Principles of Microeconomics Essay

Supply and Demand is a phrase that every one hears in one way or another, Supply and demand phrase according to Colander, (2010) is the most used phrase by economist and the reason is because the phrase provides a good â€Å"off-the-cuff† answer for many question that have to do with economy. Example why are interest rates to Low? Because supply and demand. Why is Gasoline so high? supply and demand. This paper will speak about a simulation found on University of Phoenix student website, simulation named â€Å"Applying Supply and Demand Concepts† This paper will speak about macroeconomics and microeconomics principles, Paper will also refer to shift of the supply curve and shift of the demand curve. Also how the how concepts of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics help understand the factors that affect shifts in supply and demand on the equilibrium price and quantity, and last how the price elasticity of demand affects a consumer’s purchasing and the firm’s pricing strategy. Microeconomics and Macroeconomic Principles According to Colander (2010) Microeconomics is define as â€Å"the study of individual choice, and how that choice is influenced by economic forces.† With this in mind, principles present on the â€Å"Applying Supply and Demand Concepts† simulation are Rental unit Prices and Rental units supply. According to Colander (2010) Macroeconomics is defines â€Å"is the study of the economy as a whole.† With this in mind one can say that macroeconomics principles on this simulation are population trends that lead people to choose to rent or not rest and factors that lead people to make this type of choices. According to Colander (2010), states that Demand can be defined as â€Å"Quantity demanded rises as price falls, other things constant. Or alternatively: Quantity demanded falls as price rises, other things constant.† And on the other hand Supply can be defined as â€Å"Quantity supplied rises as price rises, other things constant. Or alternatively: Quantity supplied falls as price falls, other things constant.† (Colander, 2010) On the simulation supply of two bedrooms apartment has reach 2,000 and according to the analyst, company need to decrease vacancy rates to 15% in order to increase revenue. By decreasing rent demand will increase vacancy will decrease and revenue will increase. Shifts of the Supply and Demand Curves As the supply of apartment increases the supply curve shifts towards the right as direct result of apartment supply increase rental rate also increases. Total of apartment supply is 2,500 and by leasing all of the apartment rental rate will be driven to $1,500. Because demand curve shift downwards when rent rate and apartment supply increases, by increasing rent rate to $1,500 demand will lower and in order to accomplish equilibrium, company would need to lower rental rate to $1,050. This is where the supply and demand reaches equilibrium. Relevance in Real World and at the Workplace Supply and demand is a famous phrase as previously mention and one don’t realize that this phrase or concept applies to one personal life in a lot of ways. For example I work for a bank and we sell services to customer in the form of banking, saving or investment products. From a Macroeconomic prospective all of us a one point need to have a bank account of in order to accomplish many financial needs, it is because of these need that there is always demand for banking products. It is based on this demand that interest rates for savings accounts varies based on the demand the supply (interest rates) varies. From a microeconomics prospective if outside indicators like market condition or unemployment rate changes rates for saving account will also change. It is based on those factors that sometimes people decides to stop saving and bank will to increase saving rates but bank can only do it to a certain point because increasing saving rates to much will mean that lending money will have a higher rate. There is got to be balance. Understanding the concepts of macroeconomics and  microeconomics help understand factor that affects shifts in supply and demand because now one can see with clarity what are the categories and what those categories are, the ones influence supply and demand and how this same factor may bring equilibrium. Price Elasticity of Demand According to Colander (2010), the price elasticity of demand is the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price. As for this simulation, if the demand experiences a negative percentage change (if it decreases) the price of renting an apartment will also decrease. So, rental rate will decreases as the demand decreases. On the other hand, when the supply decreases or increases, the rental rate will remain constant. If the demand increases, the rental rate will be increased, since more people will want apartments (the company is able to increase the prices – the law of demand). According to Colander (2010) Price Elasticity of Demand can be defined as â€Å"the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price: Conclusion This paper has referred to various terms from the macroeconomic and microeconomic environment. It has analyzed trends and also shifts of the supply and demand curve for a company that rents two-bedroom apartments in Atlantis. The paper has also referred to situation from the real world where microeconomic concepts can be applied. Last, it has talked about price elasticity of demand with respect to the company that rents apartments. The paper serves as an element of understanding supply and demand concepts when it comes to the microeconomic environment. Reference Colander, D. C. (2010). Economics (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. University of Phoenix. (). Applying Supply and Demand Concepts [Multimedia]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, ECO/265 – Principles of Microeconomics website.

Character analysis of Myrtle and Daisy in “The Great Gatsby”

Two of the main characters in â€Å"The Great Gatsby† are Myrtle and Daisy. There are definition connections between Daisy and Myrtle. For instance both of them are unhappy with the person that they are married to. This is because they are both in love, in different ways, with Tom. Myrtle attempts to appear as a high class citizen but the reader notices that there are many holes in this disguise. Myrtle wishes to emulate the appearance of a high-class citizen but the reader see a clear disparity between her ideal vision of herself and reality. Myrtle does not have the figure of a high-class woman. She is neither skinny nor beautiful. † †¦her face contained no facet or gleam of beauty†. Unlike Daisy Myrtle is not a physically attractive person. The book makes reapeated references to her being â€Å"stout† or â€Å"thick figured† All of the high-class people that live on East egg come across as physically attractive. This quality comes though very clearly in Daisy. Myrtle clothing is one of the ways that she tries to project this upper class image. At one point in the book she changes her clothes three time in one chapter. This repeated changing of costume is her attempt to be seen as though she os wealthy and can afford to have many different dresses. The material that her dresses are made out of is also very expensive and this is one of the ways that the author makes it look like she is attempting to emulate a wealthy status. This contrasts with Daisy. She displays all of the qualities a high-class person that would inhabit East Egg. She is attractive and wears expensive clothes as if they are an everyday item. â€Å"I like your dress remarked Mrs McKee†¦Its just some old crazy thing. she said I just slip it on when I don't care what I look like† Myrtle attempts imitate this my wearing expensive clothes and saying that she doesn't think much of them. They also dress in different ways Daisy wear mainly white while Myrtle dresses with more colour. Myrtle says this in order to keep up her image of being rich. The reader can observe a noticeable disparity in the myrtle's environment when compared to Daisy's. This is principally due to the difference in wealth that they have. Myrtle live in an old dusty house that doubles as a garage that here husband runs. This is located in the valley of ashes with is described as â€Å"†¦a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hill and grotesque gardens.† From this description, it is lucid to the reader that the valley of ashes in an undesirable and unsightly place to live. There is a reason that they the author has chosen for Myrtle to live in such unpleasant surroundings. It could possible be because it her soundings reflect the way in with she uses people in order to climb the social ladder. This is in sharp contrast with Daisy who has a â€Å"cheerful red-and-white Georgian mansion, overlooking the bay.† They also live on East Egg, which is the one of the most fashionable parts of the island. She also has numer ous luxurious items at her disposal. For instance, they have â€Å"a snub nosed motor boat† and expensive cars as well as lots of horses. Another way that they differ is in the enjoyment that they get form life. Daisy is very bored with her life doesn't seem to have much fun even though she has lots of money. † I've been lying on that sofa for as long as I can remember.† This helps the reader form an image of her a person that has very few tasks to carry out. Throughout the course of the book it surfaces that although she has a comparatively meaningless existence. Myrtle on the other hand takes great pleasure in attempting to climb the social ladder. Although she makes attempts to appear bored the reader can see though these. It is apparent that she is delighted by the attention and complements that she gets while in the company of Tom. Daisy and Myrtle are discontented with the person that they are married to. However they are so for different reasons. Daisy discontent stems from Toms love for another woman Myrtle, while Myrtle is dissatisfaction is there because he has married a man that she sees as a loser. â€Å"He (her husband) is not fit to lick my shoe†, this sums up that way that she fells about her husband. Daisy takes the opposite view of the way the Tom is treating her. â€Å"It couldn't be helped† is her response when she finds out that Tom has another woman. She sees it as if it where fait that he would in the end love someone other than her. Overall the reader can see that there is a sizeable difference between Daisy and Myrtle. These two characters are not entirely dissimilar because they both share some dissatisfaction with their husbands but have different ways of handle there discontent.

