Bacteria resistance to antibiotic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bacteria resistance to antibiotic - Essay Example For instance, antibiotics are used in the treatment of bacterial infections, like pneumococcal pneumonia or staphylococcal infections in the bloodstream. Diseases like influenza, HIV, and herpes are caused by viruses, and antiviral drugs are antibiotics or antimicrobial drugs, which are used to cure diseases caused by viruses. However, the same antibiotic cannot be employed against different bacteria because a single antibiotic cannot fight all types of bacteria. Accordingly, scientists have developed more than fifteen classes of antibiotics drugs. These drugs vary from each other in their chemical structure and action against each bacterium (What are antibiotics?). Bacteria have become antibiotic resistant, due to the evolution of various mechanisms over a period of time. These mechanisms modify the chemical structure of the antibiotic drug, render it inactive, and remove it from the cell. Some of these mechanisms modify the target site of the antibiotic drug and prevent the bacteria from being recognized by the drug. The most prevalent method is to make the antibiotic inactive by modifying the structure of its enzymes. Bacteria modify the existing cellular enzyme, by changing the chemical reaction with the antibiotic to divert the drug from attacking it. Several bacteria transform the target site of the antibiotic drug (Todar). Bacteria exhibit an astonishing capacity to develop resistance to antibiotics. This is a live demonstration of evolution. There are several reasons for bacteria to develop resistance to antibiotics. The most common factors include excessive use of antibiotics, discontinuance of medication, before the completion of the course prescribed by the doctor, use of antibiotics as growth enhancers for animals, and an increase in international travel (Purdom). In hospice care, many patients undergoing treatment for a particular ailment develop some other disease, on account of bacterial

Managing Financial Resources and Decisions Assignment - 5

Managing Financial Resources and Decisions - Assignment Example Business entities can get finances from the following sources1)Â  A business can get its funding from the owner of the business where he or she gives out either funds or property as a starting capital to the business.2)Â  Donations and grants: These are funds that are given to the business entity by the friends and well-wisher to assist the business in meeting its financial obligations3)Â  The business can also borrow loans from the bank to fund the operations of the business.4)Â  Sponsored Agreements: some of the research that are conducted in some of the organization are performed using funds from sponsoring agencies that support the research and training and even services through various agreements.5)Â  The business can also get its funding from the family friends.6)Â  Ploughing back of the business profits can also be another source of fund that the business can use to expand its activities. This means that the profits that are realized by the business are re- invested in t he business to expand the business.7)Â  Other sources of finance for the business can also be gifts from friendsImplication of finances to businessesIt is very possible to manage income effectively and efficiently through financial planning. Good management of the incomes will help you and the business to know and understand how much money you will need for tax payments and other monthly expenses and even personal savings.Good financial planning can increase cash flows through careful monitoring the spending patterns and expenses.

