Reconstruction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reconstruction - Essay Example ved their freedom from their white masters, African Americans would celebrate their newly won liberties and rights in the years following the war – also referred by historians as the period of Reconstruction. In the book America: A Concise History by James Henretta and David Bordy, we get in-depth analysis and commentary on this crucial period in American history. We learn from the text that the Reconstruction project is largely a failure. The acceding of eleven defeated Southern states into the Union was going to be a highly challenging process due to cultural and political dissimilarities between the two former warring groups. Indeed, the non-viability of this proposition had what ultimately led to the abandonment of Reconstruction efforts; and much of the bipartisanship seen in American politics today is proof of this deep division in the countrys social and political makeup. Immediately after the Civil War an atmosphere of euphoria prevailed, when intellectuals and common people alike dreamt of a radically new American society. But as the initial excitement of the Reconstruction era faded out, people came to the realization that old, established institutions would not change readily. In many ways the Civil Rights movement that occurred a century later was a reaction to the failure of the Reconstruction project. In this sense, the progress of American society was effectively held back for a hundred

The nature of crime Essay Example for Free

The nature of crime Essay The nature of crime embodies the offences made against the state representing society and the population. Within this concept is the operation of principles going to the rights of the victim and the accused in the criminal law process. This process encompasses the commission and elements of the crime going to the actus reus (action of the accused), mens rea (intention of the accused) and causal link to make out the crime; the criminal investigation by the police; the criminal trial process under the adversarial system; the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt; and the verdict to sentencing options available to the judiciary. This can be illustrated in the case of R v Munter (2009) NSWSC whilst demonstrating the causation in the death of a man assaulted by Munter acting on the mistaken belief that this man was breaching water restrictions, but showing that his intention to kill was absent whilst his actions contributed to the outcome. In this case, Munter received a custodial sentence for manslaughter. Summary and indictable offences Criminal conduct is categorised by summary and indictable offences under the Summary Offences Act 1988 (NSW) and the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) respectively according to their severity. A summary offence is a less serious matter heard in the Local Court (before a magistrate generally resulting in a bond, fine or a jail sentence of up to two years. By contrast, indictable offences are more serious matters heard at trial in the District Court (most serious offences of manslaughter, murder and aggravated sexual assault being heard in the Supreme Court) following a committal hearing in the Local Court and before a judge and jury. Offences can be committed against people and property but fundamentally these offences breach the law of the state with sentencing imposed by the state but not necessarily in the interests of the victim. From homicide (murder and manslaughter) to, assault (common or aggravated) and sexual assault these can be contrasted with property and economic offences involving larceny, robbery or ‘break and enter’ or white-collar crimes involving  embezzlement, tax evasion and as can be seen in the case of R v Rivkin (2003) ALR, insider trading in which the accused used confidential stock market information in relation to Qantas shares for personal gain in which he was sentenced to nine months periodic detention. The different categories of crime Categories of crime are branded by the type of offence, jurisdiction (NSW or Cth), the seriousness of the offence (summary or indictable) and the parties to a crime. This can include offences against the person which is reflected as being a serious crime (homicide, assault and sexual assault). The case of Boughey v The Queen (1986) where a doctor strangled his wife during a ‘sex game’ allegedly should have known that the act constituted a ‘reckless indifference to human life’ and therefore was convicted for murder clearly demonstrates this category of crime. Offences against the Sovereign refer to the main offences of sedition and treason within this area. The Vietnam War ‘draft-card burning’ is an effective example which demonstrates the crime of sedition where thousands of American men protested based on the involvement of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. This led to the case of United States v. O’Brien where both parties argued before the Supreme Court in relation to the concept of sedition where O’Brien was burning his draft-cards at a rally. (Does this have any relation to the Anti-Terrorism Act No.2 (Cth) 2002? and was introduced after 9/11) Economic offences is another area of the criminal law and more significantly, is the largest area of criminal law as it encompasses most common types of crime. This includes crimes against property (larceny, robbery and ‘break and enter’); white-collar crimes (embezzlement, tax evasion and insider trading; and computer offences (hacking, unauthorized accessing, or modification of data). The media article – Fear in the Fast Lane (ABC, 2009) demonstrates a situation of an economic offence and more specifically, hacking. It was based on the Alice Springs Turf Club where hackers accessed the online gambling system and brought it down. Main drug related offences include the possession of a prohibited drug; use of a prohibited drug; cultivation (the growth of plant drugs i.e. cannabis) and the supply of a prohibited drug. Such legislation which has been passed to assist with the enforceability of keeping these types of crimes minimal include the Drug Misuse and  Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW); the Summary Offences Act 1988 (NSW); and the Customs Act 1901 (Cth). Driving associated offences are some of the most commonly committed offences in NSW. Many of these offences will relate to the strict liability offences concept such as speeding. The most common driving related offences include: exceeding the speed limit; driving without a license or while disqualified; ignoring road signs; and driving above the legal blood alcohol limit of 0.05. Public order crimes are offences that relate to acts that are deemed to disturb the public order in some way; i.e. disturbance in public. Some of the most common public order offences can include: obscene, indecent or threatening language in public; possessing a knife in public (with no reason); obstructing traffic; and damaging public fountains or protected places. Preliminary crimes are offences split into two main categories of attempts of an offence and conspiracy. The concept of conspiracy occurs when two or more people plot to commit a crime together. In addition, the failure of an attempted crime can result in the equal possible length of sentence for that particular crime which is demonstrated in Section 344 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) where ‘a person who attempts an offence can be liable for the penalty’. Parties to a crime The concept of parties to a crime relates to the fact that other people can be involved in the act, either before or after the crime. This can effectively be reflected within the preliminary offence of conspiracy. The level of punishment is usually determined by that person’s level of involvement in the crime and indeed there are four main categories of ‘parties to a crime’ which are: principal in the first degree (this is the principal offender); principal in the second degree (present at the crime i.e. encourager); accessory before the fact (someone who helped before the crime); accessory after the fact (someone who helped after the crime i.e. driving a getaway car). A range of factors that may lead to criminal behaviour A range of situational and social crime prevention techniques There are many significant factors which affect criminal behaviour. The scientific study of crime and criminal behaviour is known as criminology. This covers many aspects of why people might become criminals. Firstly, the psychological  factor is relevant during the drug rehabilitation process and particular sentencing programs. Secondly, social groups that people associate with will often influence a person’s attitude and views of acceptable behaviour. For example, an abusive home environment may impact on one’s future life. Thirdly, the economic factor is extremely significant as people from disadvantaged backgrounds (i.e. Sydney’s western suburbs) are more likely to commit crimes. This relates to the impact of poor education and lack of skills. Fourthly, politically, offences against the sovereign or against the state are likely to have some political factors influencing their commission. For Example; the G8 Summit protest or the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference are both a major influence. Essentially, it is vital to understand the factors and motivations behind crime as it related to the possible impact of crime prevention (situational and social). Situational crime prevents usually involves one of the two following approaches: firstly, planning and architectural design, which focuses upon the influence of physical environments upon crime; and seconly, focused (situational) approaches, which rest on rational choice theory. Basically, situational crime prevention aims to make it more difficult for criminals to carry out a crime and therefore stop the crime before it is committed. Social crime prevention relates to the prevention of some of the social and economic factors that might contribute to a person committing an offence. This includes the prevention of a poor home environment/parenting; social and economic disadvantage; poor school attendance; early contact with the police and other authorities. Fundamentally, it is progressively being fixed as such youth programs are run to teach dispute resolution skills and social skills that will encourage potential offenders to make better choices about their actions and their futures.

Truffaut’s Jules et Jim †An Expressionistic Analysis :: Movie Film Essays

Truffaut’s Jules et Jim — An Expressionistic Analysis As far as Bazin’s essay â€Å"The Evolution of the Language of Cinema† might be used as a formal test of categorisation—notwithstanding the problematics inherent in his oversimplification of the realist and expressionist methodology—initial viewing of Jules et Jim seems to present a dichotomous structure. Certainly, a number of Bazin’s criteria for realism are met: camera movement; long-takes; composition-in-depth. and deep focus; a certain ambiguity of meaning. Similarly, several of Bazin’s criteria for expressionism also can be found: there is spatial and temporal discontinuity; editing is used for artistic effect; reality is augmented to create a world only vaguely like our own, and so on. The dichotomy though is only apparent. The over-all effect created by Truffaut shows Jules et Jim belonging more comfortably in the expressionistic domain; and, as we shall discover, devices which would normally—at least according to Bazin— deliver the effect of realism are utilised by Truffaut as tools of expressionism. In our analysis of Jules et Jim, rather than examine fleetingly the whole gamut of expressionistic techniques, we shall instead explore in some detail the more important methods, paying particular attention to temporal and spatial distortions, editing and montage, special visual effects, and finally discover the manner in which Bazin’s archetypal techniques of realism—long-takes and composition-in-depth.—are recast. Certainly one of the most striking features of Jules et Jim is temporal distortion. Truffaut utilises this effect by various means and for various purposes. In the first two minutes of the film, time is condensed in two ways: by the third person narrative, which encapsulates the film’s exposition in the most laconic of terms, describing the meeting and developing friendship of Jules and Jim, and also by the selective images which largely avoid redunant description of the aural narrative, but instead seek to interpret and compliment. Accordingly, when the narrator tells us that Jules is a foreigner in Paris; that he wants to go to an art student’s ball; and that Jim gets him a ticket and costume, the image we are offered is a simple one of the two playing dominoes. This image, incidentally, becomes a leitmotif in the film, supporting the theme of friendship and is touchingly varied much later when Jules plays instead with his daughter. Next, the narrator tells us that their friendship grows; the ball takes place; that Jules has tender eyes.

