Inhumanity of War Essay

In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, one follows the life of Paul Baumer, a private in the German military in World War 1. He and his friends try to survive as the people around them get slaughtered. Slowly one by one his friends die while the others fight for their own lives. This is a war with many inhumane actions that lead to unnecessary death or injury. In the story many inhumane actions spark guilt within a character, causing a humane action to be done in response. The slow inhumane death of Kemmerich, Paul’s best friend, lead him to lie to Kemmerich’s mom about his death due to the guilt he would feel for her reaction and sadness. Kemmerich’s death was slow and painful. It involved getting his leg amputated, â€Å"‘He has a flesh wound in his thigh; a good blighty†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Kemmerich raises himself off the pillow with his elbow, ‘They’ve amputated my leg (6, 27).’† He had been shot and had his leg amputated when it wasn’t his war to fight. He should not have had to suffer with the hundreds of other innocent lives. The leaders of the countries should be fighting their argument out themselves; not put thousands of men’s lives at risk. Kemmerich should not have to die for something he didn’t start. Also what was meant to save him killed him. He died in the hospital, not on the front. He died in the place where he should be mended, not killed. When Paul goes home on leave he visits Kemmerich’s mom to give details of how he had died so she could have some closure and know he went with dignity: â€Å"I tell her he was shot through the heart and died instantaneously†¦I will never tell her, she can make mincemeat out of me first (180-181).† If Paul had told her the truth he would feel exceptionally guilty because Kemmerich is his best friend, and Paul was not there when Kemmerich was shot. He also could not tell his mom that he died in the hospital because he should have been saved there, and then she would know how close her son was to being saved and being able to spend time with her. Also she would know that Kemmerich had not died in battle, but died slowly behind the front in a hospital because of infection not by a bullet, which is not how one would like to picture their son dying in war. She would know that he suffered before he died. The inhumane injury of the horses, and everyone just listening to them suffer caused Detering to go mad with guilt for the horses and try to put them out of their misery. There had just been a battle and many of the horses had been injured: â€Å"It’s unendurable. It is the moaning of the world, it is the martyred creation, wild with anguish, filled with terror and groaning†¦ We are pale. Detering stands up, ‘For gods sake shoot them†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘They must take care of the men first’† (62-63). The soldiers are ignoring the soldier’s cries and Detering wants to kill the horses. The horses don’t even realize what they’re involved in. They can’t even speak German. As the soldiers are fighting a battle they are not responsible for; at least they have an idea what it is all about. The horses do not. They don’t even know what they’re meant to be doing, or what is happening to them. They do not deserve to be in the war, or to die for its cause, so when they’re injured without any hope of survival, no one will put them out of their misery. It’s barbaric. He gets his rifle, but is batted down. He feels as if he has failed because he could not save or kill the horses. All he can do is watch them suffer. It tears him apart because it is not his nature. Detering is a farmer and cares more for animals than he does people, so to sit and listen to these cries drives him crazy, for he loves them so much. Why can’t a soldier near them hand off the man they are caring for for a second, so they can kill the horses and put them out of their misery. It’s incredibly simple and much more humane than listening to them suffer as they trip over their intestines. Detering is the humane person for at least trying to kill them and for considering them for a second, whilst everyone else is being extremely selfish. The inhumane torture used to dissuade the Germans for using the saw-bayonets led to the humane reaction of Paul and his company not using them, and giving people that had them regular bayonets. They stopped using them for the guilt they would feel if a young clueless man was to be tortured for something he didn’t even know about. The Germans had just moved forward when found out why Germans were being brutally tortured: â€Å"If the fellows over there catch a man with one of those he’s killed at sight†¦ some of our men were found whose noses were cut off and their eyes poked out with their own saw-bayonets. Their mouths and noses were stuffed with sawdust so that they suffocated† (103). The French tortured these men because they were using the German saw blade-bayonet, which hacked apart the French brutally. The French only tortured them because they were using these bayonets inhumanely. The Germans however were just following orders. They did not have the choice of which bayonets they were using. They were being tortured for something that was above them. They did not know how the use of the bayonets would affect the French. The French tortured the wrong people. When Paul sees other recruits he quickly gets to them and takes their bayonets away: â€Å"Some of the recruits have bayonets of this sort; we take them away and give them the ordinary kind (104).† They do this because they know the recruits don’t know any better and, they do not deserve to be tortured so brutally. Also, the bayonets aren’t very useful anymore. They get stuck in people. Paul knows that if he didn’t switch the recruits’ bayonets for the regular one he would be torturing them himself. When he would hear of their torture he would know it was his fault and he knew he could have stopped it if he took the time. So he switched them to avoid the extreme guilt he would feel for sending a man to a torturous death, and devastating a young man’s family. He was saving these men’s lives without being asked. He was going out of his way and against orders to make sure these men would not be tortured. In the story humane actions are sparked from guilt in response to inhumane actions having to do with Kemmerich’s death, Injury of the Horses, and the torture of the Germans. This is very similar if an animal is abused it sometimes is killed after being rescued. They do this for the animal’s own good. If they let him live he may not trust anyone and harm others. Then he would be put down anyway. Also, he is hurt or injured he will not trust a veterinarian to help him so is just put out of his misery before trying. If there is no chance for something to live or an animal to survive with society or in the wild, it should just be put down to stop the creature from going through the stress it would go through for it will most likely suffer or get killed anyway.

Cost and Benefit Essay

A cost benefit analysis is done to determine how well, or how poorly, a planned action will turn out. Although a cost benefit analysis can be used for almost anything, it is most commonly done on financial questions. Since the cost benefit analysis relies on the addition of positive factors and the subtraction of negative ones to determine a net result, it is also known as running the numbers. A cost benefit analysis finds, quantifies, and adds all the positive factors. These are the benefits. Then it identifies, quantifies, and subtracts all the negatives, the costs. The difference between the two indicates whether the planned action is advisable. The real trick to doing a cost benefit analysis well is making sure you include all the costs and all the benefits and properly quantify them. Should we hire an additional sales person or assign overtime? Is it a good idea to purchase the new stamping machine? Will we be better off putting our free cash flow into securities rather than investing in additional capital equipment? Each of these questions can be answered by doing a proper cost benefit analysis. http://management.about.com/cs/money/a/CostBenefit.htm Cost-Benefit Analysis Jules Dupuit, a French engineer, first introduced the concept of Cost-Benefit Analysis in the 1930s. It became popular in the 1950s as a simple way of weighing up project costs and benefits, to determine whether to go ahead with a project. As its name suggests, Cost-Benefit Analysis involves adding up the benefits of a course of action, and then comparing these with the costs associated with it. The results of a cost-benefit analysis are often expressed as a payback period – this is the time it takes for benefits to repay costs. Many people who use Cost-Benefit Analysis look for payback in less than a specific period – for example, three years. You can use Cost-Benefit Analysis in a wide variety of situations. For example, when you are: .Deciding whether to hire new team members. .Evaluating a new project or change initiative. .Determining the feasibility of a capital purchase. However, bear in mind that Cost-Benefit Analysis is best for making quick and simple financial decisions. More robust approaches are commonly used for more complex, business-critical or high cost decisions. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_08.htm BCA attempts to capture all benefits and costs accruing to society from a project or course of action, regardless of which particular party realizes the benefits or costs, or the form these benefits and costs take. Used properly, BCA reveals the economically efficient investment alternative, i.e., the one that maximizes the net benefits to the public from an allocation of resources. BCA is not the same thing as financial analysis. Financial analysis is concerned with how to fund a project over its lifespan and measures the adequacy of current and future funds and revenues to cover the cost of building, operating, and maintaining the project. While financial analysis is an important part of project management, the economic merit of the project as measured by BCA is generally not affected by how the project is financed. Useful Applications of Benefit-Cost Analysis Benefit-cost analysis (BCA) considers the changes in benefits and costs that would be caused by a potential improvement to the status quo facility. In highway decision-making, BCA may be used to help determine the following: * Whether or not a project should be undertaken at all (i.e., whether the project’s life-cycle benefits will exceed its costs). * When a project should be undertaken. BCA may reveal that the project does not pass economic muster now, but would be worth pursuing 10 years from now due to projected regional traffic growth. If so, it would be prudent to take steps now to preserve the future project’s right-of-way. Which among many competing alternatives and projects should be funded given a limited budget. BCA can be used to select from among design alternatives that yield different benefits (e.g., reconstruct a roadway with additional lanes versus no additional lanes); unrelated highway projects (a widened road versus an interchange on another road); and unrelated transportation projects in different transportation modes. The Benefit-Cost Analysis Process In BCA, the analyst applies a discount rate to the benefits and costs incurred in each year of the project’s life cycle. This exercise yields one or more alternative measures of a project’s economic merit. The BCA process begins with the establishment of objectives for an improvement to a highway facility, such as reducing traffic congestion or improving safety. A clear statement of the objective(s) is essential to reduce the number of alternatives considered. The next step is to identify constraints (policy, legal, natural, or other) on potential agency options and specify assumptions about the future, such as expected regional traffic growth and vehicle mixes over the projected lifespan of the improvement. Having identified objectives and assumptions, the analyst (or analytical team) then develops a full set of reasonable improvement alternatives to meet the objectives. This process begins with the development of a â€Å"do minimal† option, known as the base case. The base case represents the continued operation of the current facility under good management practices but without major investments. Under these â€Å"do minimal† conditions, the condition and performance of the base case would be expected to decline over time. Reasonable improvement alternatives to the base case can include a range of options, from major rehabilitation of the existing facility to full-depth reconstruction to replacement by a higher volume facility. Such alternatives will often involve construction, but alternatives that improve highway operations (such as the use of intelligent transportation systems) or manage travel demand (such as incentives for off-peak travel) are suitable for consideration. Major Steps in the Benefit-Cost Analysis Process 1. Establish objectives 2. Identify constraints and specify assumptions 3. Define base case and identify alternatives 4. Set analysis period 5. Define level of effort for screening alternatives 6. Analyze traffic effects 7. Estimate benefits and costs relative to base case 8. Evaluate risk 9. Compare net benefits and rank alternatives 10. Make recommendations http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/asstmgmt/primer05.cfm The Public Spending Code D. Standard Analytical Procedures Guide to economic appraisal: Carrying out a cost benefit analysis http://publicspendingcode.per.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/D03-Guide-to-economic-appraisal-CBA-16-July.pdf

Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis - Case Study Example The company, through its resilient and effective marketing tactics, has able to capture market share of around 11.0% by value and 11.2% by volume. Another source from where the company earns a great deal of its revenue is through selling food items. Marks and Spencer is the leading provider when it comes to selling fine quality food. The company sells everything from fresh meals to canned food items, highly acclaimed and praised range of wines to other groceries products. The company has improved its shelf availability and has adopted the strategy of renewing its food range. The proactive approach has resulted in an increase of 1.8% in sales revenue from food business. The financial year 2011 proved to be another progressive year for Marks and Spencer. During the current year, Marks and Spencer’s revenue increased by 2% during the current year to an impressive ?9.7 billion. Although, due to increase in expenditure owing expansion plans of the company, the operating profit decr ease by 2%. The company, following its growth strategy, aspires transform its operation into multi channel business. The company has taken major steps in investing its direct sales business which enhanced the revenue during the current financial year. ... Income statement Revenue – continuing operations UK 8,733 8,568 8,164 8,309 7,978 International 1,007 969 898 713 611 Operating profit – continuing operations UK 679 701 755 1,096 957 International 158 151 116 115 89 Total operating profit 837 852 871 1,211 1,046 Net interest payable (94) (160) (200) (141) (130) Pension finance income 38 11 35 59 21 Profit on ordinary activities before taxation – continuing operations 781 703 706 1,129 937 Analyzed between: Underlying profit before tax 714 695 604 1,007 965 Adjustments to operating profit 66 8 102 122 (29) Income tax expense (182) (180) (199) (308) (278) Profit after taxation 599 523 507 821 659 As quite evident from the above comparison, the financial outlook of the company has improved. The increase in group revenue primarily pertains to the increase in like-for-like sales as well as the addition of new stores and outlets, both in and outside of England. Since Marks and Spencer do a significant number of its sa les overseas, the company’s revenue is majorly increased due to the fluctuation in exchange rate. Although the recent credit crisis and global economic meltdown proved to be a hurdle, but the impact was offset by prudent risk management and apt allocation of capital investment. The gross profit to sales ratio for the year ended December 31, 2011 was 8.93% which has decreased by 0.67% during the current year. Despite the decrease in gross profit to sales ratio, the net profit of the company has increased by ?16.2 million. The increase in net profit is due to the fact that during the current year the company did not spend any exceptional cost which it incurred during the prior year on strategic restructure. In addition, the company took strong measures to control its

The Benefits of Family Members Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Benefits of Family Members - Research Paper Example Traumatic symptoms encompass characteristics such as detachments, reenactments and hallucinations. According to a research study, it has been further revealed that trauma withholds structural sympathies with respect to code. Furthermore, related to code, it has been explained as a channel that will help in understanding, representing as well as intervening a traumatic event. Code is principally viewed as a channel through which a traumatic experience passes from its suppressed position to conscious countenance. While transferring of traumatic event, it is not trapped within involuntary reenactments as well as obsessive repetitions related to traumatic experiences (Blanchard, 2008). In this regard, it is further determined that traumatic events lead to a numerous internal changes within the family setting. These changes mainly reveal the change of outlook with respect to life and expectation about future. Recovery from setbacks due to traumatic events within individuals varies from ea rly recovery to prolonged years of recoveries. In accordance with traumatic events, it has been revealed that family plays an important role in overcoming traumatic experiences. Numerous aspects such as family background, the severity of traumatic event, family support and early adaptation of family members with respect to a traumatic event play an imperative role in order to stabilize the surroundings of a person facing critical scenario in terms of sustenance. Thus, code situation represents the urgency of traumatic event that has occurred recently (Shepell.fgi, 2012). Effects of the Traumatic Events Traumatic events differ for different persons. For a few individuals, a small emotional loss can be a traumatic event. It is considered as a... This paper approves that it has been revealed that attention is required related to belief systems, administrative patterns and communiquà © processes which can foster the reduction in terms of vulnerability as well as risk for recovering from traumatic setback. Belief system of a family represents cultural and spiritual along with the traditional system that are prevalent within a family. In this respect, family traditions, belief systems and culture play an important role with regard to the early recovery of a trauma patient especially in emergency room setting. It becomes important for the family members to contextualize pain of the trauma patient to alleviate the suffering by a considerable extent. A sense of coherence and cooperation must be provided to the affected member in order to overcome a traumatic incident at an earliest. For instance, in case of natural calamity, family members stand as a pillar for each other and develop confidence among them to fight against the adve rse situation This essay makes a conclusion that traumatic events lay an immense negative impact over human beings. Traumatic events differ with respect to the perception from person to person. Furthermore, it has been revealed that traumatic event affects a person’s normal workout. A trauma survivor remains under depression and mental disturbance that affects the daily routine. In this context, it has been revealed that trauma survivor remains distorted, disturbed and depressed. From the overall study, it is ascertained that family members help trauma patients to recover at an earliest. Family members and loved ones develop a positive feeling within the sufferer from a traumatic experience along with providing a sense of motivation to start life in a new and a better way.

How The Media Has Influenced in the Construction of the US Latino Essay

How The Media Has Influenced in the Construction of the US Latino Identity - Essay Example This study has been prompted by some of the urgent issues about Latinos and their image, portrayed by American media. By analyzing the way in which U.S. magazines covered Latinos, this study raises the following questions, such as what was the number of magazine stories about Latinos, what were the topics of these stories, what are the main themes found in the coverage of Latinos. This mounting influence the Latino community has in U.S. society coupled with the important role of the news media warrants a study that examines how Latinos are represented in U.S. mainstream news magazines. The study went on to expound on the portrayals of Latinos. Since the majority of the stories were about immigration, the study focused on how Latinos were portrayed in this capacity. Latino immigrants in these magazines were presented in a negative fashion and were seen as a threat and a ‘disruptive force in U.S. society. However, it must also be included that six of these stories of immigration and other Latino focused articles portrayed them in a positive fashion in a political capacity. This literature review has shown that in U.S. advertisements, Latinos are either being underrepresented, misrepresented or not represented at all in U.S. consumer magazines. However, underrepresentation is a poor marketing strategy as the majority of consumers are Latinos. Generally, Latinos are being represented in U.S. consumer magazines as blue collar workers like janitors or cleaning people as well as dirty and lazy immigrants.

Developing Business Processes and Operations Essay

Developing Business Processes and Operations - Essay Example Applying tools such as fishbone diagram, workflow diagram and decision matrix, it was found that appointing an editor will be the most logical and feasible solution to level the situation. Business concept had undergone a major change in 1980s. â€Å"It was the realization by management that the business and manufacturing processes, not the people, is the key to error free performance† (Harrington, 2007). Since then, organisations have been continually striving to escalate the business processes and related operations to the level of perfection as it has been observed through the 1990s till date that â€Å"stockholders are not looking for good quality – they want perfection† (Harrington, 2007). For the purpose of this research I have chosen a start up organisation which consists of three teams each handling a distinct process. Team A performs online journalism and prepares news reports for various websites; Team B prepares international tests preparatory tools and Team C caters management solutions to retail clients. The three teams are autonomous in their functioning and have individual team leaders. A separate business development team headed by the CEO looks after networking and client development. Team wise client allocation is determined through weekly meetings as well as on ad hoc basis. The company has been enjoying considerable reputation in its sector and is also planning to diversify its operations and services in other locations as well. It is in a growth mode and is looking forward to increasing its employee base in terms of the existing units and especially a dynamic marketing department. Following implementation of this plan the workforce is expected to be doubled over a period of 9-12 months. It is also expected that the revenues will be remarkably enhanced in the next quarter. The current business scenario

E-marketing Communications Plan for IBB Assignment

E-marketing Communications Plan for IBB - Assignment Example Hence, if we work through this new channel, it can make our work far faster and better than it used to be. Many Companies have moved away from big advertising expenditures that used to be a huge part of their marketing programs and have instead poured money into less expensive PR/Social Media programs. This digital media enabled the long-term partnership with consumers and also provided cost-effective solutions. Companies switching to new media are the latest trend and respond to the need of the market since most consumers prefer online channels these days. Indeed, online media are gaining popularity and consumers easily trust them. Today, content is created, consumed, commented on, collaborated over and circulated at an ever-accelerating pace through the social media, search engines, and digital content. Companies have to move quickly to identify, learn from and engage in conversations that are related to their brands. They need to communicate using channels preferred by an increasi ngly selective audience. So, it has been decided to launch a full flash digital marketing campaign using different mediums. I will closely work with digital marketing agencies to ensure media relations campaigns dovetail with blogger relations and other social media PR strategies, as well as wider marketing and communications initiatives. We work â€Å"with our clients to identify and track the most influential and relevant industry analysts and work out strategies for engaging with them. â€Å" (http://triercompany.com/services/analyst-relations/) For a new website launch, we will work for reputation management strategies, as well as communications services that meet our goals and objectives. We will take the time to understand our unique culture and challenges, which will help us come up with marketing strategies that will give us ultimate success. We will get the services of those agencies which specialize in helping clients build corporate visibility through high-profile media relations. We will also engage several crisis management experts, experienced in handling communications around a wide range of issues. During a campaign, the nationwide network of highly experienced social media mavens will target both consumers and influences. The services that we will explore include research, a brand category identification, message composition, ID maintenance, campaign development, execution and reporting. Methodology Since the world economy is influenced by globalization processes, the total business environment has dramatically changed of late. Competition is no more limited to a single market place, it has also expanded internationally. The technological advancement today creates competitive advantages in every industry and sector. Importantly, digital marketing is on boom and many businesses are shifting their budget to this new form of marketing. Before working on any report, it is vitally important to do a research. In particular, researchers have to ens ure they understand the topic right, and then they need to gather data and craft it in a fine report, which should be understandable in the context of its target market. In other words, researchers carry out a research and transform the facts that they have obtained in a sequence, so that readers can easily understand the idea and the situation described in the report.  