Electrical Resistance of Different Liquids | Experiment

Electrical Resistance of Different Liquids | Experiment After the invention of electricity by Michael faraday many scientists studied the ways of conducting electricity. It was in the middle of 18th century scientists thought about using liquid as a medium of conducting electricity. In 1808 Sir Humphrey Davy conducted electricity using potassium solutions in ammonia. The experiments were to show the electrical conductivity of liquids, but the reason for this was not explained in his experiments. In 1879 F.Kahlrausch proposed that ions are responsible for the conductivity of liquids. Ions are the building blocks of each molecule defined by its electron number. Ions which formed by the decomposition of minerals and other impurities carry current across the liquid and this is directly proportional to the ionic velocities. These findings were scientifically proven by M.M.Wrobleewisky and Olszweski in 1883 by liquefaction of nitrogen and other minerals from a solution under a pressure of 50 atmospheres showing the presence of ions in solute. The experiments conducted by WG Scaife in 1973 on the natural conductivity of liquids showed that at higher pressures of 2500 bars and above the electrical conductivity of polar solutions decreases rapidly. Even though there is a decrease at low pressures which are not practically measurable. Polar compounds like castor oil, sebacate etc. were used for these experiments and were discovered that the double layer formed at the tip of electrodes was the reason behind the reducing nature of electrical conductivity. While experiments on ionic solutions like Diethyl ether, carbon disulphide, benzene etc showed an increasing trend of electrical conductivity with pressure. This was due to the triple ions formed during the experiment. [1] In the experiments conducted by Alexander, Stoppa, Johannes Hunger, and Richard Buchner in 2009, it was found that the electrical conductivity of ionic solutions is higher than a mixture of ionic and polar mixture solutions. The experiment used potassium chloride (ionic) and non soluble oil base (polar) and the experiments were conducted under constant temperature and pressure conditions. The experiment showed a decrease in resistivity of nearly 1 ohm with an addition 5 wt % ionic compound. This experiment proved that the electrical conductivity depends on the charge density (number of ions) and the resistance to the movement of ions known as viscosity of a liquid [Stokes-Einstein, 1906]. The experiment compared the conductivities by increasing the percentage of ionic molecules in the solution. [2] Experiments were conducted by Aresatz Usobiaga, Alberto De Diego, and Juan Manuel Madariaga 1n 1999 to relate temperature with the electrical conductivity in solutions. HCL Solution (ionic solution) was used for the experiments. Under different temperatures close to the room temperature (292-315K) the solution exhibited an inverse proportionality relation to the conductivity. This correlated to the findings of A I Zhakin in 1995 were KCL which is less ionic compared to HCL was used. The experiment with HCL pointed out that at near to room temperatures resistivity was increased by 5-10% with every increase of 5K. The reason for this behaviour was the increase of viscous properties of the solution and viscosity decreases electrical conductivity. [3] In 2006 J. Vilaa, P. Ginà ©sa, E. Riloa, O. Cabezaa and L.M. Varelab conducted experiments on the electrical conductivities of solutions of aluminium chloride, aluminium bromide, aluminium sulphate and aluminium chromide. These compounds are ionic in nature. The experiments were carried out under constant temperature and pressure conditions. Experiments conducted by increasing the density of solutions showed an increasing trend of electrical conductivity by 10 % on each increase of density. Density was increased by adding 5 wt % aluminium salt into the solution. These increasing trends went until the solution is 50% saturated. The reason for the rise in conductivity was explained to be the increase in ion concentration. The more the ionic compounds present the more the conductivity would be. The results also showed that aluminium chloride which is more ionic than other samples will conduct more electricity at any concentration. But for polar compounds the increase in density resulte d in a decrease of conductivity. [4] J. Vilaa, P. Ginà ©sa, J.M. Picoa, C. Franjoa, E. Jimà ©neza, L.M. Varelab and O. Cabeza in 2005 conducted experiments on aluminium chloride and aluminium bromide for the binary relation on electrical conductivity with varying temperature and density. The experiment used 30% and 60 % concentrated solutions over a temperature range of 250-430K. The electrical conductivity increases with temperature, up to 400 times for aluminium chloride and 52 times in aluminium bromide solutions. But the conductivity decreases inconsistently with the increase in concentration. The probable reason for this controversial result could be the change in the properties of compounds with temperature. This showed that temperature had a greater influence on conductivity than density. [5] METHODS AND MATERIALS Overview of the experiment In order to contrast the electrical resistance of different liquids to expose their ionic or covalent characteristics, the following measures were carried out. Description of the procedural steps Firstly the electrical resistance measurement was set up. Then hundred and fifty milliliters of desired liquid was measured and poured in to a clean beaker. After the power supply was switched on, using the multimeter, circuits current was measured. Then at five minutes interval reading was traced again for three times. After this the average of three recordings was determined. Once the current was computed resistance of liquid was found out using Ohms law. Next the steps were repeated for all selected liquids. Subsequently all the selected liquids were cooled to 18 °C. Finally the above steps were followed for the refrigerated liquids. Materials Overview of mechanism The materials used for the experiment are listed below. Digital Multimeter DC Power supply, 250 ml glass beaker Sample solution of 150 ml Orange juice, 0.01% salt solution, 1% salt solution, 2% milk, and mineral water. Table salt Description of principal parts Digital multimeter Multimeter is an electronic tool which can be used for the measurement of voltage, current and resistance. There are two types of multimeters available. Multimeter which comes with digital display is commonly known as DMM (Digital Multimeter).Main parts of a digital multimeter are measuring probes, adjusting knob and digital display. Firstly the probes are used to get connection between points where we need to measure electrical property. One multimeter got two probes for achieving the connection between two selected points. Secondly the adjusting knob is used to select which property need to measure. It is also used to select the range of values of the results. The digital display helps the user to get accurate readings. It also provides information about different settings used for measurement. The multimeter can be switched on by turning the adjusting knob to desired property to measure. The display will provide us the relevant information. To test the DMM, turn the knob to resistance measuring mode and then touch each end of a copper wire to probe tips. Then the display will show resistance which should be almost zero. Results and Discussion The resistances of different liquid solutions prepared for the research were calculated using the Ohms law equation at room temperature. Observations show the average resistance of different liquid ranged from 26.1 kilo à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦ to 1728 kilo à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦. Among the liquids, orange juice was best conductor (26.1 kilo à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦) and distilled water (1728 kilo à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦) was the worst. The two salt solutions showed almost the same resistances even though higher concentrated gave us a slightly lower resistance. Orange juice The figure 8 chart shows that orange juice is the best conductor of electricity. The resistance for orange juice was found out to be the least during the experiment. We had an assumption that acids are the best conductors because they are ionic in nature. Acids separate into ions when mixed with water and ions are charge carriers. The electrical resistance computed was 26.1 kilo à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦ at room temperature. We had also made another assumption that when refrigerated; the conductivity will increase as the ions move slower related to normal room temperature liquid. After refrigeration, the resistance increased slightly to a value of 26.4 kilo à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦. Even though there was only a small decrease in the resistance value from that of the room temperature, our assumption regarding the refrigerated liquids came true. As studies and experiment done by Aresatz Usobiaga, Alberto De Diego, and Juan Manuel Madariaga in 1999 to relate temperature with the electrical conductivity in solutions [3] supports our results in this section. Salt solution The second best conductor is the salt solution. For the salt solution, the experiments were carried out with a concentration of 0.01% and 0.1% salt. The salt crystals in solid state wont conduct electricity because anions (chloride ions) and cations (sodium ions) are held together. But in a salt solution they are free to move around and thus conduct electricity. The main reason behind conducting this research experiment on different concentration of salt is to study whether it is the density or temperature of the solution that affects the electrical conductivity more. We hypothesized that the density of solution would decrease the electrical conductivity. The 0.01% and 0.1% concentrated salt solution exhibited almost the same resistance value of 35.6 kilo à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦. But the higher concentrated solution gave slightly less resistance value of 35.3 kilo à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦ as compared to the other solution. The resistance value of refrigerated salt solution of 0.01% and 0.1% are 115.2 kilo à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦ and 114.1 kilo à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦ respectively. As per the assumptions the higher concentrated solution gave slightly less resistance and the refrigerated solution showed great resistance as compared to the room temperature values. This showed that temperature had a greater influence on conductivity than density. [5] Milk The third liquid tested was 2% milk solution. Milk also conducts electricity but only in a small amount as compared to orange juice and the salt solutions. Electrical resistance of the milk solution was worked out to be 210.3 kilo à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦ during the experiment at room temperature. Viscosity and density are the other factors that contribute to the poor conductivity of electricity as compared to the above mentioned liquids. The refrigerated resistance value of the milk solution calculated is 211.1 kilo à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦. While cooling, the viscosity increases due to the higher voluminosity of fatty acids, proteins, etc. [Website reference: http://www.dairy-science.org/cgi/reprint/80/4/628.pdf]. Thus we came to the conclusion that milk conducts electricity due to their typical covalent bond structure and the presence of fatty acids. Distilled Water Figure 8 shows that distilled water is a worst conductor of electricity. During the research experiment, distilled water showed a resistance value of 1728 kilo à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦. The reason why liquid conducts electricity is due to the free movement of cations and anions in between the electrodes. For example, in our salt solution test electricity was conducted as the salt readily ionizes to sodium cations and chloride anions which can move freely around in the solution thereby transporting electric charges. In the distillation process water is boiled to steam and the steam is again condensed to water. Nearly all the salts present in the water is thus left out during the distillation process. Thus distilled water is pure H2O. Although pure H2O (distilled water) can dissociate into H+ and OH- ions like salt, it ionizes very rarely therefore exhibiting the property of an insulator. [Citation may or may not be given for the above statements made] Thus from the research experiment carried out we concluded that among the liquid solutions chosen, orange juice is the best electrical conductor and distilled water is the worst. From this we understood that orange juice has more ions present than distilled water (pure H2O). Therefore our assumption regarding acidic solution has high electrical conductivity is correct. Adding to the above results, the density and temperature also affects the electrical conductivity. The more salt added to the solution i.e. more ions added, the lesser the electrical resistance. The assumption regarding temperature as a factor affecting electrical conductivity was correct in some measure as some liquid solutions show higher resistance whereas some show almost the same resistance value with the room temperature values. Discount Retailers: Porters Five Analysis Discount Retailers: Porters Five Analysis In a context of post World War II, there was an economic boom in the USA, driven by the baby boom. The families needs increased, and discount retailing stores started to appear. Their main aim was to operate within low prices, to be able to offer everyday products at a very affordable price. In order to analyse the attractiveness of the discount retailing industry in the USA in the 1950s, we can use Porters Five Forces. Porter (1980:3) stated that competition in an industry depends on five basic competitive forces. As seen below in figure 1. Force 1: The Degree of Rivalry According to Ghemawat (2008), the degree of rivalry is the most obvious of the five forces in an industry [â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦]. It influences the extents to which the value created by an industry will be dissipated through direct competition. With the economic boom, many discount retailers have emerged, especially in big cities (with a minimum population of 100  000). For the already existing supermarkets industry, their customers were used to having a lot of competitors to choose from. That is why the newly emerging discount stores attracted a lot of new entrants. That industry was characterized by an intense competition. The growth of the industry was significant and this factor of high profitability attracted many entrepreneurs willing to open new stores. As a result, in the US cities in the 50s and 60s, the concentration for the discount retail industry was low and the rivalry was intense (factor of industry unattractiveness). The theory says that the rivalry between competitors decreases when the buyers switching costs are high. But in the case of the discount retail industry, the switching costs are almost nonexistent: urban customers have a lot of competitors to choose from and the recent use of the car and the quite low price of the petrol in the 50s allow them to easily change and shop in another store. Also, unlike the supermarkets, discounters sold more or less the same kind of products. The available retailers focused on non-food products, and a competition for price began among the stores, offering a wide variety of household products such as toiletries, appliances, groceries and household goods. Thus, there is a significant rivalry here, characterized by high fixed cost and a lack of product differentiation. However in the 50s, in small towns and rural areas, the competition was not as fierce, as not many discount retailers were willing to open a shop in the countryside. This made that business landscape less competitive. Sam Walton saw an opportunity there, and decided to locate his first Wal-Mart stores there: Our strategy was to put good-sized stores into little one-horse towns that everyone else was ignoring. Force 2: The Threat of Entry Average industry profitability is influenced by both potential and existing competition (Ghemawat, 2008). The Five Forces framework gives 3 basic types of entry barriers: economies of scale, brand identity and capital requirement: Economies of scale: large economies of scale allow providing cheap products to their customers. It is an essential part for a discount retailer, and without it, could represent a real barrier to entrance. Brand identity: the products were standard in nature, and there were little or no differences between discount stores. That means that in the 50s, it was not really a barrier for new entrants. Capital requirements: the threat of entrants is also possible because of the high capital required. Entrepreneurs need high capital (building, equipment) and financial resources to start up a new discount store and this represents a barrier to entry the industry. Moreover, the barrier is much higher when the plan is to set up a stores chain. There are also some other barriers to take into account: Access to distribution: the discount retailer has to find new reliable suppliers, to have a competitive distribution channel. Advertising: it can also be seen as an entry barrier. In order to be known and to attract customers, new entrants need to spend a lot more money on advertisements. In the 50s, the US discount industry was characterized by high price and advertising competitiveness, with little buyer loyalty. To summarize, there were many obstacles for new entrants in the discount retail industry. Force 3: The Threat of Substitutes The threat that substitutes pose to an industrys profitability depends on the relative price-to-performance ratios of the different types of products or services to which customers can turn to satisfy the same basic need (Ghemawat, 2008). Due to the lack of product differentiation and the absence of switching costs, the goods sold in the discount stores can be found in other types of stores. There is a high buyer propensity to substitute. The discount retailer just like any other has to develop strategies to sell at a low costs but this is not the solution. It constantly has to ensure that its products are exactly what the consumer needs. This means that high quality products at an affordable price should also be part of Walt Mat strategy of being competitive, as well as product differentiation. Supermarkets represented a big threat of substitution for the discount stores selling groceries because they were cheaper than the conventional stores chains and they dominated the retail industry in the 50s (Markin, 1968). Force 4: Buyer Power The buyer information availability was almost non-existent. Indeed, nothing in the way of information technology was accessible at that time, either for EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) use or for more sophisticated applications. The bargaining power of buyers is weak when reduced to a single individual, but the demand as a whole is extremely powerful. However, the fact that there were many discount retail industries made each of them weaker against the buyers bargaining power. That power was high in the USA in the 50s: customers could easily walk away and go to another shop (low switching costs). In the post World War II years, US consumers became educated in the merits of self-service, low price shopping via the spread of supermarkets. The customers price sensitivity was then high, because of the high product standardization, they could find their products in every discount retail. The buyer loyalty was low. Force 5: Supplier Power In the US discount retail industry in the 50s, the suppliers power was much stronger than today, because of the RPM (Resale Price Maintenance). The RPM was legal at this time and gave the right for the suppliers to set the final price of their products (price sometimes printed on the product). It was virtually impossible for retailers to pass on the benefits of more efficient operations to customers via lower prices. Thus, in the 50s the strong suppliers power was a criterion of unattractive industry. After the analyze of the US discount retailing industry in the 50 through Porters Five Forces, it can be inferred that this industry was not attractive, due to the