Made to Order Babies

Imagine sitting down at a table and being handed a menu, but this is no ordinary menu to order food off of. No, this menu is at a medical clinic and it’s the menu to your new customized â€Å"designer baby†. Technology has advanced so much in the past couple years that this situation could happen very soon. If not in your lifetime, then in that of your children’s. What is a â€Å"designer baby†? It’s exactly as the words imply; a baby genetically modified to what the parents call â€Å"the perfect baby†. Today, the sex of the baby, the hair color, and the eye color can all be modified to the choice of the parent. And soon other things will be possible, such as modifying genetic defects in a baby. All of this would probably sound very appealing to someone that is just being introduced to the topic, but what about the side effects? Are there any? Is there any possibility that the baby will come out harmed or with some other defect that was caused by a â€Å"modification†? There are no answers for these questions, because even scientists and doctors do not know. So, should society take the risk of harming innocent babies to try and create â€Å"the perfect baby†? No, we should not. The â€Å"designer baby† is immoral and should be illegal. Nobody knows the side effects of modifying a baby, not even the scientists who conduct the research. Not only physical side effects, but also emotional and societal side effects. We do not know how society would perceive a genetically modified human. Procedures that are done to modify a baby include terminating some embryos. There are a lot of people who would see this action as immoral. If there are riots outside of clinics because they think of abortion as being immoral, those same people would most likely riot in protest to â€Å"designer babies†. There is also the question as to what will happen once everyone is â€Å"perfect† and â€Å"perfectly modified†. What will these â€Å"perfect† people think of those who already have genetic defects? They may think of them as inferior, and look down on them. That could lead to a new type of â€Å"genetic† discrimination (Baird 12-16). If laws were made against being able to design babies, then we would not have to worry about these problems. In 2009 an article titled Designing Rules for Designer Babies was published in the Scientific American magazine. The article says: In the U. S. , no binding rules deter a private clinic from offering a menu of traits or from implanting a woman with a collection of embryos. Physicians who may receive more than $10,000 for a procedure serve as the sole arbiters of a series of thorny ethical, safety and social welfare questions (29). With no binding laws or rules to this, some doctors will do the procedures just to get the money. It would definitely bring up questions about the doctors morals and if he/she really cares about their patients. Take, for example, Nadya Suleman, whom was implanted with genetically altered embryos. The doctor implanted her with a collection of six embryos. Two of those embryos split, making her pregnant with eight children. It does make everyone question her, but also the doctor. Did he take into account that she already had six children? Did he consider her financial status? (Designing Rules 29) Another question to ask is; how far do we go in â€Å"designing† our babies? The same article from Scientific American gives a perfect example of a situation that could happen: We could get carried away â€Å"correcting† perfectly healthy babies. Once we start down the slippery slope of eliminating embryos because they are diseased, what is to stop us from picking babies for their physical or psychological traits? What if this does happen? We could create a whole new generation based on what traits are the best for someone, or how knowledgeable everyone should be. In doing this, are we not doing the same thing Hitler tried to do; create the perfect humans? It didn’t get him very far, and won’t get society anywhere today. Some might say that designing a baby would be a great thing. That we could cure diseases and disorders before the baby is even born. But when a baby is â€Å"designed to get â€Å"rid† of disease and disorders, there are embryos that are killed in order to find â€Å"the perfect baby†. It could be considered the same thing as abortion. Our technological advances in the past couple years have greatly enhanced ociety. There are also technologies that will harm society. The â€Å"designer baby† is one of those technologies. It sounds very appealing to be able to create the child that you have always wanted, but we have always said that we were created the way we are for a reason, and we should keep saying that. No one knows the side effects of creating our babies, they could come out monsters f or all we know. If laws were put into effect against the â€Å"designer baby†, then we would be safe from these â€Å"monsters†.

Russia & Economy

Since attaining her independence in the early 1990’s Russia can pride herself in emerging as a middle economy which has registered an average annual economic growth rate of 6. 5%. This is largely attributed to her embracing a free market economy to replace the earlier central command approach. The World Bank notes that this economic growth has seen the number of people living in extreme poverty reduced. Trade especially exports of natural resources for instance oil and gas blended with stability in the macroeconomic policies adopted can be blamed economic achievement.However, there are major challenges that threaten this success story. The need for diversification of the economy, adoption of environmental conservative measures like the fight against deforestation has intensified in the increasingly globalized economy. Various non governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as international institutions have played a significant role in ensuring that this goal is attained. In the process, losers as well as winners have emerged. Many NGOs have been at the forefront to chip in their devoted efforts to resolve the deforestation problem in Russia.World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Russia, an environmental based organization advocates for sustainable forestry in Russia. In the recent times global warming issues have intensified and are a cause of concern due to the effects on climate change. (WWF, 2009). WWF Russia has intensively ensured that this information is disseminated across Russia. It adopts collaborative measures with the owners of the forests as she works to realize this goal. The objective is to ensure that CO2 emissions, a greenhouse gas responsible for global warming are reduced.WWF highlights the effects of deforestation on wildlife as well as on human beings. It advocates for responsible forestry especially in the timber trade. WWF Russia is also committed to ensuring that the Russian artic and the wildlife there are also conserved. The biodiversity of th e Northern Caucasus region must be protected from deforestation, wild fires and poaching if the wildlife contained there is to remain unharmed. In this regard, WWF Russia ensures that companies control their spillage or observe safe or responsible waste management practices.It also encourages responsible fishing. Joint efforts are vital if this goal is to be attained. WWF Russia advocates for ‘the protection of water sheds as well as the limited soil disturbances to ensure positive effects on the timber harvested’. (WWF, 2009). Another important environmental NGO is Green Peace which also advocates for conservation of forests. Green Peace has registered success by reducing the felling of trees especially in the North Western parts as well as the Russian Far East regions. (Greenpeace)In addition to the environmental organizations, there are human rights organizations like Indem foundation which have been committed towards promoting democracy in Russia. This is done throu gh collaborative efforts with the civil societies, public officials as well as government organizations. Major issues addressed by Indem include anti corruption, issues of international cooperation, reforms in the government and the political arena as well as justice assistance. This NGO tries to ensure that people know their rights and follow the right procedures to have them respected. (Indem Foundation, 2005).International institutions like the EU and the World Bank have also played a significant role in influencing Russia. The World Bank highlighted the need to ensure diversification of the economy to allow equitable growth while reducing the poverty levels. In an effort to ensure that Russia moved with the modern times where globalization is enhanced the World Bank created a 3 year strategy. The main objective in the strategy adopted would be to ensure sustained growth, improved management especially in public led institutions, increased social services as well as increased rol e of the nation at a global level.Russia was expected to participate in global activities like assisting the less developed countries. (World Bank, 2009). Among the ways in which Russia can diversify her economy is through the promotion of agriculture. This sector is however faced by many challenges like excess use of chemicals, wrong choice of crops as well as extreme or excess farming. Another important industry is forestry which has also faced a lot of problems in the recent past. Exploitative foreign companies and criminal organizations have negative effects on the forestry industry.Other challenges include wild fires, pests as well as pollution from the industries. (Library of congress, 2006). Russia showed her interests in registering with World Trade Organization in 2005, a move that was expected to place her at a competitive edge in as far as her economic growth and development are concerned. However her failure to adhere to the stipulated rules for instance strict adherence to intellectual property rights sees her blocked from admission by some great economies for instance the US.(Palmer D, 2009). This has seen different bodies in Russia advocating for a change in how people perceive intellectual property rights. The need to view them as an investment has now become vibrant. Russia is a member of the EU, another international organization and she continues to accrue related gains. There are certain rules to be followed by all members of the EU community. Russia collaborates with the EU to modernize the economy, on security matters, international relations as well as on regional cooperation. (EC)In an effort to strike a balance between the economical, environmental as well as social interests the forest owners will be losers. This is attributed to the fact that they will forego their financial gains as they adhere to the harvesting. The society will gain as a whole as the adverse effects of global warming will be reduced in a safer environment. Russia has also gained from the globalization process especially in her trading activities with the larger EU region. The poor and marginalized in Russia who forms approximately 20% of the population have also emerged as winners in the globalization process.(World Bank, 2009). This is attributed to the fact that international organizations like the World Bank have been committed to change their plight. World Bank has been involved in collaborative research activities to find ways of how more jobs can be created. It also assists in health care provision by offering equipment as well as in preventive approaches to curb diseases. World Bank also shows commitment to boost Russia’s education, fight against corruption as well as acquire a safe environment. (World Bank, 2009).There are many governmental as well as non governmental organizations that affect Russia’s performance in the global environment. These organizations may have a direct impact on the Russians for instance those that empower the human capital while others may indirectly affect man for instance those based on natural resources like wildlife and forests. Regardless of the direct or indirect impact these organization lead to the emergence of losers as well as winners in the society. All in all, the benefits of globalization are enormous and ought to be embraced as no country is self sufficient.References: Doug Palmer. 2009. Russia's WTO bid still faces big U. S. obstacles. Reuters. Retrieved on 9th April 2009 from http://www. canada. com/news/world/Russia+still+faces+obstacles/1453371/story. html EC. The European Union and Russia. Retrieved on 9th April 2009 from http://ec. europa. eu/external_relations/library/publications/russia_brochure07_en. pdf Greenpeace. The Russian Forests. Retrieved on 9th April 2009 from http://archive. greenpeace. org/comms/cbio/russia. html. INDEM Foundation. 2005. Retrieved on 9th April 2009 from http://www.indem. ru/en/index. shtml Library of Congress – Fe deral Research Division. 2006. Country Profile: Russia, October 2006. Retrieved on 9th April 2009 from http://lcweb2. loc. gov/frd/cs/profiles/Russia. pdf. WWF 2009. Reducing climate change in Russia through sustainable forestry. Retrieved on 9th April 2009 from http://www. panda. org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/russia/index. cfm? uProjectID=RU0130 Wwf Pskov Model Forest Project. Retrieved on 9th April 2009 from http://www. svo. se/episerver4/dokument/sks/engelska/Swedish_Russian/PMF%20 Brochure_ENG. pdf

