Monday, September 30, 2019

A Modified 2-D Logarithmic Search Technique for Video Coding

A Modified 2-D Logarithmic Search Technique for Video Coding With Reduced Search Points Tahmina Akhtar† , Rahima Akter† , Chhalma Sultana Chhaya † , Ashfaqur Rahman †¡ †  Military Institute of Science and Technology/Dept of CSE, Dhaka, Bangladesh, †¡ Central Queensland University/Centre for Intelligent and Networked Systems, QLD, Australia [email  protected] com, [email  protected] com, [email  protected] com, a. [email  protected] edu. au Abstract Video coding is a process for representing video sequences in a compact manner.A significant step in video coding is searching for similar segments in previous frames and use only the difference information for reconstruction thus reducing space requirement. Different search techniques including Full search and 2-D logarithmic search etc. are used in the current literature. Full search restricts its application because of its computational load. 2D logarithmic search is computationally less expensive a lthough there are some spaces for improvement. In this paper we propose a new search technique by modifying the 2-D logarithmic search that requires less search points with insignificant loss in visual quality.Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique. Keywords: video coding, 2-D logarithmic search. i. INTRODUCTION Video is a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion. A video is created by capturing a numbers of still images in a short time interval. When these still images are displayed very quickly, it represents the motion of the object in the images. Video represent the huge amount of data. In order to transfer video data from one place to another efficiently it is required to compress the size of video data.One way to compress the size of video data is video coding [ [1] ] [ [2] ]. The principal goal in the design of a video-coding system is to reduce the transmission rate subject to some picture quality constraint. In transmissio n side, the first frame (normally called the reference frame) is transmitted as it is and the remaining frames are sent as a function of the reference frame. The frame to be sent is divided into a number of blocks and the best match for the block is looked for in the search window of the reference frame. This processing is called the search technique in video coding literature.There exist a number of video coding techniques including MPEG-1/2/4 [ [2] ] [ [7] ], H. 26X [ [8] ] etc. uses search techniques like Full search [ [1] ], 2-D logarithmic search [ [3] ], Coarse-Fine-Three-Step search [ [4] ], Conjugate Direction search [ [5] ], and Pyramid search [ [6] ]. Each of these search techniques has merits and demerits in their favor. Full search finds the best match for a block as it searches all the candidate positions in the search window. Full search however is computationally expensive and renders difficulty for real time implementation.Some variants exist that applies some heuris tics to reduce the candidate search points and reduce the computational complexity although compromising the image quality a bit. 2-D logarithmic search is one such search technique that reduces the search points to a subset of the search window (to be detailed in literature review) and finds the near-optimal best match with reduced computational complexity. Although computationally inexpensive it contains some redundancy in the search space. We aim to reduce this redundancy and aim to find a modified 2-D logarithmic search technique with even reduced computational load.Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed technique reduces the number of search points and thus reduces search time with insignificant sacrifice of image quality. The paper is organized as follows. In Section II we elaborate some related works. In Section III we present our proposed search approach. Some experimental results to demonstrate the effective of the proposed approach is presented in Section IV. F inally Section V concludes the paper. II. Related works In this section we present full search technique and the logarithmic search technique.In both cases the frame to be coded is divided into a number of non-overlapping equal size blocks of size p? q. The best match is looked for in a search window of size (2d+1)? (2d+1) in the reference frame . Fig 1: Block matching process in video coding that uses search techniques. * A. Full Search In Full search [ [1] ] finds the best match by inspecting all the (2d+1)? (2d+1) candidate positions within the search window. Full search procedure is brute force in nature. The advantage of Full Search is that it delivers good accuracy in searching for the best match.The disadvantage is that it involves a large amount of computation. * B. 2-D Logarithmic Search Jain and Jain [ [3] ] developed a 2-D logarithmic search technique that successively reduces the search area, thus reducing the computational burden. The first step computes the similarity for five points in the search window. These five points are as follows: the central point of the search window and the four points surrounding it, with each being a midpoint between the central point and one of the four boundaries of the window. Among these five points, the one corresponding to the minimum dissimilarity is picked as the winner.In the next step, surrounding this winner, another set of five points are selected in a similar fashion to that in the first step, with the distances between the five points remaining unchanged. The exception takes place when either a central point of a set of five points or a boundary point of the search window gives a minimum dissimilarity. In these circumstances, the distances between the five points need to be reduced. The procedure continues until the final step, in which a set of candidate points are located in a 3Ãâ€"3 2-D grid.The steps in a 2-D logarithmic search technique are presented in Fig 2. Fig 2: The 2-D logarithmic search tec hnique. The circle numbered n is searched at the n-th step. The arrows indicate the points selected as the center of the search for the next pass. The 2-D logarithmic search hits a maximum of 18 points and a minimum of 13 search points. The advantage of this technique is that it successively reduces the search area, thus reducing the computational burden. One of the disadvantages is that some points are searched more than once thus leave some space for improvement.Moreover, it follows a greedy approach by selecting the minimum dissimilar point at each step thus posing a threat to follow a local minimum trend. Considering these facts we propose to modify the 2-D logarithmic search to overcome the local minimum problem and also eliminate the redundant computing as described in the following section. iii. proposed search technique We mainly modified the 2-D logarithmic search technique to eliminate the redundancy and local minimum problem associated with it. The search technique is ela borated next under the light of 2-D logarithmic search technique.Our proposed search technique starts with the five points in the search window where the one is at the center and other four surrounds center point (Fig 3(a)). Unlike 2-D logarithmic search, our proposed technique selects two points min1 and min2 (Fig 3(b)) that has dissimilarity scores lower than the other three points. We then select a point as the center of search for the next pass that lies on the line in between min1 and min2. This selection reduces the local minimum effect as it simply does not follow the minimum point.Moreover, the five points selected in the next pass does not match with any of the previous points thus eliminates the redundancy that exists in 2-D logarithmic search. Centered at the point selected at the next pass the search continues (Fig 3(d)-Fig 3(f)). The steps of the search are portrayed in Fig 3. Following are some of the merits of our proposed technique: * Successively reduces the search area with no point searched twice * Maximum search points are 12 and minimum search points are 5 – an improvement over 2-D logarithmic search. iv. Results and DiscussionWe have conducted a comparative analysis of Full Search, 2-D logarithmic Search and our proposed search technique as presented next. All the experiments were conducted on MPEG sequences using MATLAB. We used sequences like garden, Akiyo, Table Tennis, Car, and coastguard. Full search, 2-D logarithmic search and our proposed technique applied in these standard MPEG file and we computed the ASNR (Average Signal to Noise Ratio) and Computational load (i. e. number of search points). The results on different sequences are presented next. Akiyo Sequence: Each frame of the Akiyo sequence is of 352? 88 pixels, recorded at 25 frames per second and there are a total of 398 video frames. Fig 4 shows the reconstructed 20th frame of Akiyo sequence coded using Full search, 2D-logarithmic search and proposed search techniqu e. In this video only face portion is moving. Search point comparison for these three search techniques is presented in Fig 5 and ASNR is reported in Fig 6. ASNR achieved using the proposed search technique is almost equal 2D logarithmic search but at reduced number of search points (Fig 5). Number of search points remains almost similar over the different frames.ASNR value shown in Table 1. (a)| (b)| (c)| (d)| (e)| (f)| Fig 3: The different steps of our proposed 2-D logarithmic search technique. (a) five points of search window, (b) the direction of the search in between the direction offered by the two points min1 and min2. (c) Search at step 2, (d) min1 and min2 at step 2, (e) Search points at step 3, and (f) Search ends at the blue point. (a)| (b)| (c)| Fig 4: Reconstructed 20th frame of the Akiyo sequence using (a) Full search, (b) 2-D logarithmic search, and (c) Our proposed search technique.Fig 5: Comparison of # of search points for Akiyo sequence. Fig 6: Comparison of ASNR for Akiyo sequence. Table 1: ASNR value of different search for Akiyo sequence Frame No| Full Search| 2D logarithmic Search| Proposed Search| 1st| 25. 86188| 25. 55678| 25. 46245375| 5th| 24. 84504| 23. 77938883| 23. 57562323| 10th| 24. 37532| 23. 01043038| 22. 67351877| 15th| 24. 38495| 22. 98908004| 22. 5831958| 20th| 24. 4424| 22. 90227928| 22. 56886825| 25th| 24. 44956| 23. 03416597| 22. 51615637| Car Sequence: Each frame of the Car sequence is of 320? 240 pixels and ecorded at 25 frames per second and there are a total of 398 video frames. The reconstructed 20th frame of Car sequence using the three search techniques is presented in Fig 7. In this video sequence the car moves but background is still. Here each repeated two times. Average no of search point is almost 10. 46 for repeated frames and 11. 50 for new frames. Here number of search points vary significantly compared to Akiyo sequence. Overall the proposed technique has reduced search points (Fig 8) although the ASNR is bit low (Fig 9). ASNR value of some frames shown in Table 2. a)| (b)| (c)| Fig 7: Reconstructed 20th frame of the Car sequence using (a) Full search, (b) 2-D logarithmic search, and (c) Our proposed search technique. Fig 8: Comparison of # of search points for Car sequence. Fig 9: Comparison of ASNR for Car sequence. Table 2: ASNR value of different search for Car sequence Frame No| Full Search| 2D logarithmic Search| Proposed Search| 1st| 27. 13312| 26. 5682| 26. 08265| 5th| 26. 68718| 25. 75123| 25. 16904| 10th| 26. 10589| 25. 12647| 24. 27394| 15th| 26. 31185| 25. 16266| 24. 54981| 20th| 26. 28613| 25. 1915| 24. 61234| 25th| 25. 86261| 25. 02255| 24. 12599| Garden Sequence: Each frame of the Garden sequence is of 352? 240 pixels and recorded at 30 frames per second and there are a total of 59 video frames. Fig 10 represents the reconstructed 20th frame of this sequence coded using the three search techniques. In this video the motion is due to camera movement. Fig 11 and Fig 12 reveals that the new search technique reduces the number of search points with minor loss in ASNR. ASNR value of some frames shown in Table 3. Here Average no of search point for each frames required almost same.In frame 20th average no of search point is 11. 6053 and ASNR is 18. 22931. (a)| (b)| (c)| Fig 10: Reconstructed 20th frame of the Garden sequence using (a) Full search, (b) 2-D logarithmic search, and (c) Our proposed search technique. Fig 11: Comparison of # of search points for Garden sequence. Fig 12: Comparison of ASNR for Garden sequence. Table 3: ASNR value of different search for Garden sequence Frame No| Full Search| 2Dlogarithmic Search| Proposed Search| 1st| 24. 27663| 24. 27663| 23. 5971| 5th| 21. 6078| 21. 6078| 20. 49847| 0th| 20. 71779| 20. 71779| 19. 34323| 15th| 19. 9641| 19. 9641| 18. 69269| 20th| 19. 6754| 19. 6754| 18. 22931| 25th| 19. 39791| 19. 39791| 18. 05226| Coastguard Sequence: Each frame of the Coastguard sequence is of 320? 240 pixels and recorde d at 25 frames per second and there are a total of 378 video frames. Here the boat and the camera are moving. Fig 13 represents a reconstructed frame of this sequence coded using the three search techniques. Fig 14 represents the search point required by the three techniques. Our proposed technique shows periodic nature in terms of search points.This is due to the repetitive nature of motion in the video. Fig 15 represents a comparison of ASNR obtained using different techniques. Table 4 shown ASNR of some frames. (a)| (b)| (c)| Fig 13: Reconstructed frame of the Coastguard sequence using (a) Full search, (b) 2-D logarithmic search, and (c) Our proposed search technique. Fig 14: Comparison of # of search points for Coastguard seq. Fig 15: Comparison of ASNR for Coastguard sequence. Table 4: ASNR value of different search for Coastguard seq. Frame No| Full Search| 2D logarithmic Search| Proposed Search| 1st| 24. 8771| 24. 33338| 23. 61801| 5th| 24. 31753| 23. 35416| 22. 54516| 10th| 23. 90367| 23. 03317| 22. 07546| 15th| 24. 36529| 23. 44171| 22. 66604| 20th| 24. 38658| 23. 26823| 22. 50994| 25th| 24. 54524| 23. 91583| 22. 91885| Table tennis Sequence: Each frame of the Table tennis sequence is of 352? 240 pixels and recorded at 30 frames per second and there are a total of 9 video frames. Here ball is moving fast. The reconstructed frames, number of search points, and ASNR of the three search techniques are presented in Fie 16, Fig 17, and Fig 18. Some ASNR of Table tennis sequence shown in table 5. a)| (b)| (c)| Fig 16: Reconstructed frame of the Table tennis sequence using (a) Full search, (b) 2-D logarithmic search, and (c) Our proposed search technique. Fig 17: Comparison of # of search points for Table tennis sequence. Overall the result of ASNR for Full Search is best in all cases but number of search point is so high. The result of ASNR for 2-D logarithmic and our proposed search is almost same but the number of search point of our proposed search is sm aller than the 2-D logarithmic search and thus an improvement over the existing technique.Fig 18: Comparison of ASNR for Table tennis sequence. Table 5: ASNR value of different search for Table tennis seq Frame No| Full Search| 2D logarithmicSearch| ProposedSearch| 1st| 25. 2698| 24. 56416| 23. 90544| 3rd| 23. 60795| 22. 69326| 21. 81273| 5th| 23. 43996| 22. 35007| 21. 29301| 7th| 23. 71878| 22. 71607| 21. 58383| v. Conclusion In this paper we have presented a new search technique for video coding that is a modification of the existing 2-D logarithmic search. The proposed technique reduces the search time of 2-D logarithmic search by reducing the redundant search points.Although ASNR is sacrificed to some extent it had insignificant visual impact as observed from the experimental results. References [1] Shi and H. Sun, â€Å"Image and Video Compression for Multimedia Engineering†, Fundamentals, Algorithms and Standards, 2nd Edition. [2] P. N. Tudor, â€Å"MPEG-2 Video Compre ssion†, IEEE J Langham Thomson Prize, Electronics and Communication Engineering journal, December 1995. [3] J. R. Jain and A. K. Jain, â€Å"Displacement Measurement and Its Application in Interframe Image Coding†, IEEE Transactions on Communications, vol. com-29, no. 12, December 1981. [4] T. Koga, K. Linuma, A. Hirano, Y. Iijima, and T.Ishiguro, â€Å"Motion-compensated interframe coding for video conferencing,† Proc. NTC’81, G5. 3. 1-G5. 3. 5, New Orleans, LA, Dec. 1981. [5] R. Srinivasan and K. R. Rao, â€Å"Predictive coding based on efficient motion estimation,† Proc. of ICC, 521-526, May 1984. [6] D. Tzovaras, M. G. Strintzis, and H. Sahinolou, â€Å"Evaluation of multiresolution block matching techniques for motion and disparity estimation,† Signal Process. Image Commun. , 6, 56-67, 1994. [7] MPEG-4, http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/MPEG-4, last accessed in December 2008. [8] H. 264, http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/H. 264, last accessed in December 2008. *

