Saturday, August 31, 2019

Why is the Golden Age of Policing’ such a potent myth in British society?

The Golden Age of policing refers to a time when things were apparently better. We have all heard elders in our society talk of the good old days when none of today's atrocities happened: when the police did a better job, when there weren't as many criminals. However how true is the myth of the Golden Age? In order to examine this myth it is crucial to look at the police and their roles back in the 1940s and 50s and compare it to their roles today and also look at society and their view of the police. There is lots of historical evidence available to us about the police and how it has formed since, in particular the 18th Century. This evidence is based on original documentation from the time and gives us an accurate account, however we can only interpret and construct the history, as there is nobody alive to tell us otherwise. The so-called Golden Age is within living memory and we only have to use the evidence, to tell us of the time, but we can also ask people who were there. These people can compare current policing to the Golden Age and in contrast an age of better times is created. This works with other issues not only policing. Police roles in Britain remained fairly static from the early 19th Century to the 1960s. The police had four main functions, the first being Crime Prevention, to prevent crime before it began. Policing was visible and unmilitary. Crime Detection was a function that involved the apprehension and prosecution of criminals. It did not really involve detection, as this was a low priority function because there was paranoia about spies. Detection involved invisible policing in contrast to the visible policing of crime prevention. The third function was that of Public Order, which dealt with rioting. This was a variable function as public order was stable within society. The last function was the service role. The service role was an important part of policing at the time as the police did many other jobs including tax collection, auxiliary firemen and licensee inspections. The police provided cheap labour for society and were a huge part of community life. The role of the police changed with the introduction of The Police Act 1964. The structure of the police also changed and the tripartite relationship was put in place, which is still seen today. The main roles of the police have changed slightly and now include crime prevention, crime detection, the service role and a range of special units that have become more important than the public order role. Special units within the police include units such as the Drugs Squad, Fraud Squads and public order squads like riot control and armed police. It is said that these specialist units have had an influence in the decline of the service role. Officers do not spend as much time dealing with low level crime, as they are unable to solve this type of crime and so instead concentrate on high impact crime. The police moved away from the service role as professionalism was introduced and a move was made from the amateur unskilled labourer to a professional employee who in turn was paid well. To join the police became a career. Policing today in comparison to the Golden Age is seen as distant and remote. Policing in modern times has become technological. The use of mobile phones and walkie-talkies has increased efficiency within the police. The police drive round in cars and are hardly seen in some areas. Other areas do have a police presence but it is not always welcome. The police are now more readily armed and use deadly force if needed. In recent years even this year innocent people have been shot and killed by the police. Policing has become bureaucratic and this has caused limited results. Policing has become ruled by administration and paperwork and sees police officers spending most of their time in police stations. In the 1940s and 50s policing was seen as very benevolent. They were members of a community who were well natured and well mannered, they lived within the locality and were seen as non-confrontational. There was an apparent use of minimal force. They didn't carry arms and the local bobby was seen with nothing other than his truncheon. Society at the time was in a state of stability and the public order role of police was very minimal. Policing was seen as un-technological. They didn't have the use of cars or mobiles and the local bobby was visible walking or on a bike. Policing was something that was good. To examine this view we must first analyse people's attitudes at the time. During the Second World War people were used to figures of authority and they were used to discipline. There was social cohesion, as people seemed to know their place in society. People didn't move about the country as they do today and it was usual to be born and die in the same area. Britain was in a state of economic stability, there was full employment and people seemed happy. The police as figures of authority were respected and put on a pedestal. A survey called Exploring the English Character, conducted by Geoffrey Gorer in 1955 found the public to think, â€Å"The police represent an ideal model of behaviour and character†. (Reiner 1989) The policing of the time seems somewhat idyllic. What is not mentioned is that for the police this era was not necessarily a good one. The job of policeman was not seen as a career at the time. It was a semi skilled job that had a very low wage and this did not get better until the 1970s. Police malpractice in the form of corruption was wide spread through out the force and there were a number of police scandals involving Chief Constables. (Emsley). The Chief Constable of Worcester was imprisoned for fraud and the Chief Constable for Cardigan was disciplined for not administering his force correctly. The Chief Constable for Nottingham was suspended and later acquitted but damage had been done to the police already. (Wall) Recorded crime was on the increase and there were race riots in Nottingham. British society was becoming a consumer society and there was a huge increase in car ownership. This in turn gave the police new duties in traffic control. The police began to have anxieties about the public. (Reiner 2000) In 1960 this malpractice led to the Royal Commission on policing. It is worth noting that to have a Royal commission something must have been wrong in the first place. The media have their own part to play in the representation of the police at the time. There was minimal media coverage and Dixon Of dock Green was the fictional policeman that covered the television screens. He was the perfect friendly local policeman that helped the community and was even kind to the local villains. Unlike today where our screens are inundated with police programmes from â€Å"The Bill† to the fly on the wall police documentaries where the police are portrayed in both good and bad lights. Today the police are seen more as Robocop than Dixon who would wade in with guns and bombs rather than a truncheon. Today's police are constantly in the public eye and because of this the public are more aware of what actually goes on within the police. In conclusion the Golden Age is a myth in British society as there is little evidence that it was better. (Wilson) Policing in the 1950s was different from what it is today but that is expected of anything in life, it cannot stay the same. The Golden age was based on blind faith and ignorance of what policing involved at a harmonious time. In today's age we are confronted with growing concerns of crime from terrorism to drug trafficking which have not been seen in such large scales in this century. Public attitudes to the police have changed and so have the attitudes of those that work in the police. Public confidence has declined due to the rising crime rates that have soared due to cultural, social and economic factors and the increase in reporting and scandals within the police, however the police are in a better state today than before. (Downes and Morgan in Maguire 2002). The Golden Age myth will continue and in fifty years time the Golden Age will be replaced with a new one that is constructed by law-abiding citizens of the police of today.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Reverend Hale Essay

In Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, when characters are faced with adversity, they are forced to show their true morals and beliefs. The character of Reverend Hale fights a battle between what ideasl have been engraved in his mind by books and society, and what he feels in his soul is truly right. In the end his soul prevails and finds him completely changed. Because he is a character with such high moral standards regarding everything he does, he sees the flaws and falsities of the witch trials and changes from naively believing completely in witchcraft, to losing all faith in the religion of Salem and deciding that earthly life is superlative and worth lying for. At first, Reverend Hale’s character is concrete in his beliefs on witchcraft and is sure of his duty to carry out the will of God. He has dedicated his whole life to the Puritan religion and learning about witches and witchcraft. In this call to Salem he sees his first opportunity to put his knowledge and dedication to work. When introducing him, Miller describes Hale as, â€Å"a tight skinned, eager-eyed intellectual. This is a beloved errand for him; on being called here to ascertain witchcraft he has felt the pride of the specialist whose unique knowledge has at last been publicly called for† (32). Hale enters in a flurry of activity, carrying large books and projecting an air of great knowledge. He becomes the force behind the trials, passionately searching out the evil among the people in Salem, and putting all his efforts into redeeming them. What is more significant about Hale’s character in this early part is not his actions, but motives. His motives are always for the good of the people and what is right to God. This goodness is what leads to his transformation because it helps him to see the true good and evil when others are blinded by their pride or ulterior motives. As more and more people are convicted, Hale begins to doubt himself. His inner conflict builds with every person accused and convicted, because he senses the innocence of these people. He has trouble believing that characters such as Rebecca Nurse and Elizabeth Proctor could possibly be involved in witchcraft. His doubts are assured and solidified when he  witnesses John Proctor accusing Abigail and the other girls of lying. Speaking to Danforth about his doubts on the accusations, he says, â€Å"I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it† (99). And then when talking about having to convict Rebecca Nurse, he says, â€Å"I’ll not conceal it, may hand shakes yet as with a wound!† (100). These two quotes show how Hale’s character shows increasing doubt on something which he at first very adamantly believed. He senses more and more the falsity of the girl’s testimonies, and when John Proctor testifies, Hale realizes that he can no longer deny his suspicions. It becomes obvious where the truth lies, but out of all the officials of the court, only Hale is able to denounce his past beliefs and let go of his pride. Although Hale succeeds in finding the truth and redeeming himself, he is helpless to take action against the court. This makes Hale lose all faith in the law. He dismisses himself of his position in the court, and when he cannot expose the proceeding as a sham, he finds himself begging those accused to confess to the crime and therefore save their lives. Hale goes from being a â€Å"tight-skinned, eager eyed individual,† to being broken by his failures and the deaths that he is in some ways partly responsible for. Although he comes to a state of despair, Hale does not give up in helping the people which he once convicted. Because this play is a tragedy, Hale fails in saving the lives of the heroes, but Hale’s change is significant because it shows how in some cases goodness will prevail. In his transformation, Hale becomes a character that is good, but not quite as strong as the heroes in the play who choose to die rather than lie. Although Hale recognizes the evils of the witchcraft trials, his response is not defiance but surrender. Because he cannot stand to see these good people die because of the pride and vengeance of others, he gives to injustice and insists that survival is the highest good. When Hale comes to try to get the accused to confess, he states, â€Å"I come to do the devils work. I come to counsel Christians they should belie themselves . . . can you not see the blood on my head† (131). He states with a little sarcasm that he is now to  commit a sin by getting these people to lie, yet is still doing it for the good because the witch trials have all completely been a lie. Hale has lived his whole life following the book and being a true Christian, but because he becomes so discouraged from the witchcraft trials, he finds himself wanting only for these people to live, no matter if it is a mortal sin. He also says that, â€Å"God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride†(131). Although the people who decide to die rather than confess are doing it for reason other than pride, Hale comes to believe that nothing, good or bad, which has come from the trials is worth dying for. In his transformation, he comes to believe that earthly life is a greater gift that eternal life. Hale is a remarkable character. For any person to have the strength to give up something they have believed their whole life takes courage, as well as having to give up all of your pride. With Hale doing this, he becomes broken and gives in to surrender and injustice in order to save lives. Hale is completely transformed by the trials, and the only substantial part of Hale that does not change is his desire to do good; what does changes is how he vies what â€Å"good† may be. Because he believed so vehemently in what he was doing before, once he opens to the truth he loses all faith in things he believed before, such as the law and in some ways religion. Because of Hale’s innocent character, he cannot stand to see other innocent people die because of a lie, and decides that it is most important that they save their lives. Hale’s character goes through all these transformations because of his motives in his life. Because he is motivated by doing what is right and fair, he is able to see the falsity in the trials and become dedicated to saving the lives of those who were innocent.

