Ambitions Conflicting with Society

A characters goals and ambitions often come into conflict with those around him/her. In the story Fahrenheit 451, Montags goals definitely come into conflict with those around him. Montag is a fireman (which in the future means a book-burner), who burns books because the government tells the citizens they are not allowed to read books. In the story, many events happen that changed Montags opinion on the book-banning and he had a change of heart. The government did not approve of his views, which caused many terrible problems for Montag. The government wants the firemen to burn all books, and Montag thinks nothing of this until he meets a girl names Clarisse. This girls free-thinking ideas and liberating spirit force Montag to ask himself questions about his own life and ideas, and his own happiness. Montags ideas come into conflict with Clarisse’s ideas, because Montag went by the government’s rules until he heard about Clarisse’s ideas. Montag was so moved by how she would not ask how things were done, but why these things were done. This shows also, that Montags ideas come into conflict with Clarisse’s because Montag had always just believed in doing everything the same every day, and not asking questions, just doing what he was supposed to do like the rest of the society. Montag, while at work with the other firemen proceed to ransack a book-filled home of a woman, who refused to let her books be burned and procceded to light a match when the firemen weren’t looking and light the flammable kerosene the firemen had sprayed in the house, and burns herself alive. Montag does not understand why a woman would die for her books. This is an example of how Montags beliefs come into conflict with someone elses belifs because he does not agree with the decision that the woman has made for herself. Beatty, Montags boss, knows all about Montag and his book obsession. Beatty leads Montag and the crew on an emergency dispatch, and to Montags surprise, they lead him to his own home, ordering Montag to burn the house immediately. This shows that Montags beliefs come into conflict with beattys belifs, and Montag gets in trouble because of this. After the house is burned, Beatty proceeds to smack Montag in the head. This causes Montags earpiece to fall out. Beatty threatens to track down Faber. Montag then turns the flamethrower to Beatty, killing him. Again, Montags belifs get him in trouble with his boss, and this time, with the law. Montag never gets a break in this novel. His beliefs get come into conflict with society, no matter what they are. The government says that books are banned, but Montag finds books very educational, so he chooses to read them anyways. Clarisse, Beatty, and Faber are the main characters who influence Montags choices in this book. If it were not for them, Montag would have just continued on with his life and none of the choices he made would have come into conflict with society in any way.

The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 1

An Infinite Amount of Days Until My Inevitable Reunion with Nikki I don't have to look up to know Mom is making another surprise visit. Her toenails are always pink during the summer months, and I recognize the flower design imprinted on her leather sandals; it's what Mom purchased the last time she signed me out of the bad place and took me to the mall. Once again, Mother has found me in my bathrobe, exercising unattended in the courtyard, and I smile because I know she will yell at Dr. Timbers, asking him why I need to be locked up if I'm only going to be left alone all day. â€Å"Just how many push-ups are you going to do, Pat?† Mom says when I start a second set of one hundred without speaking to her. â€Å"Nikki – likes – a – man – with – a – developed – upper – body,† I say, spitting out one word per push-up, tasting the salty sweat lines that are running into my mouth. The August haze is thick, perfect for burning fat. Mom just watches for a minute or so, and then she shocks me. Her voice sort of quivers as she says, â€Å"Do you want to come home with me today?† I stop doing push-ups, turn my face up toward Mother's, squint through the white noontime sun – and I can immediately tell she is serious, because she looks worried, as if she is making a mistake, and that's how Mom looks when she means something she has said and isn't just talking like she always does for hours on end whenever she's not upset or afraid. â€Å"As long as you promise not to go looking for Nikki again,† she adds, â€Å"you can finally come home and live with me and your father until we find you a job and get you set up in an apartment.† I resume my push-up routine, keeping my eyes riveted to the shiny black ant scaling a blade of grass directly below my nose, but my peripheral vision catches the sweat beads leaping from my face to the ground below. â€Å"Pat, just say you'll come home with me, and I'll cook for you and you can visit with your old friends and start to get on with your life finally. Please. I need you to want this. If only for me, Pat. Please.† Double-time push-ups, my pecs ripping, growing – pain, heat, sweat, change. I don't want to stay in the bad place, where no one believes in silver linings or love or happy endings, and where everyone tells me Nikki will not like my new body, nor will she even want to see me when apart time is over. But I am also afraid the people from my old life will not be as enthusiastic as I am now trying to be. Even still, I need to get away from the depressing doctors and the ugly nurses – with their endless pills in paper cups – if I am ever going to get my thoughts straight, and since Mom will be much easier to trick than medical professionals, I jump up, find my feet, and say, â€Å"I'll come live with you just until apart time is over.† While Mom is signing legal papers, I take one last shower in my room and then fill my duffel bag with clothes and my framed picture of Nikki. I say goodbye to my roommate, Jackie, who just stares at me from his bed like he always does, drool running down off his chin like clear honey. Poor Jackie, with his random tufts of hair, oddly shaped head, and flabby body. What woman would ever love him? He blinks at me. I take this for goodbye and good luck, so I blink back with both eyes – meaning double good luck to you, Jackie, which I figure he understands, since he grunts and bangs his shoulder against his ear like he does whenever he gets what you are trying to tell him. My other friends are in music relaxation class, which I do not attend, because smooth jazz makes me angry sometimes. Thinking maybe I should say goodbye to the men who had my back while I was locked up, I look into the music-room window and see my boys sitting Indian style on purple yoga mats, their elbows resting on their knees, their palms pressed together in front of their faces, and their eyes closed. Luckily, the glass of the window blocks the smooth jazz from entering my ears. My friends look really relaxed – at peace – so I decide not to interrupt their session. I hate goodbyes. In his white coat, Dr. Timbers is waiting for me when I meet my mother in the lobby, where three palm trees lurk among the couches and lounge chairs, as if the bad place were in Orlando and not Baltimore. â€Å"Enjoy your life,† he says to me – wearing that sober look of his – and shakes my hand. â€Å"Just as soon as apart time ends,† I say, and his face falls as if I said I was going to kill his wife, Natalie, and their three blond-haired daughters – Kristen, Jenny, and Becky – because that's just how much he does not believe in silver linings, making it his business to preach apathy and negativity and pessimism unceasingly. But I make sure he understands that he has failed to infect me with his depressing life philosophies – and that I will be looking forward to the end of apart time. I say, â€Å"Picture me rollin'† to Dr. Timbers, which is exactly what Danny – my only black friend in the bad place – told me he was going to say to Dr. Timbers when Danny got out. I sort of feel bad about stealing Danny's exit line, but it works; I know because Dr. Timbers squints as if I had punched him in the gut. As my mother drives me out of Maryland and through Delaware, past all those fast-food places and strip malls, she explains that Dr. Timbers did not want to let me out of the bad place, but with the help of a few lawyers and her girlfriend's therapist – the man who will be my new therapist – she waged a legal battle and managed to convince some judge that she could care for me at home, so I thank her. On the Delaware Memorial Bridge, she looks over at me and asks if I want to get better, saying, â€Å"You do want to get better, Pat. Right?† I nod. I say, â€Å"I do.† And then we are back in New Jersey, flying up 295. As we drive down Haddon Avenue into the heart of Collingswood – my hometown – I see that the main drag looks different. So many new boutique stores, new expensive-looking restaurants, and well-dressed strangers walking the sidewalks that I wonder if this is really my hometown at all. I start to feel anxious, breathing heavily like I sometimes do. Mom asks me what's wrong, and when I tell her, she again promises that my new therapist, Dr. Patel, will have me feeling normal in no time. When we arrive home, I immediately go down into the basement, and it's like Christmas. I find the weight bench my mother had promised me so many times, along with the rack of weights, the stationary bike, dumbbells, and the Stomach Master 6000, which I had seen on late-night television and coveted for however long I was in the bad place. â€Å"Thank you, thank you, thank you!† I tell Mom, and give her a huge hug, picking her up off the ground and spinning her around once. When I put her down, she smiles and says, â€Å"Welcome home, Pat.† Eagerly I go to work, alternating between sets of bench presses, curls, machine sit-ups on the Stomach Master 6000, leg lifts, squats, hours on the bike, hydration sessions (I try to drink four gallons of water every day, doing endless shots of H2O from a shot glass for intensive hydration), and then there is my writing, which is mostly daily memoirs like this one, so that Nikki will be able to read about my life and know exactly what I've been up to since apart time began. (My memory started to slip in the bad place because of the drugs, so I began writing down everything that happens to me, keeping track of what I will need to tell Nikki when apart time concludes, to catch her up on my life. But the doctors in the bad place confiscated everything I wrote before I came home, so I had to start over.) When I finally come out of the basement, I notice that all the pictures of Nikki and me have been removed from the walls and the mantel over the fireplace. I ask my mother where these pictures went. She tells me our house was burglarized a few weeks before I came home and the pictures were stolen. I ask why a burglar would want pictures of Nikki and me, and my mother says she puts all of her pictures in very expensive frames. â€Å"Why didn't the burglar steal the rest of the family pictures?† I ask. Mom says the burglar stole all the expensive frames, but she had the negatives for the family portraits and had them replaced. â€Å"Why didn't you replace the pictures of Nikki and me?† I ask. Mom says she did not have the negatives for the pictures of Nikki and me, especially because Nikki's parents had paid for the wedding pictures and had only given my mother copies of the photos she liked. Nikki had given Mom the other non-wedding pictures of us, and well, we aren't in touch with Nikki or her family right now because it's apart time. I tell my mother that if that burglar comes back, I'll break his kneecaps and beat him within an inch of his life, and she says, â€Å"I believe you would.† My father and I do not talk even once during the first week I am home, which is not all that surprising, as he is always working – he's the district manager for all the Big Foods in South Jersey. When Dad's not at work, he's in his study, reading historical fiction with the door shut, mostly novels about the Civil War. Mom says he needs time to get used to my living at home again, which I am happy to give him, especially since I am sort of afraid to talk with Dad anyway. I remember him yelling at me the only time he ever visited me in the bad place, and he said some pretty awful things about Nikki and silver linings in general. I see Dad in the hallways of our house, of course, but he doesn't look at me when we pass. Nikki likes to read, and since she always wanted me to read literary books, I start, mainly so I will be able to participate in the dinner conversations I had remained silent through in the past – those conversations with Nikki's literary friends, all English teachers who think I'm an illiterate buffoon, which is actually a name Nikki's friend calls me whenever I tease him about being such a tiny man. â€Å"At least I'm not an illiterate buffoon,† Phillip says to me, and Nikki laughs so hard. My mom has a library card, and she checks out books for me now that I am home and allowed to read whatever I want without clearing the material with Dr. Timbers, who, incidentally, is a fascist when it comes to book banning. I start with The Great Gatsby, which I finish in just three nights. The best part is the introductory essay, which states that the novel is mostly about time and how you can never buy it back, which is exactly how I feel regarding my body and exercise – but then again, I also feel as if I have an infinite amount of days until my inevitable reunion with Nikki. When I read the actual story – how Gatsby loves Daisy so much but can't ever be with her no matter how hard he tries – I feel like ripping the book in half and calling up Fitzgerald and telling him his book is all wrong, even though I know Fitzgerald is probably deceased. Especially when Gatsby is shot dead in his swimming pool the first time he goes for a swim all summer, Daisy doesn't even go to his funeral, Nick and Jordan part ways, and Daisy ends up sticking with racist Tom, whose need for sex basically murders an innocent woman, you can tell Fitzgerald never took the time to look up at clouds during sunset, because there's no silver lining at the end of that book, let me tell you. I do see why Nikki likes the novel, as it's written so well. But her liking it makes me worry now that Nikki doesn't really believe in silver linings, because she says The Great Gatsby is the greatest novel ever written by an American, and yet it ends so sadly. One thing's for sure, Nikki is going to be very proud of me when I tell her I finally read her favorite book. Here's another surprise: I'm going to read all the novels on her American literature class syllabus, just to make her proud, to let her know that I am really interested in what she loves and I am making a real effort to salvage our marriage, especially since I will now be able to converse with her swanky literary friends, saying things like, â€Å"I'm thirty. I'm five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor,† which Nick says toward the end of Fitzgerald's famous novel, but the line works for me too, because I am also thirty, so when I say it, I will sound really smart. We will probably be chatting over dinner, and the reference will make Nikki smile and laugh because she will be so surprised that I have actually read The Great Gatsby. That's part of my plan, anyway, to deliver that line real suave, when she least expects me to â€Å"drop knowledge† – to use another one of my black friend Danny's lines. God, I can't wait.

