The rights and obligations of parties involved in marine salvage under Essay

The rights and obligations of parties involved in marine salvage under the admiralty law - Essay Example The oil ship Rusty Floater was moored alongside Old Bucket in the process of feeding oil to the latter when a gale blew and,though moderate,was enough to break the forward quay moorings of Old Bucket.It came so sudden that there was no time to disconnect the oil supply pipeline. Old Bucket broke free from the oil feeder ship and proceeded to drift into port, threatening to collide with other vessels anchored at the marina. At this, the crew of a tugboat in the area sprung into action. The tugboat master, who is experienced in oil spill control at sea, concentrated on Rusty Floater and helped disconnect its oil pipeline properly, while his crew cast tow ropes at Old Bucket to hold her steady. The operation succeeded such that Old Bucket did not harm other vessels and the oil feeder ship Rusty Floater was prevented from spilling bunker oil into the sea. When the danger was over, the tug towed Old Bucket to another berth, while the master of Rusty Floater signed an LOF 2000 agreement wi th a SCOPIC clause with the tugboat owner.In signing the LOF (Lloyd's Open Forum) 2000 contract with a SCOPIC clause, the owners of Rusty Floater basically signified their agreement to provide an award to the tug for the salvage of their vessel. As a form of salvage contract, LOF 2000 defines the services rendered by the rescuer and the rights and obligations of the parties, such as what proportion of the salved values of the vessel would be awarded. In the instant case, the LOF 2000 contract probably specified the parties' agreement that the salvage operation was a low-value case that nonetheless became critical because of the threat to the environment (Bishop, 2000). The addition of the SCOPIC clause in the contract indicates the parties' agreement to an amount of award appropriate to this "low-value" threat. The SCOPIC clause in the LOF 2000 contract also means that the parties agreed to a two-tier remuneration system: full tariff rates if all the tug's salvage equipment were rea sonably engaged or used at some stage of the operation, but only 50 percent if these equipment were mobilised but not used. In effect, the signing of LOF 2000 with a SCOPIC clause between the masters of Rusty Floater and the tug guarantees a successful salvage claim against the oil feeder ship. There was no mention if the owners of Old Bucket signed the same agreement but if they did, the tug owner is due for two potentially successful salvage claims against both Rusty Floater and Old Bucket. The salvage claim against Old Bucket derives its strength from admiralty law provisions dictating that there is such a claim if a vessel requires assistance as result of an incident to try to minimize the extent of its losses and, in this case, prevent a possible collision with other moored vessels. From the oil carrier Rusty Floater, the tug owner deserves an even higher salvage award because his action served to prevent pollution and damage to the

Best teacher Essay Example for Free

Best teacher Essay My best teacher that I have had thus far in my academic teacher would have to be Elias Semaan. Professor Semaan taught the upper level Finance courses here at JMU and his intelligence as well as his passion captured my attention and made me want to absorb the knowledge that he was preaching. I had Professor Semaan my sophomore and junior year and he was great. He taught a difficult course, FIN 360 Analytical Methods in Finance but he made difficult concepts and equations seem easy by going through the logic behind them and why and how we use them. He added in humor to lighten the heavy load of the courses content and keep the class happy. He was also very creative and used his own little real world examples while explaining bigger critical concepts. Professor Semaan did an excellent job of keeping the class active and participating. He was open to the student’s opinion and always asked at the beginning of class if anyone was having trouble with anything in the course or had any questions, if they did we would discuss it as a class until everyone was caught up. At first I had difficultly grasping some of the concepts as I had switched my major from Management to Finance, but he sat down with me one on one in his office and walked me through any questions I had with clear cut explanations until I had them down. He used tests as assessments for the class and they were tough but fair. If you paid attention and did all your work, the problems would seem familiar and if you slacked off in class or did not attend it would show through the grade of his tests. He was not an easy teacher by any means and you had to work hard for a good grade but he made you want to succeed and motivated me to reach my full potential more than any other of my teachers had. I liked him so much in FIN 360 that the next year I took his other class, FIN 450 Financial Risk Management. I grew a close relationship with Professor Semaan as we shared stories, went over new and challenging concepts, and he served as a role model for me through my College career. Professor Semaan said I remind him of a younger version of himself and I take that as a great compliment. He is very intelligent, he received his PhD in Finance at George Washington University and has been teaching at a University level for over 10 years now. He is in his early 50s and has had a hard life with many ups and downs but continues to push forward and motivate his students to succeed and reach their highest potential. He is dedicated, ambitious, intelligent, funny, charismatic and strong-minded and I admire him and respect him tremendously as a person and mentor. He has made me want to put in all of my effort and work as hard as I have to until I understand what I am learning. He pushed me in the right direction and offers me priceless career information as to what paths to go into and how to make myself look good to employers. He even gave me his cell number to call him if I have any questions or problems at any time. He has my back and I respect him for all that he has done for me and all that he has accomplished throughout his life. I believe Professor Semaan’s teaching philosophy is to have his students maximize their learning potential and focus on their strengths to pick a career path where they will ultimately be happy as well as successful. He has done a great job abiding by his philosophy and has helped me through College and the job searching process. He held office hours by schedule and by appointment and was very flexible and would work with you and do whatever he had to ensuring that his students learned. He also pushed his students to succeed through his charisma and charm and worked one on one with students who went out of their way to learn. He was my best teacher and I feel very lucky that him and I were able to cross paths and establish such a great relationship as teacher/student, mentor/role model, and friends.

