Prison law and penology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Prison law and penology - Essay Example This may lead them to focus more on controlling the inmate population rather than working on their rehabilitation. As previously stated, inmates tend to gather and form groups according to their race (black, Hispanic, Caucasian, etc.) or a race-related reasons (groups such as the neo-Nazis, K.K.K, etc.) and as a result, riots often break due to racial grounds. The real motives behind gangs formation and activity are actually power and wealth, things which they can achieve in various ways, often related to violence and disorder (Summers, 2006). The gangs are becoming increasingly stronger and more dominant ("Violent Gangs", n.d) and are also wise to draft to their ranks some prison guards and others that assist them in exchange for money, favours and more. 1 Therefore, prison authorities and representatives must always be attentive and prepared to thwart gangs attempts to gain more power and hurt others along the way. This undoubtedly shifts the focus of prison authorities from the desire to rehabilitate prisoners to the need to control and monitor them so that they dont cause more trouble and eruption of violence and havoc. Also, there are inmates which obviously overwhelming and something which they cannot escape or resist. These people have no place, power or control in the outside world and are therefore making extreme efforts to make their permanent home, the prison, their own kingdom and domain. This leads them to try and take control over it by forceful means and using violence and terrorizing others. They even develop ways to carry out their deeds using technological innovations and creative ways. For instance, it is claimed that a group of prisoners used a 400-year-old binary code system in order to smuggle notes, using guards as deliverers and smugglers of them (Summers, 2006). This shows the innovation and adaptability of gangs. They are no longer plain and simple, nor do they work in primitive ways. Now, when a

Against Banning Full-Face Veils Essay Example for Free

Against Banning Full-Face Veils Essay Mirayda Martinez Against Banning Full-Face Veils Banning Full-Face Veils would not only make Muslim women feel vulnerable to men as a sexual desire, it would also make them feel betrayed by the country or state they live in. Being told what to wear is like being told what to eat or who to hang out with, it is unjust. Muslim women should be able to dress how they would like without being Judged or assaulted by anyone. The veil helps assure the women that they are not being looked at as a desire and in a way, wearing the veil helps make them feel closer to God. Enforcing laws against Full-Face Veils would be amiss because it would e stripping them of freedom of expression and religion. First, Muslim women should not be Judged by what they wear Just because it is different from the culture and beliefs of everyone else. It is not a crime to be different, but then why do some women get assaulted and harassed for wearing a veil? Just because they do not believe in the same religion as other people does not mean they should get treated any differently than others. Muslim women should be entitled to wear whatever they want to, even if it is a Full-Face Veil that covers them from top to bottom. For some omen, veiling is an expression of their religious beliefs, and is no less or more a part of their religious observance than praying five times a day or fasting during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer in Islam. Veiling is a way women express their religious belief and should not get treated any less important than fasting or praying to wards Mecca; it should get treated with the same respect. Second, the veil is very important.

The Nature of Good and Evil in Stevensons The Strange case of Dr Jekyl

The Nature of Good and Evil in Stevenson's The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Introduction: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is the story of a gifted doctor who discovers a drug which can release the evil side of one's nature. This drug changes Dr Jekyll into Mr Hyde. Stevenson does not reveal the details of Jekyll's story until the end of the novel, but presents the tale as mystery, in which the main characters try to figure out the identity of Mr Hyde and understand his strange relationship with Dr Jekyll. This story follows the gothic genre and below I will explain some gothic features that are used in this story This story follows 'The Faust Motif'. This is The use of a monster (Mr Hyde) Due to the fact that he looks abnormal, disabled and is ugly people feel uncomfortable around him and scared to stand anywhere near him. Another feature would be that Dr Jekyll has a second self or in other words an alternate identity being Mr Hyde. This book uses multiple narratives. This is when the story is told through many different perspectives so that the reader can make up his own mind about what the story is actually about. This story we first hear through the perspective of Mr Utterson and Mr Enfield as they try to discover the relationship between Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Then as the story progresses we hear Mr Hyde's story and towards the end we hear Dr Jekyll' story. I think that Stevenson was trying to show that good and evil cannot be changed or intervened with using the aid of science. He gets his point across when we find out how Dr Jekyll ends up suffering and leading to his own downfall by trying to get rid of hi... ...t they have seen, experienced and had evidence of rather than talking about what they have heard Conclusion In this essay I have gone through the main points of the story. From the beginning where Mr Hyde tramples the young girl and Mr Utterson and Mr Enfield decide to track Mr Hyde. Then I carried on by going onto how the doors of houses and other places can symbolise what is behind them and what type of person uses them. After that I analysed Mr Hyde in depth and discussed his actions. Including when he trampled the young girl and paid her family money to avoid any sort of trouble. Then he brutally murdered Sir Danvers Carew, even though from the maids perspective it seemed as if they were friends. Then I commented on the use of multiple narratives and the relationship between the narrators.

Am Getting Old Now

I'm getting old now is a prose poem. It is quite vibrant and simple and presents the theme of cycle of life. It depicts the poet's acceptance of death and links with with his nostalgic memories of his mother. The first part of the poem symbolize his dream while second part signifies that he is close to death. He address death as a long lost friend whom he seeks to meet in the near future. Realizing that he has got less time to spend on earth he reminisce his past memories and dream a lot. In his dream he recollects how much love and pride his mother had in him. The poem is very touching and it instills in us the pain we feel when we reminisce about good things long lost. A few Key Points: Meeting of different cultures: tourist comes from modern world, and thinks he can dispose of this irritating beggar. But when she speaks she casts a spell, and shows him who is really in control. Woman rooted in where she lives – identified with sky and hills, and draws power from them. Things not what they seem: woman has more power than the poet suspects. Poem has a formal structure in triplets (three-line stanzas). Occasional half rhymes (â€Å"coin†/ â€Å"shrine†, â€Å"on†/ â€Å"skin†) and full rhyme to mark a pause: (â€Å"crone†/ â€Å"alone†). Lines are short but always with pattern of two stressed syllables, apart from in the final line, where the single stress brings the poem to a full stop. Most words monosyllables. Poem refers to old woman with third-person pronoun â€Å"she† and tourist with second-person pronoun, â€Å"you†. This makes poem like an account of real experience, putting reader in tourist's place. Coin which woman begs at the start of the poem, gives the ending its enduring image. Tourist's weakness is suggested in metaphor of â€Å"small change†, while â€Å"in her hand† indicates that woman has power over him. Her power also suggested by appearance – her eyes are â€Å"bullet holes†, dark spaces with nothing behind. â€Å"Cracks† (lines) in her face turn into cracks in sky, hills and temples, while the old woman remains invulnerable (â€Å"shatter-proof†). Crone† suggests the magical power of the old woman. CHURCH GOING Larkin starts his poem after making it sure that no ceremony was going on in the Church. It connotes that Larkin himself did not like ceremonies being performed in the Churches, perhaps due to people’s unconcerned attitude towards churches, otherwise he would not have said: â€Å"Once I’m sure here’s noth ing going on†. When Larkin says â€Å"Another church†, in line number three, it denotes that he has visited all the churches and every church of the city is empty. Perhaps, he has found some mental tranquility in the present church that is why he made his mind to stay in the Church for some time as it was his habit. There is a beautiful blend of similar and dissimilar objects in the poem. For example in stanza number four, line number 28 â€Å"after dark† and â€Å"dubious women† and in stanza number six, line number 48 â€Å"suburb† and â€Å"scrub† respectively. The ellipses, personification, humour, rhetorical questions, transferred epithets, synaesthetic imagery and irony combined make the poem a thing of beauty. The last stanza brings about the final and absolute conclusion. â€Å"A serious house on serious earth it is† pays tribute to churches. Everything of this world may wipe out, even â€Å"superstition, like belief, must die† but the essential uniqueness of churches can never obsolete and out dated. This final stanza not only brings about the ultimate message but it also removes the ambiguity of the poem. In the poem the poet asked his readers â€Å"And what remains when disbelief has gone? †. When everything will be annihilated, the church shall renovate humanity. This is a poetic reaction to the failure of organized religions of all traditions, not merely of Christianity, as the word â€Å"church† might lead us to suppose. Traditionally the way of devotion has been pointed out as the method of spiritual pursuit for the ordinary man of this Age of Kali. And organized religions, even though they are severely afflicted with schisms and sectarian conflicts and even open fights, flourish; and pilgrimage itself has become a billion dollar business the world over. But this is a far cry from the real way of devotion. Sri Aurobindo has expounded the nature of this path in his The Synthesis of Yoga. But he has conceded that in the religions of the masses, â€Å"†¦a most external form of ceremonial worship† , has a legitimate role to play. This is said in the light of the tantric gradation of spiritual pursuit which begins at the level of â€Å"†¦the herd, the animal or the physical being, the lowest stage of its discipline†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But larger and larger segments of this herd is getting estranged from their usual beaten tracks and wandering away from moral ways and seeking solace in drugs and debauchery. This is a clear indication that mankind has come of age, that here after mankind has no use for organized religions of the traditional types. The clergy knows this; that is why it resorts to terrorism in desperation. A college professor's palm was chopped of by the agents of terror who speak for Islam. And the Christian management of his college had him dismissed. Do you know what he was accused of? He had used the name Muhammad in a question he had set for his students. The question required the students to apply punctuation marks to a passage that reported a conversation between a character named Muhammad and God. And well/hell, the professor got his palm chopped off in the name of the Merciful. If this is religion then religion is doomed. church going is rather reality of life.. according to the present generation church going is just a tradition that they have been following since childhood, so its a part of their practise more than faith. Larkin is not interested in any ceremony or any sort of prayers and priests instead he visits the church when it is silent. He does not have belief in church but cannot stop visiting it. However he still has that respect for church as he removes his clips of trousers as a mark of respect. Throughout the poem his thoughts reveal his concern for the present as well as future of and wonders what is their fate. It is worth noticing that even though poet is not a believer of these churches, he still continues with his traditions and not only him, in fact most of us do have the same mindset, be it a temple, mosque or church. Therefore the poem is applicable in present era.

