Financial Econometrics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Financial Econometrics - Assignment Example Thus, the series has a significant autocorrelations across the years. However, compared to other years, lag 1, 5, 11 and 31 have larger partial autocorrelations. The above plot represents the difference in log of real personal disposable income. This data shows a stationary trend whereby the data points assume a straight line. Moreover, the graph shows that the data have a constant mean and variance. This implies that the first difference of the series achieves stationarity. The above graph represents the autocorrelations of DLrpdi series whereby all the years show significance autocorrelations. However, compared to other years, year 4 and year 10 have larger autocorrelations due to large variations. The above graph is a representation of the log of real personal consumption data over time. This series shows an upward trend. This implies that this variable has an upward trend across the years. This data is non-stationary since it is increasing with the change of time. The graph above shows autocorrelation of Lrc. ACF is significant across the years. At lag 1 it is quite high and it has a decreasing uniform trend across the years; implying that the data is not stationary. The above graph represents the partial autocorrelation of Lrc series whereby all the years show significance autocorrelations. However, compared to other years, year1, year 3 and year 4 have larger autocorrelations due to large variations. The above plot represents the difference in log of real personal consumption. This data shows a stationary trend whereby the data points assume a straight line. Moreover, the graph shows that the data has a constant mean and variance. This implies that the first difference of the series achieve stationarity. Therefore, since the p-values at lag 0 and lag 1 is less than 0.05 in the above tests, we fail to accept the null hypothesis which states that the difference in the Lrpdi and Lrc show a unit root; the difference does

Capital Punishment Essay Example for Free

Capital Punishment Essay Capital punishment is viewed by the law as the act of deterring a person from performing a certain crime that poses threat to the lives of human being. Through capital punishment, life is lost and this method in a way makes sure that a particular crime isn’t repeated by a particular person thus completely deterring the person from repeating the crime. It should be noted that though death penalty is practiced, in some instances it is discriminatory and it may not award justice to the accused party. In many instances, innocent peoples have been subjected to capital punishment when in actual since they have been innocent. In other cases, the guilty have been freed because of insufficient evidence. This therefore leaves the question as to whether it is viable for death penalty to be encouraged. The cost incurred when putting a person to death, the trials and sometimes the effects have led to many countries thinking otherwise about the issue and many are drafting the bills that are intended to abolish the act. My personal view on capital punishment is that the law should be abolished as it does not achieve the expected results and does not give the accused party the room to change behavior and in some cases, the innocent are subjected to the sentence though they didn’t perform the crime. To support this, the following facts can be made. Status of Using the Death Penalty In the U. S. Various positions have been taken concerning death penalty or capital punishment globally. Some countries have been in favor of capital punishment while others abolished the act and still others have never passed such a law. In some countries mostly in the African continent, countries have this law in place but anybody sentenced to death is not subjected to the capital punishment but they are jailed for life. In America, there are mixed reactions as some countries and state do exercise the punishment while others do not. Still, others have abolished the law concerning capital punishment. To be specific, the number of countries or states that have favored and practiced this law 37 states while 13 of the states do not favor capital punishment. Many presidents have indicated that death penalty does not work or rather doe not achieve the intended purpose. What is the Purpose of the Death Penalty Advantages/benefits of the Death Penalty There are various benefits that are associated with death penalty/ though it may not be real that they are real benefits, capital punishment is entitled to Deter a person accused of doing a certain crime from repeating the same crime or similar again. This being the case, capital punishmen6t should be advocated as it would reduce the number of capital offenders in society. At the same time, capital punishment may serve as a warning to others who may have been involved in the act to desist from committing crimes that may lead to capital punishment. Still, those who may be starting the act may fear and desist from committing these crimes for fear of the consequences. Because of the various options given to an accused person, to some extent it is difficult to kill an innocent person. This therefore being the case, capital punishment is important as it eliminates those people who are likely to disturb the societal peace. It shoed be noted that various chances are given to the accused to prove their innocent. The judges do not rule in favor of capital punishment unless they are sure that the provided evidence justifies a person to be sentenced to capital punishment. It is also sometimes to credit death penalty on the bases of an eye for an eye. If a person is therefore accused and convicted of murder or killing, why shouldn’t they be given the same fate so that it can act as a way of retribution. Many people fear death and killing a person as a sentence may forbid others who may be planning to kill others as they would think that they will also be killed if caught. A convicted [person may also kill others in prison if they know that the only possible penalty they ,may receive is fine or life imprisonment. This being the case, they should be killed to avoid killing others. Therefore death penalty is an important war to incapacitate a person. Disadvantages/disbenefits of the Death Penalty Death penalty has a lot of disadvantages and these include the fact that there may be a possibility of false conviction. This being the case, an innocent person may be killed because of may be shoddy witnesses, bribery or if there was a grudge between the parties involved. There have been mane cases where a person is convicted to be killed but just before the act takes place, new evidence delinks the person from the act. Still others were killed only new evidence obtained that de alienated the already killed person. This therefore indicated that death penalty has a lot of flaws. At the same time, the costs involved before a person I convicted of cap[ital punishment are many. A lot of time is also consumed to try the accused. It should be noted that some people because of the various trials may have repented. The system may be biased. Since we have seen that there are a lot of cost implications that are involved in the process, those who don’t have the financial capabilities may not be able to afford the required lawyers, or money required to sustain the accused. At the same time, social status and racial backgrounds play a big hand in determining who will be hanged. What are the Alternatives to the Death Penalty Advantages/benefits of the Alternatives There are various alternatives to death penalty. One of the alternatives would be to sentence the accused person to life imprisonment. This would ensure that the accused is not part of the society or rather he or she is not dealing with the society in a direct way. This therefore would deter and incapacitate the person from commuting the crime. At the same time, some people do kill unintentionally and they are not able to prove this fact in court. They may therefore feel remorse and change their behavior thus becoming good members of the society.

What Is Satanism? :: essays research papers

What is Satanism? Satanism is the religion of the flesh. Happiness, to the Satanist must be found here and now. No heaven exists to go to after death and no Hell of burning punishment awaits the sinner. Strongly attached to our family and close associations, we make excellent friends. Satanists do not believe that you can love everyone and treat every person the same. By failing to hate you make yourself unable to love. Feared by their enemies and loved by their friends, Satanist's build their stronghold in the community. The term occult means "hidden" or those things or teachings that are unknown information, knowledge that is gained beyond the five senses. Therefore, knowledge is received by some supernatural involvement or connection. Anton LaVey of the first church of Satan in San Francisco, California, says that "Satanism is a blatantly selfish brutal religion- It is based on the belief that man is inherently a selfish, violent creature†¦ that the earth will be ruled by those who fight and win." Satanism challenges the biblical teachings regarding mans relationship to others. Young Satanist's believe that the strong will rule with Satan. Power has become an obsession with young Satanists. It is sought after on the physical, mental, and spiritual levels. Gaining knowledge that others do not posses is another aspect of the occult. When an individual has more knowledge it allows them a degree of power over those who do not have access to that knowledge. The Ouija Board has proven particularly useful. The Ouija Board is an instrument for communication with the spirits of the dead. The Ouija Board is an open door into the world of the occult and demonic activity. Disembodied speak to the living through the medium of the Ouija Board. This information is believed to be truth from the other side; Lucifer's delusion to gain our allegiance. Most cases are with people who have used the Ouija Board. The Ouija Board is the easiest way to become possessed. The greatest danger of the Ouija is that an individual begins to place his trust and future hope in the message the board brings. Christians can offer several reasons as to why one should not be involved in the use of the Ouija Board. One is simply that the bible condemns it as being involvement in the occult. And then theirs the fact that the message received is often false and misleading. According to scripture (Matt 4:9, Rev, 12:19) "Satan's goal is to deceive man by blinding him to the truth of the gospel and to receive worship for himself. Satan desires to alter an individuals values and turn them against

Mind Muscle Vs. Mind Mush Essay -- Intelligence

Let us see what Hitler thought of the masses he moved and how he did the moving. The first principle from which he started was a value judgment: the masses are utterly contemptible. They are incapable of abstract thinking and uninterested in any fact outside the circle of their immediate experience. Their behavior is determined, not by knowledge and reason, but by feelings and unconscious drives. (Huxley, 1958, p.3) If Hitler looked at mankind today with his opinion be the same? Would he succeed at moving the masses to the deplorable deeds as he once succeeded in doing? The instinctive answer would be no, of course not; but, there exist today a constant bombardment of information, distractions, demands, and influences attacking us at the same time there still exist the same emotions and motivations that moved the masses of Hitler’s era. In the face of this barrage, how can mankind possibly keep its mind muscle when society is being pushed to mind mush? Armed with the proper intellectual tools, mankind’s mind muscle will remain strong. For about a century now, literature and films like The Hunger Games, Harry Potter series, Logan’s Run, Terminator, I Robot, and others include control of the masses or the rise of artificial intelligence. In his article, Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman (1984) describes the differences between the prophetic visions of George Orwell’s, 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s, Brave New World. Orwell’s books, Postman explains, tell of â€Å"externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley's vision, no Big Brother or Ministry of Truth is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity, and history. As Huxley saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities... ... Papworth & R. Seamons (Eds.), The way of wisdom (pp.). Rexburg, ID: BYU-Idaho. Retrieved May 7, 2012 from http://ilearn.byui.edu Morowitz, H. J. (2010). Drinking hemlock and other nutritional matters. W. Brugger, D. Hammond, M. K. Hartvigsen, A. Papworth & R. Seamons (Eds.), The way of wisdom (pp.). Rexburg, ID: BYU-Idaho. Retrieved May 7, 2012 from http://ilearn.byui.edu Pinker, S. (2010). Mind over mass media. W. Brugger, D. Hammond, M. K. Hartvigsen, A. Papworth & R. Seamons (Eds.), The way of wisdom (pp.). Rexburg, ID: BYU-Idaho. Retrieved May 7, 2012 from http://ilearn.byui.edu Postman, N. (2010). Amusing ourselves to death. W. Brugger, D. Hammond, M. K. Hartvigsen, A. Papworth & R. Seamons (Eds.), The way of wisdom (pp.). Rexburg, ID: BYU-Idaho. Retrieved May 7, 2012 from http://ilearn.byui.edu Singh, T. (Director). (2012). Mirror mirror [Motion Picture].

