The Problem with Overcrowded Prisons

At the turn of the 21st century the problem with the United States penitentiary system could no longer be ignored. There is no need to be incarcerated to understand the suffering of both inmates and personnel managing the prison. Just imagining constricted spaces and forced interaction with an increased number of criminals and or psychologically challenged people can be counterproductive to the supposed rehabilitation purpose of jail time. But reducing the number of inmates or making bigger facilities is not going to be the simple solution for this problem. There are many factors to consider and the dilemma is building up each year. A solution has to be reached before the problem can develop into a full-blown crisis that could result in total breakdown of the system.This study takes a closer look into the problem of overcrowded prisons. This includes finding out why overcrowding has become a riddle for many officials. The research would also tackle the effects of overcrowding. Moreov er, the proponent would find out what are the challenges faced by those who tried to formulate an acceptable solution.Overcrowding the JointIn a nation where slavery is outlawed and where everyone has the opportunity to make something out of life, it is a puzzle why many still go to prison. In the Information age where a person has access to more knowledge, it is a mystery why many are none the wiser since they commit deeds that would put them behind bars.In the book about U.S. prisons, authors Clear, Cole, and Reisig found out that, â€Å"In 2003, 22 states and the federal prison system reported operating at or above capacity. The federal system was estimated to be operating at 39 percent, and overall the state systems were operating at 14 percent above capacity† (2005, p. 467).Michael Jacobson the former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction, the largest city jail system in the U.S. provides additional figures that helps to clearly illustrate the crisis . And he remarked, â€Å"The United States now locks up a higher percentage of its population than any country in the world. The more than 2 million people who are incarcerated today make up roughly eight times the number in 1975† (Jacobson, 2005, p. 8).Overcrowding is due to tougher laws that were ratified due to the belief that habitual offenders must be punished longer. These laws also aimed to put these types of criminals locked up for good – that they may feel the full force of the law. Joycelyn M. Pollock in her book assessing the current state of American prisons remarked why there will be an increasing number of men and women who will be under lock and key for the rest of their lives:Even as recently as 1968, 23 states had statutes that authorized life imprisonment for habitual offenders who had previously been convicted of certain specified offenses [†¦] these â€Å"new† sentencing laws have the potential to exacerbate already severely overcrowded prison conditions while simultaneously creating more problems for state and federal governments, criminal justice agencies, and prison administrators (1997, p. 62).Problem with OvercrowdingWhat is the big deal with overcrowding? Others may even dare speculate that it could add another dimension to the punishing of criminals and therefore why make their stay more comfortable?It is therefore helpful to see prison overcrowding from another perspective. And that is to understand the real purpose of incarceration. Mark Colvin in his study of the infamous New Mexico prison riot of 1980 asserted that squeezing more and more inmates like sardines into a tin can was the result of a change in philosophy.It is therefore easy to argue that riots can be expected in prisons where the needs of inmates are not met or when the prisoners feel that basic human rights are not respected due to the lack of resources. It is also not hard to imagine the stress levels experienced by shorthanded staff. When riots ensue, the safety of the prisoners and at the same time the staff responsible in managing said facility will be in extreme jeopardy.Freeman elaborates on this issue when he wrote that, â€Å"It is difficult to maintain a close watch on ‘problem’ inmates when overcrowding exists. This problem is especially acute when those problem inmates are prone to violence† (1999).Colvin argued that policy makers should be reminded that the main purpose of prison is to rehabilitate offenders and not just function as a place to lock them up. Colvin realized that this situation is did not happen overnight and he wrote, â€Å"This current crisis emerged in the 1970s when the ideological commitment to rehabilitation declined sharply, along with our nation’s optimism about alleviating poverty and a host of other social ills† (1992, p. 1).SolutionA good start would be to again revisit the original aim of prison systems. As discussed earlier policies must be alter ed to minimize the punitive intent of incarceration and rather transform regulations so that it will focus more on helping prisoners deal with the root cause of their crime.Overcrowding reduces the efficacy of whatever rehabilitative impact prison can offer. This was highlighted by Clear, Cole and Reisig when they asserted that, â€Å"Prison overcrowding directly affects the ability of correctional officials to do their work, because it decreases the proportion of offenders in programs, increases the potential for violence, and greatly strains staff morale† (2005, p. 469).With regards to dealing with the main cause of crime, the discussion will then shift to preventive measures such as elevating poverty and providing for opportunities for marginalized members of society to have access to education and other training to improve skills.Finally, a solution is right down under the noses of policymakers; but they are so preoccupied by other more sensational and controversial issue s that they miss it. An example of a simple adjustment in the system can mean hundreds of millions of dollars in savings each year and a significant reduction in the number of incarcerated delinquent. The solution calls for a serious assessment of the role of parole officers within the criminal justice system.To better understand the structure altering role of parole officers, Jacobson made a case for the consequence of neglecting the needs of said officers:Virtually no one in government can spend money like a parole officer [†¦] who has no budget to control and may work in a cramped and overcrowded office in a rundown building in a rundown part of town. He or she may have little or no access to programs or treatment for parolees and may earn much less than a correction or police officer (2005, p. 132).Looking at the insight of Jacobson it takes little to understand the domino effect of neglecting this country’s parole officers. Fortunately for those suffering in an inef ficient criminal justice system, there is an insider in the person of Jacobson who truly understand how the system works.It is a wonder that only a few realized that when a parole officer gets overworked and when their morale are dangerously low they would not have the patience to help offenders walk the more difficult path of an ex-convict. A parole officer is like a volunteer counselor who has to work from the heart, giving more than expert advice. And to walk the extra mile to help those who do not deserve help. But according to Jacobson the system is not helping them and he wrote, â€Å"†¦parole officers have no ability to compel parole agencies to spend additional fund on less expensive parole services such as drug treatment, job training programs, or additional officers to lower caseloads† (2005, p. 132).If all else fails then a suggestion is to improve infrastructure and to add cutting-edge equipment to solve the problem of increasing number of prisoners which sig nificantly affect the inmate to staff ratio. In other words technology will be used to make prisons more safe and more manageable. The positive impact as well as the drawbacks were succinctly explained by who remarked:In the USA, new generation design has even been used to reduce staff-inmate contact [†¦] Too much reliance on technology to eliminate danger and reinforce control can be perilous; in the event of equipment failure, staff can feel virtually helpless. Technology should not be an end in itself, but an aid to officers’ personal control and supervision†¦(Fairweather & McConville, 2000, p.32).Another plausible solution is the privatization of prisons. Pollock argued that with privatization comes efficiency managers and controls that will help shape up the current penal system. There are others who object to privatization citing possible obstruction to due process since privatization means control not by the government but by certain people. But in the end Lo gan was right in saying that, â€Å"†¦in no area have I found any potential problem with private prisons that is not at least matched by an identical or a closely corresponding problem among prisons that are run by the government† (as cited in Pollock, 1997, p. 382).ChallengesThose who are knowledgeable about budget deficits and the need for more money to finance other programs; plus those who are wise enough to understand the ill effects of mass incarceration are clamoring for reduction of the overcrowding in U.S. prison systems.Convincing a large part of the population will not going to be an easy task. The first challenge is changing the perception of the majority, which was heavily influenced by the media and the exposure to controversial crimes. Yet even without high profile crimes many are aware of the problem of repeat offenders and even committing crimes while still being on trial or on bail or on parole. This was elaborated by Karti Sieberg who studied the said criminal dilemma, and she remarked, â€Å"According to the report made by the Council on Crime in America, in 1990, among those accused of violent crimes, 12% were awaiting trial for earlier offenses when they allegedly committed rape, murder, assault, or robbery† (2001, p. 16).ConclusionThe solutions discuss above aims to reduce the number of people held behind bars. The proposed methods and policy changes that advocates of reducing overcrowding are increasingly leaning towards a more lenient system. Being lenient can mean different things to many people but in the limited discussion made earlier, those espousing for leniency wished not to be misunderstood.Criminals must serve time but there are many that do not need to spend more time in prison. It will be for their benefit and the society also. Moreover, a focus on preventive measures can significantly reduce this problem. But most importantly giving importance to the role of parole officers can effectively change the dire ction of overcrowded prisons.Jacobson was right when he said that, â€Å"†¦parole officers’ decisions have had the effect of fueling U.S. incarceration boom by sending many parolees back to prison†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (2005, p. 132). If policymakers can start here they could make a lot of headway.Reference ListClear, T., G. Cole, & Reisig, M. (2005). American Corrections. Belmont CA: Thomson HigherEducation.Colvin, M. (1992). The Penitentiary in Crisis: From Accomodation to Riot in New Mexico. NewYork: State University of New York Press.Fairweather, L. & McConville, S. (2000). Prison Architecture: Policy, Design, and Experience.MA: Elsevier.Freeman, R.M. (1999). Correctional Organization and Management: Public Policy Challenges,Behavior and Structure. MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.Jacobson, M. (2005). Downsizing Prisons: How to Reduce Crime and End Mass Incarceration.New York: New York University Press.Pollock, J. (1997). Prisons: Today and Tomorrow. Boston: Jones and Bartlett Pub lishers.Sieberg, K. (2001). Criminal Dilemmas: Understanding and Preventing Crime. New York:Springer.

