Changing Fashion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Changing Fashion - Essay Example The essay "Changing Fashion" discusses how and why fashion and trends change. From the definition of Barnard it is evident that fashion can mean different things to different people. Kawamura propounds a sociological approach to fashion that is based on a system of social institutions that produces and nurtures the concept of fashion as well as the phenomenon or practice of fashion. An institutionalized system comprising a persistent network of beliefs, customs and formal procedures form a distinct social organization with the acknowledged focal purpose of creating or producing fashion. Fashion is dynamic, it keeps changing, it is a target that keeps moving; yet fashion is not just change per se, it has been defined as â€Å"institutionalized, systematic change produced by those who are authorized to implement it.† Again, it has also to be understood that notwithstanding the fact that fashion undergoes a continuous process of change, the institutions, organizations and firms t hat form the basis of fashion can be relatively very stable. Some researchers tend to incorporate this dichotomy into their works by differentiating between style and fashion. Style is defined as â€Å"one of the main components of group identity A style is the external manifestation of certain underlying values and principles †¦ Style is not just musical taste, ways of dress or speech. It should be seen as a combination of all this elements, where the whole is more than the sum of its parts.† Fashion is considered to be the variations.

Unity-Mountain Climbing Competition from Shibo Essay Example for Free

Unity-Mountain Climbing Competition from Shibo Essay Preparation for reading: We love the shibo, love the shibo vibrant, love the big stage of the shibo, love the shibo unity, love every employee from shibo. Mountain climbing competition held in Gongyi Fuxi Mountain is just a miniature of shibo.. On the steps of spring, the Mountaineering climbing Competition jointly organized by shibo International Trade Department and e-commerce Department held in Gongyi Fuxi Mountain on April 3, 2012. the company attaches great importance to the activities, Dong Maosheng, the General manager of company jointly participate in the mountaineering game. With the order of â€Å"Ready, Go! †, everybody sprints to the Fuxi Mountain â€Å"peak†. In the game, players vied with each other, reflecting the courage first to the sense of competition and hard work of consciousness. at the same time, they help each other in the game, hand in hand, showing a good team spirit . After 30 minutes of intense competition, everybody arrived in end one by one. , company leadership comrade issued souvenirs. After mountain climbing competition, The general manager Dong Mao Cheng represent the company leadership to encourage everyone that quarter fully approved. He hope everyone strengthen the collective consciousness, sense of innovation to improve the cohesion and combat effectiveness and execution in future work . At the same time, he hope that each staff member can be fully and improve their quality, multi-skill all-rounder. The event will not only exercise everyone’s fitness, ease the work pressure, and promote communication between employees, but also to create a healthy, progressive and positive team atmosphere.

Genetic Engineering is Unethical :: Genetic Engineering Essays

Genetic engineering is a technology that has been created to alter DNA of different species to try and make them more improved. This essay will discuss the eugenics, the religious point of view about genetic engineering, genetically modified food and the genetic screening of embryos. In this essay it will be said wether genetic engineering is ethical or unethical. During 1924 Hitler said that everyone needs to be blond hair, blue eyes and white. This is known as Eugenics, thanks to a new science known as biotechnology in a few decades? people can custom make their children. The DNA can be changed so that the child?s appearance is altered and if they had a disease the scientist can take out the disease that causes it. Just because scientists can take out a gene that causes the disease how do they know that another disease can be created? They don?t that?s why many people don?t believe in designer children. If we start genetically modifying people ?We are going to have? as much knowledge? as much power as God.? In a way scientists that genetically modify do not have the right to do it. Scientists are considered to be playing God because they have come up with the technology and change species DNA so they look or behaviour completely different. Humans have forgotten that they are not God they cannot change people. Genetically modifying food is an advantage for Australia because without genetically modified food we would not be able to maintain our role in agriculture. Genetically modified food grows faster, costs less and lasts longer. An argument put forward about genetically modified food is that because it is cheaper and more can be produced the poorer countries can have genetically modified food and hopefully less people will die. The problem with this is that to set up a place where food is genetically modified and to hire people to modify the food is very expensive and if they are poorer countries there is a big chance they can not afford it. The procedure of genetic screening embryos allows the finding of a defective gene in an embryo. In many countries there is already a widespread programme to screen for the chromosome abnormality. Since this technology can change the information at the level of individual?

