Compare and Contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Compare and Contrast - Essay Example Children in a stable home environment are more likely to perform well academically than students in an unstable home environment. Homes classified as stable generally have both parents living with the child. There is generally a support system in place and the child is reassured that he matters. Within the stable home, the family dines together maybe not for every meal but with some amount of consistency. Time is set aside for checking homework and parent-teacher meetings are attended regularly. This kind of environment cultivates confidence by reassuring the child that the parents do care and want what is best for him. This stability makes it easier for the child to face challenges when they arise and therefore makes him more focused on school. â€Å"When adolescents perceive their families as self sufficient, having freedom to make their own decisions then academic performances increases.† (Mohanraj and Latha 22) This in turn ensures better grades. Unlike the child in the st able home, the child in an unstable home environment on the other hand is faced with an environment characterized by tension and discomfort. In some cases a parent may be absent and the child is often left on his own. Data suggests that children in single parent households (especially where this was not the case before) may have a hard time coping and functioning (Berk 346).

Summary Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 28

Summary - Assignment Example The government advocated socialist ideologies but which however could not be marketed on the global market since these did not appeal to the post modern types of films. It is for this reason that the Fifth Generation films took a radical approach in their development and could be viewed as rebellious. Though they were banned on the domestic market, they received significant appreciation on the global market. The fifth generation films specifically moved from a usual Chinese Kung fu movie towards depicting a disintegrating socialist background. This is illustrated in the film tilted (Platform 2000) which shows the successful troupe of cultural workers from Fenyang to the countryside. The other issue is that Jia’s films are primarily concerned with portraying a sociological perspective with regard to the social problems caused by the Chinese development. For instance, the films focused on issues such as destruction of the environment, neighborhood s as well as the destruction of families as some of the problems caused by contemporary Chinese development. Jia also incorporated pop music in his films as a form of entertainment given that his childhood was characterised by complete lack of entertainment. The arrival of Japanese pop music and Hollywood films had a liberating effect since these revolutionized the Chinese film. The other issue that characterized Jia’s films is tha t he was concerned about portraying reality through the camera. The sixth generation on the other hand not only rejected the metaphysical image of China but reflected a polarized society. However, the sixth generation film is of the view that a paradigm transformation about the way the camera portrays reality should be confronted and all the contradictions should be captured. For instance, xiancheng is is a true reflection of socialist industrialization failure. This has in fact led to cultural poverty as depicted in Jia’s films. The

Truth in the Legality of Income Taxes Essay Example for Free

Truth in the Legality of Income Taxes Essay On April 15 Americans rush to a crowded parking lot, racing against a deadline to file their 1040. These well-intentioned, hard working, honorable Americans believe that they are duty bound and even bound by a law requiring them to pay an income tax on their labor. Also, there exists a populous with like-attributes who do not believe that they are bound by law nor is the payment of such taxes a duty but rather a disservice to the nation. This controversial issue first gained my interest about 1 year ago, when it was brought to my attention in a free speech tax debate. As a well seasoned tax professional of 4  ½ years, and my major concentration of studies being in accounting and taxation, I was compelled to find out the truth about the legality of income tax. After much research, I have not been able to find the law that requires the American people to pay such a tax on their labor nor have I been able to find a provision for such a tax in either the Internal Revenue Code or the United States Constitution. If there is such a law, requiring Americans to pay an income tax on their labor, the United States government should show the people that law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to understand the legality of taxes, we must first refer to both the constitutional provisions for taxes levied and the constitutional context of the terminology used in such provisions. â€Å"On every question of the construction of the Constitution, let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.