Argument Essay Thomas Paine Essay

America is the most diverse country in the world and people come here to live the â€Å"American Dream†. Paine’s assertion is still true today that America is a diverse nation, however, the â€Å"the taxes are few† and there being â€Å"nothing to engender riots and tumults† is in fact not true today. America is known as the world’s â€Å"melting pot† for a reason. People want to come to the greatest nation on Earth. Throughout the history of America people have immigrated from a wide variety of war-torn, famine, poverty-stricken nations to come to a country that ensures an opportunity to make something of yourself. It has been a safe haven for people even before it became a country; the puritans escaped religious persecution from England in the 17th century. Then the Irish left a potato famine to come to America. This led to many more countries in the Eastern Hemisphere immigrating here to America. They came because there is no National language, no national religion, no dictatorial government. This is America where everyone is ensured equal inalienable rights, wherever a person is from. But Paine was wrong when he said â€Å"the poor are not oppressed, the rich are not privileged. There is poverty in America and the rich are very privileged. New York City would prove this exactly. There’s the rich: walking the town, head high, looking through the expensive shops and eating at lavish restaurants. And on the other side of the street there is the homeless: head down, looking through trash cans for food, walking down the side walk begging for loose change. This is not the America Thomas Paine envisions. And his statement of a riot free country has never existed. It starts with Shay’s rebellion in the 1880’s, consisting of western Massachusetts farmers rioting over taxation- another thing Paine says will be few; then with the suffrage movement for women in the early 20th century. And a very large one took place in the 1960’s for Civil Rights’ which was led by Dr. Martin Luther King. Even today people protest government decisions such as Gay marriage or abortion, There will always be people who disagree with the government. Thomas Paine’s view of a perfect America will never happen. We are the country that people dream to come to and we are the most diverse.

Consider the presentation of the two main characters Essay

Consider the presentation of the two main characters. What are Austin and Trevor telling us about the pressure on women in the past and present? Jane Austin wrote ‘The Three Sisters’ in the 19th century. Jane Austin lived in a mercenary world, and she reflects this in her novels. No secret is made of the need to marry for money. Jane Austin believed that for marriage to work, people must have the same interests. The Three Sisters is about a woman called Mary. She has been proposed to by Mr Watts. He is older than her but she decides to marry him for his wealth and money. She also wants to get married before any of her sisters and the Duttons. However she fears her life will be miserable if she chooses to accept Mr Watts’ proposal. William Trevor wrote ‘Teresa’s Wedding’ around the 1970’s. William Trevor was born into a protestant family and brought up in a Catholic society. When troubles started to break out in Northern Ireland, William Trevor moved to England but he frequently visited Ireland. Teresa’s Wedding is also about marriage. The story starts off at the party after the wedding. Teresa has also married for convenience because she is pregnant. Both stories deal with loveless marriages and in both stories the women have little control over their lives. They are both under pressure to marry men they do not love. In Teresa’s Wedding marriage is seen as a means of escape from a grim community, a place of loneliness and frustration. In The Three Sisters marriage is seen as the only possible fulfilment for a woman. Mary is the eldest of the sisters. She has had her first offer of marriage, but she doesn’t know how to value it. She wants to be the first to be married, she does not want to marry Mr Watts but she wants to get married before Georgiana and Sophy. She knows that if she turns down the offer, Mr Watts shall ask either one of the sisters, and following the traditional conventions of the time she is expected to marry before her younger sisters. Mary appears to be very confused one moment she says â€Å"I shall have him† and the next â€Å"I hate him more than anything else in the world† Austin writes about her own class, the upper middle class, and is very critical about their lifestyles and social behaviour, creating very amusing characters and describing them with crony. She makes a mockery of their snobbish behaviour. She describes Mary as a childish and self-centred girl, who likes to boast and often makes herself look ridiculous in front of others. Teresa is a woman who has just married to a man called Artie Cornish. Teresa had a round, pretty face and black, pretty hair, and was a month and a half pregnant. Teresa is a kind and friendly girl. She is calm, even though she is faced with the situation of admitting to Artie, her husband, on her wedding day that she had â€Å"been in the field† with his friend Screw Doyle. She shows maturity in her optimism about her future, believing that she and Artie â€Å"might make some kind of marriage together† Trevor uses third person narrative in his story, everything is described in detail, we almost feel part of the festivities. However, he does not write about the characters thoughts and feelings. Austin’s story is written in first person narrative, in letter form. This helps us to understand the characters fully. In the two stories the women receive pressure from the society they live in. Teresa also receives pressure from the local priest Father Hogan, who shows very little feelings for her when she confesses that she does not love Artie † under the circumstances that line of talk is irrelevant† Mary receives pressure also from her mother who is â€Å"determined not to let this opportunity escape of settling one my daughters so advantageously† I think it is a lot easier to get married in modern society because we have no restrictions in who we choose to marry. We also do not have our parents choose who we marry, so there is no excuse for marrying some one who you do not love.

An Analysis of Child of the Holocaust by Jack Kuper

There have been many memorable books concerning the holocaust but I dont think any have touched me in the way that Child of the Holocaust did. This book follows the true experiences of the author at 9 years old as he struggles to hide his identity, his faith and everything about his life, in order to survive. He is so resilient and has an amazing way of being filled with hope even when totally consumed by fear. What stays with me the most though, is the authors lack of self-pity through all of it. I found this book impossible to put down and yet at times, the all too vivid images which the author describes were difficult to face. This book is so different from any other that I have read on this subject and I had problems trying to pinpoint why. Perhaps it is the point of view of a child that makes it more tragic and heart-wrenching. Perhaps it is his obvious innocence and the fact that he was often cast aside by those he sought protection from. Perhaps it is that at times, it seems the only person who had compassion and respect for life was the author himself. This is a book that will not soon be forgotten. I can also say it is one of the few books I have ever read, that has made me want to turn back to the beginning and read it again right away. There is a sequel which is titled After the Smoke Cleared but looking around, it is really hard to find. I am hoping though that like Child of the Holocaust it will be printed again. Note: Even if you read this many years ago you might want to read it again as this new edition states it has been substantially revised by the author. For those who are film buffs there was also a televised play by Jack Kuper about his life. It was in 1960, shown by the CBC and was titled Sun in My Eyes. As we learn in the book, the title comes from a polish myth that Jews could not see the sun. Research shows that this is probably the first time the CBC addressed the subject of the holocaust directly. This unique childhood memoir of the Holocaust has been praised as powerful (Cincinnati Enquirer), touching (Jewish Digest), and heartbreaking (Library Journal). A true story of rare beauty and remarkable power, it has become an enduring classic. One day, when Jacob Kuperblum was eight, he came home to his town in Poland. His family and friends were gone, rounded up by the Germans only hours earlier. He would never see them again. Thus begins a journey of survival as a young boy travels from town to town in a desperate search for safety and shelter, growing up in fear, deprived of his home and his people and even his identity. All that survived was his spirit and his indomitable will to live. Child of the Holocaust is the acclaimed account of Jacob Kuperblum an unforgettable and moving tale of adversity and triumph. Jack Kuper was only nine years old when he came home to find everyone in his family gone. The night before, Germans had come to his village in rural Poland and taken away all the Jews. Now alone in the world, he has to change his name, forget his language and abandon his religion in order to survive. Jack wanders through Nazi occupied Poland for four years, with no place to hide and no one to trust. The harrowing true story of how he survives has been hailed as a classic, as powerful as The Diary of Anne Frank. It has been in print in various editions in English and a dozen other languages since 1966. For a new edition released this year in Canada, Jack Kuper revisited the manuscript for the first time since he wrote it more than 40 years ago. He was able to include the correct names of those who helped him and to add new material. Jack Kuper escaped Poland and immigrated to Canada at the age of 15. He spent much of his career in advertising, producing and directing award-winning TV commercials. As a filmmaker he has written and directed several shorts. His film RUN! was honoured at the Venice Film Festival. He is also the author of After the Smoke Cleared, the sequel to this book. He now lives in Toronto with his wife Terrye and speaks often to groups about his experiences during the Holocaust.

Critical Analysis for Managers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Critical Analysis for Managers - Essay Example In case there are hitches in the systems or the cultural elements are disjointed, the organization ends up performing below its standards. Through a case study, this paper will compare and contrast the systems and cultures and discuss the extent to which each can illuminate and inform the management role. In Disney-Smile Factory case, the employees identify themselves with the organization. The organization has been able to develop a positive culture which ensures that the employees are proud of working in Disneyland. For instance, Disneyland look is often a source of some amusement to the subordinates who feel privileged to be part of the group that puts a smile on the faces of thousands of the customers who visit the park each day. As a result, even during stressing days, employees are able to control their emotions and deal with delays and queries emanating from the customers without feeling aggrieved by the load of the work and responsibilities (Inceoglu 2002). The systems have played a significant role in enabling the employees to feel as a part of the organization. For instance, the organization has ensured that the systems that are in place minimize the contact of the employees with the customers (Murthy 2007). Therefore, when they are needed to intervene, the employees go out of their way in order to initiate contact with Disneyland customers. However, such a hitch does not make the employees feel as if it’s odd. This is because they are satisfied with the working environment in the organization and they are always ready to ensure that they go out of their way in order to ensure that the customers are satisfied with the services being offered (Hiriyappa 2009). This aspect has played a significant role in increasing customer loyalty towards the organization. Furthermore, it has lowered the level of turnover in the organization. The systems especially those

