Monday, September 30, 2019

The Song of Songs vs. Lady Antebellum’s Our Kind of Love

The Song of Songs vs. Lady Antebellum’s â€Å"Our Kind of Love† The excerpts from The Bedford Anthology of World Literature entitled The Song of Songs can correlate to the contemporary love song â€Å"Our Kind of Love† sang by the notorious, award-winning country music group Lady Antebellum. Besides the fact that these two works were written under antithetical circumstances and during distinctly different time periods, they both share many of the same attributes. Both of these works closely examine the word â€Å"love†, a word that is commonly misused in the present day generation.Furthermore, they both portray the profound, romantic feeling that a woman and a man share when they are both mentally and physically attracted to each other. The Song of Songs, is often misunderstood. When many people first read this poem, they find it hard to believe that this sexual, explicit love poem is found in the Bible. Phrases like, â€Å"do not rouse her† (210. 9 ), â€Å"your lips drop sweetness like the honeycomb† (213. 11), â€Å"I have stripped off my dress† (214. 3), and â€Å"I am a wall and my breasts are like towers† (218. 0), are present throughout this poem. Many people read these phrases and think of them to be sexual connotations. These phrases are indeed erotic but what most people do not understand is that this poem is meant to show the love that God has created for a male to feel towards a female and a female to feel towards a male when they are in a monogamous relationship. This poem was also intended to be able to be used as lyrical hymn that could be sung. Many songs in today’s culture portray this feeling of love as well. Our Kind of Love† is a country song sang by the country musical group Lady Antebellum. Although, at first many people may not agree, The Song of Songs, a poem that can be found in the Bible, and â€Å"Our Kind of Love†, a song that just recently was produced, share many of the same qualities. The Song of Songs has two main characters: the bride and the bridegroom whom are lovers. The companions are another group of characters in this poem. They are kind of like the narrators of the poem that chime in at certain times.Each of the three characters plays a contrary role in the love poem. In â€Å"Our Kind of Love†, the country group Lady Antebellum, sings about the love shared between a male and a female. In this song, a man and a woman take turns singing about their love for each other. Even though â€Å"Our Kind of Love† is a song, it can also be considered a poem as well. While reading The Song of Songs, one might doubt that it is a poem because many of the lines contained in this poem do not rhyme with each other however, a poem does not always have to rhyme.One might also disagree that a song such as â€Å"Our Kind of Love† can be a poem, but a song was at one time just a poem until it was actually made into a song. Whe n first looking at both the poem and the song together, the stanza in which they are written looks almost identical besides the fact that the song is obviously shorter than the poem. This should be a clue to the readers right away that they are both poems. Another clue that both of these could be poems or songs, is the title of the poem The Song of Songs.The title says it all. â€Å"Our Kind of Love† and The Songs of Songs are both about two people madly in love. In both of these works, the characters both explain their love towards each other. However, the way they express their love for each other is extremely different. This is because of the difference in cultures and time periods. For example, in The Song of Songs the bridegroom describes his bride’s beauty by using a large amount of adjectives: How beautiful you are, my dearest, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are like doves, your hair like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead (212. 1). In †Å"Our Kind of Love†, the way the male describes to the female her beauty sounds a little bit different than in The Song of Songs. He explains her beauty by using less description: â€Å"You wear your smile like a summer sky / Just shining down on me and you swear your heart is a free bird / On a lazy Sunday afternoon† (Lady Antebellum). Although these two phrases sound completely different, they are both stating the same thing, that they both think their lover’s are beautiful.The first phrase is written more proper, and the second phrase is more straight-forward and to the point, and this is why a great number of people do not realize that even though the language of The Song of Songs and â€Å"Our Kind of Love† is different, a lot of the phrases in both of these works are stating the same or close to the same thing. Another example of the similarity of phrases is when the bride in The Song of Songs explains the type of love her and the bridegroom share an d when both the female and the male in â€Å"Our Kind of Love† define the type of love they have together.The bride in The Song of Songs declares her love for the bridegroom: My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds where balsam grows, to delight in the garden and to pick the lilies. / I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine, he who delights in the lilies (215. 2-3). In comparison to this phrase, the male and female in â€Å"Our Kind of Love† explain their love by singing: â€Å"Just like driving on an open highway / Never knowing what we’re gonna find / Just like two kids, baby, always trying to live it up / Whoa, yeah, that’s out kind of love (Lady Antebellum).The Song of Songs was written during a much more earlier time period than â€Å"Our Kind of Love†. One can tell this by comparing the language that is used in both of these works. â€Å"Our Kind of Love† is a contemporary song that just came out in the year 2010. This song consists of everyday, modern language. It is very easy to understand the plot of this song just by listening to it or reading it through once. In contrast, The Song of Songs was written â€Å"between 350 and 250 B. C. E. † (208).This poem is much more difficult to understand than Lady Antebellum’s song because it uses more proper, precise language. The Songs of Songs may require a little extra attention in order to clearly understand the poem. This is what throws most people off and makes them think these two works are not alike. However, if one actually takes the time to look over The Song of Songs a couple of extra times, then he will see that they are stating the same objective, just using a different way to say it.When first looking at this essay, one might not agree with my idea that Lady Antebellum’s recent record-breaking hit, â€Å"Our Kind of Love† and the biblical love poem, The Song of Songs are alike. They are indeed written from di fferent time periods and from different cultures however, by now one should agree that these two works are more similar than they are dissimilar. They both have two main characters, a male and a female. Both of these works can be cited as poems or sung aloud. Also, they are both profound love poems.Many say that The Song of Songs was created in order to show God’s creation between a man and a woman and the love they share with each other, and that is what both of these works are doing. Even though The Song of Songs is much longer in length than â€Å"Our Kind of Love†, they both have the same point. One should take the time to examine both of these popular love poems/songs, because it is very interesting to see how big of an impact a difference in culture plays in World Literature.It is very amusing to see how a love poem written somewhere between 350 and 250 B. C. E. can relate so much to a contemporary country song. Works Cited â€Å"The Song of Songs. † The B edford Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Paul Davis, Gary Harrison, David M. Johnson, Patricia Clark Smith, and John F. Crawford. Book 1 ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004. 208-19. Print. The Ancient World, Beginnings-100 C. E. Lady Antebellum. â€Å"Our Kind of Love. † Need you Now. Quad Studios, 2010

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Hancock & film Essay

Hancock is a film starred by Will Smith as Hancock himself. This film separates itself from the rest of the films for it is an unconventional story of a super hero. The media has instilled in its audience that as a superhero, one must be a good role model. He should be, if not perfect at all, at least close to being one. And yet, this film is a story of the superhero who was a drunkard and undisciplined and selfish man. He seemed ordinary. It was hard to somehow believe that he can save lives. That was what was special about this film. It created a new image of a superhero. It showed a different angle on creating a good superhero. It showed that man is capable of becoming a hero, no matter how bad he can become at times. With these differences it had, it was rather right to question if the film was an effective superhero film. The location and the setting of the film were appropriate to its story. It had the view of an everyday and ordinary life of an ordinary man. Since Hancock was not to be considered as the typical superhero, it seemed that he was treated as an ordinary but strong character. His environment emphasized his strength and his goodness. His strength was presented when people around him tried to insult him. This was shown in scenes where he was called an asshole and then he made sure he was able to teach the person who called him with such name a lesson. Nonetheless, he was provided with the attitude of goodness. His environment was filled with criminals and law breakers. It showed that even if Hancock was drunkard, he wanted to make sure that he saved lives and put criminals in jails. The Mise-en-scene of the film was even so effective in aiding the story through out the duration of the film despite the weakness of the storyline. Hancock, as a superhero film, was expected to have low angle shots to show the authority of the protagonist or the superhero. However, there were a number of high angle shots in the film which suggests the authority of the audience. The shots of Hancock were always either close up shots or medium shots. This focuses the film to Hancock himself. It relayed the message to me that Hancock should be closely watched for the story centers around him and I, as an audience, am a part of his environment. With this, there seemed to be something different with the film. It is not just any typical superhero film. It is rather more emotionally attached in the part of the audience, given the high angle shots and the close up and medium shots of the character. This may be a good one, but also, it can be a bad one. Focusing on its bad effect, it lost its capacity to establish the authority and superiority of the lead character, who was supposed to be treated as an ordinary human yet a superhero. The shots were not moderately thorough which resulted to the was confusion in the shots whether he should be an ordinary lead character or the superhero. If the cinematography was good, it should have made it possible for the audience to identify the character’s role with its visual content, even without the dialogues of the film. The editing of the film was fairly clean. However, there were effects which were slightly disorienting or confusing. One example is when Hancock flew with the car of the pursued criminals. The car bumped on buildings but the buildings were broken instead of the car. One would ask the question, ‘How can that be possible? ’ Although it must aslo be considered that this film is a fiction and it should contain improbable scenes. As the audience, my reason for stating that the editing was fairly clean is because it was able to put to visual an ordinary setting. There were clean cuts of the frames. The transition from one scene to another was clear. On the other hand, there were only minimal special effects like the flying of Hancock, the breaking of the buildings, cars and roads. Other than that, there was nothing more to suggest in the editing that Hancock was a superhero film. Moving on to the musical scoring and sound effects, the film was able to have its audio presented well. The musical scoring was appropriate to the scenes where it was played. An example is when Hancock was flying and the song was Get out the Way by Ludacris. There were birds and other things that were blocking him in flying faster to where he was needed. Another example is the scene where Hancock was in jail and Ray and Mary were thinking about him. The background sound was dramatic and it showed the emotions of the character towards each other. The sound effects were in same manner as appropriate as the musical score. The crashing of the cars, the breaking of the buildings, the flying of Hancock, the cheering and booing of the crowd, the flashing of the camera of reporters, and many other sound effects were placed in the proper scenes. Even the small details were given the proper sound effects. Nothing was taken for granted when it came to the audio. The characters’ delivery of their lines was clear which suggests the usage of proper and reliable devices. The volume of the background sounds were also just enough for the audience to get the hold of both the emotion of the character and the setting of the scene. All in all, the sound of the film acted as its soul. And it is but fair that this made the film live justifiably well in its technical sense on music and sound. The most important contributor in this film was its Mise-en-scene. It was well provided and it was very effective in its purpose in identifying the film as a superhero yet, seemingly ordinary world of Hancock. It was a very good establishing point of the story. It was able to tell the story as clearly as possible. Although I must say that the story was not as strong as it should have been and the cinematography lacked a little organization. Still, the Mise-en-scene was able to provide the audience the factors and elements they it needed in order to be well-informed about the film. It provided the proper imagination for the audience to fully grasp what the scriptwriter and the director wanted to convey. The question whether Hancock was an effective superhero film or not, I must answer that it did not have the strongest justification for a yes. The visual of the scenes were good, however the shots and angles were not as good. There seemed to be something missing in the scenes. The sound in the film provided the audience well with aid to the visual but it was not quite enough. The film needed a tighter interconnection of the visual and the audio in the technical aspect so as to deliver the story well. And although the Mise-en-scene and the sounds of the film were independently provided well, it still lacked the spice to say that the film was indeed an effective superhero film.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Eras of Policing

