Homeland security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Homeland security - Essay Example Through various agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security is responsible to carry out a number of activities in order to make sure that there is reliable security for all citizens. Some of these activities include preparedness or training. The department has the responsibility of making sure that all citizens are ready to carry out the recommended plans in a quick and effective manner in order to respond to a disaster. The department also has the responsibility of ensuring there is an effective response in case of disaster occurrence. Effective response means that the department is obliged to ensure there is enough support to assist with managing a disaster. The other significant issue is that the department is entitled to make sure there are effective recovery programs after disaster occurrence. ... The above-mentioned activities are some of which the department has the responsibility of ensuring they are of first priority in disaster management. However, it is evident that homeland security remains eminent (Maliszewski, 2011). Various disaster management problems continue to emerge and therefore there is a significant need to address the issues that the department of Homeland Security should consider in order to ensure there is a total security in case of disaster occurrence. Research Hypothesis First Hypothesis Various disaster management problems continue to emerge and therefore there is a significant need to address the issues that the Department of Homeland Security should consider in order to ensure there is a total security in case of disaster occurrence rather than depend on the only available means to deal with disasters. Therefore, the research paper will discuss various issues that the Department of Homeland Security should give the first priority to while trying to r espond, minimize or prevent the occurrence of disasters. This will be the only way that all citizens will be secured from potential disasters and hence they will be able to participate fully in nation building. According to the hypothesis, the paper will try to identify various responsibilities that should be taken apart from the present ones in order to make sure that the issue of disaster occurrence is not a major threat in the country. Second hypothesis Non-governmental organizations have the best chance in dealing with various issues related to disaster threat and occurrence compared to government-based agencies. The government has been playing a crucial role in making sure that the issues related to disasters in the country are addressed accordingly.

In the country of men Essay Example for Free

In the country of men Essay Hisham Matar presents In the Country of Men as a national allegory. This is done through metaphors, personification, and characters’ relationships. His purposes for writing this novel were political. A national allegory is any attribution of human characteristics to other animals, non-living things, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations or governments1 of a nation or its people. 2 Fredric Jameson, with ideas more suitable for the novel than Aijaz Ahmad, was first to think of national allegory. 3 Jameson states that third-world literature must be a national allegory because of the state of its embattled culture and society. A political dimension is always present from the nature of the third-world as opposed to capitalism in the first-world, which enables their public and government to focus on luxuries rather than survival. Ahmed argues that Jameson fails to recognize other third-world novels with different forms of literature because he only considers English written novels. 4 In times of war when the government controls the public’s lives, third-world writers can only search to write in a national allegory, otherwise, torture would be eminent. Political dimensions are always present from the nature of the third-world. National allegory writing emphasizes the political situation of the government. 5 Hisham Matar wrote In the Country of Men for a political purpose. The book may be fiction, but it seems to be drawn upon by real-life events. Writers then were tortured by the revolutionary committee and imprisoned, similar to Ustath Rashid. An interview with Matar reads â€Å"Because of the fear Gadhafi inspired in the intellectual community, many Libyan writers turned to allegory to make their work opaque to the regime. But Matars own writing is more forthright about political experiences — he says that when he decided to set his novel in Libya in the late 1970s, it seemed inauthentic and insincere to not include the extraordinary details of the time†. 6 Writers created allegories so that their ideas on the Libyan regime would not be transparent. Those who were caught were imprisoned. Books were gathered from bookshops and burned like Baba’s were, therefore representing a national allegory. The fact that Matar grew up in Cairo influences the ending of the novel and other aspects of the storyline. His father was kidnapped from his home in Cairo and taken back to Libya where he was tortured and imprisoned, corresponding with Baba’s capture. His uncle and two cousins were imprisoned as well. When they were finally released, his uncle would ask him if he remembered things they used to do together. 7 The child memories recounted inspired the innocence of having a child narrator to be an allegory of the younger generation of the nation, therefore representing a national allegory for a political purpose. The mother and son represent two generations of the country. Their intimate relationship and care for one another is a metaphor for how the country should care for their people and their people towards it. Both are inferior in society, Mama a woman and Suleiman a child. It seems that the title of the novel demonstrates that they are controlled by the men of society. They rely on one another to survive when Baba, the superior figure, is gone. Mama and Suleiman are the only functioning relationship from start to end. The mother cares for her son and compensates him if she does something wrong. Suleiman cares for her and watches after her while Baba is away. They can represent hope for a new and better government in Libya to come. Metaphors and imagery of water compare people and society to actions of the sea, exposing the novel as a national allegory. When Ustath Rashid was hung the crowd responded; â€Å"Like a wave rising, cheering became louder†. 8 The crowd flowed together in a solid movement, influenced by the revolutionary committee’s actions. Those who associated with writers against the revolution were suspected of treason. If the crowd of the hanging did not cheer, they may be hung next. Suleiman and Mama were not allowed to talk to Kareem’s family when his father was accused. The revolution moved as one and like a wave, gathering others as it moved forward. Suleiman finds a calming peace with the soft waves of the sea. It was the only hope he could find in the revolution. â€Å"I held the sea as my target, my paradise.. Low wavelets curled their white foamy edges across the turquoise face of the water†. 9 He uses the sea to escape from the heat of the day and the pressures of society. The edges are more subtle than the centre. He stays on the edge of society so he can escape the movement of the revolution. The motions of the sea can be unknown and dangerous, similar to the movement of the revolution. Matar uses personification to dehumanize characters. This shows that this novel is a national allegory. Baba becomes an object once the revolutionary committee release him. His eyes were described as â€Å"tomatoes†10 and his movements as â€Å"mechanical†. 11 He was nothing but a â€Å"figure†12 and a â€Å"monster†. 13 Suleiman did not believe the man was his father. This eliminates any human aspects he once had, being consumed by the revolution. The revolutionary committee controls the public by turning their lives into objects. Therefore, personification shows how Matar wrote this as a national allegory. By analyzing metaphors, personification, and characters’ relationships, it is evident that Matar wrote In the Country of Men as a national allegory. The interview with Matar provides evidence that his intentions behind the novel, personal and political, were to write it as a national allegory. Jameson’s ideas on the nature of third-world text hold for this novel. The objectifying and dehumanization of characters through metaphors and personification develop a meaning for the novel beyond a struggling family, but a national allegory. Bibliography Ahmad, Aijaz, ‘Jameson’s Rhtoric of Otherness and the â€Å"National Allegory†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, Social Text, 17 (1987), 3-25. ‘Anthropomorphism’, Wikipedia (13 November 2012) [25 November 2012]. Jameson, Fredric, ‘Third World Literature in the Era of Multinational Capitalism’, Social Text, 15 (1986), 65-88. Krishnan, Madhu. ‘Contemporary Fiction: Booker Prize,’ (Lecture 1 Given on 13 November 2012). Matar, Hisham, In the Country of Men (80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England: Penguin Books Ltd. , 2006). Montagne, Renee, ‘Hisham Matar On The Power Of Libyan Fiction’, NPR (April 28, 2011) , 23 November 2012. ‘National Personification’, Wikipedia (16 November 2012) [25 November 2012].

I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appear

I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print – Jane Austen on Elizabeth. To what extent do you believe Elizabeth Bennet to be delightful? You should consider her words and actions throughout the novel. â€Å"I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print† – Jane Austen on Elizabeth. To what extent do you believe Elizabeth Bennet to be â€Å"delightful†? You should consider her words and actions throughout the novel. Jane Austen mentions in a letter that Elizabeth Bennet is â€Å"as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print.† This quotation shows that Jane Austen clearly likes the character of Elizabeth and she thinks that Elizabeth is better than any heroine in a work of literature. The definition of delightful is â€Å"greatly pleasing or entertaining†. Therefore Jane Austen creates delight in her readers of â€Å"Pride and Prejudice†. Elizabeth Bennet could be considered delightful for many reasons. She is funny, clever, and witty so she brings delight to the reader of the novel. Elizabeth delights in anything ridiculous which also makes her a delightful character. â€Å"She had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous.† (Vol. 1, chapter 3, p. 8.6) She also enjoys teasing Mr Darcy and Mr Collins. Elizabeth’s playful character can be seen when Elizabeth delights in mocking Mr Collins about the ball. Elizabeth’s spirits were so high on the occasion, that though she did not often speak unnecessarily to Mr Collins, she could not help asking him whether he intended to accept Mr Bingley’s invitation, and if he did, whether he would think it proper to join in the evening’s amusements. (Vol. 1, chapter 17, p.72... ...e to her character because she has flaws and of course no one is perfect. Elizabeth is delightful because she can acknowledge her flaws and she is also willing to change. These are both attractive qualities. Throughout the whole novel, we can see that Elizabeth is real and ordinary. She is not blindingly beautiful and she is not extremely intelligent. This makes us relate to her even more. Heroines which are too good to be true come across in some novels as dull because they should not be perfect. Elizabeth however is a flawed heroine just like ordinary people. One could argue that she is not delightful because of her prejudice to Mr Darcy which was wrong, but at least she realised her mistake and was willing to change her attitude towards him. Elizabeth creates delight in the readers of â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† and so therefore she is a delightful character.

Analysis of Greasy Lake by Tom Coraghessan Essay -- Greasy Lake Tom Co

Analysis of Greasy Lake by Tom Coraghessan â€Å"Greasy Lake" by Tom Coraghessan Boyle, is the story of a group of adolescents, searching for the one situation that will proclaim them as bad boys and how their minds change. As the story begins, the narrator gives the impression that he feels he and the others boys should have taken notice of some obvious clues about themselves. These clues would have led them to the conclusion that they were far from the bad guys they wished to be. However, the oblivious teenagers ignore these obvious signs and continue in search of their goal. In this story, Boyle uses many symbols to create the theme. The individual vehicles are each symbols in the portion of the story that they appear. For example, early in the story, the narrator describes the car they drive to Greasy Lake as an old station wagon, obviously not the â€Å"ride† of a true tough-guy. When the boys arrive at Greasy Lake, a â€Å"chopper† is parked on the shore, and next to it is a 57 Chevy (Boyle 113). Both of the vehicles are hotrods that imply a â€Å"greasy† image. The Chevy owner is a tough muscular character who beats the stuff out of the narrator and his friends. The biker, whom is regarded as a bad older character, is dangerous by stereotype alone. Consequently, the vehicles are representative of the individuals who drove them. Another symbol of the danger the young men face is Greasy Lake itself. Dark, murky cold and disquieting, every aspect of it spells danger. Its glass-strewn sho...

Information

The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data, which is the plural of datum are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which information and then knowledge are derived. Raw data refers to a collection of numbers, characters, images or other outputs from devices that collect information to convert physical quantities into symbols that are unprocessed. The data being collected by Freeway Ford pertaining to the dates when cars were purchased and the names of the owners are just numbers and characters, and as my definition of Information below will show, the inability of Freeway Ford to translate this data into anything meaningful renders it short of being described as information. Information, on the other hand, is raw data that (1) has been verified to be accurate and timely, (2) is specific and organized for a purpose, (3) is presented within a context that gives it meaning and relevance, and which (4) leads to increase in understanding and decrease in uncertainty. The value of information lies solely in its ability to affect a behavior, decision, or outcome. A piece of information is considered valueless if, after receiving it, things remain unchanged. In the case of Freeway Ford, if the company had been contacting customers about routine maintenance with the data it had collected about the purchase dates of cars and the names of their owners, and if the company had further followed up three to four years later, when car owners are generally known to be ready to trade in their cars to try and get them to do trade-ins with Freeway Ford, the data they had collected would have translated into something useful, something that could change the way business was being done, and would have information.

