Effects Of Hurricane Katrina On Impoverished New Orleans...

The Effects of Hurricane Katrina on Impoverished New Orleans Brianna Algazali Sociology 2410 December 16, 2016 Abstract Hurricane Katrina will forever be noted in United States history as one of the worst natural disasters to hit the states. Within its wake, Hurricane Katrina left thousands of Americans dead and many more homeless with no place to call home. A vast majority of the homeless were already living in poverty in New Orleans, where Hurricane Katrina hit the hardest. People that already didn’t have what most Americans have were forced out of their homes and their jobs with nowhere to go. Many have criticized the United States government and President Bush for the lack of response to this disaster, as well as ignoring the fact that the levees in the Lower Ninth Ward were not strong enough to withhold this type of force. Still to this day, many are still rebuilding their lives, homes, and businesses. August 19, 2005 will always be one of the most devastating days in American history because of Hurricane Katrina and its effect on the south. Hurricane Katrina was a category 5 hurricane that struck New Orleans, Alabama, and Mississippi; its force hitting New Orleans and the Lower Ninth Ward the hardest. Levees previously built by U.S. Army Corps engineers were only strong enough to withstand a category 3 hurricane, which the government had knowledge of. These were in place to control flooding caused by nearby rivers such as the Mississippi andShow MoreRelatedEmergency Planning And Response Plan1190 Words   |  5 PagesIn any conceivable emergency disaster situation there are portions of the population which are more vulnerable to the effects of the situation. These socially vulnerable populations include elderly, disabled, and the lower socioeconomic class living in impoverished neighborhoods, which will be the focus of this paper. The lower and impoverished population are vulner able in the majority of emergency situations, and with the founding of the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and AtmosphericRead MoreThe Mitigation Measures Necessary For Emergency Relief Measures1698 Words   |  7 Pagesemergency relief measures. For many people in New Orleans this scenario was a reality when Hurricane Katrina happened. Hurricane Katrina caused one hundred and thirty five billon dollars in damage and the death of at least nine hundred and eighty six lives (Plyer, 2014). The city lost all government control and the city fell victim to anarchy. There was little food or fresh water to be found for the residents that managed to survive within New Orleans (Plyer, 2014). It took the federal governmentRead MoreThe Trauma Of Hurricane Katrina2379 Words   |  10 PagesThe Trauma of Hurricane Katrina The devastating and deeply rooted traumatic effects of Hurricane Katrina will live in the psyches of the people of New Orleans and beyond for generations to come. Katrina was the largest and third strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States barreling in as a Category 5 with up to 175 mile-per-hour winds and a 20-ft storm surge that would create a humanitarian emergency with the likes never before seen in the United States. This hurricane caused unimaginableRead MoreThe Effects Of Hurricane Katrina On The People Of New Orleans2384 Words   |  10 PagesThe devastating and deeply rooted traumatic effects of Hurricane Katrina will live in the psyches of the people of New Orleans and beyond for generations to come. Katrina was the largest and third strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States barreling in as a Category 5 with up to 175 mile-per-hour winds and a 20-ft storm surge that would create a humanitarian emergency with the likes never before seen in t he United States. This hurricane caused unimaginable death, destruction, andRead MoreHow to Teach during a Tragegy939 Words   |  4 Pagesabout leaving the school where I taught in New Orleans on Friday afternoon, August 27, 2005, that led me to believe I wouldn’t see most of my colleagues and students ever again. â€Å"Bye, see you Monday!† I called out to them. On the drive home, I heard weather reports about a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico and thought to myself, â€Å"It probably won’t affect New Orleans.† By Saturday, forecasters said the possibility of the storm making landfall near New Orleans had increased, but I still wasn’t alarmed;Read MorePost Natural Disaster : Transitional Shelters2889 Words   |  12 Pagesand development of transitional shelters have become a rapidly evolving and necessary area of humanitarian assistance. The extensive technological resources continue to advance shelters designs. Throughout the exploration o f urban disasters in New Orleans, natural disasters in Haiti, in the villages of Pakistan, and in densely populated Japan, the need for a flexible and adaptable shelter is evident. Shelter designers face the most challenging problems, as well as the physical and psychological adversityRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Effects On Our World1578 Words   |  7 Pageslike debt from importing foreign oil, polluta ¬Ã‚ ¬nts released into the atmosphere, acid rain in cities, crop failure in agricultural lands, air and water contamination, ecosystem destruction, species that face extinction. These are just some of the effects that pollution has caused. All of these problems originate from the uncontrolled used of fossil fuels in first world countries. Figure 1 shows that in the past 50 years the total use of petroleum and coal as sources of energy, and CO2 ¬ , have increasedRead MoreHuman Trafficking And Its Effects On Society2095 Words   |  9 Pagesthat take advantage of the steady supply of illegal migrants, or coerce and deceive job seekers into exploitive situations. As climate change has severe effects on developing countries, they are pushed further into poverty as they lack resources and stable environments. The effects of poverty drive migration and human trafficking as impoverished people become more desperate and vulnerable. Human trafficking is the exploitation of human beings. â€Å"Human trafficking involves recruitment and movementRead MoreDeepwater Horizon Oil Spill : A Human Rights Issue3290 Words   |  14 Pagesfocuses on how much of the housing was destroyed by the hurricanes, leaving many people homeless due to both the lack of affordable housing and inability to rebuild. To make matters worse, the oil spill disturbed the ecosystems upon which the livelihoods of thousands have relied, preventing the victims from having the financial capacity to find alternate housing. This was the case predominantly in low-income communities of color, such as New Orleans, where low income African Americans were hit hardestRead MoreEssay about Global Warming: All Cities Covered with Water2216 Words   |  9 Pagesfossil fuels we are upsetting that balance by adding tons of carbon dioxide. Furthermore, we are reducing the amount of green plants by cutting down forests and developing the land.† ( Zielske) The beginning of the industrial revolution brought many new and exciting inventions into our lives which made life more efficient. Such inventions included cars, household appliances and plant that burn soil waste, fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, coal wood and products for fuel. Before the industrial revolution

Bp s Rebranding After The Us Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill 2010

BP’s Rebranding After The US Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill 2010 A brand is an organisation, product or service which has created an emotional connection with their consumers in order for them to favour their brand over their competitors. It is incredibly important for brands to keep up their image and one little thing could change the global perception of a business. It takes a lot to maintain a brand image that has been built up over a long period of time and even more to regain it if that reputation is lost. Brands are created through various different aspects such as their visuals, tone of voice, advertising, actions and reputation. The combination of these will leave their consumers with long lasting emotions and perceptions of a particular brand and will effect whether they support a business or not and whether they would favour or avoid it. When a brand looses their image it can cost a lot of money and time to rebrand to prevent complete failure of the product or service. I will be writing this essay on the powerful rebranding of BP oil and gas supplies and how they overcame the crisis of the US oil spill. The oil spill happened on the 20th April 2010 and had a huge effect on the company’s image, reputation and success. The incident effected the brands image, meaning consumers started favouring other gas and oil brands as there was no longer the long lasting reliability which consumers used to favour. The company was founded in 1908 after William D’Arcy gambled aShow MoreRelatedBps Rebranding After The Us Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill 20101730 Words   |  7 PagesBP’s Rebranding After the US Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill 2010 A brand is an organisation, product or service which has created an emotional connection with their consumers in order for them to favour their brand over their competitors. It is incredibly important for brands to keep up their image and one little thing could change the global perception of a business. It takes a lot to maintain a brand image that has been built up over a long period of time and even more to regain it if that reputationRead MoreAre There Any Aspects of Bp’s Ethical Culture That Could Have Contributed to the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Disaster?8553 Words   |  35 PagesBP Gulf Coast Disaster and Recovery INTRODUCTION BP, formerly British Petroleum and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, has experienced a lot of ups and downs over its hundred-year history—from nearly bankrupting its founder William D’Arcy to becoming one of the world’s largest energy companies. BP has also experienced its fair share of controversies regarding business practices, environmental damage, and hazards to workers. It and all other large energy companies have come under fire for releasing hugeRead MoreCompany Valuation Report for Bp20320 Words   |  82 PagesValuation Report | BP 2 Executive Summary BP p.l.c. is an energy company with an upstream business of extracting crude oil and downstream business of providing processed energy to companies. It is listed in both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) based in the United States of America and the London Stock Exchange (LSE). BP is based in London and they carry out oil prospecting extraction and retail its product in more than 70 countries. Out of the companies operating in the oil industry, the biggestRead MoreMedia vs Creative Strategy in Advertising2505 Words   |  11 Pagesexamples of negative image conceived by inappropriate creative strategy is BP’s rebranding campaign. In 2003, they adopted a new image and tagline â€Å"Beyond Petroleum† in an effort to rebrand itself as an environmentally responsible company. The strategic brand positioning, with a new visual and creative outlook, seemed like a considerable success with BP being considered one of the most recalled brands in the 2000s (Greyser, 2010). Howev er, the image it created was nothing but negative. The campaign didRead MoreCase Study148348 Words   |  594 PagesPearson Education Limited 2011 Lecturers adopting the main text are permitted to download and photocopy the manual as required. Pearson Education Limited Edinburgh Gate Harlow Essex CM20 2JE England and Associated Companies around the world. Visit us on the World Wide Web at: www.pearsoned.co.uk ---------------------------------This edition published 2011  © Pearson Education Limited 2011 The rights of Gerry Johnson, Richard Whittington and Kevan Scholes to be identified as the authors of this work

