Mis Paper on Movie Industry

One hotly contested and highly competitive industry is the movie rental business. You can rent videos from local video rental stores, you can order pay-per-view from the comfort of your own home, and you can rent videos from the Web at such sites as NetFlix. Using Porter's Five Forces Model, evaluate the relative attractiveness of entering the movie rental business. Is buyer power low or high? Is supplier power low or high? Which substitute products and services are perceived as threats? Can new entrants easily enter the market? What are the barriers to entry? What is the level of rivalry among existing competitors? What is your overall view of the movie rental business? Is it a good or bad industry to enter? Why? The model I will be using to evaluate the relative attractiveness of entering the movie rental business is Redbox that have become a leader in kiosk DVD rentals with low prices and ease of renting movies. Buying power is low in this market because there is only a few distributors and the each are selling the same movies so the price they pay is relativity the same for each customer with very little price difference. The price of movies has gone up on the newer types of DVD’s ( blu-ray) but it has gone up for everyone, but the volume of movies sold by Redbox offsets that increase. The bargaining power of the customers determines the pressure customers put on a particular market. Redbox’s business model considers this in the following ways:Â   Customers generally do not buy large volumes of the product. There are only a few operators in the industry. The fixed cost by suppliers is high, but this applies to competitors as well. There is really no legal substitute for the product. Customers are price-sensitive, but Redbox provides the product cheaper then all of its competitors. Customers can not produce the product. The product is of strategically importance – entertainment. The threat of alternative products does not exist. It is only the distribution of the product that has alternative modes. The customer gets the same brand of the same quality with Redbox as with any other seller in the industry. Close customer relations do exist, but not in the conventional sense; however, it exist through customer service and online. There is no notable difference in the price for performance – except the ease of obtaining Redbox’s products. Redbox’s business model deals with the different pressures of new entrants in the following ways:Â   Competition would have to develop an enterprise of significant size to be considered a threat. The have secured many of the prize locations for their kiosk (Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, Walgreen’s). A company would be hard press to find better locations to compete on the same level as redbox. Considering the volume of hardware, software and personnel; the initial cost to competitors would be very high. The machines are extremely expensive plus having the software and personnel to run them. Existing competitors, (Blockbusters) though experienced, are not prepared to compete in a kiosk rental capacity. But they are moving in that direction Blockbuster as an example has said it will close some of it stores and put in kiosks instead, called Blockbuster Express. The loyalty in this industry is to the product, not the distributor. Existing competitors will have to completely reinvent their business to compete in that Market. Most competitors’ strategies are out-dated and are playing catch up to redbox’s business model, The product is the same between competitors; it is Redbox’s kiosks presence that makes it more attractive. The market growth is constant. Rivalry among competitors is very high and they are always looking for more ways to bring the customer to them and away from the competition, they use advertising, promotions, and price cuts to get customers to use them. Redbox has done a good job of competing by using the low price of its product verses it competition. Before redbox an average rental was between 3 and 4 dollars for one or two nights. With redbox lowering the price to one dollar a night and using the convenience of an atm style platform it set the competitors scrambling to match that price point. I have a different view of the movie industry then most I feel because of the situation I am in as owning my own store for the last ten years. When I first started out we only had vhs tapes and they were very expansive to buy for rental which was offset by the fact that you could not buy new release at Wal-Mart for 30 to 45 days so the customer had to rent from you. With the invention of the dvd the studios began selling to Wal-Mart on the same day it came out at the video store, so now customers could buy it instead of renting it of course the price came down but so did the profits. Then with redbox entering the market the total price point changed. The dollar price point does not leave much room for profit unless there is a large turnover. The small mom and pop stores are hard pressed to compete in this market because they can not buy in volume or sell as many products to make it affordable. If I was starting my business today I would not open a brick and mortar store I would try to get into the kiosk market. But I would do it in a way that would be unique. I would go to smaller markets with less competition and sell my product at a higher price then redbox but cheaper then the brick and motor stores. Works Cited http://www. slashfilm. com/2009/09/16/blockbuster-may-close-20-of-locations-is-the-chains-future-kiosk-only

History of English Literature, Essay

The ghost also speaks of the underworld, a Classical belief that brings out Humanist beliefs also. This instantly makes Hamlet doubt the ghost, which causes him to hesitate before seeking revenge for his father’s death until he has discovered the truth. Seeking the truth is one of Hamlet’s obstacles as many layers cover it. He desires to know which religious belief system is the true one and the best to die by. This reflects on Renaissance society and Europe as they too were torn between two or even three, philosophical positions. By using a variety of religious ethics Shakespeare has made both the audience and Hamlet question which system is the true one. Arnold Kettle, in his essay entitled, â€Å"Hamlet in a changing world† states that, † because of the death of Hamlet’s father and the hasty marriage of his mother and his uncle, Hamlet’s views of the world change. These views affect his ideas in every aspect possible and Hamlet has difficulty living with them†. Kettle believes that Hamlet was putting into practise new Renaissance humanism ideas. The theory of humanism rejects the abuse of tyranny, cruelty and murder; all three were present in England and the court of Denmark. Hamlet decides that he cannot accept this in Denmark because he sees this as rottenness and Claudius as the source of it. Wilson Knight, in his essay entitled, â€Å"The Embassy of Death† does not agree with Kettle as he states, â€Å"Hamlet is inhuman. He has seen through humanity. And this inhuman cynicism, however justifiable in this case, on the plane of casualty and individual responsibility, is a deadly and venomous thing†. I agree with Kettle as Hamlet seems to be trying to maintain his humanism and he does this by seeking the truth so he can get his revenge and still live by the laws of God. He searches for evidence to back his theory that Claudius is the source of rottenness so he is able to kill him and rid Denmark of all its rottenness. If, like Knight states, Hamlet were inhuman he would not hesitate in getting his revenge as much as he does and he would not question all the different religious belief systems. In The Short Oxford History of English Literature, Andrew Sanders states that, † Hamlet’s public problem is how to avenge a political murder in a culture where private vengeance is politically and morally unacceptable† (page 157). I disagree with Andrew Sanders as I have collected evidence that shows that in the Renaissance there were groups that strongly believed that humans were god-like, thus able to carry out revenge. I do not think it was totally morally unacceptable in this society to seek revenge and I believe the Shakespearean audience would have been aware of this. Shakespeare has provided the clues for Hamlet and the audience in the plays imagery. The play is fuelled by images of poison, rot and decay. This is enveloped in the theme of illusion verses reality. Things appear in the play to be true and honest but the reality is that they are infested with evil. Shakespeare has included a lot of imagery that is related to the bible, particularly Genesis. This creates a different theme in the play, one of inherited sin and corruption. Humans are fallen creatures, victims of the devils trickery, according to Genesis. Shakespeare has used this throughout the play, as there are many references to Adam, the Garden of Eden and original sin. â€Å"Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me – so the whole ear of Denmark Is forged process of my death Rankly abus’d – but know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown†. Act 1, scene 5, lines35-40. Here Shakespeare has used a metaphor to show that Claudius is perceived in this play as the devil, reflecting that Hamlet is not the only thing rotten in Denmark. Many of the characters hide behind masks of falseness and this makes it extremely difficult for Hamlet to uncover the truth that he desires in order to rid Denmark of Claudius and its rottenness. If Claudius is the devil, according to Humanist values, Hamlet could act god-like and do the state a favour and rid society of his infestation. If Hamlet followed his Christian ethics he would have to leave the justice to God and that would mean that society suffered. This would make the audience decide which belief system they would favour but would also bring in the question of what would happen to Hamlet when he died. Margreta de Grazia writes in her essay entitled, â€Å"Hamlet’s thoughts and antics† that † Hamlet fights against becoming rotten like Claudius, he struggles in a rotten world. He struggles to overcome his nausea by trying to unmask men, strip them of their fines appearances and show their true nature†. The one thing Hamlet does not want to do his lower himself to Claudius’ level and this is reflected in the play when he refuses to kill Claudius while he is praying. † Now might I do it pat, now a is a-praying. And now I’ll do ‘t. (Draws his sword) And so a goes to heaven; And so I reveng’d. that would be scann’d: A villain kills my father, and for that I, his sole son, do this same villain send To heaven†¦. † Act 3, scene 3 lines 73-79 I agree with Grazia as she backs what I have suggested above that Hamlet wants to be the executioner and not the assassin, as this would make him as low as Claudius. Hamlet is battling with all the ethics that his society has to discover whether or not he holds the power to deal out justice as God would. In conclusion I would have to say that Prince Hamlet is not the only thing rotten in Denmark. And as T. S Eliot puts it in the 1920 essay called ‘The Sacred Wood’, â€Å"If Hamlet is rotten, why would it be a tragedy? â€Å". The tragedy in this play is the fact that an intelligent, philosophical, sensitive character has been placed in a society that is rotten due to the King that governs it. My findings show that Claudius is the source of the rottenness in Denmark and Hamlet suffers against upholding traditional family values and his religious ethics. Hamlet has to put his ethics through every test imaginable, even at the risk of his own sanity. This does not make him rotten, this should make him commendable. Shakespeare has provided a character that wears his heart on his sleeve. We see every single one of his thought processes and watch in awe as he muddles through each dilemma. We watch as he loses his faith in mankind and achieve catharsis in the final scene when that faith seems to have been miraculously restored. This may be due to his coming to terms with his own fear of death or his realisation of mans role in the cosmos, we can’t be certain. But by having Hamlet regain some faith Shakespeare allows the audience and reader to regain their faith in mankind too. He is an example to us all. 3, 107 words (including extracts and quotes) 2, 264 words (excluding extracts and quotes) Shell Woodward. Bibliography Bate, J (1975) Shakespearean Constitutions, Politics, Theatre, Criticism 1730-1830 Clarendon Press, Oxford. Bevington, D (ed) (1968) Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet, A Collection of Critical Essays Spectrum Books New Jersey. Brown Watson, C (1960) Shakespeare and the Renaissance Concept of Honor Princeton University Press New Jersey. Gurr, A (2001) The Shakespearean Stage 1574-1642 Cambridge University Press London. Jenkins, H (ed) (1993) Hamlet Arden Shakespeare Methuen & co ltd St Ives. Joughin, J, J (2000) Philosophical Shakespeares Routledge London. Jump, J (ed) (1985) Hamlet: A Selection of Critical Essays Macmillian London. Marsh, N (2003) Shakespeare, three problem plays. Palgrave New York. Sanders, A (2000) The Short Oxford Dictionary of English Literature Oxford University Press Oxford. Smith, D, N (1964) Shakespeare Criticism Oxford University Press London. Wells, R, H (2000) Shakespeare on Masculinity Cambridge University Press UK. URLS Eliot, T, S â€Å"The Scared Wood† essay www. bartleby. com/200/sw9. html Kettle, A – â€Å"Hamlet in a changing World† essay www. faculty. millikin. edu/~moconner. hum Knight, W â€Å"The Embassy of Death† essay www. mtsn. org. uk/staff/hamlet Rist, T Religion, Politics, Revenge: the dead in Renaissance drama www. shu. ac. uk/emls/09-1/ristdead. html.

