Ecological Debt Repaid through Awareness and Commitment Essay

At this age of technological advancements, where people are more likely inclined with the latest technical and industrial innovations, the most modern gadgets, the cyber world itself, the group believes that a public service message posted to social-networking sites, like Facebook, would reach out with its millions of users; teen-agers, civilians, and people from all walks of life, who are still unaware of the impacts and dangers that humanity would face because of our ecological debt and neglect. Now that man is getting more engaged with a computerized and scientific world, the preservation of the earth’s innate form is often situated at stake. For instance, land developers aim to civilize mountain and forested areas in view of larger residential communities, neglecting the extinction of species and the degradation of their habitats in that area. In the same way, roads and tunnels are logged to provide efficient trips in woody regions, unaware of the affected species due to construction. It should be realized that in the context of global progress, biodiversity should not be sacrificed. Biodiversity is about making sense of the variation of life on earth, and its fundamental unit is the species. Why is there a must to conserve biodiversity? It is mainly because it affects mankind by all means. Outstandingly, biodiversity has an incontestable subsistence value. Remember that the species we use for our herbal medicinal needs, the plant and animal species that we eat, and the other species we use for our consumption, all contributes to biodiversity’s value for human survival. Biodiversity also has an economic value; the productive use it imposes into our market. In addition, it provides service value, like tourism benefits for a region where a certain specie is  endemic. But most importantly, biodiversity has to be conserved because of its intrinsic value. By the principle of Biocentrism: All species are worth of moral consideration. Humans have an obligation to protect them (Do or Die, 1999). We should be grateful for nature because it provides us our basic needs, water, food, air, even which the greatest engineering cannot tantamount. All of us have an ecological debt we can never repay fully, but we could somehow pay its interest, that is by preserving biodiversity. There are two modes of payments: In Situ and Ex Situ. In Situ is the maintenance of biodiversity in the wild, by allowing the species to continue their aboriginal evolutionary interactions (Reid, 1989, para.1). The species are left to be free and to continue their way of survival without any human intervention. This is a general and efficient solution that is left to the hands of government officials or organizations for strict implementations. But as part of the human race, we should be aware of the creation of such law and support it whole-heartedly. Many of our local or indigenous fellowmen would still continue the hunting or harvesting of the endangered species due to lack of knowledge or opportunities; thus, there should be thorough promotion of In Situ throughout the nation. On the other hand, Ex Situ is the maintenance of wild or domesticated species in home gardens, orchards, aquaria, zoos, or laboratories. These sites provide home for viable populations of threatened species, also providing areas for research, educational and public awareness (Reid, 1989, para.1). Indeed, there are several solutions man could engage to if we really want to hinder more biodiversity losses. We could grow endemic plants in our region in our own backyards. Every time we go to a beach, we must remember not to take souvenir seashells or corals with us. We should refute groups that do  activities leading to biodiversity losses. Or join movements which promote awareness and commitment in saving the earth’s biodiversity. Spread the information of biodiversity’s importance. All of us can make a difference. The move should start today before we reap the wrath of nature’s revenge. Change does not happen overnight, neither does it occur one-time big-time. The restoration of our ecosystems does not depend only on politicians or environmentalists, simple steps should be made by simple citizens, like you.

Bletchley Park Essay

Bletchley Park, code named ‘Station X’, was and still is a mansion 50 miles North-West of London. It was bought by MI5 as an evacuation site and code breaking centre for the German ‘Enigma’. Bletchley Park was bought by Admiral Sinclair, the Chief of MI6. There other posts, ‘Station Y’s’, which intercepted the messages from the Germans and in turn, when sorted, sent the messages to ‘Station X’. These listening posts were set up to steal German messages off the radio waves. ‘Station X’ relied on the availability of these intercepted messages to break. Most of the staff in the ‘Y Stations’ were women. Basically, the ‘Y Stations’ were to pick up the messages and ‘Station X’ was to use the messages to decode and break the keys. As the war progressed it became easier for the operators to find the right frequencies at the right times, when the German transmissions were being sent. The messages were recorded in Morse code. All the administrative staff worked on interception whilst the academics worked on the actual code breaking, like the mathematicians, cryptic crossword solvers and chess players. Most of the workers in general were young. Most of the admin staff was girls and women, most of them linguists, and the code breakers were mathematicians, as Enigma was breakable by maths and equations some were also just ordinary chess players. However, by the end of 1941 Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword solvers were also taken in, as well as some of the old code breakers around, from the G. C. & C. S. At first the Navy were too proud to be interested in the transmissions, but later realised just how important Bletchley Park was. Gordon Welchman was a young mathematician, from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge; and it was he who was responsible for the reorganisation of Bletchley Parks’ work into a fully functional code breaking site. He also introduced a five-point plan that would increase the efficiency of the work being produced. This was: close co-ordination of radio interception, the analysis of the intercepted messages, breaking the Enigma and Non-Enigma keys, decoding the messages from the broken keys and then extracting useful information from the decoded messages. It was then that Denniston began recruiting the high quality staff that was needed. In early 1939 the construction started of wooden huts centred on the mansion. The first huts built were numbered 1,2,3,4 & 5. The Naval Section moved into Hut 4 alongside the mansion on the South side. When Hut 5 was completed the Army section moved there and the dining room became a mess room, where the military had previously used as their base at ‘Station X’. However, Knox, Jeffrey’s and Turing moved into the Cottage in the Stable Yard so that they could work better with less distractions. Not many of the first arrivals knew what they were doing and had very little experience, but learnt quickly. The new young operators also knew nothing about their foreseeable work. After the first arrivals, Denniston’s mathematicians arrived, but they did not get on well with the older more experienced code breakers. This was because the older code breakers felt â€Å"out-of-date† as the new lot were young and had a different method to code breaking. It became blatant that the biggest break-through was from the mathematicians from the first years of the war. They were getting closer and closer to breaking the Enigma. Messages were sent to other huts via a broomstick and a wooden tunnel that was constructed to increase secrecy between a few of the more important huts (later on the messages were blasted along the tunnels with compressed air), like Hut 6 and Hut 3. Although, Hut 6 paid little attention to the messages they received from Hut 3 as they just did their job and the other huts would do theirs. Most of the messages that arrived at Hut 3 seldom made sense. When the messages were complete they were sent down to MI6 HQ in London by van. Hut 4 was used to break other non-Enigma codes from other foreign countries which was only classed as semi-important messages/codes. If some of the messages from Hut 6 were important enough then they would be classed as ‘Ultra’ or ‘Top-Secret’. There was also a slim chance that any foreign spy could get into ‘Station X’. the military officials would be on site to determine the importance of the messages that came out of the ‘Huts’. Bombes were also developed, these were electrical devices that made it easier to take advantage of the clues given from the coded messages. Eventually these were developed into ‘Jumbos’ a larger and faster version, that were introduced into Hut 1, but in the early part of 1941 they were dispersed and move into the ‘Outstations and Hut 11†² Later on into the war many people started taking a great deal of interest in the work done at Bletchley Park. This was because of a major incident when a crucial war ship was lost to the Germans at sea, but the Germans managed to salvage it and recover all its information it carried. However, due to the Germans’ arrogance and ignorance they did not except that Enigma had been broken, and ignored the fact that many of their messages had been decoded. After this incident, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, visited ‘Station X’ and after many consistent letters funded the project, as the Huts sometimes ran out of the simple needs of pencils and paper. At this point the ‘Yanks’ came over to help the Allied, only after they were bombed by the Japanese. Along with the Americans came new technology, many more soldiers that were properly trained and machines that were in better condition and were all better quality. This gave the Allies the advantage at this point in the war as they now had extra supplies and reinforcements. The first computer was built as well making the work a lot faster for everyone, this was code-named Colossus, it was room size. In conclusion to this, ‘Station X’ provided lots of important information for the military to use to their advantage on the battlefield. This also enabled many lives of the Allies to be saved. Without these code breakers and broken keys the war may have turn in favour of the Germans, so deeply the work that was done at ‘Station X’ was truly important. Although Bletchley Park was originally bought as an evacuation site for MI5 it became the most important code breaking site before, during and after the war.