Classical Era Reflection Paper (Evolution of Management Class) Essay

Classical Era Reflection Paper (Evolution of Management Class) - Essay Example Furthermore, the paper includes discussion on scientific management principles as well as their significance in the activities of today’s managers. Over the years all these theories have been greatly practiced in different workplaces throughout the world. One of the major objectives of discussing these theories is helping the today’s managers so that they can utilize their capabilities in the best possible ways. In addition to these, the paper also includes disadvantages of using these theories. As a result, it is expected that this paper is going to be very useful for the managers in making effective decisions in their career. Classical Era and It’s Impact The basic concept of management is one of the oldest concepts in the world. Individuals and organizations have been using the core concepts of management over the past few centuries throughout the world. Without proper management wars could not be won. Even the wonders of this world and the process in which th ey are built, reflect the fact that ‘management principles’ were greatly in use even in the past. However, there was lack of written formats of the core principles of management. The classical era of management started from 1880 and it lasted till 1930. Prior to this classical era there was pre-scientific era of management that started from 1000 and lasted till the beginning the classical era (Singh, 2009). During classical era general management theories started to evolve. Two of the main thrusts were scientific management and administrative theory. Famous French industrialist, Henri Fayol can be called as the father of administrative theory. He came up with five functions of management and 14 universal principles (Singh, 2009). On the other hand, scientific management came in the picture in 1900 (Singh, 2009). Basically it is the advanced edition of systematic management which was proposed with the purpose of solving the managers’ problems regarding the demand of consumers (Russell & Taylor, 2006). The partial failure of systematic management principles resulted in the origination of scientific management. Scientific management can be defined as the â€Å"management which conducts a business or affairs by standards established by facts or truths gained through systematic observation, experiment or reasoning† (Kreitner, 2006). Frederick Taylor is known to be the father of this type of management. Taylor was able to improve the individual outputs significantly by conducting ‘task and time study’ and developing ‘piece-rate incentive systems’. He also used systematic training and selection process. His main objective was to make the behavior and attitude in the workplaces as predictable and as stable as possible, because predictable and stable work behavior is likely to improve the level of efficiency of sophisticated factories and machines. Taylor heavily trusted on various monetary incentive schemes as he us ed to believe that money is one of the biggest motivating factors that can improve the performance of even lazy workers (Singh, 2009). Four basic principles that were proposed by him are (i) development of scientific approach, (ii) scientific selection, training and teaching, (iii) encouragement of co-operation among the managers and workers and lastly (iv) proper division of responsibilities among management and workers (McDaniel & Gitman, 2007). There are many other contemporary experts who followed

Contemporary social problems paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Contemporary social problems paper - Essay Example These concerns are real social problems that the nation faces at present. There have been significant changes in the population growth since 1967 and it has been unevenly distributed, since 1970, with growth in the South and West, and loss in the other areas. This will result in many types of social problems. Already there are many problems like increased traffic congestion, proliferation of foreign language TV channels, expansion in the number of professional teams and so on. These are minor issues compared to the more serious issues connected with environment, education system, health care system, political system and others. The racial and ethnic disparities that the US is facing put the nation in great distress. The difference in these areas can turn up as decisive factor in the making up of the modern civility. The life in the nation is conditioned by the racial and ethnic group one belongs to. There is now a substantial gap between the minority and the White which can result in the social unrest as well. The minority that is growing at a fast rate will hold increasing share of the future work, resulting in the social imbalance.

A single gene disorder Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A single gene disorder - Research Paper Example It has a wide prevalence worldwide especially in Africa where the occurrence is in about 1 in 100 individuals (Genetics, 2000; Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man). Single-gene disorders generally arise due to mutations or changes in a single gene of the genome. Subsequent changes in the protein product of that gene give rise to a disorder. These disorders could be inherited due to an autosomal dominant or recessive gene or a X-linked inheritance. Every individual acquires two copies of a gene, one form each parents and in the dominant inheritance the disorder occurs if one copy of the gene is defective and in the recessive inheritance it exhibits only if both the copies of the gene are defective. In the case of X-linked disorder, the defective gene is present in the X chromosome and the disease manifest most commonly in males as they only have a single copy of the X chromosome (Human Genome Project Information, 2008). One such single-gene disorder is sickle cell disease which occurs due to a single point mutation in the gene coding for the hemoglobin protein. It has an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. Hemoglobin, the most important pro tein of the red blood cell, is made up of four globin subunits, two ÃŽ ± and two ÃŽ ² subunits, which are coded by their respective genes. Every individual inherits two copies of a gene from each parent which are referred to as alleles. The normal allele for the ÃŽ ² globin subunit is referred to as allele A and the mutated allele as S. A normal individual possessing AA alleles will have a normal hemoglobin moiety, while individuals carrying one A and one S allele will produce both normal and abnormal hemoglobin molecules, as both the A and S allele are co-dominant, and are referred to as carriers of sickle cell trait who are generally healthy but may suffer from sickle cell symptoms under conditions of

Health and Wellness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health and Wellness - Essay Example The cost of cancer, the dreaded disease, is about half that amount. In the past few decades, obesity has increased by 100 percent among children and adolescents (Stevens, 2003). Overweight is not just about looks but it also encompasses a wide array of medical as well as emotional problems. The major risks related to overweight are poor quality of life and the reduction of life span due to diseases. Some of the medical consequences include diabetes, hypertension, heart problems, arthritis and cancer. The psychological consequences of overweight include disrupted self image, depression and lack of confidence. Hence, it is essential to creatively think how a physical exercise and nutrition wellness lifestyle would improve life Before we get into the details of physical and nutritional aspects of lifestyle it is essential to think what are the important lifestyle factors that play a large role in maintaining good health Positive health habits include: 7 to 8 hours of good sleep each night; healthy eating habits; maintaining a healthy weight; regular physical exercise; avoiding alcohol, smoking and drug abuse; performing self-examinations frequently; and 6 to 8 glasses of water each day (Assess Nutrition and Wellness, N.D.). Physical activity and nutrition have been identifi... Research conducted around the world has demonstrated the benefits of an active lifestyle and sound nutritional practices. The first major benefit that greatly influence an individual is the prevention of chronic diseases as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, as well as several forms of cancer (Nutrition Exercise & Wellness, 2005). Secondly, it is not only a benefit to individual but it is an economic gain for the entire nation as healthy people means healthy nation. 2. Two specific daily/weekly actions you can take toward your goal Unhealthy eating habits can cause long-term health consequences. Poor habits, lack of accurate information, and peer pressure can cause many individuals to jeopardize their health. Accurate information about nutrition and good decision-making skills will help them to improve their health now and for the future. It would be easier to ensure a healthful diet by relying on food supplements such as pills, liquids, or powders that contain purified nutrients in specific amounts. However, common man may find it difficult to buy expensive supplements. Hence, planning an appropriate diet with sufficient quantities of proteins, vitamins, minerals and fiber is essential. One can sit with a dietitian to find out the specific need and plan accordingly. Physical exercise is an important step for having a healthy life. Regular exercise will help individuals to reduce weight and have a good physic. Health professionals advise to lose weight gradually i.e. approximately two pounds per week in weight loss is maximum recommended (Assess Nutrition and Wellness, N.D.). This can be achieved through proper exercise and planned diet. 3. Time lines for implementing your action

Essay about poems Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

About poems - Essay Example http://www.sparknotes.com. Browning uses nine stanzas of eight lines, each serving a specific function, as well as providing a rich variety of images, comparisons, and intonations. He takes advantage of poetic license, using both bestial and reflective sounds, bordering on the onomatopoeia-like ‘Gr-r-r-‘ and ‘He-he!’ as well as unbridled invective, like ‘Water your damned flower-pots, do’ and ‘Hell dry you up with its flames!’ He explores morality, the grumbling monk presenting himself as the model of virtue. After revealing his bitter feelings, he lists his grievances against the despicable Brother Lawrence, who he judges against his own standards. He finds the way Lawrence speaks of his flowers repulsive; that he talks at the table is a cross he has to bear, slyly injecting sarcasm with references to ‘parsley’ and ‘swine’. He accuses him of moral turpitude and poor table manners, not knowing how to close his plate after a meal. All the while, he is seeking ways of luring the ‘model’ Brother Lawrence to perdition, in direct contravention to what his vocation and dress symbolize. He abhors Lawrence and rages against him for reasons that seem trivial, which is where the poem has its most ironic yet exhilarating stanzas. He would like to send Lawrence ‘off to hell, a Manichee’ ¹. He also portrays Lawrence as a pagan who is worse than an Arian ² and would stoop to any level to indulge Belial ³ - three not so flattering comparisons- that too in an Abbey, the last place a monk would consider communing with the Devil! Few methods of expression are as powerful as the language of rage. This soliloquy is mainly an extended fit of rage brought on by his deeply rooted hatred of his alter ego, Brother Lawrence, giving an important clue to his seething mental state. To heighten the sarcasm, Browning makes ample use of punctuation marks rarely seen in poetry of that era.

U.S. health care system Essay Example for Free

U.S. health care system Essay It is desirable to learn lessons from abroad, but well noted that it would be impossible to simply transfer policies from one country to the other. There is no such thing as a perfect finance model. There are many calls to move towards contemporary American free insurance and service market system6. It is argued that if there is no competition, the consumer will continue to be poorly served and second-class treatment will remain. However, many responses listed out the sophisticated problems that have arisen from the American healthcare system. Patient Choice One of the important justifications of the system in the US is greater patient choice. Under the concept of â€Å"money following the patient†, patients would not be constrained by cost considerations when choosing services between private sector providers and public sector providers6. Americans are free in the selection of doctors, standards of services as well as service providers. From the experience of the US, voluntary private insurance permits doctors to offer more expensive services beyond the basic provision. Patients are required to pay out-of-pocket for any extra charges. This kind of rigid payment system actually constrains rather than expands freedom of choice of patients6. Patient choice is expensive and thus is more likely to be restricted, especially when there is cost containment. It is the situation in the US that one of the main functions of HMOs was to introduce a gate-keeping role for GPs and limit the wide choices of specialists inherent in the traditional insurance mechanism11. Efficiency With free choice and free market, people have the incentive for enjoying maximum services and claiming full benefits offered by the insurance scheme. It leads to a demand side moral hazard problem for over-consumption of services which causes market inefficie ncy12. Under the insurance market, hospitals are economic agents that aim at maximizing profits and it will create the supply side moral hazard for over-provision of services. Besides, many patients and providers in the US experience many problems with care co-ordination12. In order to prevent abuses and malpractice, mechanisms for checking and auditing would be necessary, which in turn leads to huge administration costs in the US system. Single-payer models in health insurance encourage cooperation and overcome the problem of inefficiency. The main advantage of single-payer system is that one can enjoy universal coverage at a lower cost than is  attained by pluralistic funding approaches. It avoids adverse risk selection and ensures that no one is uninsurable Equity The level of premiumand co-payment would have great impact to equity of the system. The costs of treating uninsured as free care must be absorbed by the insured via cost shifting, higher premiums or taxes39. If the level of payment becomes heavy burdens to lower income group, it creates disincentives for this group to use the system even they experience genuine needs. Due to this marginalization and exclusion, the premium contributed by the lower income group will indirectly subsidize the services consumed by the high income group. The injustice so created makes worse to the equity in access

