Realist Approach to Foreign Policy in Syria Research Paper

Realist Approach to Foreign Policy in Syria - Research Paper Example oreign relations strategies that self interest and are chosen by a country to safeguard their national interest so that they can achieve goals within their international relations. The strategies employed here are in relation to other countries and as such interact with those countries (Hinnebusch, 2002). This paper therefore seeks to analyze the realist approach to foreign policy in Syria; what do/would Hans Morgenthau and John Mearsheimer says about that; how they would interpret it; and why. Further the paper will give a brief conclusion on the subject issue – foreign policy. In relation to the US foreign policy in Syria, there in deed exist two contrasting sides in the debate. They are the realists and the ‘declinists’. The realists see the policy as one that favours the implementers understanding their interest while the declinists think otherwise. Obama’s administration could be engaging in a very guarded but also genuine diplomacy with this country Syria. Is it an issue of great powers having a sphere influence? The use of fight to end a fight or rather fighting a war with the intention of preventing or ending one is what the other side sees. These two opposing sides seeks argue their sides based on their observations and analysis of the foreign policy in Syria. The foreign policy seams a well thought idea and the resultant outcomes can be assessed from the point of view of the enforcers. However, an analysis of the realist approach to foreign policy in Syria has a lot to reveal. The realist theory supports the idea that foreign policy as an amoral field needs an approach that has a pragmatic power considerations in relation to national interests and not a pursuit to goals that are a nations ideals (Mearsheimer, 2014). In the Middle East, Syria as a country has been a critical power in maintaining a balance. The realist theory, believes that states should act in accordance to their vital needs and not institutions or international norms they

Literary Criticism of Edna St Vincent Millay Research Paper

Literary Criticism of Edna St Vincent Millay - Research Paper Example The poem appears straight-forward, however, the words seem to have greater meaning than one can comprehend easily. Moreover, St. Edna experiments in this poem by giving it a title, â€Å"Love is not all†: This gives the poem its tone. From a mere point of view, one may think that this poem describes a person suffering from depression of love by asserting that love cannot assist a person in times of difficulty. However, in the middle of the poem, St. Edna posits that Love is basically not adequate to live with and one may even sell it during periods of difficulties. In the last stanza of this poem, St. Edna says that she does not think she would sell her lover; this gives its readers the idea that some people may sell their love for material things such as food, while others may not. Another strategy employed by St. Edna to explicate the theme of love in her work is through application of a simple approach, though not simplistic. Her works i.e. â€Å"Love is not all†, leaves its audiences doubtless. This is facilitated through her simple ways of communication, basically ensuring that her works are enjoyed and appreciated. Taking an analysis of â€Å"love is not all†, St. Edna does not appear to take one decisive stand; that is, she does not encourage men and women to lose all their material and emotional possession in the name of love. Some critics have asserted that â€Å"Love is not all†, by St. Edna is basically a timeless statement in the sense that love cannot provide one with food and shelter (Maduxx et al, 11). On the other hand, some critics have asserted that St. Edna’s work are simple merely because they do not appear as if they are politically instigated or meant to achieve certain political objectives (Milford et al, 6). St. Edna was considered one of the traditional poets that were heavily disturbed by the existence of death as well as the idea of dying. In this regard, she has placed emphasis on wordplay as well

Development of Early Child Narratology

Development of Early Child Narratology Aims: I aim to evaluate how the structure and composition of early child narratology develops and evolves with age. To conduct this evaluation I will approach local primary schools for examples of short narrative texts written by Key stage 1 pupils (4-7), to serve as empirical data. I will assess these texts by employing the six part Labovian narrative model and analysing the presence and frequency of narrative components, evaluative temporal indicators and markers. Background: This study builds on many other works as the Labovian model is now frequently used to assess narratology in children, (see Kernan, 1977; Eaton, Collis and Lewis, 1999). The idea of linguistic and narrative development in children is also a popular issue. One study that specifically charts the evolution of child narrative with age is â€Å"Telling stories of experiences: Narrative development of young Chinese children† a study by Chien-JuChang in which young Chinese children were visited in their homes at age 3 years and 6 months and then at 3 month intervals for the next 9 months. Their individual development in three key areas (narrative structure, evaluation, and temporality) was evaluated with the conclusion that â€Å"Chinese children, generally speaking, include more narrative components, evaluative information, and temporal markers in their narratives over time. However, the growth patterns and rates of change for each child on each narrative measure vary.† Hypothesis: My hypothesis is that as a child is introduced to more narrative texts, and comes to identify narrative components, that he or she will employ them more frequently and more readily in their own narratives. Thus, I hypothesise that there will be a marked increase both in the inclusion of these features in individual narratives and in the cohesion between the narratives of the evaluated children (their similarity to each other) in the older age ranges, as they adapt and adhere to literary and narrative norms. I believe that there will be a greater proliferation of linguistic devices and conventions, as well as more narrative components, in the older childrens narratives. Although I will not specifically be studying the effects of ethnicity or socio-economic background I believe that these factors will skew the data slightly as my hypothesis centres on the fact that the children will have been exposed to similar volumes and types of narrative material. This may well not be the case for pupils from a different cultural background or a less affluent family environment. Data: The data I will use for this investigation will be collected from local and, hopefully, schools which are more widely distributed throughout the country, to give a representative sample of empirical data. I will approach the schools to provide short texts from every early years age group so that I have approximately 50-100 short texts from pupils aged from 4 to 7 with a similar number for each age group. I will specify that I would like work from a cross section of abilities, genders, ethnicities, and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds so as to have a representative sample of narratives for an age range. I will also request that the gender, ethnicity and socio-economic group be specified for each child included in the study as, although I am not directly studying the consequences of these factors on the narratives, it would be informative and useful to see if they affect the cohesion of the data in any way. All texts will be included as an appendix to the final extended essay and the appropriate permissions will be obtained from the schools and, if necessary, from the parents of the children whose work is used. Methodology: As previously defined I will employ the Labovian 6 part narrative model to assess the texts. This will be both a quantitative and qualitative analysis as it will deal not only with the evolution in the number of narrative components in each text but also their function and type. The results of the analyses will be presented in tabulated form. Initially I will fill in a table to give the main characteristics of each narrative and then tabulate the overall results. An example of a narrative text and a simplified table are given as an appendix. My work so far: I have investigated a number of studies covering similar subject areas and approached schools in my local area to see if they would be willing to provide samples of work The response so far is encouraging. I have also obtained some examples of writing from neighbourhood children and analysis of these texts seems to back my hypothesis thus far. Naturally I will be unsure until I study the larger volumes of empirical data foreseen by my study. Timescale: Owing to the complexity of obtaining the data and analysing it, this project will be quite time consuming. I believe I will require one month to obtain the work and the various permissions and a further month to analyse the texts and tabulate the results. I will then need a further two weeks to present my conclusions, draft and check the final copy. Annotated Bibliography Applebee, Arthur 1978. â€Å"The Childs Concept Of Story: Ages Two To Seventeen†. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. This book defines the â€Å"interaction of children and stories†. Various chapters discuss the stories told by primary school children, their organisation and motivation as well as children’s responses to stories and story telling. It also contains a number of appendices giving information about the methods for data collection and analysis employed by Applebee throughout his investigations. Chang, Chien-Ju 2004: â€Å"Telling stories of experiences: Narrative development of young Chinese children† Applied Psycholinguistics, 25: 83-104 Cambridge University Press This presents a study in which young Chinese children were visited in their homes at age 3 years and 6 months and then at 3 month intervals for the next 9 months and their individual development in three key areas (narrative structure, evaluation, and temporality) assessed. Gutierrez Clellen, V. F., Quinn, R. (1993). Assessing narratives of children from diverse cultural/linguistic groups. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 24, 2-9. This article discusses the issues surrounding cultural and ethnic background and the impact on a child’s narrative development. This supports my claim that linguistic and narration conventions are learnt and states â€Å"narrative contextualization processes are culture-specific† Kernan, K. T. (1977). Semantic and expressive elaboration in childrens narratives. C. Mitchell-Kernan and S.Ervin-Tripp (Eds.), Child Discourse. New York: Academic Press, 91-102. This paper was presented at the Child Discourse Symposium at the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (Mexico City, Mexico, November 1974) and presents a theoretical and ground breaking discussion of children’s narrative discourse and the acquisition of discourse competencies. Labov, William., and Waletzky, Joshua. 1967. â€Å"Narrative analysis: oral versions of personal experience.† Essays on the Verbal and Visual Arts, ed. June Helm, 12-44. Seattle: University of Washington Press. Seminal and scholarly text discussing the basics of narrative analysis detailing the six point model, etc. Pena E. D., Gillam R. B., Malek M., Ruiz-Felter R., Resendiz M., Fiestas C., and Sabel T. : Dynamic Assessment of School-Age Childrens Narrative Ability: An Experimental Investigation of Classification Accuracy J Speech Lang Hear Res, October1,2006; 49(5): 1037 1057. This article provides useful and information about analysing the â€Å"macrostructural and microstructural aspects of language form and content† (in this case in narratives given by first and second grade students describing a picture book.) Appendix one – example narrative (direct transcript) On Saturday, Daddy, Mummy, Jamie and me went to the park to go on the swings. It was really cold so Daddy bought me and Jamie a hot chocolate to warm us up. It was really funny because Jamie dropped his down his jumper and had to wear Daddy’s jumper. It was to(sic) big for him and he looked really funny. I went on the swings and the roundabout and the slide and then Jamie and me sat on one side of the sea(sic) saw while Daddy sat on the other. Mummy took pictures of us. Then we went to the sweet shop and bought some jelly babies. They are my Mummys favourite and I like them to(sic). Then we went home and watched ice age 2 and then we had tea. Then we went to bed. We all had a lovely day and Daddy said it was nice that me and Jamie didn’t shout at each other. Jenny, age 6 Example tabulation Table 1 – Labovian concepts Table 2 Common markers Used by the child in her narrative

