves. The textile industry and green technology The textile industry has experienced a lot of changes and there has been the introduction of many new technologies. Today, it has been seen that there is a shift to more eco-friendly processes and chemicals used in the textile industry. These include the use of novel biopolymers along with some enzymes. The use of greener dyes forms part of the essential constituents of green technology. The other constituents of green technology in the textile industry encompass systems which include waste water reduction by recycling, automatic process control and other filtration techniques (Sekar, 1999). In the dyeing process, the usage of water accounts to approximately 30-60 litres of water for 1 kilogram of cloth, thus new technologies to minimise the use of water is being adopted (Deo Wassif , 1999). The new technologies that have been introduced in the textile dyeing and finishing process are as follows: Plasma Treatment Technology Plasma is the state of a gas when its kinetic energy increases to such an extent that the energy is equal to the ionisation energy of the gas. At this stage, the rapid cascading of ionisation caused by the collisions of the gas particles result in plasma. Plasma is the 4th state of matter. In addition, the plasma technology is applicable to the textile industries. It alters the chemical structure and surface properties of fabrics, chemical matters are deposited for better functionality and substances are removed from the fabrics to improve the applicability. The plasma technology is used mainly in the processes like pre-treatment, dyeing and finishing (Shah Shah, 2013). It is a green and simple process. Super Critical Dyeing Fluid A substance which is under a pressure above its critical temperature is known as a super critical fluid. There is no distinction between gases and liquids under these specific conditions and the substance is then characterised as a fluid. As such, super critical fluids possesses the same solvent power as light hydrocarbons used for most solutes. Super critical fluids is advantageous to the textile processing because of their ability to combine the properties of gases and liquids. Also, their solvating power is equivalent to their density while when referring to their viscosity, the normal gas possesses a similar one. However, it is this particular combination which gives it such impressive penetration properties. The dyeing process favour this increase in density along with the increased power of solvation because of the positive effect that it has on the dissolution of disperse dye in the super critical carbon dioxide medium (Kannan Nithyanandan, n.d.). Ultrasound The use of ultrasound in the textile industry started only after synthetic materials and their blends were introduced. It is applied mainly in mechanical processes (weaving, knitting and finishing) and wet processes (sizing, scouring, bleaching and dyeing). Ultrasound has a lot of benefits such as; the processing time and energy consumption is decreased, it enhances the quality of products and the use of auxiliary chemicals are reduced. For instance, using ultrasound in the dyeing process will replace expensive thermal energy and chemicals by electricity. Various experiments were carried out to show the effectiveness of ultrasound on textile and it has been shown that the adsorption power of disperse dyes on cellulose acetate is influenced greatly by ultrasound compared to the dyeing rate when using direct dyes ( (Prince, 2009). Electrochemical Process Technology Traditionally, electrochemical techniques were used only for compounds synthesis and treatment for metal recovery but today its use has been expanded to the textile industry. In order to obtain functionalised fabrics, electrochemistry is applied for the production of smart textiles. However this technique is used mainly in the bleaching of cotton fibres and finished denim fabrics. Electrochemical process is also applied in sulfur and vat dyeing processes to reduce the amount of dyes used making the process eco-friendly since it will not involve the addition of chemical reagents like sodium dithionite (Mireia Carmen, 2012). Electrochemical dyeing process has advantages like; product saving, less chemicals used, incomparable environmental compatibility and better quicker properties is achieved. Good reproducibility also is set by using electrochemical dyeing. (Das, et al., 2012) Nanotechnology Nanotechnology is concerned with materials which are 1 to 100 nm long. The use of nanotechnology in the textile industry increase the durability of fabrics. This is because nano-particles possesses large surface area-to-volume ratio and high surface energy which means that they have better affinity for fabrics, thus increasing the durability of the function. The sporting industry, skincare, space technology and clothing are some examples where the nanotech enhanced textiles are being applied. It ensures that the wearer is better protected when exposed to extreme environments. Therefore, to treat textiles with nanotechnology materials is a way to enhance the properties of the fabric by making it more durable and have nicer colours (Kiron, 2013). Impacts of textile industry on environment The textile industry is a diversified industry being from the raw materials used to the various techniques adopted. At each steps involved in manufacturing fabrics, there are a number of environmental impacts associated with them which are also varied. For instance, the spinning, weaving and industrial manufacture of garments affects the air