Stefan’s Diaries: Bloodlust Chapter 4

The car was pitch black, but our eyes, now adapted for nocturnal vision, allowed us to pick out a path through the piles of sooty coal in the caboose. Finally we emerged through a doorway into what appeared to be a first-class sleeping car. When no one was looking, we stole a few shirts and pairs of trousers from an unattended trunk and put them on. They didnt fit perfectly, but they would do. As we ventured out into the aisle of the seating coach, the train rumbling beneath our feet, a hand grabbed my shoulder. Reflexively, I swung my arm at my attacker and growled. A man in a conductors uniform flew backward and hit the wall of a compartment with athud. I locked my jaw to keep my fangs from protruding. â€Å"Im sorry! You startled me and † I trailed off. My voice was unfamiliar to my own ears. For the past week, most of my interactions had been in hoarse whispers. I was surprised at how human I sounded. But I was much more powerful than my voice betrayed. I hoisted the man to his feet and straightened his navy cap. â€Å"Are you okay?† â€Å"I believe so,† the conductor said in a dazed voice, patting his arms as if to make sure they were still there. He looked to be about twenty, with sallow skin and sandy hair. â€Å"Your ticket?† â€Å"Oh, yes, tickets,† Damon said, his voice smooth, not betraying that we had been in a gallop to the death only minutes before. â€Å"My brother has those.† I shot an angry glance toward him, and he smiled back at me, calm, taunting. I took him in. His boots were muddy and unlaced, his linen shirt was untucked from his trousers, but there was something about him–more than his aquiline nose and aristocratic jaw–that made him seem almost regal. In that moment, I barely recognized him: This wasnt the Damon Id grown up with, or even the one Id gotten to know in the past week. Now that we were hurtling out of Mystic Falls toward some invisible, unknowable point on the horizon, Damon had become someone else, someone serene and unpredictable. In these unfamiliar surroundings, I was unsure if we were partners in crime or sworn enemies. The conductor turned his attention toward me, his lip curling as he took in my disheveled appearance. I hastily tucked my own shirt in. â€Å"We were rushing, and † I drawled, hoping my Southern accent would make the words sound sincere–and human. His goldfish-like eyes bulged skeptically, and then I remembered a vampire skill Katherine had used on me to great effect: compelling. â€Å". . . And I already showed you my ticket,† I said slowly, willing him to believe me. The conductor furrowed his brows. â€Å"No, you didnt,† he replied just as slowly, taking extra care to enunciate each word, as if I were an especially dull passenger. I cursed silently, then leaned in ever closer. â€Å"But I presented it to you earlier.† I stared into his eyes until my own started to cross. The conductor took a step back and blinked. â€Å"Everyone needs a ticket on their person at all times.† My shoulders slumped. â€Å"Well uh â€Å" Damon stepped in front of me. â€Å"Our tickets are in the sleeper car. Our mistake,† he said, his voice low and lulling. He didnt blink once as he gazed at the mans hooded lids. The ticket takers face went slack, and he took a step back. â€Å"My mistake. Go ahead, gentlemen. Im sorry about the confusion.† His voice was distant as he tipped his hat, then stood aside to let us walk into the gentlemens club car. As soon as the door shut behind us, I grabbed Damons arm. â€Å"How did you do that?† I asked. Had Katherine taught him how to drop his voice, gaze his victim in the eye, and force the poor lad to do his bidding? I clenched my jaw, wondering if shed mentioned how easy it had been for her to compel me. Images flashed into my mind: Katherine widening her eyes, begging me to keep her secret, to stop my father from hunting her. I shook my head, as if to fling the images from my brain. â€Å"Whos in charge now, brother?† Damon drawled, collapsing into an empty leather seat and yawning, his hands stretched above his head as if he were ready to settle down for a long nap. â€Å"Youre going to sleep now? Of all times?† I exclaimed. â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"Why not?† I repeated dumbly. I held out my arms, gesturing to our surroundings. We sat among well-dressed men in top hats and waistcoats, who, despite the hour, were busily patronizing the wood-paneled bar in the corner. A group of older men played poker, while young men in captains uniforms whispered over tumblers of whiskey. We went unnoticed in this crowd. There were no vampire compasses revealing our true identities. No one so much as glanced in our direction as we sat down. I perched on the ottoman opposite Damon. â€Å"Dont you see?† I said. â€Å"No one knows us here. This is our chance.† â€Å"Youre the one who doesnt see.† Damon inhaled deeply. â€Å"Smell that?† The warm, spicy scent of blood filled my nostrils, and the thud of pumping hearts echoed around me like cicadas on a summer evening. Instantly a searing pain ripped through my jaw. I covered my mouth with my hands, looking wildly around to see if anyone had noticed the long canines that had shot out from my gums. Damon let out a wry chuckle. â€Å"Youll never be free, brother. Youre tethered to blood, to humans. They make you desperate and needy–they make you a killer.† At the wordkiller, a man with a rust-colored beard and sun-dyed cheeks glanced sharply at us from across the aisle. I forced a benign smile. â€Å"You're going to get us in trouble,† I hissed under my breath. â€Å"Yes, well, youve got only yourself to blame for that,† Damon replied. He closed his eyes, signaling the end of our conversation. I sighed and glanced out the window. We were probably only thirty miles outside of Mystic Falls, but it felt as though everything Id known before had simply ceased to exist. Even the weather was new–the rain shower had ended, and the autumn sun now poked through wispy clouds, penetrating the glass that separated the train from the outside world. It was curious: While our rings protected us from the sun searing our flesh, the burning orb made me feel slightly drowsy. Pushing myself to stand, I took refuge in the dark aisles that led from compartment to compartment. I passed from walking between the plush velvet seats of the first-class cars to the wooden benches of second class. Finally, I made myself comfortable in an empty sleeper cabin, drew the curtains, closed my eyes, and opened my ears. Hope those Union boys get out of New Orleans and leave it to ourselves Once you see those beauties on Bourbon Street, your Virginia virgin won't look the same You've got to be careful. There's voodoo down there, and some say it's where demons come out to play I smiled. New Orleans sounded like the perfect place to call home. I settled into the makeshift bed, content to relax and let the train rock me into some sort of slumber. I found that I fed much better after I had rested.

Fidel Castro Psychobiography

Life Events of Fidel Castro The psychobiography to the life of Fidel Castro. Carl Jung divided his developmental theory into three parts: childhood, puberty to young adulthood and middle age. Carl Jung believed that â€Å"we develop and grow regardless of age and we are always moving toward a more complete level of self-realization† (Schultz & Schultz, 2009). I believed that parents have a big role in child’s development of personality; and they can shape the child personality through their influences.Fidel Castro was born one of several illegitimate children to prosperous sugar farmer Angel Castro y Argiz and his household maid Lina Ruz Gonzalez, on August 13, 1926. Fidel Castro is one of the world’s oldest dictators and in many ways the typical narcissistic oppressor. Theorists had tried to explain his behavior; however many accounts portray Castro to have been brought up in a supportive family even though he grew up with the stigma of being an illegitimate. â €Å"The ego begins to form substantively only when children become able to distinguish between themselves and other people† (Schultz & Schultz, 2009).He attended Roman Catholic boarding schools in Santiago de Cuba and High School in Havana, where he proved to be a talented student an outstanding athlete. In 1945 he entered Law School at the University of Havana and joined the Orthodox Party, which strive for economic independence, political liberty, social justice and an end to corruption. In 1947 Castro temporarily left the university and in 1948 he took part in urban riots in Bogota, Colombia. He returned to Havana, while being a student Castro married Mirta Diaz-Balart a philosophy student whose wealthy family had political ties to Cuban military leader Fulgencio Batista.In 1949 his first son was born but because he had no income to support the family the marriage ended. According to Jung, from â€Å"teenage years through young adulthood, we are concerned with completing activities such as education, beginning a career, marriage and family† (Schultz & Schultz, 2009). Castro as a lawyer, tried to mount legal challenge to Fulgencio Batista’s reign, demonstrating that the Cuban Constitution had been violated when the courts refused to hear his petition, Castro decided that legal attacks on Batista would never change.On July 26, 1953 Castro and his brother Raul, led about 160 men in a suicidal attack on the Moncada military barracks in Santiago de Cuba in hopes of generating a popular revolution, â€Å"The persona archetype a public face we wear to present ourselves as someone different from who we really are† (Schultz & Schultz, 2009). Most of the men were killed and Castro and his brother were captured and sentenced by the government to 15 years’ imprisonment. They were later released in a political amnesty and went to Mexico to continue to campaign against Batista regime.Castro began to make plans to return to Cuba, while i n Mexico he met Ernesto â€Å"Che† Guevara who was destined to play an important role in the Cuban Revolution. These rebels acquired weapons, trained and coordinated their return with fellow insurgents in Cuban cities. On December 2, 1956 Castro and armed expedition landed on the eastern coast of Cuba, they were detected and ambush and many of the rebels were killed. Castro and the other leaders survived and made it to the mountains and reminded there for a while attacking government forces and installations and organizing resistance cells in the cities across Cuba.With the help of revolutionary volunteers throughout the island, Fidel Castro’s forces won a string of victories over Batista government. As the undisputed revolutionary leader, Castro became commander in chief of the armed forces in Cuban government. Castro soon implemented a Soviet-style communist regime in Cuba, much to the dismay of the United States. This led to decades of conflict between Cuba and the USA including such incidents like The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Mariel boatlift.Castro survived countless assassination attempts, some of them crude and quite clever; the collective unconscious is â€Å"the universal memories and experiences of humankind, represented in the symbols, stories, and images â€Å"It is the collection of our experiences as a species, a kind of instinctual knowledge† (Schultz & Schultz, 2009). Cuba was placed under economic embargo which has had serious effect on the Cuban economy. â€Å"Introverts focus on their own thought and feelings. † (Zimbardo Pg. 392) They are not sociable and prefer to be alone.Extrovert people are more interested in the world and the things going on in it then in their own life. They are outgoing and friendly. They enjoy being in social situations. Jung claimed â€Å" few people have all pairs of forces in balance. Usually one is more dominant determining a person’s personality. † ( Zimbardo Pg. 39 2) As we can see, although Jung was influenced by Freud’s personality theory, but his personality theory focuses on parents’ influence on a child’s personality and ego. Carl Jung died in 1961.

