Ebusiness

The SSL technology ensures that sensitive information being sent to the sever is secure and has not been altered. Through encryption, confidential information such as name, address and credit card details cannot be read by anyone other than the authorised party (Is it safe to order online? , 2013). With the help of SSL, it enhances security and users are less prone to encounter phishing attacks. 4 ASOS’s e-business system 4. 1 Tangible benefits 4. 1. 1 Enhance customer relationship With the use of social networking sites and internet, it increases awareness to large amounts of consumers in a short period of time.ASOS makes full use of this method with blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube to premote its products. With the growing use of internet and social media, ASOS advertises its products and promotions online which increases customer base and brand identity. It also helps customers to give feedback or make complaints which help establish a sthronger relationship between busine ss and consumers. Therefore social media and internet are priceless resources for ASOS to increase customer base and profits. 4. 1. 2 Improve time management and cost efficiencyAs ASOS uses a pure e-commerce system, customers need not move around to select products which show there is a huge gain over physical stores. The costs of products are cheaper compared to physical stores because extra manpower is not needed to operate the physical store which mearns ASOS saves on wages and rent for physical stores. Thanks to internet marketing through Facebook or within ASOS website, it is more targeted than traditional media. It is cost efficient and recognized by millions of people. ASOS applies e-commerce systems which improves the efficiency of logistics and inventory management.With the help of e-commerce, order fulfillment is accomplished quickly, more accurately and cost effectively. There is no need for phone calls to clarify and confirm purchases. This improves the efficiency of ord er fulfilment and improves the speed of delivery which surpasses customer expectations. 4. 2Intangible Benefits 4. 2. 1Improved strategic position of company As one of the leading online fashion store, ASOS has gained a competitive advantage in the fashion industry (Greenblat, 2013). ASOS were able to implement strategic plans earlier than its competitors and managed to gain a better position in the market.As a pure online retailer, ASOS must focus on maintaining and ensuring their website is constantly updated and managed professionally. In contrary to ASOS, competitors whom are click-and-mortar based have to emphasise more towards maintaining their physical store as well as their website. 4. 2. 2Increasing customer loyalty E-commerce businesses can face problems since they are not able to communicate directly with their customers but ASOS has managed to continuously increase customer loyalty by providing excellent customer services to its customers such as ensuring efficient and e ffective payment and delivery of goods to customers.ASOS also makes sure of the convenience in finding items, comparing and checking them out. Customers who are highly satisfied with the services provided would have increased loyalty and will give positive testimonials and word of mouth to other consumers. 4. 2. 3 Vision, Mission and Strategy ASOS’s vision is to create a unique multi-channel shopping experience where twenty-something fashion lovers can network, share ideas, create their own styles and shop together. (Home – ASOS Plc. , n. d. ). Conducting their business online plays an important role in achieving their vision. With the advancement of Web 2. , ASOS websites and their participation in social network accounts not only facilitates customers to interact with one another and the company, but also encourages them the share and spread their fashion ideas and knowledge, which relates to their vision. This would then lead to achieving the company’s missio n which is â€Å"to lead the fashion revolution† (ASOS – Next Generation Pledge, 2010). With the help of the e-business systems, ASOS is able to continue to ensure all participants of the system stay connected through online network, to continue to share and grow business ideas together, since ASOS is a virtual organization. . e-Business Issues 5. 1 Security and Privacy Issues Security is crucial in every organization. Since ASOS is an online based organization there are various types of attack that they can encounter. Identity theft is one of the main problems faced which prevents consumers purchasing from ASOS. New born sites usually are not trusted by first time online purchasers. To avoid this, ASOS uses Comodo SSL certificate which help in securing online payment system and reduce identity theft. The most basic protection against technical attacks is firewalls and antivirus.These basic protections should be implemented in every e-business as even small viruses may cause websites to crash which would require a significant time to recover. This also affects the reputation of ASOS. In order to have an improved, more efficient and effective security in the long run, ASOS should invest in security to enhance pproduactivity. 5. 2 Marketing Issues One of the marketing issues ASOS face is trust issues on online shopping. Constant phishing attack on e-commerce sites make customers more aware of the risks of providing personal information online.Therefore, building trust is a crucial key to promoting products online. ASOS iintegrates the latest privacy and security technologies to enhance security online. As ASOS being a pure play organization, it faces a tough competition in the virtual business platform. Today, many organizations perform businesses online. To increase market share, ASOS have to set themselves apart from the competition by being more creative and innovative, such as providing more product or service than other competitors which in re turn attracts more customers. Another way to attract customers is to offer discounts or coupons to hike sales.

Why Should the Factor of Political Stability Be at the Very Top of the List of Criteria Used to Evaluate the Attractiveness of Potential Foreign Investments?

Why should the factor of political stability be at the very top of the list of criteria used to evaluate the attractiveness of potential foreign investments? There are several issues that should be considered when evaluating the attractiveness of a potential foreign investment. Among them we can stress three main groups of criteria: general market risks, commercial risks and political risks (the ones in focus in this essay).Political risks are caused by changes in a country’s political structure or policies and, according to Hollensen (2007) ownership, operating and transfer risks are the main types that a marketer can face. Restrictions in repatriation of profits, change of government party, civil strife, revolution and wars can threat the attractiveness of a certain market. J. Eli Margolis (Estimating State Instability 2012) tried to create a method that could help warning such problems as the ‘Arabic Spring’.As we know today, it is not merely cheap labor that F DI is constantly seeking: political considerations must join the economic ones so the investment has the chance to be succeeded. As an example, we can talk about the Solomon Islands: after serious civil turbulence, law and order were restored and political and economic situation started improving gradually. However, political instability remained a challenge and so, a key obstacle in attracting foreign direct investment into the country. Trade Policy review-WTO). Despite all this evidence we can always find different opinions. According to Peter D. Bennett and Robert T. Green (JMR 1972), political instability can be considered as a primary consideration in foreign investment decisions only within combined contexts of region and economic development and not as a general reason. Risk is not just about the possibility of losing market share or profits. Politic stability is extremely important.Taking the Irish case as an example, their aspiration to be free from British dependency resul ted in a policy of strong macroeconomic stability and honest bureaucracy. As a result, nowadays more than half of the Irish economy is foreign owned. There is political risk in every nation but also a wide range of procedures that countries can adopt to become more attractive to foreign investment ( E. g. Ease or resolve instability through humanitarian or government aid – S. Korean/ N.Korean 1999). In conclusion, I can say that terrorism and corruption are great threats for FI but there is always a way to face the situation and succeed. A detailed analyses of the host market and anticipation of certain risks is essential for the success of the investment and that is why the factor of political stability should be at the very top of the list of criteria used to evaluate the attractiveness of potential foreign investments. Filipa Florencio 26/03/2013

Problems Encountered by the Students Introduction Essay

The continuous learning of students through the help of books, teachers, and even Internet is a fact which shows that knowledge still flourishes in our humanity. Life as a student is said to be fun yet also stressful. Requirements, reports, and especially examinations abound student’s life especially during the high school life. In many cases, students of today’s society are often provided with poor study skills, preventing them of all chance for a satisfying grade. Studying is a major concept of education, and if the problem continues more and more students will be rejected from opportunities they wished they’d had. Opportunities that include future education at college, a chance to gain important knowledge, or even an opportunity to receive a high-paying job. Traditionally, teachers are encouraged to believe that the learning environment must be orderly and quiet. However, more teachers are using activities occurring at the same time can make for noisy classrooms. But it would a mistake to conclude that in such classrooms student are not learning. Student that practice disruptive behavior cause disciplinary problems in the classrooms student and have negative efforts on student it may also lead to low achievement. The importance of the study emerged from the fact that the above literature indicated that classroom problems face the teachers, and try to investigate those problems in order to come up with solutions. In student’s mental abilities, teachers face in the classroom a group of students who suffer from the slow down, faltering and failure in learning and they need more time than their colleagues need to accomplish any learning task. Such students are characterized by a number of characteristics, including problems of language, oral expression, and unable to pay attention, memory problems, and the dispersal of attention. The family lifestyle and environment will put its mark on controlling the behaviors of students. Some student’s behavior can be unacceptable at school. Also, the level of behavior that is acceptable and allowed in the  family, the way the family acts with one another, leads the student to unacceptable performance in the school. Parents indirectly share in creating problems when they insist on their kid’s grades, and achievements to be always high. This lead to feeling of anger, and worry, and create student behavioral problems inside the classroom.