quality while the dyeing and printing processes use up large amount of water and chemicals. Also, there is the emission of several volatile agents into the atmosphere which have harmful effects on the human health (Challa, n.d.). In addition, each stages of the textile processing generates innumerable wastes streams which are of liquid, gaseous, solid or hazardous nature. The type of textile processes, technologies used, chemicals used and types of fibres will determine the nature of wastes generated. However, the most prevailing environmental impact is the water body pollution which arises due to the disposal of untreated effluents. The second greatest environmental problems caused by the industry are air pollution caused by Volatile Organic compounds (VOC) and other air pollutants. The VOC does not only affects the environment but also the workers and public health. The noise level emitted by textile machineries can also harm the environment by disturbing the natural habitats of various species in the area (C Parvathi, T Maruthavanan, C Prakash, 2009). The role of textile industry in the Mauritian economy The textile industry was set up and appeared in the government agenda of Mauritius in the 1960s. The industry then experienced a drastic expansion during the year 1980 to 2000. Mauritius was faced with a series of positive conditions for the past 30 years. These conditions helped the country in achieving a solid textile industry along with foreign and local investment. The industry was regarded as the main employer of Mauritius and contributed to 12 % of the GDP. However, the textile industry has not only brought a lot of improvements and developments to the economy of the country, but it can be said that its success also coincides with the social changes that came along. The first change is that it has encouraged the emancipation of women. Many women were employed when the textile industry developed. In fact the number of women being employed today also is increasing. The women, who were once viewed as housewives and who did not have the opportunity to study, were regarded as an important pool of labour. Working women started to bring income in the family and this eventually changed their role; they were no longer considered as docile housewife but an independent income earner. The second change is that the status of families has increased from the past years since a working woman helped in increasing the family income (Joomun, 2006). Today, the textile industry of Mauritius has achieved a very high status among other countries and there is currently about 174 textile entreprises employing approximately 55000 people. The industry has invested continuously on innovation and greener production to satisfy the demand of the global market which is emphasising more on eco-friendly practices and products.1http://www.gov.mu/portal/sites/nsp/industry/greenertex.htm In 2009, Mauritius was ranked as the second largest buyer of machineries, accounting to 2300 machines and 9 % of the global sales. Mauritian manufacturers have also invested in latest cleaner technologies and reorganised their activities so as to combat against the low-cost competition of Asian countries. As such the Mauritian and Indian Governments have collaborated together and signed a contract for the transfer of new technologies along with deciding on ways of improving the performance of the textile sector in Mauritius2http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/text ile-news/mauritius/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=119742

Discuss the use of the historical notes in the Handmaid’s Tale

The historical notes are part of the novel but not part of Offred's narrative. They are there to provide an explanation of what happened to Offred and put her story into historical perspective. The historical notes are set 200 years after the Gilead regime. They are a parody of an academic discussion about Offred's tale. The main speaker whilst being a woman is also a Native American. This can be seen in her name Professor Marian Crescent Moon. As the conference graduates it becomes evident that most of the scholars are Native American e. g. Professor Pieixoto. This is unusual as traditionally whites on Natives usually study anthropology. However Atwood chooses to turn this around to make the reader puzzled and makes a racial statement. The conference is held at the university of Denay in Nunavit. Denay is in northwest Canada which suggests that they control the Northwest of Canada as they appear to have a high social status. This reflects the time in which Atwood was writing as in the 1980 there was a fiery debate concerning this issue, in this and in her version the minority won and dominated. Atwood firstly uses the historical notes to make fun of academic conferences. This is obvious as the scholarly jargon is self-conscious and the humour extremely unfunny and complex. Therefore whilst amusing to the academics it is an instant off-putting for the reader which in turn outs him/her of the academics. Essentially all the reader wants to know is what happened to Offred and not if they are going on a fishing trip or not. These nature walks and fishing expeditions are mentioned briefly but purposefully at the beginning of the notes ‘The fishing expedition will go forward. The conditions in which these people live are clearly naturally better and healthier than in Gilead. Atwood makes a point this to show a contrast but also explain why they are so ignorant in understanding Offred's life, as they could never contemplate what it was like and hence could