Focus Point Holdings Berhad Essay

FOCUS POINT HOLDINGS BERHAD Introduction This case analyzes the effect of Focus Point Holdings Berhad financial strategy on the firm’s operating activities and financial performance. Focus Point Holdings Berhad is an investment holding company that engages in the operation of professional eye care centers in Malaysia. The company is also involved in the trading of eyewear and eye care products; management of franchised professional eye care centers; provision of medical eye care services; provision of food and beverages services; trading of hearing aid solutions and related accessories; and retail of optical and related products. It operates 175 professional eye care centers under the Focus Point, Focus Point Optical City, Opulence, eyefont, ExcelView, Solariz, and Focus Point Signature brand names, each serving a different market segment. This Malaysian home grown optical store was established in 1989 as Focus Vision Care Center. In 1993, it became a private limited company and in 2010, a public entity. Financial Strategy  With the understanding that the fundamental success of a strategy depends on a realistic internal view of its core competencies and sustainable competitive advantages, the company translated its vision and mission statements to pursue its economic objectives. Vision: To become a leading brand in Asia through our focus approach in vision care Mission: To provide consumers with the best vision care and eyewear services as well as to uphold the highest standards in reliability, quality and profesionalism The company arrived at two major decisions, that is, to go public and to franchise the store. 1 Going Public The company’s decision to go for listing on August 23, 2010 is a financial strategy that raised RM16.07 million of which 8.94 million was channeled into expansion plans and upgrading and refurbishment of the existing eyecare centers. The company pursued the market penetration growth strategy, aimed at increasing market share for existing products or services in existing markets. The focus of growth was on expansion of new outlets, upgrading and refurbishment of existing outlets and expansion of branded eyewear products. Franchising  Franchising enabled the company to improve on its economies of scale due to its size, brand name and experience. At the same time, it provided the company with the key advantage of incremental income with minimal capital expenditure in the setting up of new outlets. Revenue contributed by the franchising model mainly comprises of sales of eyewear and eye care products to their franchises and royalty fees which are based on 5% of gross turnover of the respective franchisee’s outlets, and franchise fees payable by franchisees which amount to RM30,000 for a period of 5 years. The franchise agreements signed between the group and their franchisees are valid for a period of 5 years, with an option to renew for another five years with the same franchise fees of RM30,000 payable over the extended 5 year period. To enhance the success of this strategy, a Memorandum of Collaboration was signed between the company’s management and Permodalan Nasional Berhad to facilitate financing for Bumiputera franchisees. The company also collaborated with Maybank on a similar loan scheme for non-Bumiputera franchisees. 2 Internationalization In the same year as its initial public offering, Focus Point Holdings Berhad began to pursue its overseas expansion by opening its first franchise overseas outlet in Brunei. The company’s internationalization effort accelerated the openings of franchises in other south-east asian countries such as Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. The first-mover advantage gave the company the edge, especially in highly-populated countries like Vietnam and Cambodia where consumer spending power was increasing in tandem with their growing economies. On the other hand, Singapore’s economy provided an opportunity for the company to venture into high-end market for professional eye-care services. Effect Of Strategy On Operating Activities By going public, the company was able to collaborate with and convince financial institutions and agencies to provide franchising loans to interested franchisees. Access to financing and the strong presence in the nation resulted in an increase in the number of outlets from the pre IPO total of 130 outlets to 136 outlets in 2011. In 2012, the group has 170 outlets in of which 85 are wholly owned outlets and 85 are franchised outlets. The company cordial relationship with local and international principals and the close working relationship with departmental stores had also allowed the group to secure good premises and maintain Focus Point’s leading position in the market. The overseas franchise business is growing with Brunei alone operating 6 franchised outlets. The money raised from IPO that is used for expansion plan and upgrading outlets has helped in efforts to foster greater customer relations. This is vital for long term business sustainability as data indicated an increasing target population. With the median age of the population increasing, it is expected that the number of population with eye disorder will also 3 increase. The global vision care market is expected to grow by 4.4% over the period of 2010 – 2017. Effect Of Strategy On Financial Performance The IPO exercise, financing facilities for franchisees and internationalization have contributed to a higher revenue and better overall financial performance as shown: 4 PBT – Profit before tax PAT – Profit after tax The above financial highlights showed that the financial performance of Focus Point Holdings Berhad is stronger after going public and taking on aggresive marketing activities to generate increased business volumes. However, the group’s venture into the food & beverage (F&B) segment in the last quarter of 2012 has affected the group’s profit, earnings and 5 dividends per share. The investment in the fast growing F&B segment is expected to enhance the group’s revenue stream and profitability in a longer term. Company’s Performance Versus Industry  The overall level of competition among operators in the professional eye care industry in Malaysia is high as there are many players competing in the industry. As in many retail businesses, there is a low barrier to entry into the operation of professional eye care centres. However, there is lack of industry peers to benchmark as there are no other competitors that are directly comparable to Focus Point Holdings Berhad. Many of the competitors are smaller outlets, independently owned and run by the owners. The nearest competitor locally is England Optical Group with similar growth strategy – store expansion, franchising and internationalization. England Optical Group operates 131 outlets, 120 in Malaysia, 10 in China and 1 in Cambodia. With reportedly 10% market share of the local optical industry, Focus Point Holdings Berhad is currently the market leader in the industry. Market share among competitors are widely dispersed with each holding a smaller percentage of the market. Conclusion A financial strategy analysis helps department heads review external and internal elements affecting a company and how such elements impact short-term and long-term activities. There are never any guarantees for business success, but creating financial strategies gives any business direction and guidance. For Focus Point Holdings Berhad, to ensure sustainability, the group increased the source of income to include food and beverage, in addition to income from eyewear and eye care and franchising. Overall the company is on the  6  right track, focusing on innovation and product development, market expansion especially in untapped regional markets and maintaining a good public image. 7 References Bender, R. , & Ward, K. (2003). Corporate financial strategy (2nd ed.). |Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann Focus Point Annual Report 2010 Focus Point Annual Report 2011 Focus Point Annual Report 2012 Irene, Y. (2010). Focus point targets local and overseas market expansion after listing, Kuala Lumpur: The Star.com.my Lee, A. (2010). Focus point braces for future challenges. Kuala Lumpur: The Star.com.my Lee, KS. (2010). Focus point plans forays into South-East Asia. Kuala Lumpur: The Star.co.my News: Focus Point to expand via franchising. (2003). Retrieved from Malaysian Franchise Association: http://www.mfa.org.my/?franchise-news:focus-point-to-expand-viafranchising:2C00C881V1

Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines Essay

   had three huge barns, nine wives and thirty children. â€Å"(Achebe, 15) These men held titles which gave them a higher status in society. It was the responsibility of the clansmen to watch out for other individuals in their society. We do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. We do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. We are better than animals because we have kinsmen. An animal rubs its itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsmen to scratch him. (Achebe, 145) This exemplifies the values of a traditional Igbo society where the bond between fellow members of the society as well as health was greatly cherished. They held the life of their kinsmen very high. Achebe goes a step further in describing the elaborate family system of the natives. Unlike Haggard’s previously discussed perception implying the underestimated value of money, agriculture played an important role in supporting the polygamous household. The natives grew crops and also reared and tamed animals such as chicken and goats. Achebe’s attitude discretely explains that the native society in the mid 19th century was civilized contrary to the image established by Sir Henry Rider Haggard. Africa is known for its majestic beauty, flora and fauna. King Solomon’s Mines offers wondrous descriptions of the landscape and wilderness found in the untamed, uncivilized, unadulterated land. â€Å"There are the deep kloofs cut in the hills by the rushing rains of centuries, down which the rivers sparkle; there is the deepest green of the bush, growing as God planted it†¦ † (Haggard, 32) The possibility of untold treasures still to be discovered within the hidden parts of the land naturally sparks ideas of heroic adventures. Haggard considers the unexplored land as being dark and evil. â€Å"But here and there you meet †¦ make out a little piece of history of this dark land. † (Haggard, 18) On the other hand, Achebe’s novel is embedded with multitudes of descriptions of the natural environment as well as how people have modeled their economy around it: The last big rains of the year were falling. It was the time for treading red earth with which to build walls. It was not done earlier because the rains were too heavy and would have washed away the heap of trodden earth; and it could not be done later because harvesting would soon set in, and after that the dry season. (Achebe, 142) Similar to Haggard, Achebe has depicted Africans as living in mud huts, but the distinction in their attitude can be easily made through analyzing the following description: Oknonkwo’s prosperity was visible in the household. He had a large compound enclosed by a thick wall of red earth. His own hut, or obi, stood immediately behind the only gate in the red walls†¦ The barn was built against one end of the red walls, and long stacks of yam stood out prosperously in it. (Achebe, 11) Things Fall Apart describes the homes were the representation of the owner’s prosperity and success in the society. The attitudes exhibited by both writers towards the topography of the land are similar, even though Achebe describes the significance of seasons and climatic changes in the natives’ lives. Sir Henry Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart are concise novels which offer insightful descriptions of Africa and Africans as discussed above. They elaborate upon the beliefs, values and harmony of the people with their native land. Haggard’s description of Africa and Africans shows that his attitude is not completely detached from the stereotypical European beliefs. Achebe is successful in offering a credible and historically accurate description of the rich land, diverse culture and unique traditions. His attitude cannot be considered completely just nor unbiased as he is discussing the history of his own people. However, the analysis of the two novels brings out an interesting pattern. The perceptions presented in the novels preserve the thinking of the society when the two novels were each written. The post colonial society of today is much more accepting of the diversity present in indigenous cultures. This acceptance and appreciation was suppressed in the colonial era when strong nations such as Britain were colonizing other parts of the world. Overtime, our global society has prodigiously evolved and continues this progression implicating a growth of acceptance and appreciation of cultural diversity.

