Green Mountain Case Essay

Introduction Green Mountain Resort is a small resort that gives people a choice to buy vacation homes with the added luxury of golf, tennis and skiing. With Gunter as the new owner, his main issues were the high turnover rate. In such a small operation and the type of industry, the opportunities for promotion were few and Gunter was faced with the irony that if he reduced the turnover, there would be even fewer openings for advancement (Palmer, Dunford & Akin, 2009). This was due to the type of industry and the fact that the resort was a rural area. Green Mountain Resort Change Images There are six change images; each Gunter, the hospitality literature and the consultant have been described by an image. Gunter is the director (during the beginning of the story), he is the owner of the resort and he is the one who wants to change the turnover rate. The assumption is that change is a strategic choice that mangers make and the survival and general well-being of the organization depends on them (Palmer, Dunford & Akin, 2009). As the story went on Gunter became a mentor and began to change with the help of the consultant to more of a coaching image. The hospitality literature falls under the navigator. In the navigator image, control is still seen as at the heart of the management action, although a variety of factors external to managers mean that while they may achieve some intended change outcome, others will occur over which they have little control (Palmer, Dunford & Akin, 2009). The literature played a role of navigator as it identified turnover as a chronic prob lem that the industry endures and made several suggestions on how one can help reduce the effects. Lastly the consultant, he played the role of the interpreter as he was able to interpret the problem of turnover and how he was able to change the perspective of Gunter in a way that dissolved the problem. Instead of a problem turnover instead, became a way that the resort could use as a way to recruit talent. Assumption -Turnover Problem Each of these assumptions influenced prescriptions for dealing with the turnover problem. For example, Gunter only seemed to make the problem worse when he played the director when he attempted to solve the turnover as a problem, but when he changed the way he looked at the issue he became the coach and turned the problem in to an advantage. The hospitality literature was the navigator as it defined turnover as a problem that was considered chronic and something that must be endured in the industry. It’s prescription for dealing with the turnover problem included streamlining training, simplifying jobs and making the HR process more efficient. The consultant seemed to make the allow Gunter to look at the ‘problem’ from a different perspective. He mentioned in that if you do not try, try and try again, but if at last you don’t succeed then try something different and that is exactly what Gunter had to do. Change Image- Turnover Problem Another image that can be applied to the turnover problem is the nurturer. Like a parent’s relationship with a child, future outcomes are nurtured or shaped, but the ability to produce intended outcomes at the end of the day is severely limited because of the impact of much wider, sometimes chaotic forces and influences (Palmer, Dunford & Akin, 2009). The turnover problem is something (like a child) that is not going away, especially in the hospitality industry. Gunter had to accept the issue and try and work with it rather than against it. With the new insights to advertise Green Mountain Resort as a company that they ‘recruit high-potential people, offering them promise of rapid career development’ helped bring new insight to the turnover problem (Palmer, Dunford & Akin, 2009). Conclusion Conclusions that I drew from the statement ‘if we only draw upon one particular frame, then this will take us away from thinking about what is going on from an alternative perspective?’ would be that a single structure can effectively make it impossible to come up with innovative solutions. The Green Mountain case showed that it is not enough to believe that a problem can have different solutions. Rather the problem can be enhanced rather than gone completely. Conclusion This case has changed the way I look at problems. You cannot always make a problem go away and there are times where you may need help and calling someone in to give the problem a fresh set of eyes to see what they suggest may be exactly what the problem needs. Gunter at first was looking at the high turnover rate as a problem and that he wanted to lower the rate. Being in the hospitality industry high turnover is almost a given. After calling in the consultant Gunter realized that he need to change how he handled the turnover rate. He did this by advertising his company and a company that hired well educated employees that were likely to advance their career quickly. By doing this he helped employee grow and always had applicants wanted to be hired so they could grow as well. References Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009). Managing organization change. (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Are Zoos Cruel or Educational Essay

Zoos are cruel because of recent incidents that have happened creating the deaths and injuries of some animals. In the 2005 DreamWorks move, Madagascar, a group of zoo animals wanted to leave the zoo for a day to explore New York little did they know there one day escape turned into an adventure greater than they could have every imagine. While exploring New York they were accidentally shipped to the island of Madagascar. Though they were among other animals that look like them, the four friends found themselves totally out sync with the real world. Living in the zoo sheltered them from their ability to live in their natural habitat. Although zoos are educational, animals are held in captivity unable to live and thrive in their natural habitat. Zoo keepers, scientist and animal groups continue to debate the issue with zoos being either place of education and entertainment or unnecessary prisons. While some people argue that zoos play an important role in conservation and research, others counter that they do more harm than good. Zoos have been entertaining people with exotic animal collections since 1250 BC with Egyptian records describing different species of animals in captivity behind bars (Nationalgeographic. com). The Imperial Menagerie in Vienna, Austria was the first modern zoo established in 1752. There are thousands of zoos around the world today. Overtime, zoos have improved the environment for zoo animals from steel bar enclosures and cold cement cages to illusions mimicking the animals’ natural habitat with moats and ditches that separate the animals from people who visit the zoo. Zoos are going beyond keeping animals alive in captivity. They have become more involved in conserving wild animals, reintroducing endangered species, and restoring habitats (Nationalgeographic. com). So why do scientist and animal groups believe that zoos are far from entertaining and educational? While conditions have improved for zoos by creating a natural habitat for animals critics continue to argue that the spacing available is not enough. Animals like zebras, giraffes and gazelles were designed to run across miles of open terrain, not live out their lives in captivity. Despite a zoo’s best efforts, its animals often are deprived of privacy, confined to inadequate spaces and unable to engage in natural hunting and mating activities. Forced to live in man-made constructs, many animals began to display obsessive, repetitive behaviors (Fact Sheet on Zoos). David Hancocks, a zoo consultant and former zoo director, describes the natural-looking zoo inhabit as mere illusions, arguing that they’re not much of an improvement in terms of space (www. time. com). Many captive animals exhibit signs of severe distress: People have witnessed elephants bobbing their heads, bears pacing back and forth and wild cats obsessively grooming themselves (www. time. com). This display of behavior has caused some animals to act out either among themselves or humans. SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed on February 24, 2010 after being attacked by the killer whale â€Å"Tilikum† at Shamu Stadium in Orlando, Florida during a live performance. The whale dragged her underwater, toying with her until her death. Brancheau was described as one of the best in her profession. So what went wrong? Until behavior records are closely examined as to what led the whale to kill the trainer the question remains (www. time. com). In December 2007, â€Å"Tatiana, a 4-year-old Siberian tiger, escaped from its enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo and killed one teen and injured two others on Christmas afternoon† (Chua-Eoan). There have been many articles about zoos keepers neglecting animals and displaying other acts of mistreatment. The most recent article comes from a zoo director being charged with animal cruelty. Meghan Mogensen, 27 year old zoo director allegedly drowned a wounded wallaby in a bucket of water after suffering from an eye injury in his pen at the zoo (Daily News). In conclusion, although zoos have created natural-looking environments for animals, in my opinion, I believe it is cruel to house animals in captivity. The incidents mentioned above is proof to why animals need to be able to hunt and roam in the wild which cannot be created by a zoo. There is no reason why innocent lives are continually lost for the sake of research, education, or entrainment. So what is your opinion on zoos?

Summary Analysis essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Summary Analysis - Essay Example The opening sections of the article in question consist of a reflection on the need to find a suitable metaphor to describe social computing. Taking the tone of a lecturer, McLeran explains how metaphors can break old patterns of thought by linking previously unconnected items or idea together. The main linguistic strategy for encouraging new thinking is the juxtaposition of normally unrelated concepts. Exploration of the connotations of these disparate concepts then brings to light features that the two items or ideas have in common or in contrast and the process of comparison can result in striking new kinds of understanding. The register of the article is a clever mix of formal and casual. The use of letters to denote concepts taken from the fields of mathematics, as in the example â€Å"This kind of association creates syllogistic metaphors: if A is a metaphor for B and B is a metaphor for C, is not A a metaphor for C?† (McLeran p. 1). The technical term syllogistic is tak en from the fields of philosophy and logic, and its Greek etymology as well as its application in these fields indicates that the author expects his readers to keep up with his intellectual level. A more casual tone is adopted later in the article with the use of lexis such as â€Å"a couple of interesting metaphorical mappings† (McLeran p. 1). There is a grammatical error in the phrase â€Å"limit an individuals ability to progress† which suggests that the author has not proofread his own work very effectively and incidentally that the work has not been subjected to editing. This marks the piece out as more towards the informal end of the academic discourse spectrum. In terms of structure, the article is quite unusual for an academic piece. There are no traditional academic headings such as â€Å"introduction†, â€Å"literature review†, â€Å"hypothesis† etc., and there is no clear statement of methodology. The piece has headings but these are mor e like journalistic key phrase headings than academic formal structure headings. The article ends on a section announcing some â€Å"questions which arise from the metaphor† (McLeran, p 1) and this is, however rather typical of a standard academic research article. Having proposed and defined his new idea, the author considers some objections, and concludes that the idea is good and then opens up the discussion to other academics who might be interested to formulate a reply. In a chain of reasoning McLeran likens metaphors to a springboard, and then a springboard to jazz music, and from there he makes a conceptual leap to jazz, which also involves courageous departures from safe and predictable tracks to something much more freely formed and exciting. He goes too far, perhaps in defining social computing as â€Å"a kind of abstract language† (McLeran, p. 1) because it is very difficult to imagine what an abstract language actually is. An abstract language suggests some thing incomprehensible and difficult, whereas both jazz and social computing are delightfully easy to follow, with some complex attributes but many more familiar aspects. In short, therefore, the author is somewhat carried away in his elaborate definitions of social computing but he settles down on the metaphor of jazz as the answer to the professor’

