How does Shakespeare present Ophelia Essay

In â€Å"Hamlet† Shakespeare presents Ophelia as a helpless girl, who is continually manipulated by the men around her for their own gain. In many of his other plays the women are presented as strong and admirable people who play major roles in the live of the protagonist, such as Lady Macbeth in â€Å"Macbeth. † In Hamlet, however, Ophelia becomes a very different role-she is conveyed as a lesser to the men around her. She is continually manipulated by her father, Polonius, her brother, Larertes and Hamlet, the supposed love of her life. Her sweet and innocent nature results in her becoming dependent on the man in her life to tell her how to behave. Hamlet shows a very different style in Shakespeare writing, no longer is the women controversially given respect by the male character, but is instead shown in a more traditional mere pawn for their fathers, brothers and lovers. Ophelia’s relationship with her father is less then the traditional intimate one expected. Instead it shows a controlling man, obsessed with what others think, and a daughter respectful of her fathers wises. Polonius becomes convinced that Ophelia’s relationship with Hamlet will result in the diminish of his families honour, and to him, the respect others have for his families reputation is very important. He thus begins to pressurise Ophelia into breaking off any understanding between herself and Hamlet. Shakespeare uses these characters and their interaction to present a more traditional view of how a woman should act toward the men in their lives during this time period. I personally do not see her as a week character, but instead see her as a women with no other choice than to respect and obey the man who has looked after her all her life. Their relationship is a cold one, with little compassion between the two, but apparent respect on Ophelia’s behalf. Her brother too becomes set against her love for Hamlet, believing that she will ruin herself for Hamlet, yet he will never actually marry her, due to her lower social standing. During the actual play, Larertes is the only man who conveys to her that he actually cares for her, but we can see clearly that he believes her continuous open regard for Hamlet will reduce their family’s nobility. He too adds to the pressure put on her to distance herself from Hamlet. Hamlets strategic plans towards Ophelia are probably the most conniving and vicious. He not only manipulates her constant love for him, but also toys with her emotions throughout, making her play exactly how he wants. He uses the courts knowledge of his relationship with Ophelia to get deeper involved in his plot to avenge his father and kill the king. He evolves Polonius’ theory that Hamlet is mad with love for Ophelia. When she returns Hamlets love letters and other tokens of his affections in act III scene I, Hamlet seizes this moment to cement the beginning of her descend into madness in both Ophelia’s eyes and in Polonius’ and Claudius’ as Hamlet is aware they are watching this encounter between the two ex-lovers. He appears troubled and hysterical as he denies giving her anything and laments the dishonesty of beauty. Confusingly, he claims to both have loved, and never loved her. As he leaves she mourns the â€Å"noble mind† that has now lapsed into apparent madness. Hamlet believes that by hearing this fight between Ophelia and himself, Polonius and Claudius will think he is now crazy and thus not fear him, making Claudius more vulnerable. Hamlet, Polonius and Larertes all put pressure on her to do what they want, they all use her to gain themselves and they all have little regard for her genuine love for Hamlet. Her heart begins to dictate over her head and as a result of being caught in the crossfire of all the men in her life; Ophelia goes crazy, unable to cope with the stress and contradiction. Finally, she kills herself finding no place in the situation for her own feelings. Hamlet is the least idealistic of Shakespeare’s plays, with women being presented in a more realistic view, rather than an idealistic outlook on society where women have more control over their lives and aren’t controlled by the men around them. Ophelia is presented in a more traditional feminine way, relying on men around her. This fits into Hamlet, and makes the play appear more legitimate, due to the emotion involved in the twisted love story. Still, I do not believe she is weak, but instead love struck and susceptible to manipulation by the men closely involved in her life. Many critics have argued that she is a dismal character, which no one can admire, but I see her as instead, a woman who is young, weak and naive to the world around her.

A Comparative Analysis: Juvenile and Adult Courts

For many years, people have believed that the juvenile justice system was meant to serve as a way to protect the community. Juveniles who commit crimes are different from adults because many do not understand the complexity of the crime committed. In order to respond to these differences, many states have established a way to treat these adolescents through juvenile courts and youth-based recovery systems. While most states recognize that juveniles who commit crimes should not be treated as an adult there are still some that are skeptic that the juvenile justice system works.The juvenile justice system began in 1899, in Chicago, Illinois where the nation’s first juvenile system was established. In the beginning the system was informal and often times it was nothing more than a conversation between the juvenile and a judge (Juvenile Law Center, 2013). Over the years the system has changed significantly where juvenile courts have created a probation system which provided a diffe rent method to provide juveniles with guidance, supervision, and education.By the 1920s all but two states had followed the suit but it was not until the 1960s where the juvenile justice system was given several of the same legal rights as the adult court. There are many differences between the juvenile and adult criminal systems but they also share their similarities. While their differences vary depending on the state, the similarities can be said to be our natural born rights. One of the main similarities is the right to an attorney (LaMance, 2013). The defendant has the choice of either choosing a public defender to represent them or to hire a paid attorney.Both courts not only give their defendants the right to cross-examine witnesses but also the privilege against self-incrimination. The prosecution must also provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt before either of the two can be charged and convicted (LaMance, 2013). The two also share the right to receive a transcript of the proceedings and the rights to have an appellate court review the lower court’s decision. One of the main differences is the overall goal for both courts.While the goal for the adult court is to  punish and convict, the juvenile justice system prefers the method of rehabilitation and reformation, thus giving the juvenile a chance to become a productive citizen (LaMance, 2013). Unlike adults, juveniles do not have the right to a public trial and an adjudication hearing is required in order for the judge to determine if the minor is a delinquent. If considered a delinquent, the court then decides which steps should be taken where the best interest for the juvenile is taken into consideration.The juvenile court is still more informal than that of the adult court (LaMance, 2013). An example of their informality is the rule for admissibility of evidence which is much more lenient in the juvenile court. Lastly juveniles are usually not prosecuted for the delinquent acts that he o r she has committed. However depending on the severity of the crime and state laws, juveniles can be transferred and tried in the adult system (LaMance, 2013). The adjudication process in which juveniles are transferred to the adult system varies by state.While some states enable the transfer of certain juveniles with a waiver, depending on their age and offense criteria, other states consider the juvenile to be an â€Å"automatic adult† (OJJDP National Report Series: Juvenile in Court, 2013). Although all states allow juveniles to be tried as adults in criminal court there are a few circumstances that follow. All states except for Nebraska, New Mexico, and New York provide a judicial waiver where the juvenile court judge has the authority to waive juvenile court jurisdiction and transfer cases to the adult court.Other states have a concurrent jurisdiction where the original jurisdiction for certain cases is shared by both juvenile and adult courts. The discretion under the c oncurrent jurisdiction is left to the prosecutor. Statutory exclusion is the legislative method, which mandates juvenile prosecution in adult court. Youths charged with certain crimes can be placed in the adult system automatically, thus removing any kind of decision making process from judges or prosecutors (OJJDP National Report Series: Juvenile in Court, 2013).In recent years states have significantly expanded legislation for allowing the use of judicial waivers. This trend has increased the number of juveniles incarcerated throughout the United States and has expectations to rise. Having a juvenile treated as an adult gives them the possibility of life or death sentences and incarceration in state of federal prisons which can have a tremendous impact on the life and future of a juvenile (Find Law, 2013).Although it may be served as a deterrent to some, sending juveniles directly to the adult criminal court gives the juvenile the impression that there is no room for rehabilitatio n or second chances, thus paving the way for a life of crime for others. Since the late 1970s, critics of the juvenile justice courts have pursued to abolish this system with the assumption that this system has failed its purpose, to rehabilitate juveniles (LaMance, 2013). Abolishing juvenile courts holds ramifications for not only juveniles but also the community.Eliminating these courts would mean that all juveniles, no matter the age or crime, would be treated as an adult. Many jobs and careers would be lost for those who have committed their lives to making a difference in the juvenile justice system, jobs such as social workers, juvenile detention guards, and juvenile probation officers. An argument can be made to abolish this system but the idea that young offenders whom are not mentally competent to understand their behavior still stands (LaMance, 2013).Therefore juveniles should be handled in a different court system. The juvenile justice system has grown and changed substan tially since 1899. The justifications of the juvenile court system are that youth are developmentally different from adults and should not be treated the same. Having a system that focuses on the needs of children, who are maturing into adulthood, not only gives the community hope but also gives the juvenile a real chance to rehabilitation and recovery.

Criminological Theory Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Criminological Theory - Research Paper Example Crimes differ from place to place and it is relevant to consider each case under certain/specific conditions. Unfortunately, the law is considered to be â€Å"the same for all the people† that means that cases are judged according to common rules, notwithstanding that some of them need special attention. Labeling theory has been developed with regards to social constructionist theory. In accordance with the labeling theory, crime is a defined set of symbols, assigned to this social act by a representative of the society by other members of the society.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tannenbaum  (1938) can be considered one of the first labeling theorists. He claimed that interpretation of evil and an individual’s attitude toward evil identifies his potential criminal behavior (cited by Clarke). In accordance with  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lemert  (1951), the "societal reaction" approach was suggested. This approach was characterized by the differentiation of primary and secondary deviance (i.e. acceptance/ non-acceptance of the deviant status by a criminal). Becker (1963) was focused on the conceptual development of â€Å"moral entrepreneurs†, or members of the society who could label a certain way of a criminal’s behavior as violating the law (cited by Clarke).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Currently, there are some points borrowed from labeling theory, which refer to social constructivist considerations.    In accordance with modern representatives of labeling theory, the societies create crimes by developing the laws. The essence and the nature of the law should be considered with regards to social reactions expressed by the society concerning one or another law.    Modern theorists of labeling theory underline the necessity to focus on â€Å"controlology† or a group of theories focused on â€Å"moral panics, but mostly the view that criminal justice agencies are part of broader social control mechanisms, like welfare, mental health,  education, the military, and the mass media, all of which are used by the state to control "problem" populations† (Arvanites 1992).  

Taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Taxation - Essay Example First, the paper explores the evidence presented by Mirrlees that is applicable to welfare reform, then analyses the shortcomings of the current benefits and welfare system, the changes proposed to the welfare system, and lastly, criticisms launched by various parties to the proposed changes to the UK benefits and welfare system. The Mirrlees Review delivers a comprehensive review of tax reform drawing on new evidence, new (applied) theory, and new economic environment. The main motivation for the call for reform was a tax structure that does not work as a system (absence of joining up between welfare benefits, corporate taxes, and personal taxes); is not neutral in cases where it should be (irreconcilable savings taxes and a corporate tax system that elevates debt over equity); is not well structured where it should diverge from neutrality, and fails to attain progressivity efficiently (Auerbach 2012, p.685). The impact of taxation on work effort forms one of the core sources of inefficiency of a distortionary tax system. Labour supply models convey the trade off between work and leisure. The evidence detailed in Labour Supply and Taxes detail that the hours of are comparatively inelastic for men, and a bit responsive for married women (Meghir and Philips 2008, p.3). The participation of low education men is more responsive to the incentive to incentives than initially thought. For men with enhanced levels of education, participation is virtually responsive. The Mirrlees Review considered evidence under five headings: critical margins of adjustment to tax reform; measurement of effective tax rates; the significance of information and complexity; evidence on the size of responses; and, implications from theory for tax design (Mirrlees, et al. 2010, p.2). The review delivers empirical evidence on labour supply responses for individuals and families at both the intensive and extensive margins and by age and demographic structure;

Pros and cons of outsourcing Human Resource Managment Functions Research Paper

Pros and cons of outsourcing Human Resource Managment Functions - Research Paper Example Organizations turn to outsourcing to slash their operational costs and improve financial position. Human resource outsourcing aims at reducing expenses by relegating official work to countries that provide HRM services at the fraction of what a company will pay at its home base (Ivancevich, 2004). European and North American companies are the main proponents of HRM outsourcing as they face the biggest challenge of financial constraints and relatively high turnover rates, despite the increasing recession. The top management finds it much easier to transfer the employee hiring and management duties to an outside vendor that might have its operational base in some other country or region. The basic function of a HRM vendor is to recruit and manage employees while freeing the client of this daunting task. The company can divert its attention to improving its financial performance or introducing new technology or working procedures, among other things. The less pressure on the client company over the management of employees and the associated financial burdens, thus, results in a better performance and greater efficiency (Mullins, 2007). The critics of HRM outsourcing, however, opine that divesting the employee management system to an outsider vendor can damage the reputation of a company. Additionally, it can also result in a breach of privacy as the outside vendor can delve deeper into the company procedure and hand it over to a rival company. They also say that transferring the salary and other accounting system to an outsider company might pave way for financial embezzlement, among other things. The biggest advantage of HRM outsourcing is the relative financial improvement and increased efficiency of a company. Human resource issues consume a lot of money, energy, and time of a company management as they get involved in the employees’ matters and waste their precious time that they can use in matters that are more useful. Along with the wastage of

Music in the marketplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Music in the marketplace - Essay Example The place smelt fresh with flower scents all over the environment setup. Drinks were served to the couples as it seemed as though the event was sought of a festival. There was no other sound audible in the environment and the space was sufficient to ease movement or a dance. The music in this setting is important in defining the space and aids in crafting the identity for the brand. The music made me feel refreshed, and the other members of the audience felt relaxed, especially due to the smell of the environment and the smooth romantic music. The other club visited a few miles away had a direct contrast with the place where romantic songs were being played. The second club played rock music with a big number of people in attendance. The place was stuffy, and no one seemed to enjoy the serenity of the environment. On the other hand, there was an audible sound coming from a construction site a factor that affected the music. Essentially, the club had limited space due huge number of people. Though the rest of the audience mostly seemed to enjoy the moment and the music, I did

Wireless communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Wireless communication - Essay Example Unlike other previous forms of communication, wireless communication networks have increasingly gained popularity especially with the recent mode like 3G and 4G which have continuously improved data transfer and communication efficiency. Recent advances in technology have led to efficient satisfaction of the needs of consumers while ensuring that life is easier. The second generation GSM and its evolutional stages of GPRS and EDGE and third generation UMTS are discussed in detail to pave way in understanding the 4G technology. Wireless communication: 1G-4G cellular communication systems 1.0. Introduction Cellular mobile telephone systems development and deployment was triggered by the operational limitations of standard mobile telephone systems (Brand and Aghavami, 1). These limitations include limited capacity for service, inefficient utilization of spectrum and poor service performance. The communication of mobile phone occurs through a temporary distinct radio channel in order to communicate to the cell site. The cell site is contains several channels and each mobile talks to it through only one of the channels. The channels are characterized by a pair of frequencies which are used during the communication. The forward link transmits from the cell site to the users while the reverse link receives calls from users. The radio signal transmitted in early mobiles dissipated with distance and mobiles had to stay close to the base station in order to secure effective communications. According to Brand and Aghvami (1), moving mobile users were not sufficiently offered with an effective means of communication. Mobile radio service has its operations in a closed network with no access to the telephone system unlike the mobile telephone service that allowed interconnection to the telephone network. Traditionally, the mobile service structure included a single powerful transmitter that was located at a high spot to broadcast signals within a radius of up to about 50 km and the mobile telephones were attached to the transmitter (Brand and Aghvami, 2). Conversely, the introduction of cellular telephone system architecture involves placing numerous low-power transmitters within the entire coverage area and each covers a small area called the cell and using varying channels or conversions. The cellular telephone system allows a user to travel while making a phone call with no interruptions since they can use more than one base station. The application of the cellular concept in mobile telephone systems overcame interference problems and improved the efficiency of communication since the cells size was equivalent to the density and demand of subscribers in a particular area and was flexible to accommodate growing population’s demand and user density. Interference is overcame since a cluster can be reused in other cells while conversations can be handed off from one cell to the other and phone services maintained constantly as one moves between cells through handoff (Brand and Aghvami, 2). Cellular phone systems is characterized by four generations which are first generation or 1G, second generation or 2G, third generation or 3G and fourth generation or 4G. This paper explores cellular mobile system generations in terms of their capabilities, date of introduction, and comparison of inherent features. 2.0. First generation or 1G cellular phone systems The 1G cellular phone systems are characterized by the use of analog frequency modulation to facilitate the transmission of speech, frequency shift keying or FSK for signaling while FDMA or frequency Division Multiple Access for the sharing of assigned spectrum (Patil, Karhe and Aher, 614). The most

Employee Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Employee Development - Essay Example It is the role of a particular organization to come up with a strategy or plan to develop the abilities of their employees, to increase their productivity or suitability with regard to advanced technology, management skills, marketing strategies, financial management, project management and business environmental management among other sectors. This work would focus on the main methods applied to identify employee development needs in the current market. Employees’ assessments There are several ways to ascertain employee development needs. Employee regular assessment is majorly applied in the management and technology sectors or departments. The employer can organize for internal or external assessment. Internal assessment implies the departmental heads having a test session to determine whether the employees are conversant with a certain technology or skills. Assessment plan should be established to ensure all employees undergo the system (Noe, 2009). The plan should also ens ure that the organization’s operations are not compromised by the process, in other words, the assessments should be done in an organized shift module to enable other employees continue with their duties while others are being assessed. It is important to alert all employees in a certain department on their assessment date so that they can make adequate preparations with regard to the assessment details. This can be done through internal memos or departmental heads can be used to pass such information. Internal assessment can take many forms depending on the nature of the organization. In technological arena, a specific number of employees will be required to complete some practical connections in the technology laboratories. During the process, safety measures should be observed to limit any chances of accidents. Employees should wear special protective clothing like boots, goggles and helmets among others. Top departmental teams or supervisors would monitor the process to a scertain areas the t need reinforcement. All areas of weaknesses will be noted so that a relevant training session can be organized later. However, one would suggest that the top departmental team or supervisors ought to have been equipped with that particular technology or skill because it will no sense if they are as green as other employees. Currently there are different firms that offer special trainings to department heads or employees depending on the arrangement with the top organizational management team. Organizations dealing with humanity issues like counseling and social and psychological therapy among others can use fellow workers or external volunteers to practice their new skills. I would mention that this should be done in a very critical manner due to the fact that the skills tested might be new, meaning it had never been used before, this might have some negative implications for the volunteers, secondly, volunteers may take legal actions should any of their rights be violated in any of the sessions. It is important to maintain a friendly work environment while ascertaining the development needs within the organization. First it is important to let the employees know the aim of the exercise. The assessment is not any kind of punishment but a way of increasing the productivity or suitability of employees. Secondly, Employers should ensure that all the rights of

Keep Fit Essay Example for Free

Keep Fit Essay To keep fit and healthy, follow a healthy and balanced diet everyday. Make sure that your everyday diet includes lots of fruits, vegetables, and protein. You should cut down on red meat, junk foods, caffeine, and sugar intake. Avoid soft drinks or canned fruit juices. Instead, opt for a variety of fresh fruits, vegetable salads, freshly made fruit juices, milk, nutritious energy drinks, etc. You need to be more active in order to keep fit and healthy. Modern life has become very sedentary, with fewer scopes for physical activities. You need to exercise in order to burn those calories. Minimum physical activity slows down your metabolism rate. So, you can put on weight even when you eat less. On the other hand, exercise and a more active life will burn up the calories, even when you eat a little more. You can simply go for a brisk walk, or jog, or you can join a gym. The important thing is that you must include some physical exercise in your everyday life, because fitness and health cannot be achieved without some physical exercise. For a healthy life sufficient sleep is important. Lack of sleep can make you feel tired the next day. So work hard, but make sure that you have enough sleep; so that your body gets the time to replenish itself. Do not skip your breakfast, no matter how busy you are. Breakfast is the first and most important meal of the day. It works as a fuel for your body and keeps you going for the rest of day. If you skip breakfast, you will feel hungrier in the latter part of the day, and you may end up eating more! So, you may run a risk of gaining weight, if you skip your breakfast frequently. If you are not a healthy eater and find it difficult to improve your food habits due to busy, erratic, work schedules, then you may be depriving your body of the essential nutrients that are important for good health. In the long run, unhealthy food habits can lead you to serious health hazards. An easy solution to this problem is to include multi-vitamin supplements in your daily food intake. Multi-vitamins can be taken to replenish the nutritional deficiencies in your daily diet.

Kondracke and Vidal Evaluation Essay Example for Free

Kondracke and Vidal Evaluation Essay In the article, â€Å"Don’t Legalize Drugs† by Morton M. Kondracke, writes on the pros and cons of the legalization of drugs in a convincing way to help the reader understand the ultimate downfall of our society if the legalization of drugs does come into effect. His convincing tone is brought together by his logical, outside resources, and predictions from credible doctors. His use of pathos also helps the reader have a deeper understanding of the serious problems of legalizing drugs. As Kondracke states in the beginning, â€Å" if the advocates of legalized drugs do have their way†¦there will also be more unpublicized fatal and maiming crashes, more job accidents, more child neglect, more of almost everything associated with substance abuse: babies born addicted or retarded..† hoping to touch the hearts of the many. Kondracke uses outside resources such as Dr. Robert DuPont who is the former director of the National Institutes of Drug Abuse and his predictions to help further his argument and give credibility. Not only does he share with the reader outside sources and studies, but he mentions many examples by comparing the predictions of legalizing drugs and the actual result of alcohol in America and what effects it would have on our society if alcohol has already done so much to change America. The only real flaw I see with this article is that it is old and much in our society has changed. In the article, â€Å"Drugs: Case for Legalizing Marijuana† by Gore Vidal, his case for the legalization of marijuana is not quite convincing enough to even call it a case. Nothing in his article seems to be believable because he uses no real statistics except for his own when he says, â€Å"†¦I have tried—once—almost every drug and liked none disproving the popular Fu Manchu theory that a single whiff of opium will enslave the mind.† which doesn’t help his case at all seeing that he could have made up that side story on the spot. Not only does he share no real believable evidence, but the article is also over forty years old and things have definitely changed. The seriousness of this article is not well developed enough which gives the reader more of a laugh than deep thinking reasoning.