The Paralegal Career and Why

When I first thought about becoming a paralegal, I was in working for a Trust and Probate attorney who also had a Title company. I enjoyed the data gathering, research, meeting people and understanding their needs and helping them find peace of mind. I had also just become interested in John Grisham novels, which, granted, does not truly represent the legal field in the most correct light, but they are legal thrillers nonetheless.For some reason the combination of these two things made me think about pursuing a career in the legal field. I knew for certain that I did not want to go to law school, since I was a Mom with a lot of responsibility. I took an on-line course to become a legal assistant. However, when we moved, I had to change my career as I was offered a very challenging position in the insurance field. I studied to get my California Life, Health, Long Term Care, Property and Casualty licenses. Then my job required me to get my Series 7 and 66.These were all on-lines classe s, they were convenient and could be obtained around my work schedule. I am a classroom-oriented person. So, when I was laid off, I concluded that this was my chance to get back into the legal field and a paralegal would be a happy medium. In the meantime, my son graduated from law school and passed the California Bar. I now find myself wanting a job in a local law firm. So here I am now, writing a paper on the career that I now find myself eagerly pursuing.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Brief of US v. Leon

Should the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule include as one of its exceptions the evidence obtained by officers acting in reasonable reliance on a search warrant issued by a detached and neutral judge but found to be unsupported by probable cause? Statement of Facts: The Burbank Police Department, upon receiving tips from informants, conducted a drug trafficking investigation upon the respondents. Extensive surveillance operation was made on respondent’s three residences and several cars. After sufficient evidence was gathered an officer prepared an application for a warrant to search respondent’s three residences and several vehicles.A search warrant which is facially valid was issued by the judge after examining the supporting affidavits and documents. The search later on yielded large quantities of drugs and other evidence. Respondents were eventually indicted for federal drug offenses. They then filed motions to suppress the evidence seized by reason of the defecti ve warrant. After an evidentiary hearing, the District Court granted the motions in part and concluded that the affidavit was insufficient to establish probable cause.It also concluded that the officer who applied for a search warrant had acted in good faith but rejected their argument that the Fourth Amendment Exclusionary Rule should not apply where the evidence is seized in reasonable and good-faith reliance on a search warrant. The Holding/Decision of the Court: The Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule should not be restrictively applied so as prevent the prosecution from presenting pieces of evidence obtained by officers who acted in reasonable reliance on a search warrant issued by a detached and neutral judge but ultimately found to be invalid and unsupported by probable cause. Reasons/RationaleIn holding in favor of the law enforcement officers, the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourth Amendment Exclusionary Rule was not designed to serve as a personal constitutional right of t he injured person. The use of the evidence taken during an unlawful search does not necessarily constitute a violation of the Fourth Amendment rather the exclusionary rule merely seeks to safeguard Fourth Amendment right by deterring officers from conducting unlawful searches. In determining whether the exclusion of evidence is an appropriate sanction, the court weighed the costs and benefits of preventing the use of evidence illegally obtained.According to the court, the upholding of the Fourth Amendment Exclusionary Rule has serious repercussions for the truth-finding functions of the judge and the jury. This principle has allowed defendants to go free or receive reduced sentence even if they are guilty. The indiscriminate application of this rule hinders and hampers the efficient and effective administration of justice. Although it was clear that they did not question the application of the rule that evidence obtained in substantial and deliberate violation of the Fourth Amendmen t should be made inadmissible in court.However, the court thought that it was time to weigh the cost and benefit of the Fourth Amendment Exclusionary Rule and to modify it to permit the admission of evidence obtained in the reasonable and good faith belief that a search or seizure was in accord with the Fourth Amendment. The court reasoned that the search warrant in this case was issued by a judge after application by a seasoned narcotics investigator. The affidavits were even reviewed by Deputy District Attorneys before it was submitted to the State Superior Court Judge.It stressed that the warrant issued to the law enforcement officer prior to the search and seizure of the pieces of evidence provides a more reliable safeguard against improper and illegal searches compared to the hurried and often impartial judgment of a law enforcement officer. Indeed, there may be differences in opinion insofar as determining whether there is probable cause for the issuance of a warrant, but we a ll agree that search with a warrant is still better than search without a warrant. ,Moreover, according to the Supreme Court, it would not be in keeping with the administration of justice if the law enforcement officers who have diligently conducted their investigation and prepared the necessary affidavits to be punished for the errors of judges. Although it is true that the reason behind the Fourth Amendment Exclusionary Clause is to deter police misconduct and to encourage the law enforcement officers to respect the Fourth Amendment rights of the people, the rule should not be strictly applied to hinder the enforcement of law and order.To suppress therefore the evidence obtained based on the reasonable and good-faith reliance on a search warrant would not be in keeping with the spirit and purpose of the Fourth Amendment Exclusionary Rule which is to render inadmissible any evidence obtained in substantial and deliberate violation of the Fourth Amendment. The purpose of this policy is to force the law enforcement officers to respect the people’s Fourth Amendment right not to punish the law enforcement officers for the errors of a judge.But the Supreme Court also clarified that different result will be reached if the warrant in this case was obtained after the law enforcement officers have misled the judge by indicating in the Affidavit submitted to the judge information that the affiant knew to be false or would have known to be false or if the judge gravely abused his discretion in issuing the warrant. In these cases, suppression of the evidence is the appropriate remedy. Suppression may also be the appropriate remedy if the warrant on its face is so defective that it clearly appears that there was no probable cause for its issuance.Concurring Opinion of Justice Blackmun Justice Blackmun agrees with the finding of the majority that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment by officers acting in objectively reasonable reliance on a search warrant issued by a neutral and detached judge need not be excluded. He however stressed that the statements made by them in this case is provisional in nature. This should not be taken as an absolute rule as every case will have to be evaluated in the light of its peculiar fights and circumstances.Dissenting Opinions of Justice Brennan and Justice Marshall In their dissenting opinions, Justice Marshall and Justice Brennan expressed their apprehension about the gradual erosion of the constitutional right of the people under the Fourth Amendment. According to them, this decision which allows the prosecution to present in chief the evidence obtained illegally from a person whose rights have been violated is a signal that the court is breaking away from the requirements of the Fourth Amendment.In my opinion, the dissenting Judges fear that time will come when the protection under the Fourth Amendment will merely be an ideal. They fear that someday this decision will be used as a tool t o destroy the Fourth Amendment. For them, they see the situation as that the issue of constitutional rights is incapable of cost and benefit analysis. They think that though it is important to put a stop to crime and to convict the guilty, this should be not made at the expense of sacrificing our most cherished rights.

