A Critical Analsysis Cultural Event Essay

School shootings has been a popularized term in both the United States and Canada for describing gun violence at educational institutions around the country. This especially applies to mass killings or shooting sprees perpetuated by the students or members of the faculty. School shootings are differentiated from acts of terrorism in that they are usually randomly targeted victims and involve students, faculty or alumni of the institution involved. This marked difference can be seen when we differentiate the Beslan School Hostage Taking (BBC News, 2004) from the Columbine Massacre. For our purposes, we would use the Columbine Massacre as our cultural event to be analyzed. This massacre has been well documented by a mountain of resources and has been extensively analyzed by researchers, law enforcement officers and medical practitioners. The Columbine Massacre is a well-known tragedy in the United States. It was a tragic day where two students who attended Columbine High School shot at their fellow students and teachers. This tragedy ended with more tragedy when the two students took their own lives. The abrupt and sudden death of the two students gave rise to more questions regarding this tragic incident. After the death of so many lives, no one was left to answer what motivated these two seemingly common boys to do such inhumane acts. Main Argument The purpose of writing a critical analysis of this event is to uncover the â€Å"deeper† implications of the event of school shootings on culture as a whole and on the writer as an individual. We will delve at the issue of school shooting from different angles that would show issues in our culture. It is the argument of this writer that school shootings can be prevented. To do this, we must pass stricter laws in gun control, prevent school violence, and reduce the amount of violence in multimedia and the Internet. Our effort to handle this tragedy has led to a valiant effort to rationalize and find solutions to prevent another Columbine. We must use this information and take responsibility by taking adequate measures in law and in practice. School shootings then as an event has brought to light the following issues: gun control, school violence, violence in multimedia and the internet, our culture on handling tragedies and our own responsibility towards preventing future killings. Support for Argument – Different Angles Gun Control The issue of gun control has been front and center in the debate regarding prevention of another Columbine Massacre. To support my main argument that stricter gun control laws can prevent another Columbine, it is argued that our laws on gun control are too lax. The access by which the shooters had to guns of high caliber and quantity of explosives prove the inherent laxity of our country’s gun control laws. In his movie, â€Å"Bowling for Columbine†, Michael Moore illustrates how guns are given away even when you open bank accounts in America. Even in Wal-Mart stores, guns were readily available. It has only been recently that Wal-Mart has pulled out guns from a third of its US stores. Even then, the company cites marketing decisions rather than lawful restrictions in its decision. (Pioneer Press, 2006) Stricter gun control laws will ensure that access and availability of guns will only be reserved for law enforcement. The consuming public, much less our children, must not be able to readily access guns without adequate reason. This reason must be well-defined in law and properly implemented to prevent young children from getting their hands on high-caliber weapons. Violence in Multimedia and the Internet The role of violence in multimedia and the Internet was a critical issue in determining what could be done to prevent another Columbine. Both shooters played violent games and were taking active part in online communities that catered to such games. Henry Jenkins, director of Comparative Media Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, cautioned the Senate Commerce Committee from totally shunning the Multimedia and the Internet. In his testimony before the senate, he reminds us that media consumption is active and not passive. They are tools that we can use and mold to our advantage. It must also be remembered that media content is a process that is developed over a period of time. Different consumers react to media in different ways. When all else fails, real life would always trump media. It is read against our perception of the world. It is in this light that the writer argues that meaningful recommendations for law making can be legislated in order to control media to lessen the amount of violence available to our youth. Such legislated can be done without trampling on our bill of rights by asking media content providers to be more creative and our schools to use media in K-12 education. These are just some of the recommendations by Jenkins in order to prevent violence in media use for institutions. More will be discussed with regard to school violence in the succeeding paragraph. School Violence The issue of school violence had come front and center as one of the reasons for the Columbine Massacre. After the event, every circumstance surrounding the life of the two shooters was examined. They were part of â€Å"goth† groups and were not considered generally popular with the students in early reports. Some of the myths would even say that they were loners and only a few students knew them. The truth however, cannot be farther. Even though they were part of â€Å"goth† groups, both shooters had a steady group of friends and were not exactly alienated from the student populace. Recent studies have cautioned on inciting a sense of â€Å"moral panic† in reacting to the problem of School Violence. â€Å"Moral Panic† is a reaction to school shootings where teachers and other students would view fellow students and faculty as â€Å"threats† to public safety. This is not the environment that will lead to the prevention of School Violence. (Jenkins, Part I, 1999) In preventing school violence, the National Association of Independent Schools have come up with the following measures: 1) more support for the youth using digital communities, 2) use media education in K-12 institutions, 3) more respect and knowledge by adults for popular culture of children, 4) more tolerance in the school environment 5) establishing parental discussion groups on appropriate media content, 6) illicit more creative responses from media producers. (Jenkins, Part IV, 1999) Our Culture on Handling Tragedies The deeper implication of this event to our culture is that it is reflective of the way we handle tragedy. It shows the need of our culture to rationalize and put blame. But more so, it shows the resilience of our culture to heal, move on and adapt to the changing times. The event itself as described above shows two things. The first part of our description culled from the CNN report is a depiction of the extent of violence imparted by the two boys. What happened in Columbine was distinctly violent and ruthless. The second part of our description culled from the Jefferson County report is a depiction of our need as culture to rationalize such violence. The process of compiling, examining and connecting all the 4,400 leads to more than 80 investigators from the federal and local government to piece together. It took 10 months to complete and amounted to painstaking work and expense. Yet, it was needed for a sense of closure to most of the families of the victims. It is clear from the 10 different findings of the Jefferson County Report that no stone was left unturned. Myths were formed regarding a third shooter or another boy who has principally induced the shooters. A lot of these myths were debunked by the official Jefferson County report. The need to rationalize by our culture does not end there. We hope to do better the next time around. We hope that tragedy will not be repeated. We rationalize and we move on. The mountain of sources that pile up to rationalize, prevent and defend our schools abound. Our psychiatrists (Block, 2007), law enforcement officers (US Secret Service, 2002), and brother citizens (Cullen, 2004) have all come up with their ways and means to justify and contribute to the growing number of literature meant to keep the discussion alive. Some have even sued gaming manufacturers of violent games and are seeking financial damages they allege that: â€Å"Absent the combination of extremely violent video games and these boys’ incredibly deep involvement, use of and addiction to these games and the boys’ basic personalities, these murders and this massacre would not have occurred. † (Wade, 2001) For the psychiatrists who have reviewed the cases, some have even suggested being careful in removing restrictions to virtual outlets of rage. It is notable that the boys who perpetuated the violence were deprived abruptly of these virtual outlets. (Block, 2007) These are all indicative of the ways we cope up with tragedy. These are ways we rationalize and learn from our mistakes. As a culture, the event has deep implications with how we handle seemingly irrational events by acting human in all respects. We pride our rationale as a civilized nation and try to make it prevail over all odds and tragedies. In the end, whether or not there is a rationale explanation to the shootings, it would be hard to know. Adding insult to injury, the shooters in this tragedy also killed themselves. This is perhaps why the Columbine School shooting has left such a distinct memory in all those touched by it. There is seemingly a distinct lack of closure because no one can be held to blame. Our Responsibility in Preventing Future killings As an individual, the writer is very much affected to reflect on what is happening with his own life. The deeper implication of this event is to cause the writer to pause and reflect his actions and his responsibility. Any other student in our society can easily relate to the deaths of these students. We have all lived a rigid classroom to classroom, day and night existence. Everyday, we do our work, travel to school and sleep towards the next day to come. Those who died in the tragedy never got the chance to finish their lives as students or graduate into adulthood. Reading all these accounts and reflections about the lives of these students has made the writer focus more on living rather than continuing on the never ending effort to rationalize. Human life seemed to be less significant in light of the quick and abrupt way the lives of thirteen people were ended. School shootings as a phenomenon did not end with Columbine. Recent school shooting such as the one by Pekka-Eric Auvinen in Tuusuola High School happened only this year. (Xinhua, 2007) The greatest implication to the writer as an individual is to live a life of responsibility. The mountain of information available to implement ways of preventing another Columbine is there. With the rationalization done by our culture and the efforts we have made to move on, it is but proper that live a life of responsibility by implementing all studies made to prevent more shootings in law through gun control measures and in practice by guiding future generations to be more tolerant of other people. Conclusion The tragedy of the Columbine is only illuminated by the facts that can be culled from the events. However, the deeper problems that lie beneath can only be solved by careful and patient assessment of these facts and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. It is the argument of this writer that school shootings can be prevented. To do this, we must pass stricter laws in gun control, prevent school violence, and reduce the amount of violence in multimedia and the Internet. Our effort to handle this tragedy has led to a valiant effort to rationalize and find solutions to prevent another Columbine. We must use this information and take responsibility by taking adequate measures in law and in practice. The implementation of the suggestions by the National Association of Independent Schools through Henry Jenkins would be a good start in harnessing the power of media to lessen violence in school institutions. References CNN. com. â€Å"In depth Specials: Columbine† (n. d. ) Columbine. Retrieved 15 November 2007, from . Ward, Mark. â€Å"Columbine Families sue Computer Game Makers†. 1 May 2001. BBC News. Retrieved 15 November 2007, from Block, Jerald. â€Å"Lessons from Columbine: Virtual and Real Rage† American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, Volume 28, Issue 2 (July, 2007) United States Secret Service. â€Å"The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States† May 2002. United States Department of Treasury. Retrieved 15 November 2007, from < http://www. treas. gov/usss/ntac/ssi_final_report. pdf> Xinhua. â€Å"US Teenager chats with Finnish School Shooter about Massacre† 13 November 2007. English-Xinhua. Retrieved 15 November 2007, from < http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/2007-11/13/content_7060867. htm> BBC News. â€Å"Attackers Storm Russian School† (1 September 2004) BBC NEWS EUROPE. Retrieved 15 November 2007, from < http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/europe/3616868. stm> Pioneer Press. â€Å"Wal-Mart halting Gun Sales by Area† (15 April 2006) Free Republic. Retrieved 15 November 2007, from < http://www. freerepublic. com/focus/f-news/1615500/posts> Jenkins, Henry. â€Å"Lessons from Littleton† (1999) National Association of Independent Schools. Retrieved 15 November 2007.

