Essay on Organized Crime

Essay on Organized Crime Essay on Organized Crime Organized Crime These days, when somebody mentions organized crime, the first thing they may think is the TV show â€Å"The Soprano’s.† However, there isn’t anything fiction about organized crime. To properly begin describing it, there should first be a definition. Donald Cressey attempted to define it in 1969, and the FBI had accepted that definition for several decades. That definition is as follows: â€Å"An organized crime is any crime committed by a person occupying, in an established division of labor, a position designed for the commission of crimes providing that such division of labor includes at least one position for a corrupter, one position for a corruptee, and one position for an enforcer.† (Abadinsky, 2009) The FBI must have felt a little fine tuning of that definition was necessary, and they ended up coming up with their own definition. The definition they currently use is as follows: â€Å"As any group having some manner of a formalized structure and whose primary objective is to obtain money through illegal activities. Such groups maintain their position through the use of actual or threatened violence, corrupt public officials, graft, or extortion, and generally have a significant impact on the people in their locales.† (Abadinsky, 2009). Just in case it is still a little unclear as to what organized crime is, the Department of Justice uses their own definition that states organized crime is â€Å"all illegal activities engaged in by members of criminal syndicates operative throughout the United States and all illegal activities engaged in by known associates and confederates of such.† (Abadinsky, 2009). Similarly, these three definition distinguish organized crime as an organization of people. The more specific definition, which is currently used by the FBI, gets into more detail than the others by including how the groups maintain their position. Also, the Department of Justice failed to recognize that or ganized crime exists in other countries. Nevertheless, how do law enforcement officials know when to categorize a chain of criminal events as an organized crime effort if there are numerous definitions? To ease the confusion, criminal researchers have developed a list of attributes that describe characteristics of a crime organization, so law enforcement officials can identify these groups much easier. The first attribute to be discussed is the basis of no political gain. Organized crime groups may have their foot in the political door, but not for political gain, rather for some sort of protection or immunity. Instead, these groups’ primary motive is aimed towards money and power. These groups have a certain rank structure, so the next attribute would be Hierarchical. This means the group just isn’t a bunch of pawns being controlled by one king. The rank structure puts people in charge of just the group below them to help with the delegation of tasks. The next a ttribute to consider when identifying an organized crime group is the limited membership requirements. Sometimes potential applicants need to fulfill certain requirements before being accepted into the organizations. Some of those requirements could include kinship of other members, race, and willingness to commit crime and follow orders. As a token of their membership, group members may possess a symbol of their membership in the attire they wear, or in tattoos they are permitted to obtain. Another set of attributes of organized crime groups include them constituting a unique subculture and perpetuate themselves to remain ongoing. This subculture allows the members to believe they are different from the rest of the society in which they live, and thus acts like they are above the rules. The acts that are carried out are meant to have a long lasting influence on the group’s reputation. These groups must also show signs of a monopolistic organization. If people wanted to engage in certain

George W. Bush Biography

George W. Bush Biography George Bushs Childhood and Education: Born on July 6, 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut, George W. Bush is the oldest son of George H. W. and Barbara Pierce Bush. He grew up in Texas from the age of two. He came from a familial political tradition as his grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a U.S. Senator, and his father was the forty-first president. Bush attended Phillips Academy in Massachusetts and then went on to Yale, graduating in 1968. He considered himself an average student. After serving in the National Guard, he went to Harvard Business School. Family Ties: Bush has three brothers and one sister: Jeb, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy respectively. On November 5, 1977, Bush married Laura Welch. Together they had twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara.   Career Before the Presidency: After graduating from Yale, Bush spent a little less than six years in the Texas Air National Guard. He left the military to go to Harvard Business School. After getting his MBA, he started working in the oil industry in Texas. He helped his father campaign for the presidency in 1988. Then in 1989, he purchased part of the Texas Rangers baseball team. From 1995-2000, Bush served as the Governor of Texas. Becoming the President: The 2000 election was highly contentious. Bush ran against Democratic President  Bill Clintons vice president, Al Gore. The popular vote was won by Gore-Lieberman who carried 543,816 votes. However, the electoral vote was won by Bush-Cheney by 5 votes. In the end, they carried 371 electoral votes, one more than is necessary to win the election. The last time the president won the electoral vote without winning the popular vote was in 1888. Because of the controversy over the recount in Florida, the Gore campaign sued to have a manual recount. It went to the US Supreme Court and it was decided that the count in Florida was accurate. Therefore, Bush became President.   2004 Election: George Bush ran for reelection against Senator John Kerry. The election centered on how each would deal with terrorism and the war in Iraq. In the end, Bush won a little over 50% of the popular vote and 286 out of 538 electoral votes. Events and Accomplishments of George Bush’s Presidency: Bush took office in March 2001 and by September 11, 2001, the whole world was focused on New York City and the Pentagon with the attacks by Al-Qaeda operatives that resulted in the deaths of over 2,900 people. This event changed Bushs presidency forever. Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan and the overthrow of the Taliban which had been harboring Al-Qaeda training camps.In a very controversial move, Bush also declared war on Saddam Hussein and Iraq for the fear that they were hiding Weapons of Mass Destruction. America went to war with a coalition of twenty countries to enforce UN disarmament resolutions. It was later determined that he was not stockpiling them within the country. US forces took Baghdad and occupied Iraq. Hussein was captured in 2003.   An important education act passed while Bush was president was the No Child Left Behind Act meant to improve public schools. He found an unlikely partner to push forward the bill in Democrat Ted Kennedy. On January 14, 2004 the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded killing all on board. In the wake of this, Bush announced a new plan for NASA and space exploration including sending people back to the moon by 2018. Events that occurred at the end of his term that had no real resolution included continuing hostilities between Palestine and Israel, worldwide terrorism, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and issues surrounding illegal immigrants in America.   Career After the Presidency:   Since leaving the presidency George W. Bush withdrew from a time from public life, focusing on painting. He avoided partisan politics, making sure not to comment on President Barack Obamas decisions. He has written a memoir. He has also teamed up with President BIll Clinton to help victims of Haiti after the Haitian earthquake in 2010.

Conventional PCR using agarose gel electrophoresis detection Essay

Conventional PCR using agarose gel electrophoresis detection - Essay Example While addition of gel, the care for the percentage of it has to be taken as â€Å"a 0.7% gel will show good separation (resolution) of large DNA fragments (5–10kb) and a 2% gel will show good resolution for small fragments (0.2–1kb).† So, the percentage of the gel is kept between 0.7% to 2%. With intention to separate very tiny fragments, addition of high percentage ( up to 3%), is not useful as a vertical polyacrylamide gel is more appropriate in this case. The medium percentage is always recommended as low percentage gel may break while trying to lift them and high percentage gels may often brittle not setting evenly. Lewis recommends 1% gel to use. While suggesting for gel tank Lewis recommends, â€Å"Small 8x10cm gels (minigels) are very popular and give good photographs.† For the applications of Southern and Northern blotting, larger gels are used. 30–50mL and 205 mL of agarose is required for minigel and larger gel respectively. While deciding the amount of DNA to be added to this solution, the nature of analysis has to be kept in mind. According to Lewis â€Å"Typically, a band is easily visible if it contains about 20ng of DNA.† After doing all the above preparation Lewis says, â€Å"I usually digest and load 2–4 µL of the 50 µL obtained from a kit miniprep. But you see how it depends on the number and size of the bands expected. For PCR reactions, it depends on the PCR but in routine applications 10–20 µL should be plenty to see the product on the gel.† Depending on the volume of DNA being loaded and the number of samples, the design of comb is decided to include in the process. Lewis recommends, â€Å"Combs with many tiny teeth may hold 10 µL. This is no good if you want to load 20 µL of restriction digest plus 5 µL of loading buffer. When deciding whether a comb has enough teeth, remember that you need to load at least one marker lane, preferably two.† After

