Financial Risk Management at Toyota Essay

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) is Japan’s largest and the world’s fourth-largest automobile manufacturer. The company offers well-known car models like Camry, Corona, Corolla and Lexus. Though a late entrant, compared to General Motors and Ford, Toyota has become one of the strongest players in the automobile industry. Toyota has continued to set new benchmarks for providing value to customers more effectively than competitors. Toyota is exposed to market risk due to changes in currency rates, interest rates and certain commodity and equity prices. In order to manage these risks, Toyota uses various derivative financial instruments. These instruments are in general executed only with creditworthy financial institutions. The case outlines the various financial risks Toyota faces and how the company manages them. Introduction Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota), Japan’s largest and the world’s fourth-largest automobile manufacturer offered well-known car models like Camry, Corona, Corolla, and Lexus. Though a late entrant, compared to General Motors and Ford, Toyota had become one of the strongest players in the automobile industry. In an industry, generally considered to be mature in terms of technology, Toyota had continued to set new benchmarks for providing value to customers more effectively than competitors. Toyota had also redefined the rules of the game in various areas – product development, manufacturing, vendor management and human resources management. A recent Business Week issue had Toyota on the cover with the caption â€Å"Can anything stop Toyota?† Background Note Sakichi Toyoda, born in 1868, founded Toyota. He showed little interest in the family’s carpentry business. Instead, Toyoda concentrated on improving the handloom machinery used in textile factories. These efforts led to the Toyoda Automatic Loom. In 1926, Sakichi founded Toyoda Automatic Loom Works (TALW) to make looms. He entrusted his son Kiichiro with the task of using the profits from the textile machinery business to develop a motor car. In 1933, Kiichiro opened an auto department within the loom works and began copying US engine designs. After Sakichi died in 1930, Kiichiro faced stiff competition from Ford and General Motors, who had set up their manufacturing units in Japan. Family members including brother Risaburo showed little interest in Kiichiro’s plans. In spite of these difficulties, the articles of association of the company were amended in 1933 to permit automobile manufacturing†¦ Credit Risk Toyota used various financial instruments, in the normal course of business. These instruments were in general executed only with creditworthy financial institutions. Virtually all foreign currency contracts were denominated in U.S. dollars, euros and other currencies of major industrialized countries†¦ Market Risk Toyota was exposed to market risk due to changes in currency rates, interest rates and certain commodity and equity prices. In order to manage these risks, Toyota used various derivative financial instruments†¦ Derivative financial instruments: Accounting & Valuation Toyota employed derivative financial instruments, including foreign exchange forward contracts, foreign currency options, interest rate swaps, currency swap agreements and interest rate options to manage its exposure to fluctuations in interest rates and foreign exchange rates†¦

Ethnicity, Race and Culture: Austria

Essay Topic I: Ethnicity, Race and Culture: Austria Austria is not a big country; it’s ranked on 115th place in total area and 92nd in total population. But not so long ago the Austrian-Hungarian Empire was one of the â€Å"big players† by the end of the 19th century in Europe. That Empire has been a mixture of many different and strongly varying cultures and ethnicities, which remains as one of the reasons why it probably fell apart and got divided into different nations.So what is it now, that makes an Austrian an Austrian and why is he so much different than somebody from Hungary, Czech Republic or Germany; this is the main topic of this essay. The first part of the essay will give a short overview of what ethnicity, race and culture in general stands for. Therefor I will give a short introduction about these topics and try to explain how they are used today.Later on, my focus and the main part of this work will include aspects in which Austrian Culture influences pe ople (in Austria and in general) and try to find answers to the question: â€Å"What is typically or specific for the Austrian culture and the national identity? â€Å" To make this essay a little bit more thought-provoking, I will divide the main part into two parts. The first will consist of features which I perceive from being an Austrian citizen; the second part will attempt to give an indication of features that caught the attention of people who were not born or raised in Austria.Before I start with my major writing, first a short anecdote about the Austrian dialect, which is, let us say, an indicator for Austria’s culture and race: â€Å"The Austrian dialect is about as pretty because the talk resistant changes between self-indulgence and pulling oneself together back and forth play. It thus allows an irreplaceable wealth of right projecting temper. † This short quote from the German author and poet Christian Morgenstern gives already very precise and helpful â€Å"informations† about culture in Austria.To understand what the author was trying to say with this quote you have to appreciate the remarkable gap that lies in between Austrian and German culture. Even though most people in the world (if they even know where Austria is located! ) think of Austrian Culture as a very similar to the German culture, which might be not even so far away from the truth but indeed, there are important and noteworthy differences. One of them is that Austrians can be projected with the adjectives â€Å"cozy†, â€Å"comfy† and â€Å"unhurried† compared to the adjectives Germans are illustrious for in the world, such as â€Å"detailed†, â€Å"precise† and â€Å"hardworking†.From my point of view it is quiet right to say that a big part of the Austrian Culture lies somewhere in between, and that is what Christian Morgenstern was trying to say with his quote. But before I go too deep, let us start from the very beginning: What is culture? Well, this is not an easy question to answer because there are various definitions for this word. I will state here two different definitions of culture. Geert Hofstede defined a very common set of models for international cultures.For him culture â€Å"is the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of on human group from those of another. Culture in this sense is a system of collectively held values. † (Hofstede 1990, p. 20) Whereas Edgar Schein, who was written one of the best and informative books on organizational culture, defines culture â€Å"as the deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of an organization that operate unconsciously and define in a basic `taken for granted? fashion an organization’s view of itself and its environment. † (Schein 1994, p. 7) From these two definitions it is already quite obvious that culture has very much to do with groups. A basic need of groups is the ability to communicate, both at a superficial level (for which ordinary language largely suffices) and also at a deeper level of meaning. At this deeper level, words, actions and things can become filled with special and specific meaning for the group, such as group-specific jargon and language, rituals for greetings, meetings and other group processes and last but not least artwork and artifacts that symbolize and remind the group of their history (cf.Schein 1994, p. 24;25). And Austria has a long history with a rich tradition. Austria’s geographical location at the crossroads of Europe determined its historical multiethnic makeup. As Austria is comprised with nine provinces and bordered by eight countries with their own distinctive cultures, the people of each province tend to be different. Surrounded by so many other cultures, Austria has often been subjected to cultural â€Å"invasions†, which are the source of the differences among the provi nces. Another source of the diversity is the Alps, which cover 62 percent of the country.The distinctions also occurred because different groups settled in Austria. In addition to the Celts, Romans, Hungarians, and Germanic groups, many groups from central Europe arrived during the Middle Ages. Now we have defined Austria’s conditions of culture and its heritage. Let us move to the next important topic: â€Å"National Identity†. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, identity is defined as â€Å"those attributes that make you unique as an individual and different from others† or â€Å"the way you see or define yourself†.Identity can therefore be seen as the positioning of the â€Å"self† as opposed to the â€Å"others†. This concept refers to individual rather than to collective identity and may be determined by the gender as well as the territorial, cultural, social, religious, ethnic, linguistic and national identity (cf. Sm ith 1991, p. 15). Going beyond individual identity to collective identity and approaching the concept of national identity, the definition gets more complex. It is not about identifying a single individual, but about detecting characteristics of a whole center of population.In another approach, the second construct, the nation can be defined as â€Å"an extensive aggregate of persons, so closely associated with each other by common descent, language, or history, as to form a distinct race or people, usually organized as a separate political state and occupying a definite territory† (The Oxford English Dictionary 1933, p. 30). So now we have well-defined the terms culture and national identity and these definitions leave very much space open to examine the Austrian lifestyle and culture. Therefor it is very difficult to answer questions like â€Å"What is typically Austrian? † without generalizing excessively.The struggle lies in the problem, that if you have grown up i n a place, you perceive many things differently than foreigners would and, which makes the situation even more complicated, you don’t notice things foreigners might consider odd. To me, the situation is a little bit easier; I was born in Croatia and moved to Austria when I was 5 years old, so I am able to take both sides of observation, the inside and the outside. My first part of observation about the â€Å"Austrian soul† precedes me to the baroque and catholic legacy that, I think, goes hand in hand with Austrian Culture and National Identity.This means that Austrian society is strongly influenced by a baroque, Catholic tradition that is fairly subtle in terms of actual religious life (only 7 percent of all Austrians attend a weekly service, which is Western-European standard; in Poland it is 20 percent, in the United States of America 40 percent! ). Nevertheless, the tradition of strong family ties, opulent architecture, food and feasts, as well as celebrations and ceremonies is something I see as concerned with the Catholic legacy of the country.Formality and certain ways in which you engage with people socially is very hierarchical and much stricter regulated than in