Can Environmental Insurance Succeed Where Others Have Failed Essay

Can Environmental Insurance Succeed Where Others Have Failed - Essay Example The researcher states that there are many protective measures put in place by firms in order to reduce environmental pollution. It ranges from environmental policies, health policies as well as the safety risk policies. However, these protective measures may not be socially efficient. In such cases, these firms have to be liable to the negative externalities developed due to their actions. Such externalities include loss of well-being of people exposed to pollution or those individuals who are not willing to use unhygienic recourses. In such situations, environmental may levy a post-damage fine, directly proportional to the extent of the external damage violated. For smaller firms, this fine may exceed their limited assets, therefore, making the firm declare they are bankrupt and avoid paying the fine altogether. Environmental agencies, therefore, came up with a pre-damage risk management process. In this process, firms will pay smaller fines frequently for not implementing the oblig atory environmental practices. Examples of such management process include Project Safety Management (PSM) programs, Risk Management Program (RMP), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and also Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Since post damage fines are often limited by bankruptcy and, on the other hand, pre-damage process mandates are constrained by monitoring. And, therefore, the best alternative will be to buy the environmental insurance policy. The paper, therefore, researches on mandatory insurance for Underground Storage Tanks (USTs) in order to come up with answers if environmental insurance policy succeeds where the traditional policies failed. Pre-damage fines could have been the best alternative to address the issue of bankruptcy, but the implementation is constrained by regulatory agencies’ narrow monitoring capabilities. Environmental Protection Agency has limited auditors to do facility inspection in order to ascertain whether all firm s have effectively put into practice all the risk management practices.

Employment Law Compliance Essay Example for Free

Employment Law Compliance Essay Our client, Bradley Stonefield, is planning to open a limousine service, Landslide Limousines, in the Austin, Texas area. Mr. Stonefield plans to hire approximately twenty-five people to provide first class transportation to a variety of clientele. Before Mr. Stonefield begins hiring it is imperative that he has an understanding of applicable employment laws. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) is a well-known and widely used federal anti-discrimination law (LaMance, n. d. ). Title VII make it illegal for employers to discriminate against someone based on their race, religion, national origin or sex (U. S. EEOC, 2014). The Act also made it illegal for employers to retaliate against a person who files a complaint of discrimination or participates in a discrimination investigation (U. S. EEOC, 2014). An employer who violates Title VII may find themselves subjected to a number of legal consequences such as having to pay large sums for damages and being required to readjust the company’s policies (LaMance, n. d. ). To avoid violating Title VII Mr. Stonefield and his managers should treat all employees and applicants equally without regard to any characteristics except job performance (HR Specialist, 2013). The Texas Payday Law covers all business entities in the state of Texas, regardless of size except public employers such as the state or federal government (TWC, 2013). This law gives the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) the authority to enforce wage laws and investigate wage claims (TWC, 2013). Texas Payday Law covers compensation for services rendered, commissions and bonuses, and certain other fringe benefits according to a written agreement with or policy of the employer (TWC, 2013). The law states that employers must pay employees for all hours worked and these wages must be received by the employee no later than payday (TWC, 2013). If the employer lays off, discharges or fires an employee they must pay all wages owed to that employee within six calendar days of the date of separation (TWC, 2013). If an employee voluntarily quits or retires their final payment of wages is due to them on the payday following the date of separation (TWC, 2013). If an employer violates the Texas Payday Law they may be fined the lesser of the wages claimed or $1,000 (TWC, 2013). To avoid violating this law Mr. Stonefield should make sure that employees are paid for all hours worked and that all wages due are paid to employees on time. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act applies to all employers that employ twenty or more employees (U. S. EEOC, 2008). The Act states that it is â€Å"unlawful to discriminate against a person because of his or her age with respect to any term, condition or privilege of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments and training† (U. S. EEOC, 2008). Violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act can cause the business to incur legal liability and require payment of large monetary judgments (Mayfair, n. d. ). Mr. Stonefield and his managers can avoid violating this Act by never taking a person’s age or proximity to retirement into consideration when making decisions about hiring, firing, pay, benefits or promotions (HR Specialist, 2013). The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 prohibits an employer from knowingly hire, recruit or refer for pay any person who is unauthorized to work in the United States (Boston University, n. d. ). If an employer violates this law they can be fined from $100 to $1,000 and the fine is not just for the employer but also for each employee working for them illegally (Boston University, n. d. ). There is also the possibility of imprisonment for employers that are deemed to show a pattern of violating this Act (Boston University, n. d. ). To avoid violating the Immigration Reform and Control Act Mr. Stonefield must verify the identity and employment eligibility of each employee he hires. He must complete and retain a complete INS Form I-9 documenting this verification (Boston University, n. d. ). Conclusion It is important that Mr. Stonefield and his management team understand that labor laws were passed in order to provide protection for both employees and employers. That is why the government puts so much emphasis on making sure organizations take them seriously by enforcing the laws with strict consequences for noncompliance. Staying in compliance with these laws is not only important to avoid legal penalties but will also protect the business from gaining a negative public image that can be extremely damaging to their bottom line.

School Safety and the Tragedy at Columbine High School :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

Unlike most of the country, I knew about Columbine High School on April 19, 1999. I knew that the Columbine Rebels had a good football team, I remembered how they beat Cherry Creek for the 1999 football championship. I knew what Columbine's building was like from when I was inside it in January for a debate tournament. I had friends that went to CHS. We had gone on a trip to Hawaii together to learn about biology. The rest of the country found out about Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. They didn't hear about their football team, the debate tournament they hosted, or my friends, though; they heard about two angry students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, that went on a killing rampage killing 12 other students, a teacher, and themselves. The nation, the media, the killers, my friends, and me all have their own view of what happened that day. Many people tried to understand how something so terrible could happen, while the killers thought that the killings were a wonderful thing , and still other students were trying to comprehend that this tragedy had actually happened so close to home. At 11:19 in the morning of April 19, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold stood at the west entrance of Columbine High School preparing for the deadliest shooting in American school history. One of them yelled, "Go! Go!," and then the two pulled out their shotguns and began firing, killing two students almost immediately (Jefferson County 3). Harris and Klebold began moving through the school randomly shooting students, detonating pipe bombs, and yelling about how much fun they were having. While this was happening, Coach Dave Sanders and other heroes were frantically trying to get students out of harm's way. At 11:26, while running past the library warning students of the killers, Sanders was shot by one of the shooters. He made it into a science room where first aid was administered by students. He died several hours later in that same room. The worst killing took place in the library during a span of about eight minutes starting at 11:29. Ten students were killed and twelve others were wounded. After leaving the library, Harris and Klebold wandered around the school in movements that appeared to be "extremely random" (Jefferson County 18). They eventually returned to the library at about 12:08 and killed themselves. In 49 minutes, 14 students were left dead, one teacher was left dying, 23 people were injured, and an entire community's sense of safety and security was shattered.

Religion and/ Spirituality Essay

The findings of the study highlights the salience of religious beliefs and spirituality as an aspect that positively influenced or contributed towards the subjective sense of well-being of the institutionalized aged, from the point of view of their administrators. For many of the participants, religiosity and spirituality seemed to be identical and they did not differentiate one from the other. And they engaged assiduously in religious practices, which in turn contributed toward their subjective experience of well-being. This practice of religion or their spirituality has been found to be the most powerful coping strategy adopted by these institutionalized elderly under investigation. This finding showed consistency across all sources of data in this study. The elderly at Gladys Center found prayer or dependence on God by the willing surrender to His will as a powerful means of dealing with his or her difficulties in all levels, as expressed by their administrators. This finding is backed by Mackenzie et al.(2000): Religion and spirituality significantly influence both mental and physical health in later life and relationship with God forms the foundation of their psychological well-being. While intrinsic religious orientation is inversely related to depression, anxiety, fear of death in older adults and they better cope with illness, loss, and grief formal religious involvement is related to general measures of personal adjustment and subjective health and life satisfaction (Koenig, 1999 & Mackenzie et al. 2000). According to Magai et al.(2003) Religious beliefs and participation or engaging in religious activities are closely related to positive aging outcomes, particularly life satisfaction and the absence of mental disorders. Most of the elderly as it was observed across different sources of data, engaged in religious and devotional activities every day of the week. Studies examining the relationship between religious involvement and a wide variety of health conditions, that as individuals aged, both formal and informal religious participation were associated with better health, happiness, and life satisfaction. Even when health was controlled, the strong link between religiosity and subjective well-being remained, which is true in the case of the participants who showed a great sense of well-being despite their declining physical health. Study done by Magai et al. (2003) proved that absence of religiosity or spirituality is consistently a predictor of low hardiness and those who are religiously oriented are likely to be intrinsically hardy and less likely to be debilitated, despite variations in social network. This observation could be an indicator how the elderly cope with the absence of their dear ones and various other things. The findings of the study showed that as perceived by their administrators, the elderly experienced prayer as source of strength, hope, meaning and peace in their lives and different studies hold up this finding. Religious experience provides a sense of meaning and purpose in daily life (Polner, 1989), a primary source for inner peace, values and social harmony (Witmer & Sweeny, 1992), a greater sense of wholeness, connectedness, and positive outlook.