Poetry of Jimmy Santiago Baca

Poetry of Jimmy Santiago Baca Many writers and poets have drawn inspiration and motivation from their childhood, past experiences, and hope for the future. Abandoned to an orphanage at a young age, Jimmy Santiago Baca was convicted of drug possession by the age of twenty-one. During his many years in prison, Baca learned how to read and write, eventually publishing his early poems from within the prison walls.   Despite his accomplishments and prestigious awards, Baca remains a humble person by helping kids who are facing the same struggles he faced growing up. Through his poems he shows â€Å"the splendor of human existence amidst the desolate surroundings of prison life† (Baca 7). In his poems, Jimmy Santiago Baca takes the reader through the feelings of loss, dejection, and the quest for identity that relates to his life in prison. Jimmy Santiago Baca grew up with a tough childhood. His parents divorced at an early age, and he was shuffled between relatives and orphanages. During his teenage years, he was in and out of detention centers and was always found spending his time on Albuquerques streets and urban barrios. Baca first began to write poetry during his stay in prison, realizing how to express his thoughts and ideals through poetry. While Baca was in prison for drug charges, he immersed himself in the world of books, reading the works of many famous poets. Through the process of self-discovery, he taught himself English and Spanish, and finally received his GED. His experience in prison consisted of â€Å"lockdowns, solitary confinements, electroshock therapy session, and beatings by prison guards [pushing] him to the lowest ebb of his life† (Baca, CW: SS 3). After prison, Baca left for North Carolina before returning to New Mexico, where he spent time living in Albuquerque working odd jobs such a s a night watchman, janitor, and laborer. Once the birth of his first child occurred, Baca finally settled down with his wife and began â€Å"fully [embracing] his past†¦ with the predominantly Chicano community† (Baca, CW: SS 6). Since then, Baca has begun to seriously publish his works of literature to the public. Jimmy Santiago Baca is considered a renowned Chicano poet because of his â€Å"rich imagery and lyricism of his poetry† (Baca, DA 1). In his works, he suggests that poetry is not always restorative, but resilient when human life is given a chance. When he was given that chance, Baca discovered a state of freedom and humanity away from the dreary realities, by celebrating the human spirit in extreme situations through his poems. Each poem represents a little part of his life from the process of reestablishing his life after his years in prison. His poems never have had a consistent pattern, some may have rhythms similar to prose, but others are very lyrical. The line lengths may vary from short to long, while some poems might have a blend of short and longer lines. With his line maneuvering, Baca had skills in switching tones (Duane, CP 1, 2).The subject of his poems were developed from his experiences, which include his personal responses to the troubled life he lived as a you ng adult. Bacas poetry include the reoccurring â€Å"themes of transformation, metamorphosis, and self-actualization† (Baca, CW: SS 4), which were constant thoughts and changes of Baca. Therefore, his works display the truths of the human heart while in hardship, with the help of â€Å"wisdom, courage, beauty, and above all, hope† (Taylor, KYAPBG 1). The central focus of Bacas poetry is said to bring compassion from the heart and embracing humanity in times of extreme dislocation. Bacas poem – â€Å"Who Understands Me But Me† contains many elements of perseverance, determination, and realization which are evident in most of his poetry. The poem starts off with the speaker receiving new restrictions, but the speaker finds a way to live with the restrictions. Among the restraints and negativity, the speaker develops a positive attitude. With the new restrictions and experiences in hand, he begins to realize his own identity; the speaker learns to â€Å"[find] parts of [himself] never dreamed of by [him].† The poem ends with the speaker questioning who understands him when he says something is beautiful. Mainly, the poem seems forthright and lifeless, repetitive and simple, but this poem has great meaning behind what is seen on the surface level. Throughout the poem, the readers are able to experience â€Å"the physical and mental barriers† (Baca, DA 2). which occur during prison life. The restrictions in the beginning of the poem are represented using anaphora to add emphasis on the continuous struggles which are faced in prison. â€Å"They take my heart and rip it open, I live without heart† creates an indifferent tone from the speaker. â€Å"I followed these signs like an old tracker and followed the tracks deep in myself† explains that his experiences paved a way for the speaker to â€Å"explore the universal theme of an individuals painful search for identity and meaning† (Baca, DA 2). The tone of the poem shifts from indifferent to uplifting and empowering to show that the experiences learned were positive improvements for the speaker. Since the spea ker has gone through many sufferings, he proves that those sufferings helped him for the future. Everyone evolves within themselves every day, but when the time comes for hardships to be encountered, the experiences may become beneficial for their prospect of life. The feelings of loss, dejection, and the quest for identity experiences from Jimmy Santiago Bacas life in prison are shown throughout his poetry. Baca offers means on how to rebuild a broken life, rather than dwell on the painful past. Ever since then, he has been able to change the lives of many Hispanic and Amerindian peoples, by displaying the true insight from the intimidating prisons that guide the changing views of their lives.

Ivan Denisovich and Humanity :: Free Essay Writer

Ivan Denisovich and Humanity Who could possibly be able to imagine the utter hopelessness and misery that a soviet prisoner experienced during Stalinism. Thousands of innocent men were taken from their families, homes, and lives, stripped of their dignity and banished to the harsh labor camps where they were to spend the rest of the days scraping out an existence and living day to day. This is exactly what Alexander Solzhenitsyn tries to express in his masterpiece work One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Solzhenitsyn gives the reader a glimpse into the life of every man who ever experienced this hardship and shares the small acts of thriving humanity that are sparingly, but unendingly passed through their dreary lives and offer a bit of comfort to help them get through a single hour, a day, or even just a meal time. Solzhenitsyn uses One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich to portray the endurance of humanity through out terrible hardships and shows the strength of the human spirit. Through out the day Ivan observes various acts of humanity that help him and his fellow prisoners retain a portion of their dignity even though the camps are specifically designed to completely degrade their captives. Denisovich, or Shukhov as he is called, uses small acts of consideration to help him and his gang get through the day. On the second page of the book, the reader learns that Shukhov often gets up early in the morning so that he may have a little time to himself and so he may even â€Å"bring one of the big gang bosses his dry felt boots while he was still in his bunk, to save him the trouble of hanging around the pile of boots in his bare feet and trying to find his own.† (pg.2). Though Shukhov may do various odd jobs such as â€Å"running around to one of the supply rooms where there might be a little job, sweeping or carrying something† or â€Å"going to the mess hall to pick up bowls from the tables and take piles of them to the dishwashers† in o rder to receive extra food, but this can also be seen as an act of honor. Rather than doing an underhanded deed such as stealing food from innocent men the way the camp orderlies do, Shukhov tries to earn his food through honest work such as repairing boots, making things to sell, or doing extra work.

Introduction To Hard Times :: essays research papers

The shortest of Dickens' novels, Hard Times, was also, until quite recently, the least regarded of them. The comedy is savagely and scornfully sardonic, to the virtual exclusion of the humour - that delighted apprehension of and rejoicing in idiosyncrasy and absurdity for their own sakes, which often cuts right across moral considerations and which we normally take for granted in Dickens. Then, too, the novel is curiously skeletal. There are four separate plots, or at least four separate centres of interest: the re-education through suffering of Mr. Gradgrind, the exposure of Bounderby, the life and death of Stephen Blackpool, and the story of Sissy Jupe. There are present, in other words, all the potentialities of an expansive, discursive novel in the full Dickens manner. But they are not and could not be realised because of the limitation of length Dickens imposed upon himself. The novel was written as a weekly serial story to run through five months of his magazine, Household Words, during 1854. Dickens had to force his story to fit the exigencies of a Procrustean bed and, in doing so, sacrificed the abundance of life characteristic of his genius. That, at any rate, was the general view of Hard Times until in 1948 F.R. Leavis, in his book The Great Tradition, suggested that it was a "moral fable," the hallmark of a moral fable being that "the intention is peculiarly insistent, so that the representative significance of everything in the fable - character, episode, and so on - is immediately apparent as we read." By seeing it as a moral fable, Dr. Leavis produced a brilliant rereading of Hard Times that has changed almost every critic's approach to the novel. Yet a difficulty still remains: the nature of the target of Dickens' satire. Both Gradgrind and Bounderby are emblematic, to the point of caricature, of representative early-nineteenth-century attitudes. Dickens tells us that Gradgrind has "an unbending, utilitarian, matter-of-fact face"; and the novel has been taken as an attack on the philosophical doctrine known as utilitarianism, the doctrine that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding principle of conduct. But utilitarianism can also mean the doctrine that utility must be the standard of what is good for man. Perhaps the two meanings come together in the famous Victorian phrase, "enlightened self-interest," the meaning of which will turn entirely upon the definition of "enlightened." Utilitarianism in the philosophical sense , as taught by the noble-minded John Stuart Mill, has had a profound and abiding influence on Western life and thought, and Dickens was certainly not competent to criticise it as a philosophical system.