Consideration is the essential element Essay

Introduction 1 According to Lord Pollock’s definition of consideration which is an act or forbearance of one party, or the promise thereof, is the price for which the promise of the other is bought and the promise thus given for value is enforceable.2 Besides that, consideration must be something of value given or promised in exchange for the promise given by the other party in order for a valid contract to be formed.3 The term â€Å"something of value† can be defined as a payment, an act or services, an object or giving up legal right. There are certain rules of consideration that have been established in the precedent case. The first rule of consideration is it will only exist when a contract is to be enforceable.4 Secondly, a good consideration can be done in the present and future but not the past.5 A consideration can be done even though the promisor has no knowledge of it.6 The fourth rule of consideration is it does not have to be adequate or commercially realistic.7 Also, consideration must be tangible and cannot be too vague. 8 Lastly, consideration must be legally sufficient in the eye of the law.9 The objective of this research essay is to discuss and explain the rule of the consideration which is consideration does not have to be adequate or commercially realistic but it has to be sufficient and how these legal concepts relate to the cases. Thus, this research essay also discusses whether Australia contract law should provide greater clarity about what is sufficient consideration. Consideration can be Nominal It is one of the rules of consideration where consideration does not have to be adequate or commercially realistic.10 This rule simply means that the price in return does not have to be right.11 Thus, court will not look into whether the price is adequate or not, as long as some price is paid, the court will not look further about it. Even though it is a very low price or a nominal price is paid or promised, the price might be a price in name only. The case of Thomas v Thomas12is often cited on this rule. In the case of Thomas v Thomas where Thomas was ill and he had made a will but had made no provision for his wife’s residence after his death. He called his executor and requested that when he died his wife could live in his house until her demise. The executor agreed and later drew up an agreement with  the Thomas’s wife. She was requires to pay $ 1.00 per year to stay in the house until she died. The court held that, any amount of money is enough to support a contract even though the price that requires to paid was only a nominal price. Thus, the court will not look behind the price as long as a price is paid or promised. Through the case of Thomas v Thomas, it shows that any some of money even it is small or nominal, it will constitute good consideration for a contract.13 Besides that, the court are not involved in the price detailed for two reason which the first is the â€Å"freedom of contract† principle applies and the second reason is that the case wouldn’t end if the court did look into more detail of the price to be paid.14 Furthermore, consideration does not only express in currency terms, it can also be anything valuable. This concept has been stated in the case of Chappell & Co v Nestle Co Ltd.15 In the case of Chappell & Co v Nestle Co Ltd, Nestle want to promote their sale of the chocolate, they offered recorded music to the public for the sterling equivalent of 15 cents, but buyers had to also send in the wallpaper from three 5 cents chocolate bar. Where, Chappell owned the copyright of one of tunes in the free record so they charge Nestle 6.25% of the retail selling price. Chappell claimed revenue of 6.25% of the record price plus the value of three chocolate bar wrappers. The court held that the empty wrappers were part of revenue collected. The fact that the empty wrappers have no intrinsic value to Nestle was irrelevant. Thus, the consideration for the free record was the money plus the value of three chocolate bars wrappers. As we can see from the case of Chappell & Co v Nestle Co Ltd, the chocolate bars wrappers would have constituted sufficient consideration in the eye of the law.16 Therefore, consideration does not only express in money term, it can also be anything that is valuable. Consideration must be tangible This is another rule of consideration where it must not be too vague or indefinite.17 Consideration must be tangible but not nebulous.18 This has been shown in the case of White v Bluett.19 In White v Bluett, a son  borrowed money from his father and signed a â€Å"promissory note† to prove the debt. He notices that similar loans were made by his father to his brother without a note having been signed. He harassed his father, and his father told him that he would forgive the repayment of debt if the son ceases the harassment. After the father died, the administrator of the estate found out the note and sued the son but the son argued that the debt had been forgiven in consideration of his undertaking to cease harassment. The court held that there is no consideration as the promise was too vague to have legally recognized value. From the case of White v Bluett, it shown that if a promise is relied on as consideration is too vague and indefinite that the courts will not enforced it and it will not constitute consideration.20 Consideration must be Legally Sufficient This rule simply mean that consideration must be sufficient and it must have a legally value recognised value.21 Thus, a mere moral obligation or the natural love and affection do not deliver sufficient consideration.22 This has been shown in the case of Eastwood v Kenyon.23 In this case, as a guardian, Eastwood had incurred many expenses for the girl. 24 As an adult, the girl and her husband Kenyon promised to pay Eastwood.25 At the end, they refuse to pay back then Kenyon was sued upon this promise. Therefore, the situation show that such a moral obligation is not a consideration.26 Besides that, in general rule a promise to perform an existing obligation is not a sufficient consideration as it promises no more than what that party already bound to do.27The rule expresses the concept of illusory consideration. Thus, when there is a promise not to sue, or when there is an abandon to a claim, it can be a sufficient consideration. This has been shown in the case of Wigan v Edward28. Where the court decision is that, given that the buyer honestly believed that they do not need to settle unless he rectified the defects, the compromise of that belief provided good consideration for the builder’s promise.29 Furthermore, performing an obligation under a pre-existing contract is not a good consideration for a new promise for extra payment unless the performance of the obligation requires additional tasks to be completed or  involves providing additional practical benefit to the promisor.30 The additional practical benefit is an exception to the rule that a promise to carry out a pre-existing duty may create valid consideration. This has been show in the case of Williams v Roffey Bros & Nicholls (Contractors).31 In Williams v Roffey Bros & Nicholls, Roffey were a firm of builders contracted to renovate a block of flats. Their own contract contained a penalty clause for late completion, so it was in their interest to finish the work in time. Part of this work they sub-contracted to Williams. As work progressed, Williams fell behind schedule because, they claimed, they had not set an adequate price for the work. They negotiated a new deal with Roffey that an additional sum was to be pay on the completion of each building. When the next building was complete, Roffey refused to pay. The court held that, there was consideration in this case as the new agreement conferred additional practical benefit on Roffey, in particular an early completion would allow them to avoid the exercise of the penalty clause. As we can see from the case of Williams v Roffey Bros & Nicholls, a promise to perform an existing contractual duty does not provide valuable consideration but the case show that Roffey had provide additional practical benefit and then consideration exist. Conclusion In conclusion, consideration must be of sufficient value in the eye of law and it must be something that identifiable and tangible. Thus, it does not have to be commercially adequate to the promise as the parties are free to make their own bargains and the court will not get involve into the commercial adequacy.32 Therefore, Australia Contract Law should not provide greater clarity as it is a sufficient consideration.

Essay question Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Essay question - Coursework Example nesis is a concept in Plates theory that involves both epistemological and psychological theories that are developed in both his Meno and Phaedo dialogues. Russell on the other hand discusses the theory of knowledge in diverse measures of trying to unmask knowledge to its fine tiny particles. The platonic theory of anamnesis is mainly subjective to Orphism and Pythagoreanism and a belief in transmigration of souls (Koehler, 1972). It is also eminent of the thought pre existence of humanity with the sense of a soul. According to the theory of anamnesis, human discovers knowledge acquired during previous incarnations of the soul. This doctrine stipulates that, the soul knows truths about universal values and ideas. These values and ideas are known to be of non-materialistic sense. The soul already possesses knowledge hence its only duty is to recall ideas and occasions. Russell’s theory defines knowledge in that for an individual to discuss knowledge, one must be able to know the definition of a belief and the definition of a fact. There should be a known fact that connects with a certain belief that makes an agreement. As compared to the plutonic theory, Russells theory is determined to identify the major elements of knowledge and how they relate to the human soul. Russell defined a belief as the state of mind of a particular perception. A belief is set in accordance to the common sense. The human soul has the ability to feel and dictate the way a human being behaves. Consequently, a belief can be perceived as a percetin o common sense being manifested as behavior without any proof of mental occurrence. The interpretation of human knowledge according to this doctrine utilizes the theory of prior knowledge but it gives a different description as opposed to Kantianism or the neo-Kantianism theories. In contrast to this theory, Russell explains that knowledge is as a result of the distinction that truth and error exists. Theory of knowledge

Consider the role and influence shop stewards and union activists in Essay

Consider the role and influence shop stewards and union activists in Contemporary UK industrial relations - Essay Example In the large industrial plants, where lots of members of different unions had been employed, there it was found that at least twenty stewards were representing various departments (Glascott, 19710). Salamon’s statement is also vital in this respect. He stated â€Å"The role tended to move away from being a passive guardian of the union’s collective agreements negotiated at the national level to one of direct negotiations with management.† The phrase refers to the British Winter of 1978-79. After 1926, this period has been marked as the largest stoppage of labour due to the widespread strikes. A horrible condition prevailed in the country at that time as there was a shortage of food. It had a great social and political impact. It led to declining influence of the trade union. The membership of trade union was halved. This period caused rise of ‘Militant Tendency’. The manufacturing base of the Britain has been badly affected. During this period, the base of the old labour force had reduced and a new workforce was building up (Conservapedia, n.d.). The origin of the existence of the trade unions can be traced to the eighteenth century. During the period, a rapid expansion took place in the industrial society. Because of such changes, lots of women, rural workers and children had been involved in the workforce. Most of them were un-skilled or semi-skilled labor. This pool of labors spontaneously organized and at the later stage developed and founded trade unions. According to Smith, unions were not legal in most of the countries. For attempting to organize and develop unions, the leaders faced severe penalties. In spite of this, the unions were formed to acquire political powers. It resulted in body of labor law which not only codified the association between the employees and employers but also legalized the organizing effort. In this respect it is necessary to mention that the Universal Declaration of Human

Web Media and Web Application Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Web Media and Web Application - Assignment Example As the paper outlines the tourism service provider also aims to relate price of tourism packages with the holidays and the weather conditions. Better the weather; the higher would be the price. This would help customers to plan their travelling in a better manner and would put them in a more decisive role to effectively use the tourism services. On the other hand, tourism operator would have a competitive edge to market its packages because it is likely that on holidays if weather is good, it would attract more customers despite the package prices. The aim of this report is to plan and manage the project and identify any associated risks and ways to mitigate them. This discussion stresses that a project does not operate in a vacuum. Projects are impacted by, and have impact on, the culture, management policies and procedures of the organizations they are part of. The best project managers look for these influences and manage them for the benefit of the project and the organization. Matrix structure would be employed in the tourism service providing organization. According to Project Management Institute, matrix organization is a functional organization where expertise are grouped under areas of specialization in functional departments and a project manager separately reports to chief executive officer. Matrix organizations are either weak, balanced or strong matrices. Weak matrices maintain many of the characteristics of a functional organization and the project manager role is more that of a coordinator or expediter than that of a manager. In similar fashion, strong matrices have many of the characteristics of the project organization, and ca n have full-time project managers with considerable authority and full-time project administrative staff.  

