Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Choosing the one you love Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Choosing the one you love - Essay Example After the completion of their college studies, both Tom and Julie started their search for employment. Tom succeeded in getting a good job in a highly reputed company located in a city around 200 kilometres away his home. It was difficult and painful for Tom and Julie to separate each other; but both of them agreed to contact each other at least twice in a day. Tom started his career as a computer programmer in that company. Initially, it was difficult for Tom to execute his responsibilities in a timely manner. Diana, another experienced programmer working with Tom, helped him a lot in managing his initial problems in that organization. Both Tom and Diana became good friends within a month. Diana was a charming girl and her mannerisms and behaviour were very much attractive to everybody. She liked modern dresses and looked pretty in her dress codes. Tom’s innocence and mannerisms were caught the attention of Diana. Tom was a strongly built, 6 feet taller handsome young man and Diana slowly started to fall in love with him. Tom realised the intentions of Diana, but it was difficult for Tom to avoid her considering the assistances, he was receiving from her in professional matters. Tom never said anything about his love affairs with Julie. He was afraid of the consequences. He never told Julie also about Diana and her intentions. But he maintained his deep love affairs with Julie. Diana started to give Tom the company on holidays. It was difficult for Tom to avoid the invitations of Diana for watching movies, shopping and spending time on parks and other public gathering places. Diana never asked Tom anything about his past life and Tom never said anything to Diana about his love affairs with Julie. As time passes, Dina’s love towards Tom strengthened and once she revealed her intentions and feelings to Tom. Tom was also started to love her; however it was difficult for him to avoid

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Chinese One Child Policy

Chinese One Child Policy The one child policy of China has been a topic of discussion among many sociologists and economists for years and has been a very controversial topic since it was first introduced. The policy was first introduced in the year of 1980 and was phased out in 2015. Many people believe this was a good thing and perhaps others would disagree. In this research essay, the one child policy will be discussed. China has been a very controlling country for many years, they have been known to have many communism traits in their political and society. The one child policy which was introduced by China in 1980 shows the characteristic and clear illustration of how it has a vast power on its people and shows how its state power is very widespread. Furthermore, the state is in fact ruled by the Communist Party of China (CPC) (Retrieved Nov. 14, 2016, from Wikipedia.org/wiki/China). The Chinese one child policy only allows couples to have one child unless there are certain circumstances which are determined by the government themselves then they might be exempted. (Retrieved Nov 24, 2016, from www.theguardian.com/world/datablog/2015/oct/29/impact-china-one-child-policy-four-graphs). An example of one of circumstances is families who rely on farming as a source of live or income (Hartmann, B. (1995). Reproductive rights and wrongs: The global politics of population control. Boston, MA: South End Press.). I personally completely disagree with this policy as couples should have the right to conceive as much as they want, at the end of the day it is the way of life. I also disagree with this policy because it causes harm in terms of affecting the normal equality of both sexes in society as there could be a lack of males or females due to this. Also, it causes a lack of the younger generation. Moreover, as much is it people conceiving as many as they want could affec t the economy negatively, this one child policy also affected it negatively. 30 years ago, on September 25, 1980, Chinas one-child policy was formally introduced. In a letter from the Chinese Communist Party. Until that date, the government had strongly supported spreading the knowledge of birth control. But using it voluntarily was encouraged and not enforcing anything. China later enforced the law by keeping a very accurate track on the birth registers and those who had more than one child were made to adopt it. Moreover, couples who conceived more than one child were also given fines and were penalized on a very large scale. In some places the fine was a set amount whereas in others its based on a percentage of the violators annual income. (Perry, E. J., Selden, M. (2000). Chinese society: Change, conflict, and resistance. London: Routledge). People who voluntarily accepted the policy or were exempted from it and still agreed to it were sometimes privileged by being given perks such as free water, electricity, gas or a monthly stipend and other perks. After approximately 400m births being stopped and the population growth becoming far too slow, the one child policy was no longer enforced after 35 years as the Chinese government started to realise the lack of the younger generation was a side effect of this issue (Retrieved Nov. 14, 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34665539). It was realised that this policy was doing a lot of unpredicted harm to the people. China is now recovering its population by removing this policy with hope that these side factors will no longer exist. Meirong Liu and her family are just one example of the millions of families that were affected by Chinas one child policy. Liu always wondered while growing up why she never had a sister or a brother. This lack of a sibling eventually made Liu feel very lonely at times and had negative side effects on her. Other people Liu knew where also severely affected by this policy, they had conceived a second child and they lost their jobs because of it; she also claims she knows people who had to get an abortion. To conclude, now that the one policy has been removed it perhaps might be better for China as it is normal to be allowed to conceive as many children as you wish. Hopefully this will sort out the lack of the young generation and cause equality among both sexes. In the years to come I believe China could be back to a proper functional country and have more stability. References: Nprorg. (2016). NPRorg. Retrieved 10 November, 2016, from http://www.npr.org/2015/10/31/453509914/how-familes-were-impacted-by-chinas-one-child-policy. New Yorker. (2015). The New Yorker. Retrieved 10 November, 2016, from http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-did-the-one-child-policy-change-china-an-interview-with-mei-fong. Economist. (2016). The Economist. Retrieved 10 November, 2016, from http://www.economist.com/news/china/21678006-small-town-offers-glimpse-what-two-child-china-might-look-now-two-child-policy Hartmann, B. (1995). Reproductive Rights and Wrongs: The Global Politics of Population Control. :

Friday, October 25, 2019

Why you should hate the Yankees :: essays research papers

  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‚  A father wanted to surprise his family of four to a New York Yankees baseball game on a beautiful Saturday morning. As the father pulls up to the parking lot, the family is excited at what they see in big letters on a TV screen â€Å"Welcome to Yankees Stadium† The cost of parking can range from 10 to 30 dollars depending how far wants to walk. The father decides to pay the 30 dollars, since he knows the two children are going to be tired after the game. The family gets out of their car and heads toward the stadium. The family enters the turn styles, and approaches the list of ball game prices for seating. Which ranges from 18 to 55 dollars depending on where you want to be seated. The parents wanted the children to have the best experience at their first baseball game. So they purchased four tickets at 55 dollars each, totaling $220 for box seats, which were located behind 3rd base dugout. As they get situated, the national anthem is played and the game is officially started with the crack of the bat. The family is cheering with excitement and the father notices that his children are lighted up with joy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The father decided that by the fourth inning it would be a good time to have a hot dog and a soda. In which its $3.50 for a hot dog and $4.00 for a soda. The family of four to have a hotdog and a soda each cost $30.00. As the game goes on and the Yankees are winning by 3 against the Diamondbacks. It is now the 7th inning stretch; the children asked their parents if they could get a hat or t-shirt. So the father bought the two kids a Yankees t-shirt costing $10 each and a flag costing $6 each totaling $22 for just memorabilia. The Yankees are in the lead by one point and it’s the bottom of the ninth inning and the father bought ice cream at $6 each totaling $24 for just ice cream. The father realizes that just to enjoy a Saturday day at a Yankees baseball game it is sure expensive and may only happen once a year.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

“The Metamorphosis” Expressionism

Expressionism An expressionist piece of literature portrays a vision of the real world through the author’s point of view. â€Å"The Metamorphosis† is an excellent example of expressionism. It shows Franz Kafka’s honest interpretation of the world. His endless fears from his life can be seen in â€Å"The Metamorphosis†. Two fears of Frank Kafka’s that keep re-appearing in â€Å"The Metamorphosis† are displacement in society and strained relationships with society. After Gregor’s metamorphosis he also is no longer a part of his human society and can no longer preserve his relationships with his family.Gregor’s metamorphosis symbolizes Frank Kafka’s every nightmare and hardship in life. Franz Kafka was born in a Jewish family in Prague in 1833. He wasn’t a part of the Jewish community whole heartedly nor was he a part of the German community wholeheartedly. He was out of place in society much like the main character, Gregor in â€Å"The Metamorphosis†. Gregor was an insect in a human world. Everything about him differed from a human’s. He went from a young and capable man one night to an â€Å"old dung beetle† (42). he next morning. A man can never be part of society if he doesn’t know how to fit in. How was Gregor to fit in as an insect? It’s impossible. Some might argue looks aren’t everything one can be an important figure in society and make an impact just through the power of speech. But Gregor couldn’t even do that. To everything that Gregor wished to say the response he received in return was â€Å"Did you understand even a single word? † (18). Neither Franz Kafka or Gregor were able to truly fit in their society.Another key component in Franz Kafka’s life was his strained relationship with his father. This is evident in Gregor’s life as well. The novelette does not tell the reader information on Gregor’s relati onship with his father before the metamorphosis. But from the astonishment of Gregor in response to his father’s actions and words the reader can conclude that his behavior towards Gregor was not always like this. No matter what Gregor did â€Å"his father was in no mood for such niceties† (37). This portrays Franz Kafka’s failure in ever making his father proud of him.Franz Kafka was the eldest yet he could not carry the pride of the family. Gregor has carried his family’s burden for a long time. In fact â€Å"he was hot all over with shame and sorrow† (30) when he thought of his family having to make a living for themselves. He had always been the provider. However he was never appreciated, yet another message of Franz Kafka. No one appreciated him in his lifetime. Therefore his character was never appreciated. They were both stepped on as if they were no more significant than an insect.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Compensation for Wrongful Conviction