A Choice We Make through a Decision of Our Will

We cannot let the world's wounds destroy our spirits. We cannot let our hurts and betrayals destroy our capacity for growth and caring. That there will be Judgment and, perhaps, Justice, is necessary. That the violence be confronted and, if possible, contained is essential. But, most important is our capacity to nurture a loving heart, to affirm and not to curse, to forgive even when we cannot completely forget. † – Glenn H. Turner Some Questions to ask: How do you respond when you are wounded? How do you feel toward the person who has hurt you?How long do you carry your anger and how does that re-sentment (feeling it again and again) continue to hurt you? Can you forgive and break the cycle? Can you understand the other? What does forgiveness mean to you? It is not uncommon for Christians to have questions about forgiveness. Forgiveness does not come easy for most of us. Our natural instinct is to recoil in self-protection when we've been injured. We don't naturally ove rflow with mercy, grace and forgiveness when we've been wronged Is forgiveness a conscious choice, a physical ct involving the will, or is it a feeling, an emotional state of being?The Bible offers insight and answers to these and many more questions about forgiveness. We'll take a look at the most frequently asked questions and find out what the Bible says about forgiveness. Is forgiveness a conscious choice, or an emotional state? I believe forgiveness is a choice we make through a decision of our will, motivated by obedience to God and his command to forgive. The Bible instructs us to forgive as the Lord forgave us: Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one nother.Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (NIV) How do we forgive when we don't feel like it? How do we translate the decision to forgive into a change of heart? We forgive by faith, out of obedience. Since forgiveness goes against our nature, we must forgive by faith, whether we feel like it or not. We must trust God to do the work in us that needs to be done so that the forgiveness will be complete. I believe God honors our commitment to obey Him and our desire to please him when we choose to forgive. He completes the work in his time.We must continue to forgive (our Job), by faith, until the work of forgiveness (the Lord's Job), is done in our hearts. Philippians 1:6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (NLT) How will we know if we have truly forgiven? Lewis B. Smedes wrote in his book, Forgive and Forget, â€Å"When you release the wrongdoer from the wrong, you cut a malignant tumor out of your inner life. You set a prisoner free, but you discover that the real prisoner was yourself. ? More Forgiveness Quotes that comes as a result. We are the ones who suffer most when we choose not to forgive. When we do forgive, the Lord sets our hear ts free from the anger, bitterness, resentment and hurt that previously imprisoned us. Most times, however, forgiveness is a slow process. Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, â€Å"Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? † Jesus answered, â€Å"l tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. (NIV) This answer by Jesus makes it clear that orgiveness is not easy for us.It's not a one-time choice and then we automatically live in a state of forgiveness. Forgiveness may require a lifetime of forgiving, but it is important to the Lord. We must continue forgiving until the matter is settled in our heart. Is it okay to feel anger and want Justice for the person we need to forgive? This question presents another reason to pray for the person we need to forgive. We can pray for God to deal with the injustices, for God to Judge the person's life, and then we can leave that prayer at the altar. We no longer have to carry the anger.Although it is normal for us to feel anger toward sin and injustice, it is not our Job to judge the other person in their sin. Luke 6:37 Do not Judge, and you will not be Judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. (NIV) Why must we forgive? The best reason to forgive is because Jesus commanded us to forgive. We learn from Scripture, if we don't forgive, neither will we be forgiven: Matthew 6:14-16 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also orgive you.But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (NIV) We also forgive so that our prayers will not be hindered: Mark 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. (NIV) In summary and in closing, we forgive out of obedience to the Lord. It is a choice, a decision we make. However, as we do this â€Å"forgi ving,† we discover the command is in place for our own good, and we receive the reward of our forgiveness†freedom.

Slavery In The Tempest Essays - Fiction, Literature, Operas

Slavery In The Tempest Essays - Fiction, Literature, Operas Slavery In The Tempest Slavery in The Tempest Slavery occurs on a widespread basis in The Tempest. Occurrence of slavery to many of the characters, all in different ways, helps to provide the atmosphere for the play. The obvious slaves are not the only slaves, as Prospero has basically got everybody entranced when he wants, to do whatever he wants with them. He can also control the way that they think. The first and most obvious slave is ariel. Ariel is an airy spirit who is promised his freedom by Prospero if his job is done well. His job was to entrance the visitors to the island under Prospero's control. What Ariel! My industrious servant, Ariel! That is what Prospero said in act 4, scene 1, line 33. He was talking to his slave, Ariel, who entranced the visitors to the island. Another example could be Alonso, the king of Naples. Since he is not in Naples, but on Prospero's island, and under his control, he is a slave in a way. In act 3, scene 3, lines 95-102, Alonso admits complete and utter loss of control. O, it is monstrous, monstrous! Methought the billows spoke and told me of it; The winds did sing it to me; and the thunder, that deep and dreadful organ pipe, pronounced the name of Prosper; it did bass my trespass. Therefore my son i' th' ooze is bedded; and I'll seek him deeper than e'er plummet sounded and with him there lie mudded. He is telling us that Prospero is in control of him. Prospero, Trinculo, and Stephano are in control of Caliban, the deformed son of Sycorax, and therefore Caliban is their slave. Monster lay-to your fingers; help to bear this away where my hogstead of wine is, or I'll turn you out of my kingdom. Go to, carry this. In act 4, scene 1, lines 250-253, Stephano told Caliban to carry something for him, or he would be out of his kingdom. He treats Caliban like dirt because he is their slave. In act 4, scene 1, lines 262-265, Prospero is describing how all of his former friends are now pretty much under his control, even though they don't know it, and enslaved to Prospero. At this hour lies at my mercy all mine enemies. Shortly shall my labors end, and thou shalt have the air at freedom. In act 5, scene 1, lines 7-10, it states Confined together in the same fashion as you gave in charge, just as you left them-all prisoners, sir, in the line grove which weather-fends your cell. Ariel is telling Prospero that the visitors are under his spell, as they still are the way that he left them. They cannot do much until he breaks the spell. In conclusion, The Tempest is a very good play to demonstrate the monstrosity of slavery in society. The play teaches lessons about slavery, and about classes of people, and how they react to their surroundings.

How Quantum Computers Work

How Quantum Computers Work A quantum computer is a computer design which uses the principles of quantum physics to increase the computational power beyond what is attainable by a traditional computer. Quantum computers have been built on a small scale and work continues to upgrade them to more practical models. How Computers Work Computers function by storing data in a binary number format, which result in a series of 1s 0s retained in electronic components such as transistors. Each component of computer memory is called a bit and can be manipulated through the steps of Boolean logic so that the bits change, based upon the algorithms applied by the computer program, between the 1 and 0 modes (sometimes referred to as on and off). How a Quantum Computer Would Work A quantum computer, on the other hand, would store information as either a 1, 0, or a quantum superposition of the two states. Such a quantum bit allows for far greater flexibility than the binary system. Specifically, a quantum computer would be able to perform calculations on a far greater order of magnitude than traditional computers ... a concept which has serious concerns and applications in the realm of cryptography encryption. Some fear that a successful practical quantum computer would devastate the worlds financial system by ripping through their computer security encryptions, which are based on factoring large numbers that literally cannot be cracked by traditional computers within the lifespan of the universe. A quantum computer, on the other hand, could factor the numbers in a reasonable period of time. To understand how this speeds things up, consider this example. If the qubit is in a superposition of the 1 state and the 0 state, and it performed a calculation with another qubit in the same superposition, then one calculation actually obtains 4 results: a 1/1 result, a 1/0 result, a 0/1 result, and a 0/0 result. This is a result of the mathematics applied to a quantum system when in a state of decoherence, which lasts while it is in a superposition of states until it collapses down into one state. The ability of a quantum computer to perform multiple computations simultaneously (or in parallel, in computer terms) is called quantum parallelism. The exact physical mechanism at work within the quantum computer is somewhat theoretically complex and intuitively disturbing. Generally, it is explained in terms of the multi-world interpretation of quantum physics, wherein the computer performs calculations not only in our universe but also in other universes simultaneously, while the various qubits are in a state of quantum decoherence. While this sounds far-fetched, the multi-world interpretation has been shown to make predictions which match experimental results. History of Quantum Computing Quantum computing tends to trace its roots back to a 1959 speech by Richard P. Feynman in which he spoke about the effects of miniaturization, including the idea of exploiting quantum effects to create more powerful computers. This speech is also generally considered the starting point of nanotechnology. Of course, before the quantum effects of computing could be realized, scientists and engineers had to more fully develop the technology of traditional computers. This is why, for many years, there was little direct progress, nor even interest, in the idea of making Feynmans suggestions into reality. In 1985, the idea of quantum logic gates was put forth by the University of Oxfords David Deutsch, as a means of harnessing the quantum realm inside a computer. In fact, Deutschs paper on the subject showed that any physical process could be modeled by a quantum computer. Nearly a decade later, in 1994, ATTs Peter Shor devised an algorithm that could use only 6 qubits to perform some basic factorizations ... more cubits the more complex the numbers requiring factorization became, of course. A handful of quantum computers has been built. The first, a 2-qubit quantum computer in 1998, could perform trivial calculations before losing decoherence after a few nanoseconds. In 2000, teams successfully built both a 4-qubit and a 7-qubit quantum computer. Research on the subject is still very active, although some physicists and engineers express concerns over the difficulties involved in upscaling these experiments to full-scale computing systems. Still, the success of these initial steps does show that the fundamental theory is sound. Difficulties With Quantum Computers The quantum computers main drawback is the same as its strength: quantum decoherence. The qubit calculations are performed while the quantum wave function is in a state of superposition between states, which is what allows it to perform the calculations using both 1 0 states simultaneously. However, when a measurement of any type is made to a quantum system, decoherence breaks down and the wave function collapses into a single state. Therefore, the computer has to somehow continue making these calculations without having any measurements made until the proper time, when it can then drop out of the quantum state, have a measurement taken to read its result, which then gets passed on to the rest of the system. The physical requirements of manipulating a system on this scale are considerable, touching on the realms of superconductors, nanotechnology, and quantum electronics, as well as others. Each of these is itself a sophisticated field which is still being fully developed, so trying to merge them all together into a functional quantum computer is a task which I dont particularly envy anyone ... except for the person who finally succeeds.