high new entrants barriers, the level of competition in the cities, the threat of substitutes, and the high buyer and supplier powers. However, it is possible to slightly alter this statement: although the competition was tough in big cities, it was easier to set up a shop in the rural areas, where the degree of rivalry was lower. As a consequence, the different threats and barriers that looked like an insurmountable challenge in the cities were no longer impossible to overcome in the countryside. QUESTION 2 Every business has to adopt a business strategy, seen by many authors as the Paradox of Markets and Resources. The strategic management process means defining the organizations strategy. Managers have to make choices and set up strategies for the company that will enable it to achieve better performance. It is also sometimes referred to as a Business Model. Porters theory The Outside-In Perspectives key features are the positioning activities and the Value Chain, which will define a strategy through different business choices. This model is supported by the key protagonist Michael Porter (1996). Porters Generic Strategies  Model According to the chart above, we can identify Wal-Marts positioning strategy. Wal-Marts main strategy is characterized by its low cost policy, accessible to anyone. It can then be put in the cost leadership strategy strategy. However, with particular attentions for its customers (more than its direct competitors), Wal-Mart also plays a differentiation strategy, and delivers an excellent customer service. With the analysis of Wal-Marts value chain given above, a description of its key value drivers can be done. Every companys activities mapped in the value chain can be a possible source of competitive advantage but its the way they are cheaply performed and combined that will create competitive advantage and value for customer. In 1985, Porter suggested the value chain, which regroups functions into support and primary activities. The value chain is divided into 5 primary activities and 4 support activities. These activities can be linked and connected to the value chain to determine some factors of a competitive position and show how these activities add value to the consumer. Wal-Mart: the Value Chain According to the Wal-Mart value chain, two main support activities show that Wal-Mart uses a differentiation strategy through its human resource management and its technology development. The use of the technology is coupled with the inbounds logistics activity and the operations. Indeed, Wal-art was a pioneer in applying information and communications technology to support decision making and promote efficiency and customer responsiveness. (Zarbo, 1998) In the early 1980s, Wal-Mart invested over half a billion dollars to boost its computer and satellite network systems. They added barcode systems, scanners and other near-real-time technology to link cash registers in every store into one unified link. From the instant a sales transaction takes place, data simultaneously flows back and forth from stores world-wide to Wal-Marts distribution centres, its headquarters in Bentonville, and to Wal-Marts suppliers in a continuous, informative loop. In addition to offering Wal-Mart an environment that monitors and shares its current inventory trends with external vendors, this technology, through a sophisticated network which bridges individual stores, identifies the most efficient way to manage the distribution of its products internally. Moreover, a good example of Sam Waltons early understanding of the importance of technology is its current development and use of an automated distribution system known as the Retail Link. This system shares sales information with Wal-Mart suppliers to ensure that customers always find the shelves well stocked at their local Wal-Mart store. Retail Link allows Wal-Mart suppliers to dial-up and retrieve the history of important sales data from the last 56-weeks worth of sales. Over 4,000 of Wal-Marts suppliers access this service averaging approximately 10,000 queries a day (Zarbo, 1998). The large database of purchasing information enables Wal-Mart to set the right item at the correct price and in the right store. Concerning the human resources management at Wal-Mart, it is considered as very efficient. Sam Walton calls his employees his associates. They are an important part of the Wal-Mart family. The relationships between Wal-Mart and his associates are based on respect, high expectations, autonomy, close communication and clear profit incentives. Through its superior management and communication, Wal-Mart created an advantage. The Marketing and Sales activity is also a crucial point for the company. Wal-Mart has been founded on Sam Waltons belief that: There is only one boss: the customer. Indeed, the basic principle of Wal-Mart was to cut prices, and was thus well below its competitors, enhanced by its slogan Everyday Low Prices. This confirms the companys low cost strategy. In summary, the key value drivers of Wal-Mart match each other to lower the costs. Every activity is involved in cost reduction and that is why we can say that Wal-Marts value chain is very coherent with its cost leader positioning strategy and customer focused value for money approach. Barneys theory Firms obtain sustained competitive advantage by implementing strategies that exploit their internal strengths, through responding to environmental opportunities, while neutralizing external threats and avoiding internal weaknesses. Barney, 1991 The Resource-Based View (RBV) focus on strategic resources as the determinants of a competitive advantage. Those strategic resources are valuable because they allow to achieve superior performance (e.g. accumulated knowledge, or resources impossible to replicate). Grant, the key protagonist of the RBV theory focuses on resources, organisational features and capabilities. In the model, resources must be rare, valuable, inimitable and unsubstituable. Although, intangible resources can create the most competitive advantage, as they are harder to copy by competitors. The chart above reviews Wal-Marts tangible and intangible resources. The firm possess many intangible resources, which made its model hard to copy for competitors. So according to the RBV, Wal-Mart has some real competitive advantages here. QUESTION 3 Tetra-threat framework The Tetra Threat Model was first proposed by Ghemawat (2008). This model helps to determine the level of each threat category, in order to try to reduce their impact. This model can be used to identify what are the threats against Wal-Mart competitive advantage, and how it can sustain itself among the other discount retailers. Threat of Imitation Wal-Mart set up large barriers to overcome it: Scale economies: efficient hub-and-spoke distribution system; high volume purchases, strong dealing power with suppliers; national and regional economies of scale. Learning/private information: a significant effort has been made in understanding the operation of the discount retail industry. Wal-Mart has the right know-how to improve its logistics, reduce storage space, and incentive its people to work efficiently. Switching cost/relationship: due to its pricing policy and experience, Wal-Mart is able to offer inexpensive products to its customer (low switching costs). They also possess strong relationships and sustainable contracts with their suppliers (bargain power due to Wal-Marts size and partnership through data sharing and communication networks). Threat of retaliation: Wal-Mart has a strong reputation of fierceness. The local managers ability to adapt their prices to the local competition is a strong advantage to always have the lowest prices on the market. Time lags, upgrading and strategic complexity: the Wal-Mart business has been built upon the years, and accumulated years of knowledge and experience. Thus, they now own a very complex logistics and technologic system, and upgrade it constantly. To summarize, the imitation threat is not a real danger to Wal-Mart. It has raised many insurmountable barriers for its competitors to overcome. They do not have the sufficient knowledge to do it, or it will take them so much time, that by the time they catch up with their goal, Wal-Mart will already be way ahead of them in terms of innovation and technology. Wal-Mart has here a real sustainable advantage. Threat of substitution Substitution reduces the demand for what a firm uniquely provides by shifting the demand elsewhere. It is the most difficult threat to predict. However, Wal-Mart has developed many strategies to overcome that threat. The chain best answer to the substitution threat has been to own numerous substitutes on the discount retailing industry, such as warehouse clubs, supercenters and neighbourhood markets. Its mobility across format is a successful alternative against substitution threat. However, Wal-Mart has demonstrated being very good at scanning the landscape broadly and understanding underlying customer needs. It has continually been studying the competition in order to be responsive in fighting the upcoming threat. Finally, thanks to its low cost competitive advantage, Wal-Marts cheap prices restrain many competitors to enter a fight with the discount retailer giant. Threat of Holdup Holdup refers to customers, suppliers, complementary organizations, or other industry participants capturing value created by the focal company through the exercise of bargaining power. Concerning this threat related to Wal-Mart, two aspects can be distinguished: suppliers and employees. First, Wal-Mart has a total control over its suppliers, even the largest ones (e.g. Procter Gamble), in order to restrain their hold it up value. However, the holdup can be found the other way around: Wal-Mart ask its suppliers to closely integrate into their system and requirements. The requirements that Wal-Mart imposes on its suppliers extends well beyond low prices. Increasingly, the chain has involved itself in its suppliers employment policy (workplace safety, working hoursâ‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦), making Wal-Mart possibly pose a threat of holdup to them. Nonetheless, labor holdup can be considered as a real issue. With a weak percentage of union penetration, employees abuse (low wages, unpaid overtime, discrimination) are widespread. As a result, it depicts a negative image of the company, as well as employee demotivation and turnover. Wal-Mart should take into consideration this aspect to avoid a labor holdup. Threat of Slack Slack tend to dissipate value within the firm, and is not easy to identify. It regroups all form of inefficiency. However, this is not a big threat to Wal-Mart. In fact, there is a high organizational effectiveness within the human resource management. The relationships with the associates is based on respect, high expectations, close communication and clear incentives. Everything is done to motivate the staff and increase their loyalty to the firm. Finally, according to Casadesus-Masanell and Ricart (2007), protection against slack comes from the right mix of incentives and monitoring. As it is drawn in this analyse, Wal-Mart has develop strong responses to threats from imitation, substitution, holdup and slack, setting mechanism which allowed Wal-Mart to sustain its competitive advantage. QUESTION 4 The Dunnings Eclectic Paradigm (1981) of Foreign Direct Investment (also known as the OLI-Model) sets up 3 conditions that a company has to meet in order to engage in foreign operations: Ownership advantages, Location/Country-specific advantages and Internalization advantages. This theory will be used to contrast Wal-Marts entry into the German market in 1997 and into the UK market in 1999, in the following table. Wal-Marts entry into German market UK market Acquisitions (1997 and 1998): 21 stores Wertkauf ($1.04 billion) 74 hypermarkets Interspar (‚ ¬560 million) Both were renamed Wal-Mart stores. Acquisitions (1999): 219 outlets Asda ( £6.7 billion) Kept its name. Ownership Advantages Wal-Mart owns several intangible assets, which will allow it to overcome the costs of expanding abroad. These intangible core competencies are: Dominant clothing/textile and food retailer on the US market Every week, around 100 million shoppers frequent its stores Its 2003 turnover is 3 times bigger than Carrefours, the worlds no. 2 retailer (Knorr and Arndt, 2003) Internationalization experience: more than 1100 outfits abroad, which leads to considerable experience and management learning from a portfolio of stores in diverse markets Wal-Marts Retail Link-system (backbone of its sophisticated inventory management and logistics infrastructure) Operating the worlds biggest private satellite communications system (to track sales, to replenish inventories, to process payments in real-time) Wal-Marts retail proposition of everyday low prices, good customer service, wide assortment and community values High customer service levels, strong organizational culture, efficient logistics operations Location Advantages Location advantages are the factors in a foreign country that lead the company to make profits on its FSAs. Germany accounts for around 15% of Europes $2 trillion-a-year retail market German GNP: ‚ ¬2 trillion 80 million customers: biggest national retail market in Europe Germany is meant to be its bridgehead into Europe After its acquisition, Wal-Mart became the countrys fourth biggest operator of hypermarkets (Knorr and Arndt, 200) Politically stable country Economically powerful with big family incomes Very similar culture and social laws between UK and the US Internalization Advantages A firm possessing an advantage can either use the advantage itself (internalize it) or lease the advantage to other firms. The FDI decision depends on which option presents the best net return. Internalization also allows avoiding transactional costs. Internalization is the option chosen by Wal-Mart in many countries: Closer control by the Wal-Mart management (full control strategy) Economies of scale Sharing of the organizations knowledge and management capabilities to the new business According to the OLI-Model, implementing Wal-Mart stores in those two countries could really help the US firm to set a foot in Europe. Wal-Marts goal is to be the number one in every market in which it operates. Its international retail model equates to the aggressively industrial model. However, despite a bright success in the UK, the German venture has been unprofitable, and led it to exit the country in July 2006. What are the reasons for Wal-Marts failure and success? The reasons for Wal-Marts: Failure in Germany Success in the UK Acquisition of the wrong German companies Acquisition of the adequate UK company First, the German acquisitions have been very costly for Wal-Mart. The German market in renowned for its minimal profit margins and price-led strong domestic competition. Wal-Mart entered Germany at a time when the grocery market was saturated. At the time, Aldi was its major competitor, already holding a strong share of the discount retail segment. Wal-Mart now possessed 2 small disparate retail chains with different organizational structures and a heterogeneous portfolio of stores (the Wertkauf was a highly centralized family store) (Fernie et al., 2006). As a consequence, Wal-Mart did not have enough impact on the German market. For example, nearly 80% of the population did not have access to a Wal-Mart store (bad geographic penetration). Moreover, the patchy geographical coverage of Wal-Marts meant that its nationwide competitors have been able to adopt a zone pricing policy to compete on price in specific local markets. The weakness of the German economy in those years, coupled with the increased prominence of discounters, has reinforced this trend and discounters now account for 30% of the German grocery market and have been growing at 5% per year in a static market. Wal-Marts market share of 1.5% is dwarfed by its major competition (Fernie et al., 2006). There is a strong price competition where price leadership is already occupied by discounters. Asda was already a major discount retailer player before the entry of Wal-Mart. In fact, it was the third major grocer in UK in 1999. Wal-Mart acquired a well-established retail chain and Asdas management had already applied Wal-Mart practices to its corporate culture (Fernie et al., 2006). Asdas marketing, operations and organisational culture mirrored that of the US giant (Burt and Sparks, 2000) and was regarded as good strategic fit. Wal-Mart strategy for UK was to build on these similarities. There has been a high degree of stability throughout the chain during the merger, especially at store level, which facilitated the transition. Wal-Marts takeover also increased Asdas supply chain efficiency and improved its stock availability. Government regulations The German market had a strict legal and institutional framework, often ignored by Wal-Mart. German labor regulations are very different from these in the U.S. : obstacle to embrace the Wal-Mart culture. For example: The zoning regulations impose severe restrictions on the construction of large-scale store Restrictive shopping hours regulations: legal maximum of 80 hours/week store opening hours. Sunday and holidays openings are not permitted Fair trading and antitrust laws contain some important restrictions for retailers pricing policies: it forbids merchants to sell goods below cost on a permanent basis (Knorr and Arndt, 2003) In the UK, the Government was concerned about high food prices and that British consumers were being ripped off by retailers. That is why they were in favour of the creation of a more price competitive environment (Fernie et al., 2006). Moreover, the legal and institutional UK surroundings were not as complex and heavy as in Germany. For example, the legal maximum of a store opening hours was 168 hours/week, and was also allowed to open on Sunday and holidays (Knorr and Arndt, 2003). In the UK, Wal-Mart was able to recreate its 24/7 opening format. Inability to understand the German consumer and business culture The closeness of the UK and the US culture Wal-Mart culturally failed in delivering its Everyday low prices or excellent customer service. Indeed, the expectations are very different from a country to another. The German acquisitions were very different in their organizational structure from the Wal-Mart US model. That is why, when Wal-Mart try to impose its new culture (Anglo-Saxon management level), it led to resistance. Operational errors has been made when remodelling stores to look like US stores, which was not customer wanted (Fernie et al., 2006). Thus, Wal-Marts strategy was contradictory and disoriented to German customers. They didnt see Wal-Mart as a low-price store, due to confusing advertisements. Moreover, German notion of customer service is different from that in the U.S. (e.g. German consumers prefer to pack their own bags and pay by cash), because they hold price and value in much higher esteem than service and quality (Knorr and Arndt, 2003). The British culture was very similar to the American one, and that is why the takeover ran more smoothly in the UK. Also, Asda was already working on a Wal-Marts model, so the consumers did not feel any major difference after the Wal-Mart acquisition. For the British customers, price was a key attribute along with convenience; price is the most important factor in the retail offer. And finally, the UK workforce responded positively to the Wal-Mart way, and the integration was very successful, with good employee relationships (Fernie et al., 2006). Conclusion: When Wal-Mart entered the UK, the economic situation was favourable for a low pricing strategy. Wal-Marts entry created a high competitive environment on prices, and the customers responded well to this new form of discount retail. However, Wal-Mart has failed on every point in Germany. It resulted mostly from a cross cultural inconsideration. Wal-Mart has not been able to adapt its business model to a different culture and ignored the basic key principles of internationalization strategies and intercultural management. The firm should have tried to understand the German surroundings, the market rules and the consumer habits. Thus, they could have shape their business model, the human resources practices and a proper marketing message to fit that local market. Wal-Marts failure in Germany highlighted its inability to select and implement an adequate entry and business strategy. That is why its inability to understand the German retail market and business culture and the consumer needs led it to a bitter failure.