Post Modern Social Theory Essay

In a nutshell, postmodernism rose out of the perceived problems and dangers that were brought by the modern era of the world. With most parts of the world being under the influence of modern theoretical perspective like objectivity and scientific inclination, most of the theories that can be categorized under postmodernism can be defined as an attack and criticism to the perceived problems of philosophers, sociologist and even artists to the reality that was created by modernism (Kellner, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Under the banner of postmodernism, we can see numerous thinkers that had attempted to analyze the modern world using their postmodern spectacles. Among this thinker are French philosopher and sociologist jean Baudrillard and Zygmunt Bauman who manage to provide a rich and fertile discussion on the discourse of postmodernism and the cultural and sociological framework of the modern world. In this paper, two thinkers shall be put in focus. These two thinkers are so vital and important in the postmodern discourse that understanding their thoughts and ideas will enable us to understand more the context of postmodernism. Jean Baudrillard Just like any postmodernist theorists, the ideas presented by Jean Baudrillard can be characterized to be an attempt to analyze the modern sociological and cultural framework. In many cases, he managed to provide a discourse through the comparison of modern practical and theoretical system and pre-modern practical and theoretical system (i. e. frameworks during the industrial revolution). A good example that is very notable is his conception of the value system. For Baudrillard, the modern world had managed to provide numerous ways of characterizing value. He named at least four value systems that can characterize something or someone. The first one is the functional value which is in relation to the functionality and instrumental use of the object. The second one is the exchange value which is the value of the object in relation to the economic condition and economic sense of manufacturing it. The third one is the symbolic value which is in relation to the relationship of the object to some individual or group of individual (e. g. diamond ring for marriage proposal). Lastly is the sign value which is the value of an object in a given set or system of objects due to the idea or values that it may represent (Baudrillard & Levin 132-133). According to Baudrillard, the modern world today with all the products and things that are being developed are enabling the construction of a new world system that is based on the third and fourth kind of value system. This means that most of the objects and products today base their values on a superficial value system. This is in contrast to the value system of eras like the industrial revolution wherein things and objects are manufactured and made out of functionality and essence. This arrangement of the modern world that is based on superficiality of value is ought to be destructed soon due to the empty bubble that it creates that is not based on people’s needs but rather to people’s superficial beliefs and desires. An idea also related to the value system is Baudrillard’s idea on simulacra and simulation. For him, what we have in the modern world is a system wherein we perceive things that are not really real and necessary. We are now living in a world wherein we acknowledge things like holiness, titles, prestige and other categories which do not really exist. It is comparable to a hyper-reality wherein we are living in a world where we acknowledge references without real referents. Much of our activities are contributing to the development of this ‘simulacra’. In many cases, we disregard what is real and just fit to live under the influence of this new and alternative reality. Baudrillard argues that this is indeed a dangerous system wherein we are living our lives in this new reality and we are living what is truly real to rot and be set aside (Baudrillard, 50-51). Indeed, much of Baudrillard’s philosophies and criticisms are ought to make us review and rethink the human condition. With his ideas on superficial value system and simulacrum, we are being forced to open ourselves and think outside what the society taught us to be. We are being taught by Baudrillard to perceive and see things as it is for us learn more in the real world. Zygmunt Bauman Together with Baudrillard, Bauman, a Polish sociologist had also provided a fertile ground in the discourse in modernity, culture and consumerism. Just like other postmodernist thinkers, Bauman had offered a picture of the modern arrangement of the modern world. He argued that what we have now is a society which preferred individual freedom rather than collective security. Prior to this system is an arrangement wherein individuals highly regards its power over nature, efficiency, hierarchy, rules and regulation. This is aimed to make our world safer and more secure. For Bauman, this is the characterization of the solid modernity. However, people had observed that despite these constructive efforts to bring peace, security and stability; there are groups that cannot just be really controlled. This groups or individuals which cannot be controlled shall be referred as ‘strangers’. As a response, this solid form of modernity will later transform to a liquid form of modernity. In this new form of modernity, what are more important are the individual pursuit and the new level of freedom. However, this new sets of characteristics are made possible at the expense of concepts like security (Bauman, Postmodernity and its Discontents, 130). In this new type of modernity, numerous problems are arising. Primarily, the classic institutions like school, government and even laws are now losing its grip to the people. The task of finding one’s individual path is left to the people. People are forced to decide for their own goals and actions which often bring confusion and disarray. The strangers mentioned earlier in the first part of the discussion are also experiencing problems. Bauman for example relates these theoretical strangers to the Jews in the time of the Holocaust. He argued that though societies are being enticed with the spontaneity and actions of the strangers, they are at the same time afraid of them because no one knows what they will do next. In this sense, the Jews are the strangers of Europe. The Holocaust is the result of the fear to these Jews that is made possible with the fertile ground provided by this new kind of modernity (Bauman, Intimations of postmodernity, 94). Conclusion One cannot deny the historical pattern of societal system that exists in our world. As one societal arrangement managed to rise and exist, a new one will come to arise out of its shortcomings and mistakes. As the modern society managed to successfully challenged earlier system such as feudalism, postmodernism is also a response for the shortcomings of modernity. Then again, we can always argue that postmodernism will improve the live that we have. Though we gain much from the modern system, we also lose much. The ideas of postmodernism are an attempt to repair our society and to reestablish or regain those functional characteristics that were dropped or erased because of our shift to modernism. Though some people can and may argue against this, one thing is for sure, the ideas of postmodernism are giving us a shot for a chance to improve our lives. Works Cited Aylesworth, Gary. Postmodernism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2005 Baudrillard, Jean & Levin, Charles. For a critique of the political economy of the sign. Telos Press, 1981 Baudrillard, Jean. Symbolic Exchange and Death. London: Sage, 1976/1993 Bauman, Zygmunt. Does Ethics have a Chance in a World of Consumes. Harvard University Press, 2009 Bauman, Zygmunt. Intimations of Postmodernity. London: Routledge, 1992 Bauman, Zygmunt. Post Modernity and its Discontents. New York University Press, 1997 Kellner, Douglas. Jean Baudrillard. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2007 Klages, Mary. Postmodernism. University of Colorado, 2003

MBO program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MBO program - Essay Example Employees are also made to understand how their individual contributions influence overall success of business objectives. Drucker and other management experts have identified six steps in the MBO process. The first step is Motivation, whereby employee's inputs are considered and respected in setting goals for each individual. The keywords during this step are 'empowerment', 'job satisfaction' and 'commitment'. By involving themselves directly in the goal setting process, it is believed that employees will show more commitment to the success of the organization. The next step of the process is about ensuring that proper communication and coordination exists between managers and employees so that performance reviews are conducted in an open and transparent manner. By making the goals clear both management and workers can be expected to be on the same page. The six steps involved in MBO can be summarized as follows: Setting the overall business goals; Setting goals pertaining to depart ments within; Deliberating within departments in order to achieve a consensus; Agreeing upon commonly understood and discussed goals; Setting goals for individual employees; and finally Monitoring performance against set goals.

Why testing is important in mobile application Literature review

Why testing is important in mobile application - Literature review Example The researcher asserts that mobile application testing is important in the creation of applications that are free of bugs. To highlight the specific importance of mobile application testing, the study has evaluated the importance of the kinds of mobile application testing. These types of testing as stated in the study include, installation, memory leakage, performance, laboratory, functional, interrupt, certification, and usability testing. According to the study, the installation testing helps verify the success of the installation procedure. Nimbalkar (2013) asserts that the problems that may arise when the application is using data are checked out during the laboratory testing. For the mobile application to be certified, its compliance has to be assessed, the certification testing helps in evaluating the compliance level. Nimbalkar (2013) notes that mobile phones are faced with certain varying conditions that may affect the performance of the application. As a result, performance testing aids in examining how well the application performs under these conditions. The conditions include low network coverage, battery, and

