Managment Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managment Accounting - Essay Example ABW in order to determine the relevant cost drivers and in this case there are many more than that used in absorption costing, thus making ABC more reliable. Table 1 provides calculations for the profit for each product line. Table 1 indicates that there are huge differences in the profit of products XY, YZT and ABW. The use of absorption costing resulted in a reduction in profits by  £46,250 and  £18,000 for products XYI and YZT respectively and an increase of  £64,000 from a loss position to a profit position for product ABW. This scenario shows how appropriate ABC is for making more accurate decisions when compared to absorption costing. ABC allocates cost on the basis of the activities required to manufacture a product and this results in the use of multiple cost drivers – assembly, machining, set-up, order processing and purchasing in this case. Absorption costing only used two cost drivers – assembly and machining thus the large differences in profits. The figures in Table 2 indicate that the differences in cost per unit were lower for XYI and YZT – £ 0.925 and  £0.45 respectively. However, the difference in cost per unit between the two approaches for ABW was higher ( £2.133) and this explains the loss versus profit scenario. Over-costing of each unit of products XYI and YZT under the absorption costing method by  £0.925 and  £0.450 respectively has led to under-costing of product ABW by  £2.133 another product. In this case the assignment of costs by ABC to each product using more relevant activity based cost drivers has resulted in a more accurate costing of the products. It is often said that modern developments such as ABC are sometimes implemented because they are fashionable and not because they provide additional information to management. However, while this statement may be true in a few instances it is not so in the majority of cases. Costing systems do not command high ratings in most organisations, but the information that they provide

Law Enforcement Today Essay Example for Free

Law Enforcement Today Essay Law enforcement is something that is needed in our country. As time has passed, crime rates have gone up. New types of crimes are created by just about anything. Let’s take a look at an example of a new crime starting up. People who are driving and texting is now becoming a crime. This may seem like something minor, but it can lead to something horrible, like the cause to a fatal accident. The driver who was busy texting his buddy that he was on the way to the bar could of caused him to get to close to another car and crash into it, causing vehicle damages and even death. With technology advancing, crime has gone up with it as well. Now people commit crime online by stealing credit card numbers and even a person’s identity. Our law enforcement agencies now have to stay on top of things in today’s world, because if they don’t, the bad guys will win. Our law enforcement agencies are made up of local, state, and federal. They interact with the U. S. Department of Homeland Security to ensure success with enforcing the law and keeping communities safe. They might not have the best relationship but there can be ways to improve that. Many people do not really understand the importance of law enforcement until they desperately need them to help in their time of need. Some of the things that we do not understand are that the law enforcement officers face many challenges in today’s society. Our officers have to go through much training to be where they are at today. They have witnessed horrible crimes that could possibly leave them traumatized for life. Aside from that, they face issues of racial profiling, extreme dangers during work hours, and learning how to deal with stress and facing a multicultural society. These officers have to suppress their emotions from what they face every day. They might even have to keep their business private from family members or they could face some type of judgment. People already act different toward any police officer. In some people’s eyes, the police are the bad guys. It is understandable because there have been many corrupt police officers that make it hard for the good guys. Some people feel that if the officer is a certain race, the officer will be for their own race and against theirs. For instance, a black police officer may be judged on his skin color and the citizens might feel that officer is protecting the black criminals. We have many law enforcement agencies with good people who are doing their best to serve and protect the people. The local law enforcement consists of different agencies, like the city police department, county sheriff’s office, transit authority police, school district police, and university police. Those are just a few. The state enforcement agencies consist of the attorney general, highway patrols, and department of criminal justice and there are more. The federal law enforcement agencies consist of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, U. S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement, the FBI, and more. All of these agencies work together to keep our country balanced and in order. The Department of Homeland Security has the local, state, and federal agencies set to handle situations that involve natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other types of disasters created by people. All agencies have a person who supports or recommends causes or policies that have to be enforced. These agencies are also provided with a point of contact for DHS in case of any situation arising that might involve them. With the law enforcement agencies working together, crime can be controlled and even prevented. I think if the police departments could be trained more on what the DHS does, maybe the relationship between them could become better. A way to build a better relationship would be to empower state and local agencies to have more power over things so in case of some type of terrorism or natural disaster, they will know what to do. Communication is a big factor in building the relationship between the agencies and DHS. If the right information is passed along the departments, this could allow for everyone to stay up-to-date with current crime and could possibly be prevented in the future, or help to better handle the situation once it happens. The relationship between law enforcement agencies and the people of our country needs to be improved as well. Many people do not realize what these officers go through. If a relationship bond could be formed with the people and the agencies, then that could also help for crimes to be stopped and prevented. Ensuring the safety of our country is what we need to focus on. There are too many crimes going on where it is basically our people against each other and that needs to stop. References http://www. golawenforcement. com/LawEnforcementAgencies. htm http://www. spiritofthelaw. org/sol1art6. html http://www. golawenforcement. com/StateAgencies/TexasLawEnforcement. htm http://www. dhs. gov/xlibrary/assets/foia/plcy_directive_252-11_office_for_state_and_local_law_enforcement. pdf http://www. heritage. org/research/reports/2011/08/homeland-security-4-0-overcoming-centralization-complacency-and-politics Schmalleger, F. 2011 Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Te4xt for the 21st Century

Personal Writing: After casino :: essays research papers

Personal Writing: After "Casino" I was outside the movie theater waiting for my usually late friend Ryan to meet me there. I noticed two guys and a girl in the parking lot drinking beer. They seemed pretty drunk but I thought nothing of it as they walked into the theater. Finally Ryan arrived and we decided to see "Casino" a story about the mob in Las Vegas. After the movie we walked out and sat on Ryan's car to have a cigarette while we imitated the gangsters from the movie. I noticed one of the guys I had seen before the movie over by my car urinating on the bumper. Being in the mood that I was from the movie I confronted him by saying "hey, you f*#kin' pissin' on my car?" He denied it and pointed out that he had in fact missed the car, which was true. Just then his buddy from inside the car asks me if I have a problem. I say no I don't but I would if there was pee on my car. What? He says. I said it's cool, there's no pee on my car, it's pretty damn disrespectful to be pissin' on someone's car. And with that it was over I walked away with Ryan (who had joined me) back to his car. On the way over to his car I mentioned to him how I wouldn't have had that attitude with they guy if we hadn't seen that type of movie. I guess the fellow in the car still thought I had a problem because he pulled his truck up, got out, and got up in my face. What were you sayin' to your friend just now? You talkin' sh*t? Listen man, I said, it's cool, there's no pee on my car! Well I think you two still gots a problem over here. With that he proceeds to throw one of their empty beer bottles on the ground and then one at my car. We argue some more and then his friend gets up in Ryan's face. Just when I think this guy is calmed down he goes over to my car and pushes a shopping cart into the right rear quarter panel. By this time I had lost it, this guy was going down. I went to my car and started to get my baseball bat out from the back seat. I was ready to smash his brains in, or his car. They took off and headed out of the parking lot. Ryan yelled for me to chase them and I was ready.

