Does Police Discretion Amount to a Miscarriage of Justice Literature review

Does Police Discretion Amount to a Miscarriage of Justice - Literature review Example In truth, as stated by some criminologists, when there was a dispute, public order takes precedence over enforcement of the law or policing (Maguire, Morgan, & Reiner 2007, 227). Once it is recognised as an expected aspect of law enforcement that there are instances when the law is ‘inadequately implemented’ the issue then emerges whether every sector of the society gain evenly from this. This essay reviews related literature on police work to explore whether police use of discretion could be considered as a miscarriage of justice. Police Discretion Police have the power to take away the liberty of citizens, apprehend or detain them, and even use lethal force to restrain them. An important feature of this professional duty is the ‘discretion’ the police has in performing their duties. Discretion may include discriminating/selective law enforcement (e.g. when a law enforcer decides not to apprehend a pub that is selling liquors to minors (Ogletree & Sarat 200 9, 18). Law enforcers exercise discretion when they make a decision to apprehend one offender for unruly behaviour but to let another go free. Most police officers exercise a considerable extent of personal discretion in performing everyday duties, occasionally called in criminal justice ‘low-visibility decision making’ (Siegel & Worrall 2012, 125). Such expression implies that, not like most departments of criminal justice, law enforcers are neither controlled in their everyday practices and behaviour by governmental inspection nor under judicial investigation, except when their actions undoubtedly abuses a criminal’s legal rights. The people accept the power of police to use discretion. However, recently, scholars and policymakers have publicly shown great resentment about the discretion used by the police, and there have been numerous demands to abolish, weaken, or regulate this power (Siegel & Worrall 2012, 125-126). These people believe that police use of di scretion often leads to miscarriage of justice. One justification of such demands is the widespread belief that law enforcement is ought to be ministerial, performing its tasks in rigid compliance to legislative conditions. Another justification is the widely held belief that as the police use discretion, they are predisposed to show prejudice against some individuals and/or groups, mostly resulting in wrongful convictions (Sutherland, Cressey, & Luckenbill 1992, 355). As a matter of fact, there is abundant evidence revealing that, for a particular offence, law enforcers are more inclined to apprehend men than women, young individuals than older ones, Black people than White people, etc. Thus, police discretion attracts a lot of controversies (Sutherland et al. 1992, 355). As remarked by William McDonald (1973), â€Å"It invites arbitrariness, favouritism, corruption, and injustice. Even when it is exercised even-handedly, it can create the appearance of injustice† (Sutherlan d et al.1992, 355). All the same, police discretion will continue to exist because no legislative body, absent from the street, can accurately and unmistakably specify beforehand what actions must have as its outcome a formal arrest. As emphasised by Albert Reiss, Jr. (1971) (Sutherland et al. 1992, 355): It is incumbent upon a police officer to enter upon a variety of social stages, encounter the actors, determine

The Digestive System Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

The Digestive System - Coursework Example Recently regenerative medicine has become a fact in science and used in areas of cell therapies in advancement of cardiac stem cells to improve hearts function due to heart failures. In addition, it is used in tissue engineering in growing organs such as cartilage, bladders, skin, urine tubes, blood vessels and trachea in the lab and implanted in human beings. In the talk, Ted highlights how Institute of Regenerative Medicine is working on the replacement of organs and tissues and cell therapies. He shows how the human kidney can be engineered and how solid organs such as the kidney, liver, pancreas, and the heart holy grails foe conducting tissue engineering. He demonstrates how a 3-D printing technology is used to concrete structures such as the kidney and structured tissues like the ear. Additionally, he outlines how to use the patient data, for instance, a CT scan in creating a computer model of the organ that is to undergo printing. It is the model that guides in printing a replacement organ layer by layer. These replacement organs are made up of cells and other biomaterials that help in holding the cells

Poor Nurse Patient Communication In Mental Health Setting Nursing Essay

Poor Nurse Patient Communication In Mental Health Setting Nursing Essay Communication is defined asthe imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions or information by speech, writing or signs. It is the tool which strengthens healthcare provider-patient relationship through which therapeutic goals are achieved (Park et al, 2006). Effective communication occurs when a desired effect is the result of information sharing, while poor communication leads to uncertainty and frustration. There are many situations where poor communication can lead to confusion. It includes not only building rapport but also leading to patients queries unanswered, discussing medical issues at patients bedside while ignoring them, talking harshly to patients etc. This can result in lack of support, disrespect and especially, harm to the patients. During my Mental Health Clinical at a private Hospital, I encountered a patient with diagnosis of Schizophrenia, and his Mental Status Examination (MSE) revealed that he had circumstantial ideas. I asked him a question and he talked irrelevantly about it. The nurse, who was listening to our conversation, scolded the patient saying why was he not answering relevantly. The nurses way of talking was very rebuking and lacked empathy. Upon getting scolded, the patient got aggressive and embarrassed, yet left silently. I visited the patient later, continued the MSE politely, and he answered me well. In my patients scenario, the nurse emotionally abused and demoted my patient rather than encouraging him. I believe this lowered my patients self-esteem and shattered him psychologically as evident by his gesture of leaving the room in silence due to aggression. Gadit (2011) states that verbal abuse can cause significant psychological problems in later years and brain damage. This means that skilled communication of a nurse helps a patient reduce his worries, making him comfortable. Moreover, patients verbalization of feelings and thoughts aids a nurse in correctly identifying his problems and performing interventions. Therapeutic communication holds importance as it contributes to a patients emotional growth or reinforce his or her illness. (Masilani, 2010, p.02). Thus, poor communication shatters the nurse-patients therapeutic relationship and acts as a barrier in expression of patients feelings which may lead to flawed nursing care. Nurses poor communication leaves a negative imag e in a patients mind regarding nurse and the institution, impacting greatly on his treatment. Patient would not express but build on feelings deep inside, which can lead to depression. My patient was not able to answer promptly due to his disease process. Through positive regard, assurance and encouragement, the nurse could have helped the patient. Instead the nurse demoted him and lowered his self-esteem. A model by Shanon and Weaver (1949) explains where the gap was formed. This model has 8 elements: source is an individual or a group that wants a message to be delivered ; encoder is the specified format for later interpretation; message is the idea that is being communicated; channel is the route that the message travels on; noise is any interference in the communication; decoder is the interpretation of the message from its original form into the one that the receiver understands; receiver is the intended recipient who takes in the message that the source has sent and feedback relates to the source whether their message has been received, interpreted correctly or lost in the noise. In the above scenario, I was the source who put the model into action. Encoding was my speech and expressions. I was doing the Mental Status Examination and it was my message. Noise was the nurse who interrupted and distorted my message. When the noise over rode the source, problem in the decoding occurr ed, leading the receiver to get aggressive and embarrassed. This gave the feedback that the message that was sent has got an error and needs to be revised. Building on the feedback, I gave patient sometime, and interacted with him later to continue his examination for his benefit Barriers to effective communication can impede or deform the message. There may be physical barriers that often occur due to the environment. Example of this is the shortage of staff, lack of time, increased workload, improper building etc. In the above scenario, the unit allotted for psychiatry was undersized and less spacious. Nurses and the patients were locked in the small unit, where they could easily listen to each others conversations. Second barrier can be the system fault. It refers to problems with the system in an organization. Examples include a lack of clarity in responsibilities, supervision and training. Keeping the scenario in mind, a nurse has the basic responsibility to practice empathy, as studies link empathy with therapeutic relationship (Reynolds Stewart, 2002; Neumann et al, 2012). Attitudinal barriers occur as a result of problems with staff. Examples include poor management, communication errors, personal attitudes of individual staff due to lack of motivati on and insufficient training etc. The above Private Hospital setup reflected that there was no supervision and the staff did not seem much competent. When looking into the socio cultural context, a news report reveals that mental health is the most neglected field in Pakistan (Qasim, 2012). In such conditions, if the communication flaws persist, a patients mental health is likely to be devastated. Another survey in Pakistan shows that patients satisfaction depends on a healthcare providers communication and behavior with them during their length of hospital stay (Danish, Khan, Chaudhry, Naseer, 2008). As psychiatric patients usually have repeated admissions and prolonged hospitalizations, therefore therapeutic communication can allow a nurse to deliver quality care to the patients, thus satisfying their needs. Moreover, departments of psychiatry in Pakistan are not well equipped specially in terms of psychiatric manpower (Gandit 2006). Literature emphasizes that swift pace and content is required in the field of research. Poor communication can be attributed to a number of factors. Lack of understanding, which includes value to proper communication and empathy in therapeutic relation, is one of the causes . Sometimes patient factors do not allow healthcare practitioner to communicate properly as it has been observed that harming behavior, emotional blocks and other psychotic symptoms do not allow nurses to continue therapeutic communication (Pfeiffer, 1998). It was also evident in my patients case that nurses communication can lower self-esteem and promote distress. Excessive poor communication of the nurses can lead to constant aggression and anxiety of communication, ultimately worsening patients mental health. To sustain a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship I would recommend that institutional management should arrange communication skill workshops for staff, as researches show that workshops help in improving nurses communication skills and their sense of preparedness (Lamiani Furey, 2009). The nursing supervisors should also identify the causes which hinder in communication. Moreover, nurses could reflect daily upon their communication skills, analyze the mistakes and try to work on it, as reflection is a powerful educational tool in nursing that can enhance clinical experience (Bradbury-Jones et al, 2009). They can also take ongoing feedbacks from colleagues and try to improve on their weak points. Since psychiatric patients have problems in communicating and forming relationships (Hem Heggen, 2003, p.102), therefore I would suggest that psychiatric nurses should have profound awareness of when to show empathy during communication. In my opinion medical and nursing students should focus on efficient communication while studying psychiatric course, so they can continue to practice it precisely. Furthermore, as discussed above, a barrier to effective communication is the lack of supervision. For that, ongoing rounds and evaluations should be done by the higher authorities to witness the exact situation and happenings, since it is noticed that in the supervision of the higher authorities, communication is more therapeutic. Thus, I recommend institutions to keep an eye on their staffs communication techniques in order to minimize negligence. In conclusion, nurses may commit errors but practice can make them perfect especially in a skill like communication. Thus, nurses must practice as much as possible and try reducing communication errors. As discussed, there are several causes and effects of poor communication especially in psychiatric nursing. But nurses should use themselves as a therapeutic instrument (Hem Heggen, 2003), so that they can help the psychiatric patients for their early recovery. Word Count: 1,342 Words

