Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Snowmobiles Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Snowmobiles - Research Paper Example An interesting feature of a sled is the fact that it does not move on wheels. It has a long belt of rubber moving along the bottom of its body which forms a track for the sled to move on. Because of this track the sled does not slip and slide in the snow as it provides it with sufficient grip to keep it in control of the rider (DuBois 30). Snowmobiles use large amount of gasoline to run (Mara 1998). Hence, their popularity was greatly reduced during the 1970’s when the prices of gasoline reached sky high. Today there are only four major manufacturers of snowmobiles – Polaris, Arctic cat, Ski-doo and Yamaha (Mara 7). In snowmobiler’s parlance, these companies are called â€Å"big four† (DuBois 7). These companies manufacture these vehicles for various purposes which could be for personal use like transportation or for racers. Snowmobile racing is a very popular sporting activity during the snow fall season in various countries. This can be seen from the fac t that in North America alone there are more than 3000 clubs for snowmobilers (Mara 7). Major countries where people enjoy this sport are US, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The cost of snowmobiles manufactured for this specific purpose is twice the price of ordinary use snowmobiles. Brief history of snowmobiles Snowmobiles were born out of the need for means of transport in snow covered areas. ... These were put to use for warfare in the World War II by the soldiers. Thus, though the early invention of this vehicle dates back to the 1920’s, it was mostly used for work and not for fun. It was only in the 1960’s that the idea of using them in sports caught the fancy of the inventors (Sommers 12). Carl Eliason built his first hand made Motor Toboggan in a small garage. He patented this machine in 1924. It was at that time made up of a long wooden sled and powered by 2.5 horse power engine which was attached on its outer board. Bicycle parts were used to make the dual trail track and it also had a radiator to cool the motor when it overheated (Sommers 11). Over a period of 15 years Eliason sold 24 such vehicles, each one being different from the other. His major buyers were the hunters and utility workers (Sommers 17). The biggest order of these vehicles (150 of them) was from the US army during the World War II. However, after this peak period there was a slowdown i n demand. By the 1950s, Canada became the production base for snowmobiles. However by this time, Eliason had a strong competitor, a superior quality product Ski-Doos which was invented by Joseph-Armand Bombardier and had taken over the snowmobile market with its unique design. This product had a design which still sets standards for today’s snowmobiles. A lot of inventors started taking interest in finding better and more efficient designs and â€Å"by 1972, there were more that 100 snowmobile companies† operating in this business (Sommers 19). However, as mentioned earlier, today the â€Å"big four† are the major players in this arena after an intense activity of mergers and acquisitions over the past three decades. Evolution of the designs The earlier design of snowmobiles was that of a sleigh

Monday, October 28, 2019

Language of poetry Essay Example for Free

Language of poetry Essay When looking at the language used by a poet when creating a poem it is important we do this with a number of things in mind. What kind of image is the poet attempting to create in our thoughts? When was this poem created? How is it structured and punctuated? What context has it been written? and also how does the poet want us to feel when reading the work? No matter how long or short a poem may be the language used when creating it will be vital as to deciding how we respond to the poem. It is not just what the poet is trying to say but how they are attempting to say it that will define how this poem resonates within us. There are many reasons why an author might choose to use some words instead of others. A poet might choose words for the way they sound, compliment other words, shock value, for the tense they are in or even for the perspective they want to use. For the purpose of this essay we will be looking at three American poets with the intent of studying the language used in their works in order to better understand the meanings of these poems and to also figure out why they were written in a certain way. Look more:  first poem for you analysis essay When looking at the language used in each of these poems we will be looking out for many of the things mentioned above to aid the investigation into the language within them. The first poet that we will look at is William Carlos Williams and in particular his poem â€Å"This is Just to Say†. Just like all the poems he has written it is a short piece which is created using simple words and sentences that can be easily understood by the reader. The poem is full of enjambment and this means that we put particular emphasis on the words â€Å"breakfast, â€Å"delicious†, â€Å"so sweet† and â€Å"so cold†. If we didn’t observe the enjambment in this poem it would more than likely be mistaken for a short note for someone’s sister, mother, wife or father. The way that enjambment is used in this poem has a profound effect, it is a poem written in the past tense, and one that relies heavily on the creation of an image in the mind of the reader. This poem successfully creates that image nearly to the point where we can almost see the drops of moisture on the plums as they glisten in the sunlight prior to being devoured by the writer. How the poet uses enjambment enables this strong creation of an image. He uses the words delicious, sweet and cold to great effect and their placing within the poem adds hugely to how they aid this. They are all grouped together in the last section of the poem and this means we are quickly bombarded with a triple whammy of descriptive words in what is a very short poem. It is also important to note how Williams says the plums are â€Å"so† sweet and â€Å"so† cold rather than just sweet and cold. This little word has a huge effect and it compounds in our minds just how sweet and cold they really were and as such, one might even feel a desire to have the plums themselves if reading the poem on an empty stomach. The poem is structured in one long flowing sentence that is broken up into three sections of three lines, this structure makes it easy to digest and understand. The poem â€Å"Woman Poem† by Nikki Giovanni is about a black woman and what her life is like. The woman wants things in life; the men will not let her have what she wants. The author, Nikki Giovanni uses several poetic aspects in the poem. Throughout the poem she uses synecdoche’s to make her point, for example: â€Å"me getting fat as a hog† being used to describe gaining weight. The imagery created by this poem helps to describe the way that men hold her back. It is a completely different poem to the one investigated above but again it relies heavily on imagery along with words with a real sense of shock value to get a message across to the reader. The language of this poem is language of oppression, frustration, anger, devastation and hopelessness and the images it creates are such too. It describes the life of a black woman in the 1960s and when doing so she describes a yearning to be â€Å"free†. Free from the constraints of what she describes as a male dominated society, one where she almost feels as if she has been castrated. She does not mean this literally but the use of the word â€Å"castrated† is symbolic to the genuine feeling of being powerless she feels almost as a dog being castrated would. She is using words as a means of venting and conveying her feelings and it is obvious to see the emotion attached to what she writes. The third stanza reads: â€Å"it’s a sex object if you’re pretty and no love or love and no sex if you’re fat get back fat black woman be a mother grandmother strong thing but not woman gameswoman romantic woman love needer man seeker dick eater sweat getter fuck needing love seeking woman† This stanza is the one within the poem which is the most image provoking. The language used is vulgar and not everyday conversation etiquette. She most likely uses language of this sort on purpose in order to grab the attention of the reader and highlight her plight as a woman who can be regarded by men as merely an object for sex. She repeats this process throughout the poem to great effect using words like â€Å"whore† and â€Å"black dog†. As a whole this poem is difficult to read and find meaning from but when carefully studied it created in the mind an image of hopelessness for women. One of an existence devoid of happiness, an image compounded by the final lines which read: â€Å"face me whose whole life is tied up to unhappiness cause it’s the only for real thing i know† The third poem to be investigated is â€Å"Poppies in July† by Sylvia Plaith. This poem was written in July 1962. At this stage of her life, Plath’s marriage to Ted Hughes was in turmoil, and she was suffering from a severe bout of depression. http://sylviaplathnotes. wordpress. com/poppies-in-july/. With this poem she enables us to have an insight into the turmoil and pain she felt inside. The colour red is prominent and this symbolises anger and rage. The images created in the mind are very dark, vivid and disturbing, imitating what her thoughts were when she created the poem. At the start of this poem we are informed that bright red colour of poppies reminds the poet of the burning fires of hell. The poppies swaying in the breeze remind the poet of flames flickering. She begins to show a desire to self harm, thrusting her hand among the â€Å"flames† to see if it burns but there is something about these flowers that she cannot touch. This is the reader’s first real insight into the pain Plath must have been feeling. Throughout the poem we are reminded of her desire to cause harm to herself. Later in the poem she describes outward appearance of the flowers again, this time with a simile. Now she likens them to the wrinkled, red skin of a bloodied mouth rather than the flames of hell. This violent imagery is another hint towards her desire to self-harm. Continuing the idea that there is something about these flowers she cannot touch, she now states that she is unable to touch their fumes and enquires about their opiates. This represents a longing for heroin or opium which is a drug created from poppies. Complex imagery is used, referring to her mouth as a means of taking the drug. Exclamation marks indicate just how desperate the poet is getting. She needs these drugs and she needs them now! Throughout this poem there is a recurring theme of desperation from the poet, desperation for obliteration through drugs or self harm, it relies on graphic imagery to get the point across and gives us an idea of the darkness encased within the mind of the poet. She closes the poem with the words â€Å"colourless, colourless† which might represent how she feels her life and marriage have become. Through investigation of the above poems we are able to come to numerous conclusions regarding the language used within them. The first poem is nothing more than a short piece but it still manages to create not only a powerful image in the mind but also a longing for the peaches described within! The last two poems investigated however are far more deep and sombre affairs. They offer us a real window into the souls of their creators. The language used in each of these is powerful and it is impossible to read them without being left with a real sense of the turmoil felt by both these women. They both utilise the shock value element of language to make their poems that bit more hard hitting and employ similar punctuation techniques also. Through doing this investigation into language of poetry we can now understand how the language used by the poet is vital when it comes to determining the feelings we are left with having read a poem.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Narrative- Viola Lesson Essay example -- Personal Narrative Writing

