etitioner Leegin Creative Leather Products

Petitioner Leegin Creative Leather Products, a manufacturer of women’s accessories under the brand name Brighton, entered into a vertical minimum price agreements with its retailer, which includes herein respondent, PSKS, Inc. Petitioner avers that such price agreements intend to encourage competition among retailers in the areas of customer service and product promotion. However, herein respondent discounted Leegin products below their prescribed minimum price. After being dropped by Leegin as one of its retailers, PSKS filed a lawsuit, arguing that Leegin violates Section 1 of the Sherman Act by engaging in anticompetitive price fixing.The District Court decided in favor of PSKS citing Dr. Miles Medical Co. v. John D. Park & Sons Co. , which held that mandatory price agreements are per se illegal under the Sherman Act. Petitioner, in an appeal to the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, argued that this rule was based on outdated economics and contended that a the à ¢â‚¬Å"rule of reason† is a better legal analysis. Petitioner further claimed that price minimums will only be held illegal when proven to be anticompetitive.The appellate court ruled in favor of the district court hence, this petition for certiorari. ISSUE: Is it per se illegal for a manufacturer to set mandatory minimum prices for its products? RULE: No, it is not illegal for a manufacturer to set mandatory minimum prices for its products. Section 1 of the Sherman Act prohibits â€Å"[e]very contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States. † This provision only prohibits unreasonable restraints in trade or commerce. REASONING:The Court reasoned that Section 1 of said Act outlaws only unreasonable restraints. It further ruled that the Dr. Miles case should be overruled and that vertical price restraints are to be judged by the rule of reason. The Court, through economic literature, averre d that vertical minimum price agreements are rarely anticompetitive and can often function to increase inter-brand competition. The Court further argued that instances where the price agreements are abused for anticompetitive reasons can be judged on a case-to-case basis under the rule of reason.In overruling the Dr. Miles case, the Court held that the Sherman Act must be treated as a common law statute, which should be allowed to evolve in courts as economic circumstances change. DECISION: The Supreme Court ruled for Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. The Supreme Court overruled the decision in the Dr. Miles case. It further ruled that in cases where vertical price restraints are involved, the rule of reason should be applied. I agree with the decision of the Supreme Court favoring Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. The decision in Dr.Miles was based on reasoning and economic assumptions that predate and conflict with modern economic theory. It was never shown in court that setting retail price minimums is anticompetitive. Further, retail price minimums have no absolute economic effect. In order to assess the anticompetitive tendencies of price minimums, the rule of reason must be employed. The Supreme Court, in the case at bar, employed the rule of reason in order to determine whether the actions taken by Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc would hurt the economy. Hence, vertical price restraints should be judged by the rule of reason.

Book Review Essay Essay

The three books I read in the holidays personally affected me in more than one way, not only inspiring me to achieve my goals, grow in character, overcome difficulties and become more spiritual. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma is a book which truly inspired me to stretch my imagination, dream further and to achieve my full potential. In his books he says, â€Å"The path to success is the hardest at the beginning, messiest in the middle and best at the end. † This one sentence is so true and ultimately defines reality. This has shown me how important is to strive towards your goals and that although we all encounter challenging situations in life, if we face them head on and grab the bull by the horns we end up reaping the rewards. Personally this has motivated me to work my hardest in my matric year and to work towards improving my marks, studying harder and doing the best I possibly can. One of the most important aspects the book taught was how vital it is to create a balance in life, which means in order for me to succeed in matric I have to balance my sports, my work and my social life in order to create equilibrium. Not only to live a life of purpose, but to have a full appreciation of each moment daily. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky was a different book to the others I read as the book almost pulled you into the story and you felt as if you were the main character and you shared all the same experiences. Chbosky showed me how important it is to spend time with your family and fellow peers and to embrace every minute you get to spend with them as well as dealing with situations which are not always ideal. One of the sentences in the book that stood out for me which was, â€Å"Even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there and achieve the impossible. † This taught me even if I make decisions or choices which didn’t work out, there remains hope for the future and I must focus on the present and not look back on the past. The main character was Charlie who was similar to me at the beginning of high school, like him I struggled to make friends in the beginning but as the year progressed I ended up with a few, close true friends. In the book he asked his L. O teacher for some advice and why it’s so hard to find real friends, and he replied, â€Å"We accept the love we think we deserve. † And this showed me how true it is to reality. We socialize with people who accept us for who we are, that help us grow and help teach us valuable life lessons Personally this prepared me mentally for the year ahead that even if I don’t achieve the result I hope for, I will move on as the future is the world of un-seen opportunity and surprises. A Survival Guide For Life by Bear Grylls affected me by making me take a look at everyday life and situations and how to approach them differently, as well how important it is to work and get along with others. This book taught me how important preparation is as this is one of most important keys to success, especially as organisation and preparation are extremely vital in matric. Grylls also illustrated to me how I must learn to work together and how team-work can make your life a whole lot easier. I learnt how important is to persist no matter how long it takes to achieve my vision. He inspired me to be a stronger leader and to live life more on the edge and that my dreams are reachable and mustn’t let anybody tell me differently. Each of the books I read had a different message for me and gave me insight into various aspects of life from the most simple things from making my life easier, to never giving up and striving to attain my goals, but the most important lesson I took away from the books was there are endless opportunities in the world and to never stop dreaming.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes Organizational theories Organizational behavior is a current growing field. The field is highly influential in business world. Organizational is becoming more important in the global economy as people with diverse backgrounds and cultural values have to work together effectively and efficiently. Organizational theory is a fundamental system in an organizational framework, whereby its complex dynamic goals oriented processes where it considers a general wider for aiming to model and design human organizations. In an organization motivation is the first key word that managers emphasis to their employee, there are many motivation theory in an organization, such as attribution theory, equity theory, incentive theory and emotional labor in organizations. The historical of organizational theory in an organizational, management has to have a perspective approach of its client so that its development in the field of targeting its goals can be reached. Managers in an organization as the task to make sure the entity of the organization is being recognized in terms of the products, social structure, technology, culture and physical structures and to make sure the product has power to attract and maintain the stability of the organization in terms of competition of other and in modern day to day life. Organizational theories also gives a better basic skills, to improve the attitude of the employees so that they can work and increase their willingness in learning new things on the job they do. Employees find that they perform better because their improve morale and self-esteem make them more willing and able to respond to challenges confronting them on the job. They also see the value of investing time and energy in continuous working as a matter of understanding and appreciation of their role within the organization, this is because of the theories of organization that enhance the commitment and willing of employees self faith in their work. In terms of management relation between its employees, not only have change among co-workers, it also have an increase sense of team spirit camaraderie. If the management increases its willingness so that they will come to a win solution, the management has to respect the employee’s needs, which have lead to the increasing sense of understanding and appreciation among the employees and the management. Organizational behavior has three major disciplines that has to be describe and taken serious, because it contribute a lot to the succession of any running organization, this disciplines are sociology, psychology and anthropology. This disciplines are important in organization because they future the cultural behavior of an organization, the cultural of an organization includes custom, rules, practices, beliefs, values, assumptions, norms, arts and skills, these gives an existence of and organization, how the organization works and how the work should be done. These cultures also relate the performance of all employees and give relation to others in the organization and to those outside. Organization does not work without power; it works with power of leaders so that the organization should have direction of working and fulfill the goals that are support to be implemented and to target the succession of the organizational goals. The organization communication exists despite the fact that the value of junior employees are given less opportunity to express their views and grievance, so that the power of the senior employees may not affect the growth of an organization. Challenges facing the organization communication As diversity in an organization grows, so does complexity of communication and the necessity to spend greater effort developing improved communication skills. Making the most diversity in employee’s coalition requires the commitment of all involved such as managers, leaders and chairman to interact with all management board so as to face the challenges of communication. This has to established and implement by the management so that managers has to learn to listen and invite others to be apart of the discussion. The management has categorically to give way of understanding so that their will be no misjudge of various people because of the ability of performance of work. The manger has to learn to communicate clearly and fairly. This all has to be adopted in an organization so that to give communication style to fit the situation. Both the managers and employees are the makers of the successful organization to be the best one to work in the world. The efforts of the employees should be encourage and be praise by the managers, that to give smooth ground of communication. Issues that employees abuse in an organization Many leaders in organization fail to realize that their attitude and behaviors are having a negative influence on the organization and the employees, which makes employee not to have healthy and good environment of working place, this makes the employee abuse the organization in terms of leadership values and ethics. Leaders bullying employees in workplace, this literally kills the employee’s motives and hard work he/she sacrifices in the organization. The working condition of organization such as mobbing, sweeping and collecting garbage it leads to employees abuse and also the payment condition, overtime, and leave this all encourages the employees not to perform well, thus diversity of communication emerges and later poor performance of an organization. Values and ethics in leadership communication The secret of leaders values and their ethic behavior should be visible in leaders daily in today’s world because the action you have to do makes you be the leader. Leader should have such values like ambition, dedication, respect, accuracy, improvement, enjoyment/fun and loyalty, this values help a leader to have good communication skills and flow of harmony to its employees. As a leader, ethics and value should define the character, this help a leader to lead and influence to others and make other people feel important and appreciatable. (Miller, 2005). Reference Miller, K. (2005). Organizational communication: Approaches and Processes. Thomson Wadswarth. Â  