Pig Cruelty Essay

Pig Cruelty Around 1. 3 billion pigs are slaughtered annually for meat worldwide. The majority of these are in East Asia, particularly China, which rears around half of the world’s pigs. They are usually slaughtered after 4-7 months. Pigs intended for pork are usually slaughtered 1-2 months younger than pigs for bacon. I think that the way pigs are being raised and slaughtered is corrupt and barbaric. Mother pigs; spend most of their lives in individual â€Å"gestation† crates that are approximately seven feet long and two feet wide, not large enough for them to turn around in.Just before giving birth they are moved to â€Å"farrowing† crates, which also are not large enough for them to turn around in or build nests for their young. The deprived environment produces neurotic coping behaviours such as repetitive bar biting, sham chewing and obsessively pressing on water bottles. Piglets are taken from their mothers when they are as young as 10 days old and are pac ked into pens until they are separated to be raised for breeding or meat. They are too overcrowded and prone to stress-related behaviours, such as cannibalism and tail biting.On a television episode of TV ones Sunday that I watched, the New Zealand pork industry was dealt a shameful and public relations slap-in-the-face after its former comedian celebrity kingpin, Mike King, ousted their farming practises as ‘brutal’, callous’ and ‘evil’. Mike condemned the â€Å"appalling treatment† of factory farmed pigs. He observed inside a New Zealand piggery and found a dead female pig inside a sow stall, lame or crippled pigs and others that could barely stand. Pigs either extremely depressed or highly distressed, pigs that had scars and injuries and a lack of clean drinking water.Mike says â€Å"they were screaming and frothing at the mouth, I was disgusted and I’m sorry I was ever a part of promoting it†. This is no joke, real life †˜Babes’ see no sun in their limited lives, except for when being loaded onto the truck to be slaughtered; they have no hay to lie on, no mud to roll around in, not like in our childhood books and movies. There is no freedom or joy in their short lives; it is a misery from the day they are born to the day they die. Pigs feel pain just as humans do. Imagine living in your own urine and faeces?No one would want to live like that, so why do we do this to them? Bacon, pork and ham are all very lovely food indeed, but is it needed to treat them like this? If this is the case, I’m not sure I want to continue eating these foods. I understand the fact that free range products are expensive, but if the government made factory farming illegal then there would be more competition, so they will have to compete with prices. If we all made a push towards making factory farming illegal then I believe it would be more cost effective. Just think about how much healthier the meat would be.At the end of the day it’s not just the pig farmers that need to wake up, we all do†¦ If we really wanted to we could put a stop to this cruelty, by only buying free range products; starting protesting; making petitions, but we do not and this where collective guilt comes into it. If New Zealanders or better yet, the world started doing these things we could easily stop the market for factory farmed pigs, and farmers would be forced to change their practice. If your packet does not read ‘free range’, you know the truth. Help stop pig cruelty today. Kendell Gaskell

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Marketing strategy (bringing StarBuck to Trinidad and Tobago) Research Paper

Marketing strategy (bringing StarBuck to Trinidad and Tobago) - Research Paper Example Starbucks has successfully created its position as the best place for socializing other than office and home. The only way to enter the new markets is to implement the same global marketing strategy that it has been following for each of its expansion plan. Hence, it should slowly enter the markets of Trinidad and Tobago so that the customers in the region accept the concept of specialty coffee shops and enjoy the amazing ambiance of the outlet. ... The primary aim of Starbucks is to establish itself as â€Å"a highly respected and recognized brand in the international market† (Starbucks, 2012). Situational Analysis of Starbucks Current Marketing strategy After careful analysis of the marketing strategies highlighted by Michael Porter, cited by Alison (2010), Starbucks is following a differentiation strategy. Initially, the main element of its business activities was to focus on particular aspects with strong emphasis on creating differentiated products within the target consumer market. However, the company soon realized that it needs to strengthen its position in the market by developing a differentiation strategy and the success of Starbucks is evident from the fact that it has developed an excellent marketing mix for its customers. In order to expand its operations in the international market, it is offering same â€Å"coffee experience† to the international customers by providing them premium quality products and aesthetically designed ambiance (Tu, Wang & Chang, 2012). It has ensured that there is uniformity in its marketing activities by using only third party mediums for promoting its product and service offerings. According to Michelli (2007), Starbucks has allocated only 4% of its total cost on the advertising budget. One of the key elements of differentiation strategy is to introduce new and innovative products in the market and Starbucks has been exceeding its customers’ expectations by offering them products that are totally different from existing ones (Parayani, 2011). The innovation element of its marketing strategy gives it a competitive edge in the specialty coffee industry. In order to ensure that it develops entirely new offerings, a huge amount of money is invested in

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Art People Gallery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Art People Gallery - Essay Example The variety of artwork includes oil on canvas, impressionism, Acrylic, Mixed Painting, Sculpture, traditional, modern multimedia, Water-based, Surrealism, Water ColPaintinglism, mixed drawings, Figurative art, Pencil colored and Realism. Such a tremendous variety catches the attention of many people as they visit the art gallery is n huge numbers. The mission of the art gallery is to revitalize the education of artwork to use interesting combinations of technologies instead of using the same abstract work. Creativity is the key to modern artwork and many artists realize this fact (Galenson, 76). They have developed skills to use software techniques with crafty handwork and versatile combination of colors to induce tremendous attraction for art lovers. The artwork is not limited to the images only; instead, modern software tools have increased the competition in creating unique videos multimedia images (Malchiodi, 28). Competitions are arranged on regular basis to see the amazing pieces of art from crafty people who work hard to make interesting images and videos. The art pieces displayed in the gallery are placed for selling to people. Half of the price is paid to the artist and another half for the commission. Plenty of artists are working for displaying their talents in the areas of artwork. They are around a hundred in the number who display their tremendous pieces of art here. The gallery features pictures from a variety of international artists. The most famous of them is Meamar Ali, who is famous in mixed painting and abstract work. His stylistic work is praised a great deal in the art gallery.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Quality Management and Continuous Improvement Uni 1 DB SA Second Week Essay

Quality Management and Continuous Improvement Uni 1 DB SA Second Week - Essay Example ention costs the hotel should capitalize on training staff on using the hotel system reducing lead times, check in and out process times making the hotel efficient. For internal failure costs the hotel should ensure all the room services have met the quality requirements and are readily available at customer change requests. This effectively reduces lead time process and reduces time during change requests process. For external costs the hotel should ensure the all the services are available at check- in and out times. To determine the cost of quality for Hotel Escargo it’s important to use the metrics such check in and out times, change request process times and customer satisfaction. Examples of cost of quality under appraisal include a suggestion box cost for customers to give feedback on services received. For prevention costs include training and education of staff for technical use of hotel systems (Shelton, 2014). For internal failure costs include equipment and system failure costs to meet systems failures effectively. For external cost include complaints cost to timely deal with customer

Monday, August 26, 2019

Economic Order and Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Economic Order and Democracy - Essay Example For this reason especially, experiments with various kinds f worker ownership have increased sharply in the United States in the past two decades as a response to the problems f capital flight, runaway shops, bureaucratic waste in the managerial sector, and industrial decline. In the Progressive era, when theologians such as Rauschenbusch and Temple made the case for economic democracy, there were few examples f cooperative ownership or decentralized social ownership to which they could point. But today there are thousands f worker-owned firms in the United States and, though they have been characteristically slow in rising to the challenge, many American unions have begun to bargain for worker ownership, worker control over pension funds, and worker management rights. These developments are not yet, but have the potential to become, the building blocks f a genuine movement for economic democracy. (Krimerman 1-4) The Mondragon cooperatives in the Basque region f Spain offer one instructive example f economic democracy at work. In the 1950s a Catholic priest, Jose Maria Arizmendi, inspired a group f students to launch a cooperative stove factory (Ulgor) that quickly grew into a network f foundries incorporated as agricultural cooperatives. Mondragon has since grown into a highly successful and diversified network f worker-owned enterprises that are democratically managed on the basis f cooperative membership. Between 1966 and 1975, sales rose from $47 million to $336 million, and in the 1980s Mondragon became Spain's largest exporter f durable goods. In over forty years, it has witnessed only two closings. The Mondragon cooperatives employ over 100,000 workers in an integrated network f more than 125 financial, industrial, and service companies in virtually every economic sector, including robots and mass transit. Mondragon contains over 75 industrial firms, an agricultural cooperative, five schools, a technical college, and a central bank -- the Caja Laboral Popular -- which is half-owned by its own employees and half-owned by other cooperatives. Founded in a church basement in 1958, the Caja Laboral Popular has become a bank with $2 billion in assets that specializes in making loans to cooperative firms and providing industry-specific consulting assistance. Each Mondragon worker/owner holds one share f voting stock, and profits are distributed in the form f additions to a capital account on which 6 percent interest is paid annually. Seventy percent f annual profits are distributed to worker/owners on the basis f salary scale and seniority, 10 percent are donated to charity, and the remaining 20 percent are reinvested. Because the network's worker/owners cannot withdraw money from their capital accounts until they retire, Mondragon is able to make long-term investments in expansion, diversification, research and development, and reinvestment from its accumulated capita l stock. [TM] The Mondragon network consistently outperforms comparable capitalist enterprises throughout Europe, and thus demonstrates that worker empowerment and cooperation can be turned into economic advantages. Without question, the cultural variables are daunting; it is difficult to imagine how a similarly integrated network f pure-form cooperatives could be established in individualistic

