Life Domains free essay sample

Humans alone have the only solution to their problem and the more they evolve the better they’ll be at fixing them, so live as if your inner desires do have some meaning and try to make an impact on the world. Atheistic Existentialism / HUMAN VALUE Truly there is no ultimate value of a human life, but Humans can have value because they create their own reality by making their own choices – good or bad. Atheistic Existentialism / HUMAN PURPOSE Our only purpose – according to an AE is that of making yourself into who or what you wish to be, otherwise there is no purpose.Atheistic Existentialism / ETHICS Ethics – Schmethics†¦As long as you make a conscience choice to do something – good or bad – you are determining what your ethics are. not living by the laws of man, or any other guide. Atheistic Existentialism / SUFFERING Nothing good comes of it – there is no purpose for it – so don’t do it. We will write a custom essay sample on Life Domains or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Atheistic Existentialism / MEANING OF LIFE There is no real meaning – each individual is able to determine what life means to them by their choices to be or not to be, do or not do, etc.Atheistic Existentialism / HUMAN DESIRE Kill it! Don’t be led by your inner needs, wants, voices, it is absurd to follow these â€Å"accidental causes† of evolution because you don’t need anything more than the basics to survive. Personal Reflection Directions: Briefly summarize your personal reflection on the information that you have entered into Tables 1 and 2 in this assignment. It is interesting to see the â€Å"evolution† of these 3 worldviews.From the Naturalist who views everything as natural in it’s existence – you exist based on your senses and experiences alone to the Secular Humanist with their realization that humans are wonderful – great creatures with personalities and determinations, but it doesn’t matter†¦to the Atheistic Existentialist (AE) – who finally realizes that the innermost feelings and desires we have as humans do exist, but would be better off â€Å"killed† or cut out than to be nurtured and followed. To me It is just man’s way of not wanting to give credit where credit is do! So many people feel they have to â€Å"give up† so much to follow God.The only way Satan can â€Å"win† is to have more souls in hi s army than God. He finds our weaknesses and zeroes in on them to keep us from realizing the truth. Man’s ego and sense of self is historically his ruination. It’s easy to see how in these days, these 3 views – all making humans the only thing that matter and by crossing out God, satan is able to lead many astray. (NIV) Matthew 7:13-14 13 â€Å"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. †

What Is the IB Program, and What Are IB Classes

What Is the IB Program, and What Are IB Classes SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips One factor some students consider when choosing a high school is whether it has an International Baccalaureate program. Sometimes compared with the Advanced Placement (AP) program, the IB program allows students to take college-level courses while in high school. So what is International Baccalaureate? What is the IB Program and an IB Diploma, and why are IB classes worth taking?In this article, we introduce all things IB, including the diploma requirements and features of the exam. We also tell you whether you have to get an IB diploma in order to earn college credit for your IB classes. What Is IB? An Overview The International Baccalaureate (IB) program was designed in Switzerland in the 1960s. Its purpose was to give students around the world a chance to earn a rigorous, internationally recognized diploma, which they could then use for entry into universities. (You can read more about the history and philosophy of the IB program on the official IB website. ) To earn an IB diploma, you have to go to an IB-approved school and meet the requirements, including taking classes in the six subject groups, passing the IB exams, and completing three additional core requirements. But what if you don’t want to do the diploma? It's also possible to take a few IB classes without doing the full-blown diploma program, though each high school has its own policy on this. How Does College Credit Work for IB? IB exams are recognized for college credit in a way similar to how AP exams are used. You don’t have to earn the IB diploma to get credit for individual classes, as colleges give credit course by course. For example, check outStanford’s chart for IB credit. IB classes come in two forms: "higher level" and "standard level" (we will discuss this in more detail below). Some colleges only give credit for the higher-level classes (as Stanford does). Also,some colleges will completely waive general education requirements for students who have completed the full IB diploma.See the University of Utah’s policy here as an example. This means that a student with an IB diploma could totally skip gen ed classes and jump right into their major. This would obviously save a ton of time and money,and shows why getting the IB diploma can be a huge advantage. To find a school’s policy on IB credit, search for "[School Name] IB credit policy." Most universities have a dedicated web page for explaining their IB credit policy. What Are the Benefits of the IB Program? One of the chief benefits of the IB program is that it provides academic preparation for college. IB courses are known for being interdisciplinary, requiring a good deal of independent thinking, and assigning oral presentations and original research- all characteristics of college courses. Spoiler alert: college-level research involves a bit more work than just Googling something. Especially if you earn the full IB diploma, your IB courses will be a great way of showing that you have taken tough courses in a range of subjects,from math to English to history to science, and are able to manage college-level coursework. As we discussed before, colleges want to see that you've taken the most advanced classes available to you.And taking IB is a great way to do just that. In addition to getting preparation for college, you can get credit for college classes by passing IB exams. Again, you don’t need to complete the full IB diploma in order to earn credit, so if you don’t think you can fit the IB diploma into your schedule, it might still benefit you to take a few individual IB classes. Unfortunately, taking an IB exam isn’t cheap. There's a $172 registration fee as well as a $119 fee per exam. While this is a lot of money, it is much less than the tuition you would pay for the same intro-level college course. Many schools also have their own financial aid programs for IB. Learn more about IB costs here. What Are the 6Core Courses in the IB Program? To earn the full IB diploma, you have to take courses from six subjects, one each from groups 1-5, and either one from group 6 or a substitute from one of the other groups: Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature (most likely an English literature course if you’re an American student) Group 2: Language Acquisition (a foreign language course) Group 3: Individuals and Societies (history, economics, geography, other social sciences) Group 4: Experimental Sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, other sciences) Group 5: Mathematics Group 6: The Arts (dance, theater, visual arts, etc.) Between three and four subjects must be taken at the â€Å"higher level† (HL) and the rest at the â€Å"standard level† (SL) in order to earn the diploma. Higher-level courses are more challenging- IB recommends a minimum of 240 hours of instructional time for HL courses, and 150 hours for SL courses. Some schools handle the higher-level requirements by having students take the SL or AP version of a course first, and the HL version second, thereby forming a two-year sequence. For example, you might take AP English Literature as a junior, and then Higher-Level IB English as a senior. Also, note thatmany high schools with IB programs have recommended four-year plans to help students fit in all the requirements,since there's a lot to keep track of. Therefore, you won't necessarily have to do a bunch of schedule-planning on your own. If your school or a school you're interested in has an IB program, get in touch with the guidance counseling office to find out whether they have recommended IB class sequences. This can help you if you're deciding which high school to attend, or if you can’t decide whether you want to take IB classes or not. What Are IB Exams? For each of those six core classes, you also have to take an IB exam. IB exams are given in May (or November for southern hemisphere schools). They have two parts: an external assessment and internal assessment. The external assessment is the more traditional exam portion, and consists of two or three "papers," usually done on the same day or a few days in a row. A paper is essentially an exam section, and they usually have a combination of multiple-choice, short-answer, extended-response, and data- or case-analysis questions. You won't spend much time bubbling in answers on an IB exam. The papers are graded by independent examiners- similar to how AP exams are graded by certified AP graders. The internal assessments are done by the teacher. These can include oral presentations, practical work (such as a written lab report), or other written work. 5% or more of the internal assessments will also be graded by a moderator appointed by IB- and based on this moderation, the grading curve of that subject at the school will be set. IB exams are graded from 1 to 7, with 6 and 7 considered an A, and anything 4 and up generally considered a passingscore (though IB doesn’t set official passing grades). Most colleges give IB credit for scores of 5 and higher. To earn the IB diploma, you need to score an average of 4 on each exam to get the minimum 24 needed points. You canlearn more about IB examson the IB website. What Are the 3Core Requirements in the IB Program? In addition to IB classes and exams, there are three more core requirements students must complete to earn an IB diploma. Read about them below: #1: The Extended Essay This is an independent research essay of up to 4,000 words that's graded externally by IB. It has to be focused on one academic subjectand written on a topic that's been approved by IB. Students are awarded points toward their diploma based on how well they do on the essay. #2: Theory of Knowledge (TOK) Class This class teaches the nature of knowledge and builds skills in critical thinking. Students have to complete a presentation (graded by the teacher) and a 1,600-word essay (graded externally) to pass this course. #3: Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) Lastly, students are required to participate in anactivity outside of class, either community service, athletics, or creative activities.For most students, their regular extracurricular activities and sports count for these hours, meaning that they don't need to add anything to their schedules in order to fulfill this requirement. IB vs AP: Key Similarities and Differences We have a complete rundown of AP vs IB in this post, which includes a guide to deciding between the two programs. That being said, here are some of the key similarities and differences between the two. What’s the Same? Both the AP and IB programs allow you to take a challenging course followed by an exam that you can earn college credit for. In some schools, they're even the same course (e.g. AP/IB French, AP/IB Biology, etc.). AP and IB are generally the most challenging courses available to high school students. Unless you're able to sign up for local college courses or do advanced independent projects and research, AB and IB are likely the best (and most convenient) way for you to begin preparing for college. What’s Different? Although both programs offer challenging courses for high school students, there are a lot of differences in how they do so. Popularity Advanced Placement is by far the more popular program.In 20142.3 million students took AP tests, and in 2017 this number rose to more than 2.7 million. By contrast,only about 160,000 students took IB exams in 2017. The diploma pass rate was 78.4%. Some families opt for the IB program over the AP program as it's rarer and can help set students apart in the admissions process. Diploma IB was designed as a diploma program (although, as we discussed above, it is possible to take just a few IB classes for college credit). Meanwhile,the AP program was designed around advanced classes- not a diploma. (That said, the AP has created a competitor to IB via the AP International Diploma, whichyou can read about here.) Class Curricula IB curricula are stricter for teachers. IB has certain required assignments your teacher has to grade, such as oral presentations, as part of the internal assessment. In contrast, AP teachers have a bit more freedom in how they may teach an AP course, just so long as they're effectively preparing students for the exam. Difficulty IB Higher Level courses are often considered more difficult than APs, whereas IB Standard Level courses are considered the same as or easier than APs. Keep in mind that how difficult a class is to pass at your school will vary depending on the teacher and his or her curriculum. Exam Content IB exams contain more writing and application of ideas, whereas APs are more about proving what you know. This is why AP exams have more multiple choice, while the IB exams feature more short-response questions, essays, and case studies. Cost IB exams are more expensive than AP tests since there's a registration fee and a fee per exam. For AP exams, you just pay for the exam, which is $94. Remember that these fees are much lower than college tuition for the same classes! College Credit Getting AP credit can be more straightforward since more US colleges are familiar with it and the College Board officially sets a passing grade (3 out of 5) while IB does not. Furthermore, because AP courses only come in one difficulty level, it can be easier for colleges to set credit policies for AP exams. For IB, colleges have to decide how they'll handle Standard Level and Higher Level courses. However, for both IB and AP, the higher your passing score is, the more likely you are to get credit for college. For example, an AP exam score of 5 nearly always earns credit, the same as an IB score of 7 does. Don't forget this when you're studying! What’s Next? You know a lot about IB- but what about AP? See our guide to what AP classes are and why you should take them. Also studying for the SAT or ACT? Figure out which exam you're more likely to do the best on! Get a timeline for studying for the SAT/ACT. Planning ahead will give you the opportunity to get a higher score on test day! Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Dealing With A Characters Internal Thoughts

