The Role of Government and the Relationship Between the Individual and the State

Lara O’Gorman The legacy of an empire is defined by its ability to conquer and make a mark on society. Many people throughout history sought to create empires as a way to establish their power. Often when one looks at the wide spectrum of history, some empires only last a few hundred of years and then dwindle out. After their fall, their legacy does not continue and their history is loss to the ages. Without a legacy, Rome would have ceased to exist, and would not have carried it’s ideals to post-classical civilizations.Rome had a successful and functioning government that help established its power, grandeur, and impressive knowledge of the arts. Within society it is vital to have a dependable and structured government as to prevent uproar and rebellion. The importance of a stable and powerful government is portrayed in the literary work Lord of the Flies and the idealization of political rulers and the subordination of subjects is conveyed through the art pieces the B ronze Statue of the Emperor Trebonianus Gallus and the Marble Portrait of Marcus Aurelius.Rome is remembered as a vast empire that stood above all surrounding civilizations with pride and honor. Rome, at it’s highest point, was thought of as immortal and impenetrable. It was only until the gradual decay of the empire that people thought of it as mortal. Before the detrimental rippling stages of the fall of Rome, powerful rulers and structured government was instilled within the empire. Several of these powerful emperors kept Rome under their rule by subordinating their subjects and by enforcing political unity. Other rulers used tolerance and active roles in society to appeal to their subjects.One ruler, Marcus Aurelius ascended to the throne in 161 AD and was deemed a philosopher king that was different from his predecessors. His philosopher status is recorded through the common depiction of him in a toga and adorning a Greek-inspired beard. He was interested in rational thi nking and tolerated all different sects of religion. Some say that his openness was his downfall and that his optimistic view of all things caused him to allow one of Rome’s worst emperors into his line of heir. Aurelius had an active role in government and did not discriminate against lower class people moving up in the world.He allowed people that were fit for government job, no matter what class, to have a say. This demonstrates his thought on his subordinates and how he not afraid to converse and involve himself with them. His openness is reflected in the calm and composed face of the portrait and how he is wise and is making a noble decision. Marcus was a fierce ruler and a good general, despite Rome’s loss against the Germanic tribes in war. The toga in which is realistically draped over his torso can be interpreted as a general’s attire. The militaristic style of his clothing suggest that he is the protector and is a strong ruler.Marcus lived a life of lu xury and suffered little. His wealth enabled him to surround himself with items of luxury. The emperor of Rome usually had portrait busts of their ancestors within his palace, which communicates the important and high position Marcus Aurelius had within society. The portrait busts were usually idealized, which can be see in the flawless bust that communicates that Marcus Aurelius was a strong, intelligent, and wealthy ruler. A second ruler, whom in contrast used his power and authority to rule his subordinates, ascended to power after the death of Decius in 251 AD at the battle of Abrittus.There, Trebonianus Gallus took on the position of ruling the vast and expansionist civilization of Rome. The troops that Decius led claimed Trebonianus Gallus a suitable ruler due to his familiarity with the government and his influence as a senate member. Gallus, to prevent the Goths from attacking again, signed a peace treaty that stated he would pay yearly tribute to them. To demonstrate Gallus ’ power over his subjects and ability to make executive decisions, the bronze statue portrays his arm are outstretched. This gesture is common with giving commands and looking down upon subjects from a higher point in society.Once Gallus was instated as emperor, he found that his empire had become plague stricken and the Roman population was dropping. To gain admiration from his subjects he buried the dead plague victims properly and spared no expense. This action suggests a confident personality, which is further expressed in the facial expression. Gallus, however, was seen inept in all other political categories. He was indecisive about detrimental political decisions, which greatly affected the state. Due to Gallus’ lack of political leadership, rebellions sparked within the empire, causing Trebonianus to flee to the north with his troops.The facial expression of the statue could also be interpreted as oblivious to his political duties and to the betrayal he would s oon face. With the threat of defeat and possible death lingering over his army, Gallus was killed, along with his co-emperors. Trebonianus Gallus was not seen as a beneficial addition to the empire and caused a plethora of problems, along with a growing feeling of discontent within the empire. The lack of skills Trebonianus possessed called for the end of his life. Although Gallus lacked military skill, his statue portrait is portrayed with the hair and beard style that soldiers favored.This conveys how leaders were idealized as to express authority and the greatness of the empire. When the leader of a united group becomes corrupt and unfit to complete his role in government, the subjects take action into their own hands. If discontent rises, rebellion and removal of power are probable. The mutiny that occurred with the homocide of Gallus, greatly demonstrates the importance of having a competent and understanding ruler as well as how the state is strong enough to react to problems that greatly affect the state as a whole.The fall of the great Roman Empire can be credited to many factors, but what caused the empire to completely corrode was the invasion by barbarians. In 410 AD, the Visigoths were led by Alaric to Ravenna where they soon ransacked the city and caused Rome to finally surrender its title of immortal. Due to the empire being strained prior to the attacks because of corruption in government, loss of tradition, and an unskilled military, it was easy for Alaric to fulfill the prophecy of penetrating â€Å"the city. It was clear that after the invasion by the Visigoths, Rome would not come out of it alive and victorious. The lack of a stable and prosperous government was one of the main factors that enabled Alaric to conquer Rome, which conveys the vitality of a strong government head. Compared to the fall of Rome, the plot of the Lord of the Flies by William Golding further explains why it is essential to have a central authority and how lacking th is political aspect can cause the downfall of a civilization.The 1954 novel discusses the social perils that ensue amongst English school boys once authority is not there to advise them. The literary work commences with the introduction of a tall blonde boy named Ralph that is soon accompanied by the voice of reason known as Piggy. During the time it takes Piggy and Ralph to become acquainted, they both realize that there are no adults on the island where their plane has crashed. They are astonished by this information but they still ask the question â€Å"Aren’t there any grownups at all? † The only reply that can be uttered is â€Å"I don’t think so. At first this information excited them and they become full of independence zeal, but later throughout the novel they begin to realize that a stable figure head is needed in order to have society function properly. Within society on the island, order is centered around a conch shell. This shell has symbolic value of order, normality, and power. Whomever holds the shell has the power to speak and to be heard. Piggy finds the shell within the first couple of stages of the plot and Ralph eventually uses it to signal the other children that were spread around the island by the crash.When all the children gather round the conch, a political issue arises; Who will be leader? Between the two most influential people in the group, Ralph and the chorus leader, Jack, an election is held. To Ralph’s advantage, the children say â€Å"Let him be chief with the trumpet thing. † The children recognize the conch as a centralizing factor and they search for stability in their new lives on the island. As with most empires and groups, irrational actions and discontent began to grow due to fear, anger, and power struggles. Power is wanted by the chorus leader, Jack, who sees himself as the most capable leader.He wishes to be in control, so he seeks the most controlling role within the new society; a hunter. By being the leader of the hunting party, he controls life and death and to whom or what he damages. The fact that Jack becomes this strong blood-thirsty leader enables the group to break away and form a corrupt and independent kingdom on the island. Strife begins to arise and violent actions begin to break out as the quest for power comes to a head. One of the most dramatic scenes in the book is when Ralph and Piggy go to Jack’s fortress in search of peace and unity.This peaceful venture turns into a bloodbath when the conch is destroyed and Piggy is killed by a boulder that is pushed from a mountainside by a chaos-consumed boy named Roger. Piggy was trying to remind the boys of the importance of rescue and how unity and peace should exist between the boys, but due to the lack of a strong and noble government, chaos and violence rules the kingdom of Castle Rock. The conch was the only remaining symbol of unity and stability, and it was crushed under the weight of a rock, which symbolically can be interpreted as the pressures of society and pure bedlam in society.The dark side of man is portrayed in the actions of the boys at Castle Rock. Because of these actions, â€Å"Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy. † At this point in the novel, society is out of control and unorganized. The perils of man and the way society becomes tumultuous and coercive communicates the need for a stable head of government. For without a functioning government, chaos is able to run rampant and disorganization can spread wildly. Government helps to instill organization and keeps the people at peace of mind.The government makes corporal decisions that are usually for keeping social rebellions at ease and to keep daily lives functioning. History demonstrates these points, whether it be through the art works or the literary works, but still manage to communicate the ideals and power of the ruler of the time. Whether it be for a demonstration of power or a depiction of what society is like when not controlled, the purpose of the portrayals is to call for the use of a stable government in order to make a legacy for the empire in which the ruler has sovereignty.