X2: X-Men United Essay -- Movie Movies Film Essays

X2: X-Men United The ultimate test of a good sequel is its ability to stand alone. X2: X-Men United passes this test with flying colors. Though the story line follows the classic good versus evil paradigm, it is not dependent on the original X-Men movie to tell its story. X2’s plotline twists keep the viewer wondering about the loyalties of characters that appear at one moment to switch to the good side, and then just as easily revert to their roles as bad guys. Requiring the viewer to ask, â€Å"How do we know who we can trust?† Equally, the film’s visual effects are stunning without being overwhelming or redundant. We do not see action sequences repeated from the first movie but fresh new twists that appear as visual candy. Many sequels simply mirror their predecessor in hopes of striking gold twice, only to fall short. Not so with X2. The filmmakers have taken what was essentially a good movie and built on its foundation to create a second movie, which is not just a flat reflection of the first, but a movie which can stand on its own. In addition to plotline twist, X2 is chock full of action and adventure. In the first minute of X2 there is more action, suspense, and mystery then several other films of this superhero genre combined. Immediately we are thrust into a world so seemingly real it is almost palpable. An evil looking teleporter named Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) keeps the White House staff and the FBI on their toes as he appears and disappears through White House walls in an attempt to get to the president. Yet, all is not as it seems and the audience is drawn into a storyline where fear and prejudice play major roles. Though the storyline often takes back seat to the special effects and fight sequences, it... ... and tension again pulling the audience member into the world of the movie. There is plenty of action which propels the story forward at breakneck speed. Fight sequences such as the one between Wolverine (Jackman) and Lady Death Strike (Kelly Hu) pit strength against strength, steel against steel (or in this case adamantium against adamantium), and though it struggles to get there, good usually triumphs over evil. Other stunning visual effects include the scene where Storm (Halle Berry) whips up several tornadoes to keep the â€Å"bad guys† at bay, and the scene in which Jean Grey (Janssen) holds back the raging waters of the broken dam with her powers of telekinesis. Though not a film to be taken too seriously, this movie has the power to whisk audience members away for 2 hours, into a world in which the bad guys finish last and the power of good conquers evil.

Apple Company Essay

As we did the research for Apple Company, we could found out that Apple Company is well developed in a way of their products and services towards the users. Apple had innovated their products and taking the lead of the other company like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG and so on by its own touch screen hand phone technology selling on market to be one of the most influential in the share market of the nationwide. As to be seen, Apple focuses its strength on building up their branding power and penetrates this power into the community of wide public. Sales of its notebooks products are very strong, and represent a huge contribution to income for Apple. Other than that, to be mentioning Apple’s weaknesses it would be the faulty screen from the Ipod Nano and its faulty batteries, ever since Apple is about to switch their chip supplier from IBM to Intel, the industry specialist would say that it might confuse the consumer. While about the opportunity contains within the Apple, they would develop ITunes and music player technology into a phone format, is to be say as the new technologies and strategic alliances offer opportunities for Apple. This work done by comparing the Apple and Microsoft of their features and specification, the complete user experience that they providing to the users from whole wide world and stacking up to against other operating system such as Linux. The Apple has fulfill the criteria of what Sun Zi had said the advantages of arriving the battlefield first will have sufficient time to prepare for the enemies.

Cost of War on Terror for Pakistan Economy Essay

The conclusion was that the War not only caused serious damage to the economy, but also to the social fabrics of Pakistan. Obviously, continuity of War will continue to bleed the economy and society of Pakistan. At the start of the War, the cost of it to Pakistan was estimated at $ 2.669 billion in fiscal year 2001-02. This calculation was based on the assumptions that: (i) The War in Afghanistan that begun on October 7, 2001 will end swiftly by December 2001: (ii) normalcy will resume from January 2002; (iii) the Taliban government will be ousted and some low intensity fight will continue but life in Pakistan will remain normal; and (iv) the additional increase in freight cargo and war risk premium will be removed. The abovementioned assumptions were not materialized and instead the war on terror continued to gain momentum and became more precarious for the entire region in general and Pakistan in particular as it shifted to its settled areas to disrupt all kind of investment and economic activity. Pakistan became more insecure in its efforts to make the world a safer place to live. Pakistan continued to pay a heavy price in terms of both the economic and security terms. A large portion of its resources, both men and material are being consumed by this war for the last several years. The economy was subjected to enormous direct and indirect costs which continued to rise from $ 2.669 billion in 2001-02 to $ 13.6 billion by 2009-10, projected to rise to $ 17.8 billion in the current financial year (2010-11) and moving forward, the direct and indirect costs to the economy is most likely to rise further. The comparison of cost for 2001-02 and 2010-11 is given in Table-1 and the year-wise cost of war on terror is documented in Table-2: Pakistan’s economy is under pressure of the War on Terror intensifying for last four years in Afghanistan. Since 2006, the War has spread like a contagion into settled areas of Pakistan that has so far, cost the country more than 35,000 citizens, 3500 security personnel, destruction of infrastructure, internal migration of millions of people from parts of northwestern Pakistan, erosions of investment climate, nose diving of production and growing unemployment and above all brought economic activity to a virtual standstill in many part of the country. Pakistan had never witnessed such devastating social and economic upheaval in its industry, even after dismemberment of the country by direct war. After 9/11 Pakistan had to assume the role of a frontline state in the War against Terror. The onset of the War disrupted Pakistan’s normal trading activities, as the cost of trading increased substantially because of higher insurance cover. Consequently, economic growth slowed demands for imports reduced with consequential decline in tax collection and inflows of foreign investment were naturally adversely affected, accentuated by the travel bans issued by western governments to its entrepreneurs. While the economic situation was worsening, a new elected government took power in 2008 and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs constituted an inter-ministerial committee to assess the direct and indirect cost of the War on Terror on Pakistan. The Ministries of Finance, Interior, Commerce and some other relevant government departments plus the representatives of two provinces bordering turbulent Afghanistan participated in these deliberations. After few sessions and valuable inputs from all sides, the committee estimated the cost of War on Terror and its impact on Pakistan’s economy and society. The events that transpired after 9/11 in Afghanistan worsened the security environment in the country. As a result, the western countries including the United States continued to impose travel ban for their citizen (investor, importers etc.) to visit Pakistan. This has affected Pakistan’s exports, prevented the inflows of foreign investment, affected the pace of privatization program, slowed the overall economic activity, reduced import demand, reduced tax collection, expenditure over-run on additional security spending, domestic tourism industry suffered badly, hundreds; and thousands of jobs could have been created had economic activity not slowed as well as thousands of jobs were lost because of the destruction of domestic/foreign tourism industry; destruction of physical infrastructure (military and civil) massive surge in security related spending; migration of thousands of people from war affected areas and the associated rise in expenditure to support internally displac ed persons. Pakistan’s investment-to-GDP ratio has nosedived from 22.5 percent in 2006-07 to 13.4 percent in 2010-11 with serious consequences for job creating ability of the economy. Going forward, Pakistan needs enormous resources to enhance productive capacity of the economy. The security situation will be the key determinant of the future flow of the investment. Pakistan economy needs an early end to this war.

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson's attitude toward Christianity seems as far left as anyone. From some of his writings, one may think that he is against God and everything that he stands for. But, Jefferson does state that he is a Christian "to the precepts of Jesus himself" Jefferson Packet p 1122. He believed in what Jesus stood for and the acts that he committed, but not the faith itself. He believed that such a faith could not exist because it did not adhere to any of the five senses. Jefferson wanted proof of this faith. Besides the actions of Jesus, what other reasons did people have to follow him? Jefferson is most likely not the only man on earth who questions these beliefs. To not believe in something that is questionable because it has been taught should not be looked down upon. It seems strange that something of so much power has been proven to so few. To not believe in Jesus does not mean that Jefferson was not a follower of God. He did believe in a creator of man and that we were placed here by some sort of higher power. What Jefferson was against was the way that Christianity was used to force people to think, almost as if it was used to brainwash people, "To the corruptions of people I am indeed opposed" Jefferson Packet p 1122. It was through his scriptures that Jefferson believed these people were persuaded to think and act a certain way. "His doctrines have received still greater injury from those who pretend to be special disciples, and who have disfigured and sophisticated his actions and precepts, from views of personal interest, so as to induce the unthinking part of mankind..." Jefferson packet p112.. It was this, the fact that these people were being subliminally brainwashed that Jefferson was so opposed to. That the "unthinking" part of the brain, which we call a conscience, did eventually take over the wa! Apparently Christians have attempted to rewrite history to make Jefferson sound as if he were full ...