† –Thomas Jefferson, Letter to William Johnson, Supreme Court Justice, 1823 While observing the taxation clauses of the United States Constitution, two types of tax can be determined, a direct tax and an indirect tax. Although, the term â€Å"indirect tax† does not actually appear in the Constitution, its meaning is implied here as â€Å"any tax that is not a direct tax.† A direct tax is a tax that cannot be avoided nor passed on, if it is owed. The Constitution specifically states for the case of a direct tax, that it must be apportioned among the several states according to their population. An example of a direct tax in which the government may levy, is tax on land due to ownership, simply because the land exists. Meaning that regardless of what the land is used for or who owns it, the tax is on the land and the owner of the land is liable for the tax due.   (Constitutional Income: Do You Have Any?) Meaning of Income Although there are sections that mention the term â€Å"income†, term itself is not properly defined in the Internal Revenue Code. There is not clear cut definition with regards to this term. In the Internal Revenue Code’s Section 61a, the term â€Å"income† is vaguely implied. An example of this would be income as defined by IRS agents as (not even) earnings â€Å"from whatever source derived.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Supreme Court, however, has come up with a legal definition of income for the purposes of taxation. The Supreme Court    does not consider tax as something levied on a person’s earnings through his personal labor. Here are some cases to show an example. SO. PACIFIC v. LOWE, 238 F. 847 (U.S. Dist. Ct.   S.D. N.Y. [1917]; 247 U.S. 330 [1918]cite that   income as used in the statute should be given a meaning so as not to include everything that comes in. The true function of the words gains andprofits is to limit the meaning of the word income†. The case of Staples v. U.S., 21 F Supp 737 U.S. Dist. Ct. ED PA, 1937 likewise has a similar take on the term.   â€Å"Income within the meaning of the 16th Amendment and the Revenue Act, means gain and in such connection gain means profit proceeding from property severed from capital, however invested or employed, and coming in, received, or drawn by the taxpayer, for his separate use, benefit and disposal.   (Legal Minds Community) The Grace Commission Peter Grace and Jack Anderson formed the Grace Commission in 1982. This was a rejoinder to then President Reagan’s PRESIDENTS PRIVATE SECTOR SURVEY ON COST CONTROL.   The Grace Commission made recommendations that would save the taxpayers $424.4 billion over three years. The suggestions made did not compromise essential services or raising taxes. The Grace Commission also accurately predicted the accumulation of multi-trillion dollar government debt by 2000 if the government would do nothing to remedy the present situation.   (Truth in Taxation.US) Furthermore, the Grace Commission revealed that tax collection is not a hundred percent. Only one-third of the total collectibles is collected and the remaining two-thirds is either wasted or not collected. The total amount collected goes to the payment of federal debt. The payment of wage taxes supports global banking but does benefit neither Americans nor the government in any way. In short, the payment of wage taxes goes to nowhere near providing benefits to the American people.   (Truth in Taxation.US) The declaration of Independence defined labor as â€Å"property of the most sacred kind†.   Labor is among the unalienable rights. These include â€Å"the right of men to pursue their happiness, by which is meant, the right any lawful business or vocation, in any manner not inconsistent with the equal rights of others, which may increase their prosperity or develop their faculties, so as to give them their highest enjoyment†.   (Paul) That said collecting income taxes on an individual’s gains from his personal labor is illegal. Works Cited Constitutional Income: Do You Have Any? 2004. 25 October 2007 http://www.constitutionalincome.com/first_chapter.php. Legal Minds Community. The 16th explained. 17 January 1998. 25 October 2007 http://legalminds.lp.findlaw.com/list/fedtax-l/msg01860.html. Paul, Ron. Cases on Income. 2007. 25 October 2007 http://irwinschiff.homestead.com/CasesOnIncome.html. Truth in Taxation.US. Where Do Your Taxes Go? 2003. 25 October 2007 http://truthintaxation.us/?tax_inform=whereTaxesGo.

