Corporal Punishment in Schools Essay

Corporal punishment is the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable (Miller, Vandome, & McBrewster, 2009). Corporal punishment can be divided into three categories, these include: judicial, domestic and school. For the purpose of this essay we will be focusing on school corporal punishment, the advantages and guidelines to follow when using corporal punishment and the disadvantages and effects on children when child abuse is used in the name of corporal punishment. According to Vockell (1991), â€Å"Corporal punishment is the infliction of physical pain, contingent upon the occurrence of a misbehavior† (p. 278). It is a very controversial topic that is raised amongst educators across the nation. There are always advantages and disadvantages when hitting a child in the name of corporal punishment and the techniques used when punishing the child. Quite a few people support corporal punishment as an effective way of disciplining a child, while a large number of people believe corporal punishment is a cruel and inhumane way to deal with the child. Sometimes all children need is a little spanking to set them straight, help them see the errors of their ways, but, how would you know when you’re crossed the line from disciplining the child to committing child abuse. According to an article by Clark (2004): John Wilson suggests there are six advantages of corporal punishment: cheap and easy to administer, effective deterrent, effective reform, adjustable pain, fair: because of similar dislike of pain, no permanent damage (p.363). Some people who support corporal punishment can see only the positive effects of these advantages. Out of these six advantages and for the purpose of this essay, we will be focusing on five of the advantages. The first advantage of corporal punishment is that â€Å"it is cheap and easy to administer.† This simply means that, it will cost less to spank a child instead of a long period of imprisonment and if one does not care about the â€Å"niceties† about hitting a child, it can be easily administered. The second advantage that was stated by Wilson is that it is an â€Å"effective deterrent.† Educators believe that corporal punishment is the only language children understand because it is perceived as unpleasant. This may sound like a disad vantage, but, punishment by its own definition involves unpleasant stimulations. Children will likely keep to the rules govern by the institution because they would fear the physical pain and humiliation. The third advantage stated by Wilson is â€Å"effective reform,† this is the disciplining or reforming of a wrongdoer for misbehavior. As with effective deterrent, effective reform, also uses fear of physical pain and humiliation for attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable, to help improve or mend one’s ways. Another one of Wilson’s advantages states that â€Å"it is fair for all, since all people are similar in their dislike of pain† (Clark, 2004, p. 367). The recipients of physical pain knows how much it hurts to be spanked, paddled, canned, flogged or smacked, so they would try to stay clear of the obvious consequence. The final advantage states that there is â€Å"no permanent damage: when using corporal punishment. The recipients will learn self discipline when being administer corporal punishment as long as you follow the guidelines used in the institutions. These guidelines are put in place to help educators be responsible when disciplining a ch ild using corporal punishment. Simply put, the guidelines are a â€Å"How to manual† when administering corporal punishment. So here are some main guidelines of behavior management for corporal punishment. Firstly, educators should not use corporal punishment when a more appropriate technique is available, but there are always eases where sparing the rod can also spoil the child. If corporal punishment must be administered, educators should have a clear head. Teachers should not take out there anger and frustration out on the child. Punishment must be administered soon after the offence. Children tend to forget the reason why they are being punished after a long period of time has passed, making them believe that they should not be punished. It is also best to specify the behavior being punished. Educators must administer corporal punishment dispassionately. Teachers tend to spank or hit a child more aggressively because they might not like the child as a person. Not to mention, teachers should be bother wh en they are administering corporal punishment to any child. Administer corporal punishment in front of appropriate witnesses, these witnesses should be regarded as reliable and truthful in case of litigation. And, corporal punishment should be carried out with appropriate confidentiality, because, what good would it do to humiliate the child. And finally, make sure you follow all the rules and regulations prescribed by the school system, this is to assure you have the support and an effective defense, should a legal challenge arise. But with every advantage there is an equal disadvantage. Most people believe that corporal punishment in schools is not morally acceptance. This is where the disadvantages occur. According to Vockell (1991), â€Å"punishment is not likely to be logically related to the misbehavior† (p. 279). This just means that the students who are punished for misbehavior not worthy of punishment are victims of artificial punishment. Artificial punishment simply means, using another means of punishment instead of corporal punishment. The second disadvantage is that physical punishment often models socially inappropriate behavior to the child. According to Vockell (1991), a solid finding from child-rearing research states that, children who are spanked more often than others are more likely to hit other children and act out aggressively while growing up. Parents and teachers need to reason with children to make them better understand that there are consequences to their actions. The children should know that it hurts the adults more than its hurts them to be spanked. And, by explaining this to the children, they would not grow up solving their problems by hitting people that annoy them. Another disadvantage is that corporal punishment may inflict real injury to the child that can be related to child abuse. Teachers can sometimes take out there anger and frustration on children in the name of corporal punishment, leaving them with broken bones, torn ligaments, whiplash injury, blindness and in some cases death, just to name a few. Lastly, because of the injuries that children can sometimes sustain in the name of corporal punishment, litigation can occur. In the face of these injuries lawsuits are filed prohibiting corporal punishment in schools. Educators who believe that corporal punishment should be banned from school institution think that the physical and psychological effect on children far outweighs the advantages of corporal punishment. The arguments that are raised against corporal punishment said that is leads to abuse, it is degrading and humiliating, it is psychologically damaging and it teaches the wrong lesson. As always, there are instances where, corporal punishment can lead to abuse. A teacher maybe angry and frustrated at home and take out there vindictiveness and retaliation on the child. These teachers would then be crossing the line to physical abuse. Corporal punishment can be a degrading and humiliating form of punishment, because it involves the â€Å"direct and intense power to the body† especially if this punishment is carried out in front of the child’s peers. Corporal punishment can be psychologically damaging to a child. It causes submissiveness in the child affected by it, making them easy prey for predators who might sexually exploit them. No one can expect a child who is conditioned for corporal punishment to simply say no to a molester. And lastly, corporal punishment can sometimes teach the wrong lessons to children. According to Benatar (2001), â€Å"punishing a wrongdoer by inflicting physical pain sends the message that violence is an appropriate way to settle differences or to respond to problems. In conclusion, the arguments for corporal punishment might be practical and the only way for a wrongdoer to learn discipline and respect, but, at the end of the day, according to Europe (2007), â€Å"hitting people is wrong and children are people too† (5 p.). The effects on the children when using corporal punishment can be most damaging to their physical and emotional self. Even with school systems guidelines, teachers still commit child abuse in the name of corporal punishment. Bibliography B., P. (2006-2011). Phil For Humanity. Retrieved April 25, 2011, from The Pros and Cons Of Corporal Punishment: http://www.philforhumanity.com/Corporal_Punishment.html Benatar, D. (2001, October). Corpun. Retrieved April 25, 2011, from Corporal Punishment: http://www.corpun.com/benatar.htm Clark, J. (2004). Aganist the Corporal Punishment of Children. Cambridge Journal of Education , 363. Europe, C. o. (2007). Abolishing Corporal Punishment of Children: questions and answers. Council of Europe. Miller, F. P., Vandome, A. F., & McBrewster, J. (2009). Corporal Punishment. VDM Publishing House Ltd. Vockell, E. L. (1991). Corporal Punishment: The Pros and Cons. The Clearing House , 278-283.

