Thursday, October 31, 2019
More horse power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
More horse power - Essay Example The phrase, "the most powerful in its class", may be true as "class" is not defined. According to the case, trucks similar to the Mammoth are used for hauling heavy equipment but the Mammoth is not suited for hauling. This would mean that the Mammoth would be in a different class from the hauling trucks, or in a class of its own. However, it does have a powerful engine which supports the claim that it is the most powerful in its class. All the above support the tagline "The Mammoth. Power, Beauty, Style." The advertisement focuses on qualities not necessarily connected with the product but I don't think this has been done unduly. The company used its good reputation for luxury sedans and sports cars, products which evoke power, beauty and style. The Mammoth advertisement may be targeting the same market as those for its traditional products, considering that the truck was not really built for hauling heavy equipment. The Mammoth can be viewed as simply another vehicle sporting a different design, a hauling truck design. But in the same way that luxury sedans and sports cars serve their intended customers for power, beauty and style, the Mammoth is also being sold to do this, especially since the advertisement depicted the owner getting into the truck in a tuxedo and driving to the opera. It is permissible fo
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Transactional Communication Essay Example for Free
Transactional Communication Essay Conversations            They are talking simultaneously, each seeming to carry on a conversation with themselves more so than with each other. She is talking fast, looking at the air, her hand gestures extravagant and facial expressions flamboyant. He is leaned back, sunken into the chair comfortably, talking lowly, nodding his head in agreement at regular intervals, his voice running alongside hers. She is excited. He looks amused.            They sit close to each other in the corner of the cafà ©. Sounds from conversations hum in the air around them, the clinking and bustling of a busy cafà © a background to this conversation. Despite the multidimensional settingâ€â€the music playing in the speakers above, the couple to their left discussing baby names, the loud ring of the nearby telephone and the even louder server who answered itâ€â€these two talk as if they were alone at home, as if none of the loudness existed. They are celebrating. Crumbled remains of a chocolate fudge cake occupy the table space they share, and two large mugs of coffee sit pushed to the side, ready to be taken away.            This is where a server makes it big or loses out completely on a tip. Time is a factor in everything, and as a server you have to be willing to divide your time evenly among your tables so that you don’t fall in the weeds later. If you see one of your tables finished with their plates and cups, it’s your job to pick it up, and fast. It’s an opportunity to offer them anything else, and one more chance to make an impression, to make them like you. They’ve finished eating, and more importantly, she’s just eaten chocolate cake.            So I bustle over and say, â€Å"Hey folks, can I get this out of your way?†Smiling, of course. You have to smile.            She looks up at me, blinking, cross, brow furrowed. He moves forward, sitting up aggressively, brow furrowing, â€Å"What, man?†           â€Å"Can I get this out of your way?†I ask, cautiously, not sure what just happened here. I even lean in a little, my hands crossed behind my back so I look more servant-ly, less threatening.            The mood cracks. She laughs. He smiles goofily in relief. He shakes his head. She puts her hand over her eyes. â€Å"We thought you said something else,†they both seem to say at the same time.            When they leave, I find my tipâ€â€a measly $3â€â€under the saltshaker. Apparently, noise is a factor, too. The external part of it, all those people’s voices charging the air around us, music swirling in between conversation, me asking to clear the plates; they thought I was hitting on her. Maybe I was smiling too much.            But he must have that internal part of it, the voices in his head that tell him she’s cheating on him with every guy that sees her. Why is that, I wonder? They were having such a nice conversation, and then I got there, and everything changed. What were they talking about? Being a server is about the closest thing you can be to a fly on the wall. They almost ignore you completely, until you buzz around them and ask if it’s okay to pick up their plates. Next time, I shouldn’t say anything, I should just pick it up.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
History Essays Winston Churchill War
History Essays Winston Churchill War Winston Churchill War These were the words of Winston Churchill when he entered the Buckingham Palace one day, â€Å"But whether it be peace or war we must strive to frame some system of human relations in the future which will put an end to this prolonged hideous uncertainty, which will let the working and creative forces of the world get on with their job, and which will no longer leave the whole life of mankind dependent upon the virtues, the caprice, or the wickedness of a single man.†At about this same time, thousands of people almost worshipped this man, n enigmatic personality and a charismatic leader, who rose to power because of his charisma and his leadership qualities. At this point of time, this great leader was concerned more with the essentials of balancing the harmony and the eternity of his beloved country, England, and he seemed to be quite completely weary and tired of politics. However, this did not mean that the events and happenings taking place all around him did not affect him at all; in fact, it was quite the contrary. He was frankly horrified and appalled at the Fascist rabble in Italy, at the Reichweir rumored to be creating secret aerodromes in Russia, and at the haranguing of Hitler in Germany. Churchill felt that all these incidents could not be considered to be independent; they were all the frank expressions of nations that were demonstrating a certain will power and self command. This was probably the primary reason why Winston Churchill decided that he would come out of retirement from his country house and stand as an independent candidate for the by-election of 1924. Although it is true that this leader lost in this election, as he had in the past two others, it did not deter him in the least, and on the other hand, he became aware that he was an individual who had managed to gather enough support from several factions during the elections. Mr. Baldwin, at this time, offered Winston Churchill a Conservative seat at Epping, and this meant that this leader could return to Epping as a full fledged Conservative leader. It would help to get an idea about the man, and his life, before one can assess his leadership qualities. Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born in the year 1874 in Oxfordshire, to prominent Tory politician Lord Randolph Churchill. The young boy grew up under his father’s tutelage, and when he was old enough, he saw action both at India and at Sudan. He was captured during the Boer War when he was working as a journalist, and he managed to escape from prison later. In 1900, Winston Churchill was appointed the Conservative Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire, but he was apparently disillusioned by his party’s activities, and he therefore joined the Liberal Party in 1904. When in 1905 the Liberal Party won the elections, Churchill was appointed as the Under Secretary, after which he entered the Cabinet as the president of the Board of Trade. In 1910, he was appointed the Home Secretary, after which he became the Lord of Admiralty, a post that he held during the First World War. However, after the disastrous Dardanelles campaign, for which Churchill became the scapegoat, he resigned and joined the Army. From the year 1917 onwards, Winston Churchill was appointed leader of several governmental posts, until the year 1940 when the Prime Minster of England Neville Chamberlain resigned, and Winston Churchill took his place. It must be remembered that Churchill had been opposing Nazi developments in Germany for a long while now, and he took this opportunity to oppose the Nazis officially, while at the same time refusing to surrender to Germany. This act in itself served as an inspiration for the people of England at the time, and this leader worked tirelessly through the war, and built up close ties with the President of the United States of America, Roosevelt, while at the same time trying his best to maintain cordial relations with the Soviet Union. In 1945 during the elections, Churchill lost power, but he remained the leader of the opposition. At the time, he warned his people of the Cold War and tried his best to encourage European and also trans-Atlantic unity. In 1951, the charismatic Winston Churchill became the Prime Minster again, but in 1955 he resigned his post, but he remained a working and accomplished and capable Member of Parliament until his death in the year 1965. Winston Churchill has been known for his early accomplishments in life, in much the same way as other leaders like Lenin, Stalin and Hitler, but there is an intrinsic difference between him and other leaders. While the others mentioned above tried to use their victories in order to create dictatorships in their country, Winston Churchill was an individual who was affected by war, and who grabbed any opportunity he could to make use of the war to lead his own country towards an inevitable victory. Perhaps, the fact that Churchill belonged to a military family helped him a great deal in his endeavors, and when he was sent to India and Sudan on various assignments, the young man, barely twenty four at the time, wrote to his mother back in England, â€Å"I never felt the slightest nervousness, I felt as cool as I do now†. What was even more surprising was that Winston Churchill had been posted both as a war correspondent as well as a serving soldier in India and in Sudan, and it was here that the young man revealed two other aspects of his character: he had a literary bent of mind, and he also had a keen interest in public affairs. As a matter of fact, although Churchill wrote all his life, politics and public affairs almost seemed to consume him; perhaps the fact that his father Randolph Churchill had been a public failure as a politician spurred the young man on, and perhaps to, this was the reason why he was determined to succeed where his own father had failed before him. It is important to note that Randolph Churchill had despised and detested his son, and he probably saw him as a show off and a good for nothing individual. In his own words, writing to his mother the Duchess of Marlborough, he criticized his son heavily, and said that his son lacked â€Å"cleverness, knowledge and any capacity for settled work. He has a great talent for show-off, exaggeration and make-believe†¦Ã¢â‚¬ However, although his father’s comments must have hurt the young Churchill, he sought to react by trying to venerate his father’s memory. This in itself shows his strength of character, wherein the young man, instead of falling prey to petty vindictiveness and nastiness and spite, sought to restore his father’s lost honor in the British parliament. In the year 1935 Winston Churchill knew enough of world affairs to warn the House of Commons of the importance of â€Å"self-preservation and also of the human and the world cause of the preservation of free governments and of Western civilization against the ever advancing sources of authority and despotism.