Kiss of the Spider Woman

In Manuel Puig’s novel Kiss of the Spider Woman, Molina and Valentin use fantasy as a way of escapism. Firstly, Molina uses the films he tells in the cell to escape his unfavorable and lonely life by creating a preferred reality through the fantasy he creates in them. Secondly, the setting of the cell itself provides Molina with a sanctuary from the outside world, allowing him to escape from the gender roles in which he is confined in and fantasize about taking on the feminine role with Valentin through the isolation of jail.Lastly, in Valentin’s morphine-induced fantasy at the end of the novel, he can escape from the socially accepted stereotypical male gender roles and express his true feelings about Molina. Firstly, Molina uses the fantasy presented in the films he reiterates as a way to escape from the harsh reality of the real world, creating his own, more favourable one. This perspective can be seen throughout the novel, particularly in association with the strong romantic and feminine aspects displayed in the films.A film that allows Molina to escape the real world is told through his stream of consciousness in chapter five, which tells the love story between an unattractive maid and a young soldier, face scarred by the war. This film is very personal to Molina in two aspects. Firstly, it is told not aloud to Valentin, but inside his own head, and secondly, it features a protagonist who is an outcast to society who nonetheless finds love. It is told through the first person perspective of the maid, and the use of personal pronouns draw a connection between the characters of Molina and the maid.This parallel characterization is heightened through the maid’s casual and repeated reference to herself as an â€Å"ugly girl† (100), mimicking Molina’s expressions of self-deprecation through belittling diction. He is constantly using words like â€Å"revulsion† (260) and â€Å"disgust† (262) to describe himself wi th, and he even interjects the film to recount the judge’s description of him as â€Å"the worst, a revolting fag† (106). It is clear that Molina, a gay man living in a homophobic country of machismo men feels like an outsider with a lack of self worth.In the chapter three, Molina relates the story of his unrequited love for the waiter Gabriel: a heterosexual man who does not return Molina’s feelings. Molina is escaping from the bitter truth of his own love-less life and living through the fantasies he presents in the form of films: an outlet that allows him to experience a preferred and utopian reality. Puig’s purpose in drawing a parallel between the maid and Molina is to express Molina’s intense desire to find love and acceptance and suggest the eventuality this lies in Molina’s future, as it did for the maid.Through film, Molina can escape the bitter actuality of his own life into his own highly romantic and idealistic fantasies. Not onl y does Molina use fantasy in his stories as a way of escapism, through the isolation of their cell, Molina can escape from confining traditional gender roles and assume the feminine role with Valentin, a form of fantasy for him. Throughout the novel, it has been made clear that Molina identifies with women; even claiming â€Å"I want to be one† (19). Inside the cell Molina is able to escape from the prejudice experienced in his primarily homophobic country and don the feminine traits he associates himself with.Molina cares for Valentin when the latter becomes ill, indulging in a fantasy in which he is sympathetic, caring and maternal. For example: â€Å"But you have to wait for that, until you feel okay, and you can be sure that you only get half of that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (156). It is obvious that Molina enjoys being subservient to Valentin. In a sense, Molina is not so much homosexual as he merely believes himself a woman. Indeed, he firmly believes in the stereotypical and tra ditional roles of men and women: â€Å"But if a man is†¦my husband, he has to give the orders, so he will feel right. That’s the natural thing, because that makes him†¦ the man of the house† (244).Molina’s identification of himself as female is what makes him subject to prejudice, such as the kind he experienced with the judge. Towards the end of the novel, Molina comes to the realization that his situation outside the jail cell will never change, and that the fantasy he is experiencing with Valentin will not last: â€Å"No, they’ll never change†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (215). Puig creates the irony that it is within the confines of prison that Molina feels the most free, and it is outside where he feels imprisoned. Inside the jail cell, Molina is able to escape the bleak future in which he foresees himself never fully being able to embrace his gender identity.The fantasy he is living with Valentin is an opportunity to live his life like a woman, free fro m prejudice and discrimination. Although it is mainly Molina who utilizes fantasy throughout the novel, in his stream of consciousness at the end of the novel, it is Valentin who escapes from the pain of real life and the confinement of the cell into a morphine-induced fantasy. In this dream-like state, Valentin, free from socially accepted gender roles, is able to express his true feelings and thoughts.At the beginning of the novel, Valentin’s only addition to the films appeared in blunt interruptions, often times closer to criticism of the films than positive contribution: â€Å"I don’t really get it, it’s very confusing the way you tell it† (12). As the novel progressed, and Valentin and Molina grew closer together, the dialogue between them became of greater significance, as Valentin let down his emotional guard. This emotional development culminated in Valentin’s expressive and out of character dream, full of vivid imagery, in which he can esc ape from the expectations of his gender, and express his true feelings, specifically towards Molina.The metaphor of Molina as the Spider Woman is epitomized in this chapter and through this image, Valentin can express his true feelings about him: â€Å"†¦so many threads that look like hairy like ropes and disgust me, even though if I were to touch them they might feel as smooth as who knows what, but it makes me queasy to touch them† (280). This represents Valentin’s initial unease about being intimate with Molina, but at the same time knowing that allowing someone into his personal life could potentially be gratifying.Being part of a revolutionary group, Valentin has been accustomed to severing personal relations that interfere with the cause. At the same time, he has been associated with having very masculine traits, even proclaiming: â€Å"I’m no woman† (38). By Valentin admitting both that he had sex with Molina, and that he â€Å"enjoyed itâ₠¬  (280) shows an immense diversion from his characterization at the beginning of the novel. In this fantastical state, he can escape from the traditional gender roles in which is perceived with and admit to his true sentiments.In conclusion, fantasy plays a very important role in terms of escapism for Molina and Valentin in the novel, both in terms of physical and physiological situations. Molina and Valentin experience three key escapist fantasies throughout the novel: Molina uses the fantasies in the films to escape his own disparaging life, Molina uses the setting of the cell itself as an escape for the gender roles he sees himself confined in in the outside world, and Valentin’s dream like fantasy allows him to express his true feelings and escape confining male gender roles.The purpose of these fantasies in Kiss of the Spider Woman is to provide the characters with an environment in which they can escape from the confines of their life and express their true feelings. Indeed, it is these fantasies that provide illuminating characterization and allow the reader to truly discern the nature of the characters of Molina and Valentin.Work Cited Puig, Manuel. Kiss of the Spider Woman. New York: Knopf, 1979. Print.

A Paper About Justice, Dignity, Torture, Headscarves: Can Durkheim’s Socioligy Clarify Legal Values?/ Roger Cotterrell

Task: Could you write a one to two page summary of what Cotterrell says can be learned from a sociological approach in thinking what to do about the famous problem of whether Muslim women should be allowed to dress in all -covering veil. Restrictions on the wearing of the Islamic head scarf and body covering gown – A legal-moral issue In his article – Justice, Dignity, Torture, Headscarves: Can Durkheim's Socioligy Clarify Legal Values? Roger Cotterrell attempts to find out what Emile Durkheim would say regarding two issues that stand out in present days – the acceptability of torture in defense of national security; and restrictions on the wearing of the Islamic headscarf. Cotterrell takes Derkheim's approach regarding the sociology of morality in order to examine moral and legal evaluation of contemporary legal studies – Cotterrell examines Durkheim's ‘Moral individualism' idea (‘the cult of the individual’ or ‘cult of the human person’) concerning those two issues. I would focus on the second issue and would try to summarize Cotterrell's arguments on what the Durkheimian approach would say regarding the famous problem of whether Muslim women should be allowed to dress in all-covering veil. Firstly, I will explain what â€Å"Moral individualism† is and Durkheim's justifications for it. Then, I will display Cotterrell's justifications to why this approach is relevant nowadays. Thirdly, I will examine the dilemma in hand in a sociological way and try and understand what Cotterrell and Durkheim would say on the matter. Moral Individualism': According to Cotterrell, the essential idea that stands on the basis of the ‘Moral Individualism' principle is â€Å"universal respect for the equal human dignity and autonomy of every member of society, whatever differences there may be in the outlook, position, life conditions or roles of society’s members†. Durkheim feels strongly about ensuring that societies will integrate, or rat her – will be able to integrate, and will be able to be cohesive. I. e. if individuals in a certain society grant equal and ultimate respect to other individuals and their autonomy – that society will be able to better integrate and be cohesive and will ultimately work better as a group/society. Current relevancy: Cotterrell argues that the ‘Moral individualism' idea provides an alternative to familiar current ideas about the subject of human dignity. Durkheim's ideas â€Å"on solidarity and the body suggests that prohibiting certain forms of this, but not others, contravenes values of human dignity†. For example, if society does not respect the choice of Muslim women to dress in a certain way – society, de facto, does not respect these women's right for human dignity. Durkheim does not claim that following an investigation according to the ‘Moral Individualism' principle will result in a global time-less conclusion, but a specific conclusion of practices needed in order to ensure stable, cohesive society. Another justification Cotterrell finds is in the demand law makes from citizens nowadays. Today, more than ever – law should be examined as an expression of morality as appose to an expression of power, not philosophically but in a way of finding the compatible terms and â€Å"conditions of co-existence of individuals and groups in a certain time and place†. Regulation of female Islamic dress: Cotterrell depicts what Durkheim sees as the problematic character of sexuality viewed in the light of the socio-logical necessity of ‘Moral Individualism': sexual relations, in Durkheim's view, causes a sacrifice of the dignity and autonomy of both sexes in this action, and women in particular. This sacrifice leads to an exception in a society where the values of dignity and autonomy are fundamental and necessary. This exception, which is part of â€Å"islands of exceptions† that can be found in Durkheim's idea, leads to an ambiguity in practicing rights protecting dignity and autonomy especially for women. Following this line of thought, Cotterrel argues that the practice of Muslim women wearing the headscarves or the body-covering gown is fitting to Durkheim's ‘Moral Individualism' principle. This argues that in order to protect this idea, which is fundamental, â€Å"we conceal our body as well as our inner life from prying eyes†. This concealment is possibly in order to desexualize public social space, to terminate that ‘island of exception'. Meaning, the women that are wearing these covering garments actually makes it easier to help the society be more cohesive and to be more of the same. In my opinion, this method of achieving ‘Moral Individualism' is not appropriate, because it takes away from the individual the ability to reveal her face, her facial expressions and it is probably very uncomfortable at certain times. I should add that ‘Moral Individualism' is supposed to celebrate diversity and individualism, but it does not in this example of the headscarf issue. Cotterrell argues the same notion but in a cultural integration way. He claims that these women are taken away from the public space because of the cultural differences these garments impose on non-Muslim society. To summarize, Durkheim offers a different approach to the discussion about â€Å"Islamic headscarves† and even bypasses much pre-existing debate on the matter as Cotterrell argues. Moral Individualism' justifies the wearing of all-covering garments since it helps avoiding sexual connotations when integrating within a multi-cultural society. However, this approach also suggests that women's choices of clothes should be connected to ‘Moral Individualism'. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Note that these women's relig ion is not the issue here, they could have believed in a Judaism or Buddhism, and the principle would have remained the same.