The role of nuclear energy in the field of medicine

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This energy supports life on our planet and it was the only energy early mankind used. 1) â€Å"What Is Nuclear Energy.† What Is Nuclear Energy. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Aug. 2012. . 2) â€Å"Nuclear Energy.† ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 22 Aug. 2012. http://library.thinkquest.org/3471/nuclear_energy.html Picture 1: 1) Picture 2: â€Å"Free Energy: Nuclear Fusion in the Quran.† Pakalert Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Aug. 2012. . Scientists have discovered that nuclear energy can be used in treating various diseases such as cancer, heart disease, endocrine, gastrointestinal and other abnormalities found inside the body. Nuclear energy provides a good solution in treating certain diseases affecting people in today’s world. In the field of Cardiopulmonary. Nuclear energy is used in scanning and visualizing blood flow and also heart function. In treating cancer diseases such as Melanoma and breast cancer, Nuclear energy can have their lymph mondes located first before doing the surgery. It can also find out whether there are respiratory problems and blood flow in lungs. Another major important use of Nuclear energy is for the treatment of various cancers such as Melanoma and breast cancer. Patients having Melanoma and breast cancer can have their lymph nodes found first before doing the surgery, thyroid cancer and tumors that spread to the bones are also cured by using Nuclear energy. In other diagnostic use of nuclear energy, Nuclear energy is used to evaluate tumors, arthritis, fractures and infenction of bones. Locating the area where there is an infection, identifying problems causing gallbladder inflammation and bleeding into the bowel can be treated using nuclear energy. It can also be used to investigate brain abnormalities, such as loss of memory, seizures and abnormalities in blood flow. â€Å"General Nuclear Medicine.† Nuclear Medicine, General. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2012. . â€Å"How Is Nuclear Energy Used in Medicine?† Yahoo! Contributor Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2012. . The effectiveness of using nuclear energy to solve diseases is very effective because for eg; if a patient having cancer undergoes surgery, before doing the surgery doctors need to locate the specific area where the cancer are located to do this X-ray tomography or (CT) scans work by using nuclear tracers to emmit gamma rays once the rays are inside the body, special cameras are able to pick up the emitted gamma rays and show to the photo of the organ or the part where the cancer is to the doctor. This helps the doctors to successfully treat the patient. Another more advanced technology called a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) isused in determining patients with cardiac conditions, problems in the brain and cancer, first positron-emitting radionuclides are injected into the patients body and then they gravitate to the organ and they begin to quickly decay. They emmit a positron and an electron from inside of the patients body an two very distinct gamma rays which the PET scans and forms an image. The photo helps doctors to locate where the problem is, this is more advanced than CT scans. Comparing methods like CT scans and PET scans to other methods like Endoscopic ultrasound and others to determine where the cancer is to methods like brain scan, the method of CT scans are likely to be more dangerous and may harm the patient because in CT scans they use contrast agents which are chemical substances that are exposed to the human body when they are running the test. Contrast agents like Iodine is the contrast agent which is the most commonly used contrast agent can cause allergic reactions to some patients which includes a rash, a warm sensation or even in a worst case scenario difficulty to breathe normally. Also in CT scans it involves patients to get exposed to ionizing radiation which is known to cause cancer. This becomes a problem for people who need multiple scans and also for children because children are more sensitive to radiation than to adults. So even though CT scans can help doctors to locate where the disease is they aren’t that reliable and can be harmful as well if they are not used properly. â€Å"Symptoms & Diagnosis.† Symptoms & Diagnosis. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2012. . Cioffi, Rebecca. â€Å"How Does Nuclear Medicine Actually Kill Cancer Cells?† EHow. Demand Media, 30 Apr. 2009. Web. 26 Aug. 2012. . Social: The use of CT scans to perform scans inside the body for the location of diseases inside the body can be very useful and can help to treat the patients. But CT scans are high tech devices and are very expensive which are only available in developed countries, for poorer countries like in Africa have no technology and money to get CT scanners and have to rely on alternative solutions to cure their diseases, Which sometimes give inaccurate results. Environment: CT scanners need nuclear energy to produce the image inside the patient’s body. Nuclear energy is one of the world’s most efficient energy producer and electricity. This helps the society very much. But nuclear energy also can cause a great deal amount of damage to the environment. If a CT scanner has a gamma ray leak out it can cause greenhouse gas emissions to rise and harm the environment. Crops and drinking water exposed to gamma ray can cause lung tumor and thyroid cancer if consumed, Animals and marine life will be affected by it also, so people who are responsible for maintenance of the scanners must maintain the machine well or not there will be a great consequence to face. From making this essay I came to know about the great use of nuclear power in the field of medicine, They can detect cancer, tumor and hemorrhage inside a person’s body and help doctors in treating them. But I also learnt that there is a limitation to this technology because some people have allergic reactions from nuclear energy and if exposed too much to a person’s body instead of treating the disease it can cause one, so we must be responsible using this strong energy.

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HR - Assignment Example Downey (2007, p. 6) provides further insight on what PEST analysis means, highlighting the fact that it is a scan of the external macro-environment within which an organisation operates. It is broadly broken down into political, economic, social-cultural and technological factors which form the four tenets of PEST analysis. This part of the study will explore the concept of PEST analysis using practical examples. The political aspect of the PEST analysis involves the effects of government policy on a firm since this consideration impacts nearly all aspects of the firm’s operations. Henry (2008, p. 52) states that the political factors affecting a firm do not merely arise from legislation but encompasses issues such as government stability, taxation policies and government regulation. With the advent of globalisation, government stability, which has traditionally not been a concern in developed nations such as the UK, can now not escape attention as firms seek to transform into multinationals. Establishment of supranational cooperation such as the European Union also comes into play as cross-national standardization takes course. Deregulation of an industry by the government may result in new entrants that practice competitive pricing and thus affect incumbents. The second aspect in PEST analysis involves economic considerations, where there is the analysis of economic indicators such as interest rates, people’s disposable incomes, unemployment rates, inflation, currency strength and global economics (Henry 2008, p. 54). A practical example is one in which a firm dealing with importations in the UK has to monitor the strength of the Sterling Pound since a strong Pound could easily make importation quite expensive. The same firm is also affected by global oil price dynamics and must have felt the repercussions of an economic downturn resulting from American economics. In such a recession, the spending power of consumers declines and lay-offs increas e hence affecting such a firm’s sales. All of these should be analysed if the firm is to navigate the industry properly. Osborne and Brown (2005, p. 17) explain that firms are impacted by social factors like an aging population, social inclusion agitation, new social needs and transformation of previous needs and need for sustainable societies. All these affect a firm’s market size, customer loyalty and growth and thus are weighty considerations for firms. For instance, population demographics may determine the products that will have large markets and strategies that will access such markets. Different products and strategies appeal to both young and ageing populations in significantly different ways; hence a firm has to ensure it analyses population trends and future expectations. The last aspect of PEST analysis is technology, where a firm has to ensure it places itself in a strategic position to take advantage of new and useful technologies since the implications i n terms of competitiveness are far-reaching (Gimbert 2011, p. 49). Some of the most impacting technologies include IT, internet and genetic engineering while emerging areas such as nanotechnology are bound to be influential. A practical example of how analysis of the technological factors is crucial is in the advent of the internet, where the first firms to capitalise on its advantages such as ease of communication and access to wider markets gained immense competitive advantages over their rivals. Part 2: a) Structural Problems Sony is a largely successful

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For presentaition - Essay Example For this man, music and dating girls was very closely connected. As he got older, his tastes did change and he found that his desire to buy records changed as well. By the time he was in his 20’s, he felt that records were more for kids, not adults. By this time he was married and had a family, so most of his media consumption switched to radio. He remembers that he has a small transistor radio that he would listen to at work. I would pick-up a local radio station that played a lot of country and western music, so he started to enjoy this type of music more, especially Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison. The radio also became his main source of hearing news reports. He said that he rarely had time to sit down to read the newspaper while his kids were at home, so he would listen to news over his transistor radio. He still remembered the first car he had that had a radio. He said that that was a very big, exciting purchase for him. I was amazed at how little he had to do with television. He says that it had never appealed to him, even in the early days when everyone was going crazy for it. He said, â€Å"There wasn’t anything worth watching on television fifty years ago and the last time I checked, nothing has changed!† Even though he is less active now, he still chooses to listen to the radio instead of watching television, only now he listens to radio stations over the