English speaking countries. Families receive significant public benefits for staying with newborn babies for two years and employees are required to secure a mother? s (or father? s, but that is still very uncommon in Austria) job for three years. This leads directly to the very next shaping factor in Austria, the socialist tradition. The socialist tradition of the country is mostly based on the reforms of the1970ies.Education is more or less free from primary school to university (when a conservative government started charging about 700 Euros in fees per year, there were many demonstrations all over Austria). Health care is public. Transportation, culture and arts, libraries and other infrastructure is heavily funded by the public. That has significant social implications: Aus tria? s university graduates are among the oldest in Europe (in 2005, the average age of receiving the first degree was 27) and its retirement age is among the lowest. For several years, the political trend is to cut the social system down and liberalize the country economically.Many Austrians find the sheer thought of responsibility and initiative distressing, though. Austrians also have a reputation for being conservative and xenophobic, especially Germans like to think of us as a hostile, grumpy bunch (which we might well be with respect to Germans). The political spectrum of Austria is in fact shifted slightly to the right compared to Germany: The German conservatives are the â€Å"rightest† party, whereas Austrian populists standing clearly right of the conservatives have pioneered populist political movements in Europe.To understand this, I think it is necessary to distinguish between political contents on one hand and political style on the other. In terms of actual co ntent, the rightwing populists of Austria (and of other European countries) are not necessarily more radical than the Tories in the UK or even the democrats in the US. In terms of style, Austrians have very little constraints when it comes to being straight-forward and public statements are often made by Austrians that would be regarded as being highly politically incorrect in many other countries, despite of being wide-spread views.Another mechanism that came up my mind while writing this essay is that Austrian people have original views in foreign things. I think that there are several reasons for this. Partly it? s the Austrian mentality to rant openly about whatever bothers you. Partly – especially with rightwing issues – it is also that Austria defined itself with the aid of Western nations as the first victim of Nazi Germany, completely failing to acknowledge the role as a major culprit, which it also had, until into the 1980ies. There was much less of a progress ive turnover than in Germany after the war.But the key-question remains: Are Austrians more xenophobic, racist, Semitic than the rest of Europe? Drawn from own experiences and those of friends from other countries, I would say â€Å"most likely not†. As everywhere, cities are more open and cosmopolitan than rural communities. As everywhere, education makes people more tolerant. But just because it is quite likely to hear from an Austrian a grumpy complaint about Eastern-European burglars, Turkish youngsters molesting people on the street or Nigerian asylum seekers selling drugs does not mean that such stereotypes don? t exist in other countries.Enforcing political correctness (socially or legally) fights symptoms, not causes. In terms of causes of intolerance, I don? t think that Austria is doing significantly better or worse than other Western countries. And the openness in talking about pretty much anything will at least allow you to listen to people and get a direct handle on what they honestly think. Another important aspect of the Austrian culture and its soul is the priority of domestic life. Austrians love to build, repair, extend, maintain, refurbish or modernize their houses. They also love gardening and spend ours in garden centers. Houses and gardens are important social stages for dinner parties, BBQs or occasionally just staying in and watch TV. Garden-culture is something you find everywhere in Europe, the obsession with house-building and fixing is a more continental or even Germanic manner (a variation of the same principle is â€Å"washing the car†). The priority that homes and families have for Austrians might contribute to the stereotype of the bourgeois mountain people. Speaking of mountains: The natural beauty of the country gave rise to a pronounced outdoors culture.Mountaineering, skiing, rock climbing, paragliding, cycling, skiing, camping, skiing, swimming, just strolling and – of course – skiing are really big in Austria and we love to spend our weekends climbing pretty much any hill-resembling thing pointing out of the landscape. Then we sit on top of it, drink beer and watch the valleys. From my point of view, I don’t think there? s a rational reason why we are doing this. A colleague of mine once tried to explain it with a nation-wide UV light addiction; others think it? s coffee and â€Å"Red Bull† that drive us up the hills.Probably all nonsense. In the end, and I am only guessing here, we climb mountains simply because we can. This was the first part as to give my perspective of what is typically Austrian from the view of an Austrian. My next part should be seen as a form of an outside view of how Austrian people and their behavior are seen in the rest of the world. However, I am often amused by the little things that foreigners notice as typically Austrian. Having grown up in the country myself, I often take things as natural or granted that are somewhat odd to an outsider? s eye.From talking to people that have been to this country before, I have learned about the Austria-specificity of a range of features. Long conversations with a friend from Germany revealed a lot of Austrian culture to me that I had previously been unaware of. This included one of his observations on the way people in Austria attribute certain habits and features to the origin on a person: If somebody is Tyrolean, he is expected to like hiking, be conservative and hate Italians. Carinthian accents are immediately associated with ski- and surf-instructors, alongside with their stereotypical courtship behaviors.If somebody acts provincially in Vienna and it turns out that he is Upper Austrian, everybody goes â€Å"Ah, that? s why†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . According to my friend, the â€Å"tribal affiliation† of the Austrians is much more pronounced than in Germany. Something that I have been already aware but not considered as typically Austrian is the love to their titles a nd degrees. Austria has an impressive list of 819 titles and degrees. Many people get their title or academic degree included in their passports and they even a master (â€Å"Magister†) degree is written before the name.Most titles are used instead of a name when referring to a person directly, for example â€Å"Herr Magister† or â€Å"Frau Doktor†. Recent years saw the arrival of the Anglo-American â€Å"MA†, â€Å"PhD† or other â€Å"new† degrees. Most elderly Austrians are confused by these and try to translate them. This leads me to my last feature of Austrian behaviors that I concluded while talking to foreign friends of me. If you ask Austrians about an upper-class, it is likely that they will look at you somewhat confused and refer you to the wide middle-class and the longstanding socialist traditions that effectively eliminated at least the most pressing poverty.Upper-class as a concept is something strange to Austria – and ye t there are few countries that have a stronger correlation in education or income and life expectancy, income of children, social status, and so on, than the German-speaking countries. I am always fascinated how well the upper-class is ignored in Austria and yet maintains its behavioral and social rituals that often date back to the days of the monarchy. If an Austrian tells you that there is no real upper-class in this country, ask how many friends he has that went to one of Vienna? international schools; ask about the last time he went to the Salzburg Festival; if he would feel comfortable dining and using the correct cutlery in one of Salzburg? s top-restaurants; or if he has heard of the â€Å"Adelsclubs† of Vienna (associations for Austria? s ex-nobility). Austria has a long history with a long tradition. For the development of Culture and National Identity this is a very significant aspect, also when talking about what is typically for Austrians. Even to myself, as I al ready ive here for 20 years, there are facets about the Austrian culture that have not been revealed to me so far. Through attending numerous sociological classes and talking to friends from Austria but also from foreign countries, I was able to get a profounder and closer look on what makes an Austrian an Austrian and that there are reasonable explanations for certain aspects and behaviors. This will be important for further investigations, because I think that Austria’s culture (and every culture worldwide) is just about to experience major changes.Factors like immigration, migration and especially the immense changes we are going through thanks to globalization and all the issues that come with it, will show if historically grown cultures have the capability to survive such a thriving and lavish lifestyle, as we are experiencing right now in the western Words: 2. 965 Words: 2. 965 hemisphere. References: Austrian Culture. Hephaestus Books, 2011 Brown, Andrew;  Organizati onal Culture. Pitman, London, 1995 Culture of Austria-Hungary. General Books LLC, 2010Lichtenberger Elisabeth; Austria: Society and Regions. Austrian Academy of Sciences, 2000 Schein, Edgar; Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey-Bass Psychology Series, 1994 [Paperback] Simpson, John; Weiner, Edmund; The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 1989 Stein R. Conrad; Austria. Enchantment of the World Series. Children’s Press, 2000 Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Available from: http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/Nationalism [Accessed April 2012] Culture and quality: an anthropological perspectiveAvailable from: http://intqhc. oxfordjournals. org/content/16/5/345. full [Accessed April 2012] Wikipedia, Austria, last modified on 21 April 2012 Available from: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Austria [Accessed April 2012] ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Wikipedia, Au stria [ 2 ]. Christian Morgenstern, German author and poet (1871-1914) [ 3 ]. Brown, Andrew,  Organizational Culture. Pitman, London, 1995 [ 4 ]. Schein, Edgar, Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey-Bass Psychology Series, 1994 [ 5 ]. Wikipedia [ 6 ].Lichtenberger Elisabeth; Austria: Society and Regions. Austrian Academy of Sciences, 2000 [ 7 ]. Stein R. Conrad; Austria. Enchantment of the World Series. Children’s Press, 2000 [ 8 ]. Lichtenberger Elisabeth; Austria: Society and Regions. Austrian Academy of Sciences, 2000 [ 9 ]. Austrian Culture. Hephaestus Books 2011 [ 10 ]. Austrian Culture. Hephaestus Books 2011 [ 11 ]. Culture of Austria-Hungary. General Books LLC 2010 [ 12 ]. Culture of Austria-Hungary. General Books LLC 2010 [ 13 ]. Culture of Austria-Hungary. General Books LLC 2010