An Export-Led Growth Strategy: Pakistan Essay

This essay makes no pretence to offer a novel concept or a new development strategy and most economists reading it will probably stifle a yawn and turn the page. Yet it is a subject worth talking about. Many countries round the world, most notably the former Asian Tigers, China, Brazil, Turkey and more recently India have followed such a strategy with great success. Pakistan has not and it is well to ask why and what we can do about it. Pakistan has never had a consistent, coherent and well-articulated export-led growth strategy. Indeed, exports are often treated as a residual, an after-thought, once the domestic market has been filled. This is inexplicable given our persistently large trade deficit which has not been reduced over time and we have difficulty financing it (filling the gap) each year. Economic growth has at various times been driven by either the public or private sector or more recently – and most disastrously in the previous government – by consumption which created dangerous asset- price bubbles in the domestic economy, led to overheating pressures and a surge in inflation and imports. Economic growth has never been driven by exports nor has building a dynamic export sector been at the forefront of any government’s economic strategy. While the large-scale manufacturing sector in Pakistan is the focus of policy attention not least because it has a powerful lobby, it is the tip of the manufacturing (and export) sector ice-berg. It is the small and medium-enterprise manufacturing (SME) sector in Pakistan that generates four-fifths of our manufacturing output, employment and exports. Sustained and focused policy-driven growth in this sector with its strong forward and backward inter-industry linkages is the kind of -inclusive- growth that Pakistan urgently needs. With labor-input a large component of capital and output, rapid SME growth has important positive implications for wages, employment, living standards and the goal of poverty alleviation. Why Pakistan has shied away from adopting such a strategy is not clear. Of course every now and then there is much bluff and bluster about boosting exports and grand plans to contain our external deficit and debt. Since the government is busy giving â€Å"top priority† to everything, the priority that should be given to exports is drowned amid the â€Å"noise† of the many – and often contradictory – pronouncements. Perhaps the first reason for not paying sufficient attention to the SME sector – and an incredible one at that – is that we don’t know much about the SME sector despite its size and importance in the economy. We have large bureaucracies dealing with SME in all provinces but it is unclear what they do. Surveys of activity this sector are taken in -frequently, sometimes as far apart as 15 years, and a inter-survey growth rate is calculated which is then put into the National Income Accounts and repeated year-after-year until the next survey. The real growth rate of the SME sector has been fixed at as low a figure as 2. 5% per annum. The present fixed rate is 7. 5% per annum. But what is really happening in the SME sector in the inter-survey years no one knows except through crude methods of linear interpolation. If there is no information and just a fixed assumed growth rate with fixed and outdated coefficients for employment and capital, there can be no meaningful strategy of export- led growth in the SME sector to begin with. The second reason could be that we don’t like to talk about exchange rate policy except in whispered conspiratorial terms. Maintaining a -stable† exchange rate is always thought to be a reflection of how well economic policies are being managed. Governments frequently interfere with exchange rate management issues and demand that the exchange rate is kept -stable. † An appreciating exchange rate is greeted with applause. Devaluation is always bad. Nominal â€Å"exchange rate stability† was one of the highly –touted achievements of the Musharraf years even though no one was noticing that Pakistan’s export to GDP ratio was falling (along with our notoriously under-performing and falling tax-to-GDP ratio). This presented prima facie evidence that export profitability was most probably being compressed and the authorities should have done something about it. But given that we were in an era of plentiful aid and other capital inflows there was no pressure on government to do much either on the export or the tax front. Added to the conspiracy theories, there is a widespread view that exchange rate devaluation which for exporters means more rupees earned per dollar exported, has no effect on export performance. The reality is more nuanced and worthy of some elaboration. There are fairly long lags between exchange rate depreciation and the response of exports. It takes time to gear up production to the new level of export profitability. Furthermore, for devaluation to impact exports in a positive way, the exchange rate must depreciate in â€Å"real,† rather than only â€Å"nominal,† terms, that is, the extent of depreciation (or increase in nominal export profitability), of say 10 percent, must exceed the going rate of domestic inflation, say 7 percent. Exports respond to increases in real profitability (in the above example the real increase in export profitability is 10 percent minus 7 percent = 3 percent, not just the nominal change in profitability, 10 percent). If the extent of devaluation is offset, or more than offset, by higher inflation because macro policies are insufficiently tight and there is cost-push inflation, there will be no stimulus to exports because there is no, or perhaps even a negative, change in real export profitability. Importantly, any increase in real export profitability needs to be sustained if the stimulus to exports is to be lasting. If exporters see that the improvement in real export profitability is likely to be fleeting and will dissipate through future inflation, or a change in government policy, they will have little incentive to export and would prefer to sell in the domestic market. Given the concentrated, oligopolistic structure of industry in Pakistan and the high-levels of protection afforded to producers in the domestic market from foreign import competition, real profitability in the domestic market can be very high, often a multiple of what can be earned in the export sector. In Pakistan this has been a strong disincentive to produce for exports. This brings to the foreground a â€Å"second-order condition† for a successful export drive. Even if there is a real increase in export profitability, the much higher real profitability levels, or â€Å"monopoly rents,† that can be earned in the domestic market will induce firms to sell domestically, eschewing exports. Worse, firms may actually switch back to selling in the domestic market and cease exporting altogether as the differential between domestic profitability and exports rises. Of course, a judicious application of trade, tax and tariff policies and other incentives can help countries achieve an incentive structure more favorable to exports. Many countries that are more aggressive with their export drive actually tilt profitability sharply towards the export sector and ensure it is sustained. The importance of establishing an incentive structure favorable to exports is underscored by the fact that exporting, per se, is a challenging task. Not only are quality requirements higher, strict adherences to, for example, packaging, labeling, and hygienic standards is essential. One often hears of Pakistani exports being banned in foreign markets because of our failure to adhere to high standards. Competition from other countries selling in the same market is intense; price wars and dumping can be ruinous, and there are tariff and non-tariff barriers and complex procedural regulations in the importing country that have to be negotiated and complied with. These â€Å"non-price† determinants of exports can be of significant importance. While price and non-price factors interact to determine competitiveness, exports also respond to export market income growth. The magnitude of the response of exports to income growth is the â€Å"income elasticity of demand for exports† which generally reflects the country’s export mix. Given the commodity composition of Pakistan’s exports, dominated by low-value textiles such as yarn and cloth, the income elasticity of our exports is not large, perhaps even less than unity (or less than one). This means that for every one percent increase in export market income growth, our exports respond by less than one percent. This less than â€Å"unitary income elasticity† of our exports explains why Pakistan’s export market share has lagged behind the growth in global income and trade. By contrast, in the more dynamic exporting countries, the income elasticity of exports of their higher-value added products can be as high as four or six and these countries have made impressive strides in expanding their global market share. Many countries use the exchange rate as a weapon of export competitiveness, most prominently China, where the exchange rate is kept artificially depreciated (by some calculations by as much as 42% but now down to 24%), when China’s massive trade surpluses with other countries, most notably the US, and even more massive foreign exchange reserves (presently $2. trillion) would point towards a policy of gradual appreciation of the currency that would slow down the torrid pace of China’s exports and pull in more imports driven by domestic demand. In doing so, China’s massive trade surpluses would start to diminish, and with other surplus countries adjusting in a similar manner, the global economy would be better balanced. According to a recent estimate a 20% appreciation of the Chinese currency would cut $150 billion off the US trade deficit with China and create 1 million US jobs by making US exports more competitive. Pakistan needs to change the commodity composition of its exports, add new higher value products for export and look for new export markets. After 62 years we still export the same products of largely unchanged quality to the same markets as reflected in the estimated â€Å"Commodity Concentration Index† of our exports which has remained broadly unchanged. We have made little progress in moving up the -value-added chain† and getting better unit prices for our exports. One study showed that the unit price our exports can be as low as one-third of the unit price other developing exporting countries earn for the same product. The unit price of our exports of garments, for example, was lower than the unit price received by exporters in Bangladesh for the same garments selling to the same market. This is a distressing fact since it shows the Is there any empirical econometric support to the view that the real exchange rate matters? There have been a surprisingly few studies done in Pakistan given the importance of the subject (most of the studies have been done by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the IMF using Pakistani data). These studies do point to a strong and fairly robust relationship between the real exchange rate and exports. Of course, other factors too contribute as explanatory variables such as world income growth. The lags between real exchange rate changes and real exports mentioned earlier need to be carefully specified to get a better â€Å"fit† of the predictions of the econometric model to the actual data. Other than these models which are probably out-of-date, the projections that are made each year in the context of our export targets are based on what can be termed â€Å"casual empiricism. The government iterates to a target figure for each export commodity based on discussions with trade bodies and simply extrapolates by using an agreed compound growth rate from a given base-year figure. There is no rigorous forecasting model which specifies explanatory variables that underlies the export targets. To sum up, Pakistan needs more information and better information on what is going on in the SME sector from which most of our exports emanate. It will be costly since the SME sector is widely dispersed but the benefits would more than justify the cost of more frequent surveys of the full population of the SME sector, say every three years with smaller sample surveys taken each year so as to build-up a time-series profile of the dynamics of the SME sector. External donors would be more than willing to finance such a survey (s) with grant (non-debt-creating) funds if Pakistan can present a credible plan. The decision by the US to give $100 million to the SME sector could portend a new beginning for the sector but one has misgivings about the administrative and technical capacity of the SME establishment and whether they can or will deliver meaningful results. Discussion of the appropriateness of the exchange rate and how domestic inflation and relative inflation affects export profitability, the difference between nominal and real exchange rate, the overall conduct of exchange rate policy, and different exchange rate regimes followed by more successful exporting countries, needs to be more transparent, up-front and better understood. The point to drive home is that the real exchange rate does matter and is an important – albeit not exclusive – determinant of lasting export success. It is the most important price signal in any economy. The incentive structure needs to tilt towards exports versus selling in the domestic market through judicious adjustment in trade, tax, finance and tariff policies. Special, selective incentives should be given to exporters, especially new exports which should not be available to producers selling in the domestic market within of course the ambit of WTO rules. To prevent abuse of these incentives they should be tied to performance and withdrawn if performance is not forthcoming as measured by, say, actual exports in the previous three years. If this â€Å"tilt† is sustained, new exports will emerge of products and from sectors previously un-thought of A look at the rag-bag category of â€Å"Miscellaneous Exports† in the export data turns up some surprising high-value items that Pakistan exports (some to very sophisticated markets in Europe) but the amounts are small and their year-on-year growth is erratic. Since there is little targeted encouragement given to these new exports, they usually fade out of the export picture altogether. If there is no domestic market that they can turn to, these firms shut down. In both cases, Pakistan has lost a potential export item and valuable foreign exchange something that we can ill-afford. Focusing on fostering growth in these high-value exports which emanate from the SME sector would improve the export mix, diversify the export base, reduce the commodity concentration of our exports and increase the income elasticity of demand for our exports in world markets. The non-price determinants of exports need to be strengthened through emulating â€Å"best-practice† techniques employed by the leading exporters of the world. This is not rocket-science since most of the â€Å"best-practice† techniques can be gleaned from the internet. Furthermore, domestic investors and FDI proposals that are aimed at exports should be given the highest priority and placed on a fast-track of approval. FDI inflows offer the best route to securing structural shifts in the technological progress function in the SME sector while at the same time bringing in better managerial and marketing skills which are so critical in exporting. Enhancing productive efficiency in the SME sectors means being able to offer higher wages in line with productivity improvements which would lead to higher living standards and poverty levels dropping to the teens as demonstrated by the remarkable success of other exporting countries. As productivity growth responds to output growth (as in the P.  J. Verdoon and Kaldor models which inverts the causality of neo-classical models of Solow and Swan) with output growth being driven mainly by net exports as would be the case in an export-led development strategy, static and dynamic economies of scale can be reaped through the process of â€Å"Learning-by-Doing† as espoused by the US economist Kenneth Arrow in his path-breaking work. Such dynamic economies of scale and increasing returns can generate positive cumulative circular causation effects that impact costs, prices and profitability in the export sector.

Jesus Christ Essay

In most part of the world, Jesus Christ is not a stranger in concept and in fame. Some books in the Holy Bible were even devoted to discussing and retelling the life of Jesus Christ. It could be seen then that the main writers or proponents regarding the accounting of Jesus’ life and works were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These four writers wrote the first four books that could be found in the New Testament. As was mentioned earlier, these books were dedicated in telling the readers about Jesus and how He had come to dominate a part of the world with His teachings. In the book written by Joseph Girzone, he had recreated the stories that could be found in the first books of the New Testament and made it reader friendly. In a way, the author had omitted the things that are not part of the story of Jesus’ life and teachings. He then had patched up or combined the books in chronological order, from the birth of Jesus Christ to His death and Resurrection. The first thought that came into my mind is that the book is not completely different than what could be found in the Bible. However, the advantage of having this book is that it is already arranged in a way that would not confuse the readers. The book, ‘Jesus, His Life and Teachings: As Recorded by His Friends Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,’ could be used by those who are only interested in knowing the life of Christ and also His teachings. A person could refer to the Bible, of course, but this book makes it easier to read since the chronological aspect of Jesus’ stories are already laid down. It was said that Joseph Grizone had already written books where Joshua is the character and since more and more people are turning towards his concept of Joshua, he then tried to resolve this by publishing the life of Jesus in the light of the Joshua fame (Maudlin). The book then was published in order to counter the influence of Grizone’s Joshua. It was not surprising that Grizone’s character had clicked among the people since most of the people are looking for an example that is highly mortal in disposition. The first point of the book then is the story concerning the birth of Jesus Christ. Naturally, this aspect of the book covers the story of how Mary was already engaged to Joseph and how Mary was visited by an angel to impart the good news (Girzone). As a chosen woman, she then would carry Jesus in her womb through the Immaculate Conception. Another aspect of the book is Jesus’ journey in spreading the word of God. It could be seen, or read rather, that Jesus had travelled widely with his apostles and wherever He went, blessings and lessons could be received. There were numerous instances where Jesus had swayed the masses towards His cause just by doing the works of God. This is where His popularity had grown. Along with His popularity then, persecution and accusations had then arisen along with the suspicion of the authenticity of Jesus’ principles. With the persecution, Jesus then had to undergo hardships from the so-called leaders of the time and was incriminated to die through crucifixion. These hardships could be seen as Jesus’ Passion. This is where Jesus had to walk along the street and carry the burden of the cross. He was asked to renounce His teachings but Jesus did not try to defend Himself nor revoke what He had already shared about His Father. He then had to suffer publicly and die in the cross. In every beginning there is an ending. But this could not be the holistic case of Jesus Christ. He may have died during the crucifixion but He resurrected from the dead and descended into Heaven to claim His spot beside His true Father. This concept of resurrection is important for the believers since it is the sign that Jesus had already left the mortal domain and went to Heaven. Also, this concept would also entail that the Holiness of Jesus could no longer be contested by those who had persecuted Him. It was said that who shall ever believe in Him (Jesus) shall be saved. In this light, Jesus then became the bridge that would cover the gap that man has with God. The book may not have any difference at all from those that are from the New Testament but what Grizone did was to combine the efforts of the four disciples and retold the greatest story. Having a subject about the New Testament, the book could be very helpful especially when some parts of the New Testament contain the story of Jesus Christ. A big bulk in studying the New Testament is the part where God had sent His own Son to save us, the sinners. The book then could provide a simple and easy access for the students who want to know the story. However, it should be noted that not all of the contents in the New Testament were included in Grizone’s book so it should be considered that there could be other sources that can be used. The main point here though is that Grizone’s retelling of Jesus’ story is a much easier version to understand especially when he had already incorporated what Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John had written in the first four books of the New Testament.