Henri Fayol vs. Henry Mintzberg

Henri Fayol vs. Henry Mintzberg. Functions vs. roles Henri Fayol and Henry Mintzberg are â€Å"two sides of the one coin†. Each man has his own opinion on what the manager does. Fayol has his â€Å"five functions† and Mintzberg has his â€Å"roles of management†. In this essay I will discuss both men’s opinions and try to come to a conclusion on which I think is better. Henri Fayol, a French management theorist and managing director of a French mining company, came up with the five functions of management. These functions serve the purpose of predicting the future of the environment and planning a relevant business strategy, developing a social and technical structure to the organisation, managing the activities of the staff, integrating plans and activities across the organisation and ensuring conformity with the plan via authority and feedback mechanisms to correct inappropriate activity. Planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling. These five functions have been around since Fayol came up with them back in 1916 and have dominated management vocabulary since then. These functions would seem to cover all the criteria needed for a manager to do his job but Henry Mintzberg has a different opinion. Henry Mintzberg is an internationally renowned academic and author on business and management with over 140 articles and thirteen books written. He came up with the roles of management, which he believes cover most of the things a manager will encounter in their job. These roles are split into 3 interpersonal roles, 3 informational roles and 4 decision making roles. The 3 interpersonal roles are; the figurehead which helps reinforce what the company stands for and reinforces the organisational culture, the leader who provide their employees with a sense of mission and the liaison who mixes with others outside the business to represent the needs of their group. The 3 informational roles are; the monitor who collects information form within the group and finds out what is going on in the business, the disseminator who shares the information with others who would not find out the information and the spokesperson who represents the views of the group in the wider environment. The 4 decision making roles are; the entrepreneur who make decisions to improve the contribution of their subordinates to the performance of the business, the disturbance handler who deals with any problems that might occur within the group, the resource allocator who allocates resources throughout their subordinates and the negotiator who negotiates to secure contracts, budgets etc. Henry Mintzberg believes that the five functions of management do not really tell us much about what a manager actually does but at best paint a vague picture of what objectives managers have when they work. He has come up with the idea that there are 4 myths relating to the role of the manager which if looked at closely do not support Fayol’s functions. The first of these myths is that â€Å"a manager is a reflective, systematic planner† when studies show that most managers work at a fast and unrelenting pace, that their activities are often brief and varied and that they dislike reflective activities but are more action orientated. The second of these myths is â€Å"the effective manager has no regular duties to perform†. Evidence shows that managers do infact perform a number of regular duties like rituals and ceremonies as well as negotiations and processing information with links between the organisation and its environments. The third myth is â€Å"The senior manager needs aggregated information, which a formal management information system provides†. The fact in this case is that managers prefer to get their information through telephone calls or meetings. The fourth and final myth is â€Å"Management is, or at least is quickly becoming a science and a profession†. The fact behind this myth is that the manager programs to schedule time, process information, make decisions and so stay in their own head and deal with things in their own way. The first of the four myths is probably the one that conflicts most with Fayol’s functions and shows that although there is some degree to a managers job, they prefer to work fast and would rather take action to try and resolve a problem rather than waste time thinking on different ways to overcome it. In my opinion, I would be more inclined to agree with Mintzberg and his roles of management over Fayol’s functions. This is because the roles of management have a lot more scope and would allow a manager more ways to deal with a wider variety of situations. They also cover the roles that I have seen managers in my working environment undertake such as the Liaison, the Negotiator, the Disturbance handler etc. In conclusion, although the five functions are a good way to look at the role of a manager I think that Mintzberg, having done all the studies on managers and actually seeing what they do in their day to day workings has given him a better idea of what the job of the manager actually entails. Fayol’s views look good when you see and hear them but in reality, is management as straight forward as the five steps that he has set out? I don’t think that he has looked at all the areas and all the things that could go wrong in jobs. In reality, I think Fayol’s functions are more like the ways we would like the job of the manager to be whereas Mintzberg’s roles have given us the way a managers job actually is and covers most of the things that a manager would encounter in the running of a business. By Alan Young References DR R DONNELLY , â€Å"the role of the manager†, heriot-watt university. HENRY MINTZBERG, July-august 1975â€Å"the manager’s job: Folklore and fact† Harvard business review.

A Review Of Employee Management Systems Information Technology Essay

A Review Of Employee Management Systems Information Technology Essay Nowadays, Employee Management System is being adopted by many sectors in the real world whether it is small or large scale. But currently most of the fast food restaurant does not have this system implement to the website. Thus, the author decided to develop a web-based employee management system for fast food restaurant. The system will be built consists of human resource management function such as leave request, employee report and job application, this function will be integrated to this web-based system. The aim of this project is to design and develop a web based Employee Management System using PHP and MySQL. In this project, a web-based Employee Management System will be developed for Carl’s Fast Food restaurant to manage employee job information, working schedule, leave request, employee report on achievement, training and evaluations. In addition the system will also manage job application information that apply job online by visitor. In this web-based system basica lly it has 4 main users that are administrator, manager, employee and visitor. For employee, manager and administrator they can login to the system through online to perform their different task respectively that available for them, for visitor they can apply job. Where manager can do managerial work such as view/modify/create employee report, in addition it also can approve/deny/view leave request, accept/decline/view interview for job candidate, search for employee information and modify/view employee schedule. Manager can upload a doc file to the administrator, if there is any change about employee and manager information. In addition manager can search for specific employee information, view and print information. In employee, it can request leave and check for leave request whether their leave is approve or deny. Employee also can view working schedule that has been arrange by the manager and search for colleague to view their basic information. Administrator has just a small t ask such as create new user if there is any new employee, manager and administrator. In addition, it also can modify user information and delete user, and download doc file that uploaded by the manager to update the require information. And lastly the visitor can apply job online through the job application This web-based system is important where it can improve the way of managing and keep track of employee information such as leave request, employee performance report and others. Thus, this can determine the success level of the fast food restaurant. 1.1 Company Background Carl’s Fast Food Restaurant is one of the fast food restaurants in Malaysia, located at Cheras, Kuala Lumpur which founded in the year of 2008. This fast food restaurant is relatively similar to another fast food restaurant, which primarily sells french fries, fried chicken, hamburger and soft drinks. The restaurant has a traditional way and manual system of managing their employee information, hence the restaurant itself has the intention to improve the management of their employee. 1.2 Problem Statement One of the problems of the current Carl’s Fast Food restaurant is, they still using the manual way of managing the employee information and records, in term of keeping employee information such as employee leave request, employee report, and employee working schedule.

Physical Security Clients Assessment (Criminal Justice) Essay

Physical Security Clients Assessment (Criminal Justice) - Essay Example insecurity present most intense effects of floods, earthquakes and volcanoes among others just as those that are man-made including civil disturbances, industrial accidents and sabotage. Security forces and those installing security devices therefore need to be armed with adequate skills through vulnerability tests, training and supervision. With the increase in buildings, security and safety become paramount. There are varied risks associated with buildings including disorder, emergencies and crime. The crimes that could be committed in contravention to building security include theft and burglary, property damage including sabotage and graffiti, personal offenses such as elevator assaults, public order offences such as angry interchanges with receptionists and unauthorized access to utilities that could lead to commercial espionage. Disorders encompass behavioral issues such as drug dealing and hostage taking in buildings (Challinger, 2008). Fennelly acknowledges the importance of â€Å"territorial defense strategies† as a way to prevent property related crimes including household larceny, auto theft and break-ins (2004, p.5). The related strategy areas in this case include construction standards, building interior security, building perimeter security and building grounds security. Grounds security would protect against unauthorized entry into sites and inhibits destructive behavior by visitors. Construction standards ensure that the materials and techniques used in construction minimize safety hazards and crimes. Interior security provides a third line of defense by use of physical barriers and surveillance to prevent unauthorized access and ensure security of occupants. Reese and Tong (2010) point out the physical security of federal buildings and include assets of physical security such as closed-circuit television cameras, safety guards and barrier material. Since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, there have been

1.Internet nutrition resources.2.entomophagy (insect eating) Essay

1.Internet nutrition resources.2.entomophagy (insect eating) - Essay Example Aside from the subjects stated above, the site also includes Emergency Preparedness and Management, Report an illness or file a product complaint and check restaurant inspection scores that will increases awareness of its audience and encourages its audience to give feedback on a particular product. But this site lacks online forums and has limited search filters for audience search bar: only for consumers, unlike the other sites which offers more options such as parents, children, senior, caregivers and teachers. The Ohio State University released a fact sheet entitled â€Å"Insects as Human Food – Microlivestocks,† the promotion of edible insects, foodstuff and its nutritional value (osu.edu). A study showed that insects like grasshoppers, ants, beetles, and mole crickets are rich in protein and low in cholesterol and fat. On the other hand, termites, caterpillars and weevils contain iron, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin. Mexican restaurants served fried grasshoppers, chocolate covered ants and tortillas with red and white agave worms. For Columbia, they ground ants as spread on breads, while in Africa some insects are eaten raw or baked. Other countries such as, Philippines and United States have it fried, broiled or sautà ©ed with vegetables. The following recipes were also famous in the United States: chocolate chirpie chip cookies made from dry-roasted crickets, bug blox made from dry-roasted leafhoppers, rootworm beetle dip made from dry-roasted rootworm beetles and banana worm bread made from dry-roasted armyworms. Insects contain essential amino acids, so it can be a source of protein for nutrition. But there are also insects that are toxic and may create allergies, thus, some Americans chose not to eat insects. In addition, the US Food and Drug Administration is very strict on its policy, e.g. limiting insects and their parts in food crops, thus, giving a notion that

Fundamentals of Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Fundamentals of Finance - Essay Example Therefore, it can be said that M&S possesses a sound fundamental financial position. In order to analyse the efficiency of a company, it is necessary to quantify its financial performance. Not just the investors, but other stakeholders like suppliers, credit providers and banks also consider the financial performance of the company as a parameter of its efficiency. Such analysis is often done in two stages. Initially, the performance of the company is analysed for the past few years (atleast five or more years). Historical data reflects the past trend and fundamentals of the company. However, one should not rely only on historical performance; rather the performance of the company in the last financial year should also be taken into consideration. Tools like ratio analysis should be used to make the process more transparent and holistic. Moreover, the performance of the company should be compared against the industry to arrive at a more authentic conclusion. In the given project, financial performance of Marks and Spencer will be analysed by taking into consideration its last five years performance. Later on, essential ratios will be analysed and compared against the industry benchmark to have a more comprehensive understanding. Marks and Spencer is one of the leading retailers in UK. Data published by the company reveals that in a single week more than 21 million customers visit its stores. The company is engaged in selling high quality clothes and home products along with quality food. The supplier base of the company comprises more than 2,000 suppliers from different parts of the world. Approximately 76, 000 people are employed by UK and other stores located in 41 overseas territories. The company was founded by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in the year 1884 for selling specifically British products. However, with time, the company had to break this policy to gain competitive edge in