The Relationship between Painting, Photography, and Motion Picture Essay

The Relationship between Painting, Photography, and Motion Picture - Essay Example They concurrently advance heroic mythology. The moral virtue in grand styles is also not left out. However, an inflexible objectivity never ceases to be an overly important feature of these Narratives. 1870, that’s when the first painting was discovered, this was in a town called Altimira, in Spain (Whitley 29). The cave paintings were discovered by Don Marceline and his daughter. These painting were done by the Magdalenian people before Christ. These painting were majorly boison. In that, the painting are drawn and painted using the boulders of animal’s shoulders. This literally gave them a three dimension look. In France that’s where the Lascaux cave art were discovered, this was by four boys searching for a lost dog. The Lascaux contains seven sections. The hall of the bulls is the most fascinating of all. This is because it contains horses, bull, and stags drawing. They have been painted over bring the notion that other groups of people might have resided in the same caves. The theory behind cave painting is that, individual not in a position to communicate with each other, opted to express their views using the drawings. Thus they could communicate using the drawings easily. Most of the paintings were of animals nonetheless they exist some exemption like the Lascaux painting (Poh 1). It contained dead man paint. The paint has a human body but has a birds face. There exists some explanation as to why human paintings were few. They believed that if they painted the human he would poses their soul. Contrary to that they assumed the animal cave painting would assist them in their hunting expedition. They also viewed it as magic to assist the hunters and a decoration to their caves. Ancient people used natural objects. This includes tools such as spears, and rocks. They used those items to paint their walls. The color they used was obtained from: berries, clay, soot, or charcoal. Surprisingly they might have used hollow bones, or reeds to spray the color. T his just shows how inventive they were or may be the driven by the passion to communicate (Whitley 29). Al Fresco Painting Fresco painting is an art portrayed worldwide. These paintings are normally done on walls of buildings. However, ancient time this took place on caves and rocks. Work or painting done on walls is called Mural. Al fresco paintings can be categorized in two ways. The Buon fresco art painting are on wet plaster. The secco paintings are completed ion dried plaster. In Indian continent that’s where most of this type of painting originated. These painting are from the Buddhist period. They are located in Ajanta caves present day Madhya in India. They expressed Buddha’s tale. Buddhist tales are of moral perspective and good conduct. Fresco is painted mostly in temples, palaces and private residences. The technique used in these painting can last for ages. The painting is painted on wet surface (Alfred 1). This also enhances its survival. The paint is made from natural occurring resources. These are stones, plants and earth. They are crushed after drying them and then powdered. This makes the pigment. It is mandatory to first make the drawing on paper. It is then traced on butter paper. On the outline of the drawing holes are made using pin holes. Finally the drawing is transferred to the wall by dusting fine coal powder through the pinholes. This application is called Suzen Kari. A two point perspective is drawing objects in three dimensions. This advancement has made paintings to come close to reality. This kind of art came about when renaissance were obsessed with the notion of creating an illusion of three dimensions on a flat surface. Brunelleschi is attributed with the introduction of one point perspective

Business Ethics Dealing with Poverty and Pollution in the Environment Research Paper

Business Ethics Dealing with Poverty and Pollution in the Environment - Research Paper Example Third world countries, due to poverty and lack of resources, are not able to invest in environmental friendly technologies and devise environmental regulations. This allows corporations to pollute in the third world countries without any problem. In this paper we will discuss the environmental pollution with the reference of businesses and third world countries. We will observe the reasons why businesses ignore pollution related regulations in the developing world. Other aspects of environmental pollution will also be discussed with reference to the case of ‘Poverty and Pollution’. Ethical Implications of Businesses Polluting in the Third World The ethical implications of businesses pollution in a third world country are significant. Environmental pollution affects the whole population of the region and therefore it cannot be ethically justified. There is no doubt that environmentally polluted technology is cheaper and therefore third countries use it in order to remain competitive in the global market. But the economic argument in favor of environmental pollution in the third world country is not justified because pollution affects a great number of pollution and not all people are able to get the economic benefits of businesses operating in their region. This is one of the ethical implications of businesses polluting in the third world. Another ethical implication of businesses polluting in the developing world is that it is not possible to value human life. Environmental pollution caused by firms in the third world countries create all sorts of health problems for its inhabitants and therefore decreases human life expectancy in the region. This is not ethically justified because people living in the region do not have any choice to move to another area as they are extremely poor. This is actually exploitation of human beings which can never be ethically justified. It is therefore proved without a doubt that environmental pollution is not ethical ly justified. Reasons why a Business Ignore Pollution Control Standards Businesses ignore pollution control standards in the third world because it drives down their production cost. Investment in required to reduce pollution for example in order to dump industrial waste in an appropriate manner significant investment is required. This drives the production cost up which hurts the profits of the firm operating in the third world countries. They are in the country just because of the promise of lower production cost and this is why they ignore pollution control standards. Organizations are profit making entities and therefore they do anything in their power to reduce their cost and maximize profits. Lack of will is another reason why businesses ignore pollution control standards. Laws are not strict in the third world countries and corporations therefore feel that they are not obligated to follow them. This is the main reason why firms don’t feel compelled to make a change and follow the pollution control standards. The firms are not willing to change their practices and this is why they lack the will to abide by the pollution control standards set by third world countries. Is Pollution the Price of Progress? It is argued sometimes that pollution is the price of progress. It is said that for developing countries to economically develop they require competitive edge over other developed countries

Psych 1010 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Psych 1010 - Essay Example This was interesting to me because it laid out pretty clearly exactly how reward pathways work and how a lot of stuff in the brain goes on. The Beyond the Reward Pathway was interesting for the same reason, because it explained how drugs do what they do. Although I have seen plenty of movies or books where the characters are on drugs, and know some of the stereotypes about how people behave, it was really interesting to see the actual chemical reactions and problems that lead to that behavior. Beyond the Reward Pathway was the most educational, especially when coupled with the Mouse Party game. Both of these together taught me exactly how specific drugs cause specific behaviors in people, and the mouse party game really made it come together well by showing the actual behaviors in the mouse you picked. For instance, after playing the mouse game I learned that the reason cocaine makes its users so twitchy is because the drug causes problems in the part of the brain that deals with vol untary movements. I also learned from the Reward Pathway article about the different types of pathway in the brain, such as the Dopamine, Tuberoinfundibular, and Nigrostriatal pathways, among others. Each of these has different purposes and different effects on how the brain operates. Although the mad scientist game and the cerebral commando games were interesting, they each had their drawbacks. The mad scientist game just took too long to start up. There was too much boring information at the start which had nothing to do with anything and I couldn't skip it. The commando game didn't really teach me much, and was kind of difficult to use. The way it flashed was also annoying. The game I enjoyed the most was the mouse party game, again. It wasn't really much of a "game" but I still enjoyed picking the mice based on their actions and then looking at the slides to see exactly how each of their actions was caused. It was also interesting to know why mice are used all the time in resear ch and experiments. For instance, the website says that mice have about 60% of the same genes as a human being, which seems strange. However, this is why they make good test subjects. For research about brain chemistry and drug reactions, mice are even more of a good fit because the brain is built in the same way, and even uses dopamine and other reward pathways in the same way. I learned this from the "Mice are Good Model Organisms to Study Addiction" article. The reason so much of the website talked about Dopamine is that this is how a lot of drugs function. They either, like cocaine, block the dopamine transporters, or interact with the chemical in other ways. Since Dopamine is how our brain registers pleasure, it plays an important role in how we become addicted to things. When we feel good, we remember that and then want to feel good again. So we become addicted because of the way drugs interact with dopamine. Because the website is all about the science of addiction, it is nat ural that it would talk a lot about dopamine more than other parts of the brain's

Rural Tourism in UK Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Rural Tourism in UK - Dissertation Example 1 Introduction 1.1 Background study Large-scale globalisation has led to widespread economic reframing, which has created an environment where local economies must necessarily adjust, for augmenting or maintaining the viability of their socio-economic conditions under the altered climate. Social and economic forces that are functioning at global levels ascertain both the type and and nature of rural regions and how they are used and valued (Butler, Hall, and Jenkins, 1998). These socioeconomic modifications along with new approaches and thoughts on recreation and leisure time activities are increasingly promoting rural tourism worldwide (Williams 1995). Developing areas not perceived favourably as tourist destinations, for rural tourism depends on two main factors. First, in some cases, tourist attraction may be slowly built-up by entrepreneurs through innovative businesses, like entertainment parks. Secondly, on some cases visitors may suddenly discover an area, generating a sudden increase in demand for recreation and leisure time activities, which gives the local entrepreneurs an opportunity to respond and develop their local area. However, development of rural tourism is not merely based on the concept of balancing local supply with tourist demand, but includes issues of sustainability, and evaluating the suitability and acceptability, as regards the local community, in view of developing the area as a tourist spot. There are various debates over defining the term rural tourism, and a review of the literature reveals that no consensus over the issue has been arrived yet (Pearce and Moscardo, 1985; Bramwell 1994). As Oppermann claimed, â€Å"there is not even a commonly accepted definition of what rural tourism is† (1996, pp. 86-87). This lack of consensus, as regards defining rural tourism, arises from the absence of a common standard used for measuring nature and type of rural tourism by different countries, worldwide. Therefore, rural tourism seen in various countries of the world, do not share any common characteristics. Observations also reveal that rural tourism does not necessarily pertain to only the typical rural form of activities, it can also be urban type situated in a rural area. Rural areas all over the world are experiencing intricate socioeconomic changes due to effect of globalisation, technology and communications that have altered the conditions for market operations and distributions for local and traditional items (Frochot, 2005). Besides this, owing to globalisation many of the rural areas have witnessed large-scale depopulation while others have experienced large-scale influx of immigrants or inflow of elderly people looking for retirement, or others looking for establishing innovative business types that may not be local or traditional in nature. Generally, rural tourism is associated with the form of tourism where rural culture is the chief element or the main component of

