Existentialism and Contractarianism Essay

1) Read chapters One through three of your textbook 2)Compare and contrast the Existentialism and Contractarianism framework Compare: Both existentialism and contractarianism frameworks are two of the three deontological frameworks outlined in chapter one. Deontological frameworks focus on the duty or obligation in determining whether the actions are right or wrong. Contrast: Existentialism focuses on individual behavior while contractarianism focuses on society as a whole. Existentialism highlights that the only person who can determine right and wrong is based on the free will of the person making the decisions. As a result, duty is connected with actions meaning each individual determines the value of his/her actions. Contractarianism, or social contract theory, highlights that individuals agree to social contracts to be members within society. As a member of society, each individual agrees to certain social norms. As a result, the values and norms developed by society must be fair to everyone who is a member of society. 3)Compare and contrast Teleological, Deontological, and Mixed Frameworks Compare: Teleological, Deontological, and Mixed frameworks are each foundational philosophies towards ethical conduct. Contrast: Teleological frameworks focus on the results of the conduct of the individual and the ramifications, positive and negative, resulting from the actions and conduct of individuals. Deontological frameworks focus on duty or obligation in determining whether the actions are right or wrong. Mixed frameworks combine theories from both teleological and deontological frameworks. Mixed framework theory supports that through the seven guiding principles listed below, individuals develop a level of intuition that becomes incorporated in their decision-making processes. The seven guiding principles pull from both the teleological and deontological frameworks. The seven guiding principles include: Fidelity- based on deontological theory and states that an individual needs to keep explicit and implicit promises. Reparation- based on deontological theory and states that an individual must act on repairing the consequences for previous wrongful acts. Gratitude- based on deontological theory and states that an individual must be able to show gratitude for the kindness that others have given to him/her. Justice- based on deontological theory and states that an individual should try to see that any goods are fairly distributed. Beneficence- Based on teleological theory and states that an individual should focus on trying to improve the lives of others. Self-improvement- pulls from both deontological and teleological theories and states that an individual should improve oneself by focusing on virtue and intelligence. Noninjury- based on teleological theory and states that an individual should not cause any harm to others. 4)Compare and contract the guiding principles of the Global Business Standards Codex and the Mixed Framework principles. Compare: Both the Mixed Framework and Global Business Standards Codex principles are standards that attempt to promote fairness and to interpret and evaluate ethical behavior.   Contrast: The Mixed framework principles focus on individuals, but the Global Business Standards Codex principles focus on companies around the world. The mixed framework principles were defined in the question above, but here are brief definitions for each of the Global Business Standards Codex: Fiduciary Principle- Each officer and director of a company has the legal obligation to act in the best interest of the stakeholders and other employees within the firm. Property Principle- based on the belief that every employee should respect property as well as the rights of the owners of property. Reliability Principle- based on the belief that it is the employee’s responsibility to honor the commitments he or she makes to the firm. Transparency Principle- based on the belief that every employee should conduct business in a truthful and open manner. It is expected that employees will not make decisions based on a personal matter. Dignity Principle- based on the belief that each employee needs to respect the dignity of all individuals Fairness Principle- based on the belief that stakeholders who have a vested interest in the firm should be treated fairly. Citizenship Principle- based on the belief that every employee should act as a responsible citizen in the community. Responsiveness Principle- based on the belief that employees have a responsibility to respond to requests for information about the operations from the various stakeholders. 5)What are the four types of unintentional unethical behavior? Implicit Prejudice- occurs based on unconscious beliefs. Common examples include biases based on ethnic and gender differences. In-Group Favoritism- occurs when a decision maker forms a bias toward individuals in the same â€Å"group† as the decision maker. An Example would be if a boss favors employees who share the same political party association. Actual or Potential Conflicts of Interest- occurs when there are personal benefits for making a decision that are not available to others. Claiming Credit for Others’ Actions- occurs when the decision makers believe that they are above average in their job duties, responsibilities, and general intellect, which results in above average performance. An example would be when an individual group member feels that he/she contributed more than he/she actually did to the group’s overall performance. 6)Briefly compare and contrast moral, immoral, and amoral managers. Immoral manager- one who not only does not care how his/her decisions impact the stakeholders, but the actions are actively counter to what is the right and ethical thing to do. They focus on only their own goals and the goals of the company and consider law requirements as constraints or barriers that are ignored when their corporate actions are implemented. Amoral manager- one who would be considered ethically neutral. An amoral manager does not focus proactively on ethical issues nor does he/she try to purposely go against the social and legal norms that are expected of the firm by society. The danger with an amoral manager is that because ethical considerations are not contemplated in the decision-making process, the manager may unintentionally commit unethical acts and not realize the impact the decision had on various stakeholders. Moral managers- one who understands the importance and relevance of considering ethical issues when they are making decisions. These managers not only meet the minimal legal standards, but also are proactive in presenting ethical leadership to the firm’s employees and other stakeholders. 7)Define Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate responsibility is the obligation that companies have to develop and implement courses of action that aid in social issues that impact society. This term is used by corporations to signify several topics including legal responsibility, fiduciary duty, legitimacy, and charitable donations. 8)Define the concept of stakeholder as it applies to business ethics Stakeholders are defined as any group that has a vested interest in the operations of the firm. Traditional stakeholders for a firm include employees, suppliers, stockholders, customers, the government, local communities, and society as a whole. Stakeholders have a vested interest in the firm; therefore, they are greatly impacted by the ethical behavior of the firm, including economical, legal, and environmental concerns. 9)Read case #7 on pages 265-283 of the textbook and answer questions 1, 2, and 3 on page 283 What are â€Å"cookie jar† reserves? Explain Enron’s use of this concept. Cookie jar reserves are funds set aside by a firm to be used to adjust the financial performance in any given point of time. The purpose of the reserve is that it allows the firm to increase its financial performance by transferring the reserves into the current period financial statements to help control the financial performance of the firm. Enron is the perfect example of using these reserves because of two very favorable factors. The first is that Enron dealt in long term energy contracts that are difficult to calculate a true market value. As a result, Enron had the opportunity to create all the years of the contract within a one-year window allowing them to manipulate the financial statements. This manipulation would only work if you have a co-operative external auditor. David Duncan of Arthur Anders en was very accommodating to Enron in this manner and accepted this type of aggressive accounting. Identify as many stakeholders as you can in this case. For each, explain how they were affected by the events surrounding the demise of Enron. Employees- the employees were devastated by the demise of Enron. Not only did they lose their jobs, but also for a vast majority of the employees all of their retirement funds were in Enron stock. They were not allowed to sell the stock during the quick fall so they ended up with virtually nothing in their retirement accounts at the end of Enron. Stockholders- The stockholders also were severely impacted by the demise of Enron. The free fall of the Enron stock until it was worthless than $1 ensured that the stockholder endured heavy losses in their Enron investment. Government- After a sluggish start, the SEC became very involved in the operations of Enron. A number of top-level executives were tried by the justice department as well as millions of dollars recovered in restitution to help pay for the losses endured by the employees and the stockholders. Suppliers- The suppliers also were left with little recourse once Enron went bankrupt. All the top priority secured creditors would get the first chance to recover their money from Enron. Unless the supplier was a secured creditor, they may have received very little from Enron once it declared bankruptcy. Local Community- The Houston community was severely impacted by the demise of Enron. Not only was Houston a home for a number of Enron employees, but also the image of the city was negatively impacted by the demise of Enron. It also did not help that the professional baseball park was called Enron Field (it is now named after fruit juice producer, Minute Maid). Summarize the main points of this case in one succinct paragraph. The case is about greed in the highest order. The company from its origin quickly focused on increasing market capitalization at any cost. Employees were selected based on how well they could play the game. The winners were rewarded handsomely and the losers were fired. The corporate culture was one in which it was Enron against the world and Enron kept on winning. However, like a Trojan horse, the true Enron was hollow inside. Once the house of cards collapsed, it was left to the stockholders and the employees to pick up the pieces. Update on Case (not part of the assignment)- In 2007, Credit Suisse paid $61.5 million, UBS agreed to pay $115 million and Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $25 million to settle litigation pertaining to their role in the Enron fraud. In January 2008, former lead auditor at Arthur Andersen, David Duncan, agreed to settled allegations filed by the SEC that he had violated securities law by signing audit reports that were false and misleading. No fine was issued but Duncan was barred from appearing before the SEC as an accountant. In March 2008, Citigroup settled litigation claims against it for it actions during the Enron scandal for $1.66 billion.

