Thursday, October 31, 2019

Battle of Leipzig Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Battle of Leipzig - Research Paper Example It was the largest armed conflict in history during that time, a conflict which eventually led to the downfall of Napoleon. It highlights a significant point in Napoleon’s plans to take over Europe, a plan which would was later prevented by the united efforts of the European nations. This paper shall now discuss and analyze the Battle of Leipzig based on the nine principles of war which include unity of command, surprise, security, simplicity, objective, offensive, mass, economy of force, and maneuver. These principles shall be used to establish their manner of application in the battle, including the consequences of these applications. Body When the Russian army as well as the harsh winter caused Napoleon’s defeat in 1812, the Europeans felt that peace would soon be seen in their lands after almost a decade of persistent warfare2. However, Napoleon was persistent in his efforts at warfare. When Napoleon returned to France from Russia, he quickly rebuilt and strengthene d his army, even recruiting teenagers and young men. Veterans filled in and strengthened the military ranks. In the early months of 1813, he advanced towards Germany, planning to vanquish each military unit in the region, and recruit the survivors3. On the other hand, Europe’s leaders were wary about entering alliances with each other because they considered each other to be either current or future enemies. Karl von Metternich, the foreign minister of Austria believed that he would not be able to successfully fend off France and its military strength. He then started to call for a coalition of nations against Napoleon. Finally, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, Great Britain, and other smaller European nations agreed to form an alliance with Austria to fight their common enemy. Napoleon discounted such alliance and surged on towards Germany4. He was able to win some of the initial skirmishes; however, he later realized that his new army and troops were not as experienced as the ones which fought in the battle in Russia. When he found out that troops were advancing on him from all directions, he negotiated a truce on the 4th of June, 1813, meeting with Metternich in order to establish a cordial agreement on the dispute. However, even with the favorable options given to him, Napoleon refused to accept the terms of the truce5. While negotiations were taking place, reinforcements were added for both sides; in August, the truce ended and war commenced yet again. The Allied forces persisted in driving Napoleon out of their territories; and Napoleon’s forces steadily grew exhausted6. Another offensive by the Allied forces was launched in September, with France winning several small skirmishes, but the French were driven back to Leipzig by October. Napoleon had about 170,000 troops covering the town, but the Allied forces outnumbered them. On October 13, 1813, Napoleon later left a portion of his army in the north to battle the Prussians and to attempt to break Russian and Austrian forces in the south. By nightfall, no major gains by any of the combatants were gained7. The armed conflict raged on for days and Napoleon could not cope with the larger Allied troops; and the odds against him was exacerbated when the Swedish Army joined the Allied forces. Napoleon tried to negotiate another truce, but was rebuffed by the Allied forces. Napoleon and his troops started to withdraw westward by crossing the Elster Bridge through a stone bridge. This stone bridge soon proved to be the downfall of many of Napoleon’s troops as many of them died while crossing and defending the bridge8. Napoleon retreated as a defeated general to Paris, leaving behind about 60,000 troops dead, wounded, or captured by the Allied f

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Gullivers Travels Essay Example for Free

Gullivers Travels Essay When Blackadder and Prince George are faced with dilemma of bribing an MP to vote in the princes favour they provide us with a description of a member of parliament called Sir Talbot Buxomly who is corrupt, cruel, ineffectual and open to bribes. According to Blackadder he is a perfect candidate to become a High Court Judge and even Prince George thinks he is a little over qualified. Blackadder: Sir Talbot has the worst attendance record of any Member of Parliament but if we can get him to support us, were safe hes a violent, bigoted, mindless old fool The use of satire here suggests that the high court judge isnt necessarily as honest as you would expect a person with that much power to be. A comparison with this is Swifts description of the Emperor in chapter two. He describes how he is expensively dressed. He had on his head a light helmet of gold, adorned with jewels, and a plume on the crest. Swift compares him to the pompons King George the first. He was king of England but was brought over from Germany and did not speak the language. When the Emperor speaks at Gulliver he cannot understand a word and this is his bribe at the king. Like Sir Talbot Buxomly, the Emperor is useless and incompetent. When it comes to the actual election, Blackadder confesses that they will cheat in order to win votes. He is not alone in this outlook as one of his opponents, Pitt the Even Younger confesses what he did in order to be a decent politician bad mouthed the opposition. Bribed the newspapers. Threatened to torture the public if his party lost. Once again driving home the point that the politicians will do anything within their power to get a seat in parliament. You can tell that cheating is certainly not beneath them when Pitt the Even Younger told what was a decent politician is in his opinion. I fail to see what more a decent politician could have done Similar examples of satire, which criticise politics and the government are also found in Gullivers Travels. In Lilliput anybody who jumps over the highest rope gets a position in court and how candidates jump over and creep under a stick held at various heights win the silken threads which show the kings favourite. Just like in Blackadder getting a job in the court in lilliput is not to down how good you would be at the job but is down to how much you can creep, crawl and pander to the king. Whoever performs his part with the most agility and hold out the largest in creeping and crawling, is rewarded

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Introduction To Organized Crime Criminology Essay

