Sunday, October 6, 2019
International Business Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
International Business Environment - Essay Example This paper will examine the European Union’s agricultural subsidy: whether it does more harm than good. According to Myers and Kent, there are several reasons why countries subsidizes agriculture: first is that governments consider it a prime responsibility to keep their citizens fed, so there is the perceived duty to support farmers and double crop production; secondly, farmers worldwide have often been included in the poorest sector of society so policymakers feel that they deserve help.(2, p. 40) All in all, the rationale behind agriculture subsidies is to ensure that there are adequate food supplies, the prices for farm products remain stable and to help the farming sector more competitive and in the process help the poor and develop rural communities. In the European Union, agricultural subsidies rake billions of dollars of expenditures each year, constituting nearly three-quarters of the annual total budget of the EU. (1, p. 339) Support for agriculture is handled by a Common Agricultural Policy or CAP. Here, the policy uses a variable levy to bring the world price of an agricultural import up to the domestic price level as well as subsidizes exports of its surplus commodities on world markets, driving down prices for other potential exporters. The diagram below demonstrates this: Agricultural subsidies such as those of the EU’s have devastating effects on the international market, especially on the poor countries. Subsidies lead to over-production that is dumped on the world market, depressing world prices; and these subsidized imports enter developing countries’ markets with lower tariffs as a result of the AoA and IMF and World Bank conditionalities. (4) It is impossible for farmers from poor economies to compete with the low prices of agricultural products and usually go out of business. Unfortunately, this destroys local and rural production as imported and considerably cheaper agricultural
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Health Promotion in relation to Smoking control Essay
Health Promotion in relation to Smoking control - Essay Example 582-587). Both active and passive smokers are greatly affected by cigarette and tobacco smoking. The active smokers get affected directly whereas the passive smokers are affected indirectly (Oberg et.al, 2011, p.139-146). According to king et.al (2012, p.94), more than seven thousand American citizens and approximately thirty three thousand nine hundred American citizens die every year from lung cancer and heart related diseases following exposures to smoking. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2010, p. 7) further argue that active smoking and exposure to the second hand smoking kills more than four hundred and forty thousand American citizens every single year. However, this figure does not account for the ones who are left behind with severe illnesses attributable to smoking. With every one person who dies, twenty more are left suffering from other smoking related illnesses (Fiore, 2004, p. 204-210). This has further increased the burden of the government since it is estimated that the American government spends at least ninety six billion dollars every year to cater for the healthcare costs and further looses more than ninety seven billion dollars every year in terms of the productivity lost as a result of smoking every year (Farrelly et.al, 2013, p. 549-555). Despite, the dangers attributed to smoking, the habit is usually common in US with high school students and adults being the most affected groups in the society. It is even believed that in every group of five adults or high school students, one is a smoker (CDC, 2008, p. 5-8; CDC, 2009, p. 1227-1232). According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2010, p. 12-16), smoking today kills more than even HIV and AIDS and other drugs such as alcohol, heroin or even cocaine. Today, more than 8.6 million American citizens have chronic health conditions attributable to smoking
Friday, October 4, 2019
Students Overcoming The Odds Essay Example for Free
Students Overcoming The Odds Essay Needs Assessment and Program Planning A comprehensive study found that students from low-income backgrounds often score low in college entrance exams. A solution has been introduced called, Students Overcoming The Odds or SOTO. This program is designed to tutor low-income students toward greater success in the SAT/ACT entrance exams while potentially providing greater opportunity for obtaining scholarships. The program will be conducted through the recruitment of volunteers to tutor these students to greater success. Job Development and Design            Permission has been attained to conduct tutoring sessions at local libraries.  The cost for use of these spaces is none. Local civic leagues have agreed to donate SAT/ACT booklets to students at no cost. A similar organization has agreed to pay the cost for these students to take the necessary exams.   