Mergers and acquisitions process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mergers and acquisitions process - Essay Example Despite these findings, companies continue to adopt an M&A strategy for several reasons. One reason is that M&A meets the desire of firms to survive by growing. Another is that the bidding firm either has free cash flow (and cash is king!) or wants to get the free cash flow of the target firm. A third reason points to so-called agency problems between the managers of the bidding firm and the owners of the firm, where managers want to get a larger share of the rewards for taking risks and managing the firm. Another reason is that managers of the bidding firm are overconfident and proud. The fifth reason is the bidding firm might gain some benefits by implementing the M&A strategy that, by putting two firms together, may result in valuable, rare, and costly to imitate advantages. It can also happen that a bidding firm sees some hidden sources of competitive advantage in the target that competitors do not see or that the managers of a target firm either do not realize or could not turn into a source of competitive advantage. This is where a bidder can be justified for merg ing with or buying a target firm because the two firms would create an added advantage (synergy) over other competitors through economies of scope or scale. Implementing M&A is difficult and demands very good managers because the cultures of both firms may be very different. In the case of international M&A, this strategy may be costly because of differences in country cultures (like when Renault of France bought Nissan of Japan) and would need good managers to succeed. An ideal cross-country M&A is one where economies of scope can be gained without having to integrate the different firm and country cultures. Case 3-1: eBay eBay is a pioneer online auction firm that had to decide how to create more value from a new strategy of going into on-line auction drop-off selling to increase sales. Drop-off selling refers to selling items online for other people, with a seller or consignee collecting items for sale from the client or consignor. The consignee handles the whole listing and selling process and then pays the proceeds of the sale to the client, less the commission. This would capture sellers who have items to sell but who neither have the time nor the patience to advertise these items on-line. The company's initial success, built on a first-mover advantage as an on-line auction site, became the foundation for a cost leadership growth strategy achieved by offering low listing fees. In the process of accelerated growth in numbers of customers and sales volume, eBay developed into an on-line community that offered unmatched speed, safety, and security through an effective member feedback mechanism where users rated each other for every transaction made. eBay's profits grew by attracting more buyers and building the infrastructure needed to support both buyers and sellers. However, like brick-and-mortar shops, eBay's sales were seasonal, spiking during the holiday season but remaining flat the rest of the year. The drop-off selling strategy, a form of diversification into a related business that would add value to the core business of on-line auctions, was designed to increase customer traffic to its sites by making it easier for sellers to list their goods and for buyers to enjoy a wider variety of products to choose from. It also allowed eBay to transact high value-added items and compete with the more established

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde coursework Essay Example for Free

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde coursework Essay In the novel, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde which was written by Stevenson in 1886, a doctor known as Henry Jekyll is curious to know if it is possible to separate the two sides of human nature, good and evil. In his basement he creates a concoction to try and this is were Mr Hyde is introduced to the story. Jekyll drinks the potion and transforms into Hyde. Hyde is a prime example of pure evil, the complete opposite of Dr Jekyll but later on he is taken over by Hyde and it shows through him wanting to transform again after all of the crimes committed by his dark side. Stevensons objective for the novel was to get the reader to realize that nobody is perfect and everybody has a dark side to their personality. The Victorian era started in 1837 and ended in1901. This was how long Queen Victoria ruled for. Society in London was very posh and rich during that era. In the novel Dr Jekyll is one of these rich people. Although London was said to be a civilised place there were actually a few criminals who committed horrific rapes, decapitations and murders. Jack the ripper is one of them. This side of society back then represents Mr Hyde. London back then had dark fogy nights and some rainy nights, identical to the nights described in Jekyll and Hyde. nine in the morning, and the first fog of the season as the cab drew up before the address indicated, the fog lifted a little and showed him a dingy street. The setting is choosing Mr Uttersons path. The setting gives a picture that evil is trying to pick out Uttersons path, luring him into evil. The Fog gives the audience an airy and tense atmosphere. You feel that anything could happen and that evil is lurking somewhere beyond the fog but it is undetectable. Just like Mr Hyde, whatever will happen next is unpredictable. There is also a sense of suspicion as the fog lifted a little and showed him a dingy street. We wonder why the fog shows him a dingy street which is most likely infested with evil beings and we also wonder if Mr Utterson is wandering into a trap and this intensifies the suspence. Evil masterminds arent handsome and this shows when Hyde looks into the mirror for the first time for the audience to see. He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance, something displeasing, something downright detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked He sounds like a hideous monster, deformed and gives the woman a feeling of hatred when she sees him. Most villains look discomforting like the ones in movies. Jekyll on the other hand is the complete opposite, handsome and liked by the women in the novel. This shows the difference between the good and evil in the novel and contributes to Stevensons objective of getting the reader to see the difference between good and evil. Hydes actions are animalistic and he shows a sign of superhuman strength when he beats Carew so rapidly his cane snaps and Carew dies. This emphasizes his anger towards Carew and this unprovoked attack is so brutal, it makes the made at the window faint from shock. and at that Mr Hyde broke out of all bounds and clubbed him to the earth. And next moment, with ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under his foot and hailing down a storm of blows, under which bones were audibly shattered and the body jumped upon the roadway. At the horror of these sights, the maid fainted. This description shows how relentless Hyde is and he doesnt hold back his anger and lets loose a barrage of bone shattering blows. It is clear to the audience that he has channelled his anger into his physical strength then unleashes is all on Carew and the fact that Carew is beaten to death further expresses his anger and hatred towards Carew. His actions gives us an insight of what he is physically capable of doing and also makes us wonder if he is a human or a savage beast with intense strength. Back in those times reputation was a key factor to a well known wealthy persons life and Hyde lives on a dull dingy street whereas Jekyll lives in his humble abode to avoid being found out by Utterson and Enfield. They both are suspicious about Jekyll and want to find him out but they are unsure if they should ruin his reputation, so instead they keep a close eye on him and ask him a few questions. The information they find out they want to keep to themselves because they dont want to ruin Jekylls reputation in case he is innocent. Utterson and his acquaintance Mr Enfield do all they can to identify who Hyde really is. What gets them thinking is when Hyde tramples calmly over the little girl and Utterson wants Hyde to pay à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 compensation and when he does, they realize that it is signed by Dr Henry Jekyll but they both promise never to talk about the case again, so they dont let it out into the public. Hyde is able to stay hidden from the two lawyers because of the area he lives in. The area is dirty, dingy, smelly and full of the low classed people. This way Hyde can keep a low profile and high status people wont voyage into this area and spot Hyde. He blends in with all of the citizens there. The women are poor and very savage and referred to as Wild harpies And all the time, as we were pitching it in red hot, we were keeping the women off him as best we could, for they were as wild as harpies This quote emphasizes the violent side to these women. They have unleashed their dark side, just like Hyde was unleashed from Jekyll and when Hyde gets into trouble, a woman laughs and says he deserves it. This lady shows her dark side and no remorse at this comment towards Mr Hyde. This makes you realize that not only Dr Jekyll has an evil side to his personality. This also makes us realise that everyone has an evil side to their personality. Stevenson presents the evil side of human nature in his novel, however he also captures the good side of human nature and this is shown when Henry Jekyll admits to his own guilt. The pleasures which I made haste to seek my disguise were, as I have said, undignified; I would scarce use a harder term. But in the hands of Edward Hyde, they soon began to turn towards monstrous it was Hyde, after all, and Hyde alone, that was guilty. Jekyll was no worse. Dr Jekyll is admitting to his mistakes and he reveals to us that Hyde was his disguise. He is taking responsibility for unleashing his dark side which is Hyde and refers to his actions as undignified. This shows that there is a good side to every human and he has displayed this through revealing that Hyde was to blame for all of the crimes committed and that Jekyll (his good side) was no worse. Overall Stevenson has shown us that no human is perfect. Everyone has a darker side to their personality. Good and evil is a regular part of human nature. Stevenson makes us realise that we are all capable of doing bad things but all choose not to for a variety of reasons.

