Poverty in Guatemala Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Poverty in Guatemala - Essay Example In 2012, only eleven point percent of the taxes reached the Central Bank. Of the 215 countries ranked in the CIA World Fact Book, the collected GDO is at position two hundred and four. However, the problem does not have any relations with too low value-added tax or income, but the inefficiency from government authorities and corrupt public servants. Now that majority of the population surive in informal economy makes it easy for the tax collector to hide behind little collection. The informal sector means that a bigger proportion of the population does not have formal businesses and formal jobs therefore; they do not operate with registered licences. Based on this, the tax authorities cannot levy taxes on them. Registered businesses also have the tendency of evading tax adding to the complication. Comparatively, Honduras, an immediate neighbour to Guatemala spends 15.8% of the GDP after collection, Kenya; a country in Africa collects and spends 18.4 % of its GDP, and Germany, an economic powerhouse spends 40.6% of the GDP (Zakaria 36). In other case studies, Mexico spends 29.7%, South Africa 26. 8%, Costa Rica 21%, and Canada 32.3% of its GDP. Data collected from economic sources shows a hitherto correlation (positive) between the proportion of GDP channelled through government spending and the standards of living of a country. Good public services and infrastructure explain factors behind established business activity. Senior economists from the World Bank hold that the economy of Guatemala continues to with typical support from private consumption. However, they also hold that the rate of investment is on a steady decline with little progress in the rate of productivity. Normally, lack of or minimal productivity affects the incomes for workers negatively. The growth rate of the country’s GDP is less impressive taking into account demographic trends of the country. While the population continues to grow at an average of 1.9%, the

Mobile Phone Industry PESTEL and SWOT

Mobile Phone Industry PESTEL and SWOT 1. INTRODUCTION This report will critically analyse the external environment of the mobile phone operators industry with the application of appropriate strategy tools including PESTEL and Michael Porters five forces models. An immediate result of this would be the identification of opportunities and threats that may arise from change in environmental factors and assessment of the attractiveness of the industry respectively. The report will also analyse critically, the strategic capability of Vodafone, also applying appropriate strategy tools resulting in the identification of key strengths and weaknesses of the firm. The aim here will be to identify and discuss the core competences the firm possesses. To aid the analysis, the report will draw on information from various sources such as: The Vodafone case study on page 557 in the main textbook by Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, Exploring Strategy 9th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2011. Other sources include Keynotes, Mintel and Magazines. 2. QUESTION ONE: PESTEL, KEY DRIVERS AND MICHAEL PORTERS 5 FORCES 2.1 PESTEL The PESTEL framework is used for the analysis and according to Johnson, Scholes and Whittington (2011), â€Å"it provides a comprehensive list of influences on the possible success or failure of particular strategies†. Discussed below are a few issues of PESTEL, please see appendix for other issues. (P)olitical/Legal factors Governments privatisation(through Ofcom) of the national telephone company, BT, compelling it to allow access to its network (via Openreach) for voice and broadband. This has helped to break down BTs monopoly thereby creating an opportunity for mobile operators to operate and at competitive rates.(case study p.558) (E)conomic factors The UK economy has still not fully recovered from the financial crisis of 2008, recovering even slower than other countries amidst huge government resuscitation efforts and even consumer spending is expected to decline by 0.6 per capita in 2011(the Telegraph, May 2011).This is a threat to the industry as, the slower the economic recovery, the slower the market growth for the mobile operators industry. Though the case study(p.558) says that personal disposal income growth as experienced between 2002 and 2007 was forecasted to resume in the future, recent developments suggest otherwise. Now the future is here, reports say household incomes are falling(NewStatesman, May  ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­2011 and Mail Online, May 2011 ). This is a threat to the mobile industry as it means less income at the disposal of households, hence less subscribers to its services. (S)ocial factors Consumer need for converged services, such as mobile telephony, fixed line telephony, television and broadband internet, was increasing(case study p.558). This means an opportunity for mobile operators to expand their market as more people are coming on board with this convergence need which could be a result of the plunge in disposable income so people want all services in one and pay a lower lump sum for all in a bid to ration their income. A decline in UK fixed line telephone market as households were becoming â€Å"mobile-only† users. This is an opportunity for mobile operators to capture the market share of fixed line telephone operators in a bid to expand theirs. Consumer perceived prestige that comes with owning smartphones is an industry opportunity. For example, everyone wants to have an IPhone, HTC or Blackberry because they are ‘cool or for other reasons, so operators in the industry can capitalize on this and increase their market share by offering cheap deals. Consumer ‘hype for new and modern technologies as everyone wants to have the latest ‘thing in technology. This would create an opportunity for the industry to capitalize on and expand their market share. (T)echnological factors Development of new technologies, IP(Internet Protocol) for voice, data and video transmission(case study p.557). The dynamic nature of technology is posing a threat as operators may be stuck with obsolete technology thereby facing a challenge to be pro-active in order to retain market share and keep churn rates at bay. Continued upgrading of speeds over mobile networks poses a threat as operators have to keep up with the upgrading of speeds because they might loose customers to service providers who can offer better speeds. (E)nvironmental factors As a result of advancement in telecommunications technology, mobile operators have to replace network equipments and hazardous wastes(masts, cables, construction waste etc)frequently. Mobile operators are then faced with the challenge of finding energy efficient ways of recycling which may also be capital intensive, altogether posing a threat. (L)egal factors Ofcoms issuance of licences for additional mobile network operators will pose a threat to incumbent operators( as their market share is threatened) and be an opportunity to potential operators as this will lower entry barriers for them. Elaborate legal contracts can also be a threat to the industry as lots of legal obligations have to be satisfied prior to and after entry. Drawing up different phone contracts for different mobile packages can prove challenging for the operators. 2.2 KEY DRIVERS FOR CHANGE Socio-cultural issue: Consumer need for converged services: Consumer needs(which has led Virgin Media to provide multiple services such as the ‘quad play and others providing the triple play) change from time to time and even some firms will try to create the needs for the consumers thereby pushing the industry towards finding ways to satisfy these needs as the market expands. This is one of the major drivers of change for the industry. Technological issue: Development of new Technologies: The dynamic nature of technology will keep operators findings ways to stay ahead of competitors by developing new technologies such as the IP, digitising high-speed distribution of voice, data and video over multiple networks. 2.3 MICHAEL PORTERS 5 FORCES ANALYSIS a.Threat of entry: (low) The barrier of initial capital cost of entry may be daunting but the regulatory changes in the UK communications industry by Ofcom saw the issuance of licences to more mobile operators and also allowing MVNOs to lease network capacity without the capital cost of building their own hence reducing barriers to entry. This has also led to increase in the number of competitors. b. Threat of substitutes: (low/moderate) Considering the advantages of mobile connections (make calls, sending messages/data, music etc), substitutes would be the fixed line connections, skype(or VOIP) on broadband, radio airwaves, phone booths or simply go without. With the fixed line connections, Ofcom reported that the number of lines dropped from 34.9million in 2003 to 33million in 2009. Call minutes had also decreased by 15% from 167billion to 138billion over the same period with mobile minutes expected to exceed fixed line minutes in 2010(Case study p.558). A report on Broadband news also says that mobile broadband will overtake fixed line connections in 2011.(Broadband Choices 2009). It is likely that the trend will continue in this way, considering the convenience offered by mobile connections, of being able to make a call on the move. c. Competitive rivalry: (high) One of the aims of Ofcom is to ensure healthy competition among operators which saw a rapid growth in the number of competitors. The major competitors in the industry are Vodafone, Telefonica O2, Orange, 3 UK and Tmobile plus lots of MVNOs. According to the case study, wireless operator margins in the UK were up because of strong competition(p.559). d. Buyer power: (moderate) The main buyers from the industry are households(individuals) and businesses. According to case study(p.559), average churn(customer switching) rates in the market was 20% annually due to the introduction of number portability in 2007 and competitive tactics such as subsidising handsets for subscribers. Customers would switch operators for better offers or added value for their money. To counter this churn rate, most operators have found a way to switch post-paid customers to longer contracts of 18months or even 24months as at 2009. A recent 2011 report (Sim-only deals, 2011) highlights other reasons for low switching rates including providers loyalty programme and value for money SIM only deals which altogether gives them the power to make customers stay. e. Supplier power: (moderate) The main suppliers to the industry would be the handset makers and Ofcom. Major handset suppliers such as Nokia with 40% of UK handset market and Samsung,21%, supply handsets to the industry under global contracts(case study p.559). There are more suppliers today including Apple, which is another fast growing supplier as their phones are deemed trendy and a must-have because of its innovative features. Sony-Ericsson, Samsung are among the loads of others. The case study p.559 says mobile handset sales had experienced a decline in 2009 as UK wireless operators started to offer sim-only plans which allow consumers to retain their current handset and pay lower monthly tariffs. Ofcom on the other hand is the sole provider of spectrum. ATTRACTIVENESS: Based on the evidences from the five forces, the report concludes that the industry is attractive. This being that, though rivalry is high, but other threats and powers are low. Essentially incumbents or new operators can then focus only on competition and worry less about powers and other threats. 3 QUESTION TWO: STRATEGIC CAPABILITIES OF VODAFONE According to Johnson et al.(2011), Strategic capabilities are capabilities of an organization that contribute to its long-term survival or competitive advantage made up of two components: Resources, which are assets the company has or can call upon and Competenceswhich are ways in which those assets are used or deployed effectively. 3.1 RESOURCES AND COMPETENCES Human Resources Vodafone has had a history of experienced CEOs including Arun Sarin(resource), who was skilled in achieving growth in developing markets(competence/strength). Also, Gary Laurence(resource), head of Vodafone UK, appointed CEO in September 2008 was known for his ability to identify strategic options(competence/strength) and the current CEO, Vittorio Colao(resource) who succeeded Arun in 2008 is known for strong reputation as cost cutter.(competence/strength). (Case study page 563) Vodafones partnership with BT(resource) hosting BTs MVNO, allowed it to provide services to corporations.(competence/strength). It started a joint venture with O2(resources) which enabled it to extend its fixed-line network.(competence/strength). Vodafone, in its target of business travelers with passport services(resources), was able to offer home country voice rates while roaming in Europe and mobile data services for  £10 a day(competence/strength).(case study page 563) Financial Resources Financial Performance of Vodafone: (a) ROCE(Return on Capital Employed): measures the returns made from all forms of resources or capital employed in the business. Vodafones resources are the capital employed and its competence is shown in the amount of returns generated from utilization these capital. Vodafones ROCE plunged by 3.73% to give a ROCE in 2010 of 19.85. This may be slightly better than industry average but it shows a weakness to efficiently utilise resources to yield maximum profits. Vodafone 2010 2009 Industry ROCE 19.85 20.59 19.48 Source. Morning Star Stock Report. (b) Current ratio:   measures a companys efficiency at meeting its short term obligations. A good ratio would be for current liabilities to be covered at least once but Vodafones current assets(resources) can barely cover 50% of its liabilities in 2010 though it improved from previous year. On the whole, this is a weakness as the company is low on liquidity and incurring too much liabilities in terms of its short term borrowings. Vodafone Plc 2010 2009 Industry Current Ratio 0.50:1 0.47:1 Source: Morning Star Stock Report. (c) Net Gearing: shows the proportion of debt within a companys overall capital. The table below shows that Vodafones net gearing has declined from 40.67% in 2009 to 37.76% in 2010. Overall for the industry borrowing is about 40% of total capital. The reduction therefore for Vodafone is good as its means a reduction in finance costs too. Vodafone 2010 2009 Industry Net Gearing ratio 37.76% 40.67% 39.40% Source: Morning Star Stock Report. (d) Interest cover: explains Vodafones ability to service its debt. From the table below, it appears Vodafone makes enough profits to service it finance costs as it has been able to increase its interest cover to 7.51times in 2010 from 7.03times in 2009. This may not be a core competence but it is a strength for Vodafone. Vodafone 2010 2009 Interest cover 7.51 times 7.03 times Source: Morning Star Stock Report. Physical Resources Vodafone makes heavy investments in the marketing of its Product brands (competence/strength) which includes, landline solutions and mobile telephony, mobile broadband and secure employee remote access(resources), making them well known.(Vodafone website). It invests also in the marketing (competence/strength) of 3G dongles or cards(resources) for internet connection giving it the largest share of 3G subscribers. Vodafone used wholesale services to distribute its fixed voice and broadband (resources) but its prices were too high giving it only a few customers(weakness). Another of its products is the Vodafone-at-home(resources), with which it competed with fixed line providers by offering fixed line prices when customers call from within or near their home(competence/strength). Core Competences For the sake of this report, the core competences identified are Vodafones CEOs. They have been exceptional with what they bring to the table and how their expertise has been able to transform the company. Vodafone UK CEO, Gary Laurence has been formidable in terms of identifying strategic options available to the company such as successful alliances and joint venture with likes of BT and O2. Heavy investment in the marketing of its products giving it largest share of 3G subscribers is another core competence. 3.2 VODAFONE VALUE CHAIN Primary Activities Inbound logistics: Vodafone possesses its own network equipments, backbones and infrastructure to provide various communication services, and purchasing of handsets (Annual Reports 2010, p.21). Now, its in a network sharing agreement (sharing masts, sites and towers) with O2 covering the UK and 4 European countries,.(case study page 559, Guardian March 2009)., Another inbound logistic is the ownership of spectrum. Spectrum is of particular importance to the mobile phone and mobile broadband industry, which relies on it to carry information between customers handsets and mobile masts. Vodafone spectrum is 1800MHz. (Ofcom report, Feb 2011). Operations: All Vodafone operations are based on in-house infrastructure. Vodafones operations is dependent on its people, infrastructure and financial resources. Its logistics operations (which provides a variety of value-added services), evolves from a single, purpose built site in West Midlands.(Unipartlogistics.com) Out-bound logistics: Vodafone has consumer on-line purchasing systems in place that allow customers to purchase its services directly(Vodafone website). It also has its own billing system. Marketing and Sales: Vodafone has several own branded and other retail chains that it uses in distribution. According to the case   study(page 563), Vodafone invests a lot in marketing in all markets whilst promoting its brand and also sponsors Formula 1 and England cricket sports. Services: Its all encompassing website enables customer online ordering and feedback monitoring.(source).Vodafone has customer services helpline that offer after sales  services and it also offers services to MVNOs such as Lebara mobile, Asda mobile, Talk mobile(Carphone Warehouse) and BT mobile(http://ukmobilecoverage.co.uk/), Support Activities Infrastructure: Vodafones mode of expansion was the formation of a joint venture with O2(case study p.559) to manage its mobile network and share network covering 4 European countries and the UK. It also leases BTs fixed line services and hosts BTs MVNO.(case study p.562) Human Resource Management: Vodafone depends on its employees for the quality of its services to customers. It ensures an inclusive working environment and encourages innovation, ambition and pro-activeness. Vodafone encourages enthusiasm, talent and commitment in its employees in order to build and maintain its success and stay competitive.(Vodafone, Our people). Technology and Development: Vodafone owns internet portals which enables on-line ordering. Also, continuous RD helps the company to incubate and deliver innovation to the business. (Annual Report, 2010. p.20) Procurement: Vodafone, like other networks, purchases branded handsets from suppliers. Vodafone holds several training courses for its procurement team for efficient management of supplier performance. CONCLUSION SWOT MATRIX STRENGTHS 1. Experienced CEOs(UK CEO, Gary Laurence). 2. Partnership with BT and O2. 3.Offering home country voice rates abroad. 4.Heavy investment in marketing. 5.Vodafone at home 6. Good Interest Cover 7. Reduced borrowing WEAKNESSES 1.Low level of liquidity 2.Inability to increase ROCE 3.High prices and inefficient channel of distribution for fixed voice and broadband. OPPORTUNITIES 1. Governments privatization of Ofcom. 2. Consumer need for converged services. 3. Decline in Fixed line telephone market 4. 2012 Olympics 5. Consumer demand for smart phones 6. Consumer hype for modern technology 7. Ofcom issuance of entry license THREATS 1.Slow economic recovery from recession 2.Decline in disposable income 3.Immigration cap 4.Health issues in areas of mobile masts. 5.Customer switching rates. 6.Development of new technologies 7.Capital intensive recycling 8.Ofcoms issuance of entry license 9.Elaborate legal contarcts From all facts assessed in the report and also information from the case study and Vodafone accounts, it is indeed evident that Vodafone is struggling to develop a total communications strategy to enable it to secure leadership   in the rapidly growing market for high speed internet services in its UK home market due to the fact that it actually cannot improve its core activities in order to gain competitive advantage.