Ethics: Goldman Sachs Essay

Goldman Sachs, founded by German immigrants, began as a small humble business looking to succeed. Over time their business strategy changed and they entered into ethical and legal issues they had not encountered before. In the late 1920s Goldman Sachs began maliciously investing in companies to drive their demand. They coined this term â€Å"laddering† from overleveraging them selves and putting the market at risk. Their actions created the bubble that burst in the stock market crash of 1929. Furthermore, Goldman Sachs engaged in â€Å"trading huddles†. Only their preferred customers where chose to participate on this unethical schemes, and the same customers were shot changed on financial profit from unprofitable IPO’s shares. It was clear that Goldman Sachs business focus was not customer based but self-based by the mantras that they use to have: â€Å"long-term greedy† and â€Å"Filthy rich by forty.† In 2008 the market once again crashed equally as hard as in 1929 and Goldman Sachs was at the root of the cause. With self-fulfillment and greed in mind, Goldman Sachs used Collateralized Debt Obligations and bet against their clients to increase profitability. Goldman Sachs progressively became more unethical in their dealings, and the SEC took notice. Goldman was accused on two accounts of fraud because of one particular portfolio of securities, named ABACUS, which they dealt with. After analyzing the case and reviewing the unethical actions and alleged accusations against Goldman Sachs, it is clear that Goldman Sachs was operating unethically. They misrepresented, hid information, and engaged in conflicts of interest with their clients. Goldman Sachs took an unfair advantage with their â€Å"toes to the line mentality† on their legal and ethical issues leading the SEC to establish harsher regulations for the banking industry. Goldman Sachs can become more ethical by adopting Warren Buffet’s front page of the newspaper principles. When a firm finds that its employees needs to convince themselves that their work is adding social value, the firm should questions its ethical practices. The recommendation for a firm when they find themselves condoning unethical actions is to be honest with the regulating entity and its clients. It is likely to reward them in the long run despite the immediate consequences. Goldman Sachs Background In 1869 two German immigrants came to the US and founded Goldman Sachs with the humble purpose of being both an originator and a clearinghouse for commercial paper (Jennings, 73). However, the firm started to gradually drift from its initial business strategy set by its founders and started to provide other services and undertook investment strategies. In the late 1920’s Goldman Sachs created investment companies that it would itself invest in to drive up the market demand. As a result, investors started to invest in the company because of the perceived high demand. With the new proceeds, Goldman would borrow more money and create another investment company and repeat the process. As a result of this action, Goldman contributed to the stock market crash in 1929 and, with a similar strategy, the recent financial crisis in 2008 (Jennings, 73). During the Internet bubble in the 1990’s, Goldman engaged in an activity known as laddering. Goldman, as the underwriter of a security, would enter an agreement with its best clients to sell a portion of IPO’s shares at a predetermined price after their initial offering. This led to a misconceived demand in the secondary market of the stock due to the predetermined secondary pricing Goldman had set with some of it’s clients. Furthermore, in the 2000’s, Goldman would sell Collateralized Debt Obligations, for which it had a negative outlook, to its clients and issue trading reports, developed through the existing â€Å"trading huddles† in the firm, to certain preferred customers that was different from the analyst reports that were issued to the public. Its practices has been scrutinized and particularly its â€Å"toes to the line† on legal issues. In most cases, Goldman and its clients are the two main parties involved, and it is the clients that usually end up with the short end of the stick. Goldman’s actions are partly explained by the mantras that they use to have: â€Å"long-term greedy,† and â€Å"Filthy rich by forty.† This paper is relevant for current business leaders because it presents a case where a successful firm has come under great scrutiny due to its unethical actions and questionable practices. Bending the rules and pushing the envelope continuously to be a profitable firm has put Goldman in an unfavorable light in society. The paper will further discuss the ethical and legal issues Goldman has run into through its practices and will provide a general recommendation for how a business can avoid and deal with unethical practices. Analysis of Relevant Legal and Ethical Issues Initial Public Offerings Goldman created a synthetic demand in its IPOs through selling a portion of the IPO shares to its clients at a predetermined price higher then the initial price. This caused the price of the IPO shares to rise due to manufactured demand by Goldman (Jennings, 75). The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against Goldman alleging that they had violated Rule 101 of Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which states: â€Å"Rule 101 of Regulation M, among other things, prohibits underwriters, during a restricted period (the five-day period preceding the determinations of IPO prices and prior to the completion of distributions of IPO shares), from directly or indirectly bidding for, purchasing, or attempting to induce any person to bid for or purchase any offered security in the aftermarket† (SEC). Goldman clearly attempted to induce, or induced, certain clients to bid for or purchase offered securities in the aftermarket through its laddering practices, which clearly violates Rule 101 of Regulation M. Goldman agreed to settle with the SEC by paying a fine of $40 million without admitting or denying the allegations (SEC). Some of the unethical practices present in Goldman’s laddering activities were: * Misrepresentation- Goldman inflated the price of the IPO shares consciously through the manufactured demand and the price of the shares were misrepresented. * Lying- Goldman Sachs lied to some of its best clients and had them pay higher price than the initial price under the laddered IPOs. * Violating Rules – Clearly making money from laddering is a violation of rules and therefore Goldman paid a heavy fine when they were caught engaging in this illegal practice Collateralized Debt In order to understand Goldman’s involvement in CDO’s it is pertinent to explain the security. Collateralized debt is simply an Asset-Backed Security, which means that there is a physical asset backing the security under contract. For example, a house serves as collateral for a mortgage and the bank has the right to claim the house in the event that the borrower defaults on the loan. A security is considered any investment contract that gives the owner evidence of indebtedness or business participation. Notes, stock, bonds, debentures, warrants, subscriptions, voting trust certificates, rights to oil, gas, and minerals, and limited partnership interest are all example of securities (Jennings, 728). A Collateralized Debt Obligation is a variety of fixed-income assets that are pooled together to create one security. In 2008, many of these CDOs became completely worthless because they were filled with sub-prime mortgages that defaulted, and Goldman was a big player in the CDO market. ABACUS was one particular CDO deal in which Goldman had created and sold. Fabrice Tourre, a vice president at Goldman Sachs at the time, put together the ABACUS CDO to be sold to clients. Tourre intentionally filled ABACUS with subprime mortgages so that Goldman could take a short position on the security, which means betting against its success, in order to profit. This CDO deal became infamous because the SEC uncovered a few emails written by Tourre. In one of the emails Tourre wrote: â€Å"More and more leverage in the system. The whole building is about to collapse anytime now †¦ Only potential survivor, the fabulous Fab [rice Tourre] †¦ standing in the middle of all these complex, highly leveraged, exotic trades he created without necessarily understanding all of the implication of those monstrosities [sic]!!!† (Quinn) The SEC filed a civil action suit against Goldman and Tourre for their conduct under the ABACUS deal. The SEC’s complaint charged Goldman and Tourre with violations against Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Exchange Act Rule 10b-5 (SEC). Each of the following rule of law states, among other things: â€Å"It shall be unlawful for any person in the offer or sale of any securities †¦ (2) to obtain money or property by means of any untrue statement of a material fact or any omission to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made†¦ â€Å" (SEC) â€Å" POSITION LIMITS —As a means reasonably designed to prevent fraud and manipulation, the Commission shall, by rule or regulation, as necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors, establish limits (including related hedge ex ­ emption provisions) on the size of positions in any security-based swap that may be held by any person.† (SEC) â€Å"It shall be unlawful for any person †¦ (a.) To employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud,†¨(b) To make any untrue statement of a material fact or to omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statementsmade, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, †¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬ ¨ (Taft Law) Goldman clearly violated Section 17(a) by not including the information that their ABACUS securities were based on poor mortgages. They violated Section 10(b) by taking a large short position in the Abacus deal. Lastly, they violated Rule 10b-5 by omitting material fact of their short position in the security. Furthermore, the SEC prohibits any analyst from issuing reports on securities that run contrary to the analyst’s true beliefs about the securities. Goldman denies betting against clients in an 8 page letter to it shareholder signed by CEO Lloyd Blankfien as well as President Gary Cohn. Goldman claims that they were protecting themselves and Blankfien said, â€Å"†¦Certainly we did not know the future of the housing market† (SEC). Goldman agreed to pay a fine of $550 million and admitted that it failed to disclose vital information in their marketing of ABACUS securities. Goldman’s actions did not reflect honesty, integrity, or responsibility. Some of the ethical issues present in the ABACUS deal are: * Taking unfair advantage – Goldman consciously made poor recommendations to their clients in order to sell the Abacus CDOs so they could make a profit on their short position. * Engaging in Conflict of Interest – Goldman stated: â€Å"We may trade, and have existing position, based on trading ideas before we have discussed those ideas with you†(Jennings 80). Despite this argument, they had a significant incentive to market and sell the securities in order to profit. * Hiding or Divulging information – Goldman used another firm to create the Abacus CDOs in order to distance themselves from the trade conflicts that would arise by shorting the CDO. They also omitted crucial information about the security, which was the knowledge of the amount of high-risk mortgage securities in the Abacus CDO. * Violating Rules- Goldman was charged with securities fraud, as explained by above, and did not look out for the best interest of their clients. Trading Huddles Goldman’s first obstacle with their trading huddles activities came from their Fundamental Strategies Group of analysts. The group consisted of Goldman analysts employed by their Securities Divisions. These groups of desk analysts were not regulated by the SEC rules because they did not involve â€Å"GIR [Global Investment Research Division] equity research analysts.† The SEC have strict guidelines that, â€Å"prohibits an analyst from issuing reports on securities that run contrary to the analyst’s true beliefs about the securities.† (Craig) Goldman did not break any statutory laws with the Fundamental Strategies Group since they were not covered in the SEC ruling. From the uprising, Goldman’s executives sent an email to all their clients, explaining their â€Å"Trading Ideas† and advice. The email was meant to elucidate the firm and public’s â€Å"conflict of interest† policy. In the message, Goldman stated, â€Å"You should not consider Trading Ideas as objective or independent research or as investment advice. When we discuss Trading Ideas with you, we will not be acting as your advisor (including, without limitation, in relation to investment, accounting, tax or legal matters) and the provision of Trading Ideas to you will not give rise to any fiduciary or equitable duties on our part† (Sorkin 1). In the case of Goldman vs. Common Wealth of Massachusetts, the court ruled, â€Å"Goldman failed to reasonably supervise GIR equity analysts’ communications to prevent and detect dissemination by GIR equity analysts of certain unpublished short term trading ideas† (SEC) and were held accountable to Section 204 (a)(2)(J) of the Act, which in part states that: â€Å"The secretary may by order†¦. deny, suspend, or revoke, any registration †¦ if he finds (1) that the order is the public interest and (2) that the applicant or registrant (J) has failed reasonably to supervise agents, investment adviser representatives or other employees to assure compliance with this chapter† (SEC). Goldman failed to supervise its agents to guarantee compliance with the act. The court ruled that Goldman must have a policy that allows a GIR equity research analyst to identify an unpublished report and follow its publication through more than 14 persons. Furthermore, Goldman will be required to disclose in their Terms of Use Agreement that the amount of GIR equity research report varies from client to client (Stempel). â€Å"Goldman agreed to pay a fine of $10 million and stop giving favored clients trading ideas developed at internal gatherings known as â€Å"trading huddles†Ã¢â‚¬  (Stempel). In addition, they were charged with not dealing in with honesty with all clients and took advantage over others, known as fair dealing with clients. While all companies try to balance on the line of pursuing profits and maintaining a moral conduct, Goldman Sachs was unable to keep their balance. After the reports of intentionally avoiding regulation from SEC Regulation AC, requiring equity research analysts to certify that their issued reports represents their actual views (SEC), the company crossed ethical boundaries. With their Fundamental Strategies Group, Goldman as a whole company condoned unethical action. Instead of following the regulation of the SEC they went around it. Some of the ethical issues present in the case were: * Taking unfair advantage – one part of the firm issued equity research reports to the public and another part of the firm did also engage in equity research but came to a different conclusion. However, the latter report was only issued to certain clients. By releasing one view on a subject and taking another position themselves, thereby taking unfair advantage. * Violating rules – even though their Fundamental Strategies Group were not violating any laws or regulation, they failed to follow the SEC Regulation AC Recommendation and Conclusion The cases mentioned above are only a few of the instances where Goldman has been scrutinized by government entities and the public. Its continuous practice of â€Å"toes to the line† on legal issues has many times resulted in lawsuits against the firm. As we can see, the legal issues they are pushing are unethical, however, they are not violating those laws. Instead, they are charged with other violations that result from operating at the line of illegal practices. Their reputation took a hit due to multiple SEC allegations and fines. To avoid these ethical situations Goldman Sachs should use the ethical principles that are taught. For example, they should have used Warren Buffet’s front page of the newspaper test in the case with the IPOs. Goldman Sachs should ask itself if they would be indifferent of their actions if the public would know that they intentionally manufactured demand for their IPOs. A partial reason for their unethical conduct was due to rationalizing; when they were confronted about their actions they proceeded by rationalizing and labeling their actions in order to avoid the ethical dilemmas. In the ABACUS case, Goldman stated that their clients are â€Å"qualified† and â€Å"sophisticated† enough to make market risk decisions. They most likely rationalized their actions by saying that the system is unfair and â€Å"if we don’t do it, someone else will†. In their case with trading huddles, it was a practice carried out by other firms, however, not to the same degree as Goldman. They waited until the lawyers told them it was wrong and rationalized by thinking â€Å"It’s a gray area†. Goldman Sachs’s pushed the limit of both the letter of the law, and the spirit of the law when dealing with its clients. Goldman’s history of brushing past ethical decisions have created many problems for the firm in the past years. It is clear that pursuing this strategy has not been to their benefit. A business should not have to argue how its actions add social value; it should be clear by the actions themselves. Therefore, if a business finds itself engaging in activities that do not pass Warrant Buffet’s Front of the Newspaper test it should reconsider its actions and business model. A red flag should rise when employees convince themselves that they are adding social value, as in the case with Tourre, or if employees feel any discomfort with their actions. If a company finds itself condoning unethical actions and violating the law, the best solution is to make an action plan on how to present their violations to the regulating government entity most truthfully and inform their clients of the unethical conduct with an apology. Despite that these measures might have a negative impact on the firm, it is highly likely be a short-term effect. The longstanding trust built up from their honesty and confrontation of the unethical actions could be beneficial to the firm’s future reputation. Work Cited Craig, Susanne. â€Å"Goldman’s Trading Tips Reward Its Biggest Clients.† The Wall Street Journal. 24 Aug. 2009. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. . â€Å"Goldman Sachs & Co.: Lit. Rel. No. 19051 / JANUARY 25, 2005.† U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Home Page). Web. 28 Mar. 2012. . Quinn, James. â€Å"Goldman Sachs, Fabrice Tourre and the Complex Abacus of Toxic Mortgages.† The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 16 Apr. 2010. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. . â€Å"Rule 10b-5 — Employment of Manipulative and Deceptive Devices.† Law School  » University of Cincinnati College of Law. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. . â€Å"SEC Charges Goldman Sachs With Fraud in Structuring and Marketing of CDO Tied to Subprime Mortgages.† ; 2010-59; April 16, 2010. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. . Sorkin, Andrew. â€Å"DealBook.† Mergers, Acquisitions, Venture Capital, Hedge Funds. 12 Jan. 2010. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. . â€Å"Statement by SEC Chairman: Proposal of Regulation AC.† Statement by SEC Chairman: Proposal of Regulation AC (Harvey L. Pitt). Web. 28 Mar. 2012. . Stempel, Jo nathan. â€Å"Goldman Fined $10 Million, Agrees to Stop Trading Huddles.† Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 09 June 2011. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. .