The Life and Music of Gustav Holst Essay -- Art

The Life and Music of Gustav Holst Gustav Holst, born in Cheltenham in September 1847, is still today considered to be one of the greatest music composers of all time. He was not very fond of music when he was younger, but he enjoyed the piano. He was sent to Cheltenham Grammar School and forced to take long music lessons, even though he had neuritis in his hands. His first job was an organist and Choirmaster at the Choral Society, Bourbon on the Water. Impressed at his good ear for music, his father borrowed some money to send him to the Royal College of Music, which he had previously failed to enter. As he got older, the neuritis in his hands got worse, and it was almost impossible for him to play the piano, so he took up the trombone. It allowed him to play in orchestras, and earn a decent income. Being hard up for money, he used to play his trombone on the pier for cash at Brighton during the summer holidays. During this period, Holst wrote his first opera, it was called The Revoke, based on a card game in Beau Brummel. Later on, Holst conducted the Hammersmith Socialist Choir, and fell in love with his youngest blonde-haired, blue-eyed soprano, whose name was Isobel Harrison. In 1989, Holst began to work on his Opera, Sita, based on the Hindu fable of Ramayana. He worked on it until 1906, but it was never performed in his lifetime. Gustav married Isobel in 1901 and their first home was in Shepherds Bush. He was very upset when his father died, so... The Life and Music of Gustav Holst Essay -- Art The Life and Music of Gustav Holst Gustav Holst, born in Cheltenham in September 1847, is still today considered to be one of the greatest music composers of all time. He was not very fond of music when he was younger, but he enjoyed the piano. He was sent to Cheltenham Grammar School and forced to take long music lessons, even though he had neuritis in his hands. His first job was an organist and Choirmaster at the Choral Society, Bourbon on the Water. Impressed at his good ear for music, his father borrowed some money to send him to the Royal College of Music, which he had previously failed to enter. As he got older, the neuritis in his hands got worse, and it was almost impossible for him to play the piano, so he took up the trombone. It allowed him to play in orchestras, and earn a decent income. Being hard up for money, he used to play his trombone on the pier for cash at Brighton during the summer holidays. During this period, Holst wrote his first opera, it was called The Revoke, based on a card game in Beau Brummel. Later on, Holst conducted the Hammersmith Socialist Choir, and fell in love with his youngest blonde-haired, blue-eyed soprano, whose name was Isobel Harrison. In 1989, Holst began to work on his Opera, Sita, based on the Hindu fable of Ramayana. He worked on it until 1906, but it was never performed in his lifetime. Gustav married Isobel in 1901 and their first home was in Shepherds Bush. He was very upset when his father died, so...

Greatest Ambition Summary Essay

Morris Lurie was born in Melbourne in 1938. He is better known for his short stories though he has written some novels too. He has won several awards in Australia for fiction. The years spent away from Australia in voluntary exile form the subject matter of much of his writing. Background/Setting The main character is a school boy whose â€Å"greatest ambition† is to be a comic strip artist. The story explores the uncertainties and trials of being an adolescent with unsupportive parents. In the short story ‘My Greatest Ambition’ by Morris Lurie, we experience the disillusionment of a thirteen-year-old boy as he tries to live a dream that he initially thought would set him apart from all others. Nu’s illusion is set up when his father calls him a â€Å"prince† right before Nu’s meeting. It was the first time that his father had complimented him throughout the duration of the memoir. Even though his father was not directly trying to give Nu false hope, the effect of this praise on Nu seemed to point him to that direction. The reference to a â€Å"prince† relates to success and fortune, which would subconsciously give Nu the impression that he would prosper and become a successful comic strip artist at ‘Boy’ magazine. The disillusionment begins when he approaches the office. Nu expects the building itself to be grand and imposing but instead he sees a very mediocre building that â€Å"looked like a factory†. He outlines his disappointment when he says: â€Å"No neon, no massive areas of plate glass, no exotic plants growing in white gravel†. Each time he repeated the word â€Å"no†, it added to his growing sense of disappointment. He also uses repetition with the word â€Å"ordinary† as he describes the details of the building, which emphasises his realisation of disillusionment. When Nu is being toured around the factory he says, â€Å"†¦I was eating an ice-cream†, which indirectly makes Nu seem more immature and out of place. This contrasts from the illusion that Nu had earlier of himself â€Å"walking to work every morning†¦with a pipe in my (his) mouth.† Since his fantasy of being a grown man smoking his pipe and going to work had turned into being a 13 year old in a ridiculous suit eating ice-cream, the disillusionment becomes a more prominent factor in the story.

