Saturday, November 30, 2019

Sexual Assault Investigation an Example of the Topic Psychology Essays by

Sexual Assault Investigation Sexual assault is one of the most under reported crimes. Both men and women can become victims of sexual assault, although all related statistics are associated with women. Sexual assault is a broad classification for all unaccepted sexual advances or exhibition of sexual desires. It differs from rape which is the gratification of sexual desire by force. The National Crime Victimization Survey data suggests about half a million people had been sexually assaulted between the years 1992-93. More recent surveys like that for 2001, estimates there were around 249,000 sexual assault victims for that year (Online Lawyer, 2008). However these figures are presumed to be too less due to the underreporting factor. A 1992 study suggests that only about 16% of the sexual assaults are brought to the police. Need essay sample on "Sexual Assault Investigation" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed The main reason for victims to shy away from reporting these cases is perhaps to avoid the embarrassment of being talked about it in the neighborhood, the media or at least being asked to narrate the happenings before a jury. Although sexual assault is an underreported crime it is however possible for anyone to falsely raise charges of sexual assault, even without any evidence. A charge of sexual assault on someone can be very damaging and can even devastate ones life. Thus sexual assault investigations are very crucial, particularly when the suspect denies charges; and physical evidences are very important in the investigations. The evidences collected against the offender are of varying nature like material evidence, biological evidence, medical evidence etc. and requires the expertise of physicians, laboratory technicians and crime scene investigators to compile them. It has been overwhelmingly observed that most sexual assaults and rapes are committed by people well known to the victim. This aspect of rape has considerable bearing on the investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators (Kilpatrick, 2000). As the identity of the perpetrators are known to the victims in most cases, the investigation here need not be focused on the identification of the suspect or perpetrators. In most cases, the perpetrator would proclaim that the act wasnt a rape, but only a consensual sex. Therefore the investigation should be more directed to counter this position. Known offenders adopt such a stand as it is difficult for them to plead a case of mistaken identity. To prove a sexual act as a case of rape and not a consensual decision, the victim needs to show proof of physical injuries (Estrich, 1987). As most rape victims actually dont receive major physical injuries, the investigators and prosecutors face a difficult task, as absence of injuries is generally p erceived as consenting. Forensic examination may highlight physical injuries that are relevant to forced rape, which may then be used as evidence. The crime investigating officer, at the location of the sexual assault or rape, needs to primarily look to the requirements of the victim, like medical help. The officer needs to interact with the victim and try to boost her morale and confidence, particularly when the victim is in a state of shock or even hysteric. At the initial stage of the rape investigation, the investigator should look for any physical material of the attacker present with the victim. Generally a rape victim would tear the clothes of her attacker, scratch and scar his face or even pull his hair. Thus there is always a chance of the assailants hair, clothes or blood stains on the victim, particularly on her hands and under the nails. It is important to have the clothing of the victim sent for analysis, at the earliest possible, but care should be taken here to ensure that the victim is comfortable and not pained by further embarrassment. The evidence material must be gathered, handled and packed carefully before it is sent to the lab for forensic analysis. The number of people handling the evidence should be minimum and the investigator needs to fix his initials to the evidence for its accuracy. Semen and hair are very valuable physical evidences. A medical examination is part of the rape investigation and should be carried out by a specialist in forensic medicine. The victim would mostly insist on a personal physician performing the exam, which should be strongly discouraged; as personal and private physicians would not have rape investigation experience, or be able to testify in a court to get a conviction. The medical examination would include visual examination of vagina and determination of tissue damage (ASU, 2006). The presence or absence of a rapists sperm is concluded by carrying out a pap smear test. When rape results in the death of the victim, then the examination should also include anus, mouth etc. A forensic medical examination considers a victims body, as a crime scene. Based on the victims version of the incidents, the forensic team collects evidence which can prove, the identity of the perpetrator, and that rape had occurred. When the suspect denies any sexual act with the victim, then DNA or other appropriate material evidence is collected which can prove that the suspect had committed the sexual act. Claims of consensual sex cannot be countered easily and proof of physical injuries is one of the few ways to counter such claims. Newer technology enhances detection of physical injuries, like the use of colposcope. The colposcope is generally used by gynecologists for observation of vulvar or vaginal diseases. The colposcope provides a 30 time magnification of areas like anus, vulva or vagina. Injuries like abrasions and tears that are not visible to the naked eye are observed with the colposcope. Earlier rape examinations without colposcope could establish evidence of genit al injuries in about 19 to 28% of cases. Now with the colposcope about 87% of genital trauma can be established. Crime scene processing involves examining, identifying, recording and collection of physical evidence based on which comparisons, recognition and individualization are later made. Considerable care should be given when evidences are collected and preserved. As plastic enclosures cause moisture formation, all evidence items should be air dried in a room, before packing. This can prevent fungal and bacterial growth. Dry items which are possible biological evidences need to be wrapped first in a clean paper, then put in a paper bag. When biological stains are formed in materials like cloths or rubber, and the items need to be folded prior to packing, then care should be taken to ensure that the specimen area is not folded. Otherwise, the biological material may be damaged and DNA testing would become difficult (Savino, Turvey and Baeza). Solid objects bearing biological material evidence, must have clean paper covering it and sealing the stained area, to prevent contamination or dilutio n of evidence. Victims of a sexual assault need to be brought to a medical facility within 72 hours of incident, where a SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) conducts the medical examination. In case the victim is brought after 72 hours, it would help if the victim has not changed clothes or has not showered. It has been established that the best evidence of assault could be gathered when the victim reports within 12 hours of the incident. The evidence collection procedure of the SANE has evolved over the years as a consequence of interactions with investigators, crime lab specialists and attorneys. Today, the collection of evidence is more complete and valid and contributes immensely in charging a suspect. The forensic examiner also collects blood and saliva samples of the victim to differentiate it from that of the perpetrator. Sometimes an extra blood sample of victim may be required for alcohol or drug analysis. This is required when perpetrators claim victims to have agreed under the influence of alcohol or had agreed to have sex in exchange of drugs. When sperm or seminal fluid of the offender is not seen in the victim, then too rape shouldnt be ruled as studies have shown that a good percentage of rapists are sexually dysfunctional or use condoms. Nowadays seminal fluid evidence is more used in determining DNA evidence linking to the suspect. Seminal fluid can also be investigated for prostatic specific acid phosphatase (PAP 30) which are highly concentrated in seminal fluids compared to vaginal fluids. Genital trauma evidence can not only support the victims version of the incident, but also prove that force was indeed used. The position of the genital trauma is related to the body position of the victim during the assault. For instance, when there is injury to external vaginal opening, the woman is most likely to have been raped in missionary position. When a semi-circular cut or scratch is observed in the inner vaginal wall, then a digital penetration is supported (Ledray, 1999). The colposcope plays a vital role in genital trauma examination. Although genital trauma indicates use of force, absence of genital trauma should not be considered as consensual sex. Physical evidence collected in rape cases are directed towards establishing occurrence of penetration, establishing occurrence of nonconsensual sex and establishing identity of the perpetrator. The absence of seminal fluid may also be attributed to several causes like suspect not ejaculating in the vagina, or the medical examination was done after a long time after rape, or the doctor having failed to take a proper sample. Occasionally seminal fluid from a consensual sex would be present, while that from a rape would be absent. In such cases seminal fluid typing would be carried out. Evidences like torn or soiled clothing, bruises, cuts, plucked hair indicate fight or struggle during intercourse, and hence rape (Fischer, 2003). Finger prints, palm prints and even foot prints are valuable clues that help to nail the assailant. Fingerprints from beer cans, cigarettes etc. are required to identify the assailant. For drug aided sexual assault, blood and urine samples are crucial evidence s. Victims who suspect the use of drugs, should not empty their bladders. Substances like GHB (gamma hydroxybutrate) which can easily make a victim unconscious, is eliminated from the blood within six hours but would be detectable in urine after that. When any pills or suspicious powder are found at the rape scene, the investigator should not ignore these. Although physical evidence collection and forensic analysis can help in identifying the assailant, investigators need to be aware of the circumstances and situations to profile the assaulter. As sexual assault are committed on people of both sexes, children, adults and elders; investigators should look for appropriate physical evidences. Similarly experience and expertise is required to identify a serial rape case based on evidence similarity and additional evidence recognition. In child molestation cases, physical evidence are much lesser, and signs like nightmares, bedwetting and urinary infections are considered symptoms of child molestation. Investigators can only look for clues on the childs dress worn during the last assault, if it has not been washed. Beyond this, the investigators are totally dependent on medical observations. Child abuse is identified based on the observations of the pediatrician (Fischer, 2003). Strange bruises, broken bones as revealed by X-rays are import ant to the investigation. Sometimes unhygienic conditions and under nourishment may also be associated. For homosexual assaults, a SANE examines the rectum and takes a swab sample for presence of semen. Here medical examination can not only reveal whether sodomy had occurred, but also confirm if the victim was accustomed to it. Presence of lubricant or feces traces also need to be looked on clothing. To make investigation and prosecution of rape cases more effective, the collective effort and cooperation of several agencies are required. The agencies involved in the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault include the medical personnel, law enforcement personnel, prosecution, correction and victim recovery services. The services are interrelated and a reporting at any point would get all the agencies into action. REFERENCES Augusta State University, Department of Public Safety, Investigating and processing a sexual assault rape call: Initial Steps. (2006) [Electronic Version]. Online Lawyer Source. (2008) Sexual assault victims [Electronic Version] Kilpatrick D.G., National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center. Rape and sexual Assault (2000) [Electronic Version]. Downloaded on 2nd June 2008 from http://www.musc.edu/vawprevention/research/sa.shtml Fischer B.A., Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation CRC Press. (2003) Ledray. L., Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE). Development and Operation Guide, U.S department of Justice, Office of Victims of Crime. (1999) Estrich, S., Real rape. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press (1987) Savino J.O., Turvey B.E., and Baeza J.J., Rape Investigation Handbook Academic Press (2004)