Lord of the Flies :: Free Essay Writer

Lord of the Flies Man must have rules in order to control his savage side. William Golding brings out this theme in the novel Lord of the Flies. When you first read Lord of the Flies you may think it is merely a simple adventure story of boys on a deserted island. But if you take a deeper look into it and consider the statement above you will see that this book is also an attempt to trace the defects of civilization back to the defects of human nature. There are many characters in the story that help prove how man must have rules in order to control his savage side. Ralph is the chief and he represents civilization and its parliaments. Piggy is Ralph’s brain trust and an intellectual. Both Ralph and Piggy represent the struggle for order and democracy. Jack is the spark of wildness that burns hot and close to the surface, which later conflicts with Ralph. From the very beginning Jack seems to harbor emotions of anger and savagery. Simon has them most positive outlook out of all of the characters and is a â€Å"Christ figure.† He is good and pure and insists that they will be rescued. Roger represents pure evil and wrongness. He gets pleasure in torturing pigs and was the first one to intentionally kill another boy when he smashed Piggy with a boulder. Sam and Eric are the twins that do everything together. They represent unity and reliance. Later in the story they reveal Ralph’s hiding place to Jack because the loss of civilization led them to lose any real sense of loyalty to others. These characters assist in showing how the theme is brought out. There are also many symbols in the novel. The conch represents rules, civilization, democracy and order. Piggy’s glasses represent clear-sightedness and intelligence. The state of the glasses represents the status of social order. When they break it marks the progressive decay of rational influence. The island represents the world. The â€Å"scar† represents man’s destruction. The Lord of the Flies represents the Devil and the great danger or evil. The killing of the sow and the hunting of pigs are accomplished in terms of sexual intercourse. The beast that the â€Å"littleuns† are afraid of is created by the emotions that all of the boys on the island are experiencing. The beast represents the evil residing within everyone and the dark side of human nature. Lord of the Flies :: Free Essay Writer Lord of the Flies Man must have rules in order to control his savage side. William Golding brings out this theme in the novel Lord of the Flies. When you first read Lord of the Flies you may think it is merely a simple adventure story of boys on a deserted island. But if you take a deeper look into it and consider the statement above you will see that this book is also an attempt to trace the defects of civilization back to the defects of human nature. There are many characters in the story that help prove how man must have rules in order to control his savage side. Ralph is the chief and he represents civilization and its parliaments. Piggy is Ralph’s brain trust and an intellectual. Both Ralph and Piggy represent the struggle for order and democracy. Jack is the spark of wildness that burns hot and close to the surface, which later conflicts with Ralph. From the very beginning Jack seems to harbor emotions of anger and savagery. Simon has them most positive outlook out of all of the characters and is a â€Å"Christ figure.† He is good and pure and insists that they will be rescued. Roger represents pure evil and wrongness. He gets pleasure in torturing pigs and was the first one to intentionally kill another boy when he smashed Piggy with a boulder. Sam and Eric are the twins that do everything together. They represent unity and reliance. Later in the story they reveal Ralph’s hiding place to Jack because the loss of civilization led them to lose any real sense of loyalty to others. These characters assist in showing how the theme is brought out. There are also many symbols in the novel. The conch represents rules, civilization, democracy and order. Piggy’s glasses represent clear-sightedness and intelligence. The state of the glasses represents the status of social order. When they break it marks the progressive decay of rational influence. The island represents the world. The â€Å"scar† represents man’s destruction. The Lord of the Flies represents the Devil and the great danger or evil. The killing of the sow and the hunting of pigs are accomplished in terms of sexual intercourse. The beast that the â€Å"littleuns† are afraid of is created by the emotions that all of the boys on the island are experiencing. The beast represents the evil residing within everyone and the dark side of human nature.

Case Study: Limits on Credit Checks Essay

The use of credit checks and their true measure on a person’s ability to perform a job is debatable. With more and more companies requesting pre-employment credit checks, fewer and fewer applicants are able to secure positions. The lack of securing work is leading to more applicants having poor credit scores and these poor credit scores then affect the jobs they can acquire. There is a vicious cycle starting that could lead to even more economic problems. Credit score can be very situational and deceiving when all the facts are not present. There are many reasons someone could have poor credit history such as; unforeseen medical bills, their credit card was stolen, or there could be a mistake by the credit-reporting agency. These could all change the company’s view on your credit. On the other hand, companies generally do not consider just the credit standings in hiring. The company may also use background tests and drug testing. Now that so many companies are using cre dit as a selection method, states have started to step in and consider prohibiting the use of an applicants credit in respect to hiring. There are four states that do not allow the use of credit and eighteen more looking at banning it. States see this as â€Å"discrimination based on credit history†, or as a civil rights issue since minorities generally have lower credit scores. Keep in mind that the company has to have signed permission to get one credit score, so the applicant does not have to give permission. When one does go forward with the credit check, it is important for them to know that the company does not get their full report or even the scoring. There are many factors for why a company may want to use credit. With so many companies having to deal with fraud and theft, it is easy to see why they are taking a proactive stance. Companies use the general thought that people with bad credit are more likely to steal from them than those that do not. Unfortunately, there are no studies to support this reasoning, thus leading to misconceptions of what could be a highly qualified applicant. 1. How well do you think credit checks meet the effectiveness criteria of (a) reliability; (b) validity; (c) ability to generalize results; (d) high utility; and (e) legality? a. Reliability is something that can in some ways be determined in a credit check. Can and does this person pay their bills on time shows how reliable they are for payment. It does not, on the other hand, show one’s reliability in the work  place. A credit check will not tell an employer if a person will be reliable to show up to work on time every day. The employer should understand that unreliable credit could be a result of an unknown situation, thus not relying to heavily on one aspect of one’s history. b. A credit check has little to no validity on someone’s willingness or ability to perform a job or task. It would be nearly impossible to determine if a person can do a job based on whether or not one pays monthly bills in a timely manner. A credit check doesn’t determine I.Q., knowledge of sales techniques, or body strength, thus demonstrating there is no validity in measuring one’s credit score to establish the ability to perform any job or task. An employer would be ill advised to use a credit check in consideration of the skill(s) need to perform in the work place. c. Credit checks are very generalizable when looking at hiring an individual for jobs dealing with money. Can a person who cannot be responsible for their own money management, be responsible for a company’s money? A company can generalize that an individual with a history of money problem could be more likely to steal and or commit fraud. Generalizing can also create a false impression of a good and responsible person. Credit checks do not explain the reasoning for their bad credit, such as identity theft or medical bills. While it is easy to accept generalizations as a way to measure ones susceptibility to theft, understanding the reasoning for the lack of responsible payment may provide a more adequate insight into one’s character. d. The utility or the cost of the credit check verses the benefit of the information gain in the credit check differ s in the job position. If the company were hiring for a low-level mail clerk it would not be cost effective to pay for the credit history, but if one is hiring for a Chief Financial Officer than the utility would be high and would make economic sense. The company must consider the financial burden and weigh it against the validity of the information gained when using the credit checks as a hiring recourse. e. The legality of using a credit check for a tool for hiring has become very controversial, thus leading to the practice being banned in many states. There are currently 4 states, Hawaii, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington that ban the use of credit checks for pre-employment usage. There are 14 others states that have or are considering banning the use as well. There are other considerations of legality such does it cause discrimination or breaking the  equal opportunity employment laws. Companies should look at every job independently and make sure the job justifies the need for a credit check and that they meet all legal obligations in doing so. 2. For what kind of jobs might a credit check be a useful selection method? For what kind of jobs would it be unhelpful, inappropriate, or unethical? A credit check might be helpful method of selection when hiring for a position that require managing money for a company such as an accountant. Companies may also find it helpful when hiring a position that deals with the allocation of money, the assessment of risk with the company’s money or budgeting of company funds. A credit check might be telling of the candidate’s reliability with money and or their willingness to risk financial ruin. Checking of an applicants credit could be unhelpful, inappropriate, or unethical when hiring for jobs that have nothing to do with handling accounts or company money, such as a construction worker. It could unhelpful when prompting an employee that has been with the company for a substantial amount of time, this could make the employee feel untrusted and lead to lack of loyalty to the c ompany. It would be inappropriate to have a credit check run on a minor employee. He or she most likely has no credit history and may not understand what they are allowing the company to check. The practice could be considered unethical if the company is using this as a tool to discriminate against a minority or someone who is disabled. 3. Imagine you are an HR manager at a company operating in a state where credit checks of job applicants have been banned. What other selection methods could you use to pick honest and responsible employees? An HR manager could use selections methods such as honesty test, background checks, and drug testing. One would also want to check references from past employers and educational institutes. It is also a good tool to have enough time with the applicant to get a sense of whom they are and conducting a working interview can help the interviewer to get a feel for the applicants. A situational interview could be helpful in determining how one might react in di fferent circumstances. How Would a Manager from the Information in this Case? The information in this case could help managers weigh the need for credit checks in their personnel selections. They can reference the pros and cons to the reliability, validity and utility of the credit checks as a device in hiring. Managers could also see that the generalizations that come with credit checks may cause them to lose a very viable candidate. Managers will see from this case that credit history can be deceiving when all the information is not available to them. For example if the manager does not know that an applicant’s identity was stolen and that is why their credit appears to be poor than the manger could misjudge the person and lose out on a potentially great employee. The manager could also learn that doing credit checks could lead to prospective legal problems if not handled with care. There are many acts taken against companies for using credit checks as a selection method. Making sure that laws are followed correctly and that the company does not discriminate against anyone can be tricky in the use of credit checks. Many feel that credit checks are discriminating because minorities tend to have lower scores than non-minority groups. No company wants that kind of allegation against them, thus the decision to use credit checks must be considered carefully. A manager could learn that while credit checks are one way to decide on whom to hire it is not the only way and probably not the most just way. References Arnoldy B. (2007). The spread of the credit check as civil rights issues. The Christian Science Monitor. Received from http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0118/p01s03-ussc.html Johnston S. (2011). Can bad credit ruin your job search? Received from http://www.bankrate.com/finance/personal-finance/can-bad-credit-ruin-your-jobsearch.aspx Noe R., Hollenbeck J., Gerhart B.& Wright P. (2011). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. (4th Ed.) New York. McGraw-Hill Irwin. Rosen L. (2011, April 5) 18 U.S. states consider legislation to limit credit checks for employment screening background checks. [Blog]. Retrieved from http://hr.toolbox.com/blogs/background-checks/18-us-states-consider-legislation-to-limitcredit-checks-for-employment-screening-background-checks-45600