Gambling on college sports Essay

I’ve been a sports fanatic since the day I was born. It didn’t matter if I was playing or watching or cheering, I just loved being around the game. I have always been very knowledgeable about it too, as I was well known and titled by extended family as â€Å"the stat man. † This of course referred to the often times erroneous and useless facts rattling around in my brain that I couldn’t help but show off. Needless to say, this topic means a lot to me, especially being a college football player myself. I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to dig deeper into a topic that has lingered in our country for years. The issues that pertain to gambling on college athletics have a vast range of opinions that stem from the questions; should gambling on college athletics be legal? What are the effects it has on the college athletes? Some argue that it will be detrimental to the game and some argue it has little to no effect, however most land somewhere in the middle. A common justification against gambling brings up the numerous scandals of players taking illegal benefits or point shaving and in extreme cases these events leading to jail or death. This side also argues that it allows players to get mixed up with the wrong crowd and put themselves in danger. Arguments for gambling site the economic reach it has in our country and the illegality will shrink the economy as well as not protect the players any more. Many people on this side think it will not be stopped so if gambling on college sports is illegalized, then every form of it will be illegal causing more trouble. My goal is to reveal those opinions and create a more complex understanding from various viewpoints, and hopefully bring a small degree of clarification to others and myself. In the article, â€Å"Even at Columbia, Gambling And College Athletics Collide† found in the New York Times, Jack Curry and Adam Gershenson enlighten the readers about the gambling infractions that occurred in a Columbia University fraternity house. The authors begin by describing the situation and basic details of the gambling process. â€Å" (They) would accept bets on sporting events from dozens of other students and then phone in the wagers — typically from $40 to $200 each — to a gambling ring based in Queens and operated by people with links to organized crime† (Curry and Gershenson). They go on to unravel the situation further by stating that there were not only college athletes betting on the games, but even current and former players living in the house that was tirelessly on the phone collecting wagers. Curry and Gershenson then discuss the further investigations done by Columbia and the NCAA and the possible disciplinary action that the offenders can face. The authors then write about the numerous amounts of sports gambling incidents in the last decade and also how students and athletes looked upon the Columbia gambling scandal with lesser importance because of the lack of athletic excellence. â€Å" The presence of a gambling operation with connections to organized crime at a school whose football team is best known for a 44-game losing streak in the 1980’s seemed incongruous† (Curry and Gershenson). An athlete was also quoted saying, â€Å"It’s not like this is Arkansas or something. This is Columbia. † Curry and Gershenson conclude their article by including a nationwide 1996 survey of college Division one athletes that reveals 25 percent gambled on other college sports and four percent admitted to gambling on games they had played in. I believe this is an article with good overall quality, even though it was written about 14 years ago in 1998. The time period constraint may lead to questions of relevance to readers in 2012. However, I think if you take all the dates and years out of the article, the purpose is still fulfilled and relays the same messages. The intent of the article was to inform about the events of the Columbia gambling ring, the reaction around campus, and the nationwide relevance. The authors Jack Curry and Adam Gershenson, are fairly unknown writers as far as I am concerned but that doesn’t take away from the quality of the article because it was included in The New York Times, which only adds credibility. For this reason, there would be a nationwide audience because of the shear number of readers. Specifically, the audience would probably be more of the businessman or woman, who are the stereotypical readers of The New York Times. The exigence of this piece was the arrest of gambling ring participants at Columbia but also the fact that these types of gambling scandals had been becoming more and more common in that time period. This was a very eye-opening article for me to read and by far the longest and most in depth. Since it was written 14 years ago, it is a story that I was previously unaware of. It made me even more aware then I already was, of how long this problem has lingered in college sports. It mentioned, more then once, that there are bookies on every campus in America. This really made me think about how unbelievable the number of illegal bets being placed by college students and athletes must be. However, even though this article is depicting the illegal gambling as a bad thing, I think it unintentionally makes arguments for both sides of the issue. If gambling on college sports were acceptable, this would have been a legal act. Hypothetically if it were legal, it would cut down on crime like this, which is usually linked to people with other criminal activity going on. Disconnecting the link to other criminal activity would make it all around safer for bookies and bet placers and athletes, because frankly, I think that people will never stop gambling on sporting events. I had always just assumed that gambling on college sports should be illegal, but this article made me reconsider whether that would really be the smartest and safest resolution. In the article â€Å"NCAA threatens to move events out of New Jersey† from SportsIllustrated. com, the unnamed author introduces the proposed plan to legalize sports gambling in New Jersey as well as reaction from sports organizations nationwide. The writer kicks off the article by stating background information about New Jersey’s push to legalize sports wagering. The article then goes on to describe the reaction from sports organizations, and goes in depth on the quotes from NCAA officials as well as their threats to move all playoff games out of New Jersey. It is also mentioned that The NCAA, NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB have â€Å"collectively sued to block New Jersey’s sports betting law from taking effect. † However, there is also information and quotes from parties that are for the sports betting law. Quotes from State senator Raymond Lesniak and Governor Chris Christie demonstrate their support for the new law. The article is concluded with talk of â€Å"several new gambling options New Jersey is seeking to offer† (â€Å"NCAA Threatens†). The author writes that these other options include in-state Internet gambling and the use of hand-held mobile gambling devices at the casinos as well as at horse tracks. I thought this article was fairly credible and factual as well. It did not have an author to add to credibility but being a Sports Illustrated article maintained its effectiveness. I believe this piece was intended to inform the audience of residents of New Jersey as well as pretty involved sports fans. People who would read Sports Illustrated would obviously just be in it for the sports because that is the only information it obtains. This also acts as a constraint. The article cannot reach as much of the population because not everyone is a sports fan. The event that triggered this response was the attempt to make sports gambling legal in the state of New Jersey. My understanding of gambling in college sports was drastically upgraded by reading this article. It was an informative piece, so there was very little, if any, bias in the writing. The inclusion of statistics and legality of the topic really helped me understand why the sports organizations are hoping that the law will not pass. The shear amounts of money changing hands can lead to a lot of trouble, however for the same reason, legalizing that money could really boost economic growth. These types of pros and cons exist on both sides, making it an even tougher issue to sort out. My next source comes from a script from the testimony of Danny Sheridan before the Senate Commerce Committee on April 26, 2001. The testimony was for a hearing for the Amateur Sports Integrity Act (S. 718), which would determine the legality of gambling on college athletics. The first part of the testimony consists of Sheridan validating why his testimony should be considered by sharing his credibility and involvement in athletics. â€Å"My name is Danny Sheridan, and I have been involved with sports and the sports? promotion business for more than 25 years. I have published college and pro football? magazines, written about sports in a variety of national publications, and have been the? host of a number of sports TV and radio shows† Sheridan proclaims. Sheridan goes on to explain how he is also a friend of many high profile athletes and he knows first hand the dangers that athletic gambling has on athletes. Sheridan also includes many statistics in his argument. â€Å"An estimated 40 million Americans currently wager $6 billion illegally every weekend during the entire 20-week college and pro football season alone† (Sheridan). The testimony is concluded by Sheridan stating that he appreciates the good intentions of trying to legalize gambling, but it would instead, result in negative effects. The rhetor, Danny Sheridan, is a very well known sports industrial component, which gives his testimony (and therefore my source) credibility. He presented this to the Senate Commerce Committee in hopes to persuade them to vote against legalization of gambling on sports. The fact that this is a testimony, instead of a highly publicized article restricts the extent his message. I found the script on his website, however it isn’t an often visited site by the common Internet user, so the audience is a big constraint for this text. I found this testimony to be a great source for this project. It was interesting to read a text that wasn’t just a traditional article. My understanding for the anti gambling side grew significantly, because it was so biased. The speaker does a great job making his argument come full circle. For that reason, I came away from reading it with a slight lean towards supporting keeping gambling on sports illegal. Another interesting aspect is that this testimony was given in 2001. My previous source, about the gambling law in New Jersey, is a current issue, and the arguments made by Sheridan could simply be restated now with the same effects. It is astounding to see how such little progress has been made through the years. In the article â€Å"Study Provides New Data on the Extent of Gambling by College Athletes†, from netfiles.edu, Welch Suggs dissects a study done to determine the facts about college athletes that gamble on sports. Suggs begins by introducing the parameters of the University of Michigan study that was released by the athletic department. â€Å"The study, based on a survey of 758 football and basketball players, found that 72 percent of college football and basketball players had bet money at least once since entering college† (Suggs). The author goes on to give further statistics that the survey revealed. Welch Suggs concludes the article with opposing viewpoint quotes from NCAA employee William Saum, and former NFL player Lynn Swann. Suggs’ last statement included next shifting attention to basketball referees to gain information about their gambling experiences. This was a questionable source to say the least. It had some solid content but the article opened as a PDF and my research failed to try and find the original homepage of the website. Likewise, the author was a mystery man as well. This text was very brief, but I believe the purpose was to inform about the findings of the survey revealed by the University of Michigan athletic department. However, the audience is hard to determine because of the unknown author and questionable website. If I were to pick an audience though, I would say it was intended for the adult college sports athlete because of the language and the inclusion of quotes from Lynn Swann. This text also has massive constraints, mainly for the same reasons as stated before. The website is random and in an odd format, therefore finding Suggs’ piece would be difficult to come across. The audience is extremely limited because of this, and the credibility suffers as well. Also, it did not include dates it the article, so the exigence of the piece suffers because the provoking event of the writing cannot be identified. The facts that are stated in this article hold strong relevance for this topic. It is more of an anti gambling article based on the information it presents, but it also gives a quote of the opposite viewpoint. Numbers don’t lie, and the numbers from the study are very eye opening and convincing. It makes me think about how much gambling affects the games we love, without us even knowing. Since all the surveys were anonymous, nothing will develop in terms of punishment or solutions to the problem. In this sense, the article does a great job persuading the reader. However, nowhere in the article did it give a date of the information or of when the article was written, so it is hard to put it in context and determine the importance. This, along with the briefness of the article, made it more difficult to shape my thinking about the topic. After analyzing the four sources included in this essay, I have yet to come to a concrete conclusion. I began researching the topic with the idea that gambling on college sports should be illegal and that all the effects of illegal gambling are bad. However, my research has muddied my view a little bit, which is actually a good thing because now I am informed more then I even have been. Being informed in such a way makes me understand how this predicament has been able to linger around in our society and in our legal system for so long. There seems to be no perfect solution and neither side of the argument wants to budge. I think both sides would agree that the illegal activity that surrounds gambling is a bad thing, but the argument remains; would legalizing sports gambling have a more positive effect on unlawful activity then keeping gambling illegal? The next step for me would simply be gaining more knowledge and weighing the pros and cons of each side and coming to decision of which side to take. Until then, ill be sitting on the fence of the topic, along with most of America. What Are the Effects of Legal vs. Illegal Gambling on College Sports? I’ve been a sports fanatic since the day I was born. It didn’t matter if I was playing or watching or cheering, I just loved being around the game. I have always been very knowledgeable about it too, as I was well known and titled by extended family as â€Å"the stat man. † This of course referred to the often times erroneous and useless facts rattling around in my brain that I couldn’t help but show off. Needless to say, this topic means a lot to me, especially being a college football player myself. I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to dig deeper into a topic that has lingered in our country for years. The issues that pertain to gambling on college athletics have a vast range of opinions that stem from the questions; should gambling on college athletics be legal? What are the effects it has on the college athletes? Some argue that it will be detrimental to the game and some argue it has little to no effect, however most land somewhere in the middle. A common justification against gambling brings up the numerous scandals of players taking illegal benefits or point shaving and in extreme cases these events leading to jail or death. This side also argues that it allows players to get mixed up with the wrong crowd and put themselves in danger. Arguments for gambling site the economic reach it has in our country and the illegality will shrink the economy as well as not