Free Essays on Sex ED

Who’s Entitled Sex, sex, sex it’s so prevalent in everyday society. The media, television, movies, video games, advertisements, books, magazines; all of these and more not only condone sexual promiscuity but glorify it. The children of America are subjected daily to these explicit thoughts and images. Yet one third of school districts in the U.S. teach abstinence-only-until-marriage which not only tell kids that they should just wait, but the program also limits the information about contraceptives (Rollins). Many people argue that teaching kids about safe-sex is sending them mixed messages. They feel that the message being sent is telling kids it’s okay to be sexually active, so long as one protects him/her self. But what about all the explicit imagery and actions that the media portrays as being normal and cool, is this not also sending kids a mixed message? Unfortunately most of the media doesn’t provide the information of safely protecting oneself from diseases or pregnancy. In the majority of movies and television shows they don’t show the guy slipping on a condom before he performs sexual intercourse; or the girl taking birth control weeks in advance. The after effects are failed to be presented in much of today’s media. Very few of the sexual acts being performed are by couples that are married. This is in return sending kids a mixed message. Television, and movies are showing them it’s okay to be sexually active with out marriage, but their schools are telling them just wait until marriage because it’s better that way. Who’s sending the mixed message now? Educating the youth efficiently about all aspects of sex in public schools starting in middle school until high school should be a number one priority in every school in America: Teaching kids abstinence only is unhealthy and unreal istic in today’s society; by teaching youth safe-sex methods a reduction in the number of teen pregnancies and... Free Essays on Sex ED Free Essays on Sex ED Who’s Entitled Sex, sex, sex it’s so prevalent in everyday society. The media, television, movies, video games, advertisements, books, magazines; all of these and more not only condone sexual promiscuity but glorify it. The children of America are subjected daily to these explicit thoughts and images. Yet one third of school districts in the U.S. teach abstinence-only-until-marriage which not only tell kids that they should just wait, but the program also limits the information about contraceptives (Rollins). Many people argue that teaching kids about safe-sex is sending them mixed messages. They feel that the message being sent is telling kids it’s okay to be sexually active, so long as one protects him/her self. But what about all the explicit imagery and actions that the media portrays as being normal and cool, is this not also sending kids a mixed message? Unfortunately most of the media doesn’t provide the information of safely protecting oneself from diseases or pregnancy. In the majority of movies and television shows they don’t show the guy slipping on a condom before he performs sexual intercourse; or the girl taking birth control weeks in advance. The after effects are failed to be presented in much of today’s media. Very few of the sexual acts being performed are by couples that are married. This is in return sending kids a mixed message. Television, and movies are showing them it’s okay to be sexually active with out marriage, but their schools are telling them just wait until marriage because it’s better that way. Who’s sending the mixed message now? Educating the youth efficiently about all aspects of sex in public schools starting in middle school until high school should be a number one priority in every school in America: Teaching kids abstinence only is unhealthy and unreal istic in today’s society; by teaching youth safe-sex methods a reduction in the number of teen pregnancies and...

Identifying Reading Skills Lesson Plan

Identifying Reading Skills Lesson Plan Teaching reading can be an arduous task as it is often difficult to know how to improve student skills. One of the most obvious, but I have found often unnoticed, points about reading is that there are different types of reading skills. Skimming - reading rapidly for the main pointsScanning - reading rapidly to find a specific piece of informationExtensive - reading a longer text, often for pleasure with emphasis on overall meaningIntensive reading - reading a short text for detailed information These different types of skills are used quite naturally when reading in a mother tongue. Unfortunately, when learning a second or foreign language, people tend to employ only intensive style reading skills. I have often noticed that students insist on understanding every word and find it difficult to take my advice of reading for the general idea, or only looking for required information. Students studying a foreign language often feel that if they dont understand each and every word they are somehow not completing the exercise. In order to make students aware of these different types of reading styles, I find it useful to provide an awareness-raising lesson to help them identify reading skills they already apply when reading in their native tongues. Thus, when approaching an English text, students first identify what type of reading skill needs to be applied to the specific text at hand. In this way, valuable skills, which students already possess, are easily transferred to their English reading. Aim Awareness raising about different reading styles Activity Discussion and identification of reading styles with follow-up identification activity Level Intermediate - upper intermediate Outline Ask students about what types of reading they do in their own mother tongue(s).Write different categories of written material on board. i.e. magazines, novels, train schedules, newspapers, advertising, etc.Have students describe how they go about reading each kind of material. You may want to prompt them by asking the following questions:Do you read every word in the tv schedule?Do you understand every word you read when reading a novel?What kind of clues can the presentation of the material give?How much time do you spend reading the newspaper? Do you read every single word?What kind of assumptions do you make when you read the first few lines or a headline? (i.e. Once upon a time....)How much time do you spend reading the various types of materials?Based on students answers to such questions, ask them to identify the type of skills they are using in the various reading situations.Divide students into small groups and give them the skills summary and short worksheet.Have students di scuss their opinions about the various skills required for the listed materials. Present various real world materials (i.e. magazines, books, scientific materials, computer manuals etc.) and ask students to identify the necessary skills required. Reading Styles Skimming - Reading rapidly for the main points   Scanning - Reading rapidly through a text to find specific information required Extensive - Reading longer texts, often for pleasure and for an overall understanding Intensive - Reading shorter texts for detailed information with an emphasis on precise understanding Identify the reading skills required in the following reading situations: Note: There is often not a single correct answer, several choices may be possible according to your reading purpose. If you find that there are different possibilities, state the situation in which you would use the various skills. The TV guide for Friday eveningAn English grammar bookAn article in National Geographic magazine about the Roman EmpireA good friends homepage on the InternetThe opinion page in your local newspaperThe weather report in your local newspaperA novelA poemA bus timetableA fax at the officeAn advertising email - so-called spamAn email or letter from your best friendA recipeA short story by your favourite author

Does Nietzsche provide any good reasons for being sceptical about Essay

Does Nietzsche provide any good reasons for being sceptical about Christian love - Essay Example Despite being the son of a Lutheran minister, Nietzsche was a man who did not subscribe to the ideas of Christianity, especially those that dealt with love, believing that the concept of love had been completely corrupted by the church. However, he was also a great admirer of Jesus because of the manner in which he had lived his life and attempted to reform the religion of Judaism so that it could become more progressive. While this was the case, Nietzsche criticized the teaching of love in the Gospels stating that they did not hold any truth in the reality of many individuals. It was his belief that those individuals who practiced Christianity did not live their lives to the fullest because they subscribed to teachings of Gospels, which were aimed at ensuring that life was composed of absolutes. According to Nietzsche, life was not full of absolutes and the concept of love could therefore not be practiced as preached in Christianity because to do so would mean that individuals could no longer make decisions for themselves; hence remain in the fossilized hierarchy to which the church had relegated them. According to Nietzsche, because Jesus died on the cross, the concept of love died with him and this is the reason why there no longer needs to be any form of absolutes in the manner in which individuals profess love towards each other. According to him, the Christian manner of love as practiced was highly hypocritical because instead of making people happy, it made them slaves of their own actions (Hollingdale, 1999, p.21). This declaration by Nietzsche does not hold any truth because Christian teachings relating to love enabled the church to grow in strength and have continued to sustain it in the modern world despite the rapid secularization currently taking place. There have been points of view though criticized by Nietzsche that Christian teachings on love are among the elements that have ensured a continued growth in provision of charity and aid for

The effect of liquidity risk on carry trade returns Thesis

The effect of liquidity risk on carry trade returns - Thesis Example isk caused by huge volatility in financial market can lead investors or speculators into operating with extremely high margins that could eventually compel traders to scale down or totally halt their positions to avoid currency crash; (iv) finally, liquidity risk can lead to a drastic reduction in investor’s expectation for gains, which invariably helps to correct the violation of Uncovered Interest Rate Parity (UIP) normally referred to as â€Å"forward premium puzzle† (Brunnermeier and Pedersen, 2009). In this paper, qualitative research methodology is employed by scrutinizing related literature. Any observable limitations in this study stem from the body of literature consulted in the course of preparing this research, and attempts are made to restrict the subject-matter only to liquidity risk and its effects on carry trade returns. The financial crisis that has recently hit the global economy has highlighted an important concept that has long been ignored by economists, policymakers and other stakeholders in the industry: the importance of liquidity in the health of financial systems. According to Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve System, the â€Å"weak liquidity risk controls were a common source of the problems many firms have faced" (Bernanke, 2008). But it was only after the financial meltdown in 2007-2008 that it was acknowledged and sufficiently recognized by the industry. The financial speculators have long operated with such greed that eventually resulted to the vulnerability of the financial and banking industry with the gigantic risks that have been accumulated, which is unprecedented in modern history (Froot, 2001). The practices of unwinding of investors’ positions, higher liquidity risk, higher margins and the consequent low returns have eventually created the volatility in the financial market. An investigation on the liquidity issue and its effect on all financial markets are quite comprehensive and so, for this paper, I would be

Review of Tesco Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words - 1

Review of Tesco Strategy - Essay Example This is mainly due to the presence of numerous rival players, with varying product lines and services. Due to which, the bargaining power of the customers and suppliers is increasing at a rapid pace thereby amplifying the rate of switchover costs. Similarly, the food and beverage retailing segment is the largest and extremely competitive industry in the market of United Kingdom. The prime reason behind it is the presence of numerous existing players such as ASDA, Sainsbury, Tesco Plc and many others. As a result, the retail segment offered approximately 12 percent to gross domestic product (GDP) of the nation that amplified its economic standard and image in the entire globe among others. Apart from this, the retail segment also proved effective in presenting employment to almost 3.5 million educated citizens that reduced the rate of poverty and unemployment significantly. This proved extremely effective for the nation that enhanced its portfolio and equity in the market among others . Tesco Plc is recognised as one of the reputed international grocery and merchandise retailer in the market of United Kingdom. It includes more than 2318 stores in the entire globe comprising of 472000 experienced staffs to assist the customers in their purchases. It has positioned itself as the third largest retailer in the market of United Kingdom thereby comprising of a market share of 40 percent among many other rival contenders. It is mainly due to wide range of product lines such as clothes, electronics, financial services, and telecoms, furniture’s, healthcare products, retailing, pet products, DVD, CD, internet services and many others. Due to which, its total revenue, net income and operating income increased by  £60.93 billion,  £2.67 billion and  £3.87 billion in the year 2010-2011. The company of Tesco Plc mainly operates under the banners, named: Extra, Supermarket, Metro and Express. This essay mainly highlights the strategies implemented by the

