How Andrew Jackson was portrayed Essay

Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States. A rough-hewn military hero, he was regarded by many as the spokesman of the common man. He entered the White House in 1829 after winning the second of two vigorously fought election campaigns. Through his forceful personality, he restructured the office of the president and helped shape the democratic party. Less educated and less schooled in government than many of his political opponents, Jackson had leaped to national fame in the War of 1812 as the hero of the Battle of New Orleans and had captured the dedicated loyalty of a vast segment of the American population. He was widely acclaimed as the symbol of what the new American thought himself to be a self-made man endowed with virtue and strength. The results of the election of 1824 proved that Jackson was indeed the champion of a popular majority. Jackson’s administrations were highlighted by the frustration of sectional attempts to weaken the central governmen t by state nullification of federal law, and by his confrontation with the Bank of the U.S. Jackson also positively affected the development of the U.S. presidency. He concentrated power in the office through wide use of the veto and through his insistence that the chief executive alone represented the will of the whole nation. He committed the presidential powers to the protection of the people. Throughout his presidency, Jackson was portrayed as both a states’ rightist and as a nationalist. As a states’ rightist, he proteced the states rights so that the federal government would not fund individual states’ rights and favor them over other states. He was a strong believer in the political ideas of the Jeffersonians. Another example of Jackson being a states’ rightist includes the Maysville Road veto. Jackson had pledged to reduce the national debt and was opposed to the rising number of bills before Congress that proposed to finance internal improvements with public money. The Maysville Road Bill gave authorized the use of federal funds to construct a road between the towns of Maysville and Lexington, both in Kentucky. Jackson vetoed the bill, calling it unconstitutional because it concerned only the state of Kentucky. As a nationalist, Jackson believed in a strong central government in order to unify the nation. He also believed in a democracy for the entire nation. Jackson also supported the Spoils System, which rewarded his political supporters with public offices and allowed common people to take office.

Malcolm X: Misunderstood

In the year of 1960s, the civil right movement was at its peak. At this time, blacks were mistreated and discriminated against and because of that, the Negroes were searching for a leader who can change the status of blacks. What is a leader? A leader is, according to a dictionary, a guiding or directing head, as of an army, movement, or political group. There is no doubt that Malcolm X, formerly known as El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, had many characteristics of a great leader written all over him, when he joined the Nation of Islam. As a result, African Americans looked up to Malcolm X, who called himself the angriest Negro in America, for leadership. In this paper, I am going to argue that Malcolm was a great leader, who gave his life for the struggle for equal rights in the richest and most powerful country of the world, the USA. In a country, where everybody seeks to fulfill â€Å"the American dream†, but where many people live in a nightmare. For that, he should be remembered along with Martin Luther King Jr. To fully understand how great of a leader that he was, we need to take a closed look at Malcolm X's life. Malcolm led three remarkable lives in less than four decades: first as Malcolm Little, a convicted burglar and con man; as Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam's flamboyant orator; finally, as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, organizing an international approach to the problems besetting African Americans. It all began when Malcolm Little's confidence and dream was shattered and crashed. His teacher told him that he had to be â€Å"realistic about being a nigger. † (Malcolm X 118) I don't think Malcolm would became what he was if it was not for his teacher's comment on his dream of becoming a lawyer one day. Then, we have Minister Malcolm X, who devoted his life to the teaching of Elijah Muhammad. â€Å"The Honorable Elijah Muhammad is giving us true identity, and a true position – the first time they have ever been known to the American black man. † (Malcolm X 356) Malcolm was fascinated by the discipline, the obedience, and the strong sense of community responsibility the members of the Nation showed, and soon became one of Elijah's most devoted followers. Finally, after his trip to Mecca, we see Malcolm as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz whose belief was now in world brotherhood and human justice. Malcolm X was a misunderstood figure of his time, in my opinion. If you have read or heard what he said, you would undoubtedly label him as a racist. He went as far as calling whites the â€Å"devils† and he stirred up both the black and white communities with his â€Å"anti-white† philosophy. Malcolm is usually projected as the uncompromising advocate of Black Nationalism. Malcolm, always brooding and alienated, is depicted as the architect of armed revolution and confrontation and he is presented as the hostile critic of White liberalism. Many people base this on his denunciation of racism and they misinterpret this statement to mean that now he endorsed the principles of integration as a solution to America's racial dilemma. What people didn't realize at that time was Malcolm's basic goal or objective never changed: He was totally committed to freedom for oppressed people. Malcolm wanted for blacks only what whites wanted for themselves, no more and no less. Also we have to realize that his trip to Mecca had changed the way he thought about white people and he was not given enough time to show the world his new point of view because he was assassinated soon after. That's why most people today have the impression that Malcolm was a â€Å"bad† guy, who would gain freedom by any means necessary. What made him so great? He was a man of word and action. Malcolm represents a leader, which all communities look up to as dynamic, intelligent, and most importantly revitalizing. The Muslims of today, from all parts of the world see Malcolm as a man who not only had strong convictions and beliefs, but was not afraid to voice them and stand up to a system of oppression from white supremacy over powerless and minority black people. Black people need a leader who speaks the truth even when white people don't want to hear it, and Malcolm X is filling that role. As Malcolm X traveled around the country, preaching and encouraging blacks to take pride in their history and strengths as a people, membership in the Nation of Islam grew from about couple hundred to hundreds of thousands. Furthermore, I think it was Malcolm's vigorous passion for Black self-determination and Black unity as well as his spiritual connection to Islam that attracted black people to Nation of Islam and Elijah's vision played only a little part of it. In addition, the reason why the number of followers increase in Nation of Islam was contributed by Malcolm's exceptional oratorical ability, his quick wit, and piercing analysis that he gave in front of many audiences. Analysis such as â€Å"US government make their citizens hate Germany and Japan during WWII and now US had again make the people love Germany and Japan after the war†. And the comment that he made about the racial problems of today â€Å"If you pull out a knife on my back, the wound left a permanent scar which you can get rid off†. Those points that he made were right on the money. He was very charismatic, and when he talks, people listen. Communication is a very powerful weapon to use if you want to spread your words and wisdom, and Malcolm took advantage of that. Armed himself with knowledge of Islam, books that he read, and debating skill, he went on television shows argued against his many critics and performed public speech day in and day out. He was so eagerly devoted to spread the teaching of Nation of Islam that he found himself out on the road and was away from his family for many weeks or months. The development of Nation of Islam was his priority. Why Malcolm had such impact on black communities? Because Malcolm was one of them before he joined Nation of Islam and became a minister. Came out from the heart of the Harlem ghetto, he knew the first hand experience of prejudice and inequality that impose on blacks. Therefore, many of his audiences can relate some of the things that he said in their everyday life. In addition, Malcolm transformed himself from a street hustler to an articulate leader and was convinced that others could change for the better as well. His message about self-improvement was loud and clear. Without education, you are not going anywhere in this world. In his autobiography he said, â€Å"My whole life had been a chronology of changes†. Such an extreme change seems to unbelievable, but after reading his autobiography; everyone can feel how much power this man had. Another reason why he was a great leader was that his readiness to revise his ideas and change them. People make mistakes and it takes courage to admit it publicly and try to change it so the mistake won't happen again. In the fields of politic and religion, which he was vigorously involved in, people usually don't change, even they proved to be wrong. Malcolm X was different. He turned all his beliefs and his way of life upside down when joining the Nation of Islam. He stopped drinking, smoking and abusing drugs instantly and dedicated his life to his leader, whereas he had been selfish and greedy his whole life before. Everything is going well till when the affairs of Elijah Muhammad with his secretaries made Malcolm questioned the leadership and belief of Nation of Islam. As a result, he left Nation of Islam and took a pilgrimage to Mecca where he experienced real brotherhood, being accepted and treated as a human being. The friendliness and respect he received made a great impression on him. â€Å"I saw that people who looked alike drew together and most of the time stayed together? KIt tucked it into my mind that when I returned home I would tell Americans this observation; that where true brotherhood existed among all colors. † (Malcolm 350) He became less militant and even admitted that white people could contribute to the black movement. Malcolm also got rid of Mr. Muhammad's doctrines and taught the real Islam he experienced in the East. When we remember Malcolm X, we cannot ignore that he did change from seeing race as a dividing issue to his final testimony as a Muslim who believed in a religion which spells out clearly that all humankind is created and judged equally. He declared that â€Å"all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color. † Malcolm often predicted that his leaving the Nation of Islam would lead to his death. When he heard of the Black Muslim's plot to kill him, he did not feel any fear; he just wanted his family to be safe. Before he died, he declared that he would be glad if he could have helped the black people, but that all credit is due to Allah. Only the mistakes were his. This is another admiration that I have for him. He did not fear death and went on doing his business as usual. Like I stated earlier, Malcolm put himself last and newfound religion and his family first. He was not afraid to accept the ultimate freedom for African Americans, as he stated, which is death. Today, nearly 30 years after the end of the Civil Rights Movement, some things have changed. A strong black middle-class has emerged, and some African-Americans have been able to get into leading positions in management or government. In several big cities with a majority of black citizens, black mayors are in office. Both civil right leaders Martin and Malcolm have become American heroes. Finally, Malcolm was a great man and a role model for all African Americans and Malcolm was a man who made people proud and showed them who they were. He dared to speak truth against the lies of racism, to stand tall before the blows of hatred and oppression. When they died, they left examples of wisdom, courage, and spiritual tenacity that few leaders of any race have matched. He didn't die in vain because things have improved since his death. We see the growth of strong black middle class.