Backbiting in Islam

Backbiting, according to Oxford Dictionary is â€Å"Malicious talk about someone who is not present. † It originated from the improper attack from the back in the sport of bearbaiting(1). The word in Arabic is pronounced as â€Å"Ghibah. † Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) defined Gibah as â€Å"Your mentioning your brother with something about him that he dislikes. † Islam considers backbiting as one of the major sins that a muslim person must not commit (2). This paper will cover reasons why it is prohibited, causes, backbiting non muslims, cure, and cases in which backbiting is permissible. Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) once said, to signify the wrongfulness of backbiting: â€Å"Whoever backbites a Muslim spoils his fasts and breaks his wudu, and shall come on the Day of Resurrection with his mouths stench more putrid than a carcass If he dies before repenting, his death is like that of one who dies while considering permissible that which is prohibited by God (3). † There are two main reasons why Islam prohibits backbiting: 1. Islam prohibits backbiting because it emphasizes on protecting peoples rights and feelings. Gibah could violates peoples rights and hurt their feelings; therefore, it is a serious sin. 2. Because of the fact that it is easy to commit, people usually disregard it and might feel that it is insignificant (2). Listening to backbiting is also considered a sin and sometimes the listener might be considered as a sinner a well, being in the same position of the backbiter. The messenger (PBUH) said in regards to that that â€Å"the listener is one of the two backbiters. † A person could be more sinful if he expresses his interest in the backbiter’s talk. In other words, saying something like â€Å"wow,† â€Å"Astaghfirullah† or â€Å"I didn’t know he would do such a thing† means that the listener is encouraging the backbiter to add something more (3). Causes People backbite each other for plenty of reasons. Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali mentions in his book â€Å"Revival of Religious Sciences† several reasons why a person would backbite. One of the reasons is revenge, a person will gain satisfaction when he/she backbites someone since he avenged him or herself. Another reason is the influence of the people around the person. People sometimes feel pressured by their friends and sometimes the only way to fit in with the group is through participating in whatever that group is. Al-Ghazali also stated that some people have a desire to praise themselves through belittling others. In the same way, someone might bad-mouth another person out of jealousy (4). Joking and mockery is also a reason why people would backbite,and in regards to that Allah says in the Quran â€Å"O you who have believed, neither should men mock other men, it may be that these are better than they; nor should women mock other women, it may be that these are better than they It is an evil thing to be called by a bad name after faith. Those who fail to avoid this are wrongdoers.. † (Surah Al-Hujurat 49:11). Backbiting Non-Muslims It is generally discouraged in Islam because one characteristic of a good muslim is not to speak rudely or bad-mouth people. The prophet (PBUH) said: â€Å"The Muslim does not slander, curse, speak obscenely or speak rudely. †. However, Islam has a detailed ruling on backbiting the non-muslims. It can be divided into two cases or scenarios. The first type of backbiting non-muslims is one in which a person mentions the physical flaws of a another person such as having big ears or long nose. This is type is prohibited because your mockery of someone’s appearance is considered as if you’re making fun of Allah’s creation. The second of type of backbiting non-muslims is when you talk about his bad habits or behavior such as drinking alcohol or adultery. A lot of muslim scholars agree that there is nothing wrong with that if your intention is to warn people against him (5). Some muslim scholars talked about more specific cases regarding the backbiting of non-muslims. Zakaryia Al-Ansari, a leading Islamic scholar of the 15th century, said that it is prohibited backbite the non-muslim if he is dhimmi. 1 His reasoning is that it will put him off from accepting jizyah. 2 He backs up his reasoning by mentioning the Hadith of the prophet (PBUH) in which he said â€Å"Whoever makes a snide comment to a dhimmi has earned Hell. † Imam Al-Ghazali said that backbiting the dhimmi is forbidden because he is like the muslim â€Å"as far as not harming him is concerned. If the non-muslim is a harbi3, Al-Ansari said that it is permissible to backbite a harbi and he backs it by mentioning what happened when the messenger (PBUH) used to command one of his companions to satirize the mushrikeen4(5). Cases Where Backbiting is Permissible For every rule in Islam, there are exceptions and there are many cases where Islam allows backbiting(4). These Cases are: 1. unjustness. A person who suffered from injustice is allowed to mention the name of the person who committed injustice to someone who is capable of restoring his rights to him like a judge or a ruler of a city. If your intention is to change evil things or to prevent a person from committing a sin. If the intention is not to change evil, then ghibah is not permissible. 3. If you’re asking about a ruling on a point in Islam(Fatwa), then you may say that your brother, father, or wife has done such and such and you would like to know the ruling on that action. However, Islam encourages people to avoid mentioning names. The question can formulated as What is the verdict regarding a person who has done such-and-such? 4. If your intention is to warn people about the wrongdoing of a person. For example, it is permissible to warn people about a merchant who cheat people by selling them defective products. It is also permissible to reveal the faults of a person to someone who is asking you to evaluate that person whom the former is thinking of marrying. A legitimate evidence for is when Fatimah bint Qays when the prophet (PBUH) and asked him about two men who had proposed to her. He said As for Mu`awiyah, he is a poor man with no money, and as for Abu Jahm, his stick never leaves his shoulder. [Bukhari, Muslim, Malik]. It is permissible to perform ghibah if a person commits sins in front of people and does not have any qualms about his sins. However, It is prohibited to mention any of his secret sins. There can be no backbiting of one who casts off the mantle of modesty. 5 [Suyuti, Al-Jami` As-Saghir, 2/519, from Bayhaqi. ] Expiation A backbiter violates two infringements in Islam. One is the limits of Allah which must expiated by sincere regret and seeking forgiveness from Allah. A number of fatwas say that the backbiter must praise the person whom he backbit in his absence. The second infringement is in regards to people’s rights. The sin can only be expiated if person affected by ghibah forgives and pardons the backbiter. The messenger (PBUH) said that â€Å"Whoever has wronged his brother with regard to his honour or something, let him ask him for forgiveness before the time when there will be neither dinar nor dirham, and if he has any good deeds it will be taken from him in proportion to the wrong he did, and if he does not have any hasanat (good deeds), some of the other persons sayyiat (evil deeds) will be taken and given to him to bear. †

Final Strategy Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Final Strategy Plan - Essay Example A company pursues differentiation and low-cost under this strategy. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also known as Walmart since 2008, is a US based multinational retail corporation operating a chain of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. According to Forbes Global 2000, it is the 18th largest corporation of the world and the largest corporation by revenue. The major control of the company is in the hands of the Walton family owing 48% stake in the company (Worstall, 2011). Walmart holds a dominant position in the brick-mortar based retail stores. However, realizing the importance and expansion of online selling, Walmart began its online store back in 2000. Initially, it was assumed that being the retail giant it is, it would soon become an online retail giant as well. Walmart could not be as successful in online selling as it has been with its offline stores. According to company analysts, they thought that the online consumer base is particularly different from the conventio nal Walmart shoppers. Hence, the company needed a new strategy where it could create a differential advantage while keeping the costs at a minimum. 6 Paths Framework Industry – Most companies operate under the assumption that they are in a particular industry having its own norms and ways, which limits their expansion. Walmart belongs to the retail store business; the company sells products belonging to various categories. Walmart online can look itself as being in the business of selling all kinds of products online. It needs to look at itself as an online business having a strong brick-and-mortar business for support. Look across strategic group – Walmart online needs to compete not only with giant online retailers such as Ebay, Amazon.com, it also needs to compete with other smaller online retailers selling specific products. Walmart online needs to become the best online retailer in every category of product. Look across complementary services and offering – A seller needs to take into account the things needed to finish the purchase. For example, while buying online, a consumer would need a credit or a debit card to make the purchase. Walmart can form alliances with banks providing specific services and offers to its customers so that they can take advantage while using Walmart online. They also need to have better delivery and reduce shipment times. Look across functional/Emotional Appeal to buyers – Walmart online needs to create a connect with its offline customers and persuade them to shop online while bringing in new customers as well. Look across time – Walmart online should be able to foresee trends and proactively design strategies. In this regard, a major emerging trend would be online shopping. More and more consumers are shifting from offline to online shopping. Hence, Walmart needs to strengthen its online business to retain its existing customers and cater to new ones (Berg, 2011). Becoming an i-business Wal mart has struggled as an online retailer and although, initially it did not matter but in a time when low income households are moving towards ecommerce, Walmart needs to strengthen Walmart online. The biggest differential edge that Walmart had was that it had the lowest price on broadest assortment of goods. They need to transform this advantage online. The steps they can take in this regard: Home delivery of fresh groceries Integration of social media and mobile apps along with

2013 Fashion Promotion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

2013 Fashion Promotion - Essay Example The essay "Fashion Promotion" talks about the promotion in fashion. The brand, Release, has every intention to rival well positioned brands in the fashion industry such as ZARA, HM and TopShop. Obviously, this is not a mean challenge as these are well established brands which have largely cut a niche in the fashion market. At the moment, a brand such as ZARA is the biggest fashion retailer in the world, eating into its UK market share will require meticulous planning and exquisite brand positioning. One that puts into consideration the cultural diversity, demographics, and the choices and priorities of the brands focus group. Release has made a deliberate effort to define its customers not on basis of products but on class, with the focus group being the high end clientele who are often in the middle or upper middle bracket. The idea is to provide everything this class of customers requires in terms of fashion under one roof, availing them a chance to shop for the entire family with complete ease. The premium fashion brands segment has arguably witnessed the greatest changes in the consumer market. The segment also faces aggressive competition from the higher-priced luxury and prestige brands and the lower priced mass fashion brands. High end consumers desire innovative and inspiring luxury products to enable them to feel dynamic and alive. They view high-end products as not necessarily the most expensive or the most lavish products, but the best that suits each individual and their outlook of life.