Chemistry Scavenger Hunt Clues and Answers

Chemistry Scavenger Hunt Clues and Answers One of the more popular chemistry assignments is a scavenger hunt, where students are asked to identify or bring in items that fit a description. Examples of scavenger hunt items are things like an element or a heterogeneous mixture. Are there additional items you would add to a scavenger hunt or that you have been asked to find for an assignment? Chemistry Scavenger Hunt Clues First, lets start with the clues. You can print this page out to start your own chemistry scavenger hunt or try to find the answers. These same clues plus possible answers are found at the bottom of this page. An elementA heterogeneous mixtureA homogenous mixtureA gas-liquid solutionA malleable substanceA solid-liquid solutionA substance which has a volume of 1 cm3An edible example of a physical changeAn edible example of a chemical changeA pure compound which contains ionic bondsA pure compound which contains covalent bondsA mixture that can be separated by filtrationA mixture that can be separated by some other method than filtrationA substance with a density of less than 1g/mLA substance with a density of more than oneA substance which contains a polyatomic ionAn acidA metalA non-metalAn inert gasAn alkaline earth metalImmiscible liquidsA toy which demonstrates a physical changeThe result of a chemical changeA moleA substance with tetrahedral geometryA base with a pH greater than 9A polymer Possible Scavenger Hunt Answers An element: Aluminum foil, copper wire, aluminum can, iron nameA  heterogeneous mixture: Sand and water, salt and iron filingsA homogenous mixture: Air, sugar solutionA gas-liquid solution: SodaA malleable substance: Play-doh or modeling clayA solid-liquid solution: Maybe  an amalgam of silver and mercury? This is definitely a tough one.A substance which has a volume of 1 cubic centimeter: Standard sugar cube, cut a cube of soap the proper sizeAn  edible example of a physical change: Melting  ice  creamAn edible example of a chemical change: Seltzer tablet (barely edible), candies that fizz or pop when dampA pure compound which contains  ionic bonds: SaltA pure compound which contains  covalent bonds: Sucrose or table sugarA mixture that can be separated by filtration: Fruit cocktail in syrupA mixture that can be separated by some other method than filtrationSaltwater- salt and water can be separated using  reverse osmosis  or  an ion exchange columnA substance wi th a density of less than 1g/mL: Oil, ice A substance with a density more than one: Any metal, glassA substance which contains a  polyatomic ion: Gypsum (SO42-),  Epsom  saltsAn acid: Vinegar (dilute  acetic acid),  solid citric acidA metal: Iron, aluminum, copperA non-metal: Sulfur, graphite (carbon)An inert gas: Helium in a balloon, neon in a glass tube, argon if you have access to a labAn alkaline earth metal: Calcium, magnesiumImmiscible liquids: Oil and waterA toy which demonstrates a physical change: A toy steam engineThe result of a chemical change: AshesA mole: 18 g of water, 58.5 g of salt, 55.8 g of ironA substance with tetrahedral geometry: Silicates (sand, quartz), diamondA base with a pH greater than 9: Baking sodaA polymer: A piece of plastic

Free Essays on Whats Wrong With Rock And Roll And Rap

What’s Wrong With Rock & Roll & Rap? An idea believed by many people is that music has a significant effect on the way people think. Professional psychologists say that the lyrics used in music today has a brain-washing effect. This brain-washing effect is supposed to make the listener become so overwhelmed with the lyrics of the song that the person feels that it’s a must to act on what was heard. It doesn’t matter if what they do is accepted or not. It is common to believe that the type of music that provides unacceptable content is rap (hip-hop) music, or rock-n-roll (head-banger) music. The reason people have this presumption about rap and rock-n-roll is because both genres reputations of having or using inappropriate lyrics. A lyric from the N.W.A album F**k The Police states â€Å"Mr. Officer, I want to see you layin‘ in a coffin, sir.† This statement, as well as music that refers to women as "bitches," "whores" and sex-dispensing "hoes"(Saunders B29)is considered to be "Gangsta rap". â€Å"Gangsta Rap† has been criticized and debated over for its graphic sexual content, violent imagery and misogyny. When rappers were asked why they refer to women as â€Å"bitches† and â€Å"hoes† their replies were similar. "Snoop" uttered that â€Å"it is just for the women who are like that and if you're a real women, you're classy and elegant. Those lyrics wouldn’t necessarily affect you. Y ou’d just groove to the music".(Farley 78). Richard Shaw, A.K.A Bushwick Bill, stated, "I call women bitches and hoes because all the women I've met since I've been out here are bitches and hoes." When asked at the National Association of Black Journalists convention what he calls his mother Shaw exclaimed, "I call her a 'woman', but I'm not f***ing my mother. If I was f***ing you, you'd be a bitch." (Raspberry A21). He then apologized for what he said to the reporter. Kevin Powell, a writer for Vibe magazine, believes that rap music... Free Essays on What's Wrong With Rock And Roll And Rap Free Essays on What's Wrong With Rock And Roll And Rap What’s Wrong With Rock & Roll & Rap? An idea believed by many people is that music has a significant effect on the way people think. Professional psychologists say that the lyrics used in music today has a brain-washing effect. This brain-washing effect is supposed to make the listener become so overwhelmed with the lyrics of the song that the person feels that it’s a must to act on what was heard. It doesn’t matter if what they do is accepted or not. It is common to believe that the type of music that provides unacceptable content is rap (hip-hop) music, or rock-n-roll (head-banger) music. The reason people have this presumption about rap and rock-n-roll is because both genres reputations of having or using inappropriate lyrics. A lyric from the N.W.A album F**k The Police states â€Å"Mr. Officer, I want to see you layin‘ in a coffin, sir.† This statement, as well as music that refers to women as "bitches," "whores" and sex-dispensing "hoes"(Saunders B29)is considered to be "Gangsta rap". â€Å"Gangsta Rap† has been criticized and debated over for its graphic sexual content, violent imagery and misogyny. When rappers were asked why they refer to women as â€Å"bitches† and â€Å"hoes† their replies were similar. "Snoop" uttered that â€Å"it is just for the women who are like that and if you're a real women, you're classy and elegant. Those lyrics wouldn’t necessarily affect you. Y ou’d just groove to the music".(Farley 78). Richard Shaw, A.K.A Bushwick Bill, stated, "I call women bitches and hoes because all the women I've met since I've been out here are bitches and hoes." When asked at the National Association of Black Journalists convention what he calls his mother Shaw exclaimed, "I call her a 'woman', but I'm not f***ing my mother. If I was f***ing you, you'd be a bitch." (Raspberry A21). He then apologized for what he said to the reporter. Kevin Powell, a writer for Vibe magazine, believes that rap music...

Honor Killings or Shame Killings in Asia

Honor Killings or Shame Killings in Asia In many of the countries of South Asia and the Middle East, women can be targeted by their own families for death in what is known as â€Å"honor killings.† Often the victim has acted in a way that seems unremarkable to observers from other cultures; she has sought a divorce, refused to go through with an arranged marriage, or had an affair. In the most horrifying cases, a woman who suffers a rape then gets murdered by her own relatives. Yet, in highly patriarchal cultures, these actions – even being the victim of a sexual assault – are often seen as a blot on the honor and the reputation of the woman’s entire family, and her family may decide to maim or kill her. A woman (or rarely, a man) does not have to actually break any cultural taboos in order to become an honor killing victim. Just the suggestion that she has behaved inappropriately may be enough to seal her fate, and her relatives will not give her a chance to defend herself before carrying out the execution. In fact, women have been killed when their families knew they were completely innocent; just the fact that rumors had started going around was enough to dishonor the family, so the accused woman had to be killed. Writing for the United Nations, Dr. Aisha Gill defines an honor killing or honor violence as: ...any form of violence perpetrated against females within the framework of patriarchal family structures, communities, and/or societies, where the main justification for the perpetration of violence is the protection of a social construction of ‘honour’ as a value-system, norm, or tradition. In some cases, however, men may also be victims of honor killing, particularly if they are suspected of being homosexual, or if they refuse to marry the bride selected for them by their family. Honor killings take many different forms, including shooting, strangling, drowning, acid attacks, burning, stoning, or burying the victim alive. What is the justification for this horrific intrafamilial violence?   A report published by Canada’s Department of Justice quotes Dr. Sharif Kanaana of Birzeit University, who notes that honor killing in Arab cultures is not solely or even primarily about controlling a woman’s sexuality, per se.  Rather, Dr. Kanaana states: What the men of the family, clan, or tribe seek control of in a patrilineal society is reproductive power.  Women for the tribe were considered a factory for making men. The honor killing is not a means to control sexual power or behavior. What’s behind it is the issue of fertility, or reproductive power. Interestingly, honor murders are usually carried out by the fathers, brothers, or uncles of the victims – not by husbands. Although in a patriarchal society, wives are seen as the property of their husbands, any alleged misbehavior reflects dishonor on their birth families rather than their husbands’ families. Thus, a married woman who is accused of transgressing cultural norms is usually killed by her blood relatives. How did this tradition begin? Honor killing today is often associated in western minds and media with Islam, or less commonly with Hinduism, because it happens most often in Muslim or Hindu countries.  In fact, it is a cultural phenomenon separate from religion. First, let’s consider the sexual mores embedded in Hinduism. Unlike the major monotheistic religions, Hinduism does not consider sexual desire to be unclean or evil in any way, although sex just for the sake of lust is frowned upon. However, as with all other issues in Hinduism, questions such as the appropriateness of extramarital sex depend in large part upon the caste of the persons involved. It was never appropriate for a Brahmin to have sexual relations with a low caste person, for example. Indeed, in the Hindu context, most honor killings have been of couples from very different castes who fell in love. They might be killed for refusing to marry a different partner chosen by their families, or for secretly marrying the partner of their own choice. Premarital sex was also a taboo for Hindu women, in particular, as shown by the fact that brides are always referred to as â€Å"maidens† in the Vedas. In addition, boys from the Brahmin caste were strictly forbidden from breaking their celibacy, usually until around the age of 30. They were required to devote their time and energy to priestly studies, and avoid distractions such as young women. We could find no historical record of young Brahmin men being killed by their families if they strayed from their studies and sought the pleasures of the flesh. Honor Killing and Islam In the pre-Islamic cultures of the Arabian Peninsula and also of what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan, society was highly patriarchal. A woman’s reproductive potential belonged to her birth family and could be â€Å"spent† any way they chose – preferably through a marriage that would strengthen the family or clan financially or militarily. However, if a woman brought so-called dishonor on that family or clan, by allegedly engaging in premarital or extramarital sex (whether consensual or not), her family had the right to â€Å"spend† her future reproductive capacity by killing her. When Islam developed and spread throughout this region, it actually brought a different perspective on this question. Neither the Koran itself nor the hadiths make any mention of honor killing, good or bad. Extra-judicial killings, in general, are forbidden by sharia law; this includes honor killings because they are carried out by the victim’s family, rather than by a court of law. This is not to say that the Koran and sharia condone premarital or extramarital relationships. Under the most common interpretations of sharia, premarital sex is punishable by up to 100 lashes for both men and women, while adulterers of either gender can be stoned to death. Nonetheless, today many men in Arab nations such as ​Saudi Arabia, ​Iraq, and Jordan, as well as in Pashtun areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, adhere to the tradition of honor killing rather than taking the accused persons to court. It is notable that in other predominantly Islamic nations, such as Indonesia, Senegal, Bangladesh, Niger, and Mali, honor killing is a practically unknown phenomenon.  This strongly supports the idea that honor killing is a cultural tradition, rather than a religious one. Impact of Honor Killing Culture The honor killing cultures that were born in pre-Islamic Arabia and South Asia have a world-wide impact today. Estimates of the number of women murdered each year in honor killings range from the United Nations’ 2000 estimate of about 5,000 dead to a BBC report’s estimate based on humanitarian organizations’ counts of more than 20,000. Growing communities of Arab, Pakistani, and Afghan people in western countries also means that the issue of honor killings is making itself felt across Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere. High-profile cases, such as the 2009 murder of an Iraqi-American woman named Noor Almaleki, have horrified western observers. According to a CBS News report on the incident, Almaleki was raised in Arizona from the age of four and was highly westernized. She was independent-minded, liked to wear blue jeans, and, at age 20, had moved out of her parents’ home and was living with her boyfriend and his mother. Her father, enraged that she had rejected an arranged marriage and moved in with her boyfriend, ran her over with his minivan and killed her. Incidents like Noor Almaleki’s murder, and similar killings in Britain, Canada, and elsewhere, highlight an additional danger for the female children of immigrants from honor killing cultures.  Girls who acculturate to their new countries – and most children do – are extremely vulnerable to honor attacks. They absorb the ideas, attitudes, fashions, and social mores of the western world. As a result, their fathers, uncles, and other male relatives feel that they are losing the family honor because they no longer have control over the girls’ reproductive potential. The outcome, in too many cases, is murder. Sources Julia Dahl. â€Å"Honor killing under growing scrutiny in the U.S.,† CBS News, April 5, 2012. Department of Justice, Canada. â€Å"Historical Context – Origins of Honour Killing,† Preliminary Examination of so-called â€Å"Honour Killings† in Canada, Sept. 4, 2015. Dr. Aisha Gill. â€Å"Honour Killings and the Quest for Justice in Black and Minority Ethnic Communities in the UK,† United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women. June 12, 2009. â€Å"Honor Violence Factsheet,† Honor Diaries. Accessed May 25, 2016. Jayaram V. â€Å"Hinduism and Premarital Relationships,† Hinduwebsite.com. Accessed May 25, 2016. Ahmed Maher. â€Å"Many Jordan teenagers ‘support honour killings,† BBC News. June 20, 2013.