History of the U.S. Income Tax Essay

The income tax of the United States of America, be it federal, state and local, has changed over time. Different circumstances pushed the government to create taxation and to amend the existing taxation laws. During the pre-Revolutionary War era in the 1700s, taxes were not imposed by the colonial government as their need for tax revenue did not exist. The colonies, on the other hand, had greater responsibilities therefore, had greater need for tax revenue. Because of this, different types of taxes were imposed by the colonies. The southern colonies imposed taxes on imports and exports while the middle colonies imposed taxes on property and a poll tax on each adult male. The New England colonies, on the other hand, collected taxes through property taxes, income taxes and excise taxes. When the English Parliament realized the need for money to pay for the French war, it imposed different taxes to the American colonies through the Stamp Act which was enacted in 1765. Later on, this Stamp Act was revised to include taxes for permits, newspapers, legal documents and playing cards. The Townsend Act was later on enacted by the Parliament to include taxes for paint, tea and paper . After a decade of paying taxes, there was much resistance to the tax imposed by the Parliament. During the Boston Tea Party in 1773, colonists, dressed as Native Americans, threw 342 chests of tea from a ship of the British East India Company to the Boston Harbor. In 1775, Isaac Backus during the Massachusetts Assembly said that â€Å"It’s not all America now appealing to Heaven against injustice of being taxed†¦We are persuaded that an entire freedom from being taxed by civil rulers†¦is not mere favor from any men in the world but a right and property granted us by God, who commands us to stand fast in it† . Taxation is considered as one of the factors that led to American War for Independence hence, when America gained its Independence, Article 1, Section 9, Article 4 of the U. S. Constitution in 1787 declared that there be no capitation or any direct taxes imposed on the citizens. The national government had very little responsibilities during these times and relied only on donations given by the States for its revenue. However, in 1789, the Founding Fathers realized that it could not function at its efficiency if it relied only on other governments’ donations hence the Federal Government was granted the authority to impose taxes. The sensitivity to taxation was still existing at this point in time hence the government has to be careful on how it impose taxes so as to minimize resistance from its people. Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury in the 1790s, decided that a â€Å"sin tax† was imposed . Through the â€Å"sin tax†, only items which society thinks is deviant or vice were taxed such as distilled spirits, alcohol and whiskey. However, this still led to the armed revolt called Whisky Rebellion by a group of South Pennsylvania farmers. Still during the 1790s, the Federal Government imposed direct taxes to owners of houses, slaves and land. However, when Thomas Jefferson was elected to office in 1802, these direct taxes were removed and for the succeeding 10 years, only excise taxes were imposed. The reason for this was because he realized the inverse relationship of tax rates and tax revenue wherein the higher the taxes imposed on the citizens, the slower the economy grows hence the tax revenue declines. A cut in the rate of tax means that income for the family will become higher, expenditures become higher and hence, the economy experiences growth. During the 1812 War, the need for tax revenue resurfaced again hence taxes on the sales of gold, jewelry, watches and silver were imposed. Treasury notes were also issued to raise money. However, in 1817, the Congress revoked these taxes and for the next 40 years, government revenue was based on high customs duties and sale of government or public land . In 1861, when the Civil War erupted, the Revenue Act of 1861 was enacted. This Act restored the previous taxes on personal income. This tax was similar to the modern income tax because it was based on a gradual taxation of withholding tax from its source. A person earning $600 to $10,000 a year paid 3% tax. Persons with income higher than $10,000 paid a higher rate of tax. In 1862, the debt created by the war was rising at a rate of $2 million per day hence there was another need for the government to increase its revenue. Because of this, the Congress passed another tax imposition on items such gunpowder, playing cards, telegrams, iron, pianos, yatchs, drugs, among others. After the Civil War, the need for revenue declined and hence the income tax was abolished and only the excise taxes remained from 1868 to 1913. The War Revenue Act in 1899 was enacted to raise funds for the Spanish-American War. Government revenues, thru this Act, was raised through sales of bonds, tax imposition on recreational facilities, beer and tobacco. However, the Supreme Court realized that the people of America were becoming aware that the high tarrifs and excise taxes were not good to the economic welfare of the nation and that these taxes were usually paid by the less affluent citizens. Hence, there was an agreement that business income instead was imposed tax. By 1913, Congress enacted a new income tax law which imposes 1% to 7% for persons with income above $500,000. These people earning above $500,000 was only 1% of the total United States population . During World War I, the United States needed to increase its revenue again to fund the war. The 1916 Act raised the tax imposition from 1% to 2% and could go as high as 15% for those with income of more than $1. 5 million. By 1917, the government still needs further government revenue to pay for the war, hence the War Revenue Act of 1917 was enacted. Through this Act, exemptions were lowered and tax rates increased that those who earn $40,000 needs to pay 16% tax rate. In 1918, the tax rates were further increased. Those citizens paying 1% had to pay 6%. The highest rate in 1917 was 15% but during 1918, this was increased to 77%. Due to this increase in tax rates, government revenue increased from $761 million during 1916 to $3. 6 billion in 1918. After the war, the government revenue rose and the government decided to cut taxes to 1% bottom rate and 25% top rate . The Great Depression during the late 1920s and early 1930s pushed the government to once again increase the tax rates. The Tax Act of 1932 was enacted and by 1936, the bottom tax rate was at 4% and the top tax rate reached 79%. When the World War II came, another price hike came into place which altered the tax rates. Those with taxable income of less than $500 paid a bottom rate of 23% taxes while those earning taxable income of over a million dollars paid about 94% of taxes . The tax structure in the United States was also heavily altered in that the number of taxpayers increased from 4 million during 1939 to roughly 43 million during the World War II. Throughout all these years of implementing taxation, the government learned a very important lesson which until now is being valued by government officials and economists and has affected the tax laws enacted in the country – the marginal dollar is far more important to the economy compared to the tax rate being used. The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 was implemented with this important lesson in mind. Unlike the previous taxation laws, this Act was intended to focus on marginal tax rates and it also included consumption taxes. However, due to the deep recession experienced by the country in 1982, the government was once again faced with the need to increase tax rates to overcome budget deficits. Following the 1982 recession was an economic boom which lead the country to believe that marginal tax rates are very important for a strong economy. During the Reagan administration, tax rates were further reduced and had a broader base through the Tax Reform Act of 1986. This reduced tax rate from 50% to 28% while business taxes were reduced from 50% to 35% . In 1997, the Taxpayer Relief Actof 1997 was enacted. The significant party of this Act was the Per Child Tax credit which benefited the lower-income families. During the Bush administration in 2001, the government experienced a budget surplus of about $281 billion hence a tax cut was once again conducted . This tax cut included raising the Per Child Tax Credit from $500 to $1,000 per child, as well as increased the Dependent Child Tax Credit. Until now, this tax law is being implemented and is expected to boost economic growth for the country.

Eusebius and the History of the Church Term Paper

Eusebius and the History of the Church - Term Paper Example the lines, it is also to Eusebius’ merit that most, if not all of his sources were properly credited, and acknowledged, which is very unusual for historians at that time. One of the most noted and referred books written by Eusebius is Ekklestiastices Historias, or The History of the Church, was originally in Greek, and was translated in numerous languages during the course of history. This paper will focus on the eighth book, which tells about the persecutions of emperors from Diocletian to Maximian, and the tenth book, which is about the reign of Constantine and the tolerance of the Romans to Christians that resulted in the time of peace and tranquility. The eighth book in Eusebius’ Ekklestiastices Historias tells of the rise of the Christian faith, as well as its fall, which he accounts to the events that he himself experienced in his own time.3 Initially, the Roman rulers and officers were very favorable with regards to those of the Christian faith. Aside from lettin g the lesser of the people worship in accord to their own chosen faith, Christians were also able to hold offices, govern and rule, as well as to mingle with the upper ranks of the Roman Empire. Moreover, the clergy and other church leaders were also treated with respect not just by their own people, but also those Romans with noble birth.4 With the arrival of peace and tolerance, however, internal discord starts to brew within the structure of the Christian church itself. Due to the gains the Christians had in freedom, fights among them became common. These fights not only included the worshippers, but also their church leaders as well. Eusebius attributed the succeeding events to Divine intervention, when persecutions to Christians in the government offices and the army started. While initially there was not much thought given about it, as the changes in the governance kept sliding past the Christian groups bit by bit, after several generations the Christians were once again subje ct to the punishments that the early martyrs undertook. The different manners that the Roman Empire tortured its citizens of the Christian faith were described in detail by Eusebius. Among these forms of capital punishments are: death by strangling; beheading; being burned while still alive; bodies thrown into the depths of the sea; even digging up the corpses of some and being thrown in the sea as well, thinking that these bodies might become the subject of worship by those who remain. 5 The destruction of churches and the burning of scriptures during the reign of Diocletian during his reign in 284-305 were also recorded in full detail. As the festival of the Savior’s passion (Easter) approached, aside from the demolition of churches and the eradication of Christian scriptures, those of the Christian faith holding ranks in offices were immediately removed, and those who continue to

Management seminar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 9

Management seminar - Essay Example Where, if the firm uses employees from its country all through, the company will not impress the rest of the world. However, with outsourcing, the world feels appreciated because it provides opportunities for all people and this increases the market share globally (Sparrow, 2009). On the other hand, outsourcing is a disadvantage to the home people of the company who lose the opportunities occupied by the foreigners. In other words, the local people of the country the company is located lose their jobs and this leads to creating a recession in the domestic economy. Another problem related to outsourcing is that the overseas employees have experienced a problem of not being able to communicate effectively with the U.S customers due to difficult accents and problems of miscommunication. Finally, the emerging economies where outsourcing is done face tremendous energy shortages with the power outages done frequently (Blackman, Freedman & Levy, 2004). Sweatshops refer to the overseas manufacturing facilities of a company where the conditions of labor are not up to the satisfactory level as per the international labor standards. Long working hours, unsafe working condition, and abuse of the employees and lack of labor rights characterize the practices against the standards. The employees working in the facilities are tremendously exploited. In fact, most of the products manufactured in the facilities require repetitive kind of labor. Sweatshops exist for they provide a number of economic advantages to the multinational firms and to the host employees. Creating of the domestic employment and establishment of local infrastructures in the host countries helps to enhance the local economies of the countries. The employees working in the sweatshops are desperate because most of them do not have education or the required skills to get any form of

Group marketing project (SPSS) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Group marketing project (SPSS) - Assignment Example The research report under discussion is a group effort which aims to understand the current level of customer loyalty for the Samsung brand and the drivers behind it. The relationship between these drivers and the current perceptions has also been studied to identify the most important factors influencing it. On the basis of the findings, recommendations for improving the current level of loyalty and for attracting and retaining a higher user base have also been suggested. The nature of study is quantitative and involves interviews conducted with 100 respondents (including Samsung users & non-users) within the area of Bangor, Gwynedd. A comparison of means on the basis of gender and age reveals that there is no significant impact of these factors on the way people have rated the perceptions for Samsung’s products. However, there does exist a somewhat significant difference regarding user ship for a few attributes. The results indicate that around 56% of Samsung users believe Samsung products to be well made. Among the non-users, the response is mixed. This percentage is relatively positive but when compared with other attributes, Samsung should focus on improving the other perceptions further through good customer service and marketing efforts to drive up the overall customer loyalty. On an overall basis, when looking at the different attributes, consistency in quality and good value for money pricing are highly positive. Usership and gender also have a significant association with value for money pricing. Overall 55% respondents regard consistency positively and 58% of Samsung users and 56% females consider it good value for money. It is mainly because of the positive perceptions for these attributes that the overall value of Samsung products is considered excellent. Consistency in quality is the most influential driver here and then follows the good value for

The History of Arabia and its Culture Assignment - 152

The History of Arabia and its Culture - Assignment Example The duration in the history of Arabia before the birth of Islam is referred to as Times of Ignorance. This is according to the practices and beliefs of pagan Arabs. The Arabs devoted to several religions which are characterized as polytheists, Christian Jews, and atheists. Most Arabs worshipped several idols. The atheist Arabs believed on the eternal world. After Romans destruction of Jerusalem, in A. D. 70, drove Jews into Hijaz, Arabia. Romans converted the Ghassan Arab tribe to Christianity (Farah 45). The state religion in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is Islam. Saudi Arabia hosts Mecca and Medina cities. Muhammad, the leader of the Islamic religion lived and died in the cities. The cities attract pilgrims in millions yearly. â€Å"Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques† is the King of Saudi Arabia’s official title (Farah 27). The two mosques are; Masjid al-Haram and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, in Mecca and Medina respectively. Saudi Arabia gave rise to the Arabic language, which is used in the Quran. Islam changed Arabs in several ways. For instance, the religion plays a significant role in the Saudi state and society. The influence of the religious establishment, ulema, is very great. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia entails the Arab Islamic state which is sovereign. Islam is the state religion, and the constitution is The Holy Quran; and the Sunna, traditions of the Prophet. Arab Israeli conflict entails military conflicts and the political tensions involving Israel and some Arab Countries. The basis of the present Arab Israel conflict is the rise of the Arab nationalism and Zionism, at the end 19th century. Territories viewed by the Jews as historically theirs, are also viewed by the Pan Arabs as belonging to, historically and presently, Palestinian Arabs (Morris 217). This tension among the Palestinian Arabs and Jews started at the beginning of the 20th century.  