Definition and Examples of the Habitual Present Tense

Definition and Examples of the Habitual Present Tense In English grammar, the habitual present is a verb in the  present tense  used to indicate an action that occurs regularly or repeatedly. It is also known as the present habitual. Typically, the habitual present employs dynamic verbs, not stative verbs, and it may be accompanied by an adverb of frequency such as always, often, or  seldom. Examples and Observations He  runs every morning in  New York. Twice around the reservoir. I know, because I go with him. I dont run, but I go.  (Wil Haygood, Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson. Knopf, 2009)In the movie 50 First Dates, Lucy Whitmore wakes up every day with no memory of the previous day as a result of an automobile accident that has virtually eliminated her short-term memory.His wife buys daily the food for that day in a permanent market of small stores and booths in the plaza in quantities so small as to astound and amaze an American housewife.(May N. Diaz, Tonal: Conservatism, Responsibility and Authority in a Mexican Town. University of California Press, 1966)Joshua Stillman must be old but nobody ever thinks of what his age might be, he is so very much alive. He goes to the city every day and comes back early every afternoon. As he so seldom talks about himself nobody knows exactly what he does except that it has to do with books and small print.(Katharine Reynol ds, Green Valley. Grosset Dunlap, 1919) Adverbs of Frequency with the Habitual Present Present tense is also used with active verbs to describe something that happens routinely or habitually. Like the present tense that is used for general statements of fact, the habitual present tense does not limit routine or habitual activities to a particular time span. Instead, it suggests a timeless quality; that is, the habit or routine that happens regularly also did so in the past and will do so in the future. Hurran uses his truck to carry food and water to his familys tent camps in the desert. When the present tense is used to describe a habitual or routine activity, it may have an adverb of frequency with it. Each Saturday, Hurran drives into town to get food and water supplies. He washes and waxes his truck each week. (Linda Bates, Transitions: An Interactive Reading, Writing, and Grammar Text, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2005) The Habitual Present and the Present Progressive The habitual present . . . is used with dynamic verbs to encode situations that occur habitually over time, even if the action is not being carried out at the moment of speaking. For instance, referring to the following examples, Tim may not actually be working, nor the leaves falling at the moment of speaking. Nevertheless, the recurrent situation holds as the normal course of things and is appropriately referred to by the present tense. Tim works in an insurance company. Many trees lose their leaves in autumn. Again, it must be pointed out that the plain present tense used for habitual and other meanings contrasts with the present progressive, which encodes an actual occurrence of a dynamic action observed in the process of happening, as in Tim is working late today. The trees are already losing their leaves. (Angela Downing and Philip Locke, English Grammar: A University Course, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2006)

Tail and Tale - Commonly Confused Words

Tail and Tale - Commonly Confused Words The words tail and tale are homophones: they sound the same but have different meanings. Both a noun and a verb, tail has several meanings, including the rear part of an animal or vehicle. The noun tale refers to a report or story. Examples: A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.(Mark Twain)I used small words and short sentences as if I were telling a fairy tale to a child.(Maya Angelou,  The Heart of a Woman. Random House, 1981)Memphis is a sad story of long-distance love, with an unexpected twist at the tail end of the tale.(Fred Rothwell, Long Distance Information: Chuck Berrys Recorded Legacy. Music Mentor Books, 2001) Practice: (a)  Kevin told a wonderful _____ about an angel who falls in love with a girl and then becomes human so that he can be with her.(Christopher Pike, The Midnight Club, 1991)(b) A dog wags its _____ with its heart. Answers (a)  Kevin  told a wonderful  tale  about an angel who falls in love with a girl and then becomes human so that he can be with her.(Christopher Pike,  The Midnight Club, 1991)(b) A dog wags its  tail  with its heart. See also: Glossary of Usage: Index of Commonly Confused Words   A Misspelled Tail, by Elizabeth T. Corbett

Understanding the Threats to Animals and Wildlife

Understanding the Threats to Animals and Wildlife Living things face a constant barrage of external stresses or threats that challenge their ability to survive and reproduce. If a species is unable to successfully cope with these threats through adaptation, they may face extinction. A constantly changing physical environment requires organisms to adapt to new temperatures, climates, and atmospheric conditions. Living things must also deal with unexpected events such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, meteor strikes, fires, and hurricanes. As new lifeforms arise and interact, species are further challenged to adapt to one another to deal with competition, predation, parasitism, disease, and other complex biotic processes. In recent evolutionary history, threats facing many animals and other organisms have been driven primarily by the effects of a single species: humans. The extent to which humans have altered this planet has affected countless species and has initiated extinctions on such a vast scale that many scientists believe we are now experiencing a mass extinction (the sixth mass extinction in the history of life on earth). Preventable Threats Since man is indeed part of nature, man-made threats are merely a subset of natural threats. But unlike other natural threats, man-made threats are threats that we can prevent by changing our behavior. As humans, we have a unique ability to understand the consequences of our actions, both present, and past. We are capable of learning more about the effects our actions have on the world around us and how changes in those actions could help to alter future events. By examining how human activities have adversely impacted life on earth, we can take steps to reverse past damages and prevent future damage. The Types of Man-Made Threats Man-made threats can be classified into the following general categories: Habitat Destruction Fragmentation - The destruction or splitting up of once continuous habitat to enable humans to use the land for agriculture, development of towns and cities, construction of dams, or other purposes.Climate Change - Human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, have altered the Earths atmosphere and have resulted in global climate changes.Introduction of Exotic Species - Accidental and intentional introduction of non-native species into regions never before occupied by the species have resulted in the extinction of numerous endemic species.Pollution - Pollutants (pesticides, herbicides, etc.) released into the environment are ingested by a wide variety of organisms.Over-Exploitation of Resources - Exploitation of wild populations for food has resulted in population crashes (over-fishing, for example).Hunting, Poaching, Illegal Trade of Endangered Species - Some endangered species are targeted for their value on illegal markets.Accidental Deaths - Car hits, window collisions (birds), collisions with ships (whales).

Foucault's Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Foucault's Philosophy - Essay Example It is important to situate the topic, to understand in what context it should be viewed in Foucault’s theory. Discipline is distinguished from either torture or punishment; by these distinctions, the discussions on discipline, therefore, excludes those practices that subject the body to atrocious and terrifying abuse, and the strictly punitive measures to which errant individuals are subjected for purposes of either retribution or rehabilitation in atonement for their misdeeds. In describing disciplines, Foucault goes through a description of what they are not. For one, disciplines are not slavery because they do not involve the ownership of the body and its attendant violence. They are not served because they do not subject the individual will to the expressed will of the master. Disciplines are not vassalage because the latter entails a distant relationship that exerts no power over individual behavior or department, but only on the claim to the products of labor and ritual symbols of loyalty. Finally, they are not ascetism, which is a spiritual renunciation of things worldly, and seeks to increase one’s utility over his own body – the reverse of what disciplines do. Foucault draws a parallel between economic exploitation and disciplinary coercion: "If economic exploitation separates the force and the product of labor, [then] disciplinary coercion establishes in the body the constricting link between an increased aptitude and an increased domination† (Foucault, 1977:138).... They are not service, because they do not subject the individual will to the expressed will of the master. Disciplines are not vassalage because the latter entails a distant relationship that exerts no power over individual behaviour or deportment, but only on the claim to the products of labor and ritual symbols of loyalty. Finally, they are not ascetism, which is a spiritual renunciation of things worldly, and seeks to increase one’s utility over his own body – the reverse of what disciplines do. Foucault draws a parallel between economic exploitation and disciplinary coercion: â€Å"If economic exploitation separates the force and the product of labour, [then] disciplinary coercion establishes in the body the constricting link between an increased aptitude and an increased domination† (Foucault, 1977:138). Clearly, then, the aim of discipline is to make the body more capable to do things in a certain way, while at the same time detaching this competency from t he individual’s will over it in favour of a higher degree of obedience to the external will. Discipline then is a â€Å"political anatomy of detail† (p. 139), and the results of discipline then are obedient or â€Å"docile† bodies. Foucault broadly traces the genealogy of disciplinary methods that span centuries. First among these is the art of distributions which refers to how the spatial allocation of individuals influences the body to comply with what is desired of the individual. These refer to enclosures such as factories, schools, barracks; partitioning, where â€Å"each individual has his own place, and each place its individual† (Foucault 1977:143); and functional sites architecturally designed to enhance supervision and

Assignment of International Economics Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Of International Economics - Assignment Example As argued by Auernheimer, (47) the markets are equipped with financial regulators who protect the investors against fraud as well as performing other functions. In the modern world, the markets are managed by an electronic system. Entities such as stock exchanges, investment banks and government departments manage the system. The systems are available across the globe, but more concentrated in London, New York and Hong Kong. International capital flow is facilitated by a global financial system that was established in the late 19th century. The formation of central banks and multilateral treaties was intended at ensuring transparency and efficiency international markets. The early 19th century was marked with a substantial development in the sectors of transportation and communication. Innovations in transportation sparked high rates of human migration while an improvement in communication facilitated efficient transfer of information. These innovations steered fast growth in international trade and investment. During the First World War, foreign exchange markets in London were heightened as United Kingdom went into war. The market became paralyzed and this impelled and the sterling pound lost its power against the French, franc currency. United States endorsed trading tariffs on its agricultural and manufacturing imports. The global trade nearly halted worsening the aftermaths of the world wide great depression. In 1930 marked the establishment of Bank for International Settlements to manage reparations from Germany imposed by the Treaty of Versailles and act as a bank for central banks across the world. Auernheimer (115) observed that most states in Europe, America and Asia departed from the classic gold standard following the end of World War 1. The great depression came to be and Germany was the first country to officially abandon the postwar gold standard and implement foreign exchange controls. After these host countries

Classroom management strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Classroom management strategies - Essay Example But teaching and learning was considered as a divine thing earlier. The teachers were considered as â€Å"Gurus† earlier and apart from the parents, they were the most influential persons in the life of a student. Classroom is considered to be another place where the scientific management principles are required now because of the immense changes happened in the student-teacher relationships. Disruptive children often create problems for the teacher in managing the class. Kellie Hayden, a famous teacher of 16 years of experience, in her article ‘Top Five Classroom Management Strategies’ argues that, a simple question like â€Å"Are you OK?† can make lot of changes among the disruptive students. For example, hyper activity among children often considered due to lack of care from the parents. Such children will engage in some kind of activities in the class which may trouble the teacher and the fellow students. The teacher should take extreme care while managing such disruptive students. The teacher must try to identify the reason for his disruptive behavior. The teacher should never question the problematic student in front of his colleagues; instead he should be taken to another place where the privacy can be guaranteed and ask him â€Å"Are you okay†? That student may have lack of care from the parents and when the teacher enquires about his well being, he may feel some confidence in the teacher and will open his closed faculties of mind. In a private environment only the disruptive student may open his heart and will tell the truth about the reason why he became disruptive. The teacher’s smooth, calm and encouraging behavior may force him to think about the problems he has caused to the teacher and the class and may refrain from such behavior in future. It is important to maintain privacy while dealing with the problematic students Gene Van Tassell, in his article ‘Classroom management’ wrote that â€Å"control of students by teachers tends to

Applied statistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Applied statistics - Essay Example We apply econometric techniques over the period 1970 to 2002, involving 33 observations. In our notation, LGDP is natural logarithm (ln) of real Gross Domestic Product, LC is the log of consumption, LDI is the log of domestic investment, LX is the log of exports, LM is the log of imports, LG is the log of government expenditure and LFDI is the log of FDI. According to Gujarati (2004: 176-177), this model is called as the constant elasticity model that assumes a constant elasticity relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable, logarithm of gross domestic product. The coefficients associated with the independent variables measure the elasticity of the dependent variable with respect to independent variables, or the percentage increase in the dependent variable (Gujarati 2004: 176). The methodology of this work is informed by the works of Woolridge 2004:2-6 as well as Gujarati 2004:10-12. We begin with economic growth model 1 in which the national income function Y=C+I+G+(X-M). In model 1, however, I = DI + FDI where DI = domestic investment and FDI = foreign direct investment. For model 1 and for the rest of model as well, we assume the existence of constant C in the regression. Otherwise, interpretation of the regression will be different without a slope (Gujarati 2004: 167-169). We need not worry on the interpretation of the constant in a regression because it need not always have an interpretation (Gujarati 2004: 167-169). Table 1 suggests that all regressor variables of the regression, except for LFDI and LG are significant at the 0.01 level. This means that for all coefficients, except LFDI and LG, we can reject the applicable null hypothesis that ï  ¢i =0 to accept alternative hypotheses that are consistent with economic theory. Based on the theory of the national income function in economics, we expect the signs to be as follows: ï  ¢2>0, ï  ¢3>0, ï  ¢4>0, ï  ¢5>0, ï  ¢6>0, and ï  ¢7

