Relationships Between Parents and Children

For Law and Order I have finally reached old age and have seen others go before me. But, are these my golden years, my retirement years? No! I have paid my dues, but do I have peace and quiet that goes with old age? Not at all! I asked for help with my grandson before he was 16 years old. He needed counseling then and he still needs counseling. I visited the school psychologist here in Lindenhurst. Her answer to me was: †It's your fault, he should have his own room, to think, to be alone if he wants. ‘ My grandson took a baseball bat to my living room furniture and broke many good pieces. Every wall in this three-room room apartment has holes, either big holes or holes from Chinese stars. I went to Family Court in Hauppauge for help. †Your honor, I just want two or three months. I can't deal with cancer and this child, too. † He told me it was my problem. †Your honor, this child needs counseling. † My problem again. His law guardian at this time informed my grandson that he had all the rights. He didn't have to go to school, work or have counseling. He didn't have to do anything he didn't want to do because he would be taken care of until 21 years old. It was my duty to supply food, clothing, shelter, pay medical bills. No control, but I must pay. I went to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital for a complete hysterectomy. When I came home I was alone. I had no one to help me and I was weak. My grandson put another big hole in the wall. I called head of probation for help. He told me to leave my apartment. Here I was holding my abdomen, in a bathrobe and cold winter outside. Where was I to go? This is my apartment. I pay all the bills. He told me to leave the apartment to my grandson and when my grandson could not pay the rent, the landlord would put him out. I asked, †What about all my possessions that I worked for all my life? † He told me, †Leave! † It is almost two years later and I still hurt in my abdomen from when I screamed that day at my grandson for putting that big hole in the wall. I have called the police at least four times. It is all a big joke. More teeth have to be put into the laws concerning these children. From that patronizing school psychologist, to the indifferent judge trying to save the state money, to the misogynist head of probation, to the police who keep throwing the ball around and not writing the truth on their report to the Police Department. All are getting good salaries but not really doing the job well that they are getting paid to do. My daughter died, my husband died and I, the old woman, compelled by law to take care of this child, now still a child in an 18-year-old man's body weighing 250 pounds. The law has to change from 16 to 18 years old. Children should not be given authority to do as they please in the parent's home. Law and order is missing because no one cares This article shows how the relationship between children and parents can turn out due to differences or not giving the freedom to children. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet as an awkward relationship with her mother and they don’t agree on the same things. This article relates because it shows how some people who don’t get along with their parents can get emancipated meaning there parents are legally not allowed to look after their children and providing daily necessities . Reference

Cognitive Psychology Definition Paper Essay

Cognitive psychology is the study of mental processes surrounding learning, memory, perception, and thought. Though it is still a relatively new formal branch of psychology, its roots extend back to Descartes who sought a way to explain how the mind worked, proposing the analogy of a â€Å"hydraulic system of nerve function† (Willingham, 2007, p. 26) after he observed animated statues in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. It has been the restless pursuit of not only the idea of how the mind works but also what exactly constituted the mind that eventually led to the foundations of cognitive theory. As psychologists examined how mental processes produced behavior, it was evident a different approach would be needed. Cognitive psychology developed primarily from the inability of the behaviorist approach to fully explain every form of behavior. While there were many things that drove its development, there were four main milestones in the development of cognitive psychology: the inadequacies of behaviorism, the information processing model and computer metaphor, artificial intelligence, and neuroscience. Each of these four milestones contributed significantly to the search for a better model and the development of the cognitive approach, which we have today. Behaviorism had many shortfalls with its primary one being that it excluded the effect of genetics entirely. It only accounted for what had been learned through reward and punishment only. Questions were raised and answers were missing when examining the question through the lens of behaviorism only. One area where ethologists observed discrepancies were in fixed-action patterns and critical periods in animals. Fixed-action patterns were behaviors that received little to no reward or punishment in which the animals engaged in and critical period referred to a specific period of time in which if a behavior has not been learned, it may never be able to be learned. Another area in which behaviorism could not provide consistent answers was in language acquisition. Behaviorism posited that language was learned or imitated as modeled b y someone else. However, there were points that the behaviorist perspective did not address. First, learning cannot account for  the rapid rate children acquire language. Second, there are an infinite number of sentences and all cannot be learned by imitation. Next, children consistently make errors in things like verb tense. Since adults usually use correct form, this would not be learned by imitation. And last, children acquire their language skills even if adults do not correct their syntax (Language and Cognition, 2013). These points show there must be other explanations such as innate language skills to further explain the acquisition of language. These points seemed best explained by the cognitive perspective using theories, such as innate language centers. The second milestone, the information processing model, was very influential in moving closer to a cognitive approach through the computer metaphor. There were many attempts to find a way to explain how the mind worked, including a switchboard and solenoids but these did not fully explain how the mental processes (Willingham, 2007). In the computer analogy, the brain was likened to the hardware of a computer and thought processes were likened to computer software. The ‘mind is like a computer’ draws the connection between the input we receive from our environment to the mental processes that leads to the output of behavior. This analogy was revolutionary in the way psychologists studied the mine and led to the information processing model. With this model, psychologists began to ask questions about and use the scientific method to look at how the mind processed input resulting in behavior, instead of only the behavior itself. Artificial intelligence was the third milestone and is defined as â€Å"the ability of a computer or other machine to perform those activities that are normally thought to require intelligence† (Artificial intelligence, n.d.). In the 1950s, an artificial intelligence program was developed by Allen Newell and Herb Simon that proved theorems in formal logic using abstract constructs and representations. This A.I. program demonstrated sophisticated â€Å"behavior†, it solved problems similarly to h ow humans solved them, and it used abstract constructs (Willingham, 2007). Through the artificial intelligence, it became apparent to researchers that the human mind processed information much like a computer, using representations and processes and this approach could help give deeper insight into the processes of the mind and the resulting behavior. The last main milestone, neuroscience, is â€Å"a branch (as neurophysiology) of science that deals with the anatomy, physiology,  biochemistry, or molecular biology of nerves and nervous tissue and especially their relation to behavior and learning† (m-w.com, n.d.). The focus is on the brain and its impact on behavior as well as normal cognitive functions and the impact on the nervous system resulting from neurological, psychological, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Neuroscience began to show a clear connection between behavior and specific structures of the brain. This connection revealed the biological side of behavior that could not be ignored. Studying behavior from this aspect allows a clear p icture of a how disorders affect the brain itself initiating behavior and can be compared to normal behavior to gain greater perspective. Observation of an individual’s behavior is important as it is an indicator and reflective of what is transpiring within the mental processes. The whole of an individual’s behavior is found neither by observation only or an examination of one’s thoughts only, but a combination of the two. The observance of behavior affords cognitive psychologists the ability to test and evaluate theories about behaviors and the hypotheses developed from them. Self-reporting can present errors that can be confirmed or rejected through the use of behavioral observation tested using empirical means. Additionally, cognitive psychologists cannot personally observe and measure internal mental processes but in utilizing behavioral observation, the cognitive psychologist can arrive at logical conclusions of the existence of the behavior based on the observation of the behavior. In using the accepted standard of behavioral procedures, cognitive psychologists are able to examine the cogniti ve processes thought to be the source without inferring unproven causes (Zentall, 2002). This removes much of the subjectivity that initially made the cognitive perspective suspect. Cognitive psychology developed the framework to test theories and further explain behavior using behavioral observation. Using the scientific method, the theory predicts the behavior to be expected if the said theory is provable. There are several steps to take in order to this. First, develop alternative theories by having at least two possibilities to select from when testing the hypothesis. Second, derive specific predictions for each theory by providing a bridge between the observable and unobservable in order to accurately confirm or disprove. And lastly, the compilation of sufficient data by which to compare the theories to validate both the methods and the  results. Research methods that are employed using behavioral observation to test cognitive theories are descriptive research, relational research, and experimental research. Descriptive research consists of naturalistic observatio n, case studies, and self-reporting, all of which are describing a behavior as found in the world (Willingham, 2007, p. 43). Relational research is much like its name in that it is observing two or more behaviors and discerning how they are related. Experimental research is testing what has been observed and determining if the theory can be confirmed or disproved using the scientific method. Using verifiable research methods, for example, there are an â€Å"increasing number of cognitive models of anxiety disorders that seek to provide a complex integrative view of their underlying cognitive processes and structures† (Eysenk, 2004). The study of cognitive psychology has been a critical step toward understanding how behavior develops. It has opened the doors to increased research that is measureable and theories that could be empirically tested to confirm or disprove cognitive theories. This has granted us numerous insights into the connections between the brain and behavior and continues to be a source of learning. Additionally, it has had positive impacts on behavioral treatments as shown by Eysenk, â€Å"some of the theoretical and empirical contributions emerging from the cognitive approach have direct implications for therapeutic interventions† (Eysenk, 2004). In the end, the ability to form and research theories has brought these two fields of behaviorism and cognitive perspective together through an understanding of the connection between observable behavior and mental processes. It has paved the way for artificial intelligence, which is used in almost every discipline, and neuroscience and promises to continue to improve treatments and shed light on behavior.

Unit 2 module Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Unit 2 module - Assignment Example The opposite is true in the case of unfavorable variance, where the amount set aside in the budget is less than the actual expenses to get met. For this case, the organization will experience budget deficit, and some items in the budget will get forgone or postponed unless borrowing or further funding get undertaken by the firm. c) Some variances are usually nil or zero. This arises from the accurate budget estimation done by the organization. Favorable and unfavorable variances often result from an organization’s lack of the exact projection or rather forecasting on the accrual expense in its various variables, both patient and non-patient revenues. Other also arises from an organization’s failure to give the estimate on the exact value of the expenses, both personal and non-personal, and the income over or under expenses. d) The possible primary cause of favorable variance is the organizations overestimation on the actual price of the particular variable. It can also arise as fall in the future price or cost of the particular variable, such that relatively the budgeted value is higher than the real value. As a result of this, the estimated value exceeds the actual value leading to a positive difference, which, in this case, is the favorable variance. The possible primary cause of unfavorable variance is underestimation of the real future price of the particular variable, for example, net salaries and wages. The other possible cause is the increase in the future price or cost of the particular variable, such that the budgeted value is relatively lesser than the actual value. For these two cases, the amount set aside for the budget ends up getting lower than the real value of the variable, hence a negative difference, which results in unfavorable variances. e) Positive variances are always favorable. This

