Company †Strengths and weaknesses Analysis Essay

Application Assignment †¢Application Assignment on Situational Analysis and SWOT common to all themespgs MM-112 to MM-122 PART B and C (to be submitted together) (15+ 5 Marks) Company –Strengths and weaknesses Analysis Remember this assignment is in continuity to the previous marketing assignment. Here we do a strength and weakness analysis for our company vis -a- vis competitors. We need to know: A. What special strength/ competence or assets company has to satisfy the needs of customers? B. Who competes with us in meeting those needs and what is their competence, strength or asset? Can we scale our own firm and the major competitors on those competencies and strengths? This kind of an analysis follows a 3-step process. 1Identification of all our Competitors. Competition does not stem only from products or firms that compete directly for your market share but also from any company that satisfies the same customer need. (Refer to the ‘Market concept of competition’ at the end of the assignment ) 2List the areas in which your organization or the competitor has the competence. Needless to say that these areas should be industry relevant. An indicative list of the areas in which a firm can have strength / competence is listed below. Innovation ?Ability to develop innovative products ?Amount of Rs. spent on R&D ?Patents that a company has to its credit ?Technical product or service superiority Manufacturing ?Favorable Cost Structure ?Flexible production operations ?Access to Raw materials ?Quality of work force ?Capacity ?Outsourcing Finance- Access to capital ?Ability to generate funds in the short and long run ?Ability to use debt and equity financing ?Parent firms willingness to finance Management ?Quality of top and middle management ?Knowledge of business ?Culture ?Strategic goals and plans ?Entrepreneurial thrust ?Planning or operation system ?Loyalty ?Quality of strategic decision making. Marketing ?Product quality reputation ?Product differentiation ?Brand name recognition ?Customer orientation ?Breadth of the product line ?Segmentation ?Distribution ?Retailer relationship ?Advertising / Promotional skills ?Sales force ?Service Customer base ?Size and loyalty ?Market share ?Growth of segments served This list is only indicative to serve as a guide to the major areas in which a firm can have strength/ competence. You can add on or delete items to suit to your company and industry. 3Scaling your organization vis – a – vis the competitors on the parameters listed above-The Competitive strength Grid *(Please refer exhibit at the end of the assignment) Once the strengths / assets relevant to the industry have been identified, one has to scale one’s own firm and the major competitors on those strengths. One such grid has been done for the Luxury car market. The left side of the grid identifies the areas in which a luxury car maker can have strengths/ competencies namely product quality, product differentiation etc. On the right side various brands have been scaled with either less than average, average or above average position with respect to the strength/ competence identified. For ex. Cadillac has above average position in product quality, average when it comes to product differentiation and less than average on dealer satisfaction, all 3 areas being key to success in a car market. Assignment questions 1. Identify all the major competitors to your product. (Already done in part A of the assignment) †¢ICICI bank †¢HDFC †¢SBI †¢Deutsche Bank †¢Citibank †¢Goldman Sachs 2. Identify and list all the major strengths/assets/ competencies relevant to your industry. Core competencies: †¢Customer service †¢Risk management & Compliance †¢Strategy & Development †¢Strong leadership and management †¢Sales, marketing and Operations †¢Client base and brand 3. Scale your firm and any two other competitors on these strengths in a Competitive Strength Grid as is shown in the example. HSBCICICI bank Deutsche Bank †¢Customer service †¢Reach to the customer is good †¢Good relationship management †¢Premier clients focused cells †¢Reach to the customer is good †¢Premier clients focused cells †¢Reach to the customer is good †¢Good relationship management †¢Premier clients focused cells †¢Risk management & Compliance †¢Credit Risk †¢Operational Risk †¢Market Risk †¢Credit Risk †¢Operational Risk †¢Market Risk †¢Credit Risk †¢Operational Risk †¢Market Risk †¢Strategy & Development †¢Reach to global markets †¢Presence in emerging economies †¢Specific to one country †¢Reach to global markets Strong leadership and management †¢Business expansions & Leadership support †¢Culture of developing and retaining leaders †¢Strong international management and leadership †¢Business expansions regionally †¢Strong management presence †¢Business expansions & Leadership support †¢Strong international management and leadership †¢Sales, marketing and Operations †¢Consumer / Transactional Sales †¢Advisory / Relationship Management Sales †¢Consumer / Transactional Sales †¢Advisory / Relationship Management Sales †¢Consumer / Transactional Sales †¢Advisory / Relationship Management Sales Client base and brand †¢History and strong brand †¢Your local banker approach †¢Internationally renowned brand †¢Strong regional brand †¢History and strong brand †¢Internationally renowned brand 4. Do you have a competitive advantage superior to that of the competitor in any or more area? Do you see major areas for improvement in any competitive area? The areas of competitive advantage are: †¢Strategy & Development †¢Reach to global markets †¢Presence in emerging economies †¢Strong leadership and management †¢Culture of developing and retaining leaders Strong international management and leadership †¢Client base and brand †¢History and strong brand †¢Your local banker approach †¢Internationally renowned brand Areas for improvement: †¢Larger presence in retail operations in emerging economies †¢Leveraging technology to increase efficiency, access to markets and risk management †¢Innovation by providing weekend banking and banking in non official hours PART C Assignment question 1. Based upon PART A and Part B of the assignment, consolidate the Strengths , Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for your organization into a SWOT Grid.

