Discovery of gold in America

The discovery of gold in California sparked a massive emigration across the continent to the Pacific coast by Americans searching for wealth. This massive migration of people brought Jefferson's dream of a continental American empire to reality, and began to establish the United States as the dominant country in North America. This massive migration also prompted the need to bridge the nation for the purpose of making the trip from one coast to another easier. This resulting need to bridge the nation might be the greatest contribution of the gold rush to the history of the United States. On January 24th, 1848, James Marshall discovered what he believed to be Gold dust in the bed of a creek right outside his mill. He brought this sample of the shiny material up to Ft. Sutter in Sacramento, where it was deemed indeed to be gold, and thus the migration of massive amounts of people we call the gold rush began. In two years after the discovery of gold, the population of California was 90. 000 people. At the time of the discovery California was relatively uninhabited by Americans. The United States had finally realized its dream of a country reaching from sea to shining sea, but now that the lands were there, the United States had to figure out how to get its people to settle these lands so they would actually be worth having. It is great for a country to have a lot of land, but if they remain uninhabited and underdeveloped then the land really isn't worth much. The â€Å"gold rush† consisted of many prospectors seeking to find their fortunes in the mines of California. The emigration of so many Americans to the very western boundary of the country was exactly what the Government needed for the lands it just purchased to be seen as a wise investment. In the two years since the discovery of gold the population of California ballooned to 90 thousand people, most of which were prospectors, and others trying to get rich quick off the discovery of gold. By 1854, the population reached an even more impressive 300 thousand people. Many people moved out west to escape the cities of the east and set off on their own, be free. The migration into these uninhabited lands increased the need for transportation like roads, railroads, and canals as well as the opportunities for work and another incentive for people to move out of the cities where there was a large incidence of unemployment. With the discovery of gold and the massive migration of emigrants westward, came the need to be able to more quickly traverse the continent for both communication, and transportation. The answer to this need was the transcontinental railroad. By the middle of the 1850's, the need for a transcontinental railroad was universally accepted and acknowledged. Before now, the best way to get from the east coast to the west coast was through the Isthmus of Panama. Between 1848 and 1869, the completion of this railroad, 375 thousand people crossed Panama on their way to California and the gold, and another 225 thousand crossed the isthmus in the other direction. Along with this massive movement of people came great wealth crossing the isthmus, creating even more of a call for the development and creation of a railroad. This crossing of Panama was very hazardous to the health of the people who crossed it. Cholera, among other deadly diseases was very prevalent among the travelers and often took many lives. The increased traffic going to the west coast along with the hazardous conditions of the next best available routes led to the inception of the idea of building a transcontinental railroad. By 1850 there were 9,021 miles of functioning track in the United States, but nothing that connected the east coast and the west coast. During the 1850's, an average of 2,160 miles of new track was laid every year. With the increase in the formation of functioning track throughout the 1850's, the development of locomotives that are more powerful and more stable cars permitted engineering feats that seemed impossible a decade earlier. Railroad fever clearly had the nation in its grips and it was just a matter of time before a railroad that crossed the continent would be built. A New York businessman, Asa Whitney, was the first to propose the idea of a transcontinental railroad in 1845. He proposed a route along the northern border we share with Canada. Before the gold rush, he was largely ignored, but afterwards he was taken seriously, and by 1853 it was realized that one was needed and that huge government subsidies would be needed to build it. Upon this realization of the need for a transcontinental railroad came the realization that whichever eastern city was the head of the railroad would become immensely wealthier, and so begun a major struggle between the cities of the east to obtain the rights to be the eastern hub. The amendment to the Army appropriations act allowed a quarter of a million dollars for the railroad to be completed in ten months, and listed five possible routes that it could take. The Northern Route, from St. Paul to Seattle, The council Bluffs to San Francisco route, the Central route, between the 38th and 39th parallels from the arkensas river to San Francisco, The route from Fort Smith along the Arkansas River to Los Angelos, and the southern route from fulton on the red River to san Diego. Diferent people would benefit from each of these routes and there was much fighting over whivh would be the ultimate route. Once the south cecedded from the union the southern route was no longer considered as an option. An engineer named Theodore Judah went out and surveyed his own route of crossing the nation, and in 1857, he published hi Practical Plan for Building the Pacific Railroad. He went on to send a copy to the president and every member of congress, and billed it as the first genuinely â€Å"practical plan† for traversing the continent. The California state legislature adopted a memorial on the benefits of a transcontinental railroad and offered it to Judah to personally deliver to congress. While he was selling the importance of a transcontinental railroad to Congress, he was also making plans in California to take advantage of any decision Congress makes to accept his crazy idea. He went around the state trying to convince people to by stock in his railroad company, The Central Pacific, as he was sure that Congress would pass the Curtis Act that mandated the formation of two railroads competing with each other from either end of the route and eventually meeting in the middle. He finally sold his theory to four men, the â€Å"Big Four† as they would become known that railroads to the mining towns of California from the east coast was a money maker, and that if they would buy stock in his railroad company they would be able to reap the profits. The big four, or Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford, and Charles Crocker, decided to buy into Judah's idea. Them, along with Judah, and a Nevada City mineowner named Charles Marsh decided to divide equally among themselves the cost of a full-scale survey of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, as well as buy enough stock in the company to allow its permit incorporation. This group of visionaries started what became known as the Central Pacific Railroad Co. , which would eventually become the railroad company that built the transcontinental railroad from the west east. Due to his efforts, Judah convinced Congress to pass the Pacific Railroad Act on June 20th 1862, calling for the creation of two competing railroad companies to start at opposite ends of the route and meet in the middle. The two companies created were the Central Pacific Railroad Co. , and the Union Pacific Railroad Co. Since the Central Pacific Railroad Co. was already a privately owned company it wasn't as heavily regulated as the Union Pacific Railroad Co. was, which was a government formed company whose specific purpose was to build the eastern leg of the railroad. The accepted route of the railroad was from Omaha, Nebraska in the East, to the Bay area in the west. The federal government granted the two companies aid in the way of United States 6% bonds that had to be paid back with interest beginning 30 years after the completion of the railroad. Yet, due to the Civil War that was raging at this time, the bonds held little confidence in the market and thus never sold at par, thus depreciating the aid from the very beginning. The government also awarded the companies a right-of-way extending two hundred feet on either side of the tracks, and five alternate square miles of public land on either side of the line, or 6,400 acres per mile of track. Both Companies were also to give priority to the transportation of government mails, troops, and supplies on the line. The Union pacific was obligated to build a hundred miles in the first 2 years and another hundred miles each succeeding year thereafter. The Central Pacific, due to the mountainous terrain was only obligated to build half as much as the Union Pacific over the same prescribed amount of time. The act also specified that the two companies would be confiscated if the railroad were not completed by July 1, 1874. The construction of the railroad and the subsequent telegraph line that went up along side it, cost the government nothing as it was only loaning its credit and not its money. The two companies broke ground in 1803, the Union Pacific working westward from Omaha, Nebraska, and the Central Pacific from Sacramento California. The building of the track proved to be extremely difficult and arduous and provided much headache for everyone involved. The Central Pacific ran the laying of the track much like a military operation, as it was extremely organized. Due to the Civil War and the mines of the west, there was a huge labor shortage in the country. To accommodate this they had to hire many immigrant workers, especially Chinese immigrants, to lay the track. Getting supplies to the Central pacific also proved to be a very difficult task, as they had to be shipped from the east to San Francisco, and then hurried into the mountains, which wasn't an easy journey. This process was very time consuming and delayed much building of the track. The company was very efficient in the beginning, making extraordinary progress through the flatlands, but upon reaching the mountains ran into most of the hardships in the building. The mountains proved to be unforgiving in the companies efforts to bridge the nation. Cold winters with extraordinary snows slowed the construction almost to a standstill several times. Many workers died of the extreme conditions of the mountains, making progress slower still. The mountains also provided the arena for some of the most amazing feats of engineering. From blowing tunnels through the mountain, or creating a trestle over a gorge the engineering advances made in during this endeavor have lasted until now and made the building of other railroads possible. In the first three years of building, the company only laid 40 miles of track, well behind the pace mandated by the railroad act. Over the same time, the Union Pacific wasn't doing much better as it was also only able to lay 40 miles of track itself. While the terrain wasn't as rough as that of the west, the same problems of management and labor prevailed in the east also. It wasn't until two brothers took over the actual building of the track and thusly invented what we today would consider modern management techniques. They led by example and do anything they asked of their workers. They did much of the labor themselves and were always the ones in the front of construction. The Union Pacific also had cars carrying anything, and everything the workers could need, it was considered a town on wheels, and consisted of such things as a sleeping quarters, and cars that served meals. The workers slept, ate, and lived on these trains, as they worked a full 12 hours a day. All the supplies for the endeavor were carried on this â€Å"city on wheels,† and made the construction that much more efficient. The construction process for both companies was very costly in terms of human life. Many accidents occurred, and the threat from the Indians was always a constant fear of the workers. By the end of 1867, the Union Pacific had laid 300 miles of track, while the Central had laid less than 80 miles. By the spring of 1869 the two railroads were racing towards each other and they eventually began to build track side by side one another going in opposite directions. It was then that they realized the dream had been accomplished and that they had to be joined. The designated meeting place of the two railroads was determined to be Promontory Point, Utah. On My 10, 1869, two trains converged on Promontory Point, Stamford on a train called Jupiter from the west and Durant on a run of the mill train labeled Engine 119 from the east. The heads of the two companies drove in 4 spikes into the final set of rails, two gold, one silver, and one that was a mixture between gold, silver, and iron. The work was completed in six years, a whole four years of schedule resulting in a reward of 21 million acres. The completion of the railroad was the final act in creating this great nation of ours. Many people went west 1849 looking for a quick and easy way to obtain a great amount of wealth. Many failed and never realized their dream, but because of their migration, the nation realized the need to bridge the nation and the country as a whole became wealthier. The constructing of the railroad was probably the single greatest achievement of the mid 1800's, and the most significant thing to come out of the gold rush. Because of the railroad the nations interior began to open up to settlement and communications between the two coasts became easier.