Drivers of Customer Loyalty and Firm Profitability Research

Drivers of Customer Loyalty and Firm Profitability Research Financial institutions perform a vital role in facilitating the aggregation and allocation of capital with the help of conveying individual savings in to loans to businesses, government and individuals. The role of banking division in the concentration and distribution of capital in Ghana can not be disputed. The recent credit crunch has left a deep impact over the performance of various banks all over the world. Thus, in order to survive in the long run, the institutions need to adopt competitive strategies. One and the most important of such strategies in the banking sector constitute customer loyalty to business which makes the banking businesses competent. In this paper, we will analyze the determinants of customer loyalty and their impact on the share market and firm profitability with the help of studying the customer relationship management (CRM) and contact management of Barclays Bank in Ghana. In the late seventies and early eighties, the state owned banks in Ghana dominated the formal banking system of the country as they had monopoly with respect to their spread and operations (Hinson and Hammond, 2006). However, the banking environment has now been evolved. According to Hinson and Hammond (2006; p.45), universal banking law has permitted all categories of banking to be performed under a single body for corporate banking which has greatly restructured the scopes of competency in various banking products in Ghana. Thus, the banking sector in Ghana has been brought in to the competitive arena which is based on the customers and products due to the reforms and deregulations. This infers that the management of the banks in Ghana should employ the strategies that provide customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, customer retention and thereby, increase firm profitability and market shares. 1.1 Service Quality Concept The European school of thought, vastly expressed by the work of Gronroos (1984), explains that the customers recognize service quality from two aspects which are: (1) the technical aspect of service and (2) the functional aspect of the service. Technical quality is determined by knowing if the customers expectations from the service are fulfilled or not. The functional quality is recognized through the customers perception about the service production and its delivery. According to Richard and Allaway (1993), both of these distinctions are correct and needed to define customers service quality analysis and loyalty behaviour. However, this concept does not consider the physical environment of the service. Thus, the American school of thought led by the work of Parasuraman et al., (1985, 1988) has been adopted in various studies which states that service quality is basically the difference between perception and expectation of the delivery of service. According to this model, service q uality has five dimensions on which customers judgement about perceived service quality is based. These dimensions are: Reliability: Performance assurance, accuracy and dependability of the service. Responsiveness: Will to help and provide prompt service to the customers. Assurance: Knowledge, courtesy and ability of the employees that ensures trust and confidence. Empathy: Care and special attention given to the customers. Tangibles: Outlook of the personnel, equipments and other physical facilities. These five dimensions will be measured through a scale called SERVQUAL comprising of 22 items. Service quality is operationalized according to the gap between perception and expectation (P-E). Thus, the SERVQUAL determines the gaps in the service delivery of a firm. SERVPERF is another service quality measure that has been developed by Cronin and Taylor (1992) considering that SERVQUAL was inadequate. According to them, performance and not perception minus expectation determines service quality by proving that expectations have almost no impact on the customers evaluation about service quality. Both of the SERVQUAL and SERVPERF conceptualizations have been incorporated in our research model for this study. Although, our research model includes P E, we measure service quality on the basis of perception only since expectation is insignificant (Cronin and Taylor 1992; Brady et al., 2002). However, the basics of Parasuraman et als., (1988) dimensions of service quality have been retaine d in our model. Moreover, the 22 items of these dimensions in our study are slightly modified according to relevancy. 7 point likert scale will be used to measure P. 1.2 Customer Loyalty Concept In our study, we have incorporated both attitudinal and behavioural concepts of customer loyalty. The following cues will be used to measure customer loyalty in the banking sector of Ghana. Word of Mouth: Recommendations made by the customers to their friends and family for using the services of the bank. Repeat Purchase: Repetition or consistency in making purchases by the customers for the banks products and services. Satisfaction: The level of pleasure or happiness of the customers with their banks services and products. 2. SERVICE QUALITY MODEL The Disconfirmation Paradigm (Parasuraman et al., 1985) allows service quality model to measure disparity between consumers perceptions and their expectations for the quality of service. Figure 1 given below represents the service quality model for the banking sector. This model illustrates that there are five gaps in delivering the quality service to the customers. These gaps are described below. Gap 1: This gap can be referred as Understanding as it depicts the difference between expectations of the customer and the management perceptions of the customers expectations. Gap2: This gap can be referred as Service Standards since it depicts the disparity between management perceptions of customer expectations and specifications of service quality. Gap 3: This gap can be referred as Service Performance as it illustrates the disparity between the service quality specifications and the actual service delivered to the customer. Gap 4: This gap can be referred as Communications since it shows the disparity between service delivery and external communication with the customer about the service. Gap 5: This gap can be referred as Service Quality as it depicts the disparity between customer expectation for the quality of the service and the customers perception about the performance of the firm. Gaps 1 till 4 impact the service delivery leading to Gap 5. Thus, these four gaps have a very strong influence over the gap 5. This study will focus on the potential discrepancies found in all the gaps. The managerial implications associated with these gaps must be assessed in order to formulate proper business strategies. These resultant strategies will then be properly implemented for closing the identified gaps found in the banking sector in Ghana and thereby, to improve service quality and profitability of concerned Bank. Word of Mouth Communication Personal Needs Past Experience Expected Service Perceived Service Gap 5 Service Delivery External Communications with Customers Gap 4 Translation of Perceptions in to Service Quality Specifications Management Perceptions of Costumer Expectations Gap 2 Gap 3 Gap 1 3. PROBLEM STATEMENT The gaps 1 to 4 impact the service delivery and are concerned with the management and service providers of the bank. Thus, the question arises, what variables or factors are responsible for creating these gaps or what is the lacking of the management that refrain them from delivering the quality service to the customers? As for Gap 5, the question arises which business strategies should be adopted to reduce the gaps and thereby, improve service quality and performance of the bank. 4. HYPOTHETICAL MODEL This paper is aimed towards finding loyalty drivers according to the viewpoint of the customers of the Ghanaian retail banking. This chapter of the paper will present a hypothetical model that will be used to determine the relationship among loyalty, loyalty drivers, banks profitability and market share. Figure 2 provided below represents the framework of our hypothetical model. The model presented in figure 2 below explains the service quality as perceived by the customer. This model has been premised on seminal model (SERVQUAL), Cronin and Taylor (1992; SERVPERF), Parasuraman et al., (1988) and Brady and Cronin (2001). The quality of service conceptualized by 2 pathways that are: (1) P-E representing the gap in between perception, P and expectation, E and (2) P that represents only perception as the conceptualization of expectation (E) is not important (Cronin and Taylor, 1992). Thus, perception is what is actually measured. Hence, the questionnaire in the survey will consist of a single set to elicit answers concerning customers perception (Brady and Cronin, 2001) instead of two sets of questionnaires for measuring perception and expectation distinctively and for determining the difference between the two as was done by Parasuraman et al., (1988). The framework provided in this paper demonstrates the fact that fake loyalty may be found abundantly and inco mplete satisfaction will result in customer switching. The model below illustrates a gap which represents the disparity between the customers perception and expectation. Since the expectation of a customer does not influence the actual service delivered to him/her by the bank, thus, it holds an insignificant value. This infers that the actual service delivered will depend on the perceived service quality which in turn is also influenced by various service quality dimensions namely: tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. Moreover, it is known that these dimensions influence both the customers service quality perceptions and the management designed service quality. Thus, the hypotheses and the hypothetical model are the same for all the gaps mentioned above. This research paper will investigate the disparity between the perceived service quality and the actual quality of service delivered to the customer by measuring the above mentioned service quality dimensions. Service quality dimensions Competitive Price Expectations (Expected Service) Perception  (Perceived Service Quality) Satisfaction Loyalty Actual service Experienced Tangible Reliability Responsiv-eness Assurance Empathy Banks Profitability Bank (image reputation) Market share Dissatisfied customers Switching customers 5. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES 5.1 Purpose of the Research The purpose of this study is to empirically analyze the hypothetical model and the related hypotheses. The analysis of the hypothetical model will lead to the formulation of appropriate business strategies that will overcome the potential disparity between perceived service quality and the actual quality of service delivered to the customer upon implementation. 5.2 Research Objectives 5.2.1 Primary Objective The objective of this paper is to investigate the drivers of customer loyalty and firm profitability with the help of collecting empirical evidence through interviewing the customers of various banks in Ghana and also, through assessing a case study of Barclays Bank Ghana. Due to the distinct cultural values of the Ghanaian Society, our study will focus on the extant literature. 5.2.2 Secondary Objectives Businesses conventionally implement aggressive marketing strategies in order to draw the attention of the new customers and thus, increase market share at the cost of competitors. According to the latest trends in competition, those businesses benefit the most that focus on retaining their customers while providing them the goods and services (Roberts, 2005). Customer retention with the help of enforcing quality in products, services, prices and accessing facilities of the bank among others play a critical role in customer satisfaction. Studies have shown that satisfied customers always return to their service providers and also, make their recommendations to friends and families which in turn increase both market share and profitability of the firm. In the banking sector of Ghana, it is generally hypothesized that high performance of the bank is associated with high customer retention. Thus, Bankers appraise customer loyalty as the key factor towards maintaining market share and increasing profitability of the bank. Due to the high customer chum, it is important to know that what drives customer loyalty. Ghauri and Grà ¶nhaug (2005; p. 14) state that assumptions and speculations should not be accepted or rejected unless these assumptions are critically studied to give logical and reliable reasoning for their acceptation or rejection. This study seeks to attain this aim that requires investigation of the drivers of customer loyalty serving as the core of design strategies that result in the increase of customer retention and bank performance by taking in to account the case study of Barclays Bank in Ghana. 6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES 6.1 Research questions In order to study the optimization of the enterprise contact management through a CRM enabled contact centre platform by taking in to consideration the case study of Barclays Bank in Ghana, the following question are being posed in this paper. What are the factors driving customer loyalty in Ghanas banking sector, in particular Barclays Bank Ghana? What are the factors that set back customer loyalty and retention in the banking sector in Ghana, particularly Barclays Bank Ghana? Does customer loyalty is achieved through customer satisfaction? Do reluctant customers approach other banks in order to get better and improved customer relations and services? 6.2 Hypotheses Our study will test the following hypotheses in this paper. H1- Service quality influences loyalty and satisfaction of the customer. H2- Tangibility, responsiveness, reliability, assurance and empathy are the five dimensions of service quality that vary to the extent to which they instigate customer loyalty and satisfaction. H3- Customer loyalty and satisfaction depend upon competitive pricing. H4- Perceived reputation and image of the bank stimulate customer loyalty. H5- Banks or enterprises profitability can be increased by customer loyalty and market share. H6- Reluctant customers approach other banks in order to get improved service quality from other banks. 