Introduction To Organized Crime Criminology Essay Organized crime groups have increased in dimension and activities in the last decade and have become global threats posing a serious challenge on the international community. In the United States, such groups have continued to expand despite measures to curb them and they have established networks in the major cities. Criminal groups have well developed international networks that help them to better exercise their activities in both legal and illegal markets by using complicated strategies and varied modi operandi (Jenkins Gary 1987). Due to that, these groups are in a position to infiltrate the financial, political, and economic systems of countries the world over. With expansion of the internet and more open borders, organized crime has gradually taken transnational nature endangering United States both from within and beyond. This threat is brought by the various criminal associations, which include, Asian, African, Russian, Middle Eastern, and Balkan syndicates. As a result, it has become very difficult for the federal government to combat organized crime that is today very well organized and up-to-date with recent technology. During economic downturn period, organized crime could additionally weaken the economy with illicit activities for example drug trafficking and tax evasion frauds that lead to a loss of tax income for state and federal governments. Fake activities in spheres such as tactical merchandise, credit, indemnity, securities, and reserves could extra deteriorate the troubled monetary marketplace. On the state safety front, specialists and policymakers have articulated concern over potential nexus linking organized crime and terrorism. Notwithstanding the variation in inspiration for organized crime majorly profit and terrorism being ideology, the connecting aspect of the two is money (Bequai, 1979). Terrorists may potentially get financial support for their operations from collaborating frankly with structured criminal groups or molding their lucrative unlawful acts. Even though organized syndicates and terrorist groups do not make long-term associations, the likelihood of short-term busines s coalitions may be of concern to policymakers. Away from the individual illegal acts committed by organized criminal groups such as smuggling, extortion, prostitution, gambling, and labor racketeering. The organized crime council indicates that criminal groups may penetrate strategic sectors of the economy, provide support to terrorists, smuggle people and other contrabands into the United States, using cyberspace to target American victims and infrastructure, and use violence as a basis for power. Due to the current developments, issues on management and dealing with organized criminal groups have emerged. It is evident that to deal with organized groups there is need for the new enforcement measures. Several policy makers have argued that the available laws are not effective at countering current threats posed by these groups. Because organized crime groups threaten America from both within borders and outside its borders. This has led to a wakeup call for the Congress as to whether they should enlarge law enforcements beyond borders to probe and put these criminals on trial, and to what level, should the Congress hearten multilateral crime fighting efforts. Another major issue that the Congress must put in mind is the availability of resources and how much is allocated to the federal government to deal with organized criminal groups (Alexander, 1985). Theories of organized crime There are numerous definitions of organized crime, in American context it is defined as a loose confederation of ethnic and regional crime groups, bound by economic and political necessity (Bequai, 1979). Mainly organized crime is comprised of three different categories of criminal activities namely, professional crime, white-collar crime which involves criminals using legal instruments and the operation of crime groups striving to achieve financial gain. According to Levi (1998), organized crime is ongoing unlawful business or other acts accompanied by intimidation and linked to politics. Assorted analogs are summoned to understand organized crime, including such different notions as the business conglomerate and feudalism. An organized crime group is seen sometimes as simply engaged in illegal business in a manner parallel to its legal counterpart. Other onlookers have noted the primeval nature of the ties binding an organized criminal groups members, which thus differentiates it f rom a modern, unfriendly business corporation. Different conditions for the origin of organized crime have also been identified, including political, geographic, legal, and sociological factors (Skaperdas, 2001). According to Liddick (1999 theories of organized crime may be grouped into three major theoretical prototypes: the alien-conspiracy/bureaucracy paradigm; the enterprise approach; and the patron-client relations perspective. The model or perspective dictates the approach. Thus, if one assumes that the chief characteristic of organized crime is its hierarchical organization, then one looks for coordination and conspiracy. This is the dominant approach of law enforcement in North America, which has been enormously unsuccessful in understanding and therefore in dealing with the phenomenon of organized crime (Geary, 2002). It presumes that immobilizing the leadership of organized crime groups will end criminal activity, but it never does. Knock off the key player, the organization falls apart, and the criminal activity ceases. On the other hand, the enterprise approach focuses on illegal markets. It views organized crime as servicing such markets, very much like legal business enterprises . These networks involve reciprocity they engage in activities beyond purely economic and they extend into the worlds of legitimate government and business (Liddick, 1999). According to (Woodwiss, 2001), the past history of modern organized crime from the Yazoo land fraud of the 1790(s) to the Savings and Loan scandals of the 1980(s), clearly shows that organized crime in America has involved reputable people. It is a social occurrence, an important part of American life, and, ironically, not at all a threat to the existing order. It has been noted that most of the criminal activities show that those groups were not hierarchical, when organized crime get into the political system regardless of the means it is very hard to combat as it becomes well institutionalized. Herbert Alexander (1985), for instance, has recognized that clearly too little is known of political-criminal relationships, the occurrences, the levels, the geographic areas, the impacts they have. Even a landmark study of the reduction of organized crimes influence on major industries in New York City drew a blank regarding politics, with the authors admitting that such connections had nev er been examined. Studies have shown that indeed there is an association between politicians, police, and organized crime groups. However, that the plan in the relationship came from the politicians. It was by no means a situation of organized crime intruding into politics, but of politicians reaching out to control and invite the criminals and their activities (Jenkins and Potter, 1987). Organized Criminal Groups in the America For many years organized crime in united States has been associated with the famous Italian Mafia, nevertheless there are many other organized criminal; groups in United States. In understanding and dealing with these groups, the Federal Bureau of Investigation examines organized criminal groups that are under three main classes: La Cosa Nostra (Italian organized), Eurasian/ Middle Eastern, and Asian and African criminal groups. Eurasian/ Russian This group does not only refer to the Russian crime syndicates but also various of Eurasian crime groups, these groups emerged in United States as early as the late 1970(s) and became very common when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Currently they are considered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to be the most organized criminal group posing major threat to America. Russian group that operate in America show less traditional hierarchical structure as opposed to the Italian Cosa Nostra, they however, develop networks based on the skills required for certain crimes (Duyne, 1996). In America, this group is a responsible to criminal activity such as abduction, human trafficking, drug trafficking, theft, prostitution and extortion, and white-collar criminal acts such as money laundering. Federal Bureau of Investigation has shown that approximately 60% of the cases they handle about this group involve fraud. These frauds usually cut across various industries from strategic commodi ties and health to venture to indemnity, and credit card swindles. Other frauds they are involved in include tax evasion and even energy price rigging. Numerous Russian organized criminal groups operate in major cities such as Miami, New York, Boston, and many. The main efforts to control Russian organized criminal groups include the development of both global and internal task forces and other committees charged with the mandate of dismantling these crime groups. Local police departments have set up several task forces in all the main cities to deal with this group. The FBI on the other hand is charged with the responsibility to handle international issues relating to Russian organized criminals. It works together with such groups like Eurasian Organized Crime Working Group, Central Working Group, and Southern European Cooperative Initiative. All these groups are aimed at combating this organized criminal group (Mauro, 1995). These groups are working very hard to attain power and wealth that being the main reason as to why they have patterns of criminal activities in American major cities. The group in the West Coast communicates with those in the East Coast and they have strong ties with those in the former Soviet Union. They have also go ne an extra mile and formed associations with other criminal groups and their enterprises have proven to be very complex and profitable as they continue to operate using global networks. Eurasian criminals are experts at swindle and have been portrayed as always having one foot in the gangland and one foot in legal business world. This blend makes it hard to notice when a crime is taking place. Billions of dollars in illegal proceeds from fraud are being transferred to accounts abroad and within the United States. There are concerns that these finances will be used to fund criminal activities in the United States (Mauro, 1995). Russian organized criminal networks are involved in organized foreign smuggling through fake visa petitions and border crossing. Law enforcement departments have learned that this group networks with recognized shell corporations in America to assist in the illegal movement of money, and people as well. Asian This group has existed in the United States as early as 1900(s), nevertheless, there has been a major increase in Asian organized criminal activities. Various studies show that there is not even a single unified group but rather they are many crime groups whereby some are more traditionally organized than others are. They include Triads and Yakuza, which got Chinese and Japanese origin respectively. Groups such as the triads, tongs, and famous Asian street gangs that comprise of the Fuk Ching and Big Circle are less traditional. Just like the Russian Organized crime, groups this group tends to work together across tribal and ethnic ranks if it is lucrative for the business. Asian organized crime groups get a large amount of their earnings from smuggling in drugs and people, but are also aggressively involved in other illegal actions, that range from cash laundering, forgery, and deception to kidnapping and the theft of automobiles, computer software, and clothing (Turbiville, 1994). The Federal Bureau of Investigation indicates that major cities in America are examples of regions with a elevated occurrence of Asian organized crimes. American, law enforcement authority has relied heavily on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, money laundering, and asset forfeiture statutes to arraign Asian crime groups. Comparable to efforts intended at fighting Russian organized crime groups, United States law enforcement takes part in domestic and international working groups meant to fight Asian organized crime. Internally, the Interagency Working Group on Alien Smuggling inspects policy and analytical matters revolving around the smuggling of foreigners and trafficking of women and minors, involving participation of Asian criminal groups in these actions. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also concerned with international working groups dealing with organized criminal groups of Asian origin, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation State Police Department of Japan Working Group, International Police Project Bridge, and many other working groups from other countries such as Canada, Thailand and so on . Italian The La Cosa Nostra is the most famous Italian organized crime group working in the United States. The La Cosa Nostra is implicated in a collection of unlawful actions, from betting, loan sharking to smuggling, and money laundering, which terrorize American society. The majority members of the La Cosa Nostra operate in the New York urban area, but there are also illegal operations in major American cities. La Cosa Nostra has been working in the United States ever since 1920(s) and still poses a risk at present. Former congressional and rule and regulation enforcement labors to combat organized crime were intended directly at controlling the criminal activities of the Mafia (Louise, 1995). Civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act lawsuits have been mainly efficient in eradicating the La Cosa Nostra from lawful industries and amalgamations, for example, the Las Vegas gaming industry, the moving and storage businesses in New York, and the merger in place of truckers servi cing JF Kennedy airport in New York. In addition to federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act statutes, many states have adopted Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act statues. Many believe that Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act has been mainly the dominant tool in fighting La Cosa Nostra. Despite these successful tools, the La Cosa Nostra remains a major organized crime risk to American society. Balkan The Federal Bureau of Investigation recognizes Balkan organized criminal and the well-known Albanian groups in particular, for being among the main dreadful organized criminal groups at present, as proved, in part, by a swell in persons of Albanian origin arrested in the United States. Albanian organized crime syndicates have been in existence in the United States as early as in the late 1980(s) and have grown from being formally structured families to letting in foreigners with certain fields of criminal knowledge. These syndicates are dynamic in major cities like New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, to name a few (Louise, 1995). Balkan crime groups have been involved in various illegal activities such as, real estate fraud, extortion, gambling, robbery, drug trafficking, human smuggling, money laundering, murder, witness intimidation, and counterfeit currency. One upcoming tendency seen in the midst of Balkan organized criminal groups is an improved collaboration with other organi zations increasing, but expanding. For instance, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has proved that the La Cosa Nostra has collaborated with Albanian criminal groups in New York. Where, the La Cosa Nostra normally relies on the Albanians for enforcement, and Albanians have gradually conquered some territory there that was formerly under control of the La Cosa Nostra. Several federal agencies normally collaborate and implement programs to combat organized crime in the country. Such agencies include, Homeland Security, Treasury, Defense, State, Commerce and department of justice. One initiative is the nuclear smuggling, the United States responds to nuclear smuggling by stopping any nuclear material getting into the country. The country in 2003 signed agreements and got into partnership with other countries to allow searching of planes and ships that are suspected of carrying such materials. The department of defense has effectively managed programs that help destroy any nuclear materials. The authorities have increased detection tools at the borders. Drug trafficking is under International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affair partner with other departments in implementing anti-drug campaigns and initiatives. Trafficking of persons is led by the State department in collaboration with other agencies. Money laundering and other economic crimes are ha ndled by the treasury department with the help of other state departments. Countering organized crime is not easy especially if the group has political ties. In most cases, these organized criminal groups mostly invest their money in legitimate businesses. Through such deals, these groups become institutionalized and well protected by the politicians as well as the police. Thus, measure of checking such criminal groups include enforcing the law strictly and good conduct for lawyers, wide public expectations of decency in politicians. More over the policing of organized crime has to be reoriented to its contribution and prevention. It has been proved that the American approach to these criminal groups is not the solution. There has to be major reforms in several departments, across the country from the justice to economy. Good governance that is fully strengthened is vital in eradicating the organized criminal groups in the country. Public education is also very important in helping eradicate these groups in the society. In most instances, the public knows a bout these groups but are not concerned about them because they feel that they do not affect them directly. There is need for awareness that though they may not be personally affected these groups pose great threat to their country at large and their also suffer the consequences of their acts indirectly. Economic consequences In most cases, economic consequences arise when organized crime is given room to flourish. These groups always cause unproductive employment of economic resources that otherwise could be employed elsewhere. In areas where mafias rule and are seen to provide security in a indirect manner, however the same level of security is compatible in with various levels of expenditure of much resources than that of a modern state that has efficient police and judicial system. Legal businesses are forced to pay high protection fees that normally affect their operations (Skaperdas, 2001). For the same businesses, regular constricting throughout the mainstream legal system can become tricky even if it concerns legal matters, since the mafia actively discourages recourse to the legal system as it represents a challenge to its authority and a reduction to the rationale for its existence. The long-term impacts of organized crime could be still more overwhelming than its instant, static impacts. The areas most able, industrial, and youth can choose to become gangbangers, as Skaperdas (2001) argues to be the case in American inner cities. Those are specifically the individuals who under different circumstances would provide very different types of community support and leadership. Once human beings develop human capital expertise in one area, it is very costly for them to change later in life. Former guerillas, demobilized soldiers after wars, and gang members have difficulties adapting to conventional lives and occupations later in life. Many find brigandage, robbery, or reversion to organized crime a familiar and more profitable lifestyle than its alternatives. Even after the destruction of organized crime in an area, it can take more than a generation before normalcy prevails. In summing up, the costs of organized crime comprise of the resources spent on fraud and predation, instead of production; a range of more conservative productive and investment alterations; the contractual challenges that develop outside the sphere of contemporary governance; and the incentives for the development of human skills that are inclined towards appropriation instead of production. The American society should deter any form of organized crime by making all illegitimate acts costlier. The society should increase the likelihood of crime detection and heighten the punishment of the victims. As noted earlier organized crime syndicates coordinate very well and as a result the crimes they commit are not easy to detect (Skaperdas, 2001). These groups further go to the extent of protecting their group members from potential punishment by colluding with top government officials, employing violence against judges and even threatening probable witnesses. In United States, the famous Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization act has effectively fought crimes that are committed by organized crime syndicates. This act lists various acts that are normally committed by organized criminal groups and provides penalties for criminal acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. The act center of attention is on the patterns of criminal acts different from individual crimes. Thus, under RICO, the leader of a crime association can be arraigned in court even if he has never been personally engaged in any criminal activity. The penalties under RICO can be extremely harsh. Apart from a long prison sentence, an offender surrenders all interests and claims over the criminal activity, as well as over the property that makes up the racketeering activity or what was obtained from the racketeering activity (Woodiwiss, 2001). Further, RICO permits the victims of organized crime to recuperate from the convicted person in civil court. The RICO is intended, first to make revealing of criminal enterprises easier and eventually to cripple and eliminate organized crime enterprises. Conclusion In conclusion, it has been noted that organized groups are very common in United States and that all groups have different origins and mode of operation. The activities carried out by these groups cuts across different sectors of the economy. This makes the impacts of organized groups to be of great magnitude. These groups cause impacts that are negative and even pose a threat to the entire American society. Fighting these groups is thus not an option for the State, The federal government has established different federal authorities to combat these groups but have not fully succeeded. It has been noted that some of these groups have support from both the politicians and the police making these groups to be more institutionalized. These issues have made fighting the syndicates even more difficult. An enhanced understanding of international organized crimes dynamics might assist Congress as it organizes, funds, and oversees anti-crime policies and programs. In addition, a scrutiny of the nexus between crime and terror could improve the governments capacity to fight both. Stronger international law enforcement collaboration and more efficient government partnerships with the private sector