Mary Whiton Calkins Essay

In the early days of psychology there were few female psychologists who had any type of impact on the field of psychology. There was sex discrimination and it was a common belief that women were inferior to men. Mary Whiton Calkins was able to beat the odds and have a long lasting legacy in psychology. She is considered one of the pioneers in psychology and is credited with a major theoretical contribution of self-psychology, which was centered on the idea that all consciousness is personal. Calkins overcame discrimination from both students and scholars and succeeded in inventing a procedure that was historic; paired associate learning, which has become the standard method in cognitive research (Goodwin, 2008). Mary Whiton Calkins was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1863. She was the oldest of five children; their parents encouraged their education, especially the study of languages and cultures (Furumoto, 1980). Calkins did graduate from high school in Newton Massachusetts and began Smith College in 1882 as a sophomore. Unfortunately, in 1883, her sister’s illness and subsequent death caused her to decide to study Greek at home the following year. However Calkins returned to Smith College in 1884 as a senior, and graduated with a concentration in classics and philosophy in 1885. In 1887, after graduating from Smith College, she was hired to teach Greek at Wellesley College. She had been teaching for three years when she was offered she was offered a position teaching in the new area of psychology (Goodwin, 2008). In 1890 Wellesley finally offered Calkins the position, with the condition that she would study psychology for a year. There were very few psychology programs available at that time, and even fewer that would accept women applicants. This made it difficult for her to have the one year of study needed to teach the subject of psychology. During the following year Calkins also worked unofficially at the psychology laboratory at Clark University with Edmund Sanford. He also assisted Calkins in the creation of a psychology lab for Wellesley College, equipped with state of the art equipment. That psychology lab officially opened in 1891, the same year that Calkins began teaching psychology at Wellesley (Goodwin, 2008). After being invited to sit in on some of the lectures at Harvard, Calkins formally requested that she be allowed to sit in on these lectures. She decided to try to take classes at the Harvard Annex taught by Josiah Royce, a Harvard professor, because the Annex was not an official part of Harvard University. Royce, however, pushed her to try to attend regular Harvard classes because not all of his classes were available through the Annex. Charles Eliot, the president of Harvard, believed strongly that the two sexes should be educated separately. But it was not until the pressure applied to him from both James and Royce was combined with a petition from Calkins father and a letter from the president of Wellesley College that Eliot finally agreed in 1892. Calkins would be allowed to attend James and Royce’s seminars on psychology, but it was officially stated that she would not be a student of the University entitled to registration. (Furumoto, 1980). Calkins felt like she needed to do more graduate work. She continued teaching while simultaneously studying with J. Munsterberg until 1894 when she studied full-time for a year. At that time Munsterberg petitioned Harvard to admit Calkins as a Ph. D. candidate, but was refused. The Harvard psychology department held an informal examination of Calkins, which she passed in 1895. The same year, while at Harvard, Calkins presented her theses, where she completed a series of experimental studies on association. She developed a procedure known as paired-associate learning (Goodwin, 2008). Her subjects first studied stimulus-response pairs comprised of sequentially presented color patches and numbers, and then they tried to recall the umber responses when shown the color stimuli. Her results showed that recall was enhanced by each of the four factors: frequency, vividness, recency, and primacy. These four conditions could strengthen associations, and found that frequency was the most important. (Goodwin, 2008). Calkins then returned to Wellesley College where she continued to teach until her retirement in 1927. From about 1900, her publications became less research-oriented as she developed her major theoretical contribution to psychology, self-psychology. Calkins maintained that psychology could be the study of mental life, but that the central fact of psychology must be that all consciousness contains an element of the self (Goodwin, 2008). In 1900, Calkins published her first article on a system of psychology of the self, a topic which became her primary focus. Over the next thirty years, Calkins continued to present, develop, and defend her theory of self-psychology, gradually moving more towards philosophy and away from the psychological trend towards behaviorism. There is evidence that her primary interest was always philosophy rather than psychology. She was teaching psychology for almost a decade before another faculty member trained in psychology joined the philosophy department. (Furumoto, 1980). In 1905, Calkins became the first woman elected president of the American Psychological Association. As her interests shifted to philosophy, she became the first woman elected president of the other APA, the American Philosophical Association in 1918. All of her work in philosophy as well as psychology came to center around the importance of self. She used it as a way to reconcile competing theoretical schools of thought including structuralism and functionalism (Furumoto, 1980). She believed that self-psychology was a method of resolving disputes between structuralism, which analyzes consciousness in to its basic elements, and functionalism, which focuses on how consciousness serves to adapt the individual to the environment (Goodwin, 2008). Among her major contributions to psychology are the invention of the paired associate’s technique and her work in self based psychology. Calkins believed that the conscious self was the primary focus of psychology. Despite Mary Whiton Calkins contributions, Harvard maintains its refusal to grant the degree she earned and her influence on psychology is often overlooked by both scholars and students. She was passionate about her beliefs, even when Harvard was going to award her a PhD. from Radcliffe College; she refused to accept the degree because she did not agree with the â€Å"injustice of unequal treatment of the sexes based on the implicit assumption that there are inherent differences in their mentalities† (Furumoto, 1980). Mary Whiton Calkins was a pioneer in psychology. She was responsible for the creation of a method of memorization called the paired associate technique, founder of one of the early psychological laboratories in the United States, and creator of a system of self-psychology (Furumoto, 1980). Conclusion Mary Whiton Calkins was a prolific writer in both psychology and philosophy, publishing four books and over a hundred papers divided among the fields. In addition to being the first woman president of the American Psychological Association, Calkins also served as president of the American Philosophical Association in 1918. The topics Mary Whiton Calkins studied in psychology covered a wide range including dream research, animal consciousness, and memorization. In 1892 she presented a report on a dream study that she had worked on with Sanford at the first meeting of the APA. Thirteen years later she was elected president of that same organization. In 1895 she returned to Wellesley as an associate professor, and in 1898 she became a full professor, a position she held until she retired in 1927 (Furumoto, 1980). On February 26, 1930, Calkins died of inoperable cancer, one year after retiring from Wellesley as a Research Professor and turning over that department to Eleanor Gamble. Her teaching career spanned forty two years. She died with two honorary degrees, a doctor of letters from Columbia University and a doctor of laws from Smith College. However, she never received the degree that she worked for at Harvard. In 1927 a group of Harvard alumni petitioned the president of Harvard requesting that the university grant Calkins her Ph. D. , but they were denied (Furumoto, 1980).

Case Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case Report - Essay Example The importance of the right of the accused to be assisted with a counsel before answering questions during custodial investigation was the significant principle laid down in this case. The â€Å"Miranda rights† is referred to as the right of the accused to a counsel which has the following wordings: You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you." Absence of the Miranda rights shall render the admission of the accused as inadmissible in evidence and shall be regarded as the fruit of a poisonous tree. Further, any statement obtained from the accused by the police during custodial investigation shall not be admitted as evidence during trial unless it can be proven that the accused voluntarily offered the confession after having been informed of his rights and fully understanding the consequen ces of his actions, with or without assistance of a counsel, which shall be considered as a valid waiver on his part. On March of 1963, the accused, Ernesto Arturo Miranda from Phoenix, Arizona, was arrested following the charge of rape and kidnapping of an 18-year-old movie theater  attendant. During custodial investigation, he confessed commission of the crimes of robbery and attempted rape. During trial, his confession, together with the testimony of the victim were used against him, despite the objections of his counsel. The officers who interrogated Miranda admitted also admitted during the trial that Miranda was not advised that he had a right to have an attorney present. His counsel argued that his Fifth Amendment rights against self incrimination were violated. Superior Court Judge Yale Mc Fate held that the confession is admissible as evidence. Thus, Miranda was convicted and sentenced to 20 to 30 years in prison to be served

Library Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Library Research - Essay Example An example of this is the use of RFID tagging and the software to manage the flow of goods. Technology by itself does not provide a solution and it is important that retail solution providers know exactly what the needs of the retail outlets are and the retail outlets use the most efficient solution. For retail outlets it is the knowledge of when products have moved from their storage points to the shop floor that helps in preventing stock outs, rather than the information of when a product has arrived and when it has been sold. This solution not only benefits in preventing stock outs, but also in preventing having excess of unnecessary inventory. This calls for a new strategy in which there is greater responsiveness of the distribution centers to the activity in the stores. In other words this means consumer demands at the stores is the driving force for replenishment activity at the distribution center. This new strategy calls for using the wealth of information available at the store level to formulate the replenishment plans. Technology needs to provide the tools to correlate the information from the stores into execution plans for replenishment at the distribution centers. This is the new demand driven supply plan strategy. Demand driven supply plan strategy makes the customer the focus of activity of not just the manufacturer, but for the retail outlet too, thus providing a true picture of demand that needs to be satisfied by the supply plan. Once the real time demand is known it is possible to utilize the components of the integrated supply system to provide for better utilization of the three pivots of supply chain, consisting of quality, costs and service by the retailer. In other words the retailer can now balance inventory carrying costs, order fulfillment costs and transportation costs based on the strategy that retail outlet operates on. The benefit of providing extra space in the retail outlet for

What is the role of corporate interests in modern democracies Essay

What is the role of corporate interests in modern democracies - Essay Example In principle, every corporate get organized and compete for the influence (Lindblom, p.4). Political and economic powers are open to multiple corporate groups that feel strong enough to have pressure on them. The proponents of the pluralism theory operate within the modern democracies and has plays many roles. Corporate groups from a mechanism through which the ideas, views and needs of the citizens are made known to elected leaders in most countries. In the United States, both the formal and informal traditions provide fertile ground for the corporate groups. In United State, the interest group exerts the pressure on the government because of relatively weak political parties due to separation of powers between legislative and executive branches. In Great Britain, the prime minister to hold office depends on the majority support; parties exert control over legislation process and public policies process. Each legislature forms a winning coalition with his state. The system encourages decentralization of political power to state and localities (Lindblom, p.14). The business corporate group plays a great role in the democracies. Large multinational corporations bring enormous resources to bear on political goals. Because the elected leaders are economically accountable to the state, they are keen to avoid anti-business policies that can destroy the performance. The business interest groups represent views of the entire industry in the political process. Corporation also supports other groups that speak the whole business community. Individual companies also directly lobby for legislation and channel millions of dollars into champagne trails of their favorite candidate. Labor unions gained a significant place in United States politics in the 1930s. The National Labour relation Act enabled the unions to grow faster because of the protective nature of the act and the possession of collective bargaining. This applies to most countries where the labor unions are

Social Impact Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Impact - Essay Example In this age of high and advanced technology, people have constantly come to interact with the media in every day of their lives (Farmer, 2001). People are now constantly being flooded with messages, thus the media has emerged as influential on the activities and thoughts of individuals and of the global society as a whole. Usually the message sent is in a variety of forms, including the currently popular short message service, and they are perpetuated by large corporations. Gender inequality: a social impact of new communication technologies Gender inequality is an important social impact that arises out of the use of new communication technology; it has regularly been observed that it increases with the increase in the latter. When one sex subordinates to then other one, then this is referred to as sexism, in most societies of the world female usually subordinate to the male. This not only leads to objectification of the females but also marginalization, as this happening, men incre ase their wealth, privilege, social power and opportunity. Advertisements on televisions and on the internet intensify the myth that the toys used by boys should be those that reflect power and authorities, girls’ toys are usually dolls only. ... There are several theories developed by communication and journalism experts to analyze such perspectives, the analysis of the media, and gender inequality as a social impact of new communication technologies and tools. People are always in continuous battle over power and resources, this is the conflict theory. This theory gives the implied explanation for this increasing and blatant societal bias that is heavily influenced by the media. It is often stated that publishing and broadcasting companies are under the control of a small bunch of individuals; these companies only help to perpetuate only their interests and a few other biased views. This theory points out that unlike men, women do not hold privileged or influential positions of power; this naturally follows that women would be portrayed as naturally weak to so that men increase their control over the society. Conflict theory is further augmented by materialist theory in explaining gender inequality as brought about by new t echnologies in communication (Mooney, 2011). The theory offers a compelling justification of the increasing gender inequality, by using cross cultural information on the exact position of the male and female genders. They define gender inequality as a consequent of the way the society views and holds men and women in an economic structure. These theories offer control and distribution of important resources as critical data in giving out stratification. The roles of the female members of the society is often looked down upon notwithstanding their importance to their society, these are often devalued. Conventional media has stereotypically painted