Zero Tolerance Policy

The zero tolerance policy strives to reduce violence in schools and make schools a safer place for students. Anne Atkinson, a member of the Virginia Board of Education defines zero tolerance as a â€Å"policy that mandates predetermined consequences or punishments for specified offenses. † The policy first became effective in 1989, but grew most rapidly in 1994 when the Gun- Free Schools Act was passed (1). There are many controversies about the zero tolerance policy including whether or not the policy is effective in reducing violence in schools, whether or not schools are trying to handle disciplinary actions in a fair manner, and whether or not all students are treated equally when punishments are determined. While many supporters, such as school administration, believe that the zero tolerance policy is necessary in schools, those who oppose the policy, such as parents, believe that the policy is unfair and ineffective in schools. Those who support the zero tolerance policy believe that the policy is effective in reducing violence in school. Atkinson argues that â€Å"strict policies are needed to send a clear message and are designed to protect students† (2). Agreeing with Atkinson, Richard Curwin and Allen Mendler, scholars on the zero tolerance policy, believe that by using the zero tolerance policies, it is evident to students that aggressive behavior is unacceptable. By allowing the students to realize that misbehavior will not be tolerated, students become more likely to obey the rules and cooperate with schools (1). According to the National Center for Children Exposed to Violence (NCCEV), 17. 1% of students carried weapons at school and 71% of elementary and secondary schools have experienced at least one violent crime by a student. A nationwide survey suggested that 15% of students have been involved in a physical fight on school grounds. By using the zero tolerance policy, those students who are violent in school are expelled or suspended, resulting in schools becoming a safer environment for students and teachers (3). Although defenders of the zero tolerance policy agree that they policies are effective, those who oppose the policy do not believe that the policies are effective in reducing school violence. People who are against the zero tolerance policy agree that the policy is ineffective in reducing school violence. Members of the American Psychological Association (APA), the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States, agree that schools are no safer and more effective in teaching discipline that before the zero tolerance policy in the 1980s. They also agree that school violence is not out of control, so zero tolerance policies are not necessary (1). Russell Skiba, chairman of the Indiana Education Policy Center and Reece Peterson, a scholar on the zero tolerance policy, conducted statistics that show â€Å"violent crimes occurred at an annual rate of fifty-three per one hundred thousand students. Because evidence shows that violence rates are not out of control, critics argue that there are many other alternatives that can be used to promote a safer environment for students and teachers (2). According to the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), some alternatives that reduce violence in schools include a prevention curriculum, help from school workers, counselors, and psychologists, and parental/family involvement (3). Whether the policy is effective or ineffective is only one aspect of the controversy; there are many other controversies that occur within the policy. Whether schools are handling disciplinary action in a fair manner is a main controversy when discussing the zero tolerance policy. Russell Skiba believes that the way in which schools punish students is fair. He thinks that rash punishments improve overall student behavior and discipline. Skiba acknowledges the fact that harsh disciplinary actions are determined by the degree of the student’s violent actions (29). While some people agree that schools are just when using the zero tolerance policy, others disagree and believe that schools are extremely unfair. Those who oppose the zero tolerance policy believe that the way in which schools use the zero tolerance policy to punish students is very rash and unfair. Those against the zero tolerance policy, such as Skiba, believe that rash suspensions and expulsions, rather than improving student behavior, forces students to misbehave more frequently. He also believes that rash suspensions and expulsions lead to an increased number of school dropouts and failure to graduate on time (28). A personal example of zero tolerance proves schools to be rash and unfair when punishing students. My ten-year-old cousin went to a public school where he was a part of the minority group. He found a pocketknife at home and thought it was the coolest thing he had ever seen. Being an immature, unknowing child, my cousin brought the pocketknife to school to show his friends, not intending on using it in any dangerous way possible. As he took the knife out of his pocket to show is closest friends, a teacher spotted him and immediately jerked him away from his friends and into the principal’s office. The principal, being the one to decide punishment, automatically expelled my ten-year-old cousin for bringing a pocketknife to school, even though he did not harming anyone or anything with the knife. Because my cousin was expelled from school, he is no longer in school this year and now has to repeat the grade. This is a perfect example of how the zero tolerance policy leads to school dropout and failure to graduate on time. Not only is the process of punishment a controversy, but whether or not racism is used to punish is also an issue concerning the zero tolerance policy. An important controversy when debating on the zero tolerance policy is whether or not racism is involved when schools are punishing students. Russell Skiba and Allen Mendler argue that schools are completely just and equal when determining punishments for violence in schools. They agree that no matter race, ethnicity, language, or abilities, if you portray a violent action, rash punishments will result (1). Although supporters agree that the policy treats all people equal, those who oppose the policy agree that racism occurs when punishing students using the zero tolerance policy. According to those that oppose the policy, zero tolerance is an unjust policy that does not treat all students equally. The American Psychological Association (APA) agrees that the disproportionate discipline of students of color is and continues to be a concern when discussing the zero tolerance policy. They believe that most expulsions and suspensions are punishments that result from African Americans or Latinos that are violent in schools. Another target group of schools that use the zero tolerance policy are those people with disabilities, especially with emotional and behavioral disorders (2). There are many important controversies dealing with the zero tolerance policy, and many people either support the controversy or are opposed to the controversy. Zero tolerance attempts to prevent violence in schools and create a safer environment for the school community. It is viewed as a policy that that tries to teach students wrong from right, and gives students a sense of discipline. Although some believe that the policy has good intentions, there are many controversies that aroused, causing many debates that challenge the effectiveness of the policy. While many people who believe that the policy creates a safer environment for students and teachers support the zero tolerance policy, there are many who oppose the zero tolerance policy, arguing that it is unfair and ineffective in reducing violence in schools.

Foreign Exchange Markets and Globalization Essay

Foreign Exchange Markets and Globalization - Essay Example For corporations the four main roles of the foreign exchange markets are: currency conversion, currency hedging, currency speculation and currency arbitrage (Madura, 1992). Currency conversion is one of the most used functions of the exchange for corporations trading or doing business internationally. Entities use the exchange to convert one currency to another. From the purchase of finished goods or raw materials from foreign suppliers to being able to sell your product or service internationally being converting one currency to another efficiently is paramount to global business. The foreign exchange quotes two rates the spot and forward rate prices. The current daily exchange rate between two currencies is called the spot exchange rate (Bodie & Kane & Marcus, 2002). It is used for immediate payments or financial transactions. The value of any currency is realized by the interaction between the demand and supply of a currency relative to the demand and supply of other currencies. I t is a dynamic market where rates are constantly changing based on the volume of activity for any given currency. Since a lot of business transactions do not require payment until a later date, the forward exchange rate provides a currency exchange rate for 30, 60 and 90 days.

Economic Consequences of Ageism on the Elderly and the American Research Paper

Economic Consequences of Ageism on the Elderly and the American Healthcare System - Research Paper Example From this paper it is clear that old persons have less employment opportunities and have a lower pay scale as compared to younger employees. The 1967 Equal Employment opportunity Commission provides protection to job applicants and employees from discrimination on the basis of mature age. Aged Americas are an important part of society and can still contribute towards nation building.This report highlights that  the word â€Å"ageism† was coined in 1968 by Robert Butler. The media accepted the term and later it found its way into The Oxford English Dictionary. Ageism has been reported by many old persons and is widely present in the country’s establishment resulting in bigotry in the media, workplace, healthcare and language. For instance, presence of discrimination in case of appointing older persons,   absence of health care in health care institutions, the use of abusive language and the negative portrayal of old persons in cartoons showing them as ugly, cantanker ous and dirty. Negative feelings about a certain group can be called as the negative attitudes. Sickness, impotency, health decline, mental illness, poverty, gloominess, isolation, unattractiveness and futility are the major nine stereotypes depicting bias against elders.A major discrimination against elders is made on the basis of illness faced by majority of their population.  About half of the American population believes that poor health is a grave trouble faced by majority of people over 65.... Negative feelings about a certain group can be called as the negative attitudes. Sickness, impotency, health decline, mental illness, poverty, gloominess, isolation, unattractiveness and futility are the major nine stereotypes depicting bias against elders. A major discrimination against elders is made on the basis of illness faced by majority of their population. About half of the American population believes that poor health is a grave trouble faced by majority of people over 65. However, the fact is that most of the elderly people which constitute more than 85 percent of the elderly population take on strong activities of daily life like ingestion, bathing, etc. Only about 5 percent of these elderly persons are hospitalized. Another stereotype is that older persons have no desire for sexual activity and those who spend ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF AGEISM ON THE ELDERLY AND THE AMERICAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM time in such action can be called as ethically nasty or at the slightest peculiar . The truth is that persons crossing the age of 65 have concern and capability for sexual relationships. They have freedom from alarm of pregnancy, job stress and childbearing errands, free time and more grown-up relations. Ugliness of old people is another common stereotype. Beauty is associated with youth and women particularly fear the loss of their beauty as a result of aging. In contrast to our culture, some cultures like those of the Japanese tend to associate wrinkles and gray hair with insight, development and long term service. Palmore (1999) states that it is thought that age increase from middle age is associated with a decline in ability to learn and remember. But most aged adults tend to keep hold of learning abilities. Illness, lack of education, style of learning,