†It must be stated that Winston Churchill was a natural born leader, who managed to accomplish a great many things during his lifetime. Take for example the time when he managed to escape imprisonment immediately after he was captured during the Boer War: he became an acknowledged and accepted national hero in his country after this fact, and at the time when Edward III was abdicated, Winston Churchill opted to show his deep support for the deposed leader, despite the government’s complete disapproval, and against popular advice. The great man chose to believe in what he felt must be done, and he bravely managed to carry this out, despite all odds. Another accomplishment was that Winston Churchill managed to lead his beloved country through the Second World War, and he also made sure that he made his opposition to Hitler and his atrocities publicly known. This was the reason why Churchill refused to make peace with Germany while Hitler was in power, and instead, he chose to consult with American President Roosevelt and with Soviet Stalin, to create and plan a victory over Germany in the immediate future. This great leader was not an individual who would bow to anyone; he would follow his instincts and act accordingly. Using his insight and intuition, he warned his country of the expansive tendencies being exhibited by the Soviet Union, and he even coined a specific term for this phenomenon: ‘Iron Curtain’. As mentioned earlier, Winston Churchill proved to be an excellent and charismatic leader when he led his country during the Second World War. Experts often state that almost the whole of Churchill’s career had been a sort of training and preparation for this event: that of leading his country during war. It would help to remember that Churchill was an intense patriot, and he loved his country more than anything else in the world. This individual was also a great believer in the greatness and immensity of his country, and he was constantly aware of the historic role that England had played in Europe, in the Empire, and also in the world in general. Churchill was an individual who thrived on challenges, and he would always rise to the occasion in any sort of crisis that his country was facing. Since he was extremely fond of politics, and the workings of his country based on the political happenings happening within his country, he became a veritable master of politics, and it had often been felt that Winston Churchill was nursing all his many faculties, and reining in his inexhaustible sense of energy for the time when he would be able to lead his country in the World war II. This was the time when the brilliant leader could showcase Britain’s values for the entire world, and he grabbed the opportunity to do just this. In was on September 3 1939 that Britain happened to finally declare war on Germany, and at the same time, the then Prime Minister of England, Chamberlain appointed Winston Churchill as the chief in charge of the Admiralty. On the fleet, there was much rejoicing and celebration: â€Å"Winston is back!†went the saying back and forth. The US President Franklin Roosevelt sent a congratulatory letter to Churchill over the appointment, and thus began a long term and memorable correspondence between the two world leaders. It is often stated that it was Winston Churchill’s leadership as the Prime Minister during the Second World War that served to help Britain, until then an isolated power, survive successfully the Battle of Britain, which ultimately led Britain to gain a tremendous victory over Nazi Germany. It is also stated that his form of generous leadership was desperately needed by his country at the time, and perhaps too, it was the man’s obstinacy and stubbornness to enter into any sort of negotiation with Germany, and the will power to adhere to his stand, no matter what, that brought victory to his country, Britain. (Del Testa; Lemoine; Strickland, 2001) In reality, Churchill’s achievements have been at times so much exaggerated that the leader has become a fictional character in several novels that deal with the World War and incidents related to the war across the world. In Winston Churchill’s own words, he led his beloved country Britain through her â€Å"walk with destiny†, and this, a destiny for which the leader had been preparing all his political life, as mentioned earlier. Churchill’s qualities of far-sightedness, his sturdiness, tenacity, stubbornness, his obstinacy in the face of much opposition, his great valor and courage and the will to win and conquer despite the odds were all the characteristics of a great world leader, and it was these qualities that helped the man garner enormous support both at home and also abroad. Furthermore, Winston Churchill was an accomplished speaker, a great politician, and he loved his country. He was also a journalist, and he knew what words would inspire and what would not. In later stages, the very sight of Churchill, with his trademark cigar perched at the corner of his mouth, his fingers raised in his characteristic ‘V’ sign for Victory would serve to inflame the masses, and at the time, the people would do anything for him, and follow him anywhere he would choose to lead them. He became known as ‘John Bull’, a British mythical character, and a symbol of victory for the common people of his country, and Churchill believed strongly that his very destiny lay in great service to his country. When he was chosen to be the Prime Minister of his country, Churchill said these immortal words, â€Å"I felt as if I were walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been in preparation for this hour and this trial†, and this was how this great individual and appointed leader of his country led Britain through one of the toughest wars of history. Take this fierce oratory, for example, an awe inspiring speech that inflamed the people of his country and kept them from losing heart delivered on June 4, 1940, at the time when it appeared as if all of Europe might fall soon: â€Å"†¦we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end we shall fight in the seas and oceans we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills, we shall never surrender†When his people listened to this speech, they felt inspired enough to think of never ever giving up, even though it appeared as if they may fail eventually. This was the courage and determination that Churchill displayed at every turn. In 1939, immediately after Winston Churchill was recalled to duty as the First Lord of the Admiralty, the first wave of German military power had already managed to overwhelm Poland, and immediately afterward, threatened to topple Northwestern Europe, and also to make France fall. In 1940, at the time when France had already fallen, Churchill was called to power and responsibility by a spontaneous revolt in his country carried out by the best elements in all the parties, and it was a well accepted and recognized fact that he alone, among all the other political leaders, had had no part to play in the disaster of the 1930’s, and that he was blameless. This meant that he had been chosen by the very will of the entire nation, and that he enjoyed his people’s support at every turn. It would be during the next five years, as the Prime Minister of England, and the leader who would lead and head his country in the ongoing World War that Winston Churchill’s career became almost one with that of his nation, and closely linked with its survival. It must be remembered that until the year 1941, Britain had fought all alone in the World War II. At this time, Churchill took it upon himself to inspire resistance at any cost, and to oppose Nazi Germany no matter what happened. H felt reasonably sure that Britain would be able to resist Nazi Germany eventually and that England would not fall prey to Germany any time in the near future. Churchill also started to organize the defense of his country, so that it would stand as a bastion when it would be returned to the continent of Europe. It was this charismatic and appealing leader that managed to bathe in a new life into the government, and into his beloved country and her people. In his own words, when addressing the House of Commons upon being appointed as the Prime Minister of England, he said, â€Å"I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat: You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory.†The ultimate aim was for Churchill an undisputed ‘Victory’ for his country and his people. How exactly did Winston Churchill lead his country during the Second World War? What were his actions? How did he inspire such great confidence in his abilities and performance as a leader of his country? The historian George Best describes how Winston Churchill went about protecting and defending his beloved country. As mentioned earlier, the reputation that the great leader had at this time was that of a gifted politician, who had already changed his party twice, and who could be quite an impulsive type of individual, who could at different times be susceptible to impractical enthusiasms and interests. He was also recognized as the person who felt confident enough to state boldly and in the open his real feelings about the then Prime Minister of England Neville Chamberlain, and his foreign policies. Six years later, after he had led his country successfully through the World War II, Winston Churchill became renowned throughout the world as a enigmatic person and a great statesman who was the champion of freedom and democracy and independence for his country, and who was victorious in his endeavors to guide and lead his country during the war. However, it must be noted that it was not until nine months after his appointment that there were some results. On the 10th of May 1940, the challenge that was facing the country looked very formidable indeed, but things looked even worse about six short weeks later. The British Army was almost captured at Dunkirk, but managed to escape. Although the escape was a victory in itself, it was, in military terms, a shocking setback to the ongoing campaign, and soon enough, Britain was facing an unforeseen threat, that of invasion, something that she had not faced since the year 1805! It was Churchill’s able leadership that managed to save his country from such humiliation, and it was Churchill who managed to persuade the cabinet and the parliament that Britain and its empire could survive, through his awe inspiring speeches at ever juncture. Churchill even went so far as to forbid and prohibit any type of defeatist talk within his hearing, and he also refused to be put on the defensive for any reason whatsoever. He remained firm and strong and capable, and his behavior proved to be extremely heartening to his people, who were almost on the verge of crumpling down in the face of opposition and the prospect of defeat and humiliation. This was how Winston Churchill managed to bring his people through the ‘Battle of Britain’, win the battle, and make sure that invasion was no longer imminent and looming down upon them, and teach Londoners how to survive what became known in later times as ‘the Blitz’. This victory carried him through the next battle, the Second World War, and he remained confident and positive through these difficult times, thereby leading his country through one of the biggest battles she had ever been involved in, in recent years. As mentioned earlier, Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt started to communicate with each other when Churchill was appointed as the Lord of the Admiralty by his Prime Minster. It must be mentioned here that it was this relationship of these two great leaders that managed to bridge the existing gaps between the two countries England and the United states of America, and which helped the leaders fight for their own causes, while also keeping in mind the others’, in a friendly manner. Take for example the letters that Churchill, being a journalist, wrote to Roosevelt, urging him to help the Allies in the ongoing war in Europe. It was in essence these letters that helped bridge the gap between the two countries, and which heralded the beginning of a diplomatic relationship that would help in the struggle to defeat Hitler and the Axis powers. Acting upon Churchill’s advice, Roosevelt proposed aid to Europe in the ‘Lend-Lease Act’, according to which the United States of America would supply financial and military aid to Great Britain and the Soviet Union. In return America would have a ninety nine-year lease in places that could be considered to be in threat at any time in the future. In the year 1941, the Congress approved of the Act, and this in essence could be said to have changed the very course of history, because Roosevelt’s generosity and Churchill’s grim determination to bring in a defeat to Hitler and his atrocities combined together into a potent combination, which brought an end to Hitler’s tyranny. In the words of Sir Isaiah Berlin, â€Å"Churchill’s political imagination has something of the same magical power to transform, it is a magic that belongs equally to demagogues and great democratic leaders: Franklin Roosevelt, who as much as any man altered his country’s inner image of itself, and of its character and its history, possessed it in a high degree†¦ Churchill stands at almost the opposite pole. He too does not fear the future, and no man has ever loved life more vehemently and infused so much of it into everyone and everything that he has touched. But whereas Roosevelt, like all great innovators, had a half-conscious premonitory awareness of the coming shape of a society, not wholly unlike that of an artist, Churchill, for all his extrovert air, looks within, and his strongest sense is the sense of the past.†These sentences give one a peek into the relationship that was shared by two great leaders, Churchill and Roosevelt, both of whom fought for a common cause, the welfare of their country and of her people. There are some researchers and reviewers and political analysts, however, who do feel that the relationship has been given too much importance and hype, and the truth may be quite exaggerated, and that the relationship was that of uneasy friendliness. Some others have felt that by forging such a relationship with an America President, Winston Churchill had in fact led his country into developing an unwanted alliance with America. The two leaders had different agendas, but they were united in one aspect, Hitler would have to go, and both the countries would try their very best to drive him out of power, and it was apparently Churchill’s strong hope that he would be able to utilize Roosevelt and his power to shore up the sagging British Empire. Winston Churchill, after having headed his country through turbulent and uneasy times of the Second World War, remained as the Prime Minister, and when he turned eighty in the year 1954, Anthony Eden, several members of parliament, and even his own wife urged him to give up the post, as he appeared to have aged rather rapidly over the past few years. In the year 1955, Winston Churchill resigned as the Prime Minister of England, and he held on to his post as a Member of Parliament. Writing had always been his strong point, and through his life, Churchill had penned several books and written for several journals and magazines, and had even own a Nobel Prize for his work. This served him in good stead at this time, and the great leader managed to complete his four volume work, ‘The History of the English Speaking Peoples.’ Some of the time he would spend visiting his old friends and the rest, on taking long cruises on yachts that belonged to his multi-billionaire friend Aristotle Onassis. His wife, however, did not seem to approve of this extravagant lifestyle, and this brought about a separation between the two. Soon afterwards, Winston Churchill started to suffer from symptoms of depression that he had been prone to earlier too, and he felt that his entire life had been a sheer waste. Although it was Winston Churchill who headed the country towards a victory in the war, the British Empire had in fact almost disappeared at this time, and almost half of Europe had come under the Communist regime. Churchill also feared that Socialism was threatening the England that he had loved with all his might, all his life. However, this able and wonderful leader had reached the fag end of his life, and he was tired and almost ready to give up his life. At the time, he engaged in bitter quarrels with all his children, Randolph, Mary, Diana and Sarah. He seemed to be waiting for death, and he would often remark to his daughter who would sit with him, â€Å"My life is ended, but it is not yet over†. (Hamilton, 2006) He still remained, however, a popular figure, especially within the United States of America, until in 1963, the Congress happened to vote to make him one of the first ‘honorary citizens’ of America, and life continued in the same vein. On his ninetieth birthday, Churchill was surrounded by his family: his wife, children and grandchildren. Well wishers had gathered outside his window, and a frail and weak Churchill struggled to get to the window to make his famous ‘V’ for Victory sign. Cheered by the crowds, Churchill was very happy indeed. That same evening, he suffered a stroke, and went into a coma. Two weeks later, Winston Churchill, the great leader, able administrator and excellent orator and politician, who had overcome many a handicap so that he could serve his country and his people better, breathed his last on January 24, 1965, which coincidentally, also happened to be the seventieth anniversary of his father’s death. He will always be remembered as the man, who led his country in the Second World War, and who ousted Hitler, thereby saving democracy for his country, and for the world. (Hamilton, 2006)
Friday, October 25, 2019
Becoming A Better Writer :: Teaching Education Essays
Becoming A Better Writer Why did the chicken cross the road? We all know the answer of course. Yet we continue to ask this question in order to solicit the obvious response, "...to get to the other side." Why do we ask questions or pose problems that have only one solution? We've all heard the excuses: "That's the way I learned how to do it." "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" "I'm only doing what I was told." "I don't know another way." Chances are, if you're perusing the contents of this paper, you have probably used, at one time or another, one or all of the above rationalizations. Don't get me wrong. I'd be the first one to admit that rationalizations are an important part of life. Some, but not many, would argue that rationalizations are more important than sex. I mean, have you ever gone a week without a rationalization? It is your ability to rationalize that allows you to continue to construct themes of generic babble. You know that the mindless banter that it is typical of such endeavors will get you a fair, if not exceptional, mark from the professor whose class for which you wrote it. There is certainly no shame in turning in such regurgitation. After all, you were just, "...doing what you were told," right? You're not alone. This single rationalization allows half of the free world to sleep at night. The other half has a prescription. "I want to change," you cry halfway through what had been a restful night. You've decided to kick the theme-writing habit. "How do I do it?" you ask the faithful rocking chair that you sat in as a child. Incidentally, if the chair answers, you're problems will be addressed in another paper. However, getting back to the task at hand, you can probably deduce that this theme writing vice will be hard to conquer. You get by for a quarter, or semester, without needing one and then BAM! You need a fix. "Briefly outline the Kennedy administration," appears as an essay question on a 20th Century American History exam, for which you haven't thoroughly prepared yourself. You casually glance around the room. No one's looking. "Just one little theme," you say to yourself. But the pointless dribble doesn't stop with this essay. The next week you'll do it again. Soon your up to a theme a day. "Why is it so hard?
