Democratic Nation Essay

Democracy in its ancient concept is a beautiful idea. It means a government by the people and for the people. Democracy empowers the people regardless of their social status and it promises freedom to exercise ideas and to choose the kind of life that we want. Democracy gives us a freedom of self-expression. Freedom is such an important element of democracy directly in contrast to tyranny of the dictatorial and authoritarian rule. Basham quoted from Welzel which says, â€Å"at this point in history, democracy has a positive image almost everywhere, but these favorable opinions are often superficial, and unless they are accompanied by deeper-rooted orientations of tolerance, trust, and a participatory outlook, the chances are poor that effective democracy will be present at the societal level† (Basham, p. 3). Democracy as a political reform that emerged in western and Asian countries almost centuries ago began to saturate the whole world. In this case, it is important to look into reasons why Iraq has to be democratic based on its political, social, and cultural conditions, as discussed below. Iraq has for many years been under tyrannical rule of Saddam Hussein and many of its citizens are dreaming of freedom under a democratic rule. Paul Woodruff asserts, â€Å"no one sleeps well in tyranny because the tyrant knows no law, and he is a terror to his people† (p. 64). In many democratic countries it was quite evidence that citizens enjoys more freedom and self-expression than in non-democratic countries. Thus the blessings of democracy are that it guaranties our freedom to exercise our highest capacities while it protects us from our worst tendencies. (p. 3) As the rule of tyranny ended, Iraq is now underway to become a democratic country under the guidance of the United States. But the imposing question is can Iraq overcome the challenges it faces to become a democratic nation? As we all know, Iraq have not emerged yet completely from the rubbles of destruction brought about by the war against the US led coalition to oust the tyrant ruler. Frequent suicidal bombings that are killing many innocent people continues to pose threat to the safety of its people and of everyone which are clear indications that the fangs of tyranny are still alive and giving signal of its desire to regain their power. The case of Afghanistan reminds us of the tyrannical rule of the Taliban who were toppled by the US backed anti Taliban Afghan forces but they remain a threat to the reign of peace and freedom in the Afghan people. Aside from the unstable political and social condition in Iraq that poses challenge to existing political and social structure, Hugh Starkey noted that the displacement of individuals and even groups, by war and the dire economic conditions as well as the â€Å"political movements based on ethnic, religious and narrowly nationalist ideologist† (p. 23) not only poses challenge but threaten democracy as well. But amidst this political and social problem, Starkey emphasized the need of education in general, and education for citizenship in particular if Iraq has to embrace democracy, for it â€Å"provide the mechanism for transmitting those core shared values that are essential if just and peaceful democratic societies are to be develop† (p. 23). It means that the challenges that threaten the existing political and social structure and the democracy can be subdue if an intensified educational approach are implemented focusing both on the education in general and education for citizenship in particular. Another question that needs answer is whether Iraq is prepared politically, socially, and culturally for democracy. In the survey conducted by Freedom House conducted from 1981 to 2002 that measures the values and beliefs of people in seventy countries regarding the society’s level of democracy. The survey concluded that for Islamic countries, the â€Å"prospects for democracy are particularly poor† (Basham, p. 3). The reason for this finding was that, for Islamic people democracy is problematic but better than any other form of government. Though, they have a poor prospect for democracy but the chance for acceptability is positive. Another reason that has to be considered is that, Iraqis has anti-American sentiment that is so pervasive though which, according to Ottaway, et. al, â€Å"the Middle East today lacks the domestic conditions that set the stage for democratic change elsewhere† (cited by Basham, p. 4). Religion is another factor for non-democratization of Iraq in which many of the practices and tradition of people in the democratic countries are very distinct from the Islamic faith. For instance, separation of authority and rights of both gender marks the difference. Democracy is hinder to gender equality. Culturally, Iraq seemed to be unprepared for democratic. In another study conducted, of the 150 tribes in Iraq, seventy-five percent of them exercised the terms â€Å"primordial allegiances. † In one example of this according to Basham is that, most Iraqis â€Å"view political nepotism as a moral duty rather than a civic problem† (p.5), as such a strong family bonds is still prevalent as in marriages between first or second cousins is still of significance in the society. This society’s condition is another hindrance in the democratization of Iraq according to Basham. Accordingly, the greater challenge that Iraq faces is the challenge of democracy it self. Audrey Osler noted that â€Å"even in the most proudly democratic societies, significant inequalities remain sections of the population maybe marginalized and anti democratic forces’ misuse freedom of speech to promote xenophobia and nationalistic populism† (p. 23). Democracy is often identified with what the traditional societies see in it, what they see in democracy is a â€Å"cultural devastation caused by American-style freedoms† (p. 6). Embracing democracy therefore could mean allowing western values of economic and especially political freedom to dominate the society. Thus, the question that must be answered is Does Iraq need democracy? Certainly democracy is not the immediate answer to the political and social problem of Iraq but in the end it will bring more economic benefits, peace, and social order. As Bruce M. Russett puts it, â€Å"in the modern international system, democracies have almost never fought each other† (p. 4). What Russett meant for this is that democracies rarely fight each other because they have other means of resolving conflict. Therefore, â€Å"the more democracies there are in the world the fewer potential adversaries †¦will have the wider the zone of peace† (p. 4). Ayers noted, Iraqis are cognizant of their situation yet they remain to what they are because of fear out of distrust to Americans and democratic life (p. 5).

The Yanomamo and the Fierce Anthropologist

The Fierce Anthropologists The controversy revolving the tribe of the Yanomamo and the professionals linked to anthropology has caught the world’s attention. Rapid and unforeseeable events have set the tone for the controversy. The study of these Amazonian Indians, who live in regions of the Venezuela and Brazil border, has turned in western exploitation. Accusations about of unethical anthropologist are abundant, but little facts about such accusations are evident. The grand attention that these events have attained has turned into a focus on larger issues in anthropological practices.By comparing the approach and relationships of other research projects, we can identify just ethical standards. Most of the controversy stems from the publications about the Yanomamo tribe by anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon. His 1968 volume Yanomamo: The Fierce People made the tribe famous due to good writing and extensive interaction with one of the most isolated people on the planet. But ultim ately, the way that he portrayed them–violent and fierce–is what attracted wide audiences.Much of his books and his video productions are centralized around the theme that the Yanomamo have an immutable trait of violence. According to Chagnon, he collected data, interacted with opposing Yanomamo villages, and received testimony to arrive to his findings. His researched was very lucrative; his book sold more than 4 million copies, which is well beyond the average of other ethnographies. He not only gained financial benefits, he began to be praised and attacked by people around the globe. People accused Chagnon of exaggerating the fact that violence is a part of their culture.For instance, French anthropologist Jacques Lizot, who lived with the Yanomamo for more than twenty years, said that violence is periodic; it does not govern their social life for long periods of time. It is worth noting that Lizot was accused of homosexual acts with young Yanomamo and distributing guns. Others, like Kenneth Good, accused Chagnon of sensationalizing violence, which he elaborated in his book, New Yorkers: The Mugging and Murdering People. He explains that just because violence occurs within the Yanomamo, does not mean they should all be generalized as violent.Good also received backlash for his research because he married a young Yanomamo girl, whom he now has three children with. Another compelling argument came from the studies of Brian Ferguson. He identified Chagnon’s representation of violence as a historical situation. He states that there is a spike in violence during contact with Westerners. As it relates to Chagnon, because he brought western manufactured goods, such as steel and iron tools, he disrupted trading relationships, which lead to inter-village violence for the unequal access of those scarce and desired tools.Among all the accusers, journalist Patrick Tierney gave the controversy the most attention. Tierney’s book, Darkness in E l Dorado: How Scientist and Journalist Devastated the Amazon, explored the affects of Yanomamo’s exposure to the outside world. Published in 2000, the book accuses Chagnon of misrepresenting the Yanomamo as fierce people, being responsible for warfare by interrupting trading relationships, staging film scenes, fabricating data, giving unsupported claims of being the first to contact with the Yanomamo, violating Venezuelan law, and overall unethical practices.The next set of accusations involves geneticist James Neel, who joined Chagnon in the fieldwork of the Yanomamo in 1968. He accuses Neel of helping the measles epidemic worsen because he provided outdated vaccines and misadvised the Yanomamo, which resulted in the deaths of thousands. Many of these accusations were prevalent since Chagnon’s work in the 1960’s, but Tierney’s publication brought them together for mainstream audiences. Subsequently, the American Anthropological Association (AAA) was comp elled to launch an investigation on the controversy.After investigating the abundant accusations, the AAA exonerated Neel from worsening or causing the measles epidemic, found insufficient evidence to charge Chagnon with all of Tierney’s accusation, but did find that he did not have the Yanomamo’s best interest in mind. It is undisputed that this controversy is repelling. Even if all of the accusations were false, the mere accusations show that ethical standards were broken. Surprisingly, the controversy does reap some positive consequences; it encourages personnel–within and outside the field–to consider the appropriate standards that anthropologist should be held to.Ethical questions arise, such as: how an anthropologist explains and gains consent from the targeted group, what is just compensation, or the dynamics and limits of ‘doing no harm’ to the subjects. The unbalance of power between the anthropologist from developed societies and th eir isolated subjects is a relationship that needs to be treated with delicacy to avoid exploitation. We can compare the relationship that researcher and filmmaker John Marshall had with the Juhoansi people of the Kalahari Desert for ethical analysis.John Marshall first went to the Kalahari in 1950 and researched the Juhoansi for fifty years thereafter. His relationship with the Juhoansi was one of friendships. He, alike other anthropologist, compensated the Juhoansi for their cooperation with western goods, but he did not stop there. During one of Marshall’s visits, he found the Juhoansi living in government settlements, which provided food relief and low wage jobs, but also inflicted alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and the lack of independence.In the late 1970’s, Marshall began to advocate for more water access and agricultural opportunity from the government. Because there was such a significant interruption to the traditional way of Juhoansi life, desired changes beset different challenges. Marshall justly compensated the Juhoansi and kept their best interest in mind to avoid causing harm to them. The latter characteristic is one that is of greatest importance because harm can come in direct and indirect ways that are temporary or permanent.The American Anthropological Association standard, labeled the ‘do no harm’ rule, is one that anthropologist often have little ability to prevent. At bare minimum, anthropologists almost always interrupt a group’s way of life when doing research and compensating with goods that are scarce to their environments. Interruptions in general, require adjustment and adaption, and when dealing with groups that have customs and traditions that have not changed for possibly hundreds of years, those adjustments are problematic and often prove to be vitally harmful.For instance, Chagnon’s and other Yanomamo researchers brought western goods and weapons into their community, which created a n interruption in trading and likely contributed to their state of warfare. Further, John Marshall also unintentionally created a significant interruption when his tire tracks that he created during his visits facilitated the contact with government entities, which ultimately changed most of the Juhoansi traditional ways of life.The difference between the two examples is that Marshall actually returned and improved their situation by advocating to their interests. Chagnon not only used more coercive techniques in gaining cooperation, there is also no trace of tangible efforts made to improve the harm he contributed to in the Yanomamo community. If the AAA standards were altered to ‘do not harm only while researching’ or compensate for cooperation, little ethical analysis would be needed, but that is not the case. Doing no harm to the group is indefinite and needs to be examined even after research is complete.Additionally, a â€Å"just† amount of compensation mea ns that it needs to be fair, not just in the context of the region researched, but also that of the western entities benefiting from it; i. e. ten machetes given to the Yanomamo for an ethnography research is not equivalent $500k and advancement in the anthropologist respective career. Alike the Yanomamo, the Juhoansi continue to face challenges due to outside interference. However, their interference mostly comes form governmental entities, and the Juhoansi have been assisted by Marshall and treated ethically by other anthropologists, like Richard Lee.On the other hand, the Yanomamo face problems from miners camping in their territories, destruction of the environment by mining and other outside forces, along with other governmental issues, but it is also clear that the Yanomamo have been significantly exploited by the western world. This could be because of the lack of oversight and/or due to little ethical standards. In any case, these unfortunate chain of events should serve a g reater purpose to the ethical standards of practicing anthropologist and aspiring students.

