Discretionary Benefits

A company providing products and services needs its human resources for its operations and directions. This is why human resources practitioners are always looking for ways to make sure that employees are rewarded amply for their performance while at the same time ensuring that the status of the company finances is not jeopardized.The government protects the rights of employees for commensurate salary and compensation. This is why employees have the right to join a trade union and negotiate with employees about their salary and benefits. It is in the interest of businesses to deal with their employees in a fair and just manner. Otherwise, operations would be compromised. After all, an unhappy workforce would also lead to less productivity and efficiency. In addition to the government-sanctioned salary and compensation scheme, there are also discretionary benefits that the company will have to decide if they will provide to the employees.Employee BenefitsThe benefits of employees may vary from employer to employer. They are non-cash benefits that employees enjoy during their term with the company on top of their salaries or wages. The most common forms of benefits are group insurance for life, dental or health; disability income protection, daycare, sick leave, vacation leaves, retirement benefits, profit sharing, stock option, educational funding and tuition reimbursement among others. These benefits are either provided by the employer or they are paid for by the employer. Employers provide these benefits to make the employees more economically secure.There are also other benefits that are left to the discretion of the employers. This may include providing company car, leisure activities and outdoor meetings, food and transportation allowance, stationery and more. There are several determinants and factors that companies consider when providing discretionary benefits. If they decide that they will provide discretionary benefits, they also need to establish what types of benefits they can offer without compromising the financial situation of the company.In the United States, these employee benefits come in the form of relocation assistance, vision and dental plans, health care for dependents, pension plans, insurance, child care benefits, legal assistance, transportation benefits, discounts for shopping and resort accommodations, as well as wellness programs. There may also be fringe benefits offered to employees. If this is the case, such benefits may be excluded from the total annual income of the employee, which means greater savings on income tax. Fringe benefits also tend to be seen as a cost to the company for keeping their employees within the company.The Importance of Non-wage BenefitsIn the early twentieth century, employees were not given any benefits beyond their salaries. With the economic developments in the United States such as the Great Depression and the World War II, the government and labor unions worked together in brin ging about non-wage benefits for the workers. Non-wage benefits have grown in the past decades and now accounts for 30% of the total labor costs of This trend helped create a workplace and organizational culture that valued employees more and gave them what they needed (Marshall, 2003).Benefits given to employees are usually tax-deductible to the employer and are not taxable to employees. The exception would be the benefits for executives with access to benefits with very high amounts. In some cases, corporations in America may also offer the employee a set of benefits to choose from and the employee will choose which of the benefits will he avail of. This provides a flexible choice for the employee who may wish one type of benefit over another. The difficulty of implementing this, however, is that if employees chose different types of benefits, record-keeping would be more complicated.The benefits for employees may come in three forms (Martocchio, 2005).(1) One is the protection pr ograms, which helps employees be protected from any illness and ensure their physical and economic security.(2) Benefits may also fall under the pay for time not worked for, which includes vacation and sick leaves, as well as maternity and paternity leaves. Some companies even offer to pay the employees at the end of the year if they chose not to use up all of their leaves.(3) Lastly, there are also services, wherein the company offers to provide various services to the employees.Protection ProgramsThe income of employees is protected by the company in the form of disability insurance, life insurance and pension programs. Through this, the employees may feel economically secure and the assurance that part of the money provided by their employers is invested into their future. In case, they are declared as no longer fit to work, or that they may befall accidents directly or indirectly related to work and if they choose to retire, they are covered by the protection policies of the com pany.Health Protection is also an important aspect of protection programs. This may include health and dental insurance, enrolment into Health Maintenance Organizations or Preferred Provider Organizations, or self-funded plans. Pension plans are also important in ensuring the peace of mind of employees. This program is usually participated in by both employer and the employee. If and when the employee becomes unable to perform his or her job because of disability, the company cannot terminate his employment right away. Both short-term and long-term disabilities are considered by the employer (Martocchio, 2005).Health care programs for employees usually include fee-for-service, managed care, point of service and customer-driven health care. The cost of hospitalization is usually covered together with doctor’s fees, and other related expenses. If the employee pays own money, there is also a provision for reimbursement up to a certain amount. For some employers, HMOs may be a mo re or less costly approach because these are prepaid services. PPO’s are being used by other companies because there is no prepaid service and the company pays for the actual fees related to the health care of an employee. Furthermore, physicians, clinics and hospitals must meet quality standards for them to be recommended.The introduction of flexible benefits for the employees can lead to a higher level of job satisfaction, which can also help improve the productivity and efficiency of the company (Barber, Dunham & Formisano, 2006). When employees feel that they are cared for by the company they are serving, they tend to appreciate that and they will in turn do their best in performing their jobs (Belous, 1989).Paid Time OffAn important aspect of non-wage benefits now is providing paid time off to workers. This helps maintain work-life balance among employees because their domestic lives also have an impact to their performance of their jobs. If employees were too loyal to t heir jobs at the expense of their family, they might not be able to perform effectively. Stress would settle in and a previous high performer may crumble under the weight of such stress (Kossek & Lambert, 2005).The number of paid absences or leaves may be determined through the collective bargaining agreement between the labor union and management. When this has been settled, the employees then have to follow certain rules and procedures in the company to avail of this benefit. Pregnant women who want to give birth to their babies and nurse them are also given maternity leave of absence while a father whose wife is pregnant may also apply for a paternity leave. These schemes help communicate to the employee that their own personal lives are important too and that the company is not only after the services that they can render.Paid time off also helps the members of an organization to redefine themselves and their connection with the company and align their priorities and thoughts to the organization. Hence, it helps them take a break and think of what the work means to them (Ford & Locke, 2002). With a paid time off, the employees may have more time for themselves, for replenishing lost energies due to work and pause for a while and think about their jobs and how they can help contribute to the company for its growth and improvement.ServicesSome companies also realize that they need to provide services to employees so that they will not have to pay for such services outside of the company. As such, the company can choose to provide such services for the convenience of employees and minimal distractions to the way they perform their duties.These services may be in the form of family assistance programs, or the company can also assist in the education of an employee or the dependents of an employee. When moving and relocating, an organization may also bear the costs of moving, especially if such move is directly related to the job performed by the employee. Anot her popular service being offered by organizations is wellness program. The employees may enroll in a gym or a fitness class for free or for a discount courtesy of the organization.Such wellness programs can help ensure that the employees are physically fit. This can help prevent incidences of heart attacks, hypertension and stress-related sickness. In the long run, this can reduce the health care costs of an organization. What is needed, however, is strong implementation and encouragement for employees to participate in such wellness program (Gebhardt & Crump, 1990).The convenience that employees will experience through the services being offered by the company will contribute to efficiency and savings in time and resources. Employees will also generate a stronger appreciation for the company and will foster a stronger sense of company loyalty in employees.Laws and Legislations Concerning Employee BenefitsThere are three major legislations governing the benefits of employees and th e responsibilities of the employers: The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974; Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985; and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).ERISA establishes the minimum standards and requirements of pension plans in the private sector. In addition to this, it also regulates the fringe benefits that employees receive such as disability insurance, medical and life insurance and most importantly, the pension of employees. The Act also monitors the reporting and disclosure of employers concerning such fringe benefits as well as the funding and fiduciary responsibilities of both employers and employees.COBRA, on the other hand, prescribes that health care coverage be extended to 36 months. However, the cost may be as high as 102% of the premium of the insurance. If employers do not comply with this, the law also prescribes the penalty. Companies with less 20 employees, however, are exempted from COBRA, together with the federal government and churches.Lastly, HIPAA guarantees the health coverage of all employees. Should there be pre-existing conditions, HIPAA prescribes appropriate action and handling. Health information and privacy are also important concerns; that is the reason why HIPAA regulates the transfer, the disclosure and the use of information given to health care practitioners for the purposes of health care delivery. HIPAA, however, has been a cause of contention regarding the responsible use of health care information (Wilson, 2006). Yet, it still helps ensure the protection of the rights of both employees and employers. These three legislations help define the rights of workers for their benefits and the responsibilities of employers to their employees. Non-compliance is punishable by the laws.ConclusionWith the increasing competition and globalization of the business environment, so will the needs and concerns of employees change. More and more demands and skills are needed. In addition to this, companies are hard put to retain their best employees because of the intense competition for excellent employees. As such, offering employee benefits will also change.Human resource personnel and the management need to device effective compensation and benefits scheme so as to attract the best and the brightest workers and retain the existing ones. The main concern, however, is making the employees secure physically and economically. If this were ensured, then they can perform their jobs better and they can contribute to the overall growth of the organization (Rosenbloom, 2001). By providing the three different types of benefits, employees can cultivate a deeper sense of company loyalty, which will redound to better employee retention and organizational performance. As the challenges of the workplace are addressed, the employers and the employee will enjoy better relationship and better organizational performance.

Play and sportsmanship Essay

In my opinion a sport in which levels of fair play and sportsmanship have totally been abandoned is American Football. With the amount of spectators the game gets, the coaches and chairpersons of the clubs like to put out their best players every game. Regardless of their physical health. There are countless times that players have been seen to go off with horrific groin strains and shoulder injuries, but the medical staff and coaches put them right back onto the pitch doped up with huge amounts of pain killers and drugs that will affect their performance. If a player of a sport that has the nature of American football, (being very physical and tough) goes on the pitch to play hyped up on pain killers then are clearly going to perform differently to that of a player who plays with spirit and strength. The other thing about this sport is the way in which each team is always reading the lips of the other teams coach to see what their next move is about to be. Surely if the oppositions know each others moves all the time then the fairness of the sport is lost. Today’s top athletes all use dietitions, health advisors and personal trainers to become the best at their particular sport. They all use performance enhancing techniques to improve their sporting ability and performance in competition. But is this against the Sportsmanship/Gamesmanship theory? With the production of illegal performance enhancing dugs being more and more common in the sporting environment of today , the governing bodies for the particular sports are having more and more trouble detecting whether athletes have used illegal stimulants to help them to train. To conclude. In today’s sporting world. Nations will use sport as a platform for political power. This can sometimes lead to sportsmanship being thrown aside and made way for other styles of gaming like gamesmanship. In my own opinion sportsmanship is still strong in many of today’s sports and athlete’s, but if the values of sportsmanship are not upheld, by the governing bodies of the sport, such as the FA then the sport is likely to become worse to be a spectator of and less fair to play in. If the bodies who govern the game do not maintain strong levels of justice and fair play within their own rulings then players will become less sportsmanship and the levels of the sports fair play will drop.