Literature review on a particular aspect of health psychology Essay

Literature review on a particular aspect of health psychology - Essay Example Another eating disorder emerged, however, towards the end of the 1970s, when there were reports of an increasing number of adolescents who indulged in overeating, followed immediately by induced vomiting. This disorder was first named ‘bulimarexia’ (Ibid), as it shared some similar features with those suffering from anorexia nervosa. It was in 1979 when the term ‘bulimia nervosa’ was introduced by a London psychiatrist, Professor Gerald Russell in a seminal paper which he published in the psychiatric journal Psychological Medicine (Abraham, 2008). Bulimia means ‘to eat like an ox† (Abraham, 2008). Professor Russell described 40% of his patients suffering from a clinical condition as that of ‘an ominous variant of anorexia nervosa†, a disorder he termed ‘bulimia nervosa’. He explained that these groups of people periodically went on eating binges, while at the same time adopted extreme measures like induced vomiting to prevent themselves from becoming fat (Abraham, 2008; Cooper, 2009). In his paper, he proposed three definitions for bulimia nervosa: 1) powerful and intractable urges to overeat; 2) attempts to avoid the ‘fattening’ effects of food by inducing vomiting, abusing purgatives, or both; and 3) a morbid fear of fatness (Cooper, 2009). His definitions set a trend over the next few years, as clinicians and researchers used them as guidelines in identifying people with bulimia nervosa. The criteria for recognizing the onset of the disorder, however, became the subject of much debate as to how widespread bulimia nervosa was. In 1994, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV), published by the American Psychiatric Association, provided some guidelines which has since then been widely accepted by mental health professionals (Schulherr, 2008). Some of these included episodes of binge-eating and purging, characterized by the person’s

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Report - Essay Example A couple of mails recently received from the customers read that they are highly unsatisfied with our contact services. Some of them have complained in very harsh words that their calls were not picked. The problem is reported to have persisted 24 hours and they were never replied. Due to the malfunction of the helpline, many customers have incurred exaggerated telephone bills. Some of them have even personally visited the office and complained about the same quite rudely. This has upset the whole administration. â€Å"big screen† mobiles and many have related it to the unusual design of the sets. One of the customers has mentioned that all purchasers of this particular model have found same deficiency in the performance of this mobile. He wants the company to return his money in place of the mobile. prolonged use of mobiles that has exposed their ears to microwave radiations. Customers who have experienced headache after prolonged usage of the mobiles asked for modification in the design of the mobiles that would reduce ears’ exposure to microwave radiations. maintain the company’s reputation. Instant replacement of helpline with an efficient system is advised. Customers have strongly recommended that the company should seriously think over the development of a 24 hour live chat system in which customers can address their issues without having to make expensive calls to the administration. design of the mobile does not allow the use of suitable battery. It is strongly recommended to reconsider the design of the mobile to eliminate this issue. The director is advised to forward his immediate response to the customers’ queries about the mobile return and payback, since the mobiles were initially issued without a payback guarantee. The above mentioned issues have had considerable adverse effects on the affection of the customers with our

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

Pocahontas - Essay Example This custom could be seen as a ritual death which the hostile natives perpetrated on strangers in their land. Later, the chief adopted Smith as his son, or a subordinate chief. Pocahontas and Smith soon became friends. Pocahontas started visiting the English settlement to bring them food since there was always a shortage of food in the English settlements where Smith lived. The colonists were not adept at hunting food and also were not familiar with the local terrains which became a handicap in their search for food. Despite being the chieftain’s daughter, Pocahontas provided immense help to the English settlers, for which her efforts should be seen as the first attempt to bridge the cultural difference and ethnic rivalry. Because of this contribution, â€Å"she remains an important part of American folk history to this day.† (Spectrum home & school magazine 2006). Subsequently, an injury from a gunpowder explosion forced John Smith to return to England in 1609. The settlers told the natives that John Smith was dead and Pocahontas also believed it. In the year 1613, Pocahontas was kidnapped by some English settlers and brought to Jamestown. They used her as a ransom for negotiating the release of English prisoners and firearms from her father. He agreed to release the prisoners but refused to part with the weapons, and hence Pocahontas was held back. From Jamestown she was moved to Henrico for religious indoctrination into Christianity. This denotes the fact that intrinsically the Algonquian tribe was receptive to the idea of cultural transition from one religion to another. This is all the more significant because a teenage girl had done this. She was one of the first America in Virginia State to convert to Christianity, and this act pioneered the advent of Christianity in North America, from where it spread to other regions of America. Thus Pocahontas marked an important milestone in the cultural history of America. During her stay in Henrico, in the

Analyze an entertainment product Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyze an entertainment product - Essay Example These questions, and many more, while be explored with respect to television and violence, and the controversial topic of media censorship. Seeking to explore the relationship between television, arguably the most prevalent entertainment product in homes around the United States, and violence, this essay will begin with a look at violence across countries. The relationship between violence and television will be discussed then we turn to a discussion of media censorship, particularly how it relates to violence on TV. This research paper will then conclude with a summary of the findings and an analysis of the research presented. Television is everywhere and has spread to all four corners of the globe. Much like television, violence is a universal phenomenon found all over the world. Violence on TV however is a relatively new concept and is not found across the world. Restrictions placed on violence in the media are culturally-specific and not universal. The result is that violence on television is common in some parts of the world while uncommon in others. In Canada and the United States, restrictions on television are usually not too strong and generally related to violent content or things that are considered to be obscene (generally sex). A good example of this in North America was Janet Jackson’s infamous â€Å"wardrobe malfunction†, in which her left breast was fully exposed during Super Bowl Sunday, the most-watched television event in the United States. Apparently more than 90 million viewers had a fleeting glimpse of the singer’s breast and â€Å"about 542,000 complaints were r eceived by broadcaster CBS† (British Broadcasting Corporation 2008) following the incident. Accordingly, broadcaster CBS was initially fined $550,000 for indecency and obscenity. In other places in the world, China and the countries of Asia in particular, restrictions are placed more strongly on violence, obscenity and

Case Study Toyota crisis Essay Example for Free

Case Study Toyota crisis Essay Organizational Crisis negatively effect organization’s name and image, as well as adversely impact employee by instilling doubt, insecurity and distrust (Tahmicioglu, 2010). Employees are directly effected by the crisis, as they are the primary stakeholders (Obston, 2014) and brand ambassadors of the company. Thus, to ensure wellbeing of employees, especially in time of catastrophe, they should be well informed and fostered under the guidance of company’s leaders. Leaders at Toyota should take an immediate action; start with early internal crisis communication, take accountability and show their commitment to resolving the crisis. Male (2004) suggests, being proactive and transparent lessen doubt and distress among employees. It will be beneficial if a live talk is set up with the employees. Live podcast will personalize the message, and will allow employees to directly hear compassion and empathy in the leader’s voice. Establishing an active feedback loop is also very effective (Miller, 2014), an online forum on company’s intranet will be a great way to facilitate two-way dialogues between employees and executives. The forum will be pivotal in giving direct feedback to employees’ questions and concerns, and for consistently providing updated information. Along with starting communication, hotlines dedicated for crisis should be provided as part of employee assistance program; employees should be encouraged to actively use the services to get professional help they need for dealing with crisis. Lack of immediate dialogue leads to speculation (Miller, 2014), and when the magnitude of the crisis is as big as Toyota’s recall, consistent media scrutiny and amplification of negative news can further fuel anxiety and uncertainty among employees (Cole, 2011). Therefore, its imperative leaders eradicate uncertainty by giving timely crisis communication that precedes external news and provide continuing support to employees. An early two-way dialogue is a good start to lessen the chaos among distressed employees. However, in addition to continuing practice of honest internal communication, for the long run, leaders will need to establish processes specific to employees’ welfare to restore lost trust.  Organizational strategy needs to improve to rectify behaviors that effected employees’ welfare in past. Toyota’s work philosophy which Liker (2004) described as â€Å"The Toyota way,† was known for continuous improvement and people development; however, aggressive focus on rapid growth (Cole, 2011) resulted in detrimental practices, such as, reward system based on cost control versus quality control, poor training, declining working conditions and work overload (Sullivan, 2010; McNeill, 2013; Cole, 2011). These practices were not only damaging to employees trust, but also clearly violated psychological contract (Rousseau, 1995) of Toyota employees. To rebuild eroded trust caused by the violation of contract, leaders need to validate employees wellbeing is not compromised again. Gillespie and Dietz (2012) recommend implementing a strategy that will safeguard against future untrustworthy actions. This can be done by articulating and enacting a system instilled with high ethical standard, clearly communicated processes and better working conditions. Providing flexible working hours, manageable workload and regular training programs will prove leaders mean well; consistently incorporating employees voice will assure their role is imperative in recovery of company image. Lastly, proactively engaging in regular evaluation of processes will result in improved performance and ultimately recapturing the reputation. References: 1. Cole, R. E. (2011). What Really Happened to Toyota. MIT Sloan Management Review The New Business of Innovation. 2. Gillespie, N., Dietz, G. (2012). The recovery of trust: Case studies of organisational failures and trust repair. Institute of Business Ethics: London. 3. John, S. (2010). A think Piece: How HR caused Toyota to Crash. Retrieved from http://www.ere.net 4. Liker, J. (2004). The Toyota way 14 Management Principles from the Worlds Greatest Manufacturer. McGraw-Hill 5. Male, B. (2010). How to handle a product recall. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com 6. McNeill, D. (2013). Cover-up: Toyota and Quality Control. The Asia Pacific Journal, Vol 11, Issue 36, No. 1, 7. Miller, J. (2014). 4 Tips to help leaders communicate during a crisis. Retrieve from http://smartblogs.com 8. Obston, A. (2014). 5 ways to communicate with employees during a crisis. Retrieved from http://www.ragan.com 9. Tahmicioglu, E. (2010). Surviving your company’s mistake. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com 10. Rousseau, D. (1995). The psychological contract: Violations and Modifications. The Organizational Behavior Reader. 8th ed.

