The Death Penalty Is an Outdated Form of Punishment

The Death Penalty is an Outdated Form of Punishment The protective authority is becoming cleverer to stopping crimes and is still increasing for the past years. With the punishment of the death penalty crimes have not been decreasing. In fact the crime in the United States are 5 times more than Australia and Britain. The death penalty is an outdated form of punishment and should be abolished because it is cruel and unusual. With the death penalty enacted criminals have been killed for their crimes but cost 4 times more than have them as life in prison without parole.Some cases have happened where the â€Å"criminal† has been executed and soon with DNA was declared innocent. Life in prison also guarantees no future crimes, some religions go against the death penalty. Some people state that killing is wrong, and it breaks the international human rights which is the right to life. In society it is not practiced as much, the trail is not a fair manner. Some criminals that are conv icted with murder don’t have good lawyers to protect them from the penalty. The death penalty promotes a normal solution to penalties. http://www. antideathpenalty. org/) The death penalty cost much more than life in prison without parole because in the Constitution it requires a long judicial processes to make sure that the criminal is not being charged with execution when they never committed the crime. Even with the precautions like these they can still execute an innocent person without the right evidence. With the cost of the death penalty if life in prison without parole would take the place of it, the cost would lower millions of dollars less.With those millions we could use to fix communities, hire about 500 more protective authorities to take care of the prisoners, provide medicine to the mentally ill criminals, and could also prevent crimes and save lives. (O’Malley) In California if they didn’t have the death penalty they would save about $1 billion d ollars over 5 years. In California taxpayers pay 90,000 more per death row than a prisoner in life. The ACLU has found there is a hidden death penalty tax in California additional to the one that is already been paid. (www. deathpenalty. rg) With people being convicted with crimes they have not committed in some cases the judge has sentence them to the death row. With the many trails and appeals they have to face they are still shown guilty even though they didn’t commit it. With in the United States since 1973, 140 have been executed and later was proven innocent. In 1981, a man named Earl Charles was convicted for murder, he spent the past three years trying to prove his innocence when he was in line for execution, after he was executed and later he was found innocent.Now they talk about him being the huge error. This shows that the court made a mistake and now could never redo or bring him back to life. That’s why we should replace the death penalty with life in pri son because you can take them out for the crime if declared innocent. (Meehan) â€Å"We simply cannot say we live in a country that offers equal justice to all Americans when racial disparities plague the system by which our society imposes the ultimate punishment. †Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   – Senator Russ Feingold, 2003 (www. deathpenalty. org).This means that in United States the constitution says we will not have any discrimination but there is always discrimination in certain ways that they don’t notice. This complaint that people state is true because they have executed some whites to cover up the discrimination against blacks. Also the most prisoners executed almost 99 percent of them are men. Part of another discrimination is that some victims that they killed their lives are more important than other victims so they sentence the â€Å"more important† victims killers to the death row.Studies have discovered that in crimes that if a black person kills a white are about 40 times more likely to be sentenced to death than if he killed a black. (Meehan) Some cases the death row sentence are applied in wrong ways such that when the criminal is sentence to the death penalty when they committed a less horrendous crime than one who did a much worst crime. An example is two men were charged with killing and one of them was sentence to death and the second man was freed, and stated that he didn’t mean for the other man to take the blame is just came out that way.Later after the man was executed the freed man was given 7 years and 8 months in prison for kill the San Francisco mayor and another city official. This show that the court is unjust because they both committed the same crime but one was killed and another one was given about 8 years in prison for the same crime. (Meehan) In some religions scripts it say that execution is ok to do but now those same religions are opposed to the death penalty in the United States and view it as immoral.Some religions that are opposed to the death penalty are Christian, Buddhist, Catholic, Jewish, and Interfaith. (deathpenalty. org) In the second week of September in 2012 an Ohio inmate was freed because of a Catholic organization who found evidence to set him free. (Keyes) In the Christian Religion some enforce the thought that Cain was the first murderer in the world and was not executed because he had something special, which was populate the earth.A pastor wrote a book and stated that Christ would oppose the killing of a human as a punishment for a crime. He also stated that it breaks against one of the Ten Commandments. This shows a strong command that the death penalty is wrong and should not be used. (Meehan) Internationally many countries have abolished the death penalty just during the 21st century about 30 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, why, because they viewed as the death penalty as going against the international human rights which is the right to life. deathpenalty. org) In South Sudan human rights have backed up the campaign against the death penalty in the country saying that this punishment is â€Å" outrageous and inhumane† that goes against the right to life. The South Sudan society of the South Sudan Human Rights Society for Advocacy (SSHURA) are stating that â€Å"the death penalty should be scrapped off the books of South Sudan† – Executive Director of the SSHURA and that they are in full support of societies that are against it.Currently about 150 countries of the United Nations have abolished the death penalty and are in the processes of helping other countries who haven’t abolished it. (Uma) The death penalty can bring suffering to the victims family, they support other punishments instead of the death penalty for various reasons. The death penalty brings traumatizing long term effects that make the families suffer and reopen the event over again unlike life without paro le it brings punishment to the criminal but it doesn’t affect the family as much and will forget.Some families argue that millions are spent to the death penalty each year that if it is replaced with life without parole the money could be spent to violence preventions and solve unsolved cases. They also state that the death penalty focuses on legal consequences and not on human consequences and focuses on the crime and the accused instead of the feelings of the victims family, the accused families and very importantly the community. Life without parole punishes the criminal instead of putting them out in public or the news.With death penalty still enacted in the United States for victims families there are many organizations that help them become situated with the decision and also help reform the death penalty. Such as Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights which is an international non-governmental organizations of victims family members of criminal murder, terror ist attacks, state executions, assassinations and disappearances helping to abolish the death penalty with a human rights perspective. (deathpenalty. org) One of the most important things a person convicted of any crime is a lawyer.When a person who has had a mass murder determining that if they should get the death penalty is based on how good and clever is his or her representation. Some criminals can’t afford a lawyer so they are given one but those attorneys ether don’t have experience, are under paid, or sometimes overworked which can bring them to losing their lives because of the attorney. Some appointed attorneys come to court without any evidence to get them out or don’t pay attention and lose the case. (deathpenalty. org) People for the death penalty have stated that with the death penalty crimes have been decreasing.The crime has been decreasing because our protective authority are coming up with more technology to stop crimes but not because of the d eath penalty crimes have decreased. It is proven that the United States crime is 6 times more than England and 5 times more than Australia. Some states have larger crime rates than others. In the year 2003 state murder increased and went higher than the national murder rate. (antideathpenalty. org) The murder wouldn’t think that committing the murder they would get caught and if they do they would think about the consequences they would get if they do. Sarokin) There have been various debates on the controversial topic of the death penalty. Such as execution cost more than life in prison, innocent people may be wrongly executed and can not reverse what has been done, crimes have not decreased since the death penalty was legal, life in prison also guarantees no future crimes, it goes against many religions, killing is wrong, some convicted can’t afford an attorney so they are appointed the worst ones, it violated the international human rights laws known as the right to life, and race comes into play while they are tired.

Oppressed Rights by the Oppressive Regime in Margaret Atwood’s the Handmaid’s Tale Essay