Analysis of The Allegory of the Cave Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of The Allegory of the Cave - Essay Example Glube’s analysis will be considered. The cave is incredibly dark since there is no adequate light inside it, making difficult, even for the inhabitants to see objects. Inside the cave, there are chained people on their feet and necks making it difficult to move. Equally, there is another world just out of the cave, which is separated by a wall. Numerous people walk on this wall causing reflection of the shadows into the cave, which the prisoners perceive as real. However, in actual sense, this is just an illusion. This scenario contrasts sharply with the outer world, which is characterized by light and visibility of everything (Grube, 112). This makes a prisoner released from the cave to dazzle in the light, however as he stays longer, he is acclimatized. He expresses sympathy to the prisoners in the darkness. He sees it better for one to be a prisoner in the other outer world. As a point of departure, the Allegory of the cave represents a dialogue between the protagonist Socrates and Glaucon, the interlocutor. The people in the cave are seen bound by chains and believing that the reality lies in the shadows of the artifacts. It is unbelievable how these people manage a life confined in darkness, because the fire represented is behind them. This is a metaphorical application, which gives a picture of their state while in the cave. Their senses are bound and they are confined to their sense of ignorance, which makes Socrates to wonder how these people will respond if they were â€Å"released from their bondage and cured of their ignorance† (Grube 187). Socrates believes that there is a possibility that, the prisoners will be confused to differentiate between the real artifact and its shadow. Accordingly, Grube notes that the primary intention of education as articulated by Plato is not to impart knowledge but to change the behavior and

Viruses Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Viruses - Research Paper Example There are millions of types of viruses present in the world. A few thousands have been explained and studied in detail. Viruses can survive in severe and extreme conditions of temperature, pressure and atmosphere and hence cannot be easily destroyed or eliminated from the environment. Viruses can be found in almost all environments on earth. Isolated viruses are not living organisms because they cannot reproduce, grow or multiply unless they are present in a human or animal cell. The virus attacks the human, animal or plant cell, takes over the controlling and mechanism of the cell and starts producing products that are harmful for the body. The infected cell will now produce harmful products instead of its usual products (Mandal 41-76). Viruses are of various shapes but the basic structure of a virus always is composed of three parts. The nucleic acid is the main part of a virus and it is either a DNA or RNA. It is responsible for giving a virus its unique characteristics and helps to reproduce. The nucleic acid is protected by covering made from protein which is called the capsid; its purpose is to protect the nucleic acid from any sort of harm. The lipid membrane is a layer which is present over the capsid and is meant for protection. However this layer is not necessarily present in all viruses. Viruses can be transferred from organism to organism in different ways. Either the various can enter the body through direct contact with the organism contaminated with the virus. Some flying insects can carry the virus and transfer that virus to other organisms. Insect bites can also lead to a transfer of virus from one body to another. Contaminated food and water can also lead to the transfer of viruses. Viruses are responsible for a number of diseases like flu, cough, fever, measles, polio, hepatitis, yellow fever, small pox, Human immunodeficiency virus, rabies, influenza, diarrhea, etc. Among these diseases some are easily curable through regular medications and precautions but some of them are extremely difficult to take care of; the treatment is usually very expensive and besides the cost it is usually not sure that the medications will prove beneficial or not. Some of the diseases caused by viruses even do not have a cure and they ultimately lead to the death of the suffering person. Viruses can also cause certain types of cancer. For some of the diseases caused by viruses of which a proper cure is not present, the people are advised to take particular vaccines in order to keep themselves protected from the viral attack. By the use of vaccines the human body builds up the immune system to fight against any such viral attack and in this way the virus fails to attack the human cell and thus the human remains protected from those diseases which have no proper cure and are considered as life threatening diseases. The vaccines help develop antibodies in the human so that whenever such viruses are encountered by the human cells they can devel op antibodies to fight away the virus. In the earlier times when there were no vaccines many people used to die because of these incurable diseases but with the development of vaccines death rates have considerably reduced due to these diseases. The humans during the starting years of their lives are made to take vaccines against a number of viral diseases that are practically incurable in order to protect

The negative economic impacts of World EXPO 2010 in Shanghai, China Essay

The negative economic impacts of World EXPO 2010 in Shanghai, China - Essay Example If the negative outcomes outweigh the benefits, it is always prudent that the country resists from hosting the event. Some of the considerations that a country considers among other things include environmental effects, economic benefits, social impacts as well as its ability to host the event successfully. It is always important that a country ensure that it has the necessary infrastructure to host large international events, failure to which, it may end up to engage in internal and external borrowing, something that may have far reaching economic impacts (Chalip, Breen & Hill 2003). This paper examines the economic impacts that were associated with the hosting of the World Expo that was held in the Shanghai city of China in 2010. This is an event that is organized under the United Nations umbrella and happens on a rotational basis in major cities of the world, after a successful bidding by the respective countries. It focuses on the effects the event had on the various macroeconomic economic of China, as well as that of other hosting cities for the same event. The World Expo 2010 was held in China, in both of the banks of Huangpu River; the event took six months, running from the start of May to October of 2010. The event was marked as one of the major World Expo in the customs of international and world fairs and Expositions. The event was the first of its kind that the city was hosting after 1992, something that influenced prior proper planning before the actual event was to take place. During the Expo, the theme that was settled at was, â€Å"Better City – Better Life;† the choice of the theme was to portray Shanghai as the next great city of the world (Abelson 2011; Crompton 2006). Indeed, many of the people that attended the Expo lived to ascertain the fact that Shanghai has been developed as the major city in the world, competing with other major cities in the world

Trade Deficits and Weakening Dollars Essay Example for Free

Trade Deficits and Weakening Dollars Essay Economist Frank Shostak offers an unpopular view of the United States’ trade deficit and its effect on the country’s economy. The view is widely held that an increasing trade deficit ultimately leads to the unwillingness of other nationals to hold the American currency. The effect of such a development would be an ultimate decline in the United States’ dollar exchange rate. When United States nationals converts its dollars to that of another country, say the Japanese Yen, in order to procure their goods, this might be considered as the existence of a demand for Japanese money. This demand arises as a result of a demand for goods produced in Japan. If such demand is no reciprocated—that is, if this American demand for Japanese products is not answered by an equal demand by Japan for American products—then this could lead to a trade deficit. The important aspect of this trade deficit lies in the fact that the demand for American goods is not as great as American demand for foreign goods. On some level, money can be considered as a commodity—especially for the purposes of investment where interest becomes the price of money. When the demand for American money decreases, the price of money also decreases. Interest rates are an important part of economic growth as it denotes (in the most simplified sense) the worth of such strictly monetary transactions as investments, lending, savings, etc. It would appear that when the price of money decreases, the worth of money would also decrease, and this leads to a disparity between the worth of the U.S. currency and that of the Yen—in favor of the Yen. Shostak argues otherwise. Though he concedes that the trade deficit is related to the exchange rate of the U.S. currency, he does not consider the trade deficit to be the deciding factor of that exchange rate. Rather, he considers the deficit an unfortunate result of that decline in the exchange rate. The U.S. monetary policy is what he blames. He considers a wanton increase in the money supply as having precisely the same effect as counterfeiting. Below is a table showing the changes in money supply, interest rates, trade deficit and GDP between 1987 and 2005. Here it can be seen that a fall in GDP does occur in relation to a fall in interest rates. Though the decrease appears small, the comparison should not be exaggerated, as many fluctuations occurred in between the given time period. It does show an overall decrease in the net deficit, but this is shown as a percentage of GDP. The effect of one on the other is therefore not clear from this table. Money Supply (1987 = baseline) Interest Rates 1987 2005 1987 2005 100% 273% 6.5% 1% Net Deficit (as % of GDP) Gross Domestic Product 1987 2005 1987 2005 ~8% 6.3% ~3.4% ~3.3%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (Naito, Norrington Yamaguchi; Elwell, 8). However, according to Shostak, when the U.S. money supply increases in relation to that of another country (say Japan), yet all else remains the same, the amount of money competing for essentially the same amount of output rises. This scenario mimics a rise in demand, which leads to a rise in prices according to the price elasticity theory of demand. When this occurs, the comparison between the prices of two similar products in the United States and Japan yields an elevated price in U.S. dollars and therefore a deflated U.S. currency. This comes from the principle of purchasing power parity. However, it might be argued that the fall in the U.S. exchange rate could have the effect of reducing the trade deficit when the amount becomes expressed in terms of other nations’ currencies. The final analysis is that Shostak’s theory appears convincing especially in light of the rise in the U.S. monetary supply that seems to exceed GDP growth (see table) and the current weakening of U.S. dollar on the global market. The U.S. exchange rate in comparison with the Eurodollar fell 40% between 2001 and 2004 (Evans, 2). Works Cited Elwell, Craig K. The U.S. Trade Deficit: Causes, Consequences, and Cures. Congressional   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Research Services, 2006. http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL31032.pdf Evans, Edward A. Understanding Exchange Rates: A Weakening U.S. Dollar—Good, Bad, or    Indifferent for Florida Farmers and Agrobusinesses? Gainesville: University of Florida   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   IFAS. 2005 http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FE/FE54600.pdf Naito, Yuki, Robert C. Norrington, Keiko Yamaguchi. â€Å"The United States.† A Multi-country   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Evaluation of Trade Imbalances. Ed. Steven Suranovic. Washington DC: George   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Washington Universtiy. 1999. http://internationalecon.com/tradeimbalance/US.html Shostak, Frank. â€Å"Does the widening U.S. trade deficit pose a threat to the economy?† The Daily   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reckoning. 2006 http://www.dailyreckoning.com/Featured/ShostakDeficit.html