Central America Essays - Nicaraguan Revolution, Free Essays

Central America Central America, just south of Mexico and North of Panama, consists of just six countries; Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Of those six, all share a distinct common history except for Belize. Belize for one is incredibly small, and while Spanish is the official language of other Central American countries, in Belize English is spoken. So throughout this paper as I carelessly say 'Central American' I am not including Belize whose history and development was far different than the others. Although Central America is located close to the United States in relation to the Eastern Hemisphere, our ways of life are indescribably different. When we discuss Poverty in the United States many of us, including myself, don't really know what 'poverty' is. It seems like only a select few are afflicted by it here and programs like Welfare and Food Stamps (with varying degrees of success) seem to lessen the effects. In Central America when one speaks about 'poverty' he/she is including a large proportion of the population. One measure of poverty is the earning power of an individual. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is a measure of income is around $12,000 in the United States. In Central America on the other hand, the wealthiest Country, Costa Rica, came in at just under $2000. Distortion plays a role on the $2000 also, due to the fact the the elite-rich have an enormous concentration of wealth and land ownership, the real GDP of the poorer half of the population is around $200-$400 a year (Pg 10, Booth and Walker). Accompanying poverty or as a result is poor or unavailable education, health care, and an extremely bad job market. Government 'for the people and by the people is not present is Central America'. What is present is a corrupt military- big business conglomerate which cares little or none for the common people. The military is responsible for enforcement, which includes death squads, torture, and public execution. The big businesses who are able to extract an endless supply of 'minimum wage' labor, amass great wealth but instead of reinvesting it locally, most invest overseas or in capital intensive labor whereby local jobs are eliminated. Taking all this into effect and the fact that social classes and living conditions of many Central Americans are deteriorating rapidly leads some to rebellion. Some have taken a path of Passive rebellion. This can be seen in literature and popular music which questions the government. Others exercise their right to vote (even if it doesn't really matter because the results are fraudulently attained). For example, "the 1974, 1978, and 1982 presidential elections in Guatemala were all fraudulently manipulated by military regimes "(Pg 109, Booth and Walker). Others take a more active stance. During times of increased repression by the government many coalitions and reform-aimed organizations were formed. Many were actively involved in large-scale marches, labor strikes, and transportation boycotts. A little more on the radical side are the Guerilla groups. Composed mostly of peasants fed up with the government who see no other way than violence. This guerilla groups have special ties to the community. Many times they visit villages explaining their cause hoping to recruit new guerrillas. The typical guerilla varies from young to old, male to female. The Guerillas are a most important part of rebellions but they are not effective alone. Their effectiveness is increased greatly when they develop formal links with outside organizations and have strong popular support. An example of popular support occurred in Guatemala where peasants would fight alongside the guerillas, greatly increasing their number. The Catholic Church was activity involved in rebellion also. They helped to organize community and labor groups for the people (Christian base communities). These groups gave people the inspiration and mass power to combat the government. Although the Catholic clergy did not fight violently alongside the guerillas, their lives were at risk, and some were taken. A situation that combines all these ideas happened not too long ago in Nicaragua. All the hardships discussed earlier were present : extreme poverty, corrupt government, and worsening of conditions, driving many to rebellion. The early 70's was a time where, unions were repressed, wages were set by the military regime, inflation was 10%, and 13% of the working class was un/under employed (compared to 5-6% in the United States). This set the stage for the 1973-1975 'revitalization of labor movement' which included strikes, stoppages, and organization of labor unions. Christian Base Communities began to spring up, whose goal was better urban services and housing. This

Research Methodology Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Methodology - Research Paper Example Introduction Violence in the schools is recognized to be one of the major issues in terms of social malpractice. Violence in the schools not only affects students in the processes of their learning and well-being but also has a long-term impact on their later life as well as achievements. Violence in the schools unfavorably affects the behavior of the victim students. There are various ways through which violence can be committed in schools. The most commonly identified school violence acts include bullying, gang violence, assault and slapping among others (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). The violent acts in schools may lead to homicide incidents and injuries which undesirably tend to influence the psychological as well as physical health of victim students. In this regard, certain procedures or methods should be adopted with the intention of mitigating the issue of violence in the schools. There are various research methodologies or approaches which can be used to recognize violent acts executed in schools and determine procedures on the basis of which these uncalled-for acts can be mitigated or prevented. The research methodologies or approaches which can be adopted in this proposed research study will assist in identifying violence in the schools and devising appropriate measures to eliminate or lessen these issues. There are various types of research approaches which include qualitative research method, quantitative research method, inductive approach and deductive approach. Moreover, these research approaches aid in drawing findings on the basis of the analysis of collected data. Data can be collected through two procedures which entail primary as well as secondary data collection methods (University of Bradford, 2012). Prevailing Preventive Measures in Place A number of school authorities have formulated various forms of prevention plans and procedures with the intention of averting or minimizing school violence. The various prevention plans which are formulated and implemented by schools are as follows: Developing Safe and Responsive School Climate Many authorities of schools have initiated and followed certain specific plans with the intention of offering better school climate for students. These schools have adopted classroom management and conflict resolution programs in order to mitigate violence. These programs have facilitated schools in providing better education and learning environment for students (Skiba, Boone, Fantanini, Wu, Strussell & Peterson, 1999). Early Identification and Early Intervention for Students At-Risk for Violence Administrators of schools and teachers should identify any possibilities related to violence at an early stage so that these issues can be mitigated promptly without any delay before the actual occurrence of violence. Upon the identification of any kind of alienated behaviors amid students, they should be offered with adequate mentoring as well as counseling supports in order to minimize or decrease their aggressive behavior. In this respect, the students are likely to develop a self-esteem and social manner (Skiba, Boone, Fantanini, Wu, Strussell & Peterson, 1999). Effective Responses to School Disruption or Crisis At the same time, many school authoritie

Assignment 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Assignment 3 - Essay Example Averys work is the springboard for everything from recombinant DNA work to human cloning to cancer research. It has been used as a basis for other experiments that do not merely change the host genetic makeup, but actually replace one gene with another gene, and this process has even further widened the implication of Averys work. Drug resistant bacterial infections have been stemmed in part because of the processes used by Avery, in which injurious agents are introduced into the drug resistant strains, and these injurious changes are passed down through the progeny. The implications of this work for every aspect of life, from the environment to medicine to crop engineering is explored within the confines of this paper. The basis for the studies were previous studies that induced changes in higher organisms that were permanently embedded and passed on to next generations as hereditary characteristics. The first description of this phenomenon is by Griffith, who transformed variant that was non-encapsulated and attenuated into a fully encapsulated and virulent cells of another type (Avery, et al., 1943, p. 137). The present study deals with an attempt to determine the chemical nature of a substance that produces transformation of the pneumococcal types. This experiment, in which a DNA fraction, which is isolated from Type III pneumococci, transforms unencapsulated R variants, which are derivated from Pneumococcus Type II, into a fully encapsulated Type III cells, builds upon earlier studies that showed that changes induced into various pneumococcal types is determined by the encapsulated cells that are used to evoke the reaction (Avery, et al., 1943, p. 152). The researchers found it striking that variants from a Pneumococcus Type II are changed into Pneumococcus Type III cells by the addition of highly purified and protein-free material that consisted mainly of DNA. Also striking is that the capsular substance and the substance

SOCIOLOGY OF CRIME Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

SOCIOLOGY OF CRIME - Essay Example It can be of various forms such as sexual abuse, threats of violence, physical violence or intimidation. In Australia, domestic violence occurs in all cultural groups though it is mostly felt in regional and rural Australia. In 2005 for example 36 percent of women were reported to have experienced physical assault, 21 women had experienced sexual assault from ex-partners. The percentage of women experiencing physical assault from current partners was reported to be 38 percent (LaFree and Katheryn, 1993. This act denies equality, security, self-worth and dignity to both women and girls. Though societies proscribe violations against women, the truth is that these violations are mostly authorised by cultural practices and norms or in some cases misinterpreting religious tenets. In addition, when these violations occur at home, as is the case, the act is condoned by tactic silence and the passivity from law enforcers. This study looks at the domestic violence occurring in Australia in reference to two theories which include social learning theory and feminist and critical race theory their strengths and weaknesses and how they are applied in our day to day life. Social learning theory enables people to learn new behaviours through punishments or observation learning of social factors of a society. If communities observe positive and desired behaviours, then other people will be able to imitate them and adopt the good behaviours. This theory states that social learning occurs through four stages of imitation. These include; close contacts, understanding concept, role model and imitating superiors. The parts can be summarised as observing the acts, imitating them and using reinforcements to instil those behaviours. Julia Rooter, a socialist suggested that behaviour effect has an impact on people’s motivation to engage in specific behaviours. This shows that behaviour is influenced by environmental factors and not only psychological factors.