British Culture Chaoxiaoqian

My questions are Why does Helena stay with Jimmy and leave Jimmy, why does Alison come back to Jimmy. These are very tricky questions like twisted twines. Here I just air my views, expecting to be complemented by yours. The reasons for Helena staying with Jimmy might be probed from the following: Superficially looking, Jimmy is a person basically worth while. Jimmy is a young man with education, ideas and penetrating insights. Alison breaking through her family's strong obstacles to marry Jimmy from side reflects Jimmy's charms and attractions. Jimmy seems a natural desire and magnet for women if his working-class background?poverty and walled situations are ignored for the moment. As Helena said she took Jimmy to herself because â€Å"she finds that she desires him and wants to have him for a time†. It is an outburst of impulse catalyzed by special occasions. At that time, without digs, Helena had an appointment on the next day and had to lodge in Jimmy's attic; Jimmy is then immersed in bereavement without comfort while Allison and Cliff left him successively. Witnessing Jimmy's bitterness and helplessness, out of her female compassionate nature, Helena offered Jimmy her hand and herself as well. For solace and release, Jimmy dramatically accepted his natural enemy. Thus the two naturally and reasonably moved together. Exploring the in-depth reason, Helena's staying with Jimmy might be considered as a challenge she made for herself driven by her instincts of curiosity and conquest. Helena wanted to make out why the seemingly compatible couple always brawl and torture each other, why Jimmy is always angry?dissatisfied and cynical,always trying hard to be offensive, provocative, irritating. Determined by her inborn authoritative personality and her middle-class inclination to sustain the status quo,she takes Jimmy as a challenge and an attempt, an enemy territory to conquer, to justify her middle-class convictions and consciousness. She expects Jimmy to be changed, back into normal, behaving like anyone else and taking reality like a real man. Naive?romantic and over-confident as Helena is, she fails to change Jimmy. Conversely and ironically, she was within an inch of being changed. Helena was inevitably to lose the war because Jimmy's anger was socially deep-rooted. He had the complex of inferiority and superiority. He showed contempt for uneducated Cliff, irony for educated Alison. He was well educated, but his situation was no better than the two he looked down upon. It was an affliction and sarcasm to him. He lived at the sea of isolation?desperation and inarticulate agony. Without being heard or understood. He found no target to attack, therefore everything became his target. Jimmy was a man born out of his time. To change Jimmy Helena should change the times first. It is difficult and impossible for Helena to change the time, and so with Jimmy. To bridge the systematic and fathomless class and value gap was never a easy task and doomed to be futile and fruitless. Jimmy and Helena's combination was the effect of passionate impulse. It was a kind of insanity or wrong-doings as Helena herself later commented. Once waken up from the dream, the end of their relation was approaching. Helena was a woman of conventionality by nature, she couldn't forget the book of rules anytime. She still believed in â€Å"right and wrong†! Gnawed by the worm of conscience and sense of guilt, she can't †be happy without the book of rules†, she can't †be happy when what you're doing is wrong, or is hurting someone else†. Moreover she lost the war waged against changing Jimmy, the war to restore everything into normal. Unless Jimmy and Helena don't confront with each other face to face, or they will certainly fall into the state of war, the war of ideas, class, values, social reality. There was no middle road to compromise. Helena's exeuntting also meant she lost the war against conventionality, against status quo. Her story is more than a morality one, it further proved every desire or attempt to change the suffocating and inanimate society over-confident and all for naught. Everyone would inevitably subordinate himself to conventionality. My understanding of Alison's return is explained as such: Alison might feel regret about her past behaviors. Though she is the seeming victim of Jimmy's irrational assault, she knows that Jimmy has reason to do so on her. After her abortion, something dormant was aroused from the bottom of her heart and she came back to Jimmy, though shilly-shally. As a young woman, she is a †monument of non-attachment†. †She hasn't had a thought for years!† She is a woman in her 20s without enthusiasm, animation and sincerity. Nothing Jimmy could do would provoke her. Her marriage with Jimmy was a kind of physical and responsive affinity rather than mental and spiritual one. She was nicknamed as ‘Lady Pusillanimous' by Jimmy. Moreover, as a middle-class woman by nature, she kept her arrogant and uppish manner in communicating with the working-class people which was especially exposed when she wrote letter to her mother, discussed Jimmy with her father and Helena, refused to see the dying Mrs. Hugh with Jimmy. She had the sense of inborn class superiority which is a fatal and permanent weapon to sensitive Jimmy. She did betray Jimmy in a sense. In a word, she has never given herself to her husband with the honesty which she knew he demanded and needed. Actually, she knew she should shoulder some responsibility for Jimmy's anger and offered Jimmy more understanding and communication. The problem of their marriage was not sheer Jimmy's fault. Alison left Jimmy in pursuit of peace and relaxation. Tortured by Jimmy's distorted allegiance and loyalty demands for her, Alison wanted to escape from the role of hostage and the war Jimmy declared on †those sections of society†. But Alison never succeeded in escape. Things didn't go in the way as she expected. Alison's coming back could be interpreted as a subjugation to conventionality?reality and failure of Ostrichism. Alison is easily to get used to everything and she is also on the verge of burst. Tortured by Jimmy's distorted allegiance and loyalty demands for her, Alison wanted to escape from the role of hostage and the war Jimmy declared on †those sections of society†. She leaves Jimmy, in pursuit of peace and relaxation. But Alison never succeeded in escape. Things didn't go in the way as she expected. Her abortion brings her shock and disillusionment, awakening something dormant in her heart. She then clearly sees a depressing?aimless?hopeless and futureless reality, without light and outlet. By then she understood Jimmy's anger and discontent to some extent. Without a bright future, Alison had to revert to the past, though vague, remote and suspended it is. She wanted to find herself a position in the conventional and accustomed role of wife. The unpleasant past seems a more lovely memento In comparison with the suffocating and smoldering reality. Finally Alison and Jimmy decide to pick up the bear-squirrel game. It is a seeming communiquà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ by Alison and Jimmy, protesting the reality and fighting against the â€Å"cruel steel traps, lying about everywhere, just waiting for rather mad, slightly satanic, and very timid little animals.† This could be regarded as a faint flicker of hope offered by the protagonists who had a in-depth perception and understanding of life.