Wrongful conviction has been something that has always occurred in the court systems. For many years, prior to DNA testing, there was no way to avoid this for some people. This issue has really been one that has attracted a lot of attention. There have even been songs written about the subject such as Bob Dylan’s â€Å"Hurricane. † Wikipedia (2009, pp 1-2) refers to this situation as the â€Å"miscarriage of justice. † In the definition it states that it is the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime which was not committed by the person. It can also mean that the conviction was sentenced in a trial that was found to be unfair or a trial which had been disputed. Although wrongful convictions still do occur there are a lot of resources that are put into place so that this does not happen any more. These things have been added in order to assist the overall justice system in being able to modify issues and in being able to utilize the best and most solid convictions in order to alleviate the issues that have occurred in the past with wrongful convictions. Some have even believed that there is something that is essentially wrong with the process of the current justice system (Westervelt and Humphrey 2001 Chapter 1). There are many different theories as to why wrongful conviction has become so prevalent in the modern day society when with the advancement of technology one could argue that wrongful convictions should lessen. A lot of these issues have to do with the attitudes towards crimes and the overall attitudes of law enforcement as well as the public perception of violent criminals. The issues are that there are a lot of violent crimes that occur in society. When law enforcement is unable to find a conviction the public outcry is heard and there are a lot of problems with respect for law enforcement and the overall feeling of safety of those who are living in the society. There is then an outcry for someone to pay for the crimes that have been committed. These are especially heard when the crimes have to do with rape or murder as these violent crimes are thought to be worse than some other crimes. Law enforcement’s answer is find someone to blame the crime on in order to be able to modify how they are looked at by those in society who matter, the general public. Sadly in today’s society it is often not whether or not the right person is behind bars that give reassurance but rather it is whether or not someone is paying for the crime which has been committed. The public should be aware that the outcries and over-involvement in the catching of violent criminals has lead to the wrongful conviction of many people and that therefore it will continue to lead to wrongful conviction until there is a public outcry for justice and the involvement to find the right criminal for the crime. There are many different situations in which wrongful conviction could apply. One such situation would be where someone is not charged however they are still arrested and detained for a crime which they did not commit. Also there are the problems with someone who has charges dropped prior to trial after being detained and charged for a crime which was not committed by the person. A third way that someone could be wrongly convicted is if he/she is denied bail but then they are tried and aquitted. Some other reasons behind wrongful convictions are those who are able to have a conviction overturned on appeal but yet they have still been convicted. Another one is that the person could have been sentenced after being convicted of another crime prior to when the appeal for which they were originally arrested was heard. Finally the last reason for wrongful conviction is that there is the person who has been able to be pardoned from a crime which they are found ot be convicted of or they are able to have the conviction overturned in an appeal after having served time from the initial conviction (Hoel 2008, pp 1). The issues of wrongful conviction do not just cause problems for those who have been wrongly convicted but also for those who are working in the justice system. Judge Learned Hand once stated that he felt that he was in some sense followed by the fear that he had sentenced or convicted someone of a crime for which they did not commit. This judge recognizes that at times things are not done right and he too agonizes over the thought that he will condemn someone to an unfair fate for a crime that he/she did not commit. The criminal justice system does take precautions and they do attempt to not have these types of problems however at times they seem almost unavoidable. In the book, Presumed Guilty: When Innocent People are Wrongly Convicted the author talks about the issues with the criminal justice system and their struggle between trying to uphold the law and trying to be as unbiased and fair as possible in not handing down wrongful convictions (Yant 1991, Chapter 1). There are many causes for wrongful conviction. Some of these causes are not as bad as they have been in the past as our culture has developed and become more open minded, however they have been prevalent in the past. The main reasons for wrongful conviction have been fraudulent results or evidence, errors in eye witness testimony, and discrimination whether racial or against those who have disabilities. It has been described that the unfortunate common scene of the wrongful conviction has been that the defendant is sentenced and that around ten years later or more he/she is proven innocent by DNA evidence. Later the victim will continue to maintain that the defendant was guilty and that their eye witness testimony was not wrong. In the end, this scenario continues to hurt the wrongly accused as he/she will continue to face discrimination as those feel that there is still a problem with them and that they are still guilty. These innocent defendants not only have to live with the sacrifices of spending time imprisoned but also they have to face continued discrimination from those who feel that they are guilty, therefore some form of compensation should be allowed to those who have been wrongfully convicted in any criminal justice system (Westervelt and Humphrey 2001, Chapter 1). Overall what can be taken is that there is a connection between the beliefs of harsh forms of punishment and the death penalty and the ethical possibility that one could be wrongly convicted and deserve to be free. Some other causes of wrongful conviction were discussed in Paul Craig Roberts’ article The Causes of Wrongful Conviction. This author tries to make a connection between the strong opinions for issues like the death penalty and issues with wrongful conviction. His remedy is to work harder at ensuring that there are not problems with wrongful conviction and therefore that there is less of a need to argue and fight over the issues of the death penalty. This author believes that there is a huge injustice in the wrongful conviction and that in the end it is this and not the penalty. This is meaning that the issue of wrongful conviction first needs to be dealt with prior to the other issues with crime and punishments of these crimes. Some of the problems with wrongful conviction can be traced back to the New Deal in that the government during the New Deal put the power for carrying out the law and setting up the law in the same government body and in the hands of the same agency which is one contributing factor to these problems. Some other areas where the laws have gotten out of hand are the laws that are pertaining to the freezing of assets. These laws were originally intended to be used against those who were associated with the mob however they were expanded and it has been common for them to be applied to innocent property owners on a regular basis (Roberts 2003, pp 567-570). For some things, like fingerprinting, it is often thought that there can not be mistakes and that they can not lead to wrongful conviction however at times this could be wrong. The problems that can occur with fingerprinting leading to a wrongful conviction are very rare and for a long time were thought to be non-existent. In 2004, Stephen Cowans was found innocent from his crime by DNA evidence and it was the evidence of fingerprinting that had led to his conviction in the first place. In this case it was the mislabeling of a card with his fingerprints that led to his arrest and conviction. When ran through various tests and attempts through research on this topic it was not uncommon to have a few mistakes. The problem with this is that there were only false positives in this area (Cole 206, pp 39-50). At this time there are few resources available for those who have been wrongly convicted. There has been a lot of commentary for hundreds of years about how wrong it is for someone who is innocent to be convicted for a crime which he/she did not commit. This can be evidenced through quotations like those from Voltaire in 1774, stating â€Å"It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn and innocent one,† or Sir William Blackstone, who stated â€Å"It is better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent suffer. Yet, even with all of this information and the strong political views that have been prevalent for hundreds of years there still seems to be a problem with the justice system and one in which innocent people are convicted as guilty on a regular basis. During the 1980’s and 1990’s it became prevalent in American society that attention was drawn to cases where those who were innocent were â€Å"severely punished. † Take for instanc e the case of Isidore Zimmerman who had been wrongly convicted and served twenty four years for a crime which he did not commit. This man chose to fight for compensation and it took yet another twenty years of him fighting in order to be awarded $1 million in compensation for the damages that being wrongly imprisoned for twenty four years had caused. Sadly, this man died just four months after winning his fight. One of the largest problems with these types of cases is the fact that the victims (those who have been wrongly imprisoned) do not have a set standard of compensation which should be available to them as their lives have truly been ruined by some type of mistake in our justice system (Huff, Rattner, and Sagarin 1996, Chapter 1). The tragedy here is that this man had to fight his whole life, fight for his rights and to not be sentenced for a crime which he did not commit, fight to get out of jail and then fight for the right to compensation after his life was ruined by a wrong conviction. The people who have been wrongly convicted for various reasons have a voice and deserve to be heard on this topic and it is something that greatly affected them and continues to affect them on a daily basis. Take for instance the case of Kenny Adams who was wrongly convicted based on the fact that he had been wrongly identified. This man was bitter and angry at what he felt was a failed justice system and he was thought to be uncooperative by authorities and those who were in charge of sentencing him as he had maintained his innocence and refused to take any plea bargains which could have greatly reduced the time that he spent in jail. This man was innocent and later proven innocent by DNA evidence however he spent some of the best years of his life wasting away in one of the worst prisons in our country. He spent his time in a prison that was known for breaking down the hardest criminals and all the while he maintained his innocence and pushed through to finding a way to prove that he had been innocent. One of the main reasons that he was convicted was based on the fact that he was an African American male and there was eyewitness testimony that put three African American males and one Mexican male in the area where a young couple was raped and murdered. Maybe perhaps these were the crimes that Dr Martin Luther King Jr. as talking about in the summer of 1963 when he stated that one of his dreams was that his children could live in a country where they would not be judged by the color of their skin but rather by who they were as a person (Ciolino 2005, Chapter 1). It is still hard to imagine that there continues to be discrimination based on someone’s race in a world that is so integrated as the world today. Another case of wrongful conviction based on discrimination is that of Marion Coakley. This man was severely mentally retarded and had been convicted of rape. He was unable to cooperate or thrive in the prison setting as he was unable to understand the expectations and why the expectations were expected of him. Therefore he was in trouble a lot and was put into isolation cells and other various forms of punishment for his inability to cooperate. He had a lot of problems with basic comprehension and understanding. Marion also had a lot of built up anger in being convicted of a crime which he did not commit. He was frequently moved between various prisons and within a twenty four month period he had been moved a total of eight times. He talked often about how he felt â€Å"railroaded† into prison as he did not understand how he could be punished for a crime which he did not commit (Scheck, Neufield, and Dwyer 2001, Chapter 1). In this case it was an example of how one can be discriminated against based on a disability affecting his/her cognitive functioning. Another man who was wrongly convicted was Gary Dotson. Gary Dotson was wrongly convicted after he had been identified as a rapist by his victim. This man maintained his innocence and six years later the supposed victim recanted her testimony stating that she had falsified it all in an attempt to ward off problems with her foster parents if she was pregnant from having consensual sex with her boyfriend at the time. She claimed to be recanting to clear her conscious. The only problem was that after Dotson was released he was re-imprisoned when the judge chose to believe that the woman’s recanted statement was the true lie. Later after a national outcry the governor of IL released him still maintaining that he was guilty but saying that he had enough time served for his crime. Later it was proven through DNA evidence that he was wrongfully accused and convicted, however this was after having not only served time in prison once but twice and having to live outside of prison with the conviction on his record (Huff, Rattner and Sagarin 1996, Chapter 1). There is no current remedy available to assist victims of this tragedy. These victims are those who have been wrongly convicted of a crime, forced to serve time and later exonerated of that said crime but still having to live with all of the stigma and discriminations as if they were the criminal that they had been convicted of being. There are many different types of wrongful conviction however typically only those which are the most severe, the cases of murder or rape are brought to public attention. This type of wrongful conviction does not only deal with a specific type of crime however but there are wrongful convictions in all types of crimes. Some of the problems with there being no compensation for the victims have to do with the after effects of wrongful conviction and how this type of thing really affects the person’s life. There can be all types of issues with wrongful imprisonment and these include issues with finding employment, finding housing, interpersonal relationships and having the respect of other people. Those who have been wrongly convicted have problems with being able to find suitable employment as many employers discriminate against them. Not only do the wrongly convicted have a hard time with finding employment but they also have difficulty in finding housing. Another area where there is strong discrimination is in housing. For those who have been wrongly convicted it can be very difficult to find good housing as there are a lot of places that will not rent to those who have had convictions and even if a conviction has been overturned if it were a conviction for rape or murder there is a chance that the once accused might not be able to find housing based on this information. These victims also have a loss in their interpersonal relationships as this type of conviction can ruin a marriage and a family and at times the victim might not even be allowed to see his/her children even after the wrongful conviction is overturned. Although there are many more areas in which a person would be deserving of compensation for a wrongful conviction one of the main other reasons is that there is a loss of overall respect from others towards this person. This happens when the person does not get the respect that he/she deserves from people based on the fact that there are past convictions and therefore people discriminate against him/her (Huff, Rattner, and Sagarin 1996, Chapter 1). Part B. Wrongful convictions and the compensation thereof are all different based on what part of the world the formerly accused is living in. There are differences that are major between Australia, U. S. A. , New Zeland, and England. Each of these areas has a separate current trend in the compensation of those who have been wrongly convicted, however there are many other issues that are necessary to be dealt with as well with each country and simple solutions for each to find a way to compensate those who have served time for a crime which they did not commit. The overall goal of each country should be that there are a national standard and a set of regulations to determine the amount of help and the type of compensation that should be given to the wrongly convicted. There should be standards for this type of compensation and certain things should be taken into consideration as well. In Australia there has been a lot of research on the subject of wrongful convictions and the compensation for those who have had a wrongful conviction in the past. Some of the laws in the country are made to protect those who are wrongly convicted. In the country’s codes and amendments it is stated that there can be compensation given through victim’s rights and advocacy and therefore there might not be a need for a court hearing or legal follow up in order to ensure that the wrongly convicted are given the compensation on their own. In Australia there is right to compensation for these issues. The basic meaning of this is that there is a payment made without the legal repercussions or legal fight that would be required in other countries (Hoel 2008 pp 2-4). In the ACT (Australian Capitol Territory) there are specific codes that are used in this area. Those who are wrongly convicted have a right to seek compensation if one of the following is committed. These include that the victim have â€Å"been convicted of a criminal offense by a final decision of a court, suffered punishment because of the conviction, and had the conviction reversed (or been pardoned) on the ground that a new or newly discovered fact shows conclusively that there has been a miscarriage of justice. † The law does not have a set standard of compensation (Hoel 2008, pp 2-3). Since there are no regulatory standards in Australia at this time it is being questioned as to whether or not the government should set in place a set of standards for the wrongly convicted. In her article, Does Australia Need a Specific Institution to Correct Wrongful Convictions by Lynne Weathered there was a lot of information encouraging Australian government to take a stand and work towards an appropriate form of compensation for those who are wrongly convicted in the country. This article compares the systems and regulations in place in Australia with other countries (Weathered 2007, pp 179-186). Not only has the country of Australia been working on creating a system in place for those who are wrongly convicted but also the United States of America has been working on these issues as well in regards to how they affect the country. In the United States of America there are a lot of different factors that are been looked at in the idea of compensation for those who are wrongly convicted. Some states are working harder than others in the fight for restoring rights to those who have been wrongly convicted. One of these states is Illinois. In this state the state legislative bodies just passed a law where there is no requirement for a wait or a court trial for a pardon in wrongful conviction cases. This means that these victims are instantly pardoned from these issues and that there is an encouragement for these victims that were not there before. This new law allows for those who are wrongly convicted to be able to apply for their certificates of innocence at a circuit clerk’s office anywhere in the state rather than having to go before the governor and go through a governmental pardon trial. This was a celebrated victory for those in the United States and it gave a good format for other states and other countries in something simple that could be done for those who are wrongly convicted to be compensated in some way instantly without having to wait (Ahmed 2008, pp 1-2). Not only has Illinois made strides in working towards compensation for the wrongly convicted but so has the state of Mississippi. Another state that has really stepped up to the plate in ensuring victim’s rights when wrongly convicted has been Mississippi. In Mississippi it was passed into law that someone who was wrongly convicted and spent time in prison deserved $50,000 per year served for a total of up to $500,000. This bill was passed and justified as there were a lot of issues with the victims not being able to put their lives back together and with them having a difficult time learning how to live back in the free world again after being imprisoned and having to deal with the issues of their imprisonment (Newsome 2009, pp 1). There have been many articles and papers written on the topic of compensation for wrongful conviction in the United States however it is apparent that there needs to be more follow up incentives and better standards for the nation as a whole as a lot of the strides are on a state level rather than a national level. In her article Louise Radnofsky discusses all of the problems with there not being a unified decision among the states in the USA with the subject of wrongful conviction. She looked at cases where there was not unified decision and where the victims of the issue of being wrongfully convicted were not given any type of pardon or any help to overcome said issues. The overall standard was that these victims were not able to get any compensation unless they lived in one of the states where the compensation is available. In the end the USA should take control of this situation and there should be some type of compensation for those who have been wrongly imprisoned (2007, pp 1-3). Overall it could be argued that the United States is working on a separate state by state level to deal with the issues of wrongful conviction and compensation for the victims. There is still a long way that the country could go and nationalizing some of the state’s plans could be simplest way to putting these policies and procedures into law and helping those who need the compensation to gain it appropriately and simply. Not only are victims in the United States able to sometimes get compensation but also there are sometimes ways for those in the country of New Zealand to get compensation as well. Not only do major changes need to be made in Australia and the USA but also the country of New Zealand needs to make appropriate changes in order to rectify the ideas of wrongful conviction for those in their country. There have been extreme cases in the country of New Zealand where there has been compensation awarded to victims of wrongful convictions. In New Zealand it is possible that there have been awards made based on the amount of time and energy the wrongly convicted has put into being able to get compensated. However there is no set protocol and there have not been mandatory regulations in this area either. The cases that have been seen and heard which have been awarded money for compensation are all ground breaking and could eventually help to ensure that all of those in the country of New Zealand are compensated if they are wrongly convicted (Goff 2001, pp 1). Not only is there a stride being made in New Zealand for the wrongly convicted but also there is progress being made in the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom it is possible for one to apply for wrongful conviction compensation through a government agency that allows for them to be able to apply for benefits and services. This is done by completing a form and sending it to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. The decision is then made by the Justice Secretary as to whether or not some form of payment is deserved by the victim. This can mean that a decision could be made that there would be no need for the compensation and no right to it as well although it has been stated that this is highly unlikely in these situations. There are also some limitations and timelines to which the country adheres and they are strict so the victims need to know their rights and they should know that they must apply immediately to be considered for such payment (Compensation for Wrongful Conviction 2008, pp 1-2). It is unclear in the UK as to how one is supposed to learn about these programs and the right to compensation as it seems that it is not something that every wrongly convicted person has been aware of. There has been a lot of information available about the overall use of the follow up procedures and their ability to truly help those people living in the United Kingdom. In 2005 a lot of statistical data was published on this situation in order to the UK’s government to be on board for the Freedom of Information ACT 2000. In these reports it was reported that during the time period as to how many of the wrongful conviction applications were a result of HM Customs and Exise. These cases being more critical as they were entailing a lot more hardships for the wrongly convicted then other standard cases. The issues here include the fact that not all of the victims who were wrongly convicted were awarded compensation and not all of the victims applied for these compensation benefits so one could infer that there is not a lot of information available for those victims of wrongful conviction (Applications for Compensation Following Wrongful Conviction 2005, pp 1-2). Although there have been strides in many countries for those who have been wrongly convicted there is still a long way to go for them to be able to get full compensation for the hardships that they have/will face. The overall solution for those who have been wrongly convicted is a compensation to help the victim to be able to manage life on his/her own without having to face further persecution and issues that are currently on hand for these individuals. A solution for each of the above mentioned countries could be the same. It would a standardized form of follow through. There should be instant proof of one’s innocence and there should be public recants of the crimes which they were wrongly convicted for. The victim’s records should be cleared and it should be safe for them to apply for employment or housing with the persecution that would be there if they were to still have the conviction and the issues associated with it held over their heads. Another thing that needs to be done is a monetary settlement. This monetary settlement should include money for their time served in order to compensate in some way for the life that was lost while these victims were behind bars. Some of the worst parts of wrongful conviction are that the wrongly convicted are typically convicted of the worst crimes, that being the crimes of rape or murder. These wrongly convicted are then required to work out a plan for how they are to get their life back on track after having had mostly everything taken from them in an act of vigilantism on the part of law enforcement and the people in the community. This is often very hard for these wrongly convicted and wrongly accused as this past will undoubtedly follow them. Whether or not they had nothing to do with the crime the stigmas and the negative opinions of others will continue until there is some type of law in place to help assume the responsibility for helping these victims to be able to get back on their feet and no longer be wrongly subjected to these forms of harm and oppression. There needs to be a set standard for compensations and programs in place to help the wrongly convicted to be able to better their lives and themselves.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Major General Joseph Hooker in the Civil War