not sympathise with her suffering. The historical notes are a device used by Atwood to show the reader that everything she has written had actually happened before in one form or the other. The reference to Iran is probably most significant ‘Iran and Gilead: Two-late-twentieth-century Monotheocraties. They were so similar as in Iran the nations conservative Islamic revolution happened. It involved major de-modernizing and drastic restrictions of freedom of women. From this it is clear that Atwood got most of her inspiration from when creating the Handmaids. The Islamic ‘authorities' insisted that they were just protecting women and giving them a better quality of life. This is reflective of the commander in Offred's narrative when he says ‘We've given them more than we've taken away'. The professor says the ‘Romania had anticipated Gilead, in the 1980's banning all forms of birth control. This of course is what happened but it had divesting effects ion the spreading of aids and orphaned babies. Pieixoto also adds ‘ the collective rope ceremony' was an ‘English village custom in the 17th century' and is similar to Gilead's ‘Salvaging'. Moreover, the red colour of the handmaids was ‘borrowed from the uniforms of German prisoners of war I Canada' in the second word war. Finally Margaret Atwood uses the professor to state her point by making him say ‘that there was little that was truly original or truly indigenous to Gilead; its genius was synthesised. Consequently saying that there is nothing in the novel that hasn't already happened in the world we live in today. The professor at the same time as not picking up on Offred's personal account does realise the clever workings of the regime. For example the aunts had names derived from common commercial product'†¦ ‘ to familiarise and reassure' the handmaids. As mentioned Pieixoto is not interested in Offred's personal story but rather how it can tell him more about the Giliadian regime turning Offred's story into his own history. He is completely oblivious to Offred's feminist themes. He says that ‘our job is to censure and understand'. Clearly he doesn't and completely sidesteps the critical moral issues raised by her account. He seems more interested in establishing the identity of her commander than herself ‘the elusive commander', ‘the gentlemen in question'. Additionally he spends about two pages talking about him. The authenticity of the tapes seems to override the importance of their content. The covers of the tape are also significant as they reflect Offred's subject matter. ‘ Elvis Presley The Golden Years', he was one of the first male singers in the 60's to be associated with dirty sexual attraction i. e. the thrusting of the hips. Also there were tapes entitled ‘Boy George Takes Off', he was an homosexual musical icon and ‘Twisted Sister' they represented ‘loose' independent women. Most of all of these names and the suggestions behind the names Gilead would have severally disapproved of. This is just another way of Offred's small but yet significant rebellion against the regime. Professor Piexioto is an intriguing invention. Amongst the unusual social order in the historical notes and women appearing to be respected once again, Atwood throws in this completely contradictory character. He seems to by a complete sexist chauvinist pig. This is similar to the commander with whom he even shares a line' my little chat' and ‘little excitement'. This suggests that both the professor and the commander think of themselves very highly. It is obvious that Professor Piexioto does not think its a little chat but rather an important speech/lecture. Atwood intentionally merges these two characters together to show that male attitudes and opinions, even though 200 years have passed, have not altered. The professor proves this in his speech when he talks about ‘tails' and ‘frailrioads' rather than female roads as called by Offred. He also whilst making a dig at the North American peoples intelligence also insults both women's and Offred's intellect by saying ‘she was an educated woman, insofar as a graduate of any North American college of the time may have said to be educated'. Consequently, the historians discredit her story; she already told us that the commander was ‘in marker research'. Nevertheless he goes along a separate line of investigation and coming to the same conclusion. Furthermore he seems annoyed with her for not providing him with more information about the Giliadian regime. This can be seen when he exclaims ‘many gaps remain, some of which could have been filled in by our anonymous narrator, had she been in a different turn of mind'. Then he adds ‘ It has a whiff of emotion' this absolutely should outrage the reader as her whole story is based upon intense emotion and suffering, which he has no regard for. Ironically, the professor does exactly what Offred anticipated ‘from the point of view of history. We'll be invisible. ‘ So although Offred does get her story out she is treated the same as she was in the regime. Atwood does this to create a different kind of distopian in the readers mind and as in the narrative unsettle and make the reader outraged through confusion. The historical notes are supposedly here to answer unanswered questions but all it is extremely long explanations of a research with no concrete answers, which frustrate as new and yet again, unanswered questions start to format. This is a device used by Margaret Atwood to further stimulate the reader into discussion not only abut what happened to Offred but also question the society we live in today.