Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or Personal Statement - 1

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below - Personal Statement Example My game improved and I ate free lunches for almost the entire summer! This is the type of challenge that best describes me. Other activities that I enjoy are downhill skiing and horseback riding. I am a novice a riding and am looking forward to improving. I have been told that I am too competitive by friends, but that is simply how I am wired. I never stoop to being a poor sport, and I have never lost a friend because of my competitive nature, so I guess I’m not too overbearing with my desire to always do my best. I am the sort of person that cannot relax by relaxing or giving something a half-effort. I relax by giving each challenge all of my effort and then enjoying the benefits of my hard work. This is why I love a good challenge. In the end, I’m a better more relaxed person because of the effort needed to overcome the

Conflict and Violence in Premarital Relationship Essay Example for Free

Conflict and Violence in Premarital Relationship Essay Incidence of conflicts and violence in premarital relationship seems to happen regularly. This research paper discusses the many possible reasons that would cause someone to become a victim or perpetrator in premarital relationships. A root cause of premarital violence is in childhood experiences. Individuals develop a certain relationship style based on their childhood experiences that influences how they behave in close relationships. Childhood emotional trauma causes children to develop insecure relationship style that produces adults with many emotional and psychological issues such as depression and anger. These styles are termed: the secure, the avoidant, the ambivalent and the disorganized relationship style. Children learn to communicate and interact with others through observing the way their manage conflicts parents. Conflicts occur often, mainly due to the lack of communication skills between couples and individual insecurities. Uncontrolled and unmanaged conflicts can cause one or both partners lose control, and quite often, the heated conflict ends in violence. Introduction Conflicts that arise in premarital relationships may be due to both dyadic and individual problems. These conflicts often lead to violence in relationships. The way someone reacts to lifes problems or issues is rooted in the way he or she is raised and his or her childhood experiences. The term premarital used throughout this paper refers to only a male-female relationship. The terms such as courtship, dating relationships, also refers to the entire scope of heterosexual dating behavior, from casual dating through engagement and/or cohabitation. A premarital relationship is defined as any romantic love relationship involving a male and a female before marriage or outside of marriage. The essence of romance is characterized by a marked physical attraction, strong emotional attachment between the partners, and a tendency for each to idealize the other (Waller ; Hill, 1951). Premarital relationships in this research paper includes anyone from as young as high school students to seniors. Conflicts Lead to Violence Conflict in premarital relationships can be defined as a disagreement, a quarrel or dispute, or a discord of action or feeling. According to Tim Clinton (2006), there are three levels of relationship dispute which are termed renegotiation, impasse or dissolution. Level one (renegotiation) involves someone who is angry and bickers about his or her differences and who is governed by fears and anger. Level two (impasse) is where both individuals begin to disengage emotionally from each other and no longer confide or trust each other. Level three (dissolution) is where couples eventually reach a point where they completely cut themselves off emotionally from each other (Clinton 2006). Violence in premarital relationships include acts that involves any force that is unjust, rough or injurious to another person. Henton et al. (1983), reported several types of violent behaviors such as pushing, grabbing or shoving, slapping and kicking, biting or hitting with the fist. Relationship violence involves both the victimized and the perpetrator. When a conflict gets out of hand and escalates, one or both partners lose control, and quite often the heated conflict ends in violence (Lloyd et al. , 1989). Alarmingly, violence in courtship seems to happen regularly between 1 in 3 and 1 in 2 college students and 1 in 10 high school students experience violence as victims or perpetrators (Cate et al. , 1982; Laner ; Thompson, 1982; Makepeace, 1981; Roscoe ; Callahan, 1985; Rouse et al. , 1988; Stets ; Straus, 1989). The ability of premarital partners to overlook, forgive, or ignore negative interaction that is even encouraged and supported by peer groups is due to the power of romance (Lloyd, 1991). Individual and Childhood Problems Childhood experiences have a lasting effect on people according to the Social Learning Theory. Exposure to violence during childhood makes individuals more prone to be involved in a violent intimate relationship. The witnessing of violence in the family of origin links to violent experience and perpetration in premarital relationships Gover et al. (2008) explored the association between exposure to violence in the family of origin and subsequent physical violence and psychological abuse in dating relationship. Dating violence victimization and perpetration, has been linked to exposure to violence during early childhood. Gover et al. 2008) termed this hypothesis intergenerational transmission of violence, where exposure to violence during childhood is related to subsequent involvement in violent intimate relationships (p. 1668). The hypothesis explains how dating violence is more likely in people that experienced child abuse or witnessed parental violence. The study looked at the interpersonal violence between dating partners in several ways by using large sample of male and female college students to comprehensively examine the intergenerational transmission of violence hypothesis. Women are more often victimized than men. The study by Gover et al. , showed that childhood abuse is associated with the likelihood of dating violence victimization among females but not males. The results showed a correlation between childhood violence victimization and physical violence perpetration in a dating relationship, which supported the intergenerational transmission of violence hypothesis. They also concluded that there is a significant relationship between physical dating violence victimization for women who were exposed to paternal perpetrated abuse. Witnessing violence between parents does not have as much of a significant impact on dating violence perpetration in comparison to female exposure to paternal perpetrated abuse. Child abuse is related to dating violence victimization and perpetration especially among males; women are more likely to become victimized rather than the perpetrator according to some studies. Child abuse involves psychological abuse, emotional neglect, sexual abuse, exposure to severe marital conflict and addictive behavior (Clinton, 2006). According to the Gover et al. tudy, violence victimization and perpetration are experienced by those who witnessed one parent hit the other parent and experienced childhood abuse at higher rates in dating relationships in comparison to those who were not exposed to violence during childhood. Ones childhood relationships are very important because they shape the chemical processes in the brain that determine how someone controls his or her impulses, calm or strong emotions and develop memories in their early family life. Tim Clinton (2006) believes that everyone develops relationship rules, which determines their relationship style from childhood. He described four relationship styles in his book, Why You Do the Things You Do: The Secret to Healthy Relationships; the secure, the avoidant, the ambivalent and the disorganized relationship style. The underlying reason why people do the things they do is their relationship style or their attachment style. Special relationship, bond, or connection with another person that is characterized by strong emotions and continues through time is what Clinton (2006) refers to as attachment. A persons relationship style is determined by the interactions between a mother and her infant over time. These interactions teach her child certain relationship rules, which are core beliefs about one self and others. These core beliefs may not always be fully conscious to the individual, but they influence the behavior of everyone in a powerful way, such as the tendencies to act violently or easily become a victim in premarital relationships. Insecure relationship styles, the avoidant, the ambivalent and the disorganized relationship style are most likely to experience relational conflicts more often than those with secure relationship style. Children learn how to manage conflict from watching the way their parents work out their disagreements. A childs security is also threatened when he sees his parents in screaming matches, physical struggles or violence (Clinton, 2006). An individual with a disorganized relationship style is at a high risk to fall into deep depression because this person has been borderline depressed and anxious throughout life. Events such as job loss, conflict with a friend, financial struggles can cause him or her to sink rapidly into serious depression. Those with poor mental health outcomes such as anxiety, depression, reduced self-esteem, stress, and various physical health consequences, have been involved in a violent relationship (Gibb et al. , 2004; Messman-Moore et al. , 2000). The potential for violence can be linked to someone who has developed a disorganized relationship style. Children who develop a disorganized relationship style have been traumatized by their own parents, who were both a source and the solution to their fears and anxieties. This simply means that these children had no solution or safe haven for them. As a result, these children become emotionally disorganized and fragmented during stressful times (Clinton, 2006). There are two sources of stress that influence individuals or couples; positive events that comes with a challenge and negative events that comes with threat and harm or loss. There are contradicting studies of dating violence, and the role that stress plays in premarital love relation conflict is not yet clear. Men and women may react differently to stress according to OLearys (1998) theoretical formulation of spouse aggression. Wethington et al. (1987) reported that research on acute stressors shows that males and females are similar in the number of undesirable events experienced, but that males seem more emotionally affected. Therefore, if there is a relationship between stress and violence, it might be greater for males than females (Marshall Rose, 1990). Marshall and Rose (1990) conducted a study to test the influence of stress on relationship conflicts and violence. They found that positive stress contributed to males recent expression of violence, (p. 61). The reason why positive stress but not negative stress, contributed to males expression of violence is unclear according to Marshal and Rose (1990). This finding is contrary to previously similar studies done by other researchers, however, this contrast may be due to the fact that Marshal and Rose allowed the observers, rather than the respondents to classify the direction of stress impact, whether they are positive or negative. Stress is a secondary emotional reaction, when someone tries to repress primary emotions such as fear or pain due to life issues (Clinton, 2006). An individual who has an avoidant relationship style tends to be narcissistic who can easily become even more self-absorbed under stress. Possibilities for conflicts would increase dramatically for these types of individuals because when they receive negative feedback, for instance, they become angry and contemptuous, (Kindle Locations 1522-1526). This kind of behavior brings constant or more frequent conflicts under stressful times for both individuals. Dyadic Problems In premarital relationships, mutual admiration and devotion exist between couples, especially when they move towards a deeper level of commitment. In contrast to these qualities, most couples were found to be in mutual combat because more than two-thirds of one sample reported reciprocal violence (Carte et al. , 1982). Some individuals, whose perception of dating is one of a carefree experience to be enjoyed or to just have a good time, approach their problems by using their partners as targets to physically act out feelings of anger, confusion and jealousy (Henton et al. 1983). A study done by Henton et al. (1983) assessed the incidence and context of the use of violence in high school relationship because the first experiences in forming intimate relationships occur for many individuals during high school. He found that a significant number of high school students have experienced premarital violence in one or more relationships. In 71. 4% of high school relationships where violence occurred, it was found that the pattern of abuse was reciprocal, where each partner had been both the victim and aggressor at some point in time. The remaining 28. 6 %, four patterns were identified; male abuser only, female abuser only, abused male and abused female. Most individuals remained in violent relationships because they felt that they have significantly fewer alternatives than those who terminated such relationships. Individual tends to tolerate or have a more positive attitude towards premarital violence if they have been involved in abusive relationships than those who were involved in non-abusive relationships (Henton et al. 1983). This finding in this study suggests that the occurrence of premarital violence is because of dyadic problems rather than solely a result of individual characteristics. One suggestion as to why victims had a more positive attitude towards violence may be because victims of violence may have become addicted to such trauma. The brain releases chemicals called endogenous opioids, natural painkillers that are the brain’s equivalent to heroin whenever someone is under extreme stress. The stress of relationship violence could easily cause victims to become addicted to the drug. For someone to withdraw from that drug would be similar to breaking a drug addiction. Increasing the difficulty is the fact that the withdrawal symptoms parallel the nightmare of the traumatized person: emptiness, tension, irritability, and an internal sense of unrest, (Clinton, 2006, Kindle Locations 2131-2137). The person may return to the trauma and its â€Å"morphine,† in order to relieve the symptoms. Another way addiction to trauma can develop is fear of the unknown Clinton, 2006, Kindle Locations 2131-2137. The state of ones emotional wellbeing is a factor that influences how couples handle conflicts and whether they are prone to violence or foster safety. Emotion, according to Clinton (2006), is The physical, gut-felt responses that fuel our behavior and motivate us to act, (Kindle Locations 4310-4311). Emotions are what motivate someone to seek closeness during times of stress and therefore, they are very important in relationships. Specific emotional components such as positive affective tone, listening and understanding, and self-disclosure, protect premarital relationships from violence (Prager Buhrmester, 1998). Those individuals who did not develop a secure relationship style as termed by Tim Clinton (2006) foster many kinds of negative emotions because of insecurities they developed from childhood. Individuals with the ambivalent relationship style tend to be anxious, melodramatic or angry. These individuals would be prone to violence in their dating relationships. Swett and Marcus (2002) explored the issues about couples emotional dynamics and violence. A group of upper-level undergraduates were asked a number of questions about their current relationship, about the duration of their relationships, number of times in previous relationships they had physical fights and the severity of injury they had suffered as a result (Swett Marcus, 2002). The findings of the study support the importance of the intimacy components of positive affective tone and listening and understanding in reducing dyadic violence. The quality of emotional interactions is a factor that influences violent tendencies in premarital relationships. Positive emotions that involve positive affective tone and listening and understanding, can inhibit violence in relationship, and therefore serve as protections against violence (Swett Marcus, 2002). Unhealthy communication leads to conflicts, it prevents couples from being able to talk through their feelings. Tim Clinton (2006), talks about four kinds of unhealthy communication, in his book, he explained how criticism, defensiveness, contempt and stonewalling are all forms of unhealthy communication. Criticism comes in a form of questioning that implies that the other person has a character flaw, for example, why do you always do that? You never do what you say youre going to do. I just cant count on you for anything, (Kindle Locations 775-776). Defensiveness is a reaction against a criticism causing retaliation, for example, â€Å"What do you mean I never do what I say? How many times have you not come through when I needed you to help me out with the kids? You don’t help. You just whine and complain that things don’t happen according to your schedule! † (Kindle Locations 778-779). Contempt comes when criticism and defensiveness intensifies, derogatory remarks, put-downs and extreme distress result. For example, some one who is in contempt might say something like this, â€Å"You make me sick! You never do what you say you’ll do. You’re a big talker, just like your mother, but you never follow through. I’ve grown used to not being able to rely on you, so I’ll just do everything myself—like always. † (Kindle Locations 782-784). Stonewalling results from a high intensity of contempt, causing a person to shut down and stop participating in conversation by walking out of the room or stare off into space. These behaviors can increase the other person’s rage and spark another round of criticism. Kindle Locations 785-787). People with insecure relationship styles would be at a higher risk of relationship violence victimization and or perpetration. Conclusion Although squabbles are a necessary part of every couples growth together, when carefully managed or regulated, is a building block for a healthy relationship, one that is vibrant and thriving (Clinton, 2006). People who are at less risk for relationship violence victimization and perpetration are most likely to possess a secure relationship style. These people are confident in their identity, their effectiveness in the world and trust others. This allows them to have a healthy way of interacting with and relating to people. Secure people are emotionally strong, willing to seek and accept comfort from others, courageous about love and intimacy, and responsible for themselves,(Kindle Location 4337). There are many other factors that potentially increase the chances for individuals to have a healthy love relationship with another person. Individuals, who have higher attachment to his or her parents during childhood, were less likely to be responsible for dating violence (Chapple Hope, 2003). Religious institutions were found to be a protective factor for potential violence dating relationship. Students reporting more church attendance were less likely to be involved in a violent dating relationship (Coker et al. , 2000; Gover, 2004). Conflicts often arise because of the lack of communication skills and resolution skills. Couples should learn to talk openly and honestly about our feelings, both positive and negative ones. A healthy form of communication can develop this way between couples. It will help them avoid unnecessary conflicts that can eventually escalate to violence.