Skidelsky Warwick Lecture

In my third and fourth lectures examine the monetary and fiscal confusion which as reigned in the last five years -the experiments with ‘unorthodox monetary policy' and the austerity drive in fiscal policy -as policy makers sought a path to recovery. In my fifth lecture 1 kick at the causes Of the crisis from the standpoint of the world monetary system. Finally, I ask the question: what should post-crash economics be like? What guidance should economics offer the policy-maker to prevent further calamities of the kind we have just experienced?What should students of economics be taught? In this lecture I will consider only those bits of pre-crash orthodoxy relevant to policy making, tit main emphasis being on UK developments. Theories of expectation formation played an overwhelming parting shaping the theory of macroeconomic policy; with changes in the way economists modeled expectations marking the different phases of theory. I will treat these in roughly chronological order, s tarting with the Keynesian theory. II.UNCERTAIN EXPECTATIONS Keynesian macro theory dominated policy from roughly 1945-1975. The minimum doctrine -not in Keynes, but in accepted versions of Keynesian theory -to justify policy intervention to stabilize economies is: SLIDE 1 1. Uncertain expectations, particularly important for investment, leaving investment to depend on ‘conventions' and ‘animal spirits'. 2. Relative interest-inelastic of investment. 3. A) sticky nominal wages (unexplained) and b) sticky nominal interest rates (explained by liquidity preference).The first point suggested investment was subject to severe fluctuations; the last suggested there was a lack or weakness of spontaneous recovery mechanisms- ii the possibility of ;under-employment equilibrium'. This led to a prescription for macro-policy: to prevent or minimize fluctuations of investment demand. Point 2 in combination with b suggested primacy of fiscal over monetary policy for stabilization. SLIDE 2 ‘For Keynes, it was the tendency for the private sector, from time to time, to want to stop spending and to accumulate financial assets instead that lay behind the problems of slumps and unemployment.It could be checked by deficit spending'. (C J. Also and D. Makes (1985), in D. Morris (De. ) ‘The Economic System in the UK†, 374) ‘In the standard Keynesian economic model, when the economy is at less than full capacity, output is determined by demand; and the management of economic activity and hence employment is effected by managing demand'. (ibid, 370) Mention in passing, that there was a theoretical and social radicalism in Keynes obliterated in the standard postwar Keynesian model.For example, he thought insufficient demand was chronic and would get worse; and that, in consequence, the longer term survival of a free enterprise system depended on the redistribution of wealth and income and the reduction in hours of work. I will return to these points in my last lecture. Demand- management The government used fiscal policy (variations in taxes and spending) to maintain full employment, while keeping short term interest rates close to some ‘normal' (or expected) level. Eel. Monetary policy was largely bypassed as a tool of demand-management.The government forecast real GAP for the following year by forecasting year on movement of its expenditure components: consumption, fixed capital formation, stock building spending, and net exports. Budget deficits then adjusted to maintain full employment. There was no explicit modeling of expectations, though attention was paid to the issue of ‘confidence'. The prevalent view was that the confidence of the cuisines community was best maintained by a commitment to full employment. It was different with the balance of payments.With sterling convertible into foreign currencies at a fixed exchange rate, governments also needed to retain confidence of non-resident holders of sterling, so the two requirements of confidence might pull in different directions. ‘Stop-Go' was the result. Stop-Go not withstanding, fiscal activism proved highly successful, aided by the long post-war boom. The budget remained in surplus with current account revenues exceeding expenditure and with borrowing mostly stricter to finance public investment not covered by current-account surpluses.Chancellors from Crisps to Macmillan were even tempted to extend this-above-the-line surplus to an overall surplus by covering capital expenditure below the line from revenue yet this was not achieved 1 . Nonetheless, the public-sector borrowing requirement (ESP.) fell from an average of 7. 5% of GAP (1952-1959) to 6. 6% of GAP (1960-1969). The national debt-to-income ratio fell from 3:1 in 1950 to 0. 7:1 in 19702. Unemployment was consistently below 2. 5% and inflation was low. Ill. THE RISE AND FALL OF PHILLIPS CURVE KEYNESIAN The post-war problem turned out to be not unemployment but inflation. With full capacity utilization, whether generated by Keynesian policy or by benign world conditions, there was always going to be pressure on prices. So the attention of Keynesian policymakers was increasingly turned to fighting inflation, using both fiscal and monetary tools. In this they were also successful for a time. But from the late asses, inflation started to creep up; and the unemployment cost of restraining it started to rise: we enter the era of ‘stagflation'. The underlying theoretical question was: what caused inflation? Was it excess demand or ‘cost-push'?There was no single Keynesian answer to this question. Some Keynesian economists argued that labor market was like any other, with price being determined by the balance between supply and demand. A reduction in the demand for labor would lower its price. Deflation would slow the rise of nominal wages, and hence a rise in the general price level. The question of course was how much deflation would be needed for stable prices? This was not an easy case for Keynesian to argue. Given their belief in sticky nominal wages, the unemployment cost might prove very high.Most Keynesian economists were more comfortable with the ‘cost push' theory of inflation: unions pushing up wages ahead of productivity. Prices rose because business managements raised them; managements raised prices because their costs had risen; costs rose owing to pay increases; and pay increased because otherwise unions would come out on strike. Higher unemployment would not stop them because most of the unemployed could not do the strikers' jobs. In fact, cost-push could occur at levels well below full employment.Short of bringing back mass unemployment, deflating demand would not stop inflation. What was required was a compact with the unions to restrain pay push: incomes policies. Anti-inflation policy in the 1 sass and asses wobbled between fiscal and monetary measures to restrain demand and attempts to reach pay deals with the unions. The Keynesian were rescued from this dilemma by the econometric work Of A. W. Phillips. In 1 958, A. W. Phillips published a famous article which claimed to demonstrate a well-determined relationship between the unemployment rate and the rate of wage increases.The Phillips Curve implied that there was a stable trade-off between unemployment and inflation. The prize was price stability with a small increase in unemployment, way short of the depression. More generally, policy-makers were supposed to have a ‘menu of choice' between different rates of inflation and unemployment. SLIDE 3. ORIGINAL PHILLIPS CURVE The Keynesian policy of demand-management unraveled with the attack on the Phillips Curve by Milton Friedman of Chicago University. In a single lecture in 1 968, he demolished Phillips Curve Keynesian and started the monetarist counter-revolution.Adaptive Expectations Friedman restated the pre-Keynesian idea that there was a unique equilibrium rate of unemployment which he called the ‘natural rate'. Inflation was caused by government attempts to reduce unemployment below the natural rate by increasing the amount of money in the economy. Friedman accepted that there was a trade-off between inflation and unemployment, but that it was temporary, and existed only because workers were fooled into accepting lower real wages than they wanted by not taking into account the rise in prices.But if government repeatedly resorted to monetary expansion (for example by running budget deficits) in order to educe unemployment below its ‘natural' rate, this ‘money illusion' would disappear and workers would put in increased wage demands to match the now expected rise in prices. In short, after a time workers developed inflationary expectations: they built the expected inflation into their wage bargaining. One could not use the Phillips Curve to control inflation in the long run since the Curve itself shifted due to the level of inflation rising. SLIDE 4.FRIEDMAN'S EXPECTATIONS AUGMENTED PHILLIPS CURVE SLIDE 5. One simple version of adaptive expectations is stated in the following equation, where pee is the next year's rate of inflation that is currently expected; p-Eel is this year's rate of inflation that was expected last year; and p is this year's actual rate of inflation: where is between O and 1. This says that current expectations of future inflation reflect past expectations and an â€Å"error-adjustment† term, in which current expectations are raised (or lowered) according to the gap between actual inflation and previous expectations.This error-adjustment is also called â€Å"partial adjustment. † Friedman's work had huge anti-Keynesian policy implications. The five main Ones Were: First, macro-policy can influence nominal, but not real variables: the price level, not the employment or output level. Second, Friedman re-stated the Quantity Theory of Money, the theory that prices (or no minal incomes) change proportionally with the quantity of money. Conversely, fiscal ‘fine tuning' operates with ‘long and variable lags': it is liable to land the economy in the wrong place at the wrong time.Consequently, such stabilization as was needed is much better done by monetary policy than fiscal policy. It lies within the power of the central bank, but not the Treasury, to keep nominal income stable. Provided the government kept money supply growing in line with productivity there would be no inflation, and economies would normally be at their ‘natural rate' of unemployment. Third, Friedman argued that ‘inflation was always and only a monetary phenomenon'.It was the total money supply in the economy which determined the general price level; cost pressures were not independent sources of inflation; they had to be validated by an accommodating monetary policy to be able to get away with a mark-up based price determination strategy; Fourth, Friedman's p ermanent income hypothesis -dating from the early 9505 -suggested that it is households' average long-run income (permanent income) that is likely to determine total demand for consumer spending, rather than fluctuation in their current disposable income, as suggested by the Keynesian consumption function.The reason for this is that agents Want smooth consumption paths. This implied that the degree of self-stabilization of the economy was greater than Keynes suggested, and that consequently multipliers were smaller. Keynesian tried to fight the monetarist onslaught by strengthening Keynesian micro-foundations, especially of observed nominal rigidities. They plopped models with ;menu costs', ‘insider-outsider' labor markets, ‘asymmetric information'. These kept the door open for policy interventions to sustain aggregate demand. Nevertheless, Friedman's impact on macro-policy was swift and decisive.SLIDE 6 ‘We used to think that you could spend your way out of a rece ssion, and increase employment by cutting taxes and boosting Government spending. Tell you in all candor that that option no longer exists, and that in so far as it ever did exist, it only worked on each occasion since the war by injecting a bigger dose of inflation into the economy, followed by a higher level of employment as the next step'. Prime Minister James Callaghan (1976), Leader's speech, Blackball ‘The conquest of inflation should be the objective of macroeconomic policy.And the creation Of conditions conducive to growth and employment should be the objective of microeconomic policy'. Chancellor of Exchequer Engel Lawson (1 984), Mass Lecture Discretionary demand-management was out; balanced budgets were back. The unemployment target was replaced by an inflation target. The ;natural' rate of unemployment was to be lowered by supply-side policies, which included legislative curbs on trade unions. V. RATIONAL EXPECTATIONS AND THE NEW CLASSICAL ECONOMICS With rational e xpectations we enter the world of New Classical Economics. RE is the ‘radical wing of monetarism†¦ Est. known for the startling policy conclusion †¦ that macro-economic policies, both monetary and fiscal, are ineffective, even in the short-run'4. Rational expectations first appeared in the economic theory literature in a famous article by J. Mouth in 1961, but only filtered through to policy discussion in the early 1 sass with the work of Robert Lucas and Thomas Sergeant on business cycles, and Eugene Fame on financial markets. The Lucas critique Of adaptive expectations (1976) put paid to the idea Of an exploitable trade-off between employment and inflation.Friedman's adaptive expectations rely on gradual adjustment of expectations to the experienced behavior of a variable. But our knowledge includes not just what we have experienced but current pronouncements of public authorities and theoretical knowledge of aggregate relationships. For example, the Minister of Fi nance announces that he will increase money supply by 10% a year to stimulate employment. STEM tells us that an increase in the money supply will ease prices proportionately. So it is rational to expect inflation to be a year.All nominal values -interest rates, wage rates- are instantly adjusted to the expected rate of inflation. There is not even a brief interval of higher employment. Friedman's distinction between a Keynesian short run in which agents can be fooled and a Classical long run in which they know what to expect disappears. Adaptive behavior is a description of irrational behavior if agents know what to expect already. Notice though that in this example, rational expectations is defined as belief in the STEM.SLIDE 7 Expectations, since they are informed predictions of future events are essentially the same as the predictions of the relevant economic theory†¦ Expectations of firms (or more generally, the subjective probability distribution of outcomes) tend to be di stributed for the same information set, about the prediction Of the theory (or the ‘objective' probability distribution Of outcomes)' (G. K Shaw (1 984), 56) Formally, the rational expectations hypothesis (ERE) says that agents optimally utilities all available information about the economy and policy to construct their expectations.As such, such they have ‘rational' expectations. They are also rational in that they use their expectations to maximize their utility or profits. This does not imply that agents never make mistakes; agents may make mistakes on occasion. However, all that is there to be learnt has already been learnt, mistakes are assumed to be random, so that agents are correct on average. Agents learn the true value of parameters through repeated application of Bases' theorem. Eel they turn their subjective bets into objective probability distributions.An equivalent statement is that agents â€Å"behave in says consistent with the models that predict how th ey will behave†6. Since the models contain all the available information, ii. They are rational expectations models, following the model minimizes the possibility of making expectation errors. At the core of the rational expectations hypothesis is the assumption that the model of the economy used by individuals in making their forecasts is the correct one -that is, that the economy behaves in a way predicted by the model.The math is simplified by the device of the Representative Agent, the sum of all agents, possessed of identical information and utility preferences. This micro-economic device means that the framework can be used to analyses the impact of policies on aggregate welfare, as welfare is the utility of the agents. The implication of the ERE is that outcomes will not differ systematically from what people expect them to be. If we take the price level, for instance, we can write: SLIDE 8 This says that the price level will only differ from the expectation if there is a surprise.So ex ante, the price anticipated is equal to the expectation. [E[P] is the rational expectation based on all information up to date; is the error ERM, which has an expected value of zero, and is independent of the expectation. With rational expectations the Phillips Curve is vertical in the short-run and in the long-run. SLIDE 9. THE SERGEANT-LUCAS PHILLIPS CURVE. With rational expectations, government action can affect real variables only by surprise. Otherwise they will be fully anticipated. This rules out any fiscal or monetary intervention designed to improve an existing equilibrium.More generally ‘any portion Of policy that is a response to publicly available information -such as the unemployment rate or the index of leading indicators -is irrelevant to the real economy' 7. Policy can influence real variables only by using information not known to the public. The Efficient Market Hypothesis The application of rational expectations to financial markets is know n as the â€Å"Efficient Market Hypothesis† (MME), made popular by Eugene Fame (1970, 1976). The MME postulates that shares are always correctly priced on average because they adjust instantaneously and accurately to any newly released information.In the words of Fame, â€Å"l take the market efficiency hypothesis to be the simple statement that security prices fully reflect all available information† 8. So prices can't be wrong because if they were, someone would seek to profit from the error and correct it. It follows that according to the efficient market hypothesis, it is impossible to consistently achieve returns in excess of average market returns (beat the market). In an RE joke, two economists spot a $10 bill on the ground. One stoops to pick it up, whereupon the other interjects, ‘Don't.If it were really $1 0, it wouldn't be there anymore. † The efficient market hypothesis is the modern manifestation of Adam Smith's ‘invisible hand'. Increase d regulation can only aka markets less efficient because regulators have less information than those engaged in the market, risking their own money. There are different versions of the efficient market hypothesis. In its ‘weak' form, investors make predictions about current prices only using historical information about past prices (like in adaptive expectations).In its ‘semi-strong' form, investors take into account all publicly available information, including past-prices. (This is the most ‘accurate' and the closest to rational expectations). In its ‘strong' form, investors take into account all information that can possibly be known, including insider information. Rational expectations models rely heavily on math. Lucas defined expectations as the mean Of a distribution of a random variable. The greater the number of observations of a random variable, the more likely it is to have a bell shaped or Normal distribution.The mean of the distribution, in ordin ary parlance the average of the observations, is called the Expectation of the distribution. In the bell-shaped distribution, it coincides with the peak of the bell. Those who are supposed to hold Rational Expectations (ii all of us) are assumed to know how the systematic parts of he model determine a price. We use that knowledge to generate our prediction. This will be correct except for random influences. We can assume that such random events will also adhere to the bell-shaped distribution and that their mean/expectation will be zero.Thus the systematic or deterministic prediction based on theory is always correct. Errors have zero expectation. The tendency of the MME, as is readily seen, is to rule out, or minimize, the possibility Of bubbles -and therefore crashes; more generally to rule out the possibility of crises being generated within the financial system: historically he most important source of crises. This being so, policy did not have to pay much attention to banks. Fo llowing the acceptance of the MME, the financial system was extensively De-regulated.Real Business cycle DOGS DOGS modeling takes root in New Classical macroeconomics, where the works of Lucas (1975), Jutland and Prescott (1982), and Long and Peoples (1983) were most prominent. The earlier DOGS models were pure real business cycle (RIB) models. ii models that attempted to explain business cycles in terms of real productivity or consumption shocks, abstracting from money. The logic behind RIB models is clear. If money cannot affect real variables, the source of any disturbance to the real economy must be non-monetary.If we are all modeled as having rational expectations, business fluctuations must be caused by ‘real' and ‘unanticipated' ‘shocks'. (Notice the use of word ‘shock'). These shocks make the economy dynamic and stochastic. Unemployment is explained in these models by rational adjustments by workers of their work/leisure trade off to shifts in product ivity. This is a fancy way of saying that there is never any unemployment. As a result of continuously re-optimizing agents, economies in DOGS models re always in some form of equilibrium, whether in the short run or long run.The economy always starts from an equilibrium position, and even when there is a shock, it immediately jumps onto an equilibrium time path – the saddle path. So the economy never finds itself in a position of disequilibrium. SLIDE 10 ‘The model provides an example of an economy where real shocks drive output movements. Because the economy is Wallabies, the movements are the optimal response to the shocks. Thus, contrary to the conventional wisdom about macroeconomic fluctuations, here fluctuations do not reflect NY market failures, and government interventions to mitigate them can only reduce welfare.In short, the implication of real-business cycle models, in their strongest form, is that observed aggregate output movements represent the time-varyi ng Parent optimum'. (Roomer (2011 ) â€Å"Advanced Macroeconomics†, 204) Translated into English: depressions are optimal; any attempt to mitigate them will only make things worse. Later came the New Keynesian who preserved the basic framework of the New Classical RIB/DOGS models, but added ‘market frictions', like monopolistic competition and nominal rigidities, to make the models more applicable to the real world. Critiques: 1 .The fundamental criticism is that this whole class of New Classical models carries an intellectual theorem -that agents are rational optimizers – to an extreme and absurd conclusion. By postulating complete information and complete markets, ii. By abolishing Keynesian or Knighting uncertainty, they cut off enquiry into what might be rational behavior under uncertainty -such as ‘herd behavior'. They also exclude irrational expectations. Behavioral economics only really took off after the crisis. 2. The aim of New Classical economics was to unify macro and micro by giving macro-economic secure micro-foundations.Macroeconomic models should be based on optimization by firms and consumers. But New Classical models are not well grounded in micro-economics since their account of human behavior is seriously incomplete. 3. Ay defining rational as the mean of a random distribution, the New Classical models rule out as too exceptional to worry about ‘fat tails' – that is extreme events with disproportionately large consequences. 4. The vast majority of DOGS models utilities log-landslides utility functions which eliminate the possibility of multiple equilibrium. 1 5. New Classical models have no place for money, and therefore for money hoarding, which depends on uncertainty. In pure DOGS models there is no financial sector. DOGS models depend on what Goodhearted calls the ‘transversally condition', which says that â€Å"by the end of the day, or when the model stops, all agents shall have repaid all their debts, including all the interest owed, with certainty. In other words, when a person dies he/she has zero assets left' 12. Defaults cannot happen. This is another kind of logical madness.