Capital Punishment in film Dead Man Walking Essay

Capital Punishment in film Dead Man Walking - Essay Example The film â€Å"Dead Man Walking† depicts the appeal process faced by a convicted murderer, and how his crime, trial and acts on death row affect himself, a nun who is working with him on his appeal, and the families of the victims. It invokes some of the hardest and most troubling questions facing society today such as: does the state have the right to kill its own citizens? and ‘is it ever right to kill?’. Philosophers and thinkers have been struggling with these same questions for thousands of years. Somewhat surprisingly in a field where many experts disagree with each other, three of the greatest pillars of Western Philosophy over the past two thousand years, Aristotle, John Stuart Mill and Emmanuel Kant are all staunchly in favour of the death penalty as a punishment for murder. Even more surprisingly, all three philosophers justify their defence of capital punishment through three amazingly different theoretical frameworks, all coming to the same conclusion through very different means. All three philosophers, however, have serious flaws in their arguments for capital punishment (especially when considered in today’s society) and strong arguments against capital punishment can still be made. This essay will critically examine cases such as those in the film â€Å"Dead Man Walking† through the lens of Kant, Mill’s and Aristotle’s ethical philosophies. This case can serve as something of a testing ground for when capital punishment would be the most justified.... One of the first recorded philosophers to try to tackle the question of capital punishment was Aristotle in his Nichomachean Ethics. These ethics do not attempt to address the issue of capital punishment, but rather form foundations from which he believes all ethics should be derived. These ethics are based on several foundations, and demonstrate an understanding of the fact that different societies will have different societal expectations, and in attempting to create a universal ethic Aristotle tries to make a flexible system that will accommodate these differences. He main way that Aristotle attempts to accommodate for these differences is by introducing the idea of the â€Å"just man† (Aristotle 68). Aristotle says that moral actions can be viewed through the lens of what a just man in a particular society would do; if a good just, honourable man of one’s society would behave in a certain way then that action is what must be considered just. Aristotle adds two furth er theories to make sure their is some stability and objective morality across all cultures by adding the ideas of fairness and equality to the idea of the just man, so that if a society would consider a just man’s actions good even if they were unequal or unfair, Aristotle would still consider those actions immoral (74). The final aspect of Aristotle’s theory of justice is that of rectification, that is, when one commits a wrong towards another he must make recompense to the person who he has wrong equal to the amount of wrong done (67). If for instance, someone killed another person’s sheep, he would be responsible for providing a sheep to make up for the damages. All these theories combine to support capital punishment in a variety of ways. First,

Multinationals,asian success and Gloobal econmy Essay

Multinationals,asian success and Gloobal econmy - Essay Example Furthermore, Kim Young Sam, like many people, students and business leaders during the 90s, may have been blinded by the 'globalization hype' in the media and academic institutions (Sharma 2003:184). Likewise, foreign investors and creditors also believed the "Asian Miracle" hype which may have encouraged them to issue more loans to Asian corporations. Wade & Veneroso (1998) emphasized the relentless campaigning by 'Wall street-U.S. Treasury and IMF' for Asian governments to open their capital markets and mentioned allegations of bribery of key people by Western and Japanese financial institutions (p. 9). Jaddish Bhagwati, pointed out that Secretary Rubin came from Wallstreet and huge firms such as Morgan Stanley aim to open overseas market and promote 'capital convertibility' so they can operate and earn profits everywhere (p.19). Washington (like Korea), is also controlled by corporations because they finance election campaigns (Perkins: 2005). Winters (2006) sought to answer why the Asian Crisis hit 98-99 and not earlier when the weakness of Korean 'developmentalism' was already chronic for years. He explained how each country was affected depended on the openness of the country's financial system, lack of controls/regulations or enforcement of these controls, currency convertibility, short-term foreign loans exposure, and attractiveness of the country to foreign investors (p. 84). Asian corruption was not a significant factor as asserted by the propaganda of free market capitalist that claimed financial liberalization/de-regulation will free Asian economies against corruption (Wade & Veneroso 1998:20). Bhagwati, also added that foreign investments are not necessary for economic growth since Korea already has huge domestic savings which can capitalize businesses (qtd. in Wade & Veneroso 1998:19-20). On the other hand, Woo-Cumings (1998) rejected the Western Imperialism argument and asserted that 'the Asian Crisis' was bound to happen because of the inadequacy and failure of Korean 'developmentalism' to meet the changes in the world market (p.116). Firms were not profitable and have made massive wrong investment decisions (p.123). Lieberman & Mako (1998) stated that by 1997, more than half of the thirty 'chaebols' employing 25 million workers with a debt of 103.4 trillion won, were at risk of defaulting on their debt (qtd. in Woo-Cumings 1998:123). World trade especially in semi-conductors was also slowing down due to glut in the market (p. 120). Investors and creditors were already growing concerned about Korean firms (Sharma 2003: 186). Most significantly, Cumings (1998) highlighted an important issue in Korea which is the strong motivation of the 'chaebols' to acquire foreign loans to free themselves of repressive government control (p.125). Government policy also deepened this problem by only allowing short-term foreign loans and not placing financial controls (Sharma 2003: 184). However, as Wade & Generoso and Bhagwati (1998) have insisted; there would have been no credit crunch that destroyed even profitable and viable small and medium sized businesses in Korea if the

Law versus Morality as Regulators of Conduct Essay

Law versus Morality as Regulators of Conduct - Essay Example However, individuals tend to overlook the moral aspect of various laws, and thereby break some laws. In our instance, an individual has the freedom to choose from breaking the law, owing to the lack of supervision or strictly adhere to the law, even on condition that breaking the law would not harm any individual. As such, failure to follow traffic rules in such an instance would make an individual duplicate that habit in another instance and this may compel such an individual into unwarranted litigation.   Breaking the law in such instances in critical conditions such as saving the life of an individual in serious health challenges may be morally allowable. However, since it is evident that such an individual is not in such a critical hurry, it would be unjustifiable to break the law.   Besides, individual instincts have a significant influence on our behaviors and the way individuals conduct themselves in conditions where there is no supervision (Shavell, 2002). As such the human instincts may make an individual feel guilty, owing to such incidences. As such, to omit such guilt, it will be advisable to stop and follow the rules. â€Æ'

Opportunities are at the heart of entrepreneurship. Critically discuss Essay

Opportunities are at the heart of entrepreneurship. Critically discuss this statement and explain how entrepreneurial opportunities are identified - Essay Example Entrepreneurial ventures provide more jobs than large firms. In the 70s and 60s, small enterprises had a net gain, despite severe recessions, in job creation. In the US, small firms account for two thirds of jobs created in the private sector (Sahlman, 2009 p26). Interestingly, over the same period, an approximated 500 companies lost five million jobs. Small and medium enterprises provide the local population with employment. This helps promote the development of such areas as inner cities. Sponsorship of local events also helps discover new talent which when developed proves beneficial to the local economy. Entrepreneurial opportunities can be defined as situations whereby new organizational methods, markets, raw materials, services, and goods can be introduced to existent ways of business operations. The introduction is via formation of new ends, means or means-ends relationships. The situations do not require a change in economic exchange terms in order to become entrepreneurial opportunities. Rather, all they need is potential to change the economic exchange terms. Entrepreneurial decisions, unlike satisfying or optimizing decisions, are creative decisions. This means that the entrepreneur creates the ends, means, or both in the chain. The creation of these frameworks of new means-ends in entrepreneurial making of decisions marks a crucial difference in optimization of previously established frameworks. They cannot be optimized for exploitation since they are unknown. Entrepreneurial decisions involve identification or creation of new ends or means previously undetected by participa nts in the market (Audretsch, 2010 p67). This paper aims to explain the role of opportunities in the process of entrepreneurship. It also seeks to examine entrepreneurship through a framework focused on the existence and characteristics of entrepreneurial opportunities. Finally, the paper seeks to discuss