Negligence Essay Essay

Mark sued a bank for injuries. He was not paying attention as he entered the bank because he was looking at his phone. And he fell suffering $10,000 in injuries. Prior to the fall, the janitor had buffed the floor. The janitor had an IQ of 70. Normally, the janitor was closely supervised. However, today his manager was extremely tired, and the manager didn’t notice that the janitor had carelessly used way too much floor wax that was extremely slippery. Is the bank liable for the janitor’s negligence (be sure to go through all the elements. Additionally, note that under the doctrine of respondeat superior the bank WILL be liable for any potential negligence of the janitor employee)? What defenses will the bank assert? Assume that the jurisdiction does not recognize assumption of risk or contributory negligence. The jurisdiction does recognize the defense of comparative negligence. In order to title a negligence claim a person must first show that the defendant had to hav e acted a certain way toward the plaintiff. Second that the defendant failed to act in a reasonable manner. Finally, the plaintiff must show they suffered actual damages or loss due to the unreasonable behavior. Negligence is a behavior or conduct creates an unreasonable risk or harm to others. The bank will be responsible for the janitor’s negligence. The janitor is considered an employee of the bank. Therefore, under the doctrine of repondeat superior the bank is responsible for the negligent actions of the janitor. Repondeant Superior, states that the employee is liable for the actions of an employee when the actions take place within the scope of employment. This gives a person injured in a place of business a better chance of recovering damages, In this case the employer is considered the principal and the employee the agent. Under respondent superior the principal has control over the agents’ behavior and must take responsibility for the agents’ actions. In this case the bank must take  responsibility of the janitor. The bank could argue that Mark contributed to the fall for not paying attention to his surroundings by paying more attention to his cell phone than to where he was walking. They could argue that if he had not been on his cell phone he would noticed the shiny slippery floors. This is called Contributory Negligence, but the courts do not recognize this defense. Mark could then go for his damages or loss under Comparative Negligence. Meaning he could do one of the two things: 1.) he could have all his damages totaled and then reduced by what would be his negligence in the matter or 2.) The courts could say he can’t recover anything if they find that he was just as negligence as the bank or janitor.

Essay on Notes for TOK PRESENTATION

Essay on Notes for TOK PRESENTATION Essay on Notes for TOK PRESENTATION Real Life Situation A Muslim woman expected to enter an arranged marriage in Phoenix was raped, beaten and sexually assaulted by her groom-to-be after she refused to marry the man Conflict The report said that the families agreed on a "Nikah," a formal Islamic marriage. A’idah,who had no desire to be with Abdullahi, the man she was being set up with, ran away but returned about 15 days later to finish school. One neighbor said that she saw the woman shaking and crying as she was dragged onto the sidewalk. She said she would have called police if she was aware of the situation. Once in the apartment, police reportedly said Abdullahi placed a mattress in front of the door to prevent A’idah from leaving. Abdullahi managed to send a message to her friend from her tablet saying she was safe because her friend was texting her repeatedly and was getting no response and was extremely worried. Leading up to the arranged marriage A’idah’s father was up at night on arranged-marriage Websites and the result came to A’idah receiving strange e-mails from boys and going to random dates with strangers. A’idah says â€Å"getting random notifications from men has become so much a part of my dating life that I’ve lost sight of how bizarre it once seemed.† Abdullahi was just a random boy that A’idahs parents chose for her because his profile online seemed impressive and he had a well-paid job. A’idahs parents were struggling financially and their main priority was to look for someone that could support A’idah and eventually her family. What caused A’idahs parents to arrange her marriage A’idah’ parents have had a long, healthy marriage and are confident that their happiness will pass down from generation to generation. A’idahs mother said â€Å"Our prospective husbands have to be rich and socially conscious, hip but down-to-earth,† but this is defiantly not the case for A’idah. How A’idah is dealing with the conflict A’idah tried speaking to her father about her feelings and how she really did not want to marry this man but her father would not accept this idea because it would go against their â€Å"family tradition.† A’idah told her father that she wanted to go to college, however her father was completely against this as she was expected to start having children and tending to her husband's needs. This caused all of her life options and opportunities to be removed from her by her father. Continuation†¦ As it can be seen, love and emotion do not come into play and this makes it extremely difficult to leave the marriage. A’idah was being sexually abused and assaulted by the man she was forced to be with. A’idah showed many forms of resistance, as she would often stay at her friends house to avoid both her parents and the man she was being forced to marry. The abuse and violent threats from Abdullahi not only caused her to live in complete fear, however it also caused her to eventually take her own life Knowledge Question From reading several examples of arranged marriages I believe that indigenous knowledge systems conflict with the contemporary needs of women Claim Arranged marriages are the preferred choice of Islamic youth Islamic Rulings say that if a woman is married off without her parents consent, then the marriage contract is invalid, because it was not validated by the parents. Arranged marriages are the cultural norms for many Muslims across the world. Muslims do not â€Å"date† in the popular Western cultural sense, and many couples look to arranged marriages as a means to wedded bliss. Their expectation is that the seed for love is planted and will continue to bloom after the marriage. Indigenous Knowledge Relating this back to the knowledge question the indigenous knowledge that A’idah’s parents had was passed down from generation to generation. The notion that A’idahs parents arranged marriage was successful caused her parents to be confident A’idah’s marriage would be just as great and that they

The Old Age Concept in OConnors A good man is hard to find

The Old Age Concept in OConnors A good man is hard to find In the article, â€Å"A good man is hard to find†, the concept of old age is pictured form its negative side. The loneliness that a grandmother experiences on growing old can be observed from the old woman. She wishes that her grandchildren stayed. She also tries to convince her son to stay.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Old Age Concept in O’Connor’s â€Å"A good man is hard to find† specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The old woman has a different perspective to life. She relishes the practices of the past. This is evident from her utterances about the respect they had for their native lands. The old woman is not pleased that the children are dismissing her homeland as boring. While the children consider material wealth to be an important aspect of life, the grandmother dismisses this. She admires the scene that a Negro boy creates against the countryside landscape. In addition, she wi shes that the scene could be preserved through a painting. The children have interests that are contrary to those of the old woman. This shows the change that takes place in a person’s mental status when one grows old. The children are uncompromising towards the Negro child they come across in their journey. On the other hand, the old woman understands the predicament of the child who does not have much wealth. In addition, the old woman shows a sense of mental maturity in her reasoning. When the family passes by a farmhouse, the grandmother notices that there are graves on the farmyard. The number of graves on the farm, and the desolate look of the whole plantation surprise her. She understands the grim situation that the family that owned the farmland must have faced. In contrast, the children are not concerned with the graves. Death and burial is not in their focus. The first thing the children are interested in is the plantation, while the old woman is interested in the b urial ground. Apart from her attitude, the old woman exhibits physical aspects of growing old. She is described as having thin hips. This shows that she is withering due to old age. Furthermore, the face of the woman is compared to that of the baby she is curdling. The article says that the grandmother’s skin is leathery while that of the child is bland.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The grandmother has a sense of responsibility that comes with age. When the children finish eating their lunch, they want to throw the napkins out of the car window. They have a carefree attitude towards any decision. Their grandmother is more responsible and does not allow them to do this. This shows the changes that old age has brought to the grandmother. It also gives an accurate picture of what happens when a person grows old. When the grandmother tells a story of her ma iden times, she reminisces of her affair with a man who brought her a melon every day. She values love in her old age. On the contrary, a child says that she is not interested in actions that express love, but she is more interested in wealth. The story shows the diminishing regard for wealth with old age. The old woman is sympathetic with the poor people, she quarrels her granddaughter when she utters mean words to Red Sam’s wife. June, the granddaughter, has contempt for those with little wealth, and says that she could not live in Red Sam’s house for any gift. The old woman is as talkative as the children are. Her argument with the children makes her son, Bailey, lose control of the vehicle. The grandmother’s talkative nature makes the family car crash. Her combativeness with the children distracts the driver of their vehicle. When Misfit captures them, the grandmother does not seem to reason. She tells Misfit that she knows him. Misfit has no option but to k ill them for his own safety. When misfit has killed all her family, she still tries to please him with her talking. At old age, the woman wishes she could live more. She begs for her life more than for any of her relative’s life. Throughout the story, it is evident that the grandmother wished she could live more. This shows how reasoning is affected by old age.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Old Age Concept in O’Connor’s â€Å"A good man is hard to find† specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More