Research Report Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Report - Research Paper Example Misdemeanors are petty crimes and felonies are crimes of a more serious nature like the murder in question. 3. The litigants in this case were the people or rather the state against the accused person who in this case is Michael Seaton. When it comes to criminal cases, any offender, the person who commits the crime that is, is considered to have harmed not only the victims of his offence but the entire population of that state through his actions. This explains why criminal cases do not depend on the victims or complainants to bring the case to court for the trial to begin. However, this is not to say that the victims/complainants are of no importance to these trials because they are, through their testimonies in court. The court prosecutors are charged with the duty of defending the interests of the people/state in criminal cases. The court prosecutors initiate the criminal proceeding, but they need the complainants help to give evidence of the accused persons guilt. No court will convict a man without evidence of his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In this case Britni Glover, the littl e boy’s mother was one of the witnesses testifying against Michael to prove his guilt. 4. In all criminal cases, the burden of proof is the task of the prosecution. The term burden of proof simply means the duty or liability of a party to prove their claim or allegation against another party. An accused person is considered innocent until proven guilty. On one hand, since the prosecution - representing the public - brought the case to court they have to be the ones to prove Michael’s guilt. This is where victims of crime or rather complainants in other words like Britni Glover come in to help prosecution prove his guilt. On the other hand, Michael’s duty, was to prove his innocence if he felt the need to. This was optional for him since he could have chosen to let the case take its own cause. 5. With criminal cases if the prosecution, bearing the

Advances in Wireless Network Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Advances in Wireless Network - Essay Example People have now mobile with most of the functions that were never thought when wireless technologies emerged. The basic functions of voice and text communications are considered as the basic functions that early mobiles phones had, but the most modern mobile phones (also known as smart phones) are equipped with Wifi communication, Bluetooth communication, near field communication (NFC) and data communication systems along with basic systems. 1. 802.11n Wireless connections are always determined by the radio mode the communication system is utilizing. The mode of radio signal described by the 802.11n access point provides support for 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11a, 802.11n receptors. The wireless signal can be sent to a number of users at the same time. The 802.11n is capable of supporting and operating at two different frequencies to support to different clients with different operating frequencies. An Access Point of 5GHz is designed 5GHz and an Access Pint of 2.4 GHz is designed to prov ide communication to the clients, whom are operating at 2.4GHz (Juniper.net, 2009). The channel band width of the 802.11n is 40MHz. The technology is assumed to be much compatible with the device, as the functions promised by the marketing will remain incomplete without the use of 802.11n (Wewetzer, C. et al., 2012). As, the ‘HyperSlim PX’ has to provide with all possible wireless types of communication, the 802.11n will be the best suited communication. From the engineering perspective the communication type requires software to run that can be corrupt by the influence of other types of wireless communications’ software installed in the HyperSlim PX. The most important perspective is to couple the existing software with some auto backup system to avoid loss of important data in case of any software malfunction. The HyperSlim PX should be made in metallic body to provide a sink for the heat generated during the operation of the 802.11n. As, the access point of 80 2.11n utilized in the HyperSlim PX will convert some amount of energy into heat, the HyperSlim PX will consume much amount of energy to provide enough power for the communication system to work in a proper manner. There are less or no problems regarding the security of the data while utilizing the 802.11n. The maximum transmission rate remains as high as 270 Mbps, which is fairly a higher speed for the communication modal. On the other hand the enhancement in the range of the device will keep the user connected while in motion in a building or a factory building. Protection The Specification that are utilized in the set protocols 802.11n ensures that the communication modal do not report interference to any of the device nearby and do not allow the interference of the any other communication to distort the communication of through the 802.11n. It protection strategy also ensures that it is interfere or accept the interference of any other access points or any legacy stations. On the other hand, users have the right to turn on and off the security feature that are defiantly installed in the 802.11n communication modal. By considering these safety and protection features, the 802.11n is much feasible in the HuperSlim-PX. The performance of the device remains the same in the both the condition, with the full fledged protection and with no protection. The protection strategies of the device have low impact on the device capability of the high speed connection and transmission. 2. Bluetooth 4.0 Bluetooth is a communication type

OPERATIONS STRATEGY AND MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

OPERATIONS STRATEGY AND MANAGEMENT - Essay Example McDonalds has a huge supply chain network spread globally and the company puts lots of concentration over its supply chain as it is in the food division so maintenance of the quality of the food items and protecting them from getting damaged. The diagram showing the complete supply chain network of the company is been given below (Bass, 2010, pp. 89-96). The flow of information and also the flow of the materials give a clear indication in as to how important the supply chain is for the company. The company uses various transport medium like for transporting the materials which are perishable are been transported using cold vans which has freezer facilities which helps the company to maintain the quality of the item (Manos and Vincent, 2012, pp. 65-68). Company has looked to get local suppliers for supply of vegetables which can be availed in the fresh way. It has distributors in the supply chain in every city where all the raw materials come from the various suppliers of vegetables, breads, meats, milk items etc. From these distributors the materials are been supplied to the various outlets and restaurants using cold vans and trucks. The time limit for every supply of raw materials is 3 days, that is after every 3 days new stock of raw materials are been supplied to the stores and the maximum stock been maintained in the stores are only for 3 days which helps the company to keep the freshness of the product as a result of which the quality of the food item is been maintained in a good way (Wireman, 2004, pp. 113-115). McDonalds looks to maintain a good relation with the suppliers by providing them good facilities and good knowledge regarding good maintenance of the animals and also gives information to the vegetable suppliers regarding the various methods used for maintaining the quality and freshness of the vegetables. The company ma intains a simple policy of one material-one supplier to give the suppliers under control and

Tourism and Hospitality Promotion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tourism and Hospitality Promotion - Essay Example Easyjet follows certain value systems for the purpose of objective setting strategy. This includes designing and maintaining the highest safety standards for its customers, breaking the shackles of traditional methods of thinking and find innovative ways and means to attract new customers, providing services that transcend the expectations of the travelers, converting newer customers into long term customers by providing customer satisfaction and best service possible, focusing on a double-digit growth rate in future years, enhancing capacity utilization, reducing fixed cost, providing the highest quality resorts thereby helping the customers to gain the best experience possible which will in turn bring profits. (About easyJet, n.d.) PEST Analysis of Easy Jet: Political-legal factors: The Political legal factors affecting the Easyjet include the political unrest and war signal in the Middle East. The Air Miles scheme is not recognized by the government as taxable perk in the same way s as tax is levied on company cars, which may help the Easyjet to contend on the same base with that of British Airlines. Engagement with the EU market gives them the widest network access. Economic factors: Increasing fuel costs, legal and environmental regulations and possibility of higher security along with insurance costs increases the risk for terrorism. Globalization helps the traffic to grow in longer term, the introduction of a single currency helps in boosting the business with the whole of Europe getting integrated. Socio-cultural factors: General reluctance in using credit cards seems to be the concern for attracting French and German travelers. Customers being more comfortable with cheaper flights get angry when they have to pay a premium to actual cost for a particular time of flying. Technological issues: The major issue is how much the application of Internet has synergized the cost and distribution resulted from integration of the industry causing reduction in the u pward rise in price. (Geiger, Schlottke & Schrade 2009) Porter’s model: Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Only two suppliers Airbus and Boeing provide aircrafts and face stiff competition. This helps the Easyjet to buy aircrafts at cheaper price. However the switching cost to another supplier is also very high. Bargaining power of customers: The price bargaining power of the customers is very high for Easyjet. With so many other LCCs in the market it becomes important for Easyjet to provide economical price to retain customers. Threat of New Entrants: There is a huge capital investment required upfront in the airline industry. Moreover higher efficiency is required to maintain sustainability. Moreover with so much air carriers, the introduction of a new one creates high competition facilitating price war. Threat of Substitutes: The main objective for Low cost Airlines includes faster and cheaper travel. Moreover the whole of Europe is connected with well-networked extensive trai n system, which provides transportation at a cheaper cost. So there is a definite threat for Easy jet in this regard. Rivalry among competitors: Easy jet faces huge competition among its competitors, as there is an intense competition to maintain cheaper airfare and providing better customer services. (Geiger, Schlottke & Schrade, 2009, pp. 2-4) SWOT Analysis: SWOT Team (2007) Strength: The overall cost-leadership model, the

Managing the Safety Function and Psychology and Safety Essay

Managing the Safety Function and Psychology and Safety - Essay Example In terms of directing, safety practitioners do not lead organizations directly but need financial and staff support to implement their safety decisions (Lecture Notes). Finally, some safety directors do have authority to hire staff and, if that is the case, safety officers must ensure legal and regulatory compliance and develop explicit job descriptions (Lecture Notes). The benefits and limitations of safety incentive programs have been described in abundance. Basically, positive feedback and rewards are claimed to reinforce safe behaviors and, consequentially, enhance safety performance in the workplace (Goodrum & Gangwar 24). Simultaneously, safety incentive programs may not provide long-term safety improvements. The fact is that the relationship between incentives and safety behaviors is misleading: as soon as these programs end, the quality of safety behaviors falls below original levels (Goodrum & Gangwar 24). Finally, safety incentive programs often become an object of serious concern, as they drive underreporting of incidents: employees do not report safety incidents and failures in order to qualify for rewards (Goodrum & Gangwar 24). Unfortunately some people prefer to hide the fact of failure in order not to spoil their own reputation. At the same time they do not think about harm that such underreporting may cause. Such cases cause a lot of problems for many modern organizations. Underreporting of incidents is dangerous practice that sometimes leads to undesired results: some unreported incidents may create danger for employees who concealed the fact and their colleges. So, safety managers must take this fact into account while creating safety incentive programs in order to prevent case in which underreporting of incidents take place. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a common instrument of management and safety management

Should Taxpayer's Continue To Fund Welfare and Do Illegal Immigrants Research Paper

Should Taxpayer's Continue To Fund Welfare and Do Illegal Immigrants Contribute To The Welfare State - Research Paper Example The bottom line of all of this is that every group has strong points and arguments that are valid to differing degrees. But discounting a massive revolution that restructures the government completely and re-imagines a new set of core American values, the welfare system should be at very least left intact, and at best vastly restructured and better funded. It is better for American society overall, and more in line with fundamental American values, to continue to fund the welfare state. To understand the welfare state in America one must first understand a little bit about its history. Unlike Europe, patronizing liberal-democracy thinking and Christian fundamentals played little role in developing the welfare system in the United States (Trattner 5). Instead, the welfare system in the United States has always been developed, cut or expanded depending on economic circumstances. It was born out of the Great Depression as part of the New Deal Program (Trattner 7). The basic premise at t his time was that there were massive numbers of people who were willing to work, but far too few jobs available even after the expansion of federal work programs. President Roosevelt essentially either had the choice of instituting a welfare system or letting people starve (Tratter 102). The Great Society period of the 1960s saw welfare expand so that someone who was neither infirm, young nor elderly could get enough to live on through welfare payments from the US government (Lawrence and Strakey 19). The last major change in welfare occurred during the booming economy of the 1990s under Bill Clinton. In this first massive cut of the welfare state, which saw welfare return to the states rather than the federal government, and become a smaller and more temporary program than it had been in the past. At the time of record-low unemployment, booming compensation and a robust economy under Clinton, it seemed inconceivable that anyone who wanted to work would be unable to in the long term , so it seemed that the only people on welfare were people unwilling to work, so the cuts seemed justified. This change has been lauded as one of the best in the history of welfare in the United States, because poverty levels dropped substantially and welfare rolls decreased along with this change (78). The problem, however, is that the decrease in poverty was largely a function of a robust and booming economy, not the changes in welfare law. Though the economic affairs of the US have shifted drastically in the last decade, the welfare system instituted by the Clinton administration in 1996 is essentially the same one in operation now. Welfare obviously has a long history in the United States, but this does not explain the arguments for keeping or further funding welfare. There are two main sets of arguments, ideological and some practical. The first ideological argument comes from some of the founding documents of the United States. The Declaration of Independence argues that †Å"all men are created equal.† The problem, however, is that this is self-evidently not true. Some people are born with a brain that is incapable of accomplishing many tasks whereas others are born geniuses who can unlock the mysteries of science and technology. This fundamental problem has been explained away by saying that this passage means that everyone should have equality of opportunity