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Biggest Obstacle to Business Sustainability Essay

Biggest Obstacle to Business Sustainability - Essay Example In other words, it ensures the efficiency and effectiveness of the supply chain. According to Werther and Chandler (2011), there are several CSR-related concepts that used to overcome communication barriers in a business. The Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Stakeholders, Globalization, and Sustainable Value Creation contain ideas that improve communication. Specifically, these include accountability (p. 305), business ethics (p. 336), stakeholder relations (p. 374), and environmental sustainability (p. 326). Others include compliance (p. 313), the use of the media (p. 344), religion (p. 365), and sustainable development (Werther and Chandler (2011, p. 326). Accountability requires honesty and transparency in the auditing process within an organization. The economists and accountants preparing the audit reports should embrace answerability as a crucial tool for linking up with the stakeholders. According to Werther and Chandler (2011), accountability enables external auditors to assess the organization and the managers. Consequently, this enhances the reliability of the reports conveyed to the stakeholders. Specifically, it minimizes the instances of doubts within the organization. Accountability ensures a proper flow of information between the managers and the employees. For this reason, it is the most critical virtue that promotes responsibility of the managers. In response, the supervisors pass all the relevant, reliable information to the employees and the customers. Business ethics refers to the mode of conduct within an organization. Professional ethos and values dictate the behavior of the workers and managers. The principles encompass the behavior and responsibilities of the organizational fraternity. Corporate integrities assist in reducing instances of communication breakdown in an organization (p. 335). According to the ethics, it is the role of

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Humans In Biological And Behavioral Continuum Essay

Humans In Biological And Behavioral Continuum - Essay Example In the behavioral and biological continuum, different animal species hold different positions. The determinant of this categorization based on a quantitative, rather than a qualitative approach. Humans rank as the most intelligent of all the other primates. This is the case if we define intelligence depending on thought patterns and ability to solve problems. Intelligence is a product of brain organ, which all primates own. The differences in intelligence level between human beings and other primates, therefore, rest on the differences in the capabilities of their brain matter. Human beings have a relatively larger brain as compared to chimpanzees and other primates, however, their brain processes and functions are the same (Lewis, Jurmain & Kilgore, 2010). Both human beings and other primates portray an array of related behavior. Parental love is vital for them all. The offspring of both humans and other primates need parental love, failure to which their growth will not be successful and whole, and will reflect in their adulthood years. All primate species show their need for bonding with others. In their early developmental years, young humans and other young primates depend on their older counterparts for general learning and adaptation to their new environment. Older members of human and other primates’ population are charged with the role of nurturing the young ones. All primates, including humans, react differently to different situations. The difference is that humans demonstrate a more adept degree of feelings and emotions such as cruelty, aggression, tenderness, altruism, and compassion. Humans can differentiate between ‘good’ and ‘evil’, unlike chimpanzees that do not even feel grief.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Contemporary management issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 3

Contemporary management issues - Essay Example Though some of these values evolve to embrace the changing times and others may interpret it differently under different situation but the universal acceptance of what is right and what is wrong has given them a strong foothold to withstand the adversities of the time. Moral and ethical dilemmas are becoming frequent in one’s professional life. The cut throat competition coupled with diverse and multicultural fabric of the society, makes it difficult for a person to maintain a high level of personal integrity. Nonetheless, barring serious acts of omission and commission, the activities or behaviour that is not illegal has literally become a fact of life with the people making it very difficult to distinguish between the behaviour that persons think ethical or unethical. The main reason being that very often the personal values clash with the organization’s objectives and organization’s target based results. According to Joseph Badaracco, "We have all experienced situations in which our professional responsibilities unexpectedly come into conflict with our deepest values...we are caught in a conflict between right and right. And no matter which option we choose, we feel like weve come up short" (internet). The resolution of eth ical dilemma therefore requires a very careful consideration so that both the parties become gainers. Consequentialist ethics is defined as the acts or behaviour that is determined by the consequences of that act or behaviour which generally must be beneficial in content. Retailers take refuge in the consequentialist ethical code of conduct, in their support of the supply chain that provides flowers that are out of season at their point of sale in the United Kingdom. It is therefore important that to identify really unethical behaviour, one must be able to know whether that particular act or behaviour of the retailer is constitutionally unlawful or whether it is against the general code of values. Another most pertinent question is

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Military rape Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Military rape - Essay Example However, today female soldiers working in the US military are also extremely vulnerable to sexual molestations mostly by their male counterparts (Whitten, 1999). As a result of the increasing rate of the military rape, today young people, particularly female candidates are reluctant to join the army (Nantais & Lee, 1999). This paper will specifically discuss the intensity of military rape in the US with particular reference given to various elements of sexual behavior. This will also discuss four different theories like the feminist theory, the cultural pathology theory, the strategic rape theory, and the biosocial theory in order to identify the root causes of military rape. Background Rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment that occur during military service are generally termed as Military Sexual Trauma (MST) by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). The term ‘wartime rape’ indicates mass wartime rape rather than isolated examples of rape by individual soldiers . Admittedly, there are no reliable statistical data on wartime rape due to pressures from superior officers and the reluctance of victims to come forward. Reports indicates that increases in the frequency of wartime rape might range from an estimated 300% to 400% by the end of the World War II (Gottschall, 2004). While analyzing the available statistics relating to the number of cases reported, it seems that military rape has been becoming a mounting challenge to the US army. According to some estimates, more than half a million people have been raped while serving the US army; and nearly 100,000 cases of military rape have been occurred within the past seven years (Koss, 2004). Although both men and women in the military are exposed to sexual harassments, women are the major victims of unwanted sexual behaviors. To illustrate, a 1996 Department of Defense survey conducted on 90,000 active duty members (including men and women) revealed that 55 percent women reported unwanted uninv ited sexual attention or behaviors whereas the same was reported by only 14 percent men; and the survey also indicated that 78 percent women and 38 percent men experienced one or another form of sexual harassment or sexual assault (Koss, 2004). Unfortunately, many of these cases go unreported due to various reasons, and a significant percent of the reported cases fail to go to full trial or investigations. A recently published report indicates that â€Å"only 3 to 4 percent of cases reported to the Army Criminal Investigation Division proceed all the way through the system to court martial† (Koss, 2004). Evidently, this situation points to the sexual behaviors of military personnel which can increase the rate of military rape. A Detailed Study As discussed already, the incidence of military rape has been significantly increasing over the last decade. Many of the female soldiers who took part in the Iraq war reported that they were raped by their male counterparts. Some studie s point out the possibility that one out of every four women that serve the military will have to face some form of sexual assault within the time span of their careers (Kitfield, 2012). (Details of this citation not found in the proposal you sent. So not included in the reference list). According to Pentagon reports, over 19,000 sexual assaults occur in the US military annually and this data include the cases of both the genders.