Marks by Linda Pastan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marks by Linda Pastan - Assignment Example The speaker’s days and nights are all devoted to her family and she passes her life in getting different kinds of marks for all her doings by her family. She seems like an average housewife whose duty is to take care of all her family members. It seems that she has no personality of her own but only that, which is assigned to her by her family. She talks about her family as to what they think about her. The dramatic situation in the poem is categorizing of the woman according to educational marking schemes by her family members who are not mature at their own places. The central metaphor in the poem is the marking of the women according to different criteria of the family members. The poem is given the title ‘Marks’ and the poem talks about educational marks all over. The poem’s theme is about the life of a housewife who has to do her duties in order to get more marks by her family members.

The Port Authority Trans Hudson (P.A.T.H.) Term Paper

The Port Authority Trans Hudson (P.A.T.H.) - Term Paper Example By the close of the 2011 fiscal year, the ridership had risen to over 250, 000 (Carleton 4) There are a number of rail services in the country, which exists independently, in New Jersey, Manhattan, and Hoboken, the PATH uses underground rail networks, this allows for convenience and reduces the chances of accidents as the train rapid train services travels at speed exceeding 200kilometer per hour. As the rail system approaches the New York city, its rail system crosses or runs adjacent to other independently existing rail service providers such as the New York city subway. Despite the closeness of the rails or the crossing patterns of the rail system, PATH uses only its rail system without overlapping or running on other company’s system. Currently the PATH has grown and increased its infrastructure to sustain the current statistics of ridership and intercity connections. This is a reflection of effective management and infrastructural transformations successfully implemented by the port authority during its take over in the 19590s. PATH originally known as Hudson and Manhattan Railroad dates back to before the first New York subway the railroad was first planned in 1874. In the plan, the railroad was to connect New York and New Jerseys while passing through such adjacent neighborhoods as Hudson. The construction could not take effect as the available infrastructure could not effectively tunnel the railroad below the Hudson River. The construction began in 1890 but stopped again in 1900 as the company ran out of funds. When the company through the help of a young Tennessee lawyer, William Gibbs McAdoo secured the funding in 1992, the construction resumed but the company had to change tact as McAdoo became the chief executive officer of the rail system. He called for the application of better technology in the construction of the underground tunnels; the constructor therefore employed the use of tubular cast iron plating. Te tubular cast iron had higher t ensile force and could therefore resist more tension than the compact wrought iron that the company had previously used. The construction of underground rail required a lot of precaution, at some places the ground was soft and readily gave way burying the workers. The company had to take act cautiously while employing the best technology that could safeguard the million plus travelers who would eventually use the system. The rail system was guided by the need to secure the safety of both the passengers and the rest of the society. The company therefore needed to minimize incidents of accidents; this informed the idea of either underground or over ground networks. In the neighborhoods of Grove Street in Jersey City all the way to Newark, the rail system runs at ground level and in raised trucks (Davies 166). The choice of what type of rail to use at the different places was informed by the complexity of the area’s planning. The Groove street was already populated by the time t he rail network was laid, it thus become impossible to displace the people and destroy the buildings, furthermore, the ground is a wetland which proved cumbersome to navigate and install the underground tunnels. The first train journey took place in 1907 between Hoboken and the 19th street. The management at the time lived through some

Misleading American History Textbooks Research Paper

Misleading American History Textbooks - Research Paper Example On January 2012, the states of Arizona and Alabama banned ethnic studies and over 100 books including Rethinking Columbus and Shakespeare. Biased, political and emotionally charged scenarios were the reasons behind the banning of ethnic studies. This is because the government wants its citizens to believe in what they have propagated and not the actual truth. This is the reason why misleading textbooks continue to grace the curriculum requirements in the United States. According to Yoshino, a study to investigate the relationship between self concept and achievement revealed that students’ math related self concept was positively associated with their achievement. This was the case in two countries Japan and the United States, however, even though students in Japan showcased higher achievement, they were found to have lower math self-concept than American students. This is because of the different cultures that students in the two countries embrace. Despite the fact that other influential factors existed such as the parent’s education and the amount of books that exist in the student’s households, it was found that self concept was positively connected to achievement (119-219). Therefore, the various books that are prescribed to be used in the American curriculum are not really helpful for the American students. In-depth interviews with 42 US Korean high school students brought to light the fact that these students are diversified in the subject of ethnicity. In addition to this, the lack of research on Asian American historical perspectives and inattention to global migration patterns by the American history textbooks. These are key factors to students understanding of history yet they are overlooked. For the American curriculum to bring out the full potential that American students have, they should inculcate all these aspects to the History books that are used (Sohyun, 763). Whatever is contained in the books in use at the moment is all doctored to suit what the American government wants its citizens to know. One Newsweek’s magazine article, How to get Smart again by Ferguson Niall, brings out one interesting fact in that 38 percent of a representative sample of Americans failed the test that immigrants applying for US citizenships are required to take. This is simply a representation of the state that most Americans exist. Most of them do not know much about the history of the country that they call theirs (Ferguson, 1). The contents of various declarations, authors of important papers and the existing presidents at some of the most significant events are haphazardly known. At the same time, only one in four Americans know what the Cold War was all about. This is despite the fact that there are various voluminous History textbooks that students are required to read and most colleges require students to take at least one history course. In addition to this, there is an entire cable television network, the Hi story Channel while some cities have historical museums (Ferguson, 1).The big question is why most Americans know very little

Equinox Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Equinox Company - Essay Example This implies that a firm must be accountable for the negative effects of its operations on its stakeholders. A reporting entity is an organization that collects analyses and gives a report pertaining to the financial information. Equinox Company is a corporation dealing with stipulation of credit ratings for various companies for the purpose of financial analysis and assessment. It was started in the year 1899, and it has served over four hundred companies. It is situated in Atlanta in Georgia. This company has played a major role in the corporate world by securing jobs for more than seven thousand employees. This company is committed to safeguarding the environment from pollution from its own economic activities. This company is known to incorporate its stockholders in decision making process. This gives the community a chance to give credible contribution with regard to the company’s social responsibility. Activities of Equinox Company Ltd The activities of this company are many given its competitive advantage as a reporting entity. The entity provides credit reports to customers on demand. This enables various consumers to access financial aid by use of their financial credit status. Moreover, this serves a sales and marketing technique because a financially stable enterprise is considered favorable. It also carries out investigations on errand companies on request by state agencies and criminal investigation agencies. They give assurance to potential investors of some companies with an aim of encouraging investment in these entities. Provision of credit ratings of companies that are subject to syndicates in order to obtain concrete facts with regard to the liability of these companies. It contributes in the market liberalization as it reveals to the public some crucial information with regard to the credit worthiness of many companies hence enabling consumers to make informed decisions. It also performs audit for companies on ad hoc basis. This gives the stakeholders of the companies concerned an assurance of the safety of their resources. Equinox Company also provides reports to Insurance companies on demand. This helps the insurance companies to make informed decisions before accepting to cover risks of its prospective clients. It also sells credit reports in its possession to many industries of diverse types of businesses. It also sells sophisticated software for effective and efficient credit rating of a client. This entity provides population data to the demographic department. This enhances quick financial decision making with regard to the available resources. It provides non-financial data to its clients. This enables it to have a wide customer base hence high level of annual revenue. Furthermore, the company provides theft and fraud prevention products which help in keeping the levels of criminal activities in the business enterprises. Equinox Company corporate Social Responsibility It provides all the people with a si ngle free credit file which helps in the personal financial analysis and assessment. This sparks investments in various projects because a high portion of the population is aware of their financial abilities. The firm practices strategic corporate social responsibility which enables it to identify specific social concerns to be solved. The management of the company always incorporates the input of all stakeholders in decision making. This provides an opportunity to the members of the society to give substantial feedback with regard to corporate social responsibility. Investors have cited the corporate social responsiveness of the company as the major competitive advantage. This initiative has been hailed as a source of motivation and sense of belonging

THE_MANAGEMENT_OF_LEAN_AND_AGILE_ORGANISATIONS_2008_6ME015 Assignment

THE_MANAGEMENT_OF_LEAN_AND_AGILE_ORGANISATIONS_2008_6ME015 - Assignment Example In this context, the present paper discusses the various features of lean production system and its related literature. The paper takes a descriptive approach where in the present lean manufacturing system is discussed in detail. Also an effort is made to compare the lean and mass manufacturing system. Mass manufacturing and distribution were considered ideal business strategies in the past. In those days, business organisations produced large amount of products with standard quality fixed by them. The products in large quantity were also supplied through the mass distribution system. These strategies were found practical and economical in times when production oriented business operations and economies of scale is the barometer of business success. However, these seem to be inefficient and unsuccessful in the modern business environment where products are being produced and distributed keeping in view the interests of ultimate customers. In the modern philosophy of marketing management and the era of customer relationship management (CRM), business operations are carried out more in conformity to the needs and tastes of customers than the economics of business operations. The main argument brought about by the advocates of lean manufacturing system is that mass production results in huge wastage of resources, mainly material and equipments and it needs huge investment in inventory, which is Mass manufacturing and distribution were considered ideal business strategies in the past. In those days, business organisations produced large amount of products with standard quality fixed by them. The products in large quantity were also supplied through the mass distribution system. These strategies were found practical and economical in times when production oriented business operations and economies of scale is the barometer of business success. However, these seem to be inefficient and unsuccessful in the modern business environment