Terrorist Attack On World Trade Center Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Terrorist Attack On World Trade Center - Essay Example From mental health issues to psychic episodes, the result and impact of the terror attacks on survivors is far beyond physical and tend to have changed the lives of various victims of the blasts. In theory and practice, it is not expected that an event will affect everyone at the same scale. Following this fact, the victims who lost their lives, who were injured, those hospitalized, and those who took their lives after losing a family member or a friend. The psychic episodes and mental instability of the survivors is covered by different authors from different perspectives. While the argument of some authors reflect on the expected, diagnosed, and standard effects of traumatic events, others show that there is no explicit connection between expected traumatic patients and increased consumption of corresponding drugs. Digrande et al. (271-281) and Ghunman et al. (491) focus on the psychological effects of the terror attacks. Both publications emphasize on the aspect of trauma after the event occurred. This means that that the two publications undertake the same course in analyzing the effects of the events. Digrande et al. (271-281) explain that the number of people affected negatively by the attacks include some 3,271 civilians, whom 95.6% were diagnosed and observed to suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder. On the other hand, Ghunman et al. (491) identify that about 34.2% of the surviving victims suffer from unmet mental health issues. Considering the two publications, posttraumatic stress disorder and unmet mental health issues can be considered or addressed as psychological issues. With reference to the unmet mental health issues, it is clear that, regardless of the fact that unmet mental health issues can point to a variety of psychological issues among them posttraumatic stress disorder . The relationship between psychological issues facing any set of individuals who experience the same effects of an event and

Smart Watch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Smart Watch - Essay Example Finally, certain recommendations have been made to help Samsung avoid a premature decline of the product. Samsung forayed into the smart watch market when it released the Galaxy Gear in 2013. The gadget, 2.6 ounces in weight, boasts of a 1.6-inch screen, a 1.9 megapixel camera and is  compatible with the Note 3 smartphone. A built in speaker enables  users to make hands-free calls. Samsung’s intent is to make the smart watch an integral part of the customer’s daily life (Cheng, 2013). The South Korean company has also rolled out the augmented versions of the smart watch under the brand names Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo, Gear Fit and Gear Live. The augmented feature of the Gear 2 smart watch is the stand-alone music player. The Gear 2 Neo is equipped to handle voice commands and therefore users can answer calls and emails directly from the wrist. The heart rate monitor is the augmented feature of the Samsung Gear Fit. This smart watch is also dust proof and water resistant. The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo run Tizen  while the Gear Fit runs Samsungs proprietary RTOS (Sebastian, 2014). The Gear Live is powered by Google Android and has a built in pedometer in addition to the heart rate monitor. Samsung has announced that it is in the process of developing the Gear S. The yet-to-be-launched elegant smart watch will have access to 3G and 2G networks, as well as Bluetooth and WiFi. The 2-inch curved Super AMOLED display of the Gear S promises to provide an enhanced viewing experience. Data from research firm Smartwatch Group suggests that the global smart watch industry stood at $ 700 million in 2013. The industry is likely to touch $2.5 billion by the turn of 2014. Samsung has become a dominant player in the smart watch market space and had captured 34 percent market share in 2013 (Adams, 2014). Samsung has opted for a multi-pronged segmentation strategy for its range of smart watches. The company has used

Ultimate fighting championship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ultimate fighting championship - Essay Example Since UFC is spreading its vision to digital platforms, there are a lot of career opportunities for affiliate marketers, as UFC continues to enter into partnerships with advanced distribution partners, like Xbox and Play Station. Jobs are available for the management of affiliate marketing relationships with these distribution partners. Opportunities are also available in UFC sales and marketing department for carrying out corporate sponsorship sales. The job of a senior director in UFC sales and marketing will be to generate revenue by advertising the portfolio of UFC international entities. He will also be responsible for gaining scholarships and building business relationships with high-profile corporate partners. Market research coordinators are also required in UFC. A market research coordinator will be responsible for regularly coordinating and managing research projects regarding event planning, sponsorship, public relations, advertising, marketing through digital media, and o ther company divisions. Other career opportunities are present for Digital Marketing Partnerships Manager, General Manager, Digital Marketing Manager, Human Resources Manager, Recruiter, Digital Media Analyst, Digital Media Affiliate Marketing Manager, and Cost Accountant (Simply Hired, Inc.). This shows that UFC offers a vast variety of career opportunities. As far as goals and objectives are concerned, UFC aims to train best fighters in the world, while giving innovations to its programs and events. It also aims to go into business partnerships with high-end distribution partners. Since it is the fastest developing sports organization in the whole wide world, it aims to promote mixed martial arts at a global level. It also aims to arrange tournaments of highly skilled athletes in various disciplines of martial arts including karate, jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, boxing, wrestling, grappling, sumo and various other fighting sports. UFC has another

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

PC - Essay Example Evidently, this will make work easy especially for persons who keep struggling to type words and take too long to edit the same paper for so long. The benefit of these computers that can actually hear sounds and type the same into words would indeed be a plus for computer technology. A positive of the same would also happen for persons who do not understand various languages as the computers will be fed all languages then the users would simply read, the computer would listen and type what the user says. For instance, persons with English problems would benefit from this development. Data will be collected from online sources especially ones that include natural reader and how these readers are useful in computers. A good example is Seo’s work that explains the functioning of natural readers and how they include natural sounding voices (115-119). The author also continues to argue that the natural readers are very easy to use and can convert all manners of files into spoken words (Seo 115-119). With the reader being termed as about 99% accurate, this move is a plus for computer technology. Data will also be collected through interviews with persons who have used this technology before and how efficient the same has been to them. A good target group would be students who have enjoyed the reader through getting their notes typed with ease. Surveys on the benefits of this technology will also be analyzed especially on the education sector. Data will also be collected through telephone interviews to assess how this assistive technology will indeed make proofreading easy especially in large documents and how the technology will allow its users save much time as opposed to the traditional PCs. Observations will also be used as a way of collecting data especially observing the users and how well the software is making work easier for them. After this collection of data, it will be possible to make

A description of a person I had to work with Essay

A description of a person I had to work with - Essay Example He was a very kind person that had innate leadership abilities. He was also a part time professor at a local university. At that job I learn how to be a professional due to the influence George had one me. He would always dedicate some time at work just to talk to me about work related matters, current affairs, and personal advice. Whenever I had any doubts about a work task I always felt the freedom and confident to ask help from George. He was always willing to provide assistance. When one of our co-workers took a vacation George vouched for me to our boss and I receive a special assignment of replacing the co-worker while on vacation. My weekly shift increased from 20 hours to 40 hours for a one month period. My work duties changed during that period. During that time I demonstrated to the manager that I was a capable worker that was a quick learner. I was able to adapt very fast to my new work environment. My paycheck increased by twice the size thanks to George Lucas during that month. I considered George Lucas my mentor, friend, and the best co-worker I had the privilege to work with.

DB Qs Dar mkt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

DB Qs Dar mkt - Essay Example In this regard, the significance of online stores like Amazon cannot be denied taking buying preference to the next level. Companies need to switch to aggressive marketing strategies in order to respond to the marketing needs and consumers’ demands. Amazon should consider offering online platform to brick and mortar stores in order to help them in surviving rather along with maintaining the aggressive marketing channels to cater to the needs and demand of consumers. There are a number of factors affecting the buying behavior of consumers including the demographic, social, psychological, and economic factors. Keller 2 stated that demographic factors like age, sex, and gender determines the buying preference of consumers while social factors like preference for certain products along with availability also affects the buying process. Kotler 3 stated that economic factors in the form of availability of money and need also determine the buying behavior. However, factors like reference from others and marketing channels also affect the consumer behavior and their buying decisions in the long run. Keller 2 believed that business to customers and business to business are two different things that need proper understanding and analysis. In terms of the major difference, it can be said that business to customers is based on emotional connect, analysis of cost and benefits, and identifying the specific needs. On the other hand, business to business is based on analyzing the benefits on a broader note often based on personal and private presentations by the marketers stating the usefulness and benefits of the products and services. B2C is not very much personal in nature while B2B is often very personal in nature in terms of signifying the value and benefits. Keller 2 further added that B2C is further driven by the reference and recommendations of others while B2B is driven by the thorough analysis of the

The Proliferation of Corruption through Transnational Crime Essay Example for Free