Final Exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Final Exam - Assignment Example P3 initiates RNAIII that codes 6-hemolysin. P2 operon is 3Kb in length. It is unique when compared to P3 since it has up to four open reading frames, agrA, agrB, agrC, and agrD. The agrA controls the sensory transduction while agrB is responsible for the production of histidine phosphokinase in bacteria. Due to mutations, defects may occur in any one of four open reading frames, the resulting strains don’t have P2 and P3 transcripts, beside they become arg-. These strains cannot initiate transcription from the P2 and P3. Insertion at C1Ai site in the RNARIII region in P3 results in inactivation of arg functions. 2. a) ÃŽ ²-lactamase has higher activity as compared to the normal P2 and P3 promoters, and thus ÃŽ ²-lactamase can make other existing non-useful plasmids like p1524 unstable. Using P2 and P3 instead of ÃŽ ²-lactamase allows expression of the p15424, and this interferes with the results. b) RN6390B, arg+ produces stronger signals for alpha and beta hemolysins than does RN69 11, a null-arg strain, whose signal is extremely weak. If the researcher used arg+ instead, he would not obtain the same results due to interference by other unnecessary signals. c) When a B lymphocyte secretes antibodies that are directed towards a specific epitope on an antigen, we call the antibodies monoclonal. However, when a significant number of antibodies are secreted that have different affinities and specificities towards different epitopes, we call them polyclonal antibodies. B- hemolysin antibody is a polyclonal antibody, has a wide range of affinities and specificities and thus it can detect any antigen present in its environment. d) In anti-b blot, protein A produces a stronger signal for arg-a42 and no signal in arg-a40. The signal for B-hemolysin is present only in arg-a40 and not arg-a42. These results mean that different regions of P3 codes for different chemicals. 3. The author used RN7220 because it can increase the hla

Discussion Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

Discussion Questions - Assignment Example The second part of the statement states that police have enough experience to differentiate between offenders and those who have not committed a crime. If this is true then police officers have simply become biased against certain individuals. This is because police officers have created a profile of a criminal on the basis of their race, age and gender and they follow this profile to make arrests and detail suspects. This activity of profiling individuals has backfired and police officers are now being suspected of being biased against people belonging to certain age groups, race as well as gender. In a research conducted by Kochel et al. the researchers identified that race of an individual has a major impact on the decision of whether to arrest them or not (Kochel, 2011). The researchers prove that people belonging to the black race had a higher statistical probability of being arrested as compared to the whites. The UCR as well as the NCVS are two distinct procedures through which the government of United States collect and record data on crimes and criminal activity. The data collected by UCR is managed by the defense agency of FBI and this data includes information on the number of arrests for different crimes (fbi.gov, 2014). The data that is used to prepare statistical reports of UCR is provided by law enforcement agencies that operate at the local as well as the federal level. On the other hand the information that is collected for the purpose of recording data in NCVS contains data that has been collected through direct and indirect victims of crimes and it contains information on all crimes except crimes that are commercial in nature and homicide. The data that is collected by the UCR is collected on the basis of arrests that have been made by different law enforcement agencies. The information that is collected through UCR has a

The Impact of the Increasing Number of Individuals with Dementia Coursework

The Impact of the Increasing Number of Individuals with Dementia - Coursework Example According to the last audit report, about 560,000 people in England are suffering from dementia, and from the steeply rising trend, it is expected that in the coming 5 years, this number would escalate to a far higher range leading to an enormous burden on the NHS economy. It is unfortunate that despite the critical nature of this problem, dementia care is not an NHS priority, and consequently, most of the problem now is handled by social care. Therefore, as a social care professional, this ever-increasing incidence of dementia will have an impact on practice.   A focus group study reveals that the trend of having more and more affected individuals is clear. With the advance of medicine, the society of the country is primarily an aged society due to the change in longevity and public health. Although often told about the elderly, it must be remembered that in some cases, the disease arises at the age of 45 or so, where the impact of the problem may be severe and particularly devast ating due to impact on employment, income, and expected life course. With an individual with a diagnosis of dementia, at least initially, the family provides the majority of care, and they are bound to be burdened increasingly as the life course of the disease become progressive. In many cases, the health system forces indirectly the caregivers at home to utilize their own funds for different supports available leading to increased financial costs for care. Social work where the focus and skills of the profession related directly to the individual, his environment, and the interactions between these two could be the best profession to serve this growing population of dementia individuals and their caregivers (Department of Health, 2006).Although historically, dementia care began as a part of psychiatric nursing, it was gradually and increasingly being understood that care of these older people with dementia involving the network of their family members was a different work, which ma y aptly be called psychogeriatric. The early role description from research indicated some unique features, which are "the value of experience in working with people with dementia and their families; a knowledge of dementia and its likely course; attention to the personal care needs of people with dementia; information-sharing with families; promotion of autonomy for people with dementia; maintaining regular visits and contact; establishing trust with both the person with dementia and their family; and service coordination".

The efforts required in an intercultural marriage Essay Example for Free

The efforts required in an intercultural marriage Essay In an intercultural relationship there are more efforts and dedication that are required from the two individuals. This is due to the fact that miscommunication is a common scenario. Even the simplest factors can be the cause of misunderstandings. What is the norm of a person can be unacceptable to the other. These aspects are not limited to significant issues such as religion, norms, values, financial issues, social status, and the outlook in like specially those dealing with the nurturing and developing of the children. Issues also revolve around simple subjects and points of discussion such as the food, the duties of the couple, the clothes, the priorities, and even the friends and the social activities (Romano, 1997). These factors describe every aspect of the life that is being shared by the couple. In this view that defines a variety of facet that has a high percentage of divergence, it can be viewed that misinterpretation is inevitable. Thus, the couple exerts an extra amount of work to be able to completely understand each other and attain a successful marriage. Success in terms of marriage can be equated to the contentment and fulfillment that an individual can achieve from a relationship. Intercultural relationship is a complex process due to the fact that the success of the relationship is a product of the interplay of the complex factors associated with the dissimilar origin. This can be supported by the study conducted on the achievement of intercultural marriages taken the effect of religion. Results generated showed that even in cases wherein the couples are of the same religion, which lessens the incurred differences, the coupes that are belonging to the same race and culture are comparatively more successful. Thus, in terms of the observable parameter used, these couples have less arguments and misunderstandings (Fu, Kendall, and Tora, 2001). Another significant consideration is the pressure that can be generated by the relationship to the women. This is in relation to the roles that they have to carry out in an intercultural marriage (Fu, Kendall, and Tora, 2001). Women are commonly the one to conform in the culture and tradition of the men. The society is composed of an intricate web of interpersonal relationship. In cases such as this, the norms and traditions even in an advanced era oftentimes dictate that the women are the one to adjust to the tradition of the society from which the men belong. Women appease to this set-up due to the strong sense of duty that is given to the norms of the family (Romano, 1997). Although as the results of the study have shown that women usually take a bigger role and experience a higher degree of change in their personal life, both parties have to sacrifice a part of their well being to be able to attain a compromise and achieve a successful life together. Norms and traditions are essential part of every person’s well being and compromising in an intercultural relationship may also mean losing a part of one’s way of life. Thus, it is a struggle to maintain this type interpersonal relationship. One of the struggles that can be encountered is unconventional traditions than can be unacceptable and detestable to the partner. In cases such as this additional communication and ultimately understanding is required. Communication is necessary due to the fact performing such activities and practices are common to the partner and cannot be viewed negatively, thus, any harm done to the other person was not consciously performed. Intercultural communication is an essential and vital element in the relationship of individuals in the society and the world. It applies to every conversation, every transactions and every variation in character and culture, thus, it is worth a try to be able to attain the wanted intercultural marriage success and contentment (Casmir, 1997). Conclusion Based on the result of the research conducted, there is an increase in the efforts that is required from couples of different norms and traditions to be able to attain success in an intercultural marriage. This means a comparatively more trials and obstacles to overcome on every aspect of the relationship and each individual’s personal being. This can be trying and tedious endeavor but success is not impossible and achieving a lasting and worthwhile relationship is worth all the risk. References Bacas, J. L. (2003). Cross-border marriages and the formation of Transnational Families: A case study of Greek-German couples in Athens WPTC-02-10. Transnational Communities Programme. Retrieved July 3, 2006 from http://www. transcomm. ox. ac. uk/working%20papers/WPTC-02-10%20Bacas. pdf Casmir, F. L. (1997). Ethics in Intercultural and International Communication. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Constable, N. (2003). Romance on a Global Stage: Pen Pals, Virtual Ethnography, and Mail-Order Marriages. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Fu, X. , Kendall, H. , and Tora, J. (2001) Marital Happiness and Inter-Racial Marriage: A Study in a Multi-Ethnic Community in Hawaii. University of Calgary. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 32 (1), 47. Romano, D. (1997). Intercultural Marriage: Promises Pitfalls. Washington, DC: Intercultural Press.