Application to Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Application to - Personal Statement Example I attended my high school education at Olympiad Junior high school where my mathematics journey started. During my high school experience, I got the first prize after emerging the winner in the National Mathematics of Olympiad Competition. Since then, I have grown up to realize that mathematics is not only theorems or forums but it has taught me how to think in a logical process. After my high school education, I joined China Agricultural University for a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in agriculture. It took me two years and two months between May two thousand and eight and July two thousand and ten. In the course of this time, I received a scholarship for an outstanding student. I managed to learn a lot in mathematics during my first two years of study in agricultural engineering. It is the same time I began to learn how to apply mathematics in life. For example, the power of math in solving engineering problems and the basic terminologies, logarithms and theorems he lped in building up my solid foundation. Finance is always my interest, which goes in, the same line with mathematics. For me, finance alongside mathematics is a tool for making money from money. I got this knowledge from my parents who have heavily invested in the stock market. They helped me to invest my pocket money by which I was able to win my first profit at the age of eighteen years. Due to my passion in mathematics, I transferred from China to United States since I wanted to pursue the best educational resource in the world. The other reason why I transferred is that I wanted to major in mathematics, which was not available at China Agricultural University. China and United States experience different climatic conditions and culture. I was able to cope up quickly with the new destination because of my resilience. I have worked in several institutions that deal with computation skills. In Washington DC, I worked with HIS Global

ACCESS TO EDUCATION AS A WOMEN'S RIGHTS VIOLATION IN IRAN AND PAKISTAN Research Paper

ACCESS TO EDUCATION AS A WOMEN'S RIGHTS VIOLATION IN IRAN AND PAKISTAN - Research Paper Example citizens, three reasons can be perceived as standing paramount to human rights progress on education in Islamic countries: 1) The internal case of religion or the exercise of a particular aspect or type of Islamism. 2) The external case of orientalism or the policies and practice of the Western world that affect human rights outcomes in Arab regions; 3) The economy or particularly extractive industries, which are predominately male driven, on the region in terms of society and culture. By focusing the primary concern of the study towards the exploration of the availability of educational opportunities in Pakistan and Iran, the research aims to understand the male-dominated elements that thrive in these particular societies and how it has led to the oppression of women who reside in this part of the world. As stated previously, the assessment and analysis which has been conducted in this paper can be examined from three critical elements and theoretical perspectives which are that of 1) Islamism 2) orientalism and 3) economic considerations of the environment. From a scholarly point of view, the case of Islam and the rise of religious extremism in both Pakistan and Iran is an internal matter of the states because it establishes the foundations on which the nations’ constitution, judiciary and legal systems have come into being. In recent years, the rise of extremism in Pakistan which has led to the creation of various Taliban factions that strive to prohibit women from gaining education is demonstrated by the case of 16-year-old education activist, Malala Yousufzai who was shot by the Taliban in 2012 for raising her voice against their injustices which included the destruction of girls’ schools and colleges in Swat District. Indeed, many of the cultural elements and factions that thrive in Pakistan and Iran are based upon the inspirations of religious text but more so it is the interpretation of the text that is responsible for developing the social matters of

No preference Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

No preference - Coursework Example However, the level of technology has led to interpretation of the constitution into simple terms changing the original meaning. The development of the translational corporation for the last decades indicates how the power has shifted away from sovereignty in nations that have embraced technology. The mass media has caused a lot of influence on democracy. Some magazines and television stations criticize the behaviors of political leaders. Gone are the days when the reporters could not talk about political leaders without facing punishment. The advancement in technology will continue influencing the constitution. In future, rules of voting will change. Citizens may never vote through the ballot box. Elections will take place through the internet and voters will cast their votes online. All citizens will have a freedom of posting their criticism about some behaviors in the internet. A constitution plays a leading role in every country. However, rules and regulation differs in each country. It is very difficult for an individual to rule out that which is a majoritys agreement. Therefore, being a citizen in a particular country one has to adhere to the rules and regulations governing that country (Stone & Marshal, 2015) Different country support death penalty for murderers while others support life imprisonment. However, criminal regulations depend on the constitution of the state. Much as death penalty may seem unfair to the offender, it is advantageous as it helps curb murder

Advertising & Alcohol Products Essay Example for Free

Advertising Alcohol Products Essay People’s life are built and protected by both us and society. We make our life happiness by enjoy as much as possible qualified products and society which is represented by government ensured the life quality by regulation requesting the obligation from all people towards product’s usage. Nevertheless, in some cases, government has to control and put the enforcement on consumer even if people like to use that product. Alcohol can be seen as a very popular example. People feel excited when use it, but, what will happen if the alcohol consumption increases year by year. As cited by Hall in his research this year, there was 25% increase in liver deaths which is caused by alcohol in last ten years. Not only alcohol beverages but alcohol advertising is interesting as well in attracting people. Therefore, alcohol advertising is now controlled strictly to prevent its bad impact. Government is allowed and able to do this for a better life to UK people. See more: Is the Importance of being earnest a satirical play essay Binge-drinking can be listed as a trouble for middle-aged, middle-class and out-of-control youth in UK. It is worth noting that UK people are one of groups consuming alcohol most in Europe (British Medical Association, 2009). Since, UK government has to consider and find solution for this problem. It can be known that the effect of alcohol is similar to drug as well as tobacco although it depends on the quantities of usage. However, according to BMA board of science, it can be denied that not only drinker but also their relatives are affected by harmful consequences from alcohol such as contributory factor and violence at home. At first, advertising is same as other marketing tools with the aim to persuade people use product as much as possible. In the situation of alcohol, Advertisement increases consumer’s conceptions about alcohol which can promote them buy more. The journal of British Medical Association in 2009 cited the research conducted by Anderson and other researcher s that â€Å"alcohol marketing and promotion relate to the likelihood that adolescents will begin to use alcohol and drink more if they are already using alcohol†. Jernigan (2010) suggested that a mix of unmeasured activities relating to cultural, religious and regulatory context is used by alcohol companies. Advertising approach consumer, especially the Youth in many ways: marketing on Television, newspaper, sponsorship for sports, music, and cinema. The image of alcohol impresses people day by day encouraging them use it naturally. As a result, these activities impacts making decision of the youth in alcohol purchasing because culture, religion and regulation contribute strongly to the growth process of young people. Moreover, The high rate of alcohol beverages advertising’s appearance in public encourage people use it regularly for entertainment and daily usage which will result in bad effect on people life and society. This present can make people see wine, beer as a daily product. The greater availability of alcohol advertising is the reason why people under 23 years old continue to raise their drinking behavior (Jernigan, 2010). The high alcohol consumption of much means their health will have problem as well as the ability of causing violence or crime can be increased in society. Therefore, alcohol advertising should be limited like tobacco so that people will realize that the former also has bad effects as the latter. Although alcohol is still a product and beverage companies have right to advertise, this is sensitive one so that government should control for a safety of people life. The limitation of alcohol advertising will help government protect people’s health and social security. There will be no more crime which is relevant to alcohol. The health of people will be ensured. Let’s take Denmark as an example, this country only accepted broadcast advertising on low alcohol-content products and the rates of alcohol intoxication was reported highest rates at that time among European countries (International Center for Alcohol Policies) Wilby (2008) proposed that people are heavily impacted by advertising due to they are freely to accept information provided by other agents. Therefore, governments should be allowed to control advertising and able to manage the advertising of alcohol beverages companies by using advertising regulation, sign agreement with alcohol beverage companies and advertising agency or control newspaper and broadcasting agencies. He also suggested that governments can put enforcement on the advertising of cars, alcohol, junk food and other potentially dangerous products as the same way they used to work towards tobacco advertising. For example, as established in Advertising Standard Authority, in UK, â€Å"alcohol marketing is required that ads not link alcohol with sex, social success, youth culture or juvenile behavior.† (Hall, 2012) Enjoy the life as well as using entertaining product freely is demand of all most every people. On the other hand, alcohol beverage companies are also absolutely right when they want to provide as much as possible good alcoholic beverages for their consumer. Nevertheless, it is necessary to have a third party which is governments of countries in general and U. K government to put alcohol advertising under the control. They can set regulation and request that alcohol companies follow it strictly.