Ready to Eat Food

NEW ERA OF INDIAN READY TO EAT FOOD (RETORT FOOD – Having shelf life up to 18 months) Sanjeev Bhanga BRIEF India has made lot of progress in agriculture & food sectors since independence in terms of growth in output, yields and processing. It has gone through a green revolution, a white revolution, a yellow revolution and a blue revolution. Today, India is the largest producer of milk, fruits, cashew nuts, coconuts and tea in the world, the second largest producer of wheat, vegetables, sugar and fish and the third largest producer of tobacco and rice. Now the time is to provide better food processing & its marketing infrastructure for Indian industries to serve good quality & safest processed food like ready to eat food. It is opening a new window in world scenario as far as taste & acceptance is concerned. Therefore, Indian Government is providing more infrastructure for this sector. Excise duty is now ZERO % on RTE and 100 % tax deduction for the first 10 years for new units. This allows manufactures to bring down their prices & spreads its flavors to the world. The retort processed foods do not require rehydration or cooking and can be consumed straight from the pouch with or without pre-warming, depending upon the requirement of the users and the weather conditions. These foods meet the specific needs of convenience, nutritional adequacy, shelf stability, storage, distribution to the centers and have become very popular after the Year 2002. Some of the mouth-watering dishes in retort pouches include sooji halwa, upma, chicken curry, mutton curry, fish curry, chicken madras, chicken kurma, rajma masala, palak paneer, dal makhnil, mutter paneer, potato-peas, mutter mushroom, vegetable ulav chicken pulav, and mutton pulav, etc. The pioneer introduction of retorting technology has made the sale of ‘Ready-to-Eat’ food products commercially viable with great taste. CONCEPT †¢ Ready to Eat Meals like already cooked or prepared lunch & dinner are relatively new products which came in market only a few years back and are now sold through retail general stores in especially made sealed aluminum laminates. †¢ The retorting or sterilization process ensures the stability of the Ready-to-Eat foods in retort pouches, on the shelf and at room temperature. The application of sterilization technology completely destroys all potentially harmful micro-organisms, thereby making sure that the food product has a very long shelf life of over 12 months and needed no refrigeration. †¢ When customer needs to eat, the food item pouch is either put in microwave oven to warm it or keep in heated water for a few minutes and then serve to eat. †¢ Such ready to eat meals have been especially given to soldiers in army of many countries who require carrying their rations while on war front or while located far away from their main unit. The advertisements like, â€Å"Hungry Kyaa† are adding zest to the market by popularizing such food items which are precooked and free from any preservative, and yet have a long shelf life of over 12-months. These food items are normally selling in pouches, well packed in cardboard printed boxes of small book size and carry about 300 grams of cooked food at a price of about Rs. 40 to 200 in foreign marke t depending upon the type of dish packed. One packet of vegetable dish is normally sufficient for one meal for three persons and therefore falls in economic zone of consumer’s preferences. WHY READY TO EAT FOOD Globalization of Indian food and its culture are the core factors for popularization of ready to eat foods. Main motivation for these ready to eat foods is fast growing foreign market. Retail outlet culture is now growing rapidly in India. Shelf life of these foods are at least 12-18 months. Quality, Taste and Flavor of these foods remains as good as fresh up to the expiry date. Women wanting to spend more time out of the kitchen. More working bachelors staying away from homes. Cost effective in comparison to the Indian cuisine served by the restaurants in foreign countries. TYPES OF READY TO EAT FOOD Veg Food Alloo Matar Palak paneer Sarso Ka Saag Chana Masala Kadi Pakora Cheese Tomato Dal Makhani Rajma Masala Non Veg Food Chicken Curry Butter Chicken Karahi Chicken Mughalai Chicken Mutton Masala Mutton Korma Karahi Mutton Mutton Biryani Deserts Gajar Ka Haluaa / Sugi Ka Haluaa / Milk Kheer PLAYERS IN READY TO EAT FOOD MTR Kohinoor Foods ITC Haldiram Tasty Bites RETORT & ITS PACKAGING The water RETORT is an equipment or vessel or sterilization module through which steam (at 130 degree centigrade for 25 minutes) is applied on food products packed in retort pouches. The retorts use water or steam/air combination as processing medium to heat the container/packages. Compressed air or additional steam is introduced during the processing cycle to provide the overpressure (any pressure supplied to the retort in excess of that which can be normally achieved under steam at any given retort temperature). Overpressure is important in preventing package damage or loss of seal integrity (like bursting), during the heating process. Retort pouches is a flexible packaging material that basically consist of laminates or bounded layers of different packaging films of Polyster-Nylon-Aluminium-polypropylene that can withstand high process temperature & pressure. Their most important feature is that they are made of heatresistant plastics unlike the usual flexible pouches. This makes the retort pouches unique which are suitable for the processing of food contents at temperatures around 120 degrees Celsius. That is the kind of ambient temperature prevalent in the thermal sterilization of foods. There is lesser time to spend in cooking food themselves and so ready to eat foods are preferred. To get the food of different cultures, taste etc, it is important that food has good shelf life so that it can be made available at far off places too and then can be conveniently consumed also. ADVANTAGES OF RETORT PACKAGING †¢ Pouch laminates permits less chance to overcook during the retorting thus products having better color, texture & less nutrients loss. †¢ It requires less energy for sterilization. †¢ It requires less disposal & storage space. †¢ Low oxygen & moisture permeability. Shelf stable for longer time & requires no refrigeration. †¢ Sun light barrier, light weight, easy to open. MARKET & ITS GROWTH The popularity of ready to eat packed food now is no longer marks a special occasion. Peoples want value for time, money in terms of quality and variety. The food processing industry is one of the largest industries in India and it is the ranked fifth in terms of Production, Consumption, Export & Expected growth. Processed food market in India accounts for 32% that is Rs. 1280 billion or 29. 4 billion US $ in a total estimated market of Rs. 990 billion or 91. 66 US $. Euromonitor International, a market research company says that amount of money Indian spend on ready to eat snacks & food is 5 billion US $ in a year while on abroad Indian or Indian subcontinents spend 30 billion US $ in a year. Ready to eat packaged food industry is over Rs. 4000 crore or 1 billion US $ and it is growing at the rate of 20 % per annum. Ready to eat food market is developing specifically in UK, USA, Canada, Gulf & South Asian Countries with the growth rate of over 150 % per annum. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What is retort packaging? Retort packaging is a self stable flexible package What is the shelf life of retort food? – The shelf life of a retort package is a year plus. What are the shipping advantages? – A retort package will not b reak or dent and weigh less. Where do you display the package in the retail store? – You can display at room temperature at any corner of the retail store What are some of the main reasons, a packager of consumer products would like to go from a conventional package material to a flexible retort pouch? – The package provides a flat surface for graphics and text, needs no refrigeration and is microwave compatible. What's the difference between foil and non-foil retort structures? – Non-foil retort packaging can be put in the micro wave. What about taste of products in a retort package? – People say that products packaged with retort material taste fresher and maintain a more natural flavor. What about shelf appeal? – Retort pouches are more space efficient and provide a larger surface for graphics and text. What kind of food products can be packed in retort packaging ? – All kind of veg & Non- veg food products Email: [email  protected] com