Environment Either Negatively Or Positively-Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Environment Either Negatively Or Positively? Answer: Introducation Attitude, in simple terms can be defined as the feeling or opinion about something or someone. An attitude can be defined as the ways a person responds to his or her environment which may be either negatively or positively. Some attitudes are dangerous elements which when exhibited by individuals may lead to affecting others performance while many be positive and influences other person to work in a better way (Young et al. 2015). Rosenberg as well as Hovland had produced three component models to explain how attitudes are formed and influences the behaviour. Attitudes are made of three important components which are cognitive, affective and behavioral. The cognitive component is developed from values as well as beliefs and the second component is about how one feel about something as well as someone. Third component is behavioral component which decides how we behave with others like towards person, object as well as place. Attitudes are infectious which affect any people who are ne ar that person who is exhibiting a particular attitude. This in turn can influence their behaviour as well. Therefore it is often important for the every employee to understand different types of attitudes as well as their likely implications. This is useful as it helps in predicting the pattern about how different individuals patterns influence their behaviour (Christina et al. 2014). Daniel Katz has helped in the identification of the four important attitudes which determine the type of formation of behaviors at workplace. These four categories are utilitarian, ego defensive, value expressive as well as knowledge. Utilitarian may be defined as individuals attitude which is mainly derived by the individual form self or may be from community interest (Woodrow and Guest 2014). These can be explained with example where an individual gets a raise in his salary. This will help him develop a positive attitude which will positively affect his behaviour in some circumstances and will make him more responsible for work. He next is knowledge which can be logical or rationalizing and this component of attitude can develop distinct behavior. For example, if an organization is developing new workplace strategies for performing a particular task, individual should find the logic in the task which will help them to display a positive behavior in workplace. If their attitude is negative towards the task due to the failure of getting the logic, it will lead to improper behaviour (Norton, Zacher and Askanasy 2014). Anoth er is ego defensive where people have a tendency to support their ego to defend themselves which results in showing negative behaviour. There are certain an employee who cannot accept criticism from managers regarding their work and subsequently shows a negative attitude by stating that the manager is foolish and unnecessarily escalating his work. This leads to defensive behavior in the workplace which affects his path in his career and never allows him to develop his skills as his defensive behavior does not allow him to strive for better. Another form of attitude is value expressive where people develop central values over time that becomes the foundation of the attitudes they exhibit. Personal values are peoples internal conception about what is beneficial, useful, desirable, important, and beautiful as well as constructive. Therefore the person who has the right values will show positive behavior and those with the negative values lead to negative behavior. A positive attitude in workplace helps the employees to accomplish tasks much faster and in a better manner. The performance of the employees mainly depends on the good relationship they share with other colleagues and this can be only established when employees have positive attitude towards their colleagues and work. When a person shows positive energy, work becomes pleasure which keeps the employees satisfied and they find it easier to reach goals. A positive attitude can lead to much usefulness for an individual in an organization. One of them is experiencing career success. A person with positive attitude will always think of strategies to accomplish the work properly in a well defined manner in place of complaining as well as finding excuses and playing blame games for non performance. This will either lead to increased compensation or to promotion. Another is productivity where employees with positive attitude tend to take more interest in what they deliver with high quality a nd minimum errors that improve their overall output in comparison to those who shows defensive or negative behaviour. Moreover a leader who is positive is love and respected and looks up to as role model (Gregory Smith et al. 2015). He or she can make his or her team productive with the maintenance of immunity and proper team working skills. A leader who is showing negative attitudes will never be able to make his team perform in the above mentioned way which will lead to loss of productivity, little or no job satisfaction and stress among the workers. Moreover, an individual with positive attitudes will help himself and other colleagues in correct decision making by triggering the right though process helping employees to choose wisely and logically. They would also be highly motivated in overcoming obstacles in comparison to those who have negative altitudes and complain constantly with excises about different barriers. Moreover, an employee who is showing positive attitude will b e able to share better rapport with customers, earns customer royalty, increases sales and therefore increases productivity (Blok et al. 2015). This chain of achievements can never be reached by a man with negative outlook in his attitudes. Stress management is also higher in person with positive attitudes as they tend to think positively which reduces stress making them enjoy their job with less health complications mentally and physically. A large number of factors that lead to job satisfaction as well as job commitment should be noted by leaders as well as the employers so that they can enhance the performance of the workers, reduce turnovers and increase retention rates. The employer should introduce training and development opportunity so that employees get the scope of developing their skills as well as knowledge so that the workers also look forward to promoting themselves to the next level. Career opportunities as well as promotion also encourage the employees to be more enthusiastic and hence they try to perform better so that they can gain more advantages and be selected for promotion (Mowday, Porter and Steers 2013). Moreover employers or leaders who are providing rewards as well as recognition to the employees make them feel that they are loved and respected for their dedication to work and this making his dedication aware to other colleagues gives them a boost in self confidence increasing his job commitmen t. Moreover researchers have seen that those organizations which make sure that they provide flexibilities to their employers regarding work life balance has help to increase their productivity and the job satisfaction level also increases (MacDonald and Levy 2016). Moreover those leaders who are able to maintain a work environment of trust, unity, shared decision making, and helping attitudes and similar others also makes the employees dedicate more of themselves and these reduce stress and increase job satisfaction. This also shows that better compensation and performance appraisal makes the employees perceive that their performance is liked and respected which in turn encourage them to be more helpful and urge them to thrive for much better. This zeal leads to high job commitment. Proper leadership and supervisor support help them to be constantly encouraged and develop the working pattern, skill and knowledge by providing a clear objective and goal. This kind of support helps th em to overcome any new issues they face and thereby make them feel less stressed and more dedicated to work (Guay et al. 2016). Another important factor is autonomy of the employees where their voice is heard and paid attention too. This also makes them feel that their suggestions are respected and they indeed feel important which increases job satisfaction. A proper role clarity as well as better leave policies also make the employees more dedicated towards their jobs (Nie et al. 2015). Organisational commitment is the bond that employees experience with their organization. Employees, who are committed to the organization feel connected with the organization, feel that they fit in and understand the objectives as well as mission and vision of the organization. They are more determined to their work show higher productivity and are more proactive whenever support from them is required (Anitha 2014). Therefore managers should make sure that each and every employee develops organizational commitment so that the productivity is increased and maintained. Managers should thereby make effort to collect data form employee surveys as well as from correlation analysis. This would help them to discover the extent of the factors that are affecting the employees organizational commitment. After finding out about the definite factors, the managers should take definitive steps to make it certain that the employees overcome the factors so that organizational commitment can be ensur ed. The managers should mainly make it sure that four important things are clear in the mind of the workers to ensure them to be committed to the organization (Pineau et al. 2015). These are clearing the company goals to them so that they know what to achieve, provide strategies so that they can gain energy form the work, making them feel accepted in the organization helping them to fit in within the organization and to provide them with a challenging environment with constant feedback, performance reviews, discussions and others so that they always remain active and productive. Such dedications form managers will ensure that all hi employees are committed to the organization to meet the vision and mission of the organization. References: Anitha, J., 2014. Determinants of employee engagement and their impact on employee performance.International journal of productivity and performance management. Blok, V., Wesselink, R., Studynka, O. and Kemp, R., 2015. Encouraging sustainability in the workplace: a survey on the pro-environmental behaviour of university employees.Journal of cleaner production,106, pp.55-67. Christina, S., Dainty, A., Daniels, K. and Waterson, P., 2014. How organisational behaviour and attitudes can impact building energy use in the UK retail environment: a theoretical framework.Architectural Engineering and Design Management,10(1-2), pp.164-179. Gregory-Smith, D., Wells, V.K., Manika, D. and Graham, S., 2015. An environmental social marketing intervention among employees: Assessing attitude and behaviour change.Journal of Marketing Management,31(3-4), pp.336-377. Guay, R.P., Choi, D., Oh, I.S., Mitchell, M.S., Mount, M.K. and Shin, K.H., 2016. Why people harm the organization and its members: Relationships among personality, organizational commitment, and workplace deviance.Human Performance,29(1), pp.1-15. Macdonald, J.L. and Levy, S.R., 2016. Ageism in the workplace: The role of psychosocial factors in predicting job satisfaction, commitment, and engagement.Journal of Social Issues,72(1), pp.169-190. Mowday, R.T., Porter, L.W. and Steers, R.M., 2013.Employeeorganization linkages: The psychology of commitment, absenteeism, and turnover. Academic press. Nie, Y., Chua, B.L., Yeung, A.S., Ryan, R.M. and Chan, W.Y., 2015. The importance of autonomy support and the mediating role of work motivation for well?being: Testing self?determination theory in a Chinese work organisation.International Journal of Psychology,50(4), pp.245-255. Norton, T.A., Zacher, H. and Ashkanasy, N.M., 2014. Organisational sustainability policies and employee green behaviour: The mediating role of work climate perceptions.Journal of Environmental Psychology,38, pp.49-54. Pineau Stam, L.M., Spence Laschinger, H.K., Regan, S. and Wong, C.A., 2015. The influence of personal and workplace resources on new graduate nurses' job satisfaction.Journal of nursing management,23(2), pp.190-199. Woodrow, C. and Guest, D.E., 2014. When good HR gets bad results: Exploring the challenge of HR implementation in the case of workplace bullying.Human Resource Management Journal,24(1), pp.38-56. Young, W., Davis, M., McNeill, I.M., Malhotra, B., Russell, S., Unsworth, K. and Clegg, C.W., 2015. Changing behaviour: successful environmental programmes in the workplace.Business Strategy and the Environment,24(8), pp.689-703.