Evaluating Reading Informally Essay Example for Free

Evaluating Reading Informally Essay Informal approaches to the evaluation of literacy have developed in response to the demands for greater accountability and the influence of national, standardized testing. The strength of informal approaches to evaluation is that it provides immediate feedback to both the student and the teacher. The teacher can use a set of assessment tools to measure student learning while the student can receive specific guidance on what to do to improve her/his reading skills. This essay will explore four informal approaches to reading assessment: teacher observation, teacher-student conferences, workbooks and worksheets and reading portfolios. The first approach, teacher observation, is multi-faceted. It builds on the daily interaction between teacher and students. The purpose of the observation is diagnosis. Teachers â€Å"place students in appropriate materials; assess readiness for a given task; determine reading interest, assess attitudes; and make decisions about decoding, comprehension, and study skills (Pikulski and Shanahan, 1982, p. 2). Although McKenna and Stahl (2003) would agree with Pikulski and Shanahan (1982) about the importance of teacher observation, they would disagree about the purpose. McKenna and Stahl (2003) refer to the process of diagnosis as â€Å"The Deficit Model† (p. 2) and what emerges from such a model is terms like â€Å"remediation† and â€Å"remedial reader† (p. 2). Instead McKenna and Stahl (2003) prefer â€Å"A Cognitive Model† (p. 8) where the teacher observes the capacity of students for â€Å"automatic word recognition† (p. 10), â€Å"language comprehension† (p. 15), and â€Å"strategic knowledge† (p. 19). Taking â€Å"automatic word recognition† as one example of how teachers apply their observation skills, teachers examine students’ abilities to predict or judge the appropriateness of a word in a given context, the fluency with which students read aloud passages in class, how quickly and accurately students recognize the most common words in the English language, whether students can use their language skills to decode new, unfamiliar words, and whether students understand the sounds associated with letters and words, not just the contexts. The second informal assessment technique, teacher-student conference, provides an opportunity for the teacher to assess student perceptions of their own progress. Rather than using the conference like a teacher-parent conference where the parents receive updates on the child’s progress, the teacher-student conference provides an opportunity for teachers to understand a student’s reading interests, attitudes towards reading, and the meaning-making strategies a student uses in the process of reading various kinds of materials (Pikulski and Shanahan, 1982, p. 3). Caldwell (2002) identifies three purposes of reading assessment: identify good reader behaviors, determine student reading level, and document student progress (p. 5). Some of what Caldwell (2002) identifies as good reading behaviors can be gauged during teacher-student conferences, especially in how each individual student makes meaning from any given text. Some of Caldwell’s (2002) reader behaviors are to â€Å"connect what they know with the information in the text, determine what is important in the text, recognize the structure of the text, and summarize and reorganize ideas in the text† (p. 8). Standardized tests do not allow students to use their personal backgrounds in interpretive reading, nor does it allow for exploring more than one important idea (the main idea) in a text. By using teacher-student conferences in a way that all students can express themselves, teachers create a space for increased learning. This idea touches on what McKenna and Stahl (2003) call â€Å"The Contextual Approach,† one distinct from a learning style model (p. 3). The third informal reading assessment, workbooks and worksheets, enable teachers to focus on individual students and their needs in practicing a specific skill (Pikulski and Shanahan, 1982, p. 8). The numerous workbooks on the market and worksheets on the internet make this approach a relative quick and time-saving way to assess student learning. None of the informal instructional methods should be used alone and this particular assessment method highlights the danger of approaching one method as a singular way to help students improve their reading skills. Reading instructors want students to not only improve their facility with recognizing and constructing words, sentences, and paragraphs, we also want students to make inferences, ask questions about the implications of a particular way of thinking, and synthesize multiple sources of information on an issue (Caldwell, 2002, p. 8). The ability to perform these latter tasks is consistent with what McKenna and Stahl (2003) describe as strategic reading knowledge (p. 19). Finally, the fourth assessment technique, reading portfolios, enable students to develop an informed perspective about their own reading and writing. Documenting student progress is one of the three reasons for assessing reading (Caldwell, 2002, p. 11). The benefit of this approach as an informal technique is that is shows the student the specific kind of improvement made in any given area. Unlike standardized tests, which compare students to a national norm or a cutoff score (Caldwell, 2002, p. 12-13), records of student progress assess a student’s learning in the area of reading over time. It also provides feedback to the instructor about teaching strengths and weaknesses. Specifically, reading portfolios â€Å"help the student keep track of books read, favorite stories, scores on workbooks/worksheets, or progress in various learning centers† (Pikulski and Shanahan, 1982, p. 8). In summarizing the value of informal reading assessments, Caldwell (2002) states it very succinctly when she says, â€Å"informal instruments are authentic than formal measures. They are similar to the actual task of reading. Reading a passage and retelling its contents are more authentic than reading a short paragraph and answering multiple-choice questions by filling in little bubbles on a scan sheet† (p. 13). The word â€Å"authentic† refers to an assessment’s ability to measure reading. Caldwell (2002) describes the value of informal assessment tools in their ability to mimic the reading process. Informal assessment techniques return control of the learning process to the teachers and students who interact on a daily basis within a classroom. In many ways, they are more important than formal reading assessments because they provide qualitative feedback. References Caldwell, J. S. (2002). Reading assessment: A primer for teachers and tutors. New York: The Guilford Press. Johns, J. L. (1982).The dimensions and uses of informal reading assessment. In J. J. Pikulski and T. Shanahan (Eds. ), Approaches to the informal evaluation of reading. (pp. 1-11). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. McKenna, M. C. , and Stahl, S. A. (2003). Assessment for reading instruction. New York: The Guilford Press. Tierney, R. J. (1991). Portfolio assessment in the reading-writing classroom. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers. 9 November 2008. http://library. gcu. edu. Yancey, K. B. (1989). Reflection in the writing classroom. Logan, UT: Utah University Press. 9 November 2008. http://library. gcu. edu.

Should Jobs Be Reserved For Women?

Should Jobs Be Reserved For Women? Most of the high level jobs are done by man, should government encourage a certain percentage of these jobs to be reserved for women ? Most of the high level jobs are done by men, I am not totally agree with this idea, because many high level jobs are done by women. There   is no discrimination between man and woman before   the eye of law. I deeply believe high level jobs are done by qualified person. So government should not encourage a certain percentage of high level jobs to be reserved for women. As a human being all are equal so those who have qualification to do high level jobs, they must will do. If government encourage or enact a law or reserve certain percentage that will be unfair and injustice and discrimination for man. High level jobs should be given on the basis of merit and qualification not consider as a man and woman.we do not agree, to make any reservation on the basis of race, age, sex and minority ,but high level job must be done   by only  Ã‚   qualified person. Man and Woman are equal so there should not have any special attention for women. This concept seriously violates human rights. There should not have any discrimination between man and woman. The discrimination never bring peace and stability in a state, so government must not make any special rules for women. As a democratic state, every state has rule of law and human rights, so high level jobs are only done by man, this is not fair and justice. If women have merit and qualification, they must hold high level jobs. To my mind, there is no restriction in law of a state for woman high level jobs. Human right is most important to live in the world with dignity and honour as a best creation of God. So knowledge and knowledge must be standard for high level jobs not on the basis of sex. So only justice and fair can bring the peace and security in a state, man and woman should not be competitor but dependable. Being a best creation of God, we must have sense of responsibility and duty to one another to make a better and peaceful world for the future generation. As a man   I deeply believe and trust, there should not have any unfair between man and woman. only the basis of merit must get high level post not consider anything else. To hold a sensitive post, need only knowledge and management capacity but disqualification must always discourage and deprive from high level post for betterment of nation and showing honour and justice for qualified and knowledgeable persons. Proper management is the most important to hold a high level job, so   one who will be seated in this post must be qualified and knowledgeable. If any person is woman but she is not qualified for the post but given the high level post she absolutely will be fail to hold the post. Motivation is very important requirement to hold a high prestigious job, one who has no this capacity she/he   cannot hold a high level post. So I hope and believe government should not to make any special attention to women for high level post because if they are qualified, no need to make any rule or law in parliament. Leadership is the best qualification to hold the high level jobs. To be a best leader, so easily can deal any critical situation. Those who will hold better post, musth have leadership skilled to perform   properly his/her responsibilities and   duties.This is the age of globalization,so one who want to be leader one,s has to have leadership skilled otherwisewill be   seriously fail to make any decision. Challenging career, there are many job very challenging so women are not able to perform their responsibilities but if any woman get like that post as a leader she will totally fail to lead the team or group. For example a woman is not fit for post of chief of Army, Navy,and Air force,because they are not able to perform their duty properly with care and strictly.So body fitness is very   important to hold like that high level job.So if government impose like that post, it will be harmful for a nation. Professional services are opened for all men and women,because there is no any condition or restriction for women.women can be professor,lawyer,pilot officer,doctor if they have qualification.So for this reason,no need to care more women for high level job.There are many women in the world who are justice,lawyer, minister,parliamentarian .They perform their responsibilities and duties with dignity and skilled.This is because, they are hardworkers and qualified for this   posts Corruption is the great disease for state , it is worse than cancer . so make a proper well fear state . it is responsibilities for man and women to remove this  Ã‚   corruption   from the grass root level of state , corruption free state and protect and guarantee human rights such kind of well fare state no conflict man between women incase of high level jobs. Misuse is the worst weak point to protect human rights and establish rule of law it is absolutely possible misuse of power in government wish to protect the human rights .disqualified person never get high level jobs .this is possible on the basis of rule of law but we have to keep in mind knowledge and qualification only should be standard for higher level job but not consider sex. Political instability never bring any peace and security, safety and dignity for a nation .for the cause of corruption and missuse of power always coming political instability in a state. For these reason many qualified man and women totally deprive from the higher level jobs.such kind of political environment never consider knowledge and qualification and care fare and justice . There are many states where women hold high level post such as Bangladesh is a highest ranking   for the leadership of women   because there is a prime minister and opposition leader, home minister,foreign minister and agriculture minister all are women. they are not   elected as a women but for theire leadership qualification.so there is no way to say government should have extra care for women .if they become knowledgeable, they will reach their goals. In Pakistan also had an ex-prime minister banzir butto who was a woman and she was elected for her political wisdom but her nation did not make her prime minister just consider as woman .there are many women perform their responsibilities and duties with due care and dignity . there is a president   in india is woman .there were former prime ministers Indira Gandi and Sonia gandi also were women. In usa ,hilari Clinton is secretary   of state of America so it is only possible for her qualification. In UK and Austrilia are handled supreme post by women,we do not like to make different between man and woman.As a human being all are equal,in case of dignity and rights and duties. Criticism of women ;most of the women across the world , to remind themselves busy in the kitchen .their mind do not want to work high abious job.They think , women responsibilities to produce baby and to take care and managing housing work.They do not know what are   their rights and duties.So   for this reason,they are tortured, oppressed,nepressd by men.Their voices are not strong for their rights.They do not know how to establish their civil and political rights.Even now women are not prepared to take leadership of high level jobs.They think leadership and management are only for men. Reservation of negative effect,If government reserve certain percentage for high level jobs,it will make a serious negative effect in a state.Now a days all of the countries have   recognised equal status of men and women.The certain percentage reservation will break the check and balance of a state.Day by day men will be unemployment which is not green signal for democratic states.So we do not agree on the statement of reservation of high level jobs for women.If government want to reserve must be for backward section people.There will be no any discrimination between men and women. It is high for women to raise their voices against injustice and unfair.Government can take effective step to make educated women.Women   have to be conscious for their fundamental rights.If government make them properly educated then they will get high level jobs.No need make any reservation for women,from every part of the world, women should be conscious about their rights and duties, They must   make pressure their own government to provide complete women rights. When they will be able to understand what are their rights and duties and will be qualified then they   will get high level jobs. In brief ,I would like to say dignity and honour should not be   given on the basis of sex.for the causes of sincerity ,honesty,sense of responsibility, punctuality and duty.So any man or woman   will hold high level job if he or she has qualification. No need to make speacil law for woman for high level jobs.Only knowledge and knowledge should be most priority and standard to hold high level job.

