Culture, History, and Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Culture, History, and Literature - Essay Example In this novel, Morrison uses his characters to reveal the unsolved contradictions of American racial history as well as the persistent ideologies of slavery that shaped the identity and sense of self among many Americans. The racial formations and the dominant ideology of slavery in the American culture that threatens the society’s founding promise of equal opportunity is well portrayed through the character of Frank. The direction and purpose of Frank’s journey in the novel focuses on the cultural hegemony that is fuelled by the racial subordination and inequality in the society. â€Å"A race is a concept that signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests.† (Omi and Winant 118). Since race is seen as an element of social structure and a dimension of human representation, racial formation implies the process of transformation of racism in a period. This racial formation is said to be evolved through a social and cultural hegemony that is organized and represented by the then society. In this sense, it can be analyzed that the society presented by Morrison in her novel Home includes the nature of racism through social prejudices, differences, inequalities, and violent oppression. As evident in the novel, various social conflicts and prejudices within the society implies the existence or formation of race. The American understanding of the ideology of race has changed over the time, affecting the perceptions and experiences of African-Americans. Particularly, after the era of Reconstruction that insisted civic equality and freedom, the American society embraced a new ideological formation of racial subordination, which presented challenges to the racial status quo that existed then. The racial inequalities resulting from the social ideologies are presented in Morrison’s novel, using characterizations,

Green Efforts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Green Efforts - Essay Example Having a proper understanding related with the environment around us is indeed important as far as a firm’s business operations and processes are concerned. This is because going green could mean cutting down on costs in a very strict way. It is a fact that a firm could look to have a campaign in place which tells everyone that this firm is pretty serious about the environments of which humanity is a part of. The green efforts will surely give a very positive feedback by the people who understand the perspective of this firm. The critics will keep on suggesting the internal mistakes and faults but the firm must be determined and solid in its stance no matter how tough the criticism turns out to be. Even the competitors can hit upon this area more and more. But this usually works to the benefit of such a firm which has actually decided to go green. It can suggest to the publics how the competitors are failing on their expectations of being environmentally clean and thus gain a higher position within their minds and hearts. Going green would make the stakeholders realize the true worth of a firm. They would generally appreciate the idea that led towards going green. They will understand the true spirit behind going green as well. At times, they would even be ready to invest more within the firm’s domains in order to come out as the winners, speaking strictly within the rat race that the firms have involved themselves of going green. However this is not a bad race to join in the first place. It could have serious positive meanings for the firm as well as for the environment. The broad perspective needs to be understood more than anything else (Boons & Strannegard, 2000). If it is benefiting the environment, there is absolutely nothing which could go against such going green efforts by the firm. Thus going green is definitely a positive sign for a firm which has