The Lilly Ledbetter Act Sociology Essay

The Lilly Ledbetter Act Sociology Essay In January 2009, President Obama signaled his commitment to improving the lives of working women with the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act. By signing this act into law, President Obama signed a significant shift in the view of American polity toward the status of women in the workplace. While this change is significant in the upward mobility of women, only a small portion of women in the workforce will benefit from this new law. Introduction Many explanations have been offered by scholars for gender-wage disparity. Pay disparities have often been attributed to the segregation of women in certain female-dominated occupations, disparities in professional skills, education, and experience, and differences in family status, as well as the role of industry and wage structure. What that said, evidence still suggests that at least part of this gender pay gap is due to discrimination which may be subtle and even unconscious. While the pay disparity exists in nearly every traditional field, jobs associated with male roles continue to be better paid than jobs associated with roles that are considered traditionally female even though these jobs may often require the same skill level. Women dominate jobs in nursing, home health assistance, child care, teaching, cleaning, and food preparation; most of which replace things that women historically have performed in the home for free. While women are making strides in our white collar s ections of our economy, working-class America has not yet benefited from this economic and cultural power shift. Jobs held mainly by women are paid at rates that on average are 20% less than those equivalent jobs held mainly by men. Improvements in pay for women have been related to a greater presence of women in the labor force, rising educational attainment, and the movement into professional and managerial jobs, but there still continues to be an unexplained gender pay gap against women. Today, women with the same amount of education and experience earn 81 percent of what men do; although, this is better than the 60 percent they earned in 1980. This pay gap has persisted and remained relatively consistent for the past 2 decades. Historical Relevance Social Welfare Policies Recent research indicates women now make up almost half of the American work force and earn 60% of college degrees in America. Empowerment alone is not entirely responsible for this revolution. Politics has played a big role in the movement of women into the work force. A number of policies in the 1960s seemingly targeted gender discrimination in the labor market. Legislative efforts that have attempted to address this problem include the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent amendments, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Acts of 2009 and 2012. These changes along with the rise of the service sector and the decline in manufacturing have supported and encouraged the entrance of women into the American workforce, but progress has not been uniform as seen in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). The Equal Pay Act On June 10, 1963, the Equal Pay Act (EPA) was passed by Congress dictating that women and men must receive equal pay for equal work on the recommendation of President John F. Kennedys Commission on the Status of Women. Under the mindset that men were the heads of households and therefore where the primary income producer in families, women had previously been paid less when employed in identical jobs. Regardless of the fact that in many homes women were considered the breadwinners for reasons ranging from death or disability of a spouse, divorce, and/or single parenthood. The EPA prohibits gender-based pay discrimination among employees within the same work place who do substantially equal work. Although gender can no longer be viewed as a drawback, demonstrable differences in seniority, merit, the quality or quantity of work, and/or other considerations might merit different pay can be used if proven. The statute of limitations for filing a suit is 2 or 3 three years, depending on w hether the discriminatory act is intentional. In order to recover under the act, a woman must prove that an employer paid higher wages to men, male and female employees conduct an equal amount of work that requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and men and women performed the work under similar working conditions. The act establishes four main defenses for employers. An employer may pay a male employee more than a female employee if the employer can establish that payment is based upon a seniority system, a merit system, a system whereby earnings are based upon the quantity and quality of production by the employees, or a differential based upon any other factor other than the sex of the employees. While the first three of these defenses have been the subjects of litigation, the fourth exception if often litigated more frequently. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is considered our nations benchmark legislation. Signed into law on July 2, 1964, the Civil Rights Act paved the way for future anti-discrimination legislation and President Lyndon Johnson asserted his commitment to President Kennedys legislative agenda, Passage of the Act ended the application of Jim Crow laws, which had been previously upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1896 case Plessy v. Ferguson.   Congress eventually expanded the Civil Rights Act to strengthen enforcement of these fundamental civil rights. These changes were needed to strengthen the original proposal submitted by President Kennedy in response to the racially-motivated violence across the South which occurred during tumultuous summer of 1963. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and subsequent amendments prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sex in a broader set of categories, including hiring, promotion, and other conditions of employment. It requires filing a comp laint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 180 days after an intentional discriminatory act. Although the inclusion of the word sex in the original draft of this 1964 Act was considered a joke, this inclusion has become the basis for most gender-based discrimination policy in the United States. As a result of fears regarding the impact of this legislation on his predecessor, congress adopted the Bennett Amendment into bill shortly before its passage in 1964. Interested parties feared that an employee filing suit under Title IV could file a wage discrimination case without the need to prove equal pay for equal work as required under the EPA. The Bennett Amendment provides that an employer may pay his employees different wages based on gender if the provisions of the Equal Pay Act authorize such differentiation. Executive Order #11246 On September 24, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson issued Executive Order #11246. Generally considered the nations first affirmative action order, Executive Order #11246 requires companies receiving federal construction contracts to ensure equality in the hiring of minorities. The order was amended in 1967 to include gender discrimination. The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on February 5, 1993. FMLA is considered a labor standard classifying requirements for eligible employers and also a major milestone in the legal support of family life. FMLA recognizes that family life events have an impact on the workplace and requires the workplace to accommodate those events to provide job protection. Entitlements for employees who meet FMLA eligibility requirements include job protection and unpaid leave for a qualified medical and family reason. Eligible employees may take up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during any 12 month period for the serious health condition of the employee, parent, spouse or child, or for pregnancy or care of a newborn child, or for adoption or foster care of a child. An FMLA-eligible employee is an employee who has been in the business at least 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months. Work must be done at a location where the company employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles. FMLA does not apply to workers in businesses with fewer than 50 employees, part-time workers who have worked fewer than 1,250 hours within the 12 months preceding the leave and a paid vacation, workers who need time off to care for seriously ill relatives other than parents, workers who need time off to recover from short-term or common illness like a cold, or to care for a family member with a short-term illness such as child, and workers who need time off for routine medical care, such as check-ups. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) dictates that families receiving public assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program take personal responsibility for their low-income lives and that paid work is essential to moving the family out of poverty. The PRWORA represents the change in the welfare system that no longer permitted poor families to receive assistance while staying at home with children. With the passage of PRWORA, Congress essentially ended single mothers entitlement to income support by emphasizing paid employment. The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act In 2009, President Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, which allows victims of pay discrimination to file a complaint with the government against their employer within 180 days of their last paycheck, not as previously stated the first paycheck. Victims were previously allowed 180 days from the date of the first unfair paycheck. Interpretation of Such Policies The 1963 Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act combined are thought to settle the matter of equal pay in law. In 1963, when the Equal Pay Act was passed, full-time working women were paid 59 cents on average for every dollar paid to men. This means it took 49 years for the wage gap to close just 20 cents; a rate of less than half a penny a year.  [1]  In a 2007 U.S. Census Bureau report in, median pay for women is less than of men in each and every one of the 20 industries and 25 occupation groups surveyed. In fact, men working in female-dominated occupations still tend to earn more than women working in those same occupations. According to the Institute for Womens Policy Research, if equal pay for women were instituted immediately across the board, it would result in an annual $319 billion gain nationally for women and their families (in 2008 dollars).  [2]  Over her working life, a typical woman could expect to gain a total of $210,000 in additional incom e if equal pay were the norm (these numbers include part-time workers).  [3]   The Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act are important laws, but they are hard to enforce, and legal cases are extremely difficult to prove and win. Part of the problem is that many women can be underpaid without knowing it. Many companies continue to make it taboo to discuss salaries even though in some cases these policies are unfair and/or sometimes unlawful. In addition, without knowing what a job truly pays, women can devalue themselves when negotiating a new salary. Suing is also not a practical remedy for women since awards are limited under the EPA to 3 years worth of pay, which may make it difficult to find a lawyer to accept the case. In addition, the EPA does not allow participation in class action lawsuits for wage discrimination, and since discrimination is almost never in the form of a smoking gun, women still continue to suffer from the glass ceiling and old boys network. Recent court decisions and settlements reveal women earning low wages, faced with s ystemic discrimination in hiring, pay, promotions, or working conditions. In 2011, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) settled lawsuits against 3 employers in low-wage industries for systemic sex discrimination.  [4]  Although this civil action is promising, the Supreme Court has recognized the fear or retaliation leads many victims of pay discrimination to remain silent. Low-wage workers face substantial risk of retaliation by standing up to an employer to challenge discrimination and often remain silent. Unavailable resources also make options for low-wage workers difficult. Women who complain are labeled troublemakers which may follow them as they seek other employment. Employers often fight back aggressively and seek to ruin the credibility of the employee as they seek to defend the company. Women are often subjected to questioning about their sexual history as well as gynecologic medical records in efforts to intimidate them in court. Legal cases can be extremely difficult to prove and win since enforcement of the laws is complaint-driven and, unfortunately, most of the information needed to prove a complaint is held by employers. Pursuing an equal pay case under these circumstances can be devastating to the personal lives and finances of the plaintiffs. The first Executive Orders addressing discrimination in private sector grew out of the unique labor market conditions created by Americas entry into World War II. The basis for these orders was felt to fall under the Presidents authority to provide for national defense. A significant national commitment was signaled by the Johnson administration to social policy. By issuing Executive Order #11246, President Johnson signaled his belief that to truly level the playing field affirmative measures were required to undo the consequences of the historic exclusion of minorities and women from many areas of the workplace. The Presidents authority to issue this Order derived from his authority to ensure that government procurement was conducted in an economical manner. The relationship between the supply of labor and these Executive Orders is evident in that the eradication of discrimination is empirically related to economy and efficiency in government. As a byproduct, research has determined the effects of affirmative action on the gender pay gap estimating that employment of women increased somewhat faster in contractor firms as a result of the effects of affirmative action, but women have seen greater employment opportunities in the economy as a whole most particularly in the public sector. In the private sector or those contractors that are not subject to affirmative action provisions, affirmative action laws and regulations are few and far between. Under Federal law, only 2 types of private-sector employers are required to implement affirmative action plans; those that have federal contracts or subcontracts in excess of $50,000 and those that have at least 50 employees. This translates to 1 in 4 American workers holding jobs in the private sector covered by mandatory federal affirmative action programs. The role of these policy changes cannot be ruled out in both the increase in the gender pay disparity. Coverage under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 is far from universal and many low-wage, single-income workers simply cannot afford to take time-off from work without pay. Low-wage workers in particular would benefit from expanded paid leave policies as they are less likely to be covered by the federal policy since they are considered the working poor and are in greater need of pay during time-off from work for major life events. Women make up 59% of the low wage service-related work force with nearly two-thirds of those earning minimum wages. Women in low-wage positions often have significant demands on their time including, but not limited to holding down multiple jobs, raising children, pursing education, and training. Many single-mother families live paycheck-to-paycheck and may fear being easily replaced by their employers. Lack of information about better paying jobs or options available to them, lack of transportation, and the inability of low-wage female workers in si ngle income families to easily recover from job loss all factor heavily in a decision to challenge discrimination or remain silent. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 was at the time considered a reassertion of Americas work ethic. This Act single-handedly increased the poverty rate of low-wage families, most of them headed by single mothers. This legislation was passed in the middle of the strongest labor market in decades, especially for low-wage work, and was followed by sharp increases in the employment of unmarried mothers. The hope was that as former single welfare mothers entered the labor market they would eventually climb the job ladder; although, research has shown that wage profiles for less-educated workers remain stagnant even if earnings profiles slope upward. Female workers with low levels of education not only typically earn less; they are also hit hard by the wage gap. Less-educated, low-wage workers experience little wage growth while working for the same employer and only limited gain. Their experience is also less meaningful than for that of more-educat ed workers when moving to a new employer. The occupational segregation of men and women into different jobs in the service sector explains the single-largest portion of the gender pay gap, 49.3 percent. Many jobs that women have historically held by women are underpaid when compared to mens jobs that require similar levels of skill. A traditionally male job can earn more a traditionally female job. It is not that the male job has a much higher level of skills than the female job, but that our society values these jobs differently and this is a choice we make. Jobs considered traditionally female have been systemically undervalued for such a long time that we think it is natural, but in fact this is an ongoing legacy of past discrimination.  [5]   Finally, The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act provides women with a critical tool to challenge discriminatory pay practices, but it will not change pay disparity. The Act amends Title VII and restores the law that existed before the Supreme Courts 2007 decision in the Ledbetter case with regard to the timing of legal challenges. With a record number of women currently participating in the workforce, wage discrimination hurts the majority of American families by compromising their economic security today and their retirement security tomorrow. Rising employment rates have forced an unprecedented number of women into the position of primary breadwinners for their families. This alone makes pay equity even more critical. While the Ledbetter Act does not end pay disparity, it brings women one step closure to making real progress in pay disparity. Stronger incentives are needed for employers to follow the law, women need to be empowered to negotiate for equal pay, strengthen feder al outreach, and education, and enforcement efforts such as those contained in the now failed Paycheck Fairness Act are needed. Discrimination would then be deterred due to strong penalties for equal pay violations as well as retaliation against workers who ask about wage practices or disclose their own wages. Criticism/Critical Debate The consequences of the wage gap are both widespread and numerous. When women are paid less than men, the means by which they support themselves and their families is compromised. The number of single-family households has risen dramatically over the past 4 decades. The increase in the number of single-mother families can be correlated to the increase in child poverty in the United States. Unsurprisingly, single parent families headed by women are nearly twice as likely as single parent families headed by men to live below the poverty level. Although most children reared in mother-only households do well, there may be adverse consequences for others. By earning less, women will automatically experience the disadvantage of a less stable economic status and may be less likely to question their wage status due to fear of poverty. The wage gap disparity is also visible in fringe benefits, which currently make up about 30 percent of total compensation. Lower wages means lower lifetime earnings resulting in lower pension benefits upon retirement. The lack of coverage or lower benefit levels may not be a problem for some women, since they receive benefits through a spouse, but for other women, lack of adequate health or pension benefits from their job is a serious problem. As with wages, the gap in fringe benefits is thought to be related to differences between men and women in human capital and job characteristics. Some studies contribute differences in human capital to motherhood and parenting responsibilities since women are largely responsible for childrearing in our society. The correlation is that women are felt to less likely than men to gain work experience and skills, and therefore, are less likely to qualify for high-paying jobs; however, studies have demonstrated that when controlling for sex-based dif ferences in work hours, work interruptions, and part-time work, childless women earn no more than mothers and single women earned no more than married women. Thus, these wage disparities are not exclusively attributable to motherhood, and factors other than unequal sharing in childrearing duties must be at play. Supporting studies have found that in narrow sections of students graduating from the same law school with the same amount of experience, the human capital argument failed to explain the gender-based wage disparities in the American labor force. Another consideration for the wage disparity can be found in the role of industry and wage structure. This discrimination clearly starts the second women begin their first job, and follows them no matter where they go or what they do. New graduates not only make less, but continue to make less with each subsequent degree and the gap actually widens as they progress. Women make less than men no matter what industry or occupation they enter. This can be attributed to the decline in blue-collar jobs where women are under-represented. The rise of women in blue collar jobs has benefited women in that traditionally men have been more likely to be union members than women. Union representation has historically helped to increase the gender pay gap, but the share of unionized workers who are female has increased as unions have grown in certain public sector and service-related occupations that have a greater share of female workers. This in itself has played a relatively small role in the de clining gender pay gap. Public sector and service-related occupations remain crucial for women. Women have historically been overrepresented in public-sector employment. Public sector jobs generally pay more than jobs in the private sector raising the average pay for women in our contemporary economy, but recent decisions by many state and local governments to respond to diminished revenues and budget shortfalls by cutting public-sector jobs have had substantial economic effects on women. Although state and local public-sector workers have significantly higher levels of education than their private-sector peers, they are consistently underpaid relative to similar private-sector workers in similar jobs, and the disproportionate share of women and minorities working in state and local government has also translated into higher rates of job loss for both groups in these sectors. Affirmative action has played a significant role in public sector jobs, but this has mainly benefited white women, many of which are not coming from the lower-class labor market. According to the United States Labor Department, the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action are white women. The Department of Labor estimated that 6 million women workers are in higher occupational classifications today than they would have been without affirmative action policies. Conclusion The empowerment of women is considered to be one of the greatest changes in the past 50 years. This has been manifested in equal rights acts, changes in social welfare legislation, and changes in employment legislation such as the Lilly Ledbetter Act. The changes have all in one way or another corresponded with the rises in the labor market that have both supported and encouraged the entrance of women and minorities into the American workforce. Improvements in pay for women have been related to a greater presence of women in the labor force, rising education attainment, and the movement into professional and managerial jobs, but pay disparity still persists. Historically, legislation favoring the elimination of discrimination in the workforce has been used also to support economic growth. This would suggest that the driving factor behind this legislation is not discrimination or gender parity, but capitalism/the economy. Executive Order #11246 and The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 are examples of this. The impact of these Acts on low-wage female workers is evident. More low-wage single-mother households are living in poverty at this time than ever before. In fact, there has been no legislation to date to protect part-time and contingent workers at all and their numbers are growing. These workers are not eligible for time-and-a-half overtime, minimum wage protections, and they have very little job security. Most low-wage single-mothers are also not covered by the Family Medical Leave Act. The impacts of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its subsequent amendments, as well as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Acts of 2009 and 2012, are largely felt to be in the public sector, which is subjected to monitoring and oversight by the EEOC, and in the private sector in the form of blue collar jobs which are dominated by unions. Unions provide better benefit protection, safety protection, and job security. Lilly Ledbetter herself benefit greatly from protection in her job due to her union. Studies have shown that women who have had the benefit of being supported by union membership experience significantly less pay disparity. Low-wage workers often find it hard to unionize, especially in the private sector as this is often discouraged by employers. Workers are often bullied and intimidated to discourage talk of union membership. Strong unions in these sheltered areas would greatly benefit low-wage workers. Better enforcement of existing laws and regulations is also needed as well as stronger laws such as the Paycheck Fairness Act to address this issue. Lawsuits will not have a significant impact on pay disparity as individual wage discrimination cases are very expensive to pursue and difficult to argue. Private cases also do not have an important impact on the labor market. Class-action lawsuits are rare and are usually based on many employees and one employer or a few employers, and are generally not feasible in wage disparity cases. As previously mention, they are forbidden under the EPA. Finally, the fact that this problem is not concentrated in one area or agency makes it difficult to assess. Change is needed from outside these organizations. Federal standards should be adopted to specifically address pay inequality at all levels of government and even in the private sector. Internet Sources American Civil Liberties Union, www.aclu.com. The ACLU takes an active role in defending the freedoms granted to American citizens by our Constitution and laws of the United States in this country. The ACLU brings many discrimination cases on behalf of workers each year, testifies in front of Congress on behalf of womens issues, and works hard to lobby for womens rights in the workplace. National Committee on Pay Equity, http://www.pay-equity.org/. The National Committee on Pay Equity is a coalition of organizations working to eliminate sex-based and race-based pay discrimination to achieve pay equity. The American Association of University Women, http://www.aauw.org The American Association of University Women advances equality for women and girls through legislation, research, advocacy, and philanthropy. Its mission is a community to break through economic and education barriers so that women have a fair chance.