Narrative- Viola Lesson I strolled towards the double glass doors, deliberately kicking at a large, spiky, chestnut pod as I went. It skidded across the concrete and sent three more spike-balls rolling before toppling over the edge of the ramp. Gazing upward through the branches, which were camouflaged by green and brown splotched clumps of large, tear-drop shaped leaves, I could see bits of crisp, blue, autumn sky. I repositioned the strap of my viola case on my shoulder. It's too bad I can't stay out here to enjoy the weather. At that thought, I slowed my walk. Why am I nervous? I'm more prepared for my lesson this week than I have been in a long time. The set of doors now loomed ahead of me, and I tugged one of them open, making my way up to the second floor of the building. I knew there was no reason for me to be nervous, but the butterflies flitting around in my stomach didn't seem to care. As I approached Dr. Sternbern's office, his door came clearly into view--I always enjoyed looking at it. The dark wood could barely be seen beneath the dozens of humorous cartoons pasted all over it. There was even a picture of Dr. Sternbern himself, with a carrot protruding from his mouth, and a sign below asking, "Do you know this man?" I smiled and could feel my anxiety floating away. Poking my head through the door, I spotted him working at his computer. Dr. Sternbern was in his mid-thirties, with dark hair, and a beard, which he had just started growing over the summer. He looked up and smiled a greeting, motioning for me to come in. "So how are you doing, Miss Marie?" "I'm fine," I replied, closing the door and looking for a spot to set my case. The chair where I normally put it was stacked with papers, and there were orc... ...embered something Dr. Sternbern had told me before. He said he had seen lots of students try to excel at too many things. It usually resulted in them being unable to do their best at anything. So, my thoughts continued, I should pick one thing to do my very best at, and then work hard in the other areas with the time and energy I have left. A smile of understanding slowly spread across my face. Through my lessons, Dr. Sternbern had taught me many things about playing the viola, but what I had just begun to understand was, perhaps, of even greater importance. I realized now that this truth, more than any technique, would allow me to reach my goal of playing the viola to the best of my ability. Sighing happily, I tilted my head upward, breathed in the refreshing fall air, and, with a well-aimed, departing kick, sent half a dozen more spike-balls shooting off the ramp.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Capture and storage of co2

What Needs To Be Done?IntroductionIncreasing concentrations of C dioxide ( CO2 ) and other gases in the Earth ‘s ambiance are worsening the natural nursery gas consequence and taking to unwanted clime alteration, with attendant hazards of extreme eather, lifting sea degree and inauspicious effects on agribusiness and biodiversity. The chief beginning of CO2 emanations is the burning of coal, oil and gas in power Stationss, for transit and in places, offices and industry. Atmospheric concentrations of CO2 have risen by about one-third since preindustrial times and are expected about to duplicate between now and 2100. Under the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , developed states have agreed to cut down their emanations by 5.2 % below 1990 degrees by 2008-2012. If they wish to brace CO2 concentrations at twice pre-industrial degrees by the terminal of this century, the developed states will hold to cut down their emanations to around half of their 1990 degrees, or even lower. Such deep cuts would necessitate a combination of greatly reduced energy ingestion, monolithic shift from high-carbon fuels ( coal to natural gas ) , widespread usage of renewable or atomic energy, and sweetening of natural â€Å"sinks† for CO2, such as new forest growing. However, elaborate surveies of well-proven engineerings indicate that capturing and for good hive awaying CO2 emanations from fossil fuel-fired power workss could be a low-priced option for accomplishing big decreases in CO2 emanations. Successful application of these engineerings would let states to prosecute a scheme providing:really big and comparatively rapid decrease in CO2 emanations ;continued usage of fossil fuels or a less rapid alteration to non-fossil energy beginnings.Capturing Emissions Of Co2Co2 Capture In Power GenerationCapture and storage engineerings are best suited to large-scale beginnings of CO2 such as power Stationss, which account for about tierce of planetary CO2 emanations. The two chief engineerings for power coevals are natural gas combined rhythms ( NGCC ) , and pulverised coal-burning ( PF ) steam rhythms. Other big fossil power works constellations, such as incorporate coal gasification combined rhythms ( IGCC ) , are besides suited for CO2 gaining control.Post-Combustion CO2 CaptureConcentrations of CO2 in power station flue-gases range from around 4 % by volume for NGCC workss to 9 % for IGCC workss and 14 % for PF workss. CO2 could be captured utilizing amine dissolvers to scour the flue-gases. Amine dissolvers have already been widely used in the chemical and oil industry for CO2 gaining control, and this technique can be adapted for application on flue-gas watercourses. The aminoalkane go forthing the scrubber is heated to let go of high-purity CO2 and is so re-used. Although amine scouring is comparatively straightforward in NGCC workss, extra steps are required in coal-burning workss to forestall taint of the recovered CO2 by other flue-gas drosss. Post-combustion gaining control does hold its disadvantages. The low concentration of CO2 in power- station flue-gases means that a really big volume of flue-gas has to be treated. Equipment is correspondingly big and capital costs are high. If the gaining control engineering is based on a dissolver, such as aminoalkane, big sums of energy are required for solvent regeneration. Using concentrated O alternatively of air for burning will increase CO2 concentrations in the flue-gas to, typically, more than 90 % . However, bring forthing the O requires expensive equipment and, once more, high degrees of energy ingestion.Pre-Combustion CO2 CaptureA pre-combustion gaining control engineering, bring forthing a CO2 concentration of 35 % to 40 % , can avoid many of these jobs. Pre-combustion CO2 gaining control involves responding the fuel with O or air and, in some instances, steam, to bring forth a gas dwelling chiefly of C monoxide ( CO ) and H. A catalytic â€Å"shift† reaction with steam in a catalytic reactor ( switch convertor ) gives CO2 and more H. The CO2 is removed and the H passes to a gas turbine, or perchance a fuel cell. This technique needs more gas-purification phases when applied to char or oil, instead than natural gas. Most of the engineering required is good proven in ammonia production and other industrial procedures. However, the usage of H as a turbine fuel is fresh. At least two turbine makers are seeking to set up standards for the burning of hydrogen-rich fuels.Performance Of Known CO2 Capture TechnologiesA survey by the International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gases R & A ; D Programme has estimated the following benefits and disadvantages for a new 500 MW gas- or coal-burning works integrating CO2 gaining control, with CO2 compaction to 110 saloon:an 80 % decrease in CO2 emanations to the ambiance ;a decrease in electrical coevals efficiency of between 8 and 13 per centum points ;an addition in capital costs of between 50 % and 100 % ;an addition in the cost of electricity coevals of approximately 50 % in gas-firedworkss and IGCC workss with pre-combustion gaining control, and about 70 % in PFworkss with post-combustion gaining control.Other Opportunities For CO2 CaptureCertain industrial procedures, every bit good as oil and gas production Wellss, already produce concentrated watercourses of CO2. These could be captured at small cost. Hydrogen might go established as a major fuel for autos, airplanes and heat and power coevals. Centralised, large-scale production of H from fossil fuels would be well-suited to pre-combustion gaining control of CO2 emanations.Co2 TransportationAfter gaining control, transit of CO2 to a long-run storage site would be by hard-hitting grapevine or by oiler. CO2 is mostly inert and easy handled and is already transported in big measures. In add-on, there are likely to be chances for power production to take topographic point at such long-run storage sites as coal beds and oil and gas reservoirs. Locating determinations will necessitate to take history of the fact that it is cheaper to shriek CO2 than to convey electricity.Co2 StoragePotential Storage OptionsCarbon dioxide storage will be an effectual manner of avoiding clime alteration merely if the CO2 can be stored for several 100s or 1000s of old ages. The four most promising storage options are: oil and gas reservoirs, deep saline reservoirs, unminable coal beds, and the deep ocean. By comparing, other options are improbable to be economically competitory. These include storage in specially created belowground caverns, in a thermally insulated depository as solid dry ice or in carbonate signifier as a consequence of reaction with of course happening minerals.Oil And Gas ReservoirsThousands of oil and gas reservoirs have been depleted to the extent that, given bing extraction techniques and current fuel monetary values, they are no longer feasible. The geology of these reservoirs is good understood. They are known to hold stored liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons for 1000000s of old ages and their existing substructure might be suited for CO2 storage. The natural-gas industry has routinely used depleted natural gas Fieldss for the belowground storage of natural gas. It is besides possible to utilize CO2 injection for enhanced oil recovery ( EOR ) in active, bring forthing oil and gas reservoirs, alternatively of bing energy-intensive EOR techniques ( Figure 2 ) . In some instances, the benefits would more than offset the costs of CO2 gaining control and injection.Deep Saline ReservoirsDeep aquifers that contain merely saline H2O and have a comparatively impermeable cap stone could be used to hive away CO2. In some formations, the CO2 would respond with minerals in the H2O to organize carbonates, thereby going locked up for good. Injection techniques would be similar to those used for low oil and gas Fieldss. In the Norse Sleipner undertaking, CO2 is being separated from a natural gas watercourse and injected into a deep saline reservoir below the North Sea. The undertaking is being monitored and modelled as portion of an international enterprise established by Statoil, the Norse province oil company, with the IEA Greenhouse Gas R & A ; D Programme. This should assist to decide many of the uncertainnesss associated with storage in deep saline reservoirs. Unminable Coal Beds When CO2 is injected into unminable ( really deep ) coal beds, the CO2 is adsorbed onto the surface of the coal and displaces methane. The CO2 is locked up for good, provided the coal remains unmined. Because coal can adsorb, by volume, approximately twice every bit much CO2 as methane, the coal bed provides net CO2 storage, even if the displaced methane is burnt as a fuel. The IEA Greenhouse Gas R & A ; D Programme is assisting in a field trial of such enhanced coal-bed methane production, utilizing CO2 and nitrogen mixtures. Deep Ocean Injecting CO2 into the deep ocean is a longer-term option that would take advantage of the really slow natural interchange between the deep ocean and its surface beds. Computer theoretical accounts suggest that approximately 80 % of the CO2 injected at a deepness of 3,000 metres would still be retained in the ocean after 500 old ages. CO2 injected deeper than 3,000 metres at the ocean floor, would organize a lake of liquid CO2 or CO2 hydrate. This might farther widen keeping periods. Surveies are under manner to turn to the significant scientific uncertainness about the storage unity and environmental impact of ocean storage. Among these are the Climate Technology Initiative ( CTI ) Ocean Sequestration Project. Environmental Deductions And Uncertainties There are a figure of environmental impacts and uncertainities that need farther survey: the length of clip the CO2 must stay stored in order to extenuate clime alteration hazards ;The consequence of slow or sudden release of CO2 on atmospheric CO2Concentrations ;The consequence of boring on the unity of depleted oil and gas field caps ;Likely reactions between CO2 and belowground minerals, and their possibleImpact on CO2 segregation periods and on the unity of oil and gas fieldCaps ;The nature of deep saline reservoirs and their impact on CO2 storage overTime ;The possible impact of seismal activity ;The impact on marine life of deep ocean storage of CO2 and of natural CO2Absorption from the ambiance.ConfirmationAccurate confirmation of the measures stored is indispensable if CO2 storage is to be used as a footing for emanations trading or to run into national committednesss to CO2 decrease. Accurate, low-priced measuring techniques already exist for storage of CO2 in depleted oil and gas Fieldss and deep saline reservoirs. Validation of ocean storage is likely to be more hard and dearly-won, and appropriate techniques have yet to be developed.Co2 Capture And Storage CostssThe IEA Greenhouse Gases R & A ; D Programme has estimated the costs of CO2 gaining control and storage for a scope of coal- and gas- discharged power workss, utilizing pre- and post-combustion gaining control techniques. The overall cost of CO2 gaining control and storage is about $ 40 to $ 60 per metric ton of CO2 emanations avoided. This compares favorably with other options, such as the widespread usage of renewable energy beginnings. The cost has three chief constituents:CO2 gaining control and compaction to 110 saloon: $ 30 to $ 50 per metric ton of CO2 for a 500 MW gas- or coal-burning works at current fuel monetary values ;transit by grapevine: $ 1 to $ 3 per metric ton of CO2 per 100 kilometer ;storage: $ 1 to $ 3 per metric ton of CO2.These costs are expected to fall as the engineering matures and the graduated table of appl ication addition. The cost of CO2 gaining control and storage corresponds about to an addition in the monetary value of electricity of 1.5 – 3 US cents per kilowatt hr. For comparing, in 1998, domestic electricity users in the OECD paid between 7 and 14 cents per kilowatt hr. Industrial users paid 4 – 9 cents.Key Technology NeedsTechnology research and development, presentation undertakings and appraisals of the potency for CO2 gaining control and storage are taking topographic point in many states. Key engineering demands are:accurate appraisal of geologic storage potency ;field trials to find the destiny of CO2 injected into geologic formations ( oil and gas reservoirs, unminable coal beds and saline aquifers ) , and the deepocean, and its environmental impact ;cost decrease of bing CO2 separation techniques ;R & A ; D on fresh gaining control and storage engineerings ;development of engineerings for the production, transit and usage of H derived from fossil fuels.Re commendations For Policy MakersTo guarantee that the CO2 gaining control and storage engineering option is available in the coming decennaries, a major attempt is justified:Existing attempts need to be linked together ;new technological thoughts and attacks to co2 gaining control and storage should be smartly pursued ;issues of storage unity and environmental impacts should be resolved quickly, through unfastened, crystalline research programmes ;the surveies, R & A ; vitamin D and engineering presentations outlined supra demand to be comprehensively addressed ;this can be achieved most quickly, and efficaciously, through the fullest possible international and public-private coaction ;given its strategic importance as a potentially large-scale and low-cost extenuation engineering, the attending given to co2 gaining control and storage should at least be equal to that given to other major extenuation options, such asBiomass, solar, atomic engineerings.Successful declaration of these issues should take to recognition within the UNFCCC procedure of CO2 gaining control and storage as an effectual option for extenuating emanations of CO2.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