Films as Essential Tools of National Historical Analysis Research Paper

Films as Essential Tools of National Historical Analysis - Research Paper Example Cinematic and narrative elements of movies together with other stylistic devices help to bring out the intended meaning or outcome. Modern filmmakers have creatively used various aspects that show events that depict historical growth of particular nations. These films show the reasons why certain historical aspects have faded away or have remained and why they hold particular importance to those nations. Au Revoir les Enfantes also known as Goodbye Children is about a French boarding school that is under the administration of priests (Everett 49). The school seems to be a place of protection where people enjoyed peace and harmony until a new student gets into the school. The new student was allocated a room, which he could share with a student who was top in his class. Despite the fact that they became rivals at their first contact, they later form an inseparable bond linked by a shared secret. They became friends one night when they got lost in the woods and are rescued by German so ldiers. The soldiers wrapped them in blankets and drove them back to school. The film was written and directed by Louis Malle. It was produced in the year 1987 (Everett 49). The movie is based on an event that happened in January 1944. Louis Malle was twelve years old when the incident happened. At that time, he was attending a Jesuit boarding school along Fountainebleau. After the Christmas holiday had ended, schools were back with normal classes and other operations. In the middle of the scholastic year, three new students joined the school one of whom became a rival and competitor with Mall. Malle used to top the class in scholastic domain. After several weeks in school, Germans arrested the young boy who competed with Malle together with the other newcomers. Julien did not know about the true identity of jean but tried as much as he could and learnt that Jean was a pseudonym. The headmaster of the school also disappeared at the same time. The three boys were of Jewish decent. Th e convent school in Au revoir les enfants, on the other hand, is an elite institution for wealthy children, and it attempts to insulate itself from events outside its walls.   This is also a familiar trope in Holocaust/Occupation films... the wealthy elite who go into denial and/or lie about what's going on around them in order to hang onto not just wealth and power, but also customs, tradition, and civility. As the film documents, films can be used to show important historical events that took place at a certain period in time. This film captures the events that took place during the Second World War and their impacts. It is a fiction film that was created from the memories from a journalist’s conscience (Aitken 207). It is a story about France during the Second World War. It is essential to note that the young boy, Jean Bonnet was different from the other students in the school. He had a curly hair and did not eat pork. However, the secret about his decent becomes an open secret when everyone knows that he is Jewish. The catholic priests who are the administrators of the school admitted the Jewish boys as an act of charity because the boys lived as pseudonyms because they did not know the whereabouts of their parents (Aitken 207). Malle’s films clearly show the use of the narrative trope of class, morality, and opportunity during crisis. For instance,  Lucien Lacombe is a working-class farm boy who is able to advance himself during the Vichy crisis,

Module8(fom) Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Module8(fom) - Dissertation Example Price skimming occurs when the introductory price is relatively high reflecting that the IPad is innovative and there is a degree of â€Å"prestige or status† attached to owning the IPad (Pride, Hughes and Kapoor 2010, p. 336). Assuming that the targeted consumers care about prestige and status, and that the cost of research and development that went into developing the IPad is high, price skimming is useful for meeting the cost of development and the needs of the targeted consumers. It will also ensure that demand for the product will not outweigh supply if supply is relatively low. Penetration pricing however may not be desirable since it assumes that there is a high supply of the product and there is a low demand. This is assumed because penetration pricing is structured around low pricing with the objective of creating market shares for the new product. It is hoped that setting low prices will discourage rivals’ entry into the market (Pride, Hughes and Kapoor 2010, p. 336). This is an undesirable approach to the introduction of a new technologically driven product as the market is filled with these kinds of products and the only way to penetrate the market is to introduce something that is new and better.

Contract law coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contract law coursework - Essay Example when this would involve forcing a contract upon an unwilling party,†3 nevertheless, since Jerry &Co has commenced performing the terms through construction, they are deemed to have accepted the contract4 with the additional provisions inserted by Mrs. Lowrie. When the record of a transaction is contained in a document – oral evidence is excludedas in this case, the parol evidence rule has generally excluded oral evidence, so parties are bound by the writing alone5. However oral representations made by Jerry& Co have induced Lowrie to enter into the contract.6 Most importantly, it must be noted that as per Clause 5 of written contract, Jerry& Co provide no warranty on materials used in construction.7 Ans 2 (a): The document signed by Mrs Lowrie and Jerry &Co does not represent the entire agreement between the parties. For one thing, there are additional terms and provisions which are relevant in the context of the contract – which are spelt out in the standard form building contract.8 Mrs Lowrie may not have entered into the contract without the oral representations on completion time and materials.9 (b) The oral statements made on March 4th and April 3rd do not form a part of the formal written contract between the parties. However, these statements may be classed as representations – which are statements of fact made by one party that form the basis upon which the other party is induced to enter into the contract. When such statements/representations are not reduced into writing, the Court may draw the conclusion that the parties did not intended them to be contractual terms10 and therefore, an injured party may not be able to hold the other party to those representations. The important distinction between a contractual term and a representation is that while contractual terms are enforceable in the event of a dispute, representations may not be. Ans 3: If the oral statements were deemed to be representations and not contractual terms, then

Access to care in managed care program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Access to care in managed care program - Essay Example Healthcare provider office practices determine the level of success that the actual healthcare given achieves. In the paper titled Capacity Planning and Management in Hospitals, Green (16) notes that the enormity of the issues behind the pressure from cost benefit analysis presses practices to be a one sided affair. The main issues in organization of healthcare institutions include the introduction of competition in the health industry coupled to the reduction of government subsidies. Practices at the healthcare facilities are therefore not only tending towards complete commercialization but also rising cost that the author feels continually impacts in effective reduction in patient access. Without the best approach that is cognizant of modified management tools to fit in the changing health care sector, practices at the facilities will continue to face hardships in achieving appropriate delivery of healthcare. Alternatively, the types of managed care model in which the providers are involved dictate the manner in which the delivery of healthcare services is conducted. Several models of managed care programs exist with an implication on the fact that the specialized needs of each attract a certain form of operation that would not operate in a different model setting. Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) models include closed panel, staff model, group model, open panel, Independent Practice Association (IPA), network model, and mixed model (TMCI, 2). Each of these models has inherent requirements that uniquely dictate the order of operations and access for health care by individuals. For instance, when dealing with a mental health facility, standard and village settings are differently modeled. The village type has restrictions which may effectively reduce the general access by the public in comparison with the other types of models (TVISA,