Lagal and Illegal Access to Personal Information Online Essay

Lagal and Illegal Access to Personal Information Online - Essay Example Where the computer era has devised numerous ways to work more quickly, efficiently, professionally and resourcefully, it has brought with it what we call cyber-crime -- misusing other people’s information without their permission and knowledge. The topic to be discussed here is about the risks and hazards of information being misused over the internet. The worst part about cyber-crime is that it is much easier to escape from it without revealing identity or improvising a false identity. The reason for it is, of course, the resourcefulness of the internet and the fact that it is away from any kind of physical presence. Moreover, it is very easy to replicate data on the internet to get involved in different kinds of crimes. With the increasing technological trends and movement towards cyber space so rapidly, it is inevitable that soon the cyber world will be dealt with a separate set of rules and regulation, laws and globalization. It is not long before divisions within the cybe r space will be dealt like a separate state just like physically existing country (Wall, 2007, p.10). What is needed here is that we deal with the dark side of moving towards technology in a way that we are safe from its harmful effects in the long run, that most people fail to realize at the moment. Thesis Statement An analysis of the reasons of internet crime along with its consequence leads to a technological challenge -- whether the harmful consequences outweigh the benefits of internet and what should be done to reduce crime involving unethical practices of hacking, identity theft, crime in e-commerce and social networking. Categories of Cyber Crime Cyber Crime is divided into many categories. These include spam, availability of obscene content, threats, misinformation, cyber terrorism and fraud. With such a huge variety of crime going on the internet, it becomes very easy to exploit the users (Brenner, 2010, p.8). The users also come into several categories, from amateurs to p rofessionals and naive people who do not realize the harmful implications that the usage of internet might cause. The greatest misuse of internet is taking place in the following domains: †¢ E-commerce   †¢ Social networking   †¢ Identity theft   †¢ Hacking   From amongst the above given domains, E-Commerce and Social Networking will be discussed in greater depth. E-Commerce is defines as exchange of goods and services over the internet involving Business transactions, buying and selling as well as the World Wide Web (Bushry, 2005, p.3). Social Networking refers to online networks that allow people to communicate over the internet and build social relations and broad networks ( Stenzel & Nesdahl, 2012 p.19). Identity Theft is the stealing of someone else’s identity and pretending to be someone else, impersonating to be another person or using their identity such as their name or credentials (Boyer, 2008, p.7). Hacking means to identify weaknesses i n other networks and take over their networks and later on, misuse them (Brenner, 2010, p.11). E-Commerce Electronic Commerce as defined above is a rapidly growing concept that allows exchange of good

Practicing the Backward Roll in the Gymnastics Term Paper

Practicing the Backward Roll in the Gymnastics - Term Paper Example Back rolling is usually a difficult rolling process because of the neck. This is more so for the young children. This is because a child’s head in comparison to the rest of the body is usually larger than that of an adult person. Therefore, a child requires a greater amount of push from the floor in order to perform the back rolling technique. This happens in order to help them clear their heads from the floor while preventing the unnecessary injuries to the neck. However, as an instructor, there is a need to ensure that the students have enough abdominal strength in helping them lift their hips over their heads. The students also need to have enough arm strength in order to help them push their heads from the mat. This will help them to relieve some stress from their necks. Rick Feeney (1990),   explains one of the skills of backrolling which involves the placing of the mats in a V-formation for the back rolling technique. It helps to serve several functions: 1. To protect the head from injuries 2. It teaches the students how to roll in an exact straight line 3. It teaches the students how to push using their hands and arms   However, as a rolling instructor, there is need not rush your students to perform the back rolling technique, especially on flat mats until when the students are ready to perform it. However, when they perform this skill, there is a need to help them lift their hips up an over their heads. Consciously keep the pressure from their necks. The back rolling skill is a great technique to master because it usually helps the students to develop strength and agility. It also assists the learners to grasp the technique of safe fall.   However, spotting a back roll in students takes a little more practicing than any other rolling. First, the students need to start in a squatting stance. Next, make sure that their chins tackle forward while their hands are by their shoulders. Their palms need to be facing the ceiling in this area. However, there is a need to stand slightly behind your students, as well as their sides.

Self-esteem and Self-image Essay Example for Free

Self-esteem and Self-image Essay If we feel good about ourselves that may lead us to brighter futures and an enjoyable life, or it may lead to dilemma and problems in managing or surviving in life.  Influences on self-concept  Age  Age makes a huge dissimilarity to the way children illustrate themselves and to the way adults think about their lives. Our self-concept grows and changes as we grow older. When you are in a young age you are not as much anxious about the way you illustrate them selves, but when you are more mature and elder you are more conscious. see more:explain how individual identity and self esteem are linked Appearance  Somewhere between 10 and 12 years of age, children start to analyse the ways which they are alike or not like others. The physical shape of our body, our height, weight, hair, eyes and skin colour all have an influence on our self image. Most people especially teenagers believe that there is an ideal image. When we view ourselves as good looking and give ourselves positive images this builds up our self-esteem, whereas giving ourselves a negative image then it may make us feel awful or affect our self-esteem. Gender  Basic matters such as sexual characteristics and civilization will be most important reasons why a person creates a self-image. Most people arrive at a specific age which they start to decide that they do not like or feel comfortable in the gender that they are. For examples: homosexuals.  Culture and Socialisation  People produce an icon of themselves based on information obtainable in their background. People have diverse traditions and ways of thinking, this consist of the following:  Different beliefs about marriage, for instants, dissimilar faiths and neighbourhoods have different viewpoints about marriage and sex Media  People may judge themselves with the representations of other people depicted in the media. Media represents things like internet sites, magazines, television, newspapers, music, radio and DVDs. Families choose what they feel is appropriate media for the children, but as we grow older we began to become independent and choose what we feel is appropriate for us to watch.  Income  Developing in a Low-income household may persuade a persons self-image and self-esteem. This can persuade an individuals self-concept because of the opportunities connected with our familys income. Relationships with family and friends  Self-image and Self-esteem is extremely influenced by family members and friends. This is because of the way we are spoken to and the ways are families and friends act around us. If an individual gets along with their family and friends, they may feel love and wanted by them.  Abuse  If a person is mistreated this may damage the view of themselves and my end up with a low self-esteem, they may insolate themselves and finish off by taking their own lives. Education  Learning success may manipulate a persons self-esteem. Later in life we experience life at college and university, this also verifies change and what we think about ourselves and others, having a good education may let students have easy access to a well-paid job.  Emotional health and well-being  Poor emotional health may produce trouble with self-concept. The way we see ourselves is influenced by our school. But later on in life we may experience change in the way we see ourselves for the reason that we have different college and university friends.  Environment  The area we live in may persuade us to see ourselves in a different way, e.g. we may feel that we are different from people who receive good income and receive good quality education and health.