Resume and cover letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Case Study - Essay Example be 250days with the total cost for the project being only $1,265,556.20 and an estimation of an increase in the total revenue for the company of between 10-12%. In this memo find attached Gantt chart with a time-line for the completion of the project and the critical path. From the attachment, you will also find our estimated activities with the greatest slack while at the same time a description of the sensitivity network with the points with the milestones and a comparison and contrast of Gantt chart versus a network diagram and a comparison with a schedule table. From the critical path analysis of our diagram, it is evident that the activities falling on the critical path include the Market analysis, Product design, Product design selection and Detailed Product design. Additionally, the other activities will include Test prototypes, the Finalized Product design, the Order production equipment and lastly celebrate. Sensitivity has been defined as the likelihood of the critical path remaining stable during the project completion. Network sensitivity is determined by both the amount of slack non-critical activities and the number of different critical paths. From our analysis, it is evident that the network is not very sensitive since there is only one critical path with the free slack ranging from 20 days to 159 days. The different milestones of the project include product design selection and the finalized product design. The fact that product design selection has multiple predecessors and multiple successors makes it a milestone (MilosÃŒÅ'evicÃŒ , 2003). The project design selection facilitates the narrowing down of the various options to pursue the project to work on. One of the major advantages attributed to the schedule table is its ability to clearly show the total time for the completion of the project and the fact that it clearly indicates the times for late start, late finish, and free slash of each (Timmreck, 2003). The main disadvantage attributed to

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Analysis Essay for A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway

Analysis for A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway - Essay Example The young waiter represents a person at youth. He is the embodiment of the young person who has the promise of his entire life before him. He demonstrates the impatience of youth with the slowness and infirmities of age. His attitude is seen in his emphatic declaration, â€Å"I have confidence. I am all confidence† (Hemingway, ). He cannot conceive of any shortcoming or sorrow in life except the lack of money. He has no sympathy with the deaf old man’s despair, and ruthlessly tells him, â€Å"You should have killed yourself last week† (Hemingway, ). In the flush of youth and vigor, he is repulsed by the ravages of age: â€Å"An old man is a nasty thing† he says (Hemingway, ). His character is the depiction of youth in all its materialism and callowness. The senior waiter represents the maturity of middle age. As he progresses in age, he is acutely conscious that he is on the way to becoming an old man, like the deaf customer. He exhibits a deep empathy for the old man and says, â€Å"I am of those who like to stay late at the cafà ©, with all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night† (Hemingway, ). He shares the loneliness of the old man and sympathizes with his despair. He refutes the young waiter’s criticism by asserting that the old man is clean. At the same time, he understands the impatience of the young waiter to get home to his wife. The old customer is poised on the threshold of death. Loneliness, despair, and conflict of the soul torment him. He craves the small comfort of a well-lighted and clean cafà © for a temporary period of security. He represents old age and the coming encounter with death. He is the personification of the transience of human life: â€Å"It was all nothing and a man was nothing too† (Hemingway, ), the senior waiter says. The old man is a symbol of