Benchmarking Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Benchmarking - Assignment Example kinds of statistical data such as sales records and stock inventory management data in order to reflect what is really happening within a certain business, and, consequently, to assist those who have invested in the business or run the business to make important decisions regarding the business. The measure of central tendency chosen for this work is the statistical or sample mean. The sample mean is very useful in determining the likelihood of an outcome such as predicting sales patterns, this is very important in guiding the management at Books R Us in decision making. Some of the decisions to be made may pertain to investing in new technologies, reducing or increasing the resources allocated to the sales team at Books R Us Considering the data set provided pertaining to Books R Us and the need to know if the sales performance at Books R Us is good or not, the average sales made by the business in every schools in district, the average number of students per district, the average family incomes in every district, the average amount spent per pupil and the average percentage of families receiving welfare are some of the highly significant variables that ought to be brought into perspective. The measure of central tendency chosen (the sample mean) will be calculated for each of the variables identified above as critical in assessing the sales performance at Books R Us. The total values for each variable will be added first, and then divided with the total number of items recorded for each variable. The resulting means (for each variable) will then be used in sales assessment in at Books R Us through constant comparison in the following ways: Can help determine the purchasing power families have .Compared with the first two variables, this can be used to assess sales performance with regard to pricing of books and can be used to guide decisions on how books are priced in particular districts Can help determine the purchasing power families have .Compared with

Government Failure in Iceland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Government Failure in Iceland - Essay Example Laws on the ministerial accountability1on the other hand have never been applied in the history of Iceland and in general political accountability is not common. Public confidence in the government has vanished and it is likely that the only way to regain the trust of the public is to redefine public sector accountability. Doing so means to look at the nature of government failure within the Icelandic government and to understand how the entire political system directly or indirectly allows for leeway which often leads to lack of accountability. The catastrophic financial events that shook Icelands economy in 2008 have confirmed the necessity for a complete overhaul of the entire political system. Given the economic reconstruction that is already underway, it is of primary importance to seek renewed government system and to redefine accountability of the public officials. This may also play a key role in reestablishing the trust between Iceland and foreign governments. The initial aim is to analyze the specific nature of government failures within the context of Iceland. ... UK, France). 2. The proposed research Given the overall context described above the research proposal can be summarized under the following points: The initial aim is to analyze the specific nature of government failures within the context of Iceland. Parliamentarian processes and errors will be examined in order to comprehend whether the Parliament - as the heart of the surveillance mechanism which consists of three power branches - has some inherent procedural weaknesses that prevent it from both following and reacting the changes in society.2 Secondly, the question "to what extent the lack of legislative supervision and discipline affect the nature of accountability in the executive branch" will be addressed. 3 Thirdly, clear ideas so as to how to increase political accountability will be developed. In this regard the surveillance mechanism of the three branches of government will be examined in order to provide improvements of its systemic accountability mechanism. Potential changes might include: The establishment of an independent Investigation Committee every two years (with a constitutional mandate) that publishes an annual report on government's transparency, accountability and efficiency. This report would be include simplified version so that ordinary people can read it and it will be publicly available. The Investigation Committee would furthermore investigate whether the delegation of powers functions properly. The possible issues covered will include financing of the judicial branch and legislative discipline. Establishing a new role for the President, namely to oversee the executive branchs decisions in matters concerning the high public interest. Building a complete overhaul of the structure of the

Beats By Dre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Beats By Dre - Essay Example Due to the entry of new players into the market, the level of competition is believed to be on the rise, as manufacturers adopt more aggressive and market cantered marketing approaches to reach out to new customers (Breen, 2014). Beats by Dre is a headphone manufacturing line in the united states that has gained significant prominence due to the promotion and celebrity endorsements that it has acquired in the past. The company own the consumer can access significant patent for audio technologies and some of the music from online music stores. However, as a strategy to reach out to new customers and increase influence in the market, the company has collaborated with a number of companies including HTC and Chrysler (Doyle 2011). In 2014, Apple Inc. acquired the company through a cash and stock deal worth more than $3 billion, one of the largest company acquisitions ever witnessed in the headphone industry. In this report, beats by Dre will be discussed in light of its competitive market strategies and how it performed in the face of emerging small businesses. Porter five force analyses and Ansoff growth matrix will be used to evaluate the performance and prospects for the company (Johnston, 2012). The headphone industry has emerged as one of the most attractive sectors in 2014 due to the emerging interests from music producers, mobile phone companies among others. Though the industry is still emerging from low market recognition, the reputation it has gained in the market demonstrates its great potential and future prospects. A number of small companies have entered the market and they continue to rise above the stiff competition (Akoth, 2014). One such company is beats by Dre, a headphone company that was founded in 2006 by Dry Dre, an American musician. Through a well-coordinated market campaign and market sensitization programs, the company acquired dominance and respect in the industry. This attracted major

Cause of china's one child policy (argumentative research paper) Paper

Cause of china's one child policy (argumentative ) - Research Paper Example Thus given the situation, experts now believe that the system should be eased with the introduction of the two child policy as it will help in rebalancing the population and also relieve the people of the stress associated with childbearing. The one child policy in China, which was launched in 1979, was framed keeping in mind the social and economic consequences of rapid population growth. While family planning services were available in China since 1953, the increase in death rate resulted in a 2.8% rise in population growth rate by the 1970s. This expansion of the population was considered by some as a major strength for the country. This was echoed by several leaders such as Mao Zedong who believed that China would become stronger if there were more people. This perception prevented the inception of several voluntary family planning programs in the country (Potts; Kane and Choi). However the rapid increase in the population put a strain on the government which resulted in the incl usion of contraception and abortion services both to the urban and rural population in the fourth five year plan of 1970. While these policies helped to curb the growing birth rate the government set a growth rate target of 1% for 1980. This target was however, difficult to achieve and by the year 1982 the census revealed that the country had around 1 billion people. This resulted in the inclusion of stricter policies by which the government aimed to control the population rate to about 1.2 billion by the year 2000. This lead to the introduction of the one child policy in the year 1979 as many economic experts such as Deng Xiao-ping believed that the economy and living standards of the country would not improve with a growing population rate (Kane and Choi). The one child policy was implemented by the Family Planning Commission of China according to which parents in the urban areas should limit their number of children to one while those in the rural regions were allowed to have two children in case the first was a girl (Carroll). With the introduction of the one child policy the government initially aimed to achieve a growth rate target of l.2 billion by 2000 through elimination of the birth of the third and subsequent children within a family and also it hoped that 30% of the couples would be willing to forgo their second child. Many considered that sacrificing the second and third child would be vital for the welfare of future generations. Parents were urged to opt for a one child family by providing them incentives such as preferential access to schools, housing and health services (Kane and Choi). At the same time those with larger families were burdened with financial levies on the additional children by increasing their taxes and cutting down access to free healthcare and were also under constant social pressure that also affected their careers (Kane and Choi; Carroll). In larger cities such as Shanghai many couples had already opted for the one child f amily as the pressure for both partners to work full-time and the demands of growing household restricted urban couples to have a single child. The adoption of the policy in the rural setting was difficult as aging farmers and peasants had to depend on their children during their old age. As daughters were given away in

Marketing Communications - marketing strategies of C&C's Bulmers & Essay

Marketing Communications - marketing strategies of C&C's Bulmers & Magners Brand Cider - Essay Example Figure 1 below illustrates the Blumer/Magner market in relation to the larger business domain of beverages. Having identified the operating space for the product, some companies choose to target and serve a single segment out of the market by practicing niche marketing strategies while others choose several segments out of the market and offer differentiated offers. Some companies on the other hand do not segment the market but target the whole market with a single offering. Figure 2 below illustrates the different targeting strategies available for a company. Segmentation, which is the first step of targeting, divides the market in to distinct groups of buyers with different needs, characteristics or behavior. Next step of targeting involves evaluation of each market segment’s attractiveness and selecting one or more of the market segments to enter (Wisner 1996). In the case of Magners & Bulmers a niche marketing strategy is being adopted. Although segmenting can be based on factors such as demographics or geographic segregation or on economic classifications, the more sophisticated segmenting tools combine above factors with â€Å"Key Benefits Sought† (KBS) Analysis. These KBS are dependent on the alcohol content, taste and texture of the cider as well as the image factors. Table 1 below provides the segmentation of the cider market, which can be targeted by Magners/Blumer, based on â€Å"Key Benefits Sought† and further qualified by demographic, and Psychographics factors. From the above three target markets, the Magner is focusing on the Social Drink segment. In this category the product can effectively compete with mild and mid strength beers as well as wines provided the product image is developed to high standards. The Magner image has to change further to appeal to the sophisticated UK premium drinker category. The packaging still falls behind

DQ1 Comments NM and DQ Comments ST Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DQ1 Comments NM and DQ Comments ST - Assignment Example The federal government should create a universal health plan that provided service to all 310 million Americans. A non-profit organization should target athletes, movie starts, the doctors, and entrepreneurs that have income of over $250,000 a year. They would donate 20% of their net income to help finance the medical needs of uninsured people. DQ2) I agree with you that Mr. Hill violated his fiduciary duties. Companies can not use the money from one business to finance the operations of a separate business. Both companies are separate legal entities. He was so corrupt that he used his money to pay for expenses of his wives business. Illegal wire transfers of money were occurring on a recurrent basis. The owner had the board of directors on his pocket. They were like puppets brainwashed by Mr. Hill. The IRS should have been able to detect this fraud sooner because these people deserved jail time for their fraudulent financial activities. SEC regulations and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act were violated in this scenario. Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley was violated in this case study. SOX Section 404 mandates that all publicly-traded companies must establish internal controls and procedures for financial reporting and must document, test and maintain those controls and procedures to ensure their effectiveness.† (Searchsecurity,