The Tudor Life In England History Essay

The Tudor Life In England History Essay People abusing the person in the pilloryThe Pillory and the Stocks; the pillory is a t-shaped box where the victim would place their head and arms inside. As others passed by they would throw food at the person and taunt and jeer at he/she, it was very humiliating. The stocks were used the same way, except that their feet were bound.http://www.duhaime.org/Portals/duhaime/images/pillory.jpg Ducking stools (especially for those women accused of witchcraft); Accused witches, were tested. They were dunked into a river to see if they were innocent or guilty. If the women had floated, they were considered a witch and would be sentenced to be burnt at stake, if they sunk, then they were innocent. Unfortunately if the women were innocent, she would have drowned anyway. Boiling in oil water or lead; (usually reserved for poisoners); for attempted murder you could be sentenced of the punishment of being boiled alive in hot water or lead. Cutting off various parts of the anatomy nose, hands, ears etc; depending on the crimes committed, you could be sentenced to decapitation of your body parts. If someone stole from the market, they could get their hand(s) chopped off. The gossips bridle or the brankThe Gossips Bridle or the Brank; for women who gossiped or spoke to freely, they would place a large iron framework over their heads, which formed a type of cage. There was a metal stripped placed so it could fit inside the mouth, and it would either have been sharpened or placed with spikes to a certain extent so that any movement of the tongue would inflict much pain and damage.woman wearing a brank The Drunkards Cloak; the punishment for public drunkenness, is quite astonishing. The drunk would be forced and fitted into a don barrel and wander through the town while local villagers laughed and taunted the drunk. Big holes were cut for the persons feet, head and arms. Being beaten; for poor Tudors who begged, they would be beaten until they passed the stones that marked the town parish boundary. The result was very gruesome and so were the beatings. Beheading; beheading was considered less degrading, noblemen would generally be placed with punishment of beheading. Sometimes it took several blows just to decapitate the head. The head would sometimes be placed on spikes on the London Bridge or other areas. This punishment was held in public for many to witness. Tudor schools: Not many children attended school, as they were mostly poor or had too much work in their lives (like farming). Although those that did go to school were mainly sons of wealthy and noble families. Remember that only boys would mostly go to school, as it usually wasnt considered worth the money to send a girl to school. Girls would either be kept home, attending with the house work or sent out to make money for their family. There were 2 types of schools in Tudor times The petty school ( teaching young children to read) The grammar school (teaching the children Latin and mathematics, religion etc) Boys began their school at the age of 4 and moved to grammar school when they were 7 years old. Basically it was meant that boys were educated to work, as girls were taught for marriage and operating a household. Boys were to attend 6 days a week. School started at 7:00 am in winter and 6:00 am in summer, both ending at 5:00 pm. This was a very large amount of time spent for the boys. Unfortunately no long holidays were offered to the boys. Schools would close for 16 days at Christmas and a short 12 days at Easter, and there were no summer holidays. A Tudor class could contain up to as many as 60 pupils! Much of the time was spent learning long passages from textbooks by heart, not only would this keep them quiet, but it would also save currency on buying books. The main subjects Tudor classes learnt were: Latin, Arithmetic, Divinity (religious Study), and English literature. Pupils would have to do writing with quill pens made from feathers, which would have to be sharpened frequently to make it work. Teachers were extremely strict with tolerance of the boys. They would often beat the boys with birches if they did wrong. A birch is specially designed type of cane used to inflict a lot of pain. It wasnt a useful method as some pupils would be too scared to attend school because of the beatings. Teachers used to give 50 strokes of the birch. But for wealthy pupils they could afford a whipping boy and whenever the wealthy pupil got in trouble, the whipping boy would receive the consequence. For school sports, it was a custom to bring money on Shrove Tuesday. Where then the schoolmaster would buy a fighting cock and tie it to a post. The game was that the boys where to take turns throwing sticks at the cock. If a boy hit the cock, it was his. If everybody hit the cock it belonged to the school master. Tudor cures/medicines Tudor times were very unhealthy. And from that it produced many illnesses and ridiculous cures. Following are some reasons why many Tudors had health issues : Open sewers ran through the streets and carried many diseases Toilets were only a hole in the ground outside the owners back door. Water came from village pumps, which meant that the water was taken from a local river, and that river would be full of filth from the town. Country people developed their own medicines for a cheap price, using herbs. But would you realise that you are buying from a person who didnt know the importance of washing their hands when handling your medicine. The Tudors did not realise that plagues were carried by fleas, making it harder to produce cures. People who travelled across certain areas carried different diseases that would spread to others and so on, causing a pandemic. The streets and villages were not so well looked after. Homeless people would sleep on the streets; people would get rid of their garbage in unhygienic ways. Littering on the streets was also a problem. These common illnesses had very interesting Methods of curing them: Headache; drink a mixture of lavender, bay, rue, roses, sage and marjoram. Or press a hangmans rope to your head Bad chest; consume a mix of the herbs thyme, campanula and hyssop. Rheumatism; wear the skin of a donkey Gout (swollen foot); capture a red haired dog and boil it in oil, also add worms, pigs marrow and herbs. Make it a mixture and place it on the affected area of the foot Deafness; make a mixture of the gall of a hare and the grease of a fox, then apply in the ear. Baldness; shave the head and smear with the grease of a fox. Or wash the head with a mixture of juice beetles. Or, crush garlic and gently rub it in the head and wash in vinegar. Plague; place the herb, rue alongside your windowsill. Small pox; hang red curtains around the bed of the patient; apparently the red light is the cure. Or burn leather which produces smoke to kill off the plague. Head lice; pour the liquid tobacco juice onto your scalp Jaundice (bad liver); carefully swallow nine lice dipped in ale, continue this each morning for a week. Tudor food: Tudor women, men and children in England drank beer, sherry, mead and cider and milk. This is because the water was not capable of being consumed unless boiled, only very poor Tudors would drink water. Common vegetables in the Tudor period were cabbages, onions, cauliflower, cucumbers, leeks, lettuce, spinach and turnips. The vegetables Brussels sprouts and broccoli were rare in the Tudor period. Common fruits were apples, strawberries, pears, plums, blackberries, melons, raspberries and lemons. It was believed that fruit was not good for you in the 16th century. So the rich ate preserved fruits like apple tarts. The poor could not afford preserved fruits. On certain days by law, Tudors had to eat fish instead of meat. This was made because of religious reasons, but in the Elizabethan era, it was to support the fishing industry as well. Poor Tudors had a dreary and unhealthy diet. They would only have a cooked meal once a day. Consisting of strips of meat or vegetables (if they could afford) also bread, cheese and maybe onions. This would give them very little energy for their day and make them extremely hungry. Their main source of food was bread.https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihY6a_cnpndNGA7lZjJdaK9v_MJ4NW3kWNAY1g31jRrnwg2FuKDONE_JJSfP2kCKP2e2uwg9ixA8iZpdLg2Kk6bCg6eTfmpBa08IFrvLuC984GUvyG5lBk85ec9T72VXwJUPzArz5Sxsz/s1600/Tudor-seamen's-meal.jpg A setting of what a rich Tudor would eatThe rich Tudors could buy or hunt a range of meats. And they could buy rare fruits and vegetables as well. The rich would eat enough meat, but not enough vegetables. They had an unhealthy diet. Many Tudors used spices. Most of the food was heavily salted. It also could disguise the fact of rotten meat. The spices include cinnamon, cloves, salt, garlic, vinegar and sugar. Sugar was a rare luxury; surprisingly it was also used on meat. It sweetened foods and even disguised some that were rotten. During Easter, hot cross buns were made, but not always eaten as they were considered and kept as lucky charms instead. During Christmas, Tudors enjoyed having mince pies. The pies had a great significance as they had ingredients that represented Jesus Christ. Which were raisins, currants, prunes, cloves, mace, black pepper, saffron and a few others. End of the Tudors: Elizabeth (the last of the Tudor line) died at the age of 69, in 24th march, 1603. After her death, many began to reflect one of Englands greatest periods. The Tudor period, lasting 118 years that altered the lives of the English people. http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/tudors/images/march/life.jpg Tudor Life