Vietnam War Timeline

Vietnam War Timeline The Vietnam War (also known as the Second Indochina War and the American War in Viet Nam) was an outgrowth of conflicts between the colonizing French forces in Vietnam supported by Bao Dais Vietnamese National Army (VNA) and the communist forces led by Ho Chi Minh (the Viet Minh) and Vo Nguyen Giap. The Vietnam War itself began in 1954 when the United States and other members of the Southeast Asia Treat Organization were drawn into the conflict. It would not end until 20 years later, with the fall of Saigon to the Communists in April 1975. Vietnam War Key Takeaways The Vietnam War was one of several conflicts which began with the struggle over Indochina to overthrow the French colonial forces.  Known as the Second Indochina War, the Vietnam War officially begins when the U.S. gets involved in 1954.The first American fatality was in 1956 when an off-duty airman was shot by a colleague for talking to some children.Four U.S. Presidents oversaw the Vietnam War: Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon.The war ended when Saigon fell to the Communists, in April 1975. Background to Conflicts in Vietnam 1847: France sends warships to Vietnam, to protect Christians from the ruling emperor Gia Long 1858–1884: France invades Vietnam and makes Vietnam a colony. Procession of Indigenous Cavalry or Troops in French Indo-China (Vietnam, Aug. 1903). Corbis / Getty Images Early 20th century: Nationalism begins to rise in Vietnam, including several separate groups with different political systems. October 1930: Ho Chi Minh helps found the Indochinese Communist Party. September 1940: Japan invades Vietnam. May 1941: Ho Chi Minh establishes the Viet Minh (League for the Independence of Vietnam). September 2, 1945: Ho Chi Minh declares an independent Vietnam, called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and fighting begins with French forces and the VNA. December 19, 1946: All-out war breaks out between France and the Viet Minh, signaling the start of the First Indochina War. 1949: Mao Zedongs Communist Party wins the Chinese Civil War. January 1950: The Viet Minh receive military advisors and weapons from China. July 1950: The United States pledges $15 million worth of military aid to France to help its troops fight in Vietnam. 1950–1953: Communist takeover in China and the war in Korea creates concern in the West that Southeast Asia would be a dangerous Communist stronghold. The Second Indochina War Begins May 7, 1954: The French suffer a decisive defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. July 21, 1954: The Geneva Accords creates a cease-fire for the peaceful withdrawal of the French from Vietnam and provides a temporary boundary between North and South Vietnam at the 17th parallel. The accords call for free elections in 1956; Cambodia and Laos receive their independence. South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem rides with Commissioner Richard Patterson and Chief Protocol of the State Department, Wiley T. Buchanan Jr. in a parade in New York City. Carl T. Gossett Jr / Getty Images October 26, 1955: South Vietnam declares itself the Republic of Vietnam, with newly elected Ngo Dinh Diem as president. 1956: President Diem decides against the elections required in the Geneva Accords because the North would certainly win. June 8, 1956: The first official American fatality is Air Force Technical Sergeant Richard B. Fitzgibbon, Jr., murdered by another American airman as he was talking with local children. July 1959: North Vietnams leaders pass an ordinance calling for continued socialist revolutions in the north and south. July 11, 1959: Two off-duty U.S. military advisors Major Dale Buis and Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand  are killed when a guerilla strike at Bienhoa struck their mess hall. The 1960s North Vietnamese President and communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969, left) with Prime Minister of the Peoples Republic of China, Zhou Enlai (1898–1976) in Vietnam, 1960. Three Lions / Getty Images December 20, 1960: The insurgents in South Vietnam are formally established as the National Liberation Front (PLF), but are better known to their enemies as the Vietnamese Communists or Viet Cong for short. January 1961: John F. Kennedy takes office as the President of the United States and begins to escalate American involvement in Vietnam; two U.S. helicopter units arrive in Saigon. February 1962: A U.S.-backed strategic hamlet program in South Vietnam forcibly relocates South Vietnamese peasants to fortified settlements. June 11, 1963: A buddhist monk makes the ultimate protest in Saigon by setting himself alight. Keystone / Getty Images June 11, 1963: Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc sets himself on fire in front of a pagoda in Saigon to protest Diems policies; the journalists photo of the death is published worldwide as The Ultimate Protest. November 2, 1963: South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is executed during a coup. November 22, 1963: President Kennedy is assassinated; the new President Lyndon Johnson would continue the escalation. Lyndon B. Johnson takes the oath of office as President of the United States, after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy November 22, 1963. National Archives / Getty Images August 2 and 4, 1964: North Vietnamese attack two U.S. destroyers sitting in international waters (the Gulf of Tonkin Incident). August 7, 1964: In response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, the U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. March 2, 1965: A sustained U.S. aerial bombing campaign of North Vietnam begins (Operation Rolling Thunder). March 8, 1965: The first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam. January 30, 1968: The North Vietnamese join forces with the Viet Cong to launch the Tet Offensive, attacking approximately 100 South Vietnamese cities and towns. March 16, 1968: U.S. soldiers killed hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the town of Mai Lai. Refugees flee the Tan Son Nhut area after a Viet Cong attack on May 6, 1968. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images July 1968: General William Westmoreland, who had been in charge of the U.S. troops in Vietnam, is replaced by General Creighton Abrams. December 1968: U.S. troops in Vietnam reaches 540,000. July 1969: President Nixon orders the first of many U.S. troop withdrawals from Vietnam. September 3, 1969: Communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh dies at age 79. November 13, 1969: The American public learns of the Mai Lai massacre. The 1970s Hundreds of students at Kent State staged a demonstration in protest against the Nixon administrations expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia on May 4, 1970. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images April 30, 1970: President Nixon announces that U.S. troops will attack enemy locations in Cambodia. This news sparks nationwide protests, especially on college campuses. May 4, 1970: National Guardsmen fire a barrage of tear gas into a crowd of demonstrators protesting the expansion into Cambodia on the campus of Kent State University; four students are killed. June 13, 1971: Portions of the Pentagon Papers are published in The New York Times. March 1972: The North Vietnamese cross the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the 17th parallel to attack South Vietnam in what became known as the Easter Offensive. January 27, 1973: The Paris Peace Accords are signed that provide a cease-fire. March 29, 1973: The last U.S. troops are withdrawn from Vietnam. March 1975: North Vietnam launches a massive assault on South Vietnam. April 30, 1975: Saigon falls, and South Vietnam surrenders to the communists, the official end of the Second Indochina War/Vietnam War. WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 30: Vietnam war veteran Steve Moczary, who served two tours during the war, searches for the name of his friend Msgt. Cecil Hodgson at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Win McNamee / Getty Images July 2, 1976: Vietnam is unified as a communist country, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. November 13, 1982: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. is dedicated.

Saten's evolving self Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Saten's evolving self - Essay Example He simply sacrificed his own happiness for the love had had for Eve. His love for her is evident when he says, â€Å"Sole Eve, Associate sole, to me beyond. Comapre above all living Creatures deare† (lines 227-228). He was unwilling to part with his wife for better and for worse even if it meant disobeying God. For example, he says â€Å"The wife, where danger or dishonor lurks, safest and seemliest by her Husband staies, who guards her, or with her the worst endures† (Lines 267-269). Eve was just greedy, and that is why she accepted to be lured by the devil into eating the forbidden fruit. Eve was easy going and not intelligent hence the reasons as to why the devil wooed her. â€Å"Despairing, seeks to work us woe and shame† (Line 255). Eve despaired and went against all they had been warned against hence bring death and woe. As a result, my client cannot be held accountable for having brought death and woe to the world as the root of this was Eve. Her greed is also evident when she tells Adam, â€Å"This garden, still to tend plant, herb and flour† (Line 206). She was not satisfied with what had been given to them and wanted more and that is why she fell into temptation. Reply 1: The fact that Eve asked for a separation from her husband did not make her loose and greedy. This are attributes she has been having only that the separation gave her room to display her real self. Eve required her own faith to resist the devil and not her husband’s faith. It is from this lack of independence that she brought death to the world. Reply 2: The devil did not force Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, the devil happened to be more intelligent than Eve. The relationship between Adam and Eve was also a healthy during that time, and so Eve was never left exposed or alone. She had the best company of her husband and did not have any reason to give the

Walmart case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Walmart - Case Study Example This together with the ‘open door policy’ states that management needed to consider the â€Å"associates† views in the decision making process. Walton was against worker unionization and he argues that it would lead to establishment of restrictive work regulations and dramatic pay hikes. Furthermore, he came up with the â€Å"sun down rule† which encouraged workers to complete their tasks on time (Hill and Jones, 2009). His policies were based on getting workers to perform to their level best while paying the insufficient salaries. However, they would be rewarded in stock ownership plans and profit sharing schemes. This strategy has worked for years nonetheless; it has been facing issues in the recent times. Issues Facing This Strategy This strategy has led the company to great heights and sustained its exemplary financial performance over the years. Over the recent past, there have been various issues emerging from the application of this strategy (Anthony , Kacmar and Perrewe, 2002). Wal-Mart is the private entity with the highest number of â€Å"associates† world over. This has created numerous problems with regards to human resource management. In the past, the company has been relying on the strategy of encouraging the employees to work hard with the promise of getting a promotion or incentives through stock ownership and profit sharing. This strategy has been regarded as being highly unfair as workers are exploited to work for long hours and they are not duly compensated for their contribution. Furthermore, it has been observed that the company rarely fulfills its promise of sharing its employees through profit sharing. The company has been faced by several law suits over pressuring their employees to work for long hours without paying them overtime wages. Moreover, the company has been under attack for paying its employees peanuts and pressuring them to work too hard (Heskett, 2011). This has resulting to increasing dissa tisfaction among the workforce and can be attributed to the decline in the company’s performance in the recent past. This policy is aimed at increasing the company’s productivity while totally ignoring the â€Å"associates† plight and contribution towards the company’s success. In most competitive firms, worker remuneration is based on output and this should be the case for the giant retailer. Labor unions have attempted to intervene but to no avail. The company’s â€Å"associates† are continually oppressed as its reputation and financial glory go down the drain. Labor unions have made concerted efforts to unionize the employees over the years but they have fallen on deaf ears. Wal-Mart has been noted to be one of the few companies that have strongly opposed against unionization of the â€Å"associates†. The company management argues that labor unions champion for increased salaries and impose strict working regulations (Heskett, 2011 ). This move is regarded to be highly capitalistic and aims at maximizing the company’s profits at the workers’ expense. This has created negative publicity concerning the company and if no immediate action is taken, it could have further detrimental effects on its profitability. In addition to, the company has