The History of Warfare in the Perspective of John Keegan Essay

The History of Warfare in the Perspective of John Keegan - Essay Example The samurai were roughly considered as Japanese counterparts of Western European knights during their time. The Japanese were a literate a people, and the literary culture of the samurai was highly developed (Keegan 42). The samurai also developed a strong code of ethics that revolved around loyalty, self-denial, and honor to his lord and clan, and also being in constant readiness to die in the face of duty or failure. These set in mind the samurai’s striving for perfection in the art of war, especially in swordsmanship and the martial arts: It was fostered by Zen Buddhism, which stressed the ‘two supreme ideals – fidelity and an indifference to physical hardship’. It was reinforced by the culture of the warrior class, ‘a culture that paid meticulous attention to the formal, the ceremonious, and elegantly expressed in life and art’; Japanese swordplay was as much an art as a skill, governed by rules of deportment and gesture which epitomized th e Japanese concern for style in every aspect of existence (Keegan 45). The introduction of firearms in Japanese warfare during the 16th century was initially accepted at first due to practical reasons in relation to the ever-changing landscape of war during that time. ... Also, guns were unquestionably a symbol of foreign intrusion and were associated, illogically but inescapably, with the spread of Christianity (Keegan 44). It was for this reason that during the Tokugawa Shogunate period, all firearms in Japan were banned, therefore reversing the military advantage it once enjoyed for the sake of maintaining the samurai status quo. The next question to ask is when societies and organizations are most likely to originate or adapt to new military technology. The answer simply lies in necessity. The harsh realities of war and battlefield set the precedence that societies and organizations must adapt or completely change the way they wage war. During the First World War, nations developed several new military technologies to gain battlefield dominance that would ensure victory in the war. The invention of the machine gun, the breech loading shell cartridge rifles and artillery served as the initial technology for such dominance, but this led for all comb atants to take up trench warfare with much horrific loss of life for the attacking side since all combatants were equipped with such technology on the onset of hostilities. The invention of the tank was the second solution, but the machines produced were too few in number, too slow and cumbersome to impose a decisive alteration to tactical conditions (Keegan 313). The tank was developed as a defense, and because of it, there was no need to send waves of soldiers that will be cut down by deadly volleys of bullets and artillery shells. The last inquiry deals about specific characteristics of societies, technologies, and organizations in relation to their readiness to adapt to military changes. A specific characteristic is conditioned on society possibly

Applied statistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Applied statistics - Essay Example We apply econometric techniques over the period 1970 to 2002, involving 33 observations. In our notation, LGDP is natural logarithm (ln) of real Gross Domestic Product, LC is the log of consumption, LDI is the log of domestic investment, LX is the log of exports, LM is the log of imports, LG is the log of government expenditure and LFDI is the log of FDI. According to Gujarati (2004: 176-177), this model is called as the constant elasticity model that assumes a constant elasticity relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable, logarithm of gross domestic product. The coefficients associated with the independent variables measure the elasticity of the dependent variable with respect to independent variables, or the percentage increase in the dependent variable (Gujarati 2004: 176). The methodology of this work is informed by the works of Woolridge 2004:2-6 as well as Gujarati 2004:10-12. We begin with economic growth model 1 in which the national income function Y=C+I+G+(X-M). In model 1, however, I = DI + FDI where DI = domestic investment and FDI = foreign direct investment. For model 1 and for the rest of model as well, we assume the existence of constant C in the regression. Otherwise, interpretation of the regression will be different without a slope (Gujarati 2004: 167-169). We need not worry on the interpretation of the constant in a regression because it need not always have an interpretation (Gujarati 2004: 167-169). Table 1 suggests that all regressor variables of the regression, except for LFDI and LG are significant at the 0.01 level. This means that for all coefficients, except LFDI and LG, we can reject the applicable null hypothesis that ï  ¢i =0 to accept alternative hypotheses that are consistent with economic theory. Based on the theory of the national income function in economics, we expect the signs to be as follows: ï  ¢2>0, ï  ¢3>0, ï  ¢4>0, ï  ¢5>0, ï  ¢6>0, and ï  ¢7

Health care premium tax credits Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Health care premium tax credits - Research Paper Example It is a refundable tax credit and the refund is fully paid regardless of the income tax which is owed by the recipient (IRS â€Å"Individuals†). This HCTC benefits many displaced workers and those aged 55 years and older under pension benefit. It is meant to ensure that people can still access health care services despite their financial difficulties and economic status (IRS â€Å"Individuals†). The primary Act which has made the HCTC possible is the Trade Adjustment Act of 2002. This act basically created the HCTC and ensured that certain individuals who receive PBGC are qualified for credits (DSRA, p. 1). The act made it possible for 65% of health care insurance to be covered by the federal government. Through this act, the HCTC has been implemented since December 2002; and it has also been available for all of 2003 and the years following (DSRA, p. 1). The American Relief and Recovery Act of 2009 (ARRA) extends the coverage of the Trade Adjustment Act of 2002. It is the act which provides about $30 billion for health investments with most of the investments made available to hospitals and physicians who use Electronic Health Records (EHR) (Cisco, p. 1). Those with EHR are qualified to receive incentives from the Medicare and Medicaid starting on 2011; the act includes a $2 billion grant from the Department of Health and Human Services and also grants for telemedicine pro jects (Cisco, p. 1). As part of the ARRA, the Trade Adjustment Assistance Health Coverage Improvement Act of 2009 was passed and this expanded the eligibility of qualified family members beyond the enrollees’ death or divorce for up to 24 months; also, those who are eligible but live in US territories can participate in the monthly HCTC (IRS â€Å"Individuals†). The HCTC is included as a health policy because the Congress recognized that for people who lose their health coverage, the experience can

Bentham and Mills on Utilitarianism Essay Example for Free

Bentham and Mills on Utilitarianism Essay Im Researching Saved Recents Uploads My Answers Account Products Home Essays Drive Answers Texty About Company Legal Site Map Contact Us Advertise  ©2016 Bentham and Mills on Utilitarianism Utilitarianism, Ethics, John Stuart Mill Mar 28, 2006 1882Words 355Views PAGE 5 OF 5 As an American society statues and laws are placed before us to set a standard of morality and justice. But what truly determines whether an action is moral or immoral? As I analyze the works of Jeremy Bentham, in his Principle of Utility, Alongside John Stuart Mill, on Utilitarianism, we will better understand what the foundations of morality are in accordance to their writings. Furthermore, through their standards of utility I will analyze the situation proposed as to whether cheating on your income taxes can be justified as morally right or wrong in the eyes of the utilitarian. In his Work, Jeremy Bentham states Utilitarianism as that principle which approves or disproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have augmented or diminished the happiness of the party whose interest is in question. Plainly stated, Bentham defines utilitarianism as the ethical rightness or wrongness of an action directly related to the utility of that action. Utility is more specifically defined as a measure of the goodness or badness of the consequences of an action. J. S Mill later expands Benthams definition of the term by saying utility holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to promote the reverse of happiness. Mill defines happiness as the absence of pain. Mill further states that there are different levels of pleasures. He states that some pleasures are of higher quality than others and thus more desirable. Mill states that, if all pleasures are equal and the only difference is in their quantities then human beings and lesser beings (such as a pig ) would receive gratification from the same sources of pleasure. Whereas Benthams utilitarianism makes no distinction between different beings and assigns the same pleasure to all members of the community, Mill separates human beings and lesser beings, which have pleasure that is of different category and worth. Mill gives an example by saying, It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. In comparing the two, one can see that Bentham and Mill agree that utility is measured by the result of happiness (or absence of pain) of an action. The next firm foundation of utility, according to Bentham, is the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people who are affected by the performance of an action. He states, The interest of the community (the sum of the interest of several members who compose it) is one of the most general expressions that can occur in the phraseology of morals. He supposed that social policies are properly assessed in light of their effect on the general well-being of the majority of the population that is involved. In a utilitarian philosophy the effects of an action is to be meticulously calculated for the greater good of the masses. Mill later describes the perfection of utilitarian morality with the golden rule of Jesus of Nazareth. In this rule he alludes to the section in the Bible where Jesus claims that we should do as you would be done by, and to love your neighbor as yourself. In saying this he states that laws and social arrangements should place their happiness of every individual as nearly as possible in harmony with the interest of the whole. It can be said that maximum utility results when the following process is undertaken: 1) analyzing the majority (level of happiness experienced by people) after each action made. 2) Summate the levels of happiness experienced in each case. 3) And lastly, compare the results. The one that can be said to lead to the greater amount of total pleasure or happiness is the superior alternative. Perhaps the difference between the two can be that Bentham believes in a precise calculation of the utility of each possible action in a given situation. This precise calculation is achieved through different criteria which are as follows: 1)Pleasure minus pain 2)Intensity 3)Duration 4)Fruitfulness 5)Likelihood The first criteria, of pleasure minus pain, refers to whether the pain produced by the decision is worth the happiness produced. The second, being intensity, refers to the resulting strength. Duration, as the third criteria, relates to the length of time the experience lasts. The fourth factor of fruitfulness refers to the long-term results of the pleasure. And finally, likelihood determines whether it is likely the choice will result in the presumed effect. Through careful calculation of these factors, Bentham believes it is possible to come to select the greatest choice, thus bringing pleasure to the most amount of people. Mill, on the other hand, does not oppose the very nature of calculating utility, but merely the effort and time it would take to calculate the decision made. Mill believes that decisions are superiorly made through the application of rules that have been calculated ahead of time. He states, We shall examine presently of what nature are these considerations; in what manner they apply to the case, and what rational grounds, therefore, can be given for accepting or rejecting the utilitarian formula. With the afore mentioned foundations of Utility, can the following given circumstance be said to be morally right in the eyes of the Utilitarian: Suppose you have a dear friend who needs $1000 for her mothers medical bill and, if not treated, her mother will die and the pain of her family will be enormous. Suppose further that the only way to help your friend is to cheat on your income taxes that will never be audited. You believe that the money will not affect the IRS greatly because the government wastes billions of dollars anyways. You do not tell your friend how you got the money so that her and her family can experience enormous happiness. In deciding whether or not to cheat on your income taxes, a utilitarian must evaluate both sides of the overall welfare of the people affected by this action and the consequences of the action taken. In this case, the people affected would be (on one side) your friend, her mother, her family, and yourself, also (on the other side) the US government. The next step taken by Utilitarians would be to measure the pleasure and pain which would be caused by cheating on your income taxes. The consequences that can relatively be calculated, on the side of your friend, if the action is not taken can be: 1)the mother will have pain and die 2)your friend and her family will suffer enormous pain 3)you will suffer alongside your friend. And the pleasure would be the opposite. On the other hand, the consequences for the government, in your eyes, will be minimal since you will not be audited: 1) they will be oblivious to the fact that they should have received $1000 more 2) the government usually wastes billions of dollars. However, the true consequences of cheating on your taxes can be said to: 1) break the law of paying your taxes in their entirety 2) bring you pain if you are caught 3)effect the budget of a certain program that your money would have gone to. In this case, from the eyes of the person cheating on the income taxes, the greater pain would be to deprive their friend of the money at the present time. However, according to Mill, utilitarianism must be qualitatively weighed. This requires for one to consider, not only, the amount of pain and pleasure, but also the quality of each pain and pleasure. Mill states, According to the Greatest Happiness Principle, the ultimate end, is an existence exempt as far as possible from pain, and as rich as possible in enjoyments, both in point of quality and quantity. A flaw in utilitarianism, is that nothing is really said to be absolute. Every circumstance is relative to each person. What one person may consider to be morally right and just and of good quality, may not be the same for another. Mill suggests that to distinguish between different pains and pleasures a person who has experienced both sides of pleasure and pain should be able to measure and choose which result concludes in more happiness. In this particular case, many things can result from cheating on your taxes. For example, the $1000 that you withheld from the government could have gone to help a school in a poor community, therefore causing pain to the teaching staff that will not receive the money they deserve, or the students who will not receive appropriate supplies. Another result can be that one less item can be bought to support the nation in a fruitless war, which will bring happiness to those who oppose war. In such a case, there really is no way to be able to determine the direct result of what ones income taxes will benefit, so it is very arduous to weigh the quality of pain and pleasure in each side of the circumstance. With the previously given examples it is no wonder why Mill states, It is often affirmed that utilitarianism renders men cold and unsympathising; that it chills their moral feelings towards individuals due to the fact that an individual can not calculate the measured unhappiness of each action. Therefore because we do not have the time to calculate accurately in every instance, Mills supposed, we properly allow our actions to be guided by moral rules most of the time, which in this case would be the laws set forth by the government. As Mill stated we should be able to rely absolutely on ones feelings and conduct, and to oneself of being able to rely on ones own, that the will to do right ought to be cultivated into this habitual independence. Plainly stated, if one feels that it is morally wrong to cheat on your taxes, because it is a direct violation of the laws given by the government, then we must rely on those feelings to make the morally right decision to not cheat on the taxes. Therefore it can be concluded that the action of cheating on your income taxes to help a friend in need can not be accepted as morally right. Though the intentions may be noble, and may be meant to bring quantitative and qualitative happiness, the action still remains morally wrong and can bring about even more quantitative and qualitative unhappiness. In such a case, the conclusion will always be met with some sort of pain. Mill stated that neither pains nor pleasures are homogeneous, and pain is always heterogeneous to pleasure. So alongside the pain caused by an action to cheat or not cheat on your taxes will always bring alongside a pleasure. In conclusion, the utilitarian foundations as stated by Jeremy Bentham and J. S. Mill altruistically put the happiness of others or of the majority ahead of the individual. As stated by Mill, in the long run, the best proof of a good character is good actions and such actions place the masses over the mutually exclusive. So through the works of Bentham and Mill, a greater perception has been given of what the foundations of utilitarianism truly are.