Beowulf, Themes and Symbols Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Beowulf, Themes and Symbols - Term Paper Example evil through the battle between Grendel and Beowulf, finally the hero was able to defeat him and establish goodness through which, according to the Christian belief, redemption is possible. The human beings are always under the threat evil forces. They are desirous to the flourished and peaceful lives of human beings. This is what happens in the kingdom of Shield Sheafson. The Heorot built by the king is a symbol of the wealth and harmonious life of the people belong to that country. The beginning of the story is from the threats of Grendel who lives in the nearby swamplands of Hrothgars kingdom. The influence of such satanic forces is to be won over by power and strength. After many years of suffering, Beowulf came to know about the plight of Hrothgar. He sails to Denmark with a company of men to fight against the monster. This action is also to express his gratitude towards the king for a favor his father received earlier. Heroic code of that tome demands strength, courage, and loy alty in warriors. The king is expected to have political skills, hospitality, generosity etc. The king and the hero are struggling to establish their own identity. The common belief that honor is gained though deeds is enforced throughout the story. Beowulf is treated highly by the king before his heroic action. That illustrates the expectation of the king and his disciples. The king waits for the daring moments of victory over the monster. Beowulf succeeds there. But obstacle is coming on the way. As a hero Beowulf has to encounter another devilish creature who is the mother of Grendel. The interference of evil forces is a constant process in human life. As a hero, not only in action but also in thoughts, he never hesitates to do such dangerous events. The transition that takes place in the life of Beowulf is to be taken in. When he returns his own country, he elucidates his heroic deeds to the king. Beowulf then hands over most of his treasure to Hygelac, who, in turn, rewards him . Later he was adorned as the king of place. The warrior and the king have great difference. Thus Beowulf matures from a valiant fighter. He carries a diverse set of values for each of his roles. These dissimilarities can be observed more when we compare Beowulf and King Hrothgar. When the young Beowulf, long for personal credit, the old Hrothgar seeks the protection of his disciples. These are the expectations of the society. The role of a person is defined by the society. Thus Beowulf as a king is highlighted more than Beowulf as a ‘hero’ in this poem. We should think that the Beowulf-poet has fused different moral systems, pagan and Christian morals simultaneously and thus the poem is a vehicle of Christian morals. According to Thomas D Hill the Beowulf- poet is a ‘Germanic humanist’ a precursor to the renaissance humanist who would reconcile their Christian mores with the great pagan minds that had come before them. The violence represents one of the po et’s most immediate challenges to settle his Christian faith and pagan history. The belief in forgiveness and mercy which are traits of Christianity is reciprocated with vengeance and battle in pagan belief. Thus in the two battles –first with Grendel and the second with Grendel’s mother Beowulf tries to protect his people. This theme of Christian virtue provides enough symbolism to convey the Christian moral. When handling with the theme of violence, according to

IT Security Policy Framework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