Definition and Examples of Absolute Phrases in English

Definition and Examples of Absolute Phrases in English An absolute phrase is a group of words that modifies an independent clause as a whole. Its etymology is from the Latin, free, loosen, unrestricted. An absolute is made up of a noun and its modifiers (which frequently, but not always, include a participle or participial phrase). An absolute may precede, follow, or interrupt the main clause: Their slender bodies sleek and black against the orange sky, the storks circled high above us.The storks circled high above us, their slender bodies sleek and black against the orange sky.The storks, their slender bodies sleek and black against the orange sky, circled high above us. An absolute allows us to move from a description of a whole person, place, or thing to one aspect or part. Note that in traditional grammar, absolutes (or nominative absolutes) are often more narrowly defined as noun phrases...combined with participles. The term absolute (borrowed from Latin grammar) is rarely used by contemporary linguists. Examples and Observations The absolute phrase that adds a focusing detail is especially common in fiction writing, much more common than in expository writing... In the following passages, all from works of fiction, some have a participle as the post-noun modifier...; however, youll also see some with noun phrases, others with prepositional phrases. There was no bus in sight and Julian, his hands still jammed in his pockets and his head thrust forward, scowled down the empty street. (Flannery OConnor, Everything That Rises Must Converge)Silently they ambled down Tenth Street until they reached a stone bench that jutted from the sidewalk near the curb. They stopped there and sat down, their backs to the eyes of the two men in white smocks who were watching them. (Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon)The man stood laughing, his weapons at his hips. (Stephen Crane, The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky)To his right the valley continued in its sleepy beauty, mute and understated, its wildest autumn colors blunted by the distance, placid as water color by an artist who mixed all his colors with brown. (Joyce Carol Oates, The Secret Marriage) A second style of absolute phrase, rather than focusing on a detail, explains a cause or condition: Our car having developed engine trouble, we stopped for the night at a roadside rest area. We decided to have our picnic, the weather being warm and clear. The first example could be rewritten as a because- or when- clause: When our car developed engine trouble, we stopped... or Because our car developed engine trouble, we stopped... The absolute allows the writer to include the information without the explicitness of the complete clause; the absolute, then, can be thought of as containing both meanings, both when and because. The absolute about the weather in the second example suggests an attendant condition rather than a cause. (Martha Kolln, Rhetorical Grammar: Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical Effects, 5th ed. Pearson, 2007) Nominative Absolutes Nominative absolutes are related to nonfinite verb phrases... They consist of a subject noun phrase followed by some part of the predicate: either a participle form of the main verb or a complement or modifier of the main verb. . . . [C]omplements and modifiers may take almost any form...Absolutes have traditionally been called nominative because the absolute construction begins with a noun phrase as its headword. Nevertheless, they function adverbially as sentence modifiers. Some [absolutes] explain reasons or conditions for the action described in the main clause; others... describe the manner in which the action of the main clause is performed. (Thomas P. Klammer, Muriel R. Schulz, and Angela Della Volpe, Analyzing English Grammar, 5th ed. Longman, 2007) More Examples of Absolute Phrases Roy circles the bases like a Mississippi steamboat, lights lit, flags fluttering, whistle banging, coming round the bend. (Bernard Malamud, The Natural, 1952)Harry froze, his cut finger slipping on the jagged edge of the mirror again. (J.K. Rowling,  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Scholastic, 2007)Bolenciecwcz was staring at the floor now, trying to think, his great brow furrowed, his huge hands rubbing together, his face red. (James Thurber, University Days)The spider skins lie on their sides, translucent and ragged, their legs drying in knots. (Annie Dillard, Holy the Firm, 1977)His bare legs cooled by sprinklers, his bare feet on the feathery and succulent grass, and his mobile phone in his hand (he was awaiting Lionels summons), Des took a turn round the grounds. (Martin Amis, Lionel Asbo: State of England. Alfred A. Knopf, 2012)When Johnson Meechum came up the three steps of his purple double-wide trailer and opened the front door, his wife, Mabel, was waiting for him, her thin hands clenched on her hips, her tinted hair standing from her scalp in a tiny blue cloud. (Harry Crews, Celebration. Simon Schuster, 1998) Six boys came over the hill half an hour early that afternoon, running hard, their heads down, their forearms working, their breath whistling. (John Steinbeck, The Red Pony)Whenever you heard distant music somewhere in the town, maybe so faint you thought you imagined it, so thin you blamed the whistling of the streetcar wires, then you could track the sound down and find Caleb straddling his little velocipede, speechless with joy, his appleseed eyes dancing. (Anne Tyler, Searching for Caleb. Alfred A. Knopf, 1975)Still he came on,  shoulders hunched, face twisted, wringing his hands, looking more like an old woman at a wake than an infantry combat soldier. (James Jones,  The Thin Red Line, 1962)A tall man, his shotgun slung behind his back with a length of plow line, dismounted and dropped his reins and crossed the little way to the cedar bolt. (Howard Bahr, The Year of Jubilo: A Novel of the Civil War. Picador, 2001)The men sit on the edge of the pens, the big white and silver fish between their knees, ripping with knives and tearing with hands, heaving the disemboweled bodies into a central basket. (William G. Wing, Christmas Comes First on the Banks) Hundreds and hundreds of frogs were sitting down that pipe, and they were all honking, all of them, not in unison but constantly, their little throats going, their mouths open, their eyes staring up with curiosity at Karel and Frances and their large human shadows. (Margaret Drabble, The Realms of Gold, 1975)The accused man, Kabuo Miyamoto, sat proudly upright with a rigid grace, his palms placed softly on the defendants table - the posture of a man who has detached himself insofar as this is possible at his own trial. (David Guterson, Snow Falling on Cedars, 1994)The superintendent, his head on his chest, was slowly poking the ground with his stick. (George Orwell, A Hanging, 1931)You can get a fair sense of the perils of an elevator shaft by watching an elevator rush up and down one, its counterweight flying by, like the blade on a guillotine. (Nick Paumgarten, Up and Then Down. The New Yorker, April 21, 2008)Two middle-aged men with jogging disease lumber past me, their faces pur ple, their bellies slopping, their running shoes huge and costly. (Joe Bennett, Mustnt Grumble. Simon Schuster, 2006) At a right angle to the school was the back of the church, its bricks painted the color of dried blood. (Pete Hamill, A Drinking Life, 1994)Ross sat on the edge of a chair several feet away from the table, leaning forward, the fingers of his left hand spread upon his chest, his right hand holding a white knitting needle which he used for a pointer. (James Thurber, The Years With Ross, 1958)One by one, down the hill come the mothers of the neighborhood, their kids running beside them. (Roger Rosenblatt, Making Toast. The New Yorker, December 15, 2008)I could see, even in the mist, Spurn Head stretching out ahead of me in the gloom, its spine covered in marram grass and furze, its shingle flanks speared with the rotting spars of failed breakwaters. (Will Self, A Real Cliff Hanger. The Independent, August. 30, 2008)Down the long concourse they came unsteadily, Enid favouring her damaged hip, Alfred paddling at the air with loose-hinged hands and slapping the airport carpeting with poorl y controlled feet, both of them carrying Nordic Pleasurelines shoulder bags and concentrating on the floor in front of them, measuring out the hazardous distance three paces at a time. (Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2001) Source Macmillan Teach Yourself Grammar and Style in Twenty Four Hours, 2000.