Literacy & Education Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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A CRITICAL INCIDENT - Lab Report Example Therefore, giving dehydrated patients enough water serves to increase the ability of the patient to fight other illnesses, hence promoting their safety (â€Å"National Patient Safety Agency†, 2007). Consequent to this, the following discussion highlights one of the incidences that involved failure of a nurse to give water to a dehydrated patient. The error worsened the condition of the patient, increasing harm to the patient. I once observed an incidence that occurred in the surgical ward involving an elderly man, who was admitted with critical limb ischaemia. His right leg was greatly affected, thus causing him a lot of pain. The patient was also frail and was diagnosed with dehydration on admission, which characterizes many elderly patients (Scales, 2011). Therefore, an overnight plan was laid out to help him rehydrate his body. The plan consisted of close monitoring of the patient’s fluid balance as he was to be given plenty of water for the night. More to this, his urine measurements were to be taken on an hourly basis. However, the nurse on duty did not follow the plan as expected. The nurse seemed a bit tired on this particular night, thus spent little time with the patients. The patient received 1000ml of water in 12 hours, as the nurse did not take heed to the doctor’s instructions to monitor the patient closely. Additionally, the patient received only four urine measurements as opp osed to the hourly measurements. The patient’s output remained dangerously low during the entire period, but no action was taken to try and seek a solution for the patient. This made the condition of the patient worse as he was still dry, and made little urine in the morning. More to this, the leg of the patient had worsened, and the chances of salvaging the leg were quite low. This situation compromised the safety of the patient as water plays a critical role in a patient’s body. Therefore, denying this patient the water required by his body made his condition

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Development of Catholic Church - Research Paper Example This paper will discuss the development of the Catholic Church, the church fathers, their opponents, and the theological disputes the church fathers faced. The spreading of Christian religion was more successful in urban areas among people of low social class, aristocratic women and slaves. The first Catholic Church was not well organized, thus; they came up with a structured hierarchy where the Bishop had authority over clergy in his city. By the third century, many things had changed, and the Bishop of Rome solved problems that other Bishops could not solve thus acted as a court of appeal. The doctrine of the Catholic Church was refined by the church fathers. Many years later catholic teachings came to be defined by proto-orthodox teachings. Christians faced persecution due to their refusal to give up their God and worship the gods of the other religions. The non Christians and the authorities felt that Christians were threatening their peace and the prosperity of the Roman Empire, by annoying the gods. Christians faced accusation of incest and cannibalism due to their secrecy in their religious practice. Any unusual occurrence in the empire was blamed on the Christians claiming that the gods were angry, and this led to the persecution of more Christians in the Roman Empire. All residents, except the Jews, had to give sacrifices to the gods or risk being persecuted. However, all these events took a turn when Constantine became emperor of the Western Roman Empire. He declared that his victory was attributed to Christianity. He came up with a law that mandated the acceptance of all religions in the Empire. After the Western Roman Empire failure, there were competitions between the Catholic Church and Arianism to convert the Barbarian tribes. In the late 15th century explorers and the European missionaries spread Catholicism in America, Asia and Africa. The Catholic Church had Church fathers. Church fathers were early eminent Christian teachers, bishops and infl uential theologians. The church fathers faced a number of theological disputes. For, example, Jesus Christ in the Eucharist was a sign of contradiction to the early church fathers. Some people did not believe that the Eucharist was a representation of the body of Christ or the symbolic memorial of Christ’s death. The cross was also a point of dispute. It is believed that Jesus Christ died for man’s sin, yet the Catholics believe that we should obey God, love others and go through suffering and pain. This is a contradiction since Jesus suffered on the cross for man’s sins. Human embryo is also another contradiction. This was seen as a sign of dispute the church fathers engaged in because it is believed that, the embryo is already a human being and that human beings were created in the God’s likeness (Edward 23). Augustine of Hippo was a bishop of Regius. He believed that Christ’s grace is indispensable to the freedom of human Augustine was converted to Christianity after hearing the story of Placianus. This story inspired him and led to his conversion to Christianity. He gave up his social life and dedicated his life to serving God and practiced priesthood, including celibacy. According to him, his conversion was prompted by a voice he heard that was child like telling him, â€Å"tolle, lege† (â€Å"take up and read†). Augustine considered the fact that people believed the soul originated from God as