Human resource strategy proposal for bp

Human resource strategy proposal for bp 1.1 Introduction The changes in business and the impact of globalisation on increased competitiveness have pushed organisations to incorporate a strategic approach to human resource management (HRM) to achieve competitive advantage. Strategy is defined by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), (http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=enlr=id=zXG_lJ8BrMwCoi=fndpg=PR9dq=the+key+to+improved+business+performanceots=GLUULx2eFZsig=I9jHj5YhE5QIBmWYn-o-U0NvDlc#v=onepageqf=false).[Online].(Accessed 05 Mar. 2011) as a plan that integrates the goals, policies and action of an organisation into a cohesive whole. Fundamentally strategy is concerned with achieving a competitive advantage. By adopting a strategic approach to HRM, organisations seek to manage its human resources in a coherent approach that replicate the business strategy. CIPD views strategic HRM from two main perspectives, CIPD, [Online].(http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/corpstrtgy/general/strathrm.htm?IsSrchRes=1).(Accessed 05 Mar. 11); The ways in which an organisation achieves its business goals by putting in place activities that support and guide employees behaviour. And the manner in which the human resources and activities are planned to achieve the business goals. Therefore, strategic HRM is an integrated approach that aligns the internal and external context of an organisation for organisational performance, that is, a strategic fit between strategic intent and organisation resources. In order to suggest an appropriate human resource strategy for BPs human resource issues (appendix), this paper shall adopt an integrated approach to the various views of strategic HRM; Best Fit, Resource Based and Best Practices approach. 1.2 Best Fit The best fit view is all about the vertical integration. It is a contingency view in which an organisation links its business strategy (external market) and individual performance (internal environment) to create an effective HR policies and practices and achieve competitive advantage. Beardwell J and Claydon T., Human Resource Management: A contemporary Approach (Prentice Hall, 2010) used the life cycle and competitive advantage model to explain the best fit approach. The life cycle model links the appropriate HR practices to the different stages in the life cycle of a business. This model suggests that the HR policies at start up will differ with those during an organisations growth, mature and decline phase. Drawing evidence from BPs website, a statistical review in June 2010 by then BPs CEO, Tony Howard, BP,(http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9023752contentId=7044473).[Online ].(Accessed 05 Mar.2011), shows a sharp decline on record in global energy consumption and falling energy prices caused by global recession which is likely to continue in the long term. This decline in global energy consumption will affect energy companies especially BP which is a major player in the energy market with its huge global presence. Assuming this trend continues as predicted, this would set BPs business life cycle at its mature or decline phase. This means the HR strategy for BP will be one of downsizing and redundancy of employees but which needs to retain viability and contribute to sustainable competitive advantage. This dual strategy will enable BP to master the present while preparing for the future eventualities. A proposed strategy will be to retain high performance staff, recruit less and train staffs to multi task. On the other hand, the competitive advantage model argues that HR practices work best when adapted to the competitive strategy; Redman T and Wilkinson A., Contemporary Human Resource Management (Prentice Hall, 2009). The model identifies three types of strategic behaviour which can be linked to BPs HR practices: defenders, prospectors and analysers. Defenders operate in small niche market producing high quality products and services backed by high prices. Prospectors are more flexible and use innovative strategy to change product line quite often. Analysers are less innovative but stable and efficient and will only enter the market when it is risk free. Evidence from BPs website, (http://www.bp.com/productlanding.do?categoryId=9025115contentId=7047794).[Online].(Accessed 05 Mar. 2011) shows that innovations and technology and an efficient energy are a priority to tackle the challenges to meet energy demand and environmental concern. Therefore, to gain competitive advantage BP could adopt a dual strategy of make defender and buy prospector to remain both innovative and efficient at a lower operating cost. That is a make strategy that invests in employees to seek efficiency and a buy strategy for new technology to remain innovative in the market. This is a similar dual strategy approach that has been successfully used by the Singapore Airlines (SIA), (http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/ftmsc/modules/modulelist/pop/articles/singapore_airlines.pdf).[Online].(Accessed 05 Mar. 2011) that adopts a cost reduction strategy while providing premium services. The best fit view has been strongly criticised for its lack of flexibility in a dynamic changing environment. To achieve dynamic fit and given that BP is; an innovative, a high risk taker, results oriented, flexible to change, quality and process focus company, it should develop a human capital pool with these broad range of skills that will promote behavioural flexibility among its employees. This should help solve the problem of flexibility in changing environment. 