Developing autonomous practise in mental health nursing Essay

Developing autonomous practise in mental health nursing - Essay Example In addition, I will explore the therapeutic efficacy of the current clinical environment or the services provided to service user and also discuss the appropriate alternative service options available to the service user by analysing the pros and cons of the alternatives to the user. George, 41 year old Irish man, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and past depression. His first contact with mental health services was when his mother expressed concerns about him having the potential to harm someone. He was born by vacuum extraction and unlike other normal children he had experienced retarded mental health development accompanied with slow speech. At 6 years of age, he was admitted to a special needs school in London for two years. Joining at mainstream school, he was bullied and had difficulties in forming friendships with other children. At age 15, he was expelled from the school for fighting with other children in the school and since then he never turned back to school. At the age of 25, he started working with his father but again he was unable to build cordial relationships due to his aggressive behaviour. He began to consume drugs and alcohol that further acted as a source of conflict between the father and the son that often culminated in a physical al tercation. As a result of this event, he had to leave his family house. During the assessment, George describes that he hears a voice inside his head that others do not telling him to harm other people. It was reported that similar voice provoked him to harm local councillor and a person who worked in his borough housing department. On his observation by psychiatric doctor, it was reported that George’s presentation was unusual and believed he did experience regular psychotic symptoms. It was reported that he was suffering from schizophrenia disorder with the risk of violent and

Best Buy SWOT Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Best Buy SWOT - Research Paper Example In the case of Best Buy, the strengths are powerful scaling capability, the people: culture and passion, strong market share, (Judge), high level of community service and local involvement and customer service (OPPapers.com). Best Buy Co., Inc. entered the business in 1996 when computers and internet are really gaining much popularity. It has "grown steadily and enhanced its business through inspired innovation" and "continually transforming into a dynamic, customer-driven, talent-powered company that focuses on enhancing our customers' enjoyment of technology" so that now it already has branches in U.S., Canada, Europe, China and Mexico (Best Buy). From one branch it was able to scale up its operation to cater to cross-country branches. With 155,000 employees, Best Buy is a hub of satisfied and energetic individuals with the strength of youth and innovation (Best Buy). Due to its strength in scaling up production and service, another branch in South America such as in Chile is very much possible. Best Buy always remembers to share its success with the community. It has strengthened its community partnership with the Best Buy Children's Foundation and other charitable programs (Best Buy). Best Buy also h as increasing market share. Forbes.com reported an increase of sales by 1.7% in the first quarter of 2007, while competitor Circuit City experienced a plummet of 5.6%. (Farrell). The recent report also reveals that from March to December 2009, "Best Buy's combined online and offline share of the notebook computer and digital camera markets gained 5.5%, flat-panel televisions increased 5.2%, and desktop computers gained 4.7%" (Vertical Web Media.). The increasing market share enables Best Buy to expand its reach, even to foreign countries. It is coupled with popularity, which it can capitalize on once it opens in Chile. Lastly, Best Buy has an excellent customer service which makes shopping more convenient. Opposite to the internal strength is the internal weaknesses. In the case of Best Buy, these weaknesses include too much bureaucracy, undifferentiated products or services and complicated shipping schedules (OPPapers.com). The absence of strengths on each of these aspects result to a business weakness, which can cause dismay to customers. Too much bureaucracy inside Best Buy results to lesser efficiency. If the hierarchy is so tall, transactions may take longer time to be accomplished. This problem is much worse given an operation in a foreign country such as Chile. The delay in delivery and logistics can harm the entire business. There is also the problem of undifferentiated products and services, which is primarily not beneficial to customers. Lastly, since there are already a lot of customers from around the world, Best Buy has not still found the best way of managing their logistics especially in shipping. This can cause delay and inconvenience on the part of the customers. Looking at the external environment may "reveal certain new opportunities for profit and growth" (Internet Center for Management and Business Administration, Inc.). The opportunities present for Best Buy are increased preference for the brand, more categories to enhance the brand (Judge), and more expansion opportunities (OPPapers.com) and the increasing use of computers and internets in other countries. The gaining of greater market share for Best

Law an Offer and Acceptance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Law an Offer and Acceptance - Essay Example An offer can be defined as an expression of a willing to contract, on particular terms which becomes binding, upon the acceptance of the one to whom it was directed to. The expression of a contract generally means the form in which the contract is embodied in. It could be expressed in a letter, in the traditional sense, an email, fax and construed from the conduct of the offeror communicating the main grounds for the contract terms. The case of Smith v Hughes defines what entails intention to create legally binding agreement entails. It was held that the court objectively deduct an intention, not on the basis of the offeror’s intention per se but on the premise of what a reasonable man would construe as intention. However, beyond the classic definition of an offer being a bilateral expression of willingness to contract; there are instances in which the court has interpreted unilateral contract and held that they were legally binding. An excellent example emerges from the case of Calil v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company. In this case, the smoke ball company, made an advertisement in the newspaper stating that it will give a reward of 100 pounds for anybody who used the smoke ball as prescribed and still gets influenza, a cold or a related disease. Calil on seeing the advertisement bought the smoke ball used it as per the instructions and, when she contracted the influenza she proceeded with the lawsuit. Lord Lindley, held that it emerged from the conduct of the offeror a waiver of the offeree duty to notify them acceptance from the nature of the public advertisement; and thus an acceptance by Calil was held to be valid thus they were instructed to pay the price of 100 pounds. There are cases in which an offer may be confused with an invitation to treat. An invitation to treat is not an offer, but an invitation of a negotiation of terms of a contract. This was illustrated in the case of Harley v Facey where the owner of some property had indicated that he was w illing to sell his property at a certain rate. The person to whom this was directed took it as an offer and moved to court to enforce the said offer. It was held that it was an invitation to treat thus, made with the intention of receiving offers. There are four kinds of invitation to treat in common law in common law. One is an auction, where a bid is held to be an offer for the auctioneer to either accept or reject. In Payne v Cave, D made the highest bid for an item in an auction but withdrew the bid before the fall of the hammer. It was held that the bid was an offer and thus revocable before acceptance. Acceptance occurs at the fall of the hammer. An advertisement is also an invitation to treat and not an offer. In the case of Partridge v Crittenden, D made an advertisement for the sale of a protected species of birds and was sued under respective Act. It was held that the advertisement was a mere invitation to treat and not an offer. Exhibition for goods for sale like it is do ne in supermarkets constitute an invitation for customers to make offers and are not offers in itself. In the case of Fisher v Bell where it was held, displaying goods with the price on them was an invitation to treat and receive offers which the shopkeeper could either accept or reject. An invitation for tenders is the last example of invitations to treat and not an offer. Response to the tenders is the offers that the person who advertised the tenders can either accept or

Best Buy SWOT Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Best Buy SWOT - Research Paper Example In the case of Best Buy, the strengths are powerful scaling capability, the people: culture and passion, strong market share, (Judge), high level of community service and local involvement and customer service (OPPapers.com). Best Buy Co., Inc. entered the business in 1996 when computers and internet are really gaining much popularity. It has "grown steadily and enhanced its business through inspired innovation" and "continually transforming into a dynamic, customer-driven, talent-powered company that focuses on enhancing our customers' enjoyment of technology" so that now it already has branches in U.S., Canada, Europe, China and Mexico (Best Buy). From one branch it was able to scale up its operation to cater to cross-country branches. With 155,000 employees, Best Buy is a hub of satisfied and energetic individuals with the strength of youth and innovation (Best Buy). Due to its strength in scaling up production and service, another branch in South America such as in Chile is very much possible. Best Buy always remembers to share its success with the community. It has strengthened its community partnership with the Best Buy Children's Foundation and other charitable programs (Best Buy). Best Buy also h as increasing market share. Forbes.com reported an increase of sales by 1.7% in the first quarter of 2007, while competitor Circuit City experienced a plummet of 5.6%. (Farrell). The recent report also reveals that from March to December 2009, "Best Buy's combined online and offline share of the notebook computer and digital camera markets gained 5.5%, flat-panel televisions increased 5.2%, and desktop computers gained 4.7%" (Vertical Web Media.). The increasing market share enables Best Buy to expand its reach, even to foreign countries. It is coupled with popularity, which it can capitalize on once it opens in Chile. Lastly, Best Buy has an excellent customer service which makes shopping more convenient. Opposite to the internal strength is the internal weaknesses. In the case of Best Buy, these weaknesses include too much bureaucracy, undifferentiated products or services and complicated shipping schedules (OPPapers.com). The absence of strengths on each of these aspects result to a business weakness, which can cause dismay to customers. Too much bureaucracy inside Best Buy results to lesser efficiency. If the hierarchy is so tall, transactions may take longer time to be accomplished. This problem is much worse given an operation in a foreign country such as Chile. The delay in delivery and logistics can harm the entire business. There is also the problem of undifferentiated products and services, which is primarily not beneficial to customers. Lastly, since there are already a lot of customers from around the world, Best Buy has not still found the best way of managing their logistics especially in shipping. This can cause delay and inconvenience on the part of the customers. Looking at the external environment may "reveal certain new opportunities for profit and growth" (Internet Center for Management and Business Administration, Inc.). The opportunities present for Best Buy are increased preference for the brand, more categories to enhance the brand (Judge), and more expansion opportunities (OPPapers.com) and the increasing use of computers and internets in other countries. The gaining of greater market share for Best

The Case of Donald Rumsfeld and Prisoner Abuse at Abu Ghraib Essay Example for Free

