Thursday, November 28, 2019

Civil War American Essays - Slavery In The United States, Racism

Civil War: American The American Civil War In 1860, arguably the world's greatest nation was locked in Civil War. The war divided the country between the North (Union) and South (Confederate). The war lasted five years and by 1865 the Confederate forces were truly beaten. Out of this horrendous war though, where some 600,000 men died grew a greater sense of nationalism than is today, unrivalled around the world. The American Civil War is interpreted differently by many historians but most see the catalyst as slavery, the motivation as economic, the outcome was a unified national identity. Slavery was a major issue that triggered the American Civil War. Slavery started out, as a few individual slaves coming from England that were generally white. This changed however, and soon the Southern slave traders began 'stealing' blacks to take back to the South. The slaves were forced to work 16-hour days, slave women were only seen as breeders and there were no laws against the rape of a female slave. In 1860 slaves accounted for one third of the South's population and even still they had no rights (see appendix one). The Unionist North many people believed it was immoral to own another human being. These people were called Abolitionists. The South relied strongly on the slave trade and when the North spoke of abolishing it, the South spoke of forming there own country, The Confederate states of America. The South began to see that the North was going to take action against the South's inhumane slave policy. In early 1860, South Carolina formed under a new flag, Confederate States of America flag, so that they could continue to operate their slave trade. What followed was an ordinance of succession which saw the other slave populated states also swear an oath to the Confederate States of America, also so that they could continue their slave trade. This situation was found to be unworkable and it divided the country in two. So in the words of Abraham Lincoln, 'A house divide against itself can not stand. I believe this country can not endure permanently half-slave, half-free.' Slavery formed two opposing societies and could not have been abolished with out the Civil War. The North was very industrialised and had a stable economy in comparison to slave-dependant South. During the mid-1800s immigration to the North skyrocketed. Jones says, 'the immigration (many escaping the Irish potato famine) were willing to work for almost anything and withstand inhumane factory conditions.' Although this exploitation was extremely cruel and much like the treatment of the slaves in the South, the Northern economy profited immensely (Brinkley,1991:264). Come 1860, the Union had an overwhelming advantage over the South. The North played host to 109,974 industrial firms whereas the South had only 18, 026. The Northern States also produced 96%of the locomotives in the entire country, and as for firearms, more of them were made in Connecticut than in all the Southern factories combined ("Civil War", Encyclopedia Americana:1988). The Southerner's believed cotton to be their biggest industry and economic boosted during the Civil War but they had no factories capable of processing the cotton. The cotton was sent to Northern factories to be processed for a fraction of the price the Union sold it back to them for. This cycle alone made a huge idiosyncrasy in the economies. So with all the industrial and many economical advantages over the South was it any wonder that the North were victorious in the Civil War? The cost of the Civil was tremendous not only in money but in lives taken. By 1865, the South surrendered, slavery was abolished and President Lincoln was assassinated the total cost of the War for all American's was around 15 billion dollars but priceless for the 600,000 lives lost. What came out of this war however suprised everyone, in the next centaury America was seen as the strongest nation in the world. The cause of the war was finally resolved when slavery was abolished and because of this many inhumane slave owners went bankrupt with out the slaves running the farms. What followed the American can only be described as the birth of a Unified National Identity. In this period of 5 years in which many people died many of America's major problem have been solved. Since the Civil war towns have been rebuilt, mew industries flourish, and new schools have been erected. Now in America both the North and South live prosperously and peacefully together. Schenck describes America at the close of the war as, 'A developing industrial nation emerged from