Frame Analysis of Merck

The events that Merck encountered in the early 1990s have brought the company under intense economic and political pressure. Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) lowered the prices of drugs since they gained more control over drug prices and alone accounted for 75% of drug purchases. Generic substitutes put more pressure on the pharmaceutical industry. In addition to the election of President Bill Clinton in 1992, who exerted political pressure on the high profit margins of pharmaceutical companies and their alleged contribution to runway U.S. health care costs. Merck CEO, Vagelos at that time, initiated a series of actions to adapt the company to the pressuring circumstances. The immense outside pressure created a sense of uncertainty and ambiguity which is best explained through the political frame. Vagelos actions demonstrated the power of the political frame which is demonstrated by his firmwide cost-cutting campaign. He also inclined to lay off his employees by his managed headcount and cut all waste strategies. Vagelos exerted a structural act by moving the corporate headquarters from its historic home in New Jersey to a 30 wooded campus near Whitehouse Station. The old headquarter was alongside the company research and manufacturing facilities, but the new site was merely corporate and isolated from the company's other divisions.   This move has weekend the sense of family and relationship through the human resource frame. Although, Vagelos claimed a human resource face to create a new corporate culture to prepare the company to meet external challenges, but his acts spoke of power and conflict through the political frame. The political frame created more confusion for Merck employees especially after Vagelos name Richard Markham as president of the company, who resigned after six months leaving the company in more confusion. The absence of the human resource and the symbolic frames has caused morale of company employees to decrease and there was a perception that Merck was losing its way as a company. Advantages and Disadvantages to Merck Advantages for the political frame are the practice of power in face of uncertainty and confusion. However, the political frame created more confusion and the sense of team was lost. Advantages of the human resource frame builds on the sense of family and strong relationships to embrace the company for exerted pressure. The advantages of the symbolic frame are ability to handle complex and uncertain conditions of the company. Evaluation of Gilmartin Performance in Creating Change: Gilmartin has introduced so much change in Merck to enable the company to survive economic and political outside pressures. His performance would be evaluated in this section using the keys to a successful change introduced by Tucker in 1995. The following objects need to be clearly identified: need, objectives, participation, broad guidelines, details by group, benefits of change, and giving rewards. At first the need to change is identified at Merck to be initiated by the increasing economic and political pressure that was imposed on the company during 1992-1993. The change outside the company signalled change inside Merck. The company strategy and organization was compelling especially after the departure of CEO Roy Vagelos. The objectives of this change were to increase company sales, and revenues, increase morale, develop a sense of direction for the company for the future. Guidelines of the change were to maintain the established high ethical standard of the company while developing the tradition of scientific excellence through a cross-function function.. Participation in the change was mainly administrated by the groups that maintain the company; its employees and management, in addition to stockholders. The benefits of this change were to achieve the objectives mentioned in the previous section. In addition to increased earnings and established a sense of direction for the future to come. Rewards for this change were given to employees’ due to their positive view of Merck. Employees were also very pleased with the progress Merck had on management training and leadership development. Employees were also pleased with the their much developed communication among students. The rationale for my analysis considered the political and economic pressures exerted on the company in addition to decreasing income and revenue pressures which created the need for the analysis. Objectives aimed at the improvement of the initial status presented.   Guidelines were the specific way Gilmartin followed to achieve his objectives.   Participation pointed out the affected or participating elements that would be changed. The benefits gained from this change are at best when they match the objectives or even outperform what was expected as the outcome of change. Rewards are the benefits to participants. Stakeholders of the Recall of Vioxx: The 2004 Merck announcement concerning its recalling of the arthritis medicine; Vioxx, has caused the company stock to decrease by 27% on the following day. In 2005, Merck has set aside $685 million for Vioxx’s legal defense for more than 11,000 cases. The internal and external stakeholders are: Patients taking Vioxx, the United States Food and Drug Administration, Merck ; Company Shareholders, and other pharmaceutical firms. Negative Impact of Vioxx Recall: The potential negative impact of the recall of Vioxx, the most successful product launch in the history of Merck is multi-sided to include many losses. The financial losses were estimated to be ten percent of total expected sales per year which amounts to $2.5 billion per year (Appleby ; Matt 2004). The financial loss is further to be enlarged by the large number of lawsuits filed against the company. However, the bold legal strategy that Merck took to fight every individual Vioxx law suit on a case by case basis is expected to dampen the effect of litigation.   Merck accepts to take the cost of one billion dollars in litigation fee rather than open the door for settlements which would be devastating with the entrance of thousands of new law suits. Merck hopes that the waiting game would cause many plaintiffs to back off. The reputation of Merck also sustained great damage. It is believed that Vioxx is responsible for some disastrous health outcomes. Merck is shown to care all about business with less integrity towards doing what's right for its customers.   However, it is the reputation of Merck relative to other pharmaceutical company’s that really determines the extent of damage to Merck’s reputation. In reaction to the increasing economic and political pressures on Merck, Vagelos should have followed a combination of symbolic and human resource frame to better mobilize the company to sustain the encountered pressures. He should have built on the strong emotions and relationships between company employees who were developed during the company golden age 1992-1993. He also could have adhered to his alleged symbolic frame and created a symbol for the company to adhere to until hard times have passed through. Recommendation to Merck: It is recommended that Merck pursuit the development of new products to make up for the decrease in total sales that resulted from the recall of Vioxx. The company should also improve its reputation within the pharmaceutical industry through the involvement in a number of ethical activities to the community. Merck could re-establish its reputation by blaming the FDA for not recalling the drug after learning of Vioxx’s risks. Merck could work with FDA to change its approval process to ensure the safety of future drugs. References Appleby, J. & Matt, K. (2004). Merck estimates $2.5B impact from pulling Vioxx plug. USA Today Posted 9/30/2004 obtained on October 15, 2007 from http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/drugs/2004-09-30-merck-cover_x.htm   

Advertising & Consumers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Advertising & Consumers - Essay Example and Trehan, R. (2011) as advertisement. According to Bishnoi and Sharma (2009), advertisement refers to a persuasive, normally paid for, impersonal communication on services, products or ideas through various media by a specific sponsor. The intention of the advertiser would be to spread ideas on the product and offerings, recognised by Belch, George Edward, Belch, George Eugene & Belch, M. (2006) as a marketers’ tool of communication to customers. Wang, Zhang and Ouyang (2009) categorise the effects of advertising as either intermediate, which influences the beliefs and attitudes of consumers or behavioural, which relates to the purchase and brand choice of consumers. Advertisement banks on psychological factors that influence consumer behaviour to reach out to the customer. These psychological factors include learning, personality and lifestyle, attitude, image and individual needs. Studying these factors would guide the advertiser on the message, ad-appeal, colour, illustra tions, media, media scheduling and the layout of the ad-copy among other critical advertisement factors. If these consumer behaviour factors would be related to the target audience, advertisers would come up with effective advertisements. Impact of advertisements on consumer behaviour ... Sutherland (2009) appreciates the importance of repetition in advertisements with consistency in messages so as to increase familiarity especially with the use of a catch line, an observation opposed by Chung and Zhao who noted that â€Å"ad repetition has no influence on perceived humour and overall effectiveness of advertising† (2003, p.121). Percy and Elliott (2012) add to this debate arguing that in direct response advertising, there would be no need for repeated advertising as action terminates with a single purchase. Consumer choices would be influenced by the brand and product image and their perception towards them (Percy & Elliot, 2012). Through advertisement, advertisers could change consumers’ perception through association of the product with attributes appealing to the needs of the consumer. Consequently, in their minds, consumers would associate that attribute to that particular brand more than they would for competitor’s brand, thus influencing pur chasing behaviour (Sutherland, 2009). Different organisations would have differences in their dependencies on advertisement to sell their products. For example, a cereal company would have to advertise more due to the existence of varied competing products as opposed to a power company which has minimal or no competition (Yeshin 2006). A strategy that advertisers employ to influence consumers to purchase products has been noted to be the creation of a feeling of lack or scarcity (Wells & Foxall, 2012). But noting the role that brands play in influencing consumption of products, Dahlen, Granlund and Grenros (2009) introduce an important role of advertising in brand

