Book Review on Imagining India Essay Example for Free

Book Review on Imagining India Essay Monday morning, it is chaos. Despite its pristine new metro and expanding highways, the city can barely contain the morning hubbub, the swarm of people all trying to get somewhere. By the time I reach Kaushik Basus home—set a little apart from the highway, on a quiet street that is empty except for a single, lazy cow who stops in front of the car, in no hurry to move—I am very late, a little grimy, but exhilarated. Kaushik and I chat about how the crowds in the city look completely different compared to, say, two decades ago. Then, you would see people lounging near tea shops, reading the morning paper late into the afternoon, puffing languorously at their beedis and generally shooting the breeze. But as India has changed— bursting forth as one of the worlds fastest-growing countries—so has the scene on the street. And as Kaushik points out, it is this new restlessness, the hum and thrum of its people, that is the sound of Indias economic engine today. Kaushik is the author of a number of books on India and teaches economics at Cornell, and his take on Indias growth—of a country driven by human capital—is now well accepted. Indias position as the worlds go-to destination for talent is hardly surprising; we may have been short on various things at various times, but we have always had plenty of people. The crowded tumult of our cities is something I experience every day as I navigate my way to our Bangalore office through a dense crowd that overflows from the footpaths and on to the road—of software engineers waiting at bus stops, groups of women in colourful saris, on their way to their jobs 38 at the garment factories that line the road, men in construction hats heading towards the semi-completed highway. And then there are the people milling around the cars, hawking magaz ines and pirated versions of the latest best-sellers. * Looking around, I think that if people are the engine of Indias growth, our economy has only just begun to rev up. But to the demographic experts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Indias population made the country quite simply a disaster of epic proportions. Paul Ehlrichs visit to Delhi in 1966 forms the opening of his book The Population Bomb, and his shock as he describes Indias crowds is palpable: People eating, people washing, people sleeping . . . people visiting, arguing and screaming . . . people clinging to buses . . . people, people, people. But in the last two decades, this depressing vision of Indias population as an overwhelming burden has been turned on its head. With growth, our human capital has emerged as a vibrant source of workers and consumers not just for India, but also for the global economy. But this change in our attitudes has not come easily. Since independence, India struggled for decades with policies that tried to put the lid on its surging population. It is only recently that the country has been able to look its billion in the eye and consider its advantages. MILLIONS ON AN ANTHILL For most of the twentieth century, people both within and outside India viewed us through a lens that was distinctly Malthusian. As a poor and extremely crowded part of the world, we seemed to vindicate Thomas Malthuss uniquely despondent vision—that great population growth inevitably led to great famine and despair. The time that Thomas Malthus, writer, amateur economist and clergyman (the enduring term history gave him would be the gloomy parson), lived in may have greatly influenced his theory on population. Nineteenth-century England was seeing very high birth rates, with families having children by the bakers dozen. Malthus— who, as the second of eight children, was himself part of the population explosion he bemoaned—predicted in his An Essay on *Tbe Alchemist, Liars Poker and (Tom Friedman would be delighted) The World Is Flat have been perennial favourites for Indian pirates. the Principle of Population that the unprecedented increases in population would lead to a cycle of famines, of epidemics, and sickly seasons. India in particular seemed to be speedily bearing down the path that Malthus predicted. On our shores, famine was a regular visitor. We endured thirty hunger famines* between 1770 and 1950— plagues during which entire provinces saw a third of their population disappear, and the countryside was covered with the bleached bones of the millions dead.1 By the mid twentieth century, neo-Malthusian prophets were sounding the alarm on the disastrous population growth in India and China, and predicted that the impact of such growth would be felt around the world. Their apocalyptic scenarios helped justify draconian approaches to birth control. Policies recommending sterilization of the unfit and the disabled, and the killing of defective babies gained the air of respectable theory. 2 Indias increasing dependence on food aid from the developed world due to domestic shortages also fuelled the panic around its population growth—in 1960 India had consumed one-eighth of the United States total wheat production, and by 1966 this had grown to onefourth. Consequently, if you were an adult in the 1950s and 1960s and followed the news, it was entirely plausible to believe that the endgame for humanity was just round the corner; you may also have believed that this catastrophe was the making of some overly fecund Indians. Nehru, observing the hand-wringing, remarked that the Western world was getting frightened at the prospect of the masses of Asia becoming vaster and vaster, and swarming all over the place. And it is true that Indians of this generation had a cultural affinity for big families, even among the middle class—every long holiday during my childhood was spent at my grandparents house with my cousins, and a family photo from that time has a hundred people crammed into the frame. Indian families were big enough to be your *Amartya Sen and others have pointed out, however, that while these famines may have seemed to be the consequence of a country that was both poor and overpopulated, they were in fact triggered partly by trade policies and the lack of infrastructure. Lord Lytton exported wheat from India at the height of the 1876-78 famine, and the lack of connectivity across the country affected transportation of grain to affected areas. Main social circle—most people did not mingle extensively outside family weddings, celebrations and visits to each others homes. The growing global worries around our population growth created immense pressure on India to impose some sort of control on our birth rates, and we became the first developing country to initiate a family planning programme. But our early family planning policies had an unusual emphasis on self-control.3 In part this was influenced by leaders such as Gandhi, who preached abstinence; in an interesting departure from his usual policy of non-violence, he had said, Wives should fight off their husbands with force, if necessary. This focus on abstinence and self-restraint continued with independent Indias first health minister, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, who was in the odd position of being at the helm of a family planning programme while opposing family planning in principle.4 As a result Indian policy during this decade emphasized the rhythm method. Rural India was targeted for raising awareness of the method, and one villager remarked of its success, They talked of the rhythm method to people who didnt know the calendar. Then they gave us rosaries of coloured beads . . . at night, people couldnt tell the red bead for dont from the green for go ahead. 5 Not surprisingly, Indias population continued to grow through the 1950s and 1960s, as fertility remained stubbornly high even while infant mortality and death rates fell rapidly. This was despite the massive awareness-building efforts around family planning that the government undertook. I still remember the small family songs on the radio and the walls of our cities, the sides of buses and trucks were papered with posters that featured happy (and small) cartoon families, and slogans like Us Two, Ours Two. And yet, each census release made it clear that our population numbers continued to relentlessly soar, and we despaired over a graph that was climbing too high, too fast. SNIP, SNIP As the global panic around population growth surged, the Indian and Chinese governments began executing white-knuckle measures of family planning in the 1960s. Our house is on fire, Dr S. Chandrasekhar, minister of health and family planning, said in 1968. If we focused more on sterilization, he added, We can get the blaze under control. By the 1970s, programmes and targets for sterilization of citizens were set up for Indian states. There was even a vasectomy clinic set up at the Victoria Terminus rail station in Bombay, to cater to the passenger traffic flowing through. 7 But no matter how Indian governments tried to promote sterilization with incentives and sops, the number of people willing to undergo the procedure did not go up. Indias poor wanted children—and especially sons—as economic security. State efforts to persuade citizens into sterilization backfired in unexpected ways—as when many people across rural India refused to have the anti-tuberculosis BCG, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, injections because of a rumour that BCG stood for birth control government.8 In 1975, however, Indira Gandhi announced the Emergency, which suspended democratic rights and elections and endowed her with new powers of persuasion, so to speak. The Indian government morphed into a frighteningly sycophantic group, there to do the bidding of the prime minister and her son Sanjay—the same hotheaded young man who had described the Cabinet ministers as ignorant buffoons, thought his mother a ditherer and regarded the Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos his role model.9 In the winter of 1976, I, along with some of my fellow IIT Bombay students, had arrived on the festival circuit in Delhi to participate in the student debates and quizzes (yes, I was an inveterate nerd). It meant going from college to college for competitions, from Hindu to St Stephens to Miranda House to IIT Delhi. Most of us from the sylvan, secluded campus of IIT Bombay were not as politically aware as the Delhi students—the only elections we followed were those for the ITT hostels and student body. But in the Delhi of the Emergency years, sitting around campfires, one heard the whispered tales of Emergency-era atrocities, and of one particular outrage—nasbandi. Sanjay, who had discovered a taste and talent for authoritarianism with the Emergency, had made sterilization—specifically male sterilization or nasbandi— his pet project. The sterilization measures that were introduced came to be known as the Sanjay Effect—a combination, as the demographer Ashish Bose put it to me, of coercion, cruelty, corruption and cooked figures. Ashish notes that incentives to undergo the sterilization procedure included laws that required a sterilization certificate before government permits and rural credit could be granted. Children of parents with more than three children found that schools refused them admission, and prisoners did not get parole until they went under the knife. And some government departments persuaded their more reluctant employees to undergo the procedure by threatening them with charges of embezzlement.* The steep sterilization targets for state governments meant that people were often rounded up like sheep and take n to family planning clinics. For instance, one journalist witnessed municipal police in the small town of Barsi, Maharashtra, dragging several hundred peasants visiting Barsi on market day off the streets. They drove these men in two garbage trucks to the local family planning clinic, where beefy orderlies held them down while they were given vasectomies.10 This scene repeated itself time and again, across the country. It was difficult to trust the sterlization figures the government released since there was so much pressure on the states for results. Nevertheless, the Emergency-era sterilization programme, Ashish notes, may have achieved nearly two-thirds of its target—eight million sterilizations. But democracy soon hit back with a stunning blow. When Indira Gandhi called for elections in 1977—ignoring Sanjays protests, much to his ire11—the Congress was immediately tossed out of power. The nasbandi programme was the last gasp of coercive family planning in India on a large scale, and it became political suicide to implement similar policies. The Janata Party government that followed Indira even changed the label of the programme to avoid the stigma it carried, and family planning became family welfare. While sterilization programmes have occasionally reappeared across states, they have been mostly voluntary, with the focus on incentives to undergo the procedure, f *Asoka Bandarage describes the target fever in Indias sterilization programmes, which gave rise to speed doctors who competed against each other to perform the most number of operations every day, often under ghastly, unhygienic conditions. One celebrated figure was the Indian gynaecologist P.V. Mehta, who entered the Guinness Book of World Records for sterilizing more than 350,000 people in a decade—he claimed that he could perform forty sterilizations in an hour. tThese sweeteners for the procedure have at times been very strange and a little suspect, such as Uttar Pradeshs guns for sterilisation policy in 2004, under which scheme Indians purchasing firearms or seeking gun licences were told they would be fast-tracked if they could round up volunteers for sterilization. A district in Madhya Pradesh also made a similar guns for vasectomies offer to its residents in 2008.