There should be no more than 5 students during a tutoring session. Each tutor shall choose a section of the exam they feel most confident in teaching. In this way students can be introduced to different instructional designs and methods. Recruitment            One means of recruitment is through local universities, either with active or retired professors. These professionals having dedicated their careers to higher education would be ideal candidates for tutoring sessions. Another means of recruitment is through the community itself. Unquestionably, education is key in individuals building a better life for themselves and thus returning knowledge to the community. Interviewing and Matching             Without question background checks will be conducted. The expertise of the volunteers, will be placed in their area of strength to tutor students. A teaching background in routine classroom environments is strongly desired and encouraged. Orientation and Training            Diversity will be a focus during orientation. This idea will be furthered during training. Sensitivity to the students backgrounds will be emphasized. If necessary, as the ACT/SAT tests change, refresher courses will be provided. Supervision and Management            Volunteers should know their role clearly, which is to guide these students toward success. Supervision and management are to guide and encourage volunteers to the best of their ability. A key to managing volunteers is reminding them of their sheer necessity to the program, without volunteers there would be no program. Recognition            A kind word of encouragement is always welcome to volunteers and staff alike. A suggestion would be recognizing a volunteer from each division on, at the least, a quarterly basis. This can be done through a special thank you during a planning meeting. As the program grows and success is realized larger rewards, such as gift certificates could be awarded.  Costs have been kept to an absolute minimum at this time and a budget for rewards needs to be integrated into the program. Evaluation            Success of the students is likely the most valuable evaluation tool. Another means to this could be peer evaluations as tutors instruct their students. This method of evaluation is routine in most, if not every university. Liability/Risk Management            Parents must sign a contract not holding SOTO liable for the failure of an exam. Express permission should be given as to the beginning and end of tutor sessions, as well as location. Should the student be over the age of 18, the student shall sign the same clause. Role of Staff            The role of staff should be one of guidance and encouragement. Volunteers do not have to make the sacrifices they do. Staff should always be aware that among their most valuable assets are volunteers, the very people themselves that make up and support the program. References: Babbie, Earl. (2006). The Practice of Social Research. Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth.
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Laws Governing Our Behaviour Philosophy Essay
Laws Governing Our Behaviour Philosophy Essay à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the very fact that a man obeys the law is due to his goodness. (Aquinas: 96) The gap between how people actually behave and how people ought to behave is so great that anyone who ignores everyday reality in order to live up to an ideal will soon discover he has been taught how to destroy himself. (Machiavelli, The Prince, p. 48) But fear restrains men because they are afraid of punishment, and this fear never leaves them. (Machiavelli, The Prince, p. 52) It is essential that anyone setting up a republic and constitution for it should assume that all men are wicked and will always give vent to their evil impulses whenever they have the chance to do so. (Machiavelli, Discourses, p.92) Men never do anything good except when forced to. (Machiavelli, Discourses, p. 93) Laws do not make men good. Critically compare Aquinas and Machiavellis responses to this claim Laws cannot make people good and virtuous, it should be people who have to make laws good Human beings do not just exist as biological creatures, they are also social creatures. Humans have to fulfill some responsibilities to live in a commune, for that reason every individual have to obey the spoken and the written rules. Society without law is impossible to think of. It can only regulate and work properly with laws. However laws do not make men good. People do not need laws and rules to know what is right or wrong. This knowledge is to be inside of every individual. Basic issue that my term paper needs to examine is that laws make men good or not. I will explain Machiavellis and Aquinas response to these questions then I will explain my argument. According to Machiavelli, virtu is skill and ability in ruling. It is not a moral thing. A man that has virtu means he is extremely good at what he is doing. To survive and lead to victory, he believes, sometimes prince should act unjustly. The virtuous man is the one who has the qualities that lead him to success in his actions. Prince is a decent man but sometimes he should act without morality.(Prince,18). If he wants to hold on to power, he should learn how not to be good. Because, in some circumstances, his goodness would damage him if he cannot use it skillfully.But even virtue cannot guarantee success. So fortune is an important term for prince to achieve his goal.( Prince,20). Some events happening in our lives and we are not able to change it. Machiavelli says that fortuna determines one half of our actions but it also leaves us to control the other half.