African Americans Consequence Essay

The African Americans played a major role before and after the Civil War, beginning from 1861 to 1870, which helped shape the course and consequences of the Civil War. In determining how African Americans shaped the course and consequences of the Civil War, one must assess how African Americans were given more opportunities. Politically, African Americans began to have a role in voting and to have the President and Republican Party fight for their full freedom. Socially, the African American’s class began to be looked at differently. Ideologically, the African Americans were being looked at as equal and made sure that people knew they were people too. Although African Americans had to continue to fight for their equality, they did, in fact, shape the course and consequences of the Civil War by having political, ideological, and social actions. African Americans had no rights to vote or involve themselves in politics but that changed after the Civil War. Giving African Americans the right to vote shaped the consequences of the Civil War by African American’s views being looked at as well. On August 1865, the Convention of the Colored People of Virginia was proceeded which claimed that since African Americans are free, they deserve to vote (Doc H). The African Americans spoke of being given suffrage, and then they were given the right to vote. This shaped a consequence of the Civil War because the African American’s views were no longer over looked. During the Civil War, no one J. Crespo P a g e | 2 paid attention to what the African Americans wanted but afterward, they were granted the voice to speak about what they wanted. After being heard and given the right to vote, the African Americans had participation in Constitutional Conventions. A map shows the following: the participation of African Americans and Whites in Constitutional Conventions during 1867-1868 (Doc J). Politically, the whites did not want to be overtaken by the African Americans, so they had a larger participation to overrule the African Americans. The whites wanted a powerful Democratic Party that supported their wanting. The African Americans still participated in the conventions to make sure the Republic Party was strong enough to continue to give the African American their rights. African Americans participating in the Constitutional Conventions shaped one of the consequences of the Civil War by not letting whites take over the political system. Not only did the African Americans have a consequence politically with being heard and not having white supremacy, politically African Americans were also given their freedom. African Americans were being given their freedom. Politically, African Americans were being granted a change in society. Abraham Lincoln published a letter on August 26, 1863 that proposed the following: the African Americans as a whole, everywhere, should be granted their freedom for they fought for the North (Doc C). Abraham Lincoln was trying to persuade the Whites to agree on freedom for the African Americans in the United States. African Americans were being freed everywhere instead of just the North. Politically, this helped the African Americans tremendously because they were going to be freed everywhere. One of the consequences was African Americans being freed in the North, but then African Americans were going to be freed everywhere, including the South. After the letter sent out by Abraham Lincoln, the Republican Party decided to try to get an amendment that freed all African Americans. In 1864, the Republican Party’s platform stated the following: they wanted an Amendment to J. Crespo P a g e | 3 officially end slavery everywhere (Doc D). Politically, the African Americans were beginning to be seen as people throughout the nation. This consequence after the Civil War proved that African Americans were no longer going to be slaves anywhere. African Americans found their freedom with the help of the political power of Abraham Lincoln and Republican Party. Then the African Americans were socially looked at differently. The African Americans were no longer such a low class because people began to look at them differently and notice the good things about African Americans. Socially, the African Americans were being helped by the people. On July 30 1861 General Benjamin F. Butler reported to the secretary of the war stating the following: the African Americans should be free since they are a part of the North (Doc A). Socially, the North no longer presented the African Americans as property. This shaped the Civil War because the African Americans became part of the Union that fought for the North. Then after the Civil War was won and the African Americans were freed, their school system proved them socially equal and good as the whites. In March 1864, Charlotte Forten, an African American teacher in South Carolina Sea Islands, said the following: she spoke of how happy the African American children were to learn and how much knowledge they have attained (Doc E). Socially, the African Americans were no longer looked at as less smart than the Whites. The consequence of the Civil War with the African Americans socially with schools showed their equality to whites. Socially, the African Americans were no longer looked at as slaves or less knowledgeable. The African Americans, ideologically, were no longer looked as property. The African Americans were beginning to be looked at the same as the whites. The African Americans no longer were looked at as property. Ideologically, the African Americans caused a consequence of the Civil War to be looked at as people. On March 7, 1864 in The New J. Crespo P a g e | 4 York Times it stated the following: African Americans have gone through a drastic change to now be free Americans in the United States equal to the whites (Doc F). The African Americans were no longer the property they were once known of; African Americans were people just as the Whites. Ideologically, this proved that a consequence of the Civil War was the change of equality that African Americans had. After The New York Times had posted the article, Thomas Nast from Harper’s Weekly on August 5 1865 had posted the following: a picture of lady liberty standing next to an African American Union Solider asking â€Å"And Not This Man? † (Doc G). Ideologically, the picture proved that the people no longer were going to look at African Americans as property so they should be treated equal. The North wanted the South to have the same thoughts about African Americans. This set a consequence of the Civil War by having the African Americans no longer being looked at as slaves as they were when the war had begun. After the African Americans were no longer looked at as property, the African Americans made sure the Whites thought of them as people no matter what. African Americans were going to deal with racism and injustice but they made sure that the whites knew they were people also. Ideologically, the African American consequence after the Civil War was that African Americans are people, not slaves nor property. On August 20 1862 in New York during the resolution of African Americans in Newtown, African Americans stated the following: they wanted to make sure that the President knew that they were not going to leave because the United States was their country also that they were going to fight in for their freedom (Doc B). This constructed the course of the Civil War because the African Americans began fighting in the Civil War. Ideologically, African Americans were looked at as people in the nation of the United States to fight along the Whites for their freedom and country. After the Civil War, when African Americans were no longer slaves and granted their freedom, some J. Crespo P a g e | 5 whites resisted the full freedom of African Americans. In 1867 with Rebecca Parsons she went through the following: she went back to receive her kindred since she was a free slave but the owner would not allow her to because they were â€Å"his† (Doc I). Although, Parsons did not allow Rebecca her children it proved that Parsons realized she was also people because she demanded them back from him. Rebecca is no longer a slave who has to stand down, she also had rights which proved she is as equal as Parsons. Ideologically, after the Civil War this was a consequence by African Americans no longer being looked at differently because they were people also. African Americans ideologically created the course and consequence of the Civil War by being looked at as people and not slaves. African Americans shaped the course and consequences of the Civil War by ideological, social, and political reasoning. African Americans were known in the United States as slaves and property but they no longer were during and after the Civil War. They became people of equality to the whites in the United States. They no longer had no say in politics; they were given rights and opportunities to speak of their views. They no longer were viewed as property but people. Also, they weren’t the low class everyone had always labeled them as. African Americans helped the Union win the war to win themselves the freedom they deserved.

The Medieval Civilization

The greater part of medieval civilization was a time of simplicity and little cultural development. Feudalism was the structure that governed medieval society and came to represent this time period. The church became the universal symbol of medieval unity. Toward the end of the medieval period, however, town life and large-scale trade and commerce were revived. Great changes took place in the church fostering a new era and change. Feudalism was a system of government that provided the structure for the political, social, and economic aspects of medieval civilization. It consisted of contracts between members of the nobility and less powerful nobles who served as their vassals. Economically it was a contract between the serfs who farmed that land and the nobles who owned it. Feudalism was very complex and confusing in some ways, but it could also be looked at as very simple. It was constructed in a pyramid or chess board-like form. Kings were at the top although they did not have much power, lords and vassals followed the king and had control of the lesser nobles. The serfs were at the base of the pyramid. A manor, otherwise known as the lord†s estate, was where everyone lived and worked. In exchange for a place to live, food, and mainly protection, the serfs farmed the land. Agriculture was the foundation of feudalism, where land and food was used to barter for other items. There were different taxes and positions of distinct people on the manor. This illustrates the complexity of feudal life during the medieval ages. If you look at it as what the duties were of each specific class you see the simplicity of feudalism. Each member of medieval society had its own particular tasks to perform. The serfs preformed the most labor-intensive tasks and often did the same thing everyday. The knights protected the manor and the lords were responsible for taking care of everyone on their manor. The feudal system could be compared to a modern corporation. The serfs could be looked at as the workers, the lords as management, the knights to the security, and the king would be the CEO of the company. Feudalism was complex in its organization and simple it its implementation. During most of the medieval time period the church was the center of society and was the law of the land. The church regulated business practices, had the power to tax, controlled all people through the power of excommunication and had influence on the aesthetic aspects of life. The church exemplified both the simplicity and complexity of medieval life. Monks led a very simple life. Their days were spent working hard, studying, and praying. The church wanted to make life simpler by standardizing the rite, calendar, and monastic rule. It was more complex then simple however. The church held a great deal of power that was often in conflict with the monarch. The head of the church, the pope, spent much of his time in Rome while attempting to govern the rest of Europe. It was difficult to govern such a large geographical area while residing in a city that was not centrally located. In A. D. 1377, Pope Gregory XI left Avignon and returned to Rome. This was known as the great schism and it developed great entanglement in the popes† standing in medieval society. The crusades, while increasing the status of the pope, also increased the power of the monarchs over the nobles. Feudalism was broken down and the power the church was illustrated in the crusades. Certain aspects of the church tried to simplify life while other things only made it more complex. Population growth contributed to the migration of people from the manor to the town, which was the base of complexity in the later stage of the Middle Ages. A self-sufficient manor sometimes was the beginning of a town where people came to form a complex web of commerce and trade. Products were bought with money rather then used to barter for other necessities such as in the earlier stage of the Middle Ages. As the towns grew the people became dissatisfied with being ruled by the nobles and church. They wanted to govern and tax themselves, and eventually they began to do these things without the consent of the church or nobles. To better protect themselves the townspeople often joined together with people from other towns to form leagues. These leagues would band together to protect one another and promote trade. The people organized themselves even further with forming merchant and craft guilds. The guilds controlled the making and sale of particular products. Feudal lords as well as the church was concerned with the formation of towns. Townspeople were able to increase their wealth through the sale and manufacturing of goods, while the lords only produced what was needed for their manor. The serfs began to move away from the manor because they realized that they could have a better life if they lived in the towns. By forming autonomous towns, people created complex relationships between themselves and the monarchs and churches. This was the development of a more complex form of economic subsistence known as capitalism. Medieval civilization was a time of change in many different ways, both simple and complex. Feudalism was organized in a quite clear way yet the structure in which it was carried out and the roles played in it were confusing. The church†s power was very perplexing in that it had the power to run the government and economy. The way that the church wanted to standardize certain things was easy to understand. Towns were complex in their organization and in the way they divided the power among the common people and the nobles and church. Medieval society that was once based on faith became rooted in scholasticism. Many new ideas brought up through the medieval civilization forced the society to be both simple and complex in many aspects.

Classic Character Essay

Classic Character Essay Classic Character Essay Classical Character Societies rise and crumble, and all for one reason: character. Character is defined by those societies as they study their classical books. In order to study classical books the following questions need to be answered: What is a classic? What is classical character? What are the influences of classical reading on character and character development? Our founding fathers seemed to understand classics and their significance, but how well do we understand the importance of studying classics? What is a classic is hard, but not impossible to answer. Well known classics are; A Christmas Carol, Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, etc. In each of these books, the characters go through many challenges within themselves and with life. In turn, they all begin to understand what is fundamental to keeping society and their hopes alive. In one or another, they know that without a healthy understanding of people and their interactions, the quality of character ceases, and people begin to become ruinous. Basing our definition on these kinds of books, classics should be whole, moral books that teach principles and build leaders who are able to wisely lead a community. Classics should teach truths, morals, and wisdom. They should influence us to better our livelihood and better our relationships with others. However, this is not how classics are defined. Classics, or â€Å"old literatures† are adapted as people lose interest1. This deprives them of understanding what old terms and phrases mean2. When this happens, society changes their definition of a classic. Therefore, to clearly state the definition of classics based on morals and principles, these need to be defined. Morals are â€Å"the differentiation of intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are "good" (or right) and those that are "bad" (or wrong).† (wikipedia, morality) Another word is Principles. Principles are â€Å"fundamental truths or propositions that serve as the f oundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.† They are laws that are made, not by people, but by God, and they do not have to be enforced. They are common sense. If classics should be whole, moral books that teach principles and build leaders, then it is logical to assume that there are books that can be unclassical, being that they don’t have the basic theme of a classic. The basics of classics are important and should be studied. For some people they consist of deep interpretations and perspectives, but because it is not apparent on the surface, most will skip over it and miss it. One basic theme that is often missed is classic character. No, it is not the protagonists or antagonists of a book. Character, in this sense, is the principles that govern a person’s conscience. It will guide their course of action based off of past events and present ones. Their character will be decisive to whether or not they choose a course which will help them to follow correct morals. If not, they become the antagonist in the lives of those they come in contact with. Values, character attributes, and growth define civilizations and the people within the society. These are the core of why people function with their laws, and why they may see fit to fight against those laws. Classic characters have cores that are trying to be understood. The authors of these classics may be trying to show people that there is a piece of this core that is missing within the society they currently reside. Some great examples come from The Swiss Family Robinson, Iliad, Beowulf, and others like those listed. In each of these books, we see people discover for themselves, through study or adventure, what is lacking in their life to allow them to be better. The lack of good examples, in individual lives means that the classics are one of the few resources for people to learn morals and principles.