Network Opimisation Problems And Forecasting

Network Opimisation Problems And Forecasting The Makonsel Company, a fully integrated company that both produces and sells goods at its retail outlets. After production, the goods are stored in companys two warehouses until needed by the retail outlets. Trucks are used to transport the goods from the two plants to the warehouses, and then from the warehouses to the three retail outlets. Using units of full truckloads, the following table shows each plants monthly output, its shipping cost per truckload sent to each warehouse, and the maximum amount that it can ship per month to each warehouse. Unit Shipping Cost For each retail outlet (RO), the next table shows its monthly demand, its shipping cost per truckload from each warehouse, and the maximum amount that can be shipped per month from each warehouse. Unit Shipping Cost The Managements objective is to determine the shipping plan (number of truckloads shipped per month from each plant to each warehouse and from each warehouse to each retail outlet) that will minimise the total shipping cost. In order to achieve the objective, the following issues will be discussed : The distribution network of Makonsel Company, algebraic formulation for the network model, spreadsheet formulation for this problem by using the solver of excel and interpretation and recommendation of the result. The distribution network A network model for the Makonsel Company problem as a minimum-cost flow problem According to the data from the table above we put it into a distribution network. The supply nodes in this network are P1 (plant1) and P2 (plant2), the transshipment nodes are W1 (warehouse1) and W2 (warehouse2) and the demand nodes in this network are RO1, RO2 and RO3. And the shipping cost and the shipping capacity differ considerably among these shipping lanes. The cost per unit shipped and the maximum amount that it can ship per month (given in square brackets of the arc) through each lane is shown above corresponding arrow in the above Figure. Algebraic Formulation Solution: Decision variables Makonsel must determine how much to ship per month from each plant to each warehouse and from each warehouse to each retail outlet. Let Xij = Number of truckloads to ship from i to j (i = P1, P2; j = W1, W2). Let Xjk =Number of truckloads to ship from j to k (j =W1, W2 k=RO1, RO2, RO3). Then Makonsels problem may be formulated as Objective: Subject to: The first five constraints ensure that each retail outlet is meet their monthly demand, and the 2 Sources constraints are ensure that each plants monthly output and the last 10 ensure the maximum amount that can be shipped per month. Spreadsheet Formulation After we finished the algebraic formulation, we can transform them to spreadsheet, and using the solver of Excel to work out the distribution problem. The spreadsheet formulations are all showed in the graph below. A spreadsheet model for the Makonsel Company minimum-cost flow problem, where the changing cells (C4:C13) show the optimal solution obtained by the Solver and the target cell (E15) gives the resulting total cost of the flow through the network. Interpretation and Recommendation The optimal solution for the Makonsel Company problem, where the shipping amounts are shown in parentheses over the arrows By using excel we can calculate the minimum total shipping cost of Makonsel Company is  ¿Ã‚ ¡488.125. In order to make the minimum total monthly shipping cost of  ¿Ã‚ ¡488.125, the Makonsel Company should first transport 125 truckloads per month from plant 1to warehouse 1 and 75 units to warehouse 2. And ship 175 truckloads per month from plant 2 to warehouse 1, ship 125 truckloads per month to warehouse2. After that the retail outlet1, retail outlet 2 and retail outlet 3 should get 100 truckloads, 50 truckloads and 100 truckloads from warehouse 1 respectively. And should separately transport 50 truckloads, 150 truckloads and 50 truckloads from warehouse 2 to retail outlet1, retail outlet 2 and retail outlet 3. As we have known the shipping cost per truckload from each plant and each warehouse from the table. Thus the Minimum Cost= 425*125+560*75+510*125+600*175+470*100+505*50 +490*100+390*50+410*150+440*50 =488,125 Conclusion Determined the shipping plan which can minimise the total shipping cost is the management objective of Makonsel Company. By building the distribution network , formulating the constraints and calculating the result through using the solver of excel , Makonsel Company successfully solve the distribution network problem and construct the shipping plan with the minimum total shipping cost of  ¿Ã‚ ¡488.125. Forecasting Introduction The time-series below relates to the Sales of a company (00s) for the last five years. The objective is to use the information contained in the time-series data above to construct a forecast of the next four quarters sales. In order to achieve the objective, the following issues will be discussed: Analysis this time-series, Detrend a Time-Series and construct the Seasonal Indices by MINITAB, Forecasting the next four quarters sales and use measures to identify the forecast accuracy, Reservations about the appropriateness of the forecasting procedure used. Time-series Analysis Main characteristics of this time-series The first step in any forecasting exercise is to plot a graph of the time-series. We transfer the data from the table to Minitab and use the time series plot-simple of Minitab to make the graph, since the time-series was recorded in quarter, so we choose the quarter of calendar in time scale. The plot of this time-series looks like: Form the graph above We can roughly find out that there is a decreasing trend over time, a clear quarterly seasonal effect and it is a table time series, the pattern is regular with little random noise. With the purpose of confirming the characteristics of the time-series, we use the cantered moving averages (CMA). Since the CMA is the average and smoothed data of the actual figures, which is much easier for us to determine the characteristics of the time-series, we use this plot instead. As the time-series was recorded in quarters and with quarterly seasonal effect so the length of moving average is 4, and chose the moving averages, plot the graph smoothed vs. actual. Negative Trend Structure, an decreasing trend over time It is a negative trend structure. Look at the smoothed line of this time-series, as at the beginning of the time-series the sales of this company is about 485 ,however , it keeps decreasing and from about 485 down to around 478 to roughly 471 and finally it decrease to around 405. A clear seasonal structure , additive seasonal structure It can be seen from the graph above that there is a clear quarterly seasonal structure, for each quarter 1 the actual observed value is about 13 units below the trend value. For quarters 2, 3 4 estimating from the graph the actual observed values are 30 above, 22 above and 23 below the estimated trend values. Seasonal Structures: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 -13 30 22 -23 These are estimates of the seasonal indices; and also in this case, for a given variable the quarter 1 is 13 units below trend, quarter 2, 3 are 30 units and 22 units above trend, quarter 4 is 23 units below trend. And it can be seen from the graph above, seasonal deviation is constant about the trend so this seasonal structure is additive. A table time series, the pattern is regular with little random noise The graph of Moving average plot for sales above shows us that the pattern is regular with little random noise, it decreasing stability of the seasonal pattern, and also from the smoothed line we can find that the series reduce stability, from about 485 down to around 478 to roughly 471, ect. No more than 10units lower. Model the time-series QUADRATIC TREND MODELS There are two trend models ,one is linear trend model (Trend = a + b*t ) and the other is Quadratic trend model (Trend = a + b*t + ct2 ), and as we have been calculated the Cantered Moving Average (CMA)above, which is the average and smoothed line of the actual sales, so by using the CMA, we can use value of these two models to compare with the value of CMA, and then choose the model which the value is much closer to the CMA as our forecasting model. There are three commonly used measures of forecast accuracy: Mean Square Deviation (MSD), Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE). And the smaller the data is, the more accurate of the forecast. And it can be seen from the graph above that the Quadratic Trend Model, MAPE=0.43297, MAD=1.91172, MSD = 5.44313, and to the Linear Trend Model, MAPE=0.51281, MAD=2.21232, MSD = 7.74838. The data of the Quadratic Trend Model are all smaller than the Linear Trend Model, which means that the value of quadratic trend model is much closer than value of the CMA; the quadratic trend model is much more accurate than the linear trend model, so choose the quadratic trend model to forecast. Detrend a Time-Series and construct SI of MINITAB Detrend a Time-Series Detrend a Time-Series, which means Sales-Trend (DIV), the gap between the actual sales and the forecast sales. After we have decided to take the quadratic model to forecast, we can record the data as the trend data, and the plot the graph above to compare with the sales and trend. And use the actual sales data minus the forecast one we can Detrend a Time-Series. As the graph shows us above the DIV1=472-500.367=-28.3673, DIV2=516-493.333=22.6674, DIV3=507-486.459=20.5414, DIV4=462-479.745=-17.7454, etc. By using the Minitab, we can use the calculator to figure the result. Construct the Seasonal Indices by MINITAB As Seasonal Indices is the quarter average of DIV, after we have calculated the DIV, we can use MINITAB to construct the seasonal indices. And in the MINITAB, we use the decomposition to figure out the SI. As we have described before that the sales trend of this company is additive and seasonal and the data were recorded in quarter, so the seasonal indices is four quarters as a unit, the seasonal length is 4 and the model type is additive. And Seasonal Indices is the average of each quarter of DIV, so the seasonal indices can be calculated as below: Quarter1=SI1= (DIV1+DIV5+DIV9+DIV13+DIV17)/5= -24.0937 Quarter2=SI2= (DIV2+DIV6+DIV10+DIV14+DIV18)/5=20.4062 Quarter3=SI3= (DIV3+DIV7+DIV11+DIV15+DIV19)/5=17.2812 Quarter4=SI4= (DIV4+DIV8+DIV12+DIV16+DIV20)/5=-13.5937 Since seasonal indices is the average of each quarter of DIV so SI is quarterly cycle, the value of SI5 will equal to the value of SI1, SI6=SI2, etc. And also it can be seen from graph above that the SI is quarterly cycle. Forecasting and measures of forecast accuracy Future Forecast As the Future Forecast equal Future Trend plus Future Seasonal Indices, so first we should use the CMA to calculate the future trend of the next four quarters. Since the CMA is the average and the smoothed data of the actual data, using the data of CMA can let forecast more accuracy. And the time-series is seasonal structure of quarter, so the number of forecast is 4. And we use trend analysis to calculate the future trend. After we figure out the future trend, copy the first four Seasonal Indices (SI is quarterly cycle) which we have calculated before (-24.0937, 20.4062, 17.2812, -13.5937), as Future Seasonal Indices. And then use the FTrend and FSI to figure out the Future Forecast value (FFC=FTrend+FSI). After figure out the FFC, copy them after the FC to plot a forecast. The plot of time series of sales and forecast looks like: So the next four quarters; Q1, Q2, Q3 Q4 of 2009 are: Q1=366.116, Q2=406.796, Q3=400.011, Q4=365.637 Measures of forecast accuracy After we calculate the forecasts for the next four quarters, we need to know whether the forecast is accurate or not, so we use the three commonly used measures of forecast accuracy: MSD, MPE and MAD to check the forecasts. i. Mean Square Deviation: MSD = S (Xt Ft)2/n ii. Mean Absolute Deviation: MAD = S |Xt Ft| /n iii. Mean Percentage Error: MPE = S |(Xt Ft)/Xt| /n Since all of measures above need the value of Xt Ft (error), so we should calculate the error first. Error = Sales-FC, in the Minitab we use calculator to figure it out. After calculated the error, we can figure out the value of accuracy. MSD = S (Xt Ft)2/n MAD = S |Xt Ft| /n MPE = S |(Xt Ft)/Xt| /n And for this forecast the MSD=29.3526, MAD=4.69560, MPE=1.08963. As we all know for each forecast indicator, the lower value, the higher prediction accuracy. And usually we use the MPE to confirm the accuracy. Lets look at the MPE, the value of MPE is equal to 1.08963%, though the value of MPE is slightly higher than 1%, it close to 1%, the forecast is still accuracy. Reservation In this forecasting procedure we faced two choices, one is determined the seasonal structure of the time-series, determining whether the seasonal structure is additive or multiplicative. And the other one is to confirm the trend model, choosing the linear model or the quadratic model. The choice we make will affect the accuracy of forecasting. Additive or Multiplicative In this forecasting, we analysis the time-series as additive seasonal structure by using method below ¼Ã… ¡ Seasonal Structures: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 -13 30 22 -23 In this case ¼Ã…’for a given variable the quarter 1 is 13 units below trend, quarter 2 is 30 units above trend, etc. This is an Additive Seasonal Index. Alternatively we could have expressed the index as follows: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 -13% 30% 22% -23% Here the quarter 1 data is 13% below the trend value, or more conventionally 87% of trend, similarly for the other quarters. It is conventional to express this Seasonal Index as: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 87% 130% 122% 77% This is called a Multiplicative Seasonal Index and if the seasonal deviation is proportional to the trend then the seasonal structure is multiplicative. In this case we preferred the additive seasonal structure as the time-series constant about the trend, but in fact it could proportional to the trend and become the multiplicative seasonal structure in the future, so we should make appropriate adjustments base on the future data. Linear or Quadratic model In this case, we modeled the time-series as quadratic model due to the data the company provided closer to the quadratic model now, however, with the future data the model may be transformed into the linear model. Conclusion The objective of the company is to use time-series data to construct a forecast of the next four quarters sales. So as to do the forecast first we analysed the time-series to determine main characteristics of this time-series and modeled it, then found out the difference between the sales and trend to construct the seasonal indices, after that did the forecasting and to identify whether the forecast accurate or not by using the MAD, MSD and MPE. And the next four quarters sales of this company are Q1=366.116, Q2=406.796, Q3=400.011, Q4=365.637. However, during the forecasting procedure we should also consider about the choice we have made whether to choose additive or multiplicative, the linear model or the quadratic model will affect the accuracy of forecasting.