Humanities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Humanities - Essay Example These conditions and poverty levels presented challenges that needed improved laws and law system. Consequently, the authorities’ emphasized on laws, leading to revision and incorporation of new clauses in the existing laws. The justice system continues to influence laws and school of thoughts. Ancient Greek during this time was marked with increased philosophical and medical studies that led to political, education and social changes (Covert 44). However, it is necessary to determine the factors that led to civilization. One has to determine whether geography and Greek are responsible. It is also necessary to compare Greek civilization with Eastern civilization and determine its superiority. Greek civilization, noted as Ancient Greece is a period stretching from 8th century B.C to 600AD. It succeeds the Dark Ages of Greek that was a period marked with orthodox ideas and misguided practices. The Greek civilization succeeds starting in a period called archaic period and ends wi th end of antiquity period. The beginning of the civilization features the influence of five cultures that helped shape Greece to its largely adopted culture. These cultures include Egyptian, Assyrian, Syro-Hittite and Phoenicians (Solway 3) During the onset of the civilization period, several changes began happening that made the period stand out from previous minor civilizations. Coining of the Greek alphabets from Phoenician scripts is one of the first changes. This occurred in the archaic period leading to emergence of written accounts. Water bodies characterize the geographical structure of Greek. Additionally, mountainous structures separate all neighboring community states. The coin emerged during this period that challenged the governing aristocratic regimes because the newfound trading methods led to the rise of a mercantile group that ended up desiring political power. This marks the period of societal governance change to democracy (Solway 23). The population grew in this period causing shortage of land and a deepening gap between the poor and rich. During this conflict, a social change occurred when Spartans males had to join the military whether one is an elite, rich or humble background. This is a period marred with civil wars. For example, Athens encountered land problems and agricultural misgivings that led to civil war. Law became the only solution in countering the conflicts. Initial attempt at settling the conflict failed but later succeeded after Solon reforms successfully established power to the aristocracy and improved the plight of the poor. This depicts the development of social structures, authorities and their shift with the changing economic, political, and educational aspects (Covert 3). Increased population growth led to migration and settlement into other areas that later would be collectively referred to as Greece. The migrations expanded the cultural practices and linguistic styles of the Ancient Greek. This further facilitated economy growth and adoption of the coin within the original states and overseas to the newly conquered colonies. Improvements became apparent in the people’s standards of living (Solway 34) The geographical outlook of the Greece territory was mountainous with numerous valleys and plains. As a result, numerous small communities lived separately, each with its own language, cultural practices and identity. This resulted in a larger community with diverse practices.

Topical Tax Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Topical Tax Issue - Essay Example The guidelines are intended to replace the previous poverty proofing guidelines issued by the department of social and family affairs and in this article are referred to as poverty impact assessment guidelines. The poverty impact assessment process aims at identifying the impact of policy proposal on those experiencing poverty or at risk of falling to poverty so that this can be given proper consideration in designing or reviewing the policy. The process does not intend to fundamentally transform policies to target visibly the disadvantaged but are aimed to identify anticipated negative impact and put measures to counterbalance such impacts. Moreover, positive impacts are also identified so that they can be improved. As included in Budget 2007, these social welfare measures will benefit taxpayers at the lower bracket of income distribution. This is because the absence of such measures may lead to these taxpayers experiencing a significant deterioration in their income in relative terms. Analyzing these measures on the view of combined effect of social welfare changes and tax changes, they highlight that the most significant net income gain are to those on the lowest incomes. It indicates that much smaller gains will be to those in the middle to high income brackets. Proper analysis of these tax measures reflect that Budget 2007 is progressive in nature as it sees those dependent on the welfare are to accrue the greatest gains. Budget 207 ensure s that the lowest income groups gain more progressively that is from welfare payments as compared to higher income groups who are main progressive contributors to the cost of public service provision. The resources targeted by Budget 2007 are over 55% in the personal income tax package to those on low incomes as well as the elderly, widowed taxpayers and those with disability or under care of a person with disability. Taxpayers at the lower end of income distribution will as well benefit from taxation measures if they are to become exempt. This is due to the fact that the entry point to taxation has been increased in Budget 2007. The basic personal tax credit and the employee tax credit was increased by Budget 2006. This was meant to ensure that the minimum wage in its annualized form was placed outside the tax net. At the end of 2006, the position still remained as a key government's aim on tax policy and continues to be met. The entry level to taxation was increased in budget 2007 through substantial increases in personal tax credit and the employee credit. For instance, entry point for a single employee below 65 years, the personal tax credit and the employee credit was increased by almost 13% in Budget 2007. This is a sufficient increase as it ensures that the minimum wage per hour is increased and therefore its annualized form will not be liable to income taxation. Moreover, employee's health levy was increased to ensure that taxpayers in low income bracket were not liable for the levy. The income tax changes announced in Budget 2007 to the extent that they apply are intended to have a significant beneficial impact for those on low incomes. This is because those in low incomes will receive additional payment for each child below six years of age in comparison with previous years. In conclusion, Budget 2007 income tax measures are intended to improve

Information Regarding CPA's Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Information Regarding CPA's Report - Essay Example The deferral method specifically focuses on income statement and the tax expense is calculated on the basis of identified revenues and expenses in the income statement. However, the deferral method is not acceptable under GAAP. In contrast, the liability method would estimate the future taxes payable or receivable. Hence, the liability method focuses on the estimation of current as well as deferred tax assets and liabilities. â€Å"The amount of income tax expense recognized for a period is the amount of income taxes currently payable or refundable, plus or minus the change in aggregate deferred tax assets and liabilities† (CCH Editorial, p.28). The liability method primarily focuses on the balance sheet. The changes in the balance sheet elements are used to calculate the amount of income tax expense under this method. 2. Procedures for Reporting Accounting Changes and Error Corrections Generally, accounting changes are of two types including changes in accounting principle an d changes in accounting estimate. Mainly, there are two approaches available for reporting accounting changes. They are retrospective approach and prospective approach. Under the retrospective approach, comparative financial statements are recast to clearly illustrate the changes. In addition, related accounting records are properly adjusted to indicate net effect of the change as of the starting of the current period. In addition, the identified accounting changes and their effects on the income statement and balance sheet are appropriately attached to the financial statements. The prospective approach is used when the application of retrospective approach becomes impractical. In case of reporting error corrections, the cumulative effect of the correction has to be reported as a prior period adjustment if only the statements relating to the current period are presented. â€Å"If comparative financial statements are presented, then the error should be corrected in the earliest affe cted period presented by correcting any individual amounts on the financial statements† (FASAB). In addition, the effect of correction of an error in previous financial statements on relevant balances must be properly disclosed. 3. Rationale Behind Establishing Subsidiary as a Separate Corporation The concept of making subsidiary as a separate corporation adds to the operational efficiency of an organization. When a parent company and its subsidiaries operate as separate legal entities, either of them may individually involve in legal proceedings, bankruptcy, or tax delinquency without depending on the other. In addition, the separate operation would be assistable to prevent a non-profitable subsidiary from operating at the expense of the holding company. Hence, the subsidiary corporation would be forced to raise operating funds by itself to meet its business requirements. When a parent company and its subsidiaries operate as a single corporation, the business management would be a cumbersome task because the single firm becomes responsible for dealing with huge volume of transactions. In addition, the separate operation would aid the holding company to take advantage of tax duties and public sector spending. This concept is also beneficial for the holding company to timely identify the operational pitfalls of its subsidiaries and recommend

Nights Dream Essay Example for Free

Nights Dream Essay Task: Discuss the importance of magic in A Midsummer Nights Dream 10c1 English Coursework Magic is probably the main theme in A Midsummer Nights Dream. It plays a vital and extensive role in each story line. Each time Shakespeare uses magic, there is an important if subtle consequence. Shakespeare explores many aspects of magic, including how it causes problems and how it solves them. Magic is often used by Shakespeare to support and implement the comedic sections of the play. Before I explore the importance of magic in the play, I must explore magic itself,as it means different things to different people and to different cultures. Magic is defined in the dictionary as Any art that invokes supernatural powers. However, to other people and the majority of religions, magic is an evil force within the world, practiced by sinners and wrong doers. This seems to be the main view of the society Shakespeare lived in. However, nowadays magic is generally not believed in. This seems to be Shakespeares point of view; this can be seen by his use of magic to create a comedic and mischievous though certainly not evil- atmosphere throughout the play. In this way, Shakespeare could be seen as a writer ahead of his time. The effects of magic in A Midsummer Nights Dream may have been influenced by the social attitude of the Elizabethan era. During Elizabethan times magic unlike today was widely believed in. It was considered a crime to practise magic and was an offence punishable by law. People (usually single women) were executed if they were suspected of committing this crime. I think that this may have influenced Shakespeare to make magic have such a dramatic and often catastrophic effect. An example of the disastrous effects of magic is when Robin Goodfellow pours the love potion in the wrong mans eye, causing him to fall in love with another woman. This shows us that magic often has devastating and consequential effects, which affect the play as a whole. It also insinuates that magic might be a devious, if not evil, force. Magic plays a large and indispensable part in the plays main plot, with the lovers. Magic is actually used to structure the main story line. This can be seen where Oberon says: A sweet lady is in love/ With a disdainful youth: anoint his eyes -/ But do it when the next thing he espies/ May be the lady This shows us that magic is an extremely significant theme throughout the play. There would have been no main plot, had Robin Goodfellow not anointed the wrong mans eye with the love potion. Magic also plays an essential part in many of the subplots. This can be seen where Bottoms head is turned into that of an ass. Titania is then made to love him through magic. This suggests that magic is crucial to make the play the comedy that it is. These subplots can seem slightly insignificant and trivial at times, however, they all merge to create a gripping and interesting story. Magic is also used to solve or correct the problems at the end of the play. This can be seen where Shakespeare writes Jack shall have Jill; / Nought shall go ill: / The man shall have his mare again and all shall be well This can also be seen in Pucks final speech, for example Think but this and all is mended The lovers are all as they were except Demetrius who now loves Helena (though this is a good thing); Bottoms head is restored etc. These, when combined form the resolution/conclusion of the play. Without the use of magic, normality would not have been restored. The play would not have had a proper ending. This supports my opinion that magic plays a fundamental and imperative part in the play. Magic is also used to make the lovers happy. Demetrius is made to fall in love with Helena. Consequently, Hermia can marry Lysander, with whom she is in love. This also makes up a critical part of the conclusion another main role. Magic affects the environmental setting in the play. This can be seen when Titania says Therefore the winds, piping to us in void/As in revenge for having sucked up the sea This shows us that the whole of nature has been set off balance by a mere argument between the rulers of the fairies. This shows us the intensity and extent to which magic influences the setting and design of the play. The name of the play, itself suggests the importance of magic. The reference to midsummer at first does not seem significant to the story. Why, then, did Shakespeare include it in the title? The reference to midsummer is actually an inconspicuous clue of the events in the play. Midsummer is widely considered to be a time of magic and mystery. Such tales of fortune personified walking on Earth support this. The fact that this play is set in midsummer contributes to the mysterious effect created by Shakespeare. This seems to be a direct and deliberate indication of magic, before you have even read the first word. Another hint of the content of A Midsummer Nights Dream is the use of the word dream. Dreams are also widely considered to be a magical aspect of life. They are often interpreted and read by those who believe in magic. This, again, seems to suggest that magic will play a crucial role in the play. Even the word night could be interpreted as a reference to magic. Often especially in older writings magic plays a more vital role during the night, i. e. the hours of darkness. This is another obvious hint of magic, situated by Shakespeare before the play begins. This further reference to magic implements the role of magic as a theme in A Midsummer Nights Dream and highlights its criticality to the story as a whole. In fact, Shakespeare actually seems to personify magic. After all, what is Puck? A mischievous being of magic that invokes supernatural events. This again is evidence of the importance of magic. Puck is often the character to inflict magic upon others resulting in a catastrophic yet comedic effect. Without the use of Pucks magic, the lovers would not have ended up falling in love with the wrong people, and as this is the main storyline in A Midsummer Nights Dream I think this is one of the most significant roles that magic plays and proves its necessity to the play. Magic, is therefore a significant factor of A Midsummer Nights Dream. It is woven into most of the subplots and plays an extremely important role in the main plot. In my opinion, it would have been impossible for Shakespeare to have written this play without including magic. Therefore, magic is almost definitely the most important and essential theme of the A Midsummer Nights Dream. Shakespeare impresses this significance on us using all of the story lines in the play. It affects nature, physical appearance and even the mind. Magic is used both positively and negatively throughout the story. It is often the cause of problems, but ultimately it solves them.