(Prince,74). A ruler who only depends on his luck will not survive long because when his fortuna changes, it will destroy him. If one knew how to change, as times and circumstances change will survive with his luck. Virtu depends on fortuna and Machiavellis prince needs fortuna to survive long. Both luck and skill needed him to overcome problems. He says the way that people behave and should behave is differ and they obey the rules not because they are good but because fear restrains them (Prince,48). Hence laws do not make men good, people pretend to act good and they only obey it because they are forced, we cannot say law contribute them to be act virtuously. People can easily corrupt and it is their nature to want to be ambitious and to be greedy. Where there is a freedom of choice, they will immediately abuse it. So they only act justly when they are forced to.(Prince,93). Obeying rules does not make them just, they behave this way because they fear. On the other hand, Aquinas supports that law is a measure and rule which governs peoples acts.(Aquinas,77). It is a kind of teacher that teaches people how to act virtuous. So for Aquinas, human laws are required not only to prevent the vicious acts, but also to lead them to be virtuous. Law, even by forcing and punishing, leads men to act good.(Aquinas,100). For him, happiness is the final end of human life and lawful acts tend to produce happiness and blessedness to reach the final end.(79). He also believes there is a natural law in people. He points out that every individual understand what is good or bad for himself and human laws derive from the natural laws. Laws are the guardians against the human nature because people would corrupt the freedom if they are not restrained. However rules are not enough to make people good. It just help us to understand people who are tend to bad things. We do not need rules and laws to know what is wrong or right. This knowledge we should have inside. If law compels citizens to act good and they only obey it because they are forced, we cannot say law contribute them to be act virtuously. It is a fact that human beings react in different circumstances in different way of acting. Virtue is something which people acts morally without any external force. So for that reason it frees people from obligation because virtuous person is choosing to act morally by his own. It is a fact that if laws restrain a man not to kill anyone it can never leads him to have virtue. It must be chosen voluntarily otherwise it does not make him good in real. In conclusion, the thought of fear and punishment restrains peoples acts. To ensure the peace, human laws are required. However when people act involuntarily good, it does not make them really good. Acting virtuously is a choice that people accept it freely. It is impossible to improve people as virtuous by putting control mechanisms. They may act just today but when things change they can easily corrupt and act the way they please. If some people who tend to act badly have the chance, will not hesitate to do what they pleased. So laws cannot make people good and virtuous, it should be people who have to make laws good. Glossary Prince: Machiavelli uses prince not to mean a kings song. His term means ruler. This ruler should be both loved and feared, but since it is difficult to be successful in both at the same time, it is much better to be feared. Virtu: Machiavellis understanding of virtue is quite different from the common understanding of the virtue. Of course his virtues include courage, justice, prudence and honesty but he accepts all this actions when they are successful. Virtu means for him skill and ability in ruling. It is not a moral thing. A man that has virtu means he is extremely good at what he is doing. To survive and lead to victory, he believes, sometimes Prince should act unjustly. The virtuous man is the one who has the qualities that lead him to success in his actions. Prince is a decent man but sometimes he should act without morality.(Prince,18). If he wants to hold on to power, he should learn how not to be good. Because, in some circumstances, his goodness would damage him if he cannot use it skillfully.Both luck and skill enable him to overcome problems. Fortuna: According to Machiavelli, even virtue cannot guarantee success. So fortune is an important term for prince to achieve his goal.( Prince,20). Some events happening in our lives without our reaction. Machiavelli says that fortuna determines one half of our actions but it also leaves us to control the other half.(Prince,74). A ruler who only depends on his luck will not survive long because when his fortuna changes, it will destroy him. If one knew how to change, as times and circumtances change will survive with his luck. Virtu depends on fortuna and Machiavellis prince needs fortuna to survive long. Underlying problem Basic issue that my term paper needs to examine is that if law makes men good or not. I will explain Aquinas and Machiavellis response to this claim then I will critically discuss it in my argument. The questions that will help me; Do people act justly because of they forced? Is it beneficial to act justly? Do laws always illustrate the rights? Are there natural laws? Philosophers response According to Machiavelli, the way that people behave and should behave is differ. Hence, they obey the rules not because they are good but because fear restrains them.(Prince,48).Laws do not make men good. They act colorable. People are easily corrupted and they are selfish. Where there is a freedom of choice, they will immediately abuse it. So they only act justly when they are forced to.(Prince,93). But acting justly does not make them just because they behave this way because they fear. On the other hand, Aquinas claims that law is a measure which governs peoples acts. It is a kind of teacher that teaches people how to act virtuous. So for Aquinas, human laws are required not only to prevent the vicious acts, but also to lead them to virtue. My Argument In my essay, I will support the Machiavellis idea and will refuse the idea of Aquinas. I will argue that laws do not make men good. Laws cannot make people good and virtuous; it should be people who have to make laws good. Of course there are natural laws exist which accepted by majority. They are unique and inconvertible. But natural laws are not enough for ruling the city. So to ensure the peace, human laws are required. Fear and punishment restrain peoples acts and lead them to act just. However when people act involuntary good, it is impossible to say that they are virtuous.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Cash Grants Essay example -- Mexican Government, The Cash Program