Cognitive Approaches in Psychology

In this essay I will outline two approaches in psychology, compare and contrast them as well discussing the nature and nurture debate regarding both approaches. I will be examining a theorist from each approach outlining and evaluating his theory including the positive alltributes along with the negative. Finally I will include a therapy from each theorist and approach. The Behaviourist approach focuses on the concept of explaining behaviour by observation, and the belief that our environment is what causes us to behave differently and suffer illnesses.The Behaviourist approach believes that behaviour is influenced by each and every individuals experiences. This could include their background, social and home living circumstances. Behaviourist psychologists argue that when we are born our mind is ‘tabula rasa’ meaning a blank state and that events taking place in our life time can affect and change the way we behave. Behaviour is the the result of stimulus response, i. e all behaviour no matter how complex can be reduced to a simple stimulus response. All behaviour is learnt from the environment.We learn new behaviour through classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is stimulus- response. If a stimulus that results in a emotional response is repeated along with another stimulus which does not cause an emotional response, then eventually the second stimulus will result in the same emotional response. Classical conditioning is therefore learning by association. Some assumptions are made on the behaviourism approach, for example one assumption made is that there is no mind or body dualism and that everything we do is because of behaviour and not because of the mind.A second assumption would be that discovering a stimuli that causes behaviour associations between stimlulus and response will allow us to predict and control behaviour. They also viewed learning as a change of behaviour due to experience. However some critics object again st the behaviourist view that behaviour is determined by our enviromnets as psychologist Garrett (1996) suggested that ‘†¦ behaviour is now shaped by what goes on inside their heads†¦ and not simply by what goes on in the external environment’ (p. 19) Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behaviour.Through operant conditioning, an association can be made between a certain behaviour and a consequence for that behaviour. For example if a good thing is presented and a certain behaviour is encouraged then the behaviour will increase, this is called positive reinforement. However if the good thing is taken away then the behaviour will decrease. For example is a dog is told to fetch the ball and every time it fetches the ball it gets rewarded with a treat. This would influence the dogs behaviour to always fetch the ball as it will be rewarded.Another key feature of the behaviourist approach is the social learnin g theory. The social learning theory focuses on the learning that occurs within a social context. It considers that people learn from one another including such concepts as observational learning, imitation, and modeling. It says that people can learn by observing the behaviour of others and the outcomes of their behaviour. The cognitive approach deals with metal processes or cognitions. These mental processes include memory, thinking and perceptions. Cognition means â€Å"knowing†.Therefore cognition is the mental act or process by which knowledge is acquired. Cognitive psychology has been influenced by the developments in computer science and comparisons have often been made between how a cumputer works and we process information. The main focus of the cognitive approach is how information received from our senses is processed by the brain and how this processing affect how we behave. Cognitive processes show examples of hypothetical constructs. This means that we can not d irectly analyse processes such as thinking but we can dissect what a person is thinking based on how they act.Cognitive psychologists use laboratory experiments to study behaviour. This is because the cognitive approach is a scientific one. These experiments would involve participants taking part in memory tests in strictly controlled conditions. An assumption made about the cognitive approach is that there exists a circular relationship between learning, meaning and memory. The basis for cognitive theories follows this patern in which what is learned is affected by its meaningfulness, the meaning is determined by what is remebered and the memory is affected by what we learn.The cognitive approach places itself in direct opposition to the behaviourist approach which mostly ignores mental processes. The cognitive approach is internal whereas the behaviourist is external as it focuses on the human environment. The cognitive approach examines behaviour which is directed through the min d rather then the body. It studys the thought processes, memory, language, perception and decision making. Whereas the Behaviourist approach examines our behaviour by our responses to our surroundings and the events taking place around us which may influence us to act in a certain way through imitation.It assumes that we learn things by associating certain events with certain consequences and that we will behave in the way that achieves the most desirable consequences. There are many methods in which the cognitive approach examine. Such as the holistic method which is a view that all aspects of people’s needs such as the psychological, physical and social should be taken into account and seen as a whole. The nature and nurture debate is one of the longest running debates in the area of psychology in which theorists have various different views and opinions.Nurture is the view that everything we learn is through interaction with our surrounding environment, this could include with people, family and mass media. Some assumptions of this approach would be that the nurture theory did not discount that genetics exist but argues that they simply made no difference to how we behave and act. Studies on children temperament showed the most crucial evidence for the nurture theory. Another would be that the nurture argument is most represented by the behaviourist approach as behaviourists believe that all behaviour is the outcome of learning through conditioning.The nature theory focuses on the heredity and specific genes which can determine passing on of traits such as eye colour and skin colour. The nature theory would suggest that even personality, intelligence and aggression is also encoded in our DNA. Some assumptions of this approach would be that behaviour is innate, conditions such a schizophrenia show genetic links and a large amount of research shows that there is a link between hormones and aggression. Behaviourism follows the nurture approach as it stu dies that we learn from our environment, hence making this approach nurturist.It believes that our behaviour is influenced by our surroundings. Watson- the father of behaviourism quoted: ‘Give me a dozen healthy infants and my own specified world to bring them up in and I will garantee to take anyone at random and train him to become any kind of specialist I might select: doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant chef and yes beggar and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tenancies, abilities, vocations and race of his ancestors. ’ Watson is clearly stating that he could change any person from any different social background and race if he could bring them up in his own way.His statement strongly argues the nurture side of the debate. He argued that human behaviour could be conditioned depending on their surroundings. On the other hand the Cognitive approach is an interaction between the two nature and nurture. As much as it focuses on reactions of the senses to the bra in and the mind which make it nature it also has many nurture altributes also. The cognitive psychologist would recognise that experience and the environment also contribute and shape these innate abilities. Piaget’s therory backed this up as he believed that humans use their experiences to construct new understandings.He agreed that both nature and nurture are important, humans move through universal stages due to maturation however the rate they mature in depends on experience. He said that people are, by nature active contributors to their own development. Piaget’s argued that both nature and nurture interact to produce cognitive development. He said that the nature side helps the maturation of the brain and the body, along with the ability to percieve and learn. Whereas the nurture helps with the adaptation of children and how they respond to their enviroment. Bandura was a behaviourist theorist.He believed that there are three sources of models which influenced hu mans behaviour, these included the family, the mass media and the sub-culture. He conducted a number of experiments in which he carried out on children. One of his experiments involved an inflatable Bobo doll, his aim was to investigate the effects of observing aggression in an adult model. The procedure of this experiment was for it to take place in a playroom containing a range of toys. Young children watched an adult attacking a large inflatable Bobo doll by hitting it with a hammer and saying ‘pow’!Once the adult left the playroom, the behaviour of the children was then observed. A control group of children who did not see the adult attack the doll were also observed in the playroom. The results showed that the children who had seen the adult attack the doll also attacked the doll in similar ways. However the children who had not seen the adult attack the doll did not. The conclusion to this was that children learned particular behaviours towards the Bobo doll throu gh observational learning and then copied the behaviour when given a chance.Two years later he conducted a similar experiment however this time it was to observe the effects on modelling by children of seeing a model reinforced or punished for a behaviour. This experiment, like the previous involved a bunch of children watching and adult kick and attack a Bobo doll but this time get rewarded for it. Another set of children watched the same thing however saw the adult get punished for it. The children in the group that saw the model being punished were later offered a reward if they could reproduce the behaviour they had observed.The results showed that the children in the group that saw the model get punished for the attack were less likely to imitate that behaviour. This experiment concluded that observation is enough for behaviour to be learned, however reinforcement is necessary for the behaviour to be modelled. The values of Bandura’s social learning theory were that it e xtended the operant conditioning theory. It focused on the idea of the influence of the social environment in behaviour therefore providing an explanation for cultural and individual differences.It could account for individual differences and allowed for more complex human behaviour. Bandura’s theory had a role to play in personality theory and introduces the idea of vicarious learning. Although the criticisms are that his theories are reductionist, environmental and determinism. Reductionist ways of explaining behaviour often examine one single cause ignoring other explanations. Reductionism attempts to understand and describe the human behaviour in terms of simple components or units. Any explanation of behaviour at its simplest can be described as reductionist.This approach reduces a complex behaviour to a simple set of variables which offer the possibilities of identifying a cause and effect. The reductionist approach is therefor a from of determinism. Determinists believ e that it is possible to predict behaviour by identifying the cause of behaviour. His theories were also criticised as being environmental, meaning that the environment that he uses in his experiments can affect the human behaviour. The use of violence towards a doll in his experiments were not ethical as he only used children.It was also sociably incorrect as it was influencing violence to receive a reward. The biological influences are ignored, lack cohesiveness and still excludes influences such as emotions. Jean piaget was a psychologist who studied the development of children’s understanding and how their minds work. His theory on how the children’s mind works and develops has been hugely influential, specially in educational theory. Piaget was particularly interested in the way in which a child’s mind matures in the different developmental stages and how their maturing increases their capacity to understand their world.His theory was that all infants have the same structures and they all have innate reflexes and schemas. He believed that children cannot undertake certain tasks until they are psychologically mature enough to do so. He thought that childrens thinking develop at different stages, and that at certain points the mind would mature into different capabilities such as the first transition taking place at 18 months, then at the age of 7 and 11 or 12. He meant that before these ages children could not have a capable understanding of certain things in certain ways.The stages which took place according to this theory were firstly the sensorimotor stage which takes place between birth and two years. At this stage the child can identify itself and acts as an agent of action purposely banging on pots and pans to make noises to hear the reaction. The child can differentiate self from objects and learns object permanence realising that objects still do exist even if they are not in sight. The second stage is the pre-operational stage . This is the stage in which the child learns to use language and images to identify objects.However their thinking is still egocentric indicating that they cannot see things from another persons point of view. This stage usually takes place from the age of two till seven. The third stage is called the concrete operational stage, this takes place between the ages of seven and eleven. The final stage is called the formal operational stage, at this stage children start to think about the future and ideological problems. The child’s cognitive structure is more like that of an adults and includes conceptual reasoning. His theory was successful in the fact that they used his theory as a basis for scheduling in the school curriculum.His theory has a huge influence on the understanding of cognitive development and it was the first comprehensive theory of children’s cognitive development. His theory also challenged the traditional idea of the child being passive in development , also as his theory was scientifically based this made it come across as more accurate. However his theory has received some criticism, some critics challenged some of his developmental stages such as the sensorimotor stage and the pre-operational stage. Gelman questioned what Piaget viewed about children as young as four not being able to take on another persons point of view.Gelman believed that it was possible for children to do so. Behaviour therapy refers to techniques based on classical conditioning. This therapy consists of using learning principles to change maladaptive behaviour. There are a number of various behaviour therapies including systematic desensitisation. This therapy is a form of counter conditioning using a hierarchy of fear. One example could be to remove a phobia of animals. The patient is taught how to relax so that relaxation and fear cancel each other out, to do this hypnosis or tranquillisers may be used.It is believed that it is impossible for a person to experience two opposite emotions at the same time. The systematic part of the therapy involves a recorded series of contacts with the object of the phobia. Whilst relaxing a least frightening image of the object is introduced to the patient until this can be done without the patient having any feelings of anxiety. Some of the therapies based on classical conditioning are effective, such as the systematic desensitisation therapy. However it is mostly effective only for anxiety disorders and addictions. They are more effective in phobias than in psychotic disorders.An advantage is that the therapies are relatively quick and only take a few months to work as oppose to psychodynamic treatment which can take years. There is also a high success rate, McGrath found that systematic desensistisation to be effective for around 75% of people with phobias. In the case of single sessions success, if conducted in one session it is proved that 90% of patients with phobias made vast improvements and some were even fully recovered. Systematic desennsitisation helped treat one of the most difficult phobias to treat called agoraphobia, this therapy however helped between 60-80% of cases.Critics of these therapies would suggest that many patients with phobias may have no recollection of bad experiences with the object and simply just have a phobia, therefore the therapies would not be effective and solve the problem. Psychodynamic theorists would say this is due to the symptom being a sign that something unconscious is wrong with the patient. Another disadvantage is the unpredictable effects that the therapy can have on the patient such as heart attacks and hyperventilating. The cognitive approach has many therapies to explain and modify behaviour.Cognitive forms of therapy include the Ellis rational therapy, which is now more commonly known as rational emotive behaviour therapy. Ellis came to conclusions about patients negative thoughts and their tendencies to catastrophise s ituations making things seem so much worse then they actually are. This therapy focuses on when irrational thoughts are seen as the main cause of all types of emotional distress and behaviour orders. The aim of this therapy is to exchange the irrational unreasonable with the more positive and realistic beliefs and ways of thinking. Patients are encouraged to ‘look on the bright side’.Ellis identified patients irrational beliefs and ideas which are emotionally self defeating and are mostly associated with psychological problems such as negative thoughts and feelings about ones self. Patients are told to practice certain positive statements like â€Å" I can do† rather then â€Å" I can’t do† to help them create a more positive state of mind. The benefits of using such therapies are that it is a structured therapy with outcomes which are achievable, these methods are becoming more commonly used as they are short term and are cost effective aswell as e conomically effective.This therapy is appealing towards patients who find insight therapies which look deep into their inner emotions and problems seem less threatening and intimidating. Although there are disadvantages of this therapy. It may not uncover the problem completely, however it does almost try to empower patients to help themselves with their issues and feel better. It also may not work well for adults who are not willing to take part and collaborate with the therapist to achieve a new way of thinking. It may also not be successful for those who feel that they can’t achieve self happiness without something or someone else contributing towards it.This therapy is mostly successful for clients suffering from anxiety disorders, stress management and sexual problems. Studies have shown that this therapy is more effective in depression than drugs are and the relapse rate is proved to be lower with cognitive behavioural therapy. This from of therapy has been proved to be more effective then anti depressants. In conclusion, I have included all the points mentioned in the introduction that I said I would include in my essay, I have outlined and evaluated two approaches and discussed two theorists and therapies for each approach.