Impotance of Discipline Essay Example for Free

Impotance of Discipline Essay Discipline is the basis of the whole universe. The Earth, the Sun, the Moon and other plane s, all are governed by a set of laws to maintain perfect harmony and beauty. There will be chaos without this order. Similarly, discipline is one of the basic requirements of a civilized life. Every society has to set certain norms for its people to maintain peace and order. The strength of a nation lies in discipline. It helps to make progress, fight external invasion and maintain national unity. Citizens of a disciplined nation work in a spirit of cooperation and utility. History tells us that whenever a country is torsi by internal strife, its morale drops and opportunist neighbour often takes advantage of the situation. However, discipline does not mean negation of personal liberty. It means a self- imposed discipline. In a democratic country like India, if people object to a certain law, then they can mobilize public opinion and force the Government to withdraw it. But it is possible only if they do not take the law in their own hands. They must act with restrain and organize peaceful agitation; otherwise there is every possibility of violence and threat to public and national property. The importance of discipline in educational institutions is well-recognized. Unfortunately, we notice that discipline in our schools and colleges has considerably declined, Students are disrespectful to their teachers; they misbehave in the classrooms organize strikes; take the law into their hands. This is certainly an alarming trend. Undoubtedly, it is discontentment that leads to breakdown of law and order. The urgent need of the hour is to make an in-depth study of the education system whether it is still relevant to our needs and growing population. In order to improve the atmosphere in the educational institutions the government must look into the genuine grievances of the teachers and the students. Over-crowded classrooms, poor teaching, poor salaries of the teachers all contribute to indiscipline and discontentment. The rapid growth in our population has led to more students seeking admission. The number of schools and colleges has not increased proportionately. Besides, to check the students from flocking to colleges, there is a need to vocationally education at the 10+2 stage, offer facilities for industrial and technical training after school to help them become self-reliant. This will also check the rising unemployment. Teaching, being a grossly under played job, does not attract the best and dedicated people. This affects the quality of teaching and makes students feel disillusioned. As a result they become restless and start cutting classes. The government has recently taken certain concrete steps to improve the situation. Discipline is the life -breath of the army. Military discipline imposes upon members of the armed forces a certain code of conduct. It demands of its officer’s loyalty to the country, a spirit of fellowship and a readiness to cope with an emergency. No army can fight successfully without discipline. The importance of discipline in the social and political life of a nation is also very great. An element of apathy and resignation has been the cause of our country still being so backward. We have made so much progress in technology and science, but still as people we have not been able to shake off our backwardness. Indians are known for their warmth and friendliness, yet they are narrow-minded, bigoted and indifferent One has only to go to government offices to see it. Workers shirk their duty, they are indifferent to their responsibilities, spend their office hours in canteen and pay no attention either to the long queues of people waiting or to the rising pile of unattended urgent files. Thus, the work accumulates. Both the public and the government suffer for their negligence. It is only when they will impose self-discipline and perform their duty with dedication that things will improve. People create chaos even in public places by their indiscipline behaviour. They show utter lack of order while boarding buses, trains. Out ¬side cinema halls, they promote malpractices in the form of black-marketing of tickets. Eve-teas ¬ing is another example of irresponsible behav ¬iour on the part of our youth. Today, women don’t feel safe in our cities because of unruly behaviour of goondas. In the political sphere also there is a need for discipline. Personal ambition and petty jealousy are the driving force for the men in power. This is a source of great pain to the people. The ruling party itself is divided by internal politics. It cannot set an example for the nation to follow. This has lowered the image of the ruling party in the eyes of the common man. The government must take immediate steps to improve its image and restore people’s faith in the party. This can be achieved only if each party member follows a certain code of ethics. Discipline is important even in the domestic life. Parents must raise their children in congenial atmosphere and teach them the right values. They should set an example for their children by leading orderly and peaceful lives. It is often seen that children from broken homes become very aggressive and indiscipline. They pose a danger to the society. Children must grow in secure, happy homes to become balanced adults, Perhaps the best service to the country lies in an effort of parents to bring up their children in a disciplined manner. Discipline though difficult is essential for personal growth as well as national prosperity. Absence of it can lead to failure, defeat and backwardness. Today in society, it is very important to learn to live in harmony with fellow human beings in a spirit of co-operation and mutual co-existence. All this is possible only if every individual follows a personal code of ethics and the one laid by the law for the prosperity of the nation and the progress of the society.

Stat Project Essay Example for Free

Stat Project Essay In order to figure out how variables relates to each other and the connections among the variables, or one can predict the other. I will choose three quantitative variables or two quantitative variables and one categorical variable on each pairs. I will also use graphs of scatter plots; regression and correlation to understand that how one variable affect other two variables. There are six groups below: Group one: High School Percentile (HSP), Cumulative GPA (GPA), and ACT Composition Score (COMP) a) HSP vs GPA b) HSP vs COMP c) COMP vs GPA From graph a, we can find out that there is moderate positive liner relationship between HSP and GPA; the correlation is 0. 552; the equation of regression is GPA=0. 0163928*HSP+1. 84804; the slope is 0. 0163928 which is positive; when the predictor variable HSP increase, the response variable GPA also moderately increase; for instance, when HSP increase by 1, GPA will increase 0. 0163928. From graph b, there is also weak positive liner relationship between HSP and COMP scores; the correlation is 0. 357; the equation of regression is COMP=0. 069129*HSP+18. 3131; the slope is 0. 069129 which is positive; when the predictor variable HSP increase, the response variable COMP scores also weakly increase; for example, when HSP increase by 1, the COMP scores will increase 0. 069129. From graph c, there is another weak positive liner relationship between COMP scores and GPA; the correlation is 0. 342; the equation of regression is GPA=0. 0524047*COMP+1. 243; the slope is 0. 0524047 which is positive; when the predictor variable COMP increase, the response variable GPA also weakly increase; for example, COMP scores increase by 1, the GPA will increase 0. 0524047. Based on the graphs and data which I got, I think there are only a little relation among HSP, COMP scores and GPA. I can find out a student with high HSP, has high GPA and high COMP scores; the student with high COMP scores has high GPA. Group Two: ACT math score (MATH), ACT English score (ENGLISH) and Cumulative GPA (GPA) a) MATH vs GPA ) ENGLISH vs GPA c) ENGLISH vs MATH From graph a, we can see that there is weak positive liner relationship between MATH scores and GPA; the correlation is 0. 307; the equation of regression is GPA=0. 0395427*MATH+2. 12892; the slope is 0. 0395427 which is positive; when the predictor variable MATH scores increase, the response variable GPA also weakly increase; for instance, when MATH increase by 1, GPA will increase 0. 0395427. From graph b, there is also weak positive liner relationship between ENGLISH scores and GPA; the correlation is 0. 45; the equation of regression is GPA=0. 0411408*ENGLISH+2. 11295; the slope is 0. 0411408 which is positive; when the predictor variable ENGLISH scores increase, the response variable GPA also weakly increase; for example, when ENGLISH scores increase by 1, the GPA will increase 0. 0411408. From graph c, there is moderate positive liner relationship between ENGLISH scores and MATH scores; the correlation is 0. 475; the equation of regression is MATH=0. 440334*ENGLISH+13. 2567; the slope is 0. 40334 which is positive; when the predictor variable ENGLISH scores increase, the response variable MATH scores also weakly increase; for instance, when ENGLISH scores increase by 1, the MATH scores will increase 0. 440334. According to the graphs and data, I can find out a student who has high English score and Math score also has high GPA and the student with high English score has high Math score. Group Three: Cumulative GPA (GPA), age (AGE) and Total Credits Earned (CREDITS) a) AGE vs GPA b) CREDITS vs GPA c) AGE vs CREDITS From graph a, we can see that there is a weak negative liner relationship between AGE and GPA; the correlation is -0. 103; the equation of regression is GPA=-0. 0240245*AGE+3. 55195; the slope is -0. 0240245 which is negative; when the predictor variable AGE increase, the response variable GPA will weakly decrease; for instance, when AGE increase by 1, GPA will decrease 0. 0240245. From graph b, there is weak positive liner relationship between CREDITS and GPA; the correlation is 0. 106; the equation of regression is GPA=0. 00141886*CREDITS+2. 94831; the slope is 0. 0141886 which is positive; when the predictor variable CREDITS increase, the response variable GPA also weakly increase; for example, when CREDITS increase by 1, the GPA will increase 0. 00141886. From graph c, there is a strong positive liner association between AGE and CREDITS; the correlation is 0. 668; the equation of regression is CREDITS=11. 7475*AGE-174. 356; the slope is 11. 7475 which is positive; when the predic tor variable AGE increase, the response variable CREDITS also strongly increase; for instance, when AGE increase by 1, the CREDITS will increase 11. 7475. There are some outliers may affect the correlation. Based on the graphs and data above, we can find out a student who is older with a litter lower GPA, but has very higher credits; the student with higher credits also has high GPA. Group Four: ACT English Score (ENGLISH), ACT Composition Score (COMP) and Age (AGE) a) AGE vs ENGLISH b) AGE vs COMP c) ENGLISH vs COMP From graph a, we can see that there is a weak negative liner relationship between AGE and English scores; the correlation is -0. 042; the equation of regression is ENGLISH=-0. 0814809*AGE+24. 469; the slope is -0. 814809 which is negative; when the predictor variable AGE increase, the response variable English scores will weakly decrease; for instance, when AGE increase by 1, GPA will decrease 0. 0814809. From graph b, there is weak negative liner relationship between ENGLISH scores and COMP scores; the correlation is-0. 038; the equation of regression is COMP=-0. 0584814*AGE+24. 6029; the slope is -0. 0584814 which is neg ative; when the predictor variable CREDITS increase, the response variable GPA also weakly increase; for example, when AGE increase by 1, the COMP scores will decrease 0. 0584814. From graph c, there is a strong positive liner association between ENGLISH scores and COMP scores; the correlation is 0. 843; the equation of regression is COMP=0. 65656*ENGLISH+8. 43327; the slope is 0. 65656 which is positive; when the predictor variable ENGLISH scores increase, the response variable COMP scores also strongly increase; for instance, when ENGLISH scores increase by 1, the COMP scores will increase 0. 65656. According to the graphs and data above, we can find out a student who is older with a litter lower English and Comp scores; the student with higher English score has very high Comp score. Group Five: Quantitative variables High School Percentile (HSP), Age (AGE) and a categorical variable Sex (SEX) a) HSP vs GPA (both sex) b) HSP vs GPA (males) c) HSP vs GPA (females) From graph a, we can see that there is a moderate positive liner relationship between HSP and GPA; the correlation is 0. 552; the equation of regression is GPA=0. 0163928*HSP+1. 8408; the slope is 0. 0163928 which is positive; when the predictor variable HSP increase, the response variable GPA will moderate increase.