Vietnamese telecom market Essay Example for Free

Vietnamese telecom market Essay Introduction Together with breakthroughs in technology, mobile telecom has been showing great innovations and bringing enormous benefits to consumers. Vietnamese mobile telecom market, through only a few decades of development, has proven to be an extremely potential industry. With analysis from the microeconomic standpoint, I would like to clarify some notable matters seen in Vietnamese mobile telecom market today. This essay is organised in three parts: * Part I: Market Overview. This part provides brief information about development history of the market and what the situation of the market is nowadays. * Part II: Market Trends. This part deals with recent movements in Vietnamese mobile telecom market. * Part III: Consumers: Gain or Lose? The final part of this essay analyses the benefits and losses that consumers face as a result of recent changes in the market. PART I – Market Overview 1. Vietnamese Mobile Telecom Market: A Brief History As a developing country, Vietnam has its mobile telecom market started quite late. Though the demand for mobile services arose in the beginning of the 1990s, the first mobile telecom company of Vietnam – MobiFone – did not come into operation until 1994. This year marked the foundation of Vietnamese mobile telecom market. Following steps of MobiFone, two more company joined the market: Vinaphone (1997) and Viettel Telecom (â€Å"Viettel† for short) (2004). However, before 2000, the use of mobile phones seemed to be restricted for urban and rich people. At that time, only the rich could afford the cost of using mobile service. The cost for a postpaid subscription reached almost VND1,000,000 and the money consumed in one minute’s mobile phone call could cover the cost of food in a day for a rural family. One of the reasons for this extremely high cost was that the market at that time was highly monopolistic. Until 2000, there were only two mobile service providers in Vietnam, MobiFone and Vinaphone – both of which are subsidiaries of Vietnam Posts and Telecoms Group (VNPT). Most consumers were not wealthy enough to access mobile service, so they stuck to the use of landlines, which, in fact, were also not very popular especially in the countryside. The emergence of Viettel as a mobile service provider in 2004 was one of the biggest jump in the history of Vietnamese mobile telecom market. Viettel started to provide mobile services at a shockingly low price: a mobile phone user might pay as little as VND50,000/month only. This low price encouraged the quantity demanded for mobile services to increase sharply. As time goes by, the cost of using mobile phones has become cheaper and cheaper, causing the number of mobile subscribers to soar: at the end of January 2012, there were 118. 5 million mobile subscribers compared to only 0. 3 million in 2000. The number of service providers has also increased to 7: MobiFone, Vinaphone, Viettel, S-Fone, Vietnamobile, EVN Telecom and Beeline. Over 19 years of development, from a market exclusively for high-income consumers, the mobile telecom market has been recognised as one of the most active market in Vietnam and almost everybody, rich or poor, is capable of owning and maintaining a mobile phone. Why do service providers seek to increase their number of subscribers by lowering prices and giving big promotions? The answer is, in the short run, most costs incurred by a telecom firm are fixed costs, such as costs for infrastructure and bandwidth. Average total cost, as a result, decreases as the number of subscribers increases, thus making larger profit for the firm. Hence, firms have strong motivations to attract more and more people to use their services. 2. How the Market Pie Is Divided Today The current mobile telecom market in Vietnam can be seen as a typical monopolistic competition. Three biggest suppliers in the market are the ones with longest histories: MobiFone, Vinaphone and Viettel. All these companies are state-owned; MobiFone and Vinaphone are under control of VNPT, while Viettel is a subsidiary of Vietnamese Military Telecom Corporation. Together they control almost the whole mobile service market. According from statistics of the Ministry of Information and Communications, in 2011, Viettel was the leading firm with a market share of 36. 72%. MobiFone and Vinaphone stood at the second and third positions with 29. 11% and 28. 71%, respectively. In total, the three state-owned companies took up nearly 95% of the mobile service market, leaving just over 5% for the remaining service providers, namely EVN Telecom, Vietnamobile, Beeline and S-Fone. The reputation of these firms is so huge that once a person starts using a mobile phone, his first thought of what provider’s service to use that crosses his mind would generally be one of them. Three leading firms in the market pursue different business objectives. Aiming at low-income consumers, Viettel has applied low-cost packages to meet the needs of the majority of consumers. On the contrary, MobiFone and Vinaphone focus mainly on providing high-quality services to people with higher income. Below are the ranks in market shares and service quality of the three biggest providers of mobile services in Vietnam according to an examination conducted by Department of Information Technology and Communications Quality Management (under the Ministry of Information and Communications) in 2009: Provider| Market Share| Service Quality| MobiFone| 2| 1| Vinaphone| 3| 2| Viettel| 1| 3| Overwhelmed by big firms in the market, small firms such as S-Fone, EVN Telecom, Beeline and Vietnamobile have had to struggle to survive. Sharing only 5% of the market, these providers have been facing enormous difficulties in increasing the number of subscribers and profits. Two of them, EVN Telecom and Beeline, are eventually sold to other firms. These MA’s will be analysed in the following part. PART II – Market Trends The three leading firms in Vietnamese mobile telecom market – MobiFone, Vinaphone and Viettel – now possess great market powers, and naturally they desire to take over the small firms in order to have more control of the market. Below are three notable events that have occurred recently in the market which would have lasting effects on its path of development in the future. 1. Viettel’s Acquisition of EVN Telecom EVN Telecom is a company belonging to Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN). Joining the mobile telecom market in June 2010, after just over one year of operation, EVN Telecom faced the risk of being acquired due to poor business outcome (slow subscriber growth, unsatisfactory revenue, pressure on EVN to focus on its major field, etc. ) and substantial liabilities to Viettel and VNPT. Some telecom firms had the intention of acquire EVN Telecom, such as Viettel, FPT Group and Hanoi Telecom (the owner of Vietnamobile). After many speculations about what firm would take over EVN Telecom, it was officially announced that EVN Telecom was going to be sold to Viettel. However, the acquisition was not smooth right from the beginning. In November 2011, Hanoi Telecom expressed its view that Viettel’s acquisition of EVN Telecom might violate Competition Law, emphasising that it would probably make Viettel a monopolistic firm in the market. Until December 2011, Government eventually agreed on Viettel’s plan as in this case, Viettel was merely a market leader, not a monopolistic firm. 2. Beeline Disappeared in the Market. In 2009, GTel Mobile Company, a joint venture of GTel Global Telecom Corporation of Vietnam and VimpelCom Group of Russia, brought Beeline mobile telecom service into operation in Vietnamese market. However, after three years, VimpelCom decided to sold all of its 49% of shares in the joint venture at US$45 million to GTel â€Å"in order to focus on our key markets†, said the Vice President of VimpelCom. Of course this is not the real answer to the question of why VimpelCom withdrew from Vietnamese market while it had not broken even, regarding its total investment of up to US$463 million. Right after its debut in the market, Beeline conducted many discount programmes and promotions to raise the number of subscribers, such as Big Zero and Millionaire’s Cost Package. These policies thus lowered its ARPU to less than US$1. Moreover, its shockingly low prices cannot help them surpass the â€Å"giants† in Vietnamese mobile telecom market whose brands have been set in minds of consumers though its subscriber growth was exceptional: about 15,000 new subscribers per day in 2011. The fact that Beeline’s profit did not live up to its VimpelCom’s expectation caused it to constrain Beeline’s operation and eventually to sell out its shares to GTel, making Beeline a completely domestic brand. Many people would doubt whether Vietnamese mobile service market has become â€Å"immune† to foreign investment as VimpelCom has failed to make profit here while it has been extremely successful in Russian and Eastern European markets. Is the market so saturated that no new firm could possibly achieve a market share from the hands of established firms? Will VimpelCom’s failure warn foreign investors against entering Vietnamese telecom market although we have been a member of WTO for five years? 3. MobiFone and Vinaphone to be Merged March 2012 was a month of vibrancy in Vietnamese mobile telecom market when rumour had it that MobiFone and Vinaphone, two out of the three biggest service providers, would be merged as a step to restructure VNPT. MobiFone and Vinaphone have followed different development directions despite being subsidiaries of the same group, which has been an enormous waste in infrastructure. A merger of the two companies is expected to improve service quality and efficiency, thus lowering the prices charged on consumers. This information was confirmed by VNPT’s management though an official decision of Government has not yet been made for fear that this merge might violate Competition Law. If the merger of MobiFone and Vinaphone is successful, the new company will constitute almost 58% of the market, threatening the survival of other companies, especially small firms like S-Fone and Vietnamobile. Earlier in 2011, according to the regulations of Telecommunications Law – an individual or organisation is not allowed to own more than 20% of shares in each of two telecom firms operating in the same telecom market – VNPT stood between two options: equitising either of MobiFone and Vinaphone or merging the two. If choosing to equitise MobiFone, VNPT still could not own more than 20% of shares and might have to sacrifice a large amount of profit as MobiFone contributed to over 50% of its profit while taking up only about 4% of human resources. The second option – a merger – would subject VNPT to violation of Competition Law. On the other hand, according to the Vice Head of Department of Competition Management (Ministry of Industry and Trade), market share is not the only criterion to examine VNPT’s merger scheme as it may vary from year to year. Competition power, market access capacity, opportunity seizure, etc. are vital elements to be considered. The cornerstone of the merger, if successful, is a close supervision and control of Ministry of Industry and Trade as well as Ministry of Information and Communications. 4. What Are the Trends? Along development steps of the market are the shifts showing what its trend is. Overall, Vietnamese mobile telecom market, although service quality has been greatly improved and price never stop falling, has hardly ever been viewed as a competitive market. At first, it was a complete monopoly, and then reached the peak of competitiveness with 7 suppliers; now it is getting closer and closer to an oligopoly. (For illustration purpose only) The market now is the race between VNPT and Viettel. Nevertheless, this is a counterfeit competition as both are state-owned firms. Government ought to study this matter intensively since it has both advantages and disadvantages. If it continues to let the two compete with each other, consumers will benefit while state funds invested in them will be partly wasted due to self-competition and vice versa. PART III – Consumers: Gain or Lose? 1. Competition Makes Consumers Better off Most mobile phone users would agree that they are benefiting more and more from service providers’ policies. Ten years ago, only wealthy people could own a mobile phone and afford the use of mobile telecom service, which is a completely distinct from today’s situation where mobile technology is nothing strange to most people, regardless of their income. The shift of the market from a monopoly to a more competitive one enables consumers to choose the service provider which suits them best in quality and price. Landlines services are being outnumbered by mobile services and will probably soon become obsolete as now they cannot compete with mobile services in price, let alone in convenience, diversity and flexibility. In addition, telecom services are the only items whose prices have constantly decreased, moving against the storm of inflation in Vietnamese economy. D2 S11 S2 D1 E1 P1 P2 E2 Q2 Q1 (For illustration purpose only)| The increase of quantity supplied is greater than the increase of quantity demanded, making the equilibrium point move from E1 to E2. At E2, P2 is lower than P1 and Q2 is larger than Q1, which makes consumers better off. | 2. The Trend of Monopolisation: Would Consumers Suffer? Monopoly causes deadweight losses – this is undeniably true. Though consumers have been enjoying more and more benefits from service providers at least in the past few years, we may wonder if this could last for long when it comes to the trend of monopolisation which is becoming clearer and clearer in the market. After EVN Telecom and Beeline, will there be another acquisition that makes another small brand disappear? Will big firms take over all the small ones to rule the whole market? If someday there are only state-owned companies providing mobile services, will they agree with each other to raise service prices and prevent new firms from entering the market, which undoubtedly shrinks consumer surplus? Suppose that day would come, consumers may try to constrain their use of mobile services. However, the amount of reduction would be negligible since mobile services are now so necessary that the demand for them is relatively inelastic. Consumers today are richer and much more dependent upon mobile services than they used to be; therefore, it would not be easy for them to cut down on using mobile phones to save money. Service providers would keep earning more and more profits from consumer welfare. In general, monopolisation harms the benefits of most people while benefiting only a small group of people. Monopolisation is a two-edged trend, so it is important to balance the benefits between suppliers and consumers. An ideal mobile service market may be one with a small number of firms, i. e. three or four, but with comparatively uniform market shares. This enables infrastructure to be effectively exploited as well as market power to be evenly distributed among suppliers, reducing the probability of a monopoly arising. Conclusion There would be not enough space to discuss all factors of a market within a short essay; however, I have tried to apply microeconomic theories to analyse notable features and remarkable changes in the market that have had significant influences on consumers, together with given personal evaluations and opinions about the development trend of the market. I hope that eventually I have achieved a clarification of economic principles hidden in daily-life matters such as behaviours of firms and consumers in the mobile telecom market in Vietnam. Due to time pressure as well as inexperience in researching and writing, my essay may contain errors and misunderstanding. I would like to receive your feedbacks and suggestions to help me improve its accuracy and quality. Reference * Gregory Mankiw, Principles of Microeconomics (5th Edition). * VnExpress. net, Development of Vietnamese Telecom Market. * CafeF. vn, Viettel’s Aquisition of EVN Telecom Might Violate the Law. * Tuoitre. vn, Beeline Is to Disappear. * Tienphong. vn, Merging MobiFone and Vinaphone: Good and Harm. * Vcci. com. vn, Telecom Market: Back to Monopoly? * National Assembly, Competition Law, 2005.