Exponential Decay of a Transition Metal Complex Ion Lab Report

Exponential Decay of a Transition Metal Complex Ion - Lab Report Example It has shown that the rate of alpha, beta, and electron capture decays all depend on temperature and whether they are placed in an insulating or a conducting material. Thats exciting because it raises the possibility of treating radioactive waste products. But it also raises a problem for particle physicists whose entire standard model assumes that decay rates cannot be influenced by external factors. The two are unrelated, so no there is no relationship between the two properties. I dont think temperature has anything to do with the nucleonic states, only the kinetic energy of the electrons in a solid. So temperature should have no effect on half life. In fact, temperature and chemical changes have no effect on the decay of nuclides. The only way to change the half life is to move it at relativistic speeds and then it becomes a matter of which reference frame you measure it in. In fact for the frame at rest with the nuclide there is no change in half life at relativistic

Creative Writing Essay Example for Free

Creative Writing Essay The seven habits described in Stephen R. Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, are life-altering improvements that require hard work and commitment to change oneself from within. The book has been considered a milestone in the genre of self-help books. First published in 1989, it has been assisting many people since. The first habit, ‘Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Vision,’ is the foundation, the beginning steps towards effectiveness. The whole point that Covey emphasizes on is that; the manner in which two types of people react, which is similar to the difference between day and night. These people are proactive and reactive; the former focuses on values, the latter on feeling. Nevertheless, proactive people can be said as void of much feelings and emotions. This outlook can be seen as a potential disadvantage to those who seek to bring a change in themselves. Proactive people see love as a verb, not feeling and interactivity is their best tool; a little more than unnerving for many people. The reason for this is that we depend wholly on ourselves alone or on others alone; never believing in interaction. Proactive people consider the ‘I can be’ of themselves whilst, reactive people concentrate on the ‘If I have’ in life. The author says that if we think any problem as being ‘out there’ then that though is the problem. Yet, the author thinks it is innocuous to guide people by motivating them but disregards the thinking process. Pro-activity then, is not much different from reactivity, the strong point of the animal world, if we do not think over what we are about to do (Orsini, 1996). It seems that Covey’s actual point here is self-control which comes foremost when we aim to be morally uncorrupt. Covey has used his own terminology to describe various phrases in the book. For instance, the phrase: inside-out approach in various situations in life. It says that the change from within is more prominent and permanent than a mere change from outside (Weber, 2009). Character sprouts from our attitude and the way we behave; changing it will be the progress. His ‘principles of personal vision’ doesn’t really relate to each other. There is a different concept under every heading in this habit. Every human being has its own set of responsibilities; this idea arouses feelings of uncertainty. It is so very easy to abandon our responsibilities in the name of others’ weaknesses. We cannot accept the fact that everything we do in our life is our decision; even when we are forced. Another aspect of this is that, we ourselves have to take initiatives and provide ourselves with opportunities. It isn’t right if someone keep saying, ‘If I could only be more slim and lean,’ and does nothing about it. If outside authorities mold our choices, we cannot be held answerable for our actions, this defines determinism. Covey defines this as a phenomenon that puts the blame on others. The theory is that we will act in the way that we are trained to do so; by our genetics, psyche or our environment. All in all, the phenomenon doesn’t help in the 21st century because people don’t care anymore if they are socially acceptable. Since the start of this century, we have succeeded in steering clear out of the grasp of so-called conditioning and determinism. Nevertheless, many people do not recognize the amazing ability of our mind to choose the way to respond to a stimulus. Only our body can be reined in but not our mind. We have the incredible power to imagine, of an independent will and self-awareness. To be self-aware is like to be able to see yourself from afar; to assess yourself and the way your mind works. This ability is unique in humans. On the other hand, the philosophy of free will is not accepted by several people. Outside influences only affects those people who let them affect them. When we acquire the skill to create circumstances, we also gain the power to empower them. Just as there was a woman who helped her boss overcome his weakness by compensating her own talents; this made her more trustworthy. It isn’t sufficed to say that, we have no control over the events that takes place in our lives. If the character is built up to concentrate otherwise, then the theory isn’t acceptable to the psyche. The reality is that deep down inside we have a conscience which is always making us aware of what is right and wrong; and yet we can choose to ignore it or be aware of it and do something required to be done. Then it only becomes a question of utilizing it and a choice to be either kind or cruel. At times humans can burry it as deep inside as if it isn’t there at all. The author’s discussion about the Circle of Concern and the Circle of Influence is not very convincing. It is hard for a person to follow the concept and its advantages. It acknowledges the fact, that people usually focus their energy and efforts worrying about futile concerns. There are some incidents which we can only be concerned about and others, which we can successfully mold into a result that we require. We can, directly or indirectly, control some situations in life. This is secondary to our Circle of Influence. It says that we can choose our actions, but not the consequences that come with the actions that we chose. Hence, our actions cannot guarantee that we will not fall. Then the author describes this habit further by saying that, we should accept our mistakes and correct them. In addition, we should also be aware that we cannot undo them, so regret is a pointless exercise. Between both these points is the fact that we can still commit mistakes. The book talks about making and keeping commitments; which we can do so if we start small and grow bigger. Essentially, we will be developing habits by keeping our commitments and achieving goals. A bit far fetched logic, but reasonably sought out. From our language to our response towards people, all things determine our character and the level of our proactive or reactive behavior. No one can hurt us without our permission; we can decide that we are not going to be affected by certain events in our life. The day we accept that we are the ones responsible, that’s the day we truly begin to see ourselves. This habit ultimately aims to build up our character. Deciding to be somebody driven by values, not by having things is a lesson; in accepting the consequences of our actions and eventually keeping our commitments. References Covey, S. R. (2003). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon Schuster. Orsini, J. (1996). The Stephen Covey Phenomenon—An Evangelization Opportunity. Retrieved June 19, 2009 from http://www. ewtn. com/library/BUSINESS/COVEY. HTM Weber. edu. (2009). Establishing Your Sense of Direction. Retrieved June 19, 2009 from http://faculty. weber. edu/molpin/healthclasses/1110/coveystuff. htm

Public School And Home School Education System: Malaysia

Public School And Home School Education System: Malaysia Education is important without any doubt. Education system in Malaysia can be separate into normal public school and home school system. In 1957, the Razak Report indicated that Malay language is the main medium of instruction . (Kusuma et al. 2001, pg 6) The English and Chinese school which accepted the government offer will become normal public school. (Kusuma et al. 2001, pg 5)In nineteenth century, there were only average families have the chance to home school. (A short history of home education ,2005)The term of public school is they do not need to pay for the tuition fee. (Definition of a school-content, 2010) Educate children instead of school is the definition of home school.(Ross, M 2008)The syllabus used in normal public school is KBRSM ,while the syllabus used in home school is IGSE O-level and A-level.(Kusuma et al. 2001,pg 17; Tan,BC 2011)Nowadays, home schooling become more well known ,the debate about home school better or normal school better is being discussed vigor ously .Different education system may produced different characteristic of students. Therefore, the aim of this investigation is to evaluate the normal public school system and home school system. Normal public school is producing better students than home school The advantages of normal public school One of the main advantages of normal public is the student is able to live in community. Public school provide large amount of opportunity to students, from a great deal of group project to team sports. (Advantages of Public schools, n.d.) According to the majority of survey respondents, public school students are typically capable to live in community. There are ninety two percent of respondent indicated that students in normal public school are able to live in community, as shown in figure 1. (Personal survey 2011) Figure 1 Other advantages are normal public school students gain a diverse social education. (Kusuma et al. 2001,pg 38) Normal public school provide variety of students that comes from different socioeconomic classes and background. Normal public school students has the chances to meet it and solving different point of view and understand people with various backgrounds and values. (Education Bug n.d.) In addition, there are wider extracurricular provided by the normal public school. Normal public school frequently offer a series of sports to a range of clubs and other opportunity. Normal public school mostly have the facilities such as swimming pool or purchase equipment ,such as laboratory equipment. Therefore, more curriculum are available in normal public school. (Education Bug n.d.) Moreover, student in normal public school is guarantee to have a teacher with teaching certificate. Public schoolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s teacher is required to have a bachelorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s degree and must pass in the Malaysian qualifications agencyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s exam (MQA). (Kusuma et al. 2001,pg 67) The disadvantages of home school The drawback of home school is the additional financial burden. The textbooks are usually expensive, the parents need to pay a premium price for it.(Pros and Cons of Homeschooling, 2008) Besides that, the curriculum needed is costly .The parents are require to spent on field trips, computer software, and materials for project. (Disadvantages of Home Schooling, 2002) Another disadvantage of home school is the teachers or parents are not qualified to teach all the subject. The teachers or parents may not have a degree in education. Moreover, parents are oblige to dedicate and tolerant to their child. (Negative effects of homeschooling, 2008) Furthermore, home school students will have the problem in social interaction. Home school students are less chances to interact and socialize. (Pros and Cons of Homeschooling, 2008)Home school students are at a disadvantage, because they do not have the opportunities to have relationship with their peers. (Disadvantages of Home Schooling, 2002) Responses from the survey indicate that sixty four percent of respondent are agree that home school will produced the student which is poor in social development,as shown in figure 2. (Personal survey 2011) Figure 2 Home school students 4.0 Conclusion Based on this data, one could say that the normal public school system is producing better students compared to home school system. Students in normal public school is learning within a group setting, it give a stage to the students to have the diverse social interaction. Moreover, normal public school is provided varies of curricular activities for the student. However, normal public school could not provide one to one attention to all the students. They could not learn within their own level. Nevertheless, this is provided by home school system. Home school students is lack of social interaction and some parents may not qualified to teach the subject. This is the drawback of home school system. Therefore, normal public school system is still a better education system for producing a better students if the government could reduce the number of student in a class. Abstract This investigation is discussed whether normal public school system or home school system is producing a better students. A variety of primary and secondary research were used including a survey, an internet source, book source to provide the evidence to support the conclusions. The major of findings indicate that the public school system is producing a better student. The public school students are able to learn within a group setting, and has diverse social interaction with peers. Moreover, there are varies of curricular activities provided in public school. The disadvantages of home school are usually more expensive and the parents may not qualified to teach the subject. It is also harder to provide social interaction. The benefit of home school is small to teacher ratio and the students able to learn within their level. While the drawback of public school is high student to teacher ratio and scheduled learning. Quality of a student will be affected by the education system. A good education system will produce a better student. The report concludes that it is important for everyone to know the definition of home school and public school, the pros and cons of public school and home school.