7. BACKGROUND- BANKING IN GHANA Ghana has a well structured financial system that is built around the capital market, the Bank and the non Bank Financial Institutions. Banks are further divided in to the following classes on the basis of a licensed system: Universal Banking under Class I banking license. Universal and off-shore Banking under Class II banking license. Universal, off-shore Banking and ARB (Association of Rural and Community Banks) APEX Banking under the general banking license. (Bank of Ghana, Annual report, 2007). At present, the minimum amount of GHC 60 million is required to be possessed by the banks that are operating in Ghana as their stated capital (Bank of Ghana, Annual report, 2007). Ghana has 26 major banks operating under the Universal banking license and 126 rural and community banks that have been licensed for ARB Apex banking system. And also, 41 non Banking Financial Institutions which comprise of Discount Houses, Finance Companies, Mortgage Finance Companies, Savings Companies, Loans Companies and Leasing Companies. All of these NBFIs are supervised by the Bank of Ghana that is the central bank of Ghana. The activity based division of Commercial, Merchant and Development banking operating previously in Ghana have been replaced by this categorization. This was done in the wake of the initiative for the financial reforms that enabled universal banking in Ghana and thus, dissolved the operating limits hypothesized on the initial activity of incorporation. The goal was to transform t he conventional way of banking operation in order to welcome competitive trading in to the banking sector. Dr. Acquah, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana stated in his speech at the Fifth Banking Award Ceremony that universal banking was introduced in order to promote new banks, liberalize the options for the banking services, extend the branch network and increase competition for deposit at the level of retail (Acquah, 2009). Since the banks constitute 70 per cent of the financial sector, thus, they are the most common source for contributing to the economy (Bawumia, 2008). The head offices of all the banks in Ghana are situated in the national capital of the country while their several branches are located in major cities and town of Ghana that are owned by the government, Ghanaians, foreigners or the combination. Currently all the banks in Ghana possess Universal Banking License. Only 12 banks in Ghana are owned by its citizens. The table below shows the banks operating in Ghana with their branch networks, area of activity and proprietorship. Name of Bank Number of Branches Ownership Current Banking Licence Barclays Bank of Ghana Ltd 120 Non- Ghanaian Universal Merchant Bank (Ghana) Ltd 16 Ghanaian Universal Ecobank Ghana Limited 32 Non- Ghanaian Universal Ghana Commercial Bank Ltd 143 Ghanaian Universal National Investment Bank Ltd 24 Ghanaian Universal Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Ltd 19 Non- Ghanaian Universal SG-SSB Bank Limited 36 Non- Ghanaian Universal The Trust Bank Limited 17 Ghanaian Universal Agricultural Development Bank Ltd 50 Ghanaian Universal Amalgamated Bank Limited 10 Non- Ghanaian Universal Prudential Bank Limited 10 Ghanaian Universal Fidelity Bank Limited 6 Ghanaian Universal Zenith Bank Limited 9 Non- Ghanaian Universal Stanbic Bank (Ghana) Limited 10 Non- Ghanaian Universal Unibank Ghana Limited 11 Ghanaian Universal Intercontinental Bank Limited 12 Non- Ghanaian Universal HFC Bank Ghana Limited 11 Ghanaian Universal First Atlantic Merchant Bank Ltd 4 Ghanaian Universal International Commercial Bank Ltd 12 Ghanaian Universal Guaranty Trust Bank Limited 5 Non- Ghanaian Universal CAL Bank Limited 10 Ghanaian Universal United Bank for Africa (Gh) Ltd 16 Non- Ghanaian Universal Bank of Baroda Ghana Ltd 1 Non- Ghanaian Universal BSIC 1 Non- Ghanaian Universal BPI Bank Limited 9 Non- Ghanaian Universal Table 1: Banks in Ghana (Source: Price Waterhouse Banking Industry Survey, 2008). 7.1 The era of post Banking Reform in Ghana Developments in the era of post Banking Reforms in Ghana can be concisely expressed as the transformation of the distressed and dysfunctional banking system with illiquidity and insolvency, credit rationing and interest rate controls in to a market based regime along with improving the bank supervision in order to ascertain that efficiency and profitability is increased (Acquah, 2006). The Economic Recovery Programmed (ERP) introduced the Financial Sector Adjustment Program, generally referred as FINSAP so that the banking sector can play a vital role in promoting the economic development. This program was executed in two in two phases. In the first phase, FINSAP 1, provisions were made for liberalizing the banking industry and restructuring the distressed banks in Ghana (Brownbridge et al., 1998). The restructuring part was very crucial since these banks were either extremely important for the economy or deeply associated with other economic activities such that their demolition may result in disastrous ramifications. The second phase, FINSAP 2 brought new dimensions in the financial industry reform program through privatizing state owned banks, technological advancements, human capital development and careful supervision and regulation by the central bank of Ghana. In addition to this, the second phase of FINSAP characterized cautious banking through revising the Banking Law of 1970 and through introducing the Banking Laws of 1989 and 2004 which enforced the requirement of minimum capital keeping in view the increased number of banks and branches. Due to FINSAP 2, the banking and the financial industry in Ghana experienced strong regulation and supervision along with the advancement in latest payments and settlement system. Above all was the Payment Systems Development Strategy by the central bank of Ghana that focused at the delivery of financial services that enhanced the financial intermediation with the help of the progress of electronic payment products that include ATM (Automated Teller Machine) services, e-money, transfer of funds at the point of sale, SMS (Short Message Service), internet and telephone banking. Recently, e-zwich was brought in to the market in order to build a common platform that assisted in connecting the different banking institutions through a biometric smart card (Acquah, 2009). All the banks responded positively to the introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) in delivery of financial services which in turn improved the financial performance. This outlook over shadowed the competition and distinguished market share and profitability among the banks in Ghana. The new foreign and private banks launched latest technologies whereas the government banks have to cope up with the redundant man power and non-performing assets. The new banks encounter the challenges of market share, spread and size from the conventional banks. In order to overcome this challenge, the new banks employed the strategic option of swift implementation of the prescribed new products and the development of financial services administered by the Bank of Ghana so that the un-banked, banked and under banked customer classes of the population could be captured. 7.2 The Case Study of Barclays Bank, Ghana As shown in the table 2 provided above that Barclays Banks holds a leading position in the Ghanaian financial services market place in addition to an aggressive nationwide branch network. Thus, Barclays being the premier banking institution of Ghana is leveraging its distinct characteristics in order to compete effectively in the highly competitive and fast progressing banking and financial services industry of Ghana. In order to further differentiate itself from the rest in the competition, Barclays Bank is headed towards promoting its strategy of holding its market leadership position through developing its customer management functionality with the help of implementing a robust solution for customer relation management (CRM) with strongly emphasizing over its customer service operations. Barclays commenced this initiative for CRM in order to facilitate the customer facing the banks operations with the technology platform enhancing the banks operations and enabling the bank to compete effectively in addition to becoming a truly customer focused organization. Thus, Barclays is looking forward to working with a reputable organization in order to develop and upgrade its existing customer contact centre along with integrating it with CRM Dynamic Solution by Microsoft. Completely equipped, contact centre of Barclays Bank will eventually enable the customers to interact and deal with the bank via multiple channels such as voice, e-mail, fax, IVR, web, etc.) that fulfils various functionalities of sales, marketing and service at the time of their convenience either with a customer representative or through self service. It is highly vital for Barclays to enhance its processes facing customers in order to develop the business relationship in between its customers and employees for attaining its business goals. The implementation of such an advance and complex customer management project is to be based upon detailed and comprehensive planning, apt consulting and allocation of technical resources to ascertain that the desired goals are achieved with in a certain time period, being as cost effective as possible. Electronic services department of Barclays strongly believes that the goals of this initiative required being in line with the overall business strategies of Barclays Bank. It has been observed from similar engagements that spanning numerous industries is not adequate to ensure desired result. Barclays must recognize the important role that it has to play in the initial stages of the project. Complete commitment and dedication from Barclays is required through out the total time frame of the project in order to ascertain and realize the significance of enhancing its customer management functionality which will ultimately result in the growth in revenue and profitability. 7.2.1 Requirements for the Barclays Bank Ghana Barclays Bank Ghana is looking forward to improving its overall customer management operations through commencing a CRM strategy that is most likely to enhance the banks customer focus strategy. The first stage of this CRM initiative will emphasize over improving the customer service function of the bank through making new advancements in its current platform for the centre. This is achieved by employing latest tools that will improve the interaction of the customers with the bank either through the customer service representation or by means of self service. The first stage of CRM initiatives is most likely to improve the sales and marketing processes of the operation of the bank and set the stage for linking these processes with the customer service operations and allowing them to access the tools that will support in improving their performance, enhance their functions and recognize understand the customer as the Banks primary asset. The bank has recognized the following basic functions necessary for improving its existing contact centre platform. Outbound Calls and Multimedia Channels Automatic Distribution of Calls Caller Line Identification Complaint Management Interactive Voice Response Integration of CRM Computer Telephony Integration Call Recording Reports or Dashboard System Backup Barclays Bank has also recognized the following modules of Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform as the desirable milestones for the project. Marketing module Service Module Sales Module Workflow Module Analytical Module 7.2.2 Recommended Solution The recommended solution is divided in to the following three different components. CRM-Workshop for Business Process Mapping Implementation of Microsoft Dynamic CRM Up gradation of the platform of Contact Centre Technology 7.2.3 Business Process Mapping The aim of this exercise is to recognize the current business processes, future business processes and the gap between the two scenarios. It is formulated to overcome barriers between the business values and its technology. The outcome is strict accountability and a higher probability of customer satisfaction through its deployment. The exercise will determine the metric that need to be tracked down, managers and customers that will be held accountable for these measurements of the performance, required new processes, impact of processes and sub processes on data importing, solution configuration and integration with other technologies and systems used at the back end. The results of this exercise are given below: Detailed Process Map that consists of report on current state as validated by the stockholders. Detailed Process Map consisting of report on future state as validated by the stockholders. Gap Analytical Report Business Requirements Report After the above documents have been produced, the business users will eventually examine and validate the provided information. After approval, these documents will be used to support project execution. 7.2.4 Deployment of CRM System The desired outcome of the successful deployment of a CRM system is determined through the end users usage and willingness to use it daily in order to improve their personal productivity. In this regard, the adapted methodology gives a frame work for dealing with customer relationship management as a business strategy and also as a project for developing technical systems. The concept behind this process is that technology alone with out strategy does not produce business results. Thus, a proper strategy for CRM is required to be adopted side by side with the deployment of the technical system. The success of CRM lies in the implementation of the technology with the clear picture of the improvements in measurable business performance. 7.2.5 Strategy The strategic model used by the Barclays Bank Ghana constitutes of four components that must be understood in order to achieve real business advantage from any CRM based project. Figure 2 (Source: e.Services Africa Ltd. 2010). Performance Management The purpose of any CRM project in an organization is to improve or optimize its performance. However, it is complicated to precisely define: the areas and object to be improved, the extent of this improvement and the enhancement of this improvement measure through the CRM system. This objective is fulfilled by embedding key point indicators, business metrics in the form of understandable charts and graphs in to the user interface of the CRM system. This enables the user to use the system as a routine activity. User can easily find the changes made by them to the system in clear metrics on their dashboard. Users and the management must seriously operate the business in accordance to the embedded metrics on the dashboards. Management Commitment Commitment of the management serves as the basis for success of any CRM project. Senior managers must completely comprehend and be involved in adopting CRM as a strategy and they must also, actively take part in the implementation of CRM project. Existing processes need to be changed for improving performance of any business or system, thus, any CRM project could be referred to an effort for changing management and modifying behavior. Managers are supposed to support such changes. Irrespective of the technological functions, the managers must back the process changes along with communicating the fact that new procedures need to be adopted in order to achieve the desired goals of the business.