IT Security Policy Framework - Essay Example Recommended sound security controls practices (e.g., people, process, technology). A guide to help reconcile the framework to common and different aspects of generally adopted standards (e.g., COBIT, HIPAA, etc.). An analysis of risk or implications for each component of the framework. A guide of acceptable options or alternatives and criteria, to aid in tailoring to an organizations operating environment. A guide for implementation and monitoring. Toolset for organizations to test compliance against the framework (HITRUST). A complete security framework comes down to three well-known basic components: people, technology, and procedures. When these three elements are correctly assembles such as, the people, technology, and process fundamentals of information security program that works together in order to secure the environment and stay consistent with organization’s objectives. Diagram 1.1 shows the idea of people, process and technology. Figure 1.1 The policies and the prac tices in any organization is established by the Information Security framework. ... tics of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act are: Creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) It is a five member board that is established by The Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the purpose of controlling the auditing profession. The PCAOB locates and impose auditing, quality control, ethics, independence and other related audit reports. New rules for auditors Significant information to the organization’s audit committee must be provided by the auditors. This includes critical accounting policies and practices, alternative GAAP treatments and auditor-management disagreements. The CPA Auditors are forbidden from performing certain non-audit services for example book keeping, information systems design and implementation, internal audit outsourcing services, management functions, and human resource services for audit customers. Services are not offered to the publicly held companies by the audit firms. New roles for audit committees Audit committee members must be listed on the organization’s board of directors and be independent of the company. However, At least one member of the audit committee must be a financial expert. The audit committee appoints, compensates, and supervises the auditors, who report directly to them. New internal control requirements Section 404 of SOX needs visibly held companies to issue a report associated with the financial statements that reveals management is responsibilities for establishing and maintaining an enough internal control structure and appropriate control procedures. The report must also enclose management’s assessment of internal controls. Question 3 The challenges are alarming for management in providing information security. In fact, information system assets are substantial even for small organizations including data

Hedge Funds Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hedge Funds - Coursework Example Trend forecast signal is used and will generate up and down signals when buying or selling pressure builds up in a stock, currency, index or future. The forecasts are only a signal to watch for further strength above or below signal bars. The forecasts can mean buying or selling pressure has built up so much a new high or low price will happen soon forming a continuation of the trend OR the price is overdone, and a close of a bar moving in the opposite direction to the last forecast bar could signal a trend failure or reversal point. A hedge fund that can take both long and short positions, buy and sell undervalued securities, trade options or bonds and invest in almost any opportunity in any market where it foresees impressive rates at reduced risks (Friedland, 2011). These features results to hedge fund being able to offer exposure to risk factors those traditional long-only strategies cannot (Agarwal and Narayan, 2002). Exposure to systemic factors, example, small-cap, value companies and emerging markets normally entails higher returns but also higher risks. Norges Bank Investment Management (2011) further emphasizes the importance of continuously measuring the fund’s exposure to such factors and the importance to gain a static and dynamic overview to manage systematic exposure to one or more risk factors. This ability of hedge fund to take both long and short positions, makes it difficult to evaluate its performance, example, in the case where the manager can invest in any asset class, trade in deriv atives and follow a myriad of dynamic trading strategies (Agarwal and Narayan, 2000). Despite this, investors who have moved into active investment from passive strategies start their own hedge fund and its interest is gathering pace (Amenc, Susan and Lionel, 2004). For instance if there has been 2 up forecast bars in a row but the price is failing to break onto a new high, then also watch for a reversal in the price to break below the

American Women Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

American Women - Coursework Example As John Briggs says â€Å"education played a large role in the women’s rights movement of the 20th century because it was seen as a key to success in gaining social, economic and political equality.† The education mainly comprised of subjects such as mathematics and home economics as it was understood that these subjects will help them in running their houses and educating their children. Also, subjects like child birth, hygiene and first aid were preferred by many women. Poor women were educated by well to do women who had the finance to attend schools (Briggs, n.d). Christie Anne Farhaan (1994) argued that U.S needed an educated citizenry and this in turn required the nurturing of the young by more educated mothers and so women’s education was very important (pg 16). The seven sisters was one of the first all women college which encouraged women to study liberal arts and had high academic standards which could be compared to that of men’s colleges. Since education was limited to the white women, colleges for the black women also sprang after the civil war.

Relationship of Police Department Size to Quality of Police Services Term Paper

Relationship of Police Department Size to Quality of Police Services (US) - Term Paper Example e capabilities of the police force to efficiently and timely monitor, detect and prevent the unlawful activities in order to maintain the rule of law (Cordner, et al, p54). The main functions of police include the protection of the life and property of the civilians, maintenance of law and order, enforcement of the criminal law, to conduct criminal investigation, to control the crowd and to perform various other duties to assure public safety. (Brudeur, et al, 1992) The successful performance of all these duties requires proper management, resource allocation, training as well as the appropriate ratio of police force to the area population. The quality of the police service tends to be affected from the size of police force because if the numbers of policemen are insufficient to cover the designated area, there is always a possibility that the police force would not be able to perform their duties in effective manner. The research paper aims to investigate the relationship between the size of the police department to the quality of police services in United States. In this regard, the paper identifies the main qualities that affirm the effectiveness of the policing services. The paper also provides an overview to the structure and organization of police in United States and proceeds to analyze the relationship of the size of the police department with its service quality. It is revealed that along with appropriate size, there are number of other factors that could affect the quality of police service like proper training of policemen, management and organization of police structure and use of latest investigative technologies. The essay compares the Los Angeles city police department with New York City Police department in order to identify the relationship between the service quality of the police and department size. The case of Hurricane Katrina is also described as an example that illustrates the effects of having lesser police force to control more area and

Field trip report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Field trip report - Research Paper Example Tourists and tourism companies have began to seek more sustainable tourism activities, with one of the key areas being carbon neutrality. Carbon neutrality was introduced for the first time in the climate change context. The industry contributes approximately 6% of emissions of CO2 globally, with 94% being from travel by air. Carbon neutrality’s implication is carbon emission balancing via offsetting of the carbon footprint of a destination. This mainly involves investing in renewable sources of energy and also investing in forestry. It is achieved when a tourist, company, or destination manages to neutralize the emission of carbon from travel and high carbon emitting facilities like electricity generators. This paper aims to report on the carbon neutral activities that support the move towards sustainable development in tourism via the use of indicators specific to carbon neutrality. Introduction In the sustainable tourism context, indicators are sets of information that are chosen in order to make regular measurements of changes in issues and assets which are vital for development of tourism, as well as a destination’s management (Ball, 2009 p101). ... The publication is descriptive of more than forty issues concerning sustainability, which range from natural resource management to control of development, tourist and host community satisfaction, cultural heritage preservation, climate change, economic leakages, seasonality, among others (Ball, 2009 p109). Each issue is listed with management techniques and indicators suggested along with examples and practical sources of information. The publication is also inclusive of how to develop indicators that are destination specific. The tourism industry responded to the issue of climate change in a two fold manner (Association, 2008 p34). These are mitigation and adaptation. In the past, the industry had taken steps to deal with climate change based on service provider activities. The transport operators, both rail and air, tried to cut down CO2 emissions, while facilities for accommodation made an attempt to regulate and control emission. In recent times, however, there has been a push f or the realization of a future with low-carbon. The tourist destinations aim to achieve tourism that is sustainable. This is referred to as destinations that are carbon neutral. In July 2009, Caribbean countries revealed their plan to become the world’s first carbon-neutral destination, citing tourist resource vulnerability assessment, as well as evaluation of tourism’s impact on the environment. This marketing plan does not aim at increasing tourist numbers, but rather their consumption, leading to increased travel quality. UNWTO has set an average tourist consumption of approximately 50%. Carbon neutrality can be defined as the process through which emissions are calculated via a transparent process, reduced and residual emissions offset so

Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sociology - Essay Example Fears are sold through the media, as there is more coverage with millions of Americans being informed on a constant basis. Percentage figures are often used to show the dramatic increase in road carnage; with the media, print, television and radio carrying out thousands of stories about road carnage. The media is an essential asset in the society. This is clearly brought out in the book. Journalists and reporters have a role to play in the society. When they report erroneous and issues that have no facts, they can destroy the society especially through incitation (Glassner 20). The actual truth is that, road rage and its resultant carnage is on a very slow increase; this measurable in terms of years. The Pygmalion effect takes root, when more talk about road rage may result in the likely classification of incidents as accidents by police officers, reporters and insurance agents. Markedly has the increase been in the categorization of new dangers that lack out there, ready to do harm to the American public – from carjackers, home invasion robbers, kidnappers to deranged postal workers. Rather than confronting the society’s disturbing outcomes, the public engages, on a constant basis, in discussions that are centered on troubled individuals (Glassner 70). Campuses and schools are also new trouble areas where all manner of ills occur. Killer kids, is often used to refer to the children responsible for any eventual fatalities; the public not taking into account a number of factors such as socialization, mental disorders among others that may have contributed largely to the violence witnessed. A few incidences, in which students engage in violent actions, which often end in fatalities, are often overstated in the media and also among the surrounding communities. Gun control laws instead of gaining more support, often are received with criticism; this due to the fact that a majority of the public do feel safe when they are armed. This not only exacerbat es the issue, but also entails an increase in the quantity of weapons available to the public (Glassner 45). America’s health care system is top notch, with life expectancy having doubled. The US is able to both control and cure diseases now more than ever before, but tales abound as to the exceptional numbers of Americans who die from different complications; this supported by statistics that are often biased or completely wrong. American males, especially of African-American descent are often considered as criminals, with their White counterparts being considered as potential mass murderers; this after the wake of the Oklahoma bombing. Another aspect that is often exaggerated is on day-care workers, the clergy and pre-school teachers who supposedly sexually assault children. The different regulations that prohibit physical contact between the above and children may have aided in these fears. These fears have necessitated resource wastage on lengthy investigations and trials to expensive surveillance equipment that is to be used so as to curb any incident. The result has been that the American criminal justice system overheads have almost reached the $100 billion annually, monies that