Discussing The Knife Crime In Britain Criminology Essay

Discussing The Knife Crime In Britain Criminology Essay Section 1: The Problem of Knife Crime in Britain. In June 2006, 15 years old Alex Mulumbu after celebrating the end of his GCSEs exams became one more victim of Britains knife culture. The victim after he got off a bus with friends in Lambeth, south London had an argument with a larger group of teenagers (Woolcock, 2006). During the dispute members of the gang disappeared and returned armed with knives, baseball bats and hockey sticks. Alex was stabbed in the heart and was left lying in a pool of blood on the pavement (Verkaik, 2006). His father visited the scene of his sons killing where he stated to the media that Alex was a good boy and had nothing to do with knives and gangs (Sturcke, 2006). The case vignette above is a clear example of how knife crime is portrayed by the media. A teenager who is getting off a bus and it happens to get stabbed by the perpetrator. However, the reality of knife crime is not simply a black-white issue of good versus bad. The nature of such a problem is complicated and the responses towards it must therefore be multi-faceted (House of Commons). After all, if knife problem was that easy, it would have been solved already. One complexity is that the victims are not always good honest citizens who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The victims are often victimized before and are also those who are carrying knives in the first place (and actually their own knife is used against them). (www.direct.gov.uk). Furthermore, the offenders and victims status in not always differentiated, since the victims carry knives because they are often linked to gangs or have some kind of affiliation with street culture. This, in turn, could mean that a significant proportion of stabbings relate to street violence (www.docstoc.com), and as Professor Brohi claims a very small proportion of knife crime victims are innocent people walking down the street who are stabbed (House of Commons). The media make knife crime even more complex as they often cloud peoples perception by generating moral panic and by giving the impression that knife crime is out of control (Albertazzi, 2010:473). This moral panic, in turn, leads to fear of crime and social disorganization. Knife crime is also complex in itself as it is a symbolic of lack of social control within societies. Knife crime looks unsolvable and as there is no connection between adults-teenagers (Hume, 2008), although it involves young people and shatters lives. In particular, knife crime in itself gives the impression that somehow it is a matter of young peoples world since teenagers are on their own, surviving on the streets (Asthana, 2008). Thus, those who do not live in that kind of environments (outsiders) can never understand. Finally, knife crime is complex because there is no answer to the question why teenagers carry knives. We do not know whether teenagers carry knives for self protection and because of the growing lack of trust in the ability of adults to protect them (Kelbie, 2003), or whether carry knives for things like respect knife carrying is thought to be largely driven by a concern for self protection or to enhance status (Muncie, 2009:36). Continuing the study I am going to produce a report divided into three key sections. The first will be the extent of knife crime in Britain. The second will look at the causes of knife crime and finally the third will produce some initiatives dealing with knife crime. Section 2: The Extent of Knife Crime in Britain Furthermore, knife crime is very complicated in terms of defining whether it is a predominantly black problem. The media often give the impression that all crimes are committed by black people and therefore, make people adopt misconceptions (Wright, 2008). Hence, it is important to note that even though the issue looks like it is black in London and the South-East (www.london.gov.uk), at the same time there are evidence that suggesting that in the North-East (i.e. Glasgow, Scotland, Manchester) the problem is white (House of Commons). As a result, it might be predominantly a black issue in London but certainly not in other places. Given that, I have concluded that the issue of carrying knives has little to do with being black or white, but on the contrary, it has to do with being young and male (Muncie, 2009). Also, knife crime is complicated in terms of definition, since there is no clear Home Office clear definition of knife crime. According to that, the phrase knife crime was adopted by the media and is now popularly used to refer primarily to stabbings but also to the illegal carrying of knives by young people (House of Commons). Hence, since there is no clear definition, then, it is likely for the numerous to use different definitions in order to create statistics and therefore generate more complexity. Furthermore, knife crime is also complicated because there are too many different types of statistics (too much statistical data). In particular, there are statistics for knife crime from the hospital, the police, the British Crime Survey and finally the MORI (House of Commons, 2009). Each of these sources, measure different samples and different places (regions) in the country and therefore, it is too complicated to understand what is happening (Summers, 2008). For example, hospitals define knife crime when somebody has severe internal injuries as a result of knife penetration, whereas police define it when someone is carrying a knife (House of Commons) Furthermore, trying to measure knife crime is, again, difficult because there is also the dark figure of crime. Therefore, this hidden crime makes statistics themselves problematic (Messerschmidt, 1993). However, above all else, the complexity of knife crime is related to the media. The media manipulate the statistics and distort peoples perceptions about knife crime, since they are powerful and so pervasive in terms of their ability to create views (Jewkes, 2004). One distortion is that knife crime is predominantly a black issue. Given that, even though evidence suggest that knife crime is also a white problem (in other areas), yet, the media continue the misrepresentation constantly accusing blacks (scapegoats). According to that, I believe that this misrepresentation leads to moral panic which, in turn, somehow makes the statistics go up. In other words, since teenagers interfere with the media (moral panic), then, they may feel fear of the streets and therefore through self fulfilling prophecy, start carrying knives for self protection. Hence, there is an interaction-interrelationship between the statistics and knife crime (Newburn, 2007). Regarding to the problems associated with knife crime measurement, I believe that data should be collected through a regional setting and this is for two reasons. Firstly, because as indicated, knife crime is not a specific cultural issue of Blacks, and secondly, because the measurement of such a complex issue through national settings, inevitable will generate too many complicated statistical data. Furthermore, and as Young (1988) argues, national settings tend to miss some important elements in the distribution of victimization (Newburn, 2007). Hence, I suggest a regional setting both in areas with the highest knife-crime rates, but also to areas where crime rate is low. This, in turn, we will help us understand why it is black issue in some places whereas white in other. Equally important is to collect data using qualitative approaches, since it would be more beneficial to understand the lived experiences of those who carry knives (rationale behind knife crime) instead of how many carry a knife (What would be the point of knowing that 4000 are carrying knives after all?). For example, it would be very interesting to understand how knife crime is perceived and interpreted by the juvenile delinquents (ethnography research) and thus, find out why they carry knives. This way, more evidence will come up such as whether knife crime relates to Londons (for example) rates of poverty, neglect, unemployment and deprivation (House of Commons). Section 3: The Causes of Knife Crime in Britain. The social learning theory is one of the most enduring approaches among the criminological theories that underscore the nature of peoples involvement in social relationships. Sutherland, considered previous criminological theories and argued that anyone in society can be trained to adopt and follow patterns of crime and deviation (Colombo, 2009). In accordance to Sutherlands differential association conception, the prestige of criminals, the duration of contact between offenders-potential offenders and the frequency of interactions with criminal offenders, are all contributing factors in an individuals likeliness to occupy criminal activities. Sutherland also suggested that attendance with the development of criminal behaviours in social groups, for instance rough and tough attitudes, boosts the individuals propensity to interiorize criminal attitudes. Social learning therefore, links to the causes of knife crime as well as links to masculinity and rational choice perspectives. According to differential association concept, boys are growing up to be men. This process of affirming masculinity promotes boys to develop a public persona (an exterior) of being tough, macho and fearless. In the context of knife crime this means that men have to be risk takers, aggressive and support their competitive nature (i.e. territoriality). Boys, if lose their reputation in front of peers and someone undermines their masculinity, in turn, have to regain this reputation by carrying knives and using them in front of their mates. Thus, since they learn masculinity (via social learning), they learn to behave accordingly to this social role (masculinity) and therefore, act out like men (tough, aggressive). Finally, in terms of applying that to a knife crime, they make the ultimate decision (rational choice) on whether to carry knives by weighing the benefits (status, respect) against the risks (get stabbed, get caught). To conclude, I believe that there is a link between masculinities and social learning as what seems to be happening today, is that street culture (knife crime) is becoming masculine culture (i.e. through rap music) (Newburn, 2007). However, even though differential association theory is one of the most enduring theories about crime, yet, there are some difficulties in explaining knife crime. First of all, according to the first principle of differential association theory, criminal behaviour is learnt (Colombo, 2009). If that is the case, I believe that we have to critically question, how did the first teacher learnt the knife techniques (i.e. hide a knife, disposal once used), so that to pass this knowledge to others? Hence, differential association theory fails to explain the origins of knife crime, since there are no origins. Furthermore, there are no real empirical evidence of links between learning and knife crime. For example, differential association theory does not explain why in similar circumstances, (balance of favorable-unfavourable definitions) some individuals choose to carry a knife whereas others do not. Moreover, social learning theory fails to explain why teenagers develop to associate with those who carry knives. Instead, it focuses more on the peer influence and not on peer selection. Additionally, differential association, supports that all criminal acts are rational (maximase profit-minimise loss) and systematic. However, it fails to explain the spontaneous, wanton acts of violence, which have little purpose or utility (Siegel, 2004). Finally, it is very difficult for social scientists to measure such vague variables like excess of definitions favourable to law violation (Colombo, 2009). Section 4: Towards the Reduction of Knife Crime in Britain. The Tackling Knives Action Programme (TKAP) is a multi-million-pound venture, against knife crime. Its main purpose is to limit the carrying of knives and serious stabbings among teenagers aged between13-19. It involves five government departments and 16 police forces (www.homeoffice.gov.uk). However, Tackling Knives Action Programme (TKAP) has some important limitations in relation to the data, since the recorded crime, especially the less violent, can be affected by changes in police activity and public reporting to the data. Furthermore, there is a lack of comparison statistics in many areas. Finally, TKAP faced the heterogeneity of the forces (www.homeoffice.gov.uk). Another anti-knife policy that has been introduced is via legislation to forbid the sale of knives to anyone under the age of 18. Additionally, Police Operations like Blunt and Shield involve the rapid and random deployment of metal detectors in public places such as stations, schools and so forth. The aim of the policy is to identify and arrest anyone carrying a knife (www.insight-security.com). However, both the restriction of knives sales under- 18s, as well as the deployment of metal detectors fails to tackle the problem, since kitchen knives for instance, would still be widely available. Hence, it is more a problem of education, rather than access to knives. Furthermore, metal detectors may be not detecting all knives, as knives can be easily hidden and disposed once used. My opinion about tackling of knife crime is that one organization alone cannot end this issue. Given that, I suggest that the main aim of all anti-knife crime initiatives should be to increase the definitions against knife-crime (rational choice theory) so that young people understand that carrying knives is immoral but most of all, it is risky (maximize cost, minimize benefit). Furthermore, I support that the best anti knife-crime policy would be to educate the teenagers about this problem (social learning theory). Hence, young people could learn about the consequences of carrying knives at an early age through a mandatory module (i.e. weapon awareness) at schools. Furthermore, I believe that the best initiative to stop knife culture would be if parents (especially the fathers) could show their boys that carrying knives has nothing to do with being a man (masculinity theory). As a conclusion, I argue that Alexs case highlights the need for the authorities to recognize that educating both teenagers and families from an early age is crucial in order to tackle knife crime. Concisely, I have concluded that knife crime is very complex issue because of many reasons. The main one surely is because there are lots of statistical data. Additionally knife crime is complex because the media create moral panic and thus does not help. Moreover I have concluded that knife crime is not a black issue but a knife issue and thus, anti knife policies should redirect their focus on the rationale behind knife crime. Ultimately, I would like to try to give an explanation of what could have might happen in the case vignette. Alex could have been probably to the enemys territory and showed disrespect on the other boys. He threatened the teenagers with his knife and made them run away. Then, the other boys went to another estate, took knives and returned back in order to regain their reputation and status. They have learnt (social learning) that men never back out (masculinity) and finally, they have made the ultimate decision to take the risk and stab Alex (rational choice).