Issue of our times Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Issue of our times - Essay Example Additionally, most landmines are cheap to construct and deploy right on the ground. The victim might not have any information regarding the existence of mines on the ground and so he or she might trigger it. According to Chevrier (134), the number of deaths caused by landmines is more as compared to statistics of deaths by other arms. The author argues that the combinations of statistics of deaths caused by biological, nuclear and chemical weapons are less compared to deaths as a result of landmines. Additionally, a research by the U.S. department reveals that close to 110 million landmines are deployed in 64 countries. As pointed out above, landmines pose a great danger to the society, and it also affects the economy of the country. The risks associated such as deaths and mutilation of the victims causes a lot of fear to the society. In this senses, large tracks of lands that could have been exploited for agricultural proposes remains unused. In addition, development projects such as road and dam constructions are halted by lands mine. The results can be devastating to the economy because agricultural farms and accessible roads provide jobs to a significant number of people. For example, Matthew et al. (196) point out that close to 8.49% of the Libyan land has been rendered useless because of a large number of landmines deployed in the land. Furthermore, funds that could have been invested somewhere to improve the economy will have to be use for the humanitarian purpose. Matthew et al. (196) explains that the problem caused by landmines differ from one state to another. Some countries could be hav ing large number of landmines, but their problem could be small. The point is that, setback of landmines is based on the square kilometer of arable land that could have been used to grow crops. Landmines could also be fixed in locations reserved for social amenities such as hospitals, bridge, water towers, sewage treatment plants, schools and

Access to care in managed care program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Access to care in managed care program - Essay Example Healthcare provider office practices determine the level of success that the actual healthcare given achieves. In the paper titled Capacity Planning and Management in Hospitals, Green (16) notes that the enormity of the issues behind the pressure from cost benefit analysis presses practices to be a one sided affair. The main issues in organization of healthcare institutions include the introduction of competition in the health industry coupled to the reduction of government subsidies. Practices at the healthcare facilities are therefore not only tending towards complete commercialization but also rising cost that the author feels continually impacts in effective reduction in patient access. Without the best approach that is cognizant of modified management tools to fit in the changing health care sector, practices at the facilities will continue to face hardships in achieving appropriate delivery of healthcare. Alternatively, the types of managed care model in which the providers are involved dictate the manner in which the delivery of healthcare services is conducted. Several models of managed care programs exist with an implication on the fact that the specialized needs of each attract a certain form of operation that would not operate in a different model setting. Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) models include closed panel, staff model, group model, open panel, Independent Practice Association (IPA), network model, and mixed model (TMCI, 2). Each of these models has inherent requirements that uniquely dictate the order of operations and access for health care by individuals. For instance, when dealing with a mental health facility, standard and village settings are differently modeled. The village type has restrictions which may effectively reduce the general access by the public in comparison with the other types of models (TVISA,

Exam 1 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Exam 1 - Coursework Example If the Japanese firm expects the U.S. dollar to ____ against the yen, it would likely wish to hedge. It could hedge by ____ dollars forward. 13. Saller Co. has a subsidiary in Mexico. The expected cash flows in pesos to be received in the future from this subsidiary have not changed since last month, but the valuation of Saller Co. has declined since last month. What couldve caused this decline in value? 14. Jensen Co. wants to establish a new subsidiary in Mexico that will sell computers to Mexican customers and remit earnings back to the U.S. parent. The value of this project will be favorably affected if the value of the peso ____ while it establishes the new subsidiary and ____ when the subsidiary starts operations. 15. J&L Co. is a U.S.-based MNC that frequently exports computers to Italy. J&L typically invoices these goods in euros and is concerned that the euro will depreciate in the near future. Which of the following is not an appropriate technique under these circumstances? 17. Assume that Live Co. has expected cash flows of $200,000 from domestic operations, SF200, 000 from Swiss operations, and 150,000 euros from Italian operations at the end of the year. The Swiss francs value and euros value are expected to be $.83 and $1.29 respectively, at the end this year. What are the expected dollar cash flows of Live

American Nurses Association Essay Example for Free

American Nurses Association Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Ethanol And Biodiesel Environmental Sciences Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Ethanol And Biodiesel Environmental Sciences Essay The worlds energy consumption has been increasing progressively since the industrial revolution 1. Global population is continuing to dramatically rise and the increase in economic development, particularly in China and India, over recent decades has contributed to increases in energy consumption 2. Currently, nearly 45 percent of Australias total energy consumption is accounted for by coal, with oil providing approximately 35 percent, natural gas supplying around 15 percent and green power providing just over 5 percent 2. Alternative fuels are stated to be a potentially viable alternative to the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels contribute to almost eighty percent of the total energy used in the world 3, 4. Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources that are limited in their supply and the burning of fossil fuels on a global scale can produce air pollution, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), release significant amounts of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), and contribute to g lobal warming 1, 3, 5, 6. Alternative fuels are considered to have a less adverse effect on the environment, and are stated to be a solution to the problems created by fossil fuels 1. The main difference between fossil derived fuels and alternative fuels is the oxygen content, with alternative fuels having 10-45 wt% oxygen compared to fossil fuels which contain almost none 7. In Australia, the alternative fuels industry is relatively small, but is gradually expanding particularly in regard to ethanol or biodiesel production8. Alternative fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel may prospectively provide an alternative for global fuel requirements. There are however, a number of drawbacks related to alternative fuels which may inhibit them from completely replacing fossil fuels without technological or genetic advancements 9. Outline This paper aims to examine the advantages and disadvantages of alternative fuels. The discussion will commence by defining alternative fuels and a number of relevant terms. The analysis will then consider ethanol as an alternative fuel and an overview of ethanol production. Subsequently, biodiesels and an overview of biodiesel production will be examined. Following this, the advantages and disadvantages of alternative fuels will be considered. Lastly, the main arguments of this account will be summarised. Definitions Alternative fuels are a sustainable form of energy, are fuels that have not derived from petroleum and can include alcohols, biofuels, hydrogen, natural gas and propane 1. They are commonly solid, liquid or gas biofuels acquired from biomass, vegetable oil, or generated from agricultural food crops 6, 10. A viable alternative fuel must be economical, supply a net energy gain, be beneficial to the environment, and be able to be produced in considerable volumes with limited detrimental impacts6. The alternative fuels that are currently prevalent throughout the world are ethanol and biodiesel 7, 11, 12. Ethanol also referred to as ethyl alcohol, is a colourless liquid alcohol, less dense than water, with the chemical formula C2H5OH 13. Biodiesel is a carbon-neutral fuel that is a mixture of fatty acid methyl esters 13, 14. Alcohols: Ethanol Ethanol is one of the most widely utilized liquid biofuels that can be combined with gasoline to create an ethanol blend fuel, or it can be used in pure form 7, 13. It may be derived by fermenting carbohydrates obtained from natural sugars, starches or cellulosic biomass in plants including sugar cane, corn or straw 7, 15. Generally, this process involves the yeast driven fermentation of glucose in which the energy from the glucose is concentrated in the ethanol and CO2 is released as seen in equation 1 13. 13 The USA and Brazil are presently the two major producers of bioethanol with corn and sugar cane the primary base plants for the US and Brazil, respectively 16, 17. Current fuel yield for corn ethanol has been demonstrated at 1135 1900 L/hectare; to achieve 50 percent of American transport fuel demands, more than 157 percent of USA cropland would need to be utilized 17. In 2005/2006, Australia produced and consumed 41 million litres of ethanol fuel 8. Use and production of ethanol, however has been demonstrated to be increasing 8. In Australia, since 2003, the maximum allowed limit of ethanol in ethanol-petrol blends has been 10 percent 8. In 2007, there were three ethanol production facilities operating in Australia that generated ethanol from grains, such as sorghum and wheat, and from sugar cane, with production capacities of over 150 million litres annually 8. Biodiesels Biodiesel generation emerged in the late 1990s and has continued to rapidly increase 13. Biodiesels are produced from a variety of seed plant oils, such as soybean, palm or rapeseed oil, or from animal fats 10, 15, 18. They are mostly manufactured through the process of transesterification 18. Transesterification involves the mixing and of an oil with alcohol in the presence of a catalyst, such as sodium hydroxide, which reacts to create biodiesel and glycerine 18. The triglyceridies in the oil or fat are converted into a glycerine molecule and three methyl esters of long chain fatty acid molecules (Figure 1)13.The glycerin by-product is not in market demand due to the excess produced from biodiesel generation and recently been discovered to convert into propylene glycol, which has a large market, and acetol 13. Biodiesel manufactured from soybean produces more than 90 percent more energy than is needed to generate it 13. Figure : Transesterification of a triglyceride 18. Biodiesel is manufactured globally, with the USA and Germany dominating the market 20. Around the world, over 1.5 million tonnes of biodiesel is generated annually 15. In 2005/2006 Australia produced and consumed 16 million litres of biodiesel fuel 8. Use and production of biodiesels has increased since8. In Australia biodiesel can be utilized as a replacement for diesel or in a biodiesel-diesel blend of between 5 and 20 percent biodiesel 8. Investigations into utilizing canola or mustard for biodiesel production are occurring in southern Australia while currently, a range of fats and oils are used, such as tallow 8. In Australia, biodiesel production capacity is greater than ethanol production capacity 8. Advantages and Disadvantages of Alternative Fuels Alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel have numerous advantages and disadvantages regarding environmental and societal impacts. The replacement of fossil fuels with alternative fuels could result in a decrease of CO2 emissions, a decrease in air pollution, reduce acid rain and decrease global warming3. Additional benefits include sustainability, fuel security, regional development and a decrease in rural poverty 7, 21. The land area required to generate sufficient alternative fuel to meet demands however, may compete directly with agriculture requirements, water use, may cause pollution from the use of herbicides and pesticides, and could result in the destruction of natural habitats and a decrease in biodiversity 3, 21, 22. In developing countries, the expansion of the alternative fuel industry could increase deforestation, decreasing the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis 12. The prices obtained for the sale of, for example, Australian produced alter native fuels is variable and depends on domestic prices for petrol and diesel, the world prices of oil and the Australian exchange rate 8. Ethanol Advantages There are several advantages concerning the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is removed by the crop used for ethanol generation, resulting in the process being carbon neutral 15. Using ethanol over fossil derived fuels can result in a reduction of CO2 up to 75 percent 24. Higher densities of ethanol fuel and air can be combusted in an engine compared to petroleum due to ethanols constricted boiling point range and higher latent heat of vaporization (Table 1) 10, 16. Additionally, higher energy density can be achieved in the engine due to a lower stoichiometric air to fuel ratio 10, 16.This may produce enhanced engine efficiency and elevated power outputs in ethanol fuelled vehicles when contrasted to petroleum fuelled vehicles. The use of ethanol as an alternative fuel can result in lower pollution emissions compared to fossil fuels, particularly regarding particulates, alkenes, aromatics and carbon monoxide 13. Disadvantages There are disadvantages associated with the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel. At present, ethanol is not economically competitive 15, 24. Expensive production costs associated with ethanol can be generated due to the use of water for irrigation, herbicides and pesticides, fertilisers, and machinery maintenance 11. Other expenses may be accrued from wages, insurance, land charges, and depreciation of farm assets 11. Ethanol has a lower amount of energy generated per litre combusted, is more corrosive than gasoline and is toxic to ecosystems 13, 20. The use of pure ethanol is limited in colder climates by their low vapour pressures 13. Ethanol production from crops is stated to cause environmental degradation such as dust and exhaust emissions, displacement of alternative land uses, pollution of surface and ground water systems, increased turbidity in surface waters, salinity and bioaccumulation of some pesticides 9, 11. There are a number of environmental problems related to corn generated ethanol such as denitrification, erosion, and nitrogen leaching 9, 11. Ethanol crops are generally inefficient and the yields vary dramatically between various crops 15, 17. The disadvantages noted above indicate that currently, ethanol is not a viable alternative fuel. Biodiesel Advantages A number of advantages are linked with the use of biodiesel fuel over fossil derived diesel fuel. Biodiesel production is stated to be sustainable, environmentally friendly, nontoxic, and biodegradable 1, 5, 10. Biodiesels properties are alike the properties of fossil derived diesel, Table 1, suggesting it can be used unmodified in indirect injection diesel engines 5, 16. Table 1 demonstrates that biodiesel has a higher flash point than petroleum-based diesel making it is safer to store and transport 10, 16. Biodiesel burns cleanly, and the emissions produced have fewer pollutants including less carbon monoxide, sulphates and sulphur oxides, hydrocarbons, nitrogen and particulates 1, 5. It also has a small increase in fuel economy and superior lubricity compared to fossil derived diesel, which can reduce engine wear 7; 14. Disadvantages There are many disadvantages regarding the use of biodiesel as an alternative fuel. Biodiesel production from crops competes with food supply, can detrimentally impact the environmental through nitrogen and phosphorus leaching, and loss of biodiversity 6, 7. Biodiesel generally generates lower power and torque than petroleum-based diesel and can have a higher fuel consumption 10. Biodiesels are also not currently economically competitive 6. They are stated to have higher emissions of nitrous oxides and cold start problems 7. The biodegradability of biodiesel can create problems regarding fuel stability and long-term storage 14. Methyl ester fatty acids deteriorate in conditions with high temperatures, sunlight, oxygen or non-ferrous metals 14. The disadvantages noted above indicate that currently, biodiesel may not be a viable alternative fuel. Conclusion Alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel have both advantages and disadvantages regarding impacts on the environment. Ethanol is usually produced through the fermentation of carbohydrates while biodiesel is generally produced by transesterification. Within Australia, the industry of alternative fuels is steadily expanding. Advantages of alternative fuels may include decreased emissions and air pollution, reduced impact on global warming, sustainability, fuel security, regional development and a decrease in rural poverty. Disadvantages of alternative fuels may include land use competition, water use competition, pollution from the use of herbicides and pesticides, deforestation, the destruction of natural habitats, and a decrease in biodiversity. Currently, the production and use of the alternative fuels ethanol and biodiesel do not appear to be viable.