My Favorite Holiday Destination Essay

I have been going to Lumina resort my entire life. Even though my teenage years, where it seemed nothing could entertain my adolescent attitude, I looked forward to vacationing on the lake of bays every summer. As a child, I recall Petticoat. For a few hours every day my parents got a break to do as they pleased, as my sisters and I made crafts, learned songs, played games, and heard stories. It was also a great way to make friends with other children visiting the resort. Lumina always has great Petticoat leaders. The children just adore them; always sitting on their laps, waving at them in the dining room, or dragging along their ankles when the week is over and it’s time for goodbyes! Returning as a teenager never seemed like a lame family holiday. With all the returning friends I had made in years previous, the activities and fun seemed endless. Tubing became a sport to us. Lounging in the sun never seemed so relaxing – with the waves licking the shores and the breez e coming off the bay. I learned how to wakeboard at Lumina; the staff spent countless years helping me stand up on the wake, and never grew tired of my mistakes. Movies in the TV room, playing cards on the deck, eating junk food in the beautifully preserved cabins. All great memories. Every night we would sneak to Frosties – the on-resort convenience store – and get a little something sweet to enjoy. As a young adult, I can’t say I’ve ever had such a great time. The lake of bays club always promises something fun. Wine and Cheese night starts everyone off at the beginning of the week to meet new guests and reconcile with old friends. Poker, pool, and darts allow for good fun with fellow vacation-goers. Live entertainment is my family’s personal favourite. Tobin – the artist that has been recruited for the past few years – is amazing, and keeps the audience dancing, drinking, and having fun. Karaoke night is the night to let loose and show all your new and old friends your talent. Of course, the beach, water activities, sports, tournaments, and excursions are just as much fun in adulthood as they were in childhood. The chef, Shawn, makes some of the best dishes I’ve ever tasted. Whether it’s a classic Caesar salad, or a new recipe, Shawn always promises taste and quality. One of the best benefits to Lumina is the food is included in the price. For your vacation period, you do not have to cook once (this is a great thing for mothers!). The staff are some of the most sociable, and helpful individuals. Tec and Vicky (the owners) can always be found if something needs to be done, or assisted with.

The development of social theory (Soc 2001) goffman and foucault The WritePass Journal