Compensation Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Compensation Practice - Essay Example This entails use of rewards in place of punishment to get the expected results and this was also influenced much by the motivational theorists such as Abraham Maslow (Armstrong & Baron, 2005). The needs of workers must be taken care of for them to be productive. This in turn led to development of performance management systems to evaluate employees and reward them accordingly; compensation is no longer job based but is based on performance. Successful companies thus strive to develop effective compensation strategies to ensure workers are rewarded accordingly and that the business strategies are achieved. According to Heneman (2002 p. 198) the cornerstone of a compensation strategy is the compensation philosophy of the company. This is the strongly held belief about goals of all components of compensation system relative to business strategy. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the compensation practice of a publicly traded company. To achieve this, the company to be discussed is an international company dealing with foods and beverages; PepsiCo, Inc. Its short history will be outlined after which its compensation strategy will be evaluated bearing in mind best practices and challenges faced. Its impact will then be discussed followed by the factors impacting on the practices such as unions, laws and regulations and finally, a brief summary. Company Background PepsiCo, Inc is a leading global food and beverage company with respected brands throughout the world. It was formed in 1965 after the merger of Pepsi-cola Company and Frito-lay, Inc. It acquired Tropicana in 1998 and Quaker Oats in 2001 and an addition of Gatorade thereafter (PepsiCo, 2013). Its mission is to be the world’s premier consumer Products Company focused on convenient foods and beverages with a vision to improving all aspects of the world in financial success which is to be achieved through driving shareholder value. It operates in a very competitive environment but its main competitor is coca-cola company. It boasts of net revenue of over $65 billion as recorded in the financial year 2012. It is managed by a board of directors with Indra Nooyi as the board chairman and chief executive officer since 2006 and has a workforce of 297, 000 scattered in many parts of the world. Its headquarters are in Purchase, New York in the United States. It is committed to delivering sustainable growth through empowering people and as such its compensation philosophy is for employees to act and be rewarded as business owners’ thus recruiting, retaining and motivating workforce. Compensation Strategy Compensation is a vital part of performance management in organizations. This involves rewarding employees for their achievements and also correcting underperformance. A company has a great task of deciding on how to reward employees as this strategy may make or break the company. According to Aquinis (2011) the compensation strategy should be aligned to business strategy to ens ure the organizational goals are achieved and to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. If the business strategy is cost-cutting then the company cannot go on to develop costly compensation strategies such as those involved with monetary rewards. Before everything else when

Goal Setting - Point of View Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Goal Setting - Point of View - Coursework Example For instance, a clear goal should take into consideration the parts of your day to day work that make you happy or frustrated. This helps to deal with different scenarios that may emerge while you carry out your duties. This also helps you to assess your interactions with your boss so as to be able to take corrective measures that can improve the chances of attaining the desired goals. The other important idea that should characterize goal setting for 2015 is that a specific goal should be measurable. This helps the user to be in a position to establish if the desired goal is attainable. This helps you to know that you are on track. If not, then necessary adjustments should be put in place to make sure that the desired goal is achieved. A well defined goal should be realistic, measurable and attainable. The avenue to be followed towards the attainment of the goal should also be clearly outlined so as to make it easy to attain the desired

International Trade & Finance Speech or Presentation

International Trade & Finance - Speech or Presentation Example Imports and Exports balancing Maintaining surplus balance of payments is critically important for the economic growth of a country. Exports bring more foreign currencies to a country which in turn can be used for making payments for importing necessary goods or services. Excess exports to imports result in favorable balance of payments whereas excess of imports over total exports of a country during a stipulated period of time result in unfavorable or deficit balance of payments. When there are surplus imports to US, for instance, since it largely depends on foreign oil products, the balance of payment can be said to be deficit. Until 2011, America’s dependence on foreign oil products such as crude oil, natural gas, fuel oil etc has always been driving trade deficit. In 2011, US imported $ 332 billion of petroleum related items and this was greater than what it exported (Amadeo, 2012). When there are surplus imports of a particular product or service in to a country, traders i nvolved in selling of the same will have to face import barriers if they are already in effect. Tariffs and quotas are thus examples of trade barriers and they cause traders increase their expenses of tax and other charges. International trade and GDP Foreign trade in goods or services is primarily a channel for economic integration and this seems to be a critically important tool for small countries since small countries are more integrated in relation to their gross domestic product. Small countries, in contrast to large countries like USA, Canada, India, China, specialize in a limited numbers of sectors and thus they need to export and import more goods and services to satisfy the domestic demands (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2010, p. 58). Within the domestic market, increase in exports mean that GDP is high and since exports bring foreign currency to the domestic market, more and more traders will be able to meet their payments for importing highly de manded products or services from other countries. Similarly, when there are surplus imports to the domestic market, it may adversely affect home products and balance of trade figures as well. For university students, international trade is benefitting in a way that they gain wider access to large numbers of universities abroad, scholarships, information, libraries and so on. Trade restrictions and international relation Trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas are found to have impacted adversely on the economic as well as political relation between countries. Tariffs are taxes imposed by a government on imports of certain products from certain or all other foreign countries. Quotas are physical limiting for importing gods from certain or all foreign countries. By imposing these two restrictions, for instance, the country attempts to minimize bringing of certain goods or services from certain countries and this in turn affect the exports of those countries. This is how tariffs and quotas impact the economic as well as political relationship between two countries. Foreign Exchange rates In international trade, countries need to exchange goods and services for currencies that are acceptable between buyer and seller. Different countries do accept different currencies and therefore buyer needs to exchange their currencies with seller’s currencies to make payment convenient between them. Foreign exchange rate is the price of one currency in

Lifespan Development Essay Example for Free

Lifespan Development Essay Lifespan development, also known as human development, is a field of study that is devoted to understanding constancy and change throughout a person’s lifespan (Berk, 2010). Lifespan development begins with infancy and looks at several points in a person’s life in which significant change takes place. The study of children did not begin until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Berk, 2010). Throughout the years, there was much speculation about how people grow and change and when combined with research, theories of development surfaced. These theories were vital and provided organized frameworks for observations of people and they are verified by research and provide a basis for practical action (Berk, 2010). Many theories developed to study the development of infants and children through out life and these theories continue to have an impact on society and research today. There are many notable development researchers and schools of thought such as Locke, Rousseau, Arnold Gesell, Ivan Pavlov, Lawrence Kohlberg, Social Learning Theory, Stages of Moral Development, and Ethiological Theories just to name a few (Crain, 2005). There are some researchers and schools of thought who still have an impact today such as Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, Jean Piaget and his Cognitive-Developmental theory, and the Psychoanalytic theory first developed by Sigmund Freud. Charles Darwin is significant to developmental studies today because it was he who paved the way, or opened the door for the many schools of thought that followed. Darwin is known as the forefather of scientific child study (Berk, 2010). Darwin was a naturalist who observed the variation among plant and animal species but along with that, he also noticed that within a specific species, no two individuals were alike (Berk, 2010). Darwin developed his theory which emphasized the principles of natural selection and survival of the fittest. Darwin’s theory stated that certain species survive in particular environments because they have characteristics that fit with or are adapted to their surroundings (Berk, 2010). Those within the species that best meet the survival requirements live long enough to reproduce and keep the species going (Berk, 2010). Darwin, in his travels and research, noticed some similarities in prenatal growth among species. Darwin noted that the embryos of most species are highly similar in their early forms revealing their descent from a common ancestor (Crain, 2005). Today, in the broad scheme of things, Darwin’s theory is correct in that there is variation within species and only some survive long enough to reproduce and pass along traits. What Darwin did not understand was the mechanisms underlying the transmission of traits (Crain, 2005). Because of this, Darwin is considered the starting point for the vast amount of research done on lifespan development. Another important aspect of the study of lifespan development is the Cognitive-Developmental theory of Jean Piaget. Piaget’s theory stated that children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore their world (Berk, 2010). Piaget did not believe that a child’s learning depended on reinforcers as the behaviorists believed. Piaget developed stages and he realized that children pass through his stages at different rates and did not pay specific attention to the ages at the various stages but noted that they all pass through the stages in the same order (Crain, 2005). Piaget’s theory consisted of four periods: Sensorimotor Intelligence (birth to 2 years), Preoperational Thought (2 to 7), Concrete Operations (7 to 11), and Formal Operations (11 to adulthood) (Berk, 2010; Crain, 2005). Piaget was able to convince people that children are active learners whose minds consist of rich structures of knowledge (Berk, 2010). Piaget’s research influenced much of the research today that focuses on children’s concept of self, other people, and human relationships. Many educational philosophies and programs that place emphasis on discovery learning and direct contact were encouraged by Piaget’s theory (Berk, 2010; Crain, 2005). Piaget’s theory did not come without criticism and challenges. Some researchers believe that Piaget actually underestimated the competencies of children. This called for much research to be conducted to challenge and refute Piaget’s theory and also to find ways to expound upon and improve his theory. The most influential school of thought is that of the Psychoanalytic perspective developed by Sigmund Freud. This perspective states that people move through a series of stages in which they confront conflicts between biological drives and social expectations. (Berk, 2010). The school of thought basically focused on the fact that psychological change is governed by inner forces such as feelings, impulses, and fantasies (Crain, 2005). Freud had all of his patients use free association in their sessions allowing them to talk freely about the painful events of their childhood (Berk, 2010). Freud developed the psychosexual theory based on theiry unconscious thoughts. This theory states that how parents manage their child’s sexual and aggressive drives in the first few years is crucial for healthy personality development (Berk, 2010). Freud’s theory was considered the first to place importance on the influence of the early parent-child relationship and its involvement in development (Berk, 2010). Freud’s theory received much criticism because he did not study children directly and was heavy on the sexual influences in development (Crain, 2005). The controversy surrounding this particular school of thought, prompted much research making it one of, if not the influential theories in development. Research on the many aspects of emotional and social development which includes infant-caregiver attachment, aggression, sibling relationships, child-rearing practices, morality, gender roles, and adolescent identity grew from the theory of Freud (Berk, 2010). There are many different ways in which development is researched. One way is systematic observation. There are different ways in which observations of children and adults can be conducted. Some researchers choose to go into the field or the natural environment and record the behavior which is known as naturalistic observation (Berk, 2010). Through naturalistic observation, researchers are able to get a first hand look at the subjects. On the other side though, some people may not display the same behavior in their everyday life. Structured observations happen when the researcher sets up a laboratory situation that evokes behavior of interest so that every participant has equal opportunity to display the response (Berk, 2010). The ways that the research is gathered varies depending on what is being researched. Systematic observations tell how people actually behave but fail to provide the reasons behind the behavior. Self-reports allow participants to provide information on their perceptions, thoughts, abilities, feelings, and other things of that nature. They are normally structured interviews, unstructured interviews, questionnaires, and tests. Clinical interviews allow for researchers to use a flexible, conversational style to probe for the participant’s point of view (Berk, 2010). Structured interviews, which includes tests and questionnaires, asks all participants the same set of questions (Berk, 2010). They are easier to score and the researchers are able to identify a behavior of interest because the participants is given alternatives in answer choices. The case study methods brings together a wide range of information on one person, including interviews, observations, and test scores (Berk, 2010). This method is generally used when one wants to study a particular group that may be small in size but varies in characteristics. This method can be viewed as bias because the information that is collected is sometimes done unsystematically and is subjective and geared toward the researchers theoretical perspective. There are other ways of studying development such as ethnography which is aimed at studying a culture as a whole or a distinct social group through participant observation. Ethics plays a major role in the study of development as well. It is important to consider things such as the rights of the participants. This includes, protection from harm, informed consent, privacy, knowledge of the result, and beneficial treatments (Berk, 2010). Informed consent is especially important because it provides safeguards for children and elderly people who are cognitively impaired or have to be cared for in settings for the chronically ill (Berk, 2010). Research generally creates ethical issues because of the search for scientific knowledge and at the same time has the opportunity to exploit people. References Berk, L.E. (2010). Development through the lifespan. (5th Ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon Crain, W. (2005). Theories of development: Concepts and applications. (5th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall

Environmental issues Essay Example for Free

Environmental issues Essay Nowadays, environmental issues are rapidly raising concerns and awareness to the society. It is good to know that problems involving environmental neglect and degradation are a problem of environmentalists no more, but also of politicians and ordinary citizens as well. Say, we should analyze a hypothetical problem regarding the issuance of business license in a local western coast, where two pre-dominant businesses already exist, a bait fish fishery of pilchards and an oyster lease. There are two promising businesses vying for the license, a Tuna Cage Farm and a Dolphin Swim Tourism Project. Both of the new establishments would create added benefits and disadvantages to the area and the pre-existing businesses, so the choice should be carefully examined. Primarily, the bait fishery in the western coast consists of pilchards. Pilchards are any of various small marine fishes especially the commercially important edible species. These pilchards are caught throughout the year, mostly during the night, using purse seine nets. The nets are pursed and drawn to an area adjacent to the vessel, and fish are removed from the net with pumps and placed in the hold of the boat. In layman’s term, pilchards have a wild capture. Unlike the wild pilchard capture, the tuna harvest is spawned in floating cages. Since it is a controlled environment, the unutilized feed components in the cages usually accumulate in the ambient water columns and substantially alter the benthic environment for the fishes. The toxic wastes from tuna cages caused massive pilchard mortalities, as shown in 1995 and 1998 incidents. Furthermore, the toxic wastes spread far at a rapid pace, about 500 km in 20 days, as shown in graph. The Dolphin Swim project, on the other hand, would introduce more boats that might disrupt the spawning season of the pilchards. There is also a probability that dolphins would consider the pilchards as prey. But aside from that, the dolphins can co-exist peacefully with the pilchards. The benthic area is preserved and the probable food cycle is just a natural process. Moreover, the industry in the coast will be promoted. Comparatively, it is evidently more harmful to facilitate a tuna cage farm with a co-existing pilchard industry; thus, the Dolphin Swim project should be favored. The decision was based on two significant aspects; which business is economically efficient while remaining ecologically sustainable. The Dolphin Swim Industry fulfilled these criteria.