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

Nokia HR - Essay Example Change in fact, is one of the mostly viewed elements for corporate success (Manfred and Vries 7). Apple for instance initiated social and economic change, which has become prior to its actual leadership in its industry and its actual redefinition of the digital age by its visionary leader, Steven P. Jobs (Markoff). With this move, the company is consistently alert to find out what their competitors are doing in order to protect its competitive advantage (McQuillen). Change remains constant in this world. Believe it or not, we need to change, either for the best or the other way around. The person in front of you today is convinced and is compelled to choose the former. We need to change for good! Look around you, and you will be able to see major changes in our industry. Where do you find us now? Are we heading towards the advancements or are we much left behind by our competitors? Where do we hold our competitive advantage? Ladies and gentlemen, a pleasant day to all! Nokia is one of the dream companies your new CEO hoped to work for before. And it is now a dream come true, but there are still many things left unfulfilled in that dream, for there is a need to involve you in it. Yes, you heard it. Your new CEO would not be able to completely achieve that dream without you. So starting today, let us dream together, and be part of what we must envision as the dream company in the future. It is not impossible to make Nokia that way. With all of you whom your CEO believes to be elemental in the achievement of that dream, together we can make things possible and once again, we could prove to this industry that we have something competitive enough within us that could remarkably spark for change. Technological advancement is imminent. We cannot completely hold our competitors to stop them from investing in technological advancements and changes. They are innovating possibilities, as they try to create needs for their actual product and

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 10

Case Study Example However, in order to provide the required services to its customers, C&S had to raise its operational costs shrink its margins and improve its customer’s relationship management. This also forced Cohen to hire more employees; thus, leading to coordination issues. The coordination issues led to the need of hiring more supervisors than before. The result was overcrowding in the workspace. The employees were mare exposed to accidents due to congestion. Eventually, the employee morale lowered, and there was an increase in turnover. Thus, in order to solve these problems, Cohen thought it wise to in cooperate the concept of â€Å"self managed teams.† C&S is currently facing a difficulty in controlling its operations. The number of employees has increased due to the increase in workload. Having won the deal to be the sole wholesaler to A&P, C&S is currently in a state of inefficiency. The workplace overcrowded, and risks of injuries have risen. The working hours have increased, and the morale of the employees has reduced due to the workload thy have to do each day, leaving them very tired at the end of the day. Cohen is challenged on what to do. He is not sure of whether the method of self managed team is a brilliant idea, or not. The current situation is one of doubts and confusion. Work at C&S is perfect if handled properly. The fact that they have won a huge customer on their side shows the enormous opportunity for the company to make more profit, and win more clients. However, the strategy of how to handle the work is what is missing. Employing more people means spending more money. For a company to succeed there has to be a way by which the management ensures that more money is made as compared to what is spent. However, in C&S, it seems a lot of money is being spent in hiring more employees. This situation is a remarkably convenient opportunity to use self managed team. A self managed team would help in the reduction of the supervisors

Technological Changes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Technological Changes - Essay Example In the next ten years, the impact of the internet technology is expected to influence companies especially in developing and emerging economies where its benefits still remains unharnessed. The internet technology is projected to facilitate more and more transactions online among business parties and even individual consumers (Kotler and Armstrong 2002). The snail mail will be eliminated and be replaced by electronic mails as more efficient means of communication. More purchases transaction between retailers and buyers will also be observed. Because of these improvements in the market which is facilitated by the increasing internet literacy, D Package Express will be handling less mails or smaller packages containing mails to customers and business. However, with more global purchases facilitated by the internet technology, mail packaging and supplies will be used in order to ship packages globally. As customers constantly seek products through online transaction, they connect with more suppliers which can provide them with more valuable products. As emerging countries will also shop online, D Package Express will also be given the chance to expand its horizons with the possibility of opening up new outlets in these locations in the future.

Explain the concepts of both individual and cultural relativism Essay

Explain the concepts of both individual and cultural relativism - Essay Example Of importance to note is that, at times this concept counters itself and its subsequent argument of what might be perceived as right of wrong could be concluded as baseless (Brooks, 2011). This ethical relativism concept articulates that the perception of what is ethically right is dependent on a given culture. For instance, one culture might believe in cannibalism as being morally right while another culture is against the practice. Needless to say, this concept assists in understanding why certain practices are common in some cultures and not others (Brooks, 2011). Apparently, the concept Utilitarianism argues that action could be defined as morally right or wrong when the consequences are at hand unlike ethical relativism where right or wrong is determined by an individual or culture (Brooks, 2011). Kantian theory is described as one of the best ethical principles as it articulates that human beings have the opportunity to effectively use their reasoning faculty to determine what their obligated to do and do it diligently. Conversely, ethical relativism does not entail actual reasoning on a particular action but simple perception (Brooks, 2011). This contract theory revolves around an agreement that is formed by two differently organized groups of people where responsibilities are assigned to each member of the group. Moreover, limitations and rights about certain issues are defined. In ethical relativism, cultural relativism where society is incorporated does not have limitations and rights, but practices that are perceived morally right or wrong (Brooks, 2011). Actually, divine command theory argues that actions deemed to be moral rightly ought to be equivalent to what God has commanded and that being moral is following what God has commanded unlike Ethical Relativism where an individual or culture decides what is right or wrong (Brooks, 2011). This theory articulates that natural laws that are created as a result of human reasoning could