What Is Class Rank What Is a Good Rank

What Is Class Rank What Is a Good Rank SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Have you heard of class rank but aren’t sure what it is? Maybe you want to know why class rank is important or how you can figure out what a good class rank is. And, by the way, what is a good class rank? We have answers to all these questions! Read on to learn what class rank is, how schools calculate it, and how it’s important for your future. What Is Class Rank? Class rank is a way to see how your academic achievements measure up to those of your classmates. Your class rank is determined by comparing your GPA to the GPA of people in the same grade as you. So, if you are a junior and your high school has 500 juniors, each of them will receive a number, 1-500, with the person who has the highest GPA ranked #1. If there are 500 people in your class and your class rank is 235, then 234 of your classmates have a higher GPA than you, 265 classmates have a lower GPA than you, and you are in the top half of your class. Class rank is reevaluated each grading period, whether that is semesters or trimesters at your school. So, every time new grades are added to transcripts, class rankings are updated and your rank may go up or down. How Do Different Schools Measure Class Rank? All class ranking methods involve assigning each student a number based on how their GPA compares to that of their classmates. However, there are several different ways to measure class rank. There are two main types of class rank: weighted and unweighted. Unweighted class rank determines your rank by using your unweighted GPA. Unweighted GPAs are measured on a scale of 0 to 4.0 and do not take into account the difficulty of your courses. Weighted class rank determines your rank by using your weighted GPA. Weighted GPAs usually range from a scale of 0 to 5.0 and do take the difficulty of your courses into account. So what does this mean for your ranking? If you have taken honors or AP classes, your weighted class rank will likely be better than your unweighted class rank, even if you didn’t receive A’s in all those courses. This is because more challenging courses are given a higher weight (usually a 5.0) when calculating GPAs. For unweighted class rank, a person who takes regular-level classes and receives straight A’s in them will have the same unweighted GPA and class rank as a student who took all honors and AP classes and got straight A’s in them. For unweighted GPAs, every A, no matter how difficult the course, counts as a 4.0. Some high schools provide weighted class rank, some unweighted class rank, and some provide both rankings. To learn more about unweighted vs. weighted GPAs read our guide on the topic. Your class rank also determines your class percentile. If your school does not list your percentile, it is easy to figure out. Divide your class rank by the number of students in your grade, multiply by 100, then subtract that number from 100. For example, if there are 600 students in your grade and you are ranked 120th, then you are in the 80th percentile because (120/600)*100=20, and 100-20=80. You are also in the top 20% of your class. Why Is Class Rank Important? Besides letting students know how they stack up against their classmates, class rank is used for several other reasons. #1: College Applications Class rank offers a way for colleges to see how your academic achievements compare to those of your classmates. For example, if you attend a high school that gives very few A’s and you have a transcript with mostly B’s and C’s, this may make your GPA lower than the average applicant's GPA. However, admissions officers will see by your high class rank that you were one of the best students in your grade, and this will strengthen your application. Conversely, if you have straight A’s but only took easy classes or went to a high school that gave many A’s, you may have a great GPA but your class rank will not be particularly high because a lot of your classmates received the same grades you did. Your class rank helps colleges put your GPA into context and gives them more insight into your academic abilities. Some states offer high school students guaranteed admission to state universities if they have a certain class rank. For example, Florida students are guaranteed admission to at least one in-state university if they are in the top 20% of their graduating class. #2: Scholarships Some scholarships require applicants to have achieved a certain class rank or percentile (such as top 25% of your class) in order to be applicable. Like colleges, scholarship committees may also use class rank as one criterion to judge a student’s academic abilities, along with GPA and standardized test scores. #3: High School Honors Some high schools award honors to graduating seniors who achieved a certain class rank, such as top 10% or 25% of their class. There are also honors for those at the very top of their class rankings. The graduating senior who is ranked #1 in the class is honored as the valedictorian and often gives a speech at graduation. The person ranked #2 is the salutatorian of the class. Why Do Some Schools No Longer Use Class Rank? Although class rank has long been used by colleges to help judge students’ academic skills, only about half of US high schools currently provide class rank. There are several reasons more and more schools have stopped using class rank. Some schools believe that students who just miss important percentiles, like top 10% or 25% of their class, may be unfairly disadvantaged for scholarships and college admissions. For example, a student in the top 11% of their class may have a GPA very similar to a student in the top 9%, but may not receive certain scholarships or college offers because they aren’t in the top 10% of their class. Some also feel that class rank doesn’t promote teamwork and cooperation because it makes students too competitive with each other as they vie to improve their class rank. Some schools also believe that providing class rank encourages students to take easier classes to boost their ranking, instead of challenging themselves and taking more difficult classes where they may not get an A, but may learn more. There are also schools that no longer assign a rank to each student, but only provide broad percentiles. These percentiles may divide the class into quarters and show if a particular student is in the top 25, 50, or 75% of her class. This lets you know roughly how well you are doing compared to your classmates, but you won’t know your exact class rank. Some schools also only use percentiles to designate which students are in the top 10% or 15% of their class and don’t provide percentiles for students below that cutoff. Because fewer high schools are including it on transcripts, many colleges are giving class rank less importance when they review college applications. Instead of using class rank as a critical admissions criteria, some colleges instead focus more other components of a student's transcript such as GPA or the rigor of the classes taken. You won't need to search too hard to find your class rank. How to Find Your Class Rank In order to find your class rank, first check your most recent report card or high school transcript. Your class rank should be there, usually near the bottom of the page. You should be able to see what your class rank is and how many people are in your class. Your school may also provide your percentile, as well as indicate whether your ranking is weighted or unweighted (or it may provide both). If you can’t find this information, or don’t have access to your report cards or transcripts, stop by the school office or ask your guidance counselor. They should be able to give you your class rank. If your school doesn't provide class rank, they may still be able to give you a percentile estimate. If you're interested in learning this information, try asking something like, "I would like to learn my class rank so I have a better idea of my chances for getting into college. If you can't provide my exact rank, could you tell me what rough percentile I fit into?" How to Find What Percentile You're In Many schools will list your percentile along with your rank, but if your school doesn't, it's easy to figure out. Use this formula: (1- (your class rank / number of people in your class)) * 100 = your percentile If a student is ranked 78th out of 600 people in her grade, she'd plug in those numbers and get: (1- (78 / 600)) * 100 = 87 So, she'd be in the 87th percentile. Remember, percentiles show how many people you're ranked above, so a higher number is better. Being 87th percentile means that her class rank is higher than 87% of her classmates' class ranks. By subtracting 87 from 100, you can also see that this student's class rank puts her in the top 13% of her class. What If Your School Doesn't Include Class Rank? Only about 60% of high schools still use class rank, so if your school doesn’t provide class rankings, you are not alone. Some students worry that if their school doesn’t provide class rank, it will hurt their chances of getting into college. However, this is not true. When a high school doesn’t provide class rank, colleges simply look at other information, such as GPA, high school transcripts, and standardized test scores to judge a student’s academic ability. As mentioned above, because fewer high schools provide class rank, it is becoming less important for college admissions. How far away are you from a 4.0? Use our easy GPA tool to pinpoint how well you have to do in future classes to get your GPA up to that magical number. What Is a Good Class Rank? So now that you know what your class rank is, what's a good class rank? This answer depends on a lot of factors, including your high school and where you hope to go to college, but we can still give some general answers. If you want to attend college, your minimum goal should be to have a class rank that puts you in the upper half of your class. So if you have a class of 500, you'd want your rank to be 249 or higher. You can certainly get into colleges with a lower class rank (especially if you go to a highly competitive high school and/or magnet school), but being in the top half of your class is a good baseline goal to aim for since it shows colleges that you're an above-average student at your school. If you want to attend a more competitive college, you should aim to have a class rank that puts you in the top 25% of your class, or the 75th or higher percentile. For Ivy League and other top tier schools, a class rank in the top 10% or 5% is a good goal to aim for. Remember though, that colleges take many factors into consideration when they look at college applications, and your class rank is just one piece of the puzzle. Having an overall strong applicationwith high grades, a transcript showing you took difficult classes, strong letters of recommendation, and dedication to extracurricularsmatters much more than just your class rank alone. Recap: What You Need to Know About Class Rank Class rank is a way to compare a student’s grades to those of her classmates. Students are given a number ranking based on their GPA. Class rank can be weighted, unweighted, or only include percentiles. Class rank is one criteria colleges use to determine an applicant’s academic abilities. Some high schools no longer use class rank due to growing concerns that it causes students to take less challenging courses and puts students who are just outside certain percentiles at an unfair disadvantage when applying to colleges. Your class rank can typically be found on your high school transcript or report card. If your high school doesn’t include class rank, it won’t negatively affect your chances of getting into college. Universities have many other criteria, such as your GPA, essays, and standardized test scores, to help make their decision. What's Next? Wondering what else colleges look for on your transcript? Check out our guide on what information a high school transcript includes and why it's important for college applications. Want to improve your class rank? Read our guide on different strategies to raise your GPA in high school. Wondering how strong your GPA is? Learn what a good GPA is for college. How far away are you from a 4.0? Use our easy GPA tool to pinpoint how well you have to do in future classes to get your GPA up to that magical number.

Free Essays on Weather And Climate

A moment’s view of the atmosphere is considered weather. Weather is determined by the temperature, wind, and precipitation when recorded at a specific moment in time. The climate is considered over many moments in time. Climate is dependant on the changes in the weather over a period in time. Weather and Climate don’t differ as much as they play a part in how the other is determined. Air temperature plays a major part in how weather and climate counteract. The intensity and duration of radiation from the sun is how temperature is determined. Those factors along with the amount of water vapor in the air, the degree of cloud cover, nature of the earths’ surface and elevation above sea level together make up the temperature at any given location. The temperature today is what the weather is like, but the varying temperatures throughout the year in one location is one of the factors that determine the climate. Barometric readings are a normal part, along with the recorded temperature of every weather report. Air Attempts to achieve equilibrium by evening out measure imbalances which results from heating and cooling. The greater the differences in air pressure between places the greater the wind. Wind can play a major part in the climate of the area. Ascending air can expand easily because less pressure is on it causing precipitation. Precipitation is any form of water particles as in rain, sleet, snow or hail, that fall from the atmosphere to the earth’s surface. When heat from the lower air spreads through a larger volume, the mass of air becomes cooler. Cool air is less able to hold water vapor than warm air. Causes of weather changes that occur as hair from high-pressure zones flows toward low pressure areas, fronts pass and waves develop, dew points are reached, and sea breezes arise. Parts of the world experience these changes more rapidly and more often than do other parts. Day-to-day weather condi... Free Essays on Weather And Climate Free Essays on Weather And Climate A moment’s view of the atmosphere is considered weather. Weather is determined by the temperature, wind, and precipitation when recorded at a specific moment in time. The climate is considered over many moments in time. Climate is dependant on the changes in the weather over a period in time. Weather and Climate don’t differ as much as they play a part in how the other is determined. Air temperature plays a major part in how weather and climate counteract. The intensity and duration of radiation from the sun is how temperature is determined. Those factors along with the amount of water vapor in the air, the degree of cloud cover, nature of the earths’ surface and elevation above sea level together make up the temperature at any given location. The temperature today is what the weather is like, but the varying temperatures throughout the year in one location is one of the factors that determine the climate. Barometric readings are a normal part, along with the recorded temperature of every weather report. Air Attempts to achieve equilibrium by evening out measure imbalances which results from heating and cooling. The greater the differences in air pressure between places the greater the wind. Wind can play a major part in the climate of the area. Ascending air can expand easily because less pressure is on it causing precipitation. Precipitation is any form of water particles as in rain, sleet, snow or hail, that fall from the atmosphere to the earth’s surface. When heat from the lower air spreads through a larger volume, the mass of air becomes cooler. Cool air is less able to hold water vapor than warm air. Causes of weather changes that occur as hair from high-pressure zones flows toward low pressure areas, fronts pass and waves develop, dew points are reached, and sea breezes arise. Parts of the world experience these changes more rapidly and more often than do other parts. Day-to-day weather condi...

The Definition of a C Algorithm

The Definition of a C Algorithm In general, an algorithm is a description of a procedure that terminates with a result. For example, the factorial of a number x is x multiplied by x-1 multiplied by x-2 and so on until it is multiplied by 1. The factorial of 6 is 6! 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1720. This is an algorithm that follows a set procedure and terminates in a result. In computer science and programming, an algorithm is a set of steps used by a program to accomplish a task. Once you learn about algorithms in C, you can use them in your programming to save yourself time and to make your programs run faster. New algorithms are being designed all the time, but you can start with the algorithms that have proven to be reliable in the C programming language. Algorithms in C In C, the designation identifies a group of functions that run on a designated range of elements. The algorithms are used to solve problems or provide functionality. Algorithms work exclusively on values; they dont affect the size or storage of a container. Simple algorithms can be implemented within a  function. Complex algorithms might require several functions or even a class to implement them. Classifications and Examples of Algorithms in C Some algorithms in C, such as find-if, search, and count are sequence operations that dont make changes, while remove, reverse, and replace are algorithms that modify operations. The classifications of algorithms with a few examples are: Non-modifying sequence modifications (find-if, equal, all_of)Modifying sequence operations (copy, remove, transform)Sorting (sort, partial sort, nth_element)Binary Search (lower_bound, upper_bound)Partitions (partition, partition_copy)Merge (includes, set_intersection, merge)Heap (make_heap, push_heap)  Min/max (min, max,min_element)   A list of the most common C algorithms and example code for many of them are available online in C documentation and on user websites.