Literature Review On Foreign Direct Investment

Literature Review On Foreign Direct Investment The theory of the determinants of private investment, irrespective of whether it originates domestically or from abroad, is relevant for an understanding of what drives FDI. This has become increasingly true with the globalisation of world markets, although there remain additional factors which may inhibit or encourage FDI that would not affect domestic investment. Much of the research on the determinants of investment is based on the neoclassical theory of optimal capital accumulation pioneered by Jorgenson (1963, 1971). In this framework, a firms desired capital stock is determined by factor prices and technology, assuming profit maximisation, perfect competition and neoclassical production functions. This theory was a deliberate alternative to views expressed initially by Keynes (1936) and Kalecki (1937), that fixed capital investment Much of the research on the determinants of investment is based on the neoclassical theory of optimal capital accumulation pioneered by Jorgenson (1963, 1971). In this framework, a firms desired capital stock is determined by factor prices and technology, assuming profit maximisation, perfect competition and neoclassical production functions. This theory was a deliberate alternative to views expressed initially by Keynes (1936) and Kalecki (1937), that fixed capital investment depends on firms expectations of demand relative to existing capacity and on their ability to generate investment funds (Fazzari and Athey, 1987:481; Fazzari and Mott, 1986:171). Several studies have challenged the neoclassical assumption that any desired investment project can be financed2. Asymmetric information3 about the quality of a loan could lead to credit rationing, implying that not all borrowers seeking loans at the prevailing cost of capital may be able to obtain financing (e.g, Greenwald, Stiglitz and Weiss, 1984). Consequently, firms tend to rely on internal sources of funds to finance investment, and to prefer debt to equity if external financing is required4. A further theoretical development was the introduction of irreversibility and uncertainty in explaining investment behaviour. This literature demonstrates that the ability to delay an irreversible investment expenditure can profoundly affect the decision to invest (Dixit, 1989; Pindyck, 1991:1110). Firms have an i ncentive to postpone irreversible investment while they wait or new information which makes the future less uncertain (Bernanke, 1983; Cukierman, 1980). The development literature has long been concerned with investment, because of its importance for the rate of growth of per capita output in the economy (Dornbusch and Reynoso, 1989:204; Fei and Ranis, 1963:283; IMF, 1988). Although empirical models of the determinants of investment in developing countries are in broad agreement with results obtained for industrialised countries, there are additional factors which have been found to constrain capital accumulation. Most of these are related to the problem of uncertainty and/or risk, which acts as a disincentive to private investment, because of the irreversible nature of most investment expenditures (Pindyck, 1991). Inflation reduces private investment by increasing risk, reducing average lending maturities, distorting the informational content of relative prices, and indicating macroeconomic instability (Dornbusch and Reynoso, 1989:206-208; Oshikoya, 1994:585,590). Empirical studies show that the variability of inflation has a stronger negative effect on private investment than does the level (Serven and Solimano, 1993:137). Large external debt burdens also have a strong disincentive effect on private investment, especially short-term debt (Faruqee, 1992:52). Debt-service payments reduce the domestic resources available for investment, and poor international creditworthiness reduces access to foreign savings5. For domestic investors, the existence of a large debt overhang reduces the future returns to investment because a high proportion of the forthcoming returns must be used to repay existing debt (Borensztein, 1990:315). A debt overhang is also a major source of uncertainty: the size of future transfers to creditors is uncertain; macroeconomic policy is uncertain; and the exchange rate is uncertain. The combined risks of changes in relative prices, taxation and aggregate demand reduces investment by both domestic and foreign entrepreneurs. Whatever the cause, the irreversibility of real capital expenditures can result in underinvestment if the future is uncertain, even when current conditions are righ t (Tornell, 1990). During macroeconomic adjustment, the credibility of policy changes is an added problem (Rodrik,1989), and the possibility of policy reversal can have serious consequences for real private capital expenditures. Investors prefer to hold financial capital, which is easier to realise if conditions turn out to be adverse, and which retains the option to purchase real capital if optimism continues. For this reason, there are frequently long lags in the investment response to adjustment(Serven and Solimano, 1993:131,137). Several studies report the effects of changes in the real exchange rate6 and the terms of trade7 on investment. These studies generally find that the variability of the real exchange rate is usually Some researchers support the notion that FDI contributes to the productivity and growth of local enterprises. Blomstrom and Sjoholm( 1998) are of the opinion that the productivity and growth of local enterprises could be achieved through spill over effects/externalities from FDI. This is achieved as the Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) either introduce superior technology of through the marketing activities of MNEs that affect the market equilibrium forcing local operators to act in such way that they can retain their original market shares. Graham and Krugman (1995) indicates that competitive enterprises (MNEs) contribute to productivity and growth of the host nation by infusing technology, labour skills, management methods, and training into the host economy. Empirical research shows that FDI affects the economy of a host country in a variety of ways. Firstly, it provides the required capital and state -of -the- art technology that enhances economic growth in the host country (Caves,1996; Dunning, 1993; Blomstrom and Sjoholm, 1998; Smarzynska,2002; Akinkugbe ,2005). Secondly, it augments the skills of the host nations and thus stimulates growth through the infusion of managerial, labour skills and training (de Mello,1999). Thirdly it promotes the technological upgrading, regarding start- up, marketing , and licensing arrangements (de Mello and Sinclair , 1995 ; Markusen and Venables ,1999). FDI is thus seen as a catalyst to the host nations economic growth and development as it enhances technological process and promotes industrial development (Asheghian, 2004). In addition, FDI can be expected to encourage economic growth of the host nation, given the prevailing view that MNEs can complement the local industry and stimulate growth and welfare in the host nations (Grossman and Helpman, 1991; Barro and Sala-i-Martin, 1995). The major determinants of the host countrys economic development and growth is the economic environment portrayed by its rate of economic growth , trade policy, political stability, legislation , domestic market size and balance of payments constraints (Caves, 1996; de Mello, 1999; Dunning, 1993)- the political economy of the nation . These factors may inevitably influence the decision of foreign investors (MNEs ) on the possible choice of a viable investment location (Akinkugbe, 2005). Dunnings (1981, 1988) electric theory provides a flexible and popular framework where it is argued that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is determined by three sets of advantages which direct investment should have over the other institutional mechanisms available for a firm in satisfying the needs of its customers at home and abroad. The first of the advantages is the ownership specific one which includes the advantage that the firm has over its rivals in terms of its brand name, patent or knowledge of technology and marketing. This allows firms to compete with the other firms in the markets it serves regardless of the disadvantages of being foreign. The second is the internationalisation advantage, that is why a bundled FDI approach is preferred to unbundled product licensing, capital lending or technical assistance (Wheeler and Mody, 1992). The location-specific advantages relate to the importance for the firm to operate and invest in the host country and are those advantages that make the chosen foreign country a more attractive site for FDI than the others. For instance firms may invest in production facilities in foreign markets because transportation costs are too high to serve these markets through exports. This could either be directly related to the actual nature of the good, either being a high bulk item or a service that needs to be provided on site, or due to policy factors such as tariff rates, import restrictions, or issues of market access that makes physical investment advantageous over serving the market through exports. Location advantage also embodies other characteristic (economic, institutional and political) such as large domestic markets, availability of natural resources, an educated labor force, low labor cost, good institutions (the clarity of countrys law, efficiency of bureaucracy and the absen ce of corruption), political stability, corporate and other tax rates among others. Bende-Nabende and Slater (1998) investigate both the short-run and long-run locational determinants of FDI under the broad categories of cost-related, investment environment improving and other macroeconomic factors. The short-run dynamics indicate that European investment in the Thai manufacturing sector has been more responsive to the macroeconomic factors. The long-run dynamics on the other hand suggest that European investment has been more responsive to the investment environment improving factors. In particular, there is evidence to suggest that the Thai manufacturing sector is losing its cost-related comparative advantage. Dar, Presley and Malik (2004) studied the causality and long-term relationship between Foreign Dirct Investment (FDI), economic growth and other socio-political determinants. Although a considerable literature gives the evidence of relationship between FDI and economic growth. Their paper considers economic growth, exchange rate and level of interest rates, unemployment, and political stability as determinants of the level of FDI inflows for Pakistan over the period 1970-2002. Almost all variables are found to have the theoretically expected signs with two-way causality relationship. The present study also estimates an error correction model by ordinary least squares, based on cointegrating VAR (2). Nunnenen (2002) argues that there is a startling gap between, allegedly, globalization-induced changes in international competition for foreign direct investment (FDI) and recent empirical evidence on the relative importance of determinants of FDI in developing countries. He shows that surprisingly little has changed since the late 1980s. Traditional market-related determinants are still dominant factors. Among non-traditional FDI determinants, only the availability of local skills has clearly gained importance. As concerns the interface between trade policy and FDI, he finds that the tariff jumping motive for FDI had lost much of its relevance well before globalization became a hotly debated issue. Artige and Nicolini (2005) analyse the determinants of FDI (foreign direct investment) inflows for a group of European regions. The originality of their approach lies in the use of disaggregated regional data. First, they develop a qualitative description of their database and discuss the importance of the macroeconomic determinants in attracting FDI. Then, they provide an econometric exercise to identify the potential determinants of FDI. In spite of choosing regions presenting economic similarities, they show that regional FDI inflows rely on a combination of factors that differs from one region to another. Bà ©nassy-Quà ©rà ©, Coupet and Mayer (2007) re-examine the role of institutions in the host and in the source country by estimating a gravity equation for bilateral FDI stocks that includes governance indicators for the two countries. Second, they tackle multicollinearity and endogeneity bias by implementing a three-stage procedure for instrumentation and orthogonalisation. Third, they look further into the detail of institutions by using a new database constructed by the French Ministry of Finance network in 52 foreign countries. This database is used to point out in some detail the relevant institutional features. Its country coverage, which focuses on developing countries, is very helpful for studying the impact of the institutional environment of the host country. It does not allow, however, going deeply into the impact of the institutional environment in the source country as well as into the impact of institutional distance. Hence they complement our analysis with estimatio ns based on the Fraser database, which provides fewer details on institutions, albeit on a more balanced country coverage between industrial and developing countries. Finally, they study the impact of institutional distance on bilateral FDI. Onyeiwu and Shrestha (2004) argues that despite economic and institutional reform in Africa during the past decade, the flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the region continues to be disappointing and uneven. In their study they use the fixed and random effects models to explore whether the stylized determinants of FDI affect FDI flows to Africa in conventional ways. Based on a panel dataset for 29 African countries over the period 1975 to 1999, their paper identifies the following factors as significant for FDI flows to Africa: economic growth, inflation, openness of the economy, international reserves, and natural resource availability. Contrary to conventional wisdom, political rights and infrastructures were found to be unimportant for FDI flows to Africa. The significance of a variable for FDI flows to Africa was found to be dependent on whether country- and time-specific effects are fixed or stochastic. Nakamura and Oyama (1998) studied the macroeconomic determinants of FDI from Japan and the United States into East Asian countries, and the linkage between FDI and trade, and other macroeconomic variables. Their analysis focuses on the structural differences among East Asian counties and classifies them based on statistical tests of fixed effects models using panel data. This examination helps to clarify how Japanese and American multinational firms position their production bases in East Asian countries within their world marketing strategies. In order to avoid the problem of simultaneity among variables, they examine simultaneous equation models to confirm the validity of panel regression results. In their study they find that East Asian countries can be classified into four groups depending on FDI from Japan and other elasticities to macroeconomic variables, and this grouping almost coincides with their economic development stages. Moreover, they confirm that FDI from Japan into a ll the groups are strongly affected by changes in real bilateral exchange rates, but this is not always the case for FDI from the United States. Among different country groups, FDI into group 1 (Taiwan and Korea) responds positively to the Japanese capacity utilization, indicating their industries integration with the Japanese economy. Group 3 (Indonesia and the Philippines) shows that Japanese FDI is buoyed up by the yens appreciation against the U.S. dollar. FDI into group 4 (China and Malaysia) and, to a lesser extent, group 2 (Singapore and Thailand) is oriented more toward capturing local markets compared to the other groups. They also find that Japanese FDI has strong trade expansion effects, which is rarely seen for U.S. FDI. With regards to research on the determinants of FDI to Africa there appears to be a dearth of literature. A Search on the Econlit database using Foreign Direct Investment and Africa as keywords yielded the other two reffered journal articles on the Determinants of FDI to Africa. One of the papers, Schoeman et al (2000), analyses how government policy (mainly deficits and taxes) affects FDI. However, their analysis focuses on one country, South Africa. The Second paper , Asiedu (2002) examines whether the factors that drive FDI in developing countries have a different impact on for countries in Sub Sahara Africa (SSA). However, the analysis focuses only on three variables the return on investment, infrastructure availability and openness to trade, and does not take into account the natural resource availability , which is an important determinant of FDI to Africa. Another paper that focuses exclusively on Africa is Morisset (2000). Unlike Asiedu (2002), Morisset (2000) controls for natural resource availability , measured by the sum of primary and secondary sectors , minus manufacturing. However, this measure of natural resources is too broad and does not accurately capture the availability of minerals and oil, the most important types of natural resources relevant for FDI to SSA. In addition none of the studies examine the impact of some of the important variables that feature predominantly in investor surveys, such as corruption and regulatory framework in the host country. This research extends the limited to empirical literature on the determinants of FDI to Africa by examining the extent to which the economic, political, institutional characteristics of a country, as well as the policy environment affect FDI flows. Nunnekamp (2002) sought to assess whether determinants of FDI have changed with globalisation i.e whether traditional determinants are losing importance whilst non traditional ones are increasingly gaining importance. Two approaches were adopted, namely survey data from European Round Table of Industrialists ( ERT 2000) and simple correlation for 28 developing countries. Market size (proxied by host countrys population and level of GDP ) as a traditional determinant of FDI is said to have declined in importance over time. Other factors such as location, cost differences, qualities of infrastructure, ease of doing business and the availability of skills measured by average years of schooling have become increasingly important as non-traditional determinants of FDI (Nunnekamp 2002:16) The survey results were supplemented by World Bank Data on variables that are considered important FDI determinants. Results show that traditional market related determinants still dominate determinants of FDI distribution among the countries considered (Nunnekamp 2002:24). Non traditional determinants such as cost factors, and trade openness , measured by ratio of exports plus imports to GDP, have typically not become more important with globalisation. Of importance is the availability of skills which is proxied by average years of schooling, which has become a relevant pull factor of FDI in the process of globalisation (Nunnekamp 2002:35). An analysis of a developing country by (Tsai 1991) focused on Taiwan by providing demand size determinants of FDI using time series data. Tsai (1991:279) employed OLS method using equations in logarithm form. Two equations were specified, i.e first on the demand size determinants and the second using variables as ratio of GDP to eliminate possible side of influences. A dummy variable was used to assess the impact of government incentive polices on FDI in different periods. Tsai (1991:276) suggests that for Taiwan only labour cost, market size and government incentive policies are important demand size determinants. Although FDI is seen to exploit cheap labour in developing countries, the case of Taiwan seems to show that growth in FDI with rising labour costs indicates the cheap labour may not be as important as expected. No clear evidence was found to support the expectation that government incentive policies were effective in attracting FDI to Taiwan. An interesting finding in Tsai (1991:279) is that Taiwans relatively outstanding economic performance as reflected in the expanding domestic market and ever increasing per capita GDP during 1965-1985 was not particularly attractive to foreign investors. As Tsai argues, this could be attributed to FDI being used supply side determined rather than demand side or perhaps non- economic factors outweigh the investment incentives. It is generally believed that factors determine FDI inflow in developing countries could have a different impact on SSA countries in particular . This is because developing countries outside Africa seem to attract huge FDI inflow while SSA attracts low levels of FDI as discussed by Asiedu (2002). Another study in Africa by Obwona (2001) investigated the FDI-growth linkage for Uganda. Obwona used the investor surveys approach and econometric tests. Using investor surveys, both local and foreign investors were directly questioned regarding their decisions and decision making processes when investing in Uganda (Obwona 2001:55). The focus was on productive investment, as such purely commercial and consulting activities were excluded. For econometric tests , time series data was used for the period 1975-1991to estimate the determinants of FDI and growth. Findings from the survey showed that increased foreign investment was a result of a conducive investment environment provided by government though its policies and institutions (Obwona 2001:56). The author concludes that from the investors surveyed, foreign investors are primarily concerned with fundamental factors, i.e a stable macroeconomic and political situation and credible policy reforms. For Uganda , Obwona considered pull factors such as growth factors , liberalised exchange rate, low inflation and fiscal discipline. The major determinants are availability and cost of natural and human resources, adequacy of infrastructure , market size, trade policies, macro stability, economic growth and political stability (Obwona 2001:62). The importance of each of these variables , however depends on the type of investment and motivations or strategy of investors. Obwona (2001:62) agrees with other researchers, such as Nunnekamp (2002) that given the shifts in the type of investment, the availability of low cost unskilled labour in location decisions has declined over time. This has meant more emphasis on skilled labour or the trainability of workers. Furthermore, two notable studies by Moolman et al (2006) and Fedderke and Romm (2004) have focused on determinants of Inward FDI to South Africa. Moolman et al (2006) sought to examine the macroeconomic link between FDI in South Africa and its resultant impact on output for the period 1970-2003. In so doing, they initially identified supply side determinants of FDI before analysing their impact on output. Their research method follows the supply side macro econometric framework, which does not take into account the demand side determinants that are equally important as well. On Model specification , five variables were explored as explanatory variables for FDI in the empirical estimation, namely, market size measured by real GDP, exchange rate proxied by the rand-dollar exchange rate , infrastructure, openness and a dummy variable for sanctions. The empirical results of Moolman et al (2006:3) indicate that market size, openness, infrastructure and the nominal exchange rate are factors which South African policy makers should focus on when seeking to attract FDI. The FDI output link does not take other factors such as increased employment , improved skills and new management techniques into account (Moolman et al 2006:29). After thorough investigation and studies, it was found out that only market size and openness are common factor determining FDI. The role of exchange rate is an important determinant of foreign investment in most countries. Particularly for South Africa, it should be considered whether it could be an important FDI determinant. Studies from developing countries have also identified other factors that should be considered as in the case of South Africa as those of Loots (2000) and Ahmed et al (2005).