Jumping Mouse :: essays research papers

â€Å"Jumping Mouse†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story Jumping Mouse is a Native American tale that is told with many central themes in mind. The story was most likely told to a wide ranged age group. So with the multiple themes it most likely was design to touch home with all ages in some form or another. One of the more central themes however was the importance of the situations and animals that help Jumping Mouse on his journey. The animals that he meets are much the same as people and situations we have met or well meet in our lifetime.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story begins with a for the most part regular mouse. Like most mice he is â€Å"Busy with Mice things†. However just shortly into the story you find that he is anything but normal when he begins to hear a â€Å"Roaring† in his ears. Others however ignore this saying â€Å"Are you foolish in your head? What sound?†. He tries to convince the other mice, but they are too closed minded to listen to him. These mice, to me represent my peers that are unwilling to take the time to look at the bigger picture around them. I myself am happy and content with my own little world. The story made me think about what I’m missing out on in life by being confined to my little box of thinking, that is my so-called life. Later he decides that he is going to go and find out what the noise is. He talks to his Brother the Raccoon, who tells him that what he is hearing is the river. He declares that he will go and find it so he can tell the others. After witch he begins to doubt himself, as he gets closer to the river. He almost turns back multiple times because he is so scared. This goes along with thinking outside of the box. He now begins to come out of he’s comfort zone, which causes he to almost makes him turn back. This is like so many things in my life, for I have an extreme prejudices and distaste for leaving my comfort zone. After Jumping Mouse gets to the river he sees his reflection in the river. He describes the image as a â€Å"Frightened Mouse†. This again shows that he truly is stepping far outside his comfort zone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Soon Brother Raccoon leaves him with Brother Frog.

Laertes’ Place in Shakespeares Hamlet :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Laertes’ Place in Hamlet      Ã‚  Ã‚   A.C. Bradley depicts the Shakespearean characters of Laertes and Fortinbras in Hamlet as ones who throw into relief the character of the protagonist in Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth:    And secondly, we find among them two, Laertes and Fortinbras, who are evidently designed the throw the character of the hero into relief. Even in the situations there is a curious parallelism; for Fortinbras, like Hamlet, is the son of a king, lately dead, and succeeded by his brother; and Laertes, like Hamlet, has a father slain, and feels bound to avenge him. And with this parallelism in situation there is a strong contrast in character; for both Fortinbras and Laertes possess in abundance the very quality which the hero seems to lack, so that, as we read, we are tempted to exclaim that either of them would have accomplished Hamlet’s task in a day. (94)    The son of Polonius and brother of Ophelia, Laertes must suffer the demise of both father and sister during the course of Hamlet. Helen Gardner, by way of overview, compares Laertes to Hamlet and King Claudius in â€Å"Hamlet and the Tragedy of Revenge†:    Hamlet’s agony of mind and indecision are precisely the things which differentiate him from the smooth, swift plotter Claudius, and from the coarse, unthinking Laertes, ready to â€Å"dare damnation† and cut his enemy’s throat in a churchyard. (222)    Laertes makes his appearance in the drama after Marcellus, Barnardo and Horatio have already seen the Ghost and have trifled with it in an effort to prompt it to communicate with them. Horatio and Marcellus exit the ramparts of Elsinore intending to enlist the aid of Hamlet, who is dejected by the â€Å"o’erhasty marriage† to Hamlet I’s wife less than two month’s after the funeral of Hamlet’s father (Gordon 128). After this scene, Laertes is one of many in attendance at a post-coronation social gathering of the court at Elsinore. Laertes, like Fortinbras a rival of Hamlet (Kermode 1138), comes with his father, Polonius, who manipulates both him and his sister (Boklund 122).G. Wilson Knight says, â€Å"Instinctively the creatures of earth—Laertes, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, league themselves with Claudius: they are of his kind† (N. pag.). Claudius insincerely pays tribute to the memory of his own deceased brother, the former king, and then conducts some items of business, for example dispatching Cornelius and Voltemand to Norway to settle the Fortinbras affair.

History of Fashion Essay -- essays research papers

History of Fashion Fashion has changed a great deal over the past three centuries. As history changes it seems that fashion in some aspect changes with it to adapt to the era. Even today fashion continues to change as the years go on. Looking at fashion even 20 years ago we can see a difference from what we see in our everyday lives. For the purpose of this essay Fashion will be divided into three centuries, since not every era of clothing can be touched upon. The first era of fashion history includes 500 BC- 1450 AD. Near the beginning era fashion was relatively simple, since it was more about practical function than style. This era was referred to as the Ancient Time Period. Garments were always loose fitting, never tight. Tunics were the main clothing choice. Usually tunics would be covered with other layers of fabric, and this was worn by both men and women. Fabrics were usually always plain which meant they had no pattern or vibrant color (white and off-white were the most popular.) Near the fifth century clothing began to include a wider range of colors. Even though clothing was relatively simple, women adorned themselves with jewelry such as bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and rings fashioned from earthy materials. Cosmetics were also around in this era. Women’s hair would usually be seen braided or draped fabric covering the face like a hood. As it moved into the Medieval Time Period it then evolved into militaristic for men , which incorporated tunics, capes, and ...