Unanimous Versus Non Unanimous Jury Verdicts Law Essay

Unanimous Versus Non Unanimous Jury Verdicts Law Essay In the United States, 48 states require unanimous criminal jury verdicts. A unanimous jury verdict indicates that all jurors came to a common decision in the criminal proceedings. Louisiana and Oregon are the only two states that allow non-unanimity jury verdicts. Louisiana statue allows juries to convict felony suspects by votes of 10 to 2 and allows such non-unanimous verdicts in felony cases where the punishment is imprisonment with hard labor. The only punishment that requires a unanimous 12 juror vote verdict is the death penalty. The Oregon State Constitution allows for non-unanimous guilty verdicts to be returned when 10 of 12 jurors agree on guilt, except in cases of first degree murder, where unanimity is required. Within the last year, two major cases; Miller v. Louisiana (2005) and Bowen v. Oregon (2007) have been decided in controversy. This has re-established the question of Louisiana and Oregons constitutionality and fairness in respect to the defendants Sixth Amendment rights. In May 2009 Corey C-Murder Miller was convicted of 2nd degree murder by a 10 to 2 jury decision and in August sentenced to a mandatory life imprisonment with no possibility of parole in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In Millers case, initially three jurors believed he was not guilty but one changed her vote (C.J. Lin, 2009). Ms. Jacob was the deciding vote and stated in a newspaper interview that, she does not feel that the prosecutors proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt. But she said she voted once to convict Miller just to end deliberations because of the brutal pressure applied by some jurors on another juror who thought the rapper was innocent (C.J. Lin, 2009). Louisiana declined to rehear the case on the groun ds brought by the NAACP President. In October 2009, the United State Supreme Court announced they would not hear the case of an Oregon man Scott Davis Bowen sentenced to 17 years, who was convicted of sexual abuse, sodomy and rape of his 15-year old stepdaughter by a split jury, which put an end to the issue of non-unanimity to the higher state court until another case is brought forward (Green, 2009). History of Jury Trials The Supreme Court originally held that the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial indicated a right to trial that was based on Englands common law when the Constitution was adopted in 1787. Therefore, juries had to be composed of twelve persons and that the verdict had to be unanimous. When the Fourteenth Amendment was established the Supreme Court extended the right to trial by jury to defendants in state courts. The number of jurors was re-examined and it was held that twelve came to be the number of jurors by historical accident, and that six jurors would be sufficient but anything less than six would deprive the defendant the right of a fair and impartial jury. On the basis of history and precedent the Sixth Amendment mandates unanimity in federal jury trials, however, but the Supreme Court has ruled that the Fourteenth Amendments Due Process Clause requires states to provide jury trials for serious crimes but the Fourteenth Amendment does not incorporate all the elements of a jur y trial within the meaning of the Sixth Amendment in which jury unanimity is not required. Statement of Problem This research paper will examine the constitutionality and impartiality of Oregon and Louisianas statues on Non-Unanimous Jury Verdicts. Criminal convictions based on non-unanimous verdicts are at risk of increasing and providing harsher punishment that is given without reconsideration. The thoroughness of jury deliberation is questionable because of the lack of interest in being a juror to a time consuming case, as well as the decrease in hung juries in the states court system which eliminates the chances of retrials to introduce newly found evidence or to re-examine original evidence. Unanimity ensures the value of each individual juror and preserves the jurys independence from the courts influences as well as affirms the reasonable doubt standard. Research Questions Are unanimous jury verdicts a violation of criminal defendants Sixth Amendment rights? What are the effects of Louisiana and Oregons statues on the conviction rate of violent crimes (Murder, Forcible Rape and Armed Robbery)? What impact do Louisiana and Oregon statues have on clearance rate compared to the surrounding states? For the purpose of this research, the following terms have been defined for a clearer understanding of the authors points and suggestions. Key Terms Sixth Amendment: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense (Constitution, 1791). Fourteenth Amendment: No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protections of laws (Constitution, 1868). Unanimous: of one mind; in complete agreement; agreed (Unanimous, 2010). Non-Unanimous: unable to reach an agreement with majority and minority groups. Murder: the unlawful killing and intentional killing of a human being; in some instances the killing of another while in the commission or attempted commission of another crime (Falcone, 2005). Forcible Rape: The aggravated form of rape, where sexual intercourse with a female is gained by the use of force or threatened use of force, generally with a weapon of some sort (Falcone, 2005). Armed Robbery: the direct taking of property (including money) from a person (victim) through force, threat or intimidation, Armed robbery involves the use of a gun or other weapon which can do bodily harm (Falcone, 2005). Clearance: Any instance where a known Uniform Crime Report violation is cleared to the satisfaction of the police or other law enforcement agency (Falcone, 2005). Literature Review Supreme Court Decisions Williams v. Florida 1970 Question: Did a trial by jury of less than 12 persons violate the Sixth Amendment? The Court held that the 12-man jury requirement cannot be regarded as an indispensable component of the Sixth Amendment (Williams v. Florida, 1970). The Court found that the purpose of the jury trial was to prevent oppression by the Government (Williams v. Florida, 1970), and that the performance of this role was not dependent on the particular number of people on the jury. The Court concluded that the fact that the jury at common law was composed of precisely 12 is a historical accident, unnecessary to affect the purposes of the jury system and wholly without significance except to mystics (Williams v. Florida, 1970). Decision: 6 votes for Florida, 2 votes against Apodaca v. Oregon 1972 Question: Is a defendants right to trial by jury in a criminal case in a state court (as protected by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments) violated if the accused is convicted by a less-than-unanimous jury? The Court held that the most important function of the jury is to provide commonsense judgment (Apodaca v. Oregon, 1972) in evaluating the respective arguments of accused and accuser. Requiring unanimity would not necessarily contribute to this function (Apodaca v. Oregon, 1972). Decision: 5 votes for Oregon, 4 votes against Johnson v. Louisiana 1972 Question: Do less-than-unanimous jury verdicts in certain cases violate the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment? The Court held that less-than-unanimous convictions did not violate the reasonable doubt standard embodied in the Fourteenth Amendments Due Process Clause. Justice White argued, that a minority opposing conviction does not prevent the other jurors from reaching their decisions beyond a reasonable doubt (Johnson v. Louisiana, 1972). Furthermore, the presence of dissenting jurors does not indicate that the state failed to uphold this standard. Finally, allowing less-than-unanimous decisions in certain cases serves a rational state purpose, not offensive to the Constitution (Johnson v. Louisiana, 1972). Decision: 5 votes for Louisiana, 4 votes against In Favor of Unanimity Oregons Measure 72 to Bring Balance to the Jury Process in Murder Cases Measure 72 does not give new right to victims rather it allows Oregonians to give up their right to be convicted by unanimous juries. Measure 72 is dangerous to the minority communities in Oregon, where innocent defendants would otherwise be saved from conviction by a twelfth juror. This measure is expensive to the state of Oregon and may lead to the early release of criminals. The overcrowded jails will continue to increase with criminals because of the elimination of bail and restricting options like work release and home detention (Oregon, 1999). Bowen v. Oregon Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Oregon Court of Appeals In the case of Scott David Bowen v. State of Oregon (2007), those in favor of the Petitioner Bowen, believes unanimity promotes robust jury deliberations. When unanimity is required, juries are opted to utilize their time more efficiently before coming to a verdict. When unanimity is not required jurors tend to end their deliberations soon after the required majority was reached. Robust deliberations provide an opportunity for those in the minority to persuade their fellow jurors to change their opinions. It allows nonconformist to point out the fine distinction that leads to a consensus that the defendant is not guilty, or that a lesser included charge is more appropriate, after a thorough consideration of the evidence (Scott David Bowen v. State of Oregon: On Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Oregon Court of Appeals, 2009). The National State Courts provided questionnaires from approximately 3,500 jurors of information on the jurys first ballots and final verdicts. Over 10 percent of the cases, jurors who favored a minority position at the same time of the first ballot were able to convince the majority jurors to adopt the minoritys favored verdict. The felony juries in those cases in which only one or two jurors were the minority on the first ballot, only 2.9% ended with a hung jury. In the 83%, if the cases in which hung juries did occur, the minority position was initially supported by at least three jurors (Scott David Bowen v. State of Oregon: On Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Oregon Court of Appeals, 2009). Preserving the Value of Unanimous Criminal Jury Verdicts in Anti-Deadlock Instructions Hung juries are a very important element to the jury system especially in states such as Louisiana and Oregon who do not require an unanimous verdict. A hung jury is a social and monetary cost to the court system, to the affected parties and, on a larger scale, to the community. The partiality for unanimous jury exists in need of avoiding coercing jurors to comply with a verdict with which they do not agree. If there is no unity the trial will end without a verdict. If the judge pushes the jurors too hard to come to an agreement, any resulting verdict must be reversed. The unanimity requirement is an important part of the jury process: 1. It empowers each jurors vote with individual meaning. Each juror has a voice, the discussions are often more vigorous and in-depth, and the results usually represents the voice of each person in the room (BoveIII, 2008). 2. Requiring unanimity reinforces the symbolic legitimacy that attaches to a jury of the defendants peers (BoveIII, 2008). Justice, Democracy and the Jury The trial process is perceived as being consistent with democratic ideals and expressions of the communitys voice. These general perceptions of the process are improved by the unanimity requirements impact on deliberations. Beyond the pursuit of justice, juries provide individuals with an opportunity to engage in participatory democracy to a greater extent than in other areas of civic life (Gobert, 1998). When Democracy is Not Self-Government: Toward a Defense of the Unanimity Rule for Criminal Juries Jury service requires people from all walks of life to gather together and decide the fate of another member of their own community. Unlike the decentralized legislative process or national electoral campaigns, jurors sit on the front line of their decision and debate with each other directly (Primus, 1997). Jury in Spector Murder case tells Judge it is Deadlocked Phil Spector was accused of killing actress Lana Clarkson in 2003. After deliberating for seven days, the jury indicated that it was deadlocked; noting that the split was 7 votes to 5 without revealing which side had the majority. The jury indicated the disagreement was on the meaning of reasonable doubt and confusion on how to weigh evidence and interpret the instructions for second-degree murder. In the end, the judge simply re-read most of the instructions, and removed the language he said misstated the law, and added additional instructions on what constitute reasonable doubt. After another week of deliberation, the judge declared a mistrial due to the deadlock. Jury indicated two holdouts prevented the convictions. The major problems with how the decision came about were: The jury is likely to put great emphasis on everything that the judge says or asks (Archibold, 2007). Altering the jury instructions which suggested to the jury that the court preferred some type of conviction in the case even if its on a different charge rather than a mistrial (Archibold, 2007). Not in Favor of Unanimity Oregons Measure 72 to Bring Balance to the Jury Process in Murder Cases The Oregonians concurred