The Case of Donald Rumsfeld and Prisoner Abuse at Abu Ghraib Essay The report on the case of Donald Rumsfeld starts off with Rumsfeld’s hearing (May 7, 2004) with the Senate Armed Services Committees. His response to the question of whether he should resign or not; is â€Å"If I felt I could not be effective, I’d resign in a minute. † The report also gives an account of General Antonio Taguba’s investigation results of Abu Ghraib. He gives a report on the following: Conditions, training, Standard Operating procedures, prison crowding, culture and accountability. In Federalist 41 Madison notes in the Constitution two specific concerns about government power: total power of government over the people and the allocation of power among the entities of government. He states that he does not want unnecessary or improper power given to government be it state or federal. In the case of Donald Rumsfeld and the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib; the soldiers believe they have the power to inflict harsh techniques on the detainees in order to get them to talk. This article will analyze General Taguba’s report. I will examine the problems in this case through the use of theories. CBS’s Sixty Minutes II releases a video with images of torture and abuse; the prisoners endure at the hands of the American soldiers. The video displays naked prisoners crawling on the floor. Some forced into sexual positions; while others are naked and blooded. The media brings this to public awareness worldwide through internet, television and radio shows. Bush and his administration allege that they have no knowledge of the problems or the allegations prior to the CBS airing to television audiences. The Americans and the Arab people express their concern with questions. Who should be accountable for the guards’ actions? Are they instructed to abide by the Geneva Convention? What signals are they receiving from superiors that this behavior is tolerable? DeVreese suggest that how the media frames issues affects how the public perceive the issues. This involves looking at an issue from different perspectives (DeVreese 2004, 36-52). The Taguba Report Major Antonio Taguba is given a directive to investigate the allegations of abuse, the failure in accountability and the escapes. In March 2004, Major Taguba reports that there is a problem in leadership. He confirms the allegations of abuse and disorder in the prison. The Geneva Convention The United States and Iraq is in agreement to the Geneva Convention. Therefore they have obligations to: (a) Treat everyone humanely, regardless of sex, beliefs, race, or status (b) Take no hostages (c) Not engage in treatment of humiliating or degrading (d) Impose executions without court approval While Military officials and most members of Congress, the public and Secretary Rumsfeld are in agreement that the United States Army is in violation of the Geneva Convention at Abu Ghraib, what is uncertain is the question what encourage the actions? Conditions at Abu Ghraib Although (BK) Janis Karpinski is commander of the 800th Military Police Brigade; Taguba’s reports that the brigade is lacking leadership and operational integrity. Taguba findings suggest that top military brass, officials in the Department of Defense or the Bush Administration is closing their eyes or encourage the soldiers’ behavior. Mosher believes that the public sector must maintain a higher standard of integrity and professionalism. (Mosher 1938, 332-342). Training Taguba learns that from the MP personnel to the 320th MP Battalion and the 372nd MP Company has very little to no training or instruction in neither detention/internee operation nor the rules of the Geneva Convention. Although the soldiers say they are trained regularly, there is no documentation to support their statements. Box’s article Running Government Like a Business, shrinking government by contracting out services or returning them to the private sector on the premise that the private sector s more efficient or the assertion that the public sector should simply be smaller(Box 1999,19-43). by the government trying to save money by contracting out; contracting companies are trying to cut cost. Training their workers would cost more money Standard Operating Procedures Within the 800th MP Brigade and its subordinate units there is a lack of knowledge, implementation of the standard operating rules and procedures. Each facility detention, compound, encampment and shift for handling of detainees and criminal prisoner’s procedures differs. There is a need for a check and balance system to maintain compliance. Coopers gives a primary example of accountability problem in war privatization, i. e. , the legal status of contractors. Neither civilian nor military laws cover inappropriate contractor behavior such as torture or unnecessary force resulting in loss of non-combatant life. This is particularly problematic in the Iraq situation where contractors are exempt from local law and they are not bound by U. S. civilian or military law. In some contracts, but not all, contractors who commit a felony are subject to U. S. urisdiction; however, this law does not clearly apply to subcontractors or to third-party nationals and the Pentagon has not written the implementation regulations for the law. In addition, because the contractor has control over day-to-day information concerning the behavior of the employees working in another country, it could be difficult for government prosecutors to secure evidence necessary to investigate an allegation of wrong doing. This is why Tagua saw a lack of training and accountability. The U. S. relieves the responsibility up to the Contracting Companies to train their workers. Prison Crowding Taguba’s report shows the overcrowding of the prisoners is one of the reasons for the poor living condition. The overcrowding is causing identification problem among the leaders in the detainee population who may be organizing the detainee’s escapes and riots. The unrest and overcrowding is due to the lengthy screening and processing and release of detainees who should not be in custody. There are three categories for releasing detainees. (1. ) A detainee can be release if it is determine that detaining them is no longer warrant. 2) If it is determine that a criminal detainee has not part of a terrorist group and that they will not be a danger to society. (3) Detainees accused of committing a crime against the coalition can be release if it is determine that they are no longer a threat to the Coalition Forces. The Detainee Release Authority grants recommendation for releases, but MG Fast regularly denies the board’s recommendations. Culture Operational Journals at different compounds and the 302th Battalion TOC reveal a lot of unprofessional documentations and no chain of command to review them. US civilian contract personnel are not supervising properly. The contractors have open access to the detainees. Accountability The detainees can move from location to another and not be accounted for; due to falsification of process sheets. BK Karpinski reports her findings and recommendations with follow ups and changes regarding the escapes and accountability lapses. Taguba reports that if Karpinski is accurate then the abuse, escapes and accountability lapses may be prevented. Prisoners of War, Terrorists and Enemy Combatants The new era of foreign policy and the promise to define the Bush presidency is a result of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Bush promise to find and punish the terrorists. The need for the Intelligence to pursue and prevent the terrorist from further attacks on the U. S. puts pressure on the interrogators to accomplish the mission. This relates to Eshbaugh-Soha and Peakes argument that chief executives are rather powerful in setting the policy agenda because Congress, the news media, and the public look to the president for this fact. In order for the president to set the policy agenda, he must command the medias attention so that the media is able to provide information to the public in regards to the presidents initiatives. The best way to do this is in the form of speeches or press conferences, which Bush did. | Because the Taliban and AlQaeda fighters are not under the Geneva Convention; the Administration recommendation to Donald Rumsfeld is to approve 35 full range techniques. Only nine are for exceptional use. the Military lawyer express how that the beginning of these recommendations will cause their ivilian counterparts within the Department of Defense will give approval for getting information about terrorist activity as top priority. Rumsfeld is given a memo by the same Administration warning him of a possible backlash if the nine techniques be used. The Administration also says that if the treatment becomes public, exaggeration and distorting by the media. The media will undermine the support for the war on terrorism. The U. S. officials will be facing human rights prosecution abroad and will be a ploy to have a reason for mistreatment of captured American Soldiers. Weeks later Rumsfeld denies 11 of the 35 techniques. The Media The Financial Times report accusations that official in the Bush Administration set a precedent for abuse and torture. The report reveals congress accusing Bush Administration of sanctioning torture by preparing legal documents that states harsh treatment of detainees is permissible under the United States and International Laws. Financial Times also reports the Statement of U. S. Military Lawyers regarding how they felt shut out of the prison policy. Some of the soldiers say that they are getting mix messages about the rules on prisoners. De Vrees says that news framing involves seeing the issue from either a conflict or an economic consequences perspective He suggests that this framing process determines whether the voter sees the issue as a conflict or economic issue. Here the Financial Times frame the report from a conflict. The government is seen as the ones who gave directives to abuse the detainees. This can hurt the president next election. Bilder and Vagts believes that government attorneys obligations greater than those of private sector attorneys. The client is the entire agency, the entire U. S. government, and the American public. An important difference between the government and private attorney is that the government attorneys advice does not have definitive judicial review. Because of the lack of a safety net in decision making process; there is a greater burden on the government attorney. The Military Lawyers shares with Financial Times how they felt left out of the prison making policy. In Conclusion Although the soldiers were discipline for their participation in the detainee’s abuse; U.  S. government is responsible for the detainees suffering. The U. S. soldiers should have kept their oath and agreement to abide by the Geneva Convention. Donald Rumsfeld did the right thing by resigning. Wilson theory on authority, he suggests that power and discretion must accompany responsibility and that power and discretion need to be provided to the public administrator. He adds that more power creates greater visibility which in turn creates more accountability. As the Defense Secretary he was given more power over the U. S. oldiers; therefore is more accountable. As an Administrator, I would ensure that the soldiers are trained; procedures are in place and adhere to. I would visit the prisons myself and question the detainees, their visitors and other staff to make sure that operational needs are met. Wilson theory on authority, he suggests that power and discretion must accompany responsibility and that power and discretion need to be provided to the public administrator. He adds that more power creates greater visibility which in turn creates more accountability.