The development of social theory (Soc 2001) goffman and foucault Introduction The development of social theory (Soc 2001) goffman and foucault Introduction  ConclusionRelated Introduction Social theory has developed from a classical approach to a more modern sociological approach, characterised by a rise of functionalism and the introduction of interpretive sociology. Swingewood (2000) states that the heart of sociological thought is.. to redefine concepts and to rediscover them (Swingewood, 2000:9).  Both Goffman and Foucault have contributed to the development of social theory and this essay will critically compare their influence in particular focusing on their analysis of institutions, power and their use of research methods.  In order to understand how social order was possible, Goffman  analysed the ways in which humans are constituted in face-to-face interactions, Foucault examined society through practises and local circumstance, he didnt analyse the subject, but the embodied subject.   Goffman and Foucault are distant in some aspects, for instance in their research methods and approaches on power but are similar in the more important aspects such as t heir analysis of experts and expert judgement within  institutions.  This essay will also compare the influence of other theorists in the development of their  theoretical approaches.    One of the main problems from classical sociology is the inadequate notion of self.   The dominant trend of late nineteenth-century and early twentieth century social theory was towards developing a concept of action.   None of the major sociologists constructed an adequate notion of self. The self was defined anonymously as a disembodied actor assimilating norms and producing meanings in relation to the wider,  macrosociological  system   (Swingewood, 2000:165). Only Simmels sociology with its basis in sociation and interaction approached an adequate theory of the living, active social subject.   Mead later developed Simmels theory of the self,   he argued Human society as we know it, could not exist without minds and selves (Mead, 1972:227).   He studied the social interaction process and concluded that individuals are constructed over time due to how they interact with others.   He argues, a self only exists, when it interacts with itself and the other selves of the community (Mead, 1934:138).   Blumer (1937) extended many of Meads ideas to refer to action as Mead failed to explain how meanings were actually produced.   Blumer attempted to analyse the situational and contextual basis of action in relation to the development of the self, outlining in  Symbolic Interactionism  that meaning.. arises through the ways individuals interact with each other as they utilise and interpret the symbolic forms (Blumer 1969).   Goffmans work is sometimes viewed within the context of symbolic interactionism (Baret 1998) due to the fact he focuses on the interaction patterns between individuals and their ability to reflect on their actions and therefore influence the environment.   Goffmans interpretive perspective focuses on the everyday interactions between individuals and the subjective meanings behind these actions   Rawls (1987). believes that Goffmans analysis offers a solution to the agency and structure debate with the idea of an inte raction order which is constitutive of self and at the same time places demands on social structure (Rawls, 1987:136). However, Foucault rejects the search for a true self.   Rather than offering an account of the real self that is being  regulated  as in Goffmans account of the performing self, Foucault is interested in how we come to think, feel and act as certain kinds of selves and he wishes to examine the effects of this behaviour. A new social theory has emerged since the 1950s which looks at human society as an organised system of relation, governed by laws and is self-regulated.   It defines reality in terms of the relations between elements, not in terms of objectively existing things and social facts.   Foucault examines this concept and takes a stance mid-way between structuralism and post structuralism.   Although he claims, I have never been a structuralist (Swingewood 2000:194).   However he shares the structuralists dismissal of theories based on individual choices and the effects of human action.   Yet his work was primarily about the self.   Foucault was concerned with the status and role of the human subject, the concept of human beings in history and in the human sciences.   Foucault shares with the structuralists a desire to displace the human subject and its consciousness from the centre of  theoretical concern. Foucault explores how meanings are temporarily stabilised or  regulated  into a discourse.   This  ordering  of  meaning is achieved through the operation of power in social practice.   For Foucault discourse unites both language and practice and is effectively a form of power.   Foucault believes discourse gives meaning to material objects and social practises and therefore produces knowledge through language.   Foucault outlines in  The Archaeology of Knowledge  the relations between knowledge and power, power and knowledge directly imply one another there is no power relation.. without a field of knowledge (Foucault 1979:100).   By outlining this Foucault shows that truth does not exist, outside power. Goffman too was concerned with discourse for instance in 1981 Goffman introduced the concept footing which is a similar concept to an interactive frame which became rather influential in discourse analysis. Goffman was also concerned with concrete conversation; he noted the social exchanges between individuals not only the words but also the tone, body language and accent. Similar to Foucault, Goffman  recognised the influence of the structure of the social world in how we interact, however he places greater emphasis on the creative role of the agent in producing and sustaining the norms and values  underpinning  the social world (Swingewood 2000).   Goffman suggests in  The Presentation of Self  that when an individual appears before others his actions will influence the definition of the situation which they come to have (Goffman, 1969:5). Goffman developed a notion of the individual as a dramaturgical actor, viewing social life as a dramatic performance.   He suggest ed that individuals spent much of their time framing their true self from the view of other people.   Goffman believes that behaviour may change from place to place, but the ways in which it changes as well as the situations for which it changes, are usually constant (Goffman, 1969:68).   He feels that individuals behaviour may change when the structure of situation changes, due to different rules which govern how they interact with others.   Goffman looks at the rules within institutions, outlined in his work Asylums  where he studied the experiences of inmates in a mental institution.   He found that patients view of self was modified by their experience within the institiution   (Goffman, 1969:78).   Similarly  Foucault had a concept of rules within a social system, however unlike Goffman he analysed the concept of rules and interactions in terms of a prison institution and how these institutions shape and regulate individual behaviour. (Swingewood 2000)   He fo und that prisons produced distinctive modern forms of identity because individuals came to think of themselves in certain ways due to constant surveillance and monitoring (Foucault 1980:155). These studies aimed to show that even in  situations  of apparently irrational behaviour  there are rules and order. Both Goffman and Foucault questioned the humaneness of therapeutic institutions.   To Goffman, knowledge developed at mental asylums did not serve the interests of patients, instead the institution itself created deviant behaviour in the inmates and then used this to control them   (Goffman 1961:104). He emphasised in  Asylums  how the organisation  structure  and dominant ideologies of the mental hospital shaped the self of the mental patient through the mortification process.   He argued that mental patients suffered not from mental illnesss but from contingencies by which term he meant the actions of others (Goffman 1961:135). In  Asylums,  It is recognised that Goffman uses the word inmates to describe both the staff and patients.   This is a word we use to describe those who have been confined to prison, similar to Foucaults analysis.  Goffman suggests that there are basic similarities between many of the social processes which occur in other institutions, so his study was widened to include organisations which share certain characteristics with mental hospitals such as prisons.   He refers to these institutions as Total institutions (Goffman 1961:147). Foucaults study therefore compliments Goffmans, as he analyses interactions within a prison institution and seeks to show how those subject to the unremitting discipline are pressured into conforming to the external demands placed upon them.   Foucault resurrected Jeremy Benthams prison design, the panopticon and described it as a mecahnism that coerces by means of observation. In  discipline and punish, he writes one sees everything without ever being seen (Foucault, 1995:202).   He claimed that visibility in the prison constituted people as individuals who came to  regulate  their own behaviour.   Foucault details how, within the walls of the prison, pervasive and penetrating regimes for monitoring the conduct of inmates aims to induce a form of reflexive self monitoring of conduct. Foucault asserted, he who is subjected to a field of visibility..becomes the principle of his own subjection (Foucault, 1975:223).   Foucaults study is similar to Pat Barkers  Regenerati on Trilogy  where she describes how prisoners modify their behaviour due to believing they are being observed by an eye in the wall  (Carter and Grieco 2000).  Prisoners therefore self-disciplined themselves which is similar to what Foucault found. Similarly to Goffmans analysis of mental institutions, Foucault asserted that the prison institution forced individuals identity to change as the inmates thoughts of themselves changed.   Goffman illustrates this through admission procedures to total institutions, this involves the removal of many items from their identity.   Goffman gives examples of admission procedures of prisons.   In  Asylums, he writes how clothes are replaced by prison uniforms and appearance is changed by prison haircuts (Goffman, 1961:134).   Goffman argues that changes in these aspects are specifically stating that they are no longer the person they were (Goffman, 1961:135).   Admission procedures and future interaction with total institutions not only tend to change, but also to mortify the self. Goffman writes The inmate is systematically, if often unintentionally  mortified for instance, searched and fingerprinted (Goffman 1961:134).   Such experiences tend to break down the inmates forme r self-concept.   The self is then slowly rebuilt, partly by means of rewards and punishments administered by those in authority.   Goffman gives and example of a privilege within a prison, extra hours recreation (Goffman, 1961:135). However for Foucault, the similarity lies in the fact that each of these institutions is a place for experiments in the control of individuals and they may learn from experiments conducted elsewhere and techniques of discipline and surveillance invented elsewhere.   For Foucault the notion of a total institution is too separate from the outside world.   The techniques used in asylums or prisons can be understood only by the linkage of those institutions with practises and discourses external to them and to the history of the borrowing and deployment of disciplinary techniques and techniques of the self (Jordan, 2003:239). Both theorists are interested in the  mortification process through social control as well as the stigmatised body selves.   In  Stigma Goffman states, Persons with a stigma are considered less than fully human and subject to all manner of discrimination which reduces their life chances (Goffman, 1986:102).   He explained that persons with a particular stigma tended to share similar experiences and chances in conception of self, which he termed the moral career (Goffman, 1986:102).   Stigma is also evident in Foucaults work, due to inmates identity changing through the mortification process which strips inmates of the various supports which helped to maintain their former self-concepts, their identity is also changed through constant surveillance which results in the inmate being their own overseer and exercising this surveillance over and against themselves (Foucault, 1980:155).   Inmates in both institutions are therefore not prepared for life on the outside once theyre released, they have accepted the institutions definition of themselves and are stigmatised, this results in the inmates being treated as outsiders. Foucault offers a history of the present in which power and knowledge intersect and understandings of ourselves are produced.   Power and knowledge operate in mutually generative fashion and are not reducible to each other.   Foucault explained that disciplinary power shaped and trained the body (Foucault, 1975:294).   He gave an example at Mettray Colony for juvenile delinquents where the combination of observation and exercise made training an instrument of perpetual assessment (Foucault, 1975:295). The example of Mettray illustrated Foucaults argument that subjectivity is produced around, on, within the body by the working of a correctional mode of power (Valier, 2002:154).   This conception assumed a symbiotic relationship of power and knowledge which required a direct hold on the body.   However Foucaults studies departed from the perspective of standpoint feminists, who held that power was wielded by a particular group.   Smart pointed out, Foucault demonstrated mor e interest in how the mechanisms of power worked than in who had power (Smart 1989).   Indeed, Foucault stated that the panopticon was a machine that any random individual could operate (Valier, 2002: 155). He argued in  Discipline and Punish  that power was not a possession or a property but should be understood to be a strategy (Foucault, 1975:296). This is what might be called a shift from a substantive to a relational concept of power.   Instead of focussing on the primary oppression of women or the working class, Foucault thought it important to theorise the ways in which every inhabitant of modern societies was subjected to certain forms of subjection (Valier, 2002:155). Foucault therefore focused on power relations instead of the subjects. Critics of Foucault objected what in his focus on the workings of power there seemed to be no space left for resistance.   However in  The Will to Knowledge  Foucault clarified his position in stating that resistances were inscribed in power as an irreducible opposite (Foucault 1976:96).   Nevertheless, Lois Mcnay stated that Foucaults emphasis of a corporeally  centred  disciplinary power produced a conception of  subjectivity  that was impoverished† (Mcnay, 1994:122). In contrast to this, Goffmans notion of power is more limited, although he was interested in questions of power he tended to approach this topic as a neutral observer rather than a witness. Several critics have faulted Goffman for his failure to articulate the structures of power that determine every experience.   In  The Coming Crises  Gouldner argues that Goffman pays no attention to power and his microsociology fails to explain how power effects the  individuals  abilities to present selves  effectively (Gouldner, 1974:347). In addition to this May Rogers takes up the critique in  Goffman on power, hierarchy and status  that Goffmans analysis is poor in understanding power relationships.   Roger argues that power relationships are present, but are treated almost entirely implicitly. Individuals use power to affect the behaviour of other actors in society, by the use of  resources (Rogers 1981).   According to Rogers, it appears that for Goffman, Power is a fo rm of combination between people who have minimal stigma against others who are unable to accept the definition of the situation (Rogers, 1959:30). Goffman studies the interactions between individuals through specific microanalysis, following Durkheims social theory, he tries to show how the sort of large scale phenomena Durkheim analysed is produced and reproduced in interpersonal interaction.   Although Goffman provides insights into the working of places where individuals experience problems, it  does not reflect the macro-institutional order, for instance Goffman gives little consideration to the inmates experiences in the outside world before they entered the total institution.   The possible significance of this omission can be seen from John Irwins study of prison life in California, Irwin argues that an understanding of particular inmates responses to imprisonment requires a knowledge of their pre-prison experiences. Irwin suggest that this may have important influences on modes of adaption within a total institution (Irwin 1980).   Goffman states in his essay  The Interaction Order,  that his preferred metho d of study is microanalysis (Goffman 1983:2).  Some theorists suggest links between the apparent micro-sociology,  ethnomethodology  and  Goffmans interaction order. Swingewood (2000) argues that ethnomethodology provided an empirical basis for Goffmans interaction order and shares many features in common with his  theoretical  approach, for instance both emphasise how social order and predictability are skilful accomplishments of the actor involved.   Foucaults  theoretical approach can be exemplary for ethnomethodological investigators as it clearly identifies how material architectures, machineries, bodily techniques and disciplinary routines make up coherent phenomenal fields (Lynch, 1997:131).  Ã‚  Foucault who was not a micro-sociologist did however obtain an interest in micro-processes such as the micro physics of power, power  exercised  in interaction and the  resistance  to power that also takes place continuously in interactions and micro-environ ments (Garner 2009:147). Swingewood (2000) argues Foucault believed that all totalising theories such as Marxism reduce the  autonomy  of the micrological elements.   Foucault suggests the term archaeology to describe a method of analysing micro elements and the concept of genealogy to rediscover all micro-logical forces.   Foucault does this as he feels its essential to reactivate local, minor knowledges (Swingewood, 2000:195).   Foucault initiated the concept genealogy in order to investigate the historical events that led people to understand themselves in particular ways.    However,  Reminiscent of Goffmans studies its apparent that Goffman included nothing about history in relation to the social practices he described or about the history of the total institution. Nevertheless to understand how such institutions came to exist, one can turn to Foucaults archaeologies and genaelogies.   Although Hacking (2004) found they are not completely accurate historical ana lyses and tend to over-generalise on French examples.   For instance Hacking states, ‘the great mutations of Foucaults first books coincide under different names, with Descartes and the French Revolution, neither of which is noticeably mentioned’ (Hacking, 2004). Goffman and Foucault both contribute to our understanding of how society functions, although writing from a different theoretical perspective they both supplement each other; Goffman analysed the ways in which human roles are constituted in face-to-face interactions within a total institution and how patterns of normality and deviance work on individual agents.   Foucaults archaeologies established the preconditions for and the mutations between successive institutional forms.    Due to their different theoretical approaches, there are some conflicting views, for instance Goffman developed a theory of self that brackets institutions and looks only at social action as strategic conduct.   In contrast to Foucault, Goffman doesnt develop an account of history or  structured  transformation.   However in contrast to Goffman, Foucault erased the subject and attempts to de-centre the subject,  Foucault depicted the subject as essentially passive and unable to act in a way tha t would have an effect on society.  Ã‚  However I believe that both  are essential in understanding the making of individuals  (Giddens 1979). offers the idea of Foucault and Goffman developing the theory of structuration which suggests that rather than looking at self and society as a dualism, they should look at them as a duality of structure, constantly being stucturated in the interactions between the individual and society (Giddens, 1979:56).  Although the theoretical approaches of Goffman and Foucault differ I believe that their  approaches  on both structure and agency are complementary ways of viewing the social world and if they were brought together, a theory such as Giddens suggested could be produced and work successfully.   Conclusion I feel goffmans approach is bottom up because he starts with individual face-to-face exchanges and develops an account of how such exchanges constitute lives, I feel Foucaults approach is top down because he starts with a mass of sentences at a time, dissociated from the human beings who spoke them and used them as the data upon which to characterise a system that determines discourse and action.