Vietnam and Gulf Wars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vietnam and Gulf Wars - Essay Example The decision to send U.S troop to Vietnam did not take into considerations the view of the public or the Congress. Negative impressions by the public and many political bigwigs persisted throughout the time that the U.S troops were in Vietnam. The public was up in arms at the amount of money that was used during this time of war in Vietnam. The losses were not only in monetary terms but also in the number of soldiers who perished (Rosenau 46). So many soldiers died and others were also injured. It was the first time that the United States had suffered a loss in war. The Vietnam War left an economic dent that was felt throughout the U.S. apart from that, shame and perceived weakness in military force and policies were exposed for the whole world to see (McNamara and VanDeMark 67). The eventual pull out of the force seemed like an acceptance of a mistake and defeat. The eventual effects of the Vietnam disaster were still lingering in the minds of the American public and political players. When the ‘free Kuwait† decision that ultimately led to sending of troops in the Gulf region was made, the American citizens were not very pleased. They criticized the decision. The aftermath of Vietnam had an effect on the foreign policy decisions and the reluctance of people to go through an ordeal like the previous one. The public saw it as another catalyst for an economic slowdown and massive loss of lives for an international situation that did not â€Å"scream† out for their participation. According to the public and some political players, it was not necessary to go to war at the moment leave alone going there with brimming confidence of a win. Since the US aimed at being the superior power, involvement in the war led to the breaking of relations especially after the US invaded Grenada and Panama (Murrin, et al. 844).   Countries such as the Soviet Union were silently not amused by the antics of United States. Slowly, U.S was creating a divide and even causing tensions with its long-term allies.  Ã‚  

Websites Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Websites - Essay Example connects users throughout the world by providing them with various applications and social communication services through their accounts or profiles. The content of this site has been rated lowly because the postings of its users include unreliable information. However the site has gained popularity among the online social networks because of its ease of use and cost free (Weimann 47). The site has a high quality of design with menus and icons which makes the user to access various services free of charge. The website has a search functionality which makes its users to search for friends and group with whom social communication is made possible. The functionality of the links within the Facebook makes the site to be the most reliable social networking site in the world (Beer 19). The Google website is classified as a search engine but it also offers electronic mail services through Gmail and social networking through Google Buzz (Poduwal and Kamya 1). This website is classified as the most successful search engine in the world because it connects users to a wide variety of online content both form authoritative and unreliable sources. The website is reliable in the display of results to the user upon request and it is user friendly with icons and menus which make it easy to use. However Google has been faced with confidentiality issues and especially in its electronic mail service because the private user information is vulnerable to exposure to a third party (Beer 21). YouTube is classified as the most popular video sharing network in the world. It provides users with the functionality of posting various videos which are accessible to the online communities throughout the world. The website enables the users to access video content of various formats (Weimann 52). The website has a reliable speed which allows life streaming of various video and audio clips. However the video technology applied by the YouTube website may be complicated for a novice user, the

Feminist Analysis of the Window by Deborah Eisenberg Essay

Feminist Analysis of the Window by Deborah Eisenberg - Essay Example The â€Å"Window† is one of the most challenging stories in the collection "Twilight of the Superheroes." This story sketches the quest of a clueless young woman, Kristina, who flees her hometown after her year out of high school. She seeks material security and starts working as a waitress in an Eden resort town with â€Å"white houses and gentle hills,† a â€Å"tender, miniature world.† She moves in with a couple, who after a few months wants Kristina to move out, to accommodate their new baby. To continue to be a part of the community, Kristina marries Eli who occasionally comes into town andtakes her to hisisolated cabin deep in the woods. Though the marriage gets off to a fine start, Kristina finds challenge in rearing Eli’s toddler son. Being isolated in the cabin, Kristina slowly realizes that Eli’s first wife eloped due to suffering due to domestic violence. Though Eli repents to for his abusive behavior, Kristina decides to run out of Eliâ €™s life, ‘kidnapping’ his son with her. She ends up with her estranged half-sister, from where she had originally fled in the beginning. The story is unfold in the mood of depressive reminiscence with its beginning and ending frames are fixed in Kristina’s half-sister’s home. These frames focused on the current situation of Kristina, where she is on a run low on money, and caring for Eli’s son, who has contracted an illness. ... We can see that Kristina is very confused and afraid while on the run and she expects and fears Eli’s anger and its impact on her future. In this story, Eisenberg is actively implying that there will be risk behind every decision, whether we will be able to see it or not. While providing us a detailed account of Kristina’s fall from youth and emergence into adulthood, Eisenberg also opens out a window in to her psyche, to reveal the fury of conflicting emotionssuppressed within her heart, bordering her on the verge of explosions. But Eisenberg’s character is neither too weak to go numb before the looming danger, nor is she rebellious enough to stand up and assert her individuality. Instead, she is a woman in conflict with her own demons, her emotions and she is trying to run away from her husband and the danger of being kept in captivity and abused all her life. But, we can find that Kristina is far more courageous than Eli’s first wife, who deserted her c hild with Eli for â€Å"unknown reasons†, as Kristina chooses to take the child with her, pretending to avoid the probability of Eli hunting her down. In the opening scene of "Window", we find Kristina and Alma drinking coffee engaged in small talks, while the toddler is playing. The tension in the story starts to surface only when we come to know that Kristina and Alma are the estranged sisters who are trying to move on from their reminiscent and depressing past by forcefully engaging themselves in small talks. The tension felt in the scene forces us to delve deeper in to the story, which then, slowly opens a window to the past life of Kristina. The rendering of the story goes smooth but it get its power from those things that are kept untold and hidden. Eisenberg unwinds her story

Strategic Marketing Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategic Marketing Planning - Essay Example However, during the last 20 years, this industry has been experiencing a rapid decline. Declining industries were once growth industries but a continuing fall in demand for their products has resulted in their decline. The steel industry is typical of the British decline in the manufacturing sector. This industry was in a position of supremacy in the 1870's but by 1910-14 British output had fallen behind that of the United States and Germany (Pope, 1998:24). Whilst annual output averaged 7 million tonnes, Germany was averaging 15 million tonnes and the United States averaging 27 million (Pope, 1998: 24). The US and German producers benefited from home markets protected by tariffs. A guaranteed home market, especially one dominated by huge corporations like US Steel or cartels, encouraged investment in large scale integrated plants utilising the latest technology. These plants gave the US and German producers a competitive edge. However the British industry comprised of mainly modest sized family firms, lacking the capital resources or the market to justify investment in the latest, large-scale and integrated plants (Pope, 1998: 24). Western Europe accounts for more than 60% of total steel production; with North America accounting for 50% and Japan for about 80% of steel production. Nevertheless the industry is still fragmented and even with the creation of the Mittal Steel Company the top 5 producers in the world account for fewer than 25% of global steel production. By contrast, the top 5 iron ore producers account for about 90% of the global iron ore market; in the automotive sector, the 5 biggest players account for about 65% of market share (Varin, 2005: 4). Although the UK steel industry has made great strides to become internationally competitive, and is on a par with the most efficient producers in Europe, the depreciation of the euro since its launch at the beginning of 1999 has undermined the viability of UK manufacturing. To offset its price disadvantage, UK manufacturing has sourced semi-finished products increasingly from overseas. In addition, UK distributors have increasingly purchased finished goods from abroad. As a result of these developments, steel in imported goods is now the biggest source of steel used in the UK, representing nearly 40% of UK steel consumption, against 25% in 1989 ( Hickman, 2001:11). As a result of increased import penetration largely via the steel content of finished and semi-finished goods, the steel demand chain in the UK is under pressure. UK mill products now satisfy little more than one third of total UK consumption. The competitiveness of UK mill products has inevitably been affected by sterling's strength, and the mill product share of total consumption has fallen from 53% to 35% over the past decade. Imported mill products rose by 36% in the ten years to 1999, but this was a much slower rise than the 68% rise of steel contained in imported goods (Hickman, 2001:11). This sharp rise reflects moves by manufacturers of consumer goods to produce increasingly in locations where labour and energy costs are cheapest. There is clearly a growing threat to the steel i ndustry from a contracting customer base, as the UK manufacturing sector continues to suffer from global competition, and an over-valued pound. This is illustrated by the performance of the main markets for steel.