Branding in the Automotive Industry

Branding in the Automotive Industry Marketing Branding Consumers Abstract This paper discusses what branding is; the key elements of branding; and the importance of branding in the automobile industry. As we all know, automobiles for some consumers are not just a mode of transport, but luxury status symbols. This paper considers the needs of consumers that must be taken into account while branding a brand. I have explored how branding if not done properly results in the failure of the brand and have discussed several failures of branding which helps in analyzing the mistakes committed by companies during branding. Along with this, I have also examined several success stories of automobile branding. Re-branding is another important issue in branding which I have considered in light of the automobile industry. This paper talks about re-branding and its importance in branding and in helping companies gain profit and increase their sales. Introduction Definition (quote from book) There is no concept as vital in the world of marketing and advertising today as â€Å"Branding†. Everyone uses the word in every conversation, there are countless self-proclaimed experts on the subject, executives want it, account managers plan it, strategies are formulated, money is spent, and advertising is done (Kapferer, 2000). However, in reality, very few people actually know and understand the meaning and context of the term â€Å"Branding†. The word brand, when used as a noun, can refer to a company name, a product name, or a unique identifier such as a logo or trademark. The concept of branding developed through the practices of craftsmen who wanted to place a mark or identifier on their work without detracting from the beauty of the piece. These craftsmen used their initials, a symbol, or another unique mark to identify their work and they usually put these marks in a low visibility place on the product. Not too long afterwards, high quality cattle and art became identifiable in consumers’ minds by particular symbols and marks (Aaker Joachimsthalaer, 2000). Consumers would actually seek out certain marks because they had associated those marks in their minds with tastier beef, higher quality pottery or furniture, sophisticated artwork, and overall better products. If the producer differentiated their product as superior in the mind of the consumer, then that producers mark or brand came to represent a superior product. The modern concept of branding grew out of the consumer packaged goods industry and today the process of branding has come t o include much more than just creating a way to identify a product or company. Branding today is used to create an emotional attachment on the part of the consumer to products and companies. Branding is the often subliminal process by which a business employs marketing strategies to get people to easily remember their products and services over competitors (DeChernatony, 1999). More so, it is applied psychology. Branding efforts create a feeling of involvement, a sense of higher quality, and an aura of intangible qualities that surround the brand name, mark, or symbol. Therefore a business, a product or any other service aimed at attracting customers can be successful if and only if it is branded properly; thus branding is an essential component of a business. A brand name holds a lot of importance for the consumers. Consumers purchase products by considering the brand name, quality associated with the brand as well as other brand affiliated perks. Branding is a process that is used by businesses to utilize marketing strategies to enhance their product or service image so that it is more readily recollected by the customer. Branding helps the product or service to make a favorable impact on the target customer while the branding concepts help in outlining the guidelines that should be followed during the branding process. Branding of any product and service should follow some constants that help in establishing a brand in the long run (Abratt, 1989). Branding helps an organization in attracting consumers and thereby increases its market share and hold. An organization should therefore, implement branding very carefully. Many a time organizations do not concentrate much on branding. In such cases, the brand can either become a success or fail miserably; but the probability of the brand being a failure is much higher. This success and failure of the brand depends on how the product is branded and how well the process is taken care of. Marketers engaged in brandi ng seek to develop or align the expectations behind the brand experience, creating the impression that a brand associated with a product or service has certain qualities or characteristics that make it special or unique. The importance of Branding in Marketing is discussed in the following sections. Branding Brands result directly from the market strategy as a consequence: segmentation and product differentiation (Kapferer, 2000). A brand should have its own specific point of view on the product category. Branding is a complex process which deals with the creation and development of a specific identity for a company, product, commodity, group, or person. It is carefully designed to present qualities that its creators believe will be attractive to the public, and it is meant to be developed and perpetuated for the long haul. An advertising campaign launches a product. Branding, when it’s done right, creates an institution. Branding brings about so many benefits (Balmer Gray, 2002). A brand is an end result. Branding is the process by which a brand comes into existence. A brand is many, many things, but it is never an accident. Brands can act as assets in times of recession or reduced business and profits. Such assets have in the past sustained companies in adversity; and all the e vidence suggests that, if they are managed properly and efficiently, they can continue to do so, now and in the future. Branding helps in making a brand name for organizations. If Branding is the creation and development of a personality—an identity— for a product or company, it is the result of work by a number of different professionals, all aiming at the same goal. While the roles of advertising and marketing have been well documented, the third prong within the Branding process, public relations, has largely been overlooked. For the most part, Branding requires the following three key components for proper execution (Pilch, 2007): Advertising:It’s a wonderful thing to create a unique, user-friendly brand that the public is sure to embrace. However, if the public doesn’t find out about the brand—and much of the public will find out through advertising—all that effort, time, and money will go to waste. The look and attitude of the advertising also help define the brand in the public’s mind. Marketing: In devising the personality of the brand and determining how it will be presented to the public, marketing, which is usually done in-house and through consultants, helps to create the entity that the brand will become. To sell a product, an organization needs to be clear in what it wants to sell. For example, a person owns the recipe for Oreo cookies, but if that person decided to sell the recipe and not the cookies, he or she would be making a very large marketing mistake (Johansson Hirano, 1999). Marketing is not just selling; it is to know what exactly to sell and how to sell it as part of a larger well thought and well formed plan. Public-relations: If advertising is the juggernaut of public attention, public-relations is the stealth bomber. Public-Relations generates publicity for the brand, helps solidify the public’s opinion of the brand, and defines the brand—all without being perceived by the public. Advertising is obvious, marketing is invisible, but public-relations is the most difficult of all things to be: subtle. It is also arguably the most valuable, indispensable part of the Branding process. Without public relations, it would be impossible to create a truly world-class brand, no matter what the budget or how exciting the product. Public-relations is absolutely essential to Branding. For a new brand to be successful, all three of the Branding components must be firing on all cylinders. They must be working in tandem, but they also have to succeed individually. Advertising In today’s business climate, even the most secure brands need to advertise. For example, McDonald’s sells billions and billions of hamburgers. However, McDonald’s does not cut back on its advertisements. In fact McDonald’s increases the number of advertisements every year. Nike is a well known company which sells sports wear. It is known for spending millions on celebrity endorsements for advertising. Its advertisements are legendary, and its logo is well known the world over, with people recognizing the brand instantly from seeing the Nike logo. A good advertising account executive will be involved in the birth of a brand, even if others have already decided on a good portion of the brand identity. How to present that identity is advertising’s job, in conjunction with public relations. The look of a television or print advertisement is as important as the message being delivered in print or dialogue. Quick edits, bright colors, extreme close-ups, a nd changing landscapes may appeal more to younger viewers, and will convey a different personality than golden sunsets, slow camera pans, and traditional storytelling (Keller, 1999). Loud music might be fine for a soft drink ad, but won’t work for a feminine hygiene product. If the product is intended to have a feminine attitude, a female singer will more likely achieve the goal than a male singer. But advertising isn’t just about creating TV commercials. Advertisements are about delivering the message to the public which has to be attracted to buy the product. The medium is the message. The programs during which the ad can be seen will make a statement about the personality of the product, as will the choice of publications in which print advertisements will run. If a product is supposed to be irreverent, young, up-to-date, and unconventional, ad buyers will probably be more successful in advertising during the commercial breaks of T.V. series such as Friends rather t han during news programs or documentaries.Each media outlet has as clearly defined a personality as its advertisers. In fact, the advertising often helps define the media outlet’s personality, and vice versa. The advertisements are purchased with a very careful eye on which programs appeal to the target audience. When a brand is new, it’s important the target audience be able to identify the brand, and identify withthe brand, very quickly. So after it’s decided what kind of brand identity is being introduced, and the target audience to which the brand is being marketed, creative advertising executives begin deciding what message to convey and how to convey it. Advertising doesn’t create the identity, but it does choose how to present the identity, and it certainly helps define the identity of the product, and, by extension, its users (McEnally DeChernatony, 1999). With a clever choice like that made for the Mentos advertisements, it expresses the adverti ser’s message very well. Advertisements however cannot do the job alone and they cannot determine what the image should be. All advertisements can do is to show the target audience what product they should buy and why they should buy it. The part of the process where the target audience is helped in determining the image of the product is accomplished through marketing. Marketing Before there can be a brand, there has to be a product. The bridge between product and recognizable brand is marketing. It is sometimes difficult for people outside the business to understand marketing, because they confuse it with advertising even though the two are totally different processes. Their goals are not the same, and their methods are totally different. They are performed by separate groups of specialists, and can often be at odds with one another until a compromise or alternative solution can be reached that satisfies both disciplines. If advertising is the way the public usually discovers a product, marketing determines what the public will discover. If the look and sound of advertising are important, the decisions made by marketing executives will determine the tone of the advertisements (Aaker, 1996). In other words, a product is assigned its personality mostly because of marketing. Based on the target audience for the product, marketing will determine which traits th at segment of the population are likely to find appealing, and will do its best to ascribe them to the product being marketed. For example, when Apple Computers were experiencing some sales difficulties a number of years ago, and co-founder Steve Jobs returned to guide the company, the iMac computer was the first product to be released by the â€Å"new† company. The personality of the product