Finance HW Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Finance HW - Assignment Example The stock s dividend is expected to grow at a constant rate of 8%, and it currently sells for $50 a share. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? d. When stock in a closely held corporation is offered to the public for the first time, the transaction is called "going public, or an IPO," and the market for such stock is called the new issue or IPO market. d. Limited liability is an advantage of the corporate form of organization to its owners (stockholders), but corporations have more trouble raising money in financial markets because of the complexity of this form of organization. Schalheim Sisters Inc. has always paid out all of its earnings as dividends, hence the firm has no retained earnings. This same situation is expected to persist in the future. The company uses the CAPM to calculate its cost of equity, its target capital structure consists of common stock, preferred stock, and debt. Which of the following events would REDUCE its

How far does psychoanalysis help us in our understanding of Charlotte Essay

How far does psychoanalysis help us in our understanding of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre - Essay Example To be able to achieve the said objective, the definition, coverage and application of psychoanalysis is defined. The application of the concept of psychoanalysis is the main focus of the paper. Plot of the Novel The novel Jane Eyre is about the life of an orphan. The story started when Jane was still young and continued until her adult life. She is a girl who experienced cruelty at a young age in the hands of her relatives. Her aunt, Mrs. Reed is a wealthy woman who took Jane when she lost her parents. Jane’s cousin is another source of her trials as a child since he kept on bullying her. The only affection she had received was from the servant of the family, Bessie. The turning point of her life with her aunt happened when she had a fight with her cousin, John and was punished to stay in the room where her Uncle Reed died and she collapsed of fright. This led to Mr. Lloyd’s advice to send her away to school, a chance that let her leave the house. Her trials did not end in that situation though (Bronte chap.1-4). Included in the succeeding trials are the people she met in Lowood School namely the headmaster Mr. Brocklehurst and her new friend Helen Burns. Mr. Brocklehurst is the cruel, abusive, and corrupt headmaster of the school. Helen Burns on the other hand is a character of opposing characteristics of being both strong and a martyr when it comes to the issues within the school. Another turning point in the life of Jane occurred when an epidemic killed most of the students and the headmaster lost his job due to mismanagement of the school. When better management ruled the school, her life is at its best years, 6 years as a student and 2 more years as a teacher. She then looked for other adventures (Bronte chap.5-10). The last phase of the novel occurred in Thornfield where Jane Eyre met her better half Roschester. Although this is the case, there were hindrances again in the form of the discovery that Rochester is still married to Bertha, who was secretly kept inside the house. She left the place and experienced another set of trials such as being a beggar (Bronte chap.11-28). A family of 3 siblings then helped her. She later discovered that they are relatives and she received news about her family and her inheritance. The story ended with Jane’s realization that she really loves Rochester and went to have another chance with him. Although things changed with him being blind and without one hand, they were able to have glorious years together and were blessed with a son (chapter. 29-38). There are multitude of themes in the novel which are related to the different experiences and factors in a person’s life such as love, religion, relationship, gender issues and social stratification. Freud’s Psychoanalysis The concept of psychoanalysis which explored the ‘workings of the human mind’ had been established by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century in Vienna. It is based on the clinical data and information gathered from observing patients with neurosis. The concept of psychoanalysis became one of the foundations of the theories and principles of psychology based on two points. One point presented by Freud is that majority of the human mental activity occurs without a person’

Computer security proposal report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Computer security proposal report - Assignment Example In simple words, computer security is the way of securing and identifying unlawful or illegal use of personal computer. In this scenario, there are a large number of prevention tools and techniques that help stop illegal users (as well recognized as "intruders") from getting access to any part of a computer system. In addition, detection allows us to find out whether or not someone has tried to force an entry our system, or they were successful, as well as what they may have access from the system (Armor2net Software Ltd.; Red Hat ®, Inc. ; Jaeger). The basic purpose of my research is to discuss computer security issues and their solutions. In this scenario, this paper outlines the plan for the overall research. The basic purpose of this research is to identify the latest security threats. This research will also discuss solutions that can be adopted by business organizations and individuals to deal with these security threats. The concept of computer security is not a new idea. It has been under discussion for a long time and its history can be traced back to the first use of the computer system. Up till now, computer security has remained a serious challenge for the business organizations as well as individuals. I have been excited to learn about what actually computer security is? My interest lies in exploring some of the serious computer security issues that cause serious challenges for computer users. I also want to explore security solutions that can be adopted to deal with these issues. The primary source of data collection would be the Internet. I would research on the internet and would get information from different journals and articles to recognize the latest security issues and solutions. I will also conduct surveys and interviews from the people who have suffered from these security threats. The basic purpose of these interviews and surveys would be to analyze some common trends and problems. The examples of these sources could

Ansewering the international business policy (questions) Essay

Ansewering the international business policy (questions) - Essay Example Dogs often put business strategists to their wits’ end as they worry what to do with them. Unprofitable business units, as a matter of fact, consume similar financial resources as their profitable counterparts. Hence, business strategists often undergo a serious decision-making to handle Dogs among the portfolios of companies they manage. Some of the ways to deal with unprofitable business units or product lines include: (i) establishing a partnership with a brand company that sells similar products; (ii) undergoing merger with another company; (iii) or selling the under-performing business units and invest the proceeds in other businesses that may yield some profits in the near future (Dalton et al., 2007). Selling of unprofitable companies have become the most popular option companies’ managers use to discard off low-yield business units in recent years. 2 2. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are examples of Baltic States. The prospect of finding new positions in their ma rkets may be remote due to the poor economic activities in these countries. For a new company entering the countries must resort to a policy of market development before it could assume the market leadership in these countries. The process of market development is a quite risky adventure because there is no 100% guarantee that it is going to be successful. The process involves using the company’s limited resources (both physical and human) to research the Baltic markets, analyse the available opportunities, undertake products’ publicity, and organise distribution channels that may be different from the ones available in the countries (Stonehouse et al., 2004). There are some common risks associated with market development. Some of these problems are cultural risk, financial risk, market risk and resource risk (Haberberg and Rieple, 2008). Some of the questions to be asked about this process are (i) what of if the cultures in the Baltic States are not receptive to forei gn participation in a particular industry in the country, say, hospitality industry? (ii) how could the company entering into the Baltic markets scrupulously manage its resources? (iii) And what are the possible market risks associated with this kind of business adventure? Once these burning issues can be successfully resolved, it will possible to for the new company to control the market it targets, and also reap the complete benefits this adventure will bring (Haberberg and Rieple, 2008). 3 3. In an economically viable country like Austria, competition among the business operators in the country is inevitable (De Wit et al., 2004). Engaging in â€Å"price wars† is one of the characteristic features of competition in the markets. Price wars force every player in the market to offer competitive prices that would draw consumers away from their rivals and promote continued patronage of what goods or services they offer (Winninger, 1994). To win these wars, some companies may of fer discounts on each of their products; they may also provide subsidies to state or non-private organisations to purchase large quantities of their products (Winninger, 1994). Other incentives for consumers include reduced Value Added Tax (VAT), free delivery mechanism and post-delivery services that many other companies

Constitutionality of RFID Technology within the Las Vegas Gaming Essay

Constitutionality of RFID Technology within the Las Vegas Gaming Surveillance System - Essay Example asino and how much they are wagering in hopes of generating more revenue out of high rollers by using RFID systems to analyze game activity against statistical models of a suspicious winning streak. In the zero latency of Vegas where cameras track your profile from the moment you step inside a casino, the paper will intend to focus first on the relevancy and invasion of privacy that RFID tags cause. Activists fear thieves using RFID readers to track potential victims and overall identity theft, and thus the paper will examine historical uses of the RFID tags currently in book tracking, electronic toll collection, location sensing in tires, smart cards, etc. and compare the arguments against RFID tags between historical usage and the proposed in Vegas. The paper also intends to analyze the modes of privacy invasion already current and accepted in Vegas and analyze the increased burden that RFID may cause to the gambling community and whether this warrants a cause of concern. I intend on cross-examining the current RFID technology and the current Vegas standard of privacy invasion by researching numerous past cases for and against the invasion of privacy on both ends. I then hope to determine the benefits and the disadvantages of implementing the RFID technology into the Vegas gaming market. The U.S. gaming industry has witnessed a surge of activity in recent years and the gross domestic gaming revenue has recently peaked over $70 billion. Home to gaming centers Las Vegas and Atlantic City, Nevada and New Jersey respectively alone generates $15 billion of gaming revenue. The industry attracts approximately a quarter of the U.S. adult population into making nearly 300 million trips to gaming venues a year. Over the last thirty years, the industry has transitioned from a once low-tech and labor- intensive mom-and-pop operation to a technology-centered, large corporation-based entertainment empire. With an estimated 3 million Americans putting over $6 billion