Computers with Relation to Student Learning :: essays papers

Computers with Relation to Student Learning The question of whether computers can improve student learning or not, depends on the instructor and how the technology is used. There are many conditions under which technology innovations can take place in classrooms, which causes problems for schools that do not have the money to buy new computers and are not presented with this new technology. Some of the contextual factors could include using email as a way of communication between the teacher and the student, as well as the parents. This new technique of communication has proved to be very useful for students that may be having trouble in the classroom and need some extra help outside of the classroom. â€Å"Email is also used outside the classroom in the work field and if the students get accustomed to using this new technology they will be at an advantage in the future,† (Chang, C., 2001). Teachers are also able to create web-sites pertaining to their subject that the students have access to, to get information t hat they may be having difficulty with in the class. This type of online communication is also helpful with regards to the parents of the students because the parents are able to look up the subject that their child is currently in and can know exactly what their son or daughter is learning at the time. Availability of the Necessary Resources â€Å"The access and use of computers are hindered by the interactions between technology and school realities,† (Chang, C., 2001). Not all schools and homes have this email available to them and if they do there are many things required to even be able to access this form of communication. First your computer will need access to a fundamental network and you must own a network computer. Buying the email software is the next step and setting the program up can be a problem if you are not familiar with the software. Email is only functional when everything is operating at once. Even the slightest problem with your computer, possibly not related to the email software at all, could be a potential threat to disabling your entire program. A problem many people also have would be the knowledge of teaching students how to use the computer software and incorporate it within each individual class.