Tranisition Into a Global Organization

What marketing considerations do you need to understand as you evolve from a domestic supplier or international distributor to a fully integrated global company? Is it an easy transition or does it demand restructuring of your market functions? There are many factors an organization must consider before and during the transition into a fully integrated global company. Although the transition may not be easy, evaluation of and planning for these considerations will enable an organization to evolve into a strong global organization. During this process of transition from a domestic company to a true global organization, some restructuring of the market functions will have to occur. The traditional marketing model from the seller’s point of view, or the Four â€Å"Ps† of marketing, is based on Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. This model is based on the assumption that the marketplace is driven by manufacturers. According to Schultz and Kitchen (2000), manufactured-driven marketplace has â€Å"evolved† into a distribution-driven market place where major retailers or distributors like Wal-Mart control the marketplace. Schultz and Kitchen (2000) go on to state that the marketplace is continuing to evolve into a newly emerging interactive marketplace brought about by the development of the internet and new e-commerce business applications. In this new interactive marketplace, the consumer interests rule and as a result, manufacturers, according to Schultz and Kitchen (2000) must adjust to consumer needs. This new trend has led to a new marketing model from the consumer’s point of view. This model, called the Four â€Å"Cs† is consumer oriented as opposed to the traditional seller oriented Four â€Å"Ps† model. The Four â€Å"Cs† model of marketing are Customers, Company, Competitors, and Circumstances. The global marketplace, according to Schultz and Kitchen (2000) is a combination of the other three marketplace functions. If this is the case, an organization that wishes to evolve into a fully integrated global company must evaluate the global market based on the Four â€Å"Ps† and the Four â€Å"Cs† and develop a business plan accordingly to the specific marketplace of implementation. What works locally for a domestic organization may not work lobally. Consider the example of the Starbucks Company failure in Australia. According to Patterson, Scott and Uncles (2010), a contributing factor to the failure of Starbucks in the Australian marketplace was that Starbucks tried to bring â€Å"what worked in the US and applying it here (Australia), without really understanding the local market. † Starbucks had an unsustainable business model because the company failed to do the research that would have enabled the company to effectively market its product to the Australian consumer. References Patterson, P. , Scott, J. , & Uncles, M.. (2010). How the local competition defeated a global brand: The case of Starbucks. Australasian Marketing Journal, 18, 41-47. Retrieved from http://proquest. umi. com. ezproxy1. apus. edu/pqdweb? did=2097829591&sid=4&Fmt=3&clientId=62546&RQT=309&VName=PQD Schultz, D. & Kitchen, P.. (2000). Communicating Globally: An integrated marketing approach. Lincolnwood, IL: McGraw-Hill, Inc. Retrieved from http://site. ebrary. com/lib/apus/docDetail. action? docID=10153056

Saturday, September 28, 2019

How Do Psychologists Research Being in Love?

How have social psychologists researched ‘being in love'? What is love? According to McClelland (1986) â€Å"the mainstream view of love is that it is a state that arises from people mutually reinforcing each other or providing benefits to each other†. This is just one view and love is not that easy to define in one statement. The meaning of love is vast and there are a number of psychological theories that try to define and establish what this concept is. Being in love implies sexual desire and excitement, â€Å" the common expression that people use to describe their passionate desires for one another† (Martin, Carlson & Buskist, p 758). In order to examine the question as to how have social psychologist researched ‘being in love’, it will be necessary to discuss some of the theories that have been put forward, and look at their interpretation of the concept of ‘love’. The works of Robert Sternberg (1986,), John Lee (1973) Carlos Yela (1996) and Hatfield & Walster (1978) will be referred to in exploring the question of being in love Psychologist and Social Scientist Robert Sternberg (1986) proposed his triangular theory which categorised love relationships into three â€Å"orthogonal dimensions† which are intimacy, passion and commitment/decision commitment. Sternberg (1986) argues that without these three dimensions, you don’t have love. â€Å"Each dimension contributes to the quality of love in a relationship. The quality of a relationship is represented by the relative magnitude of each component† (Hassebrauck & Buhl, 1996). The first component, intimacy, refers to the feeling of warmth, closeness, of bonding and of connectedness with someone in a loving relationship. Intimacy comes about when information or secrets are shared between two people and no one else. The second element is passion. Passion leads to romance, which is an essential element, according to Sternberg, in a love relationship. Passion involves sexual consummation and physical attraction. The third element, commitment/decision commitment is a choice that is made by an individual to remain committed in a relationship. Although Sternberg theorized that the three elements are necessary to have love, he also went on to show that when one or more elements are missing, many variations of love are derived. Sternberg came up with seven different kinds of love that are liking, nfatuation, empty love, romantic love, compassionate love, fatuous love and consummate love. These seven variations form his triangle. One is able to easily identify the kind of love that is being expressed by looking at the mixture of elements that it is made up of. Carlos Yela (1996) proposed a structural theoretical model of love, which introduces some variations of Sternberg’s Triangular Theory model (1986). This was done to veri fy the usefulness of Sternberg’s theory to try to prove his four components: Erotic Passion, Romantic Passion, Intimacy and Commitment. The dynamic side of the model was tested and the results conclude that Sternberg’s model can be used as an explanation for love. Some weaknesses of Sternberg’s theory (1986) are that outside of the western world, it is invalid, as a different value system exists in non-western societies where the components of love are not emphasized by intimacy, passion and commitment. Thus this theory cannot be applied across cultures. Also, according to Acker and Davis (1992), there were many gaps in his research in that firstly, the population was not widely represented, as these were graduates and under graduates with ages ranging from 18 – 28 years. Also, the time frames on which this theory is based, where Sternberg states that as commitment speeds up, intimacy grows and where intimacy declines over time, is not mentioned. John Lee’s (1973) book ‘The Colors of Love’ used an analogy of colour wheel as a â€Å"conceptual scaffold† to compare his Love Styles. He went on to state that just as there are three primary colours on the wheel, so too there are three primary Love Styles. They are Eros, Ludus and Storge. Also, he went on to say that just as we can combine the primary colours on the colour wheel to produce secondary colours, so too can this be done with Love styles. Many combinations can be derived from this, but focus was placed on the three secondary love styles, which are Mania (Eros + Ludos), Pragma (Ludos+ Storge), and Agape (Eros + Storge). Eros is a passionate, physical love based on physical appearance and beauty. It entails a deep physical attraction, based primarily on sexual pleasure. Ludus love is classes as ‘game-playing’ where love is treated as a contest or sport. There is almost no commitment as when the relationship becomes too boring, they move on to their next conquest. Storge love is an affectionate love that slowly develops and is based on friendship or companionate love, and is considered to be honest, loyal, and mature. Mania is possessive love that is highly emotional where there is jealousy, obsession and conflict. Pragma love is pragmatic or logical love where individuals take a practical or rational approach in selecting their partner with the view that both parties benefit from the relationship and that they are compatible for each other. Agape love is selfless where there is unconditional caring, forgiving, and giving. Sacrifices are made for love and the happiness of the partner is put above their own. Hendrick and Hendrick (1988) stated that within a relationship, men and women use more than one love style and over time, the styles may vary. Hatfield & Walster’s (1978) book ‘A New Look at Love’, separates passionate love from companionate love. Hatfield et al (1978) describes passionate love as a state of intense physiological desire/longing to be with the other person, and companionate love as the feeling of affection, mutual understanding and respect for the people in our lives that we have deep feelings for. Hatfield spent a great deal of her professional career investigating passionate love (Livermore, 1993) and what was proposed to explain this were three factors: – physiological arousal, appropriate love object and cultural exposure. Passionate love occurs when physiological arousal is experienced in the presence of someone that the love label has been placed on and we term this as being in love as our culture teaches us this Passionate love is seen to be transitory, only lasting a short time, which then leads on to companionate love or friendship. Hatfield (1978) believed that the existence of both companionate and passionate love at the same time in a relationship to be rare to almost impossible, even though this combination is seen to be the ideal balance where there is security and stability of companionate love with the intensity of passionate love. There is evidence in support of this theory by Dutton & Aron (1974) Love on a suspension bridge wherby men were interviewed by an attractive woman whilst standing on a low and high suspension bridge. The results supported the hypothesis that the men on the high suspension bridge would feel more attracted to the woman than those on the low suspension bridge. This was assumed to be the case as because of their height there was an increase in their physiological arousal and as a result they mistook this for sexual attraction in the presence of the attractive woman. In conclusion, we have seen that there is no single definition of love and the each psychological view is different from the other. There is no hard and fast definition of love and what being in love is. We have also see how useful the different interpretations and viewpoints are. The psychological theories of love provide partial explanations for this most intense of human emotion. In summary, after examining the various theories, we can conclude that love is a complex subject of which there will always be new theories evolving as human life progresses and no one answer REFERENCES Acker, M. , & Davis, M. H. (1992). Intimacy, passion, and commitment in adult relationship: A test of the Triangular Theory of Love. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 9, 21-50. Dutton, D. G. and Aron, A. P. (1974). Some Evidence for Heightened Sexual Attraction Under Conditions of High Anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30, 510-517. Hatfield, E. , & Walster, G. W. (1978). A new look at love. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. Hendrick, C. , and Hendrick, S. S. (1988). Lovers wear rose coloured glasses. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 5, 161-183 Hassebrauck, M. , Buhl, T. (1996). The Journal of Social Psychology, 136, 1, 121-122 Lee, J. (1973). The color wheel model of love. Chicago: Addison. Livermore, B. (1993). Lessons of love. Psychology Today, Mar/Apr 93 Martin, G. N. , Carlson, N. R. and Buskist, W. (2007). Psychology. 3rd edn. Essex: Pearsons Education Ltd. McClelland, D. (1986). Journal of Personality, 54, 2 , 334 – 353, Duke University. Press Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychological Review, 93, 119-135. Yela, C. (1996). Componentes basicos del amor: Algunas matizaciones al modelo de R. J. Sternberg [Basic components of love: some refinements to the model of R. J. Sternberg]. Re-vista de Psicologia Social, 11(2), 185-201.

