Health Risks of Genetically-Modified Foods Essay

Genetically modified (GM) foods, introduced to the American Public in 1996, involves taking the genes of the DNA of one plant or animal and transferring them to another species creating a new organism. Justification for this scientific manipulation revealed promises to eliminate world hunger, make plants resistant to pests and disease, and produce healthier foods. Agribusiness giants, like Monsanto, Bayer, and Syngenta include some of the companies first to bring products to the market. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) took the stance, that it is the food producer responsible for assuring food safety. Companies producing GM foods ultimately regulate themselves. These companies kept their research secret and not available for public scrutiny. Insufficient data illustrate the need for ongoing exploration by independent scientists to deem the products safe for human consumption. Jeffrey M. Smith discussed these issues in his book, Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Geneically Engineered Foods. GM of certain crops cause them to produce their own insecticide. A research study not performed by the manufacturer, involved GM potatoes fed to rats. â€Å"They developed potentially precancerous cell growth in the digestive tract, inhibited development of their brains, livers, and testicles, partial atrophy of the liver, enlarged pancreases and intestines, and immune system damage† (Smith 22). Additional information is warranted clarifying the exact cause. Another study revealed Monsanto’s MON 863 Bt corn fed to rats produced â€Å"significant changes in their blood cells, livers, and kidneys which might indicate disease† (Smith 26). Monsanto defends their GM corn as safe and deems it unnecessary to pursue further testing. No research conducted to date and the corn gained approval. Government and big industries continue with the development, endorsement and marketing of GM foods despite the potential health warnings. Study after study cited in Genetic Roulette by Jeffrey M. Smith , reveal health problems from every body system and even death. One investigations proved given a choice, animals would not eat GM foods. Rats that would not eat the GM tomatoes were force fed the tomato through a gastric tube. Several developed stomach lesions and seven of the forty died. The GM of the DNA of species results in widespread mutations. Soy allergies skyrocketed after the introduction of GM soy. Over half of the processed foods in the supermarket contain something made from soy. GM peas generated an allergic-inflammatory response. With some of the GM crops that produce their own insecticide, the fear of creating â€Å"super weeds† exists. â€Å"The United States and Canada do not have GM labeling requirements† (Smith 257). Exposing millions of people to unpredictable dangers of GM foods represents playing roulette. â€Å"The connections between the FDA and large agribusiness corporations are disturbing† (Teitel, Wilson 69). Large contributors to the Democratic and Republican parties include Monsanto and others. These companies employ trade and environmental administrators and government appointees in lucrative positions.

The traditional British seaside resort is in the danger of extinction

What do I think of as the traditional British seaside resort? Crowded beaches, with screaming children, buckets and spades, candy floss and donkey rides. A holiday by the sea has been a traditional break from the bustling city life since the 1840's, before which it was exclusive to the middle and upper classes. People could escape from their working lives- to experience the fresh air and relaxed atmosphere in places such as Bournemouth and Brighton. Blackpool also was a definite traditional seaside resort. After the railway arrived in 1846, Blackpool became an easily accessible destination only an hour or so from the smoggy cities such as Manchester and Bolton. With the arrival of cars and coaches Blackpool became even more thriving; by 1980 it was attracting over a million visitors every year. The 11km of white sandy beach was one attraction along with the famous tower, the pleasure beach and the piers. Another resort which shared this huge popularity, even with the royals, was Southend on Sea. From the 1800's onwards it was a popular destination for the tourists, with the beach, the amusement arcades and the longest pleasure pier in the world. It's within close proximity to London, and with the railway being built in 1854 it became even more accessible, throughout the 20th centaury its popularity continued with working and middle class day trippers and in the 1960's and 1970's the bank holiday invasions began. However these two resorts, along with many others have been hit by decline over the last few decades. They have been overtaken by tourists moving further from home. Cheap package holidays to destinations in the sun have proved too much of a temptation and today as many Britons take their main holiday abroad as do within Britain. The general public are choosing more adventurous holidays, further a field, they are much more aware of the possibilities they have through advertising and travel agencies. Also today's wealthier population have taken to spending their money to pamper themselves, which so often involves lounging in the guaranteed sunshine of the Mediterranean or some other foreign destination. The number of visitors spending time and money at Blackpool has fallen dramatically over the last 30 years. Families have stopped visiting and the tourists are falling into the ranks of â€Å"clubbers† and old age pensioners. The clubbers are bringing with them disruption, noise, violence, drugs and a general feeling of unrest and disturbance, this in turn is deterring the old age pensioners visiting, who are trying to find some peace and quiet and enjoy romantic strolls along the shore. This has caused the halt of the cash flowing into the area, so hotels are downgrading to hostels and restaurants are being replaced with fast-food joints. The beach has become littered and not desirable for children to play on. The social status of Southend on Sea has plummeted noticeably through the ages; the once fashionable resort has changed to the tacky stereotypical seaside resort. With the influx of Mods and Rockers â€Å"coming off the trains and having to have their shoe laces and belts confiscated by the police to restrict the violence†. Since the decline of the resort it has also become the â€Å"dumping ground† for refugees. Southend has an estimate of 6-7000 Kosovan refugees and 3-4000 Londoners sent down by social services. The reputation of the refugees has led to a further decline and an even more dramatic drop in visitors. The only visitors it now receives are the occasional day trippers- conceding to only do day trips as they don't like â€Å"the sound of the place at night†. However, the seaside resort is not in total decline, over the last few years the government has made a stand and the regeneration process is underway in many areas. They are attempting to bring the resorts back onto their feet. â€Å"We have turned our backs on our heritage in a lot of these places, and many fell into decay. But now, people are rediscovering the rich history associated with the seaside holiday resorts† (Steve Hayler, of Canterbury Church university college) Local towns, local councils and businesses are cleaning up beaches, improving facilities and rejuvenating traditional attractions. This year a record number of the UK's beaches were awarded the â€Å"blue flag† for meeting exacting standards of cleanliness and management demanded by the European clean-up scheme. 7 beaches made the grade, compared to 41 last year. Hopefully this is attracting people back to the beaches. Some areas are taking more drastic measures e. g. Newquay and Bournemouth with the prospect of building an artificial reef that would guarantee bigger waves. This would boost the already booming trend of surfers flocking to the beaches to catch the waves. This year an expected 100,000 are expected to turn up at the annual â€Å"Rip Curl Newquay Boardmasters festival†. Blackpool is considering a complete change in image. To transform the Lancashire town into a British version of Las Vegas. â€Å"We see huge opportunity; we want to see a year-round resort with year-round jobs that can be the centre of a larger regenerated Blackpool† (Alan Cazill the economic development officer at Blackpool Council). However some resorts are taking the more conventional route, just trying to improve on what they've got. For example Brighton's west pier ravaged by fire, was for decades a ghostly remnant of the past slowly falling into the sea. As part of the refurbishment, the underwater supports have been shored up and the decaying pier is floodlit at night. True the â€Å"Traditional† British seaside resort may be in danger of extinction, but in no way is the new and different seaside resort dying out its only just getting started. Despite the lure of foreign climate and the growth of cheap package holidays, this year for the first time in long time Britons are choosing once more for the pebbly shores close to home. The number of people heading for the seaside for four nights or more- 30 million a year- is the same as in 1965. Some 110 million day-trippers also make for the coast each year. In conclusion: has the British seaside resort come to the end of the line? Do people only want the guaranteed sun found in Europe and other countries? Or do people look for more in a beach holiday. Seaside may never return to how they were, but that does not mean they will die out, they may return in a brand new regenerated new fashion.