The Fathers Rights in Child Custody Issues Essay -- essays research p

The Father's Rights in Child Custody Issues   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the United States today more than one-half of all marriages end in divorce. The purpose of this paper is to examine the reason why women have typically received custody of the children far more often than the fathers. In order to better understand child custody one must first examine how fathers have often times been left out of the picture, and conversely why mothers have had such hard times raising children on their own. This paper will first examine the perspective of a father who has lost custody of his children. A Fathers Perspective   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to many the custody of a child should be determined with the best interest of the child in mind. However, it is not easy for a judge to make such an important decision in such a short amount of time with limited information. Smith (2004) stated that, the simple fact of being a mother does not indicate a willingness or capacity to render a quality of care different than that which a father can provide. Some might argue that what Reynolds (2004) calls deadbeat dads, or in other words fathers who refuse to pay their child support, are often times confused with Turnips, who are ex-spouses who can not afford to pay child support. One example of a turnip is a father who is in prison; he is obviously not making money while he is on the inside. Now an example of a deadbeat dad is when the father is enjoying all the finer things in life and he cannot reach far enough into his...

Macbeth :: essays research papers

"Macbeth Essay" In the play Macbeth we see many common themes that do emerge. One of which is the theme of ambition which will at the end eventually lead to the death of the main character. We see this in the eventual death of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In this essay I hope to show the dominant theme of ambition and how it leads to the downfall of the main characters in the play. We first start to see Macbeth getting his ambition to become king in his quote when he says "if chance will have me king, why chance may crown me, without my stir"(I.iii.34-37). Here we see that Macbeth is growing impatient and eager to become the king. He just doesn’t want to sit back and wait for himself to be crowned and let destiny run it’s course, he wants to be part of it when it happens, and he wants to be king right now. And this is when it all turns downhill. He is starting to become very ambitious for the thrown. We will also soon see that he will stop at nothing short of killing the current king and he will even go so far as to kill one of his friends, and try to kill his son in order to try and become the new king. Next we see this theme again when Macbeth says "Me thought I heard a voice cry "Sleep no more, Macbeth does murder sleep," the innocent sleep"(II.ii.64-66). Here again we see Macbeth is starting to hear voices and he is starting to go a little crazy. Here is where things really start to head downhill, and they go down fast. Because of Macbeth’s ambition for king he has killed the current king. Now he thinks he is hearing voices that keep him from getting his sleep. And as we will later see, Macbeth will eventually die due to his over eager ambition to become the new king. The event of killing the king will set into play a whole chain of events that will soon show the downfall of Macbeth from his short lived thrown. On the other hand we can also see this ambition with Lady Macbeth. She also shows us the signs that she is getting over ambitious to become the new queen when she says "Thou wouldst be great; Art not without Ambition, but without, the illness should attend it"(I.