Major General Joseph Hooker in the Civil War Born November 13, 1814, at Hadley, MA, Joseph Hooker was the son of local store owner Joseph Hooker and Mary Seymour Hooker. Raised locally, his family came from old New England stock and his grandfather had served as a captain during the American Revolution. After receiving his early education at Hopkins Academy, he decided to pursue a military career. With the assistance of his mother and his teacher, Hooker was able to gain the attention of Representative George Grennell who provided an appointment to the United State Military Academy. Arriving at West Point in 1833, Hookers classmates included Braxton Bragg, Jubal A. Early, John Sedgwick, and John C. Pemberton. Advancing through the curriculum, he proved an average student and graduated four years later ranked 29th in a class of 50. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 1st US Artillery, he was sent to Florida to fight in the Second Seminole War. While there, the regiment took part in several minor engagements and had to endure challenges from the climate and environment. Mexico With the beginning of the Mexican-American War in 1846, Hooker was assigned to the staff of Brigadier General Zachary Taylor. Taking part in the invasion of northeast Mexico, he received a brevet promotion to captain for his performance at the Battle of Monterrey. Transferred to the army of Major General Winfield Scott, he took part in the siege of Veracruz and the campaign against Mexico City. Again serving as a staff officer, he consistently displayed coolness under fire. In the course of the advance, he received additional brevet promotions to major and lieutenant colonel. A handsome young officer, Hooker began to develop a reputation as a ladies man while in Mexico and was often referred to as the Handsome Captain by the locals. Between the Wars In the months after the war, Hooker had a falling out with Scott. This was the result of Hooker supporting Major General Gideon Pillow against Scott at the formers court-martial. The case saw Pillow accused of insubordination following refusal to revise exaggerated after-action reports and then sending letters to the New Orleans Delta. As Scott was the US Armys senior general, Hookers actions had long-term negative consequences for his career and he left the service in 1853. Settling in Sonoma, CA, he began working as a developer and farmer. Overseeing 550-acre farm, Hooker grew cordwood with limited success. Increasingly unhappy with these pursuits, Hooker turned to drinking and gambling. He also tried his hand at politics but was defeated in an attempt to run for the state legislature. Tired of civilian life, Hooker applied to Secretary of War John B. Floyd in 1858 and asked to be reinstated as a lieutenant colonel. This request was denied and his military activities were limited to a colonelcy in the California militia. An outlet for his military aspirations, he oversaw its first encampment in Yuba County. The Civil War Begins With the outbreak of the Civil War, Hooker found himself lacking the money to travel east. Staked by a friend, he made the trip and immediately offered his services to the Union. His initial efforts were rebuffed and he was forced to watch the First Battle of Bull Run as a spectator. In the wake of the defeat, he wrote an impassioned letter to President Abraham Lincoln and was appointed as a brigadier general of volunteers in August 1861. Quickly moving from brigade to division command, he aided Major General George B. McClellan in organizing the new Army of the Potomac. With the beginning of the Peninsula Campaign in early 1862, he commanded the 2nd Division, III Corps. Advancing up the Peninsula, Hookers division took part in the Siege of Yorktown in April and May. During the siege, he earned a reputation for looking after his men and seeing to their welfare. Performing well at the Battle of Williamsburg on May 5, Hooker was promoted to major general effective that date though he felt slighted by his superiors after action report.   Fighting Joe It was during his time on the Peninsula that Hooker earned the nickname Fighting Joe. Disliked by Hooker who thought it made him sound like a common bandit, the name was the result of a typographical error in a Northern newspaper. Despite the Union reverses during the Seven Days Battles in June and July, Hooker continued shine on the battlefield. Transferred north to Major General John Popes Army of Virginia, his men took part in the Union defeat at Second Manassas in late August. On September 6, he was given command of III Corps, which was redesignated I Corps six days later. As General Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia moved north into Maryland, it was pursued by Union troops under McClellan. Hooker first led his corps in battle on September 14 when it fought well at South Mountain. Three days later, his men opened the fighting at the Battle of Antietam and engaged Confederate troops under Major General Thomas Stonewall Jackson. In the course of the fighting, Hooker was wounded in the foot and had to be taken from the field. Recovering from his wound, he returned to the army to find that Major General Ambrose Burnside had replaced McClellan. Given command of a Grand Division consisting of III and V Corps, his men took heavy losses that December at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Long a vocal critic of his superiors, Hooker relentlessly attacked Burnside in the press and in the wake of the latters failed Mud March in January 1863 these intensified. Though Burnside intended to remove his adversary, he was prevented from doing so when he himself was relieved by Lincoln on January 26. In Command To replace Burnside, Lincoln turned to Hooker due to his reputation for aggressive fighting and chose to overlook the generals history of outspokenness and hard living. Assuming command of the Army of the Potomac, Hooker worked tirelessly to improve the conditions for his men and improve morale. These were largely successful and he was well-liked by his soldiers. Hookers plan for the spring called for a large-scale cavalry raid to disrupt the Confederate supply lines while he took the army on a sweeping flanking march to strike Lees position at Fredericksburg in the rear. While the cavalry raid was largely a failure, Hooker succeeded in surprising Lee and gained an early advantage in the Battle of Chancellorsville. Though successful, Hooker began to lose his nerve as the battle continued and assumed an increasingly defensive posture. Taken in the flank by an audacious attack by Jackson on May 2, Hooker was forced back. The next day, at the height of the fighting, he was injured when the pillar he was leaning against was struck by a cannonball. Initially knocked unconscious, he was incapacitated most of the day but refused to cede command. Recovering, he was compelled to retreat back across the Rappahannock River. Having defeated Hooker, Lee began moving north to invade Pennsylvania. Directed to screen Washington and Baltimore, Hooker followed though he first suggested a strike on Richmond. Moving north, he got into a dispute over defensive arrangements at Harpers Ferry with Washington and impulsively offered his resignation in protest. Having increasingly lost confidence in Hooker, Lincoln accepted and appointed Major General George G. Meade to replace him. Meade would lead the army to victory at Gettysburg a few days later. Goes West In the wake of Gettysburg, Hooker was transferred west to the Army of the Cumberland along with the XI and XII Corps. Serving under Major General Ulysses S. Grant, he quickly regained his reputation as an effective commander at the Battle of Chattanooga. During these operations, his men won the Battle of Lookout Mountain on November 23 and took part in the larger fighting two days later. In April 1864, XI and XII Corps were consolidated into XX Corps under Hookers command. Serving in the Army of the Cumberland, XX Corps performed well during Major General William T. Shermans drive against Atlanta. On July 22, the commander of the Army of the Tennessee, Major General James McPherson, was killed at the Battle of Atlanta and replaced by Major General Oliver O. Howard. This incensed Hooker as he was senior and blamed Howard for the defeat at Chancellorsville. Appeals to Sherman were in vain and Hooker asked to be relieved. Departing Georgia, he was given command of the Northern Department for the remainder of the war. Later Life Following the war, Hooker remained in the army. He retired in 1868 as a major general after suffering a stroke that left him partially paralyzed. After spending much of his retired life around New York City, he died on October 31, 1879, while visiting Garden City, NY. He was buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in his wifes, Olivia Groesbeck, hometown of Cincinnati, OH. Though known for his hard drinking and wild lifestyle, the magnitude of Hookers personal escapades is a subject of much debate among his biographers.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Natural Disaster Hazard Assessment Essays