Patents Essentials

When the government of the United States of America grants intellectual rights to an individual, it issues him or her with a patent. The USA government issues patents to prevent infringement of an inventor right to a novel idea thus, promoting science. A patent is a monopoly to the inventor of an original idea.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Patent’s Essentials specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Gibbs and Dematteis, the three general forms of patents include utility, design, and plant patents (4). USTPO gives plant patents to any person who asexually invents a new plant. Design patents are granted to individuals who come up with a product for manufacture that is new and original. Individuals who â€Å"invent new processes, original product for manufacture, new improvement of a product already in the market, and new composition† (Ginns and Dematteis 5) get utility patents. The product roa d mapping method of new product ideas defines reinventions and improvements made to product over its life cycle since inception to the stage it is in the life cycle. This helps in identifying potential improvements to the product to come up with a new product idea. Using this method, we come up with a new product idea for a fridge with a water and ice dispenser. Obtaining of a patent is prerequisite before turning the idea into a product. When investigating patent right for a new product idea, the applicant should use the United states of America Patents and Trademarks (USTPO) website and database. The applicant should start by finding out whether the product idea has any prior patents registered. Finding prior patents is achievable by searching the USOTP database for registered patents. The applicant should then determine the nature of patent suitable for his/her product idea. The applicant determines the filing strategy. If the inventor of the idea wants to patent the product idea globally, he or she should seek the provision for international protection offered under the utility he or she wants to patent. However, if the inventor wants to obtain a patent for his/her product just in the United Stated of America, s/he should determine whether the patent would just be on a provisional basis or non-provisional. The applicant then determines if registration of the patent will be in the inventor’s name or an agent. An examination and application fee is prerequisite before issuing of patents. After the applicant meets the requirements, USTPO grants him or her with a patent. The new product idea for a fridge with ice and water dispenser is not possible because patents issuing already happened to other inventors, who were the originators of the idea, as shown in attached document. The idea would attract a lawsuit if a patent filled for the idea for a fridge with a dispenser.Advertising Looking for essay on intellectual property? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This act is an infringement of the inventor’s rights to his or her patent. The applicant should carry out an assessment of rights covered by patents and the validity of the rights of the patent already issued and then modify he product idea of fridge with a water dispenser to fall outside those rights. If it is not possible to invent a modified product idea that would allow manufacturing of the fridge with a dispenser without attracting an infringement lawsuit, then the production of the fridge is still possible after obtaining authorization rights. The owner of the patent can allow manufacturing of the fridge after the issuance of a license. Works Cited Gibbs, Andy, and Dematteis, Bob. Essentials of patents. New Jersey: John Wiley Sons, 2003. Print. This essay on Patent’s Essentials was written and submitted by user G1de0n to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Geology of the Appalachian Plateau

Geology of the Appalachian Plateau Stretching from Alabama to New York, the Appalachian Plateau physiographic region makes up the northwestern portion of the Appalachian Mountains. It is divided into several sections, including the Allegheny Plateau, Cumberland Plateau, Catskill Mountains and Pocono Mountains. The Allegheny Mountains and Cumberland Mountains serve as a boundary between the Appalachian Plateau and Valley and Ridge physiographic region. Although the region is characterized by areas of high topographic relief (it reaches elevations upwards of 4,000 feet), it is technically not a mountain chain. Instead, it is a deeply dissected sedimentary plateau, carved into its present-day topography by millions of years of erosion. Geologic Background The sedimentary rocks of the Appalachian Plateau share a close geologic story to those of the neighboring Valley and Ridge to the east. Rocks in both regions were deposited in a shallow, marine environment hundreds of million of years ago. Sandstones, limestones and shales formed in horizontal layers, often with distinct boundaries between them. As these sedimentary rocks formed, the African and North American cratons were moving towards each other on a collision course. Volcanic islands and terranes between them sutured onto what is now eastern North America. Africa eventually collided with North America, forming the supercontinent Pangea around 300 million years ago. This massive continent-on-continent collision formed Himalayan-scale mountains while uplifting and pushing the existing sedimentary rock far inland. While the collision uplifted both the Valley and Ridge and Appalachian Plateau, the former took the brunt of the force and therefore experienced the most deformation. The folding and faulting that affected the Valley and Ridge died out underneath the Appalachian Plateau. The Appalachian Plateau has not experienced a major orogenic event in the past 200 million years, so one might assume that the sedimentary rock of the region should have long since eroded down into a flat plain. In actuality, the Appalachian Plateau is home to steep mountains (or rather, dissected plateaus) with relatively high elevations, mass wasting events and deep river gorges, which are all characteristics of an active tectonic area. This is due to a more recent uplift, or rather a rejuvenation, from epeirogenic forces during the Miocene. This means that the Appalachians didnt rise again from a mountain building event, or orogeny, but rather through activity in the mantle or isostatic rebound. As the land rose, streams increased in gradient and velocity and quickly cut through the horizontally-layered sedimentary bedrock, shaping the cliffs, canyons, and gorges that are seen today. Because the rock layers were still horizontally layered on top of each other, and not folded and deformed like in the Valley and Ridge, the streams followed a somewhat random course, resulting in a dendritic stream pattern. Limestones in the Appalachian Plateau often contain different marine fossils, remnants of a time when seas covered the area. Fern fossils may be found in the sandstones and shales. Coal Production During the Carboniferous period, the environment was swampy and hot. The remains of trees and other plants, like ferns and cycads, were preserved as they died and fell into the standing water of the swamp, which lacked the oxygen needed for decomposition. This plant debris accumulated slowly - fifty feet of accumulated plant debris can take thousands of years to form and produce only 5 feet of actual coal - but consistently for millions of years. As with any coal-producing setting, the rates of accumulation were greater than the rates of decomposition. The plant debris continued to stack on top of each other until the bottom layers turned to peat. River deltas carried sediment eroded from the Appalachian Mountains, which had recently uplifted to great heights. This deltaic sediment covered the shallow seas and buried, compacted and heated the peat until it turned into coal. Mountaintop removal, where coal miners literally blow away the top of a mountain to get to the coal underneath, has been practiced in the Appalachian Plateau since the 1970s. First, miles of land are cleared of all vegetation and topsoil. Then, holes are drilled into the mountain and packed with powerful explosives, which when detonated can remove up to 800 feet of the mountains elevation. Heavy machinery digs away the coal and dump the overburden (extra rock and soil) into valleys. Mountaintop removal is catastrophic to the native land and harmful to nearby human populations. A few of its negative consequences include: Complete destruction of wildlife habitats and ecosystemsToxic dust from explosions causing health problems in nearby human populationsAcid mine drainage polluting streams and groundwater, destroying aquatic habitats and ruining drinking waterFailure of tailings dams, flooding large areas of land While federal law requires coal companies to reclaim all land destroyed by mountaintop removal, it is impossible to restore a landscape formed by hundreds of millions of years of unique natural processes. Places to See Cloudland Canyon, Georgia - Located in the extreme northwest corner of Georgia, Cloudland Canyon is an approximately 1,000 foot deep gorge carved out by Sitton Gulch Creek. Hocking Hills, Ohio - This area of high topographic relief, featuring caves, gorges and waterfalls, can be found about an hour southeast of Columbus. The melting of glaciers, which stopped just north of the park, carved away the Blackhand sandstone into the landscape seen today. Kaaterskill Falls, New York - Ignoring a ledge that separates the falls into an upper and lower section, Kaaterskill Falls is the highest waterfall in New York (at 260 feet high). The falls were formed from streams that developed as Pleistocene glaciers retreated from the area. Walls of Jericho, Alabama and Tennessee - This karst formation sits at the Alabama-Tennessee border, one hour northeast of Huntsville and an hour and a half southwest of Chattanooga. The Walls form a large, bowl-shaped amphitheater of limestone rock.

Meaning of the suffix -ee

Meaning of the suffix -ee Meaning of the suffix -ee Meaning of the suffix -ee By Guest Author This is a guest post by Tony Hearn. If you want to write for Daily Writing Tips check the guidelines here. Time was when the suffix -ee lived a quiet and well-ordered life in its own restricted little corner. Your bank slips would ask for the name of the payee, perhaps. Lawyers would talk about vendee and grantee. It was clear enough. The entity with the -ee was the recipient. All neat and tidy. But no more. I dont know what its been fed, but -ee is now mutant and rampaging. The suffix is derived through French -Ã ©(e) ultimately from the Latin suffix -a-tus. For those who care, its the past participle of -a- stem verbs, signifying something having been done. As such it is passive, not active. Hence the agent is the payer and the recipient the payee. In its passive sense its been around for a long while, especially in the Law. Vendee and grantee, for example, refer to the indirect object of an action (the person to whom something is done). Payee refers to a direct object (the recipient of an action). Interviewee as someone being interviewed dates from 1880-85. Trainee is unexceptionable enough. Taxee, a person who is taxed has made its ugly appearance in the Urban Dictionary, though it remains unknown to my published dictionaries. More such misfits exist. Somewhere along the line someone who should have known better morphed the suffix -ee into an all-purpose active termination. Absentee seems to be an early example (1537!), but here perhaps the idea is that a person has absented himself. No such excuse attaches to the modern plague. Now we have attendees who should surely be attenders. This gains 456,000 hits on a Google search! Apparently the rot set in early: the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary gives 1937 as the earliest citation. And what about standee: 147,000 hits? Have our readers got any more horrors to add to this rogues gallery? I am left wondering whether my bank clerk knows the difference any longer between payer and payee. It could make a lot of difference! Tony Hearn has had a lifetimes love affair with language and with English in particular. As a Primary School teacher in England he has promoted a love of language and the importance of a mastery of its use. He enjoys the byways of websites like The Phrase Finder. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Dialogue Dos and Don'ts15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their SynonymsCharles's Pen and Jesus' Name

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

Asbestos - Research Paper Example Previously, people did not know the risk associated with asbestos and began to use asbestos in a wide range of activities. With the due passage of time and extensive research by researchers, it was found that asbestos were responsible for a considerable proportion of health risk attached with people. People are both directly and indirectly affected by asbestos. People are directly affected by asbestos through inhalation of considerable amount of asbestos by people in their working environment. Asbestos fibers when exposed to air causes air pollution which indirectly affects people. Direct contact with person who inhaled asbestos can also affect the health of people. It was revealed that exposure to asbestos caused a number of health diseases. A few of them were manageable and some were fatal. Asbestos particles which are released into the air are inhaled by humans by breathing or through a membrane called mesothelium. The inhalation of these fibers can make cells more cancer prone. E arlier mainly the mining workers were exposed to asbestos and affected by it, but due to the wide acceptance of asbestos in industries, schools and housing, the number of people affected by asbestos has increased. The consequences of asbestos inhalation are usually associated with the amount of asbestos the person is exposed to, how often the person is exposed and the tenure of exposure. The main effects can result in asbestosis, pleural mesothelioma or lung cancer (Asbestos, 2010). With the increase in awareness of health diseases associated with asbestos, continuous efforts have been made to minimize its impact on human health. In 1970, the Congress in US passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act with a view to protect workers from occupational hazards. EPA also monitors the exposure of asbestos through its regulations which is known as National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants. This regulation