Ethics in Business Decision Making Essay -- Business Ethics, Normative

The field of ethics (or moral philosophy) involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior (Fieser, 2009). Many of the decisions one faces in a typical day could result in a multitude of outcomes. At times it can be hard to determine whether or not the decision you are making is an ethical one. Many philosophies have been devised to illustrate the different ways of evaluating moral decisions. Normative ethics focuses on assessing right and wrong behavior. This may involve reinforcing positive habits, duties we should follow, or the consequences of our behavior (Fieser, 2009). Of the many normative philosophies two stand out to be most accepted; teleology and deontology. Although they oppose each other in how actions are evaluated, they uphold many similar characteristics under the surface. Normative ethics involves either a single rule or a set of principles to evaluate moral conduct. Teleology stipulates that acts are morally acceptable if they produce some desired result. Deontology on the other hand, focuses on the preservation of individual rights and on the intentions associated with a particular behavior. In summation, teleological philosophies consider the ends, or consequences, associated with an action whereas deontological philosophies consider the means (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2011). This is why teleology is commonly referred to as Consequentialism. In addition to the rule, deontology also cites individual absolute rights: freedom of conscience, freedom of consent, freedom of privacy, freedom of speech, and due process. Deontologist employ this set of freedoms because they believe certain rights should never be violated even if it is to produce a greater good (Ferre... ...ord.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/ Encyclopedia Britannica. (2011). Retrieved 24 2011, 3, from Utilitarianism: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/620682/utilitarianism Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2011). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning. Fieser, J. (2009, 5 10). Ethics. Retrieved 3 26, 2011, from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/ Frankena, W. K. (1963). Ethics. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Sinnott-Armstrong, W. (2003, 5 20). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 3 15, 2011, from Consequentialism : http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/ Taliaferro, C. (2010, 4 27). stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 3 11, 2011, from Philosophy of Religion: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/philosophy-religion/ Ethics in Business Decision Making Essay -- Business Ethics, Normative The field of ethics (or moral philosophy) involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior (Fieser, 2009). Many of the decisions one faces in a typical day could result in a multitude of outcomes. At times it can be hard to determine whether or not the decision you are making is an ethical one. Many philosophies have been devised to illustrate the different ways of evaluating moral decisions. Normative ethics focuses on assessing right and wrong behavior. This may involve reinforcing positive habits, duties we should follow, or the consequences of our behavior (Fieser, 2009). Of the many normative philosophies two stand out to be most accepted; teleology and deontology. Although they oppose each other in how actions are evaluated, they uphold many similar characteristics under the surface. Normative ethics involves either a single rule or a set of principles to evaluate moral conduct. Teleology stipulates that acts are morally acceptable if they produce some desired result. Deontology on the other hand, focuses on the preservation of individual rights and on the intentions associated with a particular behavior. In summation, teleological philosophies consider the ends, or consequences, associated with an action whereas deontological philosophies consider the means (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2011). This is why teleology is commonly referred to as Consequentialism. In addition to the rule, deontology also cites individual absolute rights: freedom of conscience, freedom of consent, freedom of privacy, freedom of speech, and due process. Deontologist employ this set of freedoms because they believe certain rights should never be violated even if it is to produce a greater good (Ferre... ...ord.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/ Encyclopedia Britannica. (2011). Retrieved 24 2011, 3, from Utilitarianism: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/620682/utilitarianism Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2011). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning. Fieser, J. (2009, 5 10). Ethics. Retrieved 3 26, 2011, from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/ Frankena, W. K. (1963). Ethics. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Sinnott-Armstrong, W. (2003, 5 20). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 3 15, 2011, from Consequentialism : http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/ Taliaferro, C. (2010, 4 27). stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 3 11, 2011, from Philosophy of Religion: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/philosophy-religion/

Impact on Local Community and Environment

2.Impact on Local Community and Environment 2.1 Image and Regeneration Environmentally Sustainable direction should be implemented from the early phases of event planning. Alternatively of concentrating on holding ‘green’ installations and equipment, the construct of sustainability should be implemented in the full determination devising procedure. Therefore holding an environmentally sustainable event should be portion of the purposes and aims. Mega events are extremely concerned about this, as undertaking environmental issues are important in winning a command. This inaugural gave London success in winning their command and the chance to host the Olympic games in 2012. In their command study London promised that 20 per cent of the Olympic Park energy comes from sustainable agencies. Besides obtaining the games London’s Environmentally sustainable direction gave the chance for regeneration of East London. Beside seting two thousand native trees and 300,000 wetland workss and reconstructing five stat mis of the River Lea, new locales and attractive forces were constructed together with new places, schools and concerns. This increased touristry in East London therefore helped in making a better image non merely for east London but besides to the full metropolis. However some aims such as edifice wind turbines were non carried out and some undertakings were merely done in order to pull tourers instead than for sustainability. Conveyance and Noise Pollution Environmentally Sustainable Management is extremely important even more so in modern twenty-four hours, as local councils have the power to prohibit an event from go oning, if they see that the event is making devastation and doing lives harder on locals. When be aftering an event the event director must maintain in head that the bulk of pollution and breaks created during an event, come from transit to and from the event. DEFRA ( 2002 ) illustrated that noise ailments to Environmental Health Officers have drastically increased over the last 20 old ages, peculiarly for route traffic. Events such as festivals are supplying transit from different metropoliss to the location and encouraging visitants to utilize public transit where necessary. During mega events such as the Olympic games public transit should be efficient for the usage of people in order to advance the usage of public transit over private transit and hence cut downing congestion. During the London Olympics in over 100 mi llion journeys were made utilizing the belowground tubing. Having scheduled transit to an event will make a flow in the figure of visitants geting during a short period therefore this will let controlling of the visitants and cut downing traffic break, congestion and noise pollution at the location. The traffic Management Plan for Isle of White 2013 established a program for â€Å"roads and paths from the ferry terminuss are free from congestion, thereby understating the impact of Festival related vehicular traffic on the route network† and hence minimising the consequence on locals. Transportation is non merely used by visitants, but besides by staff who arrive at events location yearss prior to the event. During festivals the figure of staff can make over 1,000 people. In 2010 T in the park provided staff with bikes, which were used at the site location during the set up, in order to cut down the usage of autos. This is done as portion of the understanding with Julieâ€℠¢s Bicycle in 2008 in order to cut C emanations by 40 % by 2020, which is portion of the Scots Parliament’s committedness. However this is non plenty, and efficient transit to staff should be organized so that the use of private autos to acquire to the location is reduced. Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo in 2013 decided to utilize ISO 20121 and provided free public transit to all delegates and the imperativeness. Visitors were besides encouraged to do usage of the train to acquire to the sphere in order to cut down emanations. Noise Pollution is another factor that has to be taken into consideration for event direction. In 2013, Flag Factory Festival at The Plough in Hutton was threatened by Brentwood Borough Council ‘s licensing officers due to the impact of noise on occupants. There is non much an event organizer can make to minimise noise pollution on neighbouring occupants nevertheless the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 provides limitations to this issue and besides states that staff should be protected from loud noises. 3.Reducing Costss 3.1Facilities Event directors are cognizant that by implementing Environmentally Sustainable direction they are besides cutting costs, particularly in events that occur repeatedly and desire to be in the concern for the long tally. Events generate considerable sum of waste that doesn’t merely have negative impacts on the environment, but it is besides dearly-won to the organizers. In 1996 directing waste to landfill cost ?7 a metric ton and a lower rate of ?2 for inactive waste nevertheless in 2013 this increased to ?72 a metric ton which made organizers more cognizant of the waste an event generates. Melvin Benn caput of ‘Festival Republic’ acknowledges that bettering environmental public presentation â€Å" no longer merely makes environmental sense, it makes economic sense every bit good † . Events administrations are coming up with enterprises to cut down waste and have a greener event. Glastonbury sets 15, 000 bins around the site, which are clearly labeled for recy cling stuff and non recycling stuff where in 2012 trash was separated and 49 % of this was recycled. Harmonizing to the Glastonbury web site, In order to dispose of all the waste that is left behind the Festival used to pay ?780,000, nevertheless with the aid of voluntaries and initiatives the sum of money that is saved from waste aggregation is donated to charity. Assorted inducements are being placed in order to acquire the visitant to be cognizant of the environment and cut downing waste and hence cut downing costs. Festivals have set up the cup recycling enterprise where clients are rewarded with 10p ( depending on the event ) for every cup that is returned. Similarly at Christmas markets selling mulled vino and other gay drinks clients pay a little sum excess as sedimentation for their cups, which they will acquire back if the cups are returned. Nevertheless some visitants are non concerned about go forthing litter around and farther instruction should be provided to emphasize the importance of these enterprises. Another publicity by Glastonbury is ‘A collapsible shelter is for life non merely for a festival’ where visitants are encouraged to purchase a collapsible shelter, which they will utilize even after the event and therefore collapsible shelters won’t be left behind. However this is non plenty as there are still visitants who don’t fuss in taking their collapsible shelters and this is why T in the park has The International Relief Trust roll uping quality abandoned collapsible shelters. ‘Tomorrowland’ offers an option to encampment by supplying little lockable suites but harmonizing to wikifestivals.com, some suites can be up to ˆ21,000. These should be offered at a cheaper monetary value in order to promote visitants to utilize them and hence being environmentally sustainable. Organizers should happen better ways at doing their campgrounds more sustainable by supplying more information and educating visi tants on the effects that arise. 3.2 Taxes and Local economic system In mega events such as The Olympic Games and The World Cup it is in the governments’ involvement to be environmentally sustainable when be aftering events as states may be burdened with the wake these events leave on the state. When building immense substructure for such events such as stadia these can go white elephants and locals have to pay more revenue enhancements for their care. Korea-Japan World Cup in 2002 exhausted one million millions of dollars in building and refurbishing of bowl, which are now white elephants and environmental loads. These become besides immense economic loads on locals who are paying excess 1000000s annually in revenue enhancement for their care. A better hazard and environmental appraisal and farther planning should hold resulted in a better rating of future usage of these bowl which is what Russia are be aftering to make for the 2018 games as Alexey Sorokin, the CEO of the Russia 2018 LOC stated ; â€Å"But the success of the World Cup in Russ ia will depend non merely on how good it is organised, but besides on how efficaciously the installations are used after the tournament.†