Role of the US Government in the Acceleration of the Advancement of Essay

Role of the US Government in the Acceleration of the Advancement of Computers - Essay Example The electronic computr has been approximately for over a half-century, but its intimates have been approximately for 2000 years. However, only in the last 4 decades has it changed the American society which resulted from U.S government policies towards the advancements of computrs. From the 1st wooden "abacus" to the latest high-speed "microprocessor chip", the computr has altred nearly every aspect of people's lives for the bettr. The outburst of "World War II" twisted a desperate need for computing capability, particularly for the military. New weapons' systems were created which required trajectory tables and other indispensable data. In 1942, John P. Eckert, John W. Meauchley, and their associates at the "University of Pennsylvania" detrmined to build a high-speed electronic computr to do the job. This machine became recognized as "ENIAC", for "Electrical Numerical Integrator And Calculator". It may well multiply two numbers at the tempo of 300 products per second, by finding the value of each product from a multiplication table stored in its memory. ""ENIAC"" was consequently about 1,000 times quicker than the preceding generation of computrs (Dolotta, 47). "ENIAC" used 18,000 standard vacuum tubes, engaged 1800 square feet of floor space, and used about 180,000 watts of electricity. (Ceruzzi, 36) The input and output was done by punched-card. The "ENIAC" was very complicated to program because one had to fundamentally re-wire it to execute whatever task he required the computr to do. It was, though, well-organized in handling the particular programs for which it had been planned. "ENIAC" is normally accepted as the 1st victorious high-speed electronic digital computr and was used in various applications from 1946 to 1955 (Dolotta, 50). Mathematician John von Neumann was very fascinated in the "ENIAC". In 1945 he undertook a hypothetical study of computation that confirmed that a computr could have a very straightforward and yet be able to perform any kind of computation effectively by means of appropriate programmed control devoid of the need for any changes in hardware. Von Neumann came up with incredible ideas for methods of building and organizing practical, fast computrs. These ideas, which came to be referred to as the stored-program technique, became essential for future generations of high-speed digital computrs and were across the world adopted. The 1st gesture of modern programmed electronic computrs to take benefit of these improvements appeared in 1947. This group incorporated computrs using random access memory (RAM), which is a memory designed to give almost steady access to any particular portion of information. This equipment used punched-card or punched-tape input and output devices and RAM's of thousand-word capability. Physically, they were much more compact than "ENIAC": some were regarding the size of a grand piano and required two thousand five hundred small electron tubes. This was fairly a development over the earlier machines. The 1st generation stored-program computrs required considerable maintenance, usually attained 70% to 80% reliable operation, and were used for 8 to 12 years. Typically, they were programmed directly in machine language, although by the mid-1950s progress had been made in several aspects of advanced programming. This group of machines included "EDVAC "and "UNIVAC ", the 1st

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Case Study - Essay Example hematical scores of students, whereas the performance related pay has been an opportunity for the proponents of market-based governance seek to introduce private-sector management techniques into the public sector to lead to better out-puts, greater cost-efficiency, and a customer service ethos (Susan, 2006). The characteristics of the New Public Management involve the performance related pay which is considered to be interpretation of the public policy solution, with its focus on outputs, competition and in-centivisation (Lawrence, 2007). The performance related pay has materialized due to the implementation of the New Public Management, which has provided the public and the private sector with any opportunity to experience the competitive forces of the market, the introduction with the private sector management practices has the ostensible aim of increasing efficiency, creating an output focused culture and discouraging rent-seeking (Susan, 2006). The performance based pay practice is widely popular in the private sector, and has been a medium for the improvement of the results through the creation of the incentives for the employees (Terri, 2000). The concept of performance related pay is common in Australia, and the majority of the teachers and professionals associated with the academia have been paid pupils’ results as assessed in examinations, tests, and visits by invigilator (Susan, 2006). The implementation of the system was aimed at the improvement of the performance of the teachers, and to enhance the quality of education. It was believed that through provisions in the pay package of the teachers, the educational standard can be improved. The amendments in the performance based package were lastly proposed by the Federal Ministry Education, Science and Training, as per which the performance related pay is expected to be measured by principals, parents and students alike (Lawrence, 2007). In Australia, the teachers are offered annual increment, with

A Question of Discrimination Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

A Question of Discrimination - Research Paper Example In other words, the equal rights legislation covers the Federal Government’s prevailing concerns in employment as emancipated by the EEOC. This in return should remind every company to abide by this rule. Based on the equal rights legislation and regulation emancipated by the EEOC, questions that at some point would lead to discrimination are strongly prohibited (National Archives, 2012; US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2012). These questions are not just discriminatory at some sort, but would degrade the civil rights as everyone has the freedom to life. Acquiring a job for instance is a form of meeting this life’s basic concern. Discriminatory questions during job interviews would at some point undermine this elemental human right. What Dan and Alex manifested that would make Ruth cringe was a violation to the basic human rights at work that falls under other relevant employment conditions. At some point, their actuation was a significant manifestation of a discriminatory deed, creating a hostile environment for Ruth at work. In this regard, the management should ensure emancipating core values and policies against acts that would create a hostile environment for employment. Up to this moment, Jennifer and Mel should familiarize EEO-related matters. The reason why they could not implement the right procedure against actions that are becoming hostile to employment is due to lack of actual know-how on the EEO-related matters. Even though they might have knowledge of it, they have no confidence in implementing company policies in line with EEO-related matters. The company core values should be set and this should have its basic foundation on EEO. National Archives. (2012). Teaching With Documents: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved from

Leadership and Sustainability Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Leadership and Sustainability - Assignment Example In fact, leaders have come under consideration to be the most substantial elements for the organization and its success. This is because leaders are the people who implement and bring into practice the new strategies and methodologies, as these new techniques or the innovations are the prospective features that facilitate the organizations to accomplish constructive financial outcomes and overall profitability (Gallos, pp. 1-10). Leadership likewise has also come under observation as a process, rather than a trait or a characteristic. However, leadership has come under definition by its promoters as â€Å"process of  social influence  in which one person is able to enlist the aid and  support  of others in the accomplishment of a common  task† (Chamorro-Premuzic, pp. 144). In addition, it also refers to gather, systematize, and manage a cluster of population that can work towards the accomplishment of a shared and widespread goal. The leaders have the ability to infl uence others in a way that they respond willingly to the leader. Besides, it has also come under notice that leaders regulate their leadership style with reference to the situations as well as to the directed people (Chamorro-Premuzic, pp. 143-148). ... Nevertheless, extensive studies suggests that the current leadership styles is immense, colossal, complicated and multifaceted that is in a constant process of magnification. In fact, more and more companies nowadays are looking to sustainability leadership as the core competency in the competition (Pride & Hughes &  Kapoor, pp. 179-186). Scholars even view the fact that patterns of thoughts and actions are not the only attributes that comes under leadership styles, as it is something more than that. However, according to few of the authors, leadership style has come under reference as the method or approach that a leader leads that include his or her communication style and skills of leadership, the way of practicing power and authority, and the impact of these techniques on others (Pride & Hughes &  Kapoor, pp. 179-186). Researchers even bring into limelight that leadership styles lay its foundation on several frameworks, despite the fact that they indicate different and divers e viewpoints, yet the core and fundamental principal behind all continue to portray the same meaning. Empirical studies in the wake of the leadership styles not only illustrate the affiliation and liaison between various factors that support leadership styles, organizational culture and the demands of its environment, but also depict the effects on the performance of the organization (Pride & Hughes &  Kapoor, pp. 179-186). While looking at diverse types of leadership, every sort of leadership works and proves to be efficient, but only in certain cases, where the organization’s business functions and operations are the key responsible elements in determining which

Project (Managing Across Culture) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Project (Managing Across Culture) - Essay Example planation of Models 1.1.1 Hofstede Cultural Dimension According to the view of Geert Hofstede, culture can be best described as being the source of conflict rather than synergy; and the cultural differences as opined by him as troublesome and often a disaster. There are various practical applications on cultural differences of Geert Hofstede’s research that arises at various organisations especially for those who work in international business. If a person goes into another country and tries to make decisions the way he operates at his home country then there are chances of landing up with wrong decision. The Geert Hofstede research provides insights into different cultures with the aim to make the person more effective when interacting with others. There are five dimensions of Hofstede namely the Power distance, Individualism versus collectivism, Masculinity versus femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance and Long-Term Orientation Power Distance Index: It is the degree to which the less influential member in the organisation feels that the power is being distributed unequally. Individualism versus Collectivism: The term individualism tries to explain the fact that it is the society where the ties between the individual are often too loose. On the flip side the term collectivism refers to the society where the people right from their birth are incorporated into strong and cohesive groups. Masculinity versus femininity: It refers to the allocation of roles among the genders which is basic issue for any society for which the range of solution are found. Uncertainty Avoidance: It is the man's search for truth. It tries to indicate how the culture tries to train its members to experience either comfort or discomfort in such kind of unstructured situations. Long term Orientation versus Short term Orientation: It deals with virtues regardless of truth. The basic values that are associated with the long term orientation are carefulness and persistence while the values that are associated with the short term are fulfilling social obligation, respect for tradition (Geert Hofstede, 2009). 1.1.2 Trompenaars Cultural Dimension There are seven fundamental dimension of culture. Each one of them can be explained in brief. Universalism vs. Particularism: In case of universalism it is believed that rules and laws can be applied to everyone. On the other hand, particularism is the belief in placing emphasis on the friendship and looking forward for the situation in order to determine what is right or ethically acceptable. Individualism versus Collectivism: In case of individualism the decisions are made on the spot by the representative and there is

Leadership and Sustainability Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Leadership and Sustainability - Assignment Example In fact, leaders have come under consideration to be the most substantial elements for the organization and its success. This is because leaders are the people who implement and bring into practice the new strategies and methodologies, as these new techniques or the innovations are the prospective features that facilitate the organizations to accomplish constructive financial outcomes and overall profitability (Gallos, pp. 1-10). Leadership likewise has also come under observation as a process, rather than a trait or a characteristic. However, leadership has come under definition by its promoters as â€Å"process of  social influence  in which one person is able to enlist the aid and  support  of others in the accomplishment of a common  task† (Chamorro-Premuzic, pp. 144). In addition, it also refers to gather, systematize, and manage a cluster of population that can work towards the accomplishment of a shared and widespread goal. The leaders have the ability to infl uence others in a way that they respond willingly to the leader. Besides, it has also come under notice that leaders regulate their leadership style with reference to the situations as well as to the directed people (Chamorro-Premuzic, pp. 143-148). ... Nevertheless, extensive studies suggests that the current leadership styles is immense, colossal, complicated and multifaceted that is in a constant process of magnification. In fact, more and more companies nowadays are looking to sustainability leadership as the core competency in the competition (Pride & Hughes &  Kapoor, pp. 179-186). Scholars even view the fact that patterns of thoughts and actions are not the only attributes that comes under leadership styles, as it is something more than that. However, according to few of the authors, leadership style has come under reference as the method or approach that a leader leads that include his or her communication style and skills of leadership, the way of practicing power and authority, and the impact of these techniques on others (Pride & Hughes &  Kapoor, pp. 179-186). Researchers even bring into limelight that leadership styles lay its foundation on several frameworks, despite the fact that they indicate different and divers e viewpoints, yet the core and fundamental principal behind all continue to portray the same meaning. Empirical studies in the wake of the leadership styles not only illustrate the affiliation and liaison between various factors that support leadership styles, organizational culture and the demands of its environment, but also depict the effects on the performance of the organization (Pride & Hughes &  Kapoor, pp. 179-186). While looking at diverse types of leadership, every sort of leadership works and proves to be efficient, but only in certain cases, where the organization’s business functions and operations are the key responsible elements in determining which