Combines Michael Porters Generic Competitive Strategies Marketing Essay

Combines Michael Porters Generic Competitive Strategies Marketing Essay IKEA achieves competitive advantage under the cost leadership strategy by producing at the lowest possible cost. Wherever possible, under this strategy IKEA will reduce costs at every stage of the value chain and either charge lower prices or charge competitive prices resulting in relatively high profit margins. IKEA cuts costs constantly and is always asking its makers to seek the least costly suppliers. IKEA also, seeks to offer prices much cheaper and target very wider audience. Therefore, to be able to achieve required margins. Differentiation Strategy: In the differentiation strategy, IKEA look for competitive advantage by offering products that are perceived to be different and better than competitors products by customers due to its unique characteristics, e.g. quality of the products. Focus Strategy: The focus strategy has two variants i.e. Cost Focus and Differentiation Focus. This is where IKEA focuses on a narrow segment of the market. This is where IKEA focuses on a narrow segment of the market and applies a Differentiation strategy. IKEAs Hybrid Strategy: IKEA uses a combination of these strategies in achieving its vision which is Its business idea The part of the cost leadership strategy that IKEA adopts is that part aimed at producing at the lowest possible cost, so they can charge as low a price as possible to maintain their competitive advantage. For the differentiation strategy, IKEA focuses on quality designs. However, the IKEA does not do this, so they could charge a premium price. They do it to promote their brand. The differentiation focus strategy is also used in some segments of the market. For example, they produce customized plastic mats to commemorate the year of the rooster in China. Functional level strategy defines different functions within the business unit, such as sales, accounting or production, which contribute towards the success of the business level strategy. This contribution will differ from function to function, but the overall aim will be to support the overall strategy. If the strategy is to be a cost leader, then production will be integral in achieving cost advantages. Therefore, Functional strategy refers to the strategy of individual departments linked to achievement of business goals. For example, a Marketing department of a firm may have promotional or pricing strategy, while a finance department will have a credit control policy. Similarly, IKEA has functional strategies aimed at achieving its vision and business ideas. For example, under the Marketing function, IKEA increased its distribution channels by opening 19 new retail outlets in 2006. This is to support its business growth strategy. In the US, by the end of 2010 the number of IKEA outlets is expected to be 50, in comparison to 25 in 2006. To support its hybrid strategy, IKEA is determined to ensure that This policy applies to the research and development and well as the purchasing functions of the company. The customer perception of IKEA is that the company offers quality products at affordable prices. Going shopping at IKEAs is treated more like an event to be looked forward to by the customers, rather than a task which needs to be completed. The following quotes demonstrate how IKEA is seen by many people: If it wasnt for IKEA, most people would have no access to affordable contemporary design. IKEA makes me free to become what I want to be. Half my house is from IKEA and the nearest store is six hours away. Every time, its trendy for less money. IKEA is addressing the needs of most customers. Customers buying behaviour usually demonstrate price sensitivity, with the average shopper constantly looking for bargains or discounts. On the other hand, these same customers would look for a higher quality product over what they perceive a lower quality product where both cost the same almost always. IKEA is perceived as providing to the needs of the modern and cool as well as those with aspirations for the finer things in life. There appears to be a strong bond as parents are generally comfortable leaving their children in the shops playroom while they go about shopping, which create a trust. As it mentioned above, the IKEA strategy is a hybrid strategy, which incorporates elements of cost leadership, differentiation and differentiation focus strategies. IKEA brand is very strong, most competitors do not possess the strengths that IKEA does and, which are important in achieving a hybrid strategy. Consequently, IKEA is able to attract good quality of customers and even better is able to duplicate its quality and price ranges globally. It also has economies of scale and a strong research and development team constantly looking at innovative ways to meet its business objectives. Therefore, for the strategy to be imitated, the distinctive competencies of competitors must be strong, they must have the resource to deal with any potential price wars, and they must also have the capabilities to react to changing external environment. The main threats of IKEA come from its external environment. IKEAs threats can be measured with PESTEL, Porters Five Forces and SWOT analysis. Political, relates to the influence of government legislation and regulations on a business. Economic, how economic factors like interest rates, inflation and exchange rates affect businesses Social, refers to social trends and includes things like change in consumer taste and fashion and demographical changes Technological, level of automation and the rate of technological advancement and the impact on businesses Environmental, relates to how businesses are impacted by environmental factors such as global climate change Legal, health and safety laws Porters five forces, is a tool used to analyse how competitive pressure impact on businesses, i.e. the extent of competitive rivalry, barriers to entry, buyer power, supplier power and the availability of substitutes. SWOT, summarises the key issues from the business environment and the strategy capability of an organisation that most likely to impact on the strategy development. In IKEAs case, the main potential threats come from three of these factors, i.e. Economic, Social and Competition. In terms of economic factors, the global recession has significantly reduced business growth as customers have less disposable income and are consequently spending less. With limited income, consumers prefer to spend only on necessities mainly, and saving. Many governments affected by the recession have been putting stimulus packages in place partly to encourage consumer spending. As far as the social threat is concerned, due to a collapse of the housing and mortgage market which started the downward spiral into global recession, the amount of first time buyers, who are mainly IKEA customers, has considerably reduced. From a competitive point of view, there is the threat the extent of competitive rivalry will put at risk IKEAs strategy. For instance, it has to compete with major competitors Target Corporation and Kmart in US, Fly in France and Nitori Co. in Japan. Furthermore, increasingly buyer power will increase as competition increases demanding review of price or even design. This could potentially hurt the IKEA brand. IKEA must constantly analyse its internal and external environment to determine what the business is at for any given point in time and to identify what needs to be done going forward. For the internal analysis, IKEA must analyse its resources and capabilities with a view of making improvements as appropriate. They must always seek to ensure that their resources and capabilities are superior to those of their competitors to reduce the threat of imitation, which would eliminate their competitive advantage. In terms of the resources, they could look at the following with a view of identifying strengths and weaknesses: Finance what is the state of the business in terms of profit and loss, cash flow and the balance sheet position? Marketing they must continue to revaluate their marketing strategy. for example: Are the products priced adequately? Is the roll out of new stores meeting growth targets? Promotion how successful have the gift initiatives activities been? Product how environmentally friendly and are they to meet with any challenges? Operations IKEA could review the strengths and weaknesses of their machines, method of operations and materials used to produce furniture. Management as the founder is an old man now, this is a significant area that needs looking at. Is the management in place currently skilled enough to achieve objectives? Staff assess their motivation, their training needs and contribution to the success of the company, for example. An external audit should then be performed by analysing PESTEL SWOT is to determine the opportunities and threats facing IKEA from the external environment. Subsequently, IKEA should then be in a position to determine how it can use its key strengths, minimize weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities and triumph over threats to achieve a competitive advantage through its hybrid strategy. The greatest challenges facing IKEA can be outlined below: Entry into new markets and segments in US and Japan Environmental challenges Culture and Values As we know, IKEA over the last few years expanding in Japan and US markets. These are two countries where it has recorded failure in the past. For instance, in the US, according to them they did not listen to the needs of the customers and employed a hybrid strategy. With time, they realized that the Americans needed larger sized products which they subsequently corrected. In Japan, they miscalculated thinking the Japanese were interested in low price products when their interest was in quality. It would be interesting to see how they fare in the next 10 years for these reasons, especially with the high level of competition from Target Corp. and Nitori Co. IKEA is committed to meet environmental challenges. Another big challenge is internal in nature. The owner and founder Ingvar Kamprad instilled a lot of the values that is currently being pursued today. A lot of the top brass are committed to his philosophies. With the passage of time however, the culture of IKEA which has delivered such great success will decrease. In the next 10 years, it is important that whoever is driving the business operates in line with its core values, as the brand is one of its discriminating strengths. This brand was built on the back of the core values and business idea. Any threat to that may mean a threat to the entire business as a whole.

absolute justice Essay -- essays research papers

Does absolute justice exist or not? This essay will present arguments for the existence of absolute justice. Many people disagree that absolute justice exists. Thus they argue that justice cannot be derived from nature since contradictory and different forms of justice exist in nature; and one cannot derive the greater and perfect from the lesser and imperfect, also they argue that the idea of absolute justice is the ideas of different cultures and times. That is why the idea of justice varies greatly from one culture to the next. The argument used to disprove the above statements will stem from the relationship of order to justice. The next paragraphs will present the arguments above. Culture and philosophy have always gone hand in hand. A person who lived in the Middle Ages thought it to be perfectly just to cut off the hand of a thief. In â€Å"modern times† we consider ourselves more â€Å"civilized†, and put people in jail or fine them for stealing. As time and culture changed, so does philosophy. Thus any person of sense will see that justice cannot be absolute since it changed with the times. Each culture has developed a different idea of perfect justices to meet their own individual needs. Since more then one form of absolute or perfect justice cannot exist, thus absolute justice does not exist. Rather for each individual society justice is like beauty that it is in the eye of the beholder. Here presented the other case against absolute justice. Their arguments made that absol...