There are three specific periods of policing that the 19th and 20th centuries embraced: political era, reform era, and community era. During the political era (1840s-1930s) the functions of law enforcement were controlled by the local politicians. This era was characterized by five points–authority was coming only from politicians and the law, it was a very broad social service function, the organizational design was decentralized, law enforcement had a very intimate relationship with the community, and there was an increased usage of foot patrol.Authority from politicians posed a problem during this time. Since most of the power was given to politicians the selection of good law enforcement was not a priority. During this era law enforcement wore no type of uniform which made it difficult for citizens to recognize an officer when one was needed. The reform era (1930s-1980s) was the second era in law enforcement. The characteristics of this era recognized the authority coming from the law and professionalism.Crime control became the primary function which made for a more centralized, efficient organization. It also provided the community with a more professional agency that used preventive patrol measures and a more rapid response to crime. During this time a managed hierarchical pyramid of control was established for police officers. When specific problems rose law enforcement created special units to take care of these issues instead of using patrol officers. The third era of law enforcement is the community era (1980s-present).This era is characterized by the authority coming from the support of the community, law, and professionalism. A broad range of services provided a better hold on crime control in the community. Having a decentralized organization gave more authority to patrol officers and let them become more intimate with their community relationships. This era also increased the use of foot patrols and an increased knowledge of problem-solvin g. Law enforcement became more concerned over citizen satisfaction.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Sounds Analyses in a Sports Event Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Sounds Analyses in a Sports Event - Essay Example Sounds Analyses in a Sports Event It is said that one way music can be interpreted is through the listener’s â€Å"interaction† with it. Sound can be similarly interpreted this way, as sound is also perceived through the auditory sense . This idea can be linked some points in the field notes during the women’s tennis game between Duke University and Virginia Tech. For example, before the start of the game, the crowd could be heard chatting non-stop on probably every topic possible in casual conversations. As an observer, the sounds can be interpreted depending on the personal viewpoint of the listener or the â€Å"intention†. These sounds can be seen as sounds of excitement, of nervousness, or of indifference. To explain further, these three interpretations will be dissected. Sounds from the crowd can be interpreted as excitement due to the consistent rising and falling of the intonation of the overall chatter. They can also be interpreted as nervousness due to the listener’s percep tion of the circumstances where the sounds are happening. Rival fans can easily be perceived as nervous for the game results. Additionally, indifference may also be another interpretation due to the casual setting where the sounds are happening. However, this is just one aspect of interpretation. Another interpretation of sound can be based on â€Å"intentionality.† According to Tia De Nora, â€Å"users configure themselves as agents in and through the ways they relate to objects while they also configure objects in and through the ways they, as agents, behave towards those objects† ... De Nora, â€Å"users configure themselves as agents in and through the ways they relate to objects while they also configure objects in and through the ways they, as agents, behave towards those objects† (Guck 195). It happens, for instance, when the listener uses the music as a catalyst to what the listener wants to feel. For example, during the event, if the listener wants to feel excitement, they can easily use the sounds around them as a catalyst to feel excitement. The endless, mixed sound of voices can easily be used as an accomplice to get this feeling. On the other hand, if the listener wants to feel that their preferred team or player is at an advantage, they could choose to interpret the sounds from rival fans as nervousness (Guck 195-7). Semantics and Pragmatics In communication, aside from phonetics, lexicon, grammar, and syntax, pragmatics, and semantics are also necessary (Feld 206-7). Similarly, rules beyond how a music or sound is made are considered in interpr eting music or sound. Meanings and conceptions of self are equally important in interpreting the objects a listener hears. This could mean that sounds cannot be interpreted solely on the basis of its structure while isolating the context where it is heard. While not absolutely similar, it is reasonable to point out that some issue in linguistics may be applied in ethnomusicology (Feld 207). For example, in the same sports event, if a listener focuses on the social structure where sounds are produced, any listener will interpret the sounds in similar fashion. However, if the pragmatic and semantic theories are applied, a simple sound of laughter from a group of people may present different meanings to the listener. This does not discuss yet the â€Å"intentional† meaning that the producers of the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Wall street journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Wall street journal - Essay Example It has also been equipped with Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint reader. The Touch ID allows users to purchase items within apps by using Apple Pay payment services in addition to also acting as a security feature (Wakabayashi, 2014). In July 2013, Apple announced that it would work with International Business Machines Corp so as to develop iPad and iPhone apps that would cater to the workplace. By positioning the iPad as a possible PC replacement for the newly emergent generation of workers, Apple is noted to be aiming at attempting to answer the existential question noted to be facing tablet computers as technology continues to evolve. As smartphones continue to grow bigger with more powerful processors and larger screens, this trend is noted to be visible in Apple’s own products as is demonstrated in the case of the newly released iPhone 6 plus which comes with a 5.5-inch display that is nearly encroaching on iPad Mini’s 7.9-inch screen. Having been the first tablet computer in 2010, Wakabayashi (2014) points out that the iPad was largely a runaway success but demand for the product has started to gradually slow. A key reason as to why the sale of tablets is gradually decreasing is that people that own iPads are not replacing their tablet computers nearly as often as they tend to swap their phones. It is estimated that about 46% of the iPads that are currently in use are the original iPad and iPad 2 that were initially introduced in 2010 and 2011 respectively. The new iPad Air 2 is largely expected to help drive what will be â€Å"an upgrade cycle† among the currently existing owners of iPads. Other than the iPad Air 2, Apple also plans on unveiling a new iPad Mini 3, that will come with Touch ID as well as a new iMac personal computer. To compete with lower priced rivals that run Google Inc’s Android operating system, Apple cut the price of last year’s iPad model down to $299 while that for its previous iPad minis was reduced to $249. Apple is also

Emerging Technologies that address interoperability issues in an Essay

Emerging Technologies that address interoperability issues in an e-business environment - Essay Example New technologies have been introduced through e-commerce to give a wider exposure and innovate new ways of conducting businesses, which has introduced a new dimension in technology known as E-business. E-business’s presence is important for expansion in business, dissemination of information and access to physically inaccessible markets. In today’s dynamic world, companies spent heavily on their IT departments for the technical support to smoothly run their e-commerce activities. Companies even develop strategies through e-business to reduce cost of the business, expand sales and increase customer services and satisfaction in the long run. E-business is widely used for many business purposes like product research, order entry; customer’s related matters like support, services, communication, inquiry, invoicing etc., outbound and inbound logistics. E-commerce has revolutionized not only businesses but every aspect of life; the world is now a click away. (Ray, 3) C hallenge from the Competitor in E-Business Environment including Supply Chain Due to increased e-business services and advancement in IT related matters, competition has geared up in every sector tremendously. Nowadays, competition has intensified due to e-business activity like business to business (B2B) or business to consumer (B2C) transactions or transactions that incur after sale. These facilities and easiness to conduct business has caused cost efficiency which has attracted more competition in every sector. Increased Competition Due to Low Entry Barriers Due to tremendous benefits offered by the e-business, the competition has increased, which has affected business in many ways. The e-business has lowered market entry barriers and it is now comparatively very easy to enter business than it was previously. Initially, large investments and established contacts were needed to start up a business which is now replaced by easy entry in to the markets which is now a click away. Thi s has made competition severe and is a threat to many established business. The internet as a medium to exchange information has made customers close to the businesses which has brought great challenges to the existing businesses. Now there is a continuous threat to every business that another business established in no time can take away its customers. Thirdly, globalization has added to the increasing competition. Internet allows the customers to exchange information anywhere in the world, which has made the businesses of the world compete with each other. (United Nations, 142) Continuous Cost Reduction Due to e-business, the markets now seem to be more of a perfect market where there are many competitors striving to gain their positions. In such a market, cost leaders prevail. Due to closed links of customers and suppliers in the supply chain, cost reduction is an achievable task in today’s business and many business strategies are based on this. In this cost reduction rac e, every business has to continuously work on its cost reduction strategies in order to compete effectively. Secondly, the transaction costs are reduced for the customers due to extensive information available over the internet. This also puts up a pressure on the businesses to increase their presence over the internet. (United Nations,