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale delves well into the horrid nature of extreme control and immoral limitations in defining the corrupt theocratic government at large, and more specifically the effect this control has on the society’s women. In an age in which a newly emerged and merciless governmental system called the Republic of Gilead has â€Å"put life back to the middle ages,† sparked by a widespread panic of infertility, personal freedom and individuality have become unimaginably reduced (Genny 1). Handmaids selected to live in the houses of wealthy, well-respected couples go through a life entirely designed by the government for the sole purpose of bearing children. Caught between following the strict rules made for women by the Republic and breaking them in secret for the sake of her sanity, the protagonist Offred essentially but not purposefully offers close to nothing for her society’s benefit. Not allowed to read, write, speak her thoughts or even look another in the eye, the most she can offer proves to be occasional, well-monitored grocery errands and the slight possibility of providing the gift of life for an elite Commander and his Wife. Parallel to a dystopia in which Offred has been stripped of the most simplistic allowances, women in today’s various Middle Eastern societies find relatively equal difficulty in utilizing their strengths due to the severe suppression and forced structure of their daily lives. Regardless of the varying context of these two scenarios, they both present themselves problematically in light of women’s personal struggle to contribute in society—in both Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and the modern Middle East, seemingly unethical yet extreme theocratic government exercises examples of such radically unformed control over its people that the exploitation and demeaning of the natural rights of women become prevalent. But on what grounds should the male citizens of the Republic of Gilead and those in today’s foreign communities be granted more liberation and opportunity while the women are held more captive of their own independence? As Offred finds herself trapped in such an unreasonably restrained living situation, she instinctively recognizes the current lack of available free will because she once knew what freedom looked and felt like. For example, in opposition of her training as a handmaid with the Aunts, she cannot help but wander her ind back to the pre-Republic days â€Å"thousands of years before,† when she and fellow females could actually go to school and watch â€Å"movies of the rest of the world† that even included â€Å"dancing[,] singing, ceremonial masks, [and music],† clearly taking place in a land where â€Å"people†¦were happy† (Atwood 118). Offred as well as other handmaids in her place inevitably suffer within their reality by trying to maintain a grasp on the memories of such privileges they once took for granted, such as real television to promote quality education. Instead of living the naturally liberal life of opportunity that was once available to Offred and existed in her home and school life, such a vision has been taken away by the government and exists now only in her memory, as the Aunts present to her and the other potential handmaids a government-approved film with â€Å"the title and [few] names blacked out†¦with a crayon so [they] couldn’t read them†Ã¢â‚¬â€another example of a ludicrous constraint, reading, that could have instilled fruitful possibilities in the mind of a woman (Atwood 119). In addition, as if the recollection of accredited education and other past events were not enough a cause of longing, Offred also recalls the fearless, empowering spirits of her late loved ones—particularly her mother whom she spots in the film, â€Å"wearing the kind of outfit Aunt Lydia told [the handmaids] was typical of Unwomen in those days† while â€Å"smiling, laughing†¦and raising [her] fists in the air† (Atwood 119). To witness such a wild and free spirit in action, that once was allowed for women but has been officially banned by the radical Christian followings of the Republic of Gilead, undoubtedly sparks a deep temptation within handmaids to rebel against this authority inflicting such â€Å"unacceptable losses of intellectual liberty†; however, such a temptation proves to be a challenge to pursue for some women today (Tolan 1). While the initial teachings of Islam attempted to improve living conditions for Muslim women by granting them some of the same rights as men in the seventh century, women become incapable of endorsing these rights when their society attempts to enforce the â€Å"laws† of the Islamic religion, described by the Columbia University professors who wrote At the Crossroads of the World: Women in the Middle East: Today, many Muslim women do not have the opportunity to enjoy rights once considered theirs by their religion. Women may be unaware of their rights or live in societies where these rights have been misinterpreted or misrepresented by individuals in power (be it the state, culture, or family). In Muslim countries around the world, there is a fundamental difference between what is prescribed by religious texts and what is actually practiced, a gulf between the ideal and the real (Esposito 1998, xiii). Often, the purportedly ‘religiously grounded’ restrictions placed on women within certain societies have little or nothing to do with the teachings of Islam. More often they are a function of socioeconomic and political factors. Recent examples of such restrictions included Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, which prohibited women from receiving medical attention from males and placed other restrictions on their movement in public (Revolutionary Association of the Women in Afghanistan)(Crocco, Pervez, and Katz 110). At most, these women are granted with the illusion that they possess legitimate freedoms, when in actuality their government prohibits this execution with the false justification that it simply conforms to the Islamic religion. The handmaids and all women alike governed by the Republic of Gilead correspondingly must follow the rules of the regime that claims to be operating in the name of the Christian faith in an attempt to validate its restrictive essence. Thus, no question exists as to how Offred becomes â€Å"increasingly reckless with her actions and behaviors,† or to why in the end â€Å"there is the strong possibility that her recklessness has cost her her life† (Genny 1). Most emphatically does Offred’s situation come off as unjust when she finally experiences a small taste of the natural freedom she once had but still deserves. Because it is obviously an â€Å"oasis of the forbidden,† she has to force herself to â€Å"hold†¦absolutely rigid† when the Commander invites her into his off-limits personal turf to play a game of Scrabble, something harmless, yet banned. Despite â€Å"[t]he fact that [she’s] terrified,† Offred still recognizes that â€Å"this is freedom[;] an eyeblink of it,† as if â€Å"he were offering her drugs† (Atwood 138-139). While Atwood implies in her novel that â€Å"feminist utopianism cannot avoid the taint of totalitarianism,† she employs the concept of defiance in that Offred can nourish her natural tendencies to actually enjoy herself through breaking the rules (Tolan 30). Similarly for the women in Iraq, the Ba’ath Party that emerged in 1963 sought provisions for women’s equality, including the liberties of education and employment; however, outside the major urban center of Baghdad, â€Å"the society still relegated Iraqi women to a very inferior position vis-a-vis men† (Brown and Romano 1). To maintain two adjacent communities with such contrasting ways of governing women is arguably contradicting and therefore, a cause for concern. Ultimately, women have simplistically natural rights that ought not to be rendered in the least, especially by illegitimate theocratic governments. Under no circumstances are the rights to thought, decision, reading, and writing, among many others, capable of being outlawed justifiably, regardless of gender. With such liberties, women carry great potential in contributing to society, despite the possibility of infertility or radically religious devotion—and in a lot of cases, that contribution can be imperative. Today in Iraq, a woman cannot own private property or hold any status, while forced to give up her education and marry a stranger. However, women still make up 65% percent of the population, and make up 70% of the agricultural workforce (Al-Jawaheri and Harris). Though they continue to fight for the equal rights and treatment they deserve while accepting their low circumstances, the crucial importance of granting women this moral blessing remains strong.

127 Hours Film Review Essay

His pain, his desire to be free and his desperation was shared with the viewers in such a way that it’s somehow disturbing. His delusions were able to reach the minds of those who watched the movie, particularly myself. In the technical aspect, it used natsot or the natural sound in most of the scenes. James Franco played Aron, an engineer who likes or rather whose hobby is to climb and hike on mountains. He is the protagonist and at the same time, the victim in the film. The antagonist here is the situation itself. It is the reason why he is in such troublesome circumstance which won’t allow him to be free. If not for his determination to live, he would not make it out alive though the process is excruciating and gruesome at some point. What strikes me the most in this film is that the director managed to make the film worth watching in 1 and a half hour with only one setting or location and focusing on one character only. Not many films can pull something like this. In regards to the content, it showed that in order to survive, you have to sacrifice something and do unimaginable things. This surprised me because it was not normal and people don’t do those kind of things. With James Franco’s acting, it made the movie a sure hit and suitable to be awarded in Oscars which it really did. The content fulfilled the expectations of the eyes, mind and soul of the movie goers. If I were the film maker, the ending would have been a sad one since I’m a fan of tragic endings. But if I do that, it will disappoint the viewers so I would make it a little less tragic. The end would be that Aron, after decapitating his arm, would not find any source of water which will make him more tired and more desperate in search of water. His long walks will continue until he finds himself in the middle of nowhere. Slowly, his body begins to collapse. He can no longer see straight due to the loss of blood. He then looks at the sky, the sun raised high, camera focused on his face. Until then, he will encounter other hikers whom will help him. At that time, he will close his eyes slowly, leaving the audience thinking whether he survived that day. Before credits roll, his picture with his family after the incident will be shown, revealing that he did survived.

Can Facebook Ruin Romantic Relationships Research Paper - 1

Can Facebook Ruin Romantic Relationships - Research Paper Example There have been advantages of Facebooking like the ones spelt above. It is a site where people can have fun that includes sharing old and new photos (Persimmons). By use of its online chat room, there is creations and nurturing of numerous relationships. It has also mobilized participation of people in campaigns and social events. This has culminations by saying that it enhances collaboration and further strengthens social interaction within a community. However, Facebook has accusations of ruining relationships that are romantically based and sufficient evidence has been sufficed to explain this sad phenomenon. Facebook has been prescribed for use with one’s beloved family but it is bad for relationships (Persimmons). One of the reasons that have been brought forward to explain Face book’s tendency to ruin relationships is that it fuels jealousy tendencies and weird behaviour in people who are in relationships (Persimmons). An example is when a man/woman in a relationship updates his/her Facebook status and the comments he/she gets are of sexual nature but leaning towards a joke. This might lead to the partner getting upset and the result is relationship breakdown. Jealousy undermines relationships and Facebook can be a good cause of such jealousy tendencies. People have therefore become victim to this jealousy tendency in their relationship setups. Facebook also has a profile section that has a relationship personal status section. The site tells everyone whenever a person changes his or her status. Anxiety is created whenever such a thing is changed (Persimmons). For example, when somebody is casually dating another person, his or her status reads ‘it is complicated’. In reality, altering one’s relationship status leads top very harsh and uncomfortable relationships coupled with suspicious conversations that kill the morale of continuing with any given relationship.        Ã‚  

Ethical issues in the service industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethical issues in the service industry - Essay Example The main problem in this article is why the airplanes from the same company are operating with less fuel in their engines. There is a fuel policy which is posing an ethical issue hence risking the life of hundreds of passengers who fly with Ryanair airplanes. Even though the Irish Aviation Authority noted that most of the aircrafts left their destinations with more than the required fuel reserves, the ethical issue remains why the pilots waited for the 30 minutes minimum landing alarm from the plan. It is argued that this poses a threat to the customer’s lives. It is also argued that all the three planes that made emergency landings made their mayday landings when their fuel was less than the final reserve (Massey, 2012). The pilots were in ethical dilemma on whether to make their landings or not but they argue that declared their emergencies according to the EU safety regulations which require emergency landings in case the fuel runs below the reserve elevel. The solution is going to be applied based on the ethical issues which require that the airline upgrades its safety standards. The airline industry is one of the industries where safety is the most crucial thing. This is because most of the accidents regarding airplane have always resulted to 100% loss of life and property worth millions of money. It will therefore raise questions why an airline would have more than its three airlines making emergency landings due to shortages of fuel in their planes. There will need to be a review of the airline fuel policy in order to ensure that the planes do not run out of fuel while in operations. There would also be the need to review the price policy for the airline industry as it may not relate to the type of quality the customers are paying for. All this is aimed at ensuring that the company is avoiding ethical issues in relation to safety of its passengers. The Spanish government was forced to make an

The Ideas of an Ideal Social Order and Separation of Power in the US Assignment

The Ideas of an Ideal Social Order and Separation of Power in the US - Assignment Example Linkage groups in the US House of Legislatures are responsible for keeping people on what is happening by giving them information and being involved. The initiator's intention was to enable Congress members to provide the connection between citizens and government. James Madison gives an explanation that public views are good when passed through a medium of a special body of citizens that can represent the interest of their country. The groups are of four types and are known as linkage institutions in the United States since they play a vital role in involving citizens to the government. These groups are not part of the government, but exclusive of them, the United States will not be able to maintain democracy. Examples of such ways by which American national government represent the interest of its citizen include Broad points of view represented by political parties that present people with alternative approaches on how the government is operated. By electing people to public offic e, each party seeks power so that its positions and values become public policy. Interest groups manage people with common welfare. They also influence government through citizen’s attitudes to support their points. They usually represent a closely related set of apprehensions. An important role played by the media is connecting people to the government. Most citizens find out about candidates for office, the burning issues of the day and also public official activities through, newspapers, radio, television and also the Internet.