Free Essays on Causes Of The American Revolution

One cannot say there is one cause to the American Revolution because there were many contributing factors. Historians argue that the revolution was political and the colonists were just trying to preserve their rights. Another view is that the colonists were concerned with economic issues. Others argue that distance and Great Britain's â€Å"benign neglect† made revolution inevitable. All are correct but some played greater roles than others. The period known as â€Å"benign neglect† took place in the early 1700s before the thirteen colonies were prosperous. England neglected the colonies because it was in their best interest not to interfere. For example, a Roman Catholic man named Lord Baltimore founded Maryland in 1634. Townspeople soon established a proprietary system of self- government. This is just one example of what was achieved without the help of Great Britain. Similar advances happened throughout all the colonies. When New England along with the rest of the colonies began to prosper and set up more proprietary systems of self-government England began to take notice that the colonies could be used as a source of profit. â€Å"Benign neglect† was an important aspect of the revolution. Without having been left alone for many years America would have not have developed the taste of independence. Independence was what the American Revolution was all about. Many Navigation Acts had been passed starting in 1650 but none were enforced until Britain noticed they could cash in on the now prospering economic system of the colonies. Mercantilism played this role. The idea of mercantilism was to achieve economic self-sufficiency by exporting more than importing. England viewed the colonies as an easy way to do just that. For example, the colonies were forbidden to produce for export woolen cloth and beaver hats, because the colonies were supposed to â€Å"compliment and not compete with British industry.† Later in 1660 Charles II appr... Free Essays on Causes Of The American Revolution Free Essays on Causes Of The American Revolution Causes of the Revolutionary War During the late seventeen hundreds, many tumultuous events resulted in colonial opposition to Great Britain. The conditions of rights of the colonists will slowly be changed as the constriction of the parliament becomes more and more intolerable. During the seven years war England was not only alarmed by the colonists insistence on trading with the enemy, but also with Boston merchants hiring James Otis in order to protest the legality of the writs of assistance used to hunt out smuggled goods. â€Å"Let the parliament lay what burthens they please on us, we must, it is our duty to submit and patiently bear them, till they will be pleased to relieve us†. This is a very strong dictum, that in 1764, the colonists were of a submissive nature, and were weakly pleading for self-autonomy. This small fire of anger will become a huge conflagration as the rights are slowly rescinded. On October of 1765 the Stamp Act Congress and Parliamentary Taxation committees’s passed some laws that attempted to strengthen the grip of the English crown. That his Majesty’s subjects in these colonies, owe the same allegiance to the crown of Great Britain. This statement can be used as a summation of the entire document that the Stamp Act Congress had initiated. The statement depicts the colonists has having to be submissive and servile in the view of Great Britain, this policy angered the colonists very much, and was another component of the transition of the colonists rights and liberties. When the Declatory Act was passed in March of 1766, many colonies were attempting to claim that they were seceding from England. Where as several of the house of representatives in his majesty’s colonies and plantations in America, have of late, against law, or to the general assemblies of the same, th... Free Essays on Causes Of The American Revolution One cannot say there is one cause to the American Revolution because there were many contributing factors. Historians argue that the revolution was political and the colonists were just trying to preserve their rights. Another view is that the colonists were concerned with economic issues. Others argue that distance and Great Britain's â€Å"benign neglect† made revolution inevitable. All are correct but some played greater roles than others. The period known as â€Å"benign neglect† took place in the early 1700s before the thirteen colonies were prosperous. England neglected the colonies because it was in their best interest not to interfere. For example, a Roman Catholic man named Lord Baltimore founded Maryland in 1634. Townspeople soon established a proprietary system of self- government. This is just one example of what was achieved without the help of Great Britain. Similar advances happened throughout all the colonies. When New England along with the rest of the colonies began to prosper and set up more proprietary systems of self-government England began to take notice that the colonies could be used as a source of profit. â€Å"Benign neglect† was an important aspect of the revolution. Without having been left alone for many years America would have not have developed the taste of independence. Independence was what the American Revolution was all about. Many Navigation Acts had been passed starting in 1650 but none were enforced until Britain noticed they could cash in on the now prospering economic system of the colonies. Mercantilism played this role. The idea of mercantilism was to achieve economic self-sufficiency by exporting more than importing. England viewed the colonies as an easy way to do just that. For example, the colonies were forbidden to produce for export woolen cloth and beaver hats, because the colonies were supposed to â€Å"compliment and not compete with British industry.† Later in 1660 Charles II appr...

With All Due Respect

With All Due Respect With All Due Respect With All Due Respect By Maeve Maddox A reader wonders why the word due precedes the word respect in the expression â€Å"with all due respect†: Every time I hear it, I mull over the possibility of this  quotation being better phrased as with all respect due. I think it not only sounds better butimproves its usage. â€Å"With all due respect† and its variations â€Å"with all respect† and â€Å"with great respect,† are condensed ways of saying, â€Å"with all the regard that is owing [to you].† As formerly used, it was a way of politely disagreeing with someone of equal or superior social status, as illustrated in these examples from the OED: At one point Arthur said, ‘With great respect, Mr Prime Minister, I must say I think your policy invites aggression.’ 1940,  C. Brooks Journal It is, with the greatest respect to His Grace, very little use to say that the book has ‘caused more hubbub than it is worth’. 1977, Church Times 22 July 10/1  Ã‚   With respect, admiral, we should not be building boats for any other purpose than for sinking enemy shipping. 1980,  lJ. Follett Churchills Gold The expression’s use as a conversational lubricant for polite disagreement can already be seen to be slipping in this citation from 2004: Ambassador, with all due respect- that explanation is getting pretty stale! –Duty, Honor, Redempt In 2014, writer Janet Burroway used the idiom as an expression of deference in an interview archived at the Chicago Manual of Style site: Although I hadn’t been an editor before, I had been edited a gazillion times, often well and a few times badly, and I had an inkling of how to make a suggestion or elicit a change, with due respect to the author and her process.   But in popular culture, the expression has become associated more with insult than with respectful deference: Bill, with all due respect, you’re an idiot. –Stephen Colbert to Bill O’Reilly Amanda Marcotte With All Due Respect, You Are A Moron. –Blog headline. When do you plan on submitting your resignation? I ask this with all due respect. –Blog reader responding to request for questions for Senator Richard Durbin. The 2006 movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, may have influenced the popularity of â€Å"with all due respect† used to introduce a blatantly disrespectful and offensive comment. At least twice in the movie, Ricky Bobby says something extremely vulgar to his team owner. He has the mistaken notion that prefacing a remark with the expression â€Å"with all due respect† gives a speaker license to insult and offend. As for the reader’s question about word order, the idiom â€Å"with all due respect† is a set phrase like â€Å"a stitch in time,† â€Å"better late than never,† or â€Å"about face.† Changing the word order is possible, I suppose, but it would no longer be the same idiomatic expression. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Dialogue Dos and Don'tsâ€Å"As Well As† Does Not Mean â€Å"And†Woof or Weft?

Large Animals Rescue Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Large Animals Rescue - Research Paper Example yday tasks ensured that their safety and well-being was a priority for humans, which led to the development of large animals rescue procedures from an early age. For example, the first equine ambulance in Massachusetts in 1876 was complete with a crude sling. Today, animals no longer play the part in our lives that they used to. Once one of the most pivotal parts of our work life, the American culture has now categorized them as mere companions. Although still a food source, they no longer hold a central role in our day. This decline led to decreased developments in rescue programs. One of the clearest indications would be the shutting down of Harvard University’s veterinary hospital. They were deemed unnecessary as cars were more readily available. However, that does not mean that animals still do not have some degree of dependence on humans. Even today, situations can arise where human assistance is crucial and today’s methods enable us to carry out a rescue with less risk and more efficiency. Due to the developments in technology, we can shift or even lift the animals. Before these developments, an owner who found himself in a predicament where their horse or other animal required human assistance, like if it was stuck in mud, would be forced to seek out help from friends and neighbors alike in order to get the horse out. Back then, the tools of choice being ropes, winches or tractors, there were chances of injury or even the death to the owner and the animal especially without the training that was required to carry out the rescue. However, such events, though not a common occurrence, are still a possibility today. On the other hand, many owners are more likely to call the police with the conjecture that the authorities will be able to handle the situation effectively. An informal survey by Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue of law and fire service personnel by the authors uncovered that only a meager 5% have basic knowledge about the handling of

Analyze book Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analyze book - Essay Example The protagonist of the novel, Ishmael Chambers is the veteran of the Second World War. He is physically handicapped because of the war wound, which has left him with an amputated arm.   His personal relationship with a local Japanese- American also ended abruptly. His pride is hurt and a prejudice is born out of it. Hatsue Imada is presently Kabuo’s wife  who once shared a romantic relationship with Ishmael Chambers but broke off  for reasons not known. Carl Heine was the local fisherman. These characters are central to the plot of the novel, explore the themes of prides of the whites, and prejudice against the people of the Japanese descent.   The whites resented the immigration of the Japanese but tolerated them for their hard work and economic profit. This is what we call the political economy where the superior race tolerates the inferior race for profit, (Leiman, 1-21). This kind of immigration makes room for the development of mixed culture and gives birth to the concept of ‘Hybridity’. Hybridity is the amalgamation of different races together and producing a new lineage (Murfin and ray, 279). Many filmmakers like Spencer Tracy in his movie â€Å"Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner† has further evolved this concept of interracial relationship. These kinds of relationships proceed towards global harmony but initially it has suffered many hindrances. (Richardson,1) Racial Discrimination and the dilemma of mixed culture are predominant in the novel and portrayed through interracial relationships. The story of the novel is set in the small and isolated island of San Piedro which symbolizes the apparent silence and the suppressed prejudice when two races of polar opposites are to dwell in the same place. Kabuo, a wartime veteran suffers from a guilty conscience. He is Japanese but he fought for the Americans during the Second World War. He laments killing his own fellow brothers and this sense of guilt demoralizes him. After the war, we find him confining