A Research Proposal on the Role of the Chief Executive Officer Essay

Questions One of the major problems in business is the notion of whether companies should be concerned with other issues than profitability. Adam Smith in 1863 claimed that the process of achieving the overall good for the society is something that will happen inevitably happen because of his idea of the invisible hand of the market. However, more contemporary ideas assert otherwise as they believed that there are a number of conditions that would hinder the invisible hand to work effectively (Mohr and Webb, 2002). The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is deeply rooted on the commitment of organizations to continue their business in an ethical manner. It is in this respect that organizations are said to necessarily contribute to the overall economic development of one’s country while at the same time improving the quality of life of not only its employees and its families but also the society where it belonged (Watts and Holme, 1999). One of the central concerns with regard to the necessity of the implementation of CSR by a particular organization is the impact of a particular company’s decisions and actions within the society together with their responsibility in the aforementioned. As such this means that when aligning certain organizational goals or projects, it would be better if organizations will evaluate first their actions and make sure that they are in accordance to the welfare of the greater good (Parsons, 1954). As such, the impact of an organization’s decision within the society is very vital in CSR. It should be emphasized as well that an organization’s duty should span more than the economic and legal aspects but also assume the good of the majority. Archie Carroll said that an organization’s social responsibility is something that includes the interplay of four important factors. These are economic performance, adherence with the law, ethical responsibility, good corporate citizenship, and improving the society’s quality of life (Carrol and Buchholtz, 2003). However despite companies’ claim for CSR implementation, a significant number of evidence tells that every year, there are numerous companies that are charged for violating environmental laws (Kassinis and Panayiotou, 2006, p. 68). Problems The success of a company’s CSR and the its effect on the company’s image has been viewed by a number of studies to be directly correlated on the role of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (PR News, 2007). It has been said by Kassinis and Panayiotou (2006) that the role of the CEO is very vital since they are the ones who are primarily responsible for the board’s decision-management functions and the even the extent of corporate wrongdoing. The interpretation of the CEO in terms of various environmental issues that could have affect their firms and its choice of environmental strategies have also a significant implication on the overall image and performance of a particular company. Studies such as those conducted by PR News Wire in 2008 claimed that to belong to Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies, the CEO’s role together with his or her capacity to create a strategy or hire specific experts who can effectively handle CSR concerns, such as hiring a competitive Chief Communications Officer (CCO,) is very vital. Companies which belong to Fortune’s annual awards are often evaluated based on their reputation. According to PR News in 2007, it is often the case that CEOs are the ones who are held accountable in terms of the failure to protect the company image in whenever a crisis arises. The study of PR News revealed that in out of 950 global business executives in 11 countries, 68% of the results attributed unethical behavior to the CEO, and 60% cited environmental violations and product recalls to the CEO as well. The influence of the perceptions of various stakeholders, regulators, communities and employees has been viewed by Kassinis and Panayiotou (2006) as critical to the welfare of the firm as they are centrally involved in enforcing the laws and other policies that companies must adhere to. Figure 1: Relationship Between CSR and Stakeholders Source: Tokoro (2007) The figure above shows the direct relationship of stakeholders to CSR in terms of the restrictions that they impose, the resource deals that they pass and the overall value creation of the organization. Gap in Research Even if the claim on the role of CEOs in terms of dealing with issues of CSR and company reputation, other studies suggests that CSR strategies and policies are instead delegated to the shareholders (Kassinis and Panayiotou, 2006, p. 67). It is often the case that the demands of the shareholders are oftentimes in conflict with the interest of customers, suppliers, governments, unions, competitors, local communities, and the general public (Sims, 2003, p. 40). The table below shows an overview of perceptions of Table 1: Stakeholders View of Corporate Responsibility Stakeholders Nature of Stakeholder Claim Shareholders Participation in distribution of profits, additional stock offerings, assets on liquidation; vote of stock; inspection of company books; transfer of stock; election of board of directors; and such additional rights as have been established in the contract with the corporation. Employees Economic, social, and psychological satisfaction in the place of employment. Freedom from arbitrary and capricious behavior on the part of company officials. Share in fringe benefits, freedom to join union and participate in collective bargaining, individual freedom in offering up their services through an employment contract. Adequate working conditions. Customers Service provided with the product; technical data to use the product; suitable warranties; spare parts to support the product during use; R&D leading to product improvement; facilitation of credit. Creditors Legal proportion of interest payments due and return of principal from the investment. Security of pledged assets; relative priority in event of liquidation. Management and owner prerogatives if certain conditions exist with the company (such as default of interest payments). Suppliers Continuing source of business; timely consummation of trade credit obligations; professional relationship in contracting for, purchasing, and receiving goods and services. Unions Recognition as the negotiating agent for employees. Opportunity to perpetuate the union as a participant in the business organization. Competitors Observation of the norms of competitive conduct established by society and the industry. Business statesmanship on the part of peers. Governments Taxes (income, property, and so on); adherence to the letter and intent of public policy dealing with the requirements of fair and free competition; discharge of legal obligations of businesspeople (and business organizations); adherence to antitrust laws. Local communities Place of productive and healthful environment in the community. Participation of company officials in community affairs, provision of regular employment, fair play, reasonable portion of purchases made in the local community, interest in and support of local government, support of cultural and charitable projects. The general public Participation in and contribution to society as a whole; creative communications between governmental and business units designed for reciprocal understanding; assumption of fair proportion of the burden of government and society. Fair price for products and advancement of the state-of-the-art technology that the product line involves. Source: Sims, 2003, p. 41 For instance, consumers expect that the company should be able to carry out their business in a responsible manner; on the other hand, stakeholders expect that their investments would be returned. In other instances, customers are looking forward a return on what they paid for, while suppliers look for dependable buyers. The government wanted companies to follow legislations, while unions seek benefits for their members. The competitors, expected companies to do their business in a fair manner and local communities wanted the aforementioned to be responsible citizens. Finally, the general public expects organizations to improve the over all quality of human life, while shareholders might view this proposition as utopian (Sims, 2003). The figure below shows the dynamics of stakeholder interactions. Figure 2: Value Creation Through Dialogue with Stakeholders Source: Tokoro (2007) As such, it is in this respect that it could be said that CEOs and a particular company’s responsiveness to the demands of CSR and eventually creating a strong image is something could not be the sole determining factor for a successful CSR. Instead, the question of whether CEOs are only implementing the demands of the company’s stakeholders, or the CEOs only attending to consumer, suppliers, government, community and general public demand should also be taken into close consideration. Deficiency As most researches often attribute the success or failure of a CSR strategy to the CEO, the role and influence of other stakeholders in the organization are not often viewed as significant variables worthy of consideration. Only most recent researches are significantly attributing stakeholder roles in terms of its relationship to CSR. Albeit, based from the researcher’s survey of various secondary data, there are hardly any robust literatures stating the influence of stakeholders to the CEO and eventually the latter’s decision on how to implement its CSR program. Purpose The study is vital in order to not only contribute to the existing studies on the role of CEOs and a successful CSR program; but also to further strengthen the claim on the relationship of CSR and a favorable company image. More importantly, subtle factors that might have influenced CEO decisions, strategies and policies such as those coming from company stakeholders will be taken into close consideration and in addition, will be taken as important variables for the research. Although studies on the direct relationship of company stakeholders and CSR and presented by various researches, the role of the stakeholders in terms of influencing the CEO in its CSR decisions are seldom taken into consideration. As such it is with this respect that the research seeks to significantly contribute to the scholarly studies devoted in order to analyze such dynamics. Research Questions Main Question For the purpose of this research, the study wanted to know: What is the role of the CEO in terms of promoting the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs of their organization and its relation to building a favorable image? Subquestions Specifically, the research wanted to know: 1. What is the relationship between a successful CSR program and the role of the CEO? 2. What is the relationship between a successful CSR program and a favorable brand image? 3. What is the role of the following in terms of influencing the CSR strategies of a particular organization: a. Shareholders b. Consumers c. Suppliers d. General Public 4. How did company shareholders, consumers, suppliers and the general public influence the strategy of the CEO in terms of implementing its CSR program? Methodology Research Tradition For the purpose of this research, the study will be employing both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Â  It is often the case that quantitative research employs the method that is based on testing of theories. It uses measurement of numbers, and statistical analysis to perform its studies. The idea behind quantitative research is often to ascertain that a generalized theory or the prediction of a theory will be confirmed by the use of numbers. The aforementioned normally starts with a research question or a hypothesis in addition to other theories that are needed to be tested. The approach of quantitative research includes the use of formal and generally recognized instruments (O’brien 1998). In addition to this, the quantitative tradition of research focuses on conducting experiments with an underlying expectation that a consensus would be arrived at. This method usually aims to arrive at a predictable generalization, and a causal explanation. Quantitative research can create a controlled environment in order to attain inductive analysis. The goal of this research tradition is to establish a consensus by reducing data to numerical indications, hence finally identifying if certain generalizations are valid or invalid (O’brien 1998). In this research method it is very relevant that the researcher must maintain its independence from the research object; and consequently, the research outcome is expected to be not value affected (O’brien 1998). The quantitative methodology also tests cause and effect by using deductive logic. When done correctly a quantitative research should be able to predict, and explain the theory in question (O’brien 1998). On the other hand, the Qualitative research focuses primarily on words rather than numbers. The main research instrument for such a type of tradition is the process of involvement of the researcher to the people whom he or she studies (Dyamon and Holloway, 2002). In relation with this, the viewpoints of the participants are also taken into much account. The Qualitative research tradition focuses on small-scale studies wherein deep explorations are being conducted in order to provide a detailed and holistic description and explanation of a specific subject matter. Rather than focusing on a single or two isolated variables, the aforementioned takes into account interconnected activities, experiences, beliefs and values of people, hence adopting a multiple dimension for study. This tradition of research is also flexible in a sense that certain factors are being explored due to not necessarily adhering to a strict method of data gathering. It also captures certain processes wherein changes in sequence of events, behaviors and transformation among cultures are closely taken into consideration. More importantly, a qualitative research is normally carried out in venues that are within a respondent’s natural environment such as schools, offices, homes, etc. This allowed participants to be more at ease and be able to express their ideas freely (Dyamon and Holloway, 2002). Data Gathering The data gathering will consist of secondary and primary data collections. Ghauri, Gronhaug and Kristianslund (1995) emphasized the importance of secondary data collection most especially through desk or library research. Secondary data collection normally includes data that were collected by another researcher or writer. It is often the case that they are lifted from books of recent publications, journals, magazines, newspapers and even trusted websites such as those of private organizations, non-government organizations, government organizations and the likes. The review of related literature will provide a scholarly perspective on the subject matter and at the same time made the researcher aware of both previous and contemporary research on the subject matter. For the purpose of this research, the author will be using scholarly journals and articles, books and magazines specifically focusing on the oil and gas industry; and freight industry in the Middle East, most specifically Turkey. The scholarly literatures will be primarily taken from EBSCO Host, JSTOR and Questia Media America, an exclusive on-line library. For the primary data collection for quantitative data, the study will be conducting surveys among consumers, suppliers and general public using questions of ordinal measurement using Likert scales for General Electric. Surveys include the process of using questionnaires with the aim of making an estimation of the perceptions of the subjects of the study. Surveys are considered advantageous because it could be used to study a huge number of subjects (Ghauri, Gronhaug and Kristianslund, 1995). On the other hand, interviews will be conducted among selected GE shareholders regarding their perception on the role of the CEO and implementation of the company’s CSR. Data Gathering Methods and their Justification For the purpose of this research, the researcher will be using self-administered questionnaires. Self-administered questionnaires often times offer a higher response rate and are also relatively cost effective (Ghauri, Gronhaug and Kristianslund, 1995). Foremost of its advantage rests on the notion that the process of data gathering could be more personal and also the researcher will be able to clarify certain notions that could be unclear in the survey form. However, one distinct disadvantage of such a method is the difficulty of administrating the survey to multiple respondents all at the same time. In addition, the self-administered data gathering could be very time consuming as well. The research will also be conducting an interview in order to collect the qualitative data necessary for the research. Interviews are very relevant most specially in getting data that could be a rich source of information that surveys could not provide (Ghauri, Gronhaug and Kristianslund, 1995). For the purpose of interviewing, various stakeholders from General Electric Corporation will be asked with regard to their perceptions of how GE should be employing its CSR, and their perceptions on the role of the CEO in terms of effectively implementing its CSR and the company’s image. Questionnaire Design The questionnaire design for the survey will be made in a detailed, precise and logical construction of close-ended questions. In addition with this, the questions will also be made in accordance with the research question and the objectives of the research (Oppenheim, 1992). The questions will be formulated using an ordinal scale and will be close-ended in nature. Such is relevant so that respondents would only have to encircle or check the designated number of their corresponding responses (Oppenhein, 1992). In addition to this, close-ended questions are very easy to answer and could enable the researcher create a summated value that could be use for data analysis. The questions that will be used in the interview will be tailored in such a manner that would directly answer concerns that are in accordance of the objectives of the study. The questions for the shareholders will be specifically created in a manner where there will be an open flow of information and exchange of ideas. The details on how consumers, suppliers and general public wanted the company to act together with its policies and possible ethical practices will be included in the survey. In this respect, questions will be formulated with a closed-ended nature. Sampling For the purpose of this research, the researcher will conduct a survey based on simple random sampling (SRS) which will include randomly choosing participants coming from consumers, suppliers and general public. On the other hand, the research will be employing purposive sampling methods in terms of choosing the stakeholders of General Electric who can participate in the study. Target Population According to Ghauri, Gronhaug and Kristianslund (1995) research should cater to a target population that has all the necessary information for the research such as sampling elements, sampling units, and area of coverage. For the purpose of this study, the author is trying to identify the role of consumers, suppliers and the general public. As such, the study will be asking 120 respondents to participate in the survey of which will primarily come from consumers and suppliers of General Electric as well as the general public who are concerned with General Electric and its operations. Reliability and Validity The study’s reliability and validity go hand in hand as patterns of measurement are both dependent on the aforementioned (Zikmund, 1994). Reliability primarily focuses on the internal consistency and the repeatability of the variables within the research. On the other hand, validity centers on the correctness and appropriateness of the question that one intends to measure (Ghauri, Gronhaug and Kristianslund, 1995). According to Chisnall (1997), validity is generally considered and established through the relationship of the instrument to the content, criterion or construct that it attempts to measure. A lack of validity can lead to incorrect conclusion. In order to make sure that the instrument that will be used are reliable and valid, the researcher will assure that such is patterned based on the objectives of the study, the secondary data and also on the feedback that was given based on the pilot study that will be conducted. Analysis of Data Data information gathered from the surveys and interviews and secondary data from the other studies found will be used for the analysis that would answer the research question. Charts and comparisons of data will be used as analysis tools. Statistics used will be based on the survey results from the questionnaire made by the researcher. Statistical Products and Service Solutions (SPSS) will also be used to determine the stand of the respondents regarding a particular question formulated in the survey (Griego and Morgan, 2000, p. 2). References Carroll A. and Buchholtz A.K., (2003). Business and Society: Ethics and Stakeholder Management, 5th ed. Mason, O.: South-Western. Chisnall P. M., (1997). Marketing Research, 5ed., Berkshire: McGraw-Hill. Woodruff H. (1995), Services Marketing. London: Pitman Publishing Daymon C. and Holloway I., (2002). Qualitative Research Methods in Public Relations and Marketing Communications. London: Routledge. Ghauri, P., Gronhaug, K. and Kristianslund, I., (1995). Research Methods In Business Studies: A Practical Guide. Great Britain: Prentice Hall. Griego O. and Morgan G. (2000). SPSS for Windows: An Introduction to Use and Interpretation in Research. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Kassinis G. and Panayiotou, A. (2006). Perceptions Matter: CEO Perceptions and Firm Environmental Performance. The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, (23), p. 67. Mohr L.A. and Webb D. J., (2001). Do Consumers Expect Companies to Be Socially Responsible? the Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Buying Behavior. Journal of Consumer Affairs. (35) (1). O’Brien, Gerard J. (1998) The Role of Implementation in Connectionist Explanation, Psychology, (9) 6, p.3. Oppenhein, A. N, (1992). Questionnaire Design Interviewing and Attitude Measurement. London: Pinter. Parsons, Talcott (1954). Essays in Sociological Theory. Revised Edition. New York: Free Press. PR News Wire (2008). Corporate Communications Officers in World’s Most Admired Companies Have Longer Tenures, Fewer Rivals and Report to the CEO; – New Study Underscores Critical and Evolving Role of the CCO -; – Forecasts CCOs Shifting Focus To Reputation, Social Responsibility and Social Media in 2008. Accessed in the PR News Wire Database. PR News (2007). Quick Study: CEOs Bear Responsibility; Customer Relations Is Dysfunctional; Social Media Invades. PR News. Potomac, (63), 9, p. 1 PR News. (2006). Changing Face Of CSR: New Trends Redefine Doing Well By Doing Good. PR News. Potomac, (62) 42, p. 1 Sims, R., (2003). Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility: Why Giants Fall. Westport, CT: Praeger. Tokoro N (2007). Stakeholders and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): A New Perspective on the Structure of Relationships. Asian Business & Management, 6 (2), pp.143-162. Watts P. and Holme R. (1999). Meeting Changing Expectations: Corporate Social Responsibility Available: http://www.wbcsd.org/publications/csrpub.htm [accessed 5June 2008]. Zikmund, G. W. (1994). Exploring Marketing Research. Dryden.