Ineffective Work Place & Organizational Work Essay

Ineffective Work Place & Organizational Work - Essay Example As the discussion declares   procedures are developed, which culminate in to events and eventually give results. From the results, more ideas are developed for more procedures, making the process an endless circle. This is the process that generates change within an organization. However, in some instances, this process may not generate the desired change. There are times when the results culminate in events which are disastrous. This necessitates careful observation and supervision of the processes which are routine in the organization in order to avoid unwarranted circumstances. In health care, ineffective work place routine may be detrimental to human life and therefore it is necessary that these procedures be clearly understood by the health care managers. This paper highlights that In order for work place routine to be effective in achieving the objectives of the organization, it is important for health care managers to study and confirm their effectiveness. Performance of health care routines is usually the obligation of informed and skilled people. They are people who care about the outcome of their activities. Their actions are usually governed by institutional or organizational regulations as well as personal perspective and profession. In their research, Trisha Greenhalgh, Christopher Voisey and Nadia Robb view routine as an important aspect of health care. It enhances learning especially where foreign patients are involved. According to the research they conducted, it was routine for patients to be brought in accompanied by interpreters. This is significant in ensuring that staff and the medical personnel understand the patient. The research also established that interpreters had developed a way of overcoming the challenges in r egard to many patients who are used to making appointments for service.  

Journal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 53

Journal - Assignment Example The writer examines the different voting blocks and concludes that Blatter calls the shot due to a massive backing he enjoys. Although Prince Ali stands to gain more votes in Western Europe, and parts of America and Asia, he still does not stand a chance against Sepp Blatter. The Lyttleton’s article covers the concept of management in the world of soccer. There must be proper management if soccer standards are to be improved around the world. FIFA is a governing body that is responsible for the management of football in the world, hence the need to elect a competent President. The different voting blocks will be looking at the management skills of various aspirants and make a decision as to who would be given a mandate at the helm of FIFA. The other critical concept highlighted by the article is the issue of elections; elections are carried out to choose a team that will manage soccer. Every member of FIFA has one vote and equal rights to elect the leadership. In an exercise of democracy, the member countries will vote in may this year to elect FIFA

Photography Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Photography - Research Paper Example Part 3 Digital photography has changed the way we see the world around us. It has opened up the world of photography to anyone with the ability to peer through a viewfinder and push a button. It has made it possible for us to easily pull images into our computers and change the captured reality. For this reason, it has become a concern that digital photography has changed the face of photography forever. We can no longer look at an image and assume that it is depicting what really happened at the time the photograph was taken. Many people remain suspicious about digital photography because of the ease with which photos can be manipulated, but this aspect of photography hasn't really changed since its earliest days. Part 3 Digital photography has changed the way we see the world around us. It has opened up the world of photography to anyone with the ability to peer through a viewfinder and push a button. It has made it possible for us to easily pull images into our computers and chang e the captured reality. For this reason, it has become a concern that digital photography has changed the face of photography forever. We can no longer look at an image and assume that it is depicting what really happened at the time the photograph was taken. Many people remain suspicious about digital photography because of the ease with which photos can be manipulated, but this aspect of photography hasn't really changed since its earliest days. By looking at the history of photography and how it has been affected by digital technology, I plan to show that manipulation of photos is something that has been a part of photography for as long as cameras existed. To do this, I will show how the function of the digital camera is not really that different from the function of the traditional film camera and then show how each method is easily manipulated to create an impression of reality. The only true difference is our realization that this is possible. Digital Technology Has Not Chang ed Photography Student name Course name Instructor name Date Student name Instructor name Course name Date Digital Technology Has Not Changed Photography The world as we see it today is mostly shaped by what is captured in the form of digital photography. Film cameras are almost non-existent as more and more people have found the ease and cost-convenience of digital to far outweigh the hassles of film for most applications. Because of its widespread use, we are all now much more aware of just how easy it is to manipulate photographs to change what we think we see. While most of us embrace the ease of digital photography for ourselves, there is a group of individuals who are outraged at the idea that news photographers are also able to use digital technologies in reporting the news. These people feel that the only way we can get an accurate representation of what's happening in other parts of the world is through the use of film cameras, which produce images that are not as easy to m anipulate. My role in the following research is to investigate how film cameras and digital cameras operate to see if there are any differences in the actual capturing of an image and then to compare how images are processed, again with the purpose of comparing techniques and the level to which they can be manipulated. In conducting this research, I bring my own experience as a film and digital amateur photographer as well as someone interested in how the media works to shape our understanding of the world. I have studied how images are used in print ads, video

Art History 306 Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Art History 306 - Dissertation Example The proximity and accessibility of the artists to each other’s lives and work sprouted an art â€Å"scene† with â€Å"constant face to face encounters†¦constant feedback, mutual awareness† (Sandler, 1978, pg. 30) and frequent socializing in â€Å"semi-public and public meeting places†. (Sandler, 1978, p. 29) The ambience was electric, for it â€Å"generated social and intellectual exchanges†, â€Å"and it was natural for vanguard artists in every field to gravitate to the world of the New York school† (Sandler, 1978, p.22). This solidarity was reinforced by a post war sentiment of alienation which could best be summarized as â€Å"you had a feeling †¦ of you and your friends against everyone on the outside.† (Sandler, 1978, p. 29) Disillusioned further by the political climate and pseudo culture of Middle America, the vanguard artists turned to their art for â€Å"self-discovery, freedom of belief and action, and autonomous, honest creation.† (Sandler, 1978, p.21) The canvas became an â€Å"arena in which to act† (Rosenberg, 1959) and gestural painting was adopted by such influential figures as de Kooning and Hofmann. Art produced during this time was coined Abstract Expressionism (Rosenberg, 1959).

Compaer between to company playstation3 and Xbox Essay

Compaer between to company playstation3 and Xbox - Essay Example Its direct competitors in the gaming console markets are PlayStation and Dreamcast and even Nintendo. It is an America based gaming console producing company. Both these companies and the services and the products offered by these companies are quite different from each other. There is tremendous amount of different in the market share of both the gaming consoles. The PlayStation gaming console which was the first PlayStation produced by the Sony Computer Entertainment company sold around 100 million gaming consoles within a period of 9 years and six months since the day it was distributed. The second line of gaming console distributed under the brand name of PlayStation was PlayStation2 was able to ship over 150 million gaming consoles till the period of 2011. The third gaming console that was distributed under the brand umbrella of PlayStation was PlayStation3 which was able to ship over 70 million gaming consoles by 2012 and its distribution started in 2006. In comparison, Xbox was able to sell its only 9.25 million gaming consoles during the period of 2012 and this means that Xbox 360 experienced a decline of 24.8% in the games figure in comparison to the sales figure of 2011 which was 12.3 million gaming consoles (DAngelo 1). The PlayStation is even recognized for the sale of handheld gaming consoles and these gaming consoles are recognized as PSP which have helped PlayStation in positioning itself in a better manner than Xbox as Xbox does not have any handheld gaming consoles. Secondly, PlayStation provides online gaming support through its PlayStation gaming console and an extra console is not required to be purchased to play online. While Xbox even provides online gaming support, but players have to purchase Xbox Live which is an online version of Xbox 360 and is especially designed for online game play. One of the main different between these