Ansewering the international business policy (questions) Essay

Ansewering the international business policy (questions) - Essay Example Dogs often put business strategists to their wits’ end as they worry what to do with them. Unprofitable business units, as a matter of fact, consume similar financial resources as their profitable counterparts. Hence, business strategists often undergo a serious decision-making to handle Dogs among the portfolios of companies they manage. Some of the ways to deal with unprofitable business units or product lines include: (i) establishing a partnership with a brand company that sells similar products; (ii) undergoing merger with another company; (iii) or selling the under-performing business units and invest the proceeds in other businesses that may yield some profits in the near future (Dalton et al., 2007). Selling of unprofitable companies have become the most popular option companies’ managers use to discard off low-yield business units in recent years. 2 2. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are examples of Baltic States. The prospect of finding new positions in their ma rkets may be remote due to the poor economic activities in these countries. For a new company entering the countries must resort to a policy of market development before it could assume the market leadership in these countries. The process of market development is a quite risky adventure because there is no 100% guarantee that it is going to be successful. The process involves using the company’s limited resources (both physical and human) to research the Baltic markets, analyse the available opportunities, undertake products’ publicity, and organise distribution channels that may be different from the ones available in the countries (Stonehouse et al., 2004). There are some common risks associated with market development. Some of these problems are cultural risk, financial risk, market risk and resource risk (Haberberg and Rieple, 2008). Some of the questions to be asked about this process are (i) what of if the cultures in the Baltic States are not receptive to forei gn participation in a particular industry in the country, say, hospitality industry? (ii) how could the company entering into the Baltic markets scrupulously manage its resources? (iii) And what are the possible market risks associated with this kind of business adventure? Once these burning issues can be successfully resolved, it will possible to for the new company to control the market it targets, and also reap the complete benefits this adventure will bring (Haberberg and Rieple, 2008). 3 3. In an economically viable country like Austria, competition among the business operators in the country is inevitable (De Wit et al., 2004). Engaging in â€Å"price wars† is one of the characteristic features of competition in the markets. Price wars force every player in the market to offer competitive prices that would draw consumers away from their rivals and promote continued patronage of what goods or services they offer (Winninger, 1994). To win these wars, some companies may of fer discounts on each of their products; they may also provide subsidies to state or non-private organisations to purchase large quantities of their products (Winninger, 1994). Other incentives for consumers include reduced Value Added Tax (VAT), free delivery mechanism and post-delivery services that many other companies

Conversation analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Conversation analysis - Essay Example Its method revolves around the observation of human dialogue in natural conversational settings and it analyses how the various forms of conversational interaction work together in different settings. It is concerned with the analysis of casual rather than formal conversation and takes into account such factors as ‘turn taking’ and ‘holding the floor’. This essay will discuss how participants in a conversation manage their interaction primarily using these techniques, but it will also explore how other techniques are employed in conjunction with these in order show the complexities of human conversational interaction. Conversational interaction is a highly complex semantic process of exchanging meaning. It is not merely a back and forth discourse, but rather an attempt to make sense of the world around us and communicate these observations and feelings to each other. These exchanges can be highly pragmatic in nature, such as communicating with the fish monger how much cod is required or asking the way to the station, or they can be more general and less specifically focused, taking the form of talking without a highly specific communication goal in mind. As Eggins & Slade (2004: p.6) comment, sometimes ‘we talk merely for the sake of talking itself. An example of this is when we get together with friends†¦over dinner and just â€Å"have a chat†. It is to these informal interactions that the label casual conversation is usually applied.’ It is on these type of semantic exchanges that this essay will therefore focus. General discourse with no specific goal of communication is what is meant by casual communication. A commonly occurring structure in casual conversation is ‘turn taking’. In this sort of conversation each of the participants will speak in turn in order to communicate their reactions and opinions, or to add new information or change the direction

Corporate social responsibility motivations and country factors Essay Example for Free