1.3 Resource Based View (RBV) The resource based view is a paradigm shift from the best fit approach that draws on the internal resources of an organisation. It is particularly applicable in unpredictable external environment and focuses on achieving uniqueness and sustainable competitive advantage through the manipulation of an organisations resources. The VRIO (Value, Rarity, Inimitable, Organisation) framework, Beardwell J. and Claydon T., Human Resource Management: A contemporary Approach (Prentice Hall, 2010), is a useful tool to explain RBV relationship and formulation of a strategy. Value is all about the impact of HR contribution through improved customer service and customer added value. Rarity is simply to exploit rare characteristics of the firms human resources to gain competitive advantage. Inimitability means recognising an organisations unique history and culture to develop unique practices and behaviours that make it difficult for competitors to copy. Organisation is integrating internal resources into a coherent system so that they can capitalise on adding value, rarity and inimitability. The VRIO framework has been successfully used by the Singapore Airlines, (http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/ftmsc/modules/modulelist/pop/articles/singapore_airlines.pdf).[Online].(Accessed 05 Mar. 2011) to develop a set of unique characteristics such as replacing its fleets more frequently than do its competitors. As a result, its fleet is young and energy efficient and operates at a lower cost. BPs website (http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9025116contentId=7046892) .[Online].(Accessed 05 Mar. 2011) shows that BP is very keen on deep sea exploration, an activity other energy companies are afraid to venture into. Using this approach, BP can make deep sea exploration its unique culture and develop unique practices such as training and developing deep sea specialists to make it difficult for its competitors to copy. Implementing HR policies has been a key issue highlighted with the RBV and BP can overcome this by creating opportunities that will improve the discretionary behaviour of both line managers and employees such as; team working, training and development schemes, long term employment security and better pay structure. 1.4 Best Practice Best practice or high commitment human resource practices are a distinctive set of successful HR practices which firms can adopt irrespective of their setting and which will lead to improvement in performance. Due to the global economic crisis, most organisations are now adopting a policy of negotiating reduced wages to maintain job security and employment commitment. In same way, BP can adopt this best practice and integrate it with others that are specific to its needs. The BPs career webpage; What BP is Looking For, (http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9031574contentId=7057908).[Online].(Accessed 11 Mar. 2011), shows that BP is committed to developing leaders and supporting its employees through continuous improvement. Therefore, the appropriate best practices for BP should focus on enhancing the skill base of employees and this could be achieved through HR activities such as; introducing succession planning scheme to train future leaders, comprehensive training and development opportunities, selective staffing, results based performance and working in teams. 1.5 Recommended Strategy and Main Features The recommended human resource strategy for BP to adopt will be one that integrates all the key features of best fit, RBV and best practice views proposed above and as explained in the table below. Key Strategic Features Explanation Leadership Qualities A Priority Management should introduce comprehensive leadership training and development programmes. A succession planning scheme should be encouraged and practiced. Recruitment process should be selective and make leadership qualities a priority A Deep Sea Organisational Culture Employees should be encouraged to be innovative, take risk, results oriented, flexible to change, quality and process focus. There should be continuous training for specialists and high investment in deep sea exploration. Management should invest in employees to seek efficiency. Combined Organisational and Industrial Best Policy and Practice Retain high performance staff, recruit less and train staff to multi task. Negotiate reduce wages to maintain job security and employment commitment Continuous training programme for all employees to develop a broad range of skills. Team working should be encouraged to improve on discretionary behaviour. 1.6 Conclusion Strategic HRM is a complex process which is constantly evolving. The HRM strategy identified above is unique to BP in terms of the evidence found from its website and its major human resource issues discussed during the module session. The strategy adopts an integrated approach of best fit and resource based incorporating best practice as seen fit. Given that the economy is constantly changing, flexibilities have been imbued in the proposed strategy to make it dynamically feasible. 2.0 STRATEGIC RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PROCESS 2.1 Introduction The biggest asset in any organisation is its people. In order to remain a high performance company and stay competitive, BP needs to attract and nurture the right people with the right talent and right leadership qualities. Therefore, BPs HR practices and policies will play an important role for managing its people and achieving its business objectives. The challenges faced by BP to manage its people can be categorised as, BP,(http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9031553contentId=7057895).[Online].(Accessed 02 Mar. 2011); Attracting, developing and retaining talent. Shortage of skilled personnel. Developing a true leadership. Developing corporate social responsibility Transferring key knowledge and relationships. Responding to these challenges, BP has introduced a number of initiatives; BP, (http://www.bp.com/subsection.do?categoryId=2319contentId=7060032) [Online].(Accessed 02 Mar. 2011). Though these measures are good, a strategic recruitment and selection process can be adopted to tackle these challenges. 