protect the players any more. Many people on this side think it will not be stopped so if gambling on college sports is illegalized, then every form of it will be illegal causing more trouble. My goal is to reveal those opinions and create a more complex understanding from various viewpoints, and hopefully bring a small degree of clarification to others and myself. In the article, â€Å"Even at Columbia, Gambling And College Athletics Collide† found in the New York Times, Jack Curry and Adam Gershenson enlighten the readers about the gambling infractions that occurred in a Columbia University fraternity house. The authors begin by describing the situation and basic details of the gambling process. â€Å" (They) would accept bets on sporting events from dozens of other students and then phone in the wagers — typically from $40 to $200 each — to a gambling ring based in Queens and operated by people with links to organized crime† (Curry and Gershenson). They go on to unravel the situation further by stating that there were not only college athletes betting on the games, but even current and former players living in the house that was tirelessly on the phone collecting wagers. Curry and Gershenson then discuss the further investigations done by Columbia and the NCAA and the possible disciplinary action that the offenders can face. The authors then write about the numerous amounts of sports gambling incidents in the last decade and also how students and athletes looked upon the Columbia gambling scandal with lesser importance because of the lack of athletic excellence. â€Å" The presence of a gambling operation with connections to organized crime at a school whose football team is best known for a 44-game losing streak in the 1980’s seemed incongruous† (Curry and Gershenson). An athlete was also quoted saying, â€Å"It’s not like this is Arkansas or something. This is Columbia. † Curry and Gershenson conclude their article by including a nationwide 1996 survey of college Division one athletes that reveals 25 percent gambled on other college sports and four percent admitted to gambling on games they had played in. I believe this is an article with good overall quality, even though it was written about 14 years ago in 1998. The time period constraint may lead to questions of relevance to readers in 2012. However, I think if you take all the dates and years out of the article, the purpose is still fulfilled and relays the same messages. The intent of the article was to inform about the events of the Columbia gambling ring, the reaction around campus, and the nationwide relevance. The authors Jack Curry and Adam Gershenson, are fairly unknown writers as far as I am concerned but that doesn’t take away from the quality of the article because it was included in The New York Times, which only adds credibility. For this reason, there would be a nationwide audience because of the shear number of readers. Specifically, the audience would probably be more of the businessman or woman, who are the stereotypical readers of The New York Times. The exigence of this piece was the arrest of gambling ring participants at Columbia but also the fact that these types of gambling scandals had been becoming more and more common in that time period. This was a very eye-opening article for me to read and by far the longest and most in depth. Since it was written 14 years ago, it is a story that I was previously unaware of. It made me even more aware then I already was, of how long this problem has lingered in college sports. It mentioned, more then once, that there are bookies on every campus in America. This really made me think about how unbelievable the number of illegal bets being placed by college students and athletes must be. However, even though this article is depicting the illegal gambling as a bad thing, I think it unintentionally makes arguments for both sides of the issue. If gambling on college sports were acceptable, this would have been a legal act. Hypothetically if it were legal, it would cut down on crime like this, which is usually linked to people with other criminal activity going on. Disconnecting the link to other criminal activity would make it all around safer for bookies and bet placers and athletes, because frankly, I think that people will never stop gambling on sporting events. I had always just assumed that gambling on college sports should be illegal, but this article made me reconsider whether that would really be the smartest and safest resolution. In the article â€Å"NCAA threatens to move events out of New Jersey† from SportsIllustrated. com, the unnamed author introduces the proposed plan to legalize sports gambling in New Jersey as well as reaction from sports organizations nationwide. The writer kicks off the article by stating background information about New Jersey’s push to legalize sports wagering. The article then goes on to describe the reaction from sports organizations, and goes in depth on the quotes from NCAA officials as well as their threats to move all playoff games out of New Jersey. It is also mentioned that The NCAA, NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB have â€Å"collectively sued to block New Jersey’s sports betting law from taking effect. † However, there is also information and quotes from parties that are for the sports betting law. Quotes from State senator Raymond Lesniak and Governor Chris Christie demonstrate their support for the new law. The article is concluded with talk of â€Å"several new gambling options New Jersey is seeking to offer† (â€Å"NCAA Threatens†). The author writes that these other options include in-state Internet gambling and the use of hand-held mobile gambling devices at the casinos as well as at horse tracks. I thought this article was fairly credible and factual as well. It did not have an author to add to credibility but being a Sports Illustrated article maintained its effectiveness. I believe this piece was intended to inform the audience of residents of New Jersey as well as pretty involved sports fans. People who would read Sports Illustrated would obviously just be in it for the sports because that is the only information it obtains. This also acts as a constraint. The article cannot reach as much of the population because not everyone is a sports fan. The event that triggered this response was the attempt to make sports gambling legal in the state of New Jersey. My understanding of gambling in college sports was drastically upgraded by reading this article. It was an informative piece, so there was very little, if any, bias in the writing. The inclusion of statistics and legality of the topic really helped me understand why the sports organizations are hoping that the law will not pass. The shear amounts of money changing hands can lead to a lot of trouble, however for the same reason, legalizing that money could really boost economic growth. These types of pros and cons exist on both sides, making it an even tougher issue to sort out. My next source comes from a script from the testimony of Danny Sheridan before the Senate Commerce Committee on April 26, 2001. The testimony was for a hearing for the Amateur Sports Integrity Act (S. 718), which would determine the legality of gambling on college athletics. The first part of the testimony consists of Sheridan validating why his testimony should be considered by sharing his credibility and involvement in athletics. â€Å"My name is Danny Sheridan, and I have been involved with sports and the sports? promotion business for more than 25 years. I have published college and pro football? magazines, written about sports in a variety of national publications, and have been the?host of a number of sports TV and radio shows† Sheridan proclaims. Sheridan goes on to explain how he is also a friend of many high profile athletes and he knows first hand the dangers that athletic gambling has on athletes. Sheridan also includes many statistics in his argument. â€Å"An estimated 40 million Americans currently wager $6 billion illegally every weekend during the entire 20-week college and pro football season alone† (Sheridan). The testimony is concluded by Sheridan stating that he appreciates the good intentions of trying to legalize gambling, but it would instead, result in negative effects. The rhetor, Danny Sheridan, is a very well known sports industrial component, which gives his testimony (and therefore my source) credibility. He presented this to the Senate Commerce Committee in hopes to persuade them to vote against legalization of gambling on sports. The fact that this is a testimony, instead of a highly publicized article restricts the extent his message. I found the script on his website, however it isn’t an often visited site by the common Internet user, so the audience is a big constraint for this text. I found this testimony to be a great source for this project. It was interesting to read a text that wasn’t just a traditional article. My understanding for the anti gambling side grew significantly, because it was so biased. The speaker does a great job making his argument come full circle. For that reason, I came away from reading it with a slight lean towards supporting keeping gambling on sports illegal. Another interesting aspect is that this testimony was given in 2001. My previous source, about the gambling law in New Jersey, is a current issue, and the arguments made by Sheridan could simply be restated now with the same effects. It is astounding to see how such little progress has been made through the years. In the article â€Å"Study Provides New Data on the Extent of Gambling by College Athletes†, from netfiles. edu, Welch Suggs dissects a study done to determine the facts about college athletes that gamble on sports. Suggs begins by introducing the parameters of the University of Michigan study that was released by the athletic department. â€Å"The study, based on a survey of 758 football and basketball players, found that 72 percent of college football and basketball players had bet money at least once since entering college† (Suggs). The author goes on to give further statistics that the survey revealed. Welch Suggs concludes the article with opposing viewpoint quotes from NCAA employee William Saum, and former NFL player Lynn Swann. Suggs’ last statement included next shifting attention to basketball referees to gain information about their gambling experiences. This was a questionable source to say the least. It had some solid content but the article opened as a PDF and my research failed to try and find the original homepage of the website. Likewise, the author was a mystery man as well. This text was very brief, but I believe the purpose was to inform about the findings of the survey revealed by the University of Michigan athletic department. However, the audience is hard to determine because of the unknown author and questionable website. If I were to pick an audience though, I would say it was intended for the adult college sports athlete because of the language and the inclusion of quotes from Lynn Swann. This text also has massive constraints, mainly for the same reasons as stated before. The website is random and in an odd format, therefore finding Suggs’ piece would be difficult to come across. The audience is extremely limited because of this, and the credibility suffers as well. Also, it did not include dates it the article, so the exigence of the piece suffers because the provoking event of the writing cannot be identified. The facts that are stated in this article hold strong relevance for this topic. It is more of an anti gambling article based on the information it presents, but it also gives a quote of the opposite viewpoint. Numbers don’t lie, and the numbers from the study are very eye opening and convincing. It makes me think about how much gambling affects the games we love, without us even knowing. Since all the surveys were anonymous, nothing will develop in terms of punishment or solutions to the problem. In this sense, the article does a great job persuading the reader. However, nowhere in the article did it give a date of the information or of when the article was written, so it is hard to put it in context and determine the importance. This, along with the briefness of the article, made it more difficult to shape my thinking about the topic. After analyzing the four sources included in this essay, I have yet to come to a concrete conclusion. I began researching the topic with the idea that gambling on college sports should be illegal and that all the effects of illegal gambling are bad. However, my research has muddied my view a little bit, which is actually a good thing because now I am informed more then I even have been. Being informed in such a way makes me understand how this predicament has been able to linger around in our society and in our legal system for so long. There seems to be no perfect solution and neither side of the argument wants to budge. I think both sides would agree that the illegal activity that surrounds gambling is a bad thing, but the argument remains; would legalizing sports gambling have a more positive effect on unlawful activity then keeping gambling illegal? The next step for me would simply be gaining more knowledge and weighing the pros and cons of each side and coming to decision of which side to take. Until then, ill be sitting on the fence of the topic, along with most of America. What Are the Effects of Legal vs. Illegal Gambling on College Sports? I’ve been a sports fanatic since the day I was born. It didn’t matter if I was playing or watching or cheering, I just loved being around the game. I have always been very knowledgeable about it too, as I was well known and titled by extended family as â€Å"the stat man. † This of course referred to the often times erroneous and useless facts rattling around in my brain that I couldn’t help but show off. Needless to say, this topic means a lot to me, especially being a college football player myself. I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to dig deeper into a topic that has lingered in our country for years. The issues that pertain to gambling on college athletics have a vast range of opinions that stem from the questions; should gambling on college athletics be legal? What are the effects it has on the college athletes? Some argue that it will be detrimental to the game and some argue it has little to no effect, however most land somewhere in the middle. A common justification against gambling brings up the numerous scandals of players taking illegal benefits or point shaving and in extreme cases these events leading to jail or death. This side also argues that it allows players to get mixed up with the wrong crowd and put themselves in danger. Arguments for gambling site the economic reach it has in our country and the illegality will shrink the economy as well as not protect the players any more. Many people on this side think it will not be stopped so if gambling on college sports is illegalized, then every form of it will be illegal causing more trouble. My goal is to reveal those opinions and create a more complex understanding from various viewpoints, and hopefully bring a small degree of clarification to others and myself. In the article, â€Å"Even at Columbia, Gambling And College Athletics Collide† found in the New York Times, Jack Curry and Adam Gershenson enlighten the readers about the gambling infractions that occurred in a Columbia University fraternity house. The authors begin by describing the situation and basic details of the gambling process. â€Å" (They) would accept bets on sporting events from dozens of other students and then phone in the wagers — typically from $40 to $200 each — to a gambling ring based in Queens and operated by people with links to organized crime† (Curry and Gershenson). They go on to unravel the situation further by stating that there were not only college athletes betting on the games, but even current and former players living in the house that was tirelessly on the phone collecting wagers. Curry and Gershenson then discuss the further investigations done by Columbia and the NCAA and the possible disciplinary action that the offenders can face. The authors then write about the numerous amounts of sports gambling incidents in the last deca.

