A Critique of the Structure Conduct Performance Paradigm (Scp) Essay

A Critique of the Structure Conduct Performance Paradigm (SCP) †¢The SCP approach draws on theories of market structure. These theories can be adapted to examine the behavior of firms and industries. However, these theories do not always give us exact relationships between structure, conduct and performance. †¢Structure can be measured by a multitude of indicators. Unfortunately, many economists tend to measure structure by concentration. This is primarily because data is easy to find in government statistics. As a consequence, there is a danger of overemphasizing the importance of concentration. †¢The SCP approach has been criticized for providing a ‘snapshot’ of competitive conditions. The approach does little to explain how the industry has evolved into its current state and what, if any, the future changes of industry structure and firm behavior are likely to be. †¢It is often difficult to decide which variables belong to structure, which to condu ct and which to performance. For example, the extent of advertising, vertical integration and diversification gives useful information as to the structure of an industry. However, these are also strategies which firms can choose to follow to gain a competitive advantage over rivals. †¢There are difficulties in measuring many of the variables. For example, how would one measure profitability? How does one measure entry barriers and the rate of entry? How do we measure the extent of vertical integration? †¢What exactly do we mean by performance? Performance is some measure of the degree of success in achieving desired goals. Is it possible to have a set of uniform performance indicators? Differences in firm objectives may make the links between firm behavior and performance difficult to assess. For example, if firms are sacrificing potential profits in order to reduce risk by investing in more certain activities, then researchers should be more interested in variability in profit rates and not profits levels per se. Alternatively, if managers are maximizing their own satisfaction through excess expenditures, then it is no longer clear that large firms will necessarily make abnormal returns. In other words, firms insulated from competitive pressure may choose a ‘quiet life’ and no longer strive for greater efficiency and higher profits. Despite its critics, the SCP approach is one of the most popular and enduring approaches to analyzing competitive markets. For example, European banking has experienced competitive change over the last decade. Government deregulation has increased competition and allowed banks to compete not only in domestic but also in other European markets. The extent of diversification has increased, which has caused the distinction between b anks, building societies and insurance companies to become blurred. There has been entry of foreign banks into many European countries, leading to intensified competition. The number of banks has declined in many European markets in recent years. The trend is apparent across different types of banks, including the mutual savings and co-operative banks as well as the domestic commercial banks. Reference: http://classof1.com/homework-help/macroeconomics-homework-help/

Pscychological Effects of Ragging on Student and Counteractive Measures for Prevention Essay