“Everybody knows what religion is, and so, we do not need to define it.” Essay Example for Free

â€Å"Everybody knows what religion is, and so, we do not need to define it.† Essay The study of religion may be as old as humankind itself according to one author. Defining religion is difficult as there are many definitions as there are many authors. The word religion is the most difficult to define because of the lack of a universally accepted definition. Specifically the root meaning of the word religion can be traced to Latin. Relegare or religion means to bind oneself, emanating from the Latin religio, which is translated to re-read emphasising tradition passing from generation to generation. Douglas Davies says â€Å"some have simply described religion as a belief in spiritual beings.† (10). In the book The World Religion there is a suggestion of approaches for tackling the question of religion such as viewing it anthropologically, sociologically, through history, in a scholarly way, theologically and by reductionism. In this paper I will try and assess the definition of religion from aforementioned views and identify the problems of defining religion. James Cox states that in their introductory textbook on religion the American scholars Hall, Pilgrim and Cavanagh identify four characteristic problems with traditional definitions of religion; these are: vagueness, narrowness, compartmentasation and prejudice (9). The authors argue that vagueness means there are so many definitions that they do not distinguish the matter of religion from other fields of study. Tilich’s defines religion as ultimate concern or a simple idea of religion meaning living a good life (9). Living a good life is subjective to an individual since the concerns and values we have are influenced by culture and the community that we live in. The definition of religion may also be viewed as narrow by means of compensating for the vagueness. In most cases the study of religion is fixated on a certain field or line of thought. Hall, Pilgrim and Cavanagh use Thomas Aquinas’ claim that religion denotes a relationship with a God, thereby excluding non-atheistic or polytheistic forms of religion (Cox 9). Most definitions are narrowed down to religious beliefs such as Christianity among other world religions. In narrowing down the definition of religion it excludes other religions such as African Traditional Religions. Due to the fact that African religions lack most characteristics needed of World religions they are excluded from being religion. Atheism is a growing phenomena in the world that does not believe in a God, which I feel have its own belief system. Many definitions focus too narrowly on only a few aspects of religion; they tend to exclude those religions that do not fit well. It is apparent that religion can be seen as a theological, philosophical, anthropological, sociological, and psychological phenomenon of human kind. To limit religion to only one of these categories is to miss its multifaceted nature and lose out on the complete definition. The same authors by way of compartmentalisation explain religion in terms of just one single, special aspect of human life. This compartmentalisation reduces religion to one part of human life and ignores its relevance to the totality of human existence. They also argue against Schleiermachers’ definition of religion as a feeling of absolute dependence which might reduce religion to a mere psychological condition, (Cox 9). By compartmentalisation you are taking the part of the whole to be the whole, thereby reducing religion to one aspect of human existence ignoring the totality of existence. Religion is not just a feeling but encompasses the totality of existence in a human being his beliefs, culture and language. Religious or religion is not static but dynamic from one generation to another and they are ever developing in accordance with time and nature. Religion is not only a compartment in life of a human being but a totality, a large elephant it is huge and complex. Most definitions of religion may be viewed as prejudice because they are evaluative in process which cannot present an objective picture of what religion actually is. The same scholars argue giving the example of Karl Max that religion is the opium of the people which is clearly biased (Cox 9). A scholar by the name of Barnhart criticizes traditional definitions of religion identifying in them five issues in prejudice: belief in supernatural, evaluative definitions, diluted definitions, expanded definitions and true religion. In his argument, Barnhart denies that religions must not hold a belief in God or supernatural beings to qualify as religions. He believes that such definitions restrict the subject matter of religion and thus are too exclusive, (Cox 9). In the same argument he concurs with Hall and company call on narrowness of definition of religion.  In the same view disagrees with E.B Tylor ‘religion consists of beliefs in spiritual’ beings as too narrow. In asserting that religion definitions are evaluative in nature, Barnhart concurs with Hall that these definitions are prejudiced. He argues against Marx and Freud saying the ultimate concern is itself an evaluative concept imposed on religion from the perspective of Western philosophy. Citing Clarke’s statement that ‘religion is the life of God in the soul of man’ tells us nothing about either God or the soul thereby diluting the definition and affirming other scholars view that religion’s definition is vagueness. Compartmentalisation of the definition of religion can also be likened to what Barnhart calls expanded definitions. He argues against Russell who tries to expand the definition of religion so far as to make it seem an effort to seek comfort in a terrifying world. The argument follows that by trying to define religion as a way of expanding a list of what comprises religion to accommodate one compartment of human existence it has an opposite effect of diluting the definition rather than searching for consolation, (Cox 10). Lastly Barnhart finds a problem in defining all religions in terms of one religion which by definition claims itself to be true. He gives the example of ‘Religion is belief in Jesus’ or ‘there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet’. This clearly categorises the definition of religion are subjective (Cox 10). The example also clearly shows how exclusive some definitions of religion are and proves the earlier mentioned problem of prejudice against one belief system or being traditionally fixated on belief systems of faith. The problem of plurality according to Roger Schmidt religion is difficult to define because it is a collective term applied to a wide range of phenomena. The phenomena include beliefs and practices that all religions have in common. Closely related to plurality is the problem of culture as religion and culture are closely linked. Religion is a child of culture, which is a result of religion being found in a certain contextual culture, therefore, difficult to define religion in all cultures. Religion itself is dynamic the Buddhism of a hundred years ago is not the same today. This shows that religion is not static but dynamic.