that the ability of the jury to acquit or convict a person for any crime except Murder or Aggravated Murder by a vote of 10 to 2 has worked well with their court system. Since the 1930s Oregonians have understood that one juror, who has discriminatory or pre-determined ideas, would never convict or acquit anyone regardless of the statue or evidence provided should not be allowed to determine justice. In relevance to this measure is the case of Andrew Whitaker, a 16 year old boy who admitted purposely murdering a 12 year old girl was luckily given the sentence of Second-Degree Manslaughter in order to avoid the case resulting in a hung jury. Whitaker served a 28 month sentence because one of the jurors refused to vote for murder because her son had been involved in a traffic accident involving a child (Oregon, 1999). Letting the Supermajority Rule: Non- unanimous jury verdicts in criminal trials The jury represents the people standing between a possibly oppressive government and the lonely, accused individual (Glasser, 1997). Statistics show that hung juries can lead to a mistrial in 5 to 12 percent of the more than 200,000 felony criminal jury trials that occur in the United States each year (Glasser, 1997). Reducing the frequency of hung juries without sacrificing justice should be a priority to increase the efficiency of the criminal justice system. Majority-rule juries render a verdict more quickly and tend to adopt a verdict-driven deliberation style, which jurors vote early and conduct discussion in an adversarial manner, rather evidence-driven style, in which jurors first discuss the evidence as one group and vote later. The majority-rule juries generally vote sooner than unanimity rules juries (Glasser, 1997). Why non-unanimous jury verdicts are Constitutional in criminal cases Schwartz state that unanimity in criminal jury verdicts are not worth preserving and would rather have majority verdicts given by jurors who are strongly encouraged to stick to their principles. The elimination of the unanimity rule would also eliminate the use of peremptory challenges. Both eliminations would create more fully deliberative juries because the jury would better represent a fair cross section of the community and more voices will be heard (Schwartz, 2009). Case Study Are Hung Juries a Problem Hannaford-Agor, Hans, Mott and Munsterman (2002) did a four year study under a grant from the National Institute of Justice, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) on juror deadlock. Methodology Broad-based survey of federal and state courts to document hung jury rates The project team selected four courts for an in-depth jurisdictional study on nearly 400 felony trials. Using surveys of judges, attorneys, and jurors, the NCSC examined case characteristics, interpersonal dynamics during jury deliberations, and juror demographics and attitudes and compared these traits in cases in which the jury reached a verdict to cases in which the jury deadlocked on one or more charges. A case study of 46 deadlocked cases from the in-depth jurisdictional study to develop classification of reasons for jury deadlock Data Collection Surveyors Responses Judges 90% Lawyers 88% Jurors 80% From approximately 100 non-capital felony jury trials in each of the sites between June 2000 and August 2001. The final dataset consisted of a total 382 cases, with which 13 percent of the cases hung on one or more charges. Findings The average hung jury rate was 6.2% only slightly higher than the 5.5% reported by Kalven and Zeisel in 1966, but with a great deal of variation ranging from 0.1% in Pierce County, Washington to 14.8% in Los Angeles County, California in which both states are immediately surrounding Oregon: a non-unanimous state. The proposal was to eliminate the requirement of all jurors to decide unanimously on a verdict reduces hung jury rates, but the limitation was the author ignored addressing why one or two individuals refused to comply with the majority. Twenty percent of jurors admitted that they did not begin to form an opinion about the evidence until they collaborated with the other jurors and one-quarter changed their minds about their first decision preferences because of deliberation. Conclusion The findings was juries that hung reported more trouble remembering the evidence and law, less thorough discussions of the evidence during deliberations, more conflict among the jurors and more domination by one or two jurors and a larger presence of unreasonable people on the jury. Hung jurors were also considerably less satisfied with the deliberation process than verdict jurors (Hannaford-Agor, Hans, Mott, Munsterman, 2002). Case Study- On the Frequency of Non-Unanimous Felony Verdicts in Oregon The Oregon Public Defense Services (OPDS) embark on the task to collect and analyze quantifiable data relating to the regularity of non-unanimous verdicts. Methodology Data was collected from the Oregon Judicial Information Network (OJIN) Calendar Year Felony jury trials that reached the verdict stage 2007 833 2008 588 Total 1421 Calendar Year Indigent Appeal Request 2007 320 2008 342 Total 662 (out of 1421) The 662 appeals represented 46.5% of all felony jury trials, which was divided into three groups and was classified by jury verdict form, the judgment and transcript recordation of the polling of the jury. Unanimous jury verdict Non-Unanimous jury verdict Unclear from records Findings 65.5% of all cases included a non-unanimous verdict on at least one count. 27 out of 833 felony jury trials in Oregon for 2007 resulted in a hung jury, yielding a hung jury rate of 3.2%. 15 out of the 588 felony jury trials Oregon for 2008 resulted in a hung jury, yielding a hung jury rate of 2.5%. Conclusion The data indicated that non-unanimous juries occur with great frequency in felony trials throughout the state. If we were to assume that all in the unknown cases, where polling was not conducted, and unanimity was the result, non-unanimity would still be present in over 40% of all felony jury verdicts. Oregon juries are frequently utilizing the non-unanimous option (Office of Public Defense Services, Apellate Divison, 2009). Too frequently, however, juries acquit deliberately guilty defendants, convict obviously guilty defendants of much lesser offenses, fail to deliberate sufficiently, or fail to reach a verdict in cases with overwhelming evidence. Methodology The data for this research were obtained through policy analysis such as precedent cases and constitutional laws from legal briefs. Quantitative data was constructed into charts to show arrest rates for murder, forcible rape and armed robbery in the year of 2007 and 2008. The charts also represent the clearance rate of those particular offenses and the percent change from 2007 to 2008. Additional states were included into the charts with Louisiana and Oregon to see if there is a difference in arrest rates and clearance rate in the immediately surrounding states. All quantitative data was collected from the Federal Bureau of Investigations Uniform Crime Report. Various case studies and professional opinions were collected through scholarly Criminal Justice and Law journal articles. The data begins from 1997 to 2009 because election time was approaching and this issue has been repeatedly trying to be amended to reverse the non-unanimity rule in Louisiana and Oregon. Data The following charts represent the arrest rates for violent crimes (Murder, Forcible Rape and Armed Robbery) in Louisiana and Oregon; non-unanimous states and the immediate four surrounding state that require unanimity. Each given number was computed to show the percentages. Federal Bureau of Investigations Uniform Crime Report Arrest Rates 2007 MURDER FORCIBLE RAPE ARMED ROBBERY TOTAL VIOLENT CRIMES Louisiana Non-Unanimous 242 (3.0%) 324 (4.0%) 1,119 (14.0%) 8,014 Mississippi Unanimous 83 (4.6%) 135 (7.5%) 545 (30.5%) 1,789 Arkansas Unanimous 60 (2.0%) 143 (4.9%) 416 (14.2%) 2,937 Texas Unanimous 759 (2.3%) 1,947 (5.8%) 7,593 (23.0%) 33,309 Oklahoma Unanimous 183 (3.2%) 319 (5.6%) 793 (14.0%) 5,665 Oregon Non-Unanimous 82 (1.67%) 294 (6.0%) 1,173 (23.8%) 4,938 Washington Unanimous 115 (1.5%) 770 (10.1%) 1,915 (25.1%) 7,616 Nevada Unanimous 151 (2.7%) 186 (3.3%) 1,739 (31.1%) 5,595 Idaho Unanimous 33 (2.3%) 114 (7.8%) 74 (5.1%) 1,457 California Unanimous 2,022 (1.6%) 2,141 (1.7%) 21,064 (17.0%) 124,293 *Includes arrest rates for all ages (18 and younger and 19 and older) *Percentages are rounded up to the next factor *Violent crimes are offenses of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Source: Adapted by United States Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigations, September 2009. Federal Bureau of Investigations Uniform Crime Report Arrest Rates 2008 MURDER FORCIBLE RAPE ARMED ROBBERY TOTAL VIOLENT CRIMES Louisiana Non-Unanimous 183 (2.0%) 238 (2.6%) 1,035 (11.2%) 9,236 Mississippi Unanimous 135 (6.9%) 165 (8.5%) 572 (29.4%) 1,946 Arkansas Unanimous 118 (2.5%) 194 (4.1%) 623 (13.1%) 4,749 Texas Unanimous 863 (2.5%) 2,034 (5.9%) 8,199 (23.9%) 34,235 Oklahoma Unanimous 160 (2.7%) 316 (5.3%) 831 (14.0%) 5,956 Oregon Non-Unanimous 95 (2.0%) 276 (5.7%) 1,187 (24.5%) 4,844 Washington Unanimous 104 (1.5%) 675 (9.7%) 1,637 (23.6%) 6,943 Nevada Unanimous 11 (.17%) 31 (.48%) 369 (56.2%) 6,516 Idaho Unanimous 14 (.98%) 102 (7.2%) 97 (6.8%) 1,425 California Unanimous 1,850(1.48%) 2,088 (1.67%) 22,391(17.9%) 125,235 *Includes arrest rates for all ages (18 and younger and 19 and older) *Percentages are rounded up to the next factor *Violent crimes are offenses of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Source: Adapted by United States Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigations, September 2009. The following charts represent the clearance rates for violent crimes (Murder, Forcible Rape and Armed Robbery) in Louisiana and Oregon; non-unanimous states and the immediate four surrounding state that require unanimity. Federal Bureau of Investigations Uniform Crime Report Clearance Rate 2007 MURDER FORCIBLE RAPE ARMED ROBBERY Louisiana Non-Unanimous 14.2 32.4 141.7 Mississippi Unanimous 7.1 35.6 98.2 Arkansas Unanimous 6.7 44.7 106.7 Texas Unanimous 5.9 35.3 162.2 Oklahoma Unanimous 6.1 43.1 93.2 Oregon Non-Unanimous 1.9 33.5 76.4 Washington Unanimous 2.7 40.6 93.6 Nevada Unanimous 7.5 42.7 270.2 Idaho Unanimous 3.3 38.5 15.5 California Unanimous 5.8 24.2 188.8 *Per 100,000 persons *Populations are U.S. Census Bureau provisional estimates as of July 1, 2008 and July 1, 2007 Source: Adapted by United States Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigations, September 2009. Federal Bureau of Investigations Uniform Crime Report Clearance Rate 2008 MURDER FORCIBLE RAPE ARMED ROBBERY Oregon Non-Unanimous 2.2 30.5 69.7 Washington Unanimous 2.9 40.1 96.9 Nevada Unanimous 6.3 42.4 248.9 Idaho Unanimous 1.5 36.2 15.8 California Unanimous 5.8 24.2 188.8 Louisiana Non-Unanimous 11.9 27.9 135.9 Mississippi Unanimous 8.1 30.3 102.6 Arkansas Unanimous 5.7 44.8 95.8 Texas Unanimous 5.6 32.9 155.2 Oklahoma Unanimous 5.8 40.2 101.1 *Per 100,000 persons *Populations are U.S. Census Bureau provisional estimates as of July 1, 2008 and July 1, 2007 Source: Adapted by United States Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigations, September 2009. Federal Bureau of Investigations Uniform Crime Report Percent Change from 2007 to 2008 Clearance Rate MURDER FORCIBLE RAPE ARMED ROBBERY Louisiana Non-Unanimous -15.6 -13.9 -4.1 Mississippi Unanimous +13.2 -15.0 +4.5 Arkansas Unanimous -15.8 +9.2 -10.2 Texas Unanimous -4.9 -6.7 -4.3 Oklahoma Unanimous -5.2 -6.6 +8.4 Oregon Non-Unanimous +11.1 -8.9 -8.8 Washington Unanimous +9.6 -1.3 +3.6 Nevada Unanimous -16.2 -.08 -7.9 Idaho Unanimous -53.8 -6.2 +1.8 California Unanimous -5.7 -1.8 -2.2 *Per 100,000 persons *Populations are U.S. Census Bureau provisional estimates as of July 1, 2008 and July 1, 2007 Source: Adapted by United States Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigations, September 2009. Findings The following charts represent the averages of the data collected in percentages. Comparison of 2007 and 2008 Arrest and Clearance Rates **All averages were rounded to the nearest tenths. Arrest and Clearance in 2007 and 2008 were fairly even within each state with the exception of Idaho. Idaho is the only state that shows a true decrease in arrest from 2007 to 2008 with a trending increase in clearance. The Percent Change in Clearance Rate between 2007 and 2008 Idaho had a major decrease in clearance rate which is a unanimous state and Oregon a non-unanimous state had the least decrease in clearance rate Comparison of 2007 and 2008 Arrest and Clearance Rates **All averages were rounded to the nearest tenths. Louisiana and Arkansas has a small decrease in arrest rates from 2007 and 2008 but also has a decrease in clearance rate from 2007 to 2008. Overall there are no major differences from 2007 to 2008 in Arrest and Clearance. The Percent Change in Clearance Rate between 2007 and 2008 Majority of the states had a decrease in clearance from the year of 2007 to 2008 meaning more defendants were being convicted of criminal charges. Mississippi had a minor increase in defendants not being convicted from 2007 to 2008. Overall, Louisiana had the highest decrease, which shows approximately 20% difference versus the non-unanimity states. Conclusion In conclusion, the relationship between the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendme

Nondiegetic Music Of The Doors In The Scene Waiting In Saigon Essay

Nondiegetic music of the Doors in the scene waiting in Saigon Sound plays a significant part in all movies and one of the most interesting of all the sound techniques would be the use of nondiegetic music. In the movie Apocalypse Now, there is a double disc soundtrack with thirty tracks on it. The one song on there that has the most meaning would The Doors song â€Å"The End†. This song not only set the mood for the scene waiting in Saigon and the move as a whole but is also used to foreshadow the death of Coronal Kurtis. Mr. Coppola, the director of the film, was a genius for picking this song to represent the movie. It not only fits the movie with the sounds of helicopter but the words alone have significant meaning to the movie. Along with it serving as a premise for the movie, Mr. Coppola plays with the viewer’s perception of diegetic sounds and nondiegetic music. The scene as a whole is a montage of overlapping dissolve sequence. It is set in Saigon but is more of a delusional state of mind of Willard, the main character. We get a sense of the upcoming climatic part of the movie through the visions and music of the scene. The opening scene starts out with a diegetic sound of a helicopter passing in front of a jungle. We get the sense that the helicopter sounds that we will be hearing are going to be diegetic until Mr. Coppola brings in The Doors song â€Å"The End†. Which brings the sounds of the helicopter into the music. He uses the helicopter as a set up for the music ensemble that is forth coming. As the electric guitar starts to play a psychedelic tune with the sounds of the synthesized helicopter, you feel like you’re in a somewhat delusional state of mind. As if your mind is being carried away by the music to a dreamlike place. The dirt in the scene is doing some mysterious dance to the beat making the jungle in the backg round seem somewhat fuzzy and dreamlike. The first minute of the song is used to set the viewers for the montages sequence that is coming up next in the scene. Its purpose is to make us feel delusional and somewhat drugged. The guitar solo and synthesized helicopter sounds then leads us into the world and mind of the main character, captain Willard. As the sequence moves along you hear the voice of Jim Morrison sing, â€Å" This is the end Beautiful friend This is the end My only friend, the end,† to the flaming sights of war are seen at th... ...es start off with the digetic sound of a helicopter, which is then used to lead into the nondiegetic sound of a synthesized helicopter within the song. As the scene moves along about two minutes into the scene we come to see the blades of a ceiling fan whirling around. This is where the helicopter sounds in the music change back into the diegetic sound of the whirling ceiling fan blades. The second motif is that the song reoccurs again about two hours into the movie. This is the scene where Willard is killing Kurtz and the caribou is being sacrificed. Which goes back to the function of the song in the beginning, which was to foreshadow the death or â€Å"The End† of Kurtz death. Thus the nondiegetic use of music is indeed a very useful technique in the scene waiting in Saigon. The Doors song, â€Å"The End,† not only is used to foreshow what is going to happen at the end of the movie but is also used to set the mood of the movie. Along with setting the mood, Mr. Coppola plays with the use of diegetic music turning it into nondiegetic music. These are all key functions for using a song in a movie and Mr. Coppola is a genius for choosing â€Å"The End† to play a significant part in Apocalypse Now. Nondiegetic Music Of The Doors In The Scene Waiting In Saigon Essay Nondiegetic music of the Doors in the scene waiting in Saigon Sound plays a significant part in all movies and one of the most interesting of all the sound techniques would be the use of nondiegetic music. In the movie Apocalypse Now, there is a double disc soundtrack with thirty tracks on it. The one song on there that has the most meaning would The Doors song â€Å"The End†. This song not only set the mood for the scene waiting in Saigon and the move as a whole but is also used to foreshadow the death of Coronal Kurtis. Mr. Coppola, the director of the film, was a genius for picking this song to represent the movie. It not only fits the movie with the sounds of helicopter but the words alone have significant meaning to the movie. Along with it serving as a premise for the movie, Mr. Coppola plays with the viewer’s perception of diegetic sounds and nondiegetic music. The scene as a whole is a montage of overlapping dissolve sequence. It is set in Saigon but is more of a delusional state of mind of Willard, the main character. We get a sense of the upcoming climatic part of the movie through the visions and music of the scene. The opening scene starts out with a diegetic sound of a helicopter passing in front of a jungle. We get the sense that the helicopter sounds that we will be hearing are going to be diegetic until Mr. Coppola brings in The Doors song â€Å"The End†. Which brings the sounds of the helicopter into the music. He uses the helicopter as a set up for the music ensemble that is forth coming. As the electric guitar starts to play a psychedelic tune with the sounds of the synthesized helicopter, you feel like you’re in a somewhat delusional state of mind. As if your mind is being carried away by the music to a dreamlike place. The dirt in the scene is doing some mysterious dance to the beat making the jungle in the backg round seem somewhat fuzzy and dreamlike. The first minute of the song is used to set the viewers for the montages sequence that is coming up next in the scene. Its purpose is to make us feel delusional and somewhat drugged. The guitar solo and synthesized helicopter sounds then leads us into the world and mind of the main character, captain Willard. As the sequence moves along you hear the voice of Jim Morrison sing, â€Å" This is the end Beautiful friend This is the end My only friend, the end,† to the flaming sights of war are seen at th... ...es start off with the digetic sound of a helicopter, which is then used to lead into the nondiegetic sound of a synthesized helicopter within the song. As the scene moves along about two minutes into the scene we come to see the blades of a ceiling fan whirling around. This is where the helicopter sounds in the music change back into the diegetic sound of the whirling ceiling fan blades. The second motif is that the song reoccurs again about two hours into the movie. This is the scene where Willard is killing Kurtz and the caribou is being sacrificed. Which goes back to the function of the song in the beginning, which was to foreshadow the death or â€Å"The End† of Kurtz death. Thus the nondiegetic use of music is indeed a very useful technique in the scene waiting in Saigon. The Doors song, â€Å"The End,† not only is used to foreshow what is going to happen at the end of the movie but is also used to set the mood of the movie. Along with setting the mood, Mr. Coppola plays with the use of diegetic music turning it into nondiegetic music. These are all key functions for using a song in a movie and Mr. Coppola is a genius for choosing â€Å"The End† to play a significant part in Apocalypse Now.

Figuring Fixed Costs Essay

10.1 The highest number of meals served was 4,900 in December, with the lowest of meals being 3,500 in July making a difference of 1,400 of meals served, between the two months. The cost per meal variable is 1400à ·$5500.00 for a total of $3.93 (WHDM’s) fixed cost is computed as follows $20,500.00-(3,500*$3.93) =$6,745.00 According to the following â€Å"formula: PX=A+Bx 5.77x=$6,745+$3.93† 5.77-$3.93=$6,745+ ($3.93-$3.93) 1.84x=$6,745 1.84x*1.84x=$6,745*1.84x â€Å"X=3,666 Monthly BEP 3,666*12= 43,992 BEP for the fiscal year† (Oppapers.com, 2012), for the Westchester Home- Service Meal Delivery program, since the program received 45,000 meals to serve and only needed 43,992 of them their profit is going to come from selling the other 1008 meals at a $1.84 per meal making a profit of $1,854.72. 10.2 NRCC and Its BEP Annual revenue = $20.00 per subscription Annual variable rise for â€Å"making and mailing six bimonthly issues has risen 4.50 â€Å"(Martin, L., 2001) (NRCC) annual fixed cost is 6,000 + 3,900 = 9,900 Per subscription (NRCC’s) annual margin would be 20-4.5 for a total of 15.5 Making their BEP as follows 9,900/15.5 equaling 639 PX = A+Bx 20x=6,000+3,900+4.50x 20x=9,900+4.50x 20x-4.50x=9,900+ (4.50x-4.50x) 15.5x=9,900 15.5x/15.5x=9,900/15.5x X=639 No way is this feasible, because there are two staff members, who are all ready at the maxim capacity of 650, leaving no capacity for any kind of slack. References: Martin, L. (2001). Financial Management for Human Services Administrators. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon http://www.oppapers.com, 2012 http://www.studymode.com,2013 University of Phoenix. (2001). Financial Management for Human Service Administrator. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, HSM 260 website.