Papua New Guinea Before Contact History Essay

Papua New Guinea Before Contact History Essay Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally varied countries on Earth, with over 850 indigenous languages and at least as many traditional societies, out of a population of just under 7 million. This diversity results in no traditional name for the indigenous peoples. The country is one of the worlds least explored, culturally and biologically, and many undiscovered species of plants and animals are believed to dwell in the interior of Papua New Guinea. Humans have first estimated to have lived in New Guinea as far back as 50,000 years ago. New Guinea was one of the first landmasses after Africa and Eurasia to be populated by modern humans, with the first migration at approximately the same time as that of Indigenous Australia. Early communities had little contact with each other because of rough and mountainous terrain and so maintained their independence, as well as their distinct languages and customs, leading to such diverse cultural life. First arrivals were hunters and gatherers, early evidence shows that people managed to utilise the forest environment to provide food. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fhVpDW9sV30/SuK3ppLwkm I/AAAAAAAALo4/NcyzlB00U8Q/s400/irving_penn_11.jpg C:UsersUserDownloadswen_04_img0693.jpg Timeline: Pre-colonisation of New Guinea 50,000 years ago (Pleistocene Epoch) Humans first arrive from Southeast Asia, by sea, although during this time sea level was lower and a land bridge connected Australia and New Guinea. 6000-7000 years ago Austronesians (known today as Malays, Indonesians, Filipinos and Polynesians) sail from southern China and settle along the coast of New Guinea and on surrounding islands. These people live in villages, plant food crops such as yams, make clay pots and raise pigs and chickens. 1526 First recorded European sighting of New Guinea is made by two Portuguese explorers who are sailing by the island but do not land. Jorge de Meneses, first Portuguese governor of the Moluccas, names the island Ilhas dos Papuas from the Malay phrase Orang papuwah which means frizzy haired man. 1545 Ynigo Ortiz de Reyes, Spanish captain sailing from Mexico, claims New Guinea for the King of Spain. It is debated whether he chose the name Nueva Guinea for the resemblance of the people or coastline of Guinea in Africa http://www.deathreference.com /images/medd_01_img0019.jpg During Contact Papua New Guinea had two non-indigenous countries colonise it, Germany and Britain. The Germans wanted to colonise Papua New Guinea because of Europes growing desire for coconut oil whereas Britain claimed it mainly for land and exploration purposes. Britain first arrived in the south-eastern province of New Guinea in 1883 after a formal decision to annex the island by Sir Thomas McIlwraith, the Premier of Queensland at the time. It took until 1884 before financial support was delivered and the colony officially became a British protectorate known as the Territory of Papua in 1905. In 1906 Britain transferred total responsibility for the territory to Australia. The Germans arrived in the north-eastern islands of New Guinea around the same time as the British. This annexed area was known as German New Guinea. As the terrain was so mountainous and separated contact between the two countries was somewhat uncommon and usually peaceful. During  World War 1, Australian forces seized German New Guinea, which in 1920 became the  Territory of New Guinea. Both territories were merged into the Territory of Papua and New Guinea in 1949. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/New_Guinea_%281884-1919%29.png/250px-New_Guinea_%281884-1919%29.png New Guinea from 1884-1919.  The Netherlands controlled the western half of New Guinea, Germany  the north-eastern part, and  Britain  the south-eastern part. Nature of arrival Both the Germans and the British met the natives in a rather peaceful manner. The colonisation occurred after Australias and the British approached the new country more carefully and in a friendlier way to avoid an uprising from the natives of New Guinea akin to that of the Australian Aborigines The natives were taught basic skills that helped both themselves and the British, such as farming, domestication of animals such as fowl and language skills that helped them communicate with the British. The British also helped establish a bartering and economic system for the formally nomadic people. They made stalls and shops where the locals could trade and sell grown goods and items that they were quickly accustomed to, such as soap and blankets. A group of people gather in front of a store in Mount Hagen. A group of people gather in front of a store in Mount Hagen. Response of the natives When both countries arrived, they met the natives with somewhat peaceful intentions. With over a thousand language groups all spread out along the country, most tribes were around 100 large and were thinly spaced along the land meaning that resistance was not as great as in Australia. Shortly after colonisation, the natives were combined into large towns and were given education, health care and food which wouldve been a weird experience as before colonisation there were no towns or large populations, only small, dispersed settlements. Nearly all of the natives took to these changes rapidly and easily, with the only exception of religious beliefs. Some New Guineans resisted the changes Christian missionaries represented, while others accepted opportunities for new forms of wealth, power, and age and gender relations. With next to no recounts of major violent resistance, the colonisation of Papua New Guinea was one of the more peaceful and successful ones. Comparison to Australia The colonisation of New Guinea was very different to that of Australia and one of the major reasons why was because it occurred after Australia had been colonised, meaning that the British didnt want a repeat of the violence and death that had happened there. Slavery was still present in Papua New Guinea, however slaves and servants had a lot more freedom and rights then the Aboriginals did and most were considered just workers as opposed to servants. Due to the amount of space between native settlements there are still plenty of settlements that were never colonised or approached, even today there are still native groups that have never been met by non-indigenous populations. There was also a lot less prejudice about the locals of New Guinea than there was with Aboriginals, as the locals of New Guinea were given more rights and space than Aboriginals. New Guineans culture and beliefs wrapped around the colonisation and those who kept their traditional ways werent forced to change or conform. Results of colonisation for both the indigenous and non-indigenous people The results of colonisation for both the indigenous and non-indigenous people were mainly positive with both the German and British protectorates treating the locals fairly. The locals quality of life improved dramatically when they were colonised as healthcare and education were quickly introduced to the newfound villages and towns. Before colonization, an individuals identity was based on their kin group and rarely extended beyond the kin groups of close relatives. After colonization, Papua New Guineans experienced political, social, and economic integration that helped them adapt to their new style of living. The British and Germans both used the locals for things like building houses and labour but most of the structures that were built also benefited the natives as well, such as houses and huts that they lived in and shops that helped give the indigenous people a sense of economics and easy to access goods. With colonization, dispersed settlements were combined into larger villages for easier administration and the provision of education and health care. The first towns grew up around mission and administrative centres, near airstrips, or on hillsides overlooking good harbours. Towns were small, and homes and non-residential structures were simple one-story buildings. The first Papua New Guineans to live in towns were men. Many workers were chosen from nearby villages to which they were expected to return at night, but some lived in servants quarters ( boi haus ) or company barracks. The New Guineans nearly always lived separate from the European settlements and rarely interfered with each other. This was a positive step in the Europeans minds as it allowed the locals to integrate and get used to their new way of living without obstruction from the British. The New Guineans were treated more as individuals rather than natives. This freedom was something that helped the locals and gave them leeway to live their lives how they were before colonisation. In 1975 the people of New Guinea were granted independence and are now officially a self-governing nation. Comparison of colonisation Overall the indigenous people of New Guinea had a much better result of colonisation than that of Aboriginal people. Quality of life was better during and after the British and Germans arrived, because of the independence that the Europeans gave them along with basic goods and tools that they quickly learned to use. There is also less of a cultural barrier as a whole between towns and villages, the Europeans let them live their lives whereas in colonial Australia, Aboriginals were treated as inferior and were often enslaved. During colonisation and even in some parts of Australia today, Aboriginals have a lower standard of living along with less education and higher mortality rates. In Papua New Guinea there were and are still problems affecting young children, but as a whole, the population have a higher standard of living than Aboriginal Australians.

The Cosquer Cave Discovery :: Antrhopology

The Cosquer Cave Discovery A long, long time ago, 27,000 years ago to be exact, during the glacial period, glaciers over a kilometer deep spanned the country of France from the Alps to the Haute Provence. These glaciers held so much water that they caused the sea level in the Mediterranean Sea to drop well over 100 meters. Prehistoric humans found the entrance to Cosquer cave not far from the seashore and some entered to paint inside it. During this time, men created wonderful pictures on the walls of the cave. But, as the earth warmed up, the sea level began to rise and 17,000 years later the entry to Cosquer cave was completely underwater. The water continued to rise and at present time the cave’s entrance is 37 meters below the level of the sea. This is the incredible story of Cosquer Cave and its discovery. It was a discovery so unexpected that it was believed to be a deception. Read on as I share with you my own discoveries as I, have explored Cosquer Cave. In 1991, a diver by the name of Henri Cosquer from Cassis discovered the cave that is now named for him. His discovery was so extraordinary and unexpected that some scientists believed it to be a deception or very probably a farce. But soon after his discovery scientists using modern procedures performed datings that confirmed Cosquer’s discovery. Henri Cosquer had discovered and important archeological site! The cave is located at Cape Morgiou in the Calanques, near Marseilles. Underwater access to the cave is extremely treacherous, taking explorers through a tunnel 175 meters in length and 37 meters under sea level. As a safety precaution and in order to preserve the site, the entry passage to the cave has now been blocked. However, a three-dimensional reproduction of the cave was created by Electricite de France, allowing a â€Å"virtual visit.† Past dives organized by the French Ministry of Culture have revealed the cave walls to be decorated with a variety of land animals including horses, ibex, shamois, bison, wild ox, megaloceros, and red deer.