Dealing With A Characters Internal Thoughts Dealing With A Characters Internal Thoughts Dealing With A Characters Internal Thoughts By Maeve Maddox Suzanne Ouimet writes: I have written several books which are dialogue driven. What I am wondering is how to express my characters thoughts. It gets a bit tiresome to keep saying something like he thought to himself. (who else would he be talking to anyway?) I have also tried putting the characters thoughts in italics or some other font. That too may be disruptive. Any suggestions? Anyone who writes fiction wrestles with the problem of how to convey a characters inner dialogue without distracting from the flow of the story. How not to do it Setting off a characters thoughts in quotation marks is a definite no-no. Such a technique is confusing to the reader. When we see quotation marks, we have the expectation that a character is speaking the words aloud. Some writers and writers guides do use or recommend italics to designate thoughts, but the device is distracting to many readers. Using a different font would make things worse. As Suzanne points out, adding to himself to he thought is redundant. How to do it Sometimes it is necessary to use he thought, or she wondered to avoid confusion, but such tags can be used sparingly. Here are some illustrations from Ellizabeth Georges mystery Deception on His Mind. In an early scene, in which Rachel and Shalah are together, Rachels thoughts are conveyed without any tags through four paragraphs. Then, as Rachel watches Shalah, a tag becomes necessary: Shalah made two more folds in the nappie and placed it on the pile at the end of the ironing board. She walked to the window and checked on her nephews. It seemed a needless thing to do, Rachel thought. They were sleeping like the dead. When a character is alone, no tags are needed to convey unspoken thoughts. Chapter 10 of Georges novel begins with internal dialog: When shed first made her escape from the jewellery shop, Rachel had only one destination in mind. She knew that she had to do something to mitigate the uneasy situation in which her actions had placed Sahlah, not to mention herself. The problem was that she wasnt sure what that something might be. She knew only that she had to act at once. This internal dialog continues without tags for about five pages before another character appears. In one place in her internal musings, Rachel recalls the words of a salesman. George puts the recalled words in quotation marks: She didnt want to think of the flat. Our very last one, the salesman had called it The Marshall Plan In his writing guide, Evan Marshall does recommend using italics to convey thought. I dont agree with this particular piece of advice, but overall, Marshalls guide is one of my writing bibles. If youre not familiar with The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing, check it out. The cover copy bills it as a 16-step program guaranteed to take you from idea to completed manuscript. In Step 11, Marshall talks about how to convey feelings, thoughts, and back story without slowing down the reader. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Avoid Beginning a Sentence with â€Å"With†Connotations of 35 Words for Funny PeopleThe Difference Between e.g. and i.e.?

Understanding the Phenomenon of McDonaldization

Understanding the Phenomenon of McDonaldization McDonaldization is a concept developed by American sociologist George Ritzer which refers to the particular kind of rationalization of production, work, and consumption that rose to prominence in the late twentieth century. The basic idea is that these elements have been adapted based on the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant- efficiency, calculability, predictability and standardization, and control- and that this adaptation has ripple effects throughout all aspects of society. The McDonaldization of Society George Ritzer introduced the concept of McDonaldization with his 1993 book,  The McDonaldization of Society.  Since that time the concept has become central within the field of sociology and especially within the sociology of globalization. The sixth edition of the book, published in 2011, has been cited nearly 7,000 times. According to Ritzer, the McDonaldization of society is a phenomenon that occurs when society, its institutions, and its organizations are adapted to have the same characteristics that are found in fast-food chains. These include efficiency, calculability, predictability and standardization, and control. Ritzers theory of McDonaldization is an update on classical sociologist Max Webers theory of how scientific rationality produced bureaucracy, which became the central organizing force of modern societies through much of the twentieth century. According to Weber, the modern bureaucracy was defined by hierarchical roles, compartmentalized knowledge and roles, a perceived merit-based system of employment and advancement, and the legal-rationality authority of the rule of law. These characteristics could be observed (and still can be) throughout many aspects of societies around the world. According to Ritzer, changes within science, economy, and culture have shifted societies away from Webers bureaucracy to a new social structure and order that he calls McDonaldization. As he explains in his book of the same name, this new economic and social order is defined by four key aspects. Efficiency  entails a managerial focus on minimizing the time required to complete individual tasks as well as that required to complete the whole operation or process of production and distribution.Calculability  is a focus on quantifiable objectives (counting things) rather than subjective ones (evaluation of quality).Predictability and standardization  are found in repetitive and routinized production or service delivery processes and in the consistent output of products or experiences that are identical or close to it (predictability of the consumer experience).Finally, control within McDonaldization is wielded by the management to ensure that workers appear and act the same on a moment-to-moment and daily basis. It also refers to the use of robots and technology to reduce or replace human employees wherever possible. Ritzer asserts that these characteristics are not only observable in production, work, and in the consumer experience, but that their defining presence in these areas extends as ripple effects through all aspects of social life. McDonaldization affects our values, preferences, goals, and worldviews, our identities, and our social relationships. Further, sociologists recognize that McDonaldization is a global phenomenon, driven by Western corporations, the economic power and cultural dominance of the West, and as such it leads to a global homogenization of economic and social life. The Downside of McDonaldization After laying out how McDonaldization works in the book, Ritzer explains that this narrow focus on rationality actually produces irrationality. He observed, Most specifically, irrationality means that rational systems are unreasonable systems. By that, I mean that they deny the basic humanity, the human reason, of the people who work within or are served by them. Many have no doubt encountered what Ritzer describes here  when the human capacity for reason seems to be not at all present in transactions or experiences that are marred by rigid adherence to the rules and policies of an organization. Those that work under these conditions often experience them as dehumanizing as well. This is because McDonaldization does not require a skilled workforce. Focusing on the four key characteristics that produce McDonaldization has eliminated the need for skilled workers. Workers in these conditions engage in repetitive, routinized, highly focused and compartmentalized tasks that are quickly and cheaply taught, and thus easy to replace. This kind of work devalues labor and takes away workers bargaining power. Sociologists observe that this kind of work has reduced workers rights and wages in the US and around the world, which is exactly why workers at places like McDonalds and Walmart are leading the fight for a living wage in the U.S.  Meanwhile in China, workers who produced iPhones and iPads face similar conditions and struggles. The characteristics of McDonaldization have crept into the consumer experience too, with free consumer labor folded into the production process. Ever bus your own table at a restaurant or cafà ©? Dutifully follow the instructions to assemble Ikea furniture? Pick your own apples, pumpkins, or blueberries? Check yourself out at the grocery store? Then you have been socialized to complete the production or distribution process for free, thus aiding a company in achieving efficiency and control. Sociologists observe the characteristics of McDonaldization in other areas of life, like education and media too, with a clear shift from quality to quantifiable measures over time, standardization and efficiency playing significant roles in both, and control too. Look around, and you will be surprised to find that you will notice the impacts of McDonaldization throughout your life.