Arguments For And Against National Minimum Wage

Arguments For And Against National Minimum Wage Supply of labour is elastic and can be moved across the region at the same wage. When minimum wage goes down firms can recruit more labour but as seen in below chart when its go up, it move from E1 to E2. That means at the set new minimum wage firms can only afford E2 number of labours. In UK, demand of skilled labour and supply of skilled labour does not reach equilibrium. Skilled labour from European Countries has been migrated in the UK to fill the gap in between. Over the past couple of decades migrated skilled labours supply increased which result in unemployment. Source: LPC estimates based on ASHE with supplementary information, low-pay weights, UK, April 2006 To get the skilled workforce in action, government has to decide a minimum wage at which they are happy to migrate and work in the UK. As UK is short of skilled labour, government decided fair minimum wage rate which keeps changes every year and increased by some percentages, to get the skilled labour motivated and provide them with the good intensives. Source: http://www.guidance-research.org/future-trends/logistics/info/printAll?lang=en, 25th September 2010 If demand of labour is relatively inelastic as per the above diagram then reduction in employment is less than if demand for labour in terms of employers is elasticity in accordance with the changes in wage level. NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE In UK national minimum wage set  £ 3.60 in 1999. This law has been aim to remove poverty in long term as a result of that we can see from a graph below, constant growth in the National Minimum Wage. Source: http://www.poverty.org.uk/01/index.shtml, 22nd September 2010 ARGUMENTS FOR THE NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE Arguments in favour of National Minimum Wage suggest that it may have a more ambiguous effect on employment. Dolado et al (1996) Social Arguments: Government Evidence suggests that the minimum wage has had a small positive impact on public sector finances. Which means more jobs, result in increase employment in various parts like full time, part time and self employed. As it has positive impact on public sector more jobs in full time and part time can be seen in the below table. Source: http://www.guidance-research.org/future-trends/education/printAll?lang=en, 25th September 2010 If the firm is paying National Minimum Wage then it has an incentive to raise productivity of employees. This result in investment rise in personnel. Social injustice and unequal pay distribution among the society is the key reason of the poverty, in order to equally divide income across the society. As income increases, the government gets more income tax and national insurance so that it can spend it for its expenditures. The better trained are the workforce, the higher the reward for everyone. Economic Arguments: To 1.5 million jobs benefited in October 2001 through increase in NMW which as a result increase the aggregate wage bill by upto 0.11%. The following year nearly 1 million people in fewer jobs are benefited. Actually the solid increase in 2001 is supported by small increase in previous year 2000 and another small increase in following year 2002. Over 90,000 jobs secured by 18-21 year olds in October 2001 and labour market is slightly relieve in following couple of years. Below chart shows % of jobs paying at or below national minimum wage and size of the firm. Source: LPC estimates based on ASHE with supplementary information, low-pay weights, UK, April 2006 ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE Arguments against the National Minimum Wage rely on a neoclassical framework. Card Krueger (1995) Social Arguments: For certain industries, increase in National Minimum Wage NMW means increase in marginal cost so they try to redundant employees and cut the hours of existing employees which results in increase number of unemployed. The higher the national minimum wage is marginal cost for hiring new employee considerably more. Another issue is Pay-leap frogging, mean expert workers in the field command higher wages in order to maintain the difference between their wages and national minimum wage. Cost of living varies from region to region, for example renting 3 bedroom house in London wont cost you same as renting it in outside London. And NMW is set the same across the UK. So cost of living in London is higher and still they are getting paid similar NMW as other parts of the country. In the time of recession company go for recruiting experienced workers rather than recruiting fresher, because fresher requires training and firms try to cut such costs by recruiting experienced workers. Majority firms subject to particular region and if the employees are not happy with their wages then they just move on. According to the economist, High benefits and low pay leads to a culture where people manipulate the system and stay on benefits. As minimum wage increase by  £0.13, many forms choose to have office in the UK and set up manufacturing plant in some other country like Bangladesh or import directly from china. The minimum wage is still less than one can get through the benefits. Everything ends with the consumer and he doesnt have anything to spend then everyone is going in loss. Millions of potential jobs dont exist because of government rules which also includes minimum wage. Get rid of majority of them and as a result, firms start hiring people like anything and the problem of unemployment would go away. Minimum wage is equal for everyone, which means unskilled labour worth of  £2.00 an hour must be paid  £5.93, same as the skilled labour who are worth it. There was a famous example a few months ago in the US. A teacher was complaining about being paid too little but emphasized that she was a teacher for the children and not for the wage. Well, you cant have it both ways. Either you do it for the love of it, or you do it for the wage. When you know the wage is low, you can always choose a different career. Economic Arguments: In 2004, 520 companies were surveyed which shows result that the NMW increase has considerable effect in terms of costs and the most harm done in large firms such as 5 hours cut a week, it means 40 hours full time employee has to work 35 hours a week. As per new minimum wage, working 37.5 hours a week gets you  £11563.50/ year which is after Tax and NI receivable around  £9903.02, which is not good enough to live a standard life. CONCLUSION After discussing arguments in favour and against the national minimum wage, from the social point of view increase in NMW is necessary; for living fairly standard life. The life style here in London and in Bangladesh cannot be compared because the market is totally different here. Thats from the societys point of view but from the business point of view; it is investment in people at the end of the day which motivates labour and increasing the productivity which helps firms to earn more profit. With this conclusion I am in favour of increase in the national minimum wage. REFERENCES: BOOKS Bazen, S. (2000), the impact of regulation of low wages on inequality and Labour market adjustment Lloyd, C., Mason, G., Mayhew, K. (2008) Low wage work in the UK Russell Sage Foundation Manning, A. (2003), Monopsony in Motion Blais, A., Cousineau, J. and McRoberts, K (1989) The determinants of Minimum wage rates, Public Choice Boeri, t. and Burda, M. (2009), Preferences for Collective vs. Individualized Wage Setting, The Economic Journal, forthcoming. Silbermann, J. and Durden, G. (1976) Determinining Legislative Preferences On the Minimum Wage: An Economic Approach, Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 84(2), pp. 217-229. ONLINE http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/06/the-impact-of-national-minimum-wage-on-uk-labor-market-and-uk-economy.html, 20th September 2010 http://www.suffolkobservatory.info/sda_pdf/workforcedeprivation.asp, 21st September 2010 http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/audio/2010/oct/01/focus-podcast-minimum-wage-audio, 21st September 2010 http://www.lowpayunit.org.uk/minwage/campaign.shtml, 22nd September 2010 http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/budgeting/minimum-wage.htm/printable, 22nd September 2010 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6211250.stm?lsm, 23rd September 2010 http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=174645page=3, 23rd September 2010 PART B TREND EXTRAPOLATION Extrapolation can be defined as to conclude the future from the past history, assuming that the technological change is in steady stream and will continue now. Statistical Cure Fitting As name suggests, this method using statistics data for forecasting, such as Indianapolis 500 mile race data as per shown in the below graph: The beginning of the World War 1 Indy race cars have exponentially increased to get pole positions. In the graph above, two technological innovations and ideas are shown quite clearly in the data. One of them cars out of the two was a rear-engine car. The first car of this sort appeared firstly in 1961. The qualifying speeds for Indy race cars were about 150mph which a hard target to achieve. In 1964 a rear-engine car won a pole position for the first time attaining close to 159mph. Limit Analysis All growth has some kind of limitation whether it is recognised or unrecognised. Sooner or later, projections must replicate the improvements that may even get close to the limit but mustnt exceed the limit. The trend of lower temperature is inadequate, of course by an absolute zero. For example, a movement of growing energy conversion efficiency cant exceed to 100%. The trend is presented in the below chart: The trend line looks and analysis aspects of the larger field of development. The trend line attempts to extend the boundaries of the data points beyond their regions in the timeframe. For Example is recently US and China relation, which looks in curve graph like below: Source: http://www.sublimeoblivion.com/2010/08/18/underestimating-china/, 25th September 2010 Some common types of trend: Constant trends  are those where there is no net increase or decrease. Polynomial trends  are those best modeled by a polynomial equation. They may be second-order (quadratic) equations of the formy  =  ax2  +  bx  +  c, resulting in a parabolic shape: Consensus Methods The method is a set of values for significant familys abilities to pay for colleges. From last couple of years, trend line shows decrease in variance in need analysis. The participating corporation believe that the agreed opinion approach, when applied in a consistent manner, serves to decrease or reduce the indifferent results that threaten the long-lasting tradition of awarding help on the basis of need. The desire and the need to serve for the greater good, rather than serve individual academic or institutional needs and capabilities have required some areas to be compromised, but 568 Group strongly believes, the consequential methodology remains true to both the institutional and professional principles and aspects that underlies its co-operative efforts. For example, student wish to study in university, university go through the savings through the applicants family. Lets say the university fee per year is  £30,000 and familys income per year is  £ 50,000. In which parents have to sign the statement that they are going to fund for their childs accommodation, fees, travel and other required expenses. Family need to demonstrate their household expenditure to show that they can spare  £ 30,000 each year plus other expenses comes through the education loan or scholarship from university. In total of all have to be reached  £30,000 a year plus other expenses like travel. Through simple diagram below I can understand consensus method better way.