Long Range Casues Of World War II :: essays research papers

World War I was a very complicated war. It goes back as far back as 1870. Of course the was didn’t last for that many years, but it had many casues. Not just one spark that started it off. The Franco-Prussian War was one of these casues. There were sevral Franco-Prussian Wars. The last Franco-Prussian War started in 1870. Prussia was in a confederation. A confederation is a group of states that are loosly joined together and have more power than the government of the whole country. Prussia was the biggest state. France and Prussia always fought over Alsace-Lorraince. It was land with very rich soil. It was on the border between France and Prussia. They kept fighting over the land. One time Prussia would win and would take the land. The the next time France would win and would take the land. This kept happening, but in the last war, which started in 1870, Germany finally won Alsace-Lorraine. They signed a treaty in Versailles, France. The Franco-Prussian War ended in 1871. Aft er the Franco-Prussian War, Bismarck, who was Prussia’s leader made the unification of Germany. That meant that all the separate states joined together to be one counrty. After this, Bismarck became the leader of Germany. After the Franco-Prussian War, France was afraid that Germany would attack France for more land. So then France started building up it’s army so that Germany wouldn’t attack. Germany wanted a war. This caused the six stronge countires in Europe to start building up their armies and get ready for the war. The six stronge countries were England, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Turkey. All of these countires were compeating to be the strongest. Russia and Germany did not get along. Russia, too, was afriad Germnay would attack, so Russia started to build up it’s army to make Germany afriad. Russia and Austria-Hungary also didn’t get along. Austria-Hungary was afriad Russia would attack so they started to build up their army to intimidate Russia. Turkey didn’t get along with Austria-Hungary. Turkey saw that Austria-Hungary was building up their army, and that frightened Turkey, so they started building up their armies to scare Austria-Hunga ry. All of thse countries were compeating to be the best and the strongest. This is an example of militerism and nationalism. Nationalism is a deep feeling of pride for one’s country with a desire to prove that it’s better than all other countires.

Iron Deficiency Anemia Essay

What is it and what are its causes?Anemia is an insufficient amount of red blood cells in the bloodstream and iron deficiency anemia is where there is a lack of iron in the blood. You need iron in your blood to make hemoglobin, which contributes in distributing oxygen to tissues from the lungs. One of the most common causes of iron deficiency anemia is an inadequate intake of iron in your diet. Another possible cause of iron deficiency anemia is bleeding, be this because of an injury or because of menstrual bleeding. It can also be caused by gastrointestinal problems such as ulcers or colon cancer. Iron deficiency anemia, however, may also be due to growth spurt or pregnancy. Symptoms:Some of the symptoms that anemic people might experience include; pale skin colour, fatigue, headaches, lack of appetite, unusual food cravings, brittle nails, weakness, shortness of breath and a sore tongue. These symptoms may not also we evident, since they do not usually show up prominently in people with mild iron deficiency anemia. Treatment:Most people who are diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia take iron pills (iron sulfate) for approximately six months. After two months there blood should have its proper iron level back, but just to make sure the pills are followed through for another couple of months. This treatment is continued to replenish the iron stored in the bone marrow. About 30% of all the iron in your body is stored in your bone marrow, so it is important you replenish these stores as well. After this treatment you should be fine, but people in high risk groups should go for regular check-ups. Older people may have to be more closely monitored or receive different treatment if their iron loss is due to something else, such as an ulcer. Prevention:Iron deficiency anemia can in most cases be easily prevented, since its main cause is an inadequate intake of iron in your diet. Some iron rich foods are meats, legumes, raisins, egg yolks, broccoli and whole-wheat bread. Also vitamin C can help. Vitamin C aids with the absorption of iron. You can also have a too high intake of iron. This is called Hemochromatosis. In hemoglobin test this also shows up as there being too little hemoglobin. Hemochromatosis can be fatal and is one the largest contributors to poisoning deaths. Works Cited ICON health publication, Iron deficiency anemia, San Diego, ICON health publicationshttp://www.bloodbook.com/iron-foods.htmlwww.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000584.htmwww.emedicine.com/med/topic1188.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_deficiency_anemiawww.umm.edu/blood/aneiron.htm