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Airline Ticket Prices Essay
An airline’s ticket price is determined by several factors to include time of day a consumer wishes to travel, day of the week such as Tuesday’s and Thursday’s are usually the most affordable days to travel, popular versus non-popular destinations, first class costs more than general class, cost of fuel, competition from other airlines, special factors such as discounts for military, government or corporate personnel, (How Stuff Works, n.d.) Airlines are constantly analyzing how much consumers are willing to pay and pushing consumers to pay more. Airlines have used numerous models and computer programs to manage revenue throughout time. These models and computer programs have become increasingly complex and expensive, over a million dollars. However, these older models and computer programs have been phased out due to the low-fare program that many airlines switched to for a while. â€Å"Low-fare carriers do have models to manage revenue, but they’re very simple: Prices tend to step up steadily as a flight date nears, and travelers who want flexibility  a refundable ticket, perhaps  pay more.†(NBC News, 2008) The problem with this marketing of tickets is that â€Å"locking buckets of seats into specific fares  left airlines with empty seats, losing money.†(NBC News, 2008) More airlines are using bidding wars to sale their tickets, increasing the price of the ticket over time. The highest bidder wins the ticket proving that people will pay for what they want. â€Å"The new system accommodates the proliferation of new ways to buy plane tickets, including discounters and online markets such as Priceline and Hotwire, which sell â€Å"distressed inventory†that airlines would otherwise write off.†(NBC News, 2008) Now to compare why an airline ticket costs the same from Casper, Wyoming to Denver, Colorado, and from Denver, Colorado to Orlando, Florida. Logically this makes no sense considering the difference in distance from one location to the other, consumers would assume the ticket from Casper to Denver would be cheaper than the ticket from Denver to Orlando. In the example given Casper, Wyoming to Denver is 280 miles with a four-hour driving time approximating about an hour-long flight compared to driving 1845 miles with a 27 hour drive from Denver, Colorado to Orlando, Florida with flight time of no more than five-hours nonstop. Airline ticket prices generally are not set soley by distance for the most part, there are several factors such as consumer base such as cities that are more popular for business or pleasure trips, operating costs, and competition from other airlines, which leads to supply and demand. â€Å"When one increases the other decreases. As supply grows, demand diminishes. As does the price for that product. As demand grows, supply diminishes. And price goes up. It’s a function of our market.†(Consumerism, 2011) The price is the same due to supply and demand, which is usually set by which type of airlines frequent certain areas, â€Å"big airlines that fly to both Los Angeles and London from New York face low-fare airline competition on the domestic route, but not the international route, and so they charge far more.†(McCartney, WSJ, 2010) The cost curves affects airline ticket by pushing airline tickets to the lowest possible price where an airline will still be able to make a profit yet permitting consumers to pay the lowest price possible. â€Å"At the bottom of the curve the business in question achieves productive efficiency, this is where a unit of production is being made for the lowest possible cost.†(Rodda, 2012) Airlines have to take operating cost and amenities into consideration when setting ticket prices. Airlines must be able to make a profit when setting ticket prices. â€Å"By comparing the demand curve with the average total cost curves for each airplane type, the airline can determine which size airplane will maximize profits for a given flight.†(Kons, n.d.) In summary, as with any product, from airline tickets to gasoline prices â€Å"consumers have continued to pay the increased fares, so the airlines have become bolder in driving the prices up even further.†(Smith, CNNMoney, 2011) Consumers, their desire, need and want for an item or service will always affect supply, demand, and cost curve. Most organizations have the same goal, which is to make a profit while keeping their costumers happy. References: Consumerism (2011, March 4). Supply and Demand Goes Both Ways – Beating Broke | Beating Broke. Retrieved May 14, 2013, from http://www.beatingbroke.com/supply-and-demand-goes-both-ways/ How Stuff Works (n.d.). HowStuffWorks â€Å"How Airlines Work†. Retrieved May 14, 2013, from http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/airline4.htm Kons, A. (n.d.). Understanding the Chaos of Airline Pricing. The Park Place Economist, 8, 15-29. Retrieved from http://www.iwu.edu/economics/PPE08/alex.pdf McCartney, S. (2010). Decoding Airline Ticket Costs. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://www.etopaz.com/news/3/57/Decoding-Airline-Ticket-Costs-WJS-com NBC News (2008, May 8). Inside the mysteries of airline fares – Business – US business – Aviation | NBC News. Retrieved May 14, 2013, from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3073548/ns/business-us_business/t/inside-mysteries-airline-fares/#.UZLPd5UylUQ Smith, A. (2011, March 4). Rising airfares could overtake their 2008 peak – Mar. 3, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2013, from http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/03/pf/saving/rising_airfare/index.htm
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Germany and Sweden as Cmes
To what extent would you regard Germany and Sweden as coordinated market economies? 1. Introduction In an era where internationalism is contemporary, it has become crucial for countries to liberalize markets and renovate traditional structures. This is particularly important for countries whose social values and economic relationships are based on public coordination. This essay is going to explore the degree to which we consider Germany and Sweden as modern coordinated market economies, and the changes brought about in recent decades.To assess the changes we shall look at trends in trade union and employers’ association participations, collective bargaining reforms, training systems amendments, renewals in corporate governance and fluctuations of wage inequality; first by uncovering the basics in each element and then evaluating their stability in relation to globalization. 1. 1 What is a coordinated market economy (CME)?Being one of the wings of capitalism in which industria l relations and economic conditions are measured, as Bamber, Lansbury and Wailes (2011) state, CMEs can be used as â€Å"an approach for comparing†¦different countries, [with this comparison, it allows us] the understanding of convergence and/or divergence†between different economies. And in each of the key elements we mentioned, companies in CMEs resolve problems through relational, non-market based strategies and the outcome will be strongly dependent upon co-operation with supporting institutions. . 1 Past dominance of trade unions and employers’ associations A key feature of a CME is the dominance of employers’ association and trade unions within the country’s industrial relations; both Germany and Sweden have had a high degree of centralization during the 1980s. Trade unions were a powerful, acting as representative for labour in large corporations and also intermediaries of employment between labour and employers.A common characteristic is tha t the labour unions in the two countries manage institutions for all labour participation; Hancke (1996) states that in Germany, three quarters â€Å"of the members of works councils are union members and they coordinate actions with the labour union sections (Vertrauensleute). In Sweden, local â€Å"shopfloor clubs†(Verkstadsklubben) not only negotiate company agreements with the firm†¦[but also] recruit every newly arrived worker†.On the other hand, employers’ associations were also well-managed in both countries for a long post-war period; German industry federations are able to authorize private firms that are even no longer part of central arrangements on cases involved in collective bargaining, employee training and other social policies. In Sweden, Kurzer (1993) finds, â€Å"large companies in the export sector are part of financial conglomerates holding, which allows for high coordination capacities amongst large firms†. 2. 2 Recent trends i n membershipsHowever, both countries have become less concentrated in the recent decades as both have experienced less union and association densities for the massive individualization of enterprises and the falling popularity of collective agreements – now with the society seeing less value of group negotiations, which makes the industrial relations less compact compared to before. In Germany, both employers’ associations and trade unions have been experiencing a slump in the number of members since late 1990s.This is particularly evident in industries from Eastern Germany, where many organisations have resigned or become reluctant to join associations and took preference in company level negotiations. Shroeder and Silvia (2007) use the Metals Industry Employers’ Association to exemplify that employment density in Eastern Germany has fallen more severely than Western Germany. We can notice from the diagram below that since 1992, the percentage of Eastern associ ation density has decreased dramatically from over 65%, down to less than 25% in a decade.After the German unification, union members have clearly declined, Eurofound (2009) shows that â€Å"from 1991 to 1998, German Trade Unions lost almost 3. 5 million members†. The majority of these resignations were found to be eastern German labour, Eurofound states, â€Å"leaving the unions because of unemployment and disillusion with the western-type unionism†. Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2013) further shows the downward sloping of German Trade Unionists density since 1999; from 25. 3% it has dismounted to 18. 8% in 2009.The main cause for this trend is due to the loss of traditional dominant union memberships in manufacturing industries and public sectors, worsened by issues in persuading younger generation in the expanding service industries within private sector. Hence, the value of collective agreements has been called into que stion as it is becoming extremely difficult to positively coordinate the relations between employers’ associations and trade unions. This is predominant in â€Å"a growing number of private services industries†, Eurofound informs, where â€Å"concluding collective agreements at all has shown to be increasingly difficult or not realizable†.Unlike Germany, Sweden on the other hand has dealt with much higher historical density in trade union members which suffered recent decline but continuously concentrated employers’ associations; the decrease in trade unionists is spread evenly between white-collar and blue-collar workers, men and women, and more problematic amongst the younger working generation who have less regard for unions – a drop in the private sector from 78% in 1993 to 65% in 2009 as shown in the table above; â€Å"the decrease in membership is mainly due to the government’s amendments of the fees to the unemployment benefits in Ja nuary 2007†, presented by Kjellberg (2007); the main objective to significantly amending the funds was to â€Å"to persuade unions with high fund fees to be more moderate in wage negotiations†. As for employers’ associations, unlike trade unions, its density has been rather stable over the years, with only 2% drop from 1995, private sector labour in 2009 has still got over 75% density in employers’ associations.Therefore, when compared to Germany, Sweden has a higher degree of coordination in balancing the density of the two sides of its industrial relations over the years, and has remained rather stable; if not long-term then this rather forecasts the near future of these two economies – the summary being Germany becoming more market-oriented with less collective participation of its social partners, whereas the Swedish economy is more likely to maintain a coordinated market in this sense. 2. 3 Decentralization of collective bargaining In this sect ion we will discover that the industrial relations within both countries are becoming more decentralized in the second half of 21st century as the level of collective bargaining decreases, and therefore moving further away from a coordinated market system;The initiation of Germany’s decentralization has actually long been observed by researchers since early post-war periods. Many have argued that the main outcome of this renewal was to avoid the rise of another â€Å"centralized super-state†, says Johnson (1973). In hope this will bring separated powers of legislation, politics and administration between the government, the federated states and the local authorities, to produce the ideal, ‘good government’. Following such perception, the German economy has been made key amendments in its industrial relations policies – extending its collective bargaining with opening clauses into agreements within sectoral level, making terms more flexible and less controversial.This has been seen as an improvement to prevent organisations from completely abandoning the usage of collective conditions. Such clauses were put into four categories listed by Schnabel (1998): 1) Hardship Clauses; enabling companies to be exempted from certain industry-level bargaining when facing bankruptcy and show signs of making viable strategies for future. 