Fifty Shades of Grey Book Review Essay Sample

Fifty Shades of Grey Book Review Essay Sample Fifty Shades of Grey Book Review Essay Example Fifty Shades of Grey Book Review Essay Example Fifty Shades of Grey is an interesting and yet controversial book that presents the case of human sexuality in a way that most consider as shocking. Depending on how open-minded one is, this book can be either enlightening or rather too revealing. It is about a young woman who falls in love with a rather ‘different’ man who seems to have issues with his sexuality. The book narrates a number of scenes in which the two lovebirds are at conflict with the concept of gender roles in the realm of sex and relationships. As a work of fiction, the book allows numerous considerations with respect to what people want or at least what they think they want as far as their sex lives are concerned. There may be a number of books that present an insight into the sexuality debate, but none of them can claim to be as thorough as Fifty Shades of Grey in the way it covers the subject as its secondary theme. Initially, with all the negative reviews that the book was getting, it could have be en presumed that the book is all about sex. However, after reading the book, I realized there is more there than just sex. The author may have subconsciously decided to address the subject of sexuality and gender roles, along with power and its manifestations in one’s life. I had previously considered significance of one’s sexuality as a channel that revealed one’s personality, but I have also learnt from this book that there is a very limited scope for determinism in one’s sexuality. Christian Grey may have been ‘damaged’ as a teenager, but he ends up ‘loosening up’ a bit when he falls in love with Anastasia Steele. The significance of this is that sexuality is influenced in its formation and redefinition in one’s personality. In this paper, I have discussed how various chapters in the textbook correlate with facts and ideas from the book Fifty Shades of Grey. The Most Relevant Connection between the Book That I Chose and Our Course Learning about human sexuality is all about developing an understanding of how the concept of sexuality works. This entails examining human needs, thoughts, values, fantasies, desires, and responses within sexual contexts and with relevance to their life as a whole. It is all about understanding influences and consequences of sexuality from a physical, biological, and psychological context (Yarber, Sayad, Strong, 2012). The key factor here rests with uniqueness that each individual is considered to possess. As such, human sexuality as a course creates awareness of one’s individuality when it comes to understanding and acknowledging sexuality. In the book, Giddens and Sutton (2013) present a case of two people who were introduced to a new kind of sexuality with one having the strength to question it, while the other seems to have been willing to embrace it fully. The primary theme in this book is power or will. Christian Grey becomes engrossed in his BDSM lifestyle after being introduced to it by an older woman and at a younger age. He then introduces Anastasia Steele who at the time is much older than he had been when he was introduced. There are two ways of looking at this story. One may see Christian Grey as an abusive lover who uses his position of power and feelings that young Anastasia has for him to twist her and misuse her as a woman. The pain and pleasure combination that he is attracted to is not in any way acceptable from this viewpoint and can thus be construed as abusive and debasing for the woman in the picture. Another way of looking at this is as a context between two consenting adults. Anastasia Steele knows what she wants in a man and she is ready to get it except that it is not nearly half as painful as Christian is offering her. Throughout the story, there is an underlying battle of the sexes and those who believe in the inequality that is affirmative action will expect Anastasia to be the one conceding and fully embracing the BDSM lifestyle in order to be with Christian Grey. The truth is however not so simple. Women in this case are presented as stronger and more willful (Yarber et al., 2012). The author here allows a comparison between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele with regards to their response to BDSM. Whatever reasons the Christian Grey may have had for adapting to the lifestyle and only changing his role from a submissive to a dominant, Anastasia does not seem to have similar intentions. She tries to be his submissive, but in the end she bails out and leaves him despite how much she thinks she loves him. This relationship in its entirety is about power and that Christian Grey holds all the aces from the start may not really mean that he is the only one with the strong will. After reading Fifty Shades of Grey, one may realize that sexuality and power are very much connected. This course is all about taking control of your sexuality, being able to determine what you want and what makes you uncomfortable, and understanding what a healthy relationship is all about. For most people, knowing what they want is perhaps the hardest part of being in a relationship. This book has helped me understand that while there may be room for making mistakes and learning from experience, knowing what you want implies that in the end you will make the right choice. In Fifty Shades of Grey, Anastasia Steele is able to make the right choice and leave when she feels uncomfortable. The Next Most Relevant Connection between the Book That I Chose and Our Course Contrary to a popular belief, gender roles and gender equality are secondary themes in this book. The author does not really dwell on gender roles and gender equality as much as she does on power and sexuality. This means that the reader is expected to understand that gender and equality are a part of their sexuality, but they are not really as significant as individuality and their ability to make their own choices. This is what makes gender equality and gender roles secondary themes in Fifty Shades of Grey. Gender roles are basically expectations placed on people by the society based on their gender or more specifically their sex. In most cases, women are expected to be nurturing, generally tender, and caring, while men are domineering and basically in control at all times (Yarber et al., 2012). The basic perception with the increasing cultural shift and consuming feminist mindset is that women can also be domineering and in control and that they actually enjoy this more than being submissive. This is however a rather misguided perception that is fully embedded in limited ideologies of ‘feminism’ that is devoid of femininity. Within Human Sexuality as a course, there is an emphasis on the need to embrace individuality over feminism and in her own rather ‘sick’ way E. L. James is able to bring this forth in a satirical way. Most people would argue that Fifty Shades of Grey is just a book about sex or power as I would put it. However, the kind of debate that this book starts in the readers’ mind or even that it did in the media soon after its release states otherwise. The big question here is whether under ordinary circumstances Anastasia Steele would have even contemplated getting into the relationship knowing that there were so many rules and so many dangers all in the name of Christian Grey’s sexual gratification. The ideal argument here would be that agreeing to submit to his perversions, she was actually taking control of her own sexuality. She found his demands rather outrageous, but she was willing to try them out and see if she actually enjoyed herself in the process. The preset concept of gender roles here would limit the young woman from even attempting to engage in Christian Grey’s lifestyle. She would be very restricted in her role as a woman and anything that seemingly w ent beyond the societal definition of a norm would strike her as unfathomable. Here, however, she is past these restrictions and, thus, she is able to try out new and ‘unthinkable’ things in search of her own sexual freedom. This book is not really about who gives in to whom, but rather who is able to understand their sexuality and thus take control of it. Anastasia Steele is portrayed as a strong woman with full understanding of her body and her needs and this explains why she ends up leaving an otherwise perfect ‘gentleman’ when she feels exceedingly violated. There is also some relevance to gender equality when learning about human sexuality. The top debate when looking at the themes in the Fifty Shades of Grey book includes superiority that Christian Grey seems to have over Anastasia Steele. It may be appreciated that right from the start the young woman is seemingly under his spell and, thus, he holds some unfair advantage over her. In the course of the book, however, it becomes clear that Anastasia Steele is also fully aware of her own needs and is thus trying to negotiate her spot in the relationship. She is able to cross so many of Christian Grey’s ‘lines’ in terms of making him do things that she wants instead of consistently ‘aiming to please’ him. Here, I learn that sexuality is mainly about what I am comfortable about as an individual. Both people in this story were trying to accommodate each other’s needs, while also being honest about what they wanted. Christian Grey, with all his twisted ideas on sex and satisfaction, was only able to ask for that kind of relationship because he felt confident in his position as a man. It is not because he felt like he deserved it, but rather because he was comfortable enough to ask that Anastasia was willing to try with him. Gender equality within this book and thence within the course on human sexuality is thus a concept that requires either party to be confident in their stating needs and asking to be sated provided they do not endanger one’s life (Yarber et al., 2012). It can be noted that Christian was at all times careful not to put Ana’s life at risk, physically or otherwise, as was Ana in terms of Christian’s feelings. The mutual concern that these two h ad for each other is a justifying leverage for their experiments in the relationship. The Science behind the Primary Themes in the Book That I Chose Sociology by Anthony Giddens and Philip Sutton presents the connection between sexuality and power very vividly. The authors here argue that, as a social construct, gender often affects one’s perception of their sexuality (Giddens Sutton, 2013). Most women are thus mould to become passive and rather submissive in the context of their sexuality, not to ask questions or examine their own needs and desires, but rather to do what they are ‘needed’ to do by their partners. In a patriarchal society, this is largely acceptable as a norm and it can be expected that feminists of this world would come up in arms if this expectation is to be spoken aloud. The greatest problem with feminism is the reductionist basis with which it approaches such sensitive matters (Giddens Sutton, 2013). If one looks at the women’s submissiveness from a modern day perspective with the media reviews on how many women read this text and actually enjoyed it, one may notice that the conce pt of letting the man take charge is rather pleasing to modern day women. The only appealing and rather erotic factor in this book is the way Christian Grey commits himself and is willing to take care of Anastasia Steele for as long as she is ‘his’. Power here has two definitions. Christian Grey is powerful because, as the dominant in the BDSM context, he holds all the aces and thus controls the direction of the relationship. Anastasia Steele is however also powerful here because she is able to break the rules every now and then to get Christian Grey to go out of his way, do things that he never considered himself capable of doing, and to generally love her enough to want to change his intensity as a masochist of some sort. The authors of this study argue about sexuality and power from the viewpoint of feminism and their many disparities in terms of how they perceive sex (Giddens Sutton, 2013). Feminists mostly focus on the exclusion of women from positions of wealth and power, but they fail to recognize that a woman’s sexuality could also be a point of exclusion. When people were busy criticizing E. L. James for writing a book in which a woman submits to a man, real feminists should have been busy lauding her for breaking the stereotype idea and allowing the woman to just let go and be loved. The truth here is that while the man feels powerful when he is in control, the woman is likely to feel mo re powerful when she lets go of that control and is able to trust someone else to take the lead. This is probably because of the feminist waves that got women so bent on taking the reins that they forgot how to actually sit back and relax. Social Psychology and Human Sexuality: Essential Readings by Roy F. Baumeister argues that the need for a man to feel more powerful than a woman may drive them to get physically violent during a sexual intercourse (Baumeister, 2001). This means that they find their sexuality to be a tool with which they can validate their position as men in a society that may have otherwise ripped them off other masculinity. It may be appreciated that men who use physical force in sexual relations are usually deprived in one way or another. Either they were abused as children or they watched someone that they loved being abused, or they are simply living with some form of deficiency or inadequacy (Baumeister, 2001). In this book, I have learnt that circumstances that one is exposed to at a young age may have an impact on sexuality, but if one intends to change, one will find a reason to do so. Christian Grey is in this story able to let go of some of his demands on Anastasia Steele because he considers her as a reason to change, albeit gradually. The fact that he is only able to feel powerful and in control when she is his submissive implies that he at some point had no control over his life. It can also be noted that perhaps the sub/dom situation is therapeutic as a channel for him to release his control issues as opposed to being violent in his interactions with physically or psychologically weaker people. The holding argument here is that one’s sexuality is a great channel for their power needs in terms of their personality. For Anastasia, the power was in trusting Christian despite her trust issues, while for Grey being Ana’s ‘dom’ was enough to keep him sane. Conclusion and My Thoughts and Feelings about the Book When I first read about Fifty Shades of Grey, I imagined that the book was simply a twisted shocker that was not only boring, but also too graphic for anyone’s liking. With some knowledge in sex education, however, I was able to read the book and actually enjoy it. The writing, as often stated in reviews, is rather amateur, but the content is simply enlightening. At first, I was unsure about Anastasia Steele as the protagonist since she seemed so engrossed in the Christian Grey’s world. Nevertheless, as she got to know him and started questioning his actions and desires, she suddenly became very interesting. Initially, I would have considered her a clichà © for falling in love with a rich and powerful man at the first sight. With my understanding of sexuality and its manifestations of one’s personality, I think I can forgive this young woman for wanting what she wanted and respect her for her efforts in trying to remain on the right path. In the end, she leaves the relationship, being hurt, but not broken, considering that she does not end up becoming like Christian Grey. With my understanding of human sexuality, I was also able to read the book and find that it was more about power and gender roles than it was about sex. While the author uses the characters’ sexuality to explore these themes, she is simply trying to express the concept of ‘Fifty Shades of Fucked Up’ as used to describe Christian Grey in the book. Having read the book and studied this course, I believe that all the choices that an individual makes with regards to their sexuality are their own. Determinists may argue against this by stating that Christian Grey was a BDSM enthusiast because of his exposure to the lifestyle at a young age. It can however be noted that, despite numerous years of experience and practice, he is willing and able to let go of all the factors in his lifestyle that make his woman uncomfortable. While he is seen trying to get her to appreciate these pleasures as he does, he is also very sensitive to her situation as a ‘norm’ who is not likely to enjoy processes that take place in the ‘Red Room of Pain’. This book has gotten me thinking of feminism in a new light. Rather than focusing on what women are restricted from doing and experiencing within their respective societies, it may be beneficial to consider things that women are actually allowed or even expected to do and, yet, t hey do not. In this case, I believe Anastasia Steele was expected to refuse Christian Grey’s proposal of the BDSM situation and the fact that she actually allows herself to try it out, if anything to satisfy her own curiosity, is a triumph. Unlike ‘feminists’ out there who contend that the book is demeaning and that it teaches women that being submissive is the right thing to do within a sexual relationship, I believe that this book teaches women to make their own mistakes and learn from them. To me, this is what power is all about: finding what you are comfortable with and embracing it, while discarding whatever you do not enjoy. After all, sexuality is all about personal needs, wants, and expectations with some consideration for the other party as well.