Case stduy of Campus response to a student gunman. by Kelly J Essay

Case stduy of Campus response to a student gunman. by Kelly J. Asmussen , John W. Creswell - Essay Example The credibility of the study is highly supported by its research method: the qualitative case analysis; a relevant incident ‘in the campus of a public university, cited in a Midwestern City’ (case study, 338) is analytically presented and explained aiming to highlight the various aspects of student gun violence but also to provide information regarding the measures that are most appropriate for the limitation of the phenomenon – as these measures have been applied on the University involved in the specific case study. The examination of the article’s sections – in terms of structure, content and language used – has led to the assumption that the particular study can be quite valuable for legislators, educators and community leaders – helping them to understand the emergent character of the problem and propose appropriate plans of action. However, the conclusion section of the paper has been rather discouraging regarding the above perspe ctive – emphasizing on the lack of interest by the educational and local authorities in regard to the prevention of such incidents. However, even under these terms, the existence of studies like the one under evaluation proves that the expansion of violence in educational units across USA has attracted the attention of the academia. As for the level at which the authors of this study have contributed to the achievement of the above target, this can be identified by referring to the characteristics and the content of their study and by evaluating its credibility – taking into consideration the relevant rules of academic research. Evaluation of the article The study of Asmussen and Creswell highlights a quite important problem: the increase of violence in university campuses across USA; reference is made specifically to the student gun violence. The particular study can be characterized as quite valuable, mostly because it deals with a problem, which is avoided by most a cademic researchers – an issue also notified in the study under examination. The importance of the study – meaning especially its contribution in the particular field – can be identified and understood by referring to its content but also to its structure; the theme chosen should be also evaluated – compared to other, most common, themes of academic research. On the other hand, the research methodology employed should be evaluated, as of its appropriateness taking into consideration the fact that the literature in regard to the issue under discussion – and the research methods which are most appropriate for such studies – is quite limited, a problem also highlighted by the authors. The development of the above tasks would allow the evaluation of the following facts: a) whether the study has been appropriately structured, b) whether the research methods chosen were the most appropriate, c) which were the most critical challenges that the auth ors had to face and d) whether the authors managed or not to achieve their aims – as these aims are included in the research questions on which the study under

Management Essay Example for Free

Management Essay Our group feels that this question can be answered in 2 different ways namely, from the manager’s perspective or from the employee’s perspective for each aspect of Ajzen’s theory. 1. Attitude toward the behaviour  In this case, the ‘attitude’ here refers to that of the recession. From employees’ perspective – employees will be low in spirits and morale during a recession as they know that there is a high possibility that they will be retrenched by the company. From manager’s perspective – The manager will have a positive attitude about improving the performance of the employees during a recession because if they do not do so, the company will take a long time or never recover from the recession. The manager can improve the employee’s performance by a. Communicating with the employees about the recession and the possible impacts it will have on the workplace. b. Provide continuous feedback which includes occasional recognition and rewards to boost their morale. c. Attribute the employees’ consistent performance and update them on the state of the economy. 2. Subjective norm From employees’ perspective – employees feel that they should not give in their 100% at work in times of a recession as the likelihood of being retrenched is still prominent, so why work so hard? They are pressured by their peers to act in this manner. From manager’s perspective – managers are pressured by the top management (CEOs, shareholders) to think of ways to improve the employees’ performance. Such methods are as mentioned earlier above. 3. Perceived Behavioural Control  From employees’ perspective – it is very easy to succumb to peer pressure and not give in their best in their work in times of a recession. From manager’s perspective – managers are completely in charge on their intention to improve the employees’ performance during a recession as it is their job to do so.

Definition of Reading

Definition of Reading Definition of Reading Reading is a mental process. There are many definitions of reading. Reading is when someone looks into a written text and starts to absorb the information from the written linguistic message. In Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistic, reading is said as: Perceiving a written text in order to understand its contents. This can be done silently (silent reading). The understanding that result is called reading comprehension. Saying a written text aloud (oral reading). This can be done with or without understanding of the content. Other definition by Collins English Learners Dictionary is that reading is an act of looking at and understanding point. This is very true because reading entails the use of vision to understand several words in a sentence and make them meaningful. Same goes to each sentence in order to understand the entire text. Besides all the definitions from the dictionary there are also definitions made by several people. According to William (1984), he defines reading as a process whereby one looks at and understands what has been written. Rohani Ariffin (1992:1) in her book entitled Anthropology of Poetry for Young People defines reading as a highly personal activity that is mainly done silently, alone. There is a clear understanding that reading is something related to the activity of acquiring information and it is done either silently or aloud. Reading is an interactive process between the reader and the writer. Brunan W.K (1989) for instance defines reading as a two way interaction in which information is exchange between the reader and the author. Smith (1973) also shares the same attitude. This is proved by his line: Reading is an act of communication in which information is transferred from a transmitter to a receiver (Smith 1973:2) Despite all the definitions given, there is also definition of reading given by teachers as well as by students. According to Stallfter (1969), teachers define reading as: a complicated procedure. Readers read to get information from the printed pages. They should be able to pronounce and comprehend the printed words, signs, letters, and symbols by assigning meaning to them. As for students, they define reading which cited from Jensen and Petty (1918) as: where words go into your eyes and out of your mouth. They said that books are written with many adventures and time and time again there are spots where they say I know it! it is interesting to them as they open the book, words flow out and float across the mind In order for a person to be able to read, there is in need of other skill to support the reader while reading. Reading is a mental process as mentioned earlier so it needs other skills to be integrated with such as listening, speaking and writing. According to Chitravelu et. al (1995), reading is not a single skill that we use all the time in the same way but it is multiple skill that used differently with kind of test and fulfilling different purpose. This was earlier being stated by Thomas and Loving (1979) where they alleged reading as a communicative skills along with listening, speaking writing and thinking. Purpose of Reading Many or any people can read a text but hardly can understand what the writing was all about. This is because the reading was not providing any information to the reader. Why is this happen? This happened when the reader merely read the text without understanding the content. So it defeats the purpose of reading as a means to gain information. According to Mariam (1991) she proposed that a major avenue of learning is through reading. Yet, if we do not understand what we are reading, we cannot learn or remember it. Comprehending is a major concerned, then, of all teachers who use printed material in the classroom. Since reading is very important in learning second language, a great effort has been given to develop reading skill. Although many ways have been promoted in order to improve reading skill among students, reading is still something that is seems problematic. Students cant understand English text. These problems occurred because according to Noormah (2000) the students are lacking of vocabulary, hardly understand the words and less interest to English subject. Besides that, there are also several factors contributing to the diffident of this particular skill. Based on Sivaguru (2000) those factors are home, school and social environment. If the student is living in a family where English to them is a familiar language, frequently spoken by the members of the family then the student will have the advantage of being exposed to the language. Unlike student with no English familiarity in his family where English is seen as a bizarre language to be spoken, this kind of environment demodula tes his motivation to learn the language. Moreover, school is also one of the factors that contribute to the incompetence in reading. This is where the role of teacher in promoting the language to the students. Some teacher just might not fully use English during English class especially in the primary school. This is just because the teacher intended to suit her level with the students and as a result a lot of code switching is used. This early exposure to the lack of using English in class causes a serious impact when they further their study in a higher education level. To them English is not something important. Even if it does, they still can code switch as what their teacher did during their schooling period. Another factor is the environment factor. We are from what we come from. If the environment around us allows us to speak English for example to have colleagues who are willing to speak English, this would be a good drive. But what actually happen in the Malaysian society is that people are hesitate to speak English in public among friends, neighbors etceteras. Although the factors discussed are concerning around the speaking skill, but as mentioned earlier that all skills are related to each other. When the students are no longer interested to speak in English, their passions for the language will also deteriorating. These will also affecting their reading skills and their ability to understand English text. Models of Reading This study will be focusing on the students of a tertiary level. Students of tertiary level are different from students of a secondary school in reading purpose. Secondary school students read because they are forced to read by their teacher. It is hard to find students who do extensive reading by themselves. Students of tertiary level on the other hand read because they have to. They have to read to keep up with lectures and assignments. If they do not read, they will be left behind. There are three theories related and being use in this study. The first theory is the traditional view of reading (Dole et al, 1991). According to this theory, novice readers needs to acquire a set of hierarchically ordered sub-skills that consecutively build toward comprehension ability. Contained in this theory, the students have the ability to comprehend the texts by making sense of the words within the context of the sentence. According to Nunan (1991), being able to read using this view is being able to interpret a series of written symbols to the auditory equivalents as a way for the readers to make sense of the text they are reading and to reproduce the meaning of the reading itself. In other words, this process is called the bottom-up. The bottom-up reading is done step by step as mentioned by Mariam Mohamed Nor and Rahmad Sukor Abd. Samad (2006). The technique begins with the eyes identifying visual information in the materials and this technique begins with the identification of the letter and the sounds follows subsequently. Next, the identification of the lexical items is done through grapheme-phoneme correspondence and being put in the short term memory (STM). This is where the phrases, clauses and sentences are being constructed. This model requires an accurate comprehension, sequential identification of letters, words, phrases, clauses, sentences and the pronunciation. The other meaning of this view is that it is also a process of outside-in as mentioned by McCarthy (1999). To make it simple, the bottom-up model recommends that reading should begins from the low-level processing. The printed texts that being read by the reader can only be interpreted and understood by the reader himself. Apart from the definition given below, this traditional view of reading always been under attack because of the insufficiency and lacking one or more of the usual forms of grammatical inflection mainly the words and structure. The second theory is the three major types of schemata. The types of schema mentioned by Carrell (1984) are the linguistic schemata, formal schemata and content schemata which are related to the reading comprehension. The linguistic schemata refer to the existing knowledge that the readers have in vocabulary and grammar. It is the foundation for other schemata as it is essential in helping the readers to grasp and decode the text they read. If the readers do not have this schema, it will be hard for them to understand and to decode texts they read. The more linguistic schema the readers have, the easier for them to understand and decode what they are reading. The second schema is the formal schema. This schema has been explained to be abstract, encoded, internalized, and having coherent patterns of meta-linguistic, discourse and textual organization that are being used to understand a text. The reader tries to use any information that they have in order to understand and to comprehend the English text they are reading at that particular of time. But the formal schema offers less power in the reading process as mentioned by Carrell (1984). In this study, the formal schema helps the students to make relations between the background knowledge that they have with the new one that they just bumped into under the same topic. This is to help them in comprehending the reading English texts in the possible way as they can. The third schema in the schemata theory is called content schema. In other terms, this schema explains about the reader having the information or background knowledge on the topic that is being brought up in the texts they read. A language is not only the combination of vocabulary or grammar but it also involves the culture of the language and this is where the information came. With the content schema, it can complete the lack of language schemata and thus helps the students in comprehending texts and to be able to put aside any ambiguities and irrelevant words or sentences in the texts. The third theory used in this study is the affective filter hypothesis by Stephen Krashen. This theory involves the attitudes towards the target language and its relationship with the input achieved by the students. It shows that how attitude is very important in learning language. If the students have a very high or strong affective filter, they tend to have less input. If the students do understand the input, the input will not reach part of the brain that takes charge of the language acquisition. It is different to students who have low affective filter who will have the tendency to obtain more information and because they have more positive attitudes to the language they are learning, they are more open to the input they obtain.