Ask any college student what he or she was most nervous about on the first day of college and the answer will most probably be the same — ragging. But what is ragging? Who does it and why? There is no clear definition of ragging (or hazing), but it is generally understood to be the act of college seniors subjecting juniors to teasing or practical jokes. The term includes a relatively harmless prank such as asking a junior to roll a coin around the basketball court to more serious or dangerous acts like sexual abuse and torture. Ragging initially began as an innocent tradition to get new students acquainted with each other but has gradually become a method by which anti-social elements of the institute assert their dominance on the campus. Although ragging can happen in any college, it is most prevalent in medical and engineering colleges. The reason being most students live on campus and are thus soft targets. What to do if you are ragged Ragging can assume any form — abusive language directed at the student or his family, making juniors run errands for seniors, sexual abuse, forcing freshers to strip or speak obscenely about professors in front of other students. Basically, any form of abuse against juniors amounts to ragging. If any of this is happening to you, inform your family about it first. Going against one’s college seniors can be stressful for a fresher, so make sure you have all the support you can get from your family and friends. The second step is to approach the institute’s authorities. Inform them of the goings-on and the names of the culprits. Most colleges have an anti-ragging cell — an association of professors and students who track down and take disciplinary action against students indulging in ragging. If the college authorities seem unwilling to take action, and the severity of the offence is great, you can even approach the police. Ragging has been recognised as a cr ime in India and the police are legally obliged to investigate the matter. Frehsers entrance test Ragging is meant to faimilarise the seniors with the juniors. In the media it is portrayed that ragging is normal event in a student life, seeing TV many seniors develop new ideas to conduct ragging. In the news they tell about the event how a sudden namely ___ got ragged commited suicide or got  affected, but they fail to tell the outcome punishment on the raggers. Demiralise the student: Demoralise the student and will develop phobia and lose interest in studies, leave their goals aspirations, leaving them helpless for rest of their life. Inaction or ineffective action on part of the concerned authority only encourages the mindset of te accused to indulge in such action again. The accused senior gains confidence as being right and will traumatize someone else or same one again. How to deal with being ragged Sometimes, intervention may come too late. In a number of cases, students have succumbed to the humiliation of ragging, and fall victim to bouts of depression and lack of interest in academic pursuits. Extreme abuse has even caused some students to attempt suicide. It is recommended that students grappling with the humiliation of ragging seek help from a trained counsellor. Parents and teachers must take it upon themselves to safeguard the mental health of students by keeping all the channels of communication open. Every effort must be made to help a victim deal with the incident and move on. So, don’t let the fear of being ragged prevent you from pursuing a happy and fruitful college career. Remember, it is as much a crime to tolerate oppression as it is to subject someone to it. Timely action can help change your freshman year from a nightmare into a dream come true. There are 3 types of ragging verbal, physically and sexual. The acts of abuses are making u dance, sing, propose to girl or boy, go kiss a girl or boy, all this acts which the so called seniors will not or r not bold enough to do they do it in form of ragging through the juniors. Teasing or abusing of playing Practical joke on, or causing hurt to any student. or (b) Asking any student to do any act, or perform any thing, which he/she would not, in the ordinary course, be willing to do or perform. It is the animal hidden Instinct. The urge to dominate the neighbour, especially when one has more leisure.It happens not only in colleges/educational Institutions but also in jails and such other Institutions. They want respect from juniors. †¢ they want to show that they  r the SENIORS, and another reason may be that they want to repeat what had happend with them when they were juniors†¦. Please keep in mind the following things and advise your college going friends too. * Ragging is a crime. Do not engage in it or support it * Even petty ragging is against fundamental human rights * There needs to be zero tolerance for any form of ragging * Being senior does not give anyone any right to pull up others for anything * If you see any ragging, immediately inform authorites and even the police * Just pick your phone and call police if anyone rags you even in a small way * Make sure your college has an active anti-ragging cell * If college authorities don’t take small ragging complaints seriously, complain to your parents and the university * As responsible citizens of India we need to elimiate ragging in everyway * Please share this message with all your college going and other young friends Anti-Ragging Act, 2010 and under sections 377, 511, 504, 506, 384, 341 and 323 of the IPC, How Ragging Affects The Victim: 1. An unpleasant incident of ragging may leave a permanent scar in the victim’s mind that may haunt him for years to come. 2. The victim declines into a shell, forcing himself into ignominy and alienation from the rest of the world. 3. It demoralizes the victim who joins college life with many hopes and expectations. 4. Though incidents of physical assault and grievous injuries are not new, ragging also simultaneously causes grave psychological stress and trauma to the victim. 5†¦. WHAT IS RAGGING †¢Teasing, manhandling, ill-treating with rudeness any Fresher. †¢Psychological harm that raises fear in the mind of fresher. †¢Asking the fresher to perform any act, which has the effect of causing or generating a sense of shame so as to adversely affect his/her physique/psyche. RAGGING IS REPREHENSIBLE ACT †¢No act of ragging shall be tolerated. †¢Any act of ragging shall not go unnoticed and unpunished. PUNISHMENT MAY INCLUDE: †¢Expulsion from hostel. †¢Fine with public apology. †¢Withholding a scholarship or other benefit. †¢Debarring from representation in events or campus placement. †¢Adverse entry in Character Certificate. †¢Suspension from the institution. †¢Expulsion from the institution. PROCEDURE OF DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS: †¢If the appropriate authority is satisfied that a prima-facie case exists against the boarder he may be suspended from the hostel, pending a final enquiry. What constitutes Ragging: – Ragging constitutes one or more of any of the following acts:  3 a. any conduct by any student or students whether by words spoken or written or by an act which has the effect of teasing, treating or handling with rudeness a fresher or any other student; b. indulging in rowdy or undisciplined activities by any student or students which causes or is likely to cause annoyance, hardship, physical or psychological harm or to raise fear or apprehension thereof in any fresher or any other student; c. asking any student to do any act which such student will not in the ordinary course do and which has the effect of causing or generating a sense of shame, or torment or embarrassment so as to adversely affect the physique or psyche of such fresher or any other student; d. any act by a senior student that prevents, disrupts or disturbs the regular academic activity of any other student or a fresher; e. exploiting the services of a fresher or any other student for completing the academic tasks assigned to an individual or a group of students. f. any act of financial extortion or forceful expenditure burden put on a fresher or any other student by students; g. any act of physical abuse including all variants of it: sexual abuse, homosexual assaults, stripping, forcing obscene and lewd acts, gestures, causing bodily harm or any other danger to health or person; h. any act or abuse by spoken words, emails, posts, public insults which would also include deriving perverted pleasure, vicarious or sadistic thrill from actively or passively participating in the discomfiture to fresher or any other student; i. any act that affects the mental health and self-confidence of a fresher or any other student with or without an intent to derive a sadistic pleasure or showing off power, authority or superiority by a student over any fresher or any other student. 5. Measures for prevention of ragging:- It shall be mandatory for every technical Institution, University, deemed to be University imparting technical education to take following measures for prevention of ragging at such institutions. 1. The advertisement issued for admission by a technical institution, University including Deemed to be University concerned and/or the admission authority/ affiliating University/State Govt./UT/Central Govt. as the case may be, shall clearly mention that ragging is totally banned and anyone found guilty of ragging and/or abetting ragging is liable to be punished. 2. The ‘Prospectus’ and other admission related documents shall contain directions of the Supreme Court Affiliating University/admission Authority/State Govt/Central Govt. shall make it mandatory for the institutions under their jurisdiction to compulsorily incorporate such information in their ‘Prospectus’. These Regulations shall be printed in the brochure of admission/instruction booklet for candidates. 3. The application form for admission/enrolment shall have a printed affidavit, preferably both in English and Hindi and/or in one of the regional languages. The affidavit should be filled up and signed by the  candidate to the effect that he/she is aware of the law regarding prohibition of ragging as well as the punishments, and that he/she, if found guilty of the offence of ragging and/or abetting ragging, is liable to be punished appropriately. 4. The application form shall also contain a printed affidavit, preferably both in English and Hindi and/or in one of the regional languages and the affidavit should be signed by the parent/guardian of the applicant to the effect that he/she is also aware of the law in this regard and agrees to abide by the punishment meted out to his/her ward in case the latter is found guilty of ragging and/or abetting ragging. 5. The application for admission shall be accompanied by a document along with the School Leaving Certificate/Character Certificate which shall include a report on the behavioral patter of the applicant, so that the institution can thereafter keep intense watch upon the student who has a negative entry in this regard. 6. A student seeking admission to the hostel shall have to submit another affidavit along with his/her application for hostel accommodation that he/she is also aware of the law in this regard and agrees to abide by the punishments meted out if he/she is found guilty of ragging and/or abetting ragging. 7. Every technical institution, University including Deemed to be University imparting technical education shall maintain a proper record of the affidavits obtained to ensure its safe up keep thereof,including digital copies of the affidavits and such digital copy should be made available to the AICTE or to an Agency identified/nominated by AICTE. 8. The AICTE or an Agency identified/nominated for the purpose and affiliating Universities and Directorate of Technical Education of the concerned State Govt./UT shall maintain an appropriate data base of the affidavits in the digital form obtained from every student at the time of admission to the technical institutions, Universities including Deemed to be Universities imparting technical education. 9. Each batch of freshers should be divided into small groups and each such group shall be assigned to a member of staff. Such staff member should interact individually with each member of the group on daily basis to ascertain the problems/difficulties, if any faced by the freshers in the Institution and extend necessary help. 10. Incase of freshers admitted to a Hostel it shall be the responsibility of the teacher incharge of the group to co-ordinate with the warden of the Hostel and to make surprise visits to the rooms in the hostel where the members of the group are lodged. Freshers should be lodged in a separate hostel block wherever possible and where such facilities are not available, the college/institution shall ensure that seniors’ access to freshers’ accommodation is strictly monitored by wardens, Security Guards and Staff. 11. Every institution should engage or seek the assistance of professional counselors at the time of admissions to counsel ‘freshers’ in order to prepare them for the life ahead, particularly for adjusting to the life in hostels. At the commencement of the academic session the Head of the technical Institution, University including Deemed to be University imparting technical education shall convene and address a meeting of various functionaries/agencies, like Wardens, representatives of students, parents/guardians, faculty, district administration including police, to discuss the measures to be taken to prevent ragging and steps to be taken to identify the offenders and punish them suitably. 12. Every fresher admitted to the technical Institution, University including Deemed to be University imparting technical education shall be given a printed information booklet detailing when and whom he/she has to turn to for help and guidance for various purposes (including Wardens, Head of the institution, members of the anti–ragging committee, relevant district and police authorities), addresses and telephone numbers of such persons/authorities, etc. 13. The technical institutions, University including Deemed to be University imparting technical education through the information booklet mentioned 6  above shall explain to the new entrants the arrangements for their induction and orientation which promote efficient and effective means of integrating them fully as students. 14. The information booklet mentioned above shall also tell the freshers about their rights as bona fide students and clearly instructing them that they should desist from doing anything against their will even if ordered by the seniors, and that they have nothing to fear as the institution cares for them and shall not tolerate any atrocities against them. 15. The information booklet mentioned above shall contain a calendar of events and activities laid down by the institution to facilitate and complement familiarization of juniors with the academic environment of the institution. 16. To make the community at large and the students in particular aware of the dehumanizing effect of ragging, and the approach of the institution towards those indulging in ragging, big posters (preferably with different colors for the provisions of law, punishments, etc.) shall be prominently displayed on all Notice Boards of all departments, hostels and other buildings as well as at vulnerable places Some of such posters shall be of permanent nature in certain vulnerable places. 17. The technical Institution, University including Deemed to be University imparting technical education shall request the media to give adequate publicity to the law prohibiting ragging and the negative aspects of ragging and the institutions ‘s resolve to ban ragging and punish those found guilty without fear or favor. 18. The technical Institution, University including Deemed to be University imparting technical education shall identify, properly illuminate and man all vulnerable locations. 19. The technical Institution, University including Deemed to be University imparting technical education shall tighten security in its premises, especially at the vulnerable places. If necessary, intense policing shall be resorted to at such points at odd hours during the early months of the academic session. 20. The technical Institution, University including Deemed to be University imparting technical education shall utilize the vacation  period before the start of the new academic year to launch wide publicity campaign against ragging through posters, information booklets, seminars, street plays, etc. 7 21. The faculties/departments/units of the technical Institution, University including Deemed to be University imparting technical education shall have induction arrangements (including those which anticipate, identify and plan to meet any special needs of any specific section of students) in place well in advance of the beginning of the academic year with a clear sense of the main aims and objectives of the induction process. 22. Mobile Phones and other communication devices may be permitted in residential areas including hostels to provide access to the students particularly freshers, to reach out for help from teachers, parents and Institution authorities. Monitoring mechanism in technical institution, University including Deemed to be University imparting technical education:- a) Anti-ragging Committee: Every institution University including Deemed to be University imparting technical education shall constitute a Committee to be known as the Anti-ragging Committee to be nominated and headed by the Head of the Institution, and consisting of representatives of civil and police administration, local media, Non Government Organizations involved in youth activities, representatives of faculty members, representatives of parents, representatives of students belonging to the freshers’ category as well as senior students, non-teaching staff; and shall have a diverse mix of membership in terms of level as well as gender. b) It shall be the duty of the Anti-Ragging Committee to ensure compliance with the provisions of these Regulations as well as the provisions of any law for the time being in force concerning ragging; and also to monitor and oversee the performance of the Anti-Ragging Squad in prevention of ragging in the institution. c) Anti-Ragging Squad: Every institution University including Deemed to be  University imparting technical education shall also constitute a smaller body to be known as the Anti-Ragging Squad to be nominated by the Head of the Institution with such representation as may be considered necessary for maintaining vigil, oversight and patrolling functions and shall remain mobile, alert and active at all times. Provided that the Anti-Ragging Squad shall have representation of various members of the campus community and shall have no outside representation. d) It shall be the duty of the Anti-Ragging Squad to be called upon to make surprise raids on hostels, and other places vulnerable to incidents and having the potential for ragging and shall be empowered to inspect such places. 8 e) It shall also be the duty of the Anti-Ragging Squad to conduct an on-the-spot enquiry into any incidents of ragging referred to it by the Head of the institution or any member of the faculty or any member of the staff or any student or any parent or guardian or any employee of a service provider or by any other person, as the case may be; and the enquiry report along with recommendations shall be submitted to the Anti-Ragging Committee for action. Provided that the Anti-Ragging Squad shall conduct such enquiry observing a fair and transparent procedure and the principles of natural justice and after giving adequate opportunity to the student or students accused of ragging and other witnesses to place before it the facts, documents and views concerning the incidents of ragging, and considerations such other relevant information as may be required. Actions to be taken against students for indulging and abetting ragging in technical institutions Universities including Deemed to be University imparting technical education:- 1. The punishment to be meted out to the persons indulged in ragging has to be exemplary and justifiably harsh to act as a deterrent against recurrence of such incidents. 2. Every single incident of ragging a First Information Report (FIR) must be filed without exception by the institutional authorities with the local police authorities. 3. The Anti-Ragging Committee of the institution shall take an appropriate decision, with regard to punishment or otherwise, depending on the facts of each incident of ragging and nature and gravity of the incident of ragging. 4. a) Depending upon the nature and gravity of the offence as established the possible punishments for those found guilty of ragging at the institution level shall be any one or any combination of the following:- (i) Cancellation of admission (ii) Suspension from attending classes (iii) Withholding/withdrawing scholarship/fellowship and other benefits (iv) Debarring from appearing in any test/examination or other evaluation process (v) Withholding results (vi) Debarring from representing the institution in any regional, national or international meet, tournament, youth festival, etc. (vii) Suspension/expulsion from the hostel (viii) Rustication from the institution for period ranging from 1 to 4 semesters (ix) Expulsion from the institution and consequent debarring from admission to any other institution. (x) Collective punishment: when the persons committing or abetting the crime of ragging are not identified, the institution shall resort to collective punishment as a deterrent to ensure community pressure on the potential raggers. b) An appeal against the order of punishment by the Anti-Ragging Committee shall lie, 11 i. In case of an order of an institution, affiliated to or constituent part, of the University, to the Vice-Chancellor of the University; ii. In case of an order of a University, to its Chancellor. iii. In case of an institution of national importance created by an Act of Parliament, to the Chairman or Chancellor of the  institution, as the case may be. 5. The institutional authorities shall intimate the incidents of ragging occurred in their premises along with actions taken to the Council form time to time. 9 Action to be taken against the technical Institution, University including Deemed to be University imparting technical education which fail to take measures for prevention of ragging:- 1. Role of the concerned technical institutions, Universities including Deemed to be Universities imparting technical education shall be open to scrutiny for the purpose of finding out whether they have taken effective steps for preventing ragging and action taken against provision indulged and/or abetting ragging. The Council shall constitute Committees to inspect technical institutions, Universities including Deemed to be Universities imparting technical education to verify the status of anti ragging measures and to investigate specific instances of ragging and take appropriate action. 2. The technical Institution, University including Deemed to be University imparting technical education should submit an affidavit along with its compliance report submitted to AICTE annually with details of measures taken for prevention of ragging in technical institutions. The Compliance Report should also contain the details of the instances of ragging and action taken against students, and others for indulging and abetting ragging. 3. All Letters of Approval issued by AICTE such as extension of approval letters, letters issued for additional courses/increase in intake and letters issued for new technical institutions, release of grants, letters of approval issued to integrated campus, second shift etc. shall contain a specific clause of prevention of ragging. 4. The AICTE shall, in respect of any institution that fails to take adequate steps to prevent ragging or fails to act in accordance with these Regulations or fails to punish perpetrators or incidents of ragging suitably, take one of more of the following measures, namely; i. No admission/Withdrawal of approval granted under section 10(k) of AICTE Act. ii. Withholding any grant allocated. iii. Declaring the institution ineligible for consideration for any assistance under any of the general or special assistance programmes of the AICTE. iv. Informing the general public, including potential candidates for admission, through a notice displayed prominently in the newspapers or other suitable media and posted on the website of the AICTE, declaring that the institution does not possess the minimum academic standards. v. Taking such other action within its powers as it may deem fit and impose such other penalties as may be provided in the Act for such duration of time as the institution complies with the provisions of these Regulations. 5. As regards the Universities including Deemed to be Universities imparting technical education the actions proposed to be taken such as stopping release of grants, withdrawal of approval/recognition will be sent to University Grants Commission (UGC), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Govt. of India and the concerned State Govt./UT. The UGC, MHRD Govt. of India, and the State Govt./UT concerned shall initiate immediate action on the recommendations of the Council.