Corporate social responsibility motivations and country factors Essay Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an increasingly important issue for all businesses around the world. CSR covers economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities of firms. Explain the factors that may motivate an MNE to adopt CSR in its international business strategy and operations. How might the country context influence the types of CSR initiatives undertaken? Support your answer with real world examples or cases. While corporate social responsibility (CSR) has existed for a long time, it has garnered attention only in the last two decades as an important aspect of doing business. Academic research on CSR has evolved over the years, indicating a change in how CSR is viewed as time goes by. In the earlier years of CSR research, academics sought to identify a link between CSR and financial performance (Aupperle et al. 1985; McGuire et al. 1998), as though CSR had to be rationalised in order to exist. But moving forward to the present, CSR has been undoubtedly recognised as a need by many organisations, and research has shifted from discussing â€Å"macro social effects to an organisational-level analysis of CSR and its impact on organisational processes and performance† (Lindgreen and Swaen 2010, p. 1). In other words, CSR research has moved from questioning the â€Å"why† to â€Å"how† of doing CSR, reflecting the growing prominence of the practice. CSR involves the â€Å"economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time† (Carroll 1979, p. 500). These programs are des igned to fulfill a basic economic or social need as expected by the community, honoured by the company in goodwill so as to position oneself as a positively value-driven entity (Swanson 1995; Wood 1991). CSR initiatives can be derived out of self-interest, or external pressure from institutional economics (Meyer and Rowan 1991; North 1992) or when a company decides to rise above its economic function to help and aid stakeholders (Trevino and Nelson, 2004). While there are many reasons for a company to engage in CSR, it ultimately assists the corporation in enhancing its legitimacy (Wood 1991) and fit with society at large (Zensisek 1979), creating a symbiotic relationship between stakeholders and companies (Tuzzolinio and Armandi 1981). Unfortunately, CSR has no consensus definition (Dahlsrud, 2008). It is important to recognise from this that CSR  is a complex and multilayered concept that requires examination from various angles. In this essay, CSR will be understood as a firm’s obligations to act responsibly to all possible stakeholders in the market environment. This essay will now seek to explore the motivations behind pursuing CSR programs by a business organisation, d etermining how various stakeholders and the general public can influence this decision and how the broader country context can affect how a company participates in CSR. In the corporate world, companies are fully engaged in CSR initiatives, with more than 80% of Fortune 500 companies addressing CSR issues (Esrock and Leichty, 1998), reflecting that CSR is more than an ethical or ideological necessity, but also an economic one. As such, more companies today have realised that â€Å"not only doing good is the right thing to do, but it also leads to doing better† (Bhattacharya and Sen 2004, p.9). While it was infamously argued previously that the main purpose of a company was to make profits and thrive economically (Friedman 1970), enterprises now have the option to do so and at the same time, contribute meaningfully to society at large. The reasons for a MNE to engage in CSR initiatives are multiple. Stakeholder theory (Donaldson and Preston 1995) can be used as a skeletal framework to understand where demands for CSR arise. Demand derives from two main groups: consumers and stakeholders. Stakeholders of a company include its investors, employees, suppliers and even the local environment that it is located in. The consumer demand for CSR will be addressed first. CSR engagements may result in producing a good that has socially responsible attributes, such as dolphin-free tuna or a non-animal tested product. It could be in less obvious means, such as a clothing company not ultilising sweat shops or child labour in producing its goods. When consumers buy products that bear such attributes, they believe they are â€Å"indirectly supporting a cause and rewarding firms that devote resources to CSR† (McWilliams and Siegel 2001, p. 119). Consumers are able to identify better with a company that engages in CSR activities and feel a stronger connection or attachment to such firms. Consumer oriented CSR also involve intangible attributes, such as reputation. Having a strong reputation has been linked to attracting more customers, retaining and motivating employees, gaining favour with analysts and the media amongst many more reasons (Bhattacharya and Sen 2004). CSR has come to matter in building a reputation for corporations. The Reputation  Institute ranks the world’s most reputable companies based on the RepTrak ® system. RepTrak ® analyses seven dimensions of corporate reputation: Citizenship, Innovation, Governance, Workplace, Leadership, Products/Services and Financial Performance (Reputation Institute 2013). Of which, three of these dimensions (citizenship, governance and workplace) fall into the CSR category, and analysis has shown that â€Å"42% of how people feel about a firm is based on their perceptions of the a firm’s CSR practices† (Smith 2012, para. 6). The Body Shop, Patagonia and Ben Jerry’s are some examples that stand out in their respective industries having built reputations centring on socially responsible practices. Hence, it is easy to see why consumers drive the demand for companies to engage in CSR activities. Stakeholders too, demand for CSR for various reasons. McWilliams and Siegel (2001, p.122) have posited that employees will support â€Å" progressive labour relations policies, safety, financial security, and workplace amenities, such as childcare. Workers are searching for signals that managers are responding to causes they support†. Nintendo has numerous employee well-being programs in place where all employees can receive support in various aspects of their lives. Free training in life-saving skills and first aid, and subsidies for work safety shoes, transportation costs and even gym memberships are provided to help employees achieve work-life balance and a better well being (Nintendo, 2013). It has been observed that CSR initiatives in a firm typically lead to greater employee work satisfaction where job attitudes are improved and productivity is increased, and is used as a way of attracting talents to a company (Bhattacharya, Sen and Korschun 2012). Valentine and Fleischman (2008) have observed that CSR also plays a part in mediating the relationships between ethics programs and job satisfaction. Taken holistically, effective organisational ethics and CSR activities will incite more â€Å"positive beliefs in the fir m, as well as the immediate work context and culture† (Valentine and Fleischman 2008, p. 167). As observed then, employees play an important role in creating a demand for CSR in firms as they stand to benefit from such programs intrinsically. For both stakeholders and consumers then, CSR programs create an organisational identity that becomes relatable. When companies engage in CSR that underpins their mission and values, stakeholders are able to see an element of themselves in the organisation,  which leads to increased support for the company. As already observed, this can lead to stronger purchase intention in customers, or increased job satisfaction in employees. The largest motivation to pursue CSR for a company though could lie in developing a competitive advantage. While CSR could be executed simply by donating to charities as corporate philanthropy, some firms have recognised CSR as a strategic tool to use and develop in order to answer not only a societal need, but a business issue as well. Strategic CSR is now a form of social innovation, and by answering crucial problems in society that leads to real, long-lasting change; a company will reap the benefits of a better workforce, a new market or higher consumption while adding value to society (Kanter 1999). The need to recognise that economic and social objectives are not distinctively opposing but complementary will lead to CSR that can potentially bring about a social benefit and improve competitiveness (Porter and Kramer, 2002). There are two main business advantages that arise from CSR. Firstly, it presents an opportunity to test out a new technology. Secondly, it provides the opportunity to build political capital by influencing regulations, presenting itself as a market leader or to strengthen relationships with government officials (Kanter 1999). This was exactly what Bell Atlantic did through Project Explore by going into schools to test out their new High-bitrate Digital Subscriber Line (HDSL) technologies with personal computers in the early 1990s. This provided a test ground that would get their technology into the real world and also presented itself as a demonstration site to political leaders for Bell Atlantic to petition favourably for their proposed statewide technology communications plan (Kanter 1999). Bell Atlantic managed to help schools by providing them with computers and new technologies, bettering education and technology literacy, while still achieving a business agenda. The competitive context of a company and its business environment can benefit greatly when economic and social goals are seen as mutually linked. Porter and Kramer (2006) identify four key areas strategic CSR can affect competitive context positively: factor conditions, demand conditions, context for strategy and rivalry, and lastly, related and supported industries. Improving education, in the case of Cisco, enabled them to educate students in computer skills that resulted in a high quality, yet cost effective curriculum due to Cisco’s expertise. Whilst all students from Cisco’s Networking Academy may not work for Cisco, the industry at large benefits. Furthermore, well-trained network administrators who graduate from The Cisco Network Academy create demand for higher quality service and solutions (Porter and Kramer 2006, p. 85). CSR can influence in the creation of a more productive and transparent environment for competition (Porter and Kramer 2006, p. 85), such as Transparency International, where corporations have pledged to disclose and deter corruption in the world. This aids in building fair competition and higher productivity. Finally, a company can benefit by supporting a related industry. For example, American Express funds travel and tourism academics in the recognition of its reliance on the hospitality industry for travel-related spending on its credit cards (Porter and Kramer 2006, p.85). These examples show how CSR can result in tremendous payoffs when executed effectively. While immediate stakeholders c an drive the motivations for CSR initiatives, it is important to consider how the country a company is operating in can affect how CSR activities are chosen and implemented. The different social and cultural differences in each country should be salient enough for managers to acknowledge that CSR cannot be entirely universal, especially in the case of global MNEs. Furthermore, different social needs and problems will be inherent in each country. For example, the prevalence of AIDS/HIV is critical in South Africa. As such, it is only appropriate that companies with a presence in South Africa address this issue; with the likes of Toyota, Sappi and Mercedes-Benz deploying CSR programs that help employees tackle the pandemic of AIDS/HIV. British Petroleum (BP) (BP 2013), a global oil company, undertakes CSR initiatives that are identified as locally relevant, tailoring to the needs of their host communities and societies. A quick glance of their case studies shows various CSR programs ranging from workforce rights in Brazil to community relations in Turkey. While addressing locale-specific issues would be the most effective method of CSR, other factors may e ncourage or hinder such intention. The legal environment can affect the way CSR is implement in a country greatly. It changes either through strong intervention whereby social responsibility is legally stipulated, or a severe lack thereof, which leads to voluntary action by other players (Campbell 2007). France and Brazil are two examples par excellence of how the government can play a key role in creating CSR  demand, albeit in opposite directions. The French government has influenced how CSR has developed and emerged greatly by playing an active role in passing legislation, amongst other policies that requires French companies, including subsidiaries of international firms, to be socially responsible and accountable (Sobczak and Martins 2010, p. 448). On the other hand, Brazil’s history of a military government has fostered a passive environment where innovation is stifled, including that of encouraging improvements for society (Sobczak and Martins 2010, p.449). As such, private actors such as Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are most active in Brazil to encourage CSR programs to Brazilian companies. While the legal environment can affect how CSR is implemented in a country, it can also affect what type of CSR is initiated. Although France has passed mandates to enforce listed companies submit reports on social and environment impacts, the main area of concern belies in employment rights (Sobczak and Martins 2010, p. 450). Similarly, Brazilian companies are also strongly focused on employee relations and well-being, that being the key principle of CSR in Brazil (Sobczak and Martins 2010, p. 451). CSR then is only translated into one dimension of obligation and other dimensions, though equally pressing; take a backseat in the case of France and Brazil. Different priorities in a country culturally can affect how CSR is implemented. In such scenarios, international NGOs come in and encourage other concerns to be addressed. This helps to bring harmony to the imbalance within the CSR activities focused in countries such as France and Brazil. For instance, international environmental NGO, the World Wildlife Fund, has collaborated with French companies to allow the use of their logo, one of the most recognisable brands in the world, on products that meet their standards (Sobczak and Martins 2010, p.452). This has encouraged firms in France to meet environmental standards that was not previously crucial in CSR portfolios. Through this, French companies are more receptive to practicing CSR that is not inherent to their usual procedures. Despite the particularity of each country and how CSR is ideally done based on local demands, the reality of the matter is that CSR is not always practiced this way. Global MNEs typically have general and universal guidelines on what CSR activities should be undertaken in host countries, and most managers have to be given permission to pursue local CSR from the parent company . Universalism in CSR practices by MNEs creates linearity and  coherence for all stakeholders, but can result in less powerful CSR practices. On the other hand, localised programs may end up being fragmented or ad hoc. There is undoubtedly differing perspective on which approach is preferable, as each holds its argument convincingly (Muller 2006). As suggested by Husted and Allen (2006) then, the key difference between global or local CSR is the community that demands it. Another key factor that affects the way CSR is conducted is the development of CSR in a globalised world. It has been recognised by scholars (Gugler and Shi 2009; Jamali 2010) that CSR is fundamentally Anglo-Saxon both in history and development. Hence, CSR has a strong presence in the United States and United Kingdom, but is still lacking in both conceptual and practical thinking in countries based in the Southern hemisphere. Jamali and Ramez (2007) has noted that numerous issues with CSR in the Lebanon context. Firstly, CSR is typically executed in tangent to the parent company’s mission and values. While it is not necessarily a bad move to have a universally applicable CSR issue identified by a parent company, this may lead to a lack of agency by foreign subsidiaries to pursue CSR that is truly important in a specific context. Hence, CSR in Lebanon is still largely based on altruistic means and charitable giving, which is considered a low-level and basic method of implementing CSR. Interviewed companies by Jamali (2007) did not track the performance of its CSR outputs, showing that CSR is not implemented for a genuine purpose of serving a long-term positive impact to society, but to address the obligatory needs in order to build a positive corporate image. Due to the lack of understanding from global perspectives and North-driven ideology, countries may derive value and meaning from CSR in their own terms (Gugler and Shi 2009). China has come up with their own standards because of the dilemma of being the â€Å"world’s factory† and cannot comply with various standards demanded from different suppliers, it becomes too costly to be effective. In this instance, the Chinese government has developed various rankings and best practices for Chinese companies, and goes as far as prohibiting international certifications unless approved by the right local authorities (Gugler and Shi 2009, p.15). By doing so, Chinese companies do not face foreign pressure to comply with standards that are unfeasible for their modus operandi. Overall, this essay has shown that there are numerous motivations for companies to practice CSR. Answering demands to  achieve higher satisfaction in consumers and employees, helping to build a reputation and in its most strategic form, creates a competitive advantage for companies are some of the benefits that a company can yield through effective CSR. While there are numerous ben efits of conducting CSR, CSR implementation is highly diverse due to the various legal, socio-economic and cultural factors that each country brings. Furthermore, due to the development and history of CSR, CSR is still very much in its infancy stage in the Southern hemisphere and pressure to develop a CSR programs similar to current ones in the Northern hemisphere becomes unrealistic and untenable. As such, other actors such as international NGOs may step in to realign and create focus for different needs, or countries may come up with their own compliance standards as a global benchmark to ease doing of business internationally. This has shown thus far how CSR is highly complex as a practice, varying from simplistic to more complex approaches, and once again changing within localities due to the needs and issues to be addressed. As CSR continues to develop, one should take notice of how CSR might change in developing countries and how globalisation continues to affect how companies may choose to conduct CSR. References: Aupperle, K. E., et al. (1985). An empirical examination of the relationship between corporate social responsibility and profitability. Academy of Management Journal 28(2): 446-463. Bhattacharya, C., et al. (2012). Using corporate social responsibility to win the war for talent. MIT Sloan Management Review 49. Bhattacharya, C. B. and S. Sen (2004). Doing better at doing good: when, why and how consumers respond to corporate social initatives. California Management Review 47(1): 9-24 BP (2013). Sustainability. from http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/sustainability.html. Campbell, J. L. (2007). Why would corporations behave in socially responsible ways? An institutional theory of corporate social responsibility. Academy of Management Review 32(3): 946-967. Carroll, A. B. (1979). A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance. Academy of Management Review 4(4): 497-505 Dahlsrud, A. (2008). How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions. C orporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 15(1): 1-13 Donaldson, T. and L.  E. Preston (1995). The stakeholder theory of the corporation: Concepts, evidence, and implications. Academy of Management Review 20(1): 65 Esrock, S. L. and G. B. Leichty (1998). Social responsibility and corporate web pages: self-presentation or agenda-setting? Public Relations Review 24(3): 305-319. Friedman, M. 1970. The social responsibility of business is to increase profits. New York Times Magazine, September 13: 32–33, 122, 124, 126. Gugler, P. and J. Y. Shi (2009). Corporate social responsibility for developing country multinational corporations: lost war in pertaining global competitiveness? Journal of Business Ethics 87(1): 3-24. Institute, R. (2013). Reputation Institute The Reptrak system. from http://www.reputationinstitute.com/thought-leadership/the-reptrak-system. Jamali, D. (2010). The CSR of MNC subsidiaries in developing countries: Global, local, substantive or diluted? Journal of Business Ethics 93(2): 181-200. Jamali, D. and Ramez, M. (2007). Corporate social responsibility (CSR): theory and practice in a developing country context. Journal of Business Ethics 72(3): 243-262. Kanter, R. M. (1999). From spare change to real change: The social sector as beta site for business innovation. Harvard Business Review 77. Lindgreen, A. and V. Swaen (2010). Corporate social responsibility. International Journal of Management Reviews 12(1): 1-7 McGuire, J. B., et al. (1988). Corporate social responsibility and firm financial performance. Acade my of Management Journal 31(4): 854-872. McWilliams, A. and D. Siegel (2001). Corporate social responsibility: A theory of the firm perspective. Academy of Management Review 26(1): 117-127. Muller, A. (2006). Global versus local CSR strategies. European Management Journal 24(2): 189-198 Meyer, J. and B. Rowan. (1991). Institutional Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony, in P. J. DiMaggio and W. Walter (eds.), The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London), pp. 41–62. Nintendo (2013). Nintendo of America Employee Welfare and Well-being. from http://www.nintendo.com/corp/csr/#welfare. Porter, M. E. and M. R. Kramer (2002). The competitive advantage of corporate philanthropy. Harvard Business Review 80(12): 56-68. Porter, M. E. and M. R. Kramer (2006). Strategy and society. Harvard Business Review 84(12): 78-92. Smith, J. (2012). The companies with the best CSR reputation. from