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Does Freedom Have a Price Chinese versus U.S.A Research Paper

Does Freedom Have a Price Chinese versus U.S.A - Research Paper Example Compared to other nations, American families in contrast are able to afford more products in a grand scale than most countries around the globe. However taking a flashback towards the rise of capitalism, one cannot refute the fact that the upper class in the 1900’s controlled the surplus of the products. In essence, the rich controlled the resources and used the working force of the upper and lower class. However, the upper class continued to reap the profits and used them for future investment. The whole essence of that was to improve the process of production that can not only facilitate the work force but also enabled them to reach a higher a level of efficiency. Stock prices have dropped sharply and both the NASDAQ and Dow-Jones have suffered. Scholars have insisted that the NASDAQ has lost more than 63 percent of its value since March 2000. In addition, individuals have lost about $5 trillion in the value of stocks traded on major U.S. exchanges. More than 400,000 workers have been laid off, which has drastically been detrimental to the economy. The current recession that occurred internationally has forced the American economy to hinder. When the economic collapsed occurred, majority of the banks failed to accumulated the loans they were obligated to receive from the customers. In midst of this chaos, the banks failed to make any revenue and tightened the parameters in which loans can be lender. However, the mid and small size businesses in this recessive environment have no build up capital to initiate their venture. Thus, this poses a problem for a capitalistic economy that is so driven by regional economies. Since capitalism is so driven by the purchasing power of consumers, it is crippled when spending diminishes. The domino effect not only occurs at macro but also in a micro level. Since the recession, the US market has been under heavy scrutiny with the SEC and other commissions. The US public debt that is borrowed by the government at throug h the Treasury consists of two essential components. The first component is the debt held by public companies and the other debt is held by intragovernment agencies which consist of Treasury securities. Throughout history, the public debt has continued to increase as government spending as surpassed its deficits by the amount of $500 billion. The United States needs to borrow nearly $10 trillion over the next decade, including about $1.6 trillion in this current year. The question remains- will China still give the United States this money? Currently, the foreign ownership in the market is possessed by China. The largest single holder of US government debt is held by China as it holds almost 36% of all stocks. Throughout history, China has been extremely weary of foreign control as it has dramatically been exploited from other nations. Comprehensive research indicates that China’s economy has been spurted out of ashes and is one of the most developed nations that challenges t he GDP production of America. Production and innovation has been a key component for China as it imports majority of its goods. In addition, products in China are cheap and durable, which can pose a risk for other organizations. Undoubtedly, China wants to gain leverage not only in the political sphere but also in the economic sphere. Gaining leverage will be highly beneficial for China as it can inject its products in the

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Business finance and legal service coursework(Write a report on the Essay

Business finance and legal service coursework(Write a report on the financial performance of a company in a particular sector) - Essay Example As a cascading effect the production activities suffered. There were reports of spare capacity which in turn resulted into massive employment cut during 2012. New exports reduced considerably. As a result the growth in the manufacturing sector or FMCG sector has fallen steeply during 2011 to 2012 (Chartered Institute Of Purchasing and Supply, 2 April, 2013). Manufacturing activities lifted a bit higher towards the end of 2012 but rate of expansion was marginal and weak. The reasons behind it were cost inflation acceleration in Eurozone and rise in average input price hitting an eight month high (Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, January 2013). The downturn UK economy was suffering came to an end during December 2012 with level of production and new orders rising at a faster rates. Reportedly highest gains were made by Britain’s consumer goods producer. It has been predicted if the recoveries in the overseas market continue to build during then Britain exporters are expected to make out huge profit out of it (Chartered Institute of Purchasing And Supply, December 2012). ... The Company believes in growth through organic and international expansion. The company has grown so much in the short span due to great strategic planning. â€Å"Their ambition is to grow their group together EBIT margin by an average of 50bps per annum from2009-2013† (Britvic plc, n.d.). They follow an expansion of 2-3% every year. The company gives prime focus in closing distribution gaps in all routes to market. Britvic started acquiring independent still business since 2010.They acquired Friute business in France with leading brand such as Teissiere and Pressade. This was followed by the prime acquisition of A.G. Barr during September 2012. The company’s excellent performance during this short span demonstrates their ability to grow in business and create shareholders wealth (Britvic plc, n.d.). An Overview of Financial Performance Data and Ratios: SNAPSHOT OF FINANCIAL POSITION OF BRITVIC PLC NAME FORMULA CALCULATION 2012 2011 Net Profit Ratio (Net Profit/ Net Sal es) 0.061703822 0.061937984 Return On Capital Invested (Adjusted Net Profit/Capital Employed) 0.118501529 0.118545994 Price Earnings Ratio (Market Value Of Share/ Earning Per Share) 15.2941176 Data Insufficient Current Ratio (Current Asset/Current Liability) 1.02425876 0.984615385 Capital Gearing Ratio (Equity Share Capital/ Fixed Interest Bearing Funds) 0.327546089 0.327983252 Debt Equity Ratio or Long Term Borrowing Ratio (Total Long Term Debts/ Shareholders Fund) 8.439577039 9.055292259 (Tracy, 2012) The above table gives a snapshot of the company’s financial position during the two fiscal years. The net profit ratio didn’t suffer any change within the two fiscal years. But the revenue had

Monday, September 23, 2019

Environmental Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Environmental Law - Essay Example As per RCEP ( Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution) , pollution is one, which has been introduced by human being into the environment of energy or substances, which is responsible to create an injury to health of human beings , hazards to ecological systems and living resources , harm to amenity , structure or interference with the lawful uses of the atmosphere2. Pollution is related with harms to health of humans, plants, property, habitats, animals and ecological structure. Pollution is not limited to the effect of chemical materials either on the environment or on human beings3. If chemical energy or substances are released into environment unauthorisedly, it would be tantamount to pollution under the environmental law. Thus, pollution can happen in the following ways. If a person or a legal person (company) releases energy or chemicals into the atmosphere in violation of its licence stipulations; If a person or a legal person (company) releases energy or chemicals into the atmosphere without obtaining any valid licence4. As per Keith Hawkins, pollution is a conception by the administration, and the regulator manages the issue of licenses, and it is having authority to decide, which discharge tantamount to pollution and if the discharge surpasses the licence conditions, then, that will be regarded as unlawful5. Offences under UK environmental laws fall under strict liability offences, and thus it minimises the onus on the prosecutor, and the defendant has to prove that there has been no infringement from his side to escape from the offence. In the early nineteenth century, when it was found that enforcement officials were lacking capability to assess the internal intricacies of business operations, the strict liability is introduced for environmental offences6. In UK, the environmental offences will fall under the category of strict liability offence. One of the salient features of strict liability offence is that it facilitates the prosecutor to puni sh a company for any environmental offences where the infringement was due to inaction or action of its employees, or due to failures of mechanical systems or other equipments7. In UK, there are about twenty-five environmental statutes specifically provide for initiating action against officers with regard to about 175 separate punishable offences under UK’s environmental law ,which may be perpetrated by the companies. For instance, the National Rivers Authority can recoup reasonable costs of mitigating or remedying pollution in groundwater or surface from the persons who have knowingly permitted or caused the threatened pollution or the pollution. The Environment Act 1995 authorises the costs to be recouped from the â€Å"appropriate persons† who have permitted or caused such pollution. Thus, the term â€Å"persons† include of course both the officers and the directors of the company8. Oil and Gas production and exploration is to adhere to its own environmental regulations. Environmental safeguard provisions are introduced in the exploration and development licences itself under s.4 of the Act9. Oil pollutions offences like releasing of oil mixture or oil into territorial waters of UK is a punishable crime under the above Act10. For instance, the US Environmental Protection Agency levies administrative penalties whereas the Department of Justice award criminal punishments for the most serious infringement. Likewise, under German laws,

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Developing a Motivational Plan Essay Example for Free