In Tim O’Brien Essay

In Tim O’Brien’s â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story,† the author tries to humanize war by letting the reader know how absolutely difficult telling a war story is. He does this by giving many unsolicited pieces of advice about how to tell a true war story, but many of them directly contradict each other or do not make sense when compared side-by-side. In giving these pieces of advice, he is also telling war stories that either do or do not fit his own criteria. And yet, he humanizes the people involved in fighting this war by giving the reader these lessons. One great example of this is when he tells the story of Rat Kiley and Lemmons. O’Brien begins by telling the reader that â€Å"a true war story is never moral†(O’Brien). He continues with, â€Å"If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie† (O’Brien). Then he tells us first the story of Rat Kiley writing this letter to the sister of his best friend who died. Kiley pours his heart out to this woman and she never writers back, and he has a derogatory comment about the sister. This certainly is not uplifting, but Rat Kiley has been humanized. The reader can somewhat imagine writing this letter and understands what it would take to write a letter like this, and then to have it unacknowledged. While O’Brien tells us almost nothing directly of the character of Rat Kiley, the reader learns mounds of information about his character nonetheless. O’Brien continues on to tell us about the death of Lemmons, and then he explains that even his own telling of the story is subjective. What he thinks he saw versus what might have actually happened are two different things. We didn’t know Lemmons, but again, we feel like we know something of his character from hearing this story. O’Brien is able to provide such beautiful or not so beautiful characterizations of these men without really telling the reader anything. But these men are humanized for us. They are not statistics in a war; they are real men. Another lesson O’Brien teaches is that â€Å"In a true war story, if there’s a moral at all, it’s like the thread that makes the cloth. You can’t tease it out. You can’t extract the meaning without unraveling the deeper meaning. † He tells us that true war stories do not generalize but they make us feel it in our stomachs. We can’t generalize to something simple like â€Å"War is hell. † He then tells us another story of Rat Kiley when he slowly slaughters the water buffalo. The reader is horrified, but also at some level understands why Rat Kiley did this. The water buffalo becomes a symbol of the breakdown during war itself. The incredible need for violence and retribution is strong. It is a horribly sad story of the slaughter of an animal. But based on what we already know about just what Rat Kiley has been through, we understand him on some gut level. War is hell, but it is also mystery and beauty. â€Å"Though it’s odd, you’re never more alive than when you’re almost dead. † The reader can understand this and understand the characters better because of it. These men are not monsters; they are just men. They are fighting a terrible war and are forced to do terrible things, but they are human. â€Å"At the hour of dusk you sit at your foxhole and look out on a wide river turning pinkish red, and at the mountains beyond, and although in the morning you must cross the river and go into the mountains and do terrible things and maybe, die, even so, you find yourself studying the fine colors on the river, you feel wonder and awe at the setting of the sun, and you are filled with a hard, aching love for how the world could be and always should be, but now is not† (O’Brien). This passage describes all men in war, and even though Rat Kiley has done terrible things, we understand a little bit about what he must be thinking. We understand how these men value their lives even more because of war. In O’Brien’s unique way, these men are truly humanized. By providing the reader with various instructions throughout the story about what a true war story isn’t and what a true war story is, these men are deeply humanized. The reader understands from Tim O’Brien that war is never as simple as it seems, and neither are the men who fight the war. He tells us horrible stories about these men, and yet, these stories help us to understand the men better. With the commentary O’Brien provides about how to write a true war story, the reader understands so many things. We understand that these â€Å"true† war stories may not even actually be true in the most common sense of the word. We understand that, no matter what, they are never simple. The lessons are never clear. They are not pretty, and if they are, they are not true. In other words, the characters of war are as complex as the reasons we fight wars. While it would be nice to have a tidy moral, there are none. At the bottom of it all are human lives. These men are not heroes and they are not monsters.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Health watchers at school Essays

Health watchers at school Essays Health watchers at school Paper Health watchers at school Paper Bladen Healthwatch is a non-profit organization concerned with public health that provides health education and outreach services to the public in collaboration with other organizations. Some of the other organizations that work in close association with Bladen Health watch include Bladen Community College, Bladen County Heatlh Department, Bladen County Mental Health center, Bladen Schools, Bladen County Hospitals, Bladen social service organizations, Bladen County library, Cooperative Extension Service, Division of Aging and Town of Elizabethtown, etc. These organizations would be providing the funds and the infrastructure required to operate various public health programs.   The main aim of this non-governmental organization is to improve the public health status of those residing in the country of Bladen and also ensures that people become more accountable for their health. One of the main sections of the population that Bladen Health-watch concentrates on school children.   The organizations works in collaboration with several county schools in Bladen to ensure health of the students.   It provides health education, consultative and preventive services and would make the school students and the family members more accountable for their health. The organization also emphasis on providing healthcare services to the students of rural areas.   Various human resources including the school staff, medical personnel, encouragers, volunteers, etc, are utilized in providing the public health services in the schools.   Some of the methods that the organization encourages to improve the status of the health include following a healthy lifestyle, eating a healthy food, giving up tobacco use and performing regular exercises. These measures would certainly reduce the chances of developing chronic disease.   The organization targets schools due to many reasons including: Not only the children would be gaining awareness of the disease, but also the family members and the relatives.   This would certainly help them reduce the chances of developing chronic disease and developing healthy lifestyle behaviors. The organization finds school-based health programs motivating for the students and the family members. As the school is a congenial environment for teaching and learning, the student is in a better position to follow the instructions suggested and developing healthy practices. The students can develop new skills, knowledge and behaviors to ensure health promotion and disease prevention. Ensure that the environment that the individual survives, would promote health and healthy practices. Concentrating on the implementation of guidelines that may be required to bring about health. Developing standards and policies that would be supportive of incorporating healthy practices in lifestyle. The organization would train people belonging to various fields such as teachers, parents, students, corporates, human services, healthcare organizations, religious organizations, businesses, etc.   These people in turn would help to develop strategies and ensure that the policies are modified so that the people can take better care of themselves.   The organization concentrates the chronic diseases, as these are one of the major public health problems. It provides education on the risks of developing chronic diseases and the manner in which it could be reduced.   Education may be provided to the students, family members, etc, through several means such as lectures, educational programs, events, media items, campaigns, etc.   The organization would also train some school children, who would be acting as guides for other students. These children would educate the others of the skills required to develop healthy practices.   Such children are also motivated and guided into taking up health careers in the future.   The organization also stresses upon the importance of maintaining drug-free and tobacco-free lifestyles.   In the schools, students may often take up to these noxious habits, and the programs would ensure that the students are made aware of their ill effects. Besides, the organization would also be operating programs for encouraging exercises and consumption of healthy food.   One of the programs arranged by the organization is an incentive program, which provides encouragement for people who exercise well, take active part in health programs, consume a healthy diet and encourage other to also do so.   Such an incentive program is meant for the students and the family members. More than 5000 students belonging to Bladen schools and colleges belong to these programs.   They are also provided opportunities to visit health clubs in the region.   The organization has a special interest in training teachers to become school liaisons.   They would be playing a leadership role in managing various health programs arranged in the schools. Retrieved: KBR (2002), Self Improvement Program, Retrieved on October 17, 2007, from KBR Web site: http://kbrselfimprove.mc.duke.edu/community_sub1.html