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

The Gloved Wonder essays

The Gloved Wonder essays I'm starting with the man in the mirror, I'm asking him to change his ways, and no message could have been any clearer If you wanna make the world a better place. Take a look at yourself, and then make a change (Man in the Mirror). Michael Jackson took his own advice from his single Man in the Mirror and made a change, not only to his appearance, but to the world. He is one of the greatest selling artists and is admired by most as the King of Pop. His status, however, has not halted the overwhelming rumors and controversy surrounding his life. Media targets his fixation with plastic surgery, affection for small children, and his countless controversies. Michael Jackson was born August 29, 1958, to a musically inclined family in the Gary, Indiana (Pokutlowicz). From day one, his destiny was set in stone. He had a devout interest in music, as did his four brothers, and he began performing with them at an early age. Their father, Joseph was controlling and he forced his sons to form the musical group the Jackson Five, signing with Motown Records. This group would become one of the most influential RThe Prisoner). Jackson recalls, When I was five, I was touring, singing, and dancing. Always gone, always out of school (The Prisoner). Today, Jackson is in search of that childhood experience, never letting himself grow up. He relates closely to the lost boys in Peter Pan, stranded between childhood and adulthood, living physically behind tall gates and mentally in a Disney landscape on his Neverland Ranch. The 44-year-old star surrounds himself with children to make up for his friendless, workaholic childhood. This behavior, how ever, has caused speculation of child molestation. In the fall of 1993, Jackso...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Summary of the Medea Tragedy by Euripides

Summary of the Medea Tragedy by Euripides The plot of the Greek poet Euripides Medea tragedy is convoluted and messy, rather like its antihero, Medea. It was first performed at the Dionysian Festival in 431 BCE, where it famously won third (last) prize against entries by Sophocles and Euphorion. In the opening scene, the nurse/narrator tells us that Medea and Jason have lived together for some time as husband and wife in Corinth, but theirs is a troubled union. Jason and Medea met at Colchis, where King Pelias had sent him to capture the magical golden fleece from Medeas father King Aaetes. Medea saw and fell in love with the handsome young hero, and so, despite her fathers desire to retain possession of the precious object, helped Jason to escape. The couple fled first Medeas Colchis, and then after Medea was instrumental in the death of King Pelias at Iolcos, fled that region, finally arriving at Corinth. Medea Is Out, Glauce Is In At the opening of the play, Medea and Jason are already the parents of two children during their life together, but their domestic arrangement is about to end. Jason and his father-in-law-to-be, Creon, tell Medea that she and her children must leave the country so that Jason may marry Creons daughter Glauce in peace. Medea is blamed for her own fate and told that if she hadnt behaved like a jealous, possessive woman, she could have remained in Corinth. Medea asks for and is granted one days reprieve, but King Creon is fearful, and rightly so. During that one days time, Medea confronts Jason. He retaliates, blaming Medeas banishment on her own temper. Medea reminds Jason of what she has sacrificed for him and what evil she has done on his behalf. She reminds him that since she is from Colchis and is, therefore, a foreigner in Greece and without a Greek mate, she will not be welcome anywhere else. Jason tells Medea that he has given her enough already, but that he will recommend her to the care of his friends (and he has many as witnessed by the gathering of the Argonauts). Jasons Friends and Medeas Family Jasons friends need not be bothered because as it turns out Aegeus of Athens arrives and agrees that Medea may find refuge with him. With her future assured, Medea turns to other matters. Medea is a witch. Jason knows this, as do Creon and Glauce, but Medea seems appeased. She presents a wedding gift to Glauce of a dress and crown, and Glauce accepts them. The theme of poisoned clothing should be familiar to those who know of  the death of Hercules. When Glauce puts on the robe it burns her flesh. Unlike Hercules, she immediately dies. Creon dies, too, trying to help his daughter. Although thus far, Medeas motives and reactions seem at least understandable, then Medea does the unspeakable. She slaughters her own two children. Her revenge comes when she witnesses Jasons horror as she flies off to Athens in the chariot of the sun god Helios (Hyperion), her ancestor.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The Confession of Saint Patrick Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Confession of Saint Patrick - Essay Example He narrates the story of his life from his childhood through to adulthood and right up to the time before his death. This account by St. Patrick gives us an insight into the background of the prevailing times and also lending focus to the legends and the myths that shrouded his personality. This biographical account is edited by Whitely Stokes and was compiled by Beatrix Fà ¤rber and Benjamin Hazard. The language used by the author was Latin. His father was Calpornius, who was a deacon in an era much before celibacy became the rule for priests. He was a Romanized Briton. Patrick’s mother came from an upper-class Gaulish family of Martin of Tours, though Patrick does not pride himself for the fact. As time gradually rolled by, Patrick’s enslavement had a great impact on him and strengthened his faith in the Christian religion. At the very impressionable age of sixteen, he admitted in his ‘Confessions’ that he was captured and brought to Ireland to serve as a slave to a Druidic chieftan named Milchu in Dalriada, at the County Antrim. But at the age of twenty two he escaped from there and once again reunited with his parents at Britain where later he became ‘one of the first Christian clergymen in Ireland, being preceded by men such as Pallidius (c.380-457/61). His first convert was his patron Dichu, who gifted him a huge barn (sabhal) where a church was constructed and the site still retains the name of Sabhal that is pronounced as â€Å"Saul.† In Ireland, Patrick was not the first Christian missionary, because much before him were missionaries like Secundus and Pallidius who continued their active work in the south of the island. But even so, Patrick is given a lot of credence as one of the best missionaries because his teachings had a great impact especially in provinces like Ulster and Connaught where there were no Christians before. He came across as a man who possessed a deep love for God and courageous enough to face

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Q8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Q8 - Essay Example Thirdly, the implementation budget generally does not contain adequate provision for funds and an impractical schedule for implementation may be set up. Unless adequate time is provided for the completion of each task, the result will be insufficient attention to detail and tasks that are completed carelessly. (Goldband, 2008). Another reason why ERP systems fail is the failure to provide staff members and employees with adequate training to handle the systems, leaving it all to the IT people. One example of such a failure is Cosworth, the race car manufacturer. This company had implemented a range of software solutions, but they did not function effectively because of the lack of integration of systems meant that information could not be easily accessed.(CIBER, 2005). In this instance, the failure was caused by the use of the wrong tools as well as a failure to train its employees and staff adequately in their use. In the case of Jada Precision Plastics, initial ERP tools were not successful, because it provided pre-packaged solutions. It was only after implementing the IQMS ERP software which allowed for data entry and manipulation that they achieved success. 2. Investment in ERP systems must be fuelled by business justification rather than technology motivation. As Goldband(2008) has pointed out, most businesses simply want to switch over from legacy systems and feel that implementing an ERP systems means that the computer technology will miraculously take care of everything. But the motivation and method in introducing an ERP system must be on the basis of the existing business processes and the needs that have been identified, so that the best ERP software can be chosen that most closely matches the existing processes. Choosing an ERP process merely on the basis of introducing technology may fail, unless the needs of the business processes are also taken