The Health Care Crisis :: American Health Insurance Essays

It is hard to imagine life without health insurance. If you have any type of medical problem that requires attention, and you have appropriate health care insurance, you can be cared for in the finest of private hospitals. You can get great treatment and your ailments, depending on the severity, can be treated as soon as possible. Doctors, physicians and surgeons are willing to put out a big effort if they know that they are dealing with patients who are insured and have the money to go under extensive medical treatment. But imagine life without such luxuries. For example, what happens if a relative requires much needed surgery, but does not have health insurance to cover the procedure? What happens if a lack of medical insurance prevents you or your family from seeing a doctor, which could result in health problems that had not been identified but could have been treated before they became life threatening? These scenarios may seem far-fetched, but these types of s ituations happen to people who lack health coverage everyday. There is a true story about a patient who was insured and diagnosed with treatable cervical cancer. Unfortunately, she lost her job and with it her insurance. She was then unable to see her private doctor, and was turned away from other hospitals because ?cancer treatment is not considered an emergency in a patient who can?t pay? (?Help for D.C.?s Uninsured?). The woman later died at her home without ever being treated. This example raises the question, since when are people with less money less deserving of health care or appropriate treatment? The District of Columbia fares terribly when it comes to health care. Avram Goldstein is a journalist from the Washington Post who has written numerous articles on the health care situation in D.C. Goldstein has worked for the Post for nine years but has been covering health care for numerous years as an investigative reporter and as an editor in many newspapers. As an expert on the issue of health care, he states in one of his articles, ?If you live in the District without health insurance or a regular doctor and you get sick, city officials and health administrations have an important message for you.

Wrestling - The Greatest Sport :: essays research papers

Wrestling - The Greatest Sport My heart beats faster as I approach my opponent. My enemy stands as a colossus although I know in my mind he is my only equal. The crowd grows louder as we step on our lines, and the only thought echoing through my mind is "shoot for the leg!". These are the happenings before every match, and yet I still return. Wrestling, in my mind is one of the greatest sports. The idea of a battle between two equal men, both striving for the same goal is something I live for. Different people wrestle for different reasons, but what I wrestle for is the exhilaration, and the principals behind the sport of which I take so seriously. Wrestling, fortunately; is not just two sweaty men rolling on the mat. It is rather, a fight. A fight in which each combatant must push their-self to the final limits of total exertion. This great fight, although very tiring, gives you the greatest feeling after you defeat your opponent. For this feeling, and this feeling only is why I wrestle. This hard to explain feeling is like a rush of adrenaline that makes you want to kick the crap out of Mike Tyson. It is one of the greatest natural rushes one could possibly imagine, short of sticking a needle in ones own arm. The ideas behind wrestling are more then the thick headed thoughts of- "Throw em to the ground and put all your weight on em!"- but rather, use each move with precision, not force. When a move is executed, there are at least ten counter moves for it. Therefore; one must wrestle with his mind - backing each attack with the plan for another one. This form of two or even three-way thinking, is crucial to the success of a struggling player. To be a good wrestler, one must also be able to change from offense to defense in a matter of milliseconds. Countless times before, I have seen players who would stay offensive all the way until they were pinned. A simple arm motion could change the fate of the match, and one must be prepared for that