Development of Artificial Sweat Experiment

Development of Artificial Sweat Experiment 3.0 Literature Review : 3.1 Biosensor The terminology for biosensor is usually used for equipment or devices used to monitor the metabolic system or element of biomocules. In addition, the particular term used, is referring to a sensor that uses a biological element, such as enzymes, antibodies, DNA, microorganisms or cell. Besides that, based on the IUPAC,it state that biosensor is an integrated equipment that have the capability to give a good analytical data and information in terms of qualitative and quantitative by using the element of biological recognition that interact with the transducer. Figure 1.1 and 1.2 show the schematic diagram. Gambar Rajah dalam buku 3.1.1 Structural Component of Biodetection The partition in a biosensor that can operate with optimum condition consists of 3 components which are, (a) Bio-recognition elements, where the biomolecules are being placed and integrated which normally known as the immobilization on the surface of sensor, (b) Transducer or Detector devices, where the electrochemical and optical transduction occurs, (c) Processing Signal. Gambar rajah dalam buku 3.1.2 Immobilization Bioreceptor In the development of biosensors, the bioreceptors or biomolecules are important in selectively and add with the sensitivity to certain analytes, to ensure that they need to be situated and connected with a transducer in order to achieve the effectiveness of the biosensor in detecting certain analyte. The immobilization bioreceptor’s techniques involves, Adsorption, Microencapsulation, Entrapment, Covalent Attachment and also Cross-Linking. (gambar rajah dalam buku) 3.1.3 Performance of Biosensor In the development of biosensors, things that should be emphasized is the operated performance of the biosensor in detecting analytes. The biosensor performance covers the aspects of the selectivity, sensitivity, accuracy, solution conditions, the â€Å"responds time† ( tr), the â€Å"delay time† (td) and also the â€Å"lifetimes†. 3.1.4 Application Related to Smart Wearable of Biosensor For Sweat Sensor There are various types of application in sensors that already applicable in the market, such as Smart Bra, Thick-film textile-based amperometic sensors and biosensors, Global Positioning System, Wireless Hands-free Communication, Smart Shirt and the most important sensor, is Smart Sensor that will be discussed in this research. (gambar smart patch) 3.2 Sweat Generally, we know that sweat is excreted by sweat glands while the other term in this review, define the term for human sweat as nonexercise-induced eccrine (thermoregulatory) sweat which is secreted by healthy person and but not focusing on the Apocrine. A person, body region, diet, season, degree of acclimation, activity level ,race ,gender ,and also the sampling techniques can give high possibility affect to the variety in the composition of sweat between an individual. (Buckley and Lewis, 1960; Shirreffs and Maughan, 1997; Patterson et al., 2000, 2002; Hayden et al., 2004; Morgan et al., 2004; Shirreffs and Maughan, 1997; Jacobi et al., 2005; Robinson and Robinson, 1954). 3.2.1 Composition of Sweat : Human sweat is composed of highly variable amounts of primary electrolytes, ionic constituents, organic acids and carbohydrates, amino acids, nitrogenous substances, and vitamins and miscellaneous constituents (Fig. 1). Sweat is 99.0–99.5% water and 0.5–1.0% solids (half inorganic and half organic), with specific gravity of 1.001– 1.008 (Robinson and Robinson, 1954; Rothman, 1954; Spector, 1956; Geigy, 1970, 1981; Altman and Dittmer, 1974; Agache and Candas, 2004). Nevertheless, this research report only focusing in the electrolyte, organic acids and carbohydrates and also pH. 3.2.1.1 Electrolytes In general, concentrations of electrolytes in sweat were highly changeable and can assume to be countless. The major constituents of electrolyte were Na and Cl, and the minority amounts were consists of Ca, K, and PO4 (Robinson and Robinson, 1954; Rothman, 1954).In addition, there was reported in a journal that stated, the concentrations of primary electrolytes in the 45 formulations of artificial SSFL which were generally within ranges for human sweat. Unfortunately, median value were not be equivalentl to human sweat.There was lot of formulations lacked of many of the electrolytes present in human sweat (Fig. 1a). In such a case, some are as minimal as a solution of Na and Cl ions (Chiba et al., 1997; Mawn et al., 2005) while there was also occurred among the 45 formulations of artificial SSFL, 7 lacked Na ,8 lacked Cl, 41 lacked Ca, 38 lacked K, 44 lacked Mg, 34 lacked PO4, and all lacked HCO3 (Table 1). 3.2.1.2 Organic acids and carbohydrates The summary in Fig. 1c was shown the measurement of the concentrations of organic acids and carbohydrates which was reported in human sweat. (Mickelsen and Keys, 1943; Robinson and Robinson, 1954; Rothman, 1954; Kuno, 1956; Spector, 1956; Elze and Oelsner, 1957b; Reed, 1969; Geigy, 1970, 1981; Altman and Dittmer, 1974; Kaiser et al., 1974; Stu ¨ttgen and Schaefer, 1974; Goldsmith, 1999; Guyton and Hall, 2000; Agache and Candas, 2004).However, Lactic acid was plentiful of these constituents and its average constitutes was 0.28% of sweat (Spector, 1956; Altman and Dittmer, 1974). Besides that, by reffering to the published Journal of SSFL, acidity of SSFL was due to the high concentrations of both lactic acid and pyruvic acid (Agache and Candas, 2004). The concentrations of organic acids and carbohydrates in 45 artificial SSFL formulations are also summarized in Fig. 1c. The concentration of lactic acid and glucose in artificial SSFL formulations were generally within ranges outlined for human SSFL. 3.2.1.3 pH The measurement of pH values for whole body are summarized in Table 2 (median = 5.3). Values of whole body sweat in Table 2, are from a very acidic pH 2.1 (Haudrechy et al., 1997) to an alkaline pH 8.2 (Altman and Dittmer, 1974). There was might be a variety of sweat pH during a period of sweating, either it become less acidic or more acidic (Robinson and Robinson, 1954) and by body region (Collins, 1957). In order to analyze the effects of alkaline sweat, an investigation had been done by using the pH greater than 7. (Jordinson, 1941; Collins, 1957; Brown et al., 1982; Emmett et al., 1988, 1994; Wainman et al., 1994; Schimper and Bechtold, 2005.Due to the various in sweat pH, many investigators have studied dissolution of a test article over a range of pH values (Gallay and Tapp, 1941; Collins, 1957; Brown et al., 1982; Hemingway and Molokhia, 1987). 3.2.2 Physiology of sweat There are two main types of sweat gland, apocrine and eccrine. Apocrine glands are the largest and they produce a viscous sweat containing lipids, cholesterol and steroids [12,13]. Eccrine glands operate almost the whole body and its amount between 2 and 4 million glands in adult skin. Thermoregulation is regulated by the eccrine sweat glands that helps in maintaining a constant body temperature, and hypothalamus become the centre in controlling the physiological sweat with normal rate of secretion ranging from 0.5 to 1mL/min. The characteristics of sweat is a clear hypotonic, and odourless fluid which consists of sodium, chloride, urea, lactate, organic and non-organic compounds [16]. The acidic nature of the excreted sweat is due to transportation and reabsorbing processes, which are relied on the physiological conditions that occur in the duct [17]. For instance, Patterson et al. has proven that the increased blood and sweat pH through the ingestion of sodium bicarbonate is caused by the induction of metabolic alkalosis. However, it is thought and assumed, this is because of the reduced sweat acidification in the reabsorbtive duct of the sweat glands. Furthermore, the relationship of sweat pH to sweat rate [9,15] and even for relationship of pH and sodium (Na+) levels in isolated sweat glands shown that they are directly proportional to each other. It is known that induce active sweating in human beings will give affect to the heat, mental stimuli, muscular exercise and carbon dioxide [20,21] as the sweating is continued to occur as long as the stimulation lasts and subsides quickly after it ends.. 3.2.3 Sweat collection and analysis The characteristics of sweat sampling and the special samples it requires deserve discussion separated from analysis that can be either different or similar to that in other biofluids. Nowadays, the purposes of sweat analysis are used even in optimizing the performance of athletes by studying the effects of dehydration but in the diagnosis of disease, detection of drug abuse, a method for testing deodorants .In addition, there are a lot of availability of different methods for the purposes of sweat collection and testing. However, the original method to test the components of sweat after exercise was revealed by using the whole bodywash down technique. Hence, all fluids lost during the aerobics are being stored for analysis [18].The following method was, sweat collection devices consisted of an occlusive bandage formed by one-to-three layers of filter paper, gauze or towel [5]. However, this kind of patch was time-consuming to apply, uncomfortably large, prone to detachment and yielded a small volume of sweat for analysis. In addition, it was found to alter the steady-state pH of the skin, the types of bacteria that colonize the skin and the transport characteristi cs of the skin, producing skin irritation [6]. To overcome these difficulties, non-occlusive sweat collection devices were developed, consisting of an adhesive layer on a thin transparent film of surgical dressing to which a absorbent pad and the overall being attached to the arm radial region. The transparent film just allow oxygen, water and carbon dioxide to pass through the patch, leaving healthy the underneath skin and prevents from the penetration of the non-volatile substances from the environment [5] .During wearing of the patch, sweat saturates the pad and slowly concentrates it, sweat components are retained, while water evaporates from the patch, thus misleading results of chloride concentration. Hence, its design does not allow to quantatize the concentrations of analytes in sweat, since the whole volume of secreted sweat is unknown. However, there is a commercial devices for sweat sampling are usually linked to subsequent determination of a given analyte by a dedicated instrument into which the sampler is inserted, as is the case with sweat collection for diagnosis of CF [10]. A recent, no validated sampler for a given application that circumvents sweat-volume related problems and fulfills the present trend to microdevices is a microstrip impregnated with a dye pH indicator [11]. A key aspect of sweat sampling is its noninvasive character, crucial in dealing with people such as hemophiliacs, blood sampling of whom is an either difficult or dangerous task. Sweat sampling can avoids risk of infections to patients who need daily analysis, rather than compared with urine, sweat sample preparation is less complex. Therefore, the use of sweat for commonly frequent analysis practices such as drug control in athletesis preferable. In short, sweat as clinical sample is almost free from impurities or interferents and sample preparation is simple and fast step is quite enough. The main limitations of sweat as clinical sample are the difficulty to produce enough sweat for analysis, sample evaporation, lack of appropriate sampling devices, need for a trained staff, and errors in the results owing to the presence of pilocarpine. In dealing with quantitative measurements, the main drawback is normalization of the sampled volume. Later on, the method has been discovered within the framework to produce results with a high coefficient of variation, which has lead to the development of sweat collection patches or capsules [22]. For instance, a disposable sweat collector developed by Brisson et al. that consisted of capsule created inside a flexible adhesive membrane pasted onto the skin [23]. After that, these collected samples are then stored at low temperatures for later analysis in a laboratory. Now, the pH of sweat can only be determined when the subject has already finished exercise and does not give any changes in the results which might occur between the beginning and end of an exercise session. Therefore, it can be validate that a real-time, wearable method of gathering and analysing sweat is preferable and in demand. Generally, this paper explains about the Development of Smart Patch with On-line Sweat Analysis .Besides that, artificial sweat has been chosen as it is an easily accessible fluid sample. The expected applications of this system for the personal health and sports performance and training. 3.2.3.1 Sweat analysis Sweating is naturally increased by nervousness, exercise, stress and nausea, and decreased by cold. Sweat excretion is also affected by other factors, such as ambient temperature, relative humidity, body location, hormonal imbalances, overactive thyroid gland and the sympathetic nervous system, and certain foods and medications A potential, general personal use of sweat is the recently developed smartphone application for in situ colorimetric detection, in prepared microchips, of pH changes in sweat correlated with chloride concentration and sweat rate which, during physical exercise, can indicate to users the proper time for hydratation [11]. 3.2.3 Artificial Sweat : 3.2.3.1 Historical of Artificial Sweat : The term artificial sweat is used throughout this review and encompasses historically used terms such as ‘‘artificial sweat,’’ ‘‘acidic artificial sweat,’’ ‘‘artificial perspiration,’’ ‘‘synthetic perspiration,’’ ‘‘synthetic sweat,’’ ‘‘sweat simulant,’’ and ‘‘simulated sweat.’’. 3.2.3.2 Benefits of a comprehensive artificial sweat Historical formulations of artificial sweat do not appear to have been characterized and often lacked many constituents present in human sweat. However, only four artificial formulations included more than one amino acid. No vitamins were included in any previous formulation of artificial sweat. Among all historical formulations, one of the most chemically comprehensive recipes was developed by Boman et al. (1983) but contains only select electrolytes, ionic constituents, organic acids, and amino acids. The novel formulation presented herein contains the known human sweat constituents at physiologically relevant levels which provides for a more accurate representation of human than previous artificial sweat models. Our novel artificial sweat formulation with composition that matches human is a chemically complex solvent. Preparation of this artificial sweat requires time and costs not associated with simpler formulations containing only the main constituents of sweat. However, caution must be used when excluding constituents. 3.2.3.3 Comparison to human sweat During formulation, we first balanced all ionic constituents and electrolytes except sodium and chloride. Additionally, concentrations of many human sweat constituents vary widely due to factors such as age, diet, season, degree of acclimation, and gender, making it difficult to design an artificial sweat solution that is universally valid. The artificial sweat formulation described in this paper is chemically more comprehensive than any of the 45 previously identified artificial sweat formulations and contains constituents that are nearly all present in concentrations that match median values in human sweat. However, in our review (Stefaniak and Harvey, 2006), we provided estimates of human sweat constituent concentration ranges, pH, and temperature variability that could be used to guide investigations of the relative importance of sweat factors on interactions with materials. In summary, our artificial sweat, represents a novel comprehensive artificial sweat at median constituent concentrations which equivalent to humans. (Stefaniak et al., in press),