Management and Leadership Coaching Models Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Management and Leadership Coaching Models - Essay Example , a coach will consider differences in his own and the client’s personality, knowledge, abilities and skills which will assist him to tailor the specific needs of the person (Skiffington & Zeus, 2003). Contrary to this, situational leadership model to identify the variables in the situation at hand and change their management techniques to suit to the behavioral needs of an individual or group they are influencing. It ensures that leaders adapt continuously to accommodate changing abilities of their people and complex tasks over time. Behavioral change model can be applied in organizations when assessing covert actions such as anxiety and limiting beliefs in individuals. They work in assessing emotional and environmental vents as well as providing statistical proof of change with benefits. It cannot work when defining the progress of a person based on personal traits and characteristics. On the other hand, situational leadership can be applied to leadership only and may not work in other levels of an organization structure (Escondido, 1998). It is applied to address leadership behaviors such as telling people what to do, selling information and direction to followers, participating on relationship as opposed to direction and delegating responsibility to groups while monitoring the

Religious Charities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Religious Charities - Essay Example For instance, pro-choice groups use community backing, legal action and public education in protecting the woman’s choice to manage her reproductive choice while anti-choice, especially religious charities, use the same to discourage abortion because of their sacred and moral values. However, the presence of these civic organizations is viewed as fundamental to success of a democratic system (Berry & Jeffrey, 2005). There are deep controversies over values played out in the nonprofit sector around religious beliefs, personal responsibility and individual right, as well as the separation of the state and the church. On the other hand, the impact of religious charities in society is profound and long-term. Religious charities provide the spiritual needs of members and protect the religious dogma and ideals. Social, as well as health services, crises care, and advocacy activities, child care, as well as psychotherapy, are all services provided by religious charities. In addition, they impact on civic skills to their followers who learn to classify and join forces for common ends; for instance, voting in a certain direction. In the U.S., there has existed continuing debate on the disjointing of church and the state (Ehrlich & Clotfelter, 1999). Most religious entities fall outside the government regulatory framework for nonprofit organizations; they are exempted from tax deductions on contributions. This has raised a debate over the actual impact of separating religion and state. Traditionally, religious entities, as long as they offered services under government contracts, used to be free to monitor and supervise, unlike secular entities (Boris & Eugene, 2006). As religious leaders advanced charitable choices, it turned out that increased government revenue was accompanied by government demand for accountability and compliance with the laid down standards. They realized that

C2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

C2 - Essay Example The K-12 reform in education was a significant move towards improvement in the country’s higher education system (Bahry and Marr, 2005). It was meant to promote post-secondary education through scholarships, which are important in supporting the students who might be ambitious and capable to learn but are unable to pay the tuition fees. There were also strategies aimed at promoting higher education in Qatar to world class level, which included encouraging prestigious global institutions to establish in the country. Qatar University was restructured to conform to the modern requirements of higher education institutions. In all the reforms, women and men were accorded equal opportunities for education. Affirmative action encouraged women to take advantage of the reforms, which led to the emergence of an educated population of women ready to take up challenging roles in healthcare, legal profession, business and other economic activities (Goldman et al. 2007). Without limitations as to the sex that should be educated, boys and girls are competing on equal grounds, which have made it possible for women to outcompete men in higher education. Bahry and Marr (2005) noted that there is high retention of girls in schools than it is for boys. The number of girls who are completing secondary level is therefore higher than boys. Moreover, studies indicate that girls are passing exams without special treatment (Planning Council, 2005). Opportunities for boys are many since some employers are still clinging to the conventional believes, which might be the reason for boys to discontinue with education in favor of unskilled labor. On the other hand, such tendencies are motivating girls to continue to higher education for the reason that there are no employment opportunities for them in the unskilled low paying labor intensive jobs. The women who are therefore joining various professions in the country are

POLICY MAKING IN THE UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

POLICY MAKING IN THE UK - Essay Example nd its prevention were recognized a hundred years ago, political concern and legal steps to stop this problem started from the 1950s (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2000). It has become an acute problem nowadays because Smoking remains the main cause of preventable disease and premature death in the UK. In England alone, over 80,000 deaths per year are due to smoking and about 8.5 million people still smoke in England today. (dh.gov.uk). In the case of UK, the anti-tobacco strategy is carried as a cross-government initiative involving a variety of departments and agencies. The Health Department has the overall responsibility for the delivery of anti-tobacco strategy through formulation of strict laws. UK government formulated its anti-tobacco policy to the extent that it did not want young people to be exposed to tobacco promotions and advertisements and importantly wanted to make it difficult for the young people to get hold of tobacco and tobacco related product of cigarette. As far a s the promotions and advertisements are concerned, the UK government believes that if children or young people are not exposed to it, it will not create an urge among them to smoke. Tobacco policy currently rests on claims: tobacco advertising and promotion are the major reasons why young people begin to smoke; so all forms of tobacco advertising and promotion, including tobacco displays, should be banned. (Basham). As part of the anti-tobacco policy, the government came up with the Health Bill 2009. The key proposals in the bill are the need for the commercial shops to remove tobacco displays and importantly restrict the sale of cigarettes from vending machines. Removing tobacco displays will in a way prevent prospective children and young people from being exposed to the promotions and will also support smokers who want to quit as displays prompt impulse purchases undermining efforts to give up. (dh.gov.uk). Also, the proposal to restrict or even ban the sale of cigarettes from the

Strategic Business Plan for Bellway plc Assignment

Strategic Business Plan for Bellway plc - Assignment Example (Preece, 2003) A major part of Bellway Plc's plan of action must include following a strategy based on gaining competitive advantage as well as achieving sustainable entrepreneurial growth. Let us first examine competitive advantage to see how and where it will fit in with the overall growth and expansion of the Bellway Plc in securing buyers from the global market like Asia, US and other countries. This brings us to a discussion on the technicalities of the model proposed by Porter. Porter's Five Forces model provides suggested points under each main heading. When taken into consideration individually, each of these gives rise to the development of a broad and sophisticated analysis of competitive position. This may further be used during the creation of a strategy, plans, or even where making investment decisions about a business or organization is concerned. These five competitive forces determine industry profitability and attractiveness apart from being responsible for shaping the prices that firms can charge, the costs they have to bear, and the required investments to engage in industry level competition. We are concerned with the fact that Porter's essentially ahistorical approach cannot provide a full account of either a nation's competitive advantage and corporate strategies or the growth and development of industrial clusters. For this, let us first understand compet itive advantage. This has special relevance for the Bellway Plc, owing to the following reasons: The company needs to launch a full fledged expansion policy in international markets as well as the public sector in UK. It needs to zero in on out station resources which can be procured on easy and regular terms. There needs to a study of the marketing options in order to gain competitive advantage as there are many players involved here. Its competitors include Barrat Development, Taylor Wimpey and Berkley Group Holdings. Competitive advantage is the response of afirm to the pressing need to organize and perform discrete activities. While these needs may not be perpetually spelt out, it is the responsibility of the planners and executers of policies to foresee such situations when catering for growth and development of the firm n various levels. So this implies that the Bellway Plc needs to employ an individual