was very important. Not only did it have to remind loyal Apple users why they liked the computer to begin with, but it had to convince new users to try something that required a large amount of money and was going to look different to anything they had seen before. In fact, the future of the entire company hinged on the acceptance of the iMac, and if it was seen as too similar to IBM based PCs, it would be rejected by the loyal Apple following. If it came across as too different or too strange, the product would fail to expand Apple’s market share—which was dwindling at the time—and the company would be in very dire straits indeed. What the company did was to analyze the strong points of Apple and the iMac. It marketed the iMac as something new, something fun, and something that younger users who were only just beginning to use the internet would appreciate. Marketing executives made sure the iMac was presented as a young, innovative, smart, and easy way to enter the online world, something that American consumers were just beginning to do in large numbers at the time. So, before the product came out, there was already great anticipation. But once the iMac, considered a wildly revolutionary design at its inception, was unveiled, the focus was all on the product. It helped that the iMac looked different: Its colorful, all-in-one bulbous design was certainly a change from the beige boxes that had dominated the computer industry for years. Certainly, the iMac turned the fortunes of Apple Computers around. Apple increased its market share and sold millions of iMacs, and a company that appeared to be on the brink of extinction not long before was assured a solid foothold, if not a dominant position, in the home computer market. If the computer hadn’t worked well, if it hadn’t delivered on its promises, no marketing campaign would have been able to achieve the success of the iMac. What marketing does is to determine the proper audience for a product, and then deliver to that audience what it wants. The target demographic can be as narrow as 15-year-old boys living in the suburbs, or it can be literally anybody (Riley DeChernatony, 1998). That will depend on the product. But once the demographic is identified, marketing professionals analyze it, make sure the characteristics of that demographic are compatible with the product, and then emphasize the strengths of the product. Through focus groups, surveys, and other tools, market research helps determine what people want. Marketing is more the art of taking what al ready exists and making it more attractive to the public through positioning and branding techniques. It is a natural and easy mistake to confuse marketing with advertising. Advertising is what happens when marketing has already been done. The next area under discussion is public relations which also works with what marketing professionals have already done, but does different, less obvious things with it. Public Relations Many clients do not understand the difference between branding, public relations, advertising and marketing. In order to understand the role of public relations in branding, first we have to understand how public relations works. It is a business unlike any other, and its rules are very specific. Public relations can help create a brand, establish it, promote it, develop it, and keep it healthy, all without being detected by the general public. Most Executives prefer public relations to advertising mainly for the reason that a lot of branding programs of the organizations are usually based on third-party endorsement. It is much more credible and fast-acting than when you pay for advertisements. People often confuse public relations with publicity and the reason could be pretty simple. Public relations in actual fact refers to the craft of attracting publicity, and not publicity itself (Dolak, 2003). What public relations does is attract attention to the product through different medi ums of the media giving the product a wider audience and generating more publicity than a person working in public relations could reach individually. One problem, however, is that some businesses are wary of the press overall, and do not fully appreciate the boost and recognition that public relations can provide. The role of public relations is to combine what marketing and advertising do, and then use the information in different ways. Marketing determines the personality, or brand identity, being publicized (Gelder, 2002). Public relations professionals are given that information and are asked to find an appropriate media outlet to relay the message. For example, in the case of the iMac, Apple made sure (quite often by donation) that school systems around the country had iMac computers as soon as they were available. This helped familiarize very young computer users—possibly those who had never used a computer before—with Apple’s product first. This brillian t public relations move demonstrated that Apple had strong interests in education and a history of helping children. This gave consumers a very positive image of Apple. The move into schools also made sure that iMacs were perceived as unusual and innovative. Brand identity is the most vital part of the branding concept. With the wrong identity, even a perfect product can fail to become a brand. With the proper identity, one that has been crafted carefully and thoughtfully, a product can launch a brand and eventually become what every branding practitioner hopes for—a household name. Word of mouth, local newspapers, radio programs, and television news programs are the targets at the very beginning of the quest of a person working in public relations.Generally the most widely viewed television channels, most read newspapers, magazines and journals, not just nationally but world over, are the target of public relations. Before news of the new product, service, or personality can reach the media however, the public relations professional has to analyze the brand identity. Public relations professionals do make things up about these products; they find the newsworthy aspect or unique selling proposition of a company and its products and try to attract attention to that. In other words, Public-Relations is the art of telling the truth in the most positive light possible. It is as central a component of Branding as any other, and its importance is immeasurable. Branding in Automobiles Designing an automobile is an extremely difficult task. Automobiles are built and manufactured after much market research and field work about the product being designed and manufactured, the region in which the product has to be released, and many other factors which go into determining the successful launch of the product and the success of the product (Bouchenoire, 2003). Branding plays a very important role in the automobile industry. Branding an automobile is essential in order to make the product a success. Brands become icons due to successful Branding. Customers value certain products which they recognize and feel help to define them as a person for whatever reason. It may be because the brand symbolizes wealth and a high status and the person wishes to align themselves with a brand with such appeal. Customers would generally like to resemble any product they purchase with themselves (Kavounis, 2002). In the automobile industry, the executives and the designers have to be car eful with the design of the product with respect to the needs of the customers. Thorough research has to be carried out as to what customers want from the automobile and what customers need from the automobile and these factors are then taken into account when designing the automobile. Customers may have different needs depending on the region where the product has to be launched. In some regions consumers might like to have a smooth and luxurious automobile whereas in a different location, speed might be given preference over luxury. Marketing has to be done carefully so that all these factors are taken into account. The organization should target prospective buyers with a strategy that turns them into loyal customers. Loyalty plays a huge role in the success of the brand. For example, the Harley-Davidson Company which manufactures motor-bikes has a strong and loyal pool of customers which makes it a very strong brand. The fact that the company manufactures what can be argued to be some of the best motor-bikes available could be one of the main reasons for the success of the brand. However, there are many other companies which produce good and perhaps even better motor-bikes than Harley-Davidson, but it is the fact that Harley-Davidson was successful in creating such a strong brand name that demanded loyalty from its customers that enabled it to create a large pool of returning customers. In August 2003, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (United States of America), celebrated the hundredth birthday of Harley-Davidson (Gunelius, 2007). The whole city was converted into a biker-party zone for three consecutive days. Over one hundred thousand people attended the party riding their Harley-Davidson bikes. Also Harle y-Davidson aficionados from over forty-seven different companies attended the party. This reflects the strength of the brand and goes on to point out how important it is to attract the loyalty of the customers in order to make a brand successful. It is widely known that brands have a remarkable ability to impact the way customers perceive a product. Customers and ordinary people do not just look at the product; they interconnect the brand and the product together. The way the customers perceive the product is totally shaped and determined by the brand itself. Therefore, it is a necessity that the brand projects itself in a way to attract consumers. The presence of a well recognized brand determines the way the target audience view the product. Here is a hypothetical example of Mercedes deciding to release a car: Since Mercedes is a highly recognized brand, the car being released will almost certainly automatically be viewed as a high quality, exclusive and expensive product. In order to make a brand, branding is compulsory. Many people unfamiliar with the long process of good branding may consider it to be easy however, for every successful brand, there are dozens of brands which have either come close to being a success or h ave been total failures. Brands such as Mercedes, General Motors (GM) and Toyota have been huge successes however; several big names like Daewoo Motors and ValuJet have failed in some areas or have disappeared altogether. Daewoo Motors, once a leading brand in the automobile industry, could not retain its customer base and customer loyalty as it had implemented some bad branding strategies which made it lose its brand value. As a result, Daewoo Motors had to close down several of its factories and offices due to the losses it sustained. Essentials of Branding Branding does not just involve identifying the needs of customers, but also certain factors which are useful in attracting customers. These essential factors are: Name: The name of the company can play an important role. A great name is like extra octane in a brand. A bad, boring, or sound-alike name will not necessarily kill a brands chances for success however in most cases it â€Å"dramatically dilutes the brand equity and potency† (Aaker, 1996). The naming of a brand also depends on the customers’ taste and liking as well as the region in which the product is going to be released along with the people living in that particular region. Naming can also be done by taking potential global consumers into consideration. Logo: The Logo of a company plays a huge role in determining the strength of the brand. Any customer relates a product to a brand through its logo. The logo creates a big impact on the way the products are perceived. When a customer sees the â€Å"four circles† of the Audi, the â€Å"horse† of the Ferrari, the â€Å"checkered flag† of the BMW, he or she associates the values of that brand with the logo. Logos along with the names, contribute largely in determining the strength of the brand. Branding Successes A critical element of predictive loyalty metrics is their ability to measure the direction and velocity of consumer values 12-18 months in advance (Stephan, 1997). With that in mind, here are the key trends that determine the difference between the success and failure of brands. An emphasis on â€Å"engagement†: Inserting itself between traditional marketing activities and an increasing demand for return on investment assessments, engagement is the Holy Grail for marketers and advertisers (Assael, 1995). Defined as the outcome of advertising and marketing activities that substantively increases a brands strength in the eyes of the consumers (and actually predicts sales and profitability), engagement is used more and more to allocate marketing budgets. The joint task forces from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), and the American