Digital Marketing: Benefits Consumers or Advertisers?

The internet has revolutionized a lot of things in our lives, including one of our favorite hobbies, shopping. Shopping has gone to a new level in the new millennium. Online shopping has hit the market with consumers and advertisers trying to buy and sell products. Customers now have the opportunity to search for their required products online, with a price that they want and with a price that fits their wallets. On the other hand, advertisers can now easily market their products online without even renting a shop!So many websites like Buy. com, Amazon. com, NewEgg. com and many others have come with their websites to feature various advertisers and suppliers to market their products on their websites where online consumers from across the globe can purchase these products and services. So who has more control over digital products and services? In my opinion, advertisers have more control over consumers. First of all, advertisers have the opportunity to market their products to an i nternational market without even having a shop.All they have to do is to search a product that is wanted by the market, and take some pictures of this product and put in on websites like e-bay or even create an own site for free! Potential consumers from all over the world will be able to see this product, and if it is a wanted product, business will start booming. According to recent research, it was estimated that there was around 1 billion internet users in 2008 and this number is expected to grow annually (Bischof et.al 2000). It could be assumed that the internet market would keep growing and that would give internet advertisers a vast opportunity to advertise and market their products online. Therefore, this mainly benefits advertisers over consumers. Apart from that, advertisers will also have the opportunity to position themselves to cater to selected market segments due to the wide variety of consumers from different countries and expectations (Bischof et. al 2000).To do th is, an advertiser must first study the market segment so that the advertiser can then study the behavior of the consumer and understand the consumers’ expectations and therefore capture this market segment (Rodgers & Thorson 2000). The size of this market share may increase or decrease according to population growth and other social, economic and environmental factors. Even if advertisers get 1% out of the 1 billion internet market, they will be making a lot of money due to the volume of business online.Apart from that, if advertisers could find their ideal positioning in the market, the advertiser’s brand or business name would be easily spread thru the internet as there are many third party websites that allow consumers to share their views and opinions on certain products or services. As a matter of fact, from the above, advertisers are actually choosing who they want to sell their products or services too, again a benefit towards advertisers rather than consumers. There is also a competitive environment online which would keep the company growing and not stagnant like a brick and mortar store.Advertisers can now track the number of customers that are visiting their websites (Wind & Mahajan 2001). This will give them an indication as to the number of customers that they get every month and the number of purchases made. With this information, these advertisers could get an idea of how well or how poor their business is doing; and by using this information, companies can then decide on their next course of action. Consumers can compare price, product brand, quality and other features online while sharing notes with other fellow consumers.As mentioned above, there are also third party websites who function as an intermediary between sellers and consumers who provide full details of price and product quality rating that makes it easy for consumers to choose from. Competition is good for advertisers as it allows the company to grow and make more pr ofit and therefore once again, benefits advertisers over consumers. Keeping this in mind, advertisers also have the opportunity to check out competition online and provide competitive products to their customers.According to Wang et. al (2001), customers who are happy with their purchases are less likely to have complaints and are therefore more prone to become return customers. Return customers could mean loyal customers that allow advertisers to sell their products and services without the worry of finding new online customers. Apart from that, if the advertisers’ product or service is compatible or better than the competitors’ products, there will be free publicity of the product by third party reviews.Although most research actually argue that consumers have more benefits than advertisers, based on the argument above, advertisers manipulate consumers into thinking that they have more benefits when they actually do not. Websites who promote themselves as catering to customer needs are actually advertisers themselves, and therefore this creates an illusion to the customer that they are controlling what and how the shop online. As a conclusion, digital marketing benefits the advertisers more than the consumers.To summarize, one of the reasons for this is that advertisers have the opportunity to market their products to an international market without even having a shop. Furthermore, advertisers will also have the opportunity to position themselves to cater to selected market segments due to the wide variety of consumers from different countries and expectations. Apart from that, there is also a competitive environment online which would keep the company growing and not stagnant like a brick and mortar store. Advertisers also have the opportunity to check out competition online and provide competitive products to their customers.