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IT Managing Business Knowledge and Decision Making - Coursework Example This blend assists the communication, operations and advancements in an organization and links its business activities. This is done through an extensive usage of the computer software, data constructs, computer hardware, programming languages, databases and other related components. These components enable a widespread distribution of the messages on a mass level across all the communication channels. Many modern organizations rely on a vast utilization of the information technology in order to render it business operations and services. One of such big organizations is Tesco Plc which forms and leads a huge network of the retail stores operating in various parts of the world. This in organization has been operating in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world since 1919 and has been ranked as the world’s third largest retailer. Other retailers such as Wal Mart follow Tesco in their rankings and services and operations. This Britain-based company having more than 500,00 0 employees and over 4,000 stores manage its huge base of employees and operation in effectives and decentralized structure (Clemens, 2001). The usage of IT plays an important role in the extensive operations, management and governance of Tesco Plc. Many advanced systems and technological equipments have been installed at the company for the purpose of the management of its functions. Some of the examples of such systems include the usage of sophisticated software such as Finance and HR software; supply chain management systems, order processing and scheduling systems and types of communication technology. Besides this, the company utilizes the advanced loyalty cards and car insurance policy quoting systems. The Tesco’s own Tesco Personal Finance system (TPF) allows it to schedule its workforce, and perform food labeling and loan application handling systems. Every checkout in the Tesco’s store manages its Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) systems and uses computer syste m in the operation and handling of Tesco’s services (Verner, 2000). This usage of IT has a huge impact on the profitability, operations and revenue generation of the company. One of the major ways in which the IT implementation impacts Tesco Plc is increase in the productivity gains and reduction in its costs of production. The customers shopping from Tesco retail stores do not have to go out and but the products. Instead they can sit at home and purchase online through web. Since, the market has become easily accessible to the customers, the productivity gains have increased in the form of customer retention, sales, revenues and other related factors. Besides this, a wide range of purchases are made without any hassle. Moreover, the company can cut their costs of advertisement, EPOS has reduced the employment of the members of staff, and only a few people need to be trained for few short computer and software trainings in the organization. Moreover, the efficiency and effect iveness of the organization is enhanced due to the less wastage and least duplication of the material and human resources of the organization (Clemens, 2001). Besides all the beneficial factors, the features and components of the information technology, such as computer, internet and other databases assist the company to manage its operations and functions. There is a better and

HIV virus Essay Example for Free

HIV virus Essay The HIV virus that causes AIDS is said to have originated from non-human primates i. e. monkeys and chimpanzees in sub-Saharan Africa and was later transferred into humans in the late 19th century. It is thus proposed that the origin of HIV is the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) which affects monkeys given those strains of SIV found in monkeys and chimpanzees corresponds with those of HIV-1 and HIV-2 respectively and that it was transferred to human through Zoonosis. The spread of HIV from West Africa was concurrent with the development of colonial cities (Emlet, 20). AIDS has become a pandemic due its high rate of mutation or variation making it escape thus rendering drug therapy ineffective. Additionally, developing countries are facing a rapid and uncontrolled spread of AIDS. This is attributed to ignorance, poverty and traditions which makes majority of these people to indulge in unprotected sexual behaviors thus facilitating the high rate of spread of the virus. HIV is a retrovirus which is part of lentivirus that attacks’ the immune system and they take a long time before they can produce any adverse effects in the body where it stays in a latent form. Acquired Immune Deficiency (AIDS) is a condition that sets in when the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has killed many T-helper cells in the white cells resulting to lower immune system which cannot resist infections. The characteristics of the virus are that they have many strains and mutates rapidly. This has made its cure to be difficult given that it does escape vaccines or treatment (Emlet, 32). An infected person will only test positive at a seroconversion point which is the level in which the HIV antibodies are detectable. HIV virus is transmitted through conduct of a mucous membrane or the blood stream with a bodily fluid containing HIV like blood, semen, vaginal fluid, breast milk or preseminal fluid. Possible causes of the virus are; unprotected sex with a person who is infected which either be oral, anal or vaginal. Use of contaminated needle especially drug users, blood transfusions, and mother infecting her child during pregnancy, labor or after delivery via breast milk and any other exposure to one of the bodily fluids (Emlet, 43). The effect of HIV virus is that it suppresses the T-helper cells by deranging or binding them together to the point that they become functionless thus not able to fight pathogens. Given that the immune system is down, the familiar AIDS complications like infections and neoplasm results. Consequently, further cell damage or cytopathy, oral health problems like candidiasis, kaposi’s sarcoma and AIDS dementia complex arises too. Moreover, it has the economical effect for it deprives the society its resources and manpower since the treatment for the disease is costly thus requiring a lot of money. The most common symptoms of the virus infection in their primary stages are; fever, aching muscles and joints, swollen glands, sore throat and malaise. Mononucleosis, recurring respiratory tract infections, prostatitis, oral ulcerations, tuberculosis, and pneumonia are later symptoms of the condition in view of the fact that the body defense mechanisms have been tampered with. In conclusion, the HIV virus has become a universal concern given that no cure, vaccine or treatments have been found which can deal with the epidemic. More research is being conducted on possible treatment and in the next twenty years, a solution could have been found. Continual usage of antiretroviral therapy, sex education and protected sex are key measures for dealing with AIDS (Emlet, 68). The research on a caraguard which is a microbicide gel derived from seaweed is believed to destroy viruses is being tried for prevention of the virus. The protein discovered within the T-cells which are attacked by the virus in order to suppress HIV replication thus there is hope for an effective treatment in the future.