2) Clauses with Veto Rights; these give social partners such as managers and works council to negotiate particular agreements related to individual firms. 3) Clauses without Veto Rights; unlike the previous category, these clauses empower plant-level social partners to terminate collective terms that show signs of irrelevance with industry-level agreements. ) Small Enterprise Clauses; giving special treatment to small companies facing economic downturn by allowing them to set wages below the minimum level which was collectively agreed upon. In terms of the distribution of such opening clauses, the IAB Institu te for Employment Research (2005) shows that more than â€Å"13% of the companies surveyed in both eastern and western Germany that are covered by collective bargaining confirmed that opening clauses exist in their collective agreements. Of these establishments, 52% made use of opening clauses in 2005†. However, even with such adjustments in the system, the use of opening clauses will rely heavily on the economic situation of the specific organisation. When the figures are favorable, then such clauses will be implemented less often.Compared to its neighbouring countries, Sweden has showed early signs of decentralization beginning late 1980s with government sharing more responsibilities with local administration; the most symbolic being the release of ‘free communes’, as mentioned by De Vries (2000), a system â€Å"in which a limited number of communes and counties were allowed to apply for dispensation of state laws, rules and regulations†. Together wit h the downsized central government, closer attention was then paid to market forces and began the establishment of â€Å"hollow states†. One of the nationwide movements was the erosion of collective bargaining within the past two decades, as social partners have become more willing to pass on the negotiation on wages and working hours to local level. For instance, certain terms on wages are left intentionally ambiguous to let the local level authority take charge and decide on the specific figures on final rates and figures.However, there still remains a high degree of controversy as employers harshly pursue a improvements in the bargaining system while attempting to take payment agreements to local levels – making to extremes in manual industries such as negotiating wages individually; the state is facing difficulties to respond to these demands, because from the perspective of economists, it is most ideal to be either highly centralized or as it was before, greatly d ecentralized, not somewhere in between. When making decisions, as debated by Eurofound (2009), parties at national level will consider the economy as a whole and correspond with a collective responsibility, whereas with enterprise leveled agreements, only individual firms’ stakes are considered – but when placed in the middle, parties often lose the acuteness in authority.The national coverage of collective terms remains a high figure in recent period; reported by Eurofound (2009), as much as 92% in 2001 and 91% in 2007 – however, such coverage figures is extremely misleading in this case with the decreasing rate of unionists and employers associations in Swenden – that is, although remaining high above EU average and constantly used as an indicator to measure the strength of bargaining powers and the extent of benefits received by social partners, less of them are actually being bounded by collective agreements in recent years, making the coverage less e ffective. 2. 4 Transforming education and training One of the most noticeable features of a CME is its highly proficient education and training system; the purpose is to have an extremely skilled labour force with skills specific to the industry or enterprise in which they are employed in. Culpepper (2001) states that in order for companies to coordinate employee capabilities and for workers to receive beneficial employment, there are various ways how a CME manages its training systems;In Germany, the responsibility of training and education is shared amongst firms and public authorities, â€Å"organized on a co-operative, tripartite basis†, referred by Hoffmann (2004); the German â€Å"Dual-system†, is acknowledged as world’s leading model for high-quality training, business practices and theoretical learning. The foundation of the dual-system is built by altering training in vocational schools and private firms, â€Å"while in-firm training is regulated natio nally, the vocational school instruction programs are the responsibility of the Lander (states)†, Trembaly and Le Bot (2003) mention. However, the durability of this system has been at the centre of debate ever since the elimination of the nation’s Training and Apprenticeship Law back in 1969.The model faces numerous challenges in meeting demand from rapid changes brought about by modern production systems; it is essential to keep a large working population to sustain its framework, but becoming problematic as currently Germany is having an ageing population, thus harder to recruit as many apprentices as forty years ago. As the occupational structure is dependent on collective agreement, when lacking skillful labour, Masden (1990) worries that if in such â€Å" difficult labour market situation, some firms [do not comply to regulations by] increasing wages to attract apprentices or, alternatively, poaching apprentices trained in other firms, then the whole system may p rogressively be brought into question†.The focus of this system also faces a huge dilemma between the increasing demand for theoretical learning amongst younger workers and the higher standard of skills wanted within productive systems, Gehin and Mehaut (1994) discuss it is potentially challenging the logics of the whole system while creating stocks of unskilled workers out of the job market. Additionally, issue is raised for the outpaced training speed against technical changes in the modern production system, especially for key requirements in multi-tasked occupations and practical de-compartmentalization. Kern and Schumann (1989) suggest that this trend of demand for â€Å"theoretical, general and vocational training are increasing and will continue to do so†. Therefore, if the dual-system were to be sustained, serious adjustments would have to be made to comply with modern requirements.Since the 1940s, new forms of vocational training have taken shape in Swedish org anizations, where the majority was still conducted by public institutes. This has started to shift, however, in the final quarter of the century, where responsibility began to move to local authorities from the central government. Following this trend of decentralization, the manufacturing industry in particular, has taken chance to put large investments into different training programmes to enhance productivity. But serious questions has been raised as trainees in the manufacturing sector face challenges â€Å"with the increased amount of theoretical education†¦as firms’ demand for workers with better theoretical knowledge†began to soar at the same time, Lundahl and Sander (1998) mention.With this given circumstance in Sweden, four models of education and training are used to demonstrate the degree to which coordination is deteriorating and decentralization has taken place; firstly, we have to acknowledge that the demand for labour competence has changed vastly with the increasing demand of formal education amongst new workforce and the general rise of demand for new products and practices in organisations. Within the industrial programme, the most controversial of all models, as Lundalh and Sander (1998) describe, a system in which inhibits a distinctive characteristic of â€Å"education in workshops†(arbetsforlagd utbildning); although very intensive and effective, it requires a large amount of time in workshops and includes theory as well as practical exercises. Many firms are reluctant to take initiatives as they argue that not enough human capital or time can be allocated to give proper training to each group of trainees.Continuously debated by researchers, such as Olofsson (1997), is the relevant application of the apprenticeship system onto modern organisations as its value has been rethought alongside secondary education, now deserted in most large cities, remaining exclusive to areas such as Svedala. The third model, Firmà ¢â‚¬â„¢s Schooling, is a highly demanding system that require 50% more time input and only submits students with outstanding performance, applied only in large enterprises such as Volvo or Scania where intensive training is seen as obligatory to match international competition. Lastly, Technical Programmes is widely accepted by municipalities with provisions of extra vocational studies, and also organizations can be more involved in supervision. It is a co-operation between groups of firms in terms of common facilities and cost-sharing, and has become more popular after producing impressive recruitment effects.According to Trembaly and Le Bot (2003), several amendments were proposed to reform the German system following the listed principles; â€Å"1) modernization of regulation, 2) inclusion of new occupational fields, 3) mutual recognition of the various parts of the system and 4) differentiation of training†. Hence, in order to adapt to evolving market demands, the German training system still is, and needs to be coordinated by public authority to a great extent to aid the private sector in improving employability, incorporating occupations and general training. As for Sweden, the transition of training responsibility onto individual organizations from local authority is due to its failure to provide emerging labour with desired competence.At the present, different methods are implemented by firms that deliver contrasting quality levels in training programmes; this is hugely differentiated from traditional forms of Swedish vocational training. The four models all demonstrate a degree of success but act more as a forecast of future vocational practices in Sweden – the extinction of conventional industrial programmes, further proving the liberation of Swedish economy from central coordination. 2. 5 New models for Corporate Governance In terms of corporate governance, a CME is established through the solid relationships between its financial inst itutions and private organizations. In this section we shall look specifically at the role of public financial institutions and other external stakeholders on the corporate operations of organizationsIn Germany, there was definitely a strong coordination of economic exchanges between industrial companies and institutions by means of cross-shareholding, supported by many scholars and again proves Hall’s relational view of CMEs; such â€Å"close relationships and interlocking between board members of different companies†and financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies, Hopt and Prigge (1998) also support, which composite the country’s main characteristics of corporate governance, together with heavy reliance on personal connections. It is essential to discover the features of the German model before discussing the reforms in recent years; there is a universal banking system that permits banks to possess equity shares in industrial organisations â €“ allowing banks to alter company’s decisions. Porter (1992) refers this as the â€Å"shareholder direction†situation since more the equity share, the larger the influence. This relationship between banks and firms is long-term and fairly stable because as well as equity, the banks also provide a large share of debt and carries operational management in the firms’ finance, this strongly protects companies from being taken over.To get further involved with company decisions banks are able to release proxy votes, as clarified by Onetti and Pisoni (2009), â€Å"this is done in relation to votes related to direct equity shares, [for instance by exercising] the voting rights for the shares that retail customers deposit with them†. Consequently, this gives more authority to banks in public firms. Since the German model is heavily influenced by banks, the stock market has therefore a small role to bear in corporate governance, proved by the IMF World Econo mic Outlook (2007) the fact that during 1990 to 2005, the capitalization as a percentage of GDP in Germany was only 38%, compared to 132% in UK, a much more liberal