Explain in your own words what you understand either by the term Essay

Explain in your own words what you understand either by the term hegemony - Essay Example However, some philosophers have some modified the definition by involving the concept of domination. Gramsci (1971, p. 158) has defined hegemony as a tool that can be used to change a society. Hegemony is an association between societies and its associated components. He also noted that the concept of hegemony encompasses other concepts as well. It means that we really can’t define hegemony in simple terms. Roger (1991, p.24) have indicated that some of the concepts that are related to hegemony include coercion, dominance, capitalism, imperialism, strategy for revolution and absolute majority. Hegemony can be applied in many ways. One example of hegemony is through historical or political influence. This is brought about by conquering another country and spreading its political influence to other countries. A classic example of this political hegemony is through colonization. Colonization, which is started by European countries (Portugal and Spain) during the 15th century, has greatly applied political hegemony and is influence by the concept of coercion, dominance and imperialism. They have influenced the political, as well as the socio-economic, aspect of the countries which they have colonized. They have changed the traditional system of their colonies and have implied their own system here. For example, in the book of Zaide (1994, p. 218) the classic â€Å"barangay† system of the Philippines was changed by the Spain into a â€Å"colonial† system when they have conquered the Philippines during the 16th century. In the journal article of Tarak and Laffey (1999, p.30), it is explained that there are some countries, particularly the Great Britain and the United States, that have used the concept of hegemony in their goal of attaining power to other countries. The two countries have influenced other countries by consistently seeking reasons to install a particular set of political institutions and socioeconomic assemblage in other countries. This may be done in a lot of manners like for example, making sure that they have an ambassador or representative in the country which can influence the political system, or have many investments to the country which can influence the economic aspect of the country. They do these strategies to create a favorable environment for the expansion of their capitalism, as well as to improve their security and advance the ideals they have implanted, cultivated, and protected into that country. Influential countries, like the United States and Great Britain, usually have the tendency and aspiration to influence the international system of which they are included. It is really remarkable in this contemporary era that these countries are far more influential in this regard than any other. Both countries have a special strategy to determine and manipulate both the principles and systems that regulates the increasingly interrelated international system, and the conduct of the other countries in cluded that effectively constitute it. The current status of the international system, where both the United States and Great Britain are included, is the product of the persistent efforts to reshape it in their image. The process of its hegemony and influence will likely continue so long as there remain countries acting as capitalists, which is the great power at the top of the internatio

Ethics in History Film Response Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethics in History Film Response Paper - Essay Example Much of the cast consists of Algerians. The film is available in three versions of different lengths: 120, 125 and 135 minutes respectively. This paper attempts to interpret the films political connotation in light of historical developments since the colonial period. Much of the film is a flashback of Ali, the Algerian Front de Liberation (FLN) leader. The flashback begins when the French generals corner him in 1957. Some three years before the French hunt him down, Ali was a mere thief who made the decision to be part of the secretive organization (FLN) with the hope that he could rescue Casbah from the atrocities of the colonial government. Pontecorvo goes to the roots of the liberation struggle and unearths the stringent measures that the French government resorted to in a bid to calm the situation before it reached a national scale. When Ali’s flashback is done with, the French murder generals him alongside other notorious FLN leaders. Thereafter, the film resumes a more general focus that eventually culminates in the independence declaration for the African nation in 1962. Imperialism has been a strange issue to most filmmakers. In fact, Pontecorvo did a great job to highlight some of the thorny questions surrounding Western colonialism in the Battle of Algiers. He paints out the picture of imperialism even as the West is fighting hard to eradicate terrorism and rebel tactics of indigenous people. Pontecorvo drives home the point that even though the French torturous operations earned them defeat against the Algerian rebels during the war, the rebels finally had the last laugh as the French could not hold on to the colony for long. This contrast raises the debate as to whether the use of violent means is effective enough to deal with acts of terrorism currently growing worldwide. The film should not be underrated because of its underlying implications. The United States is particularly on the limelight owing

Platos Republic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Platos Republic - Essay Example It is a political work not in the conventional sense, but in the sense as Socrates makes it understandable. However, the huge educational truth, which is clearly represented in the Republic - is a strong correlation of the image of man and space where the person is placed. It is not only an artistic principle, but it is also a moral law. The main thesis is that a perfect man can be formed only in a perfect state, and vice versa: the creation of the perfect state is the problem of a man forming. This is the reason for the interdependence of the inner structure of the man and the state, the interdependence of human types and types of state. Thus, exactly this perspective allows understanding why Plato attached great importance to the influence of the social atmosphere on the formation of any person. At the beginning of this paper, it is necessary to mention that Plato is interested in various notions and he tries to demonstrate the own views on political and public life through Socrates’ understanding of reality. Into the acknowledgement of these words it is possible to use the following quotation: â€Å"It is obvious from the Republic that Plato shares Socrates preoccupation with ethics and with definitions, but it also seems obvious that he soon abandons or significantly modifies Socrates’ method of inquiry, as well as some of his specific doctrines† (Plato X). It gives a good explanation to the fact that Plato chose his favourite way of writing: he wrote the treatise the Republic in the form of a dialogue of his teacher Socrates with other Greeks. The above-mentioned way of writing allowed Plato to achieve two aims: firstly, it has made the treatise more interesting, giving it a tinge of artistry; and secondly, it has introduced a number of characters at once, allowing the possibility to express not one opinion, but many of them. The dialogue is made in the form of a dispute, the agony, which reveals the truth. Plato leads the discussion on whether the equity power is the ability to the same extent as the ability to medicine or navigation at the beginning of the Republic.     

Ethics in History Film Response Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethics in History Film Response Paper - Essay Example Much of the cast consists of Algerians. The film is available in three versions of different lengths: 120, 125 and 135 minutes respectively. This paper attempts to interpret the films political connotation in light of historical developments since the colonial period. Much of the film is a flashback of Ali, the Algerian Front de Liberation (FLN) leader. The flashback begins when the French generals corner him in 1957. Some three years before the French hunt him down, Ali was a mere thief who made the decision to be part of the secretive organization (FLN) with the hope that he could rescue Casbah from the atrocities of the colonial government. Pontecorvo goes to the roots of the liberation struggle and unearths the stringent measures that the French government resorted to in a bid to calm the situation before it reached a national scale. When Ali’s flashback is done with, the French murder generals him alongside other notorious FLN leaders. Thereafter, the film resumes a more general focus that eventually culminates in the independence declaration for the African nation in 1962. Imperialism has been a strange issue to most filmmakers. In fact, Pontecorvo did a great job to highlight some of the thorny questions surrounding Western colonialism in the Battle of Algiers. He paints out the picture of imperialism even as the West is fighting hard to eradicate terrorism and rebel tactics of indigenous people. Pontecorvo drives home the point that even though the French torturous operations earned them defeat against the Algerian rebels during the war, the rebels finally had the last laugh as the French could not hold on to the colony for long. This contrast raises the debate as to whether the use of violent means is effective enough to deal with acts of terrorism currently growing worldwide. The film should not be underrated because of its underlying implications. The United States is particularly on the limelight owing

A Futuristic Commercial Advertisement Video Research Proposal

A Futuristic Commercial Advertisement Video - Research Proposal Example The project title for this proposal will be ‘A Futuristic Commercial Advertisement Video’ that aims at emerging with a new media that would enable commercial advertisements to take place everywhere. This means that videos of commercial advertisements will be aired the whole day through various platforms and media that are unique ranging from the electronic appliances to nature. In this regard, such items such as refrigerators, mirrors, ceilings, and sky. The finished project in this case will be a new and unique media that delivers video commercial advertisements in real-time on virtually any media including such unnatural media as in dreams and in the sky (Mullen and Rahn 64). Unlike the ordinary commercial advertisements that come through the mainstream media such as television, radio, print media, and the internet, this new media will be able to air video adverts on unique platforms that no human has ever witnessed nor experienced before. Additionally, the new media p latform will achieve maximum efficiency in the sense that it will reach out to more audience than the conventional media. Certainly, the principle and elements of visual arts such as colour, shape, lines, movement, and symmetry have played a major role in informing the approach to this project. These aspects of visual arts could just meet the ultimate goal if they can be transferred into nature. In essence, visual arts and films studies have been limited to the common media that performers are familiar with over the years. However, this new commercial advertisement brings in a new dimension of video platform that had never been seen before (Chun 424). This actually means that this will be a pilot project that will inspire many minds and capture the attention of many if it is successfully launched, as it will accentuate the level of enjoyment in commercial advertisements (Vacche 53). Besides, the project that has been motivated by the urge to adventure the commercial advertisements especially in real-time has really won the heart of many through its feasibility is still debatable within some quarters (M ullen and Rahn 64).