Ge Matrix Essay

Gg General Electric screen matrix (the General Electric (GE) business screen) The GE screen matrix is essentially a derivation of the Boston Consulting Group’s Boston growth matrix. It was developed by McKinsey and Co. for General Electric as it had been recognized that the Boston Consulting Group matrix was not flexible enough to take broader issues into account. The GE matrix cross-references market attractiveness and business position using three criteria for each – high, medium and low. The market attractiveness considers variables relating to the market itself, including the rate of market growth, market size, potential barriers to entering the market, the number and size of competitors, the actual profit margins currently enjoyed, and the technological implications of involvement in the market. The business position criteria look at the business’s strengths and weaknesses in a variety of fields. These include its position in relation to its competitors, and the business’s ability to handle product research, development and ultimate production. It also considers how well placed the management is to deploy these resources. The matrix differs in its complexity compared with the Boston Consulting Group matrix. Superimposed on the basic diagram are a number of circles. These circles are of variable size (see Figure 22). The size of each represents the size of each market. Within each circle is a clearly defined segment which represents the business’s market share within that market. The larger the circle, the larger the market, and the larger the segment, the larger the market share. General environment The term ‘general environment’ refers to the broad macro-environment in which a business operates. Broadly speaking, it can be identified as having four key elements, as outlined in Table 10. 98 Key Concepts in Strategic Management Business position High Invest heavily for growth High Medium Invest selectively and build Low Develop for income Market attractiveness Medium Invest selectively and build Develop selectively for income Harvest or divest Figure 22 Low Develop selectively and build on strengths Harvest Divest The General Electric (GE) matrix Table 10 Elements of the general environment Political/legal Potential/actual changes in regulations/legislation Foreign trade regulations Environmental protection Changes in government (local/regional/national) Technological New development inside and outside the industry New product development Technological projects in the industry Industry (and government) spending on research and development G Economic GNP growth Finance/market trends Inflation Interest rates Money upply Employment/unemployment Energy issues Socio-cultural Population trends Age distribution Regional movement of population Demographics of the family Lifestyle Consumerism Geographical structure 99 The most rapid of these trends in the general environment are technological and political/legal. The slowest moving are the economic and the socio-cultural. Geographical structure The organizational structure of a major business could be based purely on geographical regions . This could reflect the following possibilities: †¢ †¢ †¢ that the market is sufficiently remote to warrant a replication of the organizational structure in its geographical region; that the factors of production are sufficiently attractive to set up a geographically-based structure; that the market requires specific support that can only be delivered in the geographical region and not from the remote central headquarters of the organization. Global area structure A global area structure configures the organization along the main areas (geographically) in which it operates. Typically, the globe would be split up into a series of general areas such that the business can assume that all functions can be carried out by a centralized headquarters within each region. The configuration may take the form depicted in Figure 23. Corporate HQ (in home country and serving home country Northern Europe Southern Europe and Near East Pacific region G Figure 23 A global area structure Global learning Global learning is a process by which a multinational organization ensures that skills and knowledge flow freely between the different parts of the business across the world, regardless of national boundaries. Global learning can take the following routes: 100 Key Concepts in Strategic Management †¢ †¢ †¢ from the home country to an overseas division or subsidiary; from an overseas division or subsidiary to another overseas division or subsidiary; from an overseas division or subsidiary to the home country. Global matrix structure A global matrix structure is essentially a horizontal differentiation along product divisions and geographical divisions. In other words, to visualize the organization structure, product groups are placed on a vertical axis and the foreign divisions are placed on a horizontal axis. It allows businesses to reduce costs by increasing efficiency, and to differentiate their activities with innovation and responsiveness. The feature of the global matrix structure is that there is dual decisionmaking responsibility, as there is both a divisional and an area hierarchy. The system is not without its problems, as many organizations consider this form of structure to be rather clumsy and bureaucratic. There is also the question of slow decision making and a lack of flexibility. Several international businesses have sought to overcome the problems by basing their organizational structure on wide networks with a shared culture and vision, and stressing that the informal structures are more important than the formal structure itself. These forms of organizational structure are known as flexible matrix structures. Egelhoff, W. G. , ‘Strategy and Structure in Multinational Corporations: a Revision of the Stopford and Wells Model’, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 9 (1988), pp. 1–14. Global product group structure A global product group structure is a variant organizational structure which has product groups along a vertical axis and foreign (overseas) divisions, or business units, on a horizontal axis. The primary purpose of the product group structure is: G †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ to to to to to educe costs through increased efficiency; differentiate the organization’s areas of activity; utilize any innovations or technologies; improve customer service; increase the speed of responses. Typically, the structure would appear in the format shown in Figure 24. Global strategic alliances A global strategic alliance is usually formed by two or more organiza- Global strategic planning 101 Corporate HQ Product division A Product division B International div ision Japan India Brazil Figure 24 A global product group structure ions from different countries. Typically, this involves the allocation of resources from these businesses based in different countries, to a new project or venture which they seek to undertake, using cooperative methods and the pooling of expertise and experience. The purpose of global strategic alliances is to: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ create synergy; accomplish more than could be achieved had the businesses been operating independently; coordinate effort; gain and share technologies; gain entry into an overseas market. Major multinational businesses routinely enter into global strategic alliances as an integral part of their corporate strategy and the practice has become widespread in recent years. See also green-field investment. G Global strategic planning Global strategic planning aims to maximize global economies of scale and economies of scope, while at the same time incorporating the advantages of local responsiveness to customers in the countries in which the organization operates. 102 Key Concepts in Strategic Management There are three main steps towards achieving global strategic planning: †¢ †¢ The development of a core business strategy – which forms the basis of attempts to create a sustainable competitive advantage (a replica of what has been achieved in the home market). The internationalization of this core strategy – the adaptation of the core strategy to overseas markets, along with expansion as necessary. The globalization of the international core strateg y – which seeks to integrate the strategy in all of the countries in which the business operates. Yip, G. S. , Total Global Strategy: Managing for Worldwide Competitive Advantage. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2002. Global strategy A global strategy is often adopted by an international business in order to increase its profitability by taking advantage not only of cost reductions that come from experience curve effects, but also of economies based on the location of parts of its operations. Typically a global strategy will consider the best alternative areas in which to concentrate research and development, marketing or production, choosing the most beneficial location for each of these key operations. In essence a global strategy can be called a multi-domestic strategy, in as much as the international business seeks to maximize its worldwide performance through maximizing any local competitive advantages, revenues or profits it can achieve. Equally, global strategies seek to maximize performance through integration and a sharing of resources. Stonehouse, George, Hamill, Jim, Campbell, David and Purdie, Tony, Global and Transnational Business: Strategy and Management. New York: John Wiley, 2004. G Global web

The Civil War and Failure to Compromise essays

The Civil War and Failure to Compromise essays The Civil War was not inevitable. It was not an unavoidable conflict of two opposing sides; rather, it was the result of extremism and failures of leadership on both sides of the conflict. The conflict was made up of the pro-slavery southerners and the anti-slavery northerners. Both sides felt very strongly about their position, and refused to see the opposite point. Failure of leadership that led to the Civil War was the passing of the personal liberty laws, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and popular sovereignty by congress, while extremism that led to the Civil War included the Fugitive Slave law, and Harpers Ferry. Divisions caused by the slavery issue cut deep into America. Entire regions bitterly hated each other. Harriet Beecher Stowes abolitionist book Uncle Toms Cabin only furthered the hatred between the North and the South by adding an emotional aspect to the immorality of slavery (Document C). The rift even split political parties such as the Whigs. One half of the Whigs were Cotton Whigs, who believed that slavery was an essential part of the economy, and that slavery is good. The Conscience Whigs believed that slavery was wrong and should be ended. The political party of the Whigs soon dissolved, and disappeared from Congress (Document E). Abraham Lincoln may have thought of this political party when he said, A house divided against itself cannot stand.(Document F) Lincoln was of course referring to the civil war he saw looming ahead. People on both sides of the conflict who passed the personal liberty laws, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and popular sovereignty showed lack of leadership. The passage of Personal liberty laws showed lack of leadership by the North because the laws impeded the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law. This infuriated the Southerners (Document I). The personal liberty laws were found unconstitutional and were repealed, because one state can not i...

Free Essays on Quiet

Quiet My hand shook violently as I fumbled with my keys. I tried to quiet the jingling, tried to unlock the door quickly without making much noise, tried to get inside before he caught up with me. I turned the knob and rushed through the door, locking it with a click behind me. My heart pounded in my ears as I shoved my back against the closed wooden door and shut my eyes. I held my breath as the footsteps echoed down the hallway. I prayed silently as they drew nearer, hoping they would walk past the door and keep going. I heard the sound of another set of shoes, and then the flick of a switchblade being released. I waited for the sound of tearing flesh but none came. Instead, the second pair of feet walked off in the other direction, the person seemingly unharmed. My fingers tightened around the straps I'd been gripping as I waited for the sound of the blade being sheathed once more. The footsteps again began to move closer to the door, slowing down steadily. I nearly gave myself away when I felt something press against my lower leg, but I stifled the scream just before it left my lips. I slowly reached down and gently stroked the soft fur with shaking hands, afraid it might betray me with an attention wanting meow. My lungs felt like fire when I finally opened my mouth and breathed in the clean fresh air of my apartment. It was still a while longer before the pounding in my ears quieted and I forced myself to move. I slowly walked away from the door, sliding my hand along the wall to find the light switch. I flicked light onto the surroundings and waited for my eyes to adjust, then slowly headed towards the couch. I plopped down onto the closest bumblebee colored cushion and closed my eyes. I reached my arm out, trying to hit the snooze, for just a few more minutes I wanted to sleep. Suddenly, shook myself into full wakefulness rapidly remembering where I was. I leaned across the couch and picked up the phone at the other end... Free Essays on Quiet Free Essays on Quiet Quiet My hand shook violently as I fumbled with my keys. I tried to quiet the jingling, tried to unlock the door quickly without making much noise, tried to get inside before he caught up with me. I turned the knob and rushed through the door, locking it with a click behind me. My heart pounded in my ears as I shoved my back against the closed wooden door and shut my eyes. I held my breath as the footsteps echoed down the hallway. I prayed silently as they drew nearer, hoping they would walk past the door and keep going. I heard the sound of another set of shoes, and then the flick of a switchblade being released. I waited for the sound of tearing flesh but none came. Instead, the second pair of feet walked off in the other direction, the person seemingly unharmed. My fingers tightened around the straps I'd been gripping as I waited for the sound of the blade being sheathed once more. The footsteps again began to move closer to the door, slowing down steadily. I nearly gave myself away when I felt something press against my lower leg, but I stifled the scream just before it left my lips. I slowly reached down and gently stroked the soft fur with shaking hands, afraid it might betray me with an attention wanting meow. My lungs felt like fire when I finally opened my mouth and breathed in the clean fresh air of my apartment. It was still a while longer before the pounding in my ears quieted and I forced myself to move. I slowly walked away from the door, sliding my hand along the wall to find the light switch. I flicked light onto the surroundings and waited for my eyes to adjust, then slowly headed towards the couch. I plopped down onto the closest bumblebee colored cushion and closed my eyes. I reached my arm out, trying to hit the snooze, for just a few more minutes I wanted to sleep. Suddenly, shook myself into full wakefulness rapidly remembering where I was. I leaned across the couch and picked up the phone at the other end...