Communication technology and Westernization Essay

Communication technology and Westernization - Essay Example Although the democratic value of the internet has been cherished, on the contrary, the cyber culture is breaking the boundaries of ethical parameters in many aspects. Initially, it affects the moral perception of the new generation as they are exposed to uncensored websites. They are likely to be influenced by various misanthropic ideologies and racism (Clichà © & Bonilla, 2004, pp.32-33). Education is another notable area that has been affected by internet. In fact, the positive effects of communication technology have opened new opportunities in the field of education and employment. On the other hand, the technology has been widely used for academic misconduct which will have adverse effects on our education system as a whole. Another argument against the technology is that it has a westernizing effect on other cultures. As stated in Forbes & Mahan, (Eds.) (2005, p.135), since the primary language of the internet is English, it would transmit the elements of Western values including emphasis on material goods, entertainment, sex and romance. The other side of the argument is that though internet has a cultural and social influence, it does not necessarily eliminate the values of indigenous cultures. As Nakamura L (2007) states, internet has the potential for challenging western influence; and moreover, it can turn to be an effective device for non-western users. The author points out the example of New Media Center Sarai New Delhi which has developed software for indigenous non-literates. However, the so called potentiality of the technology needs to be further utilized. Obviously, a cyber society that has deep root in Western culture has emerged globally. People participate in the cyberspace social networks and interact with others who have similar interests and tastes. They express their feelings and ideas (whether right or wrong) without the fear of legal restrictions. The effect is that the more

Animals Right Essay Example for Free

Animals Right Essay Some people believe that animals are humans’ friends. The other people might do not think so. Because people have different values of animals, the arguments are commenced. Since 1977, all of three philosophers, Peter Singer, Tom Regan and Carl Cohen have respectively written their work to declare the status of animals. On the one hand, according to Peter Singer’s â€Å"All Animals Are Equal(1977) ,† and Tom Regan’s â€Å"The Case for Animal Rights(1989),† they claim that people should give equal rights to animals as the way do for human beings, and treat all the animals in certain way no matter how the consequences are; On the other hand, in â€Å"The Case for the Use of Animals in Biomedical Research(1986),† Carl Cohen believes that animals have no rights because they are not a part of a group whose typical members are moral agents and able to respond to moral claims. Only human can be the top one of the living beings in the world. Then the other two consider this is a form of speciesism. To see how this long debate’s process, animals’ equal rights and speciesism are the focus. First of all, animals should have equal rights. Peter Singer starts to call for the equal rights for animals. A similarity can be found by Tom Regan. Regan presents the principle, â€Å"subject-of-a-life† as the basis of his case for the fundamental rights of animals. Once any being has complicated spiritual life, like desire, belief, memory, intention and a sense of the future, which is a subject of a life. Due to the fact that each subject of a life is an individual who worries and thinks about his or her life, that life is defined with inherent value. Indeed, Regan identifies that being is not important as the state, and concludes that all who have inherent value equally. Therefore, all animals’ equal right should be treated with respect. However, Cohen replies that animals are not morally self-legislative, cannot possibly be members of a truly moral community (Cohen2. Para. 6), and â€Å"not being of a kind capable of exercising or responding to moral claims† (Cohen 2. Para. 5), so they do not allow to gain rights. But as human infants, severely retarded humans are members of a group whose typical members are moral agents, so they do have rights. Regarding to Cohen’s idea that animals have no rights, Peter Singer analyzes the idea of speciesism to ground his case for the basic rights of animals. Speciesism is a prejudice or partiality that prevents objective consideration of one’s own species and against those of members of other species. Singer goes to explain three claims against speciesism. First, he thinks equal consideration is the basis of equality, so it is unfair to argue an animal since they do not have extending rights. He cites the claim of dogs that are unequal because they do not know what voting is so that cause them not allow to vote. Secondly equality is a moral idea not an actual one. He points out the problems of claims came from defense of racism, sexism, and arguments against the equality of human beings to illustrate his thinking. The aim of this is to put forward the point that, â€Å"equality does not depend on intelligence, moral capacity, physical strength, or similar matters of fact†(Singer3. Para. 12). Thirdly the capacity for suffering is the basic support structure of rights. Therefore he concludes that equality cannot pursue with speciesism. Finally, Carl Cohen argues that speciesism is not at all like the cases of racism or sexism, it can defense morally. Racism has no rational ground whatever†¦the same is true of the sexes, neither sex being entitled by right to greater respect or concern than other† (Cohen3. Para. 21). Unlike the differences between the sexes and races, there are much morally relevant differences between humans and animals. â€Å"Theirs is a moral status very different from that of cats or rats† (Cohen 3. Para. 22). For example, Animals cannot make moral judgments. Also, Cohen describes that the benefits of an adequate utilitarian calculus of animal experimentation which are much more valuable than its costs. As a result, the idea to oppose animal experimentation is inconsistent because this is by far a better use of animals than are other uses of animals the opponents accept, like the use of animals for food, clothing, and shelter. On the other hand, but Cohen applies the idea that it is human beings’ responsibilities to help animals to stop meaningless suffering. Carl Cohen’s arguments against animal rights are shown to be unsound. Cohen’s strategy entails that animals have rights, that humans do not, the negations of those conclusions, and other false and inconsistent implications. Singer’s view is not so very radical, and does not lead to hugely counterintuitive conclusions, because he thinks there are lots or differences between the interests of humans and the interests of other animals. So in practice, treating animals and humans as equals allows for a fair amount of different treatment. However, â€Å"the Case for Animal Rights† is beyond question the most important philosophical contribution to animal rights and is a major work in moral philosophy. Should animals have more rights? The answer we need to wait until the next declaration to go on the animal rights.

Oedipus And Blindness Imagery Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the story of Oedipus the king, Sophocles beautifully demonstrates the imagery of sight versus blindness through the use of tragedy and ignorance. Oedipus is ignorant to his own incest, therefore causing the first instance of his blindness. The second instance of Oedipus’ blindness is the ignorance of his true parent’s identity. The third instance of Oedipus’ blindness is a literal one, in which he physically blinds himself after finding the body of his mother, or wife. Sophocles utilizes his skill of creating a tragic character by showing Oedipus as blind on multiple levels, all the while being unaware of his blindness until the end.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oedipus’ first encounter with blindness is in the incestuous relationship he has with his mother. Although Oedipus does not realize the nature of his relationship he nor his mother take into account the prophecies they have both heard. The gods may not choose to show pity on Oedipus because he deliberately tries to usurp their power by leaving who he believes to be his mother and father. Oedipus is blind to the fact that his mother, his wife, the mother of his children is the fulfillment of the prophecy he hears long ago.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second instance of Oedipus’ blindness is his misinterpretation of who his true parents are. His hubris bars him from acknowledging the fact that he could not avoid the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother. Oedip...

10 Things and Taming of the Shrew Comparison Essay

The playwright of Taming of the Shrew, by Shakespeare, and the film text 10 Things I Hate about You, directed by Gil Junga, convey similar plots, however, the composition of these two texts spreads across 400 years. With this, audiences who have experienced both of these texts can witness the differences of the society within the 17th and the 20th century. This is conveyed through the social context of both era’s (the Elizabethan Era and 20th century USA) and also the Shakespearean language in contrast with the colloquial language. Not only do these play a part, but the gender roles of both women and men are distinctly represented. Finally, the plot and events of both texts coincide with the other issues mentioned. Through all this, there are still discrete and direct links of 10 Things I Hate about You with Taming of the Shrew. Although the modern day appropriation of The Shrew, 10 Things, follows the same storyline and plot, the social context completely contrasts with that of The Shrew. One aspect of where this put across is how men were considered to be superior to women in the Elizabethan Era, compared to the equal values of both men and women in the 20th century. These related to audiences of both centuries as society considered this to be the correct way of living. The quote made by Pertruchio towards Katherina, â€Å"Women are made to bear, and so are you. † (Act 2, Scene 1, Line 203) portrays how a woman must obey that of a man in the 17th century. In 20th century society, this would be unheard of. Also, the reasoning behind the popularity of both texts was that Shakespeare and Gil Junga chose to express their text in the most popular form of entertainment of their time. Playwrights were considered to be the favourited form of entertainment of the 17th century and film was that of the 20th century. See more: Recruitment and selection process essay The language used from both texts reflects and appeal to the audiences of the different time periods. Shakespeare uses quite poetic and refined language to gain interest of the audiences of that time. Gil Junga in his film text has quite rough edged, colloquial language, to replica modern teenagers. However both playwright and director allocate different levels of language to different participants of their text to convey social standard, education rank and hierarchy. â€Å"Y’are a baggage. † (Induction 1, line 3) This is spoken by Christopher Sly, a drunken man in a bar who is at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Compared to the Lord Huntsman, â€Å"I charge thee, tender well my hounds† (induction 1, line 12) who uses sophisticated language. This is mirrored in 10 Things with Kat and Chastity (Bianca’s best friend). Kat is obviously highly educated, and in the scene with all the cars and students in the beginning of the film, Kat makes a remark of, â€Å"Remove head from sphincter, then drive. † As she almost crashes into Michael. Compared to Chastity in the same scene, in a somewhat, â€Å"stupid† manner, she questions, â€Å"I know you can be underwhelmed, and you can be overwhelmed, but can you just be ‘whelmed’? Gender roles within the two texts can be considered the most important aspects of both centuries. In the Elizabethan era, the role of women was to obey the word of a man. They were not expected to have an opinion. They were to get married and be the nurturers of the family. Rebellious women were classified as â€Å"shrews†. On the other side of the spectrum, women in the modern day film have equal values and rites of men. This is put across majorly by Kat. She is classified as a â€Å"Heinous bitch† by her peers. As viewed in her English lessons, she has her own opinion. She recites her favourite writers who are famous feminist women, such as Charlotte Bronte and Sylvia Plath. Conclusions can be made that Kat herself is a feminist. However, due to lack of opinions made by women in Elizabethan times, Katherina is unable to explain why she is the way she is. Katherina’s modern counterpart, Kat has the option to compose statements and opinions. The scene in which Kat and Bianca are in Bianca’s room, Kat explains how she once dated Joey in the Ninth Grade, however Joey was trying to take advantage of her. The result is her present, objective opinions, her personality and behaviour. Finally, the plot and events of both texts reflect the time and culture they were written in. The key plots of these texts are relatively identical – everyone wants Bianca, however Katherina/Kat must be taken first. The aspect of â€Å"marriage† has been altered to â€Å"dating† to reflect the social context. A man from a distant place – Pertruchio (from Verona) and Patrick Verona (from Australia) – is introduced to try and woo Kat/Katherina. The dowry is replaced by money from Joey to date Kat. However, the ending greatly differs to The Shrew. Patrick realizes he has started to have genuine feelings for Kat, unlike Pertruchio who continues to abuse Katherina. Patrick publically expresses his love to Kat with the pole scene in which he sings and dances to â€Å"Can’t Take My Eyes off of You†. The lyrics state, â€Å"I love you baby, and if it’s quite alright, I need you baby. † In Shakespearean times, public affection was rarely or never expressed. Finally, the film concludes with both Kat and Patrick genuinely in love with one another. In comparison to The Shrew, Katherina reluctantly decides to obey the bidding of her husband, Pertruchio. It was considered â€Å"normal† for this particular time and culture to follow the words of a man and have no opinion. Taming of the Shrew and 10 Things I Hate about You hold insight of the revolution of time and how all texts reflect the time and culture they were written in. This is depicted through the social context of the 17th and 20th century, and changes in language structure and form, the alteration of gender roles and finally, the plot and events through the changes of social context.