2015 SAT Scores By State

2015 SAT Scores By State    Approximately 1.7 million students took the SAT in 2015 and the test scores varied greatly according to things like gender, ethnicity and even household income. (If you want to see that report, you can check it out here.) Its interesting, however, to see how students fared on the SAT according to their home state. The data below represents how students fared on the exam in  your  neck of the woods.   SAT Score Note Currently, the  Redesigned SAT uses a scale with a high of 1600. There are two chief areas that receive a score out of 800: Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing. Those two scores are added to get the total.   Please keep in mind that the scores reported in 2015 (those below) are based on the former SAT scoring scale, which had an absolute maximum of 2400. The former test added the Writing, Mathematics and Critical Reading sections, which had maximum scores of 800, to achieve a total score out of 2400. The national average in 2015 was a 1497, so as you can see, many states outperformed the average by significant numbers. Overall:  1497Critical Reading:  495Mathematics:  511Writing:  484 2015 SAT Scores By State State Average SAT Score Out of 2400 Critial Reading Score Mathematics Score Writing Score Alabama 1616 545 538 533 Alaska 1494 509 503 482 Arizona 1552 523 527 502 Arkansas 1688 568 569 551 California 1492 495 506 491 Colorado 1736 582 587 567 Connecticut 1514 504 506 504 Delaware 1368 462 461 445 District of Columbia 1313 441 440 432 Florida 1434 486 480 468 Georgia 1450 490 485 475 Hawaii 1472 487 508 477 Idaho 1372 467 463 442 Illinois 1802 599 616 587 Indiana 1473 496 499 478 Iowa 1755 589 600 566 Kansas 1748 588 592 568 Kentucky 1749 588 587 574 Louisiana 1675 563 559 563 Maine 1392 468 473 451 Maryland 1462 491 493 478 Massachusetts 1552 516 529 507 Michigan 1788 594 609 585 Minnesota 1778 595 607 576 Mississippi 1713 580 563 570 Missouri 1777 596 599 582 Montana 1655 561 556 538 Nebraska 1755 589 590 576 Nevada 1458 494 494 470 New Hampshire 1566 525 530 511 New Jersey 1520 500 521 499 New Mexico 1623 551 544 528 New York 1469 489 502 478 North Carolina 1478 498 504 476 North Dakota 1791 597 608 586 Ohio 1657 557 563 537 Oklahoma 1693 576 569 548 Oregon 1546 523 521 502 Pennsylvania 1485 499 504 482 Rhode Island 1472 494 494 484 South Carolina 1442 488 487 467 South Dakota 1753 592 597 564 Tennessee 1723 581 574 568 Texas 1410 470 486 454 Utah 1708 579 575 554 Vermont 1554 523 524 507 Virginia 1533 518 516 499 Washington 1496 502 510 484 West Virginia 1501 509 497 495 Wisconsin 1771 591 605 575 Wyoming 1737 589 586 562    Should You Take the SAT?   If your SAT scores were significantly lower than those reported by your fellow test-takers, perhaps it would have been better for you take the ACT exam. Although they are both college admissions tests, they differ greatly in both the content, and strategies you should use while studying and taking the tests. Heres a simple, ten-question quiz to help you determine whether or not you may fare better on one or the other.   How to Prepare for the SAT So, you took the quiz and realize that you did, indeed, take the correct college admissions exam. The bad news? You did not adequately prepare for this bad boy, so you did not get the SAT scores that you were really hoping to achieve. Well, here is some good news for you. A little bit of prep work goes a very long way when it comes to SAT prep, and you can choose a variety of ways to get ready. Here are a few of the best ways to get studying so that next time around, you do not get a bad SAT score. The Best SAT BooksSAT Tutoring OptionsSAT Apps Worth The DownloadFree SAT Practice Tests