Population Statistics - Village of 100 People

Population Statistics - Village of 100 People If the world were a village of 100 people... 61 villagers would be Asian (of that, 20 would be Chinese and 17 would be Indian), 14 would be African, 11 would be European, 9 would be Latin or South American, 5 would be North American, and none of the villagers would be from Australia, Oceania, or Antarctica. At least 18 villagers would be unable to read or write but 33 would have cellular phones and 16 would be online on the Internet. 27 villagers would be under 15 years of age and 7 would be over 64 years old. There would be an equal number of males and females. There would be 18 cars in the village. 63 villagers would have inadequate sanitation. 33 villagers would be Christians, 20 would be Muslims, 13 would be Hindus, 6 would be Buddhists, 2 would be atheists, 12 would be non-religious, and the remaining 14 would be members of other religions. 30 villagers would be unemployed or underemployed while of those 70 who would work, 28 would work in agriculture (primary sector), 14 would work in industry (secondary sector), and the remaining 28 would work in the service sector (tertiary sector). 53 villagers would live on less than two U.S. dollars a day. One villager would have AIDS, 26 villagers would smoke, and 14 villagers would be obese. By the end of a year, one villager would die and two new villagers would be born so thus the population would climb to 101.

Australian Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Australian Law - Essay Example There also has to be the item being offered and the consideration for the same. It is also worth noting that putting an advertisement on the paper is classified as an invitation to treat (Evan, 2006). This is where the seller is welcoming any prospective buyer to come and make an offer the commodity being sold. However, once the buyer has made the offer and the seller has agreed to take the stated consideration, the contract becomes binding and prevents the seller from rescinding such a contract on any other basis. For the agreement to become binding, the offer must be communicated and the acceptance communicated too, indicating an intention to enter into a contract. If in the communication of the acceptance the offeree changes any term of the original offer, then the contract is breached and not binding any more. If the acceptance happens to be given after the set time for the contract has expired, then the contract can be rescinded (Parkinson, 2001). The most important aspect regar ding the offer and acceptance is that from the judgment of a reasonable ground, the whole deal settles as a bargain that is concluded. Notable also is the fact that both the parties entering into such a contract must have the capacity to engage. Under this provision, a drunk or a minor cannot enter into any binding agreement. In our case, Anton offers to sell a photograph to John. John agrees to buy the photo and then pay for it $10,000. Here, there is an involvement of two parties, the seller, and the buyer. The law requires that the intention by the two parties entering into such a contractual agreement should be to create a contract. In this case, there was a clear intention to form a contract, in the sense that John agreed to purchase the photograph only if it was authentic. The response by Anton was positive. This far, the intended transaction had qualified to be a contract. However, there was an abrupt change of plans when Anton was informed that the same photo would fetch mor e money, to a tune of $ 30,000. By deciding to give out the photograph to be sold at a higher price in auction, well knowing that he had agreed to sell the same to John, Anton breached the agreement. Under the Australian law, there are two provisions that guide the cause of action, once one party to the agreement breaches a contractual agreement. The legislation guiding fair-trading in all the Australian states as well as the law of consumer provides that a party to the contractual agreement who decides to breach the agreement can be sued for damages (Baker, 1995). The fact that Anton breached the agreement gives John a legal right to claim the watch and if not provide to him, then to sue Anton over the same. Thus, in our case, John can take legal action and sue Anton for the breach of contract. However, there are some considerations that need to be done in this case, just before a determination is given as to who bares the responsibility. The fundamental principle of capacity comes into play in this case (Hoggers, 2008). We are not told the age of both the seller and the buyer. If it happens that Anton was below the legal age of responsibility, then John have no legal right to sue Anton for the breach of that contract. The state of the two parties entering the contract is not given also. Considering the fact that any contract entered into by parties who are drunk or not sober is not binding,

3 year personal development plan in nursing Outline

3 year personal development plan in nursing - Outline Example Within one year, the outcome should be evident in my communication and patient-care skills. The confidence gained will pave way for me to expand my professional network in the second year. This will be achieved through participating in at least one professional development program in a quarter, thus improving on my organisational commitment and job-satisfaction as noted by Turner (2007). This would also provide knowledge on the practice in other different nursing fields, including mental health nursing. Still in my second year, I will seek to develop academically. Thus, I will enrol for part-time postgraduate diploma course specialising in adult nursing which will take me two years, up to the third year of my development plan. I will apply for a scholarship from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) so as to subsidise on the cost implication. Accomplishing this course will expand my knowledge on patient care and further on ethical issues around nursing in general. Therefore, my three year development plan would basically entail professional development and network building and academic

Leadership and Team Dynamics in the MSCC Case Study - 30

Leadership and Team Dynamics in the MSCC - Case Study Example With respect to the key responsibilities that were associated with each role, Jim Kovecki was primarily responsible for systems maintenance and operations. Conversely, Leon Lassiter was primarily responsible for marketing outreach and conducting himself as a representative of the organization as a means to boost visibility, promote the services that the organization offered, and seek to better hone and organize marketing dynamics to better serve the needs of the organization. Lastly, Jeff Hedges was the lead director of research. Although these roles are straightforward enough, the problem that emerged was that nearly as soon as the project began, the key roles and responsibilities of the individuals that have thus far been enumerated upon seemed to experience a sudden shift. Due to the fact that Lassiter was the one that was spearheading the effort to purchase and implement the new systems, the other shareholders showed little if any interest in fulfilling their job responsibilities in order to assist the transition; interested instead in seeking to busy themselves on other tasks, or outright decline to participate in what they termed as â€Å"Lassiter’s project†. In much the same way, Lassiter was left to spearhead an information technology change over that he had little if any experience in. This served as both a disservice to the firm as well as a disservice to his own responsibilities that he was charged with fulfilling.

Teenage Alcoholism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Teenage Alcoholism - Research Paper Example However, when excessive drinking and drinking binges are resorted to, that’s when the trouble starts. A drinking binge can actually lead to alcohol poisoning which can kill a person. â€Å"Alcoholism is a disease that develops over time. It can be treated, but not cured† (Graves 18). II. Causes/Sources Most teens drink alcohol because of peer pressure and want to feel accepted by their close buddies. They feel that if their friends do it, they should too. Sometimes, they want to fit in to the group to achieve popularity in school and be branded as â€Å"cool†. On the other hand, â€Å"many teens drink hoping to find relief from boredom, loneliness, anger, unhappiness or pressure. While the other teenagers perceive drinking as a sign of maturity† (Graves 15). The feeling of maturity gives the teens a temporary license to do whatever they please. Teens are also influenced by the adults surrounding them. Even as young children, when they see their parents are engage in alcohol abuse, they tend to become like them in the future. â€Å"They have a misconception that drinking is an acceptable norm as they see it inside their homes†(Graves 16). Trouble in the home which often times lead to family conflicts, pushes the teens to become alcoholics. Another valid cause which can heavily influence teens is a captivating and luring advertisement. Teens are generally attracted to what they see on television, on the internet, on magazines or even while listening to rock music. Media plays a major role to sway a teen-ager’s choice. â€Å"Television programs an movies often portray drinking in a positive vein, too† (Hyde 13). Most of the time, teens make the wrong options because they do things for the off beam reasons. They are only guided by the way... Most teens drink alcohol because of peer pressure and want to feel accepted by their close buddies. They feel that if their friends do it, they should too. Sometimes, they want to fit into the group to achieve popularity in school and be branded as â€Å"cool†. On the other hand, â€Å"many teens drink hoping to find relief from boredom, loneliness, anger, unhappiness or pressure. While the other teenagers perceive drinking as a sign of maturity† (Graves 15). The feeling of maturity gives the teens a temporary license to do whatever they please.Teens are also influenced by the adults surrounding them. Even as young children, when they see their parents are engaged in alcohol abuse, they tend to become like them in the future. â€Å"They have a misconception that drinking is an acceptable norm as they see it inside their homes†(Graves 16). Trouble in the home which often times lead to family conflicts pushes the teens to become alcoholics.Teens are generally attra cted to what they see on television, on the internet, on magazines or even while listening to rock music. Media plays a major role to sway a teenager's choice. â€Å"Television programs movies often portray drinking in a positive vein, too† (Hyde 13). Most of the time, teens make the wrong options because they do things for the off beam reasons. They are only guided by the way that they feel at the certain moment and fail to use logical basis before arriving at a decision. Examples of these are the fraudulent advertisements which promise joy and pleasure.

User Interface Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

User Interface - Case Study Example The dialog box shall hide when a user presses any of the two buttons. 1. The list of Portfolio Manager, Stock, and Trader Name shall be populated dynamically via retrieving the data from a database (for e.g. MS Access), spreadsheets (for e.g. MS Excel), or simple text files, and the user shall select the desired item from the drop-down list rather than typing. The users may also be allowed to add, edit, or delete the items of the drop-down lists. 3. A numeric up and down control shall be used instead of text field for the ‘Quantity’ input. This will allow the application to restrict the user to enter only numeric inputs and within the specified range. 1. The list of Stock shall be populated dynamically via retrieving the data from a database (for e.g. MS Access), spreadsheets (for e.g. MS Excel), or simple text files, and the user shall select the desired item from the drop-down list rather than typing. The users may also be allowed to add, edit, or delete the items of the drop-down

Effect of IT Industry on Literacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Effect of IT Industry on Literacy - Essay Example For example a manual may require at least a week with a man power of ten to fifteen people whereas when it comes to an automation the same work can be finished off within a day with an employee of one o two who knows how to operate it. A number of examples can be cited where Information Technology has played a considerable role. We can take the banks before they were automated. There used to be a lot of difficulty and lot of time consumption for performing transactions. Cashing a check involved a lot of time as the balance had to be calculated manually. But Information Technology has revolutionized banking sectors. Any kind of transaction can be performed within seconds from creating an account to withdrawing cash. And the introduction of ATMs(Automated Teller machines) has made the work even much more simpler in which the user can take money whenever he or she likes and need nor carry the exact amount of money. The IT industry has created a lot of opportunities as well in terms of employment and also with special incentives and packages which no other fields are offering. And also IT sector had a lot of influence of the education sector. Computer education is being provided from early years of education itself. This helps children to cope up with the coming years since they would have firm foundation in computers. Also special emphasis is being given in terms of application programming and also to games. Games help children to improve creativity and also form a kind of entertainment and refreshment. Similarly exposure to internet has also helped since internet is considered to be the largest storage of knowledge and the child can get any sort of information on whatever topic or subject he or she is interested in. It also makes learning easy and interesting. Information technology provides for students to develop and exercise their critical thinking abilities. Information conveyed through advanced information technology such as computers and the World Wide Web can appear more convincing than the same information conveyed through a conversation with a stranger or the newspaper, despite the fact that it may have equiva lent accuracy and validity. Students must evaluate all information critically. Their ability to present information using information technology can aid in developing an ability to separate form from content in all information, and in assessing its accuracy and validity. The result is a more critical evaluation of all information. Such critical ability helps individuals to evaluate information technology-mediated claims for alternative medicines, advertisements for energy-efficient homes, and homework advice from peers. Hence it can be observed that the IT industry has many positive aspects on literacy and education. One of the reasons is that IT has been made to reach even the remote places these days. In the past computers were only subjected to large offices and sectors. Even the internet was limitedly available. But slowly due to advancement in technology an attempt has been made to reach technology to every one and everywhere. This had been dome mainly due to the benefits which this particular field has got. These are the advantages of the IT field. But there are many negative aspects of IT sector as well. IT has definitely promoted literacy. But it has