Why International Business Differs from Domestic Business

Why International Business Differs from Domestic Business It is almost common place today to find businesses venturing into international markets. Thanks to advancement in communication and information technology, this trend will most certainly persist for the predictable future. Most domestic organisations when considering expansion will usually look outside their geographical location. This usually means looking at opportunities in international markets. It is believed that managing and running a domestic business is less complex than undertaking international business for a number of reasons. Nation states typically have unique laws governing trade and investment, variations in business ethics and culture, different political systems, monetary policies, currencies and so on. And these are all possible factors that could make international business more complicated and therefore, riskier than doing business at home. In discussing the differences between international business and domestic business, it will make sense to discuss issues involved in doing business internationally which will not otherwise be present or prove as complicated as when doing business at home. International business could range from the smallest of firms with the smallest possible activities with just a single country, to a much larger world-wide organisation with more interconnected operations and strategic alliances all over the globe. Comparison are frequently made within this range, alongside other forms of international business, and these differentiations make it easier to comprehend an organisations strategy, structure, and decision making processes. A notable comparison is that between nation-wide operations, and standalone subsidiary companies which act basically as domestic organisations, and global organisations, with subsidiaries which are tightly integrated and interconnected; like double ends of a band, with multiple openings in the middle. However, it will be less likely that you will find organisations at any one end of the band because, nowadays, companies frequently mix elements of domestic activities with those of global operations. Domestic versus international business All enterprise, whether domestic or international, and in all sector, have the same business aims; which is to be successful in its functions in order to be able to stay operational. In what ways, can we say that international business is distinguishable from domestic business? One can say loosely that the difference is mainly about location; domestic businesses exist and do business within a nation while international businesses exist and do business beyond those national boundaries. Typically, most countries have unique systems of government, laws, monetary policies, cultural differences, etc. For example, someone travelling to a new place on a visit will be required to be in possession of the right travel documents, have the appropriate foreign currency, some basic understanding of the local language (or device a way to interact with people),etc. Similarly, an individual or organisation going to do business in a different land will be faced with many such issues, making it potenti ally more difficult if he was to stay domestic. I am going to spend the next few sections of this essay comparatively discussing some of these issues which makes doing business internationally different from doing it domestically . International trade and investment theories A good place to start painting a picture of international business is to have a general conception of why business takes place beyond national borders. We can examine trade and investment as an expression of the comparative advantage of nations. That is, to suggest that every nation will usually be exceptionally excellent at producing some sort of goods or services or both. This is what is known as a countrys comparative advantage and it is based on a nations ample factors of production, such as land, labour, and capital. A country will therefore export such products and services that draw more on its rich factors of production. Take for example, labour and capital, two factors of production, and two countries, A and B. Country A may have a wealth of human resources and country B, a comparative richness in capital. It will therefore make sense for country A to export products or services that draw on labour intensively. Country B on the other hand, could export products or services t hat require a lot of capital. This is a rather one-dimensional way of looking at it. Many factors of production abound and in varying amount and will usually have more impact on trade. However, this is a an ideal point to start to get a clearer picture of what countries need in exchange for what they might in turn be able to supply to other countries. The flow of investment, one of the most versatile and mobile of all factors of production, can also be better explained by this comparative advantage concept. So, a country rich in capital but not enough labour force may want to invest in another country with abundance of labour but less capital to take advantage of that countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s richness in labour. Differences in business environment When a business takes its operations outside its national borders, the business environment changes. Clearly, an organisation will haveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"inside-outà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ knowledge of its domestic environment, but this will rarely be the case when it decides to go international. Understanding the business environment of the foreign country is crucial to the successful launch of an international firm. Therefore, organisations must commit to a greater extent, time and resources in order to understand the new environment. Below are some of the business environments that may affect international business, their complexity are the main distinction between international and domestic operations. Economic environment The economic environment changes as you move from country to another. There are generally three main categories of world economies; the developed nations, the developing or third world nations and the emerging economies. These classifications are usually based on the gross domestic product per capital (GDP) income of the nations. Within these economies exist huge gaps in the standard of living, educational standards, health care provision (from excellent health care system in a developed country, for example, to a complete lack of such facilities in a developing or poor country), trade standards and culture. Additionally, one could also classify nation states by such activities as: Free-market economies; those markets where there is very little or no interference from the central government and demand and supply determines whats produced and sold for what price. Centrally planned economies; where government controls production and price. or Mixed market economies; where some activities are determined by market forces and some controlled by government. Since the last part of the 20th century we have seen significant move to free-market economies globally. However, countries like China, Russia and a few other communist inclined societies, have maintained mostly centrally projected economies, with most business activities remaining under the direct influence of the government. The level of government control of the market, available infrastructure, political climate, etc, impacts the business environment and organisations venturing into international market will need to be aware of this to be effective. Political environment Different types of government, the relationship between government and business, and the political hazard in a country all impact the environment in which people do business. Organisations doing business internationally will have to deal with different types of political authority, one that may be radically different from its home country, with varied legislation and different degrees of risk. The political system of one country may be different from that of another; unilateral states, multi-party republics, monarchies, dictatorships, etc exist in various forms from place to place. There are also differences in the way power changes among countries worldwide. Some happen through some sort of democratic election process, military coups, regime change through war, and so on. The relationship between government and businesses also varies from country to country. Some countries favour capitalism, and business may be seen as a positive catalyst for development. It may also have a negative outlook in some places where it may be seen as exploitative particularly when firms from rich countries takes advantage of cheap labour in disadvantaged countries. The biggest issue that international business needs to grapple with in terms of the political environment is the level of political risk. Some countries have unstable government, uncertain legislation, occasional or frequent social unrest, high level of corruption, acts of terrorism, war, etc, which could make doing business very difficult and dangerous. However, some organisation may particularly find it more attractive to do business in high risk zones as the financial rewards will usually be exceptionally high. For example a firm supplying security personnel may see a country at war an opportunity despite the high risk. An international organisation therefore needs to be aware of the political environment in the foreign country order to function successfully. Cultural environment Culture is one crucial and complex part of the international business environment. The complexity of culture lies in its abstract nature. According to Kluchohn and Strodtbeck (1961), culture can be conceptualised as a body of general beliefs, values shared by a group of people. Common beliefs and values shared by a people are usually as a result of common history, religious beliefs, educational background, geography, etc. International businesses therefore will seek to understand these elements that make up peoples beliefs and values in the foreign location. Some scholars have proposed various models of culture. Hofstede (1980), developed one of such models. He posited a four dimensional cultural values which included masculinity, power distance, avoidance of uncertainty and individualism. According to Hofstede (1980), masculinity refers to the extent to which a country consents to traditional male or female values. Power distance means the extent to which a society acknowledges differences in power. Avoidance of uncertainty is the extent to which society shows willingness to acknowledge and handle uncertainty. And individualism refers to the level to which a country respects and promotes individual action. The application of this model by Hofstede has been extensive in its use as it makes available data for a range of countries. It has also proved popular among academics and managers who find it useful in researching management styles that may be suitable in a number of cultures. Competitive environment The cultural, political and economic environment affects in part the changes in competitive environment from one nation to another. One can say that the environmental elements collectively determines to a large extent the level of competition that exist within a nation or internationally Competition may have different roots. It could come from small or large companies, operating in both private and public sectors, domestic or global, and so on. Organisations may find it easier to understand their competition when operating domestically as opposed to when operating in foreign territory. In the UK for instance, most businesses are owned privately and competition is usually among companies in this sector. Countries like china on the other hand have mostly state-owned companies. Therefore, a UK company doing business in China may end up with competition from state-owned organisation which could lead to tremendous change in the competitive environment. Types of competition faced by businesses will change according to location. Some countries may encourage competition or discourage it in order to favour some sort of cooperation, state legislations in some societies may allow or forbid certain competitive activities. International firms will therefore, need to grasp these issues that can affect the business competitive environment. Technological advancement and innovation has helped create more competitive advantage in today business, as a result, companies are increasingly vying for access to latest technological development. The internet has made it easier for businesses of all sizes to gain global exposure and expand their market. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that some countries are more receptive than others when it comes to technological innovations. Differences in modes of entry There are different ways that organisations can do business internationally. It could be through exports, outsourcing, joint ventures, franchising and so on. Exports are probably the most common form of entry option for organisations considering international business. Outsourcing on the other hand has also become very popular in the last couple of decades particularly in the technology sector. Effective outsourcing requires careful consideration and concise definition of the terms of the contract. For example both parties to the outsourcing agreement need to be clear as to what is expected of them right from the onset. Outsourcing are used frequently by organisations that provide specialised services, such as management, technical knowledge, engineering, information technology, education, and so on, usually for a contractual period of time and fee. Outsourcing contracts are particularly appealing for firms as it allows the opportunity to provided services utilising talents that they would otherwise not have. Contracts maybe long-term or short-term, leaving room for flexibility and because the cost of the contract are usually fixed, income forecasts are easier to make. One shortcoming however, is that, due to the short-term nature of the contracts, organisations utilising outsourcing will constantly need to be involved new business negotiation which are usually a many month process and often requires more money and specialist negotiation skill. Another issue international business need to consider is that of licensing. Different countries have different rules governing such things as patents, copyrights, trademarks, etc. Organisations need to be aware of the various licensing laws in the country they operate in. Franchising involves selling or buying whole business operational rights. What makes a franchise valuable is typically the name, product and perhaps a tradition. Most franchises will usually have set requirements, terms and conditions for granting a franchise license. This could be a very complicated process when been considered outside national borders. Joint ventures are about partnerships. It enables a firm to invest in another country with only a share of the responsibility. The amount of responsibility will usually depend on the level of investment. For instance, there could more organisations involved in a single venture where they are all partners. The level of responsibility will be determined by their stake. Deciding on whom to go into partnership with is very crucial. Agreement need to be struck at the onset on such issues as what the objectives of the venture will be and how conflicts will be resolved. Joint ventures can be a great entry choice for international business if done properly. Conclusion Doing business is a lot more complex when in foreign land than when at home as we can see from the discussions above. There is no doubt that entry into international business has become easier for organisations due to a more wide spread liberalisation and relaxation of trade laws, and of course, immense advancement in high tech. However, an organisation desirous of entering into international business has more environmental issues to contend with in addition to issues of actually running the business. Treading into international market is very delicate and organisations will need to take into consideration virtually all issues in their desired location. In other words, no stone can left unturned or ignored as doing so will jeopardise their chances of success.