Nike Essays - Nike, Inc., Employment Compensation, Labour Relations

Nike Essays - Nike, Inc., Employment Compensation, Labour Relations Nike The athletic apparel industry in which Nike is involved is a major money maker in the United States, but the fact that none of the factories are located in North America has brought some heat to the company. Nike controls more than 40 percent of the U.S. Market for sports related goods, but doesnt have a single sneaker factory in this country (Miller 1). Nike continues to make millions of dollars yet exploits workers overseas by paying them very little, while requiring long hours without overtime pay in factories that are not up to American standard. Nike subcontractors employ nearly 500,000 workers in plants in Indonesia, China and Vietnam (Saporito 1). The exploitation of workers in Third World counties, where the majority of Nikes labor is done sparks a controversial issue. People question why is it that Nike continues these practices. According to Just do it, Nike, Nike seems especially fond of doing business in undemocratic countries like China and Indonesia, where the military can be relied upon to crack heads if workers get out of line (Miller 2). The military monitoring has been a large controversy due to the fact that these are often Chinese working against other Chinese workers, or Vietnamese against their own people also. For Nike there are two benefits: it its a cheap way to monitor in an overseas factory and it creates a sheaper labor workforce. In turn making the labor cheaper for Nike. This makes it possible for Nike workers from the states to work on other things and only tour the factories when nessecary. While still assuming a stable workforce without good pay. The critics of Nikes labor practices have taken tours and witnessed the mistreatment firsthand. Time magazine reported saying, The plants were found to be modern and clean, well lighted and ventilated and paying a decent wage by local standard salthough by no means are they trouble free. Make no mistake: these are factories not amusement parks, and even in developing Asia, where jobs are scarce and getting scarcer, this is not the job of choice. (Saporito 1) The wages that the workers overseas are paid is nothing when compared to how much we pay for a pair of shoes or the profit that CEO Phil Knight is making off his sportswear giant he once operated out of the back of his car as a college student. A big issue that surrounds sweatshops is wage. The minimum wage often does not reflect the cost of living. (Hepner Online) Is the wage fair? There are many people who feel the wage is fair and the cost of living is taken into account when the wage is looked at, but studies show otherwise in many factories. Just recently, CNN reported a raise to entry level workers in Indonesia, Nike officials said the increase will raise the minimum monthly compensation packagewhich includes bonuses, housing, healthcare, transportation and meal allowances to approximately $37.14 a month.(Nike Establishes Labor Online) To many people living in the U.S., that package may sound good however the compensation package doesnt do away with the long hours, the poor conditions or the low rate of pay. Many of these workers are young children working to help support their families. The benefits do not make up for the low pay rates that keep them in the work force. The pay is only enough to get by where these children want to be saving in order to leave the factories and return home. In Taking a Look inside Nikes Factories, part of Bill Saporitos, Can Nike Get Unstuck? this is what was found. Americans pay $100 for a pair of shoes that a worker gets less than $3 a day to make. They pay Michael Jordan $40 million to endorse them. Cant they find more money to pay the workers? The short answer is no, because corporations pay the going rate for labor whereever they are. (Saporito 1) If this statement is true Nike pays the wage for the country the factory is in, then what is the controversy about? Much of it stems from the overtime that these workers are forced to work without over time compensation. Here in the United States there are regulations placed

How to Recognize a Legitimate College Honor Society

How to Recognize a Legitimate College Honor Society Phi Beta Kappa, the first honor society, was established in 1776. Since then, dozens - if not hundreds - of other college honor societies have been established, covering all academic fields, and also specific fields, such as the natural sciences, English, engineering, business, and political science. According to the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), â€Å"honor societies exist primarily to recognize the attainment of scholarship of a superior quality.† In addition, the CAS notes â€Å"a few societies recognize the development of leadership qualities and commitment to service and excellence in research in addition to a strong scholarship record.† However, with so many organizations, students might not be able to distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent college honor societies.   Legit or Not? One way to evaluate the legitimacy of an honor society is to look at its history. â€Å"Legitimate honor societies have a long history and legacy that is easily recognizable,† according to Hannah Breaux, who is the communications director for Phi Kappa Phi. The honor society was founded at the University of Maine in 1897. Breaux tells ThoughtCo, â€Å"Today, we have chapters on more than 300 campuses in the United States and the Philippines, and have initiated over 1.5 million members since our founding.† According to C. Allen Powell, executive director and co-founder of the National Technical Honor Society (NTHS), â€Å"Students should find out if the organization is a registered, non-profit, educational organization or not.† This information should be prominently displayed on the society’s website. â€Å"For-profit honor societies should usually be avoided and tend to promise more services and benefits than they deliver,† Powell warns. The organization’s structure should also be evaluated. Powell says students should determine, â€Å"Is it a school/college chapter-based organization or not?  Must a candidate be recommended by the school for membership, or can they join directly without school documentation?† High academic achievement is usually another requirement. For example, eligibility for Phi Kappa Phi requires juniors to be ranked in the top 7.5% of their class, and seniors and graduate students must be ranked in the top 10% of their class. The members of the National Technical Honor Society may be in high school, tech college, or college; however, all students need to have at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale.   Powell also thinks it is a good idea to ask for references.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A list of member schools and colleges should be found on the organization’s website – go to those member school web sites and get references.† Faculty members can also provide guidance.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Students who have concerns about the legitimacy of an honor society should also consider talking to an advisor or faculty member on campus,† Breaux suggests. â€Å"Faculty and staff can serve as a great resource in helping a student determine whether or not a particular honor society’s invitation is credible or not.† Certification status is another way to evaluate an honor society. Steve Loflin, past president of the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) and CEO founder of The National Society of Collegiate Scholars, says, â€Å"Most institutions value ACHS certification as the best way to know the honor society meets high standards.† Loflin warns that some organizations aren’t true honor societies. â€Å"Some of these student organizations are masquerading as honor societies, meaning they use ‘honor society’ as a hook, but they are for-profit companies and do not have academic criteria or standards that would meet the ACHS guidelines for certified honor societies.† For students considering an invitation, Loflin says, â€Å"Recognize that non-certified groups are potentially not transparent about their business practices and can’t deliver the prestige, tradition and value of certified honor society membership.†Ã‚  The ACHS provides a checklist that students can use to evaluate the legitimacy of a non-certified honor society. To Join or Not to Join?   What are the benefits of joining a college honor society? Why should students consider accepting an invitation? â€Å"In addition to the academic recognition, joining an honor society can provide a number of benefits and resources that extend beyond a student’s academic career and into their professional lives,† Breaux says. â€Å"At Phi Kappa Phi, we like to say that membership is more than a line on a rà ©sumà ©,† Breaux adds, noting some of the membership benefits as follows: â€Å"The ability to apply for a number of awards and grants valued at $1.4 million each biennium; our extensive award programs provide everything from $15,000 Fellowships for graduate school to $500 Love of Learning Awards for continuing education and professional development.† Also, Breaux says the honor society provides networking, career resources, and exclusive discounts from over 25 corporate partners. â€Å"We also offer leadership opportunities and much more as part of active membership in the Society,† Breaux says. Increasingly, employers say they want applicants with soft skills, and honor societies provide opportunities to develop these in-demand traits. We also wanted to get the perspective of someone who is a member of a college honor society. Darius Williams-McKenzie of Penn State-Altoona is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society for First-Year College Students. â€Å"Alpha Lambda Delta has impacted my life tremendously,† Williams-McKenzie says. â€Å"Ever since my induction into the honor society, I have been more confident in my academics and in my leadership.† According to the National Association of College and Universities, potential employers place a premium on career readiness among job applicants. While some college honor societies are only open to juniors and seniors, he believes it’s important to be in an honor society as a freshman. â€Å"Being recognized by your colleagues as a freshman because of your academic achievements instills a confidence in you that you can build upon in your collegiate future.† When students do their homework, membership in an honor society can be quite beneficial. â€Å"Joining an established, respected honor society can be a good investment, since colleges, universities, and company recruiters look for evidence of achievement in the applicant’s documentation,† explains Powell. However, he ultimately advises students to ask themselves, â€Å"What is the cost of membership; are their services and benefits reasonable; and will they boost my profile and help in my career pursuits?

