Bottled Water vs Tap Water Essay Example for Free

Bottled Water vs Tap Water Essay Water is vital to human life. Humans can live for several weeks on water alone. However, they cannot survive for more than a few days without it. In fact, a human’s body primarily consists of 55% to 78% water (Geri Walton. ) Therefore, we need water. Life cannot exist without water. While some people prefer drinking bottled water, others prefer drinking tap water. In fact, controversy has been placed on the quality and safety of drinking bottled water versus drinking tap water. The bottled water industry has increased tremendously. They offer several brands of water including: mineral water, spring water, purified water and also well water. Water also comes in many different flavors. If you wish, you may also select carbonated water. In order to label these, each brand has to meet certain qualifications. They must be collected and strictly treated. The Food Standards Agency monitors bottled water. They adhere to rigorous guidelines as to what can and cannot be put on the label. Many believe that bottled water is much healthier than tap water. It is free of bacteria. It is free from filthy chemicals. In fact, the levels of lead in bottled water are much lower than those in tap water. Bottled water is free from contamination and safer for drinking. It prevents harmful substances and organisms from entering into the body. Bottled water has to pass through a purification process. Many companies like to include the word â€Å"pure† in their advertising of campaigns and trademarks. They realize that many people find it secure in health benefits over other products. This guarantees high-quality drinking water. Bottled water provides compelling vitamins and minerals to the human body. Sufficient amounts of minerals are important for managing a healthy human system. There are numerous health benefits for drinking bottled water. In some countries, such as Europe, humans believe that bottled waters have medicinal properties. It contains zero fat, calories and sugar. According to the International Bottled Water Association, â€Å"one of the main health benefits of bottled water is that it can replace less healthy beverages, such as soda, sweet tea, hot chocolate and sugary flavored coffees. (Ipatenco, Sara) In today’s society, bottled water may be found any and everywhere, from offices to homes and restaurants across the country. It is rejuvenating, healthy and convenient to carry around. It is great for those on the go. An accessible bottle in your bag will immediately quench your thirst. Having bottled water may result in more fluid intake. Sufficient utilization of water is important for preventing dehydration and for keeping our bodies functioning properly. Although there are several benefits of drinking bottled water, more and more people are questioning if it is actually better than tap water. In fact, many believe that bottled water is not safer or purer than tap water. Many believe that tap water tastes just as good as bottled water. During a blind taste test in New York City, the greater part of the people actually preferred the taste of tap water over bottled water. Tap water is not hazardous or harmful. In fact, it is well-regulated and inspected hundreds of times per month by the Environmental Protection Agency. These agencies make certain tap water is free of harmful toxins and other bacteria. With tap water, you are more likely to know what is in it. Tap water is tested cautiously. Every year, several tests are taken to ensure that tap water is as safe as it can possibly be. With strict standards, they are tested for micro-organisms and other chemicals and metals. It is also tested for water pathogens that could possibly cause intestinal problems. Tap water is composed of fluoride and chloronation. The enamel-protecting fluoride reduces tooth decay and enhances oral health. It is a major ingredient in toothpastes, while chlorination kills bacteria. Tap water is much cheaper than bottled water. It is free! Bottled water is extremely expensive compared to tap water. Bottled water companies make â€Å"tens of billions of dollars† per year. In today’s society, people are paying so much for bottled water when they could actually get tap water practically free. In fact, â€Å"bottled water costs 500 times more than tap water† (MacKenzie, Ashley. ) By drinking tap water, you save a tremendous amount of money. Drinking tap water is better on our environment. Water bottles are thrown into landfills. It takes more than 700 years for plastic to decompose. Reducing the amount of plastic water bottles in landfills can save energy drastically. Drinking water from a glass or using a refillable steel bottle also saves resources. By drinking tap water, you save the planet. Tap water has some bacteria that are actually beneficial to your health. The human immune system automatically strengthens its defenses against any possible harmful bacteria that it is exposed to. Our immune system is familiar with small amounts of bacteria and is equipped to prevent illnesses. For a fact, our bodies need water. Humans lose water every day through breathing, perspiration, urine and bowel movements. In order for our bodies to function properly, it is essential that we replenish it with water. Basically, bottled water and tap water come from the same sources: lakes, springs and aquifers. They each have many benefits. One must decide as to which is best. What type of water will you drink: bottled water or tap water? Make the healthy choice.