How to explain career gaps in your resume to an employer

How to explain career gaps in your resume to an employer It’s easy to picture your career as one long, unbroken path, from the start of adulthood to the day you retire. You know what’s not so easy? Reality. Life can get in the way of even the best-planned career paths, causing gaps and disruption in your employment history. Maybe you took time off for personal health reasons or to take care of a child or family member. Maybe you got laid off, and it took longer than expected to find a new gig. Maybe, at one point, you decided to go backpacking through Lithuania for a year. Whatever the cause, you’re not alone. And a gap isn’t a dealbreaker- we promise. So let’s look at ways to approach breaks in your work history as you’re looking for a new job. 5 rules to explaining a resume gap1. Be honestLying on a resume is always going to be a huge no-no. (And in these days of easily Googleable personal info, it’s a fast way to self-sabotage.) If you’re trying to spin a work gap, don’t put dates on your resume that don’t exist.What you can do is format your resume so that brief gaps aren’t so glaringly obvious. For example, instead of saying that you worked at X company from March 2014 to February 2018, you can use just the years (2014–2018).2. Be selectiveYour resume doesn’t necessarily need to include every single job you’ve ever held, especially if you’ve already been working for a long time. It’s acceptable to omit jobs (especially far-back ones or jobs that are not super-relevant to the job for which you’re applying now) and focus on the most relevant.3. Be a format rebelThere’s no hard-and-fast rule that your resume needs to follow the oh-so-traditional format of header, opening line/objective, then work experience. Instead, if you’re trying to spin an employment gap, consider using a skills-based resume format, which puts the Skills section front and center before your work history.Remembe r: your resume is a professional narrative, and you control that. If you want to make the story your skills and qualifications rather than the amount of time spent in other jobs, you can make that the focus.4. Be productive during your time awayIf you’re anticipating an upcoming break or you’re still in one as you start to think about what comes next, make sure you’re using your time to stay current on any necessary skills or certifications you’ll need. Keeping your toe in the water can make for a much easier narrative to sell when you’re ready to get back to the full-time grind.5. Be prepared to talk about itHowever you decide to frame the gap in your resume, it may come up in the interview. This shouldn’t be a â€Å"hide your shame† situation. People understand that life throws challenges that require us to make choices or adjustments. Whatever caused the break in your resume, it happened. It’s okay to own that. But do keep in mind that potential employers aren’t allowed to make hiring decisions based on your personal or family status, so you’re not obligated to give details. It’s okay to keep it general.Like with your resume, this is your chance to make the narrative what you want it to be, and emphasize the positive aspects. Emphasize what you learned from the experience, and what makes you ready to pick back up with this new job.If you were fired or laid off: â€Å"I wasn’t expecting things to shake out that way, but it gave me a chance to dig deep into my career goals, build new skills, and refocus my energies.†If you chose to take time off to travel or similar: â€Å"I’d reached a point where I needed to take a breather and re-evaluate my career path. It helped me build my skills and taught me so much about working with people from different cultures and perspectives. And now I’m back with more energy and focus than ever.†If you had health issues: â€Å"I was going through a tough time, and decided to take the time to concentrate on getting better. I’m a stronger person for devoting that time to my recovery, and I’m ready to take on what comes next.†If you were taking care of family: â€Å"I decided to prioritize my family for the past two years. Now I’m in a position to pick up my career and focus on my professional goals. Plus, after juggling this care and other responsibilities, my time management and organizational skills are stronger than ever!†Explaining gaps in your employment history may not be your ideal situation, but it shouldn’t be a source of despair, either. Be positive and make sure you’re emphasizing all the things that make you a great candidate, and you’ll be ready.

Free Essays on Humanities

When I first signed up for Humanities I was under the impression it was mostly like ENC1101. However, when I realized what the course is about than it seemed to be more like a history class mixed with the arts and literature. It really is an insight to ancient cultures and societies, and how they viewed their world at the time. Then the next question that arose was what part of history would we be learning about? It turned out to be the history of when civilizations were first started in the West. I found that to be pretty interesting so I went through the syllabus to find out exactly what topics would hook my attention. The first group that I noticed was the Egyptians. They have always intrigued people with their great architecture of pyramids and tombs. Their technology and intellect must have been far above the other peoples of the time. They created tools that would lead to advances in the new lands. The power that Egypt had at that point in history was amazing. It would be great to know how they fell as a power. The next topic I wanted to learn about Page 2 more was the Hebrews. I am Christian and Jews have always argued Christ being a mortal. So, I want to know exactly why they feel that way. It would give me a better understanding of another huge religion and enlighten me spiritually. The next chapters look like they are going to discuss the great Greek civilization. In my home town there is a group of Greeks that had very strong Greek culture. I always was curious why they were so into it even in the 21st century. I also know that they had many battles for control of European areas. Another thing that I was always a fan of was Greek Mythology. In high school we studies a little of it and it were able to make me want to learn more about it. So, that is another reason why I would like to look further into that section. I found my favorite group of history next. Since I am Italian I have a lo... Free Essays on Humanities Free Essays on Humanities When I first signed up for Humanities I was under the impression it was mostly like ENC1101. However, when I realized what the course is about than it seemed to be more like a history class mixed with the arts and literature. It really is an insight to ancient cultures and societies, and how they viewed their world at the time. Then the next question that arose was what part of history would we be learning about? It turned out to be the history of when civilizations were first started in the West. I found that to be pretty interesting so I went through the syllabus to find out exactly what topics would hook my attention. The first group that I noticed was the Egyptians. They have always intrigued people with their great architecture of pyramids and tombs. Their technology and intellect must have been far above the other peoples of the time. They created tools that would lead to advances in the new lands. The power that Egypt had at that point in history was amazing. It would be great to know how they fell as a power. The next topic I wanted to learn about Page 2 more was the Hebrews. I am Christian and Jews have always argued Christ being a mortal. So, I want to know exactly why they feel that way. It would give me a better understanding of another huge religion and enlighten me spiritually. The next chapters look like they are going to discuss the great Greek civilization. In my home town there is a group of Greeks that had very strong Greek culture. I always was curious why they were so into it even in the 21st century. I also know that they had many battles for control of European areas. Another thing that I was always a fan of was Greek Mythology. In high school we studies a little of it and it were able to make me want to learn more about it. So, that is another reason why I would like to look further into that section. I found my favorite group of history next. Since I am Italian I have a lo...

Abraham Lincoln Biography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Abraham Lincoln Biography - Essay Example He was a president who worked for the people. â€Å"His distinctively human and humane personality and historical role as savior of the Union and emancipator of the slaves creates a legacy that endures†. Lincoln’s greatest contributions were abolition of slavery in America and the formulation of a clear definition of democracy. This paper briefly analyses the life and contributions of Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was born on 18 February 1809 as the second child to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln in Kentucky. His mother died during his childhood which forced him to undertake hard works even during his childhood. As a loyal son, Lincoln had no hesitation to give all his earnings to his father until he became 21 years of age. During his teenage period, he worked in various disciplines such as shopkeeper, postmaster, and a general store owner. Lincoln failed to get proper education during his childhood; however, he was able to self-educate with the help of readin g books from libraries. At age of 22, Lincoln started to concentrate more in politics. His experiences in politics made him aware of the different characteristics of slavery in American social and political life. â€Å"It was around this time he decided to become a lawyer, teaching himself the law by reading Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England†

Chinas Unique International Relations Theory Essay

Chinas Unique International Relations Theory - Essay Example All this has also helped the country to become an independent power in the eyes of the rest of the world with time as well. The foreign or international policy of this country is the policy or theory by way of which it interacts with other nations and also the outlook that it has towards other nations around the world. According to many sources the international theory and policy of China has been said to be ‘highly influential’. The main objectives for the reason for the unique policy that it upholds with pride are to bring about independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Recent Chinese foreign policy makers may be seen to adhere to the realist rather than the liberal school of international relations theory. Thus, in sharp contrast to the Soviet Union and the United States, China has not been given off to advancing any higher international ideological interests such as world communism or world democracy since the Cold War; or in other words, its ideology appe ars to be secondary to advancing its national interest. China is also a vital member of many international organizations; with itself holding key positions like the permanent member on the UN Security Council and is also a leader in many areas such as non-proliferation, peacekeeping and resolving regional conflicts.... nese scholars began to think about theoretical studies of IR, and some of them emphasized the construction of an IR theory with Chinese characteristics. Recent Chinese foreign policy makers may be seen to adhere to the  realist  rather than the  liberal  school of  international relations  theory. Thus, in sharp contrast to the  Soviet Union  and the  United States, China has not been given off to advancing any higher international ideological interests such as world  communism  or world  democracy  since the  Cold War; or in other words, its ideology appears to be secondary to advancing its national interest. China is also a vital member of many  international organizations; with itself holding key positions like the permanent member on the  UN Security Council  and is also a leader in many areas such as  non-proliferation,  peacekeeping  and resolving regional conflicts. Since 1978 the international relations theory in China has developed to a great extent and the entire theory is based on the works of two parallel processes that are simultaneously trying to establish their superiority within the country, the two of them being; (Yaqing, Qin) 1. A tenacious learning process aimed at trying to acquire knowledge and along with it, generation. a) Learning and acquiring knowledge from countries situated in the West like the US, through which the international relations theory has slowly and gradually developed as an independent discipline within the country of China. b) Furthermore as discussed above, the result of this learning has led to the formation of different schools of thought which have given rise to thinking of Realism, Liberalism and Constructivism. c) All these different thought processes have also helped and led to the rise and growth in the national and