Gender Inequalities in Health Sociology

Gender Inequalities in Health Sociology This essay aims to understand why there are health inequalities between both genders and the social classes. This will be achieved by analysing the findings of sociological research, whilst discussing the main problems with how health inequalities are measured. The cultural and structural explanations on why health inequalities occur will also be evaluated. In 2009, The House of Commons Health Committee published a report, which found that even though peoples health was improving in all social groups, the gap between the health of the social classes had widened. The reason stated for this, was that the health of those in higher social classes was improving far quicker than the health of those in the lower social classes. The figures within in the report showed that if you are in a higher social group you are more likely to live longer than someone in the lower social classes. The report also stated that not only do poorer people die younger; they also suffer more years of ill health. Access to health care for the lower classes is also uneven and those who are poor, elderly and disabled are less likely to receive proper treatment than those who are young and able-bodied. A report done by the Learning Disabilities Observatory alleged that this was because the elderly and disabled were unable to access health care due to reduced mobility, being unable to communicate health problems to professionals and their carers failing to identify health problems. (Eric Emerson, 2010) The Health Committee report also illustrates the interrelations of gender inequalities and socioeconomic status. On a geographical level females who were born in the more affluent areas of London, such as Kensington and Chelsea had a significantly higher life expectancy (87.8 years) than females who were born in Glasgow (77.1 years), which has the lowest life expectancy figure in the UK. Subsequently, even though the life expectancy for males and females in social class l (professional) and social class V (unskilled manual) has improved compared to previous years, the disparity between them, is still widening. (House of Commons, Health Committee, 2009) A cultural explanation was also given for why mens life expectancy is more severely affected than womens life expectancy. It was suggested by the Mens Health Forum that men are more likely to take risks with their health due to them trying to cope with stress and conforming to role models in society. Men, compared to women also make poor use of primary care services such as pharmacies and GP surgeries. This is thought to be because men find it culturally unacceptable to discuss their health problems. Men are also more likely to die of health problems relating to their weight, as they are less able than women to identify when they are overweight, as weight is seen as a womens issue. (Memorandum by the mens health forum, 2008) However, even though the data found within the Health Committees report looks convincing the majority of the data is based on morbidity rates, which are not always reliable, as not everyone who gets ill may report their illness. Even human error and illness not being recorded accurately can mean that data based evidence of health inequalities can be unreliable. A previous report done in 2004 by Hilary Graham, featured evidence that suggested that if your parents were poor or in poverty then you were already predisposed to having poor health and having a higher mortality and morbidity rate. This was due to mothers who are poor not being able to afford nutritious food and not being able to access health care. This in turn can lead to babies being born with a lower birth weight, and poor cognitive and physical development. This can influence further problems in health as an adult and therefore, further inequalities in health than someone who was born to parents with a higher income. The findings of the report done by Graham also showed that those living with illness or an impairment were less likely to avoid economic hardships due to their persisting health difficulties and the discrimination they faced, meaning they were less likely to maintain long term employment. In turn, those who did belong to a higher socioeconomic group had a far bette r chance of staying in employment even when faced with ill health. It was also suggested within the report that socioeconomic position affects an individuals health indirectly by influencing intermediary factors such as their home and environment (e.g. poor living and working conditions) and psychosocial factors such as their stress levels and relationships within their family. (Graham, 2004) On analysing Grahams report, there are certain criticisms that can be made on the reliability of her findings. For instance, all the data that featured in her report is secondary; none of it is her own. Therefore, the validity and reliability of the findings featured in her report is only as good as the people she collected it from. However, the research she did use was up -to date and from credible resources. There are cultural and structural explanations that also help us understand why there are inequalities in health between the genders and social classes. In relations to gender inequalities in health the cultural/ behavioural explanation suggests that men are far more likely to suffer ill health and die younger than women due to role models in society and the need for them to feel masculine. Because of this, young men in particular are more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and take drugs. A higher consumption of alcohol and drug taking in particular is thought to be a prime reason why young men are more likely to commit suicide. Women, on the other hand have been socialised to pay greater attention to their health and body as it is seen as a way to define their femininity. However, more women suffer from eating disorders than men do. (Waugh,C. et al 2008) Many feminists believe that women no longer have control over the health care they receive, and any health care they are given is sui ted to doctors and hospital hours. They also argue that women are left to suffer at the hands of male doctors, who are more likely to diagnose female patients symptoms as that of a mental illness. (Browne, 2008) The structural/ materialistic explanation for inequalities in health has suggested that women are more likely to get ill because of their role in society as caregivers because they are more likely to suffer from stress and mental illness. Women who do part-time work are also more likely to suffer from ill health as they are less well paid and have fewer perks than women who are able to do full time work. Men on the other hand often do jobs that are dangerous, stressful and physically demanding (e.g. warehouse work, armed forces jobs etc.) The structural explanation also suggests that those who are in the lower social classes are more likely to suffer from ill health because they are less able to engage in healthy lifestyle choices due to lack of income. They are also more likely to do manual jobs and have less money to buy good quality foods. Lack of transport may make it harder to access medical care and stress of not having enough money can lead to further health problems, which ma y eventually lead to unemployment. Marxists claim capitalist society causes people to become ill as it aims to serve only the higher classes. Being unable to work is seen as the definition of sickness, whilst Doctors are seen as agents of social control with the power to sign people off work. Yet not working can equally make people ill by increasing the risk of ill health, depression and suicide. (Kirby,M. et al 1997) Both explanations are equally valid; however, the structural explanation looks at the wider picture of why people in lower classes or certain genders are more likely to suffer from high morbidity and mortality rates, as they cannot afford healthy lifestyles like the higher classes. The cultural explanation gives insight into why one gender more than the other seeks health care and why data for morbidity if higher for women than men yet mortality levels are higher than men than in women. (Martin Holborn, 2004) In conclusion, the findings in both the reports from the Health Committee and by Hilary Graham both show that the lower your social class, the higher your risk of suffering from poor health and lower life expectancy. Furthermore, the cultural explanation gives reason to why men are less likely to visit the doctor due to wanting to conform to masculine stereotypes, whereas women are encouraged to look after their health. Alternatively, the structural explanation gives greater insight into how your social class can affect your health by limiting your access to healthcare and the means to living a healthier lifestyle.

Grammar in the Classroom :: Teachers Education Language Essays

Grammar in the Classroom A large part of an English teacher’s job deals with helping students find their own voices amidst the many teachings of their parents and peers. A student’s voice can be their values, their interests, and their perspectives of the world in which they live. Their voice can be their critical questioning of the many situations they face, whether in a text, the school cafeteria, or a park after school. It is the job of an English teacher to aid in finding this voice through their writing. It is by putting words and thoughts down on paper that a student can sometimes feel comfortable enough to take risks and find their true voices. Although traditional grammar instruction has long been thought to improve this skill, this is no longer the case. Instead, by providing a classroom environment in which students are immersed in classic literature from many genres including poetry, short stories, and novels, students will learn how to harness grammar for their own purposes of findi ng their voice in their writing. Rather than teach grammar initially and hope that students connect their drilling exercises of subjects and verbs to the poem they’re working on, teaching the varieties of literature first allows students to gain first-hand experience and familiarity with grammar already in practice. This is not to say that grammar lessons and terminology should be lost altogether. A student will not be better off if they never learn subject-verb agreement. However, their exposure to examples of these uses should come first, leaving the labeling and grammar jargon to a time when their minds have already seen how these nouns and verbs can be used. That’s the key phrase: can be used. Students need to understand that they have control and authority over their work. They should have space enough to understand that although a sentence should be written in a certain way, it does not always have to be straightforward grammar if they’d like to change something stylistically. For example, while teaching a lesson on the poem "l(a" by E.E. Cummings, students might be confused and puzzled as to the form of this unusual piece. However, they should then be invited to challenge Cummings’s lack of traditional grammar and stylistic choices. Some may be angry at its unique appearance, while others may grasp the significance of the form and its effect on the reader.

Standardized Tests :: Standardized Testing Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Standardized tests are very common throughout the United States. They are used to measure students’ academic performances in school. These tests vary from state to state in all grade levels. However, these tests are believed to be biased towards those students who come from higher-class neighborhoods, simply because they have more educational resources. â€Å"The absence of standards virtually guarantees stratified resources and access to knowledge, based upon income, color of skin, and the community and neighborhood in which one lives† (French, 2003). The resources in the suburban areas differ from those in the urban areas, because of the gap within the difference of incomes. Families living in suburban neighborhoods have a bigger income, which enables them to have more resources than those living in urban neighborhoods. Most educational resources come from taxes, which plays a big part in the gap between urban and suburban neighborhoods.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This gap causes a disadvantage to those individuals living in lower class neighborhoods, because they do not see or have as many resources as those living in the suburbs. Because of the lack of resources that are provided to those living in the lower-class neighborhoods they are not as prepared for the standardized tests as their higher-class counterparts. These standardized tests are seeing new standards every couple of years or so. Some of the new standards include, students receiving a certain score in the tested subject areas in order to refrain from failing and being retained in the same grade, or even going to summer school just to be promoted. Are these standards helping or hurting?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is hard to say whether these tests are efficient in assessing a student’s knowledge. There have been studies done that shows how students perform contributes to a number of factors. Students are individuals just as adults and can easily slip up on a test, just as many adults have done because of numerous reasons. They suffer from stress, lack of sleep, how they are feeling, whether they ate, and many other reasons. â€Å"These influences most dramatically affect low-income students and students of color† (French, 2003). From the rise of immigration there have been tests (IQ and Stanford-Binet) that were used to sort and track students based on race and income. According to a study it has been concluded that these tests will continue to hinder the ability of Black and Latino students to graduate from high school (Orfield and Wald, 2000; Haney, 1999; McNeil, 2000).