Trade Union Density Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Trade Union Density - Assignment Example The main factors such as economic, social and political are examined in detail in relation to their effects on the trade union in UK. One of the underlying aspect of the trade union movement in UK has been the economic bargaining power of the combined unit of employees against the perceived unjust behavior of the capitalist class, which has been a key contentious issues within the labor union movement. This essay also examines issues of the future of the trade union, and the ways in which the future trade unions will behave and formulate their strategic direction in a global economy. One of the key conclusions of this research is that the although new technologies will present a threat to the trade union movement in UK, however the need for a fair system of checks and balances will be needed, and the role of the trade union in the industrial relations systems in UK will be increased. ... However, the industrial relations in UK have not always been highly regulated, as the owners of factories and business used their influence to exploit the working class (Karnes, 2009, Fishman, 2005). The industrial revolution in UK has a huge effect on the working class, as the population was then required to work on the shop floors and factories, rather than on farms (Williams, 1997, Williams and Adam-Smith, 2009). Within this new environment, there was a rapid rise in the number of employees who has to proceed from medieval guilds of Europe to the modern trade union system, and saw the rise of the modern trade union in UK (Rose, 2008) 2 Factors Influencing Changes in Union Member Ship The first formation of the trade Union in UK was in 1987, by the royal commission, which was based on the notion of giving employees and employers equal benefits from this structure (Williams and Adam-Smith, 2009). The trade unions worked as employee committees, which worked to improve the socio-econo mic conditions of the employees, and formed the basis of the Labor party (Williams and Adam-Smith, 2009). The era of Margret Thatcher saw the powers of these trade unions being decreased, as the then prime minister worked to make strikes illegal. It was in this era that the trade union suffered, and number of members in the trade union started to fall in 1980 and 1990s, as employees saw other routes to get their grievances solved by the employer (Fishman, 2005, Laybourne, 1997, Wallis et al., 2005, Williams and Adam-Smith, 2009). This rise and fall in the last 40 years has been due to a number of factors, which have been characterized as economic, political

Area 51 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Area 51 - Essay Example This place was preferred as it is located far away from the city. Few years later, various lights started appearing and since then heavy security is provided around that area. This made the government to shut down all the places from where the area 51 could be seen. This area is surrounded by Groom Lake on one side and NTs on the other side. Rachel is the nearest place from Area 51.Later people started to believe that the area is used to test aircrafts and other UFOs which caused the lights to appear. This area is comprised of workplaces, houses and runways for the aircraft. Railway facility is enabled as there are some underground lines that connect some of the nearby states. This place is also used as the training centre for the military and security forces. The aircrafts used in the military are tested and experimented in this place. Hence area 51 was helpful in conducting test operations of the proposed aircrafts. normal movements are observed and kept under supervision using the radar. The area surrounding Area51 is acquired by government and it is made sure that no outsider is allowed inside. Since the place is out of the reach of normal population, it is difficult to locate this place easily. Area 51 is considered as the head quarters of the U.S military and Air force. (Strickland 2005).The happenings of this place are maintained as a secret. The officials are divided into groups and assigned to various projects. They would be under the control of group heads and they take care of the ongoing projects. Each time a new aircraft is designed, they are tested to ensure proper working of the system. Satellites play a vital role in these areas. As each and every action has to be under the supervision, satellites are used. Security is the important aspect of this area, as the information regarding the country's military and air force have to be kept intact. Circuit cameras are installed in all the important locations to record the activities. Only few people are given permission to enter the restricted area. Many level of security checks are conducted to make sure only authorized people are permitted. The information pertaining to the aircrafts and their development are also kept as a secret. The project head and the team members are instructed not to disclose any information to others.(Desjardins 2008). Every employee should sign a bond that specifies the details regarding this place will be kept as a secret. A person working in an aircraft is not allowed to gather information regarding another project that is being developed. Even access to information from the system is limited. Unless a person has undergone the highest level of security clearance, he is not allowed to access the details pertaining to each and every system. Since Area 51 is composed of military and security of a country, high security is maintained. Inside Area 51 Since the area is not open for public movement, the officials and employees make use of separate planes. Unique identification numbers are given to each aircraft which are being used specifically for this purpose. Professional trained people are appointed as pilots, so that they can easily handle the specially designed flights. The area is prohibited from trespassers and warning boards are kept at each and every

The Effects of Over-processed Foods in the United States Essay

The Effects of Over-processed Foods in the United States - Essay Example Since invention of processed foods, people directed their time towards microwavable dinners and tasty preserved artificial snacks instead of home cooked meals from local ingredients. As soldiers needed fast, travel-safe foods, the introduction of these processed foods came as a real blessing to them. During the war many women went to work, creating little time to cook at home. Continuing into the 1970’s, soy, corn and cattle became the staple food products when the age of canned, frozen and boxed foods became easily accessible. Most of these products turned into low fat and low-carb foods, which allow large food industries to sell unhealthy foods masked as healthy foods. Red meat consumption in the United States has then continued to rise with 58% of citizens consuming it. In 2003-2004, the consumption of processed red meat was averaged at 128 grams per day, with variations in race, gender, education and age. The nutritional value of a granola bar in another case more closely resembles a candy bar than granola. These foods are easily accessible and marketed to make people believe they are getting a sufficient amount of nutrition while on-the-go. Unfortunately, the public is not aware of the true ingredients that are used to make these foods.

Case4.0 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case4.0 - Essay Example There is also the lack of social responsibility from the stakeholders. The manufacturers, medical specialists, technicians fail to realize that they are dealing with human lives of other human beings. Radiation accidents are caused by factors categorized into three. First is Management. It is for the management to ensure that there is proper coordination between the oncologist and the machines technicians and make sure all rules are followed. The use of understaffed, unqualified and undertrained technicians leads to laxity in the job. Thirdly is technology. Improving technology brings about more complex machines used in the radiation therapy. System and software updates lead to unpredictable system response hence increase these cases. 3. Do you feel that any of the groups involved with this issue (hospital administrators, technicians, and medical equipment and software manufacturers) should accept the majority of the blame for these incidents? Why or why not? The hospital administrators, who are the once to lay down the policies. The technicians who need to vigilant and check the equipment and the settings to ensure that it is in line with the treatment plan prescribed by the oncologist. The medical equipment affects the results. Complex machines increase the system errors and software manufacturers need to design software that’s easy to use. The agency should have the mandate of gathering data on all radiation related accidents from all the hospitals in the states. The data should include the cause of the accident, and what factors that led to that accident. The agency should set rules and guidelines on how these accidents are to be investigated. This will make each person responsible of their mistakes and enhance diligence from all players. In the design of the linear accelerator software, one key feature is the use of a simple user interface that the technicians can easily navigate through. Secondly the use of

Venezuela - Hugo Chvez Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Venezuela - Hugo Chvez - Essay Example After becoming president, Chavez embarked on social reforms. These included seeking for 20,000 trained personnel from Cuba who comprised of educators and medics in exchange for oil. Unfortunately, even with social and economic benefits, on April, 2002, a few military officers organized a coup to overthrow Chavez and later succeeded. The new leader was later opposed by the masses that brought Chavez back to power. This forced him to moderate some of his radical decisions of dismissing the board of directors in oil. The illness of Chavez becomes a major issue for a long time. This prompted him to announce to his country of the need to undergo operation to remove cancerous cells in his system. However, the efforts and those of his team did not help matters. Two years later, on March, 2013, the vice-president announcing the death of Hugo Chavez. Chavez is widely remembered as a socialist and radical president who put Venezuela on the international map in terms of progressive economy. This resulted to differences with the US that labeled a place for terrorists especially in its War on Terror. Hugo Chavez is a leftist Marxist who became president in 1999 with sweeping popularity. In collaboration with Latin American leaders such as Cuban Revolutionary Fidel Castro and Lula da Silva of Brazil, Chavez performed his pledges and promises of using Venezuela’s oil to achieve beneficial economic guidelines. Chavez arose from a poverty-stricken family, Catholic, but moderately happy where he improved his hobbies that included writing, drawing, and playing baseball. He also adopted strong political ideas. The presidency of Chavez championed the banning of the neoliberal economic policies that had resulted to bad inflation. As a result, the economy dropped significantly and the urgency for a regime change increased. Chavez became president

Compare and Contrast Posner's and Ferguson's Views on the Main Causes Essay

Compare and Contrast Posner's and Ferguson's Views on the Main Causes of the Financial Crisis - Essay Example Many media outputs, including films, articles, and books have outlined various determinants of this economic disorder. One of the most prominent is Charles Ferguson’s film ‘Inside Job’, which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary for its power filmmaking and investigative practices. Another prominent text is Richard Posner’s ‘Crisis of Capitalist Democracy’. This essay compares and contrasts the views of these two individuals -- Posner and Ferguson – in terms of their perspectives on the main causes of the financial crisis. Analysis From the opening credits of Inside Job it’s clear that Posner and Ferguson agree on a number of substantial key contributing factors to the 2008 economic crisis. In these regards, both individuals identify the original spark of the crisis the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Another prominent aspect that both thinkers consider is the nature of financial deregulation as greatly contributing to the crisi s. Both the film and the text provides historical accounts – both Ferguson and Posner’s exploration of the Glass-Steagal Act and Ferguson’s exploration of early era Wall Street – in demonstrating the tremendous shift that occurred in the 2008 economic climate as compared to a bygone conservative era. ... Another of the most notable links between the two texts is the very notion that the American governmental structure may not be able to respond to the significant challenges of the crisis at hand. While Posner emphasizes that a new model of Keynesian economics is needed, he also notes, â€Å"it is not that the economic challenges that we face are insurmountable but that we may lack the governmental structures and political culture requisite for meeting them† (Poster, pg. 7). One sees this echoed in Ferguson perhaps most prominently in the film’s analysis of the links between the financial sector and academia. Ferguson makes the profound and startling insight that the very people who provide the structural education of the economy are themselves on the payroll of these financial firms. In both instances then – Posner and Ferguson’s – there is a profound nihilistic cynicism at the very structure of the American system. Still, as the film and Posnerâ₠¬â„¢s book develop it’s clear there are a number of distinguishing factors. There are a number of overarching considerations. In terms of contrasting elements, one considers the nature of the contrasting mediums. While Ferguson’s film is highly successful in articulating much of the complex process of the crisis, it lacks the in-depth and extended analysis a book can offer. As such, one considers that while the two thinkers may not necessarily stand in theoretical conflict, Posner has the luxury of offering an extended analysis on many elements of the crisis. One trend in these regards is the increased emphasis that Posner places on the citizens that participated in the housing bubble. He writes, â€Å"by pushing up the value of common stock, which made people feel wealthier because their savings were increasingly