Lester B. Pearson Essay

Over the years, there have been many Great Canadians. Whether they have had numerous amazing accomplishments, or only one very grave one, they are defined as a huge role in the country. Many Great Canadians have changed Canada in a good way, or have done things for the citizens. Lester B. Pearson’s efforts and accomplishments as Prime Minister helped improve Canada. He helped create Canada’s reputation as peacekeepers. When he felt Canadians needed it, he brought Universal Health Care into Canada. Lester B. Pearson also decided to get American car dealerships in Canada. â€Å"Canadians are the world’s best-known peacekeepers.†1 When a country is in need of support, Canada is there to save them. Canada has had a leading role when it comes to lending a helping hand. Not always, has Canada been the country to count on. Lester B. Pearson helped create Canada’s reputation as peacekeepers. â€Å"Canada has contributed soldiers, and sometimes civilians to every major United Nation’s peacekeeping operation.†2 Canada is very dedicated when it comes to helping other countries. Everyday citizens are willing to help out with a country in need. Canadians are not known for being peacekeepers because their government has told them to go support a country, they do it because they want too. They respect and help others who need it by volunteering their time and providing support. Sometimes without even leaving the country. Programs have been created not just by the government, but everyday citizens, where people can donate food, clothing, or money to other countries who need it most. â€Å"Lester B. Pearson was given the Nobel Peace Prize for his part in the UN’s dramatic sending of a peacekeeping force to the Middle East at the time of the Suez Crisis.†3 Even though Canada had no connections or fears for their country because of the Suez Crisis, they knew that many people and countries would have been badly effected by it. Canada wanted to stop a war from breaking out. Lester B. Pearson had a huge role during this time, working at a fast pass to try to stop it as well as supporting the countries in need. In the end, Canada’s hard work and devotion payed off. Lester B. Pearson as well as Canadian’s, strongly supported peacekeeping, which helped create and improve Canada’s reputation. There are many things Canada has that other countries do not, which makes Canada unique. One thing Canada has is Universal Health Care. Some countries do not think they need it, or they just prefer the way things are already. Lester B. Pearson brought Health Care into Canada when he felt  Canadians needed it. â€Å"Until the 1950s, Canadians got medical treatment with cold cash, private insurance, or charity.†4 Some countries still have to pay for their Health Care and other medical care. Some things regarding health can be very expensive. Before Universal Health Care in Canada, some citizens would not be able to afford medical care. Introducing Health Care in Canada helped many people out who needed it, as well as saved some people from anything seriously terrible they were not able to afford it fixed. â€Å"Lester B. Pearson’s government negotiated federal-provincial agreements and saw the legislation pass, leading to Canada-wide Medicare in 1966.†5 Lester B. Pearson worked hard to try to get Universal Health Care in Canada. He did it to help the citizens and create a better Canada as well. Being healthy is always a good thing for everyone. Some people did not approve of the idea at first, but it benefitted many citizens. When thinking about ways to help the citizens of Canada live better, healthier lives, Universal Health Care was a great way to make sure Canadians were all right and had support where they need it most. Every country wants a strong, stable economy. More new products being built expands businesses and creates new jobs, which means more money for the country and citizens. Prosperit y is the goal. To obtain that goal, countries and leaders have to think of new ways to reach it. When Canada wanted to create a better economy, Lester B. Pearson decided to get American Car dealerships into Canada, creating the Automotive Agreement (Auto Pact). â€Å"The agreement helped secure the foundations for Canadian manufacturing and industry.†6 Creating a strong foundation for the economy of Canada improved many things. It protected the country if anything bad were to happen and made it easier to repair the country back to normal. A countries look, or reputation also depends on its economy. When a country has prosperity, people from other countries will want to visit, earning more money from foreigners as well. â€Å"The Auto Pact helped strengthen the relationship between Canada and the US.†7 At the time, Canada and the US were not very close because of Cold War tensions between the two. The Auto Pact helped settled those tensions and made Canada and the US a lot closer, which strengthened their countries as well. Canada could now rely on the US, and the US could do them same with them. Lester B. Pearson’s action in creating the Auto Pact helped to build prosperity in Canada, which created a stronger, more wealthy economy. Lester B. Pearson’s efforts and  accomplishments as Prime Minister helped improve Canada. Pearson had helped create Canada’s reputation as peacekeepers. He brought Health Care to Canada. Lester B. Pearson also got American car dealerships to come to Canada. There have been many Great Canadians over the years, but Lester B. Pearson has proven to be one of the best. Bibliography CBoC. â€Å"End of an Era? International Challenges to the Auto Pact.† The Conference board of Canada. http://www.conferenceboard.ca/e-library/abstract.aspx?did=150 (accessed January 16, 2013). Crane, David. â€Å"Canada-US Automotive Product Agreement.† eLibrary. http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/ (accessed January 16, 2013). Junior Canadian Encyclopedia. â€Å"United Nations.† eLibrary. http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/ (accessed January 12, 2013). The Historian-Dominion Institute. â€Å"Health Care.† 101 Things Canadians Should Know About Canada. http://www.101things.ca/topten.php?item=9 (accessed January 15, 2013).

Theories Regarding the Nature of Organizational Culture Research Paper - 1

Theories Regarding the Nature of Organizational Culture - Research Paper Example Schein (2010) tries to understand the dimensions of organizational culture and how the organizational culture can direct innovation while the scholar also tried to highlight the role of leaders in shaping the organizational culture. These gaps in the literature have influenced the researcher to conduct research on the topic and write this research paper.   Schein (2010) found it difficult to derive a definition of culture due to conceptual and semantic confusions while the scholar also argued that it is not possible to define different social groups under the roof of the universally accepted definition of culture. In such context, Alvesson and Sveningsson (2008) suggested that the focus should be on defining culture within the organization rather than understanding the culture of social groups sharing similar kind of traditions, rituals, history, and customs. Brooks (2009) also tried to define the organizational culture in terms of norms, the behavior of members and knowledge sharing, yet, such definition is far from capturing full dimensions of culture. To clear out confusions regarding the definition and characteristics of organizational culture, the research paper will use Schein’s (2010) idea for organizational culture. According to Schein (2010), organizational culture has dimensions like behavioral regularities, group dyna mics, espoused values, ideological  principles, unwritten rules of the organization, communication between members, special competencies displayed by group members, shared cognitive frames between members, the way team members celebrate within organization, emotional and aesthetic response etc.  Now, the fact is that it is very difficult to integrate all the mentioned elements within same organizational context but there is no doubt that these factors play the vital role in shaping the organizational culture. Schein (2010) also identified three levels of culture such as Artifacts, Espoused Beliefs & Value, and Underlying Assumptions.

Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example As far as its corporate social responsibility (CSR) domains are concerned, Wal-Mart has been a very helpful neighbor and an active citizen in thousands of communities around the United States and the world as well. Wal-Mart has a strong organizational philosophy towards being a member of the community that it has opened up its chain within. It feels that its role towards uplifting the human and societal domains is nothing short of a privilege. The organization believes on fostering as well as deepening the community partnerships since these remain very critical towards its future undertakings. It must be remembered here that Wal-Mart is one company that is renowned for its values-based, ethically-led promise towards the publics and the community at large. Wal-Mart believes in the age-old premise that an organization would serve the community in the best manner possible if it wants to build long term relationships with the people who are within the community itself. They would be best served if their interests are being upheld and when they are given the right to be themselves, and to manifest the basis of success through commitment and facilitation in the form of different environmental, social and charitable initiatives that have essentially been employed by Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart believes in the fact that community partnerships as well as good working realms ensure that the company grows by leaps and bounds, and that it has a positive word of mouth across a number of channels and within publics that it directly or indirectly caters to, in the long run (Hoffman 1990). Wal-Mart knows that it can only move ahead if it grows responsibly and intelligently along with strong community domains. The CSR strategy of Wal-Mart depends a great deal on the focus, implementation and the budget which has been earmarked for such settings. The CSR focus has remained on the areas including education, public health, sports, environment, disaster relief, child safety and charitable s upport over the years. On the same lines, the CSR implementation has been emphasized upon a great deal through its own projects, a foundation in the name of Wal-Mart, and the efforts that are done through volunteerism. The CSR implementation phase has therefore been divided into three separate initiatives that have been undertaken by Wal-Mart in essence. Moving ahead with the CSR integration phase, one can see that the CSR strategy is divided into two sub-units which include the company product and the company strategy. Both these sub-units depend greatly on how Wal-Mart brings about significant value for the sake of Wal-Mart and how it has shaped up beliefs and attitudes with the changing times. Since the strategy basically defines how products are going to be sent across the channels, it is of significance to comprehend what kind of strategy would reap the best results from the long term scheme of things (Schneider 1998). It is also pertinent to note here that the company product and the company strategy are inherently linked with each other, and thus there is a clear cut definition of both of these sub-units. What is mandatory on the part of the CSR integration is how these two would bring in the much needed value for the sake of the organization and specifically in terms of the CSR initiatives that have been taken in a head-on manner by Wal-Mart. The CSR representative within Wal-Mart reports to the

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 30

Philosophy - Essay Example In many countries global warming and climate changes are considered as a political issue rather than an ethical or moral issue. It is difficult to blame such countries beyond certain limits. The sincerity of the countries in tackling with global warming problems is questioned by many countries. For example, America usually speaks volumes about the importance of protecting the environment. However, they do less to reduce greenhouse gas emission or CFC emission. Developed countries such as America have more industrial units and automobiles compared to developing or underdeveloped countries. Such countries are causing more environmental problems than other countries. Instead of taking necessary steps to reduce environmental problems, these countries have the habit of forcing developing countries to contribute more towards environmental protection. These countries do believe that developed countries have some privileges over developing countries and they can continue with the environment damaging activities. Developed countries like America are asking underdeveloped and developing countries to control greenhouse gas emission. This is because of the fact that pollution and global warming problems in one country can affect other countries as well. America and other developed countries argue that developing world has more responsibility to protect the environment whereas the developed world has less responsibility in doing so. It should be noted that economic progress in developing countries will be reduced considerably if these countries implement strict environment protection activities. Therefore, they are not much interested in protecting the environment very much. They see political and economic reasons behind the demands of American and other developed countries. They believe that America and its allies are trying to prevent developing countries from achieving