Human Resource Management and Personnel Management Essay Example for Free

Human Resource Management and Personnel Management Essay Introduction 1. This report discusses the historical development of Human Resource Management (HRM), identifies the role and purposes of HRM, and also to distinguish between personnel management and HRM. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) defines personnel management as the part of management concerned with people at work and with their relationships within an enterprise. It aims to bring together, and develop into an effective organisation, the people within an business, having regard for the welfare of the individual and of working groups, to enable them to make their best contribution to its success. HRM may be defined as a strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organisations most valued assets: the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its objectives for sustainable competitive advantage. The Nature and Development of Personnel management 2. HRM obtained acknowledgment in the late 1970s in the USA, as a label for the way companies such as IBM were managing their people. These companies applied the principles outlined by David Guest (1989) to gain a competitive edge over their competitors. These four principles are listed below. a) Strategic integration -the ability of organisations to integrate HRM issues into their strategic plans, to ensure that the various aspects of HRM cohere and for line managers to incorporate a HRM perspective into their decision making. b) High commitment people must be managed in a way that ensures both their genuine behavioural commitment to pursuing the goals of the organisation and their attitudinal commitment, reflected in strong identification with the organisation. c) Flexibility HRM policies must be structured to allow maximum flexibility for the organisation, so it can respond to ever changing business needs: for example, by encouraging functional versatility in employees and by creating an adaptable organisational structure with the capacity to manage innovation. d) High Quality The notion of quality must run through everything the organisation does, including the management of employees and investment in high-quality employees, which in turn will bear directly on the quality of the goods and services provided. Personnel management can be traced back to second half of the nineteenth century when Victorian workers were hit hard by the industrialisation, and urbanisation of Britain. Companies such as Cadbury and Rowntree, initiated programmes for their employees managed on their behalf by industrial welfare workers, the philosophy behind these people was that in the welfare tradition, the work and responsibilities of the personnel officer was directed to the employees, rather than to the strategic concerns of the organisation and its management. The programmes included facilities such as company housing, health care, education for workers families and so on. The motivation for these measures included, that they reflected a wider social reform, led by political and religious groups. In the USA groups like Quakers were abolishing slavery, and striving to increase business performance by the moral and social enhancement of their employees. Moreover, as more motivation to convert to these programmes, improved health and education for the workers and their families meant that these employers would have a better reputation with employees and consumers, employees would be more committed and motivated, also there would always be great demand for a job within the company. This can be linked to Maslows theory on the hierarchy of needs, in which he states that workers are motivated by five different needs. Physiological- pay, holidays (lower order need) Safety Health and safety measures, pensions (lower order need) Social formal and informal groups, social events (lower order need) Self-esteem power, promotion (higher order need) Self-actualisation challenging work, developing new skills (higher order need) These programmes and jobs would provide something for each of the lower order needs, therefore increasing motivation throughout the workforce. Furthermore, consumers would feel morally better as they were buying products that were helping the working classes. This could be considered very similar to the ideas linked with the popularity of fair trade products in modern day society. The demise of the working class was outlined at this time when the British government had problems recruiting troops for the Crimean and Boer wars, as many people failed the medical, and the health of the nations labourers was brought into the limelight. The need for negotiation, conflict resolution and the management of relationships between labour and management occurred in 1871 with the legislation of trade unions. This was recognised politically, with formation of the aptly named Labour Representation Committee in 1900, which was renamed in 1906 as the Labour party, which was largely funded by the trade union development. In 1911, the National Insurance Scheme created the first welfare provisions for workers in the result of illness, or unemployment. The establishment of the Ministry of Labour to address wider issues and representations quickly followed this in 1916. In the 1930s and 40s management theorists changed attributes of their theories, as scientific management which was in current use came under scrutiny for dehumanising employees. This is when the HRM approach began to appear, being backed by Maslow, Herzberg, and McGregor who shifted their attention to the higher order needs, as shown above on Maslows hierarchy of needs. The new key to motivation of the workforce involved job satisfaction, which it was then believed, could not be achieved just from maintenance factors like pay and working conditions. The governments influence on industrial relations, and the workforces continued until the mid 1970s in conjunction with social reforms in health and education. After this time the UK government did not interfere in collaborated relationships between the employer and employee, with the exception of trade union reform. In spite of that the latter half of the twentieth century saw extreme legislation in all sectors of employment. It was during this era that the industrial relations tradition suggests that the work and the responsibility of the personnel officer was to mediate and even arbitrate between the sides in industrial disputes, to facilitate collective bargaining, negotiation and compliance with the current industrial relations laws. As a response to the escalating speed of organisational expansion and alterations, the control of labour tradition suggests that the work and responsibility of the personnel officer is to support management by regulating the range of workplace activity. This includes job allocation, performance, absenteeism, pay, communication, training, and so on. The CIPD have endeavoured to establish personnel management as a career, by providing a programme of learning resulting in a qualification. However, many personnel managers do not posses this qualification and this is rarely seen as an obstruction within the career. It is safe to say that all personnel managers will use remnants of the welfare, industrial, and the control of labour traditions to become part of the professional tradition that is occurring today. The Role and Tasks of the Personnel Function 3. Personnel specialists can take various roles like line mangers, advisors, service providers, auditors, Co-ordinators and planners and in todays modern world of rapidly developing technology, ethics, and growing organisations in any business there is need for specialist advice on personnel matters, whether it is internal or external. This is because the practise of personnel management needs to be consistent, impartial, proficient and on course with organisational goals, as there are constant developments in this field that require expertise in the area of personnel management. The need for this specialist has several contributing factors including the need to comply with changing regulation and legislation, for example the personnel specialist may be used to recruit staff to avoid sex or racial discrimination. Constant changes within the labour market have also meant that policies need to be designed by someone with current knowledge on the matter. Moreover, trade unions, industrial tribunals, and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) have a continuous role in employee relations; therefore having some one who is familiar with the legislation amongst other things that is used would be very useful. However, since there the existing role of the personnel manager is so diverse there are different models derived by different theorists. A popular model is that suggested by Tyson and Fell (1986). The three roles that they suggest are: * The clerk of works model all authority for actions is with line managers. Personnel policies are formed after the actions that created the need. Policies are not integral and are short term and ad hoc. Personnel activities are routine and involve day-to-day administration. * The contracts manager model Policies are established, often implicit, with heavy industrial relations emphasis. The personnel department will use fairly sophisticated systems especially with regard to employee relations. The personnel manager is likely to be a professional or experienced in industrial relations. They should take on the role of policing the implementation of policies, but does not create them. * The architect model Explicit corporate personnel policies exist as part of the corporate strategy. HR planning and development are important concepts. The head of the function is likely to be on the Board of Directors, and is therefore seen as a professional, making an important contribution to the business. Policies are often formed to assist in the personnel function to make sure that people are treated equally, and that laws and regulations are met. These can include equal opportunities, disciplinary policies, and safety policies. The policies are based upon legislation put in place by the Government and the EU in certain areas like safety. The values and philosophies of the business about how the employees should be treated and what kind of behaviour will enable them to work most effectively on the organisations behalf. The needs and wants of employees, and the organisations need to attract and retain the kind of employees it wants by its reputation of practice as an employer. The Shift in Approach Which Has Led to the Term HRM 4. Throughout history the social change has been reflected in personnel management, and which also changes in conjunction with the social needs. This is shown by the implementation of legislation and rules, to stop discrimination and aid safety measures, as the social climate becomes more morally aware of the workforce. In the late nineteenth century it would not have been unheard of for people to die at work, even into the twentieth century there were still accident that occur to labourers working in primary industries, but this became more shocking, as with the development of technology it was publicised by the media and made safer by improvements, as a company realised that its image was very important. A political and economic change is also evident through out history, for example in the 1970s when the government would no longer interfere with some matters between employer and employee relations, this is because it was realised that full employment was not as important as controlling inflation and other economic factors. Also HRM has become common through out the business world and is thoroughly integrated into the organisational structure of a business. This is because it has been found that companies use this approach in different strengths to achieve a competitive edge over their rivals. Today companies like Marks Spencer, McDonalds, and even public sector businesses like British Gas are using various strengths of HRM. Recommendations 5. To draw conclusion, it is my recommendation that Phoenix Tannoy Ltd. consider establishing a HR department as it is shown in history that the use of HRM does give a competitive edge over rivals, by motivating employees. The reality is that by moving to a HR department Phoenix Tannoy will motivate its workforce by implementing policies and procedures that benefit all the staff. Motivated staff are then more committed to the organisation, and motivated into doing the best they can to help the business achieve its goals. Moreover, a HR department would remove the depersonalised face of the personnel department and make the company less bureaucratic.

Chinese business negotiation styles and their impacts on the success of business with indian counterparts

Chinese business negotiation styles and their impacts on the success of business with indian counterparts 1. Introduction With Chinas accession to the WTO and the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games, China will become a new modern country and we will have increasing chances to cooperate with other countries, such as India, from all over the world. Business between China and India is becoming more and more frequent and important, and China will have more opportunities to negotiate with India. The commercial activity cannot go smoothly without negotiation. Business negotiation cannot be separated from culture. Business negotiation is a series of actions, and culture is a lubricant to the process. Knowing about the other sides culture will yield twice the result with half the effort. Also, different cultural values could bring barriers and problems in business negotiation. To understand different negotiation styles of us and India is significant. In this paper, I will analyze the negotiation styles of China and India, and find out the difference between them. Analyzing the business relationship between them and gi ve some suggestions about their negotiation. 2. Studies on the negotiation styles of the Chinese and Indian people 2.1 Chinese business negotiation styles Every people have his or her own negotiation styles, to master his or her negotiation styles will be of great help to the successful business. As a result, what we should understand first is the meaning of Negotiation Styles. â€Å"The negotiation style refers to the words and deeds behaved by negotiators in the course of negotiation. It is closely related to cultural traditions and cultural background, and obviously different from thoughts, characteristics of tactics and behaviors of the negotiators in the other side.† (Ma, 2004, p.450) Generally speaking, China is considered a friendly country. Dating back from Confucius age, propriety (Li jiao) has been paid great attention to. Chinese people are friendly, generous and helpful. Mostly, the Chinese people would warm their guests in either business or travel. The Chinese businessman is accustomed to â€Å"try peaceful means before resorting to force† (Xian li hou bing). When they do business with foreign counterparts, they are very likely to build a good relationship at the first time. In Chinese, there is a phrase â€Å"La guan xi†. If the two sides have cooperated before, the Chinese may possibly remind of the relationship between the two sides, which also has a Chinese phrase called â€Å"La jiao qing†. Acting in good faith occupies a great position in the mind of Chinese businessman, and the Chinese value a lot on emotion. Frequently, the Chineses sincere and warm attitudes help them win a good impression before they do business with others. Nevertheless, â€Å"try peaceful means before resorting to force† also means the Chinese would have their tough attitude as well, especially when they are in a hard situation. They are reserved, seldom showing their attitude directly. Even though they master all details of the negotiation, they would invite their partner indirectly to lay his cards on the table. When the negotiation has reached an impasse or some barrier, the Chinese would attempt to break the deadlock by making generous and thoughtful decision to maintain the relationship. They are easy to give accommodation for the sake of friendship. 2.2 India business negotiation styles Indians are warm and welcoming people who enjoy harmonious relationship. Once one has built a comfortable relationship with the local counterpart, the formal negotiation process can begin. In business, they are good at serving their own interests through trickery, desiring for quick success and instant benefits and scheming for convenience. (Richard, 2004, p.222) As a result, they prefer dealing with samples. Indians are also patient. In the business negotiation, they often spend a lot of time until they make a final decision. The Indians love bargaining. (Waterloo, 2002, p.318) Strangely, in their minds, justice means the counterpart who has more money or who is more popular should pay the bill. When negotiating, they would say naturally,† your capital is much more than us, so you must pay for†¦Ã¢â‚¬ India is an ancient culture with splashes of modernity throughout its business sector. Making researches on each company thoroughly and finding out the nature of their management style are necessary. Many large companies in India are family owned and operated. Dont assume that good relations with one family member could constitute access to the source of comme rcial power. Internal rivalries between family members are bitter, personal, and long-standing. 2.3 China and India business relationship There exists a long traditional friendship between the Chinese and Indian people. People of both countries have had great sympathy with each other and supported each other in the struggle for national independence. On 30, December 1949, the two countries built up relationship. Both China and India are huge markets. They are engaged in economic reforms and, with more economic development in both countries, more varieties of commodity could be offered for exchange. Economic cooperation in the fields of steel, petroleum, space, software, etc. has been developed. (Cheng, 2005, pp.90-91) Since 2002, leaders of the two countries have visited each other frequently, which promoted business between them greatly. China is expected to surpass America, becoming the biggest business partner of India. Both China and India enjoy the most promising foreground all over the world. In 2005, the total trade between China and India reached US $ 18.7 billion, increased by 38% than the last year. China has supported Indias participation in the APEC, while India has always supported China in the Human Rights Commission. Both China and India are huge markets. They are engaged in economic reforms and, with more economic development in both countries, more varieties of commodity could be offered for exchange. They share common interests as follow: The most important common interest between China and India is a peaceful and stable environment for their economic and social development. It is also in the common interest of both China and India to develop more trade and economic cooperation among themselves. Trade between the two countries grew quite fast in the last decade. (Zhang,