User Interface Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

User Interface - Case Study Example The dialog box shall hide when a user presses any of the two buttons. 1. The list of Portfolio Manager, Stock, and Trader Name shall be populated dynamically via retrieving the data from a database (for e.g. MS Access), spreadsheets (for e.g. MS Excel), or simple text files, and the user shall select the desired item from the drop-down list rather than typing. The users may also be allowed to add, edit, or delete the items of the drop-down lists. 3. A numeric up and down control shall be used instead of text field for the ‘Quantity’ input. This will allow the application to restrict the user to enter only numeric inputs and within the specified range. 1. The list of Stock shall be populated dynamically via retrieving the data from a database (for e.g. MS Access), spreadsheets (for e.g. MS Excel), or simple text files, and the user shall select the desired item from the drop-down list rather than typing. The users may also be allowed to add, edit, or delete the items of the drop-down

How Southwest Airlines Soars Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 17

How Southwest Airlines Soars - Case Study Example The second one is the participative theory, which suggests that leaders should encourage contributions and participation from members and make them feel relevant in the organization. During the Halloween, Kelleher encouraged the employees to get loose by decorating gates, wearing wacky costumes and munching on treat snacks, by this, he encourages the employees to participate on keeping the airline's spirit alive. Kelleher is both a manager and a leader. The view as a manager is portrayed by implementing tactical actions when the airline set off in 1971; he put up measures of cutting cost by avoiding extra expenses. When the fuel prices rose, he initiated cutting cost by asking each employee to find a way of saving $5 per day (Case Study). He is seen as a leader by inspiring, empowering and creating new opportunities. As the airline expands, he creates new job opportunities by personality testing and maintains the culture of the airway by choosing individuals who are able to make decisions, good communicators, optimistic and team-oriented.