Why Terrorism Should Be a Global Concern Essay -- essays research pape

The war on terror is at the peak and there are vivid indications that every stone will be turned to halt it. A central assumption is that terrorism is a religious war, apparently between Christians and the Muslims. This is just a moral claim that terrorists are using to attract more people over to their side, as well as create solidarity among the Muslims. As a result, the imagery and the reality of terrorism differ overwhelmingly. There are various terror occurrences around the globe that are similar and can be classified as terrorism. Otherwise, terrorism has been a means to carry on a conflict without the antagonist realizing the nature of the threat, mistaking terrorism for criminal activity. Terrorism should be a global concern because it is fast spreading around the globe raising terror. It has been facilitated by the use of religion as a justification for terrorist activities, proliferation of local terrorist groups, and political instability among and within various world wid e nations. In spite of terrorism apparent proliferation around the globe, some people may maintain that it should not be a global concern. It is important to realize that terrorism has not affected all nations in the world. Therefore, some people might argue that it does not warranty global concern. Don Van Natta, Jr. A columnist for the New York Times and Name 2 writer of the article â€Å"A World Made More Dangerous as Terrorism Spreads† scrutinizes wrote in his article activity in the world and identifies the countries that are involved. Natta Jr finds out that there is terrorist activity in every continent but only a few and specific countries are involved (Natta Jr 340). Hence, terrorist involvement accounts for only a small percentage of the c... ...understanding these root causes of the problem as the first step towards ending the war. Then, uniting the whole world under one course for peace love and unity will be the greatest war against terrorism. Works cited Crusious, Timothy W. and Carolyn E. Channel. Aims of Argument. 5th ed. New York: Mc Graw-Hill, 2006. Philip Jenkins. â€Å"Why Terrorism?† Images of Terror: What we can and can’t know about Terrorism 2003. Crusious and Channel 320-325. Rohan Gunaratna. â€Å"The Al Qaeda Threat and the International Response† Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror 2002. Crusious and Channel 326-339. Don Van Natta Jr. â€Å"A World Made More Dangerous as Terrorism Spreads† The New York Times April 2004. Crusious and Channel 339-342. Yonah Alexender. â€Å"Terrorism in The Name of God† World and I October 20002. Crusious and Channel 360-365. Why Terrorism Should Be a Global Concern Essay -- essays research pape The war on terror is at the peak and there are vivid indications that every stone will be turned to halt it. A central assumption is that terrorism is a religious war, apparently between Christians and the Muslims. This is just a moral claim that terrorists are using to attract more people over to their side, as well as create solidarity among the Muslims. As a result, the imagery and the reality of terrorism differ overwhelmingly. There are various terror occurrences around the globe that are similar and can be classified as terrorism. Otherwise, terrorism has been a means to carry on a conflict without the antagonist realizing the nature of the threat, mistaking terrorism for criminal activity. Terrorism should be a global concern because it is fast spreading around the globe raising terror. It has been facilitated by the use of religion as a justification for terrorist activities, proliferation of local terrorist groups, and political instability among and within various world wid e nations. In spite of terrorism apparent proliferation around the globe, some people may maintain that it should not be a global concern. It is important to realize that terrorism has not affected all nations in the world. Therefore, some people might argue that it does not warranty global concern. Don Van Natta, Jr. A columnist for the New York Times and Name 2 writer of the article â€Å"A World Made More Dangerous as Terrorism Spreads† scrutinizes wrote in his article activity in the world and identifies the countries that are involved. Natta Jr finds out that there is terrorist activity in every continent but only a few and specific countries are involved (Natta Jr 340). Hence, terrorist involvement accounts for only a small percentage of the c... ...understanding these root causes of the problem as the first step towards ending the war. Then, uniting the whole world under one course for peace love and unity will be the greatest war against terrorism. Works cited Crusious, Timothy W. and Carolyn E. Channel. Aims of Argument. 5th ed. New York: Mc Graw-Hill, 2006. Philip Jenkins. â€Å"Why Terrorism?† Images of Terror: What we can and can’t know about Terrorism 2003. Crusious and Channel 320-325. Rohan Gunaratna. â€Å"The Al Qaeda Threat and the International Response† Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror 2002. Crusious and Channel 326-339. Don Van Natta Jr. â€Å"A World Made More Dangerous as Terrorism Spreads† The New York Times April 2004. Crusious and Channel 339-342. Yonah Alexender. â€Å"Terrorism in The Name of God† World and I October 20002. Crusious and Channel 360-365.

Liechtenstein :: History Europe Essays

The history of Liechtenstein, combined with its form of government, a constitutional hereditary monarchy can explain its geographic size. It was one of the several principalities of the Holy Roman Empire, which has survived to this day. Because it retained its royal family, political support is high. Its royal family brings a sense of individualism and national pride to a small nation which otherwise would have little reason for being sovereign. Introduction Liechtenstein's current position has been largely shaped by its history and geography. From a Roman outpost to a principality under the Holy Roman Empire, to a hereditary constitutional monarchy, this small state has been affected by the changing of its sovereigns, which had been primarily based on its geographical location along the upper Rhine. This tiny principality has reacted to its history and geography. The prince is a very important part of national identity. It is something which sets the Liechtensteiners apart from its neighbors. Even though Liechtenstein depends on Switzerland for most of its needs, Liechtenstein's constitutional monarchy is an area of loyalty. Explanation of the Applicable National Standards for Geography This paper contains several applicable national standards for geography. Liechtenstein's position in the Alps and on the Rhine apply to analyzing the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface. Because of the modern trend of globalization, and consolidation, many people have never heard of Liechtenstein. This applies to how culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions. Liechtenstein's diminutive size can be applied in using geography to interpret the past, to interpret the present, and plan for the future. History of Liechtenstein From Earliest Times to Holy Roman Empire Liechtenstein has had an extensive past. Sovereignty has changed hands several times, but the nation now known as The Principality of Liechtenstein has been in full existence since 1866 (1). Scholars have found that there was a settlement there in the Neolithic age. Later, starting in 800 BC the Rhaetians began to colonize the area. In 15 BC the Romans conquered the area, and later set up Schaan Castle to protect the alpine passes from attacks from the Germanic peoples (1). Its position on the Rhine and close to the Danube was close to the borders of the Roman Empire.

William Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay -- Midsumme

William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are so many references to "the eyes" in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" that one would expect there to be a solid and consistent reason for their appearance. However, this does not seem to be the case. Indeed, the images associated with the eyes are so varied, and shift so frequently, that it is practically impossible to define what it is they represent. This difficulty reflects the problem of distinguishing between what is real and what is illusion -- a central theme of the play. Confusion and misunderstanding abound throughout "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The lovers' chase through the forest is perhaps the most obvious example. The "mechanicks'" bumbling performance of "Pyramus and Thisbe" is perhaps the most comic. However, as the play commences, it is a misunderstanding between Egeus and Hermia that threatens to throw the court into turmoil. This particular misunderstanding revolves around Hermia's love for Lysander. Although Egeus has arranged for his daughter to wed Demetrius, it is Lysander that Hermia really wants to marry. However, Egeus refuses to ascent to their marriage, threatening to enforce on his daughter the "ancient privilege of Athens" (1.1.41) if she does not condescend to his original choice. Even though this would entail her entering a nunnery (or perhaps even being executed), Egeus' opinion cannot be swayed. His stubbornness leads Hermia to exclaim: "I would my father looked but with mine eyes" (1.1.56). Clearly, Hermia believes that if her father could see Lysander in the same light as her, then he would quickly form a different opinion of him. In this instance, then, the eyes symbolize judgment. Theseus' response to Hermia not only ... ...e, nor his heart to report what my dream was" (4.1.204-207). Here, he confuses the senses in his attempt to get a grip on reality, thus demonstrating the blurred boundary between reality and illusion. Clearly, then, the eye alone cannot be trusted to provide adequate information about the nature of reality. The fluid, endlessly shifting imagery of the eyes serves to represent this problem, adding to the dreamlike quality of the play in the process. Possibly, it is left to the "poet's eye" (5.1.12) to make the distinction between reality and illusion: "The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen/Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing/A local habitation and a name" (5.1.15-17).     Ã‚   Works Cited   Shakespeare, William. "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1997. 814-861.