Prison: Impact And Effects

Prison: Impact And Effects Jump to:  Theories of New Punitiveness | The Effect of Prison on the Family | The Effect of Prison on the Community  |  Conclusion Currently, the impact and effects of imprisonment, which is a means of social control, are increasingly becoming various and noticeable. This essay will first focus on the concept and the different models of social control. Then social functions, official aims of imprisonment and an example of a prison population crisis will be respectively examined in relation to sociological theories, new punitiveness and political economy, which are three main influences on imprisonment. Finally, the negative impact of imprisonment on both families and communities will be shown. Imprisonment as a concept of social control has a long history. In nineteenth century, social control paid more attention to both connecting sociology to political philosophy and settling the controversial discussions of macro-sociology (Janowitz, 1975, cited in Cohen and Scull, 1983). Social control, at that time, solved a great number of complicated issues, but the purely coercive controls were not widely used (Cohen and Scull, 1983). During the twentieth century, the social control, even sociology was to be a point of view and method for investigating the processes by which individuals are inducted to and induced to co-operate in some sort of permanent corporate existence we call society (Park and Burgess, 1924, cited in Cohen and Scull, 1983, p5). Indeed, the alteration of the process that inducted the individual into society had great benefits on social control. Additionally, at present, the concept of social control is basically defined as: any structure, process, relationship, or act that contributes to the social order (Liska, A.E, 1992, p3). Currently, there are three regulatory models of social control. The first model is custodial institution, which is established on the theories of social order and punishment and the police and prisons are the representative organizations of this model. In addition, community care, such as welfare agencies and halfway house, are also important methods of social control. In particularly, the custodial institution and community care create formal methods because of the rules, law and rehabilitation, they base on. The third model, which is informal, is called self and mutual help, such as social pressure and peer group. Less formal face to face controls are considered in this model (David and Stasz, 1990). Overall, social control uses the ways of punishment, prevention and rehabilitation in order to solve deviant, threatening and disorder behaviours. In particular, imprisonment is one of the highly used means of social control in form of punishment. There are three factors that strongly influence the development of imprisonment. Firstly, some theories of punishment as control have emerged. In Gramscis theory, the most important things for capitalist society in the revolutionary struggle are the superstructure of ideology, law and politics. Hegemony, which means that one class is convinced to accept other classes moral, political and cultural values, is his central idea. Additionally, Althusser improved the work of Gramsi. He introduced a penal system in the Repressive State Apparatus (RSA), which includes the police, the courts and the prison. However, he claimed that the functions of RSA are not only to coerce, but there are also ideological functions, such as to reproduce personal values. Distinguished from RSA, Althusser established Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA). He put some overlooked parts of the state in this mechanis m, such as educational system, the media and political parties (Cavadino and Dignan, 2007). What is more, Foucalt, who created the phrase carceral archipelago to show western liberal democracies closely in touch with forms of oppression, argued in Discipline and Punish (1977) that: the emergence of the prison does not make a more humanitarian form of punishment, instead it represents an attempt to punish more efficiently and extensively to create a disciplined society (cited in Carrabine et al, 2009, p362). Furthermore, the English historian E.P.Thompson indicated that law, as well as penalty, can be found at every bloody level. However, if the law is unjust, the classs hegemony will benefit nothing from that. (Cavadino and Dignan, 2007). Those sociological theories, particularly Foucaults great confinement that: institution of various kinds came to be adopted as the solution to a wide range of social problems (Cavadino and Dignan, 2007, p194), shows that imprisonment has its social functions. Mathiesen, a Norwegian penologist, suggests that there are five social functions which demonstrate that imprisonment is still the dominant way of punishment. He calls the first function the expurgatory function. Many of people in prisons are homeless, abused and suffering from mental illness as Cavadino and Dignan (2007) researched and therefore regarded as unproductive and disruptive. They are routinely being put into prisons so as to prevent society from various damages. The second function is called the power-draining function. Apart from preventing prisoners from being involved in the normal society, the prisoners are also: denied the opportunity to exercise responsibility (Cavadino and Dignan, 2007, p195). Minimal practical contributions is the function that is considered when the prisons were designed. Thirdly, prisoners easily isolate themselves from society, because of the shame of having been imprisoned. This is called, by Mathiesen, symbolic function. It shows the effect that those prisoners are a smaller risk to society after being released. The fourth function, related to the third one, is called the diverting function. Mathiesen (cited in Cavadino and Dignan, 2007, p195) claims in his book that: socially dangerous acts are increasingly being committed by individuals and classes with power in society. However, the fact is that the heavy-handed of prisons are highly used to the lower working class offenders. Hereby social attention is diverted from more serious social harm committed by the groups in power. For instance, acts of pollution and eco-systems destruction. Finally, Mathiesen identifies the fifth social function as the action function. Because it is the most serious means of social cont rol, prisons play a vital role in reducing the publics fear of crime. However, Cavadino and Dignan (2007, p196) argue that the imprisonment functions that Mathiesen suggests are not that efficient: there is also a heavy price to be paid, not only in terms of resources and human suffering, but also in managing the increasing tensions that are associated with the steady enduring penal crisis. Theories of New Punitiveness Secondly, in recent decades, new punitiveness, which means a general rise in the severity of punishment, has become a notable penal trend around the world. Essentially, the aim of new punitiveness is to make offenders suffer. At present, the imprisonment rate, which is a measure of harshness of punishment, has increased in nearly three fourths of countries all over the world. Undoubtedly, the United States has led this new trend, because the prison population and imprisonment rates in this country are the highest in the world and where numbers of prisoners have quintupled since the early 1970s (Cavadino and Dignan, 2007, P84). Meanwhile, this punitiveness is connected with populist punitiveness whose policies and slogans, for instance, zero tolerance, three strikes and prison works are a far-reaching influence on policy-making, particularly penal policies. Definitely, it represents this penal trend: new punitiveness. (Garland, 2007) New punitiveness is connected with the official aims of using imprisonment that results in increasing use of prisons. Deterrence and retribution to offenders were the primary aims of imprisonment in the nineteenth century. However, during this period, the prisoners were still possible to return back to society and those ideas were treated as official policy. Additionally, although in the 1970s, the rehabilitation ideal collapsed, rehabilitation was reintroduced and became an important aim in penal practices in the late 1990s, especially in the UK Criminal Justice System. The current aims of rehabilitation are not only reforming prisoners characters, but more importantly to prevent them from reoffending (HCHAC, 2004). At present, the UK Prison Service states as its official aims: to reduce the risk of reoffending, hold prisoners securely and provide safety (Cavadino and Dignan, 2007). However, practically, all of the three aims are lamentable. Considering the first aim, Shepherd and W hitings (2006) figures indicate that imprisonment is unsuccessful in preventing reoffending: two-thirds of all prisoners are reconvicted within two years of being released, and for young men aged 18-20, the figure is 74.8% (cited in Cavadino and Dignan, 2007, p193). Reoffending is worse than a decade ago, when according to the Home Office just 70% of offenders under 21 were reconvicted for a crime (Home Office, 1999). Secondly, to hold prisoners securely, does not only mean to prevent their safety, but also to keep them from escaping. Although, currently, the Prison Service and governments are paying more attention to lessen the rates of absconding, the escapes from prisons have become periodic (Cavadino and Dignan, 2007). Therefore, it is hard for the Prison Service to achieve the third aim that is to provide safety. Prisoners escapes will increase anxiety and fear within general public. Cavadino and Dignan (2007, p193) claim that: there is   a very long way to go before it can claim to be providing safe, well-ordered establishments in which prisoners are treated humanly, decently and lawfully. Thirdly, the political economy, particularly the welfare system, plays a vital role in causing different imprisonment rates among various countries and it can revealingly explain the reason of the rise of new punishment. There are three key categories. Firstly, at present, Neo-liberalism, which means free-market capitalism, exists in the US, Britain and Australia. The welfare state, under this ethos that individualism is more important than communitarianism, is minimalist. Cavadino and Dignan (2007, P86) argues that: the economic system creates much material inequality, which results in the social exclusion of many people and communities. Secondly, the welfare benefits in conservative corporatist countries whose collectivism is more important, such as Germany, are more generous than Neo-liberal countries. The citizens in those countries get better protection against unusual market forces and products. However, it is still not equality and it is shown in Cavadino and Dignans (2007, P8 6) book: their welfare states enshrine and perpetuate traditional class, status and economic division between different groups of citizens who are entitled to different levels of welfare benefits. Thirdly, the more equal and generous welfare states are social democratic countries, such as Sweden. Although they share conservative corporatisms communitarian approach, their systems are the most egalitarian ones among those three kinds of countries. Walnsleys (2005) research on imprisonment rates which shows that the rates in all neo-liberal countries are the highest, while the lowest rates are in social democratic countries, definitely confirms this theory. Undoubtedly, the United States is a typical example which shows the rise of the new punitiveness as a neo-liberal country. The quote: overcrowded conditions in our prisons have become a national crisis (cited in Matthews and Francis, 1996, p22) informs that this crisis has extended to almost all federals states and locals communities. Maguire and Pastore (1994) suggested that during 1968 to 1978, the prisoners in federal state prisons increased by over 1000000, from 187914 to 294396. Although many concerns have been took to the crisis, between 1980 to 1990, the number of state and federal inmates had more than doubled to over 7000000, and in 1994 this population surpassed the one million mark (Office of Criminal Justice Service, 1995, p72). There are three factors that contribute to the dramatic increase in prisoner population. Firstly, the increase of inmate population reflects the high rates of crimes (Lynch, 1995). However, in return, the crime rates are not equal to the increment in prison population. According to FBI data the crime rates did not increase sharply in the last few decades. Blumstein (1995, cited in Matthews and Francis, 1996, p30) concluded that: it is very unlikely that the growth in prison population was a consequence of a growing crime rate. Secondly, the US has a long-drawn campaign to get tough with crime. Whatever the elected official is, the politics, from mandatory minimum prison sentences, to restrictions on parole release, to three strikes and you are out law, are aimed at putting more offenders in prison and for a lengthier stay (Skolnick, 1994, cited in Matthews and Francis, 1996, p30). Thirdly, in the 1980s, the war on drugs, which aimed to punish drug offences by using criminal law, contributed to the increase of prison populations. Only 10% of the prison populations were occupied by drug offenders, while this figure had doubled in 1989. Blumstein (1995) conducted a study, which pointed out that: 44% of this increase in prison p opulations between 1986 and 1991 could be attributed to the boom in the number of offenders imprisoned for drug offences (cited in Matthews and Francis, 1996, p31). Furthermore, there are some other solutions that the US has implemented. For instance, creating capacity, which means to build more prisons to house all prisoners; and intermediate punishment, which aims to get tough in the community as a punishment. However, Matthews and Francis (1996) argued the barriers as follows: theories of reducing the crowding crisis remain mainly academic exercises with little prospect of substantively affecting the extent of the crisis, ideas on reducing prison crowding are judged too dangerous because their endorsement would expose elected officials to charges of being soft on crime. (p31-32)   The Effect of Prison on the Family Obviously, imprisonment has lots of bad effects on families. Firstly, those families, whose member is in prison, will lose respect in the community. Clear (2009, p128) cites an experience of a participant in his book: neighborhood residents not only look at the specific offender but also the entire family, and if one has offended, all of a sudden they are not the most respected, even from the church. Secondly, parental imprisonment results in financial problems, especially if the man of the family is in prison. Those families lose a productive member, thus they lose income, because the partners imprisonment will probably influence the employment of the woman, and the ability of a male support the family is higher than the females (Clear, 2009). Thirdly, the most significant influence is on children. Actually, the effects of imprisonment on children start at the arrest of their parent. They are shocked, fearful and confused when witnessing their parents being arrested. As Van Nijantte n (1998) points out: the way the father was removed in handcuffs or with a bag over his head, are sensations the child will never forget (p82). Parental imprisonment has a psychological influence on children. A majority of researches have found that children, whose parents are in prison, are more likely to show the depression, hyperactivity, clinging behaviour, sleep problems, truancy and poor school grades. (Murray, 2005). While, other studies revealed that those children have a higher risk of showing bad behaviour or experience imprisonment (Johnston, 1995). Farrington et al (1996, cited in Codd, 2008. p73) also support this idea that: children who are brought up by parents, who are offenders, particularly if they are imprisonment, have been argued to be more likely to go on to offend. However, parental imprisonment still has benefits for some children. Eddy and Reid (2003), suggest that the quality of positive parenting will rise, because their parents may take more time out on t he street and send them to a caregiver or local care organisations, which will results in less significant problems for those children. The Effect of Prison on the Community Similarly, imprisonment has several effects on the communities. First of all, stigma sometimes will transfer from families to communities. Although some residents say that they do not mind and even celebrate it when the prisoners come back to the community, the stigma, especially if more serious crimes are committed in the community, will inevitably influence the whole community. For example, residents may be reluctant to be out on the street at night in their areas or to take part in activities (Clear, 2009). Secondly, the economic situation of the community is seriously affected by the imprisonment, because of the stigma. There is a fact that residents are concerned more about living surroundings. If there are a number of people with criminal records in the community it can lead to lower property values. Meanwhile, the businesses in such places noted that fewer customers enter their premises. Clear (2009) discusses those two ideas: the areas bad reputation means that large corporat ions do not locate their business in these neighbourhood; and housing prices are diminished because, when residents flee, they sell their houses for whatever they can get, often at a reduced price. This reflects the value of the community (p135). Thirdly, prisoners are always full of hope when returning back to their community. However, they soon feel low self-worth and self-esteem, because the communities stigmatise them. Consequently, they will do nothing to contribute to the communities and feel thats just the way I am, which may very likely lead them to reoffend. As a participants responses in Clears research show (2009, p138): if you treat me more like a human being, I will act more like human being, if you treat me more like an animal, Im going to act more like an animal. Last but not least, even if residents show a welcome to prisoners, those people from prisons actually increase the fear of crime in communities. Another participant in the same study says he is worried about his son when he is working, because of having a former prisoner as a next door neighbour. Other residents express the same fears. They are cited in Clears (2009, p142) book: one resident said that if someone with a criminal records moved in next door to her home, she might do a background check. Another said he was going to watch him'. Overall, those accumulated impacts on the community can be fierce. Conclusion In conclusion, imprisonment plays a vital role as a means of social control. Although in some countries, such as the US, the overcrowded prisons have become a pressing problem that needs to be addressed urgently, because of its valuable social functions and coincidence with official aims, imprisonment is widely used around the world. However, the negative effects on families, especially on children who are economically and mentally greatly affected and suffer when their parents are imprisoned; and communities whose economies and social anxiousness are seriously influenced, should not be neglected. It may negate the development of imprisonment

Gullivers Travels :: essays research papers

The Evolution of Gulliver In Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, the main character, Gulliver, embarks on numerous journeys bringing him to strange lands and affecting his views of the world around him. His response to each voyage differ as do his ideas and reactions to the environment in which he is residing. Gulliver begins his expeditions with a very social and open behavior while possessing a general acceptance of any newly encountered beings. But by the end of the fourth voyage, Gulliver leans toward a more anti-social attitude which was derived from the hatred and disgust he has for human beings, the “Yahoos.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As for the first voyage to Lilliput, Gulliver acts very sociable with all of the different creatures he comes in contact with. Once he arrives on the unknown island, he begins to explore the land around him. After being brought into the city, Gulliver remains subservient towards the Lilliputians by staying chained up near his hut without acting out and attempting to break free which would have most likely been a successful attempt. This subservience created enough trust of the “Man-Mountain'; by the Lilliputian king that it was declared that his liberty hath been granted when he could have easily crushed and killed these little people. Gulliver is also very eager to be able to interact with the creatures and this is evident when in a few weeks he “made a great progress in learning their language'; (68). He is also quite helpful and there are two definitive cases of Gulliver displaying this helpfulness in the country of Lilliput. The first occurs when he obeys the orders of the king to destroy his opposition’s navy and ends up stringing up the navy of Blefuscu rendering them helpless. Then he saves the fiery palace by relieving himself onto it, extinguishing the flames. As you can see throughout the first voyage, Gulliver was very sociable and friendly to those he came in contact with.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An anti-social behavior is then exhibited near the end of the last voyage, after he leaves the country of the Houyhnhnms, because of his new found disgust and hatred for the rest of the world especially the “Yahoos.'; This is evident almost immediately when Gulliver first encounters natives on the new island. Unlike previous encounters with new people, he “made what haste [he] could to the shore'; to quickly retreat from an impromptu meeting (333). His sole purpose after leaving the Houyhnhnm land was “to discover some small island uninhabited, yet sufficient by [his] labour to furnish [himself] with the necessaries of life, which [he] would have thought a greater happiness than to be first Minister in the politest Court of