Monday, October 21, 2019

Odysseus Essay

Odysseus Essay Odysseus Essay Categories Characters Setting Goal (What are they trying to achieve?) Obstacles (What prevents them from achieving Response (How do they respond to solve problems they face?) Consequence (How does this experience change them as individuals and/or a group?) Odysseus (What does Odysseus do? What do his actions reveal about the kind of Book 9 Polychemus Book 10 Circe,Eurylochus Land of the Cyclopes They goal was to escape from Polychemus’s cave and return to Ithaca Circe’s island Book 12 Sirens,Scylla,Charybdis,Euryloch us Island of the Sun Book 21 Penlope,Telemachus Book 22 Antinous,Athena Ithaca Ithaca Escape from Circe and Escape from the sea monsters and go back to Ithaca return to Ithaca Win the contest for Penelope’s hand To kill all the suitors Polychemus capture Odysseus and his men in his cave Circe Transform Odysseus men into pigs Charybdis Scylla and Zeus destroy Odysseus’s ship The suitors don’t let Odysseus to participate in the contest Antinous and the suitors want to kill Odysseus Odysseus and his men left Polychemus blind and escape by hiding in rams Odysseus tricked Circe and then kill her Odysseus tell his men to put wax Odysseus sends an in they ears so they can’t listen the arrow straight through sirens sing the ax heads Odysseus puts an arrow through his throat and then chopped all the others suitors Most of the men in the group die now they know that they have a clever leader All the men are grateful that Odysseus come back and save them risking his own life Now Odysseus is along in his long Now Odysseus is more journey close to recover his old life The whole family is united again Telemachus ,Penelope and Odysseus Odysseus

Sunday, October 20, 2019

License vs. Licence

License vs. Licence License vs. Licence License vs. Licence By Maeve Maddox My recent post on Driver License vs. Driver’s License stirred a discussion about the spellings licence and license. In American usage, the word license is used as both noun and verb: license (noun): permission to act. license (verb): to grant or issue a license to someone, usually after special qualifications have been met. Modern British usage distinguishes between the noun licence and the verb license: She has framed her licence to practice medicine and hung it on the wall. (noun) She was licensed just last week. (verb) According to a note in the OED, the spelling licence for the noun is more etymologically correct than license because it comes from Latin licentia, by way of French licence. The editor notes that licence would be an acceptable spelling for the verb as well, but acknowledges that the spelling license conforms to the rule that governs other noun/verb pairs like prophecy/prophesy and advice/advise. Although modern British usage prefers the spelling licence for the noun, Dr. Johnson’s 1755 Dictionary of the English Language has these entries for license (so spelled): License, a permission, liberty. (noun) License, to grant leave; to permit by a legal grant; to set at liberty. (verb) Late 19th century British dictionaries â€Å"almost universally have license both for noun and verb, either without alternative or in the first place (OED).† And it’s clear from several of the OED citations used to illustrate the noun licence that at least some British authors and journalists spelled it license up until the 20th century: Others would confine the license of disobedience to unjust laws. (1861) The Sandy Foundation Shaken’ was printed without a license from the Bishop of London. (1872) The same license was granted to him for dealing with all future criminals of the same class. (1888) These implements of license were originally made by God. (1901) I like the modern British practice of distinguishing the noun from the verb. In fact, for a very long time, I believed that licence was the only way to spell the licentious kind of liberty described in 1Peter 4:3: â€Å"licence, debauchery, hard drinking, noisy revelry, and drunkenness.† It’s perhaps regrettable that Americans have only one way to spell license, but that’s the rule. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Spelling Test 1Top 11 Writing Apps for iOS (iPhone and iPad)Wood vs. Wooden

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Birth control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Birth control - Essay Example In China’s case, it is the state which advocates, encourages and enforces birth control without any hindrance but in other country such as Philippines, this is strongly opposed to making the issue complicated that it is difficult to determine which is right or wrong. The process of the research was not that difficult because I am already familiar with the state policy of China about birth control being a Chinese descent myself. I already have a working knowledge of the government’s policy about birth control and I only have to supplement it with a peer reviewed journal to validate what is already known to me. These comparisons of two extreme cases of how birth control is perceived only illustrate that there is no absolute perspective that could be taken as universally right about birth control. It is hoped that with the completion of this paper, the reader may be able to accept that the perspective about birth control really depends according to one’s need, cultu re, religion and preference and that there is no universally applicable perspective about it. The complexity of the issue of birth control Birth control is a very complex issue. The arguments and policies that support or negate birth control varies with each state that it is very hard to tell which one is right and which one is wrong. There are states that use birth control deliberately as a tool for economic development and often enforced by the state. This often brings complications on the issue such as what I witnessed with the mother of my high school best friend Li, when she had another baby. Although this should not be a problem with the rest of the world because my best friend’s family can support an additional child, the state does not allow this that she was forced to have an abortion. The complication however is not limited to China. There are also countries that see birth control differently that it is not only frowned upon but even strongly opposed making the issu e of birth control complicated that it is difficult to adopt a one universally accepted perspective about it. We can take two extreme cases as an example to illustrate how complex the issue of birth control is. In China for example, birth control had been taken to the extreme by the state where couples are only allowed to have one child under the â€Å"one child policy† of the government (Muhua and Chen 349). This is implemented under that pretext of socialist development of â€Å"National economic development must observe the law of planned and proportionate development. This law requires not only that the . . . production of material means ... but also that human reproduction develop in a planned way† (Muhua and Chen 350). This means that the population is controlled by the government in accordance to its developmental plan and strictly enforced. In plain language, the government mandates that people in China is allowed to only have one child and beyond that, people will be heavily taxed and the child be deprived of social service. These penalties are strongly enforced enough to become a deterrent among couples in China to have more than one child. I personally have seen how this policy is at work when the mother of my best friend in high school named Li became pregnant that she was forced to have an abortion because the second child was deemed illegal. It may seem that a life will become illegal in China but it is a state policy that having more than one chil

Moderating and Minimizing Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Moderating and Minimizing Conflict - Essay Example Conflict can be interpreted in two dimensions: the theorist’s perspective of the conflict and the environment where the conflict takes place (Strasser & Randolph, 2004, p.4). The environment may include conflict between individuals or families or nations. The conflict can also be inter-psychic in which the conscious mind and the unconscious mind conflict with each other. How the mediators interpret conflict and its resolution paves the way to their selection of an appropriate approach towards reconciliation. Mediator’s perspectives and how they look at the situation shapes the mediation approach and the resolution process. My conflict style is collaborative. I believe that communication is the best way to resolve a conflict (Cupach et al., 2010) at all levels: personal, cultural, political, organizational or international. I do not like asserting my viewpoints and perspectives on others; instead, I like to listen to other people’s beliefs and disbeliefs. This way , I give the other persosn the opportunity to make their points clear. I invite them to share their views with me. I do not want them to feel ignored or un-listened. This empowers them and at the end, this makes them respect the solution I come up with because they know that I have listened to them and have made them participate in the decision-making process. I will quote two examples from my personal life here. Once, my younger brother, Joe, started to hang out with his friends late night. He had made up a routine of coming home late night and this would upset my parents and I because we did not want him to do stuff none of his elders ever did. My parents are both authoritarians in their parenting style and they do not want to argue with kids. This even awoke more aggression in Joe because he knew that Mom and Dad were not going to understand him. One day, I called him and sat down with him. I started to communicate with him- something Mom and Dad had never did. I asked him what m ade him come home late and why he wanted to disobey and upset his parents. After listening to him, I told him the bad consequences that might happen if he constantly stayed absent from home till late night. And I got my results. He understood me. We figured a middle way out in which I gave him enough space about hanging out but made sure that he returns before 9 pm. At another day, I came across two of friends, Mike and Bob, fighting and yelling at each other. Mike said that Bob had stolen his notebook that he had prepared after one year’s efforts; while Bob said that he knew nothing about the notebook. The argument went so serious that both of them were ready to punch each other at faces. After much struggle, I cooled them down and made them sit at the desk and talk about the issue. First, I made Mike present his perspective and then I told Bob to clarify himself. I made them ‘talk’ to each other and listen to each other’s views. After about half an hour of real sound arguments, both of them resolved the issue. Mike was remembering that he had handed the notebook over to the professor one day and he had not returned that yet. Thus, the conclusion was that communication made him remember things that he was forgetting. On concluding note, I am very much pleased with my conflict style. I love collaborating and communicating

Friday, October 18, 2019

Analysis + personal experience - Is Google Making Us Stupid by Essay

Analysis + personal experience - Is Google Making Us Stupid by Nicholas Carr - Essay Example Carr has argued that rapid approach to information by using the internet has led us to become impatient and anxious with reading and has encouraged us to develop the habit of just skimming through material instead of reading it thoroughly. He says â€Å"Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.†(534) He has further elaborated that the brain of a human acts in response to alterations in technology and so our concentration spans have fallen owing to the impact of the Internet as he says, â€Å"The brain,† according to Olds, â€Å"has the ability to reprogram itself on the fly, altering the way it functions.† (536) Moreover in order to preface his stance he has used some tales from bloggers and has quoted examples from the researchers who have investigated on the topic. He has emphasized on the point that humans have adopted the speed that computers and internet have conveyed them. Carr cites the Kubrick’s prediction â€Å"as we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence.† (541).The article discusses the deteriorating reading habits of students and the dehumanizing effects of the internet on the lives of the people extensively using it. ... to be devoid of emotions and they work like machines as he quotes â€Å"In deciding when to eat, to work, to sleep, to rise, we stopped listening to our senses and started obeying the clock.†(537) Before the invention of the clock people worked according to their own strength and capability but in today’s century we measure our biological needs from the time shown by the clock. As Carr states â€Å"Thanks to our brain’s plasticity, the adaptation occurs also at a biological level.† (537).Ironically we have taken on the unremitting speed of the machines that were invented to make things easier for us. Carr supports his stance by saying â€Å"When the mechanical clock arrived, people began thinking of their brains as operating â€Å"like clockwork.† (537) Moreover there has been a trend in students to browse and paraphrase whatever they find with a few clicks and instead of analyzing their material properly, they are determined to just skim through i t. Carr in his article states that â€Å"It is clear that users are not reading online in the traditional sense; indeed there are signs that new forms of ‘reading’ are emerging as users ‘power browse’ horizontally through titles, contents pages and abstracts going for quick wins.† (535). The author of the book ‘The death of "why?† the decline of questioning and the future of democracy’ Andrea Batista states â€Å"young people are barely reading what they find anyway_ because internet is changing the very way they read.† The technique with which students now read on the internet is different from the conventional way that had been followed since long. Even Carr states that it is difficult for him to sit and read â€Å"The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.†(534) students have developed