The Neo-Realist Understanding of State Conflict Essay

The Neo-Realist Understanding of State Conflict - Essay Example The study will also take the effects of the Cold War, and making of new contracts at regional, continental and global levels, which have introduced new alliances and rivalries among the nation-states. The study is also interested in exploring the causes behind the establishment of new alliances and rivalries, and consequences of the same on the administrations and subjects of the first and third world countries. The paper will also be supported by the classical and realist approaches of international relations in order to elaborate the topic under analysis. Attributed to the contemporary era US theorist and political thinker Kenneth Waltz, neo-realism approach views the modern age of international relations at the age of the growth and development of independent states system at the international stage (Waltz, 1988, p.617). The perspective is of the opinion that after the emergence of several former Asian and African colonies as independent states during 1945-1965, nation-states have turned out to be the most effective and influential actors of international politics (Baldwin, 1993, pp.26-7). As a result, the balance of power is expected to be shifting from the imperialist states to the poor countries as well. Consequently, the recently emerged nation-states would play a vital role, according to the perspective, in respect of the formation of political policies and strategic schemes by keeping in view the interests of the downtrodden masses belonging to the third world countries. In addition, these nation-states will also embark upon the arduous task of maintaining peace and condemning violence had been being practiced by the powerful states since perhaps the known history of the world at large. It is, therefore, neorealist perspective appeared in order to replace the age-old Realism theory, in the light of which there would be conducted researches in respect of international relationships, and nature and scope of state conflicts from various international plat forms (Powell, 1994, p.318). The claim has partly been articulated by keeping in view the distress, destruction, and damages the previously-subjugated nation had undergone from the eighteenth century onward at the hands of western imperialism (Ihuegbu, 2002, p.22). Since the subjects belonging to these colonised countries have witnessed cruel suppressions and oppressions unjustly inflicted by the foreign invaders upon them, these former colonies of European states must contain the natural tendencies in respect of condemning and protesting of atrocities on the weak nations by the strong and powerful nations at large, which is sure lead to lead the world Fascism, by challenging the Marxist doctrine of equality and democracy (Reich, 1980, pp. 6-7). As a result, the presence of these oppressed nations as the member of international forums and platforms including the United Nations, NATO, NAM and several others, the world would never witness the incidences of exploitations of weak and po or nations by the big powers of the globe. However, the time has turned down the notion supporting the rise of nation-states as completely sovereign and independent ones in such a way that they could be in a position of making policies regarding their internal problems and external affairs without undergoing any pressure or threat from the external powers. Nevertheless, the idea of being set free from the cruel clutches of former masters appears to be just a wild goose chase for the third world.

Keeping the elderly in their home vs nursing home placement Essay

Keeping the elderly in their home vs nursing home placement - Essay Example vels of investigation, the major concerns emerge in terms of public health care and questions of whether the individual or government should be responsible for funding nursing home residents. Achieving a substantial approach to the question of nursing home care will aid the nation by contributing to socio-political debates regards health care costs. One organization that supports this issue is the National Family Caregivers Association. This organization greatly considers the importance of supporting individuals that aid people in at-home living situations. One of the major things I learned in researching this subject was the strong change that has occurred for at-home care. With technological advancements, seniors now have many increased options for caregivers and other such aid that allow them to refrain from nursing home care. Prior to the investigation I would have further question cost issues between caregivers and nursing

Phineas Taylor Barnum's American Museum 1842 to 1868 Research Paper

Phineas Taylor Barnum's American Museum 1842 to 1868 - Research Paper Example While in New York, Barnum purchased a museum and renamed it after himself. With the museum, Barnum found a platform which he used to promote hoaxes and human curiosities. Barnum began his entertainment career in New York. Barnum gets credited for revolutionizing and legitimizing spectacle. Barnum purchased and exhibited the Joice Heth. Joice Heth was an almost paralyzed and blind slave woman (Barnum and Cook 108). Barnum claimed the woman to have been over 160 years old and a supposed nurse to George Washington. Thousands got drawn to view Heith by paying an admission price. He toured the south with a small circus between 1836 and 1837. This circus tour appeared to be preparation for him to purchase his own museum with which he made a fortune. In 1841, he bought the Scudder American museum which he renamed to Barnum American museum. Barnum upgraded the museum building and added more exhibits making the museum a popular showplace in the process. Barnum added flags to the roof edge of the museum, and this helped attract attention during the day. A strolling garden got made out of the roof during the upgrade. The place then got lit up with limelight, which had just become invented then. His main idea revolved around making the museum an advertisement in itself. In the museum, Barnum filled it with a surfeit of exhibits and activities. Exhibits and activities within the museum revolved around panoramas, dioramas, scientific instruments and modern appliances. Through the museum, Barnum got to introduce his first major hoax which became known as the Feejee mermaid (Barnum 56). The Feeje mermaid was a creature that had the tail of a fish and a monkey’s head. Barnum justified hoaxes such as this claiming they were advertisements used to draw attention to the museum. The museum also exhibited a dwarf named general Tom Thumb. The dwarf got claimed to be the smallest person walking the earth, and he got used to amuse the public. The museum also exhibited a number o f exotic animals that included beluga whales, a hat claimed to be worn by Ulysses Grant, a tree trunk where Jesus and his disciples sat, giants, fat boys, a dog that could knit, flea circus and performances by magicians and fortune tellers, Uncle Tom’s cabin and minstrel adaptations of biblical tales. The museum gets reported to have received over 38milion visitors between 1841 and 1865. Visitors got charged a twenty five cent admission charge. The visitors got to view a revolving set of attractions at the museum (Cottrell 19). Barnum’s credit to show business gets associated with professionalism, public relations through advertisements and quality. Characters that provided dubious shows got thrown out of Barnum American museum. Barnum defended his hoax shows by claiming that the public had to first get attracted to the museum, and then later get provided with sensational entertainment while in the museum building. Barnum used newspaper advertisements and handbills to promote the museum (Barnum and Cook 88). The museum not only provided shows but also educational teachings. The museum’s theater which got known as the ‘lecture room’ got used by Barnum in providing temperance reforms and Shakespearean dramas. Barnum gets recognized by early historians as instrumental in the development of urban culture in the nineteenth century. The museum became the first of its kind in offering entertainment and amusement together with moral uplift and

The most important elements of proper Communication in a job interview Essay

The most important elements of proper Communication in a job interview - Essay Example Similarly if you look away while listening it would show lack of interest and a rude and unethical behavior. Facial Expressions: Your facial expressions should be positive enough to encourage the employer for further communication. In case of nervousness do not try to be perceived as arrogant. A smiley face is appreciated everywhere. The employer should be aware of your gladness you have to meet him. You should not reveal a lethargic expression no matter how much exhausted and tiring you are. Posture: A good posture is a key symbol of a fine personality. One should stand straight, walk tall and sit tall. Shoulders should not be bended forward and there should be no slouching. Be sensitive to the body language of the other person. Any inconsistency between verbal and non-verbal behavior is significant and the non-verbal cues generally send the more accurate message as "action speaks louder than words". Gestures: Gestures should go along with your personality, and must be real. Do not use artificial gestures to highlight the importance of the issue. One should not use a speech with too many "uh's", "ur's"or "hms". Space: One should recognize the boundaries between personal space and that of others. If you are typical of most Americans, it ranges between 30 and 36 inches. Be prepared, however, not to back up or move away from someone who has a personal space that is smaller than your own. Hang in there, take a deep breath, and stand your ground. For most of us, merely the awareness of our personal space is enough to consciously prompt us to stand firm when speaking with someone. If you have a smaller than average personal space, make sure you keep your distance so that you do not intimidate someone who possesses a larger personal space. (The most important interview nonverbals, College Grad.com, themostimportantinterviewnonverbals.htm) Confidence- The key to success Be yourself. Confident people inspire confidence in others; one has to appear confident in order to make others realize that he is suitable enough to do the job. Interviewees are usually nervous and therefore they become self absorbed and self-conscious, which takes their attention off the job at hand and onto themselves. Be careful to avoid showing signs of nervousness such as scratching, drumming fingers, playing with a pen etc. Everyone possesses some weak points, which make the person loose his confidence at an interview. It is the aim of the prospective employer to play oral communication tricks to you and make you reveal all those weak points which are sufficient to make a person feel unconfident and insecure enough to perform the job, so no matter how weak you are, never impose yourself loose confidence in a job interview. (Impact Factory, Job Interview Techniques, http://www.impactfactory.com) Communication Skills Effective communication skills are needed in most jobs on an everyday basis, your tone should be refined and one should not talk too fast, slowly, loudly or softly. Verbal patterns should be followed like an impressive speech pattern, ability to act naturally, very focused and articulated thinking. It seems very unethical to interrupt the employer. Be attentive and

Culture contributed to the issues of power, politics, and leadership- Essay

Culture contributed to the issues of power, politics, and leadership- Devil Wears Prada - Essay Example Organizational culture is the set of key values, beliefs and attitudes shared by organizational members. Organizational culture is often created by company founders. (Chuck 2009). Thus, the one person who can formulate, actualize and operationalize an effective organizational culture will have to be an effective leader. The leader through many traits like power will implement or impose that culture. With the culture having been implemented, it will give rise to different responses from the employees bordering on both positive side as well as negative side. Negative side in the sense, there will be some negative office politics because of the imposition of the culture. This paper by focusing, â€Å"The Devil Wears Prada† will demonstrate how the organizational culture based issues of leadership, power and politics were portrayed in the film. As leaders are the men/women in lead, they usually have a major impact on how the group initially defines and sets into an organization. Typically, the leaders have strong assumptions about the nature of the world, the role that organizations play in that world, the characteristics that make up human nature and relationships, how truth is arrived at, and how to manage time and space. They will, therefore, be quite comfortable in imposing those views and personal cultures, on their partners and employees as the organization copes with challenges and targets. This initial stage imposition of founder’s assumptions, as a form of good culture is one of the good leadership traits, because as the workers’ mind will be fresh in their new organizational setup, they will be motivated to adopt that new culture. Motivation is the set of forces that initiates, directs and makes people persist in their efforts over time to accomplish a goal. (Williams 2009). This new culture will co nsist of many