Why might we consider justice to be an essentially contested concept Essay - 1

Why might we consider justice to be an essentially contested concept - Essay Example It is the hope of this brief analysis that the reader will come to a more full and complete understanding of the way in which societal recognition of justice has come to be defined as well as some of the core drawbacks to the way in which this term impacts different individuals and points of view in different ways. Firstly, one of the core interpretations that were presented by Plato, and individuals before and after him, was that moral virtue is ultimately the definitive aspect of justice. Naturally, within such a definition, two distinct words stand in contrast with one another (Plant, 2011). First of these is â€Å"moral† and the second one is â€Å"virtue†. Unfortunately, these two are not mutually exclusive and necessarily involve compliments of one another as a function of their own definition; lending the reader to realize that a situation of philosophical analysis is somewhat adulterated by this reality (Rawls, 2011). Further identifications and definitions were predicated upon the fundamental or tacit/innate concept of justice and the belief that it was given by God/god/gods. Although this interpretation was useful in helping individuals to understand the natural rights and concepts of justice that helped to define a given political system, these also fell short due to t he fact that they leveraged an understanding â€Å"justice† that was predicated upon a particular belief system or religion. Naturally, this was also fundamentally flawed as it promoted one particular set of ideals and interpretations over a litany of others (Ryan, 2009). A further issue that exists is the fact that even if it is understood in terms of a universal application of fairness and equality under the law, it will invariably place a particular worldview, ethnicity, or culture as a barometer for the way in which this concept should be defined and administered. Looking into the current exhibition of the justice system in most of the developed

Company Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Company - Assignment Example The company operates in countries that average 37 and employs 28,400 workers directly as of mid-2013. 65% of these are in Europe, 26% is based in Asia, while 95 is based in the Americas (Düblin 8). Most employees in Europe work in Germany, France, and Switzerland. Richemont reported revenues of â‚ ¬10.150 billion in 2013, which was up from â‚ ¬8.868 billion the previous year (Düblin 10). Some strengths of the company include its high position of 6th in the Swiss Market Index, being the 2nd largest luxury goods company, and its large employee base, while it also encompasses several world-renown luxury brands like Piaget and Cartier among others. Its biggest weakness is that it has limited presence in emerging economies. Richemont’s HR brand is one of the most respected in the world, especially with regards to its highly trained staff, highly competitive remuneration packages, and its family culture. The main responsibilities of their group HR function are to develop processes, establish policies, and offer strategic direction to constituent brands’ HR functions with regards to best practices in HR management (Düblin 22). The main clients for the group HR are its brand HR teams. The HR’s plans, strategies, and direction were influenced by the 2009 financial crisis, especially with regards to restrictions on recruitment. This led them to focus on effectiveness and quality, while also shifting their focus from an approach solely based on skills to one also based on personality with regards to ambition, attitude, willingness to learn, and ability to learn (Düblin 23). This was to ensure that employees could fit into the Richemont family culture. Fitting employees into this culture also requires that Richemont find a balance between locals and expats for its overseas offices. This also ensures that their HR function embraces diversity in their work culture. This fit into

Training Needs Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Training Needs Analysis - Research Paper Example The rapid economic changes, globalization and advancement of technology have generated various types of training needs in organizations. However, it has been increasingly realized that effective training can only be possible through accurate analysis of the training needs and requirements. Conducting training needs assessment is particularly important for protecting the assets of the organization and also assuring that resources are set aside for addressing the training issues and reserved and used for that particular purpose only (Barbazette, 2006, p.6). The paper tries to present a critical analysis of the aspect of training needs assessments in organizations by presenting the various arguments of authors for or against the topic. The arguments would primarily aim at determining whether training is the appropriate solution for a performance deficiency. If increasing the employee’s skills and knowledge does not help to resolve a crisis then training would not prove to be help ful. This calls for the need for assessing the training needs and requirements in order to ensure that the resources are put to appropriate use and are not wasted. The paper would also present the suggestions for removing possibilities of training deficiencies in organizations. Review of the Literature Training theorists and academicians have realized the analysis of training needs as a function which is integral to the training programs in organizations. In order to utilize the resources effectively it is crucial to determine the exact location, scope and magnitude of the needs for training. The researchers have put forth the fact that there is no justification for investing in the training programs if they do not result in improving or enhancing the efficiency of the workforce (Moore & Dutton, 1978). Training needs analysis is considered to be the first step in the cyclical process contributing to the overall educational and training strategy of the staff in organizations. The pro cess begins with the systematic consultation for identifying the learning needs of the staff followed by the program planning, delivery and evaluation. Research conducted on micro level and macro level training needs revealed that despite their small scale and limited scope training needs initiatives at the micro level demonstrated more methodological vigour and laid greater emphasis on the perspectives of shareholders in order to generate such findings which would be able to influence the remaining part of the training cycle positively (Gould, Kelly & White & Chidgey, 2003). In 1952, Mahler and Monroe made a study of the determination of the needs for training in the industry and showed that most of the methods of analysing training needs were informal. Only about one out of every ten companies reported to be using systematic approaches for determining the training needs. Observations, management requests, and discussion with superiors were among the most commonly used techniques f or determining the needs. Wood, (1939) noted that that questionnaire could be considered as an effective way of determining training needs but was of the conclusion that there was very little evidence which showed application of the research methods for need determination. A BNA survey conducted

Anglia Local News Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Anglia Local News Assignment - Essay Example (Gillan2010) Also unlike the traditional host, it is the provider who manages the service implying that the consumer only has to have a computer and internet to access the service. Another feature of cloud is that it can be private or public. A public cloud is offered (sold) to anyone via the internet whereas a private cloud refers to a proprietary network that is only provides to a limited group of individuals. Whether one goes for the private or public cloud, the goal is to render scalable computing services. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) refers to a model whereby cloud providers deliver and control Information technology resources such as storage, computation and network capacity. (Blokdijk & Menken 2009) By this, cloud providers own, manage, render as well as distribute Information technology resources more effectively and conveniently to their subscribers. Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) This refers to a set of software and development tools provided by a cloud vendor as a hosted infrastructure. Through this developers can be able to create applications running on the provider’s platform via the internet. (Blokdijk & Menken 2009) Platform-as-a-Service providers may use AP1s, web portals as well as gateways that are installed in a client’s computer. Examples of PaaS are GoogleApps and Force.com. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) This refers to a model in which the vendor provides the hardware and software infrastructure as well as the software product that interacts with the user through a front-end portal. The range of services provided by SaaS is very broad. Examples of this include We-based Mail, database processing as well as inventory control. (Blokdijk & Menken 2009) Because the applications and the data resides with the host provides it enables the services to be accessible from anywhere. Benefits of cloud services By adopting cloud computing, some of the benefits an organization would accrue as would inc lude the following: First, cloud computing saves time. This is because by an organization relying on using installed software’s to meet their needs they stand the chance of spending more time procuring, mastering and managing their programs. (Velte & Robert 2009) However a business saves time upon adopting cloud since some cloud vendors offer software as a service, hence an organization is spared the inconvenience of managing their programs. Secondly a business stands fewer chances of glitches upon cloud adoption. This is because services offered through cloud require few versions. Therefore there is less upgrades needed and it becomes easy to implement considering the fact it is the cloud providers who implement this. (Velte & Robert 2009) Also considering the fact that most businesses incur problems in integrating software with other similar applications which makes it hard to share data, cloud enables user to integrate applications such as management systems, emails and of fice applications reducing cases of productivity glitches. It has also been known that cloud promotes conservation of the environment. This is considering the fact that personal computers only utilize 10 to 20 percent of the capacity; this implies there is a large percentage in energy waste. Therefore by pooling resources in cloud based systems there is energy savings on the life extended by personal computers. Another great advantage of the cloud is increased access

Things Fall Apart Essay Example for Free

Things Fall Apart Essay Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. 50th anniversary edition. New York: Anchor Books, 1959. 211. Print Chinua Achebe was an african man who was raised in the large village of Ogidi in Eastern Nigeria. Things Fall Apart was Chinuas first book. In the year 1944 Chinua attended the Goverment College like other major nigerian writers. He also later attended the University College of Ibadan, where he studied english, history, and theology. Okonkwo strives to be nothing like his father but in the end he is no better. Ikemefuna comes to Umuofia as a human sacrafice from the neighboring clan of Mbaino for the killing of one of the Umuofia women. He lives with Okonkwo for the course of three years, in which he becomes like a son to Okonkwo and his three wives and a older brother and mentor to Nwoye Okonkwos son. Okonkwo gets bad chi because he beats his wife during peace week which was unheard of in his village peace week meant togetherness and happiness After , peace week marks the start of the king of the crop, the yam season which must start with peacfullness. Ikemefuna is then odered to be killed because he called Okonkwo father and Okonkwo called him son which was not supposed to happen. So, Okonkwo tells Ikemefuna that he is going home and on the way he kills him. Okonkwo regrets his choice because he went against the oracle which said he was supposed to have no part in killing the boy. Thus Things begin to fall apart. Chinua wrote the book Things Fall Apart to describe Nigerian culture and the effects of European colonization upon it. It was also written as a response to the Western beliefs that the Africans were uncivilized and barbaric people. Over the course of the book, Okonkwo overcomes obstacles arising from the conflicts of man vs. self, man vs. society, and man vs. estiny, through which he gains inherent morals and life lessons that make the story as a whole a sort of bildungsroman, by depicting the personal growth of its main character.