Music Television: Modern Phenomenon or Passing Fad? Essay -- Media Mus

Music Television: Modern Phenomenon or Passing Fad?    Dr. Pitton’s Comments: This student was asked in this essay to write about the causes of a modern phenomena. In active prose, she did an excellent job both of detailing the popularity of music television in today's society and offering a variety of creative and innovative reasons for this effect.    MTV promotes a romanticized teen lifestyle, reflecting the images of famous artists that differ with the realities of the â€Å"Generation X† lifestyle. While some view the station as â€Å"illustrated radio† or an entertainment network for viewers’ pleasure, others more accurately consider it as an advertising enterprise that endorses products and promotes attitudes (O’Neil 12). Whether or not MTV critics agree with these â€Å"messages† that, the network sends out, it has become a huge franchise generating large profits and great popularity. MTV’s entertainment, commercialism, and messages satisfy and influence many types of viewers, giving us, the viewing audience, a better understanding of the immense popularity of Music Television (MTV). As the entertainment mogul, MTV jumpstarted careers and dictated nearly every move in pop-culture. Its â€Å"children† range from Madonna to Britney Spears. With 1988’s â€Å"Yo! MTV Raps,† it brought hip-hop into the mainstream; with 1992’s â€Å"The Real World,† it laid the groundwork for reality television. By the mid-80’s, as group of competitors enticed MTV’s young audience, the network reinvented itself. The anchor in 1987 was the pop-trivia show â€Å"Remote Control.† Even with all the shows that have stemmed out of MTV, their music videos are still a major priority. Commercialism is as showing too much regard for pro... ...ie Allen says, â€Å"MTV made us look at the sound of music† (83). Works Cited Allen, Bonnie. â€Å"The 1980’s.† Essence Dec. 1989: 82-84 Daspin, Eileen. â€Å"Davis Horowitz: I Want My MTV† Management Review Oct.1985: 19-20. Denisoff, R. Serge. Inside MTV. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1989. Dupler, Steven. â€Å"New MTV Prez: No Big Changes Planned At Channel.† Billboard 27 May 1989: 55. Hamerlinck, John. â€Å"MTV and Morality.† The Humanist Jan./Feb. 1995: 43. Hedegaard, Erik. â€Å"New MTV Channel Aims For Older Audience.† Rolling Stone 11 Oct. 1984: 38. Newman, Melinda. â€Å"MTV Spreads The News.† Billboard 18 Feb. 1989: 55. ---. â€Å"MTV Taking A Harder Look At Vids?† Billboard 18 Nov. 1989: 1. Smith, Glenn. â€Å"MTV Parlors.’ Popular in Taiwan.† Billboard 16Sep. 1989: 63. â€Å"Viacom Buys MTV.† Fortune 30 Sep. 1985:10-11.

The Country of Liberia :: Africa Profile Geography Anthropology Essays

The Country of Liberia This paper is about a small country on the west coast of Africa called Liberia. It is a country built with the help of The American Colonization Society. It was established to place freed blacks in the days of slavery in the United States in the 1800s. The government was modeled after the United States. Monrovia, the capital and principal, port is named after a president of the united states, James Monroe. This country has historical significance for african Americans. As Africa's oldest republic, established by former black American slaves, Liberia played and important role as a model for African colones seeking independence. HISTORY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Liberia's tribal peoples migrated to the area between the 12th and 16th centuries. The Portuguese arrived in 1461 and began a trade in ivory, pepper, and later in slaves. In 1820, the first colonists arrived. Their successful settlement was named Monrovia in 1824. More colonists gradually arrived and established separate colonies. In 1847 the colonies united and Liberia became the first independent republic in black Africa.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The new nation faced many problems. Some of them were tribal wars, low exports, and land claimed by other countries. Liberia was able to maintain its independence only with the help of the United States. Following World War II, the modern port, airport, hospitals, hydroelectric station, and other projects, all financed by the United States, were opened. There has been frequent military conflicts and civil wars. In August 1990, forces from several African countries entered Liberia to try and stop the bloody civil wars. The fighting only became worse and the Prospects of a negotiated settlement were dim. LAND AND RESOURCES   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Liberia's straight sandy coast is 350 miles long. It is broken by lagoons and mangrove swamps. It gives way to a low rolling plain about 20 miles wide. Further inland, foothills ranging in height from 600 to 1000 feet high are found. They become mountains in the north and east. The highest point in the country is Mt. Wutuvi which rises to 4,531 feet. Land area of the country is 43,000 square miles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Liberia's rivers are short and flow parallel to one another from the mountains to the ocean. The largest rivers are the St. Paul, St. John, and Cavalla.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Liberia's tropical climate is hot and humid. The usual temperature ranges from 60 degrees to 87 degrees. Annual rainfall, as much as 177 inches at the coast, gradually decreases inland to 96 inches. The rainy season occurs between May and October. A dusty winter wind blows during December.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are 90 different kind of usable wood in Liberia's vast timber resources. Mineral resources include large deposits of iron ore, diamonds, and

An Analysis on the Similarities and Differences in Raymond Carvers“A S

In Raymond Carver's 'The Bath' and rewritten version of the story entitled 'A Small, Good Thing', the author tells the same tale in different ways, and to different ends, creating variegated experiences for the reader. Both stories have the same central plot and a majority of details remain the same, but the effects that the stories have upon the reader is significantly different. The greatest character difference is found in the role of the Baker, and his interaction with the other characters. The sparse details, language and sentence structure of 'The Bath' provide a sharp contrast emotionally and artistically to 'A Small Good Thing'. In many ways, 'The Bath' proves to have a more emotional impact because of all that it doesn't say; it's sparse, minimalist storytelling gives the impression of numbed shock and muted reactions. The descriptive storytelling of 'A Small Good Thing' goes deeper into the development of the characters and although it tells more story, it ends on a note of hopefulness, instead of fear or desperation. Each story has it's own magic that weave it's a powerful. When compared to each other the true masterpiece of each story is best revealed. Both stories open with the same happy task; a mother is choosing a birthday cake for her son, Scotty. In 'The Bath' we are given details of appearance of the cake and a detailed description of the baker, but no real insight into the inner thoughts of the characters. In 'A Small Good Thing' we are treated to the mother's thoughts on the baker and her reflection on what commonalities they may have. She finds herself disliking the baker, â€Å"He made her feel uncomfortable, and she didn't like that...She gave up trying to make friends with him† (Carver ) In each versi... ... words, and they had better be the right ones, with the punctuation in the right places.† n each of these stories, Carver makes those words take reader to the same scene twice and end up in a new place each time. He is a master wordsmith and the uniqueness that is 'The Bath' and 'A Small Good Thing' is a masterpiece. Works Cited Carver, Raymond. "A Small Good Thing, by Raymond Carver." University at Buffalo- Wings Central Campus Web Server. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. . Carver, Raymond. "Carversite: Raymond Carver Quotations (on Reading, Writing and Rewriting)." Carversite: Raymond Carver. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. . Carver, Raymond. "The Bath." Writer's Presence: a Pool of Readings. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. 919-25. Print.

Purchasing and Supply Organization Department

I contacted a consultant for Mansell Ltd. and a great deal of information was gathered and analyzed. The following advice would be given for ways of improving their purchasing and supply organization. Currently, Mansell Ltd. Operates from six sites and has a central purchasing and stock control department in the North of England. Upon an analysis of the company, it has been found that orders for production materials have been placed with over 6000 different companies during the last four years. There are many benefits to be gained from buying from a smaller number of suppliers. The purchasing and supply department would be better organized and thus more efficient if less supply companies were used. Purchasing supplies from fewer companies would result in better pricing of supplies. For example, if the company purchased the same items from several different companies, it is probably getting charged more. Purchasing the same item from only one company will result in savings for the number of items bought because many companies give a discount for large quantities of items purchased. When using the same companies for purchasing, a rapport between the two is possible. When a supplier knows that his/her products will be needed by a certain company, he/she will be more likely to have those products more readily available. For example, if the seller knows that the buyer needs a thousand items each week, the seller will make sure that those items are in stock and will save them for the purchaser instead of selling them to another company. The more sellers, the more confusion there will be. Even with computer technology, having so many sellers presents a logistical problem. A purchasing and supply organization should follow certain business fundamentals. Low cost, quality, and timeless are fundamental to the business. Planning is required. Buying from fewer companies results in fewer persons to deal with. Six thousand suppliers are a large number to be dealing with. Those are far too many suppliers involved. Keeping up with that great a number of suppliers would keep several people in the purchasing department busy. In order to become more efficient and use fewer numbers of man-hours, using fewer suppliers is the answer. Diversity is good in some instances. However, the purchasing and supply organization is not one of them. In fact, diversity only caused unnecessary confusion, and too many chances for problems. Purchasing is one of the vital parts of any company. The products acquired enable the business to create or generate its product. There are a diverse number of potential suppliers, as evidenced by the 6,000 suppliers that have been utilized in the past. This number makes purchasing a chore instead of an easy adventure. The purchasing department needs as few challenges as possible. Eliminating a number of suppliers cuts down on the challenge they pose. With insight into the management of the purchasing and supply department's inner workings, many of the sellers can be eliminated. It would not be prudent to reduce the number to a handful of suppliers, what with the market what it is, but there is certainly no need for a great number of suppliers. Purchasers and buyers have a specific function. â€Å"Purchasers and buyers seek to obtain the highest quality merchandise at the lowest possible purchase cost for their employers. (In general, purchasers buy goods and services for the use of their company or organization whereas buyers buy items for resale.) They determine which commodities or services are best, choose the suppliers of the product or service, negotiate the lowest price, and award contracts that ensure the correct amount of the product or service is received at the appropriate time. In order to accomplish these tasks successfully, purchasers and buyers study sales records and inventory levels of current stock, identify foreign and domestic suppliers, and keep abreast of changes affecting both the supply of and demand for products and materials for which they are responsible† (Anonymous, 1998, PG). The way to reduce the number of suppliers would be as follows. An analysis of past purchases is required. Decide which companies have the best products for the lowest price. This is not the only factor to consider, however. Other issues, such as ability to get the product to Mansell Ltd. in a timely fashion is also important. Lower prices do not matter if the product does not get there when it is According to Steele and Court (1996), the understanding of purchasing is critical to a company's long-term ability to profit, and its survival as a company. Understanding of purchasing includes the knowledge of how best to buy resources. This includes the sellers from whom the product is purchased as well as the amount of supplies that are purchased and when they are purchased (Steele & Court, 1996). Check out the competition. Ask for samples. Make sure that the seller can deliver when he/she says he/she will, the amount of product that was agreed upon, and at or below the agreed upon cost. Proper training for the purchasing staff is vital. Regular meetings must be held. All purchasers must know the guidelines of the company. Training programs that teach the purchasers about the best manner in which to perform their jobs is important. A typical training program should include instruction by trained personnel that covers specified goals and only lasts for a day or two. Not a great deal of time should be taken up with training, but the training is vital. The proper changes must be implemented as soon as it is possible. Negotiation with potential suppliers is important. Having a good rapport between the buyer and the seller is also important. The buyer should travel to the prospective seller's company and see what the company has to offer. One-on-one meetings are still important. By getting out there and getting to know the seller, the buyer will become more than a faceless person in the North of England. He/she becomes a ‘real' person. Making acquaintances is important for business. A bond should be created between the buyer and the seller. Together the two can have a working relationship that is beneficial to the both of them. According to Killen and Kamauff (1995), purchasing is a planning process. The purchaser should determine both short and long-term needs for business operation. The purchasing function must be controlled. By doing this, its conformance to expectation levels can be ensured. Evaluations are important on a cyclic basis (Killen; Kamauff, 1995). The buyer should be able to negotiate with the seller. Prospective sellers should be able to give better prices for larger quantities. This allows the purchaser to make better decisions. The seller should be able to meet the needs of the buyer. If he/she does not, then that is not the company to deal with. The buyer does not need added stress; he/she needs products as they are required. When a seller is given the lion's share of purchases, he/she can more readily fill the orders. A purchaser must have certain tactics. Those tactics include such items as vulnerability management, supply positioning, and suppliers' preferences. He/she must be able to work with others. Communication is vital for the purchaser. Teamwork is a necessary element of purchasing. Constant reevaluation is necessary (Steele & Court, 1996). According to Malley (1998), the Internet is a viable tool for purchasing departments. Barbara Chilson is the vice president and general manager of Internet commerce for her company, which is W. W. Grainger. In Chilson's opinion, â€Å"the advent of purchasing supplies electronically, increasingly referred to as paperless purchasing, can be attributed to a variety of factors and emerging technology† (Malley, 1998). Purchasing is vital to Mansell Ltd. The purchasing department must streamline and make changes in order to make Mansell Ltd. be as profitable as possible. Having too many suppliers results in chaos. This can be resolved by reducing the number of suppliers. Technology is another important consideration. Purchasing of some items can be done online, which saves time and money.