The Impact of Martin Luther King’s Philosophy of non-violence Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Martin Luther King’s Philosophy of non-violence Essay Introduction Martin Luther King Jnr. is perhaps one of the greatest and most remembered black leader to have walked the face of America. He was and still is one of the most revered public figure not only in America, but across the world as well. He is credited greatly to the end of racial segregation in America.   Ã‚   King was born on 15th January 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia and was the son Reverend Martin Luther King. He played a very instrumental in bringing to an end racial segregation on all public transport especially after the infamous Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955. King is credited for the speech â€Å"I had a Dream† that was delivered to close to a quarter a million people who had assembled at the Lincoln Memorial Park in Washington in 1963 during the March on Washington for jobs and freedom. The â€Å"I have a dream† speech is classified as on of the finest speeches in America’s history. King’s eventful and fruitful carrier in the civil rights was characterized by many instances of resistance to the effects of racial segregation, this would eventually lead to his life being cut short by an assassin’s bullet at Memphis on 4th April 1968. The world lost one of the most valuable renowned persons. Despite of his short carrier, King left a mark that has continued to impact the world even today almost half a century after his death. Therefore much of his legacy has continued to impact and influence the direction of some world events even today. The philosophy of non-violence resistance is one of the legacies that King left behind. At this time and age the ideology of non- resistance has been exposed to so much resistance and criticism especially from scholars who see it as a term that is often hijacked by â€Å"social opportunists and unethical politicians† who threaten to end any form of civil liberties in America. (http://www.mcsm.org/disease.html). Non-violence as practiced by Gandhi or King they argue has no place in the contemporary world. Analogues are even drawn to even prove indeed that non-violence does not necessarily bring about desired change, in fact sometimes it does harm than good. For example Fred Handschumacher illustrates this with the HIV virus that eventually causes great harm to the victim (http://www.mcsm.org/disease.html) To be able to understand clearly the non-violence resistance ideology, it is important first to understand the history behind it and especially how it is related to Martin Luther King. Non- violence had always been considered by many across the world as on of the many options to bring about change in the social, political and economic environment. Martin Luther King on his part saw it as â€Å"the only road to freedom†. Martin Luther King saw 3 ways of responding to any form of injustice, first was to accept it, the second was to resort to brutality and use of force and the third was to practice non- violence resistance. The power behind the third option depended so much on the power of the moral conscious. (http://www.ncs.pvt.k12.va.us/ryerbury/king-12/king-12.htm ) It was while he was still a student at Crozer Theological Seminary in September 1948 that he came to learn about the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi the great Indian leader. In Gandhi’s ideology of Satyagraha that espoused the need for resistance without violence, Kings saw the answer to his quest o eliminate the economic and social injustices not only in America, but in the world as well. After this encounter King laboriously studied this ideology that advocated the virtues of â€Å"turning the other cheek† and today has become the â€Å"predominant way in which people overthrow tyrannical governments and make their lives better†. (King, 1958) Soon afterwards Kings was to successfully implement the theoretical aspect of the ideology during the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955. Racial segregation by the end of the boycott was done with, without any form of violent resistance or confrontation. The ideology as developed by Gandhi and practiced by King had six principal points that the resister had to adhere to, they included: One can always resist evil without using or being violent Non- violence chooses to win the â€Å"friendship and understanding† of the opponent and not humiliate him (King, 1958) Oppose evil itself not the person(s) committing the evil acts Suffering is very redemptive and anyone committed to non-violence must be ready to suffer without any form of retaliation. At all costs the non-violent resister should both avoid hurting the opponent and himself. To avoid hurting oneself spiritually. Love should always be the sole motivator not to revenge. â€Å" The universe is on the side of justice† ((King, 1958)) thus for the resister to persevere he/ she must have great faith for the future King was so much indoctrinated in these virtues and this is what made him so successful in utilizing this method of resistance to an extent it has such a level of impact across the globe. Democracy The major impact where the non-violent resistance bore much fruit is in America itself. It was through the civil rights movements during King’s time that would eventually bring to an end racial segregation. Previously the blacks did not have the opportunity to elect directly or even participate in important issues regarding their nation. Blacks today have King’s form of non- violent resistance to thank for what they enjoy today. It is only through such ideals that today Barrack Obama (an African- American) can pursue the dream to become the president of the world’s super power without any form of discrimination. Democracy in way is a non-violent way of changing the way things a run in any government. America being one of the major proponents of democracy has continued to influence the world over to adopt this nonviolent way of giving the masses the opportunity to express their choice of leadership and exercise their rights. In America also although overall success is sometimes hard to quantify, nonviolence was the only way or option to for the blacks to retain their jobs, lives or even homes and thus retain their â€Å"dignity and still fight for what they believed in† (http://www.ncs.pvt.k12.va.us/ryerbury/king-12/king-12.htm). The Caucasian majority at that time possessed all the resources and they were the majority. The blacks could have easily been wiped out if they resorted to any form of violence because it would have been a perfect excuse to fight them back. http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4794 The situation that faced the blacks at that time can be equated to what is happening in the Israel/ Palestinian conflict today. The Israel Government has an obvious upper hand in this conflict because of its resources and strength. It has continued to engage in acts that clearly border on human abuse, the Palestinians use violence to retaliate, usually with deadly results. The Israelis use this as a very perfect excuse to continue suppressing the Palestinians. Conclusion Non-violent resistance as practiced by Martin Luther King contributed greatly towards the liberation of the minority groups the US. America could not have achieved its superpower status if it its leaders chose to ignore the wind of change that was flowing in its direction. Probably US would still be yoked in the chains of racial segregation if ignored the calls for change even though they were non-violent. Nevertheless, probably today America would not be what it is if King resorted to violent means of achieving the desired change. The conflict in the Middle East would likely be the scenario America would be facing today; but thanks to Martin Luther King Jnr.(http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4794)             REFERENCES Martin Luther King Jnr, (1958) Stride Toward Freedom,. http://www.ncs.pvt.k12.va.us/ryerbury/king-12/king-12.htm: Accessed on 24th February 2008     http://www.mcsm.org/disease.html Accessed on 24th February 2008   http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4794 Accessed on 24th February 2008

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Effect Of Internet Piracy

The Effect Of Internet Piracy Both the music and gaming industry claim to suffer from major financial losses due to internet piracy. In 2002, Software publishers claimed that, the worldwide piracy rate for PC business software was 39%, which translated into a $13.08 billion loss in revenue. The music industry also recorded losses of up to $4.6 billion as a result of 1.8 billion illegal downloads. (International Planning and Research Corporation 2003). All these figures indicate significant losses to the relevant copyright owners. (Hui, Kai-Lung, and I.P.L. Png (2003)) Many analysts believe it is due to peer-to-peer (P2P) technologies which lead to the illegal downloading. This type of piracy is known as End-user piracy, which differs greatly from For-profit piracy. End-user piracy seems to be a lot more difficult to control. The music/game industry and policy makers address this issue by reinforcing copyright laws and implementing technological protection and also targeting the developers and users of P2P networks. The ongoing Eircom vs. The Pirate Bay debate is an example of this preventative action. But many believe downloading is a form of sampling and also leads to the exposure effect, leading people to find and try new music in order to make more informed purchases which in turn can lead to an increase in CD sales around the world. (Peitz and Waelbroeck (2003)) The harm caused by piracy also depends on publishers pricing strategies. When it seems more beneficial for potential shoppers to resort to private copying, publishers could raise the price of the legitimate item to extract the increased consumer surplus. If this happens, directly treating all pirated copies as lost sales would overstate the harm caused by piracy. However, similarly, if publishers deliberately set low prices to discourage copying, then the number of copies would understate the lost revenue (Kai-Lung et al (2003)) There are two ways of copying non-authorized digital products; by obtaining original material from family or friends, or by downloading it directly from the internet. The process of copying music, film or software is very easy, all someone needs is the product and a storage device like a hard-drive or cd-recorder. Digital goods also copy across perfectly when coming direct from the source. On the other hand, downloading from P2P file-sharing websites has a number of considerable disadvantages. Lower quality copies are generally produced and users can spend hours looking for the right download file. Also, frequently, due to the lack of install guides for software and lack of song lyrics, this effort can lead to wasted time. Lastly, files such as music and video files can be badly compressed or incomplete. (Martin Peitz et al (2003)) Literature Review To illegally copy or distribute unauthorized or counterfeit music, video or software of any type is known as internet piracy. Software is now one of the most heavily distributed products on the internet (Microsoft.com, 2010). This, now a criminal offence, includes the illegal reproduction and duplication of copyrighted computer software, music and films (Hohn, Muftic, Wolf, (2006)). However the biggest problem in this digital time we live in, as stated by Lysonski Durvasula, (2008), is the undoubtable fact that the process of downloading music over the internet is reasonably easy. With just a few clicks of a button you can download an artists entire discography, and with the speed of internet access these days it is on your computer in a matter of minutes. Piracy is most rampant in young people. As seen in the survey conducted by Gallup Poll (2003), 83% of the young people said that downloading of music for free was totally acceptable. In another survey conducted by Freestone and Mitchell (2004) evidence was found to suggest that downloading music was seen as least wrong of other criminal internet acts, because they felt no harm was being done to others. It was also found the majority of college students said that downloading music and films was neither an offence or illegal. (T. Ramayah, Noor Hazlina Ahmad, Lau Guek Chin, May-Chiun, Lo (2009)) This is mostly because of the creation of these P2P networks like Bit-comet the Pirate Bay and the total digitalisation of music, video and software. It is my belief that because of this process of digitalisation the sale of CDs around the world has declined. Most reports seem to suggest that P2P networks have a direct negative impact on the digital industry, be it music or games. Essentially, there are four communication channels that can be used for Internet piracy: The World Wide Web, a normalised set of standards for storing, getting and displaying information in a client/server environment. FTP (File Transport Protocol) a protocol for getting and sending files from a remote computer. Peer to Peer computing (P2P), a form of distributed processing that links computers via the Internet or pirate networks so that they can share processing tasks. Electronic Mail (e-mail), used for the computer-to-computer exchange of messages and usually the pirated files are sent as attachments, limited to 25mb using Googles Gmail. (T. Ramayah et al (2009)) Such huge losses dilute the incentive for development of information product. However, the losses claimed by the computer software and recorded music industries may be excessive. If piracy could be prevented, many of those who used pirated products might not switch to buying the legitimate item. Instead, they might simply not use the product. With no reduction in price, it is not likely for all the illegal users to switch to the legitimate item. (Kai-Lung et al (2003) Here in Table 1 which was conducted by Kai-Lung et al (2003), reports a very descriptive set of statistics. Consumption of music CDs per capita were a little more than one unit per year, while around 12% owned CD players. The standard deviation of personal disposable income and CD player ownership were large (Table 1) this indicted that the countries in question had different demographic characteristics and income. Worldwide MTV subscription was low per capita, but over the years has started to grow steadily. This leads us into Table 2 which reports the music CD average price and per capita consumption of pirated and legitimate CDs over a range of countries around the world. As seen in (table 2) the demand for both legitimate and pirated CDs varied across the countries with India having the lowest per capita purchase of legitimate music CDs and the United States having the highest. The consumption of pirated CDs was this time, highest in both Singapore and Hong Kong with the United Stated being the lowest. With a few exceptions (e.g., India and Japan), the average price of music CDs varied moderately across the countries. Kai-Lung et al (2003) Hui, Kai-Lung, and I.P.L. Png (2003) Piracy and the Legitimate Demand for Recorded Music, Contributions to Economic Analysis Policy. Peitz and Waelbroeck 2003 The Effect of Internet Piracy on Music Sales: Cross-Section Evidence, Review of Economic Research on Copyright Issues, 2004 Hohn, D. A., Muftic,L. R., Wolf, K. 2006. Swashbuckling Students: An Exploratory Study of Internet Piracy. Lysonski, S., Durvasula, S. 2008. Digital piracy of MP3: Consumer and ethical predispositions. Journal of Consumer Marketing. T. Ramayah, Noor Hazlina Ahmad, Lau Guek Chin, May-Chiun, Lo 2009 Testing a Causal Model of Internet Piracy Behavior Among University Students Gallup Poll. 2003. Moral Acceptability of Downloading Music for Free. Gallup Youth Survey. Freestone, O., Mitchell, W. 2004. Generation Y Attitudes towards E-ethics and Internetrelated Misbehaviours. Journal of Business Ethics