Saturday, November 16, 2019

People and society Essay Example for Free

People and society Essay The writer basically talks about the conditions, events, problems, and trends of the larger regions as well as the individual nations. The writer basically uses a cross-disciplinary approach and talks about the physical landscapes and the culture that is being followed in the Asian-Pacific countries where most of the people live, mainly China and Japan. Moreover, some of the highest mountains and longest rivers are also found in Asia. These populated countries consist of many people belonging to various ethnic groups who follow different cultures, religions and speak different languages. (Weightman, 2001). The chapters that I would be mainly focusing are based on the aspects of people and society in Pacific Asia. The people of Japan mostly reside in Honshu, Kyushu, Hokkaido and Shikoku. The two terms that means people of Japan are Nipponjin and Nihonjin and they basically resemble the Tibetans. Japan has a very high population and in 2002 it was declared to be the 10th most populous countries; however the Japanese population has been facing a decline due to the western influence because of which small household have become a trend. Japan has a homogenous culture, tradition and language and the main religions are Buddhism and Shinto. Most of the people in Japan live in the urban areas than in cities. (Maps of the world. com, n. d. ). Like Japan, China is also one of the populous countries in the world. China is a multi ethnic country and majority of the population speak Chinese. (Welcome to China, n. d. ). Most of the people in China grow rice, ride bicycles and fewer cars can be seen only in cities. They Chinese people prefer doing things in the old ways their ancestors used to. The Chinese people use the decimal system as their currency that consists of paper money as well as the coins.(Ebrey, n. d. ). Reference Ebrey, P. B. (n. d. ). People. January 21st, 2009. Retrieved from: http://depts. washington. edu/chinaciv/geo/people. htm Maps of the world. com. (n. d. ). People of Japan. January 21st, 2009. Retrieved from: http://www. mapsofworld. com/japan/culture/people-of-japan. html Weightman , B. (2001). Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East, and Southeast Asia. 2nd Edn. Wiley, Hardcover. Welcome to China. (n. d. ). People of China. January 21st, 2009. Retrieved from: http://www. tooter4kids. com/china/people_of_china. htm

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Special Topics In Communications :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Communication is defined as creating symbol systems that can be used to exchange and express information and meanings. The different ways that individuals, groups and societies use these expressions to make sense of daily life is know as their culture. Culture itself can be divided into two classifications. Culture spelled with a capital C is usually associated with art such as classical music, opera, ballet and art museums. These examples can also be called â€Å"high culture†. Culture with a lowercase c represents the way people live through fashion, sports, religion, education and history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Each culture is a different audience. Mass media takes the audience in consideration to provide information that is relevant to them. Media will target people based on age, gender and race to produce programming or text that each will relate to. When the popular teen drama Dawson’s Creek first aired in 1997, I was 17. The program was intended to reach out to my age group on issues that were important to us. For about a year and a half I was a Dawson’s Creek expert, knowing in detail about the characters and the storylines. Soon after high school I grew restless with the show. I realized it no longer appealed to me because I had grown out of the show. The same network has since come out with programs for the college age group that I now watch. Networks know that they must change just as fast as their audience to keep them. There are many types of mass media today that are available to a large number of people on a daily basis. Sources of mass media and mass communications include newspapers, movies, television programs, radio, books and magazines. Of these mediums, the Internet is the fast growing type of mass communication. I first began using America Online in 1999 for chat rooms. I would go in the rooms and talk to people my age that lived in my area. It was a new way to communicate with people about whatever I wanted. I then noticed people using the chat rooms for a source of spreading their ideas about racism, sexism and general malaise. I believe that most output from the Internet is positive. The Internet is a convenient tool for education, news, entertainment, business and personal communication. Although with a resource with large, hate groups are also going to try and spread their message to the masses. Special Topics In Communications :: essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Communication is defined as creating symbol systems that can be used to exchange and express information and meanings. The different ways that individuals, groups and societies use these expressions to make sense of daily life is know as their culture. Culture itself can be divided into two classifications. Culture spelled with a capital C is usually associated with art such as classical music, opera, ballet and art museums. These examples can also be called â€Å"high culture†. Culture with a lowercase c represents the way people live through fashion, sports, religion, education and history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Each culture is a different audience. Mass media takes the audience in consideration to provide information that is relevant to them. Media will target people based on age, gender and race to produce programming or text that each will relate to. When the popular teen drama Dawson’s Creek first aired in 1997, I was 17. The program was intended to reach out to my age group on issues that were important to us. For about a year and a half I was a Dawson’s Creek expert, knowing in detail about the characters and the storylines. Soon after high school I grew restless with the show. I realized it no longer appealed to me because I had grown out of the show. The same network has since come out with programs for the college age group that I now watch. Networks know that they must change just as fast as their audience to keep them. There are many types of mass media today that are available to a large number of people on a daily basis. Sources of mass media and mass communications include newspapers, movies, television programs, radio, books and magazines. Of these mediums, the Internet is the fast growing type of mass communication. I first began using America Online in 1999 for chat rooms. I would go in the rooms and talk to people my age that lived in my area. It was a new way to communicate with people about whatever I wanted. I then noticed people using the chat rooms for a source of spreading their ideas about racism, sexism and general malaise. I believe that most output from the Internet is positive. The Internet is a convenient tool for education, news, entertainment, business and personal communication. Although with a resource with large, hate groups are also going to try and spread their message to the masses.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Amazon vs Wallmart