A Market Economy :: essays research papers

A Market Economy is the most efficient way of organizing economic activities. Millions of suppliers (firm) and consumers (buyers) make the markets. The suppliers and consumers sell and purchase goods that satisfy the wants of consumers and suppliers. Suppliers and consumers make rational decisions, respond to incentives and make tradeoffs. Over all trade makes everyone better off. (Mankiw) If one firm does not meet the wants of the consumer then they will lose their place in the market. Sales for most major retailers have risen this quarter, while others have fallen. The over all sales gain equals 7.9%. (Chandler) Sales rose because consumers are not bothered by threats of war. Also, they feel confident in current and future stability of the economy. The reason some retailers lost and most gained could be a number of possibilities: Prices might be too high for the consumer’s taste. Marketing strategies appealed to consumer’s tastes. Consumer’s expectation of future prices and economic stability. Consumer purchasing goods from some firms dropped. This could have been because of price increase of goods sold by retailers. Prices of goods rose because of cost increase due to the rise in Average Total Cost. Average Total Cost is Total Cost (everything that is given up to pay for good) divided by Quantity (how many goods the firm produces). This will be driven up by the Variable Cost (costs that vary with the quantity of output produced) because of inflation; wage increase and cost of goods needed to produce the final good. With some firms rising having their Average Total Cost going up and not increasing price, they will lose profit. Profit is attained by [Total Revenue (the amount a firm receives for sales of it’s output) divided by Quantity minus Total Cost divided by Quantity] multiplied by Quantity. Or, Profit will equal (Price minus Average Total Cost) multiplied by Quantity. If the Average Total Cost is larger than the price than the firm will face either raising price or with a short-term profit loss-shutdown. If profit loss is in effect with the firms long-run Average Total Cost then the firm will have to cut their losses and exit the market. (Mankiw) One reason why most firms did better than others is because of their Average Total Cost being lower than the price. They will be able to make the profit that is needed for the firm to survive. Another reason is because the firm has a strong marketing strategy. Marketing involves the gathering of useful data: what the consumer wants. When the data gathered and studied the information provided will let the firm know what goods to produce or what type of advertising to use. Advertisers will make it seem that the firm’s

Parking slot system Essay

INTRODUCTION A parking space is a location that is designated for parking, either paved or unpaved. Parking spaces can be in a parking garage, in a parking lot or on a city street. It is usually designated by a white-paint-on-tar rectangle indicated by three lines at the top, left and right of the designated area. The automobile fits inside the space, either by parallel parking, perpendicular parking or angled parking. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parking_space) In most countries where cars are the dominant mode of transportation, parking lots are a feature of every city and suburban area. Shopping malls, sports stadiums, mega churches and similar venues often feature car parks of immense area. Wikipedia(2007) There are lots of parking space here in the Philippines who are traditionally operated by the security guards. We don’t have a choice but to follow that traditional operation. Every day that we are traveling in the mall or in any place, we need to find a parking slot. Sometimes there is traffic inside the parking area because most of the drivers can’t find a parking slot for their vehicles. The traditional process of any parking areas are like a cycle, you will enter on the entrance and didn’t know if there is a space for you to able to park your car and you will be driving cyclical on the parking lot and suddenly you will be irritated because you can’t find any space for your car, and you have no choice but to head the exit. This is the cycle that every people experienced every minute, every hour or every day in every parking lot area. The problem of the parking areas is it can’t manage only by the security guard’s, they can’t search the whole area in every minute to know if there is a space for the new incoming drivers on the parking lot unless there is a security guard in every designated area. And most of the parking areas are too small for the customers who have private vehicles. The reasons why we are proposing this research is to reduce the problem of the vehicle drivers who are suffering to find an available space or slot in the parking areas. This research aim to help all the drivers to find a parking space faster and easier than the traditional system. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM How may the manual system be described in terms of: 1.1Time Time consuming of finding a space in parking lot. 1.2AccuracyandConsistency. Increase of problem in parking lot. 1.3Speed Slow in finding a slot for vehicles. 1.4Security No security guard will monitor your vehicles. How may the proposed system be described in terms of: 1.1Time Saving your time to find a parking space. 1.2AccuracyandConsistency Use automated car parking system to reduce wasting of time finding a parking slot. 1.3Speed It’s more quickly to find parking slot. 1.4Security The automated car parking system is more secured than the traditional system.