Describe Gender Roles at Work and in the Home Essay Example for Free

Describe Gender Roles at Work and in the Home Essay Males and females have always had different gender roles and these roles have an impact on the workplace and home. However there are also some disadvantages for both of them. This essay will describe gender roles at work and in the home with reference to Japan. Firstly, many women are distressed by the balance between home and work. They face â€Å"role overload† ,which means trying to merge the roles of worker and mother or wife. When both spouses work outside, women tend to do the â€Å"lion’s share† of the housework. For example, an Australian research showed that working women do roughly 70 hours of housework while working husbands only do approximately 31 hours. In Japan many women work fulltime share the housework with their spouse. However there are still some women who work both at home and at the work place and still experience â€Å"role overload. † Secondly, many men also experience challenges with gender roles. While they are less likely to suffer from prejudice, there are more disadvantages than advantages. For example, many men tend to experience stress from the pressure to make money, the situation employment, and social expectations. In Japan, many men experience these problems as well as the responsibility to earn a good salary. However the current financial crisis makes difficult for them to keep their position and workplace. Thirdly, a lot of women are confronted with inequality at work. Nowadays their rights have become much better than in the past and therefore gender equality is guarded in many places by laws. As a result, most women can get higher salaries than before. However inequality at work still remains and even though men and women have the same qualifications or skills, women still earn lower salaries and have lower status. For example, many of their jobs are inferior to men’s jobs and they do not have opportunities to get higher positions because of the â€Å"glass ceiling. † In Japan, women’s rights have improved and many can get higher positions, like cabinet ministers in the Japanese government. However for some women this problem still continues. In conclusion, many workplace rights have become much better than in the past and many women can get good salaries and positions. However both spouses still experience â€Å"role overload† and pressure to earn money. When these problems are dealt with, people’s lives will improve in the future.