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Comparison of Characters in Aphra Behn’s The Fair Jilt and Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa :: Compare Contrast Richardson Behn Essays

Comparison of Characters in Aphra Behn’s The Fair Jilt and Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa Superficially the characters Clarissa Harlowe and Miranda seem, not only to be extremely different, but complete opposites. Clarissa is an exemplary model of virtue and goodness. Samuel Richardson presents her as a chaste and innocent daughter. She is forced from her duty by a conniving brother into the arms of a manipulative man. She is the victim. Miranda is the villain of The Fair Jilt. Aphra Behn portrays her as a woman who knows what she wants and will do anything to get it, including murder. Miranda has no regard for family and is driven only by her desire for quality. On first reading, it seems that Miranda is manipulative and Clarissa is being manipulated. However, if one looks closely at these two characters, it becomes clear that they have a great deal in common. Both women are strong, intelligent and independent. Lack of parental control influences both of them, as do the inheritances they both receive from deceased family members. The characters of Clarissa Harlowe and Mi randa, although strikingly different, are also revealingly similar. Miranda and Clarissa both lack parents. Miranda’s parents pass away, leaving her an orphan and completely alone in the world, except for her sister. Her lack of a guardian gives her a large amount of personal control. Miranda must decide what to do with her life. â€Å"†¦the fair Miranda, whose parents being dead†¦ put herself into this enclosed religious house† (Behn 32). The phrase â€Å"put herself† is very important to both the story and the character. Miranda now has power over herself and this is both new and dangerous. Her freedom from parental control also has a heavy influence on her courtships and eventual marriage. If her father were still alive, Miranda would not have chosen her own husband. Her match with Prince Tarquin probably would not have come to pass. Although Prince Tarquin has a great name and â€Å"quality,† he does not have a lot of money. Miranda’s obsession with Henrick also would never occur because she wou ld never have entered the convent. Likewise, Clarissa suffers much from the absence of her parents. Her father is weakened by the gout. In his absence, James Harlowe Junior takes control of the family. Throughout the novel, Clarissa is asking her father to take control and tell her what to do.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Raps Controversy :: essays research papers

Rap’s Controversy The most popular new music to emerge from the ‘80’s was rap music. It first developed in the mid ‘70’s in New York City, and soon in other urban areas, primarily amongst African-American teen-agers. It became very popular with the urban public that it soon began to spread throughout the United States and much of the world. It replaced rock music as the creative force in music of the ‘80’s and ‘90’s. However, as popular as it was then and it is now, the lyrics of many rap songs have caused controversy. Many believe and have charged that these lyrics promote racism and violence and show contempt for women. Those in the mainstream have long considered rap music controversial. However its controversy escalated to a whole new level when the world was introduced to â€Å"Gangsta Rap,† where violent acts and suggestions are graphically portrayed (yale). The notorious rap group responsible for the introduction of gangsta rap was NWA (bomp). Gangsta rap has been criticized and debated over for its graphic sexual content, and violent imagery (yale). The lyrics in many songs contain violent and explicit lyrics that usually talk about killing someone along with sounds of gunshots in the background. Gangsta rap also talks about drug use and portrays negative attitudes toward women, especially black women. The artists refer to women as, â€Å"bitches,† â€Å"whores† and sex dispensing â€Å"hoes.† On the contrary there is a nice sideffect to controversy; you can use it to get a message across and most importantly it sales records, just like NWA, Ice-T, Public Enemy, and the 2 live crew soon discovered early on in their time. Today most young people think that if a person is rich and famous, they can get away with anything. They see rappers get charged with felonies and then they see that the charges get dropped. They’ve heard of celebrities running over children while drunk and get away with it without doing any time. However, not all rappers have run-ins with the law, but the ones that do are very well known. Tupac Shakur (RIP), for example, had many run-ins with the law. He was arrested for aggravated assault, and charged with shooting two off duty police officers in Atlanta in 1993, but the charges were later dropped (bomp). He was also accused of beating a limousine driver in Los Angeles and found guilty of threatening a fellow rapper with a baseball bat in Michigan (bomp).

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Netflix competitive analysis Essay -- essays research papers

Competitive Analysis Blockbuster Inc. and Movie Gallery are currently the two strongest competitors in the market, and therefore pose the biggest threats to Netflix. Amazon, Intelliflicks, and Cleanfilms are all present in the market, but don’t possess enough force at this time to be considered a threat to Netflix. Blockbuster As of right now, Blockbuster is the biggest competitive threat to Netflix. Blockbuster was incorporated in 1989 in Delaware and is a major renter of home videocassettes, DVDs and video games throughout the Americas, as well as Europe, Asia and Australia. Blockbuster operated about 9,100 stores in the U.S. and 24 other countries, as of Dec. 2004. In the summer of 2004, Blockbuster launched an online rental program that provides a challenging competitive match for Netflix. Blockbuster’s online debut was in development for years. In 2002 Blockbuster purchased FilmCaddy, an online movie rental company that became Blockbusters internet channel. Blockbuster completed consumer research, both qualitative and quantitative, and found that online customers preferred a program that would give them both Internet convenience and in-store benefits. Blockbuster decided to incorporate its extensive network of stores to provide a powerful competitive edge. In addition, the chain has said it wil l invest $170 million this year alone in its online-rental operation. Financially, Blockbuster has revenues of 6.10 billion, with a gross profit of 3.61 billion, and a negative ne...

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Ethical Reflection Paper Essay

Take the Ethics Awareness Inventory and Ethical Choices in the Workplace assessments to assess your values. Write a paper of no more than 700 words in which you do the following: Explain the role of ethics and social responsibility in developing a strategic plan, considering stakeholder needs. Explain how your ethical perspective has evolved throughout the program. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment. General Questions – General General Questions STR 581 Week 1-6 Everything Included (All Assignments, All DQ’s) + 6 sets of Finals Version 4 Strategic Planning Implementation If you do well in a subject, use your skill to earn money! Tutoring fellow students and others in the community can end up paying pretty well. Advertise what you can teach on bulletin boards around your dorm on in your student center. Many tutors also find it helpful to advertise online. This paperwork comprises STR 581 Week 1 Assignment – Ethical Reflection Paper Take the Ethics Awareness Inventory and Ethical Choices in the Workplace assessments to assess your values. Write a paper of no more than 700 words in which you do the following: Explain the role of ethics and social responsibility in developing a  strategic plan, considering stakeholder needs. Explain how your ethical perspective has evolved throughout the program. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment. General Questions – General General Questions STR 581 Week 1-6 Everything Included (All Assignments, All DQ’s) + 6 sets of Finals Version 4 Strategic Planning Implementation †¦ Get complete A+ tutorial here – https://bitly.com/1wyRS8p If you do well in a subject, use your skill to earn money! Tutoring fellow students and others in the community can end up paying pretty well. Advertise what you can teach on bulletin boards around your dorm on in your student center. Many tutors also find it helpful to advertise online. General Questions – General General Questions STR 581 Week 1-6 Everything Included (All Assignments, All DQ’s) + 6 sets of Finals Version 4 Strategic Planning Implementation