IP 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IP 3 - Essay Example This fallacy involves two steps, which include attacking the character of the author of the claim made and taking the attack as evidence against the argument made by the author in question, (Mills & Hard pressed Poetry, 2002). The following represents an example of this kind of fallacy This fallacy involves presentation of an irrelevant topic to divert attention from the initial subject matter. The underlying idea in this fallacy is to influence a win through leading the attention away from the claim to another subject (Mills & Hard pressed Poetry, 2002). Consider the following example I suppose there is immense advantage in making the requirements of the graduate students stricter. I advocate that you add weight on it support it, too. After all, we are undergoing a budget predicament and we need not to have our salaries affected. This fallacy provides a biased exchange by asking a question that has an unfounded supposition constructed right into the question with the aim of manipulating the answer given (Mills & Hard pressed Poetry, 2002). The following example presents this fallacy. This fallacy is committed when an argument attempts to determine the causal connection by mistake. There are two primary interrelated types. They include Post hoc ergo propter hoc which involves an argument that one event was caused by another just because it happened after the said event. In addition, the causal connections are hard to determine and the Non-Causa pro Causa which implies no cause for a cause (Mills & Hard pressed Poetry, 2002). Consider the following example. This is a kind of fallacy where an author applies a supposition in un-wanted position. It involves using of a common statement in a more general manner (Mills & Hard pressed Poetry, 2002). Consider the following example. This fallacy involves an assertion from a person that a certain occurrence must predictably follow from another without any claim

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL STRATEGY Coursework Assignment

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Decision Making - Case Study Example Dave finds himself worked up in relation to meeting the deadline of making a computer software. The problem results in Dave’s departmental chaos as well as crippling of the finance department. As much as the staff met the deadline, the process caused problems to the performance of the firm as a whole. The relevance of the decision-making steps in this work is, therefore, to give an insight into the best approaches to managing stressful situations. The first step in decision-making is to identify the problem or opportunity (Marrelli, Massimo and Giacomo 23). For instance, in the case study, Alex took the time to realize that there was a problem in Dave’s department because of their crash programs in meeting deadline. From the case study, the primary problem was the fact that Dave and his department’s predicaments caused a standstill in the operations of the finance department. There was also the risk that the company faced possible failures in the delivery of their product to its client. The third problem was the fact that Dave’s department struggled too much to meet the expected deadline when they had had the whole week to work comfortably. The second step in the process is to gather all the relevant information from the case. For this case, such a move is essential in determining the relevance of the likely decision to the case. It gives the decision-makers a chance to know what is relevant to the decision they want to make and to determine who else can help in solving it. In the case study, Alex took the time studying Dave’s behavior and took him out for coffee during which he learned critical aspects of his predicament. Next, it is necessary to analyze the situation, which will give the decision-maker a chance to learn the probable causes of the condition. There is also the need that the concerned parties weigh the possibilities of their decision on the

U.S. manned spaceflight proram Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

U.S. manned spaceflight proram - Essay Example Space travels have now become an integral part of the exploration programs in the outer world. These travels are undertaken with the stated objectives of carrying out researches and scientific studies. During the cold war era, when both USSR and USA were busy in upstaging each other's maneuvers the spaceflight program got a big boost.Both countries used to suspect each other's motives and tried to be the first with the latest technology to spy from the outer world. All this, no doubt, enriched the space exploration program, but it came at a huge cost attached to it. This led to severe criticism of such a program and questions were being raised on the utility of such a program. With the disintegration of USSR into many smaller nations the race has come to a halt and now we have only one super-power, but the space program continues. It not only has strategic importance, but there are vast possibilities for the scientific community to know the nature, the environment, the surroundings o f the earth etc. It appears little far fetched, but to explore the possibilities of life in the outer space will also be known only when we continue with the space exploration program. It is indeed capital intensive, and the outcome cannot be quantified in general terms, but it is also a fact that not every nation can afford to have such an ability to spend on exploring the outer world. Colino (1987) contends that when reviewing the space exploration program of U.S. a perceptible change in the policy is quite apparent. 'While in the 1960s and 1970s, U.S. space policy focused on given objectives ranging from national security, to Cold War competition with the Soviet Union, to the belief that exploration of space for learning, knowledge and, perhaps simply, "because it's there" were worthy goals per se. These clearly stated objectives fueled the most successful American space initiatives, many of which were conducted directly, openly, and, in some areas, with extensive international c ooperation.' Now the international community too is actively cooperating with America in the different forms to understand the intricacies of outer space. The financial aspect is of course looked mainly from the American pocket, and that is quite understandable as well. We cannot expect the countries like the third world nations, showing active interest in the space exploration program, to finance such projects. In fact from strategic point of view an international partnership in such projects gives scope for a better understanding amongst nations, which in turn helps in lessening the political rivalry and brings up the mutual trust, a prerequisite for world peace. Manned spaceflight provides more room for exploring the potentials of outer world, studying and analyzing the extraterrestrial activities etc. Manned spaceflights no doubt puts the life of the individual/s on great risk, but it is worthwhile here to mention that with the help of unmanned spaceflights we can only have a limited success in such explorations. Russian space traveler Yuri Garagin was the first one to go up there in 1961, but now American adventures have gone many steps ahead of Russia, thanks to the consistent efforts from the respective US governments. Mr. Steven Weinberg has been questioning the motives and utility of such space programs. The International Space Station (ISS) program in particular has come in the firing line, for not producing scientific results commensurate with the kind of investments (Prechtl and Whitesides, 2007). But, such are the risks with the scientific programs whatsoever. The research community is busy looking out a cure for AIDS, but so far they've not been able to come out with any credible cure for the disease.