Short term finance sources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Short term finance sources - Essay Example It is evident from the study that in today’s modern era, every business maintains a bank account of its own where it deposits the money it receives from the sales generated by the business. As the businesses expand, the ratio of their cash sales ratio decreases to the credit sales ratio, because of which the businesses can face difficulties in paying their short term and immediate expenses such as paying salaries of their work and the heating bill. This is when the businesses ask ‘their’ bank for an overdraft so that they can pay for their expenses. Bank overdraft is a form of loan given by the bank to its customers and businesses, where the customers and businesses are charged interest on the money spent by them. Another option that a business can exercise to pay for its expenditures and administrative costs is by arranging a short term loan from the bank. Any loan taken from the bank that has to be repaid within a year can be defined as ‘short term loanâ⠂¬â„¢. Trade credit is the number of days in which a business has to pay for the good it has received from the supplier. The number of days in which the payment has to be made for the business entirely depends on the working relationship between the supplier and the buyer. If the buyer has been maintaining a good reputation and has always being paying on time, the supplier may also go a little easy on the buyer by giving him enough time to arrange for the funds. Sale of unused assets: Most businesses only exercise this source of finance when all their sources of finance are have been used up. In this source of finance, funds are generated by selling unused fixed assets of a business or assets that the business is not making full use of, which may include extra machinery, buildings and vehicles. By selling the unused fixed assets, the business is able to generate enough funds to meet its requirements. In 2010, Lokul Oil used four sources of finance to meet their requirements which we re, Trade Credit, Sale of investments, Sale of property and Sale of its subsidiary companies. To generate funds to meet its short term obligations, Lokul Oil had to sell its short term investments, which included bonds and other cash equivalents. In addition to that, Lokul Oil also sold some of its subsidiary companies to generate enough cash for the company so that they don’t have to arrange for a bank overdraft or short term loans to pay for the expenses. The company also sold some of its property that it had bought long time back for expanding purposes, in order to generate cash to meet the short term obligations of the company. On the other hand, the primary sources of finance that were used by Premier oil to finance its expenses were Trade Credit, Sale of unused assets and Sale of investments. Premier oil asked their suppliers to extend the payment time given to them so that they meet their other short term expenses first, and then, when they have enough funds, the suppl iers will be paid. This helped in solving the problem of meeting short term obligations for Premier oil. Another source through which Premier Oil arranged for funds to meet its short term obligations was sale of its unused fixed assets, the assets that the company had in surplus. This included sale of property, offices, buildings, sites which were not profitable or were not generating enough revenue to meet the company’s demand. This source of finance helped in putting the idle money into use. Like Lukul Oil, Premier Oil also used sale of

Employee Engagement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Employee Engagement - Research Paper Example The employees should have other things in mind than salary only so that their performance can be the best. For this purpose the relationships between people within an organization should work in a good environment. Employee engagement is the bondage an employee had with the organization which makes him put in efforts to work for the benefit of the company. Employee engagement involves the efforts of both the organization and the employees themselves. True commitment towards work is necessary by the employees. This can be attained by the organizations by encouraging the individuals to put in efforts for the benefit of the organization. Every person working in a team should be encouraged and added in the conversation. Feedback should also be taken by all the employees in an organization. When an employee feels that he is valued, motivated and encouraged then he works more hard, hence benefiting the organization. Employee engagement is hence an important factor for the businesses to run efficiently nowadays. Employee engagement can be improved by frequent communication, meetings and friendly conversations. For example, Stamm (2009) discussed that in a hospital there was a meeting arranged for improving employee engagement. The nurses felt that the doctor was not friendly towards them and never even smiled at them. On the other hand, the doctor was a concerned to do his surgeries with perfection. He found it shocking that the staff was not at ease with his attitude. According to him he was busy taking wise decisions for doing the best surgery for his patients and never paid attention to this fact. With the help of this discussion the nursing staff also got to know that the doctor was never intentionally rude with them. This made them work better with one another, helping each other more efficiently and focusing on their duties more than on the personal attitudes hence employee engagement was improved. World is getting more and more connected nowadays. People have b etter job opportunities and everyone wants to improve his income because he wants to get luxuries and comforts in his life. Employee should not work only for getting salary, he should own the company. Efforts are being made by companies to improve employee engagement as well. The personal goals of the employees are also important for improving employee engagement. In this assignment, the differences between individualism and collectivism are explored in detail. 2. Employee Engagement 2.1 What does Employee engagement mean? Employee engagement is the hot cake issue for organizations for the past several years. It is the amount of attachment or emotional bondage a person has with his organization and work. This bond makes the employee work at his best for benefitting the organization. It is all about to â€Å"own† an organization and work for it and to share the good and bad moments. According to Investopedia (2011), employee engagement is a management concept which is of great importance. It is the level of interest and devotion an employee has towards his job. For example, a person who works in a company and puts in efforts for the organization’s growth and profits and does not only works for money or salary and has devotion towards his job and company is an engaged employee. Organizational culture and its management contribute a lot in the employee engagement. According to Cook (2008), employee engagement is the amount of commitment an employee has towards his organization. It is the passion and energy the employee has towards putting in efforts for the betterment of his organization. For example the employee working in an

Human resources case 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human resources case 2 - Essay Example Previously the company only provided a few health care programs to its employees. This has lowered the cost of benefits for the company to a certain extent. Currently the company is offering four different health care plans to its employees. This flexibility allows the employees to choose a health care plan that suits their personal needs. Offering multiple health care plans has proven cost effective for FedEx because not all employees need an extensive health care plan. Some employees will be happy to take a limited health care plan and will be happy to take more of their income to home. The flexibility offered by the company will allow them to customize their health care plans and to decide how much income they want to set aside for health care plan. Employees who would choose programs that offer less coverage will only be eligible for a limited number of benefits. This will drive down the cost of the firm. Previously the firm offered a few health care plans to its employees. This made employees obligated to have benefits that might not be suited to them. This also increased the cost of health care benefits because the firm was more exposed. Firm had to provide the same level of benefits to all of its employees. By offering different health care coverage plans, the firm has made itself less exposed to risk because some people would choose a plan that offers less health care benefits which will reduce the liability of the firm. This is how FedEx has taken a very good step to slow down increases in cost of benefits by allowing its employees to choose from different health care plans. FedEx has started many programs like disease management program, training program, and nursing hotline to help its employees with their health related issues. These programs are aimed at helping employees of the company maintaining good health and fight diseases and other illnesses swiftly. All these programs are also playing a great role in decreasing

Feature Article - Japan Nuclear Explosion and Earthquake Essay

Feature Article - Japan Nuclear Explosion and Earthquake - Essay Example The Fukushima accident and Chernobyl nuclear tragedy having had similar consequences, it will be useful to compare these two incidents so as to understand the possible interventions to be made in future. An analysis of Chernobyl nuclear tragedy in terms of its short term and long term impacts would help the scientists working on the Fukushima issue to predict the possible long term impacts of Fukushima accident. Moreover, they will be able take lessons from the Chernobyl experience to be adapted to their present operation in Fukushima. The objective of this essay is to compare the impacts of Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear accidents on environment. Impact on environment It is beyond any doubt that both Fukushima and Chernobyl tragedies have resulted in serious environmental impacts. The danger in the impacts is that the pollutants are radioactive. This would mean that it continually changes its chemical constitution and set forth chain reactions causing complex multiple implications. In terms of environment, the largest danger is the long time these elements take to decompose itself. Half life, which is time taken for a compound to decompose into half of it is very long in the case of these isotopes. Thus the environmental implications are long term and unpredictable. The radioactive elements get into the water, air and soil. It also gets into the supplementary systems of water, air and soil. Marine systems, food chains, agriculture, animals, milk and ecology in general is contaminated by radioactive isotopes. It has been reported that in the earlier days after the Chernobyl nuclear accident, the surface deposits of radionuclides became radioactive for agricultural plants and the animals which consumed these (Roberta, 2009). . This was rapidly absorbed into milk which increased the level of thyroid in people who consumed milk. This was predominately observable across Ukraine , Belarus and Russia. The secondary phase of the sedimentary deposition was that these were taken up by plants from the soil through roots. Ceasium was the isotope which was reported to be most dangerous in this regard. It must be noted that agricultural products from highly affected areas may even now have traces of this isotope (Roberta, 2009). The direct presence of radioactive elements in plants reduced with time. The reasons could be weathering, physical decay, and the downward movement of radioactive elements into lower zones of soil inaccessible to the plants (Greenfacts, 2006). However, the impact of the radioactive leakage on agriculture does not limit to this direct surface deposition and plant uptake. The extensively cultivated areas with high content of organic content were affected. Pasturing of affected animals over unimproved grass lands also contributed to the radioactive content in agricultural plants and products. The people associated with these farms, especially the subsistence farmers in Russia were largely affected (Greenfacts, 2006) Radioactive plant products are reported to be largest contributors for human internal dose of radioactive elements. As these isotopes, especially Ceasium, has long life, the traces of the element is still found in some of the products. The current scenario is that the level of radioactive elements in products from Chernobyl has come down below national and international action levels. However, in Zhytomir and Rovno

Personal finances Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Personal finances - Assignment Example Big Data make it able to carry out the analysis for the reason of assembling a photograph of an event or person from pieces of data that were scattered across other databases. According to Moffitt (pg.3), Big Data is a repository for multi-structure information and enables making inferences from correlations that small databases cannot do. Moffitt (pg.9) said that Big Data has enabled large web IT firms like IBM, Google, Yahoo and Amazon to store and get useful data from Big Data. Big Data can exist in the form of large structured information like relational data, semi-structured information like data that one tags with XML or unstructured data like text and video. The largest chance of harnessing Big Data is represented by unstructured data which forms the largest proportion of existing data (Moffitt, pg.11). For instance, using textual information presents many chances to realize patterns, writing styles and hidden themes. In conclusion, Big Data is a database that can bring huge profitability to businesses. Business enterprises should evolve their accounting models to focus on data content and data linkages. Accounting standards of firms have to deal with data of large databases and allowable sets of