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in the Prince William Sound Essay

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in the Prince William Sound - Essay Example These investigations proved beyond doubt that the damages caused by this mishap have been more than what one would anticipate and therefore huge remedial measures are necessary to regain the damaged eco system back to its normal state. Even though some relief works were carried out at the site for few months and some compensation were dispersed by Exxon; these measures were not sufficient enough to bring back the affected region to its normal state. Exxon slowly started to withdraw its relief operations in this area even though they accepted the responsibility of this mishap. This paper discusses the things happened after this mishap to the key players, the appropriateness of their actions and the recommendations for avoiding such mishaps in future. â€Å"Exxon Mobil has paid about $900 million under the 1991 settlement† (Yardley, 2011) to rebuild the environment back to its normal state. â€Å"Exxon says it doesnt have any obligation to pay more. But the settlement also had a "reopener" clause allowing the state and federal governments to later claim up to $100 million more from Exxon if there were unforeseen damages† (Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Exxon Mobil Scores Key Victory In Alaska Case, 2011). But Exxon is note ready to obey the "reopener" clause of $100 million more aid to the affected people. Oil that penetrates deeply into beaches can remain relatively fresh for years and can later come back to the surface and affect nearby animals. In addition, oil degrades at varying rates depending on environment, with subsurface sediments physically protected from disturbance, oxygenation, and photolysis retaining contamination by only partially weathered oil for years. Long-term exposure of fish embryos to weathered oil at parts per billion (ppb) concentrations has population consequences through indirect effects on growth,

The Directive and the Conduct of the Undertakings or Individuals Research Paper

The Directive and the Conduct of the Undertakings or Individuals - Research Paper Example In â€Å"Pretore di salo v unknown †, it was held that a directive cannot, of either independently or itself of a â€Å"national law perused by a Member Nation for its execution which has the impact of aggravating or deciding the accountability in criminal law of individuals who function in infringement of the provisions of such a ruling† .† The above constitute as an incompatible with fundamental needs of legal certainty; individuals must be able to bank upon their national law. It is to be noted that no obligation can be imposed upon individuals if a directive has not implemented in a Member Nation. This connotes that where a Member Nation is yet to implement an EC directive, for instance, a specific environmental tax, it cannot legally levy the environmental tax directly in its region on the footing of such a directive. This also connotes that there is a choice for an individual: where national law is silent as about the directive, individuals may bank upon, by selecting the best alternative which is suitable to them, either, on the contrary provision of national law or on a directly applicable directive provision. Thus, in such cases, individuals are entitled to go for â€Å"provision shopping. â€Å" This can be regarded as a one -way vertical impact of directives due to an inherent outcome. However, there is a possibility that the directive may have some negative impacts on taxpayers. National courts and authorities are needed to construe national law in such a manner that it confers with specific Community Law, particularly where directives have not or ambiguously or not correctly been integrated into national law.

The effect of minimum wage laws on income inequality Essay

The effect of minimum wage laws on income inequality - Essay Example Income inequality is one of the major problems faced by the society through out the world. It may vary in its extent from one country to another country, but is omnipresent in its existence. Several steps are required to reduce the income differences among different sections of the society. Even though effort have been made at government and non government levels, still lot of inequality in income is clearly visible which is to be managed effectively for better prosperity of mankind (Levy and Murnane, 1992). The effect of uneven distribution of income will certainly influence the income inequalities among different sections of the society. Minimum wages laws will significantly reduce these anomalies and reduce the income inequalities (David M Cutler and Lawrence F Katz,1992). However several researchers found that minimum wage laws may result in higher income inequalities (Cotterman, 1981 and Kaun, 1965). Literature has been collected from different sources relating to the origin of the minimum wages laws and their consequences in different countries. Similarly the information relating to the economic or income inequalities was also reviewed. Consequences of income inequalities and the necessity of minimum wages laws and international scenario of minimum wages were also studied and analyzed thoroughly. The positive and negative effects of minimum wages laws on income inequalities were discussed in detail. Wages are what a worker gets from money or solid appreciation of their work. This differs according to education and constitution the worker belongs to and works in. It is negotiable and thus the worker could offer more for his working time the more the appreciated he is and the effect of such behavior is the giving efficiently into the work done. If improperly done, the law has the right on the side of the customer and employer to cut

Homeland Security - Predaredness & Prevention Assignment - 1

Homeland Security - Predaredness & Prevention - Assignment Example The same is the case with the US government, which has established various law enforcing agencies as well as collective security programs and strategies to strictly observe and enforce the writ of law as well as security measures to combat with any challenges occurred in the country. National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) are also included in the list of security providing models of the USA, which are working at local, state and country levels, introduced and established in the aftermath of 9/11 catastrophe in order to tackle with the terrorist attacks and natural disasters. â€Å"The National Incident Management System (NIMS) provides a systematic, proactive approach to guide departments and agencies at all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to work seamlessly to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity, in order to reduce the loss of life and property and harm to the environment.† Since NIMS and its subsidiary agency i.e. ICS concentrate their attention upon rapid flow of communication between different agencies and authorities to act swiftly in order to cope up with any emergency situation, they are rendering extraordinary services on the security plans launched by the government. These agencies are highly supportive in responding to the call of the individuals and institutions undergoing any disturbance and turmoil at national, regional, local or community levels. Both these models lay stress upon applying modern equipments to provide a platform from which the rescue and security organizations remain in close contact with one other, and can abruptly lend a helping hand to one another at the hour of need. It is therefore, the institutions and organizations request NIMS from controlling the fire break out to flood rescue, and from hurricane disaster to the terrorist attacks. It is a

Development public expenditures & Urban services delivery Essay

Development public expenditures & Urban services delivery - Essay Example Developmental public expenditure includes expenditure on infrastructure, development of agriculture, and public enterprises. This expenditure incurred by the government increases capacity of production and in the long run acts source of income to the government (Shantayanan Devarajan, 1996). Redistributive public expenditure is public expenditures incurred by the government to foster public health to benefit all persons. Government use expenditures as devices for redistribution. Redistributive public expenditure includes expenditure incurred by the government in the provision of public health, welfare, education, and public pension. How maintaining adequate levels of urban service delivery at the time of falling revenue and shrinking budgets has become a monumental challenge for government at all levels (Shantayanan Devarajan, 1996). Shantayanan et al (1996) argues that falling revenue and shrinking budgets have become a challenge to the government to maintain sufficient delivery of municipal services (Shantayanan Devarajan, 1996). Households that are poor spend all their income to meet daily needs and are not able to save for future. In addition, the government lack resources for budgetary to make public investment and administration by employing managers that are qualified and using current systems of technology (Shantayanan Devarajan, 1996). On the other hand, foreign investors move from economies with no underlying infrastructure. The government should put down strategies to increase profits and strategies to address deficit budget. The government should enhance employment and growth of the economy; an economy that grows faster provides win-win results of a wide proverbial pie of economy to divide, with greater tax revenues and employment, lowering safety of net spending lower debt to GDP ratio. The government should make trade-offs that are equitable since most budgets have choices of win-lose outcomes, showing how government revenues

How Business Works Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

How Business Works - Assignment Example Preparation and filling of the Articles of Association with the secretary of state is the other requirement of registering a corporation. On this note, a fee of $100 is paid for the filing of articles (Legislative Analyst’s Office). Creation of the corporation bylaws is the fourth procedure required in the formation of a corporation though no specific criteria is outlined for the corporations to follow. According to information from the Legislative Analyst’s Office, filling of an information statement with the state secretary is done where a fee of $25 is paid. The filing of this information should be done within ninety days. The next step encompass holding a meeting with the company’s incorporators. This is followed by issuing of stock certificates to the original owners of the corporation. Another important step is to obtain necessary local license needed to run the business. The final step involves determining the tax obligations for the corporation, which marks the end of registration process. The rate of income tax that applies to corporations in California ranges between 8.84% and a flat rate. The corporate fees and taxes in California state is different from those of neigbouring states like Oregon, Nevada, and even Arizona. Information from the Legislative Analyst’s Office indicates that the state of California tops in levying a broad based tax on the corporate profits. Legislative Analyst’s Office. California’s Tax System: A Primer. California’s Nonpartisan Fiscal And Policy Advisor, April 2007. Web. February14, 2013