market economy.Since the shareholding in Germany is usually long-term with companies, there is a reciprocal of equity connections between firms themselves and firms and banks, creating a system of cross-sharing. Despite its robust features mentioned, the Germany corporate governance system is bending due to socio-economic changes brought about internally and externally; the globalization of Germany markets, enabling the listing of top companies on international stock exchanges, such as Daimler being traded on the New York Stock Exchange. There is a substantial increase in the amount of foreign investment in domestic industries, referred to by Jurgens et al. (2000) as the â€Å"turning point in the transformation of the German system of corporate governance.Due to recent economic recessions that caused a wave of bankrupt cies in German markets, banks have started to reduce the amount of their corporate equity in shareholding as more value is discovered in freer financial markets, stated by Jurgens and Rupp (2002), and began to focus more on economic performance; this in turn gave more freedom to the financial market legalizing numerous new financial choices for companies. On the other side, Swedish corporate governance consists of a great division of ownership from control by means of â€Å"pyramids, dual class shares, and cross-holding [that] increases the potential for private benefits of control†, cited by Holmen and Knopf (2004).The basic structures are formed by two types of partnerships; first, it is between entrepreneurs and rich families, then there is the alliance between engineers and technology innovators. Sometimes Sweden is described as an extreme version of â€Å"Rhineland model†, as Habbard (2008) stresses, it contains corporations that are owned by big industrial groups , â€Å"privileging organic growth†and features of a typical CME. Taking a closer look at the Swedish model of ownership we notice that the power is usually held by one to two owners, who are most of the time wealthy families. Henrekson and Jakobsson (2003) conclude that â€Å"regarding controlling ownership, the Swedish ownership model thus resembles the predominant corporate governance model on the European continent†.The rigidity and concentration of this structure has been based on a few important Swedish families and banks, Habbarb (2008) continues; Wallenberg, Lundberg, Stenbeck, Klingspor, Von Horn families and Svenska Handelsbanken SHB, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken SEB banks. There are two main fundamental differences when Sweden is compared to other European corporate models; the whole ownership of shares on the stock exchange is controlled by just a few holders. Secondly, the capital base that this ownership is constructed on, is usually much smaller compar ed to other EU countries. Nevertheless, even the most stable models have their weaknesses. During the last two decades, there had been some drastic transformations in the corporate models within Swedish organizations.The most challenging is the rise of foreign investment and ownership in domestic firms. This has been more dramatic than any other industrialized countries in Europe, shifting the power of control and operation from foreign owners. Hence, as Henrekson and Jakobsson (2003) propose, new models are likely to form under the inadequacy of the traditional one; first and the least likely it is the complete ownership by foreign investors – where domestic firms transform into subsidiaries to companies such as multinationals. â€Å"Dispersed ownership†, as in shared ownership between foreign investors and Swedish owners where no one supersede the other in terms of control.Having an external institution such as the state pension or corporatist as owners; more probabl e as currently joined with the central government they are already biggest shareholders of stock exchange. Lastly and most likely to surface is the ownership by entrepreneurs supported by public authorities; especially during crisis where governments put more faith in worthy investors to The observed changes in the financial exchanges within German economy forecasts a certain extent of convergence towards a market-oriented financial model. However, due to the deep roots of German customs in its bank-firm relation, certain aspects of its corporate governance will remain nchanged in the near future due to the emphasis placed on â€Å"Mitbestimmung, or co-decision and co-responsibility†culture quoted by Hacketal et al. (2003) and other scholars in defense of the German persistency in relational structure. On the other side, the predictions for corporate governance amendments are various in shape and none will be take over completely in the future. Some conceive of more coordina tion from the government and other less so. But it is for certain that the old model will lose its dominance over time and the Swedish overall corporate structure will become more market-oriented for economic wellbeing. 2. 6 Wage distribution and inequalityA CME should not only have a highly skilled workforce but when compared to liberal market economies, it should also high wage levels with low dispersion across different deciles of its population. It is essential to look at our two countries starting from the 1990s to have a deeper insight of the impact of the great recession upon its income distributions over the following years, and to verify whether the advancement in modern socio-economic models have weakened their coordination powers. From the study conducted by Bach, Corneo and Steiner (2007), there proved to be a general rise in the dispersion of German market incomes between 1992 and 2003.Using the Gini coefficient, as a â€Å"standard summary indicator†to measure the equality of income levels we can observe that dispersion of market income from the average earners has increased substantially since the 1990s; from 0. 6155 it has gone up to 0. 6522 in 2003. As detailed by the following table, the median income has dropped by more than 30%, being â‚ ¬12. 496 per individual in 1992, compared to â‚ ¬8,173 in 2003. An obvious trend is the accumulation of market income on the top percentile of income earners. Back in 2003, around 41% of total market income was composited within the higher percentile earners. Bach, Corneo and Steiner further point out that â€Å"this group was formed by about 640 individuals, with an average income of 16 million euro, excluding capital gains†.The sources of rising inequality in German income levels are as follow; the unemployed numbers have steeply gone up in the past two decades, Biewen and Juhasz (2010) note that in 2005, there were an estimated peak of five million people registered out of work, with â€Å"more unemployment growth concentrated in the lower part of the income distribution†. This creates a larger income inequality as a huge segment of the low-income population is unemployed, losing their potential income. The different changes in taxation schemes; although it was reduced overall, it has favored top income earners than the rest, distorting the original distribution of income levels.Moreover, the transition in domestic structure such as more single parents and smaller family sizes that have drastically differed from past family average income patterns, as studies by Peichl et al. (2010). Lastly, with the ageing population; Germany now has a much narrower age segment of young adults, and a greater demand for qualification in addition to other factors in demographics that contribute to the wider dispersion of income levels. Although at a very low level, Sweden has also experienced an increasing inequality of income distribution in its income market. The trend has began since the early 1990s, caused if not worsened by the economic crisis, noted by Palme et al. 2003), as the Gross Domestic Product had been consecutively negative for three years 1990-1993, together with the declining employment rate that is more than 10 percent during the period. Then there was an increased number of workers involved in labour market policies, Palme (2006) mentions that†triggered a crisis for the public finances which was then responded by a combination of tax increases and benefits cut†. This had further burdened households’ income levels. We can see from the table that there was a decrease in annual average disposable income from 1992 (1991 as the base year) with â‚ ¬138,000 to â‚ ¬126,000 in 1995, that only managed to pick up again in 1997.However, the figures provided by Fritzell (2001) showed an upward trend of average disposable income levels after the crisis; first, it was due to the rapid rise in capital gains hat helped th e top income percentile with higher earnings, secondly, the wage per hour was increased in all registered occupations. , this was however, slowed down by the growing unemployment in the same period. To measure the inequality of income dispersion, we will again use the Gini coefficient and the poverty rate. The inequality has risen since the beginning of 1990s, Palme (2006) proves, from 0. 219 it has increased to its peak – 0. 279 in 2000. The reason is the adjustments in the taxation systems that strongly affected households in making serious financial decisions. Despite the economic slump during the 1990s, poverty rate in Sweden has not changed largely which is phenomenal considering the extent of the recession all European countries faced.It is not until 1999 where poverty started to pick up but is again astonishing as Swedish employment figures were still healthy even when compared internationally. Conclusively, German central coordination is losing its battle to market po wers, becoming less effective in moderating wage equality in recent decade, as the intention of keeping a low dispersion of income levels has began to give way modern socio-economic developments. Sweden, however, when compared to the rest of European countries, is doubtless a strongly CME in terms of moderating its equality of market income levels and keeping its poverty rate to the lowest and most stable within the union. 3. ConclusionChanging demographics, socio-economic and technological patterns have created mass distortion in traditional market structures in both Germany and Sweden. After looking at them in five different aspects, we learn that there is decreasing participation of social partners in collective terms in both countries but much less in Sweden, thus a decreasing value for collective bargaining; wage inequality is more dispersed in Germany than in Sweden; while corporate structure in both countries have become more market-oriented in time but still retains usage of old models; and German still contains a mixture of public training whereas Sweden is moving quicker towards privatized programmes.Conclusively, although both countries have become less coordinated than few decades ago, Germany has got a greater degree of decentralization compared to Sweden, taking higher level of reforms in its economic structures while Sweden tends to cling more onto traditional coordination values. 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Tuesday, October 22, 2019
ElectroMagnetic Radiation essays
ElectroMagnetic Radiation essays Electromagnetic radiation is defined as the emission and transmission of energy in the form of electromagnetic waves (Chang, pp. 246). An electromagnetic wave consists of two waves at perpendicular planes, on representing the electrical field while the other represents the magnetic field. This spectrum is split up into about 81 octaves, much like the octaves of sound, which scientists have categorized in order to depict the usefulness of the different properties. Theoretically electromagnetic waves can be as long as the expansive width of the universe in one wave, to a wavelength the size of a quanta (the smallest amount of energy that can be transmitted). That, however, is at this point in time negligible because we either cannot detect wavelengths so extremely large or infinitesimally small. So generally the spectrum is regarded to be set between 30,000,000 km and .0001 angstroms (1 km is equal to 1 X 10^13 angstroms). The longest and least energetic of the accepted wavelengths are radio waves. Their wavelengths range from 300,000 km to 30 cm and a frequency of 30 kHz to 3,000,000 kHz. The waves are used in the transmission of radio and television signals. AM and FM radio signals fall in the long-wave radio range, while TV signals use the short-wave radio range, somewhere in the 3 m wavelength. Radio waves take up about 30 of the 81 octaves. The next slightly more energetic and shorter wavelength is microwaves. Obviously, most are familiar with microwaves since they are always being used to cook food, but microwaves are also used in radiotelescopes and radar, even the radiation from a neutral hydrogen atom falls in this range. Microwave range extends from wavelengths of 30 cm to .3 cm and frequencies of 1-100 billion cycles per second. This corresponds to 6 1/2 octaves. Then comes the infrared range. While much of the radio spectrum passes easily through our atmosphere, in ...