Amazon vs Wallm Amazon vs. Walmart Alexandra Tikhonkikh Professor N. Kentish Metropolitan College of New York The case study Amazon vs. Walmart is illustrated several concepts, which was described in the chapter. One of them is a sales Revenue Model where companies get revenue by selling goods, information, or services to customers. Like Amazon. com which sells books, music, and other products. Another one is e-tailer model.It is close to the typical bricks-and-mortar storefront, except that customers only need to connect to the Internet to check their items and place an order. The value scheme of e-tailers is to provide convenient, low-cost shopping 24/7, offering large assortments and consumer choice. Some e-tailers, such as Walmart. com, indicated to as â€Å"bricks-and-clicks,† are divisions of existing physical stores and have the same products. Others, however, exist only in the virtual world, without any ties to physical locations like Amazon. com. Before we going to a nalyze Amazon and Walmart. om using the value chain and competitive forces models, we suppose to describe these two concepts. Business Value Chain Model include: 1) views firms as series of activities that add value to products or services, 2) highlights activities, 3) primary activities vs. secondary activities, 4) regulate how information systems could advance customer and supplier disintermediation at each step of development, 5) utilize benchmarking. Michael Porter’s competitive forces model provides general view of firm, its competitors, and environment.It also substitutes products and services. The model include customers and suppliers, moreover, it contains traditional competitors and new market entrants. Besides, five competitive forces shape fate of firm. Amazon. com started as on line bookseller, but has expended into a wide variety of media, electronics, and other general merchandise categories in support of its business strategy. Amazon’s value chain includ es primary and support activities. Primary activities are very important for business, because those needed to manufacture a product or services for the end users.These activities typically include: 1) service: basically meant by after-sales support like user training, install applications, customer support and etc. , 2) operations: manufacturing the product, 3) inbound logistics: receiving goods from supplier and storing those goods, 4) outbound logistics: sending goods to wholesalers, retailers or directly to the end customer, 5) marketing and sales: product needed to be sold to the end customer, to understand customer requirements and also to promote goods.Support activities help to facilitate or assist the primary activities of producing product. There are four category: 1) Procurement: purchasing raw material and other items used in operations, 2) Human Resource Management : recruiting, hiring, firing, training, developing, compensating, 3) Technological Development : research and development, process automation, software, hardware, equipment, etc. , 4) Infrastructure : may include accounting, legal, finance, planning, public affairs, government relations, quality assurance and general management.As to Amazon’s competitive advantages from a value chain there are several strategies of development like strong technological infrastructure with a single platform, high investments in technology development for example Kindle, the best leverage digital products, great product forecasting system, print on demand, constantly imploring suggestions on new products, easy and fast payment system, 24/7 operations, free returns within 30 days. Amazon. com competes with product specific retailers; online marketplace and mass merchandise retailers.This creates an environment of intense competition and requires Amazon. com to differentiate itself uniquely based on the competitor. Let’s try to consider a Wal-Mart position from the competitive model as well. C ompetition among rivals is fairly weak. The market is crowded but Wal-Mart has the lowest costs, prices, profits, and market share. The warning of substitute products is also weak. Wal-Mart exerts a great deal of effort in making sure they are innovative and meeting customer requests. The bargaining power of suppliers is weak as well. For most producers, Wal-Mart would be their largest account.The bargaining power of buyers is also weak. There is a very broad base of customers and a meaningful demand for low prices. The threat of new entrants is weak. Wal-Mart has a scale of operation that is very important, it would take years, maybe even decades, for a new company to be on the same level. Even prominent companies today would have really difficult time matching the costs and prices Wal-Mart provides. A more sophisticated analysis of Wal-Mart’s internal value chain shows that Wal-Mart is hold in esteem to technology and was the ? rst merchant, which uses bar codes.It also use s satellite connections to communicate with all its stores. Moreover, Wal-Mart has integrated its POS, inventory-control, RFID, and other logistical technologies to haste product delivery, improve security and decrease costs. Besides It has developed regional obtaining centers in addition to its legendary center in Bentonville, Arkansas. Wal-Mart even has one in Shenzhen, China. Merchants set up satellite of? ces next door to the most suitable procurement center. Because Wal-Mart is a retailer, not a manufacturer, its external value chain is extremely simple.It deals with a variety of merchants and sells to customers. But the secret to discovering what makes Wal-Mart successful in studying its internal value chain. We should mentioned Walmart's competitive advantages from a value chain perspective. First of all it is a distribution capabilities: well-organized distribution, leadership of Walmart’s own distribution centers and â€Å"inside-out† location strategy. Second , is partnership relationship with merchants: integrates suppliers via IT ; treats them well in terms of pricing, they are more business partners than â€Å"value takers†.Third, is advanced data mining: dynamic group and usage of customer buying behavior report. Forth, workforce culture and EDPL: customer-oriented workforce interested through substantial monetary contribution and belief in Walmart’s culture. And that’s not hard consider the fact that Walmart is almost 50 years old. Wal-Mart’s business strategy is to provide â€Å"Every day Lower Prices† or EDPL for all its products and services. Their organization, company culture, and supply chain management all support and emphasize this business strategy.Also, Wal-Mart use strategy of managing costs which include: budgeting payroll cost, saving on business travel cost, investing in technology, eliminating unnecessary costs. Another strategy that we have to mention is a strategy of managing growt h, which consists of location and acquisition. And the last one called strategy of managing people resources. Every company that wants to be successful supposes to pay attention to this strategy as well. Internal promotions, employee motivating and external recruitment are the main components of this strategy.By implementing these three important strategies successfully, Wal-Mart has become from a single store to the biggest retailer in the United States and the biggest company in the world. The cost management strategy of Wal-Mart was created an operational model with the lowest cost which was increased the ratio of profit on the financial reports. Products found in Wal-Mart stores are not considered to be a high-end, luxury, or fashion oriented. Because their strategy is being a low price leader. Wal-Mart aims to provide a wide variety of products under one location for a low price.Wal-Mart stores also carry their own private labels that compete on price with national brands. More over, the growth management strategy had hauled Wal-Mart into the right direction of investment and expanded radically around the distribution center. However, the people management strategy motivates all employees to work more efficiency and generates a great workplace environment which full of self-improvement, competition, and respects. It also provides a chance for people to build-up experience from the low-rank position to the high-rank position.Consequently, strong management in these three strategies had transformed Wal-Mart into the biggest company in the world with the highest number of workers worldwide and had also provided benefits to millions of people around the world by transferring avoidable cost into low-cost products. Now we are going to consider the management, organization and technology factors that have contributed to the success of Amazon. Firs of all, Amazon is convenient and easy of use. It has a large selection of different items, unlimited virtual shelf sp ace and wholesale relations, so you could find any product for acceptable price.The service is high performance, which could be proven by high speed and reliability. Customers are kept informed well about new products and the system that provides shipping makes the process fast. Also, Amazon use innovative technology, which contribute development and support of all system in whole. For short time Amazon. com became a well-known brand with cross promotion, high advertising, co-branding and publisher relations. Amazon. com is also famous for its large community where customer and author reviews post. It has a great gift policy for customer like bookmarks, notepads, cups, etc.Amazon arranges promotions where customers could collaborate with famous authors. The site has a large customer database with personalization pages, which contain extensive customer profiles. It also has recommendation pages, which help other readers make a right choice. Amazon has a high trust for their users bec ause of guarantees and return policy. Great customer service is also promote trust of users because of superior service reps, easy search, email confirmation, extended service, extensive subject index, ability to order before publication. By the way Amazon has good cost structure.Besides low prices it has fast, reliable and inexpensive shipping. Amazon and Wal-Mart using e-commerce is a fascinating combination of business models and new information technologies. Wal-Mart’s impressive growth in such a short time and perhaps the most important factor in it’s rise was their exploiting of the dominance of e-business, e-procurement, and the modification of internal processes to maximize it’s benefits. In compare with others companies, Wal-Mart transformed supply chain management by using a sales revenue model where customer requests satisfy by wise variety of goods.Inventory control is perfect improved and purchasing trends are available to sellers, whom nowadays mus t be able to respond as quickly as possible to the needs of millions of customers. To decentralize the procurement was a great business decision for Wal-Mart, that helped simplify the process for employees in every store immediately order the applicable stock automatically, which is require prompt turnout of product from the suppliers. This fast replenishment system, attached with perfect purchasing forecasting, helps Wal-Mart reduce overall costs.Wal-Mart’s power as a giant in business has helped in establishing new standards for B2B e-commerce. Wal-Mart’s approach of cutting costs at all costs resulted in them deploying EDI over the Internet to eliminate the costly VAN altogether. EDI over the Internet (EDI-INT) uses a new standard called AS2, a communication protocol that attempts to make EDI communications over the Internet both secure and reliable. By mandating their suppliers to use AS2, Wal-Mart leads the way in creating a demand for a new generation of EDI, and in turn drives the whole world of e-business advancing.Amazon’s e-commerce business model Amazon started as a store that focused primarily on books and music. It quickly expanded to other sectors and now sells products in nearly every segment – apparel, home improvement, groceries. In addition, Amazon has expanded from a Business-to-Consumer (B2C) only store to a mixed model with its corporate account functionality that focuses on business customers. Added to the mix, is the Amazon marketplace – Amazon's answer to eBay, which allows merchants to list their products and customers to purchase from merchants while using Amazon's e-commerce platform.As a provider of e-Commerce software to mid-market, we use Amazon as a reference for the features it has on the web store. Some of these features not easily found on other sites include the ‘1-Click Ordering’, ‘Customer Viewing’, ‘Recently Viewed Products’, ‘Keyword Auto-fill ’ on the product search, ‘Your Personalized Store’, and ‘Items to Consider’. While some of these features are relatively easy to implement e. g. ‘1-click Ordering’, others are not so easy and demand an advanced platform. But selling goods isn't the only way to make money with Amazon. com.The Web site's affiliate program is one of the most famous on the Web. Through Amazon's   Associate Program , anyone with a Web site can post a link to Amazon. com and earn some money. The associate can also take advantage of Amazon Web Services , which is the program that lets people use Amazon's benefits for their own purposes. The Amazon Web Services API (application programming interface) lets developers access the Amazon technology infrastructure to build their own applications for their own Web sites. All product sales generated by those Web sites have to go through Amazon. om, and the associate gets a small commission on each sale. On the flip s ide, Amazon seems to not have kept up with the Web 2. 0 and Web 3. 0 user interface improvements and for most part still incorporates Web 1. 0 technology which means – you still need a mouse click to view a product as opposed to being able to see product details with a mouse roll-over. Amazon could use a make-over to make for a brighter shopping experience. For my opinion Amazon’s e-commerce business model is stronger than Wal-Mart’s e-commerce business model because E-commerce is Amazon’s core mission and environment.Amazon started with a store that was properly feature-rich for its time and has gone on to strengthen that foundation. Today, it probably defenses as the leader in terms of the richness of its e-Commerce features, product breadth, personalized recommendations and depth of content available across e-commerce sites. However, there is a need for Amazon to offer a simplified and trendier shopping experience as an alternative which many other sit es now offer. I don't think Wal-Mart will replace Amazon any time soon, if ever, but it gives them a good shot of increasing their overall Web penetration.Amazon's value proposition until now has been a broad assortment. This enables Walmart to compete with other companies with big assortments. I would prefer to make my internet purchases at Wal-Mart because this company has a great experience and long term history. Wal-Mart exists almost 50 years, Amazon is a brand new, successful but still doesn’t have that experience that Wal-Mart does. Some reviewers have actually built their following on Amazon. com with good quality reviews. References 1. â€Å"Wal-Mart Form 10K: Portions of Annual Report to Shareholders†.United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved June 28, 2011. 2. Ann Zimmerman (2010-06-07). â€Å"Rival Chains Secretly Fund Opposition to Walmart†. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2010-06-08. 3. Daniel, Fran (2010-09-29). â€Å"Head of Walmart tells WFU audience of plans for growth over next 20 years†. Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 2010-09-29. 4. Walton, Sam; Huey, John. Sam Walton: Made in America: My Story. New York: Bantam, 1993. ISBN 978-0-553-56283-5. 5. Sam Walton: Great From the Start — HBS Working Knowledge 6. Frank, T. A. â€Å"A Brief History of Wal-Mart. † The Washington Monthly.April 1, 2006. Retrieved July 24, 2006. 7. â€Å"The Rise of Wal-Mart†. Frontline: Is Wal-Mart Good for America?. 2004-11-16. Retrieved 2007-09-19. 8. â€Å"The Wal-Mart Timeline. † Wal-Mart (published on walmartfacts. com). Retrieved July 24, 2006. 9. â€Å"2010 Form 10-K, Amazon. com, Inc. â€Å". United States Securities and Exchange Commission. 10. â€Å"Amazon. com Site Info†. Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2011-12-02. 11. Jopson, Barney (2011-07-12). â€Å"Amazon urges California referendum on online tax†. FT. com. Retrieved 2011-08-04. 12. â€Å"Amazon Spain launch may pres age new overseas push†, Reuters, Sept 14, 2011. 3. Ann Byers (2006). Jeff Bezos: the founder of Amazon. com 14. â€Å"Harvard Business Review†. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 2010-08-29. 15. â€Å"Person of the Year – Jeffrey P. Bezos†. Time Magazine. 1999-12-27. Archived from the original on 2000-04-08. Retrieved 2008-01-05. 16. Rivlin, Gary (2005-07-10). â€Å"A Retail Revolution Turns 10†. Seattle, WA: The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-08-04. 17. â€Å"Amazon. com Introduces New Logo; New Design Communicates Customer Satisfaction and A-to-Z Selection†. Corporate IR. net. Retrieved 2010-08-29. 18. Amazon company timeline, Corporate IR. *