The History Of Mahindra And Mahindra

The History Of Mahindra And Mahindra K. C. Mahindra is the person who established Mahindra and Mahindra when he visited United States of America as Chairman of the India Supply Mission. When he met Barney Roos who invented general purpose vehicle or Jeep who was the inspiration for K. C. Mahindra. K. C. Mahindra Brothers joined with Ghulam Mohammed. And Mahindra Mohammed was set up as franchise for assembling jeeps from Willys, USA on October 2nd, 1945.After Two years Mahindra Mohammed changed its name to Mahindra Mahindra. Mahindra Mahindra grown in size and stature and it also occupied a premier position in all key sectors of economy. Mahindra Mahindra group is engaged in an ambitious and prolonged penetration into the global arena. DIFFERENT VEHICLES IN MAHINDRA MAHINDRA: FIG a: Indias first Prime Minister.   FIG b: Mahindra Scorpio A passenger in the past FIG c: The electric car of Mahindra and FIG d: Mahindra tractor. its name is Mahindra REVA. FIG e: Mahindra Jeeps are used FIG f: Two wheeler model in Mahindra Mahindra for daily transport in Agra. and its name is Mahindra Flyte. The company encapsulated its ambition, spirit and inspiration from golden words of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru: The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   But I have promises to keep,   And miles to go before I sleep,   And miles to go before I sleep. The golden words are translated into many more milestones to be set up before it rest. Today, It has evolved into a premium SUV(Sport Utility Vehicle) and MUV(Multi Utility Vehicle) with a large number of cars in the Indian car market. Today in the Indian car market we can see three types of Mahindra cars they are Mahindra Bolero, Mahindra Maxx, Mahindra Scorpio. In the present scenario Mahindra Mahindra total turnover is of about 6 billion dollars. Organization analysis: Mission/Vision Goals and Objectives Strategy followed Vision: Indians are second in the world in manufacturing automobiles. The founders of our nation and our company passionately believed by us. We will prove them right by believing in ourselves and by making MM Ltd. known worldwide for the quality of its product and services. And its new innovations. The important goal of Mahindra Mahindra is to provide highly technological innovative product and services . E-business Initiatives and by out sourcing of technology Products that redefined the market By 2015 Mahindra Mahindra wants to enter almost all continents in the world. Joint ventures, acquisition and merger with different players in other countries Foreign competition. Mission of Anand Mahindra: We dont have a group-wide mission statement. Our core purpose is what makes all of us want to get up and come to work in the morning. Mr. Mahindra awards: Rajiv Gandhi Award 2004 for outstanding contribution in business field. From President of French Republic as Knight of the Order of Merit. In the year 2005 from Auto Monitor as Person of the year. From American India Foundation 2005 Leadership Award for his, and the Mahindra Mahindra group for its commitment to CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility). CNBC Asia Business Leader Award for the year 2006. Business Man of the year 2007 from Business India. Business Leader of the year 2009 by Economic Times. Miles stones of Mahindra Mahindra: In 1948 Mahindra Mahindra LTD associated with UK for Steel trading business. In 1957 Mahindra Owen established- a joint venture with Rubery Owen Company LTD, UK. In 1969 the Company entered the world market which exports utility vehicles and spare parts. In 1975 Mahindra Engines developed an diesel engine for its vehicles. In 1982 the Mahindra brand tractors were launched. In 1986 Tech Mahindra (formerly known as Mahindra British Telecom) is established. In 1994 Mahindra group created 6 Strategic Business Units they are: Automotive or Automobiles, Trading, Farm Equipment, Infrastructure, Financial Services, Information Technology(earlier it is Telecom and Software) and Systech(earlier it is MSAT). In 1999 Mahindra group launched a 3-wheeler vehicle which is environmental friendly, a battery-operated. In the year 2007 Mahindra group focused on health and the environment. It launched Mahindra Hariyali, which aims to add 1 million trees to Indias green cover and it also launched Lifeline Express. In the year 2007 Tech Mahindra LTD launched Tech Mahindra Foundation on June 13th 2007. These are the some of the milestones of Mahindra Mahindra groups. FOUR Is of Mahindra Mahindra: The four Is: INNOVATIONS. INFRASTRUCTURE. INVESTIMENT. INSTITUTIONS. INNOVATIONS: Mahindra Mahindra is one of the top industry in India. The director of the Mahindra Mahindra Anand Mahindra put innovation is the core of its growth strategy. The radical innovation is successful in managing the balance between the structured processes and the creation of an environment. According to this MM group: Innovation should start with the insight about customer, which the Mahindra Mahindra group found by going to fields and observing the lives of farmers. And this group found that the tractors were used for personal use. The Mahindra Mahindra group encourages the experiments. The new inventions should add value to companys bottom line that is nothing but profit. The important point is that great products should have great design. Thus Mahindra Mahindra took this initiative and made the culture of innovation. INFRASTRUCTURE: The Mahindra Mahindra infrastructure is a JV between Mahindra Group and International Finance Corporation. It works close association with global companies to bring world class technologies and practices. It mainly focus on ownership, development and management of infrastructure projects. It is becoming the leading infrastructure developer in the country. INSTITUTIONS: The Mahindra Mahindra group is placed in all sectors like Telecommunications and it is named as Tech Mahindra. Software, Mahindra Mahindra came to software field after buying Satyam company and it is named as Mahindra Satyam Mahindra Mahindra also has its recognition in the Infrastructure and it is named as Mahindra Infrastructure Developers. In this it also have holiday resorts it named as Mahindra Holidays and Resort LTD (MHRIL) Mahindra Mahindra is one of the top industry in India for automobiles and it is the starting point of Mahindra Mahindra company. Mahindra Mahindra also involved in financial sector and its name is Mahindra Mahindra Financial Service LTD. Mahindra Mahindra Group also have Mahindra Special Services which was established in 2001 as a separate division in Mahindra Mahindra. Mahindra Mahindra also have Mahindra Defence Systems which oversees the requirement of Indias Defence and Security forces. INVESTIMENTS: Mahindra Mahindra group have shares in many companies. Presently Mahindra Mahindra Group want to acquire Ssangyong and expand its business in international market. But on other hand, its investors are quite suspicious regarding the investment. In the past Mahindra Mahindra Group made many Joint Ventures and acquisitions and it has forayed into different sectors of automobiles like light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles. It also ambitious to acquire two wheelers also. PESTEL ANALYSIS ON MAHINDRA MAHINDRA: Many factors in the environment that affect the organization are: Tax changes. Trade barriers. Government policy changes. New laws. Demographic change. These are the some of the macro changes. Thus to analyze these factors we categorize them using PESTEL analysis. The PESTEL analysis includes Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Ecological, Legal factors. Political Factors: This is a Government policy which includes what are the goods and services does a Government want, to what extent the government can subsidize firms and its priorities in political decisions and business support. The factors related to Mahindra Mahindra group: For Mahindra tractor industry the Government laid stress on mechanism of agriculture to boost food grain production. Change in Taxation policy. Regaining Agricultural dynamism is the key goal in eleventh Five year plan. ECONOMICAL FACTORS: The Economical factors which includes taxation change, inflation, interest rates, economic growth and exchange rates. The factors related to Mahindra Mahindra group: Cost of tractors in India are more cheaper when compared to other countries. 95% of tractors are on credit based. For agriculture inputs Less interest rate charged by the banks. Social Factors: As the population increases the demand on goods get increased. Thus there will be demand for firm products and industry. As there is increase in awareness in farmers there is a need technology and thus there is a requirement of tractors and farmers can buy tractors on credit bases. To meet the farmers demand the mechanized operations are preferred to eliminate delay, also labor shortage. The other main important thing which Mahindra Mahindra do for its long-term sustainability is CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility). Mahindra Mahindra group spend Rs. 1.3 crore it is head donation in its annual report. Its activities include K. C. Mahindra Education Trust which provides education at various levels. There is another program for helping unprivileged girl child at the Mahindra foundation it is Nanhi. This are the main things which are done by Mahindra Mahindra group for its long-term sustainability. The Mahindra Mahindra also have its own foundation as Mahindra Foundation which was set up with a specific objective that to provide medical relief to poor people. The Mahindra foundation always very responsive to any major disasters whether it has been taken as tsunami or the Gujarat earthquake, it provided support either by financially or by sending vehicles, supplying manpower or material. Technological Factors: Increase in new Technology can create new products and process which can reduce the cost, improve the quality, lead to innovation and also reduce the life cycle of the product. This technology will benefit consumers as well as organizations. The factors related to Mahindra Mahindra group: Continuous technological innovation. Continuous improvement in technology will reduce use of Renewable energy development. Ecological Factors: It include weather and climate change. The major climate changes occurring due to Acid rain, Green-house effect, Global warming thus it is becoming significant for the firms. Thus because of this impact environmentally friendly products and processes have more demand and also creating business opportunities. The factors related to Mahindra Mahindra group: Global Warming. Mahindra group is trying to release electric cars to reduce the pollution and also reduce the usage of renewable goods. Legal Factors: Legal factors are related to legal environment. In recent years the developing countries changed the Legal factors which affected the firms in other countries due to globalization. The legal factors related to Mahindra Mahindra group: Agricultural policy Collaboration with government which shapes policy issues. SWOT ANALYSIS: SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats) of Mahindra Mahindra group Strengths of Mahindra Mahindra group: Mahindra Mahindra is one of the top players in the world in terms of number of tractors sold. This itself shows that Mahindra Mahindra market share is the biggest strength of the company. It also have highest domestic share. The some other strengths of Mahindra Mahindra group: Product portfolio of Mahindra Mahindra got extended from 20hp to 30hp. There is government support for Mahindra Mahindra Group.A Availability of technically skilled people from JTC (Jiangling Tractor Company). For its next stage of expansion Mahindra Mahindra have a strategy. It not only focus on new products, it also have a programme of intensive management development to establish its leader for future. The major strength of Mahindra Mahindra is it have ability to introduce new products and process in to the market and also can generate sales for those new products. Weakness of Mahindra Mahindra group: The production is non-competitive because of high interest costs and overheads. Infrastructure of this group is Bottle neck. The companys passenger cars are based upon 3rd and 4th generation platform. In this group there is lack of efficiency for new plant layout. Another weakness of Mahindra Mahindra is multi franchise. In Mahindra Mahindra there is no effective dealership. The MM is mainly dependent on rural sector, the rural sector mainly depends on monsoon. Thus if there is bad monsoon for two consecutive years which leads to adverse impact on demand for tractors. Opportunities of Mahindra Mahindra group: Rural demand is increased. Income level is increasing. Ban for overloading of commercial vehicles. With the support of local partners there is an easy entry to Chinese market. The Mahindra Mahindra will be more competitive in Chinese market if they provided after sales service. To get more demand the Mahindra Mahindra group should export Chinese range tractors to India and Indian range tractors to China. Mahindra also entered in to software field after buying satyam and renamed it as Mahindra Satyam. Threats of Mahindra Mahindra group: Input cost got increased. Competition also increasing. The most important threat of Mahindra Mahindra is legal consideration. In China the Banking facilities are undeveloped. The MM also involved in different fields like holidays, telecom industry, financial services and resort etc. Which should have good subsidiaries from time to time if these are unmanageable this will divert the companys attention from its business which leads to destruction of shareholders value. Mahindra Mahindra will face more competition if the foreign players enter in to the tractor segment because these foreign players are technically more competitive when compared to MM. CONCULSION: Thus according to research on Mahindra Mahindra Group it shows that the company uses the Strategic Key points in the external environment for long-term sustainability and sustained success. It is the one which encourages the new ideas and also have plan to sale the new product in the market. This company is the one which try to develop new products for consumers. Mahindra Mahindra company is also socially responsible it give 1.3 crore only from its annual report for helping poor and unprivileged girls. Which shows that the company not only think about its profits but also feel the responsible about our country India. It is that which also do international trading with other countries. It also have a clear vision and goal which shows the dedication of the company. The mission itself says that it is not thinking about profits but it want develop ourselves. Mahindra and Mahindra tries to develop the new products which do not harm the environment and save the renewable reso urces example MAHINDRA REVA which is an electric car. According to research it shows that Mahindra Mahindra is one company which is respected and trusted by consumers and it is the top industry in INDIA. .