Analysis of Robotic Technology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis of Robotic Technology - Research Paper Example However, it is seen that a broad and strict quantitative study for Robot Technology has not been carried out in the past. The basic objective of this paper is to prove the positive or negative impacts of Robot Technology on young students that are studying in different schools. The sample of the research not only contains students studying at different schools but also their teachers and parents. The data are collected using both primary and secondary tools, and results are derived using t-tests to compare means of responses collected from different schools. Performance related, dependent variables are selected, and the use of Robot Technology is taken as an independent variable. The impact of each variable is checked independently, and the results are based on the values of the t-tests. The result of this research indicated that Robot technology had a positive effect on the studies of young students, and their grades showed improvement from the past. The results also show that the m echanism used to assess the result of the study was valid, which conforms to the findings of Barker and Ansorge who studied a similar research topic in 2007. A Roadmap for US Robotics: From Internet to Robotics, vol. 21, 2009. Georgia Institute of Technology. http://www.us-robotics.us/reports/CCC%20Report.pdf Abstract A program by the name Robot Diaries was carried to determine how technology influences the learning of middle school girls. This study is quite relevant to the topic of discussion because it draws on the topic of this report. The robot diaries project was designed to research on the interactions between children and electronic devices that are integrated during their learning processes. Robotics is considered as a vital pipeline for literacy based on technology because of its ability to pull in and inspire students who are often not in accord with the conventional classroom curricula. Apart from the Robot diaries project, other human-robot interactions (HRI) have been carried based on well researched and vigorous scrutiny of developments in the technology field. Vesgos (2008) notes that robots have been successful in setting a common ground in project-based foreign language teaching of children and students, as compared to conventional media (Barker & Ansorge 345). This has been proved by the robotic technologies that have been developed in South Korea that backed by its development in information technology, has in place the world’s electronic learning robot that can be used at home by students and other users.  Ã‚  

Victorias Secret Product Strategies and Customer Loyalty Essay

Victorias Secret Product Strategies and Customer Loyalty - Essay Example This research provides coherence into all of the various marketing activities of Victoria's Secret for the past decade. The conclusion of this research shows that the main reason Victoria's Secret has thrived for so long is due to the fact that they market their products specifically for all body types, and classes of women in society, not just the more affluent clients, or one size fits all customers either. Therefore people from every walk of life have been customers of this company at one point in time or another which has given it is irrefutable status in women's lingerie, body fragrances, clothing line, and accessories for years now. The company, "Victoria's Secret" has developed into one of the largest female retailers of classy but sexy undergarments for women throughout the past thirty five years. Not only have they entered into one of the top retailer chains for women but they also provide other items that are variant from their main line of lingerie and body fragrances which has boosted their sales and increased their revenue year after year. Since the introduction of the Victoria's Secret lingerie line in 1970, they have been advertising and marketing their products in a habitual manner. Although there have been costs to the advertising it has worked well for the company in gaining customer loyalty to their products (White 2006). The many benefits of advertising that Victoria's Secret has gained are many as well. Advertising can give many ideas about a product to a consumer such as, various price information, availability of it, and the improvements that might have been made on a specific product as well. Without advertising, customer loyalty and interest would definitely be slim for Victoria's Secret or for any company for that matter. What advertisers try to do is impress the consumer and draw them in to the company. Through the years, Victoria's Secret has worked this in a way that if one product that they carry is more appealing to consumers then they have advertisers work on launching a bigger and better campaign to make that product appear to stand out and become more impressive to the consumer (White 2006). In 1982, Victoria's Secret was bought out by Limited Brands and since that time has continued to grow and lure in young, middle aged and even older customers. Once in the hands of The Limited, the company rapidly branched out to many malls throughout the United States, with 100 stores opening in record time in the late 1980's (White 2006). Also, the company's advertising campaigns during that period and even continuing on into today's time have always been strong and exemplary of what sexy really means. This shows in such ads like the one in 2003 titled, "What is Sexy" This ad earned the company a great deal of gross sales but not only that it earned them the number one spot in advertising within a 15 second time frame (Advertising Age 2003). It could be said however that the company really started to become influential in the feminine undergarment business in the early 90's as research shows that it actually redefined American's

Pg 1 is teen pregnancy- pg2 is family law and pg 3 is intevention Essay

Pg 1 is teen pregnancy- pg2 is family law and pg 3 is intevention verse prevention - Essay Example The causes if teenage pregnancy can be derived from both social, cultural and economic factors. Teenage pregnancy is more prevalent in areas where people have a low economic income. This is influenced by lack of support to take part in more constructive ideas and activities. In areas where the economy in a community is low lack of social support and guidance in teenagers is relatively low (Rhode 72). This hinder provision of good advice on puberty and safe sex. Cultural factors are based on communities that provide environments that provide for comfort to factors that influence teenage pregnancy. For instance, some communities may allow for underage marriage. There are dire effects of teenage pregnancy. Firstly, both the life of the mother and child are at high risk. Rhode asserts that conception for underage girls is dangerous since their bodies are not effectively developed to handle pregnancies (51). In addition, their bodies are prone to pregnancy related complication for both the child and the mother. Family law is a form of law that deals with domestic relations and family matters (Herring 6). The legal fields is created in specific regards to the family setting as a social factor. The laws provide for regulations aimed at maintaining the social and legal requirements of the family settings. The legal provisions also govern the domestic behavior of family members citing requirements and responsibilities for all family members. However, family law has no general jurisdictions. Jurisdictions differ based on the legal provision as mostly influenced by social factors and preferences. Regardless of the differences provisions of family have a main objective of ensuring the required definition of the family or domestic related factors are maintained. Family law mainly covers areas on domestic partnerships and marriages, issues relating to children and their affairs and paternity issues. Domestic

Manti TeO Case Essay Example for Free

Manti TeO Case Essay By having read the comprising articles and the reader comments on the college football player Manti Te’o, this issue has many different meanings to many different readers. And as Gail Collins stated, â€Å"All I can say is, the story tells you a lot†, this open ended story clearly does give off a large amount of information and arouses a series of questions that anyone would hope to have answered for a better understanding. To me, this issue comes off as confusing, disturbing, and at the same time wretched. Even though Te’o had explained that he was hoaxed, I still am confused to what I believe. For some reason, I feel as though he has something to do with the person that has been hoaxing him all this time to make him not look completely foolish. In order for someone to accept to be in an online relationship, they must be absolutely desperate or grasping for a lot of attention. Especially because this is becoming a problem with someone like Manti Te’o is just puzzling. From someone who is a senior at Notre Dame College, and more than likely having dealt with a wide variety of different situations, anyone would think he would have had more common sense to go along with something like this. That is why most individuals, including me, can give a long explanation to why we are confused. After reading these articles, a different question popped up in my head after every sentence and this situation would be a lot more understandable if they were answered. To make a fake profile, and to use it as a way to make another individual feel sorrow for you is just alarming. It is incredible that today’s society has people that stimulate and have to deal with situations like this one. The fact that you can be in an extremely serious relationship over the internet, without ever meeting face to face, and knowing that Manti Te’o is one of the very many makes this society even more provoking. You hear about these types of issues more and more as time progresses. This issue is wretched because it is what today’s society is evolving to and society makes it okay for issues like this to occur. Television shows, social networking sites, magazines, and movies are putting ideas in people’s head and allowing them to think these types of occurrences are okay to perform. It is just absolutely terrible because issues like this are going to continue to occur because no one is attempting to put an end to it and people seem to be just falling into these types of pits more frequently. Consequently, if this situation was to teach anything, it was that our society has a lot ahead of us. Anyone can be a phony, everything in a way can be unreliable, and people need to realize this is become a truly large struggle. Gail Collins statement â€Å"All I can say is, the story tells you a lot† is an understatement. This story tells you much more than a lot and it tells you exa ctly what our future is beginning to become.