Saturday, November 9, 2019

The Garden Party

The Garden Party is written by Katherine Mansfield, a New Zealand prominent modernist writer of short fiction. Set in colonial New Zealand, â€Å"The Garden Party† falls into two clearly differentiated parts. For the major characters, Laura Sheridan, Mrs. Sheridan, Meg Sheridan, Jose Sheridan and Laurie Sheridan are considered by because they appeared in the story quite often. And for the minor characters, they are mostly the workers and helpers in the party, except for Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Scott.From this short story, we have encountered some literary theories. First theory that we have analysed is cultural theory. â€Å"The Garden Party† is a story about the differences between the upper class and the lower class lives. The Sheridan family represents the upper class while the Scotts represent the lower class. Mansfield gives certain importance for many words by repeating them persistently, especially hats, lilies, flowers, all those are symbols of wealth and superiori ty, in connection to the Sheridans.The Sheridan’s life appears more comfortable even when Mansfield is talking about them she uses only positive images, pleasure, flowers, songs, even in the house is highly organized. While talking about the Scotts and their class, only images of dark, ugliness, sorrow, disorder, and chaos came to our minds. Psychoanalysis theory is also one of the theories that we have encountered in this short story. â€Å"The Garden Party† traces the psychological and moral growth of Laura Sheridan.The story presents her adolescent confusion regarding the social values of her family and her awakening to a more mature perception of reality after her exposure to poverty and death at the carter's cottage. The third theory will be likely criticism theory. Most criticism of Katherine Mansfield's short story â€Å"The Garden Party† concentrates on the story as a story of the growth and maturity of a young idealistic character. For example, see Laur a's initiation as a passage from the â€Å"dream world of her parents and social class to the real world of the Sheridan's neighbouring working-class. This also describes the symbolic significance of the garden party, â€Å"The garden party epitomizes the dream world of the Sheridan women, a world whose underlying principle is the editing and rearranging of reality for the comfort. Throughout this short story, we have also analysed a few themes. For the overall theme and sub-themes from this story, â€Å"The Garden Party†, the major theme is growth. Laura’s mother summons Laura to supervise the workmen who come to set up the marquee for the garden party, she intends to leave everything to her children as a way to make them independent.When Laura suggests placing the marquee on the lily lawn, a workman rejects the idea, saying that she should the marquee â€Å"where it’ll give you a bang slap in the eye. † Laura then wonders whether it is respectful of a laborer to speak to a girl of her upbringing in the crude language of the common people. However, Laura ends up approving of the men even though they are the ones who choose the location for the marquee–against the karaka trees. Thus, though failing to supervise the men with authority, Laura learns to overlook class distinctions in dealing with the outside world.The another theme will be the contrast between life and death. The Sheridan's garden is a place of thoughtless pleasure and burgeoning energy, where young people resemble brilliant butterflies and arum lilies bloom with an almost frightening vitality. In contrast, the home of the dead carter is dark and oppressive, guarded by an aged crone and surrounded by a shadowy crowd. Mansfield deliberately exaggerates the difference between these two locations in order to emphasize her theme.That life and death are part of the same continuum is suggested by the temporal structure of the story, which begins at dawn and ends in a gathering dusk. As many critics have noted, Laura's journey to visit the bereaved family has strong mythic overtones and resembles the tale of Proserpina, a goddess who was abducted by Hades into the underworld. Laura's moment of epiphany testifies to a kind of knowledge unavailable in the sunny world of the garden party. In this way, her journey also has the quality of an initiation rite, in which a naive young girl achieves emotional and moral maturity.Last but not least, we realized that this short story is focused on third person point of view. It is because the narrator withholds information in favor of limiting what she says to what Laura thinks and experiences. Besides, she generally does not understand the incident of what she undergoes that day, at least not until the very end, when she says â€Å"isn't life, isn't life? † only for her brother to interrupt her, misinterpret her, and silence the knowledge about death she had just obtained from visiting the cottage o f the man who had died.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Control Theory Corporate Crime Essay Example