Lighting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lighting - Essay Example Primarily, we should understand the process of lightning so that we become aware of how it actually takes place (Adekoya & Nolte, pp. 45-50). There are small particles found in clouds called Hydrometeors. As they attain maturity, they start interacting with each other because of which they become charged. â€Å"Updrafts send the smaller positively charged particles upward and gravity pulls the bigger negatively charged particles downward. This results in clouds having their upper part positive charges and lower part negative charges† (Adekoya & Nolte, pp. 45-50). This partition of charges causes a large electric potential not only between clouds themselves but also between the clouds and the earth. This electrical potential sometimes contains magnitude of million voltages. Ultimately, the electrical battle in the air collapse and lightning, the electrical expulsion between the areas of the cloud or between the cloud and the earth, takes place (Adekoya & Nolte, pp. 45-50). A li ghtning strike can cause death several injuries to human beings. The method of injury is distinctive, and the demonstration differs from those of other electrical injuries. Lightning can injure people in many ways, such as it can impinge on a person directly or indirectly. It can cause heart damage or cardiac arrest; it is often responsible for causing temporary paralysis to the seriously injured people. Lightning may displace the bones or completely damage them; it sometimes creates skull fractures and cervical spine injuries. Lungs might be damaged which creates difficulty in breathing. It causes eye injuries which results in visual problems. It has been a notice by the experts that lightning causes more incidents in America annually than any other natural calamities. Thousands of lightning occurs every year and according to a data an average of â€Å"82 persons die each year from 1995 to 2000 three out of every four lightning deaths from the South and Midwest of America and one out of every four deaths was work-related i.e. from farming and construction works† (Adekoya & Nolte, pp. 45-50). Many people are injured and many are killed due to lack of information or slapdash behavior during thunderstorm. Although there can be no absolute protection from lightning but experts have mentioned certain security measures that can reduce the possibility of being injured or killed due to lightning. Firstly, people should stay at safe places during thunderstorm. However there are no entirely safe places, but some places are safer than others are (Renner, pp. 23-39). Large and enclosed structures are considered as more appropriate to stay at than smaller and open structures. The danger for lightning injury depends on the structure having a feature of lightning protection, materials used in its construction and size of the structure. Generally, completely enclosed metal automobiles such as trucks, cars, vans, etc (Adekoya & Nolte, pp. 45-50), with the windows turne d up give good protection from lightning. One should avoid touching metal or conducting surfaces inside or the vehicle. Secondly, one should avoid going to high and open places, remote trees, defenseless gazebos, picnic points, baseball bunkers, connections towers, flagstaff, light pole, metal and wood benches, farm carts, and water related places such as oceans, seas, swimming pools, and rivers. One should stay away from using telephone, taking bathe, washing hands and dishes. Moreover, one may avoid contact with metal doors and windows, wiring cables of telephone, and television. If individuals can observe lightning and hear noise of thunder, they are already at threat. Noisy or repeated thunder shows that lightning activity is imminent and it is increasing

The Role And Importance Of Segmentation Essay Example for Free

The Role And Importance Of Segmentation Essay Success in business depends on whether one is able to sustain him or herself as competition increase. It requires a faint difference to keep a selected business type on the marketing edge. Business research is therefore essential when one wants to analyze the market wants and needs of different segments before determining their position.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In our discussion we will try to analyze how segmentation by life stages in the Baby boom occurred how and how markers needed to tailor make messages meant for a specific age group. We will also be able to evaluate how the baby boomers affected the market niche. By understanding key term â€Å"market segmentation’ and ‘Baby boomer generation’ would be a key step in underlining their role and importance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By definition, market segmentation is a process of dividing markets into distinct groups of buyers that require different products (Lake, 2008). The groups have to be divided entirely in a homogenous manner. This is the first step required when addressing the need of different customers. The word Baby boomer is an America-English term which describes persons born following the World War II (Brenet, 2006).This is because countries experienced a drastic increase in their population. The birth rates led to the concept term Baby boom. In USA though, different views of the years were documented but many accepted that it was from 1946 to 1964. In Britain he period after the post war 1947 had the highest number of births. This period ended in the 1960. The Irish Republic before its formation, initially had recorded an exodus of people to Britain. Between 1957-80 eras the Irish people choose to have the largest number of children. (Michael, p321). This period of increasing human population recorded increased unemployment economic sluggishness and increased competition to those in the business sector. It was postulated that by 2010 boomers will represent more than two thirds of the 50-plus population. Role and importance   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marketers had to design a method for addressing the different emerging set groups. For this to succeed marketing segmentation was necessary. The segment must watch the firms marketing capabilities sufficient enough for good profit potential, able to promote effectively to and serve the segment and it should be measurable in purchasing power and size. The target markets in this section involve consumer good and Business produce. The later involves goods or services purchased for use in the production of other goods and services for sales either directly or indirectly. The former are goods or services purchased by a consumer for personal use. The basis of market segmentation according (Brenet, 2006) to involves Demographic segmentation-sex, age, income, occupation, education household size and family set groups Geographical segmentation- markets into similar groups depending on the location. Psychographic segmentation- psychological characteristics, values and life styles. Product based segmentation homogenous groups based on usage rate benefits sought and brand loyalty In that period the market analysis of the baby boomers had become more sophisticated (Baby Boomer in denial over aging, 2004). It has been noted that looking at the baby boomers as a single group fails to recognize their diversity which makes the understanding of differences among the various sector of baby boomers difficult(Onta,2002) The most common way to segment the market is the divide it in two based on birth years. This method yielded two boomer subgroups; this leading-edge boomers, born from 1946 to 19545 and currently 47 to 55 years old and the trailing-edge boomers born between 1955-1964 and currently 36 to 44 years old (Onta, 2002).   The   important of segmentation in business is that new opportunities increase when targeting specific groups of clients and customers. Those with varying needs are recognized in economic change fortunes were more profound than was realized at this moment of history. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marketing strategies need to be formulated to address the needs of Baby Boomer. The idea to put into consideration is the fact that every year that passes, boomers are aging. As more Boomers enter the 50 plus population, markets trends will have to change and thus marketers need to change their marketing. One of the best things the marketers need to do is to look concisely at the various stages in the life of the boomer and direct their message to that particular phase. This is where understanding of the various segments and different age groups that exist within the larger subset will be helpful. By sounding a message tailored for the entire population would produce disappointing results. By developing products and services tailored specifically to this groups will ensure that marketers sustain themselves in the economy. References ^â€Å"Article Multidimensional Marketing† Available from http://www.milab.dk/dokumentation/public/Artikler%20og%20rapporter/Meredith,%20Geoffrey%20%20Schewe,%20Charles%20-%20Kohorte%20teori.doc(February 8, 2008) ^â€Å"Baby Boomer in denial over aging† CBS NEWS Article from the Associated Press (March 5, 2004) Available from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/05/national/main604287.shtml(February 8, 2008) Coakley. J Gallaghar, M 1999, Politics in the Republic of Ireland. Routledge Tylor Fransis group,(Pg 321) Green, B 2006, Marketing to leading-edge Baby Boomers; Perceptions, principles predictions, paramount market Books, ISBN 0976697351 Lake, L 2008, Market segmentation for the small business. Your Guide to marketing Available from http://marketing.about.com/cs/sbmarketing/a/smbizmrktseg.htm â€Å"Marketers must view Boomers through a New Lens, www.ncoa.org (February 8, 2008)   Ã¢â‚¬ËœOnta National Association’ Baby Boomer Market (January 2002), Available from http://www.ntaonlnio.com/staticfiles/car-boomer:pdf (February 8, 2008) Population: Babies Mean Business, Newsweek, Aug 9, 1948 retrieved 2007-01-26 Wellner, AS, â€Å"The Forgotten Baby Boom,† American Demographics,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   February 2001, http://www.americandemographics.com (February 8, 2008)

John Websters Play The Duchess of Malfi Essay -- Webster Duchess Malf

John Webster's Play The Duchess of Malfi In the opening of The Duchess of Malfi takes place between Delio and Antonio, a steward of the Duchess and his friend. Webster makes his audience aware that Antonio has journeyed outside Malfi, to France. The words "France, Frenchman, French" all appear within the first four lines of the text, a blunt indicator to ensure that the audience, however inattentive, grasps the point that Antonio has been absent from Malfi. He supports this point by referring to the timespan since Antonio last saw Delio, "You have been long in France." The word "long" suggests that a considerable time has passed since he was last resident in Malfi. Equally, Delio's description of Antonio, as a "very formal frenchman in habit" infers that Antonio had been in France for long enough to adopt French fashions, rather than his native Italian dress. Altogether, Webster, in the opening burst sets up Antonio as a stranger to Malfi, but an adopted resident of the French court. Thus, when Delio asks the open ended-question the audience appreciate Antonio speaks from experience built from a lengthy duration in France: "How do you like the French court?" Webster's question does not ask a specific question, rather it demands a lengthy reply. Antonio's response is not the view of an outsider whose short stay failed to unearth negative aspects of the foreign reign. Instead he speaks from fact due to the time he spent in France. The reply is informative, as expected from a character who is cast as a "formal frenchman" with a straightforward answer then an extended explanation. Antonio "admires" the French system, which he sets up as the benchmark from which the audience must view the court of Mal... ...tonio's admiration of the uncorrupt French court. Equally, where Antonio favours the French court, he also favours the Duchess, then gives a list of the reasons for doing so. It is therefore assumed that they are the "silver drops" in the corrupt state, set to contrast against the corruption of the brothers. The final two characters of the act I feel are dramatic constructs. Delio is used by the writer in this scene so that Antonio can speak candidly about France. By speaking to a friend, the audience value his comment more than were it to be made in public to a group of people. Delio is also used later in the act to hold the plot together, when Antonio points out the duke and describes him as a scoundrel. "This is the Duke of Calabriaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. The devils speak (in him)." Bosola is crafted in a similar way. The authorial mouthpiece of Antonio cannot intensely