Marketing Association (AMA) provide some degree of engagement meaning and metrics. Using technology to better meet consumer expectations: Consumer expectations in all categories will continue to grow if technology is used properly to attract the attention of the customers (King, 1989). Expectations have increased more than twenty six percent in the past five years while brands have kept up with these expectations by only eight percent. Marketers in general rely upon websites and high-tech capabilities to accommodate these values and differentiate themselves from the competition. More branded entertainment: Popular culture, with its rabid consumption of music and technology, has to be the main viewpoint of the brand leaders as a method for customizing entertainment and selling products. For instance, music-related paraphernalia such as T-shirts, posters, and artist-related merchandise infringe more on the dominance of bricks-and mortar retail. Harley-Davidson The iconic American motorcycle sustains a proud history, enduring product quality and a high price point. In the face of increased competition in 1987, Harley sent a management team to Japan to learn about superior production techniques. This is a branding technique used by the Harley-Davidson team to produce a super-quality bike which could appeal to a large number of customers across the world. Though today’s median customer is fifty five years old, many people recognize the brand and think it personifies the outlaw sensibilities, the romance of the open road, and the American Dream of unbridled freedom. However, numerous brand extensions and licenses, many of them down market, i.e. cigarettes and clocks, have kept Harley in the middle levels of the luxury category. Even though Harley is treated as a mid-luxury bike, many consumers rich or poor align the bike’s related attributes with their own character. Harley-Davidson was able to attract the custome rs in that aspect and hence, it went on to become one of the most renowned brand names in the history of motor-bike companies. Another such vehicle is the Hummer: a multi-terrain vehicle which gained popularity within a very short space of time. Hummer is a classic instance of brand hijacking, where consumers attach attributes to a product that its manufacturer never intended. The Humvee originated as a government contract vehicle, designed for the military. Survivalists, conservatives, and yuppies adopted it as their signature icon vehicle, with some cachet attached to its million dollar price tag. It has since become the car of choice for gangster rappers and generally a very popular status symbol. After unexpected market demand, Hummer – an Indiana-based division of GM- recently introduced two low-cost, downsized models in the hundred thousand dollars range, thus moving the brand below its prior designation as premium luxury. This led it to become a huge hit amongst youngsters. For a brand to be successful, it requires branding to be done in an effective manner. Initial surveys must be carried out to find how a product can be advertised. Surveys consist of finding out the expectations of the target market. The design requirements of the vehicle, with respect to the customers must be analysed thoroughly (Fourner Yao, 1977). Branding also requires an organization to learn from previous mistakes; mistakes of not just that organization, but also of the other organizations. Branding Failures Several brands have failed due to the implementation of improper branding strategies for certain automobiles. These strategies intended to improve the image held by customers of the brand failed despite many of the vehicles being arguably better than those of some of the most prominent brands. Cadillac Motors, which later became a division of General Motors, dates from the early days of mass-produced automobiles (Wreden, 2003). It is the oldest surviving American luxury car brand. Once a synonym for the highest quality in vehicles, by the 1950s the brand had become the favorite of Texan oil millionaires, Arab potentates and Elvis Presley, who habitually gave them away by the dozens to his entourage. Cadillac began to lose market share in the seventies with increased competition from Ford’s Lincoln division, and the introduction of other luxury vehicles –primarily of Japanese manufacture who marketed to a younger, newly-affluent demographic. Cadillac unsuccessfully respo nded by releasing a downsized model, the Cimarron, 1982-88, driving brand perception lower. Today, Cadillac is perceived as a retiree’s car, while it retains some small segment of the limousine business. The branding technique they adopted was to reduce the size of the vehicles. However, the price and the basic design did not change. Due to this, most people never opted for this kind of vehicle; the younger demographic especially never bought this type of a car. Many new vehicles had been released by other brands which were more stylish in design and looks thereby attracting more customers to buy their brands whereas Cadillac never concentrated on the marketing and branding strategies and continued with their traditional car designs. Even reducing the price ranges did not bring about any change in the fortunes of Cadillac. Therefore, Cadillac became the retiree’s brand. Branding Failures can occur from brand extensions. Extending a brand refers to adding the brand to o ther products. If an organization manufacturing cars starts selling T-Shirts and other stuff under its brand name, the organization is extending its brand (Broniarczyk Joseph, 1994). Extensions might involve changing the design structure, adding n

From Black and White to HDTV, TVs grip on our Young :: essays research papers fc

From Black and White, to HDTV, TV’s Grip on our Young   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How many televisions do you have in your house? Do you watch those TV’s for more than an hour a day? How much is too much television? These questions are asked by people everyday, with each question comes a varied response depending on who is asked. Children are very impressionable. How does television affect the children that are between the ages of ten and sixteen? Could the affect be positive or is it negative. People who watch violent television as children behave more aggressively even 15 years later, according to one of the few TV violence studies to follow children into adulthood (Grossman 43). The effect appears in both sexes regardless even of how aggressive a person was as a child, researchers found (Kline 138). â€Å"Experts say the results are no surprise, but added that the study is important because it used a wide range of measures, included many participants and showed the effect in females as well as males† (Noble 113). â€Å"Huesmann said televised violence suggests to young children that aggression is appropriate in some situations, especially when it's used by   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gleason 2 charismatic heroes. It also erodes a natural aversion to violence† (Comstock 14). The American Psychological Association has said that viewing violence on TV promotes aggressive behavior, particularly in children. Other mental-health and medical groups have taken similar stands (Nobel 178). Children who play actively will have more of an opportunity to develop their senses than children who are passively viewing (Grossman 192). The health aspects of watching TV can vary, almost entirely bad. While watching TV, the eyes are practically motionless and `defocused' in order to take in the whole screen. Constant movement is required for healthy eye development (parenthoodweb Oct 24). Viewing affects not only eye mechanics, but also the ability to focus and pay attention. Since TV is more visual than auditory, children's sense of hearing is not being used to its full extent. Active listening is a skill that needs to be developed. Children need practice in hearing different things to gain that needed stimulation. Also, when TV is constantly on, the sense of hearing may be dulled by the persistent background noise (apa Oct 30). Studies show that the consumption of alcohol is shown or mentioned in 80 percent of prime-time programs (Cook   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gleason 3 32). Alcoholic beverages outnumber the other beverages consumed on TV, but the pattern of drinking is virtually the opposite of the pattern found in the real world.

Alfred Stieglitz and Gallery 291 :: Armory show Art essays

Alfred Stieglitz and Gallery 291 A Modern Art Revolution Before the Armory Show â€Å"Quite a few years ago†¦there got to be—a place†¦. The place grew—the place shifted†¦the place was where this man was†¦. —Shift—is something that cannot be tied—cannot be pigeonholed. It jumps—it bounds—it glides —it SHIFTS— it must have freedom†¦. It seems those who do that worth the doing are possessed of good eyes—alive eyes—warm eyes— it seems they radiate a fire within outward. The places they inhabit have a light burning— a light seen from near and far by those who need this light— and this light sometimes dim—sometimes brilliant—never out—†¦. To realize such a place— a very tangible place was and is this man’s dream.† John Marin about Alfred Stieglitz[1] On February 17, 1913 the International Exhibition of Modern Art, or the Armory Show, opened to the public. It is unlikely that the some 4,000 guests milling around the eighteen rooms of the 69th Regiment Armory in New York that night could have realized the extent to which the artwork displayed would set off a revolution that would sweep the nation. Response to the Armory Show, however, was sensational. During the month long exhibition the, Armory Show became the talk of the town. The galleries were constantly full of people who came to gape at the spectacle, artists who came to study or deride, and celebrities and socialites who came to see and be seen. Former President Teddy Roosevelt even made a visit to the show praising the spirit of modernity present in the venture, but distrustful of the so called ‘radical’ art of the European avant-garde. In his response to the show published in Outlook, Roosevelt commented: â€Å"It is vitally necessary to mov e forward and to shake off the dead hand of the reactionaries; and yet we have to face the fact that there is apt to be a lunatic fringe among the votaries of any forward movement.†[2] In this statement Roosevelt summarized the public reactions to the show.

To Live Through the World of Imagination :: essays research papers

In literature, there are various works that aid children in their developmental progression of life. Children experience stages throughout their development that lead them to the discovery of not only their own needs, but the needs of others too. Many people do not realize the extent of which stories shape the way we think. Stories are particularly effective in influencing the way children think and behave, because they like to hear or read them over and over again. The repetition of these stories combined with a child's imagination makes telling a story one of the best ways to influence their thinking. Two works that indirectly influence a child's way of thinking are Winnie the Pooh by A.A Milne, and Charlotte's Web by E.B White. Each of these books deals with situations involving parent-child relationships, peer group dynamics, and social interactions. Both of these literary works have a major impact on young readers, and each one takes a unique approach in aiding young readers throughout their developing stages.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Winnie the Pooh is a collection of stories that deals with the concerns and needs of a growing boy, who is trying to understand how the world and the people in it work. The little boy's name is Christopher Robin. Christopher's father tells his son the stories of Pooh's adventures and interactions with others. In order to truly understand the meaning of this story, one must realize that Winnie the Pooh represents one of the many personalities of Christopher Robin. Just as Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, Eeyore, and Owl are also alter egos of him. Each of these characters represents a different feeling or emotion of Christopher Robin, and all of them are designed by the author to fit a certain personality trait that a child can relate to.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charlotte's Web is the story of a young girl who is in the midst of discovering herself and learning how to be less selfish. Fern is the name of the young girl, and Wilbur is her pig. In this story, Ferns alter ego is Wilbur as well as the Barnyard animals. They represent Fern's inner thoughts and concerns. As in Winnie the Pooh, the characters in Charlotte's Web were also created in such a way that a child could easily relate. Wilbur's actions and thoughts represent Fern's uncontrollable desire to experience something new and invigorating. Fern's concerns are more mature than those of Christopher Robin.