Research Problem

Research Problem CHAPTER-2: FORMULATION OF RESEARCH PROBLEMS AND STEPS OF RESEARCH 2.1 INTRODUCTION: One of the important concepts and the back bone of research analysis is that of ‘identifying research problem(s). This is the real difficulty that commonly creates puzzle in the minds of researchers at the initial stage of research work. It is rather researchers perception or recognition of a difficulty that motivates him/her for planning a research. All the imagination that rules in the mind of a researcher while recognizing about a research, difficulty may not be necessarily a best fit and accurate problem, for which, the process and task of identification of a good research problem is considered as a ‘discovery in itself. 2.2 FORMULATION OF RESEARCH PROBLEM However, in a general meaning, a research problem may be stated as some difficulty which an individual (manager) or organization(s) or society faces and the solution on the existing difficulty is sought. A proper, systematic and thorough analysis of a research problem will definitely enable the researcher (may be social scientist in case of social science research or business executive in case of business research) to be on the right track in the process of research. As it is often said that a problem or difficulty may be defined/stated clearly treated as half solved. As much as the researcher is clear about the problem, it will be better on his/her part to smoothly carry on the entire consequential steps continuously one after the other in the process of execution of a scientific research work. 2.3 COMPONENTS OF RESEARCH PROBLEM: The components of identifying a research problem imply that of analyzing some basic necessities which are required in the process of identifying a research problem. In this process, a research goal should satisfy five basic requirements as outlined below: a. Existence of Both Researcher(s) and Respondent(s): One of the basic requirements for identifying a research problem is the presence of both the parties- the researcher(s) and the respondent (s). The respondent(s) may be an individual or a group who face some difficulty or problem. Similarly, the researcher may be an individual or a group who want to solve the existing problem of the respondent(s). The respondents may be the customers, employees, executives etc., in case of business research where as they may be common human beings in case of social science research. For example, if the respondents are not facing any difficulty, then there may not arise any question of decision-making and hence, no chance of research. b. Both Must Have Some Objectives: The second basic requirement is that, to identify a research problem, both the parties must have some objectives. The respondents want to fulfill their basic requirements of life, want to live in a healthy environment, willingness to purchase new products, to maintain standard of living and as a whole are having unlimited wants. The researchers task is to solve the existing huddles in the process of achieving the desires of the respondents i.e., satisfaction of unlimited human wants. c. Both Must Have Some Doubt While Selecting Alternatives: The respondents are having a number of alternatives with them. This creates doubts in their mind while deciding which alternative to select. Similarly, the researchers are also having few alternatives in the form of doubts. This may lead to the question of selecting the important one that can solve the existing problem in a better way. For example: Let that Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL), is interested to lunching a new brand of tooth paste, with the brand name ‘PARAS in India. The RD cell of HUL is interested to know the market picture of this product and wants to predict the feasibility of the product in the market before introducing it. The researchers of HUL may identify some problem areas like: Who are the major competitor in this product category?, What are the brand image and share of different competitors?, What is the dealers reaction towards the proposed product? In which market segment (area) HUL should concentrate? etc. All these are required for the RD members for suggesting their management while deciding on whether to lunch the product or not? All the four alternatives chosen can give the answer to the question that whether or not to go for the new product. But due to some constraint the team has to make a choice between the alternatives and have to concentrate on any one or few alternatives. No w it is very difficult on the part of the researcher(s) to decide that which one will give better result to achieve at the desired objectives. Similarly, the respondents are also having number of alternatives with them while purchasing a product. d. There Must be an Environment: An activity can emerge in an environment. Like wise a research problem can exist in an environment. The environment may be social, business, political, demographic, technological or any such environments characterized by problems of any kind. 2.4 FACTORS OF PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION: Originating problems or questions constitute the initial phase in the process of problem-formulation. The process of problem finding is having some component of analysis. These components answer to the general questions like how to proceed in the process of problem identification? In this connection Gupta 2001, distinguishes three principal components in the progressive formulation of a research problem like: * What one wants to know? (The originating a general question) * Why one wants to have the particular questions answered? (the rationale behind the question) * Analyzing the questions formatted in search of their appropriateness. a. What One Wants to Know? This type of question generally represents the beginning of certain difficulties or challenges which, should be formulated in such specific terms so as to indicate where exactly the answers to the problem can be found. One type of originating question calls for discovering particular matter of common interest. Another type of originating question draws direct attention to the search for analysis and comparison between different variables in a society. Some questions may be descriptive in nature, while another group of researchers may raise the questions based on the adequacy of certain concepts, while some may be interested in analyzing observed empirical generalizations and so on. b. Why One Wants to Have the Particular Question Answered? The second phase of problem formulation is that of analyzing the vagueness or rational of the formulated question. Rationale is defined as the statement of reasons why a particular question is having some value in that circumstances. Hence, it answers to the question how the answers to the question(s) formulated will contribute to theory or/and in practice? c. Analyzing the Questions Formulated: Each question differs to that of another question in their degree of specificity. Some questions may be quite diffused where as some may be relatively specific and some questions formulated may be undifferentiated or fused. Thus the questions must be broken down into several specifying questions related to the particular aspects may be from management field or related to the areas of social science or can be any combination between the two. 2.5. NATURE OF THE PROBLEM: One of the important concerns before finalizing the problem in research is that of thoroughly scanning the nature of the identified problem(s) by the researcher. As it is already stated earlier that the researchers may face number of huddles (i.e., limited time, less budget, lack of resources etc.) in the process of research, hence, they have to compare the huddles that they are facing and the nature of problem they have identified. The following derivation will help the reader in clarifying this concept. Case-1: When the problem is narrow in scope Foe example: ‘Soft drink habits of management students of a particular institute of a specific area?. Like ‘Soft drink habits of management students of IMF, Bangalore. ‘Socio-economic condition of fruit sellers of Noida etc Solution: These cases require less time to execute, less expensive and also requires fewer resources. Case-2: When the problem identified is broad in scope For example: ‘Impact of world economic crisis on corporate employment ‘Impact of government programmes on rural development in India Solution: Take Long time, expensive and need more resources. Case-3: The problem identified cannot be measured For example: ‘Will this new information technology make society better? ‘Is it possible to shift the human being to Moon to settle there? Solutions: Difficult to estimate. Based on the accessible limitations, the researchers are advised to select their own problem. If they are having less time, less finance to execute research work etc., here it is advisable to identify a research problem which may be narrow in scope and so on. 2.6. SOURCES OF IDENTIFYING RESEARCH PROBLEM(S): Where is the problems lie? or what will be the sources of research problem? This is the question that generally puzzles the minds of researchers at the beginning stage of the research. Most of the researchers are always in search of research problems. The task of problem selection is always confusing. One can explore a research problem basically from three important sources. They are 1. Researchers own interest 2. Contemporary interests of the researcher 3. Identifying unexplored areas 1. Researchers Own Interest: Gupta (2001) pointed out that personal values play an important role along with other determinants in the selection of a topic of research. Researcher(s) with different values tend to choose different topics for investigation. It is always advisable and better to select the problem based on the own interest of the researcher itself. A researcher may select a problem for research from a given situation or circumstances or existing theory as per his/her area of interest. One may generate an idea either while reading a research paper or reading a particular subject in self interested areas. For example, while doing my Ph. D in economics, I am very much interested to explore the level of living in India. Box-2.1: Illustration of Own Interest in Research A popular way of looking at the level of living of the people in the country is to look at the state of inequality in the distribution of income and the level of poverty by analysing their consumption pattern. One of the major curiosities in the Indian economy is to define and estimate a poverty line and to determine the percentage of people below it. There are number of methods to estimate poverty line and number of indices to measure the magnitude of inequality and incidence of poverty. The scope of the study is limited to some popular and widely used traditional, modern (non-ethical) and the recently developed ethical measures of poverty and to some positive and normative measure of inequality to estimate the incidence of poverty and magnitude of inequality in the state. 2. Contemporary Interest of the Researcher: In the busy world, a researcher may come across various problems which require a specific study. Beside personal interest, social and or business environmental conditions do often shape the preference of investigators in order to identify research problem (s). Since societies and/or business environments differ in respect of the premium they place on the work in different fields, hence, these differences affect the choice of research topics. In a given socio-business condition, thousands and thousands of opportunities prevail and can be identified. It is however, researchers own conscious, matters a lot while identifying a research problem. For instance, suppose the prices of major durable goods like that of TVs, washing machines etc., are reducing day-to-day in the electronic market in India, here, the researcher may be interested to study the extent of reduce in price in different time periods, factors that are influencing the acquisition of durables, diffusion of durable goods and hence, demand for the durable goods in the market and so on. Conversion of a problem of contemporary interest into a good and interesting research topic depends largely on the skill and expertise of the researcher in that field of knowledge. 3. Gap in the Existing Theories/Principles: The third source in the process of problem identification is of analyzing the existing gap in the available theories or principles in literatures. Irrespective of rapid expansion of communication, there still exists gap between what is known and what is unknown. This identification of gap between the two is the task of the researcher while selecting a research problem. This type of research would be extending and broadening the field of knowledge in that area. The theoretical or empirical studies conducted on this basis may sometimes alter, modify or revise the existing theories or principles. Here, the researcher uses some existing theories or principles from any discipline of knowledge, may be managerial economics, macro economics, international trade, marketing management, consumer behaviours, finance etc., in the empirical analysis and suggest some modification or development of some new theories in the existing one. Box-2.2: Methods of Estimating Unit Consumer Scales: Consumption pattern of a household, in general is affected by several factors, which may be of economic and non-economic in nature. For example, age-sex distribution, marital status, occupation etc., of the members of the household might be the significant determinants of the consumption pattern in addition to income, tastes, size of the household etc. Since different types of household members have different needs and ability to consume, the actual decisions regarding expenditure by a household are considerably influenced by the consumption of the household (in terms of age-sex etc.). Several researchers1 have proposed alternative methods of estimation of unit consumer scales (to estimate the ‘specific and ‘income unit consumer weights, which constitute ‘specific and ‘income scales respectively). In the beginning, the effect of a single additional individual on the household consumption was used to investigate, by comparing group of households with identical composition except for the presence or absence of one members. This approach was soon abandoned in view of its inefficient results and various other difficulties (Kemsley, 1952). The limitations of this method are: (1) it is difficult to get sufficient number of households of the requisite type and (2) it is possible that consumption pattern of the households of this type may be different by several other factors such as income distribution, regional, climatic and social conditions etc. As a result, subsequent researchers in the field mainly considered child as a fraction of an adult. Although, this idea was originally propounded by Carrol and Bright (1875) and then by Engel (1857) but its scientific treatment was done by Sydenstricker and King (1921). Singh (1968), Singh and Nagar (1973) adopted a modified version of Prais and Houthakkers iterative procedure to estimate both the specific and income scales independently of any such restrictions and assumptions as employed in the models of Forsyth (1960), Barten (1969) and Coondoo (1973, 1975). It is obvious that the same form of the Engel function (in per capita or per unit terms) may not describe the consumption pattern with respect to all the items of consumption. Prais and Houthakker choose to work with only the semi-log and the double-log in their study. However, Singh and Nagars model need not be constrained by any particular form of the Engel function. Instead, they scan through eleven different functional forms and (viz. L, DL, SL, EX, LI, HYP, P, LP, LO, LLI and SLI) and select for the purpose of analysis the one which (i) provide initial and final critical levels of demand below and above which the consumer would not have any demand for the item in question however low or high his income may be, (ii) satisfy the Slutskys conditions and (iii) explains the maximum variation in the dependent variable. Hence, it can be said that selection of a research topic is not the end of research process rather it is only half a step forward. The selection of topics does not help the researcher to see the data are relevant to the methodology to be used, the design of the research etc. 2.7. PROCESS FOR FORMATION OF A RESEARCH PROBLEM: There are number of processes of identification of research problem. They are as follows: 1. Systematic Inquiry Through Pilot Survey: Having a few alternatives in mind, the researcher has to inquiry about the viability of each alternative through pilot survey. The process of pilot survey is nothing but is the preliminary study that the researchers are generally doing before finalization of research topic. This will help the researcher in keeping close contact with the problem to that of related requirements like-the condition of the study area, the nature of the respondents, the expected difficulty in data collection, the time frame required to complete the study, the approximate budget required etc., to solve the problem identified. Some times, it so happens that, the problem selected even though looks easy but in practice it is not so easy to execute. 