Analysis of Consumption Patterns of Different Socioeconomic Groups

Analysis of Consumption Patterns of Different Socioeconomic Groups The research reported in this thesis was on Analysis of Consumption Patterns of Different Socio Economic Groups. The purpose of research was to study the socio-economic impact of consumption of the households and how they spend their income. The secondary data was collected by consultation of literature in the libraries and Internet and also from the material printed by different academic journals. The primary data was gathered by floating questionnaires and conducting several different interviews. Stat graphic software was applied to analyze data for multiple regression analysis and the results were interpreted by usual principles of statistics. The findings suggested that the consumption was a very crucial function of income but there were other factors apart from income that affected the level of consumption of household and their preferences. This would have an effect on the economic level as well, hence marketers should know and understand the needs of the household to target th ere product and services to households for betterment of the society as well as profitability of the firm. INTRODUCTION Overview of the topic under consideration Consumption is a topic on which a lot of research has been carried out by the economists and psychologists to know what leads to different levels of satisfaction from consumption what factors lead to variation in consumption patterns of households with same income levels. This research paper intends to find out important factors that influence the consumption levels of various households, whether the individual preference has impacts or not while making consumption decisions on a household level. What boundaries restrict the consumption levels? The consumption pattern in Pakistan has improved over the years for various reasons such as increase in incomes and more availability of different kinds of goods and services but there always have been class conflicts present hence leading to disparities among rich and the poor classes. So the growth in consumption has been in different amounts among the different socio economics groups this leads to an immense increase in the social stratification. Apart from factors such as size of the family, occupation, structure of the family, standard of living and location one of the factors that has direct relation with the consumption is population. If the population increases the consumption level changes drastically. Similarly if the population consists of elderly or has baby boomers the pattern of consumption is affected greatly by the type of goods and services produced in the economy is affected moreover consumption patterns influence the dispersion of income and at times leads to motivation for earning a higher wage and this thesis would provide us with the deeper understanding of consumers and their household consumption pattern and their motivation behind earning and spending in a particular manner. Background of the topic Consumption function in economics is the relationship between consumer spending and the various factors that are determining it the consumption function comes into formation due to accumulated spending of all the households in the economy hence at the Economic level the uniqueness of consumption functions are imperative for many questions in both macroeconomics and microeconomics. At the smaller level that is the household or family level, these factors may comprise of income, wealth, expectations about the level and riskiness of future income or wealth, interest rates, age, education, and family size. Individual level the consumption function is also inclined by the consumers preferences that are behavioral in nature such as patience, or the willingness to delay gratification, by the consumers approach towards risk, and by whether the consumer wishes to leave a inheritance to their family members. Theories and hypothesis were developed by Keynes on consumption patterns these were evolved from the early studies that supported the fact the short run marginal propensity to consume was much more stable when compared with average propensity to consume. Economists further more refined the original work of Keynes and came up with theories of permanent income hypothesis, theory of life cycle hypothesis and demonstration effect hence they were able to establish the fact that consumption was extremely responsive to income changes on which Duesenberry tried to refute it with demonstration effect hypothesis. These theories still could be found in various economic text books Economists developed Engel curves these curve showed consumption levels and patterns graphically they even derived budget constraints curves with the help of indifference curves providing a lot of evidence as how and what effects the consumption that in turn shows the status and the lifestyles of an individual household in the economy. Importance of the study with respect to the world Consumption level helps in identifying the level of demand of goods and services in the economy and the type of goods and services that are demanded in a particular economy and indicate what sort lifestyle a particular society is enjoining example Americans are famous for not saving and they consume a lot of consumer non durable items when compared with rest of the world .Hence saving hampers consumption and can greatly affect overall demand in the economy if there is a lot of saving in the economy marginal propensity to consume goes down showing that saving and consumption has a negative relationship. This could lead to greater problems at a macroeconomic level such as reduction in aggregate demand and unemployment of resources in the economy here government also needs to intervene and to improve the economy this would be achieved by increasing demand by increasing the government spending. These days consumption patterns are highly influenced by multinational or transnational companies this phenomena is known as mass consumption or consumerism. Consumption of goods produced by MNCS or TNCs has lead to the adoption of different cultures and consumption patterns in a local household a common example of this would of Mc Donalds today you might be in any part of the world but you would always find a branch of Mc Donalds due to globalization in the economy would lead to greater choices that an individual would face while making consumption decisions hence changing consumption patterns of a very traditional economy like Pakistan. Other factor that could potentially change the consumption pattern would be technology as traditional goods and services would become redundant and no longer will be demanded hence this would lead to fluctuation in consumption levels as well as the patterns of consumption. There is high inequality in consumption patterns among different countries due to differentiation in social classes differentiation and difference in per capita income, population and various other factors there are market biases on the bases of luxury or mass consumption of goods. Importance of study with respect to Pakistan Since Pakistan is a developing country it has a lot of different classes and a lot of population mostly consisting of children and teenagers with such a diverse society there is a lot of difference in consumption level and patterns they are influenced by income, religion, locality in which a particular household resides and the occupation of the head of the household is since Pakistan has a strong culture of saving and transferring bequest to future generation hence how does a particular household decides what to consume and how to consume? We consume a lot differently when compared with the western society as they focus on more luxury items and consumer durable goods on the other in our society households focuses on basic necessities of life. More over there is a lack of studies that have been carried out on the consumption pattern of socio economic groups that are prevalent in Lahore. Reference groups play an important role in determining the consumption patterns of various households and demonstration effect has the strongest effect on the consumption of the households in Lahore among the various different classes. This research paper would help to unravel the preference of the households and the types of goods that they consume and how do they decide and come to common grounds while they consume as in single unit of family since we have a very strong culture of living together in extended families. As many generations are living and consuming together the basket of goods and services that they consume would be highly differentiated. But these days trends are changing and people are moving towards nucleus family system and Pakistan is enjoying a lot of female participation in work force hence will this new trend affect the way a family consumes as a household? Secondly Lahories as consumer have a lot of choice and since at this day and age a lot trend is shifting toward mass customization this research paper would allow to analysis such trends in Lahore. Research question Consumption patterns of different socio-economic groups take into consideration the three main social classes the elite class, the middle income group and the lower income group that resides in three different localities of Lahore namely interior Lahore or the old Lahore, Allama Iqbal Town and Defence housing authority. Households with different casts and religion would be targeted to cover the maximum number of the different socio economic group. There is a lot of diversity in terms of socio economic groups in Lahore hence their consumption patterns also varies drastically they have income that ranges from 3000 rupees monthly to more than 80,000 rupees. A developing country like Pakistan faces a lot of discrimination in terms of income disparities, low income per capita income and a growing population that effect consumption as a whole. The research question for my thesis is a combination of macroeconomics and consumer behavior. It would provide us with the deeper understanding of consumers and their household consumption patterns. This would further allow producers to target and position their products in such a way that they become an integral of household consumption and as a result the economy can flourish. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Ying (2003) conducted a research explaining the fact how children influenced the spending patterns of family and in about 27.8% of families, childrens consumption uses one third of the familys total income. In 35.6% of families, childrens consumption uses 40% of the familys total income. In 19.4% of families, childrens consumption takes one half of the familys income. And in 7.4% of families, childrens consumption takes over one half of the familys income. Thus in most families, the childs consumption level is higher than the average per capita consumption of the family. He highlighted various factors such as higher education levels for children including extra amounts paid for private education and tutors moreover more recreational activities and high end gadgets like mobiles phone, laptops and increased expense towards health care of the children. Krueger and Perri (2005) found out in a research paper that increase in income inequality in U.S.A was prevailing but there was no inequality consumption. This was because of different trends within-group inequality which was faced an increase in income and a little less increase consumption. They developed a simple framework to identify analytically that how income inequality could result in consumption inequality with respect to standard incomplete market model thus they wanted to document this consumption inequality facts from the U.S data. They have used data from the Consumer Expenditure (CE) Survey for the years 1980-2003. Cutler (2005) tries to identify implied marginal propensity to consume out of a given income level in Hong Kong for doing this he develops a proxy measure for labor income then tries to estimate consumption function with respect to life cycle model. The author develops a reliable relation between proxy measure of labor income and long run propensity to consume the estimate calculated comes out to be 0.87 for Hong Kong depicting the fact the marginal propensity to consume is in line with other industrial countries of the world. Carroll, Fuhrer and Wilcox (1994) conducted a research paper which talks about habit formation that is the consumption done when a household is not enjoying same level of income as it did previously but the consumption patterns of the household remains the same. Secondly they tried to analyze the impact of consumer sentiments on the consumption patterns taking into considerations the various economic variables into account. They ruled out permanent income and pure life cycle hypothesis and stated consumer spending is an unclear measure of uncertainty when uncertainty increases the level of consumption falls hence leading to precautionary savings. Chow, Fung and Ngo (2001) did a research about the Chinese economy and Chinese entrepreneurs who have grown along with the Chinese economy this consumer group is the most influential in consuming expensive goods and services. This research paper compares and contrasts the consumption habits of low income business with that of entrepreneurs coming to conclusion that small businesses incomes are transitory and more volatile hence their consumption is less and they tend to save more on the other hand entrepreneurs earn more and spend more lavishly on meals, traveling, private education and luxury items. Geographic locations and socio-demographics of household have significant effects on the tastes and preferences. Similarly socializing activities that are carried out by the entrepreneurs are the second largest expense in their budgets as they need a lot of networking to carry out the business. But on the other hand low income groups tend to spend a large proportion of expenditure on act ivities such as medical care, socializing and education of their children. The authors have run a regression model using various factors such socio demographics and other factors to find out strongest affecting variable. Aydin (2006) talks about the consumption patterns in turkeys different socio economic classes and finds out that globalization has led to transformation, reconfiguration and reformulations of class structure and this is leading to social shifts from class based politics to identity politics, ideology to lifestyles and mass production to consumption these forces have fuelled the social change hence leading to emergences of new middle class living a new leisure lifestyle. The research reapproved the fact that social class variables had a significant on consumption income had the strongest positive effect of all at the consumption level simultaneously income did not alter the influence of class difference. Education had effected the class differentiation the group with higher education had better living standards thus making education important mediating factor. The analysis in this research paper depicted the class structuration results due to interaction income, education levels, and residential location. Phipps and Burton (1998) did a research where they assume that the household consumer behavior is equal to household utility function and this function is maximized with respect to single budget constrain and incomes from both the partners are pooled. But both the partners have different utility functions; the households