Draft for Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Draft for Case Study - Essay Example This little story is much like the case we have before us today. The injury suffered by the Plaintiff is being attributed to an advice given by employees of the Defendant, although there in fact exists no logical connection between the two. The defendant, Bethlehem Ice Solutions, is a popular ski resort for a number of reasons – it has good ski slopes the avid skier enjoys, it has comfortable and well appointed facilities for its guests, and it has a good safety track record. Had it been otherwise, lovers of skiing would not have flocked to this place such as the April morning when the incident occurred. Let us summarize the facts so far established. On that morning, a guest at the resort by the name of Craig approached Bethlehem’s staff Dan and Abby and asked about â€Å"a slope that is open and suitable for the moderately skilled skier.† Dan and Abby pointed him to Willie’s Wander which was acknowledged by all as a â€Å"relatively easy run.† When he took that slope, Craig felt that he could not after all take it, and decided to walk down. Not only did he decide to walk down, but he also decided to â€Å"cut across to a neighboring slope† that he adjudged to be closer to the parking lot. It is in this slope that Craig encountered Alex, the plaintiff in this case, on the way down, which resulted in injury to Alex. These are the facts as they stand in the present case. Now, Alex has brought action against Bethlehem because he believes Bethlehem is responsible for his accident. In short, Alex says Bethlehem caused his injury, by sending Craig down the Willie’s Wander run. Specifically, Alex says Bethlehem was negligent in giving Craig the wrong advice that sent him down the slope on which he collided with Alex and therefore caused his injuries. But wait, am I getting this right? Was Alex on Willie’s Wander when he and Craig accidentally collided? The facts say NO, they collided on another, nearby run, the more dangerous run where

Jail and Prison Essay Example for Free

Jail and Prison Essay Many people think jail and prison are the same. In the past, I honestly myself thought that the only difference between jail and prison was prison was a bigger building than the building for jail. In fact, there are many differences between prisons and jails. Both are different entities. Here are some of the differences that you’ll want to know about if a member of your family, a close friend, or yourself is facing the prospect of going to jail or to prison. There are about 3,600 jails in the United States. Jails located within the area of a town or city and every city/town has at least one. Most jails are run by sheriffs and/or local governments. People accused under federal, state, county and/or city laws will be held in jail. Jail is build to temporary lock-up people till their court appearance, serve time on local misdemeanor charge, or serve a sentence of less than one year. Any sentence over a year must be served in a prison. A jail was once only holding facility and prisons were reformatories. A prison is a place that inmates people who have been tried and convicted of crimes. A state or federal prison can be very far away from an inmate home. Prison can be located too far from family and friends to visit. There are only about 100 federal prisons, detention centers, and correctional institutions in the United States. The prisons are operated by under the jurisdiction of either Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) or state government. Jail plays an important part. Usually people that go to jail commit a local or small crime. Serving time in jail can scare offenders from committing future illegal acts. Jail time can be a big wake up call for many people. First small time offenders can realize they were lucky jail or prison is not a place they would want to be. Committed low offenders are face with consequences by giving probation, community service and sent to detention centers. Today many jails are considered reformatories (also known as correctional centers, state vocational institution, reform schools, houses of refuge, and industrial or training schools) in many parts of the United States. The courts hope to help the minors from committing future illegal acts by taking responsibility for his / her actions. Committed minors are face with consequences by giving them similar punishments as adults. The young adults are face with probation, community service and sent to detention centers. Jails operate work release programs, boot camps, and other services. The jail system tries to address education, substance abuse, and vocational needs while managing inmate behavior. Prisons are best described as Total Institution. In and only in prison, an inmate every aspect in life is controlled. Every detail of a prisoner is prescribed and managed by the prison. The state prison systems run halfway houses, work release centers, and community restitution centers. The programs are given to inmates because the inmates are reaching the end of their long sentences. There are many different types of prisons. Minimum security prisons look very much alike camps or college campuses and only hold about 20% of the inmates in the United States. The prisons usually have one or no fence perimeter. The inmates in minimum security prisons are convicted of non-violent crimes with clean criminal record. The crimes are usually forgery, cheating on taxes, and perjury. The prison also houses prisoners who have served most of their sentence from a higher security facility and improve their behavior. Low security prisons are surrounded by double-fenced perimeters. The inmates have dormitories or cubicle housing. Prisoners are provided with strong work and program components. A medium security prison has more restrictions the daily movements of an inmate. They hold about 45% of United States prisoners and the inmates are convicted of crimes such as assault and thefts. The prison has dormitories instead of cells but does have a razor-wire fence surrounding the area. Inmates are offered a wide variety of work and treatment programs. Maximum security prisons hold prisoners serving longer sentences. Only a quarter of all prisoners in the United States are housed in a maximum security facility.The prison holds about 35% Of Unites States prisoners. The inmates are convicted of crimes such as murder, kidnapping and other felonies. The prison was designed for violent offenders and/or inmates who have escaped (or tried to escape). Some inmates are also place in a maximum security prison because they can cause problems in lower security prisons. While an inmate is in prison, prisoners are to follow the rules set by prison officials. If a prisoner breaks any rules, he/she gets a hearing before the warden. If the warden finds the prisoner guilty of breaking a rule, penalties can be issued. There many of the punishments given to an inmate who break the prison rules. The consequences can be very high depending on what rule the inmate break. An inmate can be sent alone to time in solitary confinement. She/he can have a removal of accumulated good behavior time and transfer to a less desirable or paying prison job. Confiscation of items from prisoners can be taken such as TV’s, yard time, be sent to eat alone in your cell, phone calls, visitations from family and friends, and receiving letters. Violent crimes in prison can cause an inmate to be transfer to higher-security prison. When an inmate chooses to participate in violent acts towards a staff member, this may be due to the â€Å"friction points† prevalent throughout the social context and role within the prison system administration (Bottoms, 1999). Before the Truth in Sentencing Law pass, many offenders were only serving a short time in prison than the time they are sentenced to serve by the court. The role of the Truth in Sentencing Act was first enacted in 1984. The law required offenders to serve at least 85% the portion of their prison sentence imposed by the court. Theres been a nearly 18 percent drop in reported crime in Arizona since the state began requiring criminals to serve at least 85 percent of their prison sentences, a new study shows (Smith, 2012). The Act would also require any person convicted of a violent crime would have to serve no less than 100% of the sentence by the court. Truth in Sentencing also requires offenders to serve their entire minimum sentence in a prison before being eligible for parole. References Smith, K. (2012). New study says truth-in-sentencing in Arizona has made state safer . Retrieved from http://www.corrections.com/news/article/29977-new-study-says-truth-in-sentencing-in-arizona-has-made-state-safer Bottoms, A.E. (1999). Interpersonal violence and social order in prisons. Crime and Justice, 26, 205-281. The University of Chicago Press. Retrieved June 4, 2009, from http://www.jstor.org/pss/1147687.