Declare Your Independence From Toxic Fireworks Pollution

Declare Your Independence From Toxic Fireworks Pollution It may come as no surprise that the fireworks displays that occur around the U.S. every Fourth of July are still typically propelled by the ignition of gunpowder- a technological innovation that pre-dates the American Revolution. Unfortunately, the fallout from these exhibitions includes a variety of toxic pollutants that rain down on neighborhoods from coast to coast, often in violation of federal Clean Air Act standards. Fireworks Can Be Toxic to Humans Depending on the effect sought, fireworks produce smoke and dust that contain various heavy metals, sulfur-coal compounds, and other noxious chemicals. Barium, for instance, is used to produce brilliant green colors in fireworks displays, despite being poisonous and radioactive. Copper compounds are used to produce blue colors, even though they contain dioxin, which has been linked to cancer. Cadmium, lithium, antimony, rubidium, strontium, lead, and potassium nitrate are also commonly used to produce different effects, even though they can cause a host of respiratory and other health problems. Just the soot and dust from fireworks alone is enough to lead to respiratory problems like asthma. A study examined air quality at 300 monitoring stations across the United States and found that fine particulate matter spiked by 42% on the Fourth of July, compared to the days before and after. Fireworks Contribute to Environmental Pollution The chemicals and heavy metals used in fireworks also take their toll on the environment, sometimes contributing to water supply contamination and even acid rain. Their use also deposits physical litter on the ground and into water bodies for miles around. As such, some U.S. states and local governments restrict the use of fireworks in accordance with guidelines set by the Clean Air Act. The American Pyrotechnics Association provides a free online directory of state laws across the U.S. regulating the use of fireworks. Fireworks Add to Worldwide Pollution Of course, fireworks displays are not limited to U.S. Independence Day celebrations. Fireworks use is increasing in popularity around the world, including in countries without strict air pollution standards. According to The Ecologist, millennium celebrations in 2000 caused environmental pollution worldwide, filling skies over populated areas with â€Å"carcinogenic sulfur compounds and airborne arsenic.† Disney Pioneers Innovative Fireworks Technology Not usually known for championing environmental causes, the Walt Disney Company has pioneered new technology using environmentally benign compressed air instead of gunpowder to launch fireworks. Disney puts on hundreds of dazzling fireworks displays every year at its various resort properties in the United States and Europe, and but hopes its new technology will have a beneficial impact on the pyrotechnics industry worldwide. Disney made the details of its new patents for the technology available to the pyrotechnics industry at large with the hope that other companies will also green up their offerings. Do We Really Need Fireworks? While Disney’s technological breakthrough is no doubt a step in the right direction, many environmental and public safety advocates would rather see the Fourth of July and other holidays and events celebrated without the use of pyrotechnics. Parades and block parties are some obvious alternatives.  Additionally, laser light shows can wow a crowd without the negative environmental side effects associated with fireworks. Edited by Frederic Beaudry.