Gonorrhea Essay -- essays research papers

Gonorrhea   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We chose the bacterial disease gonorrhea. We were not able to find when the disease was discovered or who discovered it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gonorrhea is a bacterial disease that is an infection caused by gonoccocus bacteria. This bacteria is round shaped and can live only in dark, warm, moist places. These places would include; inside your body, cervix, penis, throat, and rectum. It usually involves the urethra in males, and vagina, cervix, and fallopian tubes in females.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For 2-9 days there are no symptoms of Gonorrhea. Then some do occur. There can be frequent burring urination and thick green-yellow discharge from the penis or vagina. Also, there may be rectal discomfort and discharge, joint pain, a mild rash, or sore throat and swollen glands. For men, the opening of the penis may be red and sore. Symptoms of gonorrhea show up more in males than in females, in fact, about half of the women with gonorrhea have no symptoms. Effects of this disease could include; gonococcal eye infection, blood poisoning, infectious arthritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, epididnmitis, endocarditis, sexual impotence in men, and infertility in women. Also, pregnant women can infect unborn babies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gonorrhea can be diagnosed by tests that include blood studies. There could be laboratory cultures and microscopic analysis of the discharge from the reproductive organs, rectum, or throat....

Initial response to Malcolm X and Black Rage Essay

In the essay, Cornel West tries to explain how Malcolm X’s â€Å"Black Rage† articulation wasn’t directed at white americans only, but also to black americans who view their lives and minds through what West describes as â€Å"White lenses†. West also claims that Malcolm X’s idea of â€Å"psychic conversation† would promote blacks to turn that rage to love and appreciation of their own culture and self worth. Another claim West mentions is that the idea of psychic conversation struck fear into black professionals, due to their constant surrounding of white social circles, but at the same time understand the idea precisely for the exact same reason. West compares these kind of individuals to Du Bois’s idea of â€Å"double consciousness†. Blacks living between their own live and whites, never settle in either, yet crave acceptance mainly from whites. ! West also believed that Malcolm X viewed black equality as a farfetched possibility due to the majority of white racists, and black victims of democracy. What interests me the most is that Malcolm X feared cultural hybridity even though he, himself, comes from a hybrid culture. But eventually Malcolm X began to slowly remove that fear after looking into the acceptance of humanity regardless of race, class, or gender in the Islamic regimes of Muslims in the Middle East. In the end of the essay, West thinks that future generations should take Malcolm X’s â€Å"black rage† and â€Å"psychic conversation† as an example of rejection to any sorts of inequality. I strongly agree with West’s idea to follow such examples in order to achieve change in human equality and acceptance.

Analysis of two Commercial Brands of Bleaching Solution Essay

Objective To determine the concentrations of the active ingredients in 2 commercial bleaches. Introduction Sodium hypochlorite is usually found in bleaching solutions. It is the active ingredient of bleaching solutions. It bleaches by oxidation. When it is added to dye, the following reaction occurs: ClO- + dye —————-> Cl- + (dye + O) If the oxidized form of the dye is colorless, then the color of the dye would fade away. In the presence of acid, the hypochlorite ions from the bleaching solution reacts with the iodine ions from potassium iodide in the following way: ClO- + 2I- + 2H+ ———>I2 + H2O + Cl- When sodium thiosulphate solution is added into this reacted solution, a further reaction occurs: I2 + 2S2O32- ————–>2I- + S4O62- This reaction could be used in titration to find out the number of moles of thiosulphate ions, thus the concentration of hypochlorite ions in the bleaching solution. Procedure 1. 10 cm3 of Kao Bleach was pipette into a volumetric flask. Distilled water was added until the meniscus reaches the graduation point. 2. 25 cm3 of the titrated bleach was pipette into a conical flask. About 10 cm3 of potassium iodide and dilute sulphuric acid was added into the conical flask. 3. The solution was titrated with sodium thiosulphate solution until the brown colour of the iodine fades. 4. Starch solution was added into the conical flask, and the solution was further titrated until the dark-brown colour of the starch-iodine complex turns to colourless. The volume of sodium thiosulphate solution required to reach the end point was recorded. 5. Steps 1 to 4 were repeated 3 more times. 6. Steps 1 to 5 were repeated using Clorox Bleach. Data and Calculation Molarity of standard Na2S2O3 solution = 0.05182M Brand A: Kao Price: $11.9/ 1500ml Trial 1 2 3 Final reading/cm3 26.8 23.1 25.7 26.0 Initial reading/ cm3 4.1 0.4 2.9 3.2 Volume of Na2S2O3 22.7 22.7 22.8 22.8

Flannery O’Connor Essay

Flannery O’Connor was a devout Catholic on the protestant south. All her life she was a white crow, the rest of her life she was diagnosed by lupus and has spent on the farm in Georgia with her mother. Religion was a huge part of her life besides writing, O’Connor gave lectures on faith and literature about her religion and once she said: â€Å"I feel that if I were not a Catholic I would have no reason to write, no reason to see, no reason ever to feel horrified or even to enjoy anything. † (Niederauer, George H. Flannery O’Connor’s vision of faith, church and modern consciousness† Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thoughts. 27 Sep. 2007.   Lane Center Lecture Series. 19 Oct. 2011) It is obvious if a person interested in something it will reflects on his or hers life. Flannery O’Connor was a catholic and we see how her religious belief reflects on every storyline. Flannery was interested in raising peacocks, and enclose feather of this beautiful birds into every letter. Through the letters which was edited after her death by Ellie Fitzgerald it is shown the way how Flannery searching for a God. Flannery was a Roman Catholics on the south, but her stories are about Protestants who are searching for the Truth. She wants to show a grace in every main character, devotion to the Christ and to force her characters to suffer, go through the pain and violent to reach grace. In Revelation we have met with a main character Mrs. Turpin who is very faithful to the Christ not to a God. Here Flannery O’Connor reminds about herself in this character. Because she believed in Incarnation doctrine which Church taught that God become a human and converts to a Jesus. Mrs.  Turpin always talking with Jesus asking questions, arguing with him about problems that has appeared in her life. The main character in this story not a true believer, she is just talking that she is so good and very religious person, but she is not. She doesn’t have this gift called faith in her heart; probably she lost faith as she loose her appetite. Mrs. Turpin doesn’t realize is how much religion cost and she understands that is better to believe than no to believe. Flannery was worry about the thought that people do not understand how religion is important and how it’s worth. Mrs. Turpin character is the figure of a person that Flannery O’Connor don’t wanted to be. Mrs. Turpin is a self-righteous, very shallow thinking person she doesn’t look into people’s inner world she is judging them by their race and the way they look alike. Mrs. Turpin is egocentric which is not allowed in any of religions how she can convince herself in true believing if she is thinking she is better than every person in this waiting room. Such things as: is it better to be a white trash or a Negro woman will never came to her narrow mind if she would be a true believer. Mrs. Turpin has been wrestling with grace, Flannery O’Connor believed that we all does she puts her characters into the situations which allows them to fight for grace she thought grace change us and to wrestle with grace means that you don’t want to change yourself in order to became a true believer. Here it is a scene in the story when Mrs. Turpin sitting in the waiting room and hears a song she doesn’t catch every word but she caught the spirit of this song, which makes her thoughts sober. She starts to think that she is very helpful women and it doesn’t matter which race or social class she would placed to it is rather to be kind and ugly woman than to be rich and not a good woman. Through the story it is shown the way Mrs. Turpin changing her mind, her thoughts became sober it seems like she is transforms as the story goes. But still Mrs. Turpin thinking she is better than everyone she is towering over everyone and she is a decent believer and she is showing to visitors in the waiting room the way how grateful to a Jesus she is for everything that she has. And exactly at this moment the book stroke her by an ugly girl and Flannery O’Connor uses this moment as a moment of violence to forward her character into a way religious people supposed to be to reach a grace. This ugly girl called Mr. Turpin a wart hog which was very offending to her she is a clean and goes to church regularly and this is what redeems her. This moment is a breaking point in the story that makes Mr. Turpin to think about her inner world and not to lie to her. These words are message from the God she received to reach revelation. She is judging people and she will be judged by a God as others. The last scene in the story reveals this judgment, when Mrs. Turpin imagine heaven scene where she saw whole companies in heaven. She didn’t expect it; she thought she and people from her social class deserve to be in heaven but not a white trash or black people and freaks. This is a new class Mr. Turpin highlight during the story and includes in this class the ugly girl who attacked her. All this social classes that were divided into groups by Mrs. Turpin were tumbled into heaven. White trash, black people in white robes, freaks leaping like frogs and bringing up the end of the procession was a tribe of people to whom Mrs. Turpin concern herself and her husband Claud. Mrs. Turpin was kind of a woman who knows exactly what she thinks who sees a lot and understands nothing; she was a good religious woman who has never tried to look deeper into religion aspects. At the end of the story it is eternal time giving to Mrs. Turpin to think about her mistakes and her attitudes to religion to people and finally find grace and to receive revelation from God. Flannery O’Connor’s characters go through short and harsh lifecycle as a challenge and searching for revelation. She was a white crown in front of thousands of Protestants who wants to show through her short stories the Truth that her characters are searching for during their short life in the stories. Her rare inherited decease lupus misunderstanding from the Protestant society, loneliness the fact that she was never married, her spiritual life all this facts goes through her veins to the pen and expressed as a basement for writing her stories.