Fibromyalgia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Fibromyalgia - Essay Example It was observed there is high aggregation of Fibromyalgia in families of Fibromyalgia patients. The mode of inheritance followed is probably polygenic. An association between Fibromyalgia and polymorphisms of the genes in the serotoninergic, dopaminergic and catecholaminergic systems was observed in research. However these polymorphisms are not specific for Fibromyalgia and are associated with a range of somatic disorders and with depression (Buskila 332-8). Stress is often considered as a risk factor for Fibromyalgia It has also been hypothesized that because exposure to stressful conditions can alter the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the development of fibromyalgia may stem from stress-induced disruption of the HPA axis (McBeth et al . R992-R1000) There is strong evidence that major depression and fibromyalgia are associated with each other. The symptoms of fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive disturbances that are characteristic of Fibromyalgia are also present in depressive illness. Patients with Fibromyalgia often improve with antidepressant medications. Although current major depression was found in only about 18-36% of Fibromyalgia patients, a lifetime history of depression was observed in 50-70% of the cases in a study (Goldenberg 778-779). Gender and age are the other important risk factors in Fibromyalgia as Fibromyalgia is 10 times more prevalent in women than in men and is most likely to be diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50 (Chakravarty and Zoorob 247). The most important signs of Fibromyalgia are pain in multiple sites, fatigue, and poor sleep. Patients often complain of low back pain, which may radiate into the buttocks and legs. Also common are complaints of pain and tightness in the neck and across the upper posterior shoulders. The pain may be described as a burning or gnawing soreness, stiffness, or aching. Many patients awaken frequently at night and have difficulty falling back to sleep. Upon waking, many patients feel exhausted and complain of stiffness, which improves as the day passes by. Pain must last for more than 3 months in all four quadrants of the body.Fibromyalgia is diagnosed if there is a history of widespread pain lasting more than three months-affecting all four quadrants of the body and presence of 11 tender points among the nine pairs of sites specified by the American Rheumatology College (Chakravarty and Zoorob 248-249) Many patients with fibromyalgia complain of cognitive difficulties (known as "brain fog" or "fibrofog") such as short and long-term memory problems, groping for words, and poor vocabulary. Headaches, including migraine type, also are common. A feeling of swollen joints without actual swelling, and paresthesias without objective neurologic findings, are considered two important features of Fibromyalgia (Chakravarty and Zoorob 248). As a medically unexplained syndrome, there is no known cure or universally accepted treatment for fibromyalgia, and treatment is typically aimed at symptom management. Along with pharmaceutical treatment, research was done on a variety of alternative treatments for Fibromyalgia with varying results. Short-term exercise programs for individuals with fibromyalgia have consistently improved physical function, especially physical fitness, and reduced tender point pain; however the exercise must be done at moderate intensity and consistently. The exercise should start at intensities below the

Business environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Business environment - Essay Example These include social, political, economical and technological. These factors can make or break a business. In simple words the outside environments consists of stakeholders. A stakeholder is any group within or outside the organization that has a stake in the organization's performance. External environment mainly consists of people who have stakes in the activities of the business such as the government, local population, pressure groups and investors. To illustrate how these people are affected by the organization's activities, let's look at some examples: The factor that I consider to be the most important in the external environment is social and cultural values that have to be followed and respected by the businesses. If this business does not follow the social values of the country, it will face a legal action against it and will have to shut down. This is how social and political factors are related. So, no business can prosper if ignores the social environment of the country it is operating in. This obligation of organization management to make decision and take actions in conformity with the normal social values and practices of the country, which enhances the welfare and interest of the society, is known as the social responsibility of the business and it cannot survive if it chooses to ignore this factor. Although at first, it might become very complex to grasp the concept of social environment b... Although at first, it might become very complex to grasp the concept of social environment because different people have different thoughts about as to which actions will improve the society's welfare. Social factor is wide a category which also includes the ethical practices of the businesses, its conformity with the tradition of the country and its responsibility to follow legal laws of the country. As already discussed above, social environment is linked with the business's legal, ethical and discretionary policies. Similarly, social environment may also affect the political, technological and economic environment, either directly or through a series of patterns. All modern societies lay down ground rules, laws and regulation that businesses are expected to follow. The respect that the business has for these rules and regulations defines the legal responsibility in the social environment for the business. Businesses are expected to fulfill their economic goals within the legal framework. For example, oil companies may be asked that they are allowed emit only a certain amount of gases in the environment. Their failure to follow this legal instruction will mean that they have violated the necessary requirement and for that they may be sued or forced to shut down. Similarly, companies producing waste may be asked, not to dump this waste in the places of scenic beauties such as beaches, island etc. If they still do this then they are ignoring their legal responsibility in the social environment. If they are found guilty they may be fined or kicked out of the country. So, all businesses are expected to follow these laws. Since, most of the laws ar e made by political setup of the country,

Investment Options Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Investment Options - Research Paper Example Individuals or firms who speculate in futures contracts by buying to profit from a price increase or selling to profit from a price decrease are aptly termed as speculators. Suffice it to say that speculators put their money at risk in the hope of profiting from an anticipated price change. Buying futures contracts with the hope of later being able to sell them at a higher price is known as "going long." Conversely, selling futures contracts with the hope of being able to buy back identical and offsetting futures contracts at a lower price is known as "going short." An arbitrageur is a type of investor, actually a type of speculator, who attempts to profit from price inefficiencies in the market by making simultaneous tradesthat offset each other andcapture risk-free profits.An arbitrageur would, for example, seek out price discrepancies between stocks listed on more than one exchange, buy the undervalued shares on the one exchange while short selling the same number of overvalued shares on the other exchange, thus capturing risk-free profits as the prices on thetwoexchanges converge. Arbitrageurs are typically very experienced investors since arbitrage opportunities are difficult to find and require relativelyfast trading. The three amigos were certainly not hedgers as they were not concerned about protecting the interest of Getty Oil. They were, in fact, keen on making a quick buck out of buying shares of Getty Oil (which were very cheap) and selling them at a higher price when the takeover battle commences. In this regard, they can be considered as speculators as they are buying the shares in the hope of higher selling prices in the future. However, because the three amigos were taking advantage of the price inefficiency of Getty Oil which was at 30$ instead of having risen to $50 to 60, they are arbitrageurs. They were so keen in capturing risk free profits or at least an investment with very little risk. 2. Describe step-by-step their strategy. What were the major assumptions of their strategy They were relying on what type of investors to move in what way The strategy of the three amigos is to find a stock price which carried with it minimal or no risks (i.e. stock price would not go down in the future). They were looking for a company that was not closely observed by stock traders and which was very likely to have stock prices going up thereby making them earn profits in a very short period. The major assumption that the three amigos made was that Getty Oil's stock price was not likely to go down and the conditions were ripe for an increase. They arrived at this by considering that Getty Oil was selling only at a low multiple of its cash flow and had assets that can be easily valued and liquidated. Getty Oil also had assets in the right place and had proven reserves. The political, economic and oil industry's environment also showed that is highly probable that oil players will be at the winning edge in the future. The only reason that Getty Oil stock price hasn't risen yet despite all the positive factors was that the shareholders were segmented which was causing inefficiency in grabbing the opportunity. With an imminent takeover, Getty Oil will soon take advantage of the positive fact