The Unsung Heroes – Creative Writing

â€Å"Launch the beacon. † Again another beep, flowed by the sound of the beacon launching. Chris had on last look at the Crab nebular, smiled and then turned his ship into the dark of space. Even from this distance he could see the slight glow of the Crystals. â€Å"Ship lock on to the Omega crystals. † â€Å"Acknowledged. † Said the ship. â€Å"It's now or never boys. † â€Å"Alpha 2 ready. † â€Å"Alpha 3 locked on. We are waiting on you, alpha 1. † Said Steven. â€Å"It's been nice knowing you ladies. † â€Å"Guest I'll never get that beer after all Steve. Alpha 2 ready. † Said Nick. Chris closed his eyes and thought of earth, his family†¦ is wife. â€Å"This is for you Sarah. † A tear rolled down his eye. â€Å"Lets move! † He reached for the throttle stick and pulled. The bombers spread off into the darkness. The day was coming to an end. To the west as the Santos star descended from the sky, it glowed Red, setting the sky alight with an orangey fire, lightly topped with a shimmering yellow. The east was swallowed by the darkness of space, only to be broken by thousands of stars surrounding the Crab Nebular slowly creeping up from the horizon. Though it only looked like a smudge in the sky, it was still a breath aking sight. There was a large mountain range to the north, on top of which stood the twin moons of this unnamed cold, dessert planet. To the far south dark clouds were slow looming upwards, you could hear the wrath of the thunder in the distance. In the middle, at the edge of a small cliff facing the southwest sat a lone man. Like a statue, he sat there cross-legged, without movement, without a sound. His eyes were fixed on the necklace in his hand. He stared at it, watched the light shine of it, it was hitting him in his eye but that didn't really bother him. â€Å"Chris†¦ ey Chris, †¦ â€Å". No response. â€Å"CHRIS man! † Steven exclaimed at point blank. â€Å"I heard you the first time. † Said Chris. He put the bracelet in his shoulder pocket and dusted the sand off his trousers as he got up. â€Å"What's our status? † â€Å"We are ready to go. You'll take lead, while me and Nick will proved cover for you. The bomb is ready, but you will have to release it at full speed other wise it won't work. † Chris nodded. â€Å"Hey listen, I didn't get a chance to say this before, but I'm am sorry about Sarah. We couldn't have known. † â€Å"I know. Thanks. What about the other ships? asked Chris? â€Å"From Beta wing, two can't take off and the other has lost navigation. Besides they're rookies, they wouldn't get past the first line. That leaves the four Gamma wing ships. They will hold off the Shivan fighters, so all we have to do is take out the sentries. Besides we've got the element of surprise, they think we're all dead. † â€Å"Man, it happened so quick! If only we had some sort off warning! † said Nick. Two wings of fighters Beta and Gamma, and a wing off bombers Alpha had been sent off to destroy, what was thought to be a Shivan supply station. When the ships jumped out of hyperspace, they were confronted with not a supply station, but a Shivan attack force; which included a nearly completed Lucifer class destroyer. The alliance had only two such ships and they were both too far away in other sectors of space where as this one would have been ready in a few days. It was in its most crucial stage, as it was being fitted with omega crystals. Once completed it would be able to take out most of the capital ships in the sector, which would be the turning point in this war, from which the humans could not likely recover. The Omega crystal was most destructive molecule ever constructed and was so unstable that it had to be kept at -120^0C. It had the power to destroy a planet within minutes. In theory, if it were to be warmed above -25 degrees it would explode so violently that it would cause a temporary black hole which collapse within a fraction off a second. But this would be enough to take out an entire system of planet. The Shivan had been expecting them and as so as they came through the jump gate they exploded bombs around the gate taking out most of the fighters including Alpha 5-Sarah Thomson. The surviving bomber aunched EMP bombs to block the Shivan radar as they escaped to a near by planet. The remaining fighters were humanities last hope. â€Å"Chris we're picking up heat signatures from space. We have to leave now! † said Steven. â€Å"No send, Gamma wing first. Tell them to go through the jump gate and try to warn the Alliance. Hopeful the fighters will follow them which will gives us a chance to take out the crystals. † Replied Chris. Nick went off to tell the others while Chris and Steven got ready. Within a few minutes Gamma wing had taken off and were making a run towards the hyperspace gates. The bate worked, and the Shivan fighters chased after them. The three bombers took off in to space. â€Å"Warning, core breach,† said the ship. â€Å"Initiating emergency lock down in ten seconds, nine, eig-†¦. † â€Å"Ship, override all emergency protocols. † Responded Chris. † Divert power from weapons to shields and thrusters. Guys I've got a leak in my system but it should be ok. † The computer responded with a beep. â€Å"Launch the beacon. † Again another beep flowed by the sound of the beacon launching. Chris had one last look at the Crab nebular, smiled and then turned his ship into the dark of space. Even from this distance he could see the slight glow of the Crystals. â€Å"Ship lock on to the Omega crystals. † â€Å"Acknowledged. † Said the ship. â€Å"It's now or never boys. † â€Å"Alpha 2 ready. † â€Å"Alpha † locked on. We are waiting on you, alpha 1. † Said Steven. â€Å"It's been nice knowing you ladies. † â€Å"Guest I'll never get that beer after all Steve. Alpha 2 ready. † Said Nick. Chris closed his eyes and thought of earth, his family†¦ his wife. â€Å"This is for you Sarah. † A tear rolled down his eye. â€Å"Lock and load, lets go! † He reached for the throttle stick and pulled. The bombers spread off into the darkness. 40 seconds `til I'm in range. How we doing boys? † asked Chris. â€Å"Sentries two, five and six are down. You have got clear path alpha one. Take out the crystals and we are out off here. † Said Steven. Bad news guys, some of the fighters have doubled back, gamma wing is gone. † exclaimed Nick. â€Å"Contact in fifteen seconds. Alpha two and I will hold them back. It's all up to you now, alpha one. † The two fighters broke off Chris's wing to intercept the fighters. â€Å"In range in five, four, three, two, one fire! † The bomb glided silently towards its target. â€Å"Impact in twenty seconds. Hang on guys one coming. † Chris turned his bomber around; only to see Alpha three get destroyed. The explosion was so sever that the shock wave destroyed the ships near it. â€Å"Ahh, Alpha one engines are down, shields are at 30%. I'm going to self-destruct get clear†¦ no wait, Chris the bomb, they are going after the bomb! Stop them! † Two fighters had broken off the attack and were going after the bomb. Chris turned to stop them, but one off them rammed the bomb, causing it to explode four second before impact! The shockwave from the bomb obliterated the fighters the two fighters. Ship what's the temperature of the crystals† asked Chris. â€Å"Temperature is minus sixty eight degrees,† said the ship. â€Å"Dame it we were so close, Chris I'm going down, I'm going down Chris, AL-†¦. † Steven's ship exploded. Chris was now alone. Four fighters started two move towards Chris's. There was only one thing left to do. Chris powered up his engines. â€Å"Acknowledged. † Said the ship. â€Å"Thrusters at 130%, shields at 25%. Weapons at 12%. † Chris pulled on the throttle stick and the ship propelled forwards. The fighters began to fire on Chris â€Å"Shield are down to 15% impact in ten seconds, shields are down, structural ntegrity is down to 30%. Impact in five, four†¦ † â€Å"I'm coming Sarah!!! † â€Å"Two, one,† the ship struck the crystals. The impact caused the temperature of the crystals to drop to minus fourteen degrees. The explosion was immensely powerful, but there was no sound. It created a black hole about two hundred million km across. It absorbed everything before collapsing. And then there was nothing. Chris Thomson and his friends died to save billions of lives. No one will know every of this sacrifice. He died for something that he believed in, he died as his friends, as an unsung hero.

Make Probability Real

Probability plays a crucial and important role in many things: industries, recreation, etc. Let's see how many we can think of. I know that we will all be amazed at how much our every day life is influenced by probability. †¢ Identify at least one example of probability encountered in everyday life which has not previously been mentioned. I am the â€Å"chef† in the house and work most of my hours in the afternoon.As I am the one who is the most creative in the kitchen and the evening hours at work prevents me form cooking dinner during a normal time, the probability of me cooking and having dinner prepared before noon, to be heated up later is very high. If my family is to eat a home cooked meal, I am the one to create it. The probability is between 95-97%. †¢ †¢ Explain how probability is used in that situation. Probability is used in the above situation because nobody in my home can cook a homemade meal. They love to eat, but they are terrible in the kitchen. The only way that they will eat a home cooked meal in our home is if I cook it earlier in the day and they re-heat it at dinner time. If something had come up during the day, and I am unable to cook a meal, then the probability that anyone in the house would cook would be zero; because as I stated earlier I am the only cook in our home. †¢ †¢ Identify the type of probability your example best fits by explaining whether it is an independent event or dependent upon something else. This situation described could be either a dependent or independent event.In the case of a dependent event, I would be available during the day, with all of the ingredients to prepare the meal and nothing comes up during the day that would preclude me from cooking the meal. In the event that something came up, this would become an independent event because then I would not be available to cook because I was not at the house able to cook. The greater probability of me being available early in the da y is greater than me not being available to cook; because without me cooking my family would have to go out to eat and we are a family who loves to have a different home made creation daily.

Duality in “The Odyssey” Essay

Odysseus exhibits a certain duality in his nature that defines his persona and controls his actions. In Book Nine of The Odyssey, both oppositional sides of Odysseus are poignantly illustrated: the tactful, crafty leader who uses reason, and the rash warrior in search of home and glory who acts impulsively. From the opening scene, Odysseus uses his cunning and charm to win the respect and honor of the Phaeacians and their king, Alcinous. This is shown when he states, What a fine thing this is, to listen to such a bard/as we have here—the man sings like a god./The crown of life, Id say† Clearly, Odysseus is trying to flatter and win the favor of his hosts in order to secure their help for passage to his beloved Ithaca. In order to impress them further, Odysseus declares that he is â€Å"known to the world/for every kind of craft—my fame has reached the skies† (21-22). Odysseus creates an image of being an incredibly strong leader. However, for a man of great ingenuity, Odysseus makes several imprudent mistakes. Among the gravest of his faults is acting without caution. Upon sighting the land of the Cyclops, Odysseus feels a sense of foreboding in the upcoming events. He states that he knew that hed â€Å"soon come up against/some giant clad in power like armor-plate—/a savage deaf to justice, blind to law† (238-240). Although he gets this feeling, he acts without reason. However, he irrationally leads his men into the cave of the Cyclops anyway. As a result, Odysseus led some of his men to a horrendous death. Long after the Cyclops is utterly defeated, Odysseus taunts Polyphemus. Odysseus allows his haughtiness to surpass his wisdom and ridicules the blinded giant; thereby, jeopardizing the lives of his entire crew when the Cyclops hurls a boulder at his boat. Odysseus could not stop there; he had to take the credit for Polyphemus defeat and shouts his true identity, contrary to his mens pleadings. He had previously instigated the monster, who in turn, could now seek revenge upon him. These instances depict how Odysseus’ rash behavior overtakes his wiliness. Bibliography: The Odyssey by Homer