Privatisation of Local Government Services

Privatisation of Local Government Services Privatisation in Local Government:  Westminster City Council and Islington Council Introduction Privatisation is referred to as â€Å"the transfer of the transfer of ownership and control of State-owned enterprise (SOE)†, to the private sector. (Bortolotti et al., 2000; Siniscalo et al., 2001). Privatisation has become a major trend in the developed economies, the developing economies, as well as in emerging market economies. In Great Britain, privatisation began in the later 1970s during the reign of the Thatcher government. It later spread across other countries and continents to become a distinguishing feature of â€Å"fin de sicle capitalism†. (Bortolotti et al., 2000; Siniscalo et al., 2001). Privatisations are now common to most countries taking place across geographical regions and economic sectors. The 20 year period 1977 to 1997 witnessed 1,865 deals in more than 100 countries worth approximately US$750billion. (Bortolotti et al., 2000). Between 1977 and 1999, the total deals reported amounted to 2,459 in 121 countries worth US$1,110billion. (Siniscalo et al., 2001). The The World Bank suggests that global SOE value added witnessed a decline from 9 percent of GDP in 1978 to 6 percent of GDP in the 1978-91 period. In addition, privatisation has also had a tremendous impact on financial markets. In July 1998 for example, privatised SOEs had a combined market capitalisation of US$1.5trillion. (Bortolotti et al., 2000) and by 2001 the combined market capitalisation had risen to $3.31 trillion. (Siniscalo et al., 2001; Megginsson and Netter, 2001). It is often believed that privatisation leads to more efficient and effective management of the enterprise which should in turn generate superior shareholder value. However, Siniscalo et al. (2001) notes that few governments have completely transferred ownership of SOEs to the private sector. This is evidenced by the fact that only 30 percent of the 617 companies being considered sold the majority of stock in the reported public offerings between 1977-1999. In addition, there was no privatisation in 11 out of the 67 countries included in their study indicating that there is still greater control in the hands of the state. (Siniscalo et al., 2001). There are therefore a number of questions that need to be addressed including: why governments privatised; why some countries accomplish large scale privatisation while other never privatise at all; how governments privatise; why some governments privatise big stakes while others do it partially. (Siniscalo et al., 2001). In this, we provid e an analysis of a Local Government – Westminster City Council and Islington Council in London and their agendas on privatisation. Background The U.K remains the leading country towards privatisation among European countries in terms of the amount of state assets that have been sold so far. (David, 2002). However, other European countries are making efforts to catch up with the U.K with their interest in privatisation driven mainly by the U.K example, technological change and the European single market programme aimed at removing non-tariff barriers to trade in the E.U. (David, 2002). The main assumption of privatisation is that competitive markets are more efficient than monopolies in managing the resources of the state. It is often assumed that SOEs can be better managed by the private sector. According to the Audit Commission, the market mechanism has reduced service costs and improve service quality. Approximately  £80million has been saved as a result of recent efficiency improvements in corporate services as a result of the market mechanism. (Audit Commission, 2007). The concept of Privatisation was pioneered by th e U.K through the introduction of the Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) in 1981 allowing the private sector to compete to deliver public services, the objective was ‘†¦to improve the efficiency of services that had previously been provided by the councils themselves.’ (Audit Commission, 2008). The Local Government Planning and Land Act (1980) and the Local Government Planning Act (1988) require local authorities to subject more and more of their services for competitive tendering. (Frederick, 1994). The services covered by the CCT can be performed by the local authority’s own employees only on the condition that the tender bid for the contract to provide those services is won by the in-house organisation. The services covered under CCT as defined by the 1980 Act include new construction; building maintenance; and some highway work. The 1988 Act extended the list to include refuse; building cleaning; street cleaning; schools and welfare catering; other catering; grounds maintenance; repair and maintenance of vehicles; and management of leisure facilities. The list was again extended through powers granted to the Secretary of State and the Local Government Act 1992 to include part or all of each of the following services: management; security; architectural; engineeri ng; property management; finance; personnel; legal; computing; corporate and administrative; housing management; home-to-school transport; libraries and theatres. (Federick, 1994). Since its institution, there have been significant benefits of CCT in terms of cost savings and in improvements in service quality. (Frederick, 1994). In-house organisations have often been supplemented by efficient private sector suppliers. Some of the contracts have been won by direct service organisations or direct labour organisations which c operate in very small sizes, are more cost conscious and responsive. These organisations have also improved the productivity and quality of service. (Frederick, 1994). Despite the benefit of CCT Federick (1994) observes one problems with the CCT. Under the CCT, local authorities are not allowed to undertake the provision of certain services in-house. Local authorities must therefore forgo the alternative of undertaking the activity in-house even if the in-house options turns out to be the most cost-effective approach. This is unlike the case for private sector organisations that can review the balance between organisation costs and transacti ons costs and decide, on the basis of cost-effectiveness, whether to outsource or to undertake the activity in-house. (Federick, 1994). The benefits of CCT can therefore be placed under two categories including; (i) improved organisational management ( resulting from clearer objectives, articulation of standards and setting of targets, better monitoring, reorganisation of work to improve productivity, reduction of waste, etc) achieved in response to the stimulus of competitive comparison (and thus the prospect of contracting out); (ii) substitution of (lower) transaction costs for (higher) organisational costs. (Frederick, 1994). CCT encourages competition among service providers and thus ensures that local authority services are provided efficiently. Taxpayers therefore achieve greater value for their money. However, the main problem with CCT is that customer value requirements are determined by the local council or authority and not by the taxpayers (or consumers) of the services provided by the local authorities. The best CCT can do for consumers is that it is capable of securing the most efficient provision of the services that the local authorities deem as necessary to be provided, not those actually wanted by the consumers. (Frederick, 1994). CCT has also made councils to be more aware of the consumers of local authority services. Surveys are now conducted by many types of council to find out what the public thinks about its services and how they would like the services improved. However, this those not still amount to providing the services that the consumers actually need. The council simply improves those services that it feels are needed by the consumers without asking them what they actually need. By so doing, consumers continues paying for the services through taxes even though they may not be deriving any value from them. Westminster City Council and Islington Council Westminster City Council In line with CCT West Minster City Council has been trying to improve on the services it provides to its consumers by soliciting the services of direct service or direct labour organisations. The objective of the Westminster City Council is to deliver a world class city, built on the delivery programmes of Order, Opportunity, Renewal and Enterprise. West Minster City Council was one of the councils to begin privatising its services even before the implementation of the CCT. For example, the council added the management of its indoor leisure centres to its list of services subject to CCT in advance of official government legislation with the objective of seeking tenders in early 1988 for contracts commencing in September 1988. (Prokopenko and Pavlin, 1991). The objective of the tender was for the management of one or all of the 5 leisure centres and was based on deficit financing. Contractors were expected to include alongside cost estimates in their prospectus methods that could be u sed to reduce the deficit while at the same time improving the service. The contract was awarded to City Centre Leisure (CCL) after severe competition with competitors. CCL was awarded a contract to manage two out of the five leisure centres including the Queen Mother Sports Centre in Victoria and the Seymour Leisure Centre in Marybone. The contract which with total cost  £2,590,300 carried a term of five years. (Prokopenko and Pavlin, 1991). Following six months after the contract was awarded, there was an increase in the number of people who used the facilities by 27,000 as compared to the same period during the previous year. The factors that contributed to the increase in the use of the service include: increased opportunities to use the service such as increased opening hours, more flexible programs particularly in the mornings, evenings and weekends; user survey action, taken to improve certain aspects of the service; introduction of customer-care training and encouragement with further efforts planned. (Prokopenko and Pavlin, 1991). More so, management was clearer and sharper about what they were trying to do than before. There was also an improvement in the attitude and interest levels of staff thereby leading to an increase in the quality of the service. (Prokopenko and Pavlin, 1991). One can observe that by privatising the leisure services to CCL, West Minster City Council helped to improved the quality of the service to taxpayers. More people were now willing to use the service because it was available at more affordable prices. It was also available at flexible times. People could therefore use the service without having to make adjustments to their work schedules since it could be accessed at both morning and evening hours. People on morning shift duties could use the service in the afternoons or evenings, while those of on night shift duties could use the service during morning or afternoon hours. In addition, the improvement in staff attitude and interest increased the quality of the service since more people perceived it as being of a high quality. Included in its business framework are: Obligations to improve; new audit and intervention arrangements; emphasis on accountability for decisions and performance; freedoms to trade and charge; freedoms to spend; and freedoms to invest. The council adopted the project â€Å"Once City 2008† which its part of its vision to meet the aforementioned objective. The aim of this project is to deliver strong communities, with low taxes and services of the highest quality, which are easy to access and available when as and when necessary. First launched in November 2005, the Once City programme has achieved excellent progress. (City of Westminster, 2009). The Council has set out a total of 30 initiatives to improve lives of people living and working in Westminster City. (City of Westminster, 2009). The Council aims at building on its commitment to low tax, with a freeze in Westminster’s share of council tax; foster its â€Å"Go Green plans† to make Westminster one of the most sustainable cities in the U.K; spend over  £150million to improve schools; and look at opportunities for new housing in the City. Another key priority for the new year is to work hard for the City’s younger and older residen ts, as well as speaking to parents about what more the council can do to support them as they manage their family role. The council launched its leading â€Å"Leading Older Person’s Matters† approach last year, which includes an enormously popular free tea dance at the Grosvenor House Hotel for over 1,000 old residents. (City of Westminster, 2009) The council has a duty of securing and improving best value for taxpayers’ money where best value is defined as continuous improvement in the performance of authority’s functions. In securing best value, West Minster City Councils strikes an appropriate balance among: (i) the quality of its performance of its functions; (ii) the cost to the authority of that performance; and (iii) the cost to persons of any service provided by it for them on a wholly or partly rechargeable basis. The council performs its duties in a manner that contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. Performance improvement is measured with regard to the outcomes that have been improved. Islington Council LBI struggled for a number of years to manage and administrate the benefit service, in October 1998 the service was outsourced to ITNet under a 7 year contract to improve service performance and delivery. In 2002 the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) inspected LBI and ITNet the findings were highly critical of the Council’s ability to manage the contract National press interest in ITNet grew during 2001-2002, as Hackney Council terminated it’s contract with ITNet in April 2001, over the proposed 17,000 claims awaiting assessment. The financial implications where catastrophic, estimated to rise to at least  £11m to develop an in-house team to sort through the back log of claims. LBI decided to review it’s contract introducing new and stringent Key Performance Indicators (KPI) incentives and harsh penalties linked to service delivery and performance. (LBI, 2003). LBI was still subject to political and public scrutiny and condemnation of ITNet’s performance , the Ombudsmen Office could not withstand the number of complaints received A report to LBI Executive dated 20th February 2003 detailed the plans to revert to an in-house service from 1st May 2003 concluding: ‘The service has continually received criticism from claimants, Councillors, M.P’s, outside agencies and in the local press. The recent Benefit Fraud Inspectorate report highlighted that whilst the quality of the contract and the client side had improved†¦there had been no real improvements to claimants†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (LBI, 2003) In May 2003 LBI reverted the provision of the Housing Benefit Service to ‘in-house’ a year later the Audit Commission noted ‘Significant improvements have been achieved in previously weak areas, notably housing benefit services†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Audit, Commission, 2004). The LBI Executive agreed to exclude press and public knowledge in connection to ITNet to include ‘information relating to the financial or business affairs†¦or action taken in connection with legal proceedings, by or against the authority’. (LBI, 2003). The financial loses incurred by LBI from inception to termination of the contract have never been fully released. The service provision continued to improve by 2005 Housing Benefit had transformed from a one star service (weak) to a three star service (good), (Audit Commission, 2005). The Audit Commission on behalf of the Government have undertaken intensive research in respect to the implementation of privatisation –detailing three specific areas where there appears to be a consistent lack of: ‘Sufficient people with the procurement , risk or management skills to make effective use of market mechanisms; Information about public service markets that would enable them to use or develop those markets; and Information about delivery costs, management costs or service performance to determine the best service delivery option and the best way to secure that option.’ (Audit Commission, 2007). Lane, (2000) significantly highlights the complex issues regarding the ideology of privatisation: ‘†¦local governments†¦must learn to conduct processes of tendering/bidding in a transparent manner, as well as implementing contracts in an efficient manner, including the monitoring of fulfilment of the terms of a contract.’ A philosophy perhaps shared by Lynch (2006), suggesting the ‘transaction costs’ are a significant consideration of privatisation, highlighting: ‘There is a need to set standards, monitor progress, evaluate performance and other activities associated with giving former monopolies the freedom to undertake public services.’ (Lynch, 2006 ) The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate was highly critical of the contract that existed between LBI and ITNet suggesting is was ‘failing’ and ‘weak’ (BFI 0476/02. The contract specification had a detrimental affect on the Council’s ability to monitor the performance of ITNet ‘LBI†¦is unable to measure their effectiveness or success because it does not have monitoring in place†¦which it makes it difficult for LBI to take strategic decisions about how best to deal with the problems..’ (BFI 0476/02). The lack of skills to negotiate contracts in Local Government has been highlighted by the Audit Commission ‘Good service procurement requires accurate specification, and robust and clear negotiation, supported by sufficient technical knowledge to evaluate cost and quality’ (Audit Commission, 2007). Conclusions and Recommendations Privatisation is perceived to be a more efficient method of allocating the resources of the state. It encourages more efficient management and improves staff commitment and interest thereby increasing customer value. For example, Westminster’s privatisation of its leisure services led to improvement in the value of the service to consumers. However, privatisation of certain services may not lead to their efficient provision. As evidenced by the housing benefits case of Islington Council, not all local services can be provided efficiently by the private sector. It is therefore appropriate to carefully select the services that should be privatised before taking the decision. this should be done by weighing the costs and benefits. If benefits outweigh costs, then the service should be privatised. On the contrary, if costs outweigh the benefits of the service then it should be provided in-house. BIBLIOGRAPHY Prokopenko, J., Pavlin, I. (1991). Entrepreneurship Development in Public Enterprises International Labour Organization, 1991 ISBN 922107286X, 9789221072867 208 pages. Bortolotti, Bernardo, Siniscalco, Domenico and Fantini, Marcella (2000). Privatisation and Institutions: A cross Country AnalysisCESifo Working Paper Series No. 375. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=257773 Siniscalco, Domenico, Bortolotti, Bernardo and Fantini, Marcella (2001). Privatisation Around the World: New Evidence from Panel DataCESifo Working Paper Series No. 600; FEEM Working Paper No. 77.2001. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=288530 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.288530 Frederick, d. (1994). Why Compulsory Competitive Tendering for Local Government Services is not as good as privatisation. Available online at: http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/econn/econn052.pdf David, P. (2002). Privatisation in the European Union: Theory and Policy Perspectives. New York Routledge. City of Westminster http://www.westminster.gov.uk/