Attachment in the United States and Amae in Japan Essay Example for Free

Attachment in the United States and Amae in Japan Essay Culture enables people to adjust to their physical as well as social environment. Culture enables the members of society to develop ways of coping with the exigencies of nature as well as ways of harnessing their environment. People also have to learn to relate themselves with others in order to survive. As Schwartz (1998:48) pointed out, the culture of any society represents an adaptation or adjustment to the various conditions of life, including their physical, social, and supernatural environment. No culture is completely static. Every culture is in constant flux; and the changes represent adjustments to the environment. Culture changes at different rates. The changes occur as a result of discoveries, inventions, and cultural borrowing. In some areas, control of the natural environment has been pursued to a point that the society has become endangered. Natural resources, such as bodies of water, forests, plant and animal life and minerals, have been so exploited that the environment is close to destruction. The acceptance of change depends on the exposure of the members of society to new ideas and ways different from their own and their opportunity to accept ideas and ways through diffusion. United States and Japan are belonging to different continents, locations and have different set of people; however, these two countries have similarities in some ways. Its people adapt and practice different cultures. Its culture shapes the behaviors and characteristics of its people that will make them noticeable that these groups of people are come from United States and Japan. Thesis Statement: This study will conduct a cross cultural psychology comparison of Attachment in the United States and Amae in Japan; thus, describes its functions, similarities and differences. II. Discussion A. Its culture, similarities and differences o United States There are a lot of groups of people that reside in United States; whites made up 83. 2 percent of the populations; blacks 11. 7 percent; American Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts 0. 6 percent; Asian and Pacific Islanders 1. 5 percent; and other nonwhites 3. 0 percent. The nonwhite groups are concentrated in various parts of the country. Freedom in matters of education and the right of every child to have an education are basic principles in the United States. Unlike many other nations, the United States does not have a central or federal system of education, Establishing and administering public schools is one of the powers exercised by each state (Fritsch, 2001). The state, in turn, delegates much of this responsibility to local school districts. Literacy in the United States is high just like in Japan. In comparison to Japan (which only has two major religions), no other country in the world has a greater variety of religions, communions, denominations, and sects than the United States. More than 220 religious bodies report membership figures. Nearly all branches of Christianity and almost all Protestant denominations are represented. Japan and United States has the same views when it comes to religion (Katzman, 2003). The United States also believe that religious freedom and separation of church and state should be made. Government cannot interfere with religion or show preference for one religion over another. It cannot set up an official, or established, church, nor give support to any religion or to all religions. In the early days of the republic, United States artists and writers were generally regarded as inferior to those in Europe. Be the end of the 19th century, however, an independent national literature of high quality had been established by renowned writers (O’Neill, 2004). Music in the United States was strongly influenced by European music, and study in Europe was considered a necessary part of musical training far into the 20th century. America’s most influential contribution to music was jazz, a form originated by blacks and based on African rhythms. The musical which evolved from burlesque and operetta, was another American innovation. For many years, architects in the United States simply adapted European styles to American climate, landscape, and materials. The favorable economic position and amount of leisure enjoyed by the people of the United States give them unusual opportunities for recreation. Paid vacations became the rule for most industrial and office workers. The most popular outdoor spectator sports are football and baseball. Horse racing and automobile racing have large followings (Kurelek, 2005). o Japan The Japanese people are largely of Mongoloid stock, but little is known about their specific origin. Successive groups of migrating Asians from the mainland are believed to have settled on the islands some time before 300 A. D. Confronting them were the islands’ earliest known inhabitants— the Ainus, a Japanese people have developed from the mingling of these different ethnic groups. Only a few hundred full-blooded Ainus remain, on Hokkaido. Japanese culture is partly of Chinese origin and partly indigenous, for the Japanese adapted and did not merely imitate the culture of the mainland. Since the middle of the 19th century, Japan has been influenced more by the culture of Western countries than by that of its neighbors (Morton, 2004). Adoption of many Western ways produced sharp contrasts between the new and the old. Buildings and clothing, for example, are now seen in both traditional and Western styles. Among forces that have helped to mold the Japanese character are Buddhist, Shinto, and Confucian religious beliefs, the effects of a long feudal period, and the influences of the Japanese industrial revolution. With industrialization came a change from rural to urban living. American influences have been particularly strong since World War II (Smith, 2005). Moreover, its art has been strongly influenced too by Chinese art. From the mainland came the technique of ink painting on silk and the Buddhist influences in sculpture and painting. Flourishing throughout Japan are no, classical plays in which the actors wear masks depicting their character; bunraku, puppet plays; and kabuki, drama with stylized chanting and dancing. An important part of Japanese culture is the tea ceremony, a highly formal ritual, of which there are many variations. As a way of entertaining guests, it is regarded as the best expression of traditional etiquette. Some of the traditional arts—especially classical Japanese music and dance and the tea ceremony—are part of the repertoire of geisha, female entertainers who perform for groups of men. In addition, the family is a traditional and strong institution in Japan. It has a formal structure with authority vested in the male head of the family. The wife is expected to be subservient. Children learn discipline and their respective roles in the family at an early age. Sons are given preference over daughters, and the eldest son is superior to all others (Elkin, 2004). However, many of the more repressive aspects of the family, such as that of parents determining marriages, have weakened since World War II. Japanese homes are noted for their simplicity. Nearly all are built of wood. In many homes, paper-covered wooden frames, called shoji, are used for windows and doors. Being light and easily moved, they allow much of the house to be opened to the out-of-doors. Some homes are adjoined by landscaped gardens. Rooms usually have thick mats, called tatami, on the floor and very little furniture (Elkin, 2004). With regards to Japanese language and religion, the Japanese language is unrelated to other Oriental tongues. However, it is written in characters that originally adapted from Chinese writing. Furthermore, like in the United States, the Japanese constitution provides for freedom of religion and separation of church and state. The two major religions are Shinto and Buddhism. Many Japanese adhere, in varying degrees, to both. With regards to their education, six years elementary education and three of lower secondary school are free and compulsory for children 6 to 15 years of age. At the three-year upper secondary schools, tuition is charged. Education in Japan is highly competitive, and admission to upper secondary school and to college is determined by rigorous entrance examination. As a result, many Japanese children spend their after-school hours attending jukas, â€Å"cram† schools that specialize in preparing students for entrance examinations and other school tests. Japan has virtually no illiteracy (Christopher, 2003). III. Conclusion In conclusion, as I study the two different cultures, I have realized that United States and Japan have some similarities when it comes to their origin. Japan was most influenced by the Westerners and its origin was contributed by other indigenous groups and so is with United States. Everything that we can see from the Japanese and American culture are already been modified by other influences. However, in spite of the strong adaptation of different culture, Japanese remained their being family-oriented. They value the essence of having a united family; thus, a well-structured family role is formed so that each member can have its function. Unlike with the United States, it is very much influenced by the European settlers and based their competencies in European countries. Its culture is more focused on its development to the extent that internal competencies are suffered. I would say that Japanese culture is superb compared to United States because Japan is able to maintain their traditional ways in spite of economic development. Reference: 1. Fritsch, A. J. (2001). The Ethnic Atlas of the United States (Facts on File). 2. Katzman, D. M. (2003). Plain Folks: the Life Stories of Undistinguished Americans (University of Illinois). 3. O’Neill, Thomas. (2003). Back Roads America: a Portfolio of Her People (National Geographic Society). 4. Kurelek, William (2005). They Sought a New World: the Story of European Immigration to North America (Tundra Books). 5. Morton, W. S. (2004). Japan: Its History and Culture (McGraw-Hill). 6. Smith, R. J. (2005). Japanese Society: Tradition, Self, and the Social Order (Cambridge University). 7. Elkin, Judith. (2004). A Family in Japan (Lerner). 8. Christopher, R. C. (2003). The Japanese Mind: the Goliath Explained (Linden Press).