Crime And Drugs :: Crime Drugs Research Papers

Crime and Drug Use The link between drug use and crime is not a new one. For more than twenty years, both the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Justice have funded many studies to try to better understand the connection. One such study was done in Baltimore on heroin users. This study found high rates of criminality among users during periods of active drug use, and much lower rates during periods of nonuse (Ball et al. 1983, pp.119-142). A large number of people who abuse drugs come into contact with the criminal justice system when they are sent to jail or to other correctional facilities. The criminal justice system is flooded with substance abusers. The need for expanding drug abuse treatment for this group of people was recognized in the Crime Act of 1994, which for the first time provided substantial resources for federal and state jurisdictions. In this paper, I will argue that using therapeutic communities in prisons will reduce the recidivism rates among people who have been released from prison. I am going to use the general theory of crime, which is based on self-control, to help rationalize using federal tax dollars to fund these therapeutic communities in prisons. I feel that if we teach these prisoners some self-control and alternative lifestyles that we can keep them from reentering the prisons once they get out. I am also going to describe some of today’s programs that have proven to be very effective. Gottfredson and Hirschi developed the general theory of crime. It According to their theory, the criminal act and the criminal offender are separate concepts. The criminal act is perceived as opportunity; illegal activities that people engage in when they perceive them to be advantageous. Crimes are committed when they promise rewards with minimum threat of pain or punishment. Crimes that provide easy, short-term gratification are often committed. The number of offenders may remain the same, while crime rates fluctuate due to the amount of opportunity (Siegel 1998). Criminal offenders are people that are predisposed to committing crimes. This does not mean that they have no choice in the matter, it only means that their self-control level is lower than average. When a person has limited self-control, they tend to be more impulsive and shortsighted. This ties back in with crimes that are committed that provide easy, short-term gratification. These people do not necessarily have a tendency to commit crimes, they just do not look at long-term consequences and they tend to be reckless and self-centered (Longshore 1998, pp.

Call To Action :: essays research papers

Call to Action Improve nations balloting but leave control to locals Author Unknown   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   SUMMARY: A Call to Action is an article from the Houston Chronicle on Thursday, February 20, 2001 informing the nation on the controversial issue of the nations ballots system. The article begins with the announcement of next month’s Census Bureau release of the population’s data. This means that all the voting boundaries are going to be redrawn and reconfigured. It continues to talk about the amazingly close and controversial presidential election on November 7th. Difficulties erupted all over the state of Florida and throughout the United States in which the reliability and accuracy of the balloting system is questioned. Fortunately, because of the controversial ballots and ballot systems there have been numerous groups and committees organized to study and improve our out of date voting system. It says that several people in Congress are working on multiple bills being created to establish nation wide standards for ballot-counting systems. The article states, â€Å" One U.S. House lawmaker, Beaumont Democrat Nick Lampson, wants national standards for voting machines and poll closing times.† The author agrees with Lampson in that the voting machines have multiple flaws, one being the problematic punch card ballots. But he also thinks that the press would throw a fit if there was a national closing time at the polls just for the sake of avoiding early winning announcements. The National Association of Secretaries of State’s task force on election standards suggests leaving the enforcement issue to locals but have the government pay for voting machines. They also recommend â€Å"†¦more voter education, improved training for poll workers and maintaining up-to-date voter rolls†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . In the end the author feels that the communities should take on the responsibilities for reformation instead of an all-in-one government plan. He closes by reminding the reader that the nation’s President is elected through the Electora l College and the communities should supervise the voting procedure. OPINION: I agree with the author’s view on improving the voting system. I believe something needs to be done at least by the next election. In the election of 2000, Florida happened to be the center of the maelstrom. I find it hard to believe that any state that has had problems in the past with voting irregularities would continue to use the same flawed ballot system. Florida continues using a system year after year that allows people to vote twice on one ballot for the same political office, or that makes the results questionable because the paper might not be punched through enough for the machines to compute the votes?

Women, Sport and Film :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Women, Sport and Film Out of all the material we covered in this course, the ones that bear most directly on this question I think are the documentary about women in sports, and the movie "Girlfight". However, I felt that both of these films focussed on the issue from women's point of view. This is not to say that it isn't important or necessary to do so, but I started thinking about how men are also greatly affected by gender stereotyping. Being in a women's college, I feel like we focus a lot on the ways in which women are forced into certain roles, but we neglect to also look at how men are forced into certain roles. Last semester I watched the movie "Billy Elliot", about a young boy growing up in Newcastle, England, during the time of the miner's strike. I think the movie illustrates very well the costs and benefits of breaking gender stereotypes. Billy grows up in a mining family and his family consists of himself, his father, and his elder brother. He is surrounded only by male role models, and that too men who engage in manual labour. His father and his brother are both very "masculine" in the traditional sense of the word. The basic plot of the movie is that Billy wants to be a ballet dancer. His father wants him to learn boxing, but he sees a group of girls having ballet lessons at the same time and he starts taking ballet lessons on the sly. He turns out to be very talented, and his teacher wants him to apply to go to ballet school on a scholarship. The rest of the movie follows his progress and his struggle to be accepted by his family once he's been discovered. At first his father prohib its him from doing ballet, and calls him a "pouf", but Billy persists and is finally accepted by his family and community. I found it interesting that even though Billy is pre-pubescent, the mere fact that he wants to learn ballet induces people to question his sexuality even at such an early age. At an age when children aren't supposed to be sexual beings yet, Billy is under constant pressure to decide what his sexual orientation is, both by his family in that he has to defend himself, and by a friend of his in school who fits a certain stereotype of homosexuality and is romantically interested in him.