Case Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Case Analysis - Essay Example One another importance service provided by BizRate was research on the market performance of the companies. The web portal made use of the customized survey forms filed by the customers to tabulate the research findings. These research findings acquired much market demand as it helped the companies to analyse their market performance and strategies. In October 1999, BizRate released a new website which had added features like merchandising and referral services. The company along with its listed merchants gained remarkably huge response for this innovation. The pace of market involvement and revenue generation was accelerated through this creative effort. This prophesied the scope that the company would have in ecommerce. However a concentration on ecommerce would mean that the company will have to drop out its research services as managing both effectively would not be possible within the capacity of the company. BizRate is thus in a very important stage where they are to take a cru cial management decision pertaining to the primary focus of the company. Given the advantage that the company gained after lodging newer features like merchandising and referral services, the company and its management has felt the scope that its holds as a ecommerce company. There had been substantial increase in the revenue as well, after the implementation of the new features. However so as to concentrate more on ecommerce, the company will have to completely drop out the research services for which it was renowned for. As the manpower had attained optimal exploration for the sake of research services, it was not possible for the company to equally concentrate on both research and ecommerce with the existing facilities. The company had to fix their primary focus on either of the business operations. The case study does not provide data

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Week 4 DB Alex Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 4 DB Alex - Essay Example Reasons for considering the firefighters conduct as within the course of employment, is because of the city’s top official was aware of the presence of its employees at the event. As already mentioned, it implies that a significant difference exist between the firefighters that caused the sexual assault and the firefighters, who cause harm when working on a job, which is distinct to their employment. However, there are terms that distinguish between the two kinds of employee that carry out such harmful conduct. The term detour relates to deviance from clear instructions; however, such instructions have relations to the original directives given (Miller et al. 422). For this reason, the original directive given by the captain, instructed the firefighters to take the trucks to the event, but they deviated and assaulted the woman. Therefore, the city is liable for their harmful act. The city is also liable for carelessly hiring employees with criminal

History of East Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

History of East Africa - Essay Example Slavery is defined as a condition whereby a person, known as a slave is under the control of another. Slavery almost always occurs for the purpose of securing labor. History dictates that those who become slaves had different ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex or race than the dominant group, typically taken prisoner as a result of war. Capture meant death or slavery if one paid no ransom. Social entities characterized with poverty, overpopulation, and cultural and technological lag are frequently exported as slaves to more developed nations.The nature of the slavery differed greatly across the continent. There were large plantations toiled by slaves in Egypt, Sudan and Zanzibar, but this was not a typical use of slaves in Africa as a whole. Slaves were protected and incorporated into the slave-owning family while in others, slaves were brutally abused, and even used for human sacrifices.The practice of slavery and slave trade existed in Africa long before the Europeans arrived (B eck. 2004). Slaves were regarded as investment of local chiefs, kings, merchants and dependent royal subjects for personal gains and revenue as well as performing administrative or military duties. Prior to the European conquest, slavery was a tool in building and strengthening states. In the period of the European colonization, slave trade changed dramatically causing internal divisions among African societies (Amber. 2004). The Oyo-Dahomey Wars, local/regional conflicts among the Asante, and internal division within the Congo kingdoms helped the Europeans acquire slaves in exchange for textiles, guns and ammunitions to expand their territories. The Europeans benefited from this by shipping off the slaves to the plantations of the Americas. As a result the African societies experienced a drastic change depopulating skilled craftsmen and increased wars among tribes (Cooper. 1980). Families were torn apart and children that were left behind became vulnerable to being captured by riva l tribesman (Amber. 2004). The slave trade as a result expanded because of the participation of African rulers and merchants (Beachey. 1976) in the international exchange economy, involving the exports of humans. Africans were manipulated and used by Europeans through the domination of Africa's natural resources (Cooper. 1980). In the beginning of European involvement in Africa, they were initially interested in trading with Africans for their gold, slaves, ivory, and other resources. Europeans began trading in Africa in the 15th century, mainly getting gold and slaves. When they reached the eastern coast of Africa, their prime interest shifted to controlling and securing trade routes to India. For a few centuries, European involvement in Africa was mostly contained to the coastal regions. In the East, the Omanis gained nominal control of the islands, but until the reign of Sayyid (1804-56) they took little interest in them (Nwulia. p13-14. 1975). Sayyid recognized the commercial value of East Africa and increasingly turned his attention to Zanzibar and Pemba, where he permanently relocated his court into (Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 2006). He brought many Arabs with him, and they gained control of Zanzibar's fertile soil, forcing most of the Hadimu to migrate to the eastern part of the island. The Hadimu were obliged to work on the clove plantations. Sayyid controlled much of the East where Zanzibar became the main center of ivory and slave trade (Cooper.1980). Some of them were used on the clove plantations while others were exported to other parts overseas. With Zanzibar's trade being administered by Omanis' who organized caravans into the interior of

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Week 4 DB Alex Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 4 DB Alex - Essay Example Reasons for considering the firefighters conduct as within the course of employment, is because of the city’s top official was aware of the presence of its employees at the event. As already mentioned, it implies that a significant difference exist between the firefighters that caused the sexual assault and the firefighters, who cause harm when working on a job, which is distinct to their employment. However, there are terms that distinguish between the two kinds of employee that carry out such harmful conduct. The term detour relates to deviance from clear instructions; however, such instructions have relations to the original directives given (Miller et al. 422). For this reason, the original directive given by the captain, instructed the firefighters to take the trucks to the event, but they deviated and assaulted the woman. Therefore, the city is liable for their harmful act. The city is also liable for carelessly hiring employees with criminal

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Memorandom to the Minister- Water Policy alternatives Essay

Memorandom to the Minister- Water Policy alternatives - Essay Example tegy which can balance the domestic needs of the country as well as ensure that Water can serve as one of the lucrative commodity for the country and a mean to earn foreign exchange. This memorandum therefore will provide a brief discussion on the need for having a new water strategy and what economic options may be set to effectively utilize water resources of the country in most optimal manner. Over the period of time Canada has developed a very good market for its water in international markets. However, despite the benefits which country is availing by exporting its water, there is a growing concern that if same practices are continued, the domestic needs of the country for its agriculture as well as domestic purposes may not be fulfilled. There is therefore a greater need for the development of new water strategy which can balance both the objectives and help utilize the natural resources of the country in most optimal manner. (CBC News) 1. New Policy completely put restrictions on the export of the water out of the country in order to fulfill the domestic needs and ensure sustainable levels of water availability for long run. This will however, restrict the country’s ability to generate sufficient foreign exchange and thus may put adverse impacts on its trade balance. (Raider) 2. It is also possible to discuss the possibility of implementing tariffs or quota on the export of water from the water. Imposition of the quote however may result into higher domestic prices for the water. 3. New policy may set the different price alternatives for both the domestic and export use of the water. Further, export duties shall be applied in order to make the export of Canada’s water more expensive for foreign buyers. Minister shall recommend and lobby for the development of a joint forum which can evaluate the domestic needs for the water and develop set of recommendations which can provide a balance assessment of demand and supply of water and how excess water

Monday, October 14, 2019

Talent planning in organisations Essay Example for Free

Talent planning in organisations Essay Before an organisation is able to carry out talent planning activities there are a few contingencies and factors that could affect the business in resourcing talent affectively. One of the main factors to consider is the location of the business. The location could mean there is a lack of talent or abundance. For example an IT company would attract the best talent from either Silicon Valley or Bangalore, however if the company is based in Glasgow how will the convince the best talent to come and move there. A second factor is the budget. This is an issue for smaller or start-ups. Not having the right amount of budget or having no budget means you are restricted to the resources you can use to attract the best talent such a specialist recruitment agencies or advertising on industry specific job boards as they can be quite costly. Business objectives a further more factor. As one of the objectives of the company would be to have good retention of staff however that might mean if they doing a good job of the retention of staff they might not necessarily need to hire new staff. Lastly whether a company is growing or expanding is another factor. If a company is expanding than this will have to be taken into account however if a company is not expanding will increasing or atleast attracting talent be made more difficult? As potential employees will want to work for a company that is growing and not one that is shrinking or making cut backs. While a company is thinking about recruiting talent they also need to realise the benefits and strengths of having a diverse work force. For example one of the benefits is you will attract more skills and strengths with a diverse work force. BY recruiting from only one region for example you could not get the expertise of someone who might be in the same industry from a different region who would know the market better. As a result of this another benefit is getting different points of view. By ensuring you have a diverse work force you are able to get new eyes on a problem and find better solutions. A third and final reason is who that you are recognised as an employer of choice where by you can in the long run attract better talent as you have a diverse work force to begin with. Although a company needs to recruit and they have been able to attract the talent, when it comes to the right selection there a number of factors which can affect this. For example the time limits, when a company has a job role that needs to be filled quickly  due to how pivotal the job is to the organisations day to day running it can mean due to the time limit they might make the wrong decision. Another factor is the types of skills and the culture. Although on paper the candidate might seem the best and has experience sometimes some skills are not measurable until the person is working for the company and as a result even though you might have made the right decision based on paper in reality they might not be the best person for the job. And finally the last reason would be for the type of role. Some roles are really specific to a certain industry, you might be able to attract the talent but due to there being such a specialist in the field you might not be able to select the exact person as there is no set process to decide who the right fit will be for the roles due to the nature of the role.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Gender Inequality Women In Politics Politics Essay