DNA as a Key Witness Essay Example for Free

DNA as a Key Witness Essay Criminals, often unknowingly, leave parts of themselves behind. These pieces are not always visible to the untrained eye. Hair, skin, blood, and fingerprints all contain elements that are unique to each person. It is with DNA testing and fingerprinting, that criminals can be identified and crimes can be linked. This system of testing and matching has become the â€Å"most essential and reliable method of catching criminals† in the United States (Lynch 67). Advancing technology is not only solving crimes, but also deterring them. DNA profiling, genetic fingerprinting, and DNA testing are all names for the same process and are used interchangeably. These terms all refer to the technique used by scientists to identify and match the genetic code (or DNA) of people. DNA is highly similar among humans, but there are always pieces of the coding that are distinguishably different and exclusive to each person, aside from identical twins (Lazer 9). Samples of genetic code are logged into easily searchable, computerized files called databases; searching these databases with DNA found at a crime scene will result in a match if the DNA of the criminal was previously entered. To begin genetic fingerprinting, a technician will procure a sample of DNA. This piece of genetic coding will be referred to as a reference sample (Lynch 12). There are many ways to obtain DNA. For criminal coding the most effective and proven method is that of buccal swabbing. This is the act of collecting a sample by rubbing a swab on the cells on the inside of a person’s cheek. Buccal swabs are a relatively non-invasive way to collect DNA samples for testing. Though DNA is relatively easy to acquire, there are issues involved in its application. It can be seen as an invasion of one’s privacy. Recently there has been some speculation about the accuracy of DNA profiling leading to concerns regarding the potential for criminals to have been falsely convicted. Critics of DNA say that the FBI has falsely applied theories behind its calculations, so courtrooms make DNA seem accurate. More than half the states have a mandatory DNA testing of all people convicted of sexual charges and violent offenses, to help in future criminal investigations. Alth ough some people say that this is an invasion of privacy, its a good way to prosecute repeat offenders and find suspects when only DNA evidence is available (Forensic 43). As accurate as DNA  profiling is, there are still many questions about the validity of DNA science. Lawyers try to break down DNA test results and make jurors question the accuracy of the evidence. DNA profiling evidence has been known to be a reliable source. So reliable that often, courts view DNA evidence as somewhat as a verdict rather than a piece of evidence. Many believe there is ample opportunity for DNA profiling technology to be taken advantage of to frame one for crime he did not commit. Dr. Tony Raymond, in charge of the forensic services for the NSW Police said People have said its easy for police to plant DNA evidence. Ive always thought its easy for a criminal to plant DNA evidence (Lynch 34). Regardless of who is planting evidence, it is possible for it to be planted. Another issue is the accuracy of DNA profiling. It was once thought that DNA profiling was 99% accurate however the accuracy depends on the machine and person analysing it. In the United States a few c harges were dismissed after judges ruled that laboratories had not conducted the tests properly. There had been some speculation over DNA evidence from the murder of Jaidyn Leski (Cole 87). The police believe that it had been contaminated not at the scene, but back at the lab. When there is doubt, DNA evidence is not always upheld. This was evident in the O.J. Simpson trial. Simpson was accused of the murders of his wife Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman, a friend of Nicole (Cole 17). Simpsons lawyers put doubt in the jurors minds through racism, bad evidence handling, and a possibility of Simpson being framed. Even though DNA testing proved that Simpson was guilty, he was acquitted of all charges. This shows that DNA evidence in everyones eyes is not valid without substantial evidence. Forensic DNA analysis is rapidly evolving. Research and development of tools that will permit crime laboratories to conduct DNA analysis quickly is vital to the goal of improving the timely analysis of DNA samples. Smaller, faster, and less costly analysis tools will reduce capital investments for c rime laboratories while increasing their capacity to process more cases. In order to increase productivity, the forensic science community has a critical need for trained forensic scientists in public crime laboratories (Forensic 13). The initiative will assist the development of comprehensive training programs for a new generation of forensic scientists, enabling new forensic scientists to receive in-depth training to prepare them for analyzing actual casework in a crime  laboratory. With the increasing mobility of national populations and concerns to curtail international crime and terrorism, the law enforcement community will desire to make databanks more readily accessible. By analogy, Canada and the United States recently developed an agreement to link their Integrated Ballistics Information System (IBIS) databases (Forensic 32). This can be done more easily than with DNA databanks, which are affected by the laws and principles of each jurisdiction surrounding the use of personal information associated with an intimate sample, such as a person’s DNA. Since the introduction of DNA evidence, it has played a key role in the investigation of crime; police now rely on DNA analysis to provide intelligence that was previously unavailable. The value of this technology has resulted in an increased expectations of impartial evidence. DNA been used in judicial reviews and its convincing ability has been used in support of both repeals and convictions (Lazer 12). Through partnerships between police and scientists, DNA analysis will continue to be regarded as the standard of excellence for the development of impartial, unbiased scientific evidence in the support of the justice system. It is the belief that DNA evidence is nearly impossible not to leave behind that scares many potential criminals. Deterring potential criminals lowers crime. DNA fingerprinting, and more recently the threat of it, not only solves crimes but also prevents them. The process of matching and identifying genes of suspect to those genes found at the scene of a crime may be seen as a violation of privacy, but it has prevented many crimes, and send many people to prison. DNA identification has saved many lives, but more importantly, prevented even the threat of many others.