Export Oriented Industrialization In Developing Countries

Export Oriented Industrialization In Developing Countries One of the key indicators, of economic development of a country, is its level of industrialization. That is, as many empirical investigations proved the main reason for increased divergence in living standards between the advanced countries and the developing countries is their level of industrialization. This being the fact, it is only after decolonization and end of world War II that, developing countries consciously adopted industrialization strategies for economic development purposes and as a solution, from their vulnerable dependence on export of few primary products and import of high valued manufactured goods (Brisbane, 1980). The low terms of trade in international market for primary goods from former colonies and the determination to get out of severe poverty and register sustained growth, were the main reasons for the diversification of the narrow structure of the colonial economy. Industrialization is beneficial for developing countries for many reasons including the following (i) it reduces their vulnerable dependence; (ii) it speeds up their economic growth process; (iii) it modernize the economy through spill over or externalities effects associated with industrialization, from advanced countries; (iv) create more employment for the vast population in rural agricultural sector and accelerate income growth which is used as a means to re-distribute income to the impoverished masses; and (v) generate more foreign currency through export which reduces balance of payment problems (Brisbane, 1980). As Brisbane explained, to industrialize, developing countries adopted import substitution strategies from about 1945 to the 1970s. Import substitution strategy is designed to produce few luxury consumer goods for domestic consumption behind a very high tariff wall. However, most countries which followed the import substitution strategy failed, to meet the goal of industrialization, while spectacular growth and development was reported from developing countries that pursued an export oriented strategy, in the 1970s. Defined simply, export-oriented Industrialization (EOI) often termed as export led industrialization (ELI) is a policy designed for the purpose of speeding up the industrialization process of a country through exporting goods for which the nation has a comparative advantage. This policy requires countries to open up their domestic market to foreign competition in return to getting access to international market. In order to promote EOI and ultimately economic development, complementary policies in relation to tariffs, trade, exchange rate, and others need to be adopted and employed. This paper will critically examine how export oriented industrialization is essential for economic growth in developing countries, if it can be backed up by appropriate policies on trade, industrial policy and exchange rate policy, geared for that purpose. The paper also argues that export oriented industrialization has its own drawbacks. Thus, the essay is structured as follows: In section 2, It the paper analyses the significance of policies on the functioning of EOI, particularly: trade policy, industrial policy and exchange rate policy that developing countries need to adopt and identifies areas where government intervention is needed to bring economic development. It then explains the drawbacks of export oriented industrialization, on export dependence countries, in Section 3. Then section 4, empirically examines how EOI contributes to economic development and the conclusions are presented in section 5. 2. Significance of Policies on EOI The role of complementary policies for effectiveness of export oriented industrialization is undeniable. This paper focuses mainly on how trade, industrial and exchange rate policies can support EOI policy. 2.1 Trade policy: Appropriate trade policy is one of the key tools used for effective of export oriented industrialization and for economic development, in general. That is, the better trade policy a country has, the better chance it has for industrial diversification, creating value added products and getting more income from export. Theoretical context: Even if, there has been little consensus on the relationship between trade and short- to medium -term economic growth-and even less on its role in long term economic development. The principle of comparative advantage, which prescribe countries to specialize as to their factor endowment, first described by David Ricardo, forms the theoretical basis for traditional trade theory and provides the rationale for free trade. The principle states that even if a country produced all goods more cheaply than other countries, it would benefit by specializing in the export of its relatively cheapest good (or the good in which it has a comparative advantage)(Murray Gibbs 2007, p. 10). And some classical economists believed that the principal base for this principle is the difference in factor endowments among countries determine the relative cost of production. However, this traditional theory from classical economists has been challenged as it doesnt explain well the actual trade patterns and as the theory has unrealistic assumptions, like perfect competition, full employment etc (Murray Gibbs 2007). In addition to the unrealistic assumptions, in real situations the theory favors advanced countries, and developing countries hardly benefit anything from it. The controversial Singer Prebisch thesis, also explained this situation by stating that it is the center that gets all the benefits of international trade while the periphery gets nothing, which opposes to the Ricardian Theory of Comparative Advantage. He argued: given the differences in the existing economic, productive and labor market structures between the periphery and the center (in the application of technology in traded goods and in the market structures; oligopoly vs. competitive) less-developed countries cannot benefit from international market, if they adopt comparative advan tage doctrine (Todaro and Smith 2009).This is because developing countries usually produce and export primary products which have lower terms of trade. And the scope for diversification is too narrow, and these conditions put developing countries to have vulnerable dependence on international market. Thus, unlike the classical economists static comparative advantage doctrine, dynamic comparative advantage is a better option for developing countries. This is because as more innovation, technology, capital, and other requirements for industrializations are met and as industrialization happens in developing countries, it will be easier to diversify their economic structure, as manufactured goods have better terms of trade than primary products. Skarstein (2007) in his paper Free Trade: A Dead End for Underdeveloped Economies,criticized the comparative advantage doctrine. He argued, what matters most in international trade is the absolute advantage that countries get out of it than a comparative advantage. And empirical evidences show that the doctrines of comparative advantage and free trade benefit the advanced countries only. This is mainly because the doctrines are likely to exclude international learning among countries. Particularly, the WTO agreement, Trade related intellectual property rights (TRIPS), which is a big challenge developing countries to acquire technology, skill and international learning from the rest of the world. He also argued, for a trade policy to function effectively, developing countries have to make sure that, this policy is well integrated with their industrial policy. And in addition to these, developing countries have to get support from advanced countries, through reduced import tariffs for goods from developing countries and by giving developing countries a chance to protect their industries and to get easy access to international market. He also stressed that, developing countries have to ensure that food security is maintained in their countries, as it keeps them safe from their foreign account, balance of payment problems as well. Thus, governments of developing countries have to protect agricultural production for consumption. Therefore, while designing policies, developing countries have to consider the dynamic comparative advantage or absolute advantage options. In addition to this, they also have to consider how their economic integration to the world economy should be in support of EOI. 2.2 Industrial policy: A proper industrial policy is also another important tool for effective export oriented industrialization, as a countrys industrialization depends on how individual domestic firms are protected. This is because, it is individual firms that innovate and harness technological change and compete in the world market (Suranovic, 2002). The basic policy component of industrial policy for developing countries is Infant industry protection. It is a necessary condition, because newly emerging firms in developing countries need some policy to help them grow strong and to safeguard them from intrusion of foreign firms in their market, that have a negative effect on their growth. Infant industries in developing countries can mainly be protected through import tariff mechanism, which reduce imports from the rest of the world and raises demand and production of domestic product. This protection enables the domestic firms to cover their higher production costs and to remain in business. Depending on the nature of the firm, infant industry protection strategy will help the domestic firms to produce efficiently and to be competent in international markets. However, in order to use the infant industry protection policy as a tool for export oriented industrialization, government of developing countries need to have reliable information about what industry to protect, how large the production tariffs need to be and over what period the tariffs will be reduced and eliminated. Because import tariffs have to be gradually reduced and eliminated, to increase efficiency of domestic firms. A complementary policy component to infant industry protection in export oriented industrialization is export promotion. This component stimulates export and allows the infant industry to have access to international market, while Infant industry protection policy allows the new domestic firm to grow strong. For industrial policy to be effective it has to be complemented by competition policy, as some regulations are required for the competition among domestic firms and simultaneously, as there is a need for policy to protect the domestic firms from intrusion of foreign firms in their market. A coherent execution of industrial policy requires a coordinated approach to trade policies. This is because trade policies are designed usually in accordance with a countrys trade negotiations, which include: policies related to investment, tariff, Intellectual property, and others. The effectiveness of tariffs as a tool for industrialization is also linked to the monetary policy framework within which it operates. When the capital account is liberalized control over exchange rates may be lost and the appreciation of exchange rates can obviously undermine export competitiveness and the impact of tariff protection (Murray Gibbs 2007, p. 19). 2.3. Exchange rate policy: The role of exchange rate policy in the success of export oriented industrialization strategy is undeniable. Exchange rate is a policy on the level of exchange rate of a countrys currency. The main challenge in formulating the exchange rate policy is in keeping balance between maintaining exchange rate stability and maintaining export price competitiveness, which requires devaluation. Devaluation increases the value of imports, while it gives options for exporters to choose either to reduce the prices of their products or to keep them as they are, to increase their profit margin. Thus, devaluation, at a cost of higher inflation, enables domestic industries to be competent internationally, by keeping the volume of import down and by raising the volume of export (domestic output) higher. The role of government in controlling inflation, to stabilize the economy is very essential, here. Thus, this phenomenon in addition to supporting the export oriented industrialization process it helps countries to improve their current account balance in Balance of payment problem (Jacob, Atta ; Keith R., Jefferis ; Ita, Mannathoko and Pelani, Siwawa-Ndai 2000) 3. Drawbacks of Export dependence A country is dependent on export, if export constitutes the largest portion of its gross domestic products. However, even if EOI strategy contributes for economic development, the extent to which this strategy is applied has to be considered for various reasons. To mention some of them, as dependency theorists argue: first, export dependent developing countries cause chaos on the long-term economic planning capacity of a nation-state (Barratt-Brown Prebisch) as these countries have little or no control over the market, to allow sustained economic growth through stable revenue. Second, Income from export is not a reliable source for economic development for developing countries. As many of the export oriented industrializations in these countries are owned by multinational corporations, and large portion of revenue from such sources are not repatriated, to be used for re-investment (Jaffee, 1985). 4. Empirical evidence: Skarstein, 2007 paper Free Trade: A Dead End for Underdeveloped Economies, showed the empirical evidences on EOIs contribution for miraculous economic development of the Asian tigers and the now developed countries. It mainly showed the relationship between economic development and effective implementation of infant industries protection policy and export promotion policy. In support of this, it is argued, that many people have argued that Infant industry protection was precisely the industrial development strategy that was pursued by countries like the US and Germany during their rapid industrial development before the turn of the 20th century. Both the US and Germany had high tariffs during their industrial revolution periods. These tariffs helped protect fledgling industries from competition with more efficient firms in Britain and may have been the necessary requirement to stimulate economic growth (Suranovic 2002) Bairoch also analyzed data and concluded that the different the effect of free trade on developed and developing countries is. In all the cases he analyzed, free trade has a positive effect on developed countries while it lets the least developed countries to suffer. He mentioned that United Kingdom registered its fastest growth during the period (1860 1880). In those cases he analyzed, how effective import tariffs for developing countries were in their economic development (Bairoch, 1972, p. 211). In his paper, Skarstein, illustrated, with detailed data how the East Asian tigers used industrialization policy for their economic development. That is: first by implementing a policy of protected import substitution and then, as their industries grow competent, by shifting their industrialization strategy to export oriented industrialization, with a slow reduction of import barriers for industrial good. And, at the same time, how implementing high import protection for their agriculture helped them to maintain food security and helped their success in industrialization The miraculous performance of the East and South East Asian countries during 1970s to 1990s cannot be analyzed without considering the connection between the export -oriented policies and economic growth. In the Newly Industrialized Economies from East and South East Asia, the general macroeconomic policies as well as selective export promotion policies facilitated the high export and economic growth. Following their path China and India also changed their policy stance in favor of export oriented policies and moved on the high growth trajectories. 5. Conclusions: In sum industrialization is a key process for developing countries for economic development. However, as many economists agree, the process of economic development is very complex, as it depends on large number of variables such as political system, socio economic structure, capital accumulation (both physical and human), trade, price fluctuations, and income distribution, and even more on geographical characteristics. As such, while export oriented industrialization contributes to economic growth, it is not necessarily indispensable to the growth and development of developing countries. As explained in this essay, EOI can be one of the key strategies to register economic growth. And in order for it to function effectively it has to be supported by appropriate components of the policy like: infant industry protection strategy, competition policy, export promotion strategy and others. More specifically, it requires well functioning and well integrated macroeconomic policies like: trade policy, industrial policy, exchange rate policy, investment policy, tariff policy and others. Government intervention also plays a key role in making the export oriented industrialization effective for economic development. Examined empirical evidences also reveal that Export-oriented Industrialization was particularly the characteristic of the economic development of the Asian Tigers: Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore in the post World War II period . In addition to Asian Tigers, evidences also tell how EOI strategy contributed for the economic development of US, Germany and others, who are now in developed world category. However, though the role of export oriented industrialization in economic development is undeniable, countries have to also carefully consider its share in the gross domestic product, as larger export dependence has a negative effect on economic growth.