The Crimes of Child Killer Angela McAnulty

The Crimes of Child Killer Angela McAnulty Angela McAnulty sits on death row at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Oregon after pleading guilty to the murder of her 15-year-old daughter Jeanette Maples, whom she literally tortured, beat, and starved to death. McAnulty also pled guilty to altering and destroying evidence in the case. Angela McAnultys Formative Years Angela McAnulty was born on October 2, 1968, in California. When she was 5 years old, her mother was murdered. She spent the remainder of her childhood living with her father and two brothers. Her father was abusive, often withholding food from the children as a form of punishment. At the age of 16, McAnulty began a relationship with a carnival worker and left home. It was during this time that she became involved with drugs. She later met Anthony Maples, with whom she had three children, two boys, Anthony Jr. and Brandon, and her daughter, Jeanette. She also had another child, a daughter named Patience, by another father. When Maples and McAnulty were incarcerated on drug charges, the children were placed in foster care. After her release from jail in 2001, McAnulty regained custody of Jeanette and Patience. In 2002, Angela met and married a long-haul truck driver named Richard McAnulty. They had a son soon after the marriage. By October 2006, the family relocated to Oregon, leaving Anthony Jr. and Brandon behind. The boys had sent letters to a judge requesting to stay in foster care rather than be returned to their abusive mother. Cries for Help Born on August 9, 1994, Jeanette Maples spent six of her first seven years in foster care prior to being returned to her mother. According to interviews with family members, Angela began abusing Jeanette soon after the two were reunited. Described as a good child, Jeanette attended public school and took her studies seriously. She was given perfect attendance awards in the seventh and eighth grade. However, in social interactions, Jeanette had a difficult time. Sent to school wearing torn, dirty tops and worn-out sweatpants, she was sometimes teased by her classmates. Despite her shyness, she managed to make a few friends, although she would only see them at school. Her mother did not allow her to invite friends to her home. In 2008, after a friend spotted several bruises on Jeanette during gym class, she admitted that her mother did not allow her to eat and that she was abused. The friend told her parents and Child Protection Services (CPS) was contacted but the agency representatives were reluctant to respond to what they called second-hand information. A teacher was contacted who spoke to Jeanette who again admitted to being abused. She said was terrified of her mother. The teacher contacted CPS and reported her concerns. CPS went to the McAnulty home but closed the case after McAnulty denied abusing her daughter and blamed the accusations on Jeanette, whom she described as a compulsive liar. McAnulty subsequently pulled Jeanette out of school, saying that she was going to home school her daughter. This left Jeanette completely isolated and greatly reduced any chances of her getting the help she so badly needed. In 2009 another call was made to the CPS, this time by an anonymous caller who later turned out to be Lee McAnulty, Jeanettes grandmother. She called CPS after seeing how grossly underweight Jeanette had become. The child also had a split lip, both conditions Angela McAnulty dismissed when it was suggested that she should take her daughter to a doctor. Over the following months, Jeanettes grandmother called CPS several times but the agency did not follow up on the calls. Her last call was made within days of Jeanettes death. The Death of Jeanette Maples On December 9, 2009, at around 8 p.m., Angela McAnulty told emergency personnel responding to a 9-1-1 call made from her home that her daughter Jeanette was not breathing. Paramedics found the small, thin-framed 15-year-old girl in the living room. Jeanettes hair was wet and she wasnt wearing a top. She had no pulse. McAnulty told the paramedics that Jeanette had fallen down and seemed fine an hour before she stopped breathing. However, a brief exam of the dying girl told a different story. Jeanette had multiple bruises on her face, cuts above her eye, and scars on her lips. She was so emaciated that she looked much younger than her age. Jeanette was transferred to the hospital where she was pronounced dead at 8:42 p.m. The Criminal Investigation At the hospital, Dr. Elizabeth Hilton examined Jeanette and found that her face was disfigured from severe bruising. There were scars and deep wounds on her head, legs and back, including an exposed femur. Her front teeth were broken and her lips were pulverized. It was determined that Jeanettes dehydrated, starved and beaten body was not a result of a simple fall. The police searched the McAnulty home and found a blood-splattered bedroom that family members admitted McAnulty tried to clean before calling 9-1-1 to come to the aid of her dying daughter. Richard McAnulty also admitted that Angela wanted to bury Jeanette rather than call 9-1-1 but he had insisted on calling for help. He made the call while Angela attempted to hide evidence of the abuse that had gone on inside the home. The two children in the McAnulty home were interviewed. Patience told police that Angela and Richard were starving Jeanette and that Angela beat Jeanette repeatedly. She later said that Richard and Angela often struck Jeanette across the mouth with shoes or their hands. Police Interview of Angela McAnulty During the first police interview, Angela McAnulty tried to convince detectives that Jeanettes injuries were caused by a fall. She said her husband was responsible for disciplining the children and that she had never hurt Angela. She changed her story only after investigators apprised her that they had spoken to other family members whod described the abuse Angela routinely inflicted on Jeanette. When questioned about Jeanettes dehydrated and starved condition, McAnulty said it was a result of ignorance, not neglect. She told detectives, The reason why shes so skinny, honest to God, is when she split her lip awhile back, I did not know exactly how to feed her. The investigators continued to challenge McAnultys version of the facts until she eventually broke and began to tell them what really happened. I did wrong, she said. I should never have spanked my daughter with a belt. I shouldnt have done that. That was horrible of me. I shouldnt have done any of that stuff that I did. I shouldnt have done hands up. I understand that. I am very sorry. I dont know how I can take it back. But when it came to what McAnulty assumed was the final blow that caused her daughters death, she refused to take the blame. I didnt do the injury on the head. I did not do that, she told detectives. I know that she probably died because of the injury on her head, through the skull when she fell down. I did not kill my daughter over a spanking. I didnt do that. McAnulty told detectives that maybe she should have taken up smoking to help relieve the stress that Jeanette caused. I guess the things she did just got to me, she went on to explain. I dont know. Honest to God, I dont know. Im sorry. I am sorry. Torture and Starvation Angela and Richard McAnulty were arrested and charged with aggravated murder by intentionally maiming and torturing Jeanette Maple. Based on the evidence found at the McAnulty home, autopsy reports, and interviews with the Angela and Richard McAnulty, their children, and other relatives, prosecutors determined that the following took place over the course of several months: McAnulty punished Jeanette regularly using different methods of abuse and torture. To hide the abuse from the other children in the home, she would bring Jeanette into her bedroom, later described by prosecutors as the torture room, turn on the vacuum cleaner to mask the sounds, force Jeanette to strip naked, and then she would repeatedly beat her with leather belts, sticks, and torture her with pliers.Tests on various objects found in the home would later show that they contained blood and pieces of Jeanettes flesh.Jeanette was deprived of food and water for days at a time. She was forced to drink water from the dogs bowl and the toilet bowl to quench her thirst.Dying tissue had been cut away, likely with a knife, from wounds that had become infected to the point of exposing bone on Jeanettes hip.Jeanette was forced to sleep on cardboard so that blood would not seep into the carpet. She was often left tied up after being beaten or forced to kneel with her arms behind her back as if handcuffed. McAnulty forced Patience to collect dog feces from the yard which McAnulty would smear over Jeanettes face and mouth.McAnulty forced Jeanette to stand facing the walls with her arms raised for hours at a time. Often she could only stand on one foot because her other foot was too injured from Angela stomping on it.Angela and Richard McAnulty hit Jeanette across the mouth with shoes and the backs of their hands, which pulverized her lips. Angela refused to get medical help for Jeanette which resulted in her lips healing from the inside out. The scar tissue that formed left her mouth deformed.McAnulty purposely beat Jeanette in areas that she had already caused severe damage, resulting in old wounds opening up and becoming infected. ​Disturbing Testimony by Jeanette Maples Half Sister ​According to testimony given by Patience, the half-sister of Jeanette Maples, Angela McAnulty began abusing Jeanette as soon as she regained custody of the child who was 7 years old at that time. Patience also spoke about an incident just days before Jeanette died, during which McAnulty showed her a wound about the size of a quarter on the back of Jeanettes head. McAnulty made the comment that if someone was  Ã¢â‚¬Å"stabbed in the back of the head with a branch, it would cause brain damage.†Ã‚  Patience went on to testify that by that time, Jeanette was acting strange and was incoherent. When asked about what she remembered during the time that Jeanette was first returned to McAnulty, Patience said that after McAnulty married Richard McAnulty in 2002, Jeanette was locked in a back bedroom so that she would â€Å"not really be part of the family.† She went on to describe how she witnessed both Angela and Richard abusing Jeanette, which including beating her with shoes and depriving her of food.​ Sentencing Angela McAnulty was sentenced to death for the torture and murder of her daughter. Richard McAnulty was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole until serving 25 years. He denied directly abusing Jeanette but admitted that he failed to protect her from her mother or to report the abuse to authorities. Anthony Maples v. Oregon Department of Human Services The State of Oregon agreed to pay $1.5 million to the estate of Jeanette Maples in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by her biological father, Anthony Maples, who was the sole heir to Jeanette Maples estate. It was determined that beginning in 2006, and ending with a call that was received the week before her death, CPS agents failed to investigate four reports of possible abuse of Jeanette Maples by her mother. Anthony Maples had no contact with his daughter for nearly 10 years prior to her murder, nor did he attend her memorial service. Under Oregon law, only a deceased persons parents, spouse, or children can be considered legal heirs. Siblings, who are not considered legal heirs, are unable to share in an estate.

Celiac Disease - Smart Custom Writing Samples

Celiac Disease - Smart Custom Writing Internal Communication.An undeniable fact one may claim is that we are all involved in every day communication process. Whether it is a chat on the phone with a friend, daily newspaper reading, TV watching, socializing in a family circle or at school, college or at workplace – that is all a continuous information interchange thus being communication. The work for each individual is an indispensible part of life. That is the self-realization and make-a-living field. The organization of proper environment the staff is involved in goes beyond doubt. It results in coherent and collaborative team work and their effective performance. Therefore in any profit-making business sphere or public relations area we anyhow deal with management practice. So, let’s get an insight into the inner nature of a company’s arrangement. Any business structure inevitably encounters some sorts of ‘roughnesses’ that is the problems connected with underestimation and/or lack of motivation and information awareness of some staff members. Such ‘impurities’ may provoke disunity and discord in vision and perception of the company’s main priorities, future perspectives, strategies etc. that constitute its key conception. Not of the least are the issues of personnel’s obscure and misleading comprehension of his or her own role in the whole company’s success-building machine. To tune up this whole mechanism sophisticated managerial tools are applied. Hence, we touch the notion of internal communication (IC). It comprises the company’s functional leverage of monitoring, motivating, encouraging and coordinating the work of employees. It reflects the prowess of elaborate management policy. Thus, we need to clarify and elucidate some aspects concerned with the internal communic ation practice. ‘Internal’ designates the very gist of the process on question. It generally implies not only socializing among each other, but also has a wider sense representing the visible result of the correlated and interconnected efforts of each participant.   The relationships and attitudes among ‘senior’ and ‘junior’ members influence inner performance and matter a lot in shaping the image of a company outside. Here the IC is substantially helpful to reach the goals the governing body pursues. The work with personnel should not just envisage giving orders and expecting their dutiful fulfillment. This approach to dealing with staff is very delusive and lacks essentials – there must be a dialog between ‘boss’ and ‘subordinate’ in all levels of company’s operation. For the both sides to be mutually beneficial and their interests not to clash a special strategy is developed that contains certain aspects to be consid ered.   Ã¢â‚¬ËœTo listen to’ aspect can’t be ignored. It’s essential that Human Resources Management (HRM) take into account employees’ viewpoints, ideas, suggestions, since it gives the staff a feeling of their direct involvement in the process. Collection, procession and distribution of information among employees regarding the state of business and possible current problems is meaningful to create overall awareness and advances respect and loyalty to a company. In this connection we speak about interconnectivity that can be achieved by internal communication means.   Every day in any organization a great deal of issues is discussed and devolved through briefings, conferences, meetings, forums etc. where the staff participants are actually present. Hence they are engaged in face-to-face communication. Another way to represent and deliver information is either by printed regulations, newsletters and brochures or electronically – e.g. e-mail, voice-mail, messaging and corporate net system called intranet. It’s evident that nowadays world everyday witnesses the impetuous technological progress which helps to optimize and maximize people’s work. With the emergence of Internet humans saw the increasing role of electronic communication that was marked by convenience and relative velocity in information exchange. The benefits are obvious. So, firms, organizations, companies and enterprises viewed the perspective of application the analogy of global web being limited to the boundaries of internal company’s structure – intranet. Virtually it is a private network that serves the function of data storage and its distribution among all employees. The access to the system is available only to staff and restricted to non-authorized persons. The intranet constrains the external entry by means of firewall and thus provides safety of net content. Since intranet exploits the same technologies and tools which are applicable in internet for the web and e-mail service and also file transfer, no extra time and efforts are necessary for the staff members to adapt and utilize the corporate net capacity. Another advantage that counts is also the enhanced efficiency that staff show which is obtained by prompt and easy access to the database. Apparently, it proves to be useful when dealing with complex project work that necessitates the interchange of ideas with partners and seeking for the information relevant to the work performed. Therefore it might be facilitating to use links to collect data, then discuss it online with project participants and so share the viewpoints. Such an example among other positive sides of internal web resource demonstrates its time-saving expediency. In addition, the work of line managers is supported and to an extent simplified, since the work net is constantly updated and replenished. Thus, there is no need for an employee to persistently bother a line or senior manager with minor and insignificant issues. This kind of information is always at disposal in the intranet. Alongside with the virtues there come vices. The implementation of this sort of systems appears to be costly. Small businesses are unlikely to design and bring into action sophisticated intranets as compared to big corporations. Programming, design, constant upgrading inevitably requires investment. Unfortunately, another hindrance seems to be quite significant. We can’t but agree that however elaborate and well-programmed the network can be it is still exposed to insecurity (About.com. Wireless/Networking). Computer tampering may be regarded as a contemporary problem number one in electronic communication. Moreover, considering a modern arena of leadership and competition not always sound actions are undertaken. The competitors may resort to tricks in attempts to fish out the information they can get advantage of. On the grounds of the mentioned pros and cons we can arrive at conclusion that in future for the intranet as the internal communication tool to become more secure it’s essential to pay thorough attention to the company’s R D activities in search of more failsafe and reliable information guarding. Concerning the whole internal communication practice we should emphasize the importance of psychological aspect in recruiting personnel and scrutinizing their relevance to the position and the end-result of their work. A special team of professional psychologists and analysts is able to timely reveal and prevent the possible deviation of some individuals from the main policy. That will immensely contribute to foresee the leak of information and hidden intensions of intranet users in case they turn out to be not true members of the team but possible spies. Thereby, to avoid malfunction and make the whole mechanism work in accord the constituents matter a lot.