Natural Disaster Hazard Assessment Essays Natural Disaster Hazard Assessment Essay Natural Disaster Hazard Assessment Essay Hazard Assessment for Memphis, Tennessee Environmental Geology Hazard Assessment for Memphis, Tennessee A natural disaster is defined as any event or force of nature that has catastrophic consequences (â€Å"natural disaster†). The only reason that these events are considered to have catastrophic consequences is because people are negatively affected by these natural events. If people were not present during these events, they would not be considered catastrophic. The more people affected means the event would be considered more catastrophic. Tennessee is the 17th most populated state, with approximately 6. million residents (Infoplease. com). Within the state, Shelby county covers the most area, (755 square miles), and is also the most populated county, with approximately 927,644 people residing there (Infoplease. com). Shelby county includes the city of Memphis. Memphis is the most populated city within Tennessee with at least 645,000 residents (Infop lease. com). I have attached several maps in order to see different parts of the land. Map I shows where the county lines are located within Tennessee. You can also see where Memphis is located within the county. Map II shows the elevation levels of the state. As you can see in that map, Memphis is located within the lowest elevation levels of the state. Map III shows the rivers that run throughout the state. The main river that runs between the Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri borders is the Mississippi River. There are several natural disasters that I would consider to be threats to the Memphis area. One natural disaster that I would consider to be a concern to Memphis would be an earthquake. According to the United States Geological Survey, (USGS), there is an approximately six percent chance that there will be a major earthquake within 50 kilometers of Memphis in the next 50 years (Homefacts. com). The last earthquakes that had magnitudes of five were in 1976 and 1991 (Homefacts. com). The earthquake recorded in 1976 was approximately 40 miles away from Memphis. Looking at the sources found, I see that Tennessee has had its fair share of earthquakes, so I would say that another earthquake occurring in the area should be a concern of the citizens and government officials. â€Å"There is a broad agreement in the scientific community that a continuing concern exists for a major destructive earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone. Many structures in Memphis, Tenn. and other communities in the central Mississippi River Valley region are vulnerable and at risk for severe ground shaking. † (USGS. gov). The New Madrid Earthquake of 1812 was one of the most significant events in U. S. history. Topographic changes were noted over an area of 75,000 to 130,000 square kilometers, with the total area shaken being at least five million s quare kilometers (USGS. gov). Back then, the damage was minimal because of sparse population. Nowadays, an earthquake that severe could result in â€Å"great loss of life and property damage in the billions of dollars† (Cusec. rg). The fact that Memphis is the most populated city in the state, a small earthquake could cause a significant amount of damage. â€Å"By learning about the potential earthquake hazards in your area and by taking certain preparedness measures now, you can increase your chances of surviving an earthquake and minimize its dangerous and damaging impacts† (Cusec. org). There are many organizations that Memphis has in order to help citizens learn how to prepare for these catastrophic events, and what to do in order to survive. One organization is the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (R. A. C. E. S. ), which is a volunteer communications group that assists the Shelby county area. R. A. C. E. S. provides emergency personnel that can help with communications during local, regional, or national emergency/disaster events (Cityofmemphis. org). Another organization that provides help during emergency situations is the Memphis/Shelby County Emergency Management Agency (EMA). The EMA helps local, state, and federal agencies with response to disasters that requires a multi-agency/multi-jurisdictional response. The EMA has satellite links with the National Weather Service that activates sirens in order to warn the residents of multiple cities, including Memphis (Cityofmemphis. org). There are also things that the citizens and homeowners could do in order to minimize the damage during earthquake. Earthquake drills are a great way to help enforce the importance of preparedness, and to prevent panic and injury during an earthquake. Families should have emergency plans that lay out where everyone is going to be and where to reunite with one another. Keep a flashlight and a batterypowered radio in the home. Place large or heavy objects on lower shelves, and fasten the shelves to walls. And lastly, have a seven to ten day supply of food and water (Cusec. org). You can never be too prepared for any natural disaster, so being safe is better than being sorry. Not all natural disasters are threats to Memphis. Volcanoes are an example of a natural disaster that is not a threat to the Memphis area. There are no known volcanoes in the area that would cause any kind of harm to the residents of Memphis. Historically, there have not been any known volcanoes in the area either. Memphis is not located on any fault boundaries, so I would think that there would no volcanoes forming in the area any time in the near future. Hurricanes are a little more of a concern for Memphis. The western area of the state has the possibility of being affected by the end of certain storms. Hurricane Katrina is an example of this situation in which Memphis can be affected by storms not necessarily in the direct area. When Hurricane Katrina hit the U. S. in 2005, multiple counties in Tennessee were evacuated; Shelby County was one of those counties (Fema. gov). I would consider Memphis to be slightly concern about hurricanes occurring in the area, especially since the city is located at a low elevation. The lower elevation would be more susceptible to flooding. The government should have adequate warning of the hurricane, since it would most likely be coming from the Gulf of Mexico. I would also expect that the citizens would be prepared for hurricanes, since they are used to flooding situations. Tornadoes, I feel, are more of a concern than hurricanes. There are many more tornadoes in the middle of the state then there are on the outskirts. Tornadoes are more likely to strike open plains rather than in an urban area, like Memphis. â€Å"The reality is, very few tornadoes ever touch down in the city of Memphis†¦.. Nevertheless, tornadoes can and have struck within the city† (About. com). There have been numerous tornadoes that have affected Shelby county, but not nearly as many as the middle of the state. The last one that affected Shelby County, and had a high death count was in 1987, with at least 120 deaths (NWS Memphis Forecast Area Tornado Database). There have since been tornadoes that have caused deaths, hich is not surprising considering the amount of people that live in the city. With all the tornadoes that have gone through the county, there has always been a significant amount of damage. That also is understandable since there are a lot of buildings in the city. There have also been plenty of tornado warnings for the state, but not all of them affecting Shelby County. The last tornado warning that included Shelby County was on May 9, 2011. In order to be prepared for a tornado, there are several things we could do. First of all, avoid windows and seek shelter in the center-most room on the lowest floor possible. Use your hands and arms to protect yourself from falling debris. Also, keep some sort of identification on you at all times in case you are hurt or disoriented (About. com). Keeping identification on you is a good idea for every natural disaster. It will help emergency personnel identify who you are and hopefully get you back with your family. Tsunamis are another type of natural disaster that is not a concern for Memphis. There have been no known tsunamis recorded for Memphis. I do not think that there will be any future tsunamis in Memphis because there is no ocean or large body of water located near Memphis. The Mississippi River is near Memphis, but the river does not create waves that would be large enough to create a seismic wave. Even though tsunamis are not a threat to the city, flooding is a huge concern for the city. The Mississippi River is right near the city, so that would be a reason as to why the area floods frequently. The city is also at a low elevation, which is another reason as to why the area floods frequently. There is currently an active flood warning in effective right now (Fema. gov). Last year, there was flood that occurred in the beginning of May. The Mississippi River was supposed to rise to a record level of 48 feet, with 48. 7 being the record crest in 1937. More than 1,300 homes were ordered to evacuate and nearly 400 people were living in shelters. According to an article on abcnews. com, the most extensive damage occurred in Memphis, where â€Å"entire neighborhoods have been swallowed by the water and vehicles completely submerged† (Tanglao, â€Å"Memphis Flooding†). Since this obviously happens frequently, the citizens and government have ideas of what the levees can hold, and what the river’s maximum water level is. To prepare for flooding situations, there are certain things the government should tell their residents in order to make sure they are safe. They must send out warnings letting people know when and if the water level is high enough to go over the lands limits. In Memphis, the government should be able to accurately know when and if the Mississippi River has reached its maximum, and if people should evacuate their homes. As a resident, you should also be aware of what is going on in your community and know about the town’s emergency plans. You should also have sump pumps with back-up power in order to prevent contamination of the flooded water. Turn off all utilities at the main power switch in order to prevent electrocution. Fill bathtubs, sinks, and soda bottles with clean water, so you have water to drink that is not contaminated. You should also have water bottles and a food supply that will last a couple of days (Bt. cdc. gov). On the opposite end of the spectrum, wildfires are another example of a non-threat to Memphis. There are no forests in Memphis because it is a highly urban area with lots of people and buildings. The last wildfire reported in Memphis was in 1952, when there was a serious drought (Tnema. org). Even though there was that wildfire many years ago, I do not think that there is a serious threat to Memphis for another wildfire. Lastly, I also think that there is not a threat for extreme winter conditions to occur in Memphis. The last warning for some sort of winter conditions for Shelby County was in February 1992 (Fema. gov). Even though that was not too long ago, I still feel like there is not a huge concern for extreme winter conditions to occur any time soon again. Since Memphis is further south, they do not really get harsh winters like we do here in Pennsylvania. Memphis Tennessee has its fair share of natural disasters. They have to be concerned about earthquakes, floods, and tornadoes the most, while extreme winter conditions, volcanoes, and tsunamis the least concerned about. Every place on the Earth has to be concerned with natural disasters. Humans make the disasters a lot worse than they actually are, but there is nobody else to blame but ourselves. We get in the way of nature, and have to pay the consequences some way or another. Map I Map II Map III Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Natural Disasters Severe Weather. Web. 12 April 2012. Central United States Earthquake Consortium. Earthquake Safety. Web. 12 April 2012. City of Memphis. Emergency Management Agency. 2003-2011. Web. 12 April 2012. Federal Emergency Management Agency. Tennessee Disaster History. 26 March 2012. Web. 12 April 2012. â€Å"Memphis Earthquake Information. † Homefacts. com. 2012. Web. 12 April 2012. â€Å"Natural Disaster. † Dictionary. com. Web. NWS Memphis Forecast Area Tornado Database. Web. 12 April 2012. Tanglao, Leezel. Memphis Flooding: Mississippi River Nears Record Highs. † AbcNews. com. 9 May 2011. Web. 12 April 2012. â€Å"Tennessee. † Information Please Database. Pearson Education, 2011. Web. 12 April 2012. Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Wildfire. Web. 12 April 2012. â€Å"Tornadoes in Memphis: What to expect and how to stay safe. † About. com. The New York Times Company, 4 Ap ril 2011. Web. 12 April 2012. United States Geological Survey. Earthquake Hazard in the New Madrid Seismic Zone Remains a Concern. 3 August 2009. Web. 12 April 2012. United States Geological Survey. Tennessee: Earthquake History. 21 October 2009. Web. 12 April 2012.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Studying for an exam - Smart Custom Writing Samples