Friday, October 25, 2019

Performing A Full Golf Swing :: essays research papers

To begin executing the proper golf swing, your feet must be shoulder width apart. When gripping the club, place the club in the joints of your left fingers with the thumb pointing down the center or slightly to the right of the shaft. (This is written for the right-handed golfer, all left-handers must reverse everything). Place the pinky of the right hand in between the index and middle fingers of your left. Do not grip the club any tighter than you would a baby bird. The next step is the placement of the ball with respect to your stance. Firstly, with mid range irons the ball should be placed in the center. With high irons and wedges, the ball should be toward your right foot. With low irons and woods, the ball should be towards your left foot or the front of your stance. Secondly, the ball must be placed at the correct distance with respect to how far it is from your body. Your knees should be slightly bent and your arms should be pointing nearly strait down. The club should be at an angle in which the head is flat on the ground. The back swing is the part of the swing that many golfers struggle with. First, keep your right elbow close to your right side the entire time. Second, your left arm should be practically straight. This rule is not that strict, some bending is acceptable. Next, the turning of your body can best be done by imagining a rod down your spine from your pelvis to the back of your head. You must rotate your body around this imaginary rod. When rotating, start with your shoulder, not waist. Your waist will move slightly following your shoulders. During this process, your head should move very little. It should certainly not move up and down. Fourth, the path that the club follows in your back swing is called the swing arc. This swing arc should be about 45 ° with respect to the vertical. The fifth step is at the top. Here you must â€Å"cock† your wrists and point the club at the target. This isn’t as important as the â€Å"cocking† of the wrists. Many golfers do not ex ecute a full golf swing and the club does not point at the target. This is acceptable. A final check is to look at what your legs are doing. Performing A Full Golf Swing :: essays research papers To begin executing the proper golf swing, your feet must be shoulder width apart. When gripping the club, place the club in the joints of your left fingers with the thumb pointing down the center or slightly to the right of the shaft. (This is written for the right-handed golfer, all left-handers must reverse everything). Place the pinky of the right hand in between the index and middle fingers of your left. Do not grip the club any tighter than you would a baby bird. The next step is the placement of the ball with respect to your stance. Firstly, with mid range irons the ball should be placed in the center. With high irons and wedges, the ball should be toward your right foot. With low irons and woods, the ball should be towards your left foot or the front of your stance. Secondly, the ball must be placed at the correct distance with respect to how far it is from your body. Your knees should be slightly bent and your arms should be pointing nearly strait down. The club should be at an angle in which the head is flat on the ground. The back swing is the part of the swing that many golfers struggle with. First, keep your right elbow close to your right side the entire time. Second, your left arm should be practically straight. This rule is not that strict, some bending is acceptable. Next, the turning of your body can best be done by imagining a rod down your spine from your pelvis to the back of your head. You must rotate your body around this imaginary rod. When rotating, start with your shoulder, not waist. Your waist will move slightly following your shoulders. During this process, your head should move very little. It should certainly not move up and down. Fourth, the path that the club follows in your back swing is called the swing arc. This swing arc should be about 45 ° with respect to the vertical. The fifth step is at the top. Here you must â€Å"cock† your wrists and point the club at the target. This isn’t as important as the â€Å"cocking† of the wrists. Many golfers do not ex ecute a full golf swing and the club does not point at the target. This is acceptable. A final check is to look at what your legs are doing.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Student: Critical Thinking and Sensory Data

Assignment 1: â€Å"Sensory Perceptions†Can you really trust your senses and the interpretation of sensory data to give you an accurate view of the world? Describe and discuss the accuracy and the weaknesses of the human senses as they pertain to thinking in general and to your own thinking in particular.Write a two to three (2–3) page (approximately 500–750 word) paper that addresses the following: 1. Provide at least three (3) reasons for believing in the accuracy or inaccuracy of sensory information. 2. Identify and describe at least three (3) factors contributing to the accuracy or inaccuracy of sensory data. 3. Discuss the roles of â€Å"nature† and â€Å"nurture† with regard to the interpretation and evaluation of sensory data. 4. Use at least two (2) quality resources in this assignment. Your textbook may count as one (1) source. At least one (1) of your sources must be obtained from the collection of databases accessible from the Learning Re sources Center Web page. The format of the paper is to be as follows:1. Typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman font (size 12), one-inch margins on all sides, APA format. 2. In addition to the two (2) pages assigned, a title page with the title of the assignment, your name, the instructor’s name, the course title, and the date is to be included, as well as a Reference Page. Sources documented using APA style for in-text citations and listed on the References Page using APA style format. Assignment 1: Sensory Perceptions Due Week 2 and worth 100 pointsCan you really trust your senses and the interpretation of sensory data to give you an accurate view of the world? Describe and discuss the accuracy and the weaknesses of the human senses as they pertain to thinking in general and to your own thinking in particular. Write a 2-3 page paper in which you:1. Provide at least three (3) reasons for believing in the accuracy or inaccuracy of sensory information. 2. Identify and describe a t least three (3) factors contributing to the accuracy or inaccuracy of sensory data. 3. Discuss the roles of ―natureâ€â€" and ―nurtureâ€â€" with regard to the interpretation and evaluation of sensory data.  © 2010 Strayer University, All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University. PHI 210 Student Version 1134 [1071 04-11-11] Page 6 of 314. Use at least two (2) quality resources in this assignment. Your textbook may count as one (1) source. At least one (1) of your sources must be obtained from the collection of databases accessible from the Learning Resources Center Web page.Your assignment must: Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific for mat. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. ï‚ · Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student‘s name, the professor‘s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are: ï‚ · Develop skills for overcoming barriers which limit objective and productive critical thinking. ï‚ · Create written work utilizing the concepts of critical thinking. ï‚ · Demonstrate adherence to academic integrity policy and APA Style guidelines for academic citations. ï‚ · Use technology and information resources to research issues in critical thinking skills and informal logic.Write clearly and concisely about issues in critical thinking using proper writing mechanics.Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic/organization of the paper, and language and writin g skills, using the following rubric. Points: 100 Assignment 1: Sensory PerceptionsCriteria Unacceptable Below 60% F Meets Minimum Expectations 60-69% D Fair 70-79% C Proficient 80-89% B Exemplary 90-100% A1. Provide at least three (3) reasons for believing in the accuracy or inaccuracy of sensory information. Weight: 30%Did not submit or incompletely provided at least three (3) reasons for believing in the accuracy or inaccuracy of sensory information. Insufficiently provided at least three (3) reasons for believing in the accuracy or inaccuracy of sensory information. Partially provided at least three (3) reasons for believing in the accuracy or inaccuracy of sensory information. Satisfactorily provided at least three (3) reasons for believing in the accuracy or inaccuracy of sensory information. Thoroughly provided at least three (3) reasons for believing in the accuracy or inaccuracy of sensory information. 2. Identify and describe at least three (3) factors contributing to the accuracy or inaccuracy of sensory data. Weight: 30%Did not submit or incompletely identified and described at least three (3) factors contributing to the accuracy or Insufficiently identified and described at least three (3) factors contributing to the accuracy or   Partially identified and described at least three (3) factors contributing to the accuracy or Satisfactorily identified and described at least three (3) factors contributing to the accuracy or Thoroughly identified and described at least three (3) factors contributing to the accuracy or 3.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Chauvinistic Ideologies The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men Essays

Chauvinistic Ideologies The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men Essays Chauvinistic Ideologies The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men Paper Chauvinistic Ideologies The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men Paper Essay Topic: Of Mice and Men The Great Gatsby In literature, anti-feminism and patriarchal ideologies can manifest in very different forms. Some texts can be subtle while others are blatantly chauvinistic. A text can, however, can contain sexist ideologies but portray them in negative ways to promote feminism. If a text fails to address and condemn any forms of sexism it contains, the text promotes ideologies that damage society. Whether a text negatively or positively portrays the patriarchy vs feminism drastically alters the way we can interpret, value and read literature. Anti-feminist literature is damaging, and while it portrays the way most societies are, it does not accurately reflect the attitude or best interest of general populations. Both The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men take place in America during the 1920s and 1930s; a very male-dominated time in American society. While the texts do a great job of incorporating the struggles of the poor and rich in this rough time in American history by including class struggles and obvious discrepancies between how each class treats each other, both the texts fail to condemn the anti-feminist ways of life. The Great Gatsby is brimming with patriarchal aspects of life from the very first chapter. Nick Callaway, the story’s narrator, begins his story by having ‘dinner with the Tom Buchanans’ (8). He refers to his cousin and her husband by the plural version of Tom Buchanan’s name, rather than simply The Buchanan’s, to emphasize the male presence and procession of the home and family. Later in the book, after learning of his wife’s affair, Wilson locks his wife in the house. While a neighbor walks by, he hears Myrtle’s screami ng. ‘I’ve got my wife locked in up there,’ explained Wilson calmly. ‘She’s going to stay there till the day after tomorrow and then we’re going to move away’ (146). Instead of helping Myrtle, Wilson’s neighbor pries a bit but does nothing further to aid Myrtle. The neighbor acce