2.2 Strategic Recruitment and Selection Process. According to a survey by CIPD, Annual Survey Report 2007: Recruitment, Retention and Turnover (CIPD, 2007) only 51% of the organisations surveyed in the UK had a resourcing strategy. Given that eight in ten of the employers ranked recruiting as a top priority in resourcing, it becomes imperative for BP to develop a recruiting strategy. To source the right type of employees, BP can select its talents internally, externally, use a combination of both or adopt alternative methods. The internal approach is a traditional method where employees are given priorities for unfilled vacancies before an external source is considered. The advantage with this method is that it motivates employees, improves their morale and provides them with opportunities for career progression. However, internal sourcing is expensive and generally leads to inbreeding and lack of creativity while external recruitment brings in fresh ideas and skills by hiring employees with different backgrounds. Whatever method BP decides to use, it is crucial that BP adopts a strategic approach that will identify the skills required before selecting the most suitable people to meet the human resource needs of an organisation; Boxall P. and Purcell J., Strategy and Human Resource Management, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003). Furthermore, Beardwell J. and Claydon T., Human Resource Management: A Contemporary Approach (Prentice Hall, 2010) emphasis this need of a strategic approach as a prime source of competitive advantage to ensure the organisation has the right people in the right place at the right time. The strategic recruitment and selection process include techniques that stretch from attracting, selection and induction. 2.2.1 Attracting Talents: BPs Brand Strategy CIPD, (http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/employer-brand.aspx) .[Accessed 03 Mar. 2011) defined employers brand; as a set of attributes and qualities often intangible that makes an organisation distinctive, promises a particular kind of employment experience, and appeals to those people who will thrive and perform best in its culture BPs brand strategy will depend on its brand strength and how it differs from its competitors. A useful strategic approach is that by CIPD: A no-nonsense approach, (http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/employer-brand.aspx).[Online].(Accessed 03 Mar. 2011). In this step-by-step approach, BP will first need to investigate by communicating with top management, the employees, and external talent sources to understand the true perception of its employees experience. Secondly, BP should use the feedbacks from this investigation to create a distinctive Value Propositions (VP); a unique and compelling offer by BP to attract, retain and engage the employees in return for their performance. A suggested unique and compelling VP for BP is shown in fig 1 below; Next BP is to make sure it can deliver on its brand promise. By doing this and thinking about the employees experience not only from the recruitment stage but through induction to actual work life experience, BP will be using its employees to sell itself in a process known as employee branding. Therefore a good employee branding should be reflective of the employee experience as shown in fig 2 below; Finally BP will need to continuously measure, evaluate and review its brand strategy to make sure it is delivering real value.  This will be reflected through increase in application and enquiries, employees going the extra mile, and advocating for BP. 2.2.2 Strategic Recruiting Methods Globalisation and the global economic recession have pushed many employers to search creative employment channels and target a diverse application group. A CIPD report, Annual Survey Report 2007: Recruitment, Retention and Turnover (CIPD, 2007) indicated that local newspaper and corporate website were still favourite routes used by most employers. But due to technological changes and employees preference for a more flexible approach, organisations are now resorting to online recruitment techniques such as social networking sites like Facebook because they are cost effective and faster. BP a strong promoter of diversity, (http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9023446contentId=7058326).[Online].(Accessed 05 Mar. 2011), can win the war on diversity by creating a diverse recruitment policy that is inclusive of both the traditional (newspapers and corporate website) channels plus mainstream recruiting channels. Fig 3 portrays the diversity recruitment process; To use both traditional and mainstream recruiting methods such as; Newspapers, Universities, E-recruitment, social networking sites, career fairs, and iPhone, to develop a heterogeneous group of applicants. Top management to become involved and support line managers in implementation. To provide management with diversity training. To keep altering recruitment practice so as to avoid recruiting every time from same social background and age groups in case it discriminates against certain job seekers. 2.2.3 Strategic Selection Techniques Strategic recruitment is a continuous process and includes adopting the right selection techniques. There are different techniques organisations have used to select potential employees: interviews, integrity test, curriculum vitae, assessment centres and psychometric tests. CIPD, Annual Survey Report 2007: Recruitment, Retention and Turnover (CIPD, 2007) reported that local newspapers and corporate websites were still favourite routes used by most employers though the psychometric and assessment centres have been popular. Whatever method BP chooses, it is important that the method is reliable and valid. Reliability measures the accuracy and consistency of the selection test while validity measures its predictability. The psychometric test has typically been associated with the best practice for employee selection; Redman T and Wilkinson A, Contemporary Human Resource Management (Prentice Hall, 2009). The psychometric tests are designed to accurately measure a candidates knowledge, abilities and personality traits. These tests have become popular with recruiters because they are designed to be reliable and predictable and are effective for handling large volumes of applicants. Assessment centres on the other hand focus on behaviours required for the job and involves candidates completing a number of different tasks as part of the selection process; CIPD, (http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/selection-methods.aspx).[Online].