Why do Identity Theft Offenders target middle class women at shopping Research Paper

Why do Identity Theft Offenders target middle class women at shopping malls & how can we prevent this from happening - Research Paper Example The paper intends to state that IPv4/IPv6 provides assistance to frame solid and customize networking system in the area of IP addressing system, security communication and data transmission for the various users. United Nation Convention through the implementation of IPv4/IPv6 evaluates various protections, controlling and combating measures against trafficking of the middle class women and various criminal offenses and impulses. In the contemporary society, identity theft is becoming one of the emerging issues affecting people, especially women of middle class. The identity theft offender target women of middle class as they are not very tech savvy and are not aware of the aspect of confidentiality and privacy while operating technology or cards. In this context, it is worth mentioning that middle class women are getting more inclined towards shopping in the modern era. Owing to this increasing trend of shopping the identity theft offenders are targeting middle class women wherein the shopping mall acts as a medium. It is observed that women tend to spend much of their time in shopping on regular basis at shopping mall. The lack of tech awareness makes women a soft target as they are not very expert in using their plastic cards while shopping malls (Pratt et al., 2010). The chances of maintaining confidentiality and privacy are lacked amid the people of middle class. The identity theft offenders use shoppin g mall as a medium to target the middle class women in order to get data and misuse the same. Due to this lack of technical awareness women were getting targeted and affected in a negative manner. The information can be easily collected by the offenders through shopping malls as due to lack of knowledge women do not use the cards and their details in a confidential manner. In this regard, in order to mitigate such issues this research

Management Coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Management Coursework - Essay Example Thus container shipping was one of the early industries to become heavily reliant on operational computer systems. However, it is one thing being able to access all the information in your computer systems on your own premises, but the true benefits from technology are only really experienced to the full when you have the ability to communicate this information wherever and whenever it is needed. State-of-the-art communications are fast becoming a necessity in today's international freighting and transport industries. Sophisticated logistics chains, offering a fast and flexible response to customer demands, require an accurate flow of information for tracking, planning and control. An efficient, streamlined system such as this is essential in order to meet the demands of the "just-in-time" concepts developed by the manufacturing industry whereby every stage of the process is timed to perfection. Everything required, no more no less, is in the right place at the right time, thereby saving huge amounts of time and money associated with stock inventories. Fast and efficient planning, stowage and tracking of cargo are the freighting and transport industry's response to manufacturers' needs. (Lakshmanan, 2001) From the outset, many sectors of the shipping and containerization industries saw electro... EDI standards was closely monitored by the industry and a message development group was set up early in the life of the EDI Association to consider new Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transportation - or trade (EDIFACT) standards for the shipping industry. In the deep-sea trade, a single container vessel can currently carry in excess of 4,000 containers. Typically, for example, a vessel will load containers at four or five ports in Europe for discharge at any of six or more ports in the Far East and it will additionally discharge and load containers at two further ports on the way. It is, therefore, a complicated exercise to keep control of the stowage plan such that all loading ports can add their cargo to the ship efficiently and with the minimum movement of the containers already on board. Additionally, the ports where cargo is to be unloaded are required to be able to access their containers easily and without having to move other containers in the process. (Shipley, 2003) A stowage plan of a container vessel is called a bayplan. A bayplan, in paper form, is a series of diagrams consisting of each cross-section of the ship or a list of each possible location on the ship and its contents. In EDIFACT terms, a bayplan is a UNSM called BAPLIE, which consists of a header section with information identifying the vessel and then a group of segments which is repeated for each container on board and containing relevant information about the container including its position on the ship, its loading and destination ports, the nature of the goods carried and the conditions under which it should be stowed on board. Traditionally, the bayplan was transmitted between port container terminals and ship planners by telex or by fax - typically in the Far

Strategic Plan Part 1 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategic Plan Part 1 - Research Paper Example The company will be known under the name and style of Mangoamla Juice Centers LLC and juices will have 4-5 variances such as pure amla juice mixed with ginger and turmeric, pure mangosteen with ginger and turmeric, mangosteen-amla mix and so on. The products that the company aims to serve are different than any available product in the market as nowhere fresh juices prepared from amla and mangosteen are served that are full of antioxidants. Antioxidants protect cells of the human body from cancer causing free radicals. Mangoamla Juice Centers aims at not only building awareness about antioxidant rich fruits but also make them available to the masses in their vicinity (Carlsen, 2013). Amla Mangosteen Vision Statement Mangoamla Juice Centers’ vision statement is to enrich the people’s health with naturally occurring antioxidants and become a champion in protecting people’s health. Mission Statement Mangoamla Juice Centers’ mission statement is to satisfy hea lth-conscious masses with the organically grown antioxidant-rich fruits and herbs derived from the Mother Nature and help people build strong immune power to keep from deadly diseases. Our Values Integrity: We always offer what we convey. Transparency: We are transparent in what we offer. Fairness: We are always fair to our customers. Responsibility: We consider ourselves responsible and accountable to the community where we live and operate. Defining Values Talking about transparency, the company will specify all ingredients and its proportion clearly in its all typical servings. Whatever specified will be offered with full integrity and honesty. The company will take social responsibility and delve into the issues that the farming community faces in growing amla and mangosteen crops in their countries, vital for the company’s continuance and business growth. The company will advise them on increasing crop yields while farming organically; for sustainable ways of farming and the ways to reduce labor in plucking the crop thus, helping them to increase their earnings. The company will be most diligent in following all applicable laws and regulations following ethical business practices at all levels. All activities will be done in line with the best environmental practices and sustainability growth. Strategic Direction The vision, mission and values as described above will guide the organization’s overall business and marketing strategy. The company will continue to find innovative ways and introduce new products and flavors to retain customers and attract new ones. The product quality will be of highest standard and will never be compromised at any given time. The thrust will be on quicker and fast paced services with minimal waiting period in the center. The customers will be provided with pleasant and cozy environment that they can always cherish with. Understanding Customer Needs Arthritis, gout, cancer ailments, asthma and many chronic ailmen ts have been plaguing the US society since long (CDC, 2012). Traditional medicines suppress these ailments for some time but cannot treat them fully. Moreover, perennial consumption of these medicines causes huge side effects. Obama initiative is aimed at not only to provide proper treatment opportunities to all in the society but it also aims at preventive measures and raising general health standards of the people. A large number of the people in the US

Strategic Decision Making in a Global Business Setting Case Study

Strategic Decision Making in a Global Business Setting - Case Study Example 2. A cultural audit is needed to evaluate these two firms. The audit would evaluate the demographics of the population, education, and experience of the staff. The demographic variables to be judged are age, gender, language and ethnic background. The AMI operation seems to have a deficiency in terms of balance of gender. Only 15% of the worker populations are women. Such an imbalance in gender composition is not healthy and could be used as evidence against the firm if the company ever got into litigation with female workers. AMI also suffer from glass ceiling symptoms since not enough women are part of the managerial staff. The cultural audit performed at UCTC demonstrated that the firm has great diversity within its staff. A good initiative for this firm would be to create seminars and trainings to discuss the importance of diversity and how it can be used as a competitive advantage in the business industry. 3. Due to the differences in culture between the two firms my consulting firm could serve as a valuable intermediary that can create a plan to achieve synergy among the two business entities in the long run. The organizational culture affects the ability of the change agent to incorporate changes (Recklies, 2011). My first action would be to meet with the managerial staff of each company independently.

Helping Parents Apply First Aid Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Helping Parents Apply First Aid - Essay Example occurs when an object is lodged in the windpipe thus a child is not able to breathe. The child may also have a blocked windpipe from having an allergic reaction to food. Young children often swallow various objects and because chocking leads to an insufficient amount of air into the brain, and first aid needs to be administered quickly (Nelson, 2002). A list of items that should be present includes: †¢ Hand sanitizer so that one can be able to clean their hands when water or soap is not available. †¢ Triple-Antibiotic ointment so that there can be the prevention of infection. †¢ Thermometer. †¢ Acetaminophen for the pain or fever. †¢ Oral antihistamine for allergic reactions. †¢ Instant cold press in order to control the swelling. †¢ Calamine lotion to help with the bites or stings. Procedure: 1. Assessing the situation: when a child is unable to breathe, cry or laugh, then there is something that is defiantly wrong with the child. 2. If the child is coughing, it means that the child’s windpipe is only partially blocked. When that is the case, the child should be led to continue coughing. This is the most effective method of unblocking the windpipe and in particular to anyone who is not fully blocked (Nelson, 2002). 3. Ask another individual to call the emergency number such as 911 while giving the child back blows and chest thrusts.

Strategic Decision Making in a Global Business Setting Case Study

Strategic Decision Making in a Global Business Setting - Case Study Example 2. A cultural audit is needed to evaluate these two firms. The audit would evaluate the demographics of the population, education, and experience of the staff. The demographic variables to be judged are age, gender, language and ethnic background. The AMI operation seems to have a deficiency in terms of balance of gender. Only 15% of the worker populations are women. Such an imbalance in gender composition is not healthy and could be used as evidence against the firm if the company ever got into litigation with female workers. AMI also suffer from glass ceiling symptoms since not enough women are part of the managerial staff. The cultural audit performed at UCTC demonstrated that the firm has great diversity within its staff. A good initiative for this firm would be to create seminars and trainings to discuss the importance of diversity and how it can be used as a competitive advantage in the business industry. 3. Due to the differences in culture between the two firms my consulting firm could serve as a valuable intermediary that can create a plan to achieve synergy among the two business entities in the long run. The organizational culture affects the ability of the change agent to incorporate changes (Recklies, 2011). My first action would be to meet with the managerial staff of each company independently.

Number grid Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Number grid - Essay Example Upper Left No. UL*LR UR*LL Difference 1 23 63 40 26 1248 1268 40 33 1815 1855 40 48 3360 3400 40 55 4235 4275 40 62 5208 5248 40 78 7800 7840 40 TABLE 2 As the table indicates, no matter where we place the square in the grid the difference in the product of the corners for a 3 x 3 square is always 40. Table 3 below are the results of a square that is 4 x 4 placed randomly on the grid. Upper Left No. UL*LR UR*LL Difference 1 34 124 90 17 850 940 90 24 1368 1458 90 36 2484 2574 90 41 3034 3124 90 53 4558 4648 90 67 6700 6790 90 TABLE 3 As the table indicates, no matter where we place the square in the grid the difference in the product of the corners for a 4 x 4 square is always 90. Table 4 below are the results of a square that is 5 x 5 placed randomly on the grid. Upper Left No. UL*LR UR*LL Difference 1 45 205 160 16 960 1120 160 23 1541 1701 160 35 2765 2925 160 42 3612 3772 160 56 5600 5760 160 TABLE 4 As the table indicates, no matter where we place the square in the grid the difference in the product of the corners for a 5 x 5 square is always 160. Table 5 below are the results of a square that is 6 x 6 placed randomly on the grid. Upper Left No. UL*LR UR*LL Difference 1 56 306 250 15 1050 1300 250 23 1794 2044 250 23 1794 2044 250 21 1596 1846 250 32 2784 3034 250 45 4500 4750 250 41 3936 4186 250 TABLE 5 As the table indicates, no matter where we place the square in the grid the difference in the product of the corners for a 6 x 6 square is always 250. Table 6 below are the results of a square that is 7 x 7 placed randomly on the grid. Upper...This is true for a 2 x 2 square and all other sizes. However, the difference in the product of the corners is dependent upon the size of the square. As the size of the square gets larger, the difference in the product of the corners also increases. But is there an algebraic relationship between the size of the square and the difference of the product of the corners Can we calculate the difference by knowing the size of the square Table 10 lists the results from the previous investigations. As we have seen, no matter what size square is used, we can use algebra to calculate the number of possible squares and the difference in the product of their corners. This applies to all possible combinations placed on the grid.