Journal Entries for habit

Journal Entries for habit one and two Habit 1: Be Proactive According to Stephen Covey, being proactive is part of human nature and humans are responsible for their own lives. He indicated the details of a social map which consist of Genetic determinism (Ancestors), Psychic determinism (Parents) and Environment determinism (Boss or something in the environment). The proactive concept was explained further using the Stimulus and Response relationship and the catalyst story of Viltor Frankl. Between Stimulus and Response, man has the ability or freedom to choose.This means one can decide how to reactive to thing or how to handle each situation. What matters most is how we respond to what we experience in life. We need to take initiative and this means recognizing our responsible to make things happen. We need to act or be acted upon. In Covey’s own words, reactive people are also affected by their social environment, by the â€Å"social weather. † When people treat them w ell, they feel well; when people don’t, they become defensive or protective. Proactive people are still influenced by external stimuli, whether physical, social, or psychological.But their response to the stimuli, conscious or unconscious, is a value-based choice or response. Proactive people aren’t pushy. They’re smart, they’re value driven, they read reality, and they know what’s needed. Another important issue he raised in the book is for people to expand their circle of influence. Habit two: Begin with the end in mind According to Covey, â€Å"Begin with the End in Mind† is to begin today with the image, picture, or paradigm of the end of your life as your frame of reference or the criterion by which everything else is examined.It further means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. Using the principle that all things are created twice, Covey said the unique human capacities of self-awareness, imagination, and conscienc e enable us to examine first creations and make it possible for us to take charge of our own first creation, to write our own script. â€Å"Habit 2 is based on principles of personal leadership, which means that leadership is the first creation. Leadership is not management. † Stephen Covey said as he explained the second habit.He further in the book explained that, in business proactive powerful leadership must constantly monitor environmental change, particularly customer buying habits and motives, and provide the force necessary to organize resources in the right direction. Later in the book, Covey stated that, the most effective way he knows to begin with the end in mind is to develop a personal/ family/ organizational mission statement or philosophy or creed. It focuses on what one wants to be and to do (contributions and achievements) and on the values or principles upon which being and doing are based.Visualization and affirmation were also talked about. Shairay Jones Journal Entries for habit three and four Habit Three: Put first things first. To Covey, we are responsible for our own effectiveness, for our own happiness, and ultimately for most of our circumstances. The third habit is the personal fruit of habit 1 and 2. In Habit 3 according to Covey, we are dealing with many of the questions addressed in the field of life and time management. He used an illustration of four quadrants to show the essence of this habit and time management.Quadrant I stood for both urgent and important things. Quadrant III stood for urgent but not important things. Quadrant IV – not important, not urgent things while Quadrant II which is the heart of effective personal management stood for not urgent, but important things. These things to him are what we should put first before any other thing. He also talked about ‘gofer delegation’ and ‘stewardship delegation’ (taking control and giving control out respectively). Part three: Publ ic Victory At this part, Covey talked about the Paradigm of Interdependence.He asked us to remember that effective interdependence can only be built on a foundation of true independence. Private Victory precedes Public Victory. In the same way, Algebra comes before calculus. To expatiate on this point, Covey noted that independence is an achievement. Interdependence is a choice only independent people can make. So the place to begin building any relationship is inside ourselves, inside our Circle of Influence, our own character. Stephen further recollected an incidence he had with his two sons to explain what attending to little things meant.To him, Small discourtesies, little unkindnesses, little forms of disrespect make large withdrawals in our lives. In relationship for instance, the little thing are the big things. Keeping commitments, Clarifying expectations, showing personal integrity, apologizing sincerely when we make a withdrawal from our emotional bank are important things to do to make deposits in to our emotional banks. Covey mentioned that, with the paradigm of the Emotional Bank Account in mind, we’re ready to move into the habits of Public Victory, or success in working with other people.Habit 4: Think win-win (Principles of Interpersonal leadership) Under this heading, Covey narrated his personal experience at work with a company and at the end he noted that, whether you are the president of a company or the janitor, the moment you step from independence into interdependence in any capacity, you step into a leadership role. You are in a position of influencing other people. And the habit of effective interpersonal leadership is to think win-win. In addition, I learnt from this book that, win-win is not a technique but a total philosophy of human interaction.The principle of win-win begins with character then moves to relationship. Everything else is built on character. Maturity is the second foundation for win-win. To Covey, Maturity is the balance between courage and consideration. To go for win-win, you not only have to be nice, you have to be courageous. You not only have to be empathic, you have to be confident. You not only have to be considerate and sensitive, you have to be brave. That’s why we need to be internally matured, according to Stephen Covey.The third characteristic of a win-win case is the abundance mentality, the paradigm that there is plenty out there for everybody. From the foundation of character, we build and maintain win-win relationship. Shairay Jones Journal Entries for habit five, six, and seven Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Principles of Empathic Communication Stephen Covey began this session by saying this â€Å"if I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood. To him this principle is the key to effective interpersonal communication. It shows how we have such a tendency to rush in, to fix things up with good advice. But we often fail to take the time to diagnose, to really, deeply understand the problem first. There is a link between character and communication. Communication is the most important skill in life. In addition to communication, Covey emphasized emphatic listening, another important factor aiding the fifth habit. We must always seek first to understand before seeking to be understood.Empathic listening means listening with intent to understand and that is needed for habit 5. Diagnosing before we prescribe is also needed for this habit. Habit 6: Synergy Principles of Creative Cooperation â€Å"Synergy is the essence of Principle-Centered Leadership. It is the essence of principle-centered parenting and it catalyzes, unifies, and unleashes the greatest powers within people. All the habits we have covered prepare us to create the miracle of synergy†. Stephen Covey. He defined synergy to mean that, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.He illustrated this in different scenarios and talked about synergistic communication. He explained that, when you communicate synergistically, you are simply opening your mind and heart and expressions to new possibilities, new alternatives, new options. He talked about synergy in the classroom and in business. Another important thing he talked about was what he called Negative synergy. He also talked about valuing the difference; this to him is the essence of synergy, the mental, the emotional, and the psychological differences between people.And the key to valuing those differences is to realize that all people see the world, not as it is, but as they are. Part four: RENEWAL Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw Over here, he spoke about the principles of balanced self-renewal. This final habit involves taking time to sharpen the saw and it surrounds the other habits on the Seven Habits paradigm because it is the habit that makes all the others possible. According to him, it involves preserving and enhancing the greatest asset we have. Us) â€Å"Sharpen the Saw† basically means expressing all four motivations (physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional). It means exercising all four dimensions of our nature, regularly and consistently, in wise and balanced ways. To do this, we must be proactive, according to Covey. He also used the physical dimension, mental dimension, socio/emotional and the spiritual dimension paradigms to explain this point. Furthermore, he noted that balanced renewal is optimally synergetic.The things you do to sharpen the saw in any one dimension have positive impact in other dimensions because they are so highly interrelated. He, at the end, talked about Inside out again by quoting the words of Ezra Taft Benson†¦ â€Å"The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment.The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature. † Shairay Jones Advance Reading Seminar The 7 habits of highly effective people Questions 1. What made Stephen R. Covey write the book? 2. Does he think the 7 habits are still relevant today? 3. Did he think the book would have the type of effect it had on the people? 4. Did the book influence him? How? 5. What habit had the most influence on him? 6. Where did he come up with the seven habits? 7. How does he fell to know that his book sold over 15 million? 8. Did he buy the book when it first came out?