Experiment essays

Experiment essays Introduction: The purpose of this lab included a review of muscle types. Specifically there are three types of muscle types, smooth, skeletal and cardiac. In this lab we will be specifically focusing on skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscles are made up of thousands of muscle fibers. These fibers are made of thick and thin filaments. The thick filaments are composed entirely of the protein myosin. The thin filaments are composed of actin. The thick filaments can be found in the middle of each sarcomere; entire array of thick and thin filaments between Z lines. The thin filaments are at the end of each sarcomere. The thin filaments are connected to an interconnecting proteins known as the Z line. The thick filaments are arranged in parallel arrangement producing dark bands known as A bands. The thin I band produces the light band. This variation of light band and dark band produce a striped look under a microscope and thus result in the muscle being called striated. The lab also focuses on the mechanism of skeletal muscle contraction. Skeletal muscle contraction is controlled by the nervous system. In a nutshell, skeletal muscle contraction begins with -95mv resting potential. Influx of sodium ions is caused by a stimulus and leads to depolarization and then an action potential is reached. Then the resting potential of the fiber is restored by an outflow of potassium ions. Also, we will be defining and understanding subthreshold, threshold, submaximal, maximal, supramaximal in regards to muscle twitching. Finally we will be demonstrating summation, tetanus and fatigue on the dissected muscle. Materials and Methods: The materials in this lab include the frog leg, transducer, Transbridge Amplifier, Harvard Stimulator, Wire. The methods for this experiment including the dissection, neural stimulation, direct stimulation, summation, tetanus, and the operation of the Harvard Stimulator can be found on page ...

Free Essays on Jewish Synagogues And Islamic Mosques Compare And Contrast

Compare and Contrast Jewish Synagogues and Islamic Mosques "I hereby attest that this essay is entirely my own original work, excepting only that the work of others is properly noted and cited where incorporated into my own work. Thus, it is fair and honest for me to ask this work to be evaluated and marked by the instructor for a grade in this Humanities I course." The Jewish word for synagogue is beth ha-knesset, house of assembly. This means that wherever Jewish people live, the synagogue lies at the very center of communal life. (Gruber, 1999) Of all Muslim institutions, the mosque is the most important place for the public expression of the Islamic religion and communal identity. A mosque is physical proof of the public presence of Muslims and serves as a point of convergence for Islamic social and intellectual activity. (Frishman, 1994) The Jewish synagogue and the Islamic Mosque have some things in common as to what they represent in a city and how everyday life and practices are centered around them. There are also some similarities as to what one would find inside a synagogue and a mosque. But there are some differences as well. These differences include certain things that are not allowed one building that may be allowed in the other. Another difference would be the architectural styles that were used to build these buildings a nd the meanings they represent. But one similarity between the two places of worship is that throughout history, they have both allowed themselves to be changed to better suit the host community. For instance, Spanish synagogues of the Muslim period had horseshoe arches and beautiful stucco arabesques. (Gruber, 1999) Oriental synagogues tended to seat its worshippers on rugs or cushions (like some mosques). Polish 18th century synagogues resembled distinctive pagodas. Later, European emancipation introduced new styles: Baroque, Romanesque, pseudo-Byzantine and Greek temple. Some mo... Free Essays on Jewish Synagogues And Islamic Mosques Compare And Contrast Free Essays on Jewish Synagogues And Islamic Mosques Compare And Contrast Compare and Contrast Jewish Synagogues and Islamic Mosques "I hereby attest that this essay is entirely my own original work, excepting only that the work of others is properly noted and cited where incorporated into my own work. Thus, it is fair and honest for me to ask this work to be evaluated and marked by the instructor for a grade in this Humanities I course." The Jewish word for synagogue is beth ha-knesset, house of assembly. This means that wherever Jewish people live, the synagogue lies at the very center of communal life. (Gruber, 1999) Of all Muslim institutions, the mosque is the most important place for the public expression of the Islamic religion and communal identity. A mosque is physical proof of the public presence of Muslims and serves as a point of convergence for Islamic social and intellectual activity. (Frishman, 1994) The Jewish synagogue and the Islamic Mosque have some things in common as to what they represent in a city and how everyday life and practices are centered around them. There are also some similarities as to what one would find inside a synagogue and a mosque. But there are some differences as well. These differences include certain things that are not allowed one building that may be allowed in the other. Another difference would be the architectural styles that were used to build these buildings a nd the meanings they represent. But one similarity between the two places of worship is that throughout history, they have both allowed themselves to be changed to better suit the host community. For instance, Spanish synagogues of the Muslim period had horseshoe arches and beautiful stucco arabesques. (Gruber, 1999) Oriental synagogues tended to seat its worshippers on rugs or cushions (like some mosques). Polish 18th century synagogues resembled distinctive pagodas. Later, European emancipation introduced new styles: Baroque, Romanesque, pseudo-Byzantine and Greek temple. Some mo...

Study Guideline Essays

Study Guideline Essays Study Guideline Essay Study Guideline Essay How to write your study plan You are more than just a grade report sheet, and the study plan section of your application is your chance to tell us about yourself. Personal statements are not easy to write, and require substantial planning. Entry to Tsukuba is highly competitive, so spending time on writing the best personal statement possible is important. Plan We’re interested in why you chose this course, at Tsukuba, and Japan. Ask yourself; Why did I choose to study this major? Why are you interested in this subject? Is there a specific topic within this field which interests you? Have you studied this before? What do you expect from the program and from the university? Are you aiming to become qualified for a specific job? Why did I choose Tsukuba, rather than another G30 university? Have you investigated the other G30 universities? What was it that attracted you to Tsukuba specifically? Why do I want to study in Japan? Do you have some special attachment to Japan or Japanese culture? What are my long-term goals, and how does studying in Tsukuba help me reach those goals? Do you want to go on to a Masters degree or PhD? Do you want to work in Japan after graduation? What makes me a stand-out candidate? Do you have some special skills or passions which make you a more interesting person? What personal qualities do you possess which make you a good choice for this program? Write Drafts You should have a lot of information on paper by now. That information has to be organised and a draft (or two or three) of your study plan will have to be written. Use separate paragraphs for separate sections, and try to impose a logical structure on your writing. Think carefully about how you want to structure your personal statement. Try to be concise when writing your study plan. The use of concrete examples can help you express yourself clearly. We appreciate that English is some applicants’ second language. However, please try your best not to make spelling errors and use correct grammar and punctuation. Keep your sentences short and simple. Get Feedback Finally, when you’ve written your draft, we suggest giving it a few days and re-reading it. Ask for teachers, parents or friends to read it over and give honest feedback. Give yourself plenty of time to work through numerous versions of your draft, until you are completely happy.