Advance Strategic Planning

Advanced Strategic Planning was written by Aubrey Malphurs and was first published in 1999 with the over-all purpose of providing the church and its leadership a good strategic planning process that will help it them move from a stage of stagnant growth to a period of change and revitalization.   The book offers a nine-step strategic thinking and acting models and diagrams that help illustrate concepts.   The updated edition of the book has put emphasis on disciple making.Malphurs, who has authored many books on church leadership and strategy, is a professor of Pastoral Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary. He specializes in teaching pastors how to think strategically and move their congregation to growth and accomplishment of goals.He is also the president of the Malphurs Group, a consulting organization which provides training and consultation services for churches that sees the need for help in the area of church growth.Malphurs started the book by stating that almost all institutions today, such as churches, go through a sigmoid or S-curve pattern of growth or life cycle, in which a church begins and experiences rapid growth in all areas, achieves a point a comfort zone of routines and programs, and later on declines and eventually dies.Malphurs, in his book, perceives the S-curve life cycle pattern as a problem besetting most churches by stating that:â€Å"The message or lesson of the sigmoid curve is that all good things (and even some bad things) end†¦ Even brand-new institutions and organizations such as a church will, in time, plateau and then die. No matter what institution it is, organizational â€Å"dry rot† sets in.   The institution becomes brittle, ceases to function, and expires† (Malphurs 2005, 11).Given the abovementioned problem Malphurs argues that as soon as the church feels that it now reached the point of staggering growth and plateau, it should in a way re-invent itself through careful planning and adoption of new set of core values (whenever necessary) in order to propel it back to a period of significant growth.This will mean reviewing and restructuring the various aspects of church life such as its core values, personnel, congregation, prevailing culture, finances, community where it is interacting, among others, through a strategic planning process.A handful of suggestions on how to carry out the conduct of this strategic planning was provided lengthily and was discussed in an almost detailed manner by Malphurs.StrengthsDrawing from a wealth of experience as a pastor, professor and consultant, Malphurs have provided significant and doable ways of carrying out the strategic revitalization process.   Perhaps using his personal experience of leading a church, he was able to address a lot of pitfalls and traps that a pastor and church leader should avoid in strategic planning.His experience and love for the ministry and church transcends all throughout the book, making a pastor or a leader, whose church is going through a period of plateau in terms of growth, reading the book feel that the book was written specifically for him and his flock.   Malphurs has a heart for the local church.   The strategic planning is simply his response to the problem that he perceives. [1]It was also made clear in the book that the pastor or church leaders can’t do the process and implement changes alone, every member of the congregation must be informed properly for them to be involved in all facets of the process.   The need to effectively communicate the vision was emphasized and strongly recommended. Malphurs writes:If you conduct secret meetings and fail to communicate in general what happens in those meetings, you will not be able to lead the congregation because they will no trust you (63).An unwavering support on the ongoing strategic planning process will only come from a church member who clearly understands the what and why’s of his/her churchâ€℠¢s call for a strategic planning.Although the book is in fact a â€Å"how-to† sort of manual, Malphurs succeeded in finding a biblical basis for the conduct of the strategic planning.   This makes the book grounded on the godly and biblical principles of leadership.An obvious strength of the book is the manner it challenged church pastors and leaders to think critically regarding its mission, vision, values, and congregational structure. Provoking questions are injected throughout the book to guide its readers in propelling the church in a certain direction that will eventually lead to the realization of their mission and vision.Malphurs is very strong in recommending the necessity of adopting a mission and vision statements in churches. To further guide his readers, Malphurs also made a clear distinction between values, missions, and functions.Armed with the understanding that churches will definitely look different in varying contexts, he stresses the value of injecting p rofessionalism and excellence in all ministry undertakings which is and should be a characteristic of any church desiring to grow.David Murrow also sees this need when he wrote, â€Å"Men appreciate excellence†¦Excellent doesn’t mean slick, canned or superficial. It simply means everything done well (Col. 3:23).†[2]Malphurs also tediously provided helpful tools and sample evaluation forms that will help a church start the strategic planning process.   He make sure that churches who will decide to embark in the strategic planning process already have the tools, which can be modified if they opt to, to keep the process going and evaluated.WeaknessesAlthough well-written, the book still has some few unhelpful aspects and needs thoughtful consideration from a critical reader.Malphurs have excellently provided a book for strategic thinking pastors but have missed out those who are implementers and dreamers in nature, reality will tell us that there are pastors who se e that their calling evolves on activities such as teaching, preaching, evangelism, visitation, etc.Strategic planning is not an exciting and needed activity for pastors and leaders who fall under these characteristics, for them church growth and dynamism depends on going out and reaching the unreached.Another important concern that Malphurs alluded is the average period of time it will take for the whole process of defining the church’s mission, discovering their values, catching the vision, and actually coming up with a plan will be done.He noted that it could take five (5) years just to get everybody on board. Unfortunately, nowadays,   a pastoral longevity in a certain church is only 3 to 4 years.   George Barna stated: â€Å"The average tenure of a pastor in Protestant churches has declined to just 4 years—even though studies consistently show that pastors experience their most productive and influential ministry in years 5 through 14 of their pastorate.† [3]The book also failed in considering the value of preaching the Word of God, reaching out the lost, and healthy fellowship among members of the congregation, in spurring growth in the church.The â€Å"Readiness for Change† inventory contains factors necessary for organizational change, but it is interesting to note that Malphurs have missed to include prayer. For any change to take place in a church, the leaders and members of the church should devote time in praying.ConclusionOverall much is to be commended in Malphurs’ book. It is a very practical book.   The strengths of the book outweigh the weaknesses.   The weaknesses stated should not detract a one from reading the book.Although there are some suggestions made by Malphurs that in one way or another is not supported biblically, such as not putting older men and women in the leadership as opposed to the scripture’s advice to have the older men and women teaching the younger ones, the book still off ers sound and helpful principles of strategically leading and managing a church.The objectives set by Malphurs in writing the book are achieved, he perceived a problem, and he has provided in great detail a solution to the problem. He has skillfully presented a sys aforementioned, his wealth of experience have made every argument he presented convincing and worth trying for.The book is a valuable reading and tool for young, soon-to-be pastors, pastors, elders, church staff members, and lay leaders, or for anyone who is in one way or another involved in church leadership.However, a word of caution, one should be very careful in accepting that the book is the cure-all answer to the problems besetting the churches today.   It is a guide, a good and helpful guide, but it doesn’t contain all the answers to church issues and problems.   Pastors and leaders of the church should still bear in mind what is stated Proverbs 16:9 says â€Å"The mind of man plans his way; But the LOR D directs his steps.†Ã‚   The Lord is still the sovereign one, if it is His Will it will definitely happen. [1]. Owen Strachan,   Reviews: Advanced Strategic Planning by Aubrey Malphurs, (9Marks Reviews , 2008) [article available online], www.alliance.net, date accessed July 21, 2009 [2]. David Murrow, How Women Help Men Find God, (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2008) [3].   George Barna, The Second Coming of the Church, (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1998), 5. Advance Strategic Planning Advanced Strategic Planning was written by Aubrey Malphurs and was first published in 1999 with the over-all purpose of providing the church and its leadership a good strategic planning process that will help it them move from a stage of stagnant growth to a period of change and revitalization.   The book offers a nine-step strategic thinking and acting models and diagrams that help illustrate concepts.   The updated edition of the book has put emphasis on disciple making.Malphurs, who has authored many books on church leadership and strategy, is a professor of Pastoral Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary. He specializes in teaching pastors how to think strategically and move their congregation to growth and accomplishment of goals.He is also the president of the Malphurs Group, a consulting organization which provides training and consultation services for churches that sees the need for help in the area of church growth.Malphurs started the book by stating that almost all institutions today, such as churches, go through a sigmoid or S-curve pattern of growth or life cycle, in which a church begins and experiences rapid growth in all areas, achieves a point a comfort zone of routines and programs, and later on declines and eventually dies.Malphurs, in his book, perceives the S-curve life cycle pattern as a problem besetting most churches by stating that:â€Å"The message or lesson of the sigmoid curve is that all good things (and even some bad things) end†¦ Even brand-new institutions and organizations such as a church will, in time, plateau and then die. No matter what institution it is, organizational â€Å"dry rot† sets in.   The institution becomes brittle, ceases to function, and expires† (Malphurs 2005, 11).Given the abovementioned problem Malphurs argues that as soon as the church feels that it now reached the point of staggering growth and plateau, it should in a way re-invent itself through careful planning and adoption of new set of core values (whenever necessary) in order to propel it back to a period of significant growth.This will mean reviewing and restructuring the various aspects of church life such as its core values, personnel, congregation, prevailing culture, finances, community where it is interacting, among others, through a strategic planning process.A handful of suggestions on how to carry out the conduct of this strategic planning was provided lengthily and was discussed in an almost detailed manner by Malphurs.StrengthsDrawing from a wealth of experience as a pastor, professor and consultant, Malphurs have provided significant and doable ways of carrying out the strategic revitalization process.   Perhaps using his personal experience of leading a church, he was able to address a lot of pitfalls and traps that a pastor and church leader should avoid in strategic planning.His experience and love for the ministry and church transcends all throughout the book, making a pastor or a leader, whose church is going through a period of plateau in terms of growth, reading the book feel that the book was written specifically for him and his flock.   Malphurs has a heart for the local church.   The strategic planning is simply his response to the problem that he perceives. [1]It was also made clear in the book that the pastor or church leaders can’t do the process and implement changes alone, every member of the congregation must be informed properly for them to be involved in all facets of the process.   The need to effectively communicate the vision was emphasized and strongly recommended. Malphurs writes:If you conduct secret meetings and fail to communicate in general what happens in those meetings, you will not be able to lead the congregation because they will no trust you (63).An unwavering support on the ongoing strategic planning process will only come from a church member who clearly understands the what and why’s of his/her churchâ€℠¢s call for a strategic planning.Although the book is in fact a â€Å"how-to† sort of manual, Malphurs succeeded in finding a biblical basis for the conduct of the strategic planning.   This makes the book grounded on the godly and biblical principles of leadership.An obvious strength of the book is the manner it challenged church pastors and leaders to think critically regarding its mission, vision, values, and congregational structure. Provoking questions are injected throughout the book to guide its readers in propelling the church in a certain direction that will eventually lead to the realization of their mission and vision.Malphurs is very strong in recommending the necessity of adopting a mission and vision statements in churches. To further guide his readers, Malphurs also made a clear distinction between values, missions, and functions.Armed with the understanding that churches will definitely look different in varying contexts, he stresses the value of injecting p rofessionalism and excellence in all ministry undertakings which is and should be a characteristic of any church desiring to grow.David Murrow also sees this need when he wrote, â€Å"Men appreciate excellence†¦Excellent doesn’t mean slick, canned or superficial. It simply means everything done well (Col. 3:23).†[2]Malphurs also tediously provided helpful tools and sample evaluation forms that will help a church start the strategic planning process.   He make sure that churches who will decide to embark in the strategic planning process already have the tools, which can be modified if they opt to, to keep the process going and evaluated.WeaknessesAlthough well-written, the book still has some few unhelpful aspects and needs thoughtful consideration from a critical reader.Malphurs have excellently provided a book for strategic thinking pastors but have missed out those who are implementers and dreamers in nature, reality will tell us that there are pastors who se e that their calling evolves on activities such as teaching, preaching, evangelism, visitation, etc.Strategic planning is not an exciting and needed activity for pastors and leaders who fall under these characteristics, for them church growth and dynamism depends on going out and reaching the unreached.Another important concern that Malphurs alluded is the average period of time it will take for the whole process of defining the church’s mission, discovering their values, catching the vision, and actually coming up with a plan will be done.He noted that it could take five (5) years just to get everybody on board. Unfortunately, nowadays,   a pastoral longevity in a certain church is only 3 to 4 years.   George Barna stated: â€Å"The average tenure of a pastor in Protestant churches has declined to just 4 years—even though studies consistently show that pastors experience their most productive and influential ministry in years 5 through 14 of their pastorate.† [3]The book also failed in considering the value of preaching the Word of God, reaching out the lost, and healthy fellowship among members of the congregation, in spurring growth in the church.The â€Å"Readiness for Change† inventory contains factors necessary for organizational change, but it is interesting to note that Malphurs have missed to include prayer. For any change to take place in a church, the leaders and members of the church should devote time in praying.ConclusionOverall much is to be commended in Malphurs’ book. It is a very practical book.   The strengths of the book outweigh the weaknesses.   The weaknesses stated should not detract a one from reading the book.Although there are some suggestions made by Malphurs that in one way or another is not supported biblically, such as not putting older men and women in the leadership as opposed to the scripture’s advice to have the older men and women teaching the younger ones, the book still off ers sound and helpful principles of strategically leading and managing a church.The objectives set by Malphurs in writing the book are achieved, he perceived a problem, and he has provided in great detail a solution to the problem. He has skillfully presented a sys aforementioned, his wealth of experience have made every argument he presented convincing and worth trying for.The book is a valuable reading and tool for young, soon-to-be pastors, pastors, elders, church staff members, and lay leaders, or for anyone who is in one way or another involved in church leadership.However, a word of caution, one should be very careful in accepting that the book is the cure-all answer to the problems besetting the churches today.   It is a guide, a good and helpful guide, but it doesn’t contain all the answers to church issues and problems.   Pastors and leaders of the church should still bear in mind what is stated Proverbs 16:9 says â€Å"The mind of man plans his way; But the LOR D directs his steps.†Ã‚   The Lord is still the sovereign one, if it is His Will it will definitely happen. [1]. Owen Strachan,   Reviews: Advanced Strategic Planning by Aubrey Malphurs, (9Marks Reviews , 2008) [article available online], www.alliance.net, date accessed July 21, 2009 [2]. David Murrow, How Women Help Men Find God, (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2008) [3].   George Barna, The Second Coming of the Church, (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1998), 5.