Lincoln-Douglas

The significance of the Lincoln-Douglas debates for the political history of America is hard to overestimate. Therefore, careful analysis of these debates can be extremely educational and enlightening. This paper will focus on three main aspects of the analysis, namely the causes of the debates, the content of the debates, and the results of the debates. The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series of seven debates during the Illinois senatorial race of 1858 between Republican Abraham Lincoln and the Democratic incumbent, Stephen A. Douglas. The candidates were sharply divided on the issue of slavery. Before Lincoln announced a formal challenge, the candidates spoke in turn in the cities of Chicago and Springfield. Thus, Lincoln suggested speaking to the same audiences at one time by writing the following to Douglas: ‘Will it be agreeable to you†¦to make an arrangement for you and myself to divide time, and address the same audiences during the present canvass?’ (Encarta, 2007, para. 3). Scrutinizing the social and political circumstances at the time of the election campaign, it is necessary to note the Kansas-Nebraska Act, sponsored by Douglas, allowing slavery in the U.S. territories north of latitude 36 °30†² if there citizens agreed to it, and the U.S. Supreme Court Dred Scott decision of 1857, allowing masters to bring slaves into free territory without any alterations in the legal status of a slave. Therefore, the Supreme Court Dred Scott decision entered into a contradiction with the Kansas-Nebraska Act (Encarta, 2007). As for the content of the debate, Lincoln’s main focus was the human rights issue implicitly present in the debate on slavery. He told the audience that slavery violated the Declaration of Independence and was firmly determined to portray the practice of slavery as evil and immoral. For his part, Douglas paid considerable attention to legal technicalities, such as the principle of ‘popular sovereignty’ under which inhabitants were able to decide whether they would accept slavery in their territory (Encarta, 2007). However, this principle ‘with its self-proclaimed neutrality toward whether slavery was voted up or voted down, was a sheer absurdity on its face, according to Lincoln’ (Jaffa, 1999, p. 31). Lincoln employed all his rhetorical skills to prove the moral and ethical unacceptability of slavery. He also perceived the sharp division over the issue of slavery as a threat to national unity. When accepting his nomination, he said the following phrase: ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this Government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free’ (University of Houston, 2008, para. 4). He also argued that the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision were a part of conspiracy aimed at legalizing slavery in the entire territory of the United States. Douglas, in turn, focused on the right to self-government, which he saw as being of preeminent importance. However, as the debates progressed, Douglas started to clash Lincoln’s position directly and accused him of favoring black Americans over whites. He ended up picturing his opponent as a radical politician inciting tension and possible civil war. Lincoln denied this and voiced his support for the Fugitive Slave Law and the existence of slavery in the territories where such practice had been already established. The issue of slavery was debated in the light of the prospect of granting citizenship to black Americans. Douglas was fiercely opposed to such a notion, while Lincoln took the middle ground by recognizing black citizens’ right to life, liberty, and economic freedom while being wary about the acceptability of ‘bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races’ (University of Houston, 2008, para. 10). The two candidates also had opposing views on the institutional nature of slavery. Douglas was convinced that slavery could not exist without the support of friendly local legislation and was essentially a dying practice. Thus, his suggestion was to treat it as a local problem to be decided by inhabitants of a certain territory. Local residents, in his view, could de facto outlaw this practice by refusing to pass legislation protecting property right of slave owners: ‘Slavery cannot exist a day or an hour anywhere†¦unless it is supported by local police regulations’ (University of Houston, 2008, para. 12). On the contrary, Lincoln believed that slavery, with its status undecided, had a potential of spreading quickly on the nationwide scale. As concerns the results of the race, Lincoln lost it, yet, in his own words, it was ‘a slip and not a fall’ (University of Houston, 2008, para. 15). Lincoln’s popularity was boosted greatly by the series of debates, which, in turn, contributed to his victory in the Presidential race of 1860. However, the debates had far-reaching implications by attracting public attention to the issues of slavery and human rights as well as establishing the tradition of formal debates between candidates for a governmental post. References Jaffa, Harry V. (1999). Crisis of the House Divided: An Interpretation of the Issues in the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Revised Ed. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. (2007). ‘Lincoln-Douglas Debates.’ Retrieved January 20, 2008, from http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_1741500415/Lincoln_Douglas_Debates.html University of Houston. (2008). ‘The Lincoln-Douglas Debates.’ Retrieved January 20, 2008, from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=336  Ã‚  Ã‚     

A Guide to Student Volunteering (5 Top Tips)

A Guide to Student Volunteering (5 Top Tips) A Guide to Student Volunteering (5 Top Tips) College life can be busy, what with classes, assignments, and tests. Never mind trying to maintain a social life! But if you have the time, you could find volunteering very rewarding. To help explain why, we’ve put together this set of five top tips for student volunteers! 1. It Can Be an Adventure Volunteering can take many forms. A good place to start is looking for opportunities in your local community. But if you have a taste for adventure, you could try volunteering abroad! There are many programs available for this, with projects in lots of different countries and fields. The important thing is to do your research and find something that suits you. Some roles come with group hugs as standard.(Photo: Lattitude Canada/wikimedia) 2. Career Benefits Wherever you volunteer, you’ll find that it helps your career prospects. This is because student volunteering lets you gain experience and develop new skills, giving you a head start when you’re looking for work after college. You’ll also get to meet new people and make useful contacts while volunteering, which could be vital when you’re looking for a letter of reference to accompany your resume. 3. Volunteering is Good for You! As well as giving you opportunities to travel, learn new things, and meet new people, volunteering benefits your physical and mental health. Combined with an apple a day, youll be practically immortal.(Photo: Bruno Scramgnon) The science behind it is complicated, but people who volunteer tend to feel less isolated, experience lower blood pressure, and even a longer lifespan! When you think about it like that, ask yourself: Can you really afford to not volunteer? 4. You Can Make it Fit Your Lifestyle You might be thinking that all of the above sound great, but you simply don’t have time to volunteer. But volunteering doesn’t have to be a big commitment. If you can spare even a few hours a week, there are plenty of opportunities available. You can also choose to volunteer during the summer break if you don’t think you’ll have time during your studies. The key is finding something that fits your lifestyle. 5. It Makes a Difference! Ultimately, the most important thing about volunteering is that you get to help other people. Whether it’s contributing to a major project or just being there for a stranger who needs support, student volunteers make the world a better place. Student volunteers in action!(Photo: Eileen Hornbaker)

Fun and Simple Mothers Day Activities for School

Fun and Simple Mothers Day Activities for School Moms are magnificent! To help celebrate all the things these wonderful women do, we have compiled some Mothers Day activities. Use these ideas to help your students show their appreciation for the terrific women in their lives. Fun Fact: Mothers Day dates back to the early 1800s. President Woodrow Wilson was the first to annually recognize this day as the second Sunday in May. Bulletin Board This show-stopping bulletin board is the perfect way to show appreciation to your students mothers. Title the bulletin board Moms Are Special and have the students write and illustrate why they think their mom is special. Add a photo and attach a ribbon to each students piece. The result is a stunning display for all of the moms. Tea-rrific Moms A perfect way to celebrate Mothers Day is to treat all of the mothers to a tea party to show them how terrific they are. Invite each mother to the classroom for some afternoon tea. Have students make each mother a card. On the card write, You are...and in the middle of the card, Tea-rrific. Tape a tea bag onto the inside of the card. You may wish to compliment the afternoon tea with fun appetizers, such as mini cupcakes, tea sandwiches or even croissants. Sing a Song Teach your students a special song to sing to their mother on Mothers Day. Here is a collection of the top songs to sing for the mothers. Write a PoemPoetry is a wonderful way to have your students express their love and appreciation for their mothers. Use the following word list and poems to help your students come up with a poem of their own. Use this list of words to help you create a poem, worksheet or creative writing activity.A collection of classic poems to print and attach with a gift or craft. Printable and Homemade Cards Cards are a wonderful way for children to express their feelings and show their mothers how much they care about them. These cards are great when youre short on time; just simply print out, have your kids decorate or color them and then sign their names.

paul a samuelson essays

paul a samuelson essays Samuelson has offered the world many economic theories. One area he is widely known for is his views on the spending multiplier. Samuelson has presented a way through his aggregate demand model to demonstrate how the spending multiplier affects individual types of spending. There are several components of aggregate demand. The basis for understanding this model is as follows: An increase in prices causes a drop in household assets, thus causing consumers to spend less. Increases in domestic prices reduce exports, which causes an increase in spending on imports. The interest rate effect is when prices increase, as does the demand for money, thus increasing the interest rate. This forces a downward pressure on investment and purchases of durable goods. Therefore, investment, exports and consumption are all inversely related to pricing. In Samuelsons model, government spending was the only constant. This means the government will always buy the same amount of goods no matter what the price. The aggregate demand schedule is therefore, the sum of consumption, investment, government purchases and exports. The chart below depicts the aggregate demand schedule. Level Consumption Investment Gov. Purchases Exports Real Expenditures 160 400 75 100 25 600 140 450 100 100 50 700 120 500 125 100 75 800 100 550 150 100 100 9000 80 600 175 100 125 1000 Samuelson used this model to demonstrate how changes in these components would impact real expenditures. For example, the chart below shows the results if the government increased its purchases by $200 billion. Level Consumption Investment Gov. Purchases Exports Real Expenditures A $200 billion rise in government purchases leads to a $300 billion increase in consumption. It will also reduce e...

The Roman Empire experienced a period of greatness before it Essay

The Roman Empire experienced a period of greatness before it eventually declined and fell in 476 A.D. Discuss the reasons for th - Essay Example Some reasons are definite and some remains a mystery. Among the greatest empires known is the Roman Empire and just like any other empire, it also experienced its rise, peak as well as its decline and fall. The Roman Empire began in 27 BC, coming after the Roman Republic which lasted for about five hundred years. It experienced great expansion and a burst of a rich culture. After many great years of rising to greatness in name and number, the Roman Empire began to decline. There were also a number of different grounds of its disintegration and eventually, its collapse and end. One of the supposed main reasons was the coming apart of the Roman Empire, separating and dividing the West and the East, which is also known as the Byzantium Empire. During its time, there were also more than a few civil wars that occurred repeatedly and frequently which caused disarray and unruliness in the people. Some of the Roman emperors like Commodus indulged in the life filled with immorality. He also p racticed violence, which brought about his murder and assassination. This resulted in the beginning of the collapse of the empire. The Roman people in the end lost their power and rule as barbaric groups and rebels in the North often assaulted and attacked. The Roman army started to become unfaithful and disloyal to the empire.