comprising of teenagers with incomes add more complication to analysis hence they preferred to avoid it. They found household income, education levels of husband and wife, region, level of urbanization, age and number of children is of great importance to household utility curve. Income earned by the wife is more likely to be used for restaurant food, her clothes and kids clothes. Whereas husbands income is allocated towards transportation, they considered clothing as personal private good and it increased with the levels of income of each individual. Thomas (1993) this paper tries to find out whether all household members share same preferences or they are dictated by any one member of the household. Data taken into consideration is from a survey carried out by Instituto Brasilleri De Geografia they came to a conclusion that when income is in hands of females shares of expenditure increases towards housing, education, health, household services and recreation when males are given the budget they tend to spend excess on health, household service and recreation. Education is considered intervening variable for earning hence increase in consumption, so they exclude education from demand function and include it as a valid instrument for total income. The researchers have come to these conclusions by conducting linear and quadratic models on the complied data. Bonney (1988) previously sociological analyst of British class structure consider males as the only major determinant of the social class position of the household along with time the trends have changed today there is greater involvement of married females in paid work. This phenomenon is making wives extremely important in family budgets and the socio class location of the household, a husbands increase in wage would negatively affect females participation in paid work but on the other hand the increase in wives earning would have smaller but negative effect on their counterparts income. This increases their say in consumption as they are now more economically active. Sommer (2003) discuses that under habit formation it is difficult for the households to adjust to their new income levels this happens gradually if a tax cut is implemented they respond to such policy slowly. But some consumers save a specific amount of income as a precautionary measure to maintain a similar standard of living. Megir (2004) talks about the theory of consumption function that played a vital role in explaining Keynesian demand management. Transitory tax policy or transitory income could have insignificant effect on real consumption though income is more volatile than consumption but the long run marginal propensity to consume out of the income is higher than the short run. Dorlando(2010) carried out a research to investigate the importance of behavioral principals in micro-foundation of Keynes consumption theory. It was concluded that behavioral instead of maximizing principals can be rightfully considered as possible for micro foundation for Keyness work. He said there are chances of cross fertilization of Keynesian approach and behavioral sciences in reference to theory consumption function. This research showed that utility maximization is not the major focus Keynes representation of individuals behavior and many subjective factors are included in the consumption theory lastly the traditional aggregate consumption function is immensely based on maximizing agents. Khan and Dhar (2004) carried out a research on behavioral decision theoretic perspective on hedonic and utilitarian choices and they found out that difference between purchase and consumption of goods and service found out that there is a very thin line which consumer does not even realize and decision making of consumption is merely affected by income, preference and lifestyle of the consumer. Tai and Tam (1997) discussed the lifestyle of females that was changing due to the different socio economic factors such as delayed marriage, smaller family size and single parents have lead to changing dynamics of consumer market as a result the consumer preference are changing and consumption pattern of the families. All these research papers have added a new dimensions to the topic under consideration emphasis on the fact consumption is a vital function of income but there are many other factors that influence the consumption pattern there are incidence when two households with sane income level may have different consumption pattern due to lifestyle, preference and the stage of lifecycle they are in as a household greatly affects the consumption patterns. All these researches try to explore the behavior patterns that are crucial for molding the consumption pattern all these researches have added different key reasons and not a single research as been able to come up with any common behavior traits in the different societies of the world this phenomena indicate that the consumption patterns changing according to society the house hold resides in. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY Research type The research undertaken would be quantitative research a lot of facts and figures would be included they would help to support the arguments that will be established after critically analyzing the results obtained by this research Data type and research period The research would be primary and secondary as a lot of previous research papers have been consulted for reference and further data would be collected regarding the Pakistani economy and how does an average Pakistan person consumes this research would be carried out in 2011 the data under consideration is cross sectional since its both secondary and primary . Sources of data The data would be collected through tailor made questionnaire that would help us to support our arguments and allow us come to a sound conclusion and recommendation at the end of the thesis. Secondly interviews the different retailers of the locality would be conducted to reduce the biases in the questionnaire as people hesitate to provide fair information. Thirdly I would take into consideration my own observation that would facilitate better understanding of the topic as well as its evaluation. The questionnaire was floated in among three various locations where many different socioeconomics groups were prevalent According to the questionnaire analysis the percentage of male and female is in the ratio of 42% and 58% respectively. Almost twenty different casts were targeted they showed that on average a household spends 50% of their income on food and 20% of income is spend on clothing and 10% of income is spend on housing, schooling and about 20 different casts were targeted through the questionnaires that floated among the three different localities respectively (see appendix A) The left over income is utilized by directed it towards saving and entertainment expenditure the ratio of income directed towards savings and entertainment expenditure is about 20% see appendix. In the various interviews that I have conducted, I found out that there is significant difference in the way the different socio economic groups spend their income and their consumption varies accordingly see appendix. The population of Pakistan is mostly humongous with a very s small numbers of minorities that are prevalent in Lahore basically the population trends majorly consists young population. Theoretical framework and variables under consideration Operational definitions Standard of living: It would include income spent on consumer durables, non- durables, health, recreation and entertainment, social services and luxuries goods by the households, larger the amount of the income spent on these goods would indicate that the household enjoys a higher level of standard of living and would be consuming a larger proportion of disposable income. Size of the family: The number of the people living together under one roof and consuming the pooled income i.e. An identical source of income despite the fact whether they are related or not would be considered as a family. Structure of the family: type of household taken into consideration would be nuclear family structure or the extended family structure apart from the two parents or the single parent households, all of these types of households are very common in Pakistan though the recent trends are shifting to nuclear family structure. Location: This would take into consideration the area in which a particular household resides there are three localities under considerations in this research paper, each of these localities would be depicting different socio economics classes in terms of income, standard of living, occupation and sizes and structure of the families living there. Occupation: The means from where the households generates income for consumption purposes this would even account for income generated from assets that a particular household maintains e.g. rent on assets or return on capital and things like credit cards would also be included as they tend to increase the disposable income for the household thus allowing them to attain a higher consumption level. The life-cycle model: it states that save when people are young for their old age they do this to dis-save in their old age as they have no other income sources to support their consumption. Hence this would lead to fluctuations in consumption patterns. They can finance their old age either by selling off the assets that they have accumulated in their young or by saving income. Discussion Economic model of the income spent on consumption was developed by John Maynard Keynes he mastered this area of economics by developing various theories such as absolute income hypothesis, which supports and states that consumption is solely a function of disposable income earned in that period of time in that. Difference between predictions of Keyness and other economists leads to various empirical data sets, in the long run, this led to a number of other theories related to consumption that emerged after Keynes work-most prominently, these were based on relative income (Duesenberry), permanent income ( Milton Friedman ), and life-cycle income (Modigliani and Brumberg). Keynes stated that a change in income will result in a relatively smaller change in consumption; the marginal propensity to consume will be less than one. Keynes also argued that the marginal propensity to consume will be less than the average propensity consumed, which in return stated that consumption declines as a percentage of income as income rises or we can say antagonistically as income increases the consumption decreases. Short-run studies broadly depict the consumption function of this sort, but long-run data showed that the marginal propensities and the average are roughly equivalent. The relative income hypothesis supports consumption related to other households and their past income. Firstly it implies that the proportion of income consumed by the household remains same, assuming that the position of a household remains constant in the long run on the distribution curve. This provides us with the long-run evidence. If the household is placed on the higher side, propensity to consume stays on the lower average. Secondly household is easier adjusted with the rising incomes as compared to the falling incomes this is known as ratchet effect which handles the consumption when there is a decline in the income this is mainly due to habit formation of consumption by the households. The measurement of life time income is an issue of key importance to measure consumption as a function. Permanent income hypothesis states that consumption pattern is directly dependent on the total income and the total wealth which an individual expects to earn over their lifetime. The life-cycle hypothesis on the other hand assumes that individuals that consume a steady proportion of their income and that the present value of their life time income as a measure in a number of financially various areas of life where an individual earns different amount of income at various ages such as, childhood, adolescence , and old age CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS Result generated through software stat graphic Multiple Regression equation y = 0.747966 + 0.152745*location + 0.11217*occupation + 0.100276*size of the family + 0.142338*standard of living + 0.267032*structure of the family The results of the multiple linear regression model to the raw that was collected by the questionnaire, describes the relationship between y and 5 independent variables. The equation of the model that is mentioned below is showing how strong relation each independent variable has with the dependent variable y. y = 0.747966 + 0.152745*location + 0.11217*occupation + 0.100276*size of the family + 0.142338*standard of living + 0.267032*structure of the family In view of the fact that the P-value in the ANOVA table is less than 0.01, there is a statistically there is a strong relationship between the variables at the 99% confidence level. The R-Squared statistic shows that the model as fitted explains 99.0259% of the variability in y. The adjusted R-squared statistic, which is more appropriate for comparing models with different numbers of independent variables, is 23.2334%. The standard error of the estimate demonstrates the standard deviation of the residuals to be at the figure of 0.51929. The mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.373951 is the average value of the residuals. Hence this statistical information ensures that the statistical model that is developed is statistically strong and could be accepted as good model for the research paper. In determining whether the model can be cut down or not, notice that the highest P-value on the independent variables is the figure of 0.2039, belonging to size of the family Since the P-value is greater or equal to 0.10, that term is not statistically significant at the 90% or higher confidence level. Consequently, I could even remove size of the family from the model as this variable has p- value greater than 0.10. Research hypothesis Size of the family affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Occupation affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Structure of the family affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Standard of living affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Location of households affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Discussion of hypothesis Now these research hypotheses would now be discussed in detail so that we now as to what could be the possible reason of these hypotheses to be rejected. Stat graphic was used to generate the multiple regression analysis. Size of the family affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Reject H0 because P value is more than 0.01% The p-value of this particular hypothesis turned out to be 0.2039 which shows that this value is greater than 0.01 hence, Size of family hypothesis gets rejected because of the fact major respondents think and strongly believes on the fact the responsibility of every soul is on Allah hence many respondents said they dont consider the size of their family when they spend their income and many Pakistani head of the families said that they earn for their families to provide them with comfortable life hence they dont even bother with the size of their family this fact is one of the main reasons of Pakistanis high population . This phenomenon is highly prevalent in low income groups. But middle income and high income groups try to spend strategically. Occupation affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant

Franklins Road To Humility Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ben’s Autobiography begins in humility and ends in humility. He is born into a modest family being the youngest son of the youngest son for five generations back. He finishes part two with the modesty of an accomplished elder. However, in between it is full of arrogance and pride. During his early years (part 1 of The Autobiography), Ben’s diligence and thirst for knowledge continuously put him in comforting situations. Unfortunately he repeatedly allows his good fortunes to bring about his youthful pride and arrogance, sometimes to a point where they compromise his decision making. This in turn causes some sort of misfortune or mishap to occur, which humbles him. Ben Franklin shows us that humility is a continuing process that one learns overtime and through his own experiences. A person who has acquired the reality of the virtue never admits it because he doesn’t know it. A person with the reality of the virtue will in fact deny it, because of the nature of humility. Upon reading the Autobiography I came to the notion that during his youth and onto early adulthood, Ben was acquiring the appearance of the virtue of humility. However; in his elder years, the reality of the virtue is indisputable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first instance in which the appearance of humility is evident is when Ben decides to get into the habit of expressing himself in Terms of Diffidence (page 333). When saying anything that could be disputed, Ben didn’t use words that gave the â€Å"air of positiveness to an opinion,† he instead said things like, I conceive, it appears to me, and it is so if I am not mistaken. Ben’s manner of speaking showed the appearance of humility but lacked the reality of it. The reason he spoke like that was because, â€Å"it procur’d them a readier reception and less contradiction.† Made it easier for Ben to argue and get his point across, no humility in the heart.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In one instance Ben’s youthful self-regard and dignity forced humility upon him. When Sir William Keith proposed a business deal with Ben, he jumped at the opportun... ...ith it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and every now and then it will peep out and show itself.† Even the most humble man has instances where his pride will show itself. Those are not the times to judge him, those are the times to teach him. Only the man who has truly acquired the reality of humility will learn.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This autobiography has been read by many and can be interpreted in many different ways. The point of view here is that humility is gained through experience, knowledge, and the learning of mistakes. As Ben grows up we see him mature into an intelligent young man who is trying his best to cope with his situation. At times it may seem like he possessed no humility. But we must remember that he was very young when he was encountering these compromising situations. Sometimes he dealt with the situations like an adult, thinking the situation through, other times ignorantly like a child. It is evident that as he was getting older and Ben was acquiring the appearance of the virtue of humility throughout and acquired the reality of it in his elder years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Franklins Road To Humility Essay -- essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ben’s Autobiography begins in humility and ends in humility. He is born into a modest family being the youngest son of the youngest son for five generations back. He finishes part two with the modesty of an accomplished elder. However, in between it is full of arrogance and pride. During his early years (part 1 of The Autobiography), Ben’s diligence and thirst for knowledge continuously put him in comforting situations. Unfortunately he repeatedly allows his good fortunes to bring about his youthful pride and arrogance, sometimes to a point where they compromise his decision making. This in turn causes some sort of misfortune or mishap to occur, which humbles him. Ben Franklin shows us that humility is a continuing process that one learns overtime and through his own experiences. A person who has acquired the reality of the virtue never admits it because he doesn’t know it. A person with the reality of the virtue will in fact deny it, because of the nature of humility. Upon reading the Autobiography I came to the notion that during his youth and onto early adulthood, Ben was acquiring the appearance of the virtue of humility. However; in his elder years, the reality of the virtue is indisputable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first instance in which the appearance of humility is evident is when Ben decides to get into the habit of expressing himself in Terms of Diffidence (page 333). When saying anything that could be disputed, Ben didn’t use words that gave the â€Å"air of positiveness to an opinion,† he instead said things like, I conceive, it appears to me, and it is so if I am not mistaken. Ben’s manner of speaking showed the appearance of humility but lacked the reality of it. The reason he spoke like that was because, â€Å"it procur’d them a readier reception and less contradiction.† Made it easier for Ben to argue and get his point across, no humility in the heart.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In one instance Ben’s youthful self-regard and dignity forced humility upon him. When Sir William Keith proposed a business deal with Ben, he jumped at the opportun... ...ith it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and every now and then it will peep out and show itself.† Even the most humble man has instances where his pride will show itself. Those are not the times to judge him, those are the times to teach him. Only the man who has truly acquired the reality of humility will learn.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This autobiography has been read by many and can be interpreted in many different ways. The point of view here is that humility is gained through experience, knowledge, and the learning of mistakes. As Ben grows up we see him mature into an intelligent young man who is trying his best to cope with his situation. At times it may seem like he possessed no humility. But we must remember that he was very young when he was encountering these compromising situations. Sometimes he dealt with the situations like an adult, thinking the situation through, other times ignorantly like a child. It is evident that as he was getting older and Ben was acquiring the appearance of the virtue of humility throughout and acquired the reality of it in his elder years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Public Prayers at High School Sporting Events Essays -- essays researc