Developing a Motivational Plan Essay A motivation plan for any school is extremely important for the success of any educational program. Students who are not motivated will not learn and in turn wont succeed. Many components should be included in a motivational plan so that all the needs of students are met and each student has goals that are attainable and can be reached. According to Hersey (2008), Goals should be set high enough that a person has to stretch to reach them but low enough that they can be attained. Goal setting, rewards, both tangible and non-tangible, and a sense of belonging are motivational components that should be included in a motivational plan. The first part of a motivational plan that I would feel essential for my school would be goal setting. At the current school that I work at, I feel like this is a missing part of our motivational plan and it greatly affects our students. Without goals, the students dont know what they are working towards, this creates confusion and a detachment from the meaning of education. Although some students may set personal goals, I feel like its important for there to be group goals so that the students can work together to achieve them and be more motivated. Goals should be set high, but not so high that students cant achieve them. Goals that are too high would do the opposite of motivate, it would create despair and students would give up eventually because they would know that their effort is not worthwhile. Setting goals that are attainable will motivate students and will give students the confidence that they need to continue their efforts in reaching additional goals. If students know that they can reach a goal, something that is attainable and reachable, theyll be more motivated to try so that they can have that feeling of accomplishment. Another important aspect of goal setting is that the goals are changed and updated frequently so that students constantly have something to work for. Once a student achieves a particular goal, the motivation will be gone unless they have something else to work towards, something else to motivate them. Hersey (2008) also supports this idea by stating, Once the child becomes proficient in attaining a particular goal, it becomes appropriate for the parent to provide an opportunity for the child to identify and set new goals. So, its my plan to work with the students to create attainable goals frequently so that students have constant motivation and something that they can always work towards. I believe that goal setting is a major component of any motivation plan and this will be the main focus behind mine. I feel that its extremely important that students have goals and something to work towards, otherwise there will be no motivation behind their actions. The second component of my motivation plan will be tangible and intangible rewards. Students will work towards something and be more motivated if they receive something in return. This is similar to why anyone get a job. They work hard and complete actions in order to receive the tangible reward of money and the intangible reward of accomplishment. Students are going to be more motivated and work harder if they will get something in return for their hard work, whether its intangible like a feeling, or tangible, like good grades or rewards. It is no surprise, then, that to improve academic achievement of middle school students, successful programs incorporate the social contexts for both intrinsic motivation and internalized extrinsic motivation (Wilson Corpus, 2001). Although studies have shown that extrinsic rewards are only beneficial short term and can be detrimental in long term situations, (Corpus Wilson, 2001), I believe that every now and then a tangible reward is needed and can result is a positive outcome and increased motivation. An example of this is a current motivational strategy that we use at my current school regarding awards for good grades, citizenship, and good attendance. Students get awards every semester for achieving milestones in these categories and I believe that it does increase student motivation. If a student is close to the end of the semester and has a B+ in one class, they will are motivated to raise that one grade in order to get the highest award presented to them in front of their parents, teachers, and students, since we do the award ceremony during the school day. I have personally seen the motivation that is created by these awards and I plan to include this in my motivational plan as well. Intangible awards can also be very successful in creating motivation and are more beneficial long term although short term effects may not be as common as with the tangible rewards. Students respond to intrinsic rewards like praise, self assurance, and accomplishment. There are, however, many intangible rewards, such as praise or power, that are just as important and effective for use as incentives when endeavoring to evoke a particular behavior (Hersey, 2008). To incorporate this into my plan I would like to see more praise for good behavior, as well as giving students more choices in the classroom. By giving students choices, they will feel more empowered by their choice and feel more accomplished when they achieve it, resulting in increase motivation. Finally, I would like to see a good sense of community and belonging in my school community. According to Glasser (1985), the five basic needs common to all people are the need for belonging, power, fun, freedom, and survival. With a sense of belonging, students will have more ownership over their behavior and will be more motivated to succeed. Its been my experience that students that are out-casts arent motivated to succeed because they have no reason to, no one to share their success with. The opposite would happen if students feel like they belong and have someone to share their motivation and success with. Overall, more than one component is important to any successful motivational plan. My plan will focus on goal setting, rewards, and a sense of belonging or community within my school. With these factors I hope that my students will be motivated to learn and become better students and people. Its my belief that although many factor are essential to a motivation plan, its crucial that goals are set so that students have something to work towards. Without a goal to work towards, students wont feel like they have a reason to be motivated. These are the components that will be included in my motivational plan for my future school.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Quality of Consumers Goods