Control Theory Corporate Crime Essay Example Control Theory Corporate Crime Essay Control Theory Corporate Crime Essay Conflict theory primarily argues that it is the economic system of capitalism itself that produces crime however, in order to understand the causes of corporate crime, the neoliberal framework and its utilization must be examined. Neoliberalism accords the state not to intervene or regulate the market, and in effect produces inequality but most importantly crime. Criminal acts are committed by the elites that are following the core of the neoliberal doctrine which is maximizing profits while minimizing costs. Corporate crimes are committed by executives or executive officers n behalf of corporations to further their own interests or the interest of the organizations. These crimes can result in harming the working class which may consist of employees, consumers, stockholders, or the general public (Snider, 2005; pg 170). These crimes vary from marketing unsafe products, maintaining unsafe workplaces, defrauding workers, environmental pollution, price fixing, anti-trust violations and other malpractices (Passas, 2005; pg 773). The analysis and understandings of the causes to corporate crime is crucial to Criminology because it costs society severely and entails; physical costs, financial costs, environmental amage, undermines the democratic system and undermines economic growth. However, these crimes remain unpunished because neoliberal knowledge claims allow these acts to remain invisible, unregulated, neutralized, difficult to prosecute, ambiguous in the law and in criminal status and have a lack of responsibility. Marxism hypothesizes that society is structured based upon the relationship of people to the production of material goods. In other words, those who own the means of production also control the works, politicians as well as the development of criminal and economic law. Following the Marxist perception, this essay will argue that corporate crime is not caused but rather it is a by-product of the neoliberal framework elites govern society by. THE POWER OF THE NEOLIBEARL DOCTRINE To begin with, the neoliberal framework was designed to benefit individuals and organizations of elite status which allowed them to gain independence and power from the state. This then allows them to engage in criminal activites and Justify them as responding to competitive forces from the market. Neoliberalism accords the government an active role in securing and producing the conditions for the market ut disagrees strongly with government intervention Codi, 2008; pg 67), which means the markets must be set free to follow their internal logic which is profit. This means that in order to cut costs; the most inexpensive means may be an illegal means. Key elites in the New World economy have invested billions of dollars, reputations and the power of nation states in obtaining certain interpretations (of laws, issues, scientific data) accepted and others rejected these claims are called neoliberal knowledge claims (Snider, 2005; pg 181). Furthermore, they push for certain nterpretation of laws of how to govern the market in accordance with the neoliberal privileges in a number of ways. For example, interpreting scientific data in ways that prove genetically engineered plants are safe, is worth a trillion dollars to the transnational companies that hold the patents on this genetic material and to the nation-states which grantee their legitimacy (Snider, 2005; pg 181). On the other hand, inequality is more closely related to the acceptance of the neoliberal ideology and its allied ideology of globalization; for instance, employees frightened of losing heir Jobs to third world works are more likely to accept lower wage Jobs, unsafe work conditions and higher levels of exploitation (Snider, 2004; pg 266). The neoliberal framework (that encourages pro-business behaviour) allows corporations to utilize whatever means possible in order to maximize profits which may result in exploiting the working class in a countless number of ways; from inducing them to consume harmful products to forcing them to succumb to unsafe working conditions. This result in a conflict between the culture of competition and ethical standards however, orporations are not like humans they are artificial legal entities with perpetual life chartered by the government for their existence (Nadar, 2004; pg 8). Corporations have achieved a status where they have all constitutional rights that people have except the right against self-incrimination. Corporations engage in criminal activites on a number of different levels that harm and affect the general public however, the public for the most part remains unaware of these activites because these elites invest in hiding the truth which thereby renders their actions invisible. THE INVISBALITY OF COPRORATE CRIME Secondly, Marxists argue that is it the connected ability of the powerful to manipulate values of society which is why corporate crimes are rendered invisible. Academics find it difficult to analyze corporate crime because large scale survey data is not available so researchers have to rely on non-objective crime statistics collected by impartial government agencies such as StatsCan or the Home Office which usually yield tiny samples (Snider, 2005; pg 186). Corporations do not want sociologist investigating their business practises, unlike traditional offenders they have the ability to resist such incursions. On the other hand, the Justice department for the most part has an inadequate budget for investigated let alone prosecuting corporate crimes. Police agencies cannot keep up with the geographic bounders of victimization, the mobility of the offenders and the complexities of the crimes because they usually involve investigating and prosecuting at the same time and also extensive knowledge of the corporate infrastructure which policing agencies, for a reason, are not equipped for (Schlegel et al. 1999; pg 15). According to Marxism, the law is developed and implemented by the elites to control the working class and rime is a product of class-based inequality, the policing agencies are funded by the government which are heavily influenced by the elites therefore, conflict theory asserts that criminal law is designed to target the working class in order to protect the interests of the elites. Conversely, unlike street crime there is a general lack of media attention with regards to corporate Wrongdoings however, in the rare instance that these cases are nature (Williams, 2008; pg 474) these are neutralizations, which purposely overlooking their status as crimes. Business culture from the neoliberal framework ot only provides incentives to engage in illicit activites but also contains justifications that can be used to neutralize ethical restraints; this is part of the neoliberal knowledge claims. For instance, when corporate Wrongdoings do surface to the publics attention they are quickly neutralized as accidents, isolated episodes, bad apples or voluntary consent. Accidents are portrayed as unintended, unanticipated and unavoidable events that could not be reasonably prevented (Williams, 2009-04-21). Isolated episodes are when organizations or individuals momentarily depart from their usual ethical behaviours and engage in criminal ctivites (Williams, 2009-04-21). In addition, bad apples is a theory of corruption that asserts the problem of an individual engaging in misconduct rather than the department as a whole, which means a lack of responsibility (Williams, 2008; pg 476). Last, voluntary consent is a neutralization for harms inflicted on employees that work in dangerous industries, the harms are neutralized by stating that those employees consented to those risks and conditions however, the company may not have fully disclose all the risks and harms (Williams, 2009-04-21). Corporate crime is systemic owever; its ability to neutralize its criminal activity and characterize it as rare accidents or uncommon wrongdoings allows it to continue without question. In addition to neutralizations, in the rare event that corporate crime is prosecuted, one of the most common ways of differentiated corporate crime from street crime is to point at the lack of Mens Rea which is the criminal intent to inflict harm (Schlegel et al. , 1999; pg 17). Nevertheless, clear conscious decisions are made when cutting back on workplace safety budgets, quality control funding etc. with the knowledge hat with these decisions human life may be harmed however, because corporations are seen as impersonal, faceless and complex entities which results in a lack of responsibility and therefore the harms are dismissed because there is no definitive way of knowing whether the intent was there. Moreover, because elites have the resources and are finically equipped they invest in hiding these truths. THE FAILURE OF REGULATION Moreover, the neoliberal framework asserts that the market remain deregulated, with that deregulation, corporations continue to engage in criminal activites until hey accumulate imbalances that contribute to finical crisis, the government must then intervene with regulations however, those regulations are quickly removed by corporate influence. History of regulation in Canada was weak from its initial attempt at regulating the market. To start with, Canadas Combines Investigation Act was designed to prevent competition in the market and to do so it criminalized corporate monopolies (companies that dominant specific products or services in the market), mergers and price discrimination. However, the legislation was weak because no rosecutions against corporations were registered, it never received adequate funding or enforcement and each attempt to strengthen it was strongly opposed by the elites (Snider, 2005; pg 173). This act lasted for over 96 years until 1969 when the Interim Report on Competition Policy was created and its policy implications were act it had little political support due to the political pressures from corporations (Snider, 2005; pg 174). For the next 10 years, several versions of the Bill were created and each weaker than the last finally in 1976 attempts at reforming laws that govern he market were abandoned (Snider, 2005; pg 174). In 1984, the Conservative government was elected with the new Prime Minister Brian Mulroney; following the neoliberal doctrine he denounced the anti-American and anti-business stance that the previous Canadian laws attempted to accomplish and created the Competition Act (Snider, 2005; pg 175). This Bill encompassed the neoliberal ideology, it compelled the government to create the conditions necessary for market exchange, it promoted competitiveness and enhanced business prosperity however to do this, mergers, monopolies and price discrimination was decriminalized. On the other hand, influential Criminologist Edwin Sutherland advanced the concept of corporate crime that not only revealed new types of crime but it also threatened to expose the traditional myth of the neutrality of the law (Shover et al. , 2006; pg 78). He pointed to the role of privileged and their power in shaping of the law as well the existence ofa double standard of Justice in the implementation of the law, with regards to benefitting the upper-class and controlling the lower class offenders. This concept raised the basic question about the nature of law and the intentions of the criminal ustice system. Furthermore, the neoliberal framework furthers the prevalence of greed, the systemic nature of corporate corruption, the necessity of regulation and the inherent instability of the capitalist mode of production (Williams, 2008; pg 472) that creates discernable forms of real harm. The neoliberal doctrine pushes for the failure of regulation in market societies which allows corporations to create their own governing through political influence and suitable environments for their malpractices. In addition, the Neoliberal doctrine has provided the means for corporate entities o gain insurmountable powers and influence in the political and economic realm; this allows them to keep the market and their behaviour unregulated and decriminalized. The main reason why their criminal practises remain legal and respected is that these industries have the ability to mobilize financial, political as well as other resources in order to avoid stricter regulation (Passas, 2005; pg 772), Furthermore, the globalization of markets (the dismantling of trade barriers between nations and the integration of economies Oodi, 2008; pg 17)) is another component of he neoliberal framework and it furthers the fragmentation of regulation. The more a corporation grows into new geographic areas, the less subjected it is to control, accountability and supervision. An example of this is the use of child labour in developing countries that export the manufactured goods to developed countries, the same countries that criminalize that practise (Passas, 2005; pg 775). This demonstrates the double standard set by capitalists nation-states whereas the laws that are created to criminalize these practises are only applicable when it is not in he best interest of these corporate entities. In contrast, over regulation and government interference in corporate business practises are claimed to be rendered uncompetitive or unprofitable, so when governments assert some form of regulation, thereby negatively affecting local communities or the whole country (Passas, 2005; pg 777). Corporations threaten governments by downsizing and taking their business elsewhere- to a less regulated state, therefore governments must obey these demands because they have become so dependent on their services, employment, and financial contributions to the economy. Furthermore, the government not only allows them to remain unregulated but corporations also activity participate in defining and legalization their own criminality. Ironically, when policy makers and legislatures, write laws outlawing rape, burglary, armed robbery, larceny and theft they do not consult or negotiate with the criminals who committed those crimes (Kappeler et al. , 2005; pg 160) but when legislatures enact laws in regulating corporations they actively seek input and advice from those they seemingly are setting out to punish thus, decriminalizing corporate Wrongdoings. Also, the laws that have been created to criminalize illegal acts by corporations are made to be so complex and full of loop holes that they are almost impossible to enforce. Decriminalization is the successful reduction of restriction, oversight thereby permitting individuals and organizations to operate with greater latitude (Snider, 2005; pg 83). Decriminalization in relation to corporate crime occurs daily, privileged and powerful interests have been successful in revising the internal revenue code to their advantage, leading to a substantially increased share of the tax burden shifted o the working class citizens (Snider, 2005; pg 85). This close relationship of the state and corporate criminals illustrates the state regulation of traditional crime while punishments for corporate criminals are being eliminated; incarceration rates for traditional blue-collar criminals are doubling. The working class are criminalized because of the inequality and brutalization of low wages and the frequent threat of unemployment. Prison which is seen as the control tool for the working class is both a material deterrent and an ideological weapon (Schlegel et al. 1999; pg 96) of the apitalist state ensuring the suppression of threats from below. The power gained by corporations allows them to strongly influence governments in relation to criminal law and policy making but most importantly making them dependant on corporations for their services. CATERING TO CORPORATE NEEDS Additionally, governments have now become so dependent on corporations for their economies that, employers are considered to be doing governments favour merely by setting up shop (Snider, 2005; pg 171). This means that nations and their subunits compete to offer business the best tax breaks, the highest subsides, the owest minimum wage levels and the least regulation (Passas, 2005; pg 775). The decriminalization of once illegal activites attracted international and fortune 500 companies to set up shop in Canada, shortly after these corporations convinced governments into massive privatization, keeping minimum wage at its lowest form possible with regards to inflation, decertifying unions as well as a variety of other exploitation and harms to the Canadian working class. The organizations that engage in what used to be called corporate crime seem to now be responded by reasoned persuasion, rewards with tax breaks and market incentives. Harsher punishments fill and overfill the prisons of modern capitalist societies (Snider, 2005; pg 174). Contrastingly, in an attempt for the government to appear fair to all its citizens, it has created laws that can be used by the non-capitalist class to protect themselves against the powerful such as: anti-trust monopoly laws, consumer laws, progressive tax and factory safety laws. However there is an immense struggle to have those laws evoked in the working class interest (Schlegel et al. , 1999; pg 98). Contrary to common assumption that these legal practises and industries are beneficial to society; as llustrated by the government catering to corporate needs, society is actually worse off by allowing certain operations and practises to continue. In a sense, the more these industries flourish the more societies fail for the non-capitalist citizens. Lastly, the neoliberal stronghold that drives elite behaviour has taken grasp of government officials, policy makers and politicians to further their own personal gains. To ensure corporate interests corporations need to obtain access; this is done through social contracts, personal favours, paid lobbyists and monetary contributions . The privileged gain the access needed to ensure their perspectives are known and taken seriously by political leaders and state managers (Shover et al. , 2006; pg 87). Then, these politicians make sure that the public is aware of the contributions and higher quality of life they receive by the presence and services of these industries. Critics say that one of the key reasons to why corporate crime is not pursued; is the all to close relationship between the financial regulators and the finical industry this is because many of the leaders in the securities commissions ome from the financial industry or were lawyers that previously served them (Schlegel et al. , 1999; pg 15). An example of this close relationship; a real-estate investor saw that a company that he had invested in was committing fraudulent crimes, he decided to report this to the Ontario Securitas Commission (OSC) and a sister company the Investors Dealers Association (IDA) [ a combination of up banks and brokerages]. The realtor realized that the one of the men he was reporting to about the fraudulent crimes was the same man that was committing those crimes nd was a member of the IDA (CBC Sunday Night, 2008- 11-23). It was concluded that the people he was complaining to were the same people that were the problem. Another instance of this relationship is of David Wilson who is now presently head of the Ontario Securitas Commission (OSC); he was previously the chief executive officer of the bank of Nova Scotia (who is guarding your money? ). Presently, Canada has a patch work of 13 regulators, provincially and other self-regulating watchdogs that attempt to regulate the markets of Canada (Biggs et al. , 2003; pg 3). They all regulate ndependently of one another and have different policies on regulation, this shows that there is no serious attempt at regulating the markets of Canada. Arguably, the credit crisis that we are seeing recently in Wall Street had already happened in Canada but did not receive publicity because the securities regulation system in Canada works with the investment industry to cover up its own bad behaviour and fraudulent activities (CBC Sunday Night, 2008- 11-23). According to Bay street analysts, it is estimated that Canadian investors loose $20 billion a year in fraud but are unaware of it (Zedner, 2006; pg 5). Moreover, politicians have been bought by fraudulent activity turns out to be working with those that commit those crimes. In summary, criminal law works, is the message, and harsher criminal law works best. However when it comes to crimes of marketing unsafe products, maintaining unsafe workplaces, defrauding workers, dumping toxic waste, misrepresenting the benefits or not disclosing the risks of products- criminal law does not work. According to Marxism, this is because criminal law is created to protect the interests of the elite and to control the working class from breaking out of the cycle of nequality created by the capitalist neoliberal claims. Breaking out of the cycle or disobeying its elements means committing a crime, criminal law is then a form of social control. Deviance and crime represent conflicts in society which are managed by the suppression of the ruled by the rulers. The public is unaware of the crimes because of the massive lobbying by corporations, elite investment in scientific, sociological and political knowledge claims, neutralizations of corporate incidents, decriminalization of corporate Wrongdoings and the generally invisibility of corporate crime. This then leads the public to believe that corporate crime is not a threat to society or their means of living. Also, the rare incidents that are available to public knowledge are deemed as natural incidents that occur from time to time because of the competitive nature of neoliberal capitalism. Conversely, elites have invested in convincing the public that street crimes are committed by the working class; and are imminent threats to society therefore, need deterrent action in order to maintain the quality of life in capitalist societies. Neoliberal claims further the rowth of corporations allowing them to participate in creating the laws that govern their activites; these claims have swayed politicians, market watch dogs, policy makers and governments. By this governments favour corporate actors because of the economic gains they will obtain for personal interests rather than providing a decent minimum wages, quality working conditions, safe products etc. for the working class. This proves that corporate crimes are a by-product of the neoliberal capitalism framework rather than having specific causes and this claim is an important tool for Criminology in order to understand corporate crime. The neoliberal ideology that has been adapted by elites and politicians ensures that the illegal and criminal acts that corporations commit remain invisible. From this essay, it has been noted that criminal law is used by corporate actors and politicians in order to maintain social order and suppress the working class. However, in a larger context and using the Marxist perception; how have laws and criminal Justice, as forms of social control, been used to contain class struggle and maintain class divisions at different times in different societies? Biggs, C. , Coleman R. (2003). Rules and Prevarications. CMA Management, 7(3) 1-20. CBC Sunday Night. (Nov. 23, 2008) Who is guarding your money? CBC, Toronto. Dean, Jodi (2008). Enjoying Neoliberalism. Cultural Politics 4(1), 47-72. Kappeler, V. , Potter, G. (2005). The Mythology of Crime and Criminal Justice (4th Ed. ). Illinois: Waveland Press Inc. (Course Text) Nadar, Ralph (2004). Legislating Corporate Ethics. Journal of Legislation, 30, 193-204. Passas, Nikos (2005). Lawful but Awful: Legal Corporate Crimes. The Journal of Socio- Economics, 34, 771-786 Schlegel, K. , Weisburd, D. (1999). White-Collar Crimes Reconsidered (Revised Ed). Boston: Northeastern. Shover, N. , Hochstetler, A. (2006). Choosing White-Collar Crime. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Snider, Laureen (2000). Sociology of Corporate Crime: An obituary. Theoretical Criminology, 4(2), 169-206. Snider, Laureen (2004). Resisting Neo-Liberalism. Social and Legal Studies, 13(2), 265-289 Williams, James (2008). The Lessons of Enron. Theoretical Criminology, 12(4), 471-499. Williams, James (2009) White-Collar Crime l. Criminology. York University. (Lecture) Zedner, Lucia (2006). Liquid Security: Managing the Market for Crime Control. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 6(3), 276-288.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Business Plan for Educational Website