Aspects Of Performance :: essays research papers

ASPECTS OF PERFORMANCE In the following report I will focus on two factors of performance, they are  PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS ON PERFORMANCE Nerves / stress, including manifestations Relationships between members Communication with audience Audience response  THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SUCCESSFUL GROUP Choice of members Program selection Rehearsal strategies Setting up Venue / audience Final performance Each of these aspects effects performers and to deal with all these things will ensure a successful group who do their jobs well and love doing it.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚    DESCRIPTION OF OUR BAND I am a part of an eight, member band, who at one time or another have been playing together for five years. The first three years I performed with four of the eight members in a class and an all girls band, this year I have reunited with them again and four other members as a new group. Our band consists of three lead vocalists. Our ranges are all fairly large and quite different, giving good variety in voices for a range of different styles of music. Our ranges are Db3 - Gb5 (break at C5), Gb3 - C6 (break at Bb4) and E3 - B5 (break at Gb4). We have one lead guitarist, two rhythm guitarists, (one who is in year 11 and the other is our music teacher), a bass player, and a drummer, (who is also in year 11). We are a covers group and like to experiment with all types of styles, pop, rock, disco, alternative / grunge, reggae, soul, jazz, RNB, blues and some international pieces from various countries like Greek, Spanish, Latin American and French. We rehears five times a week, three peri ods of class time and two lunch times. As a group we believe that practice makes perfect. We expect each member to rehears solo parts at home and to have private tuition for extra help. We all love to perform and do it as often as possible, our gigs range from school fetes, festivals, concerts and speech nights to an interstate tour to different schools every year. ASPECT 1  PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS ON PERFORMANCE Every performer, no matter how long they’ve been in the business will be effected by psychological setbacks. These effects can cause major upsets to the level of a performer’s performance, so something must be done to control these feelings. All performers have different techniques to cope with these symptoms, and in this next section I will provide some of these.  NERVES STRESS BEFORE AND DURING PERFORMANCE

Program Improvement Opportunities

Program Evaluation Opportunities Locating program strengths and weaknesses are areas in which a system of collective information about a programs activities, characteristics, and outcomes provides opportunity for program improvements. An evaluation process raises questions such as is the program planned to meet the desired goals, for example, meeting the needs of the target population if any inclusive to the program. Monitoring the program and raising questions regarding the progress of program implementation and the consequences of the program not being implemented as intended. Assessing the impact of a program, for example, goal effectiveness, valuable lessons, and unanticipated effects adhere to providing opportunities for program improvements. Program evaluations can improve a program by eliminating flaws in which cause weaknesses such as, inadequate staff training. Program evaluations can assist program managers in refining and improving their program with a description of how the program is functioning. Program evaluations are especially informative in reference to funder perspectives from collective information regarding program costs, cost effectiveness, and future costs. In conclusion, in order for any to program to be successful there are many types of evaluations and processes any director has to go through in order for the program to be successful within any community. The funders will raise questions if the funding organization feels certain questions are not answered. These questions can include how the director of the program plans on addressing the targeted populations’ constant need for services and if the director plans on upgrading any of the programs services it has already been providing to the surrounding community and the targeted population. By doing this any and all programs can be very successful throughout the entire existence of the program or organization. References Yuen, F. & Terao, K. (2003). Practical grant writing & program evaluation. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole—Thomson Learning.