Gender Inequality Women In Politics Politics Essay The world in which we live is characterized by deeply unequal sharing of the burden of adversities between women and men. Gender inequality exists in most parts of the world, from Japan to Africa, from Uzbekistan to the United States of America. However, inequality between women and men can take many different forms. It manifests itself in the unequal representations of women and men in various walks of life, differences in their salaries, persistent gender stereotypes, and sexual discrimination. One of the most troublesome issues is the extremely unequal representation of women in government and administrative office. Nevertheless, Lithuania, as well as other former communist countries was distinguished by a very high involvement of women in politics (worldpress.com). The role of women in society has been changed a lot in the last few decades. In the early days, women were seen as wives who were supposed to cook, clean, and take care of the children. They were limited from the responsibility of earning money for the family because this responsibility was left to husbands. Women were not allowed to vote and to work outside the family while men took care of having jobs and paying bills. Soon enough some thought that women should have bigger roles than what most of the people thought women should have. With the beginning of industrialization and technological development, the lifestyles of people in Lithuania started to change. The needs of human beings started to increase. This movement toward modern living started to reflect in the lifestyles of people. In this process, women started to practice some outside home activities (Aidis). Therefore, women involved in education in equal terms with men. Consequently, women gradually started to participate in all life movements. They started to think independently and participate equally in outside world along with males (Blackburn). Slowly but gradually discriminating women on the basis of gender, even though it still persists nowadays, diminished considerably. Therefore, the ongoing changes in social, political and economic activities of the country included not only the raise of womens role in society, but also the break of stereotypes of treating human beings by gender which was so well developed through decades (Aidis). Times when women used to sit at home and look after the children are gone. Today, women have bigger roles to play in the society. They are entrusted with more responsibility than men. They have to work along with men in providing a higher income for the family, but even so, most men in Lithuania still consider women to be inferior, and they do not trust them enough in order to permit a female to deal with political, economic, and social problems. As the ruling class, men completely support the patriarchal view of the Catholic Church. The resurgence in the popularity of the Catholic Church has been accompanied by the glorification of motherhood (Voices from Lithuania). Therefore, men favor motherhood over professional and political involvement because they identify political actions with masculine behavior, power struggles, private property disputes, corruption, and hypocrisy (LaFont). Initially, men objected to women starting their career outside home, but with the growing needs and insufficiency of money, they had no other way out but to accept the reality and change according to the circumstances (Aidis). According to Suzanne LaFont, Lithuanian men should be proud of their women getting involved in any social, economic, and political activity, and they should support their efforts to contribute to society rather than crush their struggle with irony, skepticism and empty words (LaFont). Even though gender issues were not a main priority for the country, Lithuania has shown improvements to gender equality by introducing laws and regulations that would protect womens rights in society (wikigender.org). Equal opportunities and equal treatment is enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania (art. 29); in 1998, the Sheimas (Parliament) adopted the law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (wikigender.org). This law forbids direct and indirect discrimination against men and women. It also requires the state and other institutions to work on the basis of equality in gender when it comes to employment, education, science and other areas of activities. In addition to a prohibition giving priority to one of the sexes in employment and education advertisements employers are obliged not to ask job seekers about their age, marital status, private life, and family plans(wikigender.org). According to the statistics prepared by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the year 2009 was marked by continued progress for women in parliament. The global average for the proportion of women in parliament reached an all-time high of 18.8%. Moreover, at the beginning of 2010, the number of women ruling in politics increased even more. They held 35 (13.0%) of the 269 top posts in parliaments around the world. This is an improvement on the 1995 total, when 24 women held this post. In addition, women make up 30% or more of the members in 44 parliamentary chambers 26 single or lower and 18 upper houses. This is a six-fold increase over the 1995 total, when just seven chambers achieved this goal(IPU). According to the Lithuanian Statistics Department Data, slowly and with no doubt, in 2008, 50% of Lithuanian women were involved not only in household but also in state-related activities. Women made 37% of all leaders in the Lithuanian ruling elite such as parliamentarians, senior state officials and executives of companies and establishments (Worldpress.com). The number of females running a business also increased but still remained lower than that of men. Thus, in 2007, women made 31% of businessmen in Lithuania which was 5% more if compared with the year 2006. The first women, who reached top posts in parliaments, were elected in Sri Lanka (1960) and India (1966). Countries of Europe which have had a female president or prime minister in the modern era (1945-2003) are: Bulgaria, Finland, France, the German Democratic Republic, Lithuania, Great Britain, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia (koed.hu). As mentioned before, Lithuania is also ranked among that category, with its current and first female president of the country- Dalia Grybauskaite. Next to the president, Lithuanian inhabitants are honored to have twelve women in top parliamentarian positions that also contributed, in a way or another, in bringing some changes to the country and to its population. One of them is Nijole Ambrazaityte. She was a member of the Seimas from November 25, 1996 till October 18, 2000. She also was elected to the Supreme Coucil (1990-1992). Nijole was a member of various parliamentary groups for the relations with the Republic of Georgia, Africa, China, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, Russian Federation, Canada, France, Taiwan, Tibet, Germany, and other North European countries. Nevertheless, Nijole did not contribute only in politics but also in other areas of activity. Therefore, even though she was a winner of international contests of vocalists, Nijole was also granted the highest awards for her contribution to the Lithuanian culture and opera art (Nijole Ambrazaityte). Another woman worth mentioning about is Laima Andrikiene currently a member of European Parliament since year 2004. She was also a Vice Prime Minister of Lithuania between 1989 and 1990. During 1996 2003 Laima was a Chairman of the Board, Laitenis UAB and a Minister in the Ministry of European Affairs. (Laima Andrikiene). She was involved in various projects such as Training programme of Lithuanian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Crafts (2002), EU Officialdom Training Programme (2002-2004), Scientific Study Effective Integration of Lithuanian Industry into the EU in a Short Term (2003), EU Sixth Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities (2003-2004) (Laima Andrikiene). She also received lots honorable medals for her merits. Therefore, she got the Independence Medal of the Republic of Lithuania (July, 2000), National Order of Merit of the Grand Officer for the French Republic (October, 1997), Medal of the Baltic Assembl y (2003), etc (Laima Andrikiene). Furthermore, the woman who achieved a lot in her life and in the lives of millions others was Dalia Grybauskaite. Having received remarkable support from Lithuanian citizens, Dalia was elected President of the Republic of Lithuania in the first election round in the year 2009. Until then, she was a Programme Director in the Prime Minister Office of the Republic of Lithuania (1991), Director of the Economic Relations Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1993), Plenipotentiary Minister at the Lithuanian Embassy in the USA (1996), Minister of Finance (2001), and among many other posts she had, one of the most significant was the post of EU Commissioner in charge of financial programming and budget of the European Union (2004) (president.lt). According to Dalia Grybauskaite, gender equality is a topic of vital significance for every nation. In her speech at the General Debate of the 65th Session of The United Nations General Assembly in New York, she said that Gender equality issues are rarely associated with overcoming the economic crisis or stopping the climate change. However, it has been estimated that the elimination of gender discrimination in the labor market could increase the GDP by as much as 30 percent (president.lt). She also mentioned that It is of no surprise that women in Lithuania hold a number of top positions in politics and in business life. It is only natural that Lithuanian women made their own the famous saying: When the going gets tough, the tough get going! Thus, the prerequisite for gender equality represent the participation of both genders in decision making (president.lt). In all the countries of the world, women are in the minority at the decision-making level. Nevertheless, in most of countries more and more women are coming into office and are getting involved in the social life. As a good example would be Sweden. Women have achieved parity in the Cabinet of Ministers (where both men and women each constitute 50 percent), 43 percent of members in parliament and 41 percent of local government officials are women (I Know Politics). Today, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are the only European countries which have more than 30 percent female members of parliaments. Regarding governments, political scientists and political journalists often talk about a glass ceiling effect: this means that women do not get to the highest level of government or business (koed.hu). Mostly, those women who are considered to be part of the government or parliament, they are involved in less important positions. In order to be succ essful, women have to be trained for political discourses and motivated to defend their own rights or political interests. Achieving that would show that the difference between women and men is just a result of their perspective behavior (koed.hu). Nowadays, women in Lithuania do not have enough influence over the decision making but the situation is getting better. The gender identity in peoples minds is still that men are better in politics than women are. It is important to mention that Lithuania always went beyond its neighbor countries Latvia and Estonia, on this issue. It is considered to be the first country among the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe in advancing gender equality (I Know Politics). More recently, the highest level of womens representation in parliament among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe was achieved in Lithuania (18.1%); soon after, Estonia (18%) and Latvia (17%) reached similar levels (I Know Politics). It cannot though be compared to Sweden (43%), Denmark (37%) or Finland (37%). According to Kozma, women and men have different theories of perceiving gender issues in the world today. Women believe that it is not entirely right to think that only they are guilty for the current position in the political area. In a party, a woman gets to hold a position if this is desired by men (feminis.ro). Maria Grapini, the current candidate for mayor of Timisoara (Romania), noticed that it is also true, however, that women are hesitant to support each other. Moreover, she believes that they must know as well that it takes lots of time to become politicians. Mother, wife, business woman, politician! It seems hard to believe but a woman can actually manage everything and not in one regular way, but with elegance, style, and determination. Changes in society today are happening quickly and there is no doubt that there are still many unsolved problems. Men as well as women have to learn that gender identities belong to history and not to the modern life. Therefore, it is not the only option of women to stay home and take care of her children. Men, as well as women were given same rights and possibilities to grow professionally and individually. Therefore, the main goals are protection of womens rights and removal of discrimination in society by eliminating the existed stereotypes from peoples minds. Work Cited Aidis, R. (1997). MoterÃ…Â ³ verslininkiÃ…Â ³ problemos. -Moterys: tapatumo paieÃ…Â ¡kos. Lietuvos filosofijos ir sociologijos institutes. MoterÃ…Â ³ informacijos centras. Vilnius. Blackburn, R.M., Jarman J. and Siltanen S. (1993). The Analysis of Occupational Gender Segregation Over Time and Place: Considerations of Measurement and Some New Evidence, Work, Employment and Society. LaFont, Suzanne. (1988). Women in Transition: Voices from Lithuania. State University of New York Press. Albany. Women in Lithuania: more educated, earn less but their role is increasing. 5 March, 2008. Retrieved on 4 November, 2010: http://irzikevicius.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/women-in-lithuania-more-educated-but-earn-less-but-their-role-is-increasing/ (worldpress.com) Women in Politics. Retrieved on 4 November, 2010: http://www.ipu.org/news-e/wop/37/5.htm (IPU) Statistics Lithuania. Retrieved 4 November, 2010: http://www.stat.gov.lt/en/ (Statistics Lithuania) Gender Equality in Lithuania. Retrieved on 4 November, 2010: http://www.wikigender.org/index.php/Gender_Equality_in_Lithuania (wikigender.org) Thorsten, Nilges. Gender inequality in politics. Retrieved on 4 November, 2010: http://www.koed.hu/mozaik15/thorsten.pdf (koed.hu) Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. Retrieved on 4 November, 2010: http://www3.lrs.lt/seimu_istorija/w3_lrs.seimo_narys-p_asm_id=5p_int_tv_id=0p_kalb_id=2p_kade_id=3.htm (Nijole Ambrazaityte) Laima Andrikiene. Retrieved on 4 November 2010: http://www2.laimaandrikiene.lt/en/ (Laima Andrikiene) President of the Republic of Lithuania. Retrieved on 5 November 2010. http://www.president.lt/en/ (Dalia Grybauskaite) Category: Lithuanian Women in Politics. Retrieved on 5 November, 2010: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Lithuanian_women_in_politics (Wikipedia) Giedre,Purvaneckiene. Women in Lithuanian Society. 1999. Retrieved on 5 November, 2010: http://www.iknowpolitics.org/files/HDR%20Lithuania%201999%20-%20Ch.%208%20Women%20in%20Lithuanian%20Society.pdf (I Know Politics) Ana Maria, Kozma. The role of women in society. 5 May, 2008. Retrieved on 5 November, 2010: http://www.feminis.ro/feminis/cariera/rolul-femeilor-in-politica-464 (feminis.ro)