Monday, October 21, 2019

Jiggery-pokery and Pure Applesauce

Jiggery-pokery and Pure Applesauce Jiggery-pokery and Pure Applesauce Jiggery-pokery and Pure Applesauce By Maeve Maddox The choice of words in a recent Supreme Court dissent prompted this email from a reader: Justice Scalia recently used the terms pure applesauce and jiggery-pokery. I was able to find what jiggery-pokery means but not pure applesauce. Can you help? Jiggery-pokery, as the reader presumably discovered, is a colloquial expression meaning â€Å"deceitful or dishonest manipulation; hocus pocus, humbug.† Merriam-Webster labels it â€Å"chiefly British.† Applesauce is an informal expression meaning, â€Å"insincere flattery, lies.† The OED labels it â€Å"North American slang,† but I found examples in Australian and British usage. â€Å"Pure applesauce† is â€Å"nonsense unmixed with a shred of honesty or truth.† Examples of applesauce to mean nonsense or invention: â€Å"Well, I need you to understand, Lindsay, that that is  a load of applesauce.- Dale: Image of Innocence, Roo Palmer (Australian novelist), 2010.   â€Å"All those grandmas want to talk about the vote. Thats nothing but  a load of applesauce.† Lilies in Moonlight: A Novel, Allison K. Pittman, 2011. â€Å"Well, flattering as this passage may be to my self-esteem, it is, as far as my recollection goes, pure applesauce.†- Owen Barfield (British philosopher), quoted in C. S. Lewiss List: The Ten Books That Influenced Him Most, 2015.   Examples of jiggery-pokery to mean â€Å"deceitful or manipulative goings-on†: But  spare me  this nationalist  jiggery pokery; no one needs to hear it- Reader comment. God only knows what jiggery pokery has been going on with the judicial branch but Id be shocked if they havent also been compromised.- Reader comment. I’ve been busy of late with the new jiggery pokery that is The Children and Families Act  2014, Part 3.- A blogger on children’s issues. Dont come to me with your sociological jiggery-pokery; its all coincidence and barely worthy of remark.- The Guardian (UK). Examples of jiggery-pokery to mean â€Å"manipulation of objects†: Ever since then, Ive been a secret advocate of the ancient Chinese art of needle-based jiggery pokery.- Article about acupuncture, The Week (UK).   I did some techno-jiggery-pokery to let me watch videos outside the country they were meant to be viewed in, but that was in Firefox.- Reader comment in The Guardian. The thrill of it all is in the reactions of the spooked, rather than the clever jiggery-pokery that allows furniture to become mobile or a marble to stop dead at someone’s feet.- Review of The Enfield Haunting, a television miniseries, The Guardian. 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 Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Synonyms for â€Å"Meeting†Ten Yiddish Expressions You Should Know15 Names and Descriptions of Effects

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Understanding Cities and Regions

Understanding Cities and Regions Understanding cities and regions is a significantly complicate and confusing task. This process enables individuals and government agencies to effectively plan for resource distribution and management of regions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Understanding Cities and Regions specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A city refers to an entity that occupies space or an element in a network of urban centres. On the other hand, a region entails an intermediary entity that occupies a position in the continuum of a country and a city (Frey 2007, p. 112). In this regard, the distinction of the two entities involves the analysis of spatial and temporal comparisons, structural change, design and the implementation of policies. Sometimes, disagreements arise regarding when the categorising of a city as a region and vice versa. Similarly, cities and regions share multiple traits. These include their representation of an open system w ith respect to trade, factor mobility, and government transfers (Short 1996, p. 424). Nevertheless, a detail analysis of the two economic entities will depict the fundamental difference that supersedes the mere analysis concerning the dimensions of the area or population. From the inception of the concept of urbanisation, several elements of an urban area have been considered in evaluating the components of a city. Classically, cities were considered urban areas that exhibited economical, social, and political influences on people. In this regard, various theories attempt to explain the origin and development of urban areas.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The theories that have clearly elicited how urban areas originated in the past include hydraulic, economic, military, and religious theories (Parr 2008, p. 3012). All these theories identify the need of populationsâ €™ confederation. The theories have similar primary characteristics concerning size, specialisation of labour, class-structured society and state organisation. Notably, the population, environment, technology, and social organisation influenced the emergence of urban areas. Overtime, the rating of the urban areas with the focus on industrial production underwent considerable transformations. At the same time, industrial capitalism input a crucial element in the industrial cities’ definition. During this transition period, the urban areas were segregated to accommodate the needs of all individuals as per their classes. Quartering such as luxury areas, gentrified city, suburban, tenement, and abandon cities existed. All these quarters catered for the needs of the mighty and the poor in the society. After the industrial period, the urban areas transformed to the postmodern cities. In this regard, the adoption of restructuring in the economic, social, and political segments w as necessary. The restructuring of the economic base in the urban areas involved a fundamental change in the organisation and technology of the industrial production.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Understanding Cities and Regions specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Consequently, it led to the formation of a global system of world cities through the spatial division of labour and specialisation (Clapp 1971, p. 128). Similarly, a change in social structure was witness because of the social fragmentation created by the wide gap between the rich and the poor. Nevertheless, there was an increase in the radical restructuring of the urban forms like megacity, metroplex, technoburb, technopolis, and exopolis to accommodate the change in the urban imagery. Historically, the imagery of the cities influenced the urban areas’ rating. In this regard, myths and ideologies were developed to describe the exact nature of urban areas (Hufschmidt 1969, p.88). The common anti-urban myths included unnatural, anonymous, sin, or treat cities. The pro-urban views included the civilized, soft, free, or radical cities. Progressively, urban ideologies emerged which help to characterise the nature of a city as a wannabee world, clean and green or ‘look! No more factories’ city. At that time, cities were categorised with regard to the cost of living, employment and crime rates, arts and climate. Evidently, multiple means of evaluating cities have been formulated. Additionally, presently, competition is no longer regional or national, but globally. Therefore, In this regard, it is crucial for any city to identify its market niche and create a favourable image. Apparently, the region definition has been the main area of interest in distinguishing between regions and cities. Analytically, regions cut across the various approaches of interest like economics, geography, planning, politics, and sociology. Thu s, regions focus on the economic, social, political, cultural, and ecological changes (Pike 2007, p. 1145). Evidently, regions exhibit contemporary controversies about space, place, and scale.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As a result, researchers have embarked on studies to establish the standards of analysis and evidence of regions. Notably, most researchers agree that regions should be categorised depending on the data specification, collection, and analysis in more open, unbound, and discontinuous spatial units other than the space, place, and scale. The role of governance, policy, and politics in the regional level is essential in the definition of a region. The emergent forms of governance regarding participatory and democratic leadership with new geographies of devolution and multi-layering clearly depicts the definition of a region. Similarly, the use of regions to shape, develop, and deliver policies determine their definition (Stiftel 2005, p. 220). Additionally, power relations are critical in evaluating regions’ interests and development. This implies that the initiative of contesting demands the collective provision and interpretation of governance of regional firm networks. Theref ore, it is crucial to realise that regions have more importance to contesters as they promote the emergence of spatial imaginaries at the city-region and local levels. Consequently, the main requirement of regional studies is to reflect on the need to articulate the normative content and intent of people’s work towards sustainable development at the local and regional levels. In defining regions, it is critical to adopt the Meyer’s classification of economies approach. This approach defines regions with respect to spatial differentiation. In this regard, there are the homogeneous, nodal, and programming regions (Salet 2003, p. 125). The homogeneous approach reflects on the regions that exhibit differentiating factors, but similar uniform terms of a certain criteria. This approach’s use has been significant with the analysis of economic activities. The nodal regions adopt the fact that there are nodes or market areas within the surrounding of the suburban areas t hat supply the nodes. Additionally, the government’s implementations of policies that create differentiating factors influence the programming regions. All these forms the influencing factors of a region explain the exact nature of a region. The process of contrasting regions and cities demands the analysis of regions space, scale, and social factors. Initially, the first contrast entails the definition of cities or regions with regard to the spatial-sectored factors, interaction between zones, external interaction or scale and change. The spatial-sectored structures refer the combination of the urban area (C zone) and the hinterland or surrounding regions (S zone). The interaction between zones entails how the C zone and S zone symbiotically relate with respect to their economic interdependence (Pacione 2005, p. 44). The external interactions depict how two different zones interact without losing their sight to the external economic relations. Similarly, scale and change por tray the extensiveness of an area and the frequency of changes in such regions. In this regard, adequate attention on the spatial structure and the change emerging due to evolution is vital. Another contrasting element of the types of regions is the polycentric urban region (PUR). This component entails the spatial structure, patterns of interaction and economic prospects of PUR. The spatial structure entails the grouping of urban areas that meet certain conditions such as the clustered distribution of urban areas, maximum and minimum spacing, lack of direct relationship between centres and any dominance, and the average level of interaction between centres. The patterns of interaction entail the labour-market interaction between centres. The economic prospects refer to the formation of a metropolitan area without its accompanying disadvantages. This fosters the efficient delivery of services and the adoption of appropriate system of governance. There are other ways of identifying P UR. These include the alternative interpretation of regions and polycentric megacity region (Stilwell 1992, p. 128). This enables the identification and distinction of cities and regions. References Clapp, J. A. (1971). New towns and urban policy; planning metropolitan growth. Dunellen: New York. Frey, H., Yaneske, P. (2007). Visions of sustainability: cities and regions. Taylor Francis: London. Hufschmidt, M. M. (1969). Regional planning; challenge and prospects. Praeger: New York. Pacione, M. (2005). 3. Urban geography : global perspective (pp. 22-57). Routledge: New York, NY. Parr, J. B. (2008). Cities and regions: problems and potentials. Environment and Planning, 40, 3009-3026. Pike, A. (2007). Editorial: Whither Regional Studies?. Centre for Urban and RegionalDevelopment Studies (CURDS), 41(9), 1143-1148. Salet, W. G. (2003). Metropolitan governance and spatial planning: comparative case studies of European city-regions. Spon Press: London. Short, J. R. (1996). 18. The urban order : an introduction to cities, culture, and power (pp. 414-438). Blackwell Publishers: Cambridge, Mass., USA. Stiftel, B., Watson, V. (2005). Dialogues in urban and regional planning. Routledge: London. Stilwell, F. J. (1992). Understanding cities regions: spatial political economy. Pluto Press Australia: Leichhardt, NSW.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Chinese culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Chinese culture - Essay Example The Chinese cuisine dates back to thousands of years and has been subject to metamorphosis from time to time and from one place to another depending on climate, fashion and local preferences. The Chinese cuisine embraces both styles from different parts of China and a collection from other parts of the world. Over time, cuisines from other cultures have been integrated into the Chinese cuisine due to imperial expansion and trade with the outside world. The staple foods of the Chinese include rice, noodles, vegetables and sauce and seasonings. Styles in ancient Chinese cuisine differed because of class, region and ethnicity resulting in an unrivalled range of ingredients, techniques, dishes and eating styles, collectively called the Chinese food. This wide diversity and array of food traditions has over generations caused the Chinese to pride themselves on eating a wide variety of food while also remaining true to the spirit and traditions of the Chinese food culture. The Chinese have eight major culinary traditions. These include Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Szechuan and Zhejiang cuisines. The styles are distinguishable from one another due to contributors such as availability of resources, climate, geography, history, cooking techniques and lifestyle. The Sichuan cuisine prefers baking while the Jiangsu cuisine on the other hand, favors braising and stewing. Many traditional regional cuisines employ basic preservation techniques such as drying, salting, pickling and fermentation. The Cantonese cuisine uses traditional cooking methods such as steaming, frying, baking and stewing and is engineered to offer sampling of a variety of different foods by the eater. Some of these dishes include lotus leaf rice, rice rolls, turnip cakes, buns, Shui jiao-style dumplings, stir-fried green vegetables, congee porridge and soups and so on. The Sichuan style, which