Family Planning Essay

In the past 50 years, family-planning programs have been heavily promoted across the developing world. A vast academic literature now tests both the intellectual rationale for these programs, as well as their impact on a wide range of demographic and economic outcomes. In recent years, the availability of new methods and new datasets from the developing world has intensified the academic research on these issues even though the support for family-programs themselves has diminished. This paper examines the economic and demographic literature on family planning programs and summarizes evidence of their impact on fertility as well as additional outcomes such as child mortality, investments in children’s human capital, the economic status of households and the macro-impacts on communities. The goal is to provide policy-makers with an understanding of the strengths, limitations and points of agreement that emerge from this vast literature. PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE DRAFT 1. Introduction In the past 50 years, family planning (FP) programs have been heavily promoted across the developing world as a means to reduce fertility rates and promote economic development. The central assumption behind such programs is that the decline in birth rates during the early stages of demographic transition can promote economic growth, reduce environmental pressures, reduce dependency ratios and strengthen a societies’ ability to invest in health and education (Coale, Hoover, and Press 1958). At the micro-level, it has been assumed that a decline in fertility would relieve women of the burden of repeated child-bearing and free up opportunities for them to increase schooling and participate in the labor-force. A significant literature – shaped by economists and demographers – now tests these assumptions (Kelley and McGreevey 1994; Kelley 1995). Much of the literature however, remains either theoretical or focused on macro-correlations between variables such as fertility or population growth and indicators of development such as GDP growth or female education. The causal impact of declining fertility and/or the impacts of FP programs on fertility have proved to be difficult to find. One of the main challenges faced by researchers is that fertility decline is affected by a wide range of variables, including socioeconomic variables such as income, education (particularly female education) and female employment. Changes in these variables can affect the demand for FP, the structure of the programs, and their ultimate impact. There is also the issue of policy itself. FP programs are rarely rolled out randomly. Placement of programs in areas with distinct characteristics made it di fficult to identify the precise policy driver of any observed change in behavior. In recent years, the research has been enriched by the availability of new methods and new datasets from the developing world. This includes cross-sectional surveys such as the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), panel datasets such as the Family Life Surveys, and the use of random assignment evaluation methods that study causal relationships under careful scientific experimental structures. This paper examines this literature and summarizes evidence of the impact of FP programs on fertility as well as additional outcomes such as child mortality, investments in children’s human capital, the economic status of households and the macro-impacts on communities. We define an FP program as any organized effort to encourage couples to limit their family size, and space their births by using contraceptive information and services. This includes legislative, regulatory, and programmatic efforts to supply contraceptives to a population as well as efforts to reduce the demand for children and/or increase the demand for contraception through information and/or social marketing campaigns. The paper is organized as follows: Section 2 provides a brief history of FP programs in the post WWII era and argues that FP programs have declined in priority after the ICPD conference in Cairo in  1994. Sections 3 and 4 provide an overview of two strands of the literature on FP programs: non-experimental studies that use cross-sectional or panel data to evaluate large-scale FP programs in states, countries or regions; and experimental studies that analyze random or pseudo-random pilot projects. Section 5 examines the literature on the cost-effectiveness of FP programs. Section 6 provides some perspectives that are likely to interest policy-makers. PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE DRAFT 2. Family planning programs: A short history Family planning (FP) programs emerged after World War II. The world’s first major program was established in India in 1951 and was soon after followed by Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, and China. By 1975, about 74 developing countries had established them (Seltzer 2002; Cleland et al. 2006). Most programs fall into three general groups: (a) those that specifically aimed to curtail population growth through explicit policies such as promoting contraception and/or establishing incentives to have fewer children; (b) those that did not aim to curtail population growth, but promoted FP for other purposes; and (c) those with no explicit population policies but allowed outside donors to run programs that were mostly small in scale (Nortman and Hofstatter 1980; Nortman 1985). The first group was dominated by Asian countries, mainly East Asia and some South Asian countries (Mauldin, Berelson, and Sykes 1978; Lapham and Mauldin 1985; Mauldin and Ross 1991)1. In China and Vietnam for e xample, the governments formally announced in the early 1960s that couples should have no more than two or three children and began a wide-range of interventions that either directly or indirectly contributed towards this goal. Many governments provided citizens with incentives to meet these targets. In China, couples with more than two children (or one child in some parts of China) were subjected to fines and penalties, though the enforcement of this program varies significantly (Short and Fengying 1998; Attane 2002). Permanent methods of contraception (mainly sterilization) were often provided for free.2 In Korea, Indonesia and Thailand, FP programs focused heavily on the expansion of usage of IUDs and other temporary methods in addition to permanent  methods. In South Asia, the programs were less strong than in East Asia but large in scope. India for example, established a vast network of clinics that were to provide contraceptive services. In the 1960s, this was followed by a public health–based outreach program which emphasized education and awareness particularly in rural areas (Harkavy and Roy 1997). A common feature of almost all programs in this group was that they were generally led, funded and managed by domestic governments, and involved a broad range of mini stries and mass organizations that focus on educating, promoting, and encouraging couples to use FP methods. Another common feature of programs in this group is that they were typically one component of broader development policies that aimed to increase access to health-care, education and industrialization. These authors have developed quantitative measures of family planning program strength, or â€Å"effort† that are based on the number and quality of institutions that are involved with family planning programs. The measures of effort came from the belief that strong family planning programs must possess some essential features: (a) It should offer a full range of contraceptive methods and deliver them through several delivery systems, particularly in rural areas; (b) It should have a corps of full-time fieldworkers and educated the public about contraception; (c) Prominent leaders should issue frequent statements favoring the use of contraceptives; (d) The program should have a full-time director, placed well up in the government structure, and various ministries and private agencies should provide technical, logistical and financial assistance. More will be said about these criteria, and the studies that support them later in this paper. In Vietnam, Bryant (1998: 246) writes that right before fertility declined, thousands of health workers were given basic training and sent to villages to promote use of mosquito nets, distribute locally made drugs, deliver babies, administer vaccinations, and carry out other standard primary health care functions. PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE DRAFT The second group of countries was dominated by Latin America.3 Until about 1960, governments in this region remained strongly pro-natalist in their ideals (Mundigo 1996). This changed due to a concern about the high incidence of unsafe abortions in the mid-1960s. Abortions performed in unsanitary conditions by unqualified personnel were believed to contribute to maternal mortality and also resulted in large public expenditures as women with abortion-related complications sought care en masse from public hospitals (Mundigo 1996). To minimize disagreement with the Catholic Church however, FP programs in Latin America began as small private initiatives that were largely funded by international donors and NGOs. In most countries, particularly Brazil and Peru, these programs were ultimately incorporated into national public health programs. By the 1980s, countries in this group generally had broader goals than simply reducing fertility and/or the practice of unsafe abortion. They generall y aimed at improving maternal and child health through greater birth spacing, access to pre- and post-natal care. Some Asian programs also fall into this category. Bangladesh is particularly noteworthy. Its national program, launched in 1976, aimed to provide women with a wide a range of contraceptive methods through home-visits by a network of locally recruited female-health care workers. Sterilization was included in the package of options and in the first few years of the program, compensation was offered to those who chose the procedure (Cleland and Mauldin 1991). Yet the program remained largely voluntary and focused on maternal and child-health more broadly. A similar effort is seen in Iran, which launched its program in 1989. Free contraceptives were distributed through a network of village health workers, who also advised women on a broad range of maternal and child health issues. The third group of countries was almost entirely dominated by Sub-Saharan Africa. Some countries did establish programs early on. Kenya and Ghana for example, established FP programs in the late 1960s. Tanzania established a FP program in 1970. Senegal established an urban FP program in 1976 and a rural program in 1979. Much of Francophone Africa however, remained largely untouched by the wave of interest in FP programs throughout this period. A 1920 French law that banned advertising and distribution of contraceptives  continued to prevail. Across most of Africa, issues of population growth remained sensitive and highly politicized throughout the post-war period. Nigeria for example, adopted a national population council to study the issue of population growth but did not adopt any national policies to lower fertility (Caldwell and Caldwell, 1983). This was at least in part because census data that formed the basis of such decisions was regarded as too controversial. The results of the 1962 and 1973 census were actually nullified due to dispute and controversy over accuracy of the size of minority groups. Even when they were adopted, African FP programs differed significantly from their counterparts in other countries in several key ways. First, the focus was almost entirely on temporary methods, since permanent methods were regarded as culturally unacceptable (J. C Caldwell and P. Caldwell 1987; J. C Caldwell and P. Caldwell 1988). The establishment of robust supply chains for temporary contraceptives Only five Latin American countries fell in the first group – Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Guatemala. Mexico is the largest among these. In 1974, access to family planning was declared as a constitutional right for all couples. In 1977, a national coordinating body was establish to expand the supply of contraception and a demographic target of population growth of no more than 2.5 percent per year by 1982 was declared. A wide variety of methods, including oral contraceptives as well as permanent sterilizations, were offered and the contraceptive prevalence rate doubled within a span of less than five years (Rodriguez-Barocio et al., 1980). PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE DRAFT however, proved to be very challenging in the African context. The health-care infrastructure in this region was weak and burdened with a high demand for curative services. Moreover, most rural women resided far away from clinics or health centers (Caldwell and Caldwell 1992). Stringent eligibility criteria also made it difficult to reach women. In many cases, a woman’s access to contraception required the written consent of husband,  proof of marital status or age, blood tests (for oral contraceptives), frequent follow-up visits, and non-evidence based requirements that she be menstruating at the time that she starts using certain methods such as IUDs or hormone-based systems (Campbell et al., 1996). Cultural preferences for high fertility often made women unwilling to be seen attending these clinics. Moreover, since consumers did not receive adequate information about contraceptives, side-effects were often misinterpreted and rumors were propagated. These factors combined to cause discouragement and discontinuation in the long-run (Campbell et al., 1996). Across Asia and Latin America, the spread of primary healthcare services, rapid increases in female schooling, the processes of socio-economic development and the use of marketing campaigns to promote awareness of FP programs may have alleviated some of these problems. A second distinctive feature of African programs is that they were supported by a large number of international donors who rarely coordinated their actions with national governments or even between themselves. Since the weakness