Thuearth

{draw:frame} TrueEarth Healthy Food Caso n? 2 Grupo 1 09/04/2010 Integrantes: Ariel Alevy Juan Diego Castro Matias Massu Almendra Medina Marcelo Otarola Carolina Rodriguez 1. – ? Por que era exitosa la Pasta Cucina Fresca? ?Como compararia la oportunidad de mercado de la pizza con la de la pasta? Durante los anos ochenta, comenzo a haber un boom de preocupacion por la comida saludable y facil de preparar. TruEarth vio esto y comenzo a realizar estudios e investigaciones sobre los nutrientes que componen las comidas que se encuentran mas frecuentemente en los hogares. Es asi, como lanzo la linea Pasta Cucina Fresca, que son pastas hechas a base de trigo, y con un sabor muy parecido a las regulares, lo que hacia que fuera un buen reemplazo saludable, nutritivo y de buen gusto. Del mismo modo ocurre con el mercado de las pizzas, la gente al estar preocupandose mas por su salud, los niveles de colesterol, la hipertension, etc. Y la forma de prevenirlos o controlarlos, busca comida rica, pero baja en grasas. Por lo tanto, las mismas cualidades de las pastas de Cucina Fresca se pueden extrapolar al mercado incipiente de pizzas hecha a base de grano de trigo. La oportunidad al igual que con las pastas es la idea innovadora de llegar a la preferencia por pizza de la gente que quiere comer rapido sin perder la nocion de preparar una comida, y quiere comer sano. En este momento TruEarth esta en la misma encrucijada que estaba cuando queria lanzar su pasta de trigo. Tiene un producto el cual es facilmente replicable por lo que el primero que lo lance al mercado va a tener una ventaja, y ademas como ya tiene su marca Cucina Fresca en el mercado que esta bien posesionada puede aprovecharla para lanzar la pizza. *2. Usando el modelo de presupuesto del Ex*hibit 5, estime la demanda para la pizza. (Tips: use los datos de la Tabla B y del Exhibit 7, ojo con las diferencias entre los consumidores y no consumidores de Pasta Cucina Fresca†¦ puede ser util un analisis de sensibilidad) 3. – ? Que nos dice el Exhibit 6 sobre como los consumidores ven la Pizza? La gente ve ThuEarth Pizza como un sustituto conveniente con el resto de las pizzas refrigeradas sin embargo lo ven menos conveniente que la pizza para llevar el cual abarca el mayor mercado de venta de pizzas. En cuanto al sabor supera por poco a la pizza refrigerada, sin embargo la pizza para llevar supera a la pizza ThuEarth, por lo que en terminos de gustos quedamos debajo de la pizza para llevar, lo que es una gran desventaja. En terminos de atributos la pizza de TruEarth tiene ingredientes iguales a los de la pizza para llevar, pero por las propiedades que esta tiene la hacen un producto mas atractivo para la gente, al ser saludable. Se estima que la gente que come pizza, en las proximas 10 veces que la consuman, 4 de estas ocasiones seran pizzas TruEarth. 4. – ? Como resultaron los test de concepto para la pizza ? ?Como compara con los de Pasta? En general los test de concepto para las pizzas son favorables, a la gente le agrada la idea de tener una pizza a base de granos y fibra, ya que existe desde hace un tiempo un gran interes, que va en aumento, por la comida saludable. En relacion a las caracteristicas de la comida a un cuarto le parece importante que este hecha de granos, a un tercio de los posibles compradores les importa que sea un producto fresco y con fecha de produccion y vencimiento y a un tercio le parece bueno que tenga un aspecto apetitoso. Cifras muy similares encontramos en las pastas para los mismos aspectos medidos (35,42 y 25% respectivamente. ). En cuanto a la preparacion encuentran con mayor relevancia que todos los ingredientes puedan ser comprados en un mismo lugar, que los aderezos se vendan por separado y que se puedan agregar la cantidad de estos ultimos que ellos deseen. Menos importante encuentran la seleccion de los productos y la facilidad de preparacion. Cifras muy similares encontramos en el mercado de las pastas. Por ultimo el nombre de la marca es importante para ambos segmentos, siendo menos importante el precio del producto para comprarlo. Casi un quinto de ambos segmentos encuentra favorable que existan ediciones limitadas de los productos, para el segmento de las pizzas es favorable que tengan un precio alto, no asi para el segmento de las pastas y ambos grupos consideran favorable en poca medida que tenga fecha de vencimiento. 5. – ? Lanzaria la pizza? Para poder responder esta pregunta es necesario profundizar un poco mas sobre el atractivo que tiene este mercado. Para esto, hemos realizado un analisis de Porter que se presenta a continuacion: {draw:g} FODA: Creemos que siendo TruEarth una empresa grande y ya consolidada dentro del mercado, e independientemente que su producto estrella sean las pastas, esta empresa cuenta con la infraestructura y los conocimientos necesarios para poder producir pizzas utilizando su economia de escala en el proceso, por lo que no tiene grandes barreras de entrada por este lado. Por otra parte, TruEarth fue el primero en lanzar comidas saludables, por lo que posee compradores fieles, a quienes les preocupa su salud y quienes disfrutarian de darse el gusto de una pizza de vez en cuando. TruEarth ya tiene proveedores que lo podrian abastecer en las materias primas necesarias para producir pizzas, que son similares o las mismas que para producir su linea de pastas, por lo que sus costos no subirian mucho. De acuerdo a las tablas existentes, los compradores de TruEarth no son especialmente sensibles al precio y si les interesa conocer su marca y lineas de productos. Existe otra marca que esta compitiendo con ellos y que tambien esta barajando la posibilidad de lanzar una pizza saludable, por lo que TruEarth debe realizar un rapido y profundo analisis para poder tomar la decision de lanzar o no su producto. En conclusion, despues de haber analizado a traves de Porter y FODA, consideramos que TruEarth debe lanzar su linea de pizza.