Black Elk Speaks Essay Example for Free

Black Elk Speaks Essay Black Elk Speaks is about a Native American boy that has visions and these visions help him with the religious aspects of live. He has these visions that tell him what to do and shows him the path to righteousness. These visions can also be seen as myths, which are stories that try to explain something. Every culture has their own collection of myths. Black Elk Speaks is also a very symbolic book, because it has the use of many objects or people that represent other things. In the American culture, as well as other cultures around the world, are also very symbolic. The American culture is very diverse in that there are many different cultures that have mixed and created the American culture. The American culture is not something that is easily explained, because it is so mixed with many other cultures from around the world. At first there were American Indians and they brought along their tribes and myths and rituals. Then came the British and over time the Chinese because of the California gold rush. In time America was in habited with many different nationalities and ideas. These ideas were slowly but surely blended together. As for example, when the British shared their meal with the Indians they were also sharing their culture and food. The exchange of food and other ideas brought the two distant worlds closer. The more important ideas are what does all this exchanging of food and ideas symbolize? â€Å"A symbol is something such as an object, picture, written word, sound, or particular mark that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention†(Wikipedia, 1). The object used in Black Elk Speaks is a pipe, given to them by a â€Å"young and very beautiful† woman, which symbolizes trust and companionship. Now, my friend, let us smoke together so that there may be only good between us† (Black Elk Speaks, 5). Black Elk and Neihardt have a smoke together to share their friendship and trust between the two. The pipe can also symbolize peace amongst people and/or tribes. Another act, such as the killing of a bison, might be seen as bravery, integrity, courage, pride. The American culture changed drastically when more cultures were included, such as the Chinese and African Americans. Slaves brought in from Africa, which meant that they brought along their culture and tendencies to America. Even though slavery was not the right thing to do, it brought a new culture into America and made it more diverse and â€Å"developed. † For example, superstitions are something that has shaped the culture as well. Spilled salt, walking under a ladder, a broken mirror, etc. are all superstitions that are said to lead to bad luck. When someone does one of these things they believe that bad luck is upon them. This causes them to act in a different way. Something bad in the future happens they may turn and blame it on the bad luck. Maybe some of the things that happen are just coincidences but culture has taught us to believe that it was the bad luck caused by the spilled salt, broken mirror, or walking under a ladder. Another big symbol in Black Elk Speaks is the four ribbons tied to the pipe that Black Elk and Neihardt smoke. It represents the powers of the four quarters of the universe. There are four ribbons tired to the pipe and each ribbon is a different color, which symbolizes a different power. Black is for the west, the source of the rain; red is for the east, the place of the morning star that gives wisdom; white is for the north, source of cleansing wind; and yellow is for the south, the places of summer and growth. Myths are another big thing that shapes a culture. Black Elk’s visions are like the myths in this story. In his vision, a bay horse greets Black Elk. He then tells Black Elk that he will tell him a story of the life history of himself. The horse walks in a circular motion â€Å"‘Behold me! ’ he said, ‘My life-history you shall see. ’†¦ ‘Behold them! Their history you shall know’† (Black Elk Speaks, 19). Each side that the horse goes to there are twelve horses that are each in a group of different colors. The horses to the north are white, those to the east are sorrel, those to the south are buckskin, and the ones to the west are black. The horses will take Black Elk to his Grandfathers. The sky fills with dancing horses that change into diverse creators and lead a formation of the horses from the four directions. They arrive at a cloud those changes into a tepee with a rainbow door, which inside the six Grandfathers are waiting. A myth is like a traditional story which usually contains some sort of hero or event. In this myth, the vision that Black Elk is having, is an event that is occurring. A bay horse appears in front of him and shows him the way to meet the six Grandfathers. Sometimes myths may sound like a fairy tale. For example, in ancient China, there was once this monkey that was very troublesome and cause destruction to the heavens. He was punished and put under a mountain. After about several hundred to a thousand years a monk comes along to save the monkey and there starts a journey of adventures and evil to obtain immortality. This is a myth because it is a legend of a hero that is punished for his crimes and therefore pays his debt by serving under his master. There are many aspects of a culture. The American culture is very diverse and tough to explain in one short answer. There is no true American culture because it is just a mixture of different cultures from around the world. Black Elk Speaks shows the forms of myths and symbols and how they contribute to American culture. Black Elk’s myths and symbols are very similar to those of the American culture.

Managing Financial Principles And Techniques Management Essay

Managing Financial Principles And Techniques Management Essay Deeres company is one of the top agriculture equipment manufacturers of the world. Deere does business in almost 160 countries. There are 40,000 people working for them world wide approximately. The main headquarters of Deere company are located in Georgia, United states of America. It is one of the oldest company of united state. This company is guided today, as it has been since its beginning, by John Deeres original values of quality, innovation, integrity and commitment. One of the main efforts is to create shareholder value through the chase of continuous improvement and profitable growth. Deere company has a vast variety of products including which are Agricultural Equipment ,Construction Equipment, commercial equipments for grounds care , and Forestry Equipment to help improve the forest, and finally, Deere Power System. In addition, the worldwide net income was $13,947 millions in 2002. This corporation has sites in all the continents, its worldwide locations include North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Near and Middle East, and Australia. Deeres major competitors are Caterpillar, CNH Global, and Mitsubishi. Also, Deere and Company employs some regulations such as the ISO 9000 standards. Finally, some of the supply sources of this organization are experience, industry, sales representatives, and customer. Deere Company has the strategy of using single sourcing and multiple sourcing for purchasing a specific component. Most of them are multiple sourcing, although the goal is try to reduce the number of suppliers. . Most of Deeres suppliers are from the United States. Deere buys raw material directly from manufacturers not from distributors. Deere is committed to the concept of maintaining its supply chain by actively partnering with its suppliers. Deere is working very closely with its suppliers. They are providing them designing and re designing manufacturing facilities and operations. Deere is giving training to suppliers personnel. Providing and facilitating the use of Software packages. Providing on site personnel for specific projects. Reduce suppliers manufacturing cycle. Lower manufacturing cost. Improve deliveries of finish goods. For this purpose they made a SDG (supplier development group). SDG is consisted mostly of process engineers. Process Engineers who help the suppliers to improve their operations .Each Deere division had SDGs.and in each SDGs has100 individuals assigned. Excelsior is one of the main suppliers for Deere. Excelsior Company is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Excelsior manufactures tractor attachment products.Excelsior is a vertically integrated company with very little flexibility. By the time progressed and Deere purchased more from Excelsior and Excelsior became more and more dependent on Deere as a customer. In 2000 almost 95 percent of Excelsiors revenue came from Deeres purchases. Deere also founded itself growing dependent on excelsior. The reason is that there are very few companies which produce tractor attachments. Excelsior also owned the design of those attachments which they make. The business relationship is very important for both parties. Excelsior also relied on Deere for most of its sales. Deere also wants to keep Excelsior as a supp lier because it will be very cost prohibitive for Deere to produce these tractor attachments in house. Q :1 Is Deeres tactic an appropriate? Solution: From Deeres point of view yes its an appropriate. Problem is that the manufacturing cycle time for excelsiors antiquated process was 250 days. This is creating alot of problems for Deere and it customers. The delivery period is very long and the prices are high. The supplier development group created a tem to work on this project. The project is to reduce the cycle time and also minimize the costs at least 10 percent, The Excelsior equipment project team was assembled in march 1999. This team is consisted of four members. The teams task was to work with Excelsior to redesign its manufacturing process to meet the cycle time and cut cost. The team worked for 23 months and made a report .the report showed that the cycle time and cost reduction goals can be achieved. The tactic to achieve these targets is to redesign the manufacturing process and improve their accounting system .Deere will use 5 million $ for this purpose. And Excelsior will give a 5% reduction in price or at least half of the projected savings if not implemented. And on the other hand for excelsior this is not an appropriate tactic. Excelsior didnt want to change their manufacturing process. This was the biggest obstacle which Deere faced. Excelsior did not want to invest in the equipment and facilities recommended by Deere. According to Excelsiors assessments the maximum amount of saving that could be realized by redesigning manufacturing process would make at most less than 1 percent Difference. And Excelsior believed that its quality is better than IBMs and it had also world class level of work in process. Excelsior was hesitant to invest 5 million $ to implement the changes recommended by the SDGs. They believe that manufacturing process at Excelsior was about as efficient as it could be. Q:2 what are the implications of this tactic and the possible consequences, positive or negative? Impact of these tactics John Positive Integrated Supplier relationship By applying this tactic supplier relationship will be integrated. Meet customer demand By implementing this tactic they can easily fulfill the demands od customers. Reduce costs This will also result in reducing the cost for example if they make more units this will decrease per unit cost. Then definitely they will earn more money. Reduce cycle time It will also decrease the time period Improve profitability It will also increase the profit margin of the company. Enhanced manufacturing process They are going to invest 5million $ to to increase the efficiency of the manufacturing process. Satisfy their customers If they will provide a good product less expensive and in less delivery time this will automatically satisfy their customers. Negative Ethically wrong Ethically it is wrong to force the supplier Cause strain This will cause a strain in supplier relationship Aggressive push through strategy Q 3: If it is not an appropriate tactic, what are some other alternatives? Supplier development Supplier development is defined as any activity that a buyer undertakes to improve a suppliers performance and capabilities to meet the buyers short and long term supply needs. Supplier development requires financial and human resources investments by the both partners and includes a wide range of activities such as training of the suppliers personnel, investing in suppliers operations , and ongoing performance assessment. Suppliers development decision Supplier development should not apply to all suppliers It does not make financial sense to develop suppliers of low-value- added, non-strategic commodities Reasons for supplier development include: Supplier provides an innovative product Supplier provides an innovative process Supplier provides an innovative technology A long-term advantage exists to the buying firm To maintain flexibility in meeting changing market demands Seven step approach to supplier development Identify critical product and services: Asses the relative importance of the products and services from a strategic perspective. Product and services that are purchased in high volume, do not have good substitutes, or have limited source of supply are considered strategic supplies. Identify critical suppliers: Suppliers of strategic supplies who do not meet minimum performance in quality, on time delivery, cost, technology, or cycle time are targets for development. Form a cross functional team: The buyer must develop an internal cross functional team with a clear agreement for the development initiative. Meet with top management supplier: The buyers cross functional team meets with the suppliers top management team to discuss details of strategic alignments, suppliers performance measurement, improvement, and professionalism. Identify key projects: After the promising opportunities have been identified, they are evaluated in terms of feasibility, resource and time commitment, and expected return on investment. The most promising projects are selected. Define details of agreement: After agreement has been reached on the development projects, the partners must jointly decide on matrices to be monitored such as percent improvement in quality, delivery, and cycle time. Monitor status and modify strategies: To ensure continued success, management must actively monitor progress, promote exchange of information, and revise the strategy as business condition warrant. Best Practices in Supplier Development Provide training programs and training time to suppliers Provide education programs offline that go beyond training Provide improvement focused seminars for suppliers Provide tooling and technical assistance to suppliers Provide supplier support centers Loan executives, such as process engineers and quality managers Drive fear out that a suppliers workforce may have towards supplier development programs Set stretch goals to encourage radical change as well as continuous improvement. Improve accounting systems to enable measurement of improvements Share the savings from the development improvements Encourage suppliers to contribute to improving processes at the buyers facilities Provide a feedback loop for suppliers to help encourage supplier development efforts Improve the suppliers supply management system Q 4: Is this an ethical approach? No , In my point of view this is not an ethical approach. Excelsior did not want to implement those changes suggested by the supplier development group team. they were forced by the Deere company to implement those changes to their manufacturing plant. Deere gave the indication that if Excelsior refused to implement changes to manufacturing process they would not remain viable supplier in long run. the main supplier development engineer and project manager also wondered whether this tactic would work or not. and whether it would be an effective way of getting excelsior to improve their manufacturing process. Business ethics: Ethics is defined as the study and philosophy of human behaviour, with importance on the determination of right and wrong, that which is moral, the basic principles of right action, a work or theory on morals, and a standard of character set up by any race or nation. Ethical is defined as that which follows the right principles, as defined by a given system of ethics or professional conduct. Ethics in business continues to be important across all industries. The importance on ethics in your environment is due to its relationship to general principles as well as its favourable impact worldwide on your ability to enhance your competitive opportunities, continuously improve your processes, ensure total quality throughout your businesses, and increase consistency in your operations. Economic Success Linked to Ethical Behaviour. To have an ethical policy in place is a basic business requirement today. Having suppliers and employees display universal ethical behaviour in their day-to-day operations, however, is an asset. Ensuring a track record of outstanding ethical conduct is just as important as product and service quality, competitive prices, and efficient operations. Upsides Downsides of Ethical Behaviour. The upsides of ethical behaviour in a business environment are very positive. The downsides of not encouraging and adhering to business ethics policies include the risk of unethical business practices that affect your reputation in the market place, unethical behaviour of employees occurring, and/or the risk of legal prosecution. A negative impact on the companys image is difficult and boring to repair. Strengthen Quality and Integrity of Purchasing Activities. Developing an ethical environment within your organization helps you facilitate issue resolution, prevent problems, and create a pleasant and enjoyable workplace. A plan of action for doing this might include: 1. Stressing the importance that all individuals need to consistently exhibit ethical behaviour 2. Educating everyone on your business practice standards 3. Raising ethical issues and concerns by providing a forum to do so 4. Developing a network of professionals who treat themselves, their co-workers, customers, and suppliers with integrity, honesty, openness, and fairness all of the time 5. Educating everyone on the risks involved in unethical behaviour. Q: 5 What are some of the implications as far as human resource management concerned? How can the group members better mange the consensus building to present an undivided front to Excelsior?