Global Health and Issues in Disease Prevention

Global Health and Issues in Disease Prevention Application: The â€Å"Haves† and â€Å"Have Nots†: Why Are There Disparities? Bernard F. Richards Describe two health outcomes for which India and China have had different experiences in the last half century. It has long been an observation that socio-economic status influences health outcomes. Wilkinson and Pickett (2010) explain that the majority of health-related and social problems that plague nations and even sub-populations within nations are largely influenced by societal inequities (p. 173). Essentially, societies than have greater levels of inequity tend to have inferior health and social standings. This principle has been demonstrated by India and China which are nations with vast populations and shared influence from challenges brought on by globalization and urbanization. However, growing societal inequities in India served as the basis for recent dissimilarity in health status for citizens of said countries. The difference in health status of both countries can be seen in several health outcomes. According to Dummera and Cook (2008), both China and India experience similar infectious and chronic illnesses, the burden and prevalence of infectious maladies are significantly higher in India (p. 590). In India, the most common source of mortality is infectious and parasitic illnesses. Conversely, most deaths in China are secondary to chronic illnesses such as cancers. For every 1000 deaths in China, cancer is responsible for 119.7 of them. In India, this number lies at 71 out of every 1000 for cancers however, infectious causes of death lies at 420 out of every 1000 deaths (Dummera Cook, 2008, pp. 591-592). Chinese, both males and females, enjoy higher superior life expectancy at birth as compared to their Indian counterparts. In China, life expectancies for males and females in 2004 were 70.4 and 73.7 years respectively. On the other hand, that for Indian males and females was found to be male 63.3 and 64.8 years respectively. In general, China is found to be superior in almost all aspects of health-related demographics. China has better birth, mortality, fertility, and literacy rates. Additionally, there are more physicians and physical spaces within hospitals and other health facilities in China. This offers better service delivery and access to health services that are offered. These statistics suggests significant differences in policies and strategies to counteract sources of ill-health and brings to the fore the importance of social equality in ensuring population health (Dummera Cook, 2008, p. 592). Explain the reasons for the disparities noted. As previously mentioned previously, infectious diseases account for the vast majority of deaths in India as compared to chronic diseases in China. The contrast becomes even more apparent as infectious illnesses are general considered diseases of poverty. Chronic illnesses, on the other hand, are dubbed diseases of affluence. One explanation for this disparity between both nations is the difference in societal development. India has experienced less development which serves as a catalyst for population vulnerability. People live in more unhealthy environments which have been proved to increase the risk of communicable illnesses. China has experienced greater positive development which has diminished levels of social and health-related vulnerability. Chinese people are essentially living longer which predisposes to chronic conditions related to lifestyle behaviors and increased life expectancy. Additionally, the Chinese authorities have enforced strict limitations on reproduction and p opulation growth (Dummera Cook, 2008, pp. 590-592) Social division and inequality also accounts for health disparities in both countries. There is present in India a caste system called ‘jati’ which is based on segregation, marginalization and social stratification. At the summit of the social hierarchy is the Brahmins class (Priests) followed by the Kshatriyas (Warriors and rulers), Vaisyas (skilled workers, merchants, minor officials), Sudras (unskilled workers), and Pariah (outcasts, untouchables) in descending order. Hearne (2014) explains that as we progress down the caste hierarchy, social inequity and discrimination increases. An individual’s educational status, income and consequently health status are all dependent on the caste he is in. This system is culturally and historically entrenched in Indian way of life, society and even religion. This ‘legal’ segregation and discrimination has resulted in members of the society put at increased health risks as they lack the socio-economic wherewitha l to access health care and protect themselves against the negative social determinants of health. China’s people enjoy greater social equity which has been a major influence in decreasing health disparities in this territory. Describe the experience for those outcomes in Kerala and suggest reasons for why they are similar or different from the rest of India. The dynamic nature of health can be illustrated by Kerala which is a state in India. It is quite impressive to observe the wide disparity in this sub-population of India as compared to the country in general. Residents of Kerala experienced superior life expectancies when compared to the rest of the nation. Males and females in Kerala are expected to live for 71.67 years and 75.00 years respectively. In essence, Keralans live approximately 9 years more than the average Indian. Infant mortality rate is 68 per 1000 live births in the general Indian population while that for Kerala is 14 (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 2014). Mukherjee et al. (2011) further explains that Kerala demonstrates higher educational and income levels as well as birth, mortality, fertility, and literacy rates when compared to other Indian states (p. 2). According to Dilip (2002), Kerala has higher morbidity but less mortality rates when compared to other states. This phenomenon is due to higher life exp ectancies and increasing levels of chronic illnesses. Communicable diseases however, are found to be less prevalent than chronic illnesses in this sub-population. The differences in health outcomes when comparing Kerala to other Indian states is largely due to lower levels of inequality in educational attainment, health and social standing in spite of lower income levels (Mukherjee et al., 2011, p. 2). Although the caste system is present within Kerala, social discrimination is less pervasive. Kerala’s robust communist movement and policies directed to promote welfare has contributed. Greater social equity has resulted in greater access to health care and improved health statuses. This is evidence that removing social inequities has a positive influence on the social determinants of health. This lesson can undoubtedly benefit all nations as the world strives to achieve better health outcomes for this generation and those to come. References Dilip, T. R. (2002). Understanding levels of morbidity and hospitalization in Kerala, India. Retrieved from http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?pid=S0042-96862002000900012script=sci_arttext Dummera, T. J. B. Cook, I. G. (2008). Health in China and India: A cross-country comparison in a context of rapid globalization. Social Science Medicine, 67, 590–605 Hearne, T. (2014). Indias social justice minister says Christians do not deserve special caste. Retrieved from http://www.christiandaily.com/article/indias.social.justice.minister.says.christians.do.not.deserve.special.caste/49363.htm Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India. (2014). Life expectancy and infant mortality rates for selected Indian states. Retrieved from http://infochangeindia.org/women/statistics/life-expectancy-and-infant-mortality-rates-for-selected-indian-states.html Mukherjee, S., Haddad, S. Narayana, D. (2011). Social class related inequalities in household health expenditure and economic burden: Evidence from Kerala, south India. International Journal for Equity in Health, 10(1), 1-13. Wilkinson, R., Pickett, K. (2010). The spirit level: Why greater equality makes societies stronger. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Press.

Lord of the Flies :: essays research papers

Often in our lives other people affect us in both negative and positive ways. In the case of Lord of the Flies, the kids influence one another while on the island, in mostly negative ways. These influences cause for mental changes in the brain. Most of the time, mental changes affect physical changes. However, in some rare occasions it is the other way around. While on the island the boys go through numerous physical and mental changes. Although mental changes are somewhat more significant than physical changes, physical changes are still very much apparent and can sometimes cause for mental change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Crashing onto the island, the kids have immaculate, clean faces due to the fact that they attend a Catholic school which, incidentally, enforces a school uniform code. As time progresses, some of the kids, particularly the choir boys, dirty their faces because of their hunting adventures. As seen on page 69, â€Å"Jack, his face smeared with clays, reached the top first and hailed Ralph excitedly, with lifted spear.† After dirtying their faces, the choir boys proceed to paint them. Page 74 mentions, â€Å"I painted my face—I stole up.† In the beginning the face painting is only something they do for fun. However, near the end of the story it becomes so bad that Ralph cannot even recognize who was standing in front of him. On page 195, â€Å"A smallish savage was standing between him and the rest of the forest, a savage striped red and white, and carrying a spear.† It can be seen by this quote that the face painting becomes a mask of evi l over the choir boys’ faces. Nevertheless, besides their faces, there is a smaller, more inconspicuous physical change, hair.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Their hair is manageable and of appropriate length when they arrive on the island. As time passes, they develop more animal-like characteristics as their hair becomes long and tangled. On page 64, â€Å"His fair hair was plastered over his eyebrows and he pushed it back.† However, Piggy did not experience a significant change in length of hair; it can be inferred that this was meant to symbolize his difference from all the other boys not just in hair length, but also intellectually. On page 64 it states, â€Å"The rest were shock headed, but Piggy’s hair still lay in wisps over hi head as though baldness were his natural state and this imperfect covering would soon go, like velvet on a young stag’s antlers.

Zora Neale Hurston Essay -- Zora Neale Hurston

On January 7, 1891, Zora Neale Hurston was born in the tiny town of Notasulga, Alabama. She was the fifth of eight children in the Hurston household. Her father John was a carpenter, sharecropper, and a Baptist preacher; and her mother Lucy, a former schoolteacher. Within a year of Zora's birth, the family moved to Eatonville, Florida; a town, which held historical significance as the first, incorporated Black municipality in the United States. In 1904, thirteen-year-old Zora was devastated by the death of her mother. Later that same year, her unaffectionate father removed her from school and sent her to care for her brother's children. A rambunctious and restless teenager, Zora was eager to leave the responsibility of that household. She became a member of a traveling theater at the age of sixteen, and subsequently began domestic work for a white household. It was in this home that Hurston's intellectual spark was discovered. The woman for whom Zora worked, bought Zora her first book and arranged for her to attend high school at Morgan Academy (now known as Morgan State University) in Baltimore from which she graduated in June of 1918. The following summer, Zora held jobs as a waitress and a manicurist. She then enrolled in Howard Prep School, followed by a distracted jaunt at Howard University. Although she spent nearly four years at the esteemed institution, she graduated with only a two-year Associates degree. It was during this time at Howard, that Hurston published...

The Women of Umuofia in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart Essay

The Women of Umuofia in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart    The only women respected in Umuofia are those like Chielo, the priestess of the Oracle of the Hills and Caves, who is removed from the pale of normalcy. Clothed in the mystic mantle of the divinity she serves, Chielo transforms from the ordinary; she can reprimand Okonkwo and even scream curses at him: "Beware of exchanging words with Agbala [the name of the Oracle of the Hills and Caves]. Does a man speak when a God speaks? Beware!" (95). Yet if Okonkwo is powerless before a goddess's priestess, he can, at least, control his own women. So, when Nwoye's mother asks if Ikemefuna will be staying long with them, Okonkwo bellows to her: "Do what you are told woman. When did you become one of the ndichie [clan elders]?" (18).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perhaps Umuofia's shabby and degrading treatment of women and wives stems from unconscious fear of, rather than reverence for, the ubiquitous and capricious Earth goddess Ani or Ala, who wreaks such havoc on the townspeople s lives. She is the goddess of fertility. She also gives or withholds children; she spurns twin children who must be thrown away; she prohibits anyone inflicted with shameful diseases from burial in her soil. To the men of Umuofia, she must seem the embodiment of the two-faced Greek furies and Scylla and Charybdis joined together -- vengeful, unavoidable, and incomprehensible. Umuofia s men can compare to the ancient Greeks who were noted for similar female images such as Pandora, Circe, Medea, and Clytemnestra. In helpless, mortal dread of a fearsome divine female principle, they come down heavily indeed on ordinary women whose lives they can control as they like.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A cursory look at the place o... ...e African Novel: Essays in Analysis. London: Saros International, 1992. pages Nwapa, Flora.   Efuru.   London: Heinemann, 1966. ---.   Idu.   London: Heinemann, 1970. Ogunyemi, Chikwenye Okonjo.   "Women and Nigerian Literature." Perspectives on Nigerian Literature. Vol. 1.   Lagos, Nigeria: Guardian Books, 1988.   pages Okonkwo, Juliet.   "The Talented Woman in African Literature." African Quarterly 15.1-2: pages. Rich, Adrienne.   Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution.   New York: Norton, 1976. Thiong o, Ngugi   wa.   Petals of Blood.   London: Heinemann, 1977. ---.   Devil on the Cross.   London: Heinemann, 1982.   Walker, Alice.   "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens." In Search of Our Mothers   Gardens: Womanist Prose. New York: Harcourt  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Brace, 1983.   231-243. Weinstock, Donald, and Cathy Ramadan.  