Friday, August 16, 2019

Market Research for Entry of Kellogs Nutribar

Defining the research problem: MID: Develop market entry strategy for Kellogg nutria by studying consumer behavior towards unnatural Determine product features, pricing, SKU (small and big packet) and postulating Sub problems: Sub Problem: to understand the relationship between the Kellogg brand and the consumer Research Questions: 1 . What does the customer, identify the Kellogg brand with? 2. What is the demographic profile of the Kellogg consumer? Sub Problems: to understand consumer preferences about nutrias and canvasbacks Research Questions: 1 .What is the extent of customer knowledge about nutrias? 2. What are the major usage patterns of nutrias and canvasbacks? 3. Which attribute of canvasbacks do consumers dislike? 4. Who Influences the customers buying decision? 5. What would be the recommended price-point for the Kellogg nutria? 6. Is the unnatural considered an Indulgence? Research Design The product under consideration Is Kellogg Unnatural. We have Identified the target segment to be young children between age groups 6-15. We have positioned it to be a delicious and healthy, nutrient filled snapback.After conducting a secondary search the following parameters are identified The main problems which are identified for the research are 0 to understand the relationship between the Kellogg brand and the consumer 0 to understand consumer preferences about nutrias. We have designed a necessary questionnaire for conducting a cross sectional survey and found that proportionate stratified sampling will be apt to get the necessary consumer Insights. Sampling Design There are many methods of sampling when doing research.We have to choose the most Ideal sampling method giving us the maximum probability of getting the results hat are needed to develop the best entry strategy. Proportionate stratified sampling will be carried out giving due weight to the various age-groups' representation in the Indian population. This will be conducted, ideally, at an urban/semi -urban geography. Simple random sampling, which is the most ideal, is seldom used since the luxury of time or money to access a whole population is hardly ever available. Hence, Stratified Sampling is the sampling method that should be implemented.The survey will be an anonymous one, with no mention of gender or name. This will not affect results, hunger being universal. Appropriate weight will be given to all age-groups In the survey, In line with their representation In the Indian population. Insights from exploratory research Market research was carried out at xx, and a sample size of 50 respondents was obtained. xx was chosen on account of it containing urban and semi-urban areas anonymous survey and respondent gender profiles weren't considered.The profiles of these respondents were chosen so as to meet the requirements of Proportionate Stratified Sampling. A number of insights were obtained from this exploratory market research survey. They are: The young age groups wanted tas te benefits from any eatable product and the old and middleware age groups were more in favor of the health benefits of eatables 0 As long as the consumers believe they are getting value-for-money, price of the product is not a big issue 0 Consumer awareness about nutrias is significant, but much distance remains to be covered.The advent of the internet and social media have impacted youngster awareness, with it being significantly higher than the mean 0 Nutrias are largely perceived as snack bars that are healthy by the majority of consumers Data analysis The data was obtained from a sample size of 50 respondents, done via proportionate stratified sampling. Data was analyzed in an MS – Excel Workbook, using basic Excel tools.Demographics of the respondents were analyzed and the results are: Age-wise: Age Group 6-15: 24% Age Group 16-29: 24% Age Group 30-59: 38% Age Group 60 & above: 14% Secondary Research Extensive secondary research was carried out using the internet and th e main findings were that user economic status didn't really matter, with the bar's relatively low perception. To parents, health benefits were more important. To their children, it was taste. We have selected the middle-class and above as our serve sample group, the product being perceived as an indulgence and the poor having no money to buy it. We extrapolated, from their U.S pricing that Kellogg could supply nutrias in India at the price points RSI 10 & 20, which are psychologically important. Final recommendations & findings Findings: 0 Residents of the age groups 6-15 and 16-29 gave higher importance to taste (in decreasing order) 0 Residents of the age groups 30-59 and 60 & above gave higher importance to health benefits 0 The Kellogg brand is identified with healthy breakfast cereal by he customer 0 The average demographic profile of the Kellogg consumer is that if the age groups 6-15 and 16-29 0 These two age groups have the most knowledge about nutrias.They can accurately d istinguish them from similar canvasbacks 0 Nutrias are largely considered an indulgence, hence they aren't consumed frequently, with most consumers having them at most once-a-week 0 By contrast. Canvasbacks are consumed regularly by the 6-15 age-group. Here, smaller SKU sizes are prevalent, egg: RSI 5 and RSI 10 0 The major attribute of canvasbacks disliked is their unhealthy nature.

Signal Transduction Exam 2018

This figure is from Labasque et al., 2008 (GPCR week). A) Describe the experiment shown here and what was learned as a result. B) Design a negative control for this experiment and describe why it is a good control. C) Design an experiment to confirm this result in living cells. Please include controls in your experimental design. Signal Transduction Exam 2018 A) The experiment was performed on human embryonic kidney (HEK 293) cell line. The extracts of solubilized proteins were taken under consideration for this experiment. These were then transfected with different vectors: CTL (empty vectors), co-transfected with GFP fused Calmodulin(GFP-CaM) and serotonin receptor either wild type 5-HT2C or 5-HT2CR376/377A which were treated with a vehicle or 5-HT for five minutes, they analyzed the binding reaction by Western Blot and Immunoprecipitation (IP) techniques. Immunoprecipitation was done of these soluble proteins with polyclonal antibody:anti-GFP. Furthermore, these immunoprecipitated proteins were blotted using a monoclonal anti-GFP antibody along with anti-5-HT2C receptor antibody.As a result of this experiment, it was found that the absence of agonist, 5-HT2C receptor did not co-immunoprecipitate with calmodulin in solubilized proteins that were co-transfected with Myc-5-HT2C receptor and GFP-CaM. However, serotonin receptor co-immunoprecipitated with GFP-CaM after treatment with 5-HT for 5 minutes. But the exposure with 5-HT2CR376/377A did not co-immunoprecipitate GFP-CaM with serotonin receptor. It proves that 5-HT2C receptors are linked with CaM depending on the presence of agonist. The experiment performed is to check the agonist dependent precipitation of GFP-CaM and serotonin receptors in the presence of Myc-5HT2C 5-HT exposure. So, the negative control to be designed here for this experiment can be simply of serotonin receptor and CaM. This would result in no immunoprecipitation and prove as a good negative control. On analyzing it through western blotting it could be proved that no immunoprecipitation had occurred in this control. To confirm the results in living cells the same experiment could be used to check the that whether the immunoprecipitation is agonist dependent or not. Take solubilized proteins from living cells and co-transfect them with GFP-CaM and 5-HT2C receptor followed by exposure to 5-HT, then analyze immunoprecipitation via western blotting. The negative control for this experiment will include only CaM and serotonin receptor, and further analyzing it with western blotting, the results of blotting will show no precipitation in negative.2. These figures are from Fig. 6A,C of Fan et al. (src kinase folder). (A) Explain the experiments shown here. What was being tested? What conclusions can be drawn? How can it be improved? (B) Design another experiment to test the same concept/hypothesis? Include your controls.4839335107886500A) In figure A: Human embryonic kidney cells were transfected with constructs for carrying out this experiment. Immuno-precipitation was carried out of tagged PAG with an antibody against regulator MYC, its interaction is studied here with SRC and BRK followed by immunoblotting analyzation. The result of this experiment was delaying in electrophoretic mobility of tagged PAG protein, when it was co-expressed with SRC. This delay is considered due to the hyper-phosphorylation. However, on co-expression of PAG and BRK this band shift was less evident. In figure C: Co-transfection of HEK 293 cells with MYC-PAG and SRC followed by treatment in the absence or presence of SRC kinase inhibitor SU6656 (5 M) for at least 1 hour. PAG was immunoprecipitated by antibody against MYC, and the binding of CSK was compared by immunoblotting. On the other hand, the disturbance of link b/w CSK and PAG was observed on weakening SRC activity by a small molecular inhibitor SU6656, this experiment concluded the importance of SRC kinase activity for functioning of CSK. Also, this study shows that distinct mechanisms have evolved to regulate the activities of two structurally similar and functionally related kinases, BRK and SRC, understanding of the signaling function of protein phosphatases, including definition of their substrate specificities, will allow us to exploit a greater spectrum of the changes in signaling in disease and to generate new and more effective strategies for therapeutic intervention in major human diseasesB) To test the same hypothesis with controls, take breast cancer frozen samples of different patients, divide the sample in two groups one will be the test group other the control group. The control group will be given doses of anti-tumor medication (like tamoxifen for breast cancer). RNA will be extracted from both groups using Trizol and will be followed by purification assay. The breast cancer cell lines will be transfected with empty vectors or pcDNA3-MKP3-V5. Furthermore, the transfectants will be placed in media like minimum essential media MEM with phenol red, followed by SDS PAGE electrophoresis, and transfer to nitrocellulose membrane. After transferring they will be incubated with primary antibody for an hour or more then with the secondary antibody to observe the chemiluminescence with a reagent. The cells will then be lysed in a buffer, phosphatase reaction carried out will be observed by assays and transfected cells will be compared with control ones to whom tamoxifen was given.36734750003. This is figure 4b from Gresset et al (phospholipases folder). (A) What is the hypothesis being tested in this experiment? (B) Describe how the experiment was done, including results. (C) Predict what might happen to PLC? activity if Tyrosine783 was ‘permanently' phosphorylated and explain why. The hypothesis being tested here is the enhancement in the lipase activity of phospholipaseC-?1 via phosphorylation of one or both specified tyrosine residues (Y775 and Y783) in the downstream process of signal transduction.To perform the experiment, equal concentrations of purified phospholipase-C-?1 were set on incubation with the active kinase domain of the Fibroblast growth factor receptor FGFR2 and ATP in bovine serum albumin containing buffer, the samples of this reactions were tested for two activities: 1) for lipase activity in the phospholipid vehicles indicated in the figure on left Y axis. Secondly the phosphate incorporation in phospholipase-C-?1 was studied, illustrated at right Y axis of the figure. 4 moles of phosphate were added to each test samples, the Wildtype inactive PLC?1 was taken as a normal control with its basal phospholipase activity, active PLC?1 with wildtype FGFR2K served as a positive control with phosphate and PLC?1 knockout mutant served as negative control to quantify the phospholipase activity among the mutants. This was performed to check the phosphorylation of tyrosine and auto inhibition of PLC-? isozymes, 775/783 of PLC-?1 were substitutes at the place of phenylalanine, they could be used individually or together, but in the experiment tyr783 is used individually. Phospholipase activity of resulting mutant after purification was quantified with active domain of FGFR2K (helps in phosphorylation and activation of phospholipase). Certain known moles of phosphates were added into purified PLC-?1 in wild type under above mentioned conditions and observed that phospholipase activity was enhanced 10 times. The mutation of tyr783 completely nullified the kinase stimulated acceleration of phospholipase activity along with reduction in FGFR2K-promoted phosphorylation of PLC-?1. This experiment proves that, phosphorylation of Tyr783 is vital for relief of auto-inhibition.Studies reveal that Tyr-783 was essential for auto inhibition. As discussed above, permanent phosphorylation of tyr-783 will completely nullify the kinase stimulated and FGFR2K stimulated phosphorylation of PLC-?1. Lipase activity of PLC-?1 will be enhanced across its limits and over-expression of PLC-?1 can induce malignant transformation. The results could be leading to production of carcinoma cells. It has been found in various studies that activity of PLC-?1 is more in cancerous cells as compared to normal cells. So, permanent phosphorylation tyr783 could be a way leading to malignant cancers.3416300-254000004. This figure is from Tsui et al. 2015. (lipid raft folder). (A) Explain the relationship between GFR and Ret51 and what they are testing in this paper (the overall idea). (B) Explain the experiment shown in this figure and what was learned. (C) What is a negative control that could improve the conclusions from this experiment?GFR and Ret51 both are receptors, GDNF is found to promote PNS development and kidney morphogenesis through the receptor complex consisting of GDNF family receptor 1 (GFR1) and the other receptor tyrosine kinase (Ret). Ret signal transduction is increased by translocation of GFR. GFR-mediated Ret activation is essential too for the kidney morphogenesis and for various other functions of abdominal precursors that form abdominal nervous system. Also, GFR has many lipid rafts because its GPI anchorage, but Ret is expelled from lipid rafts. In this paper, the gene replacement for GFR in mice results GDNF resulting in Ret activation but prevented its translocation into lipid rafts. These mice showed renal agenesis, and other disorders including loss of the enteric nervous system, and defects in motor neuron axon path similar to GFR mice that was knocked out, all this provided evidence along with lipid rafts GFR is also needed for neurotrophic factor signaling.Primary considerate neurons secluded from Gfr1and Gfr1TM/TM mice were maintained in vitro for some days. Then they treated the neurons with GDNF or medium for exact time of 15 minutes. The Detergent-resistant membranes quarantined from the neurons were examined by immunoblotting for Ret51. The comparative purity of detergent resistant and detergent soluble fractions was confirmed by using immunoblotting for caveolin and transferrin receptor, respectively B, the experiments shown in A, were computed and graphed. Otherwise, Substantial decline in the amount of Ret51 was recorded statistically that translocated into lipid rafts while GDNF stimulation in Gfr1TM/TM neurons compared with Gfr1 neurons. Similar Results were obtained after performing the experiment four times .Moreover, Lipid raft translocation experiments were performed to prove the concept that GDNF/GFR1/Ret complex does not translocate into lipid rafts in Gfr1TM/TM mice. Primary sympathetic neurons from Gfr1/ and Gfr1TM/TM mice were used to extract detergent-resistant membranes. Upon stimulation of Gfr1/ neurons with GDNF, Ret translocated quickly into lipid rafts. This was a contrast to Gfr1TM/TM neurons that an evident reduced movement of Ret into the detergent-resistant was recorded because of GDNF exposure. A small portion of Ret that did translocate into lipid rafts while stimulation may be owing to Ret kinase-dependent translocation of Ret into rafts that occurs with slower movements. There was a significant, 75% reduction in the kinetics of the Ret receptor complex into lipid rafts during GDNF exposure in Gfr1TM/TM neurons according to computation made by these experiments. The negative control design here for confirming the results that Ret doesn't translocate into lipid rafts during GFL activation in Gfr1TM/TM neurons, the primary sympathetic neurons isolated from Gfr1/and Gfr1TM/TM mice will be grown in the same way as test ones, with the only difference that there will be no treatment with GDNF or medium for 15 minutes, and the impact of this will confirm the result to much greater extent upon immunoblotting.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Dr. Linda