2. Survey of Existing Literature: Scanning the literature is having multiple advantages to the researcher. In one hand, it helps the researcher to be familiar with the concepts already available in the literature, hence, add some new knowledge to the researcher in the required area. On the other hand, it also helps the researcher in selecting new alternatives, fixation of hypotheses, deciding objectives of study and so on from the existing literature. 3. Group Discussions: Group discussions is the process of discussing about particular topics among the persons who are associated with the work. In group discussions each person in the group shares their own existence and knowledge on a particular topic. It may help the researcher in getting the number of new ideas or knowledge to the existing source of knowledge. Again, discussions with the experts also pave a new way and new idea in the existing field. It also provides some practical knowledge which will help the researchers in the process of execution of the research work. Hence, it can be said that a problem/statement gives information concerning who, what, where and how? 2.8. CRITERIA OF A GOOD RESEARCH PROBLEM: Before finalization of the research problem, the researcher should aware of several conditions and considerations although there is no hard and first rule that all the research problem should follow all the criteria, still few criteria in the form of conditions might be listed for guidance in the selection of a topic. They are: (a) Clarity in problem -the problem selected must have perfect clarity without creating any confusion; (b) Novelty- The problem formulated should be original one so that it should not involve objectionable duplications. Originality is the basic credit point of any research; (c) Logical and Systematic- Research is guided by logic or reasoning; (d) Interesting and Importance- The problem formulated for research should be interesting for the readers and the problem should be significant enough and involve an important principle or practice; (e) Relation between Variables- The problem under study must be in a position to highlight the nature, extent and implicatio ns that exist among variables of the study; (f) Availability of adequate information on data- The research work chosen should ensure the devices and procedures etc. 2.9. DIFFICULTIES OF RESEARCH IN INDIA: India is a pluralistic country. It is not only pluralistic in religion, geographic conditions, body color, living standards etc., but also pluralistic in economic conditions. It generally, possesses characteristics of a typical Under Developed Country (UDC). Before explaining the difficulties that the researchers in India are facing, it is better to narrate some of the distinctive characteristics of the Indian economy. 1. Low Per Capita Income: Indias per capita income is very low compared to the developed countries of the world. The World Development Report 2005 categorized India as a low income category (GNI per capita of $765 or less in 2003) calculated on basis of income aggregates. Similarly, India is also placed in the category of Medium Human Development countries category with HDI value as between 0.05 to 0.799 calculated, based on the human development aggregates in the world. 2. Inequalities in Income Distribution: Another related characteristic of the Indian economy is the prevalence of gross inequalities. The World Bank, in its World Development Report, 2002, has revealed that the richest 10 per cent took 33.5 per cent of the total income and the poorest 10 per cent received only 3.5 per cent of the total income distribution in India. The larger number of people in the top group includes owners and managers in the private sector, managers of public enterprises, workers in large public and private sector enterprises, government workers at the middle levels and small family farmers in the prosperous rural areas. 3. Predominance of Agriculture: Agriculture is the mainstay of Indian economy. Agriculture and allied sectors contribute nearly 22 per cent of Gross Domestic Product of India, while about 65-70 per cent of the population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. 4. Low Productivity: There are wide difference in the level of productivity in different sectors between the advanced and the backward countries. The average productivity in Indian agriculture is about 40 times below the productivity level in U.S.A. and Canara. Difference in the industrial productivity between advanced and backward nations is also found to be very significant. 5. Technological Backwardness: The techniques of production employed in most of the sectors of the underdeveloped economics are either absolute or outdated. In India, for example, agriculture is still carried out with the centuries old techniques. Similarly, modernization in the industrial sector is also found to be very limited, as most of the industries still employ techniques which have been long discarded in the western countries. The transport sector still needs more improvement. 6. Deficiency in Capital: A common characteristic of all the underdeveloped countries is the deficiency in capital. The rate of capital formation in India has been depressing low. 7. Rapid Growth of Population: The rate of growth of population in underdeveloped countries is generally very high. This is primarily because of the high birth rate and low death rate. 8. Existence of Unemployed and Disguised Unemployment: Unemployment, underemployment and disguised unemployment are very common feature of the underdeveloped nation, as India. Since, population grows rapidly, labour is a prime factor and it is not possible to provide employment to all the people who are capable of work and willing to work. Consequently unemployment and underemployment is found to be very common. In the agricultural sector of the economy, disguised unemployment exists to a considerable degree. 9. Poor Quality of Human Capital: Human capital implies the quality of the countrys labour force. It is the labour which has to play a great role in building up the economy. Public expenditure on education, medical care and social services goes a long way to improve the quality of labour in the nation. Unfortunately, in India masses still continue to be illiterate and ignorant. For this reason, India is lack of skilled experts in various sectors. 10. Under-utilisation of Natural Resources: In India, still now a large proportion of its forest are laying unexploited. Similarly, the water resources of the country are again remaining unutilized. A better use of all these actual and potential resources pave the way in support of improvement in economic activity and the volume of national production, hence, level of living. The above features and remaining more, point out that India is an underdeveloped country. In the years after independence the government of India has awakened to the need of economic development of the country and has made an organized effort and initiated the process of development in the country. As a result of these efforts the pace of development has gathered momentum and the country is making a steady progress towards development. In such a situation, it is very easy on the part of a researcher to find out accurate problems/ideas/objectives of research within a short span of time. But in the process of execution of research work, he/she may face numbers of difficulties. These difficulties generally emerge as bottlenecks in the process of research in our country. Even though, the literature points out about the presence of a number of huddles that the researchers generally face, some important factors are narrated below: 1. Lack of Specialized Institutions: In India, we have lack of specialized research institutions for conducting frequent research and development in our preferred areas, particularly in management. 2. Lack of Adequate Source of Literature: Since we are lack of adequate specialized research institutions, hence, there is lack of rich library for getting adequate literature. Even though in some particular cities there exist rich libraries but still they seem to be very few in numbers in comparison to requirement. In such a situation, the researchers are spending huge amount towards maintenance expenditure before the collection of required materials. This task is expensive and also time consuming. Such facts are generally de-motivating the researchers. 3. Lack of Adequate Data: Collection of primary data is time consuming and expensive. In India, a researcher is not getting adequate data for conducting research work. There are few organizations that collect primary data (panel data) from the field periodically. But the cost of the data available for sell is very high. For example, suppose a person is interested in consumer expenditure data. The best source of data is that of NSSO unit record data. It is surprising that the data CD of 61st round consumer data costs around Rs. 18000/-, which is very expensive and is beyond the limit of the individual researcher(s). 4. Lack of Experts: We have very limited experts in different fields of research in social sciences and also in management. Since, we have limited institutions and also because of improper salary structure in comparison to developed countries, experts are getting maximum exposure in developed countries and also the working environment is also very attractive and good. This encourages most of our scholars to settle abroad. 5. Technical Bottlenecks: Technology in 21st century is changing very faster. But in India most of the research scholars are using traditional means of technology in research, which are both time consuming and requires more personal involvement. 5. Infant Industry Condition: Most of the industries in India are in Infant stage. For this reason, the industries in India are lack of their own research and development cell. Since, the execution of independent research is expensive, requires more time and human resources, thus, the industries prefer to conduct research through consultants and NGOs, rather than opening up of their own RD department. 6. Dualistic Economy: Indian industrial sector shows dualistic economic structure i.e., the presence of modern sector and the traditional sector. Similarly, small pockets of development exist in towns and metropolitan cities where the industry has grown and the trade is flourishing. On the other hand, the rural areas continue to be in the grip of backwardness, poverty and stagnation. All these create problems to the researcher to get adjusted with these dualistic natures of the economy. 7. Democratic form of Government: Since, Indian constitution is adopting the democratic form of Government; hence, we have no strict legal code and conduct for the research. By the way, it is essential for the formation of a code and conduct specifying methodologies and procedure of research and related issues to make the research process more uniform and ethical. 8. Lack of Adequate Financial Assistance to Researcher: There is lack of certain economic institutions like financial institutions and credit agencies for funding the research work. As funding is not available, it is discouraging research work. 9. Time Consuming: Research process is mostly time consuming. Since we are using all most all the traditional technique of research, hence, it requires much time. This is discouraging for further research. 2.10 LINKING RESEARCH TO PRACTICE: Olivier Serrat (2005) of Asian Development Bank, in his volume ‘Linking Research to Practice which is meant for ADBs series of knowledge solutions pointed out that research greatly exceeds its application in practice. So, he pointed out that researchers must pay greater attention to the production of their research findings in a flexible range of formats in recognition of the varied needs of readers. To him, research is about both generation and enunciation of findings. An enunciate policy is the expression of a research institutions mission and values to its staff members and to the public. It establishes a common vision and the values and measures that can be engaged to achieve accessibility to information content. An enunciate policy can be an effective and economical instrument that links research to practice but in reality it is observed that except few there may be rarely such other institute who are following this in practice. Thus, he advocated for the definite existenc e of an enunciation policy and an enunciation plan for each research agenda. Enunciation tactics will then automatically come into play. Drawing a Enunciate Plan: The most successful enunciate processes are usually designed before the start of a research agenda. It should produce a response-utilization of the research findings-on the part of users. While drawing an enunciation plan, researchers should consider at least the following seven major elements: a. Impact and Outcomes: What is the desired impact of enunciation? What outcomes does the enunciation plan aim to accomplish? In what ways the users are benefited? b. Users: Which users are most affected by the research? Which would be most interested in learning of the research findings? What are their scope and characteristics? c. Information Content: Does the information content match the users expressed informational needs? Does the comprehension level require to understand the information content that match the characteristics of the users? Is the information content reviewed through a quality control mechanism to ensure accuracy and relevance? d. Medium: What is the most effective enunciation method to reach each user group? What reso