Factors Affecting Research Culture at Universities in Pakistan Essay

Abstract— Research is an integral part of the higher education. Teachers and students spend weeks to find a good topic related to the field of study, data collection and analysis and finally in writing papers. Conducting research and writing papers creates a healthy activity amongst faculty and students which results in knowledge creation and emergence of research culture. Faculty at universities could be divided into two broad categories of teachers and researcher. These categories are good in their preferred field only. The challenges faced by the faculty related to research vary between private and public sectors too. However, this research shows that the leadership, curriculum, people, external environment and research experience are important factors for a research culture at universities. Keywords— research, university, higher education, leadership, faculty and inter-personal collaboration I. INTRODUCTION Research could be described as the first step in knowledge creation, which starts with search, passes through the steps of learning, teaching and ends at knowledge creation. Academia has an important role in the dissemination of knowledge to the wider society through direct and indirect interaction. A product of an individual, group or society of intelligent beings is known as culture, showing that culture is learnt through research. Therefore, the research culture can be defined as the act of knowledge creation, sharing and translated into action [1]. The term research culture is a combination of two words research and culture. The word research means â€Å"a careful or diligent search† or â€Å"the process of collecting information about a particular subject†. On the other hand the word culture could be explained as â€Å"the act ... ...ding for such activities are respected for their work as well as the funding that they attract [9]. Universities have two basic purposes of existence - teaching and research – both of which are public trust, therefore, the universities have to prove worthy of it. Universities in the developing countries are not allowed to perform independently. Furthermore universities lack resources if the government support is withdrawn. Therefore, they need to find necessary resources to be able to survive. This can be done by becoming innovative and accessible to as many as possible [11]; [12]; [13]. While studying the research culture in Caribbean universities, [14], it was mentioned that the research culture is one of the pre-requisites for a country to be able to find solutions to their problems rather than importing and adapting the knowledge created in other countries.

Anglo-Saxon Warriors and the Klephts of Greece: Their Indo-European Ori

Anglo-Saxon Warriors and the Klephts of Greece: Their Indo-European Origins Anglo-Saxon warrior bands share the same code of honor as the Greek resistance fighters called Klephts both nations having a common Indo-European heritage and concept of hero. Beginning in the fifth century Germanic invasions transformed the Celtic culture of the British Isles. Anglo-Saxon warrior bands conquered the native Celts and prevailed in England from the fifth until the eleventh century. Warfare, the idea of comitatus, and the Germanic heroic code comprised the Anglo-Saxon way of life. Their warrior clans were ruled by a heroic figure, a chieftain or king, and the heroic code valued bravery, boasting, and above all allegiance to their king. Loyalty to the king gave warriors a sense of honor, identity and belonging. In Germania Tacitus writes, They choose their kings for their noble birth, their leaders for their valour. The power even of the kings is not absolute or arbitrary. As for the leaders, it is their example rather than theirauthority that wins them special admiration(7.1). It was their leaders rather than their kings who were the heroic figures whom the warriors could admire and emulate. The Kings were usually "inferior in virtue and courage to the great heroes who serve them" (Oosten, 152). Nevertheless, the Anglo-Saxon heroic code valued allegiance to the king above all else, since he was viewed not only as a protector but also the provider of plenty (Chaney, 90). On the field of battle, that loyalty was transferred to their leader or hero. Tacitus explains that Anglo-Saxon warriors were expected to support their leaders in battle unto death or live a life of infamy. Tacitus, (6.22-3). Since they were forced to struggle co... ...hop. The Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom Hymnal. Brookline, Mass: Greek Orthodox Diocese of North and South America, 1977. Oosten, Jarich G. The War of the gods, The Social Code in Indo European Mythology. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1985. Runciman, Steven. The Great Church in Captivity, A Study of the Patriarchate of Constantinople From the Eve of the Turkish Conquest to the Greek War of Independence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968. Stover, Leon E. and Kraig, Bruce. Stonehenge, The Indo- European Heritage. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1978. Winn, Shan M. M. Heaven, Heroes, and Happiness, The Indo-European Roots of Western Ideology. New York: University Press of America, 1995. Zafiropoulos, Simoni, ed. Greece in Poetry, With Painting Drawings, Photographs, and Other Works of Art. New York: Harry N. Abrahms, Inc., 1993.

A Reluctant Move :: Personal Narrative Moving Essays

A Reluctant Move One of my favorite quotes is, â€Å"If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it† by Mary Engelbreit. After going through a huge change myself, I have chosen to accept that change is good. It is important to make the best out of the way things turn out, and adapt to it. As I sat there wondering what it was going to be like, I couldn’t help but get tears in my eye. What was about to happen would change my life and outlook forever. This was a big life-changing decision. As far as I knew, moving to America was the opposite direction I wanted to go, but this decision ended-up changing my life. Why was I so reluctant to move? It’s widely accepted that America is known for its endless opportunities, wealth, independence and excitement. The land of possibilities some say. Many foreigners dream of living in America, but not me. From the stories I had heard, my father was relocating us to a place full of materialistic people and places. We had the same routine, the same places we all hung out, and the same culture that I was so used to in Germany. Leaving my friends, family and home was a huge turn around that I was afraid and skeptical of. Growing up in Wiesbaden, Germany gave me a great appreciation for European cultures. It was the only lifestyle I knew. Even though I didn’t know much about the American way of life, I had the understanding of most all the countries in Europe. I knew my city like the back of my hand and all the people in it. I knew where I could take my dog for a walk and where the best places to shop were. I knew all the options that my friends and I had on Friday nights and where the fun places downtown were. I was very comfortable and self-reliant in my environment. Wiesbaden was my home and I was very nervous about giving that up. I think my biggest fear was the fear of the unknown. I like to know what’s going on and what to expect.