Activity based costing and problems it could solve

Activity based costing and problems it could solve Activity based costing is a management accounting technique that deals with assigning of the overhead costs in a more logical manner as compared to the traditional approach that deals with only allocating the costs based on the machine hours. This approach is based on assigning the costs first to their related activities and then finally assigning the costs of those activities to the products that only demand these activities. Activity based costing recognizes that the machine setup, special testing, and special engineering all cause a company to consume resources. This is the reason as to why this technique calculates the cost of these resources and then assigns them to the products that demanded the activities (Accounting Coach, 2004). As the environment of the manufacturing firm moves from a manual system to a computer-integrated manufacturing there is the emergence of conventional cost systems that may release report of distorted products. Therefore, activity based costing will save this problem by collecting financial and operational performance by performing the activity of tracing the significant activities of the operation to their final products more effectively. Activity based costing will perform the following activities in cost management; identifying the activity centers, selecting the first cost drivers, and reporting the cost activities. After this there follows the process of implementation that ensures corrects utilization of the technique in cost management (Klener and No, 1997). Activity Based Costing can support the managers in trying to see how to maximize the shareholders value and also improve the general corporate governance. It started its function after bringing in more advantages as compared to the traditional way of accounting. In the traditional way of accounting, it was believed that the high volume customers mean high level of profits. But this is not the case of decision making on activity based costing. ABC model came with a new version which based decision making by managers on identifying the cost pools in an organization and then assigning the cost drivers i.e. services by considering the number of events or transactions that are involved in the process of producing a particular product (Value Based Management.net, 2010) In any particular company, the cost serving a customer can be determined individually basing on the costing activities. This can be done by deducting the product cost and also the cost of serving each customer in order to arrive at the productivity. By doing this one can be able to identify the profitability of each customer and hence position the products and services accordingly. This is a practical application of this type of model when dealing with costs. In addition to that, the ABC model helps to make the employees to understand the various types of costs involved. It also the helps them analyze the cost, value added and non-value added activities and thus enabling them to realize the benefits accrued from the products and services produced (Value Based Management.net, 2010). In cost management and decision making, Activity Based Costing has also an extension known as the Activity Based Management that fully touches all aspects of management costing. This allows the management to examine the non-value-added activities and hence make rational decisions on them. This technique in ABC model relies on the ABC system in specifying where the non-value-added activities exist and hence provide the value and amount of monetary benefits that are associated with their elimination. The other side of the valueà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬added costing is fully dealt with in the full model Activity Based (ABC) Model (Dunn, 2004, p.2). Activity Based Costing has been adopted by many countries in different sectors around the world. Different sectors in the world economies have been modified and hence their cost management techniques simplified by the use of this model. For example, sectors of the economy such as the manufacturing industry, banking industry, retail industry, and even the government have a perfectly implemented ABC model in their management costing. Japan provides a much more experimental case study for our discussion. There was a great impact of the innovations of the cost accounting technique, basically ABC, on the technology trigger (an external impetus that stimulates innovation) between the years 1984-1997. This was particularly applied on both the electronic and automotive sector. In the past it was believed that, the causes of low wage labor and undervalued currencies were the innovative management practices, just-in-time material flow of systems, statistical process control and continuous improvement. There was also the issue of unfair competition and adoption of inappropriate management practices from other companies (Accounting Coach, 2004). As a result of this, there was the emergence of new costing approaches in several manufacturing industries including the automotive industry. This was after the realization that the cost accounting systems used at that time were associated with negative operational and strategic consequences. For example, the Tektronix Company started allocating manufactured overheads to the specific products based on the direct labor. This encouraged the engineers to design products that required less labor to manufacture as compared to the past years. This method provided the engineers with a much cheaper way of making decisions (Turney, 2008, p.3). The elimination of the behavioral distortion that was inherent in the used cost accounting system helped the Tektronix Company to compete. Another sector where the ABC method was implemented and used is the business sector and offering of financial services. With most technologies, the development of the first generation methods encouraged the development of the ABC market. A large number of consulting firms started building up the ABC practices in the late 1980à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s and early 1990à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s with an introduction of the first commercially available ABC software. By the invention of this method, there was an increase in the level of profitability ratio by these consultancy firms. This was because ABC acted as a catalyst for decision making that is affecting the profitability level and was able to reveal sources of the loss that were responsible for the decline of the profitability level (Liu and Pan, 2007). The method helped the consultancy firms to develop new focus on the profitable markets and customers, design products to remove cost, and eliminate the non-value a dded activities. Activity Based Costing is being used by a number of companies in different sectors of the economy. For example, in the healthcare industry activity based costing has provided an easier way of dealing issues regarding the provision of health services and products to its citizens. Most of the hospitals like Al Mowasat Hospital, Armed Force Hospital and King Faisal Hospital have benefited so much from the technique of activity based cost management (ABM) systems (Aird, 1988). This has enabled the hospitals to improve their quality and efficiency in healthcare service provision with consideration of the cost controls and resource management. Another sector that has expressed much utilization of the ABC method in Saudi Arabia is the Oil Industry. The oil industry is faced with a high level of competition associated with higher costs. Therefore to be able to survive in this market, a firm needs to manage cost, quality, and product or service through an effective cost management method. Saudi Arabian Oil Company is one of the of the petroleum companies that has a vast petroleum reserves that is unmatched in any part of the world. For the company to survive in the competitive oil market it uses a number of systems for cost control such as, design for manufacturing, quality management and most importantly activity based costing as one of its core perspectives (Galbraith et al, 1998). Activity Based Costing has provided a new approach in solving cost management problems in many industries in Germany. For example, Market-Trading is a German enterprise that sells mainly high quality and highly furnished products to the retailers, whole sellers and even retailers. This company has implemented the model of Activity Based Costing that tries to allocate the costs to the related final products before releasing them off to the market. Through this method there has been an increased competitive advantage gained by the firm in the market of competition. This is the sector of business trading dealing with provision of goods and services. In the construction industry, there has been experienced more utilization of the ABC method by many firms. For example, the EU Solar Systems Limited brings together a unique team of fields of construction, sales, information technology and engineering. Their main products include distribution of solar panels and related solar products. Due t o the high level of costs incurred in this production process, the EU solar company manages its costs by using a well defined cost accounting system basically the ABC model (Polejewski, 1990, p.4). There are a number of issues managers in an emerging economy face when trying to implement the ABC method in a firm. One of the major issues that surround the ABC method is the difficulty of implementation. What proves difficult is the issue of allocation of property. This is because it requires a lot of effort utility and that the processes are adequately mapped throughout the organization. In the emerging economies where there is inadequate utility effort implementing the ABC model is likely to be more cumbersome. In addition to that, most of the emerging economies lack an appropriate way of approaching the implementation. Rationalizing facilities, identifying the opportunities and then conceptualizing proper solutions are a challenge to these economies due to lack of skilled manpower in the management level (RCG University, 1999). Activity Based Costing makes a lot of sense to companies that produce a varied range of products or services and those that are suffering from inaccurate costing information. For these companies the issue of implementation is not such a big challenge, this is because the effort that is required to successfully implement ABC is worth their resources. The emerging economies mostly lack large companies that offer multiple products, therefore the cost of implementing the ABC model is really a challenge to a manager of that company. Businesses are competing in an ever-changing competitive globe. Therefore companies are supposed to fully implement and apply the ABC system in order to become more productive, efficient and profitable and therefore earn a competitive advantage over other companies. This means that there is need for careful analysis done by managers before shifting into new methods and techniques of decision making. Therefore, an additional investment should be put aside for proper analysis of the different types of cost techniques (Klener and No, 1997). These additional costs are a challenge to the managers of firms in an emerging economy due to limited number of resources. There are many challenges that a manager can face when trying to implement the ABC model in the emerging economies. First there are challenges in trying to design and build a model. This challenge is more rampant in the developing economies due to lack of adequate resources available for a firm to be in a position of implementing the model with less cost burden. Updating and maintaining the model requires an additional investment or cost to the small companies. Gathering and integrating data requires a higher level of skilled personnel that is at a lower level as compared to the stable economies (Galbraith et al, 1998). Finally, reporting and disseminating the integrated data, analyzing it and coming out with relevant decisions son cost management is also another challenge to most firms. ABC model has been implemented over time by many companies that experience rising level of costs. Their main aim is to reduce costs and increase the level of productivity. However, due to some reasons some companies have reported successful implementation while others have reported problems with implementation of the systems or have rejected them. This difference occurs due to a number of varied reasons (Klener and No, 1997). Some companies that report positive feedback on the implementation of the ABC model state that some of their existing tools allow for a much quicker development of such cost management models. This ability comes from the quality of modern tools and the learning curve. This differs greatly through different industries. For those firms that have old-fashioned technology are seen to face much rejection towards implementation of the ABC model (Liu and Pan, 2007). An example of the modern technology that most up-to date firms use when implementing new cost management methods is the ABC software which is a specialized tool for the ABC method. For the ABC technique to have an impact on a companyà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s cost management there is need of allocating time for it to be successfully implemented. Most companies allow a long duration of time for acceptance and understanding because of the associated their long learning curves. This may lead to a higher accumulation of costs as a result of the pooled up costs associated with the implementation of the cost management technique. It is also understood that changes is not something that something that people readily accept. A company will be willing to allow its objectives to grow as their understanding of the cost management technique that had been implemented in that particular organization (Klener and No, 1997). This obviously differs from one company to another thus bringing about a difference in their implementation styles. Implementation of the ABC method into a company system requires that the company to which this system is to be implemented to have the required resources and capacity to be able to accommodate the system. Companies with adequate amount of resources are at a higher probability of accommodating the changes brought about by the new implemented cost management model. This is because the adequate resources can support the additional costs that are required for successful implementation of the model. On the other hand, companies with lower amount of resources or capital base will take a long duration of time to implement the system or they might report failure in the implementation process. This is because; the new system will seem to be an additional cost towards the company which may not be accommodated by many small firms (Liu and Pan, 2007). For the success of a company in implementing the ABC model, there must be the top management perfect involvement. For a company that has top management support provides an opportunity for the success of the implementation of the ABC model. The corporate culture of the top-to-down management in the instigation of the adoption of the management innovations will determine the success of the effective cost management. For example due to the hierarchical nature of the organization and taking into consideration of high proportion of dedicated professionals determines the success of the implementation of the ABC system within the organization (Liu and Pan, 2007). Firms that report success in the implementation of the ABC model means that the model is applicable in their firms. On the other hand, for those that report failure show that the model is not applicable for their cost management systems. For example, firms that have multiple service and product provision are at a higher probability of accepting this model than firms with limited or one line of service and product provision (Dunn, 2004, p.4). Therefore, implementation of the ABC model also goes hand in hand with the applicability of the model in the company. In general, activity based costing method is beneficial to firms that want to increase their profitability level above the normal level and for those that want to manage the product associated costs more effectively. From the essay we have seen how this model has been widely used and accepted by firms in different countries and how it has assisted in proper cost management. However, for the firm to successfully use the model there is need for proper implementation process that assures the company of perfect utility of the technique. For the firms that have successfully implemented the ABC model they enjoy reduced costs, higher profit levels and better management of the product associated costs. Therefore, ABC is seen to be both a cost-increasing factor and a cost-reducing factor. But the benefits that arise from the model are far much higher such that the costs of implementing the model are not felt.

The Physics of Basketball Essay examples -- Athletics Sports Essays

The Physics of Basketball The more and more I look around I begin to see how physics are integrated into practically everything that we do. These things would surely go unnoticed without making a conscious effort to notice them. For example simple things like riding a bike, or driving a car, or playing catch with a son or daughter. Just as these activities are loaded with elements of physics, sports are also, especially basketball. Physics play a part in every aspect of the game, from dribbling, passing, and shooting, to things as simple as setting a screen. First we should take a look at the elements of dribbling. Dribbling is all based on conservation of energy and the two different types of collisions, elastic and inelastic. The more air pressure a basketball has inside it, the less its surface will bend or deform during a bounce, and the more its original energy will be stored in the compressed air inside (Bill Willis, 2001). The reason for this is that the air inside of the ball can return the energy of the ball better than that of the material of the ball, which is usually leather. This is the basic concept of the conservation on energy. A reason to inflate the ball more is to produce a more elastic collision between the ball and the surface it is hitting. The more inflated the ball is the less energy is lost in the deformation of the ball, ensuring you that it will bounce back. The less energy that is lost in this process will make the collision more elastic, and produce a better bounce of the basketball. Another aspect of basketball that relates to collisions in the very basic, but useful technique of setting a â€Å"screen† or â€Å"pick.† This collision is more of an inelastic process that involves one player runn... ...I step foot on the floor. Sometimes I think we get lazy and don’t take the time to think about how physics affect our lives, because you don’t realize how integrated physics are in every thing we do until you have to look at things critically. With this newfound knowledge, hopefully I will be able to play basketball just a little bit better. Bibliography 1).Kirkpatrick, Larry D. and Wheeler, Gerald F. Physics a World View. 4th ed. Fort Worth, Philadelphia, San Diego, New York, Orlando, Austin, San Antonio, Toronto, Montreal, London, Sydney, Tokyo: Barrosse and Vondeling, 2001 2).Willis, Bill. The Physics of Basketball. 30 April 2003 http://www.geocities.com/thesciencefiles/physicsof/basketball.html 3).Unknown. The Physics of Basketball. 1 May 2003 http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/staff/trobinso/physicspages/PhysicsOf/Basketball/Physics%20of%20 Basketball.html

State vs state :: essays research papers fc

Introduction State of origin is one of the toughest rivalry’s in Australian sport. In this report I run through the selection process and the success of the game. What is the importance of state of origin? State of origin is an important event on the sporting calendar. It has massive value to the fans but mostly, to the players selected. Any player would tell you the greatest thrill in their career would be pulling on that N.S.W or Qld jersey for the first time. It was as good as football got according to Chris walker the maroons winger 2001-2002 and he was right. It was all about the blood, sweat and tears and a bit more blood. It’s all about passion. It is a big event for the fans as well. There is always a huge vibe when state of origin time comes around and at the venues the atmosphere is amazing, even hours before the game. It’s a passionate game from the players and from the fans. It’s the game that the boo’s are louder and so are the cheers. How are the state of origin players selected? A part of the selection process in N.S.W is the city v country match. It is held every year so the players selected in these sides can try and fight there way into the origin squad. Many people believe that this actually isn’t part of the process as last years man of the match, Scott Hill, was not selected for any of the three games played but some of the selectors regard it as a trial. The Queensland rugby league do not hold a match like this to help with selection. The selectors for each state select an origin squad. The final origin team can include people not selected in the squad. The selectors are a panel of ex-players and rugby league experts who watch the performance of every player and analyse this to choose there final side about one week before the game. Why did they start state of origin? They have wanted to start state of origin since 1900. The suggestion actually came about because a New South Wales star moved to Queensland. In the 1900 a quality N.S.W player moved to Queensland. A journalist from a newspaper wrote, â€Å" even though he is residing in Rockhampton I am of the opinion he should play for NSW. The time has arrived, I think, for the observance of [such] a qualification for players in inter-colonial matches.