The Value of Ethical Theories for Providing Moral Decisions Essay

The Value of Ethical Theories for Providing Moral Decisions - Essay Example When a person tries to achieve something with a help of cheating, he exposes weakness and inability to reach the goal with own strength. Such person shows the lack of any respect to the sport rules and regulations. The most important thing for him is a victory, disregarding the ways of getting it. However, real sportsman is able to cherish winning as well as the process of competition and game per se equally, because only in a fair game it is possible to enjoy the moment of victory in the fullest way. The queries of breaking rules are the problems of neglect of sport ethics along with existence of weak moral principles.In addition to personal understanding of what is acceptable and what is not, there is also a matter of existed NCAA rules that seem to be not effective. In this respect, it is very essential to provide higher academic standards with reviewed rule book and set new parameters for athletic scholarships. As Nevin Shapiro stated, â€Å"I did it because I could and because nobody stepped in to stop me†. It is well known that NCAA can not control boosters, donators and mentors, but players, coaches and their assistants should be always under careful watch. The consequences of the Miami’s scandal lie not on the players, who, perhaps, due to own young age did not realize what they were doing, but on coaches, who overlooked the situation or merely concealed it.Consequently, for not losing self-respect and recognition of surrounded people, it is vital to comply with main rules in a fair sport competition.

Faith of Children by Proxy Essay Example for Free

Faith of Children by Proxy Essay In response to the query as to how an infant can be capable of making an act of faith, which is regarded as being necessary for baptism; Catholics refer to faith of infants born into Christian home, as guaranteed by faith of their parents and sponsors. The parents of such infants have the bounding duty to bring them up as Christians. When such children have grown in the faith their baptism is now given ‘confirmation’. In Mark 2: 1-5, an example of faith by proxy, sufficient for salvation of another is often cited by Catholics. ‘And after some days, He again entered into Capernaum. And it was heard that He was in the house. And so many gathered that there was no room left, not even at the door. And He spoke the word to them. And they came to Him, bringing a paralytic, who was being carried by four men. And when they were not able to present him to Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. And opening it, they lowered down the stretcher on which the paralytic was lying. Then, when Jesus had seen their faith, he said to the paralytic, â€Å"Son, your sins are forgiven you. †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ {Mark 2:1-5} In this passage, the Lord Jesus offered salvation and remission of sins to a paralytic man, based on the faith of those who brought him to Jesus, not necessarily on the faith of the sick man himself; because he was obviously incapable of professing his own faith. Therefore in like manner, Catholics who take their infants to Jesus for baptism are substituting their faith for that for the faith of their children. Another example of faith of one person guaranteeing salvation for another is found in the book of Matthew: ‘And when he had entered into Capernaum, a centurion approached, petitioning him, and saying, â€Å"Lord, my servant lies at home paralyzed and badly tormented. † And Jesus said to him, â€Å"I will come and heal him. †And responding, the centurion said: â€Å"Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  And, hearing this, Jesus wondered. And he said to those following him: â€Å"Amen I say to you, I have not found so great a faith in Israel†. And Jesus said to the centurion, â€Å"Go, and just as you have believed, so let it be done for you. † And the servant was healed at that very hour. { Matthew 8: 5-13} Salvation for Whole Household Examples abound in the Holy Scriptures where the faith of the head of a household led to salvation of the whole household, children included. In Acts11, we read about a man being saved along with his entire household after Simon Peter had preached the gospel to them. ‘†¦. And he described for us how he had seen an Angel in his house, standing and saying to him: ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is surnamed Peter. And he shall speak to you words, by which you shall be saved with your whole house. ’ And when I had begun to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as upon us also, in the beginning. ’ {Acts 11:13-15} Therefore, Catholics take the informed Biblical view that since a whole household can be saved by the profession of faith of the head of the house and consequently all members of the household are baptized including little children, the Bible supports the Catholic practice of baptism of infants. Authority from Church Accepted Tradition The second major source of authority for the Catholic practice of baptizing infants is the accepted practice dating back to the very beginning of Christianity, the Apostolic Church. Right from the earliest days of the Christian Church, infant baptism has been an accepted practice. One Church authority, Origen wrote in the third century AD: Baptism is given for the remission of sins; and according to the usage of the Church, Baptism is given even to infants. And, indeed, if there were nothing in infants that required the remission of sins and nothing in them pertinent to forgiveness, the grace of Baptism would be superfluous. (Origen, Homily on Leviticus 8:3 AD 244) The Roman Catholic Church which succeeded the early Apostolic Church reaffirmed the correctness of the practice of baptism for infants and has continued the practice to this day. WORKS CITED Origen, Homily on Leviticus 8:3 AD 244 The Sacred Bible: The Acts of the Apostles http://www.catholicdoors.com/

The effect of human population growth on resources

The effect of human population growth on resources Human Population growth and the effect on natural resource consumption In the last 50 years the world population has grown faster than ever before, and in many countries and regions of the world this population growth and the consumption of natural resources resulting from this growth is becoming a matter of great concern for governments and international development agencies (World Bank. 2004). National populations are expected to grow in every countries of East, Southeast, and South and Central Asia except Japan and Kazakhstan, populations will double or nearly double in Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Laos, growth rates will also be particularly high in India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam (Asia Population, 2013). This implies an enormous concern for the reason that population growth represents more consumption, depletion, contamination and use of natural resources. This essay aims to discuss the population growth crisis, specifically the relationship between population growth, envi ronmental sustainability and ecological impacts due to human intervention on environment. In 1798, Thomas Malthus studied the nature of population growth in Europe, he claimed that population was increasing faster than food production, and he feared that eventual global starvation may become unsustainable on the years to come (Malthus, 1798). Several researchers still debate this theory, nevertheless, it is clear that the patterns of consumption and degradation of resources are directly related to population growth and human consumption of natural resources both in developing and developed countries. Some authors doing research about human population growth argue that a key component to achieve sustainable development is to slow population growth by helping couples to limit their family size (Public Health Reports 1992). However, birth control and population management is not the only strategy required to reduce population growth. Population growth control is not only effective by introducing birth control mechanisms, is it also important to recognize that the medical and scientific advances represents a huge and significant factor regarding population increase. To elaborate, there have been over the years enormous developments on the reduction of infant mortality rate, for instance, mortality rate has dropped significantly compared to fifty or sixty years ago and the control of diseases such as cholera, malaria and dengue are becoming more effective every day, adults rate expectancy is increasing and adults are extending their life expectancy by several years than they used to achieve decades ago. As a result, a greater production and consumption of resources is necessary to sustain the population, and it is unclear whether the food production is capable of growing as fast as population growth is able to grow in the modern world. Environmental problems can be classified according to the nature of the damage to human health (Holdren and Ehrlich, 1974), the authors argue that Environmental problems are usually a direct effect of wrong human interacti ons and resource exploitation. Common and every day diseases (lung disease due air pollution, lead poisoning and so many more) are the direct consequence of human activities, the pollution of coastal waters, the acceleration of erosion in agricultural soils are the result of human activities and global degradation on environment. One of the most important problems that requires observation is food production and soil fertility because this kind of degradation is a direct consequence of human activity. Soils increasingly lose their ability to store nutrients and be productive in their cycles, Water consumption for crops also becomes higher and less sustainable, and production is constantly decreasing, resulting in a threatening an irreversible damage to the environment. One example of this problem is the alteration of areas in the lush of the Tigris and Euphrates Valleys through erosion and salt accumulation, consequence of bad irrigation practises and systems (Thorkild and Adams, 19 58 ), the Rajasthan desert in India is also a perfect example of the human pressure on the environment. Another example is the pressure to expand agricultural areas, leading to damaging efforts to cultivate land that is unsuitable to cultivation, such as the expansion of cultivation on hillside in Indonesia, leading to serious erosion and new environmental problems (Ravenholt, 1973). Countless examples of bad agricultural practises can be found around the globe, the techniques of temperate-zone agriculture to the tropical soils of Brazil, leading to the loss of the soil nutrients and erosion can be found in South America (McNeil, 1972). Coastal regions are also affected by the human consumption and mismanagement of resources, impacts due the human activity are evident, the mismanagement of waste disposal, water mismanagement, metals and fertilizers residues and oil spills, harmful pollutants hurled to marine ecosystems, mining, CO2 emissions, greenhouse emissions, and many more harm ful environmental practices can be found on different parts of the globe. The New technologies, achievements and developments in the last hundred years concerning agriculture are not resolving these environmental conflicts in a small period of time, for this reason it is urgent to find creative solutions to address these issues and achieve sustainability in order to create a consistent solution to the population growth concern. According to naturalist Sir David Attenborough (BBC, 2010) there are three favourable ways to get sustainable development; first: stop consuming so many resources, and one of the theories is that developed countries should stop using so many resources in order to allow developing countries to meet their demand for resources, An example of this is the production methods of food that many developed countries have on countries like China and Africa to meet their own needs and to export and sustain their own population, causing a enormous demand problem in production that constrain this developing countries (Developing countries need to meet their own food supply requirements and at the same time they have to produce extra supplies to meet the demand from foreign countries using their land). The Second proposal by Attenborough, is the change of our technology and production methodologies by using alternative methods of agriculture and energy production. It is a fact that the struggle to minimize the use of fossil fuels and promote the use of clean renewable energies is a difficult and constant effort, however an embedded question comes to attention: is the use of clean energy affordable to implement in developing countries? The cost and resources are not yet clear to respond that question. The third proposal presented is about reducing population growth, and to reduce population growth education is also essential. Education on contraceptive methods and access to effective birth control systems are basic especially in developing countries where resources are scarce and population growth worsens the circumstances to access basic needs. It is evident that developing countries are more commonly the ones to have more population growth worldwide (refer to table 1 and chart 1 appendices) and this increase in population is the direct cause of many of the numerous environmental problems in those countries. Conclusion: It is clear that population growth has a negative impact on the environment, the intensification of agriculture, the uncontrolled industrialization and economic growth, the depletion of resources and the destruction of natural habitats is evident and undeniable in our current world. For this reason it is necessary to implement intelligent and concrete strategies to minimize the impacts and effects of environmental degradation. There is an urgent need to look for real development solutions and sustainable policies to maximize the use of resources without degrading the environments capacity to restore it self and simultaneously obtain a balanced assessment for the impact that humans perform on the planet. Human capacity for improvement and technology opens daily windows and doors to new sustainable solutions that can generate substantial changes in the levels of production, conservation and renewal of ecosystems and resources. Governments are required to achieve improvements and find w ays to be more involved in environmental issues, seeking to improve the quality of life, health and livelihood of their populations through viable and sustainable solutions for the correct use of resources. It is the responsibility of governments, communities and every person on the planet whether living in a developed or developing country to find solutions and alternatives to benefit not only current generations but also future generations to come. Human carrying capacity must not reach its limits before finding solutions to actual problems, human influence and positive technological advances and current developments on issues such as environment must be a permanent strategy to minimize the ecological footprint of humans on resources. Proper Education, correct land management, technological improvements, economic investment, proper resource management and awareness, and better public policies regarding natural resource management are crucial and vital elements for the development of communities and poverty eradication around the world. Appendix: Table 1 TOP 20 LARGEST COUNTRIES BY POPULATION 1China 1,399,913,213 2India 1,278,847,804 3United States 324,475,111 4Indonesia 255,021,309 5Brazil 203,283,249 6Pakistan 187,383,682 7Nigeria 182,243,489 8Bangladesh 159,950,753 9Russia 142,196,628 10Japan 126,893,225 11Mexico 124,899,068 12Philippines 101,379,224 13Ethiopia 98,330,593 14Vietnam 93,197,563 15Egypt 84,387,897 16Germany 82,597,111 17Iran 79,238,137 18Turkey 76,515,191 19Congo 70,762,892 20Thailand 67,381,077 Chart 1 References. Public Health Reports 1992. Population Growth Threatens Natural Resources 107, p. 608. World Bank. 2004. World Population Growth ASIA POPULATION, R. 2013. Asia Population 2013 [Online]. Available: http://www.worldpopulationstatistics.com/asia-population-2013/. BBC, H. S., EPISODE 7 2010. How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth? In: ATTENBOROUGH, D. (ed.). HOLDREN, J. EHRLICH, P. 1974. Human Population and the Global Environment: Population growth, rising per capita material consumption, and disruptive technologies have made civilization a global ecological force. American Scientist. MALTHUS, T. 1798. An Essay on the Principle of Population, London, Printed for J. Johnson, in St. Paul’s Church-Yard. MCNEIL, M. 1972. 32. LATERITIC SOILS IN DISTINCT TROPICAL ENVIRONMENTS: Southern Sudan and Brazil. RAVENHOLT, A. 1973. Man-land-productivity Microdynamics in Rural Bali. Southeast Asia series, 21, 9. THORKILD, J. ADAMS, R. 1958 Salt and silt in ancient Mesopotamian agriculture Vol. 128 no. 3334 pp. 1251-1258 128: 1251-58.