A Jew In Germany Or Occupied Europe: :: essays research papers fc

A Jew In Germany or Occupied Europe: This is my diary which I have decided to write, so that I can hopefully relive my youth when I read this when I am an old man. I live in the south of Poland with my family which I adore very much since they mean everything to me. We have a small family business, a small shop, which supplies us with enough money to get by on during these hard times since the slump nearly five years ago. Life is hard but rewarding at the moment, soon there will be a new member to the family, since my wife is expecting our second child. I hope one day to see my children grow up and carry on the business which I started nearly eight years ago in 1927. Today I received a letter from my sister Erika, who lives in Germany. She too followed the family tradition and set up her own shop in Germany with her husband, but in this letter she seems to be very distressed and worried. She says that life has started to become very difficult since 1933. There has been a new ruling body installed in Germany called NAZI and according to her newspapers it is led by a hero, who has come to save Germany; Adolf Hitler. These Nazis oppose our jewish religion greatly; nearly everybody does, but this is a new strain of hatred that I have no seen before. In letter she states that some new anti-semitic rules called "The Nuremburg Laws" came into effect just this month which will practically sign her business' death warrant. Over the pass year her shop has been fire bombed several times and even her distressed children are receiving threats from kids their own age. Her husband has even been assaulted by brown shirted thugs belonging to this Nazi party. I hope she will write soon because I think she will not be able to cope with any more of this harassment. There is an air of uncertainty of the frost bittern streets of our city. We are currently celebrating "Chunakah", the festival of Light which coincides with Christmas. These celebrations are now hollow to us, hollow with the emptiness of absent relatives. Many of my friends like me are worried for our loved ones in Germany and Czechoslovakia. The Nazi power in Germany has grown like an petty acorn to a giant oak tree. There are daily reports in our papers about increased pogroms against our fellow jews and families in Germany. My family and I are very worried about my sister.

Frankenstein Essay

Throughout the novel, Frankenstein, a feminist theme subtly pervades the novel, and is crucial to the characters of the story, the plot line and the setting of the novel. The reasons for the creation of the monster lie within Frankenstein’s own familial relationships, especially with the grief he experienced at the loss of his mother. Frankenstein is riddled with passive female characters who suffer throughout the novel. However, not one female character throughout the novel ever exhibits behaviour outside of the submissive female role. Elizabeth, Victor’s love, dies at the hand of the male creature, while waiting for Victor to rescue her. Elizabeth is unable to do anything to defend herself without the help of a man. Equally, Justine Moritz is sentenced to death for a murder the creature also committed. Once again, she is unable to defend herself and prove her innocence and dies for it. Some may argue that Justine is a victim of circumstance however, but her docile role leaves her helpless to make her own destiny and defend herself against the false accusation. Mary Shelley’s own family life affected contents of the novel as well. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, a strong activist in the feminist movement, had died shortly after her own birth, and both her and her sister did not take kindly to their Father’s second wife, Mary Clairmont. During the nineteenth century, within Genevan society, where the novel was first written, men dominated the social and intellectual employment, whilst women only occupied the domestic work/lifestyle. Although the passivity of female characters is at a constant throughout the novel, perhaps coming to the conclusion that Frankenstein is simply a misogynistic text is unreasonable. Shelley’s feminist background, as a daughter of Wollstonecraft, questions the motives behind stereotyping traits of all of the female characters in the novel. Also, Elizabeth and Justine both died far before the end of the novel. It can be argued that by emphasising the conservative qualities of the characters, Shelley was able to also define the negative aspects of the static female ole by exterminating female characters that fit that role. By linking the submissive women with the negative demises, Shelley was able to emphasise the negative outcomes of their behaviour, contrasting with feminist ideals that would have in turn saved the character in each case. It can be debated that Shelley’s presentation of women after Caroline Beaufort’s death is the irreplaceable place of a mother or the assumption of roles by other characters. In the novel, Shelley seems to portray Caroline’s death as society’s view of women. Caroline is easily discarded, performs the role of the mother and then perishes. The women in Frankenstein could also be seen as virtuous and caring, as Caroline sacrifices her own health knowingly in order to look after Justine and Elizabeth; â€Å"Elizabeth was saved, but the consequences of this imprudence were fatal to her preserver. † Elizabeth appears to represent a replacement mother figure within the Frankenstein family, spurred on by dying request of Caroline for her to â€Å"supply† her place to her â€Å"younger children†. Agatha, as well, supplies this need within the DeLacey family by playing the womanly role. However, it is argued by some that a mother can never be truly replaced, and according to the maternal and biblical symbolism throughout this novel, the reader could be inclined to believe this is Shelley’s true opinion. Mary Shelley’s own mother died only eleven days after her birth, and it could be seen that the absence of a maternal figure is clear in Frankenstein. The absence of the maternal figure shows the apparent breakdown of a family unit and seems to inspire an oedipal complex within both Frankenstein and the monster. Like in Frankenstein, the role of men in Brave New World has a complete higher standing to women, both physically and psychologically. Also in comparison to Frankenstein, women have a better understanding of emotions and have more social roles. The portrayal of male superiority is uniform throughout the novel, and starts by introducing that overall dominance with the tour of the Hatchery. All the students on the tour are male and although maybe a minor detail, this shows that women are restricted to the things they do at an early age. During the tour, the students learn about pregnancies and that women are sterilised, yet the men aren’t. This short and important fact by the author exclaims the physiological dominance of men over women. The book shows no clear objection to leaving the future of their offspring in the hands of males, even if it is unhealthy. A specific character to talk about in Brave New World is Linda. Linda is the character in the novel who opposes the traditional role of women in the book (and that of women in Frankenstein). Like in a lot of Huxley’s pieces, this novel centres heavily around sex. In Brave New World, sex is no longer used for procreation but for distraction and pacification. The act has been dehumanised and devoid of human passion. I feel in this, Huxley tries to argue whether the future of our lifestyle is a subjugation of a natural inclination toward monogamy or the freedom of sleeping with many people. Linda is portrayed as the person opposing to modern culture, and causes the reader to question whether Huxley’s portrayal of women in Brave New World is apt. For her opposition to the modern culture, Linda is isolated, condemning her and her son to a marginal existence because of this. Another female character worth mentioning in Brave New World is Lenina Crowne, the main female character in the novel. Foster, Bernard and John are in awe of this woman, and it is puzzling to see why. She lacks intelligence, and is not particularly creative, interesting or unique. A word that Huxley uses constantly is â€Å"pneumatic†. The official definition of this is ‘full of air’, which seems to mean she is curvy and all-round sexy. It could be argued that Aldous Huxley purposely used this word as a double meaning, that she’s pneumatic mentally also; she’s vapid (lifeless and dull). In contrast to Linda in the novel, Huxley’s constant use of â€Å"pneumatic† implies that she’s the epitome of the World State female. I feel it is clear throughout the novel, and corresponding to her previous upbringing and family, Frankenstein works as an indication to the treatment of women during that time. Her portrayal of inferior women is ironic given she is the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft. Elizabeth could be seen as a sign of mistreatment to women as she is portrayed as the perfect woman who represents domestic bliss and harmony, while rejected by Victor Frankenstein in his â€Å"pursuit of knowledge†. The role of Elizabeth during the novel could work as a feminist warning also, as she magnifies Victor’s selfish character; â€Å"my more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only. Likewise, in Brave New World, Aldous Huxley could have written the novel in order to show the wrong attitude towards women during the story. This could trigger spite towards the limits that women are still treated at, or were treated at when the novel was written. In conclusion to the two texts, the theme of feminism is still very relevant to the plot line in this modern age, although both works have been continuously adapted into different stories, plays and movies. Both Huxley and Shelley represent their female characters as inferior to and reliant on men, as well as more emotional in both texts. I feel both the authors represent their female roles like this, and in a negative light, to receive a reaction from the reader; in order to think of how women are still treated in today’s society and back then. The fact that Frankenstein is still present in literature, theatre, and cinema attests to the perpetuity of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and her views on feminism in society.