Things That Drive Me Crazy Essay Example for Free

Things That Drive Me Crazy Essay Going to the gym to work out after a full day of classes is my chance to unplug and escape from the day’s tension. Once I warm up and begin to get pumped, I head right into my exercise zone and don’t want to be distracted. However nothing irks me more than someone using a cellphone while working out. There are signs everywhere asking patrons to avoid using electronic devices but some people completely ignore them. Listening to a girl carry on a loud lengthy conversation about her boyfriend infuriates me. Not only does conversations about people’s personal lives irate me it can’t be safe. I mean do these people come to the gym to work out or talk on their phones? People have this ridiculous sense of self-importance, where all the other people trying to exercise in peace for an hour dont matter. Even more exasperating is the guy sitting on a weight bench talking about all the money he is making while others are waiting to use the equipment. I have tried giving people like this a nasty glare in the hopes they would take the hint. Nonetheless they continue with their conversations ignoring me. I was recently in a cycling class and a girl actually got off of her bike to answer her phone during the class. Are you kidding me? I don’t get it. You make time to get to the gym, set up for the class, get into the zone and get off your bike to answer a phone. Forty-five minutes to take a class and you can’t resist the temptation to answer your phone? Shut if off already. There really is no way to deal with situation except wear earphones, which I started doing. Some people complain to management and signs have been posted yet the situation continues a friend of mine told me the same situation exists at his gym and nothing is done about it.

The Tragedy of the Holocaust Essay Example for Free

The Tragedy of the Holocaust Essay Most individuals in society think of literature as just a simple story that the author creates. What most individuals don’t know is that authors have a meaning for writing literature, not just simply for pleasure. Most authors write literature to show a message to the audience whether it’s a personal story or a historical event. The author does this by providing the audience with visual image and emotion that is created throughout the story. In the short story â€Å"The Shawl†, author Cynthia Ozick shows the audience the horrible events that took place during the Holocaust and how much individuals suffered during this time. While reading â€Å"The Shawl†, the reader can feel and imagine throughout the book all the suffering and pain that the Holocaust caused the Jewish people. This short story is great for individuals to know what really took place during this time in life and why it’s so important to make sure that our society never turns to this again. After an Individual reads the short story â€Å"The Shawl†, one will see the tragic events that happened during the holocaust. Author Cynthia Ozick starts of her short story by introducing the three sisters that are the main characters in the story, which are Magdna, Rosa and Bella. Rosa was the oldest sister, Bella was fourteen years old and Madna was just a fifteen-month-old baby. Age difference during the Holocaust did not matter. If you were a baby, child, teenager or adult, German soldiers were determine to kill any Jewish individual during this time. Another thing during the Holocaust was how horrible the living conditions were in the concentration camps. While reading, the audience can imagine the living scene at the concentration camp. As Rosa describes the scene of the concentration camp, the audience can picture seeing dirt, bugs and diseases that surrounded them. Rosa also informs the audience of how beauty can be so close to evil. While Rosa is looking inside the concentration camp she sees an electric fence holding her sisters and herself in the darkness. Rosa states about the electric fence that, â€Å"The farther she was from the fence, the more clearly the voices crowded her. The lamenting voices strummed so convincingly, so passionately, it was impossible to suspect them of being phantoms†(Ozick, pg.2655). On the other side of the fence, Rosa explains seeing the beauty of nature that most individuals today take for granted. While Rosa is rushing trying to give Magda back her shawl, she notices outside the beauty of nature standing outside the iron electric fence. Rosa states, â€Å"On the other side of the steel fence, far away, there were green meadows speckled with dandelions and deep-colored violets; beyond them, even farther, innocent tiger lilies, tall, lifting their orange bonnets (Ozick, pg2655). As Rosa shares this vision with the audience, it’s sad to see how you can see something beautiful but yet it’s far away and individuals like Rosa are stuck behind the iron electric fence that is guarding them from this beauty. Rosa shows a point that in our society, we take the nature of beauty for granted. We go by life way to fast to actually stop and look at the beauty that nature provides. Rosa needed something to have hope and have something to look for and the beauty of nature brought her peace while suffering during the Holocaust. It’s the little things in life that helped the Jewish individuals make it threw the Holocaust. Rosa states that, â€Å"In the barracks they spoke of flowers of rain: excrement, thick turd-braids, and the slow stinking maroon waterfall that slunk down from the upper bunks, the stink mixed with a bitter fatty floating smoke that greased Rosa’s skin† (Ozick, pg2655). It’s frightening to know that in our society wherever we are, true evil can be so close to pure beauty. The Holocaust is a great example of how the beauty of nature is yet so close to the horrifying concentration camps. Another issue that Ozick shows in her short story, â€Å"The Shawl† is jealousy. Since many people were suffering during the Holocaust, many Jewish individuals living in the concentration camps were jealous of one another due to the condition of other Jewish individuals clothes or others having more food. Like any other story, Ozick show’s the good guy and bad guy throughout her short story. Ruth, the older sister, puts her life at risk to make sure that her fifteen-month-old sister Magda is safe while Stella, the other sister, was jealous of her little sister Magda. During the Holocaust, many Jewish individuals had to work all day and walk everywhere that they went; there was hardly any rest. When all three sisters would walk, Magda would be carried and wrapped in the shawl. As Stella saw this, her Jealousy and hatred grew more to her little sister Magda. The narrator states that,â€Å" Sometimes Stella carried Magda, But she was jealous of Magda†(Ozick, pg2653). Another thing that Stella was Jealous of Magda was the shawl that she had. Rosa always had Magda wrapped around her. The shawl was Magda safety net. Everywhere that Magda went, she was always wrapped around in the shawl and every time Rosa would leave the barracks, she would always hide Magda with the shawl. One cold day, Stella went up to Magda and simply took her shawl away from her. When Rosa asked why Stella did this she simply stated, â€Å"She was cold† (Ozick, pg2654). By how jealous and selfish Stella was to her sister, this action of taking away Magda shawl resulted in Magda death. Ozick shows throughout her short story how many Jewish individuals suffered from hunger during the concentration camps. Magda was just a baby and needed all the food she could get in order to survive. There would be times that Rosa would not be able to provide food for Magda, which would result in Rosa taking the corner of the shawl and milking it. Rosa states, â€Å"She sucked and sucked, flooding threads with wetness. The shawl’s good flavor, milk of linen† (Ozick, pg2653). Starvation during the Holocaust also made some Jewish individuals violent and selfish. Stella would not give any food to her sister Magda and would keep everything for herself. Rosa would state that during the Holocaust, â€Å"Stella was ravenous, a growing child herself, but not growing much â€Å"(Ozick, pg2653). Rosa was also frightened of others eating Magda by how tiny she was. Some Jewish individuals during the Holocaust started to turn evil just to get something to eat and a way for them to survive. If it was the result of killing a baby for food, then some Jewish individuals would. Even Magda own sister Stella thought about eating her. That is how horrible hunger had gotten to some Jewish individuals. One day, Ruth states that it sounded that Stella said, â€Å"Lets us devour her†(Ozick, pg2654) to another individual in the concentration camp. Each day when Rosa would leave Magda in the barrack, she would always worry that someone would kill her for food. The description that Ozick gives throughout her short story of how skinny the Jews were in the concentration camps shows the audience how much the Jews suffered from starvation. The author states, â€Å"The weight of Rosa was becoming less and less; Rosa and Stella were slowly turning into air â€Å"(Ozick, pg2654). At the end of the short story â€Å"The Shawl†, Ozick shows the audience how heartless the German solder’s, also known as the â€Å"Nazi Party†, were during the Holocaust. When Stella takes away Magda shawl, Magda steps outside her confront zone. In panic, Magda searches everywhere in the concentration camp to find her shawl. As Rosa waives the shawl to her, she sees a German solider carrying her out of the distance; it’s to late to save her. Rosa states as Magda was being carried of in the distance â€Å" She was no bigger than a moth†(Ozick, pg2655). Even though Magda was just an innocent baby searching for her shawl, the German soldiers did not care, their hearts were cold. While Rosa tells the audience about seeing Magda being taking away farther and farther, the reader can feel how heartbroken Rosa is watching her little baby sister being carried to her death. Rosa states, â€Å"All at once Magda was swimming through the air. The whole of Magna travel though loftiness. She looked like a butterfly touching a silver vine†(Ozick, pg1981). The Holocaust is one of the most tragic events in our history. It’s important that individuals know and understand what happened during this tragic time. Author Cynthia Ozick short story, â€Å"The shawl† is a great way for individuals to read, see and feel the pain and suffering that went on during the Holocaust. The author also does a great job explaining the Jewish life while living in concentration camps and seeing the struggles that Jewish individuals had to face. This time period was one of the darkest times in our society. It is important that we never forgot the Holocaust so that way nothing wicked like this will ever happen again in our society. The Holocaust and all the Jewish people that suffered and lost their lives during this time period will never be forgotten.