Ecommerce Initiative Essay Example for Free

Ecommerce Initiative Essay This paper focuses on pointing out the way planning electronic commerce initiatives. In order to support the ideas that are going to be shown, four online articles will be cited. The articles are: Ethics in advertising by Dr. Gomathi Viswanathan, Advertising Regulation – How to avoid inciting the FTC’s wrath by Jay N. Sawyer, and New Online Marketing Regulation – The dos and don’ts by Alan J. Grainger. E-commerce initiatives Planning electronic commerce initiatives: There are steps that one should follow when planning for the e-business initiatives when one is using markets, processes, services and products that already exist. The first step is to come up with the e-business initiative objectives which are the accomplishments that the business intends to meet. The decisions about the objectives that the business should consider includes the risks that may arise when the initiative is being carried out and the expected costs and benefits of carrying out the initiative. The objective should also consider the way resources are to be allocated when carrying out the initiative (Schneider, 2011). One should also analyze the scope that the initiative functions and this involves the use of online specialists that would help in the implementation of the electronic commerce initiative. This should involve the use of the data analytics and also the visual designers, people who will be involved in the interaction design and information design. One should also involve the use of specialists in marketing channel who would help in ensuring that the initiative is well promoted through the best marketing channel. The organization should invest in the important functions that would help in promoting the online business (Mckenzie, n. d). The team carrying out the initiative should have good communication channels that would help the organization to meet their objectives and to promote change in the organization. The team should have strong leaders that would help push for the implementation of the initiative and those that will ensure teamwork so as to meet the set deadline. The leaders should be able to report problems that arise during the planning period so as to prevent faults that would affect the online business (Mckenzie, n. d). The business processes, planning and implementation should be integrated and they should all be carried out online. It is also important to come up with a plan that would help the team members perform their tasks depending on the set plan. The organization should also ensure that they are able to retain the employees because there is a great demand for the people with talents in digital retail. This is because most of the consumers prefer shopping online and therefore, most businesses prefer using electronic business. Most of the companies have come up with electronic commerce initiatives and therefore when one is planning for this initiative, it is important to hire qualified personnel that will help provide ideas for competitive advantage (Mckenzie, n. d). When carrying out the plan, the team should include the performance review, deployment, testing of the initiative, implementation and feasibility analysis. The company should also make the initiative a priority and there should also be the analysis of how sustainable the initiative should be regarding the benefits it will provide. The managers should use the needs of the customers so as to ensure that their needs are met when planning is taking place and also it would help the company to identify the type of market segment to focus on the plan should be one that ensures that products that are offered are delivered on time and that there should be the best way to respond to the consumer queries (Muylle Basu, 2007). The people using e-commerce can also form joint ventures if they plan to carry out business online. People believe that these associations help in reducing costs of marketing and ensure that integrity and trust exists when carrying out business. People tend to rely on external and internal resources in maintaining and developing resources that are web-based. Associations that are more mature involve strategic partners and the core staff. Joint ventures are important in e-commerce because they encourage financial investment and competencies such as marketing, management and technology. It is therefore important for the organization to analyze the competitors before forming the associations (Lang, 2000). The organization should also identify and measure the benefits of initiating electronic commerce and that the managers should carry out the measurements by setting objectives that can be measured and the ones that that can increase the satisfaction of customers. In case the objective of the company is to build their brand, then the goals should be measured in terms of opinion polls and surveys from research that has been carried out. The aim of this is to increase the companys brand awareness. The company should come up with a team to carry out market research so as to find out the effects of a sales program and a marketing program. This team would help the organization to evaluate and to set goals for the initiatives of electronic commerce (Schneider, 2011). The company should also link the strategies with the objectives such as upstream and downstream strategies that would help the organization to focus on generating value and reducing costs and to improve value offered to customers. The initiatives inspire businessmen to carry out activities such as building web portals and virtual communities and also to manage the supply chain. The businesses are also inspired to purchase services and products, understand the needs of the consumers, and advertise their products and also to sell their services and products. These initiatives also help in improving the marketing programs that already exist and create brand awareness for the organization (Schneider, 2011).