Cold War and Containment Essay

Dated from 1947-1991 the Cold War was an intense economic, political, ideological, and military tension between the powers of the Western world, led by the United States against the powers of the Eastern world led by the Soviet Union. Because of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) these two countries never came head to head like previous wars, however they would fight each other in proxy wars. This sustained a high level of hostility throughout the war and one point if not the highest point of the conflict was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union placed nuclear weapons in Cuba which would be only 90 miles from the US; this would have been devastating to the United States with only Seattle outside the blast radius. The two Ideologies that were at conflict during the cold war were the United States Capitalism vs. the Soviet Union Communism. United States believed in a system where there is more than one political party, limited government interference in people’s lives and also the factors of production and freedom of speech. On the other hand the Soviet Union had the complete opposite with only one political party, Classless society, government controlled most aspects of people’s lives and all factors of production and there was no freedom of speech. Containment was strategies used by the United States to counter the spread of Communism. It was used to counter a series of moves by the Soviet Union after it tries to enlarge its communist influence in Europe and Asia. One way the United States implemented this strategy of containment was the Marshal Plan. Named after the then secretary of state George Marshal was a program of monetary support to help in the rebuilding of the European economy. The plan was in operation for four years from 1948 with an approximate spending of $13 billion. Another way they implemented the containment was the Truman Doctrine. This was put forward by the then US President Harry Truman. The doctrine, which had both economic and military elements, pledged support for countries attempting to hold back Soviet-style revolutionary Communism.

Vocabulary Words APUSH

William Crawford – he ran as a Democratic Republican candidate for Preside .NET of the United States in 1 824; his greatest political enemy was John C. Calhoun, who was initially in favor of the protective e tariff, internal improvements, & the national bank; he returned to Georgia and was appointed judge of the northern circuit court in 1827 6. Andrew Jackson – he was the first President from the West; he was like Thou magnifiers, he sought to reduce role of federal government in favor of states' rights; he did not like Henry Clays â€Å"American Sys stem† 7. John C. Calhoun -? he served as secretary of war under James Monroe.In the e Election of 1 824, he was elected vice president under John Quince Adams. In the Election of 1828, he retained the vice preside once, this time under Andrew Jackson 8. Revolution of 1828 – balance of power shifting from the East to expanding west. America, until now, had been ruled by educated wee Itty elites -? Federalist s hippers and Jeffersonian planters 9. Spoils System – the method of employing and promoting civil servants who are friends and supporters of the group in power. President Jackson made more staff changes than any previous president, firing g many people and replacing them with his own 0.Tariff of Abominations – In 1828, the United States government increased the prices of their imported goods by as much as 50 percent. South Carolina asserted that these taxes on imports were unfair a s a tax on Southern agriculture for the benefit of Northern industry 11 . Denmark Vessel – He was a free black slave who lived in the Carolinas and led a slave rebellion in Charleston in 1822. This slave rebellion was part of what led to the anxieties of the South especially in South Carolina. The Missouri Compromise and the slave rebellion caused the South to worry about Federal government interfere CE in slavery 12.South Carolina Exposition & Protest – It was drafted secretly by Episodes .NET John C. Calhoun, and presented to the state's House of Representatives on December 1 9 by a special committee charged WI the formulating a response to the federal protective tariff passed earlier that year. Although not adopted by the House, 4,000 coop sees of the states' rights manifesto were printed and distributed at state expense; it proposed that each state in the union counter the tyranny of the majority by asserting the right to nullify an unconstitutional act of Congress 3.Nullification – the streetlights doctrine that a state can refuse to recognize e or to enforce a federal law passed by the United States Congress 14. Tariff of 1832 – it lowered duties to 35% from about 50%, or the 1824 level ; it fell far short of meeting all of the Southern demands; South Carolina called upon state legislature to make necessary mil tart preparations if President Jackson tried to send troops to enforce this act 15.Tariff of 1833 -? it was authored by Henry C lay, and it was a compromise o n duties; it defused the sectional crisis and set out timetable for staged reductions in import duties that put these taxes on a d onward path until 1 860 16. Force Bill – it would allow the President of the United States to enforce a f deader law without permission of Congress; it also gave humorists to use the navy to board ships and collect duties before the eye reach S. C. 17.Five Civilized Tribes – the Indian nations (the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choc scats, Creeks, and Seminole) that lived in the Southeastern United States until the 1 8205, most of whom were removed to the Indian Territory from 183042; most of them had et up formal governments before removal modeled after the U. S. Government NT 18. Indian Removal Act – Congress orders that all indigenous people living in t he southeastern part Of the country be relocated to a newly designated territory west of the Mississippi River 19.Trail of Tears – the forcible reloc ation and movement of Native Americans , including many members of the Cherokee, Creek, Seminole,and Choctaw nations among others in the United States, fro m their homelands to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) in the Western United States 20. Bureau of Indian Affairs – a division of the Department of the Interior that administers federal programs benefiting Native Americanization. 21 . Black Hawk – the leader of a faction of Auk and Fox Indians. Antagonistic to whites settling in his people's territory, he joined the British in several battles in the War of 1812.In 1832, he led his pep plea across the Mississippi to resist further white encroachments. The Illinois militia began attacking Black Hawk and his people in 1832, and Black Hawk was taken prisoner the following year. 22. Solaces – rose to prominence during the Second Seminole War, where his brilliant guerrilla tactics in the Florida swamps earned him the admiration and respect of the many United S tates Army office RSI who tried to capture him. Solaces and other Seminole refused to sign the Treaty Of Fort Gibson, which would have ceded their Florida homeland.In December 1835, during what became known as the Second Seminole War (183542), Solaces and a baa ND followers ambushed and killed a government agent, Wiley Thompson, and several others. Army troops arrested him in Cot beer 1837, while under a flag of truce. He was imprisoned, first at Fort Marion in SST. Augustine, Florida, and later at Fort Mom letter, near Charleston, South Carolina 23. 2nd Bank of the US – was the most powerful bank in the country. Its pres dent, Nicholas Fiddle, set policies that controlled the country's money supply. President Jackson disliked the bank. He thought t had too much power.He felt that the bank's policies favored wealthy people and hurt the average person. To operate, the bank needed a charter from the federal government. Its charter was scheduled to expire in 1836. But Fiddle ask ed Congress to Rene ewe it in 1832. That was an election year. Fiddle thought that Jackson would agree to the renewal and not risk being defeated. But Jackson took the risk. Jackson vetoed Congress's renewal of the bank's charter. He said the bank was unconstitutional al. The Supreme Court had ruled that the bank was constitutional. But Jackson claimed that elected officials could judge whether a law was constitutional for themselves.They did not have to rely on the Court. Jackson's opposition to the bank was a major sis u in the 1832 election. The people agreed with Jackson. After Jackson worn, he set out to destroy the bank. He took federal m none out of the national bank and put it in state banks. As a result, the national bank went out of existence 24. Nicholas Fiddle – became president of the Second Bank of the United Stats sees in 1823, vowing to create an actual national currency and to achieve â€Å"a more enlarged development of its resources and a wider extension o f its sphere of usefulness. 25. Bank Charter – Searching for an issue to use against Jackson in the preside initial campaign of 1832, Clay forced Jackson's hand on the Bank. Clay convinced Fiddle to apply to Congress for a new chart err, even though the current charter would not expire until 1836. Confident of congressional approval, Clay reasoned that he had Jackson trapped. If Jackson went along with he new charter, Clay could take credit for the measure. If he vetoed it, Clay co old attack Jackson as the enemy of a sound banking system. Clay's clever strategy backfired.Jackson turned on him and t he Bank with a vengeance. As he told his heir apparent, â€Å"The bank, Mr.. Van Burden, is trying to kill me, but I will kill it! † Jacks n and his advisers realized that the Bank was vulnerable as a symbol of privileged monopoly, a monstrous institution that d prided common Americans of their right to compete equally for economic advantage. Moreover, many of these adviser s were also state bankers and local developers, who caked Jackson precisely because they wanted to be free of federal restraints on their business activities. 26.Bank Veto – On July 10, 1832, Jackson vetoed the recharging bill for the B ann. in a message that appealed both to state bankers and to foes Of all banks. He took a ringing â€Å"stand against all new grants Of monopolies an d exclusive privileges, against any prostitution of our Government to the advancement of the few at the expense of the many. † 27. Intimations Party – It was based on distrust and dislike of the secretive Freemasons. Outrage reached a fever pitch in the I ate asses and early asses, fueled by the 1826 disappearance of William Morgan, a bricklayer who had written a book about the society's alleged secrets.The Masons were rumored to have murdered him. In 1831, the is party became the first to select its presidential nominee at a national convention, and the first to issue a party platf orm. Thee r candidate William Wire carried Vermont in 1832 but could not even come close to ousting Andrew Jackson from the presidency y. The party soon died out, and many members became Whig. 28. Democratic Party – Favored local rule, Favored Limited Go Vermont, Favored Free Trade, Favored Equal Economic Opportunity for White Males, Opposed Monopolies, Opposed a National Bank, Opposed High Tariffs, Opposed High Land Prices. 9. Pet banks – On September 1 0, 1833, Jackson removed all federal funds from the Second B ann. of the U. S. , redistributing them to these various state banks 30. Specie Circular -? in 1836, Prestidigitation authorized the Treasury to issue a decree that required all public lands to be purchased with â€Å"hard,† or metallic, money. This drastic SST pep slammed the brakes on the speculative boom, a kneecapping change of direction that contributed to a financial panic and CRA h in 1837. 31.