Marxist, Neoclassical and Deep ecologist theories of ecological crises

According to Marxist theory the fundamental causes of environmental degradation is the mode of production that comes into contradiction with the natural processes. It is only capital accumulation that is taken into consideration, but the value of environment is given little attention. The mode of capitalist production is designed in such a manner to yield the biggest returns in terms of profits within the shortest time possible. This mode of production does not integrate the natural process.The capitalistic growth does not consider the time required for the resources to regenerate or formation. The mode of production has also been spread over the globe and does not respect the already existing social organizations (Kovel, 2007). The production and supply of energy is supposed to go ahead without interfering with the natural environment including the flora and the fauna. Marxist approaches argue that environmental degradation does not result from lack of wisdom in capitalist mode of p roduction, but result due to the logic that underline the system.The call for environmental protection that would result to qualitative growth as advocated by social democrats is stymied by the logic of capitalists (Eckersley, 2005). The flow of individual capitalist is determined by the rationality of capitalists, but the whole system become irrational due to competition among capital, innovative processes to improve on the mode of production and save on raw materials that does not materialize due to unfair competition. For this reason there is nobody who cares for the welfare of the environment and thus water, soil, air are polluted.Unfair competition has resulted to overproduction problems. This means that natural resources are overexploited into production of non profitable goods and services. Violations of environmental regulations have resulted due to this unfair competition in search of super profits (Kovel, 2007). This can be identified by such criminal behavior of use of su bstances that have been inadequately tested, use of harmful and toxic substances, dumping of toxic wastes in unauthorized places, use of chemical labels with false statement (Eckersley, 2005).Marxist theory of imperialists metropolises argue that most advanced environmental degradation resulting from economic growth is in the most developed countries. There is economic exploitation due to economic quantification of social, natural and historic substrata in these countries is governed by commodity production which has resulted to fragmentation of social processes which were used in production there is competition among owners of the centralized properties which have led to environmental problems in imperialist countries.There is much use of land to create business premises, industries, theme parks and other structures which have facilitated much traffic and commuting time, but the structure of needs have not been changed. There is much traffic congestion in these metropolitan areas d ue to traffic policing on the private cars on the use of petroleum fuel. This is a threat to these places (Eckersley, 2005). Centralization of property has demanded building of energy firms especially nuclear power stations and fossil fuels which are a threat to the air quality and are not rational in economic use of energy.In market production they see it advantageous to throw away, burn, flush out what they consider unimportant and this have contributed to waste problem (Kovel, 2007). The consequences of this is much waste in the environment a characteristic of capitalist overabundance which have resulted to environmental problems of; urban sprawl, destruction of ecological systems over congestion, air pollution, release of radioactive substances building up of toxic substances and wastes etc (Benton, 1996). The environmental failures cannot be corrected by capitalism.The environmental resources of water, air, soil, and wood are wasted polluted and degraded often without control b y capitalism these environmental resources are considered as exogenous factors in economy i. e. they are factors of making profit. The limited nature of natural resources is seen by those buyers of them but the sellers interest is to expound on them and don’t see the need to safeguard them. The current push for capitalist is deregulation that is controlling to the attempts made of controlling the exploitation of the natural resources.Otherwise they are contemplated on false premise that the good profits (environmentally friendly) and bad profits can be distinguished on the laws of value. The imperialist countries have designed their structure of the economy as to give end of pipe solution already when the harm has already been done. This has very little remedies to the environmental problems. The consumers within capitalist production have been shaped and have aggravated ecological crisis. The individual change however can contribute very little in searching for the solution of environmental degradation (Benton, 1996).Ecological problems in developing countries have been seen to be as a result of poverty. According to Marxist poverty in these countries is as a result of imperialist action and their economic policies but is not an outcome of fate. Environmental problems in imperialist countries are as a result of affluence and not due to market economy. The poor people have become the victims and agents of environmental degradation. In most developing countries there is shortage of basic commodities especially fuel, food and water.The environmental problems faced by the developing countries have the origin of capitalist production. Imperialist countries have dominated the world market and depend on developing countries for raw materials of their industry and this have contributed to overexploitation of natural resources in these countries. The imperialist countries have designed economic structure that are dependent on the world market and have imposed t hem to the developing countries. For this reason the environmental resources are chosen on this basis for export to facilitate production in the imperialist countries.The pressure falls on the poor people in their environments. The impact of exploitation of environmental resources is widely felt in developing countries than in capitalist metropolises. According to Marxist environmentally degrading dynamics and organizing contradictions of World Bank are carried to the developing countries. The actions of the World Bank are devastating and incorporable weaker forces oppose it . raw materials are exploited for world market and there is parallel development of such things like roads, power –plants etc.There is also heavy clearance of land to pave way for pasture land or farm land to produce products for export and use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers that have resulted to pollution. The action of the World Bank raise a question about the poor people since they are pushed to r egions marginalized and therefore burns forest to pave way for farming. Cutting hillsides settling in flood prone areas or in arid zones etc contributing to ecological crisis (O'Connor, 1997). According to Marxist this question about the growth of cities in the developing countries is causing environmental problems.These cities have also resulted to waste disposal problems since dump wastes in unauthorized places. There are also energy shortages in these countries. The problems of the developing countries are aggravated by debts to imperialist countries and World Bank which often mean exploitation of more resources for export and thus increase in the level of poverty capitalist countries also transfer hazardous materials into the developing world and therefore pollute their environment. According to Marxist seeking to solve environmental problems of the developing world is a serious problem that often does not materialize.Credits and debts given to them only compound the problem and what is supposed to be done is reduce depending on the imperialist countries (O'Connor, 1997). The system of bureaucratic societies has also resulted to similar environmental problems as in imperialist countries. The reason for this is that they have only overcome the capitalist laws of value only partially but they have depend on capitalist and world market dependency on technological progress of the imperialist economies has also contributed to environmental degradation. Bureaucratization was expected to develop a social economy but it eliminated democracy.The issue of environments was only addressed in small departments. Deep ecology is based on the idea that the environment is supposed to stay intact and does not exist to serve human beings. According to deep ecology species have the right to exist no matter the unfaithfulness to their human being (Orton, 1999) Deep ecology places value on biodiversity which is necessary to the flourishing of both living and nonliving. Accordin g to this approach the origin of ecological crisis can be located on the systems of human beliefs, i. e. either religious or philosophical. Human beings are seen to dominate nature (O'Connor, 1997).According to the deep ecologist the right to live for all living things is universal and cannot be quantified. Therefore even human beings cannot be excluded from biotic community. It is believed that members of biotic community are supposed to preserve its integrity beauty and stability (Orton, 1999) Deep ecology shows that the civilization of human beings has damaged the integrity of nature. Ecosystem can absorb limited amount of water only if they do not exceed the carrying capacity. Through this approach ecologist have shown that human activities have changed the biosphere from its natural state.Deep ecologist gives holistic approach to environmental problems. The field of deep ecology uses two approaches i. e. scientific and deep ecology. Scientific ecology explains the relationship between living species of the earth and the environment (Orton, 1999). The field uses four directions i. e. Spirituality, Ideas, Feelings and Action. Spirituality tries to explain our relationship with what we see as sacred. Live here is seen as being sacred and it is believed that the power of life acts through the work of the earth recovery. Ideas on the other hand are based on idea that we are parts of nature rather than outsiders of nature.As part of nature we should use the ability to develop the ecosystem rather than destroy them. We should be the stewards of the environment rather than have dominion over it. Feelings unable us to see the state of the nature since we are part of it. As stewards we act according to these feelings. As environmental stewards we act for live (Orton, 1999) Marxist, Neoclassical and Deep ecologist theories of ecological crises. Neoclassical theory originated from several abstraction i. e. individualistic utility theory, firm theory and market theory . .Neoclassical values economy more other than anything else.Ecosystem is seen as just mere elements within the economy. In contrast to Marxist theory and deep ecology, neoclassical do not recognize the physical limits of nature and therefore they support for infinite growth. They hold that he failure that have resulted to ecological crisis occur due to lack of market values. However neoclassical economics have tried to integrate environmental issues in the market systems. This is contrary to Marxist theory, where Marxist sees all the environmental issues as a result of capitalism production. Neoclassical economist believes that markets will make everything right.In reality neoclassical do little to account for value of environment (Laferriere & Stoett, 1999). According to neoclassical economics market failures occur in three instances i. e. externalities, imperfect structure and public goods. Externalities in neoclassical economic approaches, crisis results due to negative external ities that result to inefficiency in the market. In this approach what is considered to be an externality is something that is external and is not determined by the nature. An example is where waste effluent from a firm is discharged into a water course resulting to water pollution.According to neoclassical economics this only happens because the value of the community water is not accounted for in the cost of production since this value is not available in the market tot be purchased by the community (Laferriere & Stoett, 1999). . This is contrary to Marxist theory and deep ecology approach. Marxist theory argues that such ecological crisis does not arise because of lack of wisdom but money driven factor which are aimed at maximizing profit. Deep ecology on the other hand has explained our actions towards the environment using the four directions as mentioned earlier.In this approach our actions towards the environment should be that of stewardship and such actions of discharging e ffluent into water body does not support the integrity, beauty and stability of nature and therefore this is wrong. According to Marxist theory, the environment is therefore undervalued, unprotected and polluted. Even where neoclassical economics call for internalizing the externalities so that amount of pollution is obtained. It is contrary to deep ecology since deep ecology support for the integrity of nature (Plumwood, 2002).The denial that externality only results from diversions from the real world lead to structures that are irrelevant to all the living things and the environment according to deep ecology approaches to ecological crisis. This is because it is only in the real world human being and other species live and therefore the models do not prescribe solutions to the problems that already exist in it. Moreover environment is treated as a thing that can be abstracted, exploited according to this approach of negative externalities regardless of the fact that it is dynamic living component.To place value on the environmental components so that they can be internalized in market it is contrary to Marxist theory since this value is placed only due to individual preferences. Such evaluation of environmental goods is hypothetical markets, contingent market valuation etc which have resulted to interference with the integrity of nature since nature is complex and human being cannot successfully value it. In neoclassical economic methods it remains clear that environment is a commodity that can be substituted once hedonic pricing and anthropocentric allocation of prices has been successfully determined (Plumwood, 2002).The values of natural resources are not prioritized by the market mechanism and it is only the exchange value base that is considered (Laferriere & Stoett, 1999). This is in contrast to deep ecology since resources under this doctrine should be part of nature and they have value in themselves and should be allowed to pursue their own good. In contrary resources are valued if they bring environmental benefits that can be evaluated or economic benefits according to neoclassical economists.It therefore means that species with no use value which have been attached to them have no any effect on optimal allocation of resources. Human beings have limited knowledge about the biodiversity, biophysical and therefore optimal valuation of the components of the environment often leads to irrational choices. Therefore market failure is not the problem or the one that brings the conflict between environment and the economic activities. The conflict merely arises due to impossibilities of the market structure to place a reasonable value of all the components of the environment in the real world (Plumwood, 2002).Ecological crisis have resulted to irreversible changes to earth and its inhabitants. Damage to the environment has threatened many species of the earth. Initially the issue was infinite growth which cannot be supported by our f inite earth. The threats created by ecological destructions can be dealt with by altering the concepts of economic growth . this is in contrast with neoclassical approaches that support market economies and holds that the crisis are due to market failure (Foster, 1997).The ecological crises are threatening the species of the earth. According to Marxist and deep ecologist crisis result from human activities that impact on the earth. According to Marxist there is need to change the mode of production and there is no need to wait for scientific evidence of their ecological consequences. However this is contrary to neoclassical economics where some firms are still maintaining harmful production techniques with little technological innovations the technological progress instead is acting on environment and destroying it.The industrial revolution of the 19th century resulted to production of much waste that polluted the environment. The wastes had consequences of degrading the environment and also threatening the health of all human being especially occupational workers since 19th century ecological degradation has become fast and furious. Ecological degradation is an outcome of technological advancement with little care of nature. This occurred on the eve of 19th century with innovation of cars petroleum use, the rise of chemical industry and agricultural sectors with heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides.The issue of planned economics and industrialization of the third world has also contributed to qualitative leap of resources (Benton, 1996). Deep ecologist has deep understanding of the nature. Marxist on the other hand analyzed the society and excluded co-evolutionary understanding of the relationship between nature and human beings. According to deep ecology analysis of nature the two cannot be vied as separate entities or independent bodies. Rather, sees the two as co-evolutionally and they change each other in dynamic processes.The historical forces and soc ial forces forms the basis in which human beings treat the environment Marxist’s assert that historical materialism in economic degradation is designed with structures that are degrading environment systematically and are exceeding the carrying capacity of the earth (Burkett, 1999). This is contrary to the views of neoclassical economists. Therefore they have caused much environmental degradation instead of establishing a co- evolutionary relationship.For Marxist there is both crisis of nature and social crisis that have resulted to ecological crisis. The ecological crisis has resulted due to the mode of production and reproduction that are designed to exploit the resources (Burkett, 1999). Marxist theory agree that human being have become both agents and victims of the ecological crisis and this has been evidenced by; social alienation malnutrition and pollution and poisoning to the environmental components in which human being depend and also see capitalism as being as spec ific historic form.( Benton, 1996). Bourgeois society which is criticized Marxist but supported by neoclassical economics is created by capital which also results to appropriation of nature and the social bonds to the members of the society. The great civilization of man results to nature being seen as an object for human beings, which is supposed to be utilized and fail to be recognized (Burkett, 1999). The discovery of the laws of the nature is seen as merely ruse in order to subjugate it to human needs as objects of utilization or facilitate production.Bibliography Barry J, Eckersley (2005): The State and the Global Ecological Crisis. ISBN-13: 978-0-262-52435-3, MIT Press. Benton T (1996): The Greening of Marxism. ISBN 157230118X. Guilford Press. Burkett P (1999): Marx and Nature: A Red and Green Perspective. ISBN 0312219407, St. Martin's Press. Eckersley R (2004): The Green State: Rethinking Democracy and Sovereignty, ISBN 0262050749, MIT Press. Foster, John Bellamy (1997): The Crisis of the Earth. Organization & Environment (journal), Vol. 10, No.3, 278-295 DOI: 10. 1177/0921810697103003 Kovel J (2007): The Enemy of Nature, ISBN: 9781842778715 Laferriere E, Stoett J (1999): International Relations Theory and Ecological Thought: Towards a Synthesis, ISBN-13: 978-0415164795, Routledge. O'Connor J (1997): Natural Causes: Essays in Ecological Marxism. SBN 1572302739, Guilford Press Orton D (1999): Deep Ecology and Criticism, ISBN: 0-8476-8929-8, Littlefield. Plumwood V (2002): Environmental Culture: The Ecological Crisis of Reason. ISBN 0415178770, Routledge