The Nature And Role Of The Financial System Finance Essay

The Nature And Role Of The Financial System Finance Essay Financial system is a mechanism where economic exchange activities can be done. The economic activities can be done through the interaction between financial institutions and the financial market. The purposes of this interaction are to mobilize fund and providing payment facilities for the financing of commercial activities. With the emergence of Islamic finance, the dual financial systems being introduce. In dual financial system the conventional financial systems operating side by side with the Islamic financial systems. The Islamic Financial system consists of the role of four essential mechanisms: The Islamic banking institutions, Takaful, Islamic Capital Market and Islamic Money market. The structure of this financial system may consist of specialized and non-specialized financial institutions, of organized and unorganized financial markets, of financial instruments and services which facilitate transfer of funds. It also comprises of procedures and practices adopted in the Islamic financial markets. The operation and mechanism of the financial system is scrutinized by Bank Negara Malaysia advisory board and Securities Commission Syariah Advisory Board to ensure compliance of Islamic rules and regulations. The Islamic financial institutions which are govern and control under Bank Negara Malaysia are the organizations that mobilize the depositors savings, and provide financing, acting as creditor or in the form of capital venture or financing in the form of profit and loss sharing (PLS). They also provide various financial services to the community, particularly business organizations. The activities will be dealing in financial assets such as deposits, loans, securities or dealing in real assets such as machinery, equipment, stocks of goods and real estate. The activities of different financial institutions may be either specialized or their function may be overlap. They may be classified base on the basis of their primary activity or the degree of their specialization with relation to savers or borrowers with whom they customarily deal or scope of activity or the type of ownership are some of the criteria which are often used to classify a large number and variety of financial institu tions which exist in the economy. Financial institutions are divided into banking and non-banking institutions. The banking institutions traditionally participate in the economys payments mechanism, i.e., they provide transactions services, their deposit liabilities constitute a major part of the national money supply, and they can, as a whole, create deposits or credit, which is money and Banks, subject to legal reserve requirements, can advance credit by creating claims against themselves. Financial institutions are also classified as intermediaries and non-intermediaries. As the term indicates, intermediaries intermediate between savers and investors; they lend money as well as mobilize savings; their liabilities are towards the ultimate savers, while their assets are from the investors or borrowers. Non-intermediary institutions do the loan business but their resources are not directly obtained from the savers. All banking institutions are intermediaries. Many non-banking institutions also act as intermediaries) and when they do so they are known as Non-Banking Financial Intermediaries. The Evolution of Financial Intermediaries in Malaysia In this section, our task is to survey the landscape and identify the institutional players. By describing what financial intermediaries look like today, it is also revealing to see how financial intermediaries have evolved over the last century. Institutional Players The banking system in Malaysia, which is the major component of the financial sector, consists of Bank Negara Malaysia, commercial banks, Islamic banks, International Islamic banks, Investment bank, other non bank institutions and money brokers. Which are all regulated and supervised by Bank Negara Malaysia.  Ã‚  Ã‚  The other non-bank institutions are supervised by other government agencies. These institutions can be divided into four major groups, consisting of the development finance institutions, the saving institutions, the provident and pension funds, and a group of other financial intermediaries, comprising of building societies, unit trusts and property trusts, leasing companies, factoring companies, credit token companies, venture capital companies, special investment agencies and several financial institutions such as the National Mortgage Corporation (Cagamas) and Credit Guarantee Corporation. The traditional banking system role has been to make long-term loans and fund them by issuing short-term deposits.  [1]  But banking systems are prohibited from engaging in securities market activities such as securities underwriting or the sale of trust funds. Therefore, the current design of non-bank financial institution are allowed to deal in the securities market a part of providing services which are similar to the banking system. The contribution of each non-bank financial institutions: insurance companies and pension funds; they receive investment funds from their customers, both of these institutions place their money in a variety of money-earning investments. Leasing companies; they purchase equipment/asset and then lease to businesses for a set number of years. Factoring companies; provide specialized forms of credit to businesses by making loans and purchasing accounts receivable at a discount, usually assumes responsibility for collecting the debt, specialize in bill processing and collections and to take advantage of economies of scale. Market makers; as an agent that offer to buy or sell security (trading in securities),  [2]  storage the securities and insured the securities against loss, provide margin credit,  [3]  cash management account services.  [4]   Trust funds; pool the funds of many small investors and purchase large quantities of securities, offer a wide variety of funds designed to appeal to most investment strategies, allow the small investors to obtain the benefits of lower transaction costs in purchasing securities and reduce the risk by diversifying the portfolio. The National Mortgage Corporation; is to promote the secondary mortgage market in Malaysia, with the issuance of secondary mortgage securities, Cagamas Berhad performs the function of an intermediary to bring together the primary lenders of housing loans and investors of long-term funds. Evolution The evolution of financial intermediation in Malaysia is reflected in Table 1. Table 1 shows the major financial intermediaries by assets and also by percentage share (in parentheses) from 1960 to 2000. To the extent that we can view the pace of financial intermediation as a horse race, there seem to be a clear winners and losers. For example, in terms of relative importance the winners are unit trust, Cagamas Berhad, leasing companies, factoring companies and venture capital companies. Commercial banks and finance companies are losers. These findings raise some interesting questions. First, what caused the change in the mix of financial intermediaries? In this section, we will examine this evolutionary process via three factors. Deregulation of Interest Rate Interest rate deregulation that affects loan pricing takes its earliest form.  [5]  Canada, in 1960, was the first to deregulate its interest rate. Other countries deregulated in the 1980s or thereafter.  [6]  This deregulation allows more freedom and activity to the banks and other institutions to issue new depository products as well as diversified short and long term credit instruments.  [7]  Leightner and Lovell (1998) state that some relaxation to the banks portfolio were part of the liberalization that enables bank to diversify investment to private as well as the foreign equity.  [8]  This made possible with the establishment of the foreign exchange market and the expansion of the underwriting activities of the financial intermediaries. Liberalization in Japan and Germany for instance, brings new paradigm to the roles of the banking institutions. The bank in Germany and Japan is no longer to be a creditor, but can also be the equity holder and in the board of d irectors and management. Liberalization of the banking industry, for example in Malaysia and some other countries, take banking institution into a new dimension that is the establishment of Islamic banking.  [9]  The increasing demand on the interest free banking offer by the Islamic financial institutions leads many conventional banks to offer Islamic counter or rather known as dual banking. This development happens to Muslim and non-Muslim countries. The results show that the individuals prefer to diversify their investment other than deposits. In particular, they invest in securities such as stocks, bonds and unit trusts. Therefore, new investment in unit trust for the small saver altered permanently the financial landscape. The Institutionalization of Financial Markets Institutionalization refers to the fact that more and more funds in Malaysia have been flowing indirectly into the financial markets through financial intermediaries, particularly pension funds, trust funds and insurance companies rather than directly from savers. As a result, these institutional players have become much more important in the financial markets relative to individual investors. What caused institutionalization? Quite simply, it was driven by the growth of these financial intermediaries, particularly pension and unit trust.  [10]  Pension fund growth was encouraged by government policy. Tax laws, for instance, encourage employers to help their employees by substituting pension benefits for wages. This is good for employees because they do not pay taxes on their pension benefits until they are received after retirement. Unit trusts gained considerably from these changes in pension plan laws. Defined contribution plans were allowed to include unit trust on the menu of assets for which plan members could choose. In addition, the increasing attractiveness of specialized funds such as bond funds and index funds has also fueled unit trust fund growth. The Transformation of Traditional Banking The fact that banks are exposed to the non-performing loans that stood at 9.1% for the periods of 1997 to 1999 and it seems to us that banking is a declining industry. However, first, the so-called decline of commercial banking is limited to a decline in the relative importance of commercial banking. As shown in Table 1, the decline of commercial banks assets as a fraction of total intermediated assets from 43.4% in 1980 to 41.3% in 2001. Table 1 also shows that banking industry assets actually increased between 1960 and 2000. In other words, bank assets have actually increased just not as fast as the assets of other financial intermediaries. Second, many of the new innovative activities in which banks engage are not reflected on bank balance sheets as assets even though they add significantly to bank revenue.  [11]  These include, for example, trading in interest rate and currency swaps, selling derivative instruments and issuing credit guarantees. Third, banks have a strong comparative advantage in lending to individuals and small businesses.  [12]  Finally, banks have joined forces with a number of other types of financial intermediaries.  [13]  For example, banks have combined with unit trust funds, merchant banks, insurance companies and finance companies. Bank acquisitions of non-bank financial intermediaries are part of broader consolidation of the entire financial services industry. Diagram 1: Structure of Regulatory Framework Minister of Land and Co-operative Development Licensing of : Brokers Representatives Trading Adviser Representatives Fund Managers Representatives Minister of Finance Minister of Domestic Trade Consumer Affairs Securities Commission Act 1993 Securities Industry Act 1983 Registrar of Companies Securities Commission Future Industry Act 1993 Companies Act 1965 Cooperative Act 1993 Kuala Lumpur Stock exchange (KLSE) BNM Islamic Banking Act 1983 Licensing of Dealers Representatives Investment Adviser Representatives Fund Managers Representatives Securities Clearing Automated Network Sdn Bhd (SCANS) Malaysian Central Depository Sdn Bhd (MCD) Kuala Lumpur Commodity Exchange (KLCE) Malaysian Futures Clearing Corporation Sdn Bhd (MFCC) Kuala Lumpur Options Financial Futures Exchange (KLOFFE) Malaysian Monetary Exchange (MME) Malaysian Derivative Clearing House Sdn Bhd (MDCH) Table 1: Malaysia: Assets of the Financial System, 1960-2000 As at end of (RM million) 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 Banking System 2,356 (66.3) 7,455 (64.1) 54,346 (73.3) 223,500 (69.8) 829,900 (66.8) Central Bank 1,114 (31.4) 2,422 (20.8) 12,994 (17.5) 37,500 (11.7) 148,900 (12.0) Commercial Banks 1,232 (34.7) 4,460 (38.4) 32,186 (43.4) 130,600 (40.8) 513,600 (41.3) Finance Companies 10 (0.3) 531 (4.6) 5,635 (7.6) 39,400 (12.3) 109,400 (8.8) Merchant Banks 2,229 (3.0) 11,100 (3.5) 36,900 (3.0) Discount Houses 42 (0.4) 1,292 (1.7) 4,900 (1.5) 21,100 (1.7) Non-Bank Financial Intermediries 1,197 (33.7) 4,167 (35.9) 19,807 (26.7) 96,900 (30.2) 413,100 (33.2) Provident and Pension Funds 733 (20.6) 2,717 (23.4) 11,370 (15.3) 51,800 (16.2) 217,600 (17.5) Life and General Insurance Funds 103 (2.9) 439 (3.8) 2,476 (3.3) 10,300 (3.2) 52,200 (4.2) Development Financial Institutions 113 (1.0) 2,193 (3.0) 6,000 (1.9) 25,100 (2.0) Savings Institutions 267 (7.5) 645 (5.5) 2,463 (3.3) 10,000 (3.1) 32,300 (2.6) Other Intermediaries 93 (2.6) 233 (2.0) 1,305 (1.8) 19,800 (6.2) 85,900 (6.9) Total 3,553 11,622 74,153 320,400 1243,000 Source: Bank Negara Malaysia, Annual Reports (various issues) Financial Markets Financial markets are the centers or an arrangement that provide facilities for buying and selling of financial claims and services the corporations, financial institutions, individuals and governments trade in financial products in these markets either directly or through brokers and dealers on organized exchanges or off-exchanges. The participants on the demand and supply sides of these markets are financial institutions, agents, brokers, dealers, borrowers, lenders, savers, and others who are interlinked by the laws, contracts, covenants and communication networks. Financial markets are sometimes classified as primary (direct) and secondary (indirect) markets. The primary markets deal in the new financial claims or new securities and, therefore, they are also known as new issue markets. On the other hand, secondary markets deal in securities already issued or existing or outstanding. The primary markets mobilize savings and supply fresh or additional capital to business units. Alt hough secondary markets do not contribute directly to the supply of additional capital, they do so indirectly by rendering securities issued on the primary markets liquid. Stock markets have both primary and secondary market segments. Very often financial markets are classified as money markets and capital markets, although there is no essential difference between the two as both perform the same function of transferring resources to the producers. This conventional distinction is based on the differences in the period of maturity of financial assets issued in these markets. While money markets deal in the short-term claims (with a period of maturity of one year or less), capital markets do so in the long-term (maturity period above one year) claims. Contrary to popular usage, the capital market is not only co-extensive with the stock market; but it is also much wider than the stock market. Similarly, it is not always possible to include a given participant in either of the two (money and capital) markets alone. Commercial banks, for example, belong to both. While treasury bills market, call money market, and commercial bills market are examples of money market, stock market and government bonds market are example s of capital market. Keeping in view different purposes, financial markets have also been classified into the following categories: (a) organized and unorganized, (b) formal and informal, (c) official and parallel, and (d) domestic and foreign. There is no precise connotation with which the words unorganized and informal are used in this context. They are quite often used interchangeably. The financial transactions which take place outside the well-established exchanges or without systematic and orderly structure or arrangements constitute the unorganized markets. They generally refer to the markets in villages or rural areas, but they exist in urban areas also. Interbank money markets and most foreign exchange markets do not have organized exchanges. But they are not unorganized markets in the same way the rural markets are. The informal markets are said to usually involve families and small groups of individuals lending and borrowing from each other. This description cannot be str ictly applied to the foreign exchange markets, but they are also mostly informal markets. The nature, meaning, and scope of activities of these types of markets will be discussed later in the book. As mentioned earlier, financial systems deal in financial services and claims or financial assets or securities or financial instruments. These services and claims are many and varied in character. This is so because of the diversity of motives behind borrowing and lending. The stage of development of the financial system can often be judged from the diversity of financial instruments that exist in the system. It is not possible here to discuss individually the nature of various financial claims that exist in the financial system. The financial assets represent a claim to the payment of a sum of money sometime in the future (repayment of principal) and/or a periodic (regular or not so regular) payment in the form of interest or dividend. With regard to bank deposit or government bond or industrial debenture, the holder receives both the regular periodic payments and the repayment of the principal at a fixed date. Whereas with regard to ordinary share or perpetual bond, only periodic payments are received (which are regular in the case of perpetual bond but may be irregular in the case of ordinary share). Financial securities are classified as primary (direct) and secondary (indirect) securities. The primary securities are issued by the ultimate investors directly to the ultimate savers as ordinary shares and debentures, while the secondary securities are issued by the financial intermediaries to the ultimate savers as bank deposits, units, insurance policies, and so on. For the purpose of certain types of anal ysis, it is also useful to talk about ownership securities (viz., shares) and debt securities (viz., debentures, deposits). Financial instruments differ from each other in respect of their investment characteristics which, of course, are interdependent and interrelated. Among the investment characteristics of financial assets or financial products, the following are important: (i)liquidity, (ii) marketability, (iii) reversibility, (iv) transferability, (v) transactions costs, (vi) risk of default or the degree of capital and income uncertainty, and a wide array of other risks, (vii) maturity period, (viii) tax status, (ix) options such as call-back or buy-back option, (x) volatility of prices, and (xi) the rate of return-nominal, effective, and real. DEFINITION AND SCOPE OF A CAPITAL MARKET (THE ECONOMIC FUNCTIONS OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS) The previous section gave a brief overview of the major types of financial institu ­tions. To understand why financial institutions exist and the economic services that they provide, it is important to understand the different ways in which funds are transferred within an economy between businesses, government, and households (economic entities) that need to borrow funds (borrowers) and those that have sur ­plus funds to lend (investors). In a very simple economy without financial institutions, transactions between, different borrowers and lenders are difficult to arrange. Borrowers and savers incur significant search and information costs trying to find each other. Transactions be ­tween borrowers and savers may also be limited, because few financial contracts in ­volve only two parties. Similarly, risks are great, since individual entities have little or no knowledge of each other and little ability to monitor each others actions. Also, the transactions costs may be so high that small entities may be unwilling to supply funds. Investors also have little ability to diversify their risk, due to the high cost of many financial contracts. Supplier of funds: surplus (savings) units Lenders: Housesolders, companies, governments, rest of the worlds Demand of funds: deficit unit Borrowers: Housesolders, companies, governments, rest of the worlds Financial Markets Financial institutions help to reduce transactions, search, monitoring, and infor ­mation costs. They provide risk management services and allow investors to diversify their risk and hold portfolios of financial assets by creating ways of indirect financing. Financial institutions also play important roles in an efficient payment system be ­tween entities and in managing pure risk (insurance). The upper panel of Figure 1 shows the role of financial institutions as intermedi ­aries between borrowers and lenders. The term primary securities refers to direct financial claims against individuals, governments, and non-financial firms. A simple economy without any financial insti ­tutions would accommodate only direct financial claims or financial contracts. In ef ­fect, a borrower gives an investor a financial contract or direct financial claim or se ­curity that promises a stake in the borrowers company (i.e., shares of stock) or future payments returning the amount invested plus interest (i.e., a bond, or some other sort of IOU). These are examples of direct or primary securities. As an economy develops, markets emerge for trading direct securities. Some function as auction markets, where trading is carried out in one physical location, as occurs on the New York Stock Exchange; others function as over-the-counter mar ­kets, where trading is carried out by distant contacts, perhaps over the phone and computer, as on the National Association of Security Dealers Automated Quotation (NASDA Q) system. Loans made directly with borrowers are another example of a primary or direct security, where a direct contract is made between a borrower and a bank or other individual lender. Table 1.2 provides examples of primary securities in the first column. The financial assets owned by banks, insurance companies, and mu ­tual funds, such as loans, bonds, and common stock, are all direct securities, where the lenders give funds to the borrowers, and the lenders receive financial contracts guaranteeing repayment of funds plus interest or shares of ownership in the bor ­rower companies. Investors lend funds in return for a direct or primary security. Secondary securities, in contrast, are financial liabilities of financial institu ­tions-that is, claim against financial institutions. In Table 1.2, financial institu ­tions liabilities-deposits, policyholder reserve obligations, and mutual fund shares-are secondary securities or claims against financial institutions. In effect, fi ­nancial institutions created secondary securities that offer advantages over primary securities or direct financial claims. EXAMPLES OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SECURITIES Primary Securities Secondary Securities Commercial loans Savings deposits Mortgage loans Transaction deposits Consumer loans Certificates of deposit Government bonds Insurance policyholders reserves Corporate bonds Mutual fund shares Corporate common stock Pension fund reserves Table 1.2 shows this type of indirect financing. Unfortunately, like most fields, finance sometimes uses confusing terminology. Readers should carefully avoid confusing the use of the words primary and secondary in this dis ­cussion with their use in other contexts. For example, students who have previously stud ­ied corporate finance or investments may have encountered the terms primary and sec ­ondary markets; primary markets are those for originally issued securities, and secondary markets handle resale of securities. In the context of this chapter, primary and secondary distinguish between issuers of securities and not between changes in securities ownership. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY MARKET In a market economy the existence of financial markets can greatly ease the process of exchanging loanable funds for financial claims. A firm that wants to borrow money can go to the market in the knowledge that those with funds to lend will be there. The process is made easier still if specialist traders are known to be actively participating in the markets, buying and selling financial claims on their own account, thereby smoothing over days on which trading is thin or when there is an excess of potential borrowers or lenders. Further economies are achieved if agents or brokers can be employed to enter the market representing the customer to buy and sell securities. The existence of the market serves borrowers and lenders alike by reducing the search costs which each has to incur to get in touch with the other, and also maintains confidence in market prices. Markets do not always have a physical location. A market for loanable funds might consist of nothing more than a list of know n dealers who can be contacted by letter or telephone. The International Stock Exchange is the centre of the securities market. It has both a physical trading site which is used for a very small number of securities, and a highly developed system of trading which takes place in a number of locations via computer linkages. The discount market is another traditional financial market, but one which operates without a physical site at all. This market operates by representatives of the discount houses maintaining close daily contact with the leading banks, either by telephone or personal visits, to determine where trading opportunities are. Two types of financial markets exist for real and financial assets, and it is important to distinguish between them. A primary market for financial assets deals in new issues of all types of loanable funds. Transactions in primary markets result either in the creation or in the extinction of financial claims. The creation of a new loan causes the transfer of cash from a lender to a borrower in exchange for a financial claim on the latter. The claim is extinguished when the cash, usually interest and principal, has been repaid to the lender. A secondary market is a market in old issues. Transactions in secondary markets do not create or extinguish financial claims. Cash does not pass between borrowers and lenders, but existing issues simply change hands. The borrower remains unaffect ed by the transaction while the lender transfers the right of repayment to another. The main economic function of the secondary markets is to support the operations of the associated primary markets for new issues by providing liquidity to lenders. In the absence of a developed secondary market an individual saver might be very unwilling to lend out money for long periods of time, except at rates of high interest too high to be attractive to borrowers. If the chances of making a sale when necessary are unacceptably low, no lender would commit funds. Therefore an active secondary market is essential for an active primary one. However, there is no guarantee that the lender will receive back in sale proceeds the full amount at the time they are sold, since markets fluctuate all the time, and prices are not constant. Secondary markets also contribute to the efficiency of the primary market by providing pricing information. In the share market, for example, the current prices of traded securities significantly reduce the problem of setting a price on new issues with similar risk profiles, and information from the secondary market will also influence the attitude of potential participants in primary markets. Figure 3.2 illustrates the connections between primary and secondary markets. Not all primary markets have secondary markets associated with them and some securities are issued for which there are no secondary markets