Business Plan for Educational Website 1.0 Executive Summary Stay Clean, is a site that is based on Environmental Management Practices Education. It is owned and operated by me, Morrison Edwards. I am determined to ensuring that people live in an environment free of contaminations and appealing to live in. I am thus taking the initiative to educate people on how we can make our environment friendlier for habitation. The people are taught to carry out environmental practices once in a month. The activities involved in the practices are quite simple and are meant to encourage people on how the little changes they make in the initiative can make an enormous difference to the environment and their personal lives. The sources of revenue supporting the plan are from my personal savings from employment. I will be organizing with other affiliate companies and retailers to provide me with the products I will require in the process. Our benefits will be commission based from the sales of the products used in the environmental management practice. Financially the strategy is aimed at making profits, and of most concern will be minimizing expenses. A portion of the profits will be ploughed back into the business while the rest will be used for personal growth. I believe that it is a just course to keep our environment clean as much as the initiative is also a money creating opportunity. The cash flow into the action is a priority as well as the cash balance. In accomplishing my goals, the following areas are going to be of emphasis. The web content must be of the best quality and interactive to the users. The tips will be elaborate and engaging, inspiring and empowering so that the users will share the tips quickly enough to improve the use of the website. The project is aimed for gross profits in the future and so I will cut the current expenses to meet my current demands. The products that will be required in the process of the affiliate companies will have to be recommended on the website for buying by the people so that the profits gained from the commission will be used in the initiative. Since I do not intend to use more money in the expenses the online marketing plan will have to be perfectly effected to meet the expectations. 1.1 Mission The website is an educational platform meant to teach people on how to maintain the environment clean by performing cleanliness practices at least twice in one month. For the entire year. I am looking forward to enlightening people so that they become more environmentally conscious. In the process the affiliate institutions and retailers will have the opportunity to sell their products. The profits will be shared among all the member parties, the producing companies, the retailers and me. 1.2 Objectives of the Plan i) To conducting weekly environmental teaching sessions. Educate people on how their contribution in maintaining the environment will reduce environmental hazards or detrimental environmental impacts on the general popu lation. ii) At the end of the first year the website should have approximately 500 subscribers already signed up for the weekly tips on the environment. iii) The site must receive 10,000 customers monthly. iv) Profits will be evaluated within six months. v) The Profit will be redistributed to support the project and into personal savings. 1.3 Important Factors of success i) The Website content will have to be quality; the weekly tips will be elaborate and straightforward, friendly and inspiring. ii) The marketing of the site must be exquisite for maximum subscription iii) The expenses will remain flat to maximize profitability. iv) The products sold will be environmentally friendly and the buyers will have to be inspired so that the commissions care increased to make profits. 1.4 Summary of the Business The Stay Clean initiative is a small business website based in Marina and it is purposefully meant to enlighten the community on the effectiveness of cleanlines s to minimise the impacts of environmental hazards. The cleanliness initiatives training will be conducted twice a month as explained on the website. The teaching sessions are conducted online on the website or on weekly meetings for an individual attendance. The weekly audience subscription is free. The business will be making profits from commission received by the sale of products obtained from the Affiliate Company and retailers supplying the products to be used in the initiative. 1.5 Financial Plan I am looking forward to starting the initiative with a capital of 3000 dollars obtained from my personal savings. This will be used to come up with the website and in facilitating services of the Affiliate Company and retailers. The money will also be spent on the legal purposes and acquiring the computer equipment and in registering the computer domain for the name of the website. The remaining expenses will remain untouched until income generation begins. 1.6 Ownership of the Business Initiative The Stay Clean Business initiative is a sole proprietorship, a plan created and founded by (name). It is an enlightenment effort as well for personal growth The Products involved The business does not produce the required products on its own. I am marketing earthly friendly products recommended for cleaning and maintaining the environment. The products will be acquired from a company and retailers who will be paying the commission based on the sales of the products made. The company and the retailers are the affiliate parties. The goods thus will not be costly thus the cost of production is cut. The fulfillment and the inventory levels or the customer service. The only risk involved in the business is that the profit is commission based and only received in terms of percentage of the sales obtained from mobilization through the website organised weekly teaching sessions, and not from the entire sales. The recommended environmentally friendly products are: i) Products that can be reused. These are products that can be put back into use like lunch bags, batteries etc. ii) Supporting consumption of organic foods: vegetables, fruits, and snack meals. iii) Paper products that can be recycled. iv) Cloth diapers. v) Kitchen products: Cloth rags, towels etc. vi) Herbal medicines. vii) Low water usage: Shower heads, horse pipes and equipment that reduce water use. viii) Books on environmental friendliness. xi) Solar powered appliances and the tools and equipment running on solar. x) Music about environmental maintenance and friendliness. Market analysis Out target market is the general community especially the internauts or the technology survey who can access the internet in the age bracket of 18-55 years. This is the target group that can be used to make the environment better. The secondary market target are the students of age 12-22 who can have adequate time engaging in the environmental management practices. The retired people are also focused as they have more free time to attend the training sessions. 4.2 Target market Segment Strategy Since our primary aim is to live in an environmentally friendly atmosphere while also making profits, we have particular reason for the targeted market 1. The students – We engage them as they are technology survey and will pass the information faster to their associates, again they will embrace the initiative as they like clean surroundings 2. Adults – It is the largest market and the biggest target. They are the individuals who will be purchasing the products thus significant in revenue generation. 3. The retirees. They have more free time and resources to spend on initiatives that are environmentally friendly. 4.3 Industry Analysis The website is meant for educational reasons and since the educational sites are hardly available the completion is slim. The existing environmental sites deal with either giving news on the envir onment or other environmental topics not related to the latter. The website is an environmental friendly pro initiatives marketing products aimed at improving the environment from which the sales will receive the profits that is commission based. 4.4 Buying patterns Our focus is on enlightening people on the products they knew never existed and going by the friendliness in the adverts and inspiration, the customers will definitely chose us over other competitors as the information provided is simple and comprehensive but not overwhelming. Those who shall have adopted the information will just be buying the products and mostly will be introducing more people thus an increase in the product sales increasing out profits. The product finding process will be simplified so that they can easily be found in the Affiliate Company and retailers. (Software, 2017). References Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2015). Business research methods. Oxford University Press, USA. Finch, B. (2016). How to write a business plan. Kogan Page Publishers. Hollensen, S. (2015). Marketing Management: A Relationship Approach. Pearson Education. Huynh, M., Appell, R., & Stetkiewicz, M. (2014). Process mapping. Software, P. A. (n.d.). Educational Website Business Plan. Retrieved February 21, 2017, from http://www.bplans.com/educational_website_business_plan/financial_plan_fc.php