Benefit of Technology Transfer to Developing Countries

Benefit of Technology Transfer to Developing Countries WHY IS THE TECHNOLOGY CONTRIBUTION OF MULTINATIONALS POTENTIALLY SO IMPORTANT FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES? WHAT FACTORS WILL DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THE TRANSFERED TECHNOLOGY ACTUALLY PROVIDES NET BENEFITS FOR THE HOST DEVELOPING COUNTRY? Todays world is divided no longer by ideology but by technology 15% of the earths population, provides nearly all of the worlds technology innovationshalf of the worlds population, is able to adopt these technologies in production and consumption. The remaining part, covering around a third of the worlds population, is technologically disconnected, neither innovating at home nor adopting foreign technologies. Sachs (2000) According to the new Growth theory of the 1990s, Innovation is the prime source of technological advancementwhich in turn drives economic growth. One of the prime motives of host developing countries for widely accepting and encouraging various channels of FDI is to absorb the technological spillover from the foreign country firms. The Hard Technologies (industrial processes, equipment and plant) or Soft Technologies (technical know-how, management ideas, marketing skills etc) (Dunning and Lundan 2008) contributed by Multi-national Enterprises (MNEs) are considered the main source of economic development and growth. When a multinational firm vertically integrates with the developing country firms, host firms they are forced to abide by the MNEs strict guidance and standards to ensure quality goods or services in the form of raw materials or upstream services. The foreign firms would guide and assist, both managerially and technically which would lead to improvement both in quality and quantity of service by the local affiliates. Also domestic rival firms enhance their offerings to keep in pace with the foreign affiliated firms in the market thus enhancing the host country firms productivity. The biggest US based retailer, Wal-Marts entry and rapid expansion in China has helped the logistics industry in Chinese market to climb higher level Zhu (2010). For developing countries to carve their niche in the global economy, they need to be technologically advanced. There is a possibility of importing new technology from foreign developed market, but this will cause a setback as the procedure would be expensive. Also countries will find themselves alienated from the advancement of technologies if they cant develop export markets Sachs (2008). This can be minimised to a considerable extent by MNEs trickle down effect wherein transfer of technological skills from developed countries to developing countries occurs through FDI. The transfer of Panasonics microwave manufacturing base from United States to China has led to the presence of 2800 Chinese enterprises to provide components for it, which has not only contributed new technology, but also advanced operations management techniques to Chinese market (Sinani and Meyer 2004). The risk factor due to uncertainty of new technologys results and heavy investment thwarts the developing countries from introducing any new technology from scratch. The argument in support of MNEs is that technology  is the quintessential component of economic development and demands a lot of investment in research and development (RD). Developing countries, however, lack both in skills and funds essential for RD, which has led to the deficient level of RD in  developing  economies. The host countries innovation can be stimulated because of the presence of MNEs, which would command resources necessary for RD. Hence host firms can save on cost by using the technologies which are already implemented and used by MNEs using Demonstration (by MNEs) and Imitation (by host firms) (Das 1987; Wang Blomstrom 1992, cited in Crespo and Fontoura 2007). However the patent regulation and challenge of absorbing the technological skills in the short term collaborative contracts makes the process very challenging for the firms in the emerging markets. The human resources mobility from MNEs to local firms also act as a channel of technology transfer and extension since the systematic training provided to these high-skilled employees is dissipated to domestic firms in the form of innovative managerial ability thus enhancing the domestic enterprises which would otherwise be impossible (Crespo and Fontoura 2007). Table 1: Summary of Spillover Channels of FDI (Blomstorm and Kokko (1998); Gorg and Greenaway (2001); Gorg and Strobl (2002)) The technology transfer usually occurs in a market which is imperfectly competitive and possesses no particular market structure. Since different developing countries would have different market structure, it becomes very complicated to have a generalized theory and model to find the determinant factors of technological spillover benefits to local firms (Mondal and Pant 2010). The results of empirical study by various researchers act as an alternative to analyse the net benefits of technology spillover for the host developing countries. The firms Total Factor Productivity (Factors like the level of RD, foreign presence, the firm size) can be used as a proxy to gauge technology transfer (Haddad and Harrison 1992, cited in Crespo and Fontoura 2007).According to Seck (2011) A 10% increase in a developing countrys foreign RD capital stock leads to more than a 2% percent increase in its total factor productivity. The economic development level (measured by per capita GDP) impacts strongly on RD activity (Cheung and Lin 2003). The growth in host countrys RD activities reduces the technological gap and increases the absorptive capacity of the host firm thereby benefitting the host developing country. According to Schmid (2010), A one percent increase in the Research and development (RD) expenditure is associated with a five percent increase in the likelihood of a technology transfer. He also states that the technology transfer is positively correlated to the trade flows and RD expenditure of a developing country. RD resulting in new processes and products either amplifies firms revenues or saves firms costs and is considered as the vital proxy for endogenous growth and technological advancement, Zhu (2010). In 2004, 23.7 % of industrial RD within China was performed by affiliates as compared to 21.7% in 2004 (UNCTAD 2005, cited in Dunning and Lundan 2008, p.359) which exemplifies increasing trend and possibly positive effect on host developing countries. Here the main challenge lies in finding the exact proportion of beneficial RD activities. If the relative costs of technology adoption are large to the economic value of the underlying technology (to the host country firms), there will be little adoption relatively and FDI spillover realized will also be relatively limited (Blomstrà ¶m. et.al 1999). Thus cost of technology adoption plays a major role for the technology transfer to be beneficial to the host country firms. The factors contributing to the distribution of technological capacity (which includes Higher educational institutions, Scientists and Engineers, RD laboratories and other physical and human assets) which are aided by foreign affiliates reflects the net beneficial effect on host countries due to export or FDI (Dunning and Lundan 2008). Alongside the direct effects of technological capacity of host countries, the indirect consequences can be measured through knowledge, technology and RD spillovers to host economys local firms which can be measured in terms of the raise in productivity of local firms as a result of the MNEs presence or entry into host economy. However realising the exact proportion of productivity increase solely due to MNEs contribution is a big challenge for many other factors would have aided the process. A study by Xu (2000), cited in Dunning and Lundan (2008), suggests that the spending on royalties and licence fees approximately indicates the impact of productivity enhancement caused due to technology transfer of FDI in the host countries. The absorptive capacity of the developing countries varies and accordingly the positive or negative effects based on it. The study by Feinberg and Majumdar (2001), cited in Dunning and Lundan (2008) reveals that the pharmaceutical affiliates in India experienced no spillover to local firms through locally conducted RD whereas the foreign affiliates had benefited. On the contrary, a study conducted by (Mondal and Pant 2010) shows the presence of foreign affiliates and high absorptive capacity for developing countries to impact positively on technology spillover which is elevated by a highly competitive environment. The policies of host governments towards FDI such as technology policy and Intellectual Property Protection are also plausible determinants which impacts the magnitude of the efficiency spillovers captured by host country firms. For example government policies which would encourage the RD performance like effective IP protection would alleviate the chances of FDI and intensify the technological capability of local firms which in turn would aid to exploit appropriate foreign technology (Blomstrà ¶m et al. 1999). On the other hand patents filed by developed countries would result in limited transfer of technological capabilities due to the protection of technology from imitation for 20 years. China became the largest recipient of FDI among the developing countries during 1990s due to the market for technology policy and enforcement of patent law in line with TRIPs (Trade-Related Intellectual Properties) (Cheung and Lin, 2003). Due to contradicting research data and the dependence of technology transfer benefits on the kind of industry and the level of alliance between foreign and emerging market country firms, it becomes very complicated to generalise the factors contributing to the net benefits of the developing countries. CONCLUSION According to (Dunning and Lundan 2008) The ability to create, acquire, learn, use and effectively deploy technological capacity is one of the key ingredients of economic success in virtually all societies. The exact realisation of net benefit of technology transfer to developing countries is measured using TFP as a proxy and can be enhanced by strengthening their local economy and capabilities to attract FDI inflow with the aid of strict and stringent government regulations.