Television and Media Essay - TV Violence and Children :: Media Argumentative Persuasive Argument

TV Violence and Children      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Children from the ages 6-11 spend more time watching television than they do in the classroom.   The level of violence that they see on prime time television is about five violent acts per hour and the level of violence on Saturday that includes cartoons morning programming is about 20 to 25 violent acts per hour.   At this rate, the average American child will see 8,000 murders before they finish elementary school!      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a child sits in front of baby-sitting television, her eyes are glued to the viewing of shoot em' up rip em' up kind of entertainment.   We have to remember that the entertainment media plays an extremely powerful role in the formation of values and morals, to all youngsters' minds of all ages, all socioeconomic levels, and all levels of intelligence.   These programs "play" with kids' minds; these programs have a tremendous negative effect on our children.   We, as a society, must save our future and take an active role in protecting our children from the violence on our television.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Television cartoons often feature dehumanized characters, such as Transformers and the Ninja Turtles, who engage in the destructive acts of violence by fighting our real life social problems. With acts of violence, kids learn to think that's how they should solve their problems.   MTV's Beavis and Butt-head   encourages fire, smoking, foul language, drinking and stealing.   With these bad attitudes seen depicted as normal on TV   shows kids are lead to believe it is cool be have that type attitude   Is this what we really want our society, especially our younger generation, to believe?      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If we truly thought that television had no impact on viewers, why would companies spend billion of dollars on television advertising?   If commercials have an effect, then so do the shows that the children watch.   For example, youngsters mimic many of the violent acts that they see such as Beasvis and But- head.   One day, a five year old boy watch his favorite cartoon, Beavis and Butt- head, and sees the characters pull one of their famous arson stunts.   And the result, he sets his own house ablaze and his younger sister is killed.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Children do learn from television especially when they lack direct exposure or first hand experience with violent grotesque acts. These do take a toll on children and the way they will view life as they grow up.   I know some who that are sweet, innocent, full of dreams, hopes, laughter, and life.   These kids have learned about there environment from their parents, not by watching television.

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.

Male and Female Roles

Male and female roles have changed dramatically since the beginning of the 21st century. Men were known as the bread-winners. Their responsibility was to go to work and bring home money to take care of their family. While women stayed at home and took care of all the cooking and cleaning. The female role also consisted of bearing and taking care of all the children. Things have changed women can also get good jobs and bring home as much money as men and sometimes even more money than men. In a major step forward, women demanded and were granted the right to vote in the United States in 1920s. Women should not have to stay at home and take care of the children, cook, and clean. Taking care of children alone should be considered a full time job, before adding cooking and cleaning. In the 1960s the invention of the birth control pill came about that let women control when they had kids. Contraceptives made planning a family around a career easier for women; careers no longer had to take a backseat to family. The great depression was hard on many families. Many men suffered losses of income and unemployment. Women embraced this abrupt status change and rose to the challenge of finding work to support their family. Then the equal opportunities movement came about meaning that employers could not discriminate against women in hiring and promotion, and providing further protection for women in the workplace, even though men still make more money than women. Along with being the primary breadwinners a male’s role may consist of a few manly chores such as taking out trash, fixing cars, and cutting grass but, some males have taken on the female role. According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than one percent of dads were stay-at-home fathers in 2006. Men account for only 19 percent of single parents who live with their children. However, that still means there were 159,000 stay-at-home fathers as of 2006, according to the U. S. Census Bureau. There is a thriving community of stay-at-home fathers who are quite proud of their role in the family and support their â€Å"bread-winning† wives fully. Most women, who work full time with families, still have the primary responsibility of taking care of the children and home. Women want to get out and have a life, not just stay at home and do chores. Women also want to take care of their children. Mothers want to be the one that see their baby’s first crawl or first word. Mothers want to get that child up in the morning, dress her and see her off to her first day of school. Mothers tend to be more nurturing than fathers. For example when a child fall off her bike for the first time a mother will probably run to that child and put a bandage on. Whereas a father will most likely try to brush it off and get the child to try again. I totally agree that males should be the primary bread- winners. Then if a woman wants to work part time or go back to school she can. Sometimes taking care of the children and chores can be split in half between male and female, so no one feel that one is doing more work than the other. If a woman wants to get out the house sometime and have a life maybe she could join a social club, have a few girlfriends, or volunteer with different community organizations. I do not think a woman should have to be the primary bread- winner, the primary caregiver to the children, and still do most of the cooking and cleaning. Some women have to be the primary breed winners. If a woman is left alone to take care of her children she have no choice but to become the primary bread-winner, the primary care giver, and do most of the cooking and cleaning because maybe she will not have any help. Even though a female is left alone all the work of taking care of children and a home still goes on. In 2005, nearly 4 in 10 babies in the U. S. were born outside of marriage according to the centers for disease control. References * Women's Roles Vs. Male's Roles in the 21st Century | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8630273_womens-males-roles-21st-century.html#ixzz2RIpkA17n