BBC Adaptation to Convergence

BBC Adaptation to Convergence Examine and evaluate how one media organisation has adapted to convergence: BBC. Across the media, many media organizations have responded and adapted to convergence through welcoming multi-media platforms to help with spreading their content. In this essay I will be discussing how the BBC has adapted to convergence and the outcome of it all. What is convergence? Convergence is when different of forms of media platforms come together to make a huge multi-platform to give the ability to distribute content to many people. Convergence has become both technological as well as social, the audiences play such an important role in making sure that content is distributed widely across the different platforms. The World Wide Web has been one of the most important contributors to the huge phenomenon of media convergence. Over time it has developed so much that is has allowed a huge range of media related platforms such as video, print and audio to be accessible and available from anywhere. The internet has definitely changed a lot about the way that audiences now absorb and access all this information. Moreover, one main aspect of convergence which has become really popular is mobile. It has allowed any information to reach the hands of anyone using a handheld mobile which has internet on it. For example, many companies and organizations such as the BBC and Channel 4 News have started to change the way that they present their content, making sure that they use short and straight to the point headlines which is directed to audiences who are always on the go. This is simply because companies want to make sure that their content is accessible anywhere and at any time to make sure they keep aud ience satisfaction rates high, as well as making sure that audiences are always up to date with headline news that is happening all over the world. However, one thing which has helped things go further is obviously the internet. The internet has allowed the use of visual clips and images to act as the story teller of most of the headlines. Most websites that people visit using their mobiles, the BBC being one of them, they use photographs to tell the story of certain events. The photos usually have a small caption under them to briefly explain the picture, however, the image is the one that does most of the story telling. Photographs are a benefit for audiences who use handheld devices and smart phones because it allows them to see the image clearer and get a feel of what they are going to read about rather than reading through several lines. Also, looking at the videography side, most websites now allow audiences to watch a live stream of the channel. This makes sure that more audiences are able to view the content of the BBC anywhere. The news organizations are not the only ones to take advantage of this, radio stations as wel l as social networking sites have too. Another company which uses convergence in this way is YouTube. YouTube is known to be a huge media platform in which people are able to upload videos accessible to millions of people all around the world. The BBC has a channel on YouTube which uploads videos of headline news for people that have missed the live stream and want to watch it again. This is another example of convergence. Development of multi-media platforms. In order for the BBC to gain full benefits of adapting to convergence, they have to take the advantage of migrating to multi-media platforms. For example, a famous strategy used by the UK television industry is called (360 degree commissioning). This is simply at the early stage of getting all the content together and making sure that there is a potential consumer value, once this is agreed on, the television industries return all the content to their audiences through a variety of media platforms, for example, mobile, online and so on. Another strategy used by television industries is the simple and basic use of websites and many other digital platforms to help put themselves out there. The main question to ask is if media industries are benefitting from being able to spread their content across various platforms. To dissect this question, it is best to look into the development of convergence and to look at audience feedback after convergence was used by the media industry. The benefits of convergence and how the BBC have adapted to it. The clear and obvious benefits of multi-media platforms are simply economic, it helps various companies and organizations in their content being distributed to so many audiences and making sure that the content is consumed across these platforms. Another main benefit is popularity. Organizations depend a lot of multi-platforms to make sure that the name of their company and their credibility is maintained. Considering that so many people now days have smart phones and have easy access to the internet on the go, it is easy for companies to make sure they are recognized through apps, websites etc†¦ The BBC uses multi-media platforms in the sense that they have apps in mobile phones that people can access so easily, they have made mobile friendly websites as well as making it possible for people to get notifications of any news that has just taken place. This is a great example of how the BBC uses convergence to their advantage. Another way in which the BBC uses convergence is through the huge development of devices such as media players and mobiles. The development of these digital platforms, with the internet being the main principle, it means that it has become so easy for content that the BBC has produced to be circulated and consumed by audiences all over the world. With the growth of social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, this makes it even easier for audiences to access information about the BBC and all the news that is up to date. The BBC have both an official twitter account as well as a Facebook account to make sure they are reached by as many people as possible . Mass audiences are able to be reached easier by all these big industries through the use of convergence. Through digitization, it has been very easy to reformat content from several media platforms therefore creating a better economic advantage for industries. The creation of multimedia platforms has allowed a great amount of digital distribution, therefore, more audiences can access a variety of content on the internet. This creates a huge knowledgeable platform for industries because people will know who they are simply because they are able to access their content on the go. An example which shows how the BBC have adapted to convergence is the availability of the BBC iPlayer. The BBC iPlayer is a service that allows audiences to catch up with any content they have missed. The BBC iPlayer was launched and made available to the public in 2007. Since then, it has become very popular and is used a lot by viewers. Another example of convergence of the BBC is simply television. All the adverts that people see on their TVs’ now days all involve social networking in one way or another. Nearly every industry whether it be news or music, they all have some sort of social networking account in which all their audiences/fans, can keep up with all the industries information or simply content they have missed. Furthermore, a key example of how the BBC have adapted to convergence in through the creation of their BBC radio station. By introducing BBC radio, the corporation has undoubtedly increased their audiences in terms of numbers, particularly to include those who are unable to view the television live stream because they are always on the move, as well as those from different socio-economic backgrounds (i.e. lower class families.) Disadvantages of convergence. Another disadvantage of convergence for companies such as the BBC would be cost-effectiveness. This simply means that providing their services and content through different mediums would incur extra costs for the corporation therefore potentially harming their profit margins. Many organizations and companies such as the BBC struggle a lot in making any revenue from putting their content on the internet. Considering that many broadband companies have emerged in recent years, it has made it even easier for people to undertake illegal streaming therefore creating a threat to most television companies and their economy. Moreover, the whole idea of being able to access any content from any industry on the internet has made it economically difficult for companies such as the BBC. The internet has made it hard to place payment schemes on mainstream information. Many of these disadvantages have been discussed in Rupert Murdoch’s article about the newspaper industry and how newspaper organizations should start putting payment schemes in order to gain some sort of revenue from their content. What the BBC could do better. When discussing convergence and how the BBC adapted to it, there are a few improvements that the BBC could make to maximise their potential ratings. A step that the BBC could prosper to take would be payment schemes. This would allow the organization to charge viewers for a service that gives them the option to watch content that they have already missed through the live stream. In doing this, the BBC as an organization would increase their revenue allowing them to expand and offer further content to audiences. Nonetheless, this is merely a suggestion and one of many paths the BBC could take to exploit the use of convergence. Conclusion. Many companies if not most, have thought of going ahead with digitalization initiatives. All industries now have websites and several marketing techniques that do not include social media. Social media is obviously known to be a very important component of any marketing technique, however, digitalization must go further than just social media. Digitalization has changed so fast in such a small period of time that it is believed that in years to come, it will be deemed as a usual strategy to use when thinking about your company. This is critical in order for companies such as the BBC to make sure they are ahead of everyone else and that they are able to learn new things from digitalization. Considering that most things have now become digital, it is clear to see that the world is changing rapidly because of this. It is important for popular companies like the BBC to support the means of digitalization and to accept that it is of a benefit than it is a setback. Saying this, some organi zations may feel that the digital scheme may not work for them, therefore it is smart to check the overall capability of it all before applying the strategy. Overall, the BBC has gained more than it has lost through adapting to convergence because the company now has such a huge platform for people to interact and share their content worldwide and make sure they are recognized by many people. Referencing. unknown. (2011). what is media convergence. Available: https://mconvergence.wordpress.com/about/. Last accessed 02 may 2015. Sanaz Fallahkhair. (unknown). An architecture for iTV and mobile phone based interactive language.. Media convergence. 1 (1), 1-6. Robin Foster Tom Broughton. (2012). PSB prominence in a converged media world. A changing world. 1 (1), 11-19. Henry Jenkins (2004). The cultural logic of media convergence. 7th ed. London New Dehli: SAGE Publications. 34-40. Dwyer, Tim (2010). Media convergence:. United Kingdom: McGraw-Hill education. 24-30. Julia Knight. (2015). The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. Convergence. 21 (1), 1. S Chakaveh. (2007). Media covergence, an introduction. Available: http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-540-73110-8_88. Last accessed 28 Apr 2015. Christy Belden. (2011). Media convergence: Media and marketing. Available: http://www.slideshare.net/cbelden/media-convergence-7376828. Last accessed 28 Apr 2015. Mathew Buckland. (2007). Convergence in the media. Available: http://www.slideshare.net/matthewbuckland/media-convergence?related=1. Last accessed 01 May 2015. Unknown (unknown). Media covergence and the transformed media environment. Australia: unknown. 67-74. H Jenkins, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide (2006), 18 ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã¢â‚¬â€œ19.