The animal weapons arms race Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The animal weapons arms race - Essay Example The show is called science frantic, and the person hosting the show was Jordan Koski. The guest on the show is Douglas Emlen, who is the author of a book named animal weapons – the evolution battle. Douglas is also a professor of biology and lectures at the University of Montenor. I was amazed to realize that it was possible to conduct researches on the extremeness of animal weapons. Douglas claimed that the research leading to writing his book started with watching clips of animal fights. The professor had keen interest in small animals such as dung battles. He claimed that the weapons carried by small animal were very dangerous considering their body sizes (Science-Friday retrieved from http://www.sciencefriday.com/playlist/#play/segment/9594). It was interesting to realize that most fights among small animals were all because they needed access to females. Douglas noted that some animals had deadly weapons since they cannot swim fly or run fast to catch their prey. He gives the example of Smilodon, which has 7 inch canine teeth but cannot run after its prey. I was amazed to realize that some animals had to lose certain minerals in their body in order to make their weapons more deadly. He also noted that some species with fierce weapons had stunted testes and small genital organs. Some animals use their fierce weapons to scare away other animals of the same species. It overwhelmed me know that animals with the most vicious weapons fought less and were rarely involved in battles. He discussed an exceptional case where female animals are fiercer than their male counterparts. He said that Jacana females have bigger weapons that than Jacana males since the males take care of the youngness. The females have to fight for access to males, and hence they develop fierce fighting weapons (Science-Friday retrieved from

Computer Sciences and Information Technology. User Experience Essay

Computer Sciences and Information Technology. User Experience - Essay Example In this regards, the paper contains description and purpose of website development, the intended audience of the website along with weaknesses and strengths of the website in respect of their usage by diverse users. Some users may not agree that this website is easy to use and users have difficult experiences with its interface, this study looks at every element of interaction and usability factors (Cornell University Library, 2012). In order to get information regarding their experiences of using the website, the users are given a website usability form to be filled so that the website of the Phone4u can be evaluated. The paper presents the recommendations to the company for improving several aspects of the website to reach the targeted audience, trust development on the visitors and customers, moreover, guidance to increase the web traffic (Dumas, 2008, p37). The usability test is one of the essential steps in the evaluation of the user’s likeness and dislike-ness while usin g the Phone4u’s website. This will require acquisition of user opinions and to present analysis of the information to guide the decision on the areas of improvement. Since most of the features are observable qualitative attributes, this study will have to convert them into quantitative variables for ease of data analysis. 1.2. Background In the evaluation of the website, the focus is how to improve the usability by adding features that are more relevant and functional keeping in view the targeted audience of the website. This can be done by evaluating the website and improving the weaknesses indicating by the analysis. The amendments to the website of the Phone4u should be made as per the recommendations of the users (Valacich, Joey & Hoffer, 2009, p67). At the same time, it is important to consider the fact that some users do not welcome changes so easily and may prefer to remain in the previous version of the website rather than the new one with improved features (Kendall & Kendall 2011, p58). The evaluation will lead to the decision making for the new version of the website based on the information from user response. The statistics will be gathered as comments from various participants. The participants’ views reflect the present trend and the actual real world events that are of interest to this website. The study uses the structure of information flow as shown in the figure below, with the system the user and the feedback mechanism. Figure 1: Information Flow between System, Users and Feedback mechanism 1.3. Study Problem/Question This study seeks to answer one (1) major question having various sub parts. The first question is â€Å"Whether the website of the Phones4u is easy to use for the targeted audience of the website?† In order to have the answer of the first question of this study, the users have to answer the various questions as described by the Jokab Neilsen. The sub questions (parts) include: â€Å"the visibility of the s ystem, Match between system and the real world, User control and freedom, Consistency and standards, Error prevention, Recognition rather than recall, Flexibility and efficiency of use, Aesthetic and minimalist design, Help users recognize, Help and documentation, diagnose and recover from errors. Basically, these are the guidelines provided by the Jakob Neilson for evaluating the usability of the website† (Selvaraj, 2011). All these questions will be answered by the selected participants. 2. Aims The aim of this study is to explore the usability issues in the

Transferable Learning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Transferable Learning - Assignment Example This paper intends to examine into details the external and internal factors that promote or demote the continuity of the company. The analysis is intended to be done by use of PESTEL analysis. Moreover, the Porters Diamond Concept is intended to be applied in examining the strategic planning; the five forces of an industry set up and value chain because of differentiation advantage particularly in creating and sustaining the market niche (POWER ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, 2009). Centrica’s market niche is complex because it occupies both local and global market spaces. Numerous factors of sustaining the market nice will be discussed. Furthermore, the paper intends to explore diverse competition mechanisms used by the company’s management in sustaining the competition level with other players in the same industry. It is imperative to note that, the dynamic nature of the global market the overall company development ion diverse sectors requires specific skills to full realize the whole potential of resource utilization (HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL DIGEST, 2009). The said skills should be embraced by the managers who are required to possess exemplary abilities to detect the company’s trends and act in tandem with the market demands within the same industry (POWER ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, 2009). The managers should not only rely on the internal resources but also the attributed environmental considerations, which affect the operations and trends of the company. Some of these factors include fundamental market features, whic h can affect and dictate the strategic business implementation and sound decision making from available options. The forecast of subsequent political, social, economic and technology implications in tandem with the company’s vision and ambition will ensure successful and purposeful development of the

Compare 2 Arguments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Compare 2 Arguments - Essay Example The internet has led to the emergence of the information society, whose mode of operation is purely based on information flow and access, (Lessig, 565-567). Technology has had a phenomenal impact on how people relate and carry themselves. This demands that information be available in a digital space or environment where it is fully accessible to all. This would make the world more innovative, (Lessig, 565-567). The idea of copyright laws has extremely restricted the used and flow of ideas. It is true that every person who comes up with a discovery should be appreciated in a way. The problem is when this appreciation goes to the extent of limiting the ingenuity. This is where the world is because of multiple copyright laws. The world is full of scientists who built on the discoveries of other scientists. People do not ask for permission from Professor Einstein or even Shakespeare before quoting their work as Lessig had used as examples. The result is that better discoveries have been made, (Cole 87-89). This means that, anyone who used that piece of work without the necessary permission does not have to be sued for it. What would happen if this was the case with every other creation or discovery? The world would be a better place. There is a growing concern that the world is becoming too commercial to nurture new and upcoming ideas. The reasoning behind copyright laws and patenting was to give the founders exclusive rights over the intellectual property. That is a bit different from trying to stifle development of intellectual property. The two contrasting opinions, must meet somewhere. The rationale behind protecting intellectual property must not exceed the need to give incentives for more discoveries. This is because advances and new creations are meant to make life better than it is or was. This is the real issue. Most copyright work comes from the derivative work, (Lessig, 565-567). Discoveries are built upon previous discoveries. According to the economics theory of property, property attracts less interest when it is freely available, (Cole 87-89). Indeed open source property does not attract a lot of attention as Julio Cole mentioned. Therefore, intellectual property laws create a situation where necessary ideas are monopolized so that they can be appreciated. That may be correct in some ways. Indeed, the introduction of intellectual property laws was meant to be a positive move to the young scientists and artists out there. However, this idea has mutated into something counter- productive altogether. According to Lawrence Lessig, the discoveries are made a very personal affair, as opposed to offering solutions. This can also be seen in newspapers and other forms of media which highlight lawsuits against people from musicians and other artists. As Cole says, free culture may not be the answer. Some people argue that ingenuity cannot be paid through money. If Einstein and Shakespeare were too concerned about intellectual property la ws, then they would have put a stop to the many upcoming scientists and writers who build on their work and ingenuity, (Lessig, 565-567). The critical question is, to what extent can copyright laws go? And are they absolute? Those who believe in a free culture push for the period of patents and copyright property to be lessened. If it is possible, then it can be done away with depending on the opinion of the innovator. Discoveries must be seen as a response to human global challenges,

Dissertation Module Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dissertation Module - Essay Example The most innovative work since the early 1990s, however, has been the development of understanding and elaboration of cognitive therapy approaches to the treatment of psychoses in urban and rural geographical regions. Thus, the interdisciplinary research occurs in the minds of the authors as well as in their interaction with each other. In this instance, the research, theory-building and clinical applications are a synthesis of individual and group effort. It is often difficult to know which comes first: theory, therapy or research. Theory serves as a roadmap for the clinician and informs the researcher regarding the important areas for investigation. On the other hand, the clinical works provides the data that generate the formulation of the theory and the ideas for research. Finally, research not only validates (or invalidates) the clinical and theoretical propositions but also provides new guidelines for therapy and ideas for theory building. The research will draw on the blend of theory, research and practice in developing the corpus of knowledge, formulating the basic assumptions, and adapting and refining appropriate strategies for the treatment of psychoses in urban and rural geographical regions. ... the corpus of knowledge, formulating the basic assumptions, and adapting and refining appropriate strategies for the treatment of psychoses in urban and rural geographical regions. The result will be a landmark in the evolution of cognitive therapy for psychoses. 8. Provide a brief outline of the research problem For centuries, it has been debated that the inordinateness of psychoses found in geographically urban areas (including city centres) is the consequence of social drift. Social drift is described as the resettlement of the populace suffering from various psychoses to the urban areas from outlying or rural geographical regions. The term psychosis includes disorders such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective and schizophreniform disorders, affective disorders where psychosis is present (e.g. in depression, mania, bipolar affective disorder) and delusional disorders. More recent research has shown, however, that there is an increased risk of psychosis within individuals born into an urban than rural areas (Warner, date, Jablensky, 1992). What is the causal agency for the increased risk of psychosis Is this due to increased rates of difficult births or obstetric complications, sunlight deprivation, environmental disturbances, ozone depletion or excesses of toxins Or, is there some other facto r yet to be studied An explanation of this phenomenon would contribute to our understanding of the causes of psychoses. 9. Provide a brief outline of the selected methodology and/or methods Here approach of this research is based on content analysis of previously conducted researches and studies. The data of our research will be based on previously conducted researches as mentioned above. In the data-gathering phase, the researcher will go through reading many studies of