Community Assessment Essay Example for Free

Community Assessment Essay A community assessment gives emphasis on evaluating agencies, community members and systems so as to learn more about circumstances within such community. The goal of community assessment is to gather pertinent information from a personal walk or drive through the community, from different people and groups within the community as well. This paper will focus on a community in the state of New Jersey called Parsippany Troy Hills aka Troy Hill Parsippany, Parsippany. The goal of this paper is to assess the Parsippany Troy Hills community and the assessment will focus on aspects of the community including health and safety. Parsippany Troy Hills lies in the Newark piedmont basin in a county called Morris county. The community was first formed by European settlers in the 18th century which before was occupied by Native Americans. The name Parsippany came from a Native American word â€Å"parispanong†, which means â€Å"the place where the river winds through the valley. Parsippany-Troy Hills township is located at 40 °51†²35†³N 74 °25†²24†³W40.859636 °N 74.423348 °W (40.859636,-74.423348). According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 25.394 square miles (65.771 km2), of which, 23.563 square miles (61.029 km2) of it is land of which is covered with city streets, restaurants, parks, shopping centers, schools, houses that range from old and condemned to new and expensive and 1.831 square miles (4.742 km2) of it (7.21%) is water. As of 2010, the population of the community was 53,238 reflecting an increase of 2,589 from the 50,649 counted in the year 2000 census which had in turn increased by 2,171 from 48,478 counted in the 1990 census. As of the year 2000 which marked the total population mentioned above, 19,624 households and 13,167 families were residing in the community. The population density was 2,115 people per square mile. There were also 20,066 housing units with the density of about 838.1 per square mile. The Township usually has a humid climate with cold winters and very warm hot summers. It is usually cooler compared to other communities in the state of New Jersey at night and early in the morning with record lowest temperature recorded at -29 Í ¦ F and record high of 104 Í ¦ F. The township of Parsippany has everything a community needs to survive so most people do not even travel outside the community. Most of the businesses in the community are independently owned and run by the members of the community. Troy hills have been a very quiet and peaceful community according to community members apart from the issue of domestic violence among a focused group in the community. My overall impression about the community is a positive one because my family owns a house there and I visit there often and from my experience, it is very peaceful and quiet compared to my other community in New York. Most people have lived in the community for years without travelling outside their township. When I asked some â€Å"why†, the response I got was there is everything in Parsippany so why go outside the community to get something. There is pretty much every store and restaurant that one can think of in the township, lining up along the towns major street (route 46). Driving along route 46 I came across supermarkets like Shoprite, Wall mart, Costco, Bravo and a couple of other small supermarket s. There is also a long stretch of department stores like TJ max, marshals, Sims, Burlington coat factory and many others. There is also a mall (Morris Hills Mall) which is 10 minutes drive that has other shops like clothing stores, and movie theaters. Also along route 46 and Beverwyck road which are the 2 main roads of the community, I came across some Laundromat’s and dry cleaners where some members of the community do their laundry. There weren’t many people in these Laundromat’s because most people in the community own washers and dryers in their homes so they do their laundry at their homes which I think was very good because it prevents overcrowding in the Laundromats. I also came across some beauty salons and barber shops in the community where some people were getting their hair cut and done and others were getting their nails and feet done (manicure and pedicure). Parsippany also has multiple parks where people go exercise, play sports, host picnics and barbeques and also hung out. At one of the parks that I visited, I saw a group of Indian residents playing volley ball and another mixed race group of blacks, Latino and Chinese young adults playing basket ball which I joined to play with them. There were other people also exercising, some running others doing push and pull ups. Parsippany also has a lot of organizations whose leaders are stakeholders in the community. Most of these organizations are there to offer help and support to community members in need. Three out of the many organizations that really gained my interest were the Women’s Club of Troy hills, Puzzle Pieces – A divorce and separated support group and the Panic and Anxiety club. I became very interested in these three organizations because they hosted a joint meeting at the united Methodist Church which is located at 903 S Beverwyck road, to talk about issues on domestic violence. I found it very shocking that host of the leaders and members were actual victims of domestic violence. I had the opportunity to attend that joint meeting and was very shocking to hear some of the stuff these women actually go through. They were very supportive of each other. In terms of religion, Roman Catholicism is the largest faith followed by Anglican Church and other Christian faiths including Baptist, Church of God and Pentecostal. Other religions include Islam, Hinduism, Jewish, Buddhism, and some Eastern religions. The community has incorporated all these different faiths and has helped provide places of worship for these various religious groups. When it comes to the issue on transportation, the main means to get around is by driving so therefore most residents own a car. The community also has a free transit system for residents which operates Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm. Two buses run on the hour starting from the main shopping center (Morris Hills Mall) to Brookside senior center. The buses run both East and West routes respectively. Troy Hills Parsippany host educational facilities starting from elementary level to college level. These are some of the schools I came across in the community: Troy Hills elementary school, Rockaway Meadow elementary school, North Vail elementary school, Mt Tabor elementary school, Mt Tabor elementary school, Lake Parsippany elementary school, Littleton elementary school, Knollwood elementary school, Lake Hiawatha elementary school, Intervale elementary school, Central middle school, Brook lawn middle school, Parsippany High school, Parsippany Hills high school and Morris County Community college. Also the community has an adult learning center which provides adult and community. In Parsippany, health authorities see to it that they provide quality service to ensure quality life among the residents. Parsippany benefits from an extensive medical area, world class medical institutions and research facilities. The objective of Parsippany healthcare system is to ensure the health of its residents. Parsippany public health system conducts different programs and activities to integrate relevant health indicators. Parsippany has two major healthcare facilities which are the Hillside Medical center and the Morris Town medical center. Hillside medical center provides great care in cardiac services that includes heart stat, an interactive heart center and arrhythmia treatment center. They also have an emergency department that handles level 2 trauma cases. The Morris town medical center is a facility that provides urgent care, workers compensation and a board range of occupational health and preventative services. They also specialize in burns, wound healing, animal bites and dermatological problems. The community also has other healthcare centers which focus on specific areas of health. I came across health centers like Immediate Care Psychiatric Center and Greystone Park psychiatric center which focuses only on issues related to mental health. The community also has agencies both private and government run who provides care for the elderly and sick in home settings and nursing homes. As mentioned earlier, the community covers about 29.394 square miles of city streets, shopping centers, parks, schools, healthcare facilities and houses. Parsippany is a unique area because of the diversity of land usage. Most of the houses have large yards and are neatly kept by landscaping companies. Going west, the houses reduce in size but still appear well kept. In the northwest area which is along route 46, the houses turn into stores and fast food restaurants. Almost every street I came across or drove on in the community was tarred and the sidewalks were neat and well maintained. Sanitation in the community was a big problem 5 years back according to one local resident due to the increase in restaurants along N Beverwyck road which is occupied mostly by the Indian population in the community. According to a resident who lives among the Indian population, â€Å"there has been a rapid increase of the Indian population which led to increase in businesses being opened, most of which are restaurants†. This led to increase in roaches and rats around that vicinity due to left over foods form the restaurant not being properly disposed and less garbage pickups. The usual trash pickup in the community used to be twice a week (Mondays and Fridays). This problem was brought to the mayors (Mayor Barberio) office and a meeting was conducted with restaurant owners and policy makers which led to a decision being made to increase pickups. The community was the divided into 6 districts and a schedule for pickup was developed. The schedule changes month to month. Below is the actual schedule for garbage pickup for the month of December; The Parsippany police department is a civic service organization consisting of over 100 sworn in police officers. The department is divided into four main divisions: Patrol, investigative, support services and professional standards. Each division is led by a captain and supported by the following chain of commands: lieutenants, sergeants, patrol officers and civilian personnel. According to one police officer I spoke to, most calls the department receives were linked to domestic violence which he mentioned is high among the Indian population in the community. The Parsippany fire department is also working 24/7 to protect the lives and properties of the people of Parsippany and surrounding communities as well. The primary responsibility