Friday, October 18, 2019

Religion and Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Religion and Science - Essay Example According to Robinson (2010), the caste system was â€Å"abolished by law in 1949, but remains a significant force among Hindus throughout much of India† (par. 2). The system, then, determines and defines the type of profession a person undertakes. Pharmacy today encounters diverse issues which conflict with religious practices. Some religions do not accept prescriptions for contraceptive bills due to abortion related concerns. In an article written by Lagorio (2004, pars. 4 & 5), â€Å"across the country, more and more pharmacists are refusing to fill prescriptions for religious reasons. South Dakota, Arkansas and Mississippi even have refusal clauses on the books. And 13 other states are considering mixing medicine with morality†. The role of pharmacists in current society is critical in ensuring that patients are duly educated on the medications they take. Pharmacists are â€Å"responsible for ordering and dispensing drugs and medications, and advising both patients and doctors about possible drug interactions.   They also consult with patients to make sure that patients understand how to use their prescription drugs as well as which side effects might occur as a result of these medications† (QandAs, n.d., par. 2). As such, they should be objective but respectful of the cultural and religious orientation of the patients they serve. For people who are not covered by prescription insurance plans, the most that pharmacists can do is to determine from among the list of generic medicines which is available at the minimum cost without sacrificing efficacy of the medications. For pharmacists who are faced with the dilemma of balancing religion and science, the advice of Liz Ryan is simply to find another job, if possible. From her article, she averred that â€Å"the issue with pharmacists is trickier, involving, as it does, the uncomfortable implication that the religious beliefs of one group should somehow trump the legal

Claims and reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Claims and reflection - Essay Example My analysis majors on citizenship and identity in a European context. A lot of arguments concerning this area led to the development of the law pertaining to the freedom of movement of people within the Union. This will allow the citizens from other member states have equal rights and treatment as the domestic citizens. As I was writing my essay on what should be contained in EU and UK Bill of Rights, at first I thought that it may be a difficult paper to write since we have no written Constitution in the country, hence, it may be difficult finding a basis for my paper. UK being one of the world’s democracy without a written constitution, this does not mean one cannot find any documented rules and regulations in use by the British government and which is supreme over ordinary law in comparison to, I got some information from this website http://www.yourrights.org.uk/yourrights/rights-of-immigrants/european-union-nationalisits-and-european-union-assiations-agreements/difference s-of-approach-between-eu-and-uk-law.shtml. I found the information concerning the critical understanding of the interactions between UK and EU law’ in MLO1. It’s clear that the British legal system has laws that are a combination of statute law and the principles of the common law that are developed by the courts. It is based on the constitutional principles of Parliamentary sovereignty and the Rule of Law, compared to the EU whose laws are written in a Constitution. As I found in the website http://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/PDF/Oxford%20Ver4%20July10%20HB.pdf, the British legal system is based on the idea of outstanding rights that

Brent Crude Oil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Brent Crude Oil - Essay Example There exist specific factors that cause this sharp decline in the oil price (Menton, 2015). The strength of the American dollar is a key driver for the steady decline of the oil prices. The current global market has been under tremendous competition with the United States dollar being a key determinant of majority of the things. With the strong US dollar, the average price and value of majority of the commodities fall. This has greatly affected crude oil, whose price has been constantly declining. With global prices of commodities quoted in reference to the dollar, the prices trend lower in the economic times where the dollar is strong (Menton, 2015). The U.S currency surge experienced in the second quarter of 2014 saw a culminated decline in major leading product and commodity indices. negative impact Of OPEC Oil output in the US due to oil prices registering low price sales by the end of the year would be another contributing factor. The marginal oil barrel output derived from unconventional sources like shale would be highly affected by the existing low global prices of crude oil. Drilling of oil wells has been on a steady decline based on the high costs incurred and the constant low prices registered in the global market making the industry unprofitable (Menton, 2015). There is a global oversupply of crude oil. The supply has exceeded the demand of the product with its 2015 oil production speculated at 9.35 M barrels per day. It also goes into history that the existing oil reserves and repositories increased to the highest numbers ever registered since 80 years ago. The commercial inventories of crude oil in the United States rose by a margin of 4.5M barrels compared to the registered levels of the previous week (Menton, 2015). The figures make it the highest level of crude oil inventories registered in the year 2015. The existing nuclear deal with Iran is viewed as a major element that soils the oil prices further down in the United

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Brand Positioning2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Brand Positioning2 - Assignment Example McDonalds considers itself a leader in the fast food industry. A close analysis of the perception of the customers regarding McDonalds, it emerges that many customers view McDonalds as the leader it has determined itself to be. This is because many customers are aware of the famous burgers sold at McDonalds, the effective delivery system and the specious eating joints. There is a global loyalty to McDonald’s products to those who are used to the companys fast food (Hicks, 2004). On the other hand, the emergence of Subway, which is threatening to attain the leading position in the provision of healthy fast foods has affected McDonalds positioning in the recent past. The emphasis on healthy eating and the desire for people to prevent non-communicable diseases through healthy eating has contributed to the positive perception of the Subway brand. This is because Subway delivers fast foods, but is conscious of its customer’s health needs. Despite the challenges Subway faces such as limited space in the joints, its concentration of the consumer health needs has served to make it an outstanding brand. From this description, it is evident that, customer’s view the competitors differently. For Subway, customers perceive the brand as a solution to healthy eating, especially for people who love fast foods. On the other hand, McDonalds has been viewed as unique because of the long time presence in the market (Lesser et al, 2013). Lesser, L. I., Kayekjian, K. C., Velasquez, P., Tseng, C., Brook, R. H., & Cohen, D. A. (2013). Original article: Adolescent Purchasing Behavior at McDonalds and Subway. Journal Of Adolescent Health, 53441-445.

Understanding Animation by Paul Wells Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Understanding Animation by Paul Wells - Essay Example In the very early stages of animation, people started thinking that a time will come when people will stare at the paintings and will ask themselves why the images or objects are so stiff by nature. Stuart Blackton has played a considerable role in distinguishing the concept of animated films as some sort of aesthetic vehicle outside the framework of live action films. The simple narrative film, The Haunted Hotel (1907), was a perfect example of Blackton’s filmmaking concept in which he made use of impressive supernatural sequences in order to convince filmmakers that animated pictures have different approach towards filmmaking and are unlimited in potential. The un-natural actions of The Haunted Hotel and all such animated films produced changes in the overall cultural climate. The Gothic and Romantic fiction movies started to incorporate the use of animations along with technological possibilities of new age of modernization. The concept of including comic strip into animate d films emerged somewhere between 1913 and 1917. In this period of time, filmmakers produced many films, such as, The Newlyweds, Dreamy Dud, and Krazy Kat, in which they integrated the use of comic strips with latest technology and new film concepts. The integration of comic strips determined that animation should relate itself with experimental values. The concept of comic strips into animated films emerged in the U.S. marketplace just when filmmakers, such as, Walter Ruttmann and Oskar Fischinger, brought the concept of experimental abstract animation to the European film industry. The concept of animation in filmmaking reached the heights of maturity in the late 20th century and until now; many filmmakers are consistently making use of animated films to attract a large number of people towards the cinema. The creation of Disney dominated the medium places in the form of realism and overshadowed the concepts of innovation and style-oriented animations. Presently, the principles of movements are over-enunciated in the dictionary of animation. The squash and stretch mode of Disney animation over compress character movements in order to provide an over-determined comic style to animation. The subjectivity of animation through the intrinsic capability of the medium for restricting realism made reality in animation difficult to execute. This chapter also provides us with the information that true animation is not the one, which is not non-linear or non-objective by nature. It means that to create a perfect animated film; there must be a contrast of objective and subjective elements present in the film. A perfect animated film is one, which concentrates on the use of unique vocabulary by distinguishing the film from all other filmmaking approaches. Summary – Chapter # 2 There are different styles and approaches towards animation. One can possibly argue that the hyperactive realistic animated movies and the Disney animation are the most prominent and disting uishing approaches towards animation. Many filmmakers from the early era of filmmaking and present era have made use of different animation approaches to create stylish and realistic animation movies. Those approaches provide filmmakers with unique set of rules and guidelines towards animated filmmaking. No approach is similar to any other approach. There are some distinguishing features in each of the approaches, which highlight different