Iran’s Influence in Iraq

ABSTRACT In the period after 2003, Iran was extensively involved in Iraq by demonstrating its leading role in the international context. However, Iraq has been confronted with substantial instability as a result of Iran’s invasion, even though scholars have presented mixed arguments about this issue. This paper discusses the role that Iran has played after 2003, which has affected both the dimensions of stability and instability. The primary objective of Iran after 2003 was to observe a positive economic change in Iraq and also to ensure that the Western troops were taken off. Different factors affected Iraq’s stability, including inherent sectarian divisions and the role of other states. There were two types of influence on Iran and they are: first and foremost was that the projects politically influenced leveraging close historical relationships with several Shi’a organizations in Iraq like the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), the Badr organization, and the Dawah political party. A second factor was that Iran had used the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Qods Force (QF) to provide paramilitary training, weapons, and equipment to various Iraqi militant groups, including Moqtada al-Sadr’s Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) and the Special Group Criminals (SGCs). Iran also had an influence on the legal and constructive functions of Iraq. Although it was seen that Iran’s policy in Iraq is also duplicitous, it publicly called for stability but diverted Iraq’s government and illegally sponsored anti-government militias. INTRODUCTION Although the factors and consequences surrounding Iran and Iraq war have been extensively discussed in the research literature, the post-war implications have been hardly understood. The United States has been accusing Tehran of its undue interference, which was done by Arab leaders for establishing an Islamic Republic[1], and by prominent Iraqi officials of an array of illegitimate meddling. It has been observed that Iran’s influence in Iraq has created a quite complex situation for the entire region. Iran had vital interests in Iraq, which can be perceived as strategic important for establishing power relations in the region. In order to maximise the success of Iraq from its political transition, it is very important that Tehran and Baghdad work together. In addition, it is fundamental for all involved parties to prevent the US from further deterioration of its relations with the Islamic Republic.[2] Therefore, the objective of the present research is to explore Iran’ s role and influence in Iraq in both political and military aspects. The essay is divided into introduction followed by theoretical remarks regarding the Iraqi insurgency, and the political stability. In reviewing the literature on the conflict between Iran and Iraq, it becomes clear that Iran has played a role in bringing about instability in Iraq since 2003, which has been further divided into different sections. The first and the foremost division occurred between those academics who cite Iranian influence to be the most significant destabilising factor in post-2003 Iraq, and others who hold the opinion that Iran’s influence is considered either positive or insignificant. As per Barzegar[3], the first approach is that Iran’s influence in Iraq is both strong and negative. At the same time, it has been indicated that Iran had a negative foreign policy. The nature of Iran’s relations had changed with various militant groups in Iraq and after the fall of Saddam’s regime in 2003. Moreover, Iran had deployed thousands of intelligence and paramilitary people to Iraq, as Iran had conflicting and negative goals in Iraq. The primary goal of Iran was to expand its influence at both national and local levels in Iraq. Thus, it was seen that it had made links with the local actors, even when they opposed Iran’s preferred clients at the national level. It may be also argued that Iran follows a policy of favouritism. In the beginning after the invasion, Iran has tried to combat US power. The US had a strong position in Iraq, which could have a negative impact on the security of Iran. With the worsening situation in Iraq, and with the regime change that the US tried to impose in Iraq, the United States became less of a driver of Iranian actions, although it was always an important factor in the Iranian leadership’s calculations. Soon after 9/11 Iran also had changed some of its policy as there were significant changes in the US policy. Initially Iran had cooperated with the US with regards to al-Qaida and to some degree in Afghanistan’s issues. However, later on Iran believed that the United States rebuffed its gestures. In addition to this Iran also had exploited the situation that followed the US regime and change in Iraq so as to expand its influence there.[4] As of today, Iran has its closest ties with the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), formerly the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). This relationship basically was on the exceptionally close and subservient days when SCIRI’s role was that of an Iranian proxy to be wielded against Saddam’s regime during the bitter 1980-8 Iran-Iraq war. Indeed, Iran even organised part of SCIRI into the Badr Corps to fight against Iraqi forces on Iran’s behalf. Today, as the International Crisis Group notes, â€Å"although the extent of ISCI’s continued involvement with it is a matter of debate, there is no question that Tehran exerts significant influence over the Party and that ISCI’s ties to Iran’s security establishment remain strong†.[5] Therefore, ISCI has been recognised as having the strongest ties to Iran. It has also been shown as quite cooperative with the United States.[6] For instance, ISCI had members, which were a part of Iraq’s intelligence and police forces. These members are now working with the United States in its capacity as part of the Iraqi government; they have also gone after ISCI rivals like Muqtada as-Sadr’s Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM). In spite of ISCI being Iran’s closest ally in Iraq, Tehran has had many other relationships, which were maintained at any cost including weakening ISCI, such as Iran’s ties to JAM have grown to the extent of even hosting its leader Muqtada al-Sadr. This happened despite his repeated criticisms of Tehran and violent rivalry with ISCI. Thus, all these efforts were done to accomplish the initially set goals, including the major idea of maintaining a solid local influence.[7] IRAN-IRAQ WAR (1980-1988) It is important to clarify the circumstances leading to the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran war in order to understand Iran’s and Iraq’s complicated relations. In 1979, after the rule of the Shah of Iran was overthrown in 1979, under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini, an Islamic Republic of Iran was established. Soon after assuming power, Ayatollah Khomeini not only exported the Islamic revolution to other countries in the Middle East but also to Iraq.[8] Because of all this Saddam Hussein in 1980 decided to initiate a war; thus, for the next two years there was a persistent war between Iran and Iraq, resulting in Iraq being expelled from Iran. [9] Although at this juncture Iran could have been declared victorious, Khomeini fought across the Shatt al-Arab waterway in Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein and forced his resolution in there. Khomeini had thought that Shiites would support him in his invasion but they were least interested to do it. Throughout the Arab countries it was assumed that it would take time for Iran to overthrow Saddam Hussein before the vulnerable monarchies of the Gulf fell, including the prised Saudi Arabia and its oil. Till now America was just waiting and watching all the drama (war), but at this juncture it decided to get into the war itself and tilt towards Iraq.[10] During the reign of Saddam Hussein, Iran launched a number of Shiite groups who violently opposed the Iraqi Baathist regime and this particularly took place before the Iran-Iraq war had started. The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution (SCIR) in Iraq was led by Ayatollah Muhammad Bakr al-Hakim and his militia, the Badr Brigade, also joined forces with Iran in the Iran-Iraq war and very actively participated in the war by supporting the Iranian side. [11] After responding to the President George H. W. Bush’s ill-fated call for a Shiite uprising, which happened in 1991, SCIRI temporarily occupied the Iraqi port of Basra. Soon after the reprisals, SCIRI continued to be with the Shiite group and opposed Saddam Hussein. They were competing with different groups, such as Ahmed Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress. After the US invasion and also after the establishment of the interim Iraqi government, SCIRI established itself as one of the most important and main political parties, which represented southern Shia (the other being Dawa). [12] Bakr al-Hakim, who was an Iraqi religious leader, was killed in the US led Iraq war. Abdul-Aziz Al-Hakim was the SCIRI’s political leader and was very famous in Iraq as a politician.[13] Moreover, SCIRI and Dawa had supported Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim when he was in Iran and was exiled; they also gave their support to the Iranian regime and advocated an Iraqi Islamic theocracy. After returning back to Iraq, they withdrew their support from Dawa and another government party, which was led by the velayat-e faqih. As a result, they started propagating the meaningful role of religion in governance.[14] IRAN’S STRATEGY TO INFLUENCE IRAQ Soon after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, Iran tried to influence Iraq by adopting the strategy that Iran and Iraq are neighbours with a long history of dealing with one another. In addition, they both have same historic, religious, economic, and cultural factors of influence. Moreover, the eight-year long war was a result of their troubled relationship, in which Iran tried to position itself to influence the formation of a new government in Iraq. This took place through the use of all elements of national power: diplomatic means, information technology, military, and economic resources. Iran has tried to achieve its goals in Iraq by adopting different strategies. For instance, Iran openly supported pro-Iranian factions and armed militias; it also tried to influence Iraqi political leaders by building strong economic ties in Iraq, which were considered a manifestation of goodwill towards Iran.[15] According to Joseph Felter and Brian Fishman,[16] Iran has persistently tried to affect the political landscape of Iraq. It has been argued that Iran has a well-developed plan so as to exert influence in Iraq in order to minimise or avoid the American power projection in the Middle East. Two significant modes of Iranian influence have been identified in Iraq. The first mode was associated with the idea to influence Iraqi politics through the assistance of various Shiite organisations, such as the Supreme Council of Iraq, the Badr organisation, and the Dawa political party. The second method suggested support of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Qods Force (QF) to obtain arms and ammunition as well as paramilitary training to various Iraqi militant groups to include Moqtada al Sadr’s Jaysh al Mahdi (JAM) and the Special Group Criminals (SGCs). Iran’s influence on Iraq has been identified as economic and religious. Iran’s ambitions for influence have spread to different diplomatic, military, and economic sectors of Iraq. Iran wanted to influence Iraq not only politically but through the involvement of mass media by creating a specific image in minds of Iraqi people so as to get help for its strategy. In economic terms, Iran has helped Iraq to build its trade and expand it accordingly.