Sunday, November 24, 2019

The Right to Clean Water Essay Example

The Right to Clean Water Essay Example The Right to Clean Water Essay The Right to Clean Water Essay he Right to Access Clean Water Only 2% of earth’s water is available for human consumption because 98% of the earth’s water is frozen in ice caps, flowing in the ocean, and even in animal bodies, etc. More than a billion people have no decent water supply, adding to that about 2. 4 billion people do not have proper sanitation; therefore more than 60% of global illness is linked to the lack of healthy water. Water is a natural source of nature and access to clean water should not be used as a traded or withheld good in economic markets. While a developed country is using water to water their gardens, golf courses and swimming in their pools, the problem only gets worse because of income inequality increases between the countries. South Africa specifically has been having many problems when it comes to water privatization. Everything needs water, therefore it should be a common good shared by everyone and is the responsibility of governments to help their people access clean water and should not be looked upon as opportunities to make money. This problem is for the government who are held responsible for their people and not private companies around the world who want to make money of whatever they can. Water is an essential source of life, but there are categories of water which includes fresh or salt water. Most of earth’s land roaming animals needs fresh water for survival, including 6. 7 billion people and their crops. The lack of fresh water makes a chain reaction of bad factors like illness, bad crops and unsanitary living conditions. Without water people cannot water their crops which leads to hunger, then bad health, and soon after illnesses that prevents them from working and going to school. It is easy to see why water is treated as an economic good because it has to be collected, managed, processed and supplied; it is a very expensive process that water goes through before it is clean and can be giving out to people to drink. Most private companies will provide water for a commercial return, but not without investment that will be much higher than publicly funded. The institute’s fear that private, bottom-line-driven companies will not supply water to those who cannot afford to pay high prices is nevertheless clearly stated: ‘The water needs of the poor should not be left in the hands of profit-driven, transnational water corporations,† (IRIN). On the other hand, governments because of the interested in keeping their people safe usually prefer privatization so they can target places that ar e in the most need against money lucrative opportunities. Water companies have a tendency to play monopoly because they do not want to drive prices down or have the pressure to drive up equalities. Water is something everyone needs and should not be treated as a game of how to make the most money of it, but should be thought as how to help people with it. There is so much water yet only a small percentage can be used, so it is very precious and cannot be used as a way to make money of what is needed most. Companies are taking full advantage where they can within developed countries to make water a purely economic good, but that is 78% that does not live in poverty. It is only 22% of people who absolute need water yet the water subsidies are not essential to them. Women in South Africa would rather walk long distances to get water than pay for water that they could get for free even if it harmful to drink. Not that they do not want to pay for the water but do not have the money to do so. 1. 7 billion People live in poverty, where will they get the money to buy water, if they did have money, then what about all the other things that need to buy for a living? This is not to say that water should be completely free, but it should be made affordable to all. In South Africa alone there are more than 20 million people without sufficient sanitation services and another 15 million without a safe water supply. Most private companies do not care much about the environment because their worries are more about their shareholders. To have maximum profits they are more likely to find every way they can do reduce cost even if it means less care for the environment. The well being of the ecosystem and biodiversity is almost impossible to calculate so private companies’ would rather just use it as just another resource to be exploited, which is easier than protecting it. It’s hard enough getting fresh water in South Africa, but it gets even harder when some of their water is filled with acid because of the left over and abandoned mines in South Africa. â€Å"A study by Naicker et al. (2003) revealed that the groundwater in the mining district of Johannesburg, South Africa, is heavily contaminated and acidified as a result of oxidation of pyrite contained in the mine tailings sups, and has elected concentrations of heavy metals. The polluted groundwater is discharging into streams in the area and contributes up to 20% of stream flow, causing an increase the acidity of the stream water. The affect of the contaminated water from the mine can persist for more than 10 km beyond the source,† (Naicker et al. , 2003). This problem is all due to the fact that companies do not care about the ecosystem, but they were to prevent this in the first place there would not be a problem now. To clean this problem wastes even more money that could have gone to bringing more water to the needed. South African governments have taken actions into their own hands with a strong commitment to serve water to those who need it most, which is everyone. There have been many improvements with accessing water supplies from the urban to rural areas. There has been a significant increase in supplying water to rural areas from 1990 to 2006; it went from 62% to 92%, but within the same time frame there has only been a 55% to 59% increase in achieving sanitation. The problem is a very complex and expensive solution and it all has to do with maintenance. The government can fix the problem, but finding enough funding for the problem is a large concern. Why should this even be a problem because more than 60%t of illness can be traced back to lack of clean water? Having that knowledge that un-sanitized water is the problem, it should be the number one concern and should be fixed right away, but yet it is not. There are only a handful of private companies that manage a water and waste utility in South Africa the Siza Water Company, Greater Nelspruit utility Company and Johannesburg Water. Even still, all three of the companies’ focus on bringing water to the land, but are not fully concentrated on achieving sanitation. It seems South Africa has some of the most horrendous experiences when it comes to water privatization. South Africa, in August of 2002 had the worst outbreak of cholera in history that started outside of Empangeni and this is all due to the lack of clean water. â€Å"ANC Water and Forestry minister Ronnie Kasrils has admitted that the outbreak would not have happened if free water had been available. ‘The problem is that when we try to implement cost-recovery, any of the poor cannot pay,† (wsww). Even with access to government-provided water, if it is not free the poor cannot pay the $4. 80. People died and got even sicker; Now they need health care to become better, which costs more money. This could all have been prevented if only water was free, a price anyone can afford. Water is a precious resource of life for everyone, but companies take the time and effort to make it only so they can make money because it is something that is needed. People are getting sicker because of the lack of clean water that the government should provide because it is an essential eed and it is the government’s responsibility to their people to give them what they need to keep healthy. More than 60% of health problems can be traced back to water, therefore it is an easy problem to prevent, but it’s not. With clean water we can reverse the cycle because with clean water illness levels decrease, therefore people can go to work or school. With work or school they can then take care of themselves and their family. Therefore water is a human right not a human privilege; everyone should have access to clean water for their health and for their future. Cited â€Å"Running Dry: the humanitarian impact of the global water crisis. † IRIN In-Depth October 2006. November 16, 2010 lt; irinnews. org/pdf/in-depth/Running-Dry-IRIN-In-Depth. pdfgt; Naicker, K. , Cukrowska, E. , amp; McCarthy, T. S. 2003. Acid mine drainage from gold mining activities in Johannesburg, South Africa and environs. Environmental Pollution 122, 29-40. Marshall, Leon. â€Å"Water Crisis Looms in South Africa. † National Geographic. November 5, 2010. November 15, 2010. lt;http://blogs. nationalgeographic. om/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2010/11/water-crisis-looms-in-south-africa. htmlgt; â€Å"Water privatization in South Africa. † Wikipedia. November 15, 2010. lt;http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Water_privatisation_in_South_Africagt; â€Å"Private Vs. Public† Food and Water Watch. November 16, 2010. lt; foodandwaterwatch. org/water/private-vs-public/gt; Mason, Berry and Talbot, Chris. â€Å"What water privatization means for Africa. † Wor ld Socialist Web Site. September 7, 2002. November 15, 2010. lt; wsws. org/articles/2002/sep2002/wate-s07. shtmlgt;

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Feasibility Of Atomic Bombings In Hiroshima And Nagasaki Essay