Malicious Code Cyber Attacks

The use of internet and networks have various advantages where companies can increase cost efficiency by sharing resources and crucial data can be shared and backed up on various locations. The network of a company though quite important in modern times is prone to various cyber attacks which target the financial and sensitive sectors of a company. A potential hacker could target the network of a company in various ways if there is a security loophole in the company network. The various cyber attack threats a company faces include cracking, malicious code, back door, sniffer, TCP hijacking, mail bombs and other threats.The nature of such a threat, its effect on the network, problems caused by the attack and the countermeasures available to the company is explained. Cyber Attacks Using Malicious Code The most common type of cyber attacks involves malicious code. A hacker encodes a piece of code using some programming language and attaches an executable file to an email or sends this f ile to potential targets using an internet messenger service. The code usually creates a loophole in the network infrastructure of the company and the hacker can easily access any data or files available on the intranet of the company that is not shared with the general public.The hacker can easily access financial, personal and other sensitive information from the network of the company and misuse it in various ways. The sensitive data may include the industrial secrets of the company, the personal files of employees, financial information regarding the company and marketing policies and plans. When a company is attacked through malicious code, a person would receive an email or instant message requiring the person to open a file which would be executed and embedded in the network infrastructure and the company would face various problems (T., Sachs, Devost, Shaw, & Stroz, 2004). The level of severity of these problems may be minimum or maximum. The hacker would have access to the marketing and financial procedures of the company and could black-mail the company or provide this data to the competitors of the company. Another major problem caused by this attack would be the malfunctioning or stoppage of any crucial software which is necessary for running business operations. Personal information of the employees including names, telephone numbers and addresses would be compromised and would create a personal threat to them as well.The cyber attack could launch a companywide malfunction of hardware and software limiting the operations of the company, as today almost all operations are dependent on computers. The code could change critical information relating to business operations such as input data for various operating processes. The company can stop and prevent these cyber attacks in various ways. The malicious code technique of attack usually involves a file which is transferred through emails, instant messengers, loopholes in the firewall framework and da ta transfers from insecure websites and sources.The attacks can be prevented by filtering content received over the internet through emails and instant messengers. Antivirus, intrusion detection and content filtering programs can be implemented to limit transfer of malicious software or code. The employees of the company should be trained in this regard and should be made aware of the potential dangers of malicious code and the sources it can come from. The firewalls implemented in the company should be tested and audited with test scenarios to guarantee the safety of these firewalls.All backup of data should be kept in safe and secure locations which is not available on the network of the company. When the attack does occur there should be contingency plans available to cope with the effects of this attack and operating procedures should be defined well ahead of time to deal with such threats. Intrusion detection and prevention systems should be implemented at all levels of the net work to increase the safety and security of the network (GFI, 2009). Conclusion Cyber attacks are very common in modern times and there are various types of threats and these methods and types changing with the pace of time.Individuals and companies also need to be updated on the various new methods, techniques and prevention for such attacks. If there is a cyber attack on an individual or a company, it could result in adverse consequences including loss of crucial data and loss of financial resources. To prevent and limit the frequency and probability of these attacks various protection and safeguard tools such as antivirus and intrusion detection should be implemented. References GFI. (2009). Targeted Cyber Attacks. Cary: GFI. T. , P. , Sachs, M. , Devost, M. G. , Shaw, E. , & Stroz, E. (2004). Cyber Adversary Characterization. Burlington: Syngress.

Handgun owners Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Handgun owners - Essay Example The central tenet of this paper is the idea that carrying a concealed hand-gun does not, in point of fact, put the owner of that handgun at greater risk when confronted with a mugger, that carrying a concealed weapon actually makes someone safer when confronted with violent crime.There is a central problem with this paper, however, is that none of the following arguments or topics actually relate directly to the central thesis. After arguing that carrying a concealed hand gun makes one safer when confronted by a thug, the paper moves on to discussing concealed carry laws (without directly relating those to safety), before moving on to arguing that people who carry concealed weapons with permits are law abiding (again, not directly related to safety). The only argument actually related to safety is in the conclusion, when the paper quotes John Stossel without using a source to say that he says that maximum security felons avoid neighborhoods where they perceive a large number of gun o wners. 2. As mentioned above, little evidence is given directly in support of the thesis. There are two concrete pieces of evidence given: the number of permit carriers in the country (which the author uses to counter the notion that there would be lots of violence if there were a lot of gun carriers).).This doesn’t logically link to the argument, however, because a) the number given is very small compared to the population of the US and b) the author doesn’t try to argue that gun violence is rare

Customer comparision - Kohl's vs. Home Depot Essay

Customer comparision - Kohl's vs. Home Depot - Essay Example Both companies build customer value by offering customers both a wider range of channels, and more personalized treatment through the integration of channels. Recent years, US retailers have maintained high-speed growth through continuous optimization of its product/service mix and technological innovation. It has also realized rapid expansion through capital injections. The changes are closely connected with Internet facilities and WWW which opens international markets for these companies. Be in one of the most highly rated industries for stability and success, Home Depot and Kohl’s offer an opportunity to everyone who wants to change his home and personal style. Home Depot is a US based company. It is a leader in home improvement retail market. Today, Home Depot relies chiefly on an efficient technology innovation system and supply chain. Home Depot is â€Å"the second largest retailer operating over 1,700 stores in North America. The company operates Home Depot stores, Expo Design Centers, Home Depot Supply Stores, Home Depot Landscape Supply Stores, and Home Depot Floor Stores† (Speight, 2004). Kohl’s is a nationa l retailer proposing a wide range of products for the whole family: â€Å"our stores are stocked with everything you need for yourself and your home - apparel, shoes & accessories for women, children and men, plus home products like small electrics, bedding, luggage and more† (www.kohlcorporation.com). Target market of Home Depot involves professional users and non-professional users from middle classes. Home Depot â€Å"offers products and services primarily to builders, contractors, municipalities, industrial customers and maintenance professionals† (Hall, 2007). Kohl’s target audience also involves middle class consumers looking for high product quality and good service. Customers within the segment are similar to each other and dissimilar to other groups of customers in other segments. Today, Home Depot orients

Corporate Tax Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Corporate Tax Management - Essay Example On the contrary, hiring employees on the permanent basis can procure long-term benefits for the employer. Thus starting with the measurement of tax benefits for employers favouring the temporary staffing, the paper moves on to the evaluation of long-term benefits the employer could attain by engaging employees on the permanent basis. During the recent years, there has been a massive uplift in the staffing activities of intermediary companies in the United Kingdom. There are abundant factors that contribute to the uplift in the trend on the part of both the employers and employees. Employees are of the view that self-employment on the temporary basis pays more than the permanent employment as there happens to be several opportunities for them to enter job markets. They often associate it with the flexibility of working conditions and requirements. There are also some skilled persons whose skills are highly demanded by the employers and in order to make the most of their skills, they prefer to work on contractual basis rather than working and clinging permanently to the same company. On the part of employer, however, there appear to be several other factors that encourage them to go for intermediary companies in the pursuit of temporary workers. ... It not only saves the employers from the legal responsibilities but also to the great extent facilitates in the employers' intention to evade taxes that are otherwise payable on the permanent hiring of employees. The investigation by the UK treasury confirms that there has been an increasing tendency on the part of employers and corporations to evade taxes by way of staffing through intermediary companies. The current UK taxation system allows certain exemptions on the taxes to be paid in the case of temporary employment by the employer, which consequently encourages the employers to use this strategy to avoid their tax liabilities. UK law clearly defines and differentiates the meaning of employees and temporary workers so as to explicate the tax liabilities as well as exemptions and also to avoid any exploitation of these terms by any of the parties. However, it fails to recognise the probable exploitations of loopholes in tax laws concerning the temporary employment on the part of the employers. Therefore, the present UK tax system in the form of tax credits or tax exemption allowed in the case of temporary employment encourages to a great extent the exploitation of laws for the purpose of tax evasion on the part of employees. Although staff engagement only via the intermediary companies and not through permanent employees does not in the direct sense implies the employer's intention of tax evasion, but the increasing trend as evident in UK and also the decreasing tax payments due to the provision of temporary workers by the intermediary companies indicate the fact that there exist some significant loopholes in the tax system that aggravate the current situation. In

Interview Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Interview - Assignment Example All the children are male except for the youngest, who is a female. Her children are 40, 37, 35 and 31 accordingly. She and her husband are currently residing in their own home, which is not far from that of her children, and therefore of her grandchildren as well. The purpose of this paper is to examine the selected woman's opinions and notions of marriage, family and children as she was raised to believe, according to which she's lived her life, and then compare and contract those to those of my own. The woman interviewed, my grandmother, believes, and was brought up to believe, that marriage is supposed to last forever. It was a very different time from today, two generations ago, and this perception was much more common and popular than, in contrast to the very different one of today. Strangely enough, though, people used to get married at a young age and perhaps without even knowing their intended spouse for as long as people do today prior to marriage. This seems quite odd and bizarre for me today, but my grandmother says that that's how it was back then. If you knew the person for a year or two and thought you were compatible, you got married. Sex before marriage was also much less acceptable or appropriate. It was also common opinion that one has to do whatever he or she possibly can in order to save and preserve the marriage if it falls under a hard time (Author, Year). What she describes is very reasonable for that time, but seems quite obsolete today. Few are the people who still hold these beliefs today, and they are considered to be very unusual and the exception of the codes of behavior and norms of today. Things have changed a lot in these years between her generation and mine. Along with the emancipation of women, women's right movements and the changes in society as well as in the legislature, there's been a major shift towards living life each person sees fit. There is much less pressure today from families or others to get married quickly, an d less criticism or eyebrow-raising if a woman isn't married. This is truer for men than for women, but it also applies to women. Men are often thought to be less mature for serious relationships, commitments and marriage, let alone starting a family, while women are typically seen as more marriage and family oriented. While it may hold some truth (and women do indeed think more about relationships and the desire to be married and have children than men do), it is most definitely not true for everyone, and sometimes it is completely the opposite. Back in my grandmother's time it was quite unheard of. A woman was supposed to be married and was expected to do so until a certain age. Today it is not like that at all. Being married and becoming a mother were considered to be an inseparable part of being a woman (Author, Year). Today, there are women who opt never to get married, even though some of which are in long, committed relationships. It is now believed by some that marriage isn' t for everyone, and some do choose not to get married. Coupled with the current divorce rates, things have certainly changed in the decades since my grandmother's time and until now (Author, Year). It is interesting to note, in this context, that although marriage has become less essential to some women today and perhaps because of it, the wedding industry has grown immensely, and the wedding day is now considered to be one of life's more important milestones. In the past, while it was also significant, people didn't make such a big