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Brent Crude Oil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Brent Crude Oil - Essay Example There exist specific factors that cause this sharp decline in the oil price (Menton, 2015). The strength of the American dollar is a key driver for the steady decline of the oil prices. The current global market has been under tremendous competition with the United States dollar being a key determinant of majority of the things. With the strong US dollar, the average price and value of majority of the commodities fall. This has greatly affected crude oil, whose price has been constantly declining. With global prices of commodities quoted in reference to the dollar, the prices trend lower in the economic times where the dollar is strong (Menton, 2015). The U.S currency surge experienced in the second quarter of 2014 saw a culminated decline in major leading product and commodity indices. negative impact Of OPEC Oil output in the US due to oil prices registering low price sales by the end of the year would be another contributing factor. The marginal oil barrel output derived from unconventional sources like shale would be highly affected by the existing low global prices of crude oil. Drilling of oil wells has been on a steady decline based on the high costs incurred and the constant low prices registered in the global market making the industry unprofitable (Menton, 2015). There is a global oversupply of crude oil. The supply has exceeded the demand of the product with its 2015 oil production speculated at 9.35 M barrels per day. It also goes into history that the existing oil reserves and repositories increased to the highest numbers ever registered since 80 years ago. The commercial inventories of crude oil in the United States rose by a margin of 4.5M barrels compared to the registered levels of the previous week (Menton, 2015). The figures make it the highest level of crude oil inventories registered in the year 2015. The existing nuclear deal with Iran is viewed as a major element that soils the oil prices further down in the United

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Understanding Animation by Paul Wells Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Understanding Animation by Paul Wells - Essay Example In the very early stages of animation, people started thinking that a time will come when people will stare at the paintings and will ask themselves why the images or objects are so stiff by nature. Stuart Blackton has played a considerable role in distinguishing the concept of animated films as some sort of aesthetic vehicle outside the framework of live action films. The simple narrative film, The Haunted Hotel (1907), was a perfect example of Blackton’s filmmaking concept in which he made use of impressive supernatural sequences in order to convince filmmakers that animated pictures have different approach towards filmmaking and are unlimited in potential. The un-natural actions of The Haunted Hotel and all such animated films produced changes in the overall cultural climate. The Gothic and Romantic fiction movies started to incorporate the use of animations along with technological possibilities of new age of modernization. The concept of including comic strip into animate d films emerged somewhere between 1913 and 1917. In this period of time, filmmakers produced many films, such as, The Newlyweds, Dreamy Dud, and Krazy Kat, in which they integrated the use of comic strips with latest technology and new film concepts. The integration of comic strips determined that animation should relate itself with experimental values. The concept of comic strips into animated films emerged in the U.S. marketplace just when filmmakers, such as, Walter Ruttmann and Oskar Fischinger, brought the concept of experimental abstract animation to the European film industry. The concept of animation in filmmaking reached the heights of maturity in the late 20th century and until now; many filmmakers are consistently making use of animated films to attract a large number of people towards the cinema. The creation of Disney dominated the medium places in the form of realism and overshadowed the concepts of innovation and style-oriented animations. Presently, the principles of movements are over-enunciated in the dictionary of animation. The squash and stretch mode of Disney animation over compress character movements in order to provide an over-determined comic style to animation. The subjectivity of animation through the intrinsic capability of the medium for restricting realism made reality in animation difficult to execute. This chapter also provides us with the information that true animation is not the one, which is not non-linear or non-objective by nature. It means that to create a perfect animated film; there must be a contrast of objective and subjective elements present in the film. A perfect animated film is one, which concentrates on the use of unique vocabulary by distinguishing the film from all other filmmaking approaches. Summary – Chapter # 2 There are different styles and approaches towards animation. One can possibly argue that the hyperactive realistic animated movies and the Disney animation are the most prominent and disting uishing approaches towards animation. Many filmmakers from the early era of filmmaking and present era have made use of different animation approaches to create stylish and realistic animation movies. Those approaches provide filmmakers with unique set of rules and guidelines towards animated filmmaking. No approach is similar to any other approach. There are some distinguishing features in each of the approaches, which highlight different

Education-Strategy Essay Example for Free

Education-Strategy Essay It is a common knowledge in human development that individuals have stark differences especially in their cognitive capacities and behavioral attributes. Education was then established to somehow reconcile this individual diversity hence it is a must for teachers to allot substantial amount of their time to prepare and assess instructional approach and materials that they will employ in classes of heterogeneous populace of students. To effectively facilitate the learning outcomes of students, teachers at every level should map out their objectives for the specified topic of each instructional period. Teachers usually have different strategies in preparing a lesson; some create detailed and meticulously encoded charts while other teachers plainly scrawl down the notes for a particular topic at a discarded piece of pad. Strategies in planning for an instructional approach are immaterial because the most important endeavor is for the teacher to execute wise decisions about the feasibility of their instructional technique to the successful attainment of learner goals. Furthermore, it is an educational requirement that teachers should be well-equipped of the knowledge that they are teaching because specialization of a particular subject matter effectually bolsters the realization of an educator’s designed objective for the improvement of students’ cognitive competence. First and foremost, before a teacher could outline relevant topics for a subject matter and its corresponding intent the teacher must conduct a pre-assessment of the students’ capacity and skills in a class that is needed to be handled; it can be in a form of a diagnostic test or conversational question-and-answer approach. The teacher ideally should not carry out an impersonal treatment to the students since they are not basically identical in aptitude and manners. After carefully assessing the individual needs of the students a teacher then must enterprise in designing a lesson plan that is precisely appropriate for the learners’ demand. In delivering carefully prepared instructional scheme, a teacher must keep in mind the unavoidable nuisance that may hinder the proper execution of the lessons’ objectives. In addressing this kind of problem in the classroom, teachers should make use of rewards and punishments to further reinforce the need to conquer irresponsible learning behaviors and the encouragement of receptiveness to knowledge enhancement. At the end of a specified topic’s timeframe, the teacher then is expected to administer a check-up test. In doing so, a teacher must be aware of the following criteria in designing a test questionnaire; the test must coincide with the intended learning objectives; the test questions should accurately recount the information taught; the test items must quantify relevant ideas and not those that are insignificant; the test items must be able to assess the composite behaviors, the practical abilities or principles-application of the students and not just simply reckoning memory skills; and lastly, the test questionnaire must be clear and simple to avoid confusion. The test should not be purely objective because it cannot measure the reasoning abilities of students. Provide spaces in the test papers that will measure the subjectivity level and argumentative skills of the students. Commonplace negative feedbacks occur every after a test exam is successfully completed. Normal setbacks such as large percentages of failing students occur that extremely pressures teachers because of strict adherence to the set timeframe of lesson plans. In cases of unforeseen problems like this, a teacher must devote time to communicate with the students to inquire the difficulties they have encountered in the entire instructional program. Subsequently, after the appraisal of the factors contributing to the failure of a large portion of students in the examination, the teacher may form study groups that will be evenly comprised of both astute and slow-learners. The teacher then must monitor that the study groups discuss or brainstorm about the previous topics while a new one is being elicited. Afterwards, the teacher may administer another test to evaluate the success of the remedial approach. Works Cited Center for Teaching and Learning. Brigham Young University http://ctl. byu. edu/? page_id=343 Ten Must-Know Facts About Educational Testing. PTA: Every Child, One Voice, 2000-2008 http://www. pta. org/archive_article_details_1117837372328. html