Persuasive Essay, the Player, All Realities Are Fictitious Essay Example for Free

Persuasive Essay, the Player, All Realities Are Fictitious Essay Our world consists of many realties. Two being commercial, and the other, artistic. A commercial reality is one of indulgence, and pleasure, always aiming to suit those who yearn for it. Artistic reality however, is open to interpretation. This means there are many possible outcomes. One could be saddened or depressed by the reality, and others, joyful. It is because of this uncertainty in artistic realities that the film industry, as well as many other industries, have taken it upon themselves to glorify the truth. It is because of the clashing of these two realities, that reality as a whole becomes difficult to interpret. The statement that every reality is fictitious, is rather bold however. Although in numbers, there are a few people who hold very strong moral and have a sense of quality in what they do. The Hollywood film industry is entirely commercial. Offering little or no interest in writers work that consists of depth, moral and truth. This reality consumes those considered as naive to the industry. Commercial realities are realities that are created by people who want to escape their own and subconsciously create a reality that is deemed impossible in the â€Å"real† world. Commercial realities are attractive to most, because you can experience something otherwise unimaginable. It is us, the audience of massive Hollywood productions, that show true appreciation of films made by producers who show no other interest than creating fictional nonsense and profiting from us . The film making industry is created by artificial characters living paranormal lives that we aspire to have. However, who can jump from a 4 story building and land on the ground with no injury? Who can be stabbed and instantly heeled by only a bandage and continue battling the world with heroic attributes and a vision to sustain â€Å"humanity as we know it† Commercial realities are fictitious, and it leaves us dreaming of a better life, and fantasizing over it. Many of our youth are involved in lives that are run by action, violence, recklessness and stupidity. A contrasting reality to those of commercial is that of artistic. This reality has deeper meaning to it, and value. Artistic reality may be generally defined as the attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding artistic conventions, implausible, exotic and supernatural elements. Artistic reality is better known as ‘realism. ’ Realism revolted against the exotic subject matter and exaggerated emotionalism and drama of the Romantic Movement. Instead it sought to portray real and typical contemporary people and situations with truth and accuracy, and not avoiding unpleasant or sordid aspects of life. Artistic realities often reject changes wrought by Commercial Revolutions. Artistic realities reveal the truth, which means they may emphasize the ugly or sordid. Artists use their work as a form of expressionism, which is open to interpretation. They see true value in their oeuvre, as they see ordinary, everyday subjects as the depiction of naturalism. Many people attempt to depict things accurately, from either a visual, social or emotional perspective. Theatre Realism shares many stylistic choices with naturalism, including a focus on every day (middle-class) drama, colloquial speech, and mundane settings. Realism rejects imaginative idealization in favour of a close observation of outward appearances. Often artistic realities can be labelled as fictitious. This is due to the majority of society being so consumed by commercial reality that they no longer can differentiate from commercial actually being fake, and artistic as being real. Commercial realities enhance the breeding of money. Commercial values manipulate the very anatomy of a natural, mundane reality. Commercially precious films of ‘reality’ have become the organ grinder’s monkeys of money. They are made to increase the generative value and staying in power of money, the power of money to breed money, to fertilize itself. They are not made to empower people and provide certain value. Artistic reality however, leaves no stone unturned. Realism sees no value in money, and it sees no reciprocal (mutual? Would this be better? ) material possession that could be exchanged for money. Artistic realities merely capture that which is tangible and accurate. Society may attempt to defend themselves by escaping this as it may be deeply depressing. It is the confusion of distinguishing between commercial and artistic realities that ultimately reduces both to nothing but fictitious mumbo jumbo that controls our lives. The difference between the two is huge, however difficult for ‘commoners’, or those not involved in the film industry, to interpret. Whether an individual comprises their lives of commercial or realistic values, these values can be labelled as fabricated or factual. The film industry’s repackaging and misrepresenting the truth to suit themselves is profitable. This profitability is their ultimate ruling guideline. If a film does not provide profits, the film was a total failure, regardless of its realism. Artistic realities are open to interpretation and provide a bit of freedom for people to choose the outcomes of scenarios. Painters, writers, film makers and news reporters are some of the main people involved in the way reality is interpreted because they are in the spotlight. Every one watches them, reads their papers or interperates their work. It is important for people to recognise that regardless of the message that is trying to be brought across, reality is subjective, and hence, it may appear fictitious to anyone apart from their maker. Commercial or artistic.

Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea Leadership Analysis

Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea Leadership Analysis This paper analyses the impact of poor leadership in Sierra Leone, and Equatorial Guinea. Africa is the world’s richest continent in terms of natural resource endowment. Africa contains 50% of the world deposit in Gold, 90% of cobalt, 65% of Manganese, 40% hydroelectric power, millions of acres of land, chromium, and diamonds (Rotberg, 34). However, despite the availability of these natural resources, the African continent is still lagging behind in terms of development. People are poor, and most governments depend on aid for purposes of meeting their budget deficits (Rotberg, 51). It is important to understand that Africa has millions of talented and skilled innovators, but due to poor leadership, states are unable to hold unto these talents and retain them for purposes of utilizing them. Some people blame the problems of Africa to imperialism, and colonialism. According to scholars, colonialism played a significant role in advancing the problems of Africa. For instance, Rotb erg (27) gives an example of Congo, whereby the Belgium’s left the country without preparing its leaders for independence. As a result of this, Congo is a country that is characterized by infighting, corruption, and struggle for leadership. However, these allegations are not true, as denoted by Rotberg (27). Shaw (274) denotes that countries such as India, the United States, and even South Africa were under colonialism. However, these countries have developed economies, and some such as United States is the most powerful and richest country in the world. On this basis, the problems of Africa are associated with its poor leadership style. This is witnessed in all of Africa, including Kenya, under President Moi, Uganda, under president Idi Amin, Sudan, under president Omar el Bashir, Nigeria, under successive military leaderships.. Equatorial Guinea is led by President Teodoro Obiang Mbasogo. This leader is the longest serving President in Africa, having taken power in August 1979, in a bloody coup, against his uncle Francisco Nguema. Equatorial Guinea is found in West Africa, and it is one of Africa’s largest producers of oil (Lewis, 28). In as much as Equatorial Guinea has one of the highest per capita income in the world, most citizens of this country are living poverty, they die of preventable diseases such as malaria, are unable to access basic services such as education, health care, clean drinking water. Equatorial Guinea has the highest child mortality rates who are under 5 years, in the world. This is because 20% of their children die before reaching the ages of five years. The remaining 80% of these children do not have an access of quality health care, and educational facilities. The problems of Equatorial Guinea are blamed on the leadership style of the President Teodoro Obiang Mbasogo (Lewis , 18). For example, President Teodorin Mbasogo is accused of practicing nepotism while employing senior members of his cabinet and state officials. For example, in the years 2013, President Obiang appointed his eldest son, Teodorin Obiang to a cabinet position, and as the second vice president of the state. This is for purposes of preparing his son as his successor, once the president leaves power. Teodorin Obiang is always accused of embezzling millions of dollars of state money, in order to fund his own lavish lifestyle (Solo-Trillo, 139). Teodorin Obiang has been a controversial figure in Equatorial Guinea, and attracting international criticism for spending more than ten million South African rands, on a South African trip that included champagne parties, property renovations, and buying of cars. Scholars believe that the personal fortune of Teodorin Nguema emanates from his corrupt activities connected with gas and oil exploration in Equatorial Guinea (Solo-Trillo, 140). Lewis (37) denotes that the foreign interests of Teodorin Nguema includes two luxurious houses in South Africa, which have a combined value of 50,000,000 South African rands, and house in California estimated to be worth 31,000,000 United States dollars, a home in Paris, and a music recording label. Mr. Teodorin Nguema also has a series of luxurios cars, and in 2008, he bought a sports car estimated at 1,100,000 million euros (Solo-Trillo, 138). Others include a Maserati model estimated at 700,000 euros, and a Bugatti Veyron model (Lewis, 33). However, in the year 2009, the government of France seized these cars, together with his other collections because of corruption claims, and in 2013, these cars were sold on an auction. The US government also seized properties belonging to the President and that of its sons, estimated to be valued at 70 million US dollars. In 2012, the United States issued a warrant of arrest against Teodorin Nguema on charges of corruption, and money laundering. The luxurious lifestyle of Teodorin Nguema did not reflect the salary that he was earning as a state minister (Solo-Trillo, 139). The cabinet of President Teodorin also receives billions of undisclosed oil revenues, which normally goes to finance their luxurious lifestyle. In a bid to prevent such kind of information from reaching the public, the government of President Teodorin Mbasogo constantly harasses the media, and foreign nationals seeking to report on the conditions of Equatorial Guinea (Solo-Trillo, 133). Despite these allegations and accusations against Teodirin Nguema, president Nguema government defended him against them, and even appointed him as the second vice president of Equatorial Guinea, and a possible successor of his father. Other family members holding positions in Guinea include, Gabriel Mbaga, who is another son of the president, and he is the minister in charge of energy and oil, and Candido Okomo who heads GEPetrol, the official oil company in Equatorial Guinea (Solo-Trillo, 131). It is important to understand that corruption plays a great role in undermining development within a given state. This is because the funds that could be channeled to development projects, are misused and stolen, as a result, there won’t be any money to fund the development projects in the country. It is important to denote that because of nepotism in government appointments, senior officials in the government of President Teodorin are not accountable for their activities (Solo-Trillo, 132). This is because they know that in case they do not deliver, or are engaged in corrupt activities, their patrons, who are high in the government circles, will protect them. Nepotism and corruption are not the only problem affecting Equatorial Guinea. Another major problem affecting this country is lack of a free press. Local journalists in Equatorial Guinea are unable to speak against major scandals and corrupt activities in the country (Solo-Trillo, 125). This is because the press and the media are heavily censored, and there is always a risk of reprisal in case the media highlights an issue that does not augur well with the government. It is further important to understand that the local media in Equatorial Guinea are always owned by people closer to the President, and on this basis, it is always difficult for them to criticize the policies that the President enacts. Scholar denotes that without free flow of information, it is very difficult for a state to achieve economic, political as well as social development. This is because with availability of information, public officials within a given state will be held accountable for their actions, as well as a free and an independent media will promote democracy (Solo-Trillo, 127). It is important to denote that democratic countries are characterized by economic growth and development. Furthermore, the judicial system of the country is not independent, as the President is considered as the Chief Magistrate. He oversees a body that is responsible for appointing and dismissing judges, and on this basis, the President cannot be held accountable for his actions (Solo-Trillo, 129). This promotes corruption and lack of accountability amongst senior government officials, and on this basis, Equatorial Guinea lacks behind in terms of development. Another country that has been faced with poor leadership system is Sierra Leone. After approximately 10 years of the civil war in Sierra Leone, the government and the people of Sierra Leone still face a wide variety of challenges, and this includes widespread poverty, weak governance, and systematic corruption (Shaw, 272). The anti-corruption institutions established in Sierra Leone do not have enough resources such as skilled workers to tackle the problems associated with corruption in Sierra Leone. With the peaceful elections of 2007, there are some positive developments in Sierra Leone in regard to fighting corruption and weak governance in the country. The new government established in 2007 has been able to strengthen the capabilities of the country’s anti-corruption commission, and its ability to prosecute high level corruption cases (Shaw, 279). The country also boosts of an independent media that is free from government regulation and censorship. The country also benefi ts from a good international image, with an increase in international investors within the country. However, it is important to denote that the road to political stability and economic development in Sierra Leone has not been easy. This is because since independence the political leadership in Sierra Leone was characterized by corruption, nepotism, a weak social society, electoral violence, and a collapse of the country’s education system (Shaw, 281). It is important to understand that Sierra Leone gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1961. It is important to understand that during the first four years after independence, Sierra Leone under the leadership of Milton Margai was prosperous (Shaw, 276). This is because Milton Margai, the first prime minister saw leadership as a chance to serve the people, as opposed to following selfish interests. However, after his death in 1964, the new leadership of Sierra Leone, led by Albert Margai was undemocratic, corrupt, and they practiced nepotism. For example, in the 1967 elections of Sierra Leone, Albert Margai could not tolerate any person opposing his party. He used violence and threats to intimidate the opposition parties into submission (Bangura and Marda, 22). It is important to understand that due to corrupt related activities, there were riots in Sierra Leone, leading to the fall of Albert Margai. After the fall of Albert Margai, the army under Steven Sisaka carried out a coup, and installed Steven Sisaka as the new leader of Siera Leone. This was in April 1968. Sierra Leone was characterized by military coups that replaced one military leader, with another (Bangura and Marda, 41). It is important to denote that with the entry of Sisaka Steven, a military leader, Sierra Leone turned into a one party state, as opposed to the constitutional democracy it was, during the leadership of the Margais. The leadership of Sisaka Stevens saw the destruction of the parliament, and any other forms of accountability such as the judic iary and other governance institutions. The leadership style of Stevens was characterized by executions, torture, control of information, and corruption. In 1985, Major General Joseph Momoh took power from Sisaka Stevens, who opted to step down. Momoh led Sierra Leone for seven years, leading to widespread corruption, and a total collapse of the Sierra Leonean economy (Bangura and Marda, 49). Due to lack of accountability and poor leadership, the government was unable to pay the salaries of its civil workers, and important commodities like energy were very scarce in Sierra Leone. The education system also collapsed, with many youths roaming the streets of Free town idle. This also led to a brain drain, where professional of Sierra Leone fled to country, and went overseas in search of a good life. By 1991, this country was ranked as one of the poorest nations in the world, and an all out civil war broke out in Sierra Leone (Bangura and Marda, 36). On this basis, it is important to understand that due to poor leadership, Sie rra Leone the government of Sierra Leone was unable to provide services to its citizens, leading to the fall of the government under consideration. In conclusion, poor leadership is one of the main reasons as to why Sierra Leone experienced a bitter civil war, and Equatorial Guinea is lagging behind in economic, social and political development. It is important to understand that due to poor leadership, people in Sierra Leone became very poor, and they were unable to afford education and other basic needs such as food and clean water, as a result, they were lured by rebel movements to fight within its ranks. Sierra Leone learnt from this bitter civil war that took place between 1991, to the early years of 2000s. As a result, Sierra Leone is a practicing democratic country, having established good institutions of governance, for purposes of checking the executive government. On the other hand Equatorial Guinea still continues with this practice of poor governance, and this is mainly because its hasn’t experienced a change in hands in terms of governance. As a result, Equatorial Guinea is considered as one of the poor count ries of the world, with its people lacking the very basic needs. Works Cited: Bangura, Joseph J., and Marda Mustapha. Sierra Leone beyond the LomeÃÅ'  Peace Accord. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Print. Lewis, Marvin A.. An introduction to the literature of Equatorial Guinea between colonialism and dictatorship. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2007. Print. Rotberg, Robert I.. Governance and leadership in Africa. Philadelphia: Mason Crest Publishers, 2007. Print. Shaw, Ibrahim Seaga. The politics of humanitarian intervention: a critical analogy of the British response to end the slave trade and the civil war in Sierra Leone. Journal of Global Ethics 6.3 (2010): 273-285. Print. Solo-Trillo, Eduardo. Equatorial Guinea: an Eternal Present. Journal of Conflictology 4.2 (2013): 124-159. Print.

Case Study: Why do People Migrate? :: Immigration Mexico USA Wages Work Essays

Case Study: Why do People Migrate? The Migration and Culture class field trip to Nogales Mexico was an educational trip. It served to give the students a greater understanding of other cultures and the migration issues that affect them. The mere sight of Nogales makes it easy to see the disorganization. The terrain and apparent lack of city planning makes the thought of reorganization a daunting task. The many houses that rest precariously on the hillsides are densely packed. The poverty is striking and the businesses, houses and lack of services are the obvious signs. The trip to one of the maquiladoras was informative. It was clean and well organized. In appearance it was no different than many of the assembly line production companies in the US. What was markedly different was the wage. Our tour guide hesitantly told us the wage was approximately eight US dollars a day. When comparing eight dollars a day to the eight dollars an hour paid by assembly lines in the US it is easy to see why people would be inclined to immigrate to the US in search of a higher wage. The maquiladoras are a strip of foreign owned factories that provide employment for the Mexican population. Maquiladores came about in 1965 as an attempt to combat Mexico’s unemployment problem. In exchange for providing jobs, these industries are given tax exemptions and very little regulations are placed on them (Falcoff 9). The impact maquiladoras have on immigration are both direct and indirect. The direct impact is that it created an immigration problem in Nogales. People from the interior of Mexico flooded Nogales in search of employment (Trujillo). These new immigrants needing a place to live, haphazardly built houses and communities on property that was not theirs and became squatters. These communities have developed into what is referred to as colonias or colonies in Spanish. In questioning one of the colonia residents, it became apparent that property ownership and systematic records had become a problem. She indicated that she had previously been making payments on the property but had ceased to do so. She went on to say that the person she was paying had not been the rightful owner of the property and that she was told to stop paying. When asked who had told her to stop paying she indicated that it was an attorney who was going around trying to help the people of the colonias.