The Proliferation of Corruption through Transnational Crime Essay The international struggle against terrorism has caused policy analysts globally to review the repercussions of such policies on the preponderance of corruption. Corruption has been acknowledged as a perennial, global phenomenon; however, it is only in contemporary times that the gravity of its impact on peace and security have been scrutinized (Thachuk, 2005). Transnational organized crime groups have effectively corrupted those in authority to â€Å"selling their sovereignty so as to create states of convenience from which to conduct international operations.† Thus, in carrying this our, they have caused grave disturbance of financial market movements, destructions of aspiring democratic governments and have engaged in callous practices just to achieve their villainous ends (Beare, 1997). The Transparency International Newsletter has stated that these global perpetrators have established implicit agreements with corrupt government officials who virtually steal from their own citizens. The vastness and profundity of the corruption of transnational crime groups ceases to just being bothersome for commerce; nor is it a simple mechanism for fast tracking requests from government authority, or of being a financier for elections. This global problem represents a significant threat to state sovereignty, destroying both local and global transactions. Of more crucial importance is the fact that official corruption of transnational crime groups â€Å"threaten international stability and security with relative impunity† (Transparency International Newsletter, 2001 in Thachuk, 2005). Acknowledging the grave nature of the use of official corruption, this paper proceeds with the following objectives: 1) In the context of the relationship between officialdom and transnational organized crime groups what is a satisfactory definition of official corruption that suits the purposes of research into what corrupt practices actually facilitate the activities of such groups; 2) identify which branches or units of government are most susceptible to corruption in this context (for example: police, customs, immigration departments) and why; and 3) through an extensive review of related literature, cite concrete examples from a global scale of the corrupt practices that facilitate the activities of organized crime groups. International Response to Organized Crime and Corruption International operations such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) have provided a means for scrutinizing various aspects of organized crime regulation through the study of specific factors in organized crime operations like money laundering. By ensuring that such processes are carried out while still respecting the sovereignty of involved countries, the knowledge regarding organized crime has immensely benefited (Beare, 1997). At present, most international efforts against organized crime have highlighted the importance of examining organized crime with respect to the location of its operations. Illegal markets initiate the proliferation of criminal activities. These are influenced by the presence of risk factors as well as the level of demand. The current approach being utilized is a joint international effort, instead of the traditional ranking systems (Beare, 1997; Thachuk, 2005). This collaborative method which is a recent development differs widely from the other approaches being utilized for the reduction of corruption. Similar to the 1960’s view on organized crime, the dominant outlook is that corruption is a threat located in foreign shores which can be remedied by identifying those nations which are the top violators (Transparency International Global Report, 2001). With such a set-up, people may fail to see that some corrupt and legitimate practices may be inextricably intertwined. Also the nature of corruption from this viewpoint would be explained without the needed historical, political and social contexts. Lastly, such an approach works on an assumption that there is a uniform definition of corruption, which may not be the same across boundaries (Transparency International Global Report, 2001). â€Å"Corruption† is currently being viewed as if its definition was the same across nations. In a similar sense, â€Å"organized crime† had previously been used as an umbrella term for all types of criminal activities. However, the issue of corruption across different jurisdictions would inevitably involve encountering different definitions and other factors. Although the usual analyses of corruption would readily acknowledge historical factors behind the development of corrupt behavior, they would still fail in recognizing that the definition of corruption varies from place to place. Some forms of behavior may be more widely accepted as corrupt when compared to others depending on the locality. Four arbitrary categories from a western perspective may be used to demonstrate the wide scope of this concept (Beare, 1997): Bribes/kick-backs. Payments are demanded or expected in return for being allowed to do legitimate business. The payment becomes the license to do business. Those who make the payments are allowed to compete or to win contracts; Election/Campaign Corruption. Illegal payments are made at the time of elections to secure continuing influence; Protection. Officials accept payments (or privilege) from criminal organizations in exchange for permitted them to engage in illegitimate businesses; Systemic top-down corruption. A nations wealth is systematically syphoned off or exploited by the ruling elites (Beare, 1997, p. 157). The aforementioned categories are neither complete nor exclusionary. They are only listed for the purpose of comparing the differences between the ill effects arising from each. Bribes or Kick-backs Bribes or kick-backs are the small or large payments which are made to facilitate the acquisition of permits, licenses and contracts. Businesses which are legal participate in this transaction in order to hasten processes or to gain an advantage over other competitors. According to Ernesto Savona (1995), being â€Å"sly† (furbo) in this case utilizing bribery would mean that a person is simply taking advantage of opportunities. However, this should still be within acceptable limits, as those charged and eventually convicted with corruption in Italy had exceeded the acceptable boundaries (Savona, 1995). There seems to be a culture of acceptance in some areas such as Latin America, where individuals in power are still expected to patronize and support people with whom they have relationships with such as their family and party (Savona, 1995). This can be seen with police demand â€Å"bites† (mordidas) instead of issuing tickets for violations, undisclosed donations being accepted by political parties, bidding for out-of-court â€Å"settlements† and the use of â€Å"speed money† to steer clear of bureaucracy (Savona, 1995). Although a uniform definition is yet to be agreed upon for this form of corruption, it nevertheless receives the most media attention. The past few years have seen how countries are openly ranked in this form of corruption based on their â€Å"reputation† in engaging in this sort of act. One organization engaging in the elimination of corruption in business practices is Transparency International (TI) (e.g. Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption sponsored 1983 in Wash. DC., 1985 NY City, 1987 Hong Kong, 1989 Sydney Australia, 1992 Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1993 Cancun Mexico, 1995 Beijing, China). This organization had sponsored several surveys which rated the â€Å"perceived level† of corruption in different countries. The 1995 TI Corruption Index tried to assess just how much corruption has affected businesses. In a similar study, Huberts (1996) interviewed delegates from different countries regarding public corruption, service and ethics. He goes on to say how his study is not well received among academicians, but aside from the sensitive nature of the data, this reception of the study may simply be due to the wide range or types of corruption. These surveys are limited to the fact that they may very well just be measuring corruption in its most blatant forms (Criminal Justice International, 1996; Companies and their Consciences, 1996). Election Corruption Providing the needed funding as well as â€Å"other forms† of support during the election period is part of this form of corruption. This is accomplished to obtain needed â€Å"influence†.   Even with international observers, many voters in countries such as Thailand and India continue to expect that their votes would be bought. Corruption continues to be an issue even after elections as the heads of state of Venezuela, Brazil, Spain and Italy serve as specific cases (Beare, 1997; Wright, 1997). In the United States, the issue of campaign costs which can run up to the hundreds of millions of dollars for candidates cannot be overlooked. MacArthur (1997) did not want to place the blame solely on the backers and businessmen alone. He cited how politicians would tend to sell different items such including an intangible commodity called â€Å"access†, which is occasionally translate to a vote for a certain bill (MacArthur, 1997). The public was exposed to stories which involved White House bedrooms being rented out for sleepovers and of Clinton being associated with Indonesian campaign funds. The purchasing of â€Å"access† and influence in political Action Committees was also readily seen. MacArthur (1997) continues to say that a candidate clamoring for reforms backed by three billionaires is no more bought than a party hack that has spent his career in obtaining money from millionaires in several occasions. Sometimes, cultural factors may affect how society would react to this form of corruption. Savona (1995) cited how a focus on corruption enabled Italy to discredit or oust old ruling class and expedited the change towards a new political system. He continued to state his fear on how new corrupters could be produced who would be able to escape the eyes of law enforcers, having learned their lesson from those who had been caught earlier. Those politicians who appear to be greatly opposed towards corruption in Latin America at times may very well have been the primary violators themselves.   The Wall Street Journal (1996) continues by citing a particular news-weekly which stated how everyone is â€Å"an accuser and accused†. Protection Another type of corruption involves allowing criminal acts to pervade in exchange for money, which is an activity aided by the presence of corrupt officials. Activities which involve the importation and exportation of goods such as drug trafficking and smuggling operations as well as illegal gambling are some probable activities (Beare, 1997). Aside from an environment provided by government which may be conducive, organized crime continues to persist because of corrupt relations existing between violators and regulatory or enforcement agencies. Through the use of violent and intimidating acts, criminal organizations may be able to influence any dispute settlement activities that are raised to control agencies. Thus, these very control agencies may be the same ones allowing the criminal operations (MacArthur, 1997). Within formerly communist and dictator-led countries, newly-granted freedoms have resulted in varying forms of social disorganization. The existence of illegal activities such as black markets under former regimes coupled with new freedoms has ensured that corruption would be rampant (MacArthur, 1997).  Ã‚  Ã‚   New laws and regulations may have the same effect as changes in government and political alignments. Approximately 800 million pounds was lost through fraudulent means in the 1996 European Union budget. Some transnational operations involve complicit government officials. Various opportunities for corruption are presented during the determination of when taxes are applicable and reimbursable. Corruption has also been traced in countries receiving aid for their transition governments or which has experienced an environmental disaster (Leiken, 1996). One case has at its center two professors from Harvard embezzling a government funds amounting to 57 million dollars for a project in Russia. One journalist stated: â€Å"The case is certain to run and run, doubtless spawning lawsuits as it goes. But for the Russians it is, at the very least, a reminder that all is not always as rosy as it sounds either in the cradle of democracy or in the stratosphere of its academia† (Harvard Caught Up in Moscow Row, 1997). Another incident in 1996 involved the arrest of a United States immigration agent by Hong Kongs Independent Commission Against Corruption. The very same agent who had cracked down on smuggling operations realized that the profits to be made were too tempting. By negotiating with various Honduran and Hong Kong officials, he was able to organize a smuggling operation for himself (Beare, 1997). Corrupt individuals may also be found in the implementation of environmental laws. Bonanno and Constance (1996) have cited how corporations, specifically those involved in the tuna-dolphin issue, are constantly in search of countries with more lenient environmental laws as well as cheaper labor and taxes. They had delved on how purse-seine tuna fishing yielded greater catches of tuna while also capturing dolphins at the same time. Prohibitions were implemented by the United States against this particular from of fishing (Bonanno Constance, 1996). Some strategies which have been employed by corporations involve changing the flags of fishing boats into those of foreign nations as well as the shipment of tuna from third-party countries. In a similar case, there is believed to be an underground garlic smuggling operation resulting from the protective tariffs on garlic in the state of California. Corrupt officials have become the beneficiaries of these illegal activities (Myers in Beare, 1997). Corruption in the ranks of police officials has also been an issue of concern for many countries such as Canada. Although these cases may be uncommon, police corruption cases tend to be highly-publicized (Myers in Beare, 1997). One possible explanation could be the development of legislation which benefits those individuals participating in money laundering investigations and sting operations. Coupled with the confiscation of huge volumes of money and drugs, the police can become especially prone to taking part in corruption (Mollen Commission Report, 1994). Different places have earned their own notorious reputations for corruption in their respective police organizations. However, the task of making approximate comparisons regarding the corruption among these different areas would prove to be seemingly impossible. This is because corruption that has not yet been caught or identified in some districts would never be accounted for (Mollen Commission Report, 1994). Systemic Corruption In 1992, an ironic sequence of events had unfolded in Brazil starting from the impeachment of then President Fernando Collor de Mello for graft and influence peddling after he had won the election through an anti-corruption platform. Following this, many of those who had accused him in Congress were also charged with embezzlement involving the committees which they had headed. A poll in 1993 had cited corruption and a weak government as the reason behind the dwindling support for democracy (Beare, 1997). This systemic category of corruption has been the most highly publicized and is characterized by the vulnerability of the whole society to different forms of corruption. At times this may even involve the illegal transfer of wealth from the country to its leadership. An illegal activity of this nature would usually be accomplished over a lengthy period of time before the voluntary exit or forced ouster of the leader. Corruption of this type is a combination of the first three types of corruption and usually implicates the elite (Beare, 1997). Countering Corruption Following the September 11, 2001 terrorism attack in New York and Washington, the chief of Interpol, Ronald Noble (2001) expressed that the struggle to combat terrorism cannot be won over through the military’s efforts alone. He further cites, [the most sophisticated security systems, the best structures, or trained and dedicated security personnel are useless, if they are undermined from the inside by a single act of corruption (Noble, 2001). The fight against transnational crime groups’ corrupt and terroristic activities is effectively staged through the democracy strongly practiced within the states they use.   While this is being said, many of the states involved are experiencing the grave repercussions of corruption by transnational crime groups. An outcome is more stringent efforts towards its resolution, including conferences, agreements and pledges made by global and regional entities collaborating to solve the issue (Noble, 2001). The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have established a partnership aiming to control if not totally eradicate bribery, especially among foreign officers. These parties concur that by addressing corruption as a mere crime may not adequate; it may be more practical to delve into the root causes of the problem and its role in the promotion of transnational crime.   Other entities which have pledged their commitment in combating corruption is the African Union and the Organization of American States (Introductory Proceedings ADB/OECD Conference on Combating Corruption in Asian and Pacific Economies, 1999).   