Ethics and CSR in British American Tobacco Essay

Ethics and CSR in British American Tobacco Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) encourages the view that â€Å"company should endeavor to build a profit, abide by the law, and be a good corporate citizen, be ethical†.   Tobacco firm, yet, are not like other group. Tobacco is simply the consumer product that murder one half of its customers when taken as directed. The idea that tobacco firm can be ethical while upholding a disease-producing produce is fundamentally opposing (Carroll 1999). Tobacco firms claim that they employ CSR because they are apprehensive corporate society. However, tobacco business internal credentials reveal the exact goals of industry supported programs, which are to increase profits and drive firm’s interests.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tobacco firms want to give the notion that they are presently like any other large company: responsible and concerned about the happiness of their stakeholders and customers (Collin, 2002). CSR serve to counter negative press and form positive public opinion of the tobacco manufacturing and tobacco matters, without changing real company performance (Yach et al., 2001). The growing focus from the community on the tobacco manufacturing and the health risks connected with its goods, give rise to ethical enquiry on as to why Tobacco firm, carry out CSR. In this context, the World Health Organisation (WHO), one of BATs key stakeholders, is getting out towards BAT for a further open debate on their CSR and for a more distinct communication towards other main stakeholders. In addition, they question the ethical concern of tobacco firms and their CSR occupation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With BAT organism examination as a business with a rather divisive product, specifically cigarettes, one might enquire whether it is ethical to honour and accept BAT with rewards on their CSR and acknowledge their initiative towards appropriate a worldwide accepted corporate inhabitant. Hence, World Health Organisation questions the legality of BAT as a CSR firm? Therefore, it is exciting to examine the ethical of the field of CSR. Additionally, the moral fibre of BAT’s product present questions on BAT effort to be analysed as a CSR firm. Additionally, the effort of BAT to make WHO open up an appealing position of the cooperation between stakeholders and companies could lead to a more clear CSR work, and consequently create a better opportunity of enhancing business production.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Stakeholder theory will be function in order to recognize the key stakeholder, whom the  BAT fear, in order to examine the relationship linking BAT and BAT stakeholder and how this influence BAT’s CSR. World Health Organisation as one that is capable of influencing BAT both indirectly and directly. World Health Organisation directly subject BAT’s work and declare that their programmes do not contain the intended outcome on the teenage. Furthermore, BAT is indirectly exaggerated by WHO’s governmental occupation .The framework has been implemented, by several governments and it is a pace backwards for BAT and possibly its dealing because it encourage bans on smoking in open places and anti-smoking campaigns. In addition it place standards for the promotion efforts of the tobacco manufacturing, and consequently BAT. This speech provides a thoughtful of the dispute which BAT face in its sustainability way. Additionally, the statement emphasizes the fact that stakeholders of BAT do not desire to engage with them seeing the business they conduct. Hence, an implied reference may be practical to the ethical distress which several of BAT’s stakeholders have concerning BAT’s tobacco stuff. Laufer (2003) argues that present ethical programs are supposed as most successful when there is previously a dominant credible ethical leadership style and/or ethical culture within the business. Thus, Laufer supports the concept that for companies who hope to engage in CSR, there should be existent a rational culture that encourage ethical company. Subsequently, it seems sensible to question the ethical standpoint of BAT’s appointment in CSR. BAT’s products are conclusively of an unethical moral fibre. BAT produces the just lethal customer product which is sold lawfully to the customers. although it is not accepted by all customers, more than 70.000 piece have been available on tobacco use it is now identified fact that nicotine is physiologically addictive and grouping of tobacco nicotine addictiveness and consumption is a major hazard to the community health. Likewise, the fact that tobacco firms cannot adhere to rules of CSR, primum non nocere, detonating, first do no injury (Palazzo & Richter, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, one of the main influences on the active negativity of tobacco business is connected to their previous activities as an industry, with an exacting focus on the past administration of the tobacco business. Furthermore, Palazzo and Richter have established that the tobacco production for decades rejected the harmful effects of passive smoking, plus smoking, and BAT extensive efforts to decline scientific claims through political lobbying and misleading campaigns. The grounds being, they were aimed at to protecting themselves from lawsuits brought presented by affected customers simply because they accepted that such proclamation could lead to a key crisis within the tobacco business. Interestingly, the business joined effort to depower World Health Organisation and the tobacco business purposely destabilised World Health Organisation’s position, in order to stop their tobacco control labour (Palazzo & Richter, 2005). This is crucial information, and it clarified the reason why BAT, nowadays, are having troubles in getting caught up with their most key stakeholders e.g. WHO. Though, it also offers an understanding of why it is lawful to question the tobacco company’s ethical activities (Palazzo & Richter, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Taking the challenging ethical question of the tobacco business into consideration, how is BAT subsequently trying to change that negative view around? The response may appear straightforward but it is set by BAT as they distinguish their dark ages. BAT is trying to centre on the current and future by ways of CSR that reach out to BAT stakeholders. By accomplishing so, BAT is requesting its stakeholders to evaluator them on their present act within the field of CSR as an alternative of focusing on the preceding rhetorical tactic. Additionally, BAT employs the CSR perception as a way of validating and approving the growth of new products.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The BAT 2008 statement has been endorsed with two awards and established into a business society for its performance. The report has been approved UK Business in the Community’s 2007 Corporate Responsibility Index, by Sustainable Asset Management’s Sustainability Yearbook 2009 (SAM by Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI)) and in the these honour are particularly exceptional to BAT as the DJSI present BAT as the single tobacco firm in its index. Additionally, the SAM recognizes BAT as both a sector mover and sector leader, while, the Business in the Community puts BAT’s statement in the gold sector.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The proposal of certifying a sustainability statement stems from the assurance of financial accounting statement which is endorsed by third parties, frequently in large accounting company. Blanco and Souto established that, â€Å"The dynamic scheme for financial accounting and its related financial audit can be repetitive for CSR situation.† (Blanco & Souto, 2009, p.156). Therefore, we must analyse these assurance audits and programs as mere suggestion and not certain standards. Still, there are several proofs as to why BAT must use these assurance programs. Moreover, â€Å"These exercise help to develop chances and manage social, environmental and economic risks. Many shareholders consider this a crucial significance for success† (Lopez et al., 2007). When BAT is credited by the DJSI, it is marking of the business and its performance that point in an accurate direction. Thus, the encouragement for BAT to publicize these assu rance and acknowledgements programs is legitimised by the consequences it has towards a few stakeholders of the firm. Mainly, shareholders are concerned in such accreditations, as it guarantees them that their capital invested in BAT is put into good, as sustained by Lopez et al. that, â€Å"†¦stakeholders consider accredited exercise in CSR direct to excellent economic-financial act for a specific business.† (Lopez et al., 2007, p.286).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, there is good explanation to question the applied assurance programs. The degrees, to which these programs are utilized, rely on the beneficiary BAT, want to be evaluated. Blanco and Souto established, â€Å"The general selected alternative is limited intensity of assurance†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Blanco & Souto, 2009, p.166) which is also the one BAT uses,If a business chooses a limited strength of assurance, it is no possible for the stakeholders to view this as a transparent and credible assurance level? The clear answer to this problem is that the international business community recognizes the Accountability Standards (AA1000AS) as an assurance standard. Entertainingly enough, BAT is a Global initiate Sponsor of AA1000AS. Therefore, it is logical to question the objectivity and validity of such a reassess, especially when the company being reviewed subsidise the assurance standards. Additional significantly, it authenticates lack of ethics in CSR. Nevertheless, the AA1000AS is implied as an assurance standard in some sustainability information in various different firms, therefore, it is still accepted as an assurance standard, but it is logical to question the validity and ethics of these standards of BAT. Blanco & Souto conclude, â€Å"For along period, financial auditing and financial accounting have accepted a long progress process to accomplish a generally acknowledged conceptual structure. Supporter of CSR must learn from this procedure.† (Blanco & Souto, 2009, p.167). Though, the idea of standards in exclusive of a clear classification poses ethical questions of lack of transparency and legitimacy. Thus, a resolution to the assurance program is in a clear explanation (Blanco & Souto, 2009).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Therefore, identifying this it is not amazing that WHO as a key stakeholder of BAT, questions its participation with a health care centre in Bangladesh or that WHO issue its youth anti-smoking movement. Even though, it seems reasonable when explained, it is yet a truth that the tobacco business is engaged in operations that clash with its industry. Consequently, there is a sound motive to discuss and disagree for a progress of the future CSR plan which BAT must engage in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Corporate generosity is the efforts of giving back to people e.g. giving money to university programs as BAT give when they donated to University of Nottingham (UK) research centre for CSR. Though, this caused the main clamour in the university and the nearby public (Palazzo & Richter, 2005). Thus, we must appreciate that the aim of BAT may be fine but the stakeholders and general public are likely to object and protest to such programs as they clash with the ethical responsibility which is accepted from a university. Yach et al. suggest that, â€Å"financial support which gives constructive publicity to a tobacco business or which is probable to show the tobacco corporation in a positive light should be cast off.† (Yach et al., 2001). This as a result limits the steps taken of corporate charity for the tobacco business. The stakeholder association which is considered as key in the operation of CSR; still, using the illustration of the university funding to illustrate the difference that may a mount between BAT and stakeholder is useful. If charity done by a tobacco industry causes a public objection, the accepted reaction would be a negative match of the university as a BAT as the company and stakeholder. Thus, relationship between the University and BAT could replicate negatively on the University and influence its reputation as an ethical and political correct institution (Palazzo & Richter, 2005) supports this argument.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, WHO seems to disprove a direct alliance with BAT but they do not overlook the tobacco industry’s effort to help at any cost. There are facts that WHO, being an essential stakeholder, still has a concern in a dispute with BAT and its CSR performance. Therefore, recognising the tobacco business’s effort to take on with critical stakeholders, if done successfully, could lead to beneficiaries but in the long run, is cast off by WHO. Thus, the efficiency of stakeholder association is a point of evaluation for the tobacco business. The CSR subject can be criticised on the genuineness that social responsible invest in the tobacco production is facing a divestment as the to the tobacco firms efforts to emerges as socially responsible through its CSR occupation. Thus, the social and ethical responsibility, which investment companies are showing in their isolation of Tobacco Corporation in their portfolios, sustains the suggestion that, it is a bad thought for BAT to carry out CSR. References Aras, Gà ¼ler and Crowther, David, 2009, Corporate Sustainability Reporting: A Study in Disingenuity?, In Journal of Business Ethics, 87 pp.279-288. British American Tobacco, http://www.bat.com last viewed: 02-05-2010 Blanco, Silvia Ruiz and Souto, Belà ©n Fernà ¡ndez-Feijà ³o, 2009, Sustainability reporting and assurance: current situation and future trends, In Taikomoji Ekonomika/ Sisteminiai Tyrimai, 3/2 pp.155-172. Carroll AB. 1999 Corporate social responsibility: Evolution of a definitional construct. Business & Society. 1999;38(3):268-95. Collin JaG, A. 2002; Corporate (Anti)Social (Ir)Responsibility: Transnational Tobacco Companies and the Attempted Subversion of Global Health Policy. Global Social Policy. 2(3). Kallio, Tomi J., 2007, Taboos in Corporate Social Responsibility Discourse, In Journal of Business Ethics, 74 pp.165-175. Laufer, William S., 2003, Social Accountability and Corporate Greenwashing, In Journal of Business Ethics, 43 pp.253-261. Lopez et. al., 2007, Sustainable Development and Corporate Performance: A Study Based on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, In Journal of Business Ethics, 75 pp.285-300 Palazzo, Guido and Richter, Ulf, 2005, CSR Business as Usual? The Case of the Tobacco Industry, In Journal of Business Ethics, 61, pp.387-401. Pomering, Alan & Dolnicar, Sara, 2009, Assessing The Prerequisites of Successful CSR Implementation: Are Consumers Aware of CSR Initiatives?, In Journal of Business Ethics, 85, pp.285-301. Tench, Ralph & Yeomans, Liz, 2006, Exploring Public Relations, Pearson Education Limited, England Wadham, Helen, 2009, Talking across Boundaries: Business and NGO perspectives on CSR, Sustainble Development and Partnership, In Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 34 Summer, pp.57-68. World Health Organisation – Western Pacific Region, Seeing Beneath the Surface: The Truth About the Tobacco Industry’s Youthm Smoking Prevention Programmes, http://www.wpro.who.int/health_topics/tobacco/publications.htm Yach, Derek et al., 2001, Healthy Investments and Investing in Health, In Journal of Business Ethics, 33 pp.191-198. Source document