Carriage of goods by sea Outline Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Carriage of goods by sea - Outline Example act, the carrier of the corresponding carrier contract is wholly liable for the loses or eventual damage conducted on the goods he or she delivers unless the cause of the loss emanates from dangers of excepted perils. The carrier is conspicuously entitled to limits of liability regarding any prevailing conditions of the contract. Some of the typical court cases exhibited in attempts to solve judicial system or legal challenges expected in the legal field. Federal marine terminal versus Worcester peat Co in the first circuit of the court appeals revolved around this sea complaint issue. Historically, the courts have had challenges imposing demurrage liability on the parties that exhibits neither signatory, possessor or successor on the documents that entails or expressly or by incorporation conforms to demurrage, the extensive loading of the stevedore who was essentially not in the conventional privities are not entirely involved in the demurrage that the involved shipper was required to pay with regards to the frequented delays in the loading of the cargo ; peat moss. Stevedore was inherently not found liable for the loss of the vessel due to the noted delays exposed as the shipper failed to substantiate the evidence of the amount peat moss was lost in the process of loading ant also could establish the quan tity of the lost amount was far above the anticipated nature of cargo.2 In the case entailing Senator Linie versus Sunway Line the second court of appeals on may 17, 2002 major and critical stem of the case was on the relevance of the passing of judgment regarding a case where the entailed shipper or carrier had constructive knowledge of the exhibited perilous nature of the cargo, 46 U.S.C. Â § 1304(6) permits strict liability to the shipper for damages and the prevailing expenses arisen from the eventual shipment of the goods delivered. The law hence compelled the shipper

The Financial System Crisis of August 2007 Essay

The Financial System Crisis of August 2007 - Essay Example This category is the most risky element of the mortgage market and over-exposure to this segment put banks in high risk. Although the sub-prime mortgage market in the United States constitutes only a small proportion of the entire market, the uncertainties related to the liquidity of the banks' financials took the situation to critical levels. On August 31, 2007, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke noted that "[a]lthough this episode appears to have been triggered largely by heightened concerns about subprime mortgages, global financial losses have far exceeded even the most pessimistic projections of credit losses on those loans" (Open CRS, 2007). Suddenly, there was a loss in liquidity in all financial markets in the US, including the securities markets. Fears of risks began to grow and most financial institutions began to invest in the safest financial instrument, that is, US Treasury Bonds. Even the market for commercial paper nearly froze as a result of which large corporation s found it difficult to raise funds for their day-to-day operations (Beams, 2007). The real cause of the crisis may be traced back to the rise in the housing credit market boosted by low interest rates since 2000. In order to boost consumer spending after the dotcom bust of 2000, interest rates were lowered. As a result, not only did people begin to buy more houses, they also refinanced the property to with further mortgages. As a result, consumer spending in the economy grew phenomenally and savings petered. By the beginning of 2007, defaults on loans began to grow, reaching 30 percent higher than what it was a year ago and credit card companies had to write off 4.8 percent of the receivables (Beams, 2007). Many sub-prime lenders like New Century Financial Corporation had to file for bankruptcy following a significant amount of foreclosures as a result of default on payments (wikipedia) and on the whole stock prices of mortgage companies were the first to be affected. Analysts have argued that the roots of the financial crisis of August 2007 originate from the global economic trends over the last decade. Globalization and inter-linkages of financial markets have resulted in heightened uncertainties and global financial imbalances. The US government finances have turned from surpluses in the 1990s to a deficit, public debt being 64.7 percent of GDP in 2005, close to what it is in other industrialized countries (CIA). This has largely been the result of tax cuts in the past, in order to boost growth since the dotcom bust in 1999-00, as well as increased outlays for defense and military spending necessitated by rise in terrorism at home as well as initiatives in the middle East. Hence, the fiscal policy that spurred economic recovery resulted in rise in interest rates (Muhlesein & Towe, 2004). The US monetary policy has largely supported the fiscal policy-induced growth. The growing current affairs deficit of nearly 7 percent of GDP, that is the deficit between what the country earns abroad and what it spends, has been a cause for concern. US external debt has been close to 25 percent of GDP for over two years (Setser et al, 2005). Much of this deficit is financed by foreign central banks subscribing to US Treasury Bonds, particularly the central bank of China, which has had the fastest growth among all

To be a great leader one must first be a great manager, DISCUSS Essay

To be a great leader one must first be a great manager, DISCUSS - Essay Example Even if a person objects to authoritarian leadership and feels compelled to commit him/herself to just be a good leader, he/she still can face a number of hurdles while running his/her organization if all the managerial knowledge and skills are not smartly engineered first. Leading and management are seen as complementary and related by Andersen (2012). Though leadership and management are distinct, they still should be balanced. The theme of this essay is that one cannot become a great leader without becoming a great manager first who has shrewd and insightful skills about handling people and keeping them sane even amidst the worst of circumstances possible. The essay will discuss how learning to maintain a sound reputation as a manager could be important for a leader and why a leader less concerned about developing smart managerial strategies and good relations with employees can never make it to the top. Bartridge (2007) emphasizes that leaders should practice the 5 L’s whi ch are about looking, listening, learning, leading, and laughing with their team. Such traits not only aspire people to perform well but also build up their connections with staff. The riveting combination of responsible leadership and management actually proves to be the magic recipe for any successful organization. Many people are heard calling themselves the leaders but seldom among them care enough to be good managers also. The old manager vs. leader argument implies that â€Å"some great managers struggle with change and fail to be great leaders, while a great leader might fail to create a sense of stability in an organization and not measure up as a manager† (Blagg and Young, 2001) which is why both leadership and management should overlap. The key element capable of carrying an anonymous leader all they way up to greatness and worldwide fame is good management and big globally successful companies like Apple Inc. and Starbucks fully acknowledge this fact. Both leadersh ip and management, though different in certain aspects, should be carefully balanced with each other as â€Å"both have essential roles in the function and effectiveness of organizations† (DeGrosky, 2012). Hard times strike every organization and every business around the world from time to time but the power lies in sharp managerial skills which can save the ratings of a business in the market from plummeting down even when finances are not so handsome. â€Å"An individual can be a great leader, a great manager, or both, but each area requires the mastery of slightly different skills and competencies† (Ricketts, 2009). People can be managed and carried safely through hard times if the leaders care enough to win their confidence by carefully balancing management and leadership. The Balancing Act as explained by Valenzuela (2010) implies that leadership and management should be balanced to cure the disease in which organizations tend to be either overmanaged or underled . Leaders should know how to listen and communicate as this is implied by good management. â€Å"Leaders need to be masterful listeners; they need to be able to receive as well as send† (Blagg and Young, 2001). Without support of positive style management, leadership alone can never save a company from sinking in the depths of anonymity and failure. In fact without good management, there is no leadership

Development and use of explosives over the past century Essay

Development and use of explosives over the past century - Essay Example The first record of the usage of it exists dates back to around early 1600s in China (Tanner, 2014). During this time, the black powder was usually used in Hungary for blasting purposes. Mostly the quarries used the black powder for mining purpose blasting. The next mention of the uses of black powder is found in the context of tin mine blasting in the countries such as England after which the black powder was adopted by the Switzerland for road construction (Kelly, 2004, pp.198). The first documented form of mention of the use of black powder was in the year 1605 when Guy Fawkes put barrels of explosives in the British Parliament to blow up the building and assassinate the then king of England, King James I. This incident was named the â€Å"Gunpowder Plot†. It was one of the earliest conspiracies to involve the use of explosives and the black powder. This conspiracy of assassinating the King was not successful as the person plotting it was apprehended beforehand and caught. Another mention of the black gunpowder is prominent in the history is during the year 1773 when the people who went on with the demolition gathered 150 pounds of black gunpowder to demolish the Holy Trinity Cathedral which was 700 years old and one of the most oldest church in Waterford, Ireland. Later a report was published in the then famous newspaper named The Irish Times that the entire church was reduced to rubble within minutes and this incident was accompanied with a deafen ing loud boom that shook the entire area. This incident is important in the history of explosives as it marks as the first successful attempt in which the explosives blew down an entire structure and caused mass collateral damage. America adopted the use of explosives for the demolition purposes almost as early as 1850s. It was during this time that San Francisco was torn by a continuous series of many great fires. The use of the explosives in this case was because the city council members wanted to