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority

In parison to other countries or other industries, Australia has knowledgeable main variations to its monetary and economic system in new periods. The  Australian  monetary organization  contains of the preparations cover the appropriate taking money and lending of funds and the transmission of possession of monetary rights in Australia which consists of the derivative business places, insurance, banks, credit unions, debt and equity market. The clear result has been an alteration in the Australian mercial and business organization from a paratively locked, monotonous assembly in the 1950s and 1960s, based mainly on historical bank connection, to a more exposed and modest organization and are offering or giving various types of services or offerings in parison with any other industries. The financial or the monetary system   is being driven by the forces of the fair or the market which is solely dependent on the economy of the market and what the market needs. A procedure ana logous to that understood in Australia has remained experimental and broadly deliberated in the United States underneath the general caption ‘the deterioration in outdate investment and banking. Amid the assortment of inspirations on monetary-sector expansion, three chief services can be tinted. The first can be said as the part of monetary controlling strategy, to an significant gradation, formed the prehensive tendencies in groups’ marketplace shares in fresh periods. There were many development in the system due to progressive technology   and due to this plummeting the price of many knowledge oriented monetary doings and also new products and activities are available. System possessions more than crumpled as a relation to GDP among the 1960s and 1990s, with abundant of that development occurring in the instant post-deregulation retro in the additional half of the 1980s.A major part of the monetary system, and widely examined away, was the recognition prosperous wh ich shadowed monetary deregulation. This singularity, and its munication with economic progresses in the 1980s, underwrote to development of the monetary segment in an amount of methods. Influence within the Australian business sector has conventionally been moderately little, and this remnants the circumstance despite a considerable surge in corporate copying in the late 1980s. The debt to equity ratio is paratively same with pared to other countries like United States, Japan and other countries. Till the 1950s, monetary intermediation was mainly identical with investment and banking. We can also see that, until the 1950s, monetary intermediation was principally identical with banking. Finance business was fundamentally a low-risk proposal showed at controlled values and fees.. The mercial transaction or better known as banking business in  Australia  contains of a number of banks approved   and qualified to carry on investment and banking business under the  Banking Act 1959, distant banks approved to function through a subdivision in Australia. While conversation of the u ing construction of the investment or the banking industry was to a large gradation hypothetical, the Group was interested in explanations that some contributors in the business anticipated a major and a vast charge in the near future. In contradiction of the contextual of these expansions, banks have their mark increasingly on the mushrooming retirement and funds-management subdivision as a possib le long-term counterbalance to these pressions and burdens. We can say as an example approx. $40 billion, or 15 per cent of retirement possessions or properties are presently held as bank safeties or credits with economic establishments, a momentous amount of these organisations’ accountability base. The banks undoubtedly know that there are pensations and advantages to be increased from joining and uniting their connection part with funds-management activities, and have strapped for payment of more through participation in retirement time, and in recent times there has been overall introduction of investments   or funds in over the counter. The  banking sector in  Australia  contains of a number of banks approved   and qualified to carry on investment and banking business under the  Banking Act 1959, distant banks licensed to function through a subdivision in Australia, and Australian-incorporated foreign bank panies. Various organisations like mutual funds, credit unions provide banking facilities. Officially, there is widespread and detailed regulation of Australia's banking system, split mostly between the  Australian Prudential Regulation Authority  (APRA) and  Australian Securities and Investments mission  (ASICAustralia Reserve bank plays a   significant participation. Though, in repetition, Australian banks are autonomous and are regulated by themselves through External Dispute Resolution (EDR) arrangements, the most protuberant is the  Financial Ombudsman Service (Australia)  (FOS). The ASIC is responsible for the integrity and the prosperity of the financial organisations. The fast growt h of banks' national financial statements – which have full-grown at an regular yearly rate of 13  per  cent meanwhile from 1985 – and both the demand and supply factors and introduction are introduced. Currently there are 53 banks which are functioning in Australia, and in those 54, 14 are owned by the country. In totalling to the four major banks, there is a collection of five Australian-owned banks occasionally denoted to as the ‘regionals’, sparkling their innovative emphasis mainly on the retail sector. The Banking system or methods of Australia in the history was one of determined country for legality, not so prosperous, broken and public bitterness. With the flow of past 15 years, each of the four main Australian banks, while obeying with the progressively severe supplies of controlling figures, testified at least one main monetary blooper. A one-off simplification of limitations on foreign bank admission in the mid-1980s, and the additional exp osed policy of entry accepted in the early 1990s, saw the overseas bank attendance increase, in part at the expenditure of the mercantile sectors of bank The   banking organisation has literally struggled to achieve great success overtime. Three main administration investigations into banking were showed in Australia between 1981 and 1996. It gave lawfulness for both the administrations and the banks; for administrations since the very establishment of an investigation established an obligation to answerability and munity concentration questions. Banks are also topic to duties under the  Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006  as "reporting entities†. Until the 1980s, recognition unions and construction societies produced muscularly, largely because they were subject to rarer guidelines than banks – in 1985, there were 60 building societies and 400 credit unions effective in Australia. Banks confronted slight modest heaviness from other organisations, where rapid development had not started yet, and the organization was not exposed to foreign bank entrance or to offshore munications. Banks went through an extended period of declining market share during the 1960s and 1970s, when equivalent advantages were made by non-bank monetary mediators, particularly construction societies, economics corporations, mercial banks. A huge amount of considerable growth of non-bank monetary organizations (NBFIs) not united to the national investment subdivision. In some of the cases, these organizations were possessed by distant banks that required a monetary attendance in Australia but were prohibited from founding a proper and prescribed mericialprocess by the real suspension on new foreign banking establishments before 1985. A one-off simplification of limitations on foreign bank admission in the mid-1980s, and the additional exposed policy of entry accepted in the early 1990s, s aw the overseas bank attendance increase, in part at the expenditure of the mercantile sectors of bank. Two overseas organisations functioned uninterruptedly as official banks in Australia in the post-war period prior to 1985.17 The nonappearance of a wider overseas banking attendance reproduced the suspension on distant bank entry, deliberated beforehand. The appearance of a ‘distant bank presence’ in Australia in the nonappearance of ‘official foreign banks’ signifies what, with retrospection, seems to give the novel method to the meaning of banks and non-banks inside the Banking Act 1959. The experience of having the overseas or the foreign banks response is quite neutral. The new entries are quite petitive in nature. On the prehensive part, foreign banks sustained their mercial banking’ doings and in that domain were pioneering in merchandise progress and in monetary and derivative markets. At the end it is being noticed that the foreign banks w ere not able to make an influence or impression on the central place of the Australian banks in the merchandising and saleable market, where huge client permissions or branches had been recognized through widespread division systems. Foreign banks were heartened to smear for approval anywhere and in any amount, on condition that they met the entrance necessities, they were allowed to assume either secondary or subdivision constructions (Brian, 2005) Many overseas banks were against this but the rule was not changed and was universal. From 1992 the number of entries of foreign banks increased simultaneously (Henry, 2011) Inclusive, though, the happenings of external banks continued paratively unimportant likened to the long recognized Australian banks. Respective part of lending and borrowing system resources rose to 14 per cent by 1996 as a consequence of fresh entrants but with only slight exclusions, their doings continued profoundly absorbed on extensive or recognized marketplaces (Financial stability review , 2006) Australia is placed as the ninth main as exchange fair in dollars or any overseas country and the sixth principal interest rate futures market in the creation.   Foreign banks as a group were the firmest hit with losses totalling to 30 per cent of their capital in 1990 alone. Among 1986 and 1990, collective foreign bank sufferers engrossed an quantity equal to their original start-up capital. The risks can be faced by the foreign banks by opening branch in Australia can be the credit, liquidity, business risks. "Australia's main banks have been mounting their CRE contacts self-effac ingly  in new year’s, and are thus susceptible to the dangers from developed jobs rates in Brisbane and Perth and payment risks from a potential  residential apartment oversupply in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane," says  Maadhavi Ramanayake, a Moody's Associate Analyst. – As seen, the Reserve Bank's threat organisation rule covers financial marketplace, credit, operative and other risks characteristic in resounding out its main banking actions, but not the risks linked with the Bank's core economic, economic solidity and outgoings procedure occupations.  It is debatable whether a foreign bank facing plications would deliver or say all its issues to the Reserve bank   thereby providing an chance for early action by the Reserve Bank. Correspondingly, it would be both difficult and luxurious for the Reserve Bank to display the processes of a foreign bank with an Australian division to measure for itself the risk of that bank being incapable to meet its duties (I rvine, 2007) After all the permutations and binations and seeing all the risks the country would face by the banks set up or vice versa, Brilliant bank   would now apply for the banking license in Australia. It’s not easy to get a banking license. To function as an ADI in Australia, the potential licensee must get a banking license from the Australian Provident Regulatory Authority. It may take a long term or rather many years and, as the governmental group boom notes does not e as a very user friendly process for the new ones. The applicants applying for it will actually need to satisfy the capital requirements that is the minimum capital that is required. To operate as a bank, fort ing interviewees need at least $50 million in Tier 1 Capital or largely mon equity. Candidates suggesting to function as banks must have a smallest of $50 million in Tier 1 capital. Supplementary, on an on-going basis, ADIs must grip controlling capital equivalent to at least eight per cent of total risk bia sed assets; However, the group points out, new ADIs can be subjected to advanced least capital necessities in their influential years and various liquidity issues also needs to be fulfilled with other areas like corporate governance and others. The International Monetary Fund’s Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA) can undertake another fence to arriving the local banking subdivision. All the stockholders of the applicant or the person making the application must show or rather be well established, financially very sound and they would also prove that the cooperation or the tie up would be a long term arrangement. Where essential, candidates will be predictable to provide APRA with approval to pursue particulars in this respect. Candidates internal control and risk management strategies must be appropriate to satisfy to the obtainment of license. The shareholders should be fit and utmost proper to qualify and they must contribute to the capital if there is any requirem ent in the future. The guidelines which is set by the APRA should be submitted in time otherwise it would lead to disqualification, when an existing applicant who is about to mence its banking operations is not having any resources or contacts, then the individual is expected to build the contact as soon as possible to conduct the operations. ADRA has full authority to ask and want any document at any time. Discussion between the APRA and the individual wanted to conduct banking operations A drag application must be sent properly. APRA will review and go through the application that is made by the applicant. He will therefore discuss with the seniors and other staffs regarding the application It will therefore will take 12-15 months to process, provide there are exceptions which can delay the submission that is some i plete documentation will actually extend days , a corporation may be by default may extend days to resolve some issue or due tony mishap the date can be stretched. APRA inspires all potential candidates to municate it as early as conceivable throughout their development procedure to discuss their determination to smear for an agreement. APRsubsidiary of a non-operating holding corporation (NOHC) that does not have NOHC specialist under the Act. APRA expects all candidates to be able to obey with its sensible necessities, as set out in numerous sensible morals, from the beginning of the dealings in banking (Australian prudential, 2016). Candidates suggesting to function as banks must have a smallest of $50 million in Tier 1 capital. Australia's banking corporation has arose from the GFC in a moderately robust situation. Its standing internationally has been heightened. Proper consumer protection and welfare measures are seen at a broader level and implemented properly. petition with stability are being maintained.   A harmless and unchanging banking system is a serious constituent of the country's financial organization. The administration and the makers of the policy are bringing changes and are very positive for the economy. An important example from previous controlling policy knowledge was that guidelines inclined to break depressed where they positioned false restraints on petition amongst organisations performance fundamentally similar purposes. The banks have an understanding that joining their mon role with money arrangement activities, and have strapped for payment of more straight connection in retirement time, including   presentation a range of over-the-counter speculation products in years yet t o e (Smith, 2016) Brian, G. (2005).The evolving structure of Australian financial system. Retreived 03 Jan 2016   from https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/confs/1996/pdf/edey-gray.pdf Henry, K. (2011).Australian system. Retreived 03 Jan 2016   from https://www.treasury.gov.au/PublicationsAndMedia/Publications/2011/Economic-Roundup-Issue-1/Report/The-Australian-banking-system-challenges-in-the-post-global-financial-crisis-environment Financial Stability review. (2006).Australian system. Retreived 03 Jan 2016   from https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/fsr/2006/mar/struct-aus-fin-sys.html Irvine, H. (2007).Australian bank. Retreived 03 Jan 2016   from https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1347&context mpapers Smith, M. (2016).Australian banking license. Retreived 03 Jan 2016   from https://finsia /news/news-article/2016/12/08/how-to-get-a-banking-license Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. (2016).Australian banking license. Retreived 03 Jan 2016   from https://www.apra.gov.au/adi/Documents/ADI-Guidelines-11-4-081.pdf