Honor Diaries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Honor Diaries - Essay Example The documentary Honor Diaries examines female genital mutilation in the perspective of honor violence aimed at women. In the context of violence, viewers can learn about the mistreatment and violence that is experienced by women. For instance, Viewers can learn about Fahina Hashim from Sudan as she tries to protect the potential of Female Genital Mutilation through her work of advocacy. She is seen negotiating with her parents who could have demanded mutilation in the order in order to have some familiar honors preserved as well as the preservation of purity values. One of the greatest strength of the films is the ability to avoid racial discrimination. The film has effectively been able to represent almost every culture in the world. For instance, there is a representative for the South Asian Community, Sudan, and Iran among others. In addition, the film has also tried to balance religion by including both the Islamic religion and Christian religion through Juliana Tamoozary. Nevertheless, the movie managed to touch a nerve in Muslim cultures that are abusive to women. For instance, the film triggered hypocritical claims of Islamophobia. Islamophobia is an unwarranted fear of Islam religion. In US, there are three Universities that have optimized censorship of screenings. In most cases, such actions are usually political as the practice is shameful regardless of culture (The Clarion Project). The film is used to show viewers the various struggles and challenges that are experienced by women around the planet in the name of culture. The film acts as an inspiration to the viewers especially individuals who are tied up by cultural restrictions. The movie inspires women to break down the hindrance of political exactness and speak the truth that culture should not be used to abuse women (The Clarion

How Spirituality Effects Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How Spirituality Effects Economics - Essay Example Not until recently, not much attention was paid to how the spirituality of people can affect their economics. Spirituality has been thought to be associated with our inner self and has much to do with our non-physical self but our spiritual self, having an encounter with God (Russell, 2006). Most commonly therefore, spirituality is said to have a close relation to religion since religion centers on man’s realization for a supreme creator. This paper shall discuss the relationship between religion and economics with emphasis on how Christianity, Jewish and Buddhism affect economics. The first factor of consideration with reference to religion and economics is consumer behavior. Perner (2008) explains that consumer behavior involves the â€Å"psychological processes that consumers go through in recognizing needs, finding ways to solve these needs, making purchase decisions, interpret information, make plans, and implement these plans.† If consumer behavior is a psychologi cal process, then it is very right to say that all three religions greatly affect the consumer behavior of its members. This is because in all three religions, followers are made to understand that God communicates to them through the mind. In Christianity for instance, Jesus is quoted as saying that a person would be judged based on the person’s thoughts and that â€Å"For out of the heart [mind] come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander† (Matthew 15:19). Psychology also deals with the mind. This way, people in the three religion are obliged not to make purchases merely by what they feel like buying but waiting for the voice of God in deciding what to buy and what not to buy. Another example with Christianity in Exodus 20:17 documents that "you shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.† Economically, this can be related to the consumer behavior of impulse buying resulting from enviousness to own an item. Spirituality therefore restricts worshipers in their purchases and consumer behavior, thereby affecting their personal economy. The second factor on spirituality that affects economy has to do with organizational ethics. According to Change Factory (2010), â€Å"ethics is a system or code of moral standards of a particular person, group or profession.† Ethics can be given a religious interpretation to represent righteousness because righteousness sets a moral standard by which religious followers are to tread. All three religions expect followers to be of the highest level of righteousness at the workplace thereby eschewing acts like bribery, corruption, laziness, cheating and pilfering, which are all considered as acts of unrighteousness. In Jewish worship for instance, the rabbinical law on theft and robbery speaks against stealing, stating in Sh. Ar., ?M 348:1 that an object which is in the possession of a person without the consent of its owner or any other person having a right thereto constitutes stealing (Jewish Virtual Library, 2008). In economics also, when workers in a given organization work devoid of the negative ethics mentioned, there is sure to be increased productivity and in effect, increased revenue. Once there is increased productivity, there is sure to be economic growth and development. The final factor to be discussed on how spirituality affects economics has to do with the spiritual adherence to faith. Faith may be generally said to be the spiritual hope to receive something that is unseen. In all three religions, faith is very central to their worship. In Christianity, it is said that without faith, it is impossible to

Analysis report of Bernini's Angel with Crown of Thorns Research Paper

Analysis report of Bernini's Angel with Crown of Thorns - Research Paper Example Through its huge size and magnificent form, it became a grand architectural element together with the rest of the ten Angels of Passion in Ponte Sant’Angelo. A grand sentry looking over the people as they traverse the bridge to and from the Castle. The sculpture depicts an angel represented as a young man with a crown of curly hair. His wings are quite huge and are partially spread out as if about to take flight. He is wearing a somewhat diaphanous material draped over his body exposing a good portion of his shoulders and his right leg. He is holding a crown of thorns and his arms are placed sideways towards the left side of his body at the level of his chest. The angel’s right leg is exposed up to mid thigh and is bent on the knee as if in a walking motion. His left foot, on the hand, is also exposed. His feet are parted slightly apart with an indistinguishable object of swirls in between his feet and beside his left feet. The Ponte Sant’Angelo, also known as the Bridge of Angels, in Rome was decorated with ten marble sculptures of angels, or the Angels of Passion, as proposed by Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini.1 He was commissioned by Pope Clement IX to create two out of the ten angel sculptures and the rest of the angel sculptures are believed to be made by Bernini’s students. The ten marble sculptures are to replace the 14 stucco sculptures of angels set up by Rafaella da Montelupo under Pope Paul III.2 The ten marble sculptures of angels each hold a symbol of the Passion of the Christ. The ten angel sculptures are the â€Å"Angel with the Column† by Antonio Raggi, â€Å"Angel with the Whips† by Lazzaro Morelli, â€Å"Angel with the Crown of Thorns†Ã‚  by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, â€Å"Angel with the Sudarium or Veronica’s Veil† by  Cosimo Fancelli,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Angel with the Garment and Dice† by Paolo Naldini, â€Å"Angel with

Security Fraud and Manipulations Using Accounting Policies and Rules Dissertation

Security Fraud and Manipulations Using Accounting Policies and Rules - Dissertation Example More importantly, a wide variety of security fraud and malpractice of accounting policies are employed in the preparation of the financial report accounting of Enron, Madoff scheme, and WorldCom Corporation that lead into their bankruptcy. Nonetheless, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) seeks to deter fraud in financial statements of companies through laws, internal control systems and regulations. More significantly, the commission continuously seeks to detect misstatements, failure of disclosure of accurate financial information in records, documentation, accounting policies and procedures in changes of equity and explanatory notes accompanying every financial period statement of companies. In addition, this paper will look at the adherence to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as stipulated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) remains committed towards global standards. Finally, the pap er looks at various fraudulent situations that could be avoided through adherence to stipulated accounting policies and procedures by management, accountants and auditors as they put shareholders interest first. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express sincere gratitude to my dissertation supervisor, xxx, for his invaluable support. As an area of accounting and auditing practise, I hope you find this paper insightful in the minimization of security fraud and manipulation practices. Tables of Contents 1. Introduction 6 2. Literature Review 7 3. Research Methodology 16 4. Discussion of Findings 18 4.1.0 Nature and treatment Of Security Fraud &manipulation through fraudulent use Of accounting policies and rules 18 4.2.0 Security Fraud and Manipulation in Madoff scheme, Enron & Worldcom Corporation 23 4.3.0 Security Fraud and Manipulation Problems in Madoff Scheme, Enron and Worldcom Corporation 27 4.4.0 Comprehensive Analysis of Parties involved in the carrying out of Security Fraud an d Manipulation 33 4.5.0 Regulation of Security Fraud and Manipulation in Madoff scheme, Enron and WorldCom Corporation 39 5. Conclusions 43 6. Appendix 45 6. References 47 CHAPTER 1.0 INTRODUCTION More than often, fraudulent financial information given in companies financial statement typically takes the form of material misstatements done intentionally by making either the annually or quarterly financial statements fluctuated. In most cases, auditors acknowledge that financial statements are intentionally misstated such that the information provided remains not only misleading, but also inaccurate, such that the presentation of financial reports does not follow the generally accepted accounting practises (GAAP), international auditing standards (IAS) and international financial reporting standards (IFRS). More so, such security fraud and manipulation through the use of fraudulent accounting policies and rules in international corporations like Madoff scheme, WorldCom and Enron led to a huge loss as a result of fraud upon

Is television a boon or a bane Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Is television a boon or a bane - Essay Example The theme of the article revolves around the change our society, attitudes and priorities have undergone along with the percolation of television, internet and media in our lives. Joshua feels that our present space is becoming increasingly "virtual" than "real" like it was in the earlier days. We are no longer "with" ourselves, our loved ones and our surroundings rather, we are more focused and bothered about global issues, politics, entertainment , natural calamities in distant continents and so on . Although it is commendable to be aware of what is happening on our planet, it does not make our neighborhood problems or our loved ones' sorrows any less important. Joshua aptly sums up the scenario in a single statement- "the more we rely on our video window, the less relation there is between where we are and what we know and experience, the less there's a relationship between where we are and who we are". Television has broken down all barriers between men and women, adult and children, ethnic groups and nations. Today, if one does not have enough money to travel to exotic places, the option of clicking the remote and switching to a travel program is always there. Children of all ages are exposed to things that their earlier day's counterparts had not even heard of.