Does Art Influence Culture, or Does Culture Influence Art Essay

Does art shape the mood and dependency of culture, or does culture shape the perspective of art? Art does not only mean the literal paintings, and physical art. Music, poetry, sculpting, and theatre, are also in the category of art, and people like William Shakespeare and Matsuo Basho have definitely left their mark on the past and present’s cultures with their expressions of art. Art and culture are not black and white concepts; there is no way to say that one affects the other absolutely. But they do affect each other, in many instances. For example, art reflects culture in that the society and environment in which the form of art was created may have affected the person, place, and reason behind why that piece of art was created. It can show the economic status of that nation in the art and the materials used to make it. On the other hand, culture reflects art, because art can act like a beacon or catalyst. It motivates and influences people, in the way that a good song can lift a spirit or induce feelings of sadness. Aristotle once said, â€Å"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.† People perceive art on a personal level, and relate it to themselves or their life in order to form a sort of connection. Art and culture are invariably linked, constantly pushing and pulling the advancement of one another. A good example of art reflecting culture in history is the Renaissance Era. During the Renaissance, Europe had an immediate renewal in art and learning. Europe was recovering from the bubonic plague; there was a rejuvenation of wealth in prosperity. There was a somewhat excess in wealth, which resulted in many people becoming patrons of the art, or wealthy people that sponsored artists to continue their craft. They could afford to spend their money and invest in an upcoming artist, or buy his paintings. Due to the sudden rise in patrons, artists were becoming famous, there were suddenly many more artists being employed to work in public buildings and sculpt people. For example, Michelangelo was paid to illustrate the Sistine Chapel, and also sculpted. The Renaissance scholars brought back the original, classical forms of artwork from the Roman and Greek times, because they grew tired of the simplistic, archaic methods of the Middle Ages. It also changed the subjects and ways that the artists created their  artwork. Before the Renaissance, everything had been about religion and ideological faith. The Renaissance brought about new ideas and concepts for artists, such as Michelangelo’s sculpture, David. It depicts David moments before the biblical battle between the Philistines and the Israelites, where he is depicted as powerful, yet graceful. Artwork like this began to show humanism, humanities achievements and potential. Also, the Renaissance changed the way that writers wrote their literature. Writer’s like Dante and Francesco Petrarch had begun writing in the vernacular, or their native languages, being Italian and Latin instead of only the traditional Latin. But art and culture are not only linked in the Renaissance they are also a large portion of the Muslim world at that point. Art was used in the Mughal Court, exceedingly so, in the form of illustration in scripts. They would have small, detailed paintings called â€Å"miniatures† in books. In times of wealth, artwork would invade the empire’s temples, market places, and mosques. The artwork reflected the deities of the mosques and temples, while the artworks in the more common places were adorned with art of different styles from different countries. While the art was beautiful and elaborate in India and other major Muslim empires, it was also extremely expensive. The people of the art-obsessed nations usually had to pay hefty taxes to help finance public art projects; which meant sometimes having taxation abused to pay for huge technically unnecessary architectural buildings. An example is the Taj Mahal, a tomb for Mumtaz Mahal that Shah Jahan, one of the rulers of India, dedicated to his lost love in her memory. This sentimental gesture cost the tax payers, and his people began to starve. Art in China was intricate and just as awe inspiring as the rest of the worlds, but this is a good demonstration of how culture reflects artwork. Artwork in Europe was more about perspective, and new ideas. Chinese art valued technique and diligence over creativity and imagination. Even in pottery, technical skills and experimentation won over creativity. Kabuki was a popular source of entertainment for families with low income. It unified Chinese society with a common past time, and taught about Chinese history and cultural heroes. In the later 1700’s, Japan also focused on  heatre by using kabuki. Kabuki was an elaborate show consisting of music, exaggeration, exciting costumes and dance. They also read haikus, which uses five, seven, and five stanzas to use the senses to describe senses, smells, feelings, or sounds. All in all, culture and art do affect each other. Culture shapes the texture and subject of art, such as religion and portraits. While art affects culture in that it uses art as a way to depict wealth, as well as used for decoration and symbolism, and as a catalyst and form of release for the philosophical savants of that era. Art was also used to preserve the times of those places, and to preserve the methods and customs of their cultures. People all over the world use art for the same reasons now, and will continue using art for the same reasons. The impact that the shaping and reflecting had on the arts from long ago is evident today from in caves, to the Taj Mahal, to the Sistine Chapel. If it weren’t for the mutuality of art and culture, the world would have developed in a completely different way, and it would be a very, very dull place without the history and depictions of the olden times. http://www.quotegarden.com/art.html – Aristotle’s quote World History: Patterns of Interaction, McDougal Littell

Prisons As Industry Essay

What is the most profitable industry in America? Weapons, oil and computer technology all offer high rates of return, but there is probably no sector of the economy as abloom with money as the privately run prison industry. Prison industry in recent years has become a high-profit business and it competes with industries such as the oil and gas industry. The aim of this paper therefore is to examine the industry as a whole. In examining the industry therefore, there shall be a cursory analysis of some salient point vis-à  -vis the prison industry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A very important fact is that the prison industry came about because of the congestion in the various government-owned prisons in throughout the country. The demand for prisons seems to be ever increasing and the public prisons scattered all around the country are incapable of providing adequately for this. Nearly every prison in America is overcrowded and will continue to be so if new prisons do not spring up. So therefore, the aim of the prison industry is to make provisions for more space to keep dissidents at a lower cost than federal prisons can.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In other words, privately owned prisons are unique because demand for prisons is high, while supply of prisons is low.   That is what makes this industry so appealing. Thus, privately owned prisons are good substitutes for federally run services. Therefore, this brings us to the issue of prison privatization. This involves the transfer of running state-owned prisons to private industries to manage. Thus, by using the private sector to build or manage prisons, many states believe that they can reduce costs. Privatization of prisons can take various forms. This includes: Contracting out services: This is the most common form of prison privatization. Currently, 39 states in the US hire private firms to provide such services as medical and mental health treatment, drug treatment, education, staff training, and vocational training and counseling. Contracting out prison labor This also is another means of privatizing prisons. By putting prisoners to work and paying inmates competitive wages, many private companies are reducing prison costs for the government by withholding earnings for taxes, room and board, family support, and victim’s compensation. Such employment also gives prisoners the skills and work experience that will prepare them for the job market when they are released from prison. Construction and lease/purchasing Many states see private construction as a promising solution to the prison over crowding crisis. States normally finance construction by cash appropriations (a â€Å"pay-as-you-go† approach) or by issuing general obligation bonds The points above are some of the ways by which prisons by various states in the US. In another vein, privatization of prisons can also occur at the federal level. For instance, the Federal Government of the United States recently proposed contracting with a private firm for a new 500 bed minimum-secure facility for illegal aliens. In addition, the Bureau has considered contracting for facilities to house â€Å"special needs† prisoners, such as juveniles, women, protective custody cases, and for prisoners needing medical services. However, the federal government is wary in contracting out the more â€Å"mainstream† prisoners such as those imprisoned in the Federal Correctional Institutions and the U.S. Penitentiary System. Nevertheless, the prison industry has raises certain questions. These questions must be answered before a deeper understanding and full grasp of the objectives of the industry can be achieved. The first question is that has the federal government abrogated its responsibility by privatizing prisons. In other words, Should the private sector be responsible for a function traditionally performed by the government sector? Evidence has shown that that prison privatization does not mean that the government relinquishes its responsibility. The government still would select the inmates to be placed in private prisons, choose the type of facility to be contracted out, oversee the contractor’s disciplinary practices and, most important, evaluate the contractor’s performance. Furthermore, another good question to be asked is whether service quality and flexibility is maintained or not? This is because some policy makers maintain that the quality of management in private prisons will tend to be high at first, because of competition and the desire to win contracts. However, they question the private sector’s ability to sustain high-quality standards. This is not true of the prison industry because contracting standards are likely to improve over time as more firms enter the market and competition increases. Periodic bidding creates incentives for firms to improve constantly the quality and cost-efficiency of their performance. These above questions, among others, are some of the questions to ask in order to have an enlightened grasp of the prison industry. Now, it is of necessity to look at the history of prison industry. Historically, prison population started to grow in the United States in the 70s. Statistically, one out of every hundred adults is now imprisoned. In order to curtail the unwanted rise in the number of inmates, larger sentences are being imposed on to act as deterrent and other policies, which are known as the ‘broken window’. They have introduced the ’three strike’ policy which means that if you are convicted of any 3 offences you will receive life which is a very good deterrent. The state of Virginia applies this always, and has managed to slow the growth of the population (Bratton 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition, the government has tried to seek alternative modes of punishing offenders instead of retaining them in the prison yards. Undauntedly however, the rate of offenders soars. This has gone a long way in boosting the prison industry. The industry is now much bigger than ever before worth around 40 billion dollars a year. Due to the overcrowding in state prisons and federal prisons, which are on average 34% over designed capacity according to the BJS report, the prison industry has to rely on private prisons. Many states enjoy the companies taking on the task of building the prisons and covering the costs and just charging the state per inmate, as the state tends to be a lot more lenient to a convicted felon in order to save money. So therefore, prison industry continues to soar high. Investors are now having good times because of their net profits from prison business. For example, the leading company in prison business, Corrections Corporation of America, has made a tremendous success in the business. The revenue of this company rose by 81% in 1995 alone. Again, Investors in Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, another leading prison industry,   have enjoyed an average return of 18 percent during the past five years and the company is rated by Forbes as one of the top 200 small businesses in the country as of today. The list goes on an on. Ten years ago, there were just five privately run prisons in the country, housing a population of 2.000. Nearly, a score of private firms run more than 100 prisons with about 62,000 beds today. That’s still less than five percent of the total market, but the industry is expanding fast, with the number of private prison beds expected to grow to 360,000 during the next decade. This could be said to be the reason why a recent headline in USA Today which says that; â€Å"Everybody’s Doin the Jailhouse Stock† In view of this, the prison industry is now a lucrative business. In fact, almost 30 states in the US have 28 states have passed legislation making it legal for private contractors to run correctional facilities and many more states are expected to follow suit. God knows maybe one day, the prison industry will take over as the most lucrative and cost-effective business. To summarize it all, there are many reasons why America has incarcerated more of its population than any other country including China, which has a much greater population. The main reason is still the fact that the prison industry is being portrayed as a business and companies are making money from crime. Therefore, toughening of laws by both the federal and state governments does not help matter. Therefore, one can safely conclude that prison industry has come to stay. What is to be done now is for the government to tighten laws on the establishment of privately owned correction centers across the States. This would go a long way in ensuring that the privately owned prisons function effectively as their public counterparts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   REFERENCES Tonry M., 2004. Prisons and Imprisonment, International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Pages 12062-1206. Walker, S., Spohn, C., Dolone, M., 2004. The Color of Justice, Race Ethnicity, and Crime in America, 3rd Ed, Wadsworth Publishing. Scalia, J., August 2001. Federal Drug Offenders, 1999 with trends 1984-99, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S. Department of justice. Samaha, j., 2001. Criminal justice, 5th ed. Wadsworth publishing. Renshaw, B., December 1982. Prisoners 1925-1981, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S. Department of justice. Harrison, P., November 2004. Prisoners 2003, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S. Department of justice.