Has Devolution worked?

Abstract The purpose of this essay will be to consider whether the process of devolution in the United Kingdom since 1999 has been successful and consider some of the points of convergence and divergence, which have occurred in terms of policy development in the region, as well the impact which the austerity measures introduced by the Coalition government have had on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Introduction The process of devolution is one that can be considered as a response to widespread processes of restructuring in the forms of governance in the Western world and also a part of a global phenomenon (Rodriguez-Pose and Gill, 2005; Williams and Mooney, 2008; Keating et al. 2009). In the context of the UK, the process of devolution should be understood as the process of granting semi-autonomous legislative powers to the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly of Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly on behalf of the UK parliament (Gov.uk, 2013). Devolution in the UK specifically should be considered as a phenomenon of the political climate which existed in the second half of the 1990s. The process of devolution itself can be considered as an alternative to the policy adopted by successive Conservative governments in both Scotland and Wales (Trench, 2007). In addition, it was aimed to challenge the agenda set by more nationalist parties in the UK, whose political ideas and manifesto s gained popularity at the time (ibid.). Even though the newly established governing institutions had their predecessors in the past, which exercised similar legislative functions, the fact that they were now recognised as autonomous and sovereign was a major historical precedent (Rose, 1982). As a result of referendums taking place in September 1997 in Scotland and Wales, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh National Assembly were established. In Northern Ireland, as a result of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and following a national referendum in May 1998, the Northern Ireland Assembly was established (Birrell, 2009). In line with these developments in UK governance, the following essay will examine the impact which the process of devolution has had in terms of successful policy implementation. The impact of Devolution In the UK specifically, there are four different models of devolution, all reflecting the asymmetrical nature of the process and the different politics which characterise the different regions (Hazell, 2000). The Scottish parliament, for example, has a responsibility of developing policy in tackling the majority of domestic affairs without interference on behalf of the UK parliament. The Northern Ireland Assembly, on the other hand, has the capacity of passing legislation related to a wide range of issues; and the Welsh National Assembly has an elected assembly, which has been granted legislative powers following a referendum in 2011 (Gov.uk, 2013). In the rest of England outside London, where an elected mayor and assembly were established, the changes in administration were quite marginal and were reflected in the creation of Regional Development Agencies and unelected Regional Assemblies which have subsequently been abolished by the Conservative–Liberal Democratic Coalition Government. As this indicates, UK devolution is a process rather than an event (Shaw and MacKinnon, 2011). As a result of the implementation of UK devolution acts, the legislative competence over devolved matters and democratic representation and authority was transferred to the newly established devolved parliaments. Basing devolution on the functions previously exercised by the territorial departments served to reduce conflict over the distribution of powers and resources in the short-term, but at the expense of any long-term resolution of territorial imbalances and tensions (Jeffery, 2007). While Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own devolved institutions, England is governed centrally by the UK parliament, meaning that UK and English political institutions have effectively become fused. One of the unique features of UK devolution is reflected in the limited autonomy of the regions to raise their own taxes and be responsible for their re-investment (Gov.uk, 2013). T his contrasts with many other devolved or federal states in which the national and sub-national tiers share responsibility for both the raising and distribution of revenue (MacKinnon, 2013). Arguably, this could have a negative impact on the overall performance of the devolved regions, as it puts them in a subordinate position to the UK parliament in terms of financing and self-sufficiency, a policy problem which in the occurrence of the global recession has affected all three of the devolved regions. Devolution has important repercussions for public policy (Greer, 2007; Greer, 2009; Jeffery 2007; Keating, 2002; Keating 2009). In effect, the process of devolution has allowed the newly established governments to design and implement policies which take into consideration the specific economic and social conditions of the regions, thereby presenting localised solution to localised problems (Jeffery 2002). Despite the differences which exist among the regions, some commonalities in pol icy development can also be observed, namely in the provision of health care and tackling public health problems. The common economic challenges, combined with a tight fiscal policy means that the convergence of healthcare politics in all the devolved regions are likely to the preserved for some time (Smith and Hellowell, 2012). With the ongoing debates of more financial independence of the regions, however, it appears more likely than not that in the near future a more pronounced divergence in healthcare policy could happen in the nearby future (ibid.). To summarise this section, the process of devolution can be considered a success, as it has enabled the devolved regions to take the initiative of developing and implementing tailored policy decisions which take into consideration the specific conditions and challenges which exist in every one of the regions, despite the austerity measures and the impact of the economic recession. Devolution has also brought with itself a political reconsideration and reprioritization equality and human-rights in compulsory-phase education and how these are promoted, following the government’s commitment to mainstreaming (Chaney, 2011). With the different dimensions which devolution has in the UK, it appears plausible that the priorities of one government will not necessarily coincide with the priorities of another government. Moreover, within the different contextual settings, it is more than likely that different definitions of equality will be used (ibid.). Although there is still a long way to go in terms of promoting equality and human rights, devolution in the long-term could be the ground upon which more equal societies could be built. However, this is a fragile and slow process, and which, despite the progress achieved in the previous phase, largely associated with the policy of the New Labour, has come under threat by the politics of the Coalition Government, as the next few paragraphs will show. The process of devolution can be characterised by two distinct phases (MacKinnon, 2013). The first phase of UK devolution between 1999 and 2007 was characterised by common Labour Party government at the devolved and UK levels, stable inter-government relations and substantial increases in public expenditure (ibid). Over the period, the budgets of the devolved governments rose substantially between 2001/2002 and 2009/2010, (61.5% in Scotland, 60% in Wales and 62.6% in Northern Ireland) as a result of spending decisions taken by the Labour Government in London (HM Treasury 2007; 2011, as cited in MacKinnon, 2013). A new phase of devolution and constitutional politics has become apparent since 2007, defined by three distinguishing features (Danson et al., 2012). First, nationalist parties entered into government in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast in 2007 as either minority governments or coalition partners. Second, there is the changed context of UK politics following the defeat of Labour in 2010 and the formation of a Coalition Government between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Third, the economic context has changed radically following the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and the ensuing economic recession. In response, the Coalition Government adopted a programme for reducing public expenditure by ?81 billion by 2015–16, thereby eliminating the UK’s structural deficit (Lowndes and Pratchett, 2012: 23). This has meant that the introduction of austerity measures designed to address the UK’s budget deficit by the Coalition Government since 2010 has also had significant implications for the devolved governments, reducing their budgets and requiring them to administer cuts locally, although they have been vocal in their opposition to austerity and support of alternative policy approaches such as increased capital expenditure (McEwen, 2013). In this climate, the devolved governments have reaffirmed their commitment to social justice and solidarity (Scott and Mooney, 2009), with the Scottish Government, for instance, arguing that the UK Coalition Government’s welfare reform agenda threatens the social democratic values of ‘civic Scotland’ (McEwen, 2013). In summary, despite the fact that the process of devolution has been successful in several aspects, all associated with granting a certain level of autonomy to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, this could all prove in vain unless more revenue-raising responsibilities are given to the regions. Conclusion The aim of this essay was to review the impact which the process of devolution has had in the UK. As it was noted, the nature of UK devolution should be considered as a long-term evolving process, rather than a single even. Economic and political conditions have changed markedly since the establishment of the institutions in 1999, particularly in terms of changes of government at devolved and Westminster levels, the onset of recession from 2008 and the introduction of a new politics of austerity. The underlying asymmetries of UK devolution have become more pronounced with the tendency towards greater autonomy for Scotland and Wales contrasting with greater centralisation and the abolition of regional institutions in England. These contradictions raise some fundamental questions about the territorial integrity of the state and the possible dissolution of Britain (Nairn, 2003) in the context of the Scottish independence referendum which is to be held in September 2014. As this essay ha s demonstrated, the process of devolution has achieved some notable successes in terms of public health, education policy and promoting equality, though it is impossible to predict what the future might hold in terms of further developments. Bibliography Birrell, D. (2009). The impact of devolution on social policy. The Policy Press. Chaney, P. (2011). Education, equality and human rights: Exploring the impact of devolution in the UK. Critical Social Policy, 31(3), 431-453. Danson, M., MacLeod, G., & Mooney, G. (2012). Devolution and the shifting political economic geographies of the United Kingdom. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 30(1), 1-9. Greer, S. (2007) ‘The fragile divergence machine: citizenship, policy divergence, and intergovernmental relations’ (pp. 136-159), in Trench, A. (ed.), Devolution and power in the United Kingdom. Manchester University Press. Greer, S. (ed.) (2009). Devolution and Social Citizenship in the UK. The Policy Press. Gov.uk (2013) Devolution of powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/devolution-of-powers-to-scotland-wales-and-northern-ireland Hazell, R. (Ed.). (2000). The state and the nations: the first year of devolution in the U nited Kingdom. Imprint Academic. HM Treasury (2007) Public expenditure statistical analyses 2007, Cm 7091. London: The Stationery Office. HM Treasury (2011) Public expenditure statistical analyses 2007, Cm 8104. London: The Stationery Office. Jeffery, C. (2002). Devolution: Challenging local government. Joseph Rowntree. Jeffery, C. (2007). The Unfinished Business of Devolution Seven Open Questions. Public policy and administration, 22(1), 92-108. Keating, M. (2002) ‘Devolution and public policy in the United Kingdom: Divergence or convergence’ (pp.3-21), in Adams, J., & Robinson, P. (eds.), Devolution in practice: public policy differences within the UK. Institute for Public Policy Research. Keating, M. (2009) The independence of Scotland: Self-government and the shifting politics of union. Oxford University Press. Keating, M., Cairney, P., & Hepburn, E. (2009) Territorial policy communities and devolution in the UK. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 2( 1), 51-66. Lowndes, V., & Pratchett, L. (2012). Local governance under the Coalition government: austerity, localism and the ‘Big Society’. Local government studies, 38(1), 21-40. MacKinnon, D. (2013). Devolution, state restructuring and policy divergence in the UK. The Geographical Journal. doi: 10.1111/geoj.12057 McEwen, N. (2013) Independence and the territorial politics of welfare The David Hume Institute Research Paper No. 4/2013. Edinburgh: The David Hume Institute. Available at: http://www.scotlandfutureforum.org/assets/library/files/application/Research_Paper_4-McEwen.pdf Nairn, T. (2003). The break-up of Britain: crisis and neo-nationalism. Common Ground. Rodriguez?Pose, A., & Gill, N. (2005). On the ‘economic dividend’of devolution. Regional Studies, 39(4), 405-420. Rose, R. (1982). The Territorial Dimension in Government: Understanding the United Kingdom. Chatham House. Scott, G., & Mooney, G. (2009). Poverty and social justice in the devolved Sc otland: neoliberalism meets social democracy. Social Policy and Society, 3(4), 379-389. Shaw, J., & MacKinnon, D. (2011). Moving on with ‘filling in’Some thoughts on state restructuring after devolution. Area, 43(1), 23-30. Smith, K., & Hellowell, M. (2012). Beyond Rhetorical Differences: A Cohesive Account of Post?devolution Developments in UK Health Policy. Social Policy & Administration, 46(2), 178-198. Trench, A. (ed.). (2007). Devolution and power in the United Kingdom. Manchester University Press. Williams, C., & Mooney, G. (2008) Decentring social policyDevolution and the discipline of social policy: A commentary. Journal of social policy, 37(3), 489.

M The Movie essays

M The Movie essays Always there is this terrible voice force inside of me driving me on. Im always afraid of myself, of people, of ghost, always I must walk streets alone, and always I am followed soundlessly. Yet I hear it. Its me pursuing myself. I want to run to escape from myself but I cant. I cant escape I must obey. Forced to run endless streets, pursued by ghost, ghost of mothers and of those of children. They are always there, always. Except when I. Then I cant remember anything. And afterwards I see those posters, I think, did I do that? But I dont remember it! But who will believe me? Who knows what its like to be me? How im forced to act. How I must, must, dont want to. But must! And then a voice screams. I cant bear to hear it. I cant go on. I cant go on. I cant go on. In the movie M we see a murderer torment a city by killing there children. On the outside this person is just like anyone else. He goes about his business and goes through his day just like anyone else. But then these certain things happen that bring out this different person. This person has no control over himself and what he does. He does not think along the lines of a normal rational person. He is totally taken over by this mental illness and acts in such a way that he does not want to but yes feels as if he is forces to. He cant bear to hear it or do what he does yet he has no control over it always feeling as if he is being pursued by this deeper darker thing inside of him. Then afterwards when he sees the terrible things he has done he cant even believe that it was him. It is obvious that he has an uncontrollable mental illness and that certain things bring out these uncontrollable murderous actions and are able to be seen which are the casting of dark shadows, when he whistles his certain tune, the way he plays with is knife, seeing c...