Studying for an exam - Smart Custom Writing Literary Analysis of the Unbearable Lightness of BeingThe Unbearable Lightness of Being is a book written by Milan Kundera and published in 1984.   It is a compelling love story, a must-read that is both touching and sad. This is a novel whose context is set in the late sixties up to the eighties in the communist run Czechoslovakia. It basically explores the themes of love and politics through an in-depth use of various literary devices such as symbolism, imagery and allegory. This has been widely discussed in here-in under the crucial theme of fate in relation to love. In evaluating the literary device of symbolism, imagery and allegory, the concept of lightness, weight and eternal return is well brought out by the German phrase ‘es muss sein’ which implies ‘it must be.’ Kundera explains the origin of the phrase as a motif from the Beethoven's songs. It came up when Tomas was debating after Tereza left him in Zurich as to whether to return to Prague. He phrases the term to his boss since he feels it is beyond his control, induced by fate and he has no choice but to follow Tereza. Fate, as a concept in light and weight, alludes or simplifies Nietzsche's ideas in ‘What's Up with the Title?’ in which Nietzsche alleged that people can attain eternal return and the burden of weight associated with it. Therefore, ‘es muss sein’ is highly relevant in this context since Kundera views Beethoven as a weighty person alluded by the ‘frown’ and ‘improbably mane.’ Further, he is one of the great loves of Tereza who is associated with heaviness and weight. Tomas learns about his music only through Tereza. Tomas feels that Tereza is part of fate and his ‘es muss sein’ and chooses to return to Prague to prove this. He analyses his relationship with Tereza on his way back and identifies six fortuitous events that precipitated their relationship, hence the reference to Tereza as ‘the woman born of six fortuities’ in the novel. This greatly worries him since they could be together by chance, referring to this as 'es konnte auch anders sein' rather by fate. This, is later challenged in Tomas’ thinking as illustrated by his musings on that if fate repeatedly points at a certain event, then the event must be sufficiently ‘significant and noteworthy.’ This is an implication that what happens by chance is a result of the need for necessity which is what is repeated further implying it belongs to the sphere of eternal return. Thi s further contrasts the lightness versus weight dichotomy since he further wonders that the events that occur by chance only once also have an implication. This struggle with the concept of fortuity is further illustrated in chapter five whereby Tomas deliberates on his profession as the narrator phrases: "He had come to medicine not by coincidence or calculation but by a deep inner desire." Kundera also illustrates ‘es muss sein,’ or fate by Tomas’ womanizing habits which he feels is an imperative enslaving him. After a night of erotic dreams and stomach pains, Tomas finally declares that Tereza is the ‘es muss sein’ of his love, though he still cannot control his womanizing habits. He finally comes to the conclusion that love lives beyond ‘es muss sein.’ Therefore, the dichotomy of weight versus lightness is well illustrated since on one hand, Tereza wants Tomas to give up his philandering lifestyle and commit to her but on the other h and, Tomas feels Tereza is in the realm of lightness since she is born of fate rather than compulsion. The literary device of symbolism, imagery and allegory can be furthered by the bowler hat. Kundera mentions that the bowler hat signifies several aspects in philosophy. First, Kundera explains that it signified violence against any woman’s dignity such as Sabina. From Kundera’s point of narration, the lingerie is depicted as enhancing the ‘charm of her femininity’ while the bowler hat, seen as hard and masculine, ‘violated and ridiculed it.’ Further, he depicts this humiliation as seen through Tomas who stood just stood beside her, fully dressed. Sexual humiliation in Kundera’s Unbearable Lightness is illustrated by both Sabina and Tereza. They harbor secret desires to be degraded by the men they have had sex with, For instance, Tereza wants the engineer to watch her go to the bathroom after sex, a desire also expressed by Sabina. With the iteration of certain words, the bowler hat can be therefore seen as a symbol of sexual degradation which contrary to the reader’s thoughts is voluntary and longed for by the women characters in the book. Secondly, Kundera explains that the bowler hat was memento which reminded her of her father. After the death of her father, she adamantly refuses to ‘out of sovereign contempt to fight for her rights’ or to have anything else except the bowler hat. Sabina’s relationship with the father is strained and complex. She feels that the kitsch or ideas instilled by her father during her childhood should be betrayed. She refused to fight for her inheritance; hence the bowler hat in this case alludes to her betrayal and desertion of her father. In conclusion, it is crucial to note that Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being is highly successful due to the fact that he is able to create an exchange between his ‘skeptical critical intelligence and his belief in the autonomy of his fictional characters’ (Andrews). The writer adopts a point of narration whereby he avoids all interior monologue and instead draws attention persistently to its fictiveness and the ability to display the characters imaginatively without resulting in soliloquy.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Andrews, Diane. "Critical Essay on The Unbearable Lightness of Being." Novels for Students. Detroit: Literature Resource Center, 2003. Barnard, John. "The Unbearable Lightness of Being: Repetition, Formal Structure, and Critique." Contemporary Literary Criticism Select. Detroit: Literature Resource Center, 25 January 2003. Kundera, Milan. The unbearable lightness of being. HarperPerennial, 1984.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Performance improvement in Public Private Partnerships Essay