Primary Education In The UK Education Essay

Primary Education In The UK Education Essay Primary Education is an important topic to be discussed and analysed, since it is the basis of our societys formation, being thus decisive for our childrens future. This essay is entitled Primary Education in the U.K. and Spain: a comparison and it focuses on explaining some of the main matters concerning both systems. It is first of all focused on explaining some topics related to primary education in the United Kingdom including two paragraphs. The first one a historical background, proves to be the base of todays structure which may help us clarify todays structure, which the topic of the second paragraph. This is followed by two clone paragraphs applied to Spanish primary education. The last two paragraphs concentrate on the use and importance of ICT in primary education in both systems. The essay is concluded establishing an overall comparison between both systems. According to Denis Haye in his book Primary Education: the Key Concepts, British primary education and its structure find its roots deep in history, in the middle ages. It has been stated by some historians that English education began in AD 597 with the establishment of the cathedral of Canterbury by St Augustine. In the end of the seventeenth century education belonged to the church which promoted Christian knowledge, by creating its own schools. At the same time there were pioneers such as Robert Raikes, Charles Gordon and the welsh Charles of Bala, who believed in a connection between social action and education. The first publicly funded schools appeared in the mid-nineteenth century and aimed to offer Christian education to poor children. From this time on, the control of education starts switching little by little from the church to the state. Furthermore, between 1846 and 1848 in Wales, the Welsh Education Committee and the Cambrian Society both evolving into national schools , were formed. In the nineteenth century it is important to highlight the education act of 1872, since it lead to many advances in primary education, not only affecting the labouring classes as was happening in other parts of the country. The 1944s education act was decisive because from this time on, education was free of charge and relied on voluntary provision. It is known by the introduction of three kinds of schools: grammar schools, modern schools and Technical schools. The year 1988, saw the introduction of the nation curriculum including a selection of subjects such as maths, science English and religious education. From 2010, teaching foreign languages is also a compulsory part of the curriculum. In order to explain the base of todays primary education in the UK, it is necessary to go back to the twentieth century, when there were many important changes in primary education. Among these, stands out the introduction of the national curriculum in English mainstream schools. In this author words, during the twentieth century, it was also thought to be decisive an agreement about the need for a general education for children up to the age of 11, this being followed by a subject-specific teaching up to the age of 16 and a selection of specialist subjects thereafter. Due to the national curriculum, from the beginning of the 21st century most primary schools in the UK currently accept children from 5 to 11 years old. As Denis states, there is also a tiny number of schools designated deemed middle (ages 8 to 12 or 9 to 13) and first when they educate children from 5 to 8 or 9. To explain todays structure it is also important to focus on the types of schools that can currently be found in the UK. As the Department of Education reports, they can be divided into 3 main groups: mainstream state schools, specialist schools, state schools with particular characteristics and independent schools. To the first group belong Community schools, which are often run by a local authority and aim to develop strong links with the local community, providing services  like childcare and adult learning classes. Trust schools as well as Voluntary-controlled and voluntary-aided schools are owed by a charitable foundation, which employs the staff and sets the admissions criteria. Academies, faith schools, city technology colleges, community and foundation special schools, grammar schools and maintained boarding schools can be found in the second group. The third group is formed by Independent schools which have their own admission policies and curriculum. Spanish primary education, as the rest of the developed nations, it finds its roots in the XIX century. Many factors can be identified as those which influenced the rise during this century of specifically educative establishments aiming to reach a growing proportion of the population. The Apparition of the national states is indeed the most notorious factor, since it puts the Old Regime to an end while at the same time instruction is seen as a mean reinforcing its unity. Thus, education is considered to be from this time on, a public affair that has to be organised and controlled by the state which regulates its legal and administrative processes. To understand the current Spanish primary education, it is important to focus on three relevant education laws, well-known for their impact on the system. The commonly referred as the Moyano Law was decreed in 1857 in a context of socio-economic crisis, This law consisted on a legislative initiative carried out by the politician Carlos Moy ano whose main aim was to improve the deplorable condition of education at that time, decreasing thus the analphabetism average in the country. Education was divided in two stages: elementary (6-12 years old) and superior (9-12). Primary education was compulsory until the age of 12 and free of charge for those who could not afford it. According to the web page State Univeristy.com, it also marked the foundation of privet schools in Spain at that time owned by the Catholic Church. Just one year after the 1944s British education act, the 1945s law was decreed in the historical context of post-war and in the ideological context of national Catholicism. Its main objective was to orientate the student in accordance with their aptitudes to the working life. Born in the context of democracy, the 1990s law of education aimed to impart an equal instruction in order to allow pupils to acquire basic cultural elements, to wit: oral expression, reading, writing and arithmetic calculi. It divided education into tree periods: the first stage (from6 to 8 years old), second (8-10) and third (10-12). To explain the structure of todays primary education in Spain, it is important to go back to the year 2006, when the fundamental law of education also known as LOE or Ley Organica de Educacià ³n was decreed. This law established a compulsory education from 6 to 16 year-old children. While in the UK children start their primary education at the age of 5, Spanish children start going to school at the age of 6. Also it is important to mention that most pupils attend pre-schools from 3 to 5 years of age. Most of these nursery schools in most cases belong to the same centre of education. According to the famous online encyclopedia known as Wikipedia, primary education in Spain can be divided into three cycles: the first cycle includes pupils from 6 to 7 years of age, the second 8-9 and the third 10 to 11. Focusing on the Spanish national curriculum, compulsory subjects are: Spanish language and Literature, Art, Mathematics, Physical Education, Natural and social sciences both included in a subject called Conocimiento Del Medio and English or French. Many state schools have an agreement with the British Council making the study of English compulsory from the age of 6. Although in the United Kingdom there a several types of schools, in Spain most of them can be grosso modo divided into three groups: public or state schools, privet schools or semi-privet schools also referred in Spanish as concertado schools. As happens in the UK, state schools are funded by the government and therefore they are free for those living in the country. These cannot be freely selected, as the children are allocated the closest school to their home. According to Maurice Hamlin in his web page practicalspain.com, semi-privet or concertado schools are similar to the Britishs grant maintained schools since they receive subsidies by the government being education thus, provided free of charge. Most of them are run by a religious order e.g. the Salesians of Don Bosco, and pupils usually wear un iforms. Privet and International schools in Spain are becoming more popular. According to the Article Living and Working in Spain they provide a more relaxed environment offering a wider range of subjects and an international approach. Another important aspect to be analysed, is the use of the information and communication technologies in British and Spanish Schools. According to the British Department of Education, information and communication technologies (ICT) in schools can improve the quality of teaching, learning and management in schools and so help raise standards. In order to evaluate the use of ITC in primary schools The Education and Training inspectorate published in 2002 a report in which some of the main strengths of the use of new technologies are highlighted. As this report states, integrating the ICT in the national curriculum supports both teaching and learning. The quality of planning for ICT is proved to be satisfactory or better in 70 % of the schools inspected and in most schools the quality of teaching and pupils experiences are proved to be satisfactory, including a wide range of ICT applications among which stands out the use of word processing. Learning to use Microsoft Words spell check, digital cameras, create an maintain a web page, sending a forwarding e-mails, burning a cd, as well as learning how to control multi-media and database software are indeed but a few other applications in schools. As this study proves, ICT has also a very positive reaction on children by increasing their motivation towards learning in general; as the report states children have high levels of interest and enthusiasm in their work in ICT being motivated by the inclusion of ICT in their lessons. It is a fact that there are an increasing number of schools that are incorporating ICT not only as a subject in the national curriculum but as a way to make the other lessons lighter and more amusing to children. According to an article written by Sophie Borland and published in the newspaper The Daily Mail there are even some schools in the UK who have decided to turn a P.E. lesson into a Wii class in order to motivate and boost their enthusiasm for sport. To do this, Borland says, the newly approved by Department of Health Wifit Plus is used in the class involving a variety of fineness activities. Even though this article received very positive reviews there are some people like the spokesman of the Department of Children, Schools and Families who states there is always a place for innovative exercises if they do not replace traditional ones. Another school in the UK, according to the education editor Graeme Paton, is to include the use of the so-called social network Twitter as pa rt of their curriculum. All children, the author states, will be taught how to use webcams, podcasts as well as blogs. Pupils in this school will be expected develop an understanding of different ways to communicate online. Improving keyboard skills, using websites such as the online dictionary Wikipedia and learning how to employ spell-checkers will also form part of the biggest overhaul of lessons for 20 years. As happens in the United Kingdom, Spanish new generation of children are marked by the information and communication technologies which are gaining each year a greater importance in the education policy. The inclusion of the ICT in Spanish education system finds its roots in the European initiative e-Europe which motivated the creation of the Special committee of study for the Development of the Information Society in Spain (CDSI) by the Ministry of Science and Technology. Some of the conclusion of the CDSI can be applied to education. According to this committee the use of the new technologies should be present in all subjects as part of the national curriculum and in the relationship between teachers and pupils and all the members of the educative community. The presence of ICT in Spanish primary schools can be clearly perceived in the autonomous community Extremadura which is considered to be a pioneer in this field. According to the secretary of ICT in the education polity of the autonomous government of Extremadura Junta de Extremadura, this region started the project of including the information and communication technologies in education in the year 1999, when the Strategic Plan for the development of technology in society was presented and the educational sector was considered to be the main pillar of that development. This moment marks the appearance of ICT in Extremaduran classrooms. What is probably the most outstanding fact is that, this region decided to develop free software equally configurable and adaptable. A new operative system called gnu/LinEx which would offer an enormous variety of applications in order to fulfill the necessities of all kind of users and a great diversity of tools for its use inside the classroom. Furthermore, in the academic year 2002/2003, an initiative was carried out in all Extremaduran high schools which consisted on transforming regular classrooms into technological classrooms by introducing a computer for each two s tudents. Also, todays schools in the region have at least one electronic blackboard, together with a projector, a computer and an interactive pad. The creation of the specific operative system LinEx must be adapted to a didactic and pedagogical extent. This is why a new variation of this operative system has been installed in all the schools of Extremadura. According to the autonomous communitys government LinEx Schools as it is called, offers the pupil an friendly and motivating environment adapted to their intellectual development. Together with LinEx, it is important to highlight the development of the educative platform Rayuela. As if it was a social network, this platform is an advanced system of information that allows a real-time communication between teachers and parents by using the Internet. It also has a database with allows all Extremenian students to have a single Digital Academic Record until they finish high school. Thus, teachers are able to access all the informatio n about the educative course of their pupils (calcifications, assistance and observances) in order to offer them an individualized treatment. To conclude this essay, I must say that as both educational systems belong to a globalised world and concretely to the European Union, they share indeed some similitudes and the two last paragraphs are an example of this statement. Among other minor differences British primary education probably differs from the Spanish one in what in my opinion, is its main strength: the diversity of schools offered which allows parents to have a greater choice. 2.500 words.

The Conclusions Drawn By The National Reading Panels Study On Effective Reading :: essays papers

The Conclusions Drawn By The National Reading Panel's Study On Effective Reading Ever since the signing of the Declaration of Independence the United Sates has strived for the betterment of its society on a whole. This effort can be seen through not only the push for higher education, but also in the standards set in the curriculum for all students. Even though there is such a push for educating the students in America, it becomes surprising that certain simple aspects of education can be almost shaded by or lost under the bigger picture. One such aspect is trying to maintain reading levels, and keeping them up to speed with the corresponding grade levels. With reading levels seemingly on a steady descending scale, it has become necessary for certain actions to take place in hopes of finding ways to bring the levels back up to par. One course of action is conducting research on the manner resulting in the suggestions of possible solutions to the reading problem. Of multiple studies conducted on the matter, one that stands out to be both direct and promising is th e study conducted by the National Reading Panel. â€Å"The main goal of more formal educational research is to test theory and to advance scientific knowledge† (Samuels & Farstrup, 1992, p 5). As a result of the noticeable failing reading levels, Congress took it into their own hands to help solve the matter. â€Å"Congress directed the creation of the National Reading Panel to reevaluate educational research and give teachers and schools a roadmap to address this problem† (National Reading Panel, 2000 (NRP)). The panel was appointed in 1997, and used numerous studies and research that, once analyzed, was focused into certain areas that need to be incorporated in reading instruction. The areas that were highlighted in the resulting study were phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and comprehension (Manzo, 2000, p 1). These areas can be examined more closely in order to gain insight and information into their beneficial effects on effective reading instruction. Phonemic awareness is first on the study’s list of things that need to be taught in order for students to become better readers. This aspect of the report is based on the idea that students need the ability to manipulate the sounds that make up the spoken language. â€Å"If the children cannot perceive these sound segments they will encounter difficulty when trying to sound words out in both reading and writing† (Samuels & Farstrup, 1992, p 108).

The Garden of Science :: Religion Science God Essays

The Garden of Science In the beginning, there was nothing. According to the Book of Genesis, God created everything from scratch. God created the heavens, earth, light, darkness, sea, stars, birds, and animals. God created a man and named him Adam. God created a woman and named her Eve. Adam and Eve were put in the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden was filled with fruit trees, animals, and there were river flowing all the time. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had plenty to eat. They did not have to work nor make money. Adam and Eve were naked but they were shameless. Adam and Eve did not have much to worry about. In the year 2001, we are living in the garden that is embedded with various scientific stuffs. Let’s just take a look at my life. Few years ago, I used the typewriter to write papers. Now, I am using a computer to write the paper. In the morning, the alarm clock wakes me up. I turn on the faucet to get water to brush my teeth. I pour out already brewed coffee from programmed coffee maker. I drive a car to get to the places. I wash my cloth in washing machine and dry them in the dryer. I don’t wear eyeglasses anymore because I am wearing contact lenses. Furthermore, this winter break, I am planning to have Lasik operation to correct my vision permanently. Then, I could say goodbye to my contact lenses. This is the sketch of my life, but just a part. I am living in the garden with full of scientific devices that I could no longer live without. Wow. How did we get here from the Garden of Eden to the Garden of Science? What makes the world to become such a science oriented society? What drives human beings to seek scientific knowledge of the world? Since I am a Christian who confidently believes in God’s creation of the world according to the Bible. I believe that it is a natural characteristic of the human being to seek more knowledge. The desire for more knowledge actually evolved into creating the technologies that became part of our lives. In addition, I believe that the knowledge itself is actually given by God along with the power to use them. Finally, I believe that knowledge is a good thing to posses, however; we need to be more careful and humble of using the knowledge that was given to us by our creator as a gift.