Missouri Compromise

The Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise, written by Henry Clay, attempted to limit the slavery boundaries; it was later declared unconstitutional and is also considered one of many events that led to the American Civil War. The compromise became a precedent for settling subsequent North and South disagreements over slavery and duty issues, and it remained in effect until rescinded by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. The Missouri Compromise eased tensions between the North and the South delaying the civil war The American Civil War.However, it is also considered one of the causes of the civil war because it increased the division of beliefs between the North and SouthThus, the Missouri compromise played an important role in the development of the American Civil War. In February, 1819, the House of Representatives considered a bill authorizing the territory of Missouri to frame a constitution. In the past, territories south of the Mason Dixon Line had been automatically made in to slave states. Most of Missouri is north of that line but many of its citizens were slaveholders.A bill to permit slavery in Missouri on a temporary basis, but prohibiting further entry of slaves, passed the House but was rejected by the Senate. Meanwhile, Alabama had been admitted as a slave state, making the number of slave and free states 11 each. As this would ruin the balance between Slave states and Free states in the Senate, Henry Clay proposed the Missouri compromise. The Missouri compromise was created in order to ease tensions between the northern, anti-slavery states, and southern, pro-slavery, states for equal votes in the House of Representatives.It was used in maintaining balance in power between free and slave states, in an effort to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, the Missouri Compromise was passed in 1820 admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Henry Clay of Kentucky is known as the â€Å"Great Compr omiser†. Clay served in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, where he was elected speaker of the house six times. Prior to Clay holding the position, the speaker of the house had a minor role, but Clay shaped the speakership nto a very important and influential job. Clay received his nickname with his masterful negotiation of issues that threatened to tear the relatively new country apart. Henry Clay grew up in Kentucky and represented Kentucky, which was a border state between the South and North, because of this Henry Clay was able to relate to both the North’s and South’s beliefs on slavery. Since Henry Clay knew both sides of slavery he was able to act as an unbiased representative for the senate and was able to create the Missouri compromise without bias.The Missouri compromise included a solution to the dispute caused by Missouri wanting to become a new slave state. Largely through the efforts of Henry Clay the amendment was accepted by the Hou se. Missouri was authorized to submit a proslavery constitution and Maine was admitted to the Union. The Missouri constitution was presented to Congress for approval in 1821. It included a paragraph requiring the legislature to prevent the immigration of free blacks into the state. The antislavery faction in Congress objected to this provision and a compromise bill, often called the Second Missouri Compromise, was passed on March 2, 1821.This measure forbade Missouri to limit the rights guaranteed to all citizens by the federal government, meaning it could not ban the entry of free blacks into the state. Missouri was admitted on August 10, 1821, with the exception of Missouri, this law prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36 ° 30? latitude line. The Missouri compromise was successful for almost 30 years. It provided a short-term solution to the problem and delayed the beginning of the American Civil War.However, conditions in the United States undermined the Missouri compromise and made it difficult to be used. This plan was criticized by many southerners because it would establish a principle that Congress could make laws regarding slavery and the north felt it gave into slavery. In 1854, the Missouri Compromise was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Three years later the Missouri Compromise was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott decision, which ruled that Congress did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories.It is obvious that the Missouri Compromise could do nothing to prevent the oncoming violence of the Civil War. This shows that although compromise is the preferable option it was not a viable option to prevent the American Civil War. The difference between the North and South were far to numerous and significant to be satisfied by compromise. Sadly in human history it is often results so that it is only possible to resolve conflicts with violence. Missouri Compromise Missouri CompromiseWithin American history, the events leading up to the Civil War tell an interesting story of the mindset of Northerners and Southerners at the time.   One of the most fascinating questions to discuss is why the issue of admitting Missouri to the Union precipitated a major national crisis and why the North and the South each agreed to the terms of the Missouri Compromise.   First, the matter of admitting Missouri to the Union and the major national crisis it stirred.At the time that Missouri was seeking statehood, the number of free and slave states was equally split, and the admission of Missouri as a slave state would tip Congressional advantage in terms of the states toward those that were pro-slavery (Phillips, 2002).   This issue threatened to divide the nation in a radical and violent way, but ultimately, this would not happen for nearly 40 more years and the onset of the Civil War.   This was averted when the North and South each agreed to the terms o f the Missouri Compromise, based on the concession that Missouri made when the soon-to-be state agreed not to violate the federal Constitutional rights of any of its citizens in its state constitution.   While the issue of slavery would eventually come to a boil, the Missouri Compromise held the peace for a time.ReferencesPhillips, C. (2002). â€Å"The Crime against Missouri†: Slavery, Kansas, and the Cant of Southerners in the Border West. Civil War History, 48(1), 60+.

Gangs and Gang Culture Essay

Casper Walsh is a journalist and author including the sixties Gangster story. His childhood was surrounded by crime and violence. He has been involved with the British prison system since he was 12 years old, as a visitor when his father was in prison, an inmate and now a rehabilitated drug user and creative writing workshop facilitator. The Guardian is a British national daily Newspaper that identifies with centre liberal nationalism and its readership is generally on the mainstream left of British political opinion. It is and readership is mainly white middle class people and its headquarters are in Manchester. This text portrays the picture about the media perception of gangs in our society. According to the author the term gang is usually associated with crime and violence by the media which has made not only youth male, but also working class individuals victims of media stereotyping. He is trying to point out the fact that the media is actually painting a bad picture and only covers the bad side of the gangs. He is also trying to attack the press and convince the reader that gangs are not all that bad and they are necessary in the process of growing up. The text is meant to show that there is nothing new or that scary about gangs, and that youths in every generation will always risk being bad. As a reader of this text I think that the media likes the idea of talking or writing about things that attract the attention of news readers. This makes it difficult sometimes to have a balanced opinion on this particular issue. Stories of this nature such as the negative side of gangsters attract a lot of attention from the readers so media tend to exaggerate when reporting and in this present day people respond to the media views. In this text the writer makes use of stylistic features such as â€Å"irony and paradox. In paragraph 1 there is of an ironical statement when he refers to â€Å"the non-existent good old days† by this he means that every generation has always had some youth behaving differently. In other words society seems to think that youth behaviour in the present time is worse than the one from the past which is not always the case. The fact of the matter is that every generation has always had its fair share of youth trouble. There is also an example of a paradox as stylistic feature in paragraph 1 where the writer talks about â€Å" rooftop shouting and table banging about the breakdown of teenage society†. He thinks that the media is creating a moral panic by portraying youth behaviour as big crisis out of control. For example the media will talk about dysfunctional families, as the cause of crime and violence in our society. But it is true that not every criminal comes from a dysfunctional family although some do. In my opinion I think the use of figures of speech is necessary for the writer to be able to deliver his message in a way that is not offensive to the reader. The fact that he is writing to particular class of people, it is important that the author communicates to them in a language they will understand. I find the word â€Å"Dim view† used by the writer in paragraph 1 inappropriate since what is dim to one person will not necessarily be dim to another. This text portrays the writer`s personal opinion of the media when covering gang related issues in our society. The writer puts all the blame on the press and doesn’t at any one time show that there are bad gangs who do horrible things. The sense of passage would change if the point of view was varied. I find the writer`s opinion not balanced because it only talks about his side of the story. There is some truth in what the media covers on gang related issues. We live in a free and fair society where most people have a choice about decisions that affect their lives. This applies to youth in our society having a choice of whether to join a gang or not without affecting their livelihood. It is not infact a necessity to join a gang in order for you find your identity as a person. People can choose alternative routes to gangs by joining activities such a social sports club, a church and still find themselves. The author only talks about male and youth yet at present we have female gangs and not everybody in gangs is necessary youth. Gangs have lords who are old mature people who actually run and use the youth to do the dirty work for them. The author is writing based on his own experiences and encounters and another person who had a normal life cannot look at gangs the same way. Looking at the facts of this text it is clearly stated that the writer comes from a gang and criminal back ground. My research about the writer found that not only himself but also his father was in jail for sometimes and as a result of this the author was influenced to work with offenders in and out of prison. In the light of this the author will have biased views on this matter to support his background and the people he stands for. The fact that the author is addressing the media which is made mainly with middle class people such as journalists , he makes use of the Guardian newspaper to conveys his message accordingly. Perhaps the author`s text would have changed in terms of tone and balanced view if he had used a different category of paper. I think he would have done some research and would have been able to find evidence to support his arguments. In addition to this he might have used a simple way of writing his text to put his message across.