Relations between Venezuela and the United States Essay Example for Free

Relations between Venezuela and the United States Essay To create a speech/presentation about Venezuela-United States relations, with a focus on the regime of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Topic: Relations between Venezuela and the United States, with a focus on the Chavez administration. Purpose: To be able to analyze the roots of the current state of Venezuela-United States relations as well as its future, given the existence of the Chavez government. To say that relations between Venezuela and the United States are very shaky is already an understatement. This is because the foreign policy of the US in Latin America is a â€Å"rhetorically concealed fusion between popular elections and imperial appointments† (Landau 29). The US has a long history of overthrowing Latin American governments that show even the slightest hint of favoring the poor. As soon as they get word about a pro-poor Latin American leader, the US government would flex its political, economic and military muscles in order to replace him or her with a pro-US head of state. The end of the Cold War did not change this scenario. Since 1999, seven Latin American leaders were overthrown due to their pro-US stance. Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada resigned from the Bolivian presidency in 2005 due to massive popular revolts over his pro-US economic strategies. Paraguay’s Raul Cubas stepped down in 1999 due to charges of corruption and involvement in the assassination of Vice President Luis Maria Argana. Ecuadorian President Jamil Mahuad was toppled from power in 2000 because of his adherence to free trade (Landau 29). The regime of Peru’s Alberto Fujimori ended prematurely in 2000 mainly due to his bloody suppression of anti-US political dissent. The collapse of the Argentine economy in December 2001 because of neo-liberal policies resulted in popular revolts that forced President Fernando de la Rua to resign (Landau 29). But Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez is a Latin American leader that can be hardly described as a Washington lapdog. His pro-poor policies earned him immense respect and support from the Venezuelan masses, three consecutive presidential terms and harassment from the White House. The relationship between the US and Latin America has traditionally been that of a master and a slave. Since its first arrival on Latin America in the 19th century, the US clearly wanted nothing more from the continent but unlimited access to its natural resources (O’Brien 180). But changing political realities in the 20th century prompted the US to attain this objective in a more subtle fashion. For most of the 20th century, therefore, the US projected itself to Latin America as the â€Å"good neighbor† (Gilderhus 71) – an indispensable ally in the continent’s struggle against the Great Depression, the Axis Powers and Communism. But it was not until the postwar era that this â€Å"good neighbor† facade of the US became even more pronounced. Intensifying Latin American nationalism in the 1950s threatened US political and economic interests in the continent. The US, needing all the resources and allies it could get in order to challenge the Soviet Union in the global contest known as the Cold War, looked for an excuse to intervene in Latin America. Thus, American policymakers associated nationalism and Communism (O’Brien 181). This association between nationalism and Communism on the part of American lawmakers is valid to a certain extent. Prevailing economic conditions during and immediately after World War II led to the emergence of leftist politics and labor militancy throughout Latin America. In Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, for instance, postwar economic recovery and programs promoting industrialization resulted in the growth of manufacturing workers from about 50 to 60 percent. Increasing urban workforces, in turn, translated to larger and more militant labor movements that called for better working conditions and greater economic benefits. Furthermore, Communist parties in Cuba, Chile and Brazil obtained considerable gains in terms of membership and voter support (O’Brien 182). The aforementioned developments did not sit well with Latin America’s elite, who were fearful that leftist politics and labor militancy would make them lose their firm hold over the continent’s politics and economy. They therefore took advantage of the reemerging anti-Communist militancy of the US, using it as an excuse to roll back political reforms, outlaw Communist parties and crack down on independent unions (O’Brien 182). The American government, meanwhile, rewarded them by bestowing on them the political and economic leadership of their respective countries. A bloody, CIA-engineered coup in 1973 toppled the socialist regime of Chile’s Salvador Allende and ushered into power the pro-US Augusto Pinochet (Menjivar and Rodriguez 35). The US-backed Somoza dynasty ruled Nicaragua from 1937 to 1979, robbing the country blind and brutally suppressing all forms of legitimate political opposition (Leonard 1134). Francois and Jean-Claude Duvalier became the dictators of Haiti from 1957 to 1986, living off generous amounts of political and military aid from the US (Leonard 243). The dictatorship of the Dominican Republic’s Rafael Trujillo lasted from 1930 to 1961, primarily due to his exploitation of US fears of Nazism during the 1930s and Communism during the Cold War (Leonard 244). Although socialism in Latin America declined in the 1990s, certain economic developments in Venezuela led to its resurgence in the country. Venezuela had abundant oil resources, but its oil industry was developed at the expense of equally important non-oil industries. As a result, the value of the Bolivar fuerte was dependent on fluctuating oil prices. Dropping oil prices forced the Venezuelan government to take out foreign loans and to debauch the currency. Inflation ensued, plunging the Venezuelan economy into poverty (Reid 161). Since Chavez was first elected President in 1998, Venezuela’s oil policy had represented â€Å"a dramatic break from the past† (Ellner and Salas 54). This was mainly because he used the country’s oil profits to come up with numerous social programs that were intended to help the most marginalized sectors of Venezuelan society (Ellner and Salas 54). One of Chavez’s first programs was â€Å"Plan Bolivar 2000,† a civilian-military program that included road building, house construction, mass vaccinations, land reform, the lowering of infant mortality rates, the implementation of a free state-subsidized healthcare system and a system of free education up to the tertiary level (Peet and Hartwick 192). By the end of 2001, the aforementioned program led to an increase in primary school enrollment by 1 million students (Peet and Hartwick 193). Chavez preserved his administration by using oil as a means of forging alliances with like-minded leaders. In 1999, he announced that the Venezuelan state-owned petroleum company PDVSA and the Brazilian state-run oil and gas giant Petroleo Brasileiro were reviewing plans of forming a larger joint oil company. The result of these plans would be Petrosur, an enterprise that was situated on the southern cone of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Petrosur was intended to supply oil to countries under preferential financial terms, encourage large-scale infrastructure such as pipelines and refineries and coordinate oil distribution, exploration and processing. The profits of Petrosur would be used to subsidize social programs for education, healthcare and employment (Kozloff 105). Chavez’s populist reforms earned him a second term in 2000 and a third in 2006. But his manner of using Venezuela’s oil reserves did not sit well with Washington and the Venezuelan elite. Prior to Chavez’s regime, Venezuela was the second largest supplier of oil to the United States (Noreng 74). In addition, PDVSA was controlled by the Venezuelan elites (Ellner and Salas 122). Thus, it was no longer surprising if these two parties joined forces in order to expel Chavez from power. On April 9, 2002, the CTV (Venezuela’s largest trade union organization), Fedecamaras (Venezuela’s largest business federation) and board members of the PDVSA carried out a general strike against Chavez’s oil policies. Three days later, CIA-backed elements of the Venezuelan armed forces staged a coup against him. The coup succeeded in temporarily ousting Chavez and replacing him with Fedecamaras president Pedro Carmona Estanga. Widespread popular protests, however, forced Estanga to resign from the presidency to make way for Chavez (Trinkunas 206). But the CTV, Fedecamaras and the PDVSA would not allow themselves to be defeated. On December 2, 2002, they called for the resignation of Chavez by staging another general strike. The strike lasted for 63 days – the aforementioned parties were forced to finally call it off due to subsequent detrimental effects on the Venezuelan economy. The strike was said to have devastated the Venezuelan economy by costing the latter about 7. 6% of its GDP (Kohnstamm, Bao, Porup and Schechter 28). Venezuelan politics remained turbulent until Chavez consolidated his power by winning a 2004 referendum. Having obtained tremendous political support and immense oil-generated wealth, he then proceeded to strengthen pan-American socialism. He openly established strong political and economic ties with other Leftist leaders in Bolivia, Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay, Chile and Brazil. Despite being ridiculed by Bush’s officials as â€Å"Castro’s little buddy† (Landau 30), Chavez won about 63% of the vote in Venezuela’s 2006 national elections (Kohnstamm, Bao, Porup and Schechter 28). At present, it is very obvious that majority of the Venezuelan people continue to support Chavez. In February 2009, 54% of Venezuelans (O’Neill n. pag. ) supported an amendment that would scrap presidential term limits in their country (Llana n. pag. ). Simply put, he would finally be allowed to run for the presidency in 2012. This development is ironic, considering that they rejected in 2007 a constitutional referendum which included the said issue. Moreover, Chavez’s regime was recently criticized for its failure to address acute urban problems such as transport, crime and waste disposal (O’Neill n. pag. ). But the very existence of Chavez’s administration showed Latin Americans that it is possible for them to freely elect their own representatives, as well as choose the form of government which they deem appropriate (O’Neill n. pag. ). His open defiance of Washington’s dictates proved that a Third World nation, with sheer political will and unity of the part of its citizenry, can actually assert itself to the powerful nation on earth. Through Chavez, Venezuela showed that democracy is not measured in terms of how long a leader stays in power. Rather, it is whether or not this head was in fact chosen by the people and would truly serve their interests.

Social Networking Essay Example for Free

Social Networking Essay The twenty first century is known to be the world of the ‘Internet’; it is the most efficient way to get connected to our friends, relatives and colleagues. Sites such as Facebook have become very common among our youth today and have influenced our modern lives in many aspects. Being enrolled at a school with over 1000 students you begin to notice the reliance that a majority of the students have on Social Networking. As a student myself I have always had an interest in the way people act and the effect that these sites have on both the social and psychological side of us; this led me to the question ‘How often does cyberbulying occur?’ Technology allows all of us immediate access to information, which can greatly benefit our lives1. However, it has also provided some people with the means to exploit the innocent, commit crimes, and inflict injury on others. This technology has allowed some teens to take bullying that thrives in school hallways into cyberspace1. Bullying refers to any kind of aggressive behaviour, which is normally intentional and entails an imbalance of strength or power1. Cyberbulying is also referred to as a social online cruelty which can be described as an intentional aggressive act which is carried out by an individual or a group of individuals against a victim, done repeatedly over a long period of time and sent through electronic contacts1. Research indicates that there are a variety of reasons as to why people bully2, * Cultural causes fascinated with winning, power and violence.2 * Institutional causes the place in which bullying takes place, whether the home, school or workplace is not of high standards for the way people treat each other bullying is more likely to occur.2 * Social issues the fact that one gets more social recognition for negative behaviours than positive one can also contribute to reasons as to why people bully.2 * Family issues families that are not warm and loving and in which feelings are not shared are more likely to have children who bully, either with in the family home or in other locations in which children meet others.2 In relation to why people bully, a survey was conducted from December 2006 till January 2007 by the members of Kids Help Phone which had over 2500 respondents3. This stated that more than 70% of respondents to the survey reported that they have been a victim of cyberbulying, while 44% said they have been the bully themselves. At least 38% reported having experienced cyberbulying within the last three months3. This was a major key finding as it is clearly evident that there are a large number of cyberbulying incidents that occur, considering that there were only 2500 respondents and 70% reported being a victim is a huge thing, not to mention that most cyberbulying incidents are not reported and go un-noticed. Having investigated this further studies show that almost most cyberbulying cases go unreported because a large number of youth and their parents think that cyberbulying is not a big deal4. However, it has been proven that a victim of this type of bullying can lead to serious disorders for the future, including suicide4. This indicates that when one becomes a victim of cyberbulying, they are a victim for life. Though the bullying itself may go away, the fear, the hurt and the memories scar the victim forever. In a survey that was conducted at Mount Gambier High School similar results were found5; 54.5% of students said that they had been a victim of cyberbulying, while 23% said they have bullied someone online. 81.8% say that whilst on these sites they have witnessed cruel behaviour, 33.3% say that they ignore this behaviour when and if it occurs5. This was an important finding as it is apparent that when and if cyberbulying occurs, teenagers who are a witness tend not to do anything about it. This relates to my previous findings because if people did something about the cruel behaviour they witness online, than the victim of bullying statistic (70%)3 wouldn’t be as high as it is. It just goes to show that teenagers have a power that they don’t quite realise nor understand. Cyberbulying is a major concern of young people. In 2010, it was ranked the third highest issue of concern for 11 to 14 year olds6. Over a quarter of this age group indicates it was a major concern, compared with 20% of 15 to 19 year olds and 16% of 20 to 24 year olds6. In an interview with a parent of two teenagers7 (Anonymous), it was evident that technology creates certain challenges for adults who are trying to keep up with the relationship problems among adolescents. It is clear that to an adolescent the primary influence are his/her peers and what they think; while physical assaults or bullying is bad, verbal or the relational aggression can be equally as bad for certain kids. Many adults don’t trust teens these days because they assume that they are engaging in bad behaviours. They believe that it is the teenager’s responsibility to demonstrate to the adults in their lives that they are using technology safely, responsibly, appropriately and for them to sort of take some ownership over that. It’s very important to have a discussion between parents and teens so the adults know that the vast majority of teens are doing the right thing online. On average 11% of teens talk to their parents about incidents of cyberbulying.8 Another interview took place9 with a student at Mount Gambier High school who clearly stated that she believes Social Networking sites such as Facebook are encouraging teenagers to bully, it is giving them more of an opportunity, as on the internet you can practically be whoever you want to be and there is less risk of getting caught. It is common for teenagers to use Social Networking sites such as Facebook to their advantage, having that availability to all those sites give teenagers more freedom with very little boundaries; therefore making it an unsafe place to be. The student said that whilst on these sites you don’t think about the risk factors, it’s more of a spur of the moment thing. She also stated that a majority of the time it’s more for entertainment or a joke without actually realising what effect it could have on a person.9 With this information at hand it is clearly evident that Social Networking sites are definitely encouraging teenagers to bully. Social networking sites encourage people to be more public about their personal lives, intimate details of our lives can be posted so easily and users are prone to bypass the filters they might normally employ when talking about their private lives. Whats more, the things they post remain available indefinitely. Facebook in particular, by far the most popular social networking medium is encouraging the ‘anonymous’ by making it easy and accessible to under 18’s. A Senior Research Associate from the School of Psychology at the University of Adelaide conducted a survey at Mount Gambier High School in 2012 as part of the South Australian Media Use Survey (SAMUS)10. The study employed the best available psychological measures of mental health-related issues; the survey helped the understanding on how youth use media and it’s interaction with mental health. A total of 523 students took part in the study and within that study it showed that 35% of males use the internet to escape from problems compared to 31% of females; male and females do not differ greatly in terms of their preoccupation and difficulty in regulating the use of the internet.10 The vast majority of students at Mount Gambier High School report having at least one close friend with symptoms of a mental health issue in which was connected to Social Networking.10 The known prevalence of depression among adolescents (12-18 years) is about one in five (20%)10. Taking this figure into account, the symptoms profiles across gender were close to the expected norm, although females tended to report more depressive symptoms than boys.10 In conclusion, with the expansion of the internet and social networking technologies cyber-bullying is becoming more common and more severe. The research presented clearly shows that cyberbulying is on an uprise with a majority of teenagers reporting that they have been a victim of cyberbully while the other small portion admitting that they see it happen yet don’t do anything about it. Within my study it was shown that the average school student has at least one friend with symptoms of a mental health issue which is connected to social networking. This research paper is to inform society about what has been going on lately. Cyberbulying is technology powered and will only get worse as technology becomes more widespread; hopefully this paper will help to inform today’s youth and parents. If you see any kind of bullying happening in front of you, stop it if possible, and then report it.