(Accessed 05 Mar. 11). BP website shows its corporate website is the preferred selection route; (http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9031578contentId=7057906) .[Online].(Accessed 05 Mar. 2011). But selection is more than just using a particular technique, BP needs to implement a strategic psychometric approach which takes into account a social framework that includes selection as best fit and as an interactive discussion process; Redman T and Wilkinson A., Contemporary Human Resource Management, (Prentice Hall, 2009). To adopt a best fit approach, BP will need to identity its unique qualities such as values and culture, employment patterns, market segment and use these qualities to differentiate it selection practices from a best practice approach. Furthermore, BP should make its selection process interactive. The HR department should exchange information with other managers that are directly affected. Moreover, negotiation with participants should be a two-way process and designed to be perceived as fair. That is; treating participants with respect and dignity, providing them with information and making them part of the whole process. In addition, it is important that BP should provide adequate training courses for all those involved in assessing candidates at all stages of the selection process and that they are adequately briefed about the jobs. 2.2.4 Induction It is the process whereby employees adjust to their jobs and working environment; CIPD, (http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/induction.aspx).[Online].(Accessed 05 Mar. 11). The purpose, which is to ensure a smooth integration of staff into the organisation. BP can make its induction process more effective by; Making induction a vital part of its recruitment process. Designing a well structured induction programme to ensure that all new recruits receive information consistent with BPs values and culture. Carrying out physical orientation to describe where the facilities are and an organisational orientation to show new employees the important role they play in the overall business strategy. Ensuring a quality welcome because employees develop lasting impressions within their first few weeks of working. In a nutshell, if BP decides to adopt a strategic recruitment and selection approach to tackle challenges in its people management it will be vital that BP differentiates its brand strategy from that of its competitors. Furthermore, BP should be able to determine its core competencies to determine the correct recruiting channel(s). Finally, how it assimilates its new employees speak loud about its culture and values. TOTAL WORD COUNT: 3000

Can We Say NO To Recycling Essay -- science

Can We Say "NO" To Recycling Lately the earth’s capacity to tolerate exploitation and absorb solid wastes disposal has diminished, due to excess trashing. People dispose lots of stuff, and simply do not care. Therefore scientists found out a way to reuse things and that process was called "recycling". This new approach seemed quite successful at the beginning, until its true identity appeared. Recycling first started as man’s best friend, people were intrigued by this new phenomena. What could be better than using things that were already used. Recycling has been very useful especially that man is constantly consuming, burning up, wearing out, replacing and disposing at an alarming rate.(Durning 1992). However, unfortunately recycling has proven that it is quite costly. Although recycling of wastes material solves the problem of garbage disposal at landfills, and saves resources, it does nevertheless entail large hidden costs in collecting, sorting and manufacturing; therefore, it is necessary for the go vernment to overcome such problems of recycling to be worth while and for manufacturers and consumers to consume less. Recycling has proven its efficiency in solving the problem of garbage disposal at landfills1. By the accumulation of garbage throughout the years, space available for garbage has largely diminished. In the states for example almost 67% of their waste stream ends up in landfills.(Scott 25). This has in fact increased the price of disposal. As Kimball stated "tipping fees" at landfills, is so often prohibitive(3), and some cannot find landfills to dump their garbage. It can cost up to $158 to pick a ton of garbage and dispose it.(Consumer Reports 1994). Beside, these landfills pollute their surroundings area with lots of hazardous materials and contaminate underground water. To discover the contamination of the underground water it would be 12 yeas after the poisons-benzene; formaldehyde; mercury; and BCEE- have actually contaminated the land, and had sunk 24 feet into the ground contaminating about 50 million gallons of underground water.(Dahir 94). Besides these lands could be used i n more useful ways such as building schools, hospitals, or simply turning them into large green areas to purify the air. This problem is practically acute in Egypt, since we do find even in central areas of the city, piles of garbage disposal very near to... ... washed and used several times." (Scott 25). As we can see the benefits are over-estimated, and the costs are under-estimated. What we should do is not only look for an alternative but also look for other ways to improve recycling. The natural resources will not last for ever, eventually everything comes to an end and the end is very near to our natural resources. What is of greater importance is to find alternatives to such resources if they actually become extinct. Recycling is backed by most of the general public, for its ideas of saving the environment, energy, and virgin material. But it is not that good or that efficient it still costs money and is not that safe. "Recycling does not necessarily provide for safer or more environmentally sound disposal than landfilling or incinerators. The recycling process itself generates enormous amounts of hazardous wastes."(Schaumburg 32). In addition it will decrease and maybe solve the problem of the ever increasing pollution. Imagine that every time som! eone throws a piece of paper in the garbage is similar to a person cutting a leaf off a tree. This is what happens when one does so, so recycling was the way to solve such a problem.