Sociology Essays Tattooing Body Mutilation

Sociology Essays Tattooing Body Mutilation Tattooing Body Mutilation Sociology Cultural Studies Question. Undertake a case study of any contemporary cultural practice or set of practices of your choice, explaining what you consider to be their sociological significance. Tattooing Body mutilation has long been part of non-Christian cultures as a positive mark of identity, while in many modem Body modification practices are so prolific that an exhaustive account of the practices of body magic and marking around the globe is nearly impossible. Body mutilation such as tattooing often functions as part of a healing ritual, protection against forces that may cause injury and admission to a social group. Cultural practices of body mutilation are often functionally akin to prayer as a practice that spiritually elevates an individual. Tattooing is not the hideous custom which it is called. It is not barbarous merely because the printing is skin-deep and unalterable. -Henry David Thoreau. Several major religions exhibit complex attitudes toward self-mutilation and adornment. In the Old Testament, Leviticus 19.28 prohibits followers of Judaism from marking the body: Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor imprint any marks upon you. The â€Å"Holly Koran† forbids marking the body. The Christian Bible associates body markings with sin as shown in the story of Cain, who was marked in punishment for slaying his brother. Still, many people apparently have continued to feel a need for confirmation of their religion by marking their bodies. The Judaic custom of circumcision persists. Coptic, Armenian, Abyssinian, Syrian, and Russian pilgrims returning from the Holy Land frequently acquired souvenir tattoos to commemorate their journey. At the turn of the nineteenth century, it was traditional for Gypsies to tattoo these pilgrims, and the tattoo marks became part of the pilgrims social status. An example of this is the Armenian title for one who has made the pilgrimage which is Mahdesi, which translates as I saw death. Because only religious pilgrims were tattooed, the religious tattoos were also known as Mahdesi. The tattoo is a code indicating a spiritual passage, or at least a religious pilgrimage. Similarly, in Turkey the souvenir tattoos were known by the Turkish word for one who has made the religious pilgrimage, Haji. These religious tattoos became symbols of entry into a higher plane of spiritual existence and exemplify the overlap between Christian beliefs and body magic. First documented by a traveler in 1660, common marks included dots in the shape of a cross at the base of the fingers and crosses on the back of the hand or inside of the wrist. Biblical scenes marked the bearer as a devout Christian, but also served magical purposes. Women chose Annunciation scenes to ensure fertility, and sufferers of illness placed tattoos on ailing parts of the body to promote healing. Although Greek and Latin Christian churches have criticized these practices, they persist, and many Muslim Arabs tattoo in disregard for the Islamic prohibition on marking the body. Even today, many American tattooees have permanent religious icons and emblems as well as personal magical symbols inked upon their bodies. Tattoos are prompted by the primitive desire for an exaggerated exterior and are manifestations of deep psychological motivations. They are the recording of dreams, which simultaneously express an aspect of the self and recreate and mask the body As products of inner yearnings, self-concepts, desires, and magical or spiritual beliefs, designs on the human body formed by inserting pigments under the skin have been crafted by nearly every culture around the world for thousands of years. Definitive evidence of tattooing dates to the Middle Kingdom period of Egypt, approximately 2000 B.C., but many scholars believe that Nubians brought the practice to Egypt much earlier. There was little anthropological attention to tattooing in the early part of the century because of preconceived notions of its insignificance to cultural analysis. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Maya, Toltec, and Aztec cultures performed tattooing and scarification, and that the practice is thousands of years old in Asian cultures. Although tattooing was practiced in pre-Christian Europe, the word tattoo does not appear in English until Captain John Cook imported it after a journey to the Pacific Islands in the eighteenth century. Although no connection has been made between the words tattoo and taboo, it seems highly likely that they are related. While enduring the process of acquiring socially meaningful marks, the tattooee is being formed and shaped into an acceptable member of society. Prior to the completion of the tattoos the person is not only physically vulnerable because of the possibility of contamination during the penetrating process of tattooing but symbolically vulnerable as well. No longer without a tattoo, but without a finished tattoo, the persons body and therefore the self are not yet completed. The person is a luminal entity not yet in society and therefore taboo. Although the origin of tattooing is uncertain, anthropological research confirms that tattooing, as well as other body alterations and mutilations, is significant in the spiritual beliefs of many cultures. Various peoples tattoo or scarify during puberty rituals. In traditional South Pacific Tonga society, only priests could tattoo others and tattoos were symbolic of full tribal status. Eskimo women traditionally tattooed their faces and breasts and believed that acquiring sufficient tattoos guaranteed a happy afterlife. In many African cultures scars indicate social status and desirability as a marriage partner. Scarification patterns often identify the bearer as a member of a specific village. Many of these practices are changing and fading as Western influences enter African cultures. Until the mid-nineteenth century, Cree Indians living on the Great Plains tattooed for luck, for beauty, and to protect their health. Cree men with special powers received tattoos to help them communicate with spirits. A dream conferred the privilege of receiving a tattoo, which would be inscribed during a ceremony conducted by a shaman authorized to tattoo. The ability to withstand the painful and tedious process of tattooing, which often lasted two to three days, confirmed the tattooees courage. Blood shed during the process was believed to possess magical power and was absorbed with a special cloth and kept for future use. The ritual recreates the flesh bequeathed to initiates by their parents and experienced during childhood. The physical change marks a symbolic rebirth into a new spiritual, social, and physical reality as well as a real physical change. This magical use of the body reiterates the idea that physical and spiritual existence and their interactions are deeply entwined. European civilizing cultures often attempted to eradicate body marking practices, often in the name of religion. In 787 A.D. Pope Hadrian I decreed a ban on tattooing. Constantine prohibited tattooing as an act of altering the body that God molded in His own image. Puritans in the New England colonies connected body markings with witchcraft, and those suspected of practicing witchcraft were searched for devils marks as proof of their alliance with Satan. Quoting the Old Testament interdict against printing or cutting marks upon the flesh, the Puritans also condemned Native American tattooing. By the 1850s many Native Americans had adopted the settlers customs of dress and began to view tattooing as unnecessary and uncivilized. Africans brought to the colonies as slaves often bore scarification marks of royalty, social standing, or servitude, which were probably perceived by the colonists as heathen tokens of savage cultures. In some cultures, the elite class marks the bodies of individuals considered pariahs or marginal members of society. In the Near East, slave masters sometimes tattooed slaves as a sign of degradation and branded incorrigible slaves. In late medieval and early modern Europe, slaveholders branded their slaves, a practice continued in France until the early 1800s and in Russia until the mid-1800s. Runaway slaves in Brazil, the renegade quilombos who were branded if recaptured, considered their brands marks of honor and infamy. In Yoruba, where body markings placed one within society, slave owners denied their slaves distinguishing marks of social status. Exemplifying a much different assumption about body marking, slaveholders in the Americas branded and tattooed their slaves to place them firmly outside mainstream society. During the eighteenth century, prisoners incarcerated in France were physically marked. The use of body markings as positive signs of identification and inclusion in many African societies contrasts sharply with European use of the marks as signs of degradation and marginalization. The American association of tattooing with exoticism solidified in 1851 when Dan Rice hired a tattooed man named James F. OConnell to appear in his circus. During this time Rice was also fascinating America with another body image in popular culture, the blacked-up minstrel. The minstrel representation of the black body was replete with complex meanings of manhood, race, and class. The tattooed body on display was probably less familiar but equally intriguing. Without evidence of what kind of tattoos Rices employee had, or whether or not he performed, or served only as a display object, it is difficult to assess the meaning of his existence. Perhaps OConnell conjured images of a white savage, halfway between the articulate, civilized white man and the Native American who expressed his culture with paint and body markings. Perhaps audiences saw the tattooed man as Melvilles Queequeg incarnate; exotic, half-blackened with ink-and half† black, but not without feeling or humanness. P.T. Barnum followed Rices success by displaying an elaborately inscribed Albanian named Constantine, who was an extremely popular attraction. Barnum was the first to exhibit a tattooed woman, in 1898, which added the erotic element of viewing the female body. During the latter part of the nineteenth century as the public became more familiar with the art of tattooing through the circus, which was primarily a working and lower-class entertainment, tattoo was also developing commercially. The first known professional tattooist in the United States was Martin Hildebrand who had an itinerant practice during the Civil War and opened a shop in New York City in the 1890s. At the turn of the century, tattoos showed up in titillating and disreputable places. Tattooing became a shop-front industry in the disreputable Chatham Square area of New York City. Electric tattoo machines made tattooing cheaper and less painful and good tattoos easier to render. With this new technology, tattooing became popular among the lower classes and quickly came to be associated with blue-collar workers and ruffians. Although tattooing was an upper-class trend for a brief period, by the 1920s the middle class considered it deviant. Tattoos were considered a decorative cultural product dispensed by largely unskilled and unhygienic practitioners from dingy shops in urban slums, and consumers were seen as being drawn from marginal, rootless, and dangerously unconventional social groups. In the 1930s, the American fascination with body alteration as a deviant practice, continued. During this time a psychiatrist and writer named Albert Parry often wrote about the significance of tattoos and embedded stereotypes of deviance in the public discourse. Although Parry was an avid fan of tattooing, and bemoaned its decline in popularity, he called tattooing a tragic miscarriage of narcissism. He claimed tattooing was a substitute for sexual pleasure, evidence of homosexuality, and a source of masochistic pleasure. Parry associated tattooing with abnormal sexuality. Although the exhibition of a tattooed woman in the circus in prior decades was tinged with a hint of sexual voyeurism, Parry explicitly constructed images of tattooed women as abnormal and accessible commodities. He claimed that five percent of American women were tattooed and insinuated that beneath their conventional clothes, these disguised women had marked their bodies with signs of desire and erotic adventure. Parry stated that prostitutes in America, as elsewhere, get tattooed because of certain strong masochistic-exhibitionist drives. Parry reasoned that prostitutes obtained tattoos because they desired yet another reason to pity themselves and were seeking to be mistreated by clients. He also asserted that they believed tattoos would prevent disease and that they obtained sexual pleasure from the tattoo process. As proof of the prostitutes urge to self-humiliate, Parry described several tattoos of cynical humor and sexual innuendo inscribed upon prostitutes, such as pay as you enter. Conflating racism, homophobia, and the idea of women as a sexual commodity, Parry also claimed that English prostitutes etched names of their pimps on themselves or likenesses of their Negro lovers, much to the chagrin of American sailors, while French women inscribed the names of their lesbian lovers, and gay men tattooed themselves in order to seduce young boys. Parry relished the stereotype of tattooing as a perverse and deviant activity. His assertions reverberated for decades in the assumptions psychologists held about tattooed man and women. Tacitly based on the preconception that marking the body is deviant, psychologists have sought to determine a connection between tattoos and psychopathology. Members and potential members of the military who bear tattoos have served as subjects for several studies that correlate tattoos and social adjustment. A study in 1943 concluded that psychopathology or social or emotional maladjustment is significantly higher among tattooed than among non-tattooed men. A 1968 study concluded that sailors with tattoos were more likely to be maladjusted, and military men with Death before Dishonor tattoos were more likely than non-tattooed sailors to be discharged from the service. Other studies conducted during the late 1960s link tattooed women with homosexuality and masochism and tattooing practices in institutions with high levels of aggression, sexual insecurity, and social maladjustment. These studies both pre-selected the subject pools and ignored the effects of the institutional milieu on the tattooees. Other studies of imprisoned populations reveal motivations to tattoo that are similar to the motivations to self-mutilate as a reaction to the surrounding environment. Similar to inmate self-mutilation, tattooing may provide relief from the numbness of incarceration and establish individual or gang identity. A 1964 survey of the public perception of tattooed persons revealed that a majority of people perceived tattooed individuals as physically strong and psychologically aggressive. This survey concluded that whether or not tattoos are indicators of social maladjustment, they may function to enhance the bearers self-image and integrity. Returning to the theory of confirmation of the self in a pain-enduring interaction, one can understand the connotation of toughness and integrity that a tattoo confers. One psychoanalytic case study observed that a dominatrix in this relationship bore her tattoos as evidence of her ability to manage the ritual infliction of pain adroitly. This self-mastery and toughness earned her the right to control her submissive partners and proved her ability to alter, both own and her partners consciousness and identity. The lack of understanding of the functional purposes of both the tattooing process and the final marks have led to a perception of tattooing as barbaric, deviant, and sexually perverse. Dominant American culture has considered tattoos as marks of degradation, criminality, and marginality. Without an understanding of manipulation of the body to inspire sacred awe in viewers and bearers of tattoos and other body alterations, one can not grasp the significance of these alterations as tangible establishment of personal, spiritual, and social identity. Although body modifications such as tattooing and piercing have been construed as signs of deviance, during the past two decades body alteration has begun to filter into mainstream culture as a popular form of self-expression. Articles about tattooing and piercing proliferate in popular literature. Fashion magazines show models with tattooed ankles and pierced navels, and recruit well-known tattooed musicians for their pages. Children are able to play with tattooed dolls. Exhibits of tattoo art are shown in art galleries. Piercing boutiques and tattoo shops are conducting brisk business. Several factors have encouraged a tattoo renaissance since the 1950s. Post war prosperity along the West Coast combined with a new interest in Asian cultures, many of which revere tattooing. The Japanese, for instance, have a long tradition of tattoo as an intricate body art. New technology and interest in tattooing as a fine art have produced new aesthetic standards, a wider clientele, and an infinite variety of tattoo designs, including neo-tribal stylistic forms that are heavily influenced by tattoo traditions of other cultures. Today, as sociologist Clinton Sanders notes, tattooing has become more professional and more of a fine art. Tattoo artists are much more likely to have formal artistic and academic training than in previous years and to consider their tattooing practice a creative pursuit. A more diverse population is getting tattooed in the past two decades. New tattoo clients are better educated, have more disposable income, and care more about the decorative and aesthetic elements. Customer’s often custom design their own tattoos and the tattooer-customer relationship is changing from one of service provider and buyer to a collaborative effort. The relationship between a piercer and his or her client may be even more intricate and personal. With or without conscious realization of the significance of body making in other cultures, Americans today are adopting similar practices. To understand these practices as cultural phenomena, we must first understand their significance for individuals. Tattooing and piercing are not just adornments added to the body surface like jewelry or cosmetics, but they penetrate the flesh. Piercing is a quick process followed by several weeks of tenderness while healing. Tattooing is a tedious, painful process followed by a period of transformation in which the wound heals and the redesigned body emerges. These adornments, like self-starvation and self-cutting, accrue significance from both the process of physical transformation and the final product. The tattoo procedure is often a highly social act in which an individual manipulates and asserts identity within a specific social milieu. Getting a tattoo is often a social event experienced with close associates, who provide moral support, offer advice, and help pass the anxiety-filled waiting time. Many tattoo artists and piercers comment on the large percentage of their customers who belong to college fraternities or sororities and get pierced as part of the initiation process. It is rare that these individuals tattoo or pierce alone. Often several associates accompany the initiate to provide companionship and fortification. Many cultures attach social status to body alterations and consider pain a crucial element for imparting meaning to body alteration. Yoruban scarification is not only considered aesthetically pleasing but announces the marked individuals fortitude and ability to endure pain. A Yoruban woman acquires her markings when she is old enough to marry and accept the painful ordeal of childbirth. Her kolo cicatrices exhibit her willingness to bear pain. Aesthetic value is bound up with the value of endurance and the willingness to bear discomfort to accomplish a greater good. Tiv women remark on the ability of scarification to indicate masculinity and the desire to withstand pain in order to be attractive: What girl would look at a man if his scars had not cost him pain? Withstanding the pain of tattooing and other body alterations is also significant in American culture. The tattooee or piercee, like any initiate, vulnerably awaits the pain and new status the procedure will impart. Enduring pain is often considered crucial to gender constructions and demonstration of toughness. Although some tattooees have a difficult time bearing the pain, others see it as a good pain. Part of the pleasure of a tattoo is the macho implication of being able to bear the pain, and during the 1950s and 1960s getting a tattoo was a common rite of passage into adulthood for many young men. Still today, withstanding the tedious and painful process with bravado may be required to gain membership in a youth gang, or to demonstrate rebellion against authority. College fraternities may require members to get tattooed or pierced as a sign of their loyalty. One tattoo artist with many tattoos connects the pain of the process with the pleasure of creativity. Its a strange metaphor to say that pain is like an orgasm, but it is in a way. And its like labor too, to go through this pain to create a thing, to get it out of you. The design is inside of you, it just wants to get out. The creative expression of identity is enhanced by the feeling of aliveness that accompanies the pain of the process for many people. This sense of existing, of feeling, of enjoying life, [comes] to many with the touch of the needle. The prolonged pain produces euphoria for many, and pain is also a meaningful and enjoyable element of the piercing process for some piercees as well as people who indulge in body branding or scarification.62 Individuals who tattoo and pierce imbue the body with narcissistic or magico-religious powers to confirm identity and connect them to a deeper self-awareness, a social group, or a vision of integration with the cosmos. Similar to the way in which the self-mutilator or anorectic physically demarcates a change in self-awareness and interaction with the surrounding milieu, an individual who chooses to self-mark physically confirms a change in status. The badge of admission may carry personal meaning as well as a message of affiliation with a religion, one other person, a community, a youth gang, a fraternity, a military organization, or any specific group. The complexity of the action lies in the fact that the confirmation of identity is based on distancing the self from a large non-marked portion of the population. Body markings are marks of disaffiliation with the mainstream and visually proclaim a sense of camaraderie to others so marked.† The change in status, similar to the self-mutilators change in tension level and temporary cure of feelings of fragmentation, Body alteration functions in similar ways in Western culture, but it accrues a different potency as a deliberate choice of identification because of the stigma it incurs as a rebellion against, rather than an embodiment of, dominant cultural values. American women, fully aware of the stigma attached to tattooing and body alteration that doesnt help achieve standard beauty goals for women, are more likely than men to choose adornment that is not publicly visible and attach more personal meanings to their markings. In a culture that has taught them to preserve their bodies for the enjoyment of others, women who tattoo themselves are implicitly making a declaration of independence from at least some aesthetic standards expected of them by families, friends, and society. One 21-year-old woman explained the reaction of her mother to her tattoo. She asks me to keep it covered if we go out in public. It is a sign of disrespect to her. One woman explained, I did this not for my husband, not for my parents, not for a boss, not for anyone else but me, my internal reason was to make a statement. Women mark their bodies as an act of reclamation of their identity after a divorce, as a gesture of healing from sexual or other physical abuse, or simply as self-celebration. Body alteration symbolizes control over and pride in the physical self for many women. Centuries ago, this tangible evidence of self-control and self-celebration may have been enough to convict a woman of witchcraft and sentence her to death. If a devils mark was found on the body of a woman accused of witchcraft -whether self-imposed or organic in reality-it was interpreted as a chosen mark that confirmed the womans autonomous nature and rebellion against prescribed behavior. Her willful desecration of her God-given body proved her collusion with the Devil. Today, a womans self-creation carries less formidable consequences. Similar to the ways of punk styles of leather and metal access forbidden gender symbols and behavior for women, tattoos and piercing provide a form of gender rebellion also. The 1970 study highlighted this idea when one of the woman subjects proclaimed her motivation to tattoo as I want to act like a boy anything they can do I can do better. Tattooing and body piercing blur previous assumptions about gender roles for both women and men. Historically considered a salacious and pagan badge by Western cultures, deliberate body alteration proclaims defiance of cultural standards for both men and women, and many body modifiers enjoy the shock value of their adornment and take pride in their stigmatized identities. Piercers and tattooees reject mainstream norms of adornment while simultaneously embracing subterranean status. This is an especially important component of the body modification trend for adolescents who are trying to establish social identity and autonomy from parental authority. Recreating the body differentiates one from ones previous childhood body, and conventional familial and cultural milieus. One connection between body alteration and youth and popular culture is explained by Daryl Bear Belmares, who had been a professional piercer for nine years in 1996 Belmares attributes the rise in piercing popularity since 1990 to the influence of media and describes two general motivations to pierce. Some people are entranced by the trends of the look. They come in and say I saw it on MTV. Theyve seen the Aerosmith video that has a model with a pierced navel and think it looks sexy. Their main motivation is a desire to be different. These individuals are likely to let their piercing heal over after a few years. Other piercers are functional piercers who spend more time premeditating their decision and pierce for sexual enhancement, to consciously mark a transition in their life, or to heal emotional scars. Although one might think that women are more likely to pierce as a narcissistic use of the body to establish identity, based on the proportion of self-starvers and self-cutters who are women, Belmares denied this gender distinction, noting that his clientele is 50 percent men and 50 percent women. In 1969, Edward Podvall noted that not only does the iconography of self-mutilation appear continually on the landscape of our culture as something seemingly more honest, authentic, pure, or disciplined, but it can be found as an unexpected posture within one particular developmental epoch. He concluded that individual self-mutilation is an attempt to fend off developmental anxiety, and its prevalence may indicate exoneration and approval by the surrounding culture. As a cultural phenomenon, the iconography of self-mutilation may be interpreted in several ways. Podvalls depiction of self-mutilation as part of a developmental process, like Turners delineation of body marking as a resolution of an initiation process and like psychoanalytic theory of body narcissism and self-mutilation as attempts to combat fragmentation of the ego, reveals the cultural significance of body modification. Self-starvation, self-cutting, performance art, and painful, permanent body adornment are potent expressions of rebellion, desire for autonomy, and need to disseminate tension. They are attempts to self-heal, self-initiate, and self-symbolize. Self-mutilation may augment self-awareness, provoke euphoric feelings of spirituality, and resolve a state of liminality by culminating in marks of identity. In the context of culturally sanctioned rituals, these marks incur social inclusion and demarcate social status. In American society, which has considered body alteration practices barbaric and has few formal coming of age rituals that mark the body, the perception of these marks as deviant or perverse has been changing as they have become more common. Conclusion: Although the extent to which contemporary Western society accepts self-mutilation is debatable, many forms of self-mutilation are becoming increasingly popular as real and symbolic forms of self-creation. The public and private, individual and social spheres in which body alteration is significant are entwined. Self-mutilation cannot be separated from the culture in which it exists. As David Napier points out, American culture is obsessed with coming of age as a never-ending process. This struggle to achieve identity is reflected by the implosion of self and identity into the physical symbol, and reality, of the body. The human body is an accessible and viable pathway to holistic integration of self and is a terrain upon which to carve and etch ones deepest desires for identity and meaningful connection to both earthly and spiritual realms. At times altering the body is a form of play and adornment, assuming a mask, playing a role, at other times it is a desperate attempt to feel alive and combat a feeling of alienation and disassociation. Altering the body is an exploration of limits and boundaries of the self, whether in the arena of staged art, subculture, or the local tattoo shop. As individuals test their own limits, they test and change the limits of society. Although still considered distasteful and non-mainstream by many people, body piercing and tattooing are being adopted by individuals seeking to fulfill spiritual and social identity needs. In contrast to societies in which body marks are inscribed according to cultural tradition, the self-chosen marks of todays modem cultures are marks of disaffiliation with convention and historical values. Finally, as individuals modify their bodies as exploration of their individual identities, the culture composed of these individuals begins to explore what it means to be human and what role the body plays in civilization. Tattooing is an act which is very much painful in some cases so why should someone get the tattooes even when they are so terrible. This is society‘s responsibility to set such standards for such unusual things so that every body can have clear mind about these weird things. Bibliography 1. Edward Westermarck, â€Å"The History of Human Marriage† Volume: 1. Macmillan. London. 1921 2. Alfred Metraux, Easter Island: A Stone-Age Civilization of the Pacific Oxford University Press, New York. 1957 3. Tattooing and Civilizing Processes: Body Modification as Self-Control Michael Atkinson Journal Title: The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology. Volume: 41. Issue: 2. Publication Year: 2004 4. Tattooing, Gender and Social Stratifica