Black Codes

Thomas Dixon September 13, 2012 Honors U. S History Black Codes The Black Codes were laws in the United States after the Civil War with the intent of limiting the basic human rights and civil liberties of blacks as much as possible. Black Codes is used most often to refer to laws passed by Southern states at the end of the Civil War to control the labor, housing and other activities of newly-freed slaves.In Texas, the Eleventh Legislature produced these codes in 1866, right after the Civil War. The law reaffirmed the position that slaves and free blacks had held in Texas and was intended to make blacks work. The codes showed how stubborn white Texans were accepting blacks as equals and also their fears that freedmen would not work unless forced. The codes continued legal discrimination between whites and blacks.The legislature, when it amended the 1856 penal code, emphasized the difference between whites and blacks by defining all people with one-eighth or more black ancestry as pers ons of color, subject to special parts in the law. The black codes were enforced immediately after the American Civil War. Though different from state to state, they each set out to secure a steady supply of cheap labor, and continued to assume the weakness of the freed slaves. The black codes had their roots in the slave codes that had formerly been in effect.The idea behind slavery in America was that slaves were property, and, as such, they had few, if any, legal rights. The slave codes, in their many loosely-defined forms, were seen as effective tools against slave unrest, particularly as a protective method against revolts and runaways. Enforcement of slave codes also varied, but bodily punishment was widely and harshly used to great effect. These black codes were very unfair and lucky for African Americans are not used today. Black Codes Ryan Fagan U. S. History Honors Bushong 4/27/12 How did the Black Codes prevent the immediate integration of the freed black men into society? Written pages: 5 The Civil War caused many issues for American Society, from the physical separation of the southern states, to the issue of ending slavery, being the most well known, and for good reason. While the north wanted the slaves to be free, the south did not, which obviously caused Problems. This topic of free vs. slavery did not begin after the war started though, the government had dealt with many different cases and often the ended in favor of slavery.After the Civil War the issues with slavery still existed because of the creation of Black Codes, codes that basically forced the â€Å"free† men to report to a white employer or supervisor who decided what they could and could not do freely. These are just few of many reasons that the integration of freed black men, and men of color, took almost a century after the day they w ere legally released to truly have their freedom. One of the many reasons that the integration of the freed men into society was not more immediate was because of the stance of the national government before the war.The north may have not been slave states, but when it came to helping a slave in need, they were not going to be the ones to lend a hand. The Dred Scott case is a prime example of this stance. In this case a slaved argues that his owner moved from a slave state to a free state, thereby causing him to become a free citizen of society. This case was extremely controversial. While on one hand the slave made a point, the other hand caused the government to deny his request for freedom, without real rational reason.When the government’s stance changed and Abraham Lincoln became president, the newly elected president caused the country to go to war with itself because of his public stance on slavery. This tragic event caused the south to secede from the United States an d form their own government. Of course the sole issue of the south’s secession was not the loss of slavery, but also had an economic aspect as well. When the Civil War was over, it was quite obvious that the southern states still had a deep and powerful hatred for anyone of color.This hatred, as mentioned before, is the primary reason for the southern states creating the Black Codes. Not only did the Black Codes cause issues between the southern ex-slave owners and their freed slaves, but it also caused a great number of issues in the northern states. The northern states saw these Black Codes as an unfair and cruel way of bringing back slavery. Primarily because in the southern states state government, the white legislators saw no real reason to end the inequality between the white men, and the men of color (â€Å"Constitutional rights foundation,† 2011).Without establishing a new state of mind the governments in the southern states would continue to make these laws, l eaving the federal government unable to make any real changes to ensure the well being of the men of color. This only delayed the integration of the men of color into society even longer, because the relationship between the state governments and the national governments were too fragile at this point in time to make anything positive happen. In reviewing the South Carolina Black Codes, it is clear how biased and restricted the everyday lives of the freed men were.In order to integrate into society completely, the freed man would not only need to attempt to change the views of the white men around them, they were still required to follow the Black Codes. Rebellion could only get the freed men so far because they were not permitted to own anything that could be used as a weapon. The South Carolina Black Codes also prevented the migration of freed men to South Carolina without the approval of two South Carolina white men.These white men, known as freeholders, were essentially the peop le responsible for the freed men, also known as servants, that they approved. After that the Black Codes basically permit slavery to those who take on the responsibility for the freed men. The reason that the free slaves were not able to immediately integrate in society was the Continued existence of the Black Codes. The Black Codes only promoted the previously accepted view of superiority and resulted in lasting conflicts between the races for years.The immediate elimination of the Black Codes would have completely removed any political power that one race would have ad over the other, which in turn would have prevented the conflicts of pride and respect. An immediate overturning of the Black Codes would have also caused the issues of indirect slavery, and violations of rights given to all men by the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. The overall attitude towards freed slaves would have been completely different and would have resulted in a faster change in public opinion and wou ld have allowed the integration of the freed slaves to be much more fluid.Work Cited Black codes and jim crow laws. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. sciway. net/afam/reconstruction/blackcodes. html Constitutional rights foundation. (2011). Retrieved from http://www. crf-usa. org/brown-v-board-50th-anniversary/southern-black-codes. html Herda, D. J. (1948). The dred scott case: Slavery and citizenship  . Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc. The mississippi black code (1865). (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://wps. ablongman. com/long_longman_lahdemo_1/0,8259,1546454-,00. html

An Assessment between the Movies, Japans War in Color and Why We Fight

An Assessment between the Movies, Japan's War in Color and Why We Fight The films â€Å"Why We Fight† and â€Å"Japan’s War in Color† are vastly different from one another due to objectivity of the films. The ways that these two films present themselves give hint to the purpose that these films were trying to make. The film, â€Å"Why We Fight† was commissioned by the Department of Morale, and was meant to give reason for America’s involvement in Asia. The film’s purpose is obviously meant maintain and gain support for the war effort on America’s mainland. The film is targeted at American citizens living in places like Atlanta, Georgia, Washington D.C., or in Portland, Oregon. The film, â€Å"Japan’s War in Color† offers an analytical approach to the various causes of the war in Asia. The objective of this film is to provide a more accurate depiction of the causes and effects of the war in Asia. This film being targeted towards scholars of this area of history. The first contrast that needs to be made between these two films is the nature of their narrators. It seems to be that in the film â€Å"Why We Fight†, the entire dialogue is made by what seems to be a masculine American voice. When the narrator is interrupted, it is in place of an American source, such as the ambassador of China speaks about Japan’s occupation in China. Even when the US ambassador is speaking, he seems to be reading allowed cue cards. Now this is purposively done in order to make the US a hero as much as possible. Even the use of a masculine voice is done purposively to bring about sentiments of honor and duty. Now in the other film â€Å"Japan’s War in Color†, different perspectives are given, which themselves are spoken in a Japanese dialect. Both sides are shown, such as small pockets of rebellion against the military emperorship of Japan, and even hardline militarist Japanese testimonies. What makes that special is that little room fo r biases are left, since both sides are shown in equal proportions. Now this is done simply because this how the academia works, evaluation and detective work must be done. Next what needs to pointed out is what type of footage is shown between the two films. I could not but help but get a sense that military demonstrations were the bulk of the film â€Å"Why We Fight†. Then oddly enough, a few scenes seem to be taken from Hollywood films, especially when they were describing the old Chinese culture. One scene describing the Great Wall of China, the footage of men on horse back in what seemed to steppe bandits looked very Hollywood clichà ©. But the over use of military demonstrations, marches, soldiers storming trenches, close ups on Japanese soldiers looking menacing is done with the objective of making the US seem a hero in comparison of the Japanese. Even the depiction of the Chinese make it seem that they are under the US responsibility. The use of debasement is placed on the Chinese, sense one they are not given any representation other than the narrators own view of them, and makes it seem that they can not help themselves from the Japane se forces. The footage in the film â€Å"Japan’s War in Color† is extremely different from â€Å"Why We Fight†. First off, footage of typical Japanese life is shown, such as people working in the fields, footage of Tokyo on a normal day, footage various festivals. The footage attempts to encapsulate the whole human experience in the 1930’s and early 1940’s in Asia. Indeed, there is footage of war, but in this film it is hard at times to distinguish who is harming who. War is depicted as messy and full of collateral damage. Much rather this film isn’t attempting to call for more war, but expose the vices of war. While trying to find some similarities between these two films, they only seem to agree based on the large historical facts, for example Japan’s occupation of Korea and Manchuria, Japan being the single most powerful state in Asia, and Japan’s imperialist campaign in Asia. But how these are expressed and analyzed are in different formats. For example, in â€Å"Why We Fight† these events are expressed in a outsiders point of view, which in this case is described as Japanese aggression. In the film, â€Å"Japan’s War in Color†, opinions are expressed from mainland Japan, people in China, intellectuals, soldiers on both fronts opinions are expressed to see their motives and explanations for taking part in the war. In summary, the contrasts overweigh the similarities between the films. These two films have two complete different objectives. The makers of each film had in mind a certain way of depicting the war in mind. In the â€Å"Why We Fight†, it was a propaganda film meant to maintain support for the war in America. Certain things were done to achieve this such as refusing to use Japanese sources, focusing on the military aspect of Japan, and debasing the Chinese as helpless people needing American assistance. The film â€Å"Japan’s War in Color† was a academic piece meant to expose the different views that were held during this time in Asia. To explore both the militarist, the common folk, the liberals, the radicals, and the unaccounted for. The film was meant to explore the human experience that occurred in this time of human civilization.