Why Smart Phones Should Be Banned in Class

The cons of cell phones in school are numerous. The source of much public debate, the issue of whether to allow children and teens to bring their mobile phones to school has been discussed ad nauseam clear across the country, but even now, there is no clear-cut answer, solution or conclusion. Below we will discuss the many reasons why it might not be a good idea to allow the use of cell phones in the classroom. There are many reasons why cell phones should not be allowed in the classroom. Distractions When a child is in school, his or her purpose there is to learn, whether it be about Columbus sailing the ocean blue or about how electricity works. Young people are more easily distracted than their elders because they tend to have shorter attention spans. If they become bored with the class material, it doesn't take much for them to take out a Motorola Razar to play some cell phone games. How can you expect a teen to absorb all that knowledge if they're not even paying attention. Cheating Obviously, kids won't be able to take out their cell phones and talk to one another in the classroom during an exam, but the concept of â€Å"passing notes† has stepped into the age of technology, thanks to the advent of text messages. These can be sent quite discretely while in the classroom. Taking it one step further, a student can excuse himself to go to the washroom, only to use that time to send text messages and leave voice mails. You also have to bear in mind that cell phones are advancing and improving faster than ever. Certain smart phones can surf the Web (looking for test answers), others have advanced calculators, and depending on the software, it may even be able to run custom applications. The possibilities for cheating and copying are literally limitless, and thus another con of cell phones in school.

Contribution of Savigny and Maine to Malaysian Constitution Essay

The views of Maine and Savigny had indeed contributed to some provisions in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. Before the discussion proceeds in looking into provision that reflects the views of Maine and Savigny, it is better for us to understand first, what are the views suggested, or rather arguments put forward by these two jurists. The first jurist of the discussion is Savigny. Friedrich Carl von Savigny (21 February 1779 – 25 October 1861) was a German jurist and legal scholar who was one of the founders of the influential â€Å"historical school† of jurisprudence. He advocated that the meaning and content of existing bodies of law be analyzed through research into their historical origins and modes of transformation. Savigny’s great works are the Recht des Besitzes and the Beruf unserer Zeit fur Gesetzgebung. In 1814, the wave of German nationalism inspired by the war of liberation against Napoleon led the Heidelberg law professor Thibaut to demand a unified civil code for all the German states. Savigny opposed this demand for an immediate codification of German law in a famous pamphlet, â€Å"Vom Beruf unserer Zeit fur Gesetzgebung und Rechtswissenschaft† (1814; â€Å"Of the Vocation of Our Age for Legislation and Jurisprudence†), that started juristic thought along a new path. To Savigny, a hasty legal codification was something to be avoided, since the one essential prerequisite for such a codification was a deep and far-reaching appreciation of the spirit of the particular community. Savigny’s jurisprudential perspective was in part inspired by the Romantic Movement, which took the form in Germany of a movement harking back to the simplest tribal origins of the German people, to their folk songs and tales and to their distinctive ethos, or Volksgeist (â€Å"national spirit†). To the Romantics, the national spirit thus became the ultimate datum to be explored in its various manifestations. The Volkgeist theory introduced by Savigny seeks to shed the light that law is an expression of will of people or manifestation of people’s spirit. From this point of view law is not something that can be devised by means of rational formal legislation but rather originates in the unique spirit of a particular people and is expressed spontaneously in custom and, much later, in the formal decisions of judges. Law grows with the growth, strength with the strength of people, and dies away as the nation loses its nationality. This can also be explained further by looking at the stages of development of law by Savigny, in which, firstly, the political element, where the law is not found in legislation but in the spirit of people; secondly, the technical element, where the law is technical and needs particular expertise to develop it; and lastly, the loss of national identity, where when the society no longer needs the first and the second stage, this is when the people no longer wants the law and wanted a new one. Moreover, he rejected natural law and positive law as law should be made by the will of the people. Savigny pointed out that legislation and law codes can, at most, give mere verbal expression to a body of existing law whose meaning and content can only be discovered by careful historical investigations. Historical jurisprudence opposed not only attempts at codification but also those rationalist thinkers who sought to derive legal theories from general and universal principles without respect to the characteristics and customs of a particular people. Savigny sought rather to uncover the content of existing law through historical research. He held that legal science should be both historical and systematic, meaning that it should endeavour to show the inner coherence of the material handed down in the historical sources. The second jurist of the discussion is Sir Henry Maine. Sir Henry James Sumner Maine (15 August 1822 – 3 February 1888) was a Professor of Civil Law at Oxford University in 1847. He is famous for the thesis outlined in Ancient Law (1861). He studied the beginning of law, in which he concluded that ancient law was derived from codes of Manu and Narada, the Brehon Laws, the Twelve Tables and Homer. He was learned in English, Roman, and Hindu laws and also knowledge of Celtic systems. Instead of stressing the uniqueness of national institutions, he brought to bear a scientific urge to unify, classify and generalize the evolution of different legal orders. He was the first and still remains the greatest representative of the historical movement in England. He introduced a theory based on customary law known as the anthropological approach. The anthropological approach is a study of human being based on custom. Maine set out to discover whether a pattern of legal development could be extracted from a comparative examination of different system, especially between Roman law and the common law, which then he was led to distinguish between what he called ‘static’ and ‘progressive’ societies. ‘Static’ societies are regarded as undeveloped society and society whom do not progress. ‘Progressive’ societies are of which the societies proceed to develop the law by three methods; fiction, equity, and legislation. Generally, Maine believed that no human institution was permanent, and that change was not necessarily for the better. An example would be when societies progressed from hunters to farmers to pastorals. Maine stated that in early societies, both ‘static’ and ‘progressive’, the legal condition of the individual is determined by status, i. e. his claims, duties, liberties, are determined by law. The coming of ‘progressive’ societies witnesses the disintegration of status and determination of the legal condition of the individual by free negotiation on his part. One of Maine’s famous generalizations reads: ‘the movement of progressive societies has hitherto been a movement from status to contract’. This is where rather than a society based on stratified system, Maine proposes the concept of moving towards a contract society where everyone is free to negotiation at his own terms. According to Maine, there has been modification of later development, namely by means of fiction, equity and legislation. Deliberate legislation is now seen to have been an early method of law-making with fiction and equity coming at later stage. The codes, which one finds at the culmination of the primitive period, were chiefly collections of earlier legislation. Primitive law was by no means as rigid as Maine though nor were people inflexible bound by it. It is generally agreed that even in primitive societies, people do control their destinies, that they are by no means blindly subservient to custom. The conscious purpose of achieving some end precedes the adaptation of human behavior, and the adaptation of behavior is followed by adaptation of the structure of social organization. As it is now clear the views and propositions put forward by both Savigny and Maine, the discussion will be prolong in discussing the contribution of their ideas in its application to the Malaysian Constitution (Federal Constitution 1957). The Malaysian Constitution was drafted by taking into account the legacy of the past and product of customs, traditions and beliefs prevalent in different communities, and the need of the people. This is in line with Savigny’s view that law is not an abstract set of rules imposed on society but has deep roots in social and economic factors and the attitude of its past and present members of the society. The social contract which Malaysian Constitution was mainly based, a form bargain made by the citizen; that they would all have a place in the new independent nation, but not without some compromise and sacrifice on everyone’s part. This social contract has always been a crucial and sometimes contentious part of the nation’s constitution. The Reid Commission and the Alliance tried hard to take into consideration the different, and times divergent concerns on the ground. â€Å"The Constitution gave everyone something and to no one everything. Everyone got something in terms of citizenship, cultural pluralism and economic/commercial rights. The constitution did try to walk the middle path. †(Tunku Abdul Rahman, 1957) In the same 1957 speech upon returning from London, Tunku acknowledged that while it was important to have a constitution that was agreeable to most people, there would come a time when change was required. â€Å"Any constitution prepared today is not immutable. It can be changed, modified or improved according to the wishes of the people,† he said. The importance to have our own unique constitution is that, it tells us the position of a state itself. How independent and how the constitution would be accepted by the citizen. That it seeks to constitution describing the position of the individual vis-a-vis the state. It seeks to achieve a fair balance between the right of the state and the rights of the citizen, it confers on the citizen some basic rights and provides perimeter within which these rights can be exercised. The concept of Volksgeist is deeply entrenches in our constitution as it is after all the manifestation of the spirit and consciousness of the people and not from deliberate legislation. The social contract is the â€Å"spirit of the people who evolved around it†. This notion can be seen in the Commission chaired by Lord Reid in 1965 to formulate and draft and refine the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya. The commission sought the views of political parties, non-political organizations and individuals on the form of government and racial structure appropriate for this country. This is of course based on the historical, beliefs and cultural background of the society at that point of time. The memorandum of the Alliance had gained precedence in which the memorandum centers its concern at mutual interest and strengthening the nation’s democratic system of the government. The memorandum took into account in to five main factors namely the position of the Malays rulers, Islam as the official religion of the Federation, position of the Malay language, the special rights of the Malays and equal citizenship. We are going to look into these factors one by one. Firstly, the demand is that for the power of the Malay rulers to be preserved, which is conferred under Article 38 of the Constitution that established the conference of Rulers or ‘Durbar’. The council will act as the protector of the Malays, custom and religion. This power is materialized where the conference of ruler have need to be consulted in amending the Constitution and some other privileges in particular, those Articles which have been â€Å"entrenched†, namely those pertaining to the status of the rulers, the special privileges of the indigenous Bumiputera (Article 153 of the Constitution), the status of the Malay language as the National language, and the clause governing the entrenchment of such Articles. In the case of the Malays, these privileges related to the reservation of their position in the public services, of scholarship and other similar educational and training facilities (Article 153). Parliament is also empowered to reserve and for alienation to the Malays (Article 89 and Article 90) and also to restrict enlistment in the Malay regiment which to some extend violates right to equality of the people under Article 8 of the constitution but however in the spirit of the citizen itself. In the matter of religion, Islam was made the religion of the Federation. Tunku Abdul Rahman at the time was under pressure from the UMNO argued that the inclusion of Article 3 was important psychologically to the Malays. Nevertheless in recognizing the objections of the Rulers also the concern of the non-Malays, two provisos were included in the article in which it would not affect the position of the rulers in their respective state as head of Islam and that the practice and propagation of other religion in the federation would be assured. As for language that is entrenched under Article 152 of the Constitution, the Alliance agreed to UMNO’s proposal that Malay be the official language but that there would be no objections to the use of Chinese and Tamil for unofficial purpose. It was further guaranteed that the proviso in Article 152 will allow the teaching of Chinese and Tamil and that there would schools for the respective races. Among these five issues, the biggest bargain that the Bumiputera has offered during the drafting of the constitution must be the social contract in which the Malays would accept the jus soli citizenship and the minorities would settle with the special privilege conferred to the Bumiputera. The liberal citizenship requirement was a major concession from the Malays for with this agreement; large number of non-Malays became citizens. In exchange for liberalizing citizenship requirement, non-Malays leaders in the alliance accepted the special position of the Malays. Thus it can be seen the constitution of Malaysia largely drafted around the notion of Volksgeist; law should always conform to the popular consciousness. Hence, the provisions of the constitution was not the result of an arbitrary act of legislation but developed as a response to the impersonal powers to be found in the people’s national spirit. As mentioned earlier, Maine opines that a society should move towards a â€Å"contract society† from a â€Å"status society†, where individuals of the disadvantages group will be able rise above their discrimination, that is, the structure of society and rules of the game, so to speak, must be changed in order to achieve ethnic equality. The progress however, must not disregard the customs of the society. The notion of progress from status to contract is depending on the society itself. The application of Maine’s proposition is a bit different as Malaysia, from moving to status contract, Malaysia is progressing from contract society to planned society. To clearly observe the progress if the society in Malaysia from a status society, to a contract society, then to a planned society, while respecting the custom of the society, entrenched in the provisions of the Malaysian Constitution; we should first look in to the history of Malaysia. The Malaysian Constitution is the product of the political, economic and social development of the stratified people that can be traced back to the Malacca Sultanates. The highest ground of administration was the Sultan and it stays the way it is as the system was so to say, perfectly working at the time. The Sultan controls the government, act as the supreme command of the military power and symbolize the unity of the welfare. There was no issue of inequality of right as the society at that time as the citizen was so contented with the idea of leaded by a Ruler. It was only until the British colonial period commenced that the issue of advancing the society emerged. Treaty of the Federation 1895 which have the common clause that the four states; Selangor, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Perak to accept British officer that act as Resident General.