Mercury :: essays research papers

Mercury Mercury’s symbol is Hg, its atomic number is 80, its atomic mass is 200.59, its in group 12 and in period 6, and it also has two valence electrons. Its standard state is liquid at 298Â ºK and it is the heaviest known elemental liquid. It has a silvery white color. It is named after the planet "Mercury" the origin of the symbol Hg is the Latin word "hydrargyrum" meaning "liquid silver". Mercury was known to ancient Chinese and Hindus before 2000 B.C. and was found in tubes in Egyptian tombs dated from 1500 B.C. Mercury is the only metal liquid at ordinary temperatures. Mercury is sometimes called quicksilver. It sometimes occurs free in nature and is found mainly in cinnabar ore which is HgS. Cinnabar ore is found in Spain and Italy. Mercury is a heavy, silvery-white metal which forms alloys easily with many metals like gold, silver, and tin. These alloys are called amalgams. Its way of amalgamating with gold is made use of the recovery of gold from its ores. Mercury is a bad conductor of heat and a okay conductor of electricity. The most important salts are mercuric chloride HgC12 which is a corrosive and violent poison. Mercurous chloride Hg2Cl2 which used to be used in medicine. Mercury fulminate Hg(ONC)2 used as a detonator in explosives and mercuric sulfide HgS used as a high-grade paint pigment. Organic mercury compounds are important and dangerous. Methyl mercury is a lethal pollutant found in rivers and lakes. Mercury is a virulent poison and is readily absorbed through the respiratory tract, the gastrointestinal tract, or through unbroken skin. It acts as a cumulative poison since there are few pathways available to the body for its excretion. Since mercury is a very readily vaporizable element at a relatively low temperature, dangerous levels are readily attained in air. Air saturated with mercury vapor at 20Â °C contains a concentration that exceeds the toxic limit many times. The danger increases at higher te mperatures. It is therefore important that mercury be handled with care.

Human Resource Management in Business Essay

‘Managing People’ Describe how your organisation obtains the co-operation of its employees through the contract of employment and employee involvement techniques. Employee Co-operation Contracts of employment An employment contract is a written legal document that lays out binding terms and conditions of employment between an employee and an employer. The employers in ZARA need to makw sure that their employees are aware of what rights and responsibilities they have as workers in ZARA. This contract also includes: The salary rate that is going to be paid to the employees. When they will be getting their salaries What deductions are going to be made from their salaries like income tax. Contractual entitlements These are outlines within the contract so the employee and employer both know what is expected of each other when working in an organization. Things like pay might include the salary amount that has to be given by the employer to the employee and when it is supposed to be paid. Holiday pays might also be included in this depending on what kind of job it is. These contractual entitlements also include the number of hours that the employee has to work, this also includes over time. Type of employment of the employee will be comprised in the entitlement. This can either be temporary or fixed employment. The employees working in ZARA also need to be aware of these contractual entitlements so that that they know what to expect from the employers and vice versa. Firms set some disciplinary rules in the place that they are going to be working in and need to be followed at all times. Employees need to make sure that they follow the rules the employers have set for them until they are working for that firm. Pension benefits are also given to the employee after they leave the organization. These pensions are paid to the employees month after month, the amount is discussed before hand and depending on the employee’s income history and as well as their age and how long they have served in the firm. Employee and employer rights Employers in Zara need to make sure that they are following the laws of all employee rights in their state. There are some employee rights that need to be followed. Some of these are: All employees need to make sure that they are getting paid the equal sum of money. Employees need to make sure that they aren’t doing any illegal work or something that would be a subject of discrimination. Employers in the firm need to make sure that the employees are not dismissed for an unfair reason. Employees also should be provided with maternity and paternity pay. To receive redundancy pay is basically a sum of money which is given by an employer to an employee who has been made redundant. Payment is done based on the employee’s rate of pay and length of service. Employees should make sure that they receive an annual leave from their employers within a year’s time without consequences. Employees should be paid at least a minimum wage in the firm. Type of employment contract: Permanent: this is one of the most common types of employment contracts that businesses follow. This employment contract includes things like the amount of pay and terms and conditions which are accepted by both the employee and employer. This type of contract lasts one year and is renewed after each year on employment. Temporary-companies use this contract because it saves them a lot of money and time. This type of contact lasts for only a short period of time. Full time- This is when an employee is asked to work more than 35 hours a week, but it depends on the job description. For example: a sales man in ZARA works from day till night for a long period of time. Part time- This is when an employee works for a little amount of hours instead of the whole day. For example: there are to employees doing the same job, one works in the night shift and the other in the day shift. Casual- when a firm is in need of employees, they tend to use this kind of employment contract. This has an advantage and as well as a disadvantage for  the employees as they might have less work to do compared to the other employees but they might not know when they are getting their next job. Zara uses full time employment contracts with their staff. Disciplinary procedures Disciplinary procedures are a set way for an employer to deal with disciplinary issues. They should include a disciplinary hearing where you’re given a chance to explain your side of the story. Grievance procedures This is a problem that could occur between the employee and employer, it is a complaint that they could have against each other for something that either of them has done wrong. Union Membership This is when a group of staff or workers is formed into a labor union. These unions play a big role in the firm as they can talk about issues between each other. An example is when there is a problem with the staffs pay amount of even the working conditions. Codes of behavior This is basically a set of conventional principles that are considered binding on the employer/employee. This is mainly about what is acceptable behavior in the firm. Employee involvement techniques Companies might use these techniques in order to get the staff more involved in decisions being made for the organization. This may also motivate the staff as they would feel they are also part of the firm and not just ordinary staff working there. Membership of work groups Firm’s employers might have groups of employees where all the workers work together. This can be advantageous as the workers might have more ideas in the group. There are different types of work groups in firms, For example: Board groups and work councils Quality Circles Intra-organizational groups Suggestion schemes This helps the employee’s involvement in the organization. Employers make sure that he staff feels like they are part of the firm and that their ideas and suggestions matter. Staffs ideas sometimes make big changes in the organization and benefit them in many ways. To motivate the employees more, the employers give them rewards and prizes to keep them thinking about more and more ideas to improve the company, by doing this, it will motivate employees to work better and harder. How Zara obtains Employee Corporation? The rules, regulations and rights are followed by both the employees and employers in ZARA. ZARA has also explained the disciplinary procedures to the employees and as well as their employers. Employees are involved in the decision makings of ZARA and they are taken into consideration. Working together in work groups also takes place in ZARA. Finally, suggestion schemes are mainly monitored by the firm as this gives each and every employee a chance to share their ideas for ZARA. Devolved authority and responsibility Getting the employees more involved in the firms decision making enables the employees to do better work and be motivated to do it with their maximum capabilities. But this can also be a disadvantage because: The employees would want extra pay if their ideas work and take place in the firm. Employees might get stressed out as they would have more work load on their heads. Open communications This is when there is two way communications in the firm between the employees and the employers. Formal This is when formal communication between the employers and employees happen. For example: the employers are discussing business matters by the use of  presentations or letters or even emails. Informal This kind of communication happens in an informal way between the staff and the employers. An example of this is: when the staff are chatting with their employers when going home, does not necessarily have to be about business but can be just about other matters. Top down This happens when any information about the firm is given from the top (owners or employers) to the bottom (managers and staff). An example of this is: when an important change comes to the business and the information is carried from the owners to the managers. Bottom up This is the opposite of top down, and information is given from the staff and managers to the top owners of the firm. Lateral This is communication which is done between the employees of the business but with those who are at the same level but different sections of the company. Types of communications Communication is basically the transferring of a message from the sender to the receiver, who understands the message. There are 3 ways of communication and these are: Verbal Verbal communication can be face to face talks, telephone calls, video conferencing, meetings, etc. There are both advantages and disadvantages of verbal communication. One advantage is that information is given out quicker. There is also a high chance where the feedbacks is given immediately and not have to wait for it where as in when a meeting is happening the employers are not sure that all the employees are listening or has understood all the information. This could be of an disadvantage for both the employee and the employer. Written Written communication is a type of communication method and may include memos, letters, reports, emails, etc. When communication is written, it can become of evidence in the future if needed. For example: emails that are  sent between the employee and employer can be kept for the future if any problem occur in the future. This type of communication can also be a disadvantage because the same message can be sent to a large number of people at once and all those people might not read the message immediately and therefore a feedback or reply may be given late. Visual Visual communication can be a form of Charts, firms, posters, etc. This kind of communication can be an advantage as this might be a catch to the eye. The disadvantage of this is there might be no feedback immediately and this kind of communication is not used in all firms because the employees might not understand diagrams and charts. These types of communications are used in ZARA. The employees in ZARA would use verbal communication as it is the easiest method and since they deal in customers, it would train them to become more confident when talking face to face and on the phone. Organizational Culture (ethos, values, mission) Organizational culture refers to the values, practices and behaviors that make up a unique and social environment within an organization. This can be expressed in a number of ways, including the ethos of the firm. An ethos is a code of conduct that a firm basically has. This might be set out in a published set of values or a mission statement so that employees, customers and other stakeholder are aware of what the firm believes in and feels is important. National accreditation (Investors in People (IPP) This type of structure is mostly used in businesses so that all the employees in the firm can be involved with the schemes. Investors in people are one of the well-known awards and also known as (IIP). This can be achieved when employees are able to invest on one of the biggest assets- people . This has mainly 3 rules: 1. Plan, which basically means developing strategies to improve performance. 2. Do, which means taking action to improve the performance. 3. Review, which need to be evaluated and used to improve performance too. Charter Mark and International Standards Organization (ISO)) This is a national award which has helped public service firms, For example: public  schools and hospitals, to keep developing and improving their quality of service for customers and this can also be done to involve employees in decision making.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Sarah Winter Silver 1 World Literature 4/27/09 Angela Vicario is responsible for the murder of Santiago Nasar. Although it was her twin brothers that committed the actual crime, the reasons behind their murder come directly from their beautiful sister Angela. While it wasn’t Angela who directly murdered Santiago, she is just as guilty as the rest. Angela is complacent and also participated in the solicitation of the murder of Santiago Nasar. The marriage between Bayardo San Roman and Angela Vicario set a strong foundation for the murder. If the marriage between Bayardo and Angela had never occurred, Santiago Nasar would still be alive. Ever since Angela was a child, she faced a strong pressure to get married. â€Å"The girls had been reared to get married. † (Page 31) It is notable that Angela was the prettiest of her three sisters and several men desired her. Many men were interested in marrying her, especially Bayardo San Roman, but Angela was not interested in marrying unless she was in love. â€Å"Angela Vicario never forgot the horror of the night on which her parents and her older sisters with their husbands gathered together in the parlor, imposed on her the obligation to marry a man whom she had barely seen. (Page 24) Bayardo, on the other hand, was determined to marry her and in a hurry to do so. Their engagement lasted only six months, and their marriage lasted not even one night. â€Å"No one would have thought, nor did anyone say, that Angela Vicario wasn’t a virgin. † (Page 37) Her family was incredibly protective of her and â€Å"She’d grown up along with her sisters unde r the rigor of a mother of iron. † (Page 37) Angela Vicario was terribly naive for going into this marriage without her virginity. She had been distressed but eventually listened to her two confidantes. They assured her that almost all women lost their virginity in childhood accidents and that even the most difficult of husbands resigned themselves to anything as long as nobody knew about it. † (Page 38) Apparently Bayardo San Roman was an exception. Only four hours after the extravagant wedding and dancing festivities, Pura Vicario (Angela’s mother) was woken by three very slow knocks. â€Å"Her [Angela Vicario] satin dress was in shreds and she was wrapped in a towel up to the waist. † (Page 46) Bayardo San Roman was there to return his wife because she was not a virgin. Pura Vicario beat her daughter mercilessly and urgently ummoned her twin sons home. â€Å"They found Angela Vicario lying face down on the dining room couch, her face all bruised†¦P edro Vicario, the more forceful of the brothers picked her up by the waist and sat her on the dining room table. ‘All right, girls,’ he said to her, trembling with rage, ‘tell us who it was. ’ She only took the time necessary to say the name. She looked for it in the shadows, she found it at first sight among the many, many easily confused names from this world and the other, and she nailed it to the wall with her well-aimed dart, like a butterfly with no will whose sentence had always been written. Santiago Nasar. ’ she said. † (Page 47) Angela Vicario named Santiago Nasar as the perpetrator and whether he did it or not, Angela gave him a death sentence the moment his name escaped her lips. When Angela’s brothers asked who took her virginity, she could have named any man in town. It is never confirmed nor denied whether Santiago Nasar had sex with Angela Vicario or not. However, if he was not the man to take her virginity, then why woul d Angela Vicario give his name? This raises many new questions, for instance, did they have consensual sex? Did Santiago rape her? Were they in love but never had sex, and was Angela only trying to protect Santiago? Or was the entire sexual encounter made up? Marquez never answers these questions, and the reader has to make several inferences. The image of a butterfly pinned to a wall is symbolic of both Angela Vicario and Santiago Nasar’s situation. Once she had stated that Santiago is the one who took her virginity, both of their fates became pinned. If Angela did not give her brothers a name, they would have become furious at her for protecting the man who had dishonored her. She â€Å"pins† Santiago with her words, but she is also pinning herself by the sexism of the culture. The description of Angela’s thought process when she spoke Santiago’s name suggests that Angela is not only thinking of people who are alive but also those who are dead (â€Å"many easily confused names from this world and the other. †) This is not a proven fact, but this strongly implies that Angela chose his name at random, which would mean Angela Vicario sanctioned the murder of an innocent man. Like almost all of the townspeople, Angela Vicario is complacent. â€Å"There had never been a death more foretold. † (Page 50) Everybody knew of the Vicario twin’s intentions, â€Å"The Vicario brothers had told their plans to more than a dozen people who had gone to buy milk, and these had spread the news everywhere before six o’clock. † (Page 58) Yet the only person out of the whole town to attempt stopping the Vicario twins was Colonel Aponte. The murder of Santiago Nasar never would have happened if Angela had done several things differently. If Angela had kept her virginity, the disaster never would have surfaced. Angela could have simply given a different name, and Santiago would still be alive. It also would have been fairly easy for her to stop her brothers from murdering Santiago. Not only is she complacent in the murder, but she also gave the solicitation of murder. Pablo and Pedro Vicario are innocent; they were murdering simply to protect their sister, something any brother would have done without a question. Angela Vicario is clearly responsible for the gruesome murder of Santiago Nasar. Chronicle of a Death Foretold Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Native American Women Of Hollywood Movies Essay