Foundations of Teams and Teamwork Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Foundations of Teams and Teamwork - Assignment Example This is because the success of a manager heavily relies on the teams that a manager has been able to build in an organization. Team building in an organization is a continuous process and involves the manager being able to deal with the internal dynamics of a team; issues of tasks and selection of the team members and also the management of the external dynamics; proper evaluation of organization’s environment both internal and external in relation to the team development and proper management of relationship amongst the team members. If a manager is able to fully deliver on internal and external dynamics of team building, he or she designs not just a team but an effective team (Thomson, 2008). This way, the effective team is able to properly function and achieve organization’s goals and objectives as stipulated by the mission and the vision statements. There are many factors leaders and in this case managers evaluate to determine if there is need for a team or not. Such factors include organization’s goals and objectives, the nature of the organizational tasks and also the organizational resources; financial and human resources. Organizational goals and objectives are directed by the mission and vision statements (Thomson, 2008). A leader who is focused towards effectively meeting the goals and objectives of a company and at the same time achieving the mission and the vision of the company would need quite effective and functioning teams. The nature of organizational tasks is also vital in deciding whether to have teams or not. Literally, simple tasks do not need teams to undertake them but complex tasks do. Organizational tasks such as market design and market analysis needs effort of more than one individual to adequately cover the entire market population and to adequately deliver. An organization that has no financial a nd human resources is not

Development and use of explosives over the past century Essay

Development and use of explosives over the past century - Essay Example The first record of the usage of it exists dates back to around early 1600s in China (Tanner, 2014). During this time, the black powder was usually used in Hungary for blasting purposes. Mostly the quarries used the black powder for mining purpose blasting. The next mention of the uses of black powder is found in the context of tin mine blasting in the countries such as England after which the black powder was adopted by the Switzerland for road construction (Kelly, 2004, pp.198). The first documented form of mention of the use of black powder was in the year 1605 when Guy Fawkes put barrels of explosives in the British Parliament to blow up the building and assassinate the then king of England, King James I. This incident was named the â€Å"Gunpowder Plot†. It was one of the earliest conspiracies to involve the use of explosives and the black powder. This conspiracy of assassinating the King was not successful as the person plotting it was apprehended beforehand and caught. Another mention of the black gunpowder is prominent in the history is during the year 1773 when the people who went on with the demolition gathered 150 pounds of black gunpowder to demolish the Holy Trinity Cathedral which was 700 years old and one of the most oldest church in Waterford, Ireland. Later a report was published in the then famous newspaper named The Irish Times that the entire church was reduced to rubble within minutes and this incident was accompanied with a deafen ing loud boom that shook the entire area. This incident is important in the history of explosives as it marks as the first successful attempt in which the explosives blew down an entire structure and caused mass collateral damage. America adopted the use of explosives for the demolition purposes almost as early as 1850s. It was during this time that San Francisco was torn by a continuous series of many great fires. The use of the explosives in this case was because the city council members wanted to

Gone With The Wind paper 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Gone With The Wind paper 5 - Essay Example Thus, copyright law though protects originality and creativity of the authors, gives room for rewrites by providing exemptions under which they are not entitled to infringement.However, this has also created a room for copyright conflicts and other related issues. Numerous copyright issues have dominated the debate scene prompting the question as to what should be considered fair use and what should not. One notable copyright battle was between Gone With The Wind (GWTW) and The Wind DoneGone (TWDG). In this case, the author, Randall rewrote the GWTW by retelling the story through a slave’s perspective. This encompasses writing back to society and power, which has a rich contribution to the society. Nevertheless, the conflict here was whether TWDG violated copyright laws by copying GWTW. Through evaluation of free speech, fair use, parody and satire, it is clear that TWDG did not cause infringement of copyright laws. The infringement law allows rewrites based satire and parody. As a result, there was no infringement in the case of GWTW and TWDG since the rewrite was based on satire. Nevertheless, when solving the conflict, other concepts such as free speech and its application also came up. Thus, it is essential to understand how fair use, parody and satire, and free speech apply in rewrite cases. ... This marked the beginning of a long-term battle on TWDG’s infringement of copyright laws with regard to the rewrite of GWTW. Nevertheless, what arose from this case is that fair use sets the legal framework that accommodates both commercial and creative decisions. In analyzing a literary work or any other thing for fair use, there are four factors that play a key role in the determination of fair use. According to Netanel in Making Sense of Fair Use, these are provisions of Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act (Making Sense of fair Use 715). The first factor deals with character and purpose of the uses, for example, it considers whether the use is for nonprofit educational or for commercial nature purposes. The second factor provides for the nature of the work copyrighted. The third factor looks at the work copyrighted as a whole and determines the substantiality and amount of the portion used with respect to the entire work. Finally, the fourth factor provided for b y the US Copyright Act under Section 107 looks at the impact of the rewrite on the potential market, and how the copyrighted work is valued. Beebe notes that the four factors are a test that must be applied in every case to determine fair use, and there is no bright line rule that can determine the issue of fair use (558). The major goal of fair use is to provide a flexible approach of determining and making a decision as to whether fair use applies in a particular case. The major concern is whether the use of the original work that is copyright protected is fair or not. In addition, the fair use doctrine does not base its arguments on equity, but is rather a creature of the common law courts. Furthermore, in the application of fair use, the secondary user’s motives are generally

Investment Ethics Essay Example for Free

Investment Ethics Essay The contemporary world of today functions on investment. There are many types of investment such as investment in property, shares, mutual funds, sugar, gold, oil, rice etcetera (Theodore , 1992). The list goes on and on with some forms of investment so inanely mundane like investment in over priced paintings by unknown artists that one is forced to shake their heads at the inanes of how far the concept of investment has come since its inception. Investment is described in dictionary as: â€Å"In finance, investment is the purchase of a financial product or other item of value with an expectation of favorable future returns. In general terms, investment means the use money in the hope of making more money. In business it is the purchase by a producer of a physical good, such as durable equipment or inventory, in the hope of improving future business. † Gambling on the other hand is almost as old as investment itself and its exact origins are unknown. Scientists believe that the ancient Romans would bet on the outcomes of chariot races and gladiator fights. It could be defined as: â€Å"†¦the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Typically, the outcome of the wager is evident within a short period (Linda , 2006). † Now, a raging debate in the world today is whether investment is or is not just another form of gambling. I am an opponent of this statement but will first give an argument in favor of the statement. The purpose of me including the definitions above was to prove that even the meaning of the words investment and gambling themselves are similar. Any kind of investment be it financial or physical, is done to gain money or to increase the investors’ wealth. Gambling also serves the same purpose which is to gain financially from an act (though some people gamble for the thrill of winning etc). Also, in money investment, finance managers everyday gamble outrageous amounts of other peoples’ money on chance. Such transactions entail high risks and if this is not a form of gambling then what is? In fact, in some religions like Islam, most forms of investment except investment in property and currency, is forbidden because they proclaim it to be gambling which is also forbidden in the religion. In that way, if for people of some faiths it is forbidden completely, then it is wrong from an ethical perspective because you are risking not only your own earnings but the money of those who have entrusted you with their wealth (like shareholders to security companies). In addition, it is wrong from a moral point of view. This is because gambling gives rise to selfishness in the human heart. Greed is a natural emotion for almost all people and investing money in the form of higher returns gives birth to insatiability for more money which is why we often see people at casinos squander all their gambling winnings in hope of winning more and more. It is selfish because gamblers profit on the wealth of others and do not care about the next person or what big a loss he suffers. Another way that gambling can be wrong is that it may make people idle and complacent. They may be happy to earn their money through gambling only. They may not work hard because of this for a living because of this and continue to live off gambling without caring that it is not a permanent or very stable source of income (Elizabeth , 2007). But even though their definitions may be partly similar, the two words are not common in their truest sense. I agree that investment puts peoples’ money at risk for chance of a higher return but it is done by professionals like investment managers and financial accountants instead of novices or any Tom, Dick and Harry trying out their luck like in gambling. It is a whole structured business activity with companies spending months deciding how to spend their customer’s capital and hedging (or insulating) the investment against any negative exchange rate or interest movement. Gambling on the other hand requires no such months of planning and development and can be done on the spot. Secondly, gambling involves one party losing and the other winning. The winning of one depends on the other’s loss. In investment, there is no such tradeoff and all investors can benefit at the same time. Another very valid point here is that gamblers often don’t have the same intensive information that investors have. In the long term, gamblers are always paid less in winnings then they have invested. That is not the case with investment. So the debate between whether gambling and investment continues unresolved with both sides vehemently arguing their point. Works Cited Theodore, V. Ethics in Investment Profession. Research Foundation of the Institute of Chart. (May 1992). Linda, K. T. Managing Business Ethics. Wiley. (Aug 2006). Elizabeth, A. C. The Psychology of Ethics In finance and Investment. Research Foundation of CFA Institute. (June 2007).