The united States Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The united States Constitution - Essay Example First passed by the Senate in April 1864 and by the House on 31st January 1865, the amendment was adopted the same year on 6th December (GPO-CONAN 1793-4). Section 1 of the 13th amendment explicitly maintains the abolishment of slavery and involuntary servitude from all parts of the country, as well as the territories outside the USA under American jurisdiction, in these words: â€Å"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction† (GPO-CONAN 1796). In Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3, 20 (1883), the Supreme Court held that the amendment under-examination concentrates upon the eradication of slavery and involuntary servitude only with the aim of introducing an absolute freedom in the country (109 US 4, 20). Somehow, the court further exclaims, that denial of equal accommodations in public places does not impose any mark of slavery; instead it actually infringes the rights had been protected by the law abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude. In other terms, despite the reality that SC applies observing of equality at public places; nevertheless, it does not enforce the strict banishment of ethno-racial or religious prejudice and bias being demonstrated by the (white) subjects at the public places towards their black counterparts (Parks 24). However, the judgment issued by the court expressively turns down the prevalence of wide-scale ethno-racial prejudice in the country (109 US 62, 20). Similarly, through its verdict in 392 U.S. 409 Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. (No. 645), the court held in its Para 2 (a) that Section 1982 completely bars any type of racial discrimination to be observed with regards to the sale and purchase of any property. In other words, witnessing of racial bias in property-related business has been declared

Security Fraud and Manipulations Using Accounting Policies and Rules Dissertation

Security Fraud and Manipulations Using Accounting Policies and Rules - Dissertation Example More importantly, a wide variety of security fraud and malpractice of accounting policies are employed in the preparation of the financial report accounting of Enron, Madoff scheme, and WorldCom Corporation that lead into their bankruptcy. Nonetheless, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) seeks to deter fraud in financial statements of companies through laws, internal control systems and regulations. More significantly, the commission continuously seeks to detect misstatements, failure of disclosure of accurate financial information in records, documentation, accounting policies and procedures in changes of equity and explanatory notes accompanying every financial period statement of companies. In addition, this paper will look at the adherence to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as stipulated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) remains committed towards global standards. Finally, the pap er looks at various fraudulent situations that could be avoided through adherence to stipulated accounting policies and procedures by management, accountants and auditors as they put shareholders interest first. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express sincere gratitude to my dissertation supervisor, xxx, for his invaluable support. As an area of accounting and auditing practise, I hope you find this paper insightful in the minimization of security fraud and manipulation practices. Tables of Contents 1. Introduction 6 2. Literature Review 7 3. Research Methodology 16 4. Discussion of Findings 18 4.1.0 Nature and treatment Of Security Fraud &manipulation through fraudulent use Of accounting policies and rules 18 4.2.0 Security Fraud and Manipulation in Madoff scheme, Enron & Worldcom Corporation 23 4.3.0 Security Fraud and Manipulation Problems in Madoff Scheme, Enron and Worldcom Corporation 27 4.4.0 Comprehensive Analysis of Parties involved in the carrying out of Security Fraud an d Manipulation 33 4.5.0 Regulation of Security Fraud and Manipulation in Madoff scheme, Enron and WorldCom Corporation 39 5. Conclusions 43 6. Appendix 45 6. References 47 CHAPTER 1.0 INTRODUCTION More than often, fraudulent financial information given in companies financial statement typically takes the form of material misstatements done intentionally by making either the annually or quarterly financial statements fluctuated. In most cases, auditors acknowledge that financial statements are intentionally misstated such that the information provided remains not only misleading, but also inaccurate, such that the presentation of financial reports does not follow the generally accepted accounting practises (GAAP), international auditing standards (IAS) and international financial reporting standards (IFRS). More so, such security fraud and manipulation through the use of fraudulent accounting policies and rules in international corporations like Madoff scheme, WorldCom and Enron led to a huge loss as a result of fraud upon

The united States Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The united States Constitution - Essay Example First passed by the Senate in April 1864 and by the House on 31st January 1865, the amendment was adopted the same year on 6th December (GPO-CONAN 1793-4). Section 1 of the 13th amendment explicitly maintains the abolishment of slavery and involuntary servitude from all parts of the country, as well as the territories outside the USA under American jurisdiction, in these words: â€Å"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction† (GPO-CONAN 1796). In Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3, 20 (1883), the Supreme Court held that the amendment under-examination concentrates upon the eradication of slavery and involuntary servitude only with the aim of introducing an absolute freedom in the country (109 US 4, 20). Somehow, the court further exclaims, that denial of equal accommodations in public places does not impose any mark of slavery; instead it actually infringes the rights had been protected by the law abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude. In other terms, despite the reality that SC applies observing of equality at public places; nevertheless, it does not enforce the strict banishment of ethno-racial or religious prejudice and bias being demonstrated by the (white) subjects at the public places towards their black counterparts (Parks 24). However, the judgment issued by the court expressively turns down the prevalence of wide-scale ethno-racial prejudice in the country (109 US 62, 20). Similarly, through its verdict in 392 U.S. 409 Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. (No. 645), the court held in its Para 2 (a) that Section 1982 completely bars any type of racial discrimination to be observed with regards to the sale and purchase of any property. In other words, witnessing of racial bias in property-related business has been declared

Rules Are Not Necessarily Sacred Essay Example for Free

Rules Are Not Necessarily Sacred Essay Living in the twenty first century, it is imperative for us to be familiar with the do’s and don’ts of being successful. Surely none of us are oblivious of the ‘planning, working hard and then patiently waiting for the sweet fruit to be delivered’ way of procuring success but we also aren’t unmindful of the proper attitude which is required to achieve success.It is necessary for that attitude to be developed in an individual from the beginning and the school plays an important part in its development. Everything about the school from the extra-curricular activities it offers to its uniform has a valuable role in that attitude’s development. The acceptance of casual clothes in place of uniforms has been a major issue for over a decade now as there is a colossal difference between the two. One has to interpret that when the uniform provides a significant sense of equality then casual clothes provide its Lilliputian version. With the uniform policy being enforced in a school, the students are able to concentrate on their studies in a better regard as they don’t have to stay up late at night to determine which designer clothing’s they will have to brag about the next day. Along with being carefree about designer labels they will also not be bullied or teased just because of them not being capable to afford ostentatious pieces of clothing. Even though allowance of casuals in schools presents the path of self-expression for many students it doesn’t really assist in distinguishing the students belonging to different schools and often results in the students’ incapability to represent their schools. Moreover, the school-goers are under no peer pressure regarding dressing up and to be socially accepted. Presence of uniforms results in a healthy climate for learning. Instead of spending money superfluously students can turn to saving it which may end up helping them when they actually require it. The pros of having a uniform policy for any school manage to go on forever as they indulge the students in the habit of responding well to authority. The uniforms are comparatively better than casuals as they also give the student a reality check by letting their brain absorb the fact that work places have their certain dress codes to which they will have to conform to someday. Lastly, as it has been aforementioned it’s not the rules that matter but the principals which are laid within them.