Feasibility Of Atomic Bombings In Hiroshima And Nagasaki - Essay Example This paper will look at the usage of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki from the perspective in three dimensions and stages, how it impacted the situation in present, near future and longer future. Scenario behind Hiroshima events: There was a built up towards the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing event, and it did not happen without a reason or in a fortnight, series of events led to the occurrence of this, and it can be said that the threat was in the atmosphere ever since 1942. Events like Peal Harbor and Mid way Island incident further ignited it and can be termed as the possible reasons towards Hiroshima and Nagasaki events. Short term outcomes: In short term, it lead to the victory of the allies, while the Normandy operation, Pearl Harbor were hall marks of recent days in the Second World War, and a solution was sought. Japan was going all guns and exploiting anything possible and in sight, thereby they had to be controlled. The single event of Pearl Harbor speaks for the type of offensive intentions they possessed. Their actions were indiscriminate on many fronts pertaining to the non military and civilian areas attacks. The consequence of using atomic bomb was total destruction of axis. Leaving them crippled. The atomic bomb was a death blow and a last nail in the coffin, which led to complete surrender in no time. this had a direct impact on the German moral, and their troops surrendered in no time. A warning to Nazis: The atomic bomb on Japan was a clear warning to Germany. If they did not halt their activities, Berlin, Frankfurt, would be the next target. Thereby this action had great repercussions and all to the... Scenario behind Hiroshima events: There was a built up towards the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing event, and it did not happen without a reason or in a fortnight, series of events led to the occurrence of this, and it can be said that the threat was in the atmosphere ever since 1942. Events like Pearl Harbor and Mid way Island incident further ignited it and can be termed as the possible reasons towards Hiroshima and Nagasaki events. Short term outcomes: In short term, it leads to the victory of the allies, while the Normandy operation, Pearl Harbor was hall marks of recent days in the Second World War, and a solution was sought. Japan was going all guns and exploiting anything possible and in sight, thereby they had to be controlled. The single event of Pearl Harbor speaks for the type of offensive intentions they possessed. Their actions were indiscriminate on many fronts pertaining to the non-military and civilian areas attacks. The consequence of using the atomic bomb was the total destruction of the axis. Leaving them crippled. The atomic bomb was a death blow and a last nail in the coffin, which led to complete surrender in no time. this had a direct impact on the German morale, and their troops surrendered in no time. A warning to Nazis: The atomic bomb on Japan was a clear warning to Germany. If they did not halt their activities, Berlin, Frankfurt, would be the next target. Thereby this action had great repercussions and all to the positives in terms of the Allies action and strategies.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Resource Rich Economies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Resource Rich Economies - Essay Example This study stresses that  various countries of the world choose different paths of development. However, it must be noted that in the majority of the cases this choice is conditioned by the environment and availability of resources. Thus, those countries that are deprived of natural resources compete using other valuable materials. For example, Japan that can hardly boast any oil or gas is a widely known leader of technology. On the other hand, those countries that were blessed with natural resources often make emphasis on their export, forgetting about other ways of becoming successful. That is why it is often suggested that resource rich economies are poor, underdeveloped and politically unstable.   This paper will analyze the example of Russia and prove that abundance of resources can have a negative impact on a country.  If one considers the Russian billionaires, one will be able to see that they are less likely to help their compatriots and are willing to invest abroad more. For example, Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea football club in England and this was seen as manifestation of the Russian wealth. However, it is obvious that he could have bought one or even several football clubs in Russia and pay for the best equipment and players for them. However, Abramovich decided to invest his money in a foreign football club which means that he is not willing to share his wealth with his compatriots.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Motivating Employees and Team building Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Motivating Employees and Team building - Essay Example Motivation is something abstract and the difficulties arise when one tries to explain its meaning and application. A wide variety of assumptions have been made on motivation by observing the resultant behaviour of motivation. Based on these assumptions and research findings, motivation has been defined in a number of ways. Vroom defines motivation as a process, which governs choices made by persons or lower organisms among alternative forms of voluntary activity. (Vroom, 1964 as cited in Putti) Motivations are the act of inducing an individual to follow a desired course of action. The desired course of action may be for the good of the individual or for the one who is inducing the individual towards a desired course of action or both. Zedeck and blood contend that motivation is a predisposition to act in a specific goal-directed way. (Sedeck & Blood, 1974 as cited in Putti) Atchison further defines Motivation as the immediate influence on the direction, vigor, and persistence of beha viour. (Atchison, 1964 as cited in Putti) on the other hand Gellerman defines motivation as steering one's actions towards certain goals and committing a certain part of one's energies to reach them. (Gellerman, 1963 as cited in Putti) In the view of Shartle, motivation is "a reported urge or tension to move in a given direction or to achieve a certain goal. (Shartle, 1956 as cited in Putti) Hence, Motivation can make the employees get all the targets settled by the Organisations. There are several ways by which employees can be motivated the most important is to address the needs of the employees. Just as the definition of basic human needs is a highly complex task, it naturally follows that there are no easy assumptions concerning what employees really want from the organisation. In various surveys, the following are some of the more typically specified wants. The first and the foremost important are pay. This want helps in satisfying physiological, security, and egoistic needs. The design of a monetary compensation system is exceedingly complex since it serves to satisfy multiple needs and cannot alone motivate the whole person. After the payment needs Security of job is another important motivating factor. Because of threats from technological change, this want is high on the list or priorities for many employees and labour unions. The underlying need of general security is also high on the list of priorities in the suggested need hierarchy of Maslow. However management can aid the process by carefully planned and executed induction programs, provision of means to socialise through rest periods and recreational programs, and promoting the formation of work teams through proper work-station layouts and human-related work procedures. With all the above, the provision of credit for work done is also an important motivator. This want issues from the egoistic classification of needs and can be supplied by management through verbal praise of excellent work, monetary rewards for suggestions, and public recognition through awards. Releases in employee's newspapers, and the like. Also, Job enrichment issues from both the need for recognition and the drive toward self-realisation and achievement is an important

