Visiting a Champagne Cellar in Reims

Visiting a Champagne Cellar in Reims Champagne basements are one of the significant attractions in the dazzling city of Reims (articulated R in(nasal) sss). Track with on this excursion to a wine basement in this simple bilingual story intended to help youâ learn French in setting. Visiting A Champagne Cellar Si vous à ªtes Reims, il faut absolument que vous visitiez les caverns d’une des nombreuses maisons de champagne de la rà ©gion. Les siã ¨ges d’un excellent nombre de maisons de champagne sontâ situã ©s Reims, et beaucoup proposent des dã ©gustations. Pendant un aprã ¨s-midi, nous avons visitã © les caverns de la compagnie G. H. Martel Cie, qui sont situã ©es 1,5 km au sud-est de la cathã ©drale, une promenade agrã ©able pied. Un des employã ©s, un homme plaisant qui s’appelle Emmanuel, nous an accueillis et il an immã ©diatement ditâ : Descendons aux cavesâ ! On the off chance that you are in Reims, you totally should visit the basements of one of the various champagne houses in the territory. The base camp of an enormous number of champagne houses are situated in Reims, and many offer tastings. During an evening, we visited the basements of G. H. Martel and Co, found 1.5 km southeast of the church, an agreeable walk. One of the workers, a wonderful man named Emmanuel, invited us and promptly stated: Let’s go down to the basements! Nous avons descendu un escalier à ©troit et nous sommes retrouvã ©s dans un rã ©seau de caverns qui est situã ©s environ 20 mã ¨tres sous le sol. Au quatriã ¨me siã ¨cle, les Romains ont creusã © les caverns au-dessous de Reims pour obtenir la craie qui à ©tait utilisã ©e pour la development de leurs bã ¢timents. De nos jours, il y an or more de 250 kms de ces caverns, et beaucoup servent maintenir le champagne tempã ©rature pendant le vieillissement. L’avantageâ ? Un environnement dans lequel la tempã ©rature et l’humiditã © sont bien contrã'lã ©es. We slid a tight flight of stairs and ended up in a system of basements which are arranged around 20 meters subterranean. In the fourth century, the Romans burrowed the basements underneath Reims to acquire chalk which was utilized for the development of their structures. Nowadays, there are in excess of 250 kms of these basements, and many serve to keep up the champagne at temperature during the maturing procedure. The bit of leeway? A situation wherein the temperature and stickiness are all around controlled. Emmanuel nous an expliquã ©s que la creation de champagne est soigneusement rã ©gulã ©e. Si l’on peut lire  «Ã‚ Appellation d’Origine Contrã'lã ©eâ â » sur à ©tiquette, on sait que le vin a à ©tã © produit selon des rã ¨gles rigoureuses, standard exemple la arrangement du terroir oã ¹ les raisins sont cultivã ©s, le rendement la vendange, le rendement au pressurage, le vieillissement, et la quantitã © d’alcool, parmi d’autres à ©lã ©ments. La culture des raisins doit se faire dans les vignobles de la rã ©gion Champagne-Ardenne, et la creation entiã ¨re du champagne doit à ©galement y avoir lieu. Emmanuel disclosed to us that the creation of champagne is painstakingly directed. On the off chance that one can peruse â€Å"Appellation d’Origine Contrã'lã ©e† on the name, you realize that the wine has been delivered by severe guidelines, for instance the order of the land where the grapes are developed, the yield of the collect, the yield from the wine squeezing, the maturing procedure, and the volume of liquor, among different segments. The developing of the grapes must be done in the vineyards of the Champagne-Ardenne locale, and the whole creation of the champagne should likewise occur there. En gã ©nã ©ral, il y a seulement 3 cã ©pages qui sont utilisã ©s dans la creation de champagneâ : le chardonnay, le pinot noir, et le pinot meunier. Typiquement, un champagne consiste en un mã ©lange de deux ou trois cã ©pages. Et donc, la particularitã © du vin, sa saveur, sa couleur et child bunch, est dã ©terminã ©e, au moins quelque peu, standard les compã ©tences et la crã ©ativitã © du viticulteur pendant le mã ©lange. When all is said in done, there are just 3 grape assortments that are utilized in the creation of champagne: chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier. Regularly, a champagne comprises of a blend of 2 or 3 grape assortments. Thus the characterizing highlight of the wine, its taste, its shading, and its bundle, is resolved, in any event a bit, by the ability and innovativeness of the wine producer during the blending. Ce qui donne au champagne child caractã ¨re, c’est les bulles. Selon la mã ©thode champenoise, une twofold aging est utilisã ©eâ : la premiã ¨re en cuves pour à ©laborer l’alcool, et une deuxiã ¨me dans la bouteille elle-mã ªme pour produire la gazã ©ification. What gives champagne its character are the air pockets. As indicated by the mã ©thode champenoise, a twofold aging is utilized: the first in quite a while to create the liquor, and a second in the jug itself to deliver the gasification. Le roll rose de Reims est presque aussi connu que le champagne lui-mã ªme. C’est une convention en France de tremper ce petit roll dans votre flã »te de champagne. Le goã »t lã ©gã ¨rement sucrã © du bread se consolidate bien avec le goã »t sec du champagne, et les deux suscitent un dã ©lice inã ©galableâ ! The pink rolls of Reims are close to also known as the champagne itself. It is a custom in France to dunk the little scone in your woodwind of champagne. The light, sweet taste of the bread consolidates well with the dry taste of the champagne, and the two incite a superb enjoyment!

The Civil Rights Movement/ Black Panther Party Essays -

The Civil Rights Movement/Black Panther Party The greater part of us, being United States residents, might want to accept that everybody in this nation is living in states of most extreme opportunity and balance. Albeit as per the constitution this is valid, any individual who has ever been the casualty of persecution knows not to underestimate equity. Our general public has gradually developed to acknowledge the various sorts of individuals that live in our nation; it is presently much less regular to see individuals' privileges, for example, opportunity and balance being mishandled. Nonetheless, the impacts of the past, when the day to day environments were far less at that point equivalent for some gatherings of individuals, can in any case be seen today. A fine case of this could be seen through the manner by which lodging segregation prompted the colonization of Blacks into their own neighborhoods and networks, which in the end prompted the production of ghettos and packs. Prejudice, in itself, is a conviction that an individual holds; it powers another being to be set at a lower status inside one's brain and in the general public in general. Keeping Blacks and different minorities at a lower level was the chief perspective for a significant number of the whites during the early piece of the twentieth century. This sort of attitude exists in our general public till this day among specific gatherings of individuals. The cold and unforgiving way with which the Blacks were dealt with takes all of us the route back to servitude. Back in those days most of this present nation's populace acknowledged it. The mistreated African Americans inevitably started to turn out to be progressively sorted out and begun to battle for the social equality they merited as residents of the United States. Regardless of the endeavors of the Civil Rights Movement, much harm was at that point done; lamentably numerous personalities were at that point discolored with contrary pic tures of what the Black individual was and would ever be. Despite the way that many Black individuals were progressing in the direction of going up and making a life for themselves, prejudice persistently shielded them from progressing in the general public. In the early piece of the twentieth century bigotry set a solid point of reference for the manner by which Blacks are today. After the common war an ever increasing number of free Blacks started to move north. They were looking for the chance of ?better social and monetary chances? (Abrams 10). The high expectations were before long cut down, as the Blacks were invited to the urban communities by the staggering mindset of the bosses looking down on their slaves. They experienced a great many proprietors dismissing them on account of their reluctance to lease to Blacks and other recently moved minorities. It was this consistent refusal to coordinate lodging that inevitably caused the formation of minority driven neighborhoods. Since most of the whites walked out on Blacks and different minorities, African Americans were constrained into shaping the kinds of networks that contained individuals of their race and poor money related state. Huge numbers of them came hoping to push forward in their new lives that they were as of late conceded by the constitution; however they were just pushed to join the genuinely new neighborhoods, which were ghettos contrasted with those possessed by the commanding white living arrangements. The purpose behind this kind of isolation could be clarified as another apparatus of prejudice for the white man's bit of leeway. The impacts of these areas were all the more harming then the basic counteraction of Blacks and different minorities from coordinating with the whites. By zoning the person into compartments dictated by shading, it prohibited the open door for a combination of interests. By keeping youngsters to isolate neighborhood schools and play areas, it honed the lines of differentiation and created dreams of superiority?It was in lodging that isolation got its most noteworthy driving force and energy. Once established there the isolation design spread unattested until the Negro ghetto turned into an acknowledged piece of the American scene (Abrams 7). ?Neighborhood specialists utilized each accessible weapon to keep the blacks separated; lodging was basically the physical articulation of this racial approach? (Rudwick 10). Regardless of whether a family had the option to bear the cost of lodging in a dominatingly white neighborhood, they were still not permitted to move in there. Regardless of the moderate improvement of their monetary status Blacks

Hear me now (single) by Hollywood Undead free essay sample

Hollywood Undead just as of late came out with their new single â€Å"Hear me now† in January of 2010. I think it is distinctive contrasted with a portion of their other music. I’m not saying it’s an awful thing; genuinely it’s one of my main tunes now, however it’s not at all like prior music. This new tune utilizes parts directly from the holy book. The principal line goes â€Å"As I stroll through the valley of the shadow of death, I wear my crown of thistles and threaten to use the blade out my chest.† To me that’s smart as well as unique. They can take two very well knowing expressions from the book of scriptures and put them in a tune, to me, about forlornness. I have never been strict in the conditions of the good book yet it is as yet perfect to me that they can make words how they need to. It might appear to be off track from their previous melodies like â€Å"Undead† and â€Å"Christmas in Hollywood†, however th ey do all tie in. We will compose a custom paper test on Hear me currently (single) by Hollywood Undead or on the other hand any comparative theme explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page â€Å"Walking these boulevards, so missing of hope.† Is a different line and to me that seems like Young by them. Other than the verses the impacts of foundation singing with reverberation, and the bad-to-the-bone guitar during relaxing parts makes this tune, to me, a 5 out of 5, without any issues in it to me. Much thanks to you for perusing.