The 60s (movie) :: essays research papers fc

The 60’s   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When deciding what movie to do for this particular paper I faced a few issues. I knew what the requirements were, but I wanted something different and something I could have fun watching and writing as well. So, after looking around and pondering movies for weeks I finally decided on a perfect choice The 60’s directed by Mark Piznarski? This movie is a wonderful production starting from 1960 and ending in 1969 covering all the different things that occurred during this unbelievable decade. The movie takes place in many different areas starring two main families; a very suburban, white family who were excepting of blacks, and a very positive black family trying to push black rights in Mississippi. The movie portrayed many historical events while also including the families and how the two were intertwined. These families were very different, yet so much alike, they both portrayed what to me the whole ‘message’ of the movie was. Although everyone was so different they all faced such drastic decisions and issues that affected everyone in so many different ways. It wasn’t like one person’s pain was easier to handle than another is that’s like saying Vietnam was harder on those men than on the men that stood for black rights or vice versa, everyone faced these equally hard issues. So it seemed everyone was very emotionally involved. In fact our whole country was very involved in president elections and campaigns against the war, it seemed everyone really cared.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two families were just some of those that really cared although all had different stand points and views they stuck to their beliefs and ended with more love for each other in the end than they ever started with. In the white family there was the conservative ex-marine father who loved his children dearly but wanted them to be well behaved and often was hard on them. The mother was more liberal housewife who stood up for her and her children’s opinions to her husband. The oldest son Brian was a football star in high school and later goes on to join the marines and fight in Vietnam. The middle child Michael was very liberal active anti war student who marched with the blacks in the Birmingham. The youngest Katie was a young 16 year old who loved to party and have a good time. The black family was a family of good hearts and lots of hope.

War Stories Essay -- Literacy Analysis

The Vietnam War was the first war in history to be broadcast on national television. Due to the increasing popularity of television ownership and the introduction of the nightly news programs such as CBS and NBC, the horrors of war found a place in living rooms across the country. Between 1965 and 1975, nine million people served in the Vietnam War, and of those nine million, 58,156 were killed or declared missing in action ("Vietnam War Statistics."). Of the 58,156 soldiers killed, 11,465 of them were under the age of twenty ("Statistics about the Vietnam War"). After surviving the war, Tim O’Brien and Susan O’Neill wrote short stories and novels including Tim O’Brien’s â€Å"The Things They Carried†, and Susan O’Neill’s â€Å"The Boy from Montana†. By putting audiences in the shoes of the grunts led by Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and the surgical gloves of Agnes Reedy, Tim O’Brien and Susan O’Neill immortalized the s truggles experienced by their compatriots and themselves. â€Å"The things they carried† was a short story about Lieutenant Jimmy Cross leading his men through Vietnam. O’Brien describes all of the things carried by the men as a way to symbolize all of the burdens they had. One thing that Jimmy Cross carried was a pack of letters from a girl named Martha who he thought he was in love with (O’Brien). One night Lavender goes out to use the bathroom and on his return, is shot and killed (O'Brien).This causes Cross to realize that his main priority is to lead his men, not swoon over a woman that doesn’t love him (O'Brien). â€Å"The Boy from Montana† is a short story about Agnes Reedy’s account of watching a young boy die in the field hospital she worked at in Vietnam. She says that she thought that all death was the same, but one day she... ...Short Stories of Vietnam. New York: Ballantine, 2001. 3-11. Print. Roush, Gary. "Statistics about the Vietnam War." Vietnam Helicopter Flight Crew Network (VHFCN). 2 June 2008. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. . Taormina, Agatha. "Author Profile: Tim O'Brien." Northern Virginia Community College. Www.nvcc.edu, 10 Mar. 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. . "Tim O’Brien Interview: The Things He Carried." Interview by David L. Edelman. Wordpress, 19 Oct. 1994. Web. 17 Mar. 2012. . "Vietnam Veteran's Terminology and Slang." VIETNAM VETERANS HOME PAGE. 22 Mar. 2000. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. . "Vietnam War Statistics." The Mobile Riverine Force Association. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. .

Victimology: Abuse

REVIEW SHEET FOR VICTIMOLOGY FINAL Any multimedia presentations post midterm Chapter 5 Dispute resolution Retributive justice vs. restorative justice Reintegrative shaming Victim-offender mediation Circle sentencing Problems and issues with restorative justice Chapter 8 Social constructionism Dr. Kempe Four obstacles that impeded the recognition of children as victims of abuse Forms of child abuse Harm standard Endangerment standard Mandatory reporterProcess of how calls are â€Å"screened in† or â€Å"screened out† Role of doctor-client privilege in detecting/reporting child abuse Central register Surveillance bias False positive vs. false negative error Parents anonymous Megan’s Law Kansas v. Hendricks Ex post facto Chapter 9 Gerontologist Rates of victimization for the elderly Fear-crime paradox Vicarious victimization Most common form of physical abuse in institutional settings Causes of institutional abuseRelationship between abusers and economic dependence on victims Types of abuse Chapter 10 Relationship between homicide and youthful AA males in the US Homicide victims are more likely to be? Ways to measure homicide Role of weapon involvement Nonprimary homicide Primary homicide Wolfgang Luckenbill’s situated transaction Mass media influence Regional culture of violence Golden hour Impact of medical resources Role of alcohol Death notification: stages The bereavement process Chapter 11 factors in routine activities perspective Workplace violence definition Media representations of workplace violence vs. reality Who is most at risk for workplace violence? Major causes of workplace victimization Third party lawsuits Victimization at junior and senior high schools Responses of students to real or perceived levels of school victimization Most juvenile crime happens during what times? Responses to school victimization Jeanne Clery Act Sexual harassment Quid pro quo Hostile environment