Animal Lane Cattery Information Technology System Essay Example for Free

Animal Lane Cattery Information Technology System Essay The Animal Lane Cattery, a privately owned small business, needs an efficient, updateable, expandable, easily accessible information system to track and document clients needs for boarding/grooming services. The objective is to design and develop a system that fulfils the needs of the Cattery. An effective electronic filing system will eliminate lost paperwork, minimize errors, and provide a method for quality customer service. I will be designing and making the system that we choose for the Cattery. As the Cattery has expanded its boarding and grooming services to accommodate a total of 15 cats in separate pens, an increase in customer complaints have been received concerning the Catterys inaccurate and time-consuming tracking of specific client information. This inefficiency means that clients have to give an update of their felines information to the Catterys staff and has resulted in service errors. At the moment, they use a flatbed database, which only allows you to work with one table open at any time. The Cattery has considered using a pen and paper system, writing things out manually and storing information on paper, but a more efficient system would be a relational database. Their ideal system is a relational database, and this will allow them to have macros, reports, queries, and searches based on the information needed. This, therefore, is the system that I will be developing for the Catterys usage. Objectives: The user needs to be able to: -view the information -search for specific information -print out receipts for clients Alternatives: There are many relational database packages I could have chosen to work with, but I have decided to use the database package Microsoft Access because I have great respect for Bill Gates and also, Microsoft Access is an older program, therefore any bugs in the system will hopefully have been fixed and the package improved. I could have used Microsoft Works, but there cannot be any more than one table open at a time, and it is necessary that I have multiple tables. Users: The users of this database will be the Catterys staff- full and part-time employees responsible for the care and grooming of the cats. The Office Staff will be able to view and edit the data, whereas the Grooming Staff will only view the information they need. ANALYSIS The software I decided to use here is Microsoft Access to create and view the database. The hardware needed is a keyboard to enter data, a mouse, a printer to print out the receipts, and the computer monitor. All data will be output using the printer. I will need to ensure that there is enough memory for a relational database to function. This should not be a problem, as Microsoft Access (which I have chosen to use) does not require that much memory space, and there will be plenty of space available on their office computer, which, other than the necessary software components, will be used solely for the database used for the storing of data and the running of the Cattery. Backup copies of data will be stored on tape. The tape needs to be clearly labeled and stored in a water-tight case inside a fire-proof storage box away from the initial source of data, in case of fire or flood that may damage the computer that contains the original data. Using floppy disks as a form of backup was considered, but the database is relatively large and updated on a daily basis, so the floppy disks will not have a capacity large enough to adequately store the data. Data collection: The data will be collected from the clients using a form that they will fill in giving the information needed by the Cattery. The fields required will be on the data capture form given to clients. These will be in the form of questions, such as the ones below: -What is the cats name and owners contact information? -What is the cats vets contact number (in case of emergency)? -What is the cats meal schedule? -What are the boarding drop-off and pick-up dates? -What are the cats grooming requirements? There will doubtless be other questions that the staff will need to know the answers to. To update the data, I will need to remove certain clients information and replace it with new data when the first cats are collected. The printed data will be the reports when a search is started, and a second report to give as a receipt to customers when they collect their pet. DESIGN Two tables will be developed: owner information and services. The link between the two tables is the owner code. Each owner has only one address, but multiple cats may reside at the same address. Each cat has personal service needs even if it shares the same owner as another. The client names and cat names will not be used as key fields because there might be multiple clients with the same names or cat names. Office staff at the Cattery may view and modify the data in both tables, and the grooming staff may view data. Following are the hand-drawn designs of the database. First are the initial rough designs to show the basic layout of the database. I will then give a data capture form (next page) to one of the users (an office staff person) asking what things they think could be done better and how the design of the database could be improved to make using it easier. The users comments will then be taken into account when making the final designs of the database, detailed so that anybody could create the same database that I will be making for the Cattery. Final Users Comments (after having reviewed the initial designs) How effective do you think the designs will be? What do you think could be improved, from what you have seen of the initial designs? What is lacking from the database (if anything)? Other comments: IMPLEMENTATION On the following pages are the print screens of the way the Catterys database was created (tables, forms, queries, reports, macro code etc). EVALUATION The original objectives outlined in my Identification stage were met. The Cattery now has a useful and fast system to find and store their clients information, to view and search for specific information, and to print out things like receipts for clients. After having reviewed the owners comments and compared to the things I have changed, I feel I have improved the database enough for him to be comfortable with using it. I took in to account the things he mentioned about needing designs for reports and queries, and lessening vagueness of some designs. I feel I have achieved my objective in making the Cattery an effective, easy system to hold all their information.

Impact of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in India

Impact of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in India Abstract NGO’s have grown in number over the past years in India and has been an important factor that has an impact on business, government and society. NGO’s work directly or indirectly with companies to ensure proper corporate behaviour especially when it has an impact on the society and environment. NGO’s have become an important stakeholder in business activities, government decisions by playing an important role in pointing out the shortcomings of government and Multi national corporations. The visibility of NGO’s has increased throughout the years. Many corporations are partnering with NGO’s to carry out their Corporate social responsibility related activities. So this paper aims at measuring the impact of NGO’s on Business, government and society through certain indicators and case study . Literature Review Hansen and Spitzeck.H (2010) in their paper â€Å"Stakeholder governance:An analysis of BITC Corporate responsibility index â€Å" have found that over the years NGO’s have become an integral stakeholder of a multinational corporation. Companies are partnering with NGO’s in order to address social and community needs . LaFrance and Lehmann(2005) in their paper â€Å"Corporate-Awakening why some corporations engage in Public –Private partnership† have found that the important factors why companies engage in CSR activities are to improve the community as a whole and companies provide the necessary finance , the NGO’s ensure that the right amount reaches the right people. Hess and Warren (2008) in their paper have indicated that it is important that both the company and the society benefits from CSR activities. This is on the impact of NGO’S on the business and society front. The impact of NGO’s on the functioning of the government has also increased over the years. Inger Ull in his paper â€Å"The role and impact of NGO’S in capacity development â€Å" found that NGOs have become the main service providers in functions where government lacks efficiency and over the years NGO’s have moved a step ahead from a mere â€Å"gap filling â€Å" role to a capacity building role. So this paper aims at answering the research question â€Å"In India are the NGO’s able to play a significant role in CSR activities of a company and inturn help in the transformation of the society â€Å" and â€Å" Is the government in India shunting the role of NGO’s in improving the society ?†. Method The research methodology is a case study based approach in which Procter and Gamble’s Shiksha program is taken to study how NGO’s and companies can work in a collaborative manner to bring about a change in the society. The case of Karnataka is taken to discuss the relationship between NGO’S and the government . Case Discussion CSR ACTIVITIES IN INDIA A 2011 KPMG report showed that of 100 earning companies in India only 16% of the companies have a proper CSR strategy . Even after the 2009 rule that all companies must set aside atleast 2% for CSR activities many companies struggle in putting that to use. This is mainly because companies often lack expertise on how to manage these funds. This brings a wide range of opportunities for NGO’s to step in . Major companies are relying on NGO’s to manage the CSR activities. One of the companies that has successful CSR activity in collaboration with NGO’s is Procter and Gamble through their Shiksha program PG’s CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PROGRAM IN INDIA PG’s flagship CSR program is the shiksha program which was started in 2005 when PG found that education is the sector in which consumers were willing to contribute in their own little way. Shiksha enable consumers to contribute for education of under-privileged children through simple brand choices. Since inception Shiksha has gathered close to around 22 crores for helping children for a better education. The major pillars that help PG in this endeavor are the consumers and the NGO’s with which PG has partnered with. It has partnered with NGO’s like Save the children India, Army wives welfare association, Round Table India etc where these NGO’s help in building infrastructure, lay emphasis on education of girl child and differently abled children . Through this program PG along with the NGO’s have built SHIKSHA schools which gives children proper health and hygiene facilities at schools such as clean drinking water, advanced educational aids for chi ldren such as libraries and computer centres. Shiksha has also evolved into a national consumer movement with support from media, employees , consumers and celebrities . IMPACT ON THE SOCIETY The shiksha program now reaches around 385,000 children in across 200 schools in India. It has provided children with various facilities like digital library and schemes like mid-day meal and parivartan. In 2012 PG’s initiative brought about distance learning program at Government High schools through which children had access to listen to experts from various parts of the country. PG also partnered with IBTADA an NGO to adopt a girls high school in Rajasthan to encourage education of girl child. PG’s key partner a NGO called Round Table India, takes care of the maintenance and running of the RTI Shiksha schools . With the Motto of â€Å"Padhega India Toh Badhega India† PG believes that secret of brighter India lies in the future generation attaining good quality education. Through this program PG commits a minimum donation of 1 Crore every year. IMPACT ON BUSINESS CSR activities at PG had not only benefited the society , it has benefited the business activities of PG too. The shiksha program became a huge movement which was endorsed by top notch celebrities . This has increased the brand image of PG products among consumers. Moreover by making the consumers also contributors to their CSR program , PG has made the consumers also their major partners in the CSR activities and gives them the sense of giving back to the society by buying PG products. All this wouldn’t have been possible without proper partners who can make use of the funds appropriately and ensure that the money reaches the right hands. So major credit for the success of this program is owed to the NGO’s who ensure that all activities take place in a smooth manner. Therefore NGO’s indirectly contribute to the growth of a company by helping companies manage the CSR activities. Therefore from the above example of PG we can conclude that a collaboration between a company and NGO can have a significant impact on the business and society. IMPACT OF NGO’S ON GOVERNMENT Over the years NGO’s have become an integral part of the society they have become the main service providers in areas where government fails to achieve. They not only play the role of gap filling but they also help in capacity building . Unless government and NGO’s partner with each other capacity building initiatives will not be successful. But does the government in India really support NGO activities is a big question mark. Inorder to answer the question the case of relationship between government and NGO’s in Karnataka is taken. IMPACT OF NGO IN KARNATAKA In India there can be observed a pattern in the relationship between state and NGO’s pre independence NGO’s where silent partners . Post independence the relationship became antagonistic. The state sought to control the NGO’s by posing many restrictions and regulations. But in the present India most of the states work in a collaborative manner with NGO’s and the NGO’s have also become highly professionalized. Karnataka was one of the states which has an active collaboration with NGO’s. Karnataka has a fair amount of voluntary groups and they are majorly rural oriented NGO’s. One major factor for NGO development in Karnataka is the devolution of powers within the panchayathi raj. Decentralization of power makes the relationship between the government and NGO’s easier. The NGO’s in Karnataka are mostly rural oriented NGO’s but apart from these there are NGO’s who emphasize on growing importance on the alliance between the state and NGO’s . In 1990 when Infrastructure was lacking in bangalore CIVIC was started to address the issue of rapidly decaying infrastructure in Bangalore and to pressurize the government in taking necessary steps. Today Bangalore is one of the cities that has best infrastructure. Karnataka also has a strong formal networks which helps NGO’s to express solidarity, share experiences and help in identifying developmental problems. Another important factor that has helped in the collaboration of NGO’s and the state is the establishment of point of contacts. The government of Karnataka regulates and funds NGO’s . The government has also taken initiatives in setting up NGO’s or supporting existing NGO’s . An example of this is the establishment of MYRADA inorder to resettle Tibetean stay homes. The government of Karnataka has also attempted to establish institutional channels for communication with the NGO’s. In 1984 it set up a forum that consisted of NGO representatives and government heads and it was chaired by the development commissioner . This forum meets atleast twice a year inorder to discuss developmental problems and to resolve the procedural problems between the government and NGO’s . This has facilitated a better relationship between the two parties. Today Karnataka is one of the states that has active voluntary groups and the number has increased year on year. From the above case we can conclude that if NGO’s work in collaboration with the government they can have a huge impact on the government and the society Conclusion The number of NGOs in India has increased over years and they play an important role in the society. NGO’s can also have a huge impact on business and government. Through CSR activities NGO’s help companies in manging their funds and ensure that the money allocated for CSR purpose reaches the right hands. With proper collaboration with governments NGOs not only do the role of gap filling but they also help in capacity building. Therefore NGO’s have a significant impact on business, government and society. References Allard, Gayle. The Influence of Government Policies and NGOs on Capturing Private Investment. Diss. Instituto De Empressa, 2008. Web Home. PGIndia.com Social Responsibility Programs in India: Team Building, Employee Engagement. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. Hansen, and Spitzeck. Stakeholder Governance:An Analysis of BITC Corporate Responsibility Index. N.p., n.d. Web Lafrance, and Lehmann. Corporate-Awakening Why Some Corporations Engage in Public –Private Partnership. (2010): n. pag. Web