Brief Article Teaches You the Ins and Outs of Argumentative Essay on Drinking and Driving Topics and What You Should Do Today

Brief Article Teaches You the Ins and Outs of Argumentative Essay on Drinking and Driving Topics and What You Should Do Today What You Should Do to Find Out About Argumentative Essay on Drinking and Driving Topics Before You're Left Behind Every your statement supported by means of a fact or figure will appear even more persuasive. Using statistics to demonstrate the quantities of individuals and families affected by drunk driving may be an effective method of producing a very clear picture of what drunk driving causes It's also important to include expert views on the subject. You may also study legislative acts and statistic details. You will need to back up your viewpoint with well-researched facts and data also. As a driver, you're not simply accountable for yourself and your car. Drunken driving conviction normally increases what you need to pay for auto insurance. Indeed, you cannot just write drunk driving is bad. Drunk driving contributes to an individual loosing her or his license. Never get in a car with a person who has been drinking. There are lots of drinking and driving myths out there when it has to do with alcohol consumption. It's obvious that something must be done about the issue. If you or somebody you love is struggling with a drinking problem, it's time to find assistance and get your life back on the right track. The advantages and disadvantages of decreasing legal drinking age is going to be discussed as follows. Every day a mean of 11,318 teens try alcohol for the very first time. In the majority of countries of earth, the legal drinking age is 18 decades. On the flip side, there are a few counterarguments to decreasing the drinking age to 18 decades. What all you will need is getting the assistance from a specialist and EssaysChief is going to be the expert that you seek out. Every family needs to have a all-natural disaster survival program. Our experienced automobile crash lawyers will get you the money you have earned from your case. The legal system isn't the only means of solving the issue of drunk driving. Whatever They Told You About Argumentative Essay on Drinking and Driving Topics Is Dead Wrong...And Here's Why Effects of drunk driving are extremely costly. Internet use by children ought to be censored. Driving while drunk has come to be a frequent phenomenon amongst us. Therefore, it appears strange and contradictory for them to not be in a position to obtain alcohol. Your essay could contain information regarding the inequality in Law on drunk drivers in various states. Your reader needs to be convinced your argument is valid. It's also vital for you to be careful with the thesis statement. Your thesis st atement should argue from a standpoint that would permit somebody else argue against your viewpoint. For instance, in college, you might be requested to compose a paper from the opposing standpoint. It is, therefore, of utmost importance for you to make sure each of the info you put in your paper is accurate and updated. So far as the students are involved, writing a research paper is among the toughest and frustrating undertaking in their opinion. Advertising and the media are now nearly inseparable from society for a whole. Bear in mind which you can make funny argumentative essays if you do a few things. Get all the information that you need and gather all the facts, then be sure your writing style binds the info in a manner that's interesting to the reader and that it communicates the information clearly. Binge-watching a T.V. series is much better than watching episodes with time. At our essay support, essays are always delivered in a brief moment. Your readers will need to find the entire picture, and that's what you should concentrate on. It is crucial to begin with demonstrating the most important idea of the entire piece so you and your readers are going to be on the identical page.

New York City s Jewish Mother - 2011 Words

Mierle Laderman Ukeles: New York City’s Jewish Mother Ukeles is most often studied as a feminist and environmental artist, and rarely is her Jewishness studied in relation to her art practice. To fully understand her art requires an understanding of her Jewish upbringing and her Jewish ideas—in particular, those ideas around ritual, cleansing, and repair. The Standard story: Late 60s, Mierle is a young art student at NYU. Her sculpture teacher sees that she is pregnant and tells her, â€Å"well, I guess now you can’t be an artist.† She has her daughter with her husband, Jack. People keep saying to her, ‘well, do you do anything?† Experiences like these beginning to accumulate, as many mothers know all too well, and Mierle becomes keenly aware†¦show more content†¦Once the artist creates their artwork, who is going to be there to clean up the never-ending accumulation of dust? Who is going to maintain it so that it can continue to be experienced?† She asked this question in another, revolutionary way, â€Å"After the revolution, who’s going to pick up the garbage on Monday morning?† She wrote about maintenance and wrote about art, and she began to perform maintenance as art. First, at home—performing home maintenance and calling it art. By doing so, she assigns this work the cultural value that comes with the word, art, and then at the museum. She washes the floors, the stairs, the street, and the entry to the museum, a performance that she did on her hands and knes in variable body positions fo eight hours, for all museum visitors to see. She took these typically invisible, behind-the-scenes, unvalued processes, and brought them into the light. She made, what she called, a, â€Å"life process of the museum visible.† And she assigned it cultural value, giving value to the labor and the laborers who keep it clean, who keep it safe—just like a mother. She took this notion of life process from her home to the museum (transition to other things—jewishness—she brought from her home) She then takes it to the street, so she is going from the individual to the group to the system, when she becomes the artist in residence with the New York

Violent Video Games Essay - 873 Words

Violent Video Games There is much persistent debate throughout culture these days concerning video games. Common questions asked are things like ?Where should the lines be drawn in terms of content? and What audience, if any, is this appropriate for? As lawyers fight, bizarre crimes are blamed on video games, constant studies take place, and technology continues to evolve, the video game world continues to thrive and be extremely profitable. While there is near-constant focus on the supposed ?negatives? of games like simulated killing, drug use, or sex, most people, especially those completely outside of gaming circles, fail to acknowledge that gaming of any kind can possibly have positive effects on players. While increased hand-eye†¦show more content†¦experienced by soldiers in prolonged combat situations. Although the relationship is different, one may be able to perceive the sameness in the general ideas. There is a ratings system that applies to all video games market, designed to keep m inors from obtaining games that have been deemed inappropriate. There are six different ratings, ranging from EC (early childhood) to AO (adults only). In between are, ranging in terms of least violent to more violent, E (Everyone), E10+ (Everyone 10 and older), T (Teen), and M (Mature) (Game Ratings par. 3-6). Although the intent of the game ratings system is clear, its effectiveness is usually in question. Aside from lucid guidelines, it is still difficult to get results. Who is to govern the people once the game is in their hands? For instance, take a kid who is ?of age? buying a game rated M, then passing it down to his younger friends or siblings once he is finished playing it? The ratings system seems to be ?one of those things? with the right intention that yields ineffective results. The system does, however, require retailers to check ID?s to assure proper coincidence with the ratings. 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Business Analysis Project Operation