Critical Criminology

CHAPTER 1 CRIME THEORY: CRITICAL CRIMINOLOGY There could be different reasons of increasing crimes. One of the obvious reasons is poverty and social injustice. Most of the people engaged in crime either don’t have proper source of income or they are socially discriminated. So the main reason of crime is poverty and social injustice. Most of the places with high poverty and social injustice have high crime rate (Jerry, 1995). The most important policy implications that would be most successful in reducing crime and/or rehabilitating convicted offenders in long term are critical criminology theories. In critical criminology crimes are defined in terms of domination. That is if some class or group is dominant than they can make social concept lawful and unlawful. Lower class, single parent women, poor people and minorities mainly suffer due to domination factor by others (Hopkin, 2001). 1. 1 Broad Problem Area: â€Å"Importance of Critical Criminology in Reducing Crimes† Justice system around the world is not strong enough to reduce crimes. So we need alternative approach through which criminals can become useful and productive member of the society. It’s not easy to completely change justice system but it’s not difficult to make criminals better citizens as well. Critical criminology is an effective way to reduce social injustice and crimes. Concept of critical criminology came in late sixties and early seventies. It mainly deals with the dominative and differential relation between different groups on the basis of demographic factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, minorities, cultures, values and social groups. This culture and social diversity was created due to migrations and human nature. Social indifferences are another form of injustice. It’s important to support these peoples who are being discriminated (Bauman and Tester, 2001). According to Wikipedia Encyclopedia, in critical criminology the scope of crimes is defined differently on the basis of social circumstances and time period of their occurrence. Critical criminology is somewhat different from basic study of criminology that deals with criminals and their behaviors. The basic idea of critical criminology is that the social and past trends would define whether some thing is unlawful or not at given time. There could be different things that are considered to be unlawful in past but now they are lawful and same goes with those things which are lawful in past but now they are unlawful. Such as marriage of homosexuals was considered to be unlawful in past but now with the passage of time societies are accepting this and making laws to protect marriages of homosexuals. This is not possible that all the studies on crimes are dealing with modern social life but they are some way connected to the present (Garland, 1999). There could be different theories that could emerges from critical criminology such as conflict theories, feminist theories, & postmodern and peacemaking theories. A conflict theory of criminology is not accepted largely by criminologist because they think conflict theories don’t address the criminal activities in socialist and capitalist societies. Feminist theories define that crime done by males and crimes done by females should be viewed differently. They give new aspect to criminology on the basis of gender. Critical criminologists have different views and way of resolving crimes. These two theories are mainly recognized around the world. Main emphasis is given to relation between criminals and societies. Even feminist criminologists don’t properly represent gender prospective and take back their views after failure of other criminologists (Van, 1997). There is a difference between critical criminology and conventional criminology. Conventional criminology is not dealing with activities which are affecting life of thousands of people such as politicians’ decisions that could affect millions of people, corporate scandals that affected thousands of workers, stock market manipulations that affected thousand of investors and also discriminations of minorities that have no end. Conventional laws do not answer these structural disparities that helps dominate group to take advantage of it. Conventional criminology is dealing with state defined crimes but not the crimes that are harming society ocially (Stephen, 1983). Criminologists working to find ways to resolve or to reduce crimes are not able to identify or not able to provide any authentic procedures to resolve crimes (Braithwaite, 1998). And also they didn’t even give importance to issues or difference created due to power and state (Cunneen and White 1996). This is still a claim that critical craniologist are more inclined towards gaining some pos ition and recognition rather than actually doing some thing for society to protect human rights and to promote justice in society. Since 1960, activists in human rights and social justice are molding progress in critical criminology theory. There is a relation between criminologists and social & human right moments (Braithwaite, 1989). Critical criminologist overstates the crime problem in society. Instead of removing the mystery that crimes are not their and its media created etc. they should accept crimes as a dilemma of powerless. They must not criticize criminal system by keeping this fact in mind that it is created by undue protection given to the privileged class. There is a cause effect relationship between crimes and poverty, racism, discrimination, social injustice, racisms etc. Critical criminoloiges must keep this in mind while evaluating crimes. However, critical criminology and traditional criminology should not work in different ways rather they should work together in the same way. (Cohen, 1998). 1. 2 Problem Statement: â€Å"Is Critical thinking is helpful to reduce crimes and able to reduce social injustice from society†. 1. 3 Purpose & Significance of Study The main purpose of this study is to identify the importance of critical criminology in order to reduce crimes. This study will also identify other ways to reduce crimes and their effectiveness. And it will also explain what factors are responsible for crimes. This study will help policy makers and law enforcing agencies to avoid crimes by using proper critical criminology theories. 1. 4 Research Questions The aim of this research is to study, 1) How do people perceive that critical criminology can reduce crimes? 2) How do people perceive the role of critical criminology in order to reduce injustice from society? ) How do people perceive that critical criminology approach is better way to reduce crime rather than conventional criminology approach? 1. 5 Theoretical Diagram In this diagram crimes reduction is dependent variable which depend on critical criminology that is independent variable. Critical Criminology method that properly identify social injustices that could change offend er future behavior towards crime and society support to accept these people as a useful member of society are intervening variable. These variables can assure the effectiveness of counseling treatment to reduce crimes. Independent Variable Dependent Variable Intervening Variable CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY This chapter presents the basic methodology and requirement in research. It includes the methods of research, the respondents and their description, sources of data, the sets of research instruments that were used, the treatment of data, and the statistical tools, which were used in this study. 2. 1 Method of the Study: The research utilized the descriptive method in acquiring information for evaluation and analysis. The descriptive survey was the general rocedure employed in a study that has for its chief purposes the description of the phenomena that is importance of critical criminology theory in reducing crimes from society by providing social injustice. 2. 2 Sample, Type of Questionnaire, & Treatment of Data: The population for this research study was the general public. A random sample of 50 was taken from different places and different groups such as law enforcing agencies, c ommunity, criminologist etc. Researcher selected probability sampling, because every person had an equal chance of being selected. The survey questionnaire seeks the perception of the respondents with respect to factors important for crime reduction. In order to analyze the information given in the questionnaires, Likert scale had been applied in question 1 to question 9. The purpose is to evaluate effectiveness of counseling in crime reduction. 2. 3 Validation of the questionnaire: It was deemed necessary to revalidate the questionnaire to find out the clarity of the questions being asked as well as their relevance to the problems formulated. The validation of the questionnaire was done through the comments and suggestion by respondent. And also validation and reliability of research instrument used to get information that is questionnaire is done by implementing it to different places and same results were extracted from every place. 2. 4 Statistical Tools: Researcher used frequency and percentage distribution to determine the relationships of the variables and give clear and reliable analysis and interpretation of the data. The formula is; % = F/N ? 100 % = percentage F = frequency N = number of respondent CHAPTER 3 QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS, FINDINGS & CONCLUSION 3. 1 Questionnaire Analysis: Respondent responded in the following way: Topic Based on Questionnaire |Highly Disagree | Disagree | Moderately | |Highly Agree | | | | | |Agree | | |Critical criminology is providing support to poor, minority |11% |18% |25% |42% |4% | |and low social class group | | | | | | |Critical criminology theory is important to reduce social |0% |0% |14% |57% |29% | |differences | | | | | | |Main reason of increasing crime rate is soci al injustice |3% |10% |21% |40% |26% | |Critical criminology is playing important role in order to |11% |28% |31% |26% |4% | |highlight social injustices | | | | | | |Critical criminology is different from conventional |29% |36% |19% |10% |6% | |criminology | | | | | | |There is a difference of opinion among critical criminologist |18% |24% |21% |30% |7% | |Critical criminologists are criticizing conventional justice |17% |19% |23% |35% |6% | |system that it supports to powerful class | | | | | | Social movement regarding human rights and social justice is |0% |0% |9% |55% |36% | |supporting critical criminologist | | | | | | |Critical criminologists are working for their recognition |26% |37% |21% |10% |6% | |rather than to support social injustice | | | | | | 3. 2 Findings & Conclusion: On the basis of the questionnaire, most of the respondent responded that critical criminology is providing support to poor, minority and low social class group and critical criminology theory is i mportant to reduce social differences †¢ On the basis of the questionnaire, most of the respondent agreed on a statement that main reason of increasing crime rate is social injustice and critical criminology is playing important role in order to highlight social injustices †¢ On the basis of the questionnaire, most of the respondent responded moderately agreed on a statement that critical criminology is different from conventional criminology and there is a difference of opinion among critical criminologist †¢ On the basis of the questionnaire, most of the respondent responded that critical criminologists are criticizing conventional justice system that it supports to powerful class and social movement regarding human rights and social justice is supporting critical criminologist. In these days societies are giving more focus to crime, victimization, regulation, punishment, with respect to human rights, equity, social justice, well being of the community, and globaliz ation. More activists are taking interest in decreasing discrimination and imbalances in societies. They are trying to gather more people to take action for the betterment of society and this will affect both antiestablishment and establishment criminologies. If model of Mutualism develops with the same pace than critical criminologists have to revise their studies and ways to resolve crimes. They have to establish the relation between antiestablishment and establishment criminologies not for individual but for the society. Now societies are moving from equal rights and equal justice to human rights and social justice due to social movement to protect rights. References: Bauman, Z. , & Tester, K. (2001). Conversations with Zygmunt Bauman. Cambridge: Polity Press. Braithwaite, J. 1989. Crime, Shame and Reintegration. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. Braithwaite, J. 1998. Reducing the Crime Problem: A Not So Dismal Criminology. The New Criminology Revisited, London: Macmillan. Chan, J. 1996. Crime Prevention and the Lure of Relevance. Australian and New Zealand. Journal of Criminology, 27(1): 25-9. Cunneen, C. , and White, R. 1996. Juvenile Justice: An Australian Perspective. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press Garland, D. (1999). The Commonplace and the Catastrophic. Theoretical Criminology, 3(3), pp. 353-64. Hopkins, B. R. (2001). An Introduction to Criminological Theory. Cullompton: Willan pg. 173 Jerry, B. (1995). Crime Control: We the People. Radio broadcasts. North Coast XPress. Stephen, B. 1983. Power & Crime. Van, S. R. (1997). Critical Criminology: Visions from Europe. London: Sage Wikipedia Encyclopedia. Critical Criminology. 2008. Retrieved on 12 July 2008 from http:// en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Critical_criminology QUESTIONNAIRE: RESEARCH PAPER CRIME THEORY: CRITICAL CRIMINOLOGY Direction: Please indicate the degree of importance as perceived by you, by putting a tick mark opposite to each of the number item showing the degree of perception. Scale |Weights | |Highly Disagree |1 | |Disagree |2 | |Moderately |3 | |Agree |4 | |Highly Agree |5 | 1) At what extent do you think critical criminology is providing support to poor, minority and low social class group? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 2) At what extent do you think critical criminology theory is important to reduce so cial differences? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 3) At what extent do you think main reason of increasing crime rate is social injustice? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 4) At what extent do you think critical criminology is playing important role in order to highlight social injustices? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 5) At what extent do you think critical criminology is different from conventional criminology? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 6) At what extent do you think there is a difference of opinion among critical criminologist? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 7) At what extent do you think critical criminologists are criticizing conventional justice system that it supports to powerful class? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 ) At what extent do you think social movement regarding human rights and social justice is supporting critical criminologist? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 9) At what extent do you think critical criminologists are working for their recognition rather than to support social injustice? Highly Disagree Highly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 ———————– Critical Criminology CRIMES REDUCTION Feminist Theory Conflict Theory Postmodern & Peacemaking Theories