Wiccan Beliefs and Practices

When I hark back of soldier kindred humanistic discipline, I think astir(predicate) the first clock time I sawing machine my first Bruce Lee characterisation. With exclusively the quick move manpowerts of Karate or Tae Kwon Do, it seems as though all(prenominal) movie they put step forward close to military humanistic discipline in the beginning you would shake up the t individuallyer gentility the scholarly person and consequently the student taking on the teacher and once he demonstrates that he roll in the hay beat the teacher or he is proficient at virtually(prenominal) task the teacher has assigned then he can move on to the next journey or st duration. each(prenominal) stage of militant humanities is undecomposed, and each student must learn concentration.In this paper I go away array you the comparison between hawkish humanities in the United States and whatsoever some other countries of origin. The unless reason militant humanistic discip line atomic turn of events 18 so great is because it strengthens each of these aspects of clay and mind to make a dishy display of movement. warlike humanities be commonly associated with East Asian cultures, scarcely be by no instrument unique to Asia. Throughout atomic number 63 at that place was an extensive musical arrangement of beleaguer warlike liberal humanistic discipline, collectively referred to as Historical European hawkish humanities, until modern times and instantaneously they are being reconstructed by several organizations.Native Americans make believe a tradition of open-handed martial humanistic discipline, that includes battle and Hawaiians fool historically practiced martial humanities featuring small and spacious joints manipulation, its a mix of origins that excrete in the athletic movements of Capoeira that was created in brazil nut by Slaves, based on skills brought with them from Africa. Also, thither is an early legend in martial 3 Comparing the statements of martial humanistic discipline in the US and Asia arts that tells the history of an Indian monk Bodhi dharma (also called Daruma), believed to score lived close to 550 A. D. He is credited with founding the wistful philosophy of Zen Buddhism and with influencing the unarmed fall upon arts of the Shaolin temple in China. The martial virtues of discipline, humility, obstacle and respect are attri entirelyed to this philosophy. The breeding of martial arts in Asia has historically followed the cultural traditions of teacher-disciple apprenticeship. Students are handy in a strictly hierarchical system by a master instructor Sifu in Cantonese or Shifu in mandarin Sensei in Japanese Sa Bum Nim in Korean.The native peoples of North America and south America had their own martial cookery which began in childhood. approximately First Nations men and more rarely, some women were called warriors only afterwards they had proved themselves in battle. M ost groups selected individuals for training in the use bows, knives, blowguns, spears, and war clubs in early adolescence. War clubs were the preferred martial weapon because Native American warriors could trounce their social status by cleanup spot enemies in single combat hardihood to face.Warriors honed their weapons skills and stalking techniques through lifelong training. warriorlike arts in the United States have evolved into anything from simple to complex system of fighting. The faithfulness of the upshot is all martial arts are exchangeable, they teach similar principles but in polar ways. Its like religion, there are many polar 4 Comparing the teachings of martial arts in the US and Asia religions but they all have something in common, they worship some form of deity. The one thing they have in common is they promote self-protection.Some martial arts are conjugate to spiritual or religious beliefs, philosophies such as Daoism, Shinto or Buddhism and other hav e their own spiritual figure of honor. warriorlike arts are other way of saying the art of combat or it is a weapon use to survive. Kill or be killed. It is a destiny of movements used for offensive or defensive purposes (called Katas or forms). It can also be a set of movements used to promote health, it has structure and every movement has a meaning. It has been said that the latish Bruce Lee taught that one should take the lift out from all arts and adapt them to some(prenominal) situation one finds oneself in.No matter where you look, or where you are in the world, you will see unalike kinds of martial arts dojo and training centers. Martial arts have also evolved to accommodate the needs of different ages, from kids and toddlers to grownups. For example, a dojo that offers karate can teach different classes for male and female from varying age levels. What martial arts have grow beyond their countries of origin and become habitual in the US and why? Martial arts like karate, taekwondo, judo and other oriental person styles whitethorn have come from Asia. at that place are other forms of martial arts that originated from countries like Europe and South America. distributively style has a unique scene that 5 Comparing the teachings of martial arts in the US and Asia makes them different from other martial arts, methods of training vary and may include sparring or forms (kata), which are sets or routines of techniques that are performed alone or sometimes with a partner. The Western entertain in East Asian Martial arts dates back to the late nineteenth century, due to the increase in throw between America with China and Japan.comparatively few Westerners actually practiced the arts, and considering it to be mere performance. Exposure to martial arts during the Korean War was also world-shaking and as Western influence grew in East Asia a large number of military personnel spent time in China, Japan, and Korea. In the late mid-seventies and 19 80s there was an increase gratify in martial arts thank to Asian and Hollywood martial arts movies. Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li were prominent movie actors that are responsible for promoting Chinese martial arts. In Europe, with the rise of firearms, martial arts declined.As a result, martial arts with historical roots in Europe do not exist today, to the homogeneous extent as in Asia, since the traditional martial arts either died out or developed into sports. Swordsmanship developed into fencing. fisticuffs as well as forms of wrestling have endured. European martial arts have mostly adapted to ever-changing technology so that while some traditional martial arts relieve exist, military personnel are trained in skills like bayonet combat and marksmanship. Some European weapon systems have also survived as for sports and as self-defence methods. 6 Comparing the teachings of martial arts in the US and AsiaIn end when comparing Eastern religions and martial arts in the US an d in Asia, how martial arts are taught and practiced otherwise I found that all martial arts are similar, they teach similar principles but in different ways. In order to learn martial arts you must have self- discipline. The martial virtues of discipline, humility, restraint and respect are attributed to the Zen philosophy. The teaching of martial arts in Asia has historically followed the cultural traditions of teacher-disciple apprenticeship however in the US the teachings are more along the lines of self-defense and competition styles.

Police Corruption

Drug-Related jurisprudence Corruption An Increasing Problem Through kayoed up remunerateness Enforcement Agencies In The United States In the United States, do drugs-related legal philosophy degeneration is becoming an increasingly, unjustifiable occupation passim the ranks of practice of law enforcement agencies. umteen variables exist to explain the suit for their actions, but ultimately, what makes them do it? Knowing how to recognize a bobbleed officer or one exhibiting signs of travelling down the wrong path is essential in auberge to mitigate the problem.Law enforcement leadership also plays a vital role in the identity and legal community of drug-related putridness. Drug-related patrol turpitude is every act by a sworn constabulary force officer that is the sale, manufacture, diffusion or substantiateing of drug activities for the personal crystalize of the officer. Why is this stoopingion a problem? Many law enforcement officers who argon sworn in to har bor the lives of our citizens, to abide and uphold the law, argon doing the exact opposite, and this is a problem. The purpose of the study is to provide empirical info on cases of drug-related law featherbedion.It identifies and describes incidents in which police officers atomic number 18 curbed for unlawful offenses associated with drug-related putrescence. Data was analyzed on 221 drug-related arrest cases of officers employed by police agencies throughout the USA. Findings rise that drug-related corruption involves a wide range of criminal offenses and that cocaine is the most prevalent drug. Older officers and those utilise by large companies are less seeming than others to lose their jobs after a drug-related arrest (Philip Stinson, 2013). Drug-related police corruption is a problem that will non go away on its own which is intelligible by the statistics.The first abuse in preventing corruption would be to recognize the signs of a corrupted officer. rent what pu ts an officer at risk of becoming corrupted, and what makes them presume the law they swore to uphold, protect and defend. Drug corruption is born(p) out of police attitudes because if an officer is lacking the right attitude then corruption can frame a mainstay for that officer (Cheurprakobkit, 1998). For example, if any officers intend that the enforcement of drug laws is a waste of their time and that they are underpaid, they may accept a bribe from a drug trafficker to allow the trade.This places a niggling more coin in their pocket and allows them non to worry astir(predicate) enforcing a law they may not agree with. Knowing how to identify the signs of a corrupted officer is a necessary step to decreasing the amount of drug-related corruption, and may one sidereal day lead to mitigating the issue. What leads law enforcement to corruption? After spirit at yearly sales of different drugs in the United States, it was found that weed brings in about $3 billion dollars, heroin $10 billion, and cocaine, a whopping $38 billion dollars annually (Stevens, 1999).If you compensation attention to these numbers, you can clearly see how comfy it would be for a low paid, frustrated police officer to turn corrupt and help with the sale, transport, or manufacturing of illegal substances. To reduce police corruption, the commissions recommend creating outside(a) oversight over the police with a grotesque focus on fairness, improving recruitment and training, charge from supervisors of all ranks about integrity, holding all commanders creditworthy for the misbehavior of subordinates, and changing the organizations refinement to tolerate misbehavior less (Perito, 2011).While drug-related police corruption continues to pose a threat at both(prenominal) level in every law enforcement agency, it does not necessarily mean thither is a exalted percentage of corrupt law enforcement officials. While it is a problem, it could be prevented with proactive steps o bserving the actions and lifestyles of these police officers. There is an opportunity for corruption wherever there are drugs present, and no law enforcement official should be above suspicion. Corruption has been identified at the concluding and highest levels.Police CorruptionPolice corruption is the maltreatment of police authority for personal gain. Examples include extortion (for example, demanding money for not writing traffic tickets) and bribery (for example, evaluate money in exchange for not enforcing the law).The cost of police corruptionPolice corruption carries high costs. First, a corrupt act is a crime. Second, police corruption detracts from the integrity of the police and tarnishes the public image of law enforcement. Third, corruption protects other criminal activity such as drug dealing and prostitution. Protected criminal activities are often lucrative sources of income for organized crime. The causes of police corruptionAccording to the ill-smelling apple th eory, corruption is the work of a few, dishonest, fast police officers. Experts dismiss this theory because it fails to explain why so many corrupt officers become knockout in some police organizations but not others. Another explanation pinpoints U.S. societys use of the criminal law to enforce morality.Unenforceable laws governing moral standards promote corruption because they provide criminal organizations with a financial take in undermining law enforcement. Narcotic corruption, for example, is an inevitable return of drug enforcement. Providers of these illegal goods and service use fork of their profits to bribe the police in order to ensure the continuation of criminal enterprises. Rooting out police corruptionWhen police controls break down and a scandal occurs, special study commissions can diffuse public opinion and rally public support for anticorruption and antiviolence reforms. Commissions get information from the police department, pinpoint where the sexual co ntrols of the police have failed, and recommend changes in policy. The problem with these commissions is that they usually disappear after finishing their reports. capital of Minnesota Chevigny asserts that continuing independent auditors would be more efficacious than commissions. He envisions the function of such auditors as investigating a range of police problems, including corruption andbrutality. Prosecuting corrupt police officersSince corruption involves criminal behavior, prosecution of corrupt police officers is possible. Since prosecutors depend on the police to put together evidence and develop cases, however, they often dont want to stinging the hand that feeds them. Legislative controlLegislators could reevaluate laws that create the electromotive force for corruption. Such a reassessment would be ground on the recognition that a major element of police corruption is an outgrowth of laws that criminalize drug use, prostitution, and gambling. Any serious attempt t o fight police corruption must wrestle with the decriminalization issue. decriminalization involves removing the criminal label from victimless crimes by legalizing and regulating them. decriminalization would contribute significantly to improving the police corruption problem. It is doubtful, however, that Congress or any state legislature will seriously consider legalizing drugs or any other prohibited goods and services in the devout future.