SARS Outbreak in Toronto Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SARS Outbreak in Toronto - Research Paper Example But he was not sure how to communicate the crisis to the community at large. Moreover, a timeline of events occurred that led to misinformation to the public thus proving a difficult task to find ways to curb the epidemic. Many of those mistakes were preventable, for instance the World Health Organization produced numerous reports contradicting to the previous ones. In their reports the disease which had been stated as having an incubation period of two days was later said to have a ten days incubation period. For another thing, the disease was at one time thought as been bacterial, besides it being viral so this made it harder to cure the disease. Additionally, the mode of transmission was said to be through immediate contact with an infected individual but later on the virus was found that it might live on surfaces for days. Communication errors also made it difficult to manage the situation; whenever a report was released by the WHO it was not marked as important but was placed in other categories as normal flues. Moreover, there was a detachment amongst organizations. The physicians could have prioritized the urgency of the reports so as to make it easier for disease prevention. In addition to the information gap, the structure of health care systems and public health in Ontario and Toronto was another root cause of this endemic. Most hospitals in Toronto operated devoid of any local health authority leading them. Also, there were no pandemic control centers that could be delegated authority in cases of an outbreak. Lastly, spokespersons conveyed inconsistent information’s and this ensued confusion. Therefore, the core problem that led to SARS getting out of hand is misinformation by the WHO. If the reports could convey genuine information then even if there was poor communication between companies, those measures could have been put in place and would have helped to curb the endemic (Berry,

Immigrants and Employment Discrimination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Immigrants and Employment Discrimination - Essay Example It becomes more prominent during economic and social uncertainty such as the Great Depression where people try to find somebody to blame much in the same way as we blame others for our failures. Who gets the blame There is human tendency for people to blame others and not themselves and because they fear blaming their 'own kind', the situation becomes bad for those of different color of the skin, different accent, different religious beliefs etc. To make the long story short, it is usually the immigrants where they lay their misfortune-ruined eyes. Immigrants have been the targets of many jokes, unfair labor practices, bias and prejudice. This especially goes true for the state of California where immigration is the highest. Discrimination is real and existent as shown, for example, by the media who uses videos of African Americans as criminals and White Americans as the life saver of the nation (in the coverage of war and implemented national health programs). Virtually every time we hear about immigrants in the news, it's not about celebrating their many contributions, sacrifice or heartwarming love and loyalty for this country, but rather about how they break the laws and drain the system. Immigrants are usually perceived as an uneducated person and a liability that must be eliminated. Such hatred for people is not confined in the USA alone but finds extreme scenarios in other countries such as what Hitler and Slobon Milosevic embarked upon. Discriminatory practices also vary among immigrants. Light skinned people would generally be more acceptable than dark and brown colored people. In any case, immigrants are seen as a stranger that should not be fairly treated in the household. Yet in truth and in fact, the United States is a country of immigrants that can be traced in history. The fact is that every American is either an immigrant or a descendent of an immigrant. In fact, immigrants are the true story of America . There are countless inspirational stories of immigrants who made a tremendous difference and contributed to the fabric of the American heritage. This paper aims to discuss the discriminatory practices regarding employment of immigrants in the United States. As such, it becomes necessary to deal with historical facts to make us aware of how America actually is a nation of immigrants. We will also discuss the differential degree of discrimination with regards to the white skinned rather than colored people such as the Native Americans and African Americans. It is aimed that even in such limited space, a worthy discussion on an issue (which have been the subject of many studies and articles) can be constructed in a way that is informative as it is enlightening. Foreigners in the Land of Promise Native Americans Colonists arrived to take advantage of the land resources and opportunities afforded by a virgin America. The entry of European and Christian values into a continent that was inhabited by American Indians (Native Americans) of a distinctly different culture made clashes inevitable. Operating with government assistance, the colonists subdued the original Native Americans and usurped their most fertile fields, prized resources, timber lands, and grazing areas. Now the Indians are found in reserves where most of them had been transplanted from their original

Has the quality of global news improved over the past 20 years Essay

Has the quality of global news improved over the past 20 years - Essay Example The use of televisions had continued to increase but most of the under-developed countries still relied more on radios and newspapers. Still, journalism and mass communication is not as widespread as it is in developed countries. Like many other fields relating to different aspects of our lives, technology has deeply influenced journalism and mass communication. The processes of producing news and delivery of information have become much quicker. News can reach everywhere with much more accuracy. The quality of radio, television and newspapers has improved greatly. The impact of technology has helped journalism to become a more professional field. The news reporters and editors have now to perform at a certain standard. In the early 90s, the performance standards had developed but still a lot of editors and reporters were more inclined to join hands in propaganda to spread a particular point of view or a political party. The USSR had fallen by then but biggest examples of such news r eporting can be found in the cold war during which many reporters had the objective of asserting one ideology and renounce another i.e. capitalism and communism. Such mindset made the editors and reporters refrain from telling the whole story. As the Internet has now joined the news industry, it is very hard to hide or avoid a piece of news. It is because the Internet is probably the quickest of all means of promulgating news and anyone can report any news to the world now. Previously, there used to be a competition among journalists only due to which only the journalists got most of the stories or â€Å"scoops†. The journalists had the liberty to spread only that portion of the news that they wanted to spread. Journalism and mass communication used to be a closed society to which only those belonged who had the funds to own a printing press or were closely related in some other capacity to one who belonged to that society. Mostly during the last 10 years, the Internet has be come very widespread and the cost of reporting news is at the minimum level. Now even the minorities can join the field of journalism as it has become an open society. The general public has access to electronic devices which are portable and can take pictures and videos. These pictures and videos can be posted on the Internet at almost no cost. Therefore, for professional journalists, omission of news has become out of the question. The recent US presidential campaigns used mass internet campaigning which curtailed the influence of the journalists manifold. Journalists have often been used as mediums to convey a political message to the public. Mass internet campaigning seeks to cut out this medium and make the conveying of message more direct and at a lesser cost. This trend has been set by Obama and is followed and likely to be followed by other political parties all over the world. It can be said that the introduction of the Internet has made everyone a journalist. Through blogs , forums and many other veritable devices, anyone can have their voices heard. In recent times, a Facebook fueled uprising led to a huge change in Egypt. It started out with one voice that ignited the inner voices of many others. Egypt was under a dictatorial rule for a long time and probably the biggest reason for that was the ability to the Government to silence the dissenting opinions and make the public hear only what it wanted it to hear. The Internet made it

Macroeconomic policies, government attitudes towards Inequality Essay

Macroeconomic policies, government attitudes towards Inequality - Essay Example So, this represents the economic insecurities and unemployment in the economy which reduce the growth level. Those countries which have inequality pattern in the recent years always face fewer opportunities in the future. The basic problem that arises due to inequality is the polarization of society that affects the growth level because in these middle skill jobs are not the part of the employment pool. So, the inequality can be harmful for the economic growth in the long run (Stiglitz, 2012). Polarization of the Labour Force Its mean the disappearance of the middle skill jobs, this is happening for last three decades that the share of middle skill jobs reduced from the employment pool that is the result of recession in the economy. The four important sectors of middle skill jobs like sales, office and administrative workers, operators and production workers have lost their most of the portion from the employment pool. So, the wages and earnings of this area labour force have fallen over the three decades. This term shows the inequality between the top level societies and middle skills societies because the disparity between the wages of the top and middle increased means the wage level of the middle skill jobs have gone down. So, the polarization of the labour force shows that top-level are going to be rich further and more people are moving towards the bottom (as poor as possible) (Needle, 2005). Theories Theories regarding the labour market polarization are; Spatial Polarization Theory and Social Polarization theory (Thornley, 1992). These theories are discussed below; Spatial Polarization Theory A main differentiation in labour market theory is that between the idea of continuity and discontinuity. In general, when this distinction is used for labour market change, it tends to raise the debate between â€Å"social polarization† views and â€Å"Inequality theory.† The previous perspective begins by mentioning the undisputable shifts in the labo ur demand. Such process of industrial transformation has occurred in Europe and United States, result to a decrease in the chances that offer for occupational mobility (Thornley, 1992). This process is the selective emigration of urban occupants, in which middle-class (particularly white) families leave, at the beginning to the suburbs and afterward to the villages to become a new rural middle class. This is process of involves two sides one is the supply side and the second is the demand side. However it creates â€Å"inequality† between the supply of suitable labour and the newly increasing demand for technical qualifications. This spatial polarization theory is useful in describing the impacts of post industrial change in an area. It is true at a great cost that national minorities are extremely vulnerable to such changes (Thornley, 1992). Social Polarization Theory The segregation process in a society which might arise because of the inequality of income, economic restruc turing and so on is called as social polarisation i.e., the distinction which might comprise of several social groups, from high-income to low-income. This social polarization theory deals with the growth of low-skilled services jobs as well as the expansion of elite of higher professionals (Thornley, 1992).