Analysis of C Seasons Footwear Company

Analysis of C Seasons Footwear Company Introduction For the business world today, the aim of every company is to invest in an environment that is economically safe with the aim of working towards making profit, make maximum returns on investment and to kept the interest of the companys shareholders in mind and also to have the interest of customers in mind in order to gain competitive advantage by working on core competency of the organisation. The company is in the athletic footwear industry called C SEASONS. The company used a differentiated strategy for the sale of its sports footwear. This is going into the footwear market in a different way from other footwear making companies in order to have a competitive advantage over other athletic footwear industry. C Seasons Footwear Company has been in the footwear industry for the last five years supplying the best footwear to four different regions namely, North America, Europe Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The BSG Online simulation was based on twelve industries that were into athletic footwear located in four regions (North America, Europe Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. It started with twelve companies and to compete with other company and make necessary decisions and design and implement a strategy that will provide a longterm return for shareholders over the next five years. The report will focus on company 25 (C SEASONS). According to Johnson, et al (2009) a differentiation strategy seeks to provide products or services that offer benefits that are different from those of competitors and that are widely valued by buyers. p.153. The aims and objectives of the BSG online simulation are: Becoming the market leader in the footwear making industry. To have a good shareholder returns. To have a high net profit at the end of the game simulation. Various report, tables and graphs would be used to help decision making processes. The table below shows the strengths and weaknesses for C Seasons on both the internet segment and wholesale segment of the business for the five years. Simulation Result. Year 1. In order to be the market leader, we decided that in year 1 we would be making a 1% charitable contribution, by doing this it would help reduce the tax payable by the company at the end of each financial year. The company would also be involved in workforce diversity programs. The company also decided that at the end of the year we would have certain percentage of our unsold stock on clearance sales. For the North American market clearance would be 25%, Europe Africa would be 25%, Asia Pacific would be 50% and 50% for Latin America. The company also had strengths in all regions in the models offered, rebate offers and advertisement. Some weakness were also identified such as the style and quality, delivery time and the wholesale price. At he end of the first year the company had an image rating of 66 and a credit rating of A. The net profit margin in the first year was 14.1% while return on equity was 22.8%. The current ratio in the first year was 2.74 while the asset turnover was 0. 93. Year 2 In year two the strengths of the company in the regions were the models offered and the rebate offers. The inventory clearance was left as the first year which the company believed would attract more customers. The weaknesses in year two were style and quality, wholesale price offered to retailers, the delivery time, celebrity appeal and free shipping. Return on equity in year two was 23.4% while the net profit margin was 16.4%. This was a 3.1% rise from the first year which points out that the company was selling well. Asset turnover in the second year was 0.93 while the current ratio was 4.11%. Year 3 In year three the strengths of the company in the three regions were the free shipping offered, rebate offers, celebrity appeal and the models offered. The return on equity in year three was 19.7%. Net profit margin 16.9%. Asset turnover was 0.57 while the current ratio was 5.37%. The company had some weaknesses in the third year of business delivery time, retail outlet, and advertising were the setback for the company. Year 4 In year four the company decided to pay shareholders, a sum of $0.50/share is to be paid to each shareholder per the number of share(s) they hold in the company. Shareholders were paid dividend as a sign of goodwill and also to show value for the money they have and would invest in the company. The company showed some strengths during the trading year such as the models offered, the free shipping offered, rebate offers and good advertising. The company also had some weaknesses in some of the regions such as the style and quality, retail outlet and the delivery time. The return on equity for year four as 10.3%. Net profit margin for the year was 10.5%, the reason for this was the dividend paid to shareholders during the year. The asset turnover for the year was 0.76 while the current ratio for the company was 7.32%. Year 5 In year five the current ratio for the company was 8.21% while the operating profit margin was 25.7% and net profit margin was 17%. In the fifth the company had some weaknesses such as wholesale price, style and quality and the retail outlet. The strengths during year five were free shipping offered, the good advertisement made, the delivery time, the rebate time offered and the celebrity appeal the business had. The asset turnover for year five was 0.72. Strategic Thinking a.) Strategic Analysis The basis strategy used in the simulation was a differentiation strategy â€Å"this seeks to provide products or services benefits that are different from those of competitors and that are widely valued by buyers† (Johnson et al, 2006) pg 153. C Seasons offered a good quality product and started with a slightly lower price for a quality product that it was producing. C Seasons used the PESTEL framework to analyse its external environment. â€Å"The PESTEL framework categorises environmental influences into six main types; political, economical, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors† Johnson et al (2006) pg 25. The aims was to achieve competitive advantage by offering better product or services at a reasonable price or enhancing margins slightly higher. Although, Seasons product may be identical, but possible to differentiate on the basis of the following Quality product Reasonable price Global brand Broad market Unique value Niche market Product differentiation is another strategy for gaining a market foothold, and to be successful, product differentiation must be valued by target customers. It must be protected by products, make duplication by rivals difficult or impossible Today, most successful and powerful companies grew out of business model that were elegant, compelling in their logic and powerful in economic potential as some variation of the value chain that support business. b.) Mission And Vision â€Å"A mission is a general expression of the overall purpose of the organisation, which, ideally, is in line with the values and expectations of major stakeholders and concerned with the scope and boundaries of the organisation† Johnson, et al (2006) pg 9. â€Å"A vision can also be described as desired future of the organisation. It is an aspiration around which a strategist might seek to focus the attention and energies of members of the organisation† Johnson, et al (2006) pg 9. Therefore, the mission of C Seasons will be to become ‘the major player in the market and the vision is ‘to produce the best footwear that are worn and cherished the world over by both children and adult. External Environment External environment examines opportunities and threats that exit in the environment. Both opportunities and threats exist independently of the firm (Adkins, March 2008). See appendices. Internal Environment The internal environments are those that the company can set up strategies for and make sure that the decisions are the right one for the company. See appendices. Value Chain Value chain analysis also highlights the mechanisms through which developing countries and their procedures have upgraded their activities and linked to producers and consumers in the global economy, or may do so in the future in a manner that can lead to a sustainable income growth. The results of this type of analysis should indicate the way to policy challenges confronting the private and public agents operating in or promoting the chain (Kaplinsky,2000). The VRIO framework was the foundation for internal analysis in order to lead to sustainable competitive advantage a resource or capability should be valuable, rare, imitable and organised. Decision Making And Personal Learning C Seasons decided not to take a bank loan in the first year of business, the reason for this was to see if the company could sustain itself without a loan or overdraft. At the end of year one the company had a total sales of $267,140m with a net profit of $37,666m. In year four the business decided to issue dividends to shareholders, a $0.50 was to be aid to each shareholders per the number of shares they hold. The reason for the dividend been paid to shareholders was as a result of increase in the businesses market share and profit. The reason why the net profit in year four was low was as a result of the exchange rate at the time which went up to $21,764m compared to $6,756m in year three. The company had problems with its style and quality during the first two years of business and were able to sort it out by year three. In order to generate net income on our investment, we signed a celebrity to endorse our product and also wear the footwear during shows and also placed some adversitment on TV and billboards. We tried to create a new concept with good features in order to meet customers aspiration at this period our firm started making sales. In all, this exercise have exposed me to know how business can be done in real life and make necessary strategic decision that will make the business more viable to operate. These also allowed me to have an in depth understanding of business practice and ability to have a longterm vision and generate positive customer and shareholder expectation. I was also able to know how to use the accounting ratios in calculating for businesses. Conclusion To gain return on investment, strategic decisions must be made in accordance with the set objectives, the report focused on developing strategic decisions which helped in comparing the simulation to a real life business. An important skill derived will monitor numerical information and analysing these statistics in order to forecast the future and successfully survive in the business. The various experienced gained during the cause of the simulation game and comparison of other group result to improve the firms decision making were utilised this included taking risks to ensure that the firm performance in the market is high. Charts and financial ratios were analysed during the course of the simulation exercise to complete the tasks, this helped the decision making process. Making use of resources and information that is available. Recommendations C Seasons is clearly the top of its industry, but no company is invulnerable. Seasons has several avenues of improvement. If they want to continue to build upon their lead and maintain their status in the industry, they need to take a hard look at their mission and define it in SMART terms. The ability to reach some of their target customers in such a fashion could be a huge marketing advantage. Seasons reputation will be more positive and if they can gain back customers lost due to negative publicity. People already associate Seasons with quality retail products. It would be even better to feel good about buying their product and not feel as if people are being exploited every time they purchase a Seasons product. Appendices The Summary of Internal and External Analysis Swot The SWOT summarizes the key issues from business environment and the strategies capability useful as a basis against which to generate strategic options and assess future courses of option(Harvard Business Essentials,2005). Its helps to generate strategic alternatives from a situation analysis, and can be applicable to either corporate level or business unit level and do appears in marketing plans The internal and external situation analysis can produce a large amount of information, much of which may not be highly relevant. The SWOT analysis classifies the internal aspects of the company as strengths or weaknesses and the external situational factors as opportunities or threats. The following diagram shows how a SWOT analysis fits into a strategic situation analysis. SWOT Profile The internal and external situation analysis can produce a large amount of information, much of which may not be highly relevant. The SWOT analysis classifies the internal aspects of the company as strengths or weaknesses and the external situational factors as opportunities or threats. In summary, the interaction of the internal and external analysis will result to SWOT important. e.g, the strengths can be leveraged to pursue opportunities and to avoid threats, and managers can be alerted to weaknesses that might need to be overcome in order to successfully pursue opportunities. Strengths In a SWOT analysis, the capabilities that enable Seasons company to perform wellcapabilities that needs to be leveraged. The company has introduced many innovative products giving it a competitive edge. Its global reach provides it an opportunity to tap growing global footwear market. The companys consistent innovations have enabled it to remain competitive and maintain market share Weaknesses In a SWOT analysis, the characteristics that prohibit Seasons company or unit from performing well and need to be addressed. The seasons company falls behind in brand awareness compared to its competitors because of lacking celebrity endorsements. The company faces intense competition from global players such as other competitors. Opportunities In SWOT analysis, the trends, forces, events, and ideas that Seasons company or unit can capitalize on. The global footwear market has shown positive growth in recent years. The North Americas and EU markets are expected to grow at CAGR of 4.3% and 3.2%, respectively, to reach values of $93.2 billion and $60 billion in 2010. The Asia Pacific region is set to grow more strongly in the 20052010 period, recording a CAGR of 4.7%. a positive outlook for the global footwear market would boost the revenue growth of the company. Threats In a SWOT analysis, the possible events or forces that Seasons company or unit must plan for or mitigate. The principal materials used in manufacturing footwear products are natural and synthetic rubber, plastic compounds, foam cushioning materials, nylon, leather, canvas, and polyurethane films used. As a result of rising oil prices, the prices of synthetic rubber and plastic based products has increased. Rising oil prices will further increase the prices for petroleum based products. Increasing raw material costs would increase the companys production costs and may affect its profitability. SWOT Analysis Limitations The classification of some factors as strengths or weaknesses, or as opportunities or threats was somewhat arbitrary. For example, a particular company culture can be either strength or a weakness. A technological change can be a either a threat or opportunity. But, the most important was that firms awareness of them and its development of a strategic plan to use them to its advantage. Competitive Environment The prospects for longterm industry wide growth in footwear sales are excellent. Athletic shoes have become the footwear of choice for children and teenagers, except for dressy occasions. Increased adult concerns regarding physical fitness are boosting adult purchases for use in exercise and recreational activities. Distribution Channels The ultimate customers for athletic footwear, of course, are the people who wear the shoes. But athletic footwear manufacturers have all refrained from integrating forward into retailing and making direct sales to the final user. Customer demand for athletic footwear is diverse in terms of price, quality, and types of models. There are customers who are satisfied with no frills budgetpriced shoes and there are customers who are quite willing to pay premium prices for topoftheline quality, multiple features, and fashionable styling. Wholesale Selling Price The higher your companys wholesale price to retailers, the higher the prices that retailer will charge customers. Consumers are quite knowledgeable about the prices of different brands, and many do comparison shopping on price before setting upon a brand to purchase. The Number Of Retail Outlets Retail outlets are essential in accessing the consumer market. The more retail outlets a company has carrying its brand of shoes, the more market exposure a manufacturer has and the easier it is for consumers to purchase the brand. Celebrity Endorsements Footwear companies can contract with celebrity sports figure to endorse their footwear brand and appear in company ads. Celebrity endorsements, along with the impressions and perceptions people gain from watching a companys media ads over time, combine to define how strong a brand image a company enjoys in the minds of athletic footwear buyers. Customer Rebates Manufacturers who give rebates provide retailers with rebate coupons to give buyers at the time of purchase. To obtain the rebate a customer must fill out the coupon and mail it to the manufacturers distribution warehouse, along with the receipt of purchase. The VRIO framework was used to evaluate how capable Seasons Value A resource is valuable if it helps the company to meet an external threat or exploit an opportunity. If a resource helps to bring about any one of these four things then its valuable Quality Service Seasons offer a quality service, and the good does whats designed for exceptionally well. Innovation Process innovation can influence efficiency rather than having a direct effect, because the company can have at least temporary monopoly on new product. Rare Seasons brand name is valuable but most of its competitors ,also have widely recognised brand names as well, making it not that rare. The Seasonls brand may be most recognised, but makes it more valuable not more rare. Uniqueness Its a prime locations, design, and intellectual property. Inimitability The inimitable resource are often result of historical, ambiguous or social complex causes. Intangible resources or capabilities like corporate culture or reputation are very hard to imitate and so inimitable e.g Seasons marketing strategy leads to distribution, partnership programme leads to customer relation management. Organised A resource is organised if the firm was able to actualise it. If analysis does turn up a valuable, rare and imitable resource that Seasons was not taking advantage of, then recommendations. Porters Five Forces The essence of formulating competitive strategy, writes scholar porter was relating a company to its environment. Every companys environment includes with customers, competitors, suppliers and regulators etc, and has impact on its profit potential (Harvard Business Essentials,2005). Both current and potential customer, each requirements for product quality, features and utility. Changes in the external environment may be related to competitors, suppliers, partners, customers, sociochanges, economic environment etc. The external analysis was use to examine opportunities and threats which do exists in the environment, and both opportunities and threat exists independently of the firm. The opportunities were favourable conditions in the environment, which produce the results for an organisation if agreed. But, the threats were conditions or barriers that may prevent the firms from reaching its objectives. Power Of Buyers The bargaining power of buyers was very high, as Seasons continue to market their products and differentiate their brands against competitors, so as to increase sales and market share. With the use of internet marketing, helps the company to improve accessibility and intimacy among users. It helps the brand entity plays its role in purchasing behaviour, strong identity will gives customers trusts and loyalty. Some of the online customers are sensitive to price and switching cost for the buyer was low. Power Of Suppliers The threats of bargaining power of Suppliers was very low, many suppliers in this industry, little differentiation among suppliers and makes it nonexistence. The suppliers dependent on the firm in order to survive can switch between suppliers quickly and cheaply due to geographical locations, cheap labours on various regions. In this industry, raw materials were abundantly present (Leather, rubber, cotton) etc, will help the seasons to standardise their input procedure especially to material used, labours, suppliers, services and logistics in some of the regions. Threats Of Substitutes The buyers propensity to substitute was very low. Consumers are not likely to substitute due to the performance specification of the product. e.g, a basketball player would not wear boots to play basketball. Therefore, there are no real substitutes for athletic footwear. Consumer substitutes for athletic footwear products are low because there are little alternatives to switch, some substitutes for athlete footwear could be boots, sandals, dress shoes or bear feet. Barriers To Entry Threats of entry was very low in the sense that, seasons is able to control their costs to retain performance advantage over emerging competitors in the industry. The capital injection into web site development is high and must be updated frequently with new promotions and added features to attract online shoppers. There are many proprietary product differences in the industry therefore brand identity has an immediate competitive advantage. The online footwear industry is highly abundant with hundreds on online merchants. Switching cost is low for the consumer, and may occur frequently depending on consumer preference and other factors affecting consumer, and may occur decision, (i.e. price sensitive consumers). Selling footwear online is highly competitive; however, barriers to enter into this ecommerce industry are quite low. Rivalry Among Existing Competitors The rivalry among existing competitors in the footwear industry was very high. Most individuals in North America have access to high speed internet and online purchasing has become the new trend for the twenty first century. Almost every large firm has a web site, and most of these web sites contain virtual stores which provide convenience to consumers. Competition is fierce in the footwear industry and those who dominate or lead the market do so with high capital expenditures, aggressive sales and marketing strategies, and strong brand identity. Pestle Analysis Political Analysis Political environment vary widely between countries and can alter rapidly. Government can of course create significant opportunities for organisations. It is important, however, to determine the level of political risk before entering a country (Johnson et al, 2009) pg 218. Examples are the political stability of the country, tax policies, etc. Economic Analysis key comparators in deciding entry are levels of gross domestic product and disposable income which help in estimating the potential size of the market. However, companies must also be aware of the stability of a countrys currency which mat affect its income stream (Johnson et al, 2009) pg 218. Examples inflation rate, interest rates, labour costs, etc. Social Analysis Social factor will clearly be important, for example the availability of well trained workforce or the size of demographic market segments old or young relevant to the strategy (Johnson et al, 2009) pg 218. Examples are income distribution, consumer behaviour, living standard. Legal Analysis Countries vary widely in their legal regime, determining the extent to which businesses can enforce contracts, protect intellectual property or avoid corruption. (Johnson et al, 2009) pg 219. Another external factor that C Seasons faced was other competitor, this was difficult because we new that other industries would have access to our details and would see what we were doing and try to target our business. The edge our industry had was that we spent more on advertising and reducing our delivery time to two weeks. Internal Environment Technology Capabilities All the industry under the simulation game has got one thing in common and that it we are all making athletic footwear. We all want to make the best footwear and so we would make sure that we use the best and very latest technology to produce the best footwear for the athlete or for the public that would wear them. Distribution This is how the footwear is distributed to the wholesalers and private customers. C Seasons was able to reduce delivery time from four weeks to two weeks which helped sales. Purchase Decision Purchase decision is what will determine the product a customer will purchase or buy, this would in turn reflect in the decision to be made by the company. In all cases, before customer makes a decision to purchase a particular product they would compare prices of the product with the value they hope to enjoy from such product. C Seasons was able to enhance the purchase decisions of its customers by making their footwear a high quality with good styling.