Saturday, November 2, 2019

An Investigation of the Impact of Oil Price Changes on the Gulf Dissertation

An Investigation of the Impact of Oil Price Changes on the Gulf Council Countries (GCC) Stock Markets - Dissertation Example According to the report any fluctuation in oil prices does not go unnoticed. However an increase or decrease in oil prices does not have a uniform effect worldwide. Some countries gain and some suffer the consequences. This paper seeks to identify and analyse the relationship of oil prices to the stock markets of the GCC, which stands for Gulf cooperation council.From this paper it is clear that the most general assumption is that the changes in the oil prices have an indirect impact on the stock market. This theory is applicable as it is believed by most economists, commentators and journalists. This relationship between oil prices and the stock market can be easily justified by the most famous headline of the Wall Street Journal that says â€Å"Oil Spikes Pummels Stock Market†. Also, the Financial Times also captured the attention of the investors regarding oil prices impact on the stock market by displaying headline which says â€Å"U.S. Stocks Rally as Oil Prices Fallâ₠¬ . According to the research, the relationship between of oil prices and the stock market is quite unpredictable and is very strange than it is assumed by most investors. No one makes this negative relationship as a thumb of rule but most of the time these both variables move in opposite directions. This means that as the oil prices goes up it shows a negative impact on the stock market. On the other hand, as the price of the oil goes down it results in a positive impact on the stock market.... It is needed for ?guaranteeing the economy’s as well as modern industries development. The fluctuation in prices ?of oil is considered to be an indicator of the global or worldwide economy. Each change in oil ?price is discussed as a hot topic both generally as well as in economic and the political circles of ?every country. There are various factors that may affect the oil prices and cause them to ?fluctuate. Major of these are the balance shifts in demand and supply of oil market, exchange rate ?fluctuation of dollar, Opportunistic Practices and instability of geopolitical factors/. These factors jointly work for bringing change in the oil prices and this change tends to have an impact upon the stock exchange performances of different countries as well. The dissertation aims to investigate the impact of oil price fluctuation upon the stock market index of the GCC countries over the last five years. The dissertation examines and analyses the data for last five years using the linear regression model and it has been unveiled from the calculation of the data using the model that the GCC countries’ stock exchanges have always responded strongly towards the changes in oil fluctuation and the oil prices changes occurred during the last five years have also altered the stock exchanges indexes of the GCC countries. Table of Content Acknowledgements Declaration 1. Chapter one: Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.8 1.1. Aim and Objectives of the study †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.14 1.2. Methodology and data†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.15 1.3. The structure of the