Plato Essay Essay Example for Free

Plato Essay Essay 1. a) Explain how Plato’s epistemological assumptions shape his metaphysics (Why does he think that there must be Forms? Hint: Plato says (in effect): â€Å"Since knowledge is certain, therefore the objects of knowledge must be unchanging. †). b) Define Plato’s Forms and present the theory of Forms by explaining the â€Å"divided line. † (You can use the visual image, but explain it. ) Plato was extremely devoted in answering the sophists’ skepticism about reason and morality. To do so, he spent more time than any philosopher before him studying knowledge, or epistemology. He realized that to answer the sophists’ skepticism he had to first solve the three main problems that earlier philosophers had left behind; the problems of change, the â€Å"one† and the â€Å"many†, and the problem between appearance and reality. Plato started where Heraclitus, who said that everything is changing, and Parmenides, who said that nothing ever changes, left off. He said that both philosophers were correct in their assumptions, for they were talking about different types of objects. Heraclitus is correct in terms of the sensible realm; it obviously exists, and is a flux that conforms to the â€Å"measures† as he suggested. Parmenides was correct in terms of the intelligible realm. Plato thought that beyond the world of physical objects in space and time is another world that is nonphysical, non-spatial, and non-temporal. He called this the world of ideai, or forms. These forms are nonphysical, non-spatial, non-temporal objects of thought that are more real than anything else. Whenever we are thinking, according to Plato, what we are thinking about is a form. For example, a triangle drawn on the board in class, no matter how perfect and real it may appear is merely a copy of the form of triangle; a plane figure enclosed by three straight lines. It is like a triangle and looking at it helps us think of the real triangle, but it only relates, or â€Å"participates† in Plato’s terms, to its’ true form. This theory applies to the entire sensible realm because everything changes and nothing stays exactly what it is. In the world of forms, however, everything is always what it is and never another thing. Plato believed that because the world of forms is Parmenidean, or eternal and unchanging, it is therefore possible for us to know it. To explain his theory of forms in depth, Plato used the image of the â€Å"divided line†. Take a line and divide it into two unequal parts, one part representing the physical world and one representing the world of forms. Then, subdivide these two parts in the same ratio, creating two sub-parts of the physical world (call them A and B) and two of the world of forms (call them C and D). Plato says let the first, or lowest, section of the physical world (A) stand for images, such as shadows or reflections. Let the second section of the physical world (B) stand for the actual objects that cast these shadows, like trees, humans, or desks. In the world of forms, Plato continues, let the first section (C) stand for the lower forms, or the forms of the objects in section B. The second section in the world of forms, the highest section of all, (D) then stands for the higher forms, or the science of first principles; the knowledge that, if possessed, would prove the basic assumptions of the special sciences. Plato believed that the nearer we are to the base of the divided line (A), the more conditioned our knowledge is. We can move up the line through dialectic, a process of questions and answer that utilizes hypothesis, criticism, and revision to move nearer to unconditioned knowledge. The higher we climb via this dialectic, the more we rid ourselves of conditions and the better we grasp the knowledge of the non-material abstract forms (D). According to Plato, these are the forms that possess the highest and most fundamental kind of reality. 2. a) How does the Form Man explain the existence of the many individual men? b) What is the nature of man and how is the individual man analogous to the state? c) What is virtue or justice in man and in the state? Plato’s theory of Forms led him to many assumptions, one of the most important of which is his view on the form of â€Å"man† and his relation to the state. He understood that no one man has ever been perfect and that each man participates in the form â€Å"man† to different degrees. Individual men are adequate copies of the true form of â€Å"man†. Plato believed that the men who participate in the form more fully are going to more real, and therefore  better, then the men who participate less. This is better explained by his philosophy of the nature of man and his analogous relationship to the state. Plato recognized the nature of man as a psyche, or soul, that was grouped into three main parts. Each of these three parts have motions proper to them that he believed, if harmonized, would lead to eudaimonia, a total well-being. The first, and lowest, part of the soul he called the appetites. The highest part Plato called reason. The third part, between appetite and reason, he called spirit. He saw the state as having three main parts as well, each corresponding to one of the three parts of the human psyche. Every state needs a governing body, whether kings or congress, so this will be the first part. The second is reserved for the essential producing class, which includes merchants, industrial workers, agriculturists, and so on. Third, Plato held that every state needs a group, between the governing and producing classes, to maintain the state against enemies; this is the guardian group. The analogy relates the producing class to appetite in the individual, the governing class to reason, and the guardians to spirit. Plato wasn’t just satisfied with this, he wanted to know the virtues of these classes, in other words, he wanted to know what each could contribute best. Like organs in an organism’s body, Plato believed each part of the soul and state have a particular role to play in the whole; they were not discrete and complete in themselves. He thought that the function of the members of the producing class was to provide themselves and the nonproductive classes with the necessities of life, such as food, shelter, and clothing. He realized that if everybody were to be provided for sufficiently, some of the producers would have to put up with having less than others. They would have to be ready to â€Å"restrict one’s own consumption for the sake of achieving some sort of balance in the state as a whole†, thus their virtue is moderation or as Plato called it, temperance (Jones 169). The guardians, who make up the second class, must be courageous when defending the state against its enemies, thus their virtue is courage. The governors make the highest decisions in the state. They determine war or peace, educational and economic policies, and so on. To make correct decisions they require knowledge; this is their virtue. A state in which each class is performing its function is just state. Only when the rulers are making wise decisions that are executed with courage and loyalty by the guardians, and the rest of the population is exercising some restraint in its pursuit of material well being, will the citizens of the state be happy. Since the state’s three classes exactly correspond to the three parts of the soul, we are able to understand what Plato took to be their respective virtues. Just like in the state, every individual has producing part that keeps them â€Å"alive and active, a rational part that is intended to guide and direct the energy produced by the body, and a spirited part that is intended to help keep the body in order† (Jones 169). Just as the functions of the soul correspond to the state, so do its virtues. A virtuous man is temperate in satisfying his various appetites and lives a life of reason that is supported by his spirited elements. 3. a) Use the allegory of the cave to illustrate Plato’s political views. In doing so, you should b) explain how the theory of forms supports Plato’s favored form of Aristocracy (to begin with, recall the relation between individual men and the Form of man) and c) explain how the theory of Forms grounds his criticism and rejection of democracy (where in â€Å"the cave† are the Athenian democrats?where are they on the divided line? ) As we have seen, Plato uses myths and methods such as the divided line to explain his views on certain things; this is the case, too, with his views on politics. To understand these views we must examine his allegory of the cave. He said to imagine there was men in a dark cave that were chained by their necks and ankles in such a fashion that they could not move their legs or necks and could only see what was in front of them. These men had been in this cave since childhood. Higher up behind them is a fire that is separated from the prisoners by a sort of puppet-show screen. This fire and screen were used by people carrying various artificial objects, such as figures of men, animals, and other materials, to project the shadows of these objects onto the stone in front of the chained men. It was so dark that these prisoners had no clue they were not alone and if they spoke to each other, they assumed they were speaking with the projected images. Plato goes on to say, imagine if one of them were set free and forced up the steep ascent into the sunlight. He would realize that what he experienced in the cave was not as real as what actually existed. Nature and the sun would enlighten this man and therefore he would gain true knowledge of the world as it is. Plato reasoned that these men, the ones who make it out of the cave, are the men who should rule the rest. His politics were based on man being a social animal, with desires, not only for sleeping or drinking, but communicating with his fellow men in the community. Therefore, he thought communal life is good and all other human goods depend on it for any sufficient satisfaction; an individual, who is really part of the larger state, is neither complete nor himself in isolation. If the good life for the individual is possible only by community, then there must be some sort of government to give direction to the numbers of men and women who live and work together. Plato believed that the few who are wise and good should rule the many. As his theory of Forms suggests, all men participate to the form of man to different degrees. He thought that the few men who participate at the highest levels of the form, the most knowledgeable that have exited the cave and been enlightened, are the ones best for ruling, and doing so rationally; the many are lacking in knowledge and virtue. Plato favored an Aristocracy ruled by these knowledgeable philosopher-kings who would impose the temperance on the producers through selective education and controlled propaganda. Each person, in his view, would find their happiness by playing the part in the state that their degree of participation to the form of man best suited them for. Plato therefore criticized democracy because instead of philosopher-kings who have true knowledge, the rulers are chosen on irrelevant grounds. The art of ruling, which he thought to determine what is best, became in democracy the art of appealing to the masses with flattery. Plato believed that in a democracy it is impossible to exit the cave or rise to the highest section of the divided line because it is powered by rhetoric. Rhetoric works at the level of opinion and only invokes belief by emotional mean, rather than operating at the level of knowledge, where analyzing the forms allows us to discover the truth.

What Are The Psychological Causes Of Crime Psychology Essay

What Are The Psychological Causes Of Crime Psychology Essay During the 19th century the concept of an influence of the biological factors on criminal behaviour was strong, due to Charles Darwin publications of the theory of evolution. However, when considering criminological issues, biological and psychological explanations have been rejected for some time. It is worth noting, that in recent times there has been an increasing interest in studying the relationships of biological and psychological factors and criminal behaviour. (Lilly et al, 2007; 20) According to Reid (2006), there is no doubt, that the biological and social factors, especially their interactions are important in understanding and explaining the causes of criminal behaviour. Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909), Italian psychiatrist and anthropologist , is considered today as a father of modern criminology. During his research about criminals, Lombroso relied on a Darwins theory of evolution, to support his own theory, that criminals had not evolved as far as non-criminals. Furthermore, Lombroso compared criminals to wild creatures, who like their wild predecessors, had many atavistic traits, which made them more likely to behave like a wild animals. That was the reason, that Lombroso famously claimed that he had found the biological characteristics, which allows to distinguish criminals according to crimes committed by them. Consequently rapists were characterized by short-handed, narrow forehead, often blonde hair, abnormalities of the nose and in the genital organs area. Lombroso believed that repeat offenders are among those that may be considered criminals by birth, so the two types of criminals were distinguished as a result of his studies about the crimina l behavior. These were criminaloid and insane criminal. According to Lombrosos findings, criminaloid is a person, who is motivated by passion, what with other factors lead to criminal behavior. On the other hand there is an insane criminal, who is epileptic, psychotic, unfit to society, who cannot control his behavior.(Lilly et al, 2007;18-24; Einstadter 2006, 84) Lombrosos views were shared also by Raffaele Garofalo and Enrico Ferri, who stated that any criminal behavior cannot be explained without involving another factors, such as environmental or physic.(Ferri 1901) It is worth considering, that Lombrosos studies were widely criticized, because of showing significant overemphasize of biological causes, while an environmental factors seemed to be neglected by him. As it was stated in Wolfgang cited in Reid (2007; 88) The fears of these critics that Lombroso diverted attention from social to individual phenomena, reveal their basic misunderstanding of his work and its effects (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). Lombroso served to direct emphasis from the crime to the criminal, not from social to individual factors Although Lombroso and other positivists had made the foundations for further scientific analysis of criminal behavior, but the effective crime prevention requires changes in the environment and the social structures, which are also important in an explanation of the causes of crime.(Williams,2008; 162) The physical approach of crime and human behavior, shows the assumption that function is determined by structure. The belief, saying that the crime is associated with body build, was introduced in the 1926 by Ernest Kretschmer,(Lilly 2007; 24-28) but the first real development of this issue begun with the scientific work of B. Sheldon in 1940. Sheldon connected psyche and body type with temperament. During his research, Sheldon introduced three body types: ectomorph- tall, skinny boned; endomorph- short, fat bodied; and mesomorph- athletic, well built. Main purposes of his research can be defined as a need of systematic study of human behavior and personality. Sheldon was further criticized about the way his sample was chosen. As it is stated in Cortez and Gatti, Sheldon picked only those persons, who could support his theory. His definition of three body types, has also been criticized because it was not precise enough to easily distinguish them. (Cortez, 1972;8). The next step in an explanation of criminal behavior is to take closer look at the history of the family just to find out, if whether the family has had a cases of criminal behavior. The early studies of family were conducted by Sheldon Glueck and Eleanor Glueck. Researchers concentrated on family history to find the possible explanation of criminal activity. But it is worth to remind, that the family studies have been discredited because it was not methodologically sophisticated enough to permit significant conclusion. Although there was a basic difficulty in family studies, which consisted of the impossibility to control the environment, the family was existing and developing, it was necessary to take further steps in an explanation of a correlation between family background and criminal behavior of ones. This inconvenience led researchers to introduce two other methods of studying genetic factors and criminality. Those studies included the environment , as the most important facto r affecting peoples behavior and leading to crime. Finally, aim of those studies were to find an explanation about the generations of violence and deviance within the families. Those two methods were studies of adoption and studies of twins.(Williams,2008; 139) Studies of twins were conducted by Karl O. Christiansen, who studied the occurrence of criminal behavior among twins in Denmark, between year of 1881 and 1910. Christiansen stated that if one of twins is engaged in criminal activity, the probability that the second twin will also do so was 35%, and only 12% if the twins were fraternal. His studies were continued and updated by Sarnoff A. Mednick and his colleagues, who concluded that genetic factors for some variables are linked with criminal behavior. Mednicks studies were criticized because of possibility of methodological errors, but finally were confirmed, despite of those errors occurrence there is an evidence of correlation between genetic factors and criminal behavior. (Burke 2009, 69-70) Another important issue in Mednicks research were studies of adoption. With his colleagues, Mednick conducted adoption studies in Denmark, using a sample of 72000 from Denmarks adoption registry. Mednick stated that the tendency to criminal activity was higher among those adoptees, whose biological parents were criminals. Moreover, research showed that there were much higher tendencies of criminal behavior in adoptees, who had both biological and adoptive parents engaged in criminal activity. His research undoubtedly proved that genetic factors cannot be ignored when explaining causes of criminal behavior. (Mednick et al, 1987; 67-80) Family studies were also a tool used to get the information about possible psychological explanations of crime. Early psychologists were focused mainly on intelligence traits. Research traced criminality in the same family through generations, showed that the mental retardation was the main cause of criminal behavior. It is worth to consider that one of the earliest explanation of the criminality in the middle ages, was demonology. People believed in evil spirits, which while possessing individuals, caused nasty behavior. Only exorcism seemed to be the right treatment, which could save possessed person from doing wrong things. In fifteenth century some beliefs arose that people, who were behaving badly, were actively cooperating with devil. In the enlightenment great discoveries about human body and mind were made, researchers started to be interested in human anatomy, physiology, neurology, medicine and chemistry. Causes of physical illnesses were discovered, and therefore researche rs applied that there must be reasons, which causes mental disorders. Those assumptions led to development of psychiatry, defined as the prevention, diagnosis and treatment in mental illnesses. According to psychiatry approach, each person is individual and requires specific treatment and an individual case study. William Healy was the first, who used the case study to explain delinquent behavior., and the case study seemed to be the only way to penetrate the ones background, concentrating mainly on emotional development. Healy and his associates showed that delinquents were more likely to have personality disorders than non-delinquents. Although Healy et al introduced and popularized the case-study method, their studies may be criticized because of using too small samples as well as giving too little information on the way of measuring the concepts and characteristics. . (Reid 2006; 102-103) Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is widely known as the father of psychoanalytic theory. Freud introduced the concept of unconscious, and according to that, humans live with mental conflicts between desires and energies, the most basic instincts, which must be hidden because of societys morality. The natural drivers can often be expressed by some persons in some ways, usually indirect, to avoid reaction of others. Freud saw twofold nature of every human being- assertive and aggressive. Aggression could not be learnt, but rooted deeply inside the mind. That was the reason why Freud stated, that everyone have the criminal tendencies, but during the socialization process, people learnt how to control it effectively.(Myers, 1995; 462-465) According to Halarambos(1991), the psychiatric approach may be criticized for some reasons- the terms were vague, no definitions for most concepts were given and the most of data were subjectively interpreted by the researchers, as well as the research were ba sed on small samples.(Halarambos, 1991; 584-585). In 1985 year publication Crime and Human Nature authors James Q Wilson and Richard J. Herrnstein stated that there is a link between criminal activity and a level of intelligence, especially low. However authors were criticized because of stating that low level of intelligence and crime appear together in the same group, but there were no significant evidence that low level of intelligence causes criminal behavior.(Wilson 1985, 148-164). According to Benson not only people with low level of intelligence commit crime, but there are also very bright criminals, especially white-collar criminals , so when taking intelligence level to consideration, it is important to consider also type of the crime committed. However, those with lower intelligence level are more likely to be arrested, charged and convicted.(Benson 2009, 19-50) 4/4/2011