Employment Law Essay

The main issue under consideration in this case is whether a claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) can be subjected to compulsory arbitration pursuant to an arbitration agreement in a securities registration application. Gilmer contends that it is not. Among the arguments raised by Gilmer are: a) the compulsory arbitration of claims under the ADEA pursuant to arbitration agreement is inconsistent with the purpose of the Federal Arbitration Agreement; b) the compulsory arbitration of claims will undermine the role of the EEOC in enforcing the ADEA; c) compulsory arbitration will deprive the claimant of the judicial forum provided for by the ADEA; d) compulsory arbitration should not be countenanced because of the inherent inequality in the bargaining power between the employers and the employees. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit holding that an ADEA claim may be subjected to compulsory arbitration. The Supreme Court ruled that it does not see any inconsistency between the purpose of FAA and the enforcement of agreements to arbitrate under age discrimination claims. The Sherman Act, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, RICO, and the Securities Act of 1933 all are designed to advance important public policies but claims under these statutes may still be subjected to compulsory arbitration. Also, it is incorrect to argue that compulsory arbitration will undermine the role of EEOC in enforcing the ADEA because a claimant subject to arbitration agreement is still free to file a charge with the EEOC. Further, compulsory arbitration agreements will not deprive the claimants of their right to seek judicial recourse under ADEA rather it even broadens the right of the claimants as they now have the right to select the forum for resolving their disputes whether judicial or otherwise. Mere inequality in the bargaining power between the employer and the employee is not sufficient to hold that arbitration agreements should not be enforceable as it is precisely the purpose of FAA to place arbitration agreements in the same footing as other contracts. In effect, the Gilmer case required claimants who are under compulsory arbitration agreements to comply with the said agreements before they seek judicial recourse even if it involves a claim under the ADEA. In the dissenting opinion of Justice Stevens, he argued that arbitration clauses contained in employment agreements are specifically exempt from coverage of the FAA thus respondent corporation cannot compel petitioner to submit his claims arising under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) to compulsory arbitration. One of the arguments raised is that the requirement of compulsory arbitration between the petitioner and the respondent is not embodied in the contract of employment. In fact it was admitted by both parties that there was no contract of employment between them. Instead, the Compulsory Arbitration clause was embodied only in Gilmer’s application for registration before the NYSE. Moreover even if there was a contract of employment, the FAA should be not held to apply to employment-related disputes between employees and employers. It would be contrary to the spirit of the FAA to allow the same people who have practiced discrimination against an employee to bargain with them for the purpose of settling their disputes. I agree with the majority opinion. In the first place, the injured party in discrimination suits is the employee. As the injured party, they have the freedom to seek judicial recourse for the purpose of obtaining relief for the damage done to them. However, they also have the freedom to opt for other alternatives. In an effort to settle their dispute with their employers, they may choose to enter into arbitration. Indeed, it would be more in keeping with the laissez faire doctrine to allow both the employers and the employees to settle their dispute among themselves.

Analysis for Jeep Grand Cherokee Essay Example

Analysis for Jeep Grand Cherokee Essay Example Analysis for Jeep Grand Cherokee Paper Analysis for Jeep Grand Cherokee Paper The advert denotes a jeep on rough terrain driving past a wooden shack. The scene is set in the countryside where nothing can be seen for miles. The writing takes up a small amount of the whole page, which shows the advertisers, want you to concentrate on the jeep rather then the text.  The anchor on the advert could be interpreted in different ways to the intended one. 8 on the Richter scale shows the jeep is powerful and can blow anything away. Richter scale is probably the keyword as it connotes ideas of power and strength. The wooden hut looks like it has been in an earthquake but in fact the advertisers wants to show you can drive it and feel commanding. At the bottom of the advert it tells you about the engine specification and the luxurious interior. The company wants to show off the best bits of the car. In the top left hand corner it has the company logo and the words THERES ONLY ONE. The advert works as a whole by placing the signifier for power (V8 Engine) next to the logo Jeep. This represents to consumers only this jeep will give you the ideas and hopefully persuade people to buy one. The caption will influence a consumer in their perception of the product: Jeep is a unique 44 manufacturer that upper class people may drive around town to do their errands or people who want to be powerful/commanding and use the car to its maximum limit. This suggests it is indexical. Earthquakes are associated with power/noise and the seismic rumble from under the bonnet makes people want to buy it. This signifies to most people, a meaning that it is a good, stylish car that will impress and everybody will want. The blurred background is also important because it connotes an impression of speed and immense power, which will help to sell the car. Furthermore the man in the car is not very young for a reason. The advert is designed, obviously, to target people who can afford the 30,000 jeep, and so the image of the middle aged man, who maybe has enough money to buy one, is important. The photography of the car is responsible for making the advert work as well. Although the blurred background is probably computer generated, the car is a photograph. The camera never lies, but here it has been chosen to capture the image when the wheel hubs are blurred with speed and the slight glinting off the bonnet and headlights adds to luxury ride ordinary people could be experiencing. In looking at the image of the iconic jeep, the advert denotes a car travelling on a long distance terrain in a natural setting, which signifies that the jeep is capable of handling rough terrain as well, a smooth ride. Also it is a realistic representation of the kinds of roads the car maybe travelling on and whatever it (or lack of it) throws at you. The juxtaposing of a dark sky and natural environment signifies a smoothness and air of mystery, further implying to the consumer that it is desirable. This is the same with the car, as it is a dark colour too. This dark/natural colour setting is predictably continued to the jeep itself, so that the consumer associates the values signified by the natural setting to the product. The picture of the jeep is on the left hand side where the sky is darker which suggests the car has just driven through the earthquake and survived. The advert is more likely aimed at men, who tend to be the main money earners and more interested in cars and also the representation of colour for males is usually dark, and for females, dark, which further implies it is aimed at men. The ideology at work here is significant: the car represents power and authority and consequently, men learn to aspire to such images. The advertisement makes the reader feel in control and make people buy the product at price.

Frida Kahlo essays

Frida Kahlo essays Her life "I suffered two grave accidents in my life. One in which a streetcar knocked me down.....The other accident is Diego." Frida Kahlo was born on July 7 1907, in the city of Mexico. However, she claimed that she was born in 1910, the year of the Mexican Revolution because she liked to think that her life began at the same time as modern Mexico. In fact, there are many anecdotes or lies like this in her life. At the age of six, doctors discovered that she had polio; her right leg was very much smaller than the left one. That didn't make a difference for her. When she entered high school many years later, she was known as the 'tomboy' of her class and soon of the school. It's at this school (National Preparatory School) that she met her husband, the great muralist Diego Rivera. At eighteen, she was involved in an important bus accident with damage to her spinal column, a broken collarbone, broken ribs, a broken pelvis, and 11 fractures in her right leg. More than that, her right foot (the one with polio) was crushed and her shoulder was dislocated. She had to stay immobile for an entire month! It 's after this accident that she began to paint because she had nothing else to do in bed. With all her operations, she found the prosper profession for herelf! She couldn't be a nurse who always runs around or a ballerina, since she had about 30 operations! Unfortunately, she used drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and medication only to try to forget her pain. It's in a meeting to which a friend had brought her that she became closer to Diego. Maybe he was not the best thing in her life but at least he made her express her feelings on canvas and lead her to be emotionally stronger than she was. They married on August 21, 1929. In fact she married twice with him. At the beginning it was really a love marriage, there were no other reasons like money or contacts. But the more time went on, the more it became difficul ...

What Is the Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE)