Impact of Planning and Development on Property Values

Impact of Planning and Development on Property Values The first chapter has discussed the issue regarding this particular study in terms of the objectives, scope of study, and significance of study, methodology of study and chapter outline. In this second chapter, the discussion will be mainly on the theoretical aspect of the planning and development in this study. The explanation by literature review will be given in this chapter is as continuity to achieve the objective. The purpose of literature review is to establish the microeconomic factor affecting residential property values. Furthermore, this chapter is also going to discuss the planning and the market, planning system in Malaysia and zoning definition .Apart from that, this chapter will also look at the relationship between microeconomic factor and residential property value and the impact of planning and development towards residential property values. The chapter start with discuss planning and the market and what is the factor affecting residential property value and underline theoretical on property value. The theories to achieve the second objective of this study which is identify factor affecting residential property value based on planning and development. Conclusion of the finding will be given at the end of this chapter. 2.2 Planning and The Market According Peter Cowan (1973), planning is defined as making plans, strategies, interpretation, according to which planning covers almost every aspect of human affairs. Alternatively, Neutze (1987) suggests that planning of land use helps to reduce the level of improbability about the form and level of development that will be suitable and allowable. It raises the supply of residential and to reduce the price of land for development. The main objective of planning is to allocate land uses to meet the economic and social needs of people. Referring to Lean and Goodall (1966), planning and development are subject to change in use of pattern and consequently in value. Social and economic changes will effect on property such as land and building values. Basically the pattern of land use is a signal of competition for sites between various uses functioning through the forces of demand and supply. In an attempt to compete for space at the choice location, some uses are displaced for other potential uses that willing to pay higher prices. In the same element, owners of property will choose location will that offer the greatest advantage on price. Subsequent to Mayer and Somerville (1999) established a structural model describing the relationship between planning regulation and residential market supply. They considered two types of planning regulations, namely impose explicit financial costs on builders such as development or impact fees and those that delay or lengthen the development process. The model shows that in the absence of input prices for land, housing starts are properly specified as a function of changes in the level of house prices, and not as a direct function of the level itself. According Li and Brown (1980) tested the impacts of three types of neighbourhood factors such as aesthetic attributes, pollution levels and proximity on housing values. Li and Brown (1980) findings suggested that housing prices rose due to accessibility but fell due to problems such as congestion, pollution or unsightliness. Based on Monk Whitehead (1996), planning bring impact on the property market by restraining the location and type of house thus increasing property price. 2.3 Planning system in Malaysia Planning activities mainly fall into three broad categories such as forward planning, which mainly involve the preparation and updating of regional strategies, county structure plans, and local plans. According to Bramley, Barlett, and Lambert (1995), development control which involves local planning authorities responding to applications for the right to undertake specific developments from land owners or developers implementation, which involves direct industrial, commercial or housing development by or involving public authorities. As mentioned by Dale and Mclaughlin (1999), there are two basic approaches to regulating how land is developed and used. This can be by way of legislation applying to all properties uniformly, or by way of a permit system in which a property owner must make application at the time of a proposed development. According to Sukuran and Ho (2008), town planning system is principally a system of preventive control of various land uses patterns where upon the controlling authority would not allow any approval for development activity if adverse impact on surrounding environment were visualize. Town and country planning has been called urban and regional planning, land use planning, and city planning or physical plan in different countries. Town planning is therefore not mere layout plans of residential, industrial commercial or recreational activities, but a combination of components and elements which help to make the complete living, working and play environment which determines the quality of life its residents. Above are town planning concepts and principles which have taken into consideration by a planner in the preparation for planning submission for property development in general and specifically in Malaysia. Malaysian town planning system consists of development plans and development control procedures that include consistent matters for planning considerations (Lee et al., 1990 and Bruton, 2007). The development plans under Malaysias Town and Country Planning Act,1976 consists of a Structure Plan prepared at state level and Local plans prepare at local levels The structure plan consists of written statement formulation a States Policy and general proposals for the development use of land in the State. The Structure Plan suggests direction and approaches on how area in the States could be developed in an appropriate and sustainable manner. According to Tiesdel and Allmendinger (2005), have been carried out which provide empirical evidence of the effects of land-use planning on housing development in Malaysia. Empirical evidence of the effects are demand and supply activity, risk and confidence, financial and information. However, those observed evidences did not sufficiently identify the causes of town planning effects. It is necessary identified the causes of these effects so as to enable town planners and decision makers to make the right choice to avoid undesired outcomes. Planning is regarded as a mechanism for the government to exercise its control on the urban development process. There are theories which advocate that land use regulations such as zoning and growth controls may affect property market by constraining supply and increasing demand. 2.4 Zoning Definition Zoning is well known as a key instrument in planning regulation which is environmental regulation in its broadest sense. It establishes the tone of neighbourhood and raises average property values. Zoning is changed from agriculture to another class this can mean a higher property value and more value for your investment. If the class is changed to argriculture then the property value may drop, causing you to lose money on your investment. Even planning systems without specific zoning regulations have contained elements of zoning such as government description and restrictions of rights over land within certain spatial limits (Willhelm, 1962 and Hagman, 1973). In general, zoning has a dual character such as assigning exclusive property rights and as a planning instrument which attenuates private property rights over the most valuable uses of land. Zoning as a non-contractual obligation imposed by town planners was legally introduced into Malaysia by the Town Planning Act 1976. Zoning regulations not only determine the type of use, they also regulate land and structure characteristics such as lot size, set back and building height (Pogdzinski and Sass, 1991). It is important for residential, commercial, agriculture or even industrial area such as manufacturing factory and raw material processing company to have well connected and convenient infrastructure. This will ease transporting of goods, communication or even travelling. 2.2.1 Types of Zoning Zoning seeks to protect public health, safety and welfare by regulating the use of land and controlling the type, size and height of buildings.ÂÂ   Some goals of early zoning codes were to prevent overcrowding and limit incompatible uses. Referring to Raymond (2000), the zoning helps the development areas to have less environmental complaints and higher economic values. According to Ed. Shirelle Phelps and Gale Cengage (2003) there are four different types of zoning districts. The types included in an area will depend on the complexity of the townships or countys development problem. 2.2.1.1 Residential Zoning Residential zoning may be established in several categories depending on the type of development already established or anticipated. Factors that must be considered are density of population , existing and proposed streets and utilities, variety of housing types and variety of housing price groupings. Residential zoning can include single family residences, suburban homestead, or any number of other designation which cover homes, apartments, condominiums mosque, community center and parks. 2.2.1.2 Commercial Zoning Commercial zoning usually has several categories include office buildings, shopping centers, nightclubs, hotels, certain warehouses, some apartment complexes as well as vacant land that has the potential for development into these types of buildings. The availability of parking may affect the type of commercial zoning that is permitted. 2.2.1.3 Industrial Zoning Like commercial zoning, industrial zoning can be specific to the type of business. Environmental factors including noise concerns usually are issues in determining into which industrial level a business falls. Manufacturing plants and many storage facilities have industrial zoning. Certain business such as airports may warrant their own designation. Industrial zoning is often dependent upon the amount of lot coverage which is the land area covered by all buildings on a lot and building height. Industrial zone include manufacturing factory such as light, medium and heavy factories 2.2.1.4 Agricultural Zoning Agricultural zoning is generally used by communities that are concerned about maintaining the economic viability of their agricultural industry. Agricultural zoning typically limits the density of development and restricts non-farm uses of the land. In many agricultural zoning ordinances, the density is controlled by setting a large minimum lot size for a residential structure. Densities may vary depending upon the type of agricultural operation. Agricultural zoning can protect farming communities from becoming fragmented by residential development Mayer and Somerville (1999), they concluded the land-use regulation such as zoning and growth control has significant effects on both of the new development and responsive of local supply to price shock. This showing there will be a price different depending on types of zoning. 2.3 Factors affecting Residential Property Value Property value is dependent upon many characteristics associated with that property such as physical characteristics of property such as location of the site in relation to employment centres and other recreational facilities. In addition the social and economic characteristics of neighbourhood, including the presence of such amenities as view, parks, schools and community services affect value. Rosen (1974) explains that a property includes lots of factors and these are totally show in property prices. Buyers and sellers consider these factors separately before making decision for the purchase and of the property. In order to understand the weighting for the different factors, hedonic modelling was used to explain how each factors made up the prices of the residential market. According to Malpezzi (2003), the method of hedonic modelling can used as calculation in expenditures on housing. Hedonic can be measurable on prices and quantities so as to make possible judgement and predictions of properties between identical and different residential in different areas. Sibel (2008) noted the results of the hedonic model reveal that water system, pool, type of house, number of rooms, house size, locational characteristic and type of the building are the most significant variables that affect the property prices. In order to assess the impact of the planning system on the property market, Hui and Ho (2003) shows the model which investigate the effect of the land-use planning system on house prices in Hong Kong. The model first determines the demand and supply equations to establish the market at equilibrium level. Based on the research, the model analysed planning system variables such as usable floor area (UFA), land supply (LS), residential gross floor area under planning applications (GA), residential zones (RZ) and green belt or open space (GB) and approval rate of planning applications (AR) relationship to house prices (HP). Using stepwise regression for a three-year period the result that the significance of approval rate of the planning applications supports the view that development control maintain the structure of housing supply in a way which may change the equilibrium price of housing. Tables 1 show parts of the literatures that identified attributes influencing property value. Researchers Determinant Joslin, 2005 Location, Age Size Kauko, 2003 Location, Shopping Centers, Highway , Parks, Metro Neighbourhood characteristics Paz,2003 GDP, Level of income, Migration, Construction Activity, Economics Activity Purchasing Power Wong, Hui Seabrooke, 2003 Interest Rate Case Shiller, 2003 Number of Employment Han,Yu, Malone-Lee, Basuki, 2002 Land Area, Parks CBD McCluskey,Deddis,Lamont Borst,2000 Location Blackey,1999 Change in tax policy, Age composition of the population Rate of household formation Meen Andrew, 1998 Income, real interest rates, Nominal interest rates, General level of prices, Household wealth, Demographic Variables, Tax structure Financial liberalization Cheshire Sheppard, 1998 Location, Level of income, Population, Transport, Policy Neighbourhood characteristics Lenk, Worzala Silva, 1997 Number of bathrooms, Number of bedrooms, Age of house, Lot size Basement area, Total area of house, Number of fire place Number of car garages Table 1 : Main Factors Influencing Property Value Source : Ge and Du, 2007 Few factors can affect residential property values such as infrastructure facilities, locational factors, physical factors, legislative factors and demographic factors. 