Dont Actually Use This Crap Essay Example for Free

Dont Actually Use This Crap Essay I have decided to research and discuss how we can use heritage to build a nation in order to promote our understanding of a common humanity. In order to discuss and debate the abovementioned question we need to understand some key phrases in the question. In my opinion, that would include the following key concepts, namely; * heritage, * nation and * a common humanity. South Africa has come from a turbulent past where terms such as heritage, nation building and a common humanity meant different things to various population groups and realistically these concepts were worlds apart for the majority of South Africans. In order to achieve a common humanity, we need to respect all the cultures and religions within our country. People learn and are influenced by the place and the people around them. In a country like South Africa many people have learned from stories told to them. These stories carry information and ideas about life and living and shared customs, traditions and memories from parents to children. A persons heritage is made up of the practices, and traditions that are passed on from parents to children. Heritage is also about what has been passed on from the family, community and place where people have been raised. For example a person may have grown up in a family of medical professionals or in a proudly Zulu family where the old customs are still followed. This is part of their heritage. People also have a national heritage. A person who was born in South Africa has a South African heritage. This also means they have an African heritage because they were born on this continent. There are many South Africans who do not know what our Coat of Arms represents or the meaning of our flag and anthem. In order to be a truly successful nation we need to become more aware of these national symbols. If we achieve this it will contribute to a more powerful form of nation-building. In countries with a huge variety of cultural, ethnic, racial, religious and other social identities, nation-building is a big challenge. This challenge has led governments to take numerous steps to create a peaceful and workable country. In Africa the situation is made more difficult by the fact that there are many identities and cultures. Mandaza describes such states as nation-states-in-the-making, which are characterised by a lack of essence, weakness and dependency. I think that the role of the curriculum in schools plays an essential role in promoting an understanding of a common humanity in all young people. Researchers often make reference to the neglected role of the history curriculum in the debate on nation-building and the process of forging general citizenship in Africa. In this context, the concept curriculum is understood from many people to be the point of view of the political party in power. The curriculum emerges directly from society and is an ideological tool as well as a vehicle of social change driven by the dominant social group. As such, it plays a central role in the development and reproduction of society over time and geographical area. Seen from this perspective, it is no wonder that the curriculum is driven by political regimes in an endeavour to promote common values and form a particular type of citizen. We most certainly can, but it takes a lot of hard work. Each of our many cultures must get a little space in the sun. What we must also realise though is that some cultures are very different from others and that some people might find the things we may want to defend offensive. The question we should ask is whether our practices are more likely to cause division and friction, or whether it is going to bring people of different cultures together. What we should perhaps work on is getting our country to a point where there is loyalty to the flag no matter what. We must be able to really be proud of our achievements as a nation, and not vote people into office that will embarrass us. If we can all stand behind the flag, I think it will be one thing that can unite us. Look what the Rugby World Cups and the recent 2010 Soccer World Cup did for our nation. The whole nation standing for a common cause and goal. There was a real sense of nation-building. Culture is not something you are born with. It is learned from family, school, religious teachings, television and media and the government of a country. Advertisements, magazines and movies are also powerful guides. For example American music videos promote a certain style of dress, values, expression and attitude for young people. Many young people like the cool speak of American pop music rather than talking in their home language. Schools and religious organisations also play a big role. Religion has many rituals that symbolise belonging to a particular culture. South Africa has been called the rainbow nation because it has so many cultural practices. Cultural practices are how we talk and behave, the ways in which we pray, the special things we do when we have festivals, births and deaths. We have groups with different languages, religions, race, customs and traditions e. . Zulu, Ndebele, Khoisan, Hindu, Muslim and Afrikaner people. All of these people are united by being South African and all of their ways of life form part of our country’s identity and culture. It is important to promote and be proud of our South African culture and identity. This helps South Africans to understand and respect each other and to learn from each other’s cultural practices. This is part of the healing that demo cracy has brought after culture was used to divide South Africans in the past. For this reason the government has a project called â€Å"Proudly South African† that encourages South Africans to value each other and the country. The past is all around us. We live our lives against a rich backdrop of historic buildings, landscapes and other physical survivals of our past. But the historic environment is more than just a matter of material remains. It is central to how we see ourselves and to our identity as individuals, communities and as a nation. It is a physical record of what our country is and how it came to be. Building materials and styles can define region’s localities and communities. Historic landscapes or iconic buildings can become a focus of community identity and pride. At a more local level a historic church or park can help define a neighbourhood and create a sense of identity and belonging. The importance that we attach to our ‘heritage’ is growing each year, and that is why events such as Heritage Day are important in enabling people to value and appreciate their local, regional and national heritage. I encourage people of all ages to take this opportunity to visit, tour and experience the buildings and streets on your doorstep and learn a little about the rich heritage of the region in which you live. Port Elizabeth and the Eastern Cape is full of heritage. Nation building enables history to be rewritten, and the apartheid legacy of devaluing and erasing the heritage of black South Africans from the consciousness of the nation to be reversed, facilitating healing and further weakening the feelings of â€Å"better† citizenship of one population group over the other. Attempts to reverse this and give back pride to the African, Indian and Coloured South Africans receive support from many people. This includes government efforts to teach children about African heroes and Africa’s contributions to world history and culture. Nation building is necessary to build trust, which is directly linked with stronger economic performance. If all South Africans were passionate and believed in each other and were not divided on many issues as we are, our country would perform better financially and this would improve international investments and job opportunities. We (South Africans) need to develop the same patriotism and passion that the Americans show to their flag and anthem. We can continue to rebuild our nation with our heritage by raising awareness. There are a lot of South Africans who do not know anything about the Heritage of our country, therefore, by having exhibitions, distributing leaflets, organising work groups (community and schools), quarterly newsletters distributed within the community, media exposure or maybe even raising awareness by means of radio shows , talks and shows, we can continue to build our nation. Only when all Africans own and cherish their cultural heritage, when they identify and embrace the majesty of Mapungubwe, when they speak and learn through their languages and can therefore dream, sing and dance in their own languages, shall we see rapid social economic development of the people of Africa. A nation needs a history. History buys you time to get rid of emotional responses and see things rationally. The English civil war, for example, has taught people of Royalist descent that a ruler who leeches the country for his/her personal benefits shouldnt be tolerated. On the other hand, descendants of Parliamentarians can see that its not enough just to chop off a bad kings head. You need something good to replace him with. England had eleven years of misery after beheading Charles 1, and couldnt wait to get another king. Nobody could understand that at the time because they were emotionally involved with one side or the other. It took time for both sides to overcome the hurts and prejudices, and to understand what happened, but eventually, they grew as a nation from the lessons learned. Heroes fall into two categories. They can either be people of great achievement (like Newton or Darwin) or they can reflect some aspect of national character (like Robin Hood or Scotlands William Wallace). Heroes are people that kids can look up to, people who inspire kids to achieve something, and that all helps to form a single national identity. A common identity the need to preserve it, promote it and keep it alive is a struggle of both individuals and many nations. Your identity is not only a current thing. It is originates from and is dependent upon the sum-total of your cultural heritage. All the things that your ancestors have done on the cultural front, i. e. their language, dances, rituals, dress, food and all that, contribute towards your present identity. As a young South African I feel that the youth of today need to learn and understand the events of the past so we can understand how to move forward in the best interests of all South Africans. I consider it essential for our future that we all stand behind a common identity namely our flag and anthem. Nation building is important and imperative to create a feeling of belonging and with it accountability and responsible behaviour. Efforts must be made to ensure that all cultures are respected and equal citizenship for all guaranteed. This is important because for centuries the dominant people in power aimed to diminish all culture and history of certain cultures and religions. This â€Å"past† obviously did not use heritage to build a nation in order to promote our understanding of a common humanity.

Living in a big city or living in the contryside Essay Example for Free

Living in a big city or living in the contryside Essay It has long been a controversy among people that living in a small town or in a big city is more preferable. While some people claim that living in such big cities as capital or any other great city can result in more comfortable, others feel that residence in the smaller town cannot merely give them peaceful lives but also make them healthier than people living in a big city. In my opinion, I have prejudice for residence in a small town due to some reasons. Although town-dwellers can survive considerably more convenient than those who live in the country side having many facilities and amenities for them, they must confront with much pollution in their hometown. That tiny particles from big industries and toxic gases from million cars tend to increase more and more are used to characterize the town nowadays. On the contrary, lacking in advance technologies makes rural life happy and peaceful. Rural-dweller can enjoy living in real nature. They can waste Just a little time to go to work, unlike town-dwellers who have much trouble with traffic Jam and lso they can spend times they left during the day to do more enjoyable and funnier activities such as exercise, shopping or playing game with their children. Moreover, people who live in the country side are likely to have longer longevity and healthier than those who inhabit in the town. High technologies can harm and cause so serious health problems to the people who are denizen of the town. In conclusion, I would rather live in the small country than in the big city. Even though, the comfort ability in the town appeals many people, I prefer to spend my life simply and happily.