Princess Bride Analysis

Heroes are brave, determined, courageous, and selfless people whop embark on a journey in order to fulfill a goal for the better good, every heroes journey is different. Some heroes fight dragons to save the castle and some like Westley steal the princess in order to protect her, Westley goes on a long journey where he faces many enemies and challenges but, he continues his journey to rescue his one true love.In The Princess Bride a novel by William Goldman, the character Westley is a hero because, he experiences all 6 stages of the heroic archetype structure including being called to action, crossing threshold, the road of tests, meeting the helpers, trip to the underworld, and the quest. The first stage of the archetypal structure is the call to action, Westley call to action is when he discovers his true love Buttercup has been kidnapped.Westley jumps into action and was â€Å" sailing like lightning towards the cliffs,†(Goldman 114) in order to catch Buttercup's Kidnappers and save her. He knows he must save his true love or his life will be nothing so he embarks on his journey to get Buttercup back so they can be together, This is cal to action because as soon as he hears his true love is in distress he goes to save her immeaditley. Another stage of the heroic achetype is crossing the threshold, which Is what Westley does when he climbs the Cliffs of Insanity.After reaching the cliffs Westley began to climb up them trailing behind the kidnappers he â€Å" seemed to almost be flying. Already he had cut their lead a hundred feet†(Goldman 115). This is crossing the threshold because this is the point in Westley's journey where there is no turning back he will either succeed or fail on his journey. One of the biggest archetypal stages is the road of tests, every heroes road of tests varies some have many and some have few, in Westley's case he has multiple tests throughout his journey.After reaching the top of the Cliffs of Insanity where Inigo i s waiting for him, Inigo lets Westley catch his breath then â€Å"they touched swords†(Goldman 146) and began their fencing duel that ends up with with Westley tying â€Å"Inigo's hands around a tree and (leaves) him there† (Glodman 152). Wetsley also battles Fezzick in a wrestling match and when Westley wins he leaves Fezzik unconcious, he then goes on to a battle of witts against Vizzini where Westley wins and leaves Vizzini dead on the ground. Througout his journey he faces a couple more tests but he overcomes all and continues with his journey.A major part in a hero's journey is their trip to the underworld, after the trip to the underworld the hero comes back stronger, better, and more mature; Westleys trip to the underworld is very traumatic because Westley actually dies. Inigo and Fezzik hear the scream that came from the Zoo of Death they investigate and they find â€Å"Westley (lying) dead by the machine† (Goldman 286) that killed him, but after a trip to Miracle Max he takes the magical pill and Fezzik finds Westley alive and exclaims â€Å"'you're alive!'†(Goldman 329).When Westley comes back to life he has broken heart and is also paralyzed, but that does not stop him and his sidekicks they push on and break into the castle. A crucial part in every heros journey is the archetypal stage where the hero meets his mentor or helper which can be anybody who helps along the journey such as a sidekick, during Westley's journey he finds two helpers who both began as his enemies.Westleys two helpers are Inigo and Fezzik they both do whatever is needed of them but ultimately they save Westleys life when he dies, and help him break into the castle and rescue his true love. After they discover Westleys dead body in the Zoo of Death Inigo tells Fezzik â€Å"' Come, come along. Bring the body'†(Goldman 307) they then take his body to Miracle Max who gives Inigo and Fezzik the magical pill to bring Westley back to life. Inigo and Fezzik then head back with still dead Westley and â€Å"Fezzik had been carrying the corpse the whole way†(Goldman 326).Without Westley's helpers he would have remained dead never to be reunited with his true love. The final Stage in the hero's journey is the quest, in Wetley's case this is after he comes back to life and he gets help from Inigo and Fezzik to break in the castle to rescue Buttercup from the evil Prince Humperdink. After gaining entrance to the castle and finding his true love Buttercup they escape the castle together with Inigo and Fezzik and they were riding â€Å"four great horses[†¦ ] toward (the) Florin Channel†(Goldman356) and lived happily ever after.This is the quest because his original goal was to save his true love Buttercup and while it all did not go as planned they ended up together and free. In The Princess Bride Westley has all the characteristics of a great hero and he follows the heroic archetypal. He goes to rescue his true love from kindnappers, he climbs the Cliffs of Insanity, he battles the kidnappers, he dies and comes back to life, he has helpers that saved his life and assist him on his quest, he breaks into the castle and rescues his true love Buttercup, and they all live happily ever after.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Sherma- Anti- Trust Act (1890) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sherma- Anti- Trust Act (1890) - Essay Example Prior to the enactment of the Sherman Act, large corporations had more powers and were controlling the smaller corporations through price discrimination and price fixing. This led to unbalanced and unfair competition and hence the need to control the activities of the trusts. For instance, one of the reasons why farmers in Missouri farmers agitated for the formulation and enactment of an antitrust law was the fact that most of them were being underpriced by larger and more efficient farms. Sherman Act enabled individuals to start to their own businesses and it provided a perfect environment for business competition as it eliminated monopoly in the market (Koutsoudakis,pg.6). The penalties for violating Sherman Antitrust Act or law entail both criminal and civil penalties. Individuals or corporation that has been found to commit, attempt or conspire to monopolize trade is liable to criminal or civil penalties because they are deemed to have committed felony. If a person has been found to be guilty of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, a fine of up to $350,000 may be imposed on them or they can liable to face up to three years in prison. On the other hand, corporations that violate the Act can face a fine of up to $10,000,000. Furthermore, the government has been granted the power to seize any property of an individual or corporations that engage in unlawful trade practice that run contrary to the Sherman Act (Koutsoudakis,pg.8). Section seven (7) of the Sherman Act grant every citizen the right to file for a prosecution at any court in the United States and the entitlement for a remedy or compensation. The import of this section is that it gives ordinary citizens the chance of receiving justice without travelling long distances to circuit court of the United States. Question Two William Edward Burghardt Du Bois is one of the prominent African-American intellectual leader who is renowned for the championing of black civil rights. Most of his writings and speech es were aimed at redeeming and uplifting the life of black people in the society. The opinion of W.E.B Du Bois on the Reconstruction Era: â€Å"The slave went free: stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again towards slavery† has significant undertones that can be analyzed. The first part of the quote represents the end of slavery that had plagued United States for a long time. Although United States was founded on the precepts and promise of political freedom, individual liberty and freedom and economic prosperity, the same was not realized during the initial stages of its democracy and independence. After independence, slavery was widespread in United States despite the notion that the nation committed to uphold equality of all men and to get powers to rule and govern from the people (Campbell, Fraser and Mancall,pg.80). Slavery was rooted in America and majority of states from the south were composed mainly of slaves. The emergence of civil war that majorly revo lved around slavery brought some changes in United States. The Civil war led to the abolishment of the slavery in United States and this is what W.E.B Du Bois refers to in the first part of his opinion. The Second part of W.E.B Du Bois opinion represents the period after the civil war and the initial stages of the reconstruction era. Most of the Southern States got temporal reprieve when slavery was abolished and this is what

Input and output Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Input and output - Essay Example The keyboard is one such input device that inputs characters and instructions directly into the computer, where characters refer to text. On the other hand, instruction comes in the form of text and function keys that are specially programmed to deliver instruction. Other than the keyboard, there is a need to have pointing devices, based on the user interface that a computer uses, where graphical user interfaces require pointing devices. These include mice, touchpads, trackballs, trackpads and even touch screens, which position the cursor at different positions on the screen of the computer. Apart from the common input devices, there are other specialized devices used in input based on their application and the need to have them, which include scanners, magnetic ink character recognition, barcodes, voice input and graphic tablets. These are specialized, as they are not necessarily in every computer operation, for example, a bar code scanner is only used in points of sale to input the identity of an item on sale for the processing of its cost. After the data is input into the computer, it travels through the expansion bus and into the processor for computation creating a need to view the product (Patkay). In this case, output devices come into play and include visual, audio and graphical output. Visual output appears in the form of on-screen output where all information is displayed on a screen that could be and led, LCD or even a CRT monitor. The screen creates the first interaction with processed data or even data that has been input into the computer providing visual expression of data for users. Another form in which data can be output is through hard copies of data, where information is printed on paper and presented to a computer user. These produce both written numbers and letters while other create impressions of graphics, but are all based on

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Leisure Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Leisure Industry - Essay Example These are usually the amusement parks or theme parks such as Disneyland, casinos, Spas, entertainment and recreation, health clubs, restaurants and other activities that involve recreations (Leisure Industry Definition). The continuous influx of customers in leisure areas and the increasing growth of the industry in United Kingdom can be attributed to the following reasons: there has been increased time in the leisure time of the employees. They are required with lesser time in the office therefore increasing their time in leisure. Another reason is that employees have higher incomes thus they can pay for leisure activities from their extra money and spend to whatever leisure activities they want to engage with. Thirdly is the cheaper and more affordable transport. This makes the travel time lesser and going to more places during their holidays and vacations especially outside the city. And lastly, customers have the wider choice in leisure activities since the government is trying to put different leisure activities from all sectors (Leisure Industry Definition). The incessant growth benefited not only the companies but the government as well. The increasing demand meant increase in investment and revenues and employment industry. Alongside with the demanding nature of the leisure activities there had been increase in employment and job orders in the country. More and more job seekers prefer this kind of work because they get to be paid while enjoying what they wanted to do (Luque, 2002). This has lead also to increasing demand of courses and training in colleges. Based on the reports of the Institute of Sport and Leisure Management, The Institute of Sport and Recreation Management, The Fitness Industry Association and Sport England there are 1,000 students enrolled in leisure management or related courses that tackle this kind of industry. It was seen that the leisure industries involve a wide range of employees including permanent and seasonal paid staff, freelance workers, consultants and volunteers. It ranges from cook, hotel attendant, driver, tourist guide, sports analyst and trainer and among others who are connected to this leisure industry. As a result, there had been increase in the diversity of the labor force especially with this kind of industry. Since the employees come from different life experiences they construe things in different manners. This should be taken in action with the management team in order to guide the employees and make the company more competitive with other booming companies all over the world (Treven, 2000). Every person has the unique skills and capabilities as an individual. Working in a different environment with different people of different perspectives in life and dealing everyday with people of diverse culture can be stressing but this can be avoided if the management team of a particular company will address to this problem immediately. A skilled manager will be responsible in making a team work so that there will not be a difficulty in dealing with different types of persons in the workplace (Treven, 2004). The increasing competition of companies and influx of customers in a leisure industry developed strategies for managers to be highly competitive with others. One of the managers of UK's BT Global services said that there had been a slight decrease in the number of visitors and travelers in UK after the bombings but they had made their way to attract

Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 21

Psychology - Essay Example The potential of machines were thought to be able to eventually encompass â€Å"an inductive and creative mind, capable of taking initiative, to which human beings could confide all their problems and obtain instant solutions in return† (Ifrah, 1997: 1679). This misconception in the early days of the computer has carried over even to today. This discussion examines the functions of the human brain in addition to the meaning of knowledge and the limitations of machines as compared to the human mind. Mechanical computers, unlike the functions of the computer-like brain do not have the capability to determine right from wrong nor can they make judgments, have no feelings and cannot think on their own. Computers cannot reason, imagine, invent, create, express thoughts, manage ideas, make judgments or possess the ability to adapt to differing situations and therefore cannot solve problems that are new to them. Unlike the human brain, computers aren’t conscious of their own being, have no concept of the world around them and cannot execute voluntary activities (Ifrah, 1997: 1616). Because machines are only able to follow directives, they do not possess the capability to be self-aware. If it is accepted that computers do not and will never become aware of their own being, then it is reasonable to ask what enables the human’s biological machine to attain consciousness while the silicon-based computerized ‘brain’ cannot. Possibly, the answer to this question is the fact that the structure of the human brain is self-organizing. It responds to the individual characteristics and the independent nature of interactions between itself and the particular environment. However other natural, biological systems such as many types of simple ‘animals’ and all plant life encompass a multifaceted, self-organizing interrelationship within its inner mechanism yet are also not aware of themselves. This indicates that though

United States history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

United States history - Essay Example The issue of democracy in America in general is one which has been debated on and about for ages, and the matter of whether or not capitalism has played a larger role in the defining of American foreign policy when compared to democracy is one which is incredibly significant and relevant overall.There are many different factors which need to be taken into consideration in order to be able to properly determine the answer to this posing, and this particularly in regards to the reasons that America became involved in foreign affairs in the late 19th century, as well as the motivations for their entering both world wars and the progress of the Cold War, for instance. All of these issues have great influence on the matter of whether democracy or capitalism should be considered as being more important in the defining of American foreign policy, and thus they all must be thoroughly addressed and discussed. The aim of this paper is to consider all aspects of both democracy and capitalism wh ich are two tremendously dynamic and substantial subjects on their own, and to compare their similarities and differences in order to be able to properly determine which has played more of a role in creating and defining American foreign policy since the 1800s. We will be able to do this by discussing the previously mentioned issues as well as any and all other key and related factors relevant to this case. This is what will be dissertated in the following. The term democracy is one which is typically used in the context of a political state however the principles are also applicable to numerous other groups and organizations. There are several different forms of democracy, with the most major being: representative, liberal, direct, socialist, anarchist, tribal, and consensus. The representative, liberal, and direct forms of democracy are the most well-known, and they are considered as follows: representative democracy is the form of democracy which involves the selection of government officials by the people, and one characteristic of representative democracy in particular is that of the fact that while the representatives are elected by the people, to act in their interest, they retain the freedom to exercise their own judgment as how best to do so; liberal democracy is a form representative democracy with free and fair elections along with the protection of minorities, the rule of law, a separation of powers, and protection of liber ties; and the direct form of democracy is one which is largely referred to as being "a political system where the citizens vote on all major policy decisions. It is called direct because, in the classical forms, there are no intermediaries or representatives. All direct democracies to date have been relatively small communities, usually city-states. However, some see the extensive use of referenda, as in California, as akin to direct democracy in a very large polity with more than 20 million potential voters" (Wikipedia, 2007). Capitalism, on the other hand, is a term which generally refers to an economic system in which "the means of production are mostly privately owned and operated for profit, and in which distribution, production and pricing of goods and services are determined in a largely free market. It is usually considered to involve the right of individuals and groups of individuals acting as 'legal persons' or corporations to trade capital goods, labor, land and money" (Boyer, Clark & Kett, 2002). The first actual theories of capitalism came about in the context of the Industrial Revolution, and this followed the social theorist Karl Marx in particular, and these theories were generally used to criticize the concept. The

The Global Significance of the Middle East Essay

The Global Significance of the Middle East - Essay Example The global significance of the Middle East in a broader sense is defined by religious, economic, and political factors. This religion has enormously contributed in past global civilizations. Its economic hub has benefited uncountable nations through the resources held in this region. Most importantly, the emergence and spread of Islam, and the rise of terrorism threats have placed Middle East at a critical global focus. A notable example here is the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S2. Essentially, the political organization of the region has continued to inform the region’s global influence. The realized global significance of the Middle East is based on its strategic location, resources held, and its relations with the rest of the world. The region is rich in oil and natural gas, resources that drive a great deal of people’s lives globally. Its location also stands in a path that offers global connectivity through transport. Most importantly, linking of a number of countries in Middle East with terrorist activities has made the region significant to consider. Religious and political scrutiny of the region has attracted global attention. Middle East’s global significance has strained its ties and relations with some countries, while streamlining those of its allies. This has resulted in variant views and perspectives regarding this region. Proof of terrorism emanating from the region could justify such strained relations. However, global interdependence holds the significance of Middle East as a positive

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Letter to a future student Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Letter to a future student - Assignment Example This was an exciting time to take this course because many of our discussions were about the state of the economy today. The global economic crisis is a very relevant study in macroeconomics. My experience in working on the integrated project was challenging. I had a difficult time communicating exactly what I wanted to say at times. I studied a major international corporation (McDonalds) for my project. I learned how macroeconomic conditions influence the decisions a big corporation has to make. I also clearly could see that large, multinational corporations are major players in a macroeconomic sense once they are firmly established in some nations. If you want to succeed in this class, the best thing you can do is to learn the vocabulary and keep good notes on the different macroeconomic theories. Learn all you can about Keynes and use this as a reference point for comparing the other theories. If you can keep the theories and vocabulary words sorted out, you are going to be successful in this

Advantages Of The Euro Currency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Advantages Of The Euro Currency - Essay Example The greatest advantage of the Euro is that there is regional currency stability due to the fixed exchange rates. The Euro has led to price stability within the EU characterized by low inflationary trends and stable public finances. This has increased the credibility of the Euro due to large currency zone thus stability against the speculation. This credibility is reinforced by a common monetary policy that is governed by the European Central Bank. Currency stability has encouraged trade as there is a reduction in both external and internal currency instability. The single currency eliminated the risks involved in exchange rates making importers and exporters better placed to make accurate growth projections in foreign markets. Businesses no longer pay hedging costs as insurance against currency fluctuations. They are also spared against the costs incurred as a result of accounting across currencies. Small businesses are the greatest beneficiaries as they would otherwise incur greater costs as a result of currency fluctuation, unlike large multinationals that enjoy the benefits of economies of scale. This has encouraged entrepreneurs and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operators' to trade beyond geographical boundaries and expand their businesses (BBC News, 1998). The single currency has encouraged tourism as people are spared the task of currency exchange thus red tape procedures are eliminated. This means that tourists are not at risk because of carrying huge sums of money and do not encounter extra charges because of commissions (BBC News, 1998). It has enabled individuals to trade beyond their geographical locations and compare prices. The internet has made this even better as one can easily shop for the best offer on a product or service.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Hunting Methods of Early Man Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hunting Methods of Early Man - Research Paper Example The major distinguishing feature of Homo habilis is his ability to organize into groups. This idea became possible because of the development of language that eased communication and understanding (Leakey 3). The groupings build more strength and hunting became easier with increased chances of success and low risks of attacks from animals. It is in this stage that man began making and using tools from stones and this is why the name handyman becomes more appropriate in describing him. The tools facilitated the hunting process and made killing easier and this enabled him to start killing bigger animals for food. The tools also gave him an advantage and he could thus fight back in case of any aggression from some other animals. The tools also enabled him to split the prey into smaller pieces to easily, carry the meat to their proffered destination as well as in the preparation of the meat before consumption. This, therefore, enabled him to lead a more settled life compared to the earli er species. However, the man did not establish permanent settlements like towns and cities because from time to time he had to move from one place to another in search of animals to hunt (Leakey 3). Despite feeding on meat, the man also consumed fruits, leaves, roots, insects as well as birds and their eggs. The conditions prevailing in the environment sometimes forced him to resolve into omnivorous especially when there were no animals to hunt. The man hunted in groups, as the chances of succeeding were very low if one hunted alone. They, therefore, used to move together while ganging up on the prey killing with very great force. Homo habilis, just as the other earlier species of man was also a scavenger feeding on fruits and berries that he collected from his environment.

The types of risks and risk management measures which are needed in a Essay - 1

The types of risks and risk management measures which are needed in a financial institution - Essay Example The paper tells that risk is always going to be present in a financial institution and the higher the risk, the higher the return that the institution gets. Basically, risk and return are related in the same direction. A minor example of this would be a bank charging different interest rates on different individuals who have opted for the same loan. The individual who has a relatively poor credit history is likely to receive a higher interest rate as there are chances of him/her not paying the loan bank. Therefore, there is a higher risk and the bank gets a higher return through the higher interest rate charged. However, risk needs to be managed and there can be several huge losses if the financial institution is not ready to deal with it. Risk management is a type of strategy which every financial institution needs to have at its core and there are several parts involved in this including monitoring the risks, measuring these risks and controlling risks. It is the analysis of risk m ixed with the element of quality risk controls. Risk management is required by banks and financial institutions as a safety measure to protect the institution from any major financial problems. The uncertainty and the potential inherent risks that come with the financial markets makes it important for most of the financial institutions and banks to use risk management. The risk management controls are one of the major determinants of the financial stability of a bank. Systematic risk is also known as diversifiable risk. Basically, this particular type of risk means the risk of the change of asset value associated with systematic factors. Therefore, the risk cannot be fully diversified. There are several subcategories under systematic risks and there are various ways in which the value of an asset can be affected. The determinant of the change in the value of the assets owned by the institution and it depends upon natural and economic factors including interest rates affecting the va lue of the assets, an increase in inflation might cause an increase in fuel prices which might affect transportation and stock value and changes in economic conditions which may cause several changes in the value of