Patton essays

Patton essays Millions of men died during the Second World War and each of those men, civilians or soldiers, affected the war. But only a handful of those men greatly affected the war in such a way that they, with their leadership and decisions, determined the outcome of the war. These men were the leaders in the army's involved in World War II. One of those leaders influenced the war with a 'deeply religious and very profane way, with a mixture of what some say was like fire and ice.' Earning the nickname 'Old Blood and Guts' General George S. Patton Jr. used tactics unlike any other of his time. He was an educated man who went to Virginia Military Institute and then to West Point, which he graduated from. He not only knew his history but also could retell battles that very few knew. General Patton influenced the war in such a way that he helped win the war. General Patton was widely known for his war tactics and was called a Legend in his own time. People ether hated his guts or loved him because he knew how to win battles in his own unique way. He led his men through terrain unknown to him and in some cases weather conditions that were extremely hazards. During battles like the Battle of the Bulge he led his men throw snow without the right camouflage for his men or his tanks. He studied all the Great War leaders throughout time and used many of their strategies during battle. He was well known for knowing his history and respected for his knowledge. Patton loved his job. He took risks, which could have cost the lives of all his men, but with luck and great strategy he lost less men than planned. His casualties were lower than anyone could have expected even out of him. He loved his job so much he fought unlike any other General in the American, German, Italian, or British. No one loved war or being able to command as many men as Pat ton did. General Patton pushed his men hard to make them strive for victory. He gained the name 'Old ...

German Television in North America

German Television in North America German Fernsehen in the U.S. - a Brief History NEW! The German Kino Plus movie channel is now a part of the DISH German Package! Before we look at the current German-language TV programming via Dish Network, lets review its somewhat turbulent history... The history of German television in the U.S. has been a bumpy road. In the good ol days you needed to be living east of the Mississippi and have a huge satellite TV dish in order to receive any German-language TV in the U.S. at all. But then came the digital satellite TV revolution, and I wrote about the debut of privately-owned ChannelD (D for Deutschland) in September 2001. Not long after that the German public television networks ARD, ZDF, and Deutsche Welle began beaming their GERMAN TV service to viewers in North and South America, also via satellite. Their slogan: Watch what Germany watches! (Sehen, was Deutschland sieht!) Each sat TV service charged a modest monthly subscription fee and required the purchase or rental of a dish and digital receiver. Although the two German television broadcasters used two different satellites and two different digital TV systems, it was an embarassment of riches for German-hungry TV viewers in America. But it wasnt long before dark shadows began to loom over the German TV landscape in the U.S. About a year after its debut Bremen-based ChannelD went bankrupt and closed down in late 2002. GERMAN TV was more successful, but it was also having trouble getting enough subscribers, and its efforts to get onto major cable TV systems across the U.S. were spotty at best. But GERMAN TVs programming was pretty good. Even if we really couldnt watch anything close to what Germany was really watching, we did get the genuine nightly news from ARD and ZDF, plus some popular German TV series, some movies, and other entertainment programming. Then, in early 2005, came an important breakthrough. GERMAN TV moved to the Dish Network. Now average people who didnt want a separate dish and receiver just for German could simply add GERMAN TV to their Dish subscription. True, you needed a larger SuperDish antenna, but compared to the pre-Dish situation, it was a major improvement. And it got even better when the German private TV broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Welt was added to Dishs German package in February 2005. For about $20 a month you could get both German channels. (Recently, Dish added a third German channel: EuroNews. The current package fee is $16.99/month or $186.89 annually. Separately: $14.99 for ProSieben, $9.99 for DW-TV. Prices subject to change.) But all good things must come to an end. On December 31, 2005 came the Garaus (end) for GERMAN TV. The German government was no longer willing to subsidize the ARD/ZDF/DW service. At the start of 2006 GERMAN TV was replaced with the much more modest offerings of DW-TV. The Deutsche Welle TV service broadcasts mostly news and cultural programming on the old GERMAN TV channel, alternating each hour between German and English. (More below.) The current situation can be summed up this way: DW-TV provides mostly news, and is also good for people in your home who do not understand German. There is some soccer, but mostly highlights and summaries. The new ARD/ZDF talk shows (as of May 2007) are a great improvement. ProSiebenSat.1 Welt is primarily entertainment and sports. It offers movies in German, detective series, comedy, quiz shows, etc. The news (from N24) is limited. Soccer fans will also enjoy Pro7. The new EuroNews channel is what the name says: European news in several languages, including German. (But read about the EuroNews catch on the next page.) A SuperDish antenna (an oval dish larger than the standard round dish) is required for reception of the German and other foreign-language channels. On the next page youll find a more detailed overview of the three channels in the Dish Network German Package. NEXT Programming Comparisons Programming Comparisons DW-TVThe former GERMAN TV channel on Dish Network is now the DW-TV channel. Although Deutsche Welle broadcasts worldwide in many languages (radio and TV), the version in the USA is in German and English only. Unlike GERMAN TV, which had all its programming in German, DW-TV alternates between English and German. For one hour the news and other broadcasts are in German. In the next hour the programming is in English, and so on. DW-TV focuses primarily on news, weather, and cultural information. The news broadcast Journal provides the news sports, and weather from Berlin, alternately in German and English. The news (worldwide and from Germany/Europe) is primarily aimed at viewers outside of Germany, unlike the nightly news from ARD or ZDF. Non-news shows pop up occasionally, including euromaxx (fashion, art, cinema, music, other trends), Pop Export (music made in Germany), and a few others. Earlier DW-TV hinted at possibly providing some ARD or ZDF (German public TV networks) entertainm ent programs in the future, and in May 2007 they did indeed add several German talk shows from ARD and ZDF. WEB DW-TV - USA ProSiebenSat.1 Welt (Pro7)Pro7 began broadcasting its U.S. programming in February 2005. The German commercial television network ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG was part of the Kirch Media empire until Leo Kirch went bankrupt in 2002. The network was put up for sale, but as of early 2006, the final fate of Pro7 and all its divisions was still up in the air. For American viewers the ProSiebenSat.1 Welt channel is part of Dish Networks German package. Its programming is a mix of shows from Germanys Pro7, kabel eins, N24, and Sat.1 channels. Although it can be purchased separately, the Pro7 channel makes a good complement to news-oriented DW-TV by offering viewers more entertainment and sports. All-German Pro7 has a schedule that includes talk shows, detective series, comedy shows, movies, soap operas, and quiz shows. Pro7 also features some documentary/exposà © reporting and N24 news, but its emphasis is on entertainment programing that can range from inane low-brow to quality high-brow leve ls. Although it would be interesting for American viewers, the German versions of The Simpsons, Will Grace or Desperate Housewives seen in Germany are not available on the U.S. Pro7 channel. ProSieben has plans to also be available in Canada. WEB ProSiebenSat.1 Welt NEW! As of May 2007 the German Kino Plus movie channel is now a part of the DISH German Package! More... EuroNewsIn December 2006 Dish Network added the EuroNews network to its German channel line-up. EuroNews in German is now available as part of the German package (and some other language packages). However, there is a catch to getting this new channel. Although I have a SuperDish and currently receive the German-language package, a Dish representative told me that I would need a new satellite dish in order to receive the EuroNews channel, even though it is part of the package I already have! Because the EuroNews channels come from a different satellite, I would have to pay $99.00 to install a new dish in order to receive EuroNews in German. This is not at all clear from their Web site, and I think its ridiculous for Dish to supposedly add a channel to my package that I cant get without shelling out almost a hundred dollars. If youre lucky enough to live in the right spot with a dish pointed to the right satellite, you may be able to get EuroNews in German without major extra cost. WEB EuroNewsWEB Dish Network German Package

The Impact of Digital Marketing on Consumer Behaviour Essay

The Impact of Digital Marketing on Consumer Behaviour - Essay Example This study sought to determine the influence of digital marketing on consumer buying behaviour. Specifically, this research sought to attain the following objectives: 1. To determine the change in customer buying behaviour brought about by digital marketing among internet and mobile users in the UAE market. 2. To analyse the consumers’ attitude towards interactive digital advertising. 3. To examine the academic literature related to consumer attitude and digital marketing, thereby establishing the relation between both the concepts. For a marketer, communicating with customers anywhere at any time is an essential way to effectively promote products and services. Nowadays, this type of marketing communication has been revolutionized by the development and innovation of digital technology. According to Stewart, digital technology has paved way for immediate interaction between marketers and consumers through digital advertising. In the study done by Radzeviciute & Sliburyte, it was revealed that the most common form of digital marketing tool is the short messages where photographic images can be transferred to computer, mobile phones, and online community. With this, four sub-types of digital marketing strategies were also identified and these are the internet-based and email advertising, and mobile-phone-based SMS- and MMS-type advertising. Over the years, the growth and development of digital marketing has largely been due to its precision, personalization, precision, measurability, easy targeting, and customization.

To What Extent Might the Current Approach to International Carbon Essay

To What Extent Might the Current Approach to International Carbon Reduction be Described as Neo-liberal - Essay Example The present carbon reduction approaches cannot be regarded as purely neo-liberalism since it mostly runs under market mechanisms, but is also impacted by political aspects. â€Å"Neo-liberal† is political-economic restructuring and often is called â€Å"structural adjustment programs† (Russ, 1999). Russ (1999) mentioned that â€Å"neo-liberalism has the features that include privatization, free-market, austerity, and comparative advantage.† Specific to carbon trading aspects, the features of a neo-liberal market should be as follows. First, the transaction of carbon and its related facilities, in addition to resources, should be owned by the private sector or multinational enterprises. Secondly, neo-liberalism means that the price of all factors that are related to carbon transactions should be set by the global market. These factors include market price, salaries of employments, shipping fees, etc. Last but not least, it includes the decreasing of public spendin g. This means that all services related to carbon trading shall be under market conditions and without government â€Å"interference.† The Kyoto Protocol was created for the purpose of carbon reduction emission obligations for industrial countries (Sander, 2010, P7). All the current methods are largely based on the Kyoto Protocol. Annex I countries have a goal to control carbon emissions by a certain amount at the end of the Kyoto Protocol. Thus, it gives these Annex I countries the opportunity to engage in the market of global carbon emissions. In this case, they are able to do transactions with flexible mechanisms through the Kyoto Protocol. These mechanisms include International Emissions Trading (IET), Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and Joint Implementation (JL) (Sander,... This essay declares that the present carbon reduction approaches cannot be regarded as purely neo-liberalism since it mostly runs under market mechanisms, but is also impacted by political aspects. â€Å"Neo-liberal† is political-economic restructuring and often is called â€Å"structural adjustment programs†. Russ mentioned that â€Å"neo-liberalism has the features that include privatization, free-market, austerity, and comparative advantage.† This paper makes a conclusion that specific to carbon trading aspects, the features of a neo-liberal market should be as follows. First, the transaction of carbon and its related facilities, in addition to resources, should be owned by the private sector or multinational enterprises. Secondly, neo-liberalism means that the price of all factors that are related to carbon transactions should be set by the global market. These factors include market price, salaries of employments, shipping fees, etc. Last but not least, it includes the decreasing of public spending. This means that all services related to carbon trading shall be under market conditions and without government â€Å"interference.† Trading among these countries is worth over $100 billion each year. The free market, private sectors, and international trading play essential roles in the global emissions trading scheme. The market of carbon trading effectively helps reduce carbon levels. Meanwhile, there were not any t argets set for developing countries. Fast growing economies in the developing world, such as China, India, Thailand, Egypt, and Iran, have increased their need for emissions trading.