Censorship In Europe :: essays research papers

Americans think of Europeans as essentially like themselves. They believe European societies are like their own-rooted in the rule of law, freedom of religion, democratic government, market competition, and an unfettered press. In recent years, however, Europeans have given up an essential liberty: freedom of speech. It is true that in the United States prevailing orthodoxies on some questions are ruthlessly enforced but it is still legal to say just about anything. Not so in much of Europe. In the last decade or so countries we think of as fellow democracies-France, Germany, Switzerland and others-have passed laws that limit free speech for the same crude ideological reasons that drove the brief, unsuccessful vogue of campus speech codes in the United States. Today in Europe there are laws as bad as anything George Orwell could have imagined. In some countries courts have ruled that the facts are irrelevant, and that certain things must not be said whether they are true or false. In others, a defendant in court who tries to explain or defend a forbidden view will be charged on the spot with a fresh offense. Even his lawyer can be fined or go to jail for trying to mount a defense. In one case a judge ordered that a bookseller's entire stock-innocent as well as offending titles-be burned! Just as Eastern Europe is emerging from it, Western Europe has entered the thought-crime era, in a return to the mentality that launched the Inquisition and the wars of religion. It is a tyranny of the left practiced by the very people who profess shock at the tactics of Joseph McCarthy, an exercise of raw power in the service of pure ideology. The desire not merely to debate one's opponents but to disgrace them, muzzle them, fine them, jail them is utterly contrary to the spirit of civilized discourse. It is profoundly disturbing to find this ugly sentiment codified into law in some of the countries we think of as pillars of Western Civilization. At the same time, these laws cannot help but draw attention to the very ideas they forbid. Truth does not generally require the help of censors. There are two subjects about which Europeans can no longer speak freely. One is race and the other is Nazi Germany. "Anti-racism" laws generally take the form of forbidding the expression of opinions that might stir up "hatred" against any racial or ethnic group.

Digital Fortress Chapter 123-126

Chapter 123 An ashen technician ran to the podium. â€Å"Tunnel block's about to go!† Jabba turned to the VR onscreen. The attackers surged forward, only a whisker away from their assault on the fifth and final wall. The databank was running out of time. Susan blocked out the chaos around her. She read Tankado's bizarre message over and over. PRIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELEMENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI â€Å"It's not even a question!† Brinkerhoff cried. â€Å"How can it have an answer?† â€Å"We need a number,† Jabba reminded. â€Å"The kill-code is numeric.† â€Å"Silence,† Fontaine said evenly. He turned and addressed Susan. â€Å"Ms. Fletcher, you've gotten us this far. I need your best guess.† Susan took a deep breath. â€Å"The kill-code entry field accepts numerics only. My guess is that this is some sort of clue as to the correct number. The text mentions Hiroshima and Nagasaki-the two cities that were hit by atomic bombs. Maybe the kill-code is related to the number of casualties, the estimated dollars of damage†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She paused a moment, rereading the clue. â€Å"The word ‘difference' seems important. The prime difference between Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Apparently Tankado felt the two incidents differed somehow.† Fontaine's expression did not change. Nonetheless, hope was fading fast. It seemed the political backdrops surrounding the two most devastating blasts in history needed to be analyzed, compared, and translated into some magic number†¦ and all within the next five minutes. Chapter 124 â€Å"Final shield under attack!† On the VR, the PEM authorization programming was now being consumed. Black, penetrating lines engulfed the final protective shield and began forcing their way toward its core. Prowling hackers were now appearing from all over the world. The number was doubling almost every minute. Before long, anyone with a computer-foreign spies, radicals, terrorists-would have access to all of the U.S. government's classified information. As technicians tried vainly to sever power, the assembly on the podium studied the message. Even David and the two NSA agents were trying to crack the code from their van in Spain. PRIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELEMENTS RESPONSIBLE FORHIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI Soshi thought aloud. â€Å"The elements responsible for Hiroshima and Nagasaki†¦ Pearl Harbor? Hirohito's refusal to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"We need a number,† Jabba repeated, â€Å"not political theories. We're talking mathematics-not history!† Soshi fell silent. â€Å"How about payloads?† Brinkerhoff offered. â€Å"Casualties? Dollars damage?† â€Å"We're looking for an exact figure,† Susan reminded. â€Å"Damage estimates vary.† She stared up at the message. â€Å"The elements responsible†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Three thousand miles away, David Becker's eyes flew open. â€Å"Elements!† he declared. â€Å"We're talking math, not history!† All heads turned toward the satellite screen. â€Å"Tankado's playing word games!† Becker spouted. â€Å"The word ‘elements' has multiple meanings!† â€Å"Spit it out, Mr. Becker,† Fontaine snapped. â€Å"He's talking about chemical elements-not sociopolitical ones!† Becker's announcement met blank looks. â€Å"Elements!† he prompted. â€Å"The periodic table! Chemical elements! Didn't any of you see the movie Fat Man and Little Boy-about the Manhattan Project? The two atomic bombs were different. They used different fuel-different elements!† Soshi clapped her hands. â€Å"Yes! He's right! I read that! The two bombs used different fuels! One used uranium and one used plutonium! Two different elements!† A hush swept across the room. â€Å"Uranium and plutonium!† Jabba exclaimed, suddenly hopeful. â€Å"The clue asks for the difference between the two elements!† He spun to his army of workers. â€Å"The difference between uranium and plutonium! Who knows what it is?† Blank stares all around. â€Å"Come on!† Jabba said. â€Å"Didn't you kids go to college? Somebody! Anybody! I need the difference between plutonium and uranium!† No response. Susan turned to Soshi. â€Å"I need access to the Web. Is there a browser here?† Soshi nodded. â€Å"Netscape's sweetest.† Susan grabbed her hand. â€Å"Come on. We're going surfing.† Chapter 125 â€Å"How much time?† Jabba demanded from the podium. There was no response from the technicians in the back. They stood riveted, staring up at the VR. The final shield was getting dangerously thin. Nearby, Susan and Soshi pored over the results of their Web search. â€Å"Outlaw Labs?† Susan asked. â€Å"Who are they?† Soshi shrugged. â€Å"You want me to open it?† â€Å"Damn right,† she said. â€Å"Six hundred forty-seven text references to uranium, plutonium, and atomic bombs. Sounds like our best bet.† Soshi opened the link. A disclaimer appeared. The information contained in this file is strictly for academic use only. Any layperson attempting to construct any of the devices described runs the risk of radiation poisoning and/or self-explosion. â€Å"Self-explosion?† Soshi said. â€Å"Jesus.† â€Å"Search it,† Fontaine snapped over his shoulder. â€Å"Let's see what we've got.† Soshi plowed into the document. She scrolled past a recipe for urea nitrate, an explosive ten times more powerful than dynamite. The information rolled by like a recipe for butterscotch brownies. â€Å"Plutonium and uranium,† Jabba repeated. â€Å"Let's focus.† â€Å"Go back,† Susan ordered. â€Å"The document's too big. Find the table of contents.† Soshi scrolled backward until she found it. I. Mechanism of an Atomic Bomb A) Altimeter B) Air Pressure Detonator C) Detonating Heads D) Explosive Charges E) Neutron Deflector F) Uranium Plutonium G) Lead Shield H) Fuses II. Nuclear Fission/Nuclear Fusion A) Fission (A-Bomb) Fusion (H-Bomb) B) U-235, U-238, and Plutonium III. History of the Atomic Weapons A) Development (The Manhattan Project) B) Detonation 1) Hiroshima 2) Nagasaki 3) By-products of Atomic Detonations 4) Blast Zones â€Å"Section two!† Susan cried. â€Å"Uranium and plutonium! Go!† Everyone waited while Soshi found the right section. â€Å"This is it,† she said. â€Å"Hold on.† She quickly scanned the data. â€Å"There's a lot of information here. A whole chart. How do we know which difference we're looking for? One occurs naturally, one is man-made. Plutonium was first discovered by-â€Å" â€Å"A number,† Jabba reminded. â€Å"We need a number.† Susan reread Tankado's message. The prime difference between the elements†¦ the difference between†¦ we need a number†¦ â€Å"Wait!† she said. â€Å"The word ‘difference' has multiple meanings. We need a number-so we're talking math. It's another of Tankado's word games-‘difference' means subtraction.† â€Å"Yes!† Becker agreed from the screen overhead. â€Å"Maybe the elements have different numbers of protons or something? If you subtract-† â€Å"He's right!† Jabba said, turning to Soshi. â€Å"Are there any numbers on that chart? Proton counts? Half-lives? Anything we can subtract?† â€Å"Three minutes!† a technician called. â€Å"How about supercritical mass?† Soshi ventured. â€Å"It says the supercritical mass for plutonium is 35.2 pounds.† â€Å"Yes!† Jabba said. â€Å"Check uranium! What's the supercritical mass of uranium?† Soshi searched. â€Å"Um†¦ 110 pounds.† â€Å"One hundred ten?† Jabba looked suddenly hopeful. â€Å"What's 35.2 from 110?† â€Å"Seventy-four point eight,† Susan snapped. â€Å"But I don't think-â€Å" â€Å"Out of my way,† Jabba commanded, plowing toward the keyboard. â€Å"That's got to be the kill-code! The difference between their critical masses! Seventy-four point eight!† â€Å"Hold on,† Susan said, peering over Soshi's shoulder. â€Å"There's more here. Atomic weights. Neutron counts. Extraction techniques.† She skimmed the chart. â€Å"Uranium splits into barium and krypton; plutonium does something else. Uranium has 92 protons and 146 neutrons, but-â€Å" â€Å"We need the most obvious difference,† Midge chimed in. â€Å"The clue reads ‘the primary difference between the elements.' â€Å" â€Å"Jesus Christ!† Jabba swore. â€Å"How do we know what Tankado considered the primary difference?† David interrupted. â€Å"Actually, the clue reads prime, not primary.† The word hit Susan right between the eyes. â€Å"Prime!† she exclaimed. â€Å"Prime!† She spun to Jabba. â€Å"The kill-code is a prime number! Think about it! It makes perfect sense!† Jabba instantly knew Susan was right. Ensei Tankado had built his career on prime numbers. Primes were the fundamental building blocks of all encryption algorithms-unique values that had no factors other than one and themselves. Primes worked well in code writing because they were impossible for computers to guess using typical number-tree factoring. Soshi jumped in. â€Å"Yes! It's perfect! Primes are essential to Japanese culture! Haiku uses primes. Three lines and syllable counts of five, seven, five. All primes. The temples of Kyoto all have-â€Å" â€Å"Enough!† Jabba said. â€Å"Even if the kill-code is a prime, so what! There are endless possibilities!† Susan knew Jabba was right. Because the number line was infinite, one could always look a little farther and find another prime number. Between zero and a million, there were over 70,000 choices. It all depended on how large a prime Tankado decided to use. The bigger it was, the harder it was to guess. â€Å"It'll be huge.† Jabba groaned. â€Å"Whatever prime Tankado chose is sure to be a monster.† A call went up from the rear of the room. â€Å"Two-minute warning!† Jabba gazed up at the VR in defeat. The final shield was starting to crumble. Technicians were rushing everywhere. Something in Susan told her they were close. â€Å"We can do this!† she declared, taking control. â€Å"Of all the differences between uranium and plutonium, I bet only one can be represented as a prime number! That's our final clue. The number we're looking for is prime!† Jabba eyed the uranium/plutonium chart on the monitor and threw up his arms. â€Å"There must be a hundred entries here! There's no way we can subtract them all and check for primes.† â€Å"A lot of the entries are nonnumeric,† Susan encouraged. â€Å"We can ignore them. Uranium's natural, plutonium's man-made. Uranium uses a gun barrel detonator, plutonium uses implosion. They're not numbers, so they're irrelevant!† â€Å"Do it,† Fontaine ordered. On the VR, the final wall was eggshell thin. Jabba mopped his brow. â€Å"All right, here goes nothing. Start subtracting. I'll take the top quarter. Susan, you've got the middle. Everybody else split up the rest. We're looking for a prime difference.† Within seconds, it was clear they'd never make it. The numbers were enormous, and in many cases the units didn't match up. â€Å"It's apples and goddamn oranges,† Jabba said. â€Å"We've got gamma rays against electromagnetic pulse. Fissionable against unfissionable. Some is pure. Some is percentage. It's a mess!† â€Å"It's got to be here,† Susan said firmly. â€Å"We've got to think. There's some difference between plutonium and uranium that we're missing! Something simple!† â€Å"Ah†¦ guys?† Soshi said. She'd created a second document window and was perusing the rest of the Outlaw Labs document. â€Å"What is it?† Fontaine demanded. â€Å"Find something?† â€Å"Um, sort of.† She sounded uneasy. â€Å"You know how I told you the Nagasaki bomb was a plutonium bomb?† â€Å"Yeah,† they all replied in unison. â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Soshi took a deep breath. â€Å"Looks like I made a mistake.† â€Å"What!† Jabba choked. â€Å"We've been looking for the wrong thing?† Soshi pointed to the screen. They huddled around and read the text: †¦the common misconception that the Nagasaki bomb was a plutonium bomb. In fact, the device employed uranium, like its sister bomb in Hiroshima. â€Å"But-† Susan gasped. â€Å"If both elements were uranium, how are we supposed to find the difference between the two?† â€Å"Maybe Tankado made a mistake,† Fontaine ventured. â€Å"Maybe he didn't know the bombs were the same.† â€Å"No.† Susan sighed. â€Å"He was a cripple because of those bombs. He'd know the facts cold.† Chapter 126 â€Å"One minute!† Jabba eyed the VR. â€Å"PEM authorization's going fast. Last line of defense. And there's a crowd at the door.† â€Å"Focus!† Fontaine commanded. Soshi sat in front of the Web browser and read aloud. †¦Nagasaki bomb did not use plutonium but rather an artificially manufactured, neutron-saturated isotope of uranium 238.† â€Å"Damn!† Brinkerhoff swore. â€Å"Both bombs used uranium. The elements responsible for Hiroshima and Nagasaki were both uranium. There is no difference!† â€Å"We're dead,† Midge moaned. â€Å"Wait,† Susan said. â€Å"Read that last part again!† Soshi repeated the text. â€Å"†¦artificially manufactured, neutron-saturated isotope of uranium 238.† â€Å"238?† Susan exclaimed. â€Å"Didn't we just see something that said Hiroshima's bomb used some other isotope of uranium?† They all exchanged puzzled glances. Soshi frantically scrolled backward and found the spot. â€Å"Yes! It says here that the Hiroshima bomb used a different isotope of uranium!† Midge gasped in amazement. â€Å"They're both uranium-but they're different kinds!† â€Å"Both uranium?† Jabba muscled in and stared at the terminal. â€Å"Apples and apples! Perfect!† â€Å"How are the two isotopes different?† Fontaine demanded. â€Å"It's got to be something basic.† Soshi scrolled through the document. â€Å"Hold on†¦ looking†¦ okay†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Forty-five seconds!† a voice called out. Susan looked up. The final shield was almost invisible now. â€Å"Here it is!† Soshi exclaimed. â€Å"Read it!† Jabba was sweating. â€Å"What's the difference! There must be some difference between the two!† â€Å"Yes!† Soshi pointed to her monitor. â€Å"Look!† They all read the text: †¦two bombs employed two different fuels†¦ precisely identical chemical characteristics. No ordinary chemical extraction can separate the two isotopes. They are, with the exception of minute differences in weight, perfectly identical. â€Å"Atomic weight!† Jabba said, excitedly. â€Å"That's it! The only difference is their weights! That's the key! Give me their weights! We'll subtract them!† â€Å"Hold on,† Soshi said, scrolling ahead. â€Å"Almost there! Yes!† Everyone scanned the text. †¦difference in weight very slight†¦ †¦gaseous diffusion to separate them†¦ †¦10,032498X10?134 as compared to 19,39484X10?23.** â€Å"There they are!† Jabba screamed. â€Å"That's it! Those are the weights!† â€Å"Thirty seconds!† â€Å"Go,† Fontaine whispered. â€Å"Subtract them. Quickly.† Jabba palmed his calculator and started entering numbers. â€Å"What's the asterisk?† Susan demanded. â€Å"There's an asterisk after the figures!† Jabba ignored her. He was already working his calculator keys furiously. â€Å"Careful!† Soshi urged. â€Å"We need an exact figure.† â€Å"The asterisk,† Susan repeated. â€Å"There's a footnote.† Soshi clicked to the bottom of the paragraph. Susan read the asterisked footnote. She went white. â€Å"Oh†¦ dear God.† Jabba looked up. â€Å"What?† They all leaned in, and there was a communal sigh of defeat. The tiny footnote read: **12% margin of error. Published figures vary from lab to lab.