Physics of Glacier Flow :: physics glaciers ice

How Glaciers Flow - Glaciers flow under the force of gravity as snow accumulates on the upper parts of the glacier and wants moves down slope. - The snow compresses to become ice and flows through the glacier into the ablation zone where it is lost. - If the accumulation equals the ablation than the glacier is said to be in equilibrium and its position will not change. This does not mean that the ice will not flow! Accumulation Zone The area where inputs occur into a glacier system. This usually occurs near the top of the glacier or ice sheet and such inputs to the system include snowfall, wind blown snow, rain and avalanches. Ablation Zone The region in which more mass is lost than gained in a glacier system. This usually occurs at the end and sides of the glacier. Forms of losses include wind ablation, avalanching, iceberg calving and melting. Glaciers flow through three different mechanisms: (1) by internal deformation; (2) by basal sliding; and (3) by subglacial deformation. Glacier Flow Mechanisms Internal Deformation Ice deforms under its own weight due to gravity and the movements of tiny ice crystals. Thicker and warmer ice deforms more rapidly although the overall movement is very slow, only around tens of meters a year. There are two main processes of internal deformation; creep, which forms fold structures, and faulting, which occurs when ice cannot creep fast enough and forms superficial tensional fractures. Basal Sliding Enhanced Basal Creep - Stress concentrations around the upstream side of an obstacle result in locally high strain rates which causes ice to accelerate around the obstacle. The basal ice continually modifies its shape to allow a continued sliding. This process works best when the obstacle is over 1m in size. Regelation - The process allows glacier ice to slide over rough beds by melting and refreezing on the downglacier side. It occurs as the most resistance to glacier movement is provided by the upstream side of obstacles. This results in locally high pressures and the consequent encouragement of ice melting immediately upglacier of the obstacle. The resulting meltwater migrates to the lower pressure area downstream where it refreezes. This process is most effective when objects are less than 1m in size. Subglacial deformation Sediment has a lower yield strength than rock and ice and so it is deformable. As the sediment deforms, it moves the ice sheet with it. Ice Velocites * The surface velocities of a glacier can be measured quite easily using GPS.

Lee Iacocca :: essays research papers

Lee Iacocca Lee Iacocca, born Lido Iacocca on October fifteenth 1924, was the son of an Italian immigrant named Nicola Iacocca. He had one sister named Antonette. The family lived in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His father was some what of an entrepreneur in the food service industry. The family business was called the Orpheum Weiner House in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company is still standing today, operating under the name Yocco's, his uncles' are still making hot dogs for the public. Growing up in Allentown was difficult for Lee, because of his ethnic background. Allentown was primarily made up of Dutch immigrants. In his early years of education he was ridiculed for his heritage. An his senior year in high school Lee came down with rheumatic fever. He had a harsh bout with the disease because there was no modern medicine to aid in the recovery. In 1941 during the World War he was very excited about joining the military. Ironically, the illness that had almost killed him, saved him from going to war. Most of his classmates that joined the service had been killed over-seas and abroad. For college Lee chose Lehigh University for its engineering program, although he wanted to go to Purdue, he did not get a scholarship. Lehigh University was one of the sights that Ford Motor Company used to recruit new employees. He was able to secure a place in the Ford training program, it was difficult for him to get admission but he survived. During his time in the training program Lee had become less interested in the engineering aspect of the business and more in sales. He dropped out of the program to pursue areas in sales with the Ford Corporation. During his time at Ford Lee Iacocca came out with several very innovative purchasing concepts. One concept was the 56 for 56 payment plan. This payment plan would allowed the consumer to purchase a new Ford vehicle with a twenty percent down payment and a $56 monthly payment until the vehicle was paid off. This was one of the first payment plans that was structured to be affordable for the consumer. The system was responsible for selling over seven hundred fifty thousand vehicle in 1956. Although his career with the Ford Motor Company was extensive, all that would come to an end with the production of one vehicle the "Pinto". After Ford was able to settle law suits over the compact car for explosive reasons, (the Pinto was noted for exploding from rear end collisions), they recalled over a million and a half Pintos.