Monday, September 23, 2019

Finance and Public Administrators Research Paper

Finance and Public Administrators - Research Paper Example There are also a number of roads that need to be repaired and the plan is to start with the ones that have the greatest need. In addition to those capital requirements the expenses relating to the day to day operations of the city needs to be taken into account. Non-profit organizations play a useful role in the city and so a certain level of funding is normally made available to them so that they can continue to achieve their goals. The Budget According to Horngren et al (2000, p. 178 -180), a budget is the financial plan of an organization which is communicated in quantitative terms. It forms a blueprint for management to follow in an upcoming period and outlines the operational goals for a specific period of time. It states where financial resources will come from and what they will be used for. Planning is achieved through the budgeting process and forms the basis for decisions made by management. Horngren further states that budgets represent a major aspect management control sy stems. As long as they are administered in an appropriate manner they have the following characteristics. they compel planning they provide criteria for performance; and they promote the coordination and communication of activities in the organization. Planning is a major function of the budget as it seeks to quantify the plan. The plan specifies the type, quantity and quality of services that will be provided, estimating the costs and deciding how they will be paid for. The Council prepares the estimates of income than will be generated from various services provided at a cost by the city. These services include and are not limited to transportation, water and sewage. Other income generators include property tax and corporation tax, and income tax. The expenditure includes both capital and current expenditures. The performance criteria are useful both for staff and for sub-contractors who perform jobs in the city. They set the standard for achieving the goals and objectives of the departments. In coordinating and communicating the plan all the management personnel in these departments coordinate the tasks for their subordinates so that the goals of Council will be achieved. The objectives of the departments are communicated in such a way that they are clearly understood by employees. Controlling and administering the budget helps to ensure that resources are obtained and expended based on plans. Budgets are used to monitor the flow of resources to ensure that they are used as intended and that there are no significant over-runs. According to Chan (2009) the annual budget prepared in the public sector is not only a planning document but also includes projections of revenue collection as the law authorizes well as information on expenditure that has been proposed by executives and approved by the legislature. This implies that the budget is used as tool for management control as well legislative oversight. Any transactions and activities undertaken have to be i n keeping with the budget. Chan (2009) indicates that this type of accounting is described as management accounting in business and budgetary accounting in the public sector. It is in this same way that the City Council will go about controlling and managing public funds. Table 2 shows a summary version of the city’s budget for the fiscal year ending 31st March 2012. Summary of Budgeted Expenditure for the Fiscal Year Ending 31 March 2012 Budget Allocation/Revenue $10,000,0000

Micro Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Micro Economics - Essay Example Profit is the difference between the total revenue obtained from sales and the total cost incurred by the firm. In the long-run the decisions taken would be only exit decisions. Exit decisions are decisions taken by a firm to leave the market. They are not called as Shut-down decisions. Shut-down is only in the short-run. Long run equilibrium plays a crucial role in deciding the existence of the firm. In the long run there are enough time periods for the firm to cover its losses and earn normal profits. This is because in the long run, all inputs are variable and the firm can have the most profitable level of output i.e. the profit maximization level of output. (B) In the recent years, the business travel market has seen a tremendous change with respect to the airline industry. Changes in demand for leisure travel include more short term breaks and more independent holidays where passengers book flights, car and accommodation by themselves. The reason for the decline in business class travel is the supply led high business fares which stretched the so called "inelastic business class segment" and also he expansion of low cost airlines. 2. Price Discrimination can be defined as the method of charging different prices for essentially the same good to different buyers. There are three types of Price discrimination. They are, first, second and third degree discrimination. First-degree discrimination - This is the most extreme form of discrimination in which each consumer is charged the maximum price he would be willing to pay for each individual unit consumed. This kind of discrimination can be noticed in the healthcare industry where doctors charge different fees from different patients. Second-degree price discrimination - This is a more practical form of price discrimination. Here firms charge a different price for each set of units sold. Different prices are charged for different blocks or portions of consumption. This kind of price discrimination is followed in the power and telecom industry. The reason behind this is the prices are based on the quantities of output purchased by individual consumers. By doing so, the firms can profit as the quantities used or consumed vary from individual to individual and hence if there is a high consumption by a particular consumer, there is a chance for the firm to earn more profits. Third-degree price discrimination - This is the most common form of price discrimination. Consumers or markets are segmented on the basis of their price elasticity of demand. Often, third-degree price discrimination occurs in the markets that are geographically separated. Foe example, books published by American publishers are sold in other countries at a lower price than in the U.S. Evidently, buyers in the other countries have greater elasticity' of demand that US buyers. At the same time, the high shipping costs makes it unprofitable for firms to buy in foreign countries and resell in the United States. (B) Whenever we travel, is it a train or a flight, it is noticed that adults are charged a different price for the ticket and children are charged a different price. Other similar price discrimination in the same context is that rails some have rail cards entitling them to discounts; others do not. It is cheaper for people who book in advance. This

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Management Accounting Report Essay Example for Free

Management Accounting Report Essay In decision making process ambiguity, variability and uncertainty are often faced. For this reason Risk Analysis is always part of any decision making process. Even if the access to information is unprecedented even then future can’t be predicted accurately. For this reason Monte Carlo simulation is used which provides all the possible outcomes of decisions, access the impacts of risks and allow better decision making under uncertain situations. Monte Carlo Simulation: It is a computerized mathematical technique based on broad class of computer algorithms which allow people and organisations to calculate risks and hence helps in better decision making. Monte Carlo Simulation can also be termed as a problem solving technique to calculate probability of outcomes by using random variables and multiple trials which are termed as simulations (Berg, 2004). Monte Carlo Simulation is used by professionals in engineering, medicine, physics, chemists, project management, manufacturing, research and development, environmental specialists, oil and gas and several business functions. This is a reflective report in which case study of Fennel Design Project of Laura Watson company is used to predict the demand of greeting cards. The aim of the report is to speculate the situation of the Fennel Design project and also to provide a base for the companies experiencing these situations. This report uses discrete data of continuous range In this report discrete data of continuous range is used. Example of discrete data is when a coin flips in air, it have two possibilities either head or tail. Whereas, a running engine might have many temperature changes at different time intervals which is an example of continuous data. Laura Watson is a new company and so can also face these uncertainties as they don’t have any idea of when to produce, when to produce, supply and demand analysis and the situation which drives these factors. For this reason Monte Carlo Simulation is used to calculate predicted demand, risk analysis in order to provide company with useful information which then can be utilized to make timely decision making. This report is divided into three main parts. In Monte Carlo Simulation we can take as many amounts of trials to get an accurate answer. But, in the given casestudy, business manager’s Alex and Laura took one thousand trials. Number of trials increases the profit probabilities and helps in getting close results and reduces the chances of risks. In this question we have to calculate the price of the cards and for this we used Descriptive Analysis Function in Microsoft Excel. This Function automatically calculates all statistical data like mean, median, mode and standard deviation. Whereas, in task two WHAT IF analysis helps us in getting the results within the given number of trials. It creates thee situations or results which are base case scenario, best case scenario and worst case scenario. When the values of these situations are changed answer automatically changes. It is very helpful for managers in decision making. In task three risk simulation function and random functions are used which makes a balance between mean and standard deviation given in the projected demand. Rand command is used to calculate the cost of parts, random discreet method is used to. Variance Reduction is used to minimize non accurate profits. These all function enables to calculate price and predict risk. In this report every function is calculated independently to make the process easy to understand and clear. By using Monte Carlo Simulation we have calculated all the possible parameters required in the case study and also predicted the risk. It helps the managers to make quick and accurate decisions. Bibliography Berg, A. B. (2004). Markov Chain Monte Carlo Simulation and their Statistical Analysis. New Jersey: World Scientific.