Russian Immigration Essay -- History Historical Russia Immigrants Essa

Russian Immigration In the 1990s the United States of America was marked with an incredible surge of immigration from the territories of former Soviet Union. â€Å"Liberated† à ©migrà ©s decided to take a chance, leaving everything they had behind in pursuit of a better life. They brought with them education, numerous skills and talents. Their difficulties, however, including a foreign language, their age and inability to quickly adapt their social attitudes to new values, bogged down their feat to succeed in conquering the â€Å"American Dream† (Fox 79). Overcoming aforementioned obstacles, the responsibility of creating own fortunes and great accomplishments is now inherited by the second-generation of immigrants.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Russian immigration has a long history in the United States, dating back to early 1900’s. Successive waves of immigration were triggered by World War I, The Russian Revolution and World War II. During a period of liberalization in the late 1970s and early 1980s, starting with Jackson-Vanik Amendment, Jews were allowed to leave Soviet Union. Even Andropov, the General Secretary of the Communist Party at a time, urged thousands of impoverished Jews to leave USSR (Khazbulatov 7). The regime however refused to allow most educated Jews and for that matter other ethnic groups especially Russian, to emigrate, despite the KGB claim that all individuals wishing to emigrate were free to do so (Khazbulatov 8). Most recently, with the collapse of the Soviet Union and opening of immigration rules, an unprecedented million Russians immigrated to the United States. As evidence, the Russian-speaking population in America surged 254 percent from 1990 to 1998. (Fox 79) This most recent wave of immigration consisted mainly of Jewish refuges, skilled workers, elite scientists and artists. They came to the United States for a variety of reasons, but mostly to escape unbearable living conditions, constituted by a sudden collapse of the Soviet regime. Yegor Gaidar‘s failure of economic reforms to reincarnate Russia led to rising prices, inflation and further penury of its citizens, leading to the rise of social and political unrest (Khazbulatov 56). Anti-Semitic feelings among general population resonated and boomed as ultra-nationalists blamed the Jews for all of the country’s problems (Fox 80). With scientific research halted and productivity decreasing, technologi... ... Works cited Fox, Susan. â€Å"Loss and the Emigration Experience of Jews from the USSR.† Mental Health Workshops 2003: 79-90 Kanaracus, Chris. â€Å"The Unusual Suspects.† Worcester Magazine July 31 – Aug. 6, 2003 : 6-9 Tanner, Adam. â€Å"Pair Evaded Family Academic Legacy to Found Google.† News.com 2003:http://investor.news.com/Engine?Account=cnet&PageName=NEWSREAD&ID=1034455&Ticker=MSFT&SOURCE=N27650200 â€Å"Learning Russian In Moscow at the famous Lomonosov University.† StudyRussian.com 2004: http://studyrussian.com/MGU/russian-education-system.html â€Å"10 Most Influential Russian Americans† Sitebits 2003: http://www.sitebits.com/2003/2003-12-16.html â€Å"Culture-Sensitive Health Care: Russian Jewish Immigrants.† Diversity Resources, Inc. Amherst, MA. 2000: http://www.diversityresources.com/rc04_sample/russian.htm Khasbulatov, Ruslan. Velikaya Rossiskaya Tragediya (â€Å"The Great Russian Tragedy†). Moscow: Too Sims, 1998. Dezhina, Irina, and Graham, Loren. â€Å"Russian Basic Science: Changes Since The Collapse Of The Soviet Union And The Impact Of International Support.† Royal Society London October 22, 2001: http://www.crdf.org/cgi-bin/Conference2001_Papers/GrahamDezhina_paper.htm

The British Judiciary is Both Independent and Impartial

The Judiciary of the United Kingdom is not a single body. Each of the separate legal systems in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland has their own judiciary. The British Judiciary plays a vital part in British Politics. This is unblemished as the judicial system is significantly responsible for a multitude of political roles. The senior judiciary help interpret the meaning of law and directly enforce the rule of law. Similarly they also declare and interpret common law in addition to reviewing executive decision.Essentially the judiciary thrives as a noteworthy system that has been rooted in British history for numerous years. It substantiates to be an efficient system that functions smoothly. So much so that other countries have been influenced to directly copy the system in Britain, many countries are still changing and evolving their current systems to meet the needs of their societies. The British judiciary is widely regarded as one of the best and most independent sy stems in the world.However the question pondered recently is how independent and neutral is the British judiciary? An independent judiciary is Significant as it results in a justice system that is not influenced by either the legislative or executive branch. Moreover it is free to make decisions based upon law and not upon the pressure forced from other groups. The quote â€Å"It is vitally important in a democracy that individual judges and the judiciary as a whole are impartial and independent of all external pressures and of each other (Baroness Butler-Sloss–May 2012) visibly condenses this.Fortunately many argue that the British Judiciary is in essence the most independent of all systems in the world. This is evident due to many reasons. One of which is the constitutional reform act (CRA). The act ensures British Judicial independence as it removes the title of speaker of the House of Lords and also head of the judiciary of England and wales from the office of the Lord C hancellor. This took place when concerns aroused that a member of the judiciary who was also a member of one of the other two branches could not be suitably impartial.Before the CRA was passed, the House of Lords formed some amendments retaining the office of the Lord Chancellor, but significantly reducing his role in judicial affairs. This is not only momentous in the context of Britain but also the European convention of human rights, something the Judicial is responsible for enforcing so that all have the right to a fair trial. At the same time it can also be disputed that the British Judiciary is impartial, this is subsequently because of the broken relationship from the government.The British judiciary is not influenced by politicians as the judicial system is profoundly independent. Fundamentally the judiciary decides matters before the government on the foundation of facts in accordance with the law. Without any restrictions, improper influences inducements, pressures threats or interferences direct or indirect from any sector or for any reason. It is highly prominent that the British judiciary contains an element of ‘impartiality’ as it allows the system to be neutral in the affairs in allocates itself with.There are no major personal biases when administering justice and as a result the following rules under the law are respected; Equality, no one exceeds the law and most importantly everyone is entitled to a fair trial. Ultimately the British judiciary is both impartial and independent, both play vital roles in holding each other securely in place, the absence of judicial independence threatens judicial neutrality and in the same way without impartiality, independence cannot be guaranteed.Moreover, I agree that the British Judiciary is independent as it is assured by the nation and is enshrined in the constitution or the law of Britain. It is essentially the duty of all governmental and various institutions to respect and observe the ind ependence of the judiciary, this is due to the fact that the judiciary has superior jurisdiction over all issues of a judicial nature and has exclusive authority to decide where an issue submitted for its decision is within its competence as defined by law .In addition to this the British judiciary is independent because the judiciary cannot successfully support a government act as it would most likely backfire. This is because it would be upgraded to a European court ruling that takes precedence over a British court decision; in essence the judiciary is free from liability. However it can be argued that the British judiciary is not both impartial and independent. The concept of neutrality can be portrayed as weak due to the understanding that the Judiciary does not include a prodigious deal of Female judges.With the insight that only 23% of the Judges are women it becomes unavoidable that there is gender discrimination within the system. Another factor concerning the lack of indepe ndence and impartiality is the issue surrounding judicial appointments. It can be argued that there is lack of separation of powers relating to the appointments as the Lord Chancellor still manages a magnitude of power. This illustrates how his influence in the appointment can be unfair as it deprives the ideology behind neutral and independent nomination.Essentially judicial appointments were made by the Lord chancellor and monarch however in the modern age the judiciary cannot run as effectively if it fulfilled its old system and it must appear more transparent to aid the Judiciary with distinctive impartiality and independence. Similarly to this its profoundly comprehendible that despite the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) statistics exclaim that most of the senior judges are white middle class men with attainment of education from ‘Oxbridge’ This ultimately elucidates a separation of powers and goes against the promise of â€Å"more diverse judiciary† made by the JAC.From the information I have gathered I can gain the understanding that the British Judiciary is both impartial and independent as it is engraved in the constitution that the government has to respect the independence of the judiciary, similarly the most prominent factor elucidating this is that there is no major link between politics and the judiciary hence the judiciary can guarantee equal justice to all, judges and juries are free from influence and can make fair and honest decisions about cases subsequently creating a far more efficient system that works for the nation as a whole.Ultimately decisions can be reached without fear of retaliation of other groups or special interests. Despite the fact that the judiciary abstains its imperfections that deprive it of complete independence and neutrality, such as the factor consisting of lack of separation of powers’ and influence within the political system, there is major transmogrification that suggests the judi cial system is becoming more transparent.The JAC announced that 8% of the people recommended for judicial jobs last year were black or Asian and correspondingly 156 new women were chosen for appointment under the new system. The British judiciary ultimately proves to be an efficient and momentous system that works, it does so by being both impartial and independent.