of the Fire Prevention Bureau is to enforce the New Jersey State Fire Code, ensuring that the residents and firefighters of Parsippany are given the proper level of protection. The Bureau, through public education, code enforcement and emergency respo nse, provides the public with protection of life property and the environment. Troy Hills Parsippany is a multiracial and very cosmopolitan in many ways. The racial makeup of the community is about 74% white, 4% African Americans, 0.5% Native Americans, 18% Asians (mostly Indians), 2% pacific Islanders and about 3% Hispanic. Herein English is the official and most common language and other languages spoken include Hindi, Bengali, Chinese, Spanish, French and Akan. The most people I men in the community were adults between the ages of 22 to about 45. I also met some teenagers who were between the ages of 13 to 18 and also children ages 3 to about 8.Most of these people were among the group of people I met on the playground. I walked to one of the community’s playgrounds and I met a large group of adults (mostly Indians) playing volley ball. I also saw a group of African American and Hispanic teenagers and adults playing basket ball which I joined to play with them. In Parsippany the difference in economic status lies in a wide range of educational levels income and occupation. About 68% of the population is employed with about 2 1,000 males and 12,000 females holding some form of employment status. The most popular profession if the community is in management of professional occupations. Second largest career field is in sales and secretarial work. Other occupations include maintenance, healthcare, transportation e.t.c. The median household income is about $107,144. According to the residents, living in the community makes them feel safe and secure. In addition to the financial stability of the community, the residents are enjoying a state of the art with regards to their healthcare facility needs. Each service offered is given efficiently and responsible healthcare workers see to it that patients or healthcare seekers are satisfied with service offered. According to one senior citizen I came across, living here has given him the security when it comes to assuring health and quality living. Most of the local business owners (restaurant owners) were also happy with living in the community because business is good as most of the m responded due to the increase in the population a long the location of their businesses. Troy Hills Parsippany offers numerous service organizations in the community. Mew Directions in an organizations that helps with providing housing and career developments for the unemployed and needy to find jobs whiles Partners in placement another organization helps everyone over 18 years in finding employment. The Upper room Empowerment helps senior citizens with low income, nursing home residents and orphanage children by providing financial assistance, food and clothing. The Parsippany Troy hills women’s club offers assistance to women in the community especially victims of domestic violence or abusive relationships. Puzzle Pieces – A divorce/ separated support group also helps people faced with divorce and separations in their marriages who were mostly victims of abusive relationships. Other organizations consist of Lifeblood, Lupus foundation of America, National alliance of the mentally ill (NAMI), YMCA and YWCA. Not only are these service organizations but most of these organizations are also allowing community volunteer. For example, vo lunteers can be counselors to help guide the YMCA and YWCA, The Upper room for Empowerment and the New Directions. These organizations bring to the attention issues in the community and make change by involving the community. One organization that has a large impact not only on the Parsippany community but communities all over is Lifeblood. Lifeblood is a nonprofit blood center with objectives to reduce dependency on paid donors, establish a pre deposit blood assurance program, work toward a more even flow of donations and develop roster of donors with rare types of blood. The two main healthcare facilities which are The Hillside Medical center and Morristown Medical center are being operated by the state government. So is the Graystone park Psychiatric center. There are also a large variety of privately owned and operated clinics and agencies that also provide care for the community. The Song Medical clinic owned and run by an Asian physician Dr Song who also is a resident of Troy hills. The mobile diagnostic testing of NJ LLC is also a private organization whose main focus is diagnostic testing . There is also a private rehabilitation center called the Morris rehabilitation and physical therapy center which specializes in chiropractic, physical, speech and occupational therapy, automobile accident care. They also provide treatments for lower back pain, neck pain, headaches, motor vehicle accident injuries, sports related injuries etc. The Morris Pediatric Care LLC is another healthcare agency found in the community which is committed to providing excellent medical care for infants, children and adolescents. This healthcare facility is privately owned and run by Dr Aradhana Rajkumar. The facility although is privately run, has affiliations with other hospitals. There are also homecare agencies that help provide assisted living and total care for older adults both in nursing homes and patient homes. Some of these agencies are A Place for mom and dad, Synergy home care, Brookside senior center, Cheshire home etc. There is also a door to door and fixed route transportation offered by the Morris area paratransit system (MAPS) to senior citizens and the sick for them to go up and down, to doctor’s appointments and so on. There is also Access a Link transportation system offered by the NJ transit which operates in the same manner. Being able to live in a community which is considered to be a quality and stable community not only in the state if NJ but the country as a whole is a great honor for its members. With great healthcare system which sees to it that the community members and neighboring communities receive quality care. Even though the residents are happy in their community, there is one big problem which causes a strain on the community and that is the rise in domestic violence among a specific focused group which happens to be the Indian population in the community. Domestic violence in short has been part and fabric of many societies and culture worldwide. It is so commonplace, in fact, that is has often gone unnoticed and failed to receive the level of attention it deserves in light of the devastating effects it can have on children and families. It is normally hard to get a clear picture when it comes to issues on domestic violence since most cases go unreported in the community with common reason relating to issues like immigration status and cultural beliefs. According to the Parsippany police department, the number one crime in the community is domestic violence. Between 06/12/0212 and 10/28/2012 there has been 12 reported cases leading to three deaths which were linked to domestic violence. Domestic violence is rising so rapidly to the extent that the next lines of businesses are law firms focusing on cases of domestic violence. Just by walking through the community, I came across about 15 different law firms with their banners stating almost the same thing â€Å"We specialize in domestic violence and abuse cases†. Most of the cases in the community have to do with physical forms of abuse but domestic violence in general can be psychological, emotional and sexual as well. As a nurse in this community, working with victims of domestic violence to resolve and eradicate this strain will be my number one priority and this can be done using the different levels of population health care (primary, secondary and tertiary prevention) and health promotion. Primary Prevention: The goal of primary prevention is to intervene before domestic violence occurs by removing the cause and preventing the development of risk factors. This is mostly done through teaching. My main focus will be introducing the Indian population in the community to new thinking processes, coping mechanisms (since stress is a causative factor), and relationship skills that does not incorporate violence and that’s will promote healthy non violent, trust and supportive growth of relationships. Also using the media and hosting forums in schools, churches and community centers to create awareness and the effects of domestic violence and also to show community how to respond to domestic violence situation if they should face it. Secondary Prevention: This level of prevention is very beneficial because as a nurse in the community I would arrange home visitations high risk families and provide support for family members identified as being at high risk of preparing or becoming victims of domestic violence. Also offering crisis support and individual counseling to individuals exposed. Also identifying exposed individuals at earliest possible level and providing appropriate services essential. Provision of services for children exposed to domestic violence, including age-appropriate counseling, supportive services, and services for the nonabusing parent that support that parents role as a caregiver, which may, as appropriate, include services that work with the non-abusing parent and child together. Also providing assistance in developing safety plans, and supporting efforts of victims of domestic violence, to make decisions related to their ongoing safety and well-being is very essential. Tertiary Prevention: At this level, special services will be offered for those identified with domestic violence example home visitations with abuse victims and their children, and also providing temporary housing for victims and protection orders against abuser because they need some time off from tho se abusive relationships to heal emotionally. Children who bear witness to domestic violence often show emotional and behavioral problems and it is my responsibility as a community nurse to provide mental health services to address underlying trauma. Also involving the community is very relevant to addressing issues on domestic violence. Intensive police, court and community collaboration to address situations on domestic violence is very beneficial. Also referring victims to support groups in the community such as the Women’s Club Troy Hills, Puzzle pieces and The Panic and Anxiety groups which provides support for domestic violence victims. I strongly believe that with these measures in place, domestic violence which it the biggest strain of the people of Troy Hills Parsippany will be a thing of the past just like the sanitation issues on the community has become.