William Butler Yeats’ The Magi Essay -- The Magi Essays

William Butler Yeats’ The Magi   Ã‚  Ã‚   Briefly stated, William Butler Yeats’ The Magi is a poem about people who, upon reaching old age, or perhaps just older age, turn to God and the spiritual world for fulfillment and happiness. We are told in the footnote to this poem that, after writing The Dolls, Yeats looked up into the blue sky and imagined that he could see "stiff figures in procession". Perhaps after imagining these figures, Yeats debated within himself whom these pictures could represent. Yeats then went on to write The Magi, a poem which is full of symbolism, a literary technique that he greatly valued.   Ã‚  Ã‚   In the first two lines of the poem, Yeats writes "Now as at all times I can see in the mind’s eye, / In their stiff, painted clothes, the pale unsatisfied ones". Yeats is saying that when he looks into the blue sky, towards heaven above, he is reminded of all those people who have spent their lives "playing the game". These people have achieved great success and have many wonderful things, such as their "stiff, painted clothes," but still they feel as if their lives are incomplete. Despite everything they own and the pride they feel in what they have accomplished, they are not quite happy with their lives as a whole.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The fourth line of the poem, "With all their ancient faces like rain-beaten stones," clarifies for me that Yeats is talking about people of an older generation. He is certainly not talking about unsatisfied twenty- or even thirtysomethings. Yeats uses simile in this line to describe faces that are well worn. These faces belong to people who have experienced the stresses and strains of life. They are no longer vibrant and distinct, but are instead bland and unremarkable. These are people who ... ...and successful and are turning to God for solace. They are choosing to honor and revere him in the hopes of finding everlasting peace and happiness.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Perhaps Yeats wrote this poem out of frustration with his own life. Maybe he felt that he also was one of the "pale, unsatisfied ones". He may have been struggling with the strains brought upon him by success. He may also have been going through a time of indecision in regards to his own spiritual life. Whatever the reason for his writing The Magi, Yeats wrote a poem rich in symbolism and imagery that many people could then, and can now, relate to on a very personal level.    References Ellmann, Richard and Robert O'Clair, eds. The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, 2nd edition.   New York:   W. W.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Norton, 1988. Urdang, Laurence, ed.   The American Century Dictionary.   New York:   Oxford UP, 1995.

As I Lay Dying1 Essay -- Essays Papers

As I Lay Dying1 William Faulkner uses language in a unique way in his novel As I Lay Dying. Language is a form of expression to show thoughts and emotions. Faulkner uses it to convey the individual characters’ thoughts and feelings. He also uses it to draw a line between language and true expression. He shows the limitations of language and the difference between language and words. As I Lay Dying covers the story of a family as they journey to bury the mother, Addie, in her hometown after her death. They all go through the same situations but each experience different emotions and thoughts. They express these through the language they use. What each character says as well as how he/she says it lets the reader see the character'’ underlying meaning. Through Faulkner’s technique of letting each person involved speak in the first person, language takes on an important role in understanding the characters. Darl is an example of the power of language due to him having the most chapters as narrator. His language is more clear and reflective than the other speakers are are. He uses similes and metaphors like the horse to represent his mother. Dewey Dell is different than the rest of her family. Instead of just reporting facts or describing she uses language to express her true feelings. Language is personal to her and demonstrates its power. An example of this is when she describes how the doctor â€Å"could do so much for me if he just would† and how he â€Å"is a ...

Study of Communication Essay -- Human Communication, Ethnography of Sp

Studies on Human Communication The past century has been an enormously productive one in regard to the analysis and description of human communication. Building on the ideas of Ferdinand de Saussure, early structuralists delineated the phonological and morphological building blocks of speech by refining and applying the concepts of the phoneme and the morpheme. In addition to the rigorous description of hundreds of indigenous languages, anthropological linguists using this body of data worked on the problem of language histories and the division of current languages into families of related languages with the concomitant contribution to cultural history. Another achievement was the demonstration that not only was language separate from physical type, but also it was of equivalent complexity regardless of cultural complexity; in Edward Sapir's (1921) phrasing, â€Å"The lowliest South African Bushman speaks in the forms of a rich symbolic system that is in essence perfectly comparable to the speech of the cultivat ed Frenchman.† The second half of the 20th century was dominated by those who followed Noam Chomsky (1957) toward looking at the processes by which sentences are generated from an underlying assemblage of semantic, syntactic, and phrasal elements and their (rearrangements through transformational cognitive processes. For both of these approaches-structural and generative-the symbolic role of communicative forms played little role. There was a concern with meaning, but it was limited to its employment: 1. As part of a method to uncover linguistic units 2. As a lexical tagging element to prevent the generation of semantically inappropriate sentences. A sentence such as â€Å"He is not heavy he is my sister† should not be ge... ...nd the strictures of life are absent, but it is the symbolic dimension that is of interest here. The symbolic values of creativity, spontaneity, freedom, and play are dominant. These symbolic attributes are present in real human interaction, but in a virtual realm there are no limits other than those of nondisclosure and abusiveness for which a member might be censured and even banned. The virtual realm is valued as an improved human condition. The technological ability to construct and maintain this kind of activity creates a new set of symbols or at least a new dimension to the symbols of human life. Presenting oneself as an animal avatar may be no different from performing as a mummer in an animal costume. According to Boellstorff, in Second Life there is a seriousness and commitment to the guises that appears to be a potential rejection of one's real visage.