Quality of Consumers Goods In recent years, consumers are becoming increasingly conscious about the quality, safety, suitability and environmental impacts of the goods that they demand. However, in many cases, consumers would not aware of the quality of a goods or products even after consumptions. These products are known as the credence goods. It is difficult to distinguish between two qualities of the same good, even after consumption. In such case, consumers are willing to pay a premium for the hidden attributes of the goods that they cannot observe. Such goods include ‘natural versus genetically modified (GM) food, ‘organic versus non-organic products, ‘fair-trade products, ‘suitable for vegetarians goods, ‘Kosher, and more generally ‘high-quality versus low-quality products. However, this paper is interested to study a special type of credence goods, that is ‘Halal versus non-Halal products or goods. Halal is an Arabic word which means lawful or permissible. It follows the Islamic ruling known as the Syariah law. Halal covers every aspect of Muslims life especially dietary. Halal food simply means that the food products are free from any elements which Muslims prohibited from consuming. Extended discussion on Halal is presented in Chapter 2. With Islam as the second largest religion in the world and the fastest growing, the world Halal food trade is estimated to be around US$ 150 billion to US$ 500 billion in 2007 on which US$ 80 billion alone is generated from agri-food products (Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, 2007; Brunei Halal, 2007). These factors hasten the investment in Halal products, and in some cases, producers cheat for easy access to the market. Analysis of Halal in this paper, distinguishes itself from other studies on credence goods, as it involves different levels of consumers interactions. Any credence goods, including Halal products, comprise a special attribute or characteristic. This characteristic is not verifiable and revealed unless by experts or other professional services. Hahn (2004) suggested that real or complete credence goods would be difficult to find as consumers would have some judgement on products or services after the consumption. This is not entirely true as in case of Halal food product, especially Halal meat. It is very difficult to check if the meat is entirely Halal as claimed, as there is no existing way to check after consumption whether say the meat purchased is really slaughtered in Syariah methods, even though there is non-existence of other non-Halal ingredients. Therefore, in this sense, Halal meat is an example of a real credence good. In many cases, consumers concern for the special or credence attribute (eg. environmental, fair-trade, organic, Halal, etc.) is evidenced by their willingness to pay a premium for the high-quality products. The willingness to pay opens up an opportunity for low-quality producers (those which lack the special attribute) to take advantage by pretending to be that of high-quality, especially when only the producers know whether the desirable attribute exist in their products or not. Moreover, it is too expensive for individual consumer to directly monitor or verify these attributes. Therefore, consumers could only decide their purchasing choice on subjective belief regarding the products quality, which are based on all available information such as press report, word-of-mouth and labels when such adverse selection in credence goods market exist. Hence, producers cannot build reputation when production of low-quality imitating goods could not be detected and punished. Delayed detection of low-quality products allows its producers to imitate the strategy of their high-quality rivals, which hampered signalling use. Like other credence goods, Halal food products, through certified Halal brand/logo would improve the information asymmetry, but may carry the similar issues. These issues are discussed in Chapter 2. It is common for credence goods to feature a communication scheme such as labels or brands to help consumers in making purchasing decisions. Moreover, these labels or brands often require authentication by legislator or a third-party organisations that have the proficiency in each field of specific credence quality attributes, thus involving additional costs. In the Halal market, there also exist regulations by the government (eg. in Brunei, under the authority of Brunei Islamic Religious Council, Ministry of Religious Affairs) or third party organisation (eg. in United Kingdom, by Halal Monitoring Committee and Halal Food Authority, to name some). In which they certify a product through monitoring and indicating some guidelines for producers before granting a recognisable label on the products. Hence, this label helps consumers to make better decision choice. Moreover, a quality label that improves pre-purchasing information would increase welfare, and high-quality producers would always be willing to go through the necessary inspection as to reveal the products quality to the consumers, unless the cost for verification is extremely high. The welfare affect of introducing Halal labelling is briefly discussed in the analysis, especially where Halal labelling opens up an opportunity to access additional consumers, ie. Muslims, also referre d to the primary consumers. The analysis of Halal in this paper is aimed to study the interactions of the market forces or what commonly referred to in economics as ‘invisible hand of the demand and supply in Halal market. At the same time, considering the effects on introduction of labelling upon the level of equilibrium, in addition to other factors such as the additional demand by Muslims of primary market. This is a unique or special aspect which might not be available in previous studies on credence goods. The following chapters are organised as follows. Halal concept is further discussed in the next Chapter 2. This chapter is intended as an expansion to the introduction (Chapter 1) in order to provide a deeper understanding on the concept of Halal, and to provide information regarding the current market for Halal food products and the issues pertaining in the Halal market on the use of Halal logo. The relevant literature reviews are discussed in Chapter 3, discussing the works by other authors on the area of credence goods which can be linked to Halal. Chapter 4 presents the economic analysis and application of Halal products as credence goods. Chapter 5 concludes this paper and provide a discussion on the policy implications generated by the study. CHAPTER 2 2.0. A Brief Concept of Halal Religion involves beliefs and the way of life, where group of individuals interprets and respond to what they feel is supernatural and holy (Johnstones, 1975, in Shafie and Othman, n.d.). Shafie and Othman underline that most religion prescribes or prohibits certain behaviour including that of consumption (n.d.). The concept of Halal is not new in the Islamic world, but only in recent years that its potentials have been realised by corporations and organisations around the world, which normally perform under the conventional economics. The word Halal comes from Arabic which means permissible or lawful. It is ruled by the Islamic law known as Syariah law which is based on the Quran and Hadith (records of the life, actions and teachings of Prophet Muhammad). By not fully understanding the concept of Halal, one (non-Muslim especially in Muslim-minority country such as United Kingdom) may think that Halal only refers to meat or something to do with ‘kebabs. Halal actually governs every aspect of life of Muslims, however, this paper only view Halal perspective on consumption of food. What is not Halal is called Haram or non-permissible. Any product which comes from swine and/or dog is strictly Haram. A special cleansing ritual must be done if a Muslim directly touched (although accidentally) these animals and/or the sources (eg. skin). Such products that contain strictly Haram ingredients or derivatives are termed as ‘non-transformable in the analysis in Chapter 4. Amongst other strictly Haram animal products include blood, birds of prey, and/or carrion (dead animals without slaughtering). Alcohol is also Haram, but in some strict case it could become or change into Halal, this is discussed later on in Section 2.3 of this paper. Un-slaughtered animals such as beef and chicken are also become non-Halal, unless slaughtered by a Muslim according to Syariah practice. Such products are termed as ‘transformable in the analysis of this paper. What lies between Halal and Haram is called Mashbooh meaning that the goods appear to be suspicious, questionable and According to Bonne and Verbeke (2007), as product attribute, Halal refers to the nature, origin and the processing methods of the food products, which entails similarity with organic foods and those taking animal welfare or sustainability into account. Strict procedure must be followed to obtain highest standard of Halal, and that Halal products must not contact with non-Halal products; as similar to vegetarian food should not be in contact with any meat. Halal concept covers both food and non-food product category, but as mentioned earlier, this paper would only focus on the first one. Studies show that about 70 to 75 percent of Muslim strictly follows the Halal standard for their dietary (Hussaini 1993a in Bonne and Verbeke, 2007; Minkus-McKenna, 2007). The next section provides an overview of Halal food market. 2.1. Halal Food Market The Halal market is considered as the fastest growing market globally as reported by the Borneo Bulletin (2008). The world Halal industry is estimated to worth between US$ 500 million to around US$ 2 trillion (Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, 2007; Borneo Bulletin, 2008; Brunei Halal, 2007). The market is growing around US$ 500 billion annually due to the rising Muslim population worldwide (Borneo Bulletin, 2008; Brunei Halal, 2007). It is reported that the Muslim population is known to be the fastest growing religion in the world (Bonne and Verbeke, 2007) and in Europe (BBC News, 2005). The global Halal food trade itself in 2007 is estimated to be between US$ 150 billion (Brunei Halal, 2007) and US$500 billion with 12 percent of this or US$ 80 billion generated from agri-food products (Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, 2007). In addition, Islam is the second largest religion in the world (Riaz and Chaudry, 2004) with nearly 1.5 billion people (ibid.; Bonne and Verbeke, 2007; Din, 2006). The National Statistics Census carried out by the British Government, shows that Islam is also the second largest religion in the United Kingdom, approximately 1.6 million Muslims (2001). The statistics also revealed that Muslims are the largest household in the United Kingdom. These factors would justify that the demand for Halal food products in the United Kingdom is expanding. The market for Halal can be divided into two namely, primary and secondary. Primary market arises from the demand by Muslims, whereas, secondary market refers to the demand by non-Muslims. These terms are used in the analysis of this paper. Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (2007) suggested that Halal is often referred to safety and of high quality by both markets. Besides these, factors for increasing Halal demand includes: increasing incomes in primary market, rising population of Muslim, and rising demand for variety in primary market (ibid.). For Muslims, consuming Halal food products are their religious obligation, however it is known that Halal food are also consumed by non-Muslims. The later often perceived as specially selected and processed to achieve highest standards of quality (Riaz and Chaudry, 2004, p. 14). Manufacturers or producers that sells Halal products would create significant advantage compared to those that do not (Shafie and Othman, n.d.). Riaz and Chaudry (2004, p. 16) suggested that the increasing demand for Halal products as well as expanding number of Muslim population can be an inducement for producers to provide Halal products. Nonetheless, it is safe to say that these views mostly look at Muslim-majority economies such as those in Asian region. Hence, this paper provides a study in relation to Muslim-minority economy such as the United Kingdom. However, like any other food labels, Halal labelling also have some issues. 2.2. Halal Logo and Its Issues The use of Halal logo in food products indicates that the products are Islamic or Syariah compliant. Similar to other food related logos such as ‘suitable for vegetarian V-logo, Halal logo intends to communicate with the consumers of this product that it is fit for their consumption. Initial finding shows that some companies may use this logo even though its products might violate some rules of the Syariah law. Such situation was reported in which, some meat and other processed products from Brazil imported into the country, were being inspected by Halal Monitoring Committee, to be found a violation (2007). Another comparable situation is reported by The Tribune (2008) that the biggest meat producer in Scotland is under investigation over the supply of so-called ‘fake Halal meat in the country. There are some issues to which cause the problem arises. Fischer claims that the lack of a state body that is capable of inspecting the unregulated market [in the United Kingdom] has left this market open to fraud, corruption and without any kind of standards, uniform certification and standard (n.d.). Study by Fischer also shows that many British Muslims and organisations call upon the state to help recognise and standardised Halal. However for the ease of this papers analysis, this situation is relaxed, meaning producers behave honestly when claiming their products as Halal. Having Halal logo does not mean the products automatically accepted to be purchased by consumers especially that of primary market. Research undertaken by a university in the United Kingdom, shows that consumers prefer small shops when buying Halal meat, rather than buying from supermarkets, due to factors mentioned earlier and others including lack of marketing of Halal food (Anonymous, 2006). Like any other goods, the credence of Halal food products has to be clearly communicated such as indication on pack or on-label (Bonne and Verbeke, 2007), in addition to conventional marketing strategies, for example advertising. Moreover, this would add some utility value to the consumer and useful in the purchasing decision (ibid.). Nonetheless, to make the analysis of this paper simple, having Halal labelling is enough to induce greater demand and consumptions. 2.3. Issues of Alcohol Alcohol is clearly not permissible, however it is essential for certain industry processes and religious scholars are aware of this — some of them suggested that some use of alcohol may be acceptable as long as it is evaporated and not exist in the final products (Riaz and Chaudry, 2004). However, if there is an alternative to alcohol for such process, it would be preferred, as majority of Muslims would avoid products that use alcohol at any stage. It is generally known by Muslims that wine (a Haram state product) which turns ‘naturally into vinegar thus the vinegar is considered as Halal. This situation is called Istihala or ‘change of state or properties. A reverse situation as such that, if wine is added to Halal food, as in common cooking practise in the Western, hence the food becomes Haram. However, this issue is not represented in the analysis, for simplicity argument. It is clear that Halal can be perceived as a credence attribute, although there are numero us literatures on credence goods, only few actually discussed in relation to Halal products. Next chapter will discuss the literatures on credence products. CHAPTER 3 3.0. Literature Review This chapter is divided into five interrelated parts or sections. The first section provides a (general) glance on the studies or literatures on credence goods, which is applicable in the study of the market for Halal products. This is followed by the second section, of discussions on the demand for such goods. Market failure arises due to the nature of credence goods, which is discussed in the third section of this chapter. In the fourth section, a review on the solution of the market failure problem is examined. The final section deals with the issue pertaining to some of these solutions. 