Chapter Summaries: Characters Essay

Characters: Bruno, mother, father, Maria, Gretel, Lars What & Why: ï‚ · When nine-year-old Bruno comes home from school one day, he is surprised to find the maid, Maria, packing up all his belongings. He tries to remember if he has done anything â€Å"particularly naughty† in the past few days that would warrant him being sent away as a punishment. He asks his mother, â€Å"a tall woman with long red hair that she bundle[s] into a sort of net behind her head,† what is going on. He is somewhat relieved to notice that her things are being packed, too, by Lars the Butler. Bruno’s mother goes into the large dining room, where the Fury, accompanied by a beautiful blond woman, had come to dinner the week before. Bruno notices that Mother’s eyes are â€Å"more red than usual† as she tells him that the whole family will be going on â€Å"a great adventure.† Mother explains that the Fury has â€Å"big things in mind† for his father and is sending him to a place where there is â€Å"a very special job that needs doing.† Bruno has never been entirely sure what his father does; unlike his friends, whose fathers are ordinary workers like greengrocers or teachers or chefs, Bruno knows only that his father wears a â€Å"fantastic uniform† and that there are always other men in uniforms and women with typewriters visiting him in his office, which is â€Å"Out Of Bounds At All Times And No Exceptions.† Bruno’s discomfiture is intensified when he learns that the place to which they will be going is quite far away. The family’s house in Berlin will be closed up for the present, and Bruno will not be able to return to his school. Bruno is particularly upset that he will have to say goodbye to Karl and Daniel and Martin, who are his â€Å"three best friends for life.† When he protests, his mother first tries to reason with him. She says that in light of all the recent changes in the city, it might be safer if they move away. When this argument fails to convince Bruno, she snaps at him, telling him curtly, â€Å"We don’t have a choice in this.†  Disconsolate, Bruno goes upstairs, wondering whether their new home will be as nice as the one in which they are living now. Bruno loves their house in Berlin, which has five stories and a fine banister for sliding down. The  banister goes all the way from the very top floor, which has a window from which he can see clear across the city, to the ground floor, where he jumps off into the dining room. In between are the floors for the bedrooms (his parents’ and his and his sister’s rooms), and beneath the ground floor there is a cellar, where Cook prepares the family’s food. In Bruno’s estimation, the best thing about the house, in addition to the banister, is that Grandfather and Grandmother live nearby, and he wonders if they are coming along to the new place too. From downstairs, Bruno hears the sound of his parents arguing, but the voices cease suddenly when his father speaks â€Å"louder than Mother† can and the door to his father’s office closes loudly. Sadly, Bruno goes to his room to help Maria pack his things. When and Where: In Berlin the first day of the story Author’s intention: Chapter: This chapter is to introduce Bruno and his situation.

Data Envelopment Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Data Envelopment Analysis - Essay Example This paper would use the DEA method to measure the technical allocative efficiency. IT start-ups in China in particular and the rest of the world in general are faced with the same problem of initiating DEA methods to measure effectiveness of resource allocation processes and related outcomes. For instance according to Xu and Zhang (2008) the optimum resource input-output ratios are regarded as the best indicators of efficient resource allocation processes in the IT start-up firms that depend on strategic resource utilization and mobility between sectors to achieve positive organizational outcomes. Gomes, de Mello and Meza (2008) use a hybrid approach based on DEA efficiency measurement thus highlighting the importance of large discreet resource allocation processes. This is a paradigm shift from the non-discreet statistical processes that were previously adopted by researchers to measure the optimum resource input-output ratios. In addition to these DEA methods there are other more advanced DEA models. Among them the most popular two models are known as the CCR model and the BCC model. CCR has been named after its three discoverers Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes (1978) while BCC has been named after its discoverers Banker, Charnes and Cooper (1984). ... The significance of each Decision Making Unit (DMU) in the resource allocation process is emphasized by the two models.However CCR makes the assumption that each DMU is capable of operating only at constant returns to scale while BCC assumes that there are variable returns to scale. This paper would use these two models for the analysis of the resource allocation efficiency in IT start-up firms (Graaf & Washida, 2006). Though the paper would basically focus attention on Chinese IT firms there would be some analytical perspectives on other IT firms in the rest of the world as well. Actually this dichotomy between the two models has led to internal conflicts within firms as to which model has more merits than the other (Kaynak & Karakaya, 1994).The DMU consists of personnel who are Human Resource Management (HRM) specialists and production engineers and therefore are expected to work out the best or most efficient resource allocation process so that output would be maximized and cost m inimized (Davenport, 1999). The current literature on the subject actually generalizes the impact of this conflict on the DMU's own efficiency and impartiality. This outcome is further worsened by the fact that individual decision makers are much less inclined to coordinate efforts at each level of decision making though such decisions weigh heavily on the final organizational outcomes (Phillips, 2005).The negotiation process between and among the members of the DMU of each organization such as the new IT firm in China can be more specifically referred to as a culture-specific ritual in which rules are openly flouted in order to preserve one's own interests (Pour, 2006). In fact IT industry analysts and experts agree that attitudes and

Social Culture and Diversity in the Wrokplace Research Paper

Social Culture and Diversity in the Wrokplace - Research Paper Example ization because they feel appreciated and valued, thus significantly reducing the problem of turnover that is a threat to business continuity in most institutions. An organization that values diversity acknowledges differences among staffs through action by emphasizing on the rightful environment necessary to create flexibility and responsiveness where staff potential is recognized harnessed and developed. This paper will discuss the aspect of social culture and diversity in the workplace and explore the description of the subject matter in terms of social and cultural differences, managing cultural diversity, benefits accruing to a culturally diverse organization, potential impact, challenges and possible solutions for organizations that have embraced or are looking to achieve social and cultural diversity. Social and cultural diversity may be described to include a population that is culturally diverse made up of people from different parts of the globe meaning that organizations end up with a mix of multi-racial and multi-cultural employees. Demographics in any population of people are dynamic and this phenomenon trickles down to organizations where these people work. There are social and cultural differences in terms of races, national origins, ethnic backgrounds and religion. These differences in demographics among the working population bring valuable skills, knowledge and experiences which the organization can utilize to create a hybrid of human resources and capacity to develop its growth agenda and business success. As immigrants and expatriates from different national origins get employment in an organization, they come with many skills and abilities, as well as differences. Ethnic Backgrounds also comprise of diversity characteristics in an organization. Individuals are born and raised in different environments with rich cultural heritages from their parents and forefathers. These individuals bring with them different insights, ways of perceiving and

The Hundred Schools of Thought (Ancient Chinese Philosophies) Research Paper

The Hundred Schools of Thought (Ancient Chinese Philosophies) - Research Paper Example The phenomenon has remained in the history books of the Chinese nation and given the title â€Å"Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought†. The ideas and thoughts refined and discussed in this period have since then intensely influenced the social consciousness and the lifestyles of the people up to the modern days not just in China but the whole of East Asia . The intellectual part of the society during this time was characteristic of itinerant scholars who were employed by several state rulers most of the time as advisers of the war, government and diplomacy methods. This memorable period in history ended with the coming of the Qin Dynasty together with purge of dissent that flowed after. The major philosophies and characters/tenets of this era include Legalism, Confucianism, Maoism, Taoism, logicians and the school of Ying-yang. The philosophies and characters are believed to have had great impacts in influencing the lifestyles, culture and the social atmosphere in Chines e history. Confucianism Confucianism or â€Å"School of scholars’ was the philosophical body that most people believe had the most lasting impacts on the life of Chinese people. The legacy of this line of thought has been written on the Confucian Classics that was later made the traditional society foundation. The Confucianism took place between 551-479 BC, the period being referred to as the Kongzi of the master king2. The philosophy was named after the main founder called Confucius. Confucianism reflects back to the Zhou dynasty early days in order to come up with a political-social order that is ideal. Confucius believed that an effective government system should play a big role in necessitating each individuals prescribed relationships. He insisted that the government system should be in such a way that it ensures the ruler is given his role of ruling and the subject remains a subject. To him, for a king to rule properly, he had to be virtuous. According to Confucianism, social stratifications and the government functions were life facts that had to be sustained by the use of ethical values. To Confucius, his ideal human being went by the title ‘junzi’, meaning a superior person or a gentleman. Mencius or Mengzi (371-289) BC come up with philosophical teaching formulated directly to respond to Confucius work. The impact of the combined Confucius work who served as an interpreter and codifier of an ethical behavior based on relationship system and the emergence of Mencius, who came out as being a developer and synthesizer of Confucianism thoughts, provided the Chinese society with a framework that was comprehensive by which every life aspect was virtually ordered. Many accretions came out of Confucian thoughts immediately and after many years coming from within or without his school. The interpretations that were adapted and made use in the contemporary society gave room for Confucianism flexibility, allowing the essential system of beh avior that had been modeled from ancient literature to constitute its philosophical core3. Completely different from Mencius work with reference to the nature of human beings was Xunzi interpretation that took place between c. 300-237 BC. This was another follower of Confucian. Xunzi argued that man cannot be innately good; he believed that goodness

Gloria Jean's Coffees Australia Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gloria Jean's Coffees Australia - Assignment Example Gloria Jean is being an innovation driven organization has managed to develop numerous coffee recipes over the years. However, their expertise in coffee has not prevented them from adding tea and chocolate drinks into the menu to better serve customers by offering a variety. Apart from beverages, Gloria Jean’s has also developed merchandise like the G 79 espresso machine. The latest in its production lines are Cake, which in two new flavours choc raspberry white, and choc mouse. The company also has new blends of tea like pomegranate, Super berry, and tropical green. This has enhanced the ability to come up with new beverage blends that have endeared the franchise to millions of people. Moreover, it has enabled the company to remain a leader in this highly competitive industry. Having sprouted in Sidney in the late 20th century, Gloria Jean’s has been so successful in its journey to explore new markets. The company achieved a global outlook in the year 2009 when it managed to acquire Gloria Jean’s franchise in the U.S. currently serving in 39 markets the quest to make the brand a worldwide success is still ongoing as shown in the company’s vision and mission. Its vision: â€Å"to be the most loved and respected coffee company worldwide† speaks volumes of the direction the company has taken (Saleh & Irvine). Its ultimate goal is achieving a global status which entails having outlets in every country in the world. Its plan to shift to a business model that is franchise –only steam rolled this February when it shut down 14 outlets in Australia. This model was adapted last December when the company was sold to Global Yellow Pages a Singaporean company (Cole, 2013). This move to fully franchise enabled the company to have the necessary financial influence to expand into China and other Asian markets where the huge population provides a potentially huge customer