Monday, October 14, 2019

The Co Operative Bank Commerce Essay

The Co Operative Bank Commerce Essay The co operative bank is the oldest democratic and ethical bank of UK . For over 150 years the bank has been a democratic bank , never losing its edge on its democratic stature . It would be very interesting to know about the work culture of such a big democratic bank . The co operative bank is also a secular bank . The employees not just consist of catholics but also people from other religions . For example the treasury of the co operative bank is Rajesh Bhatia who is a hindu . So people from diverse religions are working together to form one big bank that is co operative bank . The bank tries to maintain a very friendly environment for its employees . All the employees are given a chance to suggest their views but there is a process in which these views are analysed . This process takes place in stages . If some worker has any new idea then hw will tell it to the manager . The manager will first look into the idea then he will analyse it and decide the category of the idea . W hether the idea is related to Mars or retailing or the general insurance . After categorising the idea the manager will then send it to the head of that respective area . They take a look at that idea and in turn send it to the acting CEO . The CEO will forward it to the board of directors and then the decision will be taken . All important decisions are taken in this same manner or stages . It might take a little time but the process is a full proof procedure . The workers never refer to the manager as Sir . They always call him by his name . The employees feel very good working in the co operative bank . The co operative bank has been rated as one of Britains top employers 2012 by http://www.britainstopemployers.co.uk . A lot of aspects have been considered in this research before coming to the conclusion that this bank has outstanding working conditions . The outstanding working conditions include commitment to social goals , ability to mix profits with principles , rejuvenatin g a much loved brand , pioneering fair trade sales in UK and commitment to ethical finance . Britains top employers 2012 first made close assessments with the HR division of The co operative bank . Here all the critical areas of the HR department were assessed such as primary benefits , secondary benefits , working conditions , training and career opportunities . A review is then taken . The review is thoroughly taken from the answers of actual participants only and then ratings are given . The co operative bank achieved positive ratings and reviews in almost all the sectors of assessments . Source: Rabobank WORKING STARTEGY Even though The co operative bank is an ethical bank but they do charge interests . Because every organization needs funds to keep working . One great advantage of the The co operative group is that they are not just operating in banks but also in food retails , housing , farming and education . So the profits from all the sectors are utilized thoroughly and they try to distribute it equally . Last year profits of around 50 million pounds were earned and about 40% of the profits were distributed to members , staff and community groups . One of the important business strategies of The co operative bank is providing memberships . Membership is what makes The co operative bank different from other businesses because The co operative bank is run by its members and the bank gives a chance to its members to say how the company needs to be run . When one becomes a member then he will get a membership card . So everytime a member buys something from The co operative then they can use t heir membership card . By doing this they earn points . Twice a year , the points that the member has earned are turned into cash and given to him as a share of the profits . It is very easy to become a member and there are lots of deals , discounts and money saving offers for the members to enjoy . Not only can one choose from the outstanding financial products of The co operative bank but by simply doing the day to day banking as a member , he can increase his share of profits as well. On current accounts , for every 10 pounds held on an average in a co operative bank , one can earn 1 point . For mortgages , for every 40 pounds outstanding on a Co operative bank or Britannia mortgage , one can earn 1 point . For loans , for every 10 pounds outstanding on a Co operative bank or smile loan , one can earn 1 point . For Savings accounts , every 20 pounds held in a Co operative bank , smile or Britannia savings account , one can earn 1 point . For Car/home/pet insurance , for hol ding an annual Co operative insurance policy , one can earn upto 250 points . For credit card , every 10 pounds held on or borrowed on Co operative bank or smile credit cards , one can earn 1 point . According to http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk , one of the most important and profitable startegies for The co operative bank was to merge with Britannia on 1st August 2009 . This merger aimed at providing better profit for the share holders and also creating new employment opportunities . This new business was successful in achieving more than 70 billion pounds of assets , nine million customers , more than 12,000 employees , more than 300 branches and 20 corporate banking centres . The Co operative now comprises of The co operative bank including smile and The Britannia business , The co operative insurance and The co operative investments . ANALYSIS Let us do a SWOT analysis on The co operative bank . According to David Jobber , a SWOT analysis is a structured approach to evaluating the strategic position of a business by identifying its strengths , weaknesses , opportunities and threats . Strengths According to the article The Co-operative : How to measure its strength , The co operative has an advantage of the internet bank Smile. This Smile has become a very successful form of internet banking in the recent years . It has increased the demand of The co operative bank very much . Smile is a very famous and efficient provider of pensions and insurance . The profits of The co operative banks boomed to 73.4 million pounds in the first half of 2008 . According to http://www.co-operative.coop , the core banking platforms of the bank has been upgraded by introducing some of the most modern computing systems which are very fast and efficient . So this has also improved customer servicing effectively and thus increased customer satisfaction and improving their experience . During the merger with Britannia branded branches , these technological improvements gave customers near four fold increase in outlets to conduct their banking . Weaknesses According to The Cooperative Banking Model: Performance and Opportunities by Hans Groeneveld , now a days the members find it difficult to manage the organisation due to the increased complexity of the organisation in which the management group consists of dedicated professionals . It has also been found out that the membership process makes the decision making very slow and also prevents innovation and adjustments to new developments . (Hans Groeneveld , 2011) Opportunities The co operative bank provides opportunities to further ones career and also to build one from the scratch . The bank provides job opportunities at its head office in Manchester and also at other branches . The company is maintaining a separate portal for registration for jobs . The bank also provides a lot of credit facilities to the customers if they want to start a new venture . Threats The evolution of large scale foreign and unknown markets could endanger the traditional heart of The co operative bank . Recently The co operative bank has started taking a lot of risks involving high profit investments . In one of the move of the bank , it announced plans to transfer work out of North Staffordshire . This move would almost leave jobs of 65 employees under threat . Apparently this move is being made for greater financial control and tougher regulatory requirements. STRENGTHS 1 High customer satisfaction 2 Rising market shares , dense branch networks 3 Stable profits , high rating , low funding costs 4 Relatively unaffected by credit crisis 5 Contribution to stability and diversity in financial systems WEAKNESSES 1 Become more complex 2 Difficult to manage due to complexity 3 Membership process makes decision making slow 4 Slow innovation OPPORTUNITIES 1 Further ones career 2 Help in new venture 3 Financial advice 4 Good credit facilities THREATS 1 threats from large scale foreign and unknown markets 2 Increase in risks by The co operative bank 3 The move to leave out North Staffordshire Now let us look at some macroenvironmental aspects of The co operative bank . These include political , economic , ecological , social and technological aspects . Political As it has been explained in the hierarchy of The co operative bank , it is a democratic bank . Economic The co operative bank has been one of the most successful banks of uk in recent times . It has tried to maintain its economy throughout . This can be found out by comparing their financial performance between 2010 and 2011 as per http://www.co-operative.coop/corporate/Press/Press-releases/Headline-news/Results-2011/ Financial performance 2011 2010 % change Gross sales  £13.3bn  £13.1bn +1.0% Group operating profit  £585m    £582m +0.5% Profit before tax and member payments (equivalent to the pre-tax profit of a plc)  £373m  £396m -5.8% Net borrowings  £1.49bn  £1.44bn +3.3% Ecological According to A co-operative green economy by Pat Conaty , protecting the environment is one of the very important aspects of The co operative . These include reducing the gross green house gas emissions by 35 % by 2017 , producing around 25% of electricity using renewable sources of energy , setting up a head office that will set new standards in sustainable design , construction and operation . Thus they are also concerned with the safety of the environment . Social Inspite of so much competition and other foreign forces , concerne have been made to maintain the ethical standards of The co operative bank . The bank has been quiet successful in this approach . The fact that it won so many accolades proves it . Some of the awards that it won in 2011 include winner of the Observers Ethical Business Award; first place in Business in the Communitys Climate Change Award and Platinum Plus in their Corporate Responsibility Index; a leading ranking in the Sunday Times Best Green Companies List; and winner of The Financial Times award for Europes Most Sustainable Bank. Technological The bank went through massive technological renovation recently and has upgraded itself with all new systems . The banks call centre has been very efficient in helping the people with difficulties . Smile has been one of the top internet banking .

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The U.S. Constitution and Slavery :: USA, constitution, slavery, history,

The US constitution was written with great vision to create strong nation. The bill of right were written, it provide all humans with rights. The writers of the constitution we hypocrites, they didn’t abide by what they preached. Thomas Jefferson wrote himself â€Å" all men are created equal† but he owned slaves. The founding father didn’t look or even think about slavery when they wrote the constitution. They were pre-occupied in getting the southern state to join the union and sign the new constitution. They southern states believed that the federal government shouldn’t mess with the issue on slavery because slavery was a state issue. The south and the north made numerous compromises to create a great nation. The first indirect compromise was when the constitution didn’t mention slavery in the constitution, they left that for the states to deal with. After years after when the congress decide to stop the slave trade in 1808, they gave the south time to adjust to this but they new that by the time the slave trade died line was over the slave would have reproduces and they would have more slaves. Third compromise gave the south more power. They had notice that they had less seats in the house of representative. States with the most slaves, for instance Virginia and Maryland, were get out number in the house of representative, so the compromised to have the slave counted as part of the population. They got three counts for every five slaves. This helped balance the house of representative. Later on, after President Lincoln abolished slavery(the thirteen amendment in the constitution) the southern states decided to nullify his decision but the went against the constitution. Nullification is illegal. This action cause the bloodiest civil war in America. President Lincoln notice that the US government was not following what they were preaching. After the win in the civil war, the federal government had established themselves with a lot of power.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Influence of Stereotypes in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Essay e

Introduction Section One: Harper Lee’s Life Section Two: Time Period Influences on Lee’s Writing Section Three: Influence of Stereotypes Section Four: To Kill a Mockingbird Reviews Conclusion Works Cited Introduction Which doll is better? In the 1950s, psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark asked black children between three and seven to answer this simple, yet revealing question. The kids were shown four dolls that were exactly the same except for their skin colors. Almost three quarters of the children chose the white doll as being superior and attributed positive characteristics to it. When asked why they picked it, they replied with, â€Å"Because it’s white† (Abagond). Almost half a century later, in 2005, Kiri Davis repeated the test to see if psychology has changed in any way. Results show 71% of the children preferring the white doll (Edne). These tests demonstrate the incredible stereotypical beliefs still present today. The belief that there is only one acceptable perception to anything is ingrained into society’s minds, and limits individuals from thinking for themselves. Author Harper Lee explores this topic as she displays to readers prevalent stereotypes and thei r effects in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Section One: Harper Lee’s Life Harper Lee was born April 28th, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. Lee’s father, Amasa Coleman (A.C.) Lee, was a former newspaper editor who served as a state senator and lawyer. Due to his occupations, A.C. had a tremendous influence on her writing. Not only is A.C. a writer just like Lee; but, the main character in Lee’s novel, Scout Finches’, father, Atticus, also practices law. Atticus defends a black man accused of raping a white woman who is found guilty and murdered. Simil... ...ompany, 1960. McLeod, Saul. "Asch Experiment." SimplyPsychology. N.p., 2008. Web. 04 Feb. 2014. . Pauli, Michelle. "Harper Lee Tops Librarians' Must-read List." Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 02 Mar. 2006. Web. 05 Feb. 2014. "POLL FINDS WHITES USE STEREOTYPES." The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Jan. 1991. Web. 09 Feb. 2014. . "The Scottsboro Case | The Nation." The Scottsboro Case | The Nation. N.p., 31 Aug. 2010. Web. 09 Feb. 2014. . Shmoop Editorial Team. "Harper Lee: Childhood." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 08 Feb. 2014. . Teen Help Blog." Teen Help Blog. N.p., 28 Dec. 2011. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.