2.3.1 Infrastructure Facilities Viable and good infrastructure will be the basic foundation for development of housing projects. Infrastructure facilities include basic public amenities including transportation which will ensure timely delivery of service and goods. Main amenities such as electricity, telephone and water will affect the residential property value. (Rosman,1988). Comprehensive infrastructure will ensure the value of the property. Lacking this public facility could be construed as a sign of planning deficiency or even planning blight. The model presented in Antunes et al. (2009) assumes that the infrastructure network does not change during the whole planning period. Yet, the topology of the transportation network may have a strong influence on the location decisions. A study of the influence of transport on house prices was examined by So et al. (1997) noted that the major risk of using hedonic price regression is the presence of the multicollinearity between housing attributes and the resulting insecurity of estimates. 2.3.2 Location Factors The factor of location is very important in the determination of property values. Location is very unique as two adjacent sites may command different values depending on underlying factors of accessibility, physical terrain, size and configuration etc. Turner (1990) that the three most significant influences on property value are location, location and location. Royal LePage (2003) emphasises strongly on location and type of mortgage debt financing as principal factors affecting the market value of listed property. Location has a major influence in terms of proximity to centres of interest, traffic congestion, crime levels, level of cleanliness or scenic beauty of the environment, infrastructure services and social amenities, security and planning laws. On the other hand, the type of mortgage can affect the property value either up or down depending on the amount, terms and conditions applicable, rates of interests and method of repayment. Location theory stated that property value decrease when the location is situated far away from town center. Whereas, property which are located within town center are high in demand and the property value will increased. Nelson (1958) emphasis about higher property value exists in good locations. Town center areas activities such as economy, social and property market. According to Khan (1977) stated that land situated near town center have stiff competition usage. The further the location form town centers, the value of property will decrease due to low demand. (Zulkifli. 1995) Kryvobokov (2007) modelled the property market of the most important location attributes influencing values in well-developed foreign real estate markets and use this list in Ukraine. Using experimental evidence of developed property markets, the meta-analysis is applied to extract location attributes and weigh their importance. Results suggest that it is possible to substantiate location attributes, which influence market value for different real estate types. Location factors influences on neighbourhood and access appear to be dominating location. 2.3.2.1 Surrounding Areas and neighbourhood Development According to Babcoak (1932) and Tan (1997), the future of residential property depends on the development planning in the area located. Surrounding areas developments are interconnected especially in economic activities namely Neighbourhood areas. For example, residential property which includes commercial industries will have added advantages especially in the property value. Surrounding development refer to the activities within the neighbourhood areas which could give positive effects or negative effects to a particular property. For example, residential houses located nearby industrial areas will be affected by pollution, noises, congestion and heavy traffic. The value of the residential houses will be lower due to the lack of interest of buyers when such situation occurs. (Zulkifli, 1995). Rosiers et al., (2000) noted that neighbourhood and access factors influences between both series as to achieve most select model design with minimum information loss. Its aim is to explain property prices on the basis of physical and neighbourhood related characteristics. Using hedonic model on property information are located using geodetic co-ordinates, which are integrated into MapInfo GIS. Variety of data such as schools, universities, colleges, shopping centres, remote sensing images, street grids, road, highway networks and power lines are located using relevant system. Results shows that model have greatly improved with location and access factor influence in property values. It suggests that the factor analysis used is highly efficient at sorting access and neighbourhood attributes. The method provides useful approaching the housing market. 2.3.3 Physical Factor Physical factors refer to the physical characteristics of a property. A physical characteristic is different in residential property with other property types. Differences in physical characteristics of the residential property itself may cause differences in value. 2.3.3.1 Building Features In terms of size and number of rooms were perceived as the most significant factors influencing the value of residential property. Next to these is the aesthetic appeal include design, finishes, etc. It was surprising to note that these aspects were accorded high priority over running and maintenance costs and the age of building or obsolescence. This could be as a result of the reported poor maintenance culture of most developing countries (ADB, 2005). Physical elements of property differ from physical elements of another property. Such difference could result towards the value of the property. Physical elements cover land size, floor area, location and type of property. ( Hamid, 2005) Referring to Creedy and Wall (1979) stated that size of lots or buildings could influence the value of property. The size of lots or buildings has positive impacts on the value of property. The bigger floor area of residential houses the higher the value. In norm, bungalow lots or houses are higher in value compared to teres houses due to bigger land and floor areas. 2.3.3.2 Age and Condition of Repair Changes in taste and fashion in new design houses tend to reduce the value of older houses. Besides, the condition of repair must be considered as the cost of putting the property into a satisfactory state of repair now and the cost of maintenance cost in future. Therefore, age and the condition of repair are proved to be negatively related to property value. All else being equal, older houses have experienced greater depreciation (Radriguez et al., 1994; Raymond and Peter, 2000). 2.3.4 Demographic Factors Demographic factors are primary derives of the real estate market. Demographic factors include population growth and income levels. 2.3.4.1 Population Growth Refer to Tse and Webb (1999) the growth of urban population through migration and urbanisation. Increase of population whether locally or migration of others will increase the economics of an area. Such situation will increase the residential property value when the demands exceed supply especially in goods and services which will encourage investors to participate actively in an area. Increase of population in an area will result in the demand for land. When there is an increase of population in an area, the economic activities will increase in tandem with the demand (De Wang, 1999). Increased economic activities will result in the demand for residential property market. Current usage of land will be converted into intensive land usage. The changes of intensive land usage will increase the economic activities to be productive and resulted in the property market value to rise due to the increase of population. 2.3.4.2 Income Levels According to (Gallimore, Fletcher and Carter, 1996) households which have the same tastes and income tend to live within the same area. Therefore the size of households, income, age, education levels and the availability and cost of mortage , financing have to be included in affecting the types of housing and the values. High-income residents will seek out a part of city that may offer leisure facilities, parks, amenities and the most convenient form of transportation and infrastructure. This also expose that the proximate and relevant influences on the property are related to the same influences operating on other properties in the neighbourhood. Spatial segregation refers to the residential separation of sub-groups within a wider population which could be associated primarily with racial groups, ethnicity, religious beliefs or income status (Johnston et al., 1983). 2.3.5 Legislation Factors Value of properties is determine by the importance of properties itself. A person would be subject on buying properties mainly is because subject is aware of the importance of properties to self. The right of property owner to be guarenteed with the enforcement of law. However these rights are controlled by the provisions of the law. This will indirectly or indirectly affect the price of property. Among the legal provisions that affect the property values are restrictions interest and tenure of land. 2.3.5.1 Restriction Interest Restriction interest is bind on right upon the importance which contained in the ownership document. Restriction interest is introduced by state government. There are two types of interest towards ownership right, bumiputra and non-bumiputra. Bumiputra mean person who owned Malaysia citizenship and included in group of original in Malaysia and Malay race. Restriction interest bring meaning where lot from bumiputra only can be exchanged towards another indigenous and not to other. Properties without this restriction can be freely exchange to others. Bumiputera lot suffer less affect from property value comparing to property with no restriction interest. 2.3.5.2 Tenure of Land Tenure of land had been distributed into two categories such as Freehold and Leasehold. Duration for each category are 99 years , 66 years and 20 years. Tenure of land showed that it is importance and owner rights in the property. There are two types of tenure such as Freehold and Leasehold. Freehold means the owner can have their property for whole lifetime. Besides that, leasehold is given limited years to the owner to own the property. Freehold tenure has a higher of value in property. (Norhaya, Dzullkarnian, Ibrahim et.al, 2010). Referring to Kestens et al. (2006) introduce household-level data into hedonic models in order to measure the heterogeneity of implicit prices the previous tenure status of the buyers. 2.4 Conclusion Based on discussion that have been made, clearly shows that there are many factors that affect residential property values in general can be divided as infrastructure facilities, locational factors, physical factors, legislative factors and demographic factors. Each factor contributed to their forming value in the property. Therefore, the research will focus on impacts of planning and development in residential property value. Overseas literature considers that planning also has a significant impact on housing market by affecting locations, neighbourhood, environmental and population growth. Based on discussion that have been made, clearly shows that there are many factors that affect residential property values in general can be divided as infrastructure facilities, locational factors, physical factors, legislative factors and demographic factors. Each factor contributed to their forming value in the property. How do these factors really contribute to Senai development? In order to go international at a fast phase, infrastructure is a must. Therefore, a huge reserve area in Senai is place under infrastructure; ease of excess from factory to the world is the main concern of government. Although named as transit town, but most of the area is not yet under development until federal government decided to expand its potential. With the amount of land and strategic location at south, it can be our second industrial doorway to other country other than Penang. This will evenly distribute industries among north and south of Malaysia. Modern design with end edge technology is the concept for the coming SHTP (Senai High Tech Park), this will be one of the physical attraction for investor.