Reflection On Residential Workshop And Positive Interrelationships Nursing Essay

Reflection On Residential Workshop And Positive Interrelationships Nursing Essay Recently I attended a 7 day residential workshop at Findhorn Foundation in Scotland. The two middle aged co-leaders were very experienced in running this workshop, but had never worked together before. Ineka was Dutch and Annis was from the UK. The twelve participants from varying professional backgrounds were of various ages from mid twenties to mid 60s, from all over the world and with several using English as their second language. Although clearly stated in the application form, this was NOT a therapy group however three people had slipped through the screening process and arrived with diagnosed mental illnesses. Two were on medication but the third, Barbara, was not. The higher the level of an individuals psychological pathology e.g. depression, anger, anxiety the less able he or she is to develop and maintain caring and enriching relationships (Johnson Johnson 2009). This was my second visit to Findhorn, the earlier visit being 34 years ago. The purpose of the workshop was to introduce the members to the work of the Community, a World Heritage Eco Village and a spiritual community which runs many human development courses in its college every year. There was a second purpose of which I was unaware to experience and work through a wide range of emotions to increase positive interrelations. I was strangely obtuse about this second purpose and concentrated only on the first. Entitativity is the perception that a group is cohesive with members bonded together. The stronger the joint goals, shared outcomes, interpsersonal bonds, the greater the apparent entitativity of a group (Welbourne, 1999). Our group had incomplete entitativity, I for one feeling detached throughout. The leaders appeared unaware of the dislike many participants had for Annis, who frequently exhibited unnecessary controlling behaviours. Her autocratic style of leadership was rejected, while Inekas equally autocratic style was acceptable because she was a more agreeable, more authentic person. This conflict was not brought into the open, instead being discussed within subgroups, during recreational times. Anniss controlling behaviour impacted on the groups cohesion; there was entitativity amongst the group AGAINST Annis. We found a bond in our mutual rejection of her though that bond, for me, was not sufficient to make me feel part of the group for many reasons. Socializing outside the group can increase the groups cohesion but we divided along age lines. I couldnt get interested in the younger ones, their beliefs, interests and stories. Counterproductive socializing did not happen, nobody feeling excluded from cliques. One detrimental aspect of our group was our refusing to challenge one another for fear of jeopardizing newly forming friendships, and relying on the group as the source of our current social life. We were a long way from home, in an unknown setting, and needed each other for emotional security. Communication was autonomous rather than allonomous in its style of interaction. We talked directly to each other, rather than via the leaders. There was much praising, supporting and offering of help from us all. We all took care to understand and be understood by those who did not speak English well even when this required considerable effort. Gibb, 1961, established that evaluation, superiority, certainty and control produce defensive communication. There was a defensive reaction to Anniss control and certainty. There was evaluation and superiority expressed by participants, but mostly the leaders, against the non-Findhorn world. We were enlightened insiders educating and influencing the ignorant outer world. These attitudes I rejected, which impacted on my commitment to the group. Much respect for each other and each others contributions to the group efforts were articulated. The more accepting and supportive participants were of each other, the more likely they were to reveal ideas, feelings and reactions. The more trustworthy our groups response to such disclosures, the deeper and more personal the thoughts a participant will share (Johnson et al, 2009). We had revelations of bisexuality, of partnering with a paedophile, of terror at failing to cope with motherhood, of being overwhelmed with the exposure of self revelation. Clearly the group was achieving its goals for some of us, but not for me. I revealed more than I ever have before, but my core emotional wounds I kept hidden. I was astonished by such revelations and wanted to rescue those in distress, lacking any other response to such pain. Corey, Corey Corey, (2010) explains that if someone finds it too difficult to witness anothers pain, the supportive individual attempts to offer pseudo support rather than a genuine expression of concern, and empathy. I felt helpless the first time Barbara howled with pain. I postulate that there may also be pseudo pain. The second time Barbara lay in foetal position and screamed in agony, I was astonished to see her sit back on her chair calmly, well satisfied with the attention she received. The third time she performed I felt a little exploited. Thus I remained an outside observer, wondering if I should feel guilty for not being more empathetic. Power may be directly or indirectly expressed through group norms and values. Norms are agreed modes of conduct and belief that guide the behaviour of group members (Johnson et al, 2009). Our group obeyed the direct power exercised by the leaders. We were also systematically educated in the norms expected of us by the Findhorn Community. This was done in discussion and by the leaders modelling expected behaviours. At one point Annis gave us a lecture on the rules of group sharing sessions, the only time I thought she was directly criticising us and I didnt agree with those rules, wanting to give feedback to the person who had just shared but this was not allowed. Sharing was to be received in silence. The first time Barbara broken into howls of anguish, and shared a nightmarish experience she had had while on a group nature walk, she concluded with Now I feel foolish. I believed she should have been reassured that we had not found her behaviour foolish. I too felt ridiculous after co mpleting a task to show a side of me that others havent seen yet and I demonstrated my three year old self having a tantrum. I needed feedback. I was aware that energy is tied up in withholding feeling. When released, people typically reported terrific physical and emotional relief called catharsis. Barbara appeared not to. While expressing emotions may be culturally inappropriate in some situations it was not at Findhorn but later I questioned whether she actually was experiencing the healing of catharsis. Catharsis alone is limited in regard to producing long-term change. Barbara needed to understand her experience by putting into words those intense emotions but this was forbidden by our group norm which made discussion taboo (Corey et al, 2010). Every individual and group uses a mixture of learning styles, namely experience, reflection, conceptualisation and active experimentation (King Kiely, 2004). Our programme used all these adult learning styles in its varied tasks. We played games, danced, walked in Nature, meditated, listened to lectures, drew, made collages, sang, watched films plus much more. However the programme used mainly structured rather than unstructured exercises, which King Kiely (2004) claim is predominantly used for psycho-educational groups. As our leaders were very experienced they had developed their own toolkit of creative exercises though one participant began to cry during the first mornings session of encounter games designed to bond the group and I felt uncomfortable, and quite disgruntled, at having to take part in these role plays as they were outside my expectations. They were too physical, too unpredictable, for me to feel safe in the group at this stage. Our group had no procedures to seek out dissenting opinions. Group think is the collective striving for unanimity so that there is no appraisal of alternatives. There is lack of reality testing, a weakening of rationality, judgemental thinking and the ignoring of inconsistent external information. Groupthink censors discussion of disagreements or arguments (Quinn Schlenker, 2002). Our group felt strong pressure to agree with one another, and failed to engage in effective discussion. If the leaders believe in members capacities to make important personal changes participants may consequently see the group as a valuable conduit to personal growth. If the leaders listen non-defensively and communicate that they value members subjective experience, members are likely to see the power in active listing. If the leaders are genuinely able to accept others for who they are, participants will learn to accept peoples rights be themselves and be different. Modelling behaviour in groups is one of the most effective ways to teach members how to relate to one another constructively and deeply (Corey et al, 2010). These were our leaders successes, with the exception of Anniss need for too much control. If members feel that they are deeply understood they are more likely to trust that others care about them. A misapprehension of invulnerability, indicated by unjustifiable optimism and too much risk taking was present (Keyton, 2006). The norms of the group meant we were above attack and reproach. One participant, Elka, learned that her lover committed suicide while she was with us, and as a diagnosed depressive herself who had attempted suicide 6 months before, was vulnerable after hearing such news. The leaders offered her no feedback, as per their norms, and welcomed the fact that she opened herself up to this challenge! They stressed that they were not a therapy group but I claimed Findhorn attracted damaged people and its leaders should be trained in crisis management. But there were no contingency plans available for when participants became unstable. Absence of disagreement is the primary cause of groupthink (Courright, 1978). I kept my criticisms to myself in group time but talked about them privately to some participants as similarly did others about Anniss controlling behaviour. Members learn how they function as a person in the world by looking at the patterns they use in the group session (Corey et al, 2010). I protected myself from vulnerability by taking on the role of critical assessor, probing for information, attempting to give advice and paying attention to the dynamics of individuals and the group. Instead of paying attention to how I may be affected in the group, I shifted the focus to others, thus I was left behind as the group developed (Corey et al, 2010). The leaders did not sensitively block this defensive behaviour. They could have pointed out to that I was depriving myself of the maximum benefit from the group by paying more attention to others. Schutz (1958) identifies 4 stages in group development. The first, inclusion, assesses individuals as pondering where they fit in, feeling vulnerable, excited and often fearful. The second stage, control, is the jockeying for leadership, control and power. Who is marginalised, who is threatened, who frustrated with authority problems, who projecting onto the leader? This is where I fitted in, as I became frustrated with the groups unwillingness to express negative thoughts or give personal feedback as per the censoring demands of the leaders. My defensive role of critical observer anchored me to this stage. The third stage, affection, is a time when participants feel a sense of belonging, happiness, love and harmony with each other. The others in the group were able to feel this with each other, but not with Annis. The last stage is termination. Creating an effective group requires an appropriate balance between support and challenge but our group lacked appropriate challenge. Our norms were supportive and several participants used that to take risks but that in-itself was not sufficient. Groups that use confrontation to strip away the defensive behaviour of members often consequently have increasingly defensive interaction. Leaders are best to refrain from highly confrontational involvement until they have developed a trusting relationship with participants. Once interpersonal trust is achieved group members are usually more accepting of challenge (Corey et al, 2010). Theasaurus to here: ie done above. I never gave up the safety of my defensive detachment nor did others in the older sub-group. Resistance is a normal process that can lead to productive exploration in the group. The defensive style may take various forms such as conflict, detachment, distrust or diverting but the underlying fear is of getting close and the vulnerability this implies. The most successful way to deal with difficult behaviours is for the leaders to simply describe to members what they are observing and let the members know how they are affected by what they see and hear. Showing a willingness to understand the members behaviour is the gentlest form of confrontation. Using such a strategy in our group would have been helpful (Corey et al, 2010). When feedback is given honestly and sensitively, members are able to understand the impact they have on others and decide, what, if anything, they want to change about their interpersonal style. Feedback has been associated with increased motivation for change to o (Morran Wilson, 1997). Group leaders need to teach participants how to give and receive feedback. Members are more likely to consider feedback that may be difficult to hear when there is a balance between positive or supportive feedback and corrective or challenging feedback. Members can benefit from both if the feedback is given in a clear, caring and personal way (Morran et al, 1997). Positive feedback should be emphasised during the early stages of the group. However positive and corrective feedback should be balanced during the middle and later stages (Moran et al, 1997). However this did not happen for us. Corrective feedback is more credible, useful and increasingly more accepted by members during the working and ending sages. Leaders need to assist in establishing appropriate norms that encourage the giving and receiving of corrective feedback. (Morran et al, 1997). Our leaders modelled positive feedback but not corrective feedback and the groups success was inhibited accordingly. Our final session involved tasks to put what has occurred in the group into a meaningful perspective and to plan ways to continue applying changes to situations in our daily lives. At this time members need to express what the group experience has meant to them and to state where they intend to go from here. Members need to face the reality of termination and learn how to say good-bye. The potential for learning permanent lessons may be lost if the leader does not provide a structure that helps members review and integrate what they have learned but our leaders did this (Corey et al, 2010). We exchanged email addresses and these emails became a valuable support system, particularly for Elka who returned home to find her lover had killed himself the day before. We all emailed her with our empathy and, in my case, good advice as to seeking help for herself. I remained a rescuer! Assisting members in creating a support system is a good way to help them deal with setbacks and keep focused on what they need to do to accomplish their goals (Corey et al, 2010). There was an evaluation sheet that allowed participants to say what was helpful and what was difficult about the group and ways that the sessions could have been improved. It asked for feedback on the leadership which I didnt give! Even at the very end I remained uncommitted to the group processes. This request for post workshop evaluation was a valid request but not sufficient. Evaluation should have been more frequent, with assessment of the groups needs occurring throughout the programme. Keyton (2006) explains that some members enjoy the group experience so much that they do not want it to end. This was particularly true of our younger members. They felt happiness and pleasure at having had a good group experience, but they also felt sadness and loss that the group was over (Rose, 1989). The final night saw us enjoying a celebratory dinner. Keyton, (2006) claims that celebrating success solidifies individuals connections to the group and helps members gain closure. I found such expressions of sorrow irrelevant, never having moved from the control stage of the group so for me, overall, the group did not achieve its second goal. It was, however, successful in regard to this goal for the younger ones. For us all, the goal of being introduced to aspects of living at Findhorn was achieved. 2726 words.

Midnights Children essay :: essays research papers

Midnight’s Children essay Salman Rushdie's creation, Saleem Sinai, has a self-proclaimed "overpowering desire for form" (363). In writing his own autobiography Saleem seems to be after what Frank Kermode says every writer is a after: concordance. Concordance would allow Saleem to bring meaning to moments in the "middest" by elucidating (or creating) their coherence with moments in the past and future. While Kermode talks about providing this order primarily through an "imaginatively predicted future" (8), Saleem approaches the project by ordering everything in his past into neat, causal relationships, with each event a result of what preceded it. While he is frequently skeptical of the true order of the past, he never doubts its eminence; he is certain that everyone is "handcuffed to history" (482). His belief in the preeminence of the past, though, is distinctly different than the reality of time for the Saleem who emerges through that part of the novel that Gerard Gen ette calls "the event that consists of someone recounting something" (26) (Saleem-now, we can call this figure). Saleem-now is motivated to act not by the past, but instead by the uncertainty and ambiguity of the future. Saleem's construction of his own story is an effort to mitigate the lack of control he feels in looking toward the unknown future. To pacify himself he creates a world that is ordered but this world is contrary to his own reality. Saleem spends much of his energy in the story setting up neat causal relationships between events in his past to demonstrate his place "at the center of things" (272). He carefully mentions his tumble into the middle of a parade for the partition of Bombay and then proceeds to propose that "in this way I became directly responsible for triggering off the violence which ended with the partition of the state of Bombay" (219). When telling us of his school-mate Cyrus disappearance from school and emergence as a great religious prophet Saleem quickly mentions the Superman comics that he had given Cyrus earlier, and attributes Cyrus' rise to prophetdom as a direct response to these comics. By viewing Cyrus' motivation in this way Saleem says "[I] found myself obliged, yet again, to accept responsibility for the events of my turbulent, fabulous world" (309). There is an obvious note of skepticism toward these most overt acts of placing himself at the center of things. At one point he asks himself "am I so far gone, in my desperate need for meaning, that I'm prepared to distort everything†¹to re-write the whole history of my times purely in order to place myself in a central role?