The Employment And Reintegration For Registered Sex Offenders Criminology Essay

The Employment And Reintegration For Registered Sex Offenders Criminology Essay Employment and reintegration into the community for registered sex offenders is a daunting challenge due to victim access concerns, employment restrictions, reluctance from potential employers because of the stigma, housing and transportation problems. These are critical barriers that exacerbate finding employment. Instability in the above areas has also been correlated with recidivism. In order to secure safety and successful reintegration of sex offenders into the community, collaboration between the prison system and community partners are needed to facilitate vocational and career training to develop, improve and enhance sex offenders job skills and competencies to prepare them for reentry into society and the workforce (Center for sex offender management). What are Perceived Barriers to Employment Vocational Opportunities for Registered Sex Offenders? Many offenders will be released from state and federal institutions with many challenges and barriers to come when they enter and/or reenter the workforce. The barriers will not only be at an individual level, it will be at a social, environmental, and economical level. There are limited resources available to aide in the transition of offenders, even more so for individuals who are registered sex offenders. Sustainable employment is critical to the success of an ex-offenders avoiding re-offending. Vocational guidance an assistance programs that include financial assistance and follow-up services have been shown to be very effective in not only keeping the community safe but also decreasing the numbers of offenders re-offending and improving the number of offenders finding gainful employment (Harrison Schehr, 2004). The need for additional vocational and career training programs to develop job skills and competencies for ex-offenders is an immense necessity. There is limited researc h on the specific issues that ex-offenders face while attempting to reintegrate into the legitimate workforce and the lack of career development focus on the specific needs of this population (Shivy, Wu, Moon Mann, 2007). Ex-offenders are generally released to the community on conditional and unconditional terms. Ex-offenders that are granted conditional terms are a form of supervision that is mandated by the courts and is managed through a probation or parole officer (Shivy, et. al. 2007). Conditional release can include restrictions and rules such as curfews, drug testing, and the requirement to search for, obtain, and keep a job (Shivy, et., al. 2007). McDonough Burrell (2008) suggest the traditional approach to offender employment has been passive on the behalf of the parole/probation officers (PO). The training of PO as employment specialist has also promoted the change in the probation philosophy including physical changes in probation agencies replacing sports and general interest magazines with employment related reading materials and posters (McDonough Burrell, 2007). Parole agencies play a critical role in the supervision of ex-prisoners and the reduction of recidivism rates (Rakis, 2005). Preliminary results of this study are promising. In addition, probation staffs are required to assess risk of sex-offenders and ex-offenders in employment. POs are launched in an array of different job duties that include assessing if certain jobs are suitable or not suitable not based on level of knowledge, skills, and/or interest or abilities of offenders but monitoring sex offenders and offenders in their work related activities to ensure they do not have opportunities to reoffend. These opportunities to reoffend include taking in consideration the type of job, co-workers, and location of employer, work hours and travel routes needed to get to job sites (Brown, Deakin Spencer, 2005). There are well-funded and comprehensive programs like Accelerated Community Entry Program (ACE) aimed at preparing offenders for community reentry, successfully focusing on the many barriers faced by offenders when released however barriers such as housing, community reactions, self-support and cos t threatens long-term success of programs such as ACE (Knollenberg Martin, 2008). In addition, some conditional released programs are well-funded and have a comprehensive and focused on deterring re-offense but similar to ACE program face significant barriers in housing, community reactions (Arkowitz, Shale Carabello, 2008). Barriers are not just limited to the sex offenders and ex-offenders but also programs that are set out to help in the process of reintegration into the community. The termed phrase to encompass the process of inmates transitioning from correctional institutions to the community is prisoner reentry (Shivy, et. al. 2007). This construct has gained valuable curiosity with policymakers acknowledging prominent disadvantages and challenges of the reintegration process that include substance abuse, physical and mental health, employability and workforce participation, housing and the interrelationships among these challenges for ex-offenders (Shivy, et., al. 2007). Harrison Schehr (2004) reported that upon release from prison ex-offenders receive an average of $69 from the state department of correction, or between $100-$500 from the Federal Bureau of Prisons to aid in their transition back into their communities. Although, this may seem like a substantial amount of money to help in the process but this is very minuscule to an individual who has no family or support network to depend on and to rely on this money until a job is obtained may be fright ening for an ex-offender. As offenders search for legitimate work opportunities, they deal with the stigma attached to a criminal record and being a registered sex offender and legally enforced employment restrictions barring them from working in several occupations (Harrison Schehr, 2004). In addition, most states and federal government prohibit ex-offenders from accessing public aid funds or financial assistance for school. It appears that society continues to further punish offenders for a crime they have paid their debt to society by serving their time. However, when returning to the community the system remains to oppress and disadvantage these individuals. Invisible punishments embedded within existing policies will continue to further oppress without modifications of these policies the ability of reentry services to foster behavioral health and community reintegration is limited (Pogorselski, Wolff, Pan Blitz, 2005). Many released inmates are forced to return to isolated, impoverished communities where few jobs opportunities exist (Harrison Schehr, 2004). According to the Reentry Policy Council, ex-offenders face barriers at an individual and community level that hinders efforts to secure and maintain employment. Barriers are mainly due to ex-offenders returning to communities that have limited amount of available jobs due to the low-income, disadvantaged communities which provide few contacts to legitimate work, weak networks and contacts. In addition, the stigma of having a criminal record exacerbates employability and earning capabilities because of limited education, low skill levels and physical, mental and drug problems (Reentry Policy Council). In addition, Bergman Chalkley (2007) address a new aspect of stigma to include dirty work which are tasks, jobs, or occupations that most members of society would rather not personally perform because the work, or people or setting associated with it, is viewed by society as repugnant, revolting, or debasing. Dirty work is potentially stigmatizing to people who either currently or formerly performed duties and are judged negatively because of the job, in which they may had only qualified for and/or met the standards due to location, education and criminal history. Most employers are reluctant and hesitant to hire ex-offenders, especially sex offenders. There state and federal laws that prohibit individuals with certain convictions to work in certain occupations (Reentry Policy Council). Employers fear taking a risk of hiring an ex-offender since they can be held legally liable for certain crimes if committed by an employee of their own. Brown and colleagues (2005) purports that American employers are more negative about employing ex-offenders but become more positive if offenders increased their education while incarcerated compared to Britain which are fairly positive in considering individuals with criminal records depending on size and industry type. Research has suggested that there is a hierarchy of offenses, suggesting there is a greater likelihood that employers would employ offenders of some offense categories rather than others with sex offenses being the most serious and judged the must negatively by employers with employers not at a ll likely to employ (Brown, et.al. 2005). One of the most challenging of barriers to employment for ex-offenders is the criminal record in which they are responsible for disclosing to potential employers and offenders being cognizant that they will not be judged on experience, skills or abilities but the criminal record. Even if the offender is not honest about their criminal history, legislation allows employers to seek disclosure from the criminal record bureau to any convictions an employee or potential employee may have. There are common characteristics that have been identified that reduce employability which include low literacy rate, school drop-outs, no qualifications, alcohol, drug and health problems and accommodation requirements (Brown et. al., 2005). Career services offered by the correctional systems throughout the United States have been vocational in nature providing skills training in prison industry jobs that can be held during incarceration which reduce operating cost of the prison by inmates supplying many of the services (Shivy, et. al., 2007). Educational training is provided to offenders to earn a general education degree. Employment training services that are provided in prisons focus on basic career-related activities such as resume writing, interviewing, and workplace relationship skills (Shivy, et. a., 2007). The correctional system efforts are being put into ex-offenders finding a job after release but not on the awareness of their career interests, needs/values, and abilities and suitability of jobs for offenders (Shivy, et. al., 2007). Correspondingly, Basile (2005) suggest that sex offenders and ex-offenders lack education and vocational skills, however, the focus need to be on treating and rehabilitating these individuals holistically at the point of entry and release to foster success in the transition into the community. Bouffard, Mackenzie Hickman (2000) found in their examination of effectiveness of vocational education and employment programs in reducing recidivism of the adult correctional population: are vocational education programs, multi-component correctional industry programs, and community programs have been shown to work and be effective in reducing recidivism. Graffam, Shinkfield, Lavelle McPherson (2004) conducted a study examining six domains influencing reintegration of ex-offenders including personal conditions, justice system, rehabilitation and counseling support, and employment and training support. Participants were asked to identify variables within each domain that affect success or failure of offenders in making a positive life transition. The results identified variables included a readiness to change, achieving stable housing and obtaining employment, avoidin g illegal activity and complying with mandatory reporting, remaining free of dependency, and addressing basic education and training needs. Shivy and colleagues (2007) found similar results, that the role of social networks was very important to ex-offenders. Suggesting that finding and keeping a supportive social network is highly correlated with ex-offenders finding and keeping a job and the possibility of the workplace offering opportunities for social support network. Many ex-offenders may lack social skills and confidence may also approach social situations with considerable amount of anxiety coupled with the impact of the stigma associated with being an ex-offender. The environmental factors that ex-offenders are encountering such as limited job opportunities are addressed in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT). This theory acknowledges that career development can be made difficult by environmental influences such as differential socialization processes and opportunities as well as internalization of these influences (Chartrand Rose, 1996). It is important to understand some ex-offenders may have confidence in their own ability to accomplish a career task but believe that their efforts will not be rewarded because of external forces such as discrimination. SCCT purports that when opportunities are limited, the direct effects of self-efficacy and outcome beliefs on choice actions will be stronger than their indirect effects through interests and goals (Chartrand Rose, 1996). When working with ex-offenders the need to understand their beliefs about opportunities may be primary and interest exploration and goal setting is secondary (Chartrand Rose, 1996). Chartrand Rose (1996) suggest that the impact of sociocultural and economic factors is important but it is imperative that counselors are cognizant that at-risk populations view work as a source of income rather than a source of self-realization. However, professionals should be careful to not over generalize or assume that these individuals experiencing many barriers and hardships ;do not want or need career development services the demand for immediate employment is primary but work experience serves as a source of positive identity and stepping stones to future career opportunities (Chartran Rose, 1996). The offender population has not been highly considered by the counseling profession in the design and the delivery of career development interventions (Shivy, et. al. 2007). The expertise of counseling psychologist in career development and transition in personal and work related adjustment appears to be a good fit to tap into work with the diverse ex-offender population (Shivy and colleagues, 2007). Methods Participants 50 male registered sex offenders from each state will be recruited from National Probation offices across the United States. All males will be 18 years of age and up of all ethnicities. All males will be convicted of a state sex crime including individuals that have assaulted children and adults. The registered sex offenders will be on parole/probation and being supervised while living in the community. All participants will have been released from prison/jail for 6 months and have not violated and/or reoffended since their release date. Participation in this study will fully be voluntary and will be explained that participation in this study will not in any shape or form help with any court dates, sentencing and/or leniency in their current parole/probation. Materials All registered sex offenders will complete a demographic information sheet which will include questions about age, race, education, sex offense, current and past employment and etc. Participants will be interviewed utilizing a semi-structured interview that will ask questions about their experience, barriers to work and their vocational opportunities, attitudes and perceptions of employment. In addition, questions about self-efficacy, interest, abilities, health and disabilities. All interviews will be tape recorded. Procedure Participants will be contacted by principle researcher to invite sex offenders to participate in study. All information of sex offenders will be provided by participating probation officers and agencies. The study will fully be explained to all offenders, where the offenders will agree or disagree to participate in the study. Researcher will then schedule a time to meet or be contacted via phone. All informed consent forms will be completed before any participation in the study. For individuals who opt for the phone contact interview, informed consent will need to be mailed or faxed before scheduled appointment. The interviews will last between 45 to 60 minutes each. The interviews will be conducted on a semi-structured basis and will be recorded. The purpose and goal of this study will be clearly explained. All interviews will be transcribed by trained research assistants. All assistants will be trained on administering semi-structured interviews, demographic information sheet and trained on transcribing. Each state will have 10 trained student research assistants that will recruit and administer interviews over a timeline of 1 to 3 years. In addition, all research assistants will be trained on qualitative research and coding. Each site will transcribe interviews and code interviews for developing themes and patterns. Each site will have a lead researcher/investigator that will oversee each research site. After all data has been collected, coded and transcribed lead researchers will meet and collaborate with fellow lead researchers from other recruitment sites across the country. Lead resea rchers will meet to examine data and develop final themes and patterns of data where inter-rater reliability can be conducted to confirm themes and patterns for manuscript writing. Analysis The analysis to be utilized for this qualitative study will be Phenomenological/hermeneutics approach. This approach was selected based on the descriptive, interpretative nature of this study setting out to understand the perceived barriers of registered sex offenders in their journey to reintegrate back into the community and workforce and create meaning of the these lived experiences of sex offenders through semi-structured interviews (Ryan, Coughlan Cronin, 2007). Initially, the data will be openly read without focusing on the research question in order to understand the participants expression and meaning in the broadest context. Secondly, researchers will differentiate the parts of the description meaning units. Themes will be identified to organize the data. Attitude is a big component in the phenomenological approach; attitude will be expected to be considered for all research assistants participating in the data analysis (Wertz, 2005). Attitude will assist research assistants in fully submerging themselves in the written description for reflection on meaning and experiential processes (Ryan et. al. 2007). Through examination of the transcribed interviews, research assistants will be able to look for features that can be identified as general, to verify the broader applicability of the insight and knowledge from interview to interview. This process will render common meaning, general constituents, themes, psychological processes and organi zational features (Ryan, et. al. 2007).