Argument Against Charles Darwins Theory of Evolution Essay -- Natural

Charles Darwin proposed the theory of evolution to explain the origin, diversity and complexity of life. I will will disprove evolution by showing that natural selection only explains small evolutionary changes, collectively known as microevolution. Natural selection cannot drive large evolutionary changes, macroevolution. I will also show that the primordial soup, in which life supposedly evolved, did not exist. Neo-Darwinism incorporates the discoveries of modern science into Darwin's original theory while leaving the basic beliefs intact. Darwin proposed that individuals with favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce. Darwin called this process natural selection. Darwin did not understand how or why variation existed. Today scientists realize that variation arises through random changes (called mutations) to existing genes. Genes are the chemicals that determine the traits and characteristics of animals and plants. Every trait has one or more gene associated with it. Thus, natural selection provides the animals and plants with the best genes. Supporters of neo-Darwinism believe that natural selection operating upon random variation gave rise rise to all animals and plants. While the source of variation is random, the direction of evolution is not. In effect, natural selection removes chance, and it makes the theory of evolution plausible. If neo-Darwinism is correct then nu merous small successive changes guided by natural selection gave rise to all animals and plants. I will prove that natural selection is not a creative process. Its primary function is to preserve the status quo. Thus, new structures and organs must arise through chance. Natural selection can only preserve and optimize these new structures and organs after they evolve through chance. In other words, natural selection does not drive evolution, and the hypothesis on which neo-Darwinism is based is flawed. Natural selection drives microevolution. Microevolution is defined as evolution involving small changes. Microevolution does not require the evolution of new structures or organs, Therefore, microevolution does not involve the creation of new genes. Changes to existing genes (mutations) result in variation. Natural selection acts on this variation and preserves the best. So while the variation may be random, the process of microevolution is not. Natural... ...ific experiments can not test macroevolution, there is no direct evidence to suggest that the processes behind microevolution can also bring about the evolution of new structures or genes. In other words, microevolution should not be extended to support macroevolution. While punctuated equilibria may save evolution from the fossil record, it cannot save the theory from the more serious flaws. For example, the success of evolution is based entirely upon the ability of scientists to use microevolution to justify macroevolution. What is the difference between microevolution and macroevolution? Microevolution does not require new structures or organs. Macroevolution does. This implies that microevolution does not create new genes whereas macroevolution requires new genes. Two things should be clear from the examples offered above: 1.) Microevolution can bring about very large changes. 2). It is easy to make the same mistake that Darwin made. That is microevolution can accomplish a lot, so why not use it to explain macroevolution? For these reasons explained above, how can any person with a sound mind still believe in the outlandish fairy-tale that is called evolution?

Project Proposal: Personal Portfolio Website :: Multimedia Technology & Design

Introduction The purpose of this research document is to showcase the mechanics and reasoning behind the proposed personal portfolio project which will be created by Rob Geis in the upcoming academic year for the final year module. Rob Geis is a current second year student of the Multimedia Technology & Design course at State University. Keen to pursue a career in website development Rob will be undertaking a one year Website Development placement during the academic year at Global Digital Solutions. Project Goals Here are the primary goals of the project: †¢ Create a strong brand with offline and online touch points in which is modern, relevant and consistent. †¢ Create an innovative website portfolio to showcase my previous work, attract employers and have an outstanding user experience. †¢ Have a comprehensive knowledge of what it requires to create and maintain a user experience based website. †¢ Understanding of where the future of the website development industry and its technologies are heading. The goal of this research document is to recognise the main components needed in order to achieve the goals, what they consist of and the theory behind them. This will be done by exploring examples with both successful and unsuccessful outcomes. Branding What is a brand? A brand is usually defined to be a visual asset used across a series of products in order to create an identity. Although a brand is much more than that, the visual aspect of the brand is not only to entice the customer but it also reminds us of our previous experience or feelings they have toward that particular brand. Essentially a brand is not effective without an equally as effective product, and vice versa. The brand is then as important as the product itself. What an effective brand needs: To be emotional: to be more than just a logo, to be a promise that answers questions about a person or company like â€Å"who am I?† and â€Å"what am I about?† Consistency: A brand is seen at every touch point with a consumer to eventually shape an overall brand image, consistency is needed throughout your image and products. Personality and style: In this case the brand will be representing a digital media generalist. Some personality and style should be shown to represent the digital artist from a more personal level. Audience: A strong brand needs to know firstly their audience and message they want to put across to then create an effective communication strategy. Know who your audience it and appeal to them directly.

Global Warming and Greenhouse Gases :: Environment Environmental Pollution Preservation

Global Warming and Greenhouse Gases    With all the talk about the global warming and climate change, including international debates focused on the viability of reduced gaseous emissions, one centrally-important consideration often gets ignored. It turns out that the greenhouse gases that contribute to warming the earth constitute only about 1 percent of all gaseous atmospheric material. And if one considers only the subset of these gaseous molecules whose concentrations are thought to be altered by human activities, their atmospheric contribution drops to well below 1 percent. In the past 50 years we have begun to realize that these additions to our atmosphere, which come primarily from fossil fuel burning, will likely have significant impacts on human and ecosystem health and welfare. Simply put, these ''new'' gases, despite their low relative concentrations, have and will continue to demand our attention from political and economic points-of-view. Remarkably, albeit so small in percentage terms, greenhouse gases are critical to our maintenance of a planetary atmosphere conducive for life. Recognizing how such a minute portion of our atmosphere affects humans so significantly is a first step towards understanding why seemingly small quantities matter and likely a requisite step for living in a sustainable way. (Quantities are small in relative percentage terms, but in net emission terms, the U.S., alone, emitted a staggering 89 billion pound of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas in 1998!) Probably the resource most taken for granted in this world is the air, particularly the oxygen that we breathe. Most of us could last several weeks without food and a few days without water, but very few of us can survive for more than minute or so without air. Both humans and animals need a constant supply of oxygen or our bodies shut down. Thankfully, the atmosphere is plentiful with this resource. Currently, the oxygen (chemically, O2) that we require takes up nearly 21 percent (by volume) of the air that we breathe; most of what we breathe in is nitrogen (N2, dominant to the tune of 78 percent) which, strangely enough, has little known purpose ingested into the body in gaseous form. Now while this vital resource is found in relative abundance, other essential gaseous resources are much less common.