An overarching strategy for the encouragement of effective governance is by implementing â€Å"structural, legal, and administrative† foolproof policy changes that will discourage corrupt activities among citizens as well as those in authority. In addition, being able to develop a country economically and strengthening its institutions will weaken the hold of transnational crime groups over these nations. Other measures to counter corruption practices is to beef up the military and security agencies of the country. For instance, the provision of financial assistance of the International Monetary Fund of the World Bank partly anchors its lending decision to the country’s initiatives to counter corruption. They have put exceptional premium on the practice of effective governance spelled out in terms of fiscal responsibility and the honesty and morality with which they undertake their transactions within the government, as attested to by the statutes stated in the IMF Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency (2001). The IMF Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency (2001) specifies goals for principles and practices, culled from the IMP’s prescription of good governance among its affiliate nations. Transparency International is a non-governmental organization that offers comprehensive hand-holding to those nations which aim to counter corruption and financial maneuvering of transnational crime groups (Transparency International Global Report, 2001). To carry this out, it disseminates a bulletin on â€Å"corruption-in essence using publicity and peer pressure† to encourage administrations into supporting similar programs intended to battle corruption. The group has emphasized the revelation of terrorism-related money laundering acts (Transparency International Global Report, 2001). Such a profound perspective on battling corruption is better than superficial initiatives. Numerous agreements which have been drafted since time immemorial have not made a difference in resolving this issue while transnational crime groups continue to steal â€Å"officially† from these nations (Transparency International Global Corruption Report, 2001). Instead, the most effective vehicle for countering prevalent corruption in any number of nations is the media. The â€Å"name and shame† lobbying of the media has had the most potent impact, and has made the public keenly informed about corruption. The pubilcity has emphasized the accusations wrought on the corrupt political leaders, including Guilio Andreotti, Noboru Takeshita, Alberto Fujimori, and Carlos Salinas, to mention a few (Tranparency International Global Corruption Report, 2001). More alarming is the fact that politicians use information on corrupt acitivities to launch smear campaigns against their adversaries. These have worked effectively in nations including Italy, France, Mexico, Costa Rica, Thailand, Japan, and Nigeria, among others. This strongly signifies the negativity raised among the public on corrupt officials, and those that benefit from breaching the trust of the voting public (Transparency International Global Corruption Report, 2001). Once they have been legally appointed as government officials, the honesty which they have once professed gives out and they are eaten by the corrupt system. I There have been global agreements put in place to resolve various human rights issues that have been inflicted by transnational crime groups. The metrics against   transnational crime ought to be taken in on the national, regional and global scales to attain authentic effectiveness. A handful of these initiatives have been established; for instance, in 1988 the UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances or the UN Drug Convention, it has been necessary to ask for the legal help of all nations participating in the conference (Savona Defeo, year). Another initiative at the regional level is the formation of the Financial Action Task Force at the Economic Summit of Industrialized Countries in 1989. The group aims to draft a global perspective in the resolution of money laundering. In the latter part of 1988, the Group of Ten countries established the Basel Committee on Banking Regulations and Supervisory Practices, and the Council of Europe has a draft convention on money laundering (Savona Defeo, year). Two years after in 1990, the European Plan to Fight Drugs has been instituted by the Europeran Community. The program has been further developed in 1992 (Labrouse Wallon, year). These initiatives at all levels will contribute significantly to the resolution of the corruption traced from transnational crime which have inflicted harm to global governments and their economies.The cooperation among law enforcement forces must also be encouraged to allow the sharing of information related to the movements of these crime groups.   There has been a conference among law enforcement agencies from more than 100 countries – this Naples confrence intended to share data on transnational crime. Global protocol for such information exchange must also be crafted (National legislation and its adequacy to deal with the various forms of organized transnational crime: Appropriate guidelines for legislative and other measures to be taken on the national level, 1994). However, the constraints of such initiatives are apparent at both national and global levels. For instance, in the US, they are presently very gullible to transnational crime since â€Å"federal law prohibits the CIA from sharing with the FBI intelligence that it collects abroad.† Numerous legal protections of its citizens, specifically addressing the rights of the accused, have been taken advtantaged of by high level criminals. The other loopholes between information and law enforcement are also leveraged on by these crime groups and ought to be addressed in global crime conferences (National legislation and its adequacy to deal with the various forms of organized transnational crime: Appropriate guidelines for legislative and other measures to be taken on the national level, 1994). The UN has indicated that the struggle against corruption inflicted by transnational crime groups could be imporoved if there is greater collaboration among countries in taking on laws that criminalize participation or engagement with such group activities, conspiracy, laundering and asset forfeiture. This was specified in their policy proposals for the 1994 Ministerial Conference on Organized Transnational Crime (National legislation and its adequacy to deal with the various forms of organized transnational crime: Appropriate guidelines for legislative and other measures to be taken on the national level, 1994). Moreover, these documents have also uphled the implementation of measures for addressing transnational crime (The feasibility of elaborating international instruments, including conventions, against organized transnational crime, 1994). The participation of more countries has been encouraging; however, there will remain nations whose officials have been hopelessly corrupted and whose legal systems are too backward or obsolete – precluding participation into such collaboration. There will still be loopholes in these countries, and official corruption shall surely take its toll in their law enforcement capabilities. International Response to Organized Crime and Corruption International operations such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) have provided a means for scrutinizing various aspects of organized crime regulation through the study of specific factors in organized crime operations like money laundering. By ensuring that such processes are carried out while still respecting the sovereignty of involved countries, the knowledge regarding organized crime has immensely benefited (Beare, 1997). At present, most international efforts against organized crime have highlighted the importance of examining organized crime with respect to the location of its operations. Illegal markets initiate the proliferation of criminal activities. These are influenced by the presence of risk factors as well as the level of demand. The current approach being utilized is a joint international effort, instead of the traditional ranking systems (Beare, 1997; Thachuk, 2005). This collaborative method which is a recent development differs widely from the other approaches being utilized for the reduction of corruption. Similar to the 1960’s view on organized crime, the dominant outlook is that corruption is a threat located in foreign shores which can be remedied by identifying those nations which are the top violators (Transparency International Global Report, 2001). With such a set-up, people may fail to see that some corrupt and legitimate practices may be inextricably intertwined. Also the nature of corruption from this viewpoint would be explained without the needed historical, political and social contexts. Lastly, such an approach works on an assumption that there is a uniform definition of corruption, which may not be the same across boundaries (Transparency International Global Report, 2001). Conclusion From the review of related literature, it may be clearly gleaned that transnational crime groups aim for states which have implicit acceptance of corruption. Upon establishment in these havens, they seek corrupt officials and security personnel who will expedite their financial dealings and routine. Among the benefits they yield from this network is access to plans of the government and eventual protection of their illegal activities (Thachuk, 2005). In cleverly setting up their operations this way, they effectively allow individuals to run governments – with the latter ceasing to be an acknowledged institution. Moreover, they disrespect the law and rid it of any legitimacy. Because of their corrupt activities, these nations are deprived of opportunities to participate in international agenda. On a more encompassing scale, the use of official corruption of transnational crime groups ceases to be a problem of the concerned republics but more of a global security issue (Beare, 1997; Thachuk, 2005). The alarmingly quick development of transnational crime is an international occurrence that merits attention. The phenomenon has successfully been integrated into political channels, corrupting them to gain legitimacy for their illegal transactions. The grave outcomes of this include the deterrment of economic growth, disrespect and threat against democracy, corruption for the law and   for some nations, ethnic violations. The loopholes posed by weakness of the states, including Africa, Latin America, and Asia make them incapable of controlling their own boundaries or to form apt internal legal groups.These borders have become webs of netting through whose holes passes the business of organized crime through corruption. The impending danger posed on countries by corruption of transnational crime groups is not caused by a single criminal entity. Instead, this is composed of a vast criminal network that has potent political and economic networks. They have effectively used corruption to deter law enforcement institutions to undertake what is just to curb criminal activity. In various countries, organized crime have substituted for the various roles of the state, serving as an obstacle to economic growth and to the development of budding democracies. Corruption as a social phenomenon and problem is not constrained by geographic borders. Each nation does have its own share of clientelism, patronage and selfish government officials. While certain nations only have a handful of common denominators in the historical, political and economic spheres, this does not imply they may not share the same corruption issues (Thachuk, 1995). While this may be the daunting case, majority of these nations have expressed their willingness to participate, share their competence, undertake training and work collaboratively with non-government organizations to solve the problem. These NGOs are hopeful that there may be mechanisms ingrained in government structure that may be utilized for detecting corrupt activities, reprimanding those involved and to attempt to foolproof the system (well nearly). In the long haul, countries are bound to feel the tension exerted on them to comply with anti-corruption measures. Democracy shall cease to be a faà §ade in promoting corrupt activities of transnational crime groups, conspiring with government officials, security and police personnel, and customs officers. Simultaneously, the pressure for governments to increase honesty and integrity in their dealings will also be focused on. The driver for these changes shall be sourced from â€Å"grassroots movements† fueled by media support. The documentation and critique of the corrupt activities of public officials is a crucial obstacle to curb immoral use of power (Thachuk, 2005). Some strategies being employed for reducing corruption may actually yield adverse results. Focus on business-related corruption is primarily motivated by Western interests which are usually detrimental to the less developed countries. An undesirable consequence arising from the labeling of nations as corrupt includes the realization of such labels through self-fulfilling prophecy. By garnering high ratings for corruption in Huberts or TI surveys, corrupt practices may actually become normalized or socially accepted in those communities (Beare, 1997). The Council of Europe utilizes a FATF-type evaluation procedure which allows member states to evaluate each other in terms of their anti-money laundering and corruption conventions. Through the meticulous review of anti-corruption legislation and policies from the different countries, corruption could then be placed in its proper context and positive results might then be achieved. However, the characteristic of corruption being deeply ingrained within the culture of different societies and thus taking various forms, may prove to be quite a hindrance (Beare, 1997). Corruption can be quite enticing for certain governments, high-ranking officials, corporations and sectors of the public. Then, it would not be advisable to think along the line that one can corruption-proof an area. On the other hand, a system should be put in place which constantly strives to create and maintain a culture of intolerance towards corruption. A possible means for combating corruption would be through changes in the personnel or other conditions such as the economic and social climate. By focusing on certain aspects of corruption, these can then be specifically identified and consequently addressed. References Beare, M. (1997). Corruption and organized crime: Lessons from history. Crime, Law Social Change, 28, 155-172. Beare, M.E. (1996). Criminal conspiracies: organized crime in canada. Toronto: Nelson Canada. Bonanno, A. Constance, D. (1996). Caught in the net: The global tuna industry. In   Environmentalism and the state. Lawrence Kansas: University of Kansas Press. Companies and their consciences. In the Economist, 1996 July 20, 15. Criminal Justice International. (1996). 1995 TI Corruption Index, 12(4), July-August. Global Corruption Report 2001. (2001). Politics and patronage: Democratic ideals compromised. Transparency International. Harvard caught up in Moscow row.(1997). The Independent, 22 May. Huberts, L. (1996). Expert views on public corruption around the globe. PSPA Publications, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Boelelaan, The Netherlands. Introductory Proceedings ADB/OECD Conference on Combating Corruption in Asian and Pacific Economies. (1999). Asian Development Bank. Labrouse, A. Wallon, A. (eds.) (1993). La Planete des drogues: organisations criminelles, guerres el blanchiment. Paris: Editions du Seuil. Leiken, R.S. (1996). Controlling the global corruption epidemic. Foreign Policy, 55-73. MacArthur, J.R. (1997). The real corrupters of the US electoral system. Globe and Mail, 21 March, Al7. Mollen Commission Report. (1994). Commission to investigate allegations of police corruption and the anti-corruption procedures of the police department, 7 July. Myers, W. (1997). Interview with Director of the Centerfor the Study of Asian Organized Crime. In Beare, M. Corruption and organized crime: Lessons from history. Crime, Law Social Change, 28, 155-172. National legislation and its adequacy to deal with the various forms of organized transnational crime: appropriate guidelines for legislative and other measures to be taken on the national level. Background document for the World Ministerial Conference on Organized Transnational Crime (Naples, 21-23 November 1994), 23. Noble, R. (2001). Interpol Press Release, Oct. 8. Savona, E. Defeo, M. (1994). Money trails: International money laundering trends and prevention/control policies, Helsinki Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI) Report prepared for the International Conference on Preventing and Controlling Money Laundering and the Use of Proceeds of Crime: A Global Approach. Courmayeur: June. Savona, E.U. (1995). Beyond criminal law in devising anticorruption policies: lessonsfrom the italian experience. Research Group on Transnational Crime, School of Law, University of Trento, Italy. Thachuk, K. (2005). Corruption and international security. SAIS Review, 25(1), Academic Research Library, 143. Transparency International. (2001). Transparency International Newsletter. (2001). December 2001. Wright, R. (1997). Democracies in peril: Freedoms excesses reduce democracys life span. Special report to the Los Angeles Times, 17   February.