The Liberal reforms of 1906-1914 Essay Example for Free

The Liberal reforms of 1906-1914 Essay To what extent could the Liberal reforms of 1906-1914 be described as a radical attempt to alleviate poverty? This essay will explore the Liberal reforms introduced between 1906-1914 and assess the governments efficacy in tackling poverty. In the early 20th century poverty was becoming an increasingly important issue and for a variety of reasons. Poverty had risen up the political agenda not least because of the advent of the Labour Party and their programme for social reform. At one end of the spectrum it is argued that the Liberal Government were crusaders for social reform, fighting oppression and poverty to emancipate the working classes. At the other end, the Liberals were seen as a Government with no plan or coherent strategy to deal with these issues and were not even united; with legislation being introduced piece meal as a response to individual crisis. At the turn of the century large numbers of men, women and children had to endure deplorable living and working conditions. The estimated unemployment rate for 15 to 64 year olds in 1902 was 69%1, although the unemployment rate as measured by those claiming unemployment related benefit was as low as 5%. However this raises questions about the accuracy of measuring and reporting conditions and begins to signify the potential numbers living on the poverty line. In 1900 trade union membership represented only 11% of those in employment and the impact of the Taff Vale2 judgement meant even the Trade Unions were powerless to improve the poor working conditions. Further, the school leaving age in 1900 was 12 and according to the 1901 census 10% (140,000) 10 14 year old boys were already working. The benefits paid by the state were in any event below subsistence level and these issues were compounded by poor housing and over crowding, poor diet and health. Together with lack of health care meant large numbers were living in extreme poverty. These conditions had prevailed throughout the 19 Century and there had been no concerted effort to tackle the issue. However, in the eight years before the First World War, the Liberal Government first under Henry Campbell-Bannerman and then Herbert Asquith embarked upon a sweeping programme of social and economic reform. New Liberalism advocated social reform, financed by higher taxation on the wealthy. Surveys concerning the poor by individuals such as Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree in York3 had revealed the extent of poverty and brought the problem to public attention. This could explain the burst of activity by the Liberal Government. In their studies they distinguished between families suffering from primary and secondary poverty. Such studies provided a wealth of statistical data on wages, hours of work, nutritional needs, food consumed, health and housing. Booth and Rowntree published a book4 illustrating the failings of the capitalist system and argued that new measures were needed to overcome the problems of unemployment, old age and ill health. Their findings highlight the reasons for Liberal reforms being made. Historians such as S. Reed Brett and Murray believe that the Liberal reforms of 1906 onwards were significant. They claim that by moving towards the State intervening in peoples lives and changing attitudes they laid the foundations of the welfare state today. One view is that Lloyd Georges reforms were the first real step to changing societys attitude to helping the vulnerable and poor. They convinced people that the governments role should be to help the poor and needy. This made it possible for later governments to bring in welfare reforms such as the National Health Service (in 1948). Murray illustrates this view in his work: The social reforms of the pre-war Liberal government had no opportunity to make a major dent in the extent of poverty before the Great War, but there is some evidence to suggest that they began to make a difference in the long term. (Murray, 1999) The Liberal reforms can also be considered in very different terms. Some contempories believed that the Liberals were only interested in Britains efficiency as a country. It can be argued that the Liberal government brought in their welfare reforms because they were afraid that a sick and badly educated workforce would leave Britain lagging behind other countries like Germany. If Britain was to compete and maintain its position as a world power, then it had to be run efficiently. This theory supported the belief that healthy, well-educated workforce was essential. (Murphy, 2000) Commentators are also of the view that political pressures from the left induced fear in the Liberal Administration, which ultimately forced or encouraged the government to embark on social reform. These conflicting interpretations will be reviewed in more detail when considering the effectiveness of the reforms The extreme poverty identified in the research conducted by Booth and Rowntree and the poor health levels of those conscripted for the Boer War5, proved to be a catalyst for the actions taken to improve health, education and the general welfare of the public. It is clear that many historians and commentators have conflicting views concerning the Liberal Administration and question the motives for reform. However, there is no doubt that the Liberals introduced a series of important measures. The social reforms to benefit the lowest classes were centred on three areas, children, elderly and poverty resulting from unemployment and sickness. The Liberal Administration was aware of how controversial such reforms were and started with attempts to improve conditions for working class children. Such children were the most vulnerable section of society, but also could not be held to blame for their predicament. Even so there was still opposition as some believed that parents were responsible for children and that government intervention would only undermine individual freedom and responsibility. Despite such beliefs there was a common consensus that the poverty experienced by the poorest working class children was a national disgrace and a range of measures were introduced. In 1906 the government introduced the Education (School Meals) Act, which resulted from the work of the Labour MP William Beverage. This gave local councils the power to provide free school meals for the poorest families. In many ways this was a great success. On the other hand, the Act allowed local authorities to provide meals, but it did not make it a mandatory requirement. In 1907 the Liberals, established compulsory medical inspections. This was owed to civil servant Sir Robert Morant. The checks were free, but in some areas they were carried out more thoroughly than others. Further, despite the introduction of the inspections, they were not a solution for all as the treatment was not free. Therefore the success of such inspections is questionable. This is illustrated by Murray; Both measures gradually had a major impact despite their opponents. Although the 1906 Act was at first permissive (Local Education Authorities were not compelled to supply school meals), by 1914 over 14 million meals per annum were being provide for 158,000 children. In a similar way, the 1907 Act did not compel local authorities to set up clinics, but by 1914 most were proving some medical treatment for children. (Murray, 1999) Later, in 1908 the government introduced the Children and Young Persons Act, due to the influence of pressure groups such as the NSPCC6. Children became protected persons, which meant that parents who ill-treated or neglected their children could now be prosecuted. The Act banned the sale of alcohol and tobacco to children and prohibited them from working in dangerous trades like scrap metal. Also, children who broke the law were now dealt with in specialist juvenile courts and prisons. These were clearly important measures to improve the welfare of children and help tackle child poverty. It can be said that these reforms were the Liberals principal achievement during their first tenure in office. The Liberals were fully aware that for many people the main cause of poverty was old age. In response to this they introduced Old Age Pensions in 1908. It was highly controversial because of the expected cost. It was also debatable because some people thought that old people were in poverty because they had wasted their money throughout their lives. Overall, Old Age Pensions were very well received and had support from most of the public. To qualify, people had to be over the age of 70. They also had to earn less than à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½31 per year and have lived in Britain for 20 years. The number of old people who depended on charity or the Poor Law dropped dramatically as a result of this reform. Pugh clarifies this: The scheme was implemented in ways calculated to reassure the beneficiaries, that it promoted the independence of the elderly, that it reached more people than is usually thought, and that it helped to modify popular attitudes towards the state. (Martin Pugh 2000) However, the pension act was still a very controversial measure mainly due to the sectors of society excluded by the Act and the retention of the concept deserving and undeserving individuals. With regard to the unemployed Booth and Rowntrees investigations revealed that inadequate wages were another major cause of poverty and minimum wage legislation was identified as a radical step. The Liberals felt they had no option other than to address the problem and as a result passed the 1909 Trade Boards Act and the 1912 Mines Act. Although they were limited in scope and effect, the measures marked a shift away from the 19th century laissez faire attitude that the government should not intervene in the setting of wages. Some of the most far-reaching reforms introduced by the Liberals concerned working people. Throughout the early 1900s there were a range of different measures undertaken by local authorities to help the sick and unemployed. The government supported many. However, by 1911 the Liberals were convinced that some kind of government-controlled national system was needed. As a result they created National Insurance in 1911. The National Insurance Act was in two parts. The 1st part dealt with unemployment, the second with health. Workers earning under à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½160 per year had to join the scheme. They paid 4d per week from their own wages into an insurance scheme. The employer added a further 2d and the government added 3d on top of that. In return for their contributions workers got sick pay of 10 shillings a week for 6 months and unemployment pay of 7 shillings a week for up to 15 weeks. As with the other Liberal measures, when the scheme was introduced there was a lot of opposition suggesting its radical nature. Many workers resented the money being taken from their wages and many employers resented the amount of money it cost them. This was a regressive measure. The policy could have been more radical and progressive by linking the sums payable in National Insurance to wages as opposed to one amount for all workers. However, this was arguably the most important of all welfare reforms. By 1913, 13 million workers were insured in the scheme and a very important safety net had been established. It marked a break with the past in establishing the principle that providing help for the unemployed was a national not a local responsibility. It was clear that the principle of individual liberty was now being challenged by a stronger emphasis on collective welfare rights. (www.NationalArchives.gov.uk) Pearce and Stewart highlight this: Although the Liberal government failed to make a popular impact at the time, a number of measures had particular significance because they showed that the government were prepared to intervene far more than had been the case in the past. This exemplifies a radical attempt to improve poverty: The effect of these social reforms meant a significant increase in government intervention. The state had now assumed an unprecedented degree of responsibility for individuals in the lower class of society. (Mike Byrne, 2005) The main criticisms of the Liberals reforms were the attitude towards welfare was generally too cautious. It can be argued that the Liberals reforms were little more than a response to economic and political circumstances. There were large elements of compromise and Victorian moral attitudes were still featuring in the reforms. Whilst it is accepted that, as a whole, the welfare package introduced by the Liberals helped to some extent alleviate poverty, it is also clear that many people continued to slip through the net and that the Liberals measures were very limited in scope and were capable of further extensions. For example the 1909 pensions excluded old people under the age of 70 and did not cover criminals, people continually failing to find work and drunkards. Workers outside the industries covered in the Labour Exchange Act and Miners Minimum Wage Act did not qualify to receive a minimum wage. Only c.13 million out of a total population of c.45 million were included in the National Insurance Scheme. The National Insurance 1911 act pension coverage was not universal and was aimed mainly at lower paid and manual workers. It did not provide support for dependants. (www.National Statistics.gov.uk) Further more Free medical care was available to only a wage earner, not the wife or children. To tackle poverty more effectively the reforms could have been universal without deliberately excluding thousands of people. This is expounded by Watts: Changes were often modest in scope and there was a number of areas which remained unreformed. (Watts, 1995) Most of the Liberal reforms depended upon local government and local services to deliver them. While this had the effect of removing the stigma of the Poor Law, it also depended upon the priorities of the local authorities. The provision of school medical services, for example, was made possible by central government but its implementation was patchy as it relied on local authorities, many having differing priorities. In effect this meant there was no coherent strategy or mechanism to implement the much-needed reform, which accordingly failed to achieve the desired outcome. The range of reforms introduced by the Liberals was impressive, but it was not the result of a preconceived programme. Historians often see the reforms as individual solutions to particular social problems, not as a wider radical movement. If they were to have come to power, with a formal programme for poverty relief the reforms may have been more radical and affected a wider section of society. The Government as a whole did not seem to be very committed to welfare reforms, apart from Lloyd George and Churchill. It is argued that the reforms were Lloyd George and Churchills response to what they saw as the challenge from the left. By stealing Labours thunder, they hoped to capture more working class votes. Watts illustrates this: Lloyd George and Churchill revealed a certain skill in adapting Liberalism to the challenge of the condition of the people question. In so doing, they retained some middle-class support and made a bid for the loyalty of the working classes. (Watts, 1995) By ensuring that reforms were as moderate as possible, they hoped to retain middle-class support. In other words, if the reforms are seen in terms of party political advantage, far from being radical, the reforms can be described as a conservative response to the radical threat from the left. When comparing the Liberal actions in light of later developments the reforms were not wholly radical and a great deal of key legislation was left undone. The legislation was hardly revolutionary. The state pension was free but not universal. Only around half a million of the oldest, poorest, and most sober elderly people obtained a pension, which was less than a bare subsistence income. (Tanner, 1900) When the Liberals came to power they had no preconceived strategic plan to tackle poverty and indeed right up to the eve of the 1906 General Election Campbell-Bannerman strove to avoid committing the Party to any measures to deal with unemployment, or even old age pensions. (Hay 1975) Policies to tackle social problems once they came to power were introduced piece meal, in response to economic and political circumstances rather than a coherent reform package. The reforms were very limited, confused and didnt always favour the poor. Thus, they fell short of a full-scale attack on poverty. Clarke comments on the Education and Licensing Bills, which had to be scrapped as a result of opposition in the House of Lords. Pearce and Stuart went further stating many national disaster areas remained untouched the problem of slum housing for example was not tackled. (Pearce and Stewart, 1992) However, many of the Liberal reforms introduced provided the foundations for a Welfare State and paved the way for subsequent social reform. There was a fundamental shift in social attitudes to poverty and welfare as they convinced people that governments should help the poor and needy. This was a significant achievement for the Liberal Administration, which should not be underestimated. The policies introduced were also successful in helping to alleviate poverty. The measures to introduce medical inspections and school meals argues Murray made a significant impact by 1914 over 14 million meals per annum were being provided for 158,000 children the 1907 Act did not compel Local Authorities to set up clinics but by 1914 most were providing medical treatment for children. Murray concludes the social reforms of the pre-war Liberal government had no opportunity to make a major dent in the extreme poverty before the Great War, but there is some evidence to suggest they began to make a di fference in the longer term. (Murray, 1999) In conclusion, the nature and success of the Liberal reforms has been the subject of keen historical debate and almost unparalleled scrutiny, resulting in many conflicting views. It cannot be denied there was scope for more radical reform. However, when taking in to account the contemporary, social values and norms, political climate, and the argument of the state versus individual responsibility this was a bold attempt by the Liberal Administration to introduce radical reform. Such reforms helped to alleviate poverty and paved the way for future reforms, even though the Governments motivation may at times have been based upon expediency and was not always entirely principled or purist. 1 This and the following statistics were taken from the Natioanl statistics website. 2 The Taff Vale judgement prevented Unions from picketing and any union could be liable to pay unlimited damages for losses caused by a strike. 3 Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree, undertook major investigations into the extent and causes of poverty in British cities. They discovered that up to 30% of the population of the cities were living in or below poverty levels and the conditions were such that people could not pull themselves out of poverty by their own actions alone. Booth and Rowntree both identified the main causes of poverty as being illness, unemployment and old age. 4 Charles Booth published, Life and Labour of People in London in 1889 and Seeboh Rowntree published, Poverty A study of Town Life in 1901. 5 The Boer War was an attempt by the British to re-impose its control over Southern Africa, and when Britain put pressure on the Boers they had little option other than to fight. The British public expected the war to be over in a few weeks as the Boers were inexperienced and badly equipped. However the defeat of 50,000 Boers took 450,00 British troops and before the end, it cost 22,000 lives and well over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½200,000,000 of money. 6 The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). Bibliography From George III to George VI A brief history of Britain from 1760 to 1952 (S. Reed Brett) An illustrated history of modern Britain 1783 1964 (Denis Richards and J.W. Hunt) The origins of the Liberal Welfare reforms 1906-1914 (J.R Hay) Heinemann Advanced History: Poverty and Public Health 1815-1948 (Rosemary Rees) Access to History: Britain 1895-1918 (Mike Byrne) Life and Labour of People in London (Charles Booth 1889) Poverty A study of town life (Seebohm Rowntree 1901) www.LearningCurve.gov.uk www.nationalachieves.gov.uk http://www.nedrichards.com/docs/libsocref.pdf www.lednum.wordpress.com/2006/09/07/the-liberal-reforms-of-1906-1914/ www.liberalhistory.org.uk www.en.wikipedia.org www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk www.politics.co.uk www.statistics.gov.uk