Persuasive Speech Essay

It has been proven that wellness programs in the workplace can increase productivity and elevate work environment moods while decreasing health related work issues and decreasing overall companywide health care costs. By taking some simple steps toward implementing a wellness program in the workplace we will be able to save money on health care, cut down on health issues that increase absenteeism, and increase productivity through more energy and upbeat attitudes. Why do we as a company want to implement a wellness program? There are many beneficial reasons for doing so. We will decrease unnecessary costs due to unhealthy lifestyles. For example; Healthier employee’s leads to lower premiums and healthier employees also lead to less missed days and injuries. Also, healthy employees are more success oriented. This can be seen by increased productivity and the fact that healthy minds bring healthy attitudes and stronger morale. So now you are saying to yourself that this sounds g reat, but it must be complicated to initiate a program of this nature. Well let’s look at the steps needed to implement a wellness program in our office. To begin, we would want to survey our employees to find the goals we want to achieve, and then determine what we need to accomplish these goals. After setting our goals it may be in our best interests to consult with a firm that specializes in designing and implementing workplace wellness programs. By setting the goals and consulting with specialists we can now start to create a budget through the use of data that is based on our investment to return ratio. It is important to determine our company’s monetary investment so that the program itself will not suffer from interruptions or lack of funding. It may also help to create a rewards system to enhance companywide involvement. So now we have a wellness program designed that is based off of our group goals, a budget in place, and the program is ready to be implemented. It will now become important to keep the program running smoothly. By the use of meetings we can discuss our movement towards our goals and highlight positive personal stories. We could also provide health and wellness screening that can give both the employees and our company important feedback. Also we could look into group packages for gyms and health clubs. Lastly, by using reward based games we can continue to provide motivation and this will assist in keeping maximum involvement in the company wellness program. In closing, I know that if we as a company initiate a workplace

Scholarly Voice And Writing

Some people are aloof to read scholarly articles for the fear of not understanding them. They have this connotation that since the articles are written by those masters in the subject, they could not easily relate to them. Obviously, this notion about scholarly articles does not favor both the readers and the writers. While the readers will continue to elude such kind of writing, the writers on one hand will be limited in proliferating their messages. How could this scenario be avoided? Perhaps it is good to start in solving the problem about the misconceptions of scholarly writing. The writers of these articles could probably hold several degrees in their fields, but it does not mean that what they write are being understood only by those who are also in their same fields. At this point, the role of effective scholarly writing takes place. It is now the responsibility of the writers to convey their message using the most appropriate and effective manner of scholarly writing. What then are the criteria for effective scholarly writing and how does one achieve it? Effective scholarly writing could be best described as having an effective scholarly voice. What then is a scholarly voice? Scholarly voice is simply described as the voice that reflects one’s cognition about a topic. A person having a scholarly voice represents his full grasp on his subject. Because his audience could not see him, the way he wrote will define his voice. His writing is his own voice. Therefore, it is important to know how to have an effective scholarly writing. Scholarly writing is a kind of writing characterized by clarity, conciseness, and precision in words. By clarity it means that the writer should be able to express all of his thoughts in a clear, understandable manner. This could be achieved by following some tips. For example, relying on grammar, spelling, and writing style manuals would add to the clarity of the message. Being concise, on the other hand, could be achieved through giving the readers a comprehensive message. With comprehensiveness, it means that the message should not only be complete, but should reflect objectivity as well. A scholarly writing is based on solid evidence. Finally, preciseness in the use of words means appropriateness in language choice. As Professor Lilburn Hoehn has said, â€Å"Figure out what you want to say and just say it†. An effective scholarly writing is direct to the point and free from wordiness or puffery. Although there are criteria for effective scholarly writing, sometimes outside factors may affect a writer in his writing. One of these is the intended audience. A writer should be sensitive to the basic information about his intended audience—its demographics, its personality, and most importantly, its expectations and needs. As a scholar writer, one should know that his intended audience is mostly comprised of people of his same level of mastery. His writing should be strongly based on evidence because his intended audience is composed of critical and rational thinkers. Thus, the writer should know what he is writing about. It should be true and should matter to his audience. Having described effective scholarly voice and writing, it is now better for me to assess myself. I believe that one of my greatest assets is my keen sense for objectivity. Because of this, I am sure that I will be able to exude one of most important characteristics of effective scholarly writing—objectivity. However, I also believe that one of my weaknesses is being wordy with my writing. Knowing that my intended audience, I should try to eliminate this weakness and convert it to an asset. To do this, I believe that I should expose myself more to samples of scholarly writings. More importantly, practicing my writing skill is the best way to gain my goal. Gaining the skills to write a scholarly article using a scholarly voice seems to be a task hard to attain. While most people are accustomed writing and using layman’s terms, it is still not a valid excuse to elude from learning how to write in a scholarly manner. One should really have the determination to learn the principles of scholarly writing.