Factors for Going Public Through an Ipo Essay

When an organization is private they have decisions to make. Going public through an initial public offering, or IPO is one decision they can choose. When going through an IPO there is going to be increased capital. A public offering will allow a company to raise capital to use for various corporate purposes such as working capital, acquisitions, research and development, marketing, and expanding plant and equipment (FindLaw, 2013). Other advantages of choosing an IPO would be liquidity, increased prestige, valuation, and increased wealth. Weaknesses Even though going public has some advantages, it can also have some disadvantages too. The time and expense is probably one of the biggest disadvantages with this choice. It can take over a year and much money for fees to even start the process of an IPO. Other disadvantages to going public through an IPO would be disclosure, decisions based on stock price, regulatory review, falling stock price, and vulnerability. Disclosure is another part that can be costly when starting an IPO. That means that the organization has to make all financial records available to the public. Opportunities Going public is a way to increase public awareness of the company. The company will have more exposure of its product line. This awareness will increase sales because the product will be introduced to a new group of potential clients. An opportunity to increase clients will have an increase in market share. Investors will have a positive reaction to the company as it increases its market share. Threats As a public company, there will be accounting practices that will need to be met. The SEC requires public companies to comply with the regulations. The cost to comply with SEC regulations can be expensive in addition to the regulations the SOX Act will require an external accounting firm to audit the company adding additional cost. Since Lafleur will now be operating as a public company, they will have the pressure to perform for the market. â€Å"The actions of the company’s management also become increasingly scrutinized as investors constantly look for rising profits. This may lead management to perform somewhat questionable practices in order to boost earnings† (K. Balasubramaniam, 2009). Factors for acquiring another organization in the same industry Strengths An organization can also acquire another organization in the same industry. A major strength with acquiring another organization is that Lafleur Trading Company would be the owner of both organizations and would hold the power of both at the same time. The new organization loses its power and sometimes even loses the name. Acquiring another organization might be done to save the original smaller company while boosting sales for the larger company. If Lafleur would choose to keep the client list of the new organization it would be strength for them and those clients. The clients would still be able to receive the same products, but under new owners. With the new organization being in the same industry Lafleur would not have to buy any additional equipment for the new product. They could just bring the product over to their buildings. Weaknesses Acquiring another organization has its weaknesses too. Customers can become upset over this because they want to be loyal to the previous owners over the newer ones. Lafleur would have to pay a premium to the affiliate of the organization to keep the customers happy (if they can) and without upsetting cash flow. Opportunities There is opportunity in a company’s strengths. Lafleur can take advantage of the successes the acquired company has accomplished in the areas of product, marketing, research and development, and staffing. They can also avoid mistakes that have been made in the past. Using a synergy strategy in this process of acquisition will require Lafleur to be knowledgeable in the operations of the new company. Threats The threat of acquiring another company in the same industry is in its customer base and product line. Lafleur may not be gaining new clients or offering new or improved products. The sales team may be making the same sales calls to the same customers the other company. In this scenario, Lafleur will be gaining the company’s debt without the benefit of expanding resources for future growth. Merging with another organization Strengths Mergers are different than acquiring a new organization because when two companies merge they work together instead of taking full control of the weaker company. Mergers can help both organizations while also benefiting the public. The new firm will have increased market share, which reduces competition (Economics Help, n.d.). The merger will help financially because the company will get a better interest rate for the size. Efficiency is strength for mergers because the companies can bring the more experienced employees from both organizations together. An important strength of a merger is having diversity between the two original organizations. Other strengths would be research and development, avoiding duplication, and regulation of monopoly. Weaknesses Mergers have weaknesses just like any other choice to expand the organization. Mergers mean higher prices for products because competition is cut when two organizations become one. A merger also means fewer choices of products for customers. One of the biggest weaknesses for a merger would be fewer jobs in each organization. This means that Lafleur would have to let go of some of their employees while the organization it mergers with would have to also let go of some. The employees that are left might experience diseconomies of scale. This means that the employees will feel like they are part of a big corporation and their motivation will start to go away. Opportunities Opportunity lies in a merger with a larger well known company. Lafleur will gain the experience of growth from a larger company. There is also the opportunity of better benefits, salaries, increased revenue, and the expansion of offices in other markets. There must be research to be done to choose a company that will aid in future growth. This company will need to be a worthy partner and not a company that needs a lifeline to survive. Threats If a company does not have a growth opportunity on its own, it will not have growth opportunity when it merges with another company. The threat of Lafleur not benefitting from shared resources can result in failure for both companies. Another threat to a merger is mis-management. If the other company is poorly managed, Lafleur will suffer with unrealistic strategic goals, poor communication, and uncertain future success. It is because of these reasons that most companies do not experience more than one merger in their lifetime, they usually fail. Balasubramaniam, K. (2009). Advantages and Disadvantages for a Company Going Public. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/ipoadvantagedisadvantage.asp

Early Childhood Growth and Development Essay

This assignment we were asked to follow-up chapter 2 of our school textbook edition incremental Profiles Pre-Birth by means of Twelve. We were asked to write a three to quaternary page stem which includes the following * A description of how the opinion of breeding differs from the concept of yield. * A summary of the do master(prenominal)s of increase place in chapter 2 course text * An summary of the victimizational milestone examples in the text i. e. sitting, walking, talking and the purpose they serve. * Lastly, beat out and explain three factors that may return to atypical go badment.Now that we have all(a) in all of this discussed and what this paper entails allow us seize to it. Before we can even catch into the meat of this paper we primary mustiness know and understand the definition and the balance between victimisation and growth. Our text gives us a definition of both(prenominal) growth and rebelment. Development according to our text refer s to an annex in complexity, from simple to more tangled and detailed. festering is defined in our text as physical changes leading to an accession in size. (Allen & Marotz, 2010) The terms growth and ripening refers to a dynamic process. Often utilize interchangeably, these terms have different meanings. harvest-tide and instruction are interdependent, interrelate process. Growth generally takes place during the first 20 eld of life Development continues later that. (www. scribd. com). After reading the above lines and sitting and contemplating on them. The piece Growth and Development website stated that Growth takes place during the first 20 years of life and development continues after that. (www. scribd. com). I am non a board certified furbish up however I do take issue with that statement because of that fact that yes growth and development are interdependent of one other(prenominal) moreover we all develop as we grow.Yes there is a difference in the concep t of growth and development but one must look at the definition of each. Growth is the physical sight of the both, example after a frustrate is born the birth weight, height, and head circuit is maped. The pediatrician then requests the stir(s) to bring the baby bird back in two months. The two month check-up everything again is charted and this is done in intervals through and through out the life of the churl. The chart shows the growth of the pincer from birth to present. As we grow we excessively develop. This means that we develop our senses, our thoughts, personality etc.According to the human race Growth and Development site development is the behavioral aspect of the two. (www. scribd. com). I run to believe this because as we get of age(p) we incline to grow or develop into ourselves. We are not born with our personality, this has to develop. We were not born walking we had to develop the authorization of our legs in order to walk. The next build of our assig nment is to summarize the developmental ambits mentioned in our text. Before I do this summary I just want to foreland out that the ahead of time infanthood years are filled with staggering growth and development.There are four main areas of development that occur all at the same time. (www. teachpreschool. org). The dry lands listed in the text are as follows * Physical Development governs the study tasks of infancy this domain also governs both gross push skills (crawling, walking, running) and fine motor skills (hand-eye coordination, cutting, writing, weaving) (Allen & Marotz, 2010 www. teachpreschool. org). * Cognitive Development addresses the expansion of a boors intellect or mental abilities.(Allen & Marotz, 2010) * Perceptual Development this domain addresses the complex way a child uses information received through the senses- sight, hearing, touch, tincture taste and body position. This domain also enables the child to focus on what is relevant or irrelevant at both abandoned moment. (Allen & Marotz, 2010) * Language Development is the domain that enables the child to communicate with his/her peers. Most children tend to understand a variety of words, concepts, and relationships originally they have words to describe or communicate.This ability is called receptive phrase. There is another term used called expressive language which is words used to verbalize thoughts and feelings. (Allen & Marotz, 2010) * complaisant Development- the understanding on how to communicate, share and pose friends. This also covers how we feel most ourselves. (www. teachpreschool. org Allen & Marotz, 2010) * aflame Development- The building blocks for positive self regard and self confidence. Most theorists place neighborly development and Emotional development in one because these two are interrelated as well.(www. teachpreschool. org). We are almost through walking through Early childishness Growth and Development now let us talk about developme ntal milestones. developmental milestones are a limit of functional skills or age specialized tasks that most children can do at a certain age range. (www. med. umich. edu). In our text it talked about sitting, walking, and talking milestones, but before I get into the analysis of each one we must opine that Babies develop at their own pace, so it is impossible to tell exactly when you child will learn a given skill. (www. mychildwithoutlimits. org) The milestones that are talked about in our text can vary from child to child. whatsoever babies may learn to sit up on their own as early as six months of age darn others according to the Developmental Milestones Chart printed by My Child without Limits. org states that a child get to a sitting position happens at 1 year. This is not uncommon near children develop faster than others. The purpose of the developmental milestones is to let the fosters know that their child is emergence up normally.As a erect you should not typical ly be alarm if your child is a couple of months potty other children their age, but lets say your child is 24 months old and has not to date walked then yes there should be around concern there. Atypical growth and development is not an uncommon situation. This type of development stems from poor health and nutrition, injury, genetic errors, and umteen other factors. (Allen & Marotz, 2010). I have listed some(prenominal) factors that may contribute to atypical development and I will talk about each as follows * Injury- A cleaning woman has to protect themselves at all be when pregnant.If for whatever reason she falls and hurts herself it is a possibility that there can be damage to the child. A car accident can cause damage to the child * Genetic factors- these factors could come from either bring up or both. Genes play a major part in development because we all get 26 chromosomes from each parent for a total of 52. If either parents chromosomes are genetically big then t he child could be affected.* silly Health and Nutrition- the child feeds off of the mystify in vitro and if the mother is using drugs and not eating rightor taking her pre natal pills then the child could come out deformed, with some change of headway deficiency or some sort of health problem.Now that this is all say and done. I do hope that this paper can help you as it did me in the growth and development of the early child. REFERENCES Developmental Profiles Pre-birth through Twelve Allen, Eileen K and Martoz, Lynn R. 2010 Wadsworth publish Developmental Milestones www. med. umich. edu Developmental Milestones Chart www. mychildwithoutlimits. org truncated Look at Developmental Domains in Early Childhood Education www. teachpreschool. org Human Growth and Development www. scribd. com.