Communication Theories Essay -- essays research papers

In interpersonal communication there are many theories that are similar yet different in many ways. The theories can be combined to describe people and how those people interact and communicate with each other. Many of these theories help explain how people in society form impressions of others, how they maintain these impressions, why people interact with certain people in society, and how people will use these impressions that they have formed later on in life. These theories also help people to better understand themselves, to better understand interpersonal communication, and to better understand people in general. There are two theories in interpersonal communication that, despite their differences, can go hand in hand. The first is interaction adaptation theory and the second is emotional contagion theory. These two theories’ similarities and differences and their relevance to my everyday life will be discussed in this paper. These two theories are very important in und erstanding how people interact with others and why people do the things they do sometimes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Interaction adaptation theory defined by Beebe, Beebe, and Redmond (2005) is a â€Å"Theory suggesting that people interact with others by adapting to what others are doing† (p. 190). A way of looking at this theory is by thinking about a mirror. â€Å"Sometimes we relate by mirroring the posture or behavior of others† (p. 190). This theory believes that people will share the same kind of communication patterns when they are communicating together. People will interact in the same way as the other person. There has been a conclusion based on this theory that â€Å"nonverbal cues play a key role in how people adapt to others† (p. 190). If a person is communicating with their friend, who has their arms crossed, than this person might find that they are crossing their arms as well. These types of actions are all conclusions to this theory. People, based on their interactions with others, usually tend to develop similar communication patterns and find themselves mirroring the patterns of the other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Emotional contagion theory is a little similar to interaction adaptation theory. According to Beebe, Beebe, and Redmond (2005), emotional contagion theory â€Å"suggests that people tend to ‘catch’ the emotions of others† (p. 213). This means that if a person is comm... ...oes for most of the emotions that people feel. I never really noticed any of this before I started writing this paper. I shared this information with my best friend and she was amazed that the way people interact is generally the same within groups in society. She now has a better understanding of the communication patterns and behaviors of people and she is not even in the class.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  These theories have helped me to have a clearer understanding of how people interact with others and how they can share emotions. Everybody uses these theories whether they are conscious of it or not. If people did not use these theories than they would not be taught in class. Knowing about these theories and how they work is very beneficial to having better communication and interaction with people who are complete strangers and with people who are friends or even colleagues. The way people interact with others is important to knowing how they will share emotions and behaviors not only now, but also in the future. References Beebe, S., Beebe, S., Redmond, M. (2005). Interpersonal Communication: Relating to   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Others. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Sonnys Blues by James Baldwin Essay -- Sonnys Blues James Baldwin

Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin "Sonny's Blues" is a story about two brothers, their past, and how their differences came between them. They were apart for several years while Sonny was in jail, but once he got out they had a chance to mend their pasts. "Sonny's Blues" is a well written story that teaches a lesson that has value in every day life. The tone is melancholy and reminiscent. The brother is remembering the past and reflection on the mistakes he and Sonny made. He is sad over their fallout, Sonny's trouble with drugs, and the death of his daughter. He regrets that he wasn't able to keep Sonny out of trouble like he promised his mother he would do, as she had done with their father. The point of view is first person selective, told from the perspective of the brother. He g...

War of 1812 Essay -- essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The War of 1812 was a war between Britain and the United States fought primarily in Upper Canada. It had many causes, few which involved British North America. The results of the war include the fact that there was no clear winner or loser among them. The only real losers in the situation were the Natives in the region. They were driven out of their lands and customs. None of the borders was changed by the war, though many attempts were made. The Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war, did nothing to advance the state of the countries. It went so far as to end the war and put things back the way that they were, but the main causes of the conflict were not addressed or dealt with. In order to evaluate the significance of this war, Canadian victories and losses, as well as overall results, must be analyzed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most Canadian victories came in the form of preventing American attack from being successful. This is the main Canadian reason for believing they won this war. An example of this occurred on 12 July 1812, when General Hull and his troops crossed into Canada. Their invasion was promptly met and turned away by opposing forces. This also happened in the Battle of Raisin River on 21 January 1813. American General Winchester surrendered to British Colonel Proctor, losing 500 prisoners. Perhaps the most significant of Canadian victories was the burning of Washington. When the British forces won the battle of Bladensburg, it â€Å"opened the door to Washington†. The Capitol Building and the White House were destroyed but luckily, for the Americans, torrential rains put out fires in the rest of the city. To the Canadians from 1812-1814, this was reason enough to believe that they were victorious. To Canadians now it seems a shallow way to claim triumph.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Notable role models were born out of this war for Canadians. Sir Isaac Brock was a prominent figure. He was â€Å"Commander of Forces in Upper Canada† and later added Administrator to his title. Being engulfed by politics proved too much for Brock, who left to join forces in the march upon Detroit (August 1812). He led troops to victory here, but lost his life in the Battle of Queenston Heights in October 1812. To this day, Brock is well renowned throughout Canada as a fearless leader and important to the history of the country. Another... ...sp;Canada: Copp Clark Ltd., 1998 Feldmeth, Greg. Key Events and Causes: War of 1812, 31 March 1998,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://home.earthlink.net~gfeldmeth/chart/1812.html (21 October 1999, 5   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  November 1999) Filewood, Alan. â€Å"National Battles: Canadian Monumental Drama and the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Investiture of History.† In Modern Drama. 38. (Spring 1995) 71-86 Stanley, George F.G. The War of 1812 Land Operations. Canada: MacMillian of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Canada, 1983 Turner, Wesley. The War of 1812. The War That Both Sides Won.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1990 Zaslow, Morris. The Defended Border, Upper Canada and the War of 1812.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Toronto: MacMillian of Canada, 1983 The War of 1812- Causes of the War, â€Å"n.d.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www2.andrews.edu/~downm.causes.html (26 October 1999, 13   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  November 1999) The War of 1812, Major Battles, â€Å"n.d† http://multied.com/1812.html (18   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  October 1999, 5 November 1999)