Night World : The Chosen Chapter 4

Quinn was cold. Not physically, of course. That was impossible. The icy March air had no effect on him; his body was impervious to little things like weather. No, this cold was inside him. He stood looking at the bay and the thriving city across it.Boston by starlight. It had taken him a long time to come back toBoston after†¦ the change. He'd lived there once, when he'd been human. But in those daysBoston was nothing but three hills, one beacon, and a handful of houses with thatched roofs. The place where he was standing now had been clean beach surrounded by salt meadows and dense forest. The year had been 1639. Bostonhad grown since then, but Quinn hadn't. He was still eighteen, still the young man who'd loved the sunny pastures and the clear blue water of the wilderness. Who had lived simply, feeling grateful when there was enough food for supper on his mother's table, and who had dreamed of someday having his own fishing schooner and marrying pretty Dove Redfern. That was how it had all started, with Dove. Pretty Dove and her soft brown hair†¦ sweet Dove, who had a secret a simple boy like Quinn could never have imagined. Well. Quinn felt his lip curl. That was all in the past. Dove had been dead for centuries, and if her screams still haunted him every night, no one knew but himself. Because he might not be any older than he had been in the days of the colonies, but he had learned a few tricks. Like how to wrap ice around his heart so that nothing in the world could hurt him. And how to put ice in his gaze, so that whoever looked into his black eyes saw only an endless glacial dark. He'd gotten very good at that. Some people actually went pale and backed away when he turned his eyes on them. The tricks had worked for years, allowing him not just to survive as a vampire, but to be brilliantly successful at it. He was Quinn, pitiless as a snake, whose blood ran like ice water, whose soft voice pronounced doom on anybody who got in his way. Quinn, the essence of darkness, who struck fear into the hearts of humans and Night People alike. And just at the moment, he was tired. Tired and cold. There was a kind of bleakness inside him, like a whiter that would never change into spring. He had no idea what to do about it-although it had occurred to him that if he were to jump into the bay and let those dark waters close over his head, and then stay down there for a few days without feeding†¦ well, all his problems would be solved, wouldn't they? But that was ridiculous. He was Quinn. Nothing could touch him. The bleak feeling would go away eventually. He pulled himself out of his reverie, turning away from the shimmering blackness of the bay. Maybe he should go to the warehouse in Mission Hill, check on its inhabitants. He needed something to do, to keep him from thinking. Quinn smiled, knowing it was a smile to frighten children. He set off forBoston . Rashel sat by the window, but not the way ordinary people sit. She was kneeling in a sort of crouch, weight resting on her left leg, right leg bent and pointing forward. It was a position that allowed for swift and unrestricted movement in any direction. Her bokken was beside her; she could spring and draw at a second's notice. The abandoned building was quiet. Steve and Vicky were outside, scouting the street. Nyala seemed lost in her own thoughts. Suddenly Nyala reached out and touched the bokken's sheath. â€Å"What's this?† â€Å"Hm? Oh, it's a kind of Japanese sword. They use wooden swords for fencing practice because steel would be too dangerous. But it can actually be lethal even to humans. It's weighted and balanced just like a steel sword.† She pulled the sword out of the sheath and turned the flashlight on it so Nyala could see the satiny green-black wood. Nyala drew in her breath and touched the graceful curve lightly. â€Å"It's beautiful.† â€Å"It's made of lignum vitae: the Wood of Life. That's the hardest and heaviest wood there is-it's as dense as iron. I had it carved specially, just for me.† â€Å"And you use it to kill vampires.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And you've killed a lot.† â€Å"Yes.† Rashel slid the sword back into its sheath. â€Å"Good,† Nyala said with a throb in her voice. She turned to stare at the street. She had a small queenly head, with hair piled on the back like Nef-ertiti's crown. When she turned back to Rashel, her voice was quiet. â€Å"How did you get into all this in the first place? I mean, you seem to know so much. How did you learn it all?† Rashel laughed. â€Å"Bit by bit,† she said briefly. She didn't like to talk about it. â€Å"But I started like you. I saw one of them kill my mom when I was five. After that, I tried to learn everything I could about vampires, so I could fight them. And I told the story at every foster home I lived in, and finally I found some people who believed me. They were vampire hunters. They taught me a lot.† Nyala looked ashamed and disgusted. â€Å"I'm so stupid-I haven't done anything like that. I wouldn't even have known about the Lancers if Elliot hadn't called me. He saw the article in the paper about my sister and guessed it might have been a vampire killing. But I'd never have found them on my own.† â€Å"You just didn't have enough time.† â€Å"No. I think it takes a special kind of person. But now that I know how to fight them, I'm going to do it.† Her voice was tight and shaky, and Rashel glanced at her quickly. There was something unstable just under the surface of this girl. â€Å"Nobody knows which of them killed my sister, so I just figure I'll get as many of them as I can. I want to-â€Å" â€Å"Quiet!† Rashel hissed the word and put a hand over Nyala's mouth at the same instant. Nyala froze. Rashel sat tensely, listening, then got up like a spring uncoiling and put her head out the window. She listened for another moment, then caught up her scarf and veiled her face with practiced movements. â€Å"Grab your ski mask and come on.† â€Å"What is it?† â€Å"You're going to get your wish-right now. There's a fight down there. Stay behind me†¦ and don't forget your mask.† Nyala didn't need to ask about that, she noticed. It was the first thing any vampire hunter learned. If you were recognized and the vampire got away†¦ well, it was all over. The Night People would search until they found you, then strike when you least expected it. With Nyala behind her, Rashel ran lightly down the stairs and around to the street. The sounds were coming from a pool of darkness beside one of the warehouses, far from the nearest streetlight. As Rashel reached the place, she could make out the forms of Steve and Vicky, their faces masked, their clubs in their hands. They were struggling with another form. Oh, for God's sake, Rashel thought, stopping dead. One other form. The two of them, armed with wood and lying in ambush, couldn't handle one little vampire by themselves? From the racket, she'd thought they must have been surprised by a whole army. But this vampire seemed to be putting up quite a fight-in fact, he was clearly winning. Throwing his attackers around with supernatural strength, just as if they were ordinary humans and not fearless vampire slayers. He seemed to be enjoying it. â€Å"We've got to help them!† Nyala hissed in Rashers ear. â€Å"Yeah,† Rashel said joylessly. She sighed. â€Å"Wait here; I'm going to bonk him on the head.† It wasn't quite that easy. Rashel got behind the vampire without trouble; he was preoccupied with the other two and arrogant enough to be careless. But then she had a problem. Her bokken, the honorable sword of a warrior, had one purpose: to deliver a clean blow capable of killing instantly. She couldn't bring herself to whack somebody unconscious with it. It wasn't that she didn't have other weapons. She had plenty-back at home in Marblehead. All the tools of a ninja, and some the ninja had never heard of. And she knew some extremely dirty methods of fighting. She could break bones and crush tendons; she could peel an enemy's trachea out of his neck with her bare hands or drive his ribs into his lungs with her feet. But those were desperate measures, to be used as a last resort when her own life was at stake and the opposition was overwhelming. She simply couldn't do that to a single enemy when she had the jump on him. Just then the single enemy threw Steve into a wall, where he landed with a muffled â€Å"oof.† Rashel felt sorry for him, but it solved her dilemma. She grabbed the oak club Steve had been holding as it rolled across the concrete. Then she circled nimbly as the vampire turned, trying to face her. At that instant Nyala threw herself into the fight, creating a distraction, and Rashel did what she'd said she would. She bonked the vampire on the head, driving the club like a home runner's swing with the force of her hips. The vampire cried out and fell down motionless. Rashel raised the club again, watching him. Then she lowered it, looking at Steve and Vicky. â€Å"You guys okay?† Vicky nodded stiffly. She was trying to get her breath. â€Å"He surprised us,† she said. Rashel didn't answer. She was very unhappy, and her feeling of being in top form tonight had completely evaporated. This had been the most undignified fight she'd seen in a long while, and†¦ †¦ and it bothered her, the way the vampire had cried out as he fell. She couldn't explain why, but it had. Steve picked himself up. â€Å"He shouldn't have been able to surprise us,† he said. â€Å"That was our fault.† Rashel glanced at him. It was true. In this business, you were either ready all the time, expecting the unexpected at any moment, or you were dead. â€Å"He was just good,† Vicky said shortly. â€Å"Come on, let's get him out of here before somebody sees us. There's a cellar in the other building.† Rashel took hold of the vampire's feet while Steve grabbed his shoulders. He wasn't very big, about Rashel's height and compact. He looked young, about Rashel's age. Which meant nothing, she reminded herself. A parasite could be a thousand and still look young. They gained eternal life from other people's blood. She and Steve carried their burden down the stairs into a large dank room that smelled of damp rot and mildew. They dropped him on the cold concrete floor and Rashel straightened to ease her back. â€Å"Okay. Now let's see what he looks like,† Vicky said, and turned her flashlight on him. The vampire was pale, and his black hair looked even blacker against his white skin. His eyelashes were dark on his cheek. A little blood matted his hair in the back. â€Å"I don't think he's the same one Elliot and I saw last night. That one looked bigger,† Vicky said. Nyala pressed forward, staring at her very first captive vampire. â€Å"What difference does it make? He's one of them, right? Nobody human could have thrown Steve like that. He might even be the one who killed my sister. And he's ours now.† She smiled down, looking almost like someone in love. â€Å"You're ours,† she said to the unconscious boy on the floor. â€Å"Just you wait.† Steve rubbed his shoulder where it had hit the wall. All he said was â€Å"Yeah,† but his smile wasn't nice. â€Å"I only hope he doesn't die soon,† Vicky said, examining the pale face critically. â€Å"You hit him pretty hard.† â€Å"He's not going to die,† Rashel said. â€Å"In fact, he'll probably wake up in a few minutes. And we'd better hope he's not one of the really powerful telepaths.† Nyala looked up sharply. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Oh-all vampires are telepathic,† Rashel said absently. â€Å"But there's a big range as to how powerful they are. Most of them can only communicate over a short distance-like within the same house, say. But a few are a lot stronger.† â€Å"Even if he is strong, it won't matter unless there are other vampires around,† Vicky said. â€Å"Which there may be, if you and Elliot saw another one last night.† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Vicky hesitated, then said, â€Å"We can check outside, make sure he doesn't have any friends hiding around that warehouse.† Steve was nodding, and Nyala was listening intently. Rashel started to say that from what she'd seen, they couldn't find a vampire in hiding to save their lives-but then she changed her mind. â€Å"Good idea,† she said. â€Å"You take Nyala and do that. It's better to have three people than two. I'll tie him up before he comes around. I've got bast cord.† Vicky glanced over quickly, but her hostility seemed to have faded since Rashel had knocked the vampire over the head. â€Å"Okay, but let's use the handcuffs. Nyala, run up and get them.† Nyala did, and she and Vicky fixed the wooden stocks on the vampire's wrists. Then they left with Steve. Rashel sat on the floor. She didn't know what she was doing, or why she'd sent Nyala away. All she knew was that she wanted to be alone, and that she felt†¦ rotten. It wasn't that she didn't have anger. There were times when she got so angry at the universe that it was actually like a little voice inside her whispering, Kill, kill, kill. Times when she wanted to strike out blindly, without caring who she hurt. But just now the little voice was silent, and Rashel felt sick. To keep herself busy, she tied his feet with bast, a cord made from the inner bark of trees. It was as good for holding a vampire as Vicky's ridiculous handcuffs. When it was done, she turned the flashlight on him again. He was good-looking. Clean features that were strongly chiseled but almost delicate. A mouth that at the moment looked rather innocent, but which might be sensuous if he were awake. A body that was lithe and flat-muscled, if not very tall. All of which had no effect on Rashel. She'd seen attractive vampires before-in fact, an inordinate number of them seemed to be really beautiful. It didn't mean anything. It only stood as a contrast to what they were like inside. The tall man who'd killed her mother had been handsome. She could still see his face, his golden eyes. Filthy parasites. Night World scum. They weren't really people. They were monsters. But they could still feel pain, just like any human. She'd hurt this one when she hit him. Rashel jumped up and started to pace the cellar. All right. This vampire deserved to die. They all did. But that didn't mean she had to wait for Vicky to come back and poke him with pointy sticks. Rashel knew now why she'd sent Nyala away. So she could give the vampire a clean death. Maybe he didn't deserve it, but she couldn't stand around and watch Vicky kill him slowly. She couldn't. She stopped pacing and went to the unconscious boy. The flashlight on the floor was still pointing at him, so she could see him clearly. He was wearing a lightweight black shirt-no sweater or coat. Vampires didn't need protection from the cold. Rashel unbuttoned the shirt, exposing his chest. Although the angled tip of her bokken could pierce clothing, it was easier to drive it straight into vampire flesh without any barrier in between. Standing with one foot on either side of the vampire's waist, she drew the heavy wooden sword. She held it with both hands, one near the guard, the other near the knob on the end of the hilt. She positioned the end exactly over the vampire's heart. â€Å"This kitten has claws,† she whispered, hardly aware she was saying it. Then she took a deep breath, eyes shut. She needed to work to focus, because she'd never done anything like this before. The vampires she'd killed had usually been caught in the middle of some despicable act-and they'd all been fighting at the end. She'd never staked one that was lying still. Concentrate, she thought. You need zanshin, continuing mind, awareness of everything without fixing on anything. She felt her feet becoming part of the cold concrete beneath them, her muscles and bones becoming extensions of the ground. The strike would carry the energy of the earth itself. Her hands brought the sword up. She was ready for the kill. She opened her eyes to perfect her aim. And then she saw that the vampire was awake. His eyes were open and he was looking at her.

The Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian

One thing Arnold does not do is complain. Even though he was â€Å"born with water on the brain†, gigantic feet, ten more teeth then normal, stutter and a lisp, Arnold still doesn't complain though. Just because he does not complain does not mean he loves the life he was given. Junior still thinks life would have been much easier if he was white. He tends to put himself down quit often. Alexie Sherman illustrates what differences there are between the Indians and the white people. Indians covered their private parts with their tiny hands† (Alexie 11). Saying that Indians have tiny hands indicates that the whites had bigger hands therefore meaning that they were more powerful and/or superior over the whites. Another thing Alexie Sherman shows the readers is that Arnold has very low self-esteem because he's used to people calling him retarded so often that he starts to believe he really is. And then you'd be wondering why you're reading a story written by uch a retard† (Alexie 4). It shows that Arnold doesn't have that much confidence in himself and he believes Indians are treated the way they are because they deserve to be. Alexie Sherman is saying that Indians don't be live that white people are truly better then Indians. â€Å"Some Indians think you become white if you try to make your life better, if you become successful† (Alexie 131). This shows how Indians have lost all hope for themselves and that's probably why they don't even ry to make their lives better, because no matter what they do they still aren't as good as the Indians. Some of the Spokane Indians believe if one Indian becomes successful then he is no longer an Indian but instead a white. In conclusion Alexie Sherman uses alot of metaphor does/says many things to express how the Spokane Indians feel about themselves and how they have low self-esteem. And because of this many Indians think they can't get anywhere far in life.

Aim in becoming an engineer and your Career

When we are young, one of those questions that we hear from almost every adult that we encounter, especially from those who work, is â€Å"What do you like to be when you grow up?† Remember that most may say, â€Å"I want to be this or that or like my mother or like my father and many other else†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Though we were young then, we are all starting to know the value of dream or career.If you’re asking for my plan or the same question as the adults ask in my first paragraph, I would answer you that I am now aiming to be an engineer or I want engineering to be my career. You may have different reactions when I say that but it is just a matter of choice and all of us are have that right.To be an engineer, I must study the prerequisites of entering college. First, I should finish my high school and then enroll in a university or college and acquire an engineering course, a mechanical, industrial or civil engineering may do.Anyway, engineers abide by a simple law and the only thing that makes each of them distinct from one another is the nature of the results. For example, chemical engineers end products are chemical products, electrical engineering are for electricity-related machines or equipments which work hand-in-hand with the mechanical engineers.Today, the engineering sector has many branches and each of them have their own expertise. After passing the course, I must take the licensure exam to be an engineer if it is needed. Otherwise, I will not be professionally called as engineer by my name or don’t have a title before my first name.What’s really special about being an engineer is having a wide knowledge and expertise on one specific thing I want. Knowing the in and out of that thing is really amazing. If a have a computer, as an engineer I will know its components, the materials used, software available for the unit and even the appropriate price so that the public will buy the computer.In short, engineers usually know every detail of something he or she is really interested about.Well, the knowledge I will gain is only one of the reasons why I aim to be an engineer. Another thing is really on their purpose in fulfilling their job. For me, engineers also are public servant and are not only confined with their commercial purposes.Though some may think that I want to be an engineer because it is well paid, well, think again. I know that we, in our career, always want to help others. Take a civil engineer for example. Most civil engineers are government employees.They are imparting their knowledge in construction to build hospitals, schools, bridges, gate arcs, government buildings and many other infrastructures that are of great use for us. If not for them, we cannot be assure that we are safe when crossing bridges or walking by parks or towers. If not for them, community development is not possible.Lastly, I believe that without them, each of them, every kind of them, society will be more of a bore . Basically, they give foundations of everything, almost everything that we saw in a society or a city in particular are works of science and art – or simply work of engineers. I may say that they are the builders of a civilization.Dreams are made mostly to guide us in our way of pursuing our life. The question, â€Å"What do I like to be when I grow up?† is a big start in shaping the life we want someday.Having a career in mind is really important so that we will now what all of our sufferings in life will bring us to. All we need to do is to focus our eyes in our aim – in my case, I should focus my eyes on my aim to become an engineer and do my best to make that my career.ReferencesReally†¦what IS an engineer? Retrieved July 1, 2007 from http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/ academics/ub/news/learning/engineer05.phpEngineer, is it you? Retrieved July 1, 2007 from http://www.micron.com/ students/engineer/what.html