Strategic options to globalisation

Strategic options to globalisation Different organizations around the world strive to expand and grow. Igor Ansoffs matrix is a tool that helps businesses decide their product and market growth strategy. Ansoffs product/growth matrix suggests that a business attempts to grow depend on whether it markets new or existing products in new or existing markets. The output from Ansoffs matrix is a series of suggested growth strategies that a set direction for the business strategy. They are as follows: Market penetration. Selling existing products existing markets. Product development. Selling new products to existing markets. Market development. Existing products being sold to new markets. Diversification. Selling new products to new markets. The report explores the strategies mentioned above in detail and provides examples of global firms that have used the strategies. INTRODUCTION Globalisation is the gradual integration and growing interdependence of natural economies. It allows firms to view the world as an integrated market place. Firms will use different methods to expand. METHODOLOGY The contents of this report were acquired by research, that is, by reading different books as well as the internet. MARKET PENETRATION This strategy applies to selling an existing product in an existing market. It is suitable in a growing market which is as yet not saturated. Market penetration seeks to achieve four main objectives: Maintain or increase the market share of current products- this can be achieved by a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion and perhaps more resources dedicated to personal selling. Secure dominance of growth markets Restructure a mature market by driving out competitors, this would require a much more aggressive promotional campaign supported by a pricing strategy designed to make the market unattractive for competitors. Increase usage by existing customers, for example by introducing loyalty schemes. . An example of market penetration is recognizing that software as a service can be a potent market penetration tool, Dell is assembling a services portfolio that now includes e-mail disaster recovery, spam/virus filtering and archiving via its messageOne acquisition.(www.soopertutorials.com). It is unlikely for this strategy to require much investment in new market research as it is likely that the firm will have good information on competitors and customer needs. The typical risk of market penetration is that it may lead to price wars with competitors with the same strategy and low pricing could be detrimental to the perceived brand value and to the company reputation. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT This involves developing new products to sell in existing markets. It is usually employed with branded goods so that the qualities of the new product are linked to the customers confidence in the established brand. This strategy may require the development of new competences and builds on customer loyalty. New product development can be an amendment of existing products in order to produce products which are new to the market or it can totally be innovative. The Booz Allen Hamilton model outlines the stages of new product development as follows: IDEA GENERATION Ideas are collected from perhaps the sales force, distributors and customers. The company actively looks for opportunities, and new products can be produced in response to a perceived, or recognized demand. Ideas must be collected, considered feasibility and eventually passed to people who are responsible for screening. SCREENING The firm will set a certain criteria, for example the product must fit with the rest of the range; there must be a recognized level of demand; it must give a stated level of profit. Assuming some ideas meet the criteria, they are then passed on to people responsible for the next stage. CONCEPT TESTING This is not a product test but an idea test. The idea is taken to potential buyers as well as to the internal processing people to check on manufacture, packaging, distribution. OUTLINING POSSIBLE MARKETING STRATEGIES The results of the concept testing can help a company to decide just how it will market the product. Discussions made at this time depend a great deal not only on the results of the concept testing but also o the knowledge of the marketplace and the planning skills of the marketers involved. Knowledge of the marketplace is something which requires research. BUSINESS ANALYSIS It is here that potential profits are compared to the production and marketing costs to see if its worth proceeding. It is at this stage that products are often rejected as they do not demonstrate enough potential earnings in a given period of time, whereas given the appropriate support they may actually be products which could give huge profits over a longer period of time. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT To begin manufacturing a new product is a risky venture. Because of this some manufacturers will choose to produce a prototype, or small batches, in order to test effectiveness before they give full commitment to production. The effort in producing in small quantities adds to the expense and time involved, not to mention the possibility of the competition becoming aware of what the company is doing. TEST MARKETING The product is introduced to a representative sample of the potential market. Although it may be expensive, it is better to use more than one testing area so that comparisons can be made. Different prices, advertisements, methods of distribution and perhaps even packaging may be used in different areas so that the company can see which methods are most effective. The problems that arise at his stage include: Buyers people often buy a product just to try it. They may like it and tell a researcher so, but will often revert back to their normal purchases because of brand loyalty. Distributors and suppliers they may be willing to give a new product exposure because of an introductory incentive, but once the incentive is withdrawn they may not be so willing to cooperate. Competition if they have relatively similar products, competitors may take defensive action and introduce promotional activity that will undermine the testing. COMMERCIALISATION This is the full scale manufacture and launch of the product onto the marketplace. If all of he stages have been carried out correctly, the product should have a good chance of success. An example of a firm that used the product development strategy is Hewlett and Packard who practiced allocating work time to encourage new designs. Another example is the Apple iPhone has been such a success and the company now dominates the smart phone world.(Michael Malone) The risks of product development are uncertainty of new technology, teething troubles of the new products and time pressure due to competition. MARKET DEVELOPMENT This involves offering an existing product in a new market. This strategy is used when a regional business wants to expand, or when new markets are opening up. Market development might take three forms: New segments. For example in the public services, a college might offer its educational services to older students than its traditional intake, perhaps via evening courses. New users. Here an example would be aluminium, whose original users packaging and cutlery manufacture are now supplemented by users in aerospace and automobiles. New geographies. The prime example of this is internationalization. The four risks of internationalization are commercial risk, currency risk, country risk, cross-cultural risk. When selecting an entry strategy, managers should consider the following six variables: The goals and objectives of the firm, such as profitability and market share. Unique conditions in the target country such as legal, cultural, economic circumstances, as well as the nature of business infrastructure, such as distribution and transport systems. The nature and extent of competition from existing rivals and from firms that may enter the market later. The characteristics of the product or service to be offered to customers in the market. The financial, organizational, and technological resources and capabilities available to the firm. The risks inherent in each proposed foreign venture in relation to the firms and objectives in pursuing internationalization. A firm can use the following strategies when entering new markets geographically. EXPORTING Exporting is the strategy of producing products or services (often the producers home country), and selling and distributing them to customers located in other countries. There are two types of exporting Indirect exporting which is accomplished by contracting with intermediaries located in the firms home market. Direct exporting that is accomplished by contracting with intermediaries located in the foreign market. Firms venturing abroad for the first time usually use exporting as their entry strategy. Exporting is also the entry strategy most favored by small and medium sized enterprises. Advantages of exporting Increased overall sales volume, improve market share, and generate profit margins that are often more favorable than in the domestic market. Diversify customer base, reducing dependence on home markets. It minimizes risk and maximizes flexibility as compared to other entry strategies. It avoids substantial costs of establishing manufacturing operations in the host country. Increases economies of scale therefore and reduces per-unit cost of manufacturing. Lower cost of market entry since the firm does not have to invest in the target market or maintain a physical presence there. This is how Sony came to dominate the global TV market, how Japanese automakers made inroads in the U.S market and how South Korean firms such as Samsung gained market share in computer memory chips. location to the rest of the world. The more successful managers use a systematic approach to improve the firms prospects by assessing the potential markets, organizing the firm to undertake exporting, acquiring appropriate skills and competencies, and implementing export operations. FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT This is an internationalization strategy in which the firm establishes a physical presence abroad through acquisition of productive assets such as capital, technology, labor, land, plant and equipment. Foreign direct investment is characterized by six key features. It represents greater resource commitment. It has far more taxing on the resources and capabilities than any other entry strategy. It implies local presence and operations. It allows the firm to achieve global scale efficiency, which helps enhance the performance of the firm. It entails substantial risk and uncertainty because establishing a permanent fixed presence in a foreign country makes the firm vulnerable to specific circumstances in that country. Investors must deal more intensively with particular social and cultural variables presenting the host market. Multi national firms increasingly strive to behave in socially responsible ways in host countries. STRATEGIC ALLIANCES Strategic alliances refer to cooperative agreements between potential or actual competitors. Strategic alliances range from formal joint ventures, in which firms have high equity stakes (Fuji-Xerox), to short term contractual agreements, in which two companies agree to cooperate on a particular task. Advantages of strategic alliances Strategic alliances facilitate entry into foreign markets. Alliances allow firms to share fixed costs of developing new products and processes. Alliances are a way of bringing together complementary skills and assets that neither company could easily develop on its own. Disadvantages of strategic alliances They give competitors a low cost route to new technology and markets. Unless a firm is careful it can give away more than it receives. JOINT VENTURES A joint venture entails establishing a firm that is jointly owned by two or more otherwise independent firms. The firm benefits from the local partners knowledge of the host countrys competitive conditions, culture, language, political, systems and business systems. When risks and costs of opening a foreign market are high a firm might gain by sharing these costs or risks with a local partner. A firm entering into a joint venture risks giving control of its technology to its partner. However, joint venture agreements can be contracted to minimize this risk. LICENSING A licensing agreement is an arrangement whereby a licensor grants the rights to intangible property to another entity (the licensee) for a specified period and in return receives a royalty fee from the licensee. Intangible property includes patents, inventions, formulas, processes, designs, copyrights and trademarks. High technological firms routinely license their patents and know-how to foreign companies. For example, Disney licenses the right to use its cartoon characters in the production of shirts and hats to clothing manufacturers in Hong Kong. Disney also licenses its trademark names and logos to manufacturers of apparel, toys and watches for sale worldwide. Coca-Cola has licensed its famous trademark to clothing manufacturers, which have incorporated the design into clothing. Many firms have made the mistake of thinking they could maintain control over their know-how within the framework of the licensing agreement. RCA corporation for example, once licensed its colour TV technology to Japanese firms including Sony. These firms quickly assimilated the technology, improved on it, and used it to enter the US market, taking substantial market share away from RCA. TURNKEY CONTRACTING This refers to an arrangement where the focal firm or a consortium of firms plans, finances, organizes, manages, and implements all phases of a project abroad and then hands it over to a foreign customer after training local personnel. Turnkey projects are most common in the chemical, pharmaceutical, petroleum refining, and metal refining industries, all of which use complex, expensive production technologies. For example, many Western firms that sold oil-refining technology to firms in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other gulf states now find themselves competing with these firms in the world oil market. FRANCHISING Franchising is an advanced form of licensing in which the focal firm allows an entrepreneur the right to use an entire business system in exchange for compensation. The franchisor will often assist the franchisee to run the business on an on going basis. McDonalds is a good example of a firm that has grown by using franchising strategy. McDonalds strict rules as to how franchises should operate a restaurant extend to control over the menu, cooking methods, staffing policies and design and location. McDonalds also organizes the supply chain for its franchises and provides management training and financial assistance. Another example is the curves fitness center which was ranked the number two franchise in 2004 by the entrepreneur magazine. . DIVERSIFICATION Diversification is the name given to the growth strategy where a business markets new products to new markets. This has the advantage of preventing the company from relying too much on its existing strategic business units. Diversification might be chosen for a variety of reasons, some more value creating than others. Potential value creating reasons for diversification areas follows. Efficiency gains can be made by applying the organizations existing resources or capabilities to new markets and products or services. These are often referred to as economies of scope. Stretching corporate parenting capabilities into new markets and products or services can be another source of gain. In a sense, this extends to a point above about applying existing competences in new areas. Increasing marketing power can result from having a diverse range of businesses. There are two types of diversification these are related diversification and unrelated diversification. RELATED DIVERSIFICATION This is when a company develops beyond its present product and market whilst remaining in the same area. This form of diversification can occur by: Backward diversification, when activities related to inputs in the business are developed further backing the value chain. Forward diversification, when activities are further forward in the value chain. Horizontal diversification, when a company develops interests complementary to its current activities. An example, internet search company Google has spread horizontally into news mages and maps and other services. UNRELATED DIVERSIFICATION This is used to describe a company moving beyond its present interests, that is, it moves beyond its current capabilities and value network. Unrelated diversification is often referred to as a conglomerate strategy because there are no obvious economies of scope between the different businesses. Examples of unrelated diversification include: the easy Group which consists of easy Jet, easy internet cafà ©, easy car, easyValue.com and easy.com. Virgin media which moved from music producing to travels and mobile phones. Walt Disney which moved from producing animated movies to theme parks and vacation properties. The typical risks of diversification include It requires a company to acquire new skills , new technologies and new facilities Insufficient know how Insufficient management span of control May require risky acquisitions Loss of brand focus or credibility RECOMMENDATIONS Market penetration is generally the cheapest strategy to adopt. It is the least risky and is especially suitable for small and medium sized firms that may not afford to develop new products and/or enter new markets. Before taking up product development or diversification, a firm should ensure extreme research and development that the new product and/or venture is viable as it is costly to develop new products as new technologies have to be purchased and employees would have to be trained on the new practices. It takes time to be effective. CONCLUSION In conclusion it can be seen that global firms can apply any one of Ansoffs strategies in an attempt to expand and grow be it in their existing markets or new ones, and their current product offering or new ones.