Effects of Public and Private Monopolies on Consumer

Effects of Public and Private Monopolies on Consumer Public and private monopolies what are the positive and negative effects on the consumer An economy comprises of a large collection of firms and consumers that operate on the basis of market mechanisms known as supply and demand. These are used by firms to determine the level of production, the output required to meet consumption, the price as well as the consumption level. From a microeconomic point of view, markets that exist within the economy are governed by these mechanisms but in actuality this is not the case. Inconsistencies do occur in markets due to competition and firms within the markets tendency to earn more profits. Power to over produce and earn more profits comes from successful firms that attain equilibrium in the market or through mergers and acquisitions. As a result of horizontal integration (in which two or more firms join hands to produce in one industry) and vertical integration (firm develops market dominance by integrating indifferent stages of production) a market tends to develop monopolies(Tutor2u.com 2004). In such a market firms aim to generate higher profitability by increasing market share and by exploiting economies of scale. Competition in the market therefore is reduced as the result of firms growing through internal expansion. This kind of tactics according to economists harms the interests of the industry as well as the consumers which eventually lead to economic instability. To curb this, the government often adopt regulations to prevent monopolies from having an advantage over the existing or new firms and exploiting the consumers interests. Why monopolies are discouraged is because their tendencies to earn higher profits at the cost of allocate efficiency (Tutor2u.com2004). A monopolist would set the price of the product or service high to exploit the consumers needs and wants without satisfying incompletely. Consumer sovereignty thus is replaced by producer sovereignty (Tutor2u.com 2004). This turnaround from consumer sovereignty to producer sovereignty stems from the basic economic principles of economic welfare. Welfare refers to the best use of scarce resources in an economy. This means that welfare is about maximization of resources with optimum outcome(referred to as economic efficiency). Maximization means the firm needs to achieve: a. allocate efficiency resources being allocated to the activities where they are most valued; and b. productive efficiency resources being used in the most effective way possible (Coopers Lybrand 1996). Welfare economy is based on the free market concept with the assumptions that certain conditions are fulfilled. These conditions include large number of producers and consumers; it does not take into account of income distribution or equity considerations; there is perfect competition; and economic efficiency is achieved. Monopolies are also based on the economic models of competitive market and principles which include demand curves (D), supply curves (S), average cost curves (AC), marginal cost curves (MC) and marginal revenue curves(MR) (Coopers Lybrand 1996). Term definitions Demand curve refers to the demand by the consumers and the price they are willing or able to pay for the products. This is in turn governed by the budget constraints, relative prices, preferences and income. What the consumer is willing to pay and what is the actual price are different and the difference between the two is called consumer surplus. Supply curve illustrates the volume the producers are willing to supply at a given price. There is a difference between the actual price and the price at which the producer is willing to supply the products. Thesis known as producer surplus. Marginal cost refers to the cost for producing each additional unit of output. Marginal revenue curve show the total revenue earned by producers through a change in price and output demanded (Coopers Lybrand1996). Given the above constraints and principles, the researcher illustrates the condition of competitive market through the following model and leads the readers to the condition for monopolies. In a perfectly competitive market it is assumed that there are a large number of informed buyers and sellers. The producers are the price takers while the market price is governed by the supply and demand mechanisms. It is further assumed that should any seller tries to raise the price the consumer would switch to another supplier and hence the condition of the profit maximizing firm is such that it would attempt to increase output to attain equilibrium through marginal cost and market price. This would allow the producer to earn maximum profit, incur constant average cost and no fixed cost. This condition is denoted by AC=MC (as shown in the figure). In the above diagram one observes that the consumer surplus is the consumer’s ability to pay more indicated by the shaded area while there is no producer surplus. This means welfare maximization has been achieved. Even when the price is increased from P to P1 the output level would fall from O to O1, the consumer may not be willing to buy the product even if he/she has the money to do so. Alternatively, if the price is decreased from P to P2, below the MC then the level output would rise because the consumer is willing to buy more of the product at a lesser price. Hence, under perfect competition: the price is equal to the marginal costs Producers earn a normal profit (zero producer surplus); and economic welfare is maximised, so the outcome is economically efficient (Coopers Lybrand 1996). However, in the real world market condition and competition is far from perfect and this model of perfect competition is often marred by other kinds of unfair competition including m onopolies. In the classic case of the monopoly there is only one producer who is the price setter and the consumer is the price taker. The producer would maximize profit by setting the level of MR = MC and a price that the consumer will bear. In the following figure one observes that when the producer produce low level of output the MC is below the MR. What this tactic does is that it lets the producer to control the profit by increasing output while the price is set by the demand curve. Hence in a monopoly there is: - a lower level of output (O compared with O1); A higher price (P compared with P1); Profits in excess of those required to earn a reasonable return (ABDE is monopoly profit or producer surplus); and a reduction in economic welfare; the loss of consumer surplus -resulting from higher prices is ABCE, which is more than the benefit tithe producers in terms of higher profits (ABDE); this net loss, represented by the triangle BCD, is called dead-weight loss (Coopers Lybrand 1996). With this background monopoly can be defined as: A monopoly is a large, single supplier that dominates an industry(Cleaver 2002). A single producer dominates the market by setting the price and gains high profits through producer surplus at the cost of consumer surplus. A monopoly therefore compromises the economic welfare. A monopoly can further be categorized as private or public monopolies. Private monopolies can make huge profits by charging higher prices than a compet itive firm could demand for this reason they tend to be either outlawed in market societies or taken over byte state. Public monopolies are common, intending to provide public services (e.g. postal services transport, etc.) at low cost. The lack of competition for such giants, however, whether privately or publicly owned, tends to breed inefficiency: there is no incentive to serve the public well, since consumers have no other choice of producer to buy from. (Cleaver 2002). Problem Statement Given the above brief explanation of monopolies and the consumer’s position in the competitive market, one understands that economic theory form the basis for comprehending the structure of real markets, it does not actually present a realistic picture. A framework such as the above would guide the policy-makers in regulating the monopolists and establishing pricing policies but would it maximize consumer economic welfare? What are the effects on other firms? What impact do they have on the policies and the business environment? More importantly, how the differences between public and private monopolies affect these consumers? These are some of the aspects that the researcher aims to investigate in the following sections using the above framework as a guide. Methodology To illustrate the above problem statement the researcher adopts the qualitative method to carry out the research. This entails the use of secondary resources as well as primary resources. In the next section the researcher reviews secondary literature including magazines, newspapers, websites and educational institution material. To enforce the concept of public and private monopolies the researcher also takes into account of primary resources such as journal articles, books and official publications. The purpose of combining primary and secondary resources is to ensure that the researcher has based the analysis on both the theoretical and real life situation. To illustrate true life situation the researcher has also adopted the case study method. Case studies of Royal Mail and Microsoft have been included to represent public and private monopolies respectively. The cases would help the researcher and readers to understand why monopolies behave the way they do, and how they affect consumers as well as industry to which the firms belong. By combining both the qualitative and case studies the researcher aims to analyse and come to conclusive views of how monopolies operate, its negative and positive effects on consumers and what impact do they have on the business environment. Discussion Public monopolies In an economy there are public as well as private firms. The public and private nature of firms keeps a balance of private and public consumption. The rationale is that some goods and services are required by the public but they are not willing to pay for its welfare maximization. These goods and services are demanded by the people but nobody is willing to pay the price for its supplies. For this reason the government takes upon itself to create firms, either through deregulation or setting up independently, with the purpose to provide these public goods and services to the public. With the high demand in todays global market for higher efficiency and effective allocation of resources, many economies are opting for privatization of firms. Many consider privatization as more efficient even for public sector organizations. In the majority of countries, public utilities like electricity, gas, water and postal services remain in the control of the government. However, it must be noted that most of these utilities providing companies are running at a loss and cost of the government as there are only few people who are willing to pay for the goods and services provided. According to Edwin West (1982)Once in operation it is very difficult to stop individuals tuning into obtain its benefits free of charge. This creates the now familiar â€Å"free rider† dilemma, in which nobody will produce the good because nobody is willing to pay sufficiently to cover the costs. Since there is no value or profit involved, the government becomes the undisputed provider and therefore attains the role of the monopolist. In a public monopoly from an economic point of view there is only one seller in the market. Whatever profit, if any, acquired through the operation of the public monopoly belongs to the seller, in which case it is the government or the state. Public organization is owned by the government and often requires a lot of resources for its operations. Investments from taxes and the government budget provide for the required funding to operate these public entities. It may or may not operate for profit and hence a fixed profit is not expected from government owned firm. The public sector organization becomes the undisputed seller in the industry because it runs through state subsidy and can afford to operate at a lesser or zero price. For private enterprise to compete with this structure is highly difficult especially at an operating loss. This is illustrated as follows: In a state owned scenario the competitive market price is set at MC of dissemination and ED becomes the supply curve (S). Since this price is so low there is high demand for it. In some cases such as the Royal Mail there is a constant demand or outcome which does not get affected whether the price is low or high as postal services are required by the public regardless. However, as the producer is operating at a low price that means the cost of dissemination is high and the producer is operating at a loss. The overall result is welfare loss due to the fact that the producer surplus is less than the consumer surplus which equates to producer low surplus. In the following diagram one observe that the area ABDE is the consumer surplus which is basically a loss while the area ACDE is the producer surplus which is negated by the consumer loss. The net welfare BCD is less than the loss incurred on the consumer. Even when the government subsides and allocates more resources it would generate sub-optimal resource efficiency and thereby low social welfare. Government owned organizations such as the Royal Mail often require injection of investments by increasing the subsidies with the hope to increase the social benefit and welfare of the consumer. However, the external benefits may increase for a certain period only and relapse in the long run (see figure 6.3) (Coopers Lybrand1996). This has been the case of Royal Mail in the United Kingdom. The history of Royal Mail can be traced to the period of provocation in1979 in the UK. Most of the UK enterprises had been public enterprises and the government had taken extensive steps to privatize these enterprises with the view to reduce states expenditure and to shift the burden cost to the private sector. As a result 7.2 present of the public owned enterprise reduced to 2 present (Cook 2005). Despite the size of the program some of the government organizations remain within the domain of public sector. During the 1980s under the Labour Government this process reversed and as a result most of the industries became nationalized including the steel, automotive, shipbuilding, aircraft and postal industries. Most of the policy makers favoured the public owned enterprise due to several reasons. Firstly, it accounted for a larger share of the national total output and employment share. Most of these organizations are large and required a large number of workers to support its infrastructure. Since the Labour Government favoured labour intensive organizations, through public ownership it ensured job security for the majority of the population (Cook 2005). Secondly public monopolies such as the mail, airline or the steel industry have been essential services for the country that only the government can subsidize and finance. The massive infrastructure required for their operations made them unattractive to investors. For example the education system, legal framework as well as defence system. These were essential to the public but no single investor would be interested in investing huge funds with bleak future of running at aloes. Only the government with its access to huge funding was willing to invest in such public enterprises. Thirdly, organizations belonging to the public sector may enjoy the monopolist status yet not become regulated due to the government’s backing. As a result the resources allocated for its operations secured public welfare. Fourthly, public sector organizations worked in the interests of the consumer regardless of its inefficient