Consider the compact of co-responsibility between the government and recipients. What is needed to make the compact work? Progresa had the goal of increasing the basic capabilities of extremely poor people in rural Mexico (Levine, 2007, p.67). Progresa is a program developed by the government of Mexico in 1997, and was implemented by President Ernesto Zedillo. With the help of Santiago Levy who was an economist, Progresa was developed to help break the cycle of poverty in Mexico. In order for the compact to work between the government and the recipients, a change had to take place from the governments’ standpoint. The government came to the realization of what the recipients needed and to provide that for them. Since the government was willing to fund the program to help the recipients, it demanded the recipients’ responsibility towards the program. For the first time, the Government of the Republic set in motion a program that will deal with the causes of poverty in an integral manner (Levine, 2007, p. 67). The recipients would be held accountable for their part in the program. They would be held liable for participating in the program by being responsible and attributing the responsibility of their choices towards the program. The government funded the program financially while the recipients’ responsibility included sending the children to school, getting the children immunized, and making sure their healthcare and nutritional needs were met. What was needed to make the compact work was the union and responsibility of the government and the recipients as a team. Why were the cash grants given to mothers? Do you think this was a good idea or a bad one? What might have been positive and negative consequences of this choice... ...not efficient there can be a greater risk of funds not being used wisely. There would be a need to have precautions set in place to prevent funds from being misused or even the overspending of funds that would be used to distribute to recipients. One way of creating an efficient system â€Å"is to have simple delivery mechanisms. Evidence suggests that small regular, automated payments are less likely to suffer corruption than large, infrequent, discretionary payments. The spread of computerisation will help in this regard, but will be much reinforced by the eventual introduction of personal identity systems, and the registration of births, deaths and marriages†(Farrington,2005). Organization is also a key to being an efficient program. With organization their can possibly be less confusion of how the program is intended to be designed so it can grow towards success.
School Dicipline :: essays papers
School Dicipline With a closer look into our educational system, it is clear that students are causing more trouble in schools today because of the lack of discipline. Many Americans believe that zero tolerance and possibly corporal punishment are ridiculous and even to an extent, a form of abuse. In reality, these policies, if enforced properly, could be the solution to the growing discipline problems in our schools today. Already, there have been too many injuries and deaths of students in schools. Physical fighting and the possession of weapons in schools need to be banned and more seriously dealt with. Some people believe that strict zero tolerance policies and corporal punishment in schools would reinforce a fear of the consequences, which would bring the students to think a little harder before inflicting such irresponsible acts upon others. I am interested in this issue because I believe that greater discipline in schools will decrease the student violence and the growing crime rate. School dropout rates have been continuously increasing for a long time. This may be a result of innocent students being mentally and physically bullied in schools. I would like to see young teenagers enjoy their education and to leave high school with a firm foundation for college and soaring dreams for their futures. I am sure that all parents desire success and the best in everything for their children. I understand that students do not enjoy serving the consequences of discipline, but I do believe it is the best way to settle the matter of school violence and the student attitude problems towards teachers and other authorities. More discipline in schools may reduce the crime, violence, and vandalism in the schools so that the students can better focus on their schoolwork. Parents are concerned with their children graduating from school. If there is not enough discipline, it is possible that some students who want to learn and be educated, may be kept from schools due to the fear of violence they may face. I know that students will disagree with policies of stricter school policies concerning discipline, but I believe that greater discipline is a logical step in the right direction.