Senate Essay -- American History, The Confederation Congress

The Confederation Congress was plagued with problems, as the former colonies struggled to form a national identity. The lack of permanent physical location and united national government, led to problems of inaction, following the Revolutionary war. â€Å"Congress’s lack of power and frequent inability to act (often due to a lack of quorum or the need for a supermajority for certain decisions) demanded reform† (Wirls, p. 58). The founders agreed on the need for reform, opposing groups argued about the nature. Federalists argued for a strong national government, with few representatives, removed the day to day local political affairs. They desired a group of political elites, free to make decisions based on national interests. In order to promote an independent nature within the senate, Federalists advocated long terms, some advocating lifetime appointments. The anti-Federalists rejected the idea of permanent elite, instead promoting large numbers of repre sentatives, with small groups of political constituents. Rather than the crà ¨me de la crà ¨me of society, anti-Federalists envisioned a kaleidoscope; representatives would personally reflect the interests of constituents. During the final constitutional plan for the U.S. Senate, a compromise was reached; anti-Federalist views were incorporated through the equal apportionment and appointment by states, Federalists insured independence in the senate by instituting staggered six year terms. Compromise between the Federalist and anti-Federalist was reached through a series of decisions, in no small part assisted by the fact that those against strengthening the Federal government were not present, â€Å"the formidable talents who were opposed to the project of fortifying the... ...emate concerning the national congress. With the rights of small states protected through equal representation in the senate, the convention was able to move forward in forming a strong national government with responsibilities and rights separate from the states. Federalists were able to protect the independence of the senate, through staggered six year terms and more stringent eligibility requirements than those for the House of Representatives. The eventual formation of a separate national capital insured the both physically as well as psychologically desired independence of the senate and congress. The members of both sides present shared a mutual understanding of the need for a senate in a stronger national system. The decisions which lead to the compromise resulted in the creation of a senate which included both Federalist and anti-Federalist views.