Has the quality of global news improved over the past 20 years Essay

Has the quality of global news improved over the past 20 years - Essay Example The use of televisions had continued to increase but most of the under-developed countries still relied more on radios and newspapers. Still, journalism and mass communication is not as widespread as it is in developed countries. Like many other fields relating to different aspects of our lives, technology has deeply influenced journalism and mass communication. The processes of producing news and delivery of information have become much quicker. News can reach everywhere with much more accuracy. The quality of radio, television and newspapers has improved greatly. The impact of technology has helped journalism to become a more professional field. The news reporters and editors have now to perform at a certain standard. In the early 90s, the performance standards had developed but still a lot of editors and reporters were more inclined to join hands in propaganda to spread a particular point of view or a political party. The USSR had fallen by then but biggest examples of such news r eporting can be found in the cold war during which many reporters had the objective of asserting one ideology and renounce another i.e. capitalism and communism. Such mindset made the editors and reporters refrain from telling the whole story. As the Internet has now joined the news industry, it is very hard to hide or avoid a piece of news. It is because the Internet is probably the quickest of all means of promulgating news and anyone can report any news to the world now. Previously, there used to be a competition among journalists only due to which only the journalists got most of the stories or â€Å"scoops†. The journalists had the liberty to spread only that portion of the news that they wanted to spread. Journalism and mass communication used to be a closed society to which only those belonged who had the funds to own a printing press or were closely related in some other capacity to one who belonged to that society. Mostly during the last 10 years, the Internet has be come very widespread and the cost of reporting news is at the minimum level. Now even the minorities can join the field of journalism as it has become an open society. The general public has access to electronic devices which are portable and can take pictures and videos. These pictures and videos can be posted on the Internet at almost no cost. Therefore, for professional journalists, omission of news has become out of the question. The recent US presidential campaigns used mass internet campaigning which curtailed the influence of the journalists manifold. Journalists have often been used as mediums to convey a political message to the public. Mass internet campaigning seeks to cut out this medium and make the conveying of message more direct and at a lesser cost. This trend has been set by Obama and is followed and likely to be followed by other political parties all over the world. It can be said that the introduction of the Internet has made everyone a journalist. Through blogs , forums and many other veritable devices, anyone can have their voices heard. In recent times, a Facebook fueled uprising led to a huge change in Egypt. It started out with one voice that ignited the inner voices of many others. Egypt was under a dictatorial rule for a long time and probably the biggest reason for that was the ability to the Government to silence the dissenting opinions and make the public hear only what it wanted it to hear. The Internet made it

My most significant memory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

My most significant memory - Essay Example Most of my friends live in the city, yet they are always enraptured by the mere mention of the country. Slowly but surely, I fell in love with this city that exudes the charm of tranquility. Nonetheless, I could not help feeling lonely and helpless for being a foreigner here. I was too timid to talk with the locals for fear that they would reject a person like me who could not speak their language flurntly. Not having many other Chinese citizens around me, and not being pampered by my caring and attentive parents only increased my distress. Soon I realized the only thing I could and should do was to be fully devoted to my studies so that I could be distracted away from the consuming homesickness. As a result, my grades started iproving and I felt I was slowly overcoming my homesickness. Occasionally, my mind would involuntarily cast back to those days of happiness I enjoyed back home. These memories always lead to my memories of the last day that I was in China, especially the final few minutes before boarding on the plane to America. My father looked at his watch and said, â€Å"It is time for you to go.† Yes, it was the time for me to go, for me to live without my parents, and for me to survive and thrive on my own abilities in a foreign country. We stood up, and went to Chinese customs. The moment was deeply imbued with melancholy. We were reluctant to depart, but we were all clearly aware that it had to happen. In front of the customs, we asked a warm-hearted passer-by to take a picture of my family as a keepsake for that special day. I hugged my parents, said my goodbyes and walked to the customs. For no reason, I decided to turn my head, and that was the moment when I saw my father’s eyes were welling up and my mother was shedding torrential tea rs. I melted, and the brave look I tried to put on was shattered. When the time

Traditional versus Modern Essay Example for Free

Traditional versus Modern Essay Moral philosophy or ethics is about the individual’s concept or system of right and wrong behavior which becomes his foundation or basis of moral judgment and decisions. Two kinds of ethics which differs in moral judgment are traditional and modern ethics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Traditional ethics emerge from the religious beliefs of what is morally right and wrong plus some concepts from the early philosophers such as Aristotle, Kant, Mill, Moore, Hume, and many others. The philosophers explained virtues and truths according to what is good and bad. Moreover, the birth and domination of Christianity, the law or concept of ethics (divine law) was about what â€Å"is† right or wrong doings (murder, theft, etc). However, some philosophers like Sidgwick constructed a system according to intention of the individual. Modern ethics is more of the â€Å"reason† or â€Å"motive† of the doer whether it is for the good of many people or for just a few ones that pushed him to do the said unjust behavior. That is why there is a term today as â€Å"legally wrong, but morally right†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Traditional and modern ethics should not be necessarily considered as different ideas and beliefs that are contrasting each other. Modified traditional ethics can be considered as modern ethics since most of the morals today came from religious beliefs and early philosophies as respected by almost all cultures (specifically the Ten Commandments). Traditional ethics greatly affected our foundation of what is right and wrong or responsibility, which also became the basis of our cultural norms. But, as time passes by, people started to look closer to the different sides of the story that makes us consider the reasons or intentions behind an action that we later decide whether it is wrong or right. For example, when person steal a medicine for his dying mother because he has no enough money to buy it for her, in term of traditional ethics, the person committed a crime. But in terms of modern ethics, he is morally not guilty since he did it to save his mother’s life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Religion and theology became the foundations of traditional ethics of responsibility and helped it its developments. Modern ethics became more independent from religious views but is still greatly influenced by traditional beliefs as cultural norms were adapted from it which helps a person’s system of judgment. References Moore-Bruder. (2006). Moral and Political Philosophy. Philosophy: The Power of Ideas, Sixth Edition.   The McGraw-Hill Companies.   [Electronic Version