Archaeologists Interpretations of Sex and Gender

Archaeologists Interpretations of Sex and Gender How have archaeologists attempts to interpret sex and gender relations in the past changed? Gender, as a point of request in the investigation of prehistoric studies, has not been of essential enthusiasm until late history. It has just been as of late in the last thirty or forty years that the investigation of sex and gender relations as far as examining it in archaeological revelation has been a point that archaeologists have been truly seeking after. The subject of gender has still not been argued to the degree that which we need it to be, the sub topics considered a detail of investigation as opposed to the core interest. One of the obstinate conclusions on this theme is on account of it is for the most part accepted that the patriarchal society has been the prevailing social structure all through the current societies, along these lines to study sexual orientation relations is to summon a similar outcome through numerous social orders (Bettina and Wicker 2001).However, this is the centre issue with the path in which societies have been celebrated internationally through western conviction frameworks hence making suppositions about the way that sex and sex are considered inside those social orders subject to present day gauges of understanding it is imperative re-evaluate the way of social structures that have been resolved through one-sided suspicions keeping in mind the end goal to better build a photo of an antiquated social orders. In the last 40 years or so, Feminism has become one of the key influences for archaeologists, especially the post-processualists. Feminism was also one of the driving forces behind the interest in practice, meaning and identity in archaeological theory. It originated when women questioned why there was an absence of women in archaeological fields and also from the past that archaeologists wrote about. For instance, there were only a small number of fields that were run by women and although, there are usually more women that study archaeology than men, after they graduate, more men decide to get a job in archaeology. There is a drop off in number of female archaeologists with age. You could ask, why does feminism matter in archaeology? Some people would say that it is just about diversity, when it comes to feminism, allowing more equality between men and women. However, it is not just about this. It is also about the potential of archaeology as a subject. Many statements or stereotyp es made about gender and sexuality are still presented as timeless; Women care for children, men are superior leaders, etc. However, it can be argued that, the time depth of archaeology gives us the chance to modify these views and instead offer different narratives for the history of gender and sexuality. To show that it is not always the same, that it has changed through time and space. It is because archaeology is a potentially powerful subject that we have to think about these issues in the long term. In order to tackle the issue of gender, we must discuss what gender is and whether there is an absolute biological difference. One of the standard definitions of bodily identity is the classic biological description which is of two genders dictated by chromosomes, with females having XX chromosomes and males XY. The traditional biological view that sex defines gender was criticised by Simone de Beavoir who showed that the ideas of what a woman should be were not natural but cultural, I was not born, but rather, became a woman. People were expected to behave in certain ways. The idea that girls like pink, that they play with dolls not guns and that theyre passive quiet and submissive. Those classic ideas about what a woman was, particularly at the time Beavoir was writing are not at all natural but in fact cultural that are learned, that society placed upon us. In the New Archaeology, there was no consideration of gender. There was always the constant use of man and a failure to engag e with gender meant that there were essentially no roles for women in the past, and even if there were a role, it would most likely be secondary work and usually based on assumption rather than evidence. A particular example would be the idea that man was the hunter and woman the gatherer. Feminism had a huge impact in archaeology in the form of three waves which challenged he status quo. The first wave asked simple questions such as; where are the women in the past? Why arent there that many female archaeology professors? Why do men receive more benefits than women? Meg Conkey and Joan Gero who wrote the book Engendering Archaeology ­, which was the first active attempt to think about what the role of women in prehistory was. A lot of first wave feminism comes out of these two archaeologists (Gero and Conkey 1991). The second wave of feminism is even more concerned with the role of women and the sense that archaeologists have always presumed that men did all the important stuff (Nelson et al 1994). Janet Spectors book What This Awl Means thinks about the role of women in Dakota Village. As a result of all this, we get an increasing emphasis on the study of past gender relations. So, it is not just about what women are doing but about what the relationship between me n and women in the past. The third wave of Feminism begins to critique the other waves by asking whether the gender categories are universal, why do we assume that categories such as men and women have any meaning in the past? It also began to ask about transgender people, alternative genders and also different histories of sexualities. It is about thinking in a more complicated way and by this point, were not basing upon basic categories about men and women. Mary Louise Sorensens book Gender Archaeology focuses more on gender archaeology rather than feminist archaeology, thinking about the different gender combinations and how it all plays out. At this point, it can be argued that it is not just about women now. Archaeologists have taken a huge interest in masculinity, asking questions such as; How were male identities constructed in the past? How has the role of men changed? A solid example can be found in the works of Paul Treharne on the bronze age in Europe where he is looking at the idea of a warrior identity which we see in some of the graves in central and eastern Europe. This idea that there was a particular role in society and that they also had a particular look. The traditional sex model suggests that sex is biologically determined, that its clear genetically but also through sexual characteristics and the idea that sex is universal and natural. Opposed to this, we get the concept of gender, and gender in this sense is culturally determined, the product of our own experiences and the society that we grow up in as well as demonstrating through clothing, behaviour and possible bodily alterations. If we argue that that this is what it is about, if its sex being biological and gender being cultural, then isnt this just a nature/culture divide. In a sense, no. It is a lot more complicated; XX and XY are just two of eleven different possible chromosome combinations. Some people can be genetically XX but have male characteristics and vice-versa. In fact, the two-sex model, the idea that sex is just these two opposed identities is just a particular product of the way that we have thought about science in the west, in the same way that gender is a co nstruction and that we are easily willing to accept that. We see it as culturally determined, the product of the society we grow up in. Judith Butler looked at what we call Gender Performativity which was the attempt to move beyond the nature culture