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Criticisms made of left realism by other left wing approaches

Criticisms made of left realism by other left wing approaches This essay will focus on Left Realism and how some of their beliefs can be criticised by other left wing approaches. As there are many different left wing approaches that can criticise left realism, and there are only 2,000 words available for this essay, only three left wing approaches will be focused on. They are the new criminology, radical criminology, and the Birmingham School. Left Realists were of the belief that all research and efforts previously were pointless because none pointed towards an answer to what causes crime. Left Realists believed that the state of criminology was one of abject failure and there was nothing criminologists could say to the community about the causes of crime (Laufer and Adler, 1990, p.163). As Hagan (2010, p.185) notes Left Realists also accepted that crime does exist so it was pointless trying to deconstruct the term crime. As Muncie (2009, p.150) correctly identified The Left Realism principles are based on democratic socialism which addresses social inequality. They focus on left wing political analysis and synthesises established theories to achieve a fully social theory of crime . It s perceived as a response to the partiality of focus of existing theories and the Theoretical synthesis of sub-cultural labelling theories. Although the approach is left wing it s not over the top as they still consider Marginalisation and emphasise failure among young people. It s also concerned with the square of crime, it appreciates a complex process of action and reaction between the offender, victims, the state and society. To control crime from a realist perspective involves intervention at each part of the square of crime: at the level of the factors which give rise to the putative offender (such as structural unemployment), the informal system (such as lack of public mobilisation), the victim (such as inadequate target hardening) and the formal system (such as ineffective policing) (Waltlake, 2005, p.87). In terms of effective policing Jock Young (1997, p.492) noted It is not the Thin Blue Line, but the social bricks mortar of civil society which are the major bulwarks against crime. Good jobs with a discernable future, housing estates tenants can be proud of, community facilities which enhance a sense of cohesion belonging, a reduction in unfair inequalities, all create a society which is more cohesive less criminogenic . This empahsises the Left Realist belief that it s necessary for policy makers to be focuses on social crime prevention strategies. Left Realism approach concerns Left Realist Criminologists that were originally Marxist Criminologists who turned their back on their radicalist approach for what they considered a more realistic approach (Clinard Meier, 2008, p.80), but the Criminologists who didn t turn there back on Marxist beliefs still offer good critique for left realism. For example as Steinhart (1985, p.327-34) noted there has been criticism of left realist criminology on the specific grounds of its apparent acceptance of popular fear of crime and its subsequent adoption of a crime control strategy: a criticism that is mounted from a perspective which continues to insist on the exagurated character of popular fears and which also insists on viewing the widely reported increased fear or crime as an ideological displacement of the on going increases in other personal troubles (unemployment, race, conflict, tensions between the sexes in late capitalist societies , etc). In addition, some of the best critique of fered for left realism comes from the left wing approach that left realism itself set out to criticise. Some of the best left wing approaches that offer critique for the left realism perspective include New Criminology, Critical Criminology and The Birmingham School despite of their individual differences. Left Realism accused approaches such as New Criminology of being too idealistic . Left Realists began to take the term crime largely at face value. Thus, in moving away from the left idealist emphasis on the social construction of crime. However as Newburn (2007) identified left realists arguably have gone too far in accepting standard definitions of crime as if they were self-evidently meaningful. Maybe attempts by New Criminologists to deconstruct criminological theories in an attempt to construct a social theory of crime (Lilly, Ball and Cullen, 2010, p.212) or critical criminology s overriding aim to deconstruct the privileged meanings and discourses which frame the reality of crime (Anthony and Cunneen, 2008, p.2) may be more appropriate. The Radical Left has been accused by left realist criminologists of being negativistic and being too concerned with deconstructing social order. It tended to romanticise crime and crime was conceived of as an expression of class struggle. This is demonstrated by The New criminology s approach that sought to show that the law was used as an instrument of the ruling class (Muncie, 2006, p.65) and The Birmingham School offered analysis of class and class conflict and its concern with youth styles and resistance (McGuigan, 2005, p.179) which are two thoughts that left realist criminologists ignored. However Left Realism s belief on crime being intra class and it s inability to focus on the issue of class can be used as a criticism. As Waltlake (1989) suggests: Its over-concentration on crime and victimization within poor communities, and its failure to focus on crimes of the powerful and, related to this, it s over-reliance on the local crime survey . In addition Waltlake is not the only Criminologist to have noticed this, as Pearce and Tombs (1992) both noted: Through its failure to focus on corporate and organised crime, left realism is accused by some of having an incomplete aetiology a model of crime causation that even if it helps explain volume crimes such as burglary, is of limited utility in the task of explaining crimes of the suites . Left Realism also accused approaches such as New Criminology, Radical Criminology and The Birmingham School of offering little in terms of policy relevance. When speaking of policy relevance, in reference to government thinking it s also worth noting that whilst left realist s John Lea and Jock Youngs book What is to Be Done about Law and Order (1993) has been rumoured to be influential on Tony Blair prior and at the beginning of Labour s reign in government (Gomm, 2008, p.335) due to Tony Blair s opinion that there was a need to reengage with political debate and the acceptance that crime shouldn t be deconstructed. However as it s worth noting Newburn (2007, p.269) noted over time the Labour government shifted progressively from a position that was reasonably sympathetic to left realist thinking to one that was much more comfortable with right realist theory. So therefore when discussing government thinking it s worth noting that in today s current climate, Left Realism seems to of fer just as much terms of policy relevance as New Criminology, Radical Criminology and The Birmingham School. Left Realism has also come under attack because it reverts back to accepting crime victim police as unproblematic features (Waltlake, 2007, p.78). Furthermore Left realism was more committed to social democratic reform rather than socialist politics. This emphasises one of the main principles of left realism; the belief in a joined up approach to tackling the problems of crime. However, this belief could be accused of borrowing from a range of sociological explanations of crime. These reasons suggest that there may be nothing new about left realism, but may just be a number of established criminological principles taken from a particular ideological perspective (Downes and Rock, 2003, p.292). In fact, as these two examples show, instead of being a progressive theory, it may be a theory that demonstrates regression in comparison to an approach such as new criminology where new criminologists concern capitalism to being causes of problems such as crime , victim and the police . (Lilly, Ball Cullen, 2010, p.186). In addition this is not the only demonstration of regression being displayed left realists. Their failure to focus sufficiently on the political and ideological sources of crime and it s control is another example of regression. Stan Cohen (1986, cited by ), for example, argued that left realists have retreated far from the theoretical gains of 20 years ago. Their regression into the assumptions of the standard criminal law model of social control criminalization and punishment is premature . Furthermore left realism says very little about domestic abuse. Approaches such as The New Criminology, Critical Criminology and The Birmingham School however add more focus around domestic abuse, and as a result arguably focus more around reasons, which suggest that they offer a better explanation for crime. In addition Left Realism confirms the black population as particularly criminal which ignores the historical, economic political contexts in which immigration developed. There has also been a quite angry series of critical responses to left realist criminology from scholars and activists in Britain who are identified with the vanguard organizations of the black underclass, and for whom left realist criminology from scholars and activists in Britain who are identified with the vanguard organizations of the black underclass, and for whom left realist criminology is understood, overwhelmingly, as an outrageous accommodation to the law and order policies of a racist authoritarian state (Gilroy and Sim, 1985, cited by Scraton, 1987, p.210). This increases the belief that Left Realism is not a theory that can be associated with progression of the Radical Left beliefs. Especially against the beliefs of New Criminology, Critical Criminology or The Birmingham School which all discourage the use of racial stereotyping. Left Realism also comes under attack due to the theory having no statistical evidence to support the theory. Critical Criminology can offer a criticism towards left realism due to the approaches close concern with crime statistics. As noted by Hudson (2000, p.177) The object of investigation is the cluster of theories, policies, legislation, media treatments, roles institutions that are concerned with crime, with the control punishment of crime. This material is the object of study, not part of the explanation . This is another example where Left Realism arguably fails to produce a theory that concerns progression. The relationship that Left Realism has with the offender and the victim can also be criticised heavily by Left Wing Approaches. As Ruggiero (1992) identified: left realism contains an assumption that the power relationship between offender and victim is always one in which the former is more powerful than the latter . This one-sided approach is another critique that suggests why it s hard to acknowledge Left Realism as a theory that concerns progression. Furthermore, as Newburn correctly identified (2007, p.269): Left Realism generally rejects the possibility that some working-class criminal activity may be understood as a means of managing and coping with the limited opportunities allowed by current social arrangements . Other Left Wing Approaches support this notion such as Critical Criminology due to its aims to achieve Social, rather than criminal, justice by achieving structural changes that transform the social structure (Anthony and Cunneen, 2008, p.186). Furthermore, New Criminology arguably takes in to consideration that criminal activity may be a means of managing and coping with limited opportunities and this may be due to, as identified by Carlen and Collisson (1980, p.150), it advocates a form of radical politics seeking social justice. While Birmingham School takes in to consideration the possibility as it can be interoperated that youthful deviance is most profoundly lodged in the refusal to accept the opportunities th at capitalist communities has restricted them too. In this instance all three left wing approaches touched in this essay potentially offer valid critique towards left realism. Another criticism offered by Taylor (1992, p.95) is that the evidence presented in the various victimization studies conducted by left realists has more to do with patterns of victimization and of fear than it has to do with any detailed answers to crime and social order. There is no really creative attempt in the survey work on the left realists to investigate ways and means of combating crime, or of restoring some sense of order. Therefore in summary, although Left Realists original intention was to progress from Left Wing Approahces. It s debateable whether any progress has been made due to the critique towards Left Realism that can be offered by left wing approaches. This is for reasons such as its focus on fear of crime, its failure to acknowledge that crime may need to be deconstructed, its failure to focus on crimes of the powerful, it s lack of impact on current political affairs, it s acceptance of big issues (ie, crime and police) being unproblematic features, it s failure to focus on political and ideological sources of crime, it s lack of interest in domestic abuse, it s racial stereotyping, it s lack of statistical evidence to support the theory, the relationship between the offender and the victim, it s rejection that criminal activity may be a way of coping with limited opportunities allowed by current social arrangements and it s victimization students failing to provide an answer to crime and s ocial order.