Public Prayers at High School Sporting Events The Supreme Court has just received Santa Fe v the people, in this case the students was banned from saying a prayer at a foot ball game . The constitution protects the right to free speech. Therefore, there is no reason for this case to have come up in the first place. If someone does not want to hear a prayer, they do not have to listen to it. If I were the judge I would rule that banning prayer at school events is unconstitutional. The first reason I would use that banning prayer is unconstitutional is the first amendment to the constitution says, â€Å" Congress shall make no laws against free expression of religion†. The right to free expression of religion is one of the fundamental freedoms this country was founded on. Therefore, if Cong...

Humorous Speech by an Old Friend of the Groom (Bridegroom) :: Wedding Toasts Roasts Speeches

Humorous Speech by an Old Friend of the Groom (Bridegroom) Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. On behalf of the bridesmaids, I would like to thank Michael for his kind words, and I have to say they were absolutely wonderful and have done an excellent job today - I mean the bridesmaids, not the words. Now, it's customary in these speeches to tell a story about the bachelor’s (stag) party, but in this case it won't be possible. That's because Michael has insisted on having his stag party after the wedding. So instead, I was going to tell you about a night out in the big city that Michael and I recently had, which involved beer, bad food and Michael bent over the toilet all night. But this is Magdalene’s day as well, and I don't want to ruin it with Michael's vulgarity. So I've decided to look elsewhere for my material. I started by writing down everything I could think of that Michael and I have done over the 23 years we've been friends (mates). But even this wasn't particularly fruitful, as a lot of it would have got Michael strung up by his mom (mum), some of it would have got me strung up by my mom (mum) and some of it simply involved Michael stringing himself up with a couple of vacuum cleaners within easy reach. So, as it was quite challenging coming up with anything of real substance to tell you about Michael, I thought I’d explain how our bride and groom got together. ‘The romance began,’ as Magdalene describes it, ‘after an outing to the cinema was arranged with five or six mutual friends. But on the night, only Michael and I could make it. We enjoyed each other's company so much we went out together every evening for the rest of the week.’ ‘The romance began,’ as Michael describes, ‘after Magdalene individually bribed six people to pull out of a trip to the cinema so she could finally have an evening alone with me to curse me with her love spell.’ There also seems to be some confusion over which film they saw together that night. Magdalene remembers it to be 'Demolition Man'. Michael remembers it as 'Free Willy'. Despite meeting Magdalene, Michael didn’t desert me and we pursued our interests in gambling, excessive drinking, Playstation and being sick a lot. For me, the most significant moment during this time was Michael getting his ear pierced - even back then he was preparing for marriage - experiencing pain, hurt and buying jewellery.

Pigman

Now Lorraine can blame all the other things on me, but she was the one who picked out the Pigman's phone number. If you ask me, I think he would have died anyway. Maybe we speeded things up a little, but you really can't say we murdered him. Not murdered him. (ch 1, pg 13) In fact, if Lorraine felt like saying one of us murdered Mr. Pignati, she should have blamed Norton. He's the one who finally caused all the trouble. (ch 1, pg 14) Everything that happened from then on [after they visit Mr. Pignati in the hospital] Lorraine blames me for, and maybe she's right. ch 14, pg 121) Finally I managed to lift my head and saw Mr. Pignati at the door. He was just standing there looking down at me, and there was no smile on his face. No smile at all. That's when I passed out. (ch 13 pg 114) â€Å"In fact, the thing Lorraine and I liked best about the Pigman was that he didn’t go around saying we were cards or jazzy or cool or hip. He said we were delightful . . . † (ch 2, pg 24) â€Å"Baboons. Baboons. They build their own cages, we could almost hear Mr. Pignati whisper, as he took his children with him. (ch 15, pg 149) â€Å"But I gave up all that kid stuff now that I’m a sophomore. The only thing I do now that is faintly criminal is write on desks. † (ch 1, pg. 3) â€Å"Would you like a glass of wine? † Mr. Pignati offered, straightening up a few things in the living room. It was great how happy he was to see us. I can't remember Bore, or my mother either for that matter, ever looking happy to see me, let alone when I came into the house with a friend. (ch 7, pg 56) John is trying to understand his and Lorraine's role in Mr. Pignati's death.He seems undecided about their degree of responsibility If Norton's actions were the final, most immediate cause of Mr. Pignati's final illness and death, does this mean that only Norton is responsible? John still stops short of accepting full responsibility for the disaster of the party and its effect on Mr. Pignati This is a moment of horror for John, when Mr. Pignati returns from the hospital unexpectedly and sees the damage to his house and, most of all, his pig collection. This is one of the very few times that Mr. Pignati doesn't greet John with a big smile.That john doesn’t like old people to go around saying cool sayings. That the baboon was somehow connected to the Pigman. That he somewhat thinks of himself as a grown up There is an enormous contrast between the lack welcome Lorraine and John feel in their own homes and the incredibly welcome Mr. Pignati gives them. We still pretended we were John and Lorraine Pignati because only members of the immediate family were allowed to visit. (ch 11,pg 105) I think cemeteries are one of the loveliest places to be—if you're not dead, of course.The hills and green grass and flowers are much nicer than what you get what you're alive. Sometimes we go there at midnight and hide behind stones to scare the @#$% out of each other. (ch 7, 55) By the time we left, I was so glad to see the outside world I thought I had been in prison for seventy-three years. The smell of hospitals always makes me think of death. In fact I think hospitals are exactly what graveyards are supposed to be like. They ought to bury people in hospitals and let sick people get well in the cemeteries (ch 11, pg 104)The position of Mr. Pignati's head on the floor made his face look a little like my father's and I didn't like the feeling it gave me. Up until then I had never been particularly disturbed about seeing a corpse—even when I'd have to sit for an hour or so at a funeral parlor when some relative had died. (ch 15,pg 148) â€Å"No, no, no,† she said in her best grating voice, all the while shining the coffee table in our sparkling living room, which sparkles because nobody's allowed to live in it. She's got plastic covers on everything.I mean, I like my Mom and all that, but she runs around like a chicke n with its head cut off. (ch 5, pg 28) The house [Mr. Pignati's] had a nice warm smell to it. We had to walk through a hall that had a lot of old junk stored in it, and then we went into this living room that had all that old kind of stuffed furniture with lace things that cover the arms so you don't wear them out. (ch 5, pg 31) I didn't want anyone really to take advantage of the old man. Some people might think that's what I was doing, but not the way Norton would have. ch 5, pg 35) That John and Lorraine are so use to the Pigman that they act like his own children John and Lorraine have figuratively assumed the identities of Mr. Pignati's â€Å"children,† and now they assume these identities literally Ironically, John feels more at home in cemeteries than in his own home. John demonstrates the originality of his thought. His reflection that hospitals are deathly and cemeteries are peaceful and full of greenery actually makes sense That the Pigman looked like his Dad and he even worried about his dad dieingJohn describes a living room, which, ironically, no one is allowed to live in Mr. Pignati's house is a complete opposite to John's. It has a nice warm smell, not a disinfectant smell; it is cluttered with old junk, not obsessively neat; and it has a comfortable living room with comfortable furniture, not covered with plastic. This sure seems like another instance where John is trying, successfully, to convince himself that taking money from an old man under a false pretext is not taking advantage of him.

Benefits of Globalization: Cemex Essay

1. What benefits have CEMEX and the other global competitors in cement derived from globalization? More broadly, how can cross-border activities add value in an industry as apparently localized as cement? (Question for Analysis) The oligopolistic nature of the cement business dictates the limited notion of business strategy, however CEMEX, one of very few cement producers found that through globalization, a variety of benefits can be obtained and utilized to their own. Expanding to the global market was a vision in which Zombrano (CEMEX former CEO) capitalized and was able to add value into the industry in a variety of different practices. CEMEX aggressively took the risk to expand their global exploits from the means of economic speculation during the 1980s-2000 period. Through globalization they were able to build an impressive portfolio and further benefit from each acquisition. More importantly as a homogenous product in cement, the building market during the 1980s and 90s was relevant and needed in developing countries with considerable growth opportunities. This is highlighted in their endeavors with the takeover of Valanciana and Sanson in Spain (1992). Spain, a part of the MEU (Monetary European Unio n) highlighted investment potential as currency rates along with risk premium were considerably low. The lower cost of capital in the merges posed further potential for funding elsewhere at affordable rates. Investments in any Country apart of the MEU could have been beneficial, however, CEMEX strategically pursued developing countries with potential for economic growth. A core benefit of their globalization practices indulged with reducing costs and increase plant efficiency to a much greater extent. Inducing their very own Mexican based best practice into the Spanish operation CEMEX recorded annual savings/benefits of $120million and increase in operating margins from 7% to 24%. Interestingly enough, their benefits didn’t reside only in increased revenue or market domination, but further constantly developed their repertoire by absorbing the comparative advantages in the different economies and markets. By tapping into the building industry in Spain, they discovered incredible efficiency in the energy program through the use of petroleum coke as the main fuel source. By 199 4, a vast majority of CEMEX plants changed to petroleum coke in the own energy program. CEMEX was able to recognize  globalization benefits in 1989 as Lorenzo decided hit the big market in US by exporting their products. Driven by profitability potentials, CEMEX originally dumped their cement products in the US market to win out their competitors however their products were issued a trade barrier formalized in countervailing duties of up to 51%. (Harvard excerpt). The next strategic move was to directly invest in the US market through FDI. CEMEX focused on avoiding traffic barriers and hefty transport costs thus acquired plants and facilities in Texas through FDI. This was the start to their cross border activities. The NAFTA (NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT) reduced tariff costs and furthermore by placing plants ideally close to the demand of the market, they are also able save delivery time. By cutting export time customer satisfaction is increased, as a result, wherever CEMEX decides to operate, their robust company name and reputation becomes a valuable asset in building plants in ideal locations (next to limestone fields). As a result, through FDIs, subsidies, Mergers and Acquisitions, CEMEX were able to benefit from reduced tariffs when it came to exporting their products, and furthermore eliminated hefty transport costs. The elimination of trade barriers and transport costs would be carried out into all firms that CEMEX acquires. CEMEX’s globalization campaign highlights robust financial benefits and hubris within their management system. Through constant foreign investment, they needed to build a modest management system which could be self-developed and applied in all of CEMEX’s facilitations. CEMEX designed a core management system to implement in their new acquisition of firms. They implied the PMI (Project Management International) â€Å"CEMEX Way† which considered being a form of internal benchmarking, setting a core business practices which would be conducted throughout the locations CEMEX did business. By centralizing their management system, firm stations were able to discover talent across the borders and hired some of the most highly skilled and efficient professionals. CEMEX had a separate PMI team congested of highly trained managers specifically to train newly acquired firm managers. Managers, employees were granted a voice of opinion. Hierarchy issues diminished and all ideas were considered valuable. Employee efficiency, coherence, accessibility, collaboration, were the key behaviors of the PMI process. This created cohesion, decisions were sound, quicker and easier. CEMEX was also always open to develop their PMI process as they  would develop new technologies or advantages throughout merges with other firms. Cement as a homogenous product posed limits in enhancing performance however CEMEX clearly constitutes the principle of learning and continuous benefits through the punctuated PMI process in CEMEX Way.