Kosovo And Milosevic Essay example -- essays research papers

“I wouldn’t mind if they needed to take [Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic] out,'; said Chris Walter, 23, a college student living in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. I felt the same way about Saddam Hussein. I think the longer you keep the problem around, the sooner it is going to come back and bite you.'; From the Washington Post April 18th, 1999 The horrors of the atrocities committed against Kosovo such as the targeted attacks on civilians, “ethnic cleansing';, and most certainly mass murder have a greater impact globally than what may appear on the surface. On a humanitarian level, all these situations are marked by the same killing mixture of hope and despair – frightened women, terrified children, despondent old men and women, and helpless adults looking towards the corner of the street and gazing at the sky hoping for a miracle that does not happen – until they are driven out of their homes at gunpoint, and their houses looted and put to torch in front of their eyes – and they still thank God for sparing the lives of those who survived to face the next ordeal. This story is being repeated in the Balkans for the umpteenth time. Almost a month after the most powerful military grouping in history launched air attacks on rump Yugoslavia to compel adherence to a peace accord, a human tragedy of grotesque proportions continues to unfold in Kosovo. Nearly 50 per cent of its Albanian population has been forced to flee the country under the relentless assault of the Yugoslav army and police, amid unbelievably cruel carnage of human lives and burning of villages and towns. Kenneth Waltz’s first-image theory rests on the assumption that the causes of war are to be found in the nature and behavior of man and on the role of specific individuals, as in this case Slobodan Milosevic. If you ask the question "Why is a war taking place in Kosovo?" a large part of the reply must be "Because of Slobodan Milosevic." In an interview with Newsweek’s Lally Weymouth, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer bluntly linked Milosevic with the two names whose shadows still linger over modern Europe. Milosevic, said Fischer, "was ready to act like Stalin and Hitler—to fight a war against the existence of a whole people." It is Milosevic who has lit the flame of evil;... ...le of double standards, and credit must be given to President Clinton for using US power and influence to hammer out the Dayton Accords that brought the nightmare in Bosnia-Herzegovina to an end in 1996. But what can be said about the current situation? NATO’s Secretary general Javier Solana wants to see Milosevic indicted: “We think that at a political level President Milosevic clearly bears responsibility for what’s going on in Kosovo,'; State Department spokesman James Rubin said in Washington last week. Yugoslavia was once a vibrant, multicultural society with one of the highest living standards and the greatest degrees of openness in the Soviet bloc, a country of extraordinary natural and historical beauty. Today it is a bombed out, fanatic-ridden shell. The real problem that should receive urgent attention is that massive human rights violations be stopped and the refugees extended every assistance to enable them to return to their homes, most of which will have to be rebuilt. Apart from a political solution that respects the rights of the Kosovars, those guilty of massacres and ethnic cleansing must be brought to book through war crimes trials.

Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Oedipus the King - Power of

Free Will and Fate in Oedipus the King      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Greeks believed that the universe was guided in a harmoniums purpose by cosmic order and fate. Sophocles has, in Oedipus the King, depicted the underlying relationship of man's free will existing within the cosmic order and fate. Man was free to choose and was ultimately held responsible for his own actions.    Oedipus' destruction was brought about by a combination of fate and free will. He was a victim of fate for it was foretold at his birth that he would ma... ...rnia Press, 1964. Segal, Charles. Oedipus Tyrannus: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993. Sophocles.   "Oedipus Rex."   An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed.Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al.   New York: Longman, 1997.   