Is the USA Trying to Seek Control on China Research Paper - 1

Is the USA Trying to Seek Control on China - Research Paper Example Barack Obama has recently suggested that they are trying their best to pull out their manufacturing process from China in an attempt to dent their economy. Moving on, in the second statement made in this research paper, it is a known fact that china has been trying to influence markets outside Asia to come and invest in their country. USA has been trying to contain the influx of FDI from their country towards China in order to manage the currency of China. â€Å"US interest in Asia revolves around containing China and the growth of the SCO, and securing under its economic sphere of influence, the most populous region in the world. Asia is home to 4.14 billion people or 59 percent of the world’s population.† USA has been putting its efforts to further exercise control on the military might of the Chinese. The important factor here to note that is the fact that USA wants to build a strong far east base to counter any future attacks by China over the USA, since the Chinese missiles are capable of destroying the majority of the major cities of the USA. Moving onto the fourth point, the USA is seeking China as a major economic threat, which plans to control and maximize the potential available to them in order to take away all the major jobs from the citizens of the USA. The economy of the USA is at a current downfall, while the economy of China is on the rising. One of the primary reasons behind this is the fact that China is deploying majority of its jobs into fields, which are hurting the European, and the American consortium. Moving onto the next important aspect of the attempts made by the USA to curb the growth of China has been the attempts to immobilize the workers of China settled in the USA who are continuously sending in Foreign Direct Investment in their home country of China as a mark of improving the economy of China. It is imperative to understand that Chinese settled in abroad have the highest grossing number of FDI influx to their home country. USA’s retaliation to the same has been its attempts to devalue the currency of China, however, this has been happening at a very subtle pace.

International Business Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Business Management - Essay Example   The main reason for the choice of Samsung as a global business is that it offers a wide range of products fitting different budgets, sizes, and shapes for each consumer. These products range from Galaxy S5 to Samsung Galaxy K zoom that has an optical zooming lens, the only Smartphone in the market with the feature and other products for every consumer to choice from depending on their need and abilities. The firm aims at meeting all the needs of the consumers through a wide range of product offerings for the consumers.    The main limitation of the global strategy is that there is high standardization of products limiting the ability to meet the needs of people who have differing tastes and preferences as tastes, preferenc3es, economic status, and the social condition cannot be equal global.  The company chosen for the discussion on international strategy is Starbucks with the reason being the high growth rate it expanded to different areas to have operations in over 60 count ries, 170,000 stores and revenues were 13.29 billion, 1.38 billion in profits and employed 149,000 employees in 2012. This rate of expansion and success shows a successful company in the international market, giving the need for an understanding of the international strategy employed in the company.  The reason for the choice of Starbucks as an international business is that the company in its early stages had plans for cross border stage overcoming the fear of international business by use of cross border integration.

Chevy vs gt500 article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chevy vs gt500 article - Essay Example Ford was faster on the straight and up the hills but Camaro was faster at corners. Although Ford had won by few seconds, Camaro proved to be a better car because of more efficient brake system. (words: 152) Camaro had magnetorheological shock absorbers that kept the chassis under control and smoothed the rough patches on the street. Ford could not take bumps on the road and experienced vertical motions which adversely impacted driving. Camaro’s brake system was better and stopped instantly. It gave confidence to the drivers of Camaro. On the other hand, after first lap, brake got heated up and do not stop fast enough, which could prove fatal on racetrack. The cooling system in Ford was flawed. The brakes being very crucial aspect of driving, driving Ford made drivers nervous. The basic assumption of the writer is that the car which makes every day driver a pleasure is more of a people car. Moreover major features like brake and good shock absorbers are hugely important elements of good car. Thus, along with speed, torque and traction, the performance of the car also evaluated their brake and efficiency of the shock absorbers to smooth rough patches. Relevant factors in the performance evaluation of the two cars were its speed, traction, torque, brake and smoothing of bumps on the roads. While the two cars competed equally on first three factors, Camaro won hands down on superior brake system and better shock absorbers which made driving a great pleasure. The tone of the article is highly technical. It uses technical vocabulary to define parts and functions that give relevance to the high performance of the car. But while the overall tone might be technical, the article is easy to understand and gives readers of all age, a better perspective of the issues that make driving better. Evans, Scott. 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 vs. 2013 Ford Shelby GT500. Motortrend, 27 June 2012.

Pop Music Has It Gone Too Far Essay Example for Free

Pop Music Has It Gone Too Far Essay Has Pop music gone too far some might say yes some might say no but to some extent everyone would agree but how can you judge this by standard of the generation and how the artist changed it as well as how you would think the next generation would react. hen we began the course it started with rock and rollers wearing suits and dancing with a 1-2 step then coming to 2013 which Ithink the second teen idol era such as Justin Bieber or Katy Perry or even worse the Kardashians but even now compare them to the likes of Fabian teen idols of the late 50s-60s who are taking the rolls of Elvis and such should be noted than filming of Elvis from the waist down was prohibited at a time then to half naked women for the sake of getting a gold record and a couple of bucks but then there was jim morrison waving around his penis on stage but it can be said he was under influence of several things. But all in all I Say that yes it has gotten too far . Pop music can be said to be always changing because the change from RB to hip hop did not happen without a huge change like rock and roll and san francisco but when you say something is extreme the next generation will take it as the norm say when 80s rock and roll started making sex related music videos which was considered ridiculous today its everywhere my cousin who was listening to songs like stronger or E. however her mom had no problem . One of the biggest thing I Seen arise is that it injected itself into our culture just like a virus from well dressed clean cut to leather pants and jackets and crazy cuts but it began with the beatles who simply got long hair. Or when KIss stated wearing leather and make up the youth followed proving that it was no longer anti-culture it was culture and changing america for better or worse. Another thing that crossed my mind is that good is bad and bad is good when the rolling stones crossed this path they set a whole world of problems but how far can you go for record sales once it was love, peace and tolerance then it turned to sex drugs and rock and roll while the singers who were in tune were dismissed while screamers were considered the best. But some may not think this is a big deal, it is pop music but I Would think death would change one’s mind. Jimi Hendrix one of the best guitarists died due to â€Å"misadventure† aka he overdosed as well as jim morrison taking their own lives the best of the san francisco style dead, pop music took these â€Å"tortured† souls but it can be said that they had it coming to them how about the fans, ordinary people for example say Altamont Free Concert what could go wrong Free concert with world famous acts what could go wrong. Drugs and alcohol can. The rolling stones here tried to skip the police and decided that they can do whatever they wanted , they were a pop artist group of course, so they decided to hire the hells Angels and with the drugs and fight music a brawl broke out between a fan and to members which ended with the death of Meredith Hunter who was stabbed to death by the security personnel and it was caught on tape. Or when the prince of darkness decided to write a song about suicide (suicide solution) a teenaged John McCollum decided to kill himself . he lyrics went†Where to hide, suicide is the only way out Dont you know what its really about Wine is fine but whiskeys quicker Suicide is slow with liquor Take a bottle, drown your sorrows Then it floods away tomorrows† this song at the least suggests suicide if not promoting it . Being bad may bring in platinum records and #1 hits but when people start dying bad is not good any more it’s bad. Rock and roll was once full of well dressed mannered people the Beatles be a good example and early on their lyrics meant well elvis sang about love and moondogs then Jimi hendrixs start humping his guitar on fire then the who started breaking equipment , The rolling stones started shooting heroin on stage, ozzy osbourne bit the heads off a bat and Jim morrison exposed himself and I doubt all they sung about was love me do and twist and shout the lyrics esuculated from â€Å"in benefit of mr. ite† to Prince saying incest is ok or when twisted sister said to shoot them down with a _______ gun then Venom advising â€Å"Welcome to my sacrifice Plunge the dagger in her breast† then ice-t saying to kill police or when blackie lawless is acting out sex with a saw . The lyrics are what sells albums Eminem and 2pac both are one of the most successful rap artists ever and yet there lyrics call for killing cops homophobia and songs against women. In a song Eminem or marshall mathers once said that there would be the same amounts of drug addicts and murders without me something I Doubt. The more famous the artist the more influence they have charles manson said that the Beatles were prophets . Going back in time there was a time when music was a time where music was an extra part of life which was recreational and now we hang on every last word of our favorite artist say swag which was reintroduced by T.  I jay-y as well as justin bieber and it is still around and dont forget YOLO which was created by drake but it seems though as it is dying out but hats, shirts and bracelets were made and this is where it begins to push the limits when people live their live based upon these word which in a way is no different than Charles Manson. Or when Wiz Khalifa is so open about his weed addiction and so many of my former friends started because of him or even earlier when Dr. dre started and when people take pills because eminem did it or acid because the beatles were cool. hen people say pop music artist does this it becomes a religion like following like how a good christian would follow the teachings of jesus they are following the ideals of pop stars and became the center of everything as John Lennon once said†Were more popular than Jesus now† or when Kendrick Lamar Says†Depending on what you expecting, Im sure its bigger than your religion†After this course I’m wondering where is the responsibility of these Musicians who control the public when are they saying not to listen to them but they want to be heard so if you do go to F.  Y. E and pick up a Marshall mathers lp the responsibility is given to the parents as there is a little text box saying parental advisory for us to have to w orry about those things itself proves that Pop music has gone too far as you wouldnt let your child listen to Eminem or Ozzy And you would not let your parents hear you listening to them I think thats the limit when it starts to on Prentice Hall, 2006.