Corporate Social Responsibility In Multinational Corporations Commerce Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility In Multinational Corporations Commerce Essay The inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) has the ability to play an important role in the contributions to the development of local economy of a developing country. Such role includes capacity building, employment opportunities and the transfer of technology (Ite, 2004). Corporate Social Responsibility is a concept that has created global awareness. Its popularity arouse as a result of globalization and information technology. According to the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD): CSR is the continuing commitment by business to behaving ethically and contributing to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their family as well as of the community and society at large while (Frederick, 1994) sees it as an obligation of business to contribute to social welfare beyond their role of producing goods and providing services. Multinational Corporations (MNCs) therefore has a major role to play through CSR initiatives, focusing on the development of a developing economy such as Nigeria. However, for many MNCs, CSR is an outcome of public pressure arising from their operations in developing countries in relation to human right, environmental pollution and labour issues. In other words, it has generally being a pragmatic response to consumer and civil society pressures (Raynard Forstater, 2002). This proposal seeks to focus on CSR practices and understanding how CSR theories relates to its practices by MNCs in Nigeria using Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) as an example. Various researches that have been carried out focused on the activities of the MNCs and they have revealed that there was a mounting evidence of gap between the stated intention of business leaders and their actual behaviour and impact in the real world'(Frynas, 2005). Little has been researched on how CSR theories relates to its practices by MNCs such as Shell in Nigeria. Nigeria was chosen because it is the most populous black nation in the continent and the largest producer of oil in sub Saharan Africa. The question this project seeks to ask is, how far is Shell Petroleum Development Company improving on the social welfare in Nigeria? In other words were they able to practice CSR. LITERATURE REVIEW. The literature on CSR has produced much definition over the decade since its emergence on the business scene (Carroll, 2004). The concept CSR has evoked lots of debate among scholars. It is sometimes referred to as business virtue or social responsibilities. It means different things to different people. To some, it means the idea of legal responsibility or obligation and to others it means social responsible behaviour which is sometimes seen as a charitable contribution to the society. According to the foremost scholar of CSR Carroll (1983) CSR involves the conduct of a business so that it is economically profitable, law abiding, ethical and socially supportive. The commission of European communities defined CSR as a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in the business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholder in a voluntary basis. As good as the notion of CSR may seem there are different views by different scholars as to what constitute CSR. According to parsons (1961) CSR theory is rooted in four aspects of hypothesis It can be observed in any social system. It adapts to its environment i.e. its relation to resources Goal attainment i.e. its relation to politics Social integration and pattern maintenance i.e. its relation to culture and values. From these hypotheses aforementioned, CSR theory was then classified into four groups Instrumental theory- here it is assumed that corporation is an instrument for wealth creation. According to friedman (1970), the only responsibility of business towards society is the maximisation of profits to the shareholders within the legal framework and the ethical custom of the country. Any organisation that adopt CSR initiative will always have to answer the question to whom are we responsible? the answer to this question is usually to the stakeholder. Stakeholders here include the employees, customers, shareholders, staff in the supply chain and the community living in vicinity where the company is located. Political theory here the social power of corporation is specifically emphasized in its relationship with the society and its duty in the political environment. Davis (1960) introduced business power in the CSR debate. He proposed that business is a social institution that must use its power responsibly. In his own words whoever does not use his social power responsibly will lose its position in the society. Integrative theories it is considered that business ought to integrate social demand. Social demand implies the way in which society relates with business through certain legitimacy and prestige. This goes further to explain that business depends on society for its continuity and existence. Ethical theory firm ought to accept social responsibility as an ethical obligation above any other consideration. Donaldson and Dunfee (1999) proposed the integrated social contract theory. This theory was meant to guide managers to make decision in an ethical way in other words, to get involved with the society. To cynics, CSR is antithetical to sound business practice and serves to weaken its focus on wealth creation ( Clement-Jones,2005; Murray, 2005). Advocates however characterises CSR as necessary for successful business operations and as a gateway for business to look beyond wealth creation and also take into consideration the social welfare of the society in which they operate (Jackson Nelson, 2004; Rudolph 2005). In other words, businesses that are socially responsible can help to solve crucial environmental and social problems. Some studies consider CSR to involve ethical responsibility while philanthropic responsibility is seen as an add on ( Longo et al 2005). Other studies have made discrepancy between CSR as simple legal compliance and CSR as carrying out business operations with high regards to morality (Juholin, 2004). Henderson (2001), attempt to show that CSR distorts the market by distracting business from its primary role of wealth creation. These different views by schol ars have led to confusion as to what CSR practices really entail. Based on the fact that little has been discussed on how CSR practice fit or does not fit with CSR theories, my main project will involve critical analysis of CSR theory and how it relates to its practices by Shell in Nigeria. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE AND RESEARCH QUESTION The central objective of this research is To develop a better understanding of CSR theories and practices. To investigate on the CSR policies of Shell Petroleum Development company and how it relates to the CSR theories. To investigate the effect of their CSR activities in Nigeria. These objectives will be looked into in order to ascertain if Shell really practiced their CSR policies and to what extent does the policy create effect in the community which they operate. Therefore my research question will be to what extent is Shell improving on the social welfare in Nigeria? RESEARCH DESIGN The research strategy that will be adopted for this research will be a case study approach. A case study approach is a single unit of analysis such as a company, an event or group of events. In this case a company i.e. Shell Petroleum Development Company will be used. The case study type is exploratory as well as explanatory in nature. It involves gathering detailed information about the company over a period of time with a view to obtain an in-depth knowledge (Collis et al 2003). A qualitative approach will be adopted for this research because it is designed to study social and cultural phenomena. It will be aimed at conducting an in depth analysis of how Shell practiced Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria. Questionnaires will be used as an instrument for this research. These questionnaires will be administered to the host community where Shell is operating because it is assumed that the community understands the subject matter that is been analysed. The sample size of this research will be classified according to age, gender, academic qualification and the number of years of residency within the community. Simple Random Sampling Techniques will be used to administer the questionnaires to the member of the host community because it gives each member of the population an equal chance of being chosen and it also guarantee that the sample was a representative of the entire population (Saunders et al 2007) DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Data would be collected using questionnaires. Through face to face interaction, the respondents would be gathered at a particular place and instruction would be given to them as to how to fill out the questionnaires. I intend to give out 150 questionnaires. The data that would be collected will include the age, gender, education qualification and the number of years of residency within the community. Secondary data would also be collected from sources like industry journal and other relevant published and unpublished articles. Descriptive method of data analysis would be used to analyse the responses from the questionnaires collected. This method includes the use of charts and tables to describe the data generated. LIMITATIONS Constraint to finance will be one of my major limitations for this research because it will entail me to travel to the Niger Delta region in Nigeria which is the region where Shell operates. Due to the fact that the questionnaires would be handed out by myself, some members of the community would want to be paid before they fill out the questionnaires.

An Investigation into the Factors which Affect Osmosis Essay -- GCSE B

An Investigation into the Factors which Affect Osmosis Osmosis is defined as the movement of water molecules from a higher concentration to a lower concentration through a partially permable membrane. Osmosis occurs with molecule moving in and out, these molecules move across the plant’s cell membrane. The plant’s cell membrane is partially permable and therefore it has small holes in it which allow for small water molecules to pass through it however larger molecules such as glucose through. However on the out side of the plant cells there is a cell wall of cellulose that has larger holes that let anything pass through it. This cell wall is totally permeable and therefore will allow larger molecules such as glucose through it, but the larger molecules can still not pass the cell membrane. When these cells are in a solution which has a higher concentration of water than the cells concentration of water the water will diffuse into the cell as the water moves from a higher concentration (the solution) to the lower concentration (the cells.) As more and more water enters the cell the cell wall starts to expand and the cell starts to become turgid. Even is a plant cell is placed in a solution where there is a high water concentration and a weak sugar solution (say a 0.1 d/mol3 strong) there will still be more water outside the cell than inside the cell therefore there will still be an increase in volume and weight. This means that when the plant cells are placed in a strong sugar solution (where there is more sugar than water.) there will be a decrease in weight and volume. This process is defined as plasmolysis. This is where the cell membrane pulls away from the cell wall, this is because a lot of water has been moved from the cell as the plant cell has the strong concentration of water and the solution has a weak concentration the water will move from the plant top the water. Sometimes the cell will shrivel up completely and it becomes flaccid. This is represented in the diagram below With osmosis occurring there will eventually be a point where the concentration of water will be equal to the concentration inside the cell. This means that with the water still diffusing in and out there will be equal amounts going in and out. This means that osmosis is still occurring but the plant or the solution is either gaining o... ...ainst the cell wall, the tugor pressure will reach it’s maximum and the cells will not be able to take in any more water. At the other end of the line, I would expect the line to eventually curve off horizontally. Once the cell becomes flaccid and the cell membrane collapses, no more water would be able to escape. I did predict that the stronger the solution the more the potato chips would lose weight. I believe my results have proven this. Evaluation I am pleased with the way my experiment has gone, I did not come across too many problems and most of my points on the graph were close to the line of best fit. Therefore I am happy with the accuracy of my results. I think my method was adequate for producing accurate results I could still improve it. I could’ve also tried to measure the potato chips more accurately when cutting them. I feel my investigation on the whole was a sucsess. I achieved reliable and accurate results. however I could increase my confidence in my conclusions by repeating the experiment with another carrot to back it up. But on the whole my experiment matched my prediction and I am happy about my results and the way I conducted it.