Misdoubt Chamber of Commerce Essay

Introduction Misdoubt Chamber of Commerce (MSCC) is a non-profit organization created out of the need for legislature that directly addressed transportation access, an issue that was affecting the business and economic development. As time progressed and the business grew, the executive board acknowledged the need to migrate to computer technology to use information at their disposal efficiently. The goal of this case study is to analyze and list the changes that occurred as a result of MSCC acquiring new systems for handling business operations. Background After a thorough analysis MSCC’s computer systems were found to be lacking proper integration and documentation, had very little maintenance and support and were not Y2K compatible at the time of the evaluation. To help grow revenue at a rapid rate and to reduce staff and programs Leon Lassiter was hired in December 2000. Lassiter brought 12 years of marketing and sales management experience working with American Brands. He believed that working with MSCC would have afforded him the opportunity to make a bigger difference than he would have been able to make with his former employers. His vision, along with the newly hired computer programmer Simon Kovecki, was to incorporate a computer system that enabled the organization to run its principal functions more efficiently. Len Lassiter was a strong advocate for the organization purchasing a new system called UNITRAK. Although this may have been a smart business decision, employees were disillusioned as they felt that they should have been consulted when decisions of that magnitude needed to be made. Simon Kovecki, who never received the promotion that he felt was merited, also voiced his concerns about the fact that access to data was too easily accessible. Eventually, Lassiter’s demonstration of the new UNITRAK System was persuasive and powerful enough to convince the MSCC to purchase the system. The purchase of the new system, which in itself was fraught with delays, brought on some new challenges. The implementation of the project was late with staff and users raising concerns. However, it was deployed and Lassiter was adamant that two days of training was required by all employees to understand this new system. Initial reactions were that this system was not as user-friendly or efficient however Lassiter allayed these concerns stating that the system as a new one and as such would require employees spend some time getting comfortable and familiar with this system. One of the requirements of the UNITRAK is that older data had to be altered and or converted to a new system for effective application. This process was not without its problems as there were errors converting data, data was corrupted, and backups accidentally erasing crucial data. Jeff Hedges, in charge of computer operations, rarely followed up on system purchases and uses as he was preoccupied with other facets of the organization. All these problems led to an uncertainty as to whether the organization would have been able to face the upcoming Y2K changes . Discussion With all the changes that MSCC was facing, the need to list problems and solutions was imperative as we can see here: Lack of required skills of the computer department personnel: oProblem: Simon Kovechi had very little experience was disappointed with the fact that he did not get the promotion that he felt he deserved. He was also unable to acclimate to the new system in a timely manner due to his lack of IT experience. oSolution: Experienced personnel are essential to any system changes within an organization. Appropriate delegation of work: Problem: Jeff Hedges was unable to give the new system the attention that it warranted as he also had other responsibilities. In the case of Leon Lassiter, he was put in charge of computer operations although he was not the employee responsible heading computer operations. oSolution: Personnel with IT knowledge should head the computer operations department and in a situation where the company is transitioning, should be their primary focus. Supporting applications and software: Problem: UNITRAK was unable to provide adequate data conversion support. oSolution: It is imperative that when an organization is the moving to a new computer system they select one that provides adequate reliable support. compatibility Consistency of data: Problem: Separate databases run on one system. Solution: Integrated database should be utilized to allow for more efficient data entry. Lost data: Problem: Old information lost in previous backups due to lack of proper implementation. oSolution: Proper documentation of software so that backups are not corrupted. Y2K compatibility: Problem: System incompatible with Y2k Solution: Systems should be updated in a timely manner so that compatibility is not an issue. Based on these problem and solution sets MSCC should implement the following: †¢Ensure that IT department has employees with the necessary skillsets for data conversion; †¢The board and management of the organization should be actively involved in the implementation of any new systems; †¢Request adequate support from UNITRAK along with proper documentation for the new system. †¢Ensure the organization has an efficient backup system in place †¢An outside consultant should be hired to help make the system Y2K compatible in a timely manner. Reviewed and made more concise. Conclusion MSCC relies heavily on data that is accumulated within their computer systems. In this instance, they were found to be negligent in protecting and securing their most important assets thus almost claiming bankruptcy in the process. MSCC should have had a strategic plan for implementation of a new system to achieve a seamless transition with very little loss to the business.

Anatomy of Taste Buds

Anatomy of Taste Buds The oral cavity and its anatomy play a key role in understanding taste and its biological function in the human body. The oral cavity consists of your lips, cheeks, teeth, tongue and throat. The taste buds are the chemoreceptors that detect and relay taste stimuli. In order for the taste buds to detect the taste of food or drink, the molecule must be suspended in an aqueous solution, otherwise known as saliva. Most taste buds are found within specialized projections on the tongue called papillae (Seeley, Stephens, they do not house taste buds but they do provide the rough surface on the tongue that allows for easier manipulation of food (Seeley, Stephens, â€Å"Eight to 12 of these papillae form a V-shaped row along the border between the anterior and posterior parts of the tongue† (Seeley, Stephens, & Tate, 2008). Each person has roughly 10,000 taste buds on their tongue, and each taste bud contains three distinct types of specialized epithelial cells within them. â€Å"T he sensory cells of each taste bud consist of about 50 taste, or gustatory cells. The remaining two cell types, which are nonsensory cells, are basal cells and supporting cells† (Seeley, Stephens, & Tate, 2008). Each taste cell has gustatory hairs, which are specialized microvilli, that help direct the tastants, or substances dissolved in saliva, into the taste, or gustatory, pore (Seeley, Stephens, & Tate, 2008). Several secondary sensory neurons connect to each taste bud and release neurotransmitters when stimulated. Sensory information from the oral cavity can travel to the brain in three different ways. The tongue itself is broken down into thirds. Sensory information from the anterior, or front, two-thirds of the tongue is transmitted to the brain via a branch of the facial nerve (cranial nerve VII) called the chorda tympani (Seeley, Stephens, & Tate, 2008). Information from the posterior, or back, one-third of the tongue, the circumvallate papillae, and the superior phar ynx is carried by the glossopharyngeal nerve (cranial nerve IX) (Seeley, Stephens, & Tate, 2008). The vagus nerve (cranial nerve X) transmits information from the epiglottis, which is located in the back of the throat (Seeley, Stephens, & Tate, 2008). The olfactory region also has a substantial role in taste so it warrants a brief anatomical discussion as well. Olfaction is our sense of smell and it is a response to odorants that stimulate sensory receptors that are located in the extreme superior region of the nasal cavity (Seeley, Stephens, & Tate, 2008). The ten million olfactory neurons that are located in the olfactory region of the nasal cavity then travel through foramen in the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone in the bottom of the skull and terminate into the olfactory bulb that’s just above the cribriform plate (Seeley, Stephens, & Tate, 2008). The olfactory tract then takes the signal from the olfactory bulb to the cerebral cortex (Seeley, Stephens, & Tate, 2008) . This is a simplified version of the much more complex biological process that is olfaction, but it is sufficient for the depth of this paper.

Price Discrimination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Price Discrimination - Essay Example According to the research findings, customers can benefit from research and development as a result of increased revenue that companies earn. In the service industry, some of the customers will benefit from the low price on off-peak time and the firms will benefit on the peak time due to high prices on services and products. Some of the firms will increase revenues and be able to be a going concern in business and even expand.According to the research findings, customers can benefit from research and development as a result of increased revenue that companies earn. In the service industry, some of the customers will benefit from the low price on off-peak time and the firms will benefit on the peak time due to high prices on services and products. Some of the firms will increase revenues and be able to be a going concern in business and even expand.Price discrimination may attract administrative cost when engaging in market segmentation and predatory pricing may be funded by the profi ts gained . Since P>MC, some of the higher prices charge may be allocated inefficiently to the unintended consumer. Some of the customers may be charged high prices. The high prices may be unintended for the rich but the poor may end up also paying that high price (Patel, 2012). In conclusion, the rationale of price discrimination on shelves in supermarkets would be influenced by the type, the strategies used in pricing and the methods that influence price discrimination. Products that are placed at the top of the shelves will have a different price to those at eye level and bottom shelves. Price elasticity of demand also influences the products placed on the shelves as those products place at eye level to have more demand at relatively cheaper prices. Also, certain reasons would influence price discrimination in a monopolistic market such as, service that involves specialization or professionalism and geographical distance. Lack of availability of information also has an impact on price discrimination.

Analysis and critique paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis and critique paper - Assignment Example al., 2012). The use of randomized controlled trial or quasi-experiment study design was one of the determinants of whether a study would be included in the analysis. A potential study for this analysis had to have studied persons from a population of equal or less than eighteen years and their parents. A qualified study for inclusion in this analysis had to have used text messaging as its impact in influencing health behavior. The analysis required potential research studies to have used pre-test and or post-test in measuring health behavior outcome. The source of a potential research study for this analysis had to be a peer-reviewed journal. Any study to be included in the analysis had to have been published in English (Militello et. al., 2012). Seven studies represented by eight articles were included in the review. Many of these studies used randomized controlled trials, one used randomized crossover design study, and another used a quasi-experimental study. Three studies concluded that reminders are effective improving the outcomes of blood glucose monitoring, insulin therapy in diabetics and anti-rejection medications in liver transplant patients. More than five other studies supported this conclusion and the use of text message intervention among the diverse population of urban parents was another conclusion that was consistent in a number of the selected studies (Militello et. al., 2012). The topic of this integrative research review was clearly defined. The search for studies and other evidence used in this review was comprehensive and unbiased and the screening of citations considered for inclusion in this review was based on explicit criteria. Included studies in this review were assessed for quality by gauging their level of evidence. The discussion and display of the findings of the included studies was

International Trade and Technology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Trade and Technology - Assignment Example It can be seen that countries that have the resources and capacity end up benefitting from the ideas originating from the other nations that have weaker intellectual property protection (Roos, 2008). However, such countries also stand better chances for development since their ideas can be improved to come up with valuable products. Countries need weak intellectual property protection when they are still in the developing stages and they do not have the resources to turn their ideas into valuable product. This will help these countries to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) that can boost their economies (Haydam, 2001). On the other hand, countries that have vibrant economies need stronger intellectual property protection in order to protect their interests. 2. The World Trade Organization (WTO) in partnership with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are specifically concerned with setting parameters for and directing the economic policies of governments around t he world (Haydam, 2001). In other words, WTO is responsible for facilitating trade among different nations and making sure that fair trade practices are upheld. However, the main issue with WTO is that it determines the amount of debt a country can get from international monetary organizations like IMF and World Bank. Developed countries enjoy an unfavourable advantage compared to developing countries which entails that they have an upper hand in various trade deals. The key element of The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is mainly related to protection of property rights. The technical barriers to the agreement involve the fact that less developed countries are often found at the receiving end since they may lack the technology and equipment to transform ideas into meaningful products that can be traded in order to boost their own local economies. As a result of the fact that developing nations may not have sufficient equipment to develop v arious products, they end up giving in to countries that have the resources which may not bring the anticipated results. 3. In most cases, the host country benefits from the international migration of scientists and technologists from poorer countries to wealthier countries. These people would boost growth and development in the host countries where they will get the opportunity to get jobs that suit their qualifications and skills. Warhurst (2008) suggest that migrant workers especially in developed countries positively contribute to their economic development. However, the main problem is that migrant workers are poorly remunerated since the host countries would also be intending to take advantage of them. Apart from failing to get salaries that are not commensurate with their skills and qualifications, the migrant workers will significantly contribute to the development of the host countries. Their knowledge and skills would be used to develop other countries while their own coun tries continue to lag behind in terms of development. Therefore, it can be seen that the host countries, developed nations in particular are the winners in as far as the aspect of skilled migrant workers is concerned. The original countries where these people come from are losers as a result of skills flight. The people who are supposed to carry out research and development project in the country