divide in our thinking about sexuality in the past. She argues that gender and sex are not pre-determined by our biology but something that we produce through practice and performance. Butler argues that there are male and female regulatory ideals and so it is not that we are born male and female but from the very moment we are born, our gender identity begins to be constructed and it is certainly affected by the regulatory ideals that society has for us (i.e. parents etc.). Butler uses the example of girling the girl; this notion that the midwife lifts up the baby and says its a girl. Begins the process for gender performance. Her argument is that in acting and performing the gendered regulatory ideals, we also sustain the gender performance. Her idea of a regulatory ideal is the idea that there are key concepts of what it is to be male and what it is to be female and t hat these are very particular and historically constructed and that we often attempt to try and live up to them or perhaps to question them? So, the idea that wearing certain clothes, acting in certain ways, having particular ideas about how one would want their life to work out, the idea that women should want to have children. All of these help us to live up the standards that we can never actually quite achieve. In doing so, we help to sustain these regulatory ideals. At one point, we can undermine and challenge regulatory ideals. By doing this we can act to shift them. Butler is often accused of playing the body. We do not choose our genitalia so how can we perform our gender. Butler points out that we are not meant to deny the role of the body but instead to argue that our bodies and biology are caught up in social discourse. We do not live in a world where we can only understand our bodies through brute biology, our understandings of our bodies are also always shaped by our cultural context. You can think about how you think about your own body, whether you think about it as biological, the product of our DNA and genes we inherit from our parents, or whether is it cultural, eat particular foods to look a particular way. Modifications to the body can also be thought about; tattoos and piercing, as cultural things. As a result of this, they are often viewed as superficial. What is personhood? The condition or state of being a person (Fowler). Not everyone understands sex, gender or the body in the same way across time and space and equally different cultures understand what it means to be a person differently. Who we recognise as a person, at what point do we recognise a person is different across culturally. In the west, we understand people and personhood to be about individualism, the idea that we are physically determined by our biology, that people have free will and as a result, they are responsible or their own actions and that we think this is the same in all time and space, and we consider the idea of the individual to be a natural state of being. This is a person who is bounded and defined by their skin. When the same way our bodies are not natural, the production of the western individual is not natural at all. Our individualism is created and sustained by our technology and culture. So, we have mobile phones, sleep in private beds, have dia ries etc. All of these are cultural choices about the way we organise our world. The opposite of individual personhood is relational personhood and in this model a person is defined by the relationships that they have with others. There are differing ideas about free will and personal responsibility. If a person is defined by their relationships and the other people that surround them then free will and responsibility shift. In a more modern view, boundaries of the body, skin and person are viewed as more permeable. The point is that if personhood isnt the same everywhere today, was it the same everywhere in the past? As a result, should we be walking about individuals in the past? In one sense, yes. People such Hodder and Meskell would argue that we should be looking for individuals in the past and tell their stories. However, there are other archaeologists such as Thomas and Fowler, who believe that we shouldnt talk about individuals in the past as they are just a concept as a result of western philosophy. We should recognise that although past personhood might have some familiar aspects we cannot assume people in the past were individuals. Personhood allows us to think in interesting ways about what it means to be a person in the past. This stops us universally and presuming that everyone always and everywhere understands what it means to be human in the same way. BIBLIOGRAPHY Fowler, C. 2004. The Archaeology of Personhood: An Anthropological Approach. London: Routledge. Butler, J. 1993. Bodies that Matter: on the Discursive Limits of Sex. London: Routledge. Gero, J. and Conkey, M. (eds.) 1991. Engendering Archaeology: Women and Prehistory. Oxford: Blackwell. Meskell, L. 1996. The somatization of archaeology: institutions, discourses, corporeality. Norwegian Archaeological Review 29 (1): 1-16. Nelson, S. 1997. Gender in Archaeology. London: AltaMira. Sà ¸renson, M.L.S. 2000. Gender Archaeology. Oxford: Blackwell. Spector, J.D. 1991. What this awl means: towards a feminist archaeology. In J.M. Gero and M.W. Conkey (eds.) Engendering Archaeology: Women and Prehistory. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 388-407. Treherne, P. 1995. The warriors beauty: the masculine body and self-identity in Bronze Age Europe. Journal of European Archaeology 3 (1): 105-144 Gilchrist, R. 1999. Gender and Archaeology: Contesting the Past. London: Routledge.

Workplace Evaluation of Status and Economic Comparison

Workplace Evaluation of Status and Economic Comparison Viktoria Konstantinova Key features of Work Practice Organization Evaluate your workplace in the context of its legal status and size in relation to both the Irish economy and world economy I have been on work experience in a community crà ¨che in disadvantage area since January 2014 until the place closed down and unfortunately I couldn’t get their policy and procedures. Therefore I will be evaluating my previous work experience from Level 5. The Child Care Act 1991 is one of the most important and comprehensive piece of legislation, in relation to the care of children. And everyone who is working with children have a legal obligation to adhere to this Legislation and every childcare setting is required to keep a copy of it at their premises and staff should consult and be familiar with roles and responsibilities stated in the Act. Child’s rights are the first Standard in Siolta’s Guidelines and my workplace implements it by offering children choices and uses their interest and initiative to participate in their own development and learning. Another example of promoting children’s rights is that it is now written in the Irish constitution after Referendum on children’s rights were held thanks to UNCRC (United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child) which is ratified by most countries, except USA, Somalia, South Sudan The setting is privately owned and is located in a big house that was refurbished into a childcare according to all necessary Regulations that are required by law and stated in the Pre-School Regulations 2006. These Regulations provide for health, welfare and development of the children 0 – 6 years. As part of Pre-school regulations 2006 individuals working with children must be qualified to minimum requirement FETAC level 5 Major Award in childcare and Garda Vetted to fulfil their responsibilities to protect children in their care. †The new ECCE scheme directly pays pre-schools to provide a place for one year per child between the ages of 3 years 