Emile Durkheim’s Theory of Crime and Crime Causation Essay

Abstract The concept of â€Å"crime† has over the ages been subject to various definitions as the society tries to address it. Criminology is thus the study of crime and crime causation. It concerns itself with understanding the deep essence of crime as an act or omission, and all the reasons behind its occurrence. In this pursuit, criminology draws on various other fields such as sociology, biology, psychology, etc. This field of study is often argued to be a subdivision of sociology which the larger field since its main focus is grounded in social realities. Hence, during the twentieth century, the sociological approach to crime was the most influential, thus scholars such Emile DURKHEIM bought about considerable impact to the common perception of crime. He was a French sociologist who, viewing the whole society as a reality, perceived crime as a mere element of the society; a completely natural phenomenon and which serves certain significant functions. This work is therefore intended to, throughout a concise discussion, explicate and analyze the theory of crime and its causation as perceived by Emile Durkheim, mainly considering its natural and functional characteristics. †Emile DURKHEIM (1858-1971) viewed inequality as a natural and inevitable human condition that is not associated with social maladies such as crime unless there is also a breakdown of social norms or rules† Explain and Assess Durkheim’s theory on crime and crime causation. Introduction Criminology is understood to be the study of crime and crime causation as social phenomena; it thus concerns itself with the study of the causes of crime and the treatment of the offenders.1 In this pursuit, criminology, as a subdivision of sociology2, draws on many fields inter alia psychology, biology, anthropology, etc. In the twentieth century, the sociological approach to criminology became the most influential approach; this is basically the study of social behavior, systems, and structures. 3 Emile DURKHEIM, a French sociologist, is amongst the scholars who exerted great influence on criminology during that period. He, unlike other scholars, both in and outside the field of sociology, perceived criminal behaviors as normal part of all societies. No society, he argued, can ever have complete uniformity of moral consciousness4, and thus, there has always been some deviant characters from the commonly accepted moral values. This write-up is therefore intended to briefly explicate and analyze the theory on crime and its causation as observed by E. Durkheim. Scholars in almost all the fields (related to criminology in particular) before and after Durkheim have endeavored to find the cause for crimes. In this regard, they have attempted to find the causation of criminal behavior in different factors, including external factors such as in natural and supernatural forces,5 climate, economic conditions, density of population or  certain ecological areas.6 In contrast to all the above factors, Durkheim maintained that the only explanation in relation to crime causation is to be found in essentially looking into ‘the very nature of the society’.7 In this respect, he was convinced that the individual is rather ‘a product’ than an ‘author’ of the society; he is, otherwise, a small image of the world in which he lives, hence, the causation of his behaviors, be they criminal or not, could be found only by understanding the society in which he lives. For E. Durkheim, crime is therefore immanent in society an d results from social interaction. Simply put, criminality proceeds from nothing but the very nature of humanity itself and, far from being transcendent, it is immanent.8 In his writings, Durkheim emphasizes on the immanence of crime; its causation as solely based upon the material world. Rejecting all definitions of crimes, as per the commonsense of any society, as acts that are harmful to society, Durkheim observes that all crimes, as a common characteristic, consist in acts universally disapproved of by members of each society; they shock sentiments, which, for a given society, are found in all healthy consciences. 9 Put simply, a crime is a deviant behavior only because it goes against social norms. From this perspective, arguably, the French sociologist seems to In reference to the pre-classical school of criminology whereby crime causation was understood as based upon supernatural forces, i.e. forces beyond the natural or human capacities. Adopt the legal definition of crime, as any act that the law makes punishable.10 However, unlike the proponents of that legal definition, he hold the view that the said act punishable by the law serves a significant social function which is to support and reassure the same social norms or  laws of a society. From the above elements, one would deduce that according to this theory, a crime is, arguably, a paradoxical phenomenon. Durkheim, the theorist, suggests that a crime is normally caused by or results from social interactions, and it is not deviant per se unless so declared by the laws or social norms. This is arguably Durkheim’s eminence in the field of criminology which rests upon his broad approach to anti-social behavior.11 However, it will be worth remembering that Durkheim, after identifying the essence of crime and causation, he went further to attribute to this phenomenon a certain function. This is what makes him different from all the scholars in the field of criminology. He observed that, not only is crime something normal in societies, it also plays some significant function. The Normality and Functionality of Crime Unlike other social scientists before and after him, Durkheim maintains that criminality is Normal factor rather than a Pathological one.12 Especially in current societies, this might seem really strange. According to Durkheim, crime is normal because a society the society cannot get rid of it; it is utterly impossible for a society to exempt from criminality. He argues that it is a phenomenon, not due to any imperfection of human nature or society, but from the  normal course of affairs in that given society. Hence, it is the fundamental conditions of the social organization that logically imply it. Crime is hence all a part of the totality of a society. The criminal behavior is a behavior completely normal like any other and thus its complete eradication is quite impossible. Durkheim articulates; â€Å"A society exempt  from it (crime) would necessitate a standardization of the moral concepts of all individuals which is neither possible nor desirable.†14 From this contention, one would concur with Durkheim on the fact that a society cannot get ride with or completely eradicate criminality. The criminal justice system is well-set, not to completely eradicate criminality, but to try as much as they can to reduce its level. Furthermore, Durkheim was of the view that crime serves a non-negligible role within the society. The social function he attributes to crime is inextricably linked with the society’s legal system, in that it supports or reassures the social norms of the society by the fact that it is considered as going against the said norms.15 One of the main justifications for his belief is that the fact that crime is found in all society simply suggests that it must be performing some necessary functions; otherwise it would have degrading over the ages and by the end of the day, abolished in an advanced society. 16 One of the most effective and necessary functions, he argued, crime plays is ‘social change’.17 Crime could be considered as one of the effective sources of change in a society. This could be exemplified by, in line with his definition of crime, the events that happened in the United States with the Anti-miscegenation Laws that promoted racial segregation.18 These laws began being violated as the American society progressed, it reached a point where, in violation those laws (social norms), many people started having inter-racial relationships. To some extent, the violation of those social norms, which could be regarded as crime, brought about social change in the US. Durkheim further argues that without crime, there could be no evolution in law.19 For instance, every individual’s right to express himself should be guaranteed for any society to progress. Hence, the opportunity for a genius or an artist to carry out his work affords the criminal his originality at a lower level.20 Thus, there has to be a certain evolution of the laws in order to face such situation from time to time. He further drew some analogy to the trial of Socrates; â€Å"According to the Athenian Law, Socrates was a criminal, and his condemnation was more than just. However, his crime, namely, the independence of his thought, rendered a service both to his country and the humanity.†21 In terms of evolution of the laws, this trial that occurred in the ancient ages is significant. From the above contentions, one would thus say, that crime should no longer be conceived as an evil that cannot be repressed. It should be considered, instead, as a normal phenomenon which can be faced for purposes of reducing its rate in the society. Conclusion Crime, according to Durkheim, is a normal phenomenon in the society that at the same time serves certain social functions. This paper emphasized on the fact that, unlike other scholars in the field of criminology, Durkheim perceived crime in, arguably, a kind of paradoxical manner in the sense that he started by defining crime as being caused by social interactions. For him, it is an act caused by social interaction, which (act) is not a crime per se, but it one becomes after being so declared by the social norms. He however recognized the negative part of crime, anyway, by conceding that crime is an act that shocks sentiments, which, for a given society, are found in all healthy consciences. He finally suggests that, without condoning crime or presenting apology for it, crime must no longer be conceived as an evil that the society could be exempted from, but rather a reality that exists as part of the society to members of the society can react through punishment.22 Therefore, in stating that crime could be perceived as merely a normal and natural element, he conceived the whole society as reality which is meant to move and evolve. BIBLIOGRAPHY Black’s Law Dictionary; (8th Ed. 2004). West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. S.v. â€Å"Criminology.† Retrieved July 27 2014 from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Criminology Durkheim, E. The Rules of Sociological Method, Edited by G. E. Gatlin, 1938. http://kpulawandsociety.wordpress.com/2012/10/18/durkheim-crime-serves-asocial-function/; Retrieved on July 27, 2014. Hamlin, J. The Normality of Crime. Durkheim and Erikson, Department of Sociology and Anthropology. UMD (2009). Walter A. Lunden; Pioneers in Criminology XVI–Emile Durkheim (1858-1917); Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. Vol. 49|Issue 1, Article II (1958). Prins, A., Criminalite et Repression, Bruxelles, 1886. http://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/sociology/introduction-to-deviance/reviseit/deviance-durkheims-contribution. Retrieved on July 27, 2014.

Definitions of Attitudes Essay

Classical conditioning is the process of learning by association, which involves the pairing of stimuli; when one (1) stimulus regularly precedes another, the one that occurs first is a signal for the other to occur. If an individual eats spicy cuisine, which constantly gives them heartburn, they associate the spicy food with heartburn. The individual recognizes that once spicy food is ingested, heartburn will follow next. Hence the attitude towards spicy foods may not be positive. Instrumental conditioning is the process by which the individual learns the difference between rewards and punishments and actions with these consequences as the end result. If a child knows that his/her parent(s) will spank them for breaking a glass, then the attitude towards such an action will be negative, in order to deter punishment, but if he/she recognizes that doing well at school reaps rewards, then the attitude towards studying and excelling will be positive. Observational conditioning is simply developing an attitude from example learning. An attitude is observed and influences and individual’s own attitude towards the subject in question. In a parent-child relationship, children observer their parent’s attitude and often times adopt them. If a child hears their parent making negative comments about an issue, they may possibly develop a negative attitude towards the same issue. Comparing our views to those of others, to see if our social reality is or is not correct, can form attitudes. We often change our attitudes to fit in with everyone else’s so that we do not feel ‘left out’. Political views are an example of this. An individual may hold a particular view on the current political administration, however, while in a group discussion, the general consensus may not be the same as that of the individual, who may then sway his/her attitude, towards that of the groups’ in order to be a part of the discussion and use their views to second guess his/her views. Genetics play a small role in attitude formation. Studies conducted with identical twins suggest that attitudes may be influenced by genetic factors. Daniel Katz proposed a functional theory of attitudes. He thought that attitudes are determined by the functions they serve as they help the individual to achieve their goals. The four (4) functions are the instrumental, knowledge, value-expressive and ego-defensive. Katz’s theory also says that our attitudes change, once they no longer serve its functions and the individual feels frustrated. The instrumental function helps individuals to form negative and positive attitudes by adopting favorable attitudes to maximize rewards and shunning unsavory ones to minimize punishments and help us to realise specific goals. The knowledge function helps us to evaluate surroundings and seeks to give clarity about ideas, objects and persons. The value-expressive function serves to publicly express ourselves. From the way we dress to our religious convictions, this function helps to adopt attitudes consistent with our views.