Honesty in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Honesty in Business - Essay Example That will â€Å"satisfy† the customers and also attract them. Through that, by preserving â€Å"reputation† and â€Å"relationship,† (Reilly p. 2) business will gain a steady momentum. What we â€Å"do† and â€Å"say† will definitely affect our value in the long run? So winning someone's trust through honesty is quite important.   When someone trusts us, we need to prove that we are trustworthy. We have three major components to build this kind of a trustworthy relationship in business. And they are: â€Å"doing right things†; â€Å"doing things right† (Reilly p. 2) and doing these â€Å"proactively.†Ã‚   Earning a â€Å"social credibility† is necessary to embed some â€Å"value† in the customers' heart. Determining whether one is going to run long is to be done today. Doing right things articulates ethical behaviour. Doing things right is about good management. And the third thing is simply cautiousness and prep aration. (Writer's inference)  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Honesty encourages competition on the merits and prohibits competition by Cheating† (Frankel p.21). Honesty doesn't rule out competition in business, which is good as far as excellence is concerned, but it encourages a healthy ethical competition which is even far better. â€Å"America† for example which has put an effort in this venture of â€Å"honesty† and the result has been astounding. â€Å"The socializing of industry from within on a higher ethical plane...is greatly needed† (Gintis & Khurana p.27) â€Å"Business ethics† is another facet which we must not oversee or ignore. It highlights the â€Å"virtues† that must drive us in business.

Terrorism in America Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Terrorism in America - Assignment Example   In Article 14, Jonathan Masters elucidates how militant extremism has posed the menace to the innocent Americans. The left-wing, right-wing, single issue groups, and homegrown Islamic are the four bands in which the FBI has branded domestic terrorism into. There is one more group known as lone offenders that can come under all the categories of domestic terrorism. Lone offenders are basically individuals who are not allied with any terrorist organization. America has the greatest danger from lone offenders as it is very difficult to identify and locate such individuals for the intelligence agencies but to our advantage, the lack of association of lone offenders from big gangs of terrorists makes their actions less effective (Masters, 2011). The four broad categories of domestic terrorism have been fashioned, based on their motives to spread terror in the country. The left-wing groups consider themselves as ‘protectors’ of the people against any kind of inhuman effects of capitalism and colonialism in the country whereas the single-issue groups fight against the laws and regulations that have a negative impact on the environment and are against the law of nature. Their attacks are based on the various political issues like abortion, environmental degradation, animal abuse or genetic engineering. According to the FBI, terrorists belonging to this group have executed thousands of attacks and posed a serious threat to the lives of many people. Much of sabotage has been spread by this group, and the FBI has failed to track down the culprits due to rigid secrecy in the group. Right wing terrorists emerged recently in the late 1980s and 1990s. They have diverse drives for their bouts like racial sovereignty, hatr ed and mistrust of the federal government and fundamentalist Christianity (Masters, 2011).   Furthermore, in the article Jonathan Masters argues whether America should amend its laws regarding the austere

Software Usability SLP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Software Usability SLP - Research Paper Example The homepage provides a brief description about the content of the main sections making it more user friendly to the customers. Each section is further divided in to subsections and different categories for convenience. Related links are also provided with the content of each section. A link is provided in the home page to the blog which was started in July 2009 and has several usability articles. Unlike a typical personal or commercial website, this blog is written by authors with sound professional background adding more value to the authenticity and accuracy of the article. Comments for the blog articles were also written or moderated carefully by the experts and beneficiaries in the field. Commercial advertisements such as Google ads are not run in the website following the usual practice of official websites. However site promotional announcements and RSS feeds are displayed right top corner of the homepage and other sections. The design, fonts and the colors used in the site are user friendly and comfortable. The site provides a range of specific and undiluted information on usability. However categorization seems to be lacked in this site. Most of the articles are written randomly without relating to existing articles. Although the search option is provided in the website, it is still confusing to find the needed information. If information in the main sections categorized under relevant topics and lessons (instead of random articles) are provided this will be more convenient for the target audience. Most of the articles provided in the site are short in length. Although they provide information on major topics directly, the users who visit an official government website expect more informative content than briefed information. Although the accuracy and the authenticity high number of articles as well as the length in the site is not adequate for a government official

Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Religion - Essay Example Confucius believes that the basis of a unified, stable, and enduring social order is not based on nature spirits, like God, but on the rituals that lie in Zhou religion. He further asserts that these rituals do not entail making sacrifices to ask for god’s blessings, but are ceremonies performed by humankind, who entails cultured and civilized patterns of behavior created through the generation of man’s wisdom Adogame & Shankar 146). This notion contradicts the beliefs of other religion such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which believes in making sacrifices to please their God, who is a supreme natural being. It is possible to syncretize these religions with Confucianism since they also provide moral guidelines on how believers should conduct themselves, in the society. However, the Jewish beliefs (Judaism) are more difficult to syncretize with Confucianism teachings than religions. This is because Judaism brings God down to humankind while Confucianism brings the ideas of Chinese philosophy down to the people (Adogame & Shankar 146). While Confucianism teachers that people should respect their ancestors, the Jewish believe that there is no considerable relationship between people and ancestors and that there is a single God, who created them and the universe. They also believe that every Jew has a personal relationship with God, but not the ancestors. Another contradiction is that Confucianism teaches tha t good moral behaviors are self-inculcated while Jews believe that good morals are God given virtues, which depends on an individual’s belief and trust on Him (Adogame & Shankar

Advantages of using solar cells Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Advantages of using solar cells - Research Paper Example The environment has become a big issue around the whole world. During the last decade, it started to change quickly. The earth is becoming warmer and because of that, there are a lot of natural problems and disasters around the world.This is called global warming. People on earth caused this change in temperature. Further, people need energy in their daily lives. They need electricity, fire, hot water, heating and cooling. To produce energy that is enough for all of these activities, we need fossil fuels and coal. All the countries around the world use these two fuels to make electricity and to heat water or air. Many rich countries depend on countries in the Middle East to give them fossil fuels like oil and gas to be able to serve their people. Countries around the world have been using these forms of energy production almost for a hundred years now. The people on earth are increasing every day, and their needs of energy are also increasing. The price of making energy in the old wa ys is also becoming higher and higher. In the past, the effects of the use of fossil fuels and coal were not known. However, we now know what we are doing to our world and to our future generations. Therefore, we have to do something to change this. Many countries and governments have started to look for new technologies for energy production. These new energy technologies should be good for the environment. They should not make our problem worse and they should be cheap. One of the new energy technologies is solar energy.... For instance, nuclear plants, which are referred to as a clean source of energy by some people, produce waste that is very harmful to human beings and the environment. The United States actually faces a serious problem because there are no facilities to store and process nuclear waste. This will be a problem in future as more and more nuclear waste is stored in the nuclear plants themselves. Coal fired plants also produce ash waste that is very dangerous to the health of human and animals. Some of this waste was used in the past to produce building equipment, but these products were found to be harmful as well. Moreover, even hydro plants can make problems for the wildlife and put waste into rivers and lakes. On other hand, solar cells only use sunlight to produce power. There are basically no byproducts or waste from the solar plants. The only waste may be in the form of damaged solar cells. However, the damaged solar cells are usually reprocessed to produce new cells. For example, Doug Smock wrote â€Å"Solar Plane Takes Flight† in 2010 in Design News to show the first solar airplane. The author shows how the airplane was built using over ten thousand solar cells to power it and reduce waste from fossil fuel airplanes (Smock 45). This is an example of how solar cells can be used as an alternative clean energy source as compared to fossil fuels. In addition, pollution from the old energy sources has become an important issue of debate as many scientists have confirmed that our planet is warming very quickly. Solar cells give a good solution to the issue of pollution because they produce no emission into the air. â€Å"Solar energy is one of the cleanest energy resources that does not