John Updike’s A&P Essay

The nineteen fifties marked the era of differences between the parents and their children. Not until the nineteen sixties was there turning point in the nation. The generation gaps are the differences amongst the younger generation and their elders, and mainly amongst children and their parents. Generation gap still occurs today, in thing varying from behavior, to genres of music, and even in usage of language. The new generations try to express themselves as something different from the old, embracing new slang, trying to form a separation between themselves and the previous generation. In John Updike’s â€Å"A &P†, a teenage boy named Sammy works at a local store called A&P. Sammy is a young casher, that stands up to his boss and he stands up for three girls who are dressed in bathing suits. Sammy lives in a small town, where nothing really happens. There is a struggle within every teenager. Sammy doesn’t like his job at the store or the store itself, and he finds the customers to be like sheep. â€Å"All this while, the customers had been showing up with their carts, you know, sheep, seeing a scene, they had all bunched up on Stokesie†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Updike 1170). The girls were like a pinball and the store is like the pinball machine, because Sammy could only see the girl’s heads as they went through the aisles, â€Å" the whole store was like a pinball machine and I didn’t know which tunnel they’d come out of†(Updike1169). Lengel is like a kingpin, because he is the manager of the store. Sammy’s observations on the people in the store build up on his internal conflict. According to Joseph Lostracco’s â€Å"Analyzing Short Stories†, Sammy shows an internal conflict between his limitation due to social class and the need to be admired (Lostracco 99). This conflict becomes a pparent when Sammy struggles between wanting to stand up for Queenie and her friends and the desire to be liked by others by not saying anything to Lengel. The other ‘market dwellers’ were shocked, with Queenie and her friends for walking into the store wearing bathing suits and no shoes. Sammy’s conflict occurs when his manager Lengel was telling the girls they couldn’t wear swimsuits out in public. Lengel found it to be inappropriate for women to be in swimsuits in public places, Lengel tells the girls â€Å"Girls this isn’t the beach† (Updike 1169). Updike states â€Å"Its one thing to have a girl in a bathing suit down on the beach, where what with the glare nobody can look at each other much anyway, and another thing in the cool of the A&P†¦.†(Updike 1168). According to Lostracco, Sammy’s  conflict becomes an external one between him and the grocery store manger. Sammy feels that if he comes to the girls’ rescue he will win their favor (Lostracco 99). Sammy feels like he can impress the girls, but the girls left before he quit. There is a conflict for approval in every culture. There were generation gaps going on during the nineteen fifties and nineteen sixties, the young people wanting different things from their parents. But the big turning point in culture was not during the nineteen fifties, but in the nineteen sixties. The Young people wanted to feel free, and be their own people. Queenie wanting to be part of the movement and Sammy is stuck between the two generations. Lengel claims that the girls are embarrassing themselves, where as Sammy states that â€Å"You didn’t have to embarrass them†(Updike 1170). Even if society is able to determine its own moral code and culture, it doesn’t fulfill everyone’s needs. According to Lostracco the tone achieved in â€Å"A&P† is based on humor at the expense of growing up. Updike handily illustrates the impulsivity of youth who yearn to be accepted (Lostracco 100). The three girls gets Sammy’s attention when they walked into the grocery store, wearing only their bathing suits. Sammy describes each of the girls in great detail, but goes in more detail with Queenie then with her friends. Queenie is the leader of her group, she’s confident. Sammy thinks that Queenie is ideal but not perfect, â€Å"She has sort of okay hair that the sun and salt had bleached done up in a bun†(Updike 1168). Sammy likes the girls and he thinks about them a lot- how they interact, and what they wear and goes into great detail of how they look. Sammy describes Lengel is strict, uptight and is you’re stereotypical boss. Lengel is a hard worker who is misunderstood and he takes Sammy’s place when Sammy quits his job. Sammy also sees Lengel as someone who doesn’t miss much-â€Å"Sunday school superintendent.† Lengel hides in his office all day. Lengel tries to explain to Sammy when he quits that he is hurting his parents, and that Lengel has known Sammy’s parents for years, â€Å" Sammy, you don’t want to do this to your mom and Dad†(Updike 1171). Sammy realizes that he doesn’t want to do this to his parents, but Sammy is his own person. Sammy rebels against the store, because how Lengel treated the three girls. Lengel criticizes the girls because they are wearing bathing suits. The bathing suits symbolize the girls’ neglect of the social rules of their small town. For Sammy the bathing suits symbolize freedom and a getaway from the world that he is  stuck in. Coming from two different generations Sammy and Lengel sees the girls wearing the bat hing suits from different sides. Lengel criticizing the girls symbolizing Sammy trying to find out who he wants to be. Sammy is a hero, because he stood up not only for Queenie and her friends, but also for something he thought was ok. The nineteen sixties had transformed the nation. The nineteen sixties was the turning point for the United States. According to Rennay Craats people demonstrated for the end of the war and racial discrimination (Craats 4). The nineteen sixties were full of huge protests, some of which turned violent. People protested racism, the war in Vietnam, and the government. The Civil rights movement had spread across the nation, as many young Americans protested to get the nations attention about the civil rights. Sammy was stuck between wanting to be his own person and wanting to make his parents happy. According to Lostracco, Sammy’s rebellion can see as a reaction to the basic morality he faces in his hometown, a very ordinary and uneventful small town (Lostracco 100). Queenie was ‘the leader’ of the group. Sammy realized how hard life was going to be for him after he quit his job, â€Å"My stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter†(Updike 1171). Sammy knew that he did what he thought was best for him, even though it might mean people being upset with him. Today the gaps are getting bigger due to the massive amounts of technology the younger g enerations use. During the nineteen sixties Americans took part took part in the social revolution. Taking part in peace, and social justice. Women were looking for equality, the younger generation looking to be different. Queenie and her friends wanted to be able to walk into the grocery store in the swimming suits and with no shoes, and having it be a problem. Today it is more acceptable for women to walk into grocery stores with shorts and a swimsuit on then it was in the nineteen sixties. Sammy had a reason to stand up to his boss Lengel and be his own person, because of how Lengel was criticizing the three girls. Generation gaps have been going gone for years. Sammy was trying to ‘find himself’, during the story. Sammy stood up for what he thought was right, and helped out the three girls. John Updike uses first person to describe the experience of the three girls in the store, and Sammy’s experience of working there. John Updike shows in A&P just because people believe in something doesn’t mean you have to believe in the same thing.  There is a co nflict that occurs in not just in teenagers but also the adults every day. Work cited Craats, Rennay. â€Å"History of 1960’s†. Weigl Publishers Inc., 2002. http://books.google.com/books?id=1tm_44Ln4EUC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. November 14, 2012 Hawthorne, Nathaniel. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.† Fiction 100 an anthology of short fiction. Thirteenth edition. New Jersey,2012. Lostracco, Joseph. â€Å"Analyzing Short Stories.† Seventh edition. Revised printing. 1992.