Race and Racism - Racial Implications of an Advertisment Essay

Race and Racism - Racial Implications of an Advertisment The other day, as I was trying to find a picture for this assignment, I stumbled across the picture at the top of the "personals" section of a local paper. On the surface, it seemed racially balanced. It certainly wasn't structured to make an outward statement about race. However, just the way it's laid out reflects subtle and probably unconscious judgements of the nature of race, and how it affects us. It has small, individual photos of six people, of varying race and age. The two people farthest to the left are a bit older, perhaps in their forties. I was not sure about one of the pictures: my first opinion was that it was a young Hispanic man, but she is really a partially African female. In short, there was variety here. However, the ad uses race to sell by avoiding the implication of interracial relationships, showing predominantly "white" people, and showing a mix of people from different races. The ad does not explicitly show an interracial couple, even though people of many races advertise in the personals. The ad seems to avoid pairing people together as couples too much. There aren't any words like "Look what perfect couple found each other!" The people probably are not professional models, either. The implication is that the people shown represent either the people who are advertising or all potential readers of an ad that one might place. Perhaps it is significant that there is a bit of a bias toward men in the ad; they are placed more to the left. A reader will generally see the men first as he scans the ad. This could mean that the service is trying to sell more to women. If so, it is also avoiding the implication that a customer might be placed in a ra... ... even though it is not likely. How many people look at the personal ads and decide not to date because they don't see their race there? Not many. That is what the creators of the ad intended. In a liberal society, people should not be overly concerned about racial differences when they are dating. They should not worry about class differences either. I have heard advice that it is harder for interracial couples to have a successful marriage, because of cultural differences, but the person who issued this hastily remarked that this was the only problem, and that one says a false doctrine by saying that one race or another is inferior. In the end, one could use this ad in racist or race-unifying arguments, in spite of the intentions of the authors. I am simply glad that I don't have to use it to find potential dating contacts. (At any rate, I haven't done so yet.)

The Lottery :: essays research papers

'Controversy and Conflict Hits the Lottery';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The short story 'The Lottery'; by Shirley Jackson is very well known because of the tradition of the village. Tradition is a big point issued to the people throughout their lives. The title 'The Lottery'; sounds as if something good is being given away. As you know after reading the story, that isn't the case at all. The tradition the village faces is very controversial. The tradition of the lottery is taken in many different ways, because it is unexamined. In particular, the conflict of the story can be seen in the contrast between Old Man Warner and Tessie Hutchinson.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The lottery is an annual event which takes place in the village. It takes place on the day of June 27. Everybody gathers on this date in the middle of the square for the drawing of the lottery. To the townspeople this event is like any other event happening in their town, such as a dance, club, or even a holiday program.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mr. Summers, the head of the lottery, has to gather the information of all the households the night before to make the list for the following day. He has to mix the papers up with the one with the black dot on it in the box. The head of the household picks the paper from the box to seen if their family drew the dot or not. This event takes just a few hours to accomplish. The losing family then has to draw to decide who will lose in the household. The person who draws the dot will then get stoned to death. This is a ritual for the townspeople each year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are people who agree and disagree with this annual event. The older people in the town are accustomed to this event; therefore, it is easier for them to understand it. The others who disagree are the younger people in the town. The controversy of this annual event will always be their. There are people that will and will not get accustomed to someone dying each year in their town. I can see how people are upset with this tradition. It is not a tradition I would want my town to be known for. It is hard for people to grow into an event with such a dramatic ending. The people of the town who are accustomed to it are the older folks.