â€Å"Your food is your grave,† said the famous writer Bernard Shaw. What you eat is not important. How you eat, what you eat is important! Human being is a complex, integrated mechanism of body, mind and spirit. You need to maintain them at the levels required. A fault related to any one of the three, disturbs the balance of the body as a whole. Careful maintenance as per proper procedures is required. You are careful about the external cleanliness. You brush your teeth; wash your body, oil your hair—but that is not the authentic maintenance. Your body needs to be free from internal impurities. This is done through the process of detoxification. The modern materialist civilization, the industrial and internet revolutions have changed the lifestyles of human beings in more than one ways. They are subdued by relentless internal as well as external pressures. New diseases, the names of which were unheard in the recent past, are cropping up. The book ‘Detoxification’ by Linda R. Page provides solid answers and satisfactory for your health-related problems– How to remain healthy, without succumbing to suppressive medicines and by cultivating nature-friendly attitudes! An herbalist needs to know, and this is a golden rule, that the nature provides appropriate fruits and vegetables at the appropriate season. Dr. Linda expounds the same principles in her book.   Nature doesn’t commit a mistake but we often do. Fruits and vegetables are the mediated capsules provided by nature in colorful packaging. The process of detoxification ipso facto means to possess thorough knowledge and understanding about this natural wealth. Next, the herbs assist you in the process of detoxification. Dr. Linda gives thorough and scientific details about the detoxification process related to various parts of the body, by using fruits, vegetables and herbs. Dietary plans play a vital role in recouping the original health from the attack of any ailment. Strict vegetarian diet is recommended, one week before you begin the detoxification procedure, advises Dr. Linda. Dr. Linda has the three-pronged approach, which is invaluable from the point of view of a practicing herbalist. Firstly, she has provided comprehensive information required to create safe and individualized detoxification program. Secondly, detailed instructions are given for cleansing and detoxification. Thirdly, she explains what a good cleanse means and how to direct the cleaning process for best results. Cleansing is an ongoing activity. It is estimated that about twenty-five thousand new toxins enter the environment every year. Therefore, your commitment to your body is not a favor that you are doing to it—it is your bounden duty for your own good and for the happiness of others, so that they will not have an opportunity to tend your sick body! According to Dr.Linda, â€Å"a detox program aims to remove the cause of diseases before it makes us ill. It’s a time-honored way to keep immune response high, elimination regular, circulation sound, and stress under control, so that your body can handle the toxicity it encounters. In the past, detoxification was used either clinically for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, or individually as a once-a-ear mild â€Å"spring cleaning† for general health maintenance. Today, regular detoxes program, two or three times a year, makes a big difference not only for health, but for the quality of our lives.†(Page, 1999, p.14) From the point of view of an herbalist, this book contains most of the information and facts such as step by step instructions to guide through detox programs detox charts for special needs, information about â€Å"Green Cuisine†, herbs glossary of detox terms etc. Something dramatic and divine happened about Dr. Linda Page opting to become an herbalist.   She was interned in a hospital with a life-threatening disease, which the allopathic medicines failed to cure. She utilized this opportunity to make intensive study of the herbs, their merits and began to self-treat her with great success. She saved her own life and with the acquired knowledge, she is set on the task to save the lives of others. If an area is infested with mosquitoes, there are two ways of meeting the situation. Spray the insecticide and get rid of the mosquitoes. Or remove the filth, to contain mosquito breeding once for all. The second option finds favor with those who believe in natural remedies. Detoxification, to define its correct meaning, is nothing but all-out purification of body, mind and soul. Dr Linda begins her book on a moral and spiritual note and that is the correct and great approach. She writes, â€Å"Today is a very important day†¦.use it for the best that is in you, so that you will never regret the price you have paid for this day.† References Cited: Page, Linda R: Book: Detoxification – All you need to know to recharge, renew and rejuvenate your body, mind and spirit! (Paperback) 264 pages, Publisher: Healthy Healing Publications (January 15, 1999) Language: English ISBN-10: 1884334547 ISBN-13: 978-1884334542            

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Mergers and Acquisitions in Australia