3 months and 4 years 6 months at September 1st each year. A higher rate is available as an incentive to encourage graduates with a relevant third level degree in early childhood to work in the sector† ( Neylon, 2012:2). Services that operate free pre-school year are required to implement Siolta principles and Aistear Curr iculum along with notification to HSE to run the service, Tax Clearance Certificate, Staff Ratios (â€Å"For each group of 16 children in a full day care setting there must be at least 1 Pre-school leader who meets the qualification requirements outlined above (i.e. minimum FETAC Level 5 or equivalent)† (www.dcya.gov.ie) My work experience has both pieces of legislation on the premises and is available to read for everyone staff and the parents along with inspection compliance forms. Most European countries now provide free universal admission to Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) services for children aged three to six. They usually provide subsidies for children aged less than three and children of school age. Ireland only provides free preschool year for specific age group from 3 years 2 months – less 4 years 7months on 1st of September of the year that they are starting. A lot of countries provide long maternity leave for mothers and fathers (Sweden) usually until child is entitled to free education which helps both parents to participate in employment, therefore beneficial to economy. Examine the workplace’s organizational structure, mission statement and values Their services aims and objectives are to provide a service that is based on the needs of the families and children as well as the staff. Like for children: an environment which meets nutrition, health and safety requirements, supports and strengthens family ties, and which reflects the socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic background of its users, which accounts for the additional needs of children (There is a large collection of age appropriate toys and equipment which will ensure that your childs developmental needs are met. The equipment is kept at a level which ensures that your child, as an individual can choose to play with what he/she wishes to. Rooms are bright and spacious with separate sleep room) Adults who respect them as individuals, and foster their unique abilities (physical, intellectual, social and emotional), background and ethnic identities, a curriculum that is consistent yet flexible to reflect children’s interest and encompassing gender equality (room staff are carefully chosen based on a special affinity they have with children of specific age group. They ensure that your child receives constant attention with variety of curriculums according to their age). For families: Supports them in providing an environment which promotes the holistic developmental needs of their children, respects and responds to the needs, values and cultural diversity of the parents (having an active exchange of information between parents and staff on a daily basis by sending home a sheet to let you know what your child has been doing during the day. For staff: goal as a staff team is to facilitate an open and effective working relationship whereby the practitioners are supportive and respectful of one anothers needs (Conducting staff meetings and appraisals on a regular basis and provide learning opportunities both internal and external). Crà ¨ches mission states that their aim is to treat your child as an individual who will receive the very best care and attention that we can provide in a safe, loving, caring and stimulating environment. Setting has a strong commitment to provide a progressive and consistently high quality child care service where the needs of both the children and the families are met. As dedicated Early Childhood Professionals, they believe that children are unique individuals who learn and develop skills through the process of exploration within an educational, play-based curriculum. Our service continues to offer care and activities for children with additional needs. The crà ¨che caters for children from 3 months – 12 years. It’s privately owned crà ¨che and consists of a baby room (3months – 1.5 years), wobbler/toddler room (1.5 years – 3 years), Hi scope room for senior toddlers (3 year – 4 years), Montessori Pre-School (4 – 5 years), Afterschool ( 5 – 12 years). Assess the workplace culture and management practices of your ECCE setting based on your experience My work placement setting is a crà ¨che and Montessori, and offers after school care, ECCE scheme, CETS scheme and full and part time places, sessional Hi-scope classes and is privately owned. Overall values and culture of my work experience is very family oriented, and management practices support parents, children and staff members. The setting has family like environment with a lot of siblings attending a crà ¨che. The management constantly obtains an open door policy allowing parents to either drop off or collect their children at any time. Parents do not take an active role in policy changes, however, management do welcome at any time any suggestions parents might have to change policies as they are always trying to improve our service. Communication between owner and the parent is usually through an email or one to one meetings. Owner and Management are very involved in the crà ¨che life and not only sit in the office, they also working and participate in the activities and outings with children (on one occasion owner came down with her car to bring some of the children that didn’t fit on the bus to the farm). Everyone in the setting follow policy and proced ures, especially on outings and on the school runs. Regular meetings held by the owner and the staff on a monthly basis, and small staff meetings held by manager with room leaders and childcare assistants weekly. Staff are communicating with parents face to face and through little notes that they record what the children did on everyday basis. Relationships and working atmosphere is very friendly and pleasant because owner recognises the complex and fluid nature of the work of the staff in the Centre. And provides staff with on-going and diverse training (Siolta training, they have recently received full Siolta Verification) that will offer them an opportunity to further their skills. Owner and Management believe that this kind of training commitment will lead to the highest possible standard of care for the young people in the Centre and to the development of greater job satisfaction and professional progression for all the staff. And for this reason staff feel valued and motivated in their work. Bibliography Childhood Care and Education 1990–2004† [Online] available at: http://www.cecde.ie/english/pdf/conference_papers/WalshQoQ.pdf last accessed on 1.07.2014 Centre for Early Childhood Development Education (2014) â€Å"Germany† [Online] available at: http://www.cecde.ie/english/pdf/Making%20Connections/MC%20Chapter%206.pdf last accessed on 1.07.2014 Department of Children and Youth Affairs,2011 â€Å"ECCE Programme Guide to the Programme and the Administrative Procedures for Service Providers and Parents† [Online] available at: http://www.dcya.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=/documents/childcare/GuidetotheProgrammeAdministrativeProceduresforServiceProvidersandParents.htm last accessed 1.07.2014 Department of Education and Science, 2009, â€Å"Developing the workforce in the early childhood care and education sector Background discussion paper† [Online] available at: http://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Information/Early-Years/eye_background_discussion_paper.pdf last accessed on 1.07.2014 Early Childhood Ireland, 2012, â€Å"Salary Survey 2012† http://www.earlychildhoodireland.ie/advocacy-research-and-campaigns/research/surveys/salary-survey-2012/ Irish Times.