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
City of Glass Essay
At the close of the world’s first international conflict, society grappled for understanding in a world that no longer made sense. This desire for order and reason, led to the development of the detective fiction genre and the transformation of â€Å"dime novels†into true literary works. Paul Auster takes the conventional elements of the mystery genre, and inverts them completely in his post-modern novel, City of Glass. In this way, Auster uses his work to satirize the conventions of the past and draw attention to the ever-increasing chaos of the modern day. Daniel Quinn, is simply a hermit in a vibrant city, trying to erase all aspects of his previous life. He writes mystery novels for the same reason they were written in the 20’s, because they represent a figment of order that is lacking in the world. Especially in a world that takes the life a young boy who hasn’t seen much. Quinn’s desire to separate himself from who he was before he lost his family, leads him to adopt fragments of his character Max Work into his own personality. The detective is one who looks, who listens, who moves through the morass of objects and evens in search of the thought, the idea that will pull all these things together and make sense of them. In effect, the writer and the detective are interchangeable†(8). This connection to the fictional world he created, entraps Quinn in the world of the private investigator, as if he willed himself onto the ontological level Work inhabits. His inability to separate his personal life from his â€Å"Work†fostered the parasite that sucked the very life out of Quinn, forcing him to find host in a new identity. The traditional private eye embodied in Work is the hard-boiled â€Å"tough guy†who has all the keys to solving our problems. Leaving Quinn to be the ultimate puzzle that needs solving. By distorting the traditional convention of the problem solver and turning him into the problem, Auster begins to suggest that nothing in this world is actually certain or concrete. And that identity is really just a figment of imagination, and the more your indulge your mind, the more your body begins to give way until, â€Å" the more Quinn seemed to vanish, the more persistent Work’s presence in that world became†(9). The mystery novel represents a world where the truth always conquers, Quinn’s attachment to this genre stems from his loss, and the more he re-focalizes his life, the less he has to deal with the reality of grief. Auster depicts mystery this way because it demonstrates the grand delusion of the human race, the belief that there is reason in this world. Quinn as a detective does not represent order as many of his predecessors did, instead he embodies the chaos that is this world, and the lack of understanding that heightens with every new discovery and every interaction. By inverting the traditional private eye, Auster successfully shows the plight of man, the struggle to piece together the puzzle that creates ones identity. Quinn is not a detective trying to finding meaning in the Stillman case, rather he is searching for understanding in his own life, a search that has no answers and leads no where, but to insanity. Legendary crime writer, Richard Knox, established a set of parameters for the detective genre, stating that such a novel â€Å"must have as its main interest the unraveling of a mystery; a mystery whose elements are clearly presented to the reader at an early stage in the proceedings, and whose nature is such as to arouse curiosity, a curiosity which is gratified at the end. †In every way, City of Glass contradicts this statement, and yet it is still considered to be a mystery fiction, which begs the question: what are the post-modern parameters for this genre? City of Glass is a novel that opens with a mystery; however, the more that is discovered and uncovered, the more the endpoint is obscured, until the conclusion is even more perplexing than any other part of the story. Auster uses uncertainty and chance to disrupt the conventional ways of detective fiction. When Quinn is caught between the two potential Stillman’s in station, there was no way to know for certain which one was the right one, and it is not until late in the story that the question is answered, but by that time, its not even a question. Quinn had accepted what he saw and did as fact, which goes against the key detail he expresses in a detective story. â€Å"In a good mystery there is nothing wasted, no sentence, no word that is not significant†(9). This type of detail-orientated thinking is the first thing that goes in Auster’s novel. Although every sentence may hold the key to the mystery, Quinn and the reader begin to overlook these minor details, accepting that nothing in life is ever certain, and that the traditional fluidity of this genre no longer holds stock in this story. Auster is constantly using his own plot twists and minor details to prove that in the end, nothing exists but chance. Auster purposefully leaves pieces of the story open, to contradict Knox’s definition of mystery. The lack of conclusion with regards to how the Stillman’s got Quinn’s number, what happened to Peter and Virginia, the connection to Auster (character and author), and the narrator’s role in the whole novel, is unsatisfactory and rather uncharacteristic of a mystery. There were moments when the text was difficult to decipher, but I have done my best with it and have refrained from any interpretation. The red notebook, of course, is only half the story, as any sensitive reader will understand†(158). We never get the other half of the story though, which leaves the possibility that Quinn/Wilson/Work/Auster/Dark is just a crazy man who loses himself in a quest to find rational explaination, but for the sake for faith in the narrative, its better to believe that the story is not just some random man’s mumblings. However taking into account Quinn’s role in the novel, and the role his notebook plays, the inability to separate the informational source from this deluded main character unravels the reliability that should be present in a crime fiction. Auster’s intentions were to challenge convention, to prove that no world is as open and shut as a Phillip Marlowe case, to prove that in reality, life is a series of chance happenings that shape identity and action, down to the very last word. Auster’s depictions of the neo-detective fiction are all in an attempt to change the perception of the need for a restoring order. He uses a character that contradicts the traditional private eye, to demonstrate how the search for understanding is one that leads to insanity. The human world is naturally in state of entropy and Auster’s novel uses the conventions of mystery writing to satirize the search for greater reason.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)