What Is the Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips For students looking for a more challenging high school experience or for a chance to earn college credit, many high schools offer advanced college-level programs. The newest one of these is the Cambridge AICE, an international diploma program created via the University of Cambridge in England. Curious about whether this program is right for you? In this article, I'll explain the AICE approach, the coursework necessary to get the diploma, and how it compares to AP and IB classes. What Is the Cambridge AICE? AICE, which stands for Advanced International Certificate of Educationand is pronounced like the word "ace," is aset of challenging college-level classes forhigh school students. It was developed by Cambridge Assessment, a non-profit, non-teaching department of the University of Cambridge in England. Like theAP and IB programs, AICE was designed to give students the option to pursue a more rigorous and ambitiouscurriculumby teaching youkey skills to succeed in college-level work.At the same time, AICE classes and the diploma structure are flexible enough to let students tailor the coursework to their specific interests and strengths. Besides the academic and intellectual appeal of learning in greater depth, AICE lets you earn an advanced diploma toboost your college application. Italso has the potential toget you college credit or let you place out of intro courses once you're a freshman. However, because it is still a newer program, not all colleges viewAICE classes in the same way they do AP classes. You can use the Cambridge Assessments lookup tool tocheck whether your target college accepts AICE. Where Is AICE Offered? Currentlyin the US, AICE is primarily offered in Florida high schools,though there are several other schools offering the diploma scattered throughout the country. In Canada, AICE is only available in Toronto, but there are schools affiliated with AICE throughout the world, primarily in Great Britain. If you’re looking for a school that offers the AICE diploma, you can useCambridge Assessment’s lookup tool to find high schools around you. The Financial Benefits of AICE On top of its emphasis on flexible class offerings and its potential to strengthen your college application, AICE has several financial benefits as well. For one, AICE classes and exams are free for students- your school pays all the fees for this program! For students in Florida, an AICE Diploma is a great way to secure some money for college.If you've earned the diploma and completed 100 hours of community service, you will automatically qualify for the Florida Academic Scholars Award viathe Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program. But you don't need to earn the AICE diploma to get this scholarship. Some combinations of AICE coursework, community service hours, and minimum scores on the SAT/ACT are also ways to win Florida Bright Futures awards. How Do You Enroll in the AICE Program? You can't sign up for AICE on your own but instead mustrely on your school to provide it- the same way your schooleither does or doesn't provide Honors and AP classes. If your school wants to sign up to offer AICE classes to students, your principal or head of school can go tothe website that explains how to have your school join. AICE is not guaranteed to teach you to levitate books, but there's nothing stopping you from using that argument to convince your principal to sign up. How Is AICE Structured? The AICE program is made up of one-year classes called AS Levels, andtwo-year classes called A Levels. AICE classes can be taken individually, or you can take the two-year program and get an AICE diploma. There are some classes that can be started at the AS Level and then extended to the A Level later. What Are the Classes Like? AICE classes put a lot of emphasis on writing, critical thinking, and delving deep into their subjects. AICE classes aren't very rigidly structured, and AICE exams are somewhat modular. This flexibilitygives teachers a lot more room to spend extra time investigating what seems to be interesting to students and leaving out or shortening other course sections. Individual Classes vs Full Diploma With AICE, you get the choice of either taking individual classes from their course menu, or doing the full course of study needed to get the diploma. If you decide to just take individual AICE classes, colleges will treat them just as they do individual AP classes. These courses will add rigor to your transcript, count more in your weighted GPA, and show colleges that you are willing to challenge yourself and are a motivated student. Getting the AICE diploma requires a much bigger investment of time and effort. But, since each class was designed to be part of the program, the skills and knowledge you learn from one class will benefit you in others. Also, the classes are structured to fit together to give you a more rounded perspective on global issues. To get the AICE full diploma, you need toearn seven course credits within a 25-month period (previously thefull diploma only required six credits). One of these seven credits needs to bethe mandatory core class Global Perspectives and Research. Working on the core was mandatory, but Joe couldn't help feeling a little silly digging around inside a giant apple. What Classes Can You Take? If you're going for the full AICE diploma, the one class you will have to take is the Cambridge International AS and A Level Global Perspectives and Research. This class is the core of the program. But don't worry- it's less a content-heavy class and more a skills-building workshop. In Global Perspectives and Research, you first pick three global topics out of 30 options,such as artificial intelligence, international sport, tourism, and many others. Then, you conduct research to examine these topics from different perspectives, such as the economic impact, ethical dilemmas, environmental forecasts, and so on. Finally, you write a paper, take an exam, and do a group project about your research. All the other classes are your choice. These fall into four groups: Group 1: Mathematics and Sciences Group 2: Languages Group 3: Arts and Humanities Group 4: Interdisciplinary In order to earnthe diploma, you'll need at least one credit each fromGroups 1, 2, and 3. You can have at most two credits from Group 4. Other than that, anything goes. For example, if you're a math whiz, you can load up on the Mathematics and Sciences classes, and only take one class from the Languages Group and one from the Arts and Humanities Group. What do you mean, that's an overload of math? There's no such thing as an overload of math! Here are all the available classes in the AICE Diploma program: Group 1: Mathematics and Sciences Group 2: Languages Group 3: Arts and Humanities Group 4: Interdisciplinary and Skills-BasedSubjects Biology Afrikaans Accounting English General Paper Chemistry Arabic Art and Design Global Perspectives and Research Computer Science Chinese Business Thinking Skills Design and Technology English Language Classical Studies Environmental Management French Design and Textiles Further Mathematics German Digital Media and Design Information Technology Hindi Divinity Marine Science Japanese Language Economics Mathematics Language and Literature in English Environmental Management Physical Education Marathi Food Studies Physical Science Portuguese French Literature Physics Spanish Geography Psychology Tamil Hindi Literature Urdu Hinduism History Islamic Studies Language and Literature in English Law Literature in English Media Studies Music Nepal Studies Portuguese Literature Physical Education Psychology Sociology Spanish Literature Travel and Tourism How Does Grading Work? In each class, you'll do a variety of graded work. In addition to final exams, students write essays, create presentations, and do group projects. Most of this work is graded by your teacher, but some of the essays, presentations, and all the exams are sent away to be graded by Cambridge Assessment. In each class, the range of passing grades goes from A* to E. A* is the AICE version of an A+. Getting an E is basically like getting a C in normal US grading, or like getting a 3 on an AP exam. Depending on your individual AICE class grades, your full diploma will be awarded with Distinction, with Merit, or Pass. The more ornate the certificate, the greater the diploma honors. Distinction diplomas come studded with emeralds and feature a gilded background of the full text ofHamlet. Should You Take AICE? If the only advanced curriculum that your school offers is the AICE program, you should definitely sign up for as many courses as you can reasonably handle and do well in. The classes are similar to AP and IB classes in difficulty level, and colleges love seeing transcripts that show your willingness to tackle hard classes and manage a heavier workload. But what if you have to choose between AICE, AP, and IB? I will lay out the pros and cons of each to help you decide. Should You Take AICE or AP? First, let's talk about the differences between theAICE and AP programs. AICE is designed almost in opposition to the way AP classes are structured. The AICE Diploma is a program rather thana random selection of classes. This means that it can offerclasses in niche subjects, such as tourism and marine science, and then fit those classes into an overall globally minded framework. Also, unlike AP classes, which tend to go wide and broad in their subject areas, AICE classes are more narrow and focused. AICE classes stress essay writing and project-based learning over rote memorization and multiple-choice exams. Because of this, teachers can dive deep into details and deemphasize others, depending on student interest. According to some students, this also means that the AICE exams seem easier- as long as you have a well-reasoned, supported argument and can write well, your answers should get a good score. Finally,whereas college credit for AP classes is based on the score you get on the AP exam, college credit for AICE classes is based on passing the exam, not on the specific score you receive. In other words, a 3 on an AP exam probably won't get you college credit in more selective colleges, but an E in an AICE class might. If you have the choice between AP and AICE, pick AP if: You are a very good test taker who does best with fact-based learning You are interested in a subject AP offers and AICE doesn't offer An excellent teacher is teaching the AP level You've already taken the AICE level of a particular class but are now interested in getting a broader overview of the same subject Your target collegesdo not recognize AICE Pick AICE if: You are interested in getting the full diploma You would like to learn about a subject from a global perspective You want toimprove your writing and public-speaking skills You aren't sure you can get a 5 on an AP exam but would like to try for college credit or advanced placement You live in Florida and canbenefit financially from the Bright Futures Scholarship Florida: land of Disney, sea cows, and free college money for good students. Should You Take AICE or IB? The IB and AICE programs are much more similar than they are different in the way they both approach teaching and the curricula of their classes. The main distinguishing characteristic of AICE is that Cambridge Assessments is notably vocal in its concerns abouthomework load, which is something IB doesn't address. AICE homework is designed to maximize yourlearning without unnecessary repetition or busywork. The designers of AICE talk a lot aboutstudentneed to have time for extracurricular activities as well asfamily and social lives. AICE is also more flexible for students who have strengths in certain subject areas. Unlike with the IB program, with AICE you can get the AICE Diploma by taking mostly classes in the subject group where your strengths or interests lie. If you have a choice between IB and AICE, pick IB if: You are interested in a more structuredprogram in which you won't have to design your own course of study An amazing teacher is teaching your school's IB program Your targetcolleges do not recognize AICE Pick AICE if: You'd like more flexibility in designing your own course of study You aren't sure if you want to go for the full diploma and would like the option of taking individual classes You are interested in starting some classes at the one-year AS Level before committing to the two-year A Level You live in Florida and canbenefit financially from the Bright Futures Scholarship Why buy the A-Level cow when you can get the AS-Level milk for free? What’s Next? Did you know that the AP also has a diploma program? Check outour complete guide to AP Capstone anda complete list of the schools that offer it. Interested in learning everything you can about all the different advanced placement options? Readour explanation of the International Baccalaureate. Wondering how all of your advanced placement classes will benefit you once you get to college? We’ve gotthe scoop on how colleges treat AP credits. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Microeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

Microeconomics - Essay Example This is illustrated by the diagram below. c) In order to achieve a socially efficient level of coal gas mining, policies that promote the underground water system understanding, interconnectivity and the gas extraction and processing life cycle should be adopted. Secondly, policies that demand absolute scientific knowledge of the industry and its potential impacts on the society matter. These to enable a comparison of efficient coal power generation and the societal efficient production requirements to minimize the adverse effects on the society. a). The key most barrier to entry that would help to establish and keep Monsanto’s market power in the United States seed market is the patenting of the Monsanto seeds that prevents farmers from stocking other seed companies. The high cost of entry into the seed industry as a result of the high prices charged by Monsanto is another significant barrier to entry. New companies would find it very expensive to incur high entry costs that may be risky given the established Monsanto Company. The policies and the high prices are the significant barriers to the entry of other companies into the industry. b). If the United States Department of Justice investigations resulted in the cancellation of the Monsanto patents as an anticompetitive practice in the seed industry, a number of resultant effects would be experienced. Firstly, the level of competition in the US seed industry will most likely increase as more seed companies will be able to venture into the industry with reduced barriers to entry. The farmers will have a choice between varieties of the seed companies for their seed markets. Secondly, the supply of seeds is likely to increase with increased number of seed companies into the industry. As a result, the prices of seeds in the market will be driven down by the increased supply, and this would reduce the