3.1. Credence Goods at a Glance There are growing numbers of literatures on credence goods attribute since it was first mentioned by Darby and Karni in 1973. These literatures involve different assumptions which produce diverse outcomes. However, it is difficult to find economic literature that deals directly with Halal subject as a credence good. Nonetheless, studies on some of the credence goods can be applied to Halal concept. Most literatures on credence goods assume that consumers are homogeneous. Hahn (2004) showed the contrast to this, in which the author grouped the consumers into two namely those who have some expertise or informed and those who do not or uninformed; This paper is slightly differs from that of Hahn (2004), where the consumers in this paper are also divided into two, namely Muslims (those who only consume Halal goods, or primary consumers) and non-Muslims. The latter is further grouped into two, ie. conventional consumers—who only consume non-Halal; and secondary consumers—who prefer to consume Halal products. Some economists (such as McCluskey, 2000; Cho and Hooker, 2002) used game theory models on credence attribute to assess the interplays of stakeholders. These include whether producers decide to claim their products as those of high quality, then they have to decide whether to produce according to the claims or not. However, the use of game theory is out of the scope of this papers analysis. Nonetheless, producers are assumed to produce what they intended to, without dishonesty. Economists divide consumers perception of food quality into a three attributes, namely: search, experience (which were pioneered by Nelson in 1970) and credence attribute (in Darby and Karni, 1973; Innes et. al., 2007; Umberger et. al., 2008). Search attributes can be determined from pre-consumption and at point of purchase such as colour, shape, brand and freshness. Experience attributes, arise from taste, juiciness, and food safety which could only be determined during or after consumption. Lastly, credence attributes refer to the process and production aspects, which the author claims that it cannot be determined before, during or after consumption of that particular food product (Umberger et. al., 2008). These food products, especially Halal as credence goods emphasise and maintain a strict quality attributes, and failure to maintain this would result a loss in its credibility, hence would brings disutility to the consumers or reduction of welfare. Some economists such as Caswell and Mojduszka (1996, in Cho and Hooker, 2002) argued that by providing information as policy tool, credence attributes could be transformed into search attributes. However, this would require a strict environment where system of information provided is perfect and fraud could not taken place — these are less likely to be a (current) scenario of the real world. Nonetheless, this concept is used in the analysis of this paper, for simplicity reason. On the other hand, Cho and Hooker (2002) mentioned that credence goods could act like a (lagged) experience goods if they involve time duration for detection of risk (relatively quickly), eg. infected food, vice versa. Like any production or supply of consumer goods, it depends on the demand for such goods, for an equilibrium to exist in the market. The following section discusses the determinants of demand for credence goods. 3.2. Consumer Demand for Credence Attribute Individuals would consume goods or services that yields highest utility or satisfaction level and presumed to make rational choice. However, this is subject to physical (ie. how much they can consume) and economic (ie. budget) constraint that limits the consumers choices (Mas-Colell et. al., 1995). Moreover, the preference-based approach to consumer demand is of critical importance for welfare analysis in which, without it, evaluating the consumers level of well-being would have no meaning (ibid.). Dulleck and Kerschbamer (2001) identified credence characteristics in terms of utility, in which although consumers can observe the utility derived from consumption of such goods ex post, they are not sure if the utility they get is the ex ante needed one. However, in the analysis of this paper, the utility is considered in terms of welfare level obtained from consumers and producers surplus. In addition to the conventional determinants for demand such as income, taste and preference, consumer characteristics and quality attribute become increasingly important factors nowadays. According to Antle (1999, in Senauer, 2001, p. 4), the new economics is more concerned with the markets for ‘quality-differentiated products in which the author presented a stylised demand function which include quality factors (non-price attribute): X = D (P, I, N, C, Q) Where X depends on price and other goods (P), income (I), number of population (N), characteristics of the population/consumer (C), and non-price attribute of the product (Q). It shows that any product attribute which includes nutrition content, safety, production process and even inputs, would creates utility or disutility. The analysis in Chapter 4 directly deals with the two of these factors namely, consumer characteristics (ie. preferences, and religious needs) and product attribute (ie. Halal credence). Hoehn and Deaton (2004) provided a model where consumers choose either purchasing credence (high-quality) good or conventional (low-quality) goods by comparing the consumer surplus differences. If the gain from consumer surplus from credence goods is large, compared to the opportunity cost of surplus given up from not purchasing conventional goods, the former good would be purchased. Their studies are used as a foundation for the analysis in Chapter 4 of this paper. Most literature reflects credence goods as vertically differentiated products due to quality differences. Nonetheless, Bester (n.d., in Roe and Sheldon, 2001) provided a concept of unobserved quality into a horizontal differentiation model and suggested that unobserved vertical quality would reduce producers incentives for horizontal differentiation via relaxing price competition amongst producers, in a way which prices act as a signal and consist of a quality premium. This is related to the second part of this papers analysis (Section 4.2. of Chapter 4) involving a franchise market. Consumers demand and preferences for credence goods often perceived from their willingness to pay. 3.2.1. Willingness to Pay There are other factors why consumers might be willing to pay a premium besides the quality attribute, such that they perceive credence goods as fashionable, trendy, or it could be that the purchase the alternative to credence goods would offend other people (McCluskey, 2000). The later is pertinent to Halal goods, especially in a situation where the consumer lives with Muslims housemates, or in a Muslim-dominated country. Consumers would also prefer for the high-quality products, even not for the sake of quality itself but other factors. For instance, when consumers care about other quality or criterion such as animal welfare, environmental, ethical, and religious reasons, to what Antle (1999, in Carlsson et. al., 2004) referred as extrinsic quality. If the distinctions in quality were signalled efficiently, consumers would be willing to pay a higher price or premium for products of high quality, hence compensating the higher production costs, as suggested by Kola and Latvala (2003). In their research on the effects of information on the demand for beef products credence characteristics in Finland, 59 percent of the respondents showed their willingness to pay a higher price for additional information. Whereas, 41 percent of respondents had zero willingness to pay, in which 35 percent of them are satisfied with the existing information, and 17 percent considered the information is not enough or they did not trust the information. As credence quality of a product cannot be observed directly at a reasonable cost or without invasive testing, consumers would rely heavily on claims or information made by the producers via brands, labels or advertisements (Cho and Hooker, 2002). This papers analysis however, only considers that consumers fully trust producers. The next section provides discussion if the information provided is insufficient or inaccurate, resulting a market failure. 3.3. Market Failure It can be said that the credence market are prone to the problems of market failure. There are different ways for a credence market to result in inefficiency. It is mainly due to information asymmetry between producers and consumers. 3.3.1. Information Asymmetry In credence goods, consumers cannot directly observe the quality of the goods that they consume where only the producers know the exact quality, thus resulting information asymmetry. Common intuition indicates that the solution for an information asymmetry is by providing more information. Information, as conferred by Weiss (1995, in Cho and Hooker, 2002) is the central tenet of food safety economics. Brands, logos and labels most importantly serve as a signal to inform and communicate to the consumers about products attributes, hence alleviating information asymmetry between producers and consumers. According to Verbeke (2005), information is likely to be effective only when it addresses specific information needs of its target audience. It requires identification and detailed understanding of these needs, and proper management on the provision of the information in order to optimally address the needs (ibid.). Information regarding food quality and safety can be categorised as risk information and aims at reducing uncertainty faced by the consumers in making purchasing decisions. Hence, success would come from better understanding regarding consumers attitude, behaviour, motives, and their perceptions (Frewer et. al., 2004, in Verbeke, 2005). There exist welfare effects to consumers for providing (Marette et. al., 1999, in ibid.) or withholding (Mazzocchi et. al., 2004b, in ibid.) food quality information. The work done by Umberger (et. al., 2008), can be used as a foundation on the argument for the importance of Halal logo or labelling on food products in particular. The authors claimed that potential market failure would occur if consumers face limited choice and if the access to ‘innovative products is not available, or information regarding ‘product attributes, for example the production methods, is not transparent (ibid.). With this regards, Halal products would be seen as innovative products and carry some product attributes that must be fulfilled, otherwise there might exist market failure for Halal products. Halal logo especially from organisation for Halal certification, could be used to indicate these attributes. Consequently, lack of information becomes the key factor for the inefficiency of credence market. The followings are resulted from insufficient information. 3.3.1A. Failure due to Fraud In their studies, Dulleck and Kerschbamer (2001) divided credence attribute problems into two fold: inefficiency treatment, and overcharging. The first fold refers to the quality level (or service) of credence goods provided by producers, and inefficiency treatment can be either under- or over-treatment. On the other hand, the second fold refers to the pricing of credence goods, particularly as self-described, overcharging. When the signal is unavailable, especially in the case where labelling is not mandatory, sellers may have the incentive to fraud by supplying products of low-quality but claiming these products as high quality. Akerlof (1970) explains this situation with automobiles market as an example, in which with asymmetric information high-quality goods (‘peach) would be driven out by the low-quality goods (‘lemons) hence resulting market failure. Moreover, as argued by Liebie (2002), when producers of low-quality products claim to be of high-quality, this would raise doubt in consumers mind and would not be willing to pay a premium for the high-quality goods. This in turns, would lower the profits of high-quality producer hence reducing their incentive to invest in high-quality products, in which would create further doubt to consumer. The cycle goes on until only low-quality products would be sold, even though consumers prefer high-quality products, resulting market failure. Darby and Karni (1973) suggested that the amount of fraud depends on reputation, market conditions, and technological factors. Profit-maximising producers would have the incentive to fraud by claiming their products are of high quality if the probability of not being caught is high enough (McCluskey, 2000) or conversely if the probability of being caught is low. Such fraud issues bring uncertainty to consumers. 3.3.1B. Problems of Uncertainty Bonroy and Constantos (2008) concluded that uncertainty by consumers on the identity of producers which produce the high-quality products put the high-quality producers in disadvantage resulting from higher cost. They argued that this disadvantage would remain even when the consumption of high-quality products benefits are well worth the cost difference and all beliefs regarding the high-quality producers are in the right direction (ibid.). Their model explains the difficulty faced by high-quality credence products to acquire the dominant market share they should have obtained from efficiency perspective (ibid.). This is however beyond the concept of this paper, as to avoid complication in the model, it is assumed that producers behave honestly in producing the products and consumers fully aware the qualities. 3.3.1C. Non-Rational Behaviour Unavailability of credible food quality labelling, consumers would face uncertainty and would incur search cost on specific information (Hobbs, 2004, in Verbeke 2005). As a result some consumers would not behave rationally, being ignorant, or make decisions which are not maximising their expected utility. Such behaviour explained as a concept of â€Å"bounded and limited rationality† or â€Å"rationally ignorant consumer hypothesis† (as found in Kahneman and Tversky, 1973; Simon 1979a,b; Camerer and Loewenstein, 2004; in Verbeke 2005), is however beyond the concept of the study in this paper. Verbeke (2005) concluded that without quality verification, traceability was of little value to consumers, whereas quality assurances were much more valuable to them. The solutions to the problems of market failure are presented in the next section. 3.4. Solutions to the Problems This section examines some of the solutions to the problems mentioned previously which are mainly caused by lack of information. The most common solution this, as stated earlier, is providing more information through labelling or signalling. But this must be accompanied with efficient monitoring. 3.4.1. The Use of Labelling as a Signal It is generally known that labelling of credence attribute could be used as a way to certify the provision of valued attributes, hence to avoid market failure. Moreover, Caswell and Padberg (1992) claimed that information in the form of labels, word-of-mouth, advertising, and education would contribute to the co