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Dial M For Murder essays
Dial M For Murder essays In the movie Dial M for Murder, the director, Alfred Hitchcock explores the planning of the perfect crime from the inside. Right from the beginning the viewer knows who the murderer is and what the motive was. However, the movie still keeps you in suspense. The real mystery of the movie is discovering if the plan actually works and then dreading that it actually might. The movie takes place in one location the apartment of a married couple. Tony Wendice, a sports equipment salesman wants to murder his wife, Margot. He found out that not only did she cheat on him with an American crime-novel writer (Mark Halliday), but that she's been lying to him about it since the affair began. She continues to pretend that she's still in love with him, when he knows the truth. Furthermore, his life is a mess and he believes that it's all her fault. She made him give up playing professional tennis so they could have a real marriage. Unfortunately for her, Margot suspects nothing of his knowledge of her affair or the hatred that is inside of him. It takes him a year to figure out how to settle the score. He devises the perfect murder plot. The plan will result in her death and ensures that he gets away with it. He blackmails an old college acquaintance to become the perfect murder weapon a surprised burglar. The entire evening is choreographed down to the last d etail, except for one thing he overlooks. The will of his wife to live. Margot saves her life by killing the murderer in legitimate defense. Tony then tries to make his wife appear guilty of deliberately killing the murderer with premeditation. He uses the fact that Lesgate (his college acquaintance) could have been blackmailing Margot with her lost love letter for money, so that killing him would be her only way to escape that situation. He achieves it. Because of the existing evidence against her, she is condemned to death. However, Police Inspector Hubbard finally uncovers t...
Saturday, October 19, 2019
A Study Of The Theme Of Panopticism And Jeremy Benthams, Michael Foucaults Ideas In Panopticon By Jenni Fagan And 1984 By George Orwell
A Study Of The Theme Of Panopticism And Jeremy Bentham's, Michael Foucault's Ideas In Panopticon By Jenni Fagan And 1984 By George Orwell A panopticon can be used in order to effectively keep surveillance of society. This, in all of its senses, is manipulative and coercive. As society started growing, it kept getting more difficult to control the people, and therefore, other resources or mechanisms had to be used for the monitoring of these people. In the late eighteenth century, Jeremy Bentham had an architectural design for prisons, asylums, schools, hospitals, and factories, and received help from an architect in order to put his ideas on paper . Michael Foucault, a French philosopher, did extensive research on panopticons and his ideas were taken into consideration by future authors. Bentham’s plan for the prison design gained popularity because Foucault saw it as a strategic model to internalize discipline and authority. The Panopticon, written by British young adult author Jenni Fagan, is directly linked to these ideas. 1984 by George Orwell, however, was published in 1949, so it cannot be said that Foucau lt influenced it, since the panopticist ideas were published in Discipline and Punish: The Birth of a Prison (1975). On the other hand, Bentham could have slightly influenced Orwell’s writings. These panopticist ideas come into play in today’s world as well, and it has become a controversial topic because of modern technology that society feels has become more and more invasive. The Panopticon and 1984 both have the recurring theme of panopticism, which affect the main characters in different manners. This paper aims to show the correlation between Bentham, Foucault, and how the same ideas and theories influenced works that were written decades apart. The ideas of a panopticon originally had good intentions; Jeremy Bentham created it in order to retire violent methods of punishment. He wanted to punish in another form, this being more psychological. Foucault stated that the panopticon â€Å"reverses the principle of the dungeon†. The dungeon had â€Å"three functions: to enclose, to deprive of light, and to hide; it (the panopticon) preserves only the first and eliminated the other two†. Knowledge comes from power, and the panopticon can allow the authorities to see everything that is going on around them, leading them to know more things. The panopticon also creates a constant state of control, and makes those that are observed internalize the fact that they are always watched. â€Å"Constant observation acted as a control mechanism; a consciousness of constant surveillance is internalized†. The Panopticon, as the title states, revolves around the idea that people are always being watched. Anais feels as if she is involved in an experiment, and she knows that people are always watching her, and wants to escape it. It’s a novel that goes in depth into the main character’s psyche, and the reader gets an insight into her life and fears. She’s strong, but copes with drugs and her own imagination. Ironically, these are the things that should not be done when one knows that they are under vigilance. For Anais to escape the experiment and cope with her uncertainty of where she comes from, she seeks comfort by playing the â€Å"birthday game†. By creating a life for herself, she is able to rely on those facts and pretend that she has a semi-normal life. On the other hand, it is a sign of resistance from the panopticon, because people can see her actions, but not her thoughts. Since the novel is written from her perspective, the readers do get to see h er thoughts, so the readers act as the panopticon in this case. Anais is very skeptical of all that goes around her, and has been forced to grow up quickly. In the Panopticon that she lives in, the watch tower gives no privacy, which is an act against human rights. Being in a constant state of surveillance drives Anais mad, which in the end pushes her to escape her life. She was able to run away because the watch tower shattered, â€Å"the whole surveillance window shatters, and I see them; turning on their fucking tails; the experiment, for a fraction of a fucking second: exposed†. At this point, Anais is liberated and can start her life in Paris, just like she had decided with her birthday game. The last sentence of the novel is, â€Å"I begin today†. Because the windows hiding the faces of those surveilling her have shattered, they are now at her level because they are real people. She has the power to run away and fight the system, and therefore, becomes her own person. Orwell’s novel is dystopian and reflects the society as powerless and robotic. Big Brother in this case is the panopticon. There is no face to Big Brother, but society fears him. By using these scare tactics they have been able to brainwash society into being permanently scared. They have to be in constant control of what they say or do because the consequences are brutal. It is impossible to trust anybody, because when Winston did, he was turned into the police. Orwell also introduces â€Å"Newspeak†into the novel, which would now be considered simple English. It is the official language of Oceania. Because the words are so simple and there is no complexity to them, it gives people no reason to rethink words or give other definitions to them. It limits their language so they cannot rebel against the system, which is the main reason behind changing the language. Apart from limiting language, it also limits personality and personal identity, which is also a method of br ainwashing. Newspeak does not allow for any type of personal development, and Winston breaks this by keeping a diary. He is able to express his feelings in it, but realizes he has written â€Å"DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER†multiple times on the page and sees that he has committed thoughtcrime. If the level of intelligence of this society were higher, one might have realized that it would be impossible to track all the thoughts of all the members of society, but because of the various methods of brainwashing that have been carried out, no one was able to think it through. â€Å"Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed forever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were bound to get you†. Fear is the most common tactic used by oppressive societies to stay in power. If society fears the system, one will rebel against it and the oppressive state continues. Winston is also guilty of doublethink, although he realizes he is. He works for the system, but secretly is rebelling against it. At the Ministry of Truth, slogans that read â€Å"WAR IS PEACE†, â€Å"FREEDOM IS SLAVERY†, and â€Å"IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH†all brainwash society. These words are antonyms of each other, and the people do not realize that. By working at the Ministry of Truth, he is supporting these statements, but by writing in his diary and being secretive he is rebelling against it. The difference between 1984 and The Panopticon is that the latter has partial freedom. Although Winston Smith is not a prisoner and works for the party, he has less freedom than Anais does. He has no freedom of any type, he cannot do, say, or think as he pleases, because the society is a microscope that is being observed by Big Brother. Anais, though she has been arrested and is a victim of countless foster homes and misfortune, is in a controlled environment but has the freedom to think, which is extremely powerful. As Foucault stated, knowledge is power. She can liberate herself of the constant pressure from the social workers and of the panopticist society she is in. There is no type of Thought Police or thoughtcrime like it exists in 1984. On the other hand, Anais is psychologically incarcerated at times, which is why she resorts to drugs. Although she has the freedom to think and create her past life, it stops her from really knowing who she is and where she comes from. However, her mind is so powerful that she can brainwash herself into creating a past life for herself. Winston, nevertheless, is very aware of what goes on in his life and that can give him a sense of security. Even though he is not following the rules, he knows his consequences. Because both novels share similar themes, the panopticist ideas appear throughout and the characters share common traits. Anais and Winston are very similar in the sense that they are both victims of their society. They are both incarcerated metaphorically. Their minds are free, but only one of them can be safe expressing their true thoughts and feelings. There is an internal struggle occurring with each, and although the characters are very different in terms of lifestyles and persona, their inner struggles clash. Being in a state of liminality like both characters are, they struggle with their daily lives and may or may not go against their basic beliefs, like Winston did when he turned in the love of his life, Julia. Anais differs in this manner, but as the novel progresses, there are signs of maturity on her part, and she becomes more conscious of her desires. The novels also share a major common aspect; the fact that both of the societal powers do not have a face to them. In 198 4, Big Brother does not have a face, so there is enough reason to believe that he does not exist, and that there is a group of people controlling society. Likewise, in The Panopticon, Anais does not see the faces of the people in the watch tower until the windows are shattered and she is able to see for a fraction of a second. Power does not come from one sole person; there is generally a group of people in control or a political figure who is puppeteered by others. A panopticist society currently exists among us, and although it may not be in the traditional sense, people definitely feel the effects of it. People are raised to believe that they are under constant watch of those that cannot be seen, for example Santa Claus for the young, or even more in depth, a God. A panopticon is essentially what God is, all watching and all knowing. In the end, people fear the consequences that God can give them, which is why many are so dedicated to their religion. This can make people feel anxious all the time and it is not fair to make people believe that they are not free because there is a radar on them at all times. It is psychologically damaging, because there is no true freedom. Currently, there have been happenings of government interference with the general public, not only terrorists or potential suspects. Wire-tapping goes against the American Constitution, and although the Patriot Act is named and worded in a way that makes it seem as if it is s omething that is a duty to ones country, it strips society of basic human rights. Under no circumstance is it okay to spy on one’s own, because it betrays trust between the government and members of society. One very current situation is the power behind Cuba’s dictator: Fidel Castro. There is no factual evidence that he is alive, but because â€Å"his people†say he is, Cubans believe it because they have been brainwashed to extreme extents by the communist party. Panopticons exist in all various forms, but the only way that society can fall into the trap is by succumbing to the power behind the words, because words are the most powerful thing when gaining power. Ignorance is not strength, and one should have the freedom to think freely and act within reason. Being under a constant state of vigilance like the characters of The Panopticon and 1984 were wears out ones mind and persona. Anais was able to break out of the cycle, but Winston on the other hand, fell back into the system and was brainwashed once again.