Performance improvement in Public Private Partnerships - Essay Example Public-private financing alters the type of knowledge yielded along with the collaborative conduct of partners, with those companies in partnership cooperating 3.2 times more regularly (Mansfield 2009). The unique type of funding within the public-private partnerships indeed assuages capital constraints that in turn not only upsurges the financial feasibility of a company by augmenting the prospect of its survival, as well as increasing the company’s headcount (Fleming & Sorenson 2007). These outcomes are experienced during the mid-term span of the company since financing is focused towards certain innovative projects, which take a number of years to cultivate and market (Mansfield 2009). Through employing such underwriting programs, governments are capable of motivating companies to undertake basic technological projects. This augments a company’s aptitude to oversee the technological landscape, but also generate basic research competences, which enable prompter and mo re efficient recognition of spill over opportunities into more applied activities (Kerr, Lerner & Schoar 2011). The conversion of basic technological research leads towards commercialized technology yields from companies with the affiliated benefits to economic growth and employment is an objective shared by numerous policy makers as well as business leaders (Kerr, Lerner & Schoar 2011). The efficiency of an outstandingly effective financing as well as intervention model is seen in the efficacy of the Public-private partnership policy making. By specifically requesting potential private and public sector, associates to emerge and go through an appliance screening procedure followed with a cooperation model, which puts a heavy prominence on cross-boundary operations (Murray 2002). The company under review is adept to reap remarkably higher earnings over a transitional span in job progression, innovative output, in addition to cross-boundary teamwork, which likely will add to a worthy cycle of improved future productions (Fleming & Sorenson 2007). On a policy perspective, by affording public-private partnership financing schemes, governments can motivate firms to undertake basic science projects (Kerr, Lerner & Schoar 2011). This potentially aids with the unrestricted-rider problem in suitability, the deficiency of economic inducements for private companies to embark on such projects because of the incapability to seize all the remunerations from such rudimentary research. As a technique to help firms to stay competitive, administrations can deem this tactic as a hypothetically powerful policy implement (Agrawal & Henderson 2002). Governance Structures Insufficient governance structures have been revealed as causative factor for unsuccessful companies. The grave governance links, which rise in companies where technical-shrewdness, is at jeopardy and suitable dispute resolve needs to ensue (Murray 2002). The one influence for risk transfer occurring is effective governance system. Public-private partnership intricate transactions requirements generate an intrinsic need for precision pertaining to decision-making as

Friday, October 18, 2019

Physiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Physiology - Essay Example The reason is that at higher altitudes, there is lesser amount of oxygen for the body and muscles. Therefore, the excess oxygen will help avoid the early production of lactic acid and keep heart rate lower even when the athlete is working harder at sea level. (Smith, 2005) The trick to high altitude training is a process known as acclimatization. This means that athletes must give time to their bodies to get used to the increase in altitude, and decrease in oxygen levels in the atmosphere. For instance, when an athlete reaches, say 5000 feet, he must spend some days there so that the body acclimatizes to the conditions present there before moving on to higher altitudes. After acclimatization to higher altitudes, when the athlete returns back to sea level, his endurance level and performance is better. As the oxygen levels at higher altitudes decrease, there are a number of changes that the body undergoes in the process of acclimatization. Firstly, the depth of respiration increases. The pulmonary arteries go through an increase in pressure, forcing blood into those parts of the lung which are not utilized under normal circumstances. (Curtis, 1999) Along with increasing the production of red blood cells to carry oxygen, the body also steps up the production of a specific enzyme that eases the discharge of oxygen from hemoglobin to the body tissue. (Curtis, 1999) As we know, the air in the atmosphere consists of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% water vapor, carbon dioxide and other gases. This is the proportion of gases you inhale during normal breathing. However, 6% of oxygen is breathed out together with carbon dioxide and other waste products. (Science Fair 2003: Does Exercise Affect the Amount of Carbon Dioxide Exhaled, 2003) During exercise, the body needs more energy which is provided to it through the chemical reaction of oxygen and glucose. This, in turn, means that during exercise, the body needs more

Civic Humanism and the Sidewalk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Civic Humanism and the Sidewalk - Essay Example However, the two terms when related to â€Å"The Sidewalk† seem to crash in their connotations. Implications concluded in this article comprise the argument of the two terms that draw their basis from human interactions in society. This is evident from the way people behave while on a sidewalk, they seem to collide but are still heading to their destinations (Wiens 120). The author’s study was in the street where he observed the behavior of the people prior to embarking on meticulous analysis (Wiens 120). His observation was that sidewalk promotes and aids pedestrian movement, thus, this being the author’s main argument. He states that pedestrianism esteems highly public space, but not in the manner of aesthetic or enhancing democracy for citizens. Since its main concern is to ensure adequate array of people plus objects, hence, giving the sidewalks the effectiveness it requires. Blomley also states that pedestrianism may work effectively below the political radar and scholastic environment. In addition, pedestrianism is more evident in the urban setting where the streets may be of private owners but its essence still holds. This is despite the case where a political space might be in a park or any other venue far from the street but still in the urban setting (Blomley

Information System Security of a Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Information System Security of a Company - Essay Example The essay "Information System Security of a Company" talks about the measures companies should take against ‘social engineers’. Phones are the most dangerous tools that hackers use in stealing out information from an organization. Because of their skills in deceiving naà ¯ve people into revealing proprietary information, these hackers are termed as social engineers. They attempt to gain information by enticing people into simple gimmicks and taking advantage of the people’s trusting nature. Quoting an example of a real life case where a hacker manages to get a spyware installed on a Vice President’s PC, the author points out about the vulnerability of human beings and the ease at which any clever hacker can succeed. The hacker or social engineer first manages to get the contact number of a new employee from the HR department and then, pretending to be one of the vice presidents, he calls the employee and fools him into downloading a file on the actual VP’s computer. This does require technical skills to create the malware files and a sufficient amount of information about the organization and its employees, but the core essence is the ability to sound genuine on the phone and trick the other person into believing you. This method is very dangerous and using such techniques, social engineers can easily gain control of company’s computers and telephone systems and pretending to be company’s employees, they can even access company’s confidential information such as customer lists and financial data.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Writing 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Writing 1 - Essay Example the pleas presented were based on the fact that privacy is being eroded. Federal Court was moved in this regard in order to assess and specify the limits and scope of their working and check the nature of questions presented before the jury. By the end of the hearing, the court announced that the practices of National Security Agency did not violate any major civil rights or privacy rules majorly (LIPTAK). Prior to the recent ruling, a former case undertaken with this regard assessed the scenario and termed the working of N.S.A as obstructing the privacy and basic rights of ordinary citizens. The set of recommendations have come forth on account of response to the concerns expressed by Jeff Jarvis in a further response to the findings and decision made by the Federal Court (Jarvis). In one of the proceedings and case result the court termed the activities of N.S.A as that of one leading the country towards a totalitarian state outlook with no private life protection and privacy respect. In order and effort to make up for the concerns of number of citizens, a ten point recommendation plan has been suggested with aims of providing the N.S.A a working mechanism which will allow for a more transparent, efficient and little controversial working mechanism with regard to privacy and public personal life (Brand). For the purpose a Board has been brought into force with regard to the working of the N.S.A and possible definition of its scope and privacy breach protection. These recommendations include the following: The board advised the N.S.A for a possible redefinition of the identifying and then targeting a particular suspect action or individual. This will allow for a better understanding of the scenario with regard to the privacy protection. This part of recommendation largely pertains to the cooperation with the foreign security agencies and the American citizens monitoring who may be outside the American soil. This