The most important elements of proper Communication in a job interview Essay

The most important elements of proper Communication in a job interview - Essay Example Similarly if you look away while listening it would show lack of interest and a rude and unethical behavior. Facial Expressions: Your facial expressions should be positive enough to encourage the employer for further communication. In case of nervousness do not try to be perceived as arrogant. A smiley face is appreciated everywhere. The employer should be aware of your gladness you have to meet him. You should not reveal a lethargic expression no matter how much exhausted and tiring you are. Posture: A good posture is a key symbol of a fine personality. One should stand straight, walk tall and sit tall. Shoulders should not be bended forward and there should be no slouching. Be sensitive to the body language of the other person. Any inconsistency between verbal and non-verbal behavior is significant and the non-verbal cues generally send the more accurate message as "action speaks louder than words". Gestures: Gestures should go along with your personality, and must be real. Do not use artificial gestures to highlight the importance of the issue. One should not use a speech with too many "uh's", "ur's"or "hms". Space: One should recognize the boundaries between personal space and that of others. If you are typical of most Americans, it ranges between 30 and 36 inches. Be prepared, however, not to back up or move away from someone who has a personal space that is smaller than your own. Hang in there, take a deep breath, and stand your ground. For most of us, merely the awareness of our personal space is enough to consciously prompt us to stand firm when speaking with someone. If you have a smaller than average personal space, make sure you keep your distance so that you do not intimidate someone who possesses a larger personal space. (The most important interview nonverbals, College Grad.com, themostimportantinterviewnonverbals.htm) Confidence- The key to success Be yourself. Confident people inspire confidence in others; one has to appear confident in order to make others realize that he is suitable enough to do the job. Interviewees are usually nervous and therefore they become self absorbed and self-conscious, which takes their attention off the job at hand and onto themselves. Be careful to avoid showing signs of nervousness such as scratching, drumming fingers, playing with a pen etc. Everyone possesses some weak points, which make the person loose his confidence at an interview. It is the aim of the prospective employer to play oral communication tricks to you and make you reveal all those weak points which are sufficient to make a person feel unconfident and insecure enough to perform the job, so no matter how weak you are, never impose yourself loose confidence in a job interview. (Impact Factory, Job Interview Techniques, http://www.impactfactory.com) Communication Skills Effective communication skills are needed in most jobs on an everyday basis, your tone should be refined and one should not talk too fast, slowly, loudly or softly. Verbal patterns should be followed like an impressive speech pattern, ability to act naturally, very focused and articulated thinking. It seems very unethical to interrupt the employer. Be attentive and

National Minimum Drinking Age Act Essay Example for Free

National Minimum Drinking Age Act Essay The universal question; should the age for drinking be lowered? In my personal opinion, I believe that the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen from twenty one for various reasons. The legal drinking age is currently twenty-one, but the illegal drinking age is everything under. Why is the main question asked. Some people believe that twenty one is too high to be the minimum age to be able to legally drink and others feel that it is the perfect age. This topic is very huge and has been debated for years. The United States drinking age has gone up and down and in 1984, it went up to twenty one. Many events took place before the drinking age went up. It all began when the United States slowly tried to ban alcohol in every state for every person no matter what your age was. They did succeed. This is called Prohibition. Prohibition started in 1919 and lasted until 1933. When Prohibition started, the Constitution gained the 18th Amendment. The 18th Amendment â€Å"prohibited the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages†. However, this amendment was removed in 1933 by the 21th amendment, which made beer and other alcohol legal. Once Prohibition ended, each state created their own set of drinking laws. Some were twenty one; others were eighteen, and then some in between. This lasted for a few years, but then the Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 came along. This act forced all states to change their drinking age to twenty one or lose part of the Federal-aid highway funds. It also said the states should pass laws that helped fight drunk driving. So, the drinking ages were set to twenty one, but this can change. Prohibition and safety issues, like underground drinking, are all factors that must be considered in making this decision. Because of these factors, the national drinking age of the United States should be lowered from twenty one to eighteen. Think for a moment on how many young adult or teenagers illegally drink underage. It is a fact that more than three in four teenagers consume alcohol when they are high school seniors. A big issue for underage drinking is where the underage drinkers actually do the drinking. It is known to people that underage drinking goes on, but where and when they do it, is something to look for. Because no one wants to get in trouble for drinking, those who are underage start taking part in â€Å"underground drinking†. Underground drinking is when people under the drinking age drink alcohol without the knowledge of anyone. People will bring alcohol anywhere, like a party, and drink it without their parents knowing. The police search for underage drinking, but, even they know that once the underage drinkers are caught, they will keep doing it. The difference is that this time, they will be smarter about it and hide it better than the time before. Wed find a party where we know theres underage drinking. We would seal the house. Surround the house with officersWe wrote hundreds and hundreds of tickets those years. All we did is we pushed it further underground. (Mark Beckner, the chief of police in Boulder, Colo.) The problem with drinking without anyone knowing can be very dangerous and someone could get seriously sick from alcohol poisoning, or go completely out of control and hurt themselves. If people under the drinking age hide when they drink, they will not want to tell anyone like an adult because they do not want to get in trouble. So, if no one wants to get in trouble, then no one will tell anyone if someone gets seriously sick. There are cases in which people have died because their friends who they were drinking with were afraid of the police. As a result, it took a couple hours for anyone to say anything, and by the time they did, it was too late to really do anything. â€Å"†¦a college freshman, Gordie Bailey, who died of alcohol poisoning during a fraternity celebration. The fraternity members left him on a couch for 9 hours before someone called 911. He died because, according to Gordies parents, the other college kids were too scared to call for help because the drinking was underage.† A lesson can be learned through this event and all the others just like it. If people under twenty one were more supervised, then adults could stop those who are drinking from getting hurt or be there to make sure they get help. It is very difficult to completely stop underage drinking, but we could work against it. If the drinking age was lowered, then there can be more supervision. Young adults at the age of eighteen generally go to college where there is a lot of alcohol usage. Perhaps if the drinking age was eighteen, those underage drinkers would not hide and be controlled by the police and therefore, stay much safer. Prohibition took place in the 1850s for certain states and the 1920s for the entire country. Prohibition was the time when the whole county, every age, was banned from drinking. Prohibition was supposed to lower crime and corruption, reduce the tax burden created by prisons and poorhouses, solve social problems, and make the health and hygiene in America better. At first, alcohol consumption lowered, but as time went by, it increased once more. Of course, everything they were trying to fix or lower went higher and out of control. â€Å"Alcohol became more dangerous to consume; crime increased and became organized; the court and prison systems were stretched to the breaking point; and corruption of public officials was rampant†¦Prohibition removed a significant source of tax revenue and greatly increased government spending.† (Mark Thornton, O. P. Alford III Assistant Professor of Economics at Auburn University.†) People also did drugs because of the lack of alcohol. Just think if that didn’t take place, then these dangerous things wouldn’t have happened. However, we did learn from it. For instance, we learned that banning it didn’t work. The alcohol consumption grew during Prohibition to â€Å"about 60-70 percent of its pre Prohibition level,† then slowly dropped to 70 percent, but after Prohibition ended, the alcohol consumption went from 70 percent to 40 percent. The reason it went up is because people were protesting. Basically, the Prohibition didn’t completely stop the use of alcohol, it just made things worse. Since the alcohol is banned from those under twenty one, people under twenty one are drinking more, so moving the drinking age down to eighteen would definitely work. As always, there are those who disagree with lowering the drinking age back to eighteen. They feel that twenty one is the proper age to start to take part drinking. People feel that those underage of twenty one can’t handle alcohol and tend to not know when to stop. One reason is that they become drunk more quickly than adults and adults don’t become dunk as often. There are also facts that state how many lives have been save and how many less accidents there have been. It is true that the number of fatal car accidents have decreased by thirteen percent for those between the ages of eighteen and twenty. That decrease saved about 21,887 people between the years 1975-2002. Others believe that the Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) can hurt the student’s academic career and also cause him or her to become an alcoholic easier. There are also some people who are afraid that they will become more venerable to do certain things. For example, young adults might be more likely to become involved in drug abuse, depression, unplanned or unprotected sex, violence, and other social ills if they drink. Also, people are worried about driving because, Americans drive more than Europeans who have a drinking age of sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen. On the other side, there are those people who want and are pro lowering the drinking age to eighteen. One reason is that people won’t get much of a thrill about drinking if they are used to being able to do it. Eventually, drinking alcohol will start to get normal and will not feel as important anymore. Besides, it is all about how responsible that person is. Anyone over or under the drinking age can drinking too much and end up hurting themselves. People also must consider the fact that underage drinking does go on, and it goes on unsupervised. If the drinking age is lowered, then those who aren’t supervised can be. Prohibition and safety issues, like underground drinking are truly good reasons to consider lowering the drinking age to eighteen. This topic has truly been discussed for years. People are either for lowering it, against it, or just do not know. But there are surly plenty of facts for the pro and con sides. To make the right decision, one must look at the history. As learned from history, banning alcohol only made things worse. Then, if one looked at how underground drinking could kill people if others around are too afraid to call 911 and risk getting in trouble, they should realize that if people were more supervised and didn’t have to hide, then those unfortunate events wouldn’t happen. The choice is simple. Lowering the drinking age to eighteen can be safer. Citations G., Harold, Wyoming, and MI. Drinking Age Should Be Lowered | Teen Essay on Drugs | Teen Ink. Teen Ink | A teen literary magazine and website. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. http://teenink.com/opinion/drugs_alcohol_smoking/article/48104/Drinking-Age-Should-Be-Lowered/. Engs, Ruth C.. Why the drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research . Why the drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research . N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. http://www.indiana.edu/~engs/articles/cqoped.html . National Youth Rights Association  » Legislative Analysis of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. National Youth Rights Association . N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. http://www.youthrights.org/research/library/legislative-analysis-of-the-national-minimum-drinking-age-act/. Should the drinking age be lowered from 21 to a younger age?. Drinking Age ProCon.org . N.p., n.d. Web. 27