Impacts of Stress on the Well Being of Undergraduate Nurses

Impacts of Stress on the Well Being of Undergraduate Nurses Sanober Fazal Introduction Every person in this world is surrounded by different kinds of stresses. (Kohler et al., 2006) as cited in (Martos et al., 2012) â€Å"stress refers to a dynamic interaction between the individual and the environment. In this interaction, demands, limitations, and opportunities related to work may be perceived as threatening to surpass the individual’s resources and skill†. Stress in my point of view is a pressure which effects our mind and unable us to do our daily activities properly. It affects our mental, psychological, physical and emotional health. According to (Manney, Mk, Paul, Shashidhar, 2011) students are more porne to stress and it negatively effects on their mental health, educational success, self-grooming and effect on future. The same authors stated medical education as stressful. There are many factors which causes stress and that compromise the well-being of student nurses which will be discuss later in this paper.(O’Donnell ,2009) stated that many nursing student left the program due to unbearable stress. The rational for choosing this topic is that it’s my own observation and experience that stress is higher in undergraduate nurses. They are always over burden with assignments, regular papers as well as classes, clinical and, group works. All the time they have to sit in front of laptops or books. They have less time for themselves as well as for their families and friends. Other than this many undergraduate nurses end up with mental distress, many tried to do suicidal attempts and many withdraw the nursing career. Stress is the hurdle in the well-being of students, it affects negatively on their academics and social life. Many theories have been proposed for the better understanding of stress. According to (Cannon, 1929) as cites in (Davidyan, 2008), he talked about response theory. According to him our body works on basic principle of equilibrium (homeostasis). If the external stimulus is strong and body cannot cope with it than it really disturb the normal mechanism of body and causes stress. If the person handle the situation properly than it will be called a balance condition. Another theory given by (Hans selye, 1956) as cited in same article which describe a theory of general reaction of individual to different stressors. He discussed about three stages: Alarm reaction, resistance and exhaustion. In alarm reaction there is a condition of fight and flight and organism try to control the situation by physiological responses. After which resistance stage occurs. Here body builds resistance against stressor. Last stage is exhaustion where all the energy is lost, no further resistance exists and indi vidual ends in chronic stress. It indicates that a person should response appropriately in every stage to prevent complications of stress. Unfortunately, the prevalence of stress in Pakistani students is very high especially in nursing students. In Pakistan the image of nursing profession is very bad. There is no respect for this noble profession therefore, very little researches and studies has been done on it. According to Khowaja (2009) Pakistan is a discriminating society and there is no value of nursing that’s why there are always issues. A study was done on the prevalence of stress by Kumar and Nancy (2011) in Punjab, Pakistan. According to the study, out of 180 undergraduate nurses, 34.4 % had moderate stress, 32.8 % had mild and maximum stress respectively. Another study was carried in CMH College Lahore on 200 students. The result showed that the mean stress was 30.87, nearly same with result of Punjab college students. It indicates high level of stress in Pakistani nursing students. What Are the Factors of Stress in Undergraduate Nurses? There are many factors of stress among undergraduate nurses. For example they have to do lots of assignment, hard work, GPA, frequent exams, clinical both supervised and unsupervised. Moreover, the other factors which lead to stress are fear of faculty, staff, patient and their different disease status, lack of proper guidance and self-awareness. As an undergraduate nurse it’s my own experience and observation that both the supervised and unsupervised clinical are more stressful because students are expected to do many assignment and skills at the same time. Undergraduate nurses have to do assignment given by their faculty, by staff nurse and they have to give holistic care to patients. They are supposed to take care of severe patients with infectious disease and with aggressive behavior which cause stress in student nurses. Many of these factors were also mentioned in literature. Reevea et al., (2013) also highlighted clinical assignment as one of the factor of stress. It is more time consuming and students become socially isolated. The other cause of stress mentioned in the same articles is neglection from patients and from their attaindance, from staff nurse and other health care professionals. According to Abbey et al., (2011) issues from surrounding society, educational, and financial can also lead to stress. In an article written by somani khowaja (2012) it was mentioned that in Pakistani society work place violence and lower status of nursing profession is also a cause of stress in nurses. Patients and their relatives think this profession is not good and always try to abuse them. Magnavita and heponiemi (2011) mentioned physical and verbal violence as source of stress in nursing students during their clinical placement. Furthermore, international nursing review (2012) three main types of stressors are mentioned: (1) clinical stressors which include anxiety of not achieving expectations and communication gap between patients and hospital members. (2) Academic stressors. For example ongoing assessment and quizzes, not passing the programme and hectic timetable. (3) Personal/ social stressors which means financial issues and issues in home and school works. A cross sectional study was done in Pakistan’s shifa nursing college by Shomail and Faisal (2012). In this study total 78 nursing students participated. The findings of study on score of stress level in different factors were as follow, theory = 2.37, clinical experience =3.5, college environment= 2.39, social environment=251. In my opinion these factors of stress bring tremendous alteration in an individual’s health. What Are Implications of Stress in Undergraduate Nurses? According to labrague (2013), stress has adverse outcomes not only on physical, psychological and social health but as whole well-being. (Shirom, 2003) as cited in (Martos et al., 2012), stress lead to physical, psychological and behavioral impairment in an individual. I have seen many people with stress who cannot sleep without medications and they left to take proper diet. (Chang et.al 2006) as cited in (Lim, Bogossian and Ahern, 2010) reported consequences of stress on physical health that is increased pressures, sleep disturbance and tiredness. In another literature it says stress in nursing students creates issues in memory, in judgmental skills and in coping styles, Goff (2011). The students, who encounter stress, mainly have poor thinking and this further aggravate their psychological problems. I witnessed one of my classmate who developed psychological symptoms in second year 2013 due to increased stress in her academics. She was admitted in psychiatric ward for more than 2 m onths and still she takes medications. I observed the same symptoms in her which are mentioned in the literatures. According to literature, undergraduate nurse end up in mental issues due to increase level of stress. It causes emotional distress that is nervousness, low self-esteem, isolation, aggression, anxiety etc.(Jimenez,OsorioDiaz, 2010).In Karachi, Pakistan a study was conducted in three medical colleges and students participated were 360. They found gastro intestinal problems especially irritable bowel syndrome in students. It was mentioned in the article that irritable bowel syndrome is because of psychological stress in students. (Naeem et al., 2012). Moreover, (Prasad et al., 2013) also talked about psychological impacts of stress which lead to loss of concentration in educational field, loss of energy which ultimately leads to low output and thoughts of suicide. I also witnessed many cases where people did suicide, left the program, developed loneliness and symptoms like anxiety and drug abuse. O’Donnell (2009) stated that due to increased stress students are unable to focus and complete their nursing degree. They do not pay attention towards their studies which makes their life complicated.Galbraith and brown (2011) mentioned behavior related affects like use of alcohol, smoking and other drugs. Students use drugs as alternative coping strategies. The individual who suffer from violence may develop symptoms that persist for many years. They blame themselves for the incidence, feeling ashamed, and embarrassed. It alters their social life and builds negative thought about their career (magnavitaheponiemi, 2011).Yet another article by Mane et al. (2011) stated stress causes weak performance in education and in their later job life. Moreover they face many problems in their social life and personnel life. In my view stress always hinders in the progression of students whether it is there education, career, and health, their personal or social l ife. Strategies and Interventions There are many interventions and strategies to reduce the factors and negative impacts of stress in undergraduate nurses. According to (humped caputi, 2011) as cited in â€Å"Nurses education today†, student nurses are more exposed to stress and they need to build their capacity to balance their thoughts and cope constructively. Lim et al. (2010) found basic education of undergraduates very beneficial in control of stress.(Hubbard et al., 1984) as cited in ( Reevea et al., 2013) ; Yamashita and Miwasaito, 2012), mentioned about social support. According to which a strong support from others (friends and family members) enhance positivity in their health and thinking. Other than this a good relationship between students and their faculty can builds trust and confidence in students to perform their task courageously. (Jimenez ,2010; Yearwood and Riley, 2013), also mentioned that faculties should understand student’s stress so that they can support them in their grooming, progression and a proper guidance in clinical set up also reduce their stress level. In addition (Gibbons, 2010; Shomail Faisal, 2012), mentioned that the positive regards from teachers and colleague is helpful in stress management. According to Laragia (2013) to decrease stress in undergraduate nurses it is important to assess the cause and level of stress to plan interventions accordingly and help students in their theoretical and practical skill. Mane et al. (2011) highlighted about relaxation therapies and solution to those factors which are more common in students stress. Yamashita et al. (2012) found self-awareness and knowledge of dealing with stress as important strategies in alleviating of stress. Conclusion and Recommendation In conclusion every profession is stressful but nursing is more stressful and undergraduate nurses are more vulnerable to stress. There are many causes of stress which impacts the well-being of student nurses. The causes are increase work load in classes as well as in clinical, lack of knowledge, low self-esteem, encountering challenges with staff, patients and clinical placement. Undergraduates face many consequences of stress for example they suffer from psychological, emotional, social, and physical problem. They develop symptoms of suicidal ideation, alter in thought process, self with drawl from social life, high blood pressure, sleep problems, anxiety, frustration and it also impacts on their academics. Furthermore, it is very essential to find the root causes of stress and make proper strategies to reduce it. It is important for students that they should develop positive coping skills and cooperative relationship with faculties, staff and other professionals. Students can also take benefit from their social circle like from their parents and friends. In Pakistan nurses image is very poor and this lead to stress and many other issues in nurses. A proper research is needed to find the causes, prevalence and impacts of stress on the well-being of undergraduate nurses. I would recommend that students and teachers should make support group which will find out or help those students who are in stress. Furthermore, institution should not over burden the students. They should plan such activities which help them in relieving their stress such as sport timing, parties, and psychotherapy and counseling classes. If these strategies are implemented than students will be healthy and ultimately, there will be productive outcome. References Davidyan,A. (2008, January 10). Retrieved from http://http://www.severehypertension.net/hbp/more/theories-of-stress/ Donnell,O. (2009). The emotional impact of nursing student attrition rates.British Journal of Nursing,18(12), 745-747, 750, 752-754. Retrieved from http://www.scopus.com/ Galbraith,N.D., Brow,K.E. (2011). Assessing intervention effectiveness for reducing stress in student nurses.Journal of Advanced Nursing,67(4), 709-721. Retrieved from onlinelibrarywiley.com Gibbons., Dampster., Moutray. (2011). Differences in Perceived Stress and Its Correlates among students in professional courses.JCDR,5(6), 1228-1233. Retrieved from http://www.jcdr.net/article_fulltext.asp?issn=0973-709xyear=2011volume=5issue=6page=1228issn=0973-709xid=1620 Gibbons,C. (2010). Stress, coping and burn-out in nursing students.International Journal of Nursing Studies,47(10), 1299-1309. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/ Goff,A.M. (2011). Stressors, academic performance and learned resourcefulness in baccalaureate nursing student.International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 8(1). Jimenez,C., Navia-osorio,P.M., Diaz,C.V. (2010). Stress and health in novice and experienced nursing students.Journal of Advanced Nursing,66(2), 442-455. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05183.x/full Khowaja,K. (2009). International perspective: health care systems and care delivery in Pakistan.Journal of Nursing Administrator,39(6), 263-265. Retrieved from www.nursing center.com Kumar,R., Nancy. (2011). stress and coping strategies among nursing students.Nursing and Midwifery Research Journal,7(4), 141-151. Retrieved from medind.nic.in Labrague,L.J. (2013). Stress, stressor and stress responses of student nurse in a government nursing school. Retrieved from www.hsj.gr Lim,J., Bogossian,F., Ahern,K. (2010). Stress and coping in Australian nurses: a systematic review.International Nursing Review,57(1), 22-31. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ Magnavita,N., Heponiemi,T. (2011). Work place violence against nursing students and nurses.Journal of Nursing scholarship,43(2), 203-210. Retrieved from on line library. Wiley .com Manney,A.B., Mk,K., Paul,N., Shashidhar,H. (2011). Differences in Perceived Stress and Its Correlates among Students in Professional Courses.Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research,5(6), 1228-1233. Retrieved from http://www.jcdr.net/article_fulltext.asp?issn=0973-709xyear=2011volume=5issue=6page=1228issn=0973-709xid=1620 Martos,M.P., Augusto-landa,J.M., Lopez -zafra,E. (2011). Sources of stress in nursing students: a systematic review of quantitative studies.International Nursing Review,59(1), 15-25. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1466-7657.2011.00939.x/full Por,J., Barriball,L., Fitzpatrick,J., Roberts,J. (2011). Emotional intelligence: Its relationship to stress, coping, well-being and professional performance in nursing students .Nurse Education Today,31(8), 855-860. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0260691711000086 Prasad,C.V., Suresh,A., Thomas,D.K., Pritty,M.K., Beebi,S., Multazim,V. (2013). The level of stress and coping mechanism adopted by I Year B.Sc. nursing students.AMHS,1(1), 19-23. Retrieved from http://www.amhsjournal.org/ Reevea,K.L., Shumaker,C.J., Yearwooda,E.L., B., Crowella,N.A., Rileya,J.B. (2013). Perceived stress and social support in undergraduate nursing students educational experiences.Nurse Education Today,33(4), 419-424. Sawatzky, Richard, Ratner,G., Pamela,A., Richardson, Chris, Patricia. (2012). Stress and Depression in Students: The Mediating Role of Stress Management Self-efficacy. Nursing Research,61(1), 13-21. Retrieved from http://journals.lww.com/ Shomail,S., Faisal,A. (2012). Stressor and coping strategies among baccalaureate nursing students at Shifa college of nursing Islamabad, Pakistan.International Journal of Nursing education,4(2), 193-197. Somani,R.K., Khowaja,K. (2012). Work place violance towards nurse a reality from Pakistani context.Journal of Nursing Education and Practice,2(3). Retrieved from www.sciedu.ca/jnep Yamashita,K., Miwasaito. (2012). stress and coping styles in Japanese nursing students. International Journal Nursing Practice,18(5), 489-492.