Affirmative Action Essay -- essays research papers

Since the beginning of time there has been prejudice and hate. Adam and Eve hated snakes. Jews hated Jesus. Sugar Ray Leonard hated Tommy Hearns. Prejudice is caused by two things: ignorance and hate. Prejudice and mistreatment has existed in this country, first with American-Indians and then later with African-Americans and many other minorities. The selling and trading of slaves is a shadow that has been hanging over the heads of white Americans for two centuries. Some people feel that it is the white-American's duty to pay the black population back. According to Spencer Perkins, co-author of More than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of Gospel, in reference to the long-standing racial divisions in America, "It took us 300 years to separate ourselves like this, it's going to take a while to undo that." (Perkins 26) Affirmative action is designed to give minorities, such as blacks, the opportunity to maintain jobs in our prejudicial society. For those who support Affirmative Action they define it as a way to give the disadvantaged a chance at the "American dream." Those who do not support Affirmative Action define it as giving minorities positions that they are not qualified to have. As Mr. Khalenberg, head editor of The New Republic says, "we will still reward those who play the victim" (Khalenberg 27). Just imagine that you have gone through six years of college and have gotten your degree. You go looking for a job and even though they are tough to come by you manage to get an interview with a well-known company. The interviewer tells you that you and one other person are equally qualified and in the running for the job. You get a call later telling you that you didn't get the job because the company had to hire a minority. You would most likely be angry, right? The purpose of this paper is to show the differences in how people feel about the issues involved with affirmative action. This paper was written to give different views on affirmative action. First I will give a little background and general information on the subject. Secondly, I will show how those that are in support of affirmative action feel. I will then balance the arguement out by showing how those who oppose affirmative action feel. I will also explore the minorities that are also against affirmative action. Finally, I will tell what causes the consequences that affirmative... ...America today. Because of the horrid history of this nation, the disgust directed at "White America" is not surprising, however, it does seem surprising to many Americans that there are minorities who are against affirmative action. This country, whether we will admit it or not, was built on the blood and sweat of minorities. Therefore it should not be unexpected that minorities would like a fair share of what this country has the to offer. If this happens, maybe minorities will someday have the opportunity to walk our "streets of gold." Works Cited Fredrickson, George M. Racism : A Short History. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002 Kahlenberg, Richard. "Class, Not Race." The New Republic April 3, 1995: 21-27. O’Gara, Juliane. Making Workplaces Work. Washington, DC: Business and Professional Women’s Foundation. 1995 Perkins, Spencer and Chris Rice. More than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of the Gospel, Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993. Rosen, Jeffery. â€Å"Is Affirmative Action Doomed?† New Republic 17 Oct. 1994: 25+ Waller, James. Face to Face: The Changing State of Racism Across America, New York: Plenum Publishing Corp., 1998.

Different forms of child abuse Essay

Child abuse is a common term for four types of child maltreatment: sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, and neglect. Children are usually victims of more than one type of abuse. They could be both sexually and emotionally abused or they could also be physically abused and neglected. In some severe cases, children may suffer from more than two forms of abuse. Child abuse was once viewed as a minor social problem that only affected a handful of U.S. children. In recent years the media and law enforcement has paid close attention to the issue. More than 1,000 children died from abuse in 1996, in the U.S. (1). Approximately 231 children are abused each day. That is 10 children every hour, and one child every six minutes. Each day in the United States, more than three children die as a result of child abuse, in the home. More children, age four and younger, die from child abuse and neglect than any other single, leading cause of death for infants and young children (1). The abusers can be family members, parents, caretakers such as babysitters and teachers, and strangers. Abuse occurs among all ethnic, social, and income groups. Most parents don’t hurt or neglect their children intentionally. Many were themselves abused or neglected. Usually the cases that are reported involve poor families with little education. Also common in reports are young mothers, single-parent families, and parental drug or alcohol abuse. The frequency of child abuse is difficult to estimate, due to so many cases going unreported. There are signs, symptoms, and causes to all four types of child abuse. When you have a concern for a child’s well-being, the signs or symptoms may help guide you in the process of reporting. Although, these signs, mentioned later, don’t necessarily indicate that a child is being abused. A professional, who would be able to determine the abuse, should investigate the possibility. Determining the exact cause of child abuse is almost impossible. In general,  the factors that influence whether abuse will happen is grouped into two categories- internal and external. Lack of social support, economic hardship, and chemical dependency are a few external factors. Some internal factors are: biological, emotional, and psychological. Some factors are as common as low intelligence and range to, as rare as, a severe personality disorder such as Schizophrenia. Isolation is a factor contributing to abuse. When families have difficulties, perhaps from unemployment or other social problems, they may respond in a number of ways. The families that respond by isolating themselves, by withdrawing themselves from neighbors and friends, are the most likely to be abusive. Charles F. Johnson defines sexual abuse as † any activity with a child, before the age of legal consent, that is for the sexual gratification of an adult or a significantly older child.† Sexual abuse involves fondling, penetration, persuading a child to expose his or her sexual organs, and allowing a child to view pornography. In most of the reported cases the child knew the abuser, and one in five of the abusers were under age themselves. 12% of the confirmed cases reported in 1996 involved sexual abuse. An estimated 10-15% of males and 20-25% of females reported they were sexually abused by age 18 (2). Most sexually abused children never come to the attention of the authorities. There may be no physical signs of harm, but there is always the intense shame, and secrecy is often maintained, even by the adults who know of the abuse, for fear of destroying a family. There is evidence emerging that as many as one in three incidents of child sexual abuse are not remembered by adults who experience them, and that the younger the child was at the time of the abuse, and the closer the relationship to the abuser, the more likely one is not to remember, claims Linda Williams. Convicted rape and sexual assault offenders serving time in State prisons  report that two-thirds of their victims were under the age 18, and 58% of those (nearly 4 in 10 imprisoned violent sex offenders) said their victims were aged 12 or younger. In 90% of the rapes of children less than 12 years old, the child knew the offender. Sixty percent took place in the victim’s home or at the home of a friend, neighbor, or relative. Two-thirds of sex offenders in state prisons victimized a child. For offenders imprisoned for violent crimes against victims younger than 18 (1994), 15% were convicted of forcible rape, 57% were convicted of other types of sexual assault (lewd acts of forcible sodomy, statutory rape, etc.), about thirty percent reported attacks on more than one child, and more than half the victims were younger than 12. Out of 277 inmate interviews of all prisoners convicted of rape or sexual assault, two-thirds victimized children. Three out of four child victims were female, prisoners convicted of attacking children were mostly male, 97%, and about 22% of the child sex offenders reported having been sexually abused themselves during childhood. Half of the women raped were younger than 18 and 20% were victimized by their father (3). Children often fail to report because of the fear that disclosure will bring consequences even worse than being victimized again. The victim may fear consequences from the family or feel guilty for consequences to the perpetrator. Victims may also have a feeling that â€Å"something is wrong with me,† and that the abused is their fault. The impact of child sexual abuse is tremendous. It is estimated that there are 60 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse in America, today. Approximately 31% of women in prison state they have been abused as children and about 95% of teenage prostitutes have been sexually abused. Young girls who are forced to have sex are three times more likely to develop psychiatric disorders or abuse alcohol and drugs in adulthood, than girls who are not sexually abused (4). There are two different types of indicators of sexual abuse, physical indicators and behavioral indicators. Some of the physical indicators are: 1)Torn, stained or bloody underclothes. 2)Frequent, unexplained sore throats, yeast or urinary infections. 3) Bruises or bleeding from external genitalia, vagina, or anal region. 4) Sexual transmitted disease. 5) Pregnancy. Some of the behavioral indicators are: 1)The victim’s disclosure of sexual abuse. 2)Disturbed sleeping pattern. 3)Difficulty in walking or sitting. 4)Avoidance of undressing or wearing extra layers of clothes. 5)Sudden decline in school performance. The two prerequisites for this form of maltreatment include sexual arousal to children and the willingness to act on this arousal. Factors that may contribute to the willingness include alcohol or drug abuse, poor impulse control, and a belief that the sexual behaviors are acceptable and not harmful to the child. The chances of abuse are higher if the child is developmentally handicapped or vulnerable in some other way. Often there is no physical evidence of sexual abuse for a doctor to find. In fact, physical examinations of children in cases suspected sexual abuse supply grounds for further suspicion only 15-20% of the time (4). Physical abuse is the nonaccidental infliction of physical injury to a child, such as cut, bruises, welts, and broken bones. The abuser is usually a family member or other caretaker, and is more likely to be male. In 1996,  24% of the confirmed cases of U.S. child abuse involved physical abuse (4). A rare form of physical abuse is Munchausen syndrome by proxy, in which a caretaker, most often the mother, seeks attention by making the child sick or appear to be sick. Skulls and other bone fractures are often seen in young abused children, and in fact head injuries are the leading cause of death in abused children. A few physical indicators of physical abuse are: 1)Unexplained welts or bruises on the face, upper arms, throat, thighs or lower back in unusual patterns or shapes which suggest use of an instrument (electric cord, belt buckle) on an infant in various stages of healing that are seen after absences, weekends, or vacations. 2)Rope burns. 3)Bald patches. 4)Refusal to undress for gym. Some of the behavioral indicators of physical abuse are: 1)Behavioral extremes- withdrawal, aggression, depression. 2)Unbelievable or inconsistent explanation for the injury. 3)Fear of physical contact-shrinking back if touched. 4)Fear of medical help or examination. The usual physical abuse scenario involves a parent who loses control and lashes out at a child. The trigger could be a dirty diaper or crying. Unlike nonabusive parent, who may become upset or angry with their children from  time to time but are genuinely loving, abusive parents tend to harbor deep-rooted negative feelings toward their children. Emotional abuse, also known as psychological abuse, according to Richard D. Krugman, â€Å"has been defined as the rejection, ignoring, criticizing, isolation, or terrorizing or children, all of which have the effect of eroding their self-esteem†. Emotional abuse usually expresses itself in verbal attacks involving rejection, belittlement, humiliation, and so forth. Emotional abuse also includes bizarre forms of punishment, such as confinement of a child in a dark closet. Often psychological abuse accompanies other types of abuse and is difficult to prove. It is rarely reported and accounted for only 6% of the confirmed 1996 cases (3). A few physical indicators of emotional abuse are: 1)Eating disorders- obesity or anorexia. 2)Nervous disorders- rashes, facial tics, hives, etc. 3)Speech disorders- stuttering, stammering, etc. 4)Flat or bald spots on head (infants). A few behavioral indicators of psychological abuse are: 1)Age inappropriate behaviors- bedwetting, soiling, etc. 2)Habit disorders- biting, rocking, etc. 3)Cruel behavior- seeming to get pleasure from hurting another child, adult, or animal. 4)Overreaction to mistakes. Emotional abuse can happen in many different settings: at school, at home, on sports teams, and so on. The forth and final forms of child abuse is neglect. Neglect is the failure to satisfy a child’s basic needs and can assume many forms. Emotional neglect is the failure to satisfy a child’s normal emotional needs or behavior that damages a child’s normal psychological and emotional development, physical neglect is the failure to provide adequate food, shelter, clothing, or supervision, and educational neglect includes the allowance of chronic truancy, failure to enroll a child of mandatory school age in school, and failure to attend to a special educational need. Failing to see that a child receives proper schooling or medical care is also considered neglect. In 1996, neglect was confirmed in over half of the abuse cases (3). Some physical indicators of neglect include: 1)Poor hygiene- lice, diaper rash, body odor, etc. 2)Lack of immunizations. 3)Untreated injury or illness. 4)Poor state of clothing. A few behavioral indicators of neglect include: 1)Chronic hunger or tiredness. 2)Assuming adult responsibilities. 3)Unusual school attendance. 4)No social relationships. Many cases of neglect occur because the parent experiences strong negative feelings toward the child. At other times, the parent may truly care for the child, but lack the ability to adequately provide for the child’s needs due to being handicapped by drug abuse, depression, mental retardation, or other problems. As a result, their physical, emotional, social, and mental development is hindered. Young children remain at high risk for loss of life. Between 1995 and 1997, 78% of these children were less than five years of age at the time of their death, while 38% were under one year of age. As for cause of death, 44% of deaths resulted from neglect, 51% from physical abuse, and 5% from a combination of neglectful and physically abusive parenting. Approximately 41% of these deaths occurred to children known to child protective service agencies as current or prior clients (5). Abuse investigators are often a group effort involving medical personnel, police officers, social workers, and others. Careful questioning of the parents is crucial, as is interviewing the child. The investigators must ensure, however, that their questioning does not further traumatize the child. A physical examination for signs of abuse or neglect is, always necessary, and may also include blood tests, x-rays, and other procedures. If the child has sisters or brothers, the authorities must determine whether they have been abused as well. Signs of physical abuse are discovered in about 20% of the sisters and brothers of abused children (4). Child abuse can have lifelong consequences. Research shows that abused children and adolescents are more likely, for instance, suffer emotional problems, do poorly in school, abuse drugs and alcohol, and attempt suicide. As adults they have often have trouble establishing intimate relationships. Notification of the appropriate authorities, treatment of the child’s  injuries, and protecting the child from further harm are the immediate priorities in child abuse! Sources All Figures Based Upon The Following: 1.A Nation’s Shame: Fatal Child Abuse and Neglect in the United States. 2.Child Maltreatment 1998: Reports from the States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. 3.http://www.prevent-abuse-now.com/stats.htm 4.http://www.prevent-abuse-now.com/stats2.htm 5.Wang, C.T. & Daro, D. (1998). Current Trends in Child Abuse Reporting and Fatalities: The results of the 1997 Annual Fifty State Survey.