Friday, September 20, 2019

Anti-trust Law Case Study

Anti-trust Law Case Study Landmark: Antitrust Case Study Question 1: Write a 100- word abstract of the case, including the date of the case The essay gives a brief analysis and review of a case in which the government of the United States led to the U.S. Supreme Court. This is the defense of the claim appeal 384 U.S. competition 270 presented by the U.S. government against VON Grocery Co. (Von) in 1966 in the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of California No. 303. Duration was March 22, 1966 and the delivery of a verdict was the May 31, 1966. It was in favor of the defendant. This just reminded demand, government regulators were ignoring situations that occur within its jurisdiction. It was despite his knowledge of the changing developments in market structures that controlled processes. Government regulators failed to switch to a relaxed mood compared to previous legislative procedures necessary reacted to the threats and opportunities of his time. As a result, this led to the prevention of unfair trade practices or disposal of similar economic activities of small-scale business. Key words: VONS GROCERY CO, 384 U.S. 270, Shopping Bag Food Stores and 7 of the Clayton Act. Question 2: Describe the provision of the US Antirust Law invoked to judge the presence of anti-competitive behavior or potential of for moving the industry in that direction. The 1960 merger of Von Grocery Company with competitor Shopping Bag Food Stores (Shopping Bag) whose locations are in Los Angeles, California violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act (n. P Thomson Reuter). Its amendment in 1950 regulates the reasonable termination through the prohibition of mergers and acquisitions, which decreased competition. Even after a new amendment in 1980, remains the main reference point for antitrust law mergers that threatened the United States (Fox Fox). Question 3: Describe the basis for the ruling and action that pertain to all OR some of the following factors: The extent and trend in competition and expected in the future: Industry Structure and trend and projection for the future [based on the past, mostly]; CR4, CR8 and HHI, specially in cases of mergers. The claim of the United States had other modifications as support for their arguments. They were the 1950 amendment to Section 7 of the Celler-Kefauver and Congress sought to preserve competition for small businesses. Was also intended to help companies focus. The court was the agent that was against large companies that use concentrations in markets with increasing centralization of business. He succeeded in divesting after United States v. Philadelphia National. . Bank, 374 U.S. 321 Celler-Kefauver 362 Anti-Merger Act 1950 as amended provides relevant information: That no company engaged in commerce shall acquire all or part of the assets of another company also engaged in commerce, where in any line of commerce in any part of the country, the effect of such acquisition may be substantially to lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly. Question 4: Describe the â€Å"conduct† in question that has been considered â€Å"anticompetitive:†Determine if the defendant had used an anticompetitive Price Strategy and explain how. Likewise, describe any Non-price Strategies the defendant had used and describe how. In investing 233 F. Supp. 976 Richard A. Posner was counsel for the United States. Your tips help were Attorney General Marshall, Assistant Attorney General Turner, Robert B. Hummel, James J. Coyle and John F. Hughes. The defense attorney was William W. Alsup. Your tips help Warren M. Christopher and were William W. Vaughn. As an interested party, the National Association of Retail Grocers of the United States Attorney Bison was Henry J., Jr., as amicus curiae, urging affirmance. MR. JUSTICE BLACK was the judge in the case and give judgment. The date of the original application was March 25, 1960. March 28, 1960, the District Court did not grant the motion of the Government for a restraining order against Von Grocery Company. The latter wanted to acquire tangible capital around the Shopping Bag Food Stores, and the ruling was that not violate the terms of demand. It was a backdoor way of recognizing the merger and showing favoritism to the accused prior to final judgment. The main argument of the defense was that a company was protecting the other from the state of collapse. They merged to protect a stronger competitor. 374 U.S. 321, 362 was the claim that prohibiting such mergers. There were bank loans may have had access and filing for bankruptcy as a financial coverage. The company achieved this when it was about to collapse. He managed to regroup with the help of government agencies and private financial consultants. Question 5: Describe the effect of the defendant’s â€Å"conduct† on other firms (or the main rival) in the industry. Von was the third largest grocery market in the retail area Los Angeles on sales while the shopping bag of food was number six in 1958. Their 1960 joint sales rose 7.5% an annual output of two and a half million. Your Los Angeles market seemed too small part of their market to the government to fight. However, if the top ten companies had double combined, their total market share could have been about a third of the retail market of Los Angeles. To be fair to these stores, which had begun as the outgoing neighborhood store many Americans of his generation knew. Ten of the previous twelve years to the merger, the number of stores has increased to a little more than twice their number. The other positive numbers include increased sales and market share. Its merger positioned the number two supermarket chains in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the discovery of individual owners tennis shops in Los Angeles dropped by nearly two-fifths. In 1963, the numbers continued to decline. The government witnesses lacked a thorough analysis of the facts and figures that the defense had in its possession. For example, from 1949 until 1958, nine of the top 20 competitors chains came into possession of 126 stores smaller rivals. An important defense witness gave details of previous acquisitions and mergers from 1954 to 1961. Apparently they were in the top 10 stores in Los Angeles. You might consider this as an ordinary person and discriminatory legal action. They should also have ground The nine competitors target rivals for smaller parties to legal action. However, the union of the two powers of financial market was a threat to government control in the area of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Los Angeles. The government reported data in its reply, the Federal Trade Commission prepared. Question 6: Describe the initial legal action taken against or in-favor of the defendant. The initial legal action taken against the defendant is that the US government accused Von’s Grocery Company of violating Section 7 of the Clayton Act because it was an attempting to create a monopoly. The company appealed and the District Court ruled in its favour. Also, it is important to mention that the government made accusations against the company because it wanted to purchase a smaller competitor in the retail grocery market that was called Shopping Bag Food Stores. Question 7: Describe any subsequent legal action in the case (such as the Supreme Court), if any. Once the case was resolved there was no subsequent action taken. The decision on the case was repealed by the District Court and it was possible for Von’s Grocery Company to merge with, and subsequently absorb, Shopping Bag Food Stores. Question 8: Carefully describe how the model of Structure-Conduct-Performance has been applied in the case under consideration. [The weight for this question is 40% of the grade.] The history of the struggle against mergers in the United States began in 1890. At that time, Congress passed the Sherman Act to prevent monopolies. Distrust of Americans back to the founding of the country. Unfortunately, did not protect the smaller companies businessman larger monopolistic pressures. In 1897, the Court ruled that the U.S. government against Trans-Missouri Freight Assn., 166 U.S. 290, 323. In [384 U.S. 270, 275], the Sherman Act did not protect the small businessman. Congressional approval in 1914, 7 of the Clayton Act allowed the merger of corporations through the purchase of shares of its competitors. By contrast, business people find a loophole and bought his opponents assets. A blow to the fight against the Clayton Act device came with the endorsement of Judge Brandeis, Taft chief justice and judges Holmes and Stone in 1926. As a result, there was a reduction in the number of large companies. The action was in 1950 Congress adopted the Celler-Kefauver Anti-Merger Act. Representative Celler and Senator Kefauver main reference was 384 U.S. lawmakers 270, 276 for the period 1940-1947. They used the Brown Shoe Co. v United States, 370 U.S. 294, 315 to argue their points. They and other members of Congress had the same concerns. In contrast, 7 of the Clayton Act had stamps in their lagoon and extending its coverage using 384 U.S. 270, 277. Evacuation This involved mergers between competitors and stop all instances of mergers. The U.S. v National Philadelphia. Banking, led to Amendment 7 to cancel the anti-competitive tendencies. 384 U.S. 270, 279 is another case of reference that allowed the passage of the Celler-Kefauver Act. In United States v. El Paso Gas Co., 376 U.S. 651, 662 defendants El Paso Gas Co. were notified of antitrust charges and declined to postpone divestment from the beginning. Moreover, these two other similar cases of United States v. du Pont Co., 366 U.S. 316; United States v. Alcoa, 377 U.S. 271, 281 are pre-trial demand 384 U.S. 270, 303 which was subjected to analysis. Decisions of typos with the figures presented in court said the government ran a presentation to meet with any person or body quirks. The government regulator requires constant awareness of the impact of legislative developments and industry trends and ongoing. There is the need for external consultants to give their objective on huge demands especially in unknown actions reviews. In such cases, the now useless but necessary demand requires more in-depth research, planning, analysis and the reality of how to fight cases misunderstood use laws. This implies compulsory receive expert help to train the executors. This paper has emphasized that the demands of the past are benchmarks for current and future cases and judgments. Upon focusing on how the SCP paradigm was applied in the case being considered, the first thing to note is that during the 1950s and 1960s, the grocery retail industry was characterized by ownership concentration. In other words, fewer and fewer owners started to own more and more stores (which they would go and absorb from smaller competitors). The structure and conduct of the market was going in the direction of fewer competitors of larger sizes. In the particular case of Von’s Grocery Company, it may be seen that its sales, when combined with the sales of Shopping Bag Food Stores, represented 7.5% of the total dollar amount of retail groceries sold per year in Los Angeles. Combining this fact by the fact that between the late 1940s and the late 1950s both businesses involved with the merger had doubled in size (measured by the amount of retail stores owned by each), and that the trend was going in the direction of larger (and fewer) competitors, it was decided that there wa s no violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act. In sum, it was decided that there was no attempt of creating a monopoly, but rather a strategic decision imposed by the market. Works Cited Fox, Byron E. Fox, Eleanor M. Chapter Summary, ABSTRACT TEXT:. LexisNexis Group. 2014. . Web. 21 June 2014. Thomson Reuters. U.S. Supreme Court. Thomson Reuters, 2014. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=USvol=384invol=270>. Web. 20 June 2014.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Contrasting of America and Italy in A View from the Bridge :: English Literature