Mobile home Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mobile home - Essay Example Mobile homes are being fabricated in advanced countries because these countries are able to venture into such projects that need real time testing and thus can bear contingency challenges in this technology. These fabricated houses are manufactured in factories from where an assembly line, shapes and, puts the pieces together for transported to its destination. They are usually temporary in some places, whereas they can be employed as a permanent solution where ambiance is friendly for their deployment. The house rests on a permanent chassis that is actually the foundation of the house. This foundation provides for three main aspects; one, the flooring, second is the mobility, third, lifting of the one piece foundation. (Britto, Et al., 2008) As it is seen that many mobile houses are being developed and deployed in US, UK, Israel etc, the special advantage that has inflated their importance is the option of their transportation with ease. To many the concept of aerial transportation can be new yet it is viable. A gross analysis can be suggested to have these aerially mobile houses must be small in size. This is because of the endurance, stress-strain constraints, airlifting ability, technical difficulties in building perfectly balanced model. Thus the besides those mobile homes that are using highway grade wheels and tires with tractor-trailers as their movers, the lift-able houses can also be an option. This essay discusses the options and constraints that come in the way to build this concept. Abstract of the parameters for such structures: Parameters are actually the fact and limits that define the circle of viability or operability of the structure. Here, these parameters are divided into two main parts. One concerns with the building of such structures and the other related to the transportation. The practice of putting together the components of a structure and other allied structural material required for complete building of such houses is known as pref abrication. The next stage is the transportation of this structure towards the destination. The prefabrication process is usually distinguished from typical construction processes that are conventional. (Wong, Hao, Hu, 2010) The materials used are specialized as far as their metallurgy, stochastic and ergonomics is concerned. The important fact in these designs is the high endurance and light weight of the material that constitute the structure. It features the ability to assemble, reassemble and transport the structure to the site. The main structural components are the base or foundation, walls and sectioning pieces, doors and mobility components. Parameters for Construction and Transportation: In aerial transportation have constraints of striking the balance and heaving the whole structure into the air. Thus these basic materials as described in the previous paragraph need special attention. Before getting into the details of these materials the engineering parameters are needed to be distinguished. The main factors that are credited or discredited to construction of these types can be stated as follows: The materials that are employed in the construction of these structures are self supporting and are ready made. For example to find a tradeoff between strength to endure dent or any snag the sheets of walls can be made contoured or with beams. (EESI, 2011) Like in the manufacturing of the cars to help saving the steel component the steel plates are

RFID in retail industry - Implications on efficiency and security Dissertation

RFID in retail industry - Implications on efficiency and security - Dissertation Example The third objective of the study was to examine how the security concerns have been addressed by the retailers that have implemented the RFID technology. The study finds that retailers have not been addressing this concern with as much priority as they give to achieving efficiency in the business process. The customers’ privacy is encroached upon leading to security concerns. In addition to the security of the shoppers, the security of the retailers is also at stake if the shoppers walk in with transmitters or readers that can block the radio waves of the retailers. Secondary sources could not highlight how retailers have been addressing these issues. Overall, the study surmises that efficiencies have been achieved by the retailers to a great extent but it is difficult to quantify the benefits and cost savings. While RFID is here to stay and benefits have been achieved, the security concerns have not been adequately addressed by the retailers or their channel partners. Many ha ve tried to exploit the technology and use it to their benefit. Table of Contents Chapter I Introduction 1.1 Background 4 1.2 Rationale for research 6 1.3 Research aims and objectives 7 1.4 Organization of the study 7 Chapter II Literature review 2.1 Introduction 9 2.2 RFID technology 9 2.3 Benefits of RFID 11 2.4 Application of RFID 12 2.5 RFID in supply chain 13 2.6 RFID with a consumer-focused approach 15 2.7 RFID in the retail sector 17 2.8 Limitations of the RFID - Efficiency and Privacy 19 2.9 Summary of literature review 20 2.10 Theoretical framework - Theory of Diffusion of Innovation 21 Chapter III Methodology 3.1 Chapter Overview 23 3.2... The paper tells that the retail industry represents one of the largest industries worldwide. In the US it is the second largest industry in terms of the number of establishments and the number of employees. The food and beverages industry, a part of the retail sector, in the European Union, is the world’s largest with about 3 million employees as of 2005. However, in the last two decades the retail industry has undergone phenomenal changes and a variety of grocery store alternatives can now be found. These include different formats such as supermarkets, hypermarkets and discount stores. This sector too has been impacted by the forces of globalization and liberalization thereby facing aggressive competition and increasing cost pressures, along with ongoing changes in customer and industry demand. Sudden deterioration in consumer demand and the willingness to purchase have impacted and exerted downward pressure on the retailers to maintain efficiencies. Following the recession t he economic growth has been slow which reflects the weak consumer sector. Other challenges of the industry include the short shelf-life of grocery and other allied products, the need for temperature control and traceability of these goods. The number of stock keeping units (SKUs) has been growing necessitating that retailers keep track of them. Sales have exploded and it has become imperative to capture real-time sales information which enables planning for distribution and stocking of goods in an appropriate manner.

Essay Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Assignment - Essay Example It often comes with some challenges. This paper explores the benefits of working for an international firm as well as the disadvantages. First, working for an international company like BMW gives a person the chance of experiencing a new country with different culture. There is a possibility of an employee being posted to a foreign country, which is impossible with local companies. Working in a new country gives an employee the opportunity to explore places he or she may not have travelled to and experience new cultural practices across the world while getting paid. As such, working for an international firm is an adventure worth exploring. Second, working with foreign people at BMW enables one to get new business perspectives. Working in an international firm gives one an opportunity to develop a global view on business operations. Different countries have different approaches to doing business. As such, a person who works for an international firm is better placed to learn more about international business compared with someone who works for a local firm. Third, international firms like BMW usually offer their employees more competitive salaries compared to domestic firms. By accepting foreign appointment, one is likely to receive a potential increase in his or her income. This makes working for an international organization more of a fun and rewarding more than working for domestic firms. Fourth, BMW has a diverse workforce, which gives one the chance to experience the benefits of diversity in the workplace. The company is likely to give one a crucial opportunity of working with individuals of diverse backgrounds. One is in a position to learn different ways of solving a particular problem because different communities have different problem-solving approaches. While working for international companies such as BMW seems lucrative, there are some challenges for individuals who work for these organizations. First, cultural

Develop marketing options for small business operations Assignment

Develop marketing options for small business operations - Assignment Example Currently, Vodafone and 2degree and telecom sell so many brand cell phones like nokia Samsung LG Motorola IPHONE Blackberry etc... There about 80% market for them. We do special mobile phone in the market that’s different with them. We can sell mobile phone price cheaper than them but with good quality and more features. Future growth of the market/products is projected in the following areas: Dual sim card: that’s mean people don’t need carry two phones on every day. Two sim card and works at same time. People can get two different numbers in one mobile. TV function: people can watch on the tv in anywhere with mobile phone they have. That’s totally free no cost for that. Picture message: people can send and received text with it. Java game: people can download and play java game with it. Potential customers Business People, Professionals, Students, Parents, Senior Citizens. Potential suppliers Our potential suppliers would be coming from China to ensure cost effectiveness making us competitive in the market in terms of price. Competitors Nokia C2 LG KS660 Dual-SIM Touchscreen Mobile Phone Spice D-1100 Dual SIM PDA Mobile Phone Spice D-88 Dual SIM Mobile Spice D-90 Dual SIM Mobile Phone Complementary business operations and affiliates Mobile Phone carriers like Vodafone, Telecom and 2degrees because they require celphone unit to be able to connect on their network. Publications Local news paper, Chamber Newspapers, School Publications, Market Research providers Can be done in-house to save on cost Market source Industry organisations Local market business organizations like Avondale, business and chamber organizations. Government agencies and departments SEC, Department of Trade and other regulating agencies Local Body organizations Avondale market business organizations. Internet Marketing Trade Me and Stella online shopping website. b) Give a brief description of the foll owing Market Research methods. (P.C. 1.2) i. Questionnaires Questionnaire is a quantitative form of getting information about the market in a form of written questions to obtain useful statistical information from a given sample from the market that determines consumer preference, customer behavior, market hypothesis, etch. ii. Surveys Survey is a quantitative form of getting information about the market’s individual characteristic that comprises the market from a given sample that represents the entire market. iii. Interviews Is qualitative method of getting information from the market through a structured and prepared conversation. iv. Product demonstrations Product demonstration is marketing research method whereby potential customers are asked to sample the product with a condition that tjeu will report its feedback that will be

Zachman Enterprise Architecture Framework Analysis Assignment

Zachman Enterprise Architecture Framework Analysis - Assignment Example It should be noted that the framework is not an ordinary model but more of a conceptual model, a composition of concepts, in that it exists in its applicability, mental synchronization and or personal/mind interpretations so as to guide the user to know, understand and where possible simulate the ideas in a practical situation (Raynard, 2000). Enterprise framework differs with structural/building framework in that as the building framework seeks to apply the laid out methodology, that is, to collect, manage and use information to achieve a prescribed/ designed model(s) to a tangible object, enterprise framework seeks to transform the abstract ideas, that is, intentions and semantics through designing documents, specifications, considerations of available models; without implying any specific and /or defined process. Therefore it can be viewed as a process to think, apply, re-apply, evaluate and solve problems through formalization and effective communication (Zachman & Geiger, 1997). With this in mind, we shall look at how Zachman’s enterprise architectural framework applies in reality by first understanding the types and scope of its architectural design. Types and Scope For conceptual enterprise architecture to be effective, there should explicitly define techniques to help individuals understand the represented system, it should convey the system details to the stakeholders, should provide a point of reference so as to simplify extractions of system specifications by designers and it should automatically and/or in a simplified manner, document the system for future reference and provide room for collaborations and implementation (Fishman & Selkow, 2003). For instance, it should first analyse the need for transformation within a given organizational process/intention or a phenomenon cross examine the available concepts to come up with a conceptual model and ideas to achieve the transformation. It should analyse the validation of the process, clearly sh ow its specifications analysis and the simulation process. It should reflect accreditation, verifications of the perceived implementation and execution and finally outline the expected results and the impact (Uckelmann, 2012). The Zachman’s enterprise architecture is based on six core questions; what, how, where, who, when and why, which form basis of applications in the modern organization. To come up with stronger arguments and justifications to support the model, these questions are further analysed in different business perspectives such as the scope: which seeks to explain the contextual business activities, the business model: which is the evaluation of the conceptual nature of the organization and its stakeholders, the system model: which is the logical approach of the required transformation in line with the business needs, technology model: it represents the physical and the intended aspects by the transformers of the new phenomenon, detailed representations by other members of the transformation and finally the analysis of the functioning enterprise. The Scope/ Contextual Approach The planner tries to figure out: what content will the framework contain and/or the overall model represent? This call to ascertain and prioritize on all important business processes and what transformations can bring an impact. This may take course through the analysis of available data and the projected/intended goal. The planner then needs to ask how the conceptual model will be presented. This seeks to explain the functioning of the perceived model which can be achieved through intensive analysis of the core