Bang and Olufsen

Bang and Olufsen uses the analytic approach to management. This is clearly seen in the phases of their design and production. Analytic design mostly structures their designs as engineering challenges (Lester, et. al. , 2002). The step-by step procedure of producing their products begins with the designers given free-reign over the design. It is, however, the engineers that are given the challenge to produce these designs realistically. Contrast this with interpretative management, which views designs as a â€Å"liberal art† (Lester, et.  al, 2002).However, there are some aspects of the B&O design process that bear a mark of this interpretative management system, specifically in the process where B&O acquires feedback from consumers to help update their design. The â€Å"artful making† aspect in the B&O design process may be observed in the designing phase, wherein the designers are free to design products with â€Å"substance†. It may also be seen in the Ideala b aspect of B&O, where they produce concepts and products that are innovative and revolutionary.It is interesting to note that Alessi’s design process bears a resemblance to B&O’s. This similarity may be seen in the stages of the design process where the product starts of with the designers and end with the engineers and the manufacturing process. However, what is unique about B&O is that their designers are given free-reign – that is, in Alessi, the designers are influenced by the engineering problems that will arise over their design concepts. The B&O approach is not entirely human-centered.Human-centered design is primarily observed in the goal of the design process: to create something that will suit the lifestyle of the consumer. It is however, interesting to note that the human-centered design is absent in the acquisition of feedbacks from the customer. B&O does not produce their designs due to the consumer’s negative of positive opinions on what th ey should do. Instead, B&O gives their designers the freedom and the challenge to produce their concepts from scratch.B&O emphasizes the importance of mobility, flow, and smartness among John Thackara’s design principles. Mobility is exemplified by the universality of their designs. Flow is seen in the design process itself, wherein the product is taken into a step-by-step process. And smartness can be observed in the function of their designs in the real world, beyond concepts. References: Lester, Richard K. , Pior, Michael J. , Malek, Kamal M. Interpretative management: what general managers can do for design. Managing Innovation and Change. Henry Jane, Mayle, David. 2002. SAGE.