Annotated Bibliography Of John Steinbeck

Annotated Bibliography Of John Steinbeck East of Eden is John Steinbecks most famous novel. This book published in 1952 has won international critical acclaim, and propelled Steinbeck to international glory. Critics, both positive and negative, often describe the book as the most ambitious literary project of Steinbeck. The book talks about the intricacies of two families that live in the Salinas valley. The families are the Hamiltons and the Trasks. The two families have interwoven stories. The book originally addresses the authors two young sons, Thom and john. The book describes in detail the Salinas valley in California where the story is set. The story also involves other places like Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Salinas valley in central California is aptly described as it is the setting of the book. The story begins with the Hamilton family that has emigrated from Ireland. Samuel Hamilton raised his brood of nine children on some infertile patch of land until they are able to fed for themselves. As Hamiltons children begin to leave home, a well-off stranger buys the best ranch in the Salinas valley. The stranger is Adam Trask, and he has come to his riches after discovering that his father left him and his brother some worthwhile inheritance. Adam has fallen in love, and married Cathy Ames, a girl who is described as a monster. This is because she has been a manipulator of men, and she has left home after killing her parents. After giving birth, Cathy shoots Adam in the shoulders and flees. Adam has to rear his twin boys with the help of Samuel Hamilton and Lee. Lee is a Cantonese servant of Adam. The three men make good companionship and engage in lively biblical debates. Cathy turns to prostitution, and through murder, manages to acquire a brothel. The boys grow up, and Samuel Hamilton dies. Adam loses his fortune in a business misfortune. One of the boys chooses to farm, and the other twin becomes a priest. Caleb the farmer gets to be successful. During thanksgiving, he gives his father a gift of $15,000, which his father rejects. Meanwhile, his brother, Aron wants to drop out of college. The book ends with Adam bedridden, and Lee pleading with Adam to forgive his son. Benson.J. (1977). John Steinbeck: Novelist as Scientist. Novel, Vol. (10):6. It is important to note that, during the publication of East of Eden, the book did not get positive acclaim. It was rejected for many literary and biblical allusions that did not auger well with the critics of his day. East of Eden has been loved by the general readership worldwide. One of the failures of the East of Eden is that the book has borrowed heavily from Author Gunns book, New family physician. The borrowing is used to deepen the creative legacy and artistic portrait of Samuel Hamilton. John Steinbeck, in writing East of Eden, has strayed from his literary style and adherence to realism and naturalism. This is because of his habit of what he has referred to as creative reading. Creative reading can be related to creative writing. Only in this case it is the opposite, for the creative reader reads to write. The implication is that Steinbeck has immersed himself in various documents, some of them scientific to come up with East of Eden. The book has been superimposed with so many allusions that it loses the fictional ability with which it is supposed to command the reader of fiction. The result is that the book borders on non fictional work. In many respects, the book is drawn from the authors background. This makes it an autobiographical stretch of his life. For example, Samuel Hamilton, the benign farmer is a representation of Steinbecks grandfather. His execution of form (Steinbecks) is heavily influenced by other works. The problem is not the heavy borrowing, the problem is the way he has failed to disguise his borrowing. It is a fact that all great literary work is some form of copying, or stealing. Shakespeare plagiarized ninety percent from ancient Greek writing. He plagiarized in mastery disguise, and what we have of him are great works. East of Eden is blatantly plagiarized. Fensch, T. (1988). Conversations with John Steinbeck. New York: Free Press. The use of symbols and symbolization has been employed to masterly level in East of Eden. Like in all his other novels, symbolism is one of the marks that distinguish the works of Steinbeck. Symbolism is the use of objects, figures, colors and characters in representing abstract ideas and concepts. The usage of symbolism in East of Edn is of the most classical nature. Symbolism brings out the realism in East of Eden without sacrificing modernism. Salinass valley, that was the original title of the novel, is a representation of the biblical Garden of Eden. The lyrical opening of the book with a description of the smells and sights of the valley parallels the garden of Edn that is virginal in its depiction in the bible. The Salinas valley is the home of the contest between the likes of Adam and Cathy. It depicts the genesis of the great diabolical deception that contributed to the fall of man. The title rightly depicts the fall of man, for in the biblical chronology, man was chased out towards the east. The mountains in the Salinas valley represent the struggle of man between the eternal forces of good and bad. The scars that Charles Trask get after wounding himself represent the mark of Cain. French, W. (1976). John Steinbeck and Modernism, in Steinbecks Prophetic Vision of America, ed. Tetsumaro Hayashi and Kenneth Swan. Indiana: Upland press. One of the characteristics of the books of Steinbeck is that they contain spiritual positivism. In East of Eden there, is the tendency of the writer to want to lift the reader and to encourage the reader. This is one of the most enduring positive traits of East of Eden. The author does not adopt a strict moralistic view or an amoral view. Rather, it puts to the reader that sainthood and damnation are both available to human beings. The difference between the two is determined by the choice of man. The author has drawn vivid biblical allusions that portray that human choices are the determinants if his destiny. The titling of the book captures the fall of man in the original Garden of Eden. The author has, however, used some depictions that contradict the biblical stories. In reading the book, it is apparent that the portrayal of women is negative. The negative traits of Cathy Ames are exaggerated. It is a well known fact that the author depicts her as the devil, and this is taking th e negation of women too far. This is because no other male character gets to do the wicked things that she has been doing. The other insult to womanhood is that the author has not at least developed another female character to counter the negative image of Cathy Ames. The grief that is so apparent at the end of the book does not do much to lift the hope of the reader. The sense of guilty that follows the characters in the book is not good for the book. This is because the main characters seem to find no atonement for the wrongs that they have done in society. Parini, J. (1996). John Steinbeck: A Biography. Carlifornia: Holt Publishing. The critical acclaims that Steinbeck has got have been from his short stories and rarely for his novels. A significant observation is that the author has not faired well even with a book that won him the Nobel Prize in literature in 1962. This is the book, East of Eden. In fact, his literary fame and reputation declined with the publication of East of Eden. The book in discussion, East of Eden, is overly theatrical. Its biblical allusions are farfetched, and the portrayal main character lacks originality. The book is an amalgamation of themes, characters and literary styles from various sources without cogent intrinsic threading. It is disconjuctive in it ending, and leaves the reader with a sour taste in the mouth. The book is too sentimental and philosophically simplistic. Although Steinbeck remains on of the most celebrated authors, East of Eden is no Paradise Lost. Its humor is overly sympathetic, and the sociological perception that is said to distinguish is work is water down i n this work by an overt desire to see himself, and his family, in his works. Robert. ed. (2002). John Steinbeck, Novels 1942-1952. Washington: Library of America. East of Eden is a paradox in its reception. This is because the public received the book well with the critics writing off the book. The book, like all Steinbecks past world war two books, is not hard to understand. This is because it develops the themes that are first exposed in his short stories. The criticisms of heavy borrowing from Gunns works, and the biblical allusions cannot detract from his work.