of domestic health infrastructure ruled out the establishment of â€Å"vertical† programs that packaged FP with primary health services, donors preferred to fund standalone programs that they could establish, manage and monitor themselves (Seltzer, 2002; Robinson and Ross, 2007; Mayhew, Walt, Lush and Cleland, 2005). The programs thus often remained small-scale. The goals used to evaluate the programs were often short-term in keeping with the demands of short budgetcycles. This approach stands in stark contrast to Asian and Latin American programs that were typically run by Ministries of Health and were backed by long-term budget commitments. Donor retreat International interest in FP programs lost momentum in the early 1980s. The intellectual shift behind this is often referred to as â€Å"revisionist thinking† and refers to a retreat from Malthusian fears about the crippling effect of population growth on economic growth as well as the concern with the adequacy of supplies of food and natural resources (Kelley 1995; Kelley 2001). A wide range of factors fueled revisionist thought: the rapid pace of fertility decline in Asia, the success of the green revolution, the lack of convincing academic evidence for a negative relationship between population growth and economic growth, etc. Economists emphasized that the long-run impact of population growth in economic development may not necessarily be negative. On the contrary, investments in human capital and innovation in growing populations can even have positive effects on growth and development outcomes (Simon and Lincoln 1977; Boserup 1981). Critics of FP programs used this literature to make the case that many FP programs in the developing world had been conceptualized and implemented with a false sense of urgency after World War II, without sufficient internal debate, deliberation and consensus (Kelley 1995; Kelley 2001). Revisionist intellectual thought was also reinforced by the voices of NGOs in international policy. These groups highlighted examples of FP programs that had not gone well in parts of China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, etc (for a summary, see Seltzer, 2002: 62—70). In India for example, the controversial PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE DRAFT HITTS model (Health Department operated, incentive-based, target-oriented, time-bound, and sterilization-focused) was so unpopular that it contributed to the collapse of the Indian government in 1977 and prompted India to launch a significant critique of FP programs in international policy circles (Harkavay and Roy, 2007).4 Feminists argued that women in particular, paid a high price for population policies, for they had often been viewed as passive â€Å"targets† who needed to become â€Å"acceptors† of contraception (Dixon-Mueller, 1993). They demanded that policies recognize women as key agents in the process of reproduction and must empower them – through education, information and access to health services (that include but are not limited to FP) – to have establish control over their bodies. The impact of the rights-based approach was visible at the Vienna Conference on Human Rights in 1993 where there was an explicit recognition of the importance of reproductive rights and the need for national and international development policies to be built around these rights. The biggest shift however, occurred in Cairo at the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994. The definition of reproductive rights was took center-stage and included not only issues of reproductive decision-making,  but sexual health and female empowerment more generally.6 Delegates explicitly called for dropping demographic and FP program targets in favor of a broader policy agenda that included a range of reproductive and sexual health measures. FP thus became embedded into a broader set of policy-goals. In the words of the UNFPA, â€Å"[The ICPD Programme of Action] places human rights and well-being explicitly at the centre of all population and sustainable development activities. The Programme of Action moves discussion beyond population numbers and demographic targets: its premise is that development objectives — including early stabilization of population growth — can be achieved only by basing policies and programmes on the human rights, the needs and aspirations of individual women and men. Human-centred development -in the sense of investing in people generally, and particularly in health, education and building equity and equality between the sexes — is seen as a firm basis for sustained economic growth and sustainable development (UNFPA, 1995:9).† The representatives of 179 governments agreed on the need to ensure universal access to reproductive health services by the year 2015. These governments also agreed to increase spending on population According to Harkavy and Roy (2007), the government’s Department of Family Planning estimated that more than 20 million births were averted between 1956 and 1975. Calculations based on the number of births averted concluded that the annual birthrate fell from about 42 live births per 1,000 population in 1960–61 to about 38 in 1970–71 and about 35 in 1974–75. The critique of FP programs also came from health advocates who argued that despite the strides made in the safety of technologies such as oral pills and injectibles, safety issues remain. They did not agree that the benefits of choice outweighed the risks and argued that contraceptive safety needed greater attention (Seltzer, 2002). Other health advocates argued that FP had absorbed far too much policy attention and development assistance, neglecting other critically important issues. This includes the right not to be alienated from their sexual or reproductive capacity and bodily integrity through coerced sex or marriage, denial of access to birth control, sterilization without informed consent, freedom from unsafe contraceptive methods, from unwanted pregnancies or coerced child bearing, from unwanted medical attention. PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE DRAFT  and related programs. The needed resources were estimated at $17 billion a year by 2000, climbing to nearly $22 billion by 2015.7 This agenda was however met with resistance by several groups. First, there were those who challenged the coupling of a gender ideology with issues of reproductive health. In Jordan for examples, elites felt that the proposals regarding reproductive health were acceptable, but proposals that aimed to reduce gender-based violence, deliver sex-education to adolescents, spread information about STIs and the promote gender equality conflicted with existing cultural norms and could not be implemented quickly (Luke and Watkins, 2002; Seltzer, 2002). A second challenge to the Cairo agenda came from religious groups felt that the expanded definitions of reproductive health and reproductive choice tacitly included abortion and more controversial methods of fertility reduction. Even though the Cairo agenda was carefully worded to not support abortion in any circumstances, many people believed that the two issues were too deeply related to be separated in practice (Seltzer, 2002).8 In 2001, with support from the Vatican, the United States publicly opposed abortion, once again implemented the â€Å"gag rule† and thereby withdrew association with all organizations that offer women abortion services as a part of their general effort to expand reproductive choices for women.9,10 A final challenge came from the sheer breadth and language of the agenda itself. Some have argued that the focus on sexual health and reproductive rights was so broad that it simply failed to gain traction in parliaments  and chambers of government across the developed world (Glasier et al. 2006; Fathalla et al. 2006). While Cairo advocates emphasized the importance of rights, donors were most interested in arguments that demonstrate a clear economic return on investment (Fathalla et al. 2006). The loss of focus also led to a fragmentation of academic and policy research. Many turned their attention to new competing priorities, such as HIV (Glasier et al. 2006; Fathalla et al. 2006, Blanc and Tsui, 2005). A visible sign of just how divisive the Cairo agenda was comes from the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, agreed to by nearly all nations in 2000. The only goals that were related to reproductive health were the reductions in maternal and child mortality. Reproductive choices and reproductive rights were completely sidelined. In fact, the Cairo goal of universal access to reproductive health services was possibly the only goal that had been agreed to through a series of global conferences that did not make the final list of eight Millennium Development Goals (United Nations, 2000). In 2007, these goals were modified to include â€Å"universal access to reproductive health† by 2015. Progress was to be measured by  www.unfpa.org The Program of Action stated that â€Å"in no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning,† and elsewhere that â€Å"in [such] circumstances in which abortion is not against the law, such abortion should be [made] safe.† This was intended to be a compromise between those who opposed abortion on all grounds and those governments and NGOs who permitted abortion in varying degrees. 9 This was one of President George W. Bush’s first acts in office in January, 2001. 10 A cap of $15 million was placed for foreign NGOs and multilateral organizations who could not certify that they will not support any abortion-related activities, even if they use their own funds for these activities four indicators: the contraceptive prevalence rate, the adolescent birth rate, antenatal care coverage, and the unmet need for FP (United Nations 2007; UNFPA 2011)  Another sign of the damage from Cairo is seen in the international HIV policies. In the late 1990s, policymakers in the United States and indeed much of the world, were compelled to focus on the challenge of HIV. Rather than building services into FP programs however, donors chose to establish entirely new programs. One of the biggest examples is the establishment of President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) under US President George W. Bush in 2003. This was one of the largest efforts in history to address the challenge of one disease. The only relationship between this program and FP was i ts attempt to encourage abstinence as a form of prevention of HIV.11 Some have argued that the focus on HIV and AIDS simply replaced the Cairo agenda, when they should have in fact simply reinforced and complemented it (Blanc and A. O Tsui 2005). In summary, the global interest in FP programs has swung from extreme interest after World War II to disinterest at the turn of the century. The weakness of such programs is most pronounced in SubSaharan Africa. The rate of contraceptive prevalence remains only 26%, less than half of the world average, despite significant investments in treating sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV (WDI 2010). At the current time however, there appears to be a renewed interest in the role of FP, particularly in approaches that are broad-based, female-focused, voluntary and respectful of basic human rights. In the section ahead, we review the literature on the effectiveness and impact of FP programs with the goal of demonstrating that such programs can have impact on not just fertility but a variety of other aspects of women’s well-being. 3. What do we know about the impact of FP programs? Perspectives from the non-experimental approach FP programs in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were mostly established in the  absence of scientific evidence or agreement about program â€Å"best-practices†. This is mainly because detailed time-series data on economic as well as demographic variables was scarce at both the micro- and macro-level. Over time however, data was gathered and researchers began to test some of the fundamental assumptions underlying FP programs. The first wave of studies used a non-experimental approach, i.e. they evaluated the impact of FP programs involving using cross-sectional or panel data from a country, region, or set of regions to test the hypothesis that FP programs impacted contraceptive use or fertility. As more data became available, and FP programs were rolled out, these studies were updated and expanded. The research continues to evolve today, even though the interest in FP programs has declined among policy-makers. Most of the research in this area faces two key challenges. The first is the challenge of measurement. Given that FP programs are heterogeneous in goals, quality of services, delivery systems and implementation strategies, researchers must construct a measure of program strength and not rely 11 The following conditions were imposed in the United States Leadership against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003: 20% of funds were to be spent on prevention, 15% to be spent on palliative care, and starting in 2006, at least 55% were to be spent on treatment, at least 10% be spent on orphans and vulnerable children, and at least 33% of appropriated prevention funds be spent on abstinence-until-marriage programs. REFERENCES Amin, S. 1995. Socioeconomic change and the demand for children in rural Bangladesh. Population Council, Research Division. Angeles, G., Jason Dietrich, David Guilkey, Dominic Mancini, Thomas Mroz, Amy Tsui, and Feng Yu Zhang. 2001. A Meta-analysis of the Impact of Family Planning Programs on Fertility Preferences, Contraceptive Method Choice and Fertility. 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Caldwell. 1987. The cultural context of high fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. Population and development review 13, no. 3: 409–437. ———. 1988. Is the Asian family planning program model suited to Africa? Studies in Family Planning 19, no. 1: 19–28. Caldwell, J. C, Barkat-e Khuda, Bruce Caldwell, Indrani Pieris, and Pat Caldwell. 1999. The Bangladesh fertility decline: an interpretation. Population and Development Review 25, no. 1: 67–84. Chowdhury, M. E, R. Botlero, M. Koblinsky, S. K Saha, G. Dieltiens, and C. Ronsmans. 2007. Determinants of reduction in maternal