Friday, November 15, 2019

Analysis Of The Teenage Magazine Market Sector

Analysis Of The Teenage Magazine Market Sector The following section of the plan provides a brief analysis of the teenage magazine market sector. In particular, total volume and value of sales is investigated and critically discussed. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide an assessment and analysis of the key competitors in the market sector and the target group of consumers. Advertising expenditures are also explored in this section. In addition, it will be relevant to scan the external environment of the industry which includes political, economic, social and technological factors unified under PEST framework. Thus, this section will attempt to make a contribution to the identification of the potential opportunities, which may be used for a new brand. The following graph illustrates the total yearly subscriptions for the UK magazines by sector. As it may be seen from the histogram, children and teenage magazines constitute the most numerous and dominant sector. They account for as much as 32.7% of the whole magazine market. The second largest sector is womens traditional magazines. Its market share is equal to 12.9%. Other sectors with the market shares ranging from 10% to 11% are TV listings, mens monthlies, sports and music and the remaining sectors. The least popular type of magazines is home interest as they were found to account for only 4.2% of the market. These findings reveal that children and teenage magazines are most popular among the UK readers. The next graph reveals that the total volume of sales of teenage magazines in the UK has fallen in the recent past. It may be observed that in 2008, as many as 47,535,000 units of magazines were sold. The indicator decreased to the level of 41,794,000 units in 2009. Moreover, in 2010, the total volume of sales constituted only 38,040,000. Hence, the market for teenage magazines in the UK has been going down. This reduction of sales may be explained by the growing popularity of on-line media and portals for teenagers. Printed magazines are often substituted by social networking and entertaining web applications. This tendency may be discussed in the light of the standard product life cycle (PLC) curve. As presented by the following graph, the PLC curve consists of the four main stages: introduction, growth, maturity and decline. These stages imply different changes in the volume of sales. The recent fall of the volume of sales of the UK teenage magazines indicates that the product passes through the decline stage. It means that the producers of the UK teenage magazines will not achieve the maximum volume of sales unless the product is improved or changed. Correspondingly, the total value of sales of teenage magazines has reduced recently. In 2008, the value of sales constituted  £99,039,000. The indicator decreased to the level of  £88,245,000 in 2009. In 2010, the reduction of sales value continued and the indicator reached  £86,138,000. The fall of volume and value occurred during the period 2008-2010. Hence, it may be concluded that the UK market for teenage magazines has been shrinking and narrowing. Among the major competitors in the UK market for teenage magazines it is valid to mention Elle Girl, Glamour, GQ, Grazia Magazine, Heat, New!, OK! and Yours. Their relative market shares are reported in the following figure. As it may be seen from the histogram, New!, Ok! and Glamour are the most popular teenage magazine brands in the UK. Their market shares are equal to 15.7%, 15.4% and 13.5% respectively. The market share of Heat constitutes as much as 12.4%. Such brands as Grazia, Yours, Elle Girl and GQ occupy 6.7%, 6.5%, 5.1% and 3.1% of the market. Other brands, which are less popular, account for 21.6% of the market. Critical analysis of these brands may reveal that GQ is the worst performing magazine. Its market share is the smallest among major magazines. This may be explained by the narrow specialisation of the magazine. The target audience of the magazine are males from 16 to 24 years old. Teen girls are more inclined to reading magazines than teen boys. The researchers reported that girls read more screen and confession magazines . On the contrary, the most successful teenage magazine brands are New! and Ok! (these magazines have the largest market share in the UK market). This success can be explained by the proper and suitable content. The teenage magazines include celebrity interviews, dating tips, fashion tips and descriptions and samples of the popular cosmetic products. Such content is highly appreciated by the target audience. Another advantage over the rivals in the market segment is availability of the magazines. Teenage magazines have relatively low prices in comparison with other glossies. Furthermore, these magazines are universal. They are read by teenage girls as well as medium-aged women. Brand positioning of the major teenage magazines in the UK can be presented as follows. Kumar developed a special framework, which differentiates between economy brands, bargain brands, cowboy brands and premium brands. The differentiation is based on the two dimensions: quality and price of the production. The brand positioning framework can be graphically presented as shown below. None of the mentioned magazines refers to the category of economy brands. The major teenage magazines do not combine the two qualities, i.e. low quality and low price, at once. However, New! and Ok! can be classified as bargain brands. They belong to the moderate price category, but have very rich and diversified contents. Grazia Magazine, Yours and Heat are of lower quality, but more expensive. Hence, it allows for classifying them as cowboy brands. Finally, Elle Girl, Glamour and GQ are positioned as premium brands. It has already been mentioned that girls read teenage magazines more often than boys. Hence, the major target audience are teenage girls. The following graph provides a comparison of the percentage of teenage girls and teenage boys reading magazines. It may be observed that 55% of male teenagers are found to enjoy reading magazines. However, the female readers of teenage magazines are even more numerous and constitute 63% of all female teenagers. These findings reveal that the target group for the majority of the magazine producers are female teenagers. Another fact, which proves these findings, is that male teenagers are also inclined to reading other specialised magazines besides teenage publications. The alternatives include sports magazines, technical magazines, PC and IT magazines and others. In accordance with Kaiser Family Foundation all magazines discussed above are targeted at clearly specified groups of consumers. For instance, Elle Girl is targeted at younger sisters of the readers of Elle. Furthermore, it has been revealed that girls from 12 to 17 years old comprise up to 26% of the total number of females reading different magazines. Nevertheless, these magazines can hardly be segmented by their contents. The point is that all of them contain articles about celebrities, fashion, relationships, etc. In addition, it can be stated that the market could not be segmented according to the social classes of the teenage reader. It may be explained by the fact that teenage readers have mostly the same interests at this age regardless of the social background of their family. It is argued by Form (1995) that segmentation theory deals with the problems of coordinating huge entities like institutions, sectors, strata, or society; it holds that individual groups generally place their inter ests above those of the groups with which they interact, creating problems of intergroup coordination (Form, 1995). Relying on this statement, it may be argued that there are no many conflicts between the segments of the teenage magazine market in the UK. The point is that the difference between the demands and interests of teenage girls is not very large. It has been mentioned that they have similar interests. Hence, the majority of magazines can be easily substituted with other types. As it may be seen from the following graph, the publishers of teenage magazines use different media for advertising their production. Newspaper advertisement comprises as much as 29%. It may be stated that such a considerable percentage of newspaper ads cannot be justified since teenagers are expected to spend more time in the Internet than reading newspapers. However, if their parents subscribe to newspapers, teenagers can see the advertisement in the papers. Radio ads, TV ads and internet ads comprise 22%, 22% and 18% respectively. Outdoor advertisement constitutes only 9% of all advertising. The costs of advertising are summarised in the graph below. The figure has reported that the total teenage magazine advertising expenditure has been reduced recently. In 2008, the UK publishers of the teenage magazines spent about  £14,593,000 on advertising of their production. In 2009, the indicator decreased to the level of  £12,043,000. However, the advertising expenditure was equal to  £11,452,000 in 2010. The reduction of the total advertising expenditure may be explained by the overall decline in the market. It has already been stated that the total number of units of magazines produced yearly decreased too. Furthermore, the influence of the global financial crisis could have additional pressure on companies and make them reduce advertising costs. The advertising to sales ratio constituted 0.28 in 2005. In other words, the UK magazine publishers spent on average  £0.28 on advertising a  £1 worth magazine. It is understandable that premium brands and cowboy brands had different advertising budgets. Nevertheless, the indicator illustrates the average ratio. As it may be seen from the graph, the main types of retail outlets where teenage magazines are sold are supermarkets, other multiples and independents. Another important thing, which should be grasped from the histogram, is that the percentage of sales in each type of outlets has changed recently. In 1997, supermarkets were the least popular outlet for selling teenage magazines. Only 19% of all teenage magazines were sold there. Nevertheless, in 2007, supermarkets contributed to the sales of up to 32% of all teenage magazines. The percentage of teenage magazines sold in other multiples in 1997 and 2007 changed insignificantly. The indicator had fallen from 34% to 33% by 2007. However, the sales by independents had reduced from 42% to 37% by 2007. Delivery to retail outlets is the final stage of the teenage magazine supply chain. Today, supermarkets are becoming more and more popular as teenage magazine retailers as the graph above has revealed. However, supply chain of teenage magazines is much more complex than it may seem from the first sight. The timing of the average teenage magazine supply chain is presented in Appendix.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Free Scarlet Letter Essays: Puritanistic Elements -- Scarlet Letter es