A merger is one of the forms of business combination. A merger is the joining together of two or more companies for a common goal (Schencke, 2007). It can be in the form of vertical integration, Horizontal integration or diversification. Consider the case of manufactured food (bread) company: we have the flour  Ã‚   company, the bakery and a butter company.If the bread company acquires the flour company that would be vertical integration; this may be more comprehensive and risky . The management is highly involved because of the procedures involved and consequences too. This is a backward integration because it will be merging with the supply source. It might lead to restricted supply of raw materials hence inflexibility.If the bread company starts producing cakes that would be horizontal integration; this might be considered necessary in order to have a more product line whereby their consumers will now be able to enjoy more quality products from the same company. This will enable a particular bread company deal with its competitors because a variety of commodities will be available to them.The company will also command a more market share because most of its products will dominate the market. High market share determines profitability because the Total sales figure has a factor of units and sales are directly proportional to the profit margin. The particular bread company therefore becomes a market leader and enjoys all the economies of scale. High volumes can be produced at low costs and therefore the company becomes a market leader in the industry. The company can now have efficient pricing policies for the different commodities that it is offering in the market.If the bread company starts producing butter to match with its quality of bread then that would be market diversification; This results in increased market capitalization which is very healthy for a company in the industry. This kind of expanded production line may be risky and uncertain because v ery little is known about that particular product line. This may call for comprehensive research, which might be costly for the holding company. Demand and supply factors of that particular company need to be understood and analyzed keenly to determine the future of such an operation and how relevant it might because this is a complimentary commodity.Merger or an acquisition leads to lack of competitiveness and would have a high Herfindahl index. Industry concentration is also affected. In the case study above, one has reduced players in the industry due to mergers. Therefore we find that there’s no competition due to acquiring of a supply chain, producing related commodities or even engaging in the production of complementary goods. Market diversification results to company being able to control its prices for the different products it has with changing the profit.This shows that market forces do not determine prices and completion is at different levels. Some companies also become market leaders and may decide to lower its prices in the market at the expense of other companies. The fact that a company can acquire a supply chain is harmful because this may limit resources/raw materials to other companies with in the industry or supply at inflated cost. A prices control board should therefore establish to deal with this. Some companies may be forced to quit production and this may lead to monopolies in the industry, which may not be healthy.Motives for mergers include:Synergy; The expected synergy determines the purchase price for the acquiree. Synergy is the combined power of a group of companies when they are working together which is greater than the total power achieved by each working separately. Synergy can be operating synergy or financial synergy. Operating synergy includes economies of scale and economies of scope, by merging firms are able to receive huge discounts due to high volumes of production and this results in high profits, this means high price of shares and high market capitalization.Owning of supply channels means constant supply of raw materials without delays and control over the prices. This indicates low cost of production and increased profits. Being a market leader may result into a monopoly and this means enormous profits. Discounts can be offered to customers and result in high sales due to high volumes. All these work to the advantage of the acquirer. More shareholders due to improved earnings per share lead to more funding and adequate cash flows are available. Synergy can’t be compared to international expansion, which is slow. Merging is with firms already operating and with the required recourses so no lag periods experienced which might hinder the growth and development of a company, which negates the image to the shareholders and other interested parties.There might be need to expand to another geographical location. The acquiring firm will look for firms in operation at that location to merge with in order to fasten the catch period which normally due to lack of knowledge of business operations at that particular area and business smartness required. Horizontal integration in this case will be necessary. This might be after researching and identifying a possible business location. Suppliers will also be considered in this case. Financial synergy is however more questionable due to the uncertainty of business operations.Merging may be for the need to grow and develop. This can be internal or external.. Internal growth can be slow and uncertain because the company doesn’t have past business experience on a particular field. Outside expansion leads to diversification and market capitalization is improved. Growth of a company in the industry tracts more shareholders to the company and therefore funds for financing business operations are adequate. This leads to market leading and high volumes are sold bringing about high profit margin.Merging may be due to the p ride of the management team of the bidder company. The management may want to associated with all players in the country that are performing better. This will be a way for the management to market itself and therefore the same directors can be restored at the next annual general meeting. The management might have been watching the firm to be acquired and may have an idea of corrections to be made in order to increase perfection.They may w ant to acquire a firm that is just about due to liquidity issues, restore its operations and hence cash flows. They therefore be associated with the recovery of the dieing company and hence improve their employment opportunities with other companies. They may also look for promotions and being part of the recovery team may a good ground for such. They management may also want to part of the management of a market leader in the company and this calls for all necessary strategies possible including mergers and acquisitions(Schlossberg, 2007).Horizont al integration whereby a company starts producing related products leads to increased market share due to increased sales out of the high volumes of sales. This may result in very radical transactions, which might be risky. In business yield comes together with risk taking. Vertical integration in this case is considered most because its more risky but the gains might be more than the costs. Diversification into another line of production may be a motivating factor.The company may have identified another variety of related products, which might be profitable and may want to be part of that industry. Therefore the best way to go may be the merger in order to pump in capital into the other company, which is facing liquidity issues, and hence have a major share of the profits. Horizontal integration is always considered best because it involves dealing with the same kind of business, which has a better track record (Schlossberg, 2007).In Australia the following steps are necessary in m erging:Research should be first done to determine possible candidate. This needs the help of experts in the research work so that all necessary data and information is available to the management of the acquiring firmThe motive to merge should be first understood and the angle to be taken determined. Synergy should be well understood and illustrated.Evaluation should be done on the acquiring firm. The firms’ business strategy should be understood in order to determine the degree of compatibility and the other aspects of business mergers. This also helps in justifying the acquisition.Immediately after the merger, Profits go down first due to the expenses incurred in research and implementation costs. Diversifications are normally expensive and gains can’t be realized immediately. Profits are normally derived at by; Sales-cost of goods sold –expenses. The cost of goods sold=opening stock + purchases-closing stock. High cost of goods immediately after the merger ca n be due to high opening stock, high purchases and low closing stock. This will therefore result in low profits.In the long run profits are supposed to increase due to;Economies of scale and scope, due to merging with supply and distribution channels, discounts will be given to the entity and this results to low operational costs. Large volume sales enable customers to get discounts and volume of sales is increased. This other unnecessary costs are avoided leading to maximization of profits.Diversification to another line of business; this means exploring of virgin grounds and operation benefits are taken advantage of. This means that sources of gained are increased and the total volume of profits is increased.Increase in market value; High market value is due to being a market leader and commands a greater share of the demand in the market. High volumes are sold and the sales figure is high. Sales are considered to be directly related to the profit volumes.The risk taken at first y ields benefits; Diversification may be risky therefore benefits may not be realized fast. Benefits can only after recovery and it will be to the enforceable future.Geographical advantages are realized. The merged entity need time to get used to the business environment and therefore gains take time to be realized (Bruner, 2007).Merging is better than internal expansion. Merging may be a little bit fast to pick up because acquired firms have existing resources and personnel. This reduces time spend in staff professional development and growth.A troubled company needs to merge as near bankruptcy workout situation. This helps in maximizing the value of the company where such companies are considered to be damaged goods. Shareholders, Board of Directors and the managers leave for firms specializing in a workout that is salvaging the value that was assumed to be left in them.Liquidations can’t be left behind. The use of highly leveraged transactions (HLT) expanded the profile of f inancially troubled companies (Schlossberg, 2007). Financially troubled companies are businesses that were leveraged and unable meet their debt service burden but still separate acceptable or even optimal operating cash flows given their internal resources and market opportunities.PublicityA demerger is expected when competitors start taking advantage of slow growth and development and they may take advantage of opportunities created by merged entity. This is because the competitors have been having existing offices, management and resources supply. Diseconomies of scale and scope start occurring and therefore the operations may not be profitable and a demerger may be considered. The company may at times consider internal expansion to be worth while and may start investing in such hence the merger becomes irrelevant (Bruner, 2007).The expansion to another geographical areas may prove to be unprofitable and thus the firm may consider demerging and concentrating in its primary busines s operations. The external growth may start being costly and the acquiring company decides to sale its share of the acquired company. The pride of management may be at some cost to the company and the shareholders may decide to demerge. The diversification to another line of production may prove to be extremely costly to the company and a demerger may be asked for so that focus can be on the basic profit gaining activity/business.Both the acquirer and acquiree benefit. The acquiree is funded and its liquidity position is revised and merging is normally a workout for near bankruptcy situations (Gaughan, 2004). The acquirer is also in a position to enjoy; economies of scale and production, advantage of geographical expansion, this is an external growth that cant be compared to the slow internal growth with uncertainties, management pride is improved, market share is improved and they move into a business that they have clear track record. ACCC is an independent authority of the Govern ment of Australia established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Trade practices Commission and the Prices Surveillance authority to administer the trade practices Act 1974 (Cth)It’s meant to protect Consumer rights, business rights and obligations, perform Industry regulation and price monitoring and prevent illegal anti Competitive behavior (Schencke, 2007).The more of the following criteria a troubled company meets the more marketable it will be to the acquiring company:Is it a manufacturing rather than a distribution operation. Acquiring a manufacturing company will be horizontal integration and will be more profitable to the entity (Robinson, Tranter, Loughran 2007). This kind of synergy results to taking advantages of economies of scale, diversifying into other lines of production, increased market value, expanding to another geographical location and this will be better than internal expansion. Merging with a distribution company will be a vertical forward integration and may be very risky with uncertainties due to lack of a clean track record.Fills a unique product niche rather than produces a commodity item.Has a well-known brand or trademark that is undamaged by its current situation.Sustains a strong defensible market share. A company with a strong market share means that its quite stable and will be profitable to merge with. This will also improve the whole entity’s image and then the share price improves in the stock market.Has a well-maintained machinery and equipment. These are tools of production and this indicates indefinite operation of the company into the future. Such a company is not risky to deal with and may result into huge future losses. Hence the idea of merging may not be necessary.Ernest & Young (2006) pg20In conclusion, mergers and acquisitions should be considered in the company’s research and development. It involves a lot of research that collects data and information in order to evaluate worth candidates for merging. The long-term objectives should be increasing the company’s market share within the industry, making use of economies of scale available and being a market leader.Mergers resulting in long term losses should be avoided because this won’t lead to growth and development of the company. Mergers also determine the structure of an industry because they lead to a decreased number of market players in the industry. This leads to high concentration and competition is reduced. Monopolies may be formed and this may not be healthy to the industry as a whole. Price control bodies need to be in place to control the dominance of the market by a particular holding company.References:Ernest & Young, Ernest & Young LLP. (2007). Back to Basic Techniques onMergers & Acquisitions (Pg 19-23). Wiley PublicationsGuy M. Robinson, Pal. J. Tranter, Robert Loughran. (2007). Economy Society &Environment. Oxford University PressHans Schencke. (2007). Accounting for Mergers & Acquisitions in Europe. IBFDMichael A. Hit, Jeffrey J. Harrison. R Duane. (2007). A Guide to creating value forStakeholders. Oxford University PressPatrick A. Gaughan. (2004). Merger, Acquisitions and Corporate Restructuring.Wiley PublicationsRobert F.Bruner. (2007). Applied Mergers and Acquisitions. Wiley PublicationsRobert S. Schlossberg. (2007). Understanding the Antitrust Issues. American BarAssociation.