Saturday, October 12, 2019

De Tocquevilles democracy In America Essay -- essays research papers

Alexis De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America delves deep into how the American States and the federal government would grow politically and socially under the umbrella of democracy. He sees the United States as a unique entity because of how and why it started as well as its geographical location. De Tocqueville explains that the foundations of the democratic process in America are completely different from anywhere else on the globe. The land was virginal and the colonies had almost complete sovereignty from England from the very beginning because they were separated by an ocean and financial troubles. The people who came to America were the oppressed and unhappy in England and all were trying to find a place where they could start anew and create a political structure that would facilitate an individual freedom unlike anything that they had previously experienced in Europe. De Tocqueville believed that the nature of democracy in the New World rested within the fact that all of the emigrants were basically from the same social strata, resulting in the first new country where there was no preliminary basis for an aristocracy. "Land is the basis of an aristocracy†¦and†¦ [in America] when the ground was prepared, its produce was found to be insufficient to enrich a proprietor and a farmer at the same t ime(41)." He saw that even the soil of America was opposed to the structure of an aristocracy. There were also outside influences lending unvoiced support for the creation of this new democracy. Being an ocean apart from its mother country, who at this time did not have the financial reserves to oversee its colonies, let the Americans govern themselves. If they had not had this sovereignty at the beginning America might have become something completely different than it is today, but that was not the case, so these emigrants now had a fertile place to plant their ideas of a country founded upon the many ideas of the Enlightenment. Another large influence was the lack of neighbors. America had no ... ...man responsible for herself. De Tocqueville has left no aspect of American society out of his publication. He rips the American body open and examines all the things that are inside right down to the bare bones. It is a little scary to read of ones’ own nation and its culture. To realize that one’s own life is not how he made it, but of how his ancestors have created society. Whether it be as to how Americans view their politics, or their social afflictions, de Tocqueville voices his opinions as to what is commendable, are conversely, what is wrong with every aspect of America. He sees America through the eyes of intelligent outsider who has no reason to make America sound anything other than it is. He has done a very thorough job, and his vision of nineteenth century America will surely help lead America into the twenty-first century with a better definition of itself.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Zara for Fast Fashion

In analyzing the case we find that Ezra did not appoint a CIO; had no formal process for setting an IT budget; did not have policies in place to select specific technology investments; required no formal Justification for IT efforts; and did not conduct cost/ benefit analysis for IT projects. All of these elements are critical components to the success of IT and business overall. These shortcomings advocate the fact that Ezra completely belittled the role of IT within the organization and merely used IT as a support function for business.With a completely decentralized decision making strategy and lack of IT [business integration, Ezra created the platform for eventual failure. Because all of the above mentioned are responsibilities of both positioned executives and IT leaders, I am inclined to assert that poor integration is in fact the central dilemma to the case. Because the lack of IT and business alignment sets the groundwork for the additional issues to cultivate, it is signifi cantly more critical than all other noted issues including: updating hardware and software systems; creating internal networks; and the lack of formal IT investment strategies.All of the above identified issues can be derived from the central issue of poor IT and business integration, and therefore makes this issue critical and more significant than the aforementioned. B. ) The individuals and groups who are most directly impacted by the lack of functional business and IT integration include: Inedited/Ezra Owners and Shareholders Sara's executives, store management, and all employees Ezra customers All of the above mentioned stakeholders are directly affected by the poor business and IT integration within Ezra.If Ezra continues to fail to respond to the needs of its store managers the impacts will spread and multiply. In the case Sara's managers ask Slogan for the present systems to include more capability and dexterity. Slogan and the IT department cannot reach a general consensus. As the IT steering committee discusses the theoretical possibilities nothing gets done and time is lost. If time progresses and store management is disregarded, ignored, neglected and unaccommodating to, the result will include Job dissatisfaction, passive aggression to service employees, spikes in turnover and ultimately unhappy customers.Because store managers possess such significant levels of responsibility including: ordering merchandise; replenishing stock; handling personnel; and coordinating store needs, the quality and level of in store experiences heavily depend on the competencies and commitment of store management. With stores being the first and last point of contact for customers at Ezra, the customer experience; level of service; availability of goods and employee interaction is vital for Sara's success.If store managers do not feel equipped to provide exceptional service, the customers will suffer via in store service levels. Customers will be directly affected by S ara's failing leadership by experiencing unpleasant employees, long waits for inventory assistance, and inconsistent information between store locations. As service levels drop, so does reputation, loyalty and sales. If sales go down shareholders and owners loose revenue. Lost revenue creates the beginning of an unhealthy business which directly hurts owners and shareholders.C. ) So what causes lead to the absence of successful business and IT integration? There are several factors which collectively generated the abovementioned central problem. Those which are most important are outlined as follows: Organizational: The â€Å"speed and decentralized decision making approach applied to IT was Sara's first and most fatal mistake. Using this approach Ezra failed to realize the importance of appointing a CIO and subsequently had no formal erection for IT decision making.The authors of our text on page 35 site the â€Å"Global trends affecting the CIO role†. These trends include: Coo's expecting IT managers to manage people, finances and materials not Just technology; Coo's expect IT to contribute to a firms flexibility and ability to absorb change; and that Coo's are called on to take a broader role in corporate leadership. These noted expectations given by the texts authors perfectly contradict every aspect of Sara's current executive and IT relationship.Castellated (CEO) does not have any real expectations of Slogan. Slogan the current IT leader has little or no say in setting budgets; contributing to flexibility; is not solely authorized to select technology; and fears acting for organizational change. With little or no influence in the big picture business strategy Sara's IT department is again classified as an operational support group. Because of this decentralization, business and IT units are â€Å"soloed†, separate and far from integrated.I believe that these factors expose and point to one of the major causes for poor business and IT integ ration within Ezra. Managerial: The problems at Ezra essentially surface from the top down. Starting with the CEO, the company is blinded by what they do right which helps them ignore what is going wrong. The article â€Å"Mastering the Three Worlds of IT† states on page 142 that executives do not know when, where, or how to get involved and the reason is, because they operate without a comprehensive vision of what IT does for the company. MacAfee, 2006) This statement defends my assertion that Ezra executives are currently looking at IT as an operational support function and fail to integrate and strategically place IT within the company. The central problem in this case exists not because â€Å"things weren't broken†, but because no one (CEO or Head of IT) stepped up to the challenge of managing organizational change. Although Slogan was not officially appointed CIO, he was the head of IT, and with this responsibility comes the need to be business intelligent.Slogan clearly did not look beyond his operational role and failed to define the company's IT needs as they applied to business strategy. Slogan failed to push Sara's IT efforts to align with organizational needs and therefore failed as an IT leader which led to the major issues within Ezra. The authors of our text remark on page 36 that IT should be positioned as a strategic and competitive necessity; making sure IT plans, actions and capabilities are clearly linked to company objectives.This simply is not occurring competently or proactively within the organization, as the conversations between Sanchez and Slogan only describe reactions to current concerns. Although Ezra is good at making IT work for them, they fail to see how IT can work with them in the future. I believe that Ezra executives misunderstand the role that IT should be playing within the company and this leads to Sara's inability to arm a long term IT renewal plan tied to business strategy.The fact that the executive and I T leadership teams within Ezra completely disregard the importance of proactive strategic planning and use decentralized brainstorming creates another major cause which leads to the central issue of poor business / IT integration. D. ) What are the possible solutions that should be considered? Solution 1: A more centralized executive decision making structure where IT decision making includes the CEO, COO, SCOFF and CIO Solution 2: Implementation of an IT leadership development program. Solution 3: Demoting Slogan and appointing a CIO with business management experience.So the question is how do each of these solutions respond to Sara's lack of Business and IT integration and alignment? Solution 1 addresses this primary issue on a multitude of different levels. By centralizing, formalizing and collaborating decision making there will be a better sense of understanding and transparency amongst the units. This executive IT cooperation will create uncluttered communication which will r esult in stronger organizational awareness, and allow for clear, concise, definite business strategy formation.Once executives understand the essential business needs the technologies that are required come into play, consequently resulting in the desired business/ IT integration. This solution would be acceptable by Sara's stakeholder because once implemented, a positive domino effect of would occur These IT applications will satisfy the needs of store managers, who will be better able to suit their employees. With the accommodation and satisfaction of employees comes improved customer service levels which equals success for all.Solution 2 responds to the central issue with the implementation of a long term resolution. The incorporation of an IT leadership development program will ultimately cultivate and nourish IT focused individuals and gear them toward business management. The authors of our text remark on page 11 that the most useful thing any IT manager could possibly do is t o push business smarts and tech smarts closer together. With the employment of a leadership development program Ezra will be investing in the growth of individual talents that will eventually be equivalent to executive and IT collaborations.These future IT leaders will emerge with the IT/ Business integration mindset, thus saving he company time and money with ongoing integration efforts. This solution will be acceptable amongst stakeholders because it has potential to cut cost and increase productivity and fluidity of operations. As operations improve employees are more efficient and customers are better served. Solution 3 is a very direct approach of organization reformation. By demoting Slogan and appointing a new IT leader Ezra will gain fresh perspective regarding the role IT needs to play.Since Slogan has a very technical background he hesitates on promoting organization change. The appointment of a CIO will deliver formal dictation and distribution of objectives for IT to pur sue. Because the new CIO will lack personal relationships within the department, he or she will be quick to act and ambitious to achieve. The new CIO will bring general management experience which will reduce the tech / business integration gap and essentially create value for Ezra. Increasing value within Ezra would again satisfy the need of all stakeholders involved. E. ) What is the ideal solution?The optimal solution to solving the absence of business and IT integration t Ezra is solution 2. Through the deployment and development of an IT leadership programs Ezra will ultimately build a continuous supply of IT leadership talent. This solution not only becomes part of the long term business strategy, but assists in the longevity and success of the organization. This solution makes more sense for Ezra because it develops a permanent solution to a variable problem. Solution 1 and 2 are respectable choices however these solutions only temporarily fix the major issues.Solution 1 can easily be effected by executive social cohesion and lack thereof; while elution 2 is volatile due to the nature and fragility of organization reformation and changes in ownership. The implementation of solution 2 will be accomplished by (short term) mapping technologists and scouting talent; (midterm) comprehensively assessing, evaluating and analyzing employees who show promise and potential; and (long term) mentoring, planning, and training individuals to copiously understand the business the role of IT and the necessity of integration.Some potential consequences to implementing solution 2 will include: the initial lead-time for the project to show exults may cost a few years; the necessity to rebuild IT credibility within the company and industry; new amongst seasoned technologist who aren't geared toward leadership; and resistance to periodic shifts in IT leadership as innovative and talented leaders take on new projects or roles.The result and outcome of an IT leadership develo pment program will be the long term success and integration of business and IT functionalities within Ezra. By harnessing technologists and gearing personalities for management positions, Ezra will create huge value and sustainability for itself within the clothing retail manufacturing industry.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Net Neutrality Paper