Allied Bartonfinal

Allied Barton security services provides highly trained individuals to accomplish important goals, one is to prevent accidents before they happen, and to provide a fast, professional response when necessary. Allied Barton provides top-notch security officers for a variety of purposes, including chemical and petrochemical, colleges and universities, financial institutions, healthcare facilities, manufacturing and industrial complexes, residential communities, shopping centers, and commercial real estate.Recently, Allied Barton has had many problems within the company, with things such as employee’s calling off, low motivation among staff, and other serious problems that could affect potential clientele in the future (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008). I decided to take the privilege of changing the company around so it can deliver that which it stands for, quality service, at a great price. I am writing this paper, in order to outline an effective strategy in combating social prob lems within the company.When dealing with the internal problems of Allied Barton security company, I feel it is imperative that all employees are treated with a certain amount of respect, and disciplinary actions are taken against those employees who do not recognize and abide by the standards of performance set forth by the Company. I've worked for Allied Barton as a supervisor since 2004, after viewing these dilemmas; I want to develop a strategic management plan in order to increase performance and productivity and to increase employee performance.In order to increase performance and productivity, better training programs, and better compensation must be implemented. I personally believe that in order to motivate employees, adequate compensation must be provided to those employees that perform well in the company. In order to develop an effective strategic management plan, two primary problems have to be taken care of, one, employee loyalty must be improved in order to decrease t he number of employees that call off, and two, implementing motivational training programs with Cash prize’s or other incentives in order to motivate them to put forth 110%.In order to effectively manage my team, I might have to let some employees go, and hire more in. It is imperative, as a security guard, which you shows up to work on time and does not call off often. Allied Barton offers security services for a variety of businesses, if a security guard is not on call and does not show up, it not only makes the company look bad in front of the business they're supposed to be securing, but also forces the morning shift security guard to work a double. If I have employees working double time, too much over time will become an issue, which will affect my overall labor target.Is the main point of this paper is to develop an effective plan in order to combat these problems that our company is faced with. I firmly believe that you must start from the ground up, if you want to ac complish anything in a corporate structure. In my management plan, I will call for; a new crew, a better compensation plan, and proper motivational training. If I am to hire on new employees, they must be trained properly from the beginning, and learn the rules and guidelines set forth by the company.Once I have organized a plan for the internal problems of Allied Barton, I've been would like to develop a strategy in order to expand our company, by taking on new clients. I must ensure Allied Barton develops a plan to gain more clients, the company must have a reliable, stable crew, who will not call off, and show up to work on time. I feel that if the proper management plan is implemented, Allied Barton can expand; my employees can receive better compensation, and I will have accomplished my goal, which is the restructuring of the company from within. BackgroundAllied Barton has been providing security services since the year 1957, to a wide range of industry, including; commercial real estate, higher education, shopping centers, manufacturing and industrial complexes, financial institutions, and residential communities. Today, Allied Barton has over 50 years of experience in a security contractor industry. Allied Barton has over 50,000 employees and a hundred offices nationwide, which service more than 200 Fortune 500 companies across the country. Allied Barton was founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and went on to found further institutions in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977.In the year 1988 a company by the name of Spectaguard founded in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania emerged. Spectagaurd proved to be a suitable competition for Allied security, and went on to gain New York-based security in 1999. A major strategic move was made by Allied security in 2000, when Spectagaurd and Allied combined to form one corporation called Allied security, the third-largest security company in the United States. Since the year 2000 Allied security is been expanding its operations th roughout the world, and in 2003 acquired the professional security Bureau.Since the year 2003 Allied security has went on to expand its operations, acquiring Barton protective services in forming Allied Barton security services, creating the world's largest American own contract security services in the United States. Furthermore, in 2006 Allied Barton went on to enhance the quality of our security offerings to clients, and increase revenue, we acquired initial security. With each business that Allied security acquired, our operations expanded. Since I've joined Allied Barton in 2004, I have seen some of these major changes, and hope to make many more.Allied Barton has grown from a small security company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1957, to be the largest provider of security services in the United States. I hope that Allied Barton retains this position in the country, and feel they can only do so with the proper staff. What make’s the Allied Barton Company unique, is the individuals that work for it. I think in order to expand Allied Barton's operations, it is imperative that proper training is implemented, and competitive compensation is provided. Having worked for Allied Barton for four years now, I have seen many employees call off, not taking their job seriously.Furthermore, I've also noticed that although training programs are implemented, they could be improved. I firmly believe that if employees are properly trained and paid well, they will perform well. In order to increase compensation, Allied Barton has to increase business. In order for Allied Barton to increase their business, they must acquire new clients, and in order to acquire new clients, Allied Barton must improve their employee’s performance. When Allied Barton acquires new clients, they must also further expand the amount of leaves, or security offers, that they have.I think that when an expansion of employees is made, it is imperative to higher the right employee. I firml y believe that you get what you pay for, if you want to underpay whilst recruiting employees, then you will get what you pay for, an underpaid employee. With our country's current economic situation, contractors are getting sleazier and sleazier because they work for close to nothing. Last year, the Comptroller received 261 complaint of underpayment, compared with 163 complaints in 1990 and 89 complaints in 1989 (Sims, 1992).Furthermore, health care is another major issue, and must be provided for employees. In order for Allied Barton to expand its services, it must be willing to pay well, and hire on hard-working individuals, who are loyal, and take their job seriously. Current Strategy Allied Barton's current strategy is to expand and to retain their current position as America's largest leading provider of security services. In order for Allied Barton to obtain this position, as stated earlier, it must have an efficient crew, as well as proper training programs implemented.Allied Barton has always stood for providing quality services, at a low price; something which I wish to continue. Allied Barton understands that if they want to provide quality, consistent security services across an array of industries, they must meet the needs of those industries on both local and national levels. Locally, Allied Barton hopes to provide superior day-to-day operations support, and on a national level, provides more than 100 offices across the country with an extraordinary number of resources devoted to our clients.Allied Barton wishes to provide a single point of contact for our client’s needs and expectations. Furthermore, Allied Barton has a team of experts assembled to help coordinate and support the transition and security management based on our clients needs. Allied Barton provides an environment that makes employees, tenants and guests feel safe and secure including holding employee seminars and distributing safety awareness steps. Allied Barton does every thing possible in order to make a proactive outreach to the community in which it is established in.Our company strives to provide the best training possible, with training programs that best suit our client security needs. We use state-of-the-art technology in order to create and evaluate reports on a multitude of areas within our security program, with real-time response in the case of emergency. Our clients have access to a call center 24 hours a day, which will have the ability to provide security services at whatever time our client needs it. Alternative Scenarios If Allied Barton is to expand, they must take on new clients.In order to acquire new clients, as I stated earlier, I must take measures to hire on reliable, dependable employees. Furthermore, Allied Barton's training program is good, but I think I could make it better. Our training programs should implement security protocols that are suitable for the clients we serve. My goal is to compete with companies such as benc hmark, which is a federal security agency. Many businesses feel that federal security agencies operate much better than private security agencies, primarily because of the employees of those private security agencies.When we look at federal security agencies, we see great training programs, and a huge budget. Since September 11, 2001, President Bush has given literally millions of dollars in funding to federal security agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (http://www. fas. org). When dealing with private security companies, the funding that is given to federal security agencies is simply not given to private security companies. I think in order to expand our operations; we must be able to provide security services that are equal to those provided by federal agencies.The only way to provide private security services at an affordable price, that matches the competition of federal security services, effective training programs must be implemented. Also, I think it wo uld be effective to find outside sponsors. When changing the training programs, a believe that Allied Barton provides good training services, but I think the program should be extended, and those candidates that do qualify should pass a series of scored test not only to determine their IQ level, but also personality and behavior patterns.I think that by accurately testing potential employees, we can get an accurate understanding of how they act and think, and how they would think and act in an emergency situation; such as a robbery. Furthermore, based on age and education level, as well as experience, and appropriate compensation plans should be devised. Compensation plan should vary, lowest being paid to the newer employees, and the highest being paid to the more experienced older employees. I also believe that life, health, and dental insurance should be provided to all employees after a 90 day probationary period.I feel that a 90 day probationary period is necessary, primarily be cause you don't want to provide benefits for employee’s who do not want to stay with the company. I also think that a slip system should be implemented within the company. Green slips should be issued to those employees who perform well, yellow slips issued to employees, whose performance is lagging, or dropped, and orange slips as suspension, or probationary slips, issued a those employees who continually underperformed. If an employee is issued a green slip, I feel they should be rewarded.In developing the system, any employee who receives five Green slips or more within a two month period will receive a raise of $. 25 or higher. Furthermore, anybody who's issued 5 or more yellow slips in a one month time frame will be issued a two-week suspension. Lastly, any employee that is issued and orange slip, will face one month suspension, and upon return to the company 90 day probationary period in which the employee's performance will be evaluated, and if the employee decides to still continue to under perform, we will terminate them.Allied Barton has a reputation of one of the nation's largest security companies, and with the proper training and staff, it can retain that reputation for many years to come. I think some risk that Allied Barton will face, that it should avoid, is a recent expansion of federal agencies. Privatize security is a necessity amongst various industries Alternative strategies Alternative strategies that can be implemented to change the current posture and processes within the company should start with the proper testing of our newly recruited security officers.I think that personality and IQ tests are important when determining which employees to select. If an employee is required to hold a gun while on the job, we must make sure that only the most qualified individuals are given an opportunity. Furthermore, I do not want to provide great benefits, and awesome compensation, to employees that do not wish to stay with our company. I be lieve that a three-tier structure should be set in place in order to prevent this from happening. During the first year, the employees will start on tier 1 of the program.Tear one of the program is for beginner employees, and security officers, and acts as a probationary period during which time their performances are reviewed by their supervisors. After a year, the employee will be introduced to tier 2 of our program, during which time a better compensation plan, and benefits packages is arranged; as well as flexibility in scheduling is obtained. Employees in the tier 2 program are those employees who have been with the company for one year or longer, and who have performed adequately or exceedingly to the rules and regulations of Allied Barton.During tier 2, and will be monitored as in tier 1, if the employees have met the criteria necessary, and have performed exceedingly well in the company; they will be granted the opportunity of joining the third tier. The third tier will cons ist of employees who stayed with Allied Barton for three years or longer, and will contain a better compensation package, as well a 401(k), and opportunities to obtain half price shares in our companies stock. Furthermore, I think that it is necessary to provide some kind of pension plan for those employees who have stayed with the company for 25 years or longer in which to retire.We here at Allied Burton want the best employees, and want to keep those employees for the longest time possible. In order for Allied Barton to expand operations, it must contain loyal, trustworthy employees who are willing to give 110% when required. I think that by implementing better compensation plans and benefits packages we will attract more employees, as well as provide the incentive for those employees to always perform their best. Furthermore, by providing a pension plan after 25 years of loyal service to her company, it encourages employees to stay with our company.Allied Barton should expect not hing less than top-notch professionals for their security projects. In order to obtain more clients, we must impress those clients by providing exceptional service, at a great price. In order to provide these compensation plans, and benefit packages, I realize that our clientele must increase. In order to meet the changing environment of the security market, and the challenges of new competition that we face; we must incorporate strategies that lower prices, and provide quality services. As stated earlier, I feel that in order to lower prices, we must first have reliable and dependable employees.With reliable and dependable employees, we then can begin to expand our marketing operations. By motivating the employees, with better compensation plans, and great benefit packages; our team will always be happy, upbeat, and willing to work overtime is required. Furthermore, we must begin to directly market to other businesses, in order to obtain more clientele. I feel that by making these changes, we can accurately meet the demands of the ever-changing security market. Allied Barton is one of the nation's largest independent security providers, and I plan to keep it that way.By introducing better compensation plans and implementing business-to-business marketing plans are key factors in building clientele. Executive summary In summary, I feel that there are many things that must be implemented in order for Allied Barton to retain its current position as the nation's largest independent provider of security related services. Key factors in implementing the appropriate plan for Allied Barton, better compensation plans, business-to-business marketing, and entrance exams based on personality and behavior, and IQ tests must be implemented.By providing better compensation plans, we will attract more employees. By providing personality and behavior exams, as well as IQ exams, we can get a good understanding during the application process of what type of employee the applica nt would be if he or she was to become a security officer with our company. Furthermore, business-to-business marketing must be implemented in order to obtain a larger clientele base. Business-to-business marketing should be done in-house, with a handful of representatives, who are experienced in outbound business-to-business marketing.During the first three months of our business-to-business marketing program, if any telecommunications agent hired and underperforms or do not meet the quota of sales required, they will be replaced by somebody with the proper expertise. By implementing these strategies’s Allied Burton can achieve its vision and goals of maintaining there status as the leading provider of security services in the nation. I feel that business-to-business marketing will prove effective in obtaining additional clientele.As stated earlier, business-to-business marketing should only be done by those who have had experience in outbound business-to-business marketing for two years or longer. I understand that by creating this business marketing to marketing department, I will be adding new employees to the payroll and affecting my labor costs, if I hire 12 agents and each one is able to close three sales a day, Allied Barton will effectively be generating 36 new clients on a daily basis, this should compensate for any labor costs.If Allied Barton can effectively generate 36 new clients on a daily basis, that means that Allied Barton would effectively be generating 1080 new clients a month, or 12,960 clients a year. If Allied Burton is able to obtain 12,960 clients a year, Allied Burton will be able to expand its operations, maybe even to an international level. SWOT As stated in the beginning, weaknesses within Allied Burton include lack of motivation amongst employees, lack of up-to-date promotions, and also employees calling off too often.I feel that we can take these weaknesses, learn from them, and create opportunities to attract more employ ees. If better training programs are implemented, and business-to-business marketing is achieved, Allied Burton will effectively generate new clientele on a daily basis, whilst at the same time, effectively training and employing only the best most qualified individuals for the job. If Allied Burton can meet these requirements, I strongly believe that we can become one of the largest independent providers of security officers around the nation, and can expand operations to an international level.I strongly believe in the values, and vision of Allied Burton, and hope to implement programs that benefit Allied Burton as well as the employees within the company. By creating a win-win situation for everybody, the company will grow, employees will be properly compensated, calling off will be a thing of the past, and up-to-date promotions will be happening on a semi annual or annual basis. Despite Allied Barton's current weaknesses, it has been a strong company for over 50 years, and will only continue to grow with the right management strategy implemented.