Reckless Endangerment or Street Racing

Alex Larson February 9, 2009 Writing 122 Reckless Endangerment or Street Racing? One well known fact is that teens, males in particular, like to drive at higher speeds, sometimes resulting in street racing. It is a big problem and causes deaths all over the United States and tragedy to many families. Some people say cracking down on teens by way of police force is how to solve the epidemic. Others, such as Denver Post columnist Leonard Sax, and San Diego State University professor Stephen Bender, believe it would be wise to institute a supervised street racing program for teens. What both sides are trying to achieve is a lowered death rate of young teenagers looking for a little thrill. One side wants to have a bigger crackdown on street racers. The Denver Post article supports programs against such racers. The Los Angeles Police Department has implemented the tactic of confiscating supped-up racing cars to prevent their use in street racing; and Denver wants to copy the idea. The author suggests the other side’s solution: supervised, legal, track racing (Authorities. ) Presenting another idea, Leonard Sax and Stephen Bender have supported and started, respectively, RaceLegal. RaceLegal is a supervised racing event at San Diego Stadium. On Friday nights teenage boys and young men get together and do drag racing on the four-laned, one-eighth mile track (Leonard. ) According to Sax’s article, similar programs have begun in Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Muncie, Indiana. In Noble, Oklahoma they are mimicking Bender’s idea. A fifteen dollar admission gets you into Thunder Valley Raceway Park to see or participate in â€Å"Beat the Heat. † This program takes a different twist, with participants racing in their own cars against local cops in their cop cruisers (Leonard. Sax claims that education to stop teens isn’t helping stop the â€Å"epidemic,† as Bender refers to it, but may actually catalyze it. Teenage boys like to do what they’ve been told is too dangerous to do, so naturally speeding when told not to, is the result. He believes allowing legal racing will calm teens down on public roads (Leonard. ) Both sides do have go od programs to prevent untimely deaths. Taking racing teens off the road or taking their cars away would solve the problem. However, being one of those eighteen year-olds with a red sports ar and a bit of a lead foot, I would respond much better to moving my activity off the public road to a track than being pulled over for being a teen with a fast car. The ability to race elsewhere would definitely stop me from driving as fast on public streets. A legal racing league seems to be a well accepted idea; the Denver Post article, which talks about implementing police action, even alludes to the implication of such a program; just their idea tweaks it so that teens are not allowed to race, which kind of defeats the purpose and doesn’t complete the objective at hand, which is solving the teen street racing epidemic. Works Cited Denver Post. â€Å"Authorities Should Stop Teens from Engaging in Street Racing. † Opposing Viewpoints: Cars in America. Ed. Andrea C. Nakaya. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Rogue Community College Library. 10 Feb. 2009 http://ezproxy. roguecc. edu:2080/ovrc/. Leonard Sax. â€Å"Teens Should Be Encouraged to Participate in Supervised Street Racing. † Opposing Viewpoints: Cars in America. Ed. Andrea C. Nakaya. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Rogue Community College Library. 10 Feb. 2009 http://ezproxy. roguecc. edu:2080/ovrc/

A Fierce Discontent

Indiana University’ Michael McGerr chronicles the development and eventual collapse of the American progressive movement in his 2003 work, A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America, 1870-1920. He employs various literary techniques in his attempt to draw the reader into the world that was America at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. More than a simple retelling of historical events, the book seeks to allow the reader to catch a glimpse of the emotions that swirled around at the time.Not only does McGerr give an insight into the lives of all the key players in the historical drama, but McGerr allows the reader to see an image of what life was like for the people who did not make it to the cover of history books, poor farmers and inter-city immigrants. McGerr’s book captures far more angles than you would expect it to. A Fierce Discontent is filled with many of the author’s own convictions about the progres sive era and the legacy it would leave.McGerr interestingly asserts that the excesses and overly-fervent radicalism of many of the leaders of the progressive movement would be responsible for events such as the Communist scare of the 1920s, the popularity of eugenics and racial tension in the coming decades. He uses the term â€Å"coercively reform† to describe the actions some radical progressives took in trying to affect the lives of the lower classes and eventually concludes that the folly of the progressive movement was in the fact that, â€Å"reformers should not try too much.† Furthermore, it is interesting to learn the McGerr believes that the meteoric fall of the progressive movement is still affecting our society and government today. He sees the overreaching of the progressive movement and its consequences as foreshadowing the overly liberal policies of Lyndon Johnson’s â€Å"Great Society† and the resurgence of American conservatism. When one l ooks at the political reality of both situations, there seems to be a sense of parallelism.The progressive administrations of Theodore Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson gave way to the laissez-faire conservatism of Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. Similarly, the â€Å"New Deal† began by Franklin Roosevelt and continued by Kennedy and Johnson set the table for the â€Å"Reagan Revolution†. There is certainly a discernible economic pattern that exists between the two situations, although there seems to be noticeable societal differences. This can be attributed to the changing nature of what being â€Å"conservative† has come to mean in America.Whereas it was the progressives who fought so hard for prohibition and other â€Å"defenses of morality†, it would be the Reagan-era conservatives that would take up these causes a little more than half a century later. Another, and perhaps questionable, aspect of McGerr’s depiction is his vary assertion that the Ameri can progressive movement can be traced back to 1870. Most historians date the formation of the American progressive movement to the early 1890s.No where does McGerr rationalize the decision to date the movement to 1870, as there is almost no discussion of events or people before the early 1890s. While minor in the context of the whole work, it is unusual that such a seemingly arbitrary date was given for the origins of a critical period in American history. A Fierce Discontent is thoroughly enjoyable, a fact that is greatly contributed to by the author’s deliberate attempts to draw the reader into the period of history that McGerr is describing.Additionally, it is extremely comprehensive, covering each and every strike, â€Å"robber baron†, and anti-trust act you could possibly need or want to know about. While some of McGerr’s assertions seem to be questionable at times, He effectively brings to life the period around the turn to the 20th century, and makes the reader think about some of the lasting effects this turbulent time might have put into play. Bibliography: McGerr, Michael, A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the American Progressive Movement,1870-1920, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, 2005.