Best Analysis The American Dream in The Great Gatsby

Best Analysis The American Dream in The Great Gatsby SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story on the surface, but it's most commonly understood as a pessimistic critique of the American Dream. In the novel, Jay Gatsby overcomes his poor past to gain an incredible amount of money and a limited amount of social cache in 1920s NYC, only to be rejected by the "old money" crowd. He then gets killed after being tangled up with them. Through Gatsby's life, as well as that of the Wilsons', Fitzgerald critiques the idea that America is a meritocracy where anyone can rise to the top with enough hard work. We will explore how this theme plays out in the plot, briefly analyze some key quotes about it, as well as do some character analysis and broader analysis of topics surrounding the American Dream in The Great Gatsby. Roadmap What is the American Dream?The American Dream in the Great Gatsby plotKey American Dream quotesAnalyzing characters via the American DreamCommon discussion and essay topics Quick Note on Our Citations Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book. To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (Paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text. What Exactly Is "The American Dream"? The American Dream is the belief that anyone, regardless of race, class, gender, or nationality, can be successful in America (read: rich) if they just work hard enough. The American Dream thus presents a pretty rosy view of American society that ignores problems like systemic racism and misogyny, xenophobia, tax evasion or state tax avoidance, and income inequality. It also presumes a myth of class equality, when the reality is America has a pretty well-developed class hierarchy. The 1920s in particular was a pretty tumultuous time due to increased immigration (and the accompanying xenophobia), changing women's roles (spurred by the right to vote, which was won in 1919), and extraordinary income inequality. The country was also in the midst of an economic boom, which fueled the belief that anyone could "strike it rich" on Wall Street. However, this rapid economic growth was built on a bubble which popped in 1929. The Great Gatsby was published in 1925, well before the crash, but through its wry descriptions of the ultra-wealthy, it seems to somehow predict that the fantastic wealth on display in 1920s New York was just as ephemeral as one of Gatsby's parties. In any case, the novel, just by being set in the 1920s, is unlikely to present an optimistic view of the American Dream, or at least a version of the dream that's inclusive to all genders, ethnicities, and incomes. With that background in mind, let's jump into the plot! The American Dream in The Great Gatsby Chapter 1 places us in a particular year- 1922- and gives us some background about WWI. This is relevant, since the 1920s is presented as a time of hollow decadence among the wealthy, as evidenced especially by the parties in Chapters 2 and 3. And as we mentioned above, the 1920s were a particularly tense time in America. We also meet George and Myrtle Wilson in Chapter 2, both working class people who are working to improve their lot in life, George through his work, and Myrtle through her affair with Tom Buchanan. We learn about Gatsby's goal in Chapter 4: to win Daisy back. Despite everything he owns, including fantastic amounts of money and an over-the-top mansion, for Gatsby, Daisy is the ultimate status symbol. So in Chapter 5, when Daisy and Gatsby reunite and begin an affair, it seems like Gatsby could, in fact, achieve his goal. In Chapter 6, we learn about Gatsby's less-than-wealthy past, which not only makes him look like the star of a rags-to-riches story, it makes Gatsby himself seem like someone in pursuit of the American Dream, and for him the personification of that dream is Daisy. However, in Chapters 7 and 8, everything comes crashing down: Daisy refuses to leave Tom, Myrtle is killed, and George breaks down and kills Gatsby and then himself, leaving all of the "strivers" dead and the old money crowd safe. Furthermore, we learn in those last chapters that Gatsby didn't even achieve all his wealth through hard work, like the American Dream would stipulate- instead, he earned his money through crime. (He did work hard and honestly under Dan Cody, but lost Dan Cody's inheritance to his ex-wife.) In short, things do not turn out well for our dreamers in the novel! Thus, the novel ends with Nick's sad meditation on the lost promise of the American Dream. You can read a detailed analysis of these last lines in our summary of the novel's ending. This novel is just one very large burst bubble. Key American Dream Quotes In this section we analyze some of the most important quotes that relate to the American Dream in the book. But I didn't call to him for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alonehe stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seawardand distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock. (1.152) In our first glimpse of Jay Gatsby, we see him reaching towards something far off, something in sight but definitely out of reach. This famous image of the green light is often understood as part of The Great Gatsby's meditation on The American Dream- the idea that people are always reaching towards something greater than themselves that is just out of reach. You can read more about this in our post all about the green light. The fact that this yearning image is our introduction to Gatsby foreshadows his unhappy end and also marks him as a dreamer, rather than people like Tom or Daisy who were born with money and don't need to strive for anything so far off. Over the great bridge, with the sunlight through the girders making a constant flicker upon the moving cars, with the city rising up across the river in white heaps and sugar lumps all built with a wish out of non-olfactory money. The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world. A dead man passed us in a hearse heaped with blooms, followed by two carriages with drawn blinds and by more cheerful carriages for friends. The friends looked out at us with the tragic eyes and short upper lips of south-eastern Europe, and I was glad that the sight of Gatsby's splendid car was included in their somber holiday. As we crossed Blackwell's Island a limousine passed us, driven by a white chauffeur, in which sat three modish Negroes, two bucks and a girl. I laughed aloud as the yolks of their eyeballs rolled toward us in haughty rivalry. "Anything can happen now that we've slid over this bridge," I thought; "anything at all. . . ." Even Gatsby could happen, without any particular wonder. (4.55-8) Early in the novel, we get this mostly optimistic illustration of the American Dream- we see people of different races and nationalities racing towards NYC, a city of unfathomable possibility. This moment has all the classic elements of the American Dream- economic possibility, racial and religious diversity, a carefree attitude. At this moment, it does feel like "anything can happen," even a happy ending. However, this rosy view eventually gets undermined by the tragic events later in the novel. And even at this point, Nick's condescension towards the people in the other cars reinforces America's racial hierarchy that disrupts the idea of the American Dream. There is even a little competition at play, a "haughty rivalry" at play between Gatsby's car and the one bearing the "modish Negroes." Nick "laughs aloud" at this moment, suggesting he thinks it's amusing that the passengers in this other car see them as equals, or even rivals to be bested. In other words, he seems to firmly believe in the racial hierarchy Tom defends in Chapter 1, even if it doesn't admit it honestly. His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy's white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips' touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete. (6.134) This moment explicitly ties Daisy to all of Gatsby's larger dreams for a better life- to his American Dream. This sets the stage for the novel's tragic ending, since Daisy cannot hold up under the weight of the dream Gatsby projects onto her. Instead, she stays with Tom Buchanan, despite her feelings for Gatsby. Thus when Gatsby fails to win over Daisy, he also fails to achieve his version of the American Dream. This is why so many people read the novel as a somber or pessimistic take on the American Dream, rather than an optimistic one. ...as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyesa fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder. And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night." (9.151-152) The closing pages of the novel reflect at length on the American Dream, in an attitude that seems simultaneously mournful, appreciative, and pessimistic. It also ties back to our first glimpse of Gatsby, reaching out over the water towards the Buchanan's green light. Nick notes that Gatsby's dream was "already behind him" then (or in other words, it was impossible to attain). But still, he finds something to admire in how Gatsby still hoped for a better life, and constantly reached out toward that brighter future. For a full consideration of these last lines and what they could mean, see our analysis of the novel's ending. Want to get better grades and test scores? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. Analyzing Characters Through the American Dream An analysis of the characters in terms of the American Dream usually leads to a pretty cynical take on the American Dream. Most character analysis centered on the American Dream will necessarily focus on Gatsby, George, or Myrtle (the true strivers in the novel), though as we'll discuss below, the Buchanans can also provide some interesting layers of discussion. For character analysis that incorporates the American Dream, carefully consider your chosen character's motivations and desires, and how the novel does (or doesn't!) provide glimpses of the dream's fulfillment for them. Gatsby Gatsby himself is obviously the best candidate for writing about the American Dream- he comes from humble roots (he's the son of poor farmers from North Dakota) and rises to be notoriously wealthy, only for everything to slip away from him in the end. Many people also incorporate Daisy into their analyses as the physical representation of Gatsby's dream. However, definitely consider the fact that in the traditional American Dream, people achieve their goals through honest hard work, but in Gatsby's case, he very quickly acquires a large amount of money through crime. Gatsby does attempt the hard work approach, through his years of service to Dan Cody, but that doesn't work out since Cody's ex-wife ends up with the entire inheritance. So instead he turns to crime, and only then does he manage to achieve his desired wealth. So while Gatsby's story arc resembles a traditional rags-to-riches tale, the fact that he gained his money immorally complicates the idea that he is a perfect avatar for the American Dream. Furthermore, his success obviously doesn't last- he still pines for Daisy and loses everything in his attempt to get her back. In other words, Gatsby's huge dreams, all precariously wedded to Daisy ("He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God" (6.134)) are as flimsy and flight as Daisy herself. George and Myrtle Wilson This couple also represents people aiming at the dream- George owns his own shop and is doing his best to get business, though is increasingly worn down by the harsh demands of his life, while Myrtle chases after wealth and status through an affair with Tom. Both are disempowered due to the lack of money at their own disposal- Myrtle certainly has access to some of the "finer things" through Tom but has to deal with his abuse, while George is unable to leave his current life and move West since he doesn't have the funds available. He even has to make himself servile to Tom in an attempt to get Tom to sell his car, a fact that could even cause him to overlook the evidence of his wife's affair. So neither character is on the upward trajectory that the American Dream promises, at least during the novel. In the end, everything goes horribly wrong for both George and Myrtle, suggesting that in this world, it's dangerous to strive for more than you're given. George and Myrtle's deadly fates, along with Gatsby's, help illustrate the novel's pessimistic attitude toward the American Dream. After all, how unfair is it that the couple working to improve their position in society (George and Myrtle) both end up dead, while Tom, who dragged Myrtle into an increasingly dangerous situation, and Daisy, who killed her, don't face any consequences? And on top of that they are fabulously wealthy? The American Dream certainly is not alive and well for the poor Wilsons. Tom and Daisy as Antagonists to the American Dream We've talked quite a bit already about Gatsby, George, and Myrtle- the three characters who come from humble roots and try to climb the ranks in 1920s New York. But what about the other major characters, especially the ones born with money? What is their relationship to the American Dream? Specifically, Tom and Daisy have old money, and thus they don't need the American Dream, since they were born with America already at their feet. Perhaps because of this, they seem to directly antagonize the dream- Daisy by refusing Gatsby, and Tom by helping to drag the Wilsons into tragedy. This is especially interesting because unlike Gatsby, Myrtle, and George, who actively hope and dream of a better life, Daisy and Tom are described as bored and "careless," and end up instigating a large amount of tragedy through their own recklessness. In other words, income inequality and the vastly different starts in life the characters have strongly affected their outcomes. The way they choose to live their lives, their morality (or lack thereof), and how much they dream doesn't seem to matter. This, of course, is tragic and antithetical to the idea of the American Dream, which claims that class should be irrelevant and anyone can rise to the top. Daisy as a Personification of the American Dream As we discuss in our post on money and materialism in The Great Gatsby, Daisy's voice is explicitly tied to money by Gatsby: "Her voice is full of money," he said suddenly. That was it. I'd never understood before. It was full of moneythat was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it. . . . High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl. . . . (7.105-6) If Daisy's voice promises money, and the American Dream is explicitly linked to wealth, it's not hard to argue that Daisy herself- along with the green light at the end of her dock- stands in for the American Dream. In fact, as Nick goes on to describe Daisy as "High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl," he also seems to literally describe Daisy as a prize, much like the princess at the end of a fairy tale (or even Princess Peach at the end of a Mario game!). But Daisy, of course, is only human- flawed, flighty, and ultimately unable to embody the huge fantasy Gatsby projects onto her. So this, in turn, means that the American Dream itself is just a fantasy, a concept too flimsy to actually hold weight, especially in the fast-paced, dog-eat-dog world of 1920s America. Furthermore, you should definitely consider the tension between the fact that Daisy represents Gatsby's ultimate goal, but at the same time (as we discussed above), her actual life is the opposite of the American Dream: she is born with money and privilege, likely dies with it all intact, and there are no consequences to how she chooses to live her life in between. Can Female Characters Achieve the American Dream? Finally, it's interesting to compare and contrast some of the female characters using the lens of the American Dream. Let's start with Daisy, who is unhappy in her marriage and, despite a brief attempt to leave it, remains with Tom, unwilling to give up the status and security their marriage provides. At first, it may seem like Daisy doesn't dream at all, so of course she ends up unhappy. But consider the fact that Daisy was already born into the highest level of American society. The expectation placed on her, as a wealthy woman, was never to pursue something greater, but simply to maintain her status. She did that by marrying Tom, and it's understandable why she wouldn't risk the uncertainty and loss of status that would come through divorce and marriage to a bootlegger. Again, Daisy seems to typify the "anti-American" dream, in that she was born into a kind of aristocracy and simply has to maintain her position, not fight for something better. In contrast, Myrtle, aside from Gatsby, seems to be the most ambitiously in pursuit of getting more than she was given in life. She parlays her affair with Tom into an apartment, nice clothes, and parties, and seems to revel in her newfound status. But of course, she is knocked down the hardest, killed for her involvement with the Buchanans, and specifically for wrongfully assuming she had value to them. Considering that Gatsby did have a chance to leave New York and distance himself from the unfolding tragedy, but Myrtle was the first to be killed, you could argue the novel presents an even bleaker view of the American Dream where women are concerned. Even Jordan Baker, who seems to be living out a kind of dream by playing golf and being relatively independent, is tied to her family's money and insulated from consequences by it, making her a pretty poor representation of the dream. And of course, since her end game also seems to be marriage, she doesn't push the boundaries of women's roles as far as she might wish. So while the women all push the boundaries of society's expectations of them in certain ways, they either fall in line or are killed, which definitely undermines the rosy of idea that anyone, regardless of gender, can make it in America. The American Dream as shown in Gatsby becomes even more pessimistic through the lens of the female characters. Focusing the lens on the women is predictably depressing. Common Essay Questions/Discussion Topics Now let's work through some of the more frequently brought up subjects for discussion. #1: Was Gatsby's dream worth it? Was all the work, time, and patience worth it for him? Like me, you might immediately think "of course it wasn't worth it! Gatsby lost everything, not to mention the Wilsons got caught up in the tragedy and ended up dead!" So if you want to make the more obvious "the dream wasn't worth it" argument, you could point to the unraveling that happens at the end of the novel (including the deaths of Myrtle, Gatsby and George) and how all Gatsby's achievements are for nothing, as evidenced by the sparse attendance of his funeral. However, you could definitely take the less obvious route and argue that Gatsby's dream was worth it, despite the tragic end. First of all, consider Jay's unique characterization in the story: "He was a son of Goda phrase which, if it means anything, means just thatand he must be about His Father's Business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty" (6.7). In other words, Gatsby has a larger-than-life persona and he never would have been content to remain in North Dakota to be poor farmers like his parents. Even if he ends up living a shorter life, he certainly lived a full one full of adventure. His dreams