Political Corruption and Countries Essay

Corruption is a word with many meanings and each of them depends on the specific social and political context in which it is used (Brown, 2006). Nowadays this phenomena is closely connected with political world and business sphere. In developing countries mainly economic field is attached by this problem. In the 1990s when those countries accepted official bribery and a huge misuse of public money the level of corruption has increased (Hwang, Jung & Lim, 2010). Lots of flaws that still exist in the system of those countries have caused this complicated problem. First of all, it is the selfishness and greediness of people. According to Johnson, corruption appears in a weak civil society (as cited in Causes of Corruption, 2001, para 3). It means that the lack of moral values and ethics is the main cause of corruption. A survey which was conducted in South Africa proves this fact, because 31 per cent of people pointed this reason as the most common one (as cited in Causes of corruption, 2001, para 6). Secondly, another factor that caused this problem is the lack of strict punishment. For instance, the author Schumpeter compares corruption with eruption and says that corrupt people do take bribes because it is in their purpose (Schumpeter, 2010). They keep getting money by illegal way because they always have the possibility to avoid serious punishment. Thirdly, corruption thrives when bad government makes it impossible to control. As, H. L. Mencken stated: â€Å"Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods. † (Stossel, 2009, para 6). So, it is always important to choose the right person to be on the head of a country because he or she would have an enormous power. Otherwise, corruption would have the negative effects and consequences on the economic development. First of all, it would reduce the growth of business benefits in developing countries. In the presence of corruption, businessmen are aware of the fact that bribing is acceptable and obviously they would commit corrupt proceedings (Mauro, 1997). For example, those entrepreneurs would avoid regular tax paying. Secondly, this phenomenon contradicts with the democratic opportunities and lowers the competitive ability of the countries as well. It has been proved that corruption has a negative impact on investment and economic growth because it lowers the marginal productivity of capital (Hwang, Jung & Lim, 2010). As a result this factor breeds to the economic collapse in developing countries because the budget money has been stolen in huge amounts. Different types of researches, whether in the international or in local level have showed that the problem still stays as one of the raging topics. Firstly, over the past few years, some $10 billion worth of oil, cars, telecom equipment, and cigarettes has passed illegally through the Fujian port across from Taiwan (Robberts & Clifford, 2000). Secondly, one recent data estimated that there was a 1. 15 per cent decrease in economic growth in 40 countries because of the corruption effects (Hwang, Jung & Lim, 2010). From the examples of these studies it is seen that developing countries are suffering from the horrible affects of economic corruption. The population does not get any profit from a huge amount of natural resources that they own because all the investments are stolen by the local elites and corrupt officials (Craggs, 2005). Current measures of the government officials such as anti-corruption programs are not enough. The problem needs really effective and working solutions to be done in a short period of time. The first solution is that the government should encourage active public participation in anti-corruption plans. The major reason of the flourishing corrupt practices is the authority’s misconception about it. People give bribes and think that they are benefiting from it. There is not much consensus in their actions and most of them do not consider the consequences (as cited in Causes of corruption, 2001, para 11). But the problem such as corruption requires collective actions and the balanced burden of responsibilities (Ngozi, 2008). It would be much better if people stop taking bribes and risk to report about corrupt practices that they have witnessed. Obviously this measure would help to prevent the problem with the roots. There are several advantages that it could bring. Firstly, people would enjoy the benefits of a democratic society. They are likely to value the chance of participating in government’s anti-corrupt programs. By taking part in the government’s plans the authority will create serious attitude towards the problem as well (Limit corruption, 2006). Secondly, the power against corruption would become even stronger. The government alone faces lots of difficulties and troubles in the way of solving this problem (Schweiker & Trofimenko, 2009). There is not much help from the authority’s side. But cooperate actions would be really helpful in realization of anti-corruption programs. Thirdly, people would get a good knowledge of the real situation. The reason for such an arising conflict is that almost everyone is being convinced by propaganda and entertainment efforts of the media (Hinz, 2005). It has become very easy to change people’s viewpoint, they often tend to believe what is written in the newspapers and shown on TV screen. But instead of this, each of them would personally investigate the issue and report to the justice officials about the cases of corruption. However, this solution has one disadvantage as well. It definitely requires some period of time. It is impossible to immediately reformulate people’s attitude towards money. The majority of the human authority is involved in bribery because it has become a way of life and a form of economic survival for them (Hors, 2000). They have got used to it, so it would be hard to resolve the problem quickly. But combined job of the government and the authority would definitely bring positive effects in the future. Finally, cooperate actions of ordinary people with politicians would be beneficial in preventing negative affects of corruption on economic development of the countries. The second solution is that the government should use strict methods of punishment against people involved in corruption. For example, nowadays in the governmental field lots of doubtful situations occur. Politicians spend a huge amount of money, nearly 70 percent of their budget, on TV and Internet advertising campaigns (Hinz, 2005). But after the elections most of those popular individuals forget about their promises to improve the economy. As a result, corruption creates uncertainty, such as a big regime collapse, which indeed seriously lowers a country’s economic efficiency (Hwang, Jung & Lim, 2010). Also nowadays ordinary people also have got used to solve their small problems by giving bribes. For instance, people have to pay even for an ordinary process such obtaining civil documents (Hors, 2000). In any case, regardless of their social status and power each of those persons deserves cruel punishment. They must get a prison sentence and realize the seriousness of the problem. The usage of different methods of strict punishment has several advantages. Firstly, people would be afraid of committing corrupt proceedings. The set of strong rules and regulations will definitely keep them in disciplined way. For example, in Russia the recent law against corruption has made it possible to reduce corruption factors and make its effects less harmful for business field (Business in Russia, 2009). Secondly, every person would be equal in front of the law face. It means that no one would be able to avoid the court. Even the influential people will have to accept the given punishment. The case with Mukhtar Dzhakishev, the former head of the Kazatomprom can be a bright sample. At the first time he was under the police investigation, but then Mr. Dzhakishev was arrested because the facts about his corrupt experiences have been proved (Lillis, 2009). However, this kind of solution has one disadvantage. It needs quite big amount of money. Proper and correct investigations of those cases definitely require professional judges. The government would have to pay really good salaries for all of them. Low payment is one of the main reasons to extract bribes from citizens (Causes of corruption, 2001). Only high salaries could help to prevent such practices. But cruel methods of punishments are indeed likely to stop people from committing corrupt proceedings. Overall, individuals would be aware about the consequences that might happen because of their illegal acts. The third solution against corruption is that the government officials should take some active anti-corruption initiatives. Unfortunately the phenomenon called corruption has always been connected with the politics. The author Stossel (2009) states that, in fact, â€Å"being in a big government means being involved in big corruptionâ€Å"(para 2). Nowadays every $100US million of stolen money in developing countries could fund ammunition for 4 million children, or approximately 250 thousand water connections for households, or 50-100 million treatments for malaria (Ngozi, 2008). But politicians do not seem to care and make any serious efforts in combating this significant problem. They are definitely the head of the country and everything takes its root from their actions. Those individuals should serve as the real representatives of justice and fight global anti-corrupt actions. This possible solution has several advantages. Firstly, people would not show aggressive behaviour. For instance, one recent data proved the fact that global political efforts impact positively on organizational legitimacy and strategic decision making (Rodriguez, Uhlenbruck & Eden, 2005). The reason is that big conflicts between public and the government can be easily solved in cooperating societies. Secondly, this measure would bring global economic progress to the countries. Unfortunately, nowadays in developing nations leaders consider themselves as commanders and think only about their personal interests. They have forgotten that such a serious problem as corruption requires actions in international level. Leaders should become faithful and hardworking persons in order to build useful relations with other countries in the world. For example, last year U. S. and world leaders have made a meeting to combat global corruption and operate policies against it, reports Transparency International (Fight against Corruption, 2009). Thirdly, there would be real control and discipline in the society. According to the recent United Nations report, detailing pervasive corruption in Afghanistan, the Afghan government is often â€Å"unable to deliver basic services, such as security, food or shelter, or protect communities from lawlessness. † (Vlasic & Noell, 2010). While, EU countries has created the project in order to improve all aspects of governance in its member states (Romer, 2010). Developing countries should also make such steps to fight corrupt experiences. However, this measure could bring one disadvantage. Obviously, it would need some period of time. It is really impossible to reformulate whole political system immediately. Every year in developing countries alone, political officials receive bribes up to several billion dollars. Overall, in order to change this existing reality, the government officials of developing countries must make some cooperate efforts. In conclusion, it seems that developing countries are facing all the present economic difficulties because of the corruption. This phenomenon has indeed become one of the most significant problems in modern society. Combination of serious and workable solutions must be done in order to prevent its negative impact. Mainly government must encourage people’s participation in anti-corruption programs. Then political officials have to take active measures like meetings in international level. Also those individuals who have broken the law and committed illegal acts must be punished strictly. After all, if the governments of developing countries do all these efforts, the level of corruption in economic field would decline. References Brown, A. (2006). What are We Trying to Measure? Reviewing the Basics of Corruption Definition. Measuring Corruption. Retrieved on November 07, from: http://books. google. com/books? hl=ru&lr=&id=k06/ Business in Russia (2009). Interfax : Russia & CIS Business Law Weekly. Retrieved on November 07, from: http://proquest. umi. com/ Causes and Conditions of Corruption (2001). Corruption in South Africa, Results of an Expert

A Shakespearean Prep

Diversity can it be defined? Shouldn’t every person be a living example of it? I am as different as night and day. I am probably the only Mexican in existence who dislikes Mexican food. My main contradiction, though, is my personality and my love for theater. I am a Dallasite through and through. From going to private school to shopping at Marcus to driving a BMW, I am the embodiment of a teenager living a privileged life. There is a side of me, however, that goes much deeper a more artistic side. Though my body may be devoted to the prep lifestyle, my soul has one passion theater. I have always felt comfortable on stage. It’s actually more than comfort, it’s a sense of belonging. Acting is the essence of my being and I often use my craft to define myself. Yet, how can I explain to my friends the beauty of a Shakespearean couplet when the only rhymes they care about are in the latest hip-hop hit? Here I find myself at the ultimate contradiction: the theater kid who conforms to the expectations of her seemingly homogeneous friends. But as the boisterous theater kid, I am unable to be stifled even by my best friends. Through my own diversity, I have overcome this obstacle. I embrace my individuality around my friends and believe that it is because of this that they love me as they do. Instead of listening to rap, I hum tunes from â€Å"Rent† in school and randomly quote Shakespeare during car rides or dinner parties. This path to individuality has not been easy. I was not always accepted for my theatrical tendencies. In fact, I lost many a friend because I am, well, a drama queen. Also, my life is not filled with others who, like me, love the spotlight (an actual spotlight, that is) and the Bard. Yet, in high school I began to find a few like me three. But this was all I needed. Once I found this small group, I could easily go back to my other friends feeling more comfortable in my own skin. Thus, all my contradictions (my inability to memorize chemical equations while easily learning lines of Shakespeare), are what make me quirky. I’m the loud theater freak whose friends are quiet and non-confrontational. I’m that actress who spends time with girls â€Å"who lunch.† But most important, I am myself.

Facts that make a class productive and enjoyable Essay

Facts that make a class productive and enjoyable - Essay Example In the process, clear distinction will be brought forth between being productive and being occupied. The first step that needs to be observed by teachers is; teaching the right things. It is not accurate to assume that all the things teachers teach are usually relevant and of ‘good practice’. Most teachers have adopted the method of â€Å"mark to the objective†. This method may also be referred to as marking, quality or focused. Such method of teaching disregard objectives of learning. Most teaching methods have been preoccupied with predetermination of what would be called as core subjects to train children on. The focus is much laid on the national curriculum than the actual things from which the students will benefit. One way of dealing with this is to try to use practical things in class especially when illustrating some products. This should go hand in hand with the identification of the right objective and subsequently, teaching these objectives at the right time at appropriate level. Rather than judging the teachers on whether they met the objectives of t he teaching, focus should be on whether those teachers got the objectives right in the first place. Another significant step that the teacher should observe and is a great factor is; getting the students do the work by themselves. There should be a very clear balance between the time students are putting in the work and what the teachers put. Study conducted by Smith, et.al (pg 13) reveals that schools where teachers and student do the work at the ration of 20:80 per cent, performed better than otherwise. This also depended on the teaching of the right objectives at the right time. Introducing the students into actual practice enables them to be more productive and they tend to find learning interesting as well. Another very important stage of making learning productive and fun is; the organizing