[17] IRANIAN MILITARY INFLUENCE IN IRAQ Because of the influence over the military, it had made many insurgent groups to operate in Iraq and some of them were directly opposing the US military in Iraq. With such influence in Iraq, Iran could possibly retaliate against the United States. In turn, this prompted the United States to convince the United Nations to impose economic sanctions on Iran because of its nuclear program. Iran also executed return attacks on the US forces using proxy militia groups in Iraq in case the US decided to take direct military action.[18] Since 2003, Iran had pursued extensive collaboration with Iraqi political allies, such as the United States, in order to participate in the nascent democratic political process. It has also armed, trained, and funded Shiite militias with the idea to defeat the United States, which would prevent further intervention of the US army in that particular area.[19] As Katzman mentions,[20] in the period from 2005 to 2008, Iran had increased support for Iraqi Shiite militias and took over both the material aid like physical arming of militia groups and the contribution of troops, as well as training or harbouring of insurgents. The Quds forces were supplying material to Iran, and they were charged for territorial actions, although reports have said that the military training in the Iraqi Shi’a militia was done by the Lebanese group Hezbollah.[21] The major terrorist activity was completed by Iran and Quds Force. This was confirmed in 2010 by the US State Department[22], but it appears that not only this Iranian government was involved between the IRGC and the Special Groups inside Iraq.[23] It has been noted that the Iraqi military group linked most strongly to Iran, is probably the Badr Corps, the armed wing of the ISCI, which, even prior to 2003, was described as â€Å"Iran’s most important action arm inside Iraq†.[24] Bergner (2007) stated that Iraqi Shiite groups were not in the situation to bring about such massive and destructive attacks, without weapons and training from Iran, implying that Tehran has carefully planned its actions. Again it was argued that links between military groups in Iraq were made in Iran, and this further fuelled instability. However, the question whether other agents or groups were involved in creating such an unstable situation remains open.[25] IRANIAN POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT IN IRAQ By 2011, it has been observed that Nouri al-Maliki, Prime Minister of Iraq, was openly against the Vice President Hashemi. In addition, there was persistent agitation between Erbil and Baghdad, which made the members of Iraqiyya and the Kurds to actually consider prime minister’s ouster seriously, which occurred in the 2012 spring. At this point Maliki’s opponents took the help of Sadrist because it was necessary at that point of time to obtain 163 votes, which were required to pass a non- confidence motion. Sadr was not willing to break with the other Shiite blocs and side with Maliki’s Kurdish and Sunni opponents in a non- confidence motion, in spite of having meetings between top Kurdish, Iraqiyya, and Sadrist officials (including Sadr himself) in Erbil and Najaf.[26] President Jalal Talabani was also under high pressure from the Iranian government to help and support Maliki, but he directly opposed the initiation of a non-confidence vote in the parliament, sa ying that there is no proper support for this action.[27] However, by June 2012, it has been evident that the non- confidence vote had faltered. It was in late 2012 reported that the President Talabani had changed his position on a non- confidence motion because of growing tensions among Arabs and Kurds.[28] By the end of 2012, Talabani suffered a stroke there by ending any chance of renewing push to remove Maliki through a non-confidence measure. De-Ba‘athification served the Iranian ambition more than the Iraqi one. The extensive period of Saddam Hussein’s Ba‘athist rule had left a deep societal mistrust and sectarian divisions. This institution, de-Ba‘athification, was created after Saddam’s downfall in 2003, but it was very quickly politicised, which also applied a ban on the former members of the Ba‘ath party. Again it was noted that there were links between the Iranian-backed militant groups and the head of the Shi‘a-dominated commis sion and his deputies, Ahmed Chalabi and Ali al- Lami.[29] Iran has been involved in Iraqi politics since 2003. Yet, Iranian efforts to exert influence over politics in Iraq have been evident since 1980s. However, the main point which is debated is whether Iran is committed to exerting long-term control over such a government, and whether the Iranian government would be comfortable in allowing a Shiite Iraqi government to become militarily and political powerful. It has also been claimed that the Iranian government had exerted persistent political pressure over the US to force the Americans to withdraw their troops in 2008 as per US-Iraq Security Agreement.[30] It has also been observed that Iran normally exerts pressure on the political sphere in Iraq through Iraq’s Shiite political parties by using its religious prowess to garner favour in the Shiite community. It appears that many of the political links were falsified after the Iran-Iraq war. This resulted in a huge number of Iraqi political figures being exiled in Iran and returning in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion to influence the politics in their home country. Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, had to spend a substantial amount of time in Iran, although most of his exile was spent in Syria, but this was during the rule of Saddam Hussein.[31] Similarly, it has been also noted that the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had strong links with the Iranian religious government and political establishment, although the Sadrist movement was basically anti-Iranian.[32] There were lots of other people, who felt that Iran had a negative impact on the instability of Iraq. According to Alsis et al.,[33] after the war the elections backed all major Shiite parties, so that if any of the party wins elections can be beholden to Tehran. Again this was the strategy of Iran to get support, which had led to Shiite divisions, and thus the cause of conflict and instability in many case s. Such political instability was the major cause of the development of various divisions in Iraqi society. The eruption of these division fuelled pressure not only in Iraq but in the entire region. During the 2010 elections, many incidents of violence were reported. This raised the question about the politically unstable country considering the presence of weak coalitions and holding of elections. This has provided Iran with an opportunity to demonstrate its support for Shiites, as this could be conducive to social stability, or such a condition may simply serve to whitewash and thus diminish the reality of the ground situation. The Brookings Institute Iraq Index (2006)[34] had charted a peak in multiple fatality bombings in January 2005, during the elections, and again during other months of the same year. All this has been seen very common in Iraq and somehow very much seen during Ramadan and elections, or in other words, it was considered quite normal during religious and political events. For example, Cordesman cites that â€Å"the number of attacks peaked to some 700 per week in October 2005, before the October 15th referendum on the constitution, compared to 430 per week in mid- January†.[35] In relation to these events, many political groups and parties, who are said to have links to political establishments of Iran and also independent elements within Iran, have argued that most of these groups have strong influence and links to the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI). It has been observed in recent years that the Mahdi Army, which is led by Moqtada al-Sadr, has become very powerful and influential due to reported links with Iran of Sadr.[36] ECONOMIC INFLUENCE Since the US invasion, trade between Iran and Iraq has steadily increased and Iran is now Iraq‘s biggest trading partner[37], and the trade consists of building materials, chemicals, consumer goods, and foodstuffs, much of it via the border at Mehran and Mundhirriya/QasrShirin. In addition to this, Iran has negotiated electricity deals with Iraq that were implemented after the CPA era.[38] According to the Iranian ambassador to Iraq, Iran supplies 750 megawatts of electricity to Iraq daily. Moreover, two Iranian banks have received an approval to open their branches in Iraq.[39] Nonetheless, Iran’s investments in real estate and businesses in Basra, Karbala, and Najaf have been seen as exploitative rather than a form of gratitude from Iraqis.[40] To add to this Iran-Iraq economic ties are strong, and this has been encouraged to some extent by the impact of international sanctions on Iran and in other markets. It was demonstrated by Iran‘s ambassador in August 2010 that Iran would double its trade volume with Iraq.[41] Iranian officials have also indicated that they welcome a strong economic integration between the two countries, â€Å"Our message to Iraqi brothers in my visit is that Iran is fully ready to expand ties with Baghdad. We announced that Tehran is prepared to put its scientific, technical, engineering, economic and commercial potentials at the disposal of Iraq†.[42] In 2005, there were reports that to get a job in Basra, this requires the sponsorship of Iran, as teaching posts were filled only by those who were supporting Iran[43]. As a result, most traders in southern parts of Iran speak Farsi and many accept Iranian currency. Iranian exports include electricity, refined oil products, and cars. It al so helps to fund reconstruction. Iraqis have also started receiving medical care from Iran. Thus, Iran has presented a strong economic influence on Iraq. IRAN’S BROADER ROLE IN IRAQI SECURITY The interests of Iran and Iraq security coincide in certain areas and security competition is complicated as it is seen by some Iraqis that Iran is making huge efforts to acquire nuclear weapons as a Muslim bomb, and not as a threat to Iraq.[44] It was also noted that Iran has given some funding to Iraq‘s security forces in 2005, and Iraq had to promise the United States that Iran would not train Iraqi security forces.[45] Iran had pressurised on the security arrangement between the US and Iraq. General Odierno who was the Commander of the Multi-National Force in Iraq at that time said on October 12, 2008, that Iran may try to corrupt the members of the Council of Representatives so as to vote against the Status of Forces agreement.[46] However, in December 2011 Iran indicated that the US forces should withdraw from Iraq, as the US should not use Iraqi land, sea, and air for launching or for any transit point when they attack other countries.[47] It has been argued that some Iraqi military and intelligence officials had significant influence over elements of the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior, and had accused Iran of providing shaped charges and artillery to Iraqi militants. Moreover, Iran had also recruited thousands of Iraqis for gathering information; in fact, Iran has had intelligence agents in northern Iraq for at least 20 years.