of wealth and status took him all over the world on Dan Cody's yacht, to Louisville where he met and fell in love with Daisy, to the battlefields of WWI, to the halls of Oxford University, and then to the fast-paced world of Manhattan in the early 1920s, when he earned a fortune as a bootlegger. In fact, it seems Jay lived several lives in the space of just half a normal lifespan. In short, to argue that Gatsby's dream was worth it, you should point to his larger-than-life conception of himself and the fact that he could have only sought happiness through striving for something greater than himself, even if that ended up being deadly in the end. #2: In the Langston Hughes poem "A Dream Deferred," Hughes asks questions about what happens to postponed dreams. How does Fitzgerald examine this issue of deferred dreams? What do you think are the effects of postponing our dreams? How can you apply this lesson to your own life? If you're thinking about "deferred dreams" in The Great Gatsby, the big one is obviously Gatsby's deferred dream for Daisy- nearly five years pass between his initial infatuation and his attempt in the novel to win her back, an attempt that obviously backfires. You can examine various aspects of Gatsby's dream- the flashbacks to his first memories of Daisy in Chapter 8, the moment when they reunite in Chapter 5, or the disastrous consequences of the confrontation of Chapter 7- to illustrate Gatsby's deferred dream. You could also look at George Wilson's postponed dream of going West, or Myrtle's dream of marrying a wealthy man of "breeding"- George never gets the funds to go West, and is instead mired in the Valley of Ashes, while Myrtle's attempt to achieve her dream after 12 years of marriage through an affair ends in tragedy. Apparently, dreams deferred are dreams doomed to fail. As Nick Carraway says, "you can't repeat the past"- the novel seems to imply there is a small window for certain dreams, and when the window closes, they can no longer be attained. This is pretty pessimistic, and for the prompt's personal reflection aspect, I wouldn't say you should necessarily "apply this lesson to your own life" straightforwardly. But it is worth noting that certain opportunities are fleeting, and perhaps it's wiser to seek out newer and/or more attainable ones, rather than pining over a lost chance. Any prompt like this one which has a section of more personal reflection gives you freedom to tie in your own experiences and point of view, so be thoughtful and think of good examples from your own life! Want to get better grades and test scores? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. #3: Explain how the novel does or does not demonstrate the death of the American Dream. Is the main theme of Gatsby indeed "the withering American Dream"? What does the novel offer about American identity? In this prompt, another one that zeroes in on the dead or dying American Dream, you could discuss how the destruction of three lives (Gatsby, George, Myrtle) and the cynical portrayal of the old money crowd illustrates a dead, or dying American Dream. After all, if the characters who dream end up dead, and the ones who were born into life with money and privilege get to keep it without consequence, is there any room at all for the idea that less-privileged people can work their way up? In terms of what the novel says about American identity, there are a few threads you could pick up- one is Nick's comment in Chapter 9 about the novel really being a story about (mid)westerners trying (and failing) to go East: "I see now that this has been a story of the West, after allTom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life" (9.125). This observation suggests an American identity that is determined by birthplace, and that within the American identity there are smaller, inescapable points of identification. Furthermore, for those in the novel not born into money, the American identity seems to be about striving to end up with more wealth and status. But in terms of the portrayal of the old money set, particularly Daisy, Tom, and Jordan, the novel presents a segment of American society that is essentially aristocratic- you have to be born into it. In that regard, too, the novel presents a fractured American identity, with different lives possible based on how much money you are born with. In short, I think the novel disrupts the idea of a unified American identity or American dream, by instead presenting a tragic, fractured, and rigid American society, one that is divided based on both geographic location and social class. #4: Most would consider dreams to be positive motivators to achieve success, but the characters in the novel often take their dreams of ideal lives too far. Explain how characters' American Dreams cause them to have pain when they could have been content with more modest ambitions. Gatsby is an obvious choice here- his pursuit of money and status, particularly through Daisy, leads him to ruin. There were many points when perhaps Gatsby ;could have been happy with what he achieved (especially after his apparently successful endeavors in the war, if he had remained at Oxford, or even after amassing a great amount of wealth as a bootlegger) but instead he kept striving upward, which ultimately lead to his downfall. You can flesh this argument out with the quotations in Chapters 6 and 8 about Gatsby's past, along with his tragic death. Myrtle would be another good choice for this type of prompt. In a sense, she seems to be living her ideal life in her affair with Tom- she has a fancy NYC apartment, hosts parties, and gets to act sophisticated- but these pleasures end up gravely hurting George, and of course her association with Tom Buchanan gets her killed. Nick, too, if he had been happy with his family's respectable fortune and his girlfriend out west, might have avoided the pain of knowing Gatsby and the general sense of despair he was left with. You might be wondering about George- after all, isn't he someone also dreaming of a better life? However, there aren't many instances of George taking his dreams of an ideal life "too far." In fact, he struggles just to make one car sale so that he can finally move out West with Myrtle. Also, given that his current situation in the Valley of Ashes is quite bleak, it's hard to say that striving upward gave him pain. #5: The Great Gatsby is, among other things, a sobering and even ominous commentary on the dark side of the American dream. Discuss this theme, incorporating the conflicts of East Egg vs. West Egg and old money vs. new money. What does the American dream mean to Gatsby? What did the American Dream mean to Fitzgerald? How does morality fit into achieving the American dream? This prompt allows you to consider pretty broadly the novel's attitude toward the American Dream, with emphasis on "sobering and even ominous" commentary. Note that Fitzgerald seems to be specifically mocking the stereotypical rags to riches story here- ;especially since he draws the Dan Cody narrative almost note for note from the work of someone like Horatio Alger, whose books were almost universally about rich men schooling young, entrepreneurial boys in the ways of the world. In other words, you should discuss how the Great Gatsby seems to turn the idea of the American Dream as described in the quote on its head: Gatsby does achieve a rags-to-riches rise, but it doesn't last. All of Gatsby's hard work for Dan Cody, after all, didn't pay off since he lost the inheritance. So instead, Gatsby turned to crime after the war to quickly gain a ton of money. Especially since Gatsby finally achieves his great wealth through dubious means, the novel further undermines the classic image of someone working hard and honestly to go from rags to riches. If you're addressing this prompt or a similar one, make sure to focus on the darker aspects of the American Dream, including the dark conclusion to the novel and Daisy and Tom's protection from any real consequences. (This would also allow you to considering morality, and how morally bankrupt the characters are.) #6: What is the current state of the American Dream? This is a more outward-looking prompt, that allows you to consider current events today to either be generally optimistic (the American dream is alive and well) or pessimistic (it's as dead as it is in The Great Gatsby). You have dozens of potential current events to use as evidence for either argument, but consider especially immigration and immigration reform, mass incarceration, income inequality, education, and health care in America as good potential examples to use as you argue about the current state of the American Dream. Your writing will be especially powerful if you can point to some specific current events to support your argument. What's Next? In this post, we discussed how important money is to the novel's version of the American Dream. You can read even more about money and materialism in The Great Gatsby right here. Want to indulge in a little materialism of your own? Take a look through these 15 must-have items for any Great Gatsby fan. Get complete guides to Jay Gatsby, George Wilson and Myrtle Wilson to get even more background on the "dreamers" in the novel. Like we discussed above, the green light is often seen as a stand-in for the idea of the American Dream. Read more about this crucial symbol here. Need help getting to grips with other literary works? Take a spin through our analyses of The Crucible, The Cask of Amontillado, and "Do not go gentle into this good night" to see analysis in action. You might also find our explanations of point of view, rhetorical devices, imagery, and literary elements and devices helpful. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