Question: Discuss about the Business Analysis Project Operation. Answer: Introduction In order to execute the business operation in a strategic way, a Business Analysis Plan (BAP) is highly required (Simon-Moya and Revuelto-Taboada, 2016). The prime benefits of the business analysis plan are to offer a clear business analysis approach and an opportunity to the project manager. According to the opinion of Venables (2007), a proper BAP helps to increase the business credibility, so that the business analyst could make more accurate estimates for the project. The current study attempts to evaluate the business analysis plan for the automobile company Volkswagen. While conducting the study financial analysis, strategic analysis of the firm has been analysed by the research associate. Furthermore, a strategic recommendation provided in the study indicates that Volkswagen needs some modification to rectify the strategic errors in the competitive market. Purpose The purpose of the study is to analyse the business plan of Volkswagen with the competitors like BMW and the Merchedez Benz. The analysis of the business plan is highly required to lead the success of the business operation for preserving a sustainable market position. Case context of analysis As per the report of the Automobile sector, the automobile industry is continuously developing in nowadays. The robust growth of the automobile technologies influences the companies to uphold the new technological advancement in the product and business plan. Thus, Venkatesh (2013) stated that the automakers are continuously trying to enable the potential ability as per the product trends. The idea of the autonomous vehicles is too futuristic to represent new developments and enormous opportunities to the global automotive market (Hilman and Mohamed, 2011). Thus, the present situation of the auto industry has inspired the scholars to select the automobile industry in the currents study context. Adding to this, the issues of Volkswagen and the deprived market condition of the firm has influenced the researcher to elect the specific firm. Besides that, it has been speculated that BMW and the Mercedes Benz have a competitive market position across the world. Hence, these two companies h ave chosen for conducting the comparative analysis. Moreover, the growing trend of the automobile industry is the prime reason to select the specific case context for the critical and comparative analysis. Key issues The strategic management issue is considered one of the key issues for the brand Volkswagen. The emission of the air pollutants was happening globally, which indicates a critical strategic issue occurring from the managements end. In the words of Mansouri (2016), the pollutants also involved smog-inducing Nitrogen Oxides, which contributes major respiratory problems and even premature deaths. The lack of strategic alignment has disrupted the innovation of Volkswagen, and the firm failed to manage the climate risk along with the social equity into the overall corporate strategy. Thus, the lack of proper regulation, financial controllability, adequate audit, a disintegration of balance score card and lack of reliance on good governance can be considered the major issues of the brand Volkswagen. Ration related to the chosen companies According to the given case study, it has been observed that Volkswagen has currently faced a crucial situation regarding earning revenue, due to the carbon emission issue with the models. This is one of the major points to select the company to understand the fundamental reason of key issues and the proper mitigation action. Considering the view of Eapen and Annamalai (2014), the leading companies BMW and Mercedez-Benz is creating more new models to attain the concentration of the middle-class customers. This factor has made the situation more exciting as BMW and Mercedes-Benz are luxury car makers for the upper level of customers. Thus, these two car companies have chosen for analysing the individual business plan in the current study context. Key issues: Financial analysis Revenue analysis and forecast Volkswagen Group Malaysia is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, established on 16th February 2006. The headquarters is situated at Wisma in Kuala Lumpur, supported by a 150 strong workforce. According to Millipore (2007), Volkswagen AG is one of the largest car manufacturers in the world, selling 9million (Approximate) vehicles worldwide. The brand includes passenger cars, like Audi, Bentley, Porsche, Bugatti and Ducati to name a few. Volkswagen also caters to the low-end customers with flexible price cars and offers other financial services. The revenue of Volkswagen has increased in the year 2015 by a margin of 5%. The increase in revenue is partly due to globalisation and catering to both high-end and low-end customers. The following table can further elaborate the increase in revenue: Volkswagen revenue table Particulars 2015 2014 Change Absolute Relative Sale of vehicle 139990 134627 5363 4% Sale of genuine parts 14625 13642 983 7% Used vehicles and third party product 11106 10090 1016 10% Engine, power trains and parts deliveries 8763 10021 -1258 -13% Power engineering 3769 3728 41 1% Sale of Motorcycles 564 458 106 23% Leasing business 20085 16384 3701 23% Interest and similar income 6755 6375 380 6% Other sales revenue 7635 7133 502 7% Total revenue 213292 202458 10834 5% Graphically the growth of revenue is shown in Table 1: Table 1: Volkswagen revenue table (Source: www.forbes.com, 2016) Revenue of BMW: BMW Malaysia is a joint venture between BMW AG and Sime Darby Berhad. BMW covers a significant portion of Malaysian automobile market. The dealership network comprises 31 outlets in various cities in Malaysia. The revenue of BMW has increased considerably in the year 2015 by a margin of 15% that is 10% more than Volkswagen (Volkswagen growth in revenue 5% in FY 2015). To put BMW in a better financial state and ensures a firm market share (Nepram et al. 2011). The revenue growth of BMW can be shown graphically in table 2: Figure 1: Revenue of BMW (Source: www.bmw.in, 2016) Revenue of Mercedes Benz: Mercedes-Benz is a global automobile manufacturer. Mercedes-Benz is a division of the German company Daimler AG. Benz is known for its luxury vehicles, buses and trucks. The revenue growth of Mercedes-Benz is vigorous and stable, matching that of BMWs. Edwards (2012). States that the growth of income of Benz exceeds Volkswagens revenue growth by 10%. The above statement can be explained further in Table 3: Figure 2: Revenue of Mercedes Benz (Source: www.mercedes-benz.co.in, 2016) Market share growth The Malaysia Automotive Association (MAA) monitors the sales data and market share for all automobile company within its authorised range. Vehicles are ranked according to their sales in units, and the portion of the market it occupies. Volkswagen Volkswagen is currently ranked at 12th position with 6,405 unit's sales. The market share of Volkswagen is currently behind BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which are at 11th and 10th place respectively, according to the number of units sold by the companies. Volkswagen currently occupies 1% of the total market share in Malaysia. BMW BMW is ranked presently at 11th position with 7,515 unit's sales. The market share of BMW is low compared to Mercedes-Benz, which is at 10th position, with the highest number of units sold compared to Volkswagen and BMW. BMW currently occupies 1.1% of total market share in Malaysia. Mercedes Benz Mercedes-Benz is ranked at 10th place with 11,034 units sales. Benz occupies the highest percentage of market share in Malaysia, with 1.7% market share. The market share is due to high goodwill, aggressive marketing, and customer satisfaction. The market share of Volkswagen is in the lowest position compared to BMW and Mercedes-Benz, owing to increased competition, changing customer preferences, etc. Profit margins The main objective of an organisation is to earn a profit. The viability and sustainability of a company depend on its ability to earn a profit. To earn shareholders interest, the company's financial statement must show a promise of growth, profitability and stability. Kim et al. (2010) state that, according to the appendix given below, Volkswagen has suffered a major loss in the FY 2015 by a margin of 109%. The main reason for suffering such a loss can be attributed majorly to the increase of operating expense, which are, false interpretation of foreign currency hedging derivatives that has adversely impacted the profitability of Volkswagen. A loss arising from foreign exchange activities is another major cause that has impacted Volkswagen negatively. Termination of agreements has impacted the profitability table adversely, and earning loss on disposal of noncurrent assets is another major factor for suffering a loss in the FY 2015. The above explanation can be graphically represented below as: Figure 3: Profit Margin Volkswagen (Source: www.forbes.com, 2016) The loss from operating expenses can be explained in details in Table 2. Volkswagen Loss from operating expense Particulars 2015 2014 Change Absolute Relative Valuation allowances on receivables and other assets 1674 1150 524 46% Loss from foreign currency hedging activities 5083 1003 4080 407% Foreign exchange loss 3260 1972 1288 65% Expense from cost allocation 695 566 129 23% Expense from termination of agreement 502 193 309 160% Losses on disposal of noncurrent asset 106 105 1 1% Misc. and other expense 8853 2004 6849 342% Total Profit or Loss 20173 6993 13180 188% Table 2: Volkswagen Loss from operating expense Profit Margin of BMW: The profit margin of BMW has increased 6% in FY 2015, since last year, which is good, compared to Volkswagen, which suffered a loss, by a margin of 109% (FY 2015). This is a result of better administrative and operating activities. The profit margin can be graphically represented in the table below: Figure 4: Profit Margin of BMW (Source: www.bmw.in, 2016) Profit of Mercedes Benz: Mercedes-Benz is one of the leading automobile companies in the global market. Benz has a profit margin of 25% in the FY 2015. This is majorly due to low operating expenses (52%) and increased interest income (17%). Volkswagen is in a weak position compared to Mercedes-Benz, simply because in the FY 2015, Volkswagen earned a loss of 16095million, compared to Mercedes Benz that earned a profit of 2571million in the same year. The profit margin of Mercedes Benz can be graphically represented in table below: Figure 5: Profit of Mercedes Benz (Source: www.mercedes-benz.co.in, 2016) Price earnings ratios PE ratio of the firm in 2015 is negative. It shows pessimistic view about the firm. However, the PE remains positive in the previous years. The appendix below shows the PE ratio for last five years. Debt level (gearing ratio) Volkswagen is heavily dependent on loans. BMW and Mercedes-Benz also have debt burden in their overall capital structure. However, Volkswagen is not able to manage the finance cost burden as the firm suffers a loss in FY2015. Cash and any other ratio that are specific to industry ) Current Ratio for Volkswagen AG for 2014 and 2015 is computed to be 1.00 and 0.98 respectively. This shows that the firm's liquidity position is at par with standard industry margin. On the other hand, the same for BMW stands at an average of 0.95 in 2014 and 2015. However, Daimler group enjoys superiority in this segment as the same is approximately 1.17 in last two years. Key issue: Strategic analysis Market and competitor analysis (Porters five forces) Competitive Rivalry: In the Malaysian automotive market, the competitive rivalry is moderate for the brand Volkswagen (De Munck and Ferreras, 2013). In the words of Fitzpatrick et al. (2015), the automotive sector has a greater competitive rivalry in the affordable family car domain. It has been identified that affordable cars have the most significant potential to capture target customers in the Malaysian market. At the same time, for the brand BMW and Mercedes-Benz, the competitive rivalry is same as each other. The government intervention to launch proficient hybrid vehicle is also increasing competitive rivalry for all three brands Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Threat of New Entrant: The new entrant has a higher risk in the Malaysian premium automotive sector (Grundy, 2006). The current recession in the economy is creating troubles on firms like Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz to attain lesser sales volume as compared to the project sales value. On the other hand, the market condition of Volkswagen is crucial due to the ethical and operational issues met by the firm (Mansouri, 2016). At the same time, the threat of new entrant has been found lesser for both the competitors, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, due to the innovative product offerings at a competitive pricing strategy. Threat of Substitutes: The threat of the substitutes is high for Volkswagen in the Malaysian automotive market. The product innovativeness and additional features are getting improved by the competitors. The profit before tax of Volkswagen has been found negative due to the lack of synergy between the invested money and the overall revenue earned in the individual financial year. In this context, Kirstein (2010) stated that the threat of substitute is comparatively lesser for the brand Mercedes-Benz and BMW, due to the introduction of innovative car models in a cheap pricing strategy. Buyer Power: The buyer power is greater for the brand Volkswagen in the Malaysian market. The brand recognition has become weak in the name due to its sustainability