Capitalism is an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market. (Merriam-Webster Online, 2010) The United States of America is considered a â€Å"free market†, in some cases. Internet Seen,'ice Providers own the tangible cables and pipes providing the service of connectivity to the internet. They are the bridge. They own the bridge. In a free market, they can regulate heir bridge how they see fit, within the parameters of the law.This same model is expressed by cell phone companies in the communication industry as well as cable companies in the television industry. Cellular phone companies own all the variables that make up their network. They then sell you service to connect to their network based off of their interpretation of what the market will allow. They dictate wha t you pay, how much usage you are allowed and what types of usages are allowed. Cable companies evolved in the same manner. Once a free entertainment source is now a billion dollar year industry marked with the footprints of capitalism.Cable companies put forth the ground work to make the cable experience what it is today. In return, they profit from their investments to do so. They also dictate what we pay and what types of usage we are allowed. These cable and cellular communication companies have thrived in our free market mentality but in the same instance have been regulated by government when it applies to the internet. In the same way they own the physical cables, the pipes underground, the satellites and the air space, they are providing the bridge.Without their bridges, the consumer cannot access the internet. In a free market society, we tell companies to manage their business according to what the market will allow. The market has allowed the cell phone industry to operat e without regulation. The cable companies have thrived without regulation under the allowance of the market. The internet is no different. Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned or possessed by a person or jointly by a group of people. Property is synonymous with ownership.Ownership is the exclusive right to possess and dispose of what oh own. â€Å"When you pull out the government, you take out socialism, and when you remove the rights of ownership and place the benefits broadly on the least able to pay for them, you have communism. It isn't yet clear if socialism will work in the U. S. , and it is doubly doubtful that communism (aka â€Å"Net neutrality†) will ever work. † (Ender, 2010) In economic terms, calculability is the ability to exclude others from use of a good. Rivalry is when one person's use of a good diminishes another's ability to use that good.When you have a resource that doesn't have calculability but does display rivalry you hav e what is known as ‘Tragedy of the Commons† which is an overused, under maintained resource (aka â€Å"the free-rider problem†). In Africa arose the possibility of the elephant becoming extinct from humans killing them for their hides and tusks. Two countries decided to act against this problem, Kenya and Rhodesia. Kenya took the approach of placing a ban on elephant poaching while Rhodesia gave property owners Private Property Rights to the elephants with incentives for elephant maintenance.Jenny's elephant population decreased while Rhodesia increased dramatically. The conclusion of when property rights are given, ownership of property motivates protection and care for the property more efficiently than federal regulations. In economic terms the internet would be classified as an Clubbable resource. The classification of rival or non-rival is debatable due to bandwidth. However if we look at this example from the rival standpoint, it bears identical resemblance of the private goods industry.When property rights are given with incentives, the elephant will prosper. If ownership is revoked and regulations are implemented by government, we have Tragedy of the commons. Sip's currently don't have incentives to make broadband bandwidth accessible in all parts of our country due to lack of profitability. Therefore our elephant population (internet) will decrease. This is a simple example of how capitalism is a great model for economical success. It is the same model that has molded our country for over two centuries. Why the model is continually changing I do not know.The Internet is not public property. Telecommunications companies have spent billions Of dollars on network infrastructure all over the world. They did so in the hope of selling communications services to customers willing to pay for them. The government has no right to effectively nationalize Sip's by telling them how run their networks. Proponents of net neutrality love to invent hypothetical scenarios of ways companies could abuse customers. It is true that a free society gives people the freedom to be stupid, wrong, and even malicious.The great thing about capitalism is that it also gives people the freedom to decide whom they want to do business with. A socialized Internet takes away that freedom and turns it over to politicians and lobbyists. Why do â€Å"net neutrality' advocates ridicule politicians for impairing the Internet to a â€Å"series of tubes,† and then trust them to regulate it? (vessels, 2007) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has the ability to regulate wireless network providers by reclassifying them as Title II common carrier services, essentially equating them with cable and phone companies.That type of regulation would allow the FCC to impose traffic equality laws on all carriers, where under Washman's proposal wireless providers would have been exempt. Verizon, AT and wireless association ACTA have opposed the PC's m easures, while Google, Faceable and Keep, among various public interest groups strongly supported them. (Prism, 2010) Phone and cable companies have argued that increased regulation of Internet practices could have a detrimental effect on the industry. They argue that tough regulations could deter network investments and hinder the expansion of broadband infrastructure.The free-speech objection to net neutrality has also gained some ground recently. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCAA) and AT&T began citing First Amendment objections to net neutrality in public discussions and in filings with the FCC this year. The free-speech argument states that, by interfering with how phone and cable companies deliver Internet traffic the government would be manipulating the free-speech rights of providers such as AT&T, Verizon and Compass. Jerome, 201 0) The Federal Communications Commission first established rules in 1 965 for cable systems which received signals by micro wave antennas. In March 1 966, the Commission established rules for all cable systems (whether or not served by microwave). The Supreme Court affirmed the Commission's jurisdiction over cable in United States v. Southwestern Cable Co. , 392 US. 157 (1968). The Court ruled that â€Å"the Commission has reasonably concluded that regulatory authority over CATV is imperative if it is to perform with appropriate effectiveness certain of its responsibilities. The Court found the Commission needed authority over cable systems to assure the preservation of local broadcast service and to effect an equitable distribution of broadcast services among the various regions of the country. In March 1 972, new rules regarding cable television became effective. These rules required cable television operators to obtain a certificate Of compliance from the Commission prior to operating a cable elevation system or adding a television broadcast signal.The rules applicable to cable operators fell into se veral broad subject areas franchise standards, signal carriage, network program non-duplication and syndicated program exclusivity, non-broadcast or cable casting services, cross-ownership, equal employment opportunity, and technical standards. Cable television operators who originated programming were subject to equal time, Fairness Doctrine, sponsorship identification and other provisions similar to rules applicable to broadcasters.Cable operators were also required to maintain certain records ND to file annual reports with the Commission concerning general statistics, employment and finances. In succeeding years, the Commission modified or eliminated many of the rules. Among the more significant actions, the Commission deleted most of the franchise standards in 1 977, substituted a registration process for the certificate of compliance application process in 1978, and eliminated the distant signal carriage restrictions and syndicated program exclusivity rules in 1980.In 1 983, th e Commission deleted its requirement that cable operators file financial information. In addition, court actions led to the deletion of the pay cable programming rules in 1977. In October 1 984, the U. S. Congress amended the Communications Act of 1 934 by adopting the Cable Communications policy Act of 1984. The 1 984 Cable Act established policies in the areas of ownership, channel usage, franchise provisions and renewals, subscriber rates and privacy, obscenity and lockers, unauthorized reception of services, equal employment opportunity, and pole attachments.The new law also defined jurisdictional boundaries among federal, state and local authorities for regulating cable elevation systems. Following the 1984 Cable Act, the number of households subscribing to cable television systems increased, as did the channel capacity of many cable systems. However, competition among distributors of cable services did not increase, and, in many communities, the rates for cable services far ou tpaced inflation. Responding to these problems, Congress enacted the Cable Television Consumer protection and Competition Act of 1992.The 1 992 Cable Act mandated a number of changes in the manner in which cable television is regulated. In adopting the 1 992 Cable Act, Congress dated that it wanted to promote the availability of diverse views and information, to rely on the marketplace to the maximum extent possible to achieve that availability, to ensure cable operators continue to expand their capacity and program offerings, to ensure cable operators do not have undue market power, and to ensure consumer interests are protected in the receipt of cable service.The Commission has adopted regulations to implement these goals. In adopting the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress noted that it wanted to provide a pro-competitive, De-regulatory national policy ramekin designed to accelerate rapidly private sector deployment of advanced telecommunications and information technologies and services to all Americans by opening all telecommunications markets to competition. The Commission has adopted regulations to implement the requirements of the 1996 Act and the intent of Congress. General Cable Television Industry and Regulation Information Fact Sheet, 2000) In the end life contains complex decision making decisions that come from those with opposing opinions. If we take positive economic results from the past and try to replicate them today, it might begin with clear and concise repertory rights pertaining to the internet. Let the free and open market drive competition to fuel creativity and innovation.