Evolution of the Human Hearing Essay

Evolution of the Human HearingIntroductionThe human ear has two major functions: ensuring body balance and sound detection. The balancing mechanism seems to have evolved earlier than the hearing mechanism. Early developing vertebrates had balancing organs, but they have no cochlea. A good example is fish. The basic function of the human ear is to sense sound. Sound is a compression of wave, which travels via a medium. For vertebrates, the medium perceived is air. Sound waves can travel through other mediums, such as water or ground. Hearing is a result of vibration of the surrounding medium that resonates parts of the body. The resonance is then transformed into electrical signals such that they can be interpreted by the human ear. The way human beings recognize sound has undergone changes since the discovery of the ear. Land vertebrates, birds, reptiles and mammals evolved primitively from amphibians, specifically the primitive fish. The formation of the inner ear started during the Devonian Period. There has been a debate whether the lateral line structure, a sensory system used to detect variations in pressure in amphibians, developed into the inner ear. Most scientists and researchers agree that the ear evolved from this lateral system. The lateral system is found beneath the skin of fish. It is a series of grooves and depressions with a group of hair cells, which lets the fish to adapt to variations in eddies and currents. According to (Duane, 1981) primitive fish possessed a simple sensory organ. The grooves evolved into the complex inner ear in vertebrates. The nerves cells in the human ear are adaptations of the earlier hair cells. In the course of evolution, a fish become more amphibious. Finally, it evolved into a land animal, which required a new sensory system to detect differences in air pressure. This was a way of improving their survival rates, such as danger recognition. According to (Clark, 2003) the Eustachian tube and the middle ear evolved from the respiratory mechanism of the fish, while the inner ear evolves from jaws. With time, the inner ear changed and developed. The part of the inner ear responsible for body balance evolved to the membrane of the oval window. The oval window is responsible for transmitting variations in air pressure. As this happened, the inner ear was growing bigger and bigger. In the fish, a tiny swell emerged in the vestibular of the ear. As the evolution progre ssed, the bulge evolved into a spiraled cochlea. This is what forms the hearing system of vertebrates. Gradually, fish evolved into amniotes, which are fully terrestrial vertebrates. Early amniotes did not have eardrums. According to (Gangestad, 2000) eardrums evolved six times in primitive amphibians, in anurans, in sysnapis, in diapsids (lizards, dinosaurs, and bids), in anapsids (turtles and its relatives), in reptiliomorphs and in temsnospondyls. According to paleontologists, our earliest ancestors breathed through their ears. According to (Gangestad, 2000) tubes that form the middle ear developed from gill-like structures that allowed sea creatures to breathe from back of their heads. Another study was done by ( Anthwal, 2012) which sought to examine 370-million-year old fossils, Panderichthyts. This is an immediate species between the amniotes and fish. The study reveals that Panderichthys had tiny bones in its skull that appeared similar to the early analogues of the gill system and the ear canals. The study suggests the canals are the ones which developed into true ears. This occurred after Panderichtys’s ancestors had become air breathers, freeing up their former gills structures for sensory functions. The study plays a critical role in understanding the evolution of the human ear. Our ability to ear relies on structures, which started as a gill opening in a fish, the study reveals. Human and all other vertebrates have special bones in the ear responsible for hearing. Ancient fish relied on the same structures to breath while in water. The study further argues that the human ear into a complex structure after animals established themselves on land. To draw valid conclusions, the study compared the fossil with its close cousin of the first land animals. In another fossil, Eustenopteron, a discovery of a small bone called hyomandibula was made. The bone later on developed a kink and blocked the gill opening. Furthermore, in early land animals like tetrapods Acanthostega, the bone receded, forming a larger opening. This is now a part of the middle ear in all vertebrates, including humans. A close study of the Panderichthys fossil offers scientists a crucial missing link between the ea rs and fish gill openings. According to (Anthwal, 2102) the characteristics are much more like those of tetrapods; there is no longer kink but the spiracle is widened and opened up. He found out that the hydomandibula is shorter, but rod-like in Eustenopteron. Another study of a hominid that was discovered in South Africa confirms that the human ear has undergone several changes. The fossil dated 1.9 million years was found to have several bones which are found on the modern human ear. However, the bones were not exactly the same. Three ear bones were identified. The malleus appeared to be human-like while the stapes and the incus appeared to resemble those of Chimpanzees. The study asserts that since the malleus of our early ancestors looks similar to ours, the changes of the bone must have occurred during our evolutionary history. The discovery is important in two ways. First, it suggests that ear ossicles are adult-sized and fully-formed at birth, but do not change in our lifetime. Second, the bones show that the hearing ability of ancient creatures was very different from that of modern humans. This is not necessarily, better or worse. But certainly, the hearing capability was different (Texas University, 2013). Following the discussion presented above, it can be noted that the human ear underwent several stages of evolution. The studies presented above clearly shows that the hearing capability of ancient creatures was different from that of modern humans. In addition to this, it can be noted that the human ear evolved from a simple gill structure all through jaw bones of a reptile. The following diagram summarizes our discussion. Diagram Adapted from: http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evograms_05References Anthwal N. (2012). â€Å"Evolution of the mammalian middle ear and jaw: adaptations and novel structures†. Journal of Anatomy 221 (1): 1–96. Clark, A. G. (2003). Inferring nonneutral evolution from human-chimp-mouse orthologous gene trios. Science, 302(5652), 1960-1963. Duane T. Gish, â€Å"The Mammal-like Reptiles,† Impact, no. 102, December 1981. Gangestad, S. W. (2000). The evolution of human mating: Trade-offs and strategic pluralism. Behavioral and brain sciences, 23(04), 573-587.Texas A&M University. (2013, May 13). Prehistoric ear bones could lead to evolutionary answers. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 22, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130513174048.htm Source document