issues. On the contrary, Mohan (2012) stated that due to the introduction of C-Class car along with other cheap model cars have enabled BMW reducing the power of the Malaysian buyers towards the brand. Also, Mansouri (2016) also stated that Mercedes-Benz has also increased the revenue up to 15% in the Malaysian luxury car market. Thus, it can be said that the buyer power in the luxury car segment is lesser for the Mercedes-Benz and BMW, as compared to the brand Volkswagen. Supplier Power: The supplier power is greater in the Malaysian luxury car market for the brand Volkswagen. As the current brand value of Volkswagen is comparatively lesser than other rivals, the supplier imposes greater power to the brand. On the contrary, Fitzpatrick et al. (2015) stated that since the name recognition of Mercedes Benz and BMW is higher in the Malaysian automotive market. Thus, the power of the suppliers of those brands will also be lesser. Therefore, the overall competitive analysis indicates that the market growth of Volkswagen could be at a crucial position in the Malaysian luxury automotive market. Operations and organisations (Balance-score card) Financial perspective: Parameters Current scenario Measures Initiatives Operating Expenses The operating expense of Volkwagen is (188%) (Mays, 2015). However, the expense margin of BMW is (6%) and Merchedez Benz is (52%). Volkswagen is targeting to make reduction the operating expenses ratio in the next financial quarter (Jullien and Pardi, 2013). The management of the firm has increased the selection criteria of the recruitment process to improve the employee efficacy. Revenue Growth In the FY 2014, the brand has experienced a market share of 22% (Parente and Geleilate, 2015). In 2015, the revenue margin has dropped up to 5%. However, the revenue margin of both BMW and Merchedez Benz are 15%. Volkswagen is trying to increase the revenue margin by 6% in 2017. The management of the brand has increased the product measures and the reduced the price margin to convince the major segments of the Malaysian market. Customer perspectives: Parameters Current scenario Measures Initiatives Product dimensions Volkswagen has introduced various product dimensions like The New Jetta, The Cross Touram, The Sharan, etc. According to Jullien and Pardi (2013), the Malaysian customers projected better response towards the car models of the competitors. More research and development actions are undertaken to understand the accurate customer criteria regarding the premium car segments. Customer relationship The enterprise has managed to maintain a significant relationship with the customers. The customer retention ratio of Volkswagen is 47% and 57% is for Mercedes-Benz (www.4wheelsnews.com, 2016). Improving the production process to limit the CO2 emission. BMW is improving its CRM (Customer Relationship Measures). Internal Business Process: Parameters Current scenario Measures Initiatives Productivity The Volkswagen has experienced a sudden drop in the profit margin by 1.8% of sales within the first three months of 2014 (www.forbes.com, 2015). The management wants the enterprise to have a 6% profit margin, which is almost double than its 2013 profit margin of 2.9%. The revenue of BMW and Mercedes-Benz is 15%. All the brands have introduced the lean operational process in the production process. Manufacturing Distinction The manufacturing process includes the steps like, body shop, paint shop and assembly room. Reducing the production based errors. Similarly, a control measure is places in each of the work stations to review the manufacturing process step by step. Employee learning and growth: Parameters Current scenario Measures Initiatives Training and development The management includes various vocational training sessions to its employees. BMW is presently training an approximate figure of twenty thousand young employees in all the vocational training. Volkswagen includes an advancement program for the women employees. Hiring professing trainer. Improving the innovativeness through RD The brand has managed to introduce a diversified range of new products within an affordable price margin. In 2016, Volkswagen has introduced two car models, Polo GTi and Volkswagen Tiguan, which has received a huge customer response (www.volkswagen-poznan.pl, 2016). The management has increased the investment on the RD team. The similar approach is taken by BMW and Mercedes-Benz Limitations of Financials models and conventional analysis Limitation of financial models The limitation in analysing financial performance is that the financial analysis is based on historical data. The data is not current; that is the future performance of an organisation cannot be stated for sure, it can only be assumed. One of the major limitations of financial statement is that it is based on assumptions. Limitation of conventional analysis The conventional models are highly controversial by nature (Avlonitis and Indounas, 2007). The attributes evaluated in the methods might not be applicable for all the brand types. Therefore, an exclusive belief on the model might result to an unauthentic conclusion. The industry scenario of each of the firms are different, therefore, the entrepreneurs require understanding the acute framework that mitigate with the brand criteria. Conclusion The firm suffers from loss. Its market capitalisation through huge, loan burden does not allow the firm to manage much of its current assets. The overall outlook in the long run through looks positive, initial and current outlook of the company in 2015 does not seem to be much more investor friendly. The overall market competitiveness analysis shows that the market reputation of Volkswagen is lesser compared to the rivals like Mercedes-Benz and BMW. The competitive rivalry, buyer power and the supplier power all three factors are higher for the brand Volkswagen. Thus, the strategic alignment needs to be revised to improve the current market potential of the brand Volkswagen. However, the sustainability issue of the Volkswagen might get resolved in the future in accordance with the improvement of itsstrategic management process. Recommendations Out of the calculation mentioned above and analysis, it is inferred that Volkswagen AG though suffers a loss in the current year, however, its viability in future in strong. Sustainability is not an issue for this automobile giant. Though, a few key performance indicators show a negative trend, however, the future outlook remains bright. However, investors are encouraged to buy the shares of the Volkswagen as the market price as comparatively low as of now. Since the price fluctuates heavily, investors who are interested in short-term prospect, should not go for the shares of the firm. Growth is not an issue in the long run and hence long-term outlook remain solid and strong enough for the firm. Training and Development Programme The goal of the Volkswagen group is to identify and elevate the performance measures in the globally competitive market. Thus, the firm needs to develop the leadership competence, personnel management and the international development programme. It has been speculated that the vocational and professional training programme provided by the management of the firm would help to boost up the employee performance (Hanifah and Mohamed, 2011). In this regards Venkatesh (2013) also added that advancement of women employee would help the firm to increase the revenue margin as the company has less focus in the segment women creativity. As per the report of the different scholars, the particular advancement of female talent is one of the integral elements for the personnel development programme. According to the opinion of Simon-Moya and Revuelto-Taboada (2016), the advancement women training and development programme would help the Volkswagen group to systemise the overall operation. The voice modulation factor of women, which is highly attractive rather than the men segment would also be helpful for the firm to convince the customers. Adding to this, it has been observed that the revenue of the competitors of Volkswagen such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz is 15% respectively in the current financial year. On the other hand, Volkswagen has earned only 5% profit margin, which is very low compared to the rival groups (www.volkswagen.co.in, 2016). Thus, the firm needs some potential strategic planning to increase the revenue margin. Hence, women advancement training programme would be a significant contribution to creating a dedicated team effort for the betterment of the company. Reference: 2015, B.A. (2015) Home. Available at: https://www.bmw.in/en/index.html?bmw=sea_in_BMWBrand_Google_sngclid=CjwKEAjw3Nq9BRCw8OD6s4eI5HASJABsfCIaSNKS1GAq1CDdQP_JiQH4UsXx2IopZmkuk3W0fMaxixoCun3w_wcB (Accessed: 19 August 2016). Avlonitis, G.J. and Indounas, K.A. (2007) An empirical examination of the pricing policies and their antecedents in the services sector,European Journal of Marketing, 41(7/8), pp. 740764. Car production(no date) Available at: https://www.volkswagen-poznan.pl/en/car-production (Accessed: 19 August 2016). Christian, A. (2016)VW brand plans $6.8 billion savings and productivity boost to improve margin. Available at: https://www.4wheelsnews.com/auto/vw-brand-plans-6-8-billion-savings-and-productivity-boost-to-improve-margin-32261.html (Accessed: 19 August 2016). De Munck, J. and Ferreras, I. (2013) Restructuring processes and capability for voice: Case study of Volkswagen, Brussels, International Journal of Manpower, 34(4), pp. 397412. Eapen, M. and Annamalai, S. (2014) A study on job satisfaction among employees in an automobile sales and service company, Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 7(1), p. 15. Edwards, S. (2012). Revenue management: Maximising revenue in hospitality operations. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, 12(1), 9495. Fitzpatrick, B.D., Nguyen, Q.Q.A. and Cayan, Z. (2015) An upgrade to competitive corporate analysis: Creation of A personal finance platform to strengthen porters Five competitive forces model in utilizing, Journal of Business Economics Research (JBER), 13(1), p. 54. Grundy, T. (2006) Rethinking and reinventing Michael Porters five forces model, Strategic Change, 15(5), pp. 213229. Hanifah, M.Z.M. and Mohamed, Z.A. (2011) Value configuration through value chain for competitive advantage, J. for Global Business Advancement, 4(4), p. 368. Hilman, H. and Mohamed, Z.A. (2011) Building new competitive advantage through match between specific types of strategic flexibility and sourcing strategy, J. for Global Business Advancement, 4(4), p. 356. Jullien, B. and Pardi, T. (2013) Structuring new automotive industries, restructuring old automotive industries and the new geopolitics of the global automotive sector,International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, 13(2), p. 96. Jullien, B. and Pardi, T. (2013) Structuring new automotive industries, restructuring old automotive industries and the new geopolitics of the global automotive sector,International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, 13(2), p. 96. Kim, H. S., Brorsen, B. W., Anderson, K. B. (2010). Profit margin hedging. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 92(3), 638653. Kirstein, R. (2010) Volkswagen vs. Porsche: A power-index analysis, International Journal of Corporate Governance, 2(1), p. 1. Mansouri, N. (2016) A case study of Volkswagen unethical practice in diesel emission test, International Journal of Science and Engineering Applications, 5(4), pp. 211216. Mays, K. (2015) New products [New Products],IEEE Microwave Magazine, 16(8), pp. 102108. Mercedes (no date) Welcome to the official website of Mercedes Benz India. Explore the information on the range of vehicles. Available at: https://www.mercedes-benz.co.in/content/india/mpc/mpc_india_website/enng/home_mpc/passengercars.html (Accessed: 19 August 2016). Mohan, A.V. (2012) Internal and external resources for enhancing innovation capabilities an exploratory study based on cases from the Malaysian automobile sector, Asian Journal of Technology Innovation, 20(sup1), pp. 2947. Nepram, D. (2011). State-level value added tax and its revenue implications in India: A panel data analysis. Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, 5(2), 245265. Parente, R.C. and Geleilate, J.M.G. (2015) Developing new products in the automotive industry: Exploring the interplay between process clockspeed and supply chain integration,Industrial and Corporate Change, 25(3), pp. 507521. Simon-Moya, V. and Revuelto-Taboada, L. (2016) Revising the predictive capability of business plan quality for new firm survival using qualitative comparative analysis, Journal of Business Research, 69(4), pp. 13511356. Speculations, G. (2015)Volkswagen earnings review: Revenues and profits are up, but core performance remains weak. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2015/08/03/volkswagen-earnings-review-revenues-and-profits-are-up-but-core-performance-remains-weak/#2617d55b7a4a (Accessed: 19 August 2016). Strong revenue growth for Millipore (2007). Membrane Technology, 2007(4), 2. Venables, M. (2007) On a roll [automobile industry], Manufacturing Engineer, 86(2), pp. 1819. Venkatesh, R. (2013) Contemporary marketing or temporary marketing? An analysis of present day relationship marketing of Indian organizations, Indian Journal of Marketing, 43(1), p. 31. Volkswagen Ameo - test drive | Volkswagen India (2016) Available at: https://www.volkswagen.co.in/en/models/ameo0/ameo-offer.html?tc=sem-ameo-july16-ameo-ind-google-search textadskw=paidutm_term=101_aamkwid=s|pcrid|98835854433|pkw|volkswagen|pmt|e|pdv|c| (Accessed: 19 August 2016).