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

Prodigies - Essay Example Teachers at Queensmill encouraged him to speak by taking away his art drawings so that he could ask for them when he needs them. He responded by making some sounds, which made him to eventually utter his first word paper and he finally, learned to speak when he was nine years old (Sacks, 2012). He is highly interested in American cars; Stephen became fascinated with architectural drawing of landmark London buildings. One of his teachers took him on a drawing excursion and entered his work in children’s competition, of which he won many of the awards. The media become impressed and suspicious on how a young child could sketch such masterful drawings. The interest from the local media became national when he attained eight years of age; thus, enabling him launch his lifelong career. When he turned nine, he received his first work from the Prime Minister Edward Heath to make an architectural drawing of Salisbury Cathedral. At the age of 10, Stephen embarked on his project dubbed, London alphabet, which was a group of pictures depicting landmark structures that are found in London starting from Albert hall to London zoo (HappeÃŒ  & Frith, 2009). He did many things correctly to achieve fan base, fame and financial stability that he enjoys currently. A mixture of good intuitive decisions and raw talent from that tender age was his recipe for success. He is much motivated and he feels encouraged when he makes other people feel happy thereby making him proud, he has a motto that says, â€Å"Do the best you can and never stop. He cannot live alone because he needs moral support from close family relatives; this is evident as he still lives with his mum (Sacks, 2012). Stephen is very confident and loves London. He is an ambassador for those suffering from autism and their parents. He also assists the disabled by talking to them and telling them how drawing changed his life. Wiltshire is

Expectancy theory in nursing Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Expectancy theory in nursing - Article Example There are three components of expectancy theory, which are expectancy, valence, and instrumentality. In expectancy, the belief is that the efforts of an individual’s determine their attainment of desired performance and goals. To do so, the individuals have to develop their self-efficacy by assessing whether they have the required skills and knowledge to achieve the desired goals. Goals difficulty occurs when the set goals are set too high or the achievement of the performance expectations are set too hard. This leads to low expectancy especially when the desired results of an individual are un-attainable according to the beliefs of the individual. An individual may also get the perceived control where they believe that there is some degree of control over their expected outcome. If such individuals believe that the outcome is beyond their perceived outcomes, then their ability to influence is low leading to low motivation. In instrumentality, individuals believe that they will receive a reward if they meet the performance expectations set. This may be in form of a promotion, salary increment, or recognition. Valence, on the other hand, is the individuals’ beliefs in the reward of certain outcome. It is based on their goals, motivational factors, and values. Expectancy theory is related to nursing management in that it allows the nurse managers to ensure that their employees are well motivated to maximize on their potential. It ensures that the nurse managers come up with policies to ensure that each successful outcome of the nurses’ performance is rewarded. They ensure that the efforts made by all the nurses will result into attainment of desired goals and objectives (Yoder-Wise, 2014). To do so, the nurses have to have the required belief in their ability to achieve the set goals and ensure that the goals set are not too high for the nurse to achieve. Â