The Criminal Is Not Solely Responsible for His Crime Essay -- Exposito

Clarence Darrow in his "Address Delivered to the Prisoners in the Chicago County Jail," presents a convincing argument for the complicity of society with the criminal. In essence, Darrow believes that when one man steals from another, the community is as culpable as the criminal, since no man who "already had plenty of money in his own pocket" (82) would risk his life and liberty to rob or steal from another. According to Darrow, the root of the problem lies in poverty and the hoarding of wealth by a handful of people who become rich by exploiting the poor through cheap labor, or by appealing to their vices. It is interesting to note that during hard times crime increases. Particularly, periods of high inflation, or unusually cold winters. That’s when people cannot afford to pay high heating bills. Faced with no choices and an adverse situation, criminals literally "break into jail" (82) because it is better than being on the outside. Case in point: homeless people. I saw a homeless man in downtown LA, with a hospital band on his arm, deliberately provoke a security guard into calling the police. After the police arrived, the homeless man calmed down and quietly entered the squad car, cordially waving at the security guard. It was a cold rainy day. Clearly the homeless guy found L. A. County Jail preferable to the streets. Another example involves habitual criminals who become "institutionalized." This point was poignantly dramatized in the movie "Shawshank Redemption." The character played by Morgan Freeman contemplated suicide after release from prison because he had been institutionalized for so long that he no longer had coping skills for the outside world. That is, until offered a real "chance to live" (83) by his fello... ...would understand justice, how shall you unless you look upon all deeds in the fullness of light? Only then shall you know that the erect and the fallen are but one man standing in twilight between the night of his pigmy-self and the day of his god-self. And that the corner-stone of the temple is not higher than the lowest stone in its foundation" (46-47). The criminal is not solely responsible for his crime. There is much truth in the maxim "No man is an island. No man stands alone. Each man is my brother. Each man is my friend." Â   Â   WORKS CITED Bland, Bobby "Blue" "Poverty" Epic Records, 1967 Burr, John R. and Milton Goldinger, "Philosophy and Contemporary Issues (Prentice Hall) 1995. Gibran, Kahlil "The Prophet" (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.) 1997. Pages 42-47. Hugo, Victor "Les Miserables" Miller, Alice "For Your Own Good" (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux) 1990.

Lady Macbeth - From Head Conspirator to Wimp :: essays research papers fc

Lady Macbeth From Head Conspirator to Wimp   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story of Macbeth by Shakespeare is one of his most read and most loved plays. It was not unlikely that out of all of his plays that Macbeth would be one of the few successful plays that would be turned into an opera. Verdi wrote the opera with librettists Francesco Maria Piave and Andrea Maffei. The opera was written around 1846 and premiered on March 14, 1847 at the Teatro dell Pergola in Florence, Italy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A few years later the Verdi revised the opera adding a ballet into it and taking out some things and was performed at the Teatre Lyrique in Paris on April 21, 1865. This opera in comparison to the play begins with the third scene of the play. Unlike some of Verdi and other composer’s other operas the dialogue of Macbeth closely follows Shakespeare’s dialogue throughout the entire opera. It has been said that the words throughout the opera are ore often than not a literal translation of Shakespeare’s work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All of this information is fine and gives us a general understanding of who wrote the opera and when, but what I want to focus on in this paper is the Prima Donna of the opera by Verdi: Lady Macbeth. Although she is an integral part to both the play also and since the opera is so closely related to the play, I will focus on the opera by Verdi. Through a character analysis, evidence on how Verdi saw his Lady Macbeth, and a discussion of her development through her arias, I will discuss how Lady Macbeth began as a woman thirsty to become Queen and ends as a woman that was willing to and did take her own life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the lines of the play the Lady Macbeth said was very interesting that gives you the character of Lady Macbeth in one statement and Verdi’s opera shows this. She says â€Å"†¦look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t. (I. v. 67-68)† This is the thesis statement of Lady Macbeth’s life until the bitter end. Lady Macbeth is Macbeth’s wife, a deeply ambitious woman who lusts for power and position. Early on she is the stronger and more ruthless of the two, as she urges her husband to kill the King, Duncan, and seize the thrown. Lady Macbeth exploits her sexual hold over Macbeth as a means to persuade him to commit murder after murder.

Defending the Play Trifle Essay

In the play, Trifles by Susan Glaspell, is about a murder mystery of Mr. Wright. The men; the court attorney, sheriff, and Mr. Hale, a neighorbor to the Wright family, and the women; the sheriff’s wife, Mrs. Peter and Mrs. Hale, solve the mysery in two very different ways. The men show up at the house as a crime scene, and only focusing on the bigger, important elements of a murder mystery. As Mr. Hale was trying to explain everything he saw in the house that morning of Mr. Wright’s death, he said â€Å"She was rockin’ back and forth. She had her apron in her hand and was kind of – pleating it (1154)†. Meanwhile, Mr. Hale was looking for Mr. Wright, Mrs. Wright was kind of subtle and said you can’t. Mr. Hale was confused. All she said then was he has been murder. All three men go upstairs to talk and investigate the body. One the otherhand, the women approach the house as a home, and focusing on the trifles, meaning small detail or unimportant, such as baking mess, unfinished sewing, and unwashed pans & cleaning. As the women are worried about Mrs. Wright’s trifles in the house the men like to make fun of them. For example, Hale stated, â€Å"Well, women are used to worryin’ over trifles (1156)†. Mrs. Wright loved making preserves as her fruit froze in the freezer and made a big mess that the two women were worried about, so the sheriff said â€Å"Well, can you beat the women! Held for murder and worryin’ about her perserves (1155)’. In society, as you can see, men tend to ingore the women’s world, blind to the truth before their eyes. A critic once said Trifles is a lousy play because by the third page we already know who done it, so there isn’t much reason the sit through the rest of the play. A murder mystery does not have to keep the reader in suspense to who the culprit was, but why the culprit did it. The key element in the play Trifles is motive, the reason or emotion that drives a person to do something. What made Mrs. Wright drive to kill her husband? As the men look for any possible motive, the women talk to one another about Mrs. Wright. They end up finding a bird cage with a broken door, but they find no bird. Another possible movite uncovered by the women is the discovery of the dead bird. They found the bird, dead, somebody had strangled the bird. So, just because a murder happens early, does not make it a bad play. Works Cited X.J. Kennedy. Dana Gioia. LITERATURE An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Trifles. 12 ed. New Jersey: Pearson. 2013. Pages1153-1163.