History of Art Therapy

Art therapy is an effective form of self expression and is now considered to be a viable psychological tool in resolving inner conflicts, and   particularly helps   in the rehabilitation of emotionally disturbed or mentally ill patients.Through the arts, thoughts,   feelings, and needs are communicated. It must be known that the cornerstone of this mode of therapy is psychoanalysis, which will be explored in detail below.Art therapy has been supplementing the psychotherapeutic programs in the hospital settings.   It is now widely used in psychiatric hospitals and rehabilitation centers, and, is practiced by qualified art therapists or by psychologists. But when and how did it begin?To begin to understand the discipline of psychology, and the role psychoanalysis played in the practice of psychotherapy in general, it is noteworthy to mention that while psychoanalysis and psychology have a common background in nineteenth century science,   they were independent of one another for a number of years because of their differences in focus or interests.Psychology was looking at sensation, perception, memory and thinking – all elements and processes of consciousness.Whereas, psychoanalysis focused on the unconscious – motivation, emotion, conflict, neurotic symptoms, dreams and character traits. Following World War II, and perhaps, due to the demands of the time, the gap between the two disciplines began to diminish, and thanks to the opportunity offered   to psychologists to train in psychoanalysis   (Hall & Lindzey, 1978).While the arts as a form of human expression have been around for thousands of years, the merger of psychotherapy and arts therapy was realized in   the 1940's during the World War II.   Adrian Hill, a professional artist, coined the term â€Å"art therapy.†Ã‚   Hill   turned to his art for his own therapy while he was recovering in a   health sanitarium for tuberculosis patients.He later had the chance to i ntroduce painting to other patients. He found out that, not only did the patients found satisfaction in their work, but they were able to use it to reveal their repressed feelings   and   trauma of the war (Borowsky,1984).It was Edith Kramer who made observations on the importance of art for traumatized children. In the late 1930s, Kramer has worked with children of refugees from Nazi, Germany, and she has observed firsthand, how the children responded to stress.The artwork of these children revealed patterns of unresolved conflicts, regression and even aggression . It must be remembered that these children   have seen the horrible damage done by Hitler (Kramer, 1971).Kramer emphasized that art expression is an emotional journey toward self-discovery.   In her approach, art as a process is a catharsis. Recreating scenes and images from one's   past traumatic experience   helps bring the unconscious conflicts unto consciousness, and once catharsis is experienced, relief a nd positive change follows (Moreno, 1946).The concept of catharsis is associated with the early psychodynamic theories.   Catharsis is defined by the American Psychological Association (2007) as â€Å"the discharge of affects connected to traumatic events that had been repressed by bringing these events back into consciousness and reexperiencing them (p. 153). In this approach, painful experiences are released in therapy, by reliving the suppressed emotions.   Its curative effect is seen in various forms – religion, medicine, literature,   theater and the arts.Margaret Naumberg founded the Walden School in New York City in 1915. She believed that children best learn and develop when they are encouraged to express themselves through creative pursuits.She just knew that art is a window to the subconscious mind, and the therapist can best understand the difficulties one is going through by utilizing art as a tool of expression. For her, what is important is what one is co nsciously or unconsciously expressing through his artwork.Theories of Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, and the other psychoanalytic thinkers of the time seemed to have been of great influence to Naumberg's approach to art therapy. The idea that art could be used to enhance diagnosis encouraged not only Naumberg but other early practitioners to study these images and their meanings. Diagnostic drawing and protocols were later developed that led art therapy onto its clinical direction.Jung believed in the healing power of imagination and creativity. He gave   importance to archetypal symbols, and   even encouraged his patients to fantasize and to explore (Feder, 1981).It must be recalled, archetypes are thought forms that create image that correspond to normal waking life, such as an image of a mother figure, that is then identified with the actual mother. Jung pointed out that feelings are explored through a variety of ways. Flow of images are represented in drawing, painting, sculpture , music and movement .Meanwhile, Freud provided the foundation for understanding psychoanalytic processes when he discussed much about symbols in dreams through his writings.Freud believed that   dreams are predominantly visual. However, much of the dream experience is lost in the interpretation of these images into words. He believed that patients could best draw an image, what they were unable to describe in writing (Feder).Naumberg came to realize through their theories that art expression is a technique that has the innate capacity to unavel repressed material, much like verbal therapy. She recognized that one's unconscious feelings and thoughts are best expressed in images than in words. Also, to further illustrate its parallelism to psychoanalysis, take for instance the created images in artworks.These are seen as external symbols of one's thoughts and a skilled therapist could best use these images to elicit feelings, much like the idea of transference.   Integrative tran sformation   or healing is made possible when this experience is made part of an art therapy session.The concept of transference is the cornerstone of the theory and practice of psychoanalysis which originated with Freud.   Simply, transference is reacting to a person in the present as though he or she were a person in one's past. Freud opined that during therapy sessions, patients were unconsciously â€Å"transferring† the feelings and attitudes they had toward early significant figures onto their   therapist.Since then, he knew that the â€Å"transferential† relationship between the patient and the therapist is actually the curative element in psychoanalysis.

Revolution Essays - Libertarian Theory, Liberty, Free Essays

Revolution Essays - Libertarian Theory, Liberty, Free Essays Revolution American Revolutions ?What people values as a nation Criticizing a government?s movements or decisions without receiving any punishments, going to school for better education, opening your own business to make your own profits, having a gun, or worshiping your own god are all values that we can have as a nation, called freedom. However, freedom doesn?t come from god or nature itself, but like any other progressive concept and ideals, it comes from revolutions. Therefore, America, one of the most freedom nations in the world, also earned the value of liberty through many reforms, especially the two known as, the changing in understanding of government from the Founding?s led by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and President Lyndon B. Johnson, who also switched the relationship between states and national government. The founding of national government contents several ideals, including individual liberty as a state of liberty, the limitation of constitutional government, and common laws or the rule of laws. Individual liberty is the core of other founding ideals. It contents basic values and rights that as a member of nation should have such as the right to live and to do what he/she wants as long they don?t harm his/herself and other people?s liberty and rights around, according to John Locke, Second treaties of government, 6. ?though man in that state have an uncontroulable liberty to dispose of his person or possessions, yet he has not liberty to destroy himself, or so much as any creature in his possession, but where some nobler use than its bare preservation calls for it. The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions?. Moreover, to strengthen the ideal and make it fits to the real world, John Locke also stated that each man has a right to punish criminals or execute offenders, who violate liberty of people around. ?one man comes by a power over another; but yet no absolute or arbitrary power, to use a criminal, when he has got him in his hands, according to the passionate heats, or boundless extravagancy of his own will; but only to retribute to him, so far as calm reason and conscience dictate, what is proportionate to his transgression, which is so much as may serve for reparation and restraint: for these two are the only reasons, why one man may lawfully do harm to another, which is that we call punishment?. Or ?every man hath a right to punish the offender, and be executioner of the law of nature?.?. Nevertheless, if people can punish criminals as an act of liberty protection, they also violate the criminal?s liberty as they are still living in t he same ideal of freedom. In the other hand, there are no any different from punishers and offenders. Thus, the ideal of making law was born in order to make the differences. ?The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man; but only to have the law of nature for his rule.?Locke, Second Treatise, sec. 22. Once again, to protect people freedom from the power of making laws and law itself, we claim for another ideal known as a limited government, which experienced from the system of France?s government system.? Under the ancient monarchy the king was the sole author of the laws; and below the power of the sovereign certain vestiges of provincial institutions, half destroyed, were still distinguishable. These provincial institutions were incoherent, ill arranged, and frequently absurd?. Tocqueville, Democracy in America. The idea divides the power to govern people into many branches in order to balance the power and avoid absolute power from any person. ?WHERE the legislative and executive power are in distinct hands, (as they are in all moderated monarchies, and well-framed governments) there the good of the society requires, that several things should be left to the discretion of him that has the executive power: for the legislators not being able to foresee,

Oration - Definition and Examples

Oration s An oration is a  speech delivered in a formal and dignified manner.  A skilled public speaker is known as an orator. The art of delivering speeches is called oratory. In classical rhetoric, notes  George A. Kennedy, orations were classified into a number of formal genres, each with a technical name and certain conventions of structure and content (Classical Rhetoric and Its Christian and Secular Tradition, 1999). The primary categories of orations in  classical rhetoric were  deliberative  (or political),  judicial  (or forensic), and  epideictic  (or ceremonial).   The term oration sometimes carries a negative connotation: any impassioned, pompous, or long-winded speech (Oxford English Dictionary). EtymologyFrom the Latin, plead, speak, pray Observations Clark Mills BrinkWhat, then, is an oration? An oration is an oral discourse on a worthy and dignified theme, adapted to the average hearer, and whose aim is to influence the will of that hearer. PlutarchIt is a thing of no great difficulty to raise objections against another mans oration, nay, it is a very easy matter; but to produce a better in its place is a work extremely troublesome. Paul Oskar KristellerIn classical antiquity, the oration was the very center of rhetorical theory and practice, though among the three types of speech- deliberative, judiciary, and epideictic- the last was to become the most important in the later centuries of antiquity. During the Middle Ages, the secular public speech and the political and social institutions supporting it disappeared more or less completely. Rhetorica Ad Herennium, c. 90 BCThe Introduction is the beginning of the discourse, and by it the hearers mind is prepared for attention. The Narration or Statement of Facts sets forth the events that have occurred or might have occurred. By means of the Division we make clear what matters are agreed upon and what are contested, and announce what points we intend to take up. Proof is the presentation of our arguments, together with their corroboration. Refutation is the destruction of our adversaries arguments. The Conclusion is the end of the discourse, formed in accordance with the principles of the Art. David Rosenwasser and Jill StephenIf you read or listen to (for example) political speeches, you will find that many of them follow this order. This is because the form of the classical oration is suited primarily to argument- to the kind of writing in which the writer makes a case for or against something and refutes opposing arguments. Don Paul Abbott[Throughout the Renaissance,] the oration remained fixed as the supreme form of discourse, just as it had been for the Romans. In the opinion of Walter Ong, the oration tyrannized over ideas of what expression as such- literary or other- was....It is no exaggeration to say that the rules of the classical oration were applied to every kind of discourse.