Jextra Neighbourhood Case Analysis Essay

The Jextra Neighborhood case study is an evidence of the growing effort by Multi National Corporations to extend their operational base to take advantage of the increasing benefits associated with globalization. The case highlights the managerial capabilities and style of the Manager, Tom Chong; the cultural variations in the perception of business as an entity and its relationships with society, employee attitude to work ethics, and legal variables governing the operations of international corporations. The Malaysian system poses a socio-ethical dilemma especially with the giving and receipts of bribes by appointed employees as well as the exchange of favors (or request thereof) between government officials and businesses. How Should Tom Chong resolve the issue? Concerning the Mayor of Klang’s request, Chong must first assess his own degree of power and authority implied by his position as Country manager. The appointment of a country manager as part of the organizational hierarchy conforms to the management principle of authorization, which mandates equable authority and power to enable managers carry out assigned duties. Such authorities usually have limitations especially in situations where the action or inaction of the officer will affect corporate commitment financially or otherwise. Due to the value of financial capital involved, and the legality thereof, Chong should refer the request in a memo to his immediate boss with copies to corporate headquarters in line with the principle of communication, which encourages a forward-backward linkages and consultative approach to organizational decision-making processes. Even if the legal implications are favorable, the final decision made with regards to the mayor’s request must take into consideration the various business indices such as the time needed to break-even and recoup investment, potential market size, growth matrix and competitive threat for comparison with larger corporate goals. The original Jextra store plan did not consider the flyover road as a priority, which may help narrow the choice options to the school project. In addition, Malaysia law is silent over business contribution for social programs and there is wide example for the practice. If considered, Jextra could make the school financing process public and  transparent with payment made directly to a body appointed by the city administration that has oversight for contributions and disbursement, and controls for effective accountability. What Should Chong do, about the rumors about the bribery and kickbacks to the category manager (CM)? As the country manager, dealing with the bribery and kickback rumors by the CMs is within Ching’s administrative supervision and jurisdiction. In this case, the CMs are expected to be accountable to him and to carry out their duties according to the laid down procedures as dedicate in the Jextra Code of conduct. Chong should first have a close door meeting with Arif Alam and inform him about the information he has received about the activities of the CMs in general as well as the seriousness of its implications if anything should known. He should then recommit the CMs and all other employees to the Jextra Conduct Code (JCC) by running workshops for the staff. At the conclusion of the workshop, the CMs should make to sign an undertaking that expressly promise their commitment to the JCC. The workshop can made an annual event during which personnel from corporate or regional headquarters could be asked to attend for added importance Suppliers, individuals and organizations that do business with Jextra should also be educated about the Jextra CC from the first time a business relationship is established. Contractual agreement must have a section enforceable at law that details an understanding of the requirement for honest dealings devoid of bribery kickbacks and other corrupt practices to, from or by a Jextra employee during the period of the business relationship. The agreement should also make clear procedures for business engagement and the consequences for a breach including abandon and prosecution. Does the jextra Business Code of conduct help chong in resolving the issue? Jextra’s business conduct code does not seem helpful to the manager, Chong in resolving the bribery and kickback issues at the organization. In the first place, the document is settled in ‘cautions and admonitions’ instead of the inherent force of the law. What is more, there are no meaningful arrangements in the document. Besides, even though the code allows gifts and entertainment of ‘small/minimal’ value to guest and suppliers, there is no definite amount given either by department or rank/title such that, the value herein involved may be subjected to acceptable interpretations and variations from department to department and between individual employees. Such lack of  specificity exposes the manager Chong and limits the options available to him for dealing with personnel/employee conduct because of the likelihood that, employee may see his actions as ‘refer his own measures’ instead of company regulation. Are these the kind of issues that Chong should have anticipated as a country manager? As a manager of an international company, Chong should expect to encounter cultural variations or collisions in business and social relations in Malaysia. Local expectations and company ethical policies do sometime clash during the execution of business objectives. However, managers must advice staff to stick with the tried and tested laid down policies. Managers many recommend a review of policies in the face of strong objective evidence for alternative approaches. Such ethical pursuit may help the company in case of legal suits; solidify the managers observed integrity whiles setting a standard for change.