The Obstacles Between Israel And Palestine

The Obstacles Between Israel And Palestine The Israeli Palestinian conflict is the longest running contemporary conflict, still ongoing, to date. The origins of the conflict and its history provide the context necessary to understanding the obstacles to a to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The obstacles to a peace agreement are both numerous and complex. Some of the more major obstacles, recent and still current today include: (1) land issues over the West Bank and Gaza strip, (2) status of Jerusalem (3) security concerns, (4) Palestinian refugee problems, and (5) issues over water resources. The purpose of this academic essay is to provide a brief overview of the origins and history of the Israeli Palestinian conflict, placing a primary focus on providing a detailed account of the aforementioned major obstacles to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The origins and particularly the history of Israeli Palestinian conflict can become mindboggling as the conflict has gone on for so long; a simple, selective and brief overview would best facilitate an understanding of this epic saga like conflict. Starting from the very beginning; in ancient times Judea was originally the home of the Jews until it was conquered by the Romans, renamed Palestine, and later reconquered and inhabited by Arabs for over a thousand years. Zionism, a movement of national liberation to achieve a homeland for Jews (Heywood, A. 2007) later came about and it aimed to restore the Jews to Israel, largely ignoring the existing Arab population. In 1917, Britain was granted Palestine as a League of Nations mandate under the Balfour Declaration, in which Britain committed itself to the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. Arab resentment over the loss of their land to the Jews fostered repeated riots and a revolt that later prompted Br itain to cease Jewish immigration to Palestine. Jewish immigration to Palestine resumed due to the pressure created by the Holocaust and murder of 6 million Jews at the hands of the Nazis and in 1947 the UN partitioned Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. This would cause Arab tempers to flare, they could not accept the partition and as a result a war broke out. Israel would win a decisive victory and expand as a state, and in doing so create Palestinian refugees in the hundreds of thousands. This was only the beginning of the conflict. The Arab states would refuse Israel both recognition and peace; wars would break out in 1956, 1967, 1973 and 1982. There were also many terror raids and Israeli reprisals. Each side blames the other entirely for the conflict and expects an apology. The intensity of the Israeli Palestinian conflict has varied over the years, but with the continued involvement of the international community, the calls for peace are growing ever louder. The Peace proc ess began in 1993 with The Oslo Declaration of Principles. In this document, both sides recognized the rights of the other to exist as a people within the borders of Palestine/Israel, and committed themselves to negotiating a permanent settlement and to improving relations between the two peoples. (MidEastWeb, 2008) Since then, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), currently led by Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli government, currently led by Benjamin Netanyahu, has been committed to an eventual two-state solution. The two parties have taken part in direct and official negotiations mediated by the Quartet on the Middle East, represented by and consisting of the United Nations, United States, Russia, and the European Union. Since 2003, however, the Palestinian side has become divided between its two major factions, that of Fatah, traditionally the dominant party, and that of Hamas, its later electoral challenger. Hamas seizure of power over the Gaza Strip in June 2007, caused a division of governance over the territory formerly controlled by the Palestinian National Authority (the Palestinian interim government) between the Fatah in the West Bank, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Annapolis Conference of 2007, would set out the central issues, and therefore the major obstacles needed to be ov ercome, in order for a peace agreement to be reached. Land issues over the West bank and (until 2005) the Gaza Strip is just one of the major obstacles to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The 2,200 square miles of land was occupied in the 6 day war of 1967, and since then Israel re-established old communities (destroyed in 1929 and 1948) and built new settlements for its people in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, the majority of which reside in the West Bank. Israel expanded these settlements throughout the peace process that began in 1993 with the Oslo Declaration of Principles. The United States, United Kingdom, European Union along with the International Court of Justice have declared these settlements illegal under international law. In 2005, Israel enacted its unilateral disengagement plan, evacuating all residents of Jewish settlements located in the Gaza strip, as well as four settlements in the northern West Bank, and demolishing all residential buildings. The West Bank, however, still remains in dispute. The Palestinians demand a complete hand over of the West Bank in its entirety. Israel on other hand maintains that it needs to retain some land and settlements in the West Bank to act as a buffer against future acts of aggression. This issue remains unresolved and as such is one of the major obstacles to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The status of Jerusalem is another major obstacle to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians because of its significant religious importance to the three largest Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Both Israel and Palestinians assert claims over the eastern part of Jerusalem. For Israel, Jerusalem was the capital of Judea in ancient times and the site of the Jewish holy temple, of which only the Western Wall remains. For Palestinians, Jerusalem is also the site of the Al-Aqsa mosque, regarded by many as the third holiest Islamic site. Both sides also have grave concerns regarding the welfare of their respective holy sites being under the control of the other. Israel asserts that Jerusalem should not be divided, rather it should remain unified under Israels control. Palestinians claim the parts of Jerusalem that were not a part of Israel prior to June 1967. As of 2005, of the 719,000 people that lived in Jerusalem, 465,000 were Jews, most of which live d in West Jerusalem, and 232,000 were Arabs, most of which lived in East Jerusalem. At the Camp David in 2000 and Taba Summits in 2001, the United States proposed that the Arab parts of Jerusalem should be given to the Palestinians while the Jewish parts of Jerusalem should be retained by Israel. Both sides accepted the proposal in principle, but the summits ultimately failed. No concrete action has been taken on this matter as of yet and it remains a major obstacle to an Israeli Palestinian conflict resolution. Israeli security concerns are also a major obstacle in the resolution of the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Throughout the Israeli Palestinian conflict, Palestinian political violence has been of particular concern to the Israelis. The Palestinian political violence against Israel, its civilians and military are considered acts of terrorism. Although violent Palestinian groups may disagree with each other on specific issues, they are united and motivated by a common goal; to eliminate the state of Israel, replacing it with a Palestinian Arab state. Another concern is the close proximity of Israeli cities to Palestinian territories. Many of Israels cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are within the Palestinians artillery range and the threat of Qassam rockets fired from the Palestinian territories is of great concern to Israeli defence. The Israeli government recorded 1,726 such rocket launches in 2006 alone. It is because of this Israel insists that the Palestinian state should be d emilitarized. These are not the only security concerns Israel has. The West Bank is of enormous strategic importance to any country intent on invading Israel. Israel insists that the Palestinian state provide guarantees that foreign armies will not be permitted to enter its borders; to ensure this Israel insists on the establishment of bases within the West Bank as a safeguard. Another major obstacle in the resolution of the Israeli Palestinian conflict is how to deal with the Palestinian refugee problem. In 1948, about 726,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes in the war that followed shortly after the creation of Israel. Additional Palestinians fled from their homes in the 6 day war of 1967. Today there are about 4.6 million Palestinian refugees. Many of them live in poor conditions in crowded refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. Palestinians demand that these refugees should have the right to return to their homes in Israel under the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 of 1948 which states that: the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible. Israelis refute this right arguing that in 1948 Jews fled Arab lands to Israel in almost equal numbers. One of the main reasons Israelis oppose the return of the Palestinian refugees is because that would create an Arab Palestinian majority and thus would put an end to Israel as a Jewish state. Most Palestinian groups agree with and support this outcome wanting to see a resolution to the refugee problem and the end of Israel; killing two birds with one stone, as it were. The Israeli government also asserts that the Palestinian refugee problem is largely due to the refusal of all Arab governments, with the exception of Jordan, to grant citizenship to Palestinian Arabs who reside within those countries borders. Water resources and their management is another major obstacle peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians as it is a scarce commodity. The Israel National Water Carrier, however, has made a high population density and standard of living possible. The carrier works by pumping water from the Sea of Galilee and carrying it to areas in the centre and to the south of Israel and the Palestinian areas as well. Up to 1.7 million cubic meters of water can flow through the carrier in just one day; but this is not enough. Israel receives a great deal of its water supply from two large underground aquifers that continue under the Green Line. The use of this underground water has been contentious as some of the wells used to draw the water reside within Palestinian Authority areas. Even though Israel withdraws some water from these areas, it also supplies the West Bank with approximately 40 million cubic meters annually, contributing to 77% of the Palestinians water supply in the West Ba nk, which is to be shared among a population of about 2.3 million. Both sides need water for survival and development and want to ensure an adequate water supply from the limited resources available. Israel has reserved for its own use a large percentage of the water in West Bank aquifers. One of the Palestinians most central concerns is obtaining land and resources that have enough contiguity to provide them with a viable society, and not be forced to give up too many resources to Israel, as this may lead to economic collapse. The purpose of this academic essay was to provide a brief overview of the origins and history of the Israeli Palestinian conflict, placing a primary focus on providing a detailed account of the aforementioned major obstacles to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. There are 5 major obstacles to a to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. (1) Land issues over the West Bank and Gaza strip consisting of the Palestinians demanding a complete hand over of the West Bank in its entirety and Israel wanting to retain some land and settlements to act as a buffer against future acts of aggression. (2) The status of Jerusalem with both sides asserting claims over the eastern part of Jerusalem and fearing for the welfare of their respective holy sites being under the control of the other. (3) Israeli security concerns regarding: the Palestinian political violence and terrorism, Israeli cities being within the Palestinians artillery range, with the threat of Qassa m rocket attacks; and the defence of the West Bank from foreign invasion. (4) Palestinian refugee problems and finding a proper home for 4.6 million refugees living in poor conditions in crowded refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. (5) Issues over water resources, with both sides needing water for survival and development and wanting to ensure an adequate water supply from the limited resources available.

The Marriage Ordeal: Rights and Ramifications :: essays research papers fc

2005  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Marriage Ordeal: Rights and Ramifications   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a country with it’s fundamentals based on liberty and equality, America has always struggled with those very concepts. Throughout history, Americans have been challenged to make decisions that have oppressed and freed certain groups of people. The political fight for same-sex marriages is a perfect example of this notion. This relation between spouses has created a major controversy that is creating history in our nation. A series of protests, acts and political scandal has finally opened America to discuss a topic that had been in â€Å"the closet† for a long time. This discussion asks questions that have caused a visceral reaction in society. Questions such as whether gays and lesbians should marry, and if so, should they be granted the same matrimony rights as heterosexual couples? Should marriage be protected to fit traditional American values? How would these unions affect or contribute to our definition of such a celebrated institution? .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tradition is a strong component in the institution of marriage. The ideal American dream usually involves the perfect fairy-tale wedding with the gorgeous white wedding dress for the bride, the matching bridesmaids, the well-arranged bouquet and the numerous rituals that compose this well thought-out event. Usually it requires a great amount of planning, devotion and dollars to make the important day memorable. Family and friends come together to rejoice in the vows that will bond the two lovers into a lifetime journey of love, commitment and fidelity. Each person in the couple is expected to have a role in this institution. According to Judith Wallerstein and Sandra Blakeslee, â€Å"in the idealized form of the older model of traditional marriage, the man’s primary job for self-definition is to provide for the economic well-being, protection, and stability of his family ...The woman’s job and self-definition†, on the other hand, continue Wall erstein and Blakeslee, â€Å"is to care for her husband and children and to create a comfortable home that nourishes everyone, particularly her husband, who comes home each evening drained by the demands of his job (211).† With a constantly changing society, the concept of marriage has also varied. The â€Å"quickie† Vegas drive-through wedding or the underwater vow exchange is not as unusual or shocking as it once was. Even the roles of the persons involved have changed to fit the shape of society’s needs. For example the modern â€Å"companionate marriage† which is â€Å"founded on the couple’s shared beliefs that men and women are equal partners in all spheres of life and that their roles, including those of marriage, are completely interchangeable (Wallerstein, Blakeslee 155).

Abortion: A Freedom of Choice Essays -- Argumentative Persuasive Essay

Abortion: A Freedom of Choice During the last twenty-five years, abortion has been one of the most heated topics being debated the world. The only topics that equal the abortion debate are race and war. Abortion is a discussion of human interaction where ethics, emotions, and law come together. People have different opinions usually only have two choices when confronted with abortion. They are either for it or against it. There is the pro-choice and the pro-life. These are the only two categories that people?s views fall into. A pro-choice person would feel that the decision to abort a pregnancy is that of the mothers and the government has no right to interfere. A pro-lifer would hold that from the moment of conception, the embryo or foetus is alive. Since this embryo or foetus is alive and is a person you have no moral right to abort a life. If you aborted the life you would be committing murder. The word ?murder? is mainly used by pro-lifers to describe what happens when you abort a foetus. Murder means deliberate and unjustified killing of another person containing intent. A women cannot bear the thought of having a child that would be a constant reminder of what happened on such and such a day, such and such number of years ago. The mother doesn?t want to kill a baby; she wants to interrupt the growth of an embryo so that it will not become a baby. My own personal opinion is that each woman has the right to decide whether she wants to abort an unwanted preg...