Were the Republicans Hypocrites? :: essays research papers

†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Daniel Webster defines a Hypocrite as â€Å"a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion† †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A Democratic-Republican opposes a strong central government with most power assigned to the states, Alexander Hamilton's economic policies, advocates a liberal agrarian democracy, a foreign policy favoring the French Revolution while also appealing to poor townsfolk. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both Mr. Jefferson and I were firm believers of Republican ideals, but under the circumstances, we had to adapt to the issues that affected our presidencies. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people believe that Thomas Jefferson’s desire to acquire land exceeded executive powers established under the constitution. However, the United States is a growing nation, and I experienced this growth as secretary of state for Mr. Jefferosn. This chart represents the population of the United States from when the first census was preformed until the projected numbers for the 1820 census. As you can plainly see, the number of people in the United States is growing by 2-2.5 million people per decade. There is not enough land to support these numbers, but buying the Louisiana Purchase added plenty of space for our nation to continue growing. Population density will be at a low for the time being thanks to westward expansion. The Louisiana Purchase will also add to our agrarian economy, which is supported by Republicans. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As secretary of state to President Jefferson, I realized the importance of Tripolian conflict, and applied them to my presidency as I handled the War of 1812. The Algerian corsairs captured 119 American merchantmen, held them captive for over 12 years, beat them regularly, were fed near-starvation rations, and were forced to work hard labor. These were American citizens waiting to be liberated. What was Jefferson to do sit back and watch these innocent civilians die, and pay an extreme ransom for their freedom? 31 hostages had already died in captivity, and you think Jefferson should have let the Pasha of Tripoli get away with these murders? Any president under these circumstances would have done the same thing Jefferson did; these acts were humiliating to the United States. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The War of 1812 was similar to Jefferson’s Barbary conflict. American sailors were being impressed by England. The Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States House of Representatives stated in their report, â€Å"The non-intercourse and non-importation laws, which invited the return of both powers to their former state of amicable relations, by offering

What Astronomy Really Is :: Astronomy Solar Systems Roman Gods Essays

What Astronomy Really Is What is astronomy? Astronomy consist of a lot of things that make up our solar system such as: the nine planets, asteroids, meteorites, the moon and the sun. Astronomy is also a fascinating hobby that can be followed by anyone. You do not need to be, as some people seem to imagine, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"mathematically-mindedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ , in order to start, or even to become a very experienced observer. Yet astronomy is one of the few hobbies where not only can you gain great enjoyment, but if you feel want to can very easily make observations of great scientific value. I know that astronomy is getting more popular by the day since the comet came and all those people got killed. But that really did not have anything to do with astronomy, so I am not going to get into that. To me astronomy is really cool. If you have a telescope and it is a clear night you can see different constellations such as: Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Hercules, Pegasus, Perseus there are many more that is so cool. But it is even cooler to look up and see them in the sky. To do all of that you first have to be in the correct place. What you can do first is look for the north star, when you find that then you are all set. If you cannot find it just simply face north and look for the brightest star in that direction. If you still cannot find it buy a compass then hopefully you will find it. If you still cannot find it ask somebody, I made no grantee that you would find it these ways. That is really all I know about astronomy, but after this paper I bet you I will know a whole lot more. THE SUN The Sun is a huge, bright sphere that is mostly made up of gas that is about 5 billion years old. The Sun is the closest to the Earth, it is 145 million km distant (this distance is called an Astronomical Unit). The next closest star is 300,000 times further away. There are probably millions of similar stars in the Milky Way galaxy (and even more galaxies in the Universe), but the Sun is the most important to us because it supports life on Earth.