Dictator Benito Mussolini

Dictator Benito Mussolini rose to power in Italy in the year 1922 as a Fascist Dictator. Years earlier, Mussolini began his political career as a Revolutionary Socialist, but by 1919 he was able to mold the Italian government into a paramilitary Fascist dictatorship giving him full control of Italy by 1922. Mussolini forged the Italian government into a Fascist Dictatorship under his control where he abused his power and performed criminal and unjust activities. Before Mussolini came to power the Italian mafia was still an extremely prominent group within Italy. The organized crime society functioned in illegal ways through drug trafficking, human trafficking and extortion. After close observation, scholars noticed that Mussolini's Fascism and the Italian mafia work in similar ways in that they try to control and manipulate people using their power and fear. Mussolini's fascism and the mafia also have a similar way of dealing with corruption and gaining control of people. This furthermore demonstrates how Mussolini acted in a deceitful way similar to the Italian Mafia. He did this through his actions of bribery towards the mafia for his own political and personal gain, unjust and unfair treatment of people, and being intolerant of the beliefs of others through extreme acts. The mafia was an Italian crime organization that originated in Sicily Italy and was taken to the United States through Italian immigrants moving to the United States in the late nineteenth century. The Italian mafia is a network of organized crime groups based in Italy which evolved over many decades in Sicily. Until the middle of the 19th century Sicily was an island ruled by many different foreign invaders. People of Sicily began to unite in groups to defend others and themselves in order to live in peace and unity. The term Mafioso is translated to a member of the mafia, however originally the word had no association to criminal connections and was used to refer to a person who was suspicious of being connected to central authority. By the 19th century, many of these criminal organizations titled themselves as private armies, also known as the mafia. The mafia soon evolved into a corrupt group who committed felonies like drug trafficking, human trafficking, and extortion and eventually became one of the most violent criminal organization groups known today as the Sicilian Mafia. Fascism is defined as â€Å"a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition†. Fascism places a very strong emphasis on patriotism and nationalism and is less focused on the wellbeing of the individuals rather than military power. People who object and criticize the nation's main ideals such as war are harshly chastised as unpatriotic and against the nation and can result in many different punishments the worst being treason. Additionally, Fascism loathes the principles of economic equality and disdains equality between immigrant, citizen, and government.Mussolini started out as a soldier in WWI until he was injured, afterwards he became a leading promoter of fascism. He started originally as a revolutionary socialist, but as his power began to grow he started to grow the paramilitary fascist movement in 1919. In 1922 Mussolini became the prime minister. The black shirts were members of the Fascist regime who marched on Rome and made Mussolini their Fascist leader. Mussolini worked to progress the Paramilitary Fascist movement in Italy during the years of 1919-1921. He then harassed his new power to March on Rome, and ultimately become Prime Minister. Mussolini then began to seize dictatorial power and transform the government into what he wanted it to become. Additionally, Mussolini was intolerant to any other political or religious beliefs that differed from his, which led to extreme uses of violence and force upon people.Mussolini started his rule of Italy by turning the country into a Fascist Dictatorship that was to bow down to him and only him. Among the many other flaws in Mussolini's ruling, the fascist guidelines he followed were intolerant to opposition and was therefore ill prepared to be a leader of a country. Mussolini had no way of dealing with adversity or different threatening groups, other than consolidating his power and demonstrating his strength through the government and law. Yet, the threat of the law was still not enough to keep Mussolini from doing the right thing. Mussolini began to use the Italian Mafia as an ally to not only come to power but to help maintain his ideals in the country where the mafia was most occupying. Although both Mussolini and the Mafia were intolerant to anyone with other beliefs â€Å"Mussolini still needed his Mafioso allies for a time, especially their aid in maintaining law†. This action is seen as the beginning of the numerous mischievous works that Mussolini gets himself mixed in with while he was in power. Aliening with a mafia organized crime group while in power is a sign of corrupt behavior and demonstrates his want for political gain without compromise or tolerance. The phrase â€Å"for a time† indicates an ulterior motive of planning to abandon the mafia after he has already benefited from the gain he had hoped the Mafia would help him achieve. Mussolini transformed the country of Italy into a Fascist Dictatorship which gave him the power to control everything and everyone in the country without retaliation. In order to keep the positive opinions of his people he used the Italian mafia to execute certain decisions made. He used the mafia to make his popularity rise in areas he was not pertaining to as much, â€Å"During the first two years of his regime compelling reasons to enter into collaborations with influential Mafioso, men who were capable of enforcing law and order in the countryside†. This furthermore proves the point of Mussolini using the mafia for political gain without having his actions being recorded back to him, therefore he highly influenced the organized crime group to his benefit. This is an unfit and negative attribute for a leader of a country, this relates Mussolini much to the Italian mafia which functions in the same way. However, while neither case is okay in Mussolini's case it is more important because his actions affects the entirety of Italy.One of the major components to Fascism is its intolerance and narrow-mindedness towards people in all aspects of their lives. A Fascist Dictatorship entitles Mussolini to do as he pleases, therefore when the Mafia did not assist him in his goal for unethical political gain, Mussolini's retaliation become very strong. â€Å"Above all else Mussolini was determined to destroy any possibility of effective land occupations and to suppress banditism.† A major goal of Mussolini's was to eliminate the mafia and all organized crime in Italy, he was the first leader of Italy to go to Sicily to take major action. The â€Å"determination† that Mussolini has to take vengeance on the Mafia shows that the way he acts is a sign of immaturity and very alike to the actions of an organized crime group would when faced with an issue. Although the attempted destruction of the Mafia would have been good for Italy, Mussolini's actions were not totally righteous. An ulterior motive of helping himself through destroying the group that refused Mussolini's offer for political gain demonstrates his intolerance towards groups and people that refuse or differ from him. Mussolini had previously used the Italian mafia to bend the law and help him in his Fascist regime, but when the Mafia soon began to stop these actions, Mussolini retaliated against the organized group through methods the mafia would use. However, as a leader of a country Mussolini should handle himself in a much more professional. â€Å"In the meantime, his hand strengthened by the electoral victory of 1924, Mussolini declared war on the Mafia. In May 1924, he made a triumphal tour of Sicily to consolidate his political gains of the previous month.† Mussolini's almost immediate action of punishment and retaliation towards the mafia for not doing as he instructed demonstrates not only his power hungriness but also his intolerance to others in nearly every regard. By â€Å"consolidating his political gains† he is compelling the people of Sicily to support him and his administration otherwise they will face his consequences and punishments. The Mafia and Mussolini's Fascism function in a similar way in regards to retaliation, both have a refusal to be controlled by another force or person.Mussolini was the first ruler of Italy to go on to the Mafia filled island of Sicily as well as attempt to create a plan to end the corruption. Mussolini was not taking care of the dangerous Mafia because of the well-being of the Italian people, but instead because they do not believe in his Fascist regime. The Mafia is not supportive of Fascism because it has a more negative effect on their business which makes them more of a target by the government. Mussolini wanted the Mafia imprisoned so, â€Å"Thousands of suspected Mafia criminals had been captured and tens of thousands of years of imprisonment had been handed down in penal sentence.† Since Mussolini turned the government in Italy to a now Fascist dictatorship he has the power and ability to commit their actions without any repercussions or laws in his way. Fascism entitled Mussolini to punish and imprison whomever he chose however, his actions demonstrate those similar to the Italian Mafia's. When Mussolini began to capture Mafioso's people noticed that, â€Å"When we passed through Sicily, the prisoners were crammed with these unfortunates. Later, I got to know youths of eighteen and nineteen years who said they were accused of crimes committed before they were born. † The action of imprisoning children and innocent people accused of crimes â€Å"committed before they were born† demonstrates a characteristic with Mussolini that shows an ulterior motive of not caring about the corruption the Mafia has caused but caring about personal and political gain. The Mafia has done torturous actions like this when people refuses them which demonstrates a common connection between how the two different groups function.Mussolini demonstrates his unfit behavior to be a leader of a country when he begins his retaliation against the Mafia. Because of their refusal, Mussolini treated the people in the Mafia with utter cruelty through his punishments towards the group for rejection of fascist beliefs. Mussolini imprisoned people through, â€Å"We were jammed into various stinking, crowded cells I was placed in a cell with already twenty or thirty prisoners belonging to the mafia or black hand and the widely known Sicilian society which the Mussolini government is said to have destroyed. † This obviously demonstrate the unfair and irrational treatments of people. History has shown the Mafia punishment or victimizing people through various different types of harsh punishment therefore when Mussolini imprisons people in such a difficult way the similarities between fascism and the mafia become extremely present.The march on Rome is another perfect example of Mussolini and The Mafia working in a similar conduct. Mussolini and the black shirts took control of Rome and the Italian government through force and turned it into the government that they wanted. The mafia functions very closely to that through their actions of force upon people. The illegal business conducted in the mafia has made the people within it rise to power with a high influence and heavy threats. Mussolini and the mafia have this aggressive power in common with one another demonstrating Mussolini's unfit qualities to be a leader and the type of fascist regime he is dictating is like those of an organized crime group.Overall Mussolini turned the Italian government into a Fascist Dictatorship under his control and consolidated power in a similar to the Italian Mafias. Mussolini used the Mafia's power for political and personal gain to help his own regime, then began to retaliate against the Italian mafia when they did not do as he had told. His retaliation was through ridiculous punishments demonstrating his lack of tolerance for opinions and beliefs differing from his own. Finally, the parallel resemblance between both the Mafia and Mussolini's Fascism demonstrates the common connection between both parties in the way that they conduct themselves.

Penn foster study guide Essay

Welcome to Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education! We  hope that this course will add to your knowledge and help  you form new opinions about a subject in which you’re  already interested—educating young children. KNOW YOUR TEXTBOOK Your textbook for this course is Foundations of Early  Childhood Education: Teaching Children in a Diverse Setting  by Janet Gonzales-Mena. It’s important that you read the  material in your textbook and study until it’s completely  familiar to you. This is the material on which your examinations are based. The content of the textbook is divided into three sections: Part 1—Foundations of the Teaching-Learning Process:  The Role of the Early Childhood Educator Part 2—Foundations of Curriculum: Planning for  Learning Part 3—Foundations for Formal Education: Planning for  Learning As you read the chapters within those parts, you’ll discover the following features:  Chapter introductions, which provide overviews  Chapter outlines, which identify key topics  Sections titled â€Å"In This Chapter You’ll Discover,† which provide a list of things you should learn in the chapter   Marginal links that connect key content to the National   Association for the Education of Young Children early  childhood program standards  Your examples should be descriptions of specific incidents. For example, a child may have had a problem separating  from a parent the day that you observed. You would  describe exactly how the caregiver or teacher handled  the situation and redirected the child. Giving a general  description or providing brief examples of how the caregiver or teacher interacts with the all the children in the room isn’t sufficient for this part of your summary. 3. What is the guidance and discipline policy used at the  facility? Clearly explain how misbehavior is handled.  4. What did you like best and least about the program?  This part of your summary should state your views of  the program. Discuss three points you liked about the  program and three points you didn’t like. Provide specific examples to illustrate each point. 5. What are some suggestions for improvement? In this part  of your report, discuss some ways in which you feel the  quality of the program could be improved. What do you  think could be done differently that would better meet  the needs of the children in the setting? Remember, even  the best environment can be improved. List at least five  suggestions for improvement. Make any other needed revisions. Revise as many times as  you feel necessary, and then correct your report for spelling and grammar. Your final submission should be typed in a  12-point font with double-spaced formatting.