Death penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Death penalty - Essay Example And if it can, under what circumstances should it be used? Does the punishment acts as a deterrent? What are the alternatives? Does it contribute to a safe and secure environment? This debate is unlikely to end soon (Stearman, 2007). This debate is clearly one that is bound to go on for a long time with passionate debaters and defenders of stands on both sides of the argument. In this essay I take a stand on this debate by supporting the death penalty. I offer several reasons for this stand and provide references on the same. Some advocates of the death penalty offer support to the practice arguing that the death penalty justifies itself because it saves taxpayers the greater costs of supporting an inmate for a lifetime, or many decades, in prison. This economic assumption rests in part on the belief that executions happen more quickly and efficiently than serving a life sentence (Gerber & Johnson, 2007). Another related belief among supporters of capital punishment lies in the notio n that the system of justice, like the legal system generally, is nearly infallible. While the system may commit an occasional mistake, such mistakes readily appear and can be made to disappear in the magic of the appellate process. This view normally also maintains that our capital machinery accurately separates the guilty from the innocent and punishes accordingly, without regard to race or social status or finances. Some people nursing this cluster of beliefs like to say that the wheels of justice move slowly but â€Å"exceedingly fine.† The legal process always succeeds, eventually, in separating the wheat from the chaff and does so impartially. Given their career investment in this system, judges have been known to entertain this belief (Gerber & Johnson, 2007). Some supporters of the death penalty also take a moralistic approach. To these kinds of people the main justification for the death penalty lies in giving every offender his â€Å"due.† In this philosophic al position capital punishment finds its support in the notion of moral â€Å"desert†, where desert implies a punishment required to be proportionate in kind, severity, or amount of pain matching the original crime. Advocates of this view maintain that the most convincing justification for the death penalty lies in the assertion that punishment should mirror the gravity of the initial crime, as in the phrase, â€Å"an eye for an eye, and a life for a life† (Gerber & Johnson, 2007). A particularly recent justification for the death penalty considers the plight of suffering victims. Some victim advocates maintain that the death penalty finds its primary justification in its ability to nurture victims in either or both of two ways – by providing a kind of â€Å"closure† to their painful victimization and/or by providing an outlet for their emotional need for vengeance. The ascendancy of these victim rationales for punishment plays a major role today in suppo rt for capital punishment. Some segments of the victim rights movement assert that the wishes of hurting victims alone require capital punishment of those who had caused their unfortunate plight (Gerber & Johnson, 2007). Another more legalistic belief, espoused by some constitutional scholars, including some Supreme Court justices, asserts that fidelity to the constitution requires adherence to the beliefs and practices of our Founders. When a constitutional text about capital

Sugar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sugar - Essay Example Purchasing for Sugar is not centralized. At the same time the present process of purchasing follows none of the established rules of purchasing for a chain of stores. In fact there is no standardized purchasing strategy. â€Å"Purchasing strategy includes long term agreement, product design collaboration, and seamless supply chain process between the trading partners.† (Ling Li, page 63)i. Purchasing at Sugar stores is not even scientifically decentralized as delegated purchasing at Sugar shops does not owe accountability to the management. A mixed sort of purchasing system is being followed wherein individuals take up purchasing responsibility on the basis of their experience and contacts in the market. With the result all those advantages of centralized purchasing like economies of scale and others, as discussed later part of this assignment, are not being attained. Costlier hybrid or mixed style of purchasing system is bound to shrink the turnover and profitability. Cash and Carry style of purchasing, adopted by Sugar stores, means branded apparel are not being sold at Sugar stores. Branded apparels are designed as per the prevalent market and fashion trends. In fact brands set the fashion trend in the market. There is always a scientific process involved in fabrication of branded apparels. Designers introduce styles that become craze during the coming session. These branded styles of garments are fabricated only for those business houses that care for fashion and styles. Increased sales automatically follow such brands. Charles W. Lamb and other (page 309)ii believe that â€Å"retailers love consumers’ increased acceptance of private brands.† The styles that attract sales are not available in whole sale stores from where Sugar stores are making purchases. Accordingly the purchasing approach of Sugar is rather negative. Management of Sugar is not interested in taking risks and that is why sales at such stores are a cause

College admission - why my rank dropped (2 to 31) and my GPA dropped Essay

College admission - why my rank dropped (2 to 31) and my GPA dropped from 4.0+ to 3.7 - change of school - Essay Example ore, I learned advanced scientific concepts in "Evolution, Biodiversity, and Ecology†, â€Å"Scientific Inquiries - Chemistry", â€Å"Scientific Inquiries - Physics", â€Å"Methods in Scientific Inquiry†, and â€Å"Mathematical Investigations III & IV†. IMSA classes are rigorous college preparatory courses (AP), with all classes being taught at the honors level. Unfortunately, I had to transfer to my home school on Dec 5 2012, 5 days before the completion of first semester of junior year at IMSA due to health reasons. According to IMSA policy, I could not get credit for the rigorous college preparatory courses, since I did not complete the semester. Moreover, Glenbard South could not transfer credits for courses taken at IMSA during 3 months (Aug -Dec). I had to study the Glenbard South syllabus on my own and complete it in 3 weeks’ time, which was overwhelmingly challenging. I completed first semester syllabus in AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, AP English Literature, and Composition in record 3 weeks’ time. Self-study, limited time, and difficulty of curriculum limited my scoring in the subjects to B+. This affected my GPA such that I dropped from rank 3 to rank 31 in a batch of 317 students. Additionally, Glenbard South did not have the equivalent advanced curriculum course titles to match courses taken at IMSA in sophomore year, which affected my GPA further. Therefore, my class rank and GPA calculated is not the appropriate reflection of Honors Course Curriculum, I had taken at IMSA. However, I derive satisfaction from the fact that I secured admission in one of the most competitive public high school and studied advanced curriculum that helped me prepare for the college. My SAT scores reflect my great potential since I managed to score 730 in Chemistry, 800 in Mathematics and 700 in English. I therefore believe that I have a greater potential than my GPA reflects. Given the chance, I can demonstrate that I am indeed a perfect candidate for Ivy League

Starbucks - Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Starbucks - - Case Study Example Additionally, the paper will describe the role of sustainable development in Starbuck’s approach to social responsibility. The Starbuck 2003 Corporate Social Responsibility Report, Titled â€Å"Living Our Values,† defines the coffee retailer’s approach to social responsibility. The approach focuses on partners, diversity, coffee product, customers, community and environment, and profitability. The three concepts of social responsibility are profit responsibility, stakeholder responsibility, and societal responsibility (Kerin et al, 2010). In relation to profit responsibility, a company should maximize profits for the stakeholders without taking advantage of supply shortages to charge very high prices on products. Starbuck’s observes profit responsibility by selling its product via supermarkets, the company’s retail shops, and by extension taking the Starbuck’s coffee experience to the employer’s offices. It uses low profit grocery market segments, retail business cafes, coffee kiosks, high profit margin kiosks, and corporate cafeterias to reinforce and serve its products using high-class experience. It embraces supplier diversity, pays its coffee suppliers well, and conserves their environment. These measures guarantees high and well deserved profits. Where, profits are significant for the growth of Starbuck’s, profitability is placed last as it depends on adherence to partners, diversity, coffee/product, customers, community and environment principles. In relation to stakeholder’s responsibility, a company focuses on stakeholders that can contribute to the achievement of its objectives. Indeed, the coffee retail shop encourages its partners, to stick to the mission statement, comment on deviations from Starbuck 2003 Corporate Social Responsibility Report, participate, and analyze management decisions. In addition, Starbuck’s accords

The Tell Tale Heart Essay Essay Example for Free

The Tell Tale Heart Essay Essay In Poes The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator claims that he is not mad but his behavior tells a different story. He is truly determined to destroy another male human being, not because of jealousy or animosity but because one of his eyes resembled that of a vulture- a pale blue eye, with a film over it (1206). The narrator sees the man with this ghastly eye as a threat to his well being, but it is he who is a menace to his own being. He kills the man with pride only to concede to his horrific crime due to his guilt-ridden heart. His heart is empty, except for the evil that exists inside which ultimately destroys him. The narrator insists that it his duty to kill the man with the evil eye because he can no longer bear to observe the horrifying sight. He has become obsessed with the eye and when he conceives his ultimate plan he says it haunted me day and night (1206). Just as he describes the mans eye as similar to that of a vulture, the narrator suddenly bares the resemblance of a true vulture. He is now a predaSymbolism in Edgar Allen Poes The Tell-Tale Heart In Poes The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator claims that he is not mad but his behavior tells a different story. He is truly determined to destroy another male human being, not because of jealousy or animosity but because one of his eyes resembled that of a vulture- a pale blue eye, with a film over it (1206). The narrator sees the man with this ghastly eye as a threat to his well being, but it is he who is a menace to his own being. He kills the man with pride only to concede to his horrific crime due to his guilt-ridden heart. His heart is empty, except for the evil that exists inside which ultimately destroys him. The narrator insists that it his duty to kill the man with the evil eye because he can no longer bear to observe the horrifying sight. He has become obsessed with the eye and when he conceives his ultimate plan he says it haunted me day and night (1206). Just as he describes the mans eye as similar to that of a vulture, the narrator suddenly bares the resemblance of a true vulture. He is now a predaSymbolism in Edgar Allen Poes The Tell-Tale Heart In Poes The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator claims that he is not mad but his behavior tells a different story. He is truly determined to destroy another male human being, not because of jealousy or animosity but because one of his eyes resembled that of a vulture- a pale blue eye, with a film over it (1206). The narrator sees the man with this ghastly eye as a threat to his well being, but it is he who is a menace to his own being. He kills the man with pride only to concede to his horrific crime due to his guilt-ridden heart. His heart is empty, except for the evil that exists inside which ultimately destroys him. The narrator insists that it his duty to kill the man with the evil eye because he can no longer bear to observe the horrifying sight. He has become obsessed with the eye and when he conceives his ultimate plan he says it haunted me day and night (1206). Just as he describes the mans eye as similar to that of a vulture, the narrator suddenly bares the resemblance of a true vulture. He is now a predaSymbolism in Edgar Allen Poes The Tell-Tale Heart In Poes The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator claims that he is not mad but his behavior tells a different story. He is truly determined to destroy another male human being, not because of jealousy or animosity but because one of his eyes resembled that of a vulture- a pale blue eye, with a film over it (1206). The narrator sees the man with this ghastly eye as a threat to his well being, but it is he who is a menace to his own being. He kills the man with pride only to concede to his horrific crime due to his guilt-ridden heart. His heart is empty, except for the evil that exists inside which ultimately destroys him. The narrator insists that it his duty to kill the man with the evil eye because he can no longer bear to observe the horrifying sight. He has become obsessed with the eye and when he conceives his ultimate plan he says it haunted me day and night (1206). Just as he describes the mans eye as similar to that of a vulture, the narrator suddenly bares the resemblance of a true vulture. He is now a predaSymbolism in Edgar Allen Poes The Tell-Tale Heart In Poes The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator claims that he is not mad but his behavior tells a different story. He is truly determined to destroy another male human being, not because of jealousy or animosity but because one of his eyes resembled that of a vulture- a pale blue eye, with a film over it (1206). The narrator sees the man with this ghastly eye as a threat to his well being, but it is he who is a menace to his own being. He kills the man with pride only to concede to his horrific crime due to his guilt-ridden heart. His heart is empty, except for the evil that exists inside which ultimately destroys him. The narrator insists that it his duty to kill the man with the evil eye because he can no longer bear to observe the horrifying sight. He has become obsessed with the eye and when he conceives his ultimate plan he says it haunted me day and night (1206). Just as he describes the mans eye as similar to that of a vulture, the narrator suddenly bares the resemblance of a true vulture. He is now a preda