Ebay Market Share

How to dominate the online auction market Jeffrey Phillips †¢ Brian Somok †¢ Xiaoke Zheng Executive Summary Background eBay Inc history: September 1995: funded as a sole proprietorship. May 1996: incorporated in California. April 1998: reincorporated in Delaware. September 1998: completion of initial public offering October 2002: acquired PayPal Product Online Auction: Every day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, millions of people from all over the world go shopping at online auctions. This is not an exaggeration – eBay, with a 76% share of the auction site market, reports 42. million users and a growth factor of 100% per Year Porter’s Five Forces Analysis Rivalry Rivalry is very intense. Yahoo had to give up Japan and Australia online auction sites in 2003 because of low margin in this market even if Yahoo made great investment in these two sites beforehand. Number of firms Online auction firms: www. eBay. com, www. overstock. com, www. ubid. c om, www. yahoo. com, www. amazon. com, www. CQout. com, www. bidville. com, etc. The large number of firms in this market reflects the intense competition among those sites. Margin profit is decreased to a relatively low level. Bay could still survive because of its scale of economy and good reputation. However, eBay’s growth in 2004 was much smaller than in 2003. Shareholders put much pressure on eBay, and eBay had to readjust its pricing on varied services on the short run in order to satisfy people’s short term expectation. However, he is risking his long term revenue and reputation. Fixed costs Essentially, fixed costs on online auction market are rather low: purchasing programming technology patents, web, administration, credit, accounting, staff, and daily operations. Product differentiation Differentiation depends on how the transaction is performed. There is not too much difference among different online auction companies in web processing efficiency and shipping efficiency, but eBay is more convenient than others, due to their lengthy expertise in the market. eBay differentiated itself by integrating PayPal payment system, which is famous for its security, cheap rate and network utility. eBay offers a cheap transaction fee rate, as well. It has greatest number of users by far, which offers excellent network utility. Amazon used to be a substitute product provider. However, since 1999 Amazon added auction module in its business. eBay likewise encroached on Amazon’s niche by adopting fixed price functions like â€Å"buy it now† button and purchasing www. half. com. eBay and Amazon have been less different and therefore rivalry has increased a little. However, there is still an obvious gap between them in terms of business model and software development. Amazon built its reputation with high-end users. It has a friendly and succinct transaction interface, which offers superior product mix. Amazon is utilizing Porter’s value strategy and has not changed this for years. On the other hand, eBay is a large community of small buyers and sellers who deal with single-item transactions at negotiable prices. It has a created cost advantage by scale of economy. Most goods traded on eBay are secondhand, and eBay’s inventory changes more rapidly than Amazon’s. eBay is actually taking Porter’s cost strategy. Different business models result in different financial performance. eBay generated $441 million profits in 2003 on $2. 17 billion revenue compared with Amazon's much smaller $35 million profit on far more revenue — $5. 3 billion. eBay has a more liquid and efficient financial structure. Besides, these two companies are both valued by their own network/community. Most customers don’t switch between auction and fixed price retail very often partly because they are rooted in the community culture of either network. They don’t have incentives to change their current method of transaction if it is satisfactory. Different business models and different networks are enough to place these two companies in different niches without too much rivalry. Barriers of New Entrants New entrants seize every opportunity to expand their market share. eBay still has a dominant market share of online auction. His reputation is a sweeping force in maintaining his good performance. However, eBay has to be cautious in every marketing decision. His mistakes will be taken advantage by these new comers. For example, www. bidville. com , an online auction site, recently experienced a dramatic increase in new member registration after eBay announced they would raise their listing fees for sellers. eBay took a prompt response by resuming the listing fee back to the original level. eBay didn’t win anything in this price adjustment and readjustment, but eroded his reputation. Essentially in this online auction market, whoever has the most name recognition, wins the game. Right now, Bidville’s disadvantage in name recognition puts Bidville out as a possible alternative to eBay’s market space temporarily. eBay should think about more to maintain his name recognition on the long run. Patents eBay does not hold any key patented technology. A new entrant could easily emulate eBay’s interface. High cost of entry eBay’s most effective barriers are its large network and credible reputation. It is rather difficult for a new entrant to build a new network starting with no users. We can verify this by how new air ticketing companies grow. ) The only way to start a network from a reasonable size is to derive an online auction market from an existing online website company which already has a network, just as Yahoo and Amazon did. A new entrant must also demonstrate creditability and capability to customers and payment providers (credit car d, PayPal, eWallet, etc. ). New entrants must prove their guarantees of efficient and safe transactions, to both buyers and sellers. Why would buyers and sellers bother to switch from a sound existing online auction site to a new one? Incentives to switch include discounts, coupons, accumulative reimbursement like frequent miles, complements from other services an entrant or their cooperating company offers, and higher-quality service in terms of timely and elegant shipping. All of these are trivial but not necessarily effective sales methods. Effectiveness depends on a comprehensive sales strategy which is based on keen insight of business dynamics and human group dynamics. It is hard for a new entrant to find an experienced strategist, and even if it does, there is still no guarantee to gain market share. This market is basically first-mover dominant. Furthermore, it is unlikely for payment companies like credit card companies or other electronic payment providers to support a new entrant, because profitability is unclear. The revenue for successful new entrants will be low at the beginning and stable on the long run. However, expenses will be extremely high at the beginning. A new company rarely survives within a short term unless it has a very generous percentage of leverage or a large amount of venture capital, and leverage is only available for public companies. Therefore, a new entrant can likely only be an existing company that operates in other markets. It should either be sufficiently self-funded or have a very strong, persuasive income statement and business plan to prove liquidity and gain leverage. Since the internet bubble, venture capitalists are very cautious in investing in IT companies, especially Business-to-Customers or Business-to-Business ecommerce companies. (Check the performance of eBay during and after internet bubbles. ) Essentially, the scale of economy is very obvious in the online auction market. The value of an online network is proportional to the number of users squared. The scale of economy will naturally lead to a monopoly. A new entrant should either license a fraud prevention system or employ a third-party payment platform company that already integrates fraud prevention system in its service. Brand loyalty First of all, eBay has been operating in this market since the beginning of e-commerce. A lot of e-commerce companies have failed since the internet bubble. eBay has successfully survived because of the convenience and simplicity of its service. It has gained popularity and built loyalty among customers. It has a secure identity system, and every user has a record of past transactions. eBay has a sound rating system for every buyer and seller to establish credibility amongst the users. eBay’s user accounts work like passports of their personal credit and reliability. Most customers of eBay are long-term users; therefore, they will not attempt fraud in their transactions. If they do, their rating suffers. All customers tend to trust each other because transactions are transparent to the 3rd party supervisor, eBay. eBay has successfully turned their online auction site into a community which has a cohesive culture. Photos of items to be sold greatly enhance the community value and establish amiability and trust between sellers and buyers. (eBay’s success has influenced Amazon to adopt a similar policy in its online transactions recently. ) New entrants are competing against a community as well as a company. It is rather difficult to build a new culture and a new community. There might be some other specialized auction niches available, but eBay offers nearly any product available. For example, eBay has online auctions for cars. However, since cars are large purchases, people tend to be cautious in purchasing them. They must inspect the cars in person, and the buyers and sellers tend to haggle in person. Online auctions don’t seem conducive to the secondhand car market. As one would expect, eBay doesn’t have much revenue from car transactions, and any other online car auction websites are not likely to generate high revenues. Such specialized auction markets have uncertain viability. In the example of a car transaction, there are two types of creditability involved. One is buyers’ trust of eBay: Will eBay protect the buyers’ privacy? The other is buyers’ trust of sellers: Will sellers defraud the buyers or exaggerate the quality of their cars? Shipping is also a major cost in this transaction. Most buyers obviously favor in-person transactions. There is little market space for online auction providers. In fact, there are free online bulletin boards that provide used car sale information. They make it difficult for paid online car auctions to exist at all. Mostly, the viability of such specialized auction markets is doubtful. Therefore, there is limited chance for new entrants. Substitute Products The most important merit of fixed-price online retail is that a buyer does not have to wait for an auction to end. It is appealing to shoppers who prefer straightforward sales. They value their time more than the small price change. It is basically a tradeoff between time and price. Since online auction and fixed online retail target people with different personalities, these two products essentially don’t conflict with each other. eBay expanded its market by adding fixed-price features to its online transactions, such as â€Å"Buy It Now†. Half. com is a fixed price online retail web site which is owned by eBay. This shows that eBay is flexible in its business model. On the other hand, Amazon, a traditional online fixed-price retail web site, launched its auction feature in 1999. Here, fixed-price retail acts somewhat like a complement. However, it is a complement only when a company is involved in both types of sales. It is especially beneficial for the company’s network utility. eBay expanded its community (network) by adding fixed price retail feature, as Amazon did by adding auctions. Both of them successfully combined these two functions together, which merged these two markets into one, and gave customers greater convenience by allowing them to decide which way to purchase goods impromptu. However, there is less differentiation between eBay and Amazon. Traditional retail is more prevalent when the buyer must check the product in person or shipping is difficult or expensive. eBay has had to build a strong creditability by making sure all the descriptions of online items to be sold are precise, complete and correct. Without this reliability, customers would switch to traditional retail stores. For those goods which are hard to price without observation, eBay cannot supplant traditional retail. This is particularly true for specialized items such as cars, jewelries, and plastic surgeries, all of which have too many details to be taken care of online. Online transactions seem impossible for these goods. The switching cost from online auction to traditional retail or fixed-price online is essentially high. For fixed-price online, sellers have to pay the storage fee for Amazon’s storage plant. For traditional retail, sellers have to pay for the storage fee and shelf rental fee. These extra fees, which are switching costs, are enough to discourage single item sellers, who are main customer category of eBay, to switch. Buyer Power Customer’s price sensitivity Online auctions don’t charge sellers for storage of their goods. Fixed-price sites might charge sellers for storage. Traditional retailers incur overhead costs. Sellers have incentives to sell via online auction. On the other hand, online auctions mainly deal with unpackaged new products or secondhand products. Most buyers of such products are familiar with eBay, so sellers are more prone to sell via online auction. Buyer bargaining power is weakened. Customer’s negotiating power As I analyzed above, eBay is a large network of small buyers and sellers who mainly deal with single-item sales. A seller generally sells one item to one buyer on eBay, so eBay has high prices and high margins when providing services for many buyers and sellers. Online auction site, recently experienced a dramatic increase in new member registration after eBay announced they would raise their listing fees for sellers. eBay took a prompt response by resuming the listing fee back to the original level. eBay didn’t win anything in this price adjustment and readjustment, but eroded his reputation. Essentially in this online auction market, whoever has the most name recognition, wins the game. Right now, Bidville’s disadvantage in name recognition puts Bidville out as a possible alternative to eBay’s market space temporarily. Bay should think about more to maintain his name recognition on the long run. Patents eBay does not hold any key patented technology. A new entrant could easily emulate eBay’s interface. Buyer Power Customer’s price sensitivity Online auctions don’t charge sellers for storage of their goods. Fixed-price sites might charge sellers for storage. Traditional retailers incur overhead cost s. Sellers have incentives to sell via online auction. On the other hand, online auctions mainly deal with unpackaged new products or secondhand products. Most buyers of such products are familiar with eBay, so sellers re more prone to sell via online auction. Buyer bargaining power is weakened. Customer’s negotiating power As I analyzed above, eBay is a large network of small buyers and sellers who mainly deal with single-item sales. A seller generally sells one item to one buyer on eBay, so eBay has high prices and high margins when providing services for many buyers and sellers. Supplier Power Suppliers to eBay offer technology patent, legal support for intellectual property, and fraud prevention systems. eBay has great pressure to prevent fraud, since its reputation is at stake. Buyers and sellers care about very much about their security. Online auction fraud in 2004 made up 16% of all consumer complaints last year, and 48% in the subset of internet-related complaints, topping the list. eBay has 0. 