Similarities And Differences Between African And Native Americans History Essay

Similarities And Differences Between African And Native Americans History Essay Both the African American and Native American communities in the United States suffered great hardships since the dawn of the Republic. Southern plantation owners held the black community in enslavement while greedy American settlers stole the Indians land. After the Civil War, however, conditions radically changed for both: the slaves were freed at last, and the remaining free tribes were being herded onto reservations. In these years immediately following the war, blacks, due to a strong Republican influence in the federal and state governments, were far better off economically, politically, and socially than their Native American counterparts. While the Indians lost their land because of the ever-moving drive westward, blacks gained suffrage and equality under the law. However, as time went on, the African American community was robbed of its rights due to a coalition between white supremacists eager to keep freed blacks at the bottom of society and Democrats eager to gain a South ern power-base. Blacks began suffering the same hardships that their Indian cousins suffered. But, after World War I, the plight of the Native Americans was somewhat relieved because of pity for their wretched reservation life and attempts were made to give them both reparations for lost lands and representation in American politics. The African American community, conversely, was still being discriminated against by racist elements in both the North and South; blacks had to wait until the mid-1950s before their condition was alleviated and they were brought to the level Native Americans occupied. African American The years immediately following the Civil War were a time of hope for African Americans on all levels: politically, economically, and socially. The ratification of the 13th Amendment freed them, for the first time ever, from the hands of their Southern masters. Blacks gained control of their own destiny and had chance to rise above their squalid condition. The Congress, dominated by anti-slavery Republicans, was determined to ram through sweeping civil rights legislation equalizing blacks and whites. Republicans passed through the Civil Rights Bill of 1866 over Democratic President Andrew Johnsons veto. This legislation granted citizenship to blacks, an immeasurably important prerequisite for gaining other important rights, such as suffrage. Under the Bill, discrimination because of race was made illegal. The Fourteenth Amendment, added to the Constitution two years later, ensured that the rights gained by blacks under the Bill would be protected from repeal by later Democratic Congr esses. In a final blow to Southern Democrats, Republicans also legally guaranteed black male suffrage in the 15th Amendment, bypassing Democratic obstructions in Southern state legislatures. These sweeping pieces of legislation paved the way for blacks to live as equals with whites, making them citizens and supposedly protecting their citizenship against discrimination (The Civil Rights Bill Should not be Enacted 64-5), (Corbin 36). Unfortunately, the amendments that supposedly gave blacks political power and social protection proved easier to write than to enforce. From the beginning, Southerners despised Northern attempts to reconstruct a new, more tolerant South. White supremacists, former slave-owners yearning for a return to Dixieland, and Democrats hoping to gain a Southern power-base all worked against the reforms enacted by the Radical Republicans. In an attempt to keep blacks down, organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Knights of the White Camelia conspired to generate an environment of fear and oppression against the black community. They armed themselves and, with the tacit complicity of their Democrats in the Southern state governments, whipped upstart blacks, lynched civil rights campaigners, and obstructed black voters. The fear that these groups created socially stigmatized the black community and made blacks endure willing to endure legalized discrimination for fear of their lives (The K u Klux Klan is a Terrorist Organization 122-3). The Southern Democratic push to keep blacks in their rightful place in society, namely at the bottom with the Indians, also pushed back recent gains. Empowered by Supreme Court decisions in United States v. Cruickshank and Williams v. Mississippi, Democrats established the poll tax and literacy requirements in order to vote. Because these requirements were applied to all races, they were declared constitutional and allowed to go forward. Nonetheless, poll taxes and literacy standards had the effect of disenfranchising the lower classes and, because most blacks received neither money nor education from their former masters and could not pay the taxes or read, they were effectively removed from the political scene. Other Supreme Court decisions, especially Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, which declared segregation constitutional as long as the facilities given to blacks were on par to the facilities afforded whites, led to the complete social separation of blacks from whites. The African A merican community was now forbidden to even use the same restrooms as the Caucasian community. Segregated schools left many blacks bereft of a good education and thus, like their Indian cousins, unable to find a good job and move up the social ladder. A mindset began to develop as a result of these actions, which allowed white supremacists to convince ordinary white citizens that blacks deserved to be at the bottom, thus retarding further civil rights progress and reversing important gains (Corbin 42-4). The tide began to turn for the black community in the landmark Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education. Reversing many years of previous precedent, a more tolerant court declared that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. Besides the immediate social and economic ramifications that this decision brought, it also opened the way for the end to all segregation and the beginnings of equality. After all, if segregation in schools was unconstitutional, then why should segregation on buses still be legal? In 1954, the pendulum began to swing back again, opening up new possibilities for the black American (Corbin 49-50). Native American In contrast, the fall of the American Indian occurred just when the African American was gaining essential freedoms for the first time. Indians were not even considered American citizens at the time of Reconstruction; the 14th Amendment that gave blacks their citizenship specifically excluded Native Americans. Without this most basic acknowledgement, it was impossible for Indians to gain any of the freedoms or rights granted to blacks (Bernardo 5). Post-bellum America was also the setting for the final defeat of the Indians at the hands of expansionist American policy. With the threat of dis-Union posed by the Confederacy removed by Robert E. Lees surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, the United States was once again able to continue its inexorable march to the Pacific Ocean. Standing in the way of total American domination were several thousands Indians living in the Great Plains, the only members of a once-proud race still free from the reservations. However, the Army crushed resistance to expansion on December 29, 1890 in the Battle of Wounded Knee, and the last free Indians were herded like sheep onto the reservations (Nardo 113-4). Indians, with their sprawling ancestral lands occupied by American settlers, had to make due with cramped and dirty reservations. Some tribes, such as the Great Plains Indians, lost their only means of sustenance when white settlers hunted the buffalo herds to near extinction. Others, forbidden to leave the reservations, were forced to abandon their nomadic lifestyles. In one sweeping blow, the reservations destroyed the only means of survival for many Indians and completely shattered Native American society while white settlers filled in the vacuum created by civilizing Indians and encouraging them to adopt white lifestyles, further contributing to the social and cultural decay of this once-proud people (Nardo 116). As if the complete destruction of Indian culture, social structure, and economy was not enough, Congress, with the General Allotment Act, began taking even the reservations away from them. The Act, passed in 1887, broke up the 285 federal reservations and allotted 160-acre pieces of them to heads of Indian families, making it easier for white developers to purchase and use the land (Nardo 116). By 1932, almost 65% of Indian land had been bought by American businessmen and settlers. Because of allotment, Indians were forced to live in more and more cramped conditions, posing a further strain on already taxed social structures and almost nonexistent health services. Furthermore, Indians now had even less land with which to build a future and a stable economic environment (Bernardo 6). The turning point of American Indian life in the United States came after World War I. Feeling grateful to the large amount of able-bodied Indian men who volunteered to fight with Americans in battle, Congress passed two important bills. The first one, the Snyder Act, redefined the Bureau of Indian Affairs, no longer would it attempt to assimilate Indians into American society. Instead, the Bureau was now to teach Indians new irrigation and farming methods, giving Indians the possibility of economic self-sufficiency, and work to improve the living conditions on the reservations, addressing long-standing problems of under-education and inadequate healthcare which also plagued blacks. The second bill, the Indian Citizenship Act, granted to Indians what had been given to freed slaves after the Civil War by granting citizenship to all Indians born in America. With this important right, Indians were granted suffrage in most states and allowed for the first time free travel in America. Ind ians could now leave the reservations in search of jobs and a better life, something that had been granted even to the blacks (Nardo 118), (Bernardo 7). Economic conditions for Native Americans improved under the Roosevelt Administration with the signing of the Indian Reorganization Act, reversing the policy set forth by the Indian Allotment Act. Under this new bill, reservation land was returned to tribal ownership and some white-owned land was returned to Indians, giving Indians protection from land-hungry businessmen. The bill also provided money for Indian education and encouraged the creation of tribal corporations to help manage Indian land for the Indian population (Nardo 119). Finally, in 1948 Congress created the Indian Claims Commission in response to a large Indian outcry. The Commissions mission was to settle disputes over lost Indian land and hundreds of treaties broken by the United States with regard to the Indians; it has awarded large sums of money to aggrieved Indians in an attempt to redress past wrongs (Bernardo 7). Conclusion African American and Native American life from post-bellum America to the mid-20th Century have followed different patterns. Though both were subjected to unimaginable cruelty at the hands of civilized Americans, the conditions of blacks began improving immediately after the Civil War, with African Americans being granted citizenship, protection from discrimination, and male suffrage. However, these gains turned out to be more fictional than fact, white supremacists wishing for a return to Dixieland, Southern Democrats thirsting for power, and a prejudiced Supreme Court made many of these victories hollow by legally disenfranchising most blacks and segregating the group to a second-class status. Despite these challenges and reversals, the African American did reap substantial gains at the hands of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, which began to turn back the tide of segregation and hate. In contrast to this pattern, the Native American condition declined sharply in post-bellum America. Eager for land and free of the threat posed by the Confederacy and dis-Union, settlers aided by the United States Army herded the last great tribes onto federal reservations. Reservation life brought with it horrible living conditions and a breakdown of Indian social and economic life. Attempts by the government to Americanize the group only succeeded in further tearing its social fabric. However, with the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924, which granted citizenship to Indians almost 60 years after it had been granted to blacks, the Indian condition began improving more rapidly than the black one. Congress, moved with pity, instituted important reforms to save Indian life and restore economic viability. Though both African American and Native Americans shared the bottom of the American social ladder and suffered from prejudice and discrimination, their lives were somewhat d ifferent. Both suffered at the hands of whites, but Native Americans suffered more with the almost total destruction of their society. On the other hand, it took much longer to begin improving the African American condition than it did for the Native American one. One thing is certain, however, America must always remember the hardships it forced these groups to endure for no other reasons than the greed, hatred, ignorance, and racism that allow discrimination to flourish.