The Field Of Decision Making Effectuation Business Essay

The Field Of Decision Making Effectuation Business Essay The creation of new businesses has a significant impact on creating more jobs and economic growth. Entrepreneurial studies have significant results. Personal characteristics of entrepreneurs, market forces and conditions, Industry trends and dynamics can have an important influence on the success of the entrepreneur but also the social skills that helps them to interact successful with others. Entrepreneurs are linked to perform financial activities of new ventures, after other studies proved high social skills is good for almost all individuals. In recent years causation versus effectuation has become an essential subject in Entrepreneurial science. Ten years ago, two terms of different styles of entrepreneurship were introduced called Causation and Effectuation. In the field of decision-making Effectuation is a relatively new theory of entrepreneurship research. Entrepreneurial process is an inverse of the classical causational process. Many scholars have written different books on this concept but in my assignment I will use ideas and concept of one particular person her name is Sarasvathy. She explained these two terms causation and effectuation in a very nice way. Sarasvathy (2001a) defines that causational process take a particular effect as given and focus on selecting between means to create that effect, while defining that effectuation process take a set of means as given and focus on selecting between possible effects that can be created with that set of means (p.245). She has also given different examples to explain this concept in good way and clarify her statement and difference between causation and effectuation. Using her example which she established in her dissertation (p.245): a chef that is asked to cook dinner for a host. The causation process would mean the host chooses a menu, upon which the chef shops for the necessary ingredients and cooks the meal. Hence, the end is given and predictable, and the focus is on acquiring, and selecting between, the means to achieve the end. The effectuation process mean would that the host asks the chef to imagine possible menus based on the available means in the kitchen: available ingredients and utensils. Hence, the mean are given and focus is on what can be achieved with them. Nowadays mostly entrepreneurs use effectuation model rather than causational model thats why effectuation model continuously gaining foothold in the field of entrepreneurship research. In this assignment, I will address a piece of that gap. If we go back to the Sarasvathy theories about entrepreneurship, Sarasvathy (2001a) indicates that the theory of effectuation is influenced by a large list of scholars for example Knight, Weick, March, Buchanan, Vanberg. According to Sarasvathy theoretical framework. Effectuation inverts the fundamental principles, solution process and overall logic of predictive rationality Sarasvathy (2001a p.2) It is argued that effective mechanisms associated with the discovery and exploitation of opportunities in new markets with high levels of uncertainty (Sarasvathy, 2001). For this reason, Sarasvathy suggests that the success of the first participants in a new industry is more likely to use the process of achieving causal processes. Because the effectuation and has a sophisticated design and prediction, the costs associated with these activities are reduced (Bhide, 2000; Mintzberg, 1994). Sarasvathy (2001) argues that while new businesses fail created by effectuation model, they will fail in initial levels and / or lower investments than those businesses which created through the causal model. Implementing the theory based on the decision of the literature suggests that if decision makers believe that it is a relatively unpredictable, they will try to gather information about the future trends of experimental, iterative learning (for example, Ries, 2011).The elements of effectuation help us to reconstruction experimental and iterative learning techniques that allow entrepreneurs to discover information about the future as time passes. (Sarasvathy, 2001). Sarasvathy describes succinctly the difference in the two logical modes: Causal problems are problems of decision; effectual problems are problems of design. Causal logics help us choose; effectual logics help us construct. Causal strategies are useful when the future is predictable, goals are clear and the environment is independent of our actions; effectual strategies are useful when the future is unpredictable, goals are unclear and the environment is driven by human action. The causal actor begins with an effect he wants to create and asks, What should I do to achieve this particular effect? The effecutator begins with her means and asks, What can I do with these means? And then again, What else can I do with them? (Sarasvathy 2008). The study showed that the two methods differed by five factors Resource driven objectives The first and most definitive part which separated experts from novices was how they began the process of making decisions to create a business. (Sarasvathy,2008). The beginner started with a business plan (with corresponding targets) and market research. Business experts entrepreneurs, meanwhile, made three key issues: 1) Who am I? 2) What do I know? 3) Who do I know? To do this, the employer is strictly inventory of resources. What services or goods, the employer already know how to deliver? When asked who the employer has identified these things were more passionate. Finally, the most extreme effectuators always started with what he knew well, could begin to build partnerships. For example, one participant said: The traditional market research, he says, based on a broad collection of information, perhaps via e-mail. I would not do that. I literally would seek, as I said at the beginning, company key star call; do a frontal lobotomy on them. . . The challenge is to actually choose your partners and yourself early package before you have to put a lot of capital. (Sarasvathy, 2008). This line of thinking is very similar look with Napoleon. As in the Battle of Toulon (Note 4) Napoleon had decided to conquer these strategic resources to rigorously examined and their position. (Duggan, 2009). Similarly, entrepreneurs resources expert study before making a decision. Minimizing losses rather than focusing on returns The second element is that entrepreneurs like to spend only what they could afford to lose. (Sarasvathy, 2008). In contrast, novices focused on the amount that can be expected in return. Ends effectuators not want to spend money. He was careful in spending money on marketing. An entrepreneur may even sell a product that was not available to the client. He built only after the customer wanted to buy. (Sarasvathy, 2008). Forming partnerships The third element is that the business experts differ from novices focusing on partner search. First, he tried to quickly turn customers into partners which come in their new business. Second, unlike novices who focus on competition, experts are diligent in building associations. Refining the service or product based on customer feedback The fourth element is that entrepreneurs specialists recognize that the initial product is not where it should be. (Sarasvathy 2008). When applying iterative information for customers about your product or service, the entrepreneur has the ability to transform. Thus, the contractor is not an expert to say a fixed idea of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹what the market needs. Instead, the entrepreneur and the dialogue with the market to determine what the market wants. (Sarasvathy 2008). Arriving at a different destination The fifth and final point is that entrepreneur experts do not have a fixed goal or destination. For example, unlike the classic strategic model, the journey from A to B is often converted into a journey from A to C, where C is unthinkable death or diversion. Two thirds of the study participants, eventually selling products or services that is different from their origin. (Sarasvathy 2008). This is another look resonate with Napoleon. Map of Napoleons final battle and the strategic points have changed their plans before the battle. Similarly, when employers use guidance based media must change their original plans of the dynamics of resources, knowledge, alliances, customers and environmental changes. (Sarasvathy 2008). EXAMPLES Following are the examples of effectuation model businesses. Ebay.co.uk Kelkoo.co.uk Gocompare.com Facebook.com Zara Gap Auto trader Ali baba Conclusion Effectuation has big hold on the imagination of researchers because it identi ¬Ã‚ es and questions basic consideration of how individuals think and behave when starting businesses, and it offers on other hand explanation to causation that many believe has face validity. An effectuation model company seems particularly appropriate as it can best be explained how, in the absence of current markets for future goods and services, these goods and services manage to come into existence (Venkataraman, 1997, p. 120). In other words, it seems preferable to describe the actual thoughts and behaviours that some experienced entrepreneurs to start a new business. Therefore, we believe that the application of entrepreneurship and effectuation model is a theoretical model to be tested by the researchers. In this assignment, I aimed to answer the question, what is currently known, in terms of literature, about the relationship between causation and effectuation? This was done through a comprehensive literature review, first realise that effectuation is relatively new but already well established in entrepreneurial decision making, enjoying a large number of species theories and empirical evidence proving its existence. Secondly, it was found that there was only one role associated with the effectuation and start-up performance. Thirdly, I studied the relationship between causation and effectuation although there is a big contradiction as relationship between the two is obvious. The last part of the literature review focuses on other influences on performance that could be distilled from a business plan to control their growth and motivation / intention was the result.