Walmart and Target a Closer Look at Strategic Interaction

Main Paper Walmart and Target: A closer look at strategic interaction Maastricht University School of Business and Economics Maastricht, 4th December 2011 Bastian Hauk, BH ID number: i6034999 Study: International Business Course Code: EBC1009 Economics & Business Group Number: 31 Economics Tutor: Khan Writing Tutor: Hetty Bennink Writing Assignment: Main Paper Table of Contents Page 1. Introduction 2. Economic Principle: Game Theory 3. Applied Economic Principles 3. 1. Theory of Game for simultaneously Decision Making 3. 2. The extended Version for consecutive Decision Making 4. Conclusion References 4 6 7 8 2 2 1 Introduction In the United States of America there are only two very well-known discount retailers: Target and Walmart. Both are currently operating all over the country which places each of them among the biggest corporations in the United States. Nearly every American has been to at least one of them because they sell almost everything and E. Basker described this service â€Å"one-stop shopping† (2007). In 2007, Walmart operated more than 3,400 stores across the USA and a survey showed that by the end of 2005 46 percent of Americans lived within 5 miles of the nearest store; within 15 miles even 88 percent (Basker, 2007).Target operated 1,750 stores in January 2011 (Target Corp. , 2011). Since their wide range of products is quite similar they are large competitors. Thus, they are constantly waging price war against each other. In addition, they make use of strategic interaction and especially of game theory which is a mathematical model describing a decisionmaking process and showing how the players make different decisions that potentially affect each other’s interests (von Stenge, & Turocy, 2001). This paper analyses strategic interaction between Walmart and Target with respect to the game theory and the extended version.In order to do so it introduces first the theoretic background of strategic interaction. Afterwards it applies g ame theory and the extended version to this case in order to show the impact of strategic interaction on both discount retailers. It concludes by stating the importance of strategic interaction to optimal decision making and its relevance for Walmart and Target. 2 Economic principles: game theory and extended version The theory of games describes certain concepts in which several players influence each other’s decisions in situations of conflict and competition (Moffatt, 2011).In order to apply game theory there must be at least two players. The three basic elements of a game are the player, the strategies he can choose from and the payoffs the players receive from each combination of strategy. The payoff matrix describes the outcomes in a certain game for each possible combination of strategies as shown in Figure 2. 1. 2 Player One Strategy 1 Strategy 1 Outcome Player 1 Strategy 2 Outcome Player 1 Outcome Player Two Strategy 2 Player 2 Outcome Player 1 Outcome Player 2 Outco me Player 1 Outcome Player 2 Figure 2. 1: Payoff matrix for a two player game Outcome Player 2If one player used a dominant strategy, his choice yields a higher payoff, regardless what the other player does and as a result he has no incentive to change his strategy. For this example, player one’s dominant strategy would be strategy one if he received a higher outcome no matter which strategy player two chooses, but only if he then receives the highest payout. There are also some particular outcomes; for example the Nash equilibrium which occurs when any combination of strategies is the best strategy with the best possible outcome for all players (McDowell, Thom, Frank, & Bernanke, 009). An outcome created by two dominant strategies which is worse than the outcome created by two dominated strategies is called prisoner’s dilemma. The prisoner’s dilemma only occurs when each player’s dominant strategy results in a smaller payoff than it would have if they ha d chosen the dominated strategy. Game theory also assumes that the decisions are made simultaneously. To illustrate a game in which the players decide interdependent, the economist uses the extended version of game theory which is displayed with a game tree (McDowell, Thom, Frank, & Bernanke, 2009). Company 1 Decision: Action A or Action B Action A Company 2 Decision: Action C or Action D Action C Outcome 1 Outcome 2 Action D Action B Company 2 Decision: Action C or Action D Action C Outcome 3 Outcome 4 Action D Figure 2. 2: Decision tree Figure 2. 2 is an example of a game tree. Company 1 first decides which action they will take, which can be either A or B. Company 2 then has the choice how they want to react and whether they take action C or D. The best outcome can only be achieved with a backward nduction as a result of evaluating the results first and afterwards predicting the other player’s strategy. For example, outcome 3 would be the best outcome for company 2 if comp any 1 chose action B and therefore company 2 chooses action C. Outcome 2 would gain the highest profit for company 2 if company 1 took action A. 3 Applied Economic Principles 3. 1 Theory of game for simultaneously decision making As stated in the introduction this two very large American retailers are competitors and have a very similar customer base.The income of Targets customer base is slightly higher but it is not relevant for strategic interaction (Neuman, 2011). Theory of game helps to understand the different prices and how the different price strategies affect consumer behavior. This example is not based on any specific data. However, it is logic for somebody willing to buy a certain good to substitute the same good with an identical one if the price is lower and there are not any additional efforts to make. By applying game theory, the three basic elements have to be clear. 4 Walmart and Target are the players.Different pricing of a certain product -a television- are the st rategies while the different profits are the results of each combination of the strategies. Both companies have two pricing strategies: either to charge a low price of â‚ ¬300 or a high price of â‚ ¬500. They have to make the decision simultaneously, for instance before they release the television to the market. It is important to know that the customers are also willing to purchase the television for the high price. Target High Price (â‚ ¬500) High Price (â‚ ¬500) Walmart Walmart earns â‚ ¬10,000 profit Low Price (â‚ ¬300) Walmart earns â‚ ¬15,000 profit Figure 3. : Payoff matrix for Walmart and Target Figure 3. 1 shows a potential payoff matrix for this strategic interaction. It shows all possible outcomes for the two pricing strategies. Walmart and Target would both make â‚ ¬10,000 profit if they charged the high price and â‚ ¬7,500 profit if they charged the low price. If Walmart chose the low pricing strategy and Target used the high pricing strategy Walmart would gain â‚ ¬15,000 compared to the â‚ ¬5,000 profit Target would make. Target also makes â‚ ¬15,000 profit using the low price if Walmart decides to charge the high price.What does that mean for both companies? Since both of them would earn a higher profit by setting the price low in this scenario, both companies would choose â€Å"Low Price† as a dominant strategy. On the contrary, â€Å"High Price† would be the dominated strategy. Nash equilibrium can be found when both companies pick the â€Å"low price† strategy because they don’t have an incentive to change their strategy. This payoff 5 Low (â‚ ¬300) Target earns â‚ ¬15,000 profit Walmart earns â‚ ¬5,000 profit Target earns â‚ ¬7,500 profit Walmart earns â‚ ¬7,500 profitTarget earns â‚ ¬10,000 profit Target earns â‚ ¬5,000 profit matrix also shows that the strategy combination of â€Å"high price† and â€Å"high price† would be the best possible outcome for both firms. But rather than applying the dominated strategy Walmart and Target use the dominant strategy. This dilemma is called prisoner’s dilemma. Those dilemmas exist quite often and there are many reasons why they exist, for instance, both companies do not want the other one to make a higher profit or even to have the chance to receive a higher profit. 3. 2.The extended version for consecutive decision making Therefore Target and Walmart react and might change the strategy they had choosen. Both competitors often change their strategies. Although Singh (2006) stated that prices at Walmart are about 15 percent lower than in traditional supermarkets, Neuman (2011) proved by comparing almost 60 items that Target’s prices were a bit lower than Walmart’s. It is hard to rely on data which are released with a 5 year time difference but it shows that both firms constantly adjust the prices to be competitive.High Price Target High Price Walmart Low Price â‚ ¬10,000 for Target â‚ ¬10,000 for Walmart â‚ ¬15,000 for Target â‚ ¬5,000 for Walmart â‚ ¬5,000 for Target â‚ ¬15,000 for Walmart â‚ ¬7,500 for Target â‚ ¬7,500 for Walmart High Price Low Price Target Low Price Figure 3. 2: Decision Tree for Walmart and Target 6 Since the decisions of both companies are not made simultaneously the reacting firm -in this case Target- has to find out what action to take in order to receive the highest profit for either move Walmart makes. Walmart moves first and selects either strategy.Target is in the position to decide and how it wants to react. Thus, Target uses backward induction. First it evaluates the best results for each action Walmart uses; â‚ ¬15,000 profit if Walmart sets a high price and â‚ ¬7,500 profit if Walmart sets a low price. Afterwards it chooses the strategy how to get to that profit. Finally Walmart moves and selects the low or the high price strategy and Target is able to react sufficiently. Assu me that Walmart chooses the high price strategy then Target sets low prices and due to that Target earns the highest possible profit. Conclusion Walmart and Target are large competitors on the American retailer market and therefore strategic interaction is very important for them. Both companies know the ways to decide how to act concerning different strategies. Both companies know that it is necessary for them to react and choose the best strategy. In the first example both companies simultaneously introduce a television to the market. Their dominant strategy is to set a low price because both of them hope that the other company chooses the high price strategy.This is one example of a free market wherein the customers always choose the low price if available. Walmart and Target would earn a larger profit if both set the high price. In the other case Walmart moves first and afterwards Target chooses the strategy which leads to the highest outcome. The reacting company’s best strategy in the extended version of game theory is always the low price strategy. On the contrary, when two companies have to decide simultaneously it is not always the best choice to choose the low price strategy although it is their dominant strategy. References Basker, E. (2007). The Causes and Consequences of Wal-Mart’s Growth. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21 (3), 177-198. McDowell, M. , Thom, R. , Frank, R. , & Bernanke, B. (2009). Principles of Economics, 2nd European Edition. Maidenhead, UK: McGraw-Hill Education. Moffatt, M. (2008). What are Game Theory and Bargaining Theory? Retrieved December 4, 2011, from http://economics. about. com/cs/studentresources/f/game_theory. htm Neuman, S. (2011). Target Takes Aim At Walmart, With Some Success, NPR. Retrieved December 4, 2011, from http://www. pr. org/2011/08/19/139793948/target-takes-aim-at-walmartwith-some-success Singh, V. , Hansen, K. , & Blattberg, R. (2006). A Market Entry and Consumer Behavior: An investig ation of a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Marketing Science, 25 (5), 457-476 Target Corp. (2011). Target Annual Report 2010. Minnesota, US: Target. Retrieved December 7, 2011 from http://www. sec. gov/Archives/edgar/data/27419/000104746911002032/a2201861z10k. htm#bg11101a_main_toc Turocy, T. L, von Stenge, B (2001). Game Theory. Academic Press Limited, 2 (2), 69-73. 10. 1080/07430170152379371 doi: 8

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