The Advantages And Disadvantages Of A Monopoly Economics Essay

The Advantages And Disadvantages Of A Monopoly Economics Essay Markets are the heart and soul of a capitalist or free market economy which is based on the notion of competition. Varying degrees of competition ultimately lead to different market structures with different outcomes to the market. The main market structures are perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly, each with a different outcome to the market which leads economists to consider some market structures to be more desirable for the society such as perfect competition while others are less desirable such as Monopoly. It is often argued that monopoly restricts competition through entry barriers and therefore should be forbidden. This is supported by a strong case against monopoly as it restricts consumer choice and prevents small innovative businesses from being established. In addition, a monopoly will produce at a lower output and charge higher prices than a competitive market, with the same cost structure. This leads to a loss of economic welfare and efficiency. However, if monopolies are always assumed bad then questions of why firms seek to be monopolies and why governments accept or tolerate monopolistic firms will rise. In theory monopoly is a market with only one seller that dominates and sets price and quantity of the good. The markets demand curve is the firms demand curve and it is assumed that there are no substitutes and thus a firm is a price-maker that is motivated by profit maximisation and is supported by restrictive barriers to entry of the market that subsequently prevents competition. In reality it is hard to find a market in which some form of substitute firm or product does not exist. Therefore, the Competition Commission in the UK defines a market as a monopoly if there is a firm possessing over a 25% market share and facing no significant competition. In order to evaluate monopoly and to determine whether it should be allowed or not, it is vital to understand the characteristics of monopoly and to apply various efficiency concepts such as productive efficiency, allocative efficiency and X-efficiency to both extremes of the market structure, perfect competition and monopoly, to understand their effect on both consumer and producer surplus in the form of households and firms which consequently affect the general economic welfare. 2.0 Characteristics of Monopoly There are various characteristics of monopoly but it is mainly distinguished from other market structures by its barriers to entry. These barriers are a variety of obstacles or boundaries that prevent other firms from breaking into the monopolistic firms market, thus allowing the monopolistic firm to maintain its monopoly and therefore continue to earn supernormal profits. Sloman (2010) suggests that barriers to the entry of new firms are a must for an existing firm to maintain its monopoly position. There are a number of entry barriers that would exist in a market in different forms such as economies of scale, economies of scope, legal patents, licences, product differentiation and high start-up costs. Economies of scale are considered as one major barrier, this occurs when a reduction in unit costs depends on the output size. In such case, a large firm is most efficient and new firms cannot afford to enter the market and gain market shares. The industry may not be able to accommodate more than one producer which is known as natural monopoly. This is the case with public utilities such as water, gas, electricity where these firms have economies of scale to prevent new firms from entering the market. Economies of scope is another barrier as firms who produce a range of products are likely to achieve lower average costs of production and undercut prices to drive new firms out of the market. Proctor Gamble enjoys economies of scope as it produces hundreds of products but could afford to hire expensive skilled workers and experts who can use their skills across the product line and therefore spread the costs and lower the average total cost for each product. (Alesina and Spolaore, 2005) Patents and licences are also considered main entry barriers. The US Patent and Trademark office issues patents for 20 years period, in accordance with the 1995 GATT agreement. (USPTO, 1995) These patents give an inventor the exclusive right to produce a product for a 20 years period such as the case of the pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, which has a patent on Viagra until 2014. (Stevens, 2007) Likewise, licences are granted by governments which allow one or a few firms to operate in a specific market under government regulations and control. Product differentiation and brand loyalty where a firm produces a differentiated product and the consumer associates that product with the brand. An example of product differentiation would be the car industry, where different firms would produce substitutes but they are not considered as perfect substitutes as required in perfect competition, so each firm would have some form of monopoly power in its product category. This is clearly evident in the luxury sport cars market such as Ferrari, Porsche and Lotus. Other forms of entry barriers may include high start-up costs for new firms in comparison with an established monopoly firm which is likely to have gained enough experience and efficiency techniques to be able to reduce costs and hence prices for any potential new firms to be able to compete. Based on the characteristics of monopoly, it is important to evaluate its economic efficiency and therefore its effect on consumer surplus and social welfare in general. In the next section, we compare the economic efficiency of both extremes of the market structure. 3.0 Economic efficiency In economic terms, monopoly and perfect competition should be judged on the extent to which they contribute to improving the human wellbeing and social welfare, therefore, it is important to assess whether the market structure is efficient or inefficient. Nellis and Parker (2006) point out that the success or failure of firms is directly affected by the extent to which they are managed efficiently. The lower the cost per unit of output, without reducing the quality of the product, the higher the economic efficiency of a firm. This is evident in a competitive market where firms strive to be economically efficient in order to survive. However, this is not the case in a monopoly which is generally considered as an inefficient market structure. This can be clarified by the following analysis of various economic terms of efficiency. 3.1 Allocative efficiency Assuming an initial distribution of income and wealth, allocative efficiency occurs at the point when it is impossible to improve overall economic welfare by reallocating resources between markets. For the whole economy to be allocatively efficient, price must equal marginal cost in every market. However, it is unlikely that a monopoly seeking profit maximisation would be allocatively efficient. A monopoly tends to restrict output below the market equilibrium to force up the prices. PRC MC AC Welfare loss MR AR=Industry demand=MU Q2 Q1 Output Figure 1 Allocative inefficiency and welfare loss Figure 1 demonstrates how a monopoly is allocatively inefficient. While a perfectly competitive market would have an output Q1 where the price P is equal to both MC and MU based on demand curve so all units produced add more to welfare (MU) than the resources they cost to make (MC). A monopolist is in equilibrium with an output Q2 where MC=MR, which means some units that would have been benefited society are no longer produced and thus an overall welfare loss. 3.2 Productive efficiency This can only be achieved if a firm uses the available techniques and factors of production at the lowest possible cost per unit of output. Lipsey (1992) states that in the context of an industry, the interpretation of productive efficiency is that firms are operating so that costs are minimized. In monopoly, in contrast to perfect competition, there are no competitive forces that would make a firm hold costs down to a minimum. PRC MC AC C2 C1 MR AR Q2 Q1 Output Figure 2 Productive efficiency Figure 2 illustrates the productively efficient output Q1 which is the minimum point of the AC curve where unit cost is C1, where the least amount of scarce resources possible are being used per unit of output. However, a monopolist will produce the profit maximising output Q2 with higher costs C2 per unit which can be passed to the consumer, hence demonstrating productive inefficiency. X-efficiency The concept of x-efficiency requires that the lowest possible prices are paid for inputs or factors of production. However, there is less incentive for a monopoly to make full use of the available technology, mainly due to lack of competition. Monopolies are more likely to be technically and productively inefficient, incurring unnecessary production costs and wasted resources. A firm could be employing too many workers or investing in machines that are never used, deeming it technically inefficient. It could be paying its workers unnecessary high wages or buying capital or raw material at unnecessary high prices. This means that the monopolists LRAC is above that which would be technically possible, therefore resources are wasted. Costs LRAC monopoly LRAC possible = X-inefficiency Output Figure 3 X-efficiency gap The x-inefficiency gap, as shown in figure 3, is considered as unnecessary production costs that a firm can reduce. In a perfectly competitive market, a firm must eliminate any form of x-inefficiency in order to survive and make normal profits. However, this is not the case with monopoly, which are able to survive while incurring unnecessary production costs and making satisfactory rather than maximum profits. The evaluation of economic efficiency of a monopoly compared to perfect competition has highlighted a number of disadvantages to support economists case against monopolistic firms. 4.0 Disadvantages of Monopoly In general, a monopolistic market structure would produce less output and charge higher prices which leads to a decline in consumer surplus and a deadweight welfare loss. The higher prices would lead to allocative inefficiency and supernormal profits, leading to reduced benefits to consumers and unequal distribution of income. This also raises a question about equity. The higher prices would exploit low income consumers and their purchasing power might be transferred to shareholders in the form of dividends leading again to unequal distribution of income. A monopoly tends to be less motivated towards economic efficiency such as cutting costs or increasing productivity. There is also a possibility that a monopoly would experience diseconomies of scale as the higher it gets bigger, their average costs increase. Further more, the lack of competition could discourage a monopoly from investing in research and development, leading to lack of innovation and worse products. However, with all the evidence against monopoly, there are still the questions of why do monopolies still exist, why firms seek to be monopolies and why do governments seem to tolerate them? 5.0 Advantages of monopoly On economic terms, perfect competition is generally regarded as more desirable than monopoly. However, monopolies are not necessarily bad, considering they are as highly motivated and public-spirited as competitive industries. Economic theory assumes that everyone is motivated by self-interest; this applies to competitive markets as well as to monopolies. Firms in competitive markets would aspire to be a monopoly by eliminating competition but this is unlikely achieved due to market forces and the absence of barriers to entry and exit. The fact that monopolies make supernormal profits allows them to invest in research and development and allows them to fund high cost investment spending into new technology. This is likely to result, if successful, in improved products and lower costs on the long run. An innovative monopoly could therefore be considered dynamically efficient over a long term as it reaps the reward of investment in research and development. Microsoft did not start as a monopoly but the introduction of Windows version 3.0 in 1990 followed by various Microsoft Office applications provided the market power to become a monopoly. Its position as a monopoly was further cemented by the continuous investment in research and development. It is generally argued that monopoly in high technology sectors is good as it provides firms with a greater incentive to invest in research and development. Patents for new ideas are normally acceptable as it encourages firms to fund the initial research and development and it allows these firms to recoup their investment. Another advantage of monopoly is economies of scale. An increased output would lead to a decrease in average costs of production, which can be passed to consumers in the form of lower prices. Likewise, cutting prices would be an advantage for a monopoly as it would increase sales and maximise economies of scale. PRC S (Perf comp) =â‚ ¬Ã‚  Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Å" Ã‚ C Ppc Pm LRMC (monopoly) D industry Qpc Qm MR (monopoly) Figure 4 Market equilibrium under monopoly Figure 4 shows the market equilibrium in perfect competition at output Qpc and supply = demand. A monopoly would generate economies of scale on the long run and drive down marginal costs to LRMC. A monopoly would therefore be able produce a profit maximising output Qm at a price Pm which is lower than perfect competition. Profits and consumer surplus are higher under monopoly and both consumer and producer would benefit. Kerr and Gaisford (2008) highlight the impact of international trade on domestic trade and the need for a domestic monopoly capable of generating the economies of scale required to compete in the international market. BT is a good example of domestic monopoly in the 1980s that had to invest in systems and technology to be able to compete in the international market. Also, the threat of international imports would force a domestic monopoly to set marginal revenue equal to marginal cost and reducing its prices, which is a boost to consumer surplus and social welfare. 6. 0 Conclusion Despite the fact that monopoly produces less output at higher prices and the negative implications on consumer surplus and social welfare, nevertheless, the existence of monopolies are inevitable as long as firms seek profit maximisation as well as increased market share and ultimately market dominance. In a free market economy, the chances of supernormal profits will eventually encourage other firms to attempt to break into a monopolistic market. The threat of competition or even a financial threat of a takeover will force a monopoly to become highly economic efficient. The American economist William Baumol argues in his theory of contestable markets that a monopoly may be forced over time to make the same production and pricing decisions as a competitive market would, merely due to the possibility of future competition. (Griffiths and Ison, 2001) From the above analysis, it is easy to conclude that perfect competition is productively more efficient than monopoly. However, if we take into account the substantial economies of scale that a monopoly would have, then it is more likely that a monopoly is more productively efficient than competition. In some cases, such as a natural monopoly, it is more acceptable to have just one firm as a monopoly provided that its price and productivity are regulated. Von Mises (1966) concludes that the mere existence of monopoly does not mean anything. The publisher of a copyright book is a monopolist, but he may not be able to sell a single copy, no matter how low the price he asks. Not every price at which a monopolist sells a monopolized commodity is a monop ­oly price. Monopoly prices are only prices at which it is more advantageous for the monopolist to restrict the total amount to be sold than to expand sales to the limit which a competitive market would allow. Although monopoly is not desirable as it restricts competition and causes a reduction in consumer surplus and social welfare, it is however inevitable in a real business market that a firm would often take advantage of its strong market position to control the supply of goods or services. Monopolies are not illegal but their abuse of market power to limit competition is illegal and therefore actions by governments to regulate the market would be required. Finally, all firms are concerned with determining the price level that would give them sufficient profit while maintaining the consumers attraction and demand. This should work in the benefit of consumers and the society if regulations are in place for governments to intervene when a firm abuses its monopoly power to the detriment of consumers.