Outgoing Travel Organization Business Plan Essay -- business plan, tra

Outgoing travel is an organisation based on the idea of fun and freedom. If you are part of a society, club, international society or just a group of friends, they make it easy to organise life changing trips to destinations and events throughout the UK & Europe. They organise day trips, weekend breaks, events and festivals and many other exciting ventures for anyone with a sense of excitement and fun. Where is the company located? The address of a local outgoing travel organisation is located below: 25 Brunswick Rd Manchester, Greater Manchester, M20 4QB Tel: 0161 610 2000 The company’s main objectives. The company aims to have anybody come along to the organisation, however I would say that their target market, or at least the one the organisation appeals most to is that of students at colleges and universities. The main functions of an organisation are 1. Sales (this involves the distribution of goods and provided by the organisation) 2. Purchasing (this involves a consumer buying the product) 3. Finance (this involves managing the money that flows in and out of the company) 4. Operations (this involves carrying out the main business of the organisation) The main objectives of the organisation are to organise the most prestigious events for young people to enjoy and to help people have something to look forward to before or after they finish college or university. They have ranges of packages which suit even the most discerning of people and they cater to everybody’s needs. As well as that, the company has an objective to make a profit. If the company profits from the events and selling their ideas through marketing, then one of their main objectives have been fulfilled. Also their objective is to pro... ... It helps to give the organisation a clear idea of what sort of person to focus their marketing activities on. It may, for example, be possible to group customers according to geographic area or to target their own promotional and sales efforts more precisely. With this database, the company is also able to communicate successfully with their customers by identifying similar groups of customers to target by a particular method; such as by telephone, direct mail, email or face to face. The company has the choice to reward regular, profitable customers with targeted special offers, and to target customers from whom they haven't had business in the past. CRM also helps the company to measure the effectiveness of their marketing activities so that they don't waste time and money on customers who aren't responding to the promotional campaigns that the company provides.

The Knoll - Original Writing :: Papers

The Knoll - Original Writing He was sitting there in the midst of the darkness, keeping an observant eye on his watch. He knew the minute the big hand hit five it would all begin. He was very composed and new what he had to do. In the distance he could see the silhouette of the house and the trees dancing alongside it. The crisp winter's wind was blowing right through his thick sleek trench coat. His long slender fingers curled around the rifle trigger one by one; ensuring he had the future target in position. He placed the rifle back down on the tripod and examined his surroundings. The rustic house was very old with Tudor beams running through it, making the entire building feel cold and deserted. It was surrounded by tall overgrown cedar trees. They shaded the building, leaving elegant shadows draped down the walls. The grey malicious sky complemented the building well, a perfect backdrop. Meanwhile on the knoll in front of the house was the assassin, hidden amongst the trees and the gloomy undergrowth. There was a quiet rustle as the tyres of the car rolled slowly over the stones, to the left of the assassin a vehicle appeared, moving gingerly down the drive. As it passed the trees the rusted bonnet began to become visible, a murky once white colour. It gradually came into full view and he could see that the roof of the car was made out of black bin liners tied together, flapping around in the wind making a whipping noise as they contracted. The sea-blue boot of the car had an indent to the left side of it. This made the car look very misshaped and abnormal. As the car came to a halt, a puff of smoke came out of the exhaust which blurred the view of the assassin as he could not see what was going on. He did not move because he would give away his position, so he sat there waiting for the smoke to disappear. He was becoming very anxious, what if the victim disappeared, and all

Yersinia pestis :: Biology Biological Health Medical Essays

Yersinia pestis Life History Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of the systemic invasive infectious disease often referred to as the plague. The Y. pestis is an extremely virulent pathogen that is likely to cause severe illness and death upon infection unless antibiotics are administered. In the past, Y. pestis has caused devastating epidemics during three periods of modern history; the Justinian Plague spread from the Middle East to the Mediterranean during the 6th-8th centuries AD and killed approximately 25% of the population below the Alps region. Perhaps the most famous incidence of any disease was the devastating Black Plague of 8th-14th century Europe that eradicated 25 million people (nearly 25% of the population) and marked the end of the Dark Ages. The third endemic began in 1855 in China and was responsible for millions of deaths. Microbiological Characteristics Yersinia pestis is a Gram-negative, bipolar-staining coccobacillus member of the Enterobacteriaceae family, and is an obligate intracellular pathogen that must be contained within the blood to survive. It is also a fermentative, motile organism that produces a thick anti-phagocytic slime layer in its path. Transmission Y. pestis has the ability to cause disease in rodents, insects and humans. The primary carriers of the pathogen are the Oriental rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, and infected rodents. The path of transmission to humans usually involves a flea feeding on an infected rodent and becoming a carrier of infection. Once internalized, the bacteria will continue to reproduce until a large blockage is formed in the midgut of the flea, causing digestion and other gastrointestinal functions to cease. When the flea attempts to feed on humans, the blockage inhibits any blood from entering the stomach cavity; instead, portions of the blockage, often containing 11,000-24,000 bacilli, are regurgitated into the mammalian host. Virulence Factors Yersinia pestis encodes two antigenic molecules: Fraction 1 (F1) capsular antigen, and VW antigen. Both of these molecules are needed for pathogenicity, and are not expressed at temperatures lower than 37Â °C. This requirement is the main reason why Yersinia is not virulent in fleas, since their body temperature normally levels around 25Â °C. Yersinia is a model for studying Type III Secretion Systems (TTSS) that inject bacterial proteins into a host cell. In Y. pestis, it is the translocation of Yersinia outer proteins (Yop’s) that blocks the host cell’s ability to communicate with immune system cells and down-regulates the response of phagocytic host cells to infection.