Downfall of our public schools Essay

As much as we would like to be able to assert that American public schools are the best in the world, time and time again we have been proven wrong, at least partially. The American system of public schools is failing those it serves. It has failed to provide equal educational opportunities to all students, it has failed to train them to take jobs and advanced careers, and it has failed to secure the future of American prosperity by failing utterly to create the kind of necessary professional and skilled labor balance that is critical to our continued prominence as a nation. On structural, financial, and curricular levels, the system is not designed to succeed. What it does do well is prepare a very small number of people who come from wealthy families to have any opportunity they want to take advantage of and leaves the vast majority of the nation to fend for itself – often without the tools, support, or ability to do so. The American public system of education bases its curriculum on several overarching principles: generalization, focus on the liberal arts, and an emphasis on individual achievement and self-selection (meaning that individual students determine the course of their own education and career path rather than being funneled into specific schools and programs as is common in other countries). Each of these, philosophically, is designed to help students achieve the greatest level of self-reliance and independence while providing the broad liberal foundation that can be, theoretically, applied in any situation, in any calling. Those are the benefits of a liberal foundation, but the detriments are that without specialization in education, students aren’t able to focus intensely upon their particular subject area until as late as college, and perhaps a small amount in high-school. The result is that students focusing on a general education for 12 years are allowed only 4-5 years of specialization (Browser, 10). Other nations, notably Japan and Germany, employ a system of education that, as early as elementary school, begins to identify potential school types and careers for students and puts them through specialization 4-6 years earlier than the US (Browser, 10). This results in many of these nations excelling in math and science where the U. S. falters. But, this is not the only point of failure of the U. S. system, the 2005 study of reading and mathematical proficiencies of 4th and 8th graders nationwide found that less than 40% of all students tested were grade-level proficient in those subjects (Standard & Poors, pNA). This figure gets worse when the schools are dominantly African-American or Hispanic in Graduation Graduation rates are similarly dismal – only 69. 7% of American high school students matriculate (â€Å"High School Graduation Rates in the United States†, pNA). The American public school curricula is failing its students. There are a variety of opportunities throughout the continuum of public education to directly assist students in determining the career path that best suits not only their individual skills and needs, but those of the nation as well. In my own experience, I witnessed high school programs that taught industrial arts, and job-related programs that had been designed to provide students who would not be going to college with the skills necessary to enter the workforce upon graduation get cut out of the curricula entirely. The reasoning given was that the school wanted to focus on achieving higher levels of college entrance, and to increase the numbers of college-prep courses available. This, on paper, sounded great, but in reality it left many students completely without post-high school support. If the American dream requires college, then we are absolutely failing our students by allowing (in some districts) more than half of the population to fail out of school entirely. If we take a realistic look at how students could benefit from industrial arts, business training, home economics, and other job-related training, providing intensive specialization in high-school would allow for a much higher success rate and a higher graduation rate. Our system is failing its students in terms of investment in their present and their future. Schools get the majority of their funding from locally levied taxes with additional state and federal support. It should be no surprise, then, that the districts with the largest tax base to population ratio results in a much larger amount of money available for schools than in districts with a low tax to population ratio. For example, in Nevada, there are two primary sources of funds for schools – property tax and gambling revenue taxes. In districts with the highest value of homes, the tax base is very high, resulting in significantly more money per pupil available than in districts with less expensive homes or those dominated by apartments and low-income housing which do not pay nearly as much in property tax per resident than do the more affluent communities (â€Å"America Goes Back to School†, pNA). The impact, then, is not only significant regional differences in the amount of money available per student, but these differences can be found at the district by district level throughout the entire country. Not surprisingly, those schools with the highest per-capita spending capability are also among the highest ranked schools in the nation (there are no inner city urban public schools in the top 100 high schools in the nation). Therefore, by failing to provide a balanced financial opportunity for every school district, we are pre-determining the level of success, graduation, and career opportunity for entire swaths of students. The poor, the Black and Hispanic, and the otherwise disadvantaged will remain so because they (as a community) will never be able to catch up in terms of opportunity and performance with the more successful communities until we balance the amount of money spent per student throughout the entire nation. On a structural and statistical level, in terms of money and curricular focus, our public school system is failing its students and the communities it is supposed to serve. Despite a continual â€Å"focus† on education, our graduation rates and basic skills passing rates are absolutely dismal. Our generalist curricula has absolutely failed to contribute meaningfully to reducing the massive gaps in our workforce. Finally, the severe imbalance in spending and available funds from district to district and community to community has led to a near permanent state of success and failure for the entire student population in each of those districts. Ultimately, then, the system has failed and is continuing to fail to properly educate, support, and allow our students to contribute to the betterment of society and our success in the international community. References Browser, Jack. Educating America: Lesson Learned in the Nation’s Corporations. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1989. United States Department of Education. â€Å"America Goes back to School† www. ed. gov/Family/agbts/index. html. Online. Internet. Info Acc March, 2007. Standard & Poors. â€Å"United States Public Schools & Districts: How Students Performed on National Reading and Math Tests†. SchoolMatters. com Online. Internet. Avail: http://www. schoolmatters. com/app/location/q/stid=1036196/llid=162/stllid=676/locid=1036195/site=pes. Info Acc March 18, 2007. Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. â€Å"High School Graduation Rates in the United States†. Manhattan-Institute. org. Online. Internet. Avail: http://www. manhattan-institute. org/html/cr_baeo. htm. Info Acc March 19, 2007.

College Students Essay

The number of international students enrolled in U. S. institutions has grown by 23 percent in the last five years. This is because the international community recognizes education in the U. S. All credit is given to University administrators who make sure that the courses students take are rigorous and prepares them for the real world ahead of them. The only problem is that Universities make students take some courses that are irrelevant to their major, thereby wasting precious time and money. Engineering is one of the most popular majors offered in United States’ Universities. It is a gateway to job opportunities but most Universities waste student’s time by forcing them to take classes that are not engineering related during their first two years of college. In most Universities, students majoring in Engineering have to take classes like fine art, government, history etc. Instead of giving these students specific courses that would prepare them for the rigorous work of engineering and reduce the time they would spend in school, Universities rather choose to introduce them to broader aspect of college, forcing them to take classes they do not need and increasing the time, they spend in college. Higher Institutions increase the time and courses college students have to take, because the more classes they take the more money the University pockets. They use this method to rip students off, thereby making college expenses ridiculously high and almost unpayable for some students. Education is not supposed to be costly, but student’s bank accounts are constantly punished by greed and bad decision making by University officials. This is why most American students abstain from furthering their educations in higher institutions after high school. The cost scares some of them, and they do not see the need to spend all their money on education. Universities should not scare Americans away from Higher Institutions by making them take classes that would dry up their bank accounts and waste their time. Instead they should give them the privilege of going to intern after high school and come back to take only the courses they need for their major. This saves students valuable time, money, and at the same time makes college more attractive to those Americans who have shunned Higher education because of the cost. When students are given the opportunity of interning before they choose their path in life, they not only get an idea of what they will wake up to every morning, but they also gain experience. This makes the courses and classes they would take later on a lot easier and understandable to them. The experience they gain from interning gives them a sense of direction on whether to continue in that career or if they should do something more profiting and interesting to them. . In order for us to get more Americans into college and reduce the competition coming from the international community, higher institutions need to make college more affordable and more meaningful for students. To make Universities affordable, students should be allowed to do all those classes that are required but relevant to a student’s major in high school. After graduation, students should have the opportunity of choosing between being an intern in their desired field for a year, before registering for that major, or going the normal route of wasting time taking classes they do not need.

Cast Study Ban on Shark Fin Soup

Case Study – Banning of Shark fin soup in Jade Restaurant. The refusal of not banning shark fin soup at Jade Restaurant can affect many stakeholders. This includes the owner/shareholder, suppliers, special interest groups (SIGS), customers, and also the government. The owners and shareholders are definitely going to be affected because if the ban were to go through they would lost a portion of the profit that they would’ve earned if it weren’t for the ban. The suppliers are obviously going to be affected as well if the ban gets through, as they will not be able to supply the restaurant with shark fins, therefore their profit will go down.They would’ve lost a trade partner or maybe have to find a new one. Special interest groups, especially the pressure groups will rejoice because they have accomplished their goal in banning shark fin soup in the city. Another external stakeholder that is affected is the customers. They are partly why activists groups are b anning shark fin soup, because there are so many people buying it. Customers who originally come to Jade Restaurant for their shark fin soup will be disappointed. They may have to travel very far to eat shark fin soup and even may have to do it illegally.Lastly, the government will be affected if this ban does get through. The government is in charge of passing the law. If activist group gets enough attention and influence from the general public then the municipal government will have to act upon the public’s interest and introduce a bill. There are many conflicts that arise in this situation. For one, if the ban does not get pass and the owner decides to continue the shark fin soup business then the activist groups may lobby and give a bad name to Jade Restaurant. This may persuade customers to not eat there, even if they are not going there for shark fin soup anyway.Their name could be soiled by the media, which in this case, is spread through the activist groups. Stakehol der Map| Low Power| High Power| Low Interest| Customers| Municipal Government| High Interest| Pressure Groups| Shareholders| It would be wise to pay attention to the shareholders as they are the ones keeping the business running with their investments. Next, we should keep the government informed on such matters because we do not want the government to shut down our business. We should keep pressure groups satisfied because they are the ones who really have a voice that can influence what the general public thinks.