status or costly structure. They were accountable to the electorate and not to a group of shareholders alone making them exclusive for a large group of consumers (Cook 2005).As a result of the deregulation, the UK government had been able to secure quite a few public monopolies. It has been observed that most public monopolies are redundant and donor serve the purpose of the consumer as efficiently as the government perceive. Compared with the benefits they provide to the consumers, public monopolies are not as efficient in delivering what they promise to the consumers. Due to the slow innovation and dynamic nature of these enterprises, the result is that they do not change with the consumer need. Poor quality is inherent in the kind of service they provide due to mismanagement and lack of training in the organizations. Other factors that lead to poor quality include incompetence, irresponsibility and the lack of accountability to specific authority (Saves 2000). Since there is no competition in the industry to give public monopolies wake up call and motivating them to innovate to serve the consumer welfare the public enterprises continue to provide services that may not serve the welfare of the consumer fully. For example the need for postal service in this day and age of technological development has decreased significantly (even though parcel services are still required). Public sector enterprises tend to lead to inefficiency due to the vast management and personnel structure. According to E. S. Saves (2000)government performance are reflected in these public enterprises in terms of inefficiency, overstaffing and low productivity. These organizations tend to employ twice as many employees per customer so that the resources become a waste which could easily be allocated to another entity where they are required. Although the government regularly inject investments for appropriating incentives through pay and rewards yet the distributed amount is so less to the individual worker that they remain unsatisfied working at the public organization leading to low productivity and inefficiency. Secondly, one of the biggest complains is that the publicly owned organizations do not have a choice in the products and services they get due to the lack of variety and choice. Due to the monopolistic behaviour, public enterprises tend to lack innovation to diversify resources or products to attract the consumers. As a result the consumers are forced to purchase products that they may not prefer, thereby stifling consumer preference. Thirdly, it has been observed that most public monopolies require huge investment funds at the cost of the taxpayers and the government. Indirectly, the consumer is forced to pay a price for services or products that they may or may not want to utilize. Fourthly, the public monopolists are not accountable to any one in particular but to a body of electorate that may be influenced by political entities. Hence, if there is a Labour government then the public enterprise would get more subsidies to increase its performance and thereby serve the public welfare more. However, on the other hand if there is a Conservative government then the enterprises would get fewer subsidies, decreasing its resources and efficiency. As a result there are fewer benefits to the public despite the high price they pay through taxation and allocated cost. Public policy in the past has been concentrating on the privatization of enterprise due to several reasons. Saves (2000) notes Some state enterprises are not expected to break even or make money, but many are. Nevertheless, loss-making and debt-ridden government enterprises tend to be the rule rather than the exception even among the for-profit group, and this is the principal impetus behind the worldwide movement to privatize such entities. The underlying reason for this state of affairs is the lack of true financial accountability. That is, government agencies and GOEs are rarely subject to binding budget constraints; they can usually muster enough political pressure to extract more subsidies. Furthermore, public enterprises have less inclination towards improvements despite the high level of investments. According to Akira Nishimori and Hikaru Ogawa (2002) First, suppression of the monopoly rents and improvements in allocate efficiency: admitting private firms into a market brings about increased output and lower prices. Second, a higher level of productive efficiency in the public sector; cost reducing incentives will emerge in the public sectors service production when it faces private competitors. They describe the public monopoly situation as follows. A two-stage optimization situation for a public firm is taken as an example. The cost reduction choice of investment is the first stage and the quantity supplied to the consumer is the second stage. When the monopoly equilibrium is achieved, maximization diminishes with the increase in investment in the short term. In the long run therefore the public welfare is decreased as the price continues to increase yet welfare maximization is decreased with high costs. (Nishimori and Ogawa 2002). Not only this but the authors also are of the opinion that in a public monopoly private firms that attempt to enter the industry would remain unsuccessful because public firms undertake cost reduction investment in the face of emerging private competition. When a private firm enters the market, there is a decrease in the consumer welfare. For this reason they propose that in order to prevent decrease in the cost reducing incentive of public firm, subsidization policies such arid subsidies may be effective. (Nishimori and Ogawa 2002). Neoclassical economists are of the view that efficiency is inherent in competitive environment. Unlike public monopolies which do not breed competition, privatization thrives in competitive markets as it attracts more investments. Nigel M. Healey (1993) writes The allocate and X-efficiency gains from increasing competition are illustrated by a movement from north to south; that is, from monopoly towards more competitive markets. By combining the capital market and competition arguments, and accepting the notion that private capital markets are beneficial for economic performance, it appears that the largest efficiency gains can be expected where there is an ownership change which leads to both more competition and more reliance on private capital markets. Public monopolies therefore are not open to competition which is the reason why they tend to decrease inefficiency as competition rises. In the UK firms like National Freight Corporation, British Telecom and Royal Mail all tend to have decreasing market share when they are faced with private competition. Royal Mail is the classic case of monopoly which has been dominating the postal industry in the UK for decades. According to a market report by Postcomm (2003) the postal industry is dominated by business mail. Twenty eight present of Royal Mails financial income is derived from its top 50 customers while 59 present of its mail volume comprise of commercial mail including utility bills, financial statements, invoices and government mail. The rest 29 present is made up of marketing material. On the other hand private postal services comprise of only 11percent of the market. With 15 years licence Royal Mail has been the dominant postal service provider within the UK for all types of postage and parcel services. The Postal Services 2000 however revised this public monopoly and introduced competition in the market by allowing other companies to compete with Royal Mail. Despite this fact Royal Mail still remains the undisputed king in the postal industry creating barriers to competition. It has an advantage over its competitors because of its universal access to geographical location as well as collects and delivers mail on each working day (Postcomm Report 2003). But more importantly Royal Mail has exemption from VAT, customs privileges and parking and traffic privileges which delineate it from competitors. The company serves in uneconomic and diverse areas which tend to increase its preference among consumers. Though this cost the government but nevertheless it has set a pattern and process of delivery to diversified destination which increases its competitive edge over other potential mail companies (Postcomm Report 2003). As studied theoretically above, Royal Mail proves to be financially inefficient due to its failure to meet financial target. Despite its increase in revenue due to increase in volume sales and price Royal Mail nevertheless does not earn as much as it is required to reach equilibrium. Instead it concentrates on making profits on business accounts; prepared items etc. and lose out on stamped items. As a result the Postcomm authority has increased restrictions on Royal Mail(Postcomm Report 2003). In such a case of public monopoly, one observes that Royal Mail would continue to incur costs of investments and injections for the upkeep of the enterprise. The organization despite restrictions and strict policies has not been able to meet its performance target. But more importantly Royal Mail behaves in the same manner as in the cost dissemination model that the researcher discussed earlier. Despite high prices Royal Mail is operating at a loss due to a variety of reasons including inefficiency, lack of innovation, loss and compromising consumer welfare with its limited services. Private monopolies As opposed to public there are private monopolies which are adopted by private enterprises. Private monopolies deal with the supply side of economics. According to Charles Geist (2000) private monopolies tend to dominate the market as effectively as public monopolies due to the incentives in the form of tax cuts, economic stimulation and increase in the demand of goods and services. As a result, a private monopolist raises the prices of goods and services higher than the market price with the intention to earn higher profits. In the following illustration of private monopoly there is only one producer who influences the price. The producer sets MC=AC and setting the production low where MR=MC. This way there is low level of production which in turn creates high demand. The price set would that that the market will bear and hence the consumer becomes the price taker. In the following figure one see that low output at O would enable the producer to increase the price of the goods to meet the demand B. Since MC is below MR the producer enjoys a high level of profit with low level of output. If he increases his output to O then he/she would lose out on the price set by the market mechanisms supply-demand. As a result the monopolist profits ABDE despite the high demand ABCE. The area BCD is the dead-weight loss which the market will bear as a result of the monopoly (Coopers and Lybrand 1996). Thus, in private monopolies do not actually serve the purpose of satisfying the consumer welfare because it involves: - a lower level of output (O compared with O1); A higher price (P compared with P1); Profits in excess of those required to earn a reasonable return (ABDE is monopoly profit or producer surplus); and a reduction in economic welfare; the loss of consumer surplus -resulting from higher prices is ABCE, which is more than the benefit tithe producers in terms of higher profits (ABDE); this net loss, represented by the triangle BCD, is called dead-weight loss.(Coopers and Lybrand 1996) Sometimes the government such as those under the Reagan’s administration induce private monopolies through privatization policies to get the country out of economic recession. However, according to Bauer et al (1995) The impact of a regulatory system depends upon its influence on managerial behaviour. In the United States, where private monopoly suppliers of electricity, gas and water have existed for many years, the regulatory system has led to confusion, litigation and commercial disaster. The regulations control, inter alia, the level of service, environmental considerations, and pricing, much as in Britain. â€Å"As a result private monopolies tend to affect the consumers and do not really satisfy their needs. Not only has this but it been observed that private monopolies run on the basis of rate of returns on private capital. According to Healey(1993) where a ceiling on the rate of return on capital exists, the incentive for management to control costs is reduced, and an incentive exists to extend the capital base through more investment—the so-called Avert-Johnson effect. This effect compromises the consumer welfare and undermines the enterprise objectives of serving the public. Privatization and the promotion of private monopolies therefore are costly as they need regulatory bodies to monitor them. Yet despite this fact policy makers are of the opinion that to increase firms ‘efficiency, privatization is the most feasible process. As a result private monopoly develops. Horton and Ridge (1972) writes about private monopoly as follows: Private monopoly is also more subject to erosion than governmental monopoly. Competition will make itself felt in one way or another whenever the monopoly price is far above the competitive price. There cent stock-market hearings offer a dramatic example. The commission charged on large purchases and sales is clearly exorbitant. As a result, firms executing such orders have been able to get the business only by agreeing to give up part, often a large part, of their commissions to other firms designated by the customers clearly an indirect form of price-cutting. In addition, a third market has developed in which large traders deal directly, bypassing the organized exchanges. A less dramatic but more pervasive example is competition among firms to provide free services to customers in the form of investment information and advice, attractive lounges with tickers, and so on. Erosion of this sort tends to undermine the management of private organizations and eventually lead to inefficiency which has been the objective of the government for inducing it in the first place. According to Hay and Morris (1991) whenever business activities are monopolistic in nature it involves engineering factors. Engineering here refers to the engineering of management processes and operation of social and economic factors within the enterprise. When the monopolist serve the market at a lower unit cost than other competing firms are unable to match the price or the resources upon which the monopolist is operating. As a result the monopolist creates barriers to entries and drive out competition in the industry. Incentives to efficiency under monopoly prove to be weak as it is cheaper for the market to have two suppliers who are also competitors rather than a single producer. Button the other hand for a monopolist, instead of increasing goods quantity and decrease the price, it would be more profitable to use the same resources to produce related products. One example is the case of Microsoft which has used its technology base to create products that are interconnected and at a high price. As a result the consumer is forced to purchase these products because it is convenient for them to use Microsoft products without having technology clashes (Hay and Morris 1991). Not only this but private monopolies largely lie within the domain of the private sector in which the authority and the accountability lies with the shareholders they serve. The government and policy makers only have authority to the extent of governing it through regulations. The monopolists tend to exist for their own profitability and efficiency as long as its resources are allocated for maximization. Ultimately, it is the market and the consumer which is affected. Private monopolies for example tend to drive competition out of the market due to large consumer ba