English Class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

English Class - Essay Example The plot displays the equipments to reduce the strength and intellectual power as well as thinking abilities. It is unfair to torture any individual for the capabilities and talents. It is an act that is based on equality at the cost of humane. Courage was shown by Harrison to defy the regulations of equality, he emerged as a hero who could manage to run away from prison to challenge the government and removed all the obstructions and declared himself to be an emperor. This heroic deed is worth appreciating as it represents the right of human survival and existence. Every individual has right to lead a life the way he/ she wants and this is displayed by Harrison. The plot has some correlation with the current world, the state of affairs of Libya. The ruler is inhumane and there is no place for emotions and sacrifice in front of the dictatorship. The plot very well tried to depict the victory of courage but with a sacrifice and soon people forgot what had happened and they have to abi de by the rules and obey as commanded. In the present world where disparities exists in almost every field of human endeavor, people are becoming ruthless to be competent enough and to reach high in life.

The political party of WEST VIRGINIA (USA) Essay

The political party of WEST VIRGINIA (USA) - Essay Example The present political system of the state has been identified to have a major bearing upon the development of its socioeconomic position within the global context (Golder Associates Inc, â€Å"East Lynn Lake Coal Lease Socioeconomic Baseline Assessment and Socioeconomic Impact Analysis†). PART 1 In relation to the geographical background, West Virginia is located in the Southern region of the US and surrounded by Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and Maryland. With abundance of valuable resources to suffice the developmental needs of the state, the state has been able to grasp the attention of other neighboring states and territories within the US. From a historical perspective, the socioeconomic condition of West Virginia has long been witnessed to endure various difficulties and challenges with regard to the development of its demographics, income levels and employment statistics. Moreover, the population trends of the state can also be duly considered as one of the maj or and growing concerns towards the development of its economy. In relation to the socioeconomic development, the political conditions within the state can be recognized as more fragile in comparison to other US states. According to the present statistics, it can be apparently observed that a majority of the population, i.e. 90% are the Non-Hispanic Whites. Moreover, the present income level of the population has also been identified to face radical changes as compared to other US states. The per capita personal income of the population has been witnessed to prevail under the average income level of the other US states. West Virginia is presently standing at 50th position in respect to its economic stance in the US, which represents a slower movement of income level amid the population (Golder Associates Inc, â€Å"East Lynn Lake Coal Lease Socioeconomic Baseline Assessment and Socioeconomic Impact Analysis†). The cultural background of West Virginia demonstrates the prevalen ce of friendly and helpful environment and the maintenance of a realistic culture that eventually attracts the attention of the global population (Barker, A Study of West Virginia Values and Culture†). PART 2 The most powerful political party in West Virginia can be viewed as the Democratic Party amid the other existing political parties within the state. Primarily, the political environment of the state consists of four independent political parties including Democratic, Libertarian, Mountain and Republican. Although the Republican Party proceeded over the origin of West Virginia, the Democratic Party has been leading the state from the last few decades with efficiency. This Democratic Party is regarded as the most renowned party in West Virginia because of its striving performance in satisfying the developmental needs of the state, rather than rendering prime focus on mitigating the influence of other political parties within the state. With regard to determine the political system efficacy of West Virginia, the Governor of the state can be viewed as the primary figure of the entire political system, irrespective of partisan affiliation (Brisbin 136-148). The US and the State legislature of the Democratic Party has been currently comprising 20 Governor Political Affiliations, 19 State Senate Majority Affiliations along with 22 State House Majority Affiliations and 22 State Attorney General Political Affilia

Answer the quastions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Answer the quastions - Assignment Example The use and maintenance of these technologies in organization depends mainly on the human resources. By focusing on people, organizations ensure that all other resources in the organization, including business technologies, are fully and effectively utilized. Secondly, managing the human element ensures that organizations fully understand and modify the attitudes people have towards new technologies and the organization in general. As a result, organizations are able to understand people’s fears and concerns, thereby making necessary adjustments if needed. If people cannot embrace and accept these technologies, then the chances of an organization succeeding are greatly reduced. Finally, as businesses attempt to gain a competitive edge over their rivalries, it is prudent that focus is given to people. Nearly all organizations have access to the same technologies, and therefore no organization can effectively gain a competitive edge by focusing on technology alone. People are th erefore an important resource in any organization and consequently, this critical resource needs to be effectively managed. In the modern competitive world, having a properly managed human resource is vital to

The Ideology of Liberalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Ideology of Liberalism - Essay Example This essay discusses terminology of Industrialism, Liberalism, Socialism and Romanticism. Also it describes some societal and economic factors, that led to the birth of mentioned ideologies. Industrialism witnessed the dilution of the absolute power of the monarchy and the old aristocracy. The middle class, comprised of newly prosperous manufacturers, merchants and bankers, and professionals, used their economic strength to demand a greater role in the political structure. The tenets of early Liberalism included the belief in meritocracy, as opposed to inherited privilege, the guarantee of property and contract rights, the enshrinement of the Bill of Rights, and the rejection of state interference in the economy: a laissez-faire policy. The ideology of Socialism also had its roots in the rise of industrialism. The rise of the middle-class to economic and political prominence, and the unfettered pursuit of profit, widened the social and economic divide between the working classes and the new bourgeoisie. Romanticism, which emphasized the search for direct communication with nature, and the concept of humans as unique individuals, is another ideology which can trace its origins to the reaction of intellectuals to the materialism and mechanization of Industrialism, and to the tenets of Liberalism. In conclusion, the essay states that the ideologies, that were engendered by the Industrial Revolution continue to influence the principles which govern politics and society in the twenty-first century.

Answer the quastions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Answer the quastions - Assignment Example The use and maintenance of these technologies in organization depends mainly on the human resources. By focusing on people, organizations ensure that all other resources in the organization, including business technologies, are fully and effectively utilized. Secondly, managing the human element ensures that organizations fully understand and modify the attitudes people have towards new technologies and the organization in general. As a result, organizations are able to understand people’s fears and concerns, thereby making necessary adjustments if needed. If people cannot embrace and accept these technologies, then the chances of an organization succeeding are greatly reduced. Finally, as businesses attempt to gain a competitive edge over their rivalries, it is prudent that focus is given to people. Nearly all organizations have access to the same technologies, and therefore no organization can effectively gain a competitive edge by focusing on technology alone. People are th erefore an important resource in any organization and consequently, this critical resource needs to be effectively managed. In the modern competitive world, having a properly managed human resource is vital to

Use of cell phones in a workplace Essay Example for Free

Use of cell phones in a workplace Essay The use of mobile phones has become pervasive not only for social interaction but also in the day to day transactions. Tyrone Garage is a business where they are four (4) mechanics that travel around the country to repair customer vehicles 24 hours a day and also travel overseas to buy different car parts. Among the types of repair that Tyrone and his employees perform are tyre change or repair, tyre rotation, brake jobs, oil change , belt change etc . The use of nokia phones allow the mechanics to ommunicate with the garage, so they aware of where they are and can provide them with new customer information. The phones also allow the mechanics to communicate with customers such as getting the customer directions to their location. Although the garage and mechanics will call each other on the same network, the calls to customers will be on different networks. Tyrone Garage has a monthly plan with Digicel which includes 1500 minutes a month to be split between all the mechanics phones and this is used for communication between both the arage and the customers. Tyrone Garage employees use the nokia cell phones to set reminders of appointments that customer would have made. The nokia phones allows you to instantly check appointments you can also install an instant messaging chat whatsapp so you can communicate with an employee, or with the person you intend to meet at any time to confirm, clarify, or alter meeting details (e. g. location, time). This means that if meeting needs to be changed at the last minute, all parties involved can be informed quickly, even if on their way there. Three security features of Nokia phones that are useful to employees of Tyrone Garage are: Remote locking using SMS messages or security code Remote locking allows the device lock to be activated remotely where they will be a timing set on it where it can lock on it own. The end user themselves can do this by sending an sms from another user or sms emulator as long as a remote locking code is predefined in the terminal. Remote locking code can be from 5 to 20 characters or digits. If the device is lost the person who finds the phone still cannot activate any nformation on the phone even if they change the sim card because when they insert the new sim card and turn on the phone that person has to enter a security code before the phone is actually boot up. This feature reduces the risk of the device being stolen and increases the possibility of having the phone returned if misplaced or lost since it has the company label at the back of the phone. Call Barring This feature allows the employer to restrict all international outgoing calls from employees phone