31 Fun Pipe Cleaner Crafts for Kids

31 Fun Pipe Cleaner Crafts for Kids SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Pipe cleaner crafts are one of the easiest and most fun types of crafts to do with children. In this guide, we’ve compiled 31 of the best pipe cleaner crafts for kids. They range from crafts that take only a few minutes and can be done by very young children, to crafts that are a little more involved but will produce toys that’ll last for many hours of play. For each of these easy pipe cleaner crafts, we include a description of the craft, a link to more detailed instructions, the difficulty level (easy, medium, or hard), and the materials needed. (Note that crafts labelled as â€Å"hard† are still absolutely doable; they will just likely require more adult help to complete.)These pipe cleaner crafts range from animals to jewelry to science experiments, and they can be done by children of a variety of ages. One tip before you get started: many of these crafts suggest you use white craft glue to get the pipe cleaners to stick to each other or other craft supplies like paper, plastic, etc. Craft glue usually isn’t strong enough for this, and the crafts often fall apart after a few hours. When gluing something to pipe cleaners or gluing pipe cleaners to another object, we recommend using a hot glue gun instead. Feature image source: Flickr/Nicole #1: Chameleon Difficulty Level: Medium These cute pipe cleaner chameleons are made by wrapping green pipe cleaners around a marker to make basic body and head shapes, then legs and eyes are added. The eyes can either be made by creating two small circles with pieces of orange pipe cleaner or (more simply) gluing on googly eyes. Materials Needed: PIpe cleaners (green, orange, and red suggested) Marker Felt Scissors Hot glue gun Googly eyes (optional) #2: Seashore Crabs Difficulty Level: Medium This crab pipe cleaner craft is a great way to use some seashells you picked up from the beach. You’ll paint a shell that’ll be used as the body, then bend and attach pipe cleaners to act as the legs and claws. Add two googly eyes and your crab is set. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (red or blue suggested) Small seashells Craft paint Googly eyes Hot glue gun #3: Finger Puppets Difficulty Level: Easy An easy pipe cleaner craft for younger kids, pipe cleaner finger puppets can be made in less than 10 minutes. Just take a pipe cleaner, wrap it tightly around your child’s finger or your pinky finger to make the body, adding loops for ears or arms if you like. Then, pull the pipe cleaner off your finger, glue the pom pom to where you want the head to be, and add some eyes. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (any color) Googly eyes Hot glue gun Pom poms #4: Crocodile Difficulty Level: Medium For these pipe cleaner crocodiles, you’ll wrap pipe cleaners around craft sticks to create the animal’s body. The craft stick makes these crocs sturdier than many other pipe cleaner crafts, so they’re easier to play with without damaging them. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (green color suggested) Popsicle/craft sticks, colored green Small googly eyes Black markers Hot glue gun Zig zag scissors White paper #5: Spring Flowers Difficulty Level: Medium Pipe cleaner flowers are a great craft if you’re looking for something less messy than planting regular flowers. The link includes instructions on how to make tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths. These flowers can also be â€Å"potted† in little flower pots as a cute way to display them. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (variety of colors, including green) Pencil Scissors Ruler Hot glue gun Small flower pots (optional) Floral foam (optional) #6: Bracelets Difficulty Level: Easy Pipe cleaner bracelets are super easy to make, and if you have lots of colors of pipe cleaners, you can make yourself a whole collection of rainbow-colored jewelry. To make the bracelets, just twist two colors of pipe cleaners together, or you can braid several colors together. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (any color) Scissors #7: Coffee Filter Butterflies Difficulty Level: Easy If you’re looking for a craft that includes both painting and pipe cleaners, check out these coffee filter butterflies. The wings are made out of painted coffee filters, while the body and antennae are made from pipe cleaners. This is a great craft for younger kids to get creative painting their butterfly’s wings. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (any color) Coffee filters Watercolor paints and brush Hot glue gun Scissors #8: Plastic Egg Bugs Difficulty Level: Easy These plastic egg bugs are a cute pipe cleaner craft to do around Easter or anytime you have some plastic eggs around. The plastic egg (decorated with permanent marker if you wish) will be the body, and pipe cleaners will be the bug’s legs and antennae. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (any color) Plastic eggs Googly eyes Hot glue gun Permanent marker Scissors #9: Bead People Difficulty Level: Hard For this bead people pipe cleaner craft, you’ll create the â€Å"skeleton† of the body with pipe cleaners, then string beads along them. It can be a bit tricky to figure out the best way to get the beads on at first, but after a little practice you’ll have a bendable bead person to play with. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (any color) Wooden or plastic beads Scissors #10: Christmas Trees Difficulty Level: Easy Pipe cleaner Christmas trees are one of the quickest pipe cleaner Christmas crafts. Just zigzag a pipe cleaner to form the shape of a tree, add a gold star on top, and you have a pipe cleaner Christmas tree that can be glued to a card or displayed on its own. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (green color suggested) Cardstock or paper Gold star stickers Glue Glitter (optional) #: Bendable Monkey Difficulty Level: Medium These bendable monkeysare really fun for kids to play with and can be hung off the backs of chairs or on a finger. The body of the monkey is made out of paper, while pipe cleaners make the bendable arms and legs. Kids can draw the monkey’s face on with crayons or markers. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (brown or black colors suggested) Two shades of brown paper Hot glue gun Markers Scissors #12: Rainbow Difficulty Level: Easy This rainbow pipe cleaner craft is an easy way to teach kids about the different colors of the rainbow and have them create one of their own. Just grab one pipe cleaner for each color that you need, bend them in a bow shape, add some fluffy cotton ball clouds, and either leave it as is or attach it to thick paper or floral foam. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple colors) Cotton balls Glue Floral foam (optional) #13: Jellyfish Difficulty Level: Medium Kids will love the long, wiggly tentacles of pipe cleaner jellyfish. Use half a painted foam ball to form the body of the jellyfish, then wrap several pipe cleaners around pencils or another object with a long, thin stick shape. Pull the pipe cleaners off, stretch them out a bit, attach them to the flat side of the foam ball hemisphere, and decorate your jellyfish. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (any color) 2  ½ inch styrofoam balls Knife for cutting styrofoam balls Paint Ruler Hot glue gun String Googly eyes Toothpick #14: Bookmarks Difficulty Level: Easy These fun pipe cleaner bookmarks are an easy way to get kids more excited about reading. Have the kids wrap, bend, and twirl the pipe cleaners to any shape they want, add googly eyes, and glue their creation onto a paper clip to create an easy and creative bookmark. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (any color) Colorful paper clips Googly eyes Hot glue gun Scissors Thin stick to wrap pipe cleaners around #15: Egg Carton Spy Glasses Difficulty Level: Medium With just some egg cups cut from an egg carton, pipe cleaners, and your choice of decorations, you can help your child create a pair of their very own secret â€Å"spy glasses.† The egg cups form the lens, and the pipe cleaners are the arms that go around your ears. Paint and beads make this a creative craft project. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (any color) Cardboard egg carton Plastic beads Craft paint Scissors Hot glue gun Toothpick #16: Ninjas Difficulty Level: Hard If your kids love ninjas or any other action figures, they’ll love pipe cleaner ninjas. The â€Å"skeleton† of the ninja is made out of pipe cleaners, which you’ll then put pieces of plastic straws over to create a body. A wooden bead will be the head, and you can add additional decorations to create fully bendable ninjas. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (any color) Colored drinking straws Scissors Wooden beads for the heads Plastic beads How glue gun Permanent marker #17: Snakes Difficulty Level: Easy By twisting two colors of pipe cleaners together, adding eyes and a tiny red tongue, you can quickly make a pipe cleaner snake. You can even turn this into a biology lesson and have kids look at pictures of different snakes and choose pipe cleaner colors to match a specific snake species. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (at least 2 colors) Small googly eyes Hot glue gun Red felt Scissors #18: Fall Fairies Difficulty Level: Hard These pipe cleaner fairies are a great craft to do during the fall, when you can use colorful leaves that have fallen to make fairy wings. Pipe cleaners and beads make the fairy’s body, yarn is used for the hair, and leaves (either real or fake) are stacked to create a colorful skirt. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (any color) Yarn Marker Scissors Leaves (fake or real) Wooden bead for head Plastic beads Hot glue gun #19: Christmas Wreath Difficulty Level: Easy These Christmas wreaths are another example of easy pipe cleaner Christmas crafts. You can also bows and small beads to the wreaths for additional decorations, and if you can find pipe cleaners with sparkles that will make them even more festive. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (red, white, and green suggested) Pencil to wrap pipe cleaner around. Small beads (optional) #20: Spider Difficulty Level: Medium Spiders are a classic pipe cleaner craft, and kids will love making the eight legs for their pipe cleaner spider. Although you can make the spiders with just pipe cleaners, you can also add pom poms, eyes, and beads for additional decoration (or paint if you want to make it clearly a garden spider or camel spider!). You can also make the pipe cleaner spider as an easy and slightly spooky Halloween decoration. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (black or brown suggested) Scissors Googly eyes (optional) Plastic beads (optional) Pom poms (optional) #21: Clothespin Dragonflies Difficulty Level: Easy When you make these cute dragonflies, you’ll use a clothespin for the body, then form the wings with four pipe cleaners to form the wings. Kids can get creative by painting the clothespin to make a colorful dragonfly and adding some googly eyes. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (any color) Clothespins Googly eyes Hot glue gun Paint Scissors #22: Crown/Tiara Difficulty Level: Medium Whether it’s your child’s birthday or they just want the fun of feeling like royalty, these pipe cleaner crowns will do the trick. After forming a circle for the base, add a variety of shapes formed from additional pipe cleaners to make your crown (triangles work particularly well). Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (gold suggested) Hot glue gun Scissors Beads, stickers, or pom poms for decoration #23: Pumpkins Difficulty Level: Easy These pipe cleaner pumpkins are a great craft for kids to do around Halloween. Orange pipe cleaners are used to make the actual pumpkin, and you can use green and brown pipe cleaners to form the leaves and stem. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (orange, green, and brown suggested) Scissors #24: Flamingo Difficulty Level: Medium If you have pink pipe cleaners lying around, use a few to make these cute pipe cleaner flamingos. Pink feathers will make them look more realistic, and you can pose the legs in a variety of shapes, just like actual flamingos do. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (pink and black suggested) Pink feathers Googly Eyes Hot glue gun Scissors #25: Dragons Difficulty Level: Medium These pipe cleaner dragons are fairly easy to make (although younger kids may need some help making the tight coils for the head and body), and once you add on some foam wings, they’ll be flying in no time. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (any color) Craft foam Popsicle sticks Googly eyes Hot glue gun Scissors #26: Fireworks Difficulty Level: Easy Pipe cleaner fireworks are a colorful and easy way to celebrate the 4th of July. This craft uses glitter and can get messy, but kids will love dipping their fireworks into a batch of glitter and seeing them emerge covered in sparkles. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (red, white, and blue suggested) White craft glue Glitter Scissors Thick sponge (for drying) #27: Magic Wand Difficulty Level: Easy Any child who wants to pretend to be a magician or fairy will want to make this pipe cleaner magic wand. By using a wooden skewer as the actual wand, kids can add all sorts of pipe cleaner additions, like those made into the shape of stars and hearts, until their wand is ready to work some magic. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (any color) Wooden skewer Hot glue gun Scissors #28: Snowman Difficulty Level: Easy Another great winter craft, these pipe cleaner snowmen are great to make once it starts getting cold outside and kids start looking forward to snow. After making the three circles of the body, you can use different colors to add a scarf and hat to your snowman. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (white, black, and red suggested) Popsicle stick/wooden skewer Hot glue gun Scissors #29: Shamrock Crystals Difficulty Level: Hard This pipe cleaner craft is a bit more involved than the others, but it doubles as a science experiment, and the shamrock crystals will look beautiful hanging in the window. After forming the pipe cleaners into a shamrock, you’ll submerge them in a borax solution overnight. The next morning, they’ll be covered in crystals and ready to display. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (green and white suggested) Borax Boiling water Mason jars String or yarn Pencil Food coloring #30: Fall Pom Pom Tree Difficulty Level: Hard This fall pom pom tree makes a great centerpiece for a Thanksgiving dinner, and kids can work on their fine motor skills by adding decorations to the pipe cleaner tree. You can have your kids go on a nature walk and collect their own acorns, leaves, etc. to add to the tree. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (brown, red, orange, and yellow suggested) Pom poms (red, orange, yellow suggested) Acorns, leaves, and other tree decorations Scissors Hot glue gun #31: Lion Mask Difficulty Level: Medium For this lion mask, tightly-curled pipe cleaners make the adorable mane, and a decorated paper plate is used for the lion’s face. This mask is great to use during a play about animals or a game of make-believe. Materials Needed: Pipe cleaners (yellow/orange and brown suggested) Paper plate Yellow paint Paint stirrer Marker Hot glue gun Scissors Summary: Crafts With Pipe Cleaners Pipe cleaner crafts are a cheap, easy, and fun way to entertain kids and get them to work on their creativity and fine motor skills. There are easy pipe cleaner crafts for kids of all age groups and of all difficulty levels, so whether you have only a few minutes or several hours to spend, you can find pipe cleaner crafts to suit your needs. What's Next? Are you also interested in science experiments for kids? Read our guide to see 37 of the most fun science experiments you can do with children. (coming soon) Teaching your kids Spanish, or are you learning yourself? We have a guide to the 71 body parts in Spanish you need to know. Want to learn more about clouds? Learn how to identify every cloud in the sky with our guide to the 10 types of clouds.