Airports of the Future Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Airports of the Future - Term Paper Example Decision Support Systems constitute a class of computer-based information system that includes knowledge-based systems supporting the activities of decision making. Future Traffic The condition of future traffic is questionable. It is likely to grow in a much higher rate. This is due to the fact that the domestic market is not yet saturated and the drastic increase in population and national wealth. Increase in globalization will also give more reasons to travel for long distances for personal reasons and business. The traffic has also increased steadily due to a reduction in costs due to such changes like deregulation of the economy by the airlines, lowering of the fuel prices, rise in revenue due to the introduction of yield management systems and more efficient and larger aircraft that have to engines and fewer pilots. The international components are likely to expand due in the future due to factors like growth or increase in the number of foreign visitors and improvement in the range of aircraft facilitating the long distance travel. In order to adjust to globalization, airports will have to install customs and adopt international standards of service and communication. Cargo traffic is also expected to rise due to the advancement of companies in terms of systems of distribution around electronic commerce. The growth of cargo carrier will also be hastened due to suppliers substituting websites for mortal and brick stores and shipment to customers directly for in-store inventories and warehouses (Neufville, 2000). Future Airport Designs There are likely massive changes in the design of airports. However planners must be careful as this may affect the airport’s airside in regard to the length, spacing an orientation of the runways as well as the landslide as concerns the functions and configuration of the buildings of the airport passenger. These changes will be as a result of increase in economic significance of air transportation that lead to indivi duals concerned to look after the facilities of the airport and treat them as businesses. Furthermore, there are estimates of the economic benefits that accompany main airport expansion that will surely have an effect on the future airport systems planning and design. Airside: future airports with long runways that are unconstrained in their operations will allow the aircraft that is heavily loaded to travel unusually long ranges. This will transform the patterns of international travel drastically. New massive airports are will also be expected, those with sets of unusually long parallel runways. These will act as counterpieces of transfer hub or new economic area. The design of these airports will result to New Large Aircraft (NLA) that will demand separation of taxiways, runways and buildings more than is considered standard at the moment. Therefore, there is a greater chance in the change of patterns of international and intercontinental gateways. Due to the increase in the leve l of traffic and number of airports in the metropolitan, main airports will not be able to hold all kinds of traffic. This will lead to the emergence of complementary clusters of airports that will serve international cheap fare or charter airlines. Landslides: airport passenger buildings will also be likely to change much in the future. The changes are likely to rearrange the allocation of spaces and types facilities in the

Microsoft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Microsoft - Essay Example The products are critical in improving communication and management of data in institutions. The company’s production processes follow strict guidelines as apparent in the application of conventional techniques. The techniques facilitate the quality aspect of the products. It is imperative to note that the company has risen from a small in-house business outsourcing institution to a renowned supplier of electronic items. This was achievable through its noble and development oriented strategies. The strategies have been instrumental in its growth. For example, they provide the relevant operating framework with performance ideals. The company enjoys a wide market share and plans to expand further to new market segments. Findings based on strengths and weaknesses Microsoft Corporation displays strengths that has steered its growth. The company has diversified revenue base, ability to customize products to the locals, strong product brands that includes Ms Dos Microsoft windows, P Cs, basic interpreters and operating systems (Wilke 2003, p. 3). Further, it has effective distribution channels, good infrastructural set up, expansive market share and qualified personnel. Its weaknesses and threats include possibility of new entrance, limited network and diminishing raw materials. The opportunities and strengths present the company with lucrative prospect that seeks to leverage its international competitiveness. The analysis enables an institution to understand its current position and design viable strategies for improvement and sustainability. Concepts and theories The corporation is a multinational institution with a wide network. It is credited for adopting conventional human resource practices. The administration of company values its employees and treats them with decorum. This has contributed to the institution’s exemplary growth through development of viable teamwork groups. The groups enhance cohesiveness and participation in decision-making (Wilk e, 2003, p. 4). This has facilitated the development of innovative and creative ideas that focus on growth. The company adopts the international human resource management (IHRM) that ensures effective allocation of resources, utilization of human capital, hiring of diverse group of individuals, avoidance of regional disparities and cultural risks. The company through ethical principles and guidelines manages a huge number of staff who contributes to its success. The ethical principles are relevant because they promote cohesiveness and execution of activities based on mutual understanding (William. 2005, P, 3). The company offer favourable remuneration and terms of work that facilitates employee retention and motivation. This advances their performance capacity. This is vital in ensuring optimal production of the electronic items including software that meet the global demand. Analysis As noted, the company was established with the core mission to become the global consumer product a nd be the leading distributor of electronic items and software’s. Its fundamental values focus on quality enhancement, timely delivery of services and effective personnel administration. This propels the realization of the core values and institutional vision based on sound HR policies that are internationally relevant. Achieving exemplary performance and competitive advantage requires adoption of viable HR policies and formulation of acceptable objectives

What are your perceptions on the universal declaration Essay Example for Free

What are your perceptions on the universal declaration Essay One Amazing Thing by: Chitra Divakaruni. It was first published in the US in voice by Hyperion in 2009 and later published by Penguin books India February 2010. The book also has 240 pages. Chitra B. Divakaiumi is an award winning author poet. Her work is widely known, as she has been published in over 500 magazines. Including Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies. She was born in India and lived there until 1976. At which point she left Calcutta and came to the United States. A young woman Uma, sits in the waiting room of the India passport office. She starts to get very impatient, and she entertains herself by observing the other people in the waiting room with her. Everyone has a reason of why they want to enter into India. In the waiting area their waits an Africa American war veteran Cameron who takes charge, but some are unhappy about it. A Muslim names Tariq. An upper class Caucasian couple that really don’t get alone. A Chinese grandmother with a secret past, and her granddaughter, two visa office workers on the verge of and affair Malathi and Mr. Mangalam, and Uma. As they all set in the waiting area Uma starts to feel a little rumbling and that when the earthquake strikes. When everything settles down, there were some major injuries as well as some minor injuries. People started to go into survival mode, as there is little food to eat. The office starts to flood. So emotional stress seems to much for everyone to handle as they wait to be rescued or die. So that’s when Uma comes up with everyone telling â€Å"One Amazing Thing† , about themselves because she believes that no one can go through life without encountering at least one amazing thing. So everyone begin to tell one amazing thing that they have never told anyone before. With One Amazing Thing everyone discover so much from each other as well as their selves. Elderly Caucasian couple Mr. and Mrs. Pritchet going through a difficult time in their marriage, an Indian-Muslim man Tariq who is disillusioned and angry with the new US, as Chinese lady Jiang who loved and lost a man in her younger days, her granddaughter Lily, a middle age army officer haunted by his guilt Cameron, Malathi a visa officer who is engaging in a affair with her boss, Mr. Mangalam on the verge of an extra-martial affair, an Indian-American student Uma, who is confused by her parents decision to return to Kolkata after living in the US for over 20 years. The plot focuses on a group of strangers who are trapped in a visa office. Most customers even some staff have come and gone, but nine people remain in the office. When an earthquake rips through the afternoon, trapping these nine characters together, their focus first is to survive through the struggle. There is a little food from which came from what people had. The office begins to flood, and everyone starts to panic and get really scared and frustrated. So when the emotional stress seems to be to much for them to bear, the young lady Uma tells them to tell a personal tale about them that no one knows about â€Å"One Amazing Thing†, from what they have been through in life. So all of their stories from the romance, self-discovery, family, etc. This novel really proves the power of a lot of stories and the meaning of us as human’s expressions itself. In my opinion the book â€Å"One Amazing Thing†, is an engaging book because it reinforces the idea that all of us are different and unique in our own ways, and that we all have stories of our lives that may be interesting or not to tell. We all can connect to this book or see one another if we are willing to take the time out to listen to people. Because everyone has a something to tell, and amazing is not always positive words. But describes something that might have changed a life, or the course of someone life. Some of the stories are very heart breaking, but all of them paint a picture in some way of the characters and why they may be who they have become.