01% fraud rate of all transactions, but these isolated incidents receive wide media coverage, which discourages many potential customers. eBay is still improving its fraud prevention system. The fraud prevention system is launched by Microsoft Inc. and Visa International Inc. As this system is necessary to eBay, it has little leverage to negotiate a better price. Many online retail systems need fraud prevention system, but there is only one supplier in the market. It has great bargaining power. Complements PayPal, as an online payment solution, is a good complement of eBay’s online auction business. PayPal is a neutral intermediary based on the financial infrastructure of bank accounts and credit cards, supported by a proprietary fraud prevention system. Transactions on PayPal are of low risk to both sellers and buyers. PayPal accepts money from the buyer in one of the three ways. Charging the buyer’s credit card Debiting the buyer’s checking account Charging from the buyer’s PayPal account. The buyer can always send check to his/her PayPal account. Then PayPal will email the seller about the payment made by the buyer. The seller will receive money in one of the three ways. The seller might have his own PayPal account. The payment will directly transfer to his/her account. The seller might receive a check from PayPal. PayPal directly deposits the payment into the seller’s checking account. Buyers care about security. Buyers’ credit card numbers are only shown to PayPal. That is safer than online payment directly by credit card. Buyers also care about the cost. For transactions between PayPal customers, there's no transaction fee. PayPal makes money on the float – when customers’ money sits in their account, PayPal is collecting interest on it. Customers generally don’t care about the interest that PayPal collects on their deposits. Customers also care about ease of use. PayPal is one of the simplest services for online transactions. All a buyer has to do is to provide his/her name, e-mail address, credit card information, and billing address. For business accounts on PayPal, merchants are charged a 2. 2% discount rate + 30 cents on the transaction. It is better than the rate charged by merchant banks for accepting credit cards, in most cases. eBay Micro Strategies Increase brand recognition Expand the auction market by introducing PayPal to more online auction markets Credit card companies charge more for Internet-enabled merchant accounts (the accounts the merchants need to accept credit card payments on the Internet), because of the high cost to main security. Therefore, credit cards become too expensive for smaller purchases. PayPal might negotiate with credit card companies for smaller fees for their subscribers. They can cooperate to share the market in the following way: Merchant accounts on PayPal will be charged less by credit companies than those on other online payment platforms. Therefore it can increase the number of small purchases on eBay auction. Nowadays, credit cards are the primary means of purchasing air tickets and recording frequent flier miles. eBay should enter the air ticketing markets. It definitely can offer the same service with PayPal. PayPal should cooperate with more airlines and online ticketing websites. If they can integrate PayPal into ticket sales websites, eBay will have a huge potential market in air ticketing and also increase its network utility. eBay should acquire a greater online auction market share by educating online customers that PayPal is the online currency. Yahoo’s wallet failed in the online marketplace. It was not easy to establish their own online payment platform, partly because the online payment concept goes against Yahoo’s traditional business model. PayPal should make use of its competitive advantage and offer Yahoo and other websites its specialized solutions. Perfect its proprietary fraud prevention system, which is essential to its success. eBay should let its customers, cooperative online transaction sites, online airline ticketing sites, and credit card companies all feel that transactions through eBay will lower their costs and be more valuable. Bay should cooperate with shipping companies, and make its online transactions more lucrative eBay should work with Phish Report Network and other anti-phishing organizations more efficiently in order to prevent fake online auction sites taking its market share and damaging the whole market’s reputation eBay should work with software developers to improve the s ecurity, efficiency, and adaptability of its database. eBay should convince customers that there is no intentional bidding up behavior involved in its online auction practice Develop real name feature for customers. Put some restrictions on new sellers in expensive merchandise transaction or large volume sale until they have a good track record. Expand to international market, decrease national boundary barriers in terms of payment (credit card/PayPal) and shipping. Cooperate with local equivalent companies or localize by itself. Mediate between buyers and seller at Security Center. Respect both sides’ privacy. Solve conflicts in conservative way. Don’t take risk of eBay’s reputation. eBay Today eBay is the world’s foremost online marketplace. Through reliable customer service, efficient information exchange, and by utilizing the latest technology, eBay has created an auction-based market community of an efficiency unheard of prior to the internet revolution. Competitive Advantage eBay has used its first-mover advantage to establish itself as the most reliable and, more importantly, largest auction house on or off the internet. In 2003 alone, more than 30 million people exchanged over $20 billion. Due to the size and diversity of its user base, eBay is able to offer a wider selection of merchandise than any online retailer. This is made feasible by the virtual nature of eBay’s market: sellers can market obscure items to a global market as easily as and more cheaply than they could put an ad in their local paper. Famous for matching buyers and sellers across the world with the most extreme items, eBay has developed incalculable value in its brand name. eBay has become a household word synonymous with an eclectic online marketplace. eBay comes to the mind of any buyer looking for that rare or rarely-cheap item; any seller hoping to get rid of practically anything knows a buyer is lurking somewhere on eBay. The site has become an easily identifiable rallying point akin to a popular dance club on a global scale: everyone who’s anyone is there—and everyone else too. eBay’s Macro Strategy eBay seeks to maintain a high level of consumer patronage by capitalizing on its unique positioning as an internet marketplace. Globalization. Since eBay is a virtual marketplace, eBay can establish language localized sites in other countries that have access eBay’s full auction database. Since the seller handles the shipping details, each seller may determine the extent to which they enter the global market. Bay has already expanded into 150 countries around the world. International transactions require little additional bookkeeping cost while their benefit to the consumer is enormous: every buyer and seller has access to the largest market possible. Communication By allowing buyers and sellers to meet and communicate online, eBay is able to minimize the costs of remote market research and individual exchanges of information across states and borders. This interplay is essential to mutually amicable transactions on which eBay is based. To encourage fair transactions eBay provides an efficient feedback system to allow buyers and sellers to benefit from collective experience, giving customers a strong social incentive to honor each transaction. Integration Through its acquisition of PayPal eBay gained not only market share, but also vertical integration key to its long-term success. By embracing the payment method most commonly used on its site rather than forcing an unpopular one on its user base, eBay has not only retained the existing PayPal user base but expanded to those consumers previously unsure of which method to use. In 2003 there were 40 million PayPal accounts—almost twice as many as the previous year—and these customers transferred $12 billion across 38 countries. Diversification In addition to normal auction bidding, eBay now offers a Buy-it-Now option. Sellers set fixed maximum prices at which the auction will close before it begins. This attracts auction-wary consumers from other e-commerce sites outside of the strict auction market and effectively competes with amazon. com and froogle. com for fixed-price transactions. By allowing independent sellers to maintain storefronts online, eBay seeks to extend its position to include an even wider range of transactions, thus not only broadening its appeal but securing ties to more conservative consumer bases. The Future of eBay Industry Trends What originally began as a small industry of auctions for collectibles has mushroomed into a behemoth encompassing individual sellers, small businesses, and large retailers. The e-commerce industry is constantly growing, and many businesses rely on the reputation of eBay or one of their competitors to sell their products. As the market grows, a wider demographic range of consumers will be purchasing an increasing number of products online. For example, teenagers are the target consumers of very recent products such as cell phone ring tones and games, many of which are available exclusively online. As such varied consumer groups are emerging in the online market, there is more room for differentiation; perhaps some niches are being created. Therefore, the barriers to entry will decrease as the market expands. Competitive Trends eBay has a solid foothold as the canonical online auction site. They have a niche as an enormous community with an extremely high success rate of matching buyers and sellers. eBay is distinguished by its availability of single, used, and/or rare items, and for its floating prices. They are adequately differentiated from their competitors, and they possess roughly 70% of the online auction market share. However, due to the relatively low switching costs and entry barriers inherent in a web market, eBay must continue to be rather defensive of their position, against current competition and potential new entrants. Current Competitors Amazon and Yahoo Auctions are the main competitors of eBay. Ubid. com has 14% of the market share, but they have a different niche than eBay by appealing to business-to-consumer transaction. Amazon may pose a threat to eBay’s utter dominance; they are consistently bringing retailers into e-commerce. However, this comes with a great burden. Whereas eBay has virtually no overhead, Amazon needs to store and move vast quantities of inventory. Currently, Amazon’s revenues are considerably greater than eBay’s (about twice as much), but their costs are so high that eBay’s annual profits are roughly ten times Amazon’s. Alternatively, Amazon might choose to expand its auction operations, trying to nudge eBay from its niche. Amazon would have to establish a network, a community, on the scale of eBay’s in order to challenge them directly. Although this could be time consuming and costly to implement, focusing on transactions in which they are merely the broker and bear no cost could greatly increase their long-term profits. Yahoo poses little threat to eBay. While they theoretically have potential for growth similar to Amazon, they lack Amazon’s reputation. They also lack the cost-free transactions in which eBay luxuriates. New Entrants Online auctioning doesn’t have high costs of entry, especially the way eBay operates: All a new entrant needs is merchant software; there is no need for warehouses or expensive machinery. However, many companies have tried to enter this lucrative market and have failed. New entry is difficult because eBay has an enormous community, which gives tremendous network value to both buyers and sellers. Any entrant would have to build up a network from scratch. Conceivably, if a new company entered a niche market, e. g. uctions of teenage clothing and cell phone accessories, they could survive, but such a market would likely be too small to gain any measurable market share. Alternately, a website that already has a large community would be able to enter more easily. For example, Craig’s List has a network of millions of users, who rely on it for matching them up with people who can fulfill their sp ecific needs. It would be simple enough to add an auction section to the site, and take advantage of this existing network to compete with eBay. Froogle, a new service from Google, may forever change the way online shopping is done. While it currently is a beta version, it looks to be a promising engine for online shoppers to quickly search nearly all online stores for the products they desire. While Froogle isn’t an entrant to the online auction market (yet), it is certainly the beginning of a powerful new substitute service. Froogle may be very dangerous to eBay for many reasons. Google already has a huge network of search-users and advertisers. If vendors (especially specialized vendors, as many on eBay are) can set up their own online stores and be found for free on Froogle, they have less of a reason to pay eBay for its high access. Bay certainly still has a lot going for it, (security and reputation) but may soon find its network challenged by Froogle users. eBay’s Response eBay recently started Business. eBay, a new business-to-business online auction that spans all sectors, from mining to farming. eBay is aware that they may need to accommodate larger retailers in order to grow, and to chal lenge Amazon’s growth in this direction. If Amazon decides to challenge eBay’s community appeal, then eBay must block this attempt any way they can. A simple method would be to start a price war. Bay’s costs are so negligible compared to Amazon’s that Amazon could not possibly survive a price war. EBay could almost give away auctions to sellers, whereas this sort of competition would bankrupt Amazon. If a new entrant emerges, eBay’s best bet is to rely on the value of their community. Even a company trying to enter into a niche market would have a difficult time building a network large enough to attract eBay customers. In the rare case of an established community site entering into online auctioning, eBay should engage in a price war if they believe this site’s community is comparable to theirs. Bay is famous for their extreme efficiency, and any entrant would likely be somewhat inefficient due to their inexperience. eBay’s best resp onse to Froogle is to assert their security and reputation to their users: If you buy from eBay, you know you will have a safe and fraud-free transaction, especially if you pay with PayPal. On the other hand, if someone buys from an online shop found on Froogle, he has no idea how reliable the vendor is, or if his credit card information will be safe. If buyers are reluctant to engage in potentially insecure transactions outside of eBay, buyers and sellers alike will continue to complete their transactions through eBay. Summary eBay virtually monopolizes the online auction market, due to their large network value, extremely low costs, reputation for security, and efficient operations. When confronted with competition, eBay either relies on its community niche, or buys out the competition (i. e. Half. com and PayPal). They have created a market where entry is very difficult, and competitors are relatively powerless, particularly given the threat of a price war. These advantages should ensure eBay’s continued domination of online auctions in the future. However, they should court larger retailers, as Amazon has, to expedite their growth. eBay is likely to stay the leading online auctioneer for quite some time, as long as they remain adaptable to the ever-dynamic online market. eBay has proven to be a successful chameleon in the past, making lucrative acquisitions and modifying its business model, depending on the state of the online market. As long as eBay continues to aggressively maintain its community and reputation of security, it will dominate the online auction market. References 1. Crockett, Roger O. â€Å"No Plastic? No Problem. † BusinessWeek | online. . October 23, 2000. 2. â€Å"eBay 2003 Annual Report. † . 3. Hof, Rob. â€Å"Meet eBay’s Auctioneer-in-Chief. † BusinessWeek online. . May 29, 2003. 4. Hof, Robert D. â€Å"The eBay Economy. † BusinessWeek | online. . August 25, 2005. 5. Lewis, Marilyn. â€Å"eBay and Amazon. † webservicespipeline. . December 22, 2004. 6. Perez, Juan Carlos. â€Å"Online auction providers grapple with fraud. † Computerworld. . Februrary 17, 2005. 7. Roberts, Paul. â€Å"Microsoft, eBay, Visa form Phish Report Network. † Computerworld. . February 14, 2005