Give a comparative, cross-national account of social policy in the field of gender equality and family policies. The WritePass Journal

Give a comparative, cross-national account of social policy in the field of gender equality and family policies. Introduction Give a comparative, cross-national account of social policy in the field of gender equality and family policies. : 1). Feminists’ believe that individuals cannot achieve complete freedom so long as inequality continues to persist and that humanity is therefore unattainable. Regardless of this, the gender inequality that exists within family structures is still being recognised as a global issue and is prevalent both in Germany and France. This is partly due to the cultural practices of these societies as cultural relativism is still being used to condone such inequality (Craven, 2005: 3). In addition, as put by Fraser; existing welfare states are premised on assumptions about gender that increasingly out of phase with many peoples lives and self-understandings (1994: 591). It seems as though inadequate social protection is being provided to women in both countries, although France’s social policy regime does appear more favourable to women than Germany’s. This is evidenced by the fact that Germany holds a strong preference for the typical nuclear family ideal and continues to view males as breadwinners and females as homemakers. It is a common belief throughout Germany that women should not work and that they should instead be stay at home mums. This was identified by Peters when he pointed out that; â€Å"Men’s stereotypical role in Germany is one of the income – earning breadwinner, who leaves the house for work in the morning and comes back in the evening† (2001: 93). Because of the stereotypical role that is still being employed in Germany, women end up performing two roles. This is because contemporary women no longer stay at home to look after children and instead choose to become income earners. Furthermore, th e pay gap between men and women in Germany continues to widen and has been criticised for being much wider than other EU states, including France. The European Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding presented the results from the Eurobarometer on Gender Equality in 2010 and concluded that Germany’s figures were getting much worse: â€Å"In 2007, the gap was 23 percent; in 2006, 22.7 percent† (European Commission, 2012: 1). In a study conducted by Davis and Robinson, however, it was evidenced that much of the gender bias stems from family policies and the ideals that have been created by society. Hence, it was demonstrated that well-educated males are less supportive of reducing gender inequality: â€Å"women with employed husbands are less supportive of efforts to reduce gender inequality than women without a male wage earner† (1991: 72). This prevents women from advancing within society and demonstrates how men are capable of stifling the attainment of gender equa lity in Germany. In contrast to the male dominated ideologies that exist Germany, social policies in France do actually appear to be more akin to contemporary society. This has been illustrated by Rodgers who noted that; â€Å"France has a more conscious, clearly defined concept of family policy, which finds expression in statutory and voluntary institutions whose primary or even sole purpose is to promote the welfare of the family† (2009: 113). Both parents of the nuclear family are also entitled to various statutory benefits as of right, which signifies how gender equality is better attained in France than it is in Germany (Rogers, 2009: 113). France has a significant amount of support for women and has had an extensive policy in favour of families for a very long time. A wide range of childcare services are provided in France as well as an allowance system that is deemed extremely generous (European Union, 2014: 1). Such support is intended to encourage and assist parents in finding a work life balance and is clearly working given that France has higher fertility and employments rates of women with children compared to the rest of the EU’s member states (European Commission, 2014: 1). It has been said that the high fertility rates in France largely result from the consistent family policy in France as well as the good employment prospects provided to women (Del Boca, 2008: 2). One of the key characteristics of France’s family policy is the monetary benefits, also known as family allowance. The monetary benefits that are provided to families under this system include child benefit, flat-rate allowance, family income supplement, family support allowance, birth/adoption grant, basic allowance, supplement for free choice of working time and free choice of childcare, education allowance, back-to-school allowance, daily parental attendance allowance, family housing allowance and moving allowance (Cleiss, 2013: 1). In view of the support women are provided with in France, it seems as though Germany’s social policies on gender equality should be strengthened. This is especially so in the labour market where this appears to be amongst the worst of all EU member states. Therefore, not only do women in Germany receive significantly lower pay packets to men but they also receive a lack of support from the government (Curra, 2000). There a widespread misconception in Germany that if family friendly policies are implemented to assist working women, this will lead to them having fewer children, which will decrease the population overall (Giddins and Griffiths, 2006). However, it has been evidenced that â€Å"countries with policies that facilitate female employment are those with the highest fertility rates† (OECD, 2008: 15). This resultantly increases the future supply of workers, which inevitably leads to sustained growth (OECD, 2007: 7). Furthermore, the practices being employed in Fra nce appear to discredit the view that the population will be decreased if further support is provided to women, as this has not happened here and the fertility rates in Germany are low as a result of the lack of support for working mothers. This is due to the fact that women in Germany are more likely to postpone childbearing in order to enter the workforce, which stifles economic growth in the long term (Hering, 2007). Women are thus said to be â€Å"facing difficulties to reconcile family, domestic workload and paid work† (WILPF International, 2013: 1). It has been said that the German government is working on this issue at present and has made great attempts to reinforce child daily care (Fraser, 1994), yet it is arguable whether this is proving effective given the cultural relativism that Germany is submersed with. The generosity of France is illustrative of the support that is given to contemporary families and demonstrates how France’s social family policies are workable in attaining gender equality. Not all agree with this, however, and it has instead been argued that; â€Å"although French women receive paid, four-month maternity leaves; tax breaks for having more children; and other family-friendly government subsidies, their country lags behind many other nations in gender equality† (MNT, 2010: 1). This, it has been said, is largely because of outmoded attitudes about the role of women in society (Girling, 2002: 126). Women continue to earn less than men; they are still being viewed as homemakers and also hold few positions of power European Commission, 2013: 10). This is also the case for those women that remain childless (Milj and Okin, 1988), which suggests that although France provides better support to women, gender inequality still persists. Accordingly, women continue to be treated differently to men regardless of what policies are put into practice. It is questionable whether gender equality can ever be fully attained giv en the attempts that have been made to do so over the years. EU law has made significant attempts to ensure men and women receive equal pay for equal work, though it has been difficult for this to be accomplished. Article 141 of the Treaty of Amsterdam (which amended Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome), obliges member states to ensure that men and women always receive equal pay for equal work, yet it is often difficult to demonstrate that this is not being achieved. This is because the burden of proof is on the applicant to show that, on the balance of probabilities, their comparator is doing work of equal value to theirs or like work, which is considerably difficult (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2010, p. 1). It is therefore clear from these findings that whilst France does provide greater support to women than Germany does, gender inequalities still exist. France’s social policies thereby need to be rectified so that better equality is being attained. The first step would be to close the gender pay gap, yet it remains to be seen whether this would achieve complete equality as the traditional family model will remain prevalent. Functionalism and path dependency to gender equality and family policies Functionalist’s are of the view that an individuals’ mental state is determined by the role in which they have been provided with in society. Functionalist’s therefore view gender inequality as being a product of traditional societal ideologies (Saggers et al, 2009). This is reflected by the inequality that currently exists within Germany and France. Hence, the traditional nuclear family is still being given due consideration despite the fact that modern family structures are widely diverse. Because individuals have always been taught what the traditional roles of men and women are, individuals tend to conform to such requirements. This is still happening today, whether consciously or not, and is one of the main reasons why gender equality is difficult to attain. Consequently, whilst women are provided with better support in France than they are in Germany, many of the underlying inequalities women are subjected to remain. This is because societal attitudes towar ds men and women have remained the same, regardless as to what social policies have been implemented, as is also the case in Germany. Hence, it is apparent that whilst gender roles in both societies have changed substantially, traditional arrangement remains in force (Giddens and Griffiths, 2006: 467). Social policy in France has advanced significantly over the years and is very supportive of women, yet gender inequality is still prevalent because of the traditional arrangement that remains in force. This is also the case in Germany despite the fact that less support is provided to women as some attempts to close the pay gap have been made, yet it seems impossible for gender equality to be obtained. Path dependency theoretically explains how past decisions influence future ones, regardless as to whether the circumstances are still relevant. It is therefore clear from this theory that history is an important part of the future and shapes the way individuals behave. This theory is reflective of the gender equality and family policy approach that is being adopted in Germany and France. This is because historical viewpoints are being maintained regardless of the fact that the nuclear family is no longer considered the ‘norm’ in contemporary society. As identified by Skocpol; â€Å"the development trends of social modernization may face legacies of path dependent cultural and institutional organisation† (1992: 8). This affects the advancement of gender equality and restricts the ability to improve the lives of women. Because the emergence of social policy is determined by past influences, the typical family ideal is likely to remain instilled in society. This prev