Business: Practical application vs. ethics :: essays research papers fc

Business: Practical application vs. ethics Pete Holiday said "Capitalism needs to function like a game of tug-of-war. Two opposing sides need to continually struggle for dominance, but at no time can either side be permitted to walk away with the rope." It seems that college is just training for a businessperson to deal with that tug of war. Michael Inciardi, a York College Senior, thought that one of the most important skills he acquired from college was â€Å"Competing seemingly enormous tasks in time that was not enough to do them.† I see college it self as an experience in budgeting your time and allocating for the seemingly enormous tasks when there does not appear to be enough time. Through my interviews and readings, it seems that doing a job quicker is as important then doing it well. Identifying these times is one of the skills a good businessman has. I often ask myself, â€Å"Is adequate work enough? Can I get by simply by doing it faster then the next guy?† This is not the feeling of Colin Hadley, a graduate student at the University of Maryland, He believes doing a person’s best with restrictions is very important â€Å" Whenever we have a long project †¦ Spend hours doing extra research and lots of late nights †¦ It’s usually done just before the deadline but it’s a culmination of a lot of extra work that wasn’t asked for that I just decided was needed.† This leads me to conclude that speed is not the most important aspect thoroughness is just as important. I have also thought about how school is a micro chasm for the real world but is accurate for the real world? Richard Rubenstein, Senior VP at Oppenheimer thought so. Mr. Rubenstein stated in an interview on March 28th â€Å" The competitive school I attended [Lehigh University] allowed me to be a better business person†. He also said that, â€Å"Most schools have a comparable business program and most represent a well rounded business person in the real world. When I do my hiring the school is becoming less important than the internships and extracarriculars† I was also concerned; did these people enjoy their classes? Or did they choose their courses to fill a requirement? It seems everyone had either a class or professor they enjoyed or that opened them to enlightenment. Mr. Inciardi said â€Å"Dr. Forgen’s class was the main reason I switched my major to business.

The Possibility of Justice for All Essay -- Justice Fair Society Essay

The Possibility of Justice for All Works Cited Not Included Can there be justice for all? To answer this question I must first define what justice is. Justice is ?the quality of being just, impartial or fair? in your dealings with others according to Merriam Webster?s Collegiate Dictionary. Keeping that definition in mind, I now must turn to the Voices of Wisdom in order to find an example of a situation in which all parties feel that they are being treated justly. After examining examples such as: Euthanasia, discrimination based on sexual orientation, and equal opportunity offered within the book, it becomes clear to me that there is in fact no possible way for there to be justice for all because everyone?s judgement is in some way or another clouded by their own self interests. Euthanasia, people can decide exactly how they want to live but should we as a society allow them the right to decide exactly how they want to die? On the one hand you have the question ?is it just to kill someone or allow them to die when help is available The obvious answer is no of course not. This is a prime example of why there can be no justice for all, because on the other hand you have the question ?is it fair to force someone to live through unbearable pain in anticipation of an agonizing death The obvious answer to that question is also no. This is where our self-interests come into play. It is in the patient?s own self interests to die because it will ease her pain, but is not in mine to alleviate her of her life ?because death is final and irreversible?, and because ?euthanasia contains within it the possibility that [I] will work against [my] own interest if [I] practice it or allow it to be practiced on [others].? (J. G... ...o that principle affirmative action should be considered just in relationship to minorities. As a result, because equal opportunity legislation is not in accordance with the best self-interests of most white males but it is in accordance with those of most minorities, this is another example of a situation in which injustice is inevitable. After closely examining these three specific situations in which injustice?because of our natural tendency to look after our own best self-interests?is certain, it can be concluded that it is hopeless to try to attain such an idea as a society that is just for all. Because these perpetually unjust situations such as euthanasia, discrimination based on sexual preference, ideas like affirmative action or situations similar to these will most likely permanently exist, a society in which there is justice for all is unreachable.

Objectification of Women on Tv and in Movies

Why is it that in TV shows and in so many movies that women are almost always objectified in one way or another? There are so many television shows and movies out there that undermine women in so many different ways. Darren in â€Å"Bewitched† is also trying to suppress Samantha’s magic to make her the perfect house wife and she doesn’t try to stop him. In fact, she does everything she can to follow his every wish just so he’ll be happy. In â€Å"The Client List†, Riley is portrayed as a sex object. It gives the impression that the only thing women can do is sell their body for sex.Then there is Mary Jane from â€Å"Spiderman† who always needs rescued by Spiderman, giving the impression that women are helpless and always need a man around to save the day. Let’s not forget â€Å"The Scorpion King† where king Memnon uses his Sorceress for his own personal agenda. Will watching movies and shows such as these affect how girls see th emselves? The Scorpion King is a primary example to the objectification of women in movies. The main female character, the sorceress, has been used her entire life by King Memnon.He’s kept her prisoner since she was a child to use her visions to give him the upper hand in battle. He forces her to have a vision every day and then tell him if he is going to win or lose his next battle so that he can pick his battles and be more successful in his goal to rule everything. At one point in the movie, Memnon basically tells the Sorcerer that when he’s done using her for her visions he’s going to start using her for his own sexual pleasure. The Sorcerer is more than happy to be taken hostage by Matheyus.She later tells him that she only went with him so willingly because Memnon kept her prisoner since she was a child. She was being used her entire life by a man that just wanted to be feared by everyone and rule everything. It portrays society’s typical stereotype of women. Do everything the man wants and please him in any way you can without a single complaint. The Sorcerer makes it obvious that she’d much rather stay with Matheyus, the man who threatens to kill her, than go back to Memnon, the man who has been using her for so long.This is because in the short time that she’s been with Matheyus, she has already been treated better that she has been her entire life. Memnon has continuously used the Sorceress to give himself an advantage in battle. This is an example of the typical male figure objectifying a woman and using her to get what he wants. He treats her like she’s nothing more than a piece of his property. According to Gloria Steinem, â€Å"A female child is left to believe that, even when her body is as big as her spirit, she will still be helping with minor tasks, appreciating the accomplishments of others, and waiting to be rescued† (356).This quote helps to explain the Sorcerers want to escape but al so her challenge in the fact that she has to have someone’s help to escape Memnon. And no surprise, it has to be a man’s help because she wouldn’t have been able to escape on her own. The Sorcerer also feels the need to escape after Memnon informs her of his plan to use her for his own sexual pleasure when he’s done using her for her visions. According to Christine Seifert, â€Å"Digging into Edward’s mind reinforces the old stereotype that underneath it all, even the best guys are calculating vampires, figuring out how to act on their masculine urges† (346-7).This quote helps to explain Memnon’s fights to take advantage of the Sorcerer because according to a myth spread by the Sorcerer’s ancestors, the first time any sorceress has sex she will lose her gift of foresight. So if he wants to keep his advantage in battle, he has to fight his natural male urges. Watching movies and shows such as these can’t be having a posit ive effect on younger girls. They use female roles that they see on TV and in movies as role models just as much as they use the women around them as role models.So what are they suppose to think when they see things like that? How are they going to act if they use women like that as a role model? Are they going to know that that’s just pretend and women aren’t really like that? Or are they going to think that they need to do everything a man wishes without a single complaint just to keep them happy, whether they like it or not? Are they going to think that they have to wait for the perfect man to rescue them when things become bad in a relasionship?It’s questions like these that we don’t have the answers to that we should worry most about. What are girls learning from TV? Works Cited Seifert, Christine. â€Å"Bite Me! (Or Don’t! ): Twilight as Abstinence Porn. † Shrodes, Caroline. et. al. The Conscious Reader. Custom. New York. Pearson. 201 1. 343-349. Print. Shrodes, Caroline et. al. The Conscious Reader. Custom. New York: Pearson, 2012. Print. Steinem, Gloria. â€Å"Wonder Woman. † Shrodes, Caroline. et. al. The Conscious Reader. Custom. New York. Pearson. 2011. 354-363. Print. The Scorpion King. Dir. Chuck Russell. 2002. Film.