Napster Dilemma :: essays research papers

A major business ethics issue has surfaced which has a dramatic impact on the recording industry and may affect additional industries. As this issue of our newsletter goes to press, the 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California should be close to rendering a decision in the Napster case. This case has been in the limelight for several months, and many people are following it with great interest since they have important stakes in its outcome. Many college and university students, faculty and administrators have been particularly tuned in to the case, since Napster is very popular on campuses. Regardless of its outcome, the case is expected to transcend the parties involved and have an immense impact on the future of cyberspace, the internet, and the information highway. In this article, I will bring the readers up to date on the case, including the court arguments presented in support of both sides. As one can imagine, the legal documents in the case are very voluminous, technical and complex. So to make it easier for the reader to follow, I am presenting the key points in layman's terms. What is Napster and how does it work? In early 1999, Shawn Fanning, a Northeastern University freshman, created Napster software. That summer he made it available for free through his Napster.com website. Napster is a peer-to-peer technology, which makes it possible for users to freely share their music files through the internet with other users all over the world. Specifically, this is how Napster works: A user sends a request for a song. Napster checks its database of music to see if the song is on the PC hard-drive of another Napster user whose computer is turned on (Note: No music is stored on Napster servers). Napster finds the song. Napster sends the song in MP3 format to the user who requested it. What is the controversy and status of the case? The record industry alleges that Napster is engaging in or assisting others in copying copyrighted music without payment or the express permission of the rights owner. The chronology of the case is, as follows: December 6, 1999: the record industry sued Napster in Federal District Court for copyright infringements, and petitioned that court to shut down Napster. July 26, 2000: the judge issued a temporary injunction to shut down Napster. July 27, 2000: Napster appealed the ruling before the U.

Film “Gothika” Essay

In the 2003 film â€Å"Gothika† Halle Berry plays a psychiatrist who loses her memory and wakes up in an insane asylum, the same one where she had previously been a staff physician. She is confused, disoriented and has lost time. Pete, a psychiatrist played by Robert Downey Jr. , is the doctor assigned to her care and Doug, her husband, had been the doctor in charge of the facility. Miranda, Berry’s character, eventually learns that her husband has been killed and that she has been arrested and charged with his murder (Kassovitz, 2003). From the very beginning, the movie pretends to psychology right. But unfortunately, it is largely just pretending. The first problem in the movie occurs with the description of Miranda’s psychotic break and the actions leading to it. The doctors caring for Miranda argue that her mental illness resulted from her accident, not the other way around. At first, they simply explain her illness as a traumatic amnesia brought on by the horror of murdering her husband. Or, they allege, the amnesia might be related to the head injury from the car accident and unrelated to her mental condition. Her doctor also asks her about drugs that she may have taken to cause the violence (killing her husband) or her amnesia. While it is appropriate to be concerned about a drug-related cause for amnesia (Merck, 2007) it is unreasonable to believe that those involved in her treatment would not have conducted blood tests to detect drug use prior to the questioning. The movie tells us Miranda has been out of touch with her mind for three days when she awakens in the asylum, so the mere idea that they would not have conducted blood tests and have the results back by then seems implausible. The next major mistake the movie makes in its portrayal of Miranda’s mental illness and treatment is that Pete is assigned to do her evaluation. While it can be argued that in some areas he might be the only doctor available, as one is dead and another accused of the murder, the story came before the reality of treatment standards in the movie. It seems as though Berry’s character may even recognize this as she tries to get a handle on her relationship with Pete, asking him if they had an affair or wanted to have one (Kassovitz, 2003). This immediately calls into question the ethics of the doctor and the accuracy of any judgment he makes regarding her condition. The film then tries to confuse the viewer with the question of whether Miranda is suffering some sort of psychotic break ro is truly being haunted by ghosts. From a diagnostic perspective, Miranda’s symptoms include the fugue when she was admitted, her loss of memory, and eventually, though she