Wal Mart Stores Inc Essay -- Business Finance Marketing Essays

Wal Mart Stores Inc Abstract Explores the marketing strategies employed by Wal-Mart Corporation and their efforts to compete in the â€Å"new† economy. Includes an assessment of Wal-Mart’s expressed and apparent positioning and value proposition based upon internal documents, public relations statements, web page and advertising. Includes an assessment of Wal-Mart’s competitive position and strategy. Includes an assessment of Wal-Mart’s marketing mix. Introduction The new economy, characterized by sophisticated technology, global communication and â€Å"knowledge as a commodity† demands a great deal from organizations that intend to remain competitive. Wal-Mart corporation does not just compete in their field, they dominate it. Wal-Mart is the largest retail operation in the world today. According to the Wal-Mart corporate website at http://www.walmartstores.com, the company’s net sales totaled $191.329 billion for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2001. This makes Wal-Mart the fourth largest company in the United States of America. The size and consistent profit generation of Wal-Mart Corporation make it a logical choice for the study of marketing techniques employed by successful businesses. Definitions Marketing mix: How much is spent and what percentage of marketing dollars go to advertising instead of other types of more highly targeted marketing communications. (Hill and Rifkin, 1999) New Economy: The way that business is conducted, characterized by a dozen or so themes: a) knowledge as a commodity b) digitalization c)virtuality d) molecularization e) networking f) disintermediation g)hyper media h) innovation i) customer as product designer j) immediate, k) global and l) discordant. (Tapscott, 1997) Organizational Culture: A common perception held by the organization’s members; a system of shared meaning. (Robbins, 2001) Discussion Method To assess an organization’s marketing strategies we look at three separate aspects of its approach to reaching the public. First, an examination of the company’s expressed or apparent position and value proposition are studied. This is accomplished using various documents, including, but not limited to internal documents, public relations statements, web pages and advertising. Next, a study of the company’s competitive position and strategy is conducted. This includes the dimensions of the... ...905-4 Longo, D. (2001, October), ACNielson Unveils Wal-Mart Solution. Retail Merchandiser 41 10, 10 Neff, J., (2001, August). Rivals shut out Wal-Mart. Advertising Age, 72 35, 8 Neff, J., (2001, October). Private party at Wal-Mart. Advertising Age, 72 44, 8 Petzinger, Jr., T. (1999). The new pioneers: The men and women who are transforming the workplace and the marketplace. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-684-84636-5 Robbins, S. (2001). Organizational behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-016680-4 Senge, P. (1994). The fifth discipline. New York. Currency Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-260905-4 Sparks, D. (1994, December). Life after Sam. Financial World. 52-54. References (continued) Tapscott, D. (1997, November-December). Strategy in the new economy. Strategy & Leadership. Treacy, M. (1995, September). Success through cannibalism. Marketing Magazine, 100. 17. United States Securities and Exchange Commission (2001), Form 10-K/A, Washingtion Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Hoovers Business Resource, 2002 ed. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Annual Report, 2000 ed. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Annual Report, 2001 ed.

Substantiality of Low Carbohydrate Diets :: Health Nutrition Diet Exercise Essays

Substantiality of Low Carbohydrate Diets Being able to eat as much butter, cheese and meat as you want but not be allowed even a single slice of whole grain bread just doesn’t make sense. But, it is backed up in scientific fact. There are four types of molecules that the body processes for energy – alcohol, sugar, boy fat, and protein, in that order. Alcohol from hard liquor, wine, and beer is processed first and very quickly. To successfully be on a low carbohydrate diet, it is best to avoid alcohol. Sugar is a class of molecules that includes, but is not limited to, table sugar and are derived from carbohydrates. As long as there is very little alcohol and next to no carbohydrates in your system, your body will preferentially process body fat for energy. It is important to note that body fat and the fat in food are two different entities. Body fat is stored energy. Fat from food is not processed for energy – the body uses it for other things. Body fat is made up of a type of molecule called a lipid. When lipids are broken down to make carbohydrates, an energy molecule and a type of molecule called a ketone is released. The name of this ketone is ?-hydroxybutyrate. Other instances of fat being broken down and releasing this ketone are during fasting, starvation, and during certain eating disorders such as anorexia. The presence of this ketone causes the body to think that it is starving even though it is getting plenty of food. Glycogen, the body’s natural fuel, is stored all bound up in water. Glycogen is made up of carbohydrates. When the body does not consume carbohydrates, it dips into its reserve supply as a survival mechanism. But, in accessing reserve glycogen, all the water that it is stored in is also released. And, as the reserves don’t get restocked, the excess water stays gone. Water is reasonably heavy. So, what appears to be fat loss is actually just water weight being lost. There are a limited number of food options on a low carbohydrate diet. The dullness and lack of variety tends to reduce appetite and intake.

Chinas One-Child Policy Essays -- Human Rights Violations in China

â€Å"Thousands of women are being dragged out of their homes, thrown into ‘family planning’ cells, strapped to tables, and forced to abort pregnancies, even up to the ninth month. Forced abortion and sterilization are China’s war on women† ("The Reality of China's" 1). This was said by Reggie Littlejohn, the president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers. Due to the rising population and the one-child policy, there are many human rights violations; however there are organizations, such as Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, which are helping to stop the problem. Due to the one-child policy there are many serious human rights infractions. Since the policy has been in effect, there have been more than 400 million prevented births ("China: One-child Policy" 1). Groups of women are being gathered and forced to get sterilized ("Family Planning? What" 1). â€Å"I realized there’s a Tiananmen Square massacre going on every day and no one knows about it.† This was said by Chai Ling, a leader in the Tiananmen Square Massacre. She is referring to all of the forced abortions and killings of female babies in China ("Fighting China's One Child" 1). The policy is enforced through fines, job loss, involuntary abortions and sterilizations ("The Reality of China's" 1). Many women are forced to get abortions and become sterilized. For example, a woman was given injections to induce an abortion. When the shots failed, the baby was surgically removed and cut into pieces ("Fighting China's One Child" 1). Another example is when government o fficials were told they would have their salaries cut in half if they didn’t sterilize 1,369 people, give 818 women IUD’s, and give 163 abortions in 35 days ("U.S. Groups Hit China's" 4). One horrifying example sh... ...ina’s Abominable One-Child Policy.† The New American 11 June 2007: 1-2. InfoTrac Student Edition. Web. 15 Feb. 2015. â€Å"Protecting Women and Girls in China, Where One Child Per Family is the Rule - and a Boy is the Preference.† The Christian Science Monitor 16 Aug. 2010: 1-3. InfoTrac Student Edition. Web. 14 Feb. 2015. â€Å"The Reality of China’s One-Child Policy: A Forced Abortion at Eight Months.† CNSNews.com. Cybercast News Service, 22 Oct. 2010. Web. 15 Feb. 2015. . â€Å"Two For Joy: the Natural Way Out of (China’s) One-Child Policy.† New Internationalist Dec. 1999: 1-2. InfoTrac Student Edition. Web. 15 Feb. 2015. â€Å"U.S. Groups Hit China’s One-Child Policy; House Focuses on Breaches of Human Rights.† The Washington Times 24 Dec. 2004: 1-6. InfoTrac Student Edition. Web. 14 Feb. 2015.