Puritanistic Elements in The Scarlet Letter  Ã‚   Puritanism was the religion practiced by the people of colonial Boston, the setting for Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.   It is because of the beliefs of the Puritan religion that Hester Prynne, the main character in The Scarlet Letter, is ostracized from the community.   Puritan ideals are often brought up in the book.   Although Hawthorne never outrightly states his position on Puritanism, it seems clear that he does approve of the religion. The story begins with Hester in jail for adultery.   She is presented as a strong woman—she holds her head high and does not try to cover up the letter.   She stands up to her punishment, and neither the spectators nor her seem to suggest that she is being treated unfairly.   It seems strange that everyone would agree upon Hester’s sentence, since everybody rarely agrees on anything.   Because Hawthorne never speaks directly to the reader about his own opinions, it must be inferred from the characters what he thinks.   Thus, since Hester’s punishment is condoned by everyone, it must be assumed t...

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Poverty, Education and Health Care Essay

Abstract Poverty and education play an important role in access to health care. A low socioeconomic status influences the health of people. This paper provides a general overview of how poverty and education determines access to health care. It provides a description of the consequences of poverty and education on health care accessibility. Finally it provides solutions as how to address the issue. The link between poverty, education and access to medical care has received considerable attention. Health influences all the activities of an individual. All societies are concerned with varying levels of health among their members. They are also concerned about marginalized sections of society have access to health care. Poverty and its effects on society People belonging to poor communities have poorer health outcomes. They have less access to primary care as compared with more affluent residents. They are also less likely to have health insurance and regular doctor. They are more likely to have chronic health problems. They are more likely to get hospitalized for conditions which can be detected and treated at an early stage. Despite an expansive public insurance program these health problems remain. At least 18 percent of Americans are without medical insurance. This means a total of 44 million are without health insurance out of a population of 300 million. An estimated 87 percent of people are covered by government or employee based health care insurance (Cutler, 2004). People with low socioeconomic status face many challenges in maintaining their health. They have a high mortality rate. They are more likely to be suffering from some disease. They have limited health care resources. They live in poor environmental situations. The United States has one of the world’s most impressive standards of living. At least 32 million Americans live below the poverty line. In addition to poor people an estimated 50 million people live in poverty like conditions. Health risk factors like smoking, obesity and sedentary lifestyle are found in poor Americans (Cutler, 2004). They have a higher prevalence of disability and chronic illness. They have a shorter life expectancy. Children belonging to poor families are more likely to be malnourished. Many poor Americans live in houses which have lead paint. This can cause growth problems in children. Poor people eat inexpensive food which is fatty and lacks important nutrients. Poor people cannot afford health insurance coverage. Patients postpone their medical care and they are more likely to go without prescription medicines. Low income workers are at the highest risk of being uninsured because they are ineligible for Medicaid coverage. They work in low wage jobs that do not offer insurance. They cannot afford the high premiums associated with health care insurance. The lack of a usual source of care is another barrier to seek adequate health care. The challenges associated with poverty create conditions that can diminish lifesavings, lower learning ability and reduce physical, mental and emotional well being. All of these factors are a threat to people’s health. Urban areas in the United States have many health care facilities. However poor people cannot make use of these services. The major challenge is the high cost of visiting doctors, medicine and hospital care. Social factors like language barriers and prejudice by providers also hinder the accessibility of health care by poor people. The government also faces challenges in trying spreading health education in poor communities. Health care services are vital for the survival and livelihood of poor people. Illness persists in poor people. It stops people from working and forces them to sell assets. They fall into debt and are lead into a vicious cycle of dependency and poverty. Failure to treat themselves leads to illness and disability. This further reduces the ability to work in poorer households. People living in rural areas are forced to bear high transport costs. This is difficult and expensive for them. The lack of local health centers in rural areas further hinders the ability of poor people to access adequate health care (Crichton, 1997). The huge time that takes for poor people to obtain treatment is one of the greatest barriers which they face. Time away from jobs results in lost income. Health services run by governments are usually inefficient and are characterized by neglect. The quality of service is low. There is shortage of staff. There is no proper medicine and equipment. In many countries there is no safe water to drink. In developing countries there are high costs to health care. Besides the official fees there are corrupt staff members who demand bribes and fees in return for ordinary services. These services can include registration, tests and being given medicine. They can also pressurize a sick person to make unnecessary visits to the hospital. Payment methods are not flexible in many developing countries. Payment usually has to be made in advance and in cash. This causes considerable hardship for poor people (Crichton, 1997). Â  Education and its effects on society Education also plays an important role in health care. Many people with low literacy cannot read and understand directions written on medications. They cannot complete medical consent forms. They have problems in accessing health care and dealing with health related issues. Health literacy is the ability to read and understand words and procedures related to health care. It consists of comprehension, communication and appropriate action. The direct effects of low health literacy are medication errors. The indirect issues can include insurance issues, accessibility to health care and poor health behavior (Shi, 2003). Low health literacy affects people of all ages, races, educational levels and social classes. It is driven by a variety of factors. It is a multidimensional issue. Understanding written materials has been part of extensive health literacy in the past few years. Sensitivity to culture has also become part of health literacy due to the diverse population of the world. Messages and images have to be tailored to meet the diverse beliefs and values of people. Health literacy is concerned with understanding the information necessary to manage health (Shi, 2003). It is estimated that at least 90 million people in the United States cannot read. The health of such people is at risk. Ethnic minority groups are also affected by low health literacy. Older patients, recent immigrants, people with chronic diseases and those with low income are also vulnerable to having low health literacy. Many people with average or strong literacy skills have found medical terminology and concepts confusing. There are many health consequences associated with a low literacy level. Research has found that at least one third of patients have health problems because of failure in taking prescription medication correctly. People with low health literacy cannot comply with prescribed treatments and self care routines. They also have a high rate of failure in seeking preventive care. They are more at risk for hospitalization. They lack the skills to successfully move in the complex healthcare system (Shi, 2003). Patients with low health literacy have glycemic control. They are also more likely to report eye problems caused by diabetes. The annual health care costs for individuals with low health literacy are five times higher than those with higher health literacy skills. People with low health literacy are more likely to use health care services. Additional health care expenditures result from low health literacy skills. People cannot feel part of the social structure. They are also vulnerable to anxiety and other mental disorders. They can also alienate other people. Research has also found that people with low literacy levels are more vulnerable to die. While federal and state lawmakers continue to debate about how to increase access to health care, some of them are thinking of reinsurance system which might be affordable for poor people. In order to understand the concept of insurance it is essential that policy makers understand the concepts, benefits and limits of reinsurance mechanism. Reforms in Health care Reinsurance in health care refers to risk transfer or risk pooling arrangements. These are designed to remove