New Zealand Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

New Zealand Economy - Essay Example The intermingled culture was a blend of their traditions to create a rich cultural mix; with the blend it threated the survival of the Maori people. The New Zealand`s Government is working to promote the growth of its people, as it tries to preserve its culture. The New Zealand people are working together with the government to promote the country so as to make it a better place to live for its people (Britton 4). The country was discovered in December 1642, by Tasman (Britton 4). It has an ocean environment that keeps the climate mild with the prevailing westerly winds; this causes fluctuation of temperatures and rainfalls from East to West. New Zealand experiences the four seasons of winter, spring, summer, and autumn (Smelt 13). It is a rich and complex economy, with a unique society. The economy of New Zealand has been built for over a hundred and fifty years; some of the economic aspects were gotten from the Polynesian heritage, as well as the European culture (Hawke 1). The main economic activities of New Zealand were dependent on the success of wool, dairy, and meat export (Rewi 21). Like many other countries, New Zealand is in search of ways to boost its economic activity. New Zealand economic growth continued until the First World War, but there were economic interruptions. During the 1920s, the nation was marked with economic uncertainties, and in 1930s it experienced a great depres sion. New Zealand saw its exports restrained by limited growth of demand for meat, wool, and dairy products in 1920s, and was affected by the falling prices of these products in the 1930s. Hawke points out that â€Å"The depression of the 1930s was a major social political event in New Zealand’s history, even if the experience of poverty and unemployment was not great by international standards† (6). Export prices guided the recovery from the depression, while in the meantime, North American and European economies also recovered. The depression in New Zealand brought to power a Labor government, and when this government came across economic problems, it chose to use the unorthodox policies. The depression was combined with the efforts to protect the economy of New Zealand from international events. New Zealand’s economy changed during the 1930s with the regulation of imports and exchange controls, which linked to aspects of a reserved and secured economy (Hawke 6).New Zealand is a small open economy that relies on trade and financial markets trends to ensure output performance, and its vaporization linked to development in the rest of the world. The dependence on New Zealand’s growth leaves it vulnerable to economic performance in the market. Financial markets are an important passage way in which New Zealand’s business cycle is influenced by the United States economies (IMF 3). Robert Reich of Labor Party brought New Zealand to foresee the twenty-first century deficit of national products, corporations and industries. For many years, New Zealand`s economy was built on â€Å"free markets† and â€Å"free trade†, and investment seemed invincible (Kelsey 1).The enthusiasts wanted to advance the process more swiftly, but critics came up with ways to mitigate the unfavorable effects of globalization, particularly on the environment and labor. The â€Å"‘unrealistic critics’ denounced the growing inequal ities and poverty and warned of erosion of democracy and the potential for unregulated capitalism to implode† (Kelsey 1). After many years of fundamental theory-driven transition, it was surprising that the people of New Zealand of 1990 began to acknowledge the importance of their political and social world in Government

Fallacies of the Anti-Federalists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Fallacies of the Anti-Federalists - Essay Example The same men who had thrown boxes of tea into Boston Harbor could hardly be expected to accept a new government that had many of the same confiscatory tendencies as the British government had. Even worse, while London was a boat ride of many months, the new American government would be able to back up its decrees with accessible military force. For a new government to be acceptable to the anti-Federalists, it would have to be far weaker than its British counterpart. One of the assertions of the anti-Federalists was that a "very extensive territory cannot be governed on the principles of freedom, otherwise than by a confederation of republics, possessing all the powers of internal government, but united in the management of their general, and foreign concerns" (Address and Reasons). While the British Empire covered much of the globe, it was in the initial stages of yielding its holdings to independence. Imagine how difficult it would be for a government in our own time to micromanage the affairs of such a large country - as the Soviet Union found out. In the late 1700's, there were not that many areas of life over which the government held sway. The provision of roads and public order were just about all that government could guarantee its citizens. In our own time, where government regulates such areas as public education, the insurance of bank accounts, the permitted forms of marriage, and other areas that the framers of the Constitution may n ever have imagined that their government would be asked to oversee. Imagine that, instead of fifty states, the United States were a looser confederation of fifty small republics, sort of like a European Union on a much larger scale. How would one separate the "internal" matters from those of "general concern" Richard Samuelson wrote an article wondering whether a return to the looser, states' rights-oriented philosophy of federalism would cure a lot of the cultural ills in the country. Because there are several polarizing issues of an ethical nature that are occupying the federal courts' dockets, it has been suggested that delegating more legal questions to the states to settle on their own, it has been argued, might well solve the problem for the federal government. An example he discusses is the issue of gay marriage. If states are permitted to set their own standards as to whether or not gay marriages will be legal, what happens if a couple moves from a gay-friendly state to a mo re conservative one If the gay couple adopts a child, and one of the members runs with the child to a state where their marriage is not recognized, how would the custody dispute be handled (Samuelson). In a looser confederation of republics, such legal situations would clearly overburden the court systems. A similarly polarizing issue that also was probably not something the framers would ever have considered something that would come under government purview is the question of abortion. If this were an issue that were left to the states, it would be

Find an article about plate tectonics(within the last 2 years Assignment

Find an article about plate tectonics(within the last 2 years 2012-2014) and summary the article - Assignment Example Behind this discovery is Yin who was a well known UCLA professor specialized in Earth space science and the author who was responsible for the research. During the analysis that was done on the images captured by the NASA satellites using its spacecraft called THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) together with the HIRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) powerful cameras. The professor took a total of about 100 satellite images and analyzed them which revealed plate tectonic activities, with his experience in conducting a lot of geological research in area like Himalayas and Tibet which hold world major plates divide, he took keen study on the images from Mars and discovered that a lot of features looked similar to those on earth especially those that were found Himalayas, Tibet, California as well as geomorphology. For instance, the professor discovered very smooth and at the same time flat canyon wall which can only develop due to the effect of a fault. There was also a steep cliff that looked the same as that found around California’s Death Valley developed due to the fault. Yin also discovered linear volcanic zone which draw a conclusion of plate tectonic activities. â€Å"These are features that are very rear to be seen in our solar system apart from planet earth and Mars† said Yin, a professor whose work is respected by many and become the cover story in August 9, 2012 issue of the common journal lithosphere Mars surface has some of the longest and deepest ever system that contains canyons that has never been seen in our solar system which is called Vallies Marineries. It is estimated to be about 2,500 miles in length approximately nine times more compare to the earth’s Grand Canyon. Many scientists up to now are left wondering how this was formed, whether it was a big crack that happened on Mars’s shell forcing it to open

The Industrialization of Europe 1780-1914 Essay

The Industrialization of Europe 1780-1914 - Essay Example Industrialization shares close relation with both economic development and economic growth but the concepts are not the same. Kuznets termed it as the modern economic epoch. The process of economic growth involved the association or interaction of four factors namely population, resources, institutions as well as technology. The process of interaction between the factors determines the outcome of the process but the variation of possible outcomes is infinite. During the process of industrialization in the nineteenth century several factors played many different roles at different times (Henderson, 1969). The era of industrialization brought improvements in the standards of living of the society, new wealth on the hands of the population and a transformation from agricultural productivity to urbanization and upgraded standards of health. Technology consisted of the inventions that contributed in the process of production. Such innovation transformed the way production took place. The inventions of new machines like cotton gin, power loom contributed in production of large quantities. In the era of industrialization there was rapid demand for cotton and the demand surpassed the supply in the market creating the condition for excess demand. The demand could not be served if spinning machines were not invented. Industrialization increased urbanization in the continent. The cities in the nineteenth century became the places of manufacturing. Immigration into the industrial cities took place at a rapid rate as jobs were available in this part of the continent. The urbanization achieved raped rate before the planning process got implemented and therefore few challenges regarding social security aroused. The environmental problems coupled with overcrowding caused the challenges to become more hazardous. Industrialization transformed the social structure. As commerce and industry developed there was development of middle class locally referred as bourgeoisie. During the process of industrialization the middle class gained political power and social respect. Ultimately new elite of social class evolved and they were refereed as wealthy bourgeois. The human labor began to be replaced by machines. The use of steam engine was the benchmark for producing textiles. Commercial revolution, price revolution, and the cottage industry are regarded as the roots of industrialization. The commercial revolution brought about exploration age. The price revolution contributed in stimulating the production process as the producers can now get more money for their goods. There was rise in the capitalism structure as the surplus money began to circulate in the investment ventures. The middle class acted as the leaders in economic revolution. Trading as well as manufacturing brought wealth to the bourgeois (Cameron, 1985). Research objective The objective of the research is to analyze the effects of industrialization in the continent of Europe. It is believed that ind ustrialization brought in improvements in the stands of living of the society and therefore the blessings on industrial revolution helped the continent to advance into one of the developed parts of the world. The time period under consideration for the research is 1780 to 1914. Research questions The research