Northeast Utilities Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Northeast Utilities - Research Paper Example This informs that five companies that were once independent constitute the Utility. In 2010, Northeast Utility further eluded their intention to merger with NSTAR but maintaining the title as Northeast Utility and this is still a subject of approval. It is worth noting that the company is listed in the Fortune 500 with the headquarters at Berlin, Connecticut. The company also runs several subsidiaries in the business of retailing electricity and natural gas. The company’s customer base in New England is about 2.1 million and this qualifies it to be one of the largest public utilities in New England (Hoover, 2012). In this regard, the company has electric transmission lines covering 3,140 miles with about 32, 802 distribution pole miles. Their natural gas distribution also covers an area of about 5,000 km2 (Murray, 2012). This utility serves the area of Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Western Massachusetts. With the figures shown relating to the company, it is evident that the company occupies a niche in the market and controls a significant share of the market. To ascertain this performance, the company has consistently features in the fortune 500 list, which ranks some of the best-reputed companies in terms of performanc e and profit making in the world. The industry involves supply of energy through electricity and the natural gases. Considering the 5-forces that are essential in shaping industrial competition, this industry is not an exception. In any business, it is very important to understand these forces so that one can identify the source of business strength and weaknesses so that the necessary adjustments can follow. In this case, this industry faces fierce competition from other companies providing similar products-competitive rivalry. This includes other companies like, First Energy, UIL Holdings, UNITIL, NSTAR, and EnerNOC (Murray, 2012). The

TIME METHOD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

TIME METHOD - Essay Example The sample will comprise of 25 females and 25 males from final year of undergraduate class. Convenience and purposive sampling will be done to reach out to the desired sample. The chosen participants will be the one who will be willing to participate and respond to the questionnaire. All interested participants will be contacted beforehand for appointments for a face to face interview. A brief description of the study will be provided and the participants will be assured of confidentiality of their responses. At the time of the interview, the responses will be noted as well as tape recorded with participants’ permission. Individual interviews will be conducted and each interview will last for about 30 minutes. The responses will be transcribed after the interview is over. All written and recorded data will be labeled with necessary information such as date, name of participant for ease of referencing. Formats will be prepared to enter data as a step prior to the content analysis of the data. The information will be coded and categorized to arrive at themes and patterns in the responses. After broad themes and categories emerge, the results and findings will be interpreted keeping in mind the research questions. The results can be presented in various forms such as tables or graphs. Conclusions and recommendations will be provided at the

Should Gay Marriage Be Legalized Research Paper

Should Gay Marriage Be Legalized - Research Paper Example Each person is entitled to the same thing as everyone else. Along those same lines, marriage, and the rights of homosexual couples should be regarded in the same way. The only thing that sets these people apart from others is their sexual orientation. If they were to be denied the same rights of heterosexual couples because of their sexual orientation, then, as Americans, we would be risking coming off as liars and being prejudice. Furthermore, our country embraces diversity, and by denying one group privileges that they should be entitled to, we are denying our country the chance to really shine as a diverse, open-minded country.Unfortunately, the debate for legalizing gay marriage goes much further than how we are viewed as a country, going against our own morals. As aforementioned, civil and equal rights play huge roles in approving of gay couples to become married. Homosexual couples are being denied what should rightfully be theirs (Lauricella, 2010). There really is no law, suc h as in the Constitution, that states that a homosexual couple cannot married. While states may have it in their constitutions to not recognize same-sex marriage, the United States, as a whole, has nothing to state the same. Therefore, the concept of legalizing gay marriage can be done on a state-by-state basis, as the country’s Constitution is already open for it. This is where the trouble comes in, however. Some states are open for gay marriage, but others are not. There are homosexual couples that can marry in one state, though others that may not be allowed to marry in another state.   The equality is there, just not spread out enough.Other issues that exist because of gay marriage debates are the rights that homosexual couples have, or do not have. There are some states that not only allow and recognize gay marriages but allow those couples the same rights as heterosexual couples. The few states that offer civil unions, however, do not recognize these rights for the ho mosexual couples.