A Critique of the Crito and an Argument for Philosophical Anarchism

A Critique of the Crito and an Argument for Philosophical Anarchism by Forrest Cameranesi In this essay I will present a summary and critique of Plato’s dialogue Crito, focusing especially on Socrates’ arguments in favor of his obligatory obedience to the Athenian state’s death sentence.In response I will argue the position that no one naturally holds any obligation to obey the arbitrary commands of another (or any body of others such as a state), and further that no one can come to hold such obligations even by contract; although people may still be obligated to obey commands issued to them, when what is commanded is obligatory independent of it being commanded by anyone.Thus I will argue that that if, as both Socrates and Crito presume, the command that Socrates be executed is contrary to true justice (that is, contrary to any natural moral obligations, independent of its legality), then Socrates has no obligation to obey it; and in fact those tasked to carry o ut the order are morally obligated to disobey it, and by their obedience become conspirators to a moral crime. The dialogue begins with Socrates in prison, awakening to Crito’s presence in his cell, Crito having bribed the guards to gain entry.After brief pleasantries and some talk of when the day of Socrates’ execution will fall, Crito admits to Socrates that his purpose there is to free him from prison and take him abroad to Thessaly, which he assures him can be successfully done thanks to the aid of a number of foreign benefactors. But Socrates is hesitant to leave, believing himself obliged to remain and allow his punishment to be completed, even though his sentence, they both concede, is unjust.Still, Socrates is eager to be convinced otherwise, if Crito can do so by means of reason, and so Crito plies Socrates with many arguments in favor of his escape, arguing not only that it is possible and desirable to escape, and that Socrates could live well outside of Athe ns, but that it is the just thing to do: for the sake of the welfare of his children, who will suffer without his care; for the sake of standing fast against his enemies in the state of Athens, who are attempting to wrong him by this sentence; and for the sake of his friends’ reputations, which will be besmirched by those who know either Socrates nor his friends, and will think that Socrates died only because his friends could not or would not buy his freedom. But Socrates dismisses these arguments, especially the last, arguing at length that the opinions of the many are not a relevant consideration in any such decision; a very important argument, to which I will return later in this essay. For now the relevant point is that Socrates' only concern, in the question of whether or not to escape, is whether or not escaping is just; not what people at large may think of their decision or what other consequences may follow from it.On the topic of justice, and counter to Critoâ€⠄¢s argument that Socrates is obliged to fight back against wrongs committed against him, Socrates suggests (and Crito accepts) the principle that to return harm for harm is harmful, to return evil for evil is evil, to return injustice for injustice is unjust, etc. ; and thus that such vengeance ought not be perpetrated, for it is just as harmful, evil and unjust as the act being avenged, and one must never do such wrongs.Socrates considers it harmful and unjust to the state to disobey its laws, and feels thus obligated to obey them instead, for to do otherwise would be harmful, unjust, and wrong; and here I disagree with Socrates. Though I accept his principle of justice, that one must not return wrongs in kind for to do so is merely to do more wrong, I do not believe that merely resisting attempted harm to oneself necessarily harms the attacker; and even if the attacker does suffer harm from the resistance it is as a result of his own wrongdoing, not any wrongdoing on the part of the defendant.If someone attempts to strike at me, I step out of his way, and he falls on his face as a consequence, I have not harmed him, although he has come to harm. If he attempts to strike at me, I hold up a shield, and he injures his fist upon it, I have not harmed him, although he has come to harm. Somewhat more analogously to the case at hand, â€Å"harm† may come to a street gang initiate whose initiation task is to mug me, inasmuch as he loses his status within the gang (and perhaps the gang itself loses status in the community), should I evade him and escape; but certainly I did not do that harm, though it was a consequence of my actions.Likewise, â€Å"harm† may come to the state as a consequence of successful disobedience against it, inasmuch as its power and thus its authority will be less respected, but this is not the same as the disobedient one directly harming the state, say in the way a foreign conqueror would. None of these situations involve doing anything directly to harm the aggressor, but rather only the consequences of the aggressor’s own actions failing. Thus, such resistance is not prohibited by the principle that one ought never do harm, for one is not doing harm merely by evading harm, even if harm indirectly results as a consequence of such evasion.Certainly we would not say that it is obligatory to allow oneself to be assaulted or robbed, even if we say that to retaliate in kind is forbidden. In all these circumstances, the aggressors are being harmed as a consequence of their own actions; and in the latter two cases, of the mugger and the unjust state, they suffer only in their reputation, losing the respect or fear and subsequent power they might have otherwise enjoyed, yet which, for their failure, they do not deserve.In my third example, as in the case before Socrates and Crito, the only loss suffered is a loss of reputation and the power that reputation often entails. This connection between reputation and power is an important facet of my argument, for it is self-evident to me that the only significant power the state itself has is its reputation, the respect and obedience that people give to it; with no obedient subjects to enforce its laws over those who are not so obedient, or with insufficient portions of the populace willing to tolerate such enforcement, the state would have no power.In fact I argue that in such a case the state would not exist; and really, that no states ever truly exist, in any strict sense. There are merely masses of people, with an assortment of opinions on what is good, bad, morally neutral, permissible, impermissible, and obligatory; all of whom exert whatever influence they can manage, by whatever means they find best, to see that their opinions on such matters are enforced — that justice, as they understand it, prevails. And when some person or block of people manages to secure sufficiently unchallenged influence ver the behavior of the other people in an area (that is, when sufficient people act to enforce one code of behavior and a sufficient portion of the remainder tolerate them), we falsely attribute the existence of some sort of social entity above and beyond the collection of individual people, and call that entity the â€Å"state†. But even a monarch only has his power because enough people believe in and support the monarchy, and enough of the remainder tolerate it; as has been demonstrated wherever a monarchy was overthrown from within by a democratic revolution.It is important to note, however, that this does not mean that democracy entails legitimacy; it only means that all states are on some deep level democratic, differing only in the degree that the people delegate their power to other people, in effect casting their vote as â€Å"whatever he says. † The prevailing opinions may still be entirely wrong; I merely claim that it will nearly always be the majority opinion which prevails. I say â⠂¬Å"nearly† because this phenomenon is dependent upon the relatively small differences in true personal power between most individuals, which are quickly diluted in larger groups, but still present in sufficiently small groups. A knight may be stronger and more skilled than any peasant, but it does not take many fed-up peasants working together to counter the power of that knight, so as the size of the group the knight is a part of grows, his relative power over the whole group decreases rapidly, unless it is bolstered by the support or at least tolerance of other members of the group.Thus for groups of any significant size, the differences in personal power between individuals can be safely ignored, and so the determining factor is not who supports a position but how many support it). The opinions of the people who encompass the legislature of this â€Å"state† — be it one person as in an absolute monarchy, some minority in an oligarchy, or the majority in a dir ect democracy — then become â€Å"the law†.Those things judged by such people as obligatory become required by law; those things judged as forbidden become prohibited by law; and those things judged as permissible are allowed by the law. But in any form of government, especially in a direct democracy such as ancient Athens, the laws of men are nothing but the opinions of men backed by power, that power resting ultimately in the will of the majority; the only differences between government thus being the degree and structure of power delegation, and what the opinions of those delegates are.With it thus established that states are no more than masses of people and their laws no more than the opinions of said people backed by power, not only do I object to Socrates’ insistence that he must be obedient to the state’s death sentence, but it is plainly obvious to me that Socrates himself ought to conclude this, if he was to be consistent with his own earlier po sition that the opinions of men, as such, are irrelevant, no matter what power they may be backed by. But why, my dear Crito, should we care about the opinion of the many? † says Socrates. â€Å"Good men †¦ are the only persons who are worth considering†. Crito eventually concedes this point, agreeing that the opinions of the many are irrelevant; only the opinions of good men matter. But what is it that makes a man good? Is that not part of what is at question here: which sorts of acts are right and which are wrong, which are just or unjust? (A good man, I take it, being one who acts rightly or justly).Certainly being good cannot be merely being seen as good in the eyes of the many, or supporting the commands of the many, for then the opinions of the many and the opinions of good men could never conflict, as good men by definition would always be of the opinion that the majority is right; and Socrates' statements differentiating their opinions would make no sense. So Socrates must agree that goodness is something objective, independent of the opinions of the many.Yet in the dialogue, after Socrates and Crito discuss at some length their agreement to disregard the opinions of the many in considering what ought or ought not be done, and to consider only what is or is not just, Socrates proclaims â€Å"From these premises I proceed to argue the question whether I ought or ought not to try to escape without the consent of the Athenians†. But from where does this concern for the consent of the Athenians come, when we have just disregarded the opinions of the many (in this case the many of Athens); for what is consent if not simply the opinion that something ought to be permitted?Socrates answers, in the voice of the Laws of Athens (speaking to him): â€Å"You, Socrates, are breaking the covenants and agreements which you made with us at your leisure, not in any haste or under any compulsion or deception, but having had seventy years to thi nk of them, during which time you were at liberty to leave the city, if we were not to your mind, or if our covenants appeared to you to be unfair. In short, Socrates is concerned with his obedience to the people of Athens (or at least the government collectively representing them) because he feels he has implicitly agreed to be bound by the decisions of the Athenian government by remaining in the city. But in response I argue that no one can, by any contract implicit or explicit, alter the natural moral obligations which are binding on all men at all times.The most exemplary and broadly agreeable instantiation of this principle is that one cannot sell oneself into slavery, for all men have natural rights (which is to say, obligations naturally owed to them by others) which they cannot give up even if they so choose.For instance, if we grant that all are naturally obliged to refrain from striking me except in such instances as I consent to them doing so, then while I may vary whethe r or not I consent to be struck, and thus vary whether or not it is morally permissible to strike me at that moment, I cannot vary whether or not it is morally permissible to strike me contrary to my consent, for it is naturally obligatory that none do so. That is, I cannot, in a morally binding way, agree that â€Å"henceforth so-and-so may strike me as he pleases regardless of my consent at that moment†.Any such contract offering terms contrary to natural obligations is invalid; and thus contracts of slavery, whereby one waives all of ones natural rights (which is to say, all obligations naturally owed to oneself by others), are the epitome of invalid contracts. This relates to the situation at hand with Socrates and Crito in that a contract to obey the arbitrary commands of some entity (e. g. the state of Athens), provided only that they are issued forth in prescribed proper manner (e. . by the formal proceedings of the Athenian court) and otherwise irrespective of the con tents of those commands, seems to me no different than a contract to slavery, with the entity in question (the state) as the slave master; for what is slavery but complete subjugation to the arbitrary will of another? Socrates himself admits this similarity, saying (once again in the voice of the Laws, speaking to himself) â€Å"can you deny in the first place that you are our child and slave? Yet Socrates has a reply here as well, already quoted above: he has had many years in which he was free to leave the city if he did not wish to be bound by its laws, and by remaining he has implicitly agreed to be bound by them. Certainly a man cannot be a slave if he is free to leave his bonds at any time. But I respond that even such â€Å"voluntary† bonds are contractually invalid, for remaining on the lands of another still does not make one subject to the arbitrary will of the landowner. The only obligation owed to the owner of some property, as such, is to refrain from acting upo n his property contrary to his consent.Likewise the only punishment the property owner may apply simply for disobeying his commands (but not violating any natural obligations, e. g. harming someone or their property, which may warrant further punishment) is to refuse him the use of his property; in the case of land, ejecting him from the premises. By voluntarily entering and remaining in my home, my guests do not become subject to my arbitrary authority, to be enforced as I see fit; at most I have the authority to eject them from my home, if I grow tired of their presence there.Nor by voluntarily entering a corporate office do I become subject to the authority of the corporation, beyond the revocability of my permission to remain therein. Likewise, even if we grant that the city of Athens is the property of the state of Athens (i. e. of its people collectively, rather than parcelled out into individually owned plots), the greatest punishment morally justified simply for behaving in ways the state dislikes (but not in any way which is truly unjust) is banishment from the city.Thus, while the state may have the moral authority to forbid and punish legitimate injustices (which I agree it does, though no more so than any individual), it does not have the moral authority to enforce its arbitrary will upon those who reside within its borders; it merely has the authority to eject them from its lands if it chooses to do so, for which it needs no cause at all, if it is indeed the legitimate owner of those lands.Thus if Socrates truly believes that he has done nothing unjust, then he should not (if accepts my principle regarding contracts and natural obligations) feel subject to the punishment decreed for him, though he may concede the state’s authority to banish him, if he holds the state to be the legitimate owner of the city.I would further question whether it is right to presume that a state is the legitimate owner of its territory (rather than each citizen o wning their own portion in private, as well as some public portions in common), and thus whether it even has the authority to banish the disobedient; but that is another lengthy topic, for which I do not have room in this essay. In conclusion, I see no reason for Socrates to consider the will of the people of Athens (as channeled via their government) binding pon him; and I believe he should seek an answer to the question at hand, whether or not to escape from his punishment, solely by asking whether he has done anything to warrant that punishment — and it appears that he believes he has not. There is no guarantee that his opinion on this matter is correct; the state of Athens may in fact be correct, and thus Socrtes’ punishment just. But to defer to the public opinion over one’s best judgment is never epistemologically sound.Men of reason do not turn to authority, even democratic authority, to answer questions of biology or chemistry or physics, but instead we appeal to evidence and sound logical arguments to determine the answers; and I see no reason why questions of ethics should be subject to any less rigorous and independent methodologies. By denying that any person, text, or institution has any special epistemic or alethic authority (the ability to magically divine or reveal the truth, or to create it by fiat), we do not deny the existence of objective truth.Nor by denying that any king, law book, or legislature has any special deontic authority (the ability to magically divine or reveal our obligations, or to create them by fiat) do we deny that there are objective standards of justice. In both cases we merely concede that we are all in the same standing regarding truth or justice, respectively; and we leave it to each individual to seek it for themselves, to sway others with arguments where they can, and to act upon it as they deem necessary or appropriate, regardless of decrees or prior agreements to the contrary.

Customer service problem solving and alcohol management Essay

Customer service problem solving and alcohol management - Essay Example In this context, it is significant to develop a cohesive and strong staff. We train the employees in reference to the ways that we feel best for them to deal with the customers. Despite the fact that we realize that the staff has some prior experience before coming to work for us, we prefer to give them additional training so as to bring them up to par with the standards of restaurant management. We equip the staffs with the necessary information and skills that are critical in their line of work in the restaurant (Pattie 89). We are aware that customers are of different characteristics. In this sense, it is important to prepare for instances where one has to deal with customers of all types. There are customers who are stubborn while others are angry and in some cases there are violent ones. These are some of the worst customers that one has to deal with, but there are others who are sick or injured and these are calmer ones. Therefore, we also train the staff so as to aid them in dealing with these people. We advise the staff to make sure that they pay keen attention to the concerns of the customers and this means listening to the customers. Listening is an important step in the quest to find a resolution to the problems that affect the customers. We advise the staff that it is imperative to listen to the customers in order to understand their problem. After establishing the problem, it is also important to acknowledge the severity or fatality of the matter. Thus, the most applicable negotiating skills are listening and acknowledging the root of the problem (Pattie 127). The restaurant has several facilities that offer spots for relaxation for the clients. There is a bar that is fully stocked with all brands of alcohol ranging from wines, whiskey, vodka, gins among others. The bar is mostly for the middle age individuals who are looking for a place to relax as they