Light Touch Regulation and the Global Financial Crisis

Light Touch Regulation and the Global Financial Crisis Carla Vecchio Contents (Jump to) 1.0 Light Touch Regulation and the Global Financial Crisis 2.0 Stress Scenarios and Credit Modelling 1.0 Light Touch Regulation and the Global Financial Crisis In October 2008, almost three years after stepping down as Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, Alan Greenspan, also known as the Maestro, admitted in a Congressional hearing that he had been â€Å"partially† wrong in assuming that lending institutions would act in the best interest of their shareholders (Greenspan 2009), thus deflecting blame for the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) that led to the collapse of dozens of major financial institutions and millions of mortgage defaults, costing the global community trillions of dollars in savings and millions of jobs. Yet it was he, an ex-director of JP Morgan, first appointed by Ronald Reagan, who was instrumental in creating the conditions that made it possible. Greenspan approved bank consolidation, pushed financial deregulation, advocated a reduction in bank capital reserves and blocked efforts to stop abusive subprime lending (Pearlstein 2013). Finally, when presented with warning signs of an impending disaster by fellow Federal Reserve Board members just before the GFC, he dismissed them and instead drew conclusions best described by Lord Adair Turner’s words (2010) â€Å"Panglossian, that is blindly or naively optimistic†. Greenspan did however concede during his congressional grilling that there should have been greater regulatory oversight of financial institutions, and it is now universally accepted that this â€Å"light touch regulation† leading up to the GFC materially contributed to the crisis. For people like Lord Adair, who now have the benefit of hindsight, the â€Å"major cause of the crisis† was the fact that â€Å"over several decades prior to 2008, private credit grew faster than GDP in most adv anced economies† and with it, leverage (The Institute for New Economic Thinking 2014). He agrees that the regulators failed, and proposes a new set of policies to â€Å"constrain the growth of private credit† and more importantly to â€Å"influence the type of credit extended† (INET 2014). The generally accepted ultimate causes of the GFC are deregulation of the financial markets; financial innovations; executive compensation; low interest rates; sub-prime loans; and speculation (The Global Financial Crisis 2012, 141).Whilst the changes to the financial sector were driven by ideology, the motivating force behind them was for the most part greed. Neoliberal theories â€Å"advocated policies that aided the accumulation† of wealth in fewer hands arguing that it would create jobs causing wealth to eventually trickle down to all (Beder 2009, 3). They also maintained that â€Å"government intervention in the management of the economy is unnecessary† because the market is self-correcting, an idea attractive to government because it absolved it of responsibility (Beder 2009, 3). The rapid growth of international trade in the 1980’s facilitated global financial liberalisation which made it easier for American banks to argue for deregulation to make them more competitive against foreign banks (The Global Financial Crisis 2012, 141). They found an ally in President Ronald Reagan who had been elected on a platform of limiting the role of government, and they embarked on an unprecedented and expensive lobbying campaign to convince other politicians of the benefits of financial deregulation (Johnson 2012). The first burst of deregulatory bravado came in 1982 with the ushering in of the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act. Key provisions of the Act like raising the â€Å"allowable ceiling on direct investments by savings institutions in non-residential assets from 20% to 40%† set the scene for the savings and loan crisis of the 1980’s and would later be blamed for thousands of bank failures (Gilani 2009). The ultimate price however, was the undoing of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, also known as the Banking Act of 1933. Among other things, the Act governed banks’ domestic operations; separated commercial and investment banks; and established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), thus ensuring bank deposits and giving the Federal Reserve greater control (The Chronology of Bank Deregulation n.d.). In 1987, Alan Greenspan took over the chairmanship of the Federal Reserve Board, and his free-market philosophies would champion the deregulatory movement (Gilani 2009). A year later, in 1988, the â€Å"Basel Accord established international risk-based capital requirements for deposit taking banks† that would require lenders to set aside reserves (Gilani 2009). Conversely, marketable securities would only require minimal reserves, which allowed unscrupulous banks to free up reserves by shifting from â€Å"originating and holding mortgages to packaging them and holding the mortgage assets in a now-securitized form†, thus severing the link between asset quality considerations and asset liquidity considerations (Gilani 2009). Greenspan asserted that bank deregulation was necessary for banks to become global financial powers, and by using his own powers, Greenspan set out to dismantle the Glass-Steagall Act firstly by allowing banks to deal in debt and equity securities, and finally by allowing banks to own securities firms (The Chronology of Bank Deregulation n.d.). The final demise of the Glass-Steagall Act came when Citibank was bought by Travelers, a deal which under the Act was illegal. It was then made legal when the Gramm-Leach-Billey Financial Services Modernisation Act, bulldosed through by Senator Gramm, was signed into law by Bill Clinton and at once doing away with the Glass-Steagall Act (Gilani 2009). Senator Gramm who was an economist and free market ideologist, further used his position of power to espouse the virtues of subprime lending by famously declaring â€Å"I look at subprime lending and I see the American Dream in action† (Gilani 2009). Subprime lending or lending to people who would ordinarily have little hope of obtaining a loan, thus came to be looked upon favourably by politicians as it allowed record numbers of consumers to purchase a home (The Financial Crisis and the Great Recession n.d., 337). A direct outgrowth of easy lending, its roots can be traced to the Technology Bubble of the late 1990’s which had been encouraged by the loose money policies of the Federal Reserve under Alan Greenspan (Bello 2008).When the bubble burst and sent the U.S. into recession, Greenspan tried to counter it by lowering the prime interest rate to a historical low of 1% (The Financial Crisis and the Great Recession n.d., 338). This in turn encouraged another bubble: the real estate bubble (Bello 2008). â€Å"Driving the demand for subprime loans was the development of a culture of entitlement† and the U.S. government’s push of home ownership as an inalienable right (The Global Financial Crisis 2012, 145). Th is combination of low interest rates and high levels of liquidity facilitated higher risk taking and speculation. Caution was often equated to lack of optimism so even the most cautious were driven by herd mentality into the market, even in the face of continuously rising house prices (The Global Financial Crisis 2012, 146). Financial wizards were in the meantime designing ever more complex financial products. Initially meant to â€Å"manage risk and make capital less expensive and more available†, they ironically ultimately led to the GFC (The Global Financial Crisis 2012, 142). Loans were bundled in a process called securitization, and sold globally to others who had no direct interest in the customers’ ability to repay the loans. In the process, vast amounts of money were made available to borrowers leading to more loans and further driving house prices up. Credit Derivatives, essentially bets on the credit worthiness of a particular company were used to transfer risk away from the banks leading to even more risk taking on the part of the banks (The Global Financial Crisis 2012, 143). Huge executive salaries and compensation packages played a major role in the creation of the GFC. Tied to short-term performance, they further encouraged risk taking, relaxing of lending criteria (The Finan cial Crisis and the Great Recession n.d.,340) and even accounting fraud as in the case of Enron, Global Crossing and WorldCom (The Global Financial Crisis 2012, 144). The proliferation of subprime lending was responsible for doubling the mortgage borrowing in the U.S. from an annual average of $500 billion in 1998 to over $1 trillion in the 2003-6 period (The Financial Crisis and the Great Recession n.d., 341). When mortgage repayments became more difficult in 2006, a wave of subprime foreclosures ensued creating a glut in the market and dramatic drop in house prices (The Financial Crisis and the Great Recession n.d., 341). The rest is history. Banks deemed â€Å"too big to fail† failed, and trillions of dollars were lost. In the U.S. alone, 3 million homes were foreclosed and 9 million people lost their jobs. In his congressional testimony, Alan Greenspan basically testified that he thought he could trust bankers and credit rating agencies to do the right thing by their shareholders and price risks accordingly, but with such huge profits to be made, it appears that greed triumphed. Considerable evidence has in fact mounted since the GFC to show that his vision of the markets and organisations â€Å"is not only oversimplified, but utopic† (Turner 2010). Critics and many economists now blame Greenspan for the crisis. Indeed, it is clear that notwithstanding his faith in others, it was incumbent upon him as the steward of the world’s largest economy to be vigilant. â€Å"You had the authority to prevent irresponsible lending practices that led to the subprime mortgage crisis. You were advised to do so by many others,† said Representative Henry A. Waxman of California, chairman of the committee (Andrews 2008). â€Å"Do you feel your ideology pushed you to make decisions that you wish you had not made?† Mr. Greenspan conceded: â€Å"Yes I’ve found a flaw† (Andrews 2008). 2.0 Stress Scenarios and Credit Modelling When credit is extended by a lender to a borrower, there is a certain risk that the borrower may default on its payment, thus causing a loss to the lender. If the losses are large enough, the lender may be forced to default on its own obligations to others, as seen during the most recent Global Financial Crisis (GFC) which saw a number of large banks file for bankruptcy. To minimise the probability of the borrower defaulting, banks adopt lending practices and ratios, and conduct a review of the borrower’s ability to repay the loan. Competitive pressure from other banks to make credit more affordable means that banks have to try as best they can, to estimate the probability of defaults and the size and nature of possible losses, and make provision for them. The banks’ credit is mathematically modelled, which is then used to estimate the likely outcomes produced by different hypothetical but realistic and potential scenarios. Credit models can be divided into two groups: credit risk models and credit growth models. A credit risk model is used to predict the main credit risk parameters, particularly the probability of default. Conversely, a credit growth model is used to estimate the growth in bank portfolios and to estimate the growth of the bank’s risk-weighted assets, that is, the bank’s off-balance-sheet exposures weighted according to risk and hence the capital requirement as explained in the Basel Accord. A bank’s ability to withstand the most adverse conditions is tested by carrying out a so called â€Å"stress test†, whereby extreme values for certain variables are used in the bank’s credit model to predict the outcome. Most commonly, the stress test is applied to credit risk as this carries the most important and most serious consequences for a bank. The Banking Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) (2009, p.1) states that stress testing is a vital risk management tool employed by many banks â€Å"as part of their internal risk management and, through the Basel II capital adequacy framework, is promoted by supervisors†. The rigorous stress testing program requires management to adopt a forward thinking mentality and create â€Å"what if† scenarios that are extreme, but plausible. Thus the purpose of such an exercise is to assess a bank’s resilience to potential adverse shocks in the financial economic environment that may have a catastrophic effect on the institution or financial system as a whole. For example, a modeller may measure the effect rising interest rates has on home loan defaults. A mathematical formula can then be derived to link the two factors. As well as being a supplementary tool for other risk management approaches, stress testing provides management with an indication of the â€Å"approp riate level of capital necessary to endure deteriorating economic conditions† (BCBS 2009, p. 1). Since the GFC, stress testing of banking systems has been used more extensively and in a broader variety of contexts. The internal risk management exercises within the Basel II capital adequacy framework has led many financial institutions and supervisors to focus attention on stress tests in relation to credit risk as an additional way to test the reliability of the internal models they adopt (Schechtman and Gaglianone 2011). The increasing need for financial stability within today’s economic environment, and its role as a policy goal of central banks, has also promoted interest in macroeconomic stress testing and the link it has to credit risk (Schechtman and Gaglianone 2011). There are two broad types of stress scenarios: The reduced-form stress scenario and the sharply contrasting structural stress scenario. According to Roger Stein from Moody’s Research Labs (2011), these terms have been adopted from the credit modelling literature, and are the two main approaches used to model credit risk. A structural scenario possesses a â€Å"causal, economically intuitive relationship† (Stein 2011) between a firm’s asset and the probability of it defaulting, that is, it has a clear and logical economic rationale for the effect of a particular factor on a portfolio. It is focused on the state of the economy, as described by the macroeconomic factors involved and requires a definite link between asset behaviour and the stress factor. Because different asset classes within the portfolio are dependent on the same common factors, there is also a very high coherence or consistency of results between them. Unlike other models, the structural model can explain why a company or a bank, for example, is likely to default. Although intuitive, structural stress scenarios make high demands on the testers because not only do changes in the economic factors have to be consistent throughout the different asset classes, but the resultant asset behaviour must also be fully described by the mathematical function linking the assets to the economic factors. Because of this, few structural models for stress testing have been developed so far. One such model is at the core of the Bank of England’s stress testing agenda. Generally, structural models are useful from a central bank’s perspective as they assume a linear relationship between macroeconomic factors and credit risk, hence providing a way of estimating financial stability risks. In contrast, a reduced-form scenario focuses on the state of the assets and treats default events as â€Å"surprises†. It does not provide an economic cause for the resulting state of the assets, thus only requiring the stress tester to define the asset behaviours themselves (Stein 2011). Modelling credit risk under this approach requires no assumptions to be made concerning why defaults occur. Instead, the dynamics of default are directly linked to the default rate. Default in the feduced form stress model is an unforeseeable event which will always have a positive default probability. A relationship between assets is not required in the reduced form, nor is a logical reason given for a certain observed effect. Because of their less rigorous demand, reduced form stress models are used predominantly in the financial industry. For example, the stress testing approach used even by the Bank of France is based on a reduced form of the credit risk model wherein a borrower’s ability to repay his loan is found as the difference between the value of the assets and that of his loan, and default occurs when the value of the debt exceeds the value of the loan. Credit risk is one of the most important areas for stress testing since it ultimately affects a bank’s profits and even its solvency. When used in conjunction with credit models, both the structural and reduced-form stress scenario approaches assist management in providing a means of mitigating â€Å"risk by enabling intuitive interpretations of states of the world that may cause a portfolio or organisation to experience high losses† (Stein 2011). Stein (2011) states that it is indeed this â€Å"intuitiveness that makes stress testing useful in evaluating a credit model’s behaviour in general, and the appropriateness of a model’s linking functions in particular†. Both the Structural and the Reduced-form Stress Test models have found an important and useful role in the financial industry. Modellers will use either one depending on what is being tested and what is known or can be quantified. As it is, even though the credit models used by their very nature do not perfectly represent the real world, the stress tests applied to them, â€Å"still provide a measure of intuition that is generally otherwise not feasible† (Stein 2011). This is because both structural and reduced-form stress scenarios induce a connection to both the credit models and the risks in the portfolio which provides management with insights into both the model’s behaviour and also the drivers of the portfolio’s credit risk (Stein 2011). (http://www.cnb.cz/en/financial_stability/stress_testing/stress_testing_methodology.html). Referenced: Ricardo Schechtman and Wagner Piazza Gaglianone 2011 – Macro Stress Testing of Credit Risk Focused on the Tails http://www.bcb.gov.br/pec/wps/ingl/wps241.pdf STEIN 2011 – The Role of Stress Testing in Credit Risk Management BCBS 2009 – Basel Committee on Banking Supervision Breuer, Jandacka, Rheinberger Summer 2009 – How to find plausible, severe and useful stress scenarios