Cocacola Company

The Coca-Cola Company Name Institution The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company deals with the manufacture of beverages that are non-alcoholic. The Coca-Cola Company has over four hundred brands in many countries of the world. The Company is responsible for manufacturing, distribution and marketing of the beverage product. It uses a franchised system of distribution where the concentrated syrup is sold to bottlers that are in most countries (Coca Cola Company & Quality Information Publishers, 2007). The refreshment Company is Centralized with Human Resource staff that are highly experienced.Centralization in the company helps improve employee’s relation and benefits the consultants (Hays, 2004). The Coca-Cola Company has a mission of refreshing the world, inspiring moments of optimism and creating value as well as making a difference. The vision of the Company states what the Company aims at achieving. The Company has an emphasis on the customers, partners, portfolio, profi t making and productivity of the Company (Foster, 2008). The Company uses a multi-divisional matrix because of its huge size and scope of operation. Coca-Cola Company has many International staffs in the separate International Divisions that it owns.They are all isolated from the main head office as they are located in Africa, Europe, Pacific, Latin and North America. These divisions are further divided according to the geographical location. This is crucial since it helps in decision making at the local level of the region (Isdell & Beasley, D, 2011). When decisions about the Company product are made at the local level, the Coca-Cola Company is able to change with the demands in the market. Such an organizational structure is effective for a big Company. Coca-Cola Company has close-fitting operations that are operated from the head office.The organizational structure of Coca-Cola Company is aimed at meeting the sensitivity of the market in the region where the Company is located (K alapos, 2006). The organizational structure of the Coca-Cola Company is designed to fulfill its own requirements. There both formal and policies and rules within the Company. The structure helps in the facilitation of communication and authority within the Company (Hays, 2004). For the organizational structure of Coca-Cola Company to be effective, it should clarify employees’ responsibilities so as to eliminate any possible obstacles.Designing the organizational structure of Coca-Cola Company is the process since all resources must be coordinated in an effective way. This helps curb competition in the environment where Coca-Cola Company is located. The structure is required to be flexible, constantly change and evolve with the changes in the environment. Coca-Cola Company organizational design in any region of the world needs to learn faster, execute its roles quickly and change easily for it to maintain and increase its market share in the area (Hays, 2004).The Coca-Cola Com pany fins benefits in standardization because of the many acquisitions that are made by the company. It does not use local policies but uses shared policies for the entire company. This is aimed at ensuring that the customer experience is similar for their interaction. Standardization in the company helps in retention and recruitment. The idea of hiring highly motivated and competent personnel to work in the company is an emerging issue. It is crucial for the company to have skilled employees for success reasons (Isdell & Beasley, D, 2011).Coca-Cola Company has mass production, and it must hence use mechanized structures for efficient production. The Coca-Cola Company does not produce the end products, but it distributes the concentrated syrup to bottlers to sell the product. To boost the Company performance, the lower management has been involved in the company’s activities, and this instills a sense of responsibility to them. Coca-Cola Company has worked out on ways aimed a t reducing bureaucracy and speed the process of decision making. (Coca Cola Company & Quality Information Publibhers, 2007).Decision making within the company is done through incremental process where it does not readily decide on the creation of new products (Hays, 2004). The decision making process within Coca-Cola Company can be termed as unstructured since the model involves those in the lower management even in decision making (Hays, 2004). Unstructured decision making is useful to the Company as it helps in solving problems and decision making process within the company. (Hays, 2004). Coca-Cola Company helps in environmental and climate protection efforts.The Company has good programs to balance on the use of water in the line of production (Hays, 2004). The Company has many water initiatives in various communities as well as efforts to conserve soil and climate (Coca Cola Company & Quality Information Publishers, 2007). The lifecycle of Coca-Cola Company products starts from the ingredients used in the manufacture of the syrup, packaging, manufacturing, distribution, refrigeration and storage, consumption and finally recycling the cans (Isdell & Beasley, D, 2011).Coca-Cola Company was started in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The founder of the Company who was John Pemberton sold it to Asa Chandler who named it Coca-Cola Company in 1892 (Isdell & Beasley, D, 2011). There is a competitive advantage between the Coca-Cola Company and the distributors. There is a symbiotic relationship that is interdependent where the failure or success of one has an impact on the other (Pendergrast, 1993). Over a year, the Coca-Cola Company has built strong brands of drinks which cannot be imitated by its competitors (Pendergrast, 1993).COCA-COLA COMPANY STAKEHOLDERS| METHOD OF COMMUNICATION | BOTTLING PARTNERS | ISSUES CONSULTATION | EMPLOYEES| SURVEYS | NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS| ISSUES CONSULTATION | SHAREOWNERS | REGULAR COMMUNICATION AND CONSULTATION | SUPPLIERS| REVIEW MEEETINGS | COMMUNITIES| CONSULTATION AND INTERVEW | CONSUMERS| FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS AND INTERVIEWS| The table shows the method of communication used by Coca-Cola Company in reaching out to its stakeholders. Organizational structure of Coca-Cola CompanyCoca-Cola Company president | Staff Manufacturing Plant | Finance Marketing | Europe Division, Latin America, Division, North America Division, Africa Division, Pacific Division | Many Subdivisions | References Coca Cola Company. , & Quality Information Publishers. (2007). Historic vending machine films. Asheville, N. C. : Quality Information Publishers. Hays, C. L. (2004).Pop: Truth and power at the Coca-Cola Company. London: Hutchinson. Isdell, E. N. , & Beasley, D. (2011). Inside Coca-Cola: A CEO's life story of building the world's most popular brand. New York: St. Martin's Press. Kalapos, G. (2006). Fertility goddesses, groundhog bellies ; the Coca-Cola Company: The origins of modern holidays. Toronto: Insomniac. Bel l, L. (2004). The story of Coca-Cola. North Mankato, Minn: Smart Apple Media. Pendergrast, M. (1993). For God, country, and Coca-Cola: The unauthorized history of the great American soft drink and the company that makes it. New York: Scribner's.

Analysis Harold and Kumar

This is what really sets â€Å"Harold and Kumar† apart not just from â€Å"Stoner films† or the entire Comedy genre, but from every film ever made. Casting two â€Å"minorities† in the leading roles. The opening scene involves two â€Å"higher ups†, who we assume are Harold’s bosses, at an accounting firm who are trying to get out of doing their work for a night out. They pass the work on to our unsuspecting Harold, who reluctantly accepts the new task load because his job was threatened. This opening scene sets up Harold’s personal problems that at the end of the ovie, he over comes. This scene cuts between multiple shots of Harold’s bosses standing over Harold, and Harold looking up at them. They loom over Harold, looking down on him as a workhorse that they can pass their work loads to. Harold sits in his chair looking up at his two bosses, bewildered and somewhat frightened to stand up for himself. His two bosses are dressed in black suits which communicates to the audience that they are not only dominant but authoritative and for lack of a better term, evil. They are the first protagonists we see in the film. As they blast out of the office parking lot in their convertible, they justify their actions by saying that â€Å"those Asian guys love crunching numbers†. We quickly get the response to this with a cut of Harold standing in the office looking out the window the speeding convertible, angrily saying â€Å"Fuck†. From this we cut to a scene of Kumar being interviewed for acceptance into a medical school program at an undisclosed prestigious university. Kumar blatantly doesn’t care about the interview, or as we discover later, becoming a doctor like his father wants him to be. Kumar sits in the interview dressed in a disheveled suit and slouches in his chair. From these two scenes we are introduced into the typical roles that normally see in Hollywood movies. The quiet Asian being pushed around and the Indian guy trying to become a doctor. Each time though we see the problems that the characters have with both of these situations, this is the side that we don’t normally see in films. Harold hates his job because he feels like he isn’t respected, it is also learned later in the film that he basically fell into his job because that’s just how it went. Until the end of the film when Harold begins to take charge and stand up for himself, the audience has no problem believing that Harold just went with the motions and became an accountant. Kumar on the other hand is basically Harold’s polar opposite, yin and yang type situation, and resists falling into his â€Å"natural† role in society of becoming a doctor even though he is obviously very skilled in the field, by living off his fathers money (who is a doctor) and spending most of his days smoking pot. Throughout the movie there are scenes where a character is presented with a problem that in some way relates to a stereotype about their ethnicity. The movie deals with this in a joking manner, but the best part is that the character encounters it in a positive manner. Take for instance the character of Kumar, after visiting his father working in the hospital he steals an access card to steal medical marijuana, in the process of locating the marijuana, the duo find scrubs to disguise themselves in and in a mix up are confused as surgeons who are to operate on a gun shot victim. Kumar’s â€Å"natural† ability in health and medicine allows him to successfully operate on the victim and save his life. This ends up being the turning point in the film for Kumar where he decides to stop resisting his father and the typical role society expects of Indians, and become a doctor. For Harold, his turning point occurs at the end of the film when he stands up for himself at his destination, white castle. His two bosses show up at the White Castles from their night out with a pair of women, their attire has changed slightly, one has shed his black coat and the other is completely disheveled in his suit. Harold stands now, face to face with both of his bosses with a visibly angry face. He confronts his bosses and lets them know that he won’t take their bullying any longer. The two men look scared and are speechless since they were caught in a lie and that Harold has literally stood up to them, a contrast from the first scene of the film. About halfway through the film there is a scene where Neil Patrick Harris has stolen the car and leave Harold and Kumar stranded. The two are attempting to walk across the street at a completely vacant intersection. Kumar urges Harold to just walk across and disregard the street sign because there is no one around. As Harold takes his first step to cross, he is stopped by a police officer. The officer harasses the two of them and in a sign of blatant racism, he mocks Kumar and Harold’s ethnicities by asking if they have strange names. He asks Kumar if his name has â€Å"like five O’s or two U’s†. At this scene Kumar stands up for himself by belittling the officer and telling him he was loser in high school and is still one now. Although the officer has a much bulkier body type than Harold and Kumar, Kumar still stands face to face with the officer, representing his courage to go against someone he knows could take him to jail. I have seen â€Å"Harold and Kumar go to White Castle† MANY times before this paper and usually only watched it as it was presented, I laughed at the funny parts and would promptly move on to something else. Until this paper I had never thought to consider the representations the film portrayed of Harold and Kumar. I had never even noticed that the two leading roles were â€Å"minority† ethnicities. The way the film acknowledges the stereotypes that come bundled with the two characters and destroys them whilst making a completely mockery of them is quite fascinating. One of the more interesting facts is that the film was written by two Jewish men, and directed by a Caucasian man. They obviously didn’t want to make a comedy like any other with a white lead, they casted two very different men together and made an incredibly successful film. The film has spawned two sequels and each did very well in the box office. I would personally love to see a film cast more â€Å"minority† ethnicities in the lead roles, not just comedies but every film genre. I think that day is not too far ahead. Rangwala, Shama. Issue 5: Film Reviews.   Scope. Http://www. scope. nottingham. ac. uk/. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. lt;http://www. scope. nottingham. ac. uk/filmreview. php? issue=5gt;.