Friday, October 11, 2019

McDonalds or Tesco Essay

Explain the limitations of market research in terms of helping the development of a marketing plan for either McDonalds or Tesco (M2) Tesco uses primary type of research to gather information about its customers, competitors and the environment. Tesco collects information that has not been collected before and uses both internal and external primary research methods. Internal research includes: Tesco’s customer data whereas external research would include: questionnaires and surveys, experimental introduction of a new product, interviews and focus groups. Tesco is likely to use secondary research data to help determine what type of primary data is required to be precise and not to waste time and money on gathering data that has already been gathered before. Other types if methods used by Tesco are qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative research is used when wanting to find out more about customer’s needs, personal experiences and background by asking open qu estions such as; asking what products they buy most often at Tesco and what their preferences. Tesco also uses quantitative research which includes Tesco’s sales, percentage of customers choosing the same answer in a quantitative questionnaire and can later be analysed. Market research is very beneficial for a business such as Tesco, however it can sometimes be a difficult process as there are a few limitations that affect Tesco’s marketing plans. Every marketing research has the potential to be wrong therefore Tesco should plan its research techniques are very expensive and are not affordable to certain businesses therefore Tesco has to make sure that the cost of the research matches it quality. Another limitation of marketing research is reliability, which shows how reliable the information collected is and whether the information would be the same if collected from a different group of people. Tesco should target the most suitable groups of people to question in order for the information to be effective and beneficial for the organisations marketing plans, such as; to improve customer service at Tesco has to make sure that the information gathered is accurate as people might answer randomly out of laziness and the end result would end up being inaccurate, causing Tesco to carry out another research, costing them both time and money. Tesco collects its customer’s information for organisational purposes, however there is an act that protects the use of customer’s personal information by the business; Data Protection Act 1998 which controls how personal information is used by organisations. Tesco needs to ensure that the information on this data is: †¢Kept up to date and not kept longer than necessary †¢Not transferred to any other country without adequate protection †¢Processed in accordance with the ‘’data subjects’ (the individuals) rights This act is very beneficial for the customers whereas Tesco will be sued under this act in an event of loss of information or in case where customer’s information is accessed by inappropriate individuals or organisations. This would have a great impact on Tesco as it holds information of millions of customers and the amount of money Tesco would have to pay each customer would be a very large amount, leaving Tesco in loss and affecting its Marketing Plans such as: expansion. Tesco wouldn’t be able to hold customer interviews as they have customers in a lot of countries in Europe. This would take up a lot of their time as they wouldn’t be able to get the opinions of all their customers. Although Tesco aim to provide an excellent customer service, they cannot achieve this by using this type of research. Surveys could be a bad idea too as they can be costly to create a questionnaire, but once set up can used for a large sample. It could also lead to Tesco not actually getting their surveys back from customers. It takes time to create a survey/questionnaire which is then is slower when trying to get as many back as you possibly can. Lastly focus groups wouldn’t be of any use for Tesco as they do not need people to taste anything or try certain objects. Setting up a focus group can be very expensive and needs to take place in a specific location. Often a focus group is observed through a one-way mirror, which would take up a lot of Tesco’s time trying to find a location that has these things. The information gathered for market research is very useful and reduces the chances of the business making the wrong decision. Before coming up with a marketing play Tesco must always conduct research in order to have an ideas of whether the plan is an appropriate thing for the compa ny.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Applying Ethics in an Ethical Dilemma Essay

I would never have thought that the hardest part of this assignment was to find a good example of a business organization behaving ethically in an ethical dilemma. There are numerous cases of businesses behaving unethically. The list of businesses behaving illegally is similar to a who’s who of top companies. However, I did find one company that appears to have based their business on ethics. The 3M Corporation continually tries to infuse their ethics into their organization, even when they expand into other countries. Applying Ethics in an Ethical Dilemma In March 2011, industrial conglomerate 3M, formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, started to build manufacturing facilities in Russia’s Tyumen and Samara regions. The total investment was approximately fifteen million US dollars. The new facility will produce an insulation material Thinsulate, a very thin, synthetic petroleum based insulation, used in clothing. All branches of the United States military use Gore-Tex cold weather gear and Thinsulate is one of the key materials used in the clothing (Romanova, 2011). Building the plant was the easy part; the difficulty was getting into Russia. According to the Berlin-based Transparency International’s 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, Russia is ranked 154th among 178 industrialized countries for its corrupt practices (Barr & Serra, 2010). One of the problems 3M faced was the managerial mindset in Russia. They do not recognize or reward their subordinates for exceptional performance. They only care about current profits and they do not plan. Because of the countries high levels of corruption and political instability, they try to get everything they can right now, because they are in fear of what can potentially happen tomorrow. Due to all these factors, most multinational  companies have avoided investing in Russia (Shama, 1997). The environment for business in Russian is full of obstacles. Corruption, bribery and paying of protection money are synonymous in business culture. 3M is different from the few other international companies that operate in Russia, that try to distance themselves from such practices by simply banning them. 3M Russia actively promotes not only ethical behavior but also the personal security of its employees. 3M Russia also strives to differentiate itself from competitors by being an ethical leader. For example, it holds training courses in business ethics for its customers and employees. (Langlois & Schlegelmilch, 1990). Ethical Framework Applied by the Organization In order to understand the ethical frameworks that drive this corporation, I feel it is imperative to read their principle statement. 3M employees and third parties to which this principle applies must make good, ethical decisions based on 3M’s fundamental values of honesty, integrity, promise-keeping, fairness, respect, concern for others, and personal accountability. When the law and 3M’s Code of Conduct are silent on the issue, employees must nevertheless make decisions that are legal, ethical, and consistent with the Code of Conduct (Thulin, 2012). Initially, the ethical framework the 3M Corporation used appears to be the Utilitarian approach. Defined as, create the greatest good for the greatest number sometimes referred to as maximizing the good in the world (Dahl, Mandell, & Barton, 1988). In this theory, we weigh the positives against the negatives and against the cost versus risks. This theory emphasizes that all people should reap the benefits in a society, a community or a family. I believe 3M felt that since they were expanding globally into a new continent or country, they were trying to bring their solid ethics with them. 3M faced a difficult task of bringing ethics into a country that unfortunately, ranks low for their ethics (Barr & Serra, 2010). Another ethical framework I believe the 3M Corporation used in establishing their new factories in Russian is the deontological approach. This states that actions judged as ethical or unethical based on the inherent rights of  an individual and the intentions of the actor (Dahl, Mandell, & Barton, 1988). In Deontology theory, an individuals or organizations code of ethics is not supposed to be situational but they should be constant and always followed, to ensure that in when facing adversity their morals remain the same. When 3M went to Russia, they could have easily changed their ethics to fit the societal norm but they did not. They maintained the same high level of ethics as they do in other countries with less corruption, bribery and payments of protection money. They not only maintained it at a higher level, 3M even taught classes to their employees on ethics. For some, this was their first exposure to structured ethics training. Many deontologists believe that the rights of individuals reside in â€Å"natural law.† The individuals are a means and not end (Dahl, Mandell, & Barton, 1988). In their principles, all employees must apply honesty, integrity, promise-keeping, fairness, respect, concern for others and personal accountability (Thulin, 2012). They even emphasize when a situation occurs that is not covered by law or plainly outlined, they hold their employees responsible. They should make decisions that are fair, honest and above all in keeping with the company’s policy on ethics Negative Consequences of the Decision Negative Consequence of the situation is that board members in Minneapolis Minnesota decided to enforce American ethics in another country. Although the decision, based on good intentions, begs the question, do we have the right to enforce or impress upon our workforce in another country American ethics. Often the United States and American companies receive accusations of nation building, or where we go into another country and try to impress American laws and customs onto the indigenous population. Do we have the right to endanger our employees to make ourselves feel better? Here in America, corruption, bribery, and paying of protection money is socially unacceptable. When that is the norm, do we have the right to force our beliefs on another country or culture? For example, when the United States Armed Forces works with a foreign Army or government, we try to follow the host’s countries rules. When I was in Iraq, it was illegal to possess, purchase or consume alcoholic beve rages. It was illegal to possess, purchase, and download any pornographic material. Iraq is a strongly Muslim  country, and those are two of its major offenses to their faith. We changed our policies to comply with the host countries norms and values. Should our businesses follow that same example, to protect its workers and its interests? Conclusion Ethical Frameworks attempt to provide a guideline for how an organization or even a society should interact with one another. The strength of this analysis is that it showed that when an organization practiced good ethics, the principles are truly universal. The behavior of the 3M Corporation in their expansion into Russia should be the norm not the exception. When foreign organizations with different ethical codes of conduct meet, they should be able to create a common ethical cooperation framework, keeping strong basic values and adapting moral principles to best meet everyone’s needs. References Barr, A., & Serra, D. (2010). Corruption and culture: An experimental analysis. Journal of Public Economics, 94(11), 862-869. Thulin, I. (2012, February 24). 3M Code of Conduct – Principles. Retrieved October 12, 2014, from http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/businessconduct/bcmain/policy-/principles/ Romanova, M. (2011, March 11). American 3M to Expand into Russian Regions. Russia Briefing News. Retrieved October 11, 2014, from http://russia-briefing.com/news/american-3m-to-expand-into-russian-regions.html/ Shama, A. (1997). From exploiting to investing: A survey of US firms doing business in Russia. The International Executive, 39(4), 497-518. Langlois, C. C., & Schlegelmilch, B. B. (1990). Do corporate codes of ethics reflect national character? Evidence from Europe and the United States. Journal of International Business Studies, 519-539. Dahl, J. G., Mandell, M. P., & Barton, M. E. (1988). Ethical frameworks of â€Å"Tomorrow’s Business Leaders†. International Journal of Value-Based Management, 1(2), 65-81.