Traditional Education vs. Online Education Essay Example for Free

Traditional Education vs. Online Education Essay There are different ways to access higher education, either through online education or traditional education. For centuries, online education could not compare to traditional education. Today, online education competes with traditional education in many ways. Though online education has become very popular, how does one know which is best for him or her? Identifying the pros and cons through flexibility, communication, interaction, skills development, and affordability will help the student decide the best option. Although online education seems to be taking over the traditional means of education, both are great options in different ways. The bottom line is that the world is becoming technologically smart. For one juggling home, school, and a job, it can be difficult commuting to class every day. Online education eliminates the need to attend class. Online courses allow the student to access coursework from an Internet site. Motivated, responsible, independent learners can work at their own pace, whenever is suitable for them. This allows the flexibility that a traditional classroom setting does not provide. However, one who struggles to be self-motivated may fall quickly behind. In a traditional classroom setting the student has to attend class on campus. Traditional education is for a learner who needs more lecturing to understand and also needs to be able to ask questions as he or she learns. A student who is enrolled at a traditional university gets the chance to take advantage of the university’s facilities. These facilities include places like the student union and the gym. If the student chooses online education, the student has to make sure he or she has a computer, Internet usage, and a backup plan in case he or she has a computer failure. Though flexibility is important in choosing which option is best, there are many other things that should be taken into consideration. Communication and interaction is an important factor in learning. Online education does not offer the face-to-face interaction traditional education offers. Online courses provide interactions between the student and the content, interactions with other students, and interactions with the instructor using different forms of computer- mediated communication. These interactions take place through e-mail, chat, and discussion threads. Traditional education allows the student to have direct contact with the instructor to ask questions with instant feedback. An online student is in a class with instructors and students from all over the world whom they will never meet face-to-face. Traditional education allows the student to interact and to meet new people, which results in a growth in contacts and networking opportunities. For the student who strives on the quick exchange of ideas between the instructor and the student, the classroom environment may be a better option. On the other hand, a student who experiences anxiety when called on to speak during class may prefer the time given to reflect on his or her responses offered by online courses. Communication provided by both online education and traditional education allows a convenient way for the student to communicate with the instructor and classmates, thus producing a great learning environment. The main reason a student is enrolled in school is to learn and develop new skills. Though online education allows a student to learn in a comfortable, quiet environment, without being distracted by others, online education may be difficult for a learner who has a hard time learning without direct, face-to-face interaction with the instructor. Traditional education allows teacher-student interaction and instant feedback that online learning cannot provide. Depending on the interaction level in a classroom setting, a shy student may attend class without providing communication ideas, which forces the student to learn by a vocal exchange with the instructor. This may limit one’s ability to learn. Online education is not for a student who struggles learning from books or other written material. Online courses involve a lot of writing practice because there is little opportunity for questions to get answered verbally. In a traditional classroom setting, the students have the ability to exchange ideas and information with each other, as well as directly with the instructor. Questions are answered immediately, as opposed to waiting for an online response. The instructor is also able to focus on a particular subject, inspiring the student in a way that learning through an online course cannot. However, online courses offer some unique opportunities for learning and developing skills, but it is important to be familiar with computers before deciding on online schooling. One of the most crucial factors about achieving higher education is cost. Both online and traditional education can incur a lot of debt. Online education, in most cases, is less expensive. Traditional education is more expensive, especially considering tuition fees, accommodations, and transportation. Enrolling in an online course eliminates the money that has to be spent on gas, parking, or childcare. There is no need for expensive housing, since the student does not live on campus. Another pro of schooling online is textbooks can be downloaded to the computer instead of spending money to purchase them. There are options for paying for schooling. Online education and traditional education both offer financial aid packages, including loans and grants. There are different types of loans a student may qualify for, which has a time frame of when it has to be paid back. Overall, before the student decides which option is suitable for him or her, he or she must know the cost of enrolling and have a plan in place to repay to avoid a lot of debt. The choices of online education and traditional education are both excellent options to pursue higher education. Online education programs can be an awarding experience for a student wanting to earn a degree at his or her own pace. Studies have shown that a student who is mature, independent, and self-motivated becomes very successful in the online classroom. Studies have also shown that a student who is a dependent learner may find it challenging to take on the responsibility of an online program, thus making an extremely successful student in a traditional classroom setting. Ultimately, the student makes the final choice as to which educational program suits him or her by carefully identifying the pros and cons through flexibility, communication, interaction, skills development, and affordability.

Oscar Wilde, The Picture Of Dorian Grey

Oscar Wilde, The Picture Of Dorian Grey Content: I give my personal opinion of the picture of Dorian Grey and how the author Oscar Wilde depicted himself in the novel. This essay reads the novel from several aspects include beauty and art point of view of Wilde, the connection between the novel and the social background and how the author lives his own life in the novel. Key words: aestheticism, Victoria era, corruption, responsibility Oscar Wilde was born in 1854, when the Queen Victoria reigned and Victoria literature style was flowering. Wildes parents were successful Dublin intellectuals and when he was young he was tutored at home, where he became fluent in French and German. He was deeply interested in the rising philosophy of aestheticism when he was at Oxford led by his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin, who had a great influence on his writings later in his life. The prosperity in the Victoria era began to decline in the late 19th century. The hegemony of Great Britain was challenged by the rising Germany and domestic dispute with Ireland. Under the superficial vanity of the British society lies the corruption of the aristocracy. They led a dissolute life and their Vitoria values and beliefs began to vanish. Indulgence and hedonism took the place of a decent and respectable life style they used to live. Oscar Wilde was born to be a spokesman of this era in the field of literature. The picture of Dorian Gray is one and the only novel of his and, in my opinion, is a representative oeuvre of both his life and the declining era. The story starts on a beautiful day with Lord Henry Wotton observing the artist Basil Hallward painting the portrait of a handsome young man named Dorian Gray. Dorian arrives later and meets Wotton. After talked with the libertine lord, Dorian begins to believe that beauty is the only thing that deserves to pursue in all his life. Distraught that his beauty will fade, he wishes that the beautiful and ever-lasting portrait can grow old instead of him, which finally comes true in some way. Later in his life, the portrait keep records of whatever he does and the portrait gets older and uglier once he does something criminal or corrupt. In the end, he thinks the only way to absolve him is to destroy the painting with a knife, which ends his horrible life instead. What is ironic is that his painting becomes what it used to be but Dorian himself dies with an aged and withered face. Acknowledged as the spokesman of the philosophy of aestheticism, Wildes doctrine was Art for arts sake. For Wilde, the purpose of art would guide life if beauty alone were its object. The picture of Dorian Gray reveals the belief that beauty on the surface can only exist in tragedies. As Henry said in the story -in the presence of off behind every beautiful thing there is some tragic things are (The picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde 1891), tragedy if the nature of beauty. Wilde, a pursuer of extreme art and beauty, combined the character of both Dorians and Basils. He once said that: Basil Hallward is what I think I am; Lord Henry is what the world thinks me; Dorian gray is what I would like to be-in other ages perhaps. These three main characters in the story are the spirit of the story. Dorian Gray is a handsome young man who accepts Lord Henrys idea of hedonism. He indulges himself in all kinds of pleasure, moral and immoral. Like Oscar Wilde, Dorian thinks that beauty is the only object of life and that is why he would like to trade his conscience for life-long youth and beauty. Dorian is actually an extremist of aestheticism, a person that Wilde admires. Wilde highlights Dorians pleasure of living a double life and being an example of duplicity. Although Dorian is extremely indulgent, he replies take care, Basil. You go too far when Basil accuses him of making Lord Henrys sisters name a by-word. This indicates that Dorian still cares what he looks like in peoples eyes and his image in the Victorian society. 24 hours after committing a murder, he happily attends a party and feels keenly the terrible pleasure of a double life. Dorian enjoys this double life as an integration of good and evil. I think this kind of life is what Wilde dreams of. Actually Wilde is just like Dorian. His life is a paradox because he is both good and evil, both sophisticated and simple, both honest and hypocritical. Different from other writers, he leads a much more real life than others. Being accused of sodomite (gay person) by his lovers father, he has lots of scandals and was imprisoned for two year. He abandons his wife and children for his male lover again after he is released. But he does not get what he pursues at last. Different from other writers, he belongs to the upper-class instead of the impoverished known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversations. Wilde was one of the best known personalities of his day (On Characters in the Picture of Dorian GrayAn Interpretation of Oscar Wilde 2008). He converts to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed. All those experience are the reflections of his motto I want to live rather than survive. He himself is a living character in his own life story. Wilde gives what he wants and what he respects to this person-Dorian Gray. Another character in this story named Basil Hollward is also a reflection of Wilde himself. Wilde says that Basil Hollward is what he thinks he is. I think that is because Basil Hollward is a complete artist. Attracted by Dorians gorgeous face, he paints the portrait of Dorian which proves to be his finest work. Art is the only pursuit of basil and he does not want to believe that Dorian is evil although he was murdered by him at last. He still thinks that he is beautiful yet incomplete. What he commits is just a flaw in an apparently perfect thing. In my opinion, he knows what happened as the painting changes but he just does not want to believe. Once Basil acknowledges all the evil sides of Dorian, his dream of art was destroyed. Dorian is a work of art to Basil as well as a lover deep in his heart. Whod like to admit his or her lover is evil and corrupted? Wilde once said my life as an artist depends on him. This is because basil, as an artist, possesses all the doctrines of what Wilde think an artist should have. He is a perfect reflection of Wildes witticism: all that I desire to point out is the general principle that life imitates art far more than art imitate life. Disappointed to the society, Wilde gives all the social characteristics to this Lord. He tricks Dorian to become a half-human half-evil spirit with his corrupted lifestyle. What he does in the story is to lead Dorian to be destroyed in his ideology. As he says that the purpose of life is self development and the full realization of the nature of their requirements. His position in the story is best described by basil, as never says anything good but never does anything bad.(Aestheticism in the picture of Dorian grey, 2006) Besides the theme of aestheticism, this masterpiece also reveals the social situation and peoples sense of irresponsible at that time. When Dorian visit to the opium dens of London, according to what Lord Henry asserts crime belongs exclusively to the lower ordersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I should fancy that crime was to them what art is to us. In Henrys eyes, different social status has different world view and a tainted value must belong to the lower class. What ironic is that Dorian conflates criminal and aesthete. Back in the last stage of the Victoria era, people were crazy about indulgence and corruption but did not want to be responsible for their behavior. This theme is also reflected in the picture of Dorian Grey. In my opinion, Dorian uses his portrait to avoid his responsibility. He also justifies his actions according to the philosophy of the new hedonism. At the end of the novel, he chooses to destroy the painting as a way to confess. All these behavior depicts a spirit which aims to avoid all the commitments and condemnation. Professor John Sutherland once said in his lecture that this writing would have secured Wilde only a minor place in literature, but his status is elevated by his notoriety. I am not totally on board with this statement. Wilde may not be a very successful novelist but he is a successful living human being pursuing what he really wants for all his life. He thinks that it was the artists duty to rebel against precisely sacred orthodoxies. He and his novel are of total success in this sense as a perfect reflection of art and beauty.