Develop marketing options for small business operations Assignment

Develop marketing options for small business operations - Assignment Example Currently, Vodafone and 2degree and telecom sell so many brand cell phones like nokia Samsung LG Motorola IPHONE Blackberry etc... There about 80% market for them. We do special mobile phone in the market that’s different with them. We can sell mobile phone price cheaper than them but with good quality and more features. Future growth of the market/products is projected in the following areas: Dual sim card: that’s mean people don’t need carry two phones on every day. Two sim card and works at same time. People can get two different numbers in one mobile. TV function: people can watch on the tv in anywhere with mobile phone they have. That’s totally free no cost for that. Picture message: people can send and received text with it. Java game: people can download and play java game with it. Potential customers Business People, Professionals, Students, Parents, Senior Citizens. Potential suppliers Our potential suppliers would be coming from China to ensure cost effectiveness making us competitive in the market in terms of price. Competitors Nokia C2 LG KS660 Dual-SIM Touchscreen Mobile Phone Spice D-1100 Dual SIM PDA Mobile Phone Spice D-88 Dual SIM Mobile Spice D-90 Dual SIM Mobile Phone Complementary business operations and affiliates Mobile Phone carriers like Vodafone, Telecom and 2degrees because they require celphone unit to be able to connect on their network. Publications Local news paper, Chamber Newspapers, School Publications, Market Research providers Can be done in-house to save on cost Market source Industry organisations Local market business organizations like Avondale, business and chamber organizations. Government agencies and departments SEC, Department of Trade and other regulating agencies Local Body organizations Avondale market business organizations. Internet Marketing Trade Me and Stella online shopping website. b) Give a brief description of the foll owing Market Research methods. (P.C. 1.2) i. Questionnaires Questionnaire is a quantitative form of getting information about the market in a form of written questions to obtain useful statistical information from a given sample from the market that determines consumer preference, customer behavior, market hypothesis, etch. ii. Surveys Survey is a quantitative form of getting information about the market’s individual characteristic that comprises the market from a given sample that represents the entire market. iii. Interviews Is qualitative method of getting information from the market through a structured and prepared conversation. iv. Product demonstrations Product demonstration is marketing research method whereby potential customers are asked to sample the product with a condition that tjeu will report its feedback that will be

Positive And Negative Effects Of Video Games Essay Example for Free

Positive And Negative Effects Of Video Games Essay The video game technology, like most technologies, has changed drastically in the last few years. Arcades may look much the same on the surface as they did a decade or two ago, but the games have become far more violent, sophisticated and addictive. When one visits the video arcade it is not surprising to see children pointing and shooting something that looks suspiciously like a real weapon. If Pong or, for that matter, Pac-Man and Super Mario Brothers is ones point of reference, one needs to think again. What one assumes about the benign, outdated games of the 1970s and the 1980s, even of the early 1990s, the research regarding them cannot be considered valid as video games put in the market in the last five years. It is a whole new world, and it is evolving at a rate that is hard for parents to keep pace with (Funk. Jeanne 1993). How fast a rate? Consider this: During the last two decades interactive video games have emerged as one of the most popular forms of entertainment, particularly among teens. According to the non-profit organization, Mediascope, Globally, annual video games revenues now exceed $18 billion. In the United States alone, video game revenues now exceed $10 billion annually, nearly double the amount Americans spend going to the movies. On average, American children who have home video game systems play with them about ninety minutes a day. The kids are changing with the technology how could they not be? They are riding technology curve in a way we are not and never can. On many levels, its wonderful to have them exposed to this brave new cyberworld: the opportunities for them to learn, the resources at their fingertips, are tremendous and hard to fathom. Some claim that video games are a mind controlling device (The World Wide Web is like a vast, almost limitless encyclopedia, and unlike Encyclopedia Britannica, kids can talk to it and it talks back. So its especially disconcerting to see armies of these very kids wandering through cyberspace mutilating and killing everything in their path and having a great time doing it. Its the dark side of heightened technology, but one to which we ought to be paying much closer attention (The First Fighting Game That Let You Just Be Friends). Some say there are positive effects of video games and that there are hollow claims about fantasy violence. However, there are others who maintain that the general effect is negative and hazardous to children and adolescents in general. This paper looks at the positive and negative sides and attempts to put look the issue in the proper perspective. The debate over the effects of digital games is getter hotter. Many claim that people may not pay too much attention regarding the issue of digital games but they are now becoming a powerful cultural force (Secko, David). This has become a powerful force since computer and video games sales topped $10 billion in the U. S. in 2004. Children spend more and more time working and playing with them. And some social theorists say society is gripped by a moral panic over the effects of computer games (Secko, David). As some maintain, exposure to television violence results in violent actions in real life. Several researchers have agreed that children extensively exposed to violence as projected on television tend to think that it is appropriate to act in violent ways (Hurst). Today, this has evolved into video games. Like most technologies, video game technology has changed drastically in the last few years. Some of the issues tied to this are those on values. Values motivate behavior. Judgments about right and wrong or good and bad are moral judgments based on values. In the course of human interactions, there are many situations in which it is difficult to make a decision because values come into conflict. Conflict between moral values results is an ethical problem. Major influences on moral decision-making in cyber environment are personal, professional and organizational values. Values must be clarified if moral decisions are to be reached. We are just beginning to understand that digital mediums are bringing us expressive forms comparable to the movies and the novel, says Janet Murray, a Professor of Digital Media at Georgia Tech and author of Hamlet on the Holodeck (Lee, J. 2004. p. 1375). Video gaming exists today as a symbiotic relationship among many self-preserving organisms. All must strike a gentle balance between exerting their will and killing their host. Even if others find it obsolete, the young must engage in values clarification to develop a decision-making process that fosters ethical behavior (Funk. Jeanne 1993). More than any other aspect of these new video games, its the accuracy of the simulations the carnage, the blood, and the guts that is so advanced. Realism is the Holy Grail of the video game industry. And the latest technology leaves little to the imagination the simulations seem less fake, and therefore more effective. Add to this the fact that in the last few years, video game manufacturers have chosen to amplify gruesome violence (note that 49 percent of young teens indicate a preference for violent games, while only 2 percent prefer educational ones). (Funk, Jeanne 1993) to make it a mainstay in their products seems a direct result of where the television and movie industry have taken their content. What worries most parents and educators here is the desensitizing effect on-screen violence has on kids, and how it fosters a need for more graphic real-life displays of carnage and mayhem to keep kids interested. Graphically violent video games like Doom, Postal, Duke Nukem, and Mortal Kombat are games way past the curve. Some claim that these are mind control devices (Videogame- mind control? ). Author Schmitt (2004) states the many disadvantages of video games. He goes on to list several of the drawbacks of video game playing. He states in no unequivocal terms, If pursued as a solitary activity, playing video games can decrease important social interactions with family and friends. A childs interactions with friends may become limited to pumping them for information about hidden passageways and secret doors. Schmitt lists several good reasons to advice people not play video games. He also not only listed that but he also listed ways to keep us from playing them altogether or how to encourage children to play more healthy activities (Schmitt 2004 p. 33-56). In terms of the educational principles related to this issue, any teacher or coach of young people will tell you that hands-on experience is what teaches best. Repetition of movements and the hand-eye connection are invaluable for learning most skills. And especially with children, hands-on learning is usually a lot more fun and interesting than the alternatives. It is precisely this that makes interactive video games so potent a learning tool. As researcher Patricia Greenfield points out, Video games are the first medium to combine visual dynamism with an active participatory role for the child. (Provenzo, Eugene. 1991). Video games have the distinct advantage between itself, the television and the movies it lets you put your hands on it, aim and fire. Thus, it is really no surprise that violent games are very habit-forming. Parents interviewed are alarmed at not just the violent images in the games, but the amount of time their children spend playing them. It proves how effective these things are. More than 60 percent of children report that they play video games longer than they intend to play. The interactive quality, the intensity of the violence, the physiological reactions, all serve to connect the players feelings of exhilaration and accomplishment directly to the violent images. And good feelings keep the player wanting to play. Countless parents try desperate to keep video game play within certain time limits, but its a huge challenge a parental battle they so often lose. Once kids get hooked, its difficult to unhook them. Both home and arcade games make extensive use of reinforcement schedules for both the acquisition and maintenance of the habit (Provenzo, Eugene. 1991).