Teenage pregnancy in Europe

Teenage pregnancy in Europe Compare and contrast how two named health care systems deal with one specific health issues. The aim of this assignment is to choose two countries, and compare and contrast how these two countries deal one specific health issue. One country has to have a good rate of the health issues and the other one has to have a bad rate of the same health issue. The two countries that this assignment chooses to about talk are the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and the health issue that is going to be concentrated on is teenage pregnancy. This assignment will focus on comparing how both countries are tackling teenage pregnancy, the assignment will also talk about the amount of money both countries spend on sex education, also if teenage pregnancy has always been a problem, if both countries raise effective awareness on conceptions and etc, furthermore this essay will discuss about why teenage pregnancy is good in Holland and why the rates of teenage pregnancy keeps on going up in the United Kingdom. Introduction The reason why this topic is being explored is because the United Kingdom always seems to have a high rate in teenage pregnancy in Europe, and in countries like Netherlands teenage pregnancy always seems to be low. Therefore it will be good to compare these two countries and see why one country has a good rate of teenage pregnancy and why the other one has a terrible rate of teenage pregnancy, this can help understand where the united kingdom is going wrong for them to be always having a high rate in teenage pregnancy, and maybe they can see what the Netherlander do to prevent having such high rates of teenage pregnancy. Teenage pregnancy is a contemporary health issue because the cost of teenage pregnancy is shocking. Teenagers who end up getting pregnant are less likely to complete secondary school, they are also less likely to get married, and also they normally end up going on benefits, when their children are born they dont really have a good health, their cognitive development is normally slow, and they always tend to have behavioural problems. Being a teenage parent sometimes comes with its own consequences such experiencing mental health problems, sometimes if the teenage mother is not getting any support from family and friends, they feel isolated and they always tend to find it hard to cope, so they start getting stressed out, having a low self esteem, feeling anxiety and depressed which can lead to mental health. Teenage mothers that end up getting pregnant always tend to come from a lower working class, and living in deprived areas, and they always tend to have their second child quickly, this causes more stress on their well being, because they might be struggling with finance. Main body The United Kingdom has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy across Europe, and whereas the Netherlands have one of the lowest teenage pregnancy rate. The reasons why the Netherland have such a low rate of teenage pregnancy could be because they are more opened to talk about sex with their children then parents and schools in the United Kingdom. The Netherland have a low rate of teenage pregnancy because they do sex education in schools, and parents normally have open talk sex with children, and adverts on televisions on how to prevent getting pregnant. The United Kingdom and the Netherlanders sex education are similar, but there are also differences between the two countries on how and what they teach about sex education. The reason why the Netherlands sex education is more effective than the United Kingdoms one is that, the Netherlander tell there children how to protect themselves from STIs and unwanted pregnancy and how to avoid risky sexual behaviour, and when and how to use contraceptives. Whereas in the United Kingdom instead of teaching teenagers how to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections and how to prevent pregnancy, they promote more on how they should not be having sex. Sex education in the UK is called (PSHE) and in Netherland they call it (CARE). (Hardy, J.B. and Zabin L.S. 1991) believe that sex education is less controversial in the Netherlands, mainly at political level, and there society is more open when it comes to issues about sex, but people sometimes tend to mistake their openness for permissiveness. Studies believe that there is a political opposition to sex education from the smaller Christian parties in Netherlands; Politicians have the tendency to pass the issue over to professional sex educators, whereas in the United Kingdom the politics of sex education have been unfavourable, with major discussions about taking place over legislation passed in 1986, 1988, and 2000. Some politicians and families believe that sex education in schools is too explicit and it promotes homosexuality, and doing sex education in schools causes teenage pregnancy rather than prevent it. This can be argued that having sex education in school does not promote or encourage teenagers to get pregnant, because by having sex education in school, teachers are informing teens how to avoid risky sexual behaviour and they are also teaching them how to use contraceptives correctly, and also by teaching them about sex they will know how to protect themselves, also they will be aware of the consequences of having one or more children at a young age. Teenagers who get pregnant at an early age tend to come from poorer backgrounds and from areas that are high with unemployment rates, daughters of teenager mothers, which always ends up being a vicious circle, and also young people that are in care. Being under age and pregnant cost the British government  £166,000 to raise a child until they reach their 21st birthday. 90 per cent of teenage mothers rely on benefits in order for them to survive. The British public fund course that cost around  £100,000 that allows young teenage mothers as young as 14 to take these courses, this course is about helping them to be writing things up like CV, and teaching them the dangers of smoking whilst pregnant, and by them attending these courses they get paid  £30 a week, and if they finish the 16 week course without missing any lessons they get  £100 bonus. This could be argued that all the money that they are spending on these young mothers to do these courses could go towards trying to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy. The British government are working towards their target of reducing the rate of teenage pregnancy by 2010. Their aim is to make sex education compulsory in all schools both in primary and secondary schools like in Netherlands, and to be going more in details about sex education, this will include teachers talking about contraception and relationship issues. The British government seems to be following the Netherlands footsteps in the way they approach sex education, with openness about sex from a younger age. The reason why the British government wants to follow the Netherlands approach is because the Dutch children get taught about relationships from an early age, so they get comfortable as time goes by with talking about sex and contraception, so by the time that they are ready to be having sexual intercourse with the opposite they will know how to use contraception in order to avoid pregnancy and STIs, and this will have a good impact on the country, because they will be a low rate of teenage pregnancy, so if the British government following these approaches, it could work for them also by having a low rate of teenage pregnancy across Europe. Although this kind of approach could be argue that it is encouraging young people to have sex, but statistics in Netherlands stated that there are fewer teenage pregnancies and the age that most young people in Netherland first have sex is higher than in most other developed countries. Another way the British government is trying to tackle with teenage pregnancy is adverting young people to be responsible about sex and contraception on televisions, radios, internets and billboards. These kinds of promotions can be a good thing, because some young people might feel comfortable to be talking about sex amongst their peers, and these advertisements may even encourage some teenagers to talk about sex issues with their parents. Even though some people might argue that advertising sex and contraception will not solve teenage pregnancy, but it can be argued that it will not make the situation any worse, and these advertisements could be a break through towards teenage pregnancy, because some young people might think about their actions and use contraception more sensibly, because they have a knowledge of what the consequences are of not using contraception can lead to. As we already know the United Kingdom has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy across Europe. Figures have shown that during 1996 there were 44,000 that gave birth below the age of 20, which signified around 7 per cent of all births in Britain. The birth rate was 29.8 per 1000 women aged 15 to 19 years, compare with 65.5 per 1000 for women aged 20-24 years. This could be argued That in order to reduce such figures government should concentrate more on sex education in schools. Teenage pregnancy in Britain is usually identified as a problem for society, According to (Peckham, S.1993) stated that reports of medical, financial and social problems for mothers and children following teenage pregnancy, is linked with sex and education, and suggest how they should both be improved. teenage pregnancy rates in the Netherlands have always being low due to the high quality, explicit and early sex education in both primary and secondary schools. (Dr Loon 2003) believes that sex education in the Netherlands starts at younger age then The UK, its also more explicit, he also stated that the Netherlands are more Independent than the United Kingdom and parents and the government in the Netherlands have more power over what is being taught at school and also their Influence of church helps a lot. This can be argued that there is a huge difference in A way both countries approach sex education overall. The awareness of teenage pregnancy is more effective in the Netherlands, than the United Kingdom, because they start talking to children about sex at the age of 11, parents talk to the children about as well, so from a young age they know about sex, and they know what they consequences are of having sex are, and even if they are ready to be having sexual intercourse they know how to protect themselves from getting pregnant and STIs because they have being teaching them how to use contraception from schools, parents and media. Whereas the message is not really effective in the United Kingdom, even though the kind of messages that both countries is kind of similar, but one is more out there than the other, that why works more. The UK provide the correct information about the risks associated with sexual activity the also talk about contraception and birth control, and how to avoid Intercourse, they also focus on reducing specific risky behaviours. They dont really promote safe sex on televisions as much as the Netherlands does, or start sex education at an early age. But recently the UK has started advertising safe sex on televisions and radios. Research have shown that about 93 per of young people in the Netherlands use contraception, whereas in the UK 53 per cent of young people use contraception. This could be because in Netherland they give out the message more about safe sex in schools, homes, and media than in Britain. Studies shown that teenagers in both countries found that boys and girls in the Netherlands gave love to each other, as one of the main reasons of losing their virginity, and boys in the UK do it because they are getting peer pressure. Teenagers in the Netherlands are obviously doing it for the right reason and they are having sexual intercourse they probably feel they are ready, but they are being responsible by taking the percussions needed, because adults like teachers and parents have being telling them about safe sex from an early age, and they understand the consequences of what will happen if they dont take the right percussions needed. And some teenagers in Britain dont know or understand the consequences of safe sex, because they dont talk about sex at home, and at school the message that they send the most in sex education is dont have sex, and obliviously by telling young people not to have sex, they are more likely to do it, so its better off telling them what percussions to take when they feel like they need to starts having sexual intercourse with opposite sex. Conclusion In conclusion this essay has found out why The United Kingdom has a bad rate of teenage pregnancy and why the Netherlands have a good rate of teenage pregnancy. They reason why the UK has a bad rate of teenage pregnancy, its because they dont really talk about sex and contraction, you see they dont feel comfortable talking to their children and student about sex and contraception, so in order for them not to talk about it they just tell the young people not to have sex, instead of telling them about it and how to use contractions and where to go and get it from. They just promote by telling them they are not allow to have sex, whereas in the Netherlands they are more open about telling their children about sex and contraception, and also there children are taught sex education at an early age, unlike in the United Kingdom. The UK is working towards halving the teenage pregnancy rate by 2010, by following the approaches that the Netherlands use, by starting sex education at an early age, obliviously at age that they feel is right for the children, talking about sex and using contraception more, than promoting young people not to be having sex, also promoting using contraceptions on television, radios, internet, and on billboards. By doing is it can eventually make a change towards teenage pregnancy rate in the United Kingdom. Word Count 2, 464