Bad Effects of Electronics Gadget Essay

Gadgets like portable games can have a negative impact on an individual’s health. Technology is an integral part of our day-to-day lives. People all over the world rely on it for things like communication, organization and employment. Not a day goes by when you don’t encounter someone talking on his cell phone, tapping away on a laptop or listening to an MP3 player. While this technology is impressive, there are certain drawbacks in areas like health, public safety and education that should be addressed. Being aware of these dangers can help diminish or reverse these drawbacks. Car Accidents * There is no question that cell phones have become a staple of modern society. Even young children use them, much to the chagrin of their parents or teachers. A common belief is that cell phones can cause adverse effects like brain cancer. However, a study by the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that this is not true. Regardless, there are other hazards. According to the WHO, mobile phones are a serious problem when driving, increasing reaction time between 0.5 and 1.5 seconds. This short span of time can make a world of difference when avoiding a collision. They further state drivers on a phone have trouble judging speed and staying in their lanes. Even hands-free headsets pose a distraction. The WHO concludes that drivers who talk on their cell phones are four times more likely to get in an accident. Hearing Problems * According to the website Healthy Hearing, one-third of teenagers own an MP3 player, such as an iPod. Dr. Craig Kasper, Director of Audiology at the New York Otolaryngology Group, warns that these devices can cause ear damage if used improperly. If the volume is too high or if the individual listens for a long time, hearing damage can happen. Also, earbuds are more dangerous than regular headphones. Healthy Hearing recommends that listeners keep the volume below 70 percent and limit listening time to between 60 and 90 minutes. If you want to listen indefinitely, turn the volume down to 50 percent Physical Injury and Obesity * Hand-held video game consoles are very popular in the developed world. While they can be entertaining, excessive play can be detrimental. One problem is video game addiction, which can be disruptive to a person’s psychological health. Other reported issues include seizures, neck pain, wrist pain and repetitive strain injury. Prolonged use also contributes to a sedentary lifestyle, resulting in obesity. Academic Impact * Text slang, such as â€Å"ur† instead of â€Å"you’re† is commonly used through cell phone texting. However, a recent study shows that kids and teens are actually letting these obscure abbreviations seep into their normal writing. A recent study by Pew Internet in 2008 revealed that 50 percent of students use informal slang in their assignments. Furthermore, 38 percent admit they have used abbreviations in their schoolwork like â€Å"LOL†, which stands for â€Å"laugh out loud†. Additionally, 25 percent say that they use emoticons such as â€Å"smiley faces† in formal writing. The problem has become so apparent that some U.S. politicians are concerned that the English language and sentence structure is being twisted, negatively affecting students’ learning. The Disadvantages of Gadgets on Students Modern technologies like television and computers provide identifiable educational advantages, such as greater access to information and more compelling presentations of that information. Over-use of technology, though, especially such gadgets as cell phones, iPods and video games, presents a whole range of problems which may interfere with a student’s ability to learn and attend to lessons. 1. Social Networking 2. Students who use their computers or cell phones to participate in social networking sites may post material considered inappropriate by school authorities. They may also develop an unfavorable reputation based on those pictures or comments. Pictures of misbehavior can adversely affect their chances of getting into the university of their choice or of getting a job. Addictions * It is easy to become addicted to gaming, texting, talking on the phone or socializing online. Some students may attempt to do this in class, which disrupts their learning, and at home it detracts from study time. Kids putting in long hours on their gadgets will give less attention to assignments and may be irritable when they are away from their gadgets. They might also sleep less, which can slow down their thinking the next day. Creativity * In the past, children and young people filled up their free time by reading books, socializing, or engaging in active, creative play. A fixation on gadgets reduces participation in of all these, especially the aspect of creativity. Digital worlds can be vast, but they are always structured, not requiring the imagination and inventiveness of unstructured play. Some children become less creative and less able to entertain themselves. Health * Persistent use of high-tech gadgetry can lead to a slew of health problems for young and old alike. A sedentary lifestyle discourages exercise and encourages obesity. The back-lit screens used for computers, iPhones and video games can cause eye problems. Walking around everywhere with music blaring directly into your ears brings on headaches and hearing difficulties. The net effect of all these things, plus the pressure of immediate responses to everything, can become stressful. The Negative Impacts of exposure of electronic devices and gadgets to children These advantages may not be obvious or observed in short period of times. However there are some impacts on the usage of the electronic devices and gadgets games. According to the sources from a survey of Kaiser Family Foundation, children are spending an average of more than 7 hours per day on the electronic device which includes television, electronic games, internet and some mobile devices. These data show that, kids today are easily used up more than 50 hours weekly, which means the time consume is more than working hours of an adult, if we take an average of 8 hour per days for 6 working days. Surveys showed that these young kids know how to play with the smart-phone, make a mobile phone calls and even open internet browsers on their own without any aid. However, on the same survey found that there are lesser kids on the same age range know how to tie a shoelace without help or swim unaided. A concern on children may be fluent in technical driven skillset rather than real-life practical skills. The devices and games tend to keep the children out of touch of reality. It is important to children to spend some time for outdoor activity with family and friends. The times spent on the devices may curb some outdoor activities. When the children play violent games for a long period of time, they are tends to be more aggressive, and they are more prone to confront their elderly and teachers. This may not be a good sign, and may let the children easily involved in fighting and verbally scolding with peers. If children spend too much time on the devices, this may affect their studies and school achievements. The more time the spend they are more crazy after the devices and affects their concentration and focus in their school works. The addiction of games may also make them get used to the sedentary lifestyles, and develop unhealthy lifestyle and poor time management and poor eating habits. Abstract Adolescence is the period of transition from childhood to adulthood. W.H.O. has defined adolescents as individuals aged between in 10-19 years. It is the most fertile and most vulnerable segment. Time management is of paramount importance, especially for the overall growth and development of adolescence. The study was conducted on 400 students in the age group of 10-19 years showed that adolescents spend more of the time in personal cleanliness, playing games and watching television. They did not spend any time meditation or remembering God, moral teachings, caring for old persons, and family, patriotic and national values. There is an imperative need to have a strong need based action programme at the level of – Family/Parents/Teachers in schools & community for guiding the adolescent regarding proper time management. Introduction Management means getting things done with optimal resources. It has been a very important tool in the present world to solve any problem to achieve any success or to have the maximum benefits after putting in minimum inputs. In the modern era time is very precious and its proper management of time is the key to success. Recently it has become even more important and complicated after the introduction of modern scientific techniques, gadgets, especially computers. Adolescence is the period of transition from childhood to adulthood. W.H.O. has defined adolescents as individuals aged between in 10-19 years. Not gold but men can make a Nation great & strong† and adolescent is the largest and most rapidly expanding segment of our country. It is the most fertile and most vulnerable segment. Need less to point out that time management is of paramount importance, especially for the overall growth and development of adolescence in our country. Children Spending Time with Gadgets Gadgets have taken the much cherished time and space which was meant for the parents. Children are hooked on to the gadgets and they have no time for other pursuits. Parents also regularly bring new gadgets for their children in keeping with the peer pressure and giving in to the demands. Should we pamper our children with gadgets? How to curb this menace? Read on. My son loves video games. He always wants the latest games as soon as possible. There is also a lot of peer pressure for him to get these gadgets. I feel I am spoiling him by getting him the gadgets he wants. Should I give in to him when he comes up with something new that he just must have? Today, children are a demanding lot. Every day there are more and more exciting gadgets to acquire. Mobile phones, video games, I pods, computers, music systems, there are newer models available by the day. Sometimes, by the time you get around purchasing something, it is already obsolete. In this scenario, how much should we pamper our children? Why Children Tend to Spend More Time with Gadgets? At the outset, as a working mother, you are probably already erring on the side of indulgence. Working mothers tend to feel guilty about their absence from home and are more likely to give in to their children’s demands. Giving in is also easier, since with a dual income, a home with working parents tends to have greater disposable income. Your son’s wants might not seem difficult initially, but be aware that as he grows, the things he craves will get bigger and more expensive. Should Working Mothers Get Gadgets for Kids? You need to ask yourself if your son really needs the new gadget he craves. Will the amount you spend on it make you uncomfortable? You will know in your gut whether your child should have the latest version of a video game. If you decide against buying the new gadget, you need to talk to him about why he should not have it. Compare the cost of that gadget to a poor man’s income. Put its cost into perspective for him. Ask him to buy it out of his own savings! How to Handle Peer Pressure in Case of Purchasing Gadgets? If it is peer pressure that is making him desire this new item, you need to have a long, hard look at his friends. It is natural that your son will have a need to be liked by his peers and fall in with their behaviour patterns. Ideally, his group should have a positive influence on him and should have values similar to his own. He should choose his friends wisely. It is very tough to stand up to peers. Your son will need your affection and guidance. It has been observed that those children who have either low self-esteem or low confidence are more likely to succumb to peer pressure. Therefore you need to build on his own confidence. It is extremely helpful if he develops personal interests outside of the group. How Does the Usage of Gadgets Affect Children? Sometime, we as parents fail to notice the impact the gadgets have on the development of the child. The child gets hooked on to the gadgets and hardly has time for other things in life. He fails to pursue his interests. Suddenly when these gadgets are taken away from them, they feel restless and irritated. Gadgets bring about behavioural changes in the child. The child prefers to be lonely but with his gadget. So what is the solution? Do we give in to the demands? How to Monitor Child’s Gadget Usage? It is high time now to monitor your child before it is too late. Giving in to demands sometimes is okay but there needs to be a good reason for it. The child should be monitored for the hours spent on gadgets and a time should be fixed for this. Giving in to peer pressure should also be avoided.The best option for you as a parent is to talk to him a lot so as to prevent him from feeling isolated. You could also encourage him make new friends. Let him enjoy the beauty and marvels of nature by taking him out on a picnic or for trekking. All of this takes time and patience. So just take it easy. You can prefer the above ways to make sure that the child is spending less time with gadgets. You can also introduce him to other things. Get him involved and interested in hobby classes so that his attention is diverted and his time is spent fruitfully. With that aspect in mind an attempt was made to carry out a cross section study through the medium of schools, in the adolescents. They were si mply asked questions to describe their daily work schedule in relation to their life style and various routine activities If you’re like many mothers of tweens or teens, you probably often find yourself gazing at the faces of your beloved children — as those faces are bathed in the flickering light of the television or the cool glow of the computer. Observing their glassy-eyed stares, it’s hard not to wonder (and worry), What is this screen time doing to their development? We’ve all heard the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics: just one to two hours a day of â€Å"quality† electronic entertainment for children over 2. Yeah, right. In 2010, a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that most adolescents spend an average of 25 to 30 hours per week watching TV and using computers. And while half of parents surveyed in a 2010 study said they always or often set limits on screen time, 18 percent of their kids really disagreed. â€Å"It’s getting more complicated to measure how much screen time kids are getting,† notes Lisa Guernsey, author of Into the Minds of Babes, a book about children’s use of electronic media. â€Å"We’re no longer talking about the TV in the den that parents can turn off. These days, many teens and tweens have smartphones, laptops, tablets, and iPods that they carry with them.† When you add up the total time kids spend on their electronic devices, you arrive at a truly staggering number: The average American between the ages of 8 and 18 spends more than seven hours a day looking at a screen of some kind, reports a Kaiser Family Foundation study. â€Å"When we conducted a similar survey five years before, we thought children’s screen time couldn’t rise any higher,† says Donald F. Roberts, Ph.D., a Stanford University communications professor who coauthored the study. â€Å"But it just keeps going up and up.† Scientists are now beginning to tease out the effects of all this electronic engagement. Too much screen time may be linked to an increased incidence of risky behaviors, and more social network activity seems to correspond to mood problems among teens. But there’s good news, too. Moderate computer use may be associated with the development of some cognitive and social skills. Here, a closer look at the cons and then the pros of screen time.