the barriers which low income workers and minorities face when accessing health care. Risk transfer arrangements can help in this matter but they cannot lower health care costs. Policy makers must design policies which encourage participation from insurers and remove incentives to transfer costs to taxpayers. Reinsurance is defined as an insurance company buying insurance itself. The primary insurer is protected against the rare set of circumstances which might produce losses that it cannot fund on its own. Property and casualty insurance are the areas where reinsurance has been successfully implemented. Companies working in these areas can take heavy losses due to natural disasters in a short time period. This induces insurers to buy reinsurance on the commercial market. Poor people cannot afford health insurance coverage. This directly affects their ability to access medical care. Patients postpone their medical care and they are more likely to go without prescription medicines. Low income workers are at the highest risk of being uninsured because they are ineligible for Medicaid coverage (Kling, 2004). Public health plays a vital role in countering the effects of poverty on health care. It also minimizes the disparities in health by income. Public health policies protect the health of the population. It also plays an important role in reducing contagious diseases and providing low cost health services to marginalized sections of society. There are many examples of public health functions. Immunizing babies, improving sanitation, combating sexually transmitted diseases, protecting the environment and containing tuberculosis are some of the public health functions. Public health focuses on reallocating resources to communities which have low incomes. The US government has a network of community health centers, public clinics, school based clinics and health clinics for low income workers, migrants, minorities and homeless people. The National Health Service Corps is an organization which provides services and places physicians in vulnerable communities. Public health services also focus on specific diseases like tuberculosis. They also increase immunization efforts against this disease. They provide services which improve the health of low income families. Neighborhoods are cleaned from lead paint, pollution control and nutrition programs are launched. Women and children are fed through special programs. Poor people with low income and education have poorer health outcomes. They have less access to primary care as compared with more affluent residents. They are also less likely to have health insurance and regular doctor. They are more likely to have chronic health problems (Kling, 2004). Medicaid is the largest public programs that have improved access to health care. It provides health services to low income population. It finances health and long term care insurance for over 40 million low income Americans. Before Medicaid the poor people were essentially without any medical care. They relied on charity of physicians and hospitals. Public hospitals and clinics were also visited by poor people. Medicaid has made health services available to poor people. It has improved their health status and access to quality care. It has also created satisfaction amongst the poor people. Uninsured poor people lag well behind those people who have coverage with Medicaid. People with Medicaid have even fared comparably with private insurance (Kling, 2004). Despite the fact that these programs offer valuable assistance to low income populations, the deficits in access and coverage faced by low income population cannot be easily overcome. Increase in income does produce a substantial contribution to removing health differentials. However this is the need for insurance coverage and support for community based resources to eliminate health disparities by income. Poverty is hazardous for the physical and mental well being of an individual. Low income and homeless people are poor physical functions. They have a high prevalence of health risk factors and chronic health conditions. They also are more vulnerable to depression and other mental disorders. Research has shown that people living in vulnerable communities have a higher rate of being diagnosed with mental disorders as compared with more affluent communities (Kling, 2004). There is a need for prevention, intervention and treatment of diseases for poor people. Welfare reform cannot succeed without taking into account the special health problems of poor people and children. Poverty is associated with depression and other symptoms. It contributes to depression. People with insufficient personal support have no assistance in raising children. They live under the chronic stress of having children but little money to support them. They are at a higher risk for depression. There is a strong link between single-parent status, responsibility for young children, social isolation, and lack of social supports as well as to poverty. Welfare recipients have many barriers towards employment. They have low skills, substance abuse, health limitation or children with chronic medical conditions. They have serious forms of barriers. They have also high level of distress. They seek help from general medical, specialized and human service sources. Poor people with low income and education have poorer health outcomes. They have less access to primary care as compared with more affluent residents. They are also less likely to have health insurance and regular doctor. They are more likely to have chronic health problems. They are more likely to get hospitalized for conditions which can be detected and treated at an early stage. Despite an expansive public insurance program these health problems remain. At least 18 percent of Americans are without medical insurance. This means a total of 44 million are without health insurance out of a population of 300 million. An estimated 87 percent of people are covered by government or employee based health care insurance. Rising health care costs have become unbearable in the world. This is a problem for poor people in the Western countries and the situation is even worse in developing countries. There is a need for reform in the health care system. Many poor people are not covered by health insurance. Critical care medicine in high technology hospitals are only for a small group of patients (Ham, 2004). The first step should be rationing in containing health care costs. Public health care resources are limited. It is not possible to satisfy all medical needs for all people at all times. An appropriate goal for developing countries is to provide basic health care for the people. Some luxury medical procedures must be left for individuals to purchase with their own resources. Â  A basic level of health care must be provided for all people. Providing the best care is practically impossible. The government can however provide a basic level of care. Prevention oriented and ordinary treatment oriented goals must be set for developing countries and their health care systems. Inexpensive medical prevention is more effective and appropriate for poor people. Finally there should be a system of support which should help people with special expensive medicine care. Special foundations should come to the rescue of poor people for emergency and life saving procedures (Cundiff, 2005). Conclusion The health and well being of poor communities is an issue confronting both developed and developing countries. Research has found links between poverty and the health of people. Inside the United States many poor people do not have health insurance. Some of them can’t even think of affording health insurance. They are more concerned with the basic amenities of life. People in developing countries are even worse off. They have access to state hospitals and clinics which do not have trained staff, prescription medicine and advanced hospital care (Cundiff, 2005). A low health literacy rate is also dangerous for the well being of people. It can have adverse negative economic and social impacts. They can die at from treatable causes and get hospitalized because of their lack of health literacy skills. They are also prone to suffering from mental diseases like anxiety and depression. Â  There is the need for health reform in the entire world. Governments must provide a basic level of health care to all citizens. Advanced hospital care must be made available by foundations and donations. Governments working in coordination with community support groups can effectively counter the affects of poverty and low education on the health care of poor people. Some health responsibilities and policies should be transferred to community groups. The international community must help poor countries in developing basic and adequate health care system. References Cutler, David M. (2004). Your Money Or Your Life: Strong Medicine for America’s Health Care System. US: Oxford University Press. Crichton, Anne (1997). Health Care: A Community Concern?. US: University of Calgary. Shi, Leiyu (2003). Delivering Health Care in America: A Systems Approach. US: Jones and Bartlett. Kling, Arnold S. (2004). Crisis of Abundance: Rethinking How We Pay for Health Care. US: Cato Institute. Ham, Christopher (2004). Health Care Reform: Learning from International Experience. US: McGraw-Hill Education. Cundiff, David E. (2005). The Right Medicine: How to Make Health Care Reform Work Today. US: Humana Press.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Signode Industries, Inc