Mankiw Chapter 1 Solution

The answers to the Quick Quizzes can also be found near the end of the textbook. 1. The four principles of economic decision making are: (1) people face trade-offs; (2) the cost of something is what you give up to get it; (3) rational people think at the margin; and (4) people respond to incentives. People face trade-offs because to get one thing that they like, they usually have to give up another thing that they like. The cost of something is what you give up to get it, not just in terms of monetary costs but all opportunity costs.Rational people think at the margin by taking an action if and only if the marginal benefit exceeds the marginal cost. People respond to incentives because they choose activities by comparing benefits to costs; therefore, a change in these benefits or costs may cause their behavior to change. The three principles concerning people’s economic interactions are: (1) trade can make everyone better off; (2) markets are usually a good way to organize eco nomic activity; and (3) governments can sometimes improve market outcomes.Trade can make everyone better off because it allows countries to specialize in what they do best and to enjoy a wider variety of goods and services. Markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity because the invisible hand leads markets to desirable outcomes. Governments can sometimes improve market outcomes because markets may fail to allocate resources efficiently due to an externality or market power.The three principles that describe how the economy as a whole works are: (1) a country’s standard of living depends on its ability to produce goods and services; (2) prices rise when the government prints too much money; and (3) society faces a shortrun trade-off between inflation and unemployment. A country’s standard of living depends largely on the productivity of its workers, which in turn depends on the education of its workers and the access its workers have to the necessary t ools and technology. Prices rise when the government prints too much money because more money in circulation reduces the value of money, causing inflation.Society faces a short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment that is only temporary. Policymakers have some short-term ability to exploit this relationship using various policy instruments. 2. 3. Questions for Review 1. Examples of trade-offs include time trade-offs (such as studying one subject over another or studying at all compared to engaging in social activities) and spending tradeoffs (such as whether to use your last 15 dollars to purchase a pizza or to buy a study guide for that tough economics course).The opportunity cost of seeing a movie includes the monetary cost of admission plus the time cost of going to the theater and attending the show. The time cost depends on what else you might do with that time; if it is staying home and watching TV, the time cost may be small, but if it is working an extra three ho urs at your job, the time cost is the money you could have earned. The marginal benefit of a glass of water depends on your circumstances. If you have just 2. 3. Chapter 1/Ten Principles of Economics 2 un a marathon or you have been walking in the desert sun for three hours, the marginal benefit is very high. But if you have been drinking a lot of liquids recently, the marginal benefit is quite low. The point is that even the necessities of life, like water, do not always have large marginal benefits. 4. Policymakers need to think about incentives so they can understand how people will respond to the policies they put in place. The text's example of seat belt laws shows that policy actions can have unintended consequences.If incentives matter a lot, they may lead to a very different type of policy; for example, some economists have suggested putting knives in steering columns so that people will drive much more carefully! While this suggestion is silly, it highlights the importance of incentives. Trade among countries is not a game with some losers and some winners because trade can make everyone better off. By allowing specialization, trade between people and trade between countries can improve everyone's welfare.The â€Å"invisible hand† of the marketplace represents the idea that even though individuals and firms are all acting in their own self-interest, prices and the marketplace guide them to do what is good for society as a whole. The two main causes of market failure are externalities and market power. An externality is the impact of one person’s actions on the well-being of a bystander, such as from pollution or the creation of knowledge. Market power refers to the ability of a single person (or small group of people) to unduly influence market prices, such as in a town with only one well or only one cable television company.In addition, a market economy also leads to an unequal distribution of income. Productivity is important because a country's standard of living depends on its ability to produce goods and services. The greater a country's productivity (the amount of goods and services produced from each hour of a worker's time), the greater its standard of living will be. Inflation is an increase in the overall level of prices in the economy. Inflation is caused by increases in the quantity of a nation's money.Inflation and unemployment are negatively related in the short run. Thus, reducing inflation entails costs to society in the form of higher unemployment in the short run. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Problems and Applications 1. a. A family deciding whether to buy a new car faces a trade-off between the cost of the car and other things they might want to buy. For example, buying the car might mean they must give up going on vacation for the next two years. So the real cost of the car is the family's opportunity cost in terms of what they must give up.For a member of Congress deciding whether to increase spending on national parks, the trade-off is between parks and other spending items or tax cuts. If more money goes into the park system, that may mean less spending on national defense or on the police force. Or, instead of spending more money on the park system, taxes could be reduced. b. Chapter 1/Ten Principles of Economics c. 3 When a company president decides whether to open a new factory, the decision is based on whether the new factory will increase the firm's profits compared to other alternatives.For example, the company could upgrade existing equipment or expand existing factories. The bottom line is: Which method of expanding production will increase profit the most? In deciding how much to prepare for class, a professor faces a trade-off between the value of improving the quality of the lecture compared to other things she could do with her time, such as working on additional research. d. 2. When the benefits of something are psychological, such as going on a vacation, it is not e asy to compare benefits to costs to determine if it is worth doing.But there are two ways to think about the benefits. One is to compare the vacation with what you would do in its place. If you did not go on vacation, would you buy something like a new set of golf clubs? Then you can decide if you would rather have the new clubs or the vacation. A second way is to think about how hard you had to work to earn the money to pay for the vacation. You can then decide if the psychological benefits of the vacation were worth the psychological cost of working.If you are thinking of going skiing instead of working at your part-time job, the cost of skiing includes its monetary and time costs, which includes the opportunity cost of the wages you are giving up by not working. If the choice is between skiing and going to the library to study, then the cost of skiing is its monetary and time costs including the cost of getting lower grades in your courses. If you spend $100 now instead of saving it for a year and earning 5 percent interest, you are giving up the opportunity to spend $105 a year from now.The fact that you have already sunk $5 million is not relevant to your decision anymore, because that money is gone. What matters now is the chance to earn profits at the margin. If you spend another $1 million and can generate sales of $3 million, you'll earn $2 million in marginal profit, so you should do so. You are right to think that the project has lost a total of $3 million ($6 million in costs and only $3 million in revenue) and you should not have started it. That is true, but if you do not spend the additional $1 million, you will not have any sales and your losses will be $5 million.So what matters is not the total profit, but the profit you can earn at the margin. In fact, you wouldd pay up to $3 million to complete development; any more than that, and you will not be increasing profit at the margin. Harry suggests looking at whether productivity would rise or f all. Productivity is certainly important, since the more productive workers are, the lower the cost per gallon of potion. Ron wants to look at average cost. But both Harry and Ron are missing the other side of the equation? revenue. A firm wants to maximize its profits, so it needs to examine both costs and revenues.Thus, Hermione is right? it is best to examine whether the extra revenue would exceed the extra costs. Hermione is the only one who is thinking at the margin. a. The provision of Social Security benefits lowers an individual’s incentive to save for retirement. The benefits provide some level of income to the individual when he or she retires. This means that the individual is not entirely dependent on savings to support consumption through the years in retirement. Since a person gets fewer after-tax Social Security benefits the greater his or her 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. b.Chapter 1/Ten Principles of Economics earnings are, there is an incentive not to work (or not work as much) after age 65. The more you work, the lower your after-tax Social Security benefits will be. Thus, the taxation of Social Security benefits discourages work effort after age 65. 8. a. b. When welfare recipients have their benefits cut off after two years, they have a greater incentive to find jobs than if their benefits were to last forever. 4 The loss of benefits means that someone who cannot find a job will get no income at all, so the distribution of income will become less equal.But the economy will be more efficient, because welfare recipients have a greater incentive to find jobs. Thus, the change in the law is one that increases efficiency but reduces equity. 9. By specializing in each task, you and your roommate can finish the chores more quickly. If you divided each task equally, it would take you more time to cook than it would take your roommate, and it would take him more time to clean than it would take you. By specializing, you reduce the total time spent on chore s. Similarly, countries can specialize and trade, making both better off.For example, suppose it takes Spanish workers less time to make clothes than French workers, and French workers can make wine more efficiently than Spanish workers. Then Spain and France can both benefit if Spanish workers produce all the clothes and French workers produce all the wine, and they exchange wine for clothes. 10. a. To produce the right number of CDs by the right artists and deliver them to the right people requires an enormous amount of information. You need to know about production techniques and costs in the CD industry. You need to know each person's musical tastes and which artists they want to hear.If you make the wrong decisions, you will be producing too many CDs by artists that people do not want to hear, and not enough by others. Your decisions about CDs will carry over to other decisions. You have to make the right number of CD players for people to use. If you make too many CDs and not enough cassette tapes, people with cassette players will be stuck with CDs they cannot play. The probability of making mistakes is very high. You will also be faced with tough choices about the music industry compared to other parts of the economy.If you produce more sports equipment, you will have fewer resources for making CDs. So all decisions about the economy influence your decisions about CD production. b. 11. Countries that have corrupt police and court systems do not enforce individual property rights, including the rights over the goods and services produced by households and firms. Firms will not choose to produce products and individuals will choose not to work if there is no guarantee that they will receive payment for their efforts. Therefore, these countries end up with a lower standard of living. . b. c. d. e. Efficiency: The market failure comes from the market power of the cable TV firm. Equity Efficiency: An externality arises because secondhand smoke harms nonsmok ers. Efficiency: The market failure occurs because of Standard Oil's market power. Equity 12. Chapter 1/Ten Principles of Economics f. 13. a. 5 Efficiency: There is an externality because of accidents caused by drunk drivers. If everyone were guaranteed the best health care possible, much more of our nation's output would be devoted to medical care than is now the case.Would that be efficient? If you believe that doctors have market power and restrict health care to keep their incomes high, you might think efficiency would increase by providing more health care. But more likely, if the government mandated increased spending on health care, the economy would be less efficient because it would give people more health care than they would choose to pay for. From the point of view of equity, if poor people are less likely to have adequate health care, providing more health care would represent an improvement.Each person would have a more even slice of the economic pie, though the pie wo uld consist of more health care and less of other goods. When workers are laid off, equity considerations argue for the unemployment benefits system to provide them with some income until they can find new jobs. After all, no one plans to be laid off, so unemployment benefits are a form of insurance. But there is an efficiency problem? why work if you can get income for doing nothing? The economy is not operating efficiently if people remain unemployed for a long time, and unemployment benefits encourage unemployment.Thus, there is a trade-off between equity and efficiency. The more generous unemployment benefits are, the less income is lost by an unemployed person, but the more that person is encouraged to remain unemployed. So greater equity reduces efficiency. b. 14. Because average income in the United States has roughly doubled every 35 years, we are likely to have a better standard of living than our parents, and a much better standard of living than our grandparents. This is mainly the result of increased productivity, so that an hour of work produces more goods and services than it used to.Thus, incomes have continuously risen over time, as has the standard of living. If Americans save more and it leads to more spending on factories, there will be an increase in production and productivity, because the same number of workers will have more equipment to work with. The benefits from higher productivity will go to both the workers, who will get paid more because they are producing more, and the factory owners, who will get a return on their investments. There is no such thing as a free lunch, however, because when people save more, they are giving up spending. They get higher incomes at the cost of buying fewer goods.To make an intelligent decision about whether to reduce inflation, a policymaker would need to know what causes inflation and unemployment, as well as what determines the trade-off between them. This means that the policymaker needs to unders tand how households and firms will adjust to a decrease in the money supply. How much will spending decline? How much will firms lower output? Any attempt to reduce inflation will likely lead to higher unemployment in the short run. A policymaker thus faces a trade-off between the benefits of lower inflation compared to the cost of higher unemployment. Answers will vary. 15. 16. 17.