Friday, October 18, 2019
PTSD Posttraumatic stress disorder Research Paper
PTSD Posttraumatic stress disorder - Research Paper Example The treatment through medicines is considered to be a one-way therapy, whereas there are certain medications that have showed a positive influence on the patient. Now, the question is why there isn’t a successful medication for the treatment of PTSD. PTSD is classified as a type of anxiety disorder, which is said to be manageable after taking anti-depressants and which is merely a way to manage symptoms. But yet, no proper drug therapy is found. The medications used in PTSD patients include Benzodiazepines, SSRIs, and atypical Anti-depressants. These drugs are mainly used to manage the symptoms, the symptoms include: Sleep disturbances, Emotional disturbances, Hyper-arousal, Numbness, Panic attacks. These drugs are given in combination to avoid the recurrences, and to improve sleeping patterns of the patient. These signs and symptoms are not persistent. It is normal to have signs and symptoms after a traumatic event. Researchers have proved that the patients with lesser intellectual abilities are more likely to suffer from it and are usually victims of severe cases of PTSD. Most survivors or sufferers are not always the victims. It is said that the time is the most effective medicine in the treatment (Bonnano, 2004). In the case of distinct minorities, the substance abuse, depression, anxiety emerges. (Kessler, Peterson, Lucia, 1999). Most epidemiological studies suggest that the traumas like wars, killings, kidnappings are actually happening in the developed countries. With increasing disaster rates, the patients are increasing drastically and are more difficult to manage. As the medical science is going through a vast development, a number of assessment tests have come into existence, which plays a crucial part in the diagnosis at the right time and then management therapy. Psychotherapy is slow and is also not a successful therapy, but if it goes along with the medication, the success rate is higher. Psychotherapy
Corporate Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Corporate Accounting - Essay Example In this paper we look at impairment of assets from the view point of Transfield Services. The report starts with an introduction about Transfield Services and the business they are in. then it goes on to analyze the impairments done in 2009 wand 2007 and provides a brief explanation of the differences in the same. A detail analysis about the impairments done in the year ending 2009 has alson been provided alongwith the reasons for the sudden increase in the amount of impairment loss, a comment on the methods of impairment followed by Transfield Services and its sync with the AASB 136 standards. The report ends with a view on Impairment of Assets as a whole. Transfield Services Limited provides various services to key industries in the Resources and Industrial, Infrastructure Services and Property and Facilities Management sectors. (Transfield Services (Australia) Pty Limited, 2008) It provides maintenance, and asset and project management services globally. (Transfield Services (Australia) Pty Limited, 2008) Providing a range of structured business processes together with skilled management to help clients achieve maximum value from their existing assets. (Transfield Services (Australia) Pty Limited, 2008) Undertaking of significant maintenance, shutdown, turnaround and engineering projects to optimize clients capital expenditure and achieve goals efficiently within budget. (Transfield Services (Australia) Pty Limited, 2008) Providing information to clients regarding the best practices followed in the industry as well as outside it to instill a culture of continuous improvements in the client. (Transfield Services (Australia) Pty Limited, 2008) Providing Operations Systems Manual (OSM) to monitor issues relating to health, safety, environment, quality and risk to effectively manage and control HSE risks within the workplace. (Transfield Services (Australia) Pty Limited, 2008) Yes, Transfield Services did undertake
Nursing and palliative care Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Nursing and palliative care - Research Paper Example This can be achieved by impeccable assessment, and the early identification and treatment of not only pain, but also a range of other problems that might relate to psychosocial, physical and spiritual aspects. Care for dying patients has continued to remain a very fundamental aspect of nursing. As patients shift from a state where they are observed to be sick to that in which they are described as dying, it is principally the nurses who are tasked with the day-to-day duty of helping and supporting these patients and their families in their attempts to try and successfully live with the social, psychological, spiritual and physical consequences of a patient’s illness. When patients reach a state of terminal illness, the independent and autonomous dying role that they assume forces that there be a complementary shift on the part of the doctor and nurse. This is because the role of the doctor is primarily centered on curing and treatment; however when attempts at curing and treatment fail, the supportive and caring role that is played by nurses becomes increasingly more dominant as a patient dies. Despite the commitment that nurses have towards the fulfillment of their roles in /hospi ce care, there are however some negative factors that greatly inhibit the provision of good quality care by these nurses. This paper will seek to show that nurses play an important role in hospice care and the concerns inhibiting nurses from attending to this role need to urgently be addressed. The important role that is played by hospice care nurses cannot be over emphasized. These nursing professionals bring in what is noted to be a unique set of qualities and skills that greatly enhance the overall support and care that is provided to patients facing the end of life. These nurses also serve the crucial role of supporting the families of their patients as well as the communities that support them. The skills possessed
Thursday, October 17, 2019
You can make a topic Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
You can make a topic - Research Paper Example Today, however, its message has changed. In his article, â€Å"How Hip Hop holds Blacks back†, John McWhorter expresses his concern at the more primal effects of the present day Hip Hop music. McWhorter starts his article by detailing an experience he had at a restaurant in Harlem where he witnessed teenage African American boys behaving in an unsocial manner. Not only do the boys play loud music, shout and hurl food about, they also disregard the female manager of the restaurant who asks them to leave. They only move out of the restaurant when a male security guard asks them sternly to leave. McWhorter points out that this attitude is the product of the music that is favored by the teenagers. Hip Hop today is filled with messages that denigrate women and encourage the scorning of authority figures. It has in the past been dubbed as an â€Å"angry†type of music (McWhorter 9). This is because its artists are never calm when performing it. There are no ‘calm’ Hip Hop songs. Hip Hop artists are characterized by the fact that they shout their music and make angry or antisocial gestures that in another era would have been viewed as encouraging social strif e. This music is popular with teenagers because they find a place where they can express their inwardly-held angst at changes they are experiencing that are uncomfortable without being judged. However, McWhorter’s point of contention is that whereas the youth of other ethnicities move on and leave Hip Hop behind as they become surer of themselves, African Americans, particularly the men, embrace Hip Hop as a lifestyle. This has resulted in the infantilization of African American men and the near collapse of the entire community. Today, there are 30 and 40 year old men such as Jay Z and P Diddy, who are glorified by the Black American community for refusing to grow up and become responsible citizens (McWhorter 9). According to McWhorter, when young Black teenagers see how these
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