Signode Industries, Inc Recommendations Mr. Gary Reed should increase the price of Steel Strapping Consumables by 3.6% and tie the salesperson's compensation to gross margin instead of sales revenues. He should Maintain the loyalty of existing customers in National and Large segment by providing value added services like providing custom sizes, grades, tools and machines. He should also focus on stimulating further volume growth by taking actions to convert nonusers into users, to increase use frequency among current users, or to expand into untapped or underdeveloped markets.Pricing Decision Pricing decision in this case involve an inherent conflict between (1) the need to win customers and (2) the need to maintain/increase profit margins to satisfy the firm's financial need to generate as much capital as possible for further expansion. The complete analysis for arriving the pricing decision was shown in the Exhibit 1. The revenue generated by steel consumables is $133 millions. Its existing margins percen tage is 36.5.Bentley's winged "B" badge and bonnet (hood) ornam...The 6.8% increase in material cost resulted in $4.8 million burden on Signode. Signode either have to pass on this burden to customer in the form of price increase or absorb the burden by reducing its margins. Signodes past experience showed that the introduction of price increases and substitute products like plastic-strapping materials resulted in 10% drop in market share. So it is assumed that the price increases would result in 10% reduction in revenues. Gross revenues are calculated for the three options: ‚Â · Increasing price ‚Â · Keeping the price constant ‚Â · Price Flex It is evident from Exhibit 1 that "Increasing price" option provides greater gross margin compared to "Keeping the price constant" or "Price Flex" options. So Gary Reed should increase the prices to maximize the gross margins for Signode.Sales personnel Compensation Current sales personnel compensation is tied to the...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Free Essays on NIELS HENRIK ABEL

Abel, Niels Henrik Abel, is a famous Norwegian mathematician. Abel was a pioneer in the development of several branches of modern mathematics. â€Å"Abel was one of the innovators in the field of elliptic functions, discoverer of Abelian functions and one of the leaders in the use of rigor in mathematics.† (www.shu.edu) Many famous mathematicians (some of whom I will mention) have been greatly influenced by his works. One mathematician once said that he â€Å"left mathematicians something to keep them busy for five hundred years.† (www.shu.edu) Although he had great accomplishments in mathematics, his life was a very hard one and is even said to be â€Å"tragic.† (www.shu.edu) Niels Henrik Abel was born on August 5, 1802. He was on of seven children born to a poor pastor in the small village of Finnà ¶y in Norway, a country so poor at the time that peasants would leave their country in groups just to escape starvation. Abel’s mathematical talent was recognized in 1817, when he entered the Cathedral School in Christiania, by his teacher named Bernt Michael Holmbe. Holmbes introduced him to the classics in mathematical literature and proposed original problems for him to solve. He studied the works of the 17th-century English mathematicians and physicist Isaac Newton and the contemporary mathematicians Leonard Euler, Joseph-Louis Lagrange, and Carl Friedrich Gauss and learned to detect gaps in their mathematical reasoning. (R. Tolimieri and M. An) Although Abel’s father died in 1820 and left the family in tough circumstances, he was still able to enter the University of Christiana in 1821 because Holmbes contributed to raise funds. He obtained a Preliminary degree from the university in 1822 and continued his studies independently with further subsidies obtained by his teacher. Some of Abel’s first papers were published in 1823 in the new periodical Magazin for Naturvidenskaberne- papers on functional equations ... Free Essays on NIELS HENRIK ABEL Free Essays on NIELS HENRIK ABEL Abel, Niels Henrik Abel, is a famous Norwegian mathematician. Abel was a pioneer in the development of several branches of modern mathematics. â€Å"Abel was one of the innovators in the field of elliptic functions, discoverer of Abelian functions and one of the leaders in the use of rigor in mathematics.† (www.shu.edu) Many famous mathematicians (some of whom I will mention) have been greatly influenced by his works. One mathematician once said that he â€Å"left mathematicians something to keep them busy for five hundred years.† (www.shu.edu) Although he had great accomplishments in mathematics, his life was a very hard one and is even said to be â€Å"tragic.† (www.shu.edu) Niels Henrik Abel was born on August 5, 1802. He was on of seven children born to a poor pastor in the small village of Finnà ¶y in Norway, a country so poor at the time that peasants would leave their country in groups just to escape starvation. Abel’s mathematical talent was recognized in 1817, when he entered the Cathedral School in Christiania, by his teacher named Bernt Michael Holmbe. Holmbes introduced him to the classics in mathematical literature and proposed original problems for him to solve. He studied the works of the 17th-century English mathematicians and physicist Isaac Newton and the contemporary mathematicians Leonard Euler, Joseph-Louis Lagrange, and Carl Friedrich Gauss and learned to detect gaps in their mathematical reasoning. (R. Tolimieri and M. An) Although Abel’s father died in 1820 and left the family in tough circumstances, he was still able to enter the University of Christiana in 1821 because Holmbes contributed to raise funds. He obtained a Preliminary degree from the university in 1822 and continued his studies independently with further subsidies obtained by his teacher. Some of Abel’s first papers were published in 1823 in the new periodical Magazin for Naturvidenskaberne- papers on functional equations ...