Small Business, Innovation, and Public Policy in the Information Technology Industry

New firms have played a major role in fomenting innovation in information technology. A recent study by Greenwood and Jovanovic [1999] provide one dramatic illustration of these trends. These authors show that a group of â€Å"IT upstarts†Ã¢â‚¬â€firms specializing in computer and communications technologies that went public after 1968—now account for over 4% of the total U. S. equity market capitalization. While some of this growth has come at the expense of incumbent information technology firms, the new market value and technological spillovers created by these new businesses appear to be substantial. The role of new firms in the information technology industries has rekindled interest in the relationship between firm characteristics and innovation. Are small businesses more innovative in general? Are high-technology start-ups particularly important? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, how should policymakers seek to encourage these firms? The relationship between innovation and firm characteristics has been one of the most researched topics in the empirical industrial organization literature. To summarize these discussions and draw some implications for policymakers in a few pages is thus a daunting challenge! Consequently, this essay takes a quite selective approach to these issues. First, I very briefly summarize the academic literature on the relationship between firm size and innovation. This work suggests that there appears to be a very weak relationship between firm size, the tendency to undertake R&D, and the effectiveness of research spending. Small businesses, in aggregate, do not appear to be particularly research-intensive or innovative. I then turn to examining one subset of small businesses that do appear to excel at innovation: venture capital-backed start-ups. I highlight some of the venture-backed firms’ contributions. I also discuss why the success of such firms is not accidental. In particular, I highlight the key problems that the financing of small innovative companies pose, as well as some of the key mechanisms that venture investors employ to guide the innovation process. It is not surprising, then, that venture capital investments are concentrated in information technology industries, and that they appear to pur innovation. Finally, I consider one set of policy issues related to small firms and innovation. In particular, I discuss some recent changes in the intellectual property protection system that appear to favor larger firms. I then argue that this may be an area that would reward increased attention by policy-makers interested in helping innovative small businesses in information technology a nd other high-technology industries. 1. Small Business and Innovation A substantial but largely inconclusive literature examines the relationship between firm size and innovation. These studies have been handicapped by the difficulty of measuring innovative inputs and outputs, as well as the challenges of creating a sample that is free of selection biases and other estimation problems. While a detailed review of this literature is beyond the scope of this piece, the interested reader can turn to surveys by Baldwin and Scott [1987] and Cohen and Levin [1989]. Much of the work in this literature has sought to relate measures of innovative discoveries—whether R&D expenditures, patents, inventions, or other measures—to firm size. Initial studies were undertaken using the largest manufacturing firms; more recent works have employed larger samples and more disaggregated data (e. g. , studies employing data on firms’ specific lines of business). Despite the improved methodology of recent studies, the results have remained inconclusive: even when a significant relationship between firm size and innovation has been found, it has had little economic significance. For instance, Cohen, Levin, and Mowery [1987] concluded that a doubling of firm size only increased the ratio of R&D to sales by 0. 2%. One of the relatively few empirical regularities emerging from studies of technological innovation is the critical role played by small firms and new entrants in certain industries. The role of entrants—typically de novo start-ups—in emerging industries was highlighted, for instance, in the pioneering case study-based research of Jewkes, Sawers, and Stillerman [1958]. Acs and Audretsch [1988] examined this question more systematically. They documented that the contribution of small firms to innovation was a function of industry conditions: the contribution was greatest in immature industries which were relatively unconcentrated. These findings suggested that entrepreneurs and small firms often played a key role in observing where new technologies could be applied to meet customer needs, and rapidly introducing products. These patterns are also predicted in several models of technological competition, many of which were reviewed in Reinganum [1989], as well in several analyses in the organizational behavior literature [several were discussed in Henderson, 1993]. The 1990s have seen several dramatic illustrations of these patterns. Two potentially revolutionary areas of technological innovation—biotechnology and the Internet—were pioneered by smaller entrants. Neither established drug companies nor mainframe computer manufacturers were pioneers in developing these technologies. By and large, small firms did not invent the key genetic engineering techniques or Internet protocols. Rather, the bulk of the enabling technologies were developed with Federal funds at academic institutions and research laboratories. It was the small entrants, however, who were the first to seize upon the commercial opportunities. 2. Venture Capital and Innovation One set of small firms, however, appear to have had a disproportionate effect on innovation: those backed by venture capitalists. Venture capital can be defined as equity or equity-linked investments in young, privately held companies, where the investor is a financial intermediary is typically actively as a director, advisor or even manager of the firm. ) While venture capitalists fund only a few hundred of the nearly one million businesses begun in the United States each year, these firms have a disprop ortionate impact on technological innovation. This claim is supported by a variety of evidence. One measure, while crude, is provided by the firms which â€Å"graduate† to the public marketplace. In the past two decades, about one-third of the companies going public (weighted by value) have been backed by venture investors. A second way to assess these claims is to examine which firms have been funded. Venture capitalists, while contributing a relatively modest share of the total financing, provided critical early capital and guidance to many of the new firms in such emerging industries as biotechnology, computer networking, and the Internet. In some cases, these new firms—utilizing the capital, expertise, and contacts provided by their venture capital investors—established themselves as market leaders. In other instances, they were acquired by larger corporations, or entered into licensing arrangements with such concerns. Consider, for instance, the biotechnology industry. Venture capitalists provided only a small fraction of the external financing raised in the industry, and only 450 out of 1500 firms have received venture financing through 1995. These venture-backed firms, however, accounted for over 85% of the patents awarded and drugs approved for marketing. Similarly, venture capitalists have aggressively backed firms in information technology industries, which accounted for 60% of all venture disbursements in 1998. These have included many of the most successful firms in the industry, including Amazon. com, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Intel, and Yahoo. A final way to assess the impact of the venture industry is to consider the impact of venture backed firms. Survey results suggest that these investments have powerful impacts. For instance, a mid-1996 survey by the venture organization Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, and Byers found that the firms that the partnership had financed since its inception in 1971 had created 131,000 jobs, generated $44 billion in annual revenues, and had $84 billion in market capitalization [Peltz, 1996]. While Kleiner, Perkins is one of the most successful venture capital groups, the results are suggestive of the impact of the industry. More systematically, Kortum and Lerner [1998] examining the influence of venture capital on patented inventions in the United States across twenty industries over three decades. They address concerns about causality in several ways, including exploiting a 1979 policy shift that spurred venture capital fundraising. They find that the amount of venture capital activity in an industry significantly increases its rate of patenting. While the ratio of venture capital to R&D has averaged less than 3% in recent years, the estimates suggest that venture capital accounts for about 15% of industrial innovations. They address concerns that these results are an artifact of the use of patent counts by demonstrating similar patterns when other measures of innovation are used in a sample of 530 venture-backed and non-venture-backed firms. Lending particular relevance to an examination of these firms is the tremendous boom in the U. S. venture capital industry in recent years. The pool of venture partnerships has grown ten-fold, from under $4 billion in 1978 to about $75 billion at the end of 1998. Venture capital’s recent growth has outstripped that of almost every class of financial product. It is worth underscoring that the tremendous success of venture-backed firms has not happened by accident. The interactions between venture capitalists and the entrepreneurs that they finance are often complex. They can be understood, however, as a response to the challenges that the financing of emerging growth companies pose. Entrepreneurs rarely have the capital to see their ideas to fruition and must rely on outside financiers. Meanwhile, those who control capital—for instance, pension fund trustees and university overseers—are unlikely to have the time or expertise to invest directly in young or restructuring firms. Some entrepreneurs might turn to other financing sources, such as bank loans or the issuance of public stock, to meet their needs. But because of four key factors, some of the most potentially profitable and exciting firms would be unable to access financing if venture capital did not exist. The first factor, uncertainty, is a measure of the array of potential outcomes for a company or project. The wider the dispersion of potential outcomes, the greater the uncertainty. By their very nature, young companies are associated with significant levels of uncertainty. Uncertainty surrounds whether the research program or new product will succeed. The response of firm’s rivals may also be uncertain. High uncertainty means that investors and entrepreneurs cannot confidently predict what the company will look like in the future. Uncertainty affects the willingness of investors to contribute capital, the desire of suppliers to extend credit, and the decisions of a firm’s managers. If managers are averse to taking risks, it may be difficult to induce them to make the right decisions. Conversely, if entrepreneurs are overoptimistic, then investors want to curtail various actions. Uncertainty also affects the timing of investment. Should an investor contribute all the capital at the beginning, or should he stage the investment through time? Investors need to know how information-gathering activities can address these concerns and when they should be undertaken. The second factor, asymmetric information (or information disparities), is distinct from uncertainty. Because of his day-to-day involvement with the firm, an entrepreneur knows more about his company’s prospects than investors, suppliers, or strategic partners. Various problems develop in settings where asymmetric information is prevalent. For instance, the entrepreneur may take detrimental actions that investors cannot observe: perhaps undertaking a riskier strategy than initially suggested or not working as hard as the investor expects. The entrepreneur might also invest in projects that build up his reputation at the investors’ expense. Asymmetric information can also lead to selection problems. The entrepreneur may exploit the fact that he knows more about the project or his abilities than investors do. Investors may find it difficult to distinguish between competent entrepreneurs and incompetent ones. Without the ability to screen out unacceptable projects and entrepreneurs, investors are unable to make efficient and appropriate decisions. The third factor affecting a firm’s corporate and financial strategy is the nature of its assets. Firms that have tangible assets—e. g. , machines, buildings, land, or physical inventory—may find financing easier to obtain or may be able to obtain more favorable terms. The ability to abscond with the firm’s source of value is more difficult when it relies on physical assets. When the most important assets are intangible, such as trade secrets, raising outside financing from traditional sources may be more challenging. Market conditions also play a key role in determining the difficulty of financing firms. Both the capital and product markets may be subject to substantial variations. The supply of capital from public investors and the price at which this capital is available may vary dramatically. These changes may be a response to regulatory edicts or shifts in investors’ perceptions of future profitability. Similarly, the nature of product markets may vary dramatically, whether due to shifts in the intensity of competition with rivals or in the nature of the customers. If there is exceedingly intense competition or a great deal of uncertainty about the size of the potential market, firms may find it very difficult to raise capital from traditional sources. Venture capitalists have a variety of mechanisms at their disposal to address these changing factors. They will invest in stages, often at increasing valuations. Each refinancing is tied to a re-evaluation of the company and its prospects. In these financings, they will employ complex financing mechanisms, often hybrid securities like convertible preferred equity or convertible debt. These financial structures can potentially screen out overconfident or under-qualified entrepreneurs and reduce the venture capitalists’ risks. They will also shift the mixture of investors from whom a firm acquires capital. Each source—private equity investors, corporations, and the public markets—may be appropriate for a firm at different points in its life. Venture capitalists provide not only introductions to these other sources of capital but certification—a â€Å"stamp of approval† that addresses the concerns of other investors. Finally, once the investment is made, they monitor and work with the entrepreneurs to ensure that the right operational and strategic decisions are made and implemented. 