HR Strategic aspects of the labour market and Managing organisational performance Essay Example for Free

HR Strategic aspects of the labour market and Managing organisational performance Essay The economic events occurring during the last two decades provide indications and evidences that the area of human resourcing has significantly changed in response to the emerging complexities of the discipline. Perhaps, among the primary components of corporate organization, the dynamics of human resourcing appear to be the most challenging as well as complex. Experts in the area of Human Resource Management (HRM) invariably agree that the surging demand for a new organizational role for the human capital. Even the usually common terminologies used to describe the HRM processes, such as labor contracting, training and development, performance evaluation, have been recycled to outsourcing, learning and growth or performance management systems. Many even replaced, such as personnel to human resource to human capital, to describe in more sophisticated way, the new character of human resourcing. Still, HRM practitioners are of the opinion that changes will continue to pervade the HR area and may soon take or evolve into new competencies again. Torrington’s Views: The HRM discipline and the Labour market Torrington presents the burgeoning labour issues confronting many organizations as propounded by theorists and practitioners. Indeed, the complexities of human resourcing are invariably revealed in the documented HR practices compiled by the author, who has been keenly observing that the area of human resource management is beginning to undergo a form of transformative process where the task s, positions and the organization virtually mutates into its more sophisticated form. Based on data provided by the author and taken from a report, there is a general shortage of workers especially the young sector. In the area of healthcare, the National Health Service (NHS) is spending ? 1bn annually on temporary, agency and locum staff. According to Laing and Buisson, well known heathcare analysts, the demand for agency staff is expected to increase across public and private healthcare sector in response to the long-standing manpower shortages in practically every healthcare occupation. The author adds that the size of the market for manpower has risen by more than four times during the two decades commencing from 1992. Even the NHS had to triple their budget expenditures during the same period. Torrington estimates this sector is worth ? 2. 4bn in the market. However, the core of the problem has shifted to the quality of care that many temporary staff provide, thus the decision to reduce manpower outsourcing, Here, the need to get better deals from agencies is becoming paramount as new alternatives of human resourcing in this sector is being addressed. The author concludes by proposing an appropriate response system through flexible staffing solutions. Torrington highlights the strategic aspects of resourcing to respond effectively to the critical messages demanded and manifested by the labor market trends. Here, he analyzes the need to adopt certain flexible resourcing choices that will focus attention either to the ready-made or home grown human capital. The labor market trends bespeak of the dilemma faced by the human resourcing industry in general. A number of recommendations are provided to address this set of HR issues – the retention strategy. The retention indicators point to a disturbing trend at the charts. The issue of retention and its corresponding techniques and strategies has been brought into the open as a result of the need to assuage the cost of transfers, job and even career shifts. The author brings the issue of turnover rates and trends as indicative of HR instability in many sectors while exacting some forms of costs on the organization as a result of new rounds of resourcing and the need to adopt staff retention strategies. Torrington insists that organization strategies versus HR strategy issues not only should be HR-driven but primarily must mutually provide a perfect fit. The author discloses the strategic aspects of performance how these are driven by HR policies and processes as practiced. This is implied to mean that a change in perspective be made in the human resourcing function: from taking control of the employment processes to a more significant HR function of managing performance. True enough, this shift in focus may have been long wanted to smoothen human capital transitions to work excellence. This further suggests that efforts are better spent on ensuring that performance management becomes the primary driver of the HR function. A number of firms have found better insights into this form of HR shift considering that the new HR performance processes adds relevance and more meaningful roles for HR theorists and practitioners rather than just the documentary and aspect legalese of human resourcing. The author proposes the adoption of a performance management system that translates into organizational performance anchored on the knowledge and learning processes as HR initiatives. Here, the proactive roles expected of the HR practitioners are deemed directed towards gradually converting the company into a learning organization where the human capital competencies are planned, managed and nurtured. Performance management system indeed is a critical need as with the 360 degree feedback system. Conclusion Torrington proposes a two-dimensional performance appraisal system based on individual and team perspectives. He emphasizes management of employee performance guided towards organizational and personal goals and objectives and an objective appraisal system to measure extent of accomplishment based on target setting. A sequential and step-by-step approach is propounded with a component critique system based on an overarching 260 degree feedback system. A comparison and contrasting view of performance management system (PMS) and its environment of procedures indicate that the PMS has and is being widely used in organizations out to harness the potentials of its people. The degree of effectiveness indicates the variability of conceptualization and implementation, but nonetheless removes the major irritants in people management that ultimately affect the relationship as well as the performance dimensions of each of the component of the human capital sponsored primarily by senior management. Thus, the proactive nature of the PMS approach entitles it to wider adoption and desirability among organizations aiming to address many of its human resourcing issues. Subject 2 Performance Management System: Linking Organizational Goals Torrington outlines the essential factors in managing organisational performance showing how a Performance Management System (PMS)links to organisational goals. Concrete and abstract benefits and disincentives are identified and benchmarked with industry practices guided by the universal principles and theories of performance management. As practiced, performance management systems commence from the goal and target setting based on the requirements of the job. Here, employees and workers are clarified in the objectives of their positions, the requisite competence, and the learning and growth perspectives if the job as well as the compensation based on how the organization assesses the relative important of the task. The use of the PMS has been tested widely and has proven to be more effective than the traditional evaluation system. This is because of the inclusion of a compendium of measures that ensures that organizational goals are aligned with the specific tasks assigned to the employee. From the targets, agreements on the degree and how these targets are achieved under quality processes are laid down and the PMS target setting contract is accomplished. Thus, the use of the PMS allows the following benefits to accrued to both the worker and the organization: among others, expectations are clear and scope and limitations of the jobs are understood by both sectors; employees can clearly predict and manage their own levels of performance based on targets as well as the needed support to accomplish the tasks; there is an objective system of evaluation and appraisal that removes subjectivity and abstract judgments; when provided with an incentive and reward systems, PMS becomes effective as a tool and basis of rewards and incentives; and, there is a better working relationship between the worker and his superior based on earlier agreements and covenants. Likewise, PMS considers possible constraints and limitations on both sides, thus alternative measures are agreed for the degree of performance resulting from the occurrences of such constraints and impediments. For the organization, the benefits are clear in terms of stronger motivation on the worker; budgeting can be integrated into the system through measurable and appropriate inventive and rewards system; the subsequent appraisal and evaluation system allows for an ideal atmosphere for the discussion of the evaluation and appraisal results to encourage future performance based on areas that additionally needed reinforcement and support. In addition, PMS encourages both individuals and teams to be evaluated based on targets that are aligned with the organizational goals. On the other hand, the disadvantages of adopting a Performance Management System (PMS) includes the requirement for a more detailed procedures and measurement system that may prove to be too elaborate and complex for the worker to understand and appreciate. Likewise, the process of documentation in support of the performance is considered difficult and tedious. Further there is no assurance that performance can indeed by achieved as there may be unforeseen circumstances not considered during the target setting completed before the start of the performance period. (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, Wright, 2008) Nonetheless, there is a need to study the organizational culture on whether the latter would help the system or otherwise. Conclusion Taking into account the benefits and disadvantages of Performance Management Systems (PMS), the absence of a more measurable, objective and comprehensive system of measuring and evaluating performance is non-existence despite the presence and utilization of good measuring tools and instruments. This is the complexity of the new HResourcing strategy that allows greater flexibility and uniqueness in the approach to managing performance. On the overall, the rationale for adopting PMS far outweighs the need to ignore the benefits provided by this new system. Often, the major constraint in adopting PMS is whether the organizational culture would allow such a change in the system. Thus, the efforts may indeed be tedious, but nonetheless, there is strong desirability in the system that will be more advantageous to every stakeholder in the PMS environment system.