Sunday, November 3, 2019

What are the roots of the present crisis of the euro Essay

What are the roots of the present crisis of the euro - Essay Example There are good promises about integrating the euro zone into one currency policy. One of the reasons why there are many countries engaged themselves into this one-currency policy is to substantially address the need of their economy to rise up above any other. However, behind all of these promises are some limitations that need to be taken into consideration (Provopoulos, 2010). One of the limitations is the substantial loss of the ability of a participating nation to set its individual domestic monetary policy. Another is losing its ability to change the nominal exchange rate of its currency. It is therefore clear that with the optimum currency area policy; there could be no significant contribution of uniting the euro especially with the presence of weaker economies because the euro’s market strength would eventually be dragged down (McGuinness, 2010). Another main reason why the euro crisis comes into a significant issue in the euro zone is the failure of Stability and Grow th Pact to ensure fiscal discipline (Provolous, 2010). This is clear in the case of Greece in which its debt to GDP ratio had risen to 12.6 per cent which is extremely above the required maximum of only 3 per cent. This resulted to the bail-outs of Greece and Irish Republic which has become the major topic in the recent euro crisis (BBC News, 2011). The Greek government is promising a good opportunity for everyone. This entices investors to invest in its economy and in return the government substantially does its best in the process. However, this led to increase in government spending which made it highly covered with debt. Tax is an important financial source of the government. However, it would be impractical to increase tax rate because this would only encourage investors to go to countries with low taxation rate. The worst case scenario is that this would just only encourage investors to falsify financial information just to save them from paying high tax rate. This is the reas on why the Government especially in the case of Greece to result to borrowing just to meet its obligation. In reality, it is hard to redistribute wealth by increasing tax. This would only result to other complex problems that would help aggravate the situation. However, in reality it is not only Greece doing this same strategy but it includes Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain. These countries are also known for overspending and borrowing for many decades just like Greece. Considering that these countries would be unable to pay their debt, and then the present crisis of the euro will be persistent and could hardly challenge the US dollar as the leading currency in the world. Government expenditure therefore is the leading driving force allowing the rise in the share of government spending. This is evident in the case of some European countries in which government spending increased from 43 percent to 50 percent (Provolous, 2010). It is therefore important that investments in high-va lue added sectors should be maintained and this can only be realised by the reduction of bureaucracy and rigidities in the labour, product and service markets (Provolous, 2010). Another root cause can be traced to the problems underlying a one-size-fits-all monetary policy. One significant problem is the issue of political and cultural differences among participating European countries (Hughes, 2010; Provolous). Unlike with the United States, there is no central fiscal authority in the euro area. This central fiscal authority is viewed to significantly contribute to redistribute fiscal resources. Furthermore, unlike in the United States, cultural differences particularly in the language make labour a less mobile in euro area. Labour is particularly important in the euro area. However, this is continuously challenged by the cheap labour in China. This significantly increases the chance of investors to gain more in China. Thus, this leaves behind the euro area. Specifically, it was ve ry clear that it reduced its employment

Friday, November 1, 2019

International Trade & Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Trade & Business - Essay Example In most Asian countries it is opposite. In that respect most Europeans are much closer to the Asians than to the Americans. A company might need to establish an overseas organization, which is much different from what they are used to. An Indian company which might want to establish a branch in Scandinavia will never succeed with a hierarchical organization because the Scandinavians are very autonomous, egalitarians and demand a high degree of individual freedom. We have seen a lot of examples where northern European companies have failed in India because they didn't change the organization and management style to apply to the Indian norms and values. A project-based organization just doesn't work in India. Let's say a British Company has become very successful in Britain by rewarding its top performing employees with incentives and promotions. In India they replicate this successful motivation and reward system - and it doesn't work. Sales drop and the employees are leaving the company. When something works in one culture, but not in another we define it as cultural friction. For international companies to become successful they should locate and minimize the cultural frictions. This is not an easy task, because it can be hidden in so many places and it requires a lot of intercultural skills and the right tools to deal with these frictions. The frictions arise because there is a conflict between the national and the corporate culture of an international company. Very often we experience, that senior management who is responsible for the global operation is focused on financial performance and making sure that everybody (employees) globally apply to the same rules within the same organizational setup. This is only natural and most of the global operating companies are very proud of their corporate culture. The only problem is that it suppresses the national cultures of the employees, which unfortunately leads to cultural friction, which inevitable leads to poorer corporate performance due to demotivated employees and inefficiency. An area of great interest is motivation. I spend a fair portion of my time discussing motivation and reward with executives in multinational companies. Motivation and reward is so closely linked to our national cultures and multinational companies ought to review their strategies in these areas very carefully for the following reasons: If they don't and they (continue to) motivate and reward their staff globally in the same unified way - they will in the best case waste a lot of money, and in the worst case harm their business seriously. A lot of money can be saved at the same time as employee satisfaction and operational performance increases. Let's take an American IT consulting company as example. They have several locations in US, Europe and Asia. It is company policy that all managers and staff directly related to sales have at 20% of their salary as a bonus dependent on the quarterly sales. This makes sense in the US, because Americans in general are motivated by money and by individual recognition. However this is not universally true. To many Asians and Europeans money is nice, but it is not the