Post Katrina Business Recovery Essay

CDFIs   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Stand for community development financial institutions. These are unique financial institution in that they provide funding to the low-income bracket that is otherwise ignored by the mainstream financial institutions. They are privately owned by the local community and have an aim to make profit. However, their emphasis on profit making is subject to benefits to local community. They provide funds for rebuilding businesses and housing especially in disaster hit areas. CDFIs include community development banks, community development trade unions, community development loans funds micro enterprises funds, community development venture funds, and community development corporation-based lenders and investors (www.cdfiorg,2007)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   CDFIs are quite useful in helping people who have lost investments in disasters rebuild. Small businesses that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast could get funding to rebuild from CDFIs. CDFIs form a channel for the disinvested people to make new investments or rebuild their old investments. They can also offer advice and financial know-how to the borrowers and assist them stabilize and repay the loans. Finally, they offer other banking services that the low-income community requires (Mascarenhas, Prianjalo, 2006). CDFIs are most effective because they do not require the traditional securities from borrowers and have flexible rules of engagement with clients to help both parties achieve their objectives. The low collateral makes funds easily accessible to the community members rebuilding their business from the disaster. The private sector can come in to invest in CDFIs and provide additional capital. This gives the CDFI greater coverage and flexibility. The CDFIs will bridge the gap between the un-banked disaster victims and the traditional banking system. Tax credits   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tax credits provide a taxpayer a tax savings and in effect raise the personal of business income. Tax credits unlike tax deduction reduce the tax payable rather than the taxable income. The federal or state governments apply them to encourage a certain investment program and to achieve an overall social goal. They integrate social awareness in business investment decisions in the private sector. (Laws, Forrest, 2007). In the Katrina recovery program, tax credits would be useful in encouraging investment the Gulf Coast. The Coast became hostile to investment due to the hurricane damage and the resultant poverty levels. Such tax credits would also be useful when extended to disinvested people trying to restart their business in that region. They do not have to pay full taxes while their businesses are struggling to regain profitability. The tax credits can be based on and expense such as wage bill to boost employment and the society achieves a double bottom line. Such tax credits are also effective when they actually make the disaster-hit area more appealing to investor over other investment destinations (Seck, Kathyrn 2007). Tax credits may help businesses break even stay afloat in a harsh business environment. Tax credits also ensure enough cash is available to run operations. Guaranteed loans and bonds   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They are loans provided by the private sector to borrowers whose businesses were affected or destroyed by a disaster for which the federal or state government provides partial guarantee in case of default. These loans target small businesses that fit in within a certain criteria provided when such a program is set up. The amount loaned out must also be in tandem with the number of employees. These loans are effective if the interest rates charged are reasonable to enhance accessibility by the borrowers. These loans provide necessary cash to run operations of the businesses (www.doa.louisiana.gov.2006) Business improvement districts   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This is an initiative taken by business taken by business people and property owners within a given urban area to payout extra taxes or fees in return for specified services within that area. The fees are paid to a local authority, which in turns provides the services such services may include: additional security, enhanced clean-ups, or public lighting. The private sector group involved demands the services that transform the target area in to an attractive destination either for investment or for consumptions. One of the advantages is that BIDs direct private sector enthusiasm to improve on the business environment. They also enable the private sector to make their own priorities in the public services they need. The private sector also directly benefits from the contracts to provide such services. BIDs also ensure constant cash flow contributed by all beneficiaries from which the services are provided. Contributions are mandatory to all. (Stokes, R. 2006)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand BIDs may impose excessive fees that may not be unanimous to all but the majority may push through their figure. BIDs may also benefit the members unevenly in spite of ratio of contribution made. BIDs provide such services as refurbishment of disaster urban area. The local business community and property owners will with local authority to join rehabilitate the damage infrastructure. They will also be in involved in lighting up the public areas and provision of social services. The BIDs will also enhance security in the recovery period finally they will regain their market segment through aggressive sales promotion both locally and nationwide.( Mitchell, Jerry, 1999.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   BIDs required professional management that is able to evaluate various ideas and provide a systematic way of achieving them. The management should be accountable to all members providing as report of low the funds have been utilized. BIDs on formation should provide a clear appraisal methodology to check on whether the laid down goals are met. Tax investment financial district   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This is a local authority initiative that involves identifying of a particular area in a city and enhancing private sector investment in that area through channeling of tax increment to fund the initiative. The city issue bonds to raise funds for providing incentives in the specified district. Such incentives could be road network on institution or a toxic waste removal. These incentives rebuild the district appeal to investors and the property prices go up. The higher property prices expand the taxable property income and consequently, the property taxes. The authority then channels the tax increment caused by the redevelopment in to a special fund, which bay the bonds. The city sets the boundaries for district and uses the taxable income of the plan as the base. TIFs runs for a specified period after which the tax freeze is lifted and property owners can profit from the redevelopment. (Michael, Joel, 2006) TIFs are advantageous in that they promote investment in area where the private sector had shunned and was disinvesting. They ensure balanced growth through out the city without some parts lagging for behind. Tax revenues are also not diverted from other areas of the city to promote investment in a particular district. However TIFs may lead to displacement of low-income earners by the rich one the district is improved the poor are pushed to poorer areas of the city.( Tyler, Norm, 2007)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   TIFs will finance such development as: restoration public infrastructure, utilities, rehabilitation parks and side walks, lighting up of the districts and provision of parking facilities in the disaster-hit towns of the gulf coast. When these services are provided, the private sector will find the cities to be more appealing to private sector. However, the authorities need to carry out a detailed study in the viability of the program and in setting up the boundaries of the district. Public expenditure should go to project that would stimulate private sector growth raise property prices taxes. (Eathington, Liesl, and David Swenson, 2002)   References:   Seck, Kathyrn, 2007. Landrieu Introduces Gulf Coast Small Business Recovery Package. US Senate Committee on Small Businesses & Entrepreneurship. Retrieved On 11/30/07 from http://sbc.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=269054 Coalition of CDFI, 2007. What are CFDIs? Retrieved On 11/30/07 from http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:OraXP0FLmrkJ:www.cdfi.org/whatare.asp+CDFI&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=ke Prinjali, Mascarenhas, 2006. Groups Investing In Katrina-Torn Gulf Region. Washington DC. Retrieved On 11/30/07 from http://www.socialinvest.org/news/releases/pressrelease.cfm?id=55 Laws, Forrest, 2007. Baucus: Permanent Disaster Fund, Tax Credits To Ease Budget Crunch. Farm press. Retrieved On 11/30/07 from http://deltafarmpress.com/farmbill/070914-Tax-Package/ Louisiana Office of Community Development; Disaster Recovery Unit, 2006. Long Term Recovery Loan Guarantee Program: Proposed Guidelines. Retrieved On 11/30/07 from http://www.doa.louisiana.gov/cdbg/dr/ed/Proposed-LTRLP-Guidelines-06_11_27.pdf Mitchell, Jerry, 1999. Business Improvement Districts and Innovative Security Delivery. Retrieved On 11/30/07 from http://www.businessofgovernment.org/pdfs/Mitchell.pdf Tyler, Norm, 2007. Tax Increment Financing. Downtown Revitalization. . Retrieved On 11/30/07 from http://www.emich.edu/public/geo/557book/d232.tif.html Eathington, Liesl, and David Swenson, 2002. Do Tax Increment Finance Districts in Iowa Spur Regional Economic and Demographic Growth? Department of Economics. Iowa State University. Retrieved On 11/30/07 from http://www.econ.iastate.edu/research/webpapers/paper_4094_N0138.pdf Stokes, R. 2006. Business Improvement Districts and Inner City Revitalization: The Case Of Philadelphia’s Frankford Special Services District. International Journal of Public Administration, Volume 29, Issue 1 – 3 January 2006. Michael, Joel, 2006. Tax Increment Financing. Minnesota House of Representatives. Retrieved On 11/30/07 from http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/issinfo/sstif.htm

What are the main origins of the Cold War and why? Essay

The Origins of the Cold War are widely regarded to the relationships between the Soviet Union and the allies (the United States, Great Britain and France) during the period of 1945–1947. Those events led to the Cold War which lasted for over half century. The first origin must be the beginning of Russian Revolution. In WWI, the US, Britain, and Russia had been allies until the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia in November 1917. Then, Russia withdrew the WWI and turned into communism. Later, Soviet Russia found it was isolated in international diplomacy as what said by Leader Lenin that ‘the Soviet Union was surrounded by a â€Å"hostile capitalist encirclement’. Moreover, the ideologies of the USA and the USSR are opposite since that time. The Soviet Russia sought to establish a socialist economy, in which the market economy would be abolished. It placed the interests of Soviet Russia ahead of those of any person or group of persons. And, the working class was the only one class ruled the basis of the Soviet state. By the contrast, the USA, like other capitalist countries, believed in the free market system and industries were owned by the individuals. Because they against each other’s policies, the seed of hostil e was planted and grew up overtime. After the WWII, the USA and the USSR are the only two superpowers left in the world. The other European powers were weaken a lot during the war. Although the USSR’s economy was not as strong as USA’s, its Red Army was the most powerful one with the largest scale in the world. The tendency of polarization was always regarded as the basic condition to form the Cold War by experts. Another important factor that led to the formation of the Cold War was the policy of balance. For example, the pattern of direct opposition, the USSR introduced the Warsaw Treaty Organization after the USA became the leader of NATO, both of them were military organizations against each other. Besides these, in the 1940s, there were several events could be known as the origins of the Cold War. In February 1946, George F. Kennan’s Long Telegram from Moscow helped articulate the growing hard line against the Soviets. The telegram argued that the Soviet Union was motivated by both traditional  Russian imperialism and by Marxist ideology; Soviet behavior was expansionist, posing a threat to the United States and its allies. Later writing as â€Å"Mr. X† in his article â€Å"The Sources of Soviet Conduct† in Foreign Affairs (July 1947), Kennan drafted the classic argument for adopting a policy of â€Å"containment† toward the Soviet Union. On March 5, 1946, the ‘iron curtain’ speech that given by the Churchill stated that the world was divided into two groups, leading by the USA and the USSR. Nowadays, many historians regarded this speech as the beginning of the Cold War. In summary, the ideology was the core reason for the start of the Cold War. The USA and the USSR untrusted and fear the power of each other, so they used policies to maintain their own statuses and gain more interest for themselves.