Rowntree and Townsends Theories on Poverty

Rowntree and Townsends Theories on Poverty Introduction Sociologists disagree over what poverty actually is. In this essay I aim to discuss and criticise Seebohm Rowntrees theory from 1899 -1950 then I will discuss and criticise, Peter Townsend’s theory. The next section will be to discuss and criticise, Mack and Lansleys theory, and the ideas of Herbert Spencer (social Darwinism) There will then be a discussion of regressive and progressive taxation and an explanation of Marslands theory. Finally I will explain and criticise, John Wetergaard and Henrietta Resler’s arguement that there is a myth surrounding the welfare state. This myth is that the welfare state is progressive and redistributes from the rich to the poor. Poverty and Seebohm Rowntree In the time of Queen Elizabeth the first it was people’s duty to help alleviate poverty. They did this by feeding the poor and visiting the sick and trying to ensure that people were not destitute. After the Reformation things changed and laws were passed to regulate the amount that was spent on the poor. In 1601 the Elizabethan Poor Law was passed and made provision for â€Å"the setting of the poor on work†[1] The Poor Law also said that the poor were responsible for caring for each other. Overseers were appointed in every area to decide how much poor relief would be needed. In the amended Poor Law of 1834 overseers knew the circumstances of the poor in their are and those who were considered lazy would not get much help. These amendments to the Poor Law gave those in power a greater degree of control over the lives of the poor. In the 1860s, Joseph Rowntree, Seebohm Rowtree’s father conducted two studies into poverty.[2] This led Seebohm Rowntree to later conduct his own study which was published in 1901. He made an early distinction between primary and secondary poverty – a distinction which sociologists still use today. Primary poverty meant that a family did not have enough money coming in to cover the basic necessities of food, shelter and clothing. Secondary poverty was where families earned enough but spent their money on things other than the basic necessities. So some spending was regarded as alright while other spending was seen as wasting money, on drink for example. He believed that wages should be increased because then people would be well fed and healthy and would be an efficient workforce. He raised the wages of workers at his own company and said that businesses who refused to do this should be closed down as they were doing the country no favours. His second study which he car ried out in the 1930s was published as â€Å"Progress and Poverty in 1941.† He argued in this study that the main cause of poverty was unemployment, the conclusions of his report influenced the founding of the welfare state. Although Seebohm Rowntree did a lot to further the cause of the poor and to point out the causes of poverty. His remarks about primary and secondary poverty, while still influential today, were typical of those in power. That is to say they carried the message that the poor were irresponsible and needed to be told how to spend the money that they had earned. Peter Townsend – Poverty as a Social Problem Townsend (1979) has defined poverty in the following way: Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diets, participate in the activities and have the living conditions which are customary, or at least widely encouraged and approved, in the societies to which they belong. Townsend(1979:31). Townsend’s work makes it quite clear that poverty is not just a lack of money but encompasses things other than strictly material needs. Those who are poor often live in poorer areas with badly performing schools and poor housing. This often results in ill health. Townsend said that there were two types of poverty, relative poverty and absolute poverty. Research undertaken for the Rowntree Foundation (Howarth et al,1999) found that in local authority housing more than two thirds of the heads of those households were not in paid work and since 1991 there has been an increase of 40% in the number of local authority areas with above average mortality rates. Absolute poverty is not really seen in the west. In underdeveloped countries people are often denied thenecessities e.g. food and shelter which maintain existence. Giddens (2001:311) argues that the idea of absolute poverty is grounded in ‘subsistence’. Anyone without sufficient food, shelter and clothing could be said to be living in absolute poverty. One of the ways in which absolute poverty is measured is by the poverty line which is based on the price of goods in a given society that humans need for survival. Those who cannot afford these goods live in poverty. Not everyone agrees with this and the idea of absolute poverty is highly contested because the use of a single criterion fails to take into account the differences between societies. Needs are not the same in all societies, or even in the same society, nutritional needs are different for people working in different jobs, a labourer for example may need more calories than a bank clerk. Drewnowski and Scott (1966)[3] argue that absolute poverty should also include a lack of cultural needs. This is often argued over because a fixed standard on such needs is bound to fail. These people are more interested in relative poverty. Relative poverty looks at peoples incomes and compares them to a national average. Relative poverty means that people are living in poverty when their life is compared to those of the average family this is because lack of income also means poorer housing. People who live in relative poverty usually live in deprived areas also. Since 1979 increased unemployment and a rise in benefit payments and earnings that are index linked to prices rather than wages, has resulted in a huge rise in the number of people living in relative poverty.[4] In a report inThe British Medical Journal (2000) the writer looked at absolute and relative child poverty in developed countries where some peoples incomes were more than fifty percent lower than the average. It also said that in the league table of relative child poverty one of the four bottom places was held by the UK. An article in the Daily Telegraph (27/08/02) says that the idea of relative poverty is a problem. The article suggests that instead of using household income as the regulator it might be better if statisticians calculated the prices of basic goods and services. Under the present system the rich were becoming richer and the poor were paying for it in increased taxes and a lack of services. Another approach to measuring relative poverty is through people’s perceptions of the necessities of life which is what Mack and Lansley did. Mack and Lansley The work of Mack and Lansley (1985, 1992) listed those things that were considered to be necessary to modern day life if a person was not living in poverty. They did two studies on relative poverty in the UK. Mack and Lansley carried out an opinion poll to find out what people thought were the necessities of modern day life. There were twenty six things that most people considered important these things included new clothes, heating, a bath and indoor toilet. Relative poverty was thus measured by the presence or absence of the things that had been listed. Mack and Lansley’s research found that the number of people living in poverty in the 1980s went up quite a bit, this poverty was defined by the lack of three or more of the basic necessities mentioned earlier. Between 1983 and 1990 when the two studies were undertaken the number of people who were living in poverty went up from 7.5 million to 11 million and the number of those living in severe poverty or who were lacking more than 7 of the items that were considered essential, went up from 2.6 to 3.5 million (Mack and Lansley, 1992). Poverty is also defined by how far people can afford to participate in social activities such as school trips. In recent years this has been called social exclusion. Social exclusion does not look at poverty just in terms of a lack of material things. It looks at the wider picture and this includes wheter people are able to participate in society. There are no clear ways of measuring poverty. Absolute and relative poverty are both complex and ways of measuring what it is to be poor, and not everyone agrees on them. Policy makers say what poverty is and then make laws for it but few of them experience what it is to be poor. A report published by the Rowntree foundation says that what the poor have to say needs to be taken into consideration in research on poverty. Taking into account the opinions of those who actually lived in poverty would provide useful information for existing organisations that might help shape policy making in the long term.[5] In all this there is a feeling that the poor are somehow to blame for the circumstances in which they find themselves. A point which Herbert Spencer writing in the nineteenth century would have agreed with. As far as Spencer was concerned people lived in poverty as a result of dissolute living. He had no sympathy at all for the poor and regarded many of them as criminals and drunks. He believed it was unnatural to help people who lived in poverty as a result of their own behaviour and irresponsibility. If people were too lazy to work then they should not be allowed to eat. He believed that the cause of poverty could be found by an examination of the moral character of an individual. The Poor Laws were wrong because they encouraged the poor to be lazy and to rely on somebody else’s hard work to provide them with the necessities of life. This allowed moral decline to spread through the population. The result would be that both society and the economy would suffer. Late nineteenth and early twentieth century thought was heavily influence by Darwins work â€Å" The Origins of the Species† and Spencer was no exception. He believed in Darwin’s idea of the survival of the fittest. Society could only evolve properly and morally if the honest and hard working members of society were allowed to keep the fruits of their labour. The week and lazy members of society should be condemned to live in poverty because that was what they deserved. Falling into poverty was a necessary evil in society because without poverty work would not exist. Although this may seem repugnant to a lot of people Spencer’s ideas are still rife in modern society. Peter Golding (1978) has said that media reporting of poverty in the nineteen seventies portrayed the poor as welfare scroungers living off the backs of others. The press portrayed people as having a comfortable existence living off social security at the expense of tax payers. The New Right The Conservative Government headed by Margaret Thatcher were voted into power in 1979. Political debates of the time were concerned with a free market economy versus the welfare state. The tory government brought in measures to roll back the welfare state and control spending. This was done through the introduction of marketing and business strategies into policy making. At the same time there was an intense process of privatization because it was thought that public ownership of companies, and the public sector worked against market forces. Introducing marketing principles into social care allowed the Governments to in theory improve services. It also enabled them to retain a greater degree of control. Giddens (2001) says that: †¦the momentum of Thatcherism in economic matters was maintained by the privatising of public companies†¦..(this)..is held to reintroduce healthy economic competition in place of unwieldy and ineffective public bureaucracies, reduce public expenditure and end political interference in managerial decisions (Giddens, 2001:434). The introduction of market forces into social care was considered the best method of Government spending because free markets were considered to be self organising (Olssen 2000).They thought this would increase productivity and improve care and be cost efficient. Government discourses, both Conservative and New Labour have revolved around the notion that the introduction of market mechanisms would result in a more equitable system benefiting all. However, Alcock (1994) says that the Conservative policies resulted in greater unemployment, a rise in the number of homeless people, and a general growth in social inequality. Marsland (1996) disagrees and says that in Britain poverty has been exaggerated. David Marsland Marsland says that the Rowntree foundation deliberately confuse poverty with inequality and that they exaggerate the amount of poverty in Britain. He says that who say poverty is increasing act out of their own self interest because the evidence is not examined impartially. He does not believe in relative poverty but says that in order to truly be poverty it has to be absolute and this is disappearing from Britain because of the increase in living standards that has come about through capitalism. He is also critical o universal welfare provision i.e. those benefits such as education which are available to everyone regardless of their income as he believes they create a dependency culture. Marsland (1989) believes that relying on the government to take care of the people results in an abdication of personal responsibility and welfare hand outs are just another reason for remaining unemployed. Jordan (1989) says that Marsland is wrong in what he says about universal welfare provision creating a dependency culture and that if such a culture exists it is targeted with means tested benefits that only the very poor get. Rather than poverty being the result of an over generous welfare system, Jordan says that it comes from one that is too mean. Westergaard and Resler (1976) argue that the welfare state does not make the distribution of wealth more equal. Poverty is not being eradicated. Any money or benefits that the working class receive will eventually be paid back in tax by themselves. They believe that the welfare state is simply another tool of capitalism and poverty exists because of that system which prevents poor people from obtaining the resources to stop being poor. In Westergaard’s view the policies of the eighties and nineties and the hold that market forces had over Britain meant that even the aim of redistributing wealth through the welfare state had been abandoned. Kincaid says that it is not just a matter of rich and poor it is the fact that some people are very rich while some are very poor. Poverty therefore is a result of the capitalist system. However, such theories do not really explain why some people become poor nor do they differentiate between poor working class and other members of that clas s. So we have plenty of theories but no real solutions. Conclusion This essay has looked at different theories of poverty. Seebohm Rowntree in the nineteenth century who wanted to improve the lives of the poor and believed that increased wages would change things. Herbert Spencer on the other hand believed the opposite. He thought it was wrong to help the poor and believed that if people were hard working and honest then they should keep all of the money they had earned. Some people were born to be richer than others, it was the survival of the fittest. Peter Townsend distinguished between absolute and relative poverty but relative poverty is not easy to define and is still being contested. Even Macky and Llansley’s work on relative poverty does not solve the problem. New Right approaches have contributed to the problems of poverty but Marxist criticisms do not provide answers as to who the poor really are or how they became that way. Clearly this is not an easy question. Howver, if we look back at the definitions of absolute poverty then we can say that this type of poverty does not really exist in Britain today. Bibliography Giddens, A. 2001. (4th ed). Sociology. Cambridge, Polity Press. Haralambos, M and Heald, R. 1985 Sociology: Themes and Perspectives. London, Bell and Hyman. Howarth,C. et al 1999 Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion. York, Joseph Rowntree Foundation. http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/1210/poverty.html Mack, J. and Lansley, S. 1985. Poor Britain. London, George Allen and Unwin. Mack, J. and Lansley, S. 1992. Breadline Britain 1990s The Findings of the Television Series. London, London Weekend Television. Nickell, S. RES conference paper April 2003 Poverty and Worklessness in Britain http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp0579.pdf O’Neale Roache, J. 2000. â€Å"One in Six Children Live in Relative Poverty.† BMJ 2000;320:1626 ( 17 June ). The Daily Telegraph 27th August 2002 Townsend, P. 1979. Poverty in the United Kingdom. Harmondsworth, Penguin. Giddens, A. 2001. (4th ed). Sociology. Cambridge, Polity Press. Haralambos, M and Heald, R. 1985 Sociology: Themes and Perspectives. London, Bell and Hyman. Howarth,C. et al 1999 Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion. York, Joseph Rowntree Foundation. http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/1210/poverty.html Mack, J. and Lansley,S. 1985. Poor Britain. London, George Allen and Unwin. Mack, J. and Lansley,S. 1992. Breadline Britain 1990s The Findings of the Television Series. London, London Weekend Television. Nickell, S. RES conference paper April 2003 Poverty and Worklessness in Britain http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp0579.pdf Olssen, M. 2000 â€Å"Ethical liberalism, education and the New Right† Journal of Educational Policy Vol 15No. 5 2000 pps 481-508 O’Neale Roache, J. 2000. â€Å"One in Six Children Live in Relative Poverty.† BMJ 2000;320:1626 ( 17 June ). The Daily Telegraph 27th August 2002 Townsend, P. 1979. Poverty in the United Kingdom. Harmondsworth, Penguin. Sociological Review 1 [1] http://www.victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/elizpl.html [2] http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RErowntreeS.htm [3] Cited in Holborn and Langley 2002 [4] http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp0579.pdf Nickell, S. RES conference paper April 2003 [5] From input to influence: Participatory approaches to research and inquiry into poverty by Fran Bennett with Moraene Roberts, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Bosnia - Herzegovina Essay -- essays research papers fc