Burger King Ad Analysis Essay

In June of 2009, Burger King released an advertisement for the â€Å"BK Super Seven Incher† for a limited promotion in Singapore. The sexual message that this ad aims to convey is not so much hidden or subliminal as it is blatantly obvious. Not many would be able to simply glance at this ad and then go about their day. Men and women alike are drawn to the ad because they are either attracted to it or offended by it. Effective advertising usually triggers some kind of powerful emotion within its audience. In that respect, this advertisement succeeds with flying colors. Whether it is because of feelings of disgust or attraction, the images in this ad are difficult to ignore which is exactly what the advertiser envisioned happening. Although very ineffective, this ad is still being analyzed today which is quite significant. Burger King’s advertisement effectively creates and manipulates the narrative, layout, and copy to create a strong reaction to sexism and vulgarity wit hin its audience causing them to only focus on the nature of the ad, not how much they want to buy the product. The ad, through its imagery and text, aims to create a fantasy where all a man has to do is hold a burger and young, attractive women will want to have sex with them. Even if men do not consciously think this way, the idea it is still in the back of their minds. In an attempt to create an effective subtext with these images and words, the ad dehumanizes both men and women. On one hand, the woman in the ad is seen as an object who is only useful in sexual situations — hence the focal point of her face, her mouth which is directly in line with the burger. Many have even noted that the woman resembles a blow-up doll which further solidifies the idea of transforming women into sexual devices rather than human beings. On the other hand, a phallic idea is triggered in a man’s mind that to create the notion that size does matter and this ad presents it as the only thing that really does matter when it comes to attracting a woman. It gives men the impression that if they are no t well endowed, women will disregard them unless they are seen eating this burger. The prominent images of this ad cause the audience to have a strong emotional reaction to the ad whether they know it or not. The portion of the advertisement that first catches the audience’s eye is the image of a stunned, fairly artificial looking woman with her mouth agape to a sandwich that seems to be appearing out of nowhere. The sandwich pictured with the woman also looks much thinner and longer than the one pictured at the bottom. The image of the sandwich next to the woman’s mouth creates obvious phallic visualizations within the audience’s minds. The ad’s blatant allusion to oral sex causes the audience to have a strong reaction upon seeing it. The image suggests that upon eating this sandwich, every adjacent woman will be rendered helpless at the sight of a man holding a seven inch burger. The woman also seems to be looking at something out of frame beyond the sandwich. The mysterious item in the shadows that the woman’s eyes are fixed on adds yet another cue a man could subconsciously get by looking at the ad. This allows a man to conjure up any type of scenario within his mind from only the presence of shadows in the ad. Right below is the second-most prominent part of the ad: the words â€Å"It’ll Blow Your Mind Away† in large font with the two largest words in that sentence being â€Å"It’ll Blow.† The ad tends to two very significant aspects of a young man’s life: food and sex. Food is a basic human need but it is not enough to say that this sandwich will satisfy your hun ger, it must also be able to fulfill another desire. The images of this ad indirectly suggest that the sandwich will cater to a man’s hunger as well as his sexual frustration. Along with the suggestive images this ad presents, the words surrounding the artwork bring an equally as obvious but a much more distasteful idea to the mind. In small font at the bottom it reads: â€Å"fill your desire for something long, juicy and flame-grilled† because we all know that a long cake tastes better than a short one. The fact that the sandwich is seven inches long has little to nothing to do with the quality of the sandwich but rather the visualization that this extra long burger evokes while accompanied with the images. As if that was not enough to make a man go cross-eyed, it goes on to add that the burger will make one â€Å"yearn for more† after one taste. The seemingly endless sexually suggestive elements of this ad just causes it to be mulled over in the minds of men and women alike which adds to its effectiveness not to sell a product but to keep the Burger King name in people’s heads. The name of the product in itself is also something to be considered. Without the imagery of the product it would be unclear as to what is being sold. Only in the small text do you see what this product is actually categorized under — a burger. To someone unfamiliar to this ad, the term â€Å"seven incher† could mean a plethora of items, both sexual and non-sexual. Because of the lack of distinction between food and phallus, the audience gets the wrong (or the right) impression of this product. In describing the burger in further detail, the words â€Å"crispy,† â€Å"thick,† and â€Å"hearty† are used to create the idea that not only will you be attracting women from all over the globe, you will also be buying a top-of-the-line meal for the bargain price of $6.25 — an idea any man would be mesmerized by. One long-running advertisement of a similar product could come to mind when faced with an ad centered upon the size of a sandwich — Subway’s â€Å"Five Dollar Foot Long† campaign. Unlike the Burger King ad, the Subway ad features mainly a catchy jingle and cheery imagery. Subway’s advertisers could have easily gone in the route that Burger King did and made the extra long sandwich sexual. Any company would choose not to sexualize their ads in order to avoid excluding the portion of their audience who would not be attracted to or would even be offended by such graphic images. Subway, instead, used positive and healthy imagery using athletes and generally fit people to advertise their product. In 2008, about the time the campaign for the five dollar sandwich began, the U.S. was faced with a financial crisis. As a result, Subway came up with the campaign of a cheap alternative to healthy food. As a result, a very marketable image of their product was created. A notable difference between Burger King’s ad and Subway’s ad is that the â€Å"BK Super Seven Incher† ad had to be taken down right after the backlash ensued; the everyday â€Å"Five Dollar Foot Long† campaign was sustained until Subway was pushed to increase the price of the sandwich due to inflation. Much like an ad targeted to women of all ages that shows young, thin, energetic girls wearing fashionable clothing, this ad creates false scenarios in the minds of males about a situation that eating this burger will put them in. In the past, the appeals of Burger King ads seemed to be based on humor and were aimed towards a more universal audience. Their ads usually include the advertising mascot of the company, â€Å"The King,† who would often be presented in comical situations. The ad, in no way, alienated any group of people which is why it was kept. The problem in advertising today and particularly in this ad is that companies now allow their products to give off the wrong impression in order to get a rise out of people. Despite its limited release, the unnecessarily sexual nature of the ad sparked much discussion around the world. Not long after the backlash, Burger King officials released a statement expressing that the ad was not created by their principal advertising agency, but by a more independent Singapore agency. Although the ad was taken down shortly thereafter, this does not change the fact that Burger King knew what they were getting themselves into in allowing this ad to be released. Excessively sexualizing a product could mean much negative repercussions for a company. Whether Burger King thought they could sell more sandwiches this way or not, they got the publicity that they were striving for. Although the feedback that they were receiving was extremely negative, it successfully got their name in people’s minds which is considered positive for any company. Burger King, by no accident, released an overly sexual ad that could cause any consumer to think twice. In some cases, sex only sells to a point, then it becomes overkill meaning that the ad could work against them if it is deemed â€Å"too sexual.† Done in the right way, sexual ads are very successful but in those cases the ads are very subtle and usually focus on some kind of subliminal message. Burger King’s target audience who are predominately young males will certainly have a strong reaction to the ad but will most likely not be more inclined to buy the product after seeing it in those terms. This ad is a good example of how shock value gets attention but does not effectively sell a product.

Corporate Social Responsibility Degree Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Corporate Social Responsibility Degree - Essay Example But, I would like to say that these employees consist of only internal society of the corporation and there is an external society too out side of our corporation's four corners. In addition to selling our brand products at home, we have been regularly exporting our items to far and wide places in the world, especially Asian and African countries, indicating strongly that our fortunes are heavily linked to those people. But, take a look at I propose that our company should take the lead at least this year in effectively fulfilling our CSR. As a first step toward this, the management should form a separate CSR wing at our corporate office for identifying proper areas of CSR at home and abroad. As a senior employee of the company, I assure you full cooperation from the employees in keeping the commitment towards CSR. On our part, we are ready to contribute a bit financially too from our salaries to supplement your funding for our CSR projects. As a second step, our company should join hands with UK's major charity organisation Water Aid which has been providing safe drinking water, sanitation and hygienic education to the poorest of the poor people in some African and Asian countries (What we do, Where we work.). Using sustainable and practical technologies, Water Aid has 4 been closely working with locals in India, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania and some other needy countries to improve quality of life of the downtrodden. Several corporate companies have already joined hands with the Water Aid and been continuously sharing the honours in alleviating the sufferings of the underprivileged around the world. Let us also join them and share the honours along with several others. Yours sincerely Mr.X (Human Resources Division) 5 References: What we do, (Water Aid UK, London), retrieved January 10, 2006 from http://www.wateraid.org.uk/uk/default.asp 1 Dated 10-01-2006. To The President ABC Corporation London Venerable Sir, As an x-corporate division head of XYZ Corporation, I feel elated in formally seeking a placement in your prestigious organisation. I have a vast experience of 20 years in the company in executing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects at home and abroad. As you know very well, XYZ is the leader in CSR and known internationally for its commitment to the society. During my tenure as head of its CSR division, we have continuously implemented several CSR projects making the XYZ Corporation much 2 more popular. Of course, the reputation of xyz Corporation on its CSR front was due to the contribution of several of its employees who participated in the programmes. Your company

Grover Cleveland's Illegitimate Child Scanal Essay

Grover Cleveland's Illegitimate Child Scanal - Essay Example Hunter was a film-making staffer in his office. A comparison between the handling of the Cleveland’s case and the latter two cases reveals the significant transformation of America from a classical society that attempted to suppress such scandals to an open one in which guilty perpetrators are willing to admit their past mistakes publicly and show a sense of responsibility. This paper explores the impacts Cleveland’s illegitimate child scandal and the public response to such cases. Challenges of fighting sex scandals The US is better off in terms of surviving such scandals among political leaders (Wiid, Pitt and Engstrom 138). This is partly because the women, particularly those whose husbands have been caught up in these lies, are living testimonies of the historical female abuse in marriage relationships. In light of the long-standing challenges facing women, most of them tend to see child scandals as normal. As such, the problem has become so widespread among the pol itical elite that surviving them is relatively easy; especially once the media has directed extensive media coverage to other important issues affecting the society (Feschuk 85). Chotiner (5) has pointed out that prominent politicians have been at the forefront of these scandals, people who command huge following and admiration from the public. In light of this, these scandals have been misconstrued to mean private life events that have very little, if any bearing on the quality of services that the public is entitled to. This lack of concern on the part of the American public not only shows hypocrisy, it has resulted in repeated cases of child scandals by key leaders in the country (Berinsky et al 177). The repetitiveness of such cases affecting elected leaders has earned them some level of acceptance within the public domain, since forcing such leaders out of office has not been as easy as handling the conduct of the bureaucracy within government circles. Part of the issues that h ave aggravated such scandals by making the American public have a less serious approach to weeding out the perpetrators from public service is the effectiveness of some of the individuals in discharging their mandate (Chotiner 6). Most Americans would rather have an honest, apologetic political leader whose name has been tarnished by a child scandal, with an exemplary performance record to remain in office for the rest of his or her term than spend more time and resources replacing him. America survived Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, partly on this reasoning (Greenberg 52). Barring guilty would-be leaders from office Despite the virtual failure to bring all pre-existing holders of political offices to book over sex and illegitimate child scandals, most of the guilty would-be leaders have been successfully barred from holding public office. Senator John Edwards was a potential candidate for the vice-President of the United States five years ago, but was forced to abandon the race (Wiid, P itt, and Engstrom 141).  The leader’s ‘love child’ affair dented his image and leadership qualities when he misled his wife, and the country about the issue. Former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford was forced to call it quits in 2011 over a similar scandal.  His vocations in Argentina, it later emerged, were a scandal in which he admitted to using public funds to entertain his mistress. However, he has