History of McDonald’s

McDonald’s with about 30.000 restaurants in 121 countries; was founded in 1948 at San Bernardino, USA. Its business goals are satisfied employees, more satisfied guests and a better economy. They consider employees as their main asset and accordingly, have undertaken human resource programs and practices called the â€Å"People Promise†.   Their success was due to quality, quick service, cleanliness and value for money. In 1997, McDonald’s divided its HR into three groups: the Service Center, HR Business Partners and the HR Design Center. The HR Design Center employs HR experts who develop, test and implement systems applicable to employees’ tools, which are at the forefront of research and which are designed to improve overall business results. The Measurement and Organizational Effectiveness group deals with employee commitment surveys in order to standardize relevant data, to study practices and approaches that affect turnover, productivity, customer satisfaction, sales and profitability. I-O psychologists have played a critical role in Leadership Assessment and Development, which deals with the executive succession planning process, senior management feedback and coaching and other senior leadership development programs. Implementing competency-based people systems, McDonald’s has realized intellectual capital by helping each person deliver business results. This is the People Promise initiative, which identifies metrics that relate to the success of this key strategy. In addition to conducting job analyses and test validation studies, I – O psychologists also construct and assess methodologies appropriate for capturing critical factors that measure overall business success. â€Å"I-O psychologists at McDonald’s are now, in a position to enact a key role in defining the landscape, identifying the key signposts and measuring how far an organization has gone to reach its overall goals† (Matt Barney, July 2001). McDonald's attaches great importance to imparting knowledge about the benefits of a balanced diet and active lifestyle not only to its customers but also to its employees. Recently, Peter Beresford, CEO of the UK wing of McDonald’s, endeavor has been to improve communications. He has initiated a number of pioneering measures like ‘Ask Peter', a direct e-mail, ‘Town Halls', a monthly live online event where board members answer questions from staff, and the MDUK staff magazine. The employees have welcomed these changes whole heartedly (HR Challenges. 6th September 2005). Sources HR challenges †¦ I’m lovin’ it., 6th September 2005. Retrieved 19th April 2006, form http://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2005/09/06/31465/HR+challenges+I'm+lovin'+it.htm Matt Barney, Macro, Meso, Micro: McDonald’s, Retrieved April 17, 2006 from http://siop.org/tip/backissues/tipjul01/17barney.htm   

Understanding the Strategies of Activision Blizzard

Understanding the Strategies of Activision Blizzard, Inc. What is the vision of Activision Blizzard, Inc.? Activision Blizzard, Inc. ’s corporate vision is to be a â€Å"worldwide leader in the development, publishing, and distribution of quality interactive entertainment software, online content and services that deliver a highly satisfying entertainment experience (Activision Blizzard – 2013 SEC Form 10-K/A Amended Annual Report). † Horizontal Integration & Synergy; Activision Blizzard, Inc. ’s approach to success. Activision Blizzard, Inc. s â€Å"a worldwide online, personal computer, console, handheld, and mobile game publisher (Activision Blizzard – 2011 Annual Report). † The company was created via the merger of Activision, Inc. , Sego Merger Corporation, Vivendi S. A. , VGAC LLC, and Vivendi Games, Inc. (Activision Blizzard – 2013 SEC Form 10-K/A Amended Annual Report). Utilizing horizontal integration, the merger integrated â €Å"ownership of production facilities, distribution channels, exhibition outlets and ultimately allowed the formerly separate companies to profit from the others expertise (Turow 175). The new company uses three separate operating segments. Activision Publishing, Inc. , Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. , and Activision Blizzard distribution. Activision Blizzard, Inc. holds â€Å"leading market positions across every major category of the rapidly growing interactive entertainment software industry (Activision Blizzard – 2011 Annual Report),† and is a classic example of synergy, â€Å"a situation where the final product is more valuable than the sum of it individual parts (Turow 175),† at work.What is the competitive environment for Activision Blizzard, Inc.? â€Å"The interactive entertainment industry is intensely competitive with new products and platforms regularly introduced. Competitors vary in size from small companies with limited resources to large corpora tions who may have greater financial, marketing, and product development resources than Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Activision Blizzard – 2013 SEC Form 10-K/A Amended Annual Report). † Whom is Activision competing with in the marketplace? Activision Blizzard, Inc. competes primarily with other publishers of PC, online and video game console interactive entertainment software. Most similar in operating structure is Electronic Arts, which has the largest portfolio of blockbuster games, including many sports titles, and other game franchises with long histories of success. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft compete directly with them in the development of software titles for their respective platforms.They also compete for the leisure time and discretionary spending of consumers with other interactive entertainment companies, as well as with providers of different forms of entertainment, such as motion pictures, television, social networking, online casual entertainment and music (Activision Blizzard 2013 SEC Form 10-K/A Amended Annual Report). † What does Activision see as their primary competition? Activision Blizzard, Inc. elieves the primary competitive factors in the interactive entertainment industry include: â€Å"product features, game quality, and playability; brand name recognition; compatibility of products with popular platforms; access to distribution channels; online capability and functionality; ease of use; price; marketing support; and quality of customer service. (Activision Blizzard – 2013 SEC Form 10-K/A Amended Annual Report). † What strategies and specific activities is Activision considering to compete with others? Expanded product development – Activision Blizzard, Inc. s â€Å"creating a publishing arm that will bring third-party mobile games to market. Through the program, it will assist independent game makers with funding, development, distribution and promotion of their titles across both iPhone and i OS. The company is collaborating with Flurry to help with this transition (Duryee, Tricia. â€Å"Activision Starting to Take the Plastic Wrap off Its Mobile Strategy. † AllThingsDigital. com, 13 Jun 2012. Web). † Increase online capability & functionality – access new customers & audiences: ‘Skylanders’ Is Officially Activision’s newest $1 Billion Franchise. The ‘Skylanders’ franchise became the first kids’ video game IP to cross the $1 billion mark in just 15 months, and I think we are still just starting to realize its potential,† Activision publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said in a statement (LeJacq, Yannick . â€Å"Skylanders’ Is Officially Activision’s newest $1 Billion Franchise. † IBTimes. com, 11 Feb 2013. Web. ). † Access new distribution channels – Activision Blizzard, Inc. â€Å"announces in-game live streaming via YouTube for Black Ops II (McGlaun, Shane. â€Å"Activision announces in-game live streaming via YouTube for Black Ops II. SlashGear. com, 8 Nov 2012. Web. ). † What might an Activision customer see in terms of different offerings or approaches because of the strategies the company is undertaking? Increased Content and Online Services. Activision Blizzard, Inc. ’s shift towards digital delivery of content will result in more diverse online product offerings. Expansion of Mobile Products and Services – Activision Blizzard, Inc. will continue to expanding into the mobile arena by supporting legacy franchises as well as creating new brand assets.A Narrowing of the Gap between the real and virtual worlds – Riding an unprecedented wave of success, Activision Blizzard, Inc. will produce additional Skylander style kid’s games. Which one of the six changes in media is Activision’s strategies addressing well? Distribution of products across media boundaries: Activision has been very successful at creating meth ods of distribution that â€Å"allows businesses to make money back on products† (Turow 186). Activision Blizzard, Inc. will absorb the growing demand of digital content distribution without issue.Many of its video games and content expansions are already available for direct download. For example, â€Å"Activision Publishing’s innovative new online service, Call of Duty Elite, which launched with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is one of the fastest growing premium online services ever created. As of January 2012, more than seven million gamers had registered for the service, which includes more than 1. 5 million users who purchased premium annual memberships. Additionally, the franchise is estimated to have had over 40 million monthly active users across five Call of Duty titles (Activision Blizzard – 2011 Annual Report). Which of the six changes in media is Activision neglecting to address? Audience Segmentation: Activision Blizzard specializes in developing, publishing and distributing first-person action games, â€Å"which account for approximately 16% of the interactive entertainment industry’s revenue (Krause Fund Research, Web)†. Activision Blizzard’s target audience, â€Å"the people whom their products are directed (Turow 36),† are males 18 – 45 who â€Å"account for over 55% of all gamers and are the back bone of the industry (Krause Fund Research, Web). Activision Blizzard has been wildly successful with their media franchises, â€Å"properties that are highly profitable over time and in many media formats beyond their original appearance (Paul, Nora, slide 10),† but has neglected to address the need for audience segmentation, â€Å"creating products designed to reach different types of people (Turow 160). † Due to this dependence on a specific target audience, failure to achieve anticipated results by one or more products may significantly harm their business.For example, Activ ision Blizzard’s four largest first-person action franchises (Paul, â€Å"Understanding the Strategies of Media Giants† slide 10), accounted for approximately â€Å"83% of net revenues, and a significantly higher percentage of their operating income, for the year (Activision Blizzard – 2013 SEC Form 10-K/A Amended Annual Report). † If consumer demand trends away from first-person action games and Activision Blizzard fails to attract new audiences or add other sources of revenue, their lack of audience segmentation could significantly harm their business. References From news article: McGlaun, Shane. Activision announces in-game live streaming via YouTube for Black Ops II. † SlashGear. com, 8 Nov 2012. Web. From news article: Duryee, Tricia. â€Å"Activision Starting to Take the Plastic Wrap off Its Mobile Strategy. † All Things Digital. com, 13 Jun 2012. Web From news article: LeJacq, Yannick. â€Å"Skylanders’ Is Officially Activisio n’s newest $1 Billion Franchise. † IBTimes. com, 11 Feb 2013. Web. From SEC report: Activision Blizzard, Inc. Form 10-K/A, Amended Annual Report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2012. Web. From Annual report: Activision Blizzard, Inc. 2011 Annual report for fiscal year ending Dec 31, 2011.Web. From Journal article: Miller, Z. , & Umphress, J. , & Wang, B. (2012). Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI). Krause Fund Research Fall 2012 Technology, 13 November 2012. Retrieved from The University of Iowa Research and Technology Department. Web. From the text: Turow, Joseph, Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication, 4th edition, New York, NY: Routledge, 2011. Chapter 2, â€Å"Making Sense of the Media Business: Identifying an Audience for Mass Media Content,† p. 36. From the text: Turow, Joseph, Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication, 4th edition, New York, NY: Routledge, 2011.Chapter 5, â€Å"A World of Blurred Media Boundaries: Horizon tal Integration,† p. 175. From the text: Turow, Joseph, Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication, 4th edition, New York, NY: Routledge, 2011. Chapter 5, â€Å"A World of Blurred Media Boundaries: Synergy,† p. 175. From the text: Turow, Joseph, Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication, 4th edition, New York, NY: Routledge, 2011. Chapter 5, â€Å"A World of Blurred Media Boundaries: Contrasting Views on the Social Pros and Con of Media Trends, Distribution allows businesses to make money back on products,† p. 86 From the text: Turow, Joseph, Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication, 4th edition, New York, NY: Routledge, 2011. Chapter 5, â€Å"A World of Blurred Media Boundaries: Audience Segmentation, â€Å"creating products designed to reach different types of people,† p. 160. From PowerPoint Presentation: Paul, Nora, Jour 1001 – 002, Chapter 6, â€Å"Understanding the Strategies of Media Giants,† PowerPoint pres entation in â€Å"Introduction to Mass Communication,† Slide 10 Media Franchise,† February 10, 2013.