Features of Perfect Competition

Features of Perfect Competition Contrast the features of perfect competition with those of oligopoly. (10) The comparison between perfect competition and oligopoly will be based on the following: number of buyers and sellers, nature of product, and barriers to entry of firms. Number of buyers and sellers Perfect competition is a market structure that is characterised by many buyers and sellers with each firms output representing an insignificant proportion of the total output. Hence, sellers cannot influence prices by changing its level of output. Thus, they accept the market price as given i.e they are price takers. Each firm then faces a perfectly elastic demand curve as shown in fig 1a. An example of a market that comes close to the perfectly competitive model is that of agricultural farming. How much the farmer sells his wheat for will depend on the prevailing price of wheat in the market. On the other hand, an oligopolistic firm produces a significant amount of the total market output. The seller can either influence the price or output. It can sell more by lowering price or increase price but sell less. This indicates that the firms demand curve is downward sloping. In addition, due to the small number of firms prevalent in the market, each firm now makes its decisions based on the reaction of other firms in the same industry. No firm can afford to ignore the actions and reactions of other firms in the industry. For example, there are only a few car manufacturers in the US such as Chrysler, GM and Ford Motors. If Ford Motors wants to increase sales, it can lower the price of its cars so that some buyers will switch from either Chrysler or General Motors but the increase in quantity demanded will be insignificant given that Chrysler and General Motors will follow the cut in price. This behaviour can be summarized by the kinked demand curve. Nature of product In perfect competition, each seller produces an identical product, thus they are perfect substitutes for each other. Since consumers think that the products are the same, they will not show any preference towards the goods of one firm over another. This means that sellers are not able to arbitrarily raise their prices for fear that consumers switch to other firms. Firms in perfect competition are price takers, and the demand for their goods are perfectly price elastic, hence the horizontal demand curve. In oligopoly, firms may either be producing a homogenous product or a differentiated product. When the product is differentiated, the oligopolist can increase the price and the output would not fall significantly. This implies substantial market power for the firms in an oligopoly. Even when the good is homogenous like steel or aluminium, the firm is likely to differentiate in terms of the services and terms of conditions, hence the downward sloping demand curve. Barriers to entry There are no barriers to entry or exit in a PC industry so the markets will consist of a large number of small sellers. The implication of this is that the firms in perfectly competitive industry will earn normal profits in the long run as supernormal profit earned by the firms in the short run will be depleted by the entry of the new firms into the industry. It is relatively easy to lease a plot of land to grow wheat and in the event that the farmer chose to give up wheat farming, he could easily terminate his lease with the landlord. The start up cost is low as all he needs are some simple tools and seedlings. In oligopoly, there are significant entry and exit barriers. For example, in car production, there are very high initial fixed costs such as the setting up of the assembly line and only if the firm produces a very large output level will the average cost fall significantly. The lower cost associated with a big output serves as an entry barrier for new firms as their initial d emand is usually low. Exit is also difficult, as it is not easy to dispose of the firms fixed assets. Other forms of barriers could be patent rights, exclusive ownership of certain raw materials and legal barriers. So the oligopolist can earn supernormal profits even in the long run. 2b. Discuss why oligopoly is a more common type of market structure compared to perfect competition. (15) Perfect competition is an ideal model and so it is difficult to find markets that have all these characteristics. There are some markets in the real world that approximates perfect competition. Examples of such markets are farming, the stock exchange market and the foreign currency market. These markets possess some of the characteristics of PC as explained in part (a). However, even in such markets, some of the characteristics are hard to fulfil. For instance, buyers and sellers may not be price takers. In the stock exchange market, there are some individuals or institutions that can influence the price of shares through their large holdings of a particular companys shares. The product is also not homogenous if stock of different companies are considered., Thus, if they were to sell their shares, price will fall. Knowledge is not perfect either. Although buyers and sellers do have easy access to information through their brokers and the Internet, there are some who do have insider i nformation and use that to their advantage. Moreover, managers tend to reveal more information about their companies to financial specialists rather than to small investors. In the real world, most industries do not have that many firms. In fact, in industries such as automobiles, air-craft manufacturing industry, oil industry, steel industry, supermarket chains and pharmaceutical industry, the industry is dominated by a few large firms. Most firms would rather face less competition so that their market power can be consolidated and secured. Oligopoly is thus a more desired form of market structure as far as sellers are concerned. Oligopoly is a more common market structure. It can be attributed mainly to the high entry barriers. Barriers to entry refer to any impediments that prevent new firms from competing on an equal basis with existing firms in an industry. An effective barrier for new firms to enter the industry is substantial economies of scale. The production of some goods involves very high initial fixed costs. Good examples are the petroleum industry and the manufacturing of aircrafts. For example, Airbus and Boeing must construct huge expensive structures to build the A380. Thus, for the production of such goods, the larger the output the greater is the economies of scale enjoyed by the firm. Such industries have very large Minimum Efficient Scale, and hence, only a few firms exist in such industries. Economies of scale are not the only source of barrier to entry. Other barriers to entry can be the possession of superior technical knowledge or sterling reputation for quality or efficiency. Take for example, high end sports cars like the Ferrari is such well known brand names that it is quite impossible for any new auto firms to replicate them. For years, they are the symbol of quality and luxury, an image that the carmakers have painstakingly cultivated. Production of such cars also requires superior technical knowledge, which is jealously guarded by the manufacturers. Thus it is not easy for new firms to enter such industries. In addition, existing firms could have spent millions on advertising to build and maintain brand loyalty. It will require a substantial period of high advertising costs and low revenues for new entrants if they want to establish themselves. Also, they can spend large amounts on advertising to make it difficult for a new entrant to differentiate its product. With the high entry barriers, firms are able to earn supernormal profits in the long run and have the financial strength to block the entry of new firms. Such firms can also adopt predatory pricing to further keep out competitors. Their huge profits allow them to cut prices drastically to drive out competitors. They can maintain excess production capacity as a signal to a potential entrant that with little notice, they could easily saturate the market and leave the new entrant with little or no revenue. Besides, huge profits allow firms to spend generously on RD. The discovery of new and better products allows them to compete more effectively in the market and also keep out other firms. For instance, in the pharmaceutical industry, millions of dollars are required to discover a new vaccine or a new drug. Hence the presence of high entry barriers results in many oligopolies. Globalisation and liberalization With increased globalisation, many domestic firms are threatened by the entry of big foreign firms or MNCs. Bigger firms have a competitive advantage in terms of pricing. Domestic firms can survive as long as there is government legislation to prevent the entry of foreign firms. But most governments are liberalizing their domestic industries. In order to compete with foreign firms, domestic firms have to merge. A merger would safeguard their survival as well as to allow them to compete more effectively. For instance, the merger of DBS bank with POSB and UOB with OUB , are all meant to expand the size of each bank so as to better compete with other international banks such as Citibank and Standard Chartered etc when MAS liberalize the financial sector to encourage competition. Hence globalisation has increased the tendency for mergers and the formation of oligopolies. Conclusion There are not many industries in the real world that satisfy the characteristics of the perfectly competitive model given it is an ideal model. On the other hand, the characteristics of an oligopoly are more easily met. The nature of production is more favourable to an oligopolistic kind of market. There are many advantages to being big. Some firms are big due to high entry barriers natural or man-made, while others expand internally or externally through mergers and acquisition in response to a changing external environment. The main reason for oligopoly being a common market structure can be attributed to benefits of economies of scale which gives firms the incentive to merge and be large. It will lower their costs and give them higher returns to meet potential competition and as a consequence, they have huge incentives to erect barriers to deter entry by new firms, and to consolidate their position.

Roe v. Wade :: Womens Right, Abortion, Pro Choice, Pro Life

Roe v. Wade Facts: Texas enacted a law that made it illegal to procure an abortion, unless, pursuant to medical advice, given to save the life of the mother. Jane Roe was an unmarried, pregnant woman. She was unable to get a lawful abortion in Texas because her life was not endanger by the continuation of her pregnancy. Issue:Whether a pregnant woman has a constitutional right to terminate the pregnancy; and whether the state interests in protecting life are justified under strict scrutiny that the 14th Amend demands? Legal Reasoning: According to the court, the right of privacy under the 14th Amendment is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. The court further ruled that the right of the woman is not absolute. The state can regulate the woman’s actions in cases where the law serves a â€Å"compelling state interest†. Therefore, in the end, the court ruled that in the initial stages of the pregnancy (before the end of the first trimester) the woman and her physician are free to make their choice about abortion without the interference from the state. For the subsequent stage of pregnancy, the state can regulate the woman’s choice but only to serve the compelling interest of promoting the health of the mother. For the stage after viability, the state in promoting its interest in the potentiality of human life may, if it chooses, regulate and even proscribe, abortion except where it is necessary to preserve the life of the mother.

Hooked :: essays papers

Hooked Stanley Crouch's essay "Hooked" is about the music of today. He talks throughout the essay mainly about Michael Jackson, and his music and image. He talks about Jackson throughout the years, from the beginning of his career as a member of the Jackson Five, up until the release of his latest record HIStory. Crouch goes on to say in his essay that today's music is mainly about going against authority, and can be compared to Hitler's Fascism. He also talks about how many people today listen to music, without taking note of the lyrics. Stanley Crouch's essay "Hooked" is an attack on popular music of today. He argues that today's music is bad, and that most people don't even listen to the lyrics. He also compares listeners of today's music to fascists. Stanley Crouch does not back up any of his arguments with factual information. His essay is based on opinion, and observation, and in my paper I will discuss how he is obviously wrong in his arguments of these topics. First of all Stanley Crouch is wrong in arguing that all music of today is bad, because he uses only Michael Jackson as a representation of today's music. Michael Jackson is not a representative of all popular music of today. For one to write an argumentative essay rating popular music of today, one must use more then one-example of a music artist. There are many artists of the late 90's who are as mainstream as Michael Jackson is, but who also write very good music. In Crouch's essay he states that today's music " exploits the insecurities of young people by telling them, over and over, that never growing up is the best defense against an oppressive world where fun isn't given its proper due." In this statement he is saying that the music of today is mostly written to send messages to the youth of today that growing up is bad, go against the authorities do what you want while your still a child. This is very much so an opinion. There are numerous artists of today who write very mea ningful songs on a variety of topics that young people of today can relate to and take comfort in. For example Mariah Carey is a mainstream artist who writes many songs that people of all ages can listen to and relate to.