Does religion cause war Essay

War is an organized and often prolonged conflict that is carried out by states or non-state actors. It is generally characterised by extreme violence, social disruption and economic destruction. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political communities, and therefore is defined as a form of political violence or intervention. The set of techniques used by a group to carry out war is known as warfare. An absence of war is usually called peace. A religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence. Many religions have narratives, symbols, and sacred histories that are intended to explain the meaning of life and/or to explain the origin of life or the Universe. From their beliefs about the cosmos and human nature, people derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle. According to some estimates, there are roughly 4,200 religions in the world. Today we have invited our special guests of panel to discuss about the topic â€Å"Does Religion Cause War†. To discuss about the Does religion cause war? On this planet Earth, there have been many wars fought over many different things. They can range from freedom, oil, and religion. There were many wars fought over religion. For example, the thirty years war. The thirty years war was one of the major wars fought over religion. It was mostly fought in what’s now Germany. The thirty years war was one of the absolute longest and most destructive, and brutal conflicts in European history. The war was mainly between Protestants and Roman Catholics; although, this eventually turned into a war including most of the European powers. The major effect of The Thirty Years War was destroying entire regions. In Germany, the disease and famine greatly decreases population, while bankrupting most of the combatant powers. Although the regiments within each military were not strictly mercenary in that they were not guns for hire that changed sides from battle to battle, the soldiers that made up the regiments for the most part probably were. Another example of a war fought over religion was the Crusades. The Crusades were some of the most famous wars, and fought over religion. The Crusades were a series of wars blessed by the Pope, and Catholic Church. Their main goal was to regain Christian access to the city of Jerusalem, and holy places around it. The Crusades were actually originally launched to repel the expansion into Anatolia. Several hundred thousand soldiers became Crusaders by taking vows; the Pope granted them plenary indulgence. Their emblem was the cross, â€Å"crusade† is derived from the French term for taking up the cross. Many were from France and called themselves â€Å"Franks,† which became the common term used by Muslims. The term â€Å"crusade† is also used to describe religiously motivated campaigns conducted between 1100 and 1600 in territories outside the Levant usually against pagans, heretics, and peoples under the ban of excommunication for a mixture of religious, economic, and political In the eyes of many, religion is inherently conflictual, but this is not necessarily so. Therefore, in part, the solution is to promote a heightened awareness of the positive peace building and reconciliatory role religion has played in many conflict situations. More generally, fighting ignorance can go a long way. Interfaith dialogue would be beneficial at all levels of religious hierarchies and across all segments of religious communities. Where silence and misunderstanding are all too common, learning about other religions would be a powerful step forward. Being educated about other religions does not mean conversion but may facilitate understanding and respect for other faiths. Communicating in a spirit of humility and engaging in self-criticism would also be helpful. In recent times further back in history to Hinduism or Judaism along with other religious beliefs. During the same time period there have also been a large number of wars and battles between countries. Many argue that politics are the causes of these wars; however others claim that it is religion which is the main reason. Religion has had a large influence on many conflicts in the past. While some argue that religion is the cause of wars, it is inconclusive whether war would or would not exist if there was no such thing as religion. Some would say The Crusades are a major example of religion causing war. From the 11th century to the 13thcentury Christian states in Europe launched what are sometimes called Holy Wars against Muslims in the East. These wars centred on the city of Jerusalem which held a Holy significance in the Christian world. However when 3000 Christians were massacred, this began the ‘retaliation’ and therefore the beginning of The Crusades to release the Holy City of Jerusalem from the rule of Muslims. In this example, religion has clearly caused The Crusades as there would not have been any war if the city of Jerusalem did not have Christian significance. However, a contrary argument to this would be that it was the massacre of 3000 Christians which caused The Crusades to begin and not because of differing religious beliefs, although it is unquestionable that religion played a major part in the beginning of the Crusades as the massacre may not have taken place without a religious background. As the argument for religion causing war heavily outweighs the opposing argument, in this context it is fair to say that using this example, religion does cause war. The Israel-Arab wars from 1948 to the present day are often seen as wars over religion. In fact, they say, they have been about nationalism, self-defence or the liberation of territory. So why is religion a factor in war at all when all the main faiths have little time for violence and advocate peace? Because, it is suggested, leaders use differences over faith as a way of sowing hatred and mobilising support for political wars. As the American civil war leader Abraham Lincoln put it almost 150 years ago: â€Å"The will of God prevails. â€Å"In great contests, each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, but one must be wrong. â€Å"God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. â€Å"

Character Developement

Major characters exponentially develop mentally and morally by interacting with minor characters, society, and applying the themes of the story to their lives. In Harper Lee's novel To Kill A Mockingbird the reader can see the protagonist of the story, Scout Finch, mature from her child like mentality and thoughts to become a strong feminine character with high morals. This is achieved through the characters and situations in her life that influence her to see reality, past her childhood mirage, for what it really is.The roles of people such as Attic's Finch, and other minor harassers, greatly influences how she views the topics of racism, prejudice, and stereotypes. Attic's' character embodies the word humanity for his actions towards changing the stereotypes and prejudice of the Macomb Community are inspiring and motivational. Macomb is evidently a community that cannot tolerate differences and discriminate people based on their appearances. Their hostility towards the â€Å"Negro es† shows the reader and the protagonist how racism can affect and change ones life.As the story progresses one can see the struggles and obstacles the protagonist faces when dealing with racism, from trying to protect her family name ND reputation, to protecting loved ones from judgmental people. Such situations and incidents cause the protagonist to be forced to see how one has to recognize the validity and value of lives unlike hers. To begin with, Scouts father Attic's Finch plays a major role in her moral development as a person due to his paternal relationship and influence on her.This can be seen through his parenting skills and techniques that help Scout be more open-minded unlike the other residents of Macomb County. For instance, when Scout says † Our battles were epic and always one sided. California always won, mainly because Attic's always took her side† (Lee 6). This quote not only proves that Attic's apathy towards Scaloppini's race reinforces their relationship, but It additionally fortifies the fact that scout learns that white and colored people are equals and no different from each other.In addition, Attic's' exemplary actions towards different circumstances in his life greatly impact how Scout views her own life and societies false preaching's on equality. Referring to the Tom Robinson case Scout questions Attic's on why he is defending a â€Å"Negro† in court and he responds y saying † If I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Gem not to do something again† (Lee 75).Although he acknowledges the fact that his family and him will be judged and ridiculed by his community for taking the case, he moves forward with the case because It's consciously the moral thing to do. Attic's' optimistic mind-set and ability to see the good qualities of the situation encourages Scout to be more forgiving and understanding of the negativ e atmosphere In the Macomb society. Pursue what she believes in no matter what the consequences are. Attic's later on tells Scout to â€Å"never kill a mockingbird† (Lee 273); the term is used as a metaphor to symbolize how you should never taint or kill the innocence of a person.The mockingbird refers to characters such as Tom Robinson and Arthur â€Å"Boo† Raddled, mockingbirds whose purity and innocence are polluted by racism, stereotypes, and rumors and are progressively â€Å"killed†. Scout learns that her perspective of life as being black and white are erroneous and that in certain situations, some things are best left unsaid, referring to one's opinions on people based on their appearance. Furthermore, minor characters found throughout the novel teach and help develop Scout's knowledge on good versus evil. Mrs†¦Double's commentary towards the children shows Scout how ignorance breeds ignorance. This is shown when Mrs†¦ Dubos holds up Gem and Sc out and says † Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse laming for naggers† (Lee 101). This quote characterizes Mrs†¦ Dubos as someone who strongly believes that colored people are not equal individuals and don't deserve to have the same rights and privileges such as lawyers like white people. Her age and how she was raised and taught to believe that white and lorded people were two very different and separate races can explain her beliefs.Scout acknowledges the fact that even though characters such as Mrs†¦ Dubos and Mr†¦ Lowell are considered to be adults, they behave like ignorant children who have not been scolded, corrected, or taught better by their parents. For instance at the court Scout observes the fact that † the Negroes having waited for the white people to go upstairs to the balcony first, started to go up† (Lee 173). This shows the reader the small gestures that the white people do, such as allowing the â€Å" Negroes† to sit down after them causes tension and distress in the society.Such gestures can be translated as downgrading the colored people and treating them as though they were insignificant and a burden to the community. Despite the example set by the white people, Scout and Gem go up and sit down with the black people instead, indirectly challenging the Macomb society and setting their own examples. The actions of one person can start a chain reaction of change, a lesson that helps shape Scout's independence and confidence in herself. She uses this newfound confidence in herself to express what she thinks and feels about stereotypes and racism, to advertise her beliefs and promote them to others around her.Similarly, the Macomb County's community is filled with hate, racism, stereotypes, and prejudice, factors that help Scout see how this shouldn't blind ones perception on people. Scout sees how stereotypes can be altered and obscured from the truth. This is seen when she goes with Gem and California to the colored church where she sees that † Negroes worshipped on Sunday while white men gambled† (Lee 118). The assumption in the novel is that white people are more religious then colored people but Scout see's how this statement is false.She also sees that even though the Negroes don't have as much as the white churches or have the same materials such as songbooks, etc. They pray the same if not more then the white churches. Scout learns how stereotypes are fabricated and misleading, generalizations groups held in a manner that renders them largely, though not entirely, immune to counterproductive and how you shouldn't assume things about people. Then there is the prejudicial Judgment caused by the ethnicity. This is proven when Scout says, † Judge Taylor, who had been concentrating on his fingernails, looked up† (Lee 167).This not only shows that the Judge has already come to the conclusion that Tom Robinson did in fact rape t he girl but it also shows that he doesn't care or find it necessary for Attic's to defend him since his verdict has already been made. She learns to never Judge by appearances because they really can be far from the truth. Due to this incident Tom also teaches Scout how she should keep a clear mind and never doubt oneself when others doubt you during ones darkest points in life because as long as you believe in oneself you will be able to overcome all obstacles in