(2011) †Nordic childcare model best for economic and social wellbeing†. Irish Times: Ireland [Online], Available at:http://cmi.mannadev.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Nordic-Childcare-best-for-economic-and-social-wellbeing-Irish-Times-9.6.11.pdf last accessed on 2.07.04 National Women’s Council of Ireland. 2005. â€Å"Accessible childcare† [Online] available at: http://www.dit.ie/cser/media/ditcser/images/accessible-childcare.pdf last accessed on 2.07.04 Neylon G., 2012, â€Å"An Analysis of the Free Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme – from a Practitioner’s Perspective† [Online], available at: http://icep.ie/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/icep12_submission_19.pdf last accessed on 1.07.2014 Salary Explorer, 2014, [online], available at: http://www.salaryexplorer.com/average-salary.php?loc=81loctype=1job=699jobtype=3show=job last accessed on 1.07.2014 Statistic Sweden, 2014, â€Å"Wage and salary structures and employment in the primary municipalities† [Online] available at: http://www.scb.se/en_/Finding-statistics/Statistics-by-subject-area/Labour-market/Wages-salaries-and-labour-costs/Wage-and-salary-structures-and-employment-in-the-primary-municipalities/Aktuell-Pong/7634/2012/28336/ last accessed on 2.07.04 Policy and Procedure from the creche 2014 Walsh T., (2004) â€Å"Quality: A Global Issue? An International Review of Quality in Early

Comparing the Character of Life in As You Like It and King Lear :: comparison compare contrast essays

The Character of Life in As You Like It and King Lear      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through comedy and tragedy Shakespeare reveals the vast expanses and profound depths of the character of life. For him they are not separate worlds of drama and romance, but poles of a continuum. The distinction between tragedy and comedy is called in question when we turn to Shakespeare. Though the characters differ in stature and power, and the events vary in weight and significance, the movements of life in all Shakespeare's plays are governed by the same universal principles which move events in our own lives. Through myriad images Shakespeare portrays not only the character of man and society but the character of life itself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The difference between comedy and tragedy, success and failure, good fortune and catastrophe often seems to turn on a seemingly chance event. In All's Well that Ends Well, Helene's pilgrimage to win back Bertram succeeds on the basis of her chance meeting with the mother of a virgin whom Bertram is courting. Time is another crucial determinant. Often a split second or brief interval is the difference between life and death. In this small but all important gap of time, the character of life is revealed most clearly. In As You Like It, Orlando came in time to save Oliver from the serpent that was winding around his neck. Out of context, these events would appear as a very thin and frail fabric upon which to build great comedy and tragedy were it not for the fact that they are true to a deeper level of causality in life. Suzanne Langer has called comedy 'an image of life triumphing over chance.' It may be otherwise stated that in comedy the s eemingly chance events of life move in favor of a positive resolution, whereas in tragedy they seem to conspire toward disaster. Helene Gardner observes that 'comedy is full of purposes mistook, not "falling on the inventor's head" but luckily misfiring altogether. In comedy, as often happens in life, people are mercifully saved from being as wicked as they meant to be.' 5   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Time as well as chance events are expressive of another set of determinants, another level of causality in the wider plane of life. The critical gap between human action and its results depends on the response of the environing life and expresses the character of life in the given circumstances.

Latin America And Slavery Essay -- essays research papers

Prior to its independence Latin America had been controlled by external forces for hundreds of years. To be freed of control from these outside interests did not in any way guarantee Latin America a return to the status quo. In fact, the inhabitants of Latin America had done very well in assimilating their in house controllers. They adopted European language, religion, color, and just about everything else that the European culture had to offer them. Although they were free to do as they please and run their own affairs in the global neighborhood as we know it, they struggled to create an entity for themselves. They embody too much of what is not native to their region, yet the people that used to represent their land 500 years earlier were a truly unique culture. Let us go back to that point in time and trace the route Latin America has taken, from an isolated civilization with a unique, independent culture to a Europeanized puppet continent with little cultural identity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Latin America began as a secluded land of aboriginal inhabitants that was cut off from the rest of the world. It was first discovered by Europeans while trying to find more efficient trade routes to India and China. These Europeans noticed the vast resources present in Latin America and smelled money. Europeans are very greedy and would do anything for their country if it meant higher social status when they returned. Soon the monarchs of their respective countries were sponsoring conquests and colonization of the Latin American lands in turn for profits and goods from the lands they took. Due to the tropical climate that encompasses most of Latin America, colonization meant growing sugar on plantations in the coastal regions of the continent. Labor was the main expense of this operation, so enslaving the natives and putting them to work on these plantations seemed like the most economically sensible thing to do. This was the first step to sterilizing the identity of the continent. Diseases introduced by the immune Europeans took their toll on the natives and killed many off. Coupled with the stress of working in the fields and in other aspects of enslaved life the aboriginal population soon dwindled to next to nothing. Looking at just the aboriginal population, there was a traumatic fall. Birth rates were very low, especially given that the newer â€Å"mixed† ch... ...ly communist governments around, but was communism actually a Cuban idea? I do not think so. Any radical ideas expressed by the individual in Cuba is however put down. The government in Cuba and Mexico try to keep people from returning to their roots. In Mexico there is a lady who puts on plays which call for social reform. The Mexican government is all over her case too. When the government tries to tell you who you are and what you do, you cannot identify with anything but an institution you have no desire to be a part of. Hence, you become something else. For Cubans, they are a raft ride away from becoming Americans. They do not want to identify with something they do not believe in. Why force it upon them? As long as the governments are poor in Latin America, there will be no unity. To be one as a people they need to be able to go back to their roots and start again. They need to overthrow the governments in their areas and install democracies that work for the people. Or els e they can progress at the snail’s pace which they are right now and have an identity later. When things change drastically all over the place. As things stand right now, they will be Euro-American clones.