The Call for a World Constitutional Convention: An Application of John Lockes Theory of Revolution :: Philosophy Philosophical Essays

The Call for a World Constitutional Convention: An Application of John Locke's Theory of Revolution ABSTRACT: A movement led by an organization called "One World" is advocating the idea of "Direct Democracy," whereby individuals everywhere would have the opportunity to elect delegates to a world constitutional convention. In theory, any document drafted by this convention would be returned to individuals throughout the world for their approval. The assumption of the Direct Democracy movement is that individuals throughout the world have the right to bypass existing governments in order to establish the rule of law on a global level. Leaders of this movement believe that the Direct Democracy movement is consistent with democratic ideas, including those articulated by Locke. Two questions are at issue. First, do individuals have the right to bypass existing governments in order to establish an international government? Second, is it desirable to establish world government? I conclude that, according to Locke, sovereign power rests with individuals—not governments. Individuals have the right to delegate a portion of their power from one government to another and, when they do so, revolution ensues. Revolution of this sort would be desirable because national governments cannot provide security in the nuclear age. So individuals should transfer some power from the national to the international level. The call for a world constitutional convention is a call for a peaceful revolution that could abolish war. Do People Have the Right to Bypass Existing Governments? According to John Locke, governments derive their power from the consent of the governed. The power of government is the sum of the of the rights that government is given by the individuals in the society it governs. As Locke states it the power of government is "that power which every man, having in the state of nature, has given up into the hands of the society, and therein to governours."(1) Having given up some rights to national governments, do individuals retain control of those rights so that they can transfer rights to an international government? Here we seem to confront a puzzle in Locke. Rights must be alienable in order for individuals to give rights to governments, yet citizens retain rights that allow them the right of rebellion. There are passages in Locke that suggest that rights can be permanently alienated, such as when Locke discusses a person who performs an act that "deserves death" such as one who initiates a state of war.