A Case Study Of Mental Health

A Case Study Of Mental Health Mental health has become a major global problem. It affects 450 million people and one in four of us will suffer from mental ill- health at some time in our lives (WHO, 2001). Mental Health is † used positively to indicate a state of psychological well- being, negatively to indicate its opposite ( as in ‘mental health problems’) or euphemistically to indicate facilities used by, or imposed upon , people with mental health problems ( as in ‘mental health services’). During the nineteenth century, all patients were certified under lunacy laws. That is, the State only made provisions for the control of madness. The fledgling profession of psychiatry ( this term was first used in Britain in 1858) was singularly preoccupied with segregating and managing lunatics . With the emergence of the First World War, soldiers began to break down with ‘shellshock’ now called ‘post – traumatic stress disorder’ . From this point on, psyc hiatry extended its jurisdiction from madness to versions of nervousness provoked by stress or trauma. In the twentieth century, more abnormal mental states came within its jurisdiction, such as those due to alcohol and drug abuse and personality problems. Today, ‘mental health services’ may be offered to, or be imposed upon, people with this wide range of problems, although madness or ‘severe mental illness’ still captures most of the attention of professionals .Another aspects of the term ‘mental health problems’ is that some people, critical of psychiatric terminology, object of scientific or logical grounds to notions like ‘mental illness’ or ‘mental disorder’. In the 1983 Act and equivalent Scottish legislation ‘ mental illness’ is not defined. However, Article 3(1) of the Northern Ireland Order does define it as ‘ a state of mind which affects a person’s thinking, perceiving, emotion or judgement to the extent that he requires care or medical treatment in his own interests of other persons’. Neither the Scottish nor Northern Ireland definitions include psychopathic disorder and there has recently been some discussion in the context of review of the Mental Health Act about removing it in England and Wales. Issues concerning mental health have been raised substantially in the consciousness of politicians, the media, and the public. Moreover, the ‘burden’ of mental disorder is regarded not just as a – if not the- principal cause of human misery, but as a significant impediment to social and economic growth. Measurement of the years of potential life lost and the years of productive life lost through mental ill- health could reach 15% of all diseases and deaths globally by 2020 (WHO, 1999). A further dimension of inequalities in the apparent scale of mental health problems is race. Race is controversial to define. Genetic distinctions between groups of humans ( other based on sex) have little empirical basis. Racial distinctions arose from anthropological investigations carried out by colonized indigenous people. However, because of colonization, the social identity of these people became real for them and others. In the United States black patients are overrepresented in mental institutions, and have become increasingly so over the postwar period. This has particularly been the case within state mental hospitals, where minority groups constitute 35 per cent of the hospital population, and are subject to higher rates of admission and readmission. In a review of eight epidemiological studies conducted in the United States between the late 1950’s and mid- 1970’s, Kessler and Neighbors (1986) found that among persons with low incomes black people exhibited significantly more distress than white people. They claimed, therefore, that race is an important independent variable in determining the likelihood of an individual becoming mentally ill. There is some dispute over what to make of this evidence. Cockerham (1990) maintains that the majority of studies on the incidence and distribution of mental health problems suggest that race is not an independent variable:†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ race alone does not appear to produce higher rates of mental disorder for particular groups’. Rather, it is because more black people are in the lower social cases that they tend to demonstrate more signs of mental distress. Others, however, disagree. Halpern (1993) argues that minority status can be demonstrated to result in a tendency towards psychiatric problems.

Why the US and China Are the Most Suitable Countries for Montar Essay - 1

Why the US and China Are the Most Suitable Countries for Montar Vehicles - Essay Example Such technology for the driver would include rear and front camera, automatic aid reversing the passenger are able to watch movies in surround sound whilst drinking their preferred beverage ‘ice cold’ from the drinks cooler provided. Executive options can be added for chauffeur driven styles like the hand-stitched leather upholstery, wooden oak glazed interior, making it a direct competitor to the existing high-end luxury car vehicles that are well established. The price range for these vehicles will be between  £100,000-  £350,000 depending on the car chosen, with the lower boundary competing with car brands Mercedes-Benz, BMW & Audi whilst the upper price boundaries will compete with the likes of Bentley, Maybach and Rolls Royce. To appreciate the high-price, high-end range of Monster vehicles, the customer must have a certain sensibility and regard for finer things. The customer will typically belong to the affluent class of society and will have a taste for exclusive, expensive things. He will also understand that driving a certain vehicle bespeaks a lot about a person’s individuality, preferences and personality. The Monster 2 door coupe and the 4 door saloon is a vehicle that would be aimed at the high net worth individuals that have the purchasing power to enjoy such a vehicle. The coupe is aimed at the younger members of the affluent class, aged between 18 and 35, who are looking for the classier driving experience. They have great-looking possessions, successful and happening lives and similar social circles to move in. On the other hand, the more prudent saloon is seen more like a chauffeur driven vehicle for the extremely wealthy, senior-level professionals and businessmen. The classy exterior would appease their aesthetic sensibilities and the comfortable, first-class interior would allow the passengers to travel in comfort. The target audience comprises of individuals who already own chauffeur driven vehicles like the Rolls Royce Phantom.  

Contributing to Pepperdines Mission Personal Statement

Contributing to Pepperdines Mission - Personal Statement Example Responding to the mission of the school, I have thus prepared myself to be one in her mission, embracing it as my own. With this, I am binding myself to a lifelong education quest that will not just be limited in the education I get from this school through the course I have enrolled myself into but in everything from which I could learn from. Increasing my knowledge, I am resolved not just to rely on my professors but that I should understand that I also have the responsibility of helping myself as facilities are put to our disposal. Being a responsible student would be the least I could do, though it might not be much, I believe that one less trouble can make a great impact though not to the whole world; at least to the community I belong. Academically, I am prepared to do my best in all my subjects as it is my responsibility as a matured student and it is also my perception that doing so is the task expected of me to manifest the understanding that God has given me the authority to have dominion on my Eden. In addition, I am bound to commit myself to do, to my utmost capability the duties expected of a Christian student like being in the highest standard of values and ethical resolution.

Emphysema Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Emphysema - Research Paper Example Trapped pockets of the air block airways leading to a difficulty in breathing. Emphysema is similar to another condition called the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that leads to a reduced airflow into the lungs. COPD is characterized by running out of breath, chronic cough, phlegm, and reduced ability to exhale. Emphysema gets worse with time, with the alveoli becoming larger while decreasing in number (Turino, 2006). As a result, the air sacs are destroyed as they change in structure. The condition greatly reduces the amount of air absorbed by the blood in the lungs. The major predisposing factor to the state includes smoking especially from the age of 35 years, air pollution, and exposure to allergens, genetics and other respiratory diseases such as asthma among other suspected causes. The expiratory flow limitation is chronic and permanent. The limitation results from the airway inflammation and parenchymal cells damage. Progressive airways obstruction which leads to more breathing difficulties. The condition worsens with the inflammation of the airway characterized by the mucosal airway edema and mucous impaction. Emphysema results in the destruction of elastin impairing the ability of the lung to recoil after inhalation. As a result causing the lungs defective expiratory pressure. The airways become weak and narrow and thus there is an increased resistance to airflow. Expiratory flow limitation occurs when the expiratory airflow during spontaneous tidal breathing represents the maximum possible flow rate at operating lung volume. The expiratory flow rate does not rely on the muscle effort but on the ability of the lung to produce enough pressure for adequate exhalation during the recoil tide. In the case of expiratory flow limitation, the lung does not generate enough pressure for sufficient additional due to the reduced surface area and high volume of the alveoli, and the damaged elastin. The

Research proposal in CSR Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Proposal in CSR - Research Paper Example Literature Review Summary 15 III. Research Objectives and Questions 15 IV. Research Design and Methodology 17 A. Secondary Data Collection 17 B. Scope and Limitation 18 V. Proposed Time Table 18 References 19 I. Introduction The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a haven of economic and political strength in a region that is ravaged by political disorder and wars. This strength, alongside other factors, has helped the Kingdom establish its place as one of the major business hubs in the world, with giant multinational corporations basing their operations in the country. These multinational corporations, such as the banking sector, will continue to proliferate and dominate if present trends in the country continue (Shoult 2006). With local and global companies manoeuvring simultaneously in a fast moving economy, one of the major business concerns in Saudi Arabia in the recent decade is corporate social responsibility (CSR) as well as its function and direction in the business environment of th e Kingdom. The opposite is true for the United Kingdom. The introduction of corporate social responsibility in the UK’s banking industry does not present entirely good opportunities. There are constraints in the voluntary programmes to deal with the unfavourable environmental and social effects produced by the banking industry in developing and developed nations (Solomon 2007). The political system of the UK have failed to challenge the influence of the banking sector beyond advocating gradual voluntary attempts to advance CSR, all of which have fell short of resolving successfully the major problems of sustainable development, poverty, climate change, and human rights (Ward & Smith 2006). Despite of the vast evidence, the programme of ‘Investing in the Future: a European conference on CSR and the finance sector, (ibid, p. 93)’ disproves the fact that the UK banking sector has yet failed to progress outside mainly unsuccessful efforts at self-regulation. The bank ing industry has a corporate social responsibility to adequately cater to the intricate groups of customers; a bank operates to maximize shareholders’ profit. It should sustain the most favourable liquidity to satisfy the demands of depositors. It is mandated to meet the official ‘deficit sector demand for credits’ (The National Commercial Bank 2009, p. 3). The banking sector should satisfy the provisions established by supervisory bodies to continue operations. Most of all, for the bank to be viewed as a responsible corporate entity, it has to provide substantial input to the economy’s highest development and meet the demands of its immediate vicinity (The National Commercial Bank 2009). Hence, the aim of this study is to comparatively study the challenges of CSR that the banking sector in Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom confront nowadays. Two major banks for each country are studied and compared, namely Aljazeera and the National Commercial Bank in S audi Arabia, and HSBC Bank and Barclays Bank in the UK. II. Literature Review A. Definition of CSR There appears to be countless definitions of corporate social responsibility, running the gamut of the basic to the complex, and an array of related concepts and assumptions, such as ‘corporate sustainability, corporate citizenship, corporate social investment, the triple bottom line, socially responsible investment, business sustainability and corporate governance’ (Thomas 2006, 3). Singh and colleagues (2009) defines CSR as â€Å"