[48] As per Dafna Linzer, the rough estimate about Iranian intelligence officers in Iraq in 2007 was about 150.[49] It was also observed that some of the Iranian people felt that an increase in Iraq would be a threat to them, while others have attempted to use Iraq‘s military as a wedge to force the US out of Iraq.[50] As per Iran‘s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, â€Å"Considering the fact that the Iraqi Army can provide security, their presence in the country is not justifiable†.[51] THE ROLE OF THE IRANIAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD IN IRAQ Immediately after the fall of Saddam in 2003, Iran began funnelling much of its aid to militias in Iraq via the Qods Force, which is a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.[52] They not only provided funding, weapons, operatives, and training to groups in Iraq, but also to Islamic militants in Palestine, Bosnia, Hezbollah in Lebanon, fighters in south Sudan, and the Taliban in Afghanistan.[53] It was argued by Mahan Abedin, who is a director of research at the London-based Centre for the Study of Terrorism that Qods’ training was largely focused on utilising intelligence and this was the key to their success. As per official figures, the number of Qods and Iranian intelligence personnel in Iraq was 150, while US commanders believe there were only fewer Shiite provinces.[54] Although the United States was slow to grasp the full extent of Iran‘s expanding role in Iraq, but on July 19, 2005, the United States sent a secret cable to Iran which stated that a British soldier was killed by an explosive which was supplied by Iran, although Iran denied there involvement, which lead to confrontations. [55] The Commander General Petraeus, who was in power during the Multi-National Force operation in Iraq, stated in his testimony to Congress that â€Å"none of us earlier this year appreciated the extent of Iranian involvement in Iraq, something about which we and Iraq‘s leaders all now have greater concern†.[56] Moreover, the Qods was a tool used by Iran directly or indirectly for hurting the US military and also disrupting American interests in Iraq. In 2007, General Petraeus stated that, â€Å"There should be no question about the malign, lethal involvement and activities of the Qods Force in this country†. He went on to add that Iran was â€Å"responsible for providing the weapons, the training, the funding and in some cases the direction for operations that have indeed killed US soldiers†.[57] American officials did not accuse the Qods Force directly for attacking Americans and very carefully said that they were not aware of leadership of the Iranian gover nment as being involved in the Qods Force‘s activities.[58] Such uncertainty in the US regarding the potential involvement of Iran in hte Qods Force raises certain issues that should be addressed by American politicians. Although the American president, George W. Bush, confidently said that those arms, ammunitions and explosives, which were used in Iraq, were certainly from the Qods Force, but â€Å"we are not aware whether or not the head leaders of Iran ordered the Quds Force to do what all this and what all they did †. [59] As per the US intelligence reports, which leaked in 2010, certain details were provided about the precise extent to which Iran was involved in 2006-2009 violence. The report also said that the IRGC used Hezbollah to train militants in Iran before crossing to Iraq. Moreover, General Petraeus had stated Hezbollah‘s role in a 2007 report to Congress.[60] The reports draw on testimony from detainees, captured diaries, and weapons originating in Iran which included explosively formed penetrators, bombs, and surface-to-air missiles. Thus, by all these reports it can be concluded that Iran had a hand in training and resourcing of specific attacks, including assassinations of Iraqi ministry officials, mortar attacks on the Green Zone, and also on kidnappings of American soldiers. In addition, General Petraeus implicated Iran in the 2007 car bombing and killing of two southern Iraqi governors. Besides using Hezbollah to train terrorists, the reports point to both the Badr Corps and Mahdi Army as allies in Iranian efforts.[61] According to the Long War Journal, which is basically based on interviews with senior military and intelligence officials and also mid-level military people, the Qods Force streamlined its operations in Iraq by creating the Ramazan Corps. The Corps was responsible for most of Qods Forces operations in Iraq in 2007 and consists of the Fajr command in the south, Nasr command in the north, and Zafar command in central Iraq. The Qods Force’s aid also included Mahdi Army, the Badr Brigades, the Qazali Network, the Sheibani Network, and many more groups and parties, as they mostly targeted political rivals, the Iraqi Security Forces, and Coalition forces. Moreover, when Badr Brigades and SCIRI formed a government, Iranian groups targeted them.[62] Again as per Brigadier General Kevin Begner, on July 2, 2007, Iran had supplied the Iraqi militias with $3 million per month.[63] Again in 2011, the US raised concerns over Iran‘s involvement in Iraqi violence and said that the incre ase in the number of Americans dying in the summer of 2011 was because Iran had supported Iraqi militants. Again in July, Admiral Mullen said that Iran was supplying militias in Iraq so as to take credit for withdrawing American troops.[64] During the war, which lasted for 8 years, Iran has developed strong ties in terms of religious and political influence with Shiite parties. During this period, Iran played a very important role in mediating between the Iraqi political leaders. It also had strong relations with the Sadrists who are one of the largest political parties in Iran’s ruling collation. Moreover, IRGC also had a significant influence over Iraqi security forces. Iran also has a large mix of resources, which were available in the process of exerting influence upon Iraq after Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003. Iran also used its influence in Iraq so as to divert the US goals, and pursue its own goals and interests. Iran used its sway in Iraq in order to keep the pro-Iranian Shiite Prime Minister Maliki in power and also to maintain stability along its western border. Thus, it can be argued that Iran’s role in Iraq is very complex, and not a simple task to mould Iraq as per the wishes of Iran. [65] CONCLUSION From all that has been discussed and looked at above, it is beyond doubt that since the invasion of Iraq by the United States and the downfall of Saddam Hussein, Iran has exerted more and more influence in Iraq by both conventional and unconventional methods. It has used a number of tools ranging from economic, political, military, regional to historic to exert such influence and has also formed proxies both with organisations of different profiles and objectives. Sectarianism and factional divisions have also been largely exploited by Iran to achieve its goals. Iranian influence in Iraq is vital to Iran since it considers its importance as a means of establishing its regional dominance and counters the influence of the United States in Iraq. Such efforts of establishing its influence in Iraq have not been without setbacks considering that Iran has had to work with organisations that have been counter-productive in their goals and objectives. The situation in Syria in the past few years has also lessened the viability of Iran’s dominance in the region. Even with such setbacks, Iran has enjoyed some benefits from its dominance in Iraq since trade between the two countries has flourished in a critical moment when Iran was undergoing trade sanctions from the United States and Western countries. One can only wait to see how long such influence will be exerted and whether such status enjoyed by Iran now will continue to exist regardless of the political situation in Iraq. BIBLIOGRAPHY Al-Jazeera English. (2011). â€Å"Iraqi PM in US to Chart Future Relations.† Accessed July 2, 2014, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2011/12/2011121273244299490.html. Allawi, A. (2007). The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace. New Haven: Yale University Press. Alsis, P., Cordesman, A. H., Mausner, A. and Loi, C. (2011). â€Å"The Outcome of Invasion: US and Iranian Strategic Competition in Iraq.† Centre for Strategic and International Studies, 2011, accessed August 20, 2014, http://csis.org/files/publication/111128_Iran_Chapter_6_Iraq.pdf. Bargezar, K. (2007). â€Å"Iran’s Foreign Policy towards Iraq and Syria.† Turkish Policy Quarterly 6, no. 2: 1-36. Barnes, J. (2011). â€Å"Mullen Accuses Tehran of Arming Iraq Militias.† Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2011, accessed August 4, 2014, http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304793504576432312376139394. Beehner, L. and Greg B. (2008)†Iran’s Involvement in Iraq.† The Council on Foreign Relations, March 3, 2008, accessed August 20, 2014,http://www.cfr.org/publication/12521/irans_involvement_in_iraq.html. Bergner, K. (2007). â€Å"Multi National Force Press Briefing.† July 11th 2007. [Online].Accessed July 29, 2014,http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2007/07/mil-070711-mnfi-b01.htm. Blight, J., Lang, J. Banai, H., Byrne, M. and Tirman, J. (2012). Becoming Enemies: U. S.-Iran Relations and the Iran-Iraq War, 1979-1988. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Brookings Institution. (2006). â€Å"Iraq Index: Tracking Variables of Reconstruction and Security in Post-Saddam Iraq January 2006.† Accessed August 20, 2014, http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index20060130.pdf. Cockburn, Patrick. â€Å"Iran Increases Hold in Iraq as Shia Militia Enters Politics.† The Independent, 7 January 2012, accessed August 20, 2014, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-increases-hold-in-iraq-as-shia-militia-enters-politics-6286339.html. Cockburn, P. (2008). Muqtada: Muqtada al-Sadr, The Shi?a Revival and the Struggle for Iraq. New York: Scribner. Cordesman, A. (2006). â€Å"Iraq’s Evolving Insurgency and the Risk of Civil War.† Accessed August 21, 2014, http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/060622_insurgency.pdf. Cordesman, A. and Khazai, S. (2012). â€Å"Patterns of Violence in Iraq.† Washington DC 20006. Accessed August 4, 2014, http://csis.org/files/publication/121024_Iraq_Violence.pdf. Cordesman, A. (2007). â€Å"Success or FailureIraq’s Insurgency and Civil Violence and US Strategy: Developments through June 2007,† [Online]: 105. Accessed August 21, 2014, http://www.comw.org/warreport/fulltext/070709cordesman.pdf. Dagher, S. (2010). â€Å"Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq Promises Closer Trade Ties.† The Wall Street Journal, August 11, 2010, accessed July 3, 2014, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703435104575421520747000364.html. Eisenstadt, M. (2011) â€Å"Iran and Iraq, Iran Primer.† USIP. 4, accessed July 2, 2014,http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/iran-and-iraq. Eisenstadt, M., Knights, M., and Ali, A. (2011). â€Å"Iran’s Influence in Iraq Countering Tehran’s Whole-of-Government Approach.† Washington Institute for Near East Policy Focus #111, April 2011. Foxnews Website. Experts: Iran’s Quds Force Deeply Enmeshed in Iraq.† Foxnews, February, 16, 2007, accessed August 18, 2014, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,252212,00.html. Felter, J. and Fishman, B. (2008). â€Å"Iranian Strategy in Iraq: Politics and ‘Other Means.’† Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, October 13, 2008, accessed August 21, 2014, http://iraqslogger.powweb.com/downloads/CTC_Iran_Iraq_Final.pdf. Flaherty, A. (2010). â€Å"US General Cites Direct Intel Linking Iraq’s al-Lami, Chalabi to Iran.