Discuss the view that the influence of religion on UK society is declining

The UK is lucky to have such a vibrant, diverse and cultured population from migrants that have entered our small islands from the past few thousand years. However each time they make Britain there home, they bring there religion. This gives rise to the many religions and there denominations that have a presence. But what is a religion? According to the Penguin Dictionary of Sociology it is â€Å"A set of cultural ideas, symbols, and practices that focus on the meaning of life and the nature of the unknown. † Secularisation had been happening for long time before Nietzsche proclaimed, â€Å"God is Dead† and is a far more complex process than just a drop in church attendance. Marxists believe that religion is form of social control on the proletariat by the bourgeoisie. He saw religion as the opium of the masses, teaching them acceptance which was reinforced by hymns like ‘All things bright and beautiful' which had verses akin to â€Å"The rich man in his castle, the poor man at his gate, God made them, high or lowly, and ordered their estate. † aided there exploitation by teaching them to accept there place in society because it was God wished. When Marx wrote this, churches had a high monopoly on truth so people would be more inclined to believe it. Looking at statistics of ex and current communist countries it is clear that secularisation is very high with the majority of Britain from Chinese decent claiming they have no religion, it is also known that countries that follow a Marxist, however stringently, doctrine that government officials must have no religion, this is very widely enforced within the Peoples Republic of China's administration but not as obligatory within the soviets of the USSR. With only one class there should be no reason for a religion to control society, however when countries became communist the did not all suddenly drop there views and become atheists, even if these values were taught at school, they were still taught in the home as primary socialisation always comes before secondary such as the school. The media openly ridicules religion by broadcasting comedies such as Father Ted and The Vicar of Dibley which portray very un orthodox Ministers and there they very un orthodox parishioners. But the media does not stop there it regularly comments on the flaws in religion through various mediums such as articles printed about the bonuses of secularisation and TV programs calling for religions to be abolished in the bid for world peace. However many of the Abrahamic religions forgot the second commandment â€Å"Though shall not worship false idols† but would God really smite the celebrities that use there fame to help highlight charitable work and those less fortunate than ourselves? However jealous a god he is, does he approve of celebrities such as The Pope or Grand Ayatollah? Even with there religious leadership they still fit the job description of a celebrity. Religions are often accused of being behind the times on items seen as very taboo yet have always been there, especially gay rights and abortion. Many religions see all human life as sacred and that abortion is an act of killing one of gods children so a sin, they also conform to functionalist view of homogonous, heterosexual, monogamous marriage been the only appropriate view on raising children. Within the past hundred years many laws have been passed that work towards an egalitarian society in which no person is superior or inferior to another such as gay rights, abortion rights and gender equality, which have been advocated for as long as Plato in his â€Å"The Republic† in which he sees men and woman indifferent albeit for childbirth and strength, to which he argues that some woman are stronger than some men. Moreover, some religious organisations have moved slightly with times, notably the Anglican faith which no allows gay and female Vicars, abortion in certain circumstances as well as divorce and remarriage. So as many equality principles have been oppressed by religion and are only recently winning it over, only one has been supported which is race equality, which was lead and fronted by one the most famous men in the world, a Methodist minister, Dr Martin Luther King. But to counter that the Dutch Reform Church openly supported Apartheid in South Africa, as well as many Far Right Political Groups mainly National Socialism Groups such as Hitler's Administration but also the BNP and NF groups which solely believe in Aryan Protestants to be the superior race, a dumbfounded patriarchal view that contradicts many statements within the bible including when Jesus Christ died on the Cross for our sins he removed all barriers including that of gender, race, and nationality. This is as said by the apostle Paul â€Å"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ then you are†¦ heirs according to the promise† (Galatians 3:28-29). Weber first introduced his theory of rationalization in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, He predicts a decline in religion due to industrial advancement, plurality of religions and a rise in science and technology to answer questions that gave rational answers juxtaposed to religions ambiguous statement of it was Gods will. He looks at the Protestant denomination of ‘Calvinism' who believed in predestination and worked hard to beat their anxiety on whether they would be accepted into heaven. Eventually this evolved from a monopoly on truth to a monopoly of industry with many Calvinites becoming successful capitalistic businesspeople, for which Weber argued was inevitable. A rise in religious pluralism also adds to secularisation as individual religions are loosing their monopoly on truth as they are co-habiting and recognising other religions. Many large religious buildings now have faith rooms in which all religions are welcome. Also some Christian denominations meet and work together as Christians this is called Ecumenicalism. Within the past 250 years scientific advancement has gone from virtually nothing to a vital part our lifes today, religion has caught along on this bandwagon as well, but to only a certain extent. Darwin's theory of evolution is still questioned by some many religious individuals however these are mainly creationists. Weber suggested that eventually the mystical ideas would be succumbed by scientific ones. Durkheim (1965) suggests that religion was about celebrating the rules of your society and making the citizens keep to those rules. Yet, he argues, that as a society becomes more complex religion struggles to bind individuals due to industrialization and social fragmentation that regulate religion into a corner of where it becomes one of many beliefs and fails to unify members of society. Secularists and Antidisestablishmentarians have fought along side the broad left and broad right respectively, but hardly any battles have been as severe as the Spanish civil war (1936 – 1939) The Republicans were secularists and some of the more radical groups within in them such as the Stalinists NKVD committed terrible atrocities against the catholic church in Spain such as massacring clergy and destroying churches and monasteries. While the Nationalists were led by the infamous General Francisco Franco and had largely fascist yet catholic views and ties. They suppressed the terrorist secularist activities by executing teachers that promoted the removal of the church from education. Clear Statistics prove a decline in church attendance (All Protestant and Roman Catholic) from 30% of the population in 1900 to 12% in 1990, Hamilton (? ) Table 1. However a Social Attitudes Survey (1992) cited in Haralambous et al (2000) table 7. 19 pg 479 states that 75% of people believe in at some point God with or without scepticism, while the remaining 25% either stated they were Atheists, no answer or that they did not if there was a God and believed there was no way to find out. As 75% of people still believe in God at some point, this adds to the point that people may not be attending churches but still are retaining faith and does indicate a rise in Atheism. Davie calls this â€Å"believing without belonging†. Returning back to the Penguins Dictionary of Sociology's definition of religion in no point of the description does it state that one has to attend a specific place of worship to practice there religion. This adds to the point that people have not stopped believing in god but merely openly practicing in public, this could be that a conventional church does not fit in with there views of a religion or their lifestyles. In America Evangelical Christians have used the TV to their advantage and started to broadcast live sermons, this is taking the idea of songs of praise to a new level and with channels emerging such as GOD channel, religious sermons can make it into our homes – if we choose. Furthermore, Christian Church attendance was only mentioned above so what would be held for other religions and the attendance at there place of worship. Other data suggests that Christianity is just for Christmas According to UK Census Data (2001) 71. 6% claim to be Christian, 2. 7% to be Muslim, 1. 0% to be Hindu, 0. 6% to be Sikh, 0. 5% to be Jewish, 0. 3% to Buddhist and 23. 2% either have no religion or did not state one. However, comparing this with data from Social Trends 30 (2000) cited in Moore (2001) pg 417 suggest that while Christianity may be on the decrease other religions are not. Islam in the UK had increased 380% from 130,000 individuals in 1970 to 495,000 individuals. As well the amount of people stating their religion as Sikhism increased 250% from 1970 to 1990. Interestingly, participants of other non-Christian religious institutions had increased 231% over the twenty-year period, these could be institutions that conform to the description of a religion but are either world rejecting or world affirming. World rejecting religions promise savoir on judgement day and normally have very tight, strict rules and regulations placed upon their members, and most of all see the world as a bad place in which will not make it into heaven. World affirming religions on the other hand are too promised savour but do not have as many tight restrictions on its members but maybe one or two, such as no sex before marriage or no drinking alcohol and most importantly do not see the world as a bad place. There are many methodical issues raised when researching any religion topic, let alone secularisation. There are many points to include when research is undertaken for instance the reliability of the data, would a different research get the same results or if a different sample of participants and method of data collection was used. Is their a true representative sample, this would be important as Britain is a highly religiously diverse country and a poor sample could obscure the results. How valid is the data actually gained; is it what the researcher aimed to find in their question or is it irrelevant due to an ambiguous question. Religion is a very private matter and a researcher must question there self on how far they may be intruding on a participant's life or institution. Finally a researcher must be sensitive to the data and interaction with participants, as beliefs are very sacred to a person they must be fully aware of their customs so that they do not offend. Secondary sources must be looked at with great care and what they say applied today for example a woman practicing herbal medicine would not be seen as anything bizarre in today's world but 400 years ago burnt at the stake for witchcraft. In conclusion the debate of secularisation has rage on with the sociological world for many year, yet a unified decision has yet too be and probably won't be made. Bellah (1967) and Luckman (1996) both argue that religion is not in decline but is merely changing form. They say that the public side of religion may be in decline but the private side of religion and personal belief is not. Berger (1967) on the other hand says that religion is loosing its traditional place within society saying how the growth of science and technology has questioned it, and suggests that religion, as a way of life is no longer in capacity to do so. Wilson (1966) described secularisation as â€Å"the process whereby religious thinking, practices and institutions lose their social significance† But even though there is a drop in church attendance, society is not loosing its belief in a religion. Many religions have religious buildings to worship their god, yet with some religions it is not compulsory to attend them regularly, such as Islam and Judaism – perhaps Christianity has to learn from its religious ‘relatives'. On the contrary Voas (2005) gives evidence for a significant rise in church attendance around Christmas time, which can rise by 330% in some diocese in Anglican Britain. Perhaps this suggests that Anglicans choose to go to church only at special religious occasions. Many sociologists looking at secularisation focus on Britain and do to take into account other countries that have taken a huge rise of fundamentalism such as the USA and Iran, which are closely linked too politics. Fundamentalists, such as the Christian Coalition, helped shape the policies of the Reagan and Bush administrations, Bruce (1995). Finally Stark and Bainbridge (1990) suggest that secularisation and strong religious belief alternate in a cyclical pattern. From this I agree with Bellah and Luckman that religion is not in decline but merely changing the form in which it presents its self within society, as there is more corroboration between researchers that suggest people have not lost faith.