Are sports hurting kids? Essay

Organized sports have a lot of effects on children, whether they be positive or negative. Children are still finding out who they are and what the world is like. I chose this topic because I wanted to know childrens’ motives to do organized sports, and what effects the sports have on the them. I wanted to know the reasons kids start playing sports and, while it may be different for every child, they all had to have had some say in it. Every sport has skills that benefit children such as learning leadership, creating realistic goals they can achieve and learning to get along with others. Children also learn about personal discipline. â€Å"What’s even more interesting is that kids derive those benefits whether or not they excel at their chosen sport† (Mary Forgione). When I first saw this quote I was really surprised over the fact that children learn these important life lessons even if they aren’t good at their sport. Ever since I had the chance, I played baseball. Why? I don’t really remember, but I do remember I enjoyed playing the entire time. Now, with my part-time job at Encore Gymnastics, I get to see kids clearly enjoying themselves while learning gymnastics So now I question my own reason for starting sports. So I want to know: What effects sports have on children physically, mentally and socially? In a lot of situations, parents force their children to do sports. They do this for a variety of reasons, including, learning to cope with defeat and staying humble with victories, making new friends, and gaining self-confidence. Or, for a less appropriate reason, perhaps hoping the child will get a scholarship so they won’t have to pay for college. Parents figure â€Å"My child will be a better person because of sports,† which most of the time is true. But if a child doesn’t enjoy their sport, in a lot of situations the child will become miserable. In some cases the child will go to extremes to make their parents happy, because the child thinks the parent only loves them because they play the sport their parent wants. When the child gets to choose that they want to start playing a sport, this is the best case scenario for a child to get all of the benefits that sports can provide for them. Sports also have an effect on the mindsets of children. â€Å"Youth who participate in organized sports during middle and high school do better academically and are offered greater job prospects than children who do not partake in sports activities†(Marilyn Price-Mitchell). As stated in this quote, children in sports usually do better in school and get better jobs. There are three main psychological aspects that affect children in sports. The intensity of child active in sports has a mental effect on them. The amount of time children spend doing sports each week is particularly important to whether they get positive or negative developmental outcomes from their participation in sports. Kids who spend more time in organized sports have greater benefits than children who participate at lower levels or not at all. With greater time commitment, children develop better mastery of skills and stronger knowledge of tactics and strategy than other children. This can lead to the development of strategic thinking which is helpful in all aspects of life, including the ability to find and excel in getting a job. No one can tell anyone how many hours of sports per week is the perfect amount. The important thing is that children who make a commitment to regular practice receive greater developmental benefits (Price-Mitchell). Another mental effect of sports on children is continuity. The stability and length of how children participate, both in practice and competition, across their adolescent years is also important. Studies suggest that intermittent participation during the middle and high school years is not as beneficial as continuous dedication. Making a commitment over time increases the likelihood that children will overcome challenges and obstacles in their performance. They also have greater opportunities to interact with teammates, learning to cope with the interpersonal challenges of working with others. This is an important aspect of developing an internal strength that lasts a lifetime (Price-Mitchell). The last main mental effect and possibly the most important aspect is balance. Achieving a balance between sports and other activities is what makes sports participation healthy. Studies show that greater developmental outcomes are obtained by children who spend time in activities other than their main sport interests. It’s not necessarily the numbers of activities in which youth participate but rather that they have activities other than sports. For example, one study found children who participated in sports and school clubs had lower rates of depression than kids who focused exclusively on sports. Other studies suggest that children who participate in activities that present real-world challenges, like volunteering in their communities, achieve greater developmental benefits. These activities encourage children to develop an identity and see a world beyond a game of winning and losing (Price-Mitchell). For parents and children to get desired effects from the child participating in sports, it requires the parent and the child to come to a middle ground of what they both want from the sport. Using this strategy allows the child to get the most out of the sport and stay close to their parents. If the child is only or mostly pleasing their parents with the choice to play sports, the child will not get all of the psychological effects explained above. On the other hand, if the child is only pleasing themselves with sports and their parents are disapproving. The parents may decide to stop financially supporting the child’s participation in sports, which will once again, stop the child of getting the most of the positive psychological effects explained above (Forgione). Children on teams find it easier to make friends with one another because of the camaraderie that occurs within the team. They also work together better when the kids on a team become friends, because they feel better when working with one another. Children on a team who also bond with one another will almost always play better. It you take a team with a lot of individual skill but not a lot of teamwork skills and place it against a team with less individual skill, but more teamwork skills. The team with teamwork will almost always come out on top. The reason for this, is the team with little teamwork won’t know how to work with one another and in turn, play worse than the other team (Development). Children in sports will more often adhere to rules compared to kids who don’t play sports. Kids in sports tend to follow rules because sports have fairly strict rules and people always watching to enforce the rules. Kids are more careful to follow the rules so the don’t get in trouble or get caught (Development). Parents should also be careful when signing their children up for sports; they should know their children’s attentiveness and physical readiness for such activities (Hughes). Sports should also not replace current free play activities of the child. For some children, informal play is much better for them. Not having set rules and harsh practice schedules is much better for these children. They flourish off of this kind of activity and putting these types of children into organized sports can actually harm them or cause depression. As I walked over to talk to Byron Beckes, my baseball coach from five years ago, he had just finished practice with his little league majors baseball team. I enjoyed the scenery with a bright blue sky and trees all around, and when I walked over to Byron he told the story to his team of when he was coaching me. We were in the finals of the in-house tournament. I walked up to bat with a man on second base and we were down one run in the bottom final inning with one out. First pitch came a little high and outside but I chose to swing anyway, As I ran to first base I saw the right fielder start to back up as fast as he could. But then he just turned around, stopped running and just stared at the ball as it flew over the fence. Coach Beckes still tells that story to some of the teams he coaches. I think it’s awesome that he still remembers me; he always says â€Å"How could I forget? † Then we started the questioning. Beckes proceeded to tell me that he has had many experiences with children fro the past 40 years or so and the one with me is one of the most memorable. â€Å"I love to help the kids develop skills that they can use to get to the next level,† he said. Beckes also told me that after being a coach for over 40 years, the aggressive competitive levels kids can get to can get really dangerous. â€Å"To the point where kids that are good friends off of the baseball diamond, could be very hostile toward each other on the diamond. † Beckes then explained that he definitely enjoys having a positive effect on kids while coaching them. He also thinks that being a good supportive coach that also makes the kids play their hardest is the best kind of coach one could be. He finished with saying â€Å"All kids can get their desired effects from sports as long as they exert themselves equally as hard,† Beckes explained. Kids can reduce their chances of become obese by playing youth sports. Youth sports promotes healthy habits that could last a lifetime. Staying active throughout their younger years can teach kids to stay active the rest of their life. Not only can they reduce body fat, but they can also build some muscles and boost metabolism (Morris). Participation in sports also get positive health effects like decreasing risks of high blood pressure, heart disease diabetes and some types of cancer. Kids who are successful usually go into more rigorous programs for sports which require long practice hours and pushing their bodies to the limit. The kids also, almost never realize the amount of stress they are putting on their bodies. Often when kids commit too much time into their sport then they are usually the ones who suffer from not being able to compete anymore. As long as kids are dedicated but don’t put their whole lives into their sport, the sport should be beneficial to the child and they should get the most out of their sport. Having children be overly intense in their sport at too young of an age can have bad effects on them for their adult lives and even not allow them to participate in their sport anymore (Ashley). Studies show sports have benefits in keeping kids positive, focused and in school. Kids in sports are less likely to use drugs, smoke and alcohol compared to kids who don’t participate in sports. Teenage girls in sports are also less likely to become pregnant. Sports and other physical activities activate the release of endorphins in the brain which boost mood and relieve depression. So children in sports are less likely to develop depression than kids not in sports. Sports also relieves anxiety. Girls who participate in sports have increased confidence and healthier bodies than girls who don’t. Children in sports develop better hand-eye coordination and balance than kids who don’t play sports. Better coordination leads to less problems with tendon and ligament injuries. Children who develop a strong core are less-likely to have injuries during their youth years. No matter how much athletes prepare for more serious injuries, such as fractures, dislocations and concussions, they can still happen. These injuries can all cause permanent damage and maybe even cause the athlete to have to stop playing sports. According to The Center For Kids First’s survey of 20,000 kids, 65 percent of them joined sports to spend more time with their friends and only 20% of kids said they joined sports to get better (Wilson). Professional sports has a lot of effects on the mindsets of children. Children get to thinking that professional sports is the way to the good life and how to get to riches and fame. In schools, sports are highly appreciated especially in high school. High school kids in sports are usually considered the â€Å"cool kids† and are considered that just because they play sports (Griffin). Well functioned recesses at schools can give more instructional time for the teachers because less recess-related problems between kids carry over into the classroom. Children with recesses that are longer than 15 minutes have less problems during class time and they behave better in class than kids that have shorter recesses. A well-functioning recess can support strong relationships among students, teach conflict resolution and other life skills. School principals are in a position of power for allowing students to have a strong and effective recess. â€Å"8 in 10 principals reported that recess has a positive impact on academic success†(Johnson) And â€Å"two-thirds of principals reported that students listen better after recess and are more focused in class†(Johnson). It has also been found that almost all principals say that recess has a positive impact on social development and general well-being. Even though recess has led to success, some schools cut recess time to meet testing requirements. Recess is linked to good student behavior but, most principals still take recess away for bad behavior. â€Å"When asked what would improve recess at their schools, they prioritized an increase in the number of staff to monitor recess, better equipment, and playground management training, in that order† (Johnson). This just shows how people just don’t realize how effective letting kids have physical activity time is. Recess time at schools is, in almost all cases, beneficial to the students. Schools should make recess time during school just as important as instructional time. Recess is the single biggest source of student disciplinary problems, But all it takes to fix that is to have the school manage their recess more effectively. There are simple steps in making sure children are kept healthy and flourishing off of sports and physical activities. When the parents and children are on the same page for what they want from the sport, the child will gain more from it. It is also proven that physical activity prevents some diseases and keep a child’s mind healthy. A child will also perform better in school if they do sports or have had a beneficial recess. As long as children enjoy their sport and keep free play activities alongside the sport, the child will mature efficiently and effectively.