Brown-Forman Corporation Marketing Study :: essays research papers

Brown-Forman Corporation Marketing Study Background   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Brown-Forman Corporation is one of the largest American companies in the wind and spirits industry, Fetzer Vineyards is their largest winemaker. Revenue and gross profit for the beverage segment of Brown-Forman were up 11% and 14%, respectively, in fiscal 2004. However, the growth was driven by the premium spirits brands, and the gross profit from the company’s wine brands declined due to a drop in volume for both Fetzer and Bolla wines. There are many symptoms for why this decline has occurred. Health consciousness is a rising trend among Americans of all ages and the latest crazes are the low-carbohydrate diets. Recently, Fetzer has introduced into the market two new low-carbohydrate wines, a chardonnay and a merlot. Their premium spirits brands have not been affected by the new diets because bourbon, whiskey, rum, gin, and vodka all contain no carbohydrates. However, most mixers used to accompany these spirits usually contain a significant amount of carb ohydrates. Introducing these new wines could offer a new choice, but not a substitute, for many dieters and at the same time give Brown-Forman the lead in this new market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 2003, Brown-Forman announced that they were going to begin using organically grown grapes to make their wine. Fetzer Vineyards plans to have nearly all the grapes used in its four major labels grown organically by the end of 2010. According to Marc Jonna, buyer for the Whole Foods Market, â€Å"demand for organic wine is small, but a move by a major player like Fetzer could change that.† Women already perceive wine as a healthier alternative to other alcoholic beverages. This health conscious image will allow Brown-Forman to direct their marketing efforts in response to this cultural trend and penetrate the market by providing information through advertising about their new wine ingredients.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another symptom of the decrease in wine sales is due to the lack of awareness among consumers about the types of wine available. In a restaurant setting consumers often shy away from ordering wine because they may feel uneducated about the types of wine offered or uncertain about which wine would best compliment their entrà ©e. Restaurants have attempted to address this problem by educating their servers and providing progressive wine lists, but if a person doesn’t understand the difference between a blush wine and a full-bodied wine or if they feel it is a hassle to ask questions the end result is the same, no wine has been sold.

Masculinity

Epic heroes like Achilles, Odysseus, and Aenas were warrior-type males who fought enemies and wars with great strength and exceptional courage.   Most of the time they had little regard for their own personal safety.   That, particularly characterized Achilles.   Odysseus on the other hand was cautious and wise.   He was a complex and strategic thinker.   Aenas had a deep devotion to God and would fight for his people and country. Those epic heroes were the image of masculinity.   They fought wars which they won.   They had great moral convictions.   They were strong and courageous.   They did not shrink from challenges, they instead charged forward for God, people and country.   They did not only capitalize on their physical strength, they had great minds as well. The long years in between periods of history saw the transformation of the idea of masculinity from the time of the epic heroes to the modern day masculinity.   However, on those times when, again, nations went to war, the ‘heroes’ in men once again surfaced.   They were aggressive and patriotic, and they sacrificed and felt honored by serving in the war. Different times had different norms.   The ‘war’ is now on athletics.   Physical strength was no longer for combat but it became healthy physique for athletics.   Athletes have to compete, whether it is against one’s self or an opponent.   Like in combat, they need to have the will to win, a strong character and of course, the fire of nationalism. Media has the most experience in defining and presenting masculinity.   They came up with stereotypes like: he has a sense of humor, he is aggressive, he is in control and is decisive, he is successful, and lastly he gets angry too, meaning he is being human. The perception or idea of masculinity do not seemed to have changed from the epic heroes, to the athletes at the Olympics and to the present-day or modern men.   Very evident, therefore significant are; love of God and country, courage, character and success as traits that truly make a man masculine. References: â€Å"Epic Traditions: the Hero–Homer to Virgil to Dante to Milton.† 13 November 2006. http://faculty.goucher.edu/eng211/epic_traditions_the_hero.ht â€Å"Common Stereotypes of Men in Media.†Ã‚   Media Stereotyping.   13 November 2006. â€Å"Characters of the Classical Epic.†Ã‚   13 November 2006. http://www174.pair.com/mja/epic.html Bourke, Dr. Joanna.   â€Å"The Image of Man.   The Creation of Modern Masculinity. By Professor George L. Mosse.† February 1997.   Updated 26 March 2002.   13 November 2006. http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/paper/bourke.html   

Cultural relativism Essay

The issue of universalism of human rights vs. cultural relativism has been a focal point of heated debate for the last several decades. As globalization is bringing nations together, cultural differences and peculiarities become increasingly more salient. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nation in 1948, lists several categories of rights that the peoples of the world have agreed to accept and recognize. These rights include the right to life, liberty and security of person; the right to be free from slavery and servitude; the right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or arbitrary arrest, detention or exile; the right to marriage with the free and full consent of the parties; the right to own property; the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religionm; and the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work (United Nations, 1948). These rights are universally recognized because they protect the dignity of an individual and the basic social institutions which are present in virtually every culture. However, their universality is still contested, as â€Å"human rights as laid out in the international covenants ignore the traditions, the religions, and the socio-cultural patterns of what used to be called the Third World† (Tharoor, 1998, para. 1). For example, in some African societies, â€Å"group rights have always taken precedence over individual rights, and political decisions have been made through group consensus, not through individual assertions of rights† (Tharoor, 1998, para. 4). There are many instances when traditional practices conflict with universal human rights. For example, female genital mutilation, practiced by some African and Asian people for cultural and communal reasons, translates into irreversible lifelong health risks for females (UNICEF, 2008). The debate whether human rights are universal is perennial. It is important to recognize, however, that an effective framework for the protection of human rights can be developed only using a bottom-up approach, giving the broad support of a society where human rights are promoted. References Tharoor, Shashi. (1998). Are Human Rights Universal? World Policy Journal, 16(4). Retieved June 11, 2009, from http://www. worldpolicy. org/journal/tharoor. html UNICEF. (2008). Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. Retrieved June 11, 2009, from http://www. unicef. org/protection/index_genitalmutilation. html United Nations. (1948). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved June 11, 2009, from http://www. un. org/en/documents/udhr

Gambling addiction Essay

A few years back my brother, Zach, started gambling. He started out with the small poker tables at a friend’s house. He would make a few dollars here and there, so he thought he could beat anyone. Zach thought he was untouchable, he thought he could be the system. It did not matter what it was. He thought he could beat it, from poker to roulette to betting on sports. He believed that he would win every time. After he got uninterested of the poker tables, he moved to betting heavily on sports. He started by betting on small high school games, nothing major. Zach would bet twenty to thirty dollars, nothing he could worry about losing. That was okay until he started betting higher wages on larger games. He then moved to college games and from there started betting on the pros. His favorite sport to bet on was the NFL. That still would not stop him from gambling on a NBA game or a soccer game. He made his biggest bounty on a NFL game two years ago. He made six hundred dollars on one game. That is the point where he got hooked. He has not stopped gambling since and is facing a real problem. This month he has already spent a thousand dollars on betting and gambling. Within the last 6 months, he has spent approximately eight thousand dollars. His gambling varies from poker games to sports. Zach favorite thing to bet on is sports though. He keeps gambling more and more and does not realize how it is affecting him at all. Gambling affects his family, his social life, and his bank account. People who gamble can have several types of problems. They are several types of gamblers. There are professional gamblers, causal social gamblers, serious social gamblers, relief and escape gamblers, compulsive gamblers, and antisocial personality gamblers. Zach falls into the compulsive gamblers categories. Compulsive gambling is where gambling is the only thing that matters in life. The gambler ignores his or her family, social life, and business. Zach does all of this. Since he has gotten hooked on gambling he ignores his family, has almost no social life, and his business is taking a hit from it. Gambling addiction is a major problem, it does not only affect the gambler, but it also affects the whole family and close friends. It can create a massive amount of tension and friction between close members of the family and friends, in a different variety of ways. Before Zach started gambling, he was always around the family. He would never miss a family event. That all changed when he started gambling. He started to spend more and more time gambling. Every day he would gamble away whatever money he had. My family started to notice, but he said he was just fine. Zach started to miss birthday, dinners, and other family events. It was really affecting our family. Not only was it affecting our family, but it was affecting Zach’s social life. Zach use to be a pretty popular guy. He knew everyone and everyone knew him, for good reasons. Now everyone knows him because of his gambling. Zach used to be a stand up guy, responsible, and was loved by everyone. His social life was pretty great before his gambling addiction. Gambling affects Work Cited Borghesi, Richard. â€Å"Widespread Corruption In Sports Gambling: Fact or Fiction?. † Southern Economic Journal 74. 4 (2008): 1063-1069. Business Source Premier. Web. 17 Jan. 2012.