Biblical Flood Myth of Genesis and the Flood Myth of the Epic of Gilgam

The Flood of the Bible and the Flood of Gilgamesh      Ã‚  Ã‚   The story of Noah’s Ark, as told in the old testament, tells how God punished the world because it had become corrupt. God accomplished this by flooding the world, and annihilating all the creatures upon it, except for Noah and his family and a pair of each type of creature on the earth. Each decade, more insight is gained into the origin of the flood story. Based on the information available at the present time, one could argue that the story of Noah’s Ark was based on the Epic of Gilgamesh. The story of Noah’s Ark was first written as part of the old testament by the Jewish people. However, it is predated by far by the story of the Epic of Gilgamesh, a story that originated in the same area that holds many striking similarities to the tale of Noah’s Ark. Though the story was modified to accommodate new characters, many properties of the story are similar, from small details like the creatures used as scouts to the religious purpose of the flood itself. For example, both the flood stories start with the characters re...

Power in Shakespeare

Power has significantly marked the society where we are in current development. Power is one of the best ways to control a society, yet it impacts the society in a negative way when it comes to distributing rights and opportunities. That is, since it involves the worst issues within the government known as corruption. In William Shakespeare’s play, Richard III, and Aristophanes’ play, Lysistrata, both authors employ the major role and concept of power.Both Shakespeare’s and Aristophanes’ approach to power has influenced the understanding of power and through their examples; one can employ their ideas as to why sometimes I feel powerless or powerful in my current life of a student. The views expressed by these authors are focused politically to power, which make people reflect on what power means; this involves attraction and subjugates provocation. The power is so great that it will always be seen negatively. With power one can organize groups but, there n eeds to be an authority.For example, like those with the political, economic, military or religious power. Yet, the problem comes when the abuse of power arises and when having too much power, the mind can be corrupted. It is necessary that one should have a good posture when power comes into hand and one should see it as something to improve on rather than to enhance on the small things that one does not need. Power should be seen as the ability to control to do the right thing and for that reason, be able to accomplish positive changes for the rest of the community.As a student, one has the ability to have power or not to have power either by sitting in a regular classroom or being at the university in general. At the university, there are laws, rules and authority that needs to be followed and for that reason a student could sometimes feel powerless. For instance, there is a rule at FAU that a student can’t be absent from a class for a certain amount of days. The student i s able to feel powerful because he or she has the ability to not go to class.Yet, once he or she reaches or passes the amount of days, the student will be automatically dropped out and in addition will receive a penalty for it. So a student can feel powerless because it has no other choice but to go to the class just so he or she wouldn’t get penalized. In other words, one could explain how different styles of power could have similar characteristics through the norms and rules that exist today. For example, the power exerted from a government of any country must be abided by the people who inhabit it through compliance ith the same laws and standards. Also, the student of any university must also follow the same rules and laws established by the university. As you can see, this example represents a power running scheme of a major and minor scale, but with a similar goal, which is how to maintain order where there is always power. The penalty is always the consequence, that i s, if you decide to take too much power into your own hands. If one has power, he or she should be able to manipulate it well enough to not let it go into the wrong hands.Similarly in Richard III, Shakespeare employs Hastings as a lord with honor who always remains loyal and trustworthy to the family. But when he gives all his trust and all his power to Richard, Richard ends up killing him. With power comes a consequence, and coinciding to this idea, that is why with power, corruption always occur. To that reason, a student will feel powerless because he or she has no other choice but to attend class. In order to be able to advance and be successful in class, you have to depend on your surroundings rather than self-advancement.One should be able to find peers and ask them what they did the whole class. Also, one is able to get the notes and basically get everything of what the teacher did without being in class. This being said, a student will feel powerful only if they have their s urroundings by the palm of their hand. If the student is going to use his or her power, it will need to depend on its surroundings in order to be able to get the power that he or she wants. As said by Shakespeare, â€Å"Which done, God take King Edward to his mercy, and leave the world for me to bustle in, for then I’ll marry Warwick’s youngest daughter† (5).At school, one cannot depend on himself or herself, but on the teacher and on the peers. In Shakespeare view, he is showing how Richard views his power and Richard needs his surroundings and his superiority in order to get to King Edward’s throne. As for Aristophanes, Lysistrata would have never been able to succeed if she did not have the help of the other women. Her use of manipulation helped her gain power and she was able to take back her man and bring peace to the city. In addition, manipulating is being able to handle, control, or use someone or something cleverly and skillfully for one's own ad vantage.A student can exercise the power to manipulate other students not to follow the rules or establish academic programs. Students who do not have responsibility and honesty are able to induce other students not to follow their school schedule, for example the student’s class attendance. The student’s friends will tell them to not attend class, go to the beach, or miss class just to miss it. And likewise, they are able to decrease the academic level in their classes because they assume no responsibility and maturity with the commitment to remain in a serious institution such as a university.These students still depend on their parents and since they know their parents will pay everything for them, they get low self-esteem and they won’t be able to value themselves and appreciate what they have. For this reason, they are people who have no responsibility and have no commitment when it comes to effort and it will be reflected once they attend the university. T herefore, that is why they influence other students to do the same. Aristophanes explains how the women were able to manipulate the power and strength of their husbands and warriors, exerting some manipulation of their womanhood and wife.Similarly, Shakespeare speaks of Elizabeth’s power over King Edward. By then, Richard is seeing the king as being weak and being handled by women. â€Å"Why, this it is, when men are ruled by women; my Lady Grey his wife, Clarence, ‘tis she that tempers him to this extremity† (Shakespeare 3). Comparing the previous texts, a student to a certain extent, can manipulate by being able to respect and enforce the university rights. For example, receiving an academic background in the area specified and chosen by the student and freely expressing its ideas and not being able to get punished because of them.This is why universities should take responsibility to train professionals and specialists in various areas of knowledge, as well as the formation of authentic citizens with moral and ethical responsibilities committed to the social reality around them. In Lysistrata, the women had a hard time being heard by the town and similarly, I have that same problem with my life as a college student. Just as the commissioner said in Lysistrata, â€Å"you expect me to take orders from a woman. I’d die first† (Aristophanes 91).The men during that era did not take the women into consideration and they were never taken into account. They were always ignored and predominated the power of men. Aristophanes portrayed the women into another new level by giving them the importance that they needed. Although they were only valued as a house wife, Aristophanes took into consideration how important sex is in the life of men, and gave power to the women using their ingenuity. Due to the fact that FAU has a great amount of tudents not only in the school in general but in the classes as well, the professors cannot provide a personalized education for each student. For that reason, that is why students sometimes feel ignored. It is very complicated for a professor to dictate a class with an abundance of students and the time assigned by the university because it limits them to give just a general class. In the other hand, it is not the professor’s fault but it is the university’s in general as to why most students are ignored. It is up on our time to go to the professor’s office hours just to have a conversation from person to person.People usually ask what they have to do in order to get to power while having the connections and influences and at the same time being a normal and ordinary person. For me, the answer or explanation to this question is due to my presence here at Florida Atlantic University because it is obtained through preparation, school work, and knowledge. For that reason, there is a famous phrase said by nearly everyone today that â€Å"knowledge is power†. Yet, through the knowledge that I gain, I have the ability and power to make my own decisions. Power in Shakespeare Power has significantly marked the society where we are in current development. Power is one of the best ways to control a society, yet it impacts the society in a negative way when it comes to distributing rights and opportunities. That is, since it involves the worst issues within the government known as corruption. In William Shakespeare’s play, Richard III, and Aristophanes’ play, Lysistrata, both authors employ the major role and concept of power.Both Shakespeare’s and Aristophanes’ approach to power has influenced the understanding of power and through their examples; one can employ their ideas as to why sometimes I feel powerless or powerful in my current life of a student. The views expressed by these authors are focused politically to power, which make people reflect on what power means; this involves attraction and subjugates provocation. The power is so great that it will always be seen negatively. With power one can organize groups but, there n eeds to be an authority.For example, like those with the political, economic, military or religious power. Yet, the problem comes when the abuse of power arises and when having too much power, the mind can be corrupted. It is necessary that one should have a good posture when power comes into hand and one should see it as something to improve on rather than to enhance on the small things that one does not need. Power should be seen as the ability to control to do the right thing and for that reason, be able to accomplish positive changes for the rest of the community.As a student, one has the ability to have power or not to have power either by sitting in a regular classroom or being at the university in general. At the university, there are laws, rules and authority that needs to be followed and for that reason a student could sometimes feel powerless. For instance, there is a rule at FAU that a student can’t be absent from a class for a certain amount of days. The student i s able to feel powerful because he or she has the ability to not go to class.Yet, once he or she reaches or passes the amount of days, the student will be automatically dropped out and in addition will receive a penalty for it. So a student can feel powerless because it has no other choice but to go to the class just so he or she wouldn’t get penalized. In other words, one could explain how different styles of power could have similar characteristics through the norms and rules that exist today. For example, the power exerted from a government of any country must be abided by the people who inhabit it through compliance ith the same laws and standards. Also, the student of any university must also follow the same rules and laws established by the university. As you can see, this example represents a power running scheme of a major and minor scale, but with a similar goal, which is how to maintain order where there is always power. The penalty is always the consequence, that i s, if you decide to take too much power into your own hands. If one has power, he or she should be able to manipulate it well enough to not let it go into the wrong hands.Similarly in Richard III, Shakespeare employs Hastings as a lord with honor who always remains loyal and trustworthy to the family. But when he gives all his trust and all his power to Richard, Richard ends up killing him. With power comes a consequence, and coinciding to this idea, that is why with power, corruption always occur. To that reason, a student will feel powerless because he or she has no other choice but to attend class. In order to be able to advance and be successful in class, you have to depend on your surroundings rather than self-advancement.One should be able to find peers and ask them what they did the whole class. Also, one is able to get the notes and basically get everything of what the teacher did without being in class. This being said, a student will feel powerful only if they have their s urroundings by the palm of their hand. If the student is going to use his or her power, it will need to depend on its surroundings in order to be able to get the power that he or she wants. As said by Shakespeare, â€Å"Which done, God take King Edward to his mercy, and leave the world for me to bustle in, for then I’ll marry Warwick’s youngest daughter† (5).At school, one cannot depend on himself or herself, but on the teacher and on the peers. In Shakespeare view, he is showing how Richard views his power and Richard needs his surroundings and his superiority in order to get to King Edward’s throne. As for Aristophanes, Lysistrata would have never been able to succeed if she did not have the help of the other women. Her use of manipulation helped her gain power and she was able to take back her man and bring peace to the city. In addition, manipulating is being able to handle, control, or use someone or something cleverly and skillfully for one's own ad vantage.A student can exercise the power to manipulate other students not to follow the rules or establish academic programs. Students who do not have responsibility and honesty are able to induce other students not to follow their school schedule, for example the student’s class attendance. The student’s friends will tell them to not attend class, go to the beach, or miss class just to miss it. And likewise, they are able to decrease the academic level in their classes because they assume no responsibility and maturity with the commitment to remain in a serious institution such as a university.These students still depend on their parents and since they know their parents will pay everything for them, they get low self-esteem and they won’t be able to value themselves and appreciate what they have. For this reason, they are people who have no responsibility and have no commitment when it comes to effort and it will be reflected once they attend the university. T herefore, that is why they influence other students to do the same. Aristophanes explains how the women were able to manipulate the power and strength of their husbands and warriors, exerting some manipulation of their womanhood and wife.Similarly, Shakespeare speaks of Elizabeth’s power over King Edward. By then, Richard is seeing the king as being weak and being handled by women. â€Å"Why, this it is, when men are ruled by women; my Lady Grey his wife, Clarence, ‘tis she that tempers him to this extremity† (Shakespeare 3). Comparing the previous texts, a student to a certain extent, can manipulate by being able to respect and enforce the university rights. For example, receiving an academic background in the area specified and chosen by the student and freely expressing its ideas and not being able to get punished because of them.This is why universities should take responsibility to train professionals and specialists in various areas of knowledge, as well as the formation of authentic citizens with moral and ethical responsibilities committed to the social reality around them. In Lysistrata, the women had a hard time being heard by the town and similarly, I have that same problem with my life as a college student. Just as the commissioner said in Lysistrata, â€Å"you expect me to take orders from a woman. I’d die first† (Aristophanes 91).The men during that era did not take the women into consideration and they were never taken into account. They were always ignored and predominated the power of men. Aristophanes portrayed the women into another new level by giving them the importance that they needed. Although they were only valued as a house wife, Aristophanes took into consideration how important sex is in the life of men, and gave power to the women using their ingenuity. Due to the fact that FAU has a great amount of tudents not only in the school in general but in the classes as well, the professors cannot provide a personalized education for each student. For that reason, that is why students sometimes feel ignored. It is very complicated for a professor to dictate a class with an abundance of students and the time assigned by the university because it limits them to give just a general class. In the other hand, it is not the professor’s fault but it is the university’s in general as to why most students are ignored. It is up on our time to go to the professor’s office hours just to have a conversation from person to person.People usually ask what they have to do in order to get to power while having the connections and influences and at the same time being a normal and ordinary person. For me, the answer or explanation to this question is due to my presence here at Florida Atlantic University because it is obtained through preparation, school work, and knowledge. For that reason, there is a famous phrase said by nearly everyone today that â€Å"knowledge is power†. Yet, through the knowledge that I gain, I have the ability and power to make my own decisions.