Situational Analysis of International or Global Marketing Environment Essay - 1

Situational Analysis of International or Global Marketing Environment - Essay Example Evergreen Natural Grocers deal with natural and inorganic products, and offers competitive prices while ensuring high quality services to customers. Evergreen Natural Markets is characterised by rapid growth, which can be confirmed by its twenty-three stores in nineteen locations in Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Evergreen Natural Grocers achieved total annual revenues amounting to $175 million and net income from investment of $4.3 million during the financial ending December 2012 (Doyle, 2012). Evergreen Natural Grocers has adopted an expansive strategy for growth. The company has identified a potential market in Canada for selling its products. Five Porter’s Analysis of the Canadian Market Threat of New Entrants The supernormal profits earned by the Evergreen Natural Grocers will attract the entry of new firms. Retail outlets such as Wal-Mart and Humana Inc. have began supplying natural foods and supplements in the Canadian market parallel to Evergreen Grocers. The prof its earned by Evergreen Grocers will trend towards normal and finally fall to break-even in the long-run (Hemmings, 2011). Sources of threat of new entrants include economies of scale, product differentiation, easy access to distribution channels and lenient government policy. Threat of Substitute commodities Most of the Canadians prefer consuming fresh-from-the farm products to the processed natural products. Businesses have engaged in extensive supply of substitutes for natural products supplied by Evergreen Grocers. The Canadian buyers have high propensity to substitute because of low switching costs for consumer foods. The markets, therefore, are characterised by cutthroat competition where new substitutes are brought to market every day. Substitutes are also supplied in forms of direct medications meant to heal illnesses associated with the defects of malnutrition (Fisanick, 2010). Bargaining Power of Buyers The Canadian market comprises of enlightened buyers who are sensitive to price and quality changes. The buyers have the ability to put Evergreen Groceries under pressure, which has an effect in the buyers’ sensitivity to price changes (Raff & Schmitt, 2009). The Canadians have access to all market information and can force the reduction of prices in the event of failing to reflect the true value of the commodity. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers comprise the market for inputs such as raw materials, components, expertise, labour and energy. Manual labour exhibits features of scarcity in Canada due to low population growth rates, hence, labour is expensive to afford. The Canadian believe in the principles of total quality management; their supplies in terms of raw materials and components are costly because they are prepared based on excellent quality standards. Employee solidarity through labour unions is very strong in Canada, implying the bargaining power of suppliers is effective and all regulations related to labour supply must be adh ered to all costs. Intensity of Competitive Rivalry Natural foods manufacturing units in Canada have embraced sustainable competitive advantage through intensive innovations. Most companies have gone online, and have online supply units to aid in marketing and supplying of their merchandise. The level of advertising expenses is high because of increased competition for advertisement airtime and strategic

Ritzers Macdonaldization Essay Example for Free

Ritzers Macdonaldization Essay In this essay, I aim to explore the term ‘McDonaldization’ dubbed by esteemed Sociologist and University of Maryland Professor, George Ritzer, to correlate his findings with those of the English Sociologist Les Back and then ultimately examine the effect both Globally and Locally. Ritzer’s concepts are fundamentally built around the theories of Max Weber, a German Sociologist who first established the idea of ‘Rationalization’. More specifically, four headings were used to define this shift in the organizational structure of society: Efficiency, Calculability, Predictability and Control of new technologies increasing the productivity of the modern world. I will explore the relevance of these headings later in this essay. Weber maintained it was bureaucratization that contributes to this advance in achieving the â€Å"optimum means to ends† (Ritzer, 2008, 25). The bureaucracy as Weber defines it seems to be the prototype for flawless corporate functionality. â€Å"A bureaucracy is a large-scale organization composed of a hierarchy of offices. In these offices, people have certain responsibilities and must act in accordance with rules, written regulations, and means of compulsion exercised by those who occupy higher-level positions† With an operating structure as tightly knit as described above, it is no surprise that the paradigm of formal rationality according to Ritzer, McDonalds, is one of the most envied business models in the world. 50 million customers a day will find restaurants in 118 nations (Ritzer, 2008, 3). Thousands of businesses strive to emulate their successful rational framework yet fail to conquer, such as the fast-food giants, MacDonald’s. Franchising at an unbelievable rate, McDonalds profits are being maximized year after year as it expands worldwide. A British author Martin Plimmer captures the mastery of their expansion â€Å"There are McDonalds everywhere. There’s one near you, and there’s one being built right now even nearer to you† (Ritzer, 2008, 2). It is on the basis of this exorable power and infectious growth that Ritzer lays his ‘McDonaldization’ theory. â€Å"The process by which the principals of the fast food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world†. Ritzer, 2008, 1). Another aspect to this notable commercial structure is McDonaldization’s propensity to de-humanize. Teamed with bureaucratization, McDonaldization has the leverage to spread to modern society on a whole. Fears that people will be consumed by such a heavy emphasis on the rational and technical benefits of practicality and efficiency, destroying the human spirit and reducing them to nothing more then â€Å"a small cog in a ceaselessly moving mechanism† (Macionis and Plummer, 2005:143) as rational globalization expands. Sociologist Les Back puts forward the positive and negative influences of the flourishing technological network on globalisation in his monograph ‘Local/Global’. The concept of a global village; the idea that through new technologies and new converging forms of economy and political state that the world is shrinking and diminishing the importance of peoples differences (Back, 1998, 77) is one that can be both greatly agreed upon or just as easily denied, in my opinion. Firstly, It cannot be argued that one of McDonald’s keys to it’s worldly success was it’s overt American-style image, which many people outside the United States Of America hankered after. The book ‘Golden Arches East’ by James L. Watson describes vividly McDonalds highly anticipated entry into East Asia â€Å"Prior to McDonalds opening in Beijing, the company’s name was already popular among trendy consumers and it was only natural that, when the first restaurant was opened in Beijing in April 1994, thousands lined up for the experience. † (Watson, 1997, 48). Not only did this fascination generate billions of capital for McDonalds (and other fast-food diners such as KFC, Pizza hut etc. ) steering revenue away from Asia’s own food industries but sociologically speaking, the influx of American-Style escapism in which the people of Asia were immersing themselves in spawned a question of multinationals refusal to localize. Are Hamburgers on the Champs-Elysees or Chicken Nuggets by the Grand Canyon really necessary or is it just corporate extremism exercising their capability to the nth degree? Somehow I’m not convinced it is a case that McDonalds cuisine is so delicious that we physically need to have it within reach at all times, particularly in such countries such as France, Italy or Spain, where gastronomy is paramount to their local culture. Back’s theory on this type of globalisation seems a lot more simplistic. He argues that â€Å"globalization can go hand in hand with the commercialization of exotic local cultures† (Back, 1998, 74) but I ask to what extent is this local commercialization succeeding? Chiefly global multinationals are apparent in the rapidly developing worldwide industries, leaving little to zero space for contained business ventures to gain momentum. Although Back does recognize an effective uses of localization in advertising imagery to which these trans-national companies happily comply. â€Å"Advertisers are willing to integrate all kind of notions of difference as long as they serve their purpose† (Back, 1998, 73). A fantastic example is that of the recent McDonald’s advertising campaign, which was specifically intended for a distinctly Irish audience. Johnny Logan, a well-known Irish performer appearing to many different characters with strong colloquial Irish accents, pulls in on regional interest. Vernacular phrases such as â€Å" ye plank.. † â€Å".. sound.. †and â€Å".. free gaff.. † are used, unmistakably local and familiar to McDonalds’s Irish consumers. Back relates the decreasing size of global margins to advances in technologies, which of course is impossible to deny. Although communication overseas and intercontinental conveyance is almost taken for granted at this stage, Back reiterates the speed at which this occurs and the inter-dependence this signifies. â€Å"International flows of technology and media hardware strengthen the dependency relationship between the West and the former colonial peripheries and promote a form of cultural homogenization† `(Back, 1997, 72) In spite of the fact that many of Ritzer’s examples are American the concept of this uniformity is at the heart of his writing and falls under the four heading’s of McDonadization aforementioned. Predictability is one of the devices multinational corporations have taken under their wing in the development of a McDonaldized framework of business. Globally, these giant organizations do not start at the bottom when it comes to extending their trade name abroad and casting their image over seas. â€Å"Wal-Mart bought out 120 stores in Canada in 1994 when it purchased the Wertkauf GmbH hypermarket chain in Germany in 1997, Similarly, when Starbucks moved into the U. K. n 1998, it acquiresd the already existing Seattle Coffee Company and refitted it’s 82 stores as Starbucks outlets†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Klein, 2005, 139) Specifically many coffee shops have undergone ‘Starbucksization’ to the point where any coffee shop in the western world could fail to posses a hint of originality. Insomnia, Costa Coffee and increasingly McDonalds contribution to the market McCafe, are but a few of the cafe chains that are adapting to the modern competition. In our local environment a comprehensible instance of McDonaldization would be the excessive franchising of Spar shops in Ireland, eplacing another family corner shop as it unfurls over the country. As consumers we’ve experienced the components of Weber’s ‘Rationalization’ and Ritzer’s McDonaldization in its plainest form. The efficiency of these stores is unrivalled, often containing Juice Bars, Off Licences, Delicatessens and Coffee shops, a conglomerate of effectiveness under one roof. Calculability by the selection of staff who work at each counter, pricing, weighing and recommending items for purchase. Chiefly the predictability of a Spar shop would almost be similar to what one would expect of a handful of McDonalds’, the flooring, the lighting and the layout are all but slightly in difference nationwide. Finally, these environments are controlled not only by the presence of Security guards at the entrance to many branches but they are hi-tech and forward thinking in technologies in contrast with many of there older competitors, featuring Automatic doors and self check-out services. In conclusion, both George Ritzer and Les Back have some shared views and some conflicting one’s on the matter of globalization and how it affects us directly and indirectly. Ritzer’s theory of McDonaldization worked alongside many of Back’s viewpoints on technologies, in particular as regards the dimension of control. Finally, the concepts of Global and Local, I believe will be disputed not only by both Ritzer and Back as the relationship worldwide decreases in size with the introduction of further connectivity when does the benefits of this begin and cease.