Government Regulation of the Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Government Regulation of the Internet - Essay Example Since the cyberspace’s geopolitical demarcation is virtually erased, the question whether a government should step on the internet became in itself questionable. Given that with the issues spawned by the cyberspace are disturbing, that it now becomes an imperative to maintain an acceptable standard of behavior over the internet, it is questionable whether the government do it and will it bring good or disaster?This brings to mind the geographic relativity of laws. Laws are not uniform and essentially differ in each country while the nature of internet stays the same whichever country it may be. For example, laws governing e-commerce and speech in the United States may differ or may not even exist say that of the Middle East country and vice versa that the enforcement of cyberspace regulation may prove to be a challenge if not impossible to implement. Speaking against the government may be a crime in the Middle East and other countries but is perfectly acceptable in the United States as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution. E-commerce and the Anti-Piracy law may be stringent in countries such as the United States but may also be non-existent in other countries. Such, many concerned parties proposed to adopt an intergovernmental regulation to create a cross-border harmonization of internet governance policy for greater efficacy. This may appear good on paper but quite impossible to apply. As mentioned above, what can be acceptable in one country may not be acceptable in other countries.... For example, laws governing e-commerce and speech in the United States may differ or may not even exist say that of the Middle East country and vice versa that the enforcement of cyberspace regulation may prove to be a challenge if not impossible to implement. Speaking against the government may be a crime in the Middle East and other countries but is perfectly acceptable in the United States as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution. E-commerce and Anti-Piracy law may be stringent in countries such as United States but may also be non-existent in other countries. Such, many concerned parties proposed to adopt an intergovernmental regulation to create a cross-border harmonization of internet governance policy for greater efficacy. This may appear good on paper but quite impossible to apply. As mentioned above, what can be acceptable in one country may not be acceptable in other countries. Asserting one’s law on another sovereignty country is just out of the ques tion to regulate the internet. It will just complicate the issue more. There is however other interest groups that espouse the idea of self-imposed regulation of cyberspace conduct. Among these is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in the United States whose mandate is to develop a bottom-up consensus on the usage of the internet among the private sector. Though it differed in identity compared to that of the government, it still called for the regulation of the cyberspace by a broader consensus of different interested parties in the private sector. It is not coercive and is done by an initiative of the private sector who acknowledges that there has to be a set of acceptable behavior in the cyberspace to curb if not eliminate misconduct. For

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Writing 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Writing 1 - Essay Example the pleas presented were based on the fact that privacy is being eroded. Federal Court was moved in this regard in order to assess and specify the limits and scope of their working and check the nature of questions presented before the jury. By the end of the hearing, the court announced that the practices of National Security Agency did not violate any major civil rights or privacy rules majorly (LIPTAK). Prior to the recent ruling, a former case undertaken with this regard assessed the scenario and termed the working of N.S.A as obstructing the privacy and basic rights of ordinary citizens. The set of recommendations have come forth on account of response to the concerns expressed by Jeff Jarvis in a further response to the findings and decision made by the Federal Court (Jarvis). In one of the proceedings and case result the court termed the activities of N.S.A as that of one leading the country towards a totalitarian state outlook with no private life protection and privacy respect. In order and effort to make up for the concerns of number of citizens, a ten point recommendation plan has been suggested with aims of providing the N.S.A a working mechanism which will allow for a more transparent, efficient and little controversial working mechanism with regard to privacy and public personal life (Brand). For the purpose a Board has been brought into force with regard to the working of the N.S.A and possible definition of its scope and privacy breach protection. These recommendations include the following: The board advised the N.S.A for a possible redefinition of the identifying and then targeting a particular suspect action or individual. This will allow for a better understanding of the scenario with regard to the privacy protection. This part of recommendation largely pertains to the cooperation with the foreign security agencies and the American citizens monitoring who may be outside the American soil. This

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Learning contracts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Learning contracts - Essay Example mises are, so as to understand both the customers and staff and I understand the varying personalities of the different types of customers, for example, regular and non regulars, students and non students, young and old, fat and not fat and many more. Thus, I know how to creatively use my position in gearing the company to analyse and understand its customers. My social skills are above average as I have learned social psychology and given the level of my work experience which cuts across varied socio economic backgrounds, I have been able to blend this with my education background in this field to equip myself to be a professional. My goal is to run my own pizza company. To demonstrate that I have met the outcome, I keep records and analyse the customer turnover and customer staff relation, which show the level of impact I have on my subordinates in steering and motivating them and equipping them with the skills to deliver good pizzas and service. I do this by personally going through contents in the suggestion box and questionnaires among others. P1. Reflect on your performance during the work placement and on what you have learned, applying appropriate theories of learning and reflective techniques, and providing evidence to support your conclusions My performance has been regarded by my superiors as impressive, since I have helped them to significantly promote their brand name, while the junior staffs see me as a sociable and likable person due to my ease in relating with them and the customers. Carrying out my duties, I have applied my knowledge of Maslow hierarchy of needs to critically analyse and understand the company. I have been voted employee of the month 5 times in a row. T1. Operate effectively in the work situation, exercising behaviours, attitudes and work skills (e.g. communication, team-working, problem solving, motivation and self-management) appropriate to your job/role and work