Shooting an Elephant

George Charalambous 03/05/2013 English 1030 Research Paper † If it were necessary to give the briefest possible definition of imperialism, we should have to say that imperialism is the monopoly stage of capitalism now† according to Vladimir Lenin. George Orwell immediately begins the essay †Shooting an Elephant† by claiming his perspective on British Imperialism, and how this imperialism affected himself, his empire, and the Burma people. Though George Orwell is a British officer himself at the time in Burma , he claims that he is fully against the oppressors , who at the time are the British.His personal experience, that he writes about with the elephant is metaphorical to imperialism and how he views the social issue. The author is the protagonist of the story and he shows the feelings toward the British Imperialism and Britain's justification for their actions in taking over Burma. Nowadays imperialism, transformed to capitalism and a lot of the characteris tics are the same. Firstly, if we take a look to George Orwell's life he was born in 1903 in Bengal, in the British Colony of India, where his dad was working.His mother though was the one that brought him to England at the age of one. While he was in primary school, and other greater levels his teachers made clear that he was disliked by some of them. He joined the imperial police in India, Burma after finishing his studies at Eton, without any prospect of getting a college degree because his family was insufficient to pay his tuition. He went back to England in 1928 having grown hating imperialism as shown by his first novel † Burmese Days â€Å". Orwell and his family lived poor for many years even sometimes he was homeless.He began working in BBC Eastern service after the end of world war two. His job there was to shape propaganda and wrote that he felt bad for working there but he did it only to survive. He was working mostly in programs to gain Indian support for Britai n's war efforts. Despite the good pay from BBC he did not like what they were supporting and he resigned in 1943. Orwell was well known during most of his career for his journalism, both in books and British press. In his own words, he characterize himself as a democratic socialist, and he was strongly against fascism, imperialism and dictators.George Orwell is a creative and competent writer, and he is a man that has a lot to teach and say about the world around him and around the world through his writings. He is such a writer. To begin with Orwell is the protagonist of â€Å"Shooting an Elephant†. The author himself is saying that he is uneducated and young , at that particular time. From that saying, we realize that he did not really experienced life or the world. He believed though that English people should not supply their ideas of life on other people through violence.In the job he was doing he got to see all the dirty work of what his country was doing and what they were in charge of. That was something that really scarred him which he clearly shows in his 1984 last novel. You can see some of that resentment towards big imperialistic governments played out in almost all of his novel. George Orwell opinion when he is in the military and can see clearly the UK imperialistic strategies to rule other countries. His argument was that England military should not even be in India by that time.United Kingdom government was saying that, what they were trying to do, was to develop better living standards for everyone but Orwell did not believe that, that was the cause. In this particular essay † Shooting an Elephant â€Å", as I said previously , is the protagonist. The main incident of the story is when Orwell has to kill the elephant. He talks about his experience as a young British colonial policeman working in Burma in the 1920's. Orwell's is called out to do something about a tame elephant He clearly says in the story that he did not want to kill the animal.In his mind, he just wanted to get close to the elephant but if it does not charge him or show aggression maybe he could just go away and everybody will be fine with it. But he realizes that the moment he started heading towards the elephant with his rifle, everybody from the crowd, start getting excited to see it dead. Those people in the crowd might want a show of entertainment, like something big get shot. On the other hand maybe they just wante the food because in the end of â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† it says that after they kill it, they stripped it's bones in eight pieces and they tok the meat..Maybe though they just wanted the ivory. After he shots, people would fight to get first the ivory. Everybody had a different motivation and that is what made it hard for him to walk away at this point. He knew he was committed to shoot the elephant even though he did not want to do it. He did not want to be laugh at. People expected on him to do it and he had to do it. All these people were following him while he was going int this life experience for him. In Orwell's mind, he was the policeman , so he was in charge. He should be able to do whatever he wants reason obviously.Instead the people and the government were pushing their will upon him and forcing him to do something that he does not want toand that seems like a contradiction to me. He really does not have the freedom to do what truly he wants to do in this situation because of England and what they put him in. One of the senses that I got from â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† was his inside struggle and thinking before and after the shooting. It was a mental struggle for Orwell back-and-fronth. When he finally shoot the elephant, it does not die.He shoot him again and again even in his mouth which is the most sensitive spot of an elephant, but still the animal do not die. It took thirty minutes for the elephant to die. The fact that the elephant had to struggle made the author to suffer more after his unwilling action. The elephant start bleeding and dying in a pain that could not even get up anymore, From the last lines of the story Orwell is focusing on the societal hierarchy and structure. This societal structure was influenced by the English colonialism and how things were run in England. They influenced Burnese people the same way and how they perceived other people.Through the last lines the author points out again how ridiculous was what he was about to do and that the ultimate reason that he did it is because he did not want to get laughed at. We can obviously see the pain and anger towards England oppression. The background of George Orwell, and ultimate points of his biography, will help to understand a lot more about this essay â€Å"Shooting an Elephant†. The story itself is enlightening but you can miss a lot of the important elements of this assessing. Orwell is most famous for writing â€Å"1984†. In â€Å"1984† he pict ures a future world fully controlled by television cameras, â€Å"the big brother†.He lived two lives. First life in Burma as a police officer and second when he goes back to England. His second life , is the life of a writer. In England he wrote â€Å"1984† , and a collection of essays, which â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† is one of those essays. In â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† he uses a lot two words, imperialism and colonialism. Basically colonialism is when a country shows up in another country and says † you are too stupid to run your own country, so we are going to run it for you † . Imperialism is the intent to try to control another country and ostensibly began to think of it as your own.American and English governments have those tensions the last hundrend years. In my opinion , what Orwell was trying to point out is that governments do not use colonialism for active humanitarianism , but the real reason why people show up in another coun try and colonialize it is for money and power. Extract large amounts of resources , sometimes out of the ground and sometimes physical bodies, like in 1940's for slavery. The question is why English people where in Burma? The British were all over South Africa and a big part of Asia that period. Gandhi was against the English colonialism and we can see that from a part of his work.He tried to say to British † it is time for you to leave†. That is important to understand in â€Å"Shooting an Elephant†. George Orwell is writing to speak ironically about the experience he had. Orwell was looking back on it and wanted to share it with everyone, to show why imperialism is bad for societies. That is the reason he wrote â€Å"Shooting an Elephant†. Again what is really important in this story is Orwell's great fear to get laughed at. This is the moment in the story when Orwell finally is able to kind of decpnstruct the mythology of imperialismand he talks about wh at is one thing that cannot happen if you are the person in charge.He points out who really has the power in imperialism, even if the elephant was not causing danger to anyone, and even if he was the police officer. The peer pressure from the people is coming out of the fear of their government. People with power will always face peer pressure and do something that they did not want to do like George Orwell in this particular situation. Sometimes the people in charge do not have the real power but they work only from peer pressure. In conclusion, for me in a world that is constantly trying to make you something different and something you do not want to be , is a great accomplishment to be yourself.The way in which George Orwell operated is as a dramatic and moving allegory of the imperialistic experience. The author actually discusses the shooting of the elephant, pointing out in a horrific detail the painful and slow death of a peaceful elephant by a British officer. This essay ac tually captures the violent reality of imperialism and colonialization. The life of an imperial police officer would be really hard. Orwell was brave enough to confess this experience and dilemmas when other people just accept it and become a part of it. CITATIONS: Lucideyproduction, . â€Å"Imperialism in the 20th Century. xomba. (2006): 1. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. . Lenin, Vladimir. â€Å"imperialism quotes. † Brainy Quote. (1982): 1. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. . Porter, Bernard. â€Å"British and American Imperialism's Compared . † History New Network. (2006): 11. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. . Shooting an Elephant George Charalambous 03/05/2013 English 1030 Research Paper † If it were necessary to give the briefest possible definition of imperialism, we should have to say that imperialism is the monopoly stage of capitalism now† according to Vladimir Lenin. George Orwell immediately begins the essay †Shooting an Elephant† by claiming his perspective on British Imperialism, and how this imperialism affected himself, his empire, and the Burma people. Though George Orwell is a British officer himself at the time in Burma , he claims that he is fully against the oppressors , who at the time are the British.His personal experience, that he writes about with the elephant is metaphorical to imperialism and how he views the social issue. The author is the protagonist of the story and he shows the feelings toward the British Imperialism and Britain's justification for their actions in taking over Burma. Nowadays imperialism, transformed to capitalism and a lot of the characteris tics are the same. Firstly, if we take a look to George Orwell's life he was born in 1903 in Bengal, in the British Colony of India, where his dad was working.His mother though was the one that brought him to England at the age of one. While he was in primary school, and other greater levels his teachers made clear that he was disliked by some of them. He joined the imperial police in India, Burma after finishing his studies at Eton, without any prospect of getting a college degree because his family was insufficient to pay his tuition. He went back to England in 1928 having grown hating imperialism as shown by his first novel † Burmese Days â€Å". Orwell and his family lived poor for many years even sometimes he was homeless.He began working in BBC Eastern service after the end of world war two. His job there was to shape propaganda and wrote that he felt bad for working there but he did it only to survive. He was working mostly in programs to gain Indian support for Britai n's war efforts. Despite the good pay from BBC he did not like what they were supporting and he resigned in 1943. Orwell was well known during most of his career for his journalism, both in books and British press. In his own words, he characterize himself as a democratic socialist, and he was strongly against fascism, imperialism and dictators.George Orwell is a creative and competent writer, and he is a man that has a lot to teach and say about the world around him and around the world through his writings. He is such a writer. To begin with Orwell is the protagonist of â€Å"Shooting an Elephant†. The author himself is saying that he is uneducated and young , at that particular time. From that saying, we realize that he did not really experienced life or the world. He believed though that English people should not supply their ideas of life on other people through violence.In the job he was doing he got to see all the dirty work of what his country was doing and what they were in charge of. That was something that really scarred him which he clearly shows in his 1984 last novel. You can see some of that resentment towards big imperialistic governments played out in almost all of his novel. George Orwell opinion when he is in the military and can see clearly the UK imperialistic strategies to rule other countries. His argument was that England military should not even be in India by that time.United Kingdom government was saying that, what they were trying to do, was to develop better living standards for everyone but Orwell did not believe that, that was the cause. In this particular essay † Shooting an Elephant â€Å", as I said previously , is the protagonist. The main incident of the story is when Orwell has to kill the elephant. He talks about his experience as a young British colonial policeman working in Burma in the 1920's. Orwell's is called out to do something about a tame elephant He clearly says in the story that he did not want to kill the animal.In his mind, he just wanted to get close to the elephant but if it does not charge him or show aggression maybe he could just go away and everybody will be fine with it. But he realizes that the moment he started heading towards the elephant with his rifle, everybody from the crowd, start getting excited to see it dead. Those people in the crowd might want a show of entertainment, like something big get shot. On the other hand maybe they just wante the food because in the end of â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† it says that after they kill it, they stripped it's bones in eight pieces and they tok the meat..Maybe though they just wanted the ivory. After he shots, people would fight to get first the ivory. Everybody had a different motivation and that is what made it hard for him to walk away at this point. He knew he was committed to shoot the elephant even though he did not want to do it. He did not want to be laugh at. People expected on him to do it and he had to do it. All these people were following him while he was going int this life experience for him. In Orwell's mind, he was the policeman , so he was in charge. He should be able to do whatever he wants reason obviously.Instead the people and the government were pushing their will upon him and forcing him to do something that he does not want toand that seems like a contradiction to me. He really does not have the freedom to do what truly he wants to do in this situation because of England and what they put him in. One of the senses that I got from â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† was his inside struggle and thinking before and after the shooting. It was a mental struggle for Orwell back-and-fronth. When he finally shoot the elephant, it does not die.He shoot him again and again even in his mouth which is the most sensitive spot of an elephant, but still the animal do not die. It took thirty minutes for the elephant to die. The fact that the elephant had to struggle made the author to suffer more after his unwilling action. The elephant start bleeding and dying in a pain that could not even get up anymore, From the last lines of the story Orwell is focusing on the societal hierarchy and structure. This societal structure was influenced by the English colonialism and how things were run in England. They influenced Burnese people the same way and how they perceived other people.Through the last lines the author points out again how ridiculous was what he was about to do and that the ultimate reason that he did it is because he did not want to get laughed at. We can obviously see the pain and anger towards England oppression. The background of George Orwell, and ultimate points of his biography, will help to understand a lot more about this essay â€Å"Shooting an Elephant†. The story itself is enlightening but you can miss a lot of the important elements of this assessing. Orwell is most famous for writing â€Å"1984†. In â€Å"1984† he pict ures a future world fully controlled by television cameras, â€Å"the big brother†.He lived two lives. First life in Burma as a police officer and second when he goes back to England. His second life , is the life of a writer. In England he wrote â€Å"1984† , and a collection of essays, which â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† is one of those essays. In â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† he uses a lot two words, imperialism and colonialism. Basically colonialism is when a country shows up in another country and says † you are too stupid to run your own country, so we are going to run it for you † . Imperialism is the intent to try to control another country and ostensibly began to think of it as your own.American and English governments have those tensions the last hundrend years. In my opinion , what Orwell was trying to point out is that governments do not use colonialism for active humanitarianism , but the real reason why people show up in another coun try and colonialize it is for money and power. Extract large amounts of resources , sometimes out of the ground and sometimes physical bodies, like in 1940's for slavery. The question is why English people where in Burma? The British were all over South Africa and a big part of Asia that period. Gandhi was against the English colonialism and we can see that from a part of his work.He tried to say to British † it is time for you to leave†. That is important to understand in â€Å"Shooting an Elephant†. George Orwell is writing to speak ironically about the experience he had. Orwell was looking back on it and wanted to share it with everyone, to show why imperialism is bad for societies. That is the reason he wrote â€Å"Shooting an Elephant†. Again what is really important in this story is Orwell's great fear to get laughed at. This is the moment in the story when Orwell finally is able to kind of decpnstruct the mythology of imperialismand he talks about wh at is one thing that cannot happen if you are the person in charge.He points out who really has the power in imperialism, even if the elephant was not causing danger to anyone, and even if he was the police officer. The peer pressure from the people is coming out of the fear of their government. People with power will always face peer pressure and do something that they did not want to do like George Orwell in this particular situation. Sometimes the people in charge do not have the real power but they work only from peer pressure. In conclusion, for me in a world that is constantly trying to make you something different and something you do not want to be , is a great accomplishment to be yourself.The way in which George Orwell operated is as a dramatic and moving allegory of the imperialistic experience. The author actually discusses the shooting of the elephant, pointing out in a horrific detail the painful and slow death of a peaceful elephant by a British officer. This essay ac tually captures the violent reality of imperialism and colonialization. The life of an imperial police officer would be really hard. Orwell was brave enough to confess this experience and dilemmas when other people just accept it and become a part of it. CITATIONS: Lucideyproduction, . â€Å"Imperialism in the 20th Century. xomba. (2006): 1. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. . Lenin, Vladimir. â€Å"imperialism quotes. † Brainy Quote. (1982): 1. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. . Porter, Bernard. â€Å"British and American Imperialism's Compared . † History New Network. (2006): 11. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. .