is loathe to admit this to her doctor, seeing and hearing her â€Å"ghost†. (Kassovitz, 2003). The film even goes so far as to have Miranda address her hallucination, saying â€Å": I am a rational person. I believe in science. I don’t believe in the paranormal, and I don’t believe in ghosts. But if you are the ghost of Rachel Parsons, can you let me out of this cell? † (Kassovitz, 2003). The professionals, upon hearing her tale of seeing ghosts, move right from a diagnosis of traumatic amnesia to a diagnosis of schizophrenia, skipping right part delusional. This is not accurate in the least. First, there is Miranda’s statement regarding her interaction with the ghost. She is still logical enough to know that interaction with a ghost is unreasonable and generally accepted as a mental dysfunction. â€Å"Schizophrenia is characterized by psychosis (loss of contact with reality), hallucinations (false perceptions), delusions (false beliefs), disorganized speech and behavior, flattened affect (restricted range of emotions), cognitive deficits (impaired reasoning and problem solving), and occupational and social dysfunction. † (Merck, 2007) If she were schizophrenic, it is unlikely that she would have retained her logical mind enough to realize that she was being illogical. The fact that her educated mind could still identify her behaviors as irrational is one of the clearest indicators that she was not suffering from the cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia. Next, there is the appearance of the ghost herself. If Miranda’s delusions had been limited to fleeting images or auditory hallucinations, her symptoms would have been consistent with schizophrenia. However, the presence of an identifiable visual hallucination makes the illness more in line with the symptoms of delusional disorders than schizophrenia (Allpsych, 2007). â€Å"A delusion is a belief that is clearly false and that indicates an abnormality in the affected person’s content of thought. The false belief is not accounted for by the person’s cultural or religious background or his or her level of intelligence. The key feature of a delusion is the degree to which the person is convinced that the belief is true. A person with a delusion will hold firmly to the belief regardless of evidence to the contrary. Delusions can be difficult to distinguish from overvalued ideas, which are unreasonable ideas that a person holds, but the affected person has at least some level of doubt as to its truthfulness. A person with a delusion is absolutely convinced that the delusion is real. † (Mind Disorders, 2007). The simple truth is that if Miranda had been suffering from either of these mental disorders, her symptoms would have 1) been more extreme in the case of schizophrenia or 2) come with a total belief in her delusion. She would no longer question whether ghosts were real. The final implied diagnosis of the film is that Miranda has been suffering abuse at the hands of a sadistic and manipulative serial killer who also happens to be her husband. Once the ghost leads Miranda to her husband’s torture and abuse chamber, the viewer is left with the impression that Miranda’s mental illness including the delusion of seeing the ghost was her mind’s way of dealing with the threat from her husband and becoming strong enough to deal with his abuse. This is complete and utter Hollywood tripe. While it is possible for battered woman to lose control and kill her husband in a situation where she fears for her life, Miranda’s symptoms are completely out of sync with the typical description of BWS (McElroy, 2002). Most likely, this was an attempt by the writer to draw sympathy for the character that did, in fact, kill her husband. If the movie had intended to portray mental illness in an appropriate fashion, it simply would have to stop with the obvious ghost story. The problem was that the writer wanted to create a story in which a ghost was used to explain away mental illness or a mental illness was sued to explain away an encounter with the supernatural. Either way, they failed. By showing the viewer the ghost, the viewer does not question Miranda’s sanity. After all, we’ve seen it too. To be more in tune with the diagnosis they were most likely going for, schizophrenia, the movie should have relied on an unseen presence and given perfectly reasonable explanations for things that happen, i. e. show Pete leaving her cell unlocked so that she an escape and conduct her investigation. As it is, the film fails as a ghost story and fails as a psychological thriller. Had it been done properly, it could have succeeded at both. WORKS CITED â€Å"Delusions† , November 18, 2007. Kassovitz, Mathieu (Director) and Sebastian Guitierrez (Writer). â€Å"Gothika†. USA:Columbia Pictures, 2003. McElroy, Wendy. â€Å"Battered Women’s Syndrome: Science or Sham? † The Independent Institute, October 28, 2002< http://www. independent. org/aboutus/person_detail. asp? id=488> November 18, 2007. â€Å"Prognosis and Treatment†, November 19, 2007. Psychotic Disorders , < http://allpsych. com/disorders/psychotic/index. html>, November 18, 2007.