Racial Discrimination and Class Prejudice

If someone said racism to you, what would you first think of? Would one think of black and white people straight away? If so, you need to understand that racism isn’t just about skin colour it’s about where you’re from, what religion you are and often different parts of a country are split due to racial discrimination. The idea of racism has been around for hundreds of years, it’s because human’s natural instinct is to put others down to make themselves look better. When Africans were taken across the Atlantic for the slave trade, they were demoralized so much so that they would rather take their own life than commit to a life of slavery.In southern America in 1619 White farmers and landowners needed cheap labour to work on their plantations; this is why the slaves were first brought to America. The Americans regarded the black people as animals; they didn’t agree that they were even the same species. However this all changed when slavery was banned around America in 1807, and every man was free. Eventually black men begin to gain land of there own and work for themselves, but this did not go unnoticed.Even after the civil war the black people in the southern states of America were still discriminated against and treated awfully. Groups of men used to go around at night and just burn, torture and kill any black people that they think have stepped out of line. Racial discrimination is still a very big part of our world today, racism is not just black and white, in Zimbabwe white farmers are being pushed out of their land; where their families have lived and farmed for hundreds of years, whilst their own land is being distributed as the black farmers believe it is there land.Nevertheless the white families are left penniless. In England today Muslims very often feel discriminated against, as English people are scared of them, English people think of them as terrorists after a lot of bad press, but this is not the case. If the cloud of doubt were lifted just a little, millions of people would have better lives. I find it hard to understand how people accept the status that they are given; they should surely be able to choose how to live their life and what to do.In â€Å"Roll Of Thunder, Hear my Cry† one line really stuck out for me, â€Å"Comical objects to cruel eyes that gave no thought our misery† this shows how the black people recognize their place in society and even if they don’t believe in it they accept it. Martin Luther King gave an inspiring speech, which changed the views of millions of people around the world â€Å"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. â€Å"†Equality is a hard concept to grasp for many people around the world due to the fact that lack of education is still a big problems lots of different countries espec ially L. E. D’s, this is mostly due to class. However this year in America, a country renowned for their vicious racists, have elected a black president. Barack Obama, the aforementioned president, is a pinnacle of light to such a diverse nation. Seeing as a mere thirty years ago black people were still fighting for entirely equal rights. Barack Obama is now thought of as the most powerful man in the world.Never the less this does not discount racism in America as there is evidence to suggest that the poor black people and ethnic minorities do not still receive the opportunities given to white people. Class prejudice happens all around the world, in England today this is a big issue, but the homeless often sell ‘big issues’ around the streets so they can scrap a living from the tower of success. Every class in Britain is stereotyped, it is almost as if the country is divided into, people your allowed to talk to and people your not. These are often referred to as classes.People get stereotyped on their class all the time, then it often falls into smaller categories such as race, or where you live. Stereotyping is a habit that we all need to get out of. Racism and Class prejudice is a growing problem in England today, if we do not take action it may get out of control. Infect some would argue it already is with the steady growth of gang crime and people getting hurt just because of where they are from. We don’t want to have people beaten on the streets or worse killed just because of their background. Everyone deserves a chance in life without being pre judged by other people.

Research Paper on Elctrocardiogram (Ecg)

Introduction The major function of the heart is to force blood in to a closed system of blood vessels within which the blood is confines and circulated to the entire body. Heart’s activity can be compared to a muscular pump equipped with one way valves. With each heartbeat, an electrical impulse travels through the heart and causes the heart muscle to squeeze and pump blood from the heart. These electrical impulses, transmitted through the heart, are spread throughout the body. This electrical activity of the heart can be detected on the body’s surface and recorded with an instrument called an electrocardiograph.A graphic record of heart activity is called an electrocardiogram. An electrocardiogram is also called an EKG or ECG. Sometimes the test is called a 12-lead EKG or 12-lead ECG. This is because the heart's electrical activity most often is recorded from 12 different places on the body at the same time. A healthcare provider may recommend an electrocardiogram if a person has signs and symptoms that suggest a heart problem (National Institutes of Health, 2010). Examples of signs and symptoms may include chest pain, breathing problems, unusual heart sounds, palpitation etc.However, this test can screen for early heart disease that has no symptoms. An ECG may be done as part of a routine health exam and may be used for routine screening before major surgery. Also, this test can be ordered to check how well heart medicine or a medical device, such as a pacemaker, is working (National Institutes of Health, 2010). ECG results can be used by the healthcare provider to help plan treatment for a heart condition. Different types of electrocardiograms Many heart problems are present all the time, and thus a commonly used 12-lead ECG test is sufficient to detect any of these problems.However, certain issues, such as those related to irregular heartbeats, can come and go. They may be present for only a few minutes out of the day, or while performing spec ific daily activities (e. g. , exercising). In these situations, special types of ECGs are used to help diagnose these types of problems. The different ECGs that can be used in these situations are: †¢Stress test: During stress testing, exercise or medications are used to make heart beat faster and work harder while conducting the ECG. †¢Holter monitor: This is a portable device that records the electrical signals of he heart for a full 24 to 48 hour period (Pagana & Pagana, 2010). This is also called as an ambulatory ECG, as daily activities can be performed while wearing it. †¢Event monitor: This is a portable device like holter monitors, but they can be worn for more than a month and are used to detect abnormalities of short duration and that occur infrequently. This paper discusses 12-lead ECG that is most commonly used in health care settings. Explanation of ECG test and related physiology A typical ECG has three distinguishable waves or deflections.The relations hip between the deflections waves of an ECG and sequential excitation of the heart is shown below (The Biology corner, 2011) Figure1. The sequence of excitation of the heart related to deflection waves of an ECG tracing. The first wave, the small P wave, lasts about 0. 08 s (Marieb & Mitchell, 2010). This wave results from movement of the depolarization wave from the heart’s SA node through atria. The second wave, the QRS complex is the largest waves of all the three waves. It results from ventricular depolarization and precedes ventricular contraction.Average duration of the QRS complex is 0. 08 s (Marieb & Mitchell, 2010). A prolonged QRS complex may indicate a right or left bundle branch block in which one ventricle is contracting later than the other. The third wave, the T wave is caused by ventricular depolarization and typically lasts about 0. 16 s (Marieb & Mitchell, 2010). The P-R interval represents the time between the beginning of atrial depolarization and ventricu lar depolarization and it lasts about 0. 16 to 0. 18 s. A longer interval may suggest a partial AV heart block caused by damage to the AV node (Marieb & Mitchell, 2010).Lack of impulses through AV node may indicate a total heart block. The Q-T interval is the period from the beginning of ventricular depolarization and repolarization that normally lasts 0. 31 to 0. 41 s (Marieb & Mitchell, 2010). The shorter Q-T interval may indicate tachycardia, and a longer may indicate bradycardia. Normal/abnormal findings In a healthy heart, the size, duration and timing of the deflection waves tend to be consistent. For this reason, changes in the pattern or timing of the ECG may reveal a diseased or damaged heart or problems with the heart’s onduction system (Marieb & Mitchell, 2010). An ECG gives two major kinds of information. First, by measuring time intervals on the ECG, a doctor can determine how long the electrical wave takes to pass through the heart (Pagana & Pagana, 2010). Findi ng out how long the wave takes to travel from one part of the heart to the next shows if the electrical activity is normal or slow, fast or irregular. Second, by measuring the amount of electrical activity passing through the heart muscle, a cardiologist may be able to find out if parts of the heart are too large or are overworked (Pagana & Pagana, 2010).Normal ECG values include a heart rate of 60 to100 beats /min and an even and consistent heart rhythm (National Institutes Of Health, 2010). Abnormal ECG results may indicate a sign of following health issues: †¢Abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) †¢Cardiac muscle defect †¢Congenital heart defect †¢Faster than normal heart rate (tachycardia) †¢Slower than normal heart rate (bradycardia) †¢Heart valve disease †¢Inflammation of the heart (myocarditis) †¢Changes in the amount of electrolytes (chemicals in the blood) †¢Past heart attack †¢Present or impending heart attackAn electrocardi ogram may be performed to diagnose additional conditions which are not listed above. ECG Procedure and Patient preparation The patient does not need to take any special steps before having an electrocardiogram. However, the nurse may ask about the medicines the patient is taking as some medicines can affect the results. Also, the nurse performing the test may instruct the patient to avoid exercising or drinking cold water immediately before an ECG, as it may cause false results. The procedure of an ECG is painless and harmless. A nurse will attach soft, sticky patches called electrodes to the skin of chest, arms, and legs.The patches are about the size of a quarter. Often, 12 patches are attached to patient’s body. This helps detect the heart's electrical activity from many areas at the same time. The nurse may have to shave areas of the skin to help the patches stick. After the patches are placed on patient’s skin, he/she will lie still on a table while the patches de tect heart's electrical signals (Pagana & Pagana, 2010). During the ECG recording, nurse may instruct the patient to lie quietly for 10-20 seconds, because the electrocardiograph will detect any muscle or body movement.A machine will record these signals on graph paper or display them on a screen. The entire test will take about 10 minutes. After an electrocardiogram, the nurse will remove the electrodes (soft patches) from the patient’s skin. Patient may develop a rash or redness where the EKG patches were attached. This mild rash often goes away without treatment. Patient usually can go back to his/her normal daily routine after an ECG. Summary An electrocardiogram is a painless, non-invasive diagnostic test that records heart’s electrical activity.This test shows, how fast a heart beats, whether the rhythm of the heart is regular or irregular and the strength and timing of electrical signals as they pass through each part of the heart. Healthcare providers use this test to study and detect many heart problems and the results of this test can also suggest other disorders that affect heart function. Conducting an ECG when appropriate is a primary step in increasing a patient’s survival, and leads to a clearer, gained understanding of what is actually happening to a patient’s heart.