The Contrasting of America and Italy in A View from the Bridge Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge presents many different views of America, not only do you see America through the eyes of an Immigrant but also through the eyes of the regular working people, for instance the longshoremen. Within Alfieri's speech, we get our first ideas of what America was like for Eddie, Beatrice and Catherine. The speech highlights, cultural connections 'Frankie Yale himself was cut precisely in half by a machine gun on the corner of Union Street' this shows the influence and grip the Mafia had over American Culture in the 1950's. When describing the area, where Eddie and Beatrice live, he describes it as 'the slum that faces the bay' which gives the impression, of a run down area where only the poor live. He uses the simile 'the gullet of New York, swallowing the tonnage of the world.' Which gives image of a place that has boats coming from all over the world laden with cargo and more. It gives Red Hook, the image of an unsightly place, where people have to work to their limit to feed and support their families. In my opinion Eddie, Beatrice and Catherine are there to show the typical Italian American family of the 1950's. Their house is what most of the longshoremen and their families would live in. It is only a small tenement flat. In the early section of Act One, Miller contrasts the flat, to the living conditions in Sicily and Southern Italy, he voices the comparison through Eddie's response, to Beatrice's worries about needing a new table cloth and cleaning the flat, which is 'listen, they'll think this it's a millionaire's house compared to the way they live.' This is showing, why there were so many immigrants coming into America, the living conditions were so much better than in their countries, even the poorest were living like Kings in the eyes of the immigrants. Catherine, I believe is symbolising the future, because she is the one, who wants to move on with her life, and become a stenographer and work for a company. But Eddie, who still believes in the archaic ways that the man should do the working, tries to discourage her from taking the job. In a way, Catherine being offered the job is showing the 'American Way' that anyone can get a job in America, even an immigrant. But soon the conversation turns back to Beatrice's immigrant cousins and about the American Immigration Bureau. This gives the image of a country full of rules and regulations, a place where there is law and

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Rotation of the letter R :: Essays Papers

Rotation of the letter "R" Psychologists have been interested in the processes that go on in the mind for centuries. However, a new method for assessing the various processes emerged in the 1970's. Several researchers predicted that mental imagery was treated by the brain similarly to actions performed on physical objects. Thus, performance in tasks involving inspection, rotation, and comparison of mental images according to size should be similar to results obtained using actual objects. Kosslyn, Ball, and Reiser (1978) asked participants to scan a mental map after studying a map of an island with several landmarks. They predicted that the further the distance between the landmarks, the longer it would take participants to scan from one to the next, whether using the actual map or a mental image created by intensive study. Their hypothesis was supported by their results. The closer positions took less time to locate on the participant' mental maps than the more distant places. In 1973, Cooper and Shepard asked participants to perform a mental rotation task. They gave the participants an image, and asked them to rotate it mentally by a certain angle, and then match the rotated image with one of several choices. Their prediction was that the greater the angle of rotation, the longer the task would take. This was because it would take longer to physically rotate a figure more degrees than fewer degrees. The evidence supported this hypothesis: The closer the angle is to 180 degrees, the longer the reaction time. Angles greater than 180 degrees do not take longer because the subject will rotate it in the other direction. So the angle distance from 180 degrees, called the angle of disparity, is directly related to the reaction time. The experiment done by the class involves looking at the letter "R" on a computer screen, and determining whether it is forward or reverse. The "R" is rotated at varying degrees, and participants must mentally rotate the "R" in order to determine whether it is forward or reversed. A forward "R" is the letter "R" in its usual orientation. The reversed "R" is backwards from its usual position. There were several predictions made by the class before the experiment was run. The highest reaction time was predicted to be at the 180 degrees condition, with the lowest reaction time at 0 degrees, increasing in both directions toward 180 degrees. Also, the average reversed-figure reaction time was expected to be higher than the average normal time.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Domestic Violence and Social Class Essay

Domestic violence is something that happens every day around the world. Young, old, rich or poor, this is an issue that we must look at to better ourselves as a country. One of the things that we look at is how domestic violence relates to the different social classes of the country, this being upper, middle, and lower. Some would thing that it would be more common in lower classes, but the reality of it is domestic violence is a problem across all social classes. In this paper I will discuss different articles about domestic violence and its relation to social class. It is clear to see that any of the articles on this topic focus around women as victims and men get put into a category of the only ones committing violence. From different articles you can see that social class has a relation and an effect on domestic violence. To begin with we need to understand what domestic violence is. The National Domestic Violence Hotline describes domestic violence as pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. Abuse is physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that frighten, intimidate, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, injure or wound someone. Domestic violence can happen to anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion or gender. It can happen to couples who are married, living together or who are dating. Domestic violence affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels (The National Domestic Hotline). This is one of the best definitions you will find. It’s important to realize that Domestic Violence can happen to anyone. The focus on economic background is important; there is not one ocial class that domestic violence does not occur in. It is key that we keep this in mind, otherwise we begin to label and fit certain social groups into categories. And as we will find out this is not the case at all. In Gender, Status, and Domestic Violence, by Kristin L. Anderson she discusses many issues related to domestic violence. In her article she talks about social economic status and how it can affect domestic violence. The section on social class begins with how gender and social class play very big roles with each other, or how each social class helps determine the resources available to men for the construction f masculinity (Anderson, 1995). Anderson begins with the working and lower class and how their position they hold at work lacks power and authority. This can lead to violence in the home because they search for positions of power in other aspects of their life. And many times the search for power and masculinity starts in their home life. This could be one explanation for the cause of domestic violence among low income social class. It is very clear that society even thought changing for the better over the years, still puts the man as the breadwinner of his family. And if a man annot produce for their family I agree with her that that will look for other places to find there masculinity and in some cases this is accomplished with violence against their partner. Next Anderson discusses middle and upper class together. She states with reference from another article that â€Å"Middle and upper class notions of masculinity focus on ambition, responsibility, and professional employment (Segal, society. The research done in this article shows that men or women with low income jobs and less resources are more likely to be violent in their home as a means to gain the lack of power in their life. Men who have fewer resources then there female partners will be more likely to commit domestic assault than the men with resources equal or greater than their female partners (Anderson, 1995). We can see for the research done by Anderson that she focuses on the reporting of violence. I would have like to have seen some numbers on education and or employment in ration to domestic violence. But it is clear and can be understood that men base their masculinity on their economic social status, and if that status is low they begin to search for other ways to gain power, and often that is in the means of domestic iolence against their partners. Social class plays a key role in everyday life of millions around the world. So it is clear that social class would play a role in domestic violence. Knowing that domestic violence knows no boundaries it is correct to say that wealth does not protect against violence. In the article Economic stress and Domestic Violence by Claire M. Renzetti from the National Online Resource Center on Violence against Women, they bring social class and domestic violence into clear view. One discussion in the article which we have to take into account when looking at social class and domestic violence is ell put when she stats â€Å"the data we have about domestic violence comes from samples to which researchers have greatest access, such as individuals who use social services and these individuals are more likely to have low incomes† (Renzetti, 2009). With this in mind it is clear to see why there are so many articles on low income violence. As she states from a study done by Benson and Fox (2003) from analyzing data from the National Survey of Household and Families, the family income increases the likelihood of domestic violence decrease. It is becoming clearer hat even though we know that domestic violence knows no social class, The National Crime Victimization Survey reports the chance of violence in a low income household is five times great then the households with the highest incomes (Renzetti, 2009). As stated earlier it seems that the relation to domestic violence and employment takes a big part of the problem with violence among the social classes. In the article by Anderson early discuss she makes it clear that the feeling of power is directly related to the males economic standing. Renzetti state that sever studies have documented hey deliberate sabotage to their partners efforts to maintain paid employment (2009). We can tie that back to how males base their masculinity and power on their economic status. Women have reported that their attempts to obtain paid employment outside their homes only aggravated their partners. It is becoming clear that men see power in being the main provider in the house and to lose some of that power is demining in some ways, and can result in violence against their partners. She references an article by Bush (2003) say that paid employment if a female intimate partner is threatening for some men, especially men who are unemployed r in low paying Jobs. Renzitti states that some researchers have argued that social class has a greater influence on domestic violence risk than race/ethnicity, and that even the social class of your neighborhood plays into account. Disadvantaged neighborhoods domestic violence rates are significantly higher in neighborhoods By now it is clear that there is a relation between social class and domestic violence. In domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking by Walby & Allen (2004) they discuss how it could be the domestic violence that is causing the low economical status. This is a little broader thinking then our other authors but still Walby & Allen tie mans need for masculinity and power into the equation. But first to look how they discuss domestic violence as the cause for low social status, the lack of economic resources is clearly associated with domestic violence against women. But it is how we see one leading to the other that they discuss. Walby & Allen purpose that maybe it is the other way around. For example that poverty and low social status are the consequences of domestic violence. Women who leave behind their homes and partners in order to escape violence will be much more ikely to be poorer as a consequence of the loss of their home and of their partner’s income (Walby &Allen, 2004). This is a new concept to think about but can easily be seen as possible. From what we have learned low income family are more prone to domestic violence, it is clear to see if the victim does get out of this relationship they have no means of economic support. In return this Just keeps them in poverty and most likely sinks them deeper down the status pool of the world. As Walby & Allen (2004) report that â€Å"eventually making their way back into the abusive elationship because they have no economic support. It seems that the affect that social class and domestic violence have on each other is a never ending cycle. As we found in the research social class plays a big part in domestic violence and in some cases domestic violence plays a big part in social class. Whichever way that you look at it one constant held true across all of the articles, this being that men have been socially constructed by society to have to have the need for power in relationships. And when that power is l acking and they feel there masculinity is in eopardy we see domestic violence. Now a lot of the focus of the articles was on the lower class, showing that the economic stress had a direct relation to man and the need for power. We need to understand that the lower social status groups are not the only ones with a domestic violence problem. Like I said earlier domestic violence can happen across any social class, rich or poor. Most of the research that is done focuses on women in poverty because that is where the easy samples are. We know that there is a problem there, we need to move on to research that examines women ofa higher social standing. When we open up to who is we look at then we will begin to get a real grasp on the social class and domestic violence issue. Now I know that that depends on if they are willing to report, but that is a whole different topic for a different day. We have to be careful not to stereotype individuals into this field Just because of the economic standing, but it is clear that social class and domestic violence show a clear and direct relation with each other.