Bosnia-Herzegovina is a country located in southeastern Europe. Bosnia- Herzegovina declared its independence in March of 1992. Usually, this country is referred to as Bosnia, but is officially named Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 1918, Bosnia-Herzegovina became part of the kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which later became known as the country of Yugoslavia. In 1946, Yugoslavia became a federal state consisting of six republics, one of which was Bosnia-Herzegovina. Slavic people make up most of the counties population. The largest groups are the Bosnia Muslims, the Serbs, and the Croats. Much of the Serbian population opposed to Bosnia's independence and a civil war erupted in the Spring of 1992. Serbian forces soon occupied about two-thirds of the country. About one-fifth was soon held by Bosnian Croatians. The remainder of the country was held by Bosnian government troops, mainly Bosnian Muslims. From 1945, till 1990, communists held a monopoly on powers in all of Yugoslavia, including Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 1990, non-communists gained a majority of seats in Bosnia's first multi-party election. Bosnia-Herzegovina's capitol city is Sarajevo, which can be found in the center of the country. Although many languages are spoke there, the main language is Serbo-Croatian. In a 1991 census, there was a reported 4,365,639 people living in the borders of Bosnia-Herzegovina which has an area of 19,741 square miles, and in 1995 there was an estimated 4,454,000 people in the country (Twenty-two people per square mile.) Sixty-six percent of those people live in rural areas, leaving only thirty-four percent living in urban areas. Bosnia- Herzegovina's money system is based on the Dinar. Their main agricultural exports are cattle, cherries, corn, grapes, hogs, peaches, pears, plums, potatoes, sheep, soybeans, tobacco, walnuts, and wheat. As a developing country, their industrial production is slightly limited, producing mainly electrical appliances and textiles. There is also a lot of mining of coal and iron ore which also contributes to the countries economy. Bosnia's government is headed by a seven member collective presidency. The presidency consists of two Croats, two Bosnian Muslims, two Serbs, and one individual who is not affiliated with a specific ethnic group. Voters elect members to a four year term. The members then elect a president who serves a one year... ...ims, Serbs, and Croats should fight for what the believe in, and the strongest will eventually prevail. Bibliography: 1. The Christian Science Monitor 11-16-94 Title: Opening the Docket: Trials of a War Tribunal 2. USA Today 12-5-94 Title: Serb Defiance has its Roots in Balkan History 3. USA Today 2-14-95 Title: UN Tribunal Accuses 21 Serbs of War Atrocities 4. USA Today 10-16-95 Title: Mass Graves Yield Horror in Bosnia 5. USA Today 10-11-95 Title: Clear Messages to Bosnian War Criminals...No Deal 6. Pittsburgh Post Gazette 10-8-95 Title: War Crime Trails may be Thwarted by Peace Bid 7. US News & World Report 4-10-95 Title: A Hunt for the Killers of Bosnia 8. Macleans 8-15-94 Title: Serbian Death Camp 9. War Criminals, War Victims by Random House Inc. 1971 10. World Book Encyclopedia Volume B & Y, 1990 11. US News & World Report 11-27-94 Title: Jumping the Gun in Bosnia 12. US News & World Report 9-18-95 Title: The US Risk in Bosnia 13. US News & World Report 11-6-95 Title: Keepers of the Peace 14. Merit Students Encyclopedia Volume 3. 1988 15. Newsweek 8-17-95 Title: Ethnic Cleansing 16. Pittsburgh Post Gazette 11-14-95 Title: Tribunal Changes: Bosnian Croats

Intro to Marketing Essay

It is important that McDonalds Corporation makes sure that any of their widely attractive and competitive marketing activities are produced within the constraints of the law. Consumer protection involves defending consumers by giving them a way to get reparations for damage cause because of faulty products. Therefore, McDonalds should keep up with changes in the law and landmark rulings to make sure any marketing in which they are developing won’t be illegal. Sales of Goods Act 1979 This act requires traders to sell goods whether that is written, verbal or graphical descriptions, they should be correctly and accurately described as well as being a satisfactory quality. This means that the condition of the product should include how long it lasts and being fit for purpose is key. This directly affects marketing activity as it means that any marketing should describe the product as accurately and truthful information. the product must be able to be used for purpose and if not, the customer is entitled to a full refund or exchange as a result of their concerns. If it is stated, it has to be guaranteed and false information given when advertising can be illegal. For example, McDonalds is one of the biggest fast food industries known globally. The products that they sell cannot be falsely advertised stating they are very healthy as by law, the amount of calories, fat, carbohydrates and sugar are all ingredients must be state on the packaging. It must be shown to potential customers exactly what products they sell and the quality must meet the standards as they are advertised. If not, this could lead to fines and imprisonment. Also, if a customer has a dispute of a member of McDonalds about the calories of a burger, the customer would then be informed exactly how many calories are in a burger as they are stated on every bit of packaging for exactly what is in the burger. Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 This act entitles all customers to fair treatment and honesty from businesses they deal with. This relatively recent piece of legislation should not have affected most businesses, but was targeted at organisations that do not always treat their customers well. Under this act, businesses cannot use aggressive sale tactics, or use dishonest promotional campaigns such as false advertising. For example, if McDonalds advertised their burgers on sale and they weren’t, this would result in mislead customers and giving false impressions to their target audiences which could possibly affect their reputation. EBay is a good example of this act. If an item is bought from a seller that is not as described or to an unsatisfactory quality, the buyer in entitled to a refund. If the seller fights their corner and claims that the buyer’s comments are untrue, the buyer can then open a case in the resolution centre in order to resolve this problem. Under the buyer protection policy, eBay has the right to fight the corner of the buyer so that the right solution is made. Consumer Credit Acts 1974 and 2006 This act protects consumer’s rights when they buy goods on credit or companies lending money to consumers. Traders who offend this law must have an OFT (Office of Fair Trading) licence and any complaints that arise with the customer regarding the organisation is dealt with by the FOS (Financial Ombudsman Service). For example, if you buy an Apple Mac computer, when this good has been paid for using a form of credit whether it be a credit card or credit agreement arranged by the trader, you may have an equal liability claim against the credit firm providing the contracted amount is over  £100 but no more than  £30,000. Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 Distance selling is any form of selling where there is no face to face communications between the customer and seller. the regulations require the business to provide clear information so customers can make more informed decisions regarding their purchases. An example of this regulation would be EBay. The business will give the consumer information such as goods they are selling, clear description, condition, location, payment options, delivery arrangements and returns policy. Data Protection Act 1998 This act means that any information stored by marketers must only be used for the stated purpose, must be accurately up to date and obtained fairly as well as lawfully. The act focuses on all businesses holding any confidential customer information on a database. As well as this, it should be no longer kept more than it is needed for a processed in line with your rights. It must be kept up to date as if someone passes away, you should not call asking for them. Also, if your information is protected from unauthorised use, it cannot be passed on to other companies without permission. The information which is stored is available for your inspection and correction upon request. It should also be protected from transfer to an area outside of the EEA (European Economic Area) unless adequate. McDonalds only gather personal information when voluntary submitted on their website to give feedback and they have online prize promotions. Sometimes, they change their private policies but only if a pressure group acts against them which is brought to the organisations attention. Trade Descriptions Act 1968 The act was introduced in order to protect consumers when purchasing products and services. It stipulates numerous different regulations that traders must adhere when carrying out their marketing activities. Sellers therefore must not mislead customers in any way as well as making descriptive yet accurate. This act not only refers to written descriptions but includes discussions, interactive exchanges and written documents. For example, within this act the trader must not indicate that a price is lower than it actually is as this is giving customers false information and misguiding them. McDonalds could not advertise that the price of a meal is  £3.00 is it is more than that because people will get the wrong idea and be displeased by the service and description of their products being false. Code of Advertising Practise and Advertising Standards Authority Marketing activities for a organisation are policed by the independent ASA. It is an industry body rather than a legal framework, and it promotes and maintains the UK code of advertising, sales promotion and direct marketing. The rules are to keep within the legal framework, protect customers from misleading claims, create an even footing for advertising. Principals for this include regulations such as the advertising a business produces should be in lines with the following rules: should be legal, decent, honest, truthful and have a sense of responsibility. Their advertising should not also be misleading or offensive. For example, McDonalds should not create slogans or include graphical advertising methods offending certain animal welfare groups or vegetarians as this is disregarded and taken seriously as well as being odious which they could potential lose customers because of. Ethical consideration A pressure group is an organised group that seeks to influence government policy or to protect a particular cause of interest. They don’t fight elections but may promote specific issues and may have more political objectives to aim for whilst enduring their campaign. they are undergone quietly on issues which most citizens wouldn’t full understand or recognise. For example, policies such as a medical association wanting to persuade the government to close down tobacco companies would affect their business and would also result in many convenience stores that would sell cigarettes. For example, in May 2011, more than 500 health professionals signed a petition to ask the makers of happy meals to stop marketing junk food to children so this had an impact on McDonalds in order to fulfil the needs to protesters so now healthier options such as fruit bags and fruit juices were introduced as a substitute to these ‘junk’ foods. Another example includes the animal rights pressure group; PETA launched a global campaign again McDonalds regarding animal rights issues and have created a billboard campaign disregarding McDonald’s non guilty claims which tried to make the fast-food giants listen to their views against animal welfare and rights. Consumerism is the organised efforts by individuals, groups and governments to help protect consumers from policies and practises that infringe the rights of consumers to fair business practises. It identifies the rights for consumers to be safe, to be informed, to choose and be heard. The Office of Fair Trading plays an active role in implement consumer legislation and to take action against traders who are seen as ‘unfair’. The packaging is an example of this as McDonalds used to use boxes that weren’t biodegradable but now they are being more environmentally friendly by using plastic boxes that won’t wear away and the resource is cheaper and will last longer. Advertising is mean to attract customers in but sometimes comments made can be acted upon and made subjective if the viewers don’t like what they see or hear. The language chosen for advertising needs to be accessible to the audience and put in a way that everyone can understand to widen the market of the product or service. The Advertising Standards Authority have acknowledged and acted upon the key areas which are when adverts refer to sex, involve strong language, religions and belief are fought against and also offensive grounds such as prejudgement or racism. In McDonalds case, critical issues that arose as a result of their advertising were there was claims that the organisation ‘exploits children’ with its advertising; the company was blamed for misleading children by using attractive advertisement as the use of fun character Ronald McDonald to encourage young people and attracting them to kid’s meals. Bibliography John Bevan, H. C.-S. (2010). BTEC Level 3 National Business, Book 1. Harlow, Essex, GBR : Pearson Education. http://www.tradedescriptionsact.co.uk/content/trade-descriptions-act-1968-28. html http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2443603.stm http://www.asa.org.uk/ http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/ http://www.scribd.com/doc/46508929/P2-Limitations-and-Constraints http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/474136.stm http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703509104576329610340358394.html