† Associated Press, February 16, 2010, accessed August 24, 2014, http://blendz72.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/us-general-cites-direct-intel-linking-senior-iraqi-officials-to-iran/. Gordon, M. and Lehran, A. W. (2010). â€Å"Leaked Reports Detail Iran‘s Aid for Iraqi Militias.† New York Times, October 22, 2010, October 22, 2010, accessed August 15, 2014, Gordon, M.and Shane, S. (2007). â€Å"U.S. Long Worried That Iran Supplied Arms in Iraq.† The New York Times, March 27, 2007, accessed August 17, 2014,http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/world/middleeast/27weapons.html?ref=georgewbush. Hardy, R. (2005). â€Å"The Iran-Iraq War: 25 Years on.† BBC News, 22 September 2005, accessed August 20, 2014, http://articles.latimes.com/1990-08-16/news/mn-1034_1_iran-iraq-war. International Crisis Group. (2007). â€Å"Shiite Politics in Iraq: The Role of the Supreme Council,† Middle East Report N °70, 1-30. Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty Website. â€Å"Iran: Expert Discusses Iran’s Quds Force And U.S. Charges Concerning Iraq.† Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, February 16, 2007, accessed August 19, 2014, http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1074751.html. Mausner, A., Loi, C., and Alsis, P. (2011). â€Å"US and Iranian Strategic Competition: Competition in Iraq.† Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi, 7/7/11, Marine Corps University, accessed August 24, 2014, http://csis.org/files/publication/110927_Iran_Chapter_6_Iraq.pdf. Katzman, K. (2007). â€Å"Iran’s Activities and Influence in Iraq: RS22323.† Congressional Research Service, 2007, accessed August 21, 2014, http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/105164.pdf. Katzman, K. (2010). â€Å"Iran-Iraq Relations.† Congressional Research Service, August 13, 2010, accessed August 21, 2014, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS22323.pdf. Katzman, K. (2012). â€Å"Iran: US Concerns and Policy Responses.† Congressional Research Service, 2012, accessed August 20, 2014, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL32048.pdf. Kemp, G. (2005). â€Å"Iran and Iraq: The Shia Connection, Soft Power, and the Nuclear Factor.† Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace. Los Angeles Times Website. â€Å"Key Events in the Iran – Iraq War.† Los Angeles Times, August, 1990, accessed August 20, 2014, http://articles.latimes.com/1990-08-16/news/mn-1034_1_iran-iraq-war. Lajeunesse, G. (2009). â€Å"Crimes against Humanity in Iraq: The Case Against Iran.† The Open Law Journal 2, no. 1: 8-15. Linzer, D. (2007). â€Å"Troops Authorized To Kill Iranian Operatives In Iraq.† The Washington Post, January 26, P.1. Lowe, R., and Spencer, C. (2006). â€Å"Iran Its Neighbours and the Regional Crises.† The Royal Institute of International Affairs. Mardini, R. (2012). â€Å"Iraq’s Post-Withdrawal Crisis, Update 23.† Institute for the Study of War, May 25, 2012, accessed June 30, 2014, http://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iraq%E2%80%99s-post-withdrawal-crisis-update-31. Milani, M. (2010). â€Å"Meet Me in Baghdad.† Foreign Affairs, September 20, 2010, accessed July 2, 2014, http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/66750/mohsen-m-milani/meet-me-in-baghdad. Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. (2009). â€Å"State Sponsors of Terrorism,? Country Reports on Terrorism 2008.† US State Department, April 30, 2009, accessed August 20, 2014, http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2008/122436.htm. Petraeus, D. (2007). Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq,?Sep. 10-11, 2007, accessed August 20, 2014, http://www.defense.gov/pubs/pdfs/petraeus-testimony20070910.pdf. Roggio, B. (2007). â€Å"Iran’s Ramazan Corps and the Ratlines into Iraq.† The Long War Journal, December 5, 2007, accessed August 20, 2014, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/12/irans_ramazan_corps.php. Rousu, D. (2010). â€Å"Beyond the Shatt Al-Arab: How the Fall of Saddam Hussein Changed Iran-Iraq Relations.† Master’s diss., University of Arizona. Hurriyet Daily News Website.â€Å"Talabani Rebuffs Move to Unseat PM.† Hurriyet Daily News, June 1, 2012, accessed August 20, 2014, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/talabani-rebuffs-move-to-unseat-pm.aspx?pageID=238&nID=22057&NewsCatID=352. Taremi, K. (2005). â€Å"Iranian Foreign Policy towards Occupied Iraq, 2003-05.† Middle East Policy 12, no. 4: 28-47. Thompson, Ch. (2009). â€Å"Iranian Tentacles into Iraq.† Washington, DC 20503, 2009, accessed July 3, 2014, http://www.dtic.mil/cgibin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA513319&fb_source=message. â€Å"US accuses Iran’s envoy to Iraq.† BBC News, October 7, 2007, accessed August 20, 2014, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7032557.stm. Wicken, S. (2002). â€Å"Political Update: Can a No-Confidence Vote against Maliki Succeed This Time?† Institute for the Study of War, December 21, 2012, accessed July 1, 2014, http://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/political-update-can-no-confidence-vote-against-maliki-succeed-time. Wong, E. 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Sociology Global Socio Cultural Responsibility

They will do this for two rounds. After the have made their lists, with the entire class, I will ask the students for some of the similarities they found and some of the differences and make a list of these. Than we will discuss the similarities and differences they gathered. Which differences were most common among people, which differences were most/ least important, were the differences physical characteristics. Period #3 Needs: The last period I will explain the meaning of responsibility in a community.I will also have the students do a community building activity that will help them understand the concept and importance of social responsibility in there community. I will than explain the importance of being aware of global issues that take place and how as a class they can contribute to helping others even f they are not located close to them. The community building active ¶y' will start after I explain the importance of community and what it means. Ill divide the students int o small groups of three and provide them with presented scenarios to act out. The skits will provide them with examples of ways to help another student. An example would be a student helping another student with something because they may be disabled. After the groups have practiced their skits I will ask for two volunteers to perform their skit in front Of the class. I will than ask them questions such as, how was this group lawful to another student who was different? If you were in the situation would you do the same thing?Next I will ask the students to raise their hands and give me ideas of things they could do to help members in the class, in school or in the community. Some ideas would be picking up trash, cleaning the white boards or donating olds clothes they don't need anymore. To end the lesson on Global Socio-cultural Responsibility I would ask the students to review what we went over: the three qualifications of social responsibility, the aspects of cultural responsibil ity and how they demonstrated a sense of Ewing a responsible member of a community in the classroom.Last I will talk to my students about setting up a Penal. Assignment #1- Part #2 period #1 First lets start off with the question of what is social responsibility? These two words explain the idea that every person is responsible for society as a whole, not just individually, not just in the state of Florida or even the United States but all around the world. This means that each day we need to act and behave in the most appropriate ways that help us all be better people but we also need to consider how Our actions and behaviors affect the rest of society coolly and globally.How can you be a socially responsible student? The following are three qualities that describe a socially responsible second grade student at Sarasota Elementary: 1 . Someone who contributes positively to the classroom and school community An example would be holding the door open for your classmates on the way to lunch or helping pick up trash around the classroom. 2. Solves conflicts in peaceful ways An example would be a student who uses kind words to speak to another student if they happen to get into an argument. . Values diversity Diversity means a variety of something. Valuing diversity means we need to be aware of all of the differences among our classmates and other people in the world. The important thing to remember is that these differences are what make us who we are and we should be open to different things and never tease someone if they seem different from what we are used to. Showing that you value diversity is very simple!Here are a few ways you can show that you appreciate the differences that makes each of us special: never make fun of people who are different from you in any way, next time you go out to dinner with your parents ask them if you can go somewhere with food room another culture, treat everyone how you would like to be treated and last believe in yourself and be proud of the different things that make you who you are! Period #2 Second we will discuss the cultural part of Global Socio-Cultural Responsibility. What does the word culture mean?Culture means the different attitudes, behaviors, knowledge, values, traditions and customs that a society or a social group all share. These differences come from all around the world and are the â€Å"glue† that keeps a group of people together. Pizza is a food item that is part of the Italian culture, SST. Patrick Day is a national loudly and part of the Irish culture and the American flag is part of the American culture. For all of us to have cultural responsibility we have to honor diversity in our world.Honoring diversity means that instead of focusing on the flaws, we need to focus on the good. In order to honor diversity among cultures we need to be aware of how some members of cultural groups might feel about certain issues like, family, religion or traditions. Period #3 The last part towards understanding Global Socio-cultural Responsibility is realizing the importance of community. Community is a group of people ho acknowledge the deep connections they have with one another, respect each others differences, and work as a group in making decisions.A community of people also has a common purpose and each person is responsible for his or her own actions but when you are part of a community it is important that everyone supports each other's growth. As a class, we can all create our own community. This might all be a lot to take in but in light of what we have learned today I think it would be a very fun and good idea for each of you to start writing to a Penal. This will help you learn about other ultras and other countries and allow you to be more globally aware of things that are going on in places other than just here in the united States.It will be a good way for you to really learn the true differences of other students your age plus it's always nice to have another friend! Assignment #2 From age three to eighteen attended private Catholic schools. Attending a private Catholic school for almost my entire life, up until right now, I was always very sheltered. There wasn't really any racial diversity in my school and very little religious diversity. Having attended a small, private, Catholic school y entire life definitely made one of the biggest impacts on my development.