Criminal Justice Enforcement policies Essay

The most severe law enforcement will achieve little if lower-class urban offenders can see no legitimate way to solve their problems or satisfy their aspirations. At the absolute best it could turn the criminals into a passive underclass which is forever dependent on welfare benefits. Even then the most energetic and ambitious members of this underclass would eventually be targeted by recruiters for organized crime or terrorist organizations. Social improvements alone will be ineffective if the atmosphere of fear and hopelessness which pervades crime-ridden areas prevents local people from taking advantage of them, or if the improvement are sabotaged by those who have a stake in the existing situation (e. g. loan-sharks and gang-leaders). So we need a combination of: †¢ Long-term measures to enable people to improve their own lives. †¢ Medium-term measures to mitigate the situation while the long-term measures are in progress, and to deal with the difficulties which a few people will continue to experience – it’s unrealistic to expect that we can solve all urban social problems completely. †¢ Improved law enforcement to prevent the situation from getting worse and to give the locals confidence that their efforts will not be undermined by random crimes and will not be sabotaged by those who have a stake in the existing situation. The term â€Å"law enforcement† needs further analysis, which I will supply in the next section. Law enforcement Overview of law enforcement This has three main components: †¢ Policing †¢ The legal system †¢ Sentencing – in this essay I regard prison construction and operation as part of the infrastructure which supports sentencing. To save space I will not consider the legal system here, since the question specifically mentioned policing and sentencing (references to prisons and the death penalty) but not the legal system. Policing To remove crime-induced fear and hopelessness and to discourage those who have a stake in the existing situation from sabotaging improvements I recommend the â€Å"New York† policing model (described by Griffith, 1999): †¢ Zero tolerance for all crime, even minor vandalism. This will often deter offenders from â€Å"progressing† to more serious crimes. †¢ Making senior local officers accountable for the performance of their units. †¢ Information systems which enable officers at all levels to identify and respond to the highest-priority requirements. To make it clear to local communities that this is for their benefit and not just an exercise in â€Å"aggressive policing†, local governments should: †¢ Explain to local people the objectives of the project and the standards which are to govern police conduct. †¢ Provide channels through which locals can easily raise and swiftly resolve issues, including any complaints about the behavior of the police. These channels must be conspicuously independent of the police. Sentencing In mild cases, e. g. minor vandalism and assaults, I recommend: †¢ Community service sentences, where possible in forms which compensate the victims. This also teach the offenders to get along with law-abiding members of their local communities and hopefully will encourage local people to see some good in the offenders. Some offenders should also be required to attend appropriate rehabilitation or training centers, to help them to manage their finances better or to stop using addictive drugs or to manage grievances without resorting to crime. We should probably reduce their community service workload a little to avoid seeing to punish these offenders more severely than other categories. †¢ Electronic tags which track offender’s movements, to deter against re-offending or evasion of community service. Tags will also make it easier to protect former teenage gangsters against threats and other pressures to re-join their old gangs, and in some cases it may also be helpful to provide with young offenders with panic buttons in case they are attacked by their old gangs or by rival gangs which regard them as easy targets. †¢ Prison sentences (described below) for those who violate the terms of their initial sentences without overwhelmingly good reasons. Prison sentences are necessary for serious crimes because the continued presence of serious offenders in their local communities will cause fear and therefore undermine attempts at longer-term improvements. In many cases, particularly for young offenders, work and education camps in sparsely-populated areas may be more suitable than traditional prisons: †¢ Such camps would separate the offenders both from the social environments in which they turned to crime and from the company of hardened criminals. †¢ Escape would be difficult because of the isolated locations and the offenders’ ignorance of the local geography. †¢ The offenders should be required to erect and maintain as much of the camp facilities as possible. This would both teach them they can only get comforts by working and provide a sense of achievement with each improvement in the camp environment. †¢ There should be plenty of opportunities to earn privileges by work and by educational progress. †¢ Camps would be cheaper to construct and maintain than traditional prisons. I will explain at the end my views on the death penalty. Reducing teenage gangsterism Teenage gangsters desire higher status than they can acquire by legitimate means, and value the regard of their peers more highly than the opinions of adults. The youths are often born into sub-cultures which are at least partially alienated from the rest of our society by †¢ Barriers such as poverty and discrimination. †¢ Sub-culture values such as extreme machismo. Typical crimes include vandalism, assault and murder, and small-scale armed robbery. In addition to their direct costs, these crimes often create an air of fear and hopelessness in the areas affected, which perpetuates the problem by persuading the next generation of teenagers that the only path to safety, status and prosperity is via gang membership. Remedial measures In the long term we must remove the motivation by providing accessible legitimate paths to higher status and prosperity: †¢ Education which is comprehensible to the urban youths but enables them to earn status and wealth in legitimate ways. For example it may initially have to be delivered in the local patois but it must aim to make students proficient in standard English so that they can enter higher levels of education and / or obtain better-paid jobs. †¢ Advice for the teenagers and their families on how to manage their lives, finances, careers and education. †¢ Access to resources such as books and the Internet. Public libraries are the most obvious way to provide these. We must also provide legitimate short-term outlets for teenagers’ ambitions and energies. The most obvious one is sports, which will particularly appeal to the strongest, most competitive and most aggressive teenagers – the potential gang-leaders. I therefore suggest: †¢ Facilities for those who wish to play various sports on a casual basis. †¢ Clubs for those who wish to improve their performance and gain wider reputations. †¢ Organized competitions and leagues at all levels from local to national, for the really ambitious. Reducing crimes committed because of financial crises Long term reduction in personal financial crises requires a fairly complex package including: †¢ Improved education to enable people to obtain better-paid jobs. †¢ Advice on personal financial management. Hopefully these crises will eventually become less common, but they will probably never disappear completely, so there will always be a need for palliatives: †¢ Cheap, quick, reliable legal advice for common types of case. †¢ Inexpensive but not subsidized loans to enable people to survive these crises without resorting to crime. Repayment should where possible be secured by small deductions from the borrowers’ incomes (including any welfare benefits). Credit unions (see ABCUL 2003) should be encouraged as they provide a sense of local involvement, control and responsibility. Reducing drug-related crimes There are at least two types of drug-related crime: †¢ Those committed by addicts desperate for their next fix. †¢ Those committed as a result of the mood-altering effects of some drugs. There are good reasons for believing that the War on Drugs is as unsuccessful as Prohibition was (The Economist 2001 a). About 10% of all arrests in the USA are for drug offenses and about 80% of that 10% are for possession, not for sale or manufacture (The Economist, 2001 b). We need an objective review of drugs policy. This might well lead to legalization of some drugs (with regulation of their quality to minimize health risks), which would sharply reduce the prison population and, by lowering the retail price of legalized drugs, reduce robberies committed to finance purchases. The other long-term remedy is aggressive advertising about the dangers of specific drugs which are more harmful than alcohol and tobacco. This will of course have greater credibility if it follows an objective review of drugs policy. We also need rehabilitation centers to help addicts and excessive users to give up their habits. Crimes induced by a sense of grievance This category is very diverse, including grievances: †¢ which a reasonable person may regard as justified, unjustified or partly justified. †¢ against a wide range of targets, from individuals to the highest levels of government or society as a whole. For as long as some areas are severely disadvantaged in incomes, jobs, schools, etc. there will be some grievances which are at least partly justified and should be at least mitigated by a combination of: †¢ economic redevelopment and improved education. †¢ centers which advise people on legal ways of handling their grievances. This should not be limited to what is normally termed counseling but should include coaching in legal ways of influencing the behavior of and or / hitting back at the sources of grievances. The death penalty The death penalty for murder is arguably no more immoral than killing an enemy soldier in a war. But I oppose it because all legal systems are fallible, and it’s impossible to correct a miscarriage of justice after a person has been executed. Incorrect convictions have arisen in cases where: †¢ Judges misinterpret or misapply the law (e. g. Center on Wrongful Convictions 2004) †¢ The defendant had poor legal representation (American University Law Review 1995 mentions cases where defense lawyers made procedural mistakes in capital cases). †¢ Failure of the prosecutors to disclose information which might help the defense. †¢ Police obtained evidence or confessions improperly, or tampered with or fabricated evidence. †¢ Expert witnesses showed bias in favor of the prosecution either because of their personal opinions or because doing so was to their long-term financial advantage. Unfortunately these miscarriages are not rare exceptions – Northwestern University School of Law’s Center on Wrongful Convictions found that In the quarter century between restoration of the Illinois death penalty and Governor George Ryan’s blanket clemency order, 289 men and women were sentenced to death in Illinois. Of those, 18 have been exonerated — a rate in excess of 6. 2%. (Center on Wrongful Convictions, 2005) The risk of miscarriages has probably risen after 9/11 because police and prosecutors will be under even greater pressure to close terrorist cases and other high-profile murders. Conclusion The original question is flawed because it: †¢ does not define the range of crimes with which it is concerned. †¢ presents an â€Å"either-or† choice between stronger law enforcement and prevention, including social services and education, as ways of reducing crime. For the categories of crime reviewed here both improved law enforcement and preventive measure are needed – neither can succeed alone. I oppose the death penalty because justice systems have shown themselves to be too fallible in high-profile cases. References ABCUL (2003), About Credit Unions accessed May 2005 from http://www. abcul. org/page/about/intro. cfm American University Law Review (1995), The Death Penalty in the Twenty-First Century accessed May 2005 from http://www. wcl. american. edu/journal/lawrev/45/death. html Center on Wrongful Convictions (2004) Pollock: Exonerated accessed May 2005 from http://www. law. northwestern. edu/depts/clinic/wrongful/exonerations/Pollock. htm Center on Wrongful Convictions (2005) The Death Penalty accessed May 2005 from http://www. law. northwestern. edu/depts/clinic/wrongful/deathpenalty. htm Griffith, Gareth (1999), Zero Tolerance Policing accessed May 2005 from http://www. parliament. nsw. gov. au/prod/parlment/publications. nsf/0/796C90ABE8349FDFCA256ECF0008CE11 The Economist (2001 a), Stumbling in the dark (about drugs policy) accessed May 2005 from http://www. economist. com/surveys/displaystory. cfm? story_id=706591 The Economist (2001 b), Collateral damage (of the War on Drugs) accessed May 2005 from http://www. economist. com/surveys/displayStory. cfm? story_id=708550