Cog-wk6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Cog-wk6 - Essay Example They are responsible for the creation of bonds with other human beings due to a shared past. Memories might seem fixed and concrete and it would be natural to assume that they would still be there as always. But Loftus brings to our attention the notion that memories are not fixed. Our regular experiences lead us to consider that memories can be altered or even created. Such is the nature of inaccurate memories that they can appear to be quiet compelling and real. Early history For a very long time now psychologists have be interested in distortions of memory. The 1930s Bartlett’s report of studies is a classic example. In this Bartlett told people a folk tale from an unfamiliar culture and asked them to recall it from memory. It was after the people recalled the story did he realize that memory errors made brought the story more in line with the person’s own culturally determined expectations. Another prominent example is that of Carmichael, Hogan, and Walter’s demonstration about how forms are labeled influences how they are remembered. For example, people interpreted from memory two circles connected by a straight line as more likely to include a curved line if the defined form had been labeled as eyeglasses than a dumbbell. Furthermore Deese(1959) and Underwood(1965) work demonstrated that people were highly likely to falsely remember an item, say a needle, if earlier they had been presented with related items, such as a thread or haystack. Moving on to the 1970s, various studies highlighted the fact that memory distortions occurred not only for unfamiliar materials such as folk tales, word lists or pictures but that they are in a byproduct of our regular understanding and memory of information and events. Look at the work of Bransford and Johnson (1973) for example in which comprehension and memory showed that the recall of information depended on engaging constructive processes by which information is related to prior knowledge at enc oding. However, their work also depicted how people are a lot more likely to falsely claim that stories included information that was only inferred based on prior knowledge. People who were told the story in which the information was about the spy who threw a secret document into the fireplace just in time because another couple of seconds would have been too late were likely to recall the story that claimed that the spy had burned the document. Thus, distorted remembering of information is a possibility but it is not always true. In 1981, Johnson and Raye suggested that memory distortions reflect errors which arise from imperfect reality monitoring processes that are a key part of remembering: that is, people sometimes confuse information they are generate during initial encoding, the retention interval or consequent remembering of an incident for information that came from the event. So reality monitoring is a special consideration of the more generalized ongoing function of sourc e monitoring that makes attributions about the origins of activated information in mental experience (Johnson et al. 1993). Factors that cause false memories To gain a better understanding of the nature of false memories to look at the underlying causes that result in the phenomena is imperative. Some of these factors are highlighted as: Inaccurate perception Inaccurate perception suggests that false memory originates while the event is still occurring, that is,

Creating Graphics for Learning and Performance Essay

Creating Graphics for Learning and Performance - Essay Example Serif typefaces have little extensions at the end of the character. Sans serifs, on the other hand, do not have those little extensions at the end. At large, sans is considered more readable especially in electronic-based presentations such as PowerPoint presentations. This is normally because, in high resolution, serifs are not well shown thus making serif typefaces to lose their readability. Therefore, sans serifs are always preferred to serifs when it comes to the writing of computer-based instructional material. However, most people seem to hold the belief that reading body text written in serif typeface is easier especially for extended text (William &Tollet, 1998). According to William, readability is concerned with the ease of reading the extended text, a lot of text, pages of text, and pages. Can I, therefore, claim that serifs are better than sans for reading? I would say Yes and No. No, sans are rather better than serifs when used in preparing instructional material, when l egibility is the goal.   Thus, this question of whether sans or a serif is better for readability is debatable. Chapter 9 Web activity Q. Attempt one of the web activities below. If activity one is chosen, remember that they are two in number and thus you should do all. The second activity should be carried out in the mentioned forum if at all the writer decides to attempt. Activity 1 Using a black and white typography, the meaning of the following words needs to be expressed in an art form. A typography representing the word Collaboration A typography representing the word Synergy A typography representing the word Bossiness A typography representing the word Alienation Use typography (black and white only) to express the words: A typography representing the word Anger A typography representing the word Discord A typography representing the word Harmony A typography representing the word joy Chapter 9 Challenge Activity Activity: Designing words that express their meaning A design expressing the meaning of the word Exit A design expressing the meaning of the word Typhoon A design depicting the meaning of the word walk Chapter 10 Focus questions Q. 1: Are meanings attached to shapes? Yes, meanings are attached to shapes. According to Hansen (1999), designers get more than classic experience when it comes to simple shapes. Shapes such as circles, squares, ovals, lines, and rectangles all have some instructional attribute or meaning. For instance, when ovals and circles are used, they often portray, or show harmony, unity, focus attention, slow process, and portray elements of subsystems or systems.

The big sleep Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The big sleep - Essay Example This theme is carried on further by locations tied to Marlowe. From his eyes, we are offered a glimpse of his old office building with its iron work and wood interiors. Here, there was demonstration of glamour or a spark of life that struggled to exist in the face of an obviously dying city. Then, there were also the observations from other characters, confirmed by Marlowe’s assent and body language. In his interview with the general, for example, the latter’s first impression of Marlowe was that of â€Å"a man with blood on his veins.† (p. 7) A little while later, Mrs. Regan would say to Marlowe’s face that he is a handsome man and Marlowe acknowledged it with a grunt. Chandler effectively built his protagonist’s character very early in the story. The protagonist’s background – an underpaid drudge – made a lot of sense why the style of the narrative was what it was, simple, straightforward but vivid in describing the richness, luxury and corruption of the period. After, all, it was from Marlowe’s eyes that the reader learn of the tale. There are numerous points wherein the narration resembled crisp, staccato rhythms demonstrating Marlowe’s personality. This was pretty surprising, however, especially when one takes into account that Chandler is British and the narratives that immediately preceded his work where firmly in the tradition of elaborate and almost floral prose. In a scene from the book, there was an instance when Harry Jones was recounting a narrative testimony about Mr. Canino, Eddie Mars and the mysterious Mona Mars. Afterwards, when he was alone in his office, Marlowe was quoted as saying: I went upstairs again and sat in my chair thinking about Harry Jones and his story. It seemed a little too pat. It had the austere simplicity of fiction rather than the tangled woof of fact.† (p. 115) Here, Chandler clearly expressed his view of fiction or at least its

Journal - wk2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Journal - wk2 - Essay Example Visual, kinaesthetic, and auditory learning styles provides opportunity for the students in that it helps them to attach with, absorb, and recall information being handed over. While it is rather tricky and confusing to vary teaching approaches to serve each student’s learning preference, changing and shifting the method in which teaching is being carried out bring about positive upshots in that it reduce the possibility for the students to get a bit lost, unfocused, and unfastened with the material or information. Considering the fact that each student could only retain information that they individually conceived and developed, it is therefore effective to draw on the pre-existing knowledge of the student. This will improve the student’s understanding over the same information. Although is very possible that each student could have no prior knowledge about a particular information, the introduction of new concepts could be easily inculcated to their thoughts with the help of the different learning

Marketing Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Marketing Plan - Essay Example At the moment, it can be seen that the economic outlook of the US is dim with the FED Chairman announcing that the nation will be experiencing a recession due to the extended problems of trade and budget deficit coupled with the overvalued currency (Bernanke Warns of Possible US Recession 2008). Noting the capital intensive nature of the aircraft production and airline operation, technical expertise together with the ability to accurately price long term contracts become the key primary concerns. This makes large business organizations capitalize on economies of scale in design, manufacturing, and purchasing. On the other hand, smaller companies concentrate on the manufacture of smaller parts and focusing on small market niches. In order to differentiate themselves from the rapidly proliferating no-frills airlines, they are capitalizing in adding value-added services in order to attract and retain customers (Hoovers Database 2008). Airbus is a European aircraft manufacturer headquartered at Toulouse, France and has long been recognized as Boeing's toughest rival. The company is established in 1970 and currently employs 57,000 people in four European Union countries.

Statistical Reasoning in public Health Math Problem

Statistical Reasoning in public Health - Math Problem Example The children were followed for one year after randomization, and monitored for AOM during this period. 262 children were randomized to the vaccine group, and 150 of these children experienced at least one incident of AOM during the follow-up period. 134 children were randomized to the placebo group, and 83 of these children experience at least one incident of AOM during the follow-up period. (a) Report a 95% confidence interval for the proportion of children experiencing at least one incident of AOM during the follow-up period in: 1) the group randomized to receive AOM 51.2% to 63.1% 2) the group randomized to receive a placebo 53.5% to 69.7% 3) How do these 95% CI’s compare? (similar range of values? Overlap?) There is an overlap of values. (b) 1) Report a 95% confidence interval for the difference in proportions of children experiencing AOM over the follow-up period. (you may choose the direction of comparison – ie: placebo to vaccine or vice-versa) . Placebo to vacci ne: 47.3% to 63.1% 2) Interpret the confidence interval in a sentence. At the 95% confidence level, those who use a placebo have 47.3% to 63.1% chances of experiencing AOM over the follow-up period compared to those who have taken the vaccine. ... Yes, the p-value is consistent. (d) 1) Give an estimate of the relative risk of AOM (in the follow-up period) for children in the vaccine group compared to those in placebo. 0.92 2) Interpret this estimated relative risk. Those who are in the vaccine group are .92 times as likely to suffer from AOM than those in placebo. (e) 1) Give an estimate of the odds ratio of AOM (in the follow-up period) for children in the vaccine group compared to those in placebo. 0.82 or 50:41 2) Interpret this estimated odds ratio. Those who are in the vaccine group are .82 times more likely to suffer from AOM than those in placebo. 3) How does it compare in value to the estimate of relative risk from part d1? They are almost similar. (f) 1) Is this a randomized study? Yes 2) What does this study design suggest when translating the statistical result from part (b) into a substantive/scientific conclusion? (Note: this is an extension question, we have not covered this in detail, I just want you to think ab out it) A randomized study minimizes allocation bias and thus makes the statistical result from part (b) a substantive, unbiased, scientific conclusion 2. A study was done to investigate whether there is a relationship between survival of patients with coronary heart disease and pet ownership. A representative sample of 101 patients with CHD was taken. Each of these patients was classified as having a pet or not and by whether they survived one year following their first heart attack. Of 52 pet owners, 50 survived. Of 49 non-pet owners, 28 survived. Suppose you were interested in doing a statistical analysis of these study results. Answering the follow questions to help you with this goal! (g) Using Stata (or the posted Stata output) , report

Castle Television Show Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Castle Television Show - Essay Example As is the relationship of the other characters on the show like Lanie Parish, the resident coroner, and her on-off boyfriend Det. Esposito and in turn, his relationship with his partner Det. Kevin Ryan. The show excels in this aspect because the writers stop to actually develop the back stories of these supporting characters. By giving them their own highlight cases and storylines every so often, the character development becomes a fluid part of the show. It is a move that helps to not only keep the stories fresh but also allow the viewers to take a liking to characters that they would otherwise not care so much about in relation to the main storyline which is the Castle - Beckett romance. â€Å"Castle† is also a show that knows not to take itself too seriously regardless of the gravity of the case. The show-runner, Andrew Marlowe, somehow manages to constantly balance the thrill of the crime with the method by which it is investigated. Richard Castle serves up hefty doses of comic relief at just the right moment every single time. This is also what makes the show uniquely special. Every time comic relief comes out of his mouth, he does so with a bit of trivia or history for the viewers to learn from. Be it a reference to Lady Gaga or a classic film noir, there is always something new for the viewers to pick up on and Google after the show. The characters are more than mere caricatures of people as presented in other crime shows. These characters actually have lives that go beyond the precinct. They are people who make mistakes as real people do. Each person portrayed can be either admired or hated depending upon the story that they are given. Take for example the character of Kate Beckett. She is the resident glamor girl on the show. She looks flawless and elegant on the outside.