Positivism Vs. Classicism

In this essay, Classical and Positivist theories of criminology will be explored and critically discussed to explore the impacts that they have had on modern day policing, introduction of laws, and police practice. The essay will first look at the history of the Classical Theory looking at Beccaria and Benthams classical school of criminology and its effects in a brief section. Positivist theorists will then be identified and the theory will be discussed, outlining the main thesis and beliefs of both of the theories.How each theory defines a criminal will then be taken into consideration and the relations of theories like the broken windows theory (Wilson and Kelling 82), labelling theory (Becker 1982), strain theory (Merton 1957) and rational choice theory (Homos 1961) will be used throughout the essay to explore the effects that the classical and positivist theories have had on police concepts like public order policing and community policing, touching on criminal justice systems a nd modern day police practice.Classical Criminological though can be traced to the criminal justice system and the penal system. Beccarias 1764 Publication on crime and punishments introduced a serious consideration into the harm caused to society by crime, and ideological outline of the basis for punishments and the relationship between the state and the offender (Beccaria 2003). Beccaria Stated in his approach to the prevention of crime that it is often distilled down to three ideas, and that it is fundamentally a product of Certainty; how likely punishment is to occur.Celerity; How quickly punishment is inflicted. and Severity; how much pain is inflicted (Newburn 2007). Another later criminologist; Jeremy Bentham, then published writings on the penology and notions of â€Å"rational free-willed character of offenders† (Maguire et al 2002) and forwarded the study of crime in that the central concerns of free will and rational choice came together to attempt a more logical a nalysis of crime and suitable punishment.In the twilight years of the 19th century the emergence of the Italian school of criminology sparked a departure in thinking on the study of crime the schools founding member Cesare Lombroso introduced a holy bible of sorts into the criminological world in that he contributed to the introduction of scientific methodology in regard to the study of crime. Lombroso most notably introduced a biological positivism into the study of crime.An â€Å"Atavistic Heredity† (Lombroso 1911) in relation to the cause of offending where physical features were viewed as evidence of an innately criminal nature in a kind of criminal anthropology. His work was then continued and elaborated by two other Italian scholars Ferri (1856-1929) and Garofalo (1852-1934) (Newburn 2007). Ferri and Garofalo elaborated on the environmental factors that can also effect criminal behaviour in relation to positivist criminology. Positivism carries the main assumptions that the methods of the natural sciences should and could be applied to the social world.Suggesting natural sciences should be used as the method base to analyse and conduct research in relation to policing and policing concepts. Positivists believe that research should consist of social knowledge and scientific knowledge through observation and scientific data. Facts must be separated from values and usually, there is a preference for a use of quantitative data over qualitative (adapted from Bottoms 2000, cited in Newburn 2007). in 1913 Positivist theorist Charles Goring published a book called The English Convict.This book logged the study he undertook which took place over 13 years, the study involved examining 3,000 British convicts against a controlled group of non-convict males to try and find out if the criminal could be categorised to a certain type of person, no significant physical differences were found between the two groups. (Goring 1913) Critical of this study and convince d that the criminal is organically inferior (Quoted in Brown et al 2004) Earnest Hooton conducted his own research into the criminal as a certain type of person and introduced Somatyping into positivist criminology.Somatyping involves the belief that evolution was dominated by superior types, arguing that a criminal had a certain type and evolution could eventually eradicate the criminal. Hooton was criticised for having poor data and an unrepresentative control group. However Hooton's work then sparked this idea in the Positivist Criminology theorists as William Sheldon then looked into Somatypes further in 1949 (Newburn 2007) and concluded that there were three types of body a person has; Endomorph, Mesomorph and Ectomorph.These body types were basically short and fat, Large and muscular and Lean and fragile. Sheldon argued that each of these body types was related to particular personality traits and that all individuals possessed varied traits however certain traits were more pr edominant than others. In modern day policing and criminology we use a theory called the labelling theory. This theory was first put forward by Howard Becker in 1963, Becker claimed that criminal elements are associated with physical appearance and the criminal becomes a label attached to a certain type of person.In 2011 it was common belief that a criminal wore a certain type of clothing which was a hooded jacket or ‘Hoodie'. Articles were even published in the newspapers like the Guardian (Guardian 2011) under title â€Å"The power of the Hoodie†. Amplified by the media this piece of clothing became an instant link to criminal behaviour and deviance. Positivist theory can be linked in here with the labelling theory to show the development in the idea of a ‘Criminal type' and show how in modern day policing we are using these theories to determine and define the word criminal.Following the work of Emile Durkheim, Robert K Merton's Strain theory (1957) can also be linked into this concept as the positivist belief is that criminal behaviour can be encouraged by social physical and biological elements, the strain theory thesis is that pressure from social surroundings can encourage an individual to commit crime. If an individual is singled out by Somatype or through labelling theory, they may feel social strain or believe that they should become deviant which could actually pressure said individual into committing criminal acts.An example of where this kind of concept was familiar was when the London riots happened in 2011. Classical criminology however argues against the concept of a criminal being defined by a certain type. Bentham stated that every person has free will and is able to make a rational choice based on the situation they are in at the time and what they feel would be the appropriate action to take. Classicism disagrees with the positivist view of a criminal only being a certain type of person and believes that the criminal deri ves from within any person.Everybody has free will, and the ability to make an informed decision on their actions in any situation they may be in, therefore believing that the criminal is an element every person has the possibility to exploit instead of positivist theory of the criminal element being biologically woven into a persons DNA. Classicism had a major effect on the criminal justice system and penology, punishments were believed to be best given on account of the appropriateness of the crime in question. This idea became the basis for our criminal justice systems today.With the introduction of the classical school of criminology the use of capital punishment and torture was on the decline and in their place the introduction of prison systems as core elements of the justice systems and punishment systems we have today. The abolishment of capital punishment has had an indescribably huge effect on our modern penal systems, the effects are vast however include the introduction of fundamental law like the Human Rights Act (HRA 1998). Acts