ents the modernisation of social policy, which explains why the traditional family model continues to subsist within social and family policy. Furthermore, as noted by Alexander and Welzel; â€Å"path dependent processes with respect to women’s suffrage policy may affect the potential to increase gender equality in particular societies† (2014: 9). This is why women continue to be paid lower than men in Germany and France regardless of the current changes that are being made to achieve equality. This occurs because of the historical gender inequality practices that were being employed because as was pointed out; â€Å"because of the path dependence of the unfolding human life, gender inequality in the early eighties might equally affect today’s opportunities, choices and aspiration levels† (Bjornskov et al; 2007: 2). Past discrimination thereby affects the way women are viewed in society today and will continue to have an impact in the future. Gender equality is still one of the main fundamental principles the EU continually strives for (Article 14 of the European Union’s Convention on Human Rights), yet despite the various policies that have been adopted women are still being treated unfavourably to men. This was recognised by Radacic who argued that; â€Å"notwithstanding these pronouncements, inequality of women in the member states of the Council of Europe persists† (Radacic, 2008: 841). The EU has therefore been largely impotent in challenging gender discrimination and achieving gender equality and although women and men are becoming more equal over the years, â€Å"a principle of perfect equality† (Mill and Okin, 1988: 1) is still not being established in countries such as Germany and France. Adequate family and childcare policies that allow for gender equality therefore need to be implemented, which could be achieved by employing strategies that; encourage female labour market participation, rem ove the gender bias ideologies, provide adequate childcare, promote children’s education and well being and allow for flexible labour. It is unlikely that much of the gender bias that is currently in place will be removed, though there will certainly be some improvements. Germany should be more supportive of women and France should make further attempts to close the pay gap. Conclusion Overall, traditional ideological practices continue to be adopted in Germany and France when it comes to gender equality and family policy. Because of this, women continue to be treated differently to men. It is questionable whether this can ever be rectified given that gender inequality is viewed as a product of traditional societal ideologies. In Germany, women are given less support than they are in France whose social policies appear to be more akin to contemporary society. In spite of this, however, gender inequality is still prevalent throughout France. This is evidenced by the large gender pay gap and the fact that traditional ideologies are still prevalent across all social policy methods. This illustrates that regardless of what social policies welfare states implement, gender inequality will still persist. Improvements to social policy would still benefit the economy, nonetheless, and would develop gender equality further. In Germany, there is a pressing need for greater su pport to be provided to women as well as reducing the gender pay gap, whereas in France the main focus is on the latter. It is doubtful that complete equality would be achieved in light of the fact that the traditional family model remains intact, yet vast improvements could certainly be made. This is supported by the views of functionalists who believe that the traditional arrangement of gender roles remain intact despite the fact that these roles have significantly changed in modern societies. Furthermore, because past decisions influence future decisions, as recognised by the path dependency model, the nuclear family structure will always have a place in contemporary society. References Alexander, A. C. and Welzel, C. (2014) ‘Four Theories Tested on Four Different Aspects of Gender Equality’ Empowering Women, democracy.uci.edu/files/democracy/docs/conferences/grad/alexander.pdf [29 March 2014]. Bjornskov, C. Dreher, A. Justina, A. V. and Fischer, A. V. (2007) ‘SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance’ No 657. Brown, S. E., Esbensen, F., and Geis, G., (2010). Criminology: Explaining Crime in Context. Elsevier, 7th Edition. Cleiss. (2013) ‘Family Benefits’ The French Social Security System, [Online] Available: cleiss.fr/docs/regimes/regime_france/an_4.html [29 March 2014]. Craven, Z, Clearinghouse, ‘Human Rights and Domestic Violence’ Australian Domestic Family Violence, Available: adfvc.unsw.edu.au/PDF%20files/human_rights.pdf Curra, J., (2000). The Relativity of Crime. Thousand Oaks, CA. Sage. Davis, N. J. and Robinson, V. R. (1991) ‘Men’s and Women’s Consciousness of Gender Inequality: Austria, West Germany, Great Britain and the United States’ American Sociological Review, Volume 56, No. 1. Del Boca, D. Pasqua, S. and Pronzato, C. (2008) ‘Market Work and Motherhood Decisions in Contexts’ Discussion Paper Series, IZA DP No 3303, [Online], Available: http://ftp.iza.org/dp3303.pdf [29 March 2014]. European Commission. (2012) ‘Women on Boards: Commission Proposes 40% Objective’ [Online] Available: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/newsroom/gender-equality/news/121114_en.htm [29 March 2014]. Giddens, A. and Griffiths, S. (2006) Sociology, Social Science, Polity. Girling, J. (2002) France: Political and Social Change, Routledge, Political Science. EKU Women Studies., Feminism What is it?, womensstudies.eku.edu/what/ [29 March 2014]. European Commission. (2012) ‘Statistics’ European Union, [Online], Available: http://europa.eu/epic/statistics/index_en.htm [28 March 2014]. European Commission. (2013) ‘Tackling the Gender Pay Gap in the European Union’ Justice, [Online] Available: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/files/gender_pay_gap/gpg_brochure_2013_final_en.pdf [29 March 2014]. European Union. (2014) France: Significant Support for Women and High Monetary Benefits, http://europa.eu/epic/countries/france/index_en.htm [Online], Available: http://europa.eu/epic/countries/france/index_en.htm [28 March 2014]. Fraser, N. (1994) After the Family Wage Political Theory, Volume 22, No. 4. George, V., and Wilding, P., (1985). Ideology and Social Welfare. Routledge, 2nd Edition. Herring, J., (2007). Family Law, Pearson Education, 3rd Edition. Kania, R. E, (1988). Conservative Ideology in Criminology and Criminal Justice. American Journal of Criminal Justice. Volume 13, Number 1. Lewis, D. (2013) ‘Welcome to the Department’ LSE Social Policy, [Online] Available: www.lse.ac.uk/socialPolicy/aboutUs/introduction.aspx [06 April 2014]. Mill, J. S. and Okin, S. M. (1988) The Subjection of Women, Hackett Publishing Co. MNT. (2010) ‘Gender Inequality Persists in France Despite Family-Focused Benefits’ [Online] Available: medicalnewstoday.com/releases/204545.php [29 March 2014]. OECD. (2007) ‘Babies and Bosses – Reconciling Work and Family Life’ A Synthesis of Findings for OECD Countries. OECD. (2008) ‘Gender and Sustainable Development’ Maximising the Economic, Social and Environmental Role of Women. Peters, D. (2001) ‘Breadwinners, Homemakers and Beasts of Burden: A Gender Perspective on Transport and Mobility’ Institute for City and Regional Planning, Sustainable Development International, 93-100. Radacic, I. (2008) ‘Critical Review of Jurisprudence: An Occasional Series: Gender Equality Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights’, European Journal of International Law, Issue 4, EJIL 2008 19 (841). Rodgers, B. N. (2009) ‘Family Policy in France’ Journal of Social Policy, Volume 4, Issue 2. Skocpol, T. (1992) Protecting Soldiers and Mothers: The Political Origins in Social Policy in the United States, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Saggers, S. Dodd, J. and Wildy, H. (2009) ‘Constructing the ‘ideal’ family for family-centred practice: challenges for delivery’ Disability and Society, Volume 24, Issue 2. WILPF International. (2014) ‘Racism and Gender Inequality in Germany’ Peace Freedom, [Online] Available: wilpfinternational.org/racism-and-gender-inequality-in-germany/ [29 March 2014]. Cases Abdulaziz, Cabales and Balkandali v. UK (1985) Series A, No. 94 at para 78 Leyla Sahin v. Turkey [GC] Reports 2005 – at para. 115 Give a comparative, cross-national account of social policy in the field of gender equality and family policies. Abstract Give a comparative, cross-national account of social policy in the field of gender equality and family policies. : 1). During this period, certain groups of society viewed males as being the breadwinners, whilst women were considered the homemakers. Because of this conception, a lack of financial support was provided to women by the welfare state as it was believed that women could rely on the income of their husbands (Herring: 2007; p. 262). Women were far less likely to leave their husbands as a result of this, which could be one of the main reasons why there has been a huge increase in the divorce in recent years (Benson, 2013: 1). It was apparent by many that social policy changes were needed to rectify this imbalance and thus provide women with better protection against inequality (United Nations, 2013: 1). Some feminists believed that ideology was the cause of such inequality and that unless all nation states adopt effective gender equality social policies, women will continue to be treated unfavourably in society (George and Wilding: 1985; p. 122). Some feminists argue that unless equali ty within family structures is addressed, women will never be completely free regardless as to what social policies have been implemented by the welfare state (Craven, 2005: 3). This was recognised by Fraser who was of the view that the policies of existing welfare states are based on assumptions about gender that are increasingly out of phase with many peoples lives and self-understandings (1994: 591). It cannot be said that women are being provided with sufficient protection within society, yet gender inequality is still one of the most important principles that is contained in the human rights law of the European Union (EU). The EU continues to make   progress in the tackling of gender discrimination, as exemplified by Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights, though it cannot be said that all nation states adopt the same approach as the EU. Consequently, unless gender equality is being instilled into the frameworks of all welfare states, gender discrimination will be likely to remain. Regardless of the EUs gender equality policies, nonetheless, women continue to be treated less favourably than men and as it has been recognised by Radacic; that despite the pronouncements of gender discrimination, inequality of still persists (2008: 841). It cannot be said that EU policy has had much of an effect in establishing complete equality between the genders,   though it i s questionable whether it ever will (Mill and Okin, 1988: 1). Hence, it has been pointed out that although the EU has paved the way for more equal gender rights in areas such as marriage and employment, inequality persists when it comes to domestic violence, pay and the division of labour (Pascall, 2000: 240). It seems as though the EU has made great attempts towards the attainment of gender equality, yet these have not proven sufficient. Further changes therefore need to be made to ensure that women are not being treated unfavourably to men. Gender Equality and family policies in West Germany Social policy in Germany appears largely to reflect ideological principles, in that