Louis XIV :: essays research papers

Louis XIV Greed is defined in the dictionary as selfish and grasping desire for possession; especially of wealth. It is also described as a noun. This definition can be directly related and best describes Louis XIV, the king of France in the sixteen hundreds. The effects of greed destroying peoples lives can be seen in the beginning of Louis XIV’s reign, during his reign, and after his reign had ended Louis XIV inherited the throne in 1643 when he was only five (Cairns 103). From the moment he entered power and his reign began he had greedy intentions and enormous ideas of divine rule (Cairns 112). In 1661, Louis chief advisor Cardinal Jules Mazarin died and Louis then decided that he would be the only ruler of France (Spielvagel 1). Louis once expressed, â€Å"It is now time that I govern them myself. I request and order you to seal no orders except my command,†¦ I order you not to sign anything, not even a passport†¦ without my command; to render account to me personally each day and to favor no one† (Spielvagel 1). This quote reveals Louis’s desire to have power over everything and control everyone around him. Louis used the sun as his symbol of power. He often quoted, â€Å"I am the state† (Cairns 35). Exposed in this quote is Louis mindset that he had all power. Using the sun as his symbol of power enforced his belief that he was the center of a ll things. Author of â€Å"Court Described by Duc De Saint Simon,† Elena Steingrad, stated the following when referring to King Louis’s life, â€Å"†¦ he compelled his courtiers to live beyond their income, and gradually reduced then to depend on his bounty for the means of subsistence. This was a plague which became a scourge to the whole country†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (4). The quote shows Louis’ greedy intentions, which eventually led to widespread confusion and an economic drop to the country of France (Steingrad 4). Louis XIV in the beginning of his reign was starting to show signs of his enormous, greedy intentions and his belief in divine rule. It was the start of his reign that France began to slowly crumble. In the beginning of Louis XIV’s reign he made an enormous decision, which revealed his greed for his own personal needs. The Palace of Versailles that he had constructed in 1682 is an excellent symbol of Louis over usage of the country’s money on himself.

College Students with Disabilities Essay -- ADD ADHD Writing Attention

College Students with Disabilities As societal pressures for higher education increase, more emphasis has been placed on the importance of a minimum of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. This has led to the increased enrollment of students with learning disabilities over the past decade. According to a recent survey from the National Clearinghouse on Postsecondary Education for Individuals with Disabilities, one in eleven full-time first-year students entering college in 1998 self-reported a disability. This translates to approximately 154,520 college students, or about 9% of the total number of first-year freshmen, who reported a wide range of disabilities, ranging from attention deficit disorder to writing disabilities (Horn). Attention deficit disorder, with or without hyperactivity, is frequently misunderstood, but it affects college students' academic and social success, as well as their emotional development. Attention deficit disorders are the second most common disability among college students, and it is classified as a psychiatric disorder, rather than a learning disability, in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, DSM-IV. Characterized by attention difficulties, specifically short attention spans, as well as impulsivity, distractibility, and restlessness, attention deficit disorders can adversely affect the performance capabilities of college students. Individuals report "drifting" during classroom lectures or social conversations, as well as difficulties focusing in noisy environments. The Connection Between Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorders The onset of attention deficit disorder usually occur b... ...A Comprehensive Guide to Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults: Research,Diagnosis, and Treatment.New York: Brunner and Mazel Press, 1995. Sills, Caryl K. "Success for learning disabled writers across the curriculum." College Teaching 43 (Spring 95): 66-72. Smith, Carl B. "Helping Children Overcome Reading Difficulties." ERIC Digest, 1992. ED 344190. Stage, Frances K. et al. "Creating Learning Centered Classrooms: What Does Learning Theory Have to Say?" ERIC Digest, 1998. ED422777. Stein, Marcy and Robert C. Dixon. "Effective writing instruction for diverse learners." School Psychology Review 23 (1994): 392-406. Vogel, S. A. and M. Moran. "Written language disorders in learning disabled college students - a preliminary report." In Coming of Age: The Best of ACLD - 1982. Eds. W. Cruickshank and J. Lerner. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1982.

From Chiapas with Love Essay -- Graduate Law Admissions Essays

From Chiapas with Love One of the first mistakes I made in coming to IU was thinking that simply by studying I could understand the lives of people. I thought that if I learned enough- read enough books, talked to enough professors, attended enough forums, and developed my ability to artfully use jargon, I'd be powerful and wise before I knew it. The next mistake I made was to decide to study the Zapatistas. As I was soon to discover, the movement which has grown up around the Zapatista Army of National Liberation in Mexico is not something that can be studied, used, and forgotten. It is something that eats its way into you until you can't extricate yourself from it without seriously damaging who you are. These two bumbles led me, in my third year of university studies, to ask the IU Honors College for money to go to Chiapas to live in an autonomous community. I planned to study the people-their society, their culture, and their situation in the world. I thought it would be a nice way to top off my degree in Anthropology-an honors thesis, and something that could definitely be called an "international experience". Getting to Mexico was an international experience all in itself. I spent three days traveling through a foreign country before I reached the Mexican border. The country in which I was born seemed, in the full flower of September 11th hysteria, far more foreign than anything I could imagine down in the depths of the jungles of Southeast Mexico. After five days on buses of all shapes, sizes, and smells, I arrived in Chiapas, the Southeastern-most State in the Republic of Mexico. What I found there has left me, I think, a little outside the bounds of "appropriate distance" i... ...discomfort. I'm supposed to be a better person, and more adult. I can't say that. I'm ill-at-ease, pensive, and constantly seeing the faces of the people I know there in my dreams; hearing their voices telling their stories through my throat. I'm deeply uncomfortable in the world I live in, and I think about our future, the world's future, every day. I cry at night out of helplessness. I can tell you, my reader, that I learned from my time in Chiapas. I learned the most important lesson of my "university experience" there, from people who didn't understand what graduate school was. So here it is. After all, that's what the university is about, right? Sharing knowledge. Education provides the tools. It can never provide the quest. People tell their own stories best, and dignity is what you have left when everything else has been taken from you.