like this are incredibly important in criminal trials and allow every person to have rights to things like the right to a fair trial and the right to prohibition of torture.Classical criminology influenced these modern day laws as its theorists believed in the concept that the punishment for crime should be based on the scale of what has been done and should be appropriate to the crime itself. Classical Criminology has influenced the constructions of our prison systems as becoming the core element of the way we punish criminals instead of using inhumane methods through capital punishment by considering the scale of the crime and deciding on an appropriate sentence for the criminal.Here another theory can be looked at which has been shaped by the classicism theories and beliefs. This theory is the Rational Choice theory (Homas 1961). the theory is based around the assumptions that criminal activity is committed by an indiv idual after weighed up the risk and reward of an action, if the person believes that the reward is greater than the risk they may be more likely to commit a crime than if the risk was greater than the reward. This theory is supportive of Benthams notes of free will and rational choice.Free will and rational choice can be used to help explain the way we police through public order. In a public order policing situation, like a protest or a riot every person who attends and participates does so out of their own free will, a protester may not riot because they may believe that the risk of being arrested is greater than the reward of violently voicing their opinions. However positivism argues that a criminal is a definitive type of person and can be influenced by social physical or biological surroundings. These assumptions can be seen in the cases of rioting and community crime.The London riots happened in 2011 and they escalated throughout the country with riots happening in places lik e Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester as well as other locations. The reasons that these sparked off is because of the social influence that was pressuring younger people to join in, here the broken windows theory (Wilson and Kelling 82), labelling theory (Becker 1982), strain theory (Merton 1957) and rational choice theory (Homos 1961) can all be related through classicism and positivist views to our modern day policing methods.Broken windows theory states that a run down or derelict area can encourage crime, this relates to the positivist assumption of criminal behaviour being encouraged by the physical surroundings and the evidence of this happening in the London Riots is when all the shops had been broken into and fires had been started. The streets were wrecked and this would have encouraged acts of violence.Merton's strain theory and Beckers labelling theory are also applicable here as the social strain of most young youths committing the crime would encourage more young peop le to commit crime, because the individuals could see crimes being committed around them without any action being taken, this would have further encouraged deviance as rational choice theory says the risk is lower than reward. These positivist based theories meant police in the London riots and most public order situations would target younger individuals to try and find criminal activity and arrests.The Classicism side of influence on Public Order would then come after the arrest in trial where they would be questioned why they had committed these crimes out of their own free will and then put through the justice system, being sentenced on the classical assumption that the punishment should be appropriate to the crime committed. Positivist assumptions can also be linked into the concept of community policing. Positivists believe that crime and criminal behaviour can be influenced through social and physical surroundings.Wilson and Kelling (1982) also believe this is the case as the ir broken windows theory looks at how the area a person lives in can affect their attitude towards crime and committing crime. Through the Classicism belief of community deterrence police practices have been introduced to arm the police with powers that they can use to their advantage against the war on crime. The Police and Criminal Evidence act (1984) and The Police Reform Act (2002) has seen the introduction of new police powers and a new national policing plan.These police practices include powers like stop and search. Stop and search gives the ability for any police constable to stop any citizen and search them if they believe they have reasonable grounds to do so. Classicism and Positivist theories have also had an effect on the way that we police our communities. PCSOs (police community support officers) were introduced in 2002 under the police reform act (2002) and help to improve community relations with the police.This police practice supports the positivist beliefs that c riminals can be influenced through social and physical surroundings as better relationships are built with the community and things like team projects are created to improve derelict areas and social situations people may find themselves in by offering things like youth clubs and activities. This deters crime by drawing people away from delinquency and encouraging them to take part in constructive, positive activity.Theorist David Matza outlined that the positivist theory drew on three sets of problematic assumptions; the first being Differentiation; the assumption that offenders can be separated from non-offenders by definitive characteristics, the second being Determinism; the assumption that biological, physiological or social factors affect the criminal and criminal behaviour and the third being Pathology; the assumption that an offender is an offender due to something going wrong in their lifetime (Tierney 1996).The problems of these views are that the fail to take into account the aspect of rationality, choice and human decision making. They define a criminal as a certain person, and if a person falls into the category of what has been defined by the positivist theory as a criminal it means that they must carry the traits of a criminal which is simply not true as proven by Charles Gorings work (1913). Classicism theory argues rational choice and free will, however what if a person has the impaired ability to make decisions and acts without being rational.Power and wealth is also a problem with the theory, if the classicism theory applied to all in the same sense then why is it that people who have less power and wealth tend to be the more predominant resident of the criminal justice system and not the wealthy. there are other factors that both these theories have not taken into consideration throughout their thesis, they are also very much at opposite ends of the scale.The positivist theory says that criminals are a type of person and the classicism theo ry says that a criminal offence can be committed by anybody as well all have free will and rational choice. Without the Classical school of Criminology and The positivist theorists vital procedure and acts would not have been put into place that are fundamental today for the way our society and criminal justice system operates. Classicism changed the way we sentence criminals and the construct of our prison systems which are of prestigious importance to the modern justice system.Positivist theory has influenced the way we police in terms of public order and community policing through the introduction of the Human Rights Act (1998), the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (1984) and the Police Reform Act (2002). These acts have allowed the modern day police to be able to take the best assumptions from the classicism theorists and the best assumptions from the positivists and use them to create a criminal justice system that incorporates the best of each theory into the police practices and concepts that are used from day to day in modern day policing.