3. Innovation, Small Business, and Public Policy If small firms—or even some subset of small firms—are playing an important role in the innovation process, one policy goal should be to address threats to their future development. This is particularly true of threats that have been created by misguided government policies, however good the intentions of their designers. The area that I believe deserves particular attention relates to the key mechanism for protecting intellectual property, namely patents. The U. S. patent system has undergone a profound shift over the past fifteen years. The strength of patent protection has been dramatically bolstered, and both large and small firms are devoting considerably more effort to seeking patent protection and defending their patents in the courts. Many in the patent community—U. S. Patent and Trademark Office officials, the patent bar, and corporate patent staff—have welcomed these changes. But viewed more broadly, the reforms of the patent system and the consequent growth of patent litigation have created a substantial â€Å"innovation tax† that afflicts some of America's most important and creative small firms. Almost all formal disputes involving issued patents are tried in the Federal judicial system. The initial litigation must be undertaken in a district court. Prior to 1982, appeals of patent cases were heard in the appellate courts of the various circuits. These differed considerably in their interpretation of patent law. Because few appeals of patent cases were heard by the Supreme Court, substantial differences persisted, leading to widespread â€Å"forum shopping† by litigants. In 1982, the U. S. Congress established a centralized appellate court for patent cases, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC). As Robert Merges [1992] observes, While the CAFC was ostensibly formed strictly to unify patent doctrine, it was no doubt hoped by some (and expected by others) that the new court would make subtle alterations in the doctrinal fabric, with an eye to enhancing the patent system. To judge by results, that is exactly what happened. The CAFC's rulings have been more â€Å"pro-patent† than the previous courts. For instance, the circuit courts had affirmed 62% of district court findings of patent infringement in the three decades prior to the creation of the CAFC, while the CAFC in its first eight years affirmed 90% of such decisions [Koenig, 1980; Harmon, 1991]. The strengthening of patent law has not gone unnoticed by corporations. Over the past decade, patents awarded to U. S. corporations have increased by 50%. Furthermore, the willingness of firms to litigate patents has increased considerably. The number of patent suits instituted in the Federal courts has increased from 795 in 1981 to 1553 in 1993; adversarial proceedings within the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office have increased from 246 in 1980 to 684 in 1992 [Administrative Office, various years; U. S. Department of Commerce, various years]. My recent analysis of litigation by firms based in Middlesex County, Massachusetts suggests that six intellectual property-related suits are filed for every one hundred patent awards to corporations. These suits lead to significant expenditures by firms. Based on historical costs, I estimate that patent litigation begun in 1991 will lead to total legal expenditures (in 1991 dollars) of over $1 billion, a substantial amount relative to the $3. billion spent by U. S. firms on basic research in 1991. [These findings are summarized in Lerner, 1995. ] Litigation also leads to substantial indirect costs. The discovery process is likely to require the alleged infringer to produce extensive documentation, time-consuming depositions from employees, and may generate unfavorable publicity. Its officers and directors may also be held i ndividually liable. As firms have realized the value of their patent positions, they have begun reviewing their stockpiles of issued patents. Several companies, including Texas Instruments, Intel, Wang Laboratories, and Digital Equipment, have established groups that approach rivals to demand royalties on old patent awards. In many cases, they have been successful in extracting license agreements and/or past royalties. For instance, Texas Instruments is estimated to have netted $257 million in 1991 from patent licenses and settlements resulting from their general counsel's aggressive enforcement policy [Rosen, 1992]. Particularly striking, practitioner accounts suggest, has been the growth of litigation–and threats of litigation–between large and small firms. This trend is disturbing. While litigation is clearly a necessary mechanism to defend property rights, the proliferation of such suits may be leading to transfers of financial resources from some of the youngest and most innovative firms to more established, better capitalized concerns. Even if the target firm feels that it does not infringe, it may choose to settle rather than fight. It either may be unable to raise the capital to finance a protracted court battle, or else may believe that the publicity associated with the litigation will depress the valuation of its equity. In addition, these small firms may reduce or alter their investment in R. For instance, a 1990 survey of 376 firms found that the time and expense of intellectual property litigation was a major factor in the decision to pursue an innovation for almost twice as many firms with under 500 employees than for larger businesses [Koen, 1990]. These claims are also supported by my study [1995] of the patenting behavior of new biotechnology firms that have different litigation costs. I showed that firms with high litigation costs are less likely to patent in subclasses with many other awards, particularly those of firms with low litigation costs. These effects have been particularly pernicious in emerging industries. Chronically strained for resources, USPTO officials are unlikely to assign many patent examiners to emerging technologies in advance of a wave of applications. As patent applications begin flowing in, the USPTO frequently finds the retention of the few examiners skilled in the new technologies difficult. Companies are likely to hire away all but the least able examiners. These examiners are valuable not only for their knowledge of the USPTO examination procedure in the new technology, but also for their understanding of what other patent applications are in process but not awarded. (U. S. patent applications are held confidential until time of award. ) Many of the examinations in emerging technologies are as a result performed under severe time pressures by inexperienced examiners. Consequently, awards of patents in several critical new technologies have been delayed and highly inconsistent. These ambiguities have created ample opportunities for firms that seek to aggressively litigate their patent awards. The clearest examples of this problem are the biotechnology and software industries. In the latter industry, examples abound where inexperienced examiners have granted patents on technologies that were widely diffused but not previously patented [see, for instance, the many examples chronicled in Aharonian, 1999]. It might be asked why policy-makers have not addressed the deleterious effects of patent policy changes. The difficulties that Federal officials have faced in reforming the patent system are perhaps best illustrated by the efforts to simplify one of the most arcane aspects of our patent system, the â€Å"first-to-invent† policy. With the exception of the Philippines and Jordan, all other nations award patents to firms that are the first to file for patent protection. The U. S. , however, has clung to the first-to-invent system. In the U. S. , a patent will be awarded to the party who can demonstrate (through laboratory notebooks and other evidence) that he was the initial discoverer of a new invention, even if he did not file for patent protection until after others did (within certain limits). A frequently invoked argument for the first-to-invent system is that this provides protection for small inventors, who may take longer to translate a discovery into a completed patent application. While this argument is initially compelling, the reality is quite different. Disputes over priority of invention are resolved through a proceeding before the USPTO's Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences known as an interference. The Board will hold a hearing to determine which inventor first made the discovery. The interference process has been characterized as â€Å"an archaic procedure, replete with traps for the unwary† [Calvert, 1980]. These interferences consume a considerable amount of resources: the adjudication of the average interference is estimated to cost over one hundred thousand dollars [Kingston, 1992]. Yet in recent years, in only about 55 cases annually has the party that was second-to-file been determined to have been the first-to-invent [Calvert and Sofocleous, 1992]. Thus, the U. S. persists in this complex, costly, and idiosyncratic system in order to reverse the priority of 0. 3% of the patent applications filed each year. But this system has proved very resistant to change. At least since 1967, proposals have been unsuccessfully offered to shift the U. S. to a first-to-file system. As recently as January 1994, USPTO Commissioner Bruce Lehman was forced to withdraw such a proposal. While the voices raised in protest over his initiative—as those opposing e arlier reform attempts—were led by advocates for small inventors, it is difficult not to conclude that the greatest beneficiary from the first-to-file system is the small subset of the patent bar that specializes in interference law. It may be thought puzzling that independent inventors, who are generally unable to afford costly litigation, have been so active in supporting the retention of â€Å"first-to-invest. † A frequently voiced complaint is that small inventors take longer to prepare patent applications, and hence would lose out to better-financed rivals, in a â€Å"first-to-file† world. This argument appears to be specious for several reasons. First, economically important discoveries are typically the subject of patent filings in a number of countries. Thus, there is already an enormous pressure to file quickly. Second, the recent reforms of the U. S. system have created a new provisional patent application, which is much simpler to file than a full-fledged application. Finally, as former Commissioner Lehman notes, many most vocal independent inventors opposing patent reform are â€Å"weekend hobbyists . . . [rather than representatives of] knowledge-based industries† [Chartrand, 1995]. As this case study suggests, the failure of Federal reform efforts is due to several factors. First, the issues are complex, and sometimes difficult to understand. Simplistic claims frequently cloud these discussions. For instance, because firms use patents to protect innovations, it is frequently argued that a stronger patent system will lead to more innovation. Second, the people with the greatest economic stake in retaining a litigious and complex patent system—the patent bar—have proven to be a very powerful lobby. The efforts of the highly specialized interference bar to retain â€Å"first to invent† is a prime example. Finally, the top executives of technology-intensive firms have not mounted an effective campaign around these issues. The reason may be that the companies who are most adversely affected are small, capital-constrained firms who do not have time for major lobbying efforts. Thus, an important policy concern is that we avoid taking steps in the name of increasing competitiveness that actually interfere with the workings of innovative small businesses. The 1982 reform of the patent litigation process appears to have had exactly this sort of unintended consequence. References Zoltan J. Acs and David B. Audretsch, â€Å"Innovation in Large and Small Firms: An Empirical Analysis,† American Economic Review, 78 (1988), pp. 78-690. 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