Canadian law: An introduction Essay

              A person that has been convicted of crime is sentenced for three main purposes; deterrence, retribution, and protection of the public. The degree to which these three objectives are achieved is subjective since incidents that make up a case are isolated and differ. In the case of Ferguson, the accused was charged with manslaughter with a firearm. According to Canadian criminal law, the minimum penalty for this offense is 4 years’ incarceration. However, the defendant in this case got 2 and a half years conditional sentence which meant that he could enjoy his freedom to a certain extent. However, the court of appeal stepped in and restored the four year incarceration sentence that is prescribed by law (R. v. Ferguson, 2008). However, this sentence only met two the sentencing goals; deterrence and protection of the public.                  With the sentence, the accused was deterred from engaging in a vice similar to the one that he had been convicted of again. Consequently, this meant that the public was protected from the perpetrator of the crime. Viewing this goal from a logical point of view, it was achieved partly. This is because the public was only protected from the perpetrator the crime and not the crime itself hence the goal achieved was a significant reduction of the threat posed to the general public. The third goal being retribution was hardly achieved. This is because the criminal was given the minimum sentence and this was after the initial ruling was overturned by the court of appeal. This creates a mindset that there is a possibility for one to be punished rather leniently for a man-slaughter.                  Another case that can be used to examine the purposes of sentencing is the case of R. v. Readhead (R. v. Readhead, 2008). In this case, the accused was sentenced to 2 and a-half years imprisonment. Again, this case makes the matter of sentencing convicted persons, with regards to the cultivation of marijuana for trafficking purposes, subjective. This is because the scale of production may vary. In this case, the sentence that the accused was given was appropriate since it served all the three sentencing purposes. It deterred further production and circulation of the drug from this specific source, consequently protecting the public, and it also aided in the retribution of the convicted individual because the sentence served was very heavy if compared to the quantity of the drug that he was found with.               In the case of R. v. Horon, The accused was a young man that was convicted for driving under the influence. Being young, the accused showed a great potential of retribution but due to the reverence of public protection with regards to drinking and driving, a sentence was deemed necessary therefore creating a state of imbalance as to the degree to which the sentencing goals were achieved (Boyd, 319-21). In the arguments presented for this case, the judges referred to the case of R, v. Gutoski January 4, 1990 where the charge was for driving while impaired and for such a case, a sentence was necessary notwithstanding the reasons for driving while impaired due to the risk posed to the general public (Boyd, 320). In this case, the case of R. v. Horon, all the three sentencing goals were achieved only that they were a little stringent on the convict as the possibility of retribution without a sentence was overlooked. Canadian Family Law                Since the 1960’s, the Canadian family law has experienced major changes that have been depicted in the cases involving family over the years. The case of Aspe v. Aspe (Aspe v. Aspe, 2010) is one that shows how some of the changes have been effected in the family laws of Canada. The main issue in this case was spousal support. Before the 1985 divorce act was passed, spousal support as well as children support was mandatory for the man. However, the spousal support was subject to change after the 1985 act. This is because the ruling on this issue was subject to consideration as section 15.2(6) states the need for economic advantages and disadvantages to be recognized, the consequences apportioned, all for the purpose of promoting self-sufficiency (Douglas, 2001). In this case, the ruling made did not alter the spousal contribution that the court had earlier prescribed. This is because it took into consideration Mr. Aspe’s financial position and at the same time examined Ms. Aspes’s financial liabilities and determined that Mr. Aspe was in no position to increase his contribution with regards to his annual income, expenses and debts as well.               In the case of Bain v. Bain (Bain v. Bain 2008), the dominant issue was the custody of the children. The appellant wanted the terms of the custody arrangement to be revised so that they could favor both parties. According to the arrangement, the appellant had been granted access, information and visiting rights while the respondent was to house the children and care for them as prescribed in the divorce act (Douglas, 2001). However, the appellant was applying for joint custody, which was not granted by the court. In this particular case, the judge took the children’s best interests into account because the children were relatively young. This meant that the best arrangement would be for the respondent, to retain most of the custody rights but at the same time grant access to the appellant as the father of the children. On the other hand, the ruling with regards to child support was necessary since the court examined the appellant’s financial capa bilities and prescribed a contribution that would not strain him.                  The Moge v. Moge (Moge v. Moge, 1992) can be compared with that of Bain v. Bain to showcase the changes made in the Canadian family law. The parties in this case were married in the mid 1950’s and separated in 1980. The court ruled that the man was to give the ex-wife a monthly contribution of $150 as spousal and child support. At some point, the woman was laid off from her place of employment and the man had to increase his support to $400 a month. However, this ruling was overturned and the man was required to pay the initial $150. This shows that prior to the 1985 act, the criterion for determining support was the means and needs, which overlooked the other criteria stated above.                  In the case of Barkley v. Barkley (Boyd, 253), the issue raised is of same sex and heterosexual marriages and how it is treated by Canadian courts. When divorce arises in a same sex marriage, the court treats the parties similar to how they treat straight couples. However, the issue is in heterosexual marriages as is seen in this case. Mr. B argued that it was not in the best interest of Lynn’s custody to be given to her mother in full due to her sexual orientation. Mr. B argued that this would influence her negatively.                   In conclusion, the family laws in Canada have experienced changes that have impacted the rulings of cases in a major way. These changes act as a guideline to be implemented in various cases depending on the facts as presented. References Aspe v. Aspe, 2010 BCCA 508. Bain v. Bain, 2008 BCCA 49. Boyd, N. (2011).  Canadian law: An introduction. Toronto: Nelson Education. Douglas, K. (27 March, 2001). Divorce Law in Canada. Moge v. Moge, [1992] 3 S.C.R. 813.R. v. Ferguson, [2008] 1 S.C.R. 96, 2008 SCC 6.R. v. Readhead, 2008 BCCA 532. Source document