Importance of Family Essay

THE FAMILY AS THE BASIC UNIT OF SOCIETY The family unit – principally a man and a woman living together in harmony and peace – is and always will be the basic social organization or unit of any society. This relationship alone provides stability in a sexual, emotional, intellectual and social way as no other can. This statement may seem prejudiced or biased against other forms of social organization, but it has proven true over hundreds and even thousands of years. Other forms of societal organization include most people remaining single or unattached, homosexuality, or various forms of collective living arrangements that are called free love societies, communes, kibbutz living in some cases, and others. To the best of my knowledge, none of these have worked out on a large scale nearly as well as what is called a monogamous man-woman relationship in terms of stability and happiness for the couple, and for the society as a whole. When the families are strong, society is strong, as a rule. When families are weak, societies begin to break down. This is the important concept of this article. EXACTLY WHAT IS MEANT BY A FAMILY? A family is a unit of two dedicated to healing, even if they do not enunciate it or even understand it fully. It means two who are happy to be together, who want to be together, and who deeply love one another, even though it can just be friends, for example, or a parent and a child. This is what is meant by a family in this article. Stated differently, the definition of family is two living in a close personal relationship. Close relationships most often exist between family members, but not always by any means. Couples may live together for years and not be that close, for example. In fact, close relationships often develop among friends of either sex, work colleagues, and perhaps in other situations such as members of a sports team who work and play together constantly, for example. This is important to understand. They don’t even need to live in the same town or know each other personally, as long as they love each other enough. Also, those living under the same roof must be in a close relationship. Just because two are roommates, for example, or even sexual partners living together, married, church-going, or just â€Å"shacking up†, as they call it, does not mean they are a family because they must be in a close, loving relationship with each other. One in relationship with the other, if it is not returned, is not good enough. They both must feel the same way about each other, and this is the key. The rest of this article deals with various topics related to those living in families, or in close relationships, as explained in the preceding paragraphs. HEALING WITHIN FAMILIES – EMPATHIC BLENDING IN FAMILIES An interesting phenomenon that can be used for healing, but which can also have negative effects, is called empathic blending. It occurs in all close relationships, including, of course, within many families. It is a slight blending of the aura or energy fields of individuals who live together or even those who just work together or recreate together. However, it is much stronger in those who are in intimate relationships and having sex together. This interesting phenomenon has been known for thousands of years, but is rarely discussed. It can help bind a family or relationship together and help heal all members of a family. Unfortunately, it sometimes also causes problems in families if the man and woman are not that compatible. What  this means is that at times, two in a relationship have issues that do not blend well. Each can bring out the worst aspects of another, for example, instead of the best. For more on this topic, read Empathic Blending on this website. MALE-FEMALE BLENDING IN FAMILIES This is a subset or type of empathic blending that occurs only between members of the opposite sex. It does not occur in homosexual relationships, and it is one reason these relationships are always inferior to a good man-woman relationship. Two of the same sex may blend empathically, and often do. But only a man and a woman can blend in a very special way. For the same reason, it will not occur in members of an all-male or all-female sports team, work team, etc. This type of blending is similar to other empathic blending, but much stronger and much more able to cause healing in both parties. It is a powerful advantage to having friends of the opposite sex, a wife or husband, and even having children, at times. Children and parents. Interestingly, this type of blending can be done between a male parent and a female child, and conversely, between a female parent and a male child. It can even occur between siblings of the opposite sex, too, although this is not nearly as common. To read more about this very exciting method of healing, read Male-Female Blending on this website. OTHER TYPES OF UNUSUAL HEALING IN FAMILIES AND IN OTHER CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS A phenomenon we observe within families, and within all close relationships, is that when one person begins to heal, particularly a parent, often the partner and the children also experience a degree of healing. This occurs even when the others are not following a nutritional balancing program at all. I call it healing by osmosis, because I don’t know what else to name it. This phenomenon may be due to empathic blending, described in a paragraph above. However, it may be also be due to other factors, such as less stress in the home, better food in the home, more of a healing atmosphere in the home, or something else. In addition to these reasons, other reasons help explain unusual healing in those who in close relationships such as in families. For example, as one heals, he or she serves as an example to the other and perhaps as an inspiration to the other. As one heals, the body becomes more capable of love, and this felt by the other As one heals, some nutrients are actually transferred to the other in sexual fluids, for example, or in saliva in kissing. This may sound odd, but these are factors in healing within families or close relationships only. THE TRADITIONAL FAMILY UNDER ATTACK EVERYWHERE For the past 100 years of so, the family unit in America and Europe, in particular, has been under constant attack. The attack has been coming from work outside of the home, two parents having to work, the school system that takes away authority of parents, and a much more intrusive government that also takes away the rights and powers of parents to control their children and even their homes. Unemployment is very hard on families, and there is plenty of that in Europe, particularly. Pressure from Anti-Christian groups such as gay rights advocates and even some women’s advocate groups has also forced the passage of laws that discourage marriage. The growth of the welfare system is another anti-family factor. These systems often contain incentives to have children out of wedlock, for example, in order to collect more money from the government. Asia has much less of these pressures, but they are growing on a daily basis. Communism, for example, practiced still today in Russia, China, and other large nations, has a devastating effect on the family. Also, Asia has other problems, such as a traditional hierarchical male-dominated culture that may  seem to support the family, but really is very hard on women, and impedes the development of deep love between men and women among the population. Other nations, such as those in the Middle East, insist on rules and regulations that are so rigid and strict that they may hold society together, but they stop love from developing because the roles of man and wife are too rigidly defined. The Muslim world has some serious family problems. Here the family unit is strong, but in some homes the male dominates and the women are treated so badly that they cannot love their husbands and children correctly. I hope someday soon this will stop. Some of the best family units are found among the Jewish families and some of the Asian cultures, such as the Chinese and Koreans. Even here, however, divorce rates are rising and the traditional family is under attack. THE NEED TO RESTORE THE INTEGRITY OF THE FAMILY The above leads us to the need to clarify, correct and realize the importance of the traditional family unit and restore it legally, culturally, socially, and in every other way as well. This is also a goal of nutritional balancing science. It must begin with each person understanding the need for very high-quality relationships, and then acting at all levels of society to push for a more family-friendly society. The kind of reforms needed in society include: 1. Legislative action and tax reform to encourage marriage. This means that married couples should have tax advantages, which is not true today. Often it is the opposite. Also laws must clearly define marriage as the relationship between one many and one woman. All other arrangements of living and sexuality must not be given equal recognition or equal treatment under the law. This means no gay marriage, no homosexual or gay rights laws, and no gay-friendly legislation at all. This sounds harsh, but gay rights laws are the worst thing for the traditional family today. It also means that polygamy must be banned altogether. It does not matter if all members of a polygamous community like the arrangement. It does not work well and it is usually a cult. For more on this topic, read Cults and Terror Societies on this site. Tax credits should be given for having children, but only if a couple is married and filing jointly. Society should not be giving tax credits to single parent households of the same magnitude, as it encourages promiscuity and single-parent households. I know this is a difficult area, but it is important to strengthen and protect traditional marriage. 2. Legislative action and tax reform to strengthen families. Here are examples of laws and tax arrangements that favor the family unit in society: Smaller government favors families. This is because power in society is always shared between individuals and their families, and the government. The more power and scope of the government, the less power and scope the family will have. Laws that should be abolished to assist the family are all laws that allow schools to give out condoms and birth control pills without parental consent, and all laws that allow minor children to obtain abortions and even driver’s licenses without parental consent. Some states claim they can vaccinate children without parental consent, and some allow medical treatment without parental consent. All these laws destroy the integrity and strength of the family unit and ought to be repealed. I realize that repealing these laws will permit some abuse by uncaring or unthinking parents. However, this is better than an across-the-board rule that damages the family, which is still the best hope for children in the entire world. Government welfare agencies do not do a good job, overall, and I would not expect them to do so. They are too distant and too â€Å"professional† to care deeply enough about the children. Similarly, judges and juries should not have the right to remove minor children from the home unless the abuse is obvious and severe. Low taxes strongly favor the family unit and family integrity. Much higher taxes for everyone today is forcing two parents to work outside of the home and to send children to government or private daycare centers and pre-schools. This is horrendous for families. While in some nations, the poor and even middle classes do not pay income taxes, they pay for taxes that are hidden in every product and service that they buy. This is the case especially in America and Europe where corporate taxes are high. These are hidden taxes on all products that can account for up to half the cost of the product such as a car, food, clothing, building materials and other necessities. This is why corporate tax rates should be zero. Tax income, tax consumption, or tax imports and exports, but do not tax in hidden ways such as corporate taxes that no one can see and that are regressive, meaning they harm the poor much more than they harm the wealthy because the poor must spend a lot more of their income on necessities, while the rich can easily afford the taxes on goods and services such as electricity, etc. Laws that permit, encourage and even pay one parent to stay at home with children and teach them favor the family strongly. Parents should be discouraged from both working outside the home, and young children should be at home. If a parent does not want to raise a child at home, he or she should not become a parent. It is that simple. Home schooling favors the family unit. In the same vein, home schooling must be encouraged, not attacked, as it is in many nations, including the United States of America. Home schooling is the ideal, and should not be considered a deviant or religious or unusual concept. It is far better, according to statistics, than any school situation. Home schooling parents should not have to pay school taxes, for example, and perhaps should be compensated so that a parent can stay home and teach rather than have to take a job outside the home and send the child to public or private schools. No death taxes favor the family. Death taxes are also called estate taxes. They do not allow some families to pass on their wealth to their children,  or anyone else. Instead, the government takes a large portion of their money, even though they have already paid taxes on that income. Families should be permitted to pass on their wealth, as it is theirs and they often worked hard for it. The government has no right to it, having already taxed it once or perhaps twice. Tort reform strongly favors families and employment. It is important that if one is truly injured, that one can sue for damages. However, the situation in America, in particular, but also in Europe in which attorneys are able to sue basically innocent people for all sorts of frivolous reasons places great strain and a huge financial burden on everyone. It raises the price of all goods and services, frightens away many businesses and keeps good products off the market. It also supports a class of parasitic attorneys who make good money often by ruining other people’s lives. There are simple answers for this problem, but the trial lawyers lobby, and their political allies – the Democratic party – has so far prevented them from being implemented, especially in the United States. The solutions include: 1. Simplify legal proceedings so that people do not need attorneys to represent them and can handle simple cases themselves. This is certainly possible, but judges and attorneys don’t like the idea. It is similar to learning how to take care of your health, which the doctor’s don’t like. Court proceedings, rules of evidence, rules of discovery, motions, and so on can be made simpler. 2. The loser in a suit should pay all court and attorney fees. This is the system in Great Britain and some other nations. It can stop some frivolous lawsuits, especially in the health care area, but also in product safety. 3. Attorneys must not be allowed to disqualify jurors at their whim. The only reason to disqualify a juror should be a direct conflict of interest, perhaps. The current system today allows sharp attorneys to get rid of potential jurors whom they sense they cannot manipulate or influence. This  should not be the way the jury system works and it makes a mockery of the jury system. 4. It may be necessary to place a cap on damages. This is more complex, especially in a class action lawsuit but sometimes juries are talked into awarding far too much money for damages because attorneys take a percentage for themselves. A capitalist economic system, with controls to prevent corporate raiding and cheating, tends to favor families, while socialism is usually even more corrupt and it destroys families. It does this because the government gains so much power that the family becomes secondary to government, which becomes the nanny, the provider, the police force and everything else. This must be taught and the reasons for it thoroughly understood in society. The basic reason is that a large, powerful government always competes for power with the family, so it is inherently inimical to the family. In contrast, a weak government allows the family unit to have more power over itself and over society. It is not an accident that the weakest families occur in communist and socialist nations, while the strongest are found in the capitalist nations. Private and not socialized, nationalized or â€Å"universal† health care helps the family unit. Caring for one’s health and that of the children are extremely important issues that are best handled within families. This is because they have to do with diet, lifestyle, thinking patterns and other personal habits that are learned and practiced in families. In general, when people are forced into a governmental system, the family loses a lot of power and control over this important area of life. If the government system were perfect, it would not be so bad. However, all governmental systems are more costly, the dietary recommendations are often poor, bureaucrats are distant and don’t care as much for people as private doctoring arrangements, and waste and corruption are worse. Also, just turning over control of this vital area of life is a bad idea. Even the HMO or PPO system in the USA, which is based on private insurance but herds people into groups with little choice in health care, is not good for family integrity and strength. This is just one reason why Obamacare, for example, in the USA, will not work and must be repealed at once before it further bankrupts the USA, which it is doing and with no good results. It is just socialism, and that is harmful for families, as explained above. Freedom, in general, is wonderful for the family. Repression in society works against families. Freedoms of religion, of speech, of assembly, the right to bear arms and all the freedoms that some nations permit are helpful for the family as they weaken governmental power and encourage responsibility and power to be centered in the family. Denying the people freedom weakens the family in all cases. Traditional religions and, in general, religious freedom tend to favor the family unit. However, too much repression in the religion harms families by several means. Repressing women, for example, leads to anger and hatred of women for men and for the religious leaders. Also, if the family roles are so rigidly defined, some will rebel and avoid families altogether. They also, of course, may just leave the religion, but this is not always possible, as with Islam. As these legal and other changes occur, and only when they occur, we can expect to see great improvements and restoration of our societies. They will be safer, more sane, healthier, with far more emphasis on spiritual values and the dignity of each individual soul. All will be happier and life will be far more worthwhile and enjoyable for women, in particular, for our children, and for everyone. Easy divorce laws have mixed effects upon families. On one hand, they make it easy for a selfish parent to basically abandon their children or â€Å"steal† them from a partner. They may also leave a former partner stranded without financial support at all, or very little. On the other hand, very strict divorce laws that existed in the past kept families together where there was physical or emotional abuse, or just terrible unhappiness. This is not ideal for families, either. Many people say that the traditional family is dead, as evidenced by the high divorce rates in the Western world, in particular. However, they forget that although the divorce rate is high, the remarriage rate is also very high. In other words, many people do not want to be single. They just want to be with the right type of person. If they are not, then they are more likely today than in the past to split up and move on to what is often, though not always, a better marriage the second time around. When children are involved, the situation is more complex. Children need a stable home and they need love – plenty of it. So it is more complicated. Here one must use good judgment and try to avoid selfishness. Selfishness is often the problem and the reason that a couple does not blend and heal one another. Laws favoring easy abortions probably harm families. This is an ongoing debate in the USA, though not much in Europe. ALL abortions terminate a life, and some women suffer psychological damage from abortions, even if they are not fully aware of it. I particularly dislike the Planned Parenthood approach, often, in which young women are just told they can get their abortion right away, no one needs to know about it, and that is all there is to it. However, those who favor abortions rightly point out that women perhaps should have more control over their reproductive abilities, especially in case of rape, incest, and all conditions in which the health and well-being of the mother or even the father is at stake. So I suspect this issue will be debated for many years. I believe anti-abortion laws are there to protect women in many cases, and this is how they should be â€Å"sold† or promoted. They help women avoid psychological damage that comes with abortions, they help prevent infections and other problems of abortions, and they help the family in many cases, which helps women the most. If the family does not want another child, then put it up for adoption. Encouraging monogamous man-woman relationships is by far best for the family. Sadly, this is not what is taught in schools today. Politically correct teachers often stress that homosexuality, communal living, open marriage and other â€Å"alternatives† are just as good as the traditional one man-one woman relationship. I believe this is a lie in most cases, due to the nature and construction of human beings. I believe there exist certain differences between men and women that are often subtle, but very real. Living together, they tend to balance one another, help one another, heal one another, and love one another better than any other type of arrangement. This does not mean that in a few cases a different type of relationship is best, but I am speaking in general terms of what seems to work best for the great majority of people in our world. I strongly believe that if this were not so, we would see around the world plenty of societies in which marriage is not supported or practiced much, and instead we would see much more of other living arrangements such as homosexuality or just staying single and living alone or in one’s family of origin during one’s entire lifespan. But we do not see this very much among the thousands of human societies of every race and religion. This is not an indictment of other ways to live socially, just an observation. For this reason, I want to suggest that laws should protect, proclaim, educate and demand that the young are taught this truth, and nothing else.