Find an article about plate tectonics(within the last 2 years Assignment

Find an article about plate tectonics(within the last 2 years 2012-2014) and summary the article - Assignment Example Behind this discovery is Yin who was a well known UCLA professor specialized in Earth space science and the author who was responsible for the research. During the analysis that was done on the images captured by the NASA satellites using its spacecraft called THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) together with the HIRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) powerful cameras. The professor took a total of about 100 satellite images and analyzed them which revealed plate tectonic activities, with his experience in conducting a lot of geological research in area like Himalayas and Tibet which hold world major plates divide, he took keen study on the images from Mars and discovered that a lot of features looked similar to those on earth especially those that were found Himalayas, Tibet, California as well as geomorphology. For instance, the professor discovered very smooth and at the same time flat canyon wall which can only develop due to the effect of a fault. There was also a steep cliff that looked the same as that found around California’s Death Valley developed due to the fault. Yin also discovered linear volcanic zone which draw a conclusion of plate tectonic activities. â€Å"These are features that are very rear to be seen in our solar system apart from planet earth and Mars† said Yin, a professor whose work is respected by many and become the cover story in August 9, 2012 issue of the common journal lithosphere Mars surface has some of the longest and deepest ever system that contains canyons that has never been seen in our solar system which is called Vallies Marineries. It is estimated to be about 2,500 miles in length approximately nine times more compare to the earth’s Grand Canyon. Many scientists up to now are left wondering how this was formed, whether it was a big crack that happened on Mars’s shell forcing it to open

Political Realism Essay Example for Free

Political Realism Essay According to realists, the conduct of international leaders differs very little from the conduct of a leader of a criminal organization. Realists’ underlying assumption, i. e. that the international system is in the condition of perpetual anarchy, is close to how crime bosses perceive the neverending competition between different gangs, clans or â€Å"crime families†, like the one Tony Soprano heads. Just like in relations between competing crews or between criminals and the government, no progress towards lasting peace is possible in international relations. International relations are by definition conflictual, unlike domestic matters of a state, since there is no supreme authority over sovereign subject which would possess monopoly on force similar to the one a state has on its territory. Conflicts in international relations, according to realists, are always resolved by the use of force. Here the analogy of Tony Soprano is particularly applicable, since he has killed at least eight people. Similarly, power in international relations, according to realists, is associated with military superiority and ability to defeat enemies. Crime families pursue their own interests using resources they command, but they are well aware of resources and capabilities of their competitors. The same way states in international relations make calculations of their power and interests vs. power and interests of their rivals. Therefore, intelligence information (everything that can be used against competitors) is equally valuable in international relations and criminal activity. Peace and stability is only possible when a durable balance of power exists that reflects actual standing of great powers on the international arena. The same happens in the criminal world. Although gangs and crime families have no moral obligations towards each other, they can sometimes cooperate against a common enemy (states on their part form international alliances). Balance of power among criminal organizations is of a paramount importance for peace and quiet in a city or neighborhood. As Sullivan (2000) informs, criminal groups sustain â€Å"spatial or economic spheres of influence – ‘turf’ or ‘markets’† (p. 86). The states act the same way when they perceive certain regions of the world as their spheres of influence. For the U. S. , the Middle East is a region of strategic importance, as its enduring military presence there clearly indicates. Similarly, Russia â€Å"is treating the former Soviet republics as a priority†¦in an effort both to obtain lucrative assets and to enhance its political influence† (Trenin 2006, p. 91). Realists also believe that there is a difference between private and political morality: for the public and private spheres, there should be different codes of ethical conduct, and some actions inacceptable in private morality terms can be indispensable in politics. This argument can be perhaps extended further to state that different ethical codes are applied to domestic matters and international relations: some actions that would be deemed inacceptable by domestic publics are carried out in or against foreign states, sometimes with the approval of the population at home. Here, an interesting example is the involvement of Henry Kissinger in the uprooting of Allende’s democratic regime in Chile. While it would be a plausible to assume Kissinger believed that democracy served the interests of American people (since he hasn’t made attempts to subvert the public order), he has been reported to comment on the Chilean election of socialist Alllende in the following way: â€Å"The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves† (cited in Zarembka 2006, p. ix). He has in fact denied that Chileans had a right to elect their own leaders, while Americans could teach other countries about right and wrong. In everyday life, this would be referred to as hypocrisy; however, according to political realists, this is how politics is made on the daily basis. In a similar fashion, many crime bosses are good at maintaining two distinct sets of values, one to be applied to intra-organizational matters and another one for the rest of the world. Inside their â€Å"crime family†, gangsters exhibit such qualities as loyalty, honesty, and nobility. All criminal organizations have a code of conduct that is strictly enforced, although such codes have little to do with morality and ethics in the conventional sense. That is why to the outside world, they appear as cruel, self-interested beasts. Similarly, political leaders have to maintain two sets of values: in their private affairs, they have to be an example of integrity and righteousness, as the scandal with Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky shows. Also, they have to be good to their electorates and even political rivals. However, in international relations, they are expected to defend vital interests of their country with determination and firmness. The Road to War This section will look into strange and unusual circumstances and events that lead to wars. The extent to which types of government and domestic publics have an impact on war proneness of states will be discussed. At a first glance, the recent U. S. attack of Iraq is an example of a war between a democracy and undemocratic country, so it is not particularly applicable for testing the democratic peace theory. In fact, the official reason for going to Iraq, as Scowcroft (2002) reports, was regime change: Saddam Hussein oppressed his own people and posed a threat to international security. It was exactly the undemocratic nature of Iraq that made it a tangible threat to the U. S. ; it was deemed that its democratization would automatically provide for peace. Saddam was portrayed as a leader that was impossible to deter by diplomatic means, sanctions, or the threat of force, therefore the invasion was deemed the only viable option for preventing Iraq from acquiring and deploying WMD (Mearsheimer Walt 2003). However, even before the actual deployment, there were forces in the foreign policy establishment calling for a more careful balancing of various U. S. interests at home and abroad. The war on Iraq, as Scowcroft (2002) then argued, would divert U. S. resources from other important pursuits such as the war on terror or resolution of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As the difficulties in Iraq have powerfully brought home, realism for the U. S. nowadays does not mean the use of force but rather refraining from it. The Bush doctrine implied going to war and falling out with allies for the sake of furthering American ideals (Rose 2005), on the aforementioned assumption that democratization is a necessary prerequisite for peace. This neoconservative line is sometimes referred to as â€Å"democratic transformationalism†, which is essentially liberal interventionism (Goldberg 2005). In his second term, however, Bush has been increasingly more inclined towards realism and looking out for actual American interests. To that end, he mended relations with Europe and returned to negotiating with rogue states (Rose 2005). This is in line with the need to balance one’s power and interests against those of other great powers. Such a change in orientation once again suggests that changes in leadership have a significant bearing on the war-proneness of a democratic state, a conclusion Elman (1997) has reached after analyzing the 1982 war between Israel and Lebanon. While no change of leadership has taken place in the U. S. , a change in President’s orientation and some reshuffle in the foreign policy establishment were responsible for the shift. While people like Henry Kissinger are vilified as amoral hypocrites, moralism in foreign policy has never led to anything good for the U. S. : Harry Truman was responsible for the Korean War, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson have initiated the Vietnam War, and Bill Clinton has presided over the Balkan conflict and a deterioration of relations with China. However, right- or left-wing moralists have almost always been succeeded by realists and foreign policy pragmatists who helped to clear the mess (Rose 2005). This mirrors the discussion by Postel (2004) of how democracy-spreading ambitions of George W. Bush worry American realists (together with libertarians and traditionalists). Realism’s main assumption is the primacy of state sovereignty, therefore an interference into the affairs of another state is only justified if an existential threat exists to one’s own country. Before that point is reached, â€Å"the internal organization of another country is [not] any of our business† (Goldberg 2005, para. 25). A far more important reason to worry about the spread of â€Å"democratic transformationalism† is the human and economic cost of it. As Johnson (2000) clearly shows, the U. S. is an overextended empire struggling to sustain its military commitments abroad, and â€Å"the people of the United States are neither militaristic enough nor rich enough to engage in the perpetual police actions, wars, and bailouts their government’s hegemonic policies will require† (p. 221). This argument suggests that populations at home ultimately have some say over foreign policy or at least over the economic cots of overseas military exercises. This point will be explored in greater detail further in this section. The supporters of â€Å"democratic transformationalism† think that the threat posed by Saddam at the turn of the century was the natural consequence of the limited nature of the U. S. intervention during the first Gulf War. Then the U. S. , in accordance with the U. N. mandate, focused on removal of Iraq from Kuwait and not the removal of Saddam from Iraq. Neoconservatives called it â€Å"an unfinished job†: the focus on stability instead of democratization has lead to the current mess, in their opinion (Goldberg 2005). Some commentators believe that the sole reason why the U. S. did not go to Iraq then was the â€Å"Vietnam syndrome† (Ferguson 2004). While historical evidence is mixed wit regard to the democratic peace theory (and therefore the feasibility of â€Å"democratic transformationalism†), it is too early to dismiss it as trivial. This theory might as well be applicable in the 21st century, even if it has failed for most of the 19th and 20th centuries, for two major reasons. First of all, with the advent of new technologies, the level of interconnectedness between peoples of the world has increased dramatically. Citizens of democratic states enjoy unrestricted access to the Internet and the ability to travel to other democratic countries, usually without a visa. Therefore, public opinion in a democratic country is unlikely to support a military action against another democratic country, since there are personal ties between citizens of both, or the consumption of cultural products from another country (e. g. French cinema or Danish design) has created an emotional attachment to a foreign land. The EU can be held up as a prime example. The European continent has been at war for most of its existence. However, nowadays no one can imagine a war between two EU members. Perhaps it was not the participation in common decision-making institutions (which are still weak and contested) but the strength of people-to-people contacts (encouraged by student mobility programs, the rise of an international professional class, cross-border marriages, and even the proposed mobility program for military staff) that has delivered the change. A valid objection to this reasoning would be that professionalization of armies has diminished the level of control publics have over armed forces. As Johnson (2000) explains, for most of the 20th century, national armies were formed by universal conscription, by volunteers, or by a combination of both. It was of paramount importance to sustain patriotic spirit among troops and persuade them by means of propaganda that an enemy poses an existential threat to their nation. If states failed to maintain a firmness of purpose among soldiers, insubordination, desertion and sabotage render an army effectively non-battleworthy. However, professional soldiers perceive their mission merely as a special kind of employment. Although states still initiate massive campaigns to convince their publics of necessity of a war, like it was in the case of Iraq, professional soldiers would be ready to battle any enemy their state commanded them to. Moreover, a state can hire private security providers to wage wars for them. Although there was no case when a war was waged by using such providers only, the involvement of private military companies (PMC) and private security companies (PSC) in Iraq has received a lot of attention (Singer 2004). Thus, a government can still wage a war against another country in opposition to domestic public opinion by relying on a professional armies or private security provides.