Competition in the Movie Rental Industry: Netflix and Redbox

The competitive forces in the movie rental industry are quite strong, as I will explain through the five forces model. There are a vast amount of substitutes for watching a movie. You can go to a play, sporting event, concert, out the lake/beach, go for a run, watch regular television, go shopping; I could go on and on. Also, torrenting or pirating movies is growing increasingly popular. Buyers have a strong presence in this industry mainly because they are picky about how much they will pay to rent or stream a movie.With the amount of substitutes and their pickiness, they make this industry more competitive than what it may seem. Suppliers can make this industry very difficult because there is so much red tape in the movie industry. There are copyrights and restrictions on everything. This gives the supplier a lot of leverage and for the most part, they know that they can demand a price of just about anything. I see the potential and threat of new entrants being moderate to strong. First off; many customers have their loyalties whether it be to Netflix, Redbox or a local hometown movie rental.Secondly; pricing, availability and quality are all key factors. Lastly you have to have a large sum of money upfront in order to get the ball rolling. As I mentioned prior, gaining rights from movie companies is not cheap. The rivalry among the competitors is rather intense as they are battling for the best prices, biggest variety, quickest accessibility for the customer, and quality movies (HD streaming, few scratches and number of blu-rays). With the growing increases in technology and home entertainment, there are major forces pushing for change in the movie rental industry.In addition to this; we now live in a world where people want something and they want it NOW. I work in retail and this â€Å"in the now† era is changing everything and is putting a lot of pressure on almost any company. This has increased the push for expansion of online streaming and or th e ease of access to movie rental kiosks. Also in this new world, there is a huge demand for entertainment. Our generation spends more time in front of the TV and now computers, tablets and smart phones than ever before.The increase in the quality of televisions, surround sounds and filming capabilities is pushing the envelope. People are also always looking for the biggest bargain while maintaining quality. When looking at a strategic map the two variables would be price and how quickly the product can be attained. Netflix and Redbox rank high within each category. On the other hand Blockbuster and Movie gallery would be ranked much lower due to their high prices and the fact that you have to go out of your way to a brick and mortar store.The biggest key success factor to me over the next 3-5 years will be the capability to stream HD content at home. I understand that this hinders on your internet provider due to bandwidth. But I believe that if a customer can stream HD content it w ill save them the cost of purchasing a blu-ray player and blu-ray videos. To stem off of this idea, it’s going to depend upon how quickly the customer can obtain the video. After those two factors, I think that price (low) will then come into play. People want things to be as simple and as user-friendly as possible.Whether this is how it easy is to navigate a website or make purchase at a kiosk machine. Lastly I foresee the variety being a component of success; I don’t know about you but I do miss some of the movies from the 90s. After performing a SWOT analysis of Netflix, the company looks increasingly more popular. First off, lets look at Netflix’s strengths. Overall Netflix has had strong financial stability as they have grown their margins year over year. They definitely have their brand name out on the market; much of this can be attributed to their amount of advertising.You can say that they have alliances given that their videos can be streamed on virtua lly any device (phone, tablet, and computer). This also allows their content to be viewed virtually anywhere. The fact that they teamed up with Oracle to work on their website was a very beneficial move as this gives them somewhat propitiatory technology. I personally enjoy their recommendations and it is obvious that with their next arrival that they have strong logistics. They have a big cost advantage too.If I can stream a whole season of How I Met Your Mother in one day, I feel as though the $8. 9 that I spent was a good investment and yet I still have another 29 or 30 days to go. The two times that I had to deal with their customer service; they quality of service was outstanding and I’ve heard many other wonderful testimonials. When looking at weaknesses, I feel that their inability to provide new releases is a major drawback. In addition to this, they need to amp the selection for online streaming since streaming is expanding rapidly. The issue at hand with streaming i s that it can potentially lead to server crashes if there are too many users on at once.Netflix can also be very enticing to hackers since there is so much personal information stored. I would say that the biggest opportunity for Netflix would to be to make deals with the movie production companies to allow Netflix to offer new releases. To feed off of that, they need to increase their variety; particularly in the selection of indie and international films. With as big as they have become Netflix should try to gain rights to more countries. They could try to test out the video rental industry. This would help them out as gamers can stream Netflix on their consoles.Since they have software to offer recommendations based off of likes, they could look into developing a music streaming service similar to Pandora. Lastly, they need to set up kiosks in high traffic shopping areas. Maybe they could start this by putting up kiosks in each of the 50 towns in which they have a distribution ce nter. I see the biggest threat being the increasing amount of pirating movies and people performing illegal downloads. The supplier has a lot pulling power as they can quote big prices. If other companies began to enter the online streaming idea; Netflix will have to look for ways to distinguish itself.Redbox’s SWOT analysis does not make it look as attractive as Netlfix, however it is still pretty strong. Again starting with strengths; Redbox has its kiosks placed in prime locations. It is much more convenient for a customer to pick up a movie as they are walking out of the grocery store or McDonald’s than it is for them to drive to a physical store location. It is good for both the store and Redbox. I feel that their prices give them a large competitive advantage especially when comparing to the price of a rental from Blockbuster or Movie Gallery.Their smartphone app allows the customer to decide whether or not they can go out and pick up a certain film. I know that many people appreciate the fact that Redbox has many new release films. Moving on to weaknesses; the biggest issue with kiosks is the amount of variety and inventory. There are only 20 to 30 films to choose and I feel that folks enjoy more choices. The other issue with kiosks is that nobody is there to inspect the condition of the disks therefore a customer can potentially rent a scratched up disk.The beauty of Netflix is that your movie will arrive on your doorstep or you can stream it instantly. With the increasing price in gas, it can be seen as somewhat of an inconvenience to drive out to a kiosk. On a positive note, Redbox has many opportunities available to it. They can start off by offering online streaming. Like Netflix, I suggest that they look into tapping into the video game market at their kiosks. After lifting their lawsuits from Universal and Warner bros, they should renegotiating the length of time that it takes to get their hands on new release films.Redbox’s biggest threat would if/when other companies also begin to offer rentals via kiosk locations. The advances in technology may one day lead us away from using discs and virtually everything will be done online. They also face uncontrollable threats such as snow days. It is much easier for the customer to stream a video with Netflix than it is for them to bundle up, clear off their vehicle and risk their lives in hazardous driving conditions. Financially Netflix has been quite sound since its creation.I am rather impressed with how well its gross profit and net income have steadily increased year over year. On the other hand, it does somewhat bother me that their stockholder’s equity has decreased each year since 2005. Recommendation: Netflix: I recommend to Netflix that they look into adding kiosk locations in attempt to drive out Redbox as much as possible. This will pull in any more customers because not everyone enjoys being on a subscription and paying monthly rates. By the time everything turns completely towards online streaming, you will be leaving Redbox in the dust with almost nothing.To further help with pulling customers away from Redbox, Netflix needs to look into gaining access to new release films. With their powerful software, Netflix should look into a streaming service similar to Pandora and or create something like iTunes where customers can purchase and download music. Redbox: Redbox has got to get with the program and offer online content. Along with this, they should offer some sort of subscription service to ensure that they are holding onto their customer base. They could also look into having a rental service via online so that they can offer their customers more variety in movies.