Native American Women Of Hollywood Movies - Essay Example They were portrayed as scantily clad uncivilized women unable to adjust to the world of the white. This concept totally disregards the true culture of the Native American women. It is likely that the women were portrayed in this manner to make the film interesting and commercially successful. People who are not aware of the true culture may be influenced by these portrayals and this misrepresentation of the nature of the Native women may remain in the consciousness of the viewer. The Native American Women have always been portrayed as primitives or have been romanticized or some myth is woven around them. Either they are cast in the stereotyped image of a subservient, meek, wild and lustful squaw or that of a Princess who is a protector, guide, rescuer and lover of the white man. She is ready to change her religion, defy her people and if need be even die for the white man who she loves. But is there any truth in these assumptions? If you read the autobiography of some Native American women you will know that is far from the truth. Lucille Winnie in her autobiography (Sah-Gan-De-Oh: The Chief's Daughter) says, "It is my hope that those of you who read this will better understand us. We are not refugees from another world, feathered and warlike as the TV and movies depict us, but a proud race who love our heritage and are striving to keep alive our own culture" (quoted in Bataille and Sands, 1984: 23). Autobiographies like this prove that Native American women are not like how they are presented in movies.

Rationalism and empiricism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rationalism and empiricism - Essay Example On the contrary, justification involves development of knowledge through acquaintance. Epistemology compartmentalize synthesis and evolution of knowledge into five groups namely; empiricism, rationalism, idealism, constructivism and historical (Lawhead 23). Conventionally, there is a substantial conflict between empiricism and rationalism. In this essay, succeeding sections will discuss in detail about fundamental concepts of both empiricism and rationalism. Prior to dissecting the two knowledge generation models of empiricism and rationalism, it is appropriate to acknowledge the two concepts of priori and posteriori knowledge. Basically, the Latin term ‘priori’ means before while ‘posteriori’ means after. Therefore, priori knowledge refers to any type of knowledge synthesized without relation to observations or experience. Knowledge derived from logical inferences, for example 2 + 2 = 4, is priori in form. This means that any subsequent observation or experience cannot alter the outcome of knowledge. On the contrary, posteriori knowledge is synthesized only after consideration to relevant observations or experiences. Nowadays, posteriori knowledge is popularly referred to as empirical knowledge (Lawhead 42). Proponents of posteriori knowledge assert that no knowledge can be developed prior to consideration of underlying observation or experience. Therefore, priori knowledge is arrived at through reasoning, whi le posteriori knowledge is synthesized from facts generated from empirical activities. At this juncture, it becomes evident that rationalism conforms to principles of priori knowledge. On the contrary, empiricism has close synchronization with the principles of posteriori knowledge. Technically, rationalism involves development of knowledge through innate intelligence and deductive reasoning. Pythagoras, who features as the father of rationalism, asserts that every man has an inherent ability to reason.

Niccolo Machiavelli Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Niccolo Machiavelli - Essay Example Machiavelli shows experiences are not merely limited to explanation of similarity but also offers an outlook and to a certain degree predictability of change not only in human conditions but also in circumstances of human life. Therefore, the present and the past remain in nature the only guideline for the occurrence of future events. The essay discusses this statement. Machiavelli statement depicts history as taking on educational role since there are similarities in present, past and future events. For instance, in index funds decision regarding where an entrepreneur can invest is essential. It is difficult to make a wise decision without adequate understanding of the long-term historical risks as well as returns in different indexes. Being able to gain the necessary understanding entails establishing the various indexes available for investment. Through remarkable understanding regarding the prolonged historical risks as well as returns of various indexes, investors are able to comprehend the way to apportion indexes according to their individual risk capability. Naturally, investors are interested in investing on index portfolios, which provide the maximum return rate in the risk level matching the investor’s risk capacity (Hebner 166). Rational prediction in Machiavelli’s statement relies on the existence of proper links that connect predictive claims to input data, which in return provides the justification. The input data can only be available by understanding the past. Machiavelli believes that social conditioning never results in different responses because men are not byproducts of the diverse environments but through historical events that are the same and generate similar response in both present men and men of the past. Through history, Machiavelli manages to show that it elicits sameness that allows creation of universal laws for behavior and explanation (Rigney & Douwe

Case - Mohammed Vs. E&Z Electronics Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

- Mohammed Vs. E&Z Electronics - Case Study Example Argument Firstly, as Mohammed purchased a washing machine from E&Z Electronics, this means that the parties had a contract of sale between them. In a contract of sale, there are some conditions and warranties that may be express or implied. Express conditions and warranties are expressly and mutually agreed upon by the parties to the contract. Implied conditions and warranties are not expressly agreed upon by the parties but are applicable and have to be complied with because of operation of law or usage in business. It is worth noting that E&Z Electronics is a major distributor and reseller of L&G electronic products in Dubai. Therefore, it is very safe to assume that as the seller, E&Z Electronics was acting in the course of the business. S 14(2) of Sale of Goods Act, 1979 provides that, â€Å"Where the seller sells goods in the course of a business, there is an implied condition that the goods supplied under the contract are of merchantable quality...† Also, the defect in t he machine was not drawn to the attention to the attention of the buyer nor the buyer could have unveiled the defect through his examination of the machine. Therefore, there is a breach of condition by E&Z Electronics which gives the plaintiff a right to repudiate the contract. ... The defect in the washing machine was as latent to the plaintiff as the snail in the ginger beer bottle in Donoghue v Stevenson. Conclusion The plaintiff must be awarded damages for the injury and loss that he has suffered because of the negligence of E&Z Electronics and the manufacturer. Also, he must be given the right to treat the contract with E&Z Electronics as rescinded and receive his money back which was paid as the purchase price of the washing machine. 2 IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF LOUISIANA Case No. XXXX Mohammed, Petitioner, vs. E&Z Electronics and XXX (The Manufacturer) Respondents. Issue The issue is whether Mohammed is entitled to a compensation for his injuries and loss from E&Z Electronics and the manufacturer of the faulty washing machine and to a right to repudiate the contract. Facts The plaintiff, Mohammed, purchased a washing machine from one of the defendants, E&Z Electronics. The washing machine had a defective electrical switch due to which it malfunct ioned and resulted in significant bodily injuries and property damages to Mohammed. Reasoning There was a contract of sale between E&Z Electronics and there has been a breach of implied condition of merchantability because E&Z Electronics was acting in the course of business and it is reasonably expected of E&Z Electronics to know about such defects in the machinery that they deal with. It is a condition because it goes to the very root of the contract and its breach defeats the whole purpose of the contract. It would have been a warranty if it was just a term collateral to the contract. In this case, the washing machine had to be safely usable. Otherwise, there is no purpose of buying the washing machine. E&Z Electronics is also responsible for

Potter Five Forces Analysis Of NYC Chauffeurs VIP Assignment

Potter Five Forces Analysis Of NYC Chauffeurs VIP - Assignment Example In spite of the strategic management process developed by the organization management policy and goals, the success of the company was limited because of the existing competition especially from new companies investing in the chauffer industry. The introduction of new services by competitors and new business ventures in the next years will affect the revenue of the company. The perception that the company will be able to wade the storm because of its past expansion record is unfounded because of the increasing competition and the inflation affecting the consumers. There are several competitors who will affect the revenue collection of the company. The main competitors in the market include the iDriveYourCar.com and the chauffernewyork services. The iDriveyourcar.com offers rental services for vehicles without offering drivers if the consumer only needs the car. The offering of flexibility in car hire increases the competition for the company because of variety and diversity. Threats from substitutes There are several substitutes to the product range provided by the company. The products are from competitors such as city taxi services and buses which offer cheaper services to the consumer. Latest changes in the transport sector and existence of other market share leaders such as MTA Company and other companies introduce substitute to the transport system offer by the VIP limo service. The company is faced with a serious challenge from cost effective service delivery companies which do not offer high end products such as the limo but have focused on cheaper alternatives such as bus transport. These companies offer substitute services that pose a serious challenge for the NYC Chauffeurs VIP company. The substitute services are cost effective and readily accessible thus a threat to the growth and expansion of the NYC Chauffeurs VIP company. Competition The chauffeur industry has several companies especially in New York. These companies include New York Chauffeur, Chauffeured Service s and Chauffeur New York. These are the main source of competition. Stiff competition is from Chauffeured Service and iDriveyour Car.com. Chauffeured services have been in the market for over one decade making it have loyal customers and brand presence and strong brand image. Other companies are also venturing on Limousine industry have developed strategic plans to increase the market share of their respective companies. Competition for the companies is stiff and any delay or drop in the level of service delivery will lead to serious loss of revenue. The competition has been moved into the social media marketing. The use of social media platform has encouraged feedback collection and service improvement. However, social media has also led to serious competition between the companies. Buyer power This is an external factor. The number of customers willing to buy the product or service is dependent on their income, which is affected by inflation and other economic factors. These facto rs affect the level and quality of service that the customer will require from the company. During the financial meltdown, the service volume requested by the customers changed significantly resulting in the drop in revenue collection. Price differences and change can force the company revenue to decline

Java Spring MVC Programming Introduction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Java Spring MVC Programming Introduction - Essay Example This module of the spring framework supports all popular data access frameworks in Java: oracle, JDBC, oracle toplink, Apache OJB, JPA, JDO, Hibernate, Apache Cayenne etc. For all the supported frameworks, spring provides Resource management, Exception handling, Transaction participation, Resource unwrapping, Abstraction The transaction management module brings a mechanism of abstraction to the Java platform with the following capabilities: ability to work with nested transactions, ability to work with savepoints, ability to work on local and global transactions, ability to work on almost all Java platform environments. It provides a first class support which is used for the purpose of testing spring MVC apps without a servlet container and with a fluent API. Tests on the server side use the DispatcherServlet while tests on the client side make use of the RestTemplate. This class has a @ExceptionHandler method which is used to handle standard spring MVC exceptions and return a ResponseEntity that allows customization and writing of responses with HTTP message converters. The structural elements of a spring application contains various elements which include introduction page, A page controller, A unit test class for the page controller (Risberg, et al., 2009), A view page and the DispatcherServlet (this is known as the Front Controller and is used by the web server based on the configuration on in

International Law Essay Example for Free

International Law Essay International law refers to an agreement signed between nation-states binding them to conform to well structured principles and acceptable standards. It primarily concerns relations between nations on specific legal fields such as treaty, humanitarian and criminal laws rather than on issues of individual citizens. The formation of international law came about due to view by legal activists that consented signing of defined principles by sovereign states could limit their power to interfere with other nations internal affairs. This led to the finding of the international criminal court in early 20th century to safeguard states sovereignty and respect for human rights. The international law is based on the customary law, treaty law and other naturally acceptable cords of conducts. To enforce these laws, there exist many international organizations. The United Nations has been charged with the duty to keep and maintain peace and security. This is because since its formation in 1945, its charter has been adhered to by many nations and even the remaining few nations agree with the principles that form it. This makes UN the most influential enforcer of international law. It works towards developing and maintaining friendly relations between states and overseeing the harmonious resolution of conflicts among states. To achieve this, the UN has many departments each charged with a particular function. The international criminal court is one of its mechanisms of dealing with interstate and humanitarian matters (http://www. ohchr. org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/InternationalLaw. spx). The establishment of UN general assembly was made to undertake study and recommend on ways of progressively developing and safeguarding the international law. To uphold human rights, methods like sending peace keeping troops and initiating peace negotiations have been employed. Guaranteed human peace and harmonious inter-states existence is the best gift this world needs. This shows the importance of these enforcing bodies of the international law and there affiliates.