A Summary of the Book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser Essay

Customers, food critic and competitors are all praises over McDonald’s French fries for its unique and distinctive taste.  Ã‚   However, its taste has nothing to do with neither the potatoes that they use nor their cooking equipment.   The source of its distinctive taste has largely to do with cooking oil which is a mixture of 7 percent cottonseed oil and 93 percent beef tallow, which also explains why it has more saturated fat per ounce than a McDonald’s hamburger. They switched to using pure vegetable in 1990 when they started getting criticisms about the high amount of cholesterol in their fries.   This move gave them a whole new challenge on how to maintain the distinctive beefy taste in their fries, which sets them apart from the rest, without using the fat saturated beef tallow.   The problem was solved by adding flavor to their fires.   A closer examination of their ingredients will show you â€Å"natural flavor,† which is hardly natural as â€Å"natural flavor† and artificial flavor† are both man-made.   It explains why McDonald’s fries, as well as American food in general, tastes so good. The flavor industry is very secretive when it comes to their clients.   They deem it of utmost importance to protect the reputation of these popular brands and understandably so since they would like to give the consumers the impression that the flavors and delectability of their food comes from their kitchens and not from elsewhere. International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) is the largest flavor company in the world, also manufactures the scents of some of the most successful and finest perfumes in the United States.   Food’s aroma is responsible for 90 percent of its flavor.   In fact, the â€Å"flavor† manufactured in these companies are primarily the smell of gases being released by the chemicals we put in our mouths. Researches done by scientists reveal that disposition or preference to certain food or taste is usually formed at the early stages of a person’s life.   Aroma or taste, and memory are strongly linked to each other which explain why a particular smell or taste could trigger a person’s memory back to childhood, often referred to as â€Å"comfort foods.†Ã‚   This phenomenon is what fast food chains, including McDonald’s, are banking on in their marketing and promotions.   Memory of Happy Meals can translate to frequent adult visits to McDonald’s. Meanwhile, the author discussed the American ranchers’ dire predicament in the present market.   McDonald’s is America’s largest beef purchaser.   In the late 1960’s McDonald’s buy their beef supply from 175 local suppliers, but in their desire to achieve uniformity as its business expanded, they limited their suppliers down to only five.   Many ranchers argue that large corporations have gained control of the market, employing dirty tactics to keep down the price of cattle. Chicken McNuggets was formed through an idea of McDonald’s chairman, Fred Turner, in 1979.   He wanted a supplier to create a â€Å"chicken finger-food without bones, about the size of your thumb.†Ã‚   The alarming growth rate of poultry in the United States at that time was a threat to the fast food chain whose only products are burgers. After six months of intensive research, Keystone lab developed a new technology for manufacturing McNuggets, made of reconstituted chicken, composed of white meat, held together by stabilizers, breaded, fried, frozen, then reheated.   Its initial test-marketing proved to be so successful that McDonald’s hired another company, Tyson Foods, to guarantee adequate supply.   The success of McNuggets changed the nations system for raising and processing poultry. Greeley, Colorado is a town where cattle is the main business, and where workers and machines turn large steer to vacuum packed packages.   However, the industrialization of cattle raising have turned one of the nation’s best-paying manufacturing jobs, into one of the lowest paying, the biggest workforce of which are poor immigrants. The working conditions in these meat packing plants were horrible to say the least, endangering the lives of its workers as well as those of its consumers.   Presently, meat-packing plants and agricultural fields hire poor immigrant workers who are willing to receive lower pay than U.S. citizens.   Even in the present time when technology and new systems are available, it hardly improved the working conditions of these workers.   They work every day amidst the indescribable stench and dirt, health exposure, injuries, and even death.  Ã‚   The different work in meat-packing plants and slaughterhouses are unarguably one of the most dangerous jobs in the planet. Schlosser brought up the presence of E. coli in meat as one of the hazards in the meat packing industry.   E. coli bacteria aid human beings in digesting food, synthesizing vitamins and protects from dangerous organisms.   On the other hand, E. coli 0157:H7 is a mutated version that is harmful and can release a powerful toxin called â€Å"Shiga toxin.†Ã‚   It attacks the lining of the intestines that may result to abdominal cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, and low-grade fever. It becomes deadly when â€Å"Shiga toxin† enters the bloodstream and can lead to kidney failure, anemia, internal bleeding, and destruction of vital organs.   Children or elderly with impaired immune systems are more likely to suffer.   Antibiotics do not help and in some cases, even triggers the release of Shiga toxins, after which little or nothing can be done to those infected.   Unlike Salmonella virus which requires large doses to cause infection, E. coli 0157:H7 requires very little.   It only takes a tiny, uncooked particle of a hamburger to contain enough pathogen to kill a person.   This can be transmitted from person-to-person. The influence of America has widely spread for most of the twentieth century, as the popularity of movies, CDs, music videos, television shows, clothing and fashion grow steadily, so does the Americanization of the world.   Fast food is one of the most popular American influences which people around the globe actually patronize.   Today, the United States has the highest obesity rate of any industrialized nations.   It soared dramatically in proportion to the consumption and popularity of fast food.   The Americans’ way of eating and living has changed so drastically in the past decades, when people eat more and move less. The popularity and growth of the fast food industry is mainly through their abundance of high-fat, inexpensive meals that are easily available.   They have also increased their portion sizes as a way of attracting customers.   The popular fast food chains realized that it was easier to increase the size of their portions than to promote healthier eating habits, as it was very difficult to battle eating habits formed early on in life through their own marketing strategies.   Even countries such as Japan, whose diet has always been believed to be the healthiest in the world, succumbed to the fast food influence.   As a result, obesity which used to be a rarity in this country has become more common. In 1994, a libel trial begun between McDonald’s and two Greenpeace activists, Helen Steel and Dave Morris, where Steel and Morris was being sued by the fast food chain for libel.   They were alleged to have spread leaflets and information that were damaging and untrue.   Many years later, the court ruled that the information was indeed libelous as Steel and Morris were not able to prove â€Å"all† of their allegations against McDonalds.   This trial dragged on for years, until present time, and has put McDonald’s in a much worse situation than the two activists, due to bad publicity. Opinion At first glance, Fast Food Nation may seem to be a book that is bent on brandishing the fast food industry to be the bad guys.   However, this book actually contains a well-researched and factual representation of American lifestyle and eating habits, as well as its remarkable influence in the world.   Eric Schlosser wrote a compelling picture of the origins of the present American society and the rest of the world’s â€Å"Americanized† way of life. McDonald’s have been successful in infiltrating the lives of American consumers and establishing its stronghold in many people’s eating habits.   In its aim to provide convenience and â€Å"fast† food to people, McDonald’s and the rest of the fast food industry cleverly found a way to give the consumers exactly that, fast food.   Just like any other business, is it any wonder that the fast food industry has creatively and cleverly formulated it own strategies and marketing ploys to gain the fickle trust of consumers? Many might wonder, if McDonald’s, and the fast food industry in general, should be blamed for the terrible eating habits and obesity that besets many Americans and other nations across the world.   I believe that the consumers are partly to blame in this predicament; after all, what they put in their and their children’s, mouths is ultimately their decision.   However, I strongly believe that McDonalds, and the rest of the fast food industry, has a very crucial responsibility in putting forth correct and unveiled information about their food products. It is their business and moral responsibility to put the health of their consumers of utmost consideration and importance, over profits.   It is understandable for consumers to unwittingly get hooked to these great-tasting fast foods, and realize only later on that they have made a mistake.   Clearly, the fast food industry failed to do their jobs in providing correct and ample information, and in resisting the urge of capitalism and profit over the welfare of their consumers, in effect, jeopardizing their lives and exposing the health of your children to grave danger.