Monday, October 14, 2019

Impact of Culture on International Business

Impact of Culture on International Business Doing business on the international plane presents many challenges because of a variety of factors which differ from one market to the other. These differences are basically informed by the environment of the host country, which is often times different from that at home. One of the environmental factors that present such a challenge is culture. Culture can be defined as complex construct that embodies a peoples knowledge, morals, art, beliefs, customs, laws and other capabilities gathered by a community over time (Clifton, 2004). The culture of the host country strongly impacts on the performance of a firm that engages in international business. Notable aspects of culture central to the conduct of international business include the social structure, religion, language and education. G4S, a company that has established itself in international business has had its fair share of challenges in this area. Social structure has to do with how society is socially organized. It could be looked at from the individual-group dimension, or from the social stratification dimension. Some societies consider an individual the pillar of social organization (Emerson, 2007). This is the scenario G4S encountered when it entered the American and most Western markets. The challenge here was how to instill a sense of teamwork among employees. It was an uphill task for managers who had been socialized to believe in the superiority of teamwork, as individuals compete against each other for results. On the Japanese market however, the firm found that emphasis was on group, rather than individual performance. Though this is said to be the driving force behind the companys success in Japan, it is vilified for imbedding creativity, and is touted as a stumbling block to dynamism. This, indeed, is a challenge the firm has had to deal with. Social stratification has to do with placing members of society in certain classes. There are those in the lower, middle and upper classes. Many times, this is borne out of ones family background, income or occupation. Those from the lower class only hope to move from that class to the upper one through a process called social mobility, which is in most cases done through education and job opportunities. When opportunities for mobility are suffocated, there is likely to be conflict between the classes; and in the job situation, between management and employees. Some societies have room for social mobility, while others do not. A country like Britain has less social mobility (Hill Jain, 2008, p. 66, 67). As a result, there is always simmering tension between management and workers, which the firm has had to deal with from time to time. When industrial disputes become frequent, the firm finds doing business in the country quite expensive. Such a problem is not common in America, where social mobility is easy. G4S operates in countries with various religious persuasions, which have an effect on its operations. In predominantly Christian (protestant) countries such as Britain, America and most of Africa, the spirit of entrepreneurship has helped expand the companys operations and profitability. Protestantism advocates for hard work and creation of wealth for Gods glory, but abstinence from worldly pleasures. Since the resources earned from working cannot be spend on leisurely pursuits, the only other option is to reinvest it in expanding the business (Hill Jain, 2008, p. 70). The Christian ethic, which is a cultural issue, is supportive of the entrepreneurial (capitalist) mindset. Doing business in Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia is rather tricky. In the first place, the Islamic culture frowns upon charging interest on loan. Doing business in such an environment has been very expensive. The fact that adherents of Islam do not work on Fridays goes against the practice in other countr ies, and managers found it difficult making adjustments. The Islamic culture also favors market based systems and when they suspect one is making exorbitant profits, however justified, the establishment begins putting sanctions in the companys ways. This has hindered the company from making maximum profits from its investment, which is the hallmark of the capitalist culture from where the company originates. There have also been problems of negative perception of the company because of the historical West-Islamic conflict, making the firms operations difficult. When tensions between the two sides run high, sometimes the companys property is destroyed, or its products and services shunned by customers. This reduces the companys profitability. Operations in China where Confucianism advocates for individual connections rather than the rule of law have also been problematic. Business ethics have not been adhered to, making the firm lose out on opportunities for lack of connections, refe rred to as Guanxi (Goodrich, 2005). G4S once lost case where a company that had breached a contract was left unpunished because one the companys top executives was a son to a leading politician. Though this would appear to be unethical in most Western countries, it is perfectly normal in China, as the company later came to learn. For the sake of survival, G4S has now been forced to recruit well-connected local executives, and to enter partnerships with local companys belonging to senior government officials. This is normal in order in China. Most of the countries in which G4S operates have diverse linguistic backgrounds. This has posed major problems, especially in Saudi Arabia, where most people speak Arabic. Expatriate managers without the knowledge of Arabic have found it very hard to communicate when marketing the companys products and services. This has forced them to attend Arabic classes so as to make them perform better. Most African countries with a multiplicity of languages also pose problems of multiple cultures, which call for extensive training on the part of managers for these regions. Formal education determines the quality of skill, values, norms and the general socialization of individuals. G4S has had problems operating in countries such as Somalia and Rwanda in Africa, which have no proper system of formal education. In most cases, the firm has had to rely on expatriates to fill top management positions. References Clifton, J. (2004). Culture and International Business. New York: Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Emerson, N. (2007). The Social Dimension of International Business. Beverly Hill: Sage Books. Goodrich, A. (2005). The Dynamics of Global Business. Chicago: Gift Book Publishers. Hill, C. W and Jain, A. K. (2008). International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace. New Delhi. Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited. Impact of Culture on International Business Impact of Culture on International Business In this essay I am going critically to evaluate the impact of culture on the International Business. Culture is a term which could be defined in many ways. All the people have different attitudes and perceptions so when being asked what is culture for them , the answer will always have different aspects. Despite the we all believe we have impulsive knowledge on what culture mean defining it is more complex. According to Kroeber and Kluckhohns research culture may be defined in more than 160 ways. Best culture descriptions that were found during the research are that culture is. Different aspects of culture help different people to find the best field for them. But theres a case when culture affects the whole society not only individuals. According to Francis Fukuyama the most crucial area of modern life in which culture exercises a direct influence on domestic well-being and international order is the economy. Although economic activity is inextricably linked with social and political life, there is a mistaken tendency (â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦) to regard the economy as a facet of life with its own laws, separate from the rest of society. The comprehensive cultures impact on international business might be found in every international company as culture affects HRM , International marketing , supply chain , operations management , corporate strategies and especially way of doing business. On the other hand cultures influence may be found mainly in values , beliefs and behavior. We can simply view three cultural differences across values , beliefs and behavior (see Appendix 2) The main summary about culture we can make is that when comparing different cultures we can define 4 key assumptions. Cultures are not homogenous. Within every culture there are subcultures . For example the caste system in India, working class culture. Also place of residence. For example Basque people , French Canadian. Cultural heritage and its interpretation are very individual, so we cant assume that two people from one country will behave in similar way or to have common beliefs. Separation of cultural issues from economic and political is complex as all three factors interact to influence views and beliefs. Defining the degree of differences between cultures is not straightforward because recognition of differences is a subjective issue. As the level of international trade and travel increases cultures become increasingly associated and the cultural diffusion may alter the significance of national cultures. As we saw that culture influences beliefs , values and behavior , its likely that the culture affects also the management style. The variations of what authorizes the management are not different in black and white terms , because theres a cross-cultural understanding of the purpose of doing business and the nature of management task. However there are differences of emphasis , priority and understanding which may create a variety of styles and practice. In fact the differences can be found by separating countries in a cluster. According to Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions there are four kinds of them which are used in order to compare national cultures. Individualism versus collectivism Individual rights and freedoms are fundamental values in individualistic cultures.  Special emphasis is placed on personal career and remuneration.  Collectivistic cultures are built on a foundation of values: harmony between people in the group, the priority of group needs and interests.  Hofstede concludes that all rich countries are individualistic and poor collectivist.  In societies individualistic relationships can be planned and either party to terminate them if they replace them with a good offer from elsewhere.  In collectivist cultures are characterized by relationships of moral and emotional nature. Power Distance Each member of the organization defines different levels of owned by him and other members of the groups organizational status, prestige and level in the organizational hierarchy.  Various are the rights deriving from the hierarchical level.  Subordinates carry out the decisions of superiors in a different way.  Use categories: gender, inequality, privilege, social position, status, power, etc. podchineiie  Studies of Hofstede put Asian and South American countries together with Belgium, France, Italy and Spain in the group of countries with a high index of severity of hierarchical position.  Scandinavian countries and the U.S. have low values of this parametyr, Bulgaria is among the countries that are characterized by the greatest difference between managers and subordinates. Uncertainty avoidance There are societies in which the uncertainty of future worries people, and vice versa.  For those societies are characterized respectively high or low depending on the experts in solving problems as small or large mode of individual consciousness to deal with them.Societies that do not take the risk and fear of tomorrow, develop pluralism of opinions and are willing to deal with individual problems.  In other societies, people are fighting for the future, they are nervous and aggressive.  They feel threatened by the world around them because they avoid the risk.  Hence the characteristics of the crop in their respective organizations: subordinates seek clear instructions and managers, preferring more rules and laws.  Bulgaria is among the countries in which people feel moderately stressed, are more conservative beliefs and value safety. Masculinity v femininity G. Hofstede defines masculinity as the extent to which dominant values in society are considered aggressive, pursuing the goals by all means.  The orientation is towards money and possession of property.  Cultures with a feminine nature, appreciate the relationship between people, caring for others, overall quality of life.   Dimension masculinity femininity is important to determine the methods of reasoning in the job, the choice of approaches to solving nl most complex tasks of conflict resolution.In Table.  5.5.  reflected the consequences for organizations of prevailing masculinity or femininity in the national culture (adapt. 3, 5, 12, 15 and 18). Depending on national cultures are formed organizational value systems and behavior.  Large transnational corporations are constantly confronted with the problem of national cultures, assessed the compatibility of cultures, predict the development of their interaction and assign them (incorporate).   So for every businessperson that is going to deal for a first time with a specific country can easily to look at the clusters (see Appendix 3 , fig 1) and to get an idea whit what kind of culture hes facing and how to deal. These clusters show that theres a level of cultural attraction between groups of nations so its easier to make a general understanding of management practice. But there are danger s of making groupings of countries. The detail of how people behave in certain situations must be discovered by own experience and discussions with people who have already worked with the particular country. Although having an understanding of a nations characteristics at a good level is very useful in international business because in different parts of the world theres a different management styles and because each of the main business factors are affected by the culture and cultural differences. When a company is creating its international strategy , it should consider where and what is going to sell , also to evaluate if the product will be accepted , because the future of the products success depends on the cultural understanding of the people who are going to buy it. For example for a company selling pork meat will be impossible to sell in Islamic countries because of the religion restrictions. Also staff should be employed in a variety of adequacy in the foreign locations. So human resource management need to be sensitive to any cultural need that might to individual countries. Similarly if a company wants to establish overseas plants , the culture and cultural difference can easily affect the way of production and content and format of any financial reports produced to report the firms performance. Its important to look how culture affects the operations management , international marketing , human resource management and finance functions. Impact of culture on International Marketing Its clear that the cultural differences across the world offers not only challenges but also opportunities for the international marketing. When being on a business trip its interesting to face products and facts that might be regarded as strange . For example advertisements of well-known brands completely different than those ones at home , or even opening hours for shops. All of those simple facts are of a great importance for marketing managers and pose potential threats for them when developing a strategy. When a company which is going to expand overseas is developing its strategy there are four alternatives for it: selling the product without changes on international markets. modifying products for different countries or regions. developing new products for foreign markets. incorporating all differences in a single product and introducing a global product Having categorized cultural groupings and cultural characteristics , managers are able to seek new overseas markets to expand their firms , to sell more goods , and to raise profits. Even culture might be suggested as a tool for marketing segmentation because if the culture in the target country is similar to the culture in the existing markets , its a precondition that selling the product in the target country might be successful. Products sold on foreign markets are influenced by the local behavior, tastes, attitudes and traditions in each market. The Coca Cola Companys attempt to sell Diet  Coke product on the Japanese market was not successful because the Japanese do not  consider themselves overweight and Japanese women do not want to admit they are  dieters turning to products whose label specifies that. The company was forced to  change the product name in Coke Light, and the promotion emphasized keeping in  shape by consuming the product, and not losing weight. Goods intended for consumers are more likely to suffer changes because they need to be adopted to meet the customers expectation in the target market and to meet the economic conditions of it. There are many examples of international firms that adjust their products to meet the specific expectations of the overseas markets. For example, McDonalds was forced to remove their menus including pork and beef meat and to create menus especially for the Indian market. The company has also developed rice-based  menus in China, started selling beer in Germany, wine in France, and in Japan  the character Ronald McDonald was called Donald McDonald to be easier to  pronounce by the Japanese. Another cultural issue that is effecting the international business is the price because it needs to match exactly the level of economic development in the target country. McDonalds is an exact example of that. When McDonalds opened in India , the company wasnt forced only to remove the beef and pork menus but also to reduce the prices of all goods which were sold in the restaurants. But still despite the fall in prices recent statistics show that McDonalds in India raised their profits by 8,9%. Human Resource Management In every company the HRM Manager is in charge to care for recruiting and training staff , working methods and time. For every company dealing across the world , its very likely to have staff of mixed nationalities which could lead to cultural confounding. When recruiting staff , some cultures will apply more conducted approach. For example the approach will be based on accurate qualification for the job and also test in order to asses the potential ability of the candidates. Other cultures will act differently by applying more easygoing approach. For example this approach is based on education, personal recommendation or employer networks. A main concept that is also relevant to the HRM is Hofstedes concept of power distance. Its relevant because its related to mans attitudes to hierarchy and also the way in which this might be translated into different ranges of pay levels of the highest and the lowest in the company. For example in France which Hofstede defined in the Power Distance group , theres a great gap between lowest and highest paid employee while in contrast the more collectivist and low power distance countries the gap is much smaller. Finance In order a company to pursue its goals and objectives it must be ensured with sufficient funds. Also need to be monitored if funds are used efficiently and correctly , if financial performance is reported to then management and shareholders. These are the main functions of the finance within every business. But elements mainly influenced by culture are sources of finance and reporting practice. Sources that might be used for companies expanding vary between different countries , as sources reflect not only on the political economy of the countries but also on their state of economic and financial development. For example in countries as japan and Germany usual form of sourcing business is by having loan from a bank while in the USA and UK businesses rely more on raising money by selling equity shares on the stock market. In order to expand overseas , companies may choose to find the money from the host or home country or even from third country. For example, when McDonalds decided to open their first restaurant in Moscow in 1990 during the Soviet Union. The company has used a joint venture with the Moscow City Council. Despite all the funds came from the franchisor from Canada and the US headquarters , the deal was to pay to the City Council in order to be allowed to operate in Moscow. So the agreement reflected the Soviet/Russian political system where business and state a re closely connected. So its fair to say that the financial arrangements were partially influenced by culture. Similarly there isnt an unified approach for reporting financial results by annual reports. For example nations as Germany , Italy and France use continental approach and is heavily influenced by tax regulations. The reports information is designed to allow the tax authorities and government to compute and monitor the liability. While Australia , USA and UK use Anglo-Saxon approach. Its assumed that the shareholders are the main users and the information provided in the report allows them to asses the companys performance and their investments performance. These differences are of a great importance for international companies because when they enter the international market and build their branches they will be challenged to agree to the local terms and rules. Also the financial information from all the branches should be combined in addition to create consolidated accounts. Common practice for international companies is to create unified reporting system based on home countrys rules and terms. So then the international branches use this system in order to prepare their financial reports. After reports are finished then the local staff in the international branches reworks the reports in order to meet the local regulations. Appendix 1 shared patterns of behavior (Mead) ; Collective mental programming (Hofstede); A set of base assumptions shared solution to universal problemsâ‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦ handed down from one generation to the next ( Schein) ; The essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values (Krober and Kluckhohn)