The Evaluate Current Strategic Choice And Implications Management Essay

The Evaluate Current Strategic Choice And Implications Management Essay Strategic Management is a term that is not new, first used in the 1970s it was conceived that a team of strategic planners would come up with strategic ideas to sell to decision makers. It is all about identification and guideline used by the managers in order for the company to have a competitive edge over the competition. Joel Ross Michael Kami(Fred 2011, 35) mentioned that; Without Strategy, an organization is like a ship without a rudder, going round in circles. Its like a tramp; it has no place to go. According to Wheelen and Hunger(2006,3) A set of decisions and actions that are used to charter the performance of a corporation can be defined as Strategic management. The process of this would take into account the scanning of external and internal environmental factors, long term and strategic planning for strategy formulation as well as the implementation and evaluation and control process. Wheelen Hunger(2006,3) strongly focused on the analyzing and evaluating of external opportunities and threats compared to the companys strengths and weaknesses. A SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) analysis is an ideal tool for strategic managers to plan for both predictable and unfeasible contingencies. In the point of Dess and Miller(1993), the combination of three major interrelated activities; strategic analysis, strategic formulation and strategy implementation can be called strategic management. These activities are a continuous process that helps evaluates and controls the company and the industry it is in, benchmarks the competition and set realistic targets and strategies to meet its existing and potential competition. Lamb(1984) states that strategic management is a continuous process that evaluates and controls the business and industries the company is in; it also assesses the competitors to set goals and strategies then reevaluates them every quarterly or annually to decide on the implementation of the strategy is successful. It then reevaluates the if there is any new factors such as technology, competition, economic market, social, financial and even political environment that can be used to create a new strategy. As a summary, Strategic Management and Planning is the understanding of the process of strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation. For company an organization to gain the edge over its competition regardless of size, scale; each organization needs to have a well planned strategic management in order to strive and compete in the market while optimizing its potential for tomorrows trends of today. Background of company The birth of Singapore Airlines was from Malaysian Air Limited where it first started in 1947, because of political reasons, the company was renamed to Malaysia-Singapore Airlines and finally the company split its shares to Malaysian Airlines System and Singapore Airlines in 1972 on which Singapore Airlines is owned by Singapore state owned investment house; Tamasek Holdings Singapore Airlines was forced to focus on the international market that was subjected to intense competition because there was no domestic route available to after the separation. The difficult start of was one of the factors that drove Singapore Airlines driving spirit to compete and dedication to branding. It started the branding strategy by engaging a French haute-couture designer in 1972 to come up with a special version of the Malay Sarong Kebaya for the airline stewardess uniform and adopting a branding Singapore Girls that provide top quality in-flight hospitality. This feature became one of the most recognized signatures for Singapore Airlines. The marketing strategy was accompany by background lobbying effort to talk country in granting access to its airport and dedication to its human resource management by investing 20million on training facilities. This was paid off at 1973 when the airline was ranked third in the Far East Asian region. The company then are force to conduct cost cutting program to struggle with surge of oil price on 1973~1977. Surviving this, in 1977 the airlines joint operation with British Airway to provide Concord jet service between Singapore and London, the service was terminated in 1980. This however was deem a marketing success as Singapore Airline were make famous around the globe with this achievement. At the same period, new Changi Airport was constructed, leading to a higher service standard being provided by Singapore Airline. This has paid off and Singapore Airlines were the top preference in Asia-Pacific Region in 1981. The airline follows a steady internal growth strategy in the 1980s, expanding its size, renewing fleet and adding route. SIA was privatised on 1985, listing on Singapore stock exchange with Temasek Holding owning a 63% initially and gradually reduced to 54% in 2008. During 1990s, the company follows a more aggressive growth pattern, two subsidiaries were form in 1992, Silk Air to close the gap between its route networks and cater to a lower cost market segment, SIA Engineering is form to increase productivity and pursuit better business opportunity. Globalisation in the 1990s have also prompt the airline to expand overseas, invest in other airline company and forming new subsidiary in other country to provide better support on is airlines. The Asia financial crises at the end of 1990s prompt the airline to review its operation cost again, cutting down on not profitable route. [St James Press, 1999]. Against conventional wisdom, the company have utilized its strong financial resources during financial crisis to make capital investment, spending 300million to renovate cabins of its aircraft. This had benefit the airlines as the price level during the crisis is low and the airlines have more bargaining power over its supplier [Scott, 2008]. Till date, Singapore Airlines group of companies provide passenger and cargo air transportation, airport terminal services, aviation engineering services, training of pilots, air charters and tour wholesales and related activities. As of March 2009, the group have 31,834 employee, posted a revenue of SGD 15,996 million. The airlines also operate route on 36 countries with 66 destinations and 726 weekly flights. The performance of Singapore Airlines at the beginning of year 2009 was severely hit by the economic downturn and pre-purchase fuel priced hedge at high level before the financial crisis [SIA annual report 08/09]. Recent health crisis like bird flu, H1N1 had also affected the travel industry which the airline is operating in. Organisational structure SIAs organisation is divided primarily by function and has disadvantages of low responsibility at bottom level staff and compartmentalize on manager. To tackle this, SIA have a flatten organisation chart with few level of hierarchy within the organisation, this allows autonomy and create a more flexible and dynamic business that empower people to make decision and leads to job enrichment. The company also promotes independences and encourage senior staff to train and allow junior staff to made decision. To tackle problem of job compartmentalize, non technical manager are rotated on jobs and allows them to have a broader picture. The management of SIA also stress on importance of maintaining good and healthy work culture inside the organisation. Team works is place on high importance by the company. As the company have established sales office in over 80 countries, it had divided the sales operation by geographical area. To tackle problem on management control, the company had placed the focus point on end results objective allowing site manager to exercise flexibility and made adjustment based on situation. Full authorities had been given to its overseas regional general manager allowing decision to make quickly in respond to local issue and customize business operation to suit local climate [Times 100, undated.]. The company used organic growth strategy and stress on profitability rather than size, this allow slow and steady growth and leader to be groom properly. In general, the organisational structure of SIA is decentralise encourages autonomy allowing quick response to business treat and opportunity which is crucial in the airline industry which are very fast and dynamics. 4.0 Analysis of External Environment 4.1 Political The political environment of Singapore is stable with its dominant political party Peoples Action Party (PAP) controlling the government since the independence. Singapore government has allowed the freedom in corporate governance and has little set restrictions to the industry. Singapore Airlines make 90% of the decision on its own and has only influence the appointment of the director over the company (Sikorski, 1995). Singapore Airlines was allowed to stress on profit in comparison with public or social responsibility and was even backed by the government during its retrenchment practice during the economical crisis. (Sikorski, 1995) With a strong foreign policy that maintains good relationship with 175 countries, Singapore has a particular good relationship with huge economical countries such as France, United Kingdom, and Germany. It also has a mutual free trade agreement between Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, United States of America and recently with China in 2008. With Singapore signing the Gulf Cooperation Council-Singapore Free Trade Agreement in December 2008, it embarks to build strong ties with the middle east countries as well. Singapore is a stable base for the operations for SIA comparing itself to other regions in the Asia Pacific that have seen unrest over the recent years. Terrorism alerts affected some countries in the Asia region with India(2008) and Pakistan(2009) hit with the lost of hundreds of life. The tourism industry for Thailand was affected in 2008 during the protest and heavy floods as well as the Tsunami event that happened in Langkawi, Malaysia as well as Thailand that affected the influx of tourist there. There was also the riots in China and the Korean Missile crisis that effect the Singapore Airlines to re-route its flight to other locations. 4.2 Economic Financial Crisis in 2007 affected many countries over the world that brought recessions to most of the affected countries. This slum lasted through 2008 that made the global financial institutions very cautions on its loans of money and many companies had to underwent a cost cutting measure to stay afloat. The IMF predicted the regeneration of the world wide economy by 2009 and it the up market trend has steadily grown from there. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) also contributed to promote Singapore as a destination for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions). In SGD 90 Million BOOST (Building on Opportunity to Strengthen Tourism) program was launched in February 2009 and was followed up in October with an announcement for a new Tourism Compass 2020 roadmap to grow tourism 2015, with the goal to set Singapore as the leading city for MICE (STB,12 Oct2009). The growth was further spurred by the building of two integrated resort projects, Marina Bay Sand and Resort World at Sentosa. Singapore has also continued to host the Formula One Night Race and with all this factors surely has a positive impact for the travel and tourism sector for the country. 4.3 Social Cultural Singapores population comprises of more then 75% Chinese, followed by Malay and Indian; the main religion of the country is Buddhism, Islam, Christian, Taoism and Hinduism. Having a rich Asian culture in the country, Singapore is one of the most westernized countries within Asia. With the growing China economy and its open door policy; Singapore has landed a great pool of foreign labor arriving from China. This in return has created a cultural conflict among many Singaporeans. With a highly diversified culture with close to 35% of its population is non citizen residing in the country, (25% of is foreigner and 10% are permanent resident); Singapore can be considered as an immigrant country. Although having high non-citizen to citizen ratio, the country never stops to promote foreign talent and believes that if the immigrant policy were to be stopped, Singapore would face a shortage of quality labor. Having a strong Chinese influence over its working culture that has made it a culture of high in power distance with the lower employees accepting the subordinates positions that seldom questions the managements decisions. The working culture also stresses on good team work and maintaining group harmonies. (Warnstam,2007). This has made Singapore to become a very cooperative employee to employer relationship and its labor union is in good terms with companies throughout. 4.4 Technology The growth in the usage if Internet around the globe has prompted the growth of customized web addresses to be used around the world. This has also given the potential for the usage of Chinese characters to form the web address (Choe,Oct 2009). With the emergence of such technological advancement, the electronic devices has also evolved to become more portable with increased performance and now almost every household in Singapore would have a portable laptop, hand phone and digital cameras loaded with personalized music, games , photo and video. The growth of such technology has prompt an expansion of innovation over the past decade. The development of high speed networks and compression has allowed faster transfer of data and transfer rate, resulting in the availability to have high quality real time video conferencing with people around the globe from the office or even without leaving the house. This has made it a very good substitute for companies to use instead of having to send its employees for business travelling. (Yu, 23 Jun 2009). 5.0 Evaluate Current Strategic choice and implications 5.1 Analysis of Current Strategic Position 5.1.1 Financial position Singapore Airlines has maintained its profit over the years, the group has maintained its profit even through the 2008 financial crisis. After the growth in 2009 the group assets are worth SGD 22.04 million and debt of SGD 1.077million with an equity debt ratio of 0.08. With a general reserve of SGD 11.264 million the company is poised to be able to sustain its operations in any case of crisis. (SIA, Annual report 2012) 5.1.2 Product position Carrier RPK (Million) SIA 90,128 Cathay Pacific 90,975 Qantas 99,176 Total of   AAPA member 550,014 Table 1 Comparison of RPK Airlines market size can be measure by Revenue Passenger-Kilometer (RPK). Having based in Asia Pacific region, SIA, Cathay Pacific and Qantas all falls into the same category of medium cost, developed airlines. These airlines have similar offering and price level. It can be seen that SIA, Cathay and Qantas have market share of similar size [AAPA, 2009]. The company is ranked number two in Skytrax Best airline award; the airline is in the top five ranking for 10 out of the 12 award Skytrax have. The airline has the Best 1st Class and best in-flight catering award in 2009. The only part the company dont have a ranking is on the airport lounge service [Skytrax, 2009]. 5.1.3 Marketing capability The initial distribution of SIA is mainly by the travel agents or through internet bookings, SIA has come a long way by providing a ticketless system for its passengers that even allows boarding as well even for connecting flights with its partner airlines (SIA,2009). SIA also engages social networking website in Facebook though quite limited in its presence. This is a drawback with the current trend of younger generation who associates more with social networking sites. Another factor that is a slight disadvantages for Singapore Airlines is that the domain www.sia.com and www.sia.com.sg is not owned by Singapore Airlines, but to counteract this, they company has engaged to actively publish itself as the preferred search referee if anyone searches for SIA online. SIA has also made good placement in the search engine for using the key world Singapore airlines and Air Ticket Singapore which prompts SIA at the top of the search list. 5.1.4 Organizational structure The organization is divided by function and the disadvantages of low responsibility for the employees at the bottom as well as the compartmentalization on the managers. To overcome this, SIA has flat organization chart with few hierarchical levels for its organizations, this enables autonomy and create a more flexible but yet dynamic business that empowers its people to make decisions and lead to better job satisfaction. The promotion of independence and encouraging its senior employees to train and give chances to the junior personnel to make decisions are a key factor for SIA. Non technical management personnel are rotated on jobs and this gives them to have a broader perspective for the job. This is further strengthening by the stress on the importance of having a good and healthy work culture for the company. Great importance is stressed on having good team spirit. To overcome sales operation issue, SIA has focused on end results while giving its site managers to exercise flexibility to make necessary changes based on the situations. The full power is given to its overseas regional general manager to ensure fast response time for local issues and a more localized business operation to site the climate. The company focuses on the growth strategy that focuses more on profitability rather than size, thus allowing slow and steady growth with chances for leaders to be groomed properly. In general, the organisational structure of SIA is decentralise encourages autonomy allowing quick response to business treat and opportunity which is crucial in the airline industry which are very fast and dynamics. 5.1.5 Human Resources SIA has a strong emphasis on human resources. The requirements for entry level to the company is only for diploma holders are accepted, these employee would then go through the recruitment process. After the appointment, these cabin crew is trained for 15 weeks, 2 times longer the industrial standards. The SIA employees have a 6 month probation that needs to be reported continuously by their supervisor with a confirmation rate of 75% while 20% will be on extension. These trainings are changed periodically to adjust to show the customers expectations. While on the job, the employees are also required to engage in various voluntary community services, arts and cultural activities. Refresher courses will be available for employees allowing 3 to 4 days per year, this is a form of motivation for the employees to engage in self learning and the employees will be accountable for their own growth and development. Results from these stringent training has been obvious by producing Stewardess that have high esteem, motivated and capable in handling the customers in the companys best interest (Heracleous and Wirtz. 2009). The focus on talent form within the company, the company focuses on development of the human capita given training spending of SGD100million for its employees. The company also offers scholarship programs for recruiting management trainees from the universities. 5.1.6 Condition of facilities and equipment Having one of the newest fleets in the world, with an average age of 6 years, Singapore Airlines is one of the most updated planes compared to the worldwide average of 15 years (Prystay, 28 Aug 2009). By adopting the newest planes and technology this impacts in the reduction of maintenance and petrol cost. Other than that, SIA also went through an upgrading of its plane cabins to provide customers with the most updated entertainment systems and a better seating arrangement. Training equipment for its pilots is also provided from the SGD 1 million flight simulator that is capable of simulating the high altitude scenario. SIA also updated its training center in 1999 to ensure the recruitment is capable to facilitate a better and efficient training environment. Overall the airlines does have a great training faclilities for its personnel as well as their commitment to bringing top quality service with a strong financial background but because of the financial crisis in 2008 and the lack of demand over supply, SIA is laden with excess aircraft that has not been utilized. 5.1.7 Past objective and strategies SIA corporate level uses a diversified strategy whereby it expands its business to airline catering, airport terminal services as well as into aircraft maintenance. These dual strategy in cost leadership and differentiation enables SIA to have excellent cost efficient service through high business efficiency. SIA has secured its high business competence through the execution of five organizational systems. The first is the structured service development and design that allocates dedicated departments for its enhancement of service and thorough testing to ensure that there will be a quality service that will be able to meet the latest customers expectations. Second is the focus on consumer trends over the years, with a specific department that monitors closely to ensure that innovation is tailor to focus on improving and enabling a cost effective and highly productive service innovation. The focus will also be on the companys weak point, adapting the best practices from other successful developments while reducing the cost and risk involved for the innovation. The third set is the focus on a profit conscious culture, with the education of its personnel on the priority of profit and customer satisfaction. SIA also focuses on a reward based system that gives proper recognition to employees based on their performance to encourage team work and productivity while reducing wastage. The fourth is the goal for the organization to achieve success through the diversification and infrastructure of its subsidiaries. These integration allows the focus and control that will enhance the knowledge while reduction of cost at the same time. The management of its subsidiaries is based on a clear expectation that enables the subsidiaries to be subjected to market discipline. The last focus for the company is the development of its personnel through training and development while encouraging the development of a direct self continuous learning system to boost their self esteem. The overall strategies that SIA has adopted has made the company to have a high competence core with the overall ability to achieve a differential offering through exceptional levels of efficiency (Heracleous et al 2009) 6.0 Strategic Potential Justifications Choices for strategy for SIA should be based on the logical elements for the process and have a central role. The company should focus their choices of strategy through based on the internal and external factors while taking into account its core competency to strive for profitability and service excellence of its personnel. Strategic Choices for Singapore Airlines Business Level Strategy Corporate Level Strategy Direction and Method of Development Strategy for competitive advantage Adhere to government regulation and satisfaction Internal training and development Profit measurable success for strategies Diversification in market Creation of value added services to gain competitive advantage 6.1 Business Level Strategy Price Based Strategy This strategy takes into consideration of the product to price to gain a competitive advantage. There are many low cost airlines company as of this moment that is conducting business in the Asia region. This causes the market to be very competitive and Singapore Airlines is one of such company that faces challenges. Low cost airline companies such as Air Asia is one of the competitors that are focusing on the usage of price based strategy to capture a market share in the current market. Justification: Acceptable and feasible pricing strategy: The focus for the price based strategy is important as the current completion from the low cost airlines also focuses on the same routes of travel while providing a lower air fare. One of such routes traveled is from Singapore to Bangkok, from this example, Air Asia is selling its seats for a round trip for a price of $150 while compared to SIA that cost $500. Because of this the company is losing money as customer trends are now slowly switching over the low cost seats. http://htmlimg1.scribdassets.com/4abs74bzsw9yk25/images/16-b0f782e011.jpg 4.2 Corporate Strategy Direction Policy Matrix Used to measure the health of the industry for the Asian regions and the capabilities of Singapore Airlines. Below is the representation of Singapore Airlines in comparative to Air Asia ad MAS in the Asian Region. http://htmlimg1.scribdassets.com/4abs74bzsw9yk25/images/17-978ec5a00e.jpg Source: Johnson G, Scholes K. 2005. P 320 Justification: Acceptability Feasibility of Directional Policy Matrix From the analysis it can be seen that the market positing of Singapore Airlines is aimed towards the middle business class strength that offers a highly attractive market. The bargaining power, threats for substitute and competitive rivalry is high for the Singapore Airlines. In the event of a cost increase for jet fuel to USD 115/barrel, the supplier has the upper hand the the treat of substitute is potentially high for the market. For this the feasibility and acceptance of a directional policy matrix for Singapore Airlines is High. 6.3 Directional and Method of Development TOWS Matrix Through the analysis of the internal and external environment, the generation of a TOWS based matrix. This will enable Singapore Airlines to focus on the strategic options available to cater for any potential changes or adapt strategies to further strengthen its market share while limiting its weakness. http://htmlimg2.scribdassets.com/4abs74bzsw9yk25/images/18-6f7d0e3282.jpg Suing the strength and opportunity for Singapore Airlines, there is potential for market diversification. To overcome the potential treats, SIA can have a merger or acquisition with certain airline companies. Avoidance of weakness for Singapore Airlines can adopt a cost leadership strategy. The airlines can develop their internal factors to avoid the treats and weaknesses. Justification Diversification: The current airline industry for the Asian region is highly competitive. There are many airline operations in the region and one of such competition comes from the low cost airline Air Asia. Air Asia flies twice daily from Malaysia to Guangzhou. Currently Air Asia has 86 routes that offers no frills service and has garnered wide recognition from the china market comparing to Singapore Airlines which has 88 destinations in 38 countries. Singapore Airlines would need to strengthen and diversify its market by planning out more feasible routes to high business locations and take a competitive advantage though expansion of the Asian market. Merger and Acquisition: Singapore Airlines needs to have a strong understanding on its competition and to avoid the treats they possess. With their strong financial background, the potential for merger and acquisition is a great choice for Singapore Airlines. Currently there are two national carriers that are seeking to limit Singapore Airlines to access their home market thus slowing down the growth for the airline. Because of this Singapore airlines joined the Star Alliance to take advantage of its international strategy. This is also boosted by the investment of SIA groups into China and India to ensure strategic alliances with the local organizations for their cargo divisions, airport services, enginnering and catering. Internal Development During the previous years, Singapore Airlines recorded a low asset turnover ration in comparison with its competitors. Because of this, the weaker asset turnover ratio has a potential to show that the companies ineffectiveness to utilize the assets to generate profit and will eventually lead to the decline in the groups growth. Singapore Airlines can adapt to this by using better use of information technology to enhance its services to the customers and gain back better response and efficiency. Singapore Airlines website is now one of the most advance and user friendly in the industry that offers the customers to check their schedules, buy tickets, check in and manage their accounts as well as even choosing the meal for their flights. Because of this value added service, the company is able to further maintain its market share and slowly cover up the losses by creating a portal for customers and potential clients to interact with Singapore Airlines. The efficient use of IT has proven to significantly reduce the cost and enhance service levels for Singapore Airlines. Conclusion Singapore Airlines is the national carrier for Singapore and is one of the industry leaders in Asia. Currently the operations route carries Singapore Airlines to South East Asia, East Asia, Europe, Middle East and the Australia. The analysis for the external factors indicates that Singapore Airlines does face some barriers due to the international economic and political sector. The prices of oil over the years have been very volatile and would play a major impact on the profitability of the airline industry. Other than that with some ups and downs in the economy and the growth of high speed networks through the usage of information technology has played an impact for the overall performance in the airline industry in general with people become less mobile while still being able to work with their counterparts across the globe. The internal factors with the successful branding of Singapore Airlines is one of the drawing factors that is able to sustain its competitive edge as well as w ith strong management background that ensure a quality of service for its customers gives the company its core competencies. For Singapore Airlines to keep evolving towards the new market trends, the company should take into account the internal and external surroundings.