Case Study Questions Essay

1. What are the inputs, process, and outputs of UPS’s package tracking system? 2. What technologies are used by UPS? How are these technologies related to UPS’s business strategy? 3. What strategic business objectives do UPS’s information systems address? 4. What would happen if UPS’s information systems were not available? Answer: 1. A. Inputs * Package Information * Customer Information * Destination * Current Location of the parcels B. Process * The data are transmitted to a central computer and stored for retrieval. Data are also organized so that they can be tracked by customer. C. Output * Smart Labels * Signatures of Receiver * Proof of delivery * Receipts 2. Technologies used by UPS * DIAD (Delivery Information Acquisition Device) * Barcode scanning systems * Smart Labels * Wired and Wireless Communication Network (GPRS, CDMA) * Desktop and Central Storage â€Å"Best Services and Lowest Rates† Because of the advance integration of UPS’s technology. It can provide services cheaper and more efficiently. That technology solves problems like logistics and supply chain management, freight forwarding, customs brokerage, mail services. 3. Strategic Business Objectives of UPS’s information systems address * Operational Excellence UPS manage to cut down costs and save M 28 Miles by their truck using advanced technology. * New Products, Services and Business Models The information systems of UPS created new way on how to offer delivery service. It has transformed the way the company gathers information, creating routes etc. * Competitive Advantage UPS had already its operational excellence and New Products, Services and Business Models which means the UPS already gain a competitive advantage. Having this kind of technologies that they use like DIAD made them do things better than their competitors. 4. If UPS’s Information Systems were not available: * Operational costs could be higher. * Millions of gallons of fuel could be burnt. * Millions of miles could be driven. * UPS’s would not be able to track their parcels and deliver them efficiently if these systems were not available. MIS in Action

By What Means Do The Poets in These Five War Poems Convey Their View Of War? Essay

We have studied five poems of that only two poems- â€Å"The Charge of the Light Brigade† and â€Å"Who’s For The Game† are pro-war the other three are anti-war. â€Å"Who’s For the Game† is a poem aimed at all those young men at the time of the First World War to try and get them to enrol in the army. It talks about the war, as a fun game and that you should join with your mates as a bit of a laugh and kill some Germans while you are at it. In the first verse Jessie Pope the poet who wrote the poem compares the war to a game of rugby with lines such as â€Å"who’ll grip and tackle the job unafraid†. This puts the idea in the readers head that only strong tough rugby player will be able to fight for their country and that only the weak men who are scared stay behind while everyone else has the fun and gets praised and cheered. In the second and third verse they use the idea of inspiring guilt in the men into joining the army by saying such things as â€Å"Who’ll give his country a hand† it personifies the country as a human that is in a fight and you are the only person that can help it. It also uses the idea of all your mates going and having all the fun without you and you being left behind. It uses ballad rhythm very well to get the reader to read it in an up beat way like a song or a chant. â€Å"The Charge of the Light Brigade† is also the other pro-war poem. It’s a poem about a cavalry charge in the Crimean war that goes on a suicide charge to their deaths because a mistake was made in the communication between the officers. This poem is all about how the cavalrymen were prepared to charge to their deaths for Britain and because of this they become heroes. It starts with a use of feet in the rhythm it uses anapaestic diameter. This gives the idea of hooves galloping â€Å"Half a league, half a league, half a league onward,† This rhythm is broken in the third line, the poet does this to emphasize the word â€Å"Death† as it is an important word in this poem. In the second verse the poet expresses that the cavalry were oblivious to the situation they would be in soon as they rode into the valley, â€Å"Not tho’ the soldiers knew someone had blundered.† There is a sense of patriotism, as they do not ask why they just do, â€Å"Theirs not to reply, theirs not to reason why Theirs but to do and die,† In the third verse the poet emphasizes the fact that they are trapped by repeating the word cannon to the left to the right and in front of them this works and brings up he idea of despair. It also personifies death as a horrible monster that has big powerful jaws, â€Å"Boldly they rode and well, into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of Hell.† In the fourth verse the poet stresses the fact that even though the cavalry was greatly out numbered they still went in ‘all guns blazing’ as the saying goes, with the sabres in the air fearless. It also talks about the amount of men at the end of each verse it talks of there being six hundred at the start of the poem â€Å"Rode the six hundred† but as we go through the poem the number slowly depletes â€Å"Then they rode back but not the six hundred.† At the end of the poem they tell us to honour them, â€Å"Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred!† The next three poems are all anti-war programs ‘Drummer Hodge’ is a poem written by Thomas Hardy it is a poem about The Boar War were they used to hire under age drummers that were too young to join the army to fight but they used to join so that they could play the drums for the soldiers. In this case there is a young boy that loses his life along with a lot of other boys. â€Å"They throw in Drummer Hodge, to rest uncoffined-just as found† this is the first line in this poem and it uses the word throw to almost mean that he was forced to his death or as the poet puts it â€Å"to rest†. The poet stresses the fact that Drummer Hodge was just a young boy from Wessex that did not know anything about the war and was not involved with the cause of the war yet still has to go and die in it, â€Å"Young Hodge the Drummer never knew- Fresh from his Wessex home- the meaning of the broad Karoo.† The Drummer doesn’t even get any acknowledgement or funeral but is just left to rot without a coffin, underneath the stars. He never even gets taken home but left there in a strange place along way from home. The poet gives us the impression that he is a long way from home by bringing the fact that there are strange stars that he has never seen before, â€Å"Strange stars amid the gloam†¦ And strange-eyed constellations reign†. Also in the last line, â€Å"His stars eternally† this is the poet’s way of saying that even though he didn’t get a funeral and no one even realized he had gone but the stars will always remember him. The next poem is I called ‘Disabled’ and it is written by Wilfred Owen. It is a poem about a man that served in the war that has lost his all his limbs. In the first verse he talks of â€Å"his ghastly grey suite† this is a suite that he would be made to wear it because it has been specially made for him without any limbs. It goes on to say that he hears the boys playing like used to before he became disabled and this saddens him, â€Å"Voices of boys rang saddening like a hymn.† He looks forward to the nurse coming to him and putting him to bed to blot out his sorrow and take him away from this world, â€Å"Till gathering sleep had mothered them from him.† In the second verse he goes back to before the war and talks about how he used to swing and swagger down the street on a Saturday night in the town. Now he knows that he will never be appealing to girls again and now they touch him with no love or care but just purely professionalism and no passion or attachment, â€Å"Girls’ waists are, or how warm their subtle hands; all of them touch him like some queer disease.† He then goes back to talking about when he was before the war and says that he used to have artists wanting to paint him because he had such a good looking face but since the war it is almost as if he has had all the blood drained from his body, when he lost his limbs and all the colour has been lost from his face. All that is left is a pasty white body. â€Å"He’s lost his colour very far from here, Poured it down shell-holes till the veins ran dry†¦ and leap of purple spurted from his thigh.† He carries on talking about how when he used to play football with his mates that he would like a bit of blood on his leg because then it would look like he had played hard, â€Å"One time he liked a blood- smear down his leg, After the matches, carried shoulder high.† He goes on to say how he didn’t even join up to the army for any real reason it was just because he had had too much to drink and he did it to impress the ladies and he wasn’t even old enough. He joined because he thought he would look good in a kilt and would like to pose in front of the ladies. He wanted to join up with his mates and have a laugh with them and bond with them. He talks about when he came back from the war he got a small cheer off some people but not as much as when he scored a goal in football. He feels that he got let down by the country as all that he got back was a small thank you off a priest and some fruit but he gave all his limbs, â€Å"Some cheered him home, but not as crowds cheer Goal. Only a solemn man who brought him fruits.† He reflects on how he must take pity like benefits from the nurses and also and how the girls were the main reason he joined up in the first place but now they look upon him with pity and turn to the other whole men, â€Å"To-night he noticed how the women’s eyes passed from him to the strong men that were whole.† At the end of the poem he can’t wait till the nurses come and put him to bed so he can drift away into his dreams and get out of this world, â€Å"How cold and late it is! Why don’t they come and put him into bed? Why don’t they come?† The last Poem is called ‘The Night Patrol’ and it is written by Arthur Graeme West. It is about a night patrol in the second world war that goes out into ‘no mans land’ to listen to the Germans and see if they are up to anything. In the first verse it is direct speech presumably by an officer telling the soldiers what to do. Once the soldiers get over the top of the trench the poet goes on to explain in detail about what it is like in ‘no-mans land’ the poet gets the point across that this patch of land has not been used for its original use for many years, â€Å"tufts of crackling cornstalks, two years old, No man had reaped,†. The poet also goes into detail about the things that are strewn there from recent attacks, â€Å"Packs, rifles, bayonets, belts and haversacks, shell fragments, and the huge whole forms of shells.† He then goes on talk about the dead laying there and he talks of â€Å"the vile sickly smell of rottenness;â €  which spares no feelings for the senses. There is no dignity for the soldier they even put them in weird positions so that they can guide their way back to their trench. The poet then talks of coming to the next obstacle which happens to be a number of dismembered corpses. This angers the soldiers because it is easy to dodge one dead corpse on your belly but it is harder to dodge lots of pieces of dead corpse, â€Å"All blown to bits, an archipelago of corrupt fragments, vexing to us three.† In the poem the soldiers finally get to the German wire the poet and the poet write of them lying down like the dead listening to the Germans, â€Å"We lay in the shelter of the last dead man , ourselves as dead,†. At the end of the poem they get back to the trench past all the dead corpses â€Å"and through the wire and home, and got our rum,† rum being the reward for doing what they did. Out of all the poems I think Disabled by Wilfred Owen is the most hard-hitting and moving. It talks about touching him like a â€Å"queer disease†. It is similar to ‘Drummer Hodge’ as it stresses the fact that there is no reason for these wars and these innocent lives to go to waste. I think ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ and ‘The Night Patrol’ are also similar as they both tell a story about a group of soldiers. Even though one of them is anti-war and the other one is pro-war. I think that ‘Who’s for the Game’ is on its own because it is written by a woman that has no experiences of war like the other poets.