Tax Evasion & the Black Economy

TAX EVASION It is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability and includes in particular dishonest tax reporting, such as declaring less income, profits or gains than actually earned or overstating deductions.Tax evasion is an activity commonly associated with the informal economy and one measure of the extent of tax evasion is the amount of unreported income, namely the difference between the amount of income that should legally be reported to the tax authorities and the actual amount reported, which is also sometimes referred to as the tax gap. Tax avoidance, on the other hand, is the legal utilization of the tax regime to one's own advantage to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law.Both tax evasion and avoidan ce can be viewed as forms of tax noncompliance, as they describe a range of activities that are unfavorable to a state's tax system, though such characterization of tax avoidance is suspect, given that avoidance operates lawfully, within self-creating systems Smuggling Smuggling is importation or exportation of foreign products by unauthorized means. Smuggling is resorted to for total evasion of customs duties, as well as for the importation of contraband items.A smuggler does not have to pay any customs duty since the products are not routed through an authorized customs port, and therefore are not subjected to declaration and payment of duties and taxes. Ten countries with the largest absolute levels of tax evasion per year. It is estimated that global tax evasion amounts to 5 percent of the global economy. During the latter half of the twentieth century, value added tax (VAT) has emerged as a modern form of consumption tax through the world, with the notable exception of the Unit ed States.Producers who collect VAT from the consumers may evade tax by under-reporting the amount of sales. The US has no broad-based consumption tax at the federal level, and no state currently collects VAT; the overwhelming majority of states instead collect sales taxes. Canada uses both a VAT at the federal level (the Goods and Services Tax) and sales taxes at the provincial level; some provinces have a single tax combining both forms. In addition, most jurisdictions which levy a VAT or sales tax also legally require their residents to report and pay the tax on items purchased in another jurisdiction.This means that those consumers who purchase something in a lower-taxed or untaxed jurisdiction with the intention of avoiding VAT or sales tax in their home jurisdiction are in fact breaking the law in most cases. Such evasion is, especially, prevalent in federal states like the Nigeria, US and Canada where sub-national jurisdictions have the constitutional power to charge varying rates of VAT or sales tax. In Nigeria for example, some local states enforce VAT on each goods sold by trader. The price must be clearly stated and the VAT distinct from the price of the good purchased.Any act by the trader contrary to this (like including VAT in the price of the goods) is punishable as attempting to syphoning the VAT. Borders between tax districts in the same nation usually lack the resources to enforce tax collection on goods carried in private vehicles from one district to another, so states only pursue sales and use tax collection on high-value items such as cars. Government response The level of evasion depends on a number of factors, one of them being fiscal equation.People's tendency to evade income tax declines when the return for due payment of taxes is not obvious. Evasion also depends on the efficiency of the tax administration. Corruption by the tax officials often render control of evasion difficult. Tax administrations resort to various means for plugg ing in scope of evasion and increasing the level of enforcement. Corruption by tax officials Corrupt tax officials cooperate with the tax payers who intend to evade taxes. When they detect an instance of evasion, they refrain from reporting in return for illegal gratification or bribe.Corruption by tax officials is a serious problem for the tax administration in a huge number of underdeveloped and southern European countries. Level of evasion and punishment Tax evasion is a crime in almost all developed countries and subjects the guilty party to fines and/or imprisonment. In Switzerland, many acts that would amount to criminal tax evasion in other countries are treated as civil matters. Dishonestly misreporting income in a tax return is not necessarily considered a crime. Such matters are handled in the Swiss tax courts, not the criminal courts. In Switzerland, however, some tax misconduct is criminal, for example, deliberate falsification of records. Moreover, civil tax transgressi ons may give rise to penalties. It is often considered that extent of evasion depends on the severity of punishment for evasion. Normally, the higher the evaded amount, the higher the degree of punishment. BLACK ECONOMY / BLACK MARKET Is the economy in which illegal goods are traded. Due to the nature of the goods traded, the economy itself is forced to operate outside the formal economy, supported by the established state power.Typically the totality of such activity is referred to with the definite article as a complement to the official economies, by market for such goods and services, e. g. â€Å"the black market in bush meat†. The black market is distinct from the grey market, in which commodities are distributed through channels which, while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer, and the white market, the legal market for goods and services. Worldwide, the underground economy is estimated to have provided 1. 8 billion jobs. Back groundThe literature on the black market has avoided a common usage and has instead offered a plethora of appellations including: subterranean; hidden; grey; shadow; informal; clandestine; illegal; unobserved; unreported; unrecorded; second; parallel and black. This profusion of vague labels attests to the confusion of a literature attempting to explore a largely uncharted area of economic activity. There is no single black economy; there are many. These black economies are omnipresent, existing in market oriented as well as in centrally planned nations, be they developed or developing.Those engaged in underground activities circumvent, escape or are excluded from the institutional system of rules, rights, regulations and enforcement penalties that govern formal agents engaged in production and exchange. Different types of underground activities are distinguished according to the particular institutional rules that they violate. Five specific underground economies can be identified: 1. Illegal Economy 2. Unreported Economy 3. Unrecorded Economy 4. Informal Economy 5. Criminal Acts 1. ILLEGAL ECONOMYThe â€Å"illegal economy† consists of the income produced by those economic activities pursued in violation of legal statutes defining the scope of legitimate forms of commerce. Illegal economy participants engage in the production and distribution of prohibited goods and services, such as drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and prostitution. 2. UNREPORTED ECONOMY The â€Å"unreported economy† consists of those economic activities that circumvent or evade the institutionally established fiscal rules as codified in the tax code.A summary measure of the unreported economy is the amount of income that should be reported to the tax authority but is not so reported. A complementary measure of the unreported economy is the â€Å"tax gap†, namely the difference between the amount of tax revenues due the fiscal authority and the amount of tax revenue a ctually collected. 3. UNRECORDED ECONOMY The â€Å"unrecorded economy† consists of those economic activities that circumvent the institutional rules that define the reporting requirements of government statistical agencies.A summary measure of the unrecorded economy is the amount of unrecorded income, namely the amount of income that should (under existing rules and conventions) be recorded in national accounting systems (e. g. National Income and Product Accounts) but is not. Unrecorded income is a particular problem in transition countries that switched from a socialist accounting system to UN standard national accounting. New methods have been proposed for estimating the size of the unrecorded (non-observed) economy. But there is still little consensus concerning the size of the unreported economies of transition countries. 4.INFORMAL ECONOMY The â€Å"informal economy† comprises those economic activities that circumvent the costs and are excluded from the benefits and rights incorporated in the laws and administrative rules covering property relationships, commercial licensing, labor contracts, torts, financial credit and social security systems. A summary measure of the informal economy is the income generated by economic agents that operate informally. The informal sector is defined as the part of an economy that is not taxed, monitored by any form of government, or included in any gross national product (GNP), unlike the formal economy.In developed countries the informal sector is characterized by unreported employment. This is hidden from the state for tax, social security or labor law purposes but is legal in all other aspects. On the other hand, the term black market can be used in reference to a specific part of the economy in which contraband is traded. Pricing Goods acquired illegally take one of two price levels: They may be cheaper than legal market prices. The supplier does not have to pay for production costs or taxes. This is us ually the case in the black economy.Criminals steal goods and sell them below the legal market price, but there is no receipt, guarantee, and so forth. They may be more expensive than legal market prices. The product is difficult to acquire or produce, dangerous to handle or not easily available legally, if at all. If goods are illegal, such as some drugs, their prices can be vastly inflated over the costs of production. Black market can form part of border trade near the borders of neighboring jurisdictions with little or no border control if there are substantially different tax rates, or where goods are legal on one side of the border but not on the other.Products that are commonly smuggled like this include alcohol and tobacco. However, not all border trade is illegal. Prostitution Prostitution is illegal or highly regulated in most countries across the world. These places form a classic study of the black economy, because of consistent high demand from customers, relatively hig h pay, but labor intensive and low skilled work, which attracts a continual supply of workers. While prostitution exists in every country, studies show that it tends to flourish more in poorer countries, and in areas with large numbers of unattached men, such as around military bases.Prostitutes in the black market generally operate with some degree of secrecy, sometimes negotiating prices and activities through codewords and subtle gestures. In countries such as the Netherlands, where prostitution is legal but regulated, illegal prostitutes exist whose services are offered cheaper without regard for the legal requirements or procedures— health checks, standards of accommodation, and so on. In other countries such as Nicaragua where legal prostitution is regulated, hotels may require both parties to identify themselves, to prevent the rise of child prostitution. WeaponsFire Arms trafficking The legislatures of many countries forbid or restrict the personal ownership of weapon s. These restrictions can range from small knives to firearms, either altogether or by classification (e. g. caliber, automation, etc. ), and explosives. The black market supplies the demands for weaponry that cannot be obtained legally, or may only be obtained legally after obtaining permits and paying fees. This may be by smuggling the arms from countries where they were bought legally or stolen, or by stealing from arms manufacturers within the country itself, using insiders.In cases where the underground economy is unable to smuggle firearms, they can also satisfy requests by gunsmithing their own firearms. Those who may buy this way include criminals to use for illegal activities, gun collectors, and otherwise law abiding citizens interested in protecting their dwellings, families or businesses. Illegally logged timber Illegally logged timber is a huge problem. According to interpol, the illegal logging industry is worth almost as much as drug production industry, in some count ries. Animals and animal productsIvory trade / Wildlife trade In many developing countries, living animals are captured in the wild and sold as pets. Wild animals are also hunted and killed for their meat, hide, organs, †¦ Organs and other animal parts are sold for use in traditional medicine. Alcohol / Tobacco It has been reported that smuggling one truckload of cigarettes from a low-tax US state to a high-tax state can lead to a profit of up to $2 million. The low-tax states are generally the major tobacco producers, and have come under enormous criticism for their reluctance to increase taxes.Biological Organs Trade Organ trade is the trade involving inner organs (heart, liver, kidneys, etc. ) of a human for transplantation. There is a worldwide shortage of organs available for transplantation, yet trade in human organs is illegal in all countries except Iran. The problem of organ trafficking is widespread, although data on the exact scale of the organ market is difficult to obtain. Whether or not to legalize the organ trade, and the appropriate way to combat illegal trafficking, is a subject of much debate. Software piracyStreet vendors in countries where there is scant enforcement of copyright law, particularly in Asia and Latin America, often sell deeply discounted copies of films, music CDs, and computer software such as video games, sometimes even before the official release of the title. A determined counterfeiter with a few hundred dollars can make copies that are digitally identical to an original and suffer no loss in quality; innovations in consumer DVD and CD writers and the widespread availability of cracks on the Internet for most forms of copy protection technology make this cheap and easy to do.