Water resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Water resources - Essay Example The ever-growing population also plays a significant role in promoting the problem whereby, groundwater is sometimes polluted from sources on the surface (Franks, 2003). Human actions remain the biggest problem to water resources in three different ways: misuse, population growth and inequitable access. A more integrated and wider approach to water issues and policies remains important since water is a necessary resource. Lakes, rainwater, groundwater and even polluted water all come from a similar source. This means that global, national and the local actions towards solving the problem will be necessary and interdependent. Use of water in one system tends to alter water resources base or affect its users in different parts. In this case, fragmented bureaucracies must come up with coordinated decisions that reflect on individual agencies and responsibilities that are interpedently work together towards solving the problem (Franks, 2003). To help in resolving issues related to water resources, policy-makers must always be ready to review and explain problems and conditions related to the water sector. In this integrated approach, water managers must always understand the water cycle including ecosystem interactions, rainfall distribution and the natural environment (Franks, 2003). They must also be familiar with the diverse inter sectorial needs for water resources development. Franks, S. (2003). Water availability and global change. International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, General assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) & International symposium. Wallingford: IAHS

The Women of the Qing Dynasty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Women of the Qing Dynasty - Essay Example Many women were abused verbally and physically by their in-laws and spouses. Women were expected to be obedient toward men in their birth and marriage families. Ethnic Han Chinese women belonging to the upper and middle classes would have their feet bound. This practice was implemented as a way of ensuring that their mobility is limited and they remain close to home. Besides, bound feet were also considered as a symbol of beauty and femininity particularly among the elite class. This is the reason why poor families often felt tempted to bind the feet of their daughters. They thought that doing so, their daughters would be identified with rich families and the chances of her getting married into a rich family would be optimized. The practice of foot binding was very painful as the girls had to go through a series of painful developments. First, foot binding broke their arch bones. Their feet were tied into the lotus position with a long cloth strip. Bound feet deterred these women fro m working in the fields, so the families used this practice to symbolize that they were too rich to have their daughters work in the fields. Many women painters and poets emerged during the early Qing dynasty. However, it was not until the 17th century that women were identified as professionals and their artwork’s sale was considered a respectful means of livelihood (Yuho, 1993). He Shuangqing was a famous poet of the Qing dynasty. Ropp (2002) describes her background, talents, and features in the book in these words, â€Å"He Shuangqing, style name Qiubi, came from Danyang (in the southwestern part of today’s Jiangsu Province) in the Qing dynasty. Born into a peasant family, she lived in the vicinity of Siping Shan. Very beautiful, multitalented, and a lover of literacy works, she was married in 1732 into a poor family of woodcutters surnamed Zhou† (Ropp, 2002, p. 219). Having a

My Personal Code of Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

My Personal Code of Ethics - Essay Example Still others have no real faith and try to build a moral foundation out of their personal experience adding rules and content to it as the years go by. In this essay I will look at some of the most popular moral schemas—and the obligations that come from them—and then describe my own view on this vast and important subject. I was brought up in a religious family and was baptized in the church. Not all of my family was very religious, but my mother and my brother and sister were. I was instructed in the Sunday school with the typical Christian moral precepts: the Golden Rule, love they neighbour, the Ten Commandments. But these ideas seemed to me to be much more like common sense then in any idea that needed to be divinely revealed. I didn’t really understand why a god was required to supervise or implement these rules as it seemed to me that most people basically followed them anyway. I did, however, become interested in the way that this sort of morality influenced American politics and how many of the principles of the constitution seemed to be based of Judea-Christian values. I totally agree with the French history Alexis de Tocqueville when he visited American hundreds of years ago and wrote: The principles of New England †¦ now extend their influence beyond its limits, over the whole American world. The civilization of New England has been like a beacon lit upon a hill†¦. †¦ Puritanism was not merely a religious doctrine, but corresponded in many points with the most absolute democratic and republican theories. †¦Nathaniel Morton, the historian of the first years of the settlement, thus opens his subject: â€Å"we may not hide from our children, showing to the generations to come the praises of the Lord; that especially the seed of Abraham his servant, and the children of Jacob his chosen ( Psalm cv. 5, 6 ), may remember his marvellous works in the beginning †¦ â€Å" †¦ The general principles which are the groundwork of modern

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 37

Case Study Example Due to having a good reputation and success Creative Bus Service management must ensure that they come up with a good strategic plan. With the board meeting’s conclusion of expansion of profits they have to choose a good strategy that will ensure growth of profits. Mr. Ghosh market survey can be presented clearly through the Internal Rate of return (IRR), Net Present Value (NPV) and Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR). These will clearly state the outcome of the proposed projects by the Creative Travel Bus service. The success of the company revolves around the top management ability to manage effectively projects B operating from Delhi to Patna and A operating from Delhi to Joypur. Mr. Ghash should address congestion that hinders bus transport to the management to seek a way out in order to ensure their customers enjoy efficient services and they maintain the good reputation and name the company possesses (The World Bank, 2011). Being the most reliable transport system in India it has to make a decision so as to uphold their name and services to customers. The World Bank, (2011). India Transport sector. Retrieved on 27th November 2012

The Law and Justice between Canada and U.S Essay

The Law and Justice between Canada and U.S - Essay Example In this paper, we shall conduct the comparative analysis of the law and justice between Canada and the US. Importance of Topic: The theme of this paper revolves around laws and jurisdiction in the US and Canada. Topic is related to the principles of American and Canadian system and social life in two different states. These laws regulate each aspect of citizens` life and allow them enjoy given rights within the country. Additionally, this topic significantly covers the similarities and differences between American and Canadian law and justice systems (Boyd). This topic highlights the role and rights and Canadian and American citizens who are obliged to follow country`s rule strictly. And, the manner they deserve to treat in the country under peculiar circumstances and social ethics. The topic also includes notions of legal decisions that are made with respect to the regulations of the country and adapted system. Specifically, this topic aims to cover the comparative examination of th e American law and justice system with Canadian jurisdiction system (Boyd). The Law Subject: The law subject is quite wider in scope and it allows students view law and justice system clearly and understands it completely, and provides sufficient knowledge about different law related systems of the world. The law subject is very important part of learning legal relationships and rights of legal citizens along with the statuses of immigrant citizens in the foreign countries. As Canada and America are two important and stronger countries at the global level and these countries are close in terms of regulations and jurisdictions. Therefore, it is significantly important to study the law and justice between America and Canada to view and understand the difference and similarities between the laws of these two closely related countries (Boyd). This topic is highly relevant to the subject of law as comparison between laws of two strong states helps us understand the importance of law and justice system with respect to the territory, geographical location and the governmental systems that regulate these states. Comparison between American and Canadian Law: According to scholars, majority of Canadian laws have been derived from American system of laws and justice. It has noticed that in Canada, "Canada Day" is celebrated on 1st July for the celebration of the British North American Act of 1867, which was considered as the first step towards independence of Canada that eventually resulted in the formation of Canadian constitution (Boyd). Here, we observe a similarity between American and Canadian law system, as the US has written constitution including "Bill of Rights" and Canadian constitution also has a "Charter of Rights". Moreover, it has been noticed that legal rules and law system of both the countries are derived from "English Common Law", which based on the judges` decisions for the state rather than resolution of the senate or parliament. Moreover, laws govern ing socio-economic life matters such as, contracts and negligence in Canada are also similar to the United State's laws (Vitamanti). Traffic, breakage and emergency laws are almost similar is the US and Canada such as in both the countries the rental agreement always inform the process that should be legally adopted in case of emergency or accident. It is strict law in both the states that when a blind man or woman with a white cane crosses the road vehicles should stop and