males are considered breadwinners, whilst females are considered homemakers. The German people are generally of the view that women should not go out to work and that they should instead stay at home to look after the childrenHence, as illustrated   by Peters; â€Å"Men’s stereotypical role in Germany is one of the income – earning breadwinner, who leaves the house for work in the morning and comes back in the evening† (2001: 93). Although this may be a common belief throughout Germany, it does not provide a true reflection of the gender roles. Women are frequently choosing to work as opposed to staying at home, yet the gender pay gap is also increasing. Germanys pay gap has thus been widely criticised for being one of the largest in the EU and the EU Commission suggest that this is getting worse (European Commission, 2012: 1). Davis and Robinson believe that much of this gender bias is caused by the policies that are being held by families and societal ideals. does seem to have some validity, and social policies still need to be reformed in Germany so that gender equality is being addressed appropriately. Arguably, if effective policies are implemented in Germany, it is likely that this will cause the policies held by families to also change (Seeleib-Kaiser, 2007: 2). This alone will not be sufficient to bring about gender equality, and attitudes will also need to change. It has been suggested by Davis and Robinson that women with employed husbands are less likely to be supported than women with unemployed husbands. This is because, husbands in employment are unlikely to be supportive of efforts to reduce gender inequality (1991: 72). This suggests that women are less likely to advance in society if they receive a lack of support from their husbands. This shows how men can impact the achievement of gender equality. The social policies that exist in Germany should therefore be amended so that gender equality can be improved. At present, women do not receive adequate support from   the government (Gelb and Palley, 2009: 368), though as noted by the OECD some are of the view that if greater support is provided to women, they will be less likely to have children which will have an overall impact upon the German population (OECD, 2008: 15). Conversel y, it was in fact found by the OECD that countries with policies that facilitate female employment are those with the highest fertility rates† (2008: 15). Instead of reducing the population, further support would in fact increase it which is considered integral to economic growth (OECD, 2007: 7). Arguably, the limited support for working   mothers in Germany has resulted in women postponing childbearing so that they can instead enter the workforce in order to financially support themselves. This has an effect upon economic growth (WILPF International, 2013: 1), though it has been said that social policy in Germany is a work in progress and that attempts to reinforce childcare is being made (Spiegel, 2012: 1). Gender Equality and family policies in France In comparison with Germany, social policy in France does actually appear to reflect the ideas of contemporary society, and is thus more favourable to women. This was identified by Rodgers when it was noted that; â€Å"France has a more conscious, clearly defined concept of family policy, which finds expression in statutory and voluntary institutions whose primary or even sole purpose is to promote the welfare of the family† (2009: 113). Statutory benefits in France are also provided, as of right, to both parents. This demonstrates how gender equality is more adequate in France than it is in Germany (Rogers, 2009: 113). This is due to the support women receive in France by the French government and the favourable family policies that exist. Significant support for childcare is also being provided by France and their allowance system is particularly generous (European Union, 2014: 1). The support that is provided to women is thus intended to allow a work-life balance to be achie ved. This approach does appear to be working given the high fertility and employments rates of women with children (European Commission, 2014: 1). Hence, it has been argued that the high fertility rates in France is due to Frances consistent family policy and the excellent employment prospects women are said to have (Del Boca, 2008: 2). Monetary benefits are a key feature of Frances family policy (Cleiss, 2013: 1). This generosity has been considered necessary in supporting women and removing gender inequality in France. Yet not all agree with this approach and it has instead been argued that whilst women in France receive a number of different benefits such as; paid, four-month maternity leaves; tax breaks for having more children; and other family-friendly government subsidies, their country lags behind many other nations in gender equality† (MNT, 2010: 1). This suggests that although a number of social policies have been established in France that intend to provide greater support to women, not all believe that gender inequality is eradicated and instead argued that outdated societal attitudes regarding women are still prevalent (Girling, 2002: 126). Nevertheless, Frances benefit system does appear to be a lot more generous than Germanys, which might be suggested leads to greater equality between the sexes. However, it seems as though complete equality is still not being attained.   There still appears to be a gender pay gap between men and women in France, and women continue to be treated differently in general (European Commission, 2013: 10). Arguably, it is clear from these findings that social policies may not actually remove the gender inequalities that persist within society and that the attitudes of individuals also need to be changed. Functionalist and path dependency to gender equality and family policies Functionalism has been described as a philosophy of mind in that a particular mental state will be dependent on the role it plays on the cognitive system in which it is a part of. In effect, functionalists view the identity of mental states as being determined by its casual relations to sensory stimulations, behaviour and other mental states (Stanford, 2004: 1). Functionalism is clearly prevalent within the approaches that are being employed in both Germany and France since functionalists view gender inequality as a product of traditional ideology within society (Isajiw, 2013: 129).   Ã‚  Ã‚   Given that gender inequality is still prevalent within both Germany and France it might be though that social policies cannot change traditional ideology. Pre-existing notions of the ideal family will be likely to remain and individuals will thus conform to the roles that have been provided to them by society. Whilst gender roles have changed substantially in contemporary societies, functiona lists believe that traditional arrangements remain in force (Giddens and Griffiths, 2006: 467). This is what appears to be happening in France because although social policy has been advanced, gender inequality still exists as a result of traditional arrangements. Furthermore, whilst social policy in Germany is not as supportive of women as it is in France, the same applies here and traditional arrangements continue to prevail. Path dependency is a term that is used to describe the idea that history matters and that we are today a product of what has happened in the past (Margolis, 1996: 1). Path dependency is also reflective of gender equality in Germany and France in that past decisions influence future decisions. This is so regardless of whether the circumstances are still relevant (Arthur, 1994: 33). Historical viewpoints are therefore being maintained despite the fact that this no longer provides a true reflection of reality and as put by Skocpol; â€Å"the development trends of social modernization may face legacies of path dependent cultural and institutional organisation† (1992: 8). Gender equality is affected by this and improvements to the lives and wellbeing of women is stifled. Alexander and Welzel argue that; â€Å"path dependent processes with respect to women’s suffrage policy may affect the potential to increase gender equality in particular societies† (2014: 9). Again, this demonstrates why women continue to be paid less than men in both Germany and France. This results from the historical gender inequality practices because as stated by Bjornskov et al; â€Å"because of the path dependence of the unfolding human life, gender inequality in the early eighties might equally affect today’s opportunities, choices and aspiration levels† (2007: 2). This will continue to affect the way women are treated in the future and it is arguable whether discrimination against women will ever be eradicated. Conclusion Overall, it has been argued that ideological beliefs will continue to influence the ways women are treated in society, and regardless of the social policies that are implemented by welfare states, gender inequality will continue to persist. This is because the traditional roles of males and females will continue to be prevalent within all aspects of life as women will continue to take on the role of a homemaker, whilst men will continue to take on the role of a breadwinner in certain groups of society. Ideology is largely responsible for these inequalities and women will continue to be treated differently to men as a result. This is evidenced in both Germany and France regardless of the fact that their social policy strategies are different and demonstrates how ideology will continue to dominate contemporary society. Thus, women in Germany are treated far less favourably than the women in France, yet both countries are similar when it comes to gender inequality. An example of this ca n be seen in relation to the gender pay gaps which are widespread amongst both nation states. Nevertheless, despite the fact that gender inequality is likely to persist regardless of what policies are implemented, it is manifest that improvements can certainly be made. Further support should be provided to women in Germany, whilst the gender pay gap should be reduced in France. This is unlikely to provide complete equality because, as recognised by the functionalist and path dependency models, the traditional arrangement of gender roles will continue influence society. References Alexander, A. C. and Welzel, C. (2014) ‘Four Theories Tested on Four Different Aspects of Gender Equality’ Empowering Women, [Online] Available: democracy.uci.edu/files/democracy/docs/conferences/grad/alexander.pdf [02 April 2014]. Benson, H. (2013) What is the Divorce Rate, The Marriage Foundation, [Online] Available: marriagefoundation.org.uk/Shared/Uploads/Products/5357_MF%20-%20What%20is%20the%20divorce%20rate%20-%20060213.pdf [02 April 2014]. Bjornskov, C. Dreher, A. Justina, A. V. and Fischer, A. V. (2007) ‘SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance’ No 657. Brown, S. E., Esbensen, F., and Geis, G., (2010). Criminology: Explaining Crime in Context. 7th Edition, London: Elsevier. Cleiss. (2013) ‘Family Benefits’ The French Social Security System, [Online] Available: cleiss.fr/docs/regimes/regime_france/an_4.html [02 April 2014]. Craven, Z, Clearinghouse, ‘Human Rights and Domestic Violence’ Australian Domestic Family Violence, [Online] Available: adfvc.unsw.edu.au/PDF%20files/human_rights.pdf [02 April 2014]. Curra, J., (2000). The Relativity of Crime. Thousand Oaks, CA. Sage. Davis, N. J. and Robinson, V. R. (1991) ‘Men’s and Women’s Consciousness of Gender Inequality: Austria, West Germany, Great Britain and the United States’ American Sociological Review, Volume 56, No. 1. Del Boca, D. Pasqua, S. and Pronzato, C. 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