Fadia Faqirs Pillars of Salt and Leila al-Atrashs A Woman of Five Sea

Fadia Faqir's Pillars of Salt and Leila al-Atrash's A Woman of Five Seasons The portrayal of the Arab woman has always been through several different perceptions. Some believe that these women are weak, dependant and victims of a hyper patriarchal tradition and culture. They live their lives as if caged from one man to another. First it is their father and brothers and then their husbands and sons. It is true that Arab women do live within patriarchal traditions and cultures but the same can be said for majority of the women around the globe. A much more accurate perception can come only through the realization that what popular Western concepts conceive as women liberation and independence does not necessarily apply to every women around the world. One must understand the culture, religion and traditions and history of a people to know what their ideas regarding concepts such as liberation and independence are. In the west for example women were allowed to vote relatively recently compared to Muslim women who were allowed to vote over fourteen hundred years ago, the same could be said for owning businesses and property and the right to a career. One of the most popular beliefs in the Western world today regarding oppression is that women in Arabia are sexually controlled by their men. This has been brought about especially by the concept of the Hijab as being one of the channels to control women’s sexuality and freedom. It can be argued that in various cases this is true but one cannot commit such a grave injustice and put all Arab women under one umbrella and stamp them as sexually oppressed. The fact is that the Middle East is a region where many states, cultures and identities exist. The novels that we have read are a refl... ...nary’s removal to the government, is where her victory lies. Whereas the relationship between Maha and Harb is one of passion and love, Ihsan and Nadia are the complete opposite. Nadia hates how Ihsan looks at her as a woman always and never a person. She struggles to prove her capability of being an individual and forming an identity of her own that is separate and goes beyond Mrs. Natour. She proves that she can ‘think and feel’ for herself and by herself. In the West where we have women out on the streets rallying for equality between men and women, fighting in the armies, present in the workforce, these victories may seem minute. However if one pays close attention to social structures and social norms in different cultures one can realize that this challenging and questioning is as important and holds as much weight as getting equal wages for women in America.

Finder and Maker Reversed in The Moviegoer Essay -- Moviegoer Essays P

Finder and Maker Reversed in The Moviegoer  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Walker Percy's novel The Moviegoer chronicles a week in the life of stockbroker Binx Bolling, and his eventual marriage with his step-cousin Kate Cutrer. More than that, it sketches Binx's peculiar philosophy, and Kate's equally strange orientation, and their eventual transposition. Binx begins as an enjoyer of reality, a searcher, or finder of relief from tedium, and Kate as a frantic searcher who becomes a maker of crises to relieve her post-modern ennui. But by the end of the novel, their beginning positions are almost reversed, muddled together to form a more healthy relationship. Both Binx and Kate are self-aware characters in a world of actors, the only ones to realize the inherent falseness, the cliches, in all things. The very characters sound like movie stars' pseudonyms: Binx Bolling, Lyle Lovell, Walter Wade, with their assonance sound all too much like Robert Redford, James Earl Jones, the too-memorable monikers of film stars. Aunt Emily's manservant Mercer is "threading his way between servility and presumption" (p. 17), now one way then the other, with a dignified appearance but "behind the mustache, his face... is not at all devoted but is as sulky as a Pullman porter's." (ibid.) Even Mercer's exaggerated breathing while serving dishes (pp. 156-157) is the act of a stereotypical servant made ridiculous. Binx's biological mother displays "a fondness carefully guarded against the personal, the heartfelt, a fondness deliberately rendered trite." (p. 139) The radio program "I Believe" (p. 95) is a collection of hoary platitudes, and Binx's "pleasant tin gling sensation in the groin" afterwards (p. 96) reveals it as nothing but moral masturbation. Binx's Theosop... ...tion to detail is still there -- "Why is he so yellow?" "He's got hepatitis." (p. 209) But Kate seems healthier, whether through treatment with Merle or association with Binx. And her self-destructive practice of crisis creation seems quelled -- instead, Binx has become her director, her "cinematographer." The care with which they plot out her errand -- what streetcar to ride, where to sit, where to wear her cape jasmine -- is like the close composition of a camera shot, all so that Binx, through his imagination, can keep Kate 'in focus' and sane. He is no longer the passive observer, but the active arranger; she no longer the out-of-control crisis-creator, but an obedient actress looking for direction. Binx has moved on to the true movie-lover's dream: he has become a director. Works Cited Percy, Walker. The Moviegoer. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1961.

Cultural Differences Paper “Driving Miss Daisy” Essay

There are many ways that the movie â€Å"Driving Miss Daisy† portrays cultural issues. There are a number of scenes in the film in which different cultural issues are described and in which racial issues are prominent. It is important to note that the movie is set in 1948 in Atlanta, Georgia. According to Edward Hall there is a reality that everyone lives in that is a particular reality as there are a number of reasons for which this occurs but mainly it is because we are looking through our own reality as though it were a screen. There are a number of cultural issues that are dealt with in the film, â€Å"Driving Miss Daisy† and through this film and looking at Edward Hall’s beliefs on the issue there a number of examples that can be noted. According to Geert Hofstede’s there are five dimensions of cultural patterns. These dimensions are most commonly used in international business but can be adapted to everyday life situations as well. These five patterns include the following: (1) low vs. high power distance (the way that those who are in power interact, meaning between those who are on the low end of the spectrum and have little power to those who are on the high end of the spectrum and have a lot of power), (2) individualism vs. collectivism (this is the extent to which one is able to stand up for himself or expects others around him or those who are part of his group to stand up for him), (3) masculinity vs femininity (this is the association with traits that are generally thought to be gender biased), (4) uncertainty avoidance (when someone tries their hardest to avoid any uncertainty and takes special precautions in order to do so), and (5) long vs short term orientation (this is the standard by which something is measured as in whether or not it is in the long term or in the short term). Each of these areas can be explored through the movie, â€Å"Driving Miss Daisy. † Cultural Identity— Each person has the ability to have an identity. The different social groups, structures and classes that each person fits in with and feels a connection to is an example of their cultural identity. This identity makes each person whom they are and continues to give each person a reason to look for a particular group or a particular culture with which to identify. In the beginning of the movie as Daisy is refusing a driver this is again because of a screen that she is seeing herself through. She believes that if she has a driver that she should be embarrassed. This is because she thinks that there is either going to be a problem where others think of her as very wealthy or they will know her embarrassment of being too old to drive. In this aspect of the film, Daisy is fighting hard against being associated as being part of the aging crowd or so it could be examined through Hall’s theory. This is also an example of Hofstede’s ideas on uncertainty avoidance. This is because Daisy is so uncertain of what will happen when she loses her power to drive. This would mean that she would not be able to come and go as she pleases and that she would not be able to just jump in her car and drive and see friends or to go to the store to grab that last forgotten item. In a way this is so much more important in this situation than it is with other issues as the aging process is one that is hard enough without all of the added dilemmas and problems. So the idea that Daisy is having such a hard time with the aging process should not be a surprise to those who are around them. Another area of culture that is seen in this movie is the culture of the aging. Through Hall’s theory Daisy thinks that she is okay to drive at the beginning of the movie but her son is sure that she needs a driver and that she is not going to be able to drive on her own as there were too many problems with her driving in the past and she was unable to keep her driver’s license. Towards the end of the movie her driver has aged and is no longer able to drive either which makes for an interesting plot as he attempts to take taxi cabs to visit her while she is in the nursing home. While she is in the nursing home it is noted in the movie through character dialogue that Daisy has good days and bad days and when she is having bad days it is hard to connect with her. This could be a way of being able to look at the orientation of the individual as looked at by Hofstede. As Daisy is having problems with losing her identity and losing her ability to communicate as well as she used to she is having a harder time with her orientation and being able to be oriented to the present rather than issues from the past. Cultural Bias— A cultural bias is where one culture is favored over another. Therefore the culture that is favored has an advantage in all areas where concerned. This is because there are a number of different areas in which the culture with the advantage is able to take advantage of the situations and make things easier for their cultural or their beliefs and harder on those whom they disagree or can not connect with. In one scene Daisy truly begins to see the racism that has been around her. She is being taken by Hoke to her brother’s party in Mobile, Alabama. While she is on the trip with Hoke she begins to realize how differently people view him and how he is treated just because he is African American. This is something that she has previously been blind to as she was a very open and accepting individual. Again this is an example of how Hall’s theory has affected Daisy as she has been looking at things from a different perspective than before. This overt racism is a part of the ideas that have been passed down from generation to generation. This is an example of what Hofstede referred to as low vs high power as the racial issues are typically interacted between those who are in low or high power at the time. In this way the lower power race is the African Americans while the higher powered race is the white Americans. Another area of the movie that explores racial issues looks at the many problems that Daisy has faced herself being a Jew. She also realizes at one point, after her synagogue is bombed that she is treated differently too. Through the relationships and beliefs in the movie many different issues involving racism are explored. This movie is able to look at cultural issues and serious issues with racial injustice from a different perspective than other films have done as it was from two different view points, both who were being prejudiced against but in different ways. Again this has been looked at a few different times in the movies and it is again a power struggle between those who have less power and those who have more power. Cultural Patterns— There are many different cultural patterns that can be seen in the movie, â€Å"Driving Miss Daisy. † These patterns include that there are a number of different areas in which there are ways that the cultural identity of a person is considered to be either a negative or a positive trait. The problem is that there is off a miscommunication and a lack of connection between the two. There were a lot of scenes in the movie where there were times when the characters were involved in areas that were necessary for interactions. Verbal and Non-verbal Intercultural Communication— Throughout the movie, â€Å"Driving Miss Daisy† there is a number of different areas of communication. There are times when the communication is done through spoken dialogue while other times the communication is in a look or gesture that is done between two different characters. Each of these type of communication play an important role in the overall communication process and in how a character is able to communicate with another in one way or another. One example of Hall’s theory is the interaction between Miss Daisy and her driver, Hoke Colburn. She believes that she is better than him and that she should be able to have him do what she wishes. This is because the story takes place at a time when African Americans were only known to be servants or slaves to white Americans. Through her screen or her perspectives as they were taught to her, Daisy has been taught in her culture and during this time period that she is above these other citizens and that they are not equal to her. This is a common misconception among many individuals when cultural issues are concerned as there is often a time period where the individual has feelings or thoughts on a subject purely based on what they have learned. After some time however Daisy’s mind is changed about Hoke and she believes him to be a true friend to her, she even tells him that he is her best friend. There was another scene in the movie where an Alabama state trooper sees the two of them driving off together and he states â€Å"An old nigger and an old Jew woman takin’ off down the road together†¦that is one sorry sight! † This just goes to show the overall perceptions of reality in particular areas (the area in the South where Daisy is from) and the time period that they are living in. Through communication it can also be obvious which parts of the communication are through a group effort or group opinion and which ones are that of an individual. This is shown in many areas where racism is occurring in the movie. For example when the synagogue was attacked it was a sign that there was a group of individuals who did not like the idea of being a Jew. Hofstede’s theory would look at these issues and why there were times when this racism was prevalent on an individual basis and there were times when it was based on a group basis or a group effort. Conclusion— In conclusion the movie, â€Å"Driving Miss Daisy† touched on a lot of cultural issues having to do with age and race. This movie is about a growing relationship between an elderly woman and her driver and their amazing bond that they have which helps them to each see and understand a number of things about themselves, their culture, their heritage, and the overall connection between a social group.

Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Essay

Ethical issues and Moral issues are completely different and it has different values. Morals are more of a motivational word based on ideas and if you are right are wrong. You give yourself a certain expectation and nothing can change that. This is standards that are set by you in order to have a great career in the future. Ethics is a professional based word that is based on your performance. The techniques in a workplace are professional and represented well if you can say you have good ethic skills. Your morals can be there but if you don’t have good ethics in the working environment, you may not be with that employer long. You can have good morals but your ethical issues can be a problem with lack of dedication. It is important to have good ethical and moral issues because it shows good leadership and in order to succeed in today’s job industry and be successful you have to have both. Let’s take me for instants; I work for a multi-million dollar company and we have a mission statement this year that states â€Å"ALL IN† meaning we have to give it our all and we have to know that at the end the day, if I did not get that display or sell, at least I tried and the next day try it again. That is giving your all. My standard is set high which would include my morals to be the best. My working skills are recognizable from all management, so that means I have great work ethics. If I don’t set myself to have my morals and ethical issues intact, I will not keep a job and be successful in the future. Business Ethics is when the business has to make a conscious decision on its problems such as harassment, employee relations and discrimination to name a few. It is everyone’s hope that businesses choose to do what is right meaning ethical. Businesses become driven by profit and margins and as they grow, the hunger to achieve more money increases and the businesses starts to fall off its ethical mission statements. Managers play a major role in this process because they tend to forget what there position is in place for and they forget about the values that the company need when it comes to work relations. Personal Ethics could be defined as what a person believes to be right. This varies from person to person as these are influenced by culture, beliefs, experience, law and religion. This person may have their own expectations in the work environment and feel that there way is right and not what the business says it is. The personnel ethics of a person is influence by the business ethics because the expectations can be high are low. If a worker feels that the ethics that the business proceeds is not right, then he are she should confront the person in charge and come to an agreement of the problem. There should be balance when it comes to people in the working environment. A couple of months ago at my job, we had a problem with some of the salesmen’s personnel ethic issues. The business ethics had its own standards but it was not agreeable with the market feedback that is giving to us; meaning the sales. The salesmen would focus on the criteria one way and when we had a market tour, some of them were dealt with in ways when it could have been avoided. The issue was resolved before any further action had taken place, but if communication would have been a priority, disciplinary action would have not taken place. If we take control our personal & business ethics, we would create a better social responsibility.

Management accounting-Bias Budgets Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management accounting-Bias Budgets - Coursework Example Question One (a): Why do managers want to manipulate their budgets? After budget approval, the company may use it to carry out budgetary actions. As a result, the managers use it to ensure they carry out the organization objectives and plans and in the end, they have to compare budget plan against the real performance. Once compared, the difference in amount is usually the budget deficient or bias which is cause by manager`s manipulation or distortion on the proposed budget. There are various reasons as to why mangers manipulate budget. Firstly, if the rewards and motivation through performance evaluation help to achieve the budget results, the managers may end up manipulating the budget to include more of rewards in order they can hit the target more easily like league table and bonuses. Besides, managers are highly involved in cases of budget slacks-where organization set their revenue to be too low and a high cost, the organization may end up losing sales since the resources requi red to raise production with the short time given have been limited. Moreover, the managers who have been promised some rewards on attaining certain goals set their target to be very low such that they easily attain them without caring whether the company looses or gains. Likewise, the senior managers dictate on a budget for performance. As a result, it forces the mangers to keep focus of resources on the performance of their department. Consequently, the mangers end up presenting a budget request biased on his department not for organization as whole. Hence, the direction of bias is downwards. Secondly, the company`s practices and norms is subtle in determining the performance of the company`s budget. Notably, prevailing work conditions help to dictate what is morally right. As a result, the management, which focuses on self-manager performances, will give incentives directed to managers alone. However, the aggregate accounting performance from his action is focusing on organizatio n as whole. On the other hand, the management focusing on others gives a hard determination of degree of performance. As a result, it reduces the aggregate performance although it induces co-operation and collaboration to other firms. Moreover, when there occurs some change in the budgetary system from being top-down or centralized, and an acceptable estimate of growth is set, with the changing budgetary system to may be bottom up, and company`s practices remaining similar, bias of unknown direction happens. Lastly, the mangers may feel insecure in their job and as a result, they are more than ready to use the budgetary trick when a chance arises. By this, it mean, the managers are quick to spend until the entire budgeted amount is consumed when the chance of buying goods occurs at a lower price. In fact, in the managers operating in the declining sales department makes use of entire budgets usage under the assumption that the future is uncertain. As a result, the budget becomes was teful at the expense of the manager approving his need of upholding the job since the amount needed by the company and the bought one is very varying. Hence, strong upward bias occurs. (b): Why are they able to do? What are the constraints on such behaviour? As a long as the departmental budget exists, some head of the department will always try to game the budget. Additionally, there are numerous reason as

Factors that Medium-Sized Companies Need to Think Introducing ERP Research Paper

Factors that Medium-Sized Companies Need to Think Introducing ERP System - Research Paper Example Moreover, it has been found that many organizations that have implemented these systems have failed to materialize these systems set out benefits. In fact many organizations have shown results which are totally against the argument supporting the installation of ERP systems in an organization. Research findings have discovered many variables that are needed for the successful implementation of these systems in an organization. Amongst these variables are: top management support, organizational culture, sound implementation plan, user involvement, and etch. On the technical side, variables which are of prime importance are: sound system architecture, data integrity, system interface and etch. Researchers have also found that for the successful implementation of these systems, the top management of the organization needs to clarify the scope of these systems. This scope should be very clear and free from any kind of ambiguity. The importance of this finding stem from the fact that not every business process can be integrated with the ERP system, and in case an organization is unclear about this fact than there are likely chances that it will try to bring many undue processes into the relevant scope of the ERP project. This behavior or action will keep adding cost to the entire project’s cost, ultimately leading to the project getting over budget. This cost might be so high that it might not justify the value of the benefits derived from these systems. It is therefore of utmost importance that the project team is given a clear scope and vision for the entire project. It is also important that the project team place especial emphasis on the systems architecture, because too much customization of the system may render the system inefficient. It would be better that an organization implementing these systems, tailor its business processes according to the fields of the software. Since these software suits represent the best practices of the industry, therefore it would not be wrong to use these fields rather than tailoring them to correspond to the existing business processes of the organization. SMEs have to carefully consider all the intricacies involved with the implementation of these systems because they do not have the strong capital base to support any mishap encountered during the implementation of these systems. These companies need to be very clear about the objectives they seek to accomplish by installing ERP systems in their operations, because otherwise they would end upon incurring a capital outlay that would be difficult to replenish. INTRODUCTION: In order to respond to the needs of its marketplace, a business must have accurate and updated information about its suppliers, customers, employees, invoices and payment and most importantly about its own products and services. A business needs to organize its work activities which use this information to operate efficiently and enhance the overall performance of the firm. Info rmation systems are the means by which an organization can manage all its vital information and tailor this information in a manner that allows it to make better decisions and improve the execution of their business processes. Information systems are fundamentally aimed at improving the business process of a company. The manner, in which an organization’s work is organized, coordinated and focused to produce a