Anonymous Research Essay Example for Free

Anonymous Research Essay Anonymous (used as a mass noun) is a loosely associated hacktivist group. It (is estimated to have) originated in 2003 on the imageboard 4chan, representing the concept of many online and offline community users simultaneously existing as an anarchic, digitized global brain.[2] It is also generally considered to be a blanket term for members of certain Internet subcultures, a way to refer to the actions of people in an environment where their actual identities are not known.[3] It strongly opposes Internet censorship and surveillance, and has hacked various government websites. It has also targeted major security corporations.[4][5][6] It also opposes Scientology, government corruption and homophobia. Its members can be distinguished in public by the wearing of stylised Guy Fawkes masks.[7] In its early form, the concept was adopted by a decentralized online community acting anonymously in a coordinated manner, usually toward a loosely self-agreed goal, and primarily focused on entertainment. Beginning with 2008, the Anonymous collective became increasingly associated with collaborative, international hacktivism. They undertook protests and other actions in retaliation against anti-digital piracy campaigns by motion picture and recording industry trade associations.[8][9] Actions credited to Anonymous were undertaken by unidentified individuals who applied the Anonymous label to themselves as attribution.[10] They have been called the freedom fighters of the Internet,[11] a digital Robin Hood,[12] and anarchic cyber-guerrillas.[13] Although not necessarily tied to a single online entity, many websites are strongly associated with Anonymous. This includes notable imageboardssuch as 4chan, their associated wikis, Encyclopà ¦dia Dramatica, and a number of forums.[14] After a series of controversial, widely publicized protests, distributed denial of service (DDoS) and website defacement attacks by Anonymous in 2008, incidents linked to its cadre members have increased.[15] In consideration of its capabilities, Anonymous has been posited by CNN to be one of the three major successors to WikiLeaks.[16] In 2012, Time named Anonymous as one of the most influential groups in the world.[17] Origins The name Anonymous itself is inspired by the perceived anonymity under which users post images and comments on the Internet. Usage of the term Anonymous in the sense of a shared identity began on imageboards.[14] A tag of Anonymous is assigned to visitors who leave comments without identifying the originator of the posted content. Users of imageboards sometimes jokingly acted as if Anonymous were a real person. The concept of the Anonymous entity advanced in 2004 when an administrator on the 4chan image board activated a Forced_Anon protocol that signed all posts as Anonymous.[14] As the popularity of imageboards increased, the idea of Anonymous as a collective of unnamed individuals became an Internet meme.[18] Anonymous broadly represents the concept of any and all people as an unnamed collective. As a multiple-use name, individuals who share in the Anonymous moniker also adopt a shared online identity, characterized as hedonistic and uninhibited. This is intended as a satirical, conscious adoption of the online disinhibition effect.[19] â€Å"| We [Anonymous] just happen to be a group of people on the internet who need—just kind of an outlet to do as we wish, that we wouldnt be able to do in regular society. Thats more or less the point of it. Do as you wish. Theres a common phrase: we are doing it for the lulz.| †| —Trent Peacock. Search Engine: The face of Anonymous, February 7, 2008.[19]| Definitions tend to emphasize that the concept, and by extension the collective of users, cannot be readily encompassed by a simple definition. Instead Anonymous is often defined by aphorismsdescribing perceived qualities.[2] One self-description, originating from a protest video targeted at the Church of Scientology, is: We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not fo rgive. We do not forget. Expect us.[20] Overview â€Å"| [Anonymous is] the first Internet-basedsuperconsciousness. Anonymous is a group, in the sense that a flock of birds is a group. How do you know theyre a group? Because theyre traveling in the same direction. At any given moment, more birds could join, leave, peel off in another direction entirely.| †| —Chris Landers. Baltimore City Paper, April 2, 2008.[2]| Anonymous consists largely of users from multiple imageboards and Internet forums. In addition, several wikis and Internet Relay Chat networks are maintained to overcome the limitations of traditional imageboards. These modes of communication are the means by which Anonymous protesters participating in Project Chanology communicate and organize upcoming protests.[21][22] A loose coalition of Internet denizens,[23] the group bands together through the Internet, using IRC channels[21] and sites such as 4chan,[21][23] 711chan,[21] Encyclopà ¦dia Dramatica,[24] and YouTube.[3] Social networking services, such as Facebook, are used for to mobilize groups for real-world protests.[25] Anonymous has no leader or controlling party and relies on the collective power of its individual participants acting in such a way that the net effect benefits the group.[23] Anyone who wants to can be Anonymous and work toward a set of goals a member of Anonymous explained to the Baltimore City Paper. We have this agenda that we all agree on and we all coordinate and act, but all act independently toward it, without any want for recognition. We just want to get something that we feel is important done[2] Anonymous members have previously collaborated with hacker group LulzSec.[citation needed] Membership It is impossible to join Anonymous, as there is no leadership, no ranking, and no single means of communication. Anonymous is spread over many mediums and languages, with membership being achieved simply by wishing to join.[26] Commander X and the Peoples Liberation Front A person known as Commander X provided interviews and videos about Anonymous.[27] In 2011, he was at the center of an investigation into Anonymous by HBGary CEO Aaron Barr, who claimed to have identified him as a San Francisco gardener. Interviewed following the attack on HBGary Federal, Commander X revealed that while Barr suspected that he was a leader of the group, he was in his own words a peon. However, Commander X did claim to be a skilled hacker and founding member of an allied organization, the Peoples Liberation Front (PLF).[28] According to Commander X, Peoples Liberation Front, a collective of hactivists founded in 1985, acted with AnonOps, another sub-group of Anonymous, to carry out denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks against government websites in Tunisia, Iran, Egypt, and Bahrain. Explaining the relationship between Anonymous and the PLF, he suggested an analogy to NATO, with the PLF being a smaller sub-group that could choose to opt in or out of a specific project. AnonOps and the PLF are both capable of creating huge Internet armies. The main difference is AnonOps moves with huge force, but very slowly because of their decision making process. The PLF moves with great speed, like a scalpel.[29] On September 23, 2011, a homeless man in California named Christopher Doyon was arrested and stated by officials to have used the Commander X screen name.[30] He pleaded not guilty.[31] Low Orbit Ion Cannon Main article: LOIC The Low Orbit Ion Cannon is a network stress testing application that has been used by Anonymous to accomplish its DDOS attacks. Individual users download the LOIC and voluntarily contribute their computer to a bot net. This bot net is then directed against the target by AnonOps.[32] Joining the bot net and volunteering ones resources for the use of the group is thus one way of being a member, a concept that is otherwise hard to define. The Pirate Bay In April 2009, after The Pirate Bay co-defendants were found guilty of facilitating extensive copyright infringement in a commercial and organized form, Anonymous launched a coordinated DDoS attack against the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organisation responsible for safeguarding recording artists rights.[33] When co-founders lost their appeal against convictions for encouraging piracy, Anonymous again targeted the IFPI, labelling them parasites. A statement read: We will continue to attack those who embrace censorship. You will not be able to hide your ludicrous ways to control us. Megaupload On January 19, 2012, Megaupload, a website providing file-sharing services, was shut down by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).[36] In the hours following the shutdown, hackers took down the sites of the DOJ and FBI, as well as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) using distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.[37]Barrett Brown, described as a spokesperson for Anonymous, called the attack the single largest Internet attack in [Anonymous] history.[38] With the protests against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) protests only a day old, Brown stated that internet users were by-and-far ready to defend an open Internet.[38] Although the actions of Anonymous received support,[citation needed] some commentators argued that the denial of service attack risked damaging the anti-SOPA case. Molly Wood of CNET wrote that [i]f the SOPA/PIPA protests were the Webs moment of inspiring, non-violent, hand-holding civil disobedience, #OpMegaUpload feels like the unsettling wave of car-burning hooligans that sweep in and incite the riot portion of the play.[39] Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle concurred, stating that Anonymous actions hurt the movement to kill SOPA/PIPA by highlighting online lawlessness.[40] The Oxford Internet Institutes Joss Wright wrote that In one sense the actions of Anonymous are themselves, anonymously and unaccountably, censoring websites in response to positions with which they disagree.[37] Government websites Anonymous claimed responsibility for taking down government websites in the UK in April 2012 in protest against government extradition and surveillance policies. A message was left on Twitter saying it was for your draconian surveillance proposals.[41] Occupy movement Anonymous activists merged with Occupy Wall Street protesters. Anonymous members descended on New Yorks Zucotti Park and organized it partly. After it became known that some Occupy protesters would get violent, Anonymous used social networking to urge Occupy protesters to avoid disorder. Anonymous used Twitter trends to keep protests peaceful.[42] A similar protest occurred outside the London Stock Exchange in early May 2012 during a May Day Occupy protest.[43] Internet pedophilia Alleged Internet predator Chris Forcand, 53, was charged with child sexual and firearm offenses.[44] A newspaper report stated that Forcand was already being tracked by cyber-vigilantes before police investigations commenced.[45] A television report identified a self-described Internet vigilante group called Anonymous who contacted the police after some members were propositioned by Forcand. The report stated this was the first time a suspected Internet predator was arrested by the police as a result of Internet vigilantism.[46] In October 2011, Operation Darknet was launched as an attempt to cease the activities of child porn sites accessed through hidden services in the deep web.[47] Anonymous published in apastebin link what it claimed were the user names of 1,589 members of Lolita City, a child porn site accessed via the Tor network. Anonymous said that it had found the site via The Hidden Wiki, and that it contained over 100 gigabytes of child pornography. Anonymous launched a d enial-of-service attack to take Lolita City offline. Cyber-attacks and other activities The group is responsible for cyber-attacks on the Pentagon, News Corp and has also threatened to destroy Facebook.[54] In October 2011, Anonymous hackers threatened the Mexican drug cartel known as Los Zetas in an online video after one of their members was kidnapped.[55] In late May 2012 alleged Anonymous members claimed responsibility for taking down a GM crops website.[56] In early September 2012 alleged Anonymous members claimed responsibility for taking down GoDaddys Domain Name Servers, affecting small businesses around the globe.[57] In mid-September 2012, Anonymous hackers threatened the Hong Kong government organization, known as National Education Centre. In their online video, Anonymous members claimed responsibility for leaking classified government documents and taking down the National Education Centre website, after the Hong Kong government repeatedly ignored months of wide-scale protests against the establishment of a new core Moral and National Education curriculum for children from 6–18 years of age. The new syllabus came under heavy criticism and international media attention, as it does not award students based on how much factual information is learned, but instead grades and evaluates students based on their level of emotional attachment and approval of the Communist Party of China, almost in blind brain-washing fashion.[58] Israel In response to Operation Pillar of Cloud in November 2012, Anonymous launched a series of attacks on Israeli government websites. Anonymous protested what they called the barbaric, brutal and despicable treatment of the Palestinian people.[59] Syria On November 30, 2012, the group declared an operation to shut down websites of the Syrian government, in response to a internet blackout the previous day believed to be imposed by Syrian authorities in an attempt to silence opposition groups of the Syrian civil war Reaction from law enforcement agencies Arrests â€Å"| First, who is this group called Anonymous? Put simply, it is an international cabal of criminal hackers dating back to 2003, who have shut down the websites of the U.S. Department of Justice and the F.B.I. They have hacked into the phone lines of Scotland Yard. They are responsible for attacks against MasterCard, Visa, Sony and the Governments of the U.S., U.K., Turkey, Australia, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand.| †| —Canadian MP Marc Garneau, 2012[67]| In December 2010, the Dutch police arrested a 16-year old for cyberattacks against Visa, MasterCard and PayPal in conjunction with Anonymous DDoS attacks against companies opposing Wikileaks.[68] In January 2011, the FBI issued more than 40 search warrants in a probe against the Anonymous attacks on companies that opposed Wikileaks. The FBI did not issue any arrest warrants, but issued a statement that participating in DDoS attacks is a criminal offense with a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.[69][70] In January 2011, the British police arrested five male suspects between the ages of 15 and 26 with suspicion of participating in Anonymous DDoS attacks.[71] Matthew George, a Newcastle, New South Wales resident, concerned with forthcoming Australian internet filtration legislation, was arrested for his participation in Anonymous DDoS activities. George participated in Anonymous IRC discussions, and allowed his computer to be used in a denial of service attack associated with Operati on Titstorm. Tracked down by authorities, he was fined $550, though he was not fully aware that his actions were illegal, and believed his participation in Operation Titstorm had been a legal form of civil protest. His experience left him disillusioned with the potential of online anonymity, warning others: There is no way to hide on the internet, no matter how hard you cover your tracks you can get caught. Youre not invincible.[72] On June 10, 2011, the Spanish police captured three purported members of Anonymous in the cities of Gijon, Barcelona and Valencia. The operation deactivated the main server from which the three men coordinated DDoS attacks. This particular group had made attacks on the web servers of the PlayStation Store, BBVA, Bankia, and the websites of the governments of Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand. The operation revealed that their structure consisted of cells which at any given time could coordinate attacks through the downloading of software; the decision-making process to attack occurred in chat rooms. The Spanish national police stated that this operation corresponds to the fact that the Spanish government and NATO considers this group of hackers a threat to national security.[73] On June 13, 2011, officials in Turkey arrested 32 individuals that were allegedly involved in DDoS attacks on Turkish government websites. These members of Anonymous were captured in different cities of Turkey including Istanbul and Ankara. According to PC Magazine these individuals were arrested after they attacked these websites as a response to the Turkish government demand to ISPs to implement a system of filters that many have perceived as censorship.[74][75] During July 19–20, 2011, as many as 20 or more arrests were made of suspected Anonymous hackers in the US, UK, and Netherlands following the 2010 Operation Avenge Assange in which the group attacked PayPal, as well as attacking MasterCard and Visa after they froze Wikileaks accounts. According to US officials statements suspects homes were raided and suspects were arrested in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Washington DC, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, and Ohio, as well as a 16 year old boy being held by the police in south London on suspicion of breaching the Computer Misuse Act 1990, and four being held in the Netherlands.[76][77][78][79] On February 28, 2012, Interpol issued warrants for the arrests of 25 people with suspected links to Anonymous, according to a statement from the international police agency. The suspects, between the ages of 17 and 40, were all arrested.[80] On September 12, 2012; Anonymous spokesman Barrett Brown was arrested at his home in Dallas on charges of threatening an FBI agent. Agents arrested Brown while he was in the middle of aTinychat session.[81]