Professional Development Plan Essay Example for Free

Professional Development Plan Essay When forming teams in a professional work environment it is important to understand the personalities of your teammates to determine strengths and weaknesses. When a leader is able to define the strengths and weaknesses of the team members it is easier to delegate tasks, encourage brain storming sessions and be successful as a team. Team C is composed of five members all with great leadership skills and a desire to learn and complete excellent work together. The first week of class we completed a DISC assessment that identified our individual personality traits. According to Disc Profile (n.d.), The initial DISC model comes from Dr. William Marston, a professor at Columbia University in the 1920s, who was curious about the behavior of normal people. He did not create an instrument from his theory, but others did† (Disc Overview). As a potential leader of this team, I was able to examine my own leadership styles and apply that to our assignment which is to create a professional development plan to identify the characteristics of the members to lead them to success. My DISC assessment concluded that I was a Cautious personality type. I see this in my personality. I often think or overthink what I do and tasks that I complete at work and in the school environment. I rarely rush into an assignment or partially complete an assignment. I often am very detail-oriented in projects and assignments. My leadership mentality is mainly to lead by example. I rarely will task another person without knowing exactly what is involved in completing the job. This is probably due to a desire to have control over a situation and know exactly what is involved and how long it will take to complete. Plus I am a person that prefers to build trust by having examples of competent behavior to reference. Three members of my team have the â€Å"Steadiness† personality. Betty, Shawn, and Harlan are more steady and security-oriented, meaning they prefer to know precisely what they are doing as far as job related and school related tasks are concerned. When leading them in the team I would make sure they  understand the assignments of projects we work on as a team and I may be able to help them understand the projects better by fully explaining what we would hope the result would be. This might help team members to have more confidence in the projects. Brian has an interactive personality and it shows as he is able to learn about an assignment and take charge in explaining and delegating tasks for it. Brain is very confident in his assessments of situations and tasks. He has a very good way of being so excited about an assignment that it influences others in a positive manner. If I were to lead this team, I would have to have an understanding of the strengths of Brian’s ability to motivate the team and my ability to help the others understand the project so we may be successful in completion. Betty, Harlan, and Shawn are the key players in this as they will strive to do an incredible job in maintaining a strong will to succeed and complete the tasks. As a general rule, the steady personality listens well, creates very strong relationship bonds and work very well with others (Uniquely You, n.d.). They are able to be objective about situations that other people might not handle well. They can handle stress well and are reliable and really care about others feelings and will often take action that will help others feel good. References Disc Profile. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc/overview/ Uniquely You. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.uniquelyyou.com/disc.php

What Is the Principle-Agent Relationship Essay Example for Free

What Is the Principle-Agent Relationship Essay A great majority of social and economic relationships are of the principle agent type. The principle-agent problem is a game-theoretic situation where; there is a player (the principal) and one more other players (the agents). This is the problem of how the principle can motivate the agent to act for the principles benefit rather than follow self interest. â€Å"The problem is how to devise incentives which lead to report truthfully to the principle on the facts they face and the actions they take, and act for the principles benefit. Incentives include rewards such as bonuses or promotion for success, and penalties such as demotion or dismissal for failure to act in the principles interest. † (Black, J. 2003). The actions however, may not always be apparent so it is not usually adequate for the principle to state payment on the actions of the agents. The reasons why we expect the public sector to be inefficient has to do with the incentives and restrictions of the individual and organisational levels. There are at least two important reasons why perfect contingency markets have not developed as stated by Broadway Wildasin (1984). The first reason is that the transaction costs of establishing such markets might be high relative to the number of traders. The other reason is the observable fact of asymmetric information, also known as the principal agent problem. Two particularly significant consequences of this reliance are â€Å"moral hazard† and â€Å"adverse selection†. Daniel W. Bromley (1989), states that the principal must rely on indicators of success rather than success itself (adverse selection), while the agent directs attention toward the satisfaction of proxy measures rather than toward the success of the task itself. (moral hazard). The â€Å"hazard† in moral hazard refers to the fact that the individual has an incentive to direct behaviour toward proxy measures rather than toward the desired goal. This redirection can result in creating incentives for perverse behaviour. The â€Å"adverse† in adverse selection refers to the fact that the establishment of monitoring criteria leads to perverse measurement. Individuals who wish to take out insurance possess information that insurers don’t. The insured persons (the agents) can exploit this informational advantage in dealing with insurers (the principles) in various ways (Broadway Wildasin, 1984). Moral hazard occurs when the insured can, through actions unobservable to the insurer, influence wither the probability of a loss occurring, or the magnitude of the loss. For example, a person can influence the probability of an accident by the degree of preventive action taken. If the quantity of preventive action is not observable to the insured, market failure can result. Alternatively the standard example of how the insured influences the size of the loss is medical insurance. In the event that illness occurs, the insured can overuse medical services. Adverse selection occurs when there are several different types of insured persons, distinguishing from one another by the probabilities of a bad state of nature occurring. Thus, for some persons might be high risk and others low risk, and the insurers cannot tell one from the other. Automobile insurers cannot tell careful from careless drivers except imperfectly through such indicators as sex, and family status. Equilibrium may not exist in the presence of adverse selection and even if it does it may not be efficient. A problem related to adverse selection is the simple lack of information by market participants. The diversification of the Pareto-Optimality of competitive markets assumed that individuals and firms have complete knowledge regarding the availability and attributes of all goods and factors. Such will not always be the case. Consumers may not know the implications of various products for their health or safety, nor will they have full information on the relative merits of various competing consumer items. Firms do not always know the quality of the labour force they are hiring. The provision of information has the attributes of a public good, especially the joint consumption property. Thus, information on product safety and health hazards is often publicly provided. (e. g the Food and Drug Administration). Similarly the education system provides, in addition to its training role, an informational function known as screening. That is by attaching levels of achievement to persons coming out of the education system (e. g. egrees, diplomas, grades), information is being provided to prospective employers regarding the potential productivity of the person. Presumably, the practice of licensing various professions or trades plays a similar screening role, however imperfect it is. The dissemination of information can, for our purposes, be considered as a particular type of public good. Due to the non existence of perfect contingency markets, Pareto optimality does not exist in the real world, and this may influence government behaviour. According to Brown Jackson (1990), inefficiency in the public sector arises when there is an asymmetry of information between those who demand services and those who supply them. This problem is predominantly evident in education and healthcare due to imperfect information. For instance, a patient (the principle) seeks information and advice from her GP or consultant (the agent) concerning her medical condition (i. e. health status). The doctor has specialist technical knowledge and subsequently in providing information to the patient the doctor also advises them on what should be done next. Therefore, because the doctor has the technical skills to make decisions in the patient’s best interests; in most cases they make the decisions for the patients. Had the patient been fully informed and competent enough to assess the technical options, the doctor wouldn’t have to stand in place of the patient as they would have been able to make their own decisions. The public sector consists of professional groups such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, planners etc. Each of these professions holds their own norms and standards that have a hold upon the level and quality of their services. If a lawyer puts professional standards above the interests of the client then this will result in allocative efficiency as they are acting in their own interests as agents rather than those of the principal. Another example of principal and agent is that between voters and elected politicians. â€Å"The rationale for the existence of a representative democracy is that politicians, because of their specialization, are better informed than the general voting public and stand as agents of the voters. † (Brown Jackson, 1990. p. 204). If politicians get the wrong idea about the preferences of the principles then there will be allocative inefficiency once again. In some cases, the suppliers of public services are not exploiting the customers/voters for profit but rather that in serving their own interests â€Å"they may tend to over produce or to produce a quality of service in excess of what tax payers would be prepared to pay if they were better informed. † (Brown Jackson, 1990. p. 204) Due to budget constraints, public firms do not have the financial capabilities to provide powerful incentives unlike private firms. Bonuses are not awarded for good performance nor can individuals be fired for misperfomance. Subsequently, public agencies are systematically less efficient as individuals are less complacent to be efficient or to provide the best services to their customers. Even if they do have any incentive, more often their aim directed at political goals rather than the objectives. Bureaucrats for instance, as explained by Stiglitz (2000) may not receive ample pay checks or considerable dividends from increased efficiency, but they often seem to enjoy the power and prestige associated with being in charge of a larger organization. They attempt to maximize the size of their bureaucracy by reducing efficiency. The only thing that stops them from doing this is competition between bureaucracies. W. A Niskanen, implies that the increasing centralization of government bureaucracies has reduced competition, in doing so bureaucrats can pursue their interests at the expense of efficiency and the public interest. This is an example of the principle-agent problem. â€Å"Here, the problem is, how do the citizens (the â€Å"principles†) get their employees, public servants (the â€Å"agents†), to act in their interests? † (Stiglitz, 2000 p. 202) Revise.