Edgar Allan Poes The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar Essay -- Facts

Edgar Allan Poe's The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar Edgar Allan Poe's The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar is one of his more interesting works. Granted, this is one of his lesser-known works, but nevertheless this short story is clear example of the obsession theme that is so prominent in the majority of Poe's work. In fact, the obsession the narrator in the story closely resembles Poe himself because he was somewhat obsessed or infatuated with mesmerism for a while. This could be one example where Poe allows the reader into himself (as the narrator) or this could be yet another of Poe's tricks on his audience. In either case, this is a fascinating work that combines his trademark Gothic style with numerous customs and ideas of the day in a short yet substantial work. It would be somewhat accurate to call Poe "the inventor of American Gothic." American gothic did exist before Poe, but he was the man who took this genre to its zenith. Poe's stories generally have some element of the supernatural or mysterious in them, a solitary speaker who is normally "not normal" (many ask "Am I mad?" or insist they are not mad), usually set somewhere in Europe in some remote place at midnight. His brand of American Gothic allows for both the supernatural and physiological interpretations. Many of his narrators show some degree of madness and obsession. In fact, obsession seems to be evident in nearly every Poe tale. Poe's concept of madness is two-fold: physiological and mental/ psychological. Roderick Usher in The Fall of The House of Usher is an example of being mad from a psychological condition of his family practicing incest. The narrator in Ligeia is another example of this physical madness, this man was suffering from al... ...ffman, Daniel. Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe. New York: Doubleday, 1972. Howarth, William. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Poe's Tales. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1971. Forclaz, Robert. "Psychoanalysis and Edgar Allan Poe: A Critique of the Bonaparte Thesis." Ed. Eric W. Carlson. Critical Essays On Edgar Allan Poe. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1987. 187-195. Gauld, Alan. A History of Hypnotism. Cambridge UP, 1992. Matthews, Terry C., . Writing Scientific Papers. Decatur, Il: Millikin University Biology Department. Ostrom, John Ward. The Letters of Edgar Allan Poe. Vol 2. NewYork: Gordian Press, 1966. 2 vols. Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Facts of M. Valdemar's Case." The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe, 1850. The Works of Edgar Allan Poe. The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. 19 Nov. 2001. 9 Dec. 2001. http://www.eapoe.org/works/tales/vldmard.htm.

How Did Population, Economics, Disease, Religion, and Climate Impact Ways of Life for Americans in New England and South America? Essay

If a foreigner asked an early American what life was like in America, the answer would depend greatly on where a person lived in the country. That was just as true in the 1700s as it is today. Overall, America’s colonial population increased from about 250,000 in 1690 to 2.5 million in 1754, fueled by natural increase and political turmoil in Europe. Poor Scots-Irish immigrants settled in the wilderness of North Carolina and the Appalachian Mountains. Wealthier German immigrants fled war and religious persecution. They felt most welcome in Pennsylvania and pushed the frontier steadily westward. This steady stream of non-English immigrants, combined with a significant American-born population, meant the New World was soon filled with people who had very little, if any, direct connection to England. Still, thousands of Americans fought on England’s behalf in four wars against Spanish, French, and Indian enemies. In our modern, developed world, it can be difficult to imagine how isolated the colonies were from each other. We get news and information at the touch of a button. But in the 17th and 18th centuries, there were few roads that linked one colony to another, and few forms of information other than word of mouth. Most people received more news from Europe than from another region of America. So, each colony grew distinctly from the others, following the local patterns established by the earliest settlers. Geography led New England to develop into a commercial and industrial region. The land and climate don’t support large-scale farming, but natural harbors made fishing, shipping, and shipbuilding profitable. Fast-moving rivers ran mills and machinery to manufacture goods. A strong working class developed. Immigrants tended to come in families, and 90% of them lived in or near small villages along these rivers. Homes and businesses were literally built in rings around a common building, and there were often shared woodlands and pasture lands for livestock. Since New England farms were fairly small, homes were pretty close together. This compact design encouraged commerce and made community schools practical. New England was the first region in which public education appeared. But the most important aspect of community life may have been the town meeting, held in the common building. These provided an opportunity for townsmen to voice their concerns and interests and planted the seeds of democratic government.

Legal and regulatory environment

The basic principle in taxation is that the income is always taxed at the situs of taxation.   This means that income is usually taxed at the source of the income.   Every time income, as in this case, is earned in a France and in Austria then the taxing authority of that area has the right to collect tax on that realized income.   It must be important to remember that the right to tax the income realized is only for the actual realized income.   It is fundamental in taxation that income that has not been realized such as stock dividends or bonds without yield do not fall under income for purposes of taxation. Another important principle is that foreigners are also liable for taxes under the local taxing authority under where they earn their income.   It does not basically follow that just because a person, in this case Frida, is a foreign national that she owes taxes to her country of citizenship.   While she does owe her country of citizenship a certain percentage of taxes, she is only liable for the income that was earned exclusively within the taxing jurisdiction of that country save in cases where she remits the income back to her country and such is subject to another tax but not based on income tax. In this scenario, Frida is liable to pay taxes to her country, Chile, to her place of business, the United States, to the country where her chateau is located, France and if her bonds earn any returns, Australia.   The reason for this, as explained earlier, is that Frida is liable to the countries where she earned her income.   Since she is a citizen of Chile, she owes Chile any taxes on any income that she has earned in Chile.   She is liable to the United States for any income that she may have earned there from her realized income from her Savings and Drug Corporation.   Her liability in France is based on her income from the chateau that she owns there.   Finally, in the event that the bonds which she owns in Australia offer any return or interest yield, she has to pay the proportional amount of taxes to the local taxing authority there. The countries will only be able to tax Frida on the basis of the actual income that was realized within their jurisdiction.   It is a fundamental principle of taxation that only income actually realized can be the basis of taxation.   In this case, France can tax the rental income generated from the chateau because it constitutes realized income.   Any other income that is generated by Savings and Drug Corporation is taxed in the local taxing authority where the income is generated.   It must be remembered also that Frida is not necessarily liable to any of these countries wherein the Savings and Drug Corporation earns income because the corporation is a separate juridical entity that is taxed separately from the individual.   She is only liable for the income which she personally received from the company.   This is usually at the head office of the corporation. As previously mentioned, it is a principle in international private law that the local taxing authority has the right to tax any income that is generated within its jurisdiction.   By doing any sort of commercial or business transaction in a foreign jurisdiction that earns income, an entity is supposed to pay the proportional amount of taxes to the local authority.   This is under the principle that a benefit was gained from the business in that country to which the local taxing authority has a right to exact taxes from. Finally, in the case of double taxation treaties, the taxes that have already been collected on income generated abroad is generally not taxed again by the home country.   In case the double taxation treaty provides that income once taxed in a foreign jurisdiction is no longer subject to local taxes then the income that Frida earned in the United States and France can no longer be taxed in Chile or in certain cases be reduced according to a certain table. References: Hoffman, Phillipe and Kathryn Norberg (1994), Fiscal Crises, Liberty, and Representative Government, 1450-1789, p. 238. Zelizer, Julian E. Taxing America: Wilbur D. Mills, Congress, and the State, 1945–1975. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Dick Netzer, Economics of the Property Tax (1966); J. F. Due, Government Finance (4th ed. 1968); C. S. Shoup, Public Finance (1969); H. M. Groves, Financing Government (7th ed. 1973); C. Webber and A. Wildavsky, A History of Taxation and Expenditure in the Western World (1987).

Drug Essay Essay

â€Å"Drug abuse and addiction are major burdens to society; however, staggering as these numbers are, they provide a limited perspective of the devastating consequences of this disease† Essay On Drugs Numerous incidents have been reported in television and social Medias in this persuasive  essay about drugs users and dealers who are caught in the acts, especially in those squatters area or what they call â€Å"drug dens†. Not only those person who live in this populated area are being reported to the authorities but believe it or not powerful persons like government officials also indulge their selves in using prohibited drugs. Most of the drug users in the Philippines are young people. Illegal drugs that are present include marijuana, LSD, opiates, and barbiturates. While there are no accurate statistics available, it is estimated that as many as 60,000 young people in the Philippines are dealing with drug addiction. So what is the reason why this young people are attracted to use this illegal drugs? Maybe you will agree with this points I’ve listed. I’ll focus my discussion on young people who use prohibited drugs. First, Enjoyment. Despite all the concerns about illegal drug use and the attendant lifestyle by young people, it is probably still the case that the lives of most young people are centred on school, home and employment and that most drug use is restricted to the use of tobacco and alcohol. They may adopt the behaviour, fashion and dialect of a particular subculture including the occasional or experimental use of illegal drugs without necessarily adopting the lifestyle. Even so, the evidence of drug use within youth culture suggests that the experience of substances is often pleasurable rather than negative and damaging. So possibly the main reason why young people take drugs is that they enjoy them. Second, Environment. Many young people live in communities which suffer from poverty, with high unemployment, low quality housing and where the surrounding infra-structure  of local services is fractured and poorly resourced. In such communities drug supply and use often thrive as an a lternative economy often controlled by powerful criminal groups. As well as any use that might be associated with the stress and boredom of living in such communities, young people with poor job prospects recognise the financial advantages and the status achievable through the business of small scale supply of drugs. Third, Curiosity. Most young people are naturally curious and want to experiment with different experiences. For some, drugs are a good conversation point, they are interesting to talk about and fascinate everyone. Lastly, Personal Problems. Some young people will use drugs specifically to ease the trauma and pain of bad relationships and the physical and emotional abuse arising from unhappy home lives. Such young people will often come to the attention of the school. If these problems can be addressed, then if drugs are involved they can become less of a problem. So how can we prevent this wide spread use of drugs and drug addiction? For me, it is within ourselves, and that is DISCIPLINE. It’s hard for me to know that the lives of my fellow young people are being devastated just because of this prohibited drugs. If I have the opportunity to renew their lives, I would help them by conducting seminars about drug addiction. I will encourage them to join some recreational activities to reverse the ir attention on drugs. I will share to them the Good News, which is Jesus Christ because I believe that He alone can change our lives, from evil to good. Works Cited Currie-McGhee, L. K. Drug Addiction. San Diego, CA, ReferencePoint Press, 2011. Drug Addiction. Strasbourg, Council of Europe Pub., 2005. â€Å"Drug Addiction.† Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/drug_addiction. â€Å"Editorial Board.† Alcoholism and Drug Addiction, vol. 28, no. 2, 2015, p. iii. doi:10.1016/s0867-4361(15)00035-8.