The Rich Benefits from the Poor

The United States is the most developed capitalist economy in the world. The markets within the economy provide profit-motivated companies endless potential in the pursuance of pecuniary accumulation. Throughout the twentieth-century competitive companies have implemented modernized managerial procedures designed to raise profits by reducing unnecessary costs. These cost-saving procedures have had a substantial effect on society and particularly members of the working class. Managers and owners of these competitive and self-motivated companies have consistently worked throughout this century to exploit the most controllable component of the production process: the worker. The worker has been forced by the influence of powerful and affluent business owners to work in conditions hazardous to their well being in addition to preposterously menial compensation. It was the masterful manipulation of society and legislation through strategic objectives that the low-wage workers were coerced into this position of destitute. The strategies of the affluent fragment of society were conceived for the selfish purpose of monetary gain. The campaigns to augment the business position within the capitalist economy were designed to weaken organized labor, reduce corporate costs, gain legislative control and reduce international competition at the expense of the working class. The owners have gained and continue to gain considerable wealth from these strategies. To understand why the owners of the powerful companies operate in such a selfish manner, we must look at particular fundamentals of both capitalism and corporation strategy. Once these rudiments are understood, we will more clearly relate the perspective of the profit-seeking corporations of America. Legal discussion will also be included to show how the capital possessing elite operate through political parties to achieve their financial objectives. It is the synergist effect of these numerous strategies that have lead to the widening income gap in America, persistent attempts of contraction in worker†s rights and increased corporate political influence. These campaigns have come at an expense to Americans and will only continue to benefit the affluent society. The United States is a capitalist economy. In a capitalist economy individuals who wish to gain wealth can invest their capital into markets in hopes of future returns. If this investment gains in value then the investor has earned a return, which can be reinvested. This creates a cycle of investing and reinvesting for potential future return. This wealth creating cycle is a fairly simple concept to understand, but wealthy individuals have learned to fabricate this cycle into different situations. A common form of investment is purchasing and selling of corporate stocks. The stock market works like all markets on the fundamental theory of supply and demand. The more demand for a stock the higher it is valued and conversely the less demand the less it is valued. Corporations are legal entities which issue stock to investors who purchase them and become shareholders of the company. The risk taken by investors is that when they buy stocks it is possible that the individual company will not do well, or that stock prices will generally weaken. At worst, it is possible to lose entire investments, but no more then that. Therefor, shareholders of a corporation are not responsible for corporate debts. So, a corporation would be a very attractive type of investment for potential investors to consider. Corporations compete against each other in markets in the United States and around the world. These corporations have employees who perform various functions that contribute to successful strategic goal completion. Corporations often will offer stock incentive plans strategically to employees in positions of importance. The enticement to employees is to work in a manner that will increase the value of the company and their shares of stock. These incentive plans were strategically developed by major shareholders because the corporate executives felt that people would be motivated to increase their own wealth. Most employees are motivated by money and will work harder when the chance is given for more money. The very nature of this strategy consolidates all the employees to act as one self-motivated entity in the pursuit of monetary accumulation. In Piven and Cloward†s Regulating the Poor, this point is illustrated: â€Å"Capitalism, however, relies primarily upon the mechanisms of a market-the promise of financial rewards or penalties-to motivate men and women to work and to hold them to their occupational tasks† (4). The increased motivation of important members of the workforce by the enticing tactics of greed for wealth is a result of strategic planning by the major shareholders of the firm. The cost to these primary shareholders is the stock incentive plans needed additional stock to fulfill, which reduced the valuation of all stocks. The major shareholders know this devaluation is only temporary because self-motivated employees will act in a manner that will increase the value. The primary concept for discussion purposes is that self-motivated major shareholders have utilized the capitalist theory and thus, created a business compact with employees that will make self-motivated decisions on all levels. The strategy worked and throughout the country employees are busy increasing the value of their stock, but most importantly, they are increasing the value of the major shareholders. We will see this investing concept throughout most this paper because the wealthy resist adverse conditions with money. The Republican Party remained dominant throughout the 1920†³s, remaining unaffected by factionalism that plagued the Democratic Party. The party continued to align its platforms with the southern whites, and owners and managers businesses. Even in extraordinary economic times of prosperity for the wealthy, the Republican Party continued to advocate industrial economic values. The primary dilemma to republican business interests was the labor problem. The Republicans finally concentrated their discussion on four broad approaches to labor problems: the progressive approach, the open shop approach, the efficiency-engineering approach, and the political approach† (Zeiger 11). Most businessmen resolved harshly to end labor activism and to quietly continue their profitable business interests. This behavior of this standpoint took the pattern of employer resistance to labor unions, but originally the open shop crusades proved to be the most fruitful in the short-run. The open shop crusade, now illegal because it gave employers the ability to hire prospective employees on the basis if they belonged or support trade union activities. This restricted the employee†s ability to strike on a particular issue because they lack the power of numbers that a union possesses and could be replaced. Open shop enthusiasts were a major and vocal part of the Republican Party because of the financial resources they possess. Many republicans determined them intemperate and adherent, and their perspectives were damaging and extreme. These open shop enthusiasts constituted a vocal and influential segment of the party. They often proved quite effective in their efforts to chastise organized labor, for many Americans shared their concern. Still, many Republicans considered them extreme and doctrinaire, and their views harmful and inexpedient† (Zieger 74). It was these Republicans that lamented these controversial assaults on labor problems, such as Herbert C. Hoover who wished to devise a whole new style of labor relations based on the philosophies of efficiency and cooperation. By 1921 industrial engineers and other experts had developed the Taylor Society, the Federated American Engineering Societies. The Taylor Society was designed to improve the efficiency of a job-place in hopes of reducing severe factory working conditions. This in theory would increase aggregate production, which would lead to more available jobs and lower-unemployment. The main points to be established is that the Republican Party was support by wealthy business owners. The worst opponent of the worker is the wealthy business owner within the Republican Party. These are the characters that advocate extreme hostile tactics such as the open shop crusades. Regardless, they support the Republican Party financially and therefor the Republican Party acts as their voice politically. One component of the production process that can be controlled by management is automation. Regardless, the employee still performs a necessary function in the production process. The taylorization theory states employers have an incentive to make a job function more efficient. The increased efficiency results in lower production costs, lower aggregate unemployment rates and higher company profit returns. The industrial revolution was characterized by the widespread replacement of manual labor by machines that could perform the job functions quicker and or at lower costs. The industrial revolution was the result of interrelated fundamental changes that transform smaller market economies into an industrialized economy. Many products that were made at home or in small work units were transferred to large factories. Since the factories could produce at lower costs the product could be sold at a lower cost. This competitive advantage drove the smaller competition out of business. The people who profited from this effect were the owners of the mechanisms of production. This marks the beginning of an era where these wealthy owners would prosper over the working class. The aggregate effect of the increase production efficiency lead to the development of massive industrial parks. These parks expanded the scale of production dramatically and became concentrated in cities and large towns. Since traditional production relied heavily in the needs of local subsistence it gave way to the more market orientated production devices. This economically forced large numbers of the rural poor who moved to towns and cities to become the wage seeking labor force necessary to run rapidly expanding industries. This extensive movement of communities had a considerable result on labor prices and ultimately constrained these people to become the urban poor. The effect of the Industrial Revolution on American society was substantial. Income following workers increased the population of large towns and cities severely. From 1860 to 1900 the number of urban areas in the United States expanded fivefold. Even more striking was the explosion in the growth of big cities. In 1860 there were only 9 American cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants; by 1900 there were 38. Labor markets were flooded with eligible workers seeking employment and through pure labor competition they were willing to work in any environment for any wage. The environments factory laborers were forced to work in were considered by many Americans to be despicable. Regardless of the factory working conditions, many people were obligated to take the employment. Employment was necessary to generate income to support oneself and family. As a result, the Exploited workers received no power to contract with the owners of production. Instinctively managers and owners of capital have contrasting labor interests then those perspectives of employees. Wages and profits incomes divide the value that production adds, so by definition, labor and capital interests often are on opposing sides of social policy that affects the price level of the real wage. The real wage can be regarded as the price that equates the supply of and demand for labor†, (Foley and Michl 70). Owners and mangers of capital seek a flexible labor force, which is counter for the worker†s desire for stability and security in their employment and conditions of life. At this point in history, the affluent society of the United States was generating immense wealth by capitalizing on the poorer worker†s needs for minimal financial requirements. The wealthy invested their capital into factory production devises, which drove out smaller competing business from the market place. This profit seeking strategy worked because it economically forced resource deficient workers into the cities. The supply for labor increased, which coerced many employees to work for the affluent owners at a corresponding cut-rate real wage rate. These events began to illustrate a scenario that would set the scene for modifications in worker†s rights. The laborers had to develop a strategy to counteract the poverty-stricken working conditions imposed upon them by the owners of the factories. The labor market surplus further developed the worker†s dependency upon the self-motivated employer. Trade unions were formed to advocate alleviation of some dependency and support the worker†s efforts by gaining a quantifiable measure of power over their economic standing. Initially, the trade unions had limited success until they exercised the real true power worker†s have over employers: The strike. The strike in labor relations is a completely organized halt of work and production carried out by a large group of employees. The purpose of the strike is either enforcing worker†s demands that relate to unfair labor practices and or to employment conditions created by the self-motivated owner. The response to labor unions by business owners was the use of open shop tactics. â€Å"Employers† organizations and business groups commenced a vigorous campaign for the open shop. Armed with the then-legal yellow-dog contract, by which an employer could require a prospective employee to agree not to join or support a union† (Zeiger 20). The wealthy opposed the trade union†s use of the concept of collective bargaining because it advocated the subject of worker†s rights. Collective bargaining is where individuals with interest in the matter negotiate their stipulations until a compromise is found. The wealthy industrialists despise that their interests would are in constant danger by collective bargaining. In response, â€Å"America†s industrialist launched a well-financed general attack on the very concept of collective bargaining† (Zeiger 20). The use of collective bargaining proved to be an effective tool in bargaining with owners and managers. This meant that worker†s have finally developed a technique through labor unions that competently combats the proprietor†s regimen. During the 1920†³s and 1930†³s, strikes occurred as a natural feature of nationwide unions of the American Federation of Labor and other groups soon to be recognized as the Congress of Industrial Organizations. Striking had become a major weapon in the labor movement and was threatening the profitability of the production owners. â€Å"The strikes and threatened strikes, the radical agitation, the sharp industrial depression, and the whole atmosphere of discord and unrest that pervaded the country endangered the Republic and demanded action† (Zeiger 74). The wealthy republicans had to promote an offensive campaign to end this threat. So as previously stated, they adopted well-financed strategies aimed at the courts to obtain injunctions, which would legally prevented strikes in specific circumstances. The success of these strategies is confirmed in Zeiger†s Republicans and Labor 1919-1929, â€Å"The 1920†³s marked the climax of antilabor judicial activities†. (260) The basis the owner persuaded the courts with was that their property was either damaged or threatened and that they were powerless without legal solutions. It was the possession of financial resources that allowed the wealthy to recruit and employ powerful and persuasive lawyers. Legally persuading the courts of law with expensive lawyers was the sole purpose of the use of financial power to authoritatively force workers back into the production factories and produce profit for the owners. From the perspective of the wealthy, the application of financial resources to generate future income is honorable capitalism regardless of the situations† context. The power of wealth even can influence courts of law through lawyers and thereby, give the wealthy extreme power in legislation during this period in history. The