Disadvantages to Patriot Act

Disadvantages to the Patriot act (USAPA); There are six flaws to the act that was passed into law on October 26th, 2001: It takes away civil rights, by doing so it destroys the definition of what it means to be an American Citizen [ (talkradio101, 2010) ]. The feeling is that by destroying our way of life is the best way to reward or give victory to the terrorist [ (topix, 2012) ]. Secondly, Constitutional protections are violated, the U. S. Constitution is the most lasting, well-written document, and this is why our nation has become the most successful nation [ (talkradio101, 2010) ].People from all over the world have migrated here for the freedom of religious practice, now you can be tracked to your place of worship which violates the 1st Amendment violation), you can be held without trial, without representation or facing the witnesses against them which are violations of the 6th and 7th Amendments. Third is potential for abuse by current administration and future administration s, this â€Å"War on Terror† potentially has no end; there will not be a cease fire or peace treaty signed to officially end the war like in nation-vs. nation wars [ (talkradio101, 2010) ]. This means that the â€Å"time of danger† will never end and that the government will continue to violate our rights [ (NPR, 2012) ]. Fourthly is the act increases the possibility for racial profiling or other means of discrimination and harassment, we have many law-abiding loyal Americans who are of Arab decent, have Muslim Beliefs and work in high profile careers, such as nuclear scientist and biowepons experts [ (NPR, 2012) ].We have come a long way in our many civil rights abuses of the past and something like this could cause a detrimental slip backwards for our nations [ (talkradio101, 2010) ]. Fifth flaw is the use of gathered information by government for non-terror/political purposes, this information could be used for blackmail, embarrassment of rivals to further a career or gain the upper hand in a political race. This information could be used to bring down anyone who would chose to speak out against the country or even someone in political power.Lastly all of the first flaws could lead to the abuse of Muslims and other groups causing a shift in viable sources of information to locate terrorist and possibly creating new terrorist [ (topix, 2012) ] [ (NPR, 2012) ]. Works Cited NPR. (2012, October 29). NPR. org. Retrieved from www. npr. org: www. npr. org/news/specials/patriotact/patriotactprovisions. html talkradio101. (2010, May 18). Retrieved from www. talkradio101. com: http://www. talkradio101. com topix. (2012, October 29). www. topix. com. Retrieved from Topix. com: www. topix. com/forum/us/patriot-act/TUPOA5NOIQKIFN8FE/p3

Research Process and Terminology Paper Essay

The aim of this paper is to address the linkage between foreign direct investment (FDI) flows and the number of natural disasters. By using the data of 94 countries in the period of 1984 to 2004 and applying a variety of empirical tests, the result appears that natural hazards have significantly negative effects on FDI of countries. A. Economic Effects of Natural Disasters and The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment Economic Effects of Natural Disasters There are three patterns that concern with the economic effects of natural hazard. The first two strands concentrates on the primary or short-term effects and long-term effects of hazards on economy. While the short-term effect strand achieves abundant evidences of negative disasters’ impacts on GDP, the long-term effect strand cannot reach a clear conclusion. The third strand focuses on the capacity to mitigate the destructive effects of natural risks. A brief conclusion is that the negative impacts of risks can be diminished by country’s institutions. Determinant of Foreign Direct Investment There are three types of foreign direct investment, namely: (1) Operating new (2) Moving an existing (3) Moving a part of existing The first type is considered as location decision and categorized in pull factor, the latter two types are relocation decision and belong to push factor. Following this logic, propositional pull factors to put in models are the level of openness and the size of the economy. Obviously, the push  factor in models is natural risks. Other determinants which are mainly focused are institutions, such as government infrastructure, political freedom, corruption, etc. B. Data and Methods The data for analyzing impacts of natural disasters on FDI flows are taken from the EMDAT, which provides by the institution Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) and World Bank. Some observations were dropped because of missing data, the data which is used in this research contains an unbalance panel with 1,822 country-year observations from 94 countries (29 in Africa, 17 in Asia, 22 in Europe and 26 in Americas) in the period 1984-2004. Table 2 presents descriptions of dependent and independent variables. (TABLE 2) At this point, it is important to look again at two primary variables which devoted to results of empirical tests. The first key variable is FDI, which is measured by the total net inflows of foreign direct investment as a percentage of GDP. FDI is the dependent variable in all models. The second key variable relates to natural hazards. Since both recent and longerterm risks have its impacts on investors, the authors deliver four variables that are concerned with the number of natural risks happening in four time period: Total events in the prior year, total events in the prior 5 years, total events in the prior 10 years, total events in the prior 25 years. Table 3 shows the correlations between FDI/GDP and each of four variables referring to the measures of natural risks. (TABLE 3) It is undoubtedly true that both the counted measure as number of natural hazards and the monetary measure as the estimation of â€Å"dollar value of damages† affect decision makers. While it can be argue that result as the dollar amount of damages may have substantial influence on investors’ decisions, it is obvious that estimating the consequence of natural disasters is complex and not as accurate as â€Å"counts of disasters†. For this  reason, models will mainly focus on counts of disasters. Moreover, the research emphasizes on five types of natural hazards that severely devastate infrastructures, physical capital and labor forces. As such, these five types are earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, landslide and windstorms (include hurricanes). The following two variables which refer to the degree of openness and incentive in trade and investment are Trade and Investment. The former is taken from World Bank’s 2008 World Development Indicators and the latter is provided by Political Risk Services Group, assembled by the IRIS Center at the University of Maryland. Regarding to a country’s reliability for trade and investment, the investment variable is the estimation of three factors: contract viability/risk of exportation, repatriation of profits and delay in payments. These three factors are rank from 0 to 12 and the higher value illustrates the higher risk in investment. The final three variables in the base model are Inflation, Gov. stability and Rule of law. The Inflation variable is the inflation level of each country in a particular year and taken from 2008 World Development Indicators. The other two variables are collected from the International Country Risk Guide, with reflecting the level of stability of government and adhesion to the rule of law. The higher value implies the better environment for investors. Those variables contribute to the base model as this form: FDIit = ÃŽ ±0 + ÃŽ ±1Total events in the prior # yearsit + ÃŽ ±2GDP per capitait + ÃŽ ±3GDP growthit + ÃŽ ±4Tradeit + ÃŽ ±5Investmentit + ÃŽ ±6Inflation + ÃŽ ±7Gov. stabilityit + ÃŽ ±8Rule of lawit + ÃŽ ³i + ÃŽ ³t + ÃŽ µit This research also employs ÃŽ ³i as country fixed effects over time and ÃŽ ³t as year fixed effects for all countries. C. Results and Their Implications The below table indicates the linkage between foreign direct investment and natural disasters by applying the base model. It can be seen from Table 4 that all four natural hazard variables have significantly negative effects on FDI in each of models. Moreover, there is a decline trend in coefficients of disaster variables when measuring in Total events in the prior 1 year to Total events in the prior 25 years, which suggests that relatively recent risks have more significant influence than long term risks on investors’ decisions. The next two variables, which are GDP per capita and GDP growth, are positive as expected and significant. However, although both Trade and Investment variables have positive effects on FDI, only Trade is significant. The Inflation variable is negative and significant in all four models. Only Gov. stability variable has unexpected side and both Gov. stability and Rule of law are not significant in all models. The authors also employ the empirical tests to find out different effects of five particular types of disasters. The result is presented in Table 5. The outcome demonstrates that all other non-disaster variables have the same reaction and all damage variables are negative in side. However, Windstorms is significant in all three cases, Volcanoes is significant in two cases while Landslides, Earthquake and Floods are significant in only one case. Hence, there is evidence to support the view that each type of hazards has its effects on FDI, the clearest evidence is found on Windstorms. Regardless the inaccurate in estimation of dollar value of damages, the research generates the final test by using the base model with â€Å"dollar value of damages† in place of â€Å"counts of disasters†. The result is displayed in Table 6. Similarly with the above case, all non-disaster variables have the same result as the base model case. Though disaster variables are negative and significant in all case, they do not decline from recent to older events. A draw conclusion may be policy makers equally focus on relative recent and longer-term risks or maybe there is error in data. D. Conclusion To sum up briefly, there are four important conclusions. First and foremost, natural disasters have significant and negative effect on foreign direct  investment. Second, there are some evidences to support the view that decisions of foreign investors are deeper affected by relative recent events in comparing to longer-term events. Third, different types of natural hazards are considered to have different impacts on foreign direct investment, the most severe impact is found on windstorms. Finally, regardless the intricacy and inaccuracy in monetary measuring the value of damages, the model which focuses on dollar value of damages also addresses the same result with the base model: natural disasters discourage foreign direct investment.