Customer Satisfaction with Self Service Checkout

Customer Satisfaction with Self Service Checkout Chapter 2 This chapter explains about the possible literature review about the self service checkout system and its operation in relation with customer satisfaction and retention. It will introduce you to some of the theories about the self service technology, customer satisfaction and retention. At the end, you will find the critical review of this literature review and possible arguments and recommendations. Literature Review As companies/supermarkets have race to introduced technology that enables the customers to get service on their own (Bitner, M. Amy, L. Ostrom and Matthew, L. 2002). Growing number of customers interacted with the technology to create service outcomes instead with a service firm employee (Matthew, L. Amy, L. Ostrom, Robert, I. And Bitner, M. July 2000). The overall affect model is based on the consumers feelings toward the use of technology (Pratibha A. and Dabholkar 1996). The Supermarkets which introduce self-service checkout systems wish to gain rapid acceptance and usage of these technologies by potential consumers. (Jungki, L. and Allaway, A. 2002) According to Merriam-Websters Dictionary (2008), Innovation is â€Å"a new idea, method or device, or the introduction of something new.†Drejer (2002) argues that innovation is more than just invention, that idea cannot be innovative as a pure, it must be put in practice and be commercialized; otherwise it is too earlier to speak of innovation. Blackmon (1996) provide us with the best summary for a context of this research: â€Å"†¦ technological change is used to describe changes in knowledge that increase the volume of output or allow a qualitatively superior output from a given amount of resources †¦ and thus in driving organizational evolution †¦Ã¢â‚¬  The sales profit is a simple conceptual framework chain to linking with the employee satisfaction as well as customer satisfaction and financial performance. This sales profit chain is the relationships between employee and customer satisfaction (Gary, W. and Loveman, 1998). The benefit of the customer reten tion and satisfaction has been characterized by using the repurchase intention or a factor score of quite a few measures repurchase goal, and price tolerance. So that the purpose to use the customers management strategy that is the based on managing both satisfaction and benefit of customer retention (Narayandas, D. 1998). Performance expectation and the actual performance have major significance in the Evaluation process, as we need to determine the dimension of product and service performance. Most customers do not switch from satisfied seller to their competitors, but, there are several factors that could affect customer behaviour to switch to different service provider such as mistake in core service failure, service encounter failures, variable prices, inconvenience, responsive to service failures, attraction by competitors, ethical behaviours and involuntary switching etc. (Hawkins, Best and Coney, 2004) Retailers need to analyze what makes a new product from the point of view by the customer if customers facing problems understanding the reason behind the introduction of new self-service checkout systems (SSC) they will not use the system. As we launch new self-service systems, we need to analyse the consumer behaviour as well. The consumer should be involved in some way or another at most stages in the introduction of self-service checkout system. Every retail or sales companies should take care of customer wants and needs (Wright, R. 2006). Consumers feel a sense of pleasure in understanding that they have found a unique store that they can, and do, frequent. This suggestion is suggested on the notion of value as a function of both worth (Oliver, 1999) and scarcity. People feel good when they find something of worth that is not easily available the feel good feeling from the ordinary and the mundane, is different from satisfaction in that it consists qualitative effects such as enjoyment and happiness. In contract, satisfaction is an evaluative judgment (Oliver, 1997) and more cognitive in nature (Howard and Sheth, 1969). Satisfaction can be defined as a cognitive evaluation resulting from the fulfilment expectations. Satisfaction is a judgment based on either a cognitive or emotional appraisal, made by the customer whether his or her expectations were met (Oliver, 1997). Positive affect is a pleasurable emotional response (Bogozzi, Gopinath, and Nyer, 1999). â€Å"If organizations want to consider total customer experience, satisfaction by itself is a weak measurement† (Barlow and Maul, 2000) As a result, when a consumer experiences more differentiation value in the store, consumer will be more likely to feel more positive responses toward the store (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982) The literature in retailing and customer behaviour has identified commitment as ones â€Å"motivation† to keep a relationship with the retailer (Bendapudi and Berry, 1997 and Fournier, 1998).The self-service checkout system (SSC) into the service come across necessitates research to improved understand customers attitudes toward overhaul providers and technologies, and their intentions to employ technology-based facility delivery systems. In this research, the authors build up and experiment three structural models that include a pecking instruct of consumer attitudes toward together the psychological and the technological factors of the come across to better appreciate their intentions to utilize Self Service Technologies. The result indicates that intentions to exercise self-service technologies options are ambitious by manifold, hierarchical attitudes. In calculation to the direct belongings of attitudes toward exact self-service technologies and individual employees, the findings corroborate that higher direct worldwide attitudes toward service technologies pressure intentions to use self-service technologies. fascinatingly, the findings indicate that heavy self-service technologies users rely more on attitudes toward specific self-service technologies than do light self-service technologies users, who rely more heavily on universal attitudes toward self-service technologies when formative intention to utilize an self-service technologies. (James, M. Matthew, L. Meuter and Carol, F. 2003) Kano Model Analysis: The customer satisfaction model from professor Kano is a marketing and quality management approach that can be used for assessing and establishing customer satisfaction and happiness. Kano model has six categories of customer quality characteristics, but, only the first three specially relate to customer satisfaction. (Kano, 2007) These factors are: a) Basic factors b) Excitement factors c) Performance factors Basic factors The prerequisite factors that will cause dissatisfaction if they are not met, but, do not establish customer satisfaction. If they are fulfilled or cross expectations customer regard this as essential and basic factors contribute to market entrance ‘threshold Excitement factors These requirements if they are met can increase customer level satisfaction, but, if they do not meet the requirements, do not cause customer dissatisfaction. These factors come to customers as surprise and create satisfaction. A company can come out from crowd from competitors in a positive way using these factors. Performance factors These factors are concerned with the performance level. So, we can conclude that customer satisfaction is directly related to the performance level, if the performance level is high, then, customer satisfaction will be met, but, if the performance level is low, cause dissatisfaction. These factors are directly related to customer desires, wants and needs etc. So, company should try to be competitive in a market. Illustration of features or needs vs satisfaction (Adapted from Prof. Kano, 1994) Customer point of view in relation to Self Service Checkout System (SSC) Researcher forecasting about the adaptation of the self service checkout system have been gone against the past recommendation, instead, customers are using this technology more and embrace this technology with open arms. Reasons for Supermarket to adopt this technology: Customers do prefer to use their bank cards in privacy and anonymity. Queue awaiting time reduction; Need for self-service; Quick payment; Shoppers feel empowered; Retail market is shifting towards radio frequency identification which will replace the bar code. However this might be a foundation for increasing working hours, as supermarkets not depending on a cashier. Due it is not many research have been done in the UK practise might be relevant for this research and will be in future referred as a compare base. Theoretical Framework Porters competitive advantage theory is a classical and one of the foundational in business literature, however lately it was criticized by some authors (Day and Wensley, 1988 and Hunt and Morgan, 1995). Therefore some complementary concepts have been suggested. In order to reinforce research the Porters value-chain theory was complemented with the more current Value-Network model of Stabell and Fjeldstad (Stabell and Fjeldstad, 1998). Value-chain theory and the value network model are presenting the different activities of a company where value can be cond and added through SSC systems. This model allows the researchers to investigate the different activities of companies on which the implementation of technology-based self-service as an innovation can have an effect. Theoretical Framework Implication In order to fully understand the impact of introducing Self Service Checkout system (SSC) in ASDA supermarkets it is necessary to look into: role and importance of innovation in a business context, product life cycle connected to SSC; competitive advantage theory and complementary concepts, value chain theory, and finally the importance of customer relationship management in the ‘new self-service economy. Innovation Before we are going to analyze stage it is important to understand what innovation in business context is. The full understanding can be obtained through definition of the term. According to Merriam-Websters Dictionary (2008), Innovation is â€Å"a new idea, method or device, or the introduction of something new.† Drejer (2002) argues that â€Å"innovation is more than just invention, that idea cannot be innovative as a pure, it must be put in practice and be commercialized; otherwise it is too earlier to speak of innovation†. Blackmon (1996) provide us with the best summary for a context of this research: â€Å"†¦ technological change is used to describe changes in knowledge that increase the volume of output or allow a qualitatively superior output from a given amount of resources †¦ and thus in driving organizational evolution †¦Ã¢â‚¬  In the following relation, the innovation in a business context is a product, device, service, programme, service provider, or methods of services delivery that are new, unusual, or in other ways different from those previously used and positively reflects in overall output of the organization in form of added value directly to the organization or its customers. In the case of this research, innovation in form of SSC brings changes into service delivery. In order to understand the impact of the innovation it is necessary to understand to which area of service delivery it related. Dabholkar (2003) made a classification of technology in service delivery with three dimensions. †¢ â€Å"By whom the service is delivered and who operates the technology†. †¢ â€Å"Where the service is delivered (at the shop or in customers home); and how the service is delivered†. Depending on which category the service belongs to different factors will affect the customers evaluation of the service quality. This classification can be useful in guiding companies in the development of their marketing strategies when implementing SSC systems. Table At service site At customers place Direct contact Customer goes to service site and performs service using technology at service site. E.g. ATM, self-service at retail checkouts. Customer uses technology from home/office to perform service. E.g. internet shopping. Indirect contact Customer goes to service site and uses automated telephone system to perform service. E.g. automated wake-up calls at Hotels. Customer calls automated telephone service from home/office to perform service. E.g. automated ticket-ordering over telephone. Source: Dabholkar, 1994 in Anselmsson, 2001, page 13. Shadowed cell is the relevant technology for this research. Using this type of SSC, the customer goes to the service site and performs the service by using the technology provided at the service site. This implies a greater importance and wider range of quality issues in the interactive marketing function of the organisation. Product/service life Cycle In a business context everything is going through different level, stages of performance. It is similar to the any life development. From the cell of life to the maturity and death, the products are repeating same way from idea to implementation and ultimately death. Particularly in our case the service as well as product must be planned and introduce to employees, customers and eventually be accepted by them. It is crucial for the managers to adjust and control its performance while it goes through different stages. The effect respectively will be also different on different stages. Therefore, considering the life cycle of SSC systems is important when investigating the effects on company competitiveness. The product life cycle tend to go through the five stages of products: †¢ Service/product development; †¢ Market introduction; †¢ Growth stage; †¢ Mature stage; †¢ Stage of decline. Each stage is different in effectiveness of the product, expenses, revenue, etc. The first stage usually money intensive as there is no sales revenue and all expenses are covered by different organizations activities, in our case no effectiveness gain from reducing cost of operation. Stage two is quite expensive in our case as technological cost is very high. The purchase of the machineries and shops infrastructure adjustments to accommodate it are required. Moreover the staff and customers trainings and special promotions materials must be prepared. The third stage is continuous use of SSC by customers and therefore operational cost reduction becomes positive revenue, which might cover the marketing expenses. The fourth stage is characterised by very low costs of operation as number of customers who is using it increased. The final stage might come as soon as more efficient and productive technology will arrive and current become outdated. (Day, 1981) The progression of a product through these stages is not certain however. Some products may stay in the mature stage forever, for example commodities such as milk, others might not even rich stage of maturity. These products go through their life cycle as marketers â€Å"marketing mix† strategies change. For example, advertising is informative stage of the introduction, maturity stages, winning in the growth and in the decline stage reminder-oriented. In the early stages the promotional budget tends to be highest, and as the product gradually taper off matures and decline. Product characteristics, pricing, distribution also tend to change. (Day, 1981) The concept of product life cycle, applied to Self Service Checkout System (SSC) innovations, has also been introduced as an important concept that also contributes to affecting competitiveness. The Value-Chain Porters value chain framework today still is the ‘accepted language for representing and analyzing the logic of firm-level value creation, and is also a framework for analyzing firm-level competitive strengths and weaknesses. In value chain analysis â€Å"competitive advantage is understood by these discrete activities of the value creation process that contribute to the firms relation cost place and produce a basis for segregation. These activities are the ‘building blocks from which a product or process is created that is valuable to the firms customers. The different activities have different economics and thus contribute differently to the valuable characteristics of the product or process†. The value creating activities in Porters model are divided in two levels. â€Å"Primary activities consist of directly interact to create and bring value to the customer, while support activities facilitate and develop the performance of the primary activities†. The primary activity level consists of five actions: inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, promotion and sales and service. The maintain actions are procurement, technology growth, human supply management, and firm infrastructure. It is important to note that the different activity categories are not the same as organizational functions. Using the value chain for analysis, â€Å"costs and assets are assigned to the value activities as a first step, and are further analyzed as â€Å"structural drivers† related to the scale and scope of the firm, linkages across activities, and environmental factors. Cost and value drivers are usually analyzed separately. Moreover, drivers are partly related to internal relationships, partly to external factors, and partly to relationships between internal and external factors as well. The main drivers of value are policy decisions made by product and segment choices when the firm is established or repositioned†. (Stabell and Fjeldstad, 1998) According to Porter, â€Å"the value-creating logic of his value chain with its generic activity categories is valid for firms in all industries. However, he further states that the specific activities that are vital to a firms competitive advantage depend on which industry the firm operates†. (Porter, 1985, 1990) Stabell and Fjeldstad (1998) however have investigated the application of the value chain model to a variety of industries and have experienced problems in applying the value chain frame work to more than two-dozen firms. They have found that the value chain is suitable for describing and understanding the value creation logic of manufacturing firms, but that it proves problematic when analyzing activities in service industry firms. They argue that â€Å"problems arise from difficulty to assign and analyze activities in terms of the five generic primary value chain categories proposed by Porter, leading to unclear explanations of value creation†. Therefore, Stabell and Fjeldstad (1998) suggest that â€Å"the value chain can be considered as one of three generic value configurations to facilitate the understanding and analysis of firm-level value-creation logic for a broad range of industries and firms†. The additional two value models besides the value-chain are the value network and the value shop. The importance shop model applies to firms where price is created by â€Å"mobilizing income and performance to resolve an exacting customer difficulty†, for example professional service firms dealing with medicine, law, architecture and engineering. The value network model refers to firms that generate cost by â€Å"facilitating an organization relationship among their customers using a mediator technology†. Stabell and Fjeldstad (1998) also propose alternative presentation formats for both models that represent their unique value creation logic. For the purpose of this research both Porters value chain and Stabell and Fjeldstads value network is of importance. Although Stabell and Fjeldstad state that according to their findings the value chain is mostly useful for manufacturing firms, for our investigation of supermarkets ‘traditional operations, the value chain is most fitting, with one small alteration. However, in also considering the introduction of a new type of service offering through technology-based self-service checkouts, it is found necessary to complement the value chain model with the value network model in order to be able to capture the value adding activities of SSC. The combination of the different value-creating logics, as suggested for this research, has also been proposed by Norman and Ramirez (1993). Since the main purpose of the research is to investigate the effects of SSC in supermarkets, the value network is of central importance, which is discussed in further detail below. The Value Network â€Å"Value networks use a ‘mediating technology to link clients and customers who wish to be interdependent.† According to Stabell and Fjeldstad (1998), â€Å"the firm provides a networking service through the mediating technology and thus facilitates exchange relationships among customers distributed in space and time†. For the consideration of SSC, the value network idea is modified to mean that the firm is the network itself, linking its customers not to each other but to the firm itself, facilitating a more interdependent exchange relationship between the firm and its customers. Customer Satisfaction â€Å"To measure the customer satisfaction of how your organisation`s `total product` performs in relation to a set of customer requirements.† (Gower, 1999) If you like to measure the customer satisfaction of the customers and you need direction exactly what you are measuring. Understanding the concept of customer satisfaction is very easy and can be done by assuming yourself as a customer in a supermarket. Satisfaction is simple. If you get what you wanted and your requirements are met, you are satisfied. The starting point of a customer satisfaction management is to set the objectives. There are different customer satisfaction objectives that can be set. * Customers` requirements (important ratings) * Customer satisfaction (Satisfaction ratings) * Comparison with other organizations * PFIs (priorities for improvement) * Customer satisfaction index * A track able measure of satisfaction * The internal perspective Firstly, you should identify customers` requirements and there are many things customers want and need but we need to identify most relative of customer requirements. Secondly, you must measure customer satisfaction. Organisational performance is directly related to customer satisfaction and list of customers` requirements. Thirdly, if you could go a bit further to analyse the customers` requirements as compared to other same organisations. (In our example `supermarket`) This will give you the opportunity to get the benchmarking. By using benchmarking, you could analyse the requirements of your supermarket customers` as satisfied or not satisfied. Fourthly, after getting the customers` satisfaction measures, you can use these measures to produce some survey outcomes and the first of that step is to identify the PFIs (Priorities for improvement) Fifth, you will need to measure the overall customers` satisfaction. We call it a satisfaction index and it will indicate us to monitor progress from the one year to the next for the overall customers` satisfaction. Finally, customers` satisfaction survey has to be done inside the supermarket to know about the understanding of employees about their customers` requirements. It will help any supermarket to indentify that if their employees know about their customers` requirements and can indentify gaps. An internal survey can also be used to help the management to make the decision making process and strategic management. (Gower, 1999) Achieving Customer Satisfaction: â€Å"Customer satisfaction is measured frequently. Sampling is extensive. Surveys are quantitative as well as qualitative. The measures are taken very seriously. They are reviewed unfailingly by Top management: the development of such measures is taken very seriously as the development of budgetary measures or product reliability measures. Evaluation of people in all functions at all levels is significantly affected by the satisfaction measures†. (Tom Peter, a Passion for Excellence) Customer delight seems very credible people say things like: In today`s competitive markets customer satisfaction is no longer enough; you have to delight the customers, give them something they did not expect to keep their business. In customer satisfaction, the link between customer loyalty, customer retention and profitability can make get better customer satisfaction. It has been shown that customer retention can boost profit of the supermarket as it is very easy to keep the existing customers than getting new customers. After getting the trend data and established the satisfaction- loyalty ratio in your market for your organisation, you make some models. Some companies now have `business performance models` based on their customer satisfaction management survey results that have quantified the exact links between customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, sales and profit. They know that how much one percent improvement in customer satisfaction will improve loyalty how much that contributes to profits. Precisely, this is a very powerful forecasting tool. Customer Satisfaction and the Performance: Customer satisfaction can be defined as more loyal customer and it involves emotional and complicated process. Every customer has certain level of product or service expectation and desire. If customer expectation level increased as a result of using that product or service, then, customer experiences satisfaction. (Simon Homburg 1998, Page 44) However, â€Å"Satisfaction has also recently been described as the emotional reaction to this cognitively defined process of comparison†. (Homburg and Rudolph 1995, page 31) In this context, customer experiences that the outcome of the process of comparison will not always give the correct result about the expected satisfaction outcome and actual level of satisfaction outcome. Instead, direct effect of these outcomes or satisfaction levels also interacts with satisfaction. (Bolton et al. 1991 page 376) The customer satisfaction has been in research for long time, mostly research and investigation has been done on the customer satisfaction, but, not on the customer retention. It is the experience and attitude of the employee in closest contact with customers that customers are satisfied, loyal and customer retention has been achieved. The Satisfaction is an â€Å"a overall attitude of customer towards the service provider† (Levesque and McDougall, 1996) The companies are more successful, later research has showed if they adopt customer retention rather than customer satisfaction. (Knox, 1998) Customer satisfaction brings many benefits. Satisfied customers are fewer prices sensitive; they purchase more items, not go to competitors and stay longer. (Zineldin, 2000) Customer satisfaction is directly related with the customer complaint process management. If customer complains more, then, it increases more customer satisfaction. Customer complains about the product or service he/she receives, then, supermarket can achieve more customer satisfaction (Johnston, 2001) â€Å"The product innovations, staff service, price, convenience and business profile are all determinants of customer satisfaction†. (Athanassopoulos, 2000) Later, Bejou et al. (1998) propose that â€Å"customer satisfaction can be enhanced through relationships, provided they are developed and managed to the customer`s satisfaction† Customer retention is not directly related with the customer satisfaction. Sometime customer do not change service provider because of the alternative circumstances, but, customer satisfaction level remain the same. Sometime customers do not have any choice to change their service provider, so, they stick with their existing provider. Hallowell (1996) argues that customer satisfaction cannot produce life time customer loyalty even though customer satisfaction has been increased, but, retention can be related with customer satisfaction. Retention can be understandable as â€Å"to do business or exchange a commitment to continue with a particular company on an ongoing basis†. (Zineldin, 2000) Retaining old customers are easy and cheap to keep as compared to the new customers because they are more loyal and less price sensitive. They keep their loyalty to their existing service provider and do not change their loyalty to the new service provider. It increases customer retention, satisfaction, lower price sensitivity, higher market share, higher productivity and higher efficiencies. (Reichheld, 1995) The authors suggest that in order to retain customers, companies should always change and developing their product and services to meet the ever changing needs of customers. â€Å"The concept of acquiring, developing and retaining customers from a cognitive and affective perspective†, they provide examples of how cognitive and affects are used to increase retention. (Desai and Mahajan, 1998) â€Å"Customer satisfaction is a direct determining factor in customer loyalty, which, in turn, is a main presentation of customer retention†. (Gerpott et al., 2001) Customer satisfaction can be achieved by customer retention. Customer complaint process can boost the stage of customer satisfaction that result in customer retention. Employee perspective is also very important with relation of the customers. Individual relationship with the customer can boost the level of customer satisfaction. It is direct related with the mental theories of customer and employee perspectives. Managers should be aware of customer wants and needs as well as employee mental perspective. Different employees keep different level of relationship with the customers that could affect the customer satisfaction and retention level. Therefore, Managers must keep eye into employee/customer relationship and set realistic goals to achieve. (Spreng et al, 1995) Customer Retention Customer retention is directly linked with the customer satisfaction. The framework guide managers to decide which part of customer satisfaction has more collision, which part of customer satisfaction needs to be improve and make strategies to retain existing customers. An individual level model of loyalty and customer retention has been developed, that can be used to predict effects of service level improvement at supermarket. â€Å"Customer satisfaction has been changed recently from transactional marketing to relationship marketing†. (Grà ¶nroos, Sheth and Parvatiyar, 1994) â€Å"To all marketing activities directed toward establishing, developing, and maintaining successful relational exchanges† (Morgan and Hunt, 1994) â€Å"Customer satisfaction has been treated as essential instrument for the customer retention has gained significant importance in relational marketing approaches†. (Rust and Zahorik, 1993) Kotler sums this up when he states: â€Å"The key to customer retention is customer satisfaction† (Kotler, 1994) â€Å"The assumption that satisfaction/dissatisfaction meaningfully influences repurchase behaviour underlies most of the research in this area of inquiry†. (Bloemer and Poiesz, 1989) It is the continued repeat shopping with the supermarket, when c