Democratic Party during this era was experiencing outbursts of factionalism. The convention in 1924 was racial divided by southern whites and the northern urban blacks. The future success of the party was depended on the need for a change. The strategy developed by the leaders was to begin the alteration of the Democratic Party appeal. The leaders of the Democratic Party realized that poor people could be a powerful voting coalition. The great depression of 1929 forced millions of people into unemployment and poverty. These unemployed workers practiced approaches of protest through disruption demonstrations. These massive demonstrations help encouraged the working class voter†s hostility and defection of the Republican Party. The Democratic Party thus capitalizing on this realigned their platform to advocate the needs of poor people with the intent to gain votes. This re-alignment of party policy angered the southern democrats whose views were becoming more Republican. Having lost the southern support, the Democratic Party became the primary political instrument of vocalization and evolution of labor class politics. â€Å"During the electoral realignment of the 1930†³s, the Democrats gained the overwhelming allegiance of most manual workers and their unions†, (Piven and Cloward 421). The alignment of the working class with the Democratic Party coalition developed two powerful strategies to combat the wealthy and business leaders. As stated previously, the workers held extreme striking power over the means of production in factories. Now they had power in the organization of the working class population and could coordinate their votes to consolidate political force for their perspectives. The concept is similar to how the employees of a corporation have incentives to pursue company goals as a team. â€Å"The main political project of labor parties became the use of state power to develop the welfare state† (Piven and Cloward 21). Therefor, in the 1930†³s the democrats became a party of vigorous government intervention in the economy and thus the social realm. The goals of the party were to regulate, redistribute economic wealth and to protect people who are in need of assistance in an increasingly competitive society. The depression of 1929 and the coming of Franklin D. Roosevelt into the presidency with the New Deal help syndicate and enlarge the commitment to governmental expansions of assistance programs and industry regulation. Due to the economic conditions of the era, the advocators of economic assistance proved to be attractive to society and The Democratic Party flourished. The result of these campaigns was increased worker†s rights and a seemingly practical welfare state. Massive unemployment during the Great Depression created a socially dysfunctional society. Without the ability to create income through employment, basic physiological necessities were not being met. â€Å"When large numbers of people are suddenly barred from their traditional occupations, the entire structure of social control is weakened and may even collapse† (Piven and Cloward 7). During the depression, society experienced this symptom, which resulted in massive protests. The Democratic Party under the direction of Roosevelt recognized the need for government intervention. The party aligned itself with the working class and began to advocate worker†s rights legislation. Under Democratic Party control, federal funds were used to establish the Works Progress Administration, now known as the Work Project Administration, which distributed assistance to citizens in need of subsistence. In 1935, Roosevelt again used federal funds to create public works programs, which gave employment opportunities to the unemployed. As a result of declining republican political power, these and other initiatives were introduced to help increase worker†s rights. These worker†s rights that the Democratic Party supported were the same rights that the Republican Party had worked so hard to repress from regulation. In addition to passing labor rights laws, legislative action was taken against the wealthy industrialist†s use of legal injunctions. These lawful injunctions were used as an intimidating scheme to suppress union membership and ultimately strikes. In 1932 the U. S. ongress enacted the Norris-La Guardia Anti-Injunction Act. This legislation severely limited the self-motivated employer†s use of injunctions as a standard operating procedure against strikes. Another tactic of wealthy employers to combat unions was the use of the open shop strategy. Abolishment of the open shop regime was usually one of the primary demands by labor unions in collective bargaining. The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, known as the Wagner act, because of its sponsor Robert Wagner was adopted and help end the open shop crusades. This act federally guaranteed workers the right to organize through trade unions, use of collective bargaining and firmly incorporated a set of employment standards. It also restricted employers from practicing pre-employment tactics such as the open shop strategy. This reduced the power that republican business representatives could exert over the prospective and employed worker. In addition, the federal mandated right of collective bargaining guaranteed workers negotiation hearings in which employers had to listen to the worker†s needs. Congress also established the Social Security Act, which is a form of social welfare. In 1938, the United States Congress implemented the Fair Labor Standards Act. This primary functions of this act was to eliminate labor conditions that are dangerous to work†s health and productivity, it also established a minimum wage to eliminate the disastrous effects of high labor supplies, overtime wages were developed to eliminate excessive work weeks, and finally it eliminate oppressive child labor. The result of the Democratic Party effect on legislation during the labor movement is essential a bill of rights granted to the working class of America. No longer would the wealthy elite of America victimize the low wage working class in such inhumane techniques. Instead, these legislative acts marked the beginning of a new challenge to the Republican Party. Now the party had to reclaim lost legal ground by slowly returning to power of the United States Government. The legislative mandates of the Roosevelt era helped establish what is now known as the labor movement. Society was suffering adverse conditions and the Democratic Party mobilized the people into a political voice. The Republican Party was essentially powerless, regardless of their financial position because government officials were responding to public outcries. This historically proves that when conditions are unfair, a political party can mobilize society and gain control. Roosevelt also initiated measures that resulted in higher taxes on the rich and restricted private utility companies. Although these combinations did not stop the wealthy republicans from continuing to gain additional wealth, it only slowed their progress. History when again prove that the Republican Party would come back into power and restrict the rights of workers. This occurred when a Republican majority Congress passed the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947, known as the Taft-Hartley Act evidencing this reoccurring political phenomenon. This act retracted some of the rights that were implemented during the labor movement. These provisions included restricting supervisory employee†s protection from the NLRA and emphasized the right of employees not to join a labor union. These restrictions of labor rights were in the interest of the Republican Party and were created to reduce the power previous legislation granted labor unions. The successful creation of this statute reinforces the evidence that wealthy Republicans continually attempt to swindle the blue-collar labor class. Their motives are based within selfish financial greed and capitalist economy theory. This congressional act illustrates the phenomenon that bipartisan control and power is cyclical. The Democrats did regained majority of congress and implemented numerous anti-business and social interest acts in the 1960†³s. Due to the political cycle, The Republican Party inevitable would gain control of congress once again, but the question was when? During the economic crisis of the seventies, particularly the great recession of 1973-1975 businesses began to understand their role in the world†s economy. America was importing more then it was exporting, which was creating an unfamiliar and enormous trade deficit. â€Å"In 1971, for the first time since the 1890†³s, the U. S. imported more then it exported†, (Cohen and Rogers 36) Increased competition from foreign firms posed a substantial threat to American corporations. The result of this threat forced American corporations to compete with globalization. Corporations could no longer produce simple marketing campaigns to develop brand loyal consumers. Global competition forced these companies to produce the highest quality, lowest price and distribute through efficient channels. The international competition however, operating in countries were labor is cheaper, taxes are lower, there is fewer industry regulations and an absence of unions. In addition to these competitive forces, managers of the corporations must also answer to the wealthy shareholders of the corporation. Many business leaders formed think tanks to devise strategies to compete with this new threat. American business leaders set about developing a political program to shore up profits by slashing taxes and business regulation, lowering wages and welfare spending, and building up American military power abroad†, (Piven and Cloward 443). The sources of all of these objectives were rooted within government policies. These policies would inevitable have to change for these goals to be achieved. So, the corporate elite implemented a political strategy that would slowly form over decades to achieve. Even in modern times the wealthy elitist of society still could influence political matters through the power massive financial resources. During the 1980†³s business elite continued to align themselves with the Republican Party for it conservative ideals. The methods the wealthy corporation shareholders influence legislation during modern times has extremely advanced. The development of political action committees has encouraged corporations to channel financial contributions into political campaigns. Corporations will develop a PAC, establish a set of issues that it promotes politically. If a politician is campaigning for an election with corresponding views, then it is in the best interest of the PAC to contribute to the campaign. More importantly, corporations are to contribute to groups and individuals not directly affiliated with a candidate, such as the GOP. These groups or individuals can register, persuade voters, endorse a platform, advocate a candidate and oppose another. The Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment of the Constitution protected this type of spending as a form of free speech in its 1976 decision, Buckley vs. Valeo. These donations are referred to as â€Å"soft money† because they are not directly related to a campaign. The absence of regulation on soft money donations results in the option for corporations to contribute millions of dollars to further their political interest. This advantage has a profound effect in the corporate political strategy. â€Å"[Corporations] can simply treat politics as a business expense, a budget item like advertising, research and development, or public relations† (Clawson, Neustadl, and Weller 109). Through the strategy of the use of campaign contributing â€Å"soft money†, corporations have vastly increased their influence on political issues. This new corporate political influence has succeeded in their campaign to minimize threats to profitability. These threats were reduced most noted during the Reagan years when the Republican Party dominated the government. â€Å"The administration has made significant cuts in social spending, particularly in low income programs, and made plain its desire for deeper cuts; achieved a massive, and massively regressive, revision of the Federal tax system in 1981; dramatically scaled back the enforcement of regulations that posed any significant limits to business power†, (Cohen and Rogers 38). This success demonstrates the influential power that wealth has over the United States government. The government by definition should act in the best interest of the population and not the elite. Instead the influx of soft money continues to be unregulated and as proven by the Supreme Court decisions in 1976. This decision closely resembles how the courts protected the rights of employers in the labor disputes of the 1920†³s. The reasons why the rich corporations target the government are because the government holds the supreme lawful power over the entire population. History has proven to these elitists that with well financed operations targeting campaigning officials over time favorable legislation will be passed. The legislation usually reduces some sort of cost or regulation in that firms industry. This increases the profitability of the company, which is directly related to the owner†s wealth. These incremental increases in profits have lead to more investments to further heighten the value of the wealthy. This is apparent by the vast and increasing gap between the rich and the poor in America. The poor are relatively easy targets in comparison to the costs of soft money contributions. In America, it is very difficult for the poor to change their financial status. So, once a person is poor they are generally poor for the rest of their lives. They will continue to spend their lives spending the little money on the products these corporations provide. In short, the corporations are developing an enlarging consumer base that is dependent upon their products. The middle class is slowly disappearing because of the loss of blue-collar jobs. The loss of blue-collar jobs is a symptom of the increasing presence of globalization. Globalization has privileged companies to outsource their production needs to other countries with lower regulation and labor costs. This resembles much of the labor practices of companies in the 1920†³s were the labor rights were essentially ignored. Another easy solution to minimize the firms operating costs is by eliminating valuable jobs. These sometimes massive downsizing satisfied the wealthy stockholders because the firm had lower production costs and higher profitability. Investors often applaud the news of a layoff as a sign of corporate turn-around. The payroll is a large, ongoing liability to the balance sheet, and investors are titillated by anything that reduces it†, (Downs 14). History repeats itself as we see that wealthy investors and managers again behave in manners regardless of people†s needs. The forces unleashed by corporate executions and globalization have brought into the labor market thousands of unskilled job seekers with little or no income. A new underclass has of previously employed individuals has become a nationwide trend in our social and economic condition. These people are forced to take jobs within the service sector and these jobs typical pay wages that are lower then those of manufacturing jobs. These trends have formed a synergetic effect on the growing wealth gap between the rich and the poor. In today†s modern economy companies do not have to worry about the United States government regulating the labor industries in other countries because of jurisdiction. The use of soft money in the United States government has proven that even at home corporations can freely advocate legislation that is favorable to their terms. This has had a profound effect on the income gap in American society. The wealthy possess financial resources that provide enormous opportunities to create more wealth. This need for excessive wealth is deeply rooted into the personalities of these individuals. In America, society considers the pursuit of wealth has a fundamental right of capitalism. The ethical boundary was crossed by the use of financial resources to victimi