Night Essay: Examples of Night

â€Å"I became A-7713. From then on, I had no other name. † (42) Elie Wiesel’s Night is about a young Jewish boy and his experiences through the Holocaust in the 1940’s. Any human being should never experience the hell-like terror that Elie had to go through. He is separated from his mother and his sister and is deported to Auschwitz, one of Hitler’s most depressing concentration camps. Wiesel uses night not only as the title but also as a symbol of time, a world without God, and man’s inhumanity to man. Night is defined as a time of day when the sun is dormant, but for Elie Wiesel, night is eternal.While stuck inside the camp, hope is quickly diminished in Elie’s mind, overtaken by the deep darkness that night brings. This can be clearly seen when Ellie explains his last night in Buna. â€Å"Yet another last night. The last night at home, the last night in the ghetto, the last night in the train, and, now the last night in Buna. How much lo nger were our lives to be dragged out from one ‘last night’ to another? †(79) The question that Elie repeats shows that light in the camp can be seen as sign of hope, but sadly no light shines in the gloomy, depressing place.Elie explains how he encounters a complete darkness, no matter what time of day it is, when he enters Auschwitz. â€Å"Never shall I forget the night, the first night in the camp, which has turned my life into one long night. †(32) The horrid sights he has to live through in the camp can be seen as the scary, evil, eerie feeling that you get when nightfall arrives, almost like a time of day were there is no presence of God. When forced to evacuate the camp, Elie explains how the darkness swallowed people’s lives as they were marched to death. â€Å"Pitch darkness. Every now and then, an explosion in the night.They had orders to fire on any who could not keep up. †(81) With the sound of gunshots and people dying, night hove red over every single one of them marching for their own lives. The gloomy, dark, fright-filled nighttime can be closely related to the horrid journey of Elie Wiesel in Auschwitz were no light can be seen, even in the daytime. If God could be seen as light, then the loss of faith is his darkness. On page 60, Elie experiences a young boy being hanged as a punishment inside the camp. From witnessing the awful sight it reminds Elie of the harsh reality of the Nazi’s and how they have deteriorated his faith, a vital omponent for staying alive in the camp. Elie then hears a question come from behind him. â€Å"Where is god now? And I heard a voice within me answer him: Where is he? Here he is- He is hanging here on his gallows . . . † (62) Elie felt as though God no longer had his support and that he had lost faith within him. He explains the young, innocent boy dying in front of him as his faith slowly slipping away. Elie began to doubt the support from God. â€Å"I did n ot deny God’s existence, but I doubted His absolute justice. †(42) God was no longer meaningful and helpful towards Wiesel’s struggles; he had nothing to turn to when deeply in need.Nighttime can be seen as a time when God is no longer there, when the evil emerges from their dwellings in which they hid from the light in. Auschwitz is an eternal night, where evil doesn’t need to hide because no light is visible. The horror and inhumanity of the Nazi’s left million of innocent people trapped in a place of darkness without the slightest sign of light or hope. This can be seen numerous times throughout the whole book. Disturbing sights that Ellie experienced will remain with him and haunt him forever because of how brutal they are.The Nazi just threw out the dead corpses. They undressed him, the survivors avidly sharing out his clothes, then two ‘gravediggers’ took him, one by the head and one by the feet, and threw him out of the wagon lik e a sack of flour. † The way they just threw around the dead as though they were useless, inanimate objects was something no normal minded person could do. As they made their evacuation, the SS screamed and yelled at the poor people saying things like, â€Å"Faster, you swine, you filthy sons of bitches! †(81) The Nazi’s showed little to no sympathy towards the people that were different from them.They felt superior to all and dehumanized those who weren’t. When finally being released from imprisonment, Ellie wanted to see what he had looked like. â€Å"I had not seen myself since the ghetto. From the depths of the mirror, a corpse glazed back at me. †(109) The fact that Ellie had not seen himself since he had entered the ghetto is unreal. He barely recognized his standing ‘corpse’. Dehumanization does extremely awful things to people and the Nazis did a textbook job of doing so. Leaving people suffering under the wrath of the horror an d inhumanity with a result of innocent people dying.Man’s inhumanity to man, a world without God, ad night as a symbol of the time of day, symbolizes night in Ellie Wiesel’s novel. In additions to the time of day, night can be seen as an everlasting darkness Elie has to endure while stuck inside the camp with no sign of light or hope in sight. Elie Wiesel shares his story to educate the world of the harsh reality of dehumanization. Sadly this is still active in our world today. They say that knowledge is power; ignorance is bliss, so hopefully Elie’s story will reach the souls of humanity and potentially keep history from repeating itself in the near future.