Gilette Case

GILLETTE CASE 1)Evaluate product innovation at Gillette throughout its history. Has Gillette been a victim of its own success? Has product innovation in the wet-shaving market come to an end? Explain. When we look at Gillette’s product innovation throughout its history, Gillette continued developing, innovating it self. Yes the product innovation in the wet-shaving market come to an end and now it is in decline part of the cycle but Gillette razors are still selling because shaving with razors has become the habit of consumers throughout the years and it is the cheapest way.Gillette also came up with personal care products. As the rivalry gets hot, Gillette comes up with new innovations, which are better than the competitors every time. 2)What do you make of the battle between Gillette and Schick? Is the battle one upmanship good for either company? The battle between Gillette and Schick is very good for the consumer. This rivalry is upmanship good for both of the companies in a way.Because everytime that one of the brands come up with a new product, the other brand decides to produce a better version of it. So the innovations always stay fresh and the consumers benefit from this battle. 3)What actions would you recommend over the next five years that would help Gillette maintain its worldwide dominance in the shaving market? What specific marketing program decisions would you recommend? Should Gillette be worried about Schick? Explain. I would recommend Gillette to focus more on the products for females.Gillette already gained a great success for men products, now the company can produce more women products such as personal care products and woman razors. Gillette should continue supporting sportive activities because sports are always global cases, by continuing this strategy Gillette can stay global. Gillette should not be worried about Schick but should always be on track so that every time Schick comes with a new product or advertisement, Gillette c an do a better one.

The Force of Circumstance

Brief summaryGuy, an administrator of a small British colonial outpost, has lived there for ten years. When he was on holiday in England he met Doris. They married and she returned to the station with him. At first they are very happy but then Doris notices a young Malay woman with three half-caste children hanging around the bungalow and annoying Guy very much. Finally Guy confesses that he had a relationship with the woman and that the children are his.Doris needs time to consider this shattering news, in the meantime they continue to live as before but Doris refuses to share her bedroom with her husband and the atmosphere is strained. Eventually Doris returns to England although she knows that Guy loves her and understands that he acted out of loneliness. But she cannot overcome her prejudices and cannot accept the idea that her white husband has had an intimate relationship with a native. Guy, unhappy and lonely, allows the Malay woman and their children to come back.Structure of the plotThe story is carefully constructed like a five-act drama with tension rising to the climax of Guy’s disclosure speech.exposition – introduction to the exotic scenery and the harmonious couplerising conflict – the confrontation of charactersclimax – Guy’s monologue and Doris’s reactionfalling action – Doris’s long suffering and period of indecisiondenouement – Doris’s leaving and the restoration of the former circumstancesThere are hints at the beginning which foreshadow the crisis and you will probably guess from the first mention of the half-caste boys what the conflict in the story is about. What creates the tension is the desire to know how Doris will cope with this situation.Doris says that she’s thankful Guy never had a Malay woman (p. 43 , ls. 1-2)D. cannot accept the excuses Guy makes for the behaviour of European men (p.43, ls.21-22)Guy’s unusual display of affection when he drew Dor is to him as she passed(p.45.ls.27-28)Guy’s â€Å"deathly white† face(p.47, l.3) when he sees the Malay woman at the tennis court and his  silent and bad play afterwards â€Å"there was a change in Guy† (p. 48, l.24)Guy’s â€Å"ashy† face (p.50, l.10) after his servant has roughly turned the woman away. â€Å"He was nervous and irritable† (p.51, ls. 6ff.)SettingThe story is set in the part of Borneo controlled by the British. Which area the story is set in is unclear and not of much importance, as Maugham uses the exotic setting to show the interaction between European and indigenous people and cultures. The newly arrived European woman views the surroundings with a mixture of fascination with the exotic and fear of the unknown. The tropical scenery is described in a way (esp. through colours and sounds) that reveals the mood of the characters.the lead-up to the dramatic climax of Guy’s disclosure is accompanied by a heavy storm, re inforcing the rising tensionthe disclosure is made under an open sky (â€Å"the night was starry†)sounds (as well as colours) gain an immediate presence, esp. the croak of the chik-chak, which appears at crucial moments in the storyDoris tries to import an English lifestyle into a home which until her arrival had contained mostly objects from the indigenous culture (p.44/45) —- her wedding presents, playing tennisCharactersGuyGuy is a fun-loving, cheerful, ugly and noisy sort of person. He has a naturally optimistic nature and likes to laugh a lot. Doris cannot resist his charm.Having lived all his life in the tropics and coming from a family tradition of colonial service, he seems to be the perfect type of colonial agent: he speaks the native language fluently and moves easily between two cultures. From his point of view there is nothing wrong with his ‘going native’.He regards the native woman as an inferior person who fulfils his physical needs and help s him overcome his loneliness, only to be pensioned off when  she is no longer needed. He feels no affection for his children, natives are treated as though they had no feelings or rights.DorisDoris is a pretty, honest person. Before marriage she had a not very important post as secretary to an MP and cared for her widowed mother. Her decision to marry Guy after knowing him for only a month may have been forced by the prospect of a more interesting and exotic life and material and social betterment. Doris is described as self-contained, competent and has ‘deft hands’.She dislikes Guy’s carelessness and is shocked by the behaviour of European colonizers and by her husband’s insensitivity to such immorality. Reasons why Doris will in the end decide against life with her husband:she is shocked at his strategy of hiding his former life from hershe is hurt when she learns the reasons why Guy married hershe cannot tolerate the irresponsible manner with which h e treats his black familyshe cannot stand the idea of him touching a black womanDoris is unable to overcome her middle-class British prejudices and instead of adapting to the new circumstances, of tolerating a certain degree of assimilation toward the native culture, she gives up a relatively happy marriage and returns to the purity of unhappiness and poverty.The Malay WomanShe is never called anything else but ‘the Malay woman’ or ‘the woman from the kampong’ and she never speaks, but her physical presence is strongly felt through her persistent gaze and the way she intrudes on Guy’s life. She is a powerful figure, determining the course of action to her advantage, finally taking over the role of the female in Guy’s home. Unlike Doris she is not humiliated by the existence of another woman and proudly claims her position as wife and mother. She is the stronger of the two .ThemesGoing NativeWhite men actually had a general fear of ‘going native’ which means adapting to the native way of life. So many white men in the colonies insisted on wearing European clothes or retained their typical European lifestyle.They  were afraid to lose their own identity in having too much contact with the natives which would threaten their authority and power. According to imperialist ideology they felt superior and an intermingling of the races had to be avoided. In fact it was very difficult for the white men in the colonies to resist the temptation of the native women because they were the only females around and their exoticism was very attractive. Isolation and loneliness often made the white men forget the standards of behaviour and their fear of ‘going native’.Daily Life in the Colonies  importation of the British lifestyle to the colonies ( tennis and cricket, afternoon cocktails, and leisure clubs )  contact with the homeland is kept up by newspapers and letters — the tropical climate structur es the rhythm of the day: they get up early to make the most of the cool morning, they indulge in long afternoon siestas and enjoy social engagements orThe Force of Circumstance sport towards the evening.Point of viewThe third-person narrator tells the story from an unlimited omniscient point of view, moving freely in and out of the protagonists’ minds. He observes, but does not make judgements.StyleA large portion of the story is taken up by dialogue, another theatrical element, and as there are few long descriptive or reflective passages the plot gains speed and concentration. The language used especially in the dialogues is informal and sometimes ironic The informal vocabulary, the relatively short, simple sentences and the passages of dialogue resemble spoken language. The descriptive passages of the landscape and the characters make use of more figurative language ( images and metaphors, similes, alliteration and inversion )The authorMaugham’s travels in the Pacif ic region were a turning point in his life for there he met a completely new type of person. †